Sentosa Archives - Between Bites - Bites of Food, Travel and Lifestyle

May 30, 2010 –2 weeks ago, we ordered Stevie’s Hainanese Chicken Rice yet again. This time, scared to run out of it, we ordered two sets (plus an extra cup of ginger, as usual). It was the highlight of Sunday family lunch at Bubba’s place. We learned that Sundays are usually the busiest day for Stevie since a lot of people call in for orders during this family day. That specific Sunday, there were 8 orders called in for pick-up in Bel-Air, including 2 that were ours.

Bored of the usual lunches in the office? Order Stevie’s Hainanese Chicken Rice, pick it up, and share a great lunch at work. That’s what we did in April. Karen was stuck somewhere so the HCR lunch was shared with our COO and my boss. I’m glad they both loved it. Karen followed afterwards and ate a hefty share as well. I had three helpings myself.

I had more than three helpings 2 Sundays ago… 😉

Stevie’s Hainanese Chicken Rice (For pick-up orders only)

21 Libra St. Bel Air,

Makati City

(0906) 508 4155

Venting out on Food @ Clawdaddy Crab House and American Grill

May 31, 2010 –My make-up was lost one day and replaced the next day (Monday). And that brought a string of good luck with it in the weeks that followed.

But that Monday night, I can’t help but do a vent-out dinner (where I eat my heart out literally –I choose the restaurant and not look at the price tag when ordering and just eat what I want). I treated Bubba at ClawDaddy Crab House and American Grill. We rarely eat at seafood restaurants (Bubba is not a shellfish fan) but this time, I just wanted to get my hands messy with crabs and ribs.

Crab Maritess PHP 120/100 Grams (I think our crab was at 900grams so that was about PHP 1,080)

Crab sautéed in olive oil, white wine, garlic and chilies

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What I do every time I visit is order Crab Maritess and requests for the sweet and spicy Sze Chuan sauce on the side

Smoked Baby Back Ribs (Half) PHP 398

Smoked, slow-cooked, and char grilled baby back ribs basted with ClawDaddy’s BBQ sauce –with 2 side orders of dirty rice

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Rustic Mashed Potato PHP

ClawDaddy Crab House and American Grill

6^th Level, The Ledge, Shangri-la Plaza Mall

EDSA Cor. Shaw Blvd. Mandaluyong City, MM.

(632) 636-5679

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ClawDaddy Crab Buffet

ClawDaddy Crab

Meann’s Birthla at Cibo

June 3, 2010 –It was Meann’s birthday. I surprised her at the office with some Machiavelli chocolates and a banner with the Happy Birthday sign. Lunchtime, we headed out to Shangri-la Plaza for Meann’s birthday lunch treat from dee boss (CGS). It was a toss between Agave or Cibo. We ended up in Cibo.

We bumped into Pebs (AFC’s Senior Sales Affiliates Manager) and Michelle (wife of Chef Bruce of Tablescape) at the restaurant. Pebs used to be my religious supplier of Royce chocolates from Singapore back when she was still based there for work. And Pebs also used to work for SKY as airtimes sales head. She’s now with Asian Food Channel. I’ve met Michelle once when we dined at Chef’s Table.

Pebbles briefly shares that a good friend of hers and her husband’s suggested a place to dine at and when he sent the link of the place –it was my Between Bites site’s link he sent. She laughed a bit because we knew each other. What a small world after all. They tried Frazzled Cook and were really happy about it. I flushed a bit when Pebs said that I got many readers. I delight in the honor of being read… but alongside it is the “invisible” pressure of improving my writing and making good recommendations –those that are deserved.

We ordered one appetizer and a pizza to share among the four of us. As usual, I had my favorite, Pasta dela Terra. Meann asked me what’s good to order and I suggested either Pasta Dela Terra or Pasta Al Telefono. She got the latter while CGS and Karen got two other pasta plates I wasn’t able to note.

