Chin Lee Restaurant @ Bedok North Road

For our grandma's 82nd (or 83rd I can't remember :X) birthday my cousin recommended this place to have the celebration 'cos it was near his workplace and according to him it was always packed during lunchtime so it must be good! Near to his workplace but so very far for my family... This place is at Bedok! So if you stay around that area, read on! 

It's one of those surprisingly good Chinese restaurant under HDB flats. This one serves Teochew fare and when we reached there, I was surprised at the crowd! The place was practically full house! Ok actually it was full house... Maybe it was also because it's a Sunday night. I forgot to take a photo of the interior, because it looks very presentable, cozy and comfortable. The washrooms are clean as well, almost hotel standards. Almost.

We ordered the $388++ package. First up is the longevity buns!

My favourite dish during all (wedding) dinners - Cold Dish. 

Shark's fin

Steamed pomfret Teochew style - one of my favourite fishies, nicely steamed and very fresh as well.

 

This is one of their signature dishes - Coffee Pork Ribs. When it arrived the aroma of coffee was oh-so-strong, it was lovely! This photo isn't very well-taken 'cos all of us couldn't wait to tuck in! I think if you order this dish ala carte it's $10. It was flavourful and tender. Very nice. It was a tad too salty though, would've gone great with rice!

By the time the noodles arrived we were so full already! Before/After this there was steamed prawns as well. I was just too full to take any more photos and so sat slumped back in my seat. The noodles were average only, slightly bland in comparison to the other dishes.

Dessert - Orh Nee (Yam paste) with Pumpkin. Not much of a fan of this hot dessert but it's always on the menu when it comes to this kind of dinners...especially when the older generation is around!

 

They call this the "kung fu tea". You're supposed to drink this after eating the Orh Nee 'cos the dessert is sweet and this tea, slightly bitter.

If you work/stay/study around the area, I would really recommend you to give this restaurant a try! Good for family dinners. Though since I stay at AMK, it's unlikely that I will go back again unless... next year we celebrate Grandma's birthday at the same place again! :)

How much was spent: $388+ for 9 (or was it 10?) course meal, 10 pax per table
Would I go back again? Yes for family celebratory dinners!

Address: Blk 115 Bedok North Road #01-285

Tel: +65 6444 5554

Opening Hours

Mon–Fri: 11.30am–2.30pm, 6pm–10.30pm
Sat–Sun: 10.30am–2.30pm, 5.30pm–10.30pm

Porn's Sexy Thai Food

I was headed to Bugis last weekend and was really perturbed as to what to have for lunch. Suddenly I couldn't recall any appealing restaurant to try out or go back to. Researched on a particular Spanish-Thai fusion restaurant along Purvis Street but to our dismay, we couldn't seem to locate it. Continued walking and decided upon this.

This restaurant is opened by the popular Channel 8 host Pornsak, for those who are not aware, which explains the "sexy" restaurant name. "Porn" means blessings in Thai so do not be mistaken! Serves the usual Thai food such as Tom Yam Goong and Pineapple Fried Rice. 

Went there on a Saturday afternoon and it wasn't crowded at all, though it started to fill up while we were there. Menu is no-frills kind though I like the elephant icon! Cute. After perusing the menu, I felt that prices were slightly on the high side as compared to my favourite Thai restaurant Ah Loy Thai at Shaw Towers. Truth be told, I came to try this eatery because it's opened by one of my favourite Channel 8 host! And voila, he was sitting right at the cashier when we went in hehehee. But of course, whether I would go back would depend on the food, and not the celebrity who opened it. Prices are comparable to Thai Express though.

A cutely drawn map of Thailand (I presume).

One of the chef's recommendations is this - prawn cakes, which the waitress claimed that "customers come back for it". She also mentioned that Tom Yam Goong was one of the most popular dishes as well, though I thought to myself, naturally Tom Yam Goong would be one of the most popular, since everyone who goes and eat Thai food would surely order Tom Yum Soup no matter what? Methodological bias, but never mind.

 

Prawn cakes (3 for $8.50) - Fried to golden goodness, tasty and crispy with prawns inside. Yummy and worth a try.

Of course, the must-have Tom Yam Goong (10.90) that every trip to a Thai eatery must include. This one is with prawns (around 4 prawns, if you're curious). You can have the option of seafood or chicken as well, and to come in a bowl or hotpot. This one serves 2-3 people.

This one is rather unique - Stuffed Chicken Wings (3 for $8.50) I seriously have no idea how they do it. It's basically chicken wings with minced meat (with mushrooms and vermicelli) stuffed inside, yet the wing part is still nicely intact, albeit looking a bit bloated.

 

This one was really unremarkable. Please do not order this should you go there. Seafood Fried Rice ($9.90). It tasted as bland as it looked. I could've done a better job at whipping up a plate of fried rice, I think. A better bet would be the Pineapple Fried Rice, which comes in a pineapple as I spied on other tables, with pork/chicken floss on top and seemed rather popular. Of course, it could be a case of Thai food = must have PFR as well.

Thai Roselle and Lime ($3.90) - Nice and refreshing, not too sweet as well.

 