Gunkee Claypot (灌记砂锅) from China @ Chinatown in Singapore

I visit Singapore Chinatown occasionally and one thing that always made me curious would be the large group of customers waiting patiently outside Gunkee Claypot, in the relentlessly hot and humid Singapore climate. 

My elder sister was as curious and we decided to check out the restaurant for a birthday lunch! To beat the queue, my younger sister made a reservation so that we didn't have to endure the outdoor heat. True blue Singaporeans love air-conditioning! 

Should you be unfortunate, please help yourself to the complimentary fans and also the free servings of iced sweetened water; latter was thirst quenching.

If you walk past Gunkee Claypot, your eyes would be drawn to this line of claypots. I don't deny that this was a sight that piqued my curiosity too. What's brewing within? We will know very soon! 

Interior of the restaurant, which hailed from Henan province in China and said to specialize in Hunan and Hubei cuisine. Not that it matters to me since taste should always be the determinant. 

Table setup; bowls and plates gave traditional Korean vibes. 

Without further ado, let's start with our meal.

Heilongjiang Wuchang Rice - now, when it comes to Hunan food, a bowl of rice is a necessity! Some dishes can be sauce-based and you will thank me for having rice to balance out the flavours. 

Bean and Eggplant in Claypot - not bad tasting with the chopped long beans and eggplants that were cooked just right, and a well-balanced soup. p.s. when eating in a large group, vegetables would be a must. If I have my way, let's just attack the meat. 

Honghu Lotus Root with Superior Pork Broth - remember the line of claypots? They were the vessels for this signature dish of Gunkee Claypot.

Don't assume that it would just be all soup and maybe a pathetic serving of lotus roots. Once you scoop using the ladle, you would be surprised to see a generous amount of thickly cut lotus roots and pork ribs! 

Thick broth tasted rich and would have been very desirable should a thunderstorm be raving in Singapore then! Pork ribs were tender and I guess my least favorite would have been the lotus roots which were sliced too thickly and didn't feature the crunch I personally like. And super filling.

Black Tiger Shrimp Balls with Vermicelli Pot - the massive doses of minced garlic swarmed the taste buds, making every bite sickly palatable, and the prawns were fresh with a yummingly crunchy texture. 

Salted Egg Yolk Shrimps - Batter was cloying, and overly thick without the sweetness that would have balanced out the saltiness. I think local tze char stalls would have done a much better job, although they would also be aware of local taste buds. 

Cumin Roasted Ribs - do you like Chinese skewers, also known as chuan chuan? These would be like the gigantic version! Taste was not bad, even though boneless would be preferred!

Black Truffle Beef Scrambled Eggs - want an interesting scrambled egg? Go for this one! Egg was fluffy with the iconic, appetising truffle aroma, and the thinly sliced beef was soft and springy! 

Sweet and Sour Chicken - note, not pork! While the batter wasn't crispy in the way I would have liked this, the meat was alright, and reminded me of sweet and sour pork when I was a kid, albeit with an orangey, zesty aftertaste. 

Red Hawthorn Pork Ribs - yes, another pork rib dish! To be fair, I didn't know the lotus soup had pork ribs! Anyway, the ribs were amazingly good and coated with a sour sweetness sauce that was most appetising! Shiok! 

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Would I be back? Yes, if no queue. 

If yes, I would go for Xiang Xiang instead. 

Address

277/279 South Bridge Rd, 

Singapore 058826

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Website

https://www.gunkee.net/

Pricing

Heilongjiang Wuchang Rice - S$1.60 

Bean and Eggplant in Claypot - S$14.90

Honghu Lotus Root with Superior Pork Broth - S$24.90

Black Tiger Shrimp Balls with Vermicelli Pot - S$22.90

Salted Egg Yolk Shrimps - S$27.90

Cumin Roasted Ribs - S$22.90

Black Truffle Beef Scrambled Eggs - S$19.90

Sweet and Sour Chicken - S$22.90

Red Hawthorn Pork Ribs - S$25.90

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)

Additional Information

While there was no ice cream or packets of snacks as desserts after our meal, there was this self serviced area where you can help yourself to a few things! 

Firstly, you actually don't need to buy drinks as you can help yourself to the roselle, chrysanthemum tea etc. We didn't know until we were already done with all all the main dishes, and I was literally stuffed. 

Most customers were more aware of the dessert section where you can freely take the ice jelly, including complimentary toppings like grated peanuts, raisins etc, and drizzled with brown sugar.

Thinking it would be similar to our local ice jelly, I was taken aback after putting a scoop into my mouth. It was bitter, and hardly edible without the brown sugar! 

Smart Green Energy Waiting Room @ Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan

As a true blood Singaporean, I have always been proud of our award-winning, world renowned Changi Airport, but there's one thing Taoyuan International Airport absolutely won over Singapore's crown jewel. 

