December 16th, 2009 View Comments
A short drive from the CIQ, lies this bustling restaurant with a crazy crowd who would brave storms to taste a flavorsome light brown broth. When I was a little girl, I would look forward to Saturdays because pa will bring us to this stuffy yet fulfilling restaurant if we manage to catch the morning church service!
Now that I’m a big girl, Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh is where I’ll head for piping hot herbal pork ribs soup with friends who don’t mind the heat! So last Saturday, I was there with Kelvin, Vic, Mariko and Cablenazi.
Vic looked like he was glaring at Cable Nazi for scooping ladle after ladle of broth from the claypot. Haha. By the way, Kelvin and Cablenazi was so pleased with the fare that they ate 2 bowls of rice which they really shouldn’t had. GUYS DON’T EAT SO MUCH RICE. Must remember to always leave some space for more yummy goodies when you’re in JB.
:S
Basically the most important feature of this dish is the broth: it is a balance between the herbal and peppery version of Bak Kut Teh. Ah Soon’s herbal version is a tad milder than Kedai Bak Kut Teh Hin Hock (another one of my favourite) but it is still delectable. I’m a really big fan of herbs and spices. It should contain star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic.
Well we were late, so there wasn’t much ‘stuff’ in the Bak Kut Teh lest for pork ribs. Normally in the morning before brunch, we can find additional ingredients such as offal and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs added into this claypot delight at Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh. If you woke up late, just like us, then just be happy with the pork ribs.
Secret. The Bak Kut Teh tastes so good because uncle Ah Soon insist on using charcoal to prepare his specialty dish.
(:
The Bak Kut Teh came in a big claypot so we gotta scooped the herbie treat into individual bowls. Hm. It’s weird how I dislike to have my Bak Kut Teh served in little porcelain bowls.… If I can, I would just slurp the broth straight from the claypot because I like my Bak Kut Teh extra warm. Haha. Or perhaps it is the claypot illusion that there’s more broth and meat inside.
Oh when you’re here, do try the Yellow Rice Wine Claypot Chicken, Tau Pok/Fried Bean Curd and Salted Vegetables.
Yellow Rice Wine Claypot Chicken was awesome. The meat was so tender, moist and and we can tell from the taste of it that the usually dry and unspectacular chicken meat had successfully retained the sweet taste of rice wine! It must had been simmered really slowly over a small fire the entire morning.
Also, the soft and a little goey Tau Pok went extremely well with the thick soy sauce and cut chillies. Do remember to eat the Tau Pok immediately when it is served because it will not taste as nice after it turned cold. As for the salted Vegetables. In my opinion, Ah Soon’s salted vegetable is one of the best among the Bak Kut Teh restaurants in JB. It’s not too heavily salted yet briny enough to tantalise my taste buds with a slight hint of pickled sourness.
If you noticed, we didn’t have You Tiao/Chinese cruller fried bread stick. Another reason for you to have breakfast here instead of brunch/lunch.
For Bak Kut Teh (4 persons), Claypot Chicken (2 persons), 2 bowls of Salted vegetables and 2 bowls of Tau Pok, we spent roughly RM65 on lunch for 5 hungry adults. Not sure if Vic, Mariko or Kelvin gonna crave for this and be back again but I will definitely say yes if dad wants to date me for breakfast this coming week when I’ll be back in JB for holidays. He’s the best. Cablenazi shall tag along if he has been a good boy this week.
Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh
141, Jalan Keris 1
Taman Sri Tebrau
Johor Bahru
016-7152678
Ah Soon is just 5 minutes walk away from the ‘famous’ Bamboo paper-wrapped herbal chicken which I personally think is over-rated. Would not recommend that Bamboo chicken restaurant because quality of food deteriorated after the renovation.
November 24th, 2009 View Comments
We were somewhere near Raffles place one afternoon, wondering what to have for lunch when our hunky friend, Darryl T recommended a quintessential retro Chinese roast meat shop opposite the UOB plaza! This restaurant serves roast duck, roast chicken, roast pork, Char Siew, pork ribs and even roast pig!
I had the roast duck with rice. It was so-so only because I’ve tasted better ones. Though the skin was fine, the flesh was a tad too salty for my liking. Hm also felt that the texture of the rice was not smooth enough! They didn’t use fragrant rice. But hearty portions! They were so generous with the servings till I have no choice but to pass some meat and rice to my adorable rubbish bin.
Well in addition to my leftovers, adorable rubbish bin had a plate of roast pork with rice. Slightly charred at the edges, the roast pork slices are thick and crispy. It goes crack crack crack when we chomp on it. Tasted better than the duck. I stole a quite a few pieces from his plate. Heh.
I enjoyed the clear flavoursome soup (I think I tasted sweet corn and pumpkin) and the brown gravy splattered over the rice was ok, not too salty but the texture of the rice kinda spoils it! Bad rubbish bin complained that I was too fussy because he thought that the rice was fine. Grrr.
Rice issue aside, for only $3, it’s a good deal if you are craving for crackling roast meat and you happened to be around Raffles area.
Gourmet Corner
15 Philip Street #01-00 Tan Ean Kiam Building
Singapore 048694
Tel: 6533 3033
October 15th, 2009 View Comments
Thanks Mun Wai for the recommendation! Mr.Ong and I still drools when we think of this restaurant. Can’t wait to go Hong Kong again.
