What to eat at Beauty World Station, Downtown Line, Singapore.

(Photo of Beauty World Station during the Open House)

The Downtown Line 2 has opened and people are all stopping at Beauty World (DT5) station to have their meals.

We the residents living around Beauty World welcome you to have a meal or two here. Please take the train here, as the parking attendants are quite active here and you don't want your meal to cost much more than it should. You have already been warned.

There are a few listings you can follow that has been published by fellow food bloggers I know personally. The local residents welcome these lists because those are places we don't go often. Hehe... Come and help our local restaurants and cafes.

Some people have asked me, and it's too much to tell or write. I have rounded them up into 8 clusters or areas you can visit to have your meals here.

The main eating clusters of eateries at DT5 Beauty World Station are:
Exit A / B:
1) Bukit Timah Shopping Centre
2) Beauty World Centre
3) Bukit Timah Plaza
4) Cheong Chin Nam Road food outlets.
5) Lorong Kilat

Exit C:
6) Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre.
7) Toh Yi Estate Coffeeshops
8) Eng Kong Terrace

The most popular cluster:
The most popular place to eat would be the Bukit Timah Food Centre. However be warned that many hawkers don't open everyday, especially the popular ones. They open 4 or 5 out of 7 days. Recently in the newspaper we have a hawker that was featured having their satay recipe passed down from generations. The stall has been in the same family for more than 70 years. Be warned also that different family member / employees cooked in the same stall. The father might cook in the day and the son at night, so there's a different in taste and quality! So we only order certain food when certain people are cooking.


(The local residents are very proud of this station. Many woke up at 5am in the morning to catch the first train that arrives at this station.)

Some other interesting facts:

The Malay food stalls never seem to survive at the Hawker Centre, the stalls always close down. You know why? Everyone goes to the Indian Muslim stalls at Cheong Chin Nam Road. There are 2 very famous shops. It's like everyone has their own favourites. You go and try and pick your side! One has recently been renovated and one is like so old school stuck in 80s mamak but inside a shop.

Chicken seems to be the most popular meat as there are quite a few places that sells chicken here. One of them does the most delicious fried chicken ever. When you order it, they will unwrap a packet of 'salt baked chicken' and deep fry it. It's so addicitive! You can try your luck at finding where that place is. They have like probably 15 or so chicken a day only from our observation. So it's a secret for now. Hints are in my instagram account.

There used to be 12 ice cream places within a 2 km radius, but most of them have closed down. A neighbour who lives in the same block as me has an ice cream shop actually opens his ice cream shop all the way in the East because he said the rent in this area is too high. We found out we were neighbours when I ate ice cream in the east!

We also have many Korean restaurants in the area. There are 5-6 of them and 3 of them have been around for some time. We have a community of Koreans living in this area. We even have a 'chap chai peng' style Korean stall! (The 'point point' this and that style of food)

Talking about Cafes, there's a whole long list of it too. Not all are popular though to tell the truth. We need more people to come fill up the places.



(A recreation of what Beauty World Town looked like long ago. This was at the Bukit Timah Community Club recently.)

More interesting non food related facts:

People always say folks staying here are 'atas'. We beg to differ. They probably forgot this area has the most 'atas' (highest) pile of earth in Singapore, Bukit Timah Hill. Residents in this area can see Swissôtel The Stamford, Marina Bay Sands from our flats.

Beauty World is also the name of a Singapore Musical! It's a musical that tells of a story of a young Malaysian girl from Batu Pahat to the 1960s Singapore in search of her father.

Our local MP is quite popular with the residents because she lives in the area! The older folks in the area watched her grow up. We have seen her do her own groceries in the local supermarket before too. While friends say their MP never visit, our MP does and she does it at least 2 times a year. We avoid being at home because we are shy, our photos might end up on her Facebook page. LOL!

It's a Beautiful World out here with lots of food. Welcome to Beauty World MRT Station. Maybe when I am free, I will list out the 100 over places to eat here and our personal favourites. For now, just walk around the 8 areas listed above and you will find a place or two to have a nice meal.

Here's the first train that arrived at Beauty World Station at 5:57 am!

First 'open to public' train that arrived at Beauty World station.

