The Holqa Cafe

The Holqa (prounounced Ho-L-Kah) Café is located East Coast Road and its name means “link” in maltese language as they hope to serve as a platform to link people together at the café. We were greeted with a simple and homely interior when we first stepped into the café on a weekday afternoon. The café could sits about 20 pax and has a minimalist feel with its white interior and wooden furniture.

Interior of Café

I was rather impressed when I took a look at their menu as it was rather extensive, coming from a small cafe. They serve mains like Asian Pulled Pork with 3 Cheeses Sandwich, Three little Pigs and Big Black Wolf (Cute name hor, its actually pork burger), Eggs Benedict, Carbonara, Croissants, Light Bites such as breaded shiitake mushrooms and home-baked cakes such as red velvet and earl grey pound cake.



Coffee, Tea, Croissant





Menu - Savoury



We had sparkle of the day and iced mocha. The strawberry sparkle was really refreshing on a hot weather and the iced mocha strikes a good balance of bittersweet with a pleasant nutty flavour.

Iced Mocha

 

Strawberry Sparkle

 

For mains, we had the Asian Pulled Pork with 3 Cheeses, Almost Carbonara and SnS-Ji as bite for sharing.

SnS-Ji $9.90

SnS-Ji

Quite a unique name I would say, I am guessing the inspiration of its name comes from the combination of SNSD and its famous song Gee with the “Ji ji ji … “ in its chorus; and thus the name of this (korean-style) mid-joints. The wings are coated with home-made sweet and spicy sauce, fried to a crispy exterior yet retaining its juiciness within. It makes for a perfect dish as sides for sharing. It would be wise to eat the wings early as it tends to get sticky after some time.

Asian Pulled Pork with Three Cheeses $15.90

 

The Three Cheeses (Mozzarella, gruyere and cheddar) comes together with the gingered mayonnaise, marinated pull pork on the thick buttery brioche. The buttered fried brioche was large, soft and fluffy, a very generous portion I would say and the marinated pulled pork was flavourful, made even more amazing by the magical touch of the cheeses. Another dish that I would like to have anyday!

Almost Carbonara $14.90

 

Creamy Spaghetti with shiitake mushrooms and bacon. This is a comforting pasta with its rich, creamy bacon and mushroom sauce. I am not a usual fan of pasta, but I definitely enjoyed this creamy pasta that I mopped clean the whole plate of creamy sauce till the last drop. Slurps~

Monkey Funkey Toast $10.90

 

We were wowed by its big size when served. The brioche (moist and crispy), banana (sweet) and peanut buttercream (salty) together with the scoop of vanilla ice cream (Super Impressed at how long it could withstand melting, at least a good 15 minutes). I wished for some chocolate sauce to go with my bananas, guess it has to do with my chocolate fondue addiction. Nevertheless, it still makes a great dessert (must share with more people!)

In all, Holqa Café serves really decent and affordable food (nett prices) at a strategic location. (Just located behind the bus stop). It is located near to Chin Mee Chin Confectionary, Carvers and Co, Ice Queen. So next time, when you are in Marine Parade/East Coast Park, why not head here for a cosy brunch after cycling?

On the table

Thank you to The Holqa Café for the invitation and your warm hospitality and service. 

 

Opening Hours: Mon-Tues: 12 – 9pm; Thurs- Fri: 12-9pm; Sat-Sun: 9-9pm

Address: 37 East Coast Road

Instagram: holqacafe

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

 

Chinese New Year: Royal Pavilion

Known for its new-world Cantonese delicacies and classic dishes, Royal Pavilion ups the culinary ante with its first selection of CNY creations. We were lucky to indulge in the premium festives from Royal Pavilion, located with Park Regis Hotel.

