Eng’s East Village – The Best Claypot Rice

Traditional Claypot Rice

Eng’s Char SiewWantan Mee at East Village is the first outlet outside their main shop in Tanjong Katong area. It is also a special outlet, where you can enjoy wantan mee and traditional claypot rice at the same time.

A Story of Claypot Rice

While Eng’s Char Siew Wantan Mee does not require further introduction (Read my review here), the Traditional Claypot Rice that is intriguing. The head chef in charge for the Traditional Claypot Rice is Ah Ching, who was the former head chef of Geylang Claypot Rice for 20 years before he decided to open his own shop. After a few ventures, he subsequently manages to secure the franchise of Eng’s Char Siew Wantan Mee and served his signature claypot rice under Eng’s brand at East Village.

Claypot Rice ($7 for Small – 1 pax/ $13 for Medium – 2 pax / $23 for Large – 4 pax). As the rice is cooked from scratch upon order, you can expect 20 to 30 minutes wait, depending on the crowd. Ingredients include old grains, chicken, lap cheong, salted fish and vegetable.

Claypot Rice - Large

The service staff will bring the claypot to your table. He / She will ask you how much dark sauce you want? I suggest start with normal, so you can add it later if it is not enough. The service staff then mixed the rice and the ingredients for you. I am glad that the mixing is done by the service staff, this will ensure the claypot rice is mixed evenly and consistent all the time.

Claypot Rice - Being Mix

The fragrant aroma of the claypot rice is just irresistible. The al-dente rice is coated evenly with sweet dark soy sauce is crunchy. The chicken has a silky exterior, followed with juicy and succulent flesh. Lap cheong and salted fish provided the OMPH, or umami flavour that elevate this classic. Yum Yum!

Claypot Rice - Ready to Eat

For claypot rice connoisseur, you will know the burnt part at the bottom is the best. On top of the solid flavour above, you will get the signature crispy and smoky flavour. This is one of the best Claypot Rice in Singapore. 

How is the wantan mee? We find the wantan mee is on par or slightly better compare to the original outlet in Tanjong Katong. The wantan mee ($4.50 for regular / $5.50 for large) has a nice bouncy egg noodle taste. They are very generous with the pork oil that delivers the OMPH factor in the noodle plus keeping the noodle loose and not sticking with each other.

Dry Wantan Mee - Regular

I like the char siew here because it is fatty, with a crisp exterior that complements the noodle nicely. For the dry version, the wantan is served in the soup. They may be small; however, it delivers a solid pork flavour. LD like the Signature Super Spicy chilli sauce here, as the spiciness and flavour are well balanced.

Dry Wantan Mee - Regular

The Wantan

Don’t forget to get or ask for their pork lard. Who can say no to this!!

The Chillis and Pork Lard

For other side dishes, we tried their Fried Wantan ($4 for 12 pcs, $5 for 16 pcs), Prawn Paste Chicken ($8 for small, $12 for 9 pcs), Stir-fried sweet potato leaves ($7 for small, $9 for large) and Soup of the day ($4).

Fried Wantan - 12 pcs

The fried wantan is crispy, crunchy and filled with the marinated minced pork. It is served with mayonnaise, but I usually without dipping into it as the wantan is tasty enough. The prawn paste chicken is aromatic, crispy externally and succulent internally. The prawn paste is a bit timid for me, I like mine more pungent.

 Stir-fried sweet potato leaves

I suggest you skip the Soup of the day. The last time we try it, it tastes watery. Better stick with their wantan soup.

Soup of The Day

The place is packed and easily filled during lunch and dinner time. The tables are line-up sticking to each other and there is no walking space in between the tables, therefore, you need to have a high tolerance and be friendly with your neighbours. Service is friendly, efficient and accommodating. At least the aircon is strong and you won’t sweat even the place is packed.

Overall, one of the best Traditional Claypot Rice in Singapore / the best Traditional Claypot Rice in East of Singapore. I can get Eng’s Char Siew Wantan Mee and Claypot Rice at the same place, I am a happy man. Cheers!!

