Charly T's @ NOMU, Singapore

As an avid globetrotter and food enthusiast, the owner nicknamed none other than Charly, embarked on an adventurous journey across the continents while gathering innovative food ideas and concepts. Located at NOMU and the recent opening of PasarBella (Turf Club)'s and I12 Katong's outlets, Charly T's is yet, a medium to share his inspiration to the masses through food.

It was a last minute decision to have our dinner at Charly T's, as the Groupon voucher that I bought ages ago expired on that day. I was quite reluctant as it was nowhere near my place, however the journey time from Dhoby Ghaut to Charly T's is no more than a 5-minute stroll. Thank God, I didn't really want to waste the $40 worth of vouchers anyway.

Big Eater Seafood Restaurant @ Jurong West, Singapore

Chilli Crab is a popular dish known by many and it is arguably the best local dish right here at its birth place. Listed by CNN Travel at 35th in "World's 50 Most Delcious Food", Chilli crab is with no doubt, a must eat when it comes to travelling in Singapore. Let's just put it this way - You have not truly been to Singapore until you savour the chilli crabs.

 

Located at Jurong West district, Big Eater Seafood could be identified with hundreds of signatures-filled crab shells hanging on the ceiling. Though it sure does look like a nightmare for crabs to end up in, tens and hundreds of crab-lovers throng to this particular seafood restaurant regularly and unite all in the name of this clawed creature.

 

Do not miss out their signature Chilli Crab (seasonal price ~ S$43.00) - whole crab stir-fried in semi-thick, sweet and spicy tomato-based chilli sauce with eggs and ganished with cilantro. Crab claws are the most fleshy and convenient part, hence it is quite the obvious favourite to many and more often than not, served to guest or the elderly. However, the actual fun of eating a crab lies in using the crab cracker and claw out the meat (it might not seem like an appropriate similarity, but it is like how an anteater dig out ants from a tree bark. Oh yuck. I know.) Anyway, the sweet-spicy gravy is best eaten together with white rice, or even better with its sidekick -Deep Fried Buns (S$4.00 for 10), or better known as Chinese mantou.

 

  

Salted Egg Yolk Crab (seasonal price ~ S$43.00) is another prefered way of cooking. The savoury flavour of the salted egg yolk infused with the natural sweet, juicy flesh tends to be difficult to resist. Oh, and if you're lucky enough, you might just get one that is full of delectable crab roes!

 

Besides stir-frying with tomato-chilli and salted egg yolk sauce, other popular flavours include the drier and fragrant black pepper sauce and for the health gurus, how does steamed crabs sound?

 

Crispy Prawn Roll (S$13.50) - fresh prawn paste is wrapped in thin layers of beancurd skin and then deep-fried, is highly recommended. Simple, yet an amazing dish with a subtle crisp. Therefore, we always have this at our table every single time.

 

Deep Fried Chicken (S$12.00) is no less awesome with its juicy flesh hidden under a layer of crispy brown skin. With KFC's chicken getting smaller and standards going downhill, one day I might just switch here to satisfy my chicken cravings instead.

 

Besides its speciality seafood, Big Eater Seafood Restaurant is also well-known for their authentic KL-style Hokkien Mee, Hor Fun and various local dishes. Definitely recommended for family dinners and late-night gatherings.

 

 

 

 

Big Eater Seafood Restaurant (大食家海鲜)

 



Tel: 63970480

 

Opening Hours

Daily: 4pm - 2am

 

964 Jurong West Street 91

#01-342

Table Manners @ Changi City Point, Singapore

You don't usually come by an eatery with a quirky shop name, but when you do, you can't simply walk away without trying it out. After an evening of shopping at the recent computer show at Expo, a few friends and yours truly decided to have our late dinner, or rather supper at Table Manners - a casual American chic bar equipped with sleek, wooden furnitures and clever quotes, well-hidden amidst the outdoor garden of Changi City Point, an addition to the ulu area of the East.

We were immediately seated inside by a service staff, who skipped all the formalities and gave us a friendly "yo bros" with a huge smile, which is a plus point from me. Diners may also opt for al-fresco dining at their bar area or wooden pavilion surrounded by greeneries. 

