The Chicken Rice Chronicles Part 4: Tang Tea House

Aha! We have finally reached Part 4 in our series for Chicken Rice.
"Series?? What series???" you might be asking... Well, you might want to read THIS first then...

Okay ready? This time we are at Tang Tea House!

Chicken Rice ($4.00)

Okay let me start by saying that that picture up there actually shows a HALF CHICKEN serving.
The normal serving for 1 person is definitely lesser chicken than that but you'll see why we ended up with half a chicken by the end of this post...

I think those who have eaten at Tang Tea House will probably know what I'm talking about...

What's so nice about the Chicken Rice at Tang Tea House?
Well, in our humble opinion - it's gotta be the Roasted Chicken!

The meat is well-cooked and super tended. I'm not sure what technique they are employing here but it obviously works wonders and we've never had a time where we regretted ordering the Roasted Chicken at Tang Tea House (sometimes we even order it as is and without rice!)

The meat is super tender and the skin has a nice subtle crisp to it if you're lucky to get that part.
Well, we always order a half chicken so we ALWAYS get that part. Yes seriously. We always order half a chicken. No joke.

And that nice salty gravy that comes along with it... Ooohhhhh... That's the best part to me.
I know I know it's salty and you should eat in moderation but I think I love it too much. It definitely enhances the flavour overall if you ask me.

The rice as just so-so to be perfectly honest with you.
Yeah sure you do get some of the Chicken Rice flavour that you'd expect but it's really a very strong flavour.
Nice and grainy I guess but we have tasted better rice.

But my darling wife did rather like it though... Maybe it's just me...

The chilli is where the team's opinions kinda differ a little bit...

My Mum and my darling wife both adore the chilli. My mum says it's the bomb and even goes as far as to say it's 'the real thing'. I'm guessing she's saying that because it's more on the spicy side and less sweet compared to other Chicken Rice chillies around. My darling wife says it was "just nice".

I actually didn't like the chilli very much.
I guess I'm more used to the type of Chicken Rice chilli with a bit more vinegar and/or sugar. But you can see how thick the chilli's texture is so you know it's packing quite a punch!

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken 5/5 -- Rice 2.5/5 -- Chilli 2.5/5 -- Overall 4/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Chicken 5/5 -- Rice 3/5 -- Chilli 3.5/5 -- Overall 4.5/5

Asmah's Verdict:
Chicken 5/5 -- Rice 2/5 -- Chilli 4/5 -- Overall 4/5

Well it looks like Tang Tea House is tops so far in our list of Chicken Rice stalls for this series...
But then again, this is only part 3... Many more to come!!

But hey... let me repeat again... The Roasted Chicken at Tang Tea House is really the bomb!!!
It's minimum half a chicken whenever we go... Seriously...

Tang Tea House

359 Bedok Road
www.tangteahouse.com

Operating Hours:
11.00am til 4.00am Daily

The Waffle Factory

So we passed by this place many many months ago but didn't pay it much mind but one day my Brother texts me and says that we simply have to check this place out.

How good did he think it was? Well, he back with me the very next day to eat more!

So I'm not sure how long The Waffle Factory has been around in the Singapore Post Centre but it seems really famous judging by all the newspaper clippings and TV show snippets adorning the walls of the outlet.
In fact, apparently they're quite famous for their All-You-Can-Eat Waffle Buffet which we had no idea about because we just had some ala-carte items.

Prawn Dumplings ($4.20 for 3 pieces)

So we started with some Dim Sum which is one of our favourite things.
Prawn Dumplings are always welcome at our table and we've had it at a few other makan places before.

You do get a pretty big piece of the prawn in the dumpling which is nice but it's also got this fish paste in there which was kinda had a dough-y taste to it (or maybe I was just being too fussy?) A nice crispy skin to go with it but a little on the extra-charred side. I'm guessing they might have re-fried it when ordered?

Fried Beancurd Roll ($4.20 for 3 pieces)

Another Dim Sum favourite of ours is the Fried Beancurd Roll which kinda has a Thai accent to it.
Nice and tightly packed with fish paste and some sweet chilli sauce to accompany it. I believe I enjoyed this more than the Prawn Dumpling actually.

But the $4.20 price tag is quite high for 3 pieces of Dim Sum I reckon.

And in case you were wondering, my Brother's all-time fave Dim Sum - Siew Mai - is strangely absent here because apparently he had some the day before and it really wasn't very good at all so we gave it a miss.

Salted Egg Custard Buns ($4.20 for 3)

This is one item my Brother and Sister-In-Law were absolutely raving about.
Something new and a little unique to us - Salted Egg Custard Buns.

