Unfortunately, my visits to Thailand are never long enough to enjoy all the food that I like to try. There is so much to eat, buy, do or just
Adventurous Culinary Traveler's Blog with 65 million+ reads 📧 johorkaki@gmail.com
Eathai Food at Central Embassy in Bangkok
I always enjoy eating Thai food because I like their use of fresh ingredients as well as strong natural flavours and aromas from herbs and spices. I also like it that Thai food has many interesting textures and colours, not to mention that it is also rich in vitamins ;-D
Unfortunately, my visits to Thailand are never long enough to enjoy all the food that I like to try. There is so much to eat, buy, do or justgawk see in Thailand. Also, there are many regional variations in Thai food as Thailand is a large country with many provinces. It's simply impossible to truly appreciate the diversity, breath and depth of Thai cuisine in a short visit.
Unfortunately, my visits to Thailand are never long enough to enjoy all the food that I like to try. There is so much to eat, buy, do or just
V6 Food Court Ah Boy Chicken Rice near Yew Tee MRT Singapore
Makan buddy Croc King Tony Tee alerted us to this humble chicken rice stall at Choa Chu Kang Crescent near Yew Tew MRT station in Singapore. Singapore Celebrity Chef Eric Teo posted in his Facebook Page that this "Ah Boy Chicken Rice" is one his personal favourites in Singapore.
Fortunately, I was on an errant nearby today, so it was the right time to check out this chicken rice stall.
It sure brightened my day.
As I was alone, I ordered this single person portion poached chicken rice with extra chicken liver hehehe ..... It came to SGD3.50 which I felt was reasonable.
The lady boss was very friendly and polite. She was wishing every customer Happy New Year. I was a total stranger and she wished me just as warmly as a regular customer.
Look at the nice plating. There was so much pride in the food they served.
The chicken breast meat was tender. The meat was not stringy or fibrous but smooth and moist. Not much flavouring sauce was used, so I am able to taste the chicken flavour. I like the taste of chicken flavour in my chicken rice.
For customers who prefer more intense flavourings, and many do, the stall provides sesame oil and house blended soy sauce which customers are welcome to help themselves to.
Chicken breast is probably the hardest part of a chicken to get right because without much, if any fat, it is generally fibrous and bland unless skilfully prepared.
After this small sampling, I can't wait to come back with the eat gang to try out a whole chicken; thighs, drumsticks, wings, bishop's nose and all.
The chicken liver was nicely done too. Clean tasting, tender and creamy with the distinct liver flavour.
The rice made with mostly quality grains was lightly flavoured and aromatic with chicken flavour, loose, had a soft nutty bite and not overly greasy.
The little clump of achar (pickled vegetables) side was fresh, juicy and nicely balanced sweet, salty and tangy. I like this achar (and dislike the overly sour type that makes me cringe ;-p ).
The chicken rice comes with a small bowl of simple and nice soup. Today, it's black bean soup. Other days it could be Szechuan vegetable soup, cabbage soup and others.
The simple chili sauce was a blend of tangy, sweet, slightly salty and had a quite sharp spicy sting.
As it was not yet the busy lunch time when I finished my meal, I took the opportunity to speak with the friendly boss.
Friendly Mr. Chai hails from Kluang (Johor, Malaysia). He had worked in the kitchens of Raffles Hotel and Concorde Hotel in Singapore before striking out on his own 8 years ago to start this chicken rice stall.
This chicken rice stall is inside V6 Food Court which is actually a kopitiam.
I came back to V6 Ah Boy chicken rice a few more times with more kakis (buddies).
The quality had been consistently high. The chicken was always tender, juicy and flavoursome.
V6 Food Court at Blk 678A Choa Chu Kang Crescent is about 10 minutes walking distance from Yew Tee MRT station.
Sexy right? This simple looking but high quality chicken rice.
When I previously lived in Choa Chu Kang, I used to grumble that there is not much good food here hehehe ;-p
Can't really say that anymore.....
I'll be back for more.
Next time, if I am alone again, I will order the SGD4 set that comes with leafy greens. Better still, if I come with makan kakis, I want to try their whole chicken ;-D.
Restaurant name : Ah Boy Chicken Rice Stall (at V6 Food Court)
Address : Blk 678A, Choa Chu Kang Crescent, Singapore.
