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

Otaru | Le Tao Cheese Cake Lab

5th July 2013.

Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan

Otaru is supposedly known for its pastries and confectionaries as well and there is a cluster of such shops around Sakaimachi. Our tour guide told us that Le Tao chocolates are more popular than Royce chocolates here. Besides chocolates, Le Tao also have a number of shops specializing in cakes to chocolates around Sakaimachi.

My mum and I decided to have cakes at the Le Tao  Cheese Cake Lab (ルタオ チーズケーキ ラボ) Despite its 3.17 rtabelog rating, I though the cheesecakes here are rather decent. We got the Lab Special (840 JPY) which includes two of their signature cheesecakes (Original and Chocolate) and a seasonal cheesecake as well as a cup of coffee.  Their seasonal cheesecake is a Coffee Cheesecake. You would enjoy their cheesecakes if you like a heavier milk flavour and a richer flavour. However, I thought they could be smoother.

Le Tao  Cheese Cake Lab

ルタオ チーズケーキ ラボ

〒047-0027
北海道小樽市堺町6番13号

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.

Black Sheep Cafe | A Re-Visit

10th August 2013
Posted by Xin Li and Mu Yao. Photographs by Mu Yao.
Just about a couple of weeks after the visit to Black Sheep Café, I was back again to try some of the new items on menu and their lunch set menu which cost 26 – 29.50 SGD depending on whether you are getting 2 or 3 courses. Both comes with tea or coffee from Puro (:

Before I move on to the new items, I just got to order the Cheeky Pork on Sauteed Greens and Pear with Orange Glaze (28.50 SGD). It was good, the pork itself was very tender and the wrapped around the tender flesh is a crispy (but rather fatty) pork skin. Together with the orange glaze, it was really good.

Mu Yao:
Had nothing to say other than the fact that I'm a sucker for savoury and sweet things mixed together. The sweetness of the orange glaze was saccharine enough to balance the rich savoury taste of the pork, which is brilliant.

The set lunch menu was too heavy on the palate in my opinion, both starters, the Goat Cheese Salad and the Mushroom Soup (originally asparagus but it ran out so it was changed to mushroom) were rather quite heavy in terms of flavour and texture.

Mu Yao:
I loved the Goat Cheese Salad as a starter because I am quite a sucker for cheeses. The rich, heady creaminess of the goat cheese arrested me with a slight smokiness, complemented wonderfully with the tart tomatoes and the mesclun salad. The walnuts were a lovely touch as well, sealing in all that dairy creamy goodness with a smoky nutty taste and texture.

For the choice of mains, you could opt for the Duck Confit Crepe, a cream-based pasta or the beef fillet which are again heavy dishes in my opinion. All of my friends had the Duck Confit Crepe which proved to be underwhelming in the sense that the dish doesn’t do justice to the actual duck confit that Chef Ratha serves, the duck here was not as tender and while the mushroom cream sauce was pretty good, the dish gets monotonous towards the end. The addition of relish and cherry tomatoes helps to compensate for that but more variation in textures could have helped.

Mu Yao:
What I really appreciated was the sweet and spicy cherry tomato/pepper relish by the side, which broke the monotonous creaminess of the sauce. It was very uniform, and got a bit sick of it after eating everything, and I would have appreciated more flavours enticing my mouth. It was pretty underwhelming, and the heavy sauce sort of drowned out the actual taste of the duck itself. While it wasn't dry, it was slightly sinewy as well. I definitely recommend his mains, which I think, are much better.

In the original lunch set menu, the dessert was supposed to be a Crème Brulee, another heavy dessert. Thankfully we were able to request for a change to a Pear Crumble beforehand because one of my friends was a fan of his crumble dessert the last time we had a celebration at Black Sheep Café. Thankfully the desserts left a good overall impression, my friends enjoyed their Pear Crumble with Rum and Raisin Ice Cream a lot.

Mu Yao:
This dessert was a hit because of the slightly over-ripe pears inside that made the difference — a creamy sweetness and tenderness that melted into the rest of the crumble so well. I appreciated the wonderful fruits and that provided nice flavour contrasts, which are always a good thing.

For me, I had the Chocolate Boudini (9.50 SGD). Both Mu Yao and I think it is supposed to be “boudin” which means “pudding”. This dessert is probably Chef Ratha’s re-worked Flourless Chocolate Tart. It is like a lava cake embedded with grilled bananas and berries, topped off with a scoop of quality rum and raisin ice cream. I enjoyed it a lot. The fruits really help to balance the rich chocolate content in the dessert. Chef Ratha is still working to improve on this chocolate gem.

Overall, Black Sheep Café is still settling into its new haven at Thomson V, while the ambiance has been great and the food was pretty delicious, there are still things to iron out such as the set lunch menu which Chef Ratha is aware of . As of now, he is working to roll out a new set lunch menu in the near future.

Black Sheep Café
Thomson V, Basement 1
11 Sin Ming Road
Singapore 575629