Hakkasan Hanway Place - London's One Star Michelin Chinese Cuisine

One Star Michelin restaurant, Hakkasan, is known not only for contemporary chinese cuisines but also for their cocktails. The people behind Hakkasan has designed the concept to be one of mystery and grandeur. Their website described it as modern ethnic. A trip to the Hanway Place branch sees the restaurant located on an obscure run-down quiet street. You won't imagine there's a classy restaurant located there if you happen to pass by, let alone a Michelin Star one. The long flight of steps down the dark tunnel leads to a blue lighted poshly furnished walkway with well groomed reception. The mystery and grandeur follows through and through especially during my trip to the restroom. The restrooms are hidden behind the walls camouflaged by the interior designs. The food that awaits also lives up to the impressive setting they designed to greet all guests.

We ordered the Hakka Lunch Menu (30/pax) to kick off our lunch. We started off with the dim sum basket that consisted of har gau, scallop siew mai with topiko caviar, chinese chive dumpling with prawn and crab meat and soy crumble beancurd dumpling. I think what impressed me the most was how this dim sum basket doesn't shove you up with in your face premium ingredients to justify their Michelin Stars. I totally enjoyed every bite of the individual dim sum. The har gau's prawns were fat and robust in flavour. The siew mai with scallop was again understated yet excellently prepared. The chive dumplings carries a distinct chive flavour wrapped around the juicy prawns and the soy crumble beancurd was surprisingly light with adequate sweetness. It's really a culinary display of how skilled chefs can bring normal ingredients to life.

I was equally impressed with the puffs selection. Crispy smoked duck and pumpkin puff, baked venison puff and spicy mooli crab meat pastry. Each of the puffs were flaky and buttery without overdoing any part of it. I felt the ingredients were generous. It is faultless! I need to state though that I suspect the food are prepared in large batches because there's no room for customization of your order at all. I don't take beef but they refused to swap out the beef dishes.

This unassuming stir fried baby broccoli with goji berries and crispy seaweed is a silent killer. I found the entire plate extremely addictive and Vain Pot and I literally fought over finishing the plate. It's probably the winner of the day. I've no idea that vegetables can be this tasty, it definitely took us by surprise. Pardon the bad photography, I haven't figured out how to use the Olympus PEN PL 8 in the dark yet and I missed my free training. Whoops!

The Hakka Noodle which we couldn't finish and had to pack it up was equally good. It's just that this meal is simply too value for money they feed you so full and well, we really couldn't finish the noodles. The noodles were cooked well and delicious but I can't comment much because I was too full to truly appreciate the dish.

Once again, I am left totally impressed with London's Michelin Star restaurants. They totally dropped the pretense to impress you with expensive food and showcase their legitimate culinary ability with simple food. Awesome! Hakkasan is highly recommended.

Hakkasan Hanway Place
8 Hanway Place, London, W1T 1HD

Yi Dian Xin Hong Kong Dim Sum - Good Quality Coffeeshop Dim Sum

This is my second visit to Yi Dian Xin after a few years. I remember the stall primarily because it serves good quality affordable dim sum but portions reflected the price. It kinda made me question if it was value for money then. Since my last visit, I've come to realised that the name Yi Dian Xin is very popular among dim sum. I've even eaten at Treasures Yi Dian Xin, a restaurant opened by Imperial Treasure.

Yi Dian Xin Hong Kong Dim Sum is located at a coffeeshop. It's a stall not a restaurant. I remember reading somewhere that the business is opened by a former chef of the Tunglok Group. If you aren't fussy about ambiance, they serve above average dim sum at coffeeshop prices.

In my opinion, the best way to measure dimsum quality is through the siew mai and har gao. It's precisely because the dishes are so simple, failing them would reflect poor culinary skill. We ordered the Siew Mai with Mushroom ($3.20) which was adequately plump and juicy. For coffeeshop standard and pricing, it beats equivalents like Wen Dao Shi where their siew mai skin tend to tear, stick together or fall apart. This one doesn't.

The Yi Dian Xin Prawn Dumpling ($3.20) is equally good. The dimsum was made with skill. You can tell the presentation can hold its own in restaurants and it goes really well with the chilli sauce on offer. No particular 'wow' factor but com'on manage your expectations. It's $3.20!

