S$10 Food Trail @ 51 Old Airport Road Food Center

Last Saturday, Miss Tam Chiak and I had organized our March Food Outing at 51 Old Airport Road Food Center together with 20 friends on an S$10 Food Trail gathering. Since we have a large group, we divided all the participants into 4 groups and each group will share 10 different dishes + 2 dessert which we selected from some of the well-known hawker foods that are available at the food center. Below are some brief descriptions of the food that we had during the Food Trail.

Talk about Char Kway Teow, I am sure most of us will have a desire stall that fried the most tasty kway teow. If you have being to Old Airport Road Food Center, you would have heard about this well-known Char Kway Teow stall known as Lao Fu Zi Char Kway Teow (老夫子炒粿条), #01-12. Actually their fried kway teow is a bit towards the sweet side with average taste that somehow or rather lack of wok fragrance. But surprisingly it is always pack with queue during meal hours. So I guess perhaps it might be that extra “Fried Lard” that draws patrons' attention towards the stall.
Opening Hours: 11.00am - 11.30pm
Price: S$3 - 5 per plate

Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee (新美香卤面）, #01-116 stall in the Old Airport Road sells both prawn noodles and lor mee but it seems there are hardly anyone in the queue that order prawn noodles. Their Lor Mee gravy is smooth and yet not too thick like glue texture and one of their special ingredients added is shark's meat which is not deep-fried like others Lor Mee stalls. The shark’s meat from Xin Mei Xiang is fried till crispy and golden on the outer skin then flake it before adding on top of the noodle.
Opening Hours: (Mon - Wed): 7:00am -3:00pm; (Fri - Sun): 7:00am - 3:00pm; (closed on Thursday)
Price: S3, $4, $6 per bowl

Xin Mei Porridge(欣美粥品）, #01-91 has a wide varieties of porridge range from the usual century egg with lean pork, chicken, fish, cuttlefish and etc. We ordered their century egg with lean pork, peanut and chicken. Each bowl of porridge is served with their freshly handmade hot and crispy fried fritter,(youtiao) which they don’t sell it separately even if you want extra servings. Their porridge is very smooth and fragrance and each mouthful makes you crave for more.
Opening Hours: 7.00am - 2.30pm
Price: S$2.50 onwards

You can always see a long queue during lunch hours or weekend at this Blanco Court Kway Chap(白兰阁粿汁）, #01-136. This stall is very well known for their Kway Chap and Braised Trotters. The meat and intestines for the kway chap was well flavoured, clean and fresh which lightly infused with the fragrance from the braising spices and sauce.
Opening Hours: 11.30am - 4.30pm (closed on Monday)
Price: S$3.30 per serving for kway chap

There are a few Prawn Noodle stalls available in Old Airport Road Food Center. And the one we tried was from Whitley Road Big Prawn Noodle(威利大虾面）, #01-98 that comes with 2 medium prawns which slice into halves and a few pieces of pork ribs. Everyone has different view of this stall, some comments that the soup is good and flavour while others find that it seems to lack of something which cannot  brings out the unique taste of the soup broth. No matter what is your choice, it is always good to give it a try to see whether it suits your personal taste buds.
Opening Hours: Tue–Fi: 9.00am – 8.00pm; Sat–Sun: 9.00am – 9.00pm (closed on Monday)
Price: S$4.00 onwards

When you mentioned about Western Barbeque, #01-53 at Old Airport Road Food Center, the first thing that everyone thought of is their unique garlic sauce. Here we ordered their famous Chicken Chop that served with french fries, bread and baked beans. Chicken was grilled with a crispy charred outer layer leaving it tender and juice when bite.
Opening Hours: Noon onwards (closed on Monday)
Price: S$5.00 for Chicken Chop

Tan Beng Otah Delight (陈明乌打), #01-74 has being operating in Old Airport Road Food Centre for more than 10 years. They have about 6 different types of flavours including prawn, sotong, crab and fish head. And they even have a special fish otah cater for children where the otah are more unique and are white instead of the traditional orange colour because they not contain chilli. Other than Otah they also have 2 different types of Nasi Lemak available for your choice. Overall we find the Otah quite nice with the seasonings and hint of spiciness.
Opening Hours: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Price: S$1.50 for Otah; S$1.80 per packet for Nasi Lemak

