Lim soup @ Bukit Merah

Lim Soup
Block 161 Bukit Merah Central, Dong Fong Fatt coffee shop
Open: 11.30am to 8pm or till sold out (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays and public holidays

I've been staying at redhill for the longest of time, and I didn't even know this shop opened till I started my new job in the vicinity in June... Apparently, a handful of bloggers as well as online news have been publicizing about how nourishing and awesome their soup are...

Their soup has no MSG, and they always serve a portion of lightly flavoured cabbage with their rice... and you can choose the rice as well, of course brown rice is always better then white rice, keeps you more filled as well... One of their signature soup is their double boiled old coconut chicken soup, and i reckon it is the best, though slightly pricier than the rest of their soups, sweet and light soup with tender chicken meat at $7.50 it was very worth, and honestly my favourite among all the soups that I've tried at their store...

Then they have a few variants of their steamed chicken patties, either with salted egg, with mushrooms, or with salted fish, costing $3.50 on its own, or the storeowner will drain the gravy into your porcelain bowl of rice then place the patty on top for an additional 50cent for white rice and 80cent for brown rice.. I've tried all of their patties and love it, not too salty, sweet and tender...

Definitely a must try! but if you're comparing to those chain food court soup stores or hawker centre stores, of course their price will be 50 cent cheaper, their soups are tasty as well and sometimes you get refills of soup with them... But well at Lim Soup, all I can is, you're paying every cent worth, from their rice to their patties to their no msg soups!

XOXO,

CheryL

136 HK fishhead steamboat @ maxwell

I got to know of this place 4 years ago, when I was working at a job after my polytechnic diploma... Superb awesome food that I don't mind eating every week/month, and so far I've recommended a whole lot of friends there to try their awesome food... though sometimes when they are mad crowded, food takes crazily long to come like 0.5-1hour, which just makes hungry people really mad... other than that, they are quite fast when come to serving food during normal non-peak hours...

The dish that got me hooked, and bf hooked when i brought him there to try their food! Black bean sauce beef horfun, they have a fish variation of this dish if you are not beef-friendly... either way, i love the beef variation, though the sauce maybe a little salty due to the black bean sauce, but then again, without it, the taste would be so much diffrerent! you could suggest for the chef to make it less salty by putting lesser black beans... silky horfun, and tender beef meat, just the perfect match! cost $4 for a 2 person portion...

The next dish that got my bro and me hooked! Claypot mee tai mak! a dish even kids would love! minced meat, and prawns, and kailan veggies chopped finely, this dish is just so awesome... and it was my first to taste such a dish, i don't usually see claypot mee tai mak selling everywhere, cost $4 as well for a 2 person portion... when i say 2 person means 2 ladies la, guys prolly can eat whole bowl by himself...

And the highlights, what they are really famous for, other than their fish steamboat... is their salted egg pork ribs! they best ever that my family and I have eaten... soft and tender, not too salty, crisp outside, tender inside... $8 for their small portion...

Was just trying out their 3 egg spinach, as we never had this before, and it is mediocre, other places served better versions of this and cheaper, there is one store at Mei Chin Hawker centre that sells a small portion at i think $6 or $8? this was $10 i think...

Another new dish we decided to try, as we usually don't order this, usually is just horfun, mee tai mak, salted pork ribs, and a simple vegetable, or slice fish soup... this was meh... prefer the hainan tze char store near alexandra food village hawker...

My family usually not keen on fish head, so we went for the slice fish version, $20 for a small pot that can feed 4, they do refill the soup for you if you request... so its a really huge portion, lotsa yams and vegetables in this soup, and its light and fragrant... 

And if you do look for reviews, I've also personally tried their mongolian beancurd before, and its pretty awesome.. Oh and they have a fried baby crispy squid that i find it nice as well... Another must try is their deep fried oyster egg, its so fluffy I could die, oyster are relatively huge and fresh, goes so well with the sweet and sour chilli sauce they have(pardon me but i did not keep the pictures)..