The Beancurd Prawn Roll ($3.30) was decent. While I felt that the skin could have been crispier to stand out with the mayo dip, I enjoyed the plump juicy prawns wrapped in the skin. Nothing to shout about though.

The char siew bao ($2.60) was another decent dish. There's nothing to rave about and nothing to nit-pick as well. To be fair, it was soft, fluffy and the seasoning of the char siew is definitely better than equivalently priced establishments.

I literally saved the best for the last. This Crispy Red Bean Paste with Banana ($3.60) stood out for me. It's the dish that leaves me wanting to return for another round. I have never eaten something similar but found the sweetness of the banana to go excellently with the red bean paste. The deep fried bread roll that wraps around complements the sweet ingredients perfectly. This is the best dish of the day and I'm definitely ordering 2 plates on my next visit!

Is Yi Dian Xin Hong Kong Dim Sum worth the visit? I'd say they rank 1st among the value for money, affordable dim sum establishments. The food is definitely better than cheap, mass produced dim sum. It may even give smaller unknown dim sum restaurants a run for its money if we take away the air con and the service. The portions are worth the price now! I'll definitely be back!

Yi Dian Xin 
1012 Upper Serangoon Road, Teo Seng Eating House, S534750 

Four Seasons Restaurant - One of the 3 must try Roast Ducks in London

Four Seasons Restaurant stands as one of the 3 kings of Roast Duck in London. Standing on the same street in Bayswater as its other two competitors (Goldmine Restaurant & New Fortune Cookie), hordes of Asians flock to these 3 to try out their famous London Duck. As of now, I've tried both Goldmine and Four Seasons.

The roast duck at Four Seasons as of now stands in the lead. Always order boneless so that you can simply bite into the heavenly fat meat. The duck at Four Seasons was extremely tender and flavourful. I liked it better than Goldmine because it was less oily and has less fatty meat. The sweet duck sauce that comes with the dish goes excellently with the duck and whets your appetite even if you aren't too hungry. Makes me wonder why don't we have anything close to these delicious ducks in Singapore. The duck is packed in a box because I ordered takeaways. I must add that Four Seasons pack my takeaway in such a neat and easy to carry manner, I'll probably have a takeaway meal each time I'm in London from now on.

The cai sim was nothing spectacular. In fact, I felt the side dishes lost out to Gold Mine.

Sweet and sour soup wasn't strong in its flavouring either. While it wasn't bad, it was very very ordinary.

Wrapping up this post, I'd say that I rather order a whole duck and have it as my meal than waste calories and money on very average sides. The duck is a true winner and you really can't stop eating it once you put a slice into your mouth. You should really try London duck in London and compare it with the roast ducks back home. It's an eye opener.

Four Seasons Restaurant
84 Queenway, Bayswater, London W2 3RL
(apparently Four Seasons Restaurant have a few branches in Chinatown, don't waste time with those. the Bayswater outlet is the real deal)

Food to enjoy while travelling solo in London

London, a city bursting with diversity in terms of culture, people and food. In my case, especially food. Having recently upgraded my iPhone camera to the Olympus Pen E Pl-8, I pretty much structured my itinerary around taking photos this trip. The photo you see here is the classic red telephone booth with the under-construction Big Ben in the background. Aside from scenery which might be reserved for another post in the future, travelling solo while Vain Pot works means that I've to find 1 person meals.

Shake Shack

Shake Shack is a fast-food chain originating from New York. Unlike other fast food chains I see in London like Subway, KFC, Burger King and Mcdonald's, Shake Shack hasn't found its way to Singapore yet. Hence, dining at Shake Shack feels like an affordable novelty for me. A beef free diet means a limited selection of burgers I can try from this fast food joint. Beef lovers will have no problems dining here. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my Chick n Shack burger a lot. It's sufficiently tender, fried till crispy without the excessive sauces found in other fast food burger joints. I'm happy the flavour isn't compromised as well. I liked it that I can customize my meal and I enjoyed the classic vanilla shake that I ordered.

