Mei Xuan Food Centre

9th September, Wednesday

Roast duck noodles

Although I have worked around this area for 4 years, I haven't tried this stall before despite loving roast duck and roast pork. K ordered this today. Well, looks like I didn't miss much over these 4 years. The roast duck was decent, nothing special.

K likes the noodles, but I found it average.

V's verdict: 6/10
K's verdict: 7/10


Roast pork

Their roast pork was so-so only too. The skin wasn't crispy. But at least the meat was quite all right.

V's verdict: 6/10
K's verdict: 7/10

Thye Hong Cafe, Gourmet Corner

13th July, Monday

Wanted to have the sliced fish bee hoon at Thye Hong Cafe, but at 12pm the whole frigging place was full. And there were around 20 people queueing for the sliced fish bee hoon already. -.-

So my colleagues and I decided to da bao instead. Bought sliced fish bee hoon and some roasted meats from the well known stall beside the cafe (Gourmet Corner).


Sliced fish bee hoon (旺盛)

This was not bad, but not as good as the tom yam sliced fish bee hoon I had last time. I am definitely eating the tom yam next time instead. $3.50 + $0.20

V's verdict: 7/10


Roasted meats (Gourmet Corner)

There's also always a long queue at this stall, but they are very efficient (there's 8 people manning the stall!). But it's damn expensive! I told the person "roast duck and roast pork for 3 people" and the cost came up to $25. Goodness!

Interestingly, they only served breast meat for the duck. I think if you want the drumstick, you need to order it specifically. I am sure it will cost a bomb.

The roast duck breast was excellent, I must admit. It was tender; probably the most tender I have ever eaten before. The roast pork was not bad, but not as good as the roast duck.

V's verdict:
8/10 (roast duck)
7/10 (roast pork)

Ah Seah Eating House

13th June, Saturday

Ah Seah Eating House is a small food court at 9 Yio Chu Kang Road, at Kovan Centre.

Roast duck



Bought this as takeaway for lunch. As usual, this was fantastic. The duck meat is delicious and juicy, and there's a herbal taste to its seasoning. This is definitely recommended!

V's verdict: 8.5/10
K's verdict: 8/10

Hiang Ji Roasted Meat & Noodle House

20th May, Wednesday

At Toa Payoh Central. This stall seems to be competing fiercely with Choo Chiang, which is just 2 or 3 units away. Apparently, this one is winning with always more customers than Choo Chiang.

Roast duck noodles



Okay, my judgement was skewed because the roasted duck parts they gave me suck. It's the wing area, where the meat is the driest and toughest. But there was some breast meat which didn't taste good too. Nothing special with the noodles. $3

V's verdict: 5/10


Dumpling soup



Their soup was decent, but the dumplings were okay. $3

V's verdict: 6.5/10

Choo Chiang Roasted Meat Noodle House, Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh

6th May, Wednesday

Both are located at Toa Payoh Central, behind Singtel.

Choo Chiang Roasted Meat Noodle House:

From some forums, it seems that this place was actually quite famous, and there was even one copycat that sprung up, calling itself Zhu Jiang. But during dinnertime today, there was only a handful of customers, and we even took up a table meant for 6. The restaurant nearby had many more customers.

Emperor's herbal chicken



I am a sucker for herbal stuff, and it must be very concentrated and strong. This wasn't strong enough at first sip, but it got better and better after that. The chicken was fresh and tender, and even the breast meat tasted excellent.

V's verdict: 7/10
K's verdict: 7.5/10


Roast duck rice



From the picture, you can gather one thing --- the presentation sucks. It looks as if the duck meat was hastily tossed onto the plate! The meat was a bit tough and didn't taste good too.

V's verdict: 5/10


Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh

One of its outlets, at Toa Payoh.

Chwee kueh



A bit oily, but then, most chwee kueh are quite oily. It tasted quite good; the texture of the kueh was good --- soft and yet not too sticky. The radish was also delicious, a far cry from Serangoon Garden Market's.

V's verdict: 7.5/10
K's verdict: 8/10

Crystal Jade Kitchen

1st May, Friday

Had dinner at the Ngee Ann City outlet. We didn't really order anything fanciful today. Things to note are, they charge plain water at $0.30 a glass, and also charge you if you eat their pickles/peanuts etc. I don't really approve of such practices --- putting the snacks under your nose and charging you if you eat them, without informing you beforehand.


明火白粥



My favourite plain porridge. Although it's plain, it's very thick and tasty --- I think it was cooked using scallops? I never fail to order this whenever I visit Crystal Jade Kitchen. Today's was a bit less tasty, but it was still good nevertheless. K loved it! $1.80

V's verdict: 7.5/10
K's verdict: 8.5/10


Pig liver noodle (dry)



One very important thing about cooking pig liver --- it cannot be overcooked, or it is ruined. For this dish, the texture and the doneness seemed to be contradicting, because it wasn't overcooked, and yet it was a bit tough.

The noodles were decent, though their chilli was fantastic. In fact, I ordered this mainly to eat it with their chilli. One thing Crystal Jade definitely wins over Din Tai Fung is this chilli --- Din Tai Fung doesn't come close. Not even a little bit. $7

V's verdict: 6/10
K's verdict: 7/10


Roast duck noodle (dry)



Crystal Jade's roast duck is usually quite good, but I found today's to be a bit disappointing, mainly because it was dry. $7.80

V's verdict: 5.5/10
K's verdict: 6/10