They are located at;
291 South bridge road (just beside maxwell food centre, the shop house that houses tong heng egg tarts)
Singapore 058836.
Tel: (+65) 9437 8260

XOXO,
CheryL

126 dimsum @ Geylang

Wanted to bring my m'sia girfie to swee choon to try out some awesome dim sum, plus it was air conditioned, end up they were so full, we just decided to hop over to wan dou sek dim sum to try.. imagine 4 girls walking along the streets of geylang, that's just so ew...

The spread that the four of us ordered to share, basically not alot... but prices were pretty up there, on average, every piece of dim sum cost us at least a dollar, which one bamboo long will cost about $4-5... plus the menu look so meh... at 11+ when we went there, there wasn't even much tables occupied, it was practically like 10% store occupancy including us...



Siew Mai was averagely fine..

Didn't touched the Har Gows, cause they are not my kind of thing...

The highlights should be the XLBs if they had done it properly, but then they didn't! So it tasted like the mediocre steam dumplings, no soup one lor, so dry..

Then this was the highlights! Signature Beancurd Mango Salad, they made the tofu and it was fried, so it was cripsy on the outside and soft on the inside, with all that mango salad sauce, this was the awesomest, but i think this plate of 4 pieces cost us $6, but ok la, worth every bite, can't hiam..

Then was scammed by this dish, it says steam egg with birdnest... so initially every one thought it was either the birdnest has been incorporated into the egg and steamed together, or they steam the egg then birdnest on top, which is the one that it looks like in the picture, i forgot the price but at least got $3, but the portion is those foodcourt $1 chawanmushi portion, and everyone thought it was supposed to be a dessert, so we expected it to be sweet... to my disgust, it was salty! like =.=, will never order this dish ever again, rather go JB eat my xu liu shan, the birdnest coconut so yummy there... :)

Don't why when i went there on their menu got no liu sha bao, so didn't order :( Anyways, won't come here again, don't even know what the rave was about in the past, either I order wrong dishes, or the dropped their standards, still I rather go my swee choon to eat, no wonder there the queue epic long, and here like hauntedly quiet, almost thought we went wrong location... If you guys wanna try, they are located at;

126 Eating House  

126, Sims Avenue. （Between Geylang Lorong 15 & 17)Tel: 67464757/67454869Open 24 hours daily, close on alternate Tuesday.

XOXO,

CheryL

Special Shanghai Timsum @ Maxwell

Hi guys! Today im here to blog about my childhood favourite since i had them at margaret drive hawker centre in my primary school days... Till i went to the secondary school that was situated near this hawker.. Up till now when its demolished and has moved to maxwell food centre... They never once fail to disappoint me in terms of taste..

Back then at the old hawker, they always serve you refillable hot tea, for just the price of 10cent for that styrofoam cup that you use... And guoties were larger than... Now its smaller, but nonetheless quality and price pretty much same! All they ever serve and have ever served are their fried/steam dumplings, fried nian gao, hor fun, beijing noodles and sweet and sour soup...

Tada! The ever famous guo tie, $4 for 8 pcs and $5 for 10pcs, u do the math if you guys wanna order more...

Look at the yummy meat juicyness, and crispy exterior... Taste never once changed till now..

And if you do want a healthier version, you guys can always get the steamed ones at the same price... Direct translated from its chinese name, they call it "scholar dumplings"... I guess they meant to give you gd luck before ur big exams... XD same juicyness same taste, i usually just doused the dumplings with vinegar and ginger and some of their chilli...

I ate their beijing noodles since young, and it was always $3 for a huge plate that 2 girls can share with heap lots of eggy gravy and generous among of seafood, veggies and meat.. But my bro usually prefers the hor fun version, silky and awesome..

And then i'll sometimes get their sweet and sour soup when im in the mood for it... I reckon same gravy as what they use for the noodles, just with the added vinegar and spicky kick... Though it wasn't spicy at all to me... Same generous portions of seafood and meat, $3 for a huge bowl that can be shared by 2-3 girls... 

That's all for now..

