Yu Ba Fang (御八方) @ Takashimaya Food Village, Orchard Road, in Singapore

I have not heard of Yu Ba Fang (御八方), said to be famous for its "Taiwanese style pan-fried dumplings", but since there were a number of tables with their plates of pan-fried dumplings at Takashimaya Food Village; we figured it would be worth a try.

In Singapore's highly competitive food industry, you can't survive with just one item; hence, the stall offered more than just pan fried dumplings! You have options of boiled dumplings and other Taiwanese classic dishes like braised pork rice, oyster chicken mee sua.

So how's what we ordered; a bowl of Braised Pork Belly Rice, a serving of Pork Chives Boiled Dumplings and another serving of their signature QQ Fresh Prawn Pan Fried Dumplings. 

Braised Pork Belly Rice - since I just returned from a Taiwan trip a few months ago, I had to admit the fatty version would be the authentic Taiwanese version! The meat here was too lean for my liking and the sauce was more savory than sweet. In Singapore, I would prefer the one from 8 Degrees Taiwanese Bistro. 

Pork Chives Boiled Dumplings - although the signature was their pan-fried dumplings, I thought we should also give the boiled ones a chance! With six to choose from, this came recommended by the staff as one of popular choices amongst diners. 

Bursting with juice, there were plenty of chives in the filling, giving it the unique flavor that some of you might dislike. Not too bad but the dough skin was a bit too thick for my liking.

QQ Fresh Prawn Pan Fried Dumplings - just the two letters QQ would have made me curious; how would pan fried dumplings be QQ? Shouldn't they be crisp instead?

Turned out while the skin was thin, the crispness wasn't as pronounced, and maybe even a little chewy. Nevertheless, I did love the filling within, with satisfaction from bites of real pieces of prawns! p.s. eat the dumplings while they were still hot as taste deteriorated rapidly once they cooled! 

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Address

391A Orchard Rd, B2-1051,

Takashimaya Food Village,

Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238873

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Braised Pork Belly Rice - S$8.80

Pork Chives Boiled Dumplings - S$11.80

QQ Fresh Prawn Pan Fried Dumplings - S$12.80

(Inclusive of GST)

Satay Obek @ Bedok Food Centre [Singapore] #bedokhawkercentre

Bedok Food Centre, used to be known as Bedok Corner Food Centre, was a favorite haunt of mine when I had a car, and it's been a few years since I was last back at this far-fetched area that's more than an hour bus ride from my home! 

First thing I did, digging into the plate of delicious Bedok Corner Hokkien Prawn Mee and the bowl of cheng tng I counted as the best in Singapore from Ye Lai Xiang! So memorably good. 

Since I am rarely at this corner of Singapore, I decided to get more food. After walking a few rounds, it was decided that satays should be my third indulgence and we casted the lot at Satay Obek, said to be in operations since 1993 although I can't find any review on Google Maps.

Let's wait for the pager to beep!

After less than ten minutes, here's our serving of ten sticks of mutton satay and ten sticks of chicken satay! At the back was a plate of fried oyster but that's not our focus for this post today. 

Mutton satay was infused with herbs; the meat was not overly tough and the taste didn't feel gamey (pros and cons depending on while side you are on). Chicken was average and could have benefited from more herb infusion. Definitely the mutton over the chicken for me. 

Gravy was alright; not spicy, too watery in my opinion, and with a generous serving of peanut bits that appeared to be soaked for too long. I have had better ones. 

 

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Address

1 Bedok Rd, #01-19,

Bedok Food Centre, 

Singapore 469572

Map

As above.

Pricing

Chicken Satay - S$1 a stick

Mutton Satay - S$1 a stick 

Dafeng Hotel (嘉義大峯山莊) - Double Mountain View Room @ Alishan National Forest Recreation Area [Taiwan]

The drizzle was never-ending; a bad omen for what I would have considered as a bad start for my stay in Alishan. It didn't help that review rating score was below 4.0 yet I didn't have much choice given the limited list of accommodations! 

So here's our accommodation for one night.

Dafeng Hotel (嘉義大峯山莊).