Shake Shack (Covent Garden)
Covent Garden, 24 Market Building, The Piazza, WC2E 8RD

Tea Room at Bun House

Tea Room & Bun House are two concepts housed in the same location. On the top floor is the Bun House where it looks like a traditional Chinese Tea House. The Tea Room located on the basement looks really eerie for my first time visit. The green lighting coupled with the fact the place was empty when I was there made the entire experience unforgettable. I made the eerie trip to the Tea Room specially for the Fried Cheong Fun which is new on the menu. The dish met my expectations though some might find it leaning towards the saltier side. I felt that the dish achieved the wok hei taste and the egg with the runny yolk blended excellently with Fried Cheong Fun. Perhaps the owners of the restaurant can incorporate some XO sauce to complete the dish!

Tea Room at Bun House
23 Greek Street, WID 4DZ

Saint Aymes

Saint Aymes can be distinctively identified through its framed wisteria. One of the most instagrammable cafes in London, it stands out also because visitors prefer sitting outside the cafe rather than inside! Such is the popularity of the external tables, the owners placed a 1 hour dining time on them.

During my visit, I had a unicorn cookie, the cake of the day and the unicorn latte. Half the time, I was busier with my camera than pigging on the food. If you have a sweet tooth, this place is perfect for you. If not, you better love photography. I found sitting outside the cafe with delectable food while enjoying a good book (currently reading How to be a Bawse by Lily Singh) to be a very pleasurable activity. Some of the other patrons chose to people watch and simply enjoy some me-time.

Saint Aymes
59 Connaught Street, Connaught Village Hyde Park London, W2 2BB


Chin Chin Labs

Chin Chin Labs are best known for their nitrogen ice cream and hot chocolate with mashmellows. I actually went to Hawker Feast with Vain Pot. So yeap, dinner isn't solo. Still if you are alone and looking to try some street food, I felt that Chin Chin Lab's Hot Chocolate with Marshmellows to be a perfect treat to end the day. In this cooling London weather, Chin Chin Lab's hot chocolate adds a bitter sweet finale to the day. The chocolate has adequate thickness and has a hint of bitterness from dark chocolate. The thick slab of torched marshmellows offered a melted sweetness that blended perfectly with the bitter chocolate. It's an excellent beverage on a cold day.

Chin Chin Lab (Hawker Feast)
Canada Street, London SE16 7PJ
(do note that the Hawker Feast is only available on Fridays and Saturdays after 5pm)

Birds of a Feather - Sichuan Fusion Cuisine

It's Happy Birthday to me! So this week, I've put aside blogging because I was busy eating and meeting up with different people. As it is right now, I have 4 cakes in my fridge and 3 of them are chocolate cakes. I can imagine my waistline expanding! Very happy with my celebrations this year... I hope the rest of the year will remain awesome.

Vain Pot is currently overseas so I had the opportunity to entertain myself this year. I brought a friend to enjoy Sichuan food! Birds of a Feather is a Sichuan fusion restaurant that brings the East and West together in a manner that doesn't seem too deliberate. Most fusion cuisines don't really agree with me because I felt most try too hard. Over here, the cooking appears natural and you don't feel the chef forcing Chinese ingredients on Western style cooking and vice versa. This post is made up of 2 visits with a visit done earlier last year.

We settled for some mains and small plates. Everything was shared. Basically, being on Birthday mood, I didn't really research much on the food. I simply asked the staff to recommend. So we had Crispy Gyoza with Truffle Soy Vinaigrette ($16), Find the Chicken in the Chillies ($16) and Fortune Skewer in Sichuan Pepper Broth ($19).

I found the Gyoza to be well fried and the tastiness of the meat met expectations. However, I just realised it's supposed to have truffle which I failed to taste any. While the dish was executed well, I failed to see why the staff would recommend us to try.

Find the Chicken in the Chillies is the big winner of the night. The chicken chunks were fried and seasoned well. I found the chicken to be well infused with the Sichuan chilli and the chef got the flavour right. It feels authentic and legit as a Sichuan dish and it's so addictive I found myself digging through the chillies in hope of more chicken when we finished every piece.

The fortune skewers is also well cooked. The peppery broth stood out because it soothes the throat wetting our appetite before the mains arrived. While the dish is another tasty one due to its spiciness, I found the ingredients used for the skewers to be very ordinary. I don't feel it warrants the price it charges.

