Revisiting the Best Char Kway Teow in Singapore [最好吃炒粿条] @ 132 Jalan Bukit Merah [生成炒粿条]

Egg is such a perfect ingredient that i could not imagine an omnivorous life without it!

However, our topic today is not on the 100% protein food; instead this was a re-post on what i believe to be the best char kway teow in Singapore!

A bit on the history of this stall (i don't usually touch on historical facts as i vehemently believed that regardless of the history, the taste is what that matters most to me); original site was at Wayang Street, the current owner (and chef) learned his skill from his father (who hailed from China) and he has been frying the local black noodles dish for over 40 years!

Eggs are commonly added to Char Kway Teow (guess all locals are aware of this) but my interest was recently piqued when i saw a customer asking for an additional sunny side up! I knew i had to try it out!

The sunny side up did not result in any taste difference and i thought it would be more worth the money for the extra egg to be stir fried together with the noodles.

Nonetheless, i am still pleased with the extra black kway teow which remained as good, as delicious and as sinful as the very first time i had it six / seven years ago! 

For advice on "how to order" for that perfect char kway two, please click HERE.

Remember to ask for extra pork lard!

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Location

Block 132, Jalan Bukit Merah

[GHK Food House]

Map

As above [red star]

Price

Char Kway Teow - S$2.50
With A Sunny Side Up? Extra S$0.50! 

Additional Information

The stall closes on Fridays even though there are days when the owner decides not to open for business. 

I am not the only person who holds the strong belief that this is one of the best Char Kway Teow!

Again, you may read my original review at the following weblink; http://cavinteo.blogspot.sg/2010/03/char-kway-teow-block-132-bukit-merah.html

Peanut Ice Kacang @ Jin Jin Hot / Cold Dessert [ABC Brickworks Hawker Centre]

That epic chendol is forever on my to-eat list whenever i visit ABC market - a serious setback for my dieting plan since the hawker centre is famed for quite a number of local dishes and the coconut milk based dessert is god damn unhealthy in the professional opinion of any nutritionist!

Thankfully, Alex decided to order something different from Jin Jin recently and this gave me the opportunity to try out their peanut ice kacang!

In a way, this is merely a simple upgrade from the normal ice kacang with the additional sprinkles of grated peanut bits. However, two factors would make it exceptional; the use of freshly grated peanuts and they must have a texture that is almost (but not yet) powdery.

As you could probably see from the picture, the peanuts were just not grated finely enough. And they had a strong bitter aftertaste that was totally incompatible with the ice kacang! 

I would stick to my sinful chendol in the future.

=_=

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Location

6 Jalan Bukit Merah, #01-20,

ABC Brickworks Food Centre

Price

Peanut Ice Kacang - S$1.50

Additional Information

For my post on their power chendol, please click

http://cavinteo.blogspot.sg/2011/11/power-chendol-jin-jin-hot-cold-dessert.html

Hyper Snake - Classic Snake Game in the Modern Age for iPhone

Back when Nokia was the unquestionable big brother of the mobile phone industry, there was this game (packaged with most Nokia phones) simply known as snake that used to drive me nuts! 

Hardly surprising news for an impatient man. 

But when the app "Hyper Snake" appeared in the Free App of the Day, i could not resist downloading it solely for the challenge of proving that the man has now become older and would likely have the patience required to ace the game. 

Despite having a few other options to play, i prefer to stick to the classic - which involves eating one cell at a time to grow your tail longer and the essential need to avoid crashing into your own tail! 

The contemporary version upped the visual level for graphic crazy consumers and what you get now is a game that has a dazzling display with an outer space background that changes with each burst of colour cell ingested by the hungry serpent. 

Don't expect buttons! Please control using the accelerometer inbuilt in your iPhone. The limitation of having the accelerometer is that i could not play while lying on my back! 

Nonetheless, i had a blastful time reliving the good old days and managed to grow the snake into a colourful beauty at a length impossible to achieve decades ago! 

