Tamoya – The Best Udon in Town

Tamoya is the home of Sanuki Udon, which is characterised with its extremely delicious and super chewy texture. Sanuki Udon is very popular in Japan because it had won TV Champion Best Udon maker in Kagawa Prefecture. The secret of Tamoya udon are: great chewy texture, the golden white broth, hand made side menus and the proud people who serve the udon. This review is based on Little Devil and I's first experience with Tamoya second outlet, in Chinatown Point, Singapore.

Tamoya ordering process is similar to a fast food chain.

At first you decide on the type of udon you want, hot or cold; Regular or Large

Then Proceed to this counter to order.

When you get your udon, choose what toppings you want. (Tempura, sushi, or even rice dish)

When its done, make the payment at the counter and proceed to add free condiments to your udon or toppings. They have wasabi, soya sauce, tonkatsu sauce, spring onions, crumbs, etc.

Condiments1

Condiments 2

Everything here is in self service mode, including returning your bowl at the end.

As this is our first visit and everything looks so yummy. We decided to order 3 regular type of udon. Kake (serve with Golden Broth), Bukkake (serve with thick soya sauce taste), and Zaru (cold). On my first slurp of the udon, I realise the texture of the udon is thick, very springy, resilient and tasty. The clear golden broth and soya broth taste quite robust, complement the udon perfectly. To experience the most springy texture of the udon, you should try the cold (zaru) version. The cooling process make the udon contracted, resulting in 'helping' the udon to be more springy and resilient compare to the hot version. Frankly speaking, I am a more ramen than udon person because it become soggy if it is served hot, however after trying Tamoya udon, it really change my opinions on udon totally. Yummyyyyy!!!

Kake (serve with Golden Broth)

Bukkake (serve with thick soya sauce taste)

Zaru (cold)

For the toppings, we ordered the Fried Chicken ($2), Chikuwa (fish cake) Tempura ($1.50), Kitsune ($1), Prawn Tempura ($2.50) and Shitake Mushroom ($1) to share. The Fried Chicken is huge and crispy. It is well marinated and tasty. The prawn tempura is slitted open and it is quite big. It is well battered and fried to a perfect tempura texture. The same can be said on the shitake and chikuwa. Tamoya ensure the toppings are always fresh and crispy, the chef only fried a little batch of food each time, depending on the demand.

Prawn Tempura & Shitake Mushroom

Fried Chicken , Chikuwa (fish cake) Tempura

We actually bought a riceball to try. However, we were to full after the udon and when we reach home, we left the rice ball in the car overnight. So can't tell how it taste.

Rice Ball

As a gentle reminder, we have to clean up our mess and return the tray to the designated shelves after we complete the meal. Don't you just love the Japanese efficiency. Our MOM must love them dearly for being supportive!!! There is not much of service needed, but the chef and staff is very warm and friendly.

Overall, we totally enjoyed our dining experience here. The udon is just superb. I think if you roll it into a ball, you can use it a squash ball replacement. The food is nice, the price is reasonable and the service is very fast. How I wish my office is nearby Chinatown and it will be my favourite lunch destination. Cheers!!!

Food & Drink: 8.5/10

Value: 8.5/10

Service: 7/10

Ambiance: 7/10

Budget Per Person: $11 - $25

Tamoya
68 Orchard Road

#06-11/12, Plaza Singapura

Singapore 238839

T: +65 6261 6182

W: https://tamoyaudonsg.com/ 
F: https://www.facebook.com/tamoya.sg
IG: @Tamoyasg
Op Hours: Daily 11.15 – 21.30

Previous Location:
133 New Bridge Road
#B1-48/49, Chinatown Point SC
Singapore 059413

177 River Valley Road
#01-32 Liang Court SC
Singapore 179030

Jack's Place – October Monthly Menu Promotion

Jack's Place can be considered as one of the oldest brand of family steak house in Singapore. Through its humble beginning in Sembawang neighbourhood and Killiney Road in the 1970s, Jack's place has grown into a well-known chain family steak house. Nowadays, Jack's Place are under the holdings of JP Pepperdine Group. Although the holding company has diversify its operation to other cuisine, Jack's Place remain main contributor to JP Pepperdine Group.

