Restoran Spoa @ Pasir Puteh, Johor (revisited)

It has been a while since we last went to the kelong for seafood. We had originally wanted to get in and out of the restaurant before dark due to the tricky road conditions. However, due to bad traffic, the sun was already setting as we drove in and I was a little appalled to find deforestation taking place here too! Trees were being chopped down for the wood and the whole road in to the restaurant was in kind of a mess. Haix..

Crimson sky filled the horizon as we drove down to the restaurant. The whole place has a different charm to it at dusk. Though still busy as the restaurant was about 40% filled, the place has a kind of peacefulness that is not explainable in words. I guess you really have to be there to soak in the atmosphere.

We were ushered to the outdoor area this time round, to a corner of the platform built on wooden planks above the sea with a good view of the entire restaurant. With a constant stream of land breeze, dining under the stars, beside the sea is truly an unforgettable experience!

The view from where we were seated.

A fishing rod left behind our table by one of the boss’s friends.

One of the workers carting fish from the kelong to the restaurant.

Our pot of tea and bucket of ice. 

Our food was served not too long after we placed our orders. In order to take better pictures of the food, we had no choice but to use the flash as those without turned out too dark. :P  First came the Bamboo Clams Stir-Fried with Spring Onions (RM10.80). Freshness of the seafood here is somewhat guaranteed since this is a kelong and they fish their own! I usually do not eat shells related food as they tend to have a fishy taste. But the bamboo clams here do not have that taste and not only that, they are clean and sweet too.

A close up of the Bambo clam I had, without the shells of course! J

Next up was the Chilli Crab (RM42 for 700grams). We had asked for a bigger and meatier crab but I think they had run out of bigger ones. Though it looked a small, it was still very meaty, fresh and sweet. The chilli sauce here has curry leaves and hae-bi (dried shrimps) added which gives it a slightly different taste from that in Singapore.

A chilli crab dish will not be complete without these golden brown buns aka man tou (RM4.80 for 6). They are deep fried till crispy on the outside yet maintain the softness and sweetness inside. Eating it with the Chilli Crab sauce is just a wonderful combination.

Prawns are something that we always order when we are here. The prawns are fished out, live, and cooked in whatever method you choose. We racked our brains and finally decided on Steamed Prawns with Egg White (RM33 for 600g), a very simple way of preparation, so that you can taste the freshness/sweetness of the prawns. This dish was actually decided while we were in the car as we were already starving and wanted to order as quickly as possible and EAT! :P It turned out slightly different from what we had in mind as the one we ate in Singapore did not have ginger slices added. Nevertheless, it was still yummy J

There was a wide variety of live fish for us to choose too and since we have already ordered so many dishes, having a big fish was definitely not on my mind. After much deliberation, we decided to opt for the fish recommended by the Boss the last time round. The finest of the flesh was just unforgettable. We do not know the exact name of the fish, just that it had white spots on its body and from what we gathered later, this fish is not reared but caught from the sea. Oops…

As the fish is quite small, the lady decided that we should have 3 fishes (RM27 for 600g). Each fish is about the size of my palm and can easily be finished by one person. I decided on steaming the fish in Teochew Style (with salty plums and vegetables), not too sure if it goes down well with my dinner companions, though one commented that it was a little too sour. For me, I find it just nice as it balances out the entire meal. :)

Other than the man tou 曼头 , this is the only non-seafood dish that we ordered, Sambal Kang Kong (RM8).

We did very well this time round, considering that we ordered a lot and the portions were considered big for 3 pax. We finished all the dishes, even the vegetables!! (My dinner companions are just not fans of veg.. :P)

While we were on the way out of the kelong, we heard on the radio the passing on of the wife of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Kwa Geok Choo. This is one news that you probably would not expect to hear when you are having fun across the causeway. It is with a sadden heart that we take in the news, given the fact that Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew himself was not well and the demise of his wife must have come as a big blow to him. Take care Mr Lee and Rest in Peace Mrs Lee.

Restoran Spoa  合德宝阿期里海鲜

Telok Kabong, Kg Pair Puteh, Johor

Tel: 07-2162798

Rong Guang BBQ Seafood, Island Creamery

~ Been ages since I last update my blog.. Do pardon me for the lack of flow in the below post. ~

We braved the rain to go to Alexander Village (AV) to have Mum's Bday meal. It been years since I last stepped into Alexander Village and this is also one of those rare times that Dad agrees to eat out. His brother told him that there is a good eating place there but not knowing which, we decided on the zhi char stall in AV that was in our thumbs up list based on memory.

This is the only Zhi Char stall with 3 stall fronts in the market. There is no way you can miss them with a signage like that. Orders have to be placed at the stall as they do not come to you. Once the food is ordered, you do not have to wait long for the dishes to be served. This kind of surprises me for I have not seen zhi char stall who dishes out good food at such speed.

As they had no menu for us to browse, we ending up ordering a few standard dishes that came to our mind. 1st up, Sambal Kang Kong ($8). A standard, or kind of default veg to order. LOL.