Although occupying 4 out of 8 digits in the scoring system may seem pathetic, you are however rewarded with a grand fireworks finale with the snake's death!

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Purchase from App Store under "Hyper Snake".

Old Hong Kong Kitchen (老香港小鲜) - Top 5 Dim Sum (点心) Restaurants in Singapore? @ Square 2 at Novena

The word "old" is not taken lightly by many people but when it comes to food, the very same word often relates to an establishment that has a long history and/or dictates authenticity in their offerings.

Old Hong Kong Kitchen attracted my attention not because of the word; instead, i was more curious on its award of being voted the top five dim sum restaurants in Singapore!

If there's one thing i really enjoy doing - it's to check out food outlets with top ratings and confirm/debunk the positive reviews by food connoisseurs before me.

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

This could have been the better ones in Singapore with juicy, squishy meat. The failed part was the dry dumpling skin that could not wait to break apart upon a slight contact.

Steamed Shrimp and Pork Dumplings

Nowadays, many companies love to put mushrooms in the making of siew mai. It's good (at least for me since i love them) although too much could extremely alter  original taste.

Barbecued Pork Puff Pastry

The flakes were irritatingly good as they lacked the overly floury aftertaste that many restaurants have yet to master. The char siew filling was generous and i totally relished the aroma of sesame seeds in my mouth.

Deep Fried Spring Roll

This was ordered purely out of curiousity - the Chinese title mentioned that it's 25 centimeters! The whole effect would have been a bit more "wow" if they served it without cutting it!

Tasted alright (you could never go that wrong with pork floss and bak kwa) yet i would prefer something more substantial (this was way too thin)!

Bo Lo Bun

It's always my dream to eat a bo luo bao that has a thick, nicely baked saccharine crust with a chockful of sinful char siew in the middle!

As far as looks are concerned, these is a good example of my dream bo lo bun. Again, i don't think this is horrible yet i thought the buns sold at Crystal Jade bakery were marginally tastier.

Steamed Flour Rolls

My family always has problems whenever chee cheong fun is concerned; one like char siew, the other prefers prawn etc. To prevent the escalation of family fights in the public for chee cheong fun, Old Hong Kong introduced a 3 in 1; literally.

One had char siew, the other had prawns and the last one contained scallops! Scallops were surprisingly delicious; prawns were slightly above average whereas i could not wait (note the sarcasm) to persuade my mom to have the roll with char siew.

Egg Yolk Custard Buns

Lau sha bao is increasingly becoming a standard fare in any reputable dim sum place in Singapore and to me; it has also become a norm for me to place an order whenever i see it on the menu.

Dough? Too thick and too plain! Filling? For those who persistently complained that the egg yolk content in lau sha bao was barely discernible, please try the ones here! Their fillings were definitely the best in my opinion.

Remember - Only the filling.

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Location

10 Sinaran Drive, #02+80,

Square 2 @ novena

Operating Hours

[for Dim Sum]

10.30am till 5.00pm

Price

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings - S$4.50

Steamed Shrimp and Pork Dumplings - S$4.50

Barbecued Pork Puff Pastry - S$3.30

Deep Fried Spring Roll - S$2.00

Bo Lo Bun - S$3.60

Steamed Flour Rolls - S$5.50

Egg Yolk Custard Buns - S$3.80

[Subject to GST and Service Charge]

Promotion

20% discount for all dim sum between 2.30pm and 5pm from Monday to Saturday! If the Saturday (or any of the week day) falls on a public holiday, the discount would not be applicable.

Dim Sum Menu

As above.

Repair Your iPhone with A Reliable Company - My Good Experience with iPhonefix @ Waterloo Centre [Bras Basah]

Repairing mobile phones in Singapore used to be a nerving experience for the owners.