Map : http://bit.ly/V6Chicken
GPS: 1.401471, 103.744712
Hours : 7:30 am to 8:00 pm (Closed on alternate Thurs).
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert.
Date visited: 24 Feb 2015, 28 Feb 2015, 12 Apr 2015
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Fortunately, I was on an errant nearby today, so it was the right time to check out this chicken rice stall.
It sure brightened my day.
As I was alone, I ordered this single person portion poached chicken rice with extra chicken liver hehehe ..... It came to SGD3.50 which I felt was reasonable.
The lady boss was very friendly and polite. She was wishing every customer Happy New Year. I was a total stranger and she wished me just as warmly as a regular customer.
Look at the nice plating. There was so much pride in the food they served.
The chicken breast meat was tender. The meat was not stringy or fibrous but smooth and moist. Not much flavouring sauce was used, so I am able to taste the chicken flavour. I like the taste of chicken flavour in my chicken rice.
For customers who prefer more intense flavourings, and many do, the stall provides sesame oil and house blended soy sauce which customers are welcome to help themselves to.
Chicken breast is probably the hardest part of a chicken to get right because without much, if any fat, it is generally fibrous and bland unless skilfully prepared.
After this small sampling, I can't wait to come back with the eat gang to try out a whole chicken; thighs, drumsticks, wings, bishop's nose and all.
The chicken liver was nicely done too. Clean tasting, tender and creamy with the distinct liver flavour.
The rice made with mostly quality grains was lightly flavoured and aromatic with chicken flavour, loose, had a soft nutty bite and not overly greasy.
The little clump of achar (pickled vegetables) side was fresh, juicy and nicely balanced sweet, salty and tangy. I like this achar (and dislike the overly sour type that makes me cringe ;-p ).
The chicken rice comes with a small bowl of simple and nice soup. Today, it's black bean soup. Other days it could be Szechuan vegetable soup, cabbage soup and others.
The simple chili sauce was a blend of tangy, sweet, slightly salty and had a quite sharp spicy sting.
As it was not yet the busy lunch time when I finished my meal, I took the opportunity to speak with the friendly boss.
Friendly Mr. Chai hails from Kluang (Johor, Malaysia). He had worked in the kitchens of Raffles Hotel and Concorde Hotel in Singapore before striking out on his own 8 years ago to start this chicken rice stall.
This chicken rice stall is inside V6 Food Court which is actually a kopitiam.
I came back to V6 Ah Boy chicken rice a few more times with more kakis (buddies).
The quality had been consistently high. The chicken was always tender, juicy and flavoursome.
V6 Food Court at Blk 678A Choa Chu Kang Crescent is about 10 minutes walking distance from Yew Tee MRT station.
Sexy right? This simple looking but high quality chicken rice.
When I previously lived in Choa Chu Kang, I used to grumble that there is not much good food here hehehe ;-p
Can't really say that anymore.....
I'll be back for more.
Next time, if I am alone again, I will order the SGD4 set that comes with leafy greens. Better still, if I come with makan kakis, I want to try their whole chicken ;-D.
Restaurant name : Ah Boy Chicken Rice Stall (at V6 Food Court)
Address : Blk 678A, Choa Chu Kang Crescent, Singapore.
Map : http://bit.ly/V6Chicken
GPS: 1.401471, 103.744712
Hours : 7:30 am to 8:00 pm (Closed on alternate Thurs).
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert.
Date visited: 24 Feb 2015, 28 Feb 2015, 12 Apr 2015
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Old National Library Nam Seng Wanton Mee Noodles in Singapore 南生云吞面
✍ Update 7 Feb 2024. Mdm Leong Yuet Meng founder of "National Library wantan mee" passed on on 6 Feb 2024.
Rest in Peace, thank you and always in our memories.
✍ 5 Dec 2020. Founded in 1962 at the National Library at Stamford
Road, Nam Seng Noodle House called it a day in Nov 2020 after 58 years.
Owner Mdm Leong Yuet Meng was still full of feist and zest at age 91 but
the drastic drop in business since Apr 2020 due to social distancing
requirements to stem the spread of Covid-19 virus meant Singapore's
oldest wanton mee stall was no longer sustainable.