Pasta Dela Terra PHP230

Mushroom trifolati, stewed tomato, goat cheese, Parmesan, cream

Tegamino Di Formaggio Fuso Mozzarella PHP 230

Mozzarella, white cheese, tomato, anchovies, basil

Cibo

2nd Level Shangri-la Plaza Mall

Shaw Blvd. cor. EDSA, Mandaluyong City, Philippines

(632) 631 7753

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Agave Mexicana Cantina

Gastronomic Indulgence at the Chef’s Table

Pebbles and Royce Nama Chocolates Bitter

Frazzled Cook and His Dazzling Dishes

Cibo

Two Italians in One Night

Thursday Club Series: Agave Mexican Cantina

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Stevie’s Hainanese Chicken Rice: Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

April 16, 2010 by Janey

The Singapore trip last month was a revelation of how really good Singaporeans make their Hainanese Chicken Rice. There’s a whole gamut of which restaurants to go to for the best one. Even if you eat HCR from a hawker stall, it’s almost as good as any –only an irrelevant degree of difference in taste (plus the contention on preparation, hygiene, and venue ambience).

Boon Tong Kee

Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice

Tian Tian Chicken Rice

Where to get the best is still up for a big debate whether it’s from a simple chicken rice hawker or from a fancy restaurant. Makansutra rates Tian Tian Chicken Rice as their number 1 but other names also come on top -Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice, Wee Nam Kee, Boon Tong Kee… I tried all of the mentioned except for Wee Nam Kee. It’s really hard to pick a favorite.

In Singapore, it is. In Manila, there’s one name that’s on the top of my head when asked for the best Hainanese Chicken Rice. Stevie Villacin.

On the Table

Stevie’s Hainanese Chicken Rice Set (P950/set, with olive rice P1,100/set)

There’s been a buzz around town about Stevie’s Hainanese style of steamed chicken served with chicken stock flavored rice. He sells it for P950 a set that can serve a hungry bunch of 3-4 people. The set comes with the foiled tray of steamed chicken, a smaller foiled tray of flagrant rice and the usual trio of condiments: semi-thick sweetened soy sauce, chili and minced ginger sauce.

Wait, there’s more. Stevie also provides an additional topping sauce in case you have leftovers (which I seriously doubt) or plans to reheat the chicken. He also gives you a detailed instruction on how to reheat the chicken meat. The “topping sauce” keeps it moist while reheating but you have to be careful not to overheat it because it will result to dry and tough chicken.

My attempt on “quick plating”

Suffused in its natural chicken juice/broth, the chicken meat was very tender and delectable –quite tasty for what can be considered a “healthy food.” The exquisite and juicy flesh of the steamed chicken is finely balanced with the fragrant rice sprinkled with green onions.

Add a splotch of color and taste by blending in the ginger in sesame oil, chili and sweetened soy sauce.

Ooh, the appetizing smell and pleasant gingerly-sesame light taste mixed with a touch of soy and red spice… makes you definitely bite off more than you can chew.

Stevie’s Hainanese Chicken Rice (For pick-up orders only)

21 Libra St. Bel Air,

Makati City

(0906) 508 4155

Stevie’s Chicken Rice Album

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Oh Hello Again Singapore (1st of 3 Parts)

April 7, 2010 by Janey

5 months since the last visit, I’m back again in Singapore. It came at a weird time because it was the annual Cable Convention week in Manila the same week –think ‘Ad Congress’ but instead of the advertising industry, it’s the cable industry so channel partners and content providers from Singapore/HK/Middle East/Germany/etc were in town. I’ve been a delegate for the Cable Convention for 3 straight years and this was the only time I actually missed it. Scratch that, we don’t usually get to attend the actual “convention” because that week is usually covered with channel presentations and meetings.

