吃饱先 Sik Bao Sin (Desmond's Creation) - Take Your Pick from 13 Tze Char Dishes @ 592 Geylang Road [Singapore] #michelinbibgourmand

Sik Wai Sin is a restaurant I considered legendary, as I heard of its big name when I transitioned from "eat to live" to "live to eat" yet never had a chance to try its signature Cantonese dishes as the queue was said to be bad with limited choices on the menu.

Even though Sik Wai Sin is no longer around, there is Sik Bao Sin (Desmond's Creation); an eatery helmed by the second generation. By the way, Sik Wai Sin means "food comes first" whereas Sik Bao Sin means "let's fill our tummy first". 

Waiting time was indicated as between 45-90 minutes during peak and between 20-30 minutes on off-peak periods; not exactly a place to grab a quick lunch! We reached at about 1.00pm on a Saturday and was praying the queue wouldn't be too bad.

There was a line and we decided to walk around a bit before returning to find an empty table to sit the three of us! Setup was pretty basic and I guess the operators' main aim was just to satisfy the palate, which I am fully agreeable with when it comes to F&B. 

Super old school red table with red chopsticks, red packets of wet wipes, white plates and plastic cups! This would have been the norm for a Chinese restaurant in Singapore back in the 80s.

Any decent tze char stalls would have more than 30 dishes for you to choose from and even a simple ingredient like prawn can result in four to five dishes; like prawns with wasabi, salted egg prawns, deep fried prawns etc. Here at Sik Bao Sin, you only have 13 dishes and do note they didn't have the pricing on the menu! 

p.s. Sik Bao Sin has been awarded Michelin Bib Gourmand since 2018; 2020 was a gap year as Michelin cancelled that year's award due to long closure from COVID-19 pandemic. 

There was a cover charge of S$1.00 per person and aside from the wet wipe, you get free flow hot Chinese tea which didn't taste bland; I think I drank like four cups. Anyway, let's now touch on food.

Steam Pork with Salted Fish - While this featured a strong stench of salted fish (good for lovers of salted fish), the meat didn't absorb the flavor unless it's on the parts that touched the salted fish. Meat was hard and chewy and you would need white rice to complement it.  

Tofu Prawns - the messy, mish mash of ingredients covered in thick sauce didn't do justice to its taste. And to be totally honest, I was expecting a plating that was, well, more visually palatable.  

Nevertheless, the sauce was so appetizing; I was tempted to get a bowl of white rice so that I can lap it all up! Tofu was soft, and the prawns were large and amazingly fresh with bites of 'crunchiness'.

Steam Fish Head - I think I have mentioned multiple times before that I am not a huge fan of fish, unlike my mom, and the head is not worth it in my opinion as I have lesser meat to indulge in.

No complaint about the fish meat although there were quite a lot of fish bones; quite a hazard for fast eaters like me. It's also said to be more difficult for the chefs, to ensure no "muddy" taste when it comes to freshwater fish. 

For me, I only remember the generous sprinklers of crispy pork lard. 

Of course, anything with pork greaves would taste better! 

Sweet and Sour Pork - gu lu rou is so closely associated with tze char and economical rice in Singapore that when one sees it on a 13-item menu with a star next it; I figured it's a requirement for us to order it.

Contrary to most sweet and sour pork, these ones from Sik Bao Sin were the biggest I have seen so far and felt more like chopped up, deep fried pork cutlet.

Meat contained within the thin, crisp batter was juicy and sauce was not overly sweet, with a flavor that was surprisingly quite addictive. Delicious when eaten hot! 

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Before and after. We only managed four dishes, of which two were must order in my opinion! Another nine more dishes to go even though I am less likely to order four vegetable dishes.

Address

592 Geylang Rd, 

Lorong 34 Geylang, 

Singapore 389531

Map 

As above.

Operating Hours

Lunch - 11.45 am to 2.30 pm

Dinner - 5.45 pm to 9.30 pm

(Closed on Mondays)

Contact Details

As above.

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100021882081027

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Steam Pork with Salted Fish - S$18.00

Tofu Prawns - S$21.00

Steam Fish Head - S$28.00

Sweet and Sour Pork - S$28.00

Rice - S$1.00 a bowl

Cover Charge - S$1.00 a person

Golden Lioness Shrine @ Thammasat University in Bangkok [Thailand]

Imagine loitering around university grounds and chancing upon a shrine! That's what I happened when I happened to cut through Thammasat University in Bangkok in order to get a pier.

The 'deity' being honored was a golden lioness! It appeared to be a stone plastered with gold paper, a common practice in Thailand, but honestly I didn't even look closely.

I was more captivated by the numerous Chinese lion statues on the sides. Ethnic Chinese would be familiar with them as such statues are often outside a temple / home and it's usually a pair consisting of lion and lioness but much larger and in original stone material. 

Would you know how to differentiate the male from the female? Take a look at the item beneath its front paw. If it is a ball, it's a lion. Lioness would have a cub instead. 

Marbles were apparently a type of offering too? I was scratching my head as I couldn't imagine lions playing with marbles with their paws! A beach ball maybe, but definitely not a marble! 

There's a plaque with a QR code, about this Golden Lioness Shrine, that, sadly, brought me to an invalid page. If not, I would have gained some information about the origins of the shrine. And maybe this rusty cannon that seemed to be a relic! 

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Click here for my 7 Days 6 Nights Papazao Itinerary to Bangkok

Made to Measure Magic Art Installation at Gaysorn Village in Bangkok [Thailand]

Art is a complicated subject and people have sometimes decipher it rather differently, resulting in polarizing views. A particular art installation at Gaysorn Village in Bangkok pulled me apart towards opposing ends.