We will miss Mdm Leong and her infectious cheerfulness. We wish her the
best of health and lots of wonderful times with her family and great
grandchildren in her well deserved retirement.
A BIG thank you! for the wonderful memories.
Mdm Leong is not ready to quit! She is now looking for a new location for her business. We wish Mdm Leong the best in her endeavours.
✍ 23 Feb 2015. When I was at Club Meatballs along China Street last month, I noticed Nam Seng Wanton Mee 南生云吞面 directly opposite across the road. It's like bumping into a long lost friend and I immediately made a date for a reunion.
Today, I paid my old friend a visit. As I walked towards Nam Seng in great anticipation, I tried to recall what my old friend was like. Frankly, I couldn't remember
 |
| Credit: Source of photo is unknown |
Today, Nam Seng is in a prettily dressed up pre-war shop lot under the shadow of glass towers in Singapore's Central Business District.
Nam Seng Wanton Mee SGD5
I couldn't really recognise this old friend of mine, when we reunited. My memory of things is bad, really. The last time we met was in the mid 1990s when I brought my kids there; that's at least 30 years ago. At that time, we just slurped and ate. Thankfully we didn't have the modern bad habit of analysing or photographing our food and posting on social media before we ate.
The egg noodles were quite thick and heavy. It had a slight crunch but the type that lacked spring. My memory is bad (so don't take my word for it) but my impression was that Nam Seng's noodles of old were the lively, well oiled, slender, angel hair type.
The sauce was mainly soy, oil and chili plus others I don't know. There wasn't much of it and it crossed my mind to splash in some of the soup to moisten things up a little. I refrained as I wanted to taste the noodles as it was.
The chili seemed familiar, slightly tart and quite spicy; it's like a
distinct birth mark I remember of my old friend. Mixed together, it was
a blend of salty, sweet, tart and spicy. It lacked the aroma of lard and
sesame oil.
The char siew looked like it had been sliced and left around for a bit of time. It's almost all lean meat. Quite dry and quite bland except for the sweet tasting marinade.
The soup had a slight anchovy flavour and was quite sweet, maybe sugary.
The wantons were stuffed with minced pork which was a blend of fat and meat. The wantons had the traditional sesame oil flavour which I liked. The wanton skin was thick though.
After my meal, I struck up polite conversation with a gentleman helping to run the shop. He told me that the lady boss is still at the shop.
I was thrilled and in awe to meet Mdm Leong, the grande madame of Singapore food heritage. (Mdm Leong prefers me to address her as Ah Po 啊婆, the respectful way to address a senior lady in Cantonese.)
Ah Po was friendly, sharp and alert. She had a charming, impish, cherubic smile. We chatted a while and Ah Po graciously offered me a drink. Of course, Ah Po don't know me personally. She laughed heartily when I joked that that is because she is famous and I am not 😂
But Ah Po remembered vividly the little school children from all around the Stamford Road area and the National Library, buzzing like bumble bees around her busy stall. Sometimes, when a child comes to the stall with insufficient or no pocket money, Ah Po will just let the boy or girl eat without paying. To Ah Po, I am just one of those children who later brought our own children to eat at her well loved stall. To this day, Ah Po still remembers us kids and our kids fondly. We are all, in a way, her kids too.
In the 2004, the little food centre where Ah Po's wanton mee stall was at was demolished along with the National Library to make way for a road. Ah Po moved her stall to a few places including to Joo Chiat and also stopped work for a while, before finally settling down here at China Street at the invitation of the developers of Far East Square.
Ah Po's three sons are all grown up and she has grand children, and great grandchildren. Ah Po said she enjoys the routine and life of selling wanton mee, and it was obvious that she did. Wanton Mee is her life and she is full of zest for life!
As today is the 5th day of Chinese New Year, I wished Ah Po Happy New Year and she in turn wished me and all her fans happiness, prosperity and good health.
To say Nam Seng has a special place in our hearts is not a hollow cliche. Many Singaporeans had their first dates here. We don't know how many hearts melted or were given away over a plate of Nam Seng wanton mee under the shady big tree at the hawker centre - there must have been more than quite a few.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Madam Leong for all that you have done for us.
If you had been looking for Nam Seng wanton mee and wishes to say hello to Ah Po, you know where to find her.
