Newton Roast in Singapore Newton Food Centre

I was invited to a group tasting session at Newton Roast at Newton Food Centre in Singapore, today. This was also Newton Roast's official launch.



Newton Roast is a hawker stall in Singapore's famous Newton Food Centre.

Newton Roast specialises in premium German style roasts. The hawker stall now offers Schweinshaxe or German pork knuckle at SGD39.90 each and roast pork belly known as Six-pack at SGD33.90. 



Casey, one of the partners at Newton Roast was a pioneer IT professional with a passion for F & B. After 30 years in IT, Casey finally took the leap into F & B with Newton Roast.

Not surprisingly with Casey's IT background, Newton Roast has an easy to use pre-ordering system from their website. You can book your roast and come to the stall at the appointed time to enjoy your order straight from the oven.

Hot!

Cool!



Chef Gideon, the operations chief at Newton Roast has many years under his belt at an established German restaurant in Singapore.

We tasted Newton Roast's signature Six-pack and pork knuckle.



Newton Roast's signature Six-pack, so named because the slab looked like a set of well developed abs with most of the fat driven out during high heat roasting.



The Six-pack was cut into these dainty nibble size pieces to be eaten elegantly with fine toothpicks.

If you are like me who like to enjoy my roast pork in hefty hearty chunks to be stabbed with forks or grabbed with greasy fingers, we can just ask Gideon and he would gladly oblige i.e chop the pork into large chunks.



The pieces of belly pork were slightly dry - lean and taut like the good six-pack I used to have :P  There was little fat left in the belly pork. There were bits of bony cartilage embedded in the meat which were soft and crunchy - I like. The skin was very crispy. I and everyone around me were enjoying the crispy crunchy skin. 

The flavour of the marinate was mild and there was also very little sign of porkiness. Whereas, German roasts are often very salty, here at Newton Roast it was just mildly salty.

Gideon said that customers can adjust the saltiness of the meat to their preference by dipping it in the savoury brown sauce.

I did exactly that and found myself eating piece after piece of belly pork to go with my beer and wine.

It is very easy to over indulge as the gentle flavour, leanness of the meat and crackle of the skin can be addictive. 



The Schweinshaxe or German style roasted pork knuckle flavoured with a secret house blended marinade.

The skin was so crispy, it bloomed like a golden fried cauliflower.



Same mild flavours, slightly dry texture, and crispy crackly skin.



I enjoyed the golden brown skin so much that I was hopping from table to table, pinching these crunchy gold crackers from other's plates.



I am not a big fan of sauerkraut (fermented sour cabbage) or anything sour for that matter. The ladies around me, however, enjoyed this homemade sauerkraut a lot.



After the tasting session proper, Casey brought out this yet to be launched slab of roast belly pork for us to preview. It will be juicier than the Six-pack.

The large slab of pork belly roast was so perfectly done, it looked surreal, don't you think? 

I can't wait for Newton Roast to launch this.



Dining at Newton Food Centre is casual, free seating, open air, al fresco style. You can order what you like from any of the stalls and have an impromptu pot luck party back at your table.

Here you can enjoy your Schweinshaxe with freshly pressed sugar cane juice from the juice stall, beer from the coffee stall or bring your own wine (and, no one will bother you about corkage :D ). 

We may debate if this is the best Schweinshaxe but I think we can all agree that Newton Roast at Newton Food Centre is an unique place to enjoy premium German roasts. 



Restaurant name: Newton Roast
Address: Stall #01-51, Newton Food Centre, Clemenceau Ave, Singapore (steps away from Newton MRT station)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/2FqAG
GPS: 1.311823,103.839195
Hours: 5:00pm to 1:00am
Non Halal

Date visited: 24 May 2014

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee Singapore 建记辣椒板面 CLOSED

CLOSED. Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee 建记辣椒板面 of KL (Kuala Lumpur) fame, opened an outlet in Singapore in March 2014.

It caused a huge furore even though it was "just" street level comfort food from next door Malaysia, not some glamorous Michelin Starred "aspirational" eat for bragging rights.



Our curiosity piqued by all the hype over Singapore official and social media, we popped over to Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee 建记辣椒板面 after our eating session at Soon Huat bak kut teh's new MacPherson Road outlet (just a few doors away).



I am told the crowd has subsided considerably from the peak but it was still very healthy today.

At it's peak in March when Kin Kin first opened, customers had to wait 2 to 3 hours for seats and another hour for the food. Today, we walked in and found a good seat right away in the small, simple, clean, bright, long, narrow air conditioned space.