What is CNY without louhei and with that, we kickstarted the night with:

Royal Prosperity Salmon Yu Sheng, the yusheng was served in the auspicious art form of a fish the unique condiments in the likes of ground cinnamon powder and 5 spice Chinese powder and the brand’s fruit apple-plum sauce certainly throws in more flavor than what a typical yusheng would taste. I particularly like the fruity apple-plum sauce which is sour-sweet and hence every bite of the yusheng is with a tinge of tangy zest. This Yu Sheng is priced at $68++ for small serving (4 to 6 pax) and $88++ for large servings (6 to 8 guests) and one day advance order is required.

 

Braised 4 –Head South African Abalone in Superior Pumpkin Broth- laid atop freshly made bean curd and a bed of blanched spinach, the abalone heraids the Cantonese style of braising that tenderizes it and enriches the flavoursome texture of abalone with a sweet aftertaste. The pumpkin broth is smooth and flavourful and complements the prized seafood really well that we were left craving for more of the broth! This is priced at $68++ per serving and one day advance is required.

4-Head Abalone

 Royal (fried) Lamb Shank priced at $48++ per serving

In tune with the year of the goat, this royal fried lamb skank, after a long process of (boil-marinate and deep-fry), came served on a marble slab. We later learnt that the lamb would be served as wrap, just like the way we would eat Peking Duck. The meat is wrapped in paper-thin pancakes and eaten with sliced spring onion, hoisin sauce coriander and fermented beancurd! The meat was moist and tender all thanks to the long cooking process of boiling, marinating and lastly, deep-frying! My partner, who doesn’t really take lamb could not stop at two wraps but ended up with four!

Royal Fried Lamb Shank

Lamb Wrap

My echoes for Peking duck seem to be answered when the next dish was served! Not in the form of Peking Duck but Royal Smoked Duck which is voted one of the top 10 dishes of 2014.

Royal Smoked Duck with Lychee-wood and Leaves ($35 for half duck and $68 for full duck)
 

This has got to be the most impressive roast duck I ever had. The duck has a smoky flavour from lychee-wood and the plum paste serves as the best companion for the dish. The meat was tender and juicy with glistening crispy skin. This is hands down my favourite dish at the tasting and I had more slices than I should. Greedy I definitely am, but I kid you not, this is really that good that I wish I could have a plate just to myself! nom nom nom
 

Royal Smoked Duck

And lastly, we have desserts to end off the night:

Sweet Potato, Taro and Pumpkin

Chinese glutinous rice cake

Royal Pavilion Cantonese Restaurant is not only classy and elegant with comfortable chairs, its Chinese New Year Menu impresses with its elegant touchmark of fine Cantonese cuisine, and yes to that Royal Smoked Duck; I am drooling at this instance, I kid you not! I could not emphasize more how delish that was !!

The Chinese New Year creations at Royal Pavilion are available from today to 5 March 2015. Prices start from $5.80++ for ala carte dine-in and $18+ for takeaways.

Thank you for having us, Royal Pavilion Group for the good food and warm hospitality!

Address:

Level 1, Park Regis Singapore

23 Merchant Road

Singapore 058268

Tel: +658188851

Email: reservation@rpguandi.com

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday 1130- 1430 & 1830 – 2230

Instagram: royalpaviliongroup

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

Website: http://www.royalpaviliongroup.com/

Chinese New Year: Quayside Seafood Restaurant

Quayside Seafood welcomes the year of sheep with fresh quality ocean picks and diners can delight in the ala-carte dishes or reunion set. Located along the bank of Singapore River, Quayside seafood makes a perfect place to enjoy the night breeze and while overlooking the Singapore River as you indulge in the ocean delights.

Overlooking Singapore River

 

Snap this while waiting

 

First up on the CNY Golden Trove Menu, we have:

Some appetizers; Fried Taro Sticks and Cucumber with thai chilli sauce, these light bites came in good to fill my slightly famished stomachs as I had an early lunch that day. Taro stick was very addictive and we wiped out the plate in just minutes!

