Food

Father’s Day Celebration @ Por Kee Eating House

/ Fiona Seah / Leave a comment

Hey everyone!

It was Father’s Day last Sunday but knowing that every restaurant with a bustling crowd was going to inflate their prices, we chose to celebrate a day after. Moreover I reckon most decent eateries were fully occupied (I tend to dilly-dally a lot when it comes to making reservations lol) so we technically had nowhere nice to dine at.

Just a small rant though… Words cannot express how much I hate these “Hallmark holiday” like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc. Although I personally place little to no importance on such made up holiday, I still feel obliged to celebrate because my boyfriend and parents do, especially my Mom who is slightly more 爱面子 (sensitive to how other people perceive her – wow what a long definition for just 3 Chinese characters). Don’t get me wrong, I love my Mom and I don’t mind splurging on her and I always do – every year, without fail, on more significant days like her birthday. But she’s one who would feel overshadowed if her friend’s children threw a more extravagant celebration than her own. She doesn’t blatantly say it but y’know, I could tell from the way she narrates what she heard at the market :\ Green with envy.

And don’t get me started on Valentine’s Day and its annoying marketing tactics. I am attached (like I just planned for my boyfriend’s birthday yo??) so I can say this without sounding like a bitter loner: Valentine’s Day is for people who are dying to prove a silly point that there’s someone out there as silly as them, who would subject themselves to unreasonable price hikes at restaurants? That there are people who would spend $500 on a small bouquet of roses which will wither and die in no time (omg why you kill those poor plants?!)? Or $30 on a huge helium balloon and expect their partners to carry it wherever they go? Omg. I’d bury myself in embarrassment if that was me! There are 365 days a year, 362 days after excluding birthdays and Christmas (it’s not made up so yes), why oh why get all lovey-dovey only on 14 February?!?

If you feel offended, you should. Because I’m talking about you -_-

Okay end of rant.

Back to Monday with ma familia with slightly more special treatment for my Dad. Once again Boyfriend the bigger glutton recommended me a restaurant called Por Kee Eating House 1996. My first impression.. very good, sounds like some zi char place cos my Dad only likes food cooked the zi char way. Typical uncle, you’d say. Hahaha.

Procrastinated again and only reserved a table in the early afternoon that day and phew, I managed to get an indoor (air-conditioned) table. The weather nowadays is killing me!

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Por Kee serves mostly seafood and the prices aren’t very cheap. I almost ordered a Seabass dish without confirming the price but thank God I did eventually coz it’s at least $50 each!! OMG. Quickly changed the fish to a more pocket-friendly one, which was Red Tilapia as it also came in smaller sizes (less expensive).

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Steamed Red Tilapia Hong Kong Style (S$28)

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Hong Kong Kai-lan (S$10)

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I love the Hong Kong Kai-lan! It’s something you wouldn’t expect to hear from someone who avoids veggie at all cost haha.

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Champagne Short Ribs (S$18)

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What exceeded my expectation was the Champagne Short Ribs. I was quite apprehensive about it at first because of the “Champagne” but it doesn’t taste like it at all! In fact it’s quite sweet 🙂 My only complaint is that meat was quite tough, hard to chew :\

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Crispy Butter Prawns (S$22)

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Love the buttery taste on the prawns! If only there were more crumbs 😀

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Crispy Half Roasted Chicken (S$16)

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Roasted chicken came with a salty dip. Without it the meat tasted bland! And yes, we targeted those crackers first hahaha.

My total damage (shared among 3 people) was S$107. Very expensive for 5 mundane dishes but I guess that’s the norm for a classier zi char restaurant especially when they accept major credit cards 😛 It didn’t quite live up to my expectations though because I have definitely tasted something better elsewhere. I’ll probably come back again to try their Beef Horfun, which is highly raved on food blogs!

Thanks for reading 🙂 ❤

Por Kee Eating House
69 Seng Poh Lane
#01-02
Singapore 160069
Tel: 6221 0582

Boyfriend’s Birthday Dinner @ SKIRT (W Hotel)

/ Fiona Seah / 1 Comment

Hey everyone! My tutee’s mom cancelled my only tuition assignment today so I shall use this time to blog about the birthday celebration I planned for boyfriend. And if time permits, I’ll also write about Father’s Day later.

To be honest, the plan was only thought up on the night before on my bed, before I fell into a deep slumber. I didn’t tell boyfriend this haha. But everything went pretty well with the exception of the last segment where I stupidly bought movie tickets for a show that boyfriend had already watched (Edge of Tomorrow – hilarious movie!).

The highlight of the celebration was dinner at SKIRT, a restaurant in W Hotel located at the prestigious Sentosa Cove. Boyfriend (and myself) had been longing to try Beef Wellington ever since watching 3 seasons of MasterChef. There are only a few places here in Singapore that serve that dish so it wasn’t difficult to decide on the place to dine at. (The other highly-recommended restaurant is Wooloomooloo Steakhouse which I will definitely try if the opportunity arises). I chose SKIRT mainly because of its mid-range pricing but having said that, their food and service are first class.