A video posted by Philip Lim (@keropokman) on Dec 26, 2015 at 2:00pm PST

Dilmah High Tea Set @ Carpenter and Cook

Carpenter and Cook (C&C)  is probably the cafe that we visit most often because it's in our neighbourhood. We will walk in and pick up a pastry or two on the way home. For the longest time, I have never blogged about this place because we don't want to invite people into our neighbourhood and cause a 'congestion' to a place we love.

So, why am I blogging about it now? There are now more cafes along this "Carbo Street" (aka Lorong Kilat) to spread the cafe crowd, so it's a good time to introduce this gem in our neighbourhood.

If you love their pastries and other baked goods, you might probably wish they come in a smaller size so that you can order a variety to try.  Good news! C&C is participating in the "Host a Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge" and they will be pairing food with the Dilmah Exceptional Premium Tea Series.

It will only be available this week (20-28 June 2015).


Dilmah High Tea Set for 2 ($20 per pax)

For $20 per person, you get to choose 1 flavour of tea from the Dilmah Exceptional Premium Tea Series and a selection of different pastries and other bakes.  

If you prefer to dine alone, you can still have the tea set (which comes in a 2-tier platter) and sample the variety of food.

(This Cafe is also a shop that sells furniture and other antiques, you'll be served on these lovely antique china and cutlery! When they first opened, I set my eyes on the church pew chairs and wanted to replace our dining room chairs with them, but it was a bit out of my budget then.)



What we had earlier today:

- Earl Grey & Lavender Mini Loaf
- Valrhona Caraibe Chocolate & Maldon Sea Salt Caramel Tart

Their Earl Grey and Lavender Mini Loaf this week is made with the premium series Dilmah Earl Grey. Still having the texture and fragrance of Earl Grey. Not too strong for me.

My favourite of the day is the Valrhona Caraibe Chocolate & Maldon Sea Salt Caramel Tart. I have to confess I am bias to anything chocolate. Made with one of the better chocolate around, it's something you got to try.




This is something that Anglophile loves. Scones and Clotted Cream. The scones (made with French butter) and jam are made in-premise.  The only thing that they do not make are the clotted cream - they import them from Britain.

They served both good old plain scones and mixed fruit scones.



The green apple and cucumber finger sandwiches were lovely.  Sis bit into it and said it's brioche because of the noticeable fragrant buttery taste.  I have never had green apple, cucumber and yoghurt sandwiches, and was pleasantly surprise that it was refreshing.  I thought they added a secret ingredient because I tasted something pickled in the sandwich.

Their Tiramisu is made from the coffee which they brew with the coffee machine. They don't use the usual 'coffee liqueur' that most home bakers use (i.e. kahlua or amarula). I am not telling you what they use, I am sworn by secrecy. Taste it and see if you like them.

Macarons! Everyone love a macaron that has been nicely aged, still having a hard shell and slightly chewy inside. It's best paired with the Rose with French Vanilla Dilmah Tea. Why? It's a raspberry and lychee macaron! They use fresh lychee that is now in season. French dessert fans will know what flavour that will be! Ispahan!


What would you recommend?
- This set during this week is good and it's a good price. Our usual takeaway of 2 items already cost around $14. This set allows you to sit and have the items above and also a pot of tea.
- If you have room for more food, we love their Lemon Tart! It's one of the items that we always have for takeaway.

Baby notes:

Crowded cafes are usually a no no for babies. Weekends are really busy here, so parents with babies should avoid it. Weekdays are all right though, we live nearby and we know when people flock to our neighbourhood.

Other notes:
This was an arranged tasting session, thanks to Dilmah Teas. We paid for our takeaways that we could not resist, i.e. the Lemon Tarts.
 

Carpenter and Cook
19 Lorong Kilat
#01-06
Singapore 598120

Tel: 6463 3648
Hours: Tuesdays - Saturdays: 10am - 10pm / Sundays: 10am - 7pm / Closed on Mondays

Hambaobao @ Beauty World Centre

The wife and I have been wanting to try HamBaoBao since it's in our neighbourhood. Everyday around evening, we would have to think what to have for dinner. Depending on baby's mood and the weather we plan where to go. Evenings are when I take over from the wife the 'duties' of taking care of baby. It's time when mummy eats a hearty meal so she is energized for the next day's routine.

