I Love Tai Mei

What can I say? I can't believe I have missed out on the best fried chicken in my life since 2009, the year which I love Tai Mei first opened.

That is like how many fried chicken I have missed. 

That is like how much income I love Tai Mei could have earned from me. 

Anyway what has passed is past. I can finally die in peace. This is now my permanent record of "to eats".

The menu items are named after famous Tai Mei (Tai Mei means Taiwanese girls). So far I have tried Selina and Hebe. Selina is BBQ chicken (photos 3 &4 above) and Hebe (photo 5) is the original crispy chicken. As for Ella, coming soon. 

Selina BBQ chicken takes a longer time of around 15 minutes to prepare. But it's worth the wait. The meat juices were retained, rendering the chicken to be moist, tender and flavorful. The crispy barbequed skin is topped with sesame seeds. And the portion is very huge. 

Hebe is original crispy chicken which is also awesome. Somehow, I love Tai Mei's chicken are tender, juicy and substantial. However, I prefer Selina more as it is more unique and juicy.

Ok sorry Hebe fans.. I will punish myself by stuffing myself with calories.... From tofu fries. Seaweed flavour. Cut into fries shape, the outside of the fried tofu was crispy, which became soft and fluffy when my teeth sunk into it. The seafood flavour complemented the tofu very well.

As for the drinks, I tried both green milk tea and honey lemon. The green milk tea is smooth not overly milky. Which is what I like because I don't really like milk. The honey lemon tea is refreshing and a great thirst quencher, especially for fried food. 

Address:
1) Bugis Street: 52 Queen street #ABFL-21 Singapore 188539
2) Bugis Junction: 200 Victoria Street #B1-K11A Singapore 188021

Set Contemporary Cuisine

Set is a restaurant that offers set menus. At really cheap and affordable prices. $28.80 for 5-course set lunch and $38.80 for 6-course set dinner. I was invited to a tasting session for the 6-course dinner. 

There are 6 courses and each course has 4 to 5 choices to pick from. I was amazed at my ability to stuff all of the choices into my little tummy. #AchievementUnlocked.

Picking the right choice for each course was crucial. I have sacrificed myself to eat everything and hence let me share with you which would constitute a good choice. 

Chef Starter | Bacon mushroom with cheese which was creamy and contains nice cheese with bacon. It was a perfect match with the lightly toasted bread that was crispy on the edges.

Cold dish | From top: Huai san carpaccio, Smoked duck breast, Salmon garvlax, Tomato carpaccio 

Out of the five cold dishes available, the tomato carpaccio which was cheese cream on tomatoes was my most favourite. It's airy texture yet rich flavour was like from a spray can.

Side dish | Grilled oyster mushroom that came with teriyaki and mayo sauce, and accompanied by truffle foam. There is no oyster. This is an oyster mushroom. Never a big fan of mushroom. So it was just ok for me. A bit rubbery but not tough. 

Soup | Left: Miso soup with sake, Right from top: Pumpkin soup with truffle oil, Double-boiled herbal chicken, Mushroom veloute with peanut butter

By now, I was wondering if my tummy would survive to see the main course.  Out of the four soups, my favourite was surprisingly the double boiled herbal soup. The herbal soup was intense and the flavour was full of herbs. It was hearty and warming to the stomach, helping to expand the stomach for further consumption of the main course. A close runner-up would be the pumpkin soup with truffle oil which was rich in flavour. 

Main course | From top: Roasted chicken pullet, Grilled snapper with salsa, Marinated rack of lamb, Roasted beef tenderloin, Baby pork back ribs

I'm not a red meat person but the roasted beef tenderloin scores for me. It uses the loin part which was fork tender with the right amount of fats. Second favourite would be the honey glazed baby pork back ribs which I was looking forward to. However the meat was a bit too soft and tender for my liking. 

Desserts | From top: Coconut cake, Poached pear with gelato, Pistachio panna cotta, Huai San jello, Espresso creme brulee.

You might hate me if I tell you I love all five desserts! Hmmm this would be a tough choice but I would go for either the Huai San jello and espresso creme brûlée. If you like something light, refreshing and healthy, go for the Huai San jello. The espresso creme brûlée was strong coffee flavored and topped with a crackle-thin crust of caramelized sugar. 

Overall | Great place for those with a tight budget but unlimited budget for stomach space. Dishes are hit and miss.. So make the right choice. 

Address: 1 Selegie Road, POMO #02-01 Singapore 18830

Telephone: 6337 7644

Website: http://www.set-sg.com

Thanks to Petrina and Lay Peng for the invite.

Kotsujiru Nabe & Dessert Station

Everytime when I passed by this open concept restaurant in Bugis Junction basement, the kaypoh side of me will stretch my kaypoh neck to see what the diners are eating. The food looked good.. Gyozas in soup. So one fine day, my friend and I decided to step in.

I love restaurants that use electronic ordering system. Super efficient and less errors. 

I don't like restaurants that charges for water. Tap water is drinkable. And Kotsujiru's water at $0.30 is non refillable. 

Kotsujiru Nabe's specialty is its mochi like gyoza. There are 4 different soups that you can choose from: Original, Miso, Miso Kimuchi, Tom Yam. I got the tom yam soup + pork ($20.80). The thinly sliced pork that were delicious and flavourful. The soup was really spicy and sour. My friend got the original soup with pork ($18.80).

The only thing that the gyoza is different from the usual Chinese soup dumpling is the Mochi-like skin. The skin is thicker and has a snowy texture that is chewy like mochi. Other than that, the meat is similar to those in Chinese dumplings.

The set comes with meat balls which we loved it to the max. Glazed with caramelized sweet soya sauce, they were really crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Hmmm overall I find it quite expensive for the quality of food which I think is slightly above average. I think it's overpriced. 

Address: Bugis Junction B1-21/22

Telephone: 63380343

Dessert Station @ Albert Market

The feast continued with Part 2 which is dessert from our favourite dessert station in Albert Street Market Centre. They have a killer Cheng Tng which has a generous amount of longan, dates, sago, barley, ginkgo, white fungus and a lot of other ingredients in soup that is light and yet well balanced with sweetness.

My friend loves the sesame paste which was thick and awesome too. Desserts are around $1.30. Cheap and good :) We love Chinese desserts and I highly recommend this one at Albert Market!

Address: Albert Centre Market & Food Centre, 270 Queen Street, #01-41, Bugis