 

Next is the Hei Zhor ($8).This is not a standard dish but ordered as there was some pictures showing this dish at the stall. I do not know how to translate this into English though but roughly, it should be prawn and  meat paste wrapped in beancurd skin and then deep fried. The actual colour is not as dark as in the pic but as I only had my SE C905 (which still cannot balance out certain colours), have to make do with the quality and colour of the pic. Taste wise, I was a little disappointed at the dish as it seems to have been prepared in advance and slightly warmed up before it was served. It was a little to hard for my liking. 

Next, Chilli Crab (2 for $32). For this stall, they do not have live crabs on display. Only some mini "advertisment" posters with the number of crabs and the price. One for $18 and 2 for $36. Think Dad wanted to have something "lavish" for Mum so he ordered this dish even though he did not see the crabs. Usually, he will want to choose his crabs and if the store does not give us the correct one, he will complain and then boycott the place. This time round, there was no such option. When the crabs were served, they didn't look too appetising as they were quite small. But for $32, there is nothing much you can complain about the size.We concluded that this stall probably uses chilled crabs which explains why the service can be that fast. The sauce is a little tangy but not spicy and again, this dish was not really piping hot as one would expect of the dish from a zhi char stall. The banana leaf underneath was not even slightly burnt.

What is chilli crab without Man Tou, aka Fried Steamed Buns? This bun is not bad. Texture is right. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside but I find it a tad too pricey at $0.80 a piece. 

I guess the only redeeming food is this BBQ Sting Ray ($14-Large). Been ages since we last ate BBQ Sting Ray.The fish was meaty, nicely grilled and the chilli on top complements the fish totally. YUM.... :)

 We also order Bak Kut Teh Soup from the nearby stall.  Bak Kut translates to Pork Rib and Teh actually means tea or in this case, the soup. My sister said that this is the only one she found that had the taste most simliar to the one we like in Malaysia. The pic above shows a bowl of only pork rib and the soup ($5) 

This bowl consists of the various parts of the pig, aka spare parts ($5). There were liver, intestines, stomach, etc in it. I still prefer the taste of the "normal" soup  :P

Authenticate Bak Kut Teh Stall always have You Tiao, aka Fried Fritters ($1) as a side dish. Why? Till this date I still do not know. Maybe it helps to soak up the last bit of the yummy soup?  :P  

On our way home, we make a quick stop at Island Creamery @Serene Centre to buy Chendol Ice Cream. Been thinking about this ice cream since I last ate it. It really taste like the real dessert and since my sister was agreeable to stopping by, bought it to share with my family. :) Everyone likes it too!

What is a birthday without a cake? My sister got my Mum a chocolate cake from Dino House called the Royal Chocolate. It was marketed as a Chocolate Cake that is light and not awfully sweet. It looks good and taste quite nice. The chocolate sponge cake was really light and bouncy.

Side view of the cake.

My slice of cake with chendol ice cream... yummmy.... :D

P2010: Week 1

A round up of what I ate for the 1st week of 2010!

Week 1, Monday: After all the feasting from my trip in HK/Zhu Hai, Xmas and New Year, I decided to start off the 1st working lunch on a very healthy note. We went to the newly opened, 24hr coffeeshop at TPC, Jia Wei 佳味, which used to be occupied by Anne’s Gourmet. Anything new at TPC is always welcome as people who worked here would know, we always run out of ideas as to which coffeeshop to go for lunch. So we were like bees being attracted to honey to the new coffeeshop.

There were long queues of people wanting to try out the new stalls and me being me, went to the only vegetarian stall in the whole of TPC which has the shortest queue. :P

This is not a new stall but relocated due to the renovation of the coffeeshop. I ordered the Vegetarian Kueh Chap not knowing what exactly the ingredients were but knowing that the taste cannot go wrong as they are all made of gluten. :P

My bowl of Kuek Chap came with Dou Por (Fried Dried Bean Curd), Dou Gua (BeanCurd), Zai Er (Fried Bean Curd Skin), eggs and big intestine. This is the 1st time I am eating mocked big intestine. I am really surprised that it looks really like the real one but of course the taste was nowhere near.

Tuesday: We went to the coffeeshop with only 2 stalls – one malay and one laksa/prawn mee stall. This coffeeshop is very near to the main road and is right next to Gate 1. This is probably the only place that you can still buy food at only $2!! Cheap right??? Best of all, it tastes good!! I heard that the 2 uncles have been selling laksa at the coffeeshop for a long time.

Do go early if you want to eat the laksa as they do not prepare a lot. Once the gravy runs out, they call it a day. :)

Wednesday: We back to the same coffeeshop as yesterday. This time, we ordered from the Malay Stall.

Have seen hordes of people eating this dish but it is the first time I am trying it. Business was good and they run out of the proper serving container for the ayam penyet hence ours came on plates. I find that the chicken was a little dry and tough but the sambal chilli that came with it was so devilishly good! Spicy but u just cannot stop dipping into it. :)

Thursday: It was out to Amara Food Court for lunch!

