Tim Ho Wan (添好運) - Worth the Michelin Star Reputation? @ Toa Payoh Central (ERA Centre)

Tim Ho Wan's grand opening in Singapore was back in April 2013 yet i have not been totally enthusiastic to visit any of its outlets after hearing quite a number of negative feedback.

But, my weekly temple visitation with my mom brought me to Toa Payoh central a week ago. As mom must be quite sick of having cheng mun chee kee for breakfast, i decided to bring her to the dim sum restaurant's second outlet in ERA centre (formerly known as Toa Payoh Entertainment Centre) instead.

Heng the queue was short! Even though it was another thirty minutes to its opening, i was half expecting a lengthy queue numbering more than thirty outside the restaurant.

Our stomachs were growling and it didn't help to see mouth watering pictures lined up along the queue poles, motivating hungry diners again and again to wait patiently for their turn!

10am - we were the second group to get in! It's finally time to try the world's cheapest Michelin starred dim sum restaurant right here in Singapore! 

Don't be mistaken by the last photograph; the level of Tim Ho Wan's popularity was still going strong and the eatery quickly filled up after we were seated. Before we knew it, the whole place was bustling with noise and activity!

Pan Fried Carrot Cake

This was nothing befitting its impressive title as a renowned member of Tim Ho Wan's big 4 heavenly kings; strips of carrot cake were felt as i chewed although there wasn't any exceptional flavour that particularly caught me by surprise.

Steamed Egg Cake

The soft fluffiness caught my immediate attention and the first thing that came to mind as i took a bite of the steaming hot cake was gula melaka! However, according to ieatishootipost, ordinary white sugar was used to make the batter and its brown tinge actual came from two days of fermentation. Not too bad, not too bad. 

Baked Bun with BBQ Pork

Oh my god, this was to die for!!!! I love Crystal Jade's polo bun with char siew and thought that was already very good. This baked bun from Tim Ho Wan took things a few more levels up!

Despite messing up my mouth like a child who hurriedly chomp down his favourite biscuits, i totally loved the delicious combination of thin, flaky crust and savoury char siew filling. Heard the ones from Canton Paradise are better but before i literally sank my teeth into one, Tim Ho Wan's version is still the best! 

Vermicelli Roll with Prawns

Out of the four kings, the only one we didn't had was vermicelli roll with pig's liver. However, i could not resist having the common one with prawns. It was alright and i had much better ones at Mayim!

Beancurd Skin Roll

With pork and prawn filling, this was yet again another average item on the menu. Okay, i admit i have always preferred crispier beancurd skin! 

Spring Roll with Egg White

I am a huge lover of egg white but that obnoxious egginess i desired so much was missing from this deep fried item. Furthermore, i think i still like my usual spring rolls with sweet, crunchy vegetables.

Mom thought differently and preferred this version better. Oh well, just note that it tasted nicer when cold though.

Har Gow

The initial first bite almost resulted in extreme discounting of this dim sum item typically served in dim sum restaurants; the texture of its skin was just way too thick!

Only when i managed to bite into the prawny middle was i mildly taken aback. It was nothing like the common ones from other dim sum restaurants and featured a taste that could likely be the increased addition of mashed Chinese chestnuts.

Siew Mai

Very moist with a tinge of sweetness (thanks for the Chinese wolfberry); me very like the uniqueness in them!!

Glutinous Rice Dumpling

The actual Chinese wordings were translated into Lo Mai Kai, a classical dish in the typical dim sum spread. Hence, imagine my bewilderment when i saw this big piece of wrapped lotus leaf!

Friends would know i am not a big fan of lotus rice and it was the same sentiment i had for the above!

It was ingredients rich but the taste was too strong tasting for my liking! p.s. i think there were parts of internal organs like liver in the sausages. Yucky! To be fair, it's just me!

Osmanthus Cake

Served cold, the jelly (not cake in my opinion) was not overly sweet and would be the darling for the older generation. What i particularly fancied were the natural palatableness of Chinese wolfberries and fresh bites of osmanthus flowers! Yummy! Those warm ones from Peach Garden paled in comparison!

=====

Overall, there were hits, and there were misses. Pricing was kind of steep for dim sum fare and this was one major grouch for many Singaporeans who have been to the original store in Hongkong. Bet i would do the same if i ever visit sham shui po in the future! 