If you like those soft, smooth and silky handmade Chee Cheong Fun, you won’t want to give this Freshly Made Chee Cheong Fun(现做现卖猪肠粉 ）, #01-155 a missed. Although there is a similar stall near our area at Chong Pang Market but the standard was average compare to the outlet at Old Airport Road where their Chee Cheong Fun was simply smoothing and taste great with their self-made soy sauce.
Opening Hours: Daily 8.00am - 10.00pm
Price: S$2.00 for Chee Cheong Fun; S$4,S$6, S$8 for Hae Chor and Sui Gao

Besides the Array of Chee Cheong Fun that we had, we also ordered some mixture of Hae Chor and Fried Dumpling. Their hae chor was quite tasty and contains lots of crunchy water chestnuts but on the down side perhaps it might due to the waiting crowds some of it seems to be overcooked and burnt.

I didn’t know that queuing up for a plate of Rojak can be so high-tech till there is a LCD screen displaying your queuing number even in Hawker center upon your order. This Toa Payoh Rojak(大巴窑罗惹 ）, #01-108 stall at Old Airport Road Food Center can be consider as one of the well-known Rojak stall in Singapore. Their portion was quite generous with fresh ingredients such as pineapple, cucumber, you tiao, turnip, roasted crushed peanut and their self-made Rojak sauce.
Opening Hours: Daily 12.00pm – 8.00pm (closed on Sunday)
Price: Range from S$3.00 - S$5.00

I love Curry Puffs especially those wrapped with Sardine fillings and the outer skin must be hot and crispy. Personally I prefer those flaky crust outer skin compare to those shortcrust like Old Chang Kee. And the bonus point about this Wang Wang Curry Puff (旺旺脆皮咖哩卜专卖店）, #01-26 curry puff stall is that it is freshly and handmade and deep-fry at the stall itself where you can be assured that these are not factory made. Other than the standard Curry Puff, they also have other flavours such as sardine, black pepper chicken and yam.
Opening Hours: Daily 9.00am - 9.00pm (closed on Monday)
Price: S$1.20 minimum

I have heard about this Chi Shuang Shuang (吃爽爽）, #01-51 stall long ago but I always did not get the chance to try it as I was either too early or sold out. But a few ago I managed to try out some of their items such as the 3-in-1 Nian Gao and deep-fried During. Their durian paste was freeze in rectangle shape, deep in flour batter then deep-fried till golden brown and crispy, so when you give it a bite the durian paste will melt and ooz out from it. Worth trying if you like Durian but don't expect to pay S$1.60 for Mao Shan Wang standard of durian paste. For the food trail we have tried their Fried Durian, Banana and Jack fruit.
Opening Hours: Noon onwards
Price: S$1.60 for fried durian

I love to eat Soya Beancurd especially those from Mr Bean or one of that soya bean milk stall at Hong Lim Food Center which is behind the famous Ipoh Crayfish Hor Fun. This Lao Ban Soya Beancurd (老伴手工豆花）, #01-127 has a very unique fragrance from their soft and skily beancurd which always sold out within a few hours. According to the boss these beancurd can be kept in the fridge for 2 - 3 days too, no wonder people always buy in bulks of at least 3 tubs.
Opening Hours: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Price: S$1.00 (Small), S$1.50 (Big) for original flavour; S$2.00(Big) for almond flavour

BONUS DISHES
(not included in the Food Trail Gathering)

I was honour to tag along with Maureen from "MissTamChiak" where she source and interview those "hidden gems" among the hawker stalls for her MyPaper 《贪吃妹寻美食》, Hawker Food Column which is published every Tuesday.


Recently we are there at Old Airport Road Food Center to interview one of the Cze Char Stall known as Mr Cook (双宝小厨), #01-130. This stall opens daily from 12pm to 10.30pm except on Thursday and they have a wide varities of signature dishes such as Assam Fish Head Curry, Steamed Herbal Chicken, Salted Duck Soup and etc. You can read more details at Misstamchiak's column HERE.

While waiting for the boss of Mr Cook to prepare the Assam Fish Head, we also tried some of the famous stalls such as this Hua Kee Hougang Famous Wan Ton Mee（华记后港祖传驰名云吞面 ）, #01-02 which is always flooded with long queue. And since we are early before the lunch crowds, I was number 4 in the queue.
Opening Hours: 11.00am - 11.00pm
Price: S$3.00/S$4.00 per bowl

At a glance this bowl of wanton mee seems to look good even before eating but after we tried a few mouthful, we were rather disappointed with their self-made Char Siew(roasted pork) which taste a bit of those porky smell. Although the noodles was springy and good but the char siew and wanton are not towards our liking. We still prefer the Tiong Bahru Food Center wanton mee over this one at Old Airport Road Food Center.