Restaurant name: Nam Seng Wanton Mee 南生云吞面
Address: 25 China Street, #01-01 Far East Square, Singapore
Tel: +65 6438 5669
Hours: Mon-Fri: 8:00 am-8:00 pm | Sat: 8:00 am-3:00 pm (Closed on Sunday)
Non Halal
The char siew looked like it had been sliced and left around for a bit of time. It's almost all lean meat. Quite dry and quite bland except for the sweet tasting marinade.
The soup had a slight anchovy flavour and was quite sweet, maybe sugary.
The wantons were stuffed with minced pork which was a blend of fat and meat. The wantons had the traditional sesame oil flavour which I liked. The wanton skin was thick though.
After my meal, I struck up polite conversation with a gentleman helping to run the shop. He told me that the lady boss is still at the shop.
I was thrilled and in awe to meet Mdm Leong, the grande madame of Singapore food heritage. (Mdm Leong prefers me to address her as Ah Po 啊婆, the respectful way to address a senior lady in Cantonese.)
Ah Po was friendly, sharp and alert. She had a charming, impish, cherubic smile. We chatted a while and Ah Po graciously offered me a drink. Of course, Ah Po don't know me personally. She laughed heartily when I joked that that is because she is famous and I am not 😂
But Ah Po remembered vividly the little school children from all around the Stamford Road area and the National Library, buzzing like bumble bees around her busy stall. Sometimes, when a child comes to the stall with insufficient or no pocket money, Ah Po will just let the boy or girl eat without paying. To Ah Po, I am just one of those children who later brought our own children to eat at her well loved stall. To this day, Ah Po still remembers us kids and our kids fondly. We are all, in a way, her kids too.
In the 2004, the little food centre where Ah Po's wanton mee stall was at was demolished along with the National Library to make way for a road. Ah Po moved her stall to a few places including to Joo Chiat and also stopped work for a while, before finally settling down here at China Street at the invitation of the developers of Far East Square.
Ah Po's three sons are all grown up and she has grand children, and great grandchildren. Ah Po said she enjoys the routine and life of selling wanton mee, and it was obvious that she did. Wanton Mee is her life and she is full of zest for life!
As today is the 5th day of Chinese New Year, I wished Ah Po Happy New Year and she in turn wished me and all her fans happiness, prosperity and good health.
To say Nam Seng has a special place in our hearts is not a hollow cliche. Many Singaporeans had their first dates here. We don't know how many hearts melted or were given away over a plate of Nam Seng wanton mee under the shady big tree at the hawker centre - there must have been more than quite a few.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Madam Leong for all that you have done for us.
If you had been looking for Nam Seng wanton mee and wishes to say hello to Ah Po, you know where to find her.
Restaurant name: Nam Seng Wanton Mee 南生云吞面
Address: 25 China Street, #01-01 Far East Square, Singapore
Tel: +65 6438 5669
Hours: Mon-Fri: 8:00 am-8:00 pm | Sat: 8:00 am-3:00 pm (Closed on Sunday)
Non Halal
Date visited: 23 Feb 2015
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Atmosphere Bistro Bar at Parkland Green, East Coast Park, Singapore
Opened only in Oct 2014, Atmosphere Bistro Bar at East Coast Park is already packing in the crowds, especially on weekends. If you like a seaward facing, breezy al fresco table, do call ahead to reserve a table as otherwise you will likely be assigned indoor seating. Atmosphere's tel: +65 6440 9705.
Atmosphere is a sports bar.
There were widescreen TVs at many points around the bistro and a large screen in the middle. Atmosphere will be an excellent place to watch your favourite teams while enjoying your drinks and the sea breeze.
The food we had was competent and reasonably priced. The bar had an extensive drinks menu which were also competitively priced.
Ordering was via an iPad menu, which was quite user friendly. The food came quite quickly once we confirmed our orders, though one dish did come a lot later than the rest. Overall, an efficient, easy to use system.
Caesar's Salad SGD6.80++.
The powdery grated cheese was very salty and the dressing was sourish. The salad wasn't appetising.
Atmosphere's Rib Eye Steak SGD25.80++
I asked for my rib eye to be done medium rare. The steak came nicely pink and moist but there was not much flavour and it was quite chewy. The watery brown sauce wasn't of much help either. (The bluish hue is due to the blue tint lighting in the bistro.)