I made my reservation here in the morning and received a confirmation call about 2 hours before our dining time. At the same time, I was also reminded of the dress code which was smart casual (no shorts, bermudas, open shoes and slippers). I took a quick glance at boyfriend’s (who had no idea where I was gonna bring him to) attire and was relieved that he dressed appropriately haha.

The cab fare from Suntec City to Sentosa Cove was a whopping $22+ lol thanks to peak hour surcharge, ERP and Sentosa’s entrance fee ($2). 😦

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The restaurant was adorned with vintage-looking furniture and enthralling pieces of chandelier which turned into a really gorgeous sight when night fell. We found ourselves the only diners when we arrived. But more patrons started streaming in as we were enjoying our complimentary homemade bread which I later realised was free flow! We didn’t manage to finish our first serving though as our stomachs were partially filled by the cakes at Lady M earlier on. Came with it was a bottle of chorizo lard oil and some dip we couldn’t make out what that was. According to other online reviews it’s supposed to be seaweed dip but it didn’t taste like seaweed at all :\

Flower-shaped bread topped with 2 unusual dips

Flower-shaped bread topped with 2 unusual dips (S$free)

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A glass bottle of distilled water (Acqua Panna 750ml) costs S$12

Duofie with the birthday boy <3

Duofie with the birthday boy ❤

Some pictures of the menu for your reference:

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We waited for quite awhile before our mains and sides were served and were starting to grow a little impatient as we had a movie to catch. But we kept quiet because we didn’t want to be served rushed food. Hahaha so understanding right!?

Came shortly after the bread. The one on the left is BBQ sauce for the steak and on the right is apple bourbon juice, to cleanse your palette. Only served if you order meat.

Came shortly after the bread. The one on the left is BBQ sauce for the steak and on the right is apple bourbon juice, to cleanse your palette. Only served if you order meat.

I’m not an alcohol fanatic but the apple bourbon juice was really appetizing. I think it only has 1% alcohol content.

Dusk was falling. Henceforth, the quality of my pictures worsens as I have lost the natural lighting. My phone is terrible at taking photos in the dark. I should have brought my camera along 😦

Hand-Cut Garlic Fries

Hand-Cut Garlic Fries (S$10 but on the house for us)

We actually ordered Sautéed Portobello Mushroom (S$16; forgot to take picture of it -_-) for our sides but was given this instead (we were contemplating between the two and the one taking the orders probably didn’t catch our final decision hehe). Informed the assistant manager about it but instead of returning the fries to the kitchen, he left it there for us to enjoy while he got our right order out.

We rejected the gesture at first because we foresaw that we would be too full for 2 sides but he insisted that we had it.

“Please have it. I apologise for the error. It’s (the fries) on me.”

Exemplary service!

I’ll give a verbal review on the mushrooms since I forgot to snap pictures 😦 I thought I did though. If I remember correctly, it was a few pieces of portobello mushroom coated with unique black sauce with a sprinkle of green garnish, served in a small plate. They are rather huge! And meaty. I’m not really a mushroom person (unless you’re talking about mushroom soup – different story) so I’ll quote my boyfriend: “omg super savory and yummy”. *thumbs up*

Hereford Grass Fed, John Stone Longford, Republic of Ireland. Tenderloin 250g

My main: Hereford Grass Fed, John Stone Longford, Republic of Ireland. Tenderloin 250g. (S$62) The small thingy on the right is just garlic.

Very, very tender and chewy. Unfortunately I had my eyes set on boyfriend’s main. *salivates*

Beef Wellington

Boyfriend’s: Beef Wellington (S$62)

*angelic sound effect*

Medium rare

Medium-rare

Pastry, according to boyfriend, was a little thin and flaky so it kinda fell apart when we cut it. But it was still good for me. Other than that, the beef… oh my god. WE WERE IN HEAVEN!! I was so sad that I didn’t order the beef wellington (coz we wanted more variety to try) so boyfriend gave me one of his. In return I gave him 3/4 of my steak. Hahaha. We’re still craving for it up to now.

Boyfriend briefly mentioned about his birthday to the one bringing us the bill and we were told to stay put for 10 minutes..

..So that they could give him a cake! Or rather, a chocolate mousse cake. Whoa, so nice and generous of them! Thank you, SKIRT staff!

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Super chocolatey and sinful. (S$free for birthday boys and girls)

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Birthday boy and his glamorous cake.

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Inside the mousse cake is CARAMEL!! My fave. Boyfriend doesn’t like caramel so he gave me the cake but I couldn’t finish it 😛 Eh whose birthday was it again?

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The trainee staff offered to help us take a picture. SURE WHY NOT? Hahaha. But this is a little blur.

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Second take, much better. Boyfriend must had felt really exhausted to give that kind of face.. He definitely needs lessons on how to pose in front of the camera.

Left the restaurant in haste as we were already VERY late for our movie. Boyfriend complained that travelling to so many places in a day made him very tired. But… we went to these places by taxi -_-

Total damage by the way for the dinner was S$178.90. Ouch to the wallet definitely but the great service and food coupled with the birthday boy’s satisfaction made the splurge worthwhile. This restaurant is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

He also got his first Manchester United jersey from me on his birthday! Hope he didn’t outgrow the shirt after all the sumptuous meals. 😛

That’s all for this post and thanks for reading!

