Singapore Food Festival 2010 Launch : Clarke Quay Food Street

If you have not already known, the Singapore Food Festival has started in Singapore.
I guess of all the different Festivals that is held in Singapore, the Singapore Food Festival would probably be the most loved by all.

I was there at the Clarke Quay Food Street last Friday to 'check it out'.
Checking out both the food and people there!

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Oh look who I spotted first.  Mr KF Seetoh, Singapore's renowned food personality and founder of Makansutra. (Oh yes, he was even on Martha Stewart's show last year!)

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More people spotting, I spotted the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang there too.

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If you are wondering where exactly is the Clarke Quay Food Street, it's on Read Bridge. They have covered Read Bridge and brought in more than 30 stalls from various famous restaurants and hawkers all literally under one white roof!

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How do we eat everything here? Not possible right?  Momo and I met up with Aromacookery and we decided of 'join forces' to conquer the food there. Armed with two pieces of $20 prepaid food card we bought the following:

I queued for the Lim Hai Sheng Carrot Cake. This stall's the famous Carrot Cake stall from Ang Mo Kio Ave 6.



I think so. The carrot cake was quite good. I liked it because there was lots of crunchy 'chai po' that you can taste when you eat it. It was also very very fragrant. This was the $4 version.

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Next Momo queued for the Rojak. Apa Rojak. What an interesting name. Rojak is a Malay word. If you read it all in Malay, it would translate to What Rojak?

But I realise that their Apa is a translation from Chinese, which means Dad's Rojak. This stall's from Lau Pa Sat Festival Market.



The rojak was not too bad. We had the fruit rojak and there was enough 'hae kor' (prawn paste) in it to hold everything together.

What do you like in rojak? I like the fried dough fritters (you tiao) in it.
This was the $4 version.



Hey, more people spotting. Guess who else I saw?

- Luke Nyugen, a celebrity chef that's on Food Network Asia and owns the Red Lantern restaurant in Sydney.
- Sylvia Tan, a popular Singapore Food Writer who has published a few books.

Luke was seen carrying a plate of the same rojak! They were filming something.

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Next, I went to queue for some duck. I think why I stopped there was because of the poster at the side. "Duck Fat Unhealthy? Think Again..." Hmmm

I am not sure where De Tai Roast is from though.



Their duck did looked tempting hanging there.



I bought two duck drumsticks. A little expensive at $5.80 each.
The taste was OK only to me.



If you want me to say which is nicer, I think the roast duck above was nicer than the braised duck below.

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Aromacookery queued for the Ngoh Hiong.
Xin Sheng is from the west of Singapore. Taman Jurong residents would probably know it.



The Ngoh Hiong did really made a great entrance with a huge leaf that was used to hold the food. It looks really 'photogenic'. The Ngoh Hiong taste not too bad either.

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Using credit from Aromacookery's card, Momo got the Yeh Lai Siang Hainanese Chicken Rice.



Aromacookery, Momo, Camemberu (who we met there with) HungryCow like the chicken rice.
I think my taste is a bit different. I think it's because I can't appreciate rice balls!

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There we nearly finished up the $40 credit on the prepaid food card we had.


Head down to Clarke Quay with your colleauges or family or friends from now till 24 July, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Look even the kids are glad to be there.
(More people spotting, these two little cute ones would be the future King and Queen of Caldecott Hill.)



Thanks for reading this long post!

Clarke Quay Food Street
Read Bridge (next to Merchant Court Hotel)
4:00 PM to 11:00 PM
16 - 24 July 2010

Remember to bring your Kopitiam card or purchase a limited edition Food Festival prepaid card.
They do not accept cash.

Jew Kit Chicken Rice @ Bukit Timah Shopping Centre

We noticed this new sign board has been up for sometime at the Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. You know something? The sign board is placed right opposite the 5 Star Chicken Rice and Boon Tong Kee across the road (Cheong Chin Nam Road). Chicken rice war? Another chicken rice place? Do we really love our chicken rice so much that there's always room for more of it?

Doing some online search, I realise that this stall seems to be popular with Bukit Batok folks. It's fairly decent and their pricing is also attractive. Looks like they are expanding. From Bukit Batok to Bukit Timah. Maybe soon to Bukit Panjang, Bukit Ho Swee and all the way to Kaki Bukit. :-)

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We were a bit late (around 8pm plus) for dinner so there was not much chicken left "hanging" at the counter. They said we could have a 'mix'. So we had half a chicken with a mix of Steamed and Roasted Chicken.

