Lunch at Lao Beijing (老北京食堂) @ Novena Square

238 Thomson Road #02-11 / 12 Novena Square Shopping Mall, Singapore 307683

Tel: 6358 4466

Website: http://www.laobeijing.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TungLokGroup

Lao Beijing is part of the TungLok Group, specialising in Northern Chinese cuisine such as noodles, crispy skin roast duck, steamed dumplings etc.  They used to have more outlets but it seems there's only the Velocity Novena Square outlet left.  Service was rather friendly, and decor gives a very vintage heritage feel.

Appetiser was interesting Pickled Pumpkin (SGD$2.00) slices (mom insisted it tasted like papaya instead). crunchy and sweet with light tinge of spiciness.

The Pork & Chive Dumplings (SGD$6.00) were pretty good and melty, tender minced pork wrapped in soft flour skin.

Braised Pork Rice (SGD$3.50) was decent, with delectable bits of tiny braised pork cubes and half a soft-braised egg. I thought a little more gravy might transform the simple rice dish better.

Finally, Wanton Noodles (SGD$12.00) made with fresh shrimp dumplings, springy la mian noodles and a whole braised egg. Taste was a little bland but portion was very generous.

Overall a pleasant dining experience here at Lao Beijing (Olde Peking Dining Hall) - a lot has changed since my last dining experience there nearly a decade ago.

Dinner at Wanton, Seng's Noodle Bar @ Amoy Street (Revisit)

52 Amoy Street, Singapore 069878

Tel: 6221 1336

Website: http://www.wantonsg.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wanton.sg

After visiting Wanton, Seng's Noodle Bar for the first time  (review here), I have been back several times, bringing various friends to try.

For some reason, I really like their noodles. Anyway, I realize they also serve dinner, and the menu is a little different. Instead of serving the noodles in bowls, they do it like zichar concept, where the roasted pork, aburi pork belly, dumplings etc are sold separately, so we would have to order a few dishes plus noodles (optional).

There are also some dishes not available in the daytime menu, such as Dry Bak Kut Teh, Salted Duck Egg Chicken Wings, Herbal Chicken Wings, Almost Drunk Pork Belly and Rojak Salad etc.

On every table, there is a flask of Hot Broth and condiments which we can help ourselves to, such as dark and light soy sauce, chilli sauce, fried pork lard cubes etc.

We had Aburi Pork Belly (SGD$13.00) -  130g of char siew slow-cooked for 18 hours, served with coriander shallot salad. Each pork slice was tender and sweet-tasting.

Egg Noodles (SGD$1.00 per bowl) is the only staple available here, springy and gently tossed in garlic oil to give it a lovely flavor.

Salted Duck Egg Chicken Wings (SGD$10.00) - each piece of fried chicken wing crackled delightfully upon being bitten into, and it was bursting with the tasty salted egg flavor. I loved the sauce - very thick and sandy in texture; there was even a huge salted egg yolk amongst the wings!

Next, steaming hot bowl of soup with Boiled Wantons (SGD$6.00) aka meat dumplings. Loved the succulent minced meat in their very smooth skin and light flavours. You can choose Fried Wantons if you prefer.

Finally, Ju Hua Cocktail (SGD$16.00), an interesting cocktail drink with lychee liqueur, chrysanthemum tea and vodka. It was served in a teapot with tiny tea cups - very interesting, refreshing and tasty.

Service is consistently good - friendly, hospitable and efficient, enhancing the dining experience. I will be back again soon for the tasty food here, maybe order a glass of white wine with my bowl of noodles again, for that quasi-classy feel.

Lunch at Wong Kee Noodles at Timbre @ Ayer Rajah Crescent

 

73A Ayer Rajah Crescent, Level 1, Timbre+, JTC@ LaunchPad, Singapore 139957

Tel: 9653 4819

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/wongkeewantonnoodle

 

Recently I started seeing many foodies posting photos and reviews of Wong Kee's tomato and spinach on Instagram, with surprisingly good reviews. As such, my curiosity was piqued. It is located very out of the way but fortunately for me, a work appointment happened to be fixed at JTC LaunchPad, so I knew I had to grab the noodles .