It's no secret that we are HUGE fans of anything to do wit Salted Eggs and this definitely seemed like something we were going to enjoy. But please allow me to point out that this was Salted Egg Custard which means you can expect a sweet taste instead of all-Salted Egg.

But it is a thing of beauty when you crack it open though.

All that nice gooey and runny custard flowing all over the place.
Isn't that enough to get your excited? No? Well maybe the video my Brother sent me might do a better job.

Much better right??
Well anyways, like I said, it's more sweet than savoury so you know what to expect. I guess it's more of a dessert bun than anything else.

And here's a tip, be sure to eat it fresh and while it's still hot.
Because when it cools down... It's not going to be very runny anymore...

Anyways, on to the mains!

Something which I'd say is really good about the menu at The Waffle Factory is the wide variety of dishes and even different types of cuisine they offer. Everything from Nasi Lemak to HK-style Noodles to even Western Food and Pasta!

But then again, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Hong Kong Style Chicken Luncheon and Egg Noodles ($4.50)

I love the whole HK-style Noodles scene (remember this post?) and I'm glad to say that the number of Halal makan places offering it nowadays is on the up and up!

Well here's a really simple dish of noodles with some chicken luncheon meat veggies in a nice hot soup.
(This was the Spicy option by the way. You can choose the Non-Spicy as well).
Just a really satisfying bowl of comfort food for me and something I really enjoy.

By the way, you can also have the same thing in a Prawn-based soup instead.
That's what my Sister-in-Law had but would it really make much of a difference?

Sausage Springy Noodles in Prawn Soup ($5.90)

ZOMG YES IT DOES MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE!

The prawn stock is really rich and flavourful and it did not have any of they overly-prawny taste which I expected. A really really good bowl of noodles! Not too sure about the sausage though... This would have been perfect if they had used a better quality sausage or maybe the chicken luncheon meat?

And now that I think about it - is it really worth an extra $1.40 for the prawn soup?

Crab Claws and Mixed Seafood Pasta ($7.90)

So my Brother decided to break away from the Asian flavours of the day and had something on the Western side of the menu.

He says that it was a pretty respectable plate of pasta but I personally felt that the cream sauce was actually quite tasteless... But the one thing we agreed on is that we did not understand why they called it Crab Claws and Mixed Seafood Pasta when there was only ONE crab claw (and yes that's the small thing on the left)

Maybe he lost the other claw in a fight? Well, then bring me the winner!
(So we'll get 3 claws geddit geddit? Okay I'll just stick to eating then)

Okay time for some dessert and when you're at a place called The Waffle Factory, you're probably gonna have some waffles am I right?

Well they have 2 types of waffles on offer. One is the fresh type which they'll serve you on a plate with all the lovely toppings like berries and cream etc. And the other type is like a miniature version where theysandwich your topping of choice in between 2 waffles.

"OUR WAFFLES ARE THICKER.

MORE THAN HALF A MILLION SOLD WITH OUR SECRET WAFFLES RECIPE"

This is the sign outside and they were not kidding about the 'thicker' part.

D24 Durian Waffle ($2.50)

One of the most popular waffles on offer is the D24 Durian waffle which is delicious durian flesh in between two waffles. (See what I meant about the 'thick' part)

The durian is definitely a must-have for durian lovers.

Orange Chocolate Waffle ($1.30)

So this is actually Chocolate sauce and some Orange Marmalade.
Not at all what we expected.

Actually, by the looks of it, they are quite creative with their waffle flavours so it might be best to double check what exactly you're ordering before you actually make your decision. And they have a massive selection of waffles to choose from so you're gonna have a hard time choosing.

But as you can see from the pictures, these are not the same waffles you get from your neighbourhood bakery. These are really thick and actually very very filling. If you're having full meals then it might be a good idea to share.

The fillings are not bad but the waffles themselves are quite overwhelming.

Adam's Verdict:
Prawn Dumplings 1.5/5 -- Fried Beancurd Roll 2.5/5 -- Salted Egg Custard Buns 2.5/5
HK Style Chicken Luncheon and Egg Noodles 3/5 -- Sausage Springy Noodles in Prawn Soup 4/5
D24 Durian Waffle 4/5 -- Orange Chocolate Waffle 3/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Prawn Dumplings 1/5 -- Fried Beancurd Roll 4/5 -- Salted Egg Custard Buns 4/5
Crab Claws and Mixed Seafood Pasta 3/5 -- Sausage Springy Noodles in Prawn Soup 5/5
D24 Durian Waffle 2/5 -- Orange Chocolate Waffle 2/5

Yana's Verdict:
Prawn Dumplings 1/5 -- Fried Beancurd Roll 2.5/5 -- Salted Egg Custard Buns 4.5/5
Sausage Springy Noodles in Prawn Soup 5/5
D24 Durian Waffle 3.5/5 -- Orange Chocolate Waffle 1/5

They also have loads of other stuff on the menu that might be worth a try like the Chicken Rendang (which apparently is so tender you can eat the bones) and Crayfish Laksa!

