2013 Chinese New Year Family Gatherings

Time flies, the 15 days of Chinese Lunar New Year(CNY) celebration had already ended last Sunday. During those two weeks, we had quite a few house visiting and food gatherings among relatives and friends. As usual every household would either cook or cater food for the gathering where everyone enjoys the food and bonding time.

Below are some of our family CNY gatherings foodporn for your viewing.

CHINESE NEW YEAR DAY 2 - OUR HOUSE

This year my mum decided to hold Chinese New Year gathering over at my place so that I could help her up with the cooking plus preparation. You can read more on this new year gathering plus some recipes over at this link HERE.

Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant At Gardens By The Bay

Located below the Flower Dome (gardens by the bay), Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant is a newest venture for Chef Yong Bing Ngen. The 110 seater restaurant offers a spacious layout for both family and group dining as well as a private room that can occupy up to 14 guests. With it's must try Signature Bay's Kopi Crab and Baked Rice and Assorted Seafood in Chef’s Recipe Sauce, below are some of the dishes that we have tried two weeks ago.

For starter, we get to try 3 selections of Dim Sum items from their menu which are Seared Chilli Crab Meat Bun, Steamed Shanghai Dumpling Pork and Steamed Siew Mai Dumpling. The Chilli Crab Meat Bun was good with a crispy outer skin and nutty flavour from the sesame seeds. When bite, it burst with a spicy sweet chilli crab sauce which makes you having no intention to share the rest of the bun with those sitting at your table.

On the other hand, the Steamed Shanghai Dumpling Pork is surprisingly good with a thin layer of outer skin wrapping the meat filling and tasty soup broth.

Seared Chilli Crab Meat Bun - 辣椒蟹生煎包 (S$4.50 for 3 pcs)

Steamed Shanghai Dumpling Pork - 上海小笼包 (S$4.20 for 3 pcs)

Steamed Siew Mai Dumpling - 香菇蒸烧卖 (S$4.50 for 4 pcs)

Being a Cantonese styled restaurant, Majestic Bay offers quite a range of soup menu from Soup Of The Day - 瓦煲老火汤 (S$18.00 for 2-4 pax, S$27.00 for 5-8 pax) to Chicken soup with cordyceps flower, conpoy and chinese ham or Bird nest with abalone and assorted seafood treasure soup and etc. And as as soup lover, I definitely love their double-boiled soup which was boiled over low heat till thick and flavorsome. 

Steamed, Live Prawns, Minced Garlic - 金银蒜蒸开边生虾 (Market price) uses fresh live prawns that are being shelled and butterfly in order to reduce the cooking time as well as making it easier for guests to enjoy the dish without dirtying the fingers to shell the prawns. Overall the prawns were sweet and fresh but the minced garlic taste was a bit strong towards my liking.

The Bay’s Signature “Kopi” Sauce Live Crab - 冠华咖啡焗肉蟹 (market price) used Sri Lankan Mud Crab which was prepared using 3 different types of coffee beans such as Arabica, Brazilian and White Coffee together with Apple Jam, Butter and Shaoxing wine to achieve a caramelized taste. When the crab was presented on the table,  the serving staff will pour Shaoxing wine and coffee liquor over it and light up the crab to creating a "Fire Crab" effect sending coffee aroma into the air.

But although I am a coffee lover I still prefer salted egg crab as compared to this.

{MUST TRY} Baked Rice, Assorted Seafood, Chef’s Recipe Sauce - 海鲜大烩焗饭 (S$68.00 for 4-6 pax, S$88.00 for 7-12 pax) is definitely the HIT for that night with the 7 of us all agreed and raising our hands crowing it the best dish fellow by their signature Bay's Kopi Sauce Crab.