"The World Is Round, And Manners Aren't Square"
 

Truffle Chicken (S$8.50) was delectably crunchy and flavourful. It was a tad salty, but it would serve as a perfect drinking snack.

Probably my favourite item of the dinner, King's Burger (S$16.00) - a large, juicy medium-done beef patty on caramelized buns with crispy greens, bacon slices and topped up with a good ol' sunny side-up egg. It is served with generous portion of truffle fries and salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

  

One of their speciality - Mary's Little Lamb (S$20.00) is indeed quite a "little" one literally, or maybe Mary has not been feeding her lambs sufficiently. Small it might seems, it was soft and tender to the flesh, and drizzled by light, yet aromatic gravy sauce. Served with mashed potatoes and salad.

Angus Ribeye Steak (S$23.00) grilled to perfection with a pinkish soft center (we had it done medium), was succulent and tender enough to make me salivate at every single bite. Considering the price for this quality, it is well worth it.

The chefs were a little heavy on tobasco sauce on their Jambalaya (S$16.00), seafood and chicken wings cooked in spicy tomato sauce. It is served with a bowl of pilaf rice (which honestly, is a better dish in itself.) One of my friends, Chang Sun added, "it is decent, but not worth the money."

Besides ala-carte menu, diners can mix-and-match their lunch sets and drinks to their own preferences, as well. How cool is that? Table Manners in general, is definitely a great place to chill out with your friends over the weekend, what's more is that most of the food items are reasonably priced, so you won't have to worry burning much of a hole in your pocket.

Table Manners

Tel: 6604 7669

Opening Hours
1130 morning till late

5 Changi Business Park
#01-68/69
Changi City Point - The Oasis

Wong Ah Wah Grilled Chicken Wings @ Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur

Just last week, yours truly and girlfriend's family travelled to Kuala Lumpur for a short holiday. We were supposed to head to Petaling Street, but was told that it closes at about 10pm. Peiyi's brother-in-law, Mark then suggested that we have our late dinner at one of the best food streets in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Jalan Alor instead.

Barbeque shrimps and lobsters, satays - all the fresh seafood, local eats and what's not, greeted us upon stepping into Jalan Alor. Hold your appetite and try not to be tempted by the stretch of eateries that lined this food street, for "the best things in life come to those who wait walk furthur".

The answer to the best grilled chicken wings is none other than Wong Ah Wah. Located at the very end of the food street, this chinese restaurant sits conviniently beside two huge carparks, making parking whole lot easier. Diners can either enjoy their meal in the air-conditioned rooms or do it al-fresco.

Look no furthur than the front page of the picture-loaded menu, if you are ordering the famous chicken wings of Jalan Alor (RM2.50 per piece). It's not surprising to see people ordering heaps and tonnes of those wings. They are marinated and grilled patiently over charcoal fire, allowing the sauce to be fully absorbed into the tender and tasteful meat. What's best is the little charred brown skin which brings a scent of burnt fragrance.

Don't tell me that you have been here unless you tried this piece of paradise.

Besides their famed wings, Wong Ah Wah is well-known for it's Roasted Pork Noodles (Price varies from RM11.00 to 30.00) as well. The noodles is cooked just perfect and has a nice bite to it, paired up with the sinful, yet fragrant lard and chunks of roasted pork - this is a must order too.

The service staff recommended us Tofu w/ Salted Fish (price unavailable) - a whole block of silky soft beancurd topped up with sweet sauce and generous portion of salted fish. It is a wonder how simple and inexpensive ingredients paired up to become such a delicacy.

Salted Eggs Fried Crab (seasonal pricing) is the only dish which brought a little disappointment. Their salted egg sauce was very well-done, but it doesn't gets into the crab meat, rendering it rather bland. The crab was a little over-cooked as well. While the meat was supposed to be sweet  soft and succulent paired with the salted egg sauce, this dish has failed to attain that standard.

