美香, Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang

Banana Fritters & Assortment ($1 each)

It's been many good years. And we still round up our meal at the Changi Village Food Centre with goreng pisang from Mei Xiang (#01-51). Their banana fritters are thinly coated with crumbly skin, and melting sweet within. For lesser sweetness, go for their fried sweet potatoes, which are delightfully fluffy!

For Sunday only, which is today, they will have their special of pumpkin + yam fritters and the yam + sweet potato! Buy it.

The Hakka Stall

Yong Tau Fu Bee Hoon, dry ($3.50, minimum order of 5 pieces at $3)

Read a friend rejoicing on Facebook when her favourite Yong Tau Fu stall (#01-25), reopens at the newly renovated Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre. Makes me want to try it.

I say it's homely taste that draws the many customers. When you grew tired of eating out daily, such out-of-factory stuffs are striking to the taste buds. Do come in early for lunch, as most their pieces got sold out fast. Today, i wasn't left with much selections too.

Oh. And their chili is good.

Orange Clove Catering

Main Buffet Table, with Live Cooking Stations.

The speakers today are good. But the buffet lunch for the seminar is even better. Here's some pictures for your consideration to making the Orange Clove, your caterer this year.

The ones with asteriks* are our personal favourites.

MAIN MENU

Pumpkin Pilaf with Raisin

Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Mushroom*

Pan Fried Gyoza

Baked Scallop on Shell with Fresh Herb and Cheese*

Roasted Marble Potato with Herbs*

Stir-Fry Wasabi Prawn with Fruit Salad

Louisana Chicken with Mushroom Ragu*

Blackened Snapper with Caper Butter Sauce*

Sauteed Broccoli with Almond Flakes (Vegetarian)

Assorted French Pastries

Honeydew Sago with Watermelon*

LIVE STATIONS

Peking Duck Rolls*

Chili Crab Buns

Singapore Laksa*

Peking Duck Roll*

Chili Crab Buns

Singapore Laksa*

Pan Fried Gyoza; Roasted Marble Potato with Herbs*.

Blackened Snapper with Caper Butter Sauce*

 Baked Scallop on Shell with Fresh Herb and Cheese*

 Louisana Chicken with Mushroom Ragu*; Stir-Fry Wasabi Prawn with Fruit Salad

Pan Fried Gyoza

Pumpkin Pilaf with Raisin; Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Mushroom*; Sauteed Broccoli with Almond Flakes

Assorted French Pastries

Pan-Fried Chives Dumping (韭菜水煎饺)

INGREDIENTS:
3 tbsp Dried Shrimps, soaked and finely chopped
300g Chives, thoroughly washed and cleaned, then cut into bite pieces
20 pieces Dumpling Wrappers, round shaped (bought from the market)
1 tbsp Oil
150ml Water

SEASONING:
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
3 dashes of White Pepper

DIPPING SAUCE:
Chinese black vinegar + fresh Ginger, peeled and cut into fine strips.

Wrapping the Dumpling.

STEPS:
1. Heat oil. Stir-fry dried prawns well. Remove from heat, let cool before adding in chives, and all seasoning. Mix well.

Coating sides of wrapper with corn flour mixture.

2. Prepare cornstarch (corn flour with water, as in picture above). Coat the sides of wrappers with corn starch mixture, making it into the shape of a dumpling.

Wrapped Dumplings.

3. Heat oil. Pan-fry dumplings over mid fire. Cover the pan with a lid.

Golden brown bottoms.

4. Fry the dumplings until golden brown and crisp. Prepare diluted cornstarch with 150ml water.

5. Pour in cornstarch, cover immediately and cook until the water dries up. Maintain mid-low fire.

6. Dish up. Serve upside down, with vinegar dipping sauce. Easy.

White Fungus Tea (雪耳桂肉鸡蛋茶)

Ingredients

I don't usually take notice of the many herbal soups or cooling tea, which mum cooked for us. But this time it's different. Because once i gulped a mouthful of it, i felt my entire respiratory system being nourished! I really feel it. So i went back to the kitchen to ask for more to drink, and the recipe for you too.

When i asked for the recipe, mum showed me an old recipe book, dictated in olden Chinese. There's a translation in English. Do email me if you need the copy in Chinese.

The benefits are: Moisten complexion, brain feeding, calming effect for quality sleep, improve memory, tinnitus due to weakening kidney, cold and cough, easing constipation.