We tried Kin Kin's signature chilli pan mee and handmade fish balls.

What else? :P



Our SGD5 bowl of the famous Kin Kin chilli pan mee.

Wheat noodles with sauce topped with a nicely poached egg, fried shallots, anchovies, braised minced pork and pork balls.

The set included a bowl of clear soup. 

Waiting time was just 10 minutes, maybe plus a little.



The pan mee noodles were thick and heavy. They were gummy and al dente. Doesn't have the spring and gentle "pops-in-your-mouth" feel of my favourite noodles but Kin Kin's noodles are still likable.



When we broke the runny egg yolk, there was no burst of eggy aroma and there was little eggy taste when we tossed the egg with the noodles.

The savoury braised minced pork flavour and fried shallot aroma dominated the dish.

It was old school delicious.



These three pork balls were quite unremarkable. Seemed generic, factory made.



Kin Kin's claim to fame - their sambal chilli.

It was slightly dry and caked in the small tightly packed plastic tubs on every table. Customers scrape and dig out the sambal from the tub and scoop heaps into their bowls of pan mee. 

Add as much or as little sambal chilli as you like.

This chili is quite addictive for people who like it - it saw a lady paint her bowl of pan mee red - for a moment, I thought it was another dish that Kin Kin was serving :P

The sambal was savoury and only mildly spicy. It doesn't sting and there was little, if any, spicy aftertaste. For me, the sambal chilli was certainly likable but it did not trigger any longing desire.

The clear slightly oily soup was flavourful, sweet and savoury but without much body or aroma - usually a sign of MSG or related flavour enhancers.



Flipping the mound of noodles over to reveal the sauce. The sauce consisted of mainly oil perfumed by frying shallots and soy sauce. 

Simple and nice.

I like.



The noodles tossed in the ingredients and sauce (before adding chili as we were sharing this bowl). Not a very photogenic jumble but very likable.

There was an interesting mix of textures - soft gooey egg, al dente noodles, bouncy pork ball, aromatic crunchy fried shallots and stiff "clippings" of crispy fried anchovies.

The dominant flavour was savouriness from the braised minced pork and fried shallots with slight sweet notes. 



Our shared SGD4 bowl of "handmade fish ball" soup.



The jiggly jelly like fish ball was larger than a ping pong ball.



The large fish ball was light, soft and jiggled like jelly, airy and felt "watery" 水水 inside.  

Likable interesting unique texture. Fish flavour was barely discernible.

The restaurant is focused on efficiency and turnover - a fast working alert staff swooped over to quickly clear our table for the next customer as we were swallowing our last mouthful.

Come again? 

Yes, if I am nearby and my companion hasn't tried it before.



Now, I am really motivated to track down the original 3-decades old push cart Kin Kin chilli pan mee in Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurant name: Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee 建记辣椒板面.
Address: 534 MacPherson Road, Singapore
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/dpPqp
GPS: 1.332479,103.884524
Hours: 11:00 am to 9:00 pm daily
Non Halal

Date visited: 23 May 2014

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

Chin Chin Eating House Chicken Rice and Pork Chop in Singapore 津津餐室

Chin Chin Eating House 津津餐室 | 19 Purvis Street, Singapore ☎ 63374640 ⏰ 11:00am to 9:00pm

Chin Chin Eating House 津津餐室 is one of the best known old restaurants along Singapore's historic Purvis street. This is old Singapore's Hainanese enclave and also the birth place of Singapore style Hainanese chicken rice.

Asam Pedas Johor Asli📍Restoran Anisofea Johor Bahru, Taman Austin Boulevard ☎ +6012 717 3477

Asam pedas kepala Ikan Jenahak

My friend Chef Gary, his brother and I went on an asam pedas hunt recently.

We tried two asam pedas shops. The first shop we tried wasn't blog worthy. 

The asam pedas at the second shop, Restoran Anisofea was so good, I went back for a second time within two weeks (even though I got a packed schedule of restaurants to visit :P ).

Cakes and Desserts at Lemon Tree Restaurant in Johor Bahru

Jeffrey, the boss of Lemon Tree restaurant, invited me to try their new cakes and dessert menu.



Kevin is Jeffrey's partner running the cakes and desserts side of Lemon Tree.

Kevin and Jeffrey go back a long way - they were school mates :D 

After school, Kevin went to work with Lavender Bakery (a big, established chain in Johor), Angel Cakes and in Pan Pacific Hotel, Singapore where Kevin worked on Japanese desserts.



