Uncle Leong Seafood

In a nutshell
Fudz: Uncle Leong Seafood (Toa Payoh) <- look out for Punggol and Jurong
Cuisine: Chinese
Location: 15 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh #01-01 Singapore 319262
Dial: +65 6554 3453
Email: yongheng_1986@hotmail.com
Interweb: http://www.uncleleongseafood.com/
Damage: Your doctor's advice on your cholesterol levels. You decide.

The story

It started with nobody.

Nobody could decide what we should have for dinner. We threw in suggestions in our group chat. Some groan and moan. More suggestions came up, albeit more hesitantly. Yeah, not bad. We can eat that. I'm fine with anything. A few muted responses. There were lapses of silence when everyone was tired of getting nowhere.

It went on for the entire Saturday afternoon until someone mentioned crabs.

'Please' is no longer a magic word. The magic word is 'Crab'.

It sparked off an entire debate on which seafood restaurant we should go and what time to meet. A few volunteered to call for reservations. Most places were fully booked, no surprise. Oh where oh where. Wanting to eat crabs should not be a pipe dream!

Pearl Leong (in no relation whatsoever) called Uncle Leong Seafood and told us that she managed to reserve a table, but there was no guarantee. We thanked our lucky stars (the Cancer constellation in particular) and made our way down to Toa Payoh in great anticipation. The Leongs must had felt a familiar connection somehow.

The non-crab dishes came first to line our stomachs.

Deep Fried Bean Curd

The bean curd is homemade. Crispy and soft. The sweet sauce is really optional because it already tasted good on its own.

Cereal Prawns

Frankly, I ate more shell than meat for this one. Your regular tze char place may give you a better version. Still tasty but it's not a must-have in my books.

Chinese Spinach with Eggs

I wish there were more century egg and salted egg in this dish. Spinach has a rich source of iron that is good for your red blood cells and heart. It's our vain attempt to balance off the rich cholesterol-laden food that we were about to consume.

Xaviere and I were adamant to order four crabs for the dinner group of six. Mabel (the scrooge) stared at us in disbelief. 

'太夸张了你们！' (translates to, 'You people are exaggerating!')

Mabel recounted that her family of four always order only one crab to share. Xaviere and I (the greedy pigs) stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you sure?"

"Okay, maybe two but no more than that!" said the unreliable storyteller.

We insisted to order four because we need them in different cooking styles. If you take a look at Uncle Leong Seafood's menu for crabs, you will realise that these crabs come in more styles than the models from Vogue.

Shimmering Sand Crab Delight

The thick sauce is creamy. Butter, milk, cereal oats, salt, all rolled into one. It is one of their signature crab dishes, together with the Claypot Crab Bee Hoon Soup. The latter is a good contrast if you are feeling a little 'jer lat' from the creamy sauce.

Claypot Crab Bee Hoon Soup

The soup is filled with crabby goodness. It is rich in flavour and you can really taste the essence of crab with every spoonful. Almost every table ordered a Claypot Crab Bee Hoon Soup. We were glad that we did too.

Chilli Crab

Singapore is well known for many things. Chilli crab is one of the good things. Who knew crab and chilli sauce can go so well together?

The crab feast made our weekend. Due to our current age, we will plan the next seafood dinner many months later to give ourselves some recovery time. However, crab cravings come soon after you have some. It's like coke.

Till the next time we reach an impasse on what to eat.




P.S - I would like to try the Black Pepper Crab the next time I visit. It is still my favourite style of crabs. 

Chye Seng Huat Hardware

In a nutshell

Fudz: Chye Seng Huat Hardware

Cuisine: Localatas

Location: 150 Tyrwhitt Road Singapore 207563

Dial: +65 6396 0609

Interweb: https://www.facebook.com/ChyeSengHuatHardware

Damage: How many cups of caffeine do you need?

The story

Xaviere feels that the coffee is too bitter and strong. Now Starbucks, see what you did?

For a non-coffee drinker, I'm quite taken by the coffees from CSHH. The delivery is always smooth and it hits the right spots. Tastebuds, throat, stomach and then to the brain. Tick, tick, tick.

I'd forget my first love (earl grey tea) for a while and commit a fling with this one.

I did not have lunch so I decided to have a breakfast instead. This statement actually makes sense in a cafe-embracing culture in Singapore. We like our breakfasts at any time of the day. 

TWG Tea Set (Scones)

In a nutshell
Fudz: TWG Tea Salon at Takashimaya
Cuisine: Teh
Location: Takashimaya Department Store, 391 Orchard Road, Level 2, Singapore 238873
Dial: +65 6363 1837 (1837 is a special year)
Interweb: http://www.twgtea.com/
Damage: $22 ($19++ for Tea Time Set Menu - 1837)

The story
The number keys in my old MacBook Pro died. I died when I tried to book a flight and buy travel insurance online by copying and pasting numbers. After five years of good service, I was sorry to bid farewell to my trusty friend, Frederick. He's still around... I'm just not about to go through another session of copying and pasting digits, one by one.

I was at the third EpiCentre before I painfully decided on which model to get. Monica was very patient throughout my internal struggles as I did not have much cash to spare. After getting Frederick II, I asked the sales assistant to help me to install Office. (I'm lazy like that.) We had half an hour to spare while she worked on it.

Monica wanted scones. Nobody ever tries to stop Mon from eating something she really, really wants to eat.

TWG, as you know, was established in Singapore but it looks totally foreign.