Taro Sticks

 

Cucumber

 

“Prosperous” Deep-fried Air-flown Australian Fresh Oysters in Cantonese “Bi Fung Tang” Style which means anchored and safe at bay. The oysters were deep-fried and sprinkled with cut red chilli and spring onion. I was lucky to enjoy two pieces since one of the dining partner who don’t take oyster gladly offered his piece to me! Deep fried isn’t that healthy but who cares since the oysters really pack a perfect punch! This is priced at $58.80 and serves good up to 6 pax.

 

“Prosperity and Completeness” Pan seared Healthy Pipa Tofu with fresh crabmeat and diced prawn with finely diced mushroom and minced waterchestnut - $68.80. It was love at first bite as it was almost equivalent to that of eating hei zor (atas one). So if you love hei zor, I bet you would love this dish!

“Toss to longevity, Tuimphant harvest and joyous contentment” “Lou Hei” yu-sheng. This is yet another beautifully plated lobster yu-sheng with fresh tuna and crisp shredded radish. I didn’t stop at one serving of it but two servings as it was that good!

 

“Completeness & overflowing wealth” Pen-cai. This festive pot might be the most opulent one I have seen this CNY, it comes with an entire lobster, 10 head abalone, chicken, Alaskan crab claws, king prawns, south African sea cucumber, fresh whole scallop, whole shiitake mushrooms, taro, tender wawa vegetables and dried oysters. It is savoury decadence in a pot! This premium pot package is priced at $328.80 and serves up to 6 diners. (Additional diners at $53 each).

“A wealth of Good Fortune” Baked Rack of Lamb (grass-fed) Marinated for 1 hour with garlic, spring onion, coriander, honey and Japanese Shoyu seasoning sauce, it is pan seared for 30 seconds on each side to seal the marinated flavor. The lamb rack was not overly hard and I like how it is seasoned with truffle oil and the thin strips of fried yam stick that came along with it, so crispy and addictive! It is one another of the most liked dish of the night!

 

 

“Prosperity All Year Round” Baked Turbot Fish with whole garlic in claypot. Fish is often held in high regards in the CNY season as it represent wealth and abundance of luck. The fish has a sweet and firm texture and was doused with roasted garlic and garnished with chives to intensify its overall taste.

“Harmonious” claypot prawns with crystal rice vermicelli. The auspicious al dente crystal rice vermicelli is fried in premium oyster and fresh garlic to welcome longevity! Every strand of the tanghoon is soaked with the garlicky gravy, very moist and wet and is one of favourite dish of the night.

Tang Hoon!

Set menu prices start at $98 for 2 diners, $298 for 4 diners, $438 for 6 diners and $598 for 10 diners! So, faster book a table for this year CNY reunion at this alfresco seafood restaurant.

Thank you for having us, Quayside Seafood!

Address: BLk 3A Clark Quay Singapore 179021

Opening Hours: 3pm to 12am Sunday to Thursday; 3pm to 1 am Friday to Saturday

Website: http://www.quaysidedining.com/

The Carving Board SG

Previously known as Soupbarsg in Tanjong Pagar Hawker, they are now opened as The Carvingboardsg, offering more than just soups and salad. And the best part of it, they are now open at Jurong East, which is a 5-minute stone’s throw away from my home! How awesome is that?

We reached the place at 620pm and given that it is open at 600pm, there was a significant number of tables occupied already! Menu looks quite extensive with steak, mix grills, spaghetti (choose-your sauce and ingredients), burgers to light bites and fries (5 types to choose from)! There’s beer-on-tap and ciders to pair along with the western food. But but but, what happen to the soups? I didn’t spot any of them in the menu at all. I especially miss having the forest mushroom soup that was so GAO (thick) and creamy with a variety of blended mushroom. I am sure all of us hope they will bring it back here!

Home-made ice lemon tea

First, we ordered a breaded calamari rings to share. Calamari was served smoking hot but it’s kind of overpowered by the layer of breaded crust.