The day was right, cool weather, this is going to be at a hawker centre on the 'rooftop' of Beauty World Centre where it's usually warm. So we hop on the bus and stop at the upcoming Beauty World MRT station stop.



The tables were mostly packed with everyone ordering from different stalls at this hawker centre. The 2 tables that were empty were right in front of the stall. Maybe it's our day to try it.

Looking at the menu and peeping at the orders that were going out, the wife knew she can wallop 2 of the burgers. The appetite of BF mums are enormous. They can eat and won't grow in size because of the calories burnt breastfeeding!

So the wife ordered and they asked if you wanted fairy fries, the wife said no, thinking it was just like other fries serves elsewhere. It was until we saw other people's orders of fairy fries that we decided we should try it as well, and she went to add one portion of fairy fries.


Crispy Pork Belly HBB ($4.50)

I had a smile on my face. My favourite meat with hoisin sauce, English mustard 'kiap' between a burger. Some meat with mustard over it, then topped with cucumber and the crispy bits!

The burger came together nicely. I love dipping my Crispy Pork in mustard to give it that bit of zing, the splash of English mustard they spread gave it the zing that I like. The cucumber also gave it a nice refreshing crunch and a little moisture as you bite into it. 



I thought it deserved another shot that here it is. I am becoming quite pro taking photos using the iPhone 6 without anyone noticing and I have a baby in kangaroo pouch position in front of me.

I also like the fact that it comes with a piece of paper so I can eat the burger holding the paper so that my hands are clean to take care of baby and nothing will drip on baby that's in front of me.


The Classic Beef HBB ($4.50)

The wife's first burger was the classic beef. Simple yet quite good. A beef patty, cheese, homemade tomato sauce, pickles and lettuce. If you like a simple burger and a meat eater, this is a good choice.  If you are a big eater, order 2, it can be small to some. The pricing allows you to order 2 without burning the pocket.

The wife always uses her hands eating her burgers. Since it's the husband's time to take care of baby, she can use her hands and get deliciously sticky hands. No fear, all well prepared mums have lots of wet wipes and tissues in the SG50 Skip Hop Diaper Bag! 




Oh yes, Fairy Fried are hand cut potato wedges. It's pretty addictive too.
No wonder everyone was ordering it.



Dat Dory Fish HBB ($5)

The wife loves fish burgers and this was her second burger. She said she'll gladly come to the fourth floor than to eat the fish burger on the first floor. (This only residents around this area will know what's on the first floor.)

A palm size piece of dory with tartar sauce, zucchini, red pepper and cheese. The wife likes it because of the grilled pepper and the tartar sauce. The fish has some char and was juicy, you can see it in the photo above. The overall bite into the burger is very balanced. She said this left a nice impression on her.

***

Fast forward 2 or 3 weeks later, we thought of the burgers again. Weather has been too warm and humid to bring the baby out, so I packed the burgers back.

Speaking from our experience, I would recommend that you eat there instead of packing it back and the Fairy Fries will become a little limp and also the burger buns have absorbed all the moisture from the burgers.



I misread wife's SMS and ordered a Dory plus extra beef patty in a burger. She wanted 2 individual burgers, but I ordered the 2 in 1. Well, now we know it can be done, fish and beef in a burger!

I am not a fan of Ayam Buah Keluak, but I ordered it because we have tried everything in the menu. The only thing we haven't tried. I should buy it for the Father-in-law who is Baba, he would appreciate the 'weird' taste of buah keluak.

Sis was also on our chat group and she said she want to try the burgers too even though she already had her dinner! She wanted the pulled pork burger.


Ayam Buah Keluak HBB ($5)

It tasted ok, I am not a fan of the taste of buah keluak, but I ate it, so I think probably Babas would love it. Knowing Babas and Nonyas, they are also a bunch of super picky people, so half of them will like it and half will say, my grandma's version is better. (I doubt their grandma will make a burger right? haha)

It's minced chicken with the rempah and buah keluak. It's a piece of dark patty. For the veggies, they use chap chye!

Buah Keluak fans, try and let me know if it's ok for you.


