Bangkok II Day Two

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Small Talk: I will lose my freedom to the corporate world once again come this monday... but at least I am being productive!!
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Click here for Day One

People often dished out advice to sample the Oyster Egg and Beef Noodles in Bangkok and I am glad we had the Beef Kway Teow Soup for supper the night before, at the roadside stalls, outside my hotel. By indicating to the street hawker I wanted EVERYTHING (beef balls, raw beef, braised beef, beef tendon and beef stomach) in my serving of noodles, all it cost was a mere 30 BAHT (or SGD$ 1.265 equivalent). My verdict – I am having supper every night in Bangkok!!!

Since it was a weekend on my 2^nd day of the trip, we headed to, where else but the infamous Chatuchak Market.

With good advice from my friends, we headed early via the sky-train in our singlet to avoid the heat of the weekend market. Our 1^st there was for breakfast – and I wolf down a bowl of Braised Beef Glass Noodles

and Cha Yen and for my friend, a bowl of Pork Trotter’s Noodle.

After a great round of bargain buys, we headed back to the hotel vicinity for a late lunch. As we were craving for rice, I suggested Siam House and the all too familiar fare I had on my last trip – the Olive Rice, Kang Kong, Tom Yum Goong, Fried Mussels Egg (as they do not have Oysters) and Deep Fried Sea Bass.

To be continued…

Bangkok II Day One

For my 2^nd trip to Bangkok, I have decided to stay at Asia Hotel beside Ratchathewi Station for convenient sake. After check-in and all, my friend and I decided to head for a late lunch at the noodle stall I last visited when I was there on my 1^st trip.

Compared with my previous visit though, you would have noticed that this time round, the bowl of noodles comes with my favourite pig’s blood and cuttlefish. Since this trip is also purely an indulgence trip, our main focus was simply to sample all the good food of Bangkok and shopping. So right after our late lunch, we headed straight to Suan Lum Night Bazaar for more food,

and our 1^st target was the Oyster Omelette.

This was followed the deep fried pork,

and other usual stuff like the grilled squid and deep fried chicken, but special mentioned goes to the grilled fresh water prawns that I didn't get to try on my last trip.

The prawns were huge and juicy, but the unsurpassed component was the high cholesterol roe from the prawn head… it simply leave u speechless! Paired that with cheap local beer and you have the perfect setting to wrap up the night.

I am back!!

Will update on my 2nd Bangkok trip real soon... stay tuned!

Mooncake Festival

The Mooncake Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month which is 6^th Oct this year.

And to celebrate this festive season with the gluttonous Singaporeans, Ngee Ann City has organised a Takashimaya Mid-Autumn Festival held in Takashimaya Square from 10am to 9.30pm daily, where the most exquisite treats of delicious premium mooncakes awaits you. From demonstration on the making of snow skin mooncakes,

to the alluring twelve animals of Chinese Zodiac crafted by the chefs,

to the cute mooncakes shaped as piggies for the kids, the whole Square is buzzing with activities.

Besides the normal mooncakes, you will also have the chance to see the old-school traditional ones that are deep fried, giving it a flaky skin.

Interestingly, one thing I realise nowadays is, there are many weird fillings for mooncakes, including rum and raisin, cheese, yum, and even one stall selling snow skin mooncakes with Baileys fillings.

Besides the green tea filling which I truly love (Check out the ones from Orchard Hotel – Hua Ting!!!),

the other flavour I was checking out was the durian flavoured mooncakes by Goodwood Park Hotel – it was however disappointing and not as great as their famous Durian Puffs

– nonetheless head over to the stall of “Four Seasons Durian” and you would be overwhelmed that the filling they used for their durian mooncake is PURE D24 Durian flesh!!!

Last Days Part 3

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Small Talk: Yesh!...finally had 2 Job Interviews scheduled for Tomorrow & Tuesday
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Click here for Part 1
Click here for Part 2

Over at the end of Tras Street lies Murray Terrace, and at the 2^nd unit, of a stretch full of food galore lays Mitzis Cantonese Restaurant.