As for mains, there's the Hot and Sour Chazuke ($25), 'Xiang Su' Duck ($33) and Spicy Oriental Bolongnaise ($22). I found the Hot and Sour Chazuke to be delicious except it comes with rice. The hot spicy pickled mustard green broth really gives an added oomph for meal satisfaction.

'Xiang Su' Duck carried a twin style of seared braised breast meat and duck leg confit with roasted potato puree. I found the ducks to be well prepared. Duck confit had a well fried skin with tender meat that goes excellently with the potato puree. Braised meat was tender too!

The Spicy Oriental Bolognaise is a dish that stays deeply in my memory. Once the spicy angle hair pasta gets mixed with the onsen egg, the effect creates a creamy tangy taste which I like a lot.

Dessert was eaten during my first visit. Coffee latte ($7) and Caramel Chocolate Coffee Cubes Latte ($8). Latte taste like latte so $7 feels really pricey. On the other hand, I like it that the Chocolate Coffee Cubes are instagrammable and generally something different from the usual.

Would I return? Well, it's a yes since I came here twice. I really enjoy the spicy Sichuan food with a twist here. The ambiance is also awesome. This is probably the first fusion food joint I'm raving about because the chef managed to make east and west gel so well together. I'd strongly recommend this place for anyone who likes spicy Chinese food.

Birds of a Feather
15 Amoy Street #01-01 S069935

Recommended Chinese Food in London

Been too busy clearing work and enjoying my London holiday that I've been guilty to neglect my little hobby food blog lately. Anyway, living in a London apartment I can pretty much call home makes writing blogs far more enjoyable. During this short break, I've noticed a problem getting reliable reviews on good food in London. So I'd like to pretty much fill this gap as much as possible. I thought I'd kick start my writing on London by touching on the Chinese food here because I got cravings for food back home after getting a little bored with the Western fare.

Goldmine Restaurant is known for their duck dish. Basically in London, the 3 popular duck restaurants are Four Seasons, Gold Mine and New Fortune Cookie. Given that my stay is limited, my very limited research led me to conclude on trying Gold Mine for this visit.

Vain Pot and I ordered half a duck and my gosh, this is by far the most value for money half a duck I ever had! Half a duck, no bones all meat and so tasty! We devoured the generous slices of meat with relish. The balance in flavour is awesome with the tenderness of the meat and the juiciness from the fats just beneath the duck skin. Vain Pot asked me if this is even better than the Kam's Roast Goose we fell in love with in Hong Kong... and I kinda felt that Roast Goose still wins at its best but Goldmine is far more consistent in terms of food quality based on the reviews and my own experience.

We tried a couple of other dishes at Goldmine and I felt while decent is nothing to rave about. Stick to the duck when you come here.

Goldmine Restaurant
102 Queensway, Paddington, London W2 3RR, UK (nearest tube: Bayswater)

The second unexpected discovery was at Ma Po. It's a restaurant walking distance from where we live and that day I was craving for some Chinese fare but didn't want to take the tube. Vain Pot recommended I try this place.

I ordered stir fried chicken with ginger and onions as well as a hot and sour soup. Both dishes were awesome and prices were reasonable. The rice cost me 2 pounds though... I felt the best thing about eating Chinese dishes with rice when you are away from home is the warm and fuzzy feeling it brings you. It helps that the chicken was tender and honestly I've eaten this dish many times elsewhere and I thought this is one of the best versions. I'm certain I'll definitely have at least one meal here each time I'm in London.

Ma Po
176 Lower Road, London SE16 2UN, UK (nearest tube: Surreys Quay)

The final place I'm featuring this visit is Lin's Restaurant & Bar. The weather was too cold, I skipped the photo-taking of the shop front. I found this dish on Instagram and literally walked in showing the photo to the host and told them I wanted the exact same dish. Turns out there're two similar dishes so it's difficult to tell which was which. Apparently, there's a Chongqing Noodles and a Szechuan Noodles and the key difference is the sauce. For this visit, I tried the Chongqing Noodles which I can vouch taste very authentic. The mala effect was so strong it literally numbed my taste buds for most of the meal.