Lemon Tree's chocolate Volcano Lava Cake (RM15.90) served with a scoop of ice cream.

I love Kevin's artistic flare that went into the beautiful plating and presentation of all his cakes and desserts.



Rich with 81% chocolate, the thick warm molten dark indulgence inside doesn't ooze and flow like liquid lava but it sure made our saliva gush when the luscious bitter-sweetness hit our taste buds.



Lemon Tree's Mousse Au Chocolat (RM14.90).

Rich, dense, creamy chocolate mousse on an airy, crumbly, buttery biscuit served with nutty crushed walnuts and a scoop of ice cream.

Exquisite, fine classic French dessert becomes an affordable luxury at Lemon Tree everyone can enjoy, everyday :D



Lemon Tree's Matcha Tiramisu (RM13.90).



The Matcha Tiramisu reflected the Japanese side of Kevin's journey in cakes and desserts.

Fragrant matcha green tea and creamy mascarpone cheese enveloping spongy lady fingers infused with Japanese sweet liquor. 

An interesting, delightful Japanese twist to the classic Italian dessert.

Remember to ask for the cakes and dessert menu when you are at Lemon Tree restaurant.

Disclaimer: Johor Kaki is not responsible for any weight gain from Lemon Tree cakes and desserts. 

For that, you can look for Jeffery and Kevin :D



Restaurant name: Lemon Tree Restaurant
Address: 18, Jalan Bedara, Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/XvJ25
GPS: 1.491372,103.761965
Hours: 12:00 noon to 11:00pm (Closed on Monday)
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert, alcohol served

Date visited: 26 Feb 2014, 14 May 2014

Return to Johor Kaki home page.

Lechon (Philippines BBQ Pig) in Singapore at Iskina Cebu MOVED

After falling in love with lechon during my trip to Cebu, I had often wondered when will I be tasting again the Philippines national dish which Anthony Bourdain described as simply "the best pig, ever". 

Seafood in Johor Gelang Patah at Star Chef Restaurant 星名廚

I am often asked by readers, what is the secret of success of a F & B business. I am no expert but after speaking with over 600 stall and restaurant owners in Johor and Singapore, I feel a good (or poor) supply chain is half the battle won (or lost).

Penang Char Kway Teow Perling Johor Bahru, Leong Seng Huat Kopitiam 两成发炒粿條 (Moved to Restoran Yang Jia in Impian Emas)

Leong Seng Huat fried kway teow 两成发炒粿條 is well known among locals especially Penangites in JB. Some even call Leong Seng Huat kopitiam "Little Penang" because we can find different types of Penang signature food here such as Penang prawn mee and Penang lor mee.

The Bridge Penang White Curry Noodles 大桥槟城白咖哩面

With all the rage about MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodles taking the Malaysia and Singapore world of instant noodles by storm for the past 6 months, it's only a matter of time before competitors jump on the bandwagon.

Today, I stumbled upon The Bridge Penang White Curry Noodles 大桥槟城白咖哩面 at a Johor Bahru supermarket. This contender is priced at RM6.99 per pack of 4 packets, the same price as MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodles. 

Interestingly, The Bridge Penang White Curry Noodles is made in Senai, Johor - not Penang.



Inside the packet were the noodle block, a sachet of seasoning powder and a sachet of chili paste.

(Though the packaging indicated a sachet of non dairy creamer, there was none.)



The noodle block was made of steamed and oil fried wheat noodles.



The chili paste. There wasn't much aroma when I cut open the sachet.



The heap of seasoning powder from the sachet. Contains MSG and sugar.

I cooked the noodles following the instructions on the packaging to the letter.



My steaming bowl of curry noodles was ready to eat within 5 minutes.



The wheat noodles were light and spongy, and tasted of wheat - typical of generic instant noodles.



The broth was light bodied with a savoury and mildly spicy taste. The broth had a very slight spicy aftertaste that faded very quickly.

The spice aroma from the broth was very faint.

I wasn't wowed and was quite uninspired by the weak tasting broth.



The signature Johor Kaki dip stick test.



Quite a bit of oil got stuck to the dip stick.

The Bridge Penang White Curry Instant Noodles is not certified Halal.



Rating: 5/10 based on Johor Kaki standardised instant noodle rating system.

(Disclosure: There are no paid food reviews at all in Johor Kaki. Johor Kaki has no affiliation with the makers of The Bridge Penang White Curry Instant Noodles. This review is written at my own initiative and there has been no communication whatsoever with the manufacturers.)

Join the Instant Noodle Facebook group for more fun with instant noodle fans.

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.