Hovid New Website: Buy your Nutritional Supplements online! AdvertorialThe last time I had my cholesterol levels done, I found that my triglycerides were a little elevated. So I started taking Omega 3 fish oils which have been scientifically proven to lower triglyceride levels. Although triglycerides have not been shown to be a risk factor for cardiac disease, it is still prudent to keep the levels low as high levels may lead to other problems such as pancreatitis.Nutritional supplements are useful to keep one in optimum health. It is true that you are what you eat. So for foodies who love to eat all the yummy hawker fare, it is good sometimes to stop and do a stocktake. Of course, the best way is to keep to a good balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. However, sometimes it is hard to adhere to a strict diet, so that's where supplements can sometimes play a role. Personally, I don't get to eat a lot of fish, so a supplement of Omega 3 fish oil capsules is a convenient way to ensure that I take something useful to maintain my health.Another useful supplement is glucosamine which has been proven to help people who have joint pains due to osteoarthritis. Glucosamine is a component of cartilage (soft bones) and medical professionals routinely prescribe it to patients suffering from degenerative joint problems.You may also know of the benefits of Vit E as an antioxidant and its use in cosmetic products. Some research has also shown that a form of Vit E called tocotrienols are more potent in their antioxidant, cardioprotective and anti cancer effects than normal Vit E (tocopherols). Proponents of Anti-aging medicine advocate that anyone above the age of 40 should consider taking a daily supplement of tocotrienols to maintain a healthy heart as well as to prevent cancer.These useful supplements are widely available in pharmacies. But, for those who prefer the convenience of buying your supplements online, you might like to check out Hovid.sg. Hovid is an established pharmaceutical company which operates their cGMP compliant manufacturing plant in Malaysia. In fact, I do order some of my generic drugs in the clinic from them, so it is a familiar brand name to professionals in the healthcare industry. Hovid also holds the patent on extraction of tocotrienols from palm oil and operates the largest integrated plant in the world for the extraction of this phytonutrient. Their tocotrienol products are also available for sale online under the brand name Tocovid.The website is quite easy to navigate. It is very much like most online shopping sites. The items all come with a picture and price tag. Click on the tab to add to your shopping cart and then check out at the end. They charge $10 for delivery in Singapore so it makes sense to order in bulk. Few items that I checked out was Omega 3 and glucosamine.So if you are an armchair shopper looking for some health supplements, you might like to check out their new website at: http://hovid.sg.ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Che Jian Hokkien Mee: Now that's what I call traditional HKM! With AmagadaIf you are looking for a truly traditional Hokkien Mee, then this is the place to get it. It's got it all. The opeh leaf, the crunchy pork lard, boiled melt-in-your-mouth belly pork, cut chilli and most importantly, a stock made from Sea Prawns or "Sua Lor" as it is called in Hokkien.Yes, the taste of farmed prawns still fails to meet up to what God originally created prawns to taste like. When you bite into a "Sua Lor", you can immediately make out that extra sweetness in its flesh which you don't get with the farmed tiger prawns. And when they are used to make the stock, it adds that special old school taste to the Hokkien mee the fills the air with the aroma of anticipation when the Hokkien Mee is being fried.Chomp Chomp is a Hokkien Mee lover's paradise. Aside from this particular stall and Ah Hock which I blogged about in the previous post, there is yet another stall which is a branch of the famous Kim's which is not bad, but it can never compare with these two owner run stalls.I think that there are going to be fans of both Hokkien Mees here. I ate both at the same sitting and in my opinion, Che Jian edges out Ah Hock in terms of the taste of the noodles, the use of sea prawns, the addition of belly pork AND the fact that they have crispy pork lard when you request for it. So for that, it deserves a 4.5/5. And on top of that, their signboard is also quite old school, as is the old man's 555 all cotton T-shirt!ConclusionTwo great hokkien mees in the one Food Centre! So how many are fans of Che Jian and how many of Ah Hocks?Che Jian Fried Hokkien Mee Chomp Chomp Food Centre Left hand side towards the back Open 5.30pm till 1amieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! The Charity Makan Session on My Paper today Our Charity event was covered in Today's My Paper. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to the event! It really is a team effort!If you or your organization would also like to be involved in our future endeavours please do write in and let me know.You can view the photos of the event here"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of theleast of these brothers of mine,you did for me." - Jesus ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Ah Hock Hokkien Mee: The Old Man is Back! With AmagadaFans of Ah Hock Hokkien Fried Noodles at Chomp Chomp can rejoice as the Old Man who has been frying Hokkien Mee there for the last thirty years has finally come out of retirement and is now back in a frying frenzy.Chomp Chomp is one of those places that somehow still manages to keep its old world charm despite its recent renovations. The fact is that I haven't been to Chomp Chomp for at least 25 years, so actually I am not that familiar with the place. But, when I got there I could just feel the buzz in the air. Maybe it is just that it is cramped and looks as if there are too many stalls and too few seats. Or perhaps it is the sound of clanging woks and the extra saturated smell of frying food in a tight space that creates the atmosphere of intense anticipation. Whatever it is, hawker food needs to be eaten in a place such as this which is why it loses its charm when served in a Hotel.Yes, there is that element of authenticity in the Hokkien Mee. It could be because it was fried by a man whose white hair was flying in the wind like a modern day Beethoven conducting a symphony or the queue of people waiting in line, but somehow all these visual cues also add to the whole Hokkien Mee experience.Tastewise, it was very good. They use the thin bee hoon here and the noodles were very well fried. I was a little disappointed that there was no pork lard or pieces of pork belly which would have added that extra oomph. Otherwise it was a Hokkien Mee that I certainly wouldn't mind eating again. 4.25/5ConclusionSo are you a fan of this Old Man? Let us know how long you have been eating there!Ah Hock Fried Hokkien Noodles Chomp Chomp Food Centre Stall 27 Serangoon Gardens 5.30pm to 12 plus Closed once a fortnightieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Want to preserve Mom's recipe? Now you can! Now I have heard many of you boasting about how your moms make the best this and that. And I know also that some of you are also quite good cooks but though we can boast about mom, we have to be modest when it comes to our own skills. (Though you wouldn't mind someone else boasting on your behalf right?)Well, it is time to put your money where your mouth is and at the same time render some support for SAGE (Singapore Action Group for the Elders). As part of the YMCA's Youth for Causes Challenge 2008, Team Goldenleap (Group of volunteers from NUS) is organizing a National Heritage competition where you all get to submit your favourite recipes for a competition. The 10 finalists will get to showcase their recipes at a Food Carnival on 14th September at the Scape Youth Park in Orchard. And your recipes will be published in a book for posterity.In short, you just need to submit your recipe with a picture and tell them why the recipe is so unique. Of course, as with all competitions, there will be prizes but I think for most of you the satisfaction is to get recognition of mum's (or your own) recipe and have it preserved for future generations of Singaporeans to enjoy, and all for a good cause!You can visit www.goldenleap-nhfc.com for competition details! So get cookin'!ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Old Swee Kee: The Resurrection of an Icon? Normal Chicken $26 whole, $13 halfI dare say that the legendary Swee Kee Chicken Rice served the "World Best" Chicken rice in their heyday. Actually, it is not that hard to be "World Best" since this style of Chicken Rice is typically Singaporean and if you are the best in Singapore, you would probably be the best in the world. But then, the rest of the world may not know how to appreciate it so there really is no point in calling it "World Best" in the first place. I guess it is just quite satisfying to say "World Best" just as it is quite shiok to say "Shiok"(It's so tasty) and "Wah lao eh!" (Oh my goodness!).Anyway, a stall calling itself "Old Swee Kee" is bound to attract the attention of chicken rice lovers who are today still reminiscing the "Golden Age" of Chicken Rice when Swee Kee was still around. There was no competition back then. If a tourist was in town and you wanted to showcase the best that Singapore had to offer, you brought them to Swee Kee. Of course, if your guest is very high class and you had a company account, you would bring him to Mandarin's Chatterbox. But for the typical kiasu, every want cheap-and-good Singaporean, Swee Kee was the place to go.So when Cactuskit SMSed me excitedly one day (don't ask me how I can tell he is excited from an SMS - one just knows) that Swee Kee is back, it did not take me too long to go down to see for myself if indeed the legend has been resurrected.To cut a long story short rather than prolonging the agony like Ryan Seacrest in American Idol and risk getting "Pui Chao Nua"(spat at in disgust), let me tell you that Swee Kee is sort of back but perhaps not in the way that is going to create the same excitement as when our Table Tennis Team beat South Korea and eventually won the Silver medal. Well done, Team Singapore! Ah Roo, Ah Roo, Ah Rooooooo!OK, back to my story. Remember there was a stall I blogged before called Rui Kee at North Bridge Road who also claimed to have some Swee Kee Roots? Well, Rui Kee closed the North Bridge Road stall and reopened here in Joo Chiat under the new brand name "Old Swee Kee". Ooooohhhhh......... I hear you say. But all is not bad. The fact is that the Lao Ban Niang's husband used to work in the original Swee Kee and is the cousin of the owner. And, the last remnant of the Swee Kee brand up till now is the restaurant near Senai Airport also called Swee Kee Chicken Rice. This stall is actually run by the husband while his wife runs this new stall in Joo Chiat. So yes, Swee Kee is back but it is not really a "Resurrection from the Dead" like that of Chin Chin.But that does not mean that you are not getting a great chicken rice experience. I was there within a week of their opening and even though they are still ironing out some operational details, I was pleasantly surprised by the chicken rice there which had that touch of old world authenticity.The chicken was prepared the traditional way, which means no soaking in ice water after cooking. Instead it is dunked quickly into a little salt water and left on the tray to make sure all that yummy chicken juices don't get drained out. The flesh was tender and tasty without being overly "chickeny". Of course the skin was not as perfect as the ice water dunked ones but I must say that I am beginning to appreciate this style of chicken more and more. 4.25/5The rice was not as fragrant as I liked. But I found out later from the Lao Ban Niang that they are still working on the cooking equipment as they did not managed to get the fire hot enough to fry the oil. They told me that it would be fixed by next week. 4/5 For the chilli, they have 2 varieties. The standard one shown in the middle and the special reserve version (front) which