A favourite lunch and dinner venue for my ex-boss, the name itself suggest that it serves Authentic Traditional Cantonese cuisine. My ex-boss likes it so much that we once have back-back meals for 2 days straight, (although I am not complaining since she paid for most of the meals there). On my last trip there for lunch, we had the usual fare of Kai Lan fried with Garlic, as well as the Bittergourd Fried with Beef Slices in Bean Paste – an all time favourite with my boss and of course mine!!!

The vegetables served are always so fresh and we even had a 2^nd helping of the Kai Lan once in our previous visit. The Bittergourd though was abit below par this time round as I felt the Beef and Bittergourd was too cooked.

Also, I dislike the beef being tenderised in my dishes as it leaves an artificial taste – I would rather do without it, giving it a rough tough texture yet soft from the medium rare state. Another disappointing dish was the Deep Fried Prawn Paste Chicken.

The flavouring was too sweet and overpowering, and the meat too dry for fancy. The next dish was therefore a delight as the Fish Head steamed with Bean Paste was fresh and the gravy an ideal for white rice to go with.

There was also plenty of fish meat to go around a table of 6, dispelling the belief that fish head are all bones and no flesh. Surprisingly, we rounded off the lunch with a more Teochew than Cantonese sinful dessert (due to the excessive usage of oil in frying the taro) also known as Oh Nee or Taro (Yam) Paste Pudding.

Although it lacked the gingko nuts, the dessert was still acceptable although abit oilier and sweeter would have been ideal. Other dishes that I would recommend but didn’t tried that day are the Steam Soon Hock Fish in Cantonese style and the Steam Chicken with Chinese Bacon.

Rating
Food: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Price: 3.5/5
Total: 15.5/20 (Warning: Can be crowded during weekends)
24-26 Murray Terrace

Last Days Part 2

Click here for Part 1

Besides my favourite Laksa for breakfast, another favourite breakfast spot would be Mustajab Restaurant situated next to the 7-11 store along Tras Street.

Besides the usual Mee Goreng takeaway for breakfast, you can also try the Mee Siam. What's more the $1.50 Nasi Lemak, which comes with ikan bilis and fish, is also a hearty breakfast especially if you choose to add the $1 fried omelette to go with it.

However my all time favourite is still the Mee Soto with its hot steaming soup, shredded chicken and the fried potato ball to go along with the yellow mee...... Sedup!!!

Rating

Food: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5
Price: 3.5/5
Total: 14/20
67 Tras Street

Last Days Part 1

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Small Talk: Exercising has it gains and of course its pains... sprained left ankle and twisted right knee... and visits to the chinese sinseh
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People always say experiences and memories during the last days is always the most vivid, impactful and unforgettable - Be it the last place you have dated with you Ex-girlfriend, or the last gift or advice you received from your dying relative. And thus I will be sharing with you my memories in my last days at Tras Street in my upcoming few entries.

Tucked just a few shophouses away at 57 Tras Street lays Gourmet Haven.

An eatery furnish with simple decor of a few chairs and tables, it is often missed and ignored by many walking by as the facial and frontage of the eatery lacks publicity and signage.

Gourmet Haven offers limited western set lunches to its customers, and I ordered the pork chop rice in black pepper sauce (even though I swear they mixed it with barbeque sauce), as well as the fried chicken drumlets to share with my colleagues.

We waited for a good 15-20 minutes before our lunches came, but thankfully the pork chop was pretty good and the set comes with egg and salad. However I find the sauce abit too salty and serving of the pork chop pretty stingy. The drumlets were also disappointing as it was served over-burnt and each bite comes with the bitter taste. I presume either they have forgotten about the chicken wings left in the deep fryer, or they have chosen to keep re-using the oil. The only good thing that comes from this visit is that they happen to serve cha yen.

Rating

Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5
Price: 3/5
Total: 12/20
57 Tras Street