Entree Kibbles

Saturday, June 11, 2022

Once Again at Holy Crab - Scorched Vermicelli and & White Pepper Crab in the Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski in Singapore

The Capitol Theatre is a heritage building that was built in the 1930s and I remember it was a dilapidating structure a few decades ago, without its renowned grandeur from eons ago.

Good thing is that Singapore, in recent years, is concentrating a lot on her history, together with a focus on performing arts. Many old buildings have been conserved, with renovations that put in much needed air-conditioning and modern washrooms.

Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski; this would likely be a street in ancient times but in modern times; cool air filled the enclosed vicinity that allowed visitors the feel of being outdoor, without Singapore's notorious heat and humidity.

Purpose of my visit today; to Holy Crab once again! This came less than a month after my inaugural visit as I couldn't wait to bring my mom to check it out, given how much she enjoys the crustacean.

I took the opportunity to explore the eatery, which also came with a "rooftop" section; a nice place for a large group gathering like family and friends.

For a moment, I was wondering why they selling grab tee-shirt. Turned out it was CRAB, and not GRAB; not sure if this would become a copyright issue. Haha. Anyway, let's start with our food!

Calamansi Slushy - this was so memorable in my first visit that it's a guarantee I will order this time round. One word; shiok, especially in the recent heatwave.

CapriCorn - how could we ever forget this enjoyable plate of "lightly battered corn kernels, salted egg yolk and curry leaves"? Mom loves it too!

Scorched Vermicelli - this was something I almost ordered the last round but knew it would be too much for Alex and I. Hence, I took the opportunity of having my mom around to give it a try!

Let's squeeze the lime! Know also as burnt bee hoon that originated from San Lou restaurant in Malaysia's Johore Bahru, I have to say that the version from Holy Crab appeared a lot more charred from other eateries I have had so far.

It was delicious; blessed with a strong wok hei, the only issue was that there's a super thin line separating the dish from being inedible given the large, charred crispy surface. For healthy individuals like my parents, this would be best avoided. Pieces of pork ribs added to the sinfulness, which I thought could be replaced with prawns, squids instead.

White Pepper Crab - with more than ten types to choose from, I decided that my mom shall be the final decision maker, sparing me from the dilemma I always face from having too many choices.

Differing from the white pepper crab at JB Ah Meng Tze Char Restaurant, this was saucier but I prefer the green mumba I had the first time which was unique! The aroma didn't disappoint although the key attraction was still the fresh, luscious crab meat. Crab was 1.2 kilograms but strangely, it felt a bit smaller than the 1 kilogram crab we had previously.

Whatever the case, I am no kitchen scale here. With so much sauce, it would be a waste to have it as decoration. We shall end the meal with fried mantou to soak up the appetizing, slightly spicy sauce!

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Address

13 Stamford Rd, #01-85,

Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski,

Singapore 178905

Map

As above.

Website

https://holycrab.sg/

Pricing

Calamansi Slushy - S$6.00

CapriCorn - S$16.00

White Pepper Crab - S$90.00 a kilo

Mantou - S$4.00 for five

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)

Friday, June 10, 2022

Holy Cow Creamery @ North Bridge Road (Near Lavender MRT Station) [Singapore]

Right after a filling meal at Happy Chef in Lavender, my cousin spotted a nearby neon sign with two key words; ice cream and waffles! There is always a separate compartment in my tummy for desserts!

Surprise, surprise; it is a branch of Holy Cow Creamery, which had its beginning in Yishun! If memory serves me right, Holy Cow started its ice cream operations in the notorious town way before competition intensifies with new entrants like Moin Moin Gelato, No Horse Run Gelato, Hyogaki Gelato Cafe and Overscoop.

Compared to its Yishun branch, the concept here at Lavender was brighter, with a cheerful atmosphere peppered with elements of nostalgia, like the retro floor tiles.

Ice cream flavors; I couldn't remember what was the signature; I think it was earl grey lavender. Anyway, it's been a while since I lasted visited the Yishun outlet and with so much competition nowadays, innovative flavors like Graveyard would likely attract more attention.

