Best Picks @ Bedok 85 Market

4 months! I've abandoned my blog for so long! Someone might be complaining - I have not done my part as a Sakae e-Journalist for that long too. So I'm back now... & with a new home too :) I've moved all my food posts to this new domain, and will be blogging only about food here. (Yes, I'm trying to become a casual food blogger! ;])

So here's a welcome back post for myself - dinner at Bedok 85 Market, the best picks!



This is the best chai tow kueh (carrot cake) I've had so far that I actually eat it with the eggs. My favorite non-eggy (on special requests) chai tow kueh is at the Bedok Reservoir Blk 600+ market.



Unique - the top layer skin is crispy fried - & Fresh - the flesh toughness is just nice. Don't go to the wrong stall though, there's another seafood bbq on the side of the famous bak chor mee and sugarcane stalls. This stall has been there for 20 years already, I think about 2 rows after.



This is the famous traditional bak chor mee. Pretty much the only bak chor mee that you eat only in soup. They pride themselves on their soup (filled rich with the sweetness of the minced meat), their QQ noodles, and their hand-made meat balls.

Don't forget to get a sugarcane juice with lemon - original sugarcane taste!

Rating: ★★★★

13 Lo Hei Ingredients & Their Meanings

Of all the Chinese New Year food, I hate Lo Hei (Yu Sheng) the most. Gosh it's like randomly throwing everything together, give them a meaning, and give them a representative color to fit their meaning. They simply don't taste right to me. And raw fish is just not my type.

But this Chinese New Year, I had 3x Lo Hei. Once at Din Tai Fung, once in Malaysia, and once at Tung Lok. The coolest thing for me was just the procedure to pour the ingredients together. Then the actual "lo hei".

Do you know what are the ingredients and the meanings behind their colors? How many can you name?

I picked up a flyer from Ichiban Boshi with 13 lo hei ingredients, and their respective meanings in both English and Chinese. Of course the ingredients here are tailored for Ichiban Boshi's Yusheng set this year. I read on wiki that they are 27 ingredients in the original dish.


1. Chuka Kurage
Excellence, 锦上添花

2. Red Sweetened Ginger
Luck, 鸿运当头

3. Peanut Crunch
Wealth, 金玉满堂

4. Pickled Leek
Divination, 妙算如神

5. Sweetened Lime
Merit, 苦尽甘来

6. Pickled Cucumber
Advancement, 平步青云

7. Winter Melon
Harmony, 甜甜蜜蜜

8. Fried Sesame
Prosperity, 生意兴隆

9. Chuka Wakame
Youth, 青春长驻

10. Pickled Melon
Tranquility, 风调雨顺

11. Pok Chui Biscuits
Affluence, 遍地黄金

12. Five Spice, Cinnamon and Pepper Powder
Fortune, 招财进宝

13. Salmon Sashimi
Abundance, 年年有余

Do you like Lo Hei? What was your favorite or least favorite Chinese New Year dish/snack?

Sakae Adventure: Who Says No Money Cannot Eat?

Hmmm....it's been 3 months now since my last pay! What the heck... & Always in the last week, we try to scrimp and save. But who says no money cannot eat?

In times of need, we were so glad to have my Sakae Card around!

..with $55 Sakae Dollars from the e-journalists program. Just in time to celebrate wx's birthday too! Hehe

3 colored plates, $2.29 each + 1 red plate, $5.59

Nabeyaki Udon, $11.99

Tempura with Yuzu Soba, $13.99
Totals to $46.50. We paid only 50 cents!!

The yuzu soba was quite interesting. We were given this raw quail egg (poked with a small hole) and for a while we weren't sure what to do with it.


Do you know the correct way to eat your yuzu soba?

Rating: ★★★

Sakae Adventure: T for Teppanyaki

Finally found the chance to dine at Sakae Teppanyki @ Century Mall on Monday, been a long time! Everything looked strangely familiar - the chefs, the waitresses. In the past, I've talked about the food and I've talked about the service. I want to write about something different this time - the Teppanyaki cooking! :) Keep reading to also find out something new at Sakae Teppanyaki.

I think teppanyaki is awesome! It's really fun to observe how they prepare and cook, then slowly enjoy the food. Wx and I would even discuss different chef styles. You know, like gourmets :D

For instance, how many eggs and how much soy sauce to use for 3 servings of the garlic fried rice...





To get...





This!!

Even the shrimpy topping can make a difference in the overall taste. Some chefs will heat it up a bit after the rice is done (this I think is optimal); some set it on the metal plate longer (but I feel it makes the shrimps too dry); and some just sprinkle directly onto the rice without extra heating.

Remember, what is the one best ingredient in teppanyaki? Garlic!! There is the garlic fried rice and seafood stir-fried with garlic. Seriously I think there needs to be more more garlic :p





Besides stir frying, there are other styles of cooking in teppanyaki. Try the lobster stew! Prepared and served in nicely folded aluminium foil trays. These trays are also used in making beef sukiyaki.





Then there is the steamed kind like chawanmushi. Just spray some water and cover it up with a big round lid!

Here's something cute from Sakae:





Green tea icecream served in Sakae froggie trays!! Hehe I took home the trays :p

Eating @ Hand in Hand

Lunched at Hand in Hand Beijing Restaurant (手拉手京华小馆) - dad saw it on the newspapers I think, so he wanted to try it out.

A variety of Chinese dishes - Hunan, Beijing, and Sichuan flavors in dim sum, noodles, soup and traditional style. But was quite disappointing, judging by the few dishes we tried.

In reverse taste rating:

5. Tianjin Goubuli (Go Believe) steamed buns
My dad always boasts about how yummy Goubuli buns are. But I've never tasted any up to standards. Sad to say, it's the same for this. Not enough filling and doesn't taste "hot and fresh" (still newly steamed though).

4. Suan xiang niu rou
There wasn't much "sauce" and the beef I felt was a little bit less than tender.

3. Fried dumplings
Not "fried" enough. It's halfway between boiled dumplings and fried ones.

2. Fried spring onion pancake
Not much of the spring onion flavor. But still quite acceptable IMHO.

1. Pork and cabbage dumplings
Taste quite good. It's just dumplings. I recommend adding mushrooms to the filling, will taste better.

Perhaps I should have tried their noodles. I believe they are known for that? Anyways, highly unlikely that I would go again. If you do go there, tell me if you like it there :)

Rating: ★