regulars and those in the know (like you) can request for. The special version is made from chilli padi and packs an extra punch. The ginger sauce is very good. Roughly chopped so that you still get the nice fibre and has enough bite to it.One last thing I have to say about Old Swee Kee. For those of you who always have problems with friends insisting on eating Kampung chicken, you would be pleased to know that Old Swee Kee sells both types of chicken, so that everyone will be satisfied. Just for the record, they sell three normal chickens for every kampung chicken. So most people still prefer the soft, tender, voluptuous chicken rather than the sinewy Kampung Chicken! But hey, you have your right to like Kampung Chicken and I defend your right to like it even though I don't.ConclusionIt isn't really Swee Kee resurrected, but it is still a great place to eat chicken rice. So, if you are a self professed chicken rice lover, I am sure you will make a beeline to the restaurant very soon, won't you?Old Swee Kee 131 Joo Chiat Road (Jn of Joo Chiat Place & Joo Chiat Road) 64409037 11am to 10pm dailyClosed fortnightly on MondaysWhat to do next?Go try some Presidential Poh Piah nearbyBuy some Char Siew Sio Bak Pau homeThe Putu Piring place is also close byThere's an excellent Prawn Mee around there too.Check out the rest of good eats by clicking on Joo Chiat labelLook at the rest of Singapore's best Chicken Riceieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Ensemble Cast of Ieatishootipost If you have read about our Charity Makan Session, you would have realized that quite a few people were involved in the organization of the event. These people voluntarily give up their time and money to make the event a success and they are also the ones who seek out the best food to eat around Singapore and report them in our forum.They are as much a part of ieatishootipost as I am, so today I just want to take the opportunity to introduce to you to the Ensemble Cast of ieatishootipost. I really depend on these guys to support me by recommending places to blog as well as sacrificing their calories to taste the food with me and adding their inputs to the blog as well as the forum.So here they are in my particularly peculiar order:SmartUncle smart has the best life. Semi retired, he just spends his time looking for food to eat! If you need a directory on Singapore food, make sure you get his hp number.khim We call her the bottomless pit. If you are at dinner with her, make sure you get your share before she launches her assault. She never stops, even after dessert. She's our blog monitoress as well as forum moderator so don't play play.sumosumoWe like to think of our "Big Ass Moderator" as the Simon Cowell of the blog. A serious foodie, his taste buds are hard to please and he is passionate about his food. Don't get him angry.... you won't like him when he is angry.LiverpoolOwner of Good Morning Nanyang Cafe. I met liverpool when I first blogged his Cafe in the early days. Liverpool makes one of the best cups of kopi in Singapore but still drinks kopi from everywhere else! Go figure.DamienGrew up the son of a serious foodie, he probably ate all the best food in Singapore before he hit puberty. (or should I say, "in order to" hit puberty?) Damien seems to always know whatever is happening in the food scene. I met him when I blogged his stall last year. His rating system ranges from a "Cannot Make it" to "This is good leh" and anything in between gets a "Ok lah".Cactuskit One of our latest 2nd gen kakis, Cactuskit is the king of the forum. He is a gentle giant who supports the gahment by having 4 kids (and counting?). Bit of an aunty killer, he works his way into the hearts of unsuspecting hawker aunties some of whom have adopted him as their godson.HolydrummerWe met at Astons by coincidence where he was one of the first to taste the newly created ieat Superburger. He was also one of the first ones to blog about ieatishootipost. An ardent foodie who does not compromise on taste, he and the holyfamily comprising his Holybunny and his Holybro can eat so much that one can only cry "Holy Macaroni!"HolybunnyDon't be misled by her apparently genteel nickname, she can be quite opinionated, K?HolybroDoesn't know the word STOP. Unlike the rest of us, Holybro still has room to grow and he is making use of that excuse to eat as much as he can.JemsA lady who keeps insisting that 45kg is fat (Well it is IF you are 1m tall, and she's not). If not for the fact that she still eats despite complaining, I would have diagnosed her with anorexia. Jems is out there to prove that one can still be a foodie but not like all the good stuff like lard and chicken skin. Jems is our food correspondent for the West and also our moderator in the forum.WahcowAlways on a lookout for good deals, Wahcow keeps our forum updated on all the latest specials from the magazines he reads, then complains that he can't keep up with his credit card payments. In which case his Cowpeh and Cowbu comes in to help chew the curd. He is another of our upcoming photographers so watch out for his pics on the blog.TaukwaOur resident Soya Bean expert and the forum's most eligible bachelor, he is known in the forum as Adonis, He-Man the Master of the Universe, and Captain Marvel! He is very much available but only if you are a Tau Huay, Tau Hu or Tau Nee. Tau Poks and Chao Tau Hus need not apply.ChampagneThe woman who used to be known as winelearner. I guess she has learnt enough.Fashionfoodie - A big name in the fashion industry, this Teochew ah Hia has access to all the gourmet food in Singapore, but still prefers to eat a simple steamed Peh Dor He anytime!Amagada - The woman behind ieatand the list continues......New members keep getting added, so if you think that you would like to vicariously waste some calories for the benefit of others, then do join up at the forum and come for our next makan session!What to do next?Check out what these guys are up to by visiting the FORUM! See you there.ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Sun With Moon: Japanese Claypot Rice Sun with Moon is the kind of place where I wish could be a little cheaper so that I can come back to eat more often. I think that about sums it up for me.I have heard so much about this place from the internet. The main highlights seemed to be the beef kamameshi, the hourglass sitting on top of it and the tofu cheesecake in a birdcage. So like any good foodie who has done his research on the internet, I came to Sun with Moon and made sure I ordered these dishes. The other thing was that they were having their anniversary celebrations and was offering 30% off everything in their menu which provided the impetus to go try it.Beef Kamemeshi $17The Beef Kamemeshi was actually quite good. It is similar to your Gyudon (beef bowl) except that they serve it in an aluminium pot which they heat up so that the rice gets a little burnt at the bottom and sides ala claypot rice. So lovers of crispy burnt rice would be happy. Aside from that, the beef and sauce were very good and what I really enjoyed was the extra stuff they added like waterchestnuts and broadbeans. Overall, quite shiok. 4.25/5By the way, we "Gei Kiang" (tried to be smart) and ordered the Beef with foie gras kamameshi which was not recommended by anyone on the internet. It turned out to be quite a disappointment. The foie gras was like the size of a carrom striker and hardly added any value to the dish except for the price! Just goes to show how important it is to do your research before going to any restaurant nowadays! 3/5Beef Sukiyaki $18The beef sukiyaki was very nice except for the fact that they serve it with the beef already in the soup which resulted in it being overcooked when they served it. Otherwise the soup was very very good, one of the best I have tasted. Unfortunately the quality of the beef was not great considering the price tag.As you can see it was not as marbled as the ones I usually get at Sushi Tei for a fraction of the price. I guess it was a matter of expectation exceeding the price thus resulting in disappointment in what should have been a good sukiyaki experience. 4/5Tofu Cheesecake $4.50Now, I must say I was a little disspointed with the tofu cheesecake. Aside from the birdcage, I thought that the cheesecake was something I could get at a hospital canteen. Ok, it might not be as bad as that, but for all the fanfare, it certainly tasted quite ordinary to me. 3/5Talking about the birdcage, I also felt that the hourglass was also just a gimmick rather than serving any purpose. In theory I suppose it is to prevent you from opening up the cover before the rice had some time to cook. But the fact is that the rice wasn't even sizzling hot when I got it. It was all "Jor Hee" (for show)ConclusionEven with a 30% discount, I felt that the meal cost more than the amount of satisfaction derived. This is a shame because the food and ambience at Sun with Moon is actually quite excellent. Others might feel that the slightly better food quality, service and ambience really does justify the higher price which might explain the long queue and the need to reserve a table if you are coming on a weekend. I guess it all boils down to how fat your wallet is and how much you are actually willing to spend on tantalizing your tastebuds.Sun with Moon #01-170/71/72,6 Eu Tong Sen Street,The CentralSingapore 059817Open 12pm to 12am ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! The Ieat 2nd Anniversary Charity Makan Session A big thank you to everyone who supported our 2nd Anniversary Charity Makan Session which was held at Aston's new restaurant at The Cathay.This year we are supporting the kids from Oakley Prison's Ministry. As you can see from the pictures, the kids really had a great day out. It really does warm the heart to see so many happy smiling faces! I had the privilege of talking to this little girl who is looked after by her Grandma because her daddy is still awaiting release next year. Her mother had left her when she was still a baby, so Grandma is her sole caregiver. In order to keep things going, Grandma is still taking on oddjobs while she is at school. It was such a happy day for her as she seldom gets to eat out let alone watch a movie. It's all worth it if just for this one little girl, isn't it guys? After the kids went off for their movie, our makan kakis were treated to a produce degustation courtesy of Greengrocer.com.sg. Boss Helene gave our kakis an introduction to gourmet produce from around the world. I think the only complaint that day was that there was too much to eat. (OK lah, that's better having to go for Hokkien Mee afterwards). By the time the ieatSuperburger MkII beta appeared, everyone was already so stuffed!The auction went very well and everyone were in a charitable spirit. The biggest bid was $500 for the dinner for eight at Ya Kwang, by Nuffnang boss Ming. In all, we managed to raise another $8344 for the Oakley Prison's Ministry which will be used to buy other stuff that they need.Praise God for bringing ieatishootipost to its 2nd year anniversary and for bringing so many kakis into our midst without whom the makan session would not be possible!In particular I would like to thank:Event Organizers: TauKwa who was in charge, Khim for registration and seating and Cactuskit for planning and photographing the session.Our Volunteers: Cactuskitty, Smokedduck, Holydrummer, Holybro, Holybunny, Smart, Jems, liverpool, Champagne, sumosumo, toothangel and Amagada for helping out with all theother stuff.Toothfairy and the Touch Soccer team for raising $1000 for the kid's goodie bags.I would also like to thank our sponsors for making the event a great success!For providing the meals for the kids as well as our guests. Astons has donated all proceeds to Oakley. A big thanks to all the staff of Astons who also volunteered their time to serve the us and the kids! LINKFor sponsoring the produce for our gourmet degustation. You can buy the produce we ate directly online by going to the greengrocer website: LINKFor sponsoring the Movie Tickets and drinks for the kids. LINKFor providing the mooncakes and donation of $500: LINKFor sponsorship of the ieatishootipost T shirts: LINKDonation of the Powershot A590IS for the auction: LINKFor donation of 30 complimentary tickets and drinks for the kids: LINKDonation of the Samsung lazerprinter for the auction: LINKYa Kwang Dai Pai DongDonation of a lavish dinner for eight: LINKD!sh Pte LtdFor sponsorship of the Sicilian Cooking Class for 2. Tel: 65044030/98367653Officers of 3rd Combat Support Hospital for their donation of $334Donation of a Creative Vado: LINKJoey Kuan for donating stationaries for the kid's goodie bag.Everyone who were unable to come but still sent their cheques and donations to the event!ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! ieaters on the Sunday Times! Okay, you might not know these guys by their real names, but you should recognize their nicknames:From left: Wahcow, Holybro, Smart, ieat, Cactuskit and Holydrummer.Don't know what Holybro is trying to take since his lens cap is still on!ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! ieat on 938live! Today's recommendation is Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee! ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Cafe Oliv Revisited: An ieat Team Review Reviewed by Holydrummer with Pics from Cactuskit and WahcowWith the additional mouths of smart, liverpool, champagne, taukwa,wahcow maiden, mr. & mrs sumosumo, jems & jemster, cactusprincess, holybro & holybunnyHave you ever fancied feasting on French escargots, Chinese 'guo-tie' and Italian pasta - all at the same time? Weird cravings, I hear you say. Or if you are tired of the run-of-the-mill chicken chop from the hawker centre stall, join the club. Question is, where can you go for exquisite western cuisine that is a cut above the rest, yet decently-priced? Look no further - At Cafe Oliv, you can have your cake and eat it too. Executive Chef-Owner Kevin Heng presents a range of unique offerings from his rejuvenated menu that allows him to better express his culinary flair. With hints of 'Eastern' influences in his new dishes, one would ask what on earth is he really cooking - Western? East-Meets-West? Fusion?In what was arguably the heaviest weekend degustation - a whopping 20-course - we guinea pigs gathered for a nice Saturday brunch to explore Cafe Oliv's new food experiments and to find out the answer.First up, Salads and Appetisers:Oliv Avocado Quail Eggs Mesclun Frisee French Dressing $10.90Photo by Cactuskit Presentation wise, this is a colourful beauty. Avocado by nature has a creamy & buttery texture; Combining thick slices of these together with the quail eggs, they lend weight to alternating textures between the crunchy mesclun greens and the juicy cherry tomatoes & olives, making this a full-bodied salad. 4/5 Gratin Oliv Herb Butter Yolk Cheese Monray Escargot $9.90 (half a dozen)Photo by CactuskitFans of escargot can also rejoice. The snails come conveniently de-shelled and are surprisingly quite plump and tender, packing in a bit of crunch. Served on a bed of blanched Chinese spinach, some of us found the choice of greens rather amusing initially. Mismatch? Perhaps. But I thought it provided a good contrast by cushioning the saltiness of the accompanying sauce around the escargots and added a somewhat fusion-istic presentation. Bound to be a crowd favourite, you can't go wrong with this oven-baked dish with bechemel sauce & melted cheese oozing all over. 4/5Oliv Fusion Stuffing "Guo Tie" Streaky Pork Dumpling $7.90 (8 pieces)Photo by CactuskitDrawing inspiration from his Chinese kitchen staff, this Northern Chinese staple was re-invented with an additional twist in cooking technique. Instead of just the usual pan-frying, the "Guo Tie" were then braised with stock and the pan jus was left to reduce until it was totally absorbed into the dumplings, sealing in all the flavours. The intended effect was to create a "Guo Tie" in the style of a "tang bao", a la "xiao long bao" - where there is soup within waiting to burst out. It was indeed juicy enough at first bite, though the base could be seared longer & finished with a crispier skin. 4.25/5P.S: Before we move on, don't forget to ask for Oliv's two homemade sauces - Honey Mustard & Thai Mayonnaise to accompany your meal. They go well with anything at all, and our moderator 'sumosumo' dabbed the dumpling with the honey mustard - "Fantastic!"Oliv Quesadilla with Seafood $11.90Photo by WahcowThe Quesadilla stood out with its paper-thin tortilla skin - it is like an ultra crispy thin-crust pizza packed with chokefuls of filling bursting at the seams. You can select from a choice of 5 types of ingredients. Uncle Smart especially enjoyed this dish! 4.25/5Photo by Cactuskit Look at that! Can't resist sinking your teeth & experiencing that 'first crunch' yeah? You'd be glad to know that Cafe Oliv also serves a variety of thin-crust pizzas including the new Wild Mushroom Anchovies Margarita Pizza @ $12.90 - good for two to three.Chargrilled Bratwurst Snail & Spicy Italian Sausages with Rosti Potato $14.90Photo by WahcowRosti is considered the national dish of Switzerland and pairing the German Bratwurst & Italian Sausage with Swiss Rosti reflects a delightful culinary mishmash akin to the neighbouring cultures prevalent in Switzerland. In Singapore, I shall christen this "Rosti Prata".For Oliv's "Rosti Prata" - Russet Burbank potatoes were grated & pan-fried, with bacon left to saute first then tossed in to infuse flavour into the potato prata. Succulent sausages on top of Rosti - an impeccable match and a hit with the kakis! 4.5/5 Oliv Traditional Beef Stew with Fennel, Potato & Pilaf Rice $11.90Photo by Cactuskit This is as good'ol hearty as beef stew can get. Chunks of tender beef shin and root vegetables are stewed for a good few hours and served with steaming hot pilaf rice. The shin contains more tendons and less fat which is ideal for stewing. This dish is my personal favourite here and I love to have this stew especially on a chilly cold rainy day. It never fails to warm not only my stomach, but my heart too. 4.5/5If you are not a fan of beef, try Oliv's Black Pepper Pesto Chicken with Rosemary Sauce ($11.90) One whole boneless chicken thigh is marinated overnight with paprika, rosemary and french mustard - Kevin adds in a good measure of ground black pepper to spice things up. I could appreciate the crisp & charred bits outside, while leaving the meat inside still moist and tender. 4/5. If you're looking for a meaner and crunchier alternative, also excellent is the Parmesan Cheese Chicken Cutlet Coriander Dill Cream @ $11.90. 4.25/5 They may seem like simple culifare (pardon the pun), but they can satisfy the simplest of coq cravings.Char-Grilled Honey Glazed Pork Belly Ribs with Barbeque Sauce ($16.90 for half slab, $26.90 for full slab)Photo by CactuskitSaving the best for the last, this star dish here is so good, it is worth raving about one more time, even if it has been featured before here. This unique recipe combines a special technique with a secret homemade BBQ marinade to provide that melt-in-the-mouth texture:Instead of basting, the soft-bone ribs are first steamed for 3 hours with the BBQ sauce & left to rest, absorbing & trapping all the moisture in the meat - most of the fat is also removed in the process. Then, more of that special concoction is coated onto the meat just before chargrilling it, to give it added oomph and flavour. The result? A perfectly lean and tender slab. I especially loved the charred and slightly crispy crust and don't miss out on the sides where you can really suck the flavour out of the soft bones. Heaven! All of the kakis gave their stamp of approval. 4.5/5ConclusionWestern? East-Meets-West? Fusion? Ultimately, you define it & decide for yourself. Whatever it is, Cafe Oliv's revamped menu is bound to please any palate with its brand-new offerings while retaining the old favourites. Besides the huge variety of starters and entrees, it even contains a 3-step DIY Pasta section where you can select from 3 types of pasta, 7 types of sauces & 11 types of ingredients.What do all these mean? It means you will definitely be spoilt for choice!National Day Special Promotion for ieatishootipost.sg readers only!Good news for you all! Up till the end of August only, Cafe Oliv is pleased to offer its guests 10% discount off the total bill when you quote 'ieatishootipost.sg'. It's that simple - Just mention the blog and you will be entitled to the exclusive discount. That means NO GST and NO Service Charge!Visit www.cafeoliv.com for more info.Cafe Oliv220, East Coast Road(Near Church of the Holy Family, Katong)6-344-3114Open daily from 11:30am - 11pmWhat to do next?Read the previous Cafe Oliv review hereGo down the road and have a nice cup of kopi with nostalgia at Chin Mee ChinCross the road to satisfy your Durian craving at Ah Loon's ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee: Eat it before it goes! Bad news!The building that houses the coffeeshop where Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee is housed will be undergoing renovation to convert it to a hotel. So our Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee uncle is forced to vacate and has up till now not been able to find a suitable stall to migrate to. Uncle Alex said he might even be thinking of calling it a day since his right shoulder is giving him so much problems.That means that the stall which I consider to be one of the top 3 Hokkien Mees in Singapore may soon become just nostalgia! So if you are a fan of HKM, you have only up till 24 August (last day) to eat here before they close for an indefinite period of time.BTW, if you know of any suitable coffeeshop in the East, please do write in and let me know. His criteria is that it should have space for carparking, be located somewhere around the East and preferably not be under HDB.Postscript:Alex and his family would like to thank all their customers for their support all these years. He will be taking a short break and when they settle in their new stall, they will announce it on this blog. So watch this space.Update 16 Aug 2008Just had the HKM today. Very shiok. I am upping is rating to 4.6/5 If only he brought back the boiled pork belly....Geylang Lor 29 Fried Hokkien Mee396 East Coast Road11.30am to 9.30pmClosed on MondaysRead my last post on Lor 29 HKM hereieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! The ieat Charity Makan Session is this Sunday! Ieat SuperBurger Mk II.1The 2nd Anniversary Makan Session is upon us. Thanks to everyone who are supporting the event. All seats have already been sold, so this annoucement is for those who are already registered to come for the event.I have got great news! Aside from beta testing the ieat SuperBurger Mk II, we have a gourmet grocer who will be sponsoring a degustation menu comprising Oysters, Scallops, Cold Cuts, Wagyu Beef, US Pork Jowl, Quail and a selection of fine wines! So do fast overnight and go for a morning run before coming!We will also be printing some ieatishootipost T shirts for sale! So do support the blog and purchase a T shirt. Every dollar will be donated to Oakley.There is also a list of items for Auction, so please come prepared!Canon Powershot A590IS RRP $369Samsung Laser Printer RRP $200Ya Kwang Dinner Voucher (Lobster, Crab, Wagyu). Start bidding at $200Gourmet Cooking Course for 2 RRP $160And other interesting items.All proceeds will be given to the Oakley Ministry. So do prepare some extra cash and come join the fun!Do remember to come by 1pm to Astons at the 4th level of The Cathay (2 Handy Road). See you all there!Link to the last post hereieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Bee Bee Carrot Cake: Why do we expect them to make their own carrot cakes? I have always thought that the best carrot cake are those where they actually steam their own carrot cake before frying. But I had a different thought the other day. How come we don't expect Char Kway Teow sellers to make their own Kway Teow, but we demand that from Carrot Cake sellers? It is true that traditionally they did steam it themselves, but it is one of those things that can actually be outsourced. So nowadays a lot of people actually take short cuts because it makes sense for their business and so we can't really fault them.Anyway this carrot cake is the favourite of two of our makan kakis who live around Marine Terrace, viz