I had the spicy noodles with Xiao Long Bao from the Hong Kong Specialities Stall. This stall is run by a Chinese and all the noodles are made by him on the spot when the order is placed. A value for money set, you get 4 Xiao Long Bao (meat dumplings) with your noodles. You have to eat your xiao long bao quickly before it cools down else all the soup in the dumpling will seep out when you attempt to take the dumpling from the bamboo container.

Friday: Time to eat at my Favourite Zhi Char Stall. For those who do not know, this stall is at the coffeeshop facing the inner carpark at TPC, facing Gate 1. Any dish with Pork Rib is good. Hahaha.. We ordered Black pepper Pork Rib with rice. I think this dish was “created” by me last year as I have not seen anyone eating it there before. It comes with 4 generous pieces of meaty, lean pork rib, some fries and a lot of rice.

The portion is considered big for ladies. :)

Restoran Asli - Malaysia

This is my second visit to Restoran Asli. Thanks to a friend for bringing me there. It is about an hour's journey from my home provided there is no jam at the custom. Love the tranquility of the place, the laidback lifestyle and of course, the freshness of the food. I doubt you can find another place in Singapore where you can just space out, relax and enjoy good food at unbelievable prices.Even Pulau Ubin is too commercialise nowadays.

We went to the Restaurant at a neither here nor there timing and was slightly intimidated when we walked in as the staff were all sitting around at the entrance, resting and waiting for the crowd to arrive. They were literally staring at us and it did make me hesitant in pushing on. I almost wanted to turn and leave. Luckily, i didn't.. hahaha

The boss came very quickly and asked for our order. Not knowing what we wanted, the boss assisted in the ordering by naming us all the items available, by categories. I ended up making the bulk of the order and below were what we ended up with.

Seafood Toufu (RM6). We ordered this the last time too. Seems like a staple to order. Even children love them. The toufu this time round is not as smooth as the last and does not melt in your mouth. I am not sure if it was because we took too long to take photos or the heat of the oil was not high enough to cook the toufu properly (due to us arriving way too early for dinner).

Huang Di Miao (RM6). Decided to order a veg different from our usual. This was quite nicely done. Not too old, not too young and not too gluey (you will know what I mean if you have eaten huang di miao before.)

Baby Sotong (RM8). The baby sotong here is slightly different from what I had in mind. I was expecting to see a plate of dark and crispy baby sotong which are fried to death. Instead, we got a plate of pretty meaty sotong, each about the length of your thumb, lightly dusted with a batter and fried till they were just golden brown. I would  not called them baby any more, maybe "toddler", and if they were any bigger, I'd probably not be able to eat them whole as it woud get too squeamish for me to look at them in the eye. :P

Crab (RM 30.30). Cannot rememeber the exact name of this dish but remembered that it was stir-fried with curry leaves, hay bi (dried shrimps) and belachan. The meat of the crab was very tender and juicy. We decipher that the crab was steam-cooked before it was stir-fried with the remaining ingredients so that the original flavour of the crab will be locked in. Depending on your preference, if you like the flavour of the dried shrimps and belachan to be infused into the crab meat, this may not be for you. I'm ok with this as I get to taste the freshness and sweetness of the crab and at the same time, the fragrance of the hay bi ;)

Deep-fried Man Tou (RM3.20 for 4). What is eating crab without some deep-fried man tou?? I love the man tou here. They were fried to perfection. Golden brown , crispy on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside. Perfect accompaniment to the crab and provides the carb for the meal.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable meal! Good and fresh food, with a nice breeze, near the sea and (almost) under the stars and does not damage your pocket. What more can you ask for? :) As we ate our food, the smell of piping hot food keep whiffing by and we cannot help but let our eyes stray to the variety of food that was served at the other tables. By the time we finished our dinner, the place was almost 80% full. Considered very good business given its remote location.

Over run our timing to leave the place before sunset and took this night shot while enduring mosquitoes bites. The place has an entirely different feel at night. Even more peaceful and beautiful than during the day.

Restoran Asli, Johor Bahru

Photos taken with Nikon D50 (resolution reduced)

Black Pepper Pork Rib @ TPC

This was from the same stall @ TPC as my previous post on the Cheese Pai Gu with Kailan. Running out of ideas for lunch and craving for something spicy, decided to try if the zhi char auntie can take orders for something not on the menu. As the Pork rib is really good and we have tried almost all version that is written on the menu, decided to give them some challenge.

Black pepper with pork rib is a good option. Hot and peppery and meaty.. yum yum.. downside was we have to wait quite a while for this special order. :P

Just look at the pic, do i need to say more? ;)

Photo taken with SE W890i

Cheese Pai Gu with KaiLan

Decided to start logging what are the nice food that I ate during lunch.


This is from a zhi char stall at a coffee shop at Tanjong Pagar Complex. I personally like the food quality of this small zhi char stall relative to the bigger ones in the neighbouring coffee shops as the ingredients are fresher and the service much better although you may have to wait for ages at times during lunch for your food to come..

Pricing is resonable. It cost $4 and you get 4 decent pieces of meaty pork meat with cheese & fries and a big bowl of rice. We added $1 for extra veg to make the meal more complete. Portion is considered big for ladies though.

Photo taken with SE C905