INGREDIENTS:

A handful of White Fungus, and Dried Longan.

4 Eggs

Water

Rock Sugar (optional)

STEPS:

1. Soak the white fungus in water. Wait for it to soften up, as in the above picture. Wash and remove any silt/ sand from it.

2. Cook your hard boiled eggs and remove the shells.

3. Add all ingredients, including the dried longan into soup pot and cover with water.

4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 30 mins, or more if you like a syrupy texture. We do. If you have a thermal pot, leave it in for half a day before serving. 

5. After removing from heat, add rock sugar to taste.

稳稳白米粉, Woon Woon Pek Bee Hoon

LaLa + Clayfish White Bee Hoon (M, $15)

This is supposedly our first 'white bee hoon' - where vermicelli was stir fried to achieve that wok-hei fragrance before cooking in a seafood broth. A signature dish that is fast gaining popularity in Singapore's many hawker centres.

The soup first hit us as being a little fishy, but was soon forgotten as we got used to it, and were busy slurping everything up! 3 crayfishes, 6 clams (with 1 being spoiled), lots of white cabbages and crispy pork lard was satisfying. We had wished they could be a little generous with their serving of the vermicelli, which was done with a good wok hei.

If you like what you see here, this is Woon Woon (#01-54) at the Changi Village Food Centre. Our first, and it certainly makes me fall for this thing called 'white bee hoon'.

Within the week, we went back for their LaLa and prawns set.

LaLa + Prawns White Bee Hoon (M, $9)

Pancake King @ Serangoon Garden

Peanut, Coconut Pancake ($1.10 each)

We first noticed Pancake King when it opened in the Serangoon Garden Market few years back, and we didn't patronise them - but good stalls survive right? Lovely chocolate cakes, cupcakes, brownies, egg tarts and puffs decorated their display cabinet, yet we were only craving for traditional min chiang kueh, the pancake.

Obviously, their pricing is higher than average, but i thought the coconut filling is worth it. Because we could taste Gula Melaka, a type of palm sugar in it. This is some good pancake indeed.

呀侖街粿汁, Garden Street Kway Chap since 1950s

Braised Platter for 2 - Braised Bean Curd, Fried Fishcake, Braised Pork, Braised Intestines,

Pig's Skin, Pig's Stomach, Braised Egg. ($6.50)

Flavor of old food. I believe it is not simply by following a certain recipe that you could concoct the taste of old food. It can be a secret ingredient, the use of certain kitchen utensils, or even a decade old braising sauce. Such taste is priceless.

This is what Garden Street Kway Chap in Serangoon Garden Market offers - the taste of nostalgia. We can't describe it, we just knew it. Its Teochew fried fish cake, flavorsome braised meat and the uncommon braised pig's stomach. I thoroughly enjoy this seemingly simple meal.

Their rice kway chap is the softest, and most delicate we've tried. And i thought grandma would find it so easy to eat this.

北胜, Bei Sheng Seafood/ Taste of Thailand

Baby Kai Lan with Oyster Sauce (S, $5)

Thai Deep Fried Fish Delight (M, $17)

Some 20 years ago, a branch outlet of Bei Sheng Seafood, named 'Taste of Thailand' operates a food stall from the basement food court of the Sembawang Shopping Centre. Business was really brisk then, and it became famous islandwide.

On the other hand, Bei Sheng Seafood never moved out of Yishun. It is still a comfortable air-conditioned cze char place, offering some of their dishes at lower than kopitiam's prices! Food wasn't eye popping great, nor authentic Thai, but it was decent - and there is no GST or service charges here.

A very friendly place, both on service and on your pocket.

Chicken with Honey Sauce (S, $8)

Pineapple Fried Rice (M, $5)

韩家肉骨茶, Han's Bak Kut Teh

Braised Pork Knuckle ($6)

Our last visit to Han Jia was in Sept 2008. During those years, we used to drop by the East Coast Lagoon Food Village just to eat the braised pig's leg and make takeaway home. They were really good, and of course, even till today. I was really tempted to make pack away today (but we are not on the way).

What surprises me today is their Bak Kut Teh. I didn't use to appreciate their soup, but I have changed my opinion now. And look at the giant prime ribs they serve! It was both tender and flavorsome. We will definitely come by soon.

Bak Kut Teh ($6)