According to Janice, this dish was inspired by one of the popular Portuguese dish Chef Yong sampled in Macau and he adapted the recipe for local palate. The plate of seafood baked rice was indeed filled with treasures such as baby abalone, scallops, mussels, prawns and etc that topped with spiced cream sauce and generous amount of mozzarella cheese. Overall the dish reminded us of Paella but with a hint of spicy Japanese Curry taste that blend well with the sauce and make the whole dish very addicting.

{MUST TRY} Pan-fried Radish Cake With Prawns and XO Chilli Sauce - 极品酱鲜虾萝卜糕 (S$20.00; S$30.00) was one of the highlight for that night. Although this dish might be pricey as compared to those served in foodcourts or dim sum restaurants but with generous amount of shelled prawns and chunks of homemade radish cake that pair with their in-house XO chilli sauce. I am sure you won't want to give this a miss.

Sweet’s temptation (S$20.00) which suitable for 4 person includes Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Fresh Cream Stuffing; Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Yam Paste Stuffing (coated with shredded coconut); Steamed Custard Bun with Salted Egg Yolk and Bay’s Chinese Pancake with Red Bean Paste.

Although their Salted Egg Custard Bun taste great with soft outer skin and savory filling but my personal preference goes to their Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Yam Paste Stuffing and Bay’s Chinese Pancake with Red Bean Paste. Love the crispy outer skin of the Chinese Pancake which is not too oily and it goes well with the fragrance and smooth red bean paste.

Live Seafood (at market price) available for customers to view and select before cooking.

MAJESTIC BAY SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
18 Marina Gardens Drive
Gardens By The Bay
Flower Dome, #01-10
Singapore 018953
Reservation: (65) 6604 6604
Website: http://majesticbay.sg/

OPERATING HOURS:
Lunch
Monday - Friday: 11:45am - 2:30pm
Saturday, Sunday And PH: 11.30am - 2:30pm

Dinner
5:45pm - 9:30pm


Lastly I would like to thank Majestic Bay and Janice and Sherman from foodnews for the invite tasting.

MooJaa, Mookata Thai BBQ Steamboat

MooJaa is a popular slang word meaning "My lovely pig" which is commonly used by couples who have put on a little of that "happy weight" during their relationship. Here at MooJaa, Kookata Thai BBQ Steamboat, you could enjoy having both barbecue and hot pot at the same time like what shown above. The pot comes with a dome shaped grill which allows smoke from the charcoal to waft up to the grill and perfume the meat with "wok hei" fragrant which makes you crave for more.

The selling point of MooJaa is definitely their flavoursome "soup broth", sweet and spicy homemade dipping sauces as well as fresh ingredients like meat and seafood.

While flipping thru their menu, we notice that they have some Thai-style Ala Carte dishes like Basil Pork, Green Curry Chicken, Fried Garlic Pork/Chicken and etc for their lunch menu with pricing range from S$5.50 - S$8.00 inclusive of white rice and soup. 

Although there are quiet a few choices on the drinks menu but when comes to Thai restaurant I would either go for their Thai Ice Tea (S$2.50) or Lemongrass Drink. And I am glad I made the correct choice for having Thai Ice Tea from Moojaa which taste really good with a light refreshing after taste that is not too sweet or bitter.

They are two popular dipping sauces such as Spicy BBQ (red colour) and Sweet Sour Seafood (orange colour) which the Thai chef made from scratch using 31 different ingredients.  And to make these sauces it involved about six straight hours of non-stop stirring in order to prevent it from char or bun, no wonder it taste so good and like by most customers. Personally I love the Sweet Sour Seafood Sauce which taste more refreshing with hint of citrus flavour in it.

At MooJaa, the owners also specially used quality Binchotan Japanese Charcoal (備長炭) which does not release smoke, ashes or other unpleasant odours like those traditional charcoal steamboat we used to have. And the moment when we saw they bring in the charcoal we were all very excited to try the food which would be cooked using the traditional way rather than gas stove.

While the staff was preparing the steamboat for us, something interesting caught our attention. He actually used a cube of "Pork Lard" (in place of the butter which normally used for BBQ) to grease the grilling pot before placing the meat on it.  From what he told us, this extra goodness would add great fragrance and crisp to the meats barbecued on the dome.