Calamari Rings

 

Cross sectional

Spotted Chef Gary’s Curry Pork Burger on the handmade burger menu and I knew I had to try this. It definitely didn’t disappoint with the curry mayo (felt that the curry taste could be stronger and spiciness up one more level). The pork patty was quite remarkable as it has a good mix of minced lean meat and fats, the grilled pineapple gives an extra oomph to the juiciness of the meat. The fries served retained it crispiness even after a good 10 minutes of foodoshots, still considered buay pai lah when paired with their chilli sauce. (MacDonalds is just across the road lol)

 

Curry Pork Burger

Being big-eaters, we ordered the mix grill (beef steak, bratwurst, rosemary chicken chop) to enjoy all the meats in a plate. It scores on its presentation when it comes served on a wooden (chopping) board. While the meats were decent, we are more impressed with the specially concocted side - potato salad – potato chunks are of smaller cubes as compared to Astons.

Mix Grill

It is definitely a refreshing change to have atas western food and at a heartland coffeeshop (can wear casually mah, t shirt & slippers), perfect for a afterwork night chillout. Somemore in the west, I will definitely be back to support the battered fish & chips (I eyed a generous serving of it for another table upon leaving) and carbonara spaghetti! Yay for Westies again!

Address: BLK 252 Jurong East Street 24 #01-107

Opening Hours: Tues-Sun 6 to 10 pm (last order 930pm)

 

Instagram: the carvingboardsg

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

The Laneway Market

We decided to head down to Laneway Market for brunch on a Saturday sometime back, located along Tanjong Katong Road stretch. The café is well lit; decorated with flowers and sits around 30,there is also a big communal table for large groups. yay!

Behind Bee Cheng Hiang

Café Interior

And so the 4 of us sat at the big communal table (good lightings and nice brown wooden table) when we arrived at 1030 and ordered:

Sea Salt Ice Chocolate, Flat white – coffee is more on the milky side and the sea salt ice chocolate comes with a slight tinge of saltiness. So yes, sweet and salty sensation. Why not give it a try if you are here?

sea salt chocolate

French Toast ($15) – which comes with baked beans, bacon and green veggies and maple syrup. While we loved how eggy and soft the brioche was, the addition of baked beans to the dish was somewhat a unusual. For the price that we are paying for, they could have replaced it with other item instead of baked beans which is readily available from canned food.

Unique French Toast

Thick Pancake, berry butter and berries ($14) – this dish was very beautifully plated and pancake was fluffy but a little dry, so do go more generous on their maple syrup. I personally quite like the berry butter when lathered on the pancake.

Pancake with berries

Nacho Chickens, basically just cheese, chicken and nachos ($10)! This caught our eye on the menu as it is a twist from the usual café norms like mac and cheese (it was oh-so-good). Tortilla chips, bite-size chicken chunks and cheese were tossed and served with homemade Bolognese dip sauce.

Kinfolks

Pulled Pork Burger with truffle fries ($19) – only available from 12-3pm and 5-9pm daily. We were lucky to order from their lunch menu ahead of 12pm, courtesy of the awesome service of the staff there. Pulled pork marinated in beer infused sauce was juicy and tasty. The fresh greens with citrusy dressing coupled with lilac purple coleslaw which was visually appealing and palatable definitely complements the pulled-pork burger well. Our only rant would be that the burger bun could be perhaps heated to give it a crusty texture. On hindsight, the pulled-pork burger here really resembles the one I had in BKK Roast, or I dare say, even better!

In all, we felt that the food at Laneway Market was above average and we really loved the friendly service and of course, the joy of having the communal table to ourselves for the entire time there. They seem to have a second storey currently in the works now and we would definitely be back to check out their Desserts and new revamped menu in the coming weeks!

Awesome food here!

Address: 266 Tanjong Katong Road

Opening Hours: 0900 – 2130

Instagram: thelanewaymarket

https://www.facebook.com/thelanewaymarket