Pho House Vietnamese Food

Vietnamese food is growing in popularity in Singapore and no doubt, I do have some difficulties trying to get my hands on good Vietnamese food in Singapore. I have eaten authentic Vietnamese cuisine in Canada made by my Vietnamese family friend when I was still living there and the ones she makes are the best!

But finally, in Singapore, I managed to find a restaurant that can rival what I had in Canada many years ago. Located at the top floor of Suntec City, right across Toys ‘R’ Us is the Vietnamese Restaurant Pho House.

I usually drop by there for dinner and it is always packed! There are so many customers and the environment of the restaurant is very cosy. However, the waiting staff can get a little annoying and hostile but the food totally makes up for it!

Menu

Set Meal Promotion

They serve set meals at only $13 ++ that comes with a Appetizer of either a Salad Roll or Egg roll, top up $2 and you get their Lemon Grass Chicken Wing. Main Course of your choice and a drink, either Ice Tea or Vietnamese Coffee.

Both polar and I each took the set meal , I had Pho Bo which is the Vietnamese noodle beef soup with a Salad Roll and a Ice Lemon Tea.

Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

Salad Roll

Salad Roll

The Pho Bo was really good and the main course comes with Mint leaves and raw Bean sprouts served on the side. I put in the mint leaves so as to add a little more minty flavour which I love. The soup is very hearty and it is a good balance of sweet and salty.

The salad roll was a little frozen but after letting it defrost for a while, it was crunchy and tasty! The prawns were really fresh, so was the vegetables. But if you don’t like the taste of mint leaves, don’t add it in.

Polar had Vietnamese Beef Stew with Lemon Grass Chicken Wing and Vietnamese Coffee.

Beef Stew with Rice

Vietnamese Drip Coffee

Vietnamese Drip Coffee with Condensed Milk

Lemon Grass Chicken Wing

And this is what Polar has to say about the food:

"Koala's been bugging me to comment on my food rather then keep eating. So here it goes. (: I’m not a big fan of mint leaves but I love and adore beef!  So i've decided to give the vietnamese beef stew a try.

The set came with a Vietnamese drip coffee and it was served before the meal though I should have chosen after the meal. I was amused by how the coffee cup looked liked and fiddled with it before I took a whiff and then a sip at the coffee. My eyes lit up instantly from the kick of the fragrant aroma of grinded coffee beans! This is good stuff and it gave a strangely nostalgic feeling. (:

The beef stew looks extra appetizing with all that sliced carrot floating on top of the soup. Lovely colour! The soup has a sweet carroty essense to it and the beef were very tender. It's fairly a big bowl of soup with a generous portion of beef."

Overall, this place is a die die must try! Totally love it! I will dine there every once a month because I totally love the food! For the set meal, it is definitely worth the money!

Ratings:

Freshness – 4.5/5

Quality – 4.5/5

Taste – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

3 Temasek Boulevard

#03-008 Suntec City Mall

Tel: 68202455






Polar and Koala signing off!

Leong Kee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh

On a bright and sunny Sunday, Polar’s good friend called us out for a bit of Pre Hair Raya fun! Haha! We headed down to Arab street to check out the goodies they were selling as well as the different buffets offered for the breaking fast in the evening.

We started to feel hungry and instead of having the Halal food, we headed for Bak Kut Teh! I’ve been there to eat several times and on all occasions I’ve been there, it is very very crowded!

So we got a table and ordered the usual, Bak Kut Teh and Herbal Chicken. We also ordered the side dishes of Preserved Vegetables and Steamed Peanuts. At the same time, I also got my favourite Homemade Ice Lemon Tea ($1.30)!

The Ice Lemon Tea is really good, it is thick, not so sweet and also it has a strong lemon taste and the best part, it is not sour! My girlfriend, polar bear kept sipping on my drink. -.-“

The food didn’t take long to come. Here are our dishes!

Bak Kut Teh

Herbal Chicken

The Bak Kut Teh served there is the herbal one and has a strong herbal taste. I like it because the meat is so soft, it practically falls off the bone. The meat is also very tender and juicy. Mixed with the chilli and dark soy sauce, this taste like heaven! The soup is also very sweet and appetizing, one sip and it warms my belly!

As for the Herbal Chicken, it has a very very strong herbal taste but it taste really good! The chicken falls off the chicken thigh effortlessly and it is soft yet not dry.

The soup is sweet and it really warms you up. Its not suitable for people who hate Chinese medicine or any kinda chinese herbal food.

Overall, the food was Great! Polar’s friends enjoyed it very much! The total bill was $25 for 2 herbal chicken and 2 Bak Kut Teh ( 1 person portion). Very worthwhile for the price and the taste is fabulous! A Definite must try and I will be going back there for dinner very soon!