On a side note , I was expecting to find the noodle stall in one of those dark, dim and stuffy underground foodcourts - a few years back I met a client around this area, under such conditions! Instead, Timbre+ turned out to be really cool  - a huge, open space foodcourt with many food trucks, a live band station and heavy on graffiti art.

Friends warned me to avoid lunch time so I went around 2.45pm and finally found the famous Wong Kee Noodles stall. To my astonishment there was a queue even at this hour. The menu consists of several items - mainly noodle dishes and some sides such as oyster sauce veg, fried wantons etc.  Price was standard foodcourt price and staff crew was pretty polite.

Decided to try the Beef Brisket Spinach Noodles (SGD$5.50) first. The spinach noodles were utterly smooth and literally glided through the palate; flavour was very mild despite the intense color. The beef brisket were moistened and rather succulent - but not as melty as I was hoping they would be. Portion was good and the entire dish was enjoyable.

Then the other signature, the Char Siew Dumplings Tomato Noodles (SGD$4.50), served with a bowl of wanton (meat dumplings) soup on the side. The tomato noodles was quite smooth as well, though not as satiny as the spinach one; there was a slight touch of zest to it and it was nice - as though I've ordered wanton noodles with tomato sauce (an old-school delight). Char Siew was well-roasted with a nearly-charred exterior, the way I like it - lots of tender lean meat and very little fats.

The plump wantons were another story altogether - tasty minced meat with prawns wrapped within silky skin, flavour made very aromatic by tiny strips of shitake mushroom found within. The water chestnut added crunch and reminded me of my mom's wantons. Again, no fats within the tightly-wrapped meat.  Of course, the extra touch of fresh vegetables within the noodle dishes made for a good balance.

I was glad I came here to try this stall, even though it is all the way up western-north.

Other Wanton Noodles Review:
(i) Seng's Noodle Bar
(ii) Mak's Noodle
(iii) Crystal Jade Kitchen

Wanton Noodles at Crystal Jade Kitchen @ Zhongshan Mall

20 Ah Hood Road, Zhongshan Mall, #01-18 Singapore 32998

Tel: 6339 0283

Website: http://www.crystaljade.com

I visited Crystal Jade quite often over the years - from Palace concept to Kitchen to Steamboat to Jiangnan concept (review here) - but I have never failed to enjoy their Wanton Noodles / Shrimp Dumpling Noodles.  This is only available at Crystal Jade Kitchen outlets.

The Wanton Noodles, dry (SGD$8.80) is tossed lightly in oyster sauce, and served with 4 large wanton (minced meat dumplings) as well as vegetables. Noodles are springy and moist;  flavour is good and the wantons are made of tender minced pork. Portion is good, even for bigger eaters.

The Shrimp Dumpling Noodles, dry (SGD$9.80) consists of the same springy noodles tossed in dark oyster sauce and is served with vegetables as well. The shrimp dumplings are huge and made with fresh prawns giving it a buoyancy; strips of black fungus inside the dumpling give it a delicious crunch.

Service is efficient but not overly hospitable, atypical of most mid-ranged Chinese restaurants. I am glad now that there is a branch so close to my place, so I can eat this more frequently (there had been a period when it was hard to locate a CJ Kitchen outlet).


Other Wanton Noodles Review:
(i) Seng's Noodle Bar
(ii) Mak's Noodle

Dinner at Mak's Noodles @ Centrepoint

176 Orchard Road #01-63/64 Centrepoint, Singapore

Tel: 6235 5778

Website: http://www.maksnoodle.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maksnoodle.sg

Mak's Noodles is one of Hong Kong-s famous wanton and dumpling noodles establishments. I absolutely loved my wanton and beef brisket noodles whenever I visit Hong Kong - must travel up to Victoria's Peak for bowls of these delicacies.