Cactuskit and Holydrummer. So it is on their recommendation that I spent a precious Saturday morning (one of only a few throughout the year) trying them out.Marine Terrace Food Centre is incredibly packed and I was told it is impossible to get a whole table to oneself. A lot of the times, you have to share tables with your neighbours. Indeed, there was hardly an empty seat as all the seats are actually taken! On the other hand, I found that people actually take the opportunity to talk to each other as well since they are forced to sit together. So this problem might not be totally bad afterall.Anyway there was a 30 minute wait for the Carrot Cake which I found was pretty ordinary. BUT Cactuskit insists that it was a bad day for them and that they are usually better. OK lah I believe you, but that day's carrot cake only gets a 3.75/5.ConclusionSo are you a Marine Terracer? Is this carrot cake really that great?Bee Bee Carrot Cake Marine Terrace Food CentreOpen from 7am to around 1pmieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Tetsu: Learn how to fry Tempura Prawns! Tetsu is one of the latest Japanese Restaurants in Singapore that is differentiating itself by offering Kushi-style Tempura and Tonkatsu that is prepared "Live" in front of diners. I wonder if the name "Tetsu" is sort of a combination of TEmpura and TonkatSU? Seems quite likely to me. Personally, I enjoy watching the food preparation process, which is why I decided to pay this place a visit. When I was young, I was often assigned the task of running down to the coffeeshop to buy Hokkien Mee or Char Kway Teow for supper. Those were the days when the hawker stalls were position in front of the coffeeshop rather than at the back like nowadays. I always like to observe how they would prepare their dishes. I still like to do it now and am always attracted to restaurants with an open kitchens. You get to learn a few cooking techniques and at the same time get entertained by looking out for "Bloopers". Like there was this time I saw the chef cooking a Lobster tail and he accidentally dropped it on the floor while cutting it. It was fun to see him struggling on the one hand to try to save the precious produce while at the same time knowing that "Big Brother" is watching him.Anyway, I thought I would take this opportunity to make use of my Creative Vado again to show our readers how to make Tempura. If you have ever tried to make Tempura at home with the premix that you get from the Supermarket, you will know that it never turns fluffy like what happens when you eat at the restaurants. The secret is that there is a special technique involved while they are frying it as the video will demonstrate.Another thing you might be wondering if you ever tried to cook tempura prawns is how they manage to get the prawn so straight while deep frying? Some people actually taught me that you should stick a skewer into the prawn while deep frying to keep it straight. However, the trick is simpler than that as this clip shows:Alright, hope you managed to get something out of the video. Truth be said, I wouldn't cook tempura like that at home as all that extra batter is not very healthy. The fact is that even in Japan, homecooked tempura is simply a very thin crispy batter without all the "Frills". I guess the "Frills" are a cheap and effective way of increasing the size of the prawns.Rosu Katsu Set $24.50 (Rosu=Loin)I must say I was quite impressed with the overall presentation of the Tonkatsu. They specially import Japanese Bread Crumbs which give that wonderful crisp, light and fluffy crust. The set comes with four different condiments. Aside from the classic Tonkatsu sauce (Japanese Worchestershire Sauce), they also provide mustard, miso based sauce as well as salted Japanese curry powder.The pork was tender and juicy and the crust was perfect. However, the pork did not have that nutty floral aroma that you get from a really good quality pork. For a restaurant that wants to promote itself as the premier place for Tonkatsu, the word "Kurobuta" was noticeably absent. 4.25/5Inaniwa UdonTetsu imports this very special udon which is smaller in calibre than the normal udon. (Shall we call it Udon-Kia like Mee Kia?). The texture is silky smooth and very very nice on the bite. One of the best Udons I have tasted. 4.25/5Roast Pork with miso sauce (new dish)We all liked the roast pork here. Very flavoursome, tender and juicy. This is one dish we could have more of. 4/5ConclusionBeing one of the new players in fast growing Japanese food market, Tetsu's strategy of specialising in Tempura and Tonkatsu prepared "Live" before customers is very interesting and the place has a great ambience. I feel though that they should go further by providing quality produce like Wagyu, Kurobuta, Wild Salmon and Sea Prawns in order to give consumers that extra something to make itself stand out from the crowd.Tetsu163 Tanglin Road#03-18 Tanglin Mall68363112Lunch 11.30am to 3pmDinner 6pm to 10pmDisclaimer: This was an invited reviewieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Katong Laksa: Will the Original Katong Laksa please stand up? There is Laksa and then there is "Katong" Laksa.I think most Singaporeans will immediately understand that "Katong" Laksa, refers to the style of Nonya Laksa that is eaten with just the spoon, and the most well known place to eat this is at the stalls around the junction of Ceylon and East Coast Road. Nowadays there are so many stalls calling themselves "Katong" laksa that you don't really know who is the original. But later in the post I will show you conclusive proof that I have found the one and only stall that has the right to call itself "Katong" laksa.I remember the very first time I ate "Katong" Laksa. I was still in JC and dating my ex-girlfriend, Amagada then. It was one of those extreme epicurean epiphanic experiences (E4). It is so vivid that I can still almost taste the hae bee (dried shrimps) sediments on the tip of my tongue until today. Or maybe it was the combination of the wonderful laksa and the extra delectable company that made for the unforgettable experience?Anyway, at that time, there weren't as many stalls as there are today. If I am not wrong, there was only the one stall and it was at No. 49 East Coast Road, (The one before Ceylon road) called Marine Parade Laksa. But Marine Parade Laksa wasn't the originator of the "Katong" laksa. The real granddaddy of this style of laksa was a legend of extraordinary propositions (in laksa lore anyway) by the name of Janggut, who used to peddle his Laksa at Marine Parade Jetty in the 50's. By the time he was nearing retirement, his son opened the stall at 49 East Coast Road and called it Marine Parade Laksa. Janggut himself sold his laksa there on weekends only.It was around this time that George's (That's the man in the picture) father learnt the recipe from Janggut and started peddling his Laksa along the streets. Eventually he settled in Chai Chee and registered his stall as "Katong" Laksa in 1982. I guess at around that time, the name "Katong" Laksa wasn't as popular then. So strictly speaking, the only stall that can truly call itself "Katong" Laksa is this unassuming little stall sharing space with the Carrot Cake Aunty in a dilapidated old coffeeshop in Siglap. So now you know.The laksa here is very popular with the locals though not as well known as the stalls at Ceylon road. The gravy is nice and savoury and as good (or some say better) as the other more famous stalls. Sure to satisfy your laksa craving. Best thing is that there is a Hainanaese Chicken Rice stall next to it, so you can order a plate of white chicken to dip in the gravy for extra Power! I met an old couple who had been eating at the stall since George's father's time and they swear it is the best laksa in Singapore. I thought it could do with a little more hae bee in the gravy, but then again, I don't think that there can be any laksa that can beat the one I ate over twenty years ago. Somehow nothing can ever replace nostalgia with a good sprinkling of puppy love. 4.25/5ConclusionIf you haven't eaten here, you can't really say that you have officially eaten "Katong" Laksa before! And while you are there remember to order a plate of White Chicken from the stall on the right and a plate of carrot cake from the stall on the left. Happiness is assured.Katong Laksa1 Telok Kurau Road(Opp. SPC Petrol Station)Open 8am to 3.30pmOpen Daily6440458598559401PostScriptThey are a real happy bunch of hawkers here! And the good news is that there will be a 3rd Generation of Katong Laksa as Gerald will be taking over his father's business.  Too bad the carrot cake will not have a successor, so shiokness ends when the old aunty retires.What to do next:Check out the Fang Choy next doorGo down the road for Seng Kee Bak Chor MeeCross the road to find Charcoal Fried Hokkien MeeCheck out the other laksa stallsListen to "Ode to Laksa" performed by Amagada: Here Read about the Carrot Cake with Ikan Bilis next doorieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Golden City Carrot Cake: Carrot Cake with Ikan Bilis and Crispy Fried Chye Poh! Carrot Cake $3 portion I found it! I found it! The best carrot cake I have tasted is just a stone's throw away from home and it took me so long to find it! You know, I haven't eaten any outstanding carrot cake that I can really put my finger on until I came across this one. What makes it special is that not only does this lady fry the carrot cake until it is crispy on the outside, but she adds in these delightfully crispy Ikan Bilis and Pre-Fried Chye Poh as well. The Chye Poh is really like manna from heaven! OK, classic carrot cake connoisseurs might cry foul over the use of ikan bilis in the carrot cake, but I am telling you that after tasting this one, I feel that everyone else should be adding ikan bilis as well. Aunty buys really good quality ikan bilis and prepares it herself twice a week. She fries them till they are super crispy and flavoursome. The chye poh is also pre-fried and she adds a little bit of sugar into them to give them that extra edge. The combination of the crisp savoury ikan bilis with the sweetened chye poh, soft carrot cake and fried eggs is something I just can just sit there and slowly savour with my eyes closed. This stall used to be selling fried Hokkien Mee when the Aunty's husband was still around. But since his passing, they don't sell fried Hokkien Mee anymore. In fact, it was her late husband who first suggested that she added the ikan bilis for extra kick! Truth be told, the first time I met her, I almost thought she was a bit of a Food Nazi. You see, I ordered my carrot cake without chilli, but when it arrived with chilli, I made the excuse that my kids don't eat chilli, and she grumpily changed it for me. What to do? I was scared that if I said I don't take chilli, she might just ban me from the stall! But luckily, she turned out to be quite a nice lady when you get to know her. Just be nice to her okay? And when you ask for extra chye poh (Power Up to get Max Ooomph!) offer to pay extra 50 cents for it and keep that smile on her face. Conclusion Best carrot cake I have had for as long as I can remember! It's a 4.5/5 for the standard plate but when you add the extra chye poh it becomes a 4.75/5 Golden City Carrot Cake 1 Telok Kurau Road Open 7.30am to 2pm Closed Tuesdays What to do next: Check out the Fang Choy next door Go down the road for Seng Kee Bak Chor Mee There's a Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee opposite Check out other Carrot Cake stalls Check out other stalls run by little old ladies and gentlemenieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Welcome ChannelNewsAsia viewers! A very warm welcome to Channel News Asia viewers who are visiting our blog after seeing the feature on PrimeTime this morning.For a quick introduction to the hightlights of the blog, please click here. To read the cover story of ieatishootipost on Lian He Zao Bao (with English translation) click here.For more suggestions on where to eat, you might also want to join our growing community of foodies in the forum.So if you are here for the first time, may I warmly welcome you and hope you find something good to eat!Update: 6 August 2008Finally managed to get a clip of it!Here's the transcript:If you're in Singapore and itching for a good bite...here's a website with some good suggestion on where to go.Let's take a look.