Piao-Ji Fish Soup

I am saving up for my pilgramage to Sushi Jiro in Tokyo next month
(~SGD500 per head for omakase!) and have been sustaining on hawker centre lunches and home-cooked dinner at my Sis' house. I have also successfully NOT been taking cabs to/from work either - rain or shine, 7am or 11pm. *Pat on own back*


This bowl of prawn/fish soup at $10 a fix, was admitedly, an indulgence. I love Amoy hawker centre on weekends - (relatively) empty and there's this chill vibe you'll never get on a busy weekday. The prawns that day were exceptionally fresh and the soup was very tasty. Add lots of chili padi and tada - the perfect hangover meal! (Yes, Yar's birthday and our heads were kinda throbbing from Royal Room the night before).


It was a good meal but I still prefer my Han Kee fish soup. $5 for generous thick slices of fish - yums. The queue is (a lot) more efficient too. We waited 30 min in line for Piao-Ji with only 6 people in front of us. Oh vell, it was a lazy Saturday and nobody needed to rush back to the office.

Shanghai Ren-Jia

This is a really out-dated blog entry (December last year?) - sorry, I am slowly (but surely) clearing my back-log.

Both B and I both used to work in Shanghai (at different times - no, we did not meet there) so when his parents mentioned a "really good and cheap" Shanghainese restaurant at Geylang, we hurriedly gathered a group of friends to check out the place. It was a hole in the wall place - don't expect a fancy ambience or atas service. Run by PRC locals, I'd imagine you'd need to speak conversant mandarin in order to order the dishes.

Lucky for us, we already had a whole list of Shanghainese dishes we were craving for. For me, it was Hong Shao Rou and drunken chicken. We also ordered La Zi chicken (in dry wok style) and Duo Jiao Yo Dou (fish head in diced chilli). The latter was really more Hunan-style rather than Shanghainese but I don't think anyone was compaining, haha.


Ok, the verdict. It certainly doesn't beat my favourite restaurants in Shanghai but for the price and quality, I'd give it a thumbs-up. I love the fact that it's just in my backyard and I can get my fix of Hong Shao Rou anytime. Taste could have been more robust, but in the same manner they cut down on the oiliness and sweetness, the food has been prepared to cater to the Singapore palate.


We loved the drunken chicken though, it's a must order. Most authentic dish of the lot. The guys ordered a second serving! It's amazing how food can bring back so many good memories of our time spent in Shanghai.


I used to have my weekly fix at Xiao Yang Shengjian bao when I was in Shanghai, and when I saw it on the menu I almost hyper-ventilated. We were already stuffed but I couldn't resist ordering a dozen for ehem "desser". Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed - the shengjian bao just did not deliver - the pan-fried base was not crispy enough and it was too dry - where's that burst of delicious soup when you bite into the bao?


Nonetheless, this is one joint I'd go back to. The other dishes were good.

Good Lunch Deals (Part I)

Work has been crazy lately and I haven’t had much time to blog. When I get home, I gobble down dinner and vegetate in front of the TV. So much for a meaningful existence.

I dare not commit to weekday after-work plans now. Most recently on Valentine’s Day, I had a lovely Valentine’s Day dinner slice of raisin bread. B was sweet enough to pick me up post-drinks-with-his-pseudo-single mates but no, Valentine’s supper did not materialize.

Why didn’t anyone warn me about working for an American MNC?!!

No matter. This is a post about nice lunches. Given I can’t do many weekday dinners, I seek solace in my afternoon foodie fix now. These are two recent set lunch gems I found.

1. Kurosan Ginza (30 Robertson Quay, #01-10/11 Riverside View)

This is one mean Chiraishi set with salad, soup and dessert. All for $20++! On our first visit, we already preempted withdrawal syndrome and made reservations to return the next week.

Thank goodness Robertson Quay is a bit out of the work hood for most people, else I might not (for ehem selfish reasons) share this here. Not only is the bowl generously piled high with quality cuts of fish, the chocolate dessert here is absolutely delish too. Some sort of chocolate pudding - the milk/cream and chocolate combi is so yummy! Service here, in true Japanese fashion, rocks.

2. Sandaime Bunji (9 Raffles Boulevard, #01-14/15 Millenia Walk)

Talking about stretching that dollar, did you think that $9++ would get you this (see below) set? The restaurant does daily lunch set specials and the day we went it had:

Teriyaki chicken, salad, cold tofu, chawamushi, big bowl of mixed oden, rice, oxtail soup and dessert

Who would have thought that (such a quite) posh-looking restaurant like this would have such a good lunch deal?! W00t!

“Can you please not blog about this place?” B pleaded. Haha. Sorry love, I have a duty to my readers here. To give B credit, he had “discovered” this sweet deal a few weeks ago and was completely bowled over by the Gyutan (beef tongue – the restaurant’s signature) lunch set.

Watch this space. I am so going to look for more fantastic value lunch deals - I know they're out there!