Not sure if you are a fan of exotic food. Snake is considered as an exotic Chinese food that may revolt many stomachs. Haha. Anyway we dig weird Chinese exotic food and unusual grub.
We had duck liver sausage, Chinese sausage and wax duck for dinner!
The duck liver sausages or Ren Chang is so unlike what we have in Singapore/Malaysia! It’s perfectly moist and we find delicious nuggets of fat in a chubby sausage. The liver-taste was not overwhelming. I actually prefer duck liver sausages than Chinese sausages.
Chinese sausages or Lap Chong is pretty common among Southeast Asians as compared to Ren Chang. It is sweeter, harder and drier than Ren Chang. Singapore actually has Chinese sausages with low fat, low sodium content and even a high fibre version. Not sure how it taste though.
As for the wax duck, it’s actually a delicacy enjoyed by many Malaysian Chinese during the Lunar New Year. Wow. They have this all year round in Hong Kong. No it doesn’t taste like wax candles. Haha. It’s actually salt preserved meat that has an oily waxed texture. Unlike the ones I’ve tasted before, Snake King’s wax duck is much more tender!
Their signature dish is of course the “snake soup” !!!
It is thick like a stew and has shredded snake, chicken, pork and mushroom! Extremely tasty and it kept us feeling warm in the cold weather here!
Definately a MUST TRY in Hong Kong! Service is good and you’re eating in a typical Hong Kong style cha chan teng just like a local. In fact, most of the customers are locals!
Bought a doggie suit from a cart just outside the restaurant. So cuteeeeee! Took home a hogwarts-like uniform for skii-boy, my aunt’s schnauzer!
Snake King Two
No. 24 Percival Street
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel1: +852 2831 0163
Tel2: +852 2832 2977
September 10th, 2009 View Comments
No la I’m not talking about Rangoli, a traditional folk art from India. Haha.
For brunch, Ma proudly announced that she cooked coloured rice! The ubiquitous fried rice with strikingly coloured ingredients! This is what I’m talking about.
Green, Yellow, Black, Red, Pink, Beige!
I ? Ma
Green – Long Beans
Yellow- Capsicum
Red – Wolf berries
Black – Raisins
Pink – Hotdog
Beige – Egg
Haha. Looks really scrumptious right! Trust me it taste even better than it looks! It must be the wolfberries and raisins! Hmm or the yellow capsicum? I loved the flavour of the crisp capsicum with the rice and eggs. Ma did not add the soy sauce so we can taste the original flavours.
The wolf berries have a distinct sweetness. It has high nutritional benefit! In fact, Chinese herbalists and healers have used wolfberries for centuries. Wolfberries are covered in ancient chinese medical texts, including the Ming Dynasty Compendium from the 16th century and the Tang Dynasty from the 7th century.
To try this healthy recipe, just cook fried like how you do it normally. Then, add the ingredients mentioned above in quantities as you like it!
Easy beany.
September 8th, 2009 View Comments
Last Wednesday baby wanted “comfort food” and we were near Bugis so decided to get chicken rice at the retro restaurant along Purvis Street.
See how lovely the restaurant looks. On the namecard, it was written that Yet Con is ‘air-conditioned’ since 1940. Must had been a very upscale restaurant back then.
Eh this is a very special restaurant for me! This is where the good folks at Hill & Knowlton brought me on my first day at work! Welcome lunch! So nice right? They even have such team stuff for interns. They are a really wonderful team and I really really miss Debs and Joce! HUGSSSS!
Do you know what it says? I can only recognise some words. I think it’s promoting coffee and wine. Lol.
It was not dinner time yet so we managed to miss the crowd.
Ok. Singapore chicken rice 101.
What do you need when you eat chicken rice?
Thick, dark soy sauce, fresh chilli and pounded ginger!
Normally I’ll mix the chilli and ginger together and trickle the black saucy over the rice!
The chicken is Báij? (??) or “white chicken”. I guess they use younger birds because the meat is so tender. Mmm. It also absorbs the dip really well. Also, the soup was so flavoursome! Baby said this is the kind of food that’ll have him licking his lips in anticipation. As for the rice, it is not too oily. Just right. Mr.Ong chowed down 2 bowls of rice in no time.
Also ordered foo young egg (Chinese: ???) or Chinese omelette. That’s what Voal ordered during my welcome lunch! YUMMY. It’s moist and the chef is really generous with the ingredients. It has so many stuff – eggs, vegetables, meat and seafood all mashed up together. TASTY.
The bill was reasonable. About $15/person. We enjoyed the prompt service by all the uncles and aunties at Yet Con. From what I noticed, all of them are like above 50! The old uncle with white hair at the cashier is really adorable. He has an abacus on the counter but he counts with a paper instead. Hehe.
When we left the restaurant was 60% full with people eating steamboat and some stir-fry side dishes. Will definately return to try the steamboat.
Note: pictures were taken with Sony Ericsson W890i, Baby’s hp. It’s 3.2 MP. Looks better than the pics I take with my W880i right? Yup. It’s time to upgrade our phones.
Yet Con Chicken Rice & Rest
25 Purvis Street Singapore 188602
Open from 11am-9.30pm
Tel: 63376819