I heard 2 Chinese girls next to me asking the waiter for the spiciest dish they got to offer. Lin's Restaurant & Bar is known for its spicy authentic Chinese food that caters to the Chinese community in the city. I was generally satisfied with my experience even though the noodles were a tad too spicy for me. I'd like to give them additional points for the hospitality and excellent service while I was there.

Lin's Restaurant & Bar
134 Southawk St, London SE1 0SW, UK (nearest tube: Southawk) 

Yong He Eating House

It's weekends and the welcoming of hopefully a much better month. I didn't really enjoy my August :( In any case, today is Saturyay! My favourite day of the week. This month is probably going to be my busiest month this year and it's going to be a fun ride. Largely due to the stress, I'm paying no heed to the budget and eating whatever makes me happy. So... I ate pasta from Once Upon a Thyme, feasted on a treat by my boss at Orchid Live Seafood, ate lots of Taiwan Railway Bento at Woo Ricebox. To see photos of those visit my instagram @bluntandfussyeater.

This week, again due to our crazy week, Vain Pot and I only managed to squeeze time to eat at one of our favourite comfort food stops - Yong He Eating House. Yong He Eating House is a 24 Hours taiwanese cuisine eatery that is based at Geylang. Geylang which is more famous for its redlight district also has a strong reputation for street food particularly suppers! In total, we have frequented Yong He Eating House probably 4-5 times over the past 2-3 years. The menu at Yong He Eating House has some semblance to the Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang conceptually. Having tried both, the one at Taiwan is still many times better but this is the closest you can get for Shao Bing, Dou Jiang Youtiao in Singapore.

For this visit, we ordered the Taiwanese Mee Sua ($4), Fried Spring Onion Cake with Egg ($2.30) and Steamed Dumplings ($5.80) to share. Of course soya bean drink ($1.50) is a must! I found the Taiwanese Mee Sua to be edible, average if you aren't picky but a far cry from the famous Ah Zong Mian Xian if you ever tried it in Taiwan. It's nevertheless comfort food when you just want something simple.

The Fried Spring Onion Cake with Egg was enjoyable to eat. It's very flavourful and adding the egg made the entire pancake dish perfect. Be warned that it's more on the oily side. It's street food so it shouldn't be surprising. I liked it!

Finally, my must have. The Xiao Long Bao at Yong He Eating House is surprisingly good. If you envisage those hot broth meat filled Xiao Long Bao at Ding Tai Fung, then you would be disappointed. The broth in this Xiao Long Bao is close to non-existent. However, I felt that the meat really soaked up the flavour and the meat portion is very generous. It's very good for street food and may even put some restaurants to shame.

Yong He Eating House remains my comfort food Asian brunch food stop whenever I got a Chinese food craving in the early morning. Its drawback is its location where I always get annoyed with the Geylang parking. Other than that, I really enjoy eating there and I'll recommend anyone who would like a simple inexpensive brunch or breakfast even supper to head there.

Yong He Eating House
458 Geylang Road, S389417

Nanjing Impressions

This is a weekend spent with the family. Apparently, its the start of my birthday week so eat and eat as much as possible without guilt. January has always been my favourite month of the year for various reasons. It's the start of a brand new year and I'm a proud Capricorn. This year, it's a little sad I found out today I'll am sharing my birth month with people less desirable to me and that kinda tainted my happy month. Crap, it feels like it's gonna be forever since birthdays don't change. ><

My family brought me to try this latest craze located at Plaza Singapura called Nanjing Impressions. I've seen a lot of photos on instagram thanks to the bloggers I'm following. Mixed feelings about the place before I visit. Nanjing food doesn't really quite appeal to me but that said given the hype, I want to try!

We picked a list of dishes at my brother's recommendation (he did the research) and some based on photos. One of the best dishes for the night, Poach Lion's Head Meatball ($13.80/portion), really makes me crave for the soup. It's flavourful and very rich in taste, something rare in Singapore and a stark reminder of cantonese soups in Hong Kong. The meatball was big and fat with a good mix of meat and fats which were all tender and easy to eat.

Another of their key highlights that looks very different from the photos showcased by the popular bloggers is Sesame Scented Beancurd Julienne ($11.80/portion). That's the white noodle soup looking photo you see. You know I kinda have the feeling they gave us some other dish but because my chinese is bad, I can't tell. In any case, the noodle looking beancurd is famed because of the chef's workmanship and how my mom mistook them for noodles. Taste wise, it's pretty interesting but I'm quite certain its the wrong dish.