For your information the soup broth for the hot pot section is brewed for at least five hours using chicken and pork bone which makes it so tasty even before adding in any of the hot pot ingredients. And by the time, we added in the meats, vegetables and seafood, the soup turns incredibly flavourful with the mixture of the hot pot ingredients and meaty juices from the grill.

MooJaa has two types of Mookata set which are Set Moo and Set Gai both pricing at S$39.90. Basically they have the same items just that Set Moo consists of Pork Collar Set whereas Set Gai is of Boneless Chicken. Both the Mookata sets includes Prawn, Fish/Pork Ball, Squid, Hotdog, Golden Mushroom, Vermicelli, Kang Kong and Cabbage.  

Furthermore they also have other Ala Carte items to add on to the Mookata such as Cheese Ball (S$8.00), Deep-fried Salmon Fish Skin (S$6.00), US Angus Beef (S$22.00) and etc which you could take a look at their Menu.

Their homemade Chicken Cheese Balls (S$8.00) is one of their popular side orders which is tender when bite and the cheese filling is not too overpowering in taste too. But just be careful when you eat this as the cheese might burst and split when you bite it.

One of their private dining room which could caters around 8 - 10 persons.

MooJaa, Mookata Thai BBQ Steamboat
25 Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089132
Reservation: (65)6536 4780
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MooJaa.sg

Operating Hours:
Lunch: Monday to Friday; 11.00am - 2.00pm

Dinner: Monday to Sunday; 5.00pm - 11.00pm

The Boxing Crab Seafood Restaurant At Sentosa, Underwater World

A week ago, together with couple of friends we visited The Boxing Crab Seafood Restaurant which is launched by Food Junction.  Nestled in the beautifully quaint stretch of Sentosa, the 250 seater (with both indoor and alfresco) restaurant overlooks the panoramic sea where patrons would be exhilarated by the sights of traversing cruise liners and ferries while dinning. On top of it, there are two VIP rooms which can accommodate up to 20 persons per room for Birthday or office functions too.

If you are looking for dining experience which is away from the hustle and bustle city life, perhaps the eclectic menu  (comes with mud crabs, swimmer crabs, flower crabs, prawns, garoupa, scallop and etc) from Boxing Crab plus affordable prices and variety of culinary styles (Chinese, Balinese or Western) would be a great consideration.

Pastry And Cake Counter plus Open Concept Kitchen View

Other than serving seafood or ala carte dishes, The Boxing Crab also cater Quick Lunch Set features dishes such as Roasted Sirloin, Lamb Korma, Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, Scramble Egg Croissant and etc.

Pastry and Cake which display over at the dessert counter

During teatime, the restaurant also offers Afternoon Tea Menu such as: Waffles, Pancakes and Crepes with toppings of fresh fruits and single scoop of ice cream of your choice. Or you could make your choice from the Ala Carte afternoon snacks like pies, tarts, sandwiches, cakes and etc to go with a cup of premium coffee or tea.

Stimulator (back) and Detox(front)

The restaurant also has a FULL page of Beverage choices ranging from Smoothie, Fruit Juice, Soft Drinks, Coffee/Tea to Beer, Champagne, Wine and etc. For something different, we tried some of their smoothies which are:-

~ Energy Enhancer : Consists of juices from Orange, Pineapple, Lemon, Kiwifruit, Passionfruit together with Yogurt, Ginseng and Honey

~ Stimulator : Consists of juices from Orange, Pineapple, Lemon, Kiwifruit, together with Ginger and Honey

~ Detox : Consists of juices from Apple, Celery, Beetroot and Ginseng.

My choice was Stimulator which blends well with the choice of fruits used leaving you with a cross between sweet and sour after taste. And when sipping the you could also taste bits of ginger which spicy up the taste too. All smoothies are at S$7.00 per serving.