We studied the menu for a while. TWG's list of tea offerings can match the length of your GCE 'A' Levels' history textbook. Fortunately, my heart has always been set on ONE of the earl grey selection. I tried some other teas before but nothing beats French Earl Grey in my history textbook. Why go for something new and exciting when you've already found the one that suits you best?

Decision-making was the theme of that day, nonetheless.

Tea, sans sugar and milk

Most of the tea variety costs $11++ per pot. Some can be up to $24++ thereabouts.

Warm, buttery scones

Black tea jelly and whipped cream to go with the scones

There were three jellies to choose from that day - 1837 Black Tea, Red of Africa and Geisha Blossom. In the end, they told us that they ran out of Geisha Blossom. I had Black, Mon had Red.

Black Tea Jelly on scone

Black Tea Jelly tastes sweet and delicate. It's like a lite version of jam. Haha! Nobody spells 'lite' anymore. I'm trying it out. It feels good and appropriate. Mon found Red of Africa slightly bitter. I think tea-infused jelly is bound to have shades of bitterness. Mine was not at all bitter though. It melts on your tongue at the second of contact. 

Scones are like sponges. They are small in size but they expand in your tummy while you down that cup of tea. I was pretty filled by one and a half scones.

Wild Relish

In a nutshell
Fudz: Relish by Wildrocket
Cuisine: Mod Sin (coined by the founder), short for Modern Singaporean. Supposedly a focus on burgers but I got deviated.
Code: Fine Casual
Location: 501, Bukit Timah Road, #02-01, Cluny Court; 1 Maju Avenue #02-07, myVillage, Serangoon Garden
Dial: 6763 1547 (Bukit Timah); 6634 3422 (Serangoon Garden)
Interweb: http://www.wildrocket.com.sg/
Email: relishburger@gmail.com

Damage: $30-50 per pax
Taste: Old favourites with a Singaporean twist
Ambience: Wood and aluminium chairs... and very few vintage furniture
Service: Quick and good

The story
... comes in three parts. I've been to Relish three times before I decided that it's time for a review. 

The 1st Visit

We were supposed to read in a cafe, an attempt to be bookworms outdoor. However, I left the Kindle in the car. I could only study the menu. Flo relegated her bookworm self to an iPhone game player. We stick to plans like expired post-its.

Due to the late, odd hour, we didn't order a real meal.

Chocolate cointreau - one of the better milkshakes around

Thick-cut fries that cut the chase

Late night snacks should always be this good... even if you're not doing any serious reading.

***

The 2nd Visit
My perverted producer's birthday. She was on leave but we called her out to have a birthday lunch together anyway. We were about to finish eating when she finally arrived. It's the thought that counts.

Parmesan wings

The parmesan wings are good for seconds. When you share a plate with a large group of hungry people, you're lucky if you can grab one. This calls for another order and another and...

Ram-Lee burger

The Malays know exactly what they want in a burger. They came up with the hugely popular burger that is being replicated everywhere. It's usually saucy and greasy. Relish does a decent job in achieving that.

Portobello mushroom tofu burger. No carbs, except the fries!

Grilled chicken

Aubergine linguine

Pine nuts usually go very well with pasta. It is something to crunch on amidst the softness of flavourful aubergines and tomatoied linguine. You know you've grown up when you learn to love eating eggplants. If you still hate it, really, it's time to grow up.

Hae bee hiam spaghetti

I only eat hae bee hiam spring rolls during Chinese New Year. Yun Yun said that this is awesome stuff, so I'm giving her the benefit of a doubt and tell you that it is. It's time for me to grow up, you say, but meanwhile, I'll think about it.

Mojito

Dark lava chocolate gateau

If you're a non-chocolate lover like I am, there will be one day out of the entire year when you crave for something like this. It can be any day just before your menstruation period. Satisfy that craving before you turn into a chocolate-raging monster. 

Just saying.

***

The 3rd Visit
A friend who lives in the same neighbourhood as you do comes in handy for short-distance food ventures. In this occasion, she manifested as Amy Tan, an old school mate from my Mass Communication days.

Breakfast platter

Relish serves all-day breakfast on weekends. Few people care about breakfasts on weekdays. The rest are preoccupied in beating the rush hour. I'm not keen about baked beans but in other words, the breakfast platter looks heavenly. (Note: Amy opted for mashed potatoes instead of sauteed mushrooms.)

Benedict

Relish is generous with their servings. The rocket leaves in the eggs benedict come in harvestful. The waiter gave Amy two wedges of butter when she asked for some to slather on a single piece of muffin toast. Two very well-done poached eggs were on my favourite English muffins but unfortunately, I'm not a fan of crispy bacon. They taste like dry bak kwa after a while. It's my personal preference to smoked salmon. 

I appreciate that the waiter asked me what sauce I wanted for my fries. Ketchup is the only way to go. Chilli sauce is for chicken rice, people.

Other good breakfast items include cream cheese bagels, homemade pork and apple sausage patty burger, etc.

Milo and horlicks marble cake

Amy said this dessert tasted 'traditional'. We grew up drinking Milo, Horlicks and eating marble cake from the neighbourhood cake shop. Relish had brilliantly combined all the three items together. No brainer, you think. Bet you wish you thought of it first. Then again, how many of us know how to bake?

I would like to think about what had happened to Milo and Horlicks' understated brother, Ovaltine.

***

Local flavours get entwined in this food establishment that is for once, not in a hawker/food centre setting.