Sea Food @ Clarke Quay

So...I'm just back from Korea and Kuala Lumpur, and wanted to write something on each area but the stories have to be embargoed till after all my print stories are out...

But I've been mulling over crustaceans for awhile and decided to let it all out...my favorite place - which may not be the cheapest option - is Quayside Seafood (Blk 3A Clarke Quay; Tel: 9633 9146).


It's not that expensive either...you don't have to worry about your pacer working overtime. A huge meal for four can be anything from S$200 - S$350. Plus the sights and sounds of the river is pretty special. Thank good ness though I wore my cottons...it can get a little sweaty on a humid evening.




Starting off on a sweet note, they made me actually LOVE drinking out of coconuts...I used to detest it but I'm in love with it now...I can drink buckets of it and spend hours scraping off the soft flesh from all sides and corners... yummmm...very therapeutic... I used to be traumatised by scantily covered insides of these husky fruits. I ended up digesting undesirable fibres...gross-o-rama. But not anymore!


Anyhoo, the drunken prawns are really something. The strong but not overwhelming aroma, clean taste and gorgeous color simply magnetises me to the very thing that causes me to break out in hives and bad itches. My uncle does fantastic steamed drunken prawns which gives Quayside a run for their money. In fact, hire him folks...he's the real deal - You can always trust a Peranakan to whip out a-ma-ma-zing spreads... ;D


Yes, crustaceans were born to be my enemy...any part of me which is in direct contact with these shelled underwater creatures make me break out...not in song...but in red patches. Hah! And the war goes on between me - the Yao Kwee (a.k.a. greedy) Versus Seafood.

Moving on...A must must must is fried baby squids...the crunchiness, sweetness and oiliness are addictive...I keep popping them in my mouth...they should serve them as popcorn in movie theaters...seriously.




And who can resist CRABS??!!!! They are an absolute yes! especially since they are said to lower blood pressure, minimise blood triglycerides or bad fats, and can even improve your chances of living longer after a heart attack...whoa...But then again all these unbelievable benefits are also contingent on how the fare is prepared and the amount consumed at one seating. Too much of a good thing, I always believe, can wreak havoc where it's supposed to heal..



Back to my crabby friends, they should taste yummilicious with salted egg yolk. I absolutely adore shrimps stir-fried with egg yolk from Imperial Treasure Nan Bei...and I think age has caused my taste buds to mature to that of a forty-something...I used to spit out century eggs and preserved eeky thingeys but nowadays I devour them wholly.


So here I am with a humoungous plate of crabs smothered with dirty-yellow salted egg yolk...It was not too bad overall. However, I felt that the succulent crab meat, and preserved flavor of the egg did not blend well. It was a tad sweet which I guess can be considerably lightened when eaten with mantou or plain rice which act as a starchy protection layer over not-so-perfect selections such as this one.

The drunken prawns made me very happy though and is truly stellar. I plan to return with my brood and populate the dining table with prawns, prawns, prawns! And check out their chilli crabs. Skip the dessert though cause the last I saw they only served ice-cream...My friends and I crossed over the bridge instead and ooh'ed and aah'ed over the Yuzu sorbet @ Haato (Liang Court Shopping Centre, Medi-Ya Supermarket; Tel: 6337 8835) - I bought a tub back for my grandparents who licked it all up in a day. Yeah, it's that good...

I Was Bait

The best Curry Fish Head I’ve set my eyes upon is discreetly simmering in an aromatic area of Singapore that is well-acquainted with me; Nam Kee’s chicken rice, Dino’s swiss roll, icekimo’s chempedak dessert and The Roti Prata House’s milk-injected-dough prata.

Follow the inviting smells and you would be in Upper Thomson – A nostalgic street especially since I’ve been fed paranormal doeses of siu bak, char siew and steamed chicken at Nam Kee’s ever since I was knee-high. My parents would drive us kids there almost every Saturday. I was reminiscing about this place with friends just the other day. They too have patronized this family joint for years, and watched three generations manage the business, and 2-3 restaurant renovations.

However, the hot and spicy focus right now is Hooked on Heads. What’s that? It does sound dodgy, doesn’t it? Hahahah! I passed by this restaurant at Sin Ming Plaza many times but never ventured to go in. Thought it was “Hooked on Beads”. Hello. Wake up and feel the tiara, Love Princess.

My daddy insisted we give it a go. I was so hesitant. FYI - My parents love processed foods…twinkies, Gardenia’s cream buns, random coconut-based kueh-kueh at the railway station…just plain gross lah. My mum *shaking head* text’d me when I was in London saying that I MUST try the custard tartlets sold in Selfridges. In the FROZEN section. Eewness Central!

But that’s not the point. Hah! Moving forward, I was bowled over by the fish head curry. REALLY GOOD. It’s not jelak-y (translation = won’t get sick of the taste), unexpected lightness to the gravy, and smooth-textured. Very shiok-a-rama. Want to know the secret to a great-tasting and refreshing curry dish? It’s in the milk. Apparently they add half of the normal dose of coconut milk, and the rest of the mixture consists of regular milk = you absorb only half the calories! The fish is majorly fresh too. And adequately spiced with green parsley and limber tomatoes. Ooooooh. The spiciness is happening lah.

I was seen constantly scooping with my stainless steel spoon deep into the tasty gravy claypot. I really can’t rave enough of it. And big GOLD STARS for daddy! He got it right (finally) this time.

People, it’s extremely affordable. Not bluffing. It’s the perfect place to share a yumster meal with the extended family and friends.

Until the next bite, too-dles.

My Green Loves - The Sequel

When I was a practising vegetarian a few years ago (and lost a LOT of weight might I add), my dearest friend, let’s call her Bubu, sent me a picture of a well-known vegetarian. A COW.

Isn’t it nature’s wonder that although cows and cow-like animals share the same diet as Love Princess, they weigh a ton, and I lost a ton? Hah.

Since I’m on a winning streak here with this whole “Go Green, You Can Eat Whatever You Want” campaign, shake your cute bon-bons to Lingzhi Vegetarian Restaurant @ Liat Towers.

Happening, man. You will feel guiltless about gorging yourself with everything on the menu. EVERYTHING. The most digestive-worthy dish is “Fire In The Belly” – fried monkey head mushrooms with spinach and shredded ginger. It’s spicy too. Mmmmmmm… You can pop these babies like popcorn. My virgin encounter with these monkey-head things was at Four Seasons’ Jiang Nan Chun. SHIOK. It was crispy and peppered with sesame seeds (sesame seeds should be on everything!), and had me serial-popping till they disappeared from the communal lunch table. Pai seh (embarrassing) *blush*

The dim sum selection was really nothing to shout about. And the soup, sheesh. It’s grossly diluted.

Stick to the star dishes such as “Rolling Crunch” – crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, fried mushrooms are rolled and served sushi style, with chunks of capsicum, shredded cucumber and moistened with soya vinaigrette; sweet and sour vegetarian fish, and beancurd skin “satay” on a stick heavily drizzled with spicy peanut sauce will leave you a satisfied bunny.

And of course, the black sesame glutinous ball dusted with fine peanut shavings, and mellow yellow custard roll is yummy-doodles.

With attentive service and accessibility (geographically speaking), and a tasty menu tagged at S$18.80++ per pax only, wasted if you don’t go lah.

Then after you makan, make sure you come back, and tell me whether the trip was worth it or not. Remember ah! (Oh, minimum two diners for buffet treatment)