We have heard of numerous cases where the precious metal parts are replaced (without your permission) with cheaper alternatives or personal data were compromised and also of service staff who have no idea what they are doing, except to take things apart and recommend a million other additions to make your phone more "powerful"

That's when you can put your absolute confidence in iPhonefix.

To allay your fears (caused by the many bad nuts in the industry), you are more than welcome to sit comfortably (the shop has air-conditioning) in front of the staff member servicing your phone and glue your eyes on his/her every little movement.

On honesty, i can totally trust this person by the name of Greg.

I first visited iPhonefix 3-4 months ago due to the faulty power button on my iPhone (that explained the lack of blog entries on iPhone apps and games for the past few months). He told me the cost and could have proceeded to earn the S$70 but he didn't.

In actual fact, he advised that i go back to my service provider as my iPhone was likely to be covered under warranty and i would have gotten a replacement for free! Greg even took the trouble to check some model numbers thingy (could be IMEI) to confirm his suspicion!

If there's one thing i admire in business, it's the-hard-to-find integrity and honesty. Okay, that's two words but i guess you get my picture. By the way, i didn't even have to pay a single cent for diagnostic service!

The story doesn't end here unfortunately. I didn't bother to return to Starhub on this power button issue and by the time i could not bear with the inconvenience anymore, the warranty has lapsed!

It's a trip back to iPhonefix!

Ten minutes were all it took for Greg to take out the casing, remove the parts one by one, replace the power button strip (which came with a one-month warranty) and re-assemble the phone.

Unlike the repair i took upon myself for my Panasonic Lumix camera, the steps taken to repair the iPhone were just too troublesome. I lost count after step number ten.

Just the screws were enough to make me think twice; they were so minuscule and i am unable to make any assurance that all the screws will be accountable, given how butter fingered i am!

For a man, i am damn impressed with Greg's dexterity!

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Location

261, Waterloo Street,

Waterloo Centre, #02-11

[near to Bras Basah MRT Station]

Map

As above.

Opening Hours

Monday - Friday: 11am - 9pm

Saturday: 1pm - 8pm

Sunday: 1pm - 6pm

Public Holiday: Call +65 8338 6781

Website

sg.iphonefix.asia

Payment

By cash only!

Please REMEMBER!

Other Services

iPhonefix provides repairs (cracked screen, battery replacement, unresponsive buttons, water damage, wifi problems etc) not only to iPhones but also iPads and Macbooks.

Tiong Bahru Yi Sheng Fried Hokkien Mee (中峇鲁益生炒福建虾面) @ ABC Brickworks Food Centre [Behind IKEA Queensway]

Everyone knows that the dessert stall in ABC market serves a really mean chendol drenched with such generous amount of gula melaka; it is almost guaranteed to make a dietician faint on the spot!

But have you ever noticed this hokkien mee stall located right opposite the dessert stall? I didn't - at least not until i realised the long queue that formed at dinnertime a couple of weeks ago.

Given i was still recovering from my wrist surgery at that point, the chance to try a plate was delayed until last weekend. Frankly, i was so craving for hokkien mee since that surgery!

No thanks to a former classmate, Tang Chee Hoe, who keeps reminding me of our constantly postponed (my fault) trip to an epic hokkien mee stall hidden in an area very near to Yishun!!

Anyway, this fried prawn mee will be what locals call the wet version; the prawn stock was thick with a flavourful consistency that did a fantastic job (judging from the slurpiness) in sticking to the many strands of yellow noodles and bee hoon.

Kon felt that the noodles lacked the wok-hei although i thought it could be forgiven when you add in the homemade sambal belachan that was way different from the generic type found in most hokkien mee; it was definitely more spicy yet there was an unstoppable addictive kick to it!

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Location

Blk 6, Jalan Bukit Merah,

#01-13, ABC Brickworks Food Centre

Opening Hours

11.30am - 2.30pm

4.30pm - 11.30pm

Price

Minimum a plate: S$3.50.

Kon ordered S$5.00.