Entree Kibbles

Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Keng Eng Kee Seafood (KEK) 瓊榮記海鮮 - Affordable Tze Char @ Alexandra Village [Singapore]

The area surrounding IKEA Alexandra is blessed with two hawker centres with extremely popular stalls and that's not even counting the many restaurants in the vicinity!

One such restaurant was Keng Eng Kee, a long standing name among residents given it has been at the same location for over twenty years.

Known by its acronym now, KEK was chosen simply because we wanted tze char fare for its variety and have read and heard quite a few good reviews on it. It did help to note that the pricing would not burn a hole in our pocket!

Main bulk of the seating was in this kopitiam although for those afraid of the humidity Singapore is famed for, you may have a limited choice of air-conditioned seating in a shop space just right opposite.

Prawn Rolls (虾枣)

This is one of the specialties and i had to give it a try for a comparison with my mom's very own hay chor which was irresistible; my personal record was no less than twenty of them in one seating!

Verdict - very juicy, meat-filled and might be a tad too peppery for some of you. Paired with the sweet sauce, it was a match made in heaven with both the spiciness and sweetness exciting your taste buds at the same time! Initially, i thought these were better than mom's but on second thought, mom's hay chor had a higher prawn ratio which resulted in a more addictive flavour.

San Lao Hor Fun (三捞河粉)

Like some foreigners, i am equally puzzled with the origins of some local dishes. San Lao Hor Fun was one example. Were the words 三捞 referring to the cooking style or there were three types of ingredients that had to be 捞 (fished) from the sea / river?

Anyway, this wasn't as wet as the normal horfun but the taste was superbly good. The aroma of wok hei was intense at first bite and the flavour wasn't swimming in soy sauce, which was mainly the case for the darker-coloured horfun.

Salted Egg Sotong (咸蛋苏东)

I am a huge fan of salted egg sotong and since my friend had never tried it before, we decided to order one despite it commanding the highest price among the dishes we had that day.

It was a great disappointment and i felt apologetic to have even suggested the dish in the first place - they were way too salty and lacked the sweet sensation that could have balanced out the saltiness and made them really delicious. The saving grace was that they were not overcooked and the texture still turned out pretty good.

Coffee Pork Ribs (咖啡排骨)

Appearance wise, i guess we would not doubt the glistening pork ribs looked really inviting. Pity it was too sweet for my liking (funny how this was too sweet and the salted egg sotong was too salty) and the meat didn't impress us with its toughness.

Three-Egg Spinach (三蛋苋菜)

I am seldom thrilled by this dish as more often than not, i would not be guaranteed with a taste that could fuse all three types of eggs (namely normal egg, salted egg and century egg).

The one in KEK was one of the few which has successfully managed to do that although it would be great to have them with a bowl of plain rice (our fault as all of us opted for no rice; aiyah, scared of gaining weight mah)!

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Would i be back? Definitely as i didn't try a few of their other specialties!

Location

Block 124, Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-136

[Near Alexandra Village Hawker Centre]

Map

As above

Opening Hours (Daily)

12noon - 2.30pm

5pm -10pm

Reservation

+65-6272-1038

Website

http://www.kek.com.sg/

Menu

Click here.

Price

Prawn Rolls - S$12

San Lao Hor Fun - S$8

Salted Egg Sotong - S$18

Coffee Pork Ribs - S$10

Three-Egg Spinach - S$15

[No GST, No Service Charge]

Tuesday, January 06, 2015

Insa-dong (인사동) - A Cultural District That Could Be Enjoyed in Better Weather @ Seoul [Korea]

On my last day in Korea, i ventured out alone without my sisters! Since this was a last minute decision, i scrambled my head on where to go! After searching for a short while on google, i decided to cast my lot on Insadong; a cultural district said to be interesting.

Took the subway, exited Jonggak Station and got lost momentarily. Darn, i should have transferred and dropped at Anguk Station which was far nearer to Insadong. p.s. go towards the direction of the CenterMark Hotel which is next to the district.

Like Singapore this evening, it was a bloody rainy day! And as you can see, there was literally not much shelter unless you hole yourself up in one of the shop houses! For me, i proceeded along the street with a brolly on one hand, a camera on the other and holding my sling bag close to me to prevent it from getting wetter!

Not an easy feat i guarantee you! I envisioned a day of relaxed strolling down the road and this incredibly use of motor skills due to the rain was unexpected! Sigh.... i think i would be anticipating a mold attack on my DSLR lens soon. :(

When i decided on Insadong, it was mainly due to a lack of Korean cultural infusion thus far into my trip and i thought this "lonesome" journey would help to enrich the experience.