During the month of October, Executive Chef Herman Tan and his team, came out with Monthly Recommendation menu ranging from smoked salmon salad, beef & chicken sausages, pacific dory fish, and New Zealand Beef Tenderloin.

Smoked & Cured Salmon with Spicy Carrot and Apple Salad is Chubby Botak Koala choice for salad. The apple and carrot are fresh and crunchy, while the mustard dressing bind the fruit salad and cured salmon nicely. Unlike regular smoked salmon that can be very briny, the cured salmon here is very tasty and not salty at all. A nice and refreshing start to the meal.

Smoked & Cured Salmon with Spicy Carrot and Apple Salad

For mains, my first preference is the Chicken Schnitzel. It has a nice crispy breading with juicy tender chicken meat inside. The melted cheese, fresh arugula salad, roasted almond flakes and lemon wedges bring a unique flavour and class to the chicken schnitzel. The creamy and cheese fusilli is the carbo component to complement the meal.

Chicken Schnitzel

Chicken Schnitzel

My next preference are the N.Z. Beef Tenderloin. The cut of the tenderloin is thick and generous, I estimated that the weight is around 300 gram. Grilled to medium rare and covered with paprika and onion glace. Served with the famous Idaho jacked potatoes with sour cream, turkey bacon bits and spring onion with other boiled vegetables on the side. The Steak in thick, juicy and tender. Grilled perfectly to medium rare, the reddish juice from the steak just ooze out when you cut the steak. The potatoes is soft and tasty with the toppings are just excellent. Yummyy!!

N.Z. Beef Tenderloin

Although it seems that Chef tried to focus on the sausages this month, I personally not keen on the sausages. The main ingredients of the sausages is beef and chicken. In all the dishes with sausages that I tried that night, I find that the sausages are too firm and dry. It seems to miss something fatty element to ensure the sausage remain moist and juicy during cooking.

N.Z. Steak & Beef & Chicken Sausage

Jack's Homemade Chicken & Beef Patty in Capers Brown Sauce

Other than those items on promotion, the following are a must try if you are in Jack's Place.

Lobster Bisque. The lobster bisque here is so popular, the recipe is secretly guarded with only a handful of people knowing. Apparently it is prepared and cooked in the central kitchen, then distribute to the outlets to ensure the consistency. (Apologies for no picture)

For desserts, the Ice Cream Profiteroles is my pick. The cream puffs is soft and the vanilla ice cream is not to sweet which is good for the filling of the profiteroles. The chocolate sauce is tasty, however it will be better if I can have more, getting slightly greedy here :)

Ice Cream Profiteroles

Overall, it is good to see Jack's Place continue to evolve and provide Singaporeans with delicious steaks and western food at reasonable price after 40 years in Singapore. The lobster bisque continue to be one of the star dish here. For the sausages, I hope that they will perfect the recipe soon.

Thank you very much to Hungry Go Where and Jack's Place for the invitation for this food tasting.

Food & Drink: 7/10

Value: N/A

Service: N/A

Ambiance: 6.5/10

Jack's Place Restaurant
Block 231 Bain Street
#01-01, Bras Basah Complex
Singapore 180231


Tel: 6338 6634
Website: http://www.jacksplace.com.sg/
Op Hours: Daily 11.00 – 22.30
Regular Menu is available online.
Promotional Menu: http://www.jacksplace.com.sg/promotions/monthly-promotions

Please check the website for other outlets.

Meng Kee Fried Kway Teow – Fulfilling the Cravings

During the recent food cravings episode by Little Devil ('LD'), Char Kway Teow ('CKT') is one of the dish that she really really want to eat.

Seriously, if you are to ask me on where to go for a nice plate of CKT, I will definitely tell you Hill Street CKT @ Hong Lim. However, we are not prepared to queue for at least 30 minutes. So this time around, we decided to ask “Uncle GOOGLE”, Meng Kee Fried Kway Teow was well-recommended by ieatishootipost blog.

