Orchid Live Seafood

Orchid Live Seafood Restaurant.

This leg of the journey in Singapore takes me to Orchid Live Seafood Restaurant with my parents and my dad's former schoolmate. The restaurant certainly looked impressive from outside with the parking assistants instructing customers on which parking space to take, and the illuminated signboard with its two lobster heads on both sides looked imposing as well. Still, to be truly impressive the food has to be top notch.

Cold crabs.

I have never sampled cold mud crabs before. The only cold crabs that I have eaten are flower crabs, which I am not such a fan of. Hence, I was a bit sceptical with this dish.

I went for the shells first due to the obscene amount of roe in them. A spoonful of roe into my mouth and I was delighted. The creaminess and fat in the roe just melts in the mouth. From what I could tell, the roe was seasoned with a bit of shao xing wine, which added a strong fragrance to the roe without getting rid of the roe's intense flavour.

The meat was rather fresh but had a tough layer of skin in between the meat and the shell. I think that was due to the crab being in the moulting stage. Nonetheless, cold crab meat is not too special to me although it does have its merits as an appetiser. There is something about crab meat that makes one turn hungry.

Unknown vegetable.

I am beginning to see the connection between Teochews and this vegetable. In every Teochew restaurant or restaurant with a Teochew influence, this dish was on plenty of the tables. Yet again, it was just another fried vegetable. Nothing special there. I did not quite fancy the soggy vegetables and the overpowering flavour of garlic.

Lobster congee.

I have always thought that cooking congee with lobster is a waste of a good ingredient. Orchid proved me wrong, so wrong in fact that now I think cooking lobster in congee is perhaps one of the best ways of preparing the shellfish.

Although lightly seasoned, the congee was sweetened by the lobsters. Despite that, the lobsters still retained their natural flavour. Also, the generous amount of shao xing wine in the congee complemented the sweetness of the lobsters well. The lack of robust flavours is made up for by the juicy, succulent texture of the lobsters. Another praise I have for the dish is the number of lobsters in the claypot. I swear there must have been more than ten halves in there. That kind of generosity is much appreciated when it comes to seafood.

Steamed fish.

Another steamed fish dish. Nothing to shout about here. The fish could have been fresher but by Singaporean standards, I am not complaining.

Steven chicken.

I did not know the name of this dish until a quick Google search. I am guessing that someone by the name of Steven invented this dish or is a known coward. However, the look of the dish definitely raises more questions than the name.

I suppose it could be called a semi-deboned chicken wing, or a semi-dechickened wing bone. The idea behind this technique I suppose is to expose more surface area to the batter to give more crisp and crunch to an otherwise boring friend chicken wing dish. Whatever it is for, it definitely worked for me.

The sauce that is used to lightly glaze the chicken wings was a sweet, tangy sauce which had a honey-like consistency, very much like those applied to honey glazed pork ribs. It was not too heavy in flavour, robust but not treacly and applied in a sensible amount such that it did not make the batter soggy. Very good balance between taste and texture.

Deep fried seafood tofu.

By the time this dish came I was stuffed to the brim, but still I could not resist deep fried goodies.

The fillings in the tofu I could not identify but it definitely tasted like a mix of seafood, most likely prawns, with pork. It tasted like the generic deep fried seafood tofu available in most seafood restaurants. Perhaps it due to me being so full that I could not really enjoy this dish and do it justice with my review.

Orchid Live Seafood Restaurant is the kind of place where you would think of going to every now and then for their famous dishes, but not to go so far as to call it your favourite seafood restaurant. However, one thing that left a great impression was the generosity in the portion of the food which is unknown to our region due to the culture of "frugality" among restaurant owners, especially when it comes to more pricey ingredients like seafood.

16 Jalan Kelulut, 

Singapore 809033.

9636 1909

Liang Kee Restaurant

The last time I dined in Liang Kee was close to a decade ago. From what I remember, the food was so-so, nothing special, except the location, Clarke Quay. This time, Liang Kee has moved to a HDB, however, the food most certainly made up for the less glamourous location.

Teochew stewed duck.

The stewed duck did not work the magic with me this time around. Although there was nothing to complain about with the texture, it had a strong taste of turmeric, which was a let down for me. The duck meat was stewed until tender but still offering some bite; whereas the skin was silky smooth, lending some softness and moisture to the meat when chewed.

Trigger fish in black bean sauce.

I do not remember ever having trigger fish before that dinner, but it was pretty much love at first bite. Trigger fish has tougher meat than most fish but once bitten breaks apart, releasing the moisture in the meat, if the fish is fresh. This dish had fresh trigger fish drenched in a rather intense sauce, which was well balanced with saltiness from the black beans, soy sauce and the sweetness from the ginger. However, the sauce is nowhere near that of  Hock Seng Hin's standard.

Oh lua (oyster omelette).

This dish teaches one to not judge a book by its cover. What looks like a plain omelette when flipped over reveals a treasure trove of fresh, decently sized oysters in a thick, starchy sauce. The sauce was just perfectly seasoned to draw out the natural flavours of the oyster without the seasoning itself being too ostentatious in taste. When it comes to texture, this dish also shined with the egg being equally thick throughout and with space in between layers of the omelette, giving a rather spongy feel. The oysters were crunchy and juicy. One of the best oyster omelettes I have ever tasted.

Fried vegetables.