Overall, a good place for dinner and a must-try if you happened to be in Kuala Lumpur. Although not a healthy one, but again..  just work your guilt off later on! For me, I will definitely be back again for more of those chicken wings and other local eats.

Wong Ah Wah Restaurant

Tel: 603-2144 2463 or 603-2148 3413

Opening Hours
Night to Early Morning

No 1 & 5 & 7
Jalan Alor (off Bukit Bintang)
50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Swee Choon Tim-Sum Restaurant @ Jalan Besar, Singapore

Speaking about dim-sums, my makan buddies are forever raving about Swee Choon, a well-known and established local restaurant which has opened its doors since the 1960s. As a huge dim-sum lover, I knew I would be sorry if I gave this a miss.

Located at the heart of Jalan Besar, in the district of Little India, Swee Choon is well-known for delicacies such as xiao long bao, la mian and various Hong Kong and Shanghai dim-sum. Opened from 6pm to 6am to serve your dim-sum cravings even at the wee hours, be not surprised to see long queues starting at approximately 5.30pm.

One of their signature creations, Swee Choon Mee Suah Kueh (S$2.00 for 2) - deep fried vermicelli cake with crispy brown skin, while the interior is soft and steamy. Although one might think that noodles and cakes are not quite a match, but I dare say that this uniquely scrumptious dish will prove you wrong.

Their Fried Custard Pumpkin (S$1.80 for 2) is decent with a slight tinge of sweetness. However, the skin is too thick and starchy for my liking.

The chicken feet (S$2.20) was purely disappointing. Chicken feet are supposed to be chewy in texture because of the tendons and skin, but what they served here is bland, dry and has zero bite to it.

The classic Siew Mai (S$1.80 for 2) is slightly longer than standard and tasted decent, the meat is a little  over-minced, resulting in the lack of different textures. I prefer the ones at 126 Eating House much more.

Their Portugese Egg Tarts (S$2.60 for 2) are one of the better ones out there. The crust is nicely baked and flaky, the egg filling is soft with just the right amount of sweetness.

My favourite is their Red Bean Paste Pancake (S$4.80) - sweet red bean paste enclosed in a thin layer of crispy skin. Trust me when I say the crunch is loud and how I wished they'd serve a scoop of good chocolate ice cream with this.

Another must-try is their signature Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun also known as "Liu Sha Bao" (S$3.00 for 3). The rich sweet custard explodes when you sink your teeth in it. The saltiness of the yolk and sweetness of the custard complemented each other, making this one of their winning dishes.

Another of their speciality, Swee Choon Big Pau (S$1.60) is another winner. Big fluffy chinese bun filled with minced pork, a piece of chicken, egg and half a shitake mushroom. Best to eat it while it's hot.

And of course, what we came for - Shanghai Xiao Long Bao (S$3.80 for 4). The skin has the right thickness (although it sticks a little) and the sufficient broth was awesome. Definitely one of the better ones you can find in Singapore.

We also ordered the Sichuan Chilly Oil Wanton La Mian (*S$4.80). The noodles were a tad too starchy for usual la mian, but the wanton is good.

 

Lastly, we had the Fried Hor Fun w/ Shrimp in Creamy Egg Sauce (*S$4.80). Delicious dish with fresh succulent shrimps in an abundance of creamy sauce (just look at that eggy goodness!)

Overall, Swee Choon proved to be worthy of a dim-sum paradise. A great dining place for family gatherings or friends outings. Or if you simply want to have your late-night or early hours dim-sum fix, Swee Choon is the place to head to.

Nomsaurus Tom (me!) with my Cell group leader, Zhongli

From left: Bromance ZR and Brother Tim

Check out my other favourite dim-sum place (126 Eating Place) here.

*Price to be confirmed.

Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant Pte Ltd

Tel: +65 6225 7788

Opening Hours

Wed – Mon: 6pm – 6am

(closed on Tue)

185/187/189/191 Jalan Besar

Queen & Mangosteen @ Vivocity, Singapore

This British-influenced pub surely has an unique name - queen and mangosteen, you might ponder what is the link between those two. There is a rumour that the mangosteen was reputedly Queen Victoria's favourite fruit, and apparently she allegedly offered a reward to anyone who can bring this purple fruit to her. Hence, the clever name, but do not be mistaken for they do not sell any mangosteens (or queens) here.