-->It's time to hit the culinary trail -This website features a good offering of local fare and western cuisines...from chicken rice and fried noodles, to burgers and pastas - whatever suits your palate!Here, you'll find a comprehensive guide to Singapore's favourite foods and where to get them.Filled with pictures of delectable dishes...the site is regularly updated with recommendations of the best places to find them.A food reviewer gives his take of each dish, how it's prepared and why you should try it, or give it a miss.You'll also find a good directory of food outlets listed in alphabetical order...categorised by location of where to eat, and the different types of dishes.Take your pick -the "Really Must Try List"You'll be spoilt for choice.Or "Hawker Home Recipes"for the adventurous who would like to try replicating the dishes of famous chefs.So, if you're in sunny Singapore...this is one website you'll want to consult before you heading out for a good meal.Hungry yet?For the transcript of the clip, please click here.ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! What do Foodie Cardiologists eat? Can Doctors be foodies? Of course lah, or else this blog would not exist!But every now and again, I feel obligated to remind all our foodie friends out there that it is important to enjoy food, but at the same time make sure that your arteries are not slowly clogging up.When it comes to what you should or should not do, I think everyone sort of knows. But what are the really important things to observe and what can we do that is practical?In my recent in-camp, I had the opportunity to observe how my Cardiology friends balance their love for food with their concern for cardiac health and I thought it would be interesting to share this with you.The article is written up in my medical blog. Please click here to read.ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Ah Loon & Ah Teck Durian Stall: Let's give this D88 a name! D88I have made it my goal to document as many cultivars of durian as possible so that they can all be nicely cataloged on this blog. So with around a week left before this durian season ends, I am posting this to remind you that you only have around one week left to get your durian fix.Here are another 2 cultivars that I managed to come across. The first one is the D88 which surprisingly does not have a name like "Hong Xia" or "Mao Shan Wang". Now, I could be wrong, so if you know the name of this cultivar do let us know. If not, why don't we all come up with a name for it?Just look at that beautiful, luscious, golden yellow flesh! Doesn't it lure you like a sotong (squid) to the light? The taste of it wasn't as good that day because, as Ah Loon explains, it was not the right time of the harvest. The flesh was a little fibrous and it wasn't as sweet. However, I can just imagine what it must taste like at the peak of the season! 3.5/5TawaThe Tawa is a oblong shaped durian with flesh that is pale yellow, less creamy and more watery and very pungent. Quite similar in flavour to the XO. 4.25/5ConclusionSo what do you think is a good name for the D88?Update 5 Aug 2008Had a good D88 today. Nice and creamy, soft and pungent. Like a cross between XO and Hong Xia with a milder flavour. 4/5Ah Loon and Ah Teck Durian 231 East Coast Road 97514828What to do next?Check out the other durian breeds.Check out what durians our forummers are eating.Trying to find something to eat before durians? Try theseieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Cilantro Modern Asia: Wagyu Shabu Shabu $15! Wagyu Shabu Shabu or Sukiyaki $15 (Normal Beef Shabu Shabu $7)There are some things that sound too good to be true. Now if you are an optimist, your response to such things is to quickly go and find out if it really is true but if you are a pessimist, then you would sit back and mull over the thought that there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.So would you consider yourself an optimist or pessimist if I were to tell you that you can get a Wagyu Shabu Shabu for $15? It's no bull (pun intended), this Wagyu Shabu Shabu is going for $15, but there is one catch --- you have to eat it in a coffee shop. "Phew, that's not too bad", I think I hear you say. Now, for the readers who are really really skeptical, I post the picture on the right for you. Hope you are convinced.When Jacky of Cilantro (Remember $15 Foie Gras?) said she was going to do modern Japanese food at her Marine Terrace branch, I was excited. Excited because, I know that she would go all out to give the customers something of quality but at rock bottom prices.Good Japanese food depends on good produce and sadly a lot of places that sell Japanese food in hawker centres are not giving us good quality stuff. Now, I am not talking about the top grade Otoro, but simply a place that sell Mid-Ranged Japanese food at Hawker ranged prices. That would be a great idea for a family outing wouldn't it? Thankfully after a bit of gentle prodding, Jacky caught on the idea and decided to procure some Wagyu for the launch of her stall in Marine Terrace. Now it is up to the response from the general public to decide if we are going to see more Wagyu in coffeeshops!For $15, you get around 5 slices of beef plus a pot of either shabu shabu or sukiyaki stock. They also serve Ponsu and Goma sauce to go with it which is quite unexpected of a $15 shabu shabu! There really is not need to tell you that the Wagyu is really melt in your mouth beefy goodness is there? 4.5/5Wagyu Don $9.80So what else would you do if you invested in an expensive meat slicer and you have a few kg of Wagyu Sirloin in your fridge? Why, you do a Wagyu Don, that's what. Now believe me, you don't have to Argue with Wagyu. The meat is just plain tasty no matter what you do with it. It's great whether it's dipped in soup, fried in teriyaki sauce or even eaten raw. So I'd say this could be the best bowl of Gyu Don I have tasted if only they had used better rice and the teriyaki sauce was tweaked a little. Jackie assured me that they will be changing the supply of rice to match the quality of the Wagyu. Whatever it may be, you'd be hard pressed to get something with the name "Wagyu" on it for less than $10 anywhere in Singapore. 4/5Charshu Ramen $6The Ramen here is very commendable. The soup is tasty enough, but I thought it could be just a little smoother (ie more fats from the marrow dissolved in the soup). Amagada on the other hand said the soup was surprisingly nice. The Chashu here is really good and quite addictive. Incidentally, don't you think Chashu is a bit of a misnomer? Should be called Lor Bak instead right? 4/5Family Feast $18The Family Feast is designed for families with kids (like mine). How often have you gone to a Japanese Restaurant and every time you order the tempura, it comes only in a small portion for $12? What we need is a family feast type platter where you get a variety of fried favourites like Pork Tonkatsu, Breaded Prawns, Chicken Karage, Potato Croquettes, Nuggets and Chicken Wings. As mother would say, "Jia Kau Song Song" (Eat till you are satisfied). Nothing out of the ordinary, but it's a dish the kids would love and gives the adults an excuse to indulge. 4/5Teriyaki Chicken $6I have to include this picture because I managed to catch the drop of lemon juice falling onto the Teriyaki chicken. Ahhhh, satisfaction.Anyway, teriyaki chicken is a staple for any Japanese eatery and although it is easy to do, (who hasn't cooked teriyaki chicken at home?), it is very hard to get that special smoky charred taste. It is highly dependent on the quality of the soy sauce used. The one here is competent but I felt still had that "Chinese" taste to it. Kids will love it, but I still haven't found.... what I'm looking for. 3.75/5Pan Seared Tuna $9.80For the more adventurous, Cilantro offers a few more upmarket dishes like this Pan Seared Tuna in miso sauce. It is the kind of thing that you don't readily find in most of the Japanese Chain Restaurants in Singapore. Definitely worth a try if you are tired of the standard Japanese fare. 4/5Banana Chocolate Mousse Cake $4.90For dessert, you have to try their Banana Chocolate Mousse Cake which will satisfy most chocoholics except for the most fastidious ones. 4.5/5. The tiramisu is also very good. 4/5ConclusionWe need to demystify the Wagyu and bring this wonderful tasting meat to the heartlanders. I hope to see more Wagyu appearing in food courts and mid ranged Japanese restaurants which will increase the awareness and demand for this product which will in turn mean that it will become standard fare for more Japanese eateries out there. When the Ah Gong and Ah Mah start to coin their Hokkien word for Wagyu, then we know we have reached our goal. In the meantime, if you want to continue to see Wagyu in the coffeeshop, then you have to do your part to go down and support them so that they will continue to sell it!Now apart from the Wagyu (which is great even as sashimi), the rest of the fare is competent but don't go there expecting the same standards as your favourite Japanese restaurant. The main selling point it that it is a place where you can bring the kids to eat pretty decent Japanese food and not burn a hole in your pocket.Cilantro Modern Asia Blk 59 Marine Terrace (Coffeeshop)Opens 10am to 10pm dailyDisclaimer: I had an active role in planning the menuWhat to do next?Read about the $15 Foie GrasRead about other Japanese FoodRead about other stalls in Katong and Joo ChiatGrab a traditional cup of Kopi at the rustic Chin Mee Chin after that!ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Eng Cheong Pau: Improving the standard of Kopitiam Paus There was a period of time when the standard of our Paus really went downhill. A lot of the commercially available paus that are still being sold in our coffeeshops are still very much still at the bottom of the hill, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.There is a resurgence of the handmade pau as opposed to the factory made ones. Somehow they still haven't been able to built a machine that can make random folds on the bun as good as the Pau Uncle or Aunty. That is a relief, cos if the day ever comes that we can't differentiate handmade and machine made paus but its outward appearance, we are all in trouble. The light at the end of the tunnel is the fact that there is an emergence of small scale handmade paus that are being shipped to our coffeeshops which I hope will improve things for all pau lovers out there.This little stall in Upper Paya Lebar Road sells the paus at the premises but also sells them in several coffeeshops around Singapore. The interesting little background is that they used to be owned by the people from Tangjong Rhu pau who sold the business to the current owner with the assurance that they will pass on their recipe to them. As a result the meat filling is quite similar to Tanjong Rhu pau which is still the best pau in Singapore in my books. (The only complaint is that for $1, the large pau is the same size as most small paus)There is however one drawback. Because the paus have to be displayed in a steamer for the whole day, the skin is made necessarily more resilient which means they are not as soft and supple as the ones sold at Tanjong Rhu. No matter, they still beat thost horrible K___ G____ paus handsdown anyday! 