Jiak Ba Food Heaven (甲霸食堂) - Taiwanese Cuisine @ Bishan Junction 8 in Singapore

As Bishan MRT station is an interchange for my daily work commute to/from Yishun, I would sometimes alight at the station to grab dinner or visit the supermarket. 

In one of my latest visits, I chanced upon Jiak Ba Food Heaven, an eatery offering Taiwanese cuisine. Since I just completed all the postings for my 11 Days 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary to Chiayi Alishan, Kaohsiung, Tainan and Taichung; I was so craving for Taiwanese food! 

Let's get seated and order! Heng the queue only started to form after we stepped into the eatery. Well, guess either Alex or I were an reincarnation of the fortune cat for businesses. 

Braised Meat Rice Set - go for the set which gave you more variety at reduced pricing! The one I got included a bowl of luroufan, a slab of crispy chicken, and a small serving of cabbage! 

While the apparently stir-fried cabbage had a soft yet crunchy texture that I prefer, the taste and smell were similar to the vegetarian Luo Han Zai that, to me, was abhorrent. Guess my mom would like it though.

The dish I craved the most would have to be the luroufan! Also known as braised meat rice, this was among a few dishes in Taiwan that I could never stop having when I was there! Another favorite would be the stinky tofu!  

Braised sauce had a sweet flavour which totally appealed to my palate! The braised meat was mushy but there were too little meat with a surprisingly touch of spiciness. Pickled cucumber was good and I could do with more of them! 

Crispy chicken had a batter that could have been crunchier and while the slab of meat was pretty thin; texture was dry. Average at most, and this made me so miss the chicken from Fatty Chicken Cubes and Cutlet at Taichung! 

Braised Pork Chop - ordered a side to share with Alex since we only had one carbohydrate-rich dish which would not be sufficient for two of us.

Unlike the crispy chicken, this was a lot better! Texture was crisp, meat was juicier than the chicken, with a nicely balanced braiseness that was totally on point, with delicious, irresistible fat bits that I literally had to gnaw on the bones to get them off! 

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Address

9 Bishan Place, #02-21,

Junction 8, Singapore 579837

Map

As above.

Website

https://jiakba.sg/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Braised Meat Rice Set - S$10.80

Braised Pork Chop - S$7.80 

(Subject to GST)

Hairy Tofu (毛豆腐) @ Tunxi Old Street in China

Hairy Tofu (毛豆腐) is an abomination of what was otherwise a healthy byproduct made from soybeans! From the look of it, you would have thought it was just a strip of thin bale of non-edible cotton.

Truth was; it's a local delicacy in some parts of China and since I had seen videos of it on my social media feed, I did make it a point to check it out, especially given my unstoppable adoration for its cousin, the stinky tofu! 

While the initial "look" is contentious; the first step to making the hairy tofu edible was to mix it with a concoction of seasonings and spices, which seek to disintegrate the "hair", at least reduce its visual impact, and then cook it.

Apparently, you can either deep fry or pan fry the hairy tofu; I would have preferred the former but from what I saw in China for the huangshan trip; the latter seemed to be the norm among street vendors. And yes, they did look a lot more normal by this step; a bit like badly formed tau kwa. 

By the time the bowl (costing RMB 15 Yuan, about S$3) was handed to me, the tofu seriously looked like the stinky tofu from Man Kou Xiang Stinky Tofu in Singapore; albeit without the stench! Man, I miss stinky tofu.

Gosh, you can still pull out strings of "hair"! Nonetheless, it was pan-fried to a crisp, but once your teeth went past the thin crispiness, the dense texture of the tofu would be next, before disintegrating to a somewhat powdery state. Some would say the taste was cheesy but the flavour to me was more like a less impactful stinky tofu. Can't say I don't like it! 

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Location

Near Main Entrance of Tunxi Old Street,

Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China

Click HERE for our 8 Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China via CTC Travel Agency

Trespassing a Private Space (Upcloud Shilin Villa) @ Huangshan in China

Taking advantage of the fact that we still have about two hours to go before congregating with the rest of our tour mates, my family and I decided to explore the surrounding of Shilin Hotel at Huangshan! 

Stone Gate of Qingliang Villa, which was right behind the Shilin Hotel, where we stayed at the night before. While simple, this stone gate dated back to the Ming Dynasty, meaning it was already more than three centuries old.

111 steps leading to the lodge by the cliff side, this was connected to the stone gate, and was given the title of an ancient road. Damn, it was older than Singapore's founding back in 1819. 

It might not seem like it from the photograph but we were really up in the mountains, although Huangshan is not exactly that high, with its highest point at just 1,864 meters above sea level. 

Cool, crisp and fresh morning air!

While it comes to mountain climbing, always prepare a hiking stick! Even though we were given wooden one from the tour agency, I actually brought along the adjustable ones with better grip purchased from Decathlon Singapore.

