Lai Bao Fishhead Steamboat at Toa Payoh Lor 1

My 2nd official food review outside after Circuit Breaker (CB). Finally gotten the chance to meet my group of lovely foodies to enjoy this very sumptuous fishhead steamboat at Toa Payoh Lorong 1. Lai Bao fishhead steamboat and it is a subsidiary branch under the Melben Seafood organisation. Lai Bao is located in a coffee shop at Toa Payoh Lorong 1, about 10mins walk from the bus interchange. 

Ordering is done self service at the counter. All prices are inclusive of GST already. Via Chope, users can get a 10% discount for voucher purchase. We bought $90 voucher for $100 worth. Here's what we have:

1. Red Grouper steamboat ($35) - we opted for the medium size since there were 4 of us. The steamboat was filled to the brim and used charcoal to keep the soup warm. Soup is refillable and we really enjoyed this dish with its generous filling. So good and delicious. Rating: 4.2/5

2. Teochew fried duck fritters ($10) - instead of the usual ngoh hiang, this fried fritter is made of real duck meat. Tasted good with mayo or sweet sauce. Rating: 4/5

3. Yam ring with Thai pomelo ($20) - unlike the usual yam ring with chicken, mushrooms etc, this dish at Lai Bao surprise us with a tangy yam filling and it's like a cold dish. The tanginess of the filling made it more appetizing and could go for more than the usual serving. Rating: 4/5

4. Braised eggplant ($8) - plump juicy eggplants topped with black bean sauce. Very tasty dish. Simple yet done well. Rating: 4.1/5

5. Fried beansprout ($12) - silver bean sprouts with salted fish. Being a sprout lover, this dish was definitely well done. The sprouts are fat and juicy. Rating: 4/5

6. Charcoal sweet and sour pork ($10) - juicy pork pcs tossed in sweet and sour sauce. The pork bits are coated thinly with batter and deep fried. Juicy! Rating: 4/5

7. Charcoal silky tofu ($8) - smooth silken tofu deep fried with charcoal coating. Tasted very good and enjoy them so much with mayo. Rating: 4/5

We were rather pleased with the food and so happy to be able to enjoy hot piping food once again. Though the soup is sweet but we do not feel thirsty. Guess it's real sweetness from the ingredients. Lai Bao is definitely a worth place to try. 

A summary of what we had:

Red Grouper steamboat

Teochew fried duck fritters

Yam ring with Thai pomelo

Braised eggplant

Fried beansprout

Charcoal sweet and sour pork

Charcoal silky tofu

My overall ratings:

Food: 4/5

Price: 4/5

Ambience: 3.5/5

Service: 4/5

You can locate them here:

Lai Bao Fishhead Steamboat

Lor 1 Toa Payoh, #01-1040 Blk 168, Singapore 310168

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Food at Jln Besar

1. Hakka beef balls and yong tau fu at Gar Lok Eating House

Located at 217 Syed Alwi Road, this little coffee shop has only 3 stalls in it. One stall selling hakka beef balls, yong tau fu and drink stall. The yong tau fu stall offers other Hakka snacks like soon kueh and abacus as well. The soon kueh is a little different from the usual.. it's made of traditional glutinous flour like those that makes the abacus which is much stickier than the usual soon kueh. The filling is generous and good and tasted awesome with the chilli. The Hakka yong tau fu was ordinary but the beef ball noodles is so traditionally homemade. Bouncy and crunchy with clear soup base. Overall would rate them at 3.8/5.

You can locate them here:
Gar Lok Eating House

2. Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge and Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice and Hainanese Chicken Rice at 638 Veerasamy Road

Priced at $3.50 per porridge, Boon Kee Pork Porridge only offers pork choices with other additional ingredients at 50cents top up. The stall is managed by husband and wife duo. Wife cooks the porridge while hubby collects money and takes order. We waited for about 20mins before our porridge was served. Number token will be taken and will be called for collection by looking at the queue no display. Porridge is so generous with all ingredients. Very value for money with the price and taste. Deserves the thumbs up. Rating: 4.2/5

As for the chicken rice, the fried chicken wing was fresh and well fried but still lacking the wow factor. Rating: 3.8/5

You can locate them here:
Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge and Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice and Hainanese Chicken Rice

3. Ping Ji Popiah at Jln Besar

This pair of elderly couple opens their popiah stall at 12pm daily and takes half hour break at around 2pm before continuing their business till evening time. Priced at $1.60 per roll, the filling is generous and delicious. It's the traditional kind of popiah whereby the skin is a little dry. Overall very old school kind of taste. Rating: 4/5

Besides the popiah, there is also the freshly fried oyster cake. Its fluffy and succulent with minced pork, oyster and prawn. Rating: 4/5

You can locate them here:
Ping Ji Popiah at Jln Besar

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F.P.C Seafood at Tampines

A hidden tze char gem amongst the neighbourhood of Tampines, F.P.C Seafood is a family owned stall located at the bottom of the block among the housing shops. 

Managed by a middleaged to elderly couple, the wife will be at the frontline receiving orders and serving while her hubby is the main chef.