4/5ConclusionIf you happen to be looking for Paus in a Coffeeshop, look for the Eng Cheong label. It's one of the better "outsourced" paus around. Have a taste of the filling, doesn't it remind you of Tanjong Rhu's?Eng Cheong Pau416 Upper Paya Lebar RoadS5349957am to 7pm daily68583652ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Ieat 2nd Anniversary Charity Makan Session: Beta Testing the ieat SuperBurger MKII Time flies! The blog is now coming to 2 years old and to celebrate, we are of course having a makan session. Last year, we celebrated our 1st Anniversary at Astons Prime and we managed to raise some money for the Andrew and Grace Home. This year I am trying to do something a little different with a direct impact on the people we are trying bless. I also wanted to do something that can be replicated with other restaurants who might also have a social marketing aspect to their business.So we are working with Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) this year with a group of kids from the Oakley Children Prison Ministry. FCBC run a prison ministry to help people in prison. In their communications with them, they realized that these people are all quite concerned about the well being of their own kids whom they are unable to care for while in prison. Some of these children actually live with their grandparents or aunties/uncles. So "Oakley" was set up in order to provide tuition for these kids as well as to organize activities for them and in a sense, to be an extended family to them.What we are planning to do is to arrange for the kids to have a 3 course lunch at Aston's new restaurant at The Cathay (Handy Road) and teach them a little bit about dining etiquette, followed by a movie at Cathay. Since the restaurant can only hold 50 people and I know that there are a lot of ieat readers who are keen to contribute to this worthy cause, I have decided to split the session to two. So there will be an earlier session for the kids followed by the main makan session (where you all come in) that will start at 1pm where we will be "Beta testing" the ieat SuperBurger Mk II. Your feedback on the burger will eventually determine what the burger will look like! Aside from that I hope to be able to do an auction to raise money for the kids to buy assessment books, stationeries, etc.Here are the details:Venue: Astons Specialities (The Cathay 4th level)Time: 1pmDate: 17 August (Sunday)Tickets: $80 (Suggested donation) Early birds will get a Movie Ticket!Every ticket will be entitled to either an ieat SuperBurger Mk II or an alternative main course of beef, fish or chicken from the menu.What you need to do.Book your seats by emailing me at leslie.tay@gmail.com. Please indicate your name, HP number and the amount that you wish to donate.If you cannot come but wish to make a donation, write a cheque to "FCBC" and mail to: Dr Leslie Tay, Karri Family Clinic, 866A Tampines St 83, #03-05, Singapore 521866. On the back of the cheque write "Oakley - Children Prison Ministry", plus your address if you need a receipt.If you would like to sponsor door gifts for the kids, or if you can sponsor something for the auction, please write to me at leslie.tay@gmail.com. Sponsors will be acknowledged on the blog.Thanks for your generous support and look forward to seeing you all there!Click here to link to the forum to see the latest updates!Update: 5 Aug 2008All seats have already been taken up. But you can still be put on the wait list. Our apologies.Remember to vote today! Click hereieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! The Ieat - Canon Food Photography Workshop Isn't it amazing to see so many DSLRs snapping away in a restaurant? I wonder what the restaurant manager would have done if our group had arrived unannounced?Last Saturday, 30 kakis gathered at Shin Kushiya restaurant at Vivo City for the very first ieat - Canon food photography workshop to "EAT" and "SHOOT". The session started with resident professional, Jino giving a presentation on the technical aspects of photography followed by my presentation on food photography.After getting some tips to work on, we unleashed our hungry photographers onto the unassuming food. If this had been a war movie, it would look like a scene where hundreds of canons (pardon the pun) are being fired upon a flock of sheep! Anyway, our photographers all exhibited the marks of a true food photographer, patiently snapping away at the food rather than succumbing to the temptation to eat it first.After the session, our photographers submitted their best photos for the competition. So without further ado, may I present the winners of the photo competition!Taste in food is subjective, so is taste in photography. So let me just state that the judge's decision is final and blah blah blah.......and so on and so forth and so fifth.1st Prize - Jimmy LeeThis is the runaway favourite. Very nicely composed picture. The backlighting highlights the translucency of the shallots and the shadows give the picture a very dramatic feel. The steam rising from the miso soup is very difficult to capture and Jimmy managed to catch the moment beautifully. Perhaps the only thing is to pay more attention to the arrangement of the crockery in the background.2nd Prize - WahcowI like the bokeh (the blurred bits) of this photo. Wahcow managed to get the rim of the bowl plus the rice on the chopsticks in focus and the background is a very pleasing arrangement of bowls which tells you the story of what is happening. This picture would have scored higher if the rice grains on the chopsticks were a little more accentuated. The top is just slightly overexposed. Would also be nice to see a little shimmer on top of the rice.3rd Prize - Michael LuthiThe thing that is most pleasing about this picture is the balance of colours between the yellow cheese cake and the blue plate, accentuated by the green mint leaf. There is also the nice inclusion of elements such as the texture of the lemon slice and the fork. The contrast between the yellow surface of the cheese cake and the shadows on the sides accentuates the corners of the slice. Would be nice to see a bit more of the red on the top right corner.OK, so those are the winners. Next let me post some of the consolation prize winners. Sorry guys, you don't actually get a real prize. But since you won the "Consolation" prize, here is the "Consolation": "There, there, its a good effort. You'll do better next time!"Photo by: Kerk SheenNicely composed. I like placement of the grilled pork skewer over the rice which gives the picture a point of focus. However, there are 2 things that can be improved. The chopsticks are overexposed so we can't see the texture of the wood grain. The pork looks dry, probably because it was left for too long before the picture was taken! So sometimes have to be quick to shoot!Photo by Terrence YapI was attracted to the colour balance of this picture. There is the blue on the right top corner, the green on the left, bit of golden yellow from the tungsten light reflecting off the plate and the translucent grey jelly in the middle contrasted on the black plate. The problem is that the cream has melted so it looks unappetizing.Photo by Denison TanI like the highlight on the legs of the crab which tells you straight away that you are looking at a crab and the way the legs draw the eyes diagonally across the picture. However I think the photo was not cropped properly so it is not so well balanced.Photo by Wilson TanThis photo demonstrates quite nicely how backlighting can show translucency of food, in this case, the salmon flesh. It would be nice to also capture the shimmer of the surface of the flesh. One way to do this is to have the salmon arranged in such a way that it has one surface horizontal to catch the shimmer and the other vertical to catch the translucency.Photo by Brandon YeoThe diagonal placement of the skewers lends a dynamic edge to the photo and the red coloured prawn heads with the charred legs immediately gives you that feeling of crunching the crispy legs in your mouth. I think it is slightly overexposed and may look more balanced if it not cropped so closely. Also it would be better if the legs and head of the first prawn was all in focus.Now, I was pretty busy that day to really pay attention to all the food. But the one item that really stood out were the Kushiyaki. They specially import "White" charcoal from Japan to grill the skewers which results in a nice smoky flavour that is crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. The pork Kushiyaki was something I can eat quite a few of. 4.25/5ConclusionI thought it was an enjoyable session overall and I also learnt a lot from it. It's always nice to meet with like minded people!Have a look at the pics and let us know which are your favourites and why!Thanks to Shin Kushiya for helping to organize the event.Shin Kushiya#02-120Vivo City11.30am to 11pm dailyThis session was made possible by the nice people at Canon. Remember to vote today! Click hereieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Madam Saigon: No wonder the Vietnamese are so slim! Starter Sampler $29.90 (6pax)This is a wild guess, but I reckon that more women like Vietnamese food than men. We are talking about Singaporeans of course. The reason I say this is because Vietnamese food is pretty healthy and low in oil and coconut milk. I think if we did a survey, the number of women putting up their hands should at least be twice the number of men.I have been to Vietnam only once, but the place that I ate Vietnamese food most was in Australia and Thailand. It's funny, but in Thailand, Vietnamese food is regarded as a higher class of cuisine than the local fare. It's very much like how we compare Thai food to our local hawker food.When you feel that you have had a little too much rich food, than going to Vietnamese restaurant to eat something light and satisfying like the salads and summer rolls might just be the way to go. For starters, we had the sampler which had three different types of salads and they were all refreshingly good. It's the combination of fish sauce, vinegar and palm sugar that gives the salad that kick. 4/5Summer Rolls with prawns (Guoi Cuon) $8.90 (2 rolls)Summer rolls might seem like a very simple dish to do since it really is just rice skin, vermicilli, prawns and mint leaves. However, it is a bit of a challenge to rehydrate the rice skin to just the right texture so that it has that nice gummy bite to it. For me this dish always epitomizes healthy eating. Having tasted this dish quite a few times, I am confident to say that the summer rolls here is almost as good as it gets. 4.25/5.Stir Fry Beef Vermicilli (Bun Bo Xao) $10.50The dish of the day for me though, was the dry beef vermicelli. The fragrant lemongrass marinated beef combined beautifully with the vermicelli, ground peanuts and other condiments. It's tasty, yet contains very little oil so you go away with a satisfied tummy and a clear conscience. 4.25/5Vietanmese Pancake (Banh Xeo) $10.90Vietnamese pancake is a sort of rice flour pancake filled with bean sprouts, prawn, chicken and mung beans which I surmise must have been a Vietnamese adaptation of the French crepe. I have had this many times in Thailand before and all the crepes always came very thin and crispy. The version here has got a thick chewy pancake which I felt was a tad too heavy. Would have preferred it thin like a Thosai. Then again they have thin and crispy as well as pan pizza to cater to different types of people, don't they? 3.5/5Beef Pho $8.90 (Special)How to blog a Vietnamese joint without the Pho? This is as Vietnamese as Hokkien Mee is Singapore. To have good Pho, you need lots of good quality beef bones. The Pho that they sell in Cabramatta, Sydney are really good because they have lots of cows in Australia, so bones are cheap which explains how they get their soup to be really robust and sweet. I guess in Singapore, it is harder to do the same. Despite that, they did managed to produce a pretty good Pho here which is good enough to satisfy a Pho craving. 