Penang Food with George of Georgetown

30th August 2013.
Penang food seems to be everywhere now in Singapore. You have seen 10 at Claymore, Upper Boon Keng Road and Spice Brasserie…from the high-end to the hawker centre, Penang cuisine is readily available (for a premium of course when compared to 4 RM in Penang).

After reading about George of Georgetown on Ho Chiak, I am delighted to know that there is one such eatery just next to my school at West Coast Plaza and one Friday, my mum and aunts decided to drop by for dinner. The sight of empty tables worried us but the food spoke for itself.

The Penang Char Kway Teow (7.90 SGD) was decent, quite close to the actual thing in Penang. However, my aunt felt that it lacked the wok hei flavour and a quite oily which I agree. Nonetheless, it was still an enjoyable plate of char kway teow.

I also tried the Assam Laksa (7.90 SGD) after falling in love with it at Spice Brasserie. The Assam Laksa here is not as sweet but very fragrant. My normally picky aunt enjoyed the flavourful, sour and spicy broth which was made with mackerel. The laksa came topped with torch ginger flower, prawn paste, julienned cucumber, mint leaves, onions and pineapples. Not bad at all!

Out of curiosity, I also ordered the Cai Boey, a spicy vegetable stew with pork.

Their desserts are worth trying as well. The Penang Ice Kachang is pretty much like the actual thing we had in Penang, but still not my cup of tea.

My favourite dessert however would be their Chendol which was one of the best I had thus far with the right ratio of gula melaka and coconut milk. Their green jelly noodles was different, not the firm, rubbery ones I had and their red beans (in both desserts) was big and sweet.

While George at Georgetown might not be the cheapest place to enjoy Penang Char Kway Teow (partly because it is located in a mall), the food here is honestly not bad. If West Coast Plaza is too far, they do delivery too.

George of Georgetown
154 West Coast Road
#02-25/26
Singapore 127371

Last order at 9.30 PM

Zsofi Tapas and Bar

26th July 2013.
There’s a tapas craze going on in Singapore. Not really among Singaporeans but restaurateurs. Month after month you hear about new tapas bars/bistros, and it’s becoming a cliché to start off an article along the line of “tapas bars are sprouting everywhere”.

Zsofi has been around before the hype though. They’ve been around as a tapas bar, dishing out free tapas with any purchase of booze (yay free food!). Now they are venturing into the bistro scene, offering home-style Spanish food alongside the extensive tapas menu.

Though the chefs are Singaporeans, the restaurant stays faithful to the Spanish food culture, while toning down the flavours a little to appeal to both locals and Spaniards.

Trudging through the late afternoon heat in Little India, we reached Zsofi parched. A glass of Sangria cooled us down, ready for the heat of the first dish.

We kicked off the dinner with Pimiento de Padrón, Spanish Padrón peppers (each with a slightly different level of heat) sprinkled with sea salt flakes. Fortunately for us, none was too much to take. Or maybe we just have a high capsaicin tolerance.

The Pan con Tomate is served in an interesting, hands-on manner. Instead of serving chopped marinaded tomatoes on toasts (a la bruschetta), Zsofi leaves cloves of fresh garlic and 2-halves of tomato in the basket of toasts. Before you eat, rub some garlic and tomato on your toast. The full, pungent flavour of garlic stands out easily, so go easy on it.

Though the octopus slices of the Pulpo a la Gallega (boiled octopus served on boiled potatoes, with a dash of paprika) wasn’t ideally springy (I remember hearing it was intended this way), but the natural flavours of the slimy sea creature was retained. I wish the slices were thicker though.

The variety of seafood that comes in the Combinado Mixta Marisco a la plancha is as good as having the sea in a platter. All the quintessential seafood items are in, and you can smell them before they arrive at your table. Apart from the presence of lobster, the dish was simply an honest seafood platter.

It was surprising to learn that the pork selected for Secreto Ibérico is marbled, because it certainly felt tough and dry. That’s all.

Duck and, more importantly, French comes to mind when it comes to confit. Imagine my bewilderment when Pollo was introduced as a chicken confit. The boss quickly explained that this dish was a result of fierce competition between tapas bars in Spain, and the need to innovate and differentiate. 

For dessert, we had Churros con chocolate. Unfortunately, the sticks disintegrated even before I could dip it into the chocolate sauce. The outside were crumbly more than crunchy, and the inside flaky more than pillowy. In the end, I had to deploy a fork just so that I could smother the fragile churros in chocolate sauce.

Zsofi is definitely not new in the tapas scene in Singapore, which is why personally I had expected more from them. Then again, the bistro side is still relatively new, so I believe they are in the midst of ironing out the kinks. Decent place to hang out with friends, but a tad over-priced for what it’s worth.

Thank You Yong En from Orbital Group Asia and Zsofi Tapsa and Bar for the invite!