Xoxo,

CheryL

Teochew Porridge 夜上海潮洲粥 @ Bukit Merah

Where to get awesome teochew porridge for any time of your day? These store is open till 5am everyday, tuesdays are their off days though.. My family eats here almost every week since they existed in my neighbourhood vicinity... Featured on tv before for taxi uncles favourite place to eat...

My family's usual spread, they usually don't cause more than $20 for 4 pax, largely dependant on what you order, and if there are more meat than veggies, then they will probably cause much more... Fried fish in black bean sauce is always awesome, sambal long beans & brinjals are normal, so is the beancurd skin... Whats awesome is their own braised peanuts as well as taukwa, so soft and fragrant, and also their irreplaceable must eat stirfry cabbage, my family will always order and extra refill for $1-2... Their salted radish omelette is usually damn salty without the porridge, so just take my advice and order their onion omelette instead...

Sometimes my family variate by ordering their freshly boiled sotongs, and their fishcake which my dad, bro and mum like... As well as their awesomely braised small pig intestines!

Sometimes when we see chilli clams, we order them as well, they are usually quite awesome... Their brocolli taste like their cabbage, so its nice as well..

Mum loves their stingray, i find them ok, but you guys can try as well... There is actually one more dish that I love but you don't see in the photos above, they are famous for their pig's liver dish as well! If you guys like liver, you guys should try! :)

Otherwise if you guys want duck meat to accompany, do get it from the store at the corner of the coffeeshop.. Do note its not the front one that sells green noodles or wanton noodles... Its the one behind it, sold by an old uncle, the portion of meat he gave us was for $4 worth! Super soft and succulent duck meat!

Ye Shang Hai Teochew Porridge (夜上海潮洲粥)

116 Bukit Merah ViewHenderson RoadSingapore 151116

Xoxo,

CheryL

Bornga Korean Restaurant, Hui Lau Shan, Taang Shi Fu @ JB City Square

If you guys do get bored of SG environment and prices, you guys could hop onto the sbs bus at kranji mrt to get into woodlands checkpoint, and crossover to JB for some foodhunt.. I did that a few weeks ago, was kinda late, 12pm then reached kranji, and queue was freaking long, longer than my previous visit..

And if you guys are not that adventurous and prefer to be safe, then i would recommend just staying within the 2 malls just across the JB checkpoint, that way you'll be covered by aircon throughout the day.. I reckon every level at JB citysquare has something to eat, so you can have 3 meals at 3 different places..

First i tried Bornga, well i've tried the one in SG at Star Vista, and well they are pricey cause they are a well known celebrity chef restaurant.. But in JB, the food was almost half the price of SG's and provide better service!

The usual banchans that you will get at most korean restaurants, couldn't resist the endless refills of the braised peanuts and fruits & macaroni salad, i think we refilled those two dishes slightly more than 5 times, buay paiseh one... XD the rest of them were pretty normal..

Ever since i tried the army stew at Seoul Yummy at Bugis Plus, i usually will order this if there is enough people to share with me, as usually the portions are huge! If 2 army guys can finish it, i'm not surprised.. Picture above is before the ingredients were boiled, kimchi, spam, sausage, korean rice cake, tofu, minced beef, mushroom, baked beans, leeks, vegetables, glass noodles and instant noodles..

My friend's bibimbap, awesome presentation, and tasted up to standard.. 

And here's the army stew after being cooked and stirred... It was so yummy i finished all the spam and leeks, didn't managed to finished it though, as it was too huge for 2 to share.. Only flaw was that i didnt get to eat the baked beans much, the stew kept boiling, the soft baked beans dissolved into the soup and became a powdery base that sinked to the bottom of the pot...

This was the rubus like plum like sorbet drink that they gave every customer after their meals, the staff were quite auto within this one, once they see you're almost done, they don't even ask u, they just serve it to us.. 

Definitely will eat here again, will never eat in SG anymore after this JB visit..