SKIRT at W Hotel
21 Ocean Way
Singapore 098374
Website: http://www.wsingaporesentosacove.com/en/skirt
Make reservation here or call +65 6808 7278

Crab-a-licious Buffet Dinner @ M Hotel

/ Fiona Seah / Leave a comment

Hey everyone! I’m back with another food post.

Last Thursday, boyfriend’s parents brought me to a crab buffet at M Hotel and I was told that there would be various kinds of crab to choose from there. To be exact, the buffet was held at Cafe 2000 on level 1.

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Reservation was made for 7.30pm and the restaurant was already packed with people when we were there. What greeted us on our way to our table was an array of pastry – one of which was a chocolate fondue fountain – and other desserts.

After we were given a table, we eagerly scurried for the food at buffet table. Other than those foods that could raise your cholesterol (health warning!), there were also others which are high in protein, such as roasted beef and fish. So yes, it’s not entirely a crab-crab buffet as there were other choices of food as well.

One of the more popular crabs - Salted Egg Crab. I, too, loved this to bits but it always ran out so fast.

One of the more popular crabs – Salted Egg Crab. I, too, loved this to bits but it always ran out so fast.

Forgot what was on the left but I'm pretty sure we had a lot of sausages! They are not cooked yet so you have to tell the chefs what you want first.

Forgot what was on the left but I’m pretty sure we had a lot of sausages! They are not cooked yet so you have to tell the chefs what you want first.

Steamed Crab with Ginger and Vinegar

Steamed Crab with Ginger and Vinegar

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Ham

Ham

Roasted Beef

Roasted Beef

Crab Terrine

Crab Terrine

On my plate. Yup they also serve Man Tou (fried bun) to go with the curry crab.

On my plate. Yup they also serve Man Tou (fried bun) to go with the curry crab.

Many people who weren’t seated near the bar would not realise that there was actually another row of food at the other end of the restaurant. That row offers Japanese cuisine and other types of seafood if you’re tired of the main dishes. Nothing fantastic though, so don’t expect so much. Beside it was a section for 4 ice cream flavours (chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and green tea) and their garnishes like strawberry or chocolate syrup, cornflakes, waffles.. you name it, they have it. But our waffle was cold and soft, probably left in the open for a long time, hence one bite was all we took 😛

Sushi corner

Sushi corner

Other sushi

Other sushi

Scallops

Scallops

Mussels

Mussels

Crayfish also at sushi corner

Crayfish

Prawns also found at the sushi corner

Prawns

Vanilla, Green Tea, Chocolate and Strawberry flavoured ice cream

Vanilla, Green Tea, Chocolate and Strawberry flavoured ice cream

Garnishes for your ice cream

Garnishes for your ice cream

Waffles to go with your ice cream

Waffles to go with your ice cream

The star of the dessert section was definitely the durian puree which boyfriend and I repeatedly took in bulks LOL ok that was obviously an exaggeration. I don’t deny that we had a lot of the puree BUT rest assured we left more than enough for the rest of the patrons (in fact it never once ran out coz it was replenished regularly!!). The durian puree was the CLOSEST you could get to eating the real fruit 😉

The much-anticipated Durian Puree! We previously dined at The Buffet (also at M Hotel, level 2) and durian puree was also served there! That's how we knew about M Hotel's specialty.

The much-anticipated Durian Puree! We previously dined at The Buffet (also at M Hotel, level 2) and durian puree was also served there! That’s how we knew about M Hotel’s specialty.

As it was a dinner treat from the boyfriend’s lovely parents, I’m not sure about the pricing but I believe the final amount they paid was discounted because of some credit card privileges I guess. And if I remember correctly there were Groupon/Deal for this in the past. Not sure if it’s still ongoing now though.

However a quick search on Google shows the following results from milleniumhotels.com.sg:

Crab-a-licious Buffet Dinner
Sunday to Thursday, 6pm – 10.30pm
From S$55++ Adult, S$30++ Child

Crab-a-licious and Seafood BBQ Buffet Dinner
Friday and Saturday, 6pm – 10.30pm
From S$68++ Adult, S$38++ Child

In general, I don’t think the (rather limited) variety of food there justifies the original amount of money you have to pay to dine there because honestly, there weren’t many crabs to choose from and they weren’t very fresh as well (meat kept sticking on shell and had slightly rough texture). They ran out quite quickly but took ages to be replenished, especially the more popular ones like the salted egg crab. But that’s probably just my luck as I’ve read good reviews about their crab dishes somewhere.

If you’re keen to try, be sure to make reservations by 30 June 2014 coz that’s when the crab buffet ends! Try it while you still have the chance! 🙂

M Hotel Singapore
81 Anson Road
Singapore 079908
For reservations, please call Café 2000 at 6500 6112 or
email to cafe2000.mhs@millenniumhotels.com