We'll definitely be paying another visit soon!

The Waffle Factory

10 Jalan Eunos (Paya Lebar MRT)
Singapore Post Centre Shopping Mall
B1-03

Operating Hours: 9.00am til 10.00pm Daily

Streats Hong Kong Cafe Part 2

We love Streats Hong Kong Cafe because

• It has delicious HK-style makan
• Dim Sum! Dim Sum! Dim Sum!
• It's really near to our place (definitely a big factor)

And yes they serve Dim Sum but I'm still compiling all the different types they have so in the mean time, how about more or something else they're good at - oodles of noodles!

Nissin Spicy Noodles (Dry) with Chicken Chop ($7.20)

If you remember, I actually order the version with the Luncheon Meat normally.
Well, my darling wife felt like having noodles with a spicy kick so she settled on this.

The noodles are still the standard HK-style Nissin instant noodles we all love.
This time, they give you a spicy chilli sauce at the side to kick it up a little bit. But don't worry it's not that spicy so you don't have to worry about smoke coming out of your ears.

However, please note that the Chicken Chop is actually really big.
You might actually feel like putting it aside on a separate dish for awhile so that you can have a go at your noodles first.

HK Shrimp Dumpling Noodle (Dry) ($7.20)

ALERT!!
Shrimp Dumplings are not to be confused with Shrimp Wantons.
These are apparently 2 very different types of dumplings so please don't get the wrong idea.

As to what exactly is the difference between the Dumpling and the Wanton - I have no idea.
I must make it a point to ask them the next time we visit.

And quite honestly, the Shrimp Dumplings were not really impressive.
You do get a whole shrimp in each dumpling but taste-wise it's not really racking up any points.
Even the chicken char siew (which i love) could not redeem this dish.

Young Baby Cabbage with Salted Egg ($7.90)

When a side dish costs as much as a main dish, this means it has to be really really nice right?

Well, as lovers of salted eggs, my darling wife and I really expect to have the kick of salted eggs when we order anything with "Salted Egg' in the name of the dish. For this dish, it definitely uses the salted egg yolks in the gooey sauce which bathes the baby cabbage.

Not too bad actually but you'd better eat fast because after awhile, it starts getting to being a watery mess.
This is because they blanch the cabbage and just pour the sauce over it. This means that since the saus is only on top, any water trapped in between the cabbage is going to start seeping out and mixing with your salted egg which is a big no-no.

Lime Cooler & Iced Honey Lemon Tea ($3.80 each)

And of course, some refreshing beverages to wash down your meal.
Just a tip, you might wanna try something else if you expect a full and strong tasting drink.
These two are a little... mild.




Adam's Verdict:
HK Shrimp Dumpling Noodle (Dry) 2/5 -- Young Baby Cabbage with Salted Egg 2.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Nissin Spicy Noodles (Dry) with Chicken Chop 3/5 -- Young Baby Cabbage with Salted Egg 3/5

Obviously, our adventures with Streats Hong Kong Cafe are far from over.
Hopefully soon, we will be able to release the Dim Sum post!

Streats Hong Kong Cafe

Downtown East
1 Pasir Ris Close
Tel: 6584 4001

Operating Hours: 11.00am til 10.00pm Daily (Closed on CNY)

Hara Tim Sum Kitchen

So it's another walk down memory lane in this post...

When we were kids, my Dad used to buy these paus from Haig Road.
It used to come from this one stall at a coffeeshop where the current Banquet now stands and it was just this one guy selling Halal tim sum and nothing else.

It was always the same thing for us - BBQ Chicken Paus and Siew Mai.
And it was so delicious to use that we could finish up like a dozen of each with no problems.
Dad would buy a lot especially during Ramadhan where we'd eat some for buka and the rest for sahur.

But sadly, that stall closed and we couldn't seem to find it anywhere.
The only way we could find the paus were at some coffeeshops or petrol kiosks which carried the Hara Hong Kong Tim Sum product in the steamers. And there were not many around.

More common names were Nury Pau or KG Foods but... Hara Hong Kong was still top of the list for us.

Lo and behold, one day I happened to spot a sign from afar which bore the Hara name.
Could it really be the return of our favourite tim sum???