Dat Dory Fish HBB plus additional beef patty ($5 + $2.50)

The wife's fish and beef burger in 1. It does look good right?
I think next time I will have the Classic Beef + additional patty for myself.


Spiced Pull Pork HBB ($5)

It's pulled pork shoulder, cheese with homemade coleslaw. This is sis' order. I had a bite and it's not bad, but I prefer Crispy Pork Belly and the Classic Beef.

While waiting for my orders I read KF Seetoh's write up about them that was hung on the stall. This couple was previously studied food science diploma and nursing and decided to open up a hawker stall. Both of them are only in the 20s.


What would you recommend?
1.Crispy Pork Belly
2. Dat Dory Fish


Baby notes:
This place is a hawker centre, so it can be quite warm for babies on certain days. Find a table that's on the sides and it might be cooler. Baby was sleeping all the while in her BabyBjorn Carrier. It's a quick meal so you can bring baby back to the shopping mall to cool down a bit before going home.  Can't remember if there's a feeding or nappy change area as we did not need it.


Hambaobao
144 Upper Bukit Timah Road
Beauty World Centre
#04-49
Singapore 588177

Hours: 12 pm to 8 pm. Closed Mondays and alternate Tuesdays

Shelter In The Woods @ Greenwood Avenue

Shelter in the woods. What an interesting name. I wonder how it got its name.

If you have been here before the recent renovation, you would have remembered it to be dark place. It's as if you have been lost in the forest and it's nearly sunset. Not that I was there before, I was told it was like that. Then the owners decided to brighten things up.



With its reopening in November 2014, the owners want to make you feel as if you have entered into an inn in the middle of a forest. It might be dark outside but when enter, it's bright, heart warming, homely, welcoming and mesmerizing. You see rustic wooden tables, a huge bright red rotisserie (you can see it in the photo above) that has various meats cooking, you will temporary forgot it's Singapore. Probably in some woods.



Yup, it's bright inside now, for those who loves to take photos, it's possible now. Instagram your food!

With the reopening, they have brought in a new consulting chef. The Japanese-born, European-trained Chef Masahi Horiuchi that has more than 20 years of experience in Michelin Starred restaurants across Europe. I read that his style is marked by his technical expertise in classical European cuisine, that to me is the no nonsense, no modern powders and potions kind of cooking. We met him and he's such a humble guy.

The dinner that night was incredible. We got to thank 'Bing', a real foodie who knows a lot about food for inviting us over for dinner tasting. The wife and I with Maureen and Kai were fed with food that could last us till breakfast the next day. The following are what we ate.



If you are a fan of cured meat and cuts, you should visit this place. Chef Masahi prepares a whole array of them himself. I suggest that you bring along someone who loves it as well so you can share more items.

Shown above are two different 'boards' that you can order from their menu.

1) Shelter Charcuterie Board ($34, bottom in the photo above)
You get a selection of foie gras 'au torchon', pork rilette, pâté en croûte, mesclun salad and toasted French broiche and poolish baguette.

2) Shelter Pate Board ($30, top in the photo above)
For this board, you get to choose up to 3 selection of the daily range available, and its served with poolish bangueette and house made condiments. We had Pork Hat,  Pate duck a l'orange and Cream pâté with roquefort and walnuts.

Truth be told, I am not really an expert in Charcuteries. Everyone piece taste different and depending on your preference, you will particularly like some and not the others.  I should get an expert to explain and teach me how to enjoy them. Right now, it is what feels and taste good to me, I will like it.



A close up of the pate en croute. It had duck foie gras, pork, veal, forest mushrooms, pig liver, consomme jelly, wrapped in pastry.



A very delicious Pate duck a l'orange. It's foie gras with orange. I like the orange bits in it. Makes it more refreshing. I love their house-made pickles of cornichons and carrots too.



This is the Cream pâté with roquefort and walnuts.

I particularly like the Pork Hat. Surprisingly because it's made of pork head terrine with mustard and gherkins. If I want to put in a term that everyone will understand, it's like the best tasting luncheon meat that is just slightly cook.



Some of the condiments that goes with the boards. The left is the Honey and Lavendar mustard. It's one of the more popular condiments. You can buy them too. I saw on the bottle that it is $18 for 200 grams. Probably worth every cent when you taste it.