Ratings:

Freshness – 4.5/5

Quality – 4.5/5

Taste – 5/5

Total  - 5/5

321 Beach Road

Kampong Glam Conservation Area

11am to 9pm

(Closed on Mon)







koala signing off...

Qun Zhong Eating House

Sorry for not updating this week, I was facing a life and death crisis this week where my doctor feared for my life. Did a blood test and I’m actually A OK! =)

About Qun Zhong Eating House. Polar bear has been hearing much raves about this place from her friends and has been telling me that the Zha Jiang Mian is very nice. No doubt I am a big fan of Zha Jiang Mian and I only vouch by the one sold in Asian Kitchen, but I decided to give this one a try.

So, Polar and I made our way down to the eating house which is pretty near to Maxwell Market. There was a long queue just to get into the restaurant to dine and Polar and I waited for 10mins just to get our seats.

So while waiting, I snapped some photos of the menu hanging outside the window.

A picture by the window of their famous dishes.

The old uncle that showed us to our seats was a grumpy old man. His service attitude was bad. Luckily the waitresses that waited on us was slightly better than him but you could tell they were busy as they hurried to take orders.

According to Polar Bear’s friends, the Zha Jiang Mian was good, so was the Xiao Long Bao and the Gyoza. So we ordered these few items. The food didn’t take long to arrive but while waiting we discovered something…

Old School Teapot!

Finally, the food came.

Xiao Long Bao $7 for 7

The Xiao Long Bao was horrible. There was an overpowering taste of sesame seed oil and the meat was so soft it was like baby food. It wasn’t fragrant or tasty. The skin of the Xiao Long Bao was thick unlike the usual thin ones. Price wise, shit man. Definitely not what I expected.

Zha Jian Mian $5

The Zha Jiang Mian wasn’t much appetizing either. It tasted more like rojak sauce  covered over the noodles and topped with fresh vegetables. The noodle was good though, I heard it is homemade. Other than that, the taste was so so.

Gyoza $8 for 10

The Gyoza though was surprisingly good! It was really crispy on the outside and the meat was soft and juicy inside. There are a lot of chives in the Gyoza, just how I like it! One bite into it and the juice comes flowing it. This one is a must try!

On the menu, there are other interesting stuff like Chinese Pizza. I’m curious about it but the portion size is huge. If you want to try it, bring your friends down and give it a go.

Overall, I think this place is not the greatest and I’m definitely not going to go back there to eat. For the price I paid, the taste doesn’t live up to the price. But maybe its just me because there is a long queue just to get in.

Rating:

Freshness - 4/5

Quality – 3.5/5

Taste – 3/5

Overall – 3.5/5

21 Neil Road

Opening Hours:

11.30am to 3pm

5.30pm to 9.30pm

(Closed on Wed)



Koala signing off...

Susan Chan Food

After wandering Orchard road for the entire evening, my girlfriend and I were starving. Being tight on budget, we decided to have dinner at Far East Plaza where we have yet to try the correct western food stall after visiting the many food stalls located at the top floor but none serving the satisfying western food.

We reached the top floor and low and behold, we were standing right in front of Susan Chan Food, the food stall (excluding restaurants) that we have yet to try. We walked right in and were served by this friendly aunty who seated us and handed us the menus.

I looked around and saw everyone eating their tze char. No one was eating western food and for a moment, my girlfriend and I thought we walked into the wrong shop but looking at the menu, they do serve western food but only Fish and Chips.

Much deliberation later, we decided to order tze char and had Gan Chao Mian Sian (Stir Fried Mee Sua) and Sweet and Sour Chicken rice. I love anything sweet and sour, I always have to order sweet and sour something when eating tze char.

While waiting for the food, my girlfriend and I chose our drinks. There was so much to choose from. There were over 10 types of liang teh and after 5 mins, I settled for….

$2.00

And my darling girlfriend had Qoo!

Qoo! Fuji Apple!

Our food came fast and the sweet and sour chicken rice looked a little sad.

Gan Chao Mian Sian $4.50

Sweet and Sour Chicken Rice $5.00

I gotta say, the sweet and sour chicken was awesome! It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The chicken meat was plentiful unlike other places are just fried fats and not meat. The sauce was also very unique, thick, sour and yet sweet with a little kick. Not a spicy kick but the “satisfying” kick! Other then the sweet and sour chicken on the plate, the rest was so so.

Moving on, the Gan Chao Mian Sian was ok. The taste was a little bland. I just felt that there was something missing like more chicken stock. My girlfriend concluded that they used the wrong type of noodles to fry. But to our surprise, almost every table was eating it!

Overall, I do want to go back and try their other dishes and the sweet and sour chicken is a must try! Love their wide selection of liang the, so if you are in orchard, head to Susan Chan Food for dinner!