The Roasted Chicken is fairly decent. The colour of the skin looks good and the taste is not bad too. The meat was firm and overall quite pleasing when you eat it. It comes with "Kiam Chai" (Salted vegetables) at the side.

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Turning to the other side of the plate, we had the Steamed Chicken.
For me personally, I prefer the Roasted side, because I will eat roasted skin, but the steamed skin is a bit too soft to eat. (I know steamed chicken fans will disagree with me!)

(Their pricing for half a chicken is $12 and whole chicken $23, what I saw on the menu)

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They also had zhi char (stir fry) dishes. We ordered the French beans. Lots of garlic and also some pounded fried shrimps, it was really fragrant. Err.. they are also heavy handed with the oil too.

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We also had "Paul the Sambal Sotong". The sambal was quite good. Mr Paul was stir fried not too long so it was not chewy at all.

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Their rice is fairly decent too, and not very oily.

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We did noticed they were a little forgetful. (Old lady taking our orders had a tiring day maybe? Forgivable lah)

We ordered the stewed bean curd and eggs and they forgot to serve it. It was only when we asked them then they 'went to check'. It was cold, so half of us on the table was not happy. But the other half who likes to eat tofu cold said it was good. For me, the beancurd and egg were not memorable. :-p

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I guess some competition along this area is good. The two chicken rice shops opposite the road is getting really expensive! The pricing here was good. It was around $30 for the above and 5 plates of rice, soup plus drinks. There was a decent crowd too.


Jew Kit Chicken Rice
Bukit Timah Shopping Centre
170 Upper Bukit Timah Rd
#B1-17
Singapore 588179

Keisuke Tokyo @ Parco Marina Bay

Momo and I both took weekday leave to go 'walk walk' around town last week. Momo still had loads of leave to clear and I was taking my Labour Day replacement leave. We realise walking around can be quite tiring!

It was around dinner time and since we were picking up some things at Marina so we thought we would eat nearby. Momo, Aromacookery and Camemberu tried the Ramen here before but I have not, so we decided to pay Keisuke Tokyo a visit. They are famous for their Ebi Ramen (prawn ramen) which stock is made out of 3000 Ama Ebi (sweet prawns) daily.

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If you love crabs, you might want to try their Kani Ramen (Crab Ramen) ($15.80) that they only prepare about 50-60 bowls a day. When you are seated you will see a different menu telling you about it. It's seasonal, so if you are a crab fan, try it while it lasts.

The broth is like having a mix of consomme and bisque (it's hard for me to describe it!), thick and very flavourful.  The oil on it gives it a fragrance that really charms your nose. You see the egg there because I was tempted when they ask if I wanted to add the Ajitsuke Tamago, I said yes. ($2 extra).

The texture of the ramen was just nice for me, not soft and not super al-dante, springy.

As the broth it's very thick and 'seafood' (ok, some people will say it is fishy) taste, they serve some grated ginger on the sides. You can add it in the broth to mute the 'seafood-ness'. But I appreciate that the broth was not very crabby in taste and smell, it's not too overwhelming.

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Momo had the Spicy Ebimiso Ramen Special ($20). It was served in an unique bowl, it is as if the contents might flow out soon! The broth is a different from the one I had. This taste more 'prawny'. (obviously. haha)

So why is there a 'special' in the name of the dish? Special means I want all the toppings, the works! There's fish cake, wontons, pickles, etc...

Momo said the texture of the ramen served is to her liking this time. The previous time she was here it was a bit too soft. 

Also, when they say spicy, they really mean it. You really break out in sweat. It's a double whammy too, with heat coming from both the soup and the chilli. Woo hoo!




The "special" also includes a side dish that has Ajitsuke Tamago, pickled lettuce stems (which I love), and some really tasty cold chicken that taste similar to the usual 'white chicken' in Singapore Chicken Rice.



Just in case you want to see the chicken pieces. Looking at the smooth sides of soy stained egg, I feel like having one now!

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We enjoyed our ramen, away from the usual miso, soya, shio, shio butter or tonkotsu based broth. Some say it taste like a glorified hae-mee (prawn noodles). Well, Ebi Ramen literally means Prawn Noodles. You should probably try it and see if you like it.


Keisuke Tokyo
9 Raffles Boulevard
#P3-02 Parco Marina Bay (Millenia Walk)
Singapore 039596

Tel: 6337 7919
Hours: Weekdays - 11.30 to 22.00, Weekends and Public Holidays - 11.00 to 22.00