Hong Kong Street Chun Kee Restaurant: The Real Deal?

Hong Kong Street Restaurant or 香港街珍记 may ring a bell to those who frequent tze char stalls cum restaurants. You might have seen it at Novena, or Bukit Timah, or maybe even Changi, but today I'm introducing the one at Ang Mo Kio.

Hmm? And you thought they are were all under one man's monopoly. Wrong. I'm uncertain as to who's the real founder of the chain of Hong Kong Street Restaurants we have been seeing all around the island, but one thing's for sure, they are famous for their milky fish soup and other fish dishes.

The Sliced Fish with Spring Onion and Ginger certainly did not disappoint. The succulent slices of fishes were well fried with ginger and spring onion, resting on a pool of slightly thicken savoury gravy, it was lip-smacking good. Oh, and FYI, this type of fish said to be good for those who just had undergone any surgical operations as it helps the surgical wound to close up faster.

We ordered the Yam Ring Basket, which was chocked full of mushrooms, vegetables, prawns and topped with some cashew nuts. I have to admit, that although I wouldn't pay so much for a yam ring and mainly vegetables, but the yam ring was no doubt well-prepared. The yam paste, which was smooth and not cloying, does not leaving your mouth feeling very dry and it was fried to a nice and light crisp; Dipping it into sweet, stick sweet sauce was delightfully satisfying.

Unfortunately, the Claypot Tofu was disappointing. With vegetables, slices of yam, roasted pork and big square pieces of tofu all in a claypot, slathered with a starchy gravy, it didn't not exactly appeal to me or surprised me with it taste.

The famous 'Sam Lor Hor Fun' was the equally delicious as the Sliced Fish with Spring Onion and Ginger. Succulent slices of fishes was fried with hor fun and a generous amount of bean sprouts. The bean sprouts added a nice crunch to the overall texture of the dish and the hor fun had a nice subtle 'wok hei' taste to it.

In addition, we called for a plate of Sweet and Sour Pork too. It was good, but didn't come across as great to us.

Have you eaten at another Hong Kong Street Restaurant and would love to share your views? Or do you know the real story behind the chain of Hong Kong Street Restaurants that are popping up all around the island? I would love to hear from you. Please leave your comments below, thank you.  


Hong Kong Chun Kee Street Resturant
Blk 151, Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 
#01-3030, (S) 560157
Opening Hours: 11am - 2pm, 5pm - 11pm.

Rong Yi Hong Kong Tim Sum: Ang Mo Kio Branch

I have decided on writing short and concise posts for the months leading up to the Os to come; I can update this blog more regularly (so you don't have to wait too long for a updates!) and well, more time on the books.(:

One thing to celebrate if you have been with me for awhile now, reading this blog of mine, chinese O level results were released last Thursday and well, it was a moment of pure joy : A1! Praise be to God for the good results and many thanks to my teacher, who put in a lot of effort to teach us, and my friends for their constant encouragements to spur me on, thank you all!

Coming back to the topic, this chicken pao(top picture) is well worth a try. Surprisingly, I realised the main branch of this stall seems to be in Rochor Centre as I was googling for the name of this stall. Unfortunately, that means I haven't tried the main branch dim sum so there's no knowing if what I ate was up to their best standards. However, I can confidently say, comparing to the other chicken paos I've eaten, this is truly one of the better ones.



I'm not sure what's your idealistic pao or the best pao you've eaten - soft and fluffy skin, tender chicken filling, egg, mushroom and juices bursting out as the inside of the pao is being revealed?

This chicken pao ($1.50) is near there but a little different as well. For starters, there's no mushroom nor juices bursting out. But wait, the pao contains onions and, I suspect, radish, these two add great flavour and crunch to the chicken filling. Thus, overall, I would say it's worth a try if you're in the vicinity or having a craving for chicken paos. I've tried the lotus paste pao as well, decent but a little too expensive for its small size.

The best pao I've tried, that fulfils the idealistic pao above, was in malaysia, will definitely blog about it if I go over to malaysia in the future. Meanwhile, anyone knows if the chicken pao is the same over at the main branch?

Rong Yi Hong Kong Tim Sum (AMK)

Blk 158 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4
#01-590
Singapore (S)560158

Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo: Worth The Wait

Studying makes you hungry. After hitting the books with my cousin at the library earlier on, and it was decided that we'll go to the nearby Ang Mo Kio Ave 6 Food Centre to have lunch. We did go but the original plan for me was to try the duck porridge there.

The duck porridge was always sold out or the stall was closed on the particular day I went, thus I never had the chance to try it yet. Today, was just one of those days unfortunately. Oh, wait, or was it a blessing in disguise? As a result, I chanced upon the perpetual long line of queue outside Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo stall.

Recalling my sister telling me that there was a Yong Tau Foo stall that was recommended by Dr Leslie Tay and we seem to have tried the wrong one the other time, so my mind pieced the partial memories together and there I was, plonked myself into the queue. Now, if only my mind could create links as fast as that during study time and yes this is the right stall that Dr Leslie Tay recommends. Happy as a bird was I, snapping a few pictures of the stall name, till I finally saw it.

Saw what, you may ask. I saw that customers were supposed to choose their items and placed their order before queueing up! Yup, that's how they operate here. You queue up AFTER you have placed your order. Don't make the mistake that I've made and waste 15mins of your life queueing up for nothing.



Coming back to the bowl of yong tau foo, it was deliciously satisfying. This bowl of dried vermicelli, served along with your picked items, topped with sweet sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds justified the long wait and seemingly endless queue. It was that good.