Location

Block 450, Lorong 6 Toa Payoh,

#02-02, ERA Centre

Map

As above

Price

Pan Fried Carrot Cake - S$4.50

Steamed Egg Cake - S$3.80

Baked Bun with BBQ Pork - S$4.50

Vermicelli Roll with Prawns - S$5.50

Beancurd Skin Roll - S$4.00

Spring Roll with Egg White - S$4.20

Har Gow - S$5.50

Siew Mai - S$5.00

Glutinous Rice Dumpling - S$5.00

Osmanthus Cake - S$3.50

Chinese Tea - S$1.20 per person

[Subject to GST and Service Charge]

Menu / Ordering List

As above

Additional Information

Like many restaurants nowadays, you have to ensure that everyone in your group is present before a table would be allocated to you. I don't know about you but i honestly thought this was a great policy!

Rosa Passadena (玫瑰园酒店) Review @ Brinchang [Cameron Highlands, Malaysia]

For the past few times i visited the cooling constituency of Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, i had chosen to stay in its second largest town, Brinchang, where i can benefit from its close proximity to surrounding farms and to the area's only night market! 

The above would explain why i would only stay in Rosa Passadena, which is right in the heart of the town. Maybe it was also for the sake of familiarity coupled with one past experience when i selected another close by hotel which turned out terrible.

As a whole, the concept of the hotel was pretty dated (it was completed over twenty years ago), playing heavily on the flower that gave it its name; roses. Renovation work has already started to spruce up the place in order to compete with the newer hotels.

From the pictures so far, the decoration evoked a sense of nostalgia as there was none of the contemporary conception prevalent in recent times and seemed to be stuck in the late 80s.

Well, at least the television has been upgraded to LCD! 

For those tourists who could not stand not checking in to their facebook and uploading pictures to their instagram would also be pleased to note that free wifi was available in the room.

Basic amenities like complimentary drinking water, mini-fridge, safe deposit box etc were provided like any decent hotel. Mom, of course, was happy to see the hair dryer! 

All 115 rooms came with a long bath! When i was much younger, seeing a bathtub meant a foam bath which translated into a longer bath (at the expense of others)! Now, i see it as a waste of time since time should be spent outside, not inside the hotel. 

It's about time the management does something about the above packaging. Other than this minor issue, i had no complaint and slept soundly (and comfortably) in the one night i was there. 

Oops, almost forgot about the free breakfast that came with our stay! 

Featuring very normal Malaysian hotel staple like noodles, nasi lemak and Western toasts and cereals, there was nothing much to expect even though i would have loved to see an egg station where i can get my sunny side-ups.

SCS butter!!!! Classic butter that every household in Singapore used to have in their fridge. There are many other brands nowadays but SCS butter continues to take a special place in a corner of my heart.

Breakfast, in all, was satisfactory. If not for the insistence of the dad, i would have gotten out of the hotel, ordered a plate of freshly made roti prata and enjoyed the pleasure of having it in the natural comfort of cooling morning mist. 

=====

Location

1 Bandar Baru Brinchang, 

39100 Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Hotel Rate / Price

Rates are more expensive on weekends and i paid $124.64 via Agoda for a night stay on a Friday at its superior triple accommodation type.

Volunteering to Clean Up Tombs @ Bukit Brown Cemetery

I have never been a "volunteer" kind of person and have rejected countless requests from friends who are keen to introduce me to the caring and passionate world of "volunteerism". 

Hence, it should surprise quite a few friends that i finally took on volunteering work last Sunday although it has nothing to do with the welfare of any living bodies! There's a reason why i don't want to volunteer at animal shelter, old folks home etc but that would be explained in a future posting. 

Anyway, the intention of our visit that day was to clean up the unkempt tomb of this lady who passed away back in 1934; she was Japanese and married into a Chinese family which could possibly mean she could be one of the earliest Japanese immigrants to Singapore! 

Reached the tomb without any difficulty, thanks to the two veterans who have been involved in such voluntary work in Bukit Brown for god knows how many years. It was hard work clearing the tomb with so much foliage surrounding it! 

A tree has also toppled across the tomb and there were only so many branches i can saw away using my half-past six skill! The ground was wet and muddy and i found irritating tree roots that have spread to the tomb mound! By the way, the above picture was taken when we were halfway done! 

