21 DEC 2009

The invite from Team-HGW brought wifey and I to a part of Singapore we almost never venture into... as it is no-where near any MRT stations that’s within walking distance (closest was Serangoon MRT). For reference, it’s a short walk from the rather famous Chomp Chomp food centre. We were greeted by the HGW gang as we waited for the other invitees to trickle in... For this food-tasting session, we were served a healthy spread... Promfret Tapino Basically this dish was freshly sliced promfret eaten steamboat-style. The thin promfret slices were 'dipped' for a specific amount of time in the boiling soup. The grasp of the perfect dip will enable one to appreciate the freshness and texture of the promfret slices. A excellent dish, tasty soup based accompanied by some yam slices and leafy veg. A great start to the session I must add! [8/10] Wine Sauce Chicken Served in a hot-stone pot (similar to those Korean hot-stone rice), the dark braised chicken in wine sauce came across as typical, but decent. [6/10] Steamed Garlic Prawns I have to agree with the other reviewers that this dish was one of a few that stood out in terms of presentation & taste. Great combination of fresh prawns, amidst a sea of garlic & egg... I found myself diving in for more too! [8.5/10] Signature A1 Sri Lanka Chilli Crab and Black Pepper Crab with Golden Buns Not a crab person, I gave the crab a miss. I did very much enjoyed the deep-fried buns and the smooth creamy chilli crab sauce. [8.5/10 for the sauce + buns] Stir Fried Scallop with Fresh Mango Another notable dish… The addition of mango here really ‘notched-up’ the taste of what I’d expect for a regular Scallop/Broccoli dish. Well done! [8/10] Tofu with Mushroom and Vegetable I very much enjoyed one part of this dish… that’s the see-weed Tofu (or at least I think its sea-weed). Mushroom and Veg was so-so. [6.5/10] Seafood Hor Fun Nicely presented, alas it’s nothing spectacular taste-wise… Chomp Chomp’s Czi Char can probably serve up something much better. [5/10] Choice of Desserts The feast ended with some fine desserts, and of the two we tried (black glutinous rice with vanilla ice cream [7/10) & sago [6/10]), I much preferred the black glutinous rice over the sago. Overall, a decent feast, well above-average… coupled with great company, it’s indeed a excellent place to dine on some causal Chinese cuisine.

If interested, more interesting write-ups of other establishments can be seen here...