Ang Mo Kio Fried Kway Teow @ 724 AMK Central Food Centre [Singapore] #amkcenrtalhawkercentre

That plate of white carrot cake did little to placate the hungry devil in my tummy and I looked around this hawker centre at Ang Mo Kio Central for another food source; the enticing aroma from the above char kway teow stall eventually drew me and it was decided; "uncle, one plate, no chilli"!  

One look and it already worked up my appetite! The noodles were in a darker shade without me even asking for extra sweet sauce and most importantly, it had a wet, saucy consistency. Oh la la, I can't wait to eat it! 

The flavour contained a ton of wok hei and I did love the accompanying green vegetables; made it seemed like my meal wasn't that sinful. Strangely, the noodles tasted mushy and I wondered if it was the higher proportion of kway teow or the over-use of oil. After a while, I got a bit turned off and this kind of caught me by surprise as it tasted so heavenly in the beginning.

Would this deserve a second chance? I think it does as I still can't forget the strong wok-hei that filled up my oral cavity when I took my first bite.  

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Address

Block 724, Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, 

724 AMK Food Centre,#01-28, 

Singapore 560724

Map

As above.

Price

Char Kway Teow - S$3.50

Special Set C (with Lobster Porridge and Boston Lobster) Orchid Live Seafood @ its New HomeTeamNS Khatib Branch in Singapore #lobsterporridge

Today, we are going to explore a new building within walking distance from Khatib MRT station; despite running past it on quite a few occasions, I had never once stepped in until a reason propelled me to; my dad's birthday.

Celebrating with a dinner at Orchid Live Seafood! You didn't see wrongly; it's no longer at the non-air-conditioned farm place at Bah Soon Pah Road where mosquitoes await to suck the blood out of you. 

Its new premises on the third floor of Home Team NS Khatib Clubhouse exuded a whole new different atmosphere; cool air from the central air-conditioning, nice ceiling lights and comfortable wooden chairs! In essence, no difference from a nondescript restaurant. I do miss its unique kampong setting at its old outlet. 

That long line of eye-catching glass tanks that housed mainly live lobsters at Bah Soon Pah Road has now been replaced into a shorter, three-tiered version that you can commonly find in other seafood restaurants. 

Anyway, my love for the lobster porridge at Orchid Live Seafood is well known among my peers and people who know me well would be aware my food reviews are hardly affected by the "environment". Taste matters more than anything.

My usual order would be the buddy set but as there were five of us (as per regulation due to COVID19), we decided to opt for Set D which offered the dishes we usually have, and boston lobsters as a bonus; plural for a reason as they were having a one for one (for boston lobster) until end of September 2020! 

Just my parents and elder sister as younger sister was rushing over from work. To be honest, I wasn't craving for lobster porridge that much as I had in fact ordered home delivery twice over the past four months.

A pot of Pu-er Chrysanthemum tea for the five of us while we waited for our food. 

Lobster Porridge - served in the familiar earthen pot, I requested the waitress to leave a few lobsters in the porridge as they had the tendency to dry out pretty fast once they were out. 

Good, old taste lobster porridge; one that I couldn't help reminiscing once every few months. It's still as delicious but now that I am very much into ingesting lesser carbohydrates; I would prefer a lot more of that amazing broth than rice grains. 

Now the meat; my sister raised an important point. Compared to crabs, lobster meat isn't as sweet. I can't deny that but in terms of satisfaction (when you pop the entire piece right into your mouth), lobster meat is ranked higher! 

See that red arrow? Do keep in mind that there's meat there! 

Topshell Crispy Tofu (with Thai chilli sauce), Steven Chicken and Baby Kai Lan, respectively. These three dishes were part of my usual orders and personally, the former two are the must-eats! 

Live Boston Lobster - the menu stated cream cheese for the dish but my mom isn't keen in cheese. Aside from cream cheese, you can actually choose from chilli, garlic and porridge for the lobster. 

Our choice was clear; chilli. Was contemplating garlic but after the disappointing experience at 21 seafood, I think it might be easier for us to go with chilli. 