Located within Vivocity with a spectacular paronomic view of the scenic waterfront and Sentosa, Queen & Mangosteen has one of the best ambience among the lesser atas restaurants. Upon entering, you'll be greeted by huge chalkboards with today's specials and promotions, plush couches, high tables and bench seatings which creates the contemporary British pub setting. It is half air-conditioned and half al-fresco, completed with an ornate island bar that overlooks the beautiful waterfront.

Without futhur ado, we ordered their signature Fresh Mesclun Salad (S$12.00), paired with roasted Roma tomatoes, pear and walnuts, Stilton Blue Cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. I thought that this refreshing appetizer was texture-rich, the sweet crunch of pear and walnuts, the bright crisp of the greens, the sour chewiness from the tomato and cheese, and not to mention that the elements complemented each other as a whole.

Next up, I had Sirloin Steak (S$32.00) completed with thick cut chips, Yorkshire pudding, garden vegetables and served with mushroom pepper sauce. Like always, I had my steak's doneness at medium. It was firm and chewy, but I was disappointed as the meat was drier than expected. (I had to eat with lots of mushroom sauce.) The pudding was slightly crispy with a tad of grease on the exterior and soft inside, it tasted so good.

Peiyi had one of their most acclaimed pub grub, Fish & Chips (S$16.00) served with homemade curry tartare sauce. The fish fillets used were fresh and coated in a light crispy batter, however their tartare sauce was of mediocre standard only. The potato chips were thicker than the usual and has a nice crunch to it.

Queen & Mangosteen also serve quite an extensive menu of alcoholic beverages here, one might want to order some pub grubs to go along with your drink. Perfect for drink buddies.

Overall, the food standard is above average, thumbs-down for value wise, but it definitely scores big on it's picturesque ambience.

Queen & Mangosteen

Tel: +65 6376 9380

Opening Hours

Sun–Thu: 11am – Midnight
Fri–Sat & PH Eve: 11.30am – 1am

1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-106/107
Vivocity

126 Eating House (揾到食) @ Geylang, Singapore‏

Conveniently located at 126 Sims Avenue, this old-style Cantonese restaurant is just a few minutes walk away from Kallang MRT. One of my favourite makan places in Geylang, with more than 70 quality yet affordable dim-sum dishes to choose from, 126 Eating House is a must-try for all dim-sum lovers.

You must try their signature King Siew Mai (S$4.20), four steaming hot mega-dumplings, exploding with succulent prawn, pork and mushrooms. They also comes in smaller bites. Food orgasm, period.

Prawn Dumplings (S$3.20), better known as Har Gau is also a must-try when it comes to dim-sum.  A good Har Gau's wrapping must be thin and translucent, yet be sturdy enough not to break when picked up nor stick to the paper. Wrapped together with the right amount of fillings, this dish clearly demonstrates the chef's skills. Pretty impressive.

Pork Ribs (S$2.50), another one of their classics tasted so good. The meat is well-marinated and tender.

The only dish that gave me a slight disappointment was the Fried Seafood Rolls (S$4.00). It is excessively oily and I have expected the skin to be crispier. The filling was okay though.

Every visit, my father will surely order the Chicken Feet (S$2.50). The sauce which comes with the item achieved a perfect balance of thickness and sweetness and complemented the chicken feet well.

We had their Char Siew Cheong Fun (S$3.50), roasted pork wrapped in rice noodle roll, which came in both steam and fried styles. However, the sauce on the steamed version was a little too salty for my taste.

We ordered some assorted porridge to go with those savoury treats. Their signature Claypot Frog Porridge (S$5.00) is my favourite among the three. The generous amount of frog meat is soft and tender, yet preserving it's springy texture. We also ordered their (from left) Pork Intestine Porridge (S$4.00) and Century Egg Porridge (S$3.00).