Arrival at the entrance arch of the lodge, with the English and aptly name; Upcloud. Since there wasn't a gate or a door, we proceeded in for a better look. 

A charming, classic place devoid of any tourists, unlike most of the places in Huangshan, which was known to be one of the most famous mountains among the 1.4 billion local population in China! 

There's even a observation deck! 

It was windy though, and cold! 

View was disappointing, due to the surrounding fog, reducing visibility to just a few hundred meters, and masking all the beautiful sighs that Huangshan is well known for. 

Quite a waste although not as bad as Sapa! 

At least I managed to see some hills and trees! 

From this height, we also managed to catch sight of Shilin Hotel! There were more things to explore at the back of the hotel, and I doubt I would have sufficient time to check it out later. 

It was only towards the end of our "short" visit that we chanced upon a staff and realized that this was private property and not opened to the public, unless we had a room reservation! Thankfully, we were not hauled up to the police station for trespassing! 

How were we supposed to know that this bamboo gate was actually the marker of a private property?! There wasn't any sign.... let's just blame it on the stupid Singaporeans mindset. 

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Location

Side of Shilin Hotel, 

Huangshan, China

Click HERE for our 8 Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China via CTC Travel Agency

Fresh Strawberries from the Street @ Huangshan City County in China

How keen are you to try fruits sold by mobile street vendors when you are overseas? I am hesitant given my sensitive stomach, and even more so for China, with horrendous stories of chemical laced and infused fruits said to sweeten, preserve and beautify.

The exact thought went through my mind when we stepped out of China Huizhou Culture Museum, but my tour guide signalled that we can buy as the fruits were safe. As our health and safety were her primary responsibility, we literally went dog crazy! 

One whole bag for just RMB 20 Yuan (about S$4 for 500 grams), and arguably more than 500 grams as the street vendor gave asking us to sample! 

Everyone of them was bigger than the normal, and sweet on its own! It's indeed disturbing to see it being so vibrantly colored but I have a high-trust problem; tour guide said ok, I trust. I did monitor my stools for the next day, and it was fine despite me eating so many of them! 

Worth it for S$4?

Definitely for us! 

Small, little tangerines cost RMB 6 Yuan for one jin (500 grams). Again, we were shoved with tons of samplings and given that there were a few of us to share the sweetness spike; we bought one jin too! 

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Location

Roaming Street Vendor,

Outside China Huizhou Culture Museum,

Huangshan City County, Anhui Province,

China

Click HERE for our 8 Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China via CTC Travel Agency

Breakfast at Kim San Kedai Makan (金山大众市场) along Muar Glutton Street [Malaysia]

After a drive that's more than three hours long from Singapore, we finally arrived at the famous muar glutton street, where we shall our breakfast right in Malaysia! 

Many shops were either closed or just started business; hence, after checking out the about 100-meter street, we decided to have our meal at Kim San Kedai Makan, which would be like our typical coffee shop with a variety of offerings suitable for everyone of us. 

Kaya Butter Toast - let's start with the toast, a must-have in Malaysia and Singapore! Not bad tasting with a crisp outer shell and loving the thick butter and the yummy egg custard kaya Do you prefer the green or orange one? For me, the winner has to be the orange! 

Duck Egg Penang Char Kway Teow - although it's a bit too early for char kway teow, it's hard to resist when the stall was already operation with the strong whiffs of fried noodles that were irresistible! 

Now, this RM9.00 a plate char kway teow was a downright disappointment; bland and no wok hei! The saving grace was the duck egg which gave it some brownie points.

Chee Cheong Fun - this would be something more suitable for breakfast and the only sad thing going through my mind was that Alex didn't join us for this trip since he is a huge lover for chee cheong fun. 

For RM 14.00 for two plates, I had to admit that the serving size was substantial! Both were alright tasting but it's the prawns over the minced meat for me. And having the shallots over the chee cheong fun was definitely a good move. 

Boneless Duck Noodle - among all the stalls in the coffee shop, the one that got the highest review score on Google Maps is actually the duck stall, commanding a high 4.8! 

Frankly, I was hesitant to order as I am very picky when it comes to braised duck and the noodles used weren't the type I like; which was like a thicker yet flatter form of yellow noodles. 

Priced at RM 8.00, this was honestly a surprise! The noodle tasted just like a more fulfilling form of mee pok, and the sauce was savory sauce; making every slurp delightful! While the duck meat was sliced thinly, it was tender, ending on a nice, braised note. 

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Do you think I will return? Maybe for toast and duck noodles. 

And maybe chee cheong fun if Alex were with me. 

Address

24, Jalan Ali, Pekan Muar, 

84000 Muar, Johor Darul Ta'zim, 

Malaysia

Map

As above.