The ingredients were fresh, the fried items were delicious, noting in particular some kind of fried flour ball they have and their fried meatball (the second picture). The meatball was chewy, juicy and flavourful - all the characteristics of an outstanding meatball. The vermicelli they used were a little different, a little flatter and thicker than the usual ones. The sweet sauce balanced out nicely on the palate, not too sweet. The small bowl of soup that comes along will help to cleanse your palate if the sweet sauce is too cloying for you after awhile. Overall, a great bowl of yong tau foo. I would certainly revisit this stall!

Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo
Ang Mo Kio Blk 724
#01-23
Open from 7am to 7pm daily
Sunday closed
96353203

Ichiban Boshi II : AMK Hub

Ichiban Boshi's Salmon Sukiyaki is good. I recommend it.

I've visited Ichiban Boshi at Ang Mo Kio Hub for a number of times, but this is my 2nd review on its food so I've put part II. I had the Don Don Gozen the other time. Therefore, I decided to try something else and picked the Salmon Sukiyak.

I'm a salmon lover, so I don't know if my tastebuds are biased towards this. But what I do know, is that I've just discovered a new way to eat salmon. Eat it medium rare.

Yeah, you heard me. Medium rare; semi cooked and dipped into some raw egg. I loved it. It melted like warm butter in my mouth. It might not be the cheapest meal out there, but the salmon at Ichiban is fresh and thus worth paying for it.

Ichiban Boshi

53 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3
#02-01 AMK Hub
Tel: (65) 6555-1617
Daily: 10.00am - 10.00pm
(Last Order: 9.30pm)

Ichiban Boshi

Don Don Gozen

Yes, you must have noticed, if you are a reader of my blog before this post, that I have revamped my blog with a new template, added a blog roll and organised my labels.

Somehow I felt Gustatory Explorer wasn't food blog-ish enough with the previous template and it wasn't very user friendly as well. So well, I changed it and I'm loving the new look, hope you do too!

Okay, back to the salmon sashimi don and unagi don set meal (Don Don Gozen) photo above. -points up- My sister had a $30 voucher that could be used any Ichiban Boshi outlets and so we went there to have lunch last Saturday with my mom and I.

I must confess, I forgot to take down the name of the dishes. So let's just name what we see in the photos shall we? A picture speaks a thousand words yes.

I had the salmon sashimi don and unagi don you see above (Don Don Gozen). It came with tempura soft shell crab, chawanmushi, watermelon and a bowl of miso soup.

The grilled unagi and egg made a great combination. The onions also added sweetness to the dish. I was half filled by the time i finished this.

The soft shell crab was delicious as it was nicely fried with a thin coat of batter and it was not too oily.

The salmon sashimi slices in the don were fresh and good, but they added sliced red chilli on top to garnish the dish and there was a bowl of rice underneath so I couldn't really taste the salmon once they all came together. I was really filled by the time I finished this.

The set meal's value for money and I suggest 2 people can share this unless you're very hungry.

Before my order came, my sister ordered a tuna sushi. If you look carefully, the tuna were very slightly broiled with a blow torch on the surface. It was tasty with a hint of charred-ness.

We ordered fried salmon skin as well. It was kinda of a snack-side, great for anyone craving for something crispy and fried.

Mom ordered a deep fried chicken breast with ginger gravy/sauce. I had a piece of her chicken and I felt the chicken was a little tough, the ginger gravy compensated a little for it.

It was a really filling lunch with 2 bowls of rice, but Saturday's lunch was good.

Oh, one more thing. Patrons at Ichiban Sushi will get double the amount of reward stamps from now till the end of May because:

Ten major Japanese F&B groups in Singapore have set aside their rivalry and come together to help raise at least S$250,000 for the March Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. (click picture for bigger version).

They have launched a "Friends of Japan" privilege card (S$5) that will give 10% discounts and promotions for the month of May 2011. All proceeds will go to the Singapore Red Cross in aid of the Tsunami Disaster Relief 2011.

The collaboration involves over 35 brands and 100 restaurants across Singapore. They also applauded the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA)'s work in making sure all food imports from Japan are safe for consumption.

The “Friends of Japan” charity card is available at these outlets until May 15:

1) Bachmann Japanese Restaurant
a) Ajisen
b) Botejyu
c) Aoba Hokkaido Ramen
d) Kura Sapporo Ramen
e) Ajino Chanpon
f) Kazokutei

2) Creative Food Concept Pte Ltd
a) Tampopo
b) Tampopo Grand
c) Tarafuku

3) RE&S
a) Cz’zar Singapore inspired cuisine
b) Green Pumpkin Japanese Bakery Café
c) Ichiban Boshi Japanese Restaurant
d) Ichiban Sushi Japanese Restaurant
e) Kabe no Ana
f) Kuriya Penthouse
g) Kuriya Dining
h) Kuriya Fish Market
i) Men-ichi Japanese Ramen
j) Shimbashi Soba
k) Tontei Pork Restaurant
l) Yaki-Yaki Bo Teppanyaki Restaurant
m) Nakatsu Cabbage Yaki
n) Otsu Kushi Yaki

4) Suntory Food and Beverages International
a) Japanese Dining Sun
b) Sun with Moon Japanese Dining and Café

5) Tatsuya

6) Watami

(Taken from Camemberu)

This is great news for friends who love japanese food! Because now you can eat and help others at the same time. Please do help to support the people of Japan! Do note that the “Friends of Japan” charity card is available at these outlets until May 15.

Ichiban Boshi

53 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3
#02-01 AMK Hub
Tel: (65) 6555-1617
Daily: 10.00am - 10.00pm
(Last Order: 9.30pm)

**Edited on 23 May - Found out the set meal that is value for money is called Don Don Gozen.