Lamb Rack SGD20.80++
Looked nicely pink and juicy but the lamb didn't have much flavour and was a little chewy.
Miso Salmon SGD18.80++
I didn't taste this dish.
Scallop Baked Rice SGD16.80++
The rice buried under the blanket of salty melted cheese was soft and soggy. The scallops were not fresh.
Blue Lagoon cocktail SGD13.00++.
We also had a bucket of 5 beers in bottles at SGD33++ (generic imported brand, so no pic ;-p ).
I like the happening atmosphere at Atmosphere and can see myself coming here to catch major sports events. I'll stick to drinks and some finger food to go with it, for the time being.
Atmosphere Bistro Bar is located right opposite Parkway Parade shopping centre across the East Coast Parkway. There are ample parking spaces available.
Atmosphere is within the Parkland Green cluster of restaurants in East Coast Park.
The view of Atmosphere Bistro Bar from the car park.
Restaurant name: Atmosphere Bistro Bar
Address: 920 East Coast Parkway, #01-25/26/27, Singapore
Map: http://bit.ly/AtmosphereBistro
Hours: Mon – Thu: 6 pm – 12 midnight | Fri: 6pm – 1am | Sat & Sun: 10:30 am – 1:00 am
Tel: +65 6440 9705
Non Halal
Date visited: 22 Feb 2015
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Review Haji Shariff’s Cendol in Seremban, Malaysia ● Chendol & Pasembur
Bobby from Thistle Resort in Port Dickson suggested that I must try Haji Shariff’s cendol and pasembur (also known as Indian rojak) in Seremban. It's safe to say that everyone in Seremban knows Haji Shariff's Cendol which had been around since the 1930s, from two baskets to today's large corner shop. It's a Seremban landmark now. Founder Abdullah Mohamed Ibrahim came to Malaya from India and learnt how to make cendol from Javanese at Lorong Jawa.
Locating Haji Shariff's Cendol shop is easy.
Haji Shariff's Cendol is a large, green painted corner shop. You will not miss it, once you are on Jalan Yam Tuan (it's at the junction with Jalan Nunis).
Inside Haji Shariff's Cendol, it was bright and very clean. Green is the theme from the outside walls, wall tiles, flooring, furniture, the staff's shirt and apron, to the cendol "worms or noodles" itself. The spacious restaurant was well shielded from the scorching sun and was airy and breezy. People of all communities are here - Haji Shariff's Cendol obviously enjoy lots of community love.
We first ordered a freshly made cendol, Haji Shariff's claim to fame.
I like Haji Shariff's cendol (RM2 per bowl in 2015) because it has interesting layers of sweetness from the green pandan worms (rice noodles), sweet corn, glutinous rice, boiled red beans, gula Melaka (coconut palm sugar) and fresh coconut milk. The sweetness was mild and balanced with a slight salty note, so it was not cloying at all.
Six layers of sweetness all blended together in one delicious bowl 😋 The chendol had interesting textures too with a mix of syrupy smooth, mushy, sticky and gently crunchy.
The fresh coconut milk gave off a nice sweet fragrance too.
Wow.
I like it that the pandan "worms" are made with real pandan leaves, not the starch and pandan essence type with "translucent glow worms" 🤭
Cendol is served with shaved ice, so it's the best answer to the stifling tropical heat of Malaysia and Singapore. (The thick aluminium bowl that kept the chendol cool was pretty cool looking itself too 😝 )
Next, we tried Haji Shariff's pasembur RM3.50 (also known as Indian rojak in Seremban).
Pasembur is a salad of shredded fresh cucumber, turnip, bean sprouts, potatoes, prawn fritters and fried bean curd (with a hard boiled egg thrown in).
The ingredients are doused with a splash of thick, fiery looking, sweet and spicy peanutty sauce with some sesame seeds.
All the ingredients are made fresh here at the Haji Shariff’s.
I like the interesting mix of textures from crispy to crunchy to spongy soft. The shredded vegetables were juicy and crunchy. The fiery looking gravy was just mildly spicy as it was well balanced with sweetness and nuttiness.