Ratings:

Freshness - 4/5

Quality - 4/5

Taste - 3.5/5

Total rating: 4/5

Susan Chan's Food 

Far East Plaza

#05-100/101 

Koala bear signing off...

Once Upon A Milkshake

On a hot and sunny day which is like two-thirds the days out of 365 days in Singapore, who won’t yearn for a nice cool cup of Ice Cream or a cold yummy milkshake. Why not have both at the same time!

Well, this specialty is found in none other than Once Upon A Milkshake. Popular for their premium ice cream milkshake, the first outlet was open at Maxwell Road.

Maxwell Road outlet

So while waiting for my girlfriend to finish her event, I made my way to Once Upon A Milkshake which is conveniently located right next to Tanjong Pagar MRT station, which is very near to PLAY club. Looks like I can have a nice cup of milkshake before hitting the dancefloor since they are open till 10pm.

And so I ordered my Chocolate Truffle Castle milkshake and sat waiting for my drink. I ordered the mini size and the cup looks so cute!

Chocolate Truffle Castle $3.30

Look at the interior, its oh so cosy!

The milkshake was a little difficult to suck up the straw as it was so stiff because the ice cream was frozen. After a while, the ice cream sort of melted and the texture of the milkshake was creamy and smooth and the chocolate bits inside were crunchy and oh so chocolatey! It was Delicious!!!

The two most popular flavours are Agent Strawberry and Spooky Mocha… what cute names too!!! Too bad, it was sold out the day I went to try it.

They have also opened a new parlour (outlet) at *scape which is beside cineleisure. You can also have your orders delivered if you order in advance. Click here to visit their website for more information.

Overall, this is a must try. It is a unique taste and creamy texture makes it seriously yummy. It feels like drinking soft ice cream since this place also sells ice cream and brownies. Great place to chill with friends!

Ratings:

Freshness – 4.5/5

Quality - 4.5/5

Taste – 4.5/5

Total rating - 4.5/5

32 Maxwell Road

#01-08 Maxwell Chambers

Tel: 9823 3779

Sun to Thu: 12pm - 10pm

Fri & Sat: 12pm - 11pm

*cape (next to Cineleisure)

2 orchard link #02-03/04

12pm to 10.30pm daily




Koala, signing off! =)

Feng Sheng Hainanese Chicken Rice

Ever since I started internship 5 months ago all the way at Buona Vista, this stall has to be one of my favourites! With the abundance of food there this dish stood out to be the best of the best!

I have to admit, chicken rice is my most loved dish. How I got to know about this store? Well, at where I am interning at, there the admin aunty exclaimed that she had to have the chicken rice at Dover at least once a week because it was oh so good! So I just had to give it a shot and see if what she said is true.

And so into the second month of my internship, I made my way down to Dover market during my lunch break, which is a 5min walk from my office building, Fusionopolis. 

Dover Rd Market

I was surprised to see the massive amount of pigeons… and the long queue of people at Feng Sheng Hainanese Chicken Rice stall, all wanting to get their hands on chicken rice! I joined the oh so long queue which cleared pretty quickly and got my hands on my chicken rice!

White Chicken Drumstick rice $2.50

I bought my favourite white chicken drumstick rice and its so cheap! A normal plate of chicken rice will only cost $2!! Where to find sia!

You gotta admit, the chicken looks bloody good! The chicken may look pink but it is not raw, it was cooked to hainanese perfection, something that is really hard to find nowadays. The soup was equally fantastic, it had a strong taste of chicken stock, unlike other places are like diluted with spring onions floating on top.

The meat was tender and soft and one bite into it made me feel like I was in heaven. The chicken was moist and juicy! The skin was silky smooth and full of fatty goodness! It was DELICIOUS!

There is also another chicken rice stall which is two stalls down but the quality is so-so. So don't go to the wrong stall!

Overall, this chicken rice place is a die die must try!! There is no where else in Singapore that you can get such a cheap plate of chicken rice that taste fantastic!

But you gotta be fast because I heard that place will be undergoing renovation soon!

Ratings:

Freshness – 4.5/5

Quality – 5/5

Taste – 5/5

Total rating – 5/5

Dover Rd Market

Feng Sheng Hainanese Chicken Rice

#01-133








Koala, signing off! =)

Seng Huat Chicken Rice

Chicken Rice! The all time favourite of many Singaporeans both young and old!

I remember the first time I came to Singapore, my parents first introduced me to the well-known Chicken Rice!

There are hundreds of hawker stalls selling chicken rice, hotels selling chicken rice, restaurants selling chicken rice, my mom cooking chicken rice. Haha! But finding the BEST chicken rice is not easy…

So I’m on a quest to satisfy my hunger for the all time, well known, well loved, die die must eat staple food, yummy tasting Chicken rice!