Pick your own choice of cured meats and cuts / charcuterie. I know some of you can't wait to try this ya.



One of the signature items is their Shelter Quiche ($14.50).

It has Bole Porcini Mushrooms, Swiss Gruyere cheese, Swiss Cream, Garlic and Herb butter, onions and eggs in a fragrant short crust pastry. If you like mushrooms and cheese, try this and let me know how much you love it. It's something you will want seconds.



If you like Lyonnaise Salad ($12 for entree, $20 for larger sharing size, the above is the entree size), you can tell the chef is classically trained as all the elements of a traditional Salade Lyonnaise is there. Frisee salad, soft-boiled egg, Dutch smoked bacon, croutons, confit pearl onions and sherry vinaigrette. The moment of truth when you break the egg and coat the salad with the egg yolk.

Every time I have a Lyonnaise salad, I would say to myself, why didn't I make a trip to Lyon when we were in France. I have always wanted to have a Lyonnaise Salad in Lyon.



This is the Endive and Roquefort Salad ($14). This was the entree size we had. If you want to have salad for the night or you want to share, there's also the larger one at $26. The salad with the slight stink I would say, thanks to the Roquefort. Surprisingly, the Belgian endives that night was not bitter at all.

A salad for those who loves Roquefort. A nice mix of walnuts, green apple strips, beets, cheery tomatoes with a honey dressing drizzled over it. I like how they criss crossed the endives. Pretty isn't it?



DIY Steak Tartar ($18 for 100g or $33 for 200g)

I love steak tartar. I remember having steak tartar every day at a different restaurant in Paris until the wife says, please, enough raw meat. Can you eat something else?

The most interesting encounter was at a simple cafe that's not in any guide book or recommended eats in food blogs. It was mostly local inside and I ordered it. They asked someone who could speak English and come tell me, it's raw meat, is that ok? Oui. Oui. Then when it was served, I asked the person, I asked the person to mix all the condiments to the style he liked. He said really, and he squeezed his own concoction of sauces and it was quite nice.



Anyway, back to this DIY Steak Tartar, they use Australian Black Angus Beef Tenderloin. They hand cut it and the meat has been seasoned for you. No need to wonder how much Worcestershire or Tabasco to add in. All you need to do is mix up the nicely cut up condiments after you take loads of pictures to Instagram it.

Oh lovely.



Creamy Corn Soup Trio ($13.50)
They said that the Japanese corn has the nicest taste ever. It's true. In the hands of this chef, corn, onion and milk were made into a nice creamy soup. Some roasted corn added in to give it a slight smokiness. To give it an additional texture of lightness, pop corn was added too.

Try it lah. Try it and you won't regret one.....



Rotisserie Suckling Pig

If you are here and you see the Rotisserie with a Suckling Pig slowly rotating, order it. It might look a bit expensive, but it's a suckling pig. If you order it in a Chinese restaurant, it also cost you about the same.  It's $35 for around 3 pieces, of $68 for around 6 pieces.



Served with rotisserie pineapples and confit onions. Oh the gravy is quite wonderful too and it is made of veal jus and caramelised onions. Try your first piece without the sauce to enjoy the already tasty meat. Then the second with the jus. Tell me which way you prefer it.



Seafood Casserole ($39)

My impression of this is the broth is addictive. So addictive especially with the slices of crusty cheese croutons served on the side. I was thinking of an awesome bouillabaisse when I had this. Seasonal seafood like fish, mussels, clams, prawns and scallops are cooked in a deep and rich seafood broth.

You know why I love the broth? It's made from fish, prawns, lobsters with fennel, leeks, celery, carrots, tomatoes and saffron. If you are able to imagine flavours by reading words, you should be able to imagine the taste now.



Rotisserie Rack of Lamb ($43)

This lamb is so tender, I ate it using my hands like a lollipop. Pick it up, the nice pink meat that was not gamey after being marinated with parsley and pepper. If you like garlic like me, suck the garlic out of the skin. So awesome.

The roasted baby potatoes are also just delicious. The gravy that comes in a pouring vessel is made of veal jus and caramelised onions. Taste it and you want to find things to dip. Might sound weird, but it's true. I am just thinking of my bro, the gravy person in the house.