We liked the food at Haji Shariff's so much that we had double orders for everything.
That says a lot actually, because when we are out on food hunts far from home, we don't normally repeat our orders in any single sitting. Time and stomach space are limited. Repeat orders meant that we are sacrificing stomach space reserved for the day's other possible new discoveries.
Of course, we also had the mandatory teh tarik (pulled milk tea) to wash everything down.
Haji Shariff's also serves Indian mee rojak which I shall try at my next visit.
If you are visiting Seremban, don't leave town without trying Haji Shariff’s Cendol.
Restaurant name: Haji Shariff’s Cendol
Address: Haji Shariff’s Cendol No. 44, Jalan Yam Tuan, Seremban, Malaysia
Hours: Mon - Thu: 11:00 am - 6:30 pm | Sat - Sun: 11:00 am - 6:30 pm (Closed on Friday)
Halal
Locating Haji Shariff's Cendol shop is easy.
Haji Shariff's Cendol is a large, green painted corner shop. You will not miss it, once you are on Jalan Yam Tuan (it's at the junction with Jalan Nunis).
Inside Haji Shariff's Cendol, it was bright and very clean. Green is the theme from the outside walls, wall tiles, flooring, furniture, the staff's shirt and apron, to the cendol "worms or noodles" itself. The spacious restaurant was well shielded from the scorching sun and was airy and breezy. People of all communities are here - Haji Shariff's Cendol obviously enjoy lots of community love.
We first ordered a freshly made cendol, Haji Shariff's claim to fame.
I like Haji Shariff's cendol (RM2 per bowl in 2015) because it has interesting layers of sweetness from the green pandan worms (rice noodles), sweet corn, glutinous rice, boiled red beans, gula Melaka (coconut palm sugar) and fresh coconut milk. The sweetness was mild and balanced with a slight salty note, so it was not cloying at all.
Six layers of sweetness all blended together in one delicious bowl 😋 The chendol had interesting textures too with a mix of syrupy smooth, mushy, sticky and gently crunchy.
The fresh coconut milk gave off a nice sweet fragrance too.
Wow.
I like it that the pandan "worms" are made with real pandan leaves, not the starch and pandan essence type with "translucent glow worms" 🤭
Cendol is served with shaved ice, so it's the best answer to the stifling tropical heat of Malaysia and Singapore. (The thick aluminium bowl that kept the chendol cool was pretty cool looking itself too 😝 )
Cendol is one of the many food gifts which Indonesians brought to Malaysia and Singapore when they migrated here in numbers in the 1800s.
Another old cendol stall that traces it's origins to the Javanese is Kluang Cendol Kader 👈 click
Here in Singapore, our oldest cendol stall Geylang Serai Cendol also attributes their cendol to the Javanese 👈 click
Next, we tried Haji Shariff's pasembur RM3.50 (also known as Indian rojak in Seremban).
Pasembur is a salad of shredded fresh cucumber, turnip, bean sprouts, potatoes, prawn fritters and fried bean curd (with a hard boiled egg thrown in).
The ingredients are doused with a splash of thick, fiery looking, sweet and spicy peanutty sauce with some sesame seeds.
All the ingredients are made fresh here at the Haji Shariff’s.
I like the interesting mix of textures from crispy to crunchy to spongy soft. The shredded vegetables were juicy and crunchy. The fiery looking gravy was just mildly spicy as it was well balanced with sweetness and nuttiness.
We liked the food at Haji Shariff's so much that we had double orders for everything.
That says a lot actually, because when we are out on food hunts far from home, we don't normally repeat our orders in any single sitting. Time and stomach space are limited. Repeat orders meant that we are sacrificing stomach space reserved for the day's other possible new discoveries.
Of course, we also had the mandatory teh tarik (pulled milk tea) to wash everything down.
Haji Shariff's also serves Indian mee rojak which I shall try at my next visit.
If you are visiting Seremban, don't leave town without trying Haji Shariff’s Cendol.
Restaurant name: Haji Shariff’s Cendol
Address: Haji Shariff’s Cendol No. 44, Jalan Yam Tuan, Seremban, Malaysia
Hours: Mon - Thu: 11:00 am - 6:30 pm | Sat - Sun: 11:00 am - 6:30 pm (Closed on Friday)
Halal
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