For appetizer, we had Otah Otah Cigar (S$12.00) which was crispy on the outside and piping hot with otah filling inside. The otah within is not too spicy or dry and overall the "spring-roll" like finger food was also not too oily to taste.

{Must Try}The Steamed Bamboo Clam with Minced Garlic (market price) was steamed to perfection with the flavor of the meat being locked in with a small serving of vermicelli in dark soy sauce. Furthermore the bamboo clam meat is well-cooked and tender with some amount of fragrant minced garlic on it leaving you asking for more.

For the main courses we started with the Charcoal Grilled Snapper (S$28.00) which accompany with 3 different types of dipping chilli sauce .  The fish used is very fresh and it is slightly charred on the outer skin with chunks of white meats underneath but the only setback was certain parts of it tends to be a bit dry and tough. Other than fish, you could also choose from their seafood range such as Prawn, Squid or Clam. 

{Must Try} I have tried Salted Egg Crab With Pumpkin from other seafood restaurants before but this Braised Claypot Crab with Superior Broth and Pumpkin (market price) from Boxing Crab was indeed a hit and something special that you should try.  The unique flavor of mixing superior broth with pumpkin gives it a rich flavour with thick golden sauce that compliments well with the fresh steamed crab. Almost all of us love the pumpkin sauce which we can't stop sipping on it.

{Must Try} We also tried Caramelized Spicy Crab (market price) which is a good choice for those who prefer something non-spicy as compared to the usual Black Pepper Crab but yet filled with similar wok-hei flavour and flavourable caramelized taste.  The first taste of the dish reminds me of another hawker food that is the "Black Fried Carrot Cake" because both of these two dishes have similar after taste.

For tables with "Crab" orders, there would be a set of "surgery tools" (shown above) which consists of Gloves and Utensils to make picking the crab meat easier. If you want to keep clean while eating those crabs, there are also Aprons available for your used.

Overall their crabs are indeed very fresh with firm, thick  and juicy flesh which is naturally sweet and flavoursome with the choices of cooking methods.

Seafood Mee Goreng (S$25.00, medium) was delicious with the right amount of spiciness and flavour together with the combination of fresh seafood which is heavenly enough to whet everyone's appetites.

DESSERT

After the meal, if you still have room for dessert you could pick a choice from their dessert column where they served both Asian and Western desserts such as cakes, waffles, ice-cream, yam paste with gingko nuts, warm almond cream and even pan-fried water chestnut cakes and etc.

Below are a few dessert items that we have tried and most of us prefer the Tropic Pineapple Sorbet which is an interesting dessert that combined both sight and taste satisfaction. Whereas if you have sweet tooth, go for either Meringue with Chantilly Cream or Catalana Cream with Caramelized Sugar.

Meringue with Chantilly Cream (S$8.90)

Traditional Sicillian Cannoli with Sweetened Ricotta (S$11.90)

Tropic Pineapple Sorbet (S$11.90)

Yam Paste with Gingo Nuts (S$5.00)

If you intend to try out their yummy "Crabs" with over 10 different cooking selection, here is a Good Deal for you to enjoy the 1-For-1 Crabs promotion which ends 30 November 2012.

(1) 'Like' Boxing Crab facebook page HERE.
(2) 'Share' the 1-for-1 crabs promotion with your friends
(3) Print out the coupon and show them your facebook that you've liked them
(4) Enjoy your crabs

For more information, you cal call The Boxing Crab at (65)6274 7760 or visit their Facebook page HERE for more details.

THE BOXING CRAB
80 Siloso Road
(Sentosa Island, behind Underwater World)
Singapore 098969
Reservation: (65)6274 7760

Opening Hours
11:00am to 11:00pm (Daily)

Nyonya Food Affair At Buffet Town

For the month of September till 31st October 2012, Buffet Town is having "A Nyonya Food Affair" theme to provide diners with a different dining experience. So about two weeks go I have visited their outlet on a weekday dinner together with Celes and Shitting.