Zsofi Tapas and Bar
68 Dunlop Street
Singapore 209396

Back to Dezato

14th August 2013.
A couple of weeks ago, I visited Marina East where the public golf course is for a site visit. It is kind of amazing that all these lands beyond Tanjong Rhu used to be part of the sea only about 30-40 years ago and Tanjong Rhu used to be like the clan jetties in Penang with various shipyards up till the 1990s. Today, one probably wouldn’t know until you do a search of Tanjong Rhu on PICAS.

I walked from Marina East gardens, dropping by the public golf course then walked to Marina Bay Sands and the Gardens by the Bay via the Marina Barrage.

Saw some kids on an excursion at Marina Barrage.

The site visit ended earlier (partly because of the heavy downpour) and it was about lunch time so I decided to drop by an old favourite, Dezato at Boat Quay. The sad thing is the prices here are no longer nett prices and consistency had been an issue during previous visits.



Fortunately, my special lunch set of Gyuniku Tendon pretty good, the tempura was just nice. The ebi tempura for example was succulent with a light crispy batter seasoned with tempura sauce. The beef slices were tasty too. The whole lunch set cost about 17.50 after taxes.

Dezato Desserts and Dining

20 Lorong Telok

Singapore 049032

Old School Delights | Just the Cake Please?

8th August 2013.
Hari Raya Puasa.
Posted by Xin Li. Photographs by Mu Yao.
Despite my friend’s less than satisfactory experience at Old School Delights, I decided to give it another try partly because Mu Yao and Calvin were drawn to its nostalgic atmosphere.

Upon deeper observation, we realized the theme got lost somewhere when things that seemed “nostalgic” to them doesn’t relate to us like the furniture for example. However we still enjoy playing erasers and snake & ladders while waiting for our food.

The atmosphere however, did little to redeem the disappointing Chendol (4.50 SGD) or the overpriced and rather average Otak Otak (2.50 SGD). The Otak Otak tasted like an average spicy fish cake which lacked the smoky charcoal grill flavour as well. I have tasted better otak otak at a fraction of the price.

For drinks, the Bandung Dinosauress (4.90 SGD) and Teh-Chino (4.50 SGD) didn’t fare well either. Personally, I think the Teh-Cino was too bland.

Nonetheless, the saving grace on the menu (besides the Laksa from the previous visit) was the Butter Pound Cake which was smooth and rich with buttery fragrance. However, priced at 4.50 SGD a slice, it is arguably on the pricey side.

Overall, Old School Delights have more misses than hits. I remember Old School Delights as a café dedicated to serving good old local dishes by papa and mama. However, I think over the years it has got lost in its old school theme and forgetting about the food.

Old School Delights
215 Upper Thomson Rd
Singapore 574408

Closed on Mondays.

Bistro @ Changi | Through Mu Yao's Lens

29th July 2013. 

Posted by Xin Li. Photographs by Mu Yao

A few days ago, I posted about Bistro@Changi. Mu Yao and another friend were with me too and here's Mu Yao's perspective!

Mushroom soup. Yum.

Satay! Not too bad, quite like this.

 Lamb. Was the best dish of the day.

A wonderful dinner at Bistro@Changi.

Bistro@Changi

260 Nicoll Drive

Changi Beach Carpark 1

Singapore 498991

Operating Hours

Mon - Thurs             12pm - 11pm

Fri, Sat                   12pm - 1am

Sun                       10am - 11pm

How to Get There:

Bus Services : - 89, 19, 9

Alight at Changi Beach CP 2 Bus Stop.

Mata Thai | Affordable Thai Food

28th July 2013

Mata Thai is located near the CPF Building at Bishan. It is my third time visiting this neighbourhood Thai restaurant and I always find the food to be okay. Their strength seemed to lie in their main courses and for a Thai restaurant, I am convinced they can’t do Thai desserts.

It is my first time trying their Fish Head Curry which was recommended by my sister and brother-in-law and although I am not sure how Thai is this dish. That doesn’t matter because this is some good stuff. The curry was really good together with their white rice. My gripe with this dish however is the fish. The flesh was a bit chalky which could be a sign of frozen fish. Then again, maybe it is just the kind of fish they use. I am happy with the curry.

I wanted to order Phad Thai but in some confusion it ended up as Tang Hoon with Prawns (6.00 SGD). They are very generous with the prawns. The stir-fried glass noodles was decent too.

Desserts were a let-down. The Tapioca was tasteless and the Mango Sticky Rice just didn’t make the cut with its dried out glutinous rice and slices of sour mango. Overall, I think I would come back again for the main courses and skip the desserts. The prices are wallet-friendly here too. The total bill was about 10-15 per pax with drinks, rice, desserts and main courses included.

Mata Thai

#01-390, Blk 508 

Bishan Street 11