Meat from boston lobster was substantially larger than the lobsters in our porridge although we can't really tell the difference in taste as we would focusing more on the chilli gravy, which was slightly better than 21 Seafood yet lacked the punch for me to give it a slightly higher than average rating.

Mantou - with chilli gravy means an order of the fried buns must follow! It's actually not my first time trying the mantou from Orchid Live Seafood but the last time was 8 years ago! 

Maybe I have slightly more refined taste now as while they continued to be crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside; it had a bland taste just like 21 Seafood. I miss the chilli crab and the fried buns from Forture Seafood. 😞

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We were still relatively happy with the food we had, especially the familiar ones that we had been having for the past few years at the Bah Soon Pah Road old branch. One key question I asked when I heard of the move was whether there will be increase in pricing. The pricing of those items on the old menu didn't seem to have any change from the extended new menu but they do impose GST and service charge which can add about 18% to your bill. 

Address

2 Yishun Walk, #03-01,

HomeTeamNS Khatib, 

Singapore 767944

Map

As above. 

Reservation

Call +6567560311

Website

https://www.orchidliveseafood.com/

Pricing

Set D - S$198.00

Tea - S$2.00 per person

Mantou (12 pieces) - S$8.00

(Subject to GST and Service Charge)

Carrot Cake from Lim Hai Sheng Cooked Food (林海盛熟食) @ 724 AMK Central Food Centre [Singapore] #amkcenrtalhawkercentre

Convenience plays an important part when it comes to the location of hawker centres in Singapore and this particular one at Ang Mo Kio central can be quite crowded when it comes to popular meal times and I chose to visit past 2pm so that the wait would be less torturing!

To be honest, I was darn hungry and didn't hesitate when Alex said we should try the carrot cake from Lim Hai Sheng Cooked Food; reason being I am not a fan of white carrot cake.

Anyway, I would be sharing with Alex as there were other stalls I wanted to check out. To make it more substantial without overloading on carbohydrates, I requested for an extra egg. 

Freshly pan-fried, the carrot cake exuded a nice warmness very much appreciated on a cool, rainy Sunday afternoon. I was so glad I asked for an extra egg as the radishes were covered so thickly with them. 

Again, I really don't know how to appreciate white carrot cake. Yes, I do enjoy the chai po that came with it, love the smaller diced up pieces of radishes but black carrot cake is still the one I would go for! 

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Address

Block 724, Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, 

724 AMK Food Centre,#01-09, 

Singapore 560724

Map

As above.

Price

White Carrot Cake (With Extra Egg) - S$3.00

XO Minced Meat Noodle (XO 肉脞面) @ Newton Hawker Centre [Singapore] #newtonhawkercentre

After the impressive appetizer (Hup Kee Oyster Omelette) and less stellar dessert (88 Shan Ren Cheng Tng), it's time to zero in to our main course for this planned visit to Newton Hawker Centre! 

XO Minced Meat Noodles (XO 肉脞面) - you can't really miss this 24-hour stall as it's one of the first few stalls you would notice once you enter from the main entrance of the food centre. It's recommended by some bloggers although the current Google review score was low; mainly due to poor service. 

It's rare to see many other ingredients almost shielding the noodles from sight but this bowl cost S$5.00 so i guess many people, especially locals, would not have expected anything less.

First bite of the noodle and I must say it totally was my style; thin with a good, chewy bite that wasn't too soggy. Glad that I requested for just a bit of chilli to up the palatability.

The ingredients which included braised mushrooms, sliced fish cakes, minced pork, sliced pork, meat ball and an ingredient that wasn't commonly found in your bowl of  bak chor mee; crispy vegetarian goose! p.s. not complaining as I have always liked it. 

Not your typical meat ball; it's the delicious kind with minced pork hidden inside. Not the best although definitely one of the better ones that didn't leave a bad taste in the mouth. 

Despite the fact that this might not be your typical bak chor mee, I personally thought it's a pretty decent, local noodle meal for any tourist. p.s. this XO minced meat noodle has actually quite a few branches and I found one near where I work! Not sure if the quality is consistent. 

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Address

500 Clemenceau Avenue North, Newton Circus, 

#01-10, Newton Food Centre, Singapore 229495 

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

 XO Minced Meat Noodle - S$5.00