Chong Pang 2-in-1 BBQ Buffet

Marina south is often associated with low-priced range of steamboat restaurants. Hordes of families, teens and friends can be found breaking out a sweat here while grilling their favourite seafood every weekend. I must say it's fun to see people inspecting the selection of seafood, laughing at eat other's cooking antics and the mad rush for the limited specialties (I usually just join in the fun!). In fact, this is where my peers and I used to hang out when we first started our working life.

I myself have not visited Marina South for steamboat for about 2 years now. It was not until last Sunday (when my friend, Jacq and her husband, Jeremy invited me to join them at Chong Pang) that I've decided to revisit this place.

The price for an adult was S$13.00, inclusive of ice-cream (1 per customer, though). Drinks were sold separately.

A quick glance at the seafood and meat spread revealed no change in the menu since 2 years ago. There were the ever-popular crabs, prawns, mussels, squids, assorted meats and more prawns! The greens section seemed to be the rather unpopular choice but the freshness of the vegetables should be acknowledged. The cooked food section offered the typical fried rice, noodles, french fries, sharks fin soup (??), chili crabs (with fried buns) and chicken wings.

We started off by immersing the crabs, prawns, clams and chicken meat into the clear broth to get a better soup base. While waiting for the soup to boil, we helped ourselves to the chili crabs. The first bite revealed a rather moldy texture of crab meat which really was not a good start to an expectedly long grilling night. Other cooked food sampled were wantons and chicken wings. I must say that the chicken wings were very good that evening. The well cooked wings were grilled to a golden brown colour with almost no char and remained juicy on the inside. The marinate was savoury but not over empowering. I suggest a glaze of honey as the finishing (which will really make me ignore the rest of the dishes).

We had fun trying to not have the oil splattered around the table (or on our clothes) while "grilling" meats and prawns. The marinating sauce for the meat was sweet and went well with the mutton and pork.

We started sieving the cooked crabs once the soup came to a boil and were disappointed to find the same moldy texture as the chili crabs. So, we were only left with the prawns and clams. It is also noteworthy that in between all the cooking processes, we had at least 2 chicken wings each (!!).

By the 10 millionth chicken wing and countless grilled prawns, it began to drizzle. What a great reason to end our frenzy craving for the wings! We rushed to the car and even forgot to redeem our ice-cream.

Considering the price, there's basically nothing much to complain about. For me, the chicken wings saved the day!

Tai Seng Fish Soup - Porridge

When I visited this stall a year ago, the most interesting object that caught my eye was an article by a local daily featuring this stall's famous mee sua (or thin wheat vermicelli) hanging on the wall. The relatively long queue has further convinced me that I'm heading for something fantastic.

This stall boasts a wide selection of noodles and porridge. From fish meat mee hoon (rice vermicelli) to tom yam seafood noodle to fish porridge to seafood soup, the list is endless. I have tried the mee sua (S$3.00) before and I must say the texture was almost perfect. Mee sua is known to be a difficult dish to prepare as it tends to get soggy even if it's slightly overcooked.

However, for this review, I have chosen the fish meat soup served with thick mee hoon (S$3.00). Besides tom yam and the fish meat soup (with rice), this is the dish that most people are queueing for. Once prepared, the first thing you will notice is the abundance of green mustard cabbage in the soup, which makes it a healthier choice. Cilantro, dried beancurd skin and fried shallots as toppings enhanced the flavour of the soup. Before digging into the mee hoon, remember to stir well as the main flavouring ingredient lies at the bottom of the bowl. This ingredient is call a "left mouth fish" which is a type of fish (I really don't know how to translate this) that is dried and ground and is usually added to provide a sweet/savoury flavour (and fragrance) to soups. The fish itself was fresh and tender. Dip the fish into their homemade chilli sauce (mixed with belacan or dried shrimp paste) and you will be sent to another dimension. It's a very good contrast to the milky flavour of the soup.

It is interesting to note that the soup does not leave one feeling thirsty (MSG?) after the meal, unlike other stalls. I will definitely be back for the tom yam later.

A healthy meal at a reasonable price with great flavours. Give me a bowl, anytime!

Note: At the point of posting, the cook is away until 10 September 2007. The dish can still be found at #03-131, owned by the cook's son.

Tai Seng Fish Soup - Porridge

#03-145, 3 Yung Sheng Road

Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre

S618499

Marutama Ramen

I couldn't be happier to choose Marutama as my first food review as it is definitely one of the most "happening" (judging from the long queue outside the shop) ramen shops in Singapore at the moment. Situated in The Central, near RiverPoint, this restaurant has got the flogosphere craving for a bowl of hearty ramen and started comparing it to other famous ramen shops in Singapore.

It was last Saturday evening that I asked an ex-colleague, Bong (a self-confessed ramen fan) to join me for a review of this restaurant. Armed with cameras and harmoniously growling stomachs, we waited in line for about 20 minutes before being seated at the long table right in front of the open kitchen. I think 20 minutes is not a long nor dreadful period considering the long queue and the fact that people do not stay for long chats in ramen shops. The interior was a replica of a typical ramen shop in Japan, complete with complementing utensils, condiments and a jug of cold water (free drinks!).

Service was efficient and the first side dish arrived about 10 minutes after we placed our order. The kakuni (S$7.00) or stewed pork belly was well marinated in soya sauce, mirin and sugar. As described by many floggers, the piece of sinful pork literally melts in your mouth. The cooking method is very different from the Chinese as no 5 spice powder was included in the dish. Despite the almost perfect texture of the meat, the sauce (to me) was a tad too bland. Perhaps is was intentional, as to not overpower the rich flavour of the pork belly.

The dashimaki tamago (S$8.00) or rolled egg omelette was up next. The egg/dashi sauce mixture was very generic. The only nice touch to this dish was the inclusion of bonito flakes in the layers of omelette. We walloped all the 6 pieces with the speed of light to make space for the star of the evening.

My Marutama ramen (S$12.00) arrived, looking rather appetising and piping hot. The colour of the broth promised a rich chicken flavour, and it did not disappoint. If you like seriously savoury broths (miso and such), this is worth queueing up for. But for some, this resembles the product of chicken stock cubes diluted in minimum amount of water. Sides complementing the dish represented a good contrast in terms of taste and texture. The char siew (boiled pork belly) was similar to the kakuni, in terms of freshness and quality. Al dente was how the ramen turned out to be and with every bite, you'd wish it's not your last. Definitely the best component in the ensemble. The char siew ramen (S$16) was similar to the Marutama ramen, with a few more slices of boiled pork belly.

Additional toppings on the ramen are available and if you long for more of that al dente ramen, leave some soup in the bowl and ask for additional ramen for a relatively small amount of money. The special nuts ramen is also recommended.

I believe Marutama's selling point is in the rareness of this type of broth. We have been celebrating miso, sho-yu and tonkotsu (my personal favourite) ramen for so long that a new broth is always welcomed with open arms and treated with royalty. I only wish the broth was less salty and infused with other interesting ingredients. Cilantro and white pepper, perhaps?

Marutama Ramen
6 Eu Tong Sen Street S(059817)
#03-90/91, The Central
Tel: 6534-8090

*Debut Post*

Hi,

I have always been fascinated, intrigued, irritated and inspired by bloggers and their blogs.
And now, having a blog (and a new DSLR) of my own, I hope to be able to interact with the world (WOW!!!) especially those with the same interests (mostly food, music and travel) and to understand myself better.

Here's to an interesting journey ahead!

Nic