One dish I picked for myself was Sliced Fish in Spicy Pickled Cabbage Broth ($18.80/portion). It's awesome and my favourite of the night! My mom however doesn't like the Mala taste that accompanies the slice fish. She kept insisting it taste like Indian Curry. I like the authenticity of the Mala chilli oil mixed with pickled cabbage. The fish which was cooked till soft and tender went just right with it.

Because it's supposedly my birthday celebration, my mom insisted on ordering noodles. We picked Nanjing Special Shredded Duck Fried Noodles ($14.80/portion), It tastes pretty good! I enjoyed the mix of tender shredded duck meat and the fried noodles which was excellently cooked. That said, it's typical of China dishes that they are very oily.

Another dish which my brother insisted upon was the Jinling Signature Salted Duck ($16.80 for small). He said it's one of the key highlights of Nanjing Impressions. The duck wise was a mixture of hits and misses. The meaty parts tasted really great with the saltiness and tenderness coming together just right. On the other hand, the gripe was the boney parts of the duck which were difficult to eat and tasted quite hard. You decide if you want to play roulette with this dish.

Dessert was Osmanthus-Scented Steamed Sponge ($4.80). I quite enjoyed this chewy dessert and its rich flavouring of osmanthus. For a more local description it tasted like the 9 layered colourful nonya kuey. Worth a try!

Wrapping up the post is always the question if I'll return again. I would IF I'm hosting my China friends. I have a feeling they will like the food here especially the spicy fish. There're hits and misses on the table but my biggest issue was the thirsty feeling I had after the meal. Too much MSG?

Nanjing Impressions
#04-46, Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road

Putien

I ate more than usual this week however I don't really feel a compelling urge to write about the stuff I ate. It's been largely a mix of salads and Chinese food. I guess the reason is I have been eating it quite regularly and have just been bringing friends who haven't eaten there to try. It's always the family dinners that make me try food I don't usually try and this time it's at Putien!

Putien serves good Chinese food that's unfortunately not friends with my taste buds. I can't really attach a reason to it because the dishes are well executed. They just aren't my go to place for Chinese food. I prefer Ding Tai Fung, Imperial Treasure and even the Paradise Group. Still, let's give credit when it's due and Putien definitely cooks up a good comfort meal. 

We kicked off the meal with two sides, Pork Belly with Garlic ($8.90) and Braised Homemade Beancurd ($5.90). I felt that both dishes were done really well meeting both my expectations. I do feel that the pork belly with garlic could have been more garlicky and I didn't lap it up as I would a similar dish at one of the 3 restaurants I mentioned earlier. That said, this post is not about them so let's not shift the focus shall we? 

For mains, we settled for Putien Oyster Omelette and Claypot Chicken in Fermented Red Rice Wine ($13.90). I was kinda expecting the oyster omelette to be like those I find at hawker centers but with better culinary capability. I was rather taken aback that it's deep fried with flour but was pleasantly surprised to find that it goes really well with the Putien chilli. The chilli at Putien is one of their key highlights so try it when you are there. I like it that the chicken in red wine sauce was cooked till tender and the red wine taste is distinct yet not overwhelming. 

Another known dish is the Putien Lor Mee ($9.50) which was really rich in flavour. In fact, it was my favorite dish of the night! The pork broth absorbs all the flavours of the ingredients within the pot and drinking it was a real joy. 

Finally there's the Putien Rice Cake ($6.90) aka atas Kuey tutu which I was misguided to order by the well written description on their menu. It says "the rice cake is made with glutinous rice, milled rice powder and filled with crushed peanuts. The cake is then steamed in mild heat to create a soft texture that..." Oh so that's how Kuey tutu is described in marketing language... Anyway, I must say I prefer the Pasar malam version of the dish. This one is way too rubbery and too stingy with their peanuts, you might as well call it plain. 

All in all, the dining experience in Putien is pleasant. The dishes generally met expectations but there's nothing there that might make me specially make a trip down. It's comfort food which I won't say no to if my companions want to eat there but not somewhere I'll voluntarily step in to eat. 

Putien

Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, #02-18