Roasted Chicken (Half for $21.50 /  Whole for $40)

They use Anxin Chicken here. Looks like many places are serving these French breed chickens that are farmed in Johor and slaughtered in Singapore. I first tasted it many years ago when Bistro DB at MBS started using them. My aunt says they also sell them at selected supermarkets too.

The chicken is prepared almost similarly to the rack of lamb, very lovingly and delicately prepared, but because the lamb is far more superior, if you order both, you will end up picking the lamb. Order this if you don't like lamb. LOL.



Palate Cleanser (seasonal) - complimentary was served just before we had our desserts.
This is Earl Grey Rum Granita.

Oooo-la-la!

We tried 4 different kinds of desserts, but the 2 that left an impression that night was these two.
Rotisserie Pineapple Crumble and Meringue Glacee.



Rotisserie Pineapple Crumble ($14)

The pineapple has been flamed over the rotisserie, then spiced with cinnamon, star anise and cloves. The taste of the pineapple becomes from tartness to gooey sweetness, just a nice way to end the dinner. Served with their house-made vanilla ice cream and decorated with some crumble.



Meringue Glacee ($12)
This left an impression not only because of the looks of it. The house-made raspberry sorbet over the vanilla ice cream was really bold and really hits you with the mixture of sweetish and tartness. I like how they arranged those tiny meringue cones over the sorbet. It's also served with some macerated berries.

It's quite an impressive place to dine. Their food is done very well and so is the atmosphere. It's not a place to dine if you are in a hurry. The mains as it is mentioned in the menu will take 30-45 minutes to prepare. So enjoy the appetizers the charcuterie boards or salad and soups first.

They have 180 labels for their wine list too. They are predominantly Old World wines. 


Shelter In The Woods
22 Greenwood Avenue
Singapore 289219

Tel: +65 6477 6225
Hours: 6 - 10 pm, closed on Tuesdays.

URL: www.shelterinthewoods.com

The Oyster Festival @ Greenwood Fish Market and Bistro

Are you an oyster lover?

If you are, you probably have heard of Greenwood Fish Market. It's where you can get the freshest and most variety of oysters and at almost wholesale prices. It's not too late to find out if you don't know about this place. This has been the secret hide out for those who live along Bukit Timah and Dunearn Roads.

From 23 June to 27 July 2014, they are having their Oyster Festival. This is their third year organising it and the season is just right because the seas are still cold in the northern hemisphere. Cold water is where you can harvest good oysters. At the same time, the southern hemisphere is already in the winter season. It's the time of the year where we in Singapore can get the best of both hemisphere.



Look at the prices above and you know it's quite a steal and probably the best prices you can find in Singapore. Remember that it's all fresh live oysters and not frozen ones.

I got the privilege to listen and dine with Mr David Lee of Greenwood Fish Market, a veteran in seafood in Singapore. It was a wonderful experience as he shares about his knowledge of fresh seafood especially oysters. It opened my eyes about oysters - how to look at oysters, how to pick a good one, how to test if it's alive, how to eat it correctly.



There were 5 of us at the dining table at the cosy Greenwood Bistro. David was explaining the finer details of oysters eating and also about the wine they sell here at Greenwood Fish Market. His son Alan, was busy in the kitchen preparing the oysters and also other food for us. He comes out once in a while to check how are things and also explain the cooking methods.

I know there are fans of different kinds of oysters out there. Everyone have their own taste and likings. So we were glad to have a quick lessons about oysters. There is no best oysters to eat. Just the right season and the ones that fits your taste buds.

Here's the start of our experience, from the first platter:


Mary Points - British Columbia, Canada.

Canadian oysters are usually bigger in size, i.e. more fleshy. They are also less briny (salty).
The shells outside are not as pretty as Australian ones. It depends on your preferences. There are people who loves Canadian ones.

$4 each during the Oyster Festival


Coromandel Bay - Southern part of the North Island of New Zealand.

New Zealand is near the Antarctica and the water is really cold and clean. So oysters are of very good quality generally. The cold weather season (which happens now) is when oysters fatten up. The sea water is extremely salty here, so the oysters are also very briny. It has a smaller flesh size than the earlier Canadian ones. They taste nicer the Canadian ones to me.