What was deemed as a bad omen eventually didn't result in any negativity for the hotel as we were greeted exuberantly by the counter staff members, who told us we should have called them at the entrance of recreation area and they would send someone to pick us up in the car! 

After which was a barrage of information including breakfast , train and shuttle timings and frequency, catching the sunrise the next morning, attractions to visit at Alishan, suggested route, and room policy! And all information was in Mandarin; a language that I thankfully could grasp, verbally. 

A very important map, with recommendations on what we should eat at Alishan; like the wasabi sausage, chia seed drink etc. Very friendly staff members from the hotel and even though it wasn't the official check in timing, we were allowed early check-in, given that we were quite soaked from the drizzle! 

Room 301

Stepping into our Double Mountain View Room!

Unlike generally dated accommodations I saw on the web at Alishan, Dafeng Hotel appeared new! Turned out it was actually built in 1987, and newly renovated in 2024!

Given the rain and mist, no view of any mountain although the display of coniferous trees ahead of us was still a beautiful sight, at least in the daytime.

Coming back to the room, it was actually quite sparse; only a small dressing table, no study table (good for me as it means I shouldn't be working), no in-room safe, no mini-fridge (not a big issue for me), no proper wardrobe. By the way, the flooring wasn't carpeted and it can be cold for the feet! p.s. make use of the in-room slippers! 

Hot flask with pre-packed coffee and tea, and snacks! 

Dehumidifier and also an electric mattress (we were informed level 5 would be good enough) were also provided! Latter provided much warmth to the freezing winter night 2,100 meters above sea level. 

Now the all important washroom! Based on recent regulations, hotels are no longer allowed to provide disposable toiletries! So do remember to bring along your own toothbrush, toothpaste etc.

Water pressure was acceptable, temperature was good and the only negative thing was that the glass panel wasn't wide enough and the water from the showerhead kept wetting the "dry" section.

I was most impressed with the Japanese bidet! For the comfort of my butt and asshole, this was totally worth the price I paid for, for the hotel. I can't imagine why some four or five star hotels are still depriving guests of an electronic bidet! 

Evacuation plan! 

Remember the hot flask I mentioned earlier? You can fill it up via the water dispenser on every floor, providing guests with hot, warm or cold water.

Breakfast

To have your breakfast, provided free by Dafeng Hotel, you would have to get out of your hotel, go to its back, walk up the stars and cross the carpark of Alishan National Forest Recreation Area. Go straight up the stairs of the building in front, to the second floor.

Count the 4th store on your right, and you would have arrived at the eatery providing the free breakfast. Whip out the coupons and pass them to the staff member on duty. 

Non-air-conditioned but you honestly don't need it given the cool climate. Breakfast would be from 7am till 9pm during winter, and from 6.30am till 9pm in autumn, Spring and summer; unknown.

Although it was buffet style, it's not self serviced and the modus operandi was similar to our economical rice stalls in Singapore. While I understand some guests would take too much, like way over their stomach capacity, I am known to take a little bit of everything just to try.

Hence their style resulted in too much food for me! While I generally like broccoli, this was too raw for my liking and even the glass noodles were overly salty. 

Their sweet potato porridge was better, especially after you topped it with pork floss, peanuts and the sweetened gluten! Frankly, breakfast was better here than at Alishan Gou Hotel.

The beverages; I would strongly recommend the soy milk. Served steaming hot, it was warm comfort for my freezing body, and best of all, it didn't taste overly sweet! I had like two or three cups.

Like Singapore, remember to return your cutleries.

To their respective boxes, with waste dumped in a separate bin.

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My stay was much better than expected; service was great and the counter lady spoke impeccably good Mandarin and English (she stayed in USA for a while)! p.s. pillow was a bit too soft for my liking. 

Address

No 46, 中正村, Alishan Township

Chiayi County, Taiwan

Map

As above.

Pricing

Double Mountain View Room - S$213.85

(Booked via Trip.com)

Additional Information

For your viewing pleasure, including spa and massage services (only noted this when we were about to check out thee next day), and options for shuttle service to and from Chiayi, Kaohsiung Airport, Sun Moon Lake and even 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)