First stop, Seng Huat  eating house along North Bridge Road. Their chicken rice comes with Achar and their achar is not bad, enjoyed it but when I went there to do this review, the achar was out of stock! =(

Alright, so I ordered the white chiken rice because I think roasted chicken rice is rubbish, no offence to roasted chicken rice lovers out there. My girlfriend loves roasted chicken rice and I still love her.

So one of our friends that we had dinner with had a plate of lemon chicken rice and char siew rice, yes, he was damn hungry. The taste was alright, not the greatest but good enough to let you finish the whole plate.

Lemon Chicken Rice

Char Siew Rice

So I stole a piece of roasted chicken from my girlfriend’s plate and to my surprise, it was not bad! It was quite tasty, I kinda enjoyed it apart from the fact that it was breast meat, I love red meat. The meat was tender and juicy and it had the strong taste of roast in the skin.

Roasted Chicken Rice

White Chicken Rice

Moving on to the white chicken. It was good. Not the greatest but good. Look at the picture below, the chicken has my favourite chicken jelly beneath the skin! Yums!

I have a weakness for chicken cooked like this! Oh oh, and I love chicken skin! I think that if you don’t eat the skin, you are lousy. Don’t be angry if you don’t eay chicken skin, its just my own thoughts and I know, its fattening. But its like eating the pork lard in a Bak Chor Mee.

The meat was tender and juicy.  The saltiness in the gravy over the chicken was slightly more on the salty side but I like. The skin was smooth and oozed out chicken fat which complimented the rice and chilli very well.

The chilli is like any other chicken rice chilli, nothing to rave about.

And by the way, this shop also sells awesome Bak Chor Mee which I have yet to taste and review. The store is joined to the chicken rice store so just hop over!

Bak Chor Mee next door

Accompanying all the tasty chicken meat and rice is the soup which had a strong chicken-y flavour and my Ice Lemon Tea! It was the yums! The ice lemon tea was thick and the lemon flavour was not over powering yet not super sweet. It was good stuff!

Ice Lemon Tea $1.30

Best part of all this gastronomy madness, this shop is open 24/7! Talk about the island that always eat! We really know how to enjoy life huh.

Overall, the food is not bad and this place is located right opposite Mos Burger in Bugis Junction. Talk about convenience.  The food is good and up to standard. Great for a late night supper after a round of drinks with your friends.

Ratings:

Freshness – 4/5

Quality – 3.5/5

Taste – 4/5

Total rating – 4/5

Seng Huat Eating House

492 North Bridge Road

24 Hours open!












Koala, signing off! =)

Rochor Tau Huay

Among the many desserts found in Singapore, one of my most favourite is none other than the silky smooth Tau Huay. Not only can u take it as dessert, many of us have it as breakfast as well!

So after an unsatisfying dinner with my girlfriend, we walked over to one of our favourite Tau Huay shop, Rochor Original Beancurd. I remember coming here a few months back with my good friend and she told me the story about the family feud of the famous Tau Huay.

The family feud is a long story but to make things easy to digest, its about a family of four children, each child got pissed with one another due to company shares and separated and started their own Tau Huay shop all around Singapore. One of the shop is right next to Rochor Original Beancurd!

Apart from the famous smooth Tau Huay that they sell, they also carry soy milk and the all time favourite fried dough sticks, butterfly, egg tarts, soy milk, beancurd....just to name a few.

So my girlfriend and I had Tau Huay. She tried Tau Huay in Soy Milk and I had the usual Tau Huay in syrup. Although the Tau Huay doesn't have a strong Beany taste which we Singaporeans loveeee, the location is convenient as it is right next to Lasalle and near to Pomo.

What we ordered

This is the first time I've tried Tau Huay in Soy Bean Milk and I gotta admit, it is DAMN GOOD! It gives a very strong Soy Beany taste which is AWESOME! Too bad my girlfriend won't trade her beany tau huay with my normal tau huay.

Tau Huay in Soy Milk $1

To me, the fried treats had a strong fry-and-over-fry oil which totally turned me off but my girlfriend totally enjoyed the Butterfly. And the amount of buying their dough sticks and butterfly was proof that it taste yummy!

Butterfly 

I had my favourite egg tart and I gotta say, this is the BEST egg tart I've had ever since I came back from Canada 14 years ago.

Egg Tart

The pastry for the egg tart was flaky and the egg custard was baked to perfection. The flaky pastry had a nutty flavour and gave a slight crunch together with the smooth egg custard in your mouth, it was a burst of flavours with the different textures, this made a mouth-watering treat!

Overall, you gotta try the Tau Huay in Soy Milk, the fried stuff and the egg tart!

Ratings:

Freshness - 4/5

Quality - 4/5

Taste - 4.5/5

Total rating: 4/5

Rochor Original Beancurd

2 Short Street

Opens from 12pm to 12am

Koala, signing off! =)