Menu 1

Menu 2

Menu 3

Food & Drinks: 8.25/10

Value: 8.25/10

Service: 7 /10

Ambiance: 6/10

Budget per Person: $0 - $10; $11 - $25

Eng’s Char Siew Wantan Mee & Claypot Rice

430 Upper Changi Road

#01-09 East Village

Singapore 487048

T: +65 6214 3182

F: https://www.facebook.com/ENGSCharSiewWantanMee/

IG: @Engscharsiewwantanmee

OH: Daily 08.00 – 20.00

King's Laksa Steamboat – Unique Laksa Steamboat [MEDIA INVITE]

King's Laksa Steamboat - Our Spread

King's Laksa Steamboat ('KLS') is a steamboat buffet restaurant renowned for its Signature Laksa soup base. Founded in 2010, KLS has been around for a while and has their own loyal patrons.

King's Laksa Steamboat

Buffet Price

Once seated, you can see a white laminated order sheet, where you can choose some of their specialities. Soup base, finger food, noodles, meat, seafood and dumpling.

The Menu

For the soup base, KLS also offer chicken, herbal and ma-la. We choose their signature dual soup Laksa and chicken. The Laksa soup base is rich, lemak and packs of flavour. You can even see the top grade of dried prawn they use on the bottom of their stock. Simply put, the Laksa soup base is top notch. The chicken soup base is milky, robust with a touch of soothing effect in contrast to the laksa soup base.

Signature Laksa Soup Base (Top) and Chicken

The Premium Dried Prawn in the Laksa soup base

KLS also offer triple soup base for those who want more options. You just have to top up $8.

The Sauces & Condiments

Other than the ingredients mention on the order paper, they have 35 more steamboat ingredients for you to choose from. Check out the pictures below. This part is self-service, including the sauces and garnishes.

Ingredients - Part 1

Ingredients - Part 2

Ingredients - Part 3

The meat is sliced thinly and the portion will depend on the number of people ordering. My personal pick is their pork and sliced mutton because of their fattiness. For healthy diners, they also have chicken breast, beef and lean pork.

Seafood: Cockles, Clams and Prawns
Meat: Lean Pork, Mutton, Chicken and Pork Belly

For the seafood, our personal pick is the prawns and crabs. The prawns are fresh, bouncy and crunchy, while the flower crabs tasted fresh and sweet. Of course, there are cockles that you can choose to have with the laksa soup base, however as it is served with its shell, it becomes messy when you want to scoop the meat out.

Flower Carb, Fish Dumpling and Beef

Ingredients from Self Service section

Another reason that you must visit KLS is their cooked food. Their prawn paste chicken wings really got standard. Well marinated with prawn paste, fried upon order, you sure will get piping hot chicken wings on the table. Taste-wise, it is crispy, aromatic and succulent internally. Even our fellow har cheong gai addict gave her two thumbs up for this. We actually order the har cheong gai a couple of times.

Prawn Paste Chicken - Check out the Size

Fried Tofu - Accidental Order - tasted like fried fermented tofu

The same applies to other cooked food such as Fried Fish Balls, Luncheon Meat, Fried Tofu and Mini Mantou. I enjoy the fried mantou with the solid laksa broth, something that you never try but you can't deny its deliciousness.

Fried Fishballs, Fried Prawn Paste Chicken & Fried Luncheon Meat

Fried Mantou

The rest of the ingredients are as enticing, with such extensive selections I am sure that everyone can find something that they like. Not in the picture are beancurd skin and Nissin instant noodles, that are must-have ingredients in steamboat.

On top of the mention above, the buffet price included free flow of drinks, dessert and ice cream as well.

Free Flow of Drinks

Free Flow of Ice Cream

Ice Cream

Chubby Botak Koala's Creation - Mantou Ice Cream

Dessert - Beancurd Pudding

The décor of this place is bright and spacious. However, as you are eating steamboat in the air-conditioned room, expect to come out a bit smelly.

Part of the dining area

Overall, King's Laksa Steamboat buffet is definitely value for money. Their signature laksa soup base is definitely unique, while most of their ingredients have a certain standard. So if you are looking for a yummy steamboat place, consider King's Laksa Steamboat. Cheers!!

Thank you very much, Ivan Teh @The Running Man and King's Laksa Steamboat Team for the tasting invitation.