[Monthly Gathering] CNY Steamboat Feast

Last Saturday we settled our usual monthly food gathering at Susan's house where we have a Steamboat feast since it still falls between the 15th days of Chinese Lunar New Year. Each and everyone of us was very excited and we all go with an empty stomach in order to enjoy all those delicious food that Susan had prepared for us.

[Chef At Work] Susan is very thoughtful that she purposely bought some fresh crabs for her husband to cook his signature "Chili Crabs" because she knows that most of us in the group loves crab.This dish is indeed very delicious and it makes us ladies all envy Susan who has a good husband that can cooks so well for the family.

Other than Chili Crab, Susan also asks her domestic helper to fry some "Bee Hoon" and cook Rice just in case we have "huge" appetite.

[Chicken Curry] This is what I hint Susan to prepare as we all love this delicious curry chicken since the last time we had it during our Christmas Potluck Party(read more HERE) over at my place.

[YuSheng(鱼生)] This is a must have appetiser before any Chinese New Year meal as it represent "good luck" for the new year where everyone toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks together by saying various "auspicious wishes". Here we have a medium yusheng from Sakae Sushi..........

[Steamboat Ingredients] Look at all these fresh seafood, marinated meat, fish and all sort of fishcakes, Abalone, Scallop, vegetables and etc.......

Everyone enjoys the companies of chatting, cooking and BBQ of those steamboat ingredients. Susan also specially prepares a pot of herbal chicken soup to act as the soup broth for our steamboat.

[Dessert 1] Susan's mum prepares her special Bobo Cha Cha which we all loves it. And this is my very 1st time seeing Pumpkin and Tapioca as one of the ingredients compare to the usual "Sweet Potato and Yam".

[Dessert 2] One of our friends, Rae also bought some homemade ice-cream which is specially made by her Aunt. As you can see from the photo the creamy texture of the “Durian” flavour ice-cream which is fragrant and full of durian bits is definitely something that you won’t want to miss out.

[Dessert 2] From top:- Durian, Milo and Rum and Raisin. If you would like to find out more about these homemade ice-cream, you can refer to their website HERE (http://www.jessdesserts.sg)

[Dessert 3] Extra Filling Extra Tall, Durian Cream Puffs from Durian King which Susan bought from North Point, basement. Everyone was shock to see those puffs with so much durian fillings in it.

[Dessert 4] Last dessert is what the kids are eagerly waiting for..... Yes!!!! It is "Chocolate Fondue" where Susan used 55% Valrhona Dark Chocolate to accompany the nature sweetness of the fruits.

[Celebration] On that day we also celebrates Susan's daughters birthday which is just a day before Valentine's Day. Since Chinese New Year, Birthday and Valentine's Day are all in connection, I decide to settle for these two lovely heart shaped cakes from "Four Leaves" for a little extra surprise for the girls..

Here we are, a lovely group photo that captures the wonderful moments where everyone puts on a "HAPPY SMILE". Happy New Year!!!!!!! Thanks everyone (Maureen, Rae、Kai、Derrick、Yan Cai、Lobsterpaints、Alvin、and Amanda) who attends and makes this gathering happen and also Susan and her family for their warm hospitality.

Look forward for our next foodies outing soon........ :)

Kichi Kichi Express Rotary Hotpot

When you talk about Hotpot, what is the 1st thing that comes in your mind? Varieties of Foods, Environment, Pricing or ? I am sure you would like to enjoy fresh quality of food when it comes to hotpot. No one would like to see a plate of dry and dull meat or wilted vegetables when making their selection.But in Kichi Kichi you can be assumed that all the food on their rotating conveyor belt are freshly packed and prepared in order to let patrons enjoy their food in peace of mind.

Steamboat is normally not my cup of tea, as I don’t like the hot and stuffy environment where we need to sit around the hotpot cooking each and individual items with a tendency that others might drop in uncooked food or items that I don't prefer before I retrieved mine.

But when we steps into Kichi Kichi last week I was kind of caught up by the bright and attractive layout as well as its interesting dining concept whereby each of us owns our individual hotpot with large varieties of food being easily access from the rotating conveyor belt. With this new dining experience it definitely makes meal more relax without being worry about the hot and steamy hotpot session that makes you sweat.