4/5ConclusionIf you feel a need to eat something light and tasty, Vietnamese cuisine is a good bet. Madam Saigon is a comfortable little eatery with friendly service and several items which are worth trying.So, am I right is saying that there are more women than men who enjoy Vietnamese food?Carlene introduces us to Madam Saigon! Just trying out some new things with my Creative Vado. Let me know what else you think might be interesting for short clips.Madam Saigon 30 Liang Seah StreetTel: 6333 9798Mon-Fri 11.30am - 3pm, 6pm to 11pmWeekends, PH, 12pm-4pm, 6pm to 11pmDisclaimer: This was an invited reviewVote today! Click hereieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Yong Li: Treat your hawker nice Day! With Cactuskit, Wahcow and smartWell, we Singaporeans are an honest bunch. We know our faults and we openly admit them. Impatient, rude, unforgiving and downright Kiasu. We sigh in frustration when we experience graciousness in other societies and lament that we can't be the same. Hey, all is not lost. Deep inside each and everyone of us, there is that spark that just needs to be ignited. We all have it in us and it is just a matter of expressing it so that we can make a difference.Why do I say that? Because there is still a lot of niceness and goodness out there! And it is as close as the hawker that you buy your food from everyday.Take this little old lady selling kway chap for instance. You could go up to her, order your $3 kway chap, pay your money and sit down and eat. Or, you could do what our friend Cactuskit did and start showing real interest in the lady, chatting with her frequently and even going to the extent of inviting her to one of his church functions. It's no wonder she treats him like a son and cooks a special chilli stingray dish for him when she found out we were coming for breakfast on a particular day! That is why I feel that if you want to see more graciousness in our society, it starts right where you are. And one of the first people you can start with is our humble hawkers who work so hard everyday to feed us but often don't get any credit and very little thanks for what they do. A big smile and a simple word of praise for their food usually gets things going and I assure you that you will go away feeling much better about life too! In fact, if I were a Director in the Ministry of Community Development, I would even declare an official "Hawkers Appreciation" Day to try to spread some goodwill around. Happy hawkers make yummier food and yummier food make us all happier.This little stall in Haig Road Food Centre does not have any newspaper clipping or awards of any sort, but they have been cleaning out pig innards for more than 30 years. Ever since Cactuskit mentioned them in the forum, it has been winning approval from our forummers including our venerable uncle Smart who declared that the lady makes the best "Da Chang" (Large Intestines) and pig skin in Singapore.I think the thing about their "Da Chang" is the fact that they managed to get it so clean that you don't have any "smelly" taste in it. Now, here is the secret which I immediately spotted, thanks to my years of studying histology and anatomy in Med School. (Yeah right). Notice from the picture that they stripped off the layer of mucosa (innermost layer which is in contact with the fecal matter), thus exposing the inner layer of circular muscle? That is the secret. The old lady laboriously turns the large intestine inside out and painstakingly strips off the mucosal layer. This extra step results in a clean tasting "Da Chang" which even someone (like me) who doesn't usually eat "Da Chang" can appreciate. Smart gives it a 4.75/5 and says that the texture and taste is almost perfect.So here's the nice little old hawker Aunty who has been stripping off pig innards for 30 years. Be nice to her and to your favourite hawker Aunty and Uncle today!ConclusionIf you like "Da Chang" and pig skin then according to our kway chap experts, you should give this stall a try real soon!Yong Li Cooked FoodHaig Road Food CentreOpen 7am to 2pm dailyClosed on MondayWhat to do next?Read about other Kway Chap stalls by clicking hereLike to find more Mom and Pop stalls? Click hereFind out what else is there to eat at Haig Road FC. Click hereDon't miss the Putu Piring that is just round the corner! Click hereRemember to vote today! Click hereieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice: Surprisingly good It is human nature to side with the underdog. So when it comes to chicken rice, not many people would go with the big players like Boon Tong Kee, citing that they are too commercial, lacks the personal touch etc etc.With over 20 chicken rice stalls already blogged, this site would really not be complete without one of Singapore's largest chain of chicken rice stalls. So it was only a matter of time before I blogged BTK. I have had this chicken rice several times already before I started by blogging, but never really thought much of it. (Didn't analyse food as much then as I do nowadays) However, on the insistence of Holydrummer who swears by this chicken rice (the East Coast branch), I decided to blog it sooner rather than the later.The overall experience was surprisingly good. BTK was able to put a whole chicken rice package together that resulted in satisfying chicken rice experience. From the rice to the chicken to the chilli sauce, I thought that even though not one item actually stood out, they were all competent and worked well in harmony. The several items that I really appreicated though were the pickles that come with the chicken. Though not traditional served with chicken rice, I thought they added a little bit of a zing to the whole experience and I especially enjoyed it. The other item was the minced ginger which they provided. It was also a little on the sweet side and very fragrant. One of the best ginger sauces that I have come across.ConclusionSo there you have it, I am surprised that I actually enjoyed it so much. Maybe its because I usually like things a little on the sweet side and so the pickles and ginger did it for me. I am sure there are going to be lots of supporters and detractors of this chain. Whatever it may be, one thing is quite safe to say. If you have overseas visitors and want to introduce them to chicken rice, BTK is a good place to consider since you are assured of reasonably good chicken rice in a modern and clean environment. It's a "soft landing" to test their level of tolerance before bringing them to the hardcore, roadside, eat with your fingers, "D" rated type stalls.Boon Tong Kee (Katong)199 East Coast Road(Opp Holy Family Church)Open for lunch till 10pm dailyieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! The Ieat Durian Degustation II: Ah Loon and Ah Teck's Boutique Durian Stall The pictures say it all. When it comes to Durians, we Singaporeans will throw any manner of decorum to the wind. It is one of the few times that you can actually eat with your hands, get durian all over your face, and talk with your mouth full without mom telling you off. This is especially so when mom is also in the thick of things.Yes, when it comes to durians, it is the fruit that is the main focus and nothing else matters. No one bothers that the tables are not cleaned, that you can throw the seeds into a dirty plastic box and it is permissible to stuff a whole durian segment in your mouth because you got to use your hands to open the durian. Do it with a chicken drumstick and everyone will be staring at you! So it is when over 80 durian kakis gathered outside a provision shop to enjoy the fruit together. From Neurosurgeons to students, retirees to property developers, there are no social barriers when it comes to durian. The only criterion for admission is that you love the fruit.The degustation session covered 5 varieties of durians that evening. We started with D24, then move on to Hong Xia, Black Pearl, XO, Golden Phoenix and finished up with the prized Mao Shan Wang. The characteristics of most of these have already been covered in my previous posts, so I will only highlight the Black Pearl which was voted best durian for the night.The Black PearlThe Black Pearl is easily recognizable by its elongated Rugby Ball shape which is something close to the heart of this ex-Saint/Rafflesian.The flesh is is greyish white and most of them have little "pearls" of black in the flesh. The shape of the segments are also elongated and looks very much like those fried fish cakes. The texture is pastey and the aroma is only mildly pungent. However it is distinctly sweet with a taste that I find as difficult to describe as the colour Red.The small size of the segment is offset by the tiny shrivelled seeds, so you still get quite a nice mouthful of flesh. I am told that is it best eaten by popping the whole segment into your mouth, spitting the seed out and then spend the next few minutes savouring the taste while swallowing a little at a time. 4.5/5ConclusionI think all our durian kakis went home very full and very satisfied that night and woke up this morning with Durian breath! Don't forget to drink lots of water everyone!Ah Loon showing off the characteristic star shape pattern of the Mao Shan WangAh Loon and Ah Teck Durian231 East Coast Road97514828AcknowledgementsThanks to Sumosumo, Holydrummer, Holybro, Holybunny and Cactuskit for helping to organize the event!Photos by Cactuskit and IeatRead about the other breeds of Durians hereRemember to vote today! Click hereieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them! Ieatishootipost feature in Lian He Zao Bao Click on Image to ReadA very warm welcome to Lian He Zao Bao readers! Thank you for visiting the blog. I hope you all find something good to eat!Click on image to readWhen I started the blog 2 years ago, I never thought I would see my picture on the front page of zbW and a full 3 page feature! It is indeed an honour and I would like to thank:1. God for making all things beautiful in His time. The Lord is good and does "exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ask or think...". The glory belongs to Jesus.2. My parents, parents-in-law, my wife Lisa (Amagada) and kids James (ieatjr) and Megan (ieatprincess) for their support and especially for waiting patiently while I take photos before we can start eating!3. The Merry Makankakis: Smart, liverpool, damien, sumosumo, Cactuskit, khim, jems, Holydrummer, Holybro, Holybunny, SCS butter, Happi Mummi, fashionfoodie, wahcow, vVv and many more who help me organize the sessions and support the events. There are so many more to thank, so sorry if your name is not included in the list yet.4. And finally, thanks to all readers of this blog! It is your comments and participation that keeps us all going!As the article mentioned, we are in the midst of planning our next Charity Event sometime next month. I will let you all know the details a little later. I hope to get your support!Khim is helping me to translate the article to English! Thanks Khim, on behalf of all the "Ang Moh Pai" readers! I only managed to make out about 60% of it and I actually know the story already!For our new readers, you might like be interested in the following links to familiarize with the blog:Introduction to ieatishootipost: Click HereBelow are the links mentioned in the article:ieat Creationsieat ExperimentsMakan SessionsSakura ChickenCharity EventsCreative and Canon advertorialsCilantroieat SuperBurgerTo view the Channel U feature click hereThe article talked about the Singapore Blog Awards organized by Omy. If you would like to support the blog with your vote, please click below and vote for ieatishootipost! Thanks very much.Click hereHere's the Translation for all our Ang Moh Pai Readers! Big Big thanks to Khim and Holybro!SummaryLocal well-known food blogger ieatishootipost.blogspot.com commenced in 2006, it had accumulated 1 million hits a year after; 2 years later – today, the blog was even nominated for “Most Insightful Blog” category in the “S’pore Blog Awards” organized by Omy.Doctor Food BloggerWhen the owner of local well-known food blog ieatishootipost.blogspot.com, Dr. Leslie Tay (39 years old), started the blog more than 2 years ago, little did he imagine the recognition he would have today.As a start, he only wanted to make up for a deprived childhood. “When I was young, my father seldom brought us out for meals, I had no idea where all the famous hawker food are!”In 2006, he began to be interested the Singapore local cuisine, always going online, looking for chicken rice, char kway teow, hokkien prawn mee, etc.. through word of mouth. “I wanted to make up for my deprived childhood in a big way!” But he realized that no matter how good the comments came from readers, the blog will not be persuasive and convincing enough just with word and no pictures of the good food. “I’m interested in photography, as far as I can recall, there seems to be no one in the local scene that have used photos of hawkers’ fare as a main topic. I was wondering, why don’t I take pictures while writing the blog, recording the experiences and photos at the same time.”So, in August 2006, ieatishootipost commenced, it accumulated 1 million hits within a year and now 2 years later, the blog has been nominated for “Most Insightful Blog” category in the “S’pore Blog Awards” organized by Omy.Family doctor’s Extra CurriculumIt’s Leslie’s identity as a doctor which adds on to the appeal of the food blog.Everyday at 2pm, when he is taking his afternoon break at Karri Family Clinic situated at Tampines Street 83, he would drop his white doctor’s robe, take off his stethoscope, jumped into the identity of a cuisine reporter; before the opening of the clinic’s evening shift at 6.30pm, he uses this time to run all over Singapore, in search of food worth recommending, then "serves” up all these mouth-watering , fantastic findings onto his food blog which gets 8,000 hit daily.ieat has got nearly thousand of posts to date. Leslie’s style is neither braggy nor pretentious, but like the media, he knows how to capture one’s curiosity using interesting ideas like “Where is the President’s favorite poh piah and favorite teh tarik stall located?” to attract readers. How many hidden gems are there in hawker centres located from North to South locally? Leslie will find out for you. Or, if you have something in mind, you can search based on the type of local fares like bak kut teh, beef hor fun, chicken rice, etc.. With one click, you get to see what the food looks like and where to find it.2 months ago, Leslie even started a forum, creating different interesting topics for the 800 plus registered readers. Leslie explained with pride that this forum connect foodies together. Next, he would even hope to create another avenue where all food bloggers can gather together to exchange thoughts.Sponsors knocking on the doorFood bloggers like Dr. Leslie Tay have increased in numbers the past 2 years. 