Therefore, when Mak's Noodles made its appearance in Singapore, I was excited (albeit saddened that it has replaced my favorite laksa shop). However, due to the long queues, I refrained myself from giving it a try, choosing instead to monitor from the media to ensure that the fad has died, before finally making my way to Mak's.

Decor was nothing commendable - simple and efficient, atypical of casual Chinese dining cafes. The friendly and polite service of all the service staff impressed us though.

Anyway, we got a seat and browsed through the menu. It was created in a very adorable bowl shape, and items comprised mainly of wanton noodles (dry / soup), prawn dumpling noodles (dry / soup), beef brisket noodles, beef tendon noodles etc.

Mon Beau decided to go for the Dry Combination Noodles (SGD$10.00) , made up of a bowl of mixed dumplings soup and plate of dry noodles tossed in oyster sauce.

I chose the Soup Combination Noodles (SGD$8.90) where two different types of dumplingd were tossed into clear broth together with fine noodles.

Verdict? Both dry and soup were good - springy noodles with the right amout of "mouth feel" (aka "kou gan"). The fresh shrimp dumplings were bouncy and sweet whereas the wantons (minced pork dumplings) were succulent. The dumplings were good -sized, and overall taste was light. The only issue is that portion of noodles might be considered too little, especially for males or bigger eaters.

Other than that, we were pleased with our wanton noodles and would definitely like to return for more - perhaps try the beef ones as well.

Lunch at WANTON Seng's Noodle Bar @ Amoy Street

52 Amoy Street, Singapore 069878

Tel: 6221 1336

Website: http://wantonsg.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wanton.sg

Ever fancied having drinks over your favorite wanton noodles, in a dim, intimate setting complete with mirrors and long bar counter? Wait no more- head over to WANTON Seng's Noodle Bar now for your favorite Asian / local food and chill out while you're at it. The food hailed from the famous Seng's Wanton Mee of Dunman Food Centre,  but the concept here is a novel collaboration with The Establishment Group.

In this contemporary setting which is a union of traditional hawkerism and the modern dining style, one can get to enjoy a deconstructed version of the original Seng's Wanton Mee. Service was rather affable and thoughtful - I'd arrived early and was waiting for *Ms L. and so I placed order for us first. They served my wine but offered to wait till she got here before they prepared the noodles - a smart move too, in case noodles turned soggy / hard and creates bad first impressions.

Anyway, even though they serve Wanton Noodles here, customers had the choice of roast meat, char siew, pork ribs or mushrooms. We could also choose between boiled or fried wantons. Oh, by the way, wantons simply mean "meat dumplings" in Chinese, in case you are wondering why it's known as a wanton noodle.

I decided to order two different ones so that *Miss L. and I could swap and try more items.  I also nursed a glass of Sauvignon Blanc (SGD$12.00) during the meal. On hindsight, I thought that I should have gotten the reds instead, since pork is a red meat. Nonetheless, it was an interesting pairing.

The Siu Yok Mee aka Roast Meat Noodles (SGD$6.50) was made up of double-roasted pork belly, scallions, fried shallots and wantons as well as noodles, of course. The noodles were bouncy and firm in texture, each strand was long and dinstinct and there was no clumping. The wantons were soft - not in a mushy way - but tasty; the double roasted roast pork belly had crispy skin and tender flesh.

The Char Siew Mee aka Honey-BBQ Pork Noodles (SGD$6.50) comprised aburi slow-cooked pork belly (char siew), wantons, scallions and fried shallots. The char siew was very succulent and soft, utterly delicious, and the noodles were springy as well.

For their noodles, you would be asked whether you wanted "chilli", "tomato" or "dark soy sauce", because the sauces are all on your table and you get to concoct your favorite taste. There are also jars of Fried Pork Lard if you wish to indulge, eating like people of the past. We did.

*Miss L. also added a 5-minute Egg (SGD$2.00) into her noodles, and she mentioned it enhanced the entire taste by alot.

Overall, the food here was good enough - the servings were of good size and the meats were prepared impeccably well. The ambience was quiet and relaxing; being a wanton noodles lover myself, I will definitely be back for more noodles and wine pairing!