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

Best 5 waffles I've had in Singapore (so far) [Edited]

Whenever I have a craving, I'll google for "best ________ in Singapore" and hope to get something. Everytime I do this, I'll wonder how other people search for good food. One issue I had was some results gave me like 16 best waffles or 20 best waffles, and I'll start thinking but I only want to eat good waffles tomorrow. So many how to research and narrow down?! Nowadays, with Instagram and Burpple, it's getting easier to stay abreast on the latest 'in' food in town. In any case, I thought that this week I'll share my own top 5 waffles places having spent the last two years feasting on a lot of waffles. I've had fun and much success discovering a number of nice new places this way, and thought I'd share my own favorites with everyone. These 5 favorites are in no particular order. 

This photo was taken 2 years ago when I first googled best waffles in Singapore 2014. Strangers Reunion came out top of that list of top 5. Strangers Reunion is known for their latte art because their owner has won numerous top barista awards and also for their buttermilk waffles with maple syrup and fresh fruit ($11.90). The waffles batter made the waffles light, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Paired with maple syrup and fruits, it's an awesome combination that doesn't make you 'jelat'. In fact, it is so good, I'm motivated to go back and try the ice cream version now that I'm done with my waffles exploration. 

Strangers Reunion

35 Kampong Bahru Road

(Please note that I haven't been there in two years and can't attest that the standard remains the same. The taste 2 years ago is still my top 5 favorite if they maintained the quality today)

This was also eaten 2 years ago as part of the top 5 waffles list that I googled back in 2014. After the visit to Strangers Reunion which was very promising, I told myself next time must try waffles with ice cream. Prior to this visit, my only experience with ice cream waffles was at Gelare which as a poor clueless student, I thought it was very good waffles. Last year I ate Gelare again to check out the difference between good and bad batter. My findings was that the waffles was dry and it felt like tasteless flour that accompanied cold ice cream and there's no satisfaction after eating. 

Anyway, back to good ice cream waffles, the buttermilk waffles with premium New Zealand Ice cream with butter rum bananas ($15) at Department of Caffeine is a clear winner. The butter rum bananas is by far the best rendition of bananas with waffles I've tried. I've always felt that good waffles are the kind you can eat them on their own and still find them awesome. The buttermilk waffles at DOC sure makes the grade. 

Department of Caffiene (Closed Permanently)

15 Duxton Road 

(Again please note that this was eaten 2 years ago and hopefully their quality remains. If it does, then the taste still retains in my memory as top 5 today)

Hatter Street was introduced to me by a friend (let's call her fat fat) few months ago. In 2015 there seems to be more waffles establishments springing up and the modern day waffles have more variations. This pandan ice cream waffles with gula melaka is very different from the ice cream waffles I ate in 2014 (Yes all of them!). The texture of the waffles reminds me of Belgian waffles and it's very flavorful. The batter gave the exterior a bit of biscuit-like crispy and interior was fluffy. I felt that the mix of pandan ice cream and gula melaka goes perfectly together and I have been back twice since. 

Hatter Street Bakehouse and Cafe

212 Hougang Street 21 #01-333

Another waffle place also introduced to me very recently by Fat fat is Oblong. While flavored waffles actually existed since 2013, the craze only caught on late 2014. Oblong offers a variety of waffles flavours with a variety of ice cream and a variety of sauce and add ons. The picture you see is a red velvet waffles with earl grey ice cream with cream cheese and butterscotch syrup. If you order it as a combo with drinks it cost you $10. I really like the mix and match concept and their flavours really go well together. The waffles is light and fluffy. I felt that the variety of flavours gives a refreshing twist to waffles and I like it that the waffles are meant for individuals which means I can walk in on my own after dinner and not worry it's too much for my tummy. 

Oblong

10 Maju Avenue

Last but not least, I specially went to eat here on Thursday with Ms MooMoo. Montana Brew Bar is the "IN" waffles in town now. I found it on Instagram and Burpple with lots of noise from the Blogosphere. Apparently I'm considered late at trying out this place because the hype started late last year. Montana Brew Bar is famous for their creative waffles. The photo you see is their Mac and Cheese waffles with Jalapeños and Salsa Sauce ($13.80) version 4. Based on my research I discovered that the owners having invited bloggers for tasting and have worked on their food and the ones I'm eating is already the 4th version of the dish. It's really one of the best savory waffles I've had. The aroma of Mac and Cheese was very distinct on the onset and the smell alone can wet your appetite. The waffles are very crispy on the outside and the stuff macaroni and cheese inside the waffles really gives it a unique combination that goes very well together. On top of that the salsa sauce was really very balanced, spicy enough not to mask the Mac and cheese taste and provides the added oomph to make this dish my new favorite. 

Montana Brew Bar

1 Selegie Road, POMO, #02-25