Our flight was on Wednesday, which is day 1 of my vacation leave. I thought I have eluded meetings but I thought wrong. Monday started with a few. Tuesday was round-the-clock!!! Every hour, starting at 9AM, I had a meeting. Most channels asked if they’d bump into me at the Convention but I said I’d be out of town until the following Tuesday. Since Singapore was my destination, affiliates offered a Disney, CNBC and AETN office tour but I graciously declined and considered it for the next trip. I already set my itinerary and with my obsessive-compulsive nature, it’d be hard for me to rearrange it again on short notice.

Despite the crazy schedule, Tuesday ended on a great note. I really enjoyed the vibrant dinner with AETN’s Richard Woo and Geraldine at Florabel’s. Between “friendship” salads, light banter (Gel referring to Richard, who’s not that old as “Uncle” made us roar in laughter) and good wine, it was a fantastic dinner to cap the day.

Mucho Gracias

First of all, BIG THANKS to Kate who helped me out with my Singapore questions! Singapore-based for work for 1-year, she was first in mind when I needed some answers on my travel queries. We also took Kate’s suggestion in staying at Fragrance Hotel in Balestier Road. Fragrance Hotel is super basic hotel –where rooms are very small but it’s quite okay if you just plan to sleep in it and store stuff. It’s about USD42 per night. For best deals, Kate suggested booking through www.agoda.com.

Fragrance Hotel:

Many thanks to King Reyno, Alex G, Richard Woo for all the Singapore suggestions!!! I wish I had time to try them all. There’s always a next time 😉

King’s suggestions:

Boon Tong Kee for best Hainanese chicken rice. It’s cheap and right on Balestier road! Other musts are Din Tai Fung in Paragon or Raffles City for Shao Long Bao dumplings, and No Signboard Resto in Esplanade for Chili Crab.

Alex’s suggestions:

For local food: Newton Food Center or Wisma Atria Food Republic. Try Hokkien Prawn Mi, Laksa, Nasi Lemak, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Satay. There’s a branch of Din Tai Fung at Wisma Atria.

For best chili crab with fried mantou and cereal prawns: No Signboard or Jumbo Seafood Restaurant.

For award winning dish –crab beehoon: Sin Huat Eating House at Lorong 35 Geylang. Anthony Bourdain loved it. You can check it out at www.makasuntra.com/makanzine/mar00/geylang_quickie.html.

Richard’s suggestions:

1. Non-food:

Night Safari

Universal Studios on Sentosa Island just opened

Nighttime walk around Singapore River and take a bum boat ride? Asian Civilizations Museum, Fullerton Hotel, Merlion, Esplanade Theatre…

2. Food:

Hawker Centre at East Coast Lagoon Food Village, East Coast Park, Exit 7 from ECP. (Make sure taxi doesn’t take you to East Coast Seafood centre, different)

Try satay, laksa, popiah, bbq stingray etc…

East Coast Seafood Centre (chilli crab, pepper crab etc)

Bak Kuh Teh (pork ribs in peppery soup) – Outram Park Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha

Address:7 Keppel Road

#01-05/07 Tanjong Pagar Complex

Tel: +65 6222 9610

We didn’t get to try them all because we only had 2 and half significant days in Singapore but I won’t miss the chance to tick off all those on Richard’s list. Richard is also a foodie at heart.

Fly By Night

Bubba and I met Madz at the airport around 530PM. After checking in and paying the terminal fee, Madz, Bubba and I bonded at the boarding area. We can’t help but wonder how much more fun it would be if Francis were with us.

It was midnight when we finally settled in our own rooms. Madz dropped by our room to chat for a bit about the next day’s plans.

Madz, Bubba and I set out for Chinese Garden around 9AM. There was a bit of a scramble trying to understand the bus and MRT routes but we did find our way without any hitches.

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Crossing the street

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Public transpo is fun!

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Now what?