So my brother and I make our way one afternoon to check it out.

We spoke to a lady there who seemed to run the show and explained that Hara had been bought over and was now a major manufaturer of tim sum products. However, most of it was for export and for distribution which meant that Hara seldom sold its products for immediate makan on their own.

In fact, their current outlet was their one and only and they had only been there for about 2 years.

She was also quick to point out that Hara had adopted a 'Healthir Choice' attitude and incorporated a special wheat flour into their paus which gave them the appearance as above while giving you a healthier option when it comes to tim sum.

So on with the food!

Big Chicken Pau ($2.00)

Dad's favourite was always the Big Chicken Pau.
I think it was the egg that he liked.

Well it's definitely got more vegetables in it than I remember but it is a generous mouthful nonetheless.
Undoubtedly, the price has gone up as well but it's a pretty decent chicken pau.

BBQ Chicken Pau ($2.50 for 3)

Aha our favourite of all time.
In fact I still order a BBQ Chicken Pau at any place that sells Halal tim sum nowdays.

Unfortunately, it just doesn't seem the same as before.
It used to be a lot more tasty to be honest and the filling now is pretty dry.
I mean, it's still tasty but I guess times have changed...

Siew Mai ($3.00 for 4)

My brother is the supreme eater of Siew Mai.
If there is Siew Mai, he will eat it and it started because of Hara's siew mai.

And yes, it tastes as good as it looks in the picture.
Juicy and meaty and just simply delicious.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that these were from the traditional bamboo steamers they had there.
The paus on the other hand were from the modern electric steamer you'll find at the petrol stations.
I mean, when you think of tim sum, the traditional way is the bamboo steamers am I right??

Chicken Feet ($3.00)

Here's something I picked up from my Dad and my brother only recently caught on.
There's just something so comforting about a chicken's foot that has been seasoned, spiced and cooked till it's going to slide off the bones when you put it in your mouth. Sluurrrppppp.

But here's a fair warning - that's one spicy serving of chicken's feet.
It's probably the spiciest version I've ever tried anywhere. But still delicious.

Bamboo Steamers 2-1 Modern Steamers

And this next part coming up actually needs some explanation.
But I MUST point out from the start that this was probably a one-off incident. I mean, this could have happened to anyone at any makan place. So I'm just going to let you know what happened but it is not, in any way, intended to reflect a bad light on this fine eating establishment.

My brother and I enjoy the rice dishes when it comes to tim sum.
I'm talking about the all-time classics - Fan Choy & Lor Mai Kai.

Fan Choy ($2.20)

Lo Mai Kai ($2.20)

So it's basically rice (glutinous or otherwise) with some chicken or char siew chicken.
And we love it.

But this time, we had an unfortunate incident....

My brother started whacking the Fan Choy before my Lo Mai Kai had even arrived so it was half gone by the time I was ready to have mine. But something wasn't right... At first I was so insistent that it was just the glutinous rice and that maybe theirs was a special type which made it extra sticky. I even ate a mouthful to make sure.

But then my brother had a very strong case and was very confident that his Fan Choy and my Lo Mai Kai had gone bad. Bad meaning spoilt aka basi.

"No way lah!" I said. I mean, we're at the manufacturer's stall! This is like as close to the source as you can get! There's no way that this food has gone bad right?

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....................

That is not glutinous rice sticky...
That is unfortunately glutinous rice SLIMY...

A quick check with the server confirmed our suspicions.
In fact, a faulty steamer was to blame and all the Fan Choy and Lo Mai Kai from the steamer had gone south for the winter and had to be thrown out.

This was the modern steamer. The same modern steamer where our paus had come from.


Well they didn't charge us for the spoilt food (rightfully) and it's obviously impossible for me to give a rating for those 2 items.

And to be honest, the food wasn't all bad. Some of it was pretty delicious.
I guess it was just bad luck that 2 items had spoiled I guess. And I know it does not reflect on the taste of their food or quality of their ingredients but I'm afraid it does reflect on their quality control and management of their food products.

Maybe that's why it was empty during lunch time.

Adam's Verdict:
Big Chicken Pau 2.5/5 -- BBQ Chicken Pau 2.5/5 -- Chicken Feet 4/5 -- Siew Mai 5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Big Chicken Pau 2/5 -- BBQ Chicken Pau 3/5 -- Chicken Feet 4/5 -- Siew Mai 5/5

Oh and one more thing.
The chilli sauce used to be the bomb but the new version is slightly on the sour side.
Which is actually really disappointing.

Hopefully next time we have better luck with the Fan Choy and Lo Mai Kai.
Or maybe we'll just stick with the Siew Mai.