Food & Drinks: 7.25/10

Value: 8.5/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 7.25/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50

King's Laksa Steamboat

17 Teck Chye Terrace

Singapore 545724

T: +65 6287 8010

W: https://kinglaksa.com/

F: https://www.facebook.com/kingslaksa/

IG:

OH: Daily 11.00 – 23.00

Price:

Lunch (11.00 – 14.59), Mon – Fri: Adult $21.80++, Child $16.80++

Lunch (11.00 – 14.59), Sat, Sun, Eve PH & PH: Adult $26.80++, Child $16.80++

Dinner (15.00 – 23.00), Daily: Adult $26.80++, Child $16.80++

Dining Duration 120 mins

*Child 6 – 11 years old.

[CLOSED} Burp Kitchen & Bar – Gastropub & Live EPL [MEDIA INVITE]

Burp Kitchen & Bar @ Tanjong Katong

Burp Kitchen & Bar is the second outlet of Burp umbrella brand. I visited their first outlet in Bedok Reservoir and I still like for the wholesome meal that are served there. You can check out the review of the Bedok Reservoir outlet here.

For the Tanjong Katong outlet, the team up the ante on the entertainment factor here. Football lovers (like me), they are showing live EPL matches on wide projector. You can check out the Live matches they are showing on the FB page.

The view of the Bar and Projector screen

[CLOSED] BWB Burger Vs Wings + Bar – Good Burger, Good Wings and Good Fries

BWB – Burger Wings Bar is an American style restaurant serving American bar comfort food. When it was first open in 2014, BWB offered extensive selections on the menu. Currently, the food menu has been trim down to 1 page, while beverages occupied 2 pages. No dessert offered.

Tyson Peanut Butter Burger

LD and I ordered Tyson Peanut Butter Burger ($21.90) and BWB Classic Heavyweight Burger ($19.90). Both are the signature burgers of BWB. The Angus beef patty, bacon, fried egg, cheese and brioche bun form the delicious components of any good burger. Juicy, meaty and succulent patty, with crispy bacon and oozing egg porn is just delicious as it is. Together with the rich and creamy PB, it seems to elevate the burger a notch. Whoever created this mix, the person is definitely a genius. Warning, flavour of this burger can be overwhelming to some people.

Tyson Peanut Butter Burger (half cut)

Wing Zone – Flavor American Buffalo Wings [MEDIA INVITE]

Buffalo Wings is one of the most popular bar food in America. The sports crazy nation just can't get enough of them, it is considered a must-have food during game day or when drinking in the bar. The traditional way of doing Buffalo Wings by deep frying the wings, then tossed with the sauce made from melted butter and hot sauce.

Order Counter with Wheel of Flavor

Wing Zone is one the company that capitalise on the popularity of the Buffalo Wings in US. Although the idea of Wing Zone is to satisfy the hungry students at night, it turn out to be a brilliant franchise. With more than 15 type of sauce / dry rubs to choose from, it is definitely deliver on Flavor (no miss-spelling here, just decided to use the US English). The flavor can be segmented to Traditional Buffalo, Savory Flavors, Dry Rubs, Sweet with No Heat and Sweet & Spicy. The range of spiciness start from zero to level 4, where 4 being nuclear. When the wings or tenders are ready, they are then FuZe with the sauce.

The Flavors

[CLOSED] The RawR Kitchen – Comfort Food Paired with Craft Beef [MEDIA INVITE]

Welcome to RawR Kitchen

The RawR Kitchen is a Microbrewery cum bistro located in the new industrial area of Bukit Batok. This Micro Brewery is the home base for On Tap Fresh Brew Craft Beer, which is known for their English Bitter brew, a heavily hoppy incarnation of an under-appreciated beer style.

Brewing On Tap Craft Beer

Notice from these water taps, oopps, I mean beer taps, Currently, there are 11 different type of craft beer: Root Beer, Seasonal, Wheat Beer, Orange Cider, Cranberry Cider, Brown Ale, Pilsner, English Bitter, Dunkel, India Pale Ale (IPA) and Stout. Alas, it not due to my medication, I will definitely gulp some of those beers. Anyway, for the beer review, check out the review by Ai Ling here.

The Craft Beer Selections

Root Beer (Adult Version) - Ai Ling choice