Sunday, May 28, 2006

Busy week!

This week was a hectic week for me, so no new food post. Can anyone direct me to a place that sells good:

Prawn noodles?

Friday, May 19, 2006

Tracking down Botak Jones...

Working on a reliable lead, my search for Botak Jones lead me down to the bowels of Singapore: Pioneer. In case you have no idea where Pioneer is, it is just next to Tuas, on the western tip of Singapore Island and around 20 years ago it was all sea. It is that ulu (out of the way). So, in contrast to our previous practice of letting visitors of ToC find their way to the recommended stall, we'll bring you there this time round!

According to our sources, Botak Jones can be found in Pioneer Sector 2. But that area is quite big, so where can he be? Thank goodness Botak Jones has techno-savvy followers who divulged his whereabouts in an online forum. It seems that he is at 32 Pioneer Sector 2.

But how to get there? By a bus service apparently. Upon investigating the map at Boon Lay bus terminal, the bus to take is no. 257. Take the bus to stage 17 (look at the EZ link card detector for the stage number) then you would have arrived at Sungei Kadut Eating House.You can also pick up the bus route info on the bus itself to facilitate your exploration!

Just at the corner of the eating house you'll find:



Wah! Finally reached! Trust me, 17 stages on the bus is something only the poor army boys at the nearby Tanjung Gul Camp and devoted foodies can endure! Just kidding. Oh, of course Botak Jones is a western food stall. Didn't I say so in the beginning? I'm no hitman you know. Anyway, that happens to be how I got the lead: someone who goes for reservist in that camp told me. Ok, what am I gonna have? Hmm, a Cajun Chicken please!


Whoa! It looks impressive! Like something out of a restaurant. But for a reasonable price of $6.50, it lives up to what is written on its signboard: DAMN GOOD FOOD AT A DAMN GOOD PRICE. The fries are crispy and showered with spices. Not like those MSG laden Shaker Fries from Mac I assure. There is a healthy (huge) portion of still refridgerator-cold coleslaw. Nice! And the chicken was great! I'm not well versed in western food but the cajun chicken was well seasoned with spices and the meat was not tough or powdery, something which is quite unexpected when one uses breast meat. I could literally taste professionalism in their food.

They also have lotsa other food like sandwiches, burgers and sauages. All the stuff you find in western restaurants can be found here! And judging by their large numbers of ang moh customers, you can guess their food is good! Apart from good food, their service is also excellent! I really enjoyed my trip to this stall.

They also have a website you can visit: http://www.botakjones.com/
They provide delivery in Tuas area, and catering. Check them out! Dun visit them on Sundays though; they are closed. Saturday they work till 5pm. But if you really wan to try their food on Sunday, you can go to their Ang Mo Kio branch (more accessible also lah!):

Yue Hua Food Place
Block 608 Ang Mo Kio Ave. 5

Note: this outlet is closed on Monday!

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Chwee Kueh



Chwee Kueh used to be something that Chinese usually ate for breakfast. But as with many other foods, the voracious Singaporeans manage to convert it into something that is eaten throughout the day. Personally I feel it's rather light, meaning that it feels like more of an appetiser rather than a meal. The sight of this food reminds me of one of the silly little troubles I faced when growing up:

Chwee Kueh actually has a name in Mandarin (chwee kueh is the name in Hokkien dialect). The Mandarin name is Shui Guo, which sounds exactly like Fruit in Mandarin. So when I was young, my teacher always told us to converse in proper Mandarin. So the problem came when I wanted to eat this food. Do I tell the owner I want chwee kueh (Hokkien. Unacceptable) or shui guo (might be mistaken as trying to buy fruit and be laughed at)? So the answer was simple: ask mom to buy it or eat something else. But as time went by and I knew more words, I realised that there's nothing wrong with using dialect. Plus there's no way to avoid it either. Lots of food names are in Hokkien, like char kway teow, hum (cockles), ban jian kueh, or lua and many more. Since I'm such a foodie, I just can't resist all of them. Dang, the need to survive can really change a person. "Boss, one chwee kueh eat here!"

A great stall that sells chwee kueh is a stall located at Jurong West St 52 Food Center, stall no.01-27: Tiong Bahru Jian Bo Shui Kueh. The chwee kueh is exceptional in that the combination of the mild tasting and translucent kueh, the chye poh and aromatic chilli go really well together. The kueh is very soft but not squishy or sticky. The chye poh ( a diced preserved vegetable) is very crunchy and not too salty, unlike some stalls I had patronised. The chilli is not too hot and has special ingredients that make it very aromatic. So can you imagine the oral ecstacy of chewing such a marvellous combination? Why bother to? Just go try it today!

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Long Lunch Break

Hello hello! Sorry for the long break. I had exams and it wasn't really very palatable. Well, life goes on and we all need to eat! Yay!



Whoopee! Nothing like high cholesterol to start the holidays! Eggs, starch and fresh, large oysters perfectly stir fried into a crispy pancake and stacked together to give you this wonderful dish called Hao Jian or Fried Oyster (it's not normally called oyster omelette as that refers to another dish. It's quite complex but if you would treat me to lunch I would love to tell you more!). Eaten together with its partner chilli sauce that is both hot and mildly sour, the resultant flavour and texture can only be described as oishi! ( a term japanese people use when they are eating something especially delicious. For better effect, say it while being goggle eyed and remember to cover your mouth. For a demo, watch more of Japan Hour!)

For a good stall that sells fried oyster, try the one from a stall named Fatty Weng, located in a coffeeshop called Yong Xing noodle house and restaurant at Bukit Batok West Block 156 Market!