Sadly, i didn't quite get what i seek out for. Of course, i presume this was a result of a few factors; mainly because of the wet weather which would have deterred shop owners from marketing their wares in the open.

Another factor was the day i visited; a Tuesday by the way. According to this website, it would be more happening to drop by on a Saturday or Sunday when some of the streets are closed and there might even be performances and exhibits!

Note: although tagged as traditional street with over five hundred years of history, you would not find many buildings with traditional architecture. What i saw, at least on the main Insadong-gil, were shophouses flanking both sides. Drop by the side-roads (alleys), where you might have better luck.

To get into the Korean spirit, you may even pay a small sum of money to doll yourself up as a Korean queen or king and take some professional photos as mementos. Would i do it? I will if it is free!

With the rain getting stronger, i had to seek refuge in a building that had a few levels of shops selling expensive products. Out of boredom, i even went up to the rooftop to have a better view of the surrounding. Oh well, the roof wasn't exactly very high up to begin with.

Frankly, i really wanted to try out the delicacies but i didn't have anyone to share with me (bane of travelling alone)! With Alex, i can still ~~force~~ persuade him to help out a bit in terms of stomach space and funding!

At this point, i thought i should have just gone with my siblings who seemed to be enjoying themselves with some of the photos i received on whatsapp. This "self discovery" trip has proven to be rather boring...

Thankfully i chanced upon another shopping mall; open concept, pretty dated and known as Ssamzigil Mall (something i found out only today).

The above pictures would give you a better idea on what it looked like. Basically, it didn't have many shops but each shop was blessed with its own character; i saw a bag i really wanted at close to S$200 and would have gladly paid for it if not for the fact that i had purchased one earlier that morning.

Rooftop of the mall and aside from a cafe, there was something else that i guess all lovers would come up for. I am quite surprised to find it in a mall though since such stuff was more common in notable landmarks.

Love pledge wall! It was quite a sight to behold and unlike the more common locks, these vibrant tags were more interesting, sporting different designs in lovey-dovey colours.

Not sure how much it cost but i am seriously too old for this. Heck, i am turning 35 this year and would finally be eligible to buy a government flat as a single!

Now, this appeared traditional! Converted into a teahouse, this was right beside Ssamzigil Mall and located along the alleys. I actually intended to step in afterwards but something else attracted me.

This! Want to guess what cafe is this?

Hint as above; a familiar cup of green tea latte! This is a branch of OSulloc, selling what i branded as the best green tea latte i ever have back in their Jeju branch! Pity it wasn't of the same standard here with a noticeable tartness i associated with most green tea products. Ugh!

There were tonnes of restaurants in Insadong; just check out the alleys which also have a higher percentage of buildings with preserved traditional style.

End of my walk which was nearer to Anguk Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 6! My recommendation is to start from Anguk Station as there is an information counter where you can source for a good map to start your walk.

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Map of Insadong

As above.

For the summary of my inaugural South Korea trip

(Seoul and Jeju Island), click HERE.

Sunday, January 04, 2015

Crayfish Prawn Horfun @ Tuck Kee (Ipoh) Sah Hor Fun (德记怡保沙河粉) in Hong Lim Hawker Centre [Chinatown, Singapore]

I don't have a feet fetish but i thought this would be a more subtle way to reflect the popularity of a particular stall in Hong Lim Food Centre without having to compromise the shyness of those in the queue.

The stall in question was said to have the longest queue in the hawker centre and after hearing quite a number of positive reviews, i guess it's about time for me to give it a try and give my two-cent worth in this blog.

Makansutra gave it a die-die-must-try rating back in 2013! As i mentioned in food philosophy, one person's meat could be another person's poison and there are just too many factors affecting "your taste" for that moment.

Notwithstanding the disclaimer, let me present to you the luxurious (at least for hawker standard) Crayfish Prawn Horfun! Don't start digging in; mix it up before you put anything in your mouth!

I made the mistake of tasting the flat noodles first (without mixing) and it was dry obviously since there was a huge pool of savoury sauce that i am supposed to make use of! The seafood ingredients had a firm texture with a sweet freshness; no complaint on that.

However, the thick gravy didn't excite me as much as the chicken chop horfun from Changi Village. There was something lacking; an oomph that would have made a lasting impression. No matter what, it was still a good plate of horfun and i had to do it justice by cleaning up everything (especially the crayfish and prawns)!

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Location

Block 531A, Upper Cross Street,

#02-40, Hong Lim Food Centre

[Next to Chinatown MRT stations]

Map