I might be in a dilemma over the choice of ice cream flavors but one thing was clear; I am so getting the charcoal waffle! I wanted to blog about it since having it a few years ago; however, in my past few visits, I didn't even manage to step in as it was full-house!

Ice cream flavors that were chosen; chocolate chip mint, cookies and cream, soursop sorbet and sour plum sorbet. Two were selected by kids who are below 20 years old, and the other two were from adults above 30 years old. Want to guess which ones?

If you ask me, while both chocolate chip mint and cookies and cream were nice, they were flavors so commonly found in the industry that they didn't wow the adults.

I have better words for the sour plum sorbet and soursop sorbet. Former had pieces of sour plum hidden in the gelato; tasted like golden plum candy, which means it was considered pretty sweet for a sorbet. Latter was almost like blended frozen soursop; cold and sourish with a touch of sweetness!

Loving the texture of the charcoal waffle; crisp on the outside and fluffy in the insides! Even though I still enjoyed it, it was a bit off from the ones I usually have at the Yishun outlet; lacking the aroma that always entices us to clean it up!

Burp!

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Address

465 North Bridge Rd,

#01-5051, Singapore 191465

(Near Lavender MRT Station)

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

Sundays to Thursdays - 11.30 am to 10.00 pm

Fridays and Saturdays - 11.30 am to 11.00 pm

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/HolyCowCreamery.SG

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Charcoal Waffle with 4 Scoops - S$18.50

(NETT)

Wednesday, June 08, 2022

The Ship Restaurant and Bar - Sunday Set Lunch @ Shaw Centre [Singapore]

When it comes to birthday celebrations within my immediate family, the rule of thumb is for a get together over a meal instead of presents, and birthday boy / girl shall decide where to go!

For my younger sister's recent birthday, she opted for The Ship Restaurant and Bar at Shaw Centre. I am no stranger to this eatery as it has a long reputation, with a branch that was previously at NEX.

As the name suggests, there were tons of decorations to cultivate a dining experience at sea although to me, it felt relatively old school. Nevertheless, I bet it created a lot of nostalgia moments for regular patrons.

Despite its obscure location, business was booming!

We got a table at the far end, where we were blessed with large windows overseeing Claymore Hill. I used to drive along this road as it was the main entry to Shaw Centre, which used to have the cheapest parking within the Orchard Road district.

Loving it when complimentary water was served! I was drawn to the sunday set lunch which offered seven types of mains, and included soup, dessert and beverage.

Options for beverage - coffee, tea, sprite, coke and iced tea. The usual me would have opted for iced tea but strangely, I went with hot tea instead. Maybe my body was giving me warning signs as I fell ill the next day.

Soup consisted of minestrone soup, plus bread and butter!

While the bread was soft and fluffy, texture suitable to soak up a nice, flavorful bowl of soup, the minestrone soup was, sadly, underwhelming in taste.

My main - king prawns with lobster bisque pasta! Again, another rare order since I don't particularly fancy pasta given how starch heavy it is.

But the words on the menu, prawns and lobster, captivated my attention. As you can deduce from the photos, it was just two prawns, with some mushrooms and a massive amount of pasta!

While the noisy slurps from me might have implied tastiness, the sauce was a tad too bland and the prawns, in spite of being king prawns, failed to impress with meat that could have been firmer and crunchier. And yes, way too much pasta for me!

For desserts, we can choose between ice cream (basic flavors like vanilla, chocolate etc) and the dessert of the day was cheesecake. To be honest, calling it a cheesecake was pushing it a bit.

What I received was more a sponge cake. However, it tasted like those castella sponge cake with cheese and this was surprisingly light and with a pretty good flavour.

According to my younger sister, a lot of diners came for the sliced fish bee hoon and from one glance around the restaurant, it did appear on a lot of tables. I took a sip of the broth; tasty alright although not to the extent I would crave for it. What sealed the deal was the fish; super fresh and smooth! Needless to say, my parents loved it!

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Address