$4 each during the Oyster Festival

David showed us this particular one that is spawning. It's when oysters are what many people call 'milky'. This is when the oysters are reproducing. After spawning then the oysters become skinny. So some people love the milky ones, and some like the skinny ones. It's when you have them.


Coffin Bay - South Australia

From the Canadian, New Zealand and Australian oysters on this platter, the Aussie ones are the tastiest to us. The characteristic of this South Australian species is the perfect shape of the shell. It has a nice deep cup and the perfect ones are when the oysters are fuller and plumper and slightly overfills the shell. Another characteristic is the very clean shell. Its shell is almost without any barnacles too.

The southern seas are very salty, so these oysters have a very salty taste to it too.
$4 each during the Oyster Festival 

Tip for picking and eating good oysters: 

• the oysters must be alive! Do a simple test! (read below on how to test it)
• the oysters must be from a reputable source. Some countries have oyster farms beside latrines.
• the oysters must not be washed with water. The tap water some places use (even hotels) will wash away the original taste and gives it a slight tap water taste. 
• the oysters is best eaten as it is, without anything else, especially Tabasco. A drop or two of lemon get rids of the 'fishy' smell for some people. 
• the inside of the oyster shell must be perfectly smooth and whitish. This means the oysters are not 'diseased'.

And we moved on to the second platter:




The second round of oysters for us. David also sells around 150 labels of wine here at the bistro. One criteria he has from his supplier is that they must not be supermarket brands. If you want to buy wines, this place might be your next destination too. He told us his mark up and we are so surprised he only makes so little out of selling the wine. If you dine in the mark up is also not high. Come and see it for yourself.

Back to oysters, he has 20 types of oysters at any time and he supplies it to many restaurants, clubs and hotels in Singapore. There are 4 shipments weekly. So much oysters come in through them that it is astonishing. (maybe to me lah, because the numbers shock me, the wife who is an oyster fan would love to hear about this!)

Tip to you all out there:
If you come on Tuesday nights, order a main meal and you can order oysters at $1.50! Yes, fresh live oysters. They have stocks coming in and Tuesday nights are when customers help to clear stock for them!

Tauton Bay - Boston, USA.

These oysters are huge too, similar to the Canadian ones, but you can see there is an 'arch' to the shell. This is for those who love big fat oysters. Chinese restaurants love them because they can steam them, but that to some is a waste of good oysters. Everyone has their taste and preference. There's no right and wrong.

It's not as salty as the Aussie or NZ ones to us, it was a nice change from the saltier ones.
$6 each during the Oyster Festival


Fine de Claire - Marennes Oléron - France

I got interested when we were told about how they are produced and when I got home, I did more research. 'Fine' means 'slender' and 'Claire' means 'ponds', or more specifically salt marsh ponds. After reading about it, I will term them as pamper little oysters.

These oysters are pampered with their own minimum amount of space to grow. They have a maximum number of neighbours for each square meter that they live in. They grow in ponds that are well protected and the salinity of the water is well controlled. They will all grow up looking the perfect shape and taste that everyone will like. Ahem, sound like modern Singapore kids?

Of course these tasted perfect. It has the nice texture, the taste, the shape, etc. These are popular in several hotels in Singapore too.

$5 (Fine de Claire) each during the Oyster Festival
$6 (Fine de Claire Special) each during the Oyster Festival


Tsarskaya - Brittany, France.

The tastiest oysters we had for the meal. These are the Tsarskaya oysters from Brittany, France. You can just do a search for it and you can read all about it. The cream of the crop for now. It really is very nice from the 6 oysters that we tasted. With the explanation from David and the bottle of NZ white that we had, it was quite an indulgence. Yes, as some on the table exclaimed, this is So Good!

$7 each during the Oyster Festival 

You can read all the flavour profiles online or at the tags. I am not an oyster expert, so these flavour profiles described I can't really taste all of it. My tongue has not eaten enough variety to claim I know everything. I am glad I had help from the expert teaching me things oysters. I am learning.

So how do we test if an oyster is well and alive?