Hara Kitchen

742 North Bridge Road (Opposite Nasi Pariaman)
Tel: 9068 0258
www.facebook.com/haratimsum

Operating Hours:10am til 10pm Daily
=====================================================================

Update! (1st September 2013)

One of our readers, Sri Yusnita, informed us that it looked like Hara Dim Sum had packed it up.

Well, Hara Kitchen has down-scaled their operations but is still operating out of the same place.
Most of the shop is now operated by Nasi Pariaman who operates mainly just across the street but you can still get your dim sum fix at North Bridge Road!

Thanks to our anonymous reader for the tip-off! Keep them coming in! :)

PS you will see mainly the Nasi Pariaman sign when you go but if you look closely on the left, you will still see the Hara sign too...

See it there? :)

Streats Hong Kong Cafe

Quite a number of increasing choices for us to get Halal Hong Kong-Chinese cuisine and this of course includes something we all love - Dim Sum!!

So I discovered this place called Streats Hong Kong Cafe at Downtown East.
At first I didn't realize it was Halal but a closer look shows the Halal logo displayed proudly in the front.
And they seem to really be trying to keep to the kind of Hong Kong cafe we see elsewhere BUT this one is Halal of course.

Fried Pumpkin with Salted Egg Yolk ($3.80)

So for appetizers we started with the pumpkin.
We did this for one simple reason - anything with salted egg yolk MUST be good right?

As far as appetizers go, this is a winner.
The pumpkin is light and preps you for the meal ahead and you can taste the salted egg.
But in my opinion, there can never be enough salted egg yolk and this one seemed a little light on the yolk.

And now for the mains!

Famous HK Fried Beef Hor Fun ($8.50)

Firstly, it's not as oily as it looks...

You can have either the gravy version or the dry version. Above is the latter.
But I should also mention that we requested that we asked for it to be "extra black" with the intention of it having extra black sweet sauce added when cooking. And we also asked for it to be "extra spicy" but the server told us that this meant they would give us a side dish of sambal meaning they could not add the sambal when frying. Isn't that weird?

Anyways my darling wife didn't really like the kway teow used. It was kinda extra thin so it didn't really have a texture we were used to. Perhaps this is also the reason why the taste wasn't so strong.
It was as if either the sweet sauce they used wasn't that sweet OR the kway teow didn't really take the flavour in when cooking. In fact, the only specific taste we could identify was saltiness.

But on the plus side - the beef was actually pretty tender.
But I'm kinda questioning the high price though. I mean, it wasn't even that big of a serving...

Nissin Noodles with Chicken Luncheon Meat & Fried Egg ($7.20)

I have this thing about Hong Kong noodles ever since I saw those old Jackie Chan kung-fu movies and also the newer HK mahjong comedies. There would always be this big bowl of noodles with meat and sometimes soup and veggies. Love it.

Even though it's the instant Nissin noodles (which I guess is the HK style) it's actually a pretty decent noodle.
Top it off with chicken luncheon meat (my favourite!!) and we have a winner. I guess it's the salty edge of the luncheon meat which I (and others I suppose) love so much. Finish it off with some kai lan and a fried egg and we're all set. If you're lucky, the yolk of the egg is cooked just nicely that the yolk is fluid enough to mix in with your noodles... YUMMY!

But after all that, I face an obvious fact - you can just make this at home!
PS you can have the dry (above) or the soup version for this as well.

Salty Plum Soda & Iced Honey Lemon ($3.80 each)

In the true HK style, some of the drinks are served in those thick glasses you see above.
This includes the coffees and teas as well.

It's quite a nice touch actually. But unfortunately that's about all that's nice about them...
The sour plum was a little bit TOO sour even though it was just two sour plums in soda water.
And the Iced Honey Lemon? It's just some honey and two slices of lemon in iced water.
Tasteless.

Adam's Verdict:
Pumpkin with Salted Egg Yolk 2.5/5 --  Noodles with Chicken Luncheon Meat & Fried Egg 3/5
Iced Honey Lemon 1/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Pumpkin with Salted Egg Yolk 2/5 -- Famous HK Fried Beef Hor Fun 1/5 -- Sour Plum Soda 1/5

I actually like Streats. Most likely because it's so close my house.
You Korea-mania fans will be happy to know that they have a TV playing K-Pop music videos.
I'll probably go back there. For the Dim Sum menu. Not the K-Pop.

Streats Hong Kong Cafe

Downtown East
1 Pasir Ris Close
Tel: 6584 4001

Operating Hours: 11.00am til 10.00pm Daily (Closed on CNY)