Made to Measure Magic talks about perfect craftmanship that goes into making a bespoke gown, and with the gigantic measuring tape weaving in and out of fabric lampshades, the above segment did look elegantly beautiful.

I can't say the same for the other two segments; yes, they were still stunning but together with its beauty came a dreaded feeling that worsened as I got closer.

Lovers of horror movies would likely feel the same way.

With the missing tops, it did seem like the bride has lost her torso. You just need a few splashes of redness to fully imagine how horrifying that would have been in! It was an image that stuck to my mind; dozens of dead brides hung from the ceiling, without their heads, torsos and limbs. 

Curiosity made me looked up to the middle of the gown; no corset, no mannequin and just a simple bulb that let the gown radiate an eerie glow from within. 

Click here for my 7 Days 6 Nights Papazao Itinerary to Bangkok

Tee Yok Coffee - Klongthom (Traditional Charcoal Toasts) @ Bangkok Chinatown [Thailand]

My planned itinerary for day three in Bangkok indicated breakfast at Chinatown but the place I wanted to visit had already sold out its food for the day (yes, it's that popular) and the backup option shall open for business only four hours later! 

That's when Google Map came into play; a search on eateries near me, resulted in a list of eateries. The one that caught my attention was Tee Yok Coffee - Klongthom, with a good rating of 4.3 from over 150 reviewers.

Instead of conventional foldable tables, the tabletops were straddled on top of real motorcycles! I wonder how much work goes into ensuring they are stable; the practical, efficient man in me would have invested in foldable tables. Nevertheless, it's unique and that, as a factor, can attract customers. 

No kopi for me as we already had in the hotel; main aim was the charcoal toasted bread, of which there were ten different filling  and / or topping, and each set consisted of two slices of bread.

Iced Black Tea - I still needed a drink though as the weather was hot! Like more drinks in Thailand, this was too sweet but the chill from the ice was so welcoming! I saw on the menu that there were beverages like red syrup, green syrup, which should be just coloring right?

Our order - one Toast with Sugar and another Toast with Condensed Milk, both claimed to be popular according to the young lady who took our order. At 20 and 22 baht, pricing was, simply put, wallet friendly. 

Furthermore, it's two satisfying slices of thick toast. In Singapore, they would sometimes slice into half and that supposedly one thick slice would make up for one set. So how did these toasts at Tee Yok fare?

Bread grilled over charcoal had a nice, smoky aroma and these toasts here had that warm, lightly crisp texture that went perfect with the thin, even spread of unassuming butter and sprinklers of sugar. Old school and so tasty! Kids would likely prefer the condensed milk toast for its yummy creaminess. 

In all, a comfortable breakfast that Singaporeans / Malaysians would enjoy. Now, I saw this pot of tea on the table. It's refillable for my black tea? I should ask my Thai friend to come along next time! 

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Address

F101 Golden Charoenkrung Plaza, 

Soi Si Thammathirat, Pom Prap, 

Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok 10100, 

Thailand

Map 

As above.

Operating Hours

6.00 am to 4.00 pm

(Closed on Sundays)

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Ice Black Tea - 20 Baht

Toast with Sugar - 20 Baht

Toast with Condensed Milk - 22 Baht

Click here for my 7 Days 6 Nights Papazao Itinerary to Bangkok

Pin Yuan Wantan Noodle (Black or White) @ Kedai Kopi Xuu Yau in Johor Bahru [Malaysia]

My day trip to Johor Bahru always involves breakfast with coffee and toast but my sister recently recommended a wanton mee stall that's pretty near to Hiap Joo, along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Street. 

Here we are! Kedai Kopi Xuu Yau, which means Xuu Yau Coffee Shop. Strangely, the Chinese characters underneath the Malay words on the signboard refer to the only stall in the shop; Pin Yuan Wantan Noodle! 

At 9.20 am, it was filled with people but not yet commanding a line of queue like Hua Mui. Now, Singaporeans must be aware that wanton mee in Malaysia differs slightly from Singapore; theirs usually are black and they do not have option like ketchup to mix into the noodle.

In Kedai Kopi Xuu Yau, however, they do offer traditional black version and a white option. Picky Alex would likely prefer the white ; hence, I would have to order black for comparison sake.

Sour Plum Lime Juice - Shiok to have on a warm day with smatterings of sourness and saltiness plus a whole lot of sweetness. Alex's order; I stole a few sips. 

Our bowls of black and white wanton mee; at RM 7.50 for the small portion, I must say it's pretty pricey for such a small bowl. The bowl's diameter was shorter than the height of my iPhone! 

Just like Singapore's wanton mee, the meat dumplings were nothing to shout again. Sometimes, I wonder why they call it wanton mee when the wantons (Chinese for dumplings) didn't seem to play that important a role.

Char siew was delightful; good fat ratio and tasted sweet without being porky; I would love to have more charred bits though. Noodle wise, they were springy but the taste felt more like instant noodle, sans the flavor. 

Personally, I prefer the white over the black as the latter overpowered the palate given the sweetness whereas the former was milder on the taste buds and had an old school taste typical of Singapore's wanton mee in the past. It would have been a walk down nostalgia lane if ketchup was added.

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Address

54, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Bandar Johor Bahru, 

80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Menu

As above. They sell fishball noodle too.

Pricing

Sour Plum Lime Juice - RM 2.80

White Wanton Mee - RM 7.50

Black Wanton Mee - RM 7.50