Use the tip of the mini fork that comes served with the oyster and touch the sides or tips of the oysters. If it's alive it will twitch. For some really active ones, it moves! The moving tells you that it is a live oysters and its safe to eat. Never ever eat dead oysters!

Many years ago, I attended a talk by a top French chef in uni and he said the French only use a drop or two of lemon to test if the oyster is alive. A live oyster will move when a drop of lemon is dripped onto it. He also said no other things to go with your oysters. Eat it as it is.


Baron Point - Vancouver, Canada 

Our conversation some how moved to huge oysters and we found out that they have huge ones here too. David then asked Alan to bring out some bigger ones. We were impressed. Huge! (I know some of you are oysters fans and have seen bigger ones, I am just a novice and want to learn more)

Ahem.... as we were dining with a lady from American Express Singapore, we took a photo of the oyster with an Amex card to compare the size. Now take out your Amex and compare the size! 

By the way....

• American Express Platinum Credit Card members enjoy 20% off oysters from the ala carte menu at the Greenwood Fish Bistro under the Platinum Private Deals.
• Lucky Draw Promotion (exclusively for Platinum Card Members): From now till 9 Nov 2014, American Express Platinum Credit Card members can also stand the chance to be one of 5 lucky winners every day to win S$100 worth of dining vouchers (TungLok dining vouchers for Monday to Saturday draws and Fairmont dining vouchers for Sunday draws). Every receipt above S$50 earns the card member one chance to win.  Chances are doubled when the card member spends S$50 or more in a single receipt at any The Far Card or Palate establishment.

Another Baron Point oyster, which is even bigger than the earlier one. The Ezlink transport card is there for comparison.

$7 each during the Oyster Festival 

What if I am not an oyster person?

If you are not really interested in oysters, here are more temptation for you. If you like smoked salmon, smoked trout or smoked kampachi, they have it here and they smoked them in house. Alan is really proud of his smoked produce. As Alan brought out this platter, the aroma of the Californian Apple wood just fills the air. It's so aromatic that we can't wait to try it. 

For those who smoke things at home, they have their own smoker flew in. I didn't get to see it, but maybe one day I might ask permission to see it.


The cold smoked salmon. 

They import lots of good and fresh salmon so they smoked them themselves. It has been smoked at 26c for I can't remember how long. They also use less salt as they don't expect people to keep it for long. It would be wallop up! It would probably be gone by 2-3 days if you buy them. It is really that good. As it's not that salty, you can't help eating more.

There's a cafe in town that does roaring business by preparing food that's uses their smoked salmon. For confidentially sake, it's not disclosed which cafe source from them. 

The Hot Smoked Trout 

If you like trout, this is their hot smoked trout. It's smoked at 84c. Again, I don't know the timing that they smoked it for. Home smoking enthusiast should know. I can't pick up this hobby as the ladies at home always remind me that we live in a flat, not a landed 5 storey place where you can store everything. 

The texture is just nice for my liking. It's firm, yet when you cut it with your fork, it breaks nicely, and not crumble. It's also not too salty, and it will suit most Singaporeans taste buds. 

The Hot Smoked Kampachi.

This is also hot smoked at 84c. Another divine fish. I was telling the wife about it and she said, she and her friends used to come here when they were younger for their seafood binch and she can imagine the freshness of it when I talk about freshness.

In conclusion.....

It's been a salivating post for me as I typed this. If you are looking for some fresh oysters, come during the Oyster Festival. If not, the best days if you are interested in the best price for oysters is to book a place for their Tuesday night $1.50 oysters. Yes, you have to order a main dish first to get the deal. 

Come on Thursdays if you want the most variety, that's when the various shipments arrive and ready for sale.  If you like lobsters, come on Mondays! That's when they have lobsters specials and I was told it's really a good deal.

We were told some who have come for the oysters festival last 2 weeks have made bookings for the remaining next 2 weeks. Oysters fans are fanatical people ya?

Greenwood Fish Market and Bistro.

34 and 38 Greenwood Avenue

Singapore 289236

Tel: +65 6467 4950

Web: www.fishshop.com.sg

Hours: Open daily.
Fish Market and Wine Shop: 11 am to 10.30 pm

Bistro and Oyster Bar: 12 noon to 10.30 pm