I tried it quite some time ago when I went to Peach Garden for dim sum. This time round, it was a gift. I was surprised when I saw the yin-yang fillings. Not that I have not seen before but rather it seemed that the others aren't doing this anymore. The red bean paste and the lotus paste, together with the melon seeds. I felt the addition of red bean paste made the mooncake not so dull. However, the mooncake crust was made too thin and a little oily.
D24 Durian mooncakes 9 pcs @$38
It is known that Goodwood Park Hotel's signature desserts have to do with durian. This year, they introduced a combination of durian, cempedek, mango and soursop @$44. Goodwood Park Hotel's snowskin mooncakes were all sold out when I went to visit the booth they had set up in Lot One mall. I got to taste the cempedek from the sampling tray and from the box that my colleague bought but I was not attracted to it. It was filled with the cempedek fruit, was pulpy with the fruit flesh but I felt the taste was a little weird. I still didn't manage to get to taste the durian mooncake!
The durian mooncakes from 717 was one that I felt tasted fully of durian pulp. Some others (not to compare it with big brands) that I have tasted was mixed with lotus paste and as a result, tasted like durian cake (those brown chewy kind) wrapped in snowskin. However, I felt 717's mooncakes were a tad overpriced for the size was just 'pop-in-your-mouth' and it's gone!
Today, I tasted Fullerton Hotel's snowskin mooncakes which consisted of blueberry, cranberry, apple and chocolate with bailey flavours in a box @$52. I was immediately attracted to the mooncakes. The snowskin was soft and it just simply melted in my mouth. Good gracious that sugar was not 'poured' into the paste fillings. I wanted more.
I passed by Kim's a few times. It is so near my house and yet I have no idea how 'hot' it has been until I visited it last night. The small eatery was flooded with customers and many were koreans. Fellow floggers have raved so much about the place and I said I must try it some day. The lauded pan-chan (the whole salted fish) was not served for dinner. Was it just served during lunch? Some of the pan-chan were nice and some not.
The one that particularly caught my attention was this piece of pancake alike food. It tasted floury and it was with a tad of chewiness but it was like our chye-po egg with the salted vegetables in it. I didn't like it.
Tteokbokki @$10
This is a must try! They even had ra myeon added. I for once felt like I was in Korea but the spiciness brought me back to reality. Still, it was very shiok!! Best eaten when it's piping hot.
Bibimnang Myeon @$10
This is the reverse of Tteokbokki. It was chilled. The cold noodles were a tad too much and there weren't much ingredients other than the few strips of cucumber, pear and half an egg. Should be mixed quickly, else the noodles will stick together into a lump and mixing becomes hard. I felt they should have cut the noodles to make eating easier. The chili paste was spicy!
Total bill was $38.50 for 2 pax with a 10% service charge but no GST eh? Overall, my friend and I felt the food was cheap. There was also BBQ but it was also this that made the whole place smoky and yet poor ventilation.
2 couples (all girls) cut our queue. We were there before them and when they reached the place, they simply ignored the people waiting in the queue and walked to settle down at the tables when the lady boss had just clear it. Where are their manners? The owner's son aka the cashier did nothing and showed us a helpless expression. I was disappointed with the increased number of ugly Singaporeans, counting from my past experiences.
I personally felt to have better presented food or to get the best deal, it may be wiser to visit Kim's at lunch time on weekdays when it is not so crowded. The place was very untidy and uncomfortable when it was very crowded. I went to the toilet, it was also very dirty.
Kim's Family Restaurant
17 Lorong Kilat #01-06
Singapore 598139
Tel: 6465 0535
"Pu Tien" Style Century Egg @$7
If you are wondering if century egg has transformed, my answer is they have been disguised. They are battered and coated with sweet and sour sauce. Due to the deep-fry process, the surface of the egg white of the century egg became harder to chew. The sweet and sour sauce was just a mere thin coat. Even as this was so, the taste and pungent smell of the century egg was completely disguised. Not so shiok!
Deep Fried Pig's Trotters with Pepper @$3.80/pc
The trotters were calling out to me. They were fried till very crispy and you just want to have more. It was not oily and there was not much fats. 'The coast is clear', ladies. It is very considerate of Pu Tien to provide plastic gloves for this dish. It would have been troublesome to have forks and knives with the chopsticks and etc on the table just to have the trotters. Let's have it the primitive way but with hygiene.
Claypot Sea Cucumber with Chestnut @$32
It was good with rice. With the roasted chestnuts and mushrooms, the oyster sauce gravy was very fragrant.
"Pu Tien" Lor Mee @$12
One of the chef's specialities. It was really good. Especially with their chili sauce. Yummy! $12 portion can serve 6 pax.
Homemade Beancurd @$12
Braised Beancurd with Chinese Cabbage @$18
Chinese cabbage was cooked till soft. The sweetness from the clams and cabbage went into the soup. The soup thus had a natural sweetness.
The total bill was about $120 after a 10% discount with Passion card. Their VIP card has to give way for Passion card. It is recommended to make reservations, else you may have to wait for quite some time. The branch at Kitchener road provides free valet parking as it is located along the roadside where finding a parking lot is very much a hassle.
Pu Tien
127 Kitchener Road
Singapore 208514
Tel: 6295 6358
A friend of mine highly recommended this place because his friend highly recommended it to him. It all started with passing words through the mouths and we decided to check out the place. Located just by the roadside, one can easily spot The French Stall.
Garlic Bread
Escargots
One of my friends decided to change his leek salad to escargots as he has not tried escargots before. He said it tasted a tad like mussels and I joked they are snails but with a nicer name. I would say they have similar texture. The escargots were hidden in the mini greenish mud pool. There was a mild mint taste which I guessed was probably to rid off the soil smell.
French Onion Soup
All of us ordered the executive set meal which consisted of an entree, a main and a cake. I liked the french onion soup. It was sweet and the onion boiled till soft turned pulpy and the cheese that melted in the soup. It warmed the hungry stomach.
Homemade Suckling Pork Terrine @$8.80
It was very similar to the Teochew's pork trotters jelly. The Teochew's has had more gelatin in it. The one here had much lesser gelatin. Shredded suckling pork was shredded and some not and they were all pressed together, presented like a piece of pork cake with mustard sauce. Nevertheless, it was something new to me. Still, I preferred the Teochew's which is dipped with the vinegary chili sauce.
Grilled Beef Sirloin Steak (200g) @$25.80++ (with soup and cake)
I had mine grilled till medium. The meat was tender and juicy. I liked the sauteed potato slices cooked with thyme. It was very fragrant and it made the starchy potato flavourful. In fact, the price for the executive meal is quite standard but judging from the slab of steak, it looked like it was quite a good deal afterall. Just that, if there were some greens, it would have been better.
Pan Fried Salmon
The salmon which looked so normal was actually very good at disguising itself. The exterior looked like it was grilled until a tad dry but no, it was soft and moist on the interior and it melts in the mouth. The salmon taste was strong. I felt I was eating it raw.
The executive meals included a dessert which is chocolate cake for the beef sirloin steak set and honey cheesecake for the salmon set. I didn't manage to get a good photo of the cakes due to the poor lightings so I am not posting them up. Simple cakes.
The French Stall has a laidback environment which made diners felt relaxed. The staffs were friendly too. Overall, the bill cost about $130. Thanks for the treat, my friend.
The French Stall
544 Serangoon Road
Opening Hours: 3-6pm (for desserts)
6-10pm (for dinner)
Tel: 62993544