For LD & I, a good CKT must have the a solid “Wok Hei” (Breath of the Wok), slightly sweet taste dark soy sauce, smooth coating of the eggs, perfectly cooked cockles and chilli (for LD). To find a perfect plate of CKT in Singapore nowadays is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Located in the corner of Wei Xuan Eating House, Meng Kee Fried Kway Teow is helmed by a 30-ish female Chef. Apparently she is the second generation who inherited the skill from her father, the founder of Meng Kee Fried Kway Teow.

We went on late Saturday morning, there is no queue and we waited less than 10 minutes. The CKT has a good equal portion of rice noodle and yellow noodle. The egg coated the noodles to give a nice smoothness all round. The lap cheong (Chinese sausages), green vegetables and perfectly cooked cockles hiding in between the noodles. The CKT has a solid wok hei, with a subtle hint of sweetness from dark soy sauce. A really good CKT. Yummyyy.

The Star of the Show, Char Kway Teow

LD's version come with the chilli in it. The chilli is not very spicy, quite gentle in the spiciness level where it does not blow your head off.

For $4, the portion is quite good. Although we prefer more cockles, I guess we need to go for the $5 version next time. In their menu, they also have beansprouts with cockles, but we have not try it yet.

The eating house seems to be renovated recently. It is very clean and there are a lot of tables and chairs around. Overall, it is not the best tasted CKT that we would like, but overall it is very good plate of CKT indeed. We actually went back for 2^nd round before publishing this review. So do I need to say more, Cheers!!

Food & Drink: 8.5/10

Value: N/A

Service: N/A

Ambiance: N/A

Meng Kee Fried Kway Teow
22 Havelock Road
#01-669. Wei Xuan Eating House
Singapore 160022


Op Hours:
Mon- Sat: 10.30 – 19.00
Sun: 10.30 – 16.00

[CLOSED] Celebrating The Seafood International 30th Birthday

Chubby Botak Koala survived 30 Course Dinner food tasting + Desserts. Yup, your eyes did not deceived you. If you think that you feel bloated after 10 course meal after a wedding banquet or sit down dining during Chinese New Year period, imagine by tripling that feeling. Oh my, what we do for the love of food!

The Seafood International Market & Restaurant (“SI”) is celebrating its 30^th Anniversary in Singapore. For those that never been to SI, they are synonymous with their live seafood market and their Thai flair / influence in their dishes. For this special occasion, they have prepare a 30-course dinner of the popular dishes in their menu for you to savour with free flow of wine, beer, juice and buffet desserts.

Taking the first step into SI, you can see the kitchen on the left side, where the chefs work their magic. A few steps further, you can see the centre island where you will be spoilt with desserts choices. On the right, there are the fish tanks with the live seafood & fresh vegetables on display. Behind the centre island, is the wine showroom. The dining area is brightly lit and very spacious. There is enough space between tables and you won't need to squeeze in or out.

Where the Magic happens

Desserts Selection

Live Seafood

Fruits and Vegetables

Wine Showroom

So which dishes worth the space in your tummy?

The Oyster, Poached Tiger Prawn on ice and Shooters of Mango with Crab Meat Salad is good start. All of them are fresh and juicy, the mango in crab meat salad shooter complement the sweetness of the crab meat.

American Oysters

Poached Tiger Prawn & Gong Gong on ice

Shooter of Mango with Crab Meat Salad

For those who like tom yum soup, Seafood International Tom Yum Broth will tickle your taste buds. It has a solid tom yum flavour, with a nice creaminess and sweetness from the seafood. However, the spiciness level has been tone down compare to original Thai tom yum, so it is more acceptable for everyone.

Seafood International Tom Yum Broth

Deep Fried Marble Goby with Spring Onion Soya Sauce and Steamed Live Seabass in Thai Style are two fish dishes you can look forward to. Both dishes were perfectly executed. The deep fried marble goby is crispy on the outside, while the flesh remain fresh and tender. The superior soya sauce and spring onion on the fish, is just delicious. The steam seabass is steamed to perfection. It is fresh, tender with silky texture. The Thai influence is slightly subtle, without the mind blowing tanginess and spiciness, but the tofu on the side seems to have Teochew influence in the dish. Although it might be confusing on the taste buds, I personally like the execution of both the dishes. If I don't have 20 more dishes to taste, I will order a plain rice and happily enjoy both these two dishes.