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She grabs the chair and Bubba and I laugh

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Chinese Garden

Chinese Garden is a park in Jurong East built in 1975, patterned after the northern Chinese imperial architecture and landscaping. It is connected to the Japanese Garden by a bridge but we didn’t visit the Japanese Garden anymore.

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The Main Building

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Two of My Three Favorite People in the World

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The Bridge and Laughing Madz

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Bubba and Madeline

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Maddie and Me

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He looks at home 😀

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Bubba’s favorite “I’ll carry you” shot

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Pretty in Green

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2 Birds and One Stone

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Pagoda

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The Little Morning Picnic

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It was a slow and relaxing morning at the Chinese Garden. We took photos of the bridge, early spring courtyard, garden courtyard, stone boat, teahouse and fish paradise. Chris bumped into a colleague who was also on vacation.

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After the daylight stroll at the Chinese Garden, we decided to grab lunch at Din Tai Fung in Wisma Atria. The trio hopped again in the MRT. I’m starting to get the hang of it.

Din Tai Fung

It was a breeze locating Din Tai Fung. It was almost at the exit of the train station connected to the entrance of Wisma Atria.

I think we were lucky to get seated. Soon after, we saw a line outside waiting to be seated. Even after we finished lunch, there was still a group waiting outside.

Din Tai Fung is originally from Taiwan, a restaurant made world famous by its Xiao Long Bao. Xiao Long Bao is soup dumpling served steamed in small bamboo baskets. What makes Din Tai Fung’s soup dumpling special? It has the most translucent fine skin that has at least 18 exquisite folds. Theirs are plump and juicy –made fresh by the hand every time.

On the Table

Xiao Long Bao

Xiao Long Bao is best taken with a bit of light soy sauce and ginger. I LOVE IT. It’s gotta be the best I’ve tried. I know I can finish 5 baskets of the XLBs in one sitting if I can afford it! 😉

Pork Chop Noodle

Beef in Soy

Pork Chop Rice

Since Din Tai Fung was my bright idea, I had to take some responsibility for this lunch so I treated Bubba and Madz. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.

Din Tai Fung

435 Orchard Road #02-48/53

Wisma Atria Singapore 238877

Tel: 65-6732-1383

Mon ~ Fri 11:00~22:00 Sat & Public holiday 10:00~22:00

After lunch, we walked around the mall along Orchard Road.

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We decided to check out Fullerton Hotel and Esplanade that afternoon. We reached Fullerton Hotel and looked around. The idea was to walk to the Merlion park but it started to drizzle right after Bubba enjoyed his street ice cream. It started raining so we finally decided to head back to the hotel and rest before setting out on our evening plans.

Boon Tong Kee

Hainanese Chicken Rice originated from Hainan province in China, but it’s in Singapore that has the biggest debate on where to get the best.

Last time I was in Singapore, the famous Kitchen Cow raved about the chicken rice of Tian Tian Chicken Rice in Maxwell Center. The pretty long line agrees with Chrissy’s verdict.

Bubba didn’t appreciate food as much as he does now compared to when he was in Singapore in 2006. For dinner, we opted to try King’s recommendation on Boon Tong Kee. It was a short walk from our hotel.

We shared the large order. I didn’t have much of an appetite that night (yes, that happens, it’s not the end of the world) but Boon Tong Kee’s Hainanese Chicken Rice clearly satisfied. What I like about Boon Tong Kee’s version is how soft and juicy the white chicken is, while the rice was oh-so-gingerly-fragrant –really appetizing! 🙂 (The next day, we tried Loy Kee Best Hainanese Chicken, which was also on the same road. On the 2nd post!)

Boon Tong Kee

401 Balestier Road

Singapore 329803

Telephone 62543937

Night Safari

We were running late and I almost opted to forego visiting the Night Safari. Bubba has already seen the nighttime zoo before so I didn’t mind not catching it. For his love of animals, he wanted to visit again and convinced me that it’s worth a shot even if we reached the zoo at 10PM. They close at 12 midnight.