Train2eat with Danny Chen

Recommended by a friend... we went on a search for this Korean restaurant in Chinatown. I know of a few Korean restaurant along or near Duxton Road and Maxwell market but certainly, one in the middle of Chinatown was news to me. After going in circles around Temple Street and Smith Street, I decided to call my friend. Apparently it is situated on the next street i.e. Mosque Street. We were there early so the restaurant was empty. One of those typical restaurants in Chinatown. Not very big. Fits about 10 tables inside and they had a few tables outside as well.  We ordered the "Samgyeopsal" - bbq pork loin, "Kimchi jjige" - kimchi spicy soup and "Ojjingeo Bokkeum" - stir fried spicy squid with cold buckwheat noodle.      I found the kimchi spicy soup a tat sour but according to my Korean friend, this was quite good by Korean standards. The bbq pork was "ok" but what was interesting was, besides the usual big slice of onion and garlic, the bbq came ...

I chanced upon this restaurant as I was visiting the Apple centre on AMK St 64. I am not sure if I can call it a german restaurant but it certainly does have the european feel to it. So, what more but to try the pork knuckle. The staff also recommended the grilled chicken and sausage gumbo. The gumbo came with freshly baked bread. This great. How I wish all restaurants freshly bake their bread. Bread out of the oven is a great accompaniment to any dishes.  The gumbo, I thought was rather bland. I normally do not add salt to my food but this time I couldn't resist. I guess maybe, it is to cater to more health conscious customers. So, I won't fault the chef for it. The gumbo I know is made with vegetable and sausage... well that's the american version that I have tasted at least. Adding the grilled chicken makes it quite a complete meal by itself.  The pork knuckle was a good size. We ordered half a knuckle which is enough for two. The chef sliced the knuckle into slices maki...

Shaslik is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Singapore. Call it old, call it ancient, call it what ever you one. To me it is authentic (at least in my opinion), the food is excellent and it is definitely a place to bring guests who are new in town. Especially, if there are kids... they love it when the staff flambés the dessert. Tried and tested.   Only problem is I always end up ordering the same food. My borsch soup as starter, followed by my main, the Shaslik beef fillet and then to top it off, the Baked Alaska for dessert. This time,  I decided to be adventurous and ordered something different. Something recommended by the waitress - Steak a la Russe.    For dessert, we ordered the cherry bliny and orange crepe.     Verdict: I think it paid off to be adventurous this time. The Steak a la Russe was good. The steak itself was done well. It was served on a hotplate and it came with french fries, which was a bonus for me. Even better, the steak came with mushroom sauce... fr...

This is not my first time to Tatsuya. I must say it hasn't change at all... the environment is still the same. The staff will greet you as you enter the restaurant... then every other staff will echo the greeting. I like it. It just makes you feel important, as a customer. This time I ordered the Udon set. Needed something soupy. Dehydrated from too much drinking yesterday nite. So, I believe soup will make me feel better. If not for real, at least psychologically.  As I remembered it, Tatsuya, was a bit pricey. The salmon sashimi and uni sushi were S$25 and S$24 respectively. I guess we are paying for the quality. Nothing beats fresh sashimi.   Tatsuya is still one of my favourite Japanese restaurant. Small, cosy and quality. I give it 4 cilipadi.

I can't complaint despite the one hour walk to get to the Motorsport hospitality suite. Half an hour to get to Conrad Centennial and half an hour to get to the suite (including 10 minutes getting lost around the track due to the poor signage).   The suite was situated directly opposite the pit. Good view of the cars coming out of the pit lane and onto the track. We had to take a lift up to the suite which was on the third level. It was cosy. Big enough for about 8 tables. We had to swipe our tag to sign-in and then we were shown to our designated table and seat, which was marked by a card showing our name displayed on a miniature silver race car.  It was mainly western buffet but they also served laksa, which I gave a miss because it seemed rather oily. The buffet spread consisted of 3 choices of salad i.e. a duck salad, greek salad and another which I can't remember now. There was roast beef, pasta, grilled vegetable, roast potatoes etc. Good selection of bread and cheese. Any...

Yahoo... I am going to the Singapore Night Race. Actually, I am going for the Friday practice race only but I rather watch the real race on tele ; P Anyway, here's pictures of my goodies wallet with tickets and entry pass.