We were there early today at 5:50pm to beat the weekend family crowd. There were so many dishes to choose from the menu. More than 10 different ways of cooking chicken. 

We ordered 3 of their highly recommended dishes:

1. Hotplate tofu ($10) - this sizzling dish is different from the usual tze char stalls whereby it has lots of gravy. Its drier and topped with capsicums, celery, mushrooms and sliced pork. Very generous in portion and yummy. Rating: 4/5

2. Fried beansprout with salted fish ($8) - simply fell in love with its homecooked taste with my 1st mouth. So homecooked with salted fish and vegetables. The kind that how my mummy would cook. Rating: 4.2/5

3. Fried chicken with plum sauce ($10) - expected the sauce to be poured over the chicken but it came separately. The chicken pcs are lightly battered and fried and so good that could be eaten on its own. Kevin loved it. The plum sauce is homemade and tasted sourish which opened up our appetite. We love the tenderness of the chicken pcs. Not oily yet very tasty. Rating: 4.2/5

Unfortunately we were not able to taste so many dishes but we were very satisfied with what we have ordered. Uncle and aunty were also very friendly and tried to attend to our needs whenever needed. We would highly recommended this tze char stall to those in the East!

A summary of items that we had:

Hotplate tofu

Fried beansprout with salted fish

Fried chicken with plum sauce

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.1/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 3.5/5

You can locate them here:

F.P.C Seafood

Block 267, #01-47, Tampines Street 21, Singapore 520267

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Lao Zhong Zhong Ngoh Hiang at Tai Thong Crescent

Lao Zhong Zhong is indeed so reputable with its ngoh hiang. It is definitely one of the best ngoh hiang eaten in Singapore.

There is no sweet sauce with this ngoh hiang but just comes with sourish chilli sauce topped with crushed peanuts. No smelly oil taste and the must order items are its red sausage and fried beancurd. So fresh and awesomely delicious. 

Ngoh Hiang

Within the same coffeshop, there are other stalls selling congee, satay beehoon, braised duck etc. We tried the braised duck which also deserves a thumbs up for the chilli and yam rice. The congee was neutral.

Braised Duck

Congee

Opposite Lao Zhong is another coffee shop just selling prawn noodles. The soup base was sweet and rich with prawn flavour and tasted so good with the dried chilli powder and dark sauce. Not the best prawn noodles but still worth a try.

Prawn Noodles

Tai Thong Crescent definitely has great food and its a place worth exploring. We will be back for more so do stay tuned!

Ngoh Hiang

Congee

My ratings:

Ngoh hiang: 4.3/5

Braised duck: 4/5

Congee: 3.2/5

Prawn noodles: 3.8/5

You can locate them here:

Lao Zhong Zhong Ngoh Hiang

29 Tai Thong Crescent, #01-03, Singapore 347858

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Big Eater Seafood Place at Jurong West

Owned by Great-Eater Restaurant Pte Ltd, Big Eater Seafood Place is not new to the tze char lovers in the West. Located at Jurong West St 91 which is a 10mins walk from Pioneer MRT station, Big Eater is so popular with its seafood dishes. 

The crab dishes are a must order among the crowd. At 6pm, the place was already filled with customers and most of them have crabs on their tables, with their salted egg crab being the most recommended. 

Being non crab lovers, we went for their ordinary tze char dishes instead. Priced all below $10 for small size dishes, its definitely value for money for the portion. We had the below dishes:

1. King of pork ribs ($9) - 6 to 7pc of juicy and tender pork slices cooked in home made sweet and sour sauce. The sauce isn't too sweet and overpowering and tasted delicious. Rating: 4/5

2. Sotong fritters ($8) - Tasted rather bready and wasn't to our expectations. Was hoping for something more sotongy and tasty. Rating: 3/5

3. Sambal kangkong ($7) - love this dish the best! Kangkong fried in their sinfully good sambal chilli. Thumbs up for this! Rating: 4/5

4. Hotplate tofu ($9) - egg tofu on sizzling hotplate. The plate was a little too hot that the egg layer got burnt. Tasted a little flat and not much ingredients as compared to the usual hotplate tofu. Rating: 3/5

Maybe Big Eater is better for their main seafood dishes like crabs and prawns. Service is definitely prompt despite and crowd. We would back again to try their other dishes like crabs and hokkien noodles. 

A summary of items ordered:

King of pork ribs

Sotong fritters 

Sambal kangkong

Hotplate tofu 

My overall ratings:

Food: 3.5/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 3.8/5

Ambience: 3/5

You can locate them here:

Big Eater Seafood Place

964 Jurong West Street 91, #01-342, Singapore 640964

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Sing's at Fu Chan Food Paradise Jurong East

Sing's used to be at Everton Park and has moved to a food court in Jurong East. Offering a few Hong Kong Cha Chan Teng dishes, their most popular is nevertheless their salt baked chicken noodles. 

Just at a worthy price of $6.50, it offers delicious and tender whole salt baked chicken leg with springy qq noodles tossed in their delicious dark sauce and topped with fried ikan bilis and pickled cucumbers. I simply fell in love with their qq noodles. So chewy! 