There are two types of sitting area available where patrons can choose either having individual hotpot on the highchair counter seats or enjoy family and friend quality time at booths fitted with ‘yuan-yang’ hotpots that can hold two different stocks for sharing between 2 - 6 people. And since all the hotpots are using heat sense that can auto control the temperature, patrons can easily adjust the temperature according to their preference without must trouble like those traditional charcoal steamboat.

From the ordering list, you can choose your own soup broth from their soup range such as:- Chicken, Tomyum, Mushroom(house's special), Sze Chuan, Prawn or Herbal(with additional S$1.50 top-up). During the tasting we tried their Mushroom(tasty and genuine broth with scent of mushroom aroma), Tomyum(indeed very spicy but on the downside it seems to be lacked of those traditional tomyum taste) and Herbal was rather better than tomyum with hint of herbal taste.

  While having your hotpot, don't forget to look out for one of these sauce that is on the rotating conveyor belt.   Kichi Kichi have 8 different types of homemade sauce which are:-

Row 1(in front): Vinegar and Ginger, Chilli Padi with Vinegar, Chilli Chin Chalok
Row 2(center): Chilli Padi and Soya Sauce, Kichi Kichi Chilli Sauce, Japanese Soya Sauce,
Row 3(back): Kichi Kichi Sesame Sauce, Hoi Sin

After trying these sauce a few of us voted Chili Chin Chalok as the best dipping sauce over the rest eventhough it taste a bit spicy but it is indeed a very appetising sauce that stands out from the rest. But if you prefer something sweeter you might want to consider their Kichi Kichi Sesame Sauce.

  Since Chinese New Year is around the corner, if you are having the mood to enjoy early steamboat with friends and family without having the trouble to prepare those ingredients and washup, perhaps you can consider visit Kichi Kichi and try their exclusive CNY Buffet Package! This CNY Buffet Package allows you to enjoy delicious hotpot buffet with additional items such as Abalone, Sea Cucumber, Salmon, Lo Hei and Mandarin Oranges too.
Price: CNY Buffet Package S$38.80 NETT

Each set of the CNY Buffet Package also come with a generous plate of Sea Cucumber which is a great steal if you like these jelly and crunchy texture stuffs.

Overall the food was quiet good with wide range of over 60 ingredients that are available for patrons to pick from their rotating conveyor belt. And we all agreed that their customers’ service was good and efficiency with friendly staffs clearing the empty plates regularly and asking to refilled the soup broth even before it reached the half line.

In addition to the buffet items, there is also a premium A La Carte selection items available such as Salmon Belly, Fish Head, Oysters, Scallops, Sliced Venison, Sliced Wagyu Beef and etc.
Price: Ranging from S$3.00 - S$5.00 ++ per plate

  Or if you are look for a quick and affordable weekday hotpot lunch, you can also choose from any of the 4 Combo Meals during Monday - Friday (except public holidays) from 11.00am - 3.00pm at any of their Kichi Kichi outlets(refer end of this post). And furthermore, each combo meal also includes a bowl of rice, soup, one soft drink and fruit too! (more details HERE)
Price: Ranging from S$7.99++ to S$8.99++ per set

After a good and fulfilling lunch, I was caught up by surprised from the group of friends as they have prepared my favourite "Chocolate" cake to celebrate my Birthday. I didn't thought that a normal food tasting session would turn out to be a Birthday celebrations and I am really touch and grateful to each and everyone of them who give me this warm hearted surprise. Thank you my dear friends!

Lastly I would also like to say thanks Jasmin and Kichi Kichi - Express Rotary Hotpot for hosting this food tasting event.

BUFFET PRICING AND ADDRESS OF KICHI KICHI OUTLETS

Kichi Kichi Express Rotary Hotpot

City Square Mall(outlet)
180 Kitchener Road
#02-23/24


Ngg Ann City(outlet)
391A, Orchard Road
Podium Block, Level 5
#05-32

Website: http://www.expressrotaryhotpot.com/


Reservation And Enquiries @ (65) 9170 1146

Sugar Fix @ Ah Chew Desserts

Look at these!!! I am sure there is something that you can pick up to quench your thirst during these hot days. From the icy cool “Mango Sago And Pomelo” to the all time favourite such as “Gingko, Barley with Beancurd Skin” or the smooth and silky “Ginger Fresh Milk Steam Egg”. Either one of these or other choices from their menu will definitely attract you into their shop.