I feel ashamed for not knowing what this vegetable is. Also, I cannot really review this because I have nothing in comparison. However, it probably just is another vegetable dish which is nowhere near spectacular.

Sambal crayfish.

Actually, they should just call this chilli crayfish, as the sauce is highly similar to that of chilli crab, which Singapore is famous for. Nonetheless, a wrong name does not make the dish wrong, in fact, it was pretty darn good. The crayfish was very succulent and crunchy due to its freshness. The sambal was also great, exactly what one would expect from a chilli crab sauce. Beyond that, there is not much to compliment. Just how much better can chilli crab sauce get? I am pretty sure there are better.

Deep fried tofu with minced pork.

By far the best version of this dish I have ever tasted. Yes, I have tasted this dish in every Chinese restaurant that I have dined at in Malaysia and still Liang Kee's version can take the top spot. The secret of this dish is in the sauce. What the secret is, I probably will never know. The sauce is so complex, with a faint hint of salted fish and black beans, subtle but sufficient to contribute to the rich amalgam of savoury flavours. Despite the sauce being extremely rich, the taste of egg in the tofu was still evident. The minced pork gave the dish an extra type of texture, bringing succulent together with silky smooth and a thick sauce into a mind blowing combination. Until now I can still vividly recall the tastes and textures of the dish.

Steamed bun.

This was ordered to go with the sambal from the sambal crayfish, but to call it a sideshow would be insulting. The texture of the bun is nothing short of amazing. It was so soft, light and malleable, a bit spongy even, nothing like the compressed mound of dough that most restaurants. It goes perfectly with the sambal.

Oh ni (Yam paste).

This was first time I had ever tasted this wondrous dessert. It was sensibly sweet due to the natural sweetness from the yam and pumpkin, though a pinch of sugar was probably added to it to boost the sweetness. The muddy texture of the yam and the fibrous and sticky pumpkin bound together perfectly. I think a bit of starch was also added to thicken the paste. Although sticky desserts are far from my cup of tea, Liang Kee's oh ni managed to hit the sweet, sweet spot and I am craving for it every now and then. Absolutely fantastic.

Liang Kee's food totally shatters the misconception that Singapore has bad Chinese food. Having been around for decades, the people at Liang Kee have honed their mastery of Teochew cuisine to a level that is uncannily high. Definitely a contender for the best restaurant in Singapore that I have ever dined at.

737, Havelock Road,

Singapore 169653.

60787026

View Larger Map

Kok Sen Restaurant

This entry is the beginning of a series of restaurant reviews in Singapore.

For the first leg of this journey, my not-so-uncle uncle took us to Kok Sen Restaurant in Chinatown. According to my granduncle, we had to go early lest the restaurant gets too crowded and parking gets hard to find. Those are the two signs of good food, but being in Singapore, I had my doubts.

Kok Sen Restaurant.

Kok Sen had a healthy crowd, with most tables being full. Luckily we had reserved a table beforehand. Our order was also taken with haste and the first dish was quick to arrive.

Crispy chicken skin with seafood ball.

I do not know what this dish is called but apparently it is one of the famous dishes from Kok Sen. The chicken skin was very crispy and light. It was not soaked in oil, therefore retaining the flavour of chicken in the skin. The seafood ball underneath the chicken skin was sweet and had an intense flavour, yet when eaten together with the chicken skin, the tastes of the seafood ball and chicken coexist in a sweet and savoury harmony.

Frog with ginger and spring onion.

The surprising element in this dish is the fact that there was no sauce. All of the sauce was reduced to almost nothing, resulting in a dry dish but moist crusts on the frog meat. However, for a dish with a completely reduced sauce, it came across as rather tasteless. Although the effect of the heat from the wok can be tasted in the frog meat, it was not complemented with a flavourful sauce, which is a real pity because it could have been a great dish.

Claypot tofu, seafood balls and eggplant.

I was rather disappointed with this dish. I do not have anything to complain about the tofu, the seafood balls or the eggplants. They were cooked perfectly. It is the sauce that I have a problem with. Kok Sen tries to mimic the Sichuan style fish fragrance eggplant, 魚香茄子. However, they have much to improve when it comes to sauce. The sauce was thick, but was not backed by any substantial flavour. Nonetheless, it is a challenge for restaurants to balance the complexity of fish fragrance sauce, as such, I did not expect a restaurant in this part of the world to be able to master the preparation of the sauce.

Steamed grouper tail.

This dish is another disappointment. The fish was not fresh. That pretty much explains itself. The fish meat was dry and hard. Furthermore, steaming fish pretty much places all emphasis on the texture. With such a fish, no one would be happy.

Fried kailan with beef slices.

This dish looked good, especially to a beef lover like me. However, once I sampled it, I was immediately put off. The ginger used in the dish overpowered all other flavours, such that the kailan and beef tasted like ginger. The beefy taste that beef is supposed to have was completely murdered by the use, or misuse, of ginger.

Spinach with salted egg and century egg.

There is nothing special about this dish. The standard is similar to any other versions of this dish from other restaurants, hence, there is no need for a lengthy review.

Kok Sen does have good dishes, but with many of their dishes lacking the spark that separates the delicious from the decent, I would not return until they take their culinary prowess up a notch.

30, Keong Saik Road,

Singapore 089137,

6223 2005

View Larger Map