Dinner at Jumbo (Dempsey Hills)   It was my colleagues' farewell dinner. Two of them. No, they are not leaving the company. Just moving to another department. Any cause for celebration, is a good cause. Well, nevertheless, change is always good they say. Or at least, it is the only constant. As for the food... I went in rather skeptical. You know... this... this... reputable seafood restaurants. The ones that you bring every and any other guest in town to. The food is normally just "ok" and really not anything to shout about. Since this was a farewell. we ordered a lot. Anyway, my boss is paying. Why not... we ordered the pumpkin conpoy with shrimp soup, grilled lamb with pepper sauce, shitake mushroom with egg beancurd, geoduck clam stir fry a ala kum-heong, chilly and pepper crab.       Well, let me tell you what I think. The pumpkin conpoy was great. Good start to the meal. It doesn't really taste like pumpkin, perhaps because of the infusion with the seafood flavo...

Had lunch at Lao Beijing (Novena Square) Was a bit late for lunch and a bit too early for the hi-tea. So, settled for a la carte lunch. Anyway, the beef noodle was nice. Not too spicy and yet, the broth was very tasty. I like the "la mein" noodle... nice texture and perfectly "al dente". The "seow long pau" was a bit disappointing though. The meat is somehow quite tasteless... I still prefer the "Ding Tai Fung" dumplings. I know some people may disagree with me on that.    Also ordered the Mao braised pork with "man tou",  trademark  dish. Unfortunately, the dish was really disappointing. The pork was fried before braising... so the meat and the skin becomes a bit too tough for my liking. The sauce was plum sauce which could mean that the pork was cooked separately and the sauce was just poured over. Hence, you can't really taste the flavor from the pork. If braised well, the pork should be really soft and full of flavor... the sauc...

Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah 20 Sep 08 (KL PAC) If you didn't know, Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah is in its second run after the overwhelming success last year. Hence, the "lagi lah"... aiyo! Anyway, this time the producers decided to bring it on a nationwide tour. First up KL, then Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru and kota Kinabalu.  The cast mainly consisting of new members with the exception of Ho Soon Yoon from the "Broken Bridges" fame and Glamourique Arshad. Last year, the likes of Joanne Kam, Malaysia's favourite diva, comedian Douglas Lim and soprano Doreen Tang were part of this musical spoofing ensemble but this time, it is such a delight to have Mia Palencia, our Malaysian jazz queen, Tria Aziz and Sham Sunder Binwani join the cast. The other newcomers Tabitha Kong, Zeqthy Nattrah, Janet Lee, Sarah Low and Keith Yew did well to bring the cohesiveness and energy that brought the house down laughing and cheering.  What is most impressive is that these performer...

Day 4, Sep 16 - Lunch (Bulgogi) My flight was at 4pm. Had to be at the Incheon airport by 2pm latest. My friend, Ryan was kind enough to take half day leave to pick me up and send me to the airport. My morning was spend blogging.  Anyway, we reached the airport before 2pm. Checked in my luggage and went for lunch at a korean restaurant on the 2nd floor of the departure hall. I ordered the bulgogi while Ryan ordered the dry buckwheat noodle. The bulgogi was rather average. Ryan's cold noodle was not bad. Apparently, the restaurant is reputable for good cold noodle.   The flight back felt shorter. Dunno why... I had a great trip. Hope to be back in Seoul soon.

Day 3, Sep 15 - Lunch (Dumplings) We had lunch at around 3:00pm. I think I did well. I admit that I was tipsy but not completely drunk last night or should I say earlier this morning. Anyway, I had a fantastic time. I remember we had breakfast... some pork stew with rice and the whole works. Extremely heavy for breakfast but I suppose you need to rejuvenate and replenish your energy after the marathon night out. I vaguely remember eating, hence probably why I didn't take any photos. What I remembered clearly was I had a major cramp on my legs while sitting cross-legged for breakfast. Most korean restaurants are like that i.e. tatami mats and low tables. Some newer ones will have the a recess for leg room but so far, half the restaurants we went to we had to sit on the tatami floor. It took me two rounds around the block to get rid of the cramps.  Lunch was at Insadong. It was extremely busy. Public holiday coupled with regular tourist crowd. It was very nice day. Good weather. ...

Day 2 Sep 14 - Lunch (Beef hotplate, beef soup and mortar rice) Of course, we didn't wake up till past noon after such a fulfilling night out. Anyway, by the time we were all ready it was lunch time. Time for something nutritious and soupy... "Modeum  suyuk chongol" - mixed meat hotplate; Besides slices of lean beef meat, it comes with some ribs, tendon, tongue boiled with mushrooms, green pepper, some vegetable that looks like spinach in some delicious beef broth. This was accompanied by beef soup with rice cooked in a mortar  "tolsot seolleongtang". The rice is really cooked on the mortar... so, you have to scrap the rice from the mortar and add into the soup, which already comes with meat, vermicelli, peanuts... add a bit of salt and pepper and you are all set. The most interesting part was... after scraping off the rice, quickly pour some cold water into the mortar... what's left of the rice or crust will be "dessert"... unfortunately, I wa...