2 years ago when Leslie started writing the food blog, there were only a handful of food blogs. Now, there is a long list of local food bloggers, some of the better known ones even catch the attention of F&B proprietors. There is yet a new trend, that is, more and more F&B companies are eagerly engaging PR companies to join and manage food bloggers. These e-generation food reporters are challenging the traditional food critics, especially when youngsters nowadays like to surf the net, food blogging on the boundless internet also manages to capture foreign readers, attracting these foreign foodies into our country for different kinds of cuisine.Dr. Tay revealed that he, just like that media reporters, often receives invitations from various restaurants, hawkers as well as PR companies, to try out their dishes. Even visual & electronic equipment brands like Creative & Cannon came knocking on Leslie’s door, expressing interest on sponsoring and introducing the fantastic gadgets through Leslie’s blog and thus, delivering the message through the internet.Also, readers from as far as Ukraine, England and United States had treated Leslie’s blog as a food guide, often sending him emails: “I’ll be coming over to Singapore on this particular date, what should I eat?” Leslie used to reply every single email, giving them some recommendations. Now, he would invite these readers to browse the blog, or join the internet forum and let the other readers provide the recommendations.From Makan Sessions …Using “fussy” to describe his taste buds, Leslie has a mum who is a chef. He has a strong interest in cooking too. When he was studying in Australia, he used to cook by himself. His best dishes would be sweet and sour pork as well as various soups.Speaking of how he chose his food entries, Leslie replied: “Some are just fate, other times, I will tend to look for dishes with a more interesting angle." Have you heard of sakura chicken? There is a farm in Malaysia using Japanese’ method to rear chicken. Cultivating chicken without any injections, yet the chicken remains juicy and tender. I find it very interesting. Singaporeans love to eat chicken rice, I hope to be the first to spread the news!”Browsing through ieatishootipost, one can see why it has dominated the other food blogs. This place is bursting with activities, like makan sessions, ieat experiments and ieat creations. This active blogger, through “spicy” activities, unceasingly seeks readers’ participation, thus winning the hearts of many readers.The makan sessions are Leslie’s plan to get like-minded makan kakis to share good food together. “Just like the ‘durian degustation’ held earlier. Durian comes in different breeds. There are many people like myself, who don’t know the difference between Shan Mao Wang, D24, Red Prawn, Black Pearl, XO, etc… So I organized a degustation. The concept is similar to wine tasting.… to Charity Makan EventsThat durian degustation even enticed a Japanese couple to join. Each person paid $25 and within 2 hours, a specialist explained the characteristics and taste of over 10 different types of durian, following the tasting of the durians by the readers.Leslie not only have to eat, listen and take notes, he is also busy clicking his camera, capturing the marvelous shots and then uploading it onto the blog, letting those who were unable to attend the event enjoy the post on the blog. What is surprising is that such makan session can also be turned into a charity event to contribute back to the society.During the first year anniversary of ieat, Leslie and western restaurant called Astons organized a charity makan session. The attendees paid $100 each and filled the restaurant that night while Astons provided the meal at no charge. The readers not only enjoyed a sumptuous meal, a mini auction was also held to raise funds for Andrew and Grace Home (for Troubled Teens)Leslie said food blogging is usually about introducing good food, but he wanted to do more. Leslie has found a meaningful way to contribute back to the society by organizing charity events through food blogging. “We can’t bring anything with us when we depart this world. What legacy can you leave behind? What kind of change can you bring to others?”Dr. Tay yearns that his effort is able to touch someone’s life. His mind is continuously revolving around this concept: Every week, a restaurant sets aside some time and invite a group of not-so-fortunate people to enjoy a delectable meal. Hence, not only is the restaurant able to bring joy and happiness to people, it is also a way of giving back to the society.Leslie hopes after the ieat event, others will follow suit. “Most importantly more will benefit, more will come forward and offer their humanitarian assistance and spread the happiness across.” During this interview, he is already planning the next charity makan session with Astons.Suggesting to Hawkers to come with new dishes Besides the makan sessions, Leslie also love to gather makan kaki to do experiments, naming it ieat experiments.He cites the satay experiment as example. “East Coast Food Centre has many satay stalls, but which one is the best? Once, a group of makan kakis and I went there to find out. We ordered chicken satay from each stall and everyone then voted the best based on the satay and the fragrance of the satay sauce.The inspiration of his experiments normally comes from his observations and “wacky ideas which he is thinking of”. Example whether "tariking" the teh actually made a difference to the taste of the Teh? He had his eyes blindfolded, noted the taste of both teh, with and without the “tariking” and the results were posted on the blog.To understand the eating habits and preference of Singaporeans, Leslie added polls to collect opinions: “Last October’s poll attracted 4,000 readers to vote for the local’s popular dish & in the end, Hokkien Fried Prawn mee came up tops. There was also the most popular dessert as well as Singaporean’s favorite cuisine.”But what Leslie is satisfied most, are the ieat creations. These are new dishes that he suggested to the hawkers.“There is a western food stall, Cilantro, in one of the coffee shops in Bukit Merah. I found their food to be so-so. If they want to have an impact on local food and attract customers to their stall, they can’t be just another western food store selling the usual spaghetti and lamb chops. I told the owner, if they could dish up Foie Gras at just a price of $15, now, that would be interesting!”Cilantro took his advice. When it dished out the first Foie Gras in a coffee shop, it invited Leslie back for tasting. “In the end, when the post was on the blog, Cilantro was unable to cope with the crowd over that weekend!”Leslie’s attitude towards local cuisine is no doubt positive and enterprising. He wanted to bring the latest and the better quality great stuff to everyone.“Like the Foie Gras, this is a challenge to the hawker. Generally speaking, hawkers are willing to try new things. If the response is good after the dish appears on the blog, then the new dish will become a regular item. Likewise, if the response is lack lustre, then the hawkers can treat it as a new attempt and publicity.”Another ieat creation that Leslie speaks about is the Boston Lobster Fried Tang Hoon which he suggested to a cze char stall in Geylang. He said that since no cze char stall had ever include Boston Lobster in its menu, this will be the first. Also, the second version of ieat Superburger will be rolling out soon.As if introducing his own baby, Leslie said: “This first version of ieat Superburger was introduced in September 2006. My idea is to give burger lovers that super value burger experience. So I challenged Aston. Subsequently, the team really created this Superburger! First grill the hand-chopped steak, add on the fresh and crispy lettuce, caramelized onions, bacon, etc… And price it at only $12.50! They even had the burger named after my blog, it’s named ieat Superburger.The burger has been selling like hot cakes ever since its introduction and became a regular item on the Astons menu. Recently, Leslie has another new idea. The second version of the ieat Superburger will be introduced soon. He only revealed that it is square-shaped. As for what is in the burger, Leslie smiled and said: “Wait and see!”A Heart Warming StoryBecause Doctor Tay comes into contact with people from all walks of life, he summarizes all his experiences as “interesting”“There was this Singaporean lady who migrated to Adelaide. She contracted cancer, and her days were numbered. I received a letter of thanks from her, saying that the food shown in the blog brought her back many pleasant memories, and reminded her of her childhood days where she would dine in different places. As I read her letter, my tears fell. I would never have known that a simple food blog like this would be able to touch a heart.”Doctor Tay also mentions the founders of Andrew and Grace Home:” On the 1st week of this couple’s marriage, Andrew rented a room to a problem female student for her to stay in. Now, to raise funds they even lost their home. Thus the both of them and a group of problem teenage girls stayed in an old hostel. To raise funds they were willing to do almost anything like shaving their heads and running marathons. Andrew was like their father to them.Food is one thing. Being able to keep yourself full is another. But behind the story of good food lies many extraordinary stories of ordinary people, this is even more heart-warming than food itself.Coming back, what Doctor Tay is concerned about is not so much about his story.In the blog there is a link, which is actually about herbal soup located in Geylang, but in a few words, he also conveyed the message of the problem of prostitution. :”They are all standing out! This social topic is of grave concern and should be noted by people. I stand here, bringing to you in a relaxed manner of what I see. The people usually see my point.”Looking back on the growth of ieat, Doctor Tay says:”It has been a good learning experience, but what makes me happy, is that when I do take a shot of a dish which I really love frequently, and then share it with others. Food that tastes nice can never lie. It has a mysterious force, which somehow makes the pictures of it look better!”One last thing is that, if it really tastes good, it should never be eaten alone, or you might taste a sense of loneliness and solitary.ieatishootipost.blogspot.com One man's attempt to eat all the delicious food in Singapore and take pictures of them!