They are located at:

BornGa Korean Restaurant

JB City Square, Level : 3, Lot : MF-23

Next stop for high tea after some digestive and calorie burning shopping.. Saw that 許留山 is quite popular on reviews, so decided to try how nice it was, below is the picture of their top 10 desserts..

Mango sago was pretty awesome, worth the money for this one..

Look at the awesomely ripe and sweet mango cubes..

This was what my friend ordered, birdnest in coconut milk..

And it was kinda like eating jelly bits in coconut milk, after awhile it gets pretty jelat and filling.. Not advisable to eat this alone, better share with 2-3 people...

This was what I ordered, coconut jelly with a side serve of birdnest in some sweetened milk..

This was awesome, my personal preference though, cause my friend didn't like how the birdnest was in the milk.. Definitely would eat this dessert again, i can finish it all on my own..

And well the joke was this, when we the desserts came to our table, my friend and I mixed up our own orders, so i ended up finishing hers which I didn't really like, and she ended up not finishing mine as she didn't really like it as well, and was sulking throughout.. 

Somehow, JB's version of 白果薏米 abit different.. I don't know if its because hongkong style or malaysia style, but they served it with a hard boiled egg, which was pretty peculiar, as its my first time seeing such way of serving.. Nonetheless, it was a pretty fair dish..

Definitely coming back for the coconut jelly though it costs like SGD$4-5 for a serving.. They are located at:

Hui Lau Shan

JB City Square, Level 3 - J3-20

Next stop for dinner! Taang Shi Fu, another one of the popular restaurants at City Square, apparently famous for their dry mee sua..

Vintage tea china..

This abalone and chicken soup mee sua, i know it looks simple and the ingredients look meagre... But the richness of the broth for this one is just awesome!

My friend ordered this thick mushroom scallop XO broth together with the dried mee sua.. The thick broth was awesomely fragrant and not too salty, that i actually kinda drank it as soup, cause my friend didn't liked it that much, as it was served to her lukewarm, which I was abit disappointed.. Wanted to get the waiter to change a hot one, but my friend doesn't want to.. So..

And the dried abalone meesua dish above is mine! Never had mee sua served in this way before, and this was just awesome, practically can just lick the plate clean.. I think main highlight is at ball of brown stuff served on top, which i'm guessing is deep fried shallots, dried scallops and shrimps.. Cause it was so fragrant, wished they give more of those though..

Ordered chicken feet for the bf, served in a different style than those we get at HK dimsum stored that has red sauce... This one was peppery and bf finished the whole plate.. Im not a fan of feets, but i tried the sauce and honestly love it..

My friends congee, loved the way they serve it, but portion was quite small, pretty silky texture but slightly lacking in flavour.. 

Well, if you are looking for good tasting food, then they are worth a try.. As for service, i was so pissed with their service, not attentive and machiam unwilling to serve us, took me like 3-4times to get them to our table to answer our queries.. Value for money? Honestly, they charge abit high just for those meagre portions of noodles and ingredients, but cause they tasted awesome, it kinda did covered up for that.. 

They are located at:

Taang Shi Fu

JB CIty Square, Level : 4 - Lot J4-21

My friend suggested for us to buy this pretty swissroll, as she tried before and find them quite delicious.. Apparently there is another store in city square that offers the same kind of swissrolls, but my friend tried both and prefer this store's version.. Located right at the level where you enter City Square..

Strawberry one was pretty mediocre, considering i paid for about SGD$5-6 for this one, i don't think it is so awesome that i must buy it the next time i go JB... Other than smoothness and softness of the spongey texture, its all average..

Matcha azuki swissroll, well as long as there is green tea, i sure buy.. This one was mediocre as well, thought there will be like pieces of red bean everywhere in this sponge or even inside the cream.. End up they used red bean paste and roll them into 2 parts of the cake, which i felt was pretty -.-||| my verdict? Not enough green tea powder and red bean needs modification.. 

If you guys still wanna try after my review, they are located at;

Yong Sheng Gift Shop

JB City Square, Level 3 - MF-14

XOXO,

CheryL