Deep Fried Marble Goby with Spring Onion Soya Sauce

Steamed Live Seabass in Thai Style

For crustacean named crabs, there are three options to satisfy you cravings. The Signature Thai Curry Crab with Garlic Bread; Singapore's Famous Chilli Crab with fried Man Tou and Crisp-fried Soft Shell Crab with Curry Flavoured Chicken Floss Topping. The Thai Curry Crab is fresh, smooth and juicy, while the sauce is sweet, creamy with curry flavour. The crispy garlic bread is there to help you to soak up the curry sauce or as as it is crispy and light to complement the curry sauce.

The Signature Thai Curry Crab 

Garlic Bread for The Signature Thai Curry Crab

Chilli crab has always been a thorny issue to discuss, due to the subjective nature of this. You can ask 10 person on the road, most likely all will give you different answer. My take for the chilli crab here has a smooth, slightly creamy, eggy with subtle spiciness to coated the crab. The fried man tou is available to soak up the gravy. Personally I like the curry crab better compare to the chilli crab.

Singapore's Famous Chilli Crab

Fried Man Tou for Singapore's Famous Chilli Crab

Crisp-fried curry soft shell crab life up to its name. Crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside. Topped with the chicken floss, you can't really taste the curry powder on it.

 Crisp-fried Soft Shell Crab with Curry Flavoured Chicken Floss Topping

For non-seafood items, the Roasted Silken Chicken with Sesame Topping is something to look forward to. It has a thin crispy skin, while the meat is tender and juicy. The sesame toppings brought a different flavour to the dish. It is actually better then most of the restaurant, even other blogger said it is better than Poulet.

Roasted Silken Chicken with Sesame Topping

The Wok Fried Bull Frogs with 'San Bei' Glace is also another non-seafood option. Those frog legs are just succulent and goes well with the slightly sweet San Bei sauce (sauce made popular by three cup chicken recipe). Unfortunately this dish came at the later part during the dinner, if it came earlier, I will sure clean sweep this dish.  

Wok Fried Bull Frogs with 'San Bei' Glace

Well, if you are still not bloated at this stage, I suggest to leave some tummy space for the Stewed Rice Vermicelli with Seafood & Wild Black Fungus. The stock they use for this dish is just superb. If I can say this after trying more than 25 dishes. It might look like a simple dish, but the robust stock is the key to this dish. The Fusion of XO Chilli sauce with Penne Pasta is quite interesting concept. I admire their creativity and the XO sauce really got the KICK!

Stewed Rice Vermicelli with Seafood & Wild Black Fungus

XO Chilli Seafood Macaroni

For desserts, SI have extensive selection of Thai Desserts. I manage to leave a small space for the Green Tea shots, Herbal Jelly and Pandan shooters which all are good. I decided to skip the Red Ruby as I am totally filled to the brim.

Assorted Thai Desserts and Moon Cakes

 Green Tea shots, Herbal Jelly and Pandan shooters

Red Ruby

For our tasting table, service is good. Each dishes keep coming on regular interval. The service staff perform their duties without fail, I always get my drink filled, dirty plates replace and set the table properly set.

Overall, I had a great experience in The Seafood International. Although the dishes here has been tailored to the local taste from their Thai Origin, there are some excellent dishes as what I mention above. For $68.80++, it is really value for money. So what are you waiting for, get you pals together and head to The Seafood International Market & Restaurant. Cheers !!!

Thank you to Seafood International and Hungry Go Where for the invitation to this food tasting.

Food & Drink: 7/10

Value: n/a

Service: n/a

Ambiance: 7.5/10

The Seafood International Market & Restaurant
902 East Coast Parkway

Block A, #01-01 Big Splash
Singapore 449874


Tel: 6345 1211
Website: http://lobster.com.sg/
Op Hours: Daily 11.30 – 14.30; 17.00 – 24.00
Menu is available here: http://lobster.com.sg/30/