My gloves at that stage. It gradually darkened by the end we were done with the clean up.

There were tonnes of earthworms buried in the ground; plump and juicy ones okay! I think i could have sold them for a good price to the anglers if i had collected all of them.

Sweeping is considered an easy chore for many. Try sweeping floor that was thickly caked with mud! We had to use a spade to scrape away the top layer before we can even attempt to sweep the tiled floor. 

Woah, it was a great satisfaction to see the "before" and "after"! Contrast the above photograph with the fourth one in this post and spot the differences! Tiles previously covered with green moss can finally show their beauty to the outside world!

With only five of us equipped with basic tools, we did the best we could in three hours although it would be a bonus if we could remove the toppled tree! However, i agreed with Ee Hoon that the tree did give the tomb a different vibe compared to the rest. 

The final "product" after much sweat! 

p.s. Muscle ache is a definite for the next few days.

Keen to Volunteer / Know More about Bukit Brown?
Join https://www.facebook.com/groups/bukitbrown/

=====

Additional Information

Things have changed a lot since i last visited Bukit Brown cemetery! There is a immensely helpful map that clearly charts out the various blocks and divisions.

Directional signs have also been improved with pictures of the tombs and even distance required to reach them! Now, this would really help those who are interested to pay the cemetery a visit yet worried that it would be hard to navigate! 

Be fast if you want to visit. Exhumation work for some sections of this cemetery has already started that would clear the land for the eventual building of new roads that are supposed to alleviate the traffic condition along Lornie road. 

Enjoy the beauty while you still can.

Satay by the Bay - Traces of the Old Satay Club Spirit @ Gardens by the Bay [Singapore]

Happy New Year, peeps!

I am going to take a breather from the overwhelming blog postings on my recent trip to Malaysia and focus on a place that many readers of a generation ahead of me would remember fondly; Satay Club! 

Satay Club was actually a namesake for food centres that has a high congregation of satay stalls; the last was at Clarke Quay although the most famous has to be the one located at the old Esplanade. 

In my opinion, this was an appropriate remake of the old Satay Club as it was just next to the Marina Reservoir where diners can enjoy the sea breeze as they did in the past at the Esplanade. Difference is that there is now also sheltered seating! No more scrambling to find shelter whenever it rains! 

Having just satay and nothing else was hardly fitting for dinner and i could not resist ordering a plate of sambal sotong and oyster omelette from Marina BBQ Seafood! Average tasting and not worth my time dedicating an entire post to it. 

There were quite a number of Satay stalls to choose from and i took my pick from the one that appeared to be more popular; Sri Geylang Sate (Halal). Prices throughout seemed to be standardised at 70 cents a stick (the neighbourhood average currently stood at 50 cents) and there were packages to be selected; do keep in mind that prawns would spike the overall payable amount! 

I was a bit too ambitious and bought twenty sticks; 10 mutton, 10 chicken for just the two of us! We waited for 15 minutes before the above was served.

Surprisingly, the wait didn't result in the mutton satay being served hot! Other than that, the mutton tasted tender without the toughness usually associated with this red meat. I particularly enjoyed chicken satay due to its strong tumeric marination that totally enhanced the flavour. 

Satay sauce, an important companion in this dish, was an immense failure! It was too oily, lacked the fragrance and had a lingering bitterness as you bite into the peanut bits. 

=====

Location

18, Marina Gardens Drive 

[It's actually nearer to Marina Barrage]

How to Get There

Can walk from Gardens by the Bay although accordingly to the website, there is a free shuttle bus from Mondays to Fridays, during lunch hours and from 6pm till 12 midnight. Problem is, the official website wasn't clear in where to take the bus! 

Drivers would be pleased to note that there is a car park right next to "Satay by the Bay".

Price

Sambal Sotong - S$10

Oyster Omelette - S$10

Mutton Satay - S$0.70 a stick

Chicken Satay - S$0.70 a stick

Additional Information

Enjoy the view after taking a pee!

*p.s. applicable to gentlemen only*

I realised pork belly satay was for sale only at the end of the meal! Those who remember my blog post on Kwong Satay should know i would insist on having this just to compare the differences!!! Guess i have to leave it for another visit!