Kevin opted for their 2nd signature dish, braised pork with rice ($5.80). Chunks of tenderly braised pork belly served with onsen eggs, corns, ikan bilis and pickled cucumber. When mixed together, you couldn't stop chomping down the rice. 

This is how I would rate the dishes: 

1. Salt baked chicken noodles - 4/5

2. Braised pork rice - 3.8/5

Sing's definitely a hidden gem at JE for salt baked chicken lovers. Go try it soon! 

My Overall Ratings:

Food: 3.9/5

Price: 4/5

Service: NA

Ambience: 3/5

You can locate them here:

Sing's 

Address: Blk 134, Jurong Gateway Road, Fu Chan Coffee Shop, Singapore 600134

Opening hours: Daily 11am to 9pm

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Zai Shun Curry Fish Head and Seafood at Jurong East

Recently awarded as 2017 Michelin Bib Gourmand, it has attracted large crowds tasting their delicious food during lunch hours on weekdays and weekends. Opened from 7am to 3pm daily except Wednesdays, Zai Shun offers a very wide range of porridge dishes to choose from.


Seats are hard to get, so its better to reach early at about 11am. We ordered 5 dishes in all and they cost $67.50 in all. Assam curry fish head is a must order. For $26, the freshness of the fish is unbeatable and gravy tasted so good. Portion was one whole fish head thus definitely so worth it. Rating: 4.2/5




The braised pig trotters at $16 for 5 persons is another must try dish. The trotters are so fragrantly braised and tasted so home cooked. The flesh and skin basically disintegrates into your mouth. Rating: 4.2/5


Prawn paste chicken at $8 is an ok dish. Not too fantastic. Rating: 3.5/5.


The remaining 2 vegetable dishes at $6 each are ordinary as well. Probably should have ordered their fried bittergourd with eggs. Rating: 3.5/5


The stall business is definitely very very good and food is definitely worth a try especially for their fish dishes. All so fresh and affordable.


A summary of items Ordered:
Fried Long Beans
Jiam Cai
Braised Pog Trotters
Prawn Paste Chicken
Assam Curry Fish Head


My Overall Ratings:
Food: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5


You can locate them here:
Zai Shun Curry Fish Head
253 Jurong East Street 24, #01-205, Singapore 600253
Opening Hours: 7:00am – 3:00pm (Mon – Tues, Thurs – Sun), Closed Wed

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Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice at Jln Besar

We are finally here to try the all famous Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice. Located along the corner of Jln Besar Road, this coffee shop has just one stall selling curry rice. The uniqueness of this stall is that the food is cut using scissors, whether be it pork cutlet, beancurd, taupok etc.



The food is Hainanese in origin and the plate looks seriously gooey with all the sauce and pile of food on top. There are different kinds of meat to choose from. Fish fillet, pork cutlet etc etc. We love the food with the saucy curry taste. The curry isn't too coconutty and smooth in taste. We love them! The food tasted very homely. Being a Hainanese, Kevin gave it thumbs up.







There are different soups served daily. On Sat, they serve old cucumber pork rib soup. 


Simple yet tasty. Goes well with the curry flavor. One thing to note is that when sitting outside, do keep a lookout of the sparrows as they love the curry rice as well. Hahaz!




My Overall Ratings:
Food: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Service: NA
Ambience: 3/5

You can locate them here:
Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice
229 Jln Besar, Singapore 208905

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Shi Zi Wei Seafood (食之味海鲜）at Food Loft at Block 431 Clementi

Previously we reviewed Bangkok J.N Thai food at Food Loft at 431. Today we are back at the same coffeeshop to try the tze char stall Shi Zi Wei Seafood since I was craving for salted egg pork ribs.

We didn't have very high expectations of this stall as there weren't many customers most of the time when we passed by the coffeeshop. With no expectations in mind, we ordered 3 dishes with plain rice. The dishes were:

1. Salted egg pork ribs ($13) - for $13, the portion was generous. There was at least 7 pcs of tender pork ribs fried so fragrantly with the salted egg sauce. Yummy with 2 thumbs up! Rating: 4.2/5


2. Hotplate tofu ($7) - this is one of the cheapest hotplate tofu we had. The usual hotplate tofu usually cost about $10 but this dish at $7 was very value for money. It was very well done and with the slight tinge of spiciness added flavor and kick to it. Rating: 4/5




3. Stir fry nai bai ($8) - fragrantly fried nai bai with wolfberries and chunks of garlic. We could taste the shaoxing wine used to fry the vegetable. Thumbs up too! Rating: 4.2/5


Almond longan pudding was served as complimentary dessert and was smooth and delicious as well. 


Shi Zi Wei Seafood is definitely a hidden gem at this coffeshop in Clementi and we will be back to try their other dishes when we have tze char craving again.


A summery of the items ordered:
Salted egg pork ribs
Hotplate tofu
Stir fry nai bai


My Overall Ratings:
Food: 4.2/5
Price: 4.2/5
Service: 3.8/5
Ambience: 3/5

You can locate them here:
Shi Zi Wei Seafood (食之味海鲜）at Food Loft
431 Clementi Ave 3, #01-296, Singapore 120431

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