Their numerous, numbering over 30, themed waiting rooms! 

And today, let's check out Smart Green Energy Waiting Room.

We all know the benefits of green energy, especially toward the environment and sources include geothermal (which Singapore is exploring), solar (we have always embarked on it), hydraulic power generation (sadly, not for Singapore).

Another untapped resource would be the fitness green power, given the global population of more than seven billion people! According to the above chart, a 30-minute exercise on the r-rider fitness machine by over 3.5 billion people can reduce seven nuclear power plants! 

Looking like the typical cross trainer fitness machine in your gym, you can give it a try to determine how much power and energy you can regenerate! Those looking for a short exercise can definitely check this out. 

Honestly, I wasn't that drawn to all the explanations. It's the seats that captivated me in this themed waiting room; they were in the design of the blades of a windmill! So reminded me of the Gaomei Turbine Avenue (高美風車大道) we went to just a day earlier. 

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Location

Near Gate D6,

Taoyuan International Airport

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

Casa Vostra - Handcrafted Italian Pizza and Pasta @ Jem Shopping Mall (next to Jurong East MRT Station) in Singapore

When there were so much hype about a pizza place, I got curious and despite attempts to visit, the queue at the original Raffles Place branch was just too long for me to wait. 

Hence, when a branch of Casa Vostra opened at JEM (do you know it stands for Jurong East Mall); we arranged to meet up with the Greatest Kon for a meal at about 3pm on a Saturday! Heng no long line of humans outside the restaurant! 

Located on the ground floor of JEM, you really can't miss the full fledge orange color theme of Casa Vostra! Unlike some eateries, the seating arrangement was optimal, leaving sufficient spacing between tables.

Ordering via the QR code; sometimes, I really prefer a physical menu, especially when the words and pictures on the phone were too small for my presbyopic eyes. So, let's start with the full review on the dishes the three of us had! 

Healthy living? Want to save money? 

Help yourself to the water dispenser! 

Calamari Fritti - a classic favorite for any reputable pizza parlours; breaded batter sprinkled with paprika, with slices of calamari that weren't rubbery, this was okay tasting in my opinion.

Polpette -  literally beef meatballs with tomato puree and shavings of parmesan cheese, this small serving cost S$15.00! 

Soft and tender for the palate, each meatball had a full body of tasty flavour that was nice in the beginning, until the taste got heavy and cloying towards the tail-end. Best to have this with pasta I feel, to balance out. 

Baked Scamorza - priced at S$8.00, I was wondering why this thin layer of what appeared to be cheese could have cost so much. Now, I am absolutely no cheese connoisseur and happy to let my taste buds do the talking. 

Turned out to be the best dish I had at Casa Vostra; though plain and labelled as vegetarian, there were hints of ham mixed in with baked cheese and herbs! There's also a honey sweetness that totally upped the flavor! I would gladly pay S$8 for another serving!

Peposo - braised beef cheeks,rosemary roasted potato and black pepper, this was beautifully plated in an almost elegant way. I don't really eat potatoes so I shall only target the beef cheeks.

Bloody tender they were, using the language I am more accustomed too, but like most beef cheeks I had so far in my life, there was a gamey taste that I personally find off-putting.

Funghi, Tagliolini - "mushroom duxelle, parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano, sauteed mushrooms"; I only recognized three rooms from the above description. Oh well, at least I know it is mushroom pasta! 

Tagliolini is actually a ribbon paste that's mee-pok alike, and I love both the taste and texture! Not to mention as well that the mushrooms had the rich, wholesome, earthy flavour that I absolutely digged, with pepper that tantalized the taste buds! Yummy. 

Prosciutto e Rucola - how to visit a pizza place without ordering a pizza? Anyway, description as follows "Parma Ham, Rocket, San Marzano Tomatoes DOP, Fiordilatte di Agerola, Parmigiano Reggiano". 

Again, I had to declare first that I am not sold on authenticity and happy with cheap pizzas! Having said that, I did enjoy the light fluffiness of this pizza. Taste was alright as a whole; parma ham looked like thin slices of raw pork (well, they were cured), and expectedly salty. 

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Should the line be manageable, I am sure I will be back to Casa Vostra and the next time; I am going to check out their signature pizzas like gamberi, carnivora! And of course, reorder the baked scamorza! 

Address

50 Jurong Gateway Rd, 

#01-03, Jem Shopping Mall,

Singapore 608549

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.casavostra.sg/

Pricing

Calamari Fritti - S$12.00

Polpette - S$15.00

Baked Scamorza - S$8.00

Peposo - S$30.00

Funghi, Tagliolini - S$18.00

Prosciutto e Rucola - S$25.00

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)