Try out their Honey Lemon (S$2.50) with jelly bits too. One drinks it out from a big "take-away" container instead of the usual cups, definitely one of the must tries as well.

Opened 24 hours daily, 126 Eating House is a place not to be missed for your dim-sum fixes.

126 Eating House (揾到食)

Tel: +65 6746 4757

Opening Hours

24 hours

126 Sims Avenue

2AM Dessert Bar @ Holland Village, Singapore

Nestled in one of Singapore's most popular hang-out spot, look no furthur than 2AM Dessert Bar, if you want a romantic late-night dessert with your significant other, or just somewhere to hang-out with your friends.

"This Friday night is still young", I thought. It was after a fulfilling dinner at White Dog's Cafe, and we decided that we still have stomach space for desserts. So we head all the way down to Holland Village to this modern-chic dessert bar.  2AM Dessert Bar was easy-to-miss, sitting at the second level in one of the corner, we definitely had a hard time locating it. Upon entering the dessert bar, we were seated on one of the plush sofa seats. At half past 11, this place is still buzzing with people!

I ordered their White Basil Chocolate (S$17.00), a burst of textures and flavours - it consists of passionfruit  fluff, coconut sorbet, pastilles and sea-grapes (a unique sea-weed, which looks and tastes like tiny fish roes). Although this creative dish is not on the sweeter side, but the combination of all the food elements make it interesting.

Peiyi had their Red Miso Caramel Bavarois (S$15.00), it comes with mustard crumbles and chocolate ice-cream which has an interesting texture. This dish packs a punch on the taste buds - a good mixture of sweet and sour.

For every single dessert, they would suggest a pairing of either a red or white wine. So we decided to have the Manawa Pinot Noir Marlborough (S$19.00) from New Zealand, the recommended pairing for Peiyi's dish. It has a strong sweet fragrance, tasted tangy with a tinge of sourness and leave a persistent flavour that lingers in your mouth. (I am not a wine connoisseur, but that is the best description I can come out with).

The price was startling initially, as I usually pay no more than ten bucks for desserts. But I'd say it was definitely worth the experience, and why not splurge occasionally on desserts?

2AM Dessert Bar

Tel: +65 6291 9727

Opening Hours

Mon–Sat: 6pm – 2am
(Closed on Sun)

21A Lorong Liput

Holland Village

Shokudo @ Cathay Cineleisure, Singapore

 One can never miss out the prominent, cursive "Shokudo" logo when walking pass Cathay Cineleisure. You know, one of those restaurants or cafes where you pass by time and time again, but you never had the chance to try out?

So last Friday night, my dear and I were contemplating what to eat, before we decided to have our virgin experience at this modern Japanese coffee house.

Upon reaching the restaurant, we were promptly greeted and seated by one of the service staff. The cafe has a nice western touch to its interior and location-wise, I would say it is perfect (considering that the escalators are just a few metres away from the entrance).  However, it was surprising that on a Friday night (at approx 8.15pm), the place was only about 30% filled.

Anyway, I ordered the Japanese-style Kinoko Pork Chop (S$14.80), topped up with assorted mushroom sauce, crispy veggies and corn salad. The meat was slightly overcooked, resulting in a tough and "gnawy" interior. The sauce makes up for it, but could definitely do with more mushroom bits and chunks. One thing that was perfect in this dish though, was the corn salad; the cold mashed potato mixed with sweet, crunchy Hokkaido corn was very good.

 

My girl ordered the Grilled Chicken Curry Omu Rice (S$14.80) - the grilled chicken was nothing special, but the short-grained rice cooked with tomato paste and drenched with runny scrambled eggs was  awesome. The dish was also completed with a bowl of typical Japanese curry with assorted vegetables.

Their desserts and square thin-crusted pizza looked appetizing too, not very “wow”-inducing, but I might give this cafe a try again in the future.





Shokudo Japanese Coffee House

Tel: +65 6736 0971

Opening Hours

Sun–Thu: 11.30am – 2.00am
Fri–Sat: 11.30am – 4.00am

 

8 Grange Road

#02-06A

Cathay Cineleisure