Last Saturday after our lunch gathering at Porn’s (click HERE), we decided to drop-by “Ah Chew Desserts” to get our sugar fix from their wide varieties of home cook desserts. Below are the items that we have ordered and tried:-

They have a very special ordering menu placed beneath the glass top table in order for customers to have a clear view of their items before making orders at the counter.

My Choice of "Black Glutinous Rice with Vanilla Ice Cream(黑糯米湖加香草雪糕)". Ever since I read up the good review on I-weekly about this special dessert I have always wanted to try it. And finally today I get to eat what I have being craving for. The combination of cold and creamy vanilla ice-cream with traditional Black Glutinous Rice and a bit of toasted almond flakes was really a good hit. At least the ice-cream is not as greasy as the coconut milk/cream. and the crunchy almond flakes add extra flavour to the taste too. Worth trying like what is recommended or you can even make this dessert at home by adding a scoop of vanilla ice-cream to your homemade Black Glutinous Rice(Pulot Hitam).
Price: SS$3.00 per bowl

Susan (blog link) choice was her favourite "Mango Sago And Pomelo(杨枝甘露)" but while making order at the counter she was tempted by the toppings menu showing "Durian". Without hesitate she immediately ask for the extra durian topping into her Mango Sago and Pomelo. But while tasting the yummy combination, we find that the durian paste was rather a bit sour which caused some stir among us. Overall we find it is not really worth to pay S$5.10 for this combination as the taste was rather odd compare to the usual Mango Sago with Pomelo.
Price: S$4 per bowl + S$1.10 for durian topping

Audrey (Lobster) and Alvin shared this amazing "Black Glutinous Rice(黑糯米湖)" which we are all fascinated with it's "spider web" like design. This is definitely something unusual compared to the normal black glutinous rice that we used to eat at the food centre where the stall owner just drizzle a spoonful of coconut milk/cream on it. Audrey finds the texture of their black glutinous rice was rather grainy to her liking compared to those sticky and creamy type. For a chance, they also ordered extra glutinous rice balls to go with the black glutinous rice paste.
Price: S$2.10 per bowl + S$1.00 for extra 3 rice balls topping

Rae is the only person who prefers this slightly bitter and spicy "Ginger Fresh Milk Steam Egg(姜汁鲜奶炖蛋)". According to her, the texture is very smooth and silky that can just wobble down your throat. But for me I would rather go for something light which is their "Fresh Milk Steam Egg White(鲜奶炖蛋白) as I don't really prefer the ginger taste.
Price: S$3.20 per pot

Maureen (Miss Tam Chiak) settles for a bowl of her favourite "Red Bean Paste with Lily Bulb(百合红豆沙)" which she prefer the lightly infuse tangerine taste. But if for me, I would prefer this to be slightly sweeter and perhaps with more tangerine taste in it.
Price: S$2.10 per bowl

Yan Cai pick this "Water Chestnut with Egg(蛋花妈蹄露)" which comes with crunchy slices of fresh water chestnut that enhance the dessert with a extra refreshing fragrant. This is a simple and yet delicious sweet treat for hot weathers.
Price: S$2.10 per bowl

Kai's choice of "Gingko Barley & Bean Curd Skin(白果薏米腐竹)" which consists of generous amount of Gingko nuts. Taste wise was quiet alright which is not very sweet too. Friendly speaking I won't order this dessert from any stalls outside as I find they can't produce the taste that my mum's always prepared for us. I preferred those texture and taste that is similar to soya bean milk type.
Price: S$2.10 per bowl

Ah Chew Dessert is located in the middle stretch of Liang Seah Street where you can find all kind of yummy food along that street such as the famous Yu Kee Braised Duck Rice, Madam Saigon Vietnamese Cuisine, Around De World Café, Porn’s Thai Food, Crystal Jade and etc. With Ah Chew’s unique traditional furnishing of using brick and pairs of eye catching red couplet(春联) outside their shop. When you get into the shop you will be amaze by the Chinese traditional wooden chairs and tables that we can hardly seen in the modern household these days.

Ah Chew Desserts Pte Ltd
1 Liang Seah Street
#01-10/11
Liang Seah Place
Singapore 189022
Telephone: 6339 8198

Operating Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 12.30pm - 11.30pm
Friday: 12.30pm - 12.30am
Saturday: 1.30pm - 12.30am
Sunday: 1.30pm - 11.30pm