Although the Nyonya section is not very big but it does consists most of the Peranakan signature dishes such as Babi Pongteh, Itek Tim, Kueh Pie Tee, Chap Chye and etc.

Part of the Nyonya Food Section which is visible from the entrance and beside the pizza station.

For something refreshing, start off with these Nyonya Appetizers such as:- Sambal, Achar, Papaya Pickle, Chin Chalok and etc. Personally I love the Papaya Pickle and Achar.

After the appetizer, you could move on to their delicious home-cooked main dishes such as:- Otak Otak Pangang, Nyonya Fried Mee Siam, Babi Pongteh (braised pork) and Nyonya Chap Chye.

Most of us love the Fried Mee Siam which is fragrant with spices used and filled with old-school flavour.  The texture of the Babi Pongteh is soft and flavorsome which goes well with steamed rice together with the Chap Chye.

Other than dishes above, they also have others such as:- Shrimp Fritters, Ngoh Hiang, Kueh Pie Tee, Itek Tim (Salted Mustard Duck Soup) and Nyonya Curry Chicken.

Out of the above-mentioned, Curry Chicken is our less favourite because we find it a bit too saltish to our liking and it is not fragrant enough as compared to the usual local curry chicken that we had. But other than that, Kueh Pie Tee and Itek Tim are both "must try" which you don't want to miss out. Love the Itek Tim soup which reminds me of my grandma cooking.

Kueh Lapis is one of my favourite kueh especially during Chinese New Year and at the Nyonya Buffet  you could also find assorted nyonya kueh such as Kueh Salat,  Pulut Inti, Steamed Lapis and even Chendol as after meal dessert.

Apart from the Nyonya Food Affair, Buffet Town also has  20 over other categories of food which definitely would satisfy the taste bubs of the 450 seating capacity. No wonder it is always "super long" queue outside the restaurant during lunch or dinner.

So if you love seafood on ice, I would suggested you to go for their fresh sashimi and oyster which we all find it fresh and worth trying.

Above are some of the food from other various stations such as:- Rojak, Assorted Satay, Chilli And Black Pepper Crabs, Assorted Tempura, Roasted Beef and not forgetting their crispy and delicious assorted Pizza which is something not to be missed.

After a hearty meal, you could grab a cup of coffee/tea to pair with some miniature assorted mousse cups, cakes, self made Ice Kechang, ice cream, soy beancurd and etc. Their mango mousse cups are something that I love and it always run out pretty fast too.

Lastly, you won't want to miss out the best dessert at Buffet Town which is their freshly made Waffle. It is crispy on the outer layer and yet light and fluffy with each bites. I love to pair it with my favourite Green Tea Gelato (example from Kiseki post here) plus drizzle of chocolate sauce but too bad that night they have run out of green tea gelato.

A Nyonya Food Affair will be available from 10th September 2012 till 31st October 2012 at Buffet Town, Raffles City. So if you love Nyonya food, do call early to make reservation in order to avoid disappointment.


BUFFET TOWN
Raffles City
#B1-44E
252 North Bridge Road
Reservation: +65 6837 3793
Website: www.buffettown.com.sg

Opening Hours:
11.30am - 3.00pm daily (Last order at 2.30pm)
6.00pm - 10.30pm daily (Last order at 9.30pm)

Buffet Town Pricing:
Monday - Friday Lunch: S$24.80++ (adult); S$17.80++ (child)
Sat, Sun, Eve of and PH Lunch: S$29.80++ (adult); S$17.80++ (child)

Monday - Thursday Dinner: S$34.80++ (adult); S$20.80++ (child)
Friday - Sunday, Eve of and PH Dinner: S$39.80++ (adult); S$20.80++ (child)

* Child(6 - 12 years old)


Thank you Chantel and Buffet Town for the tasting invite. You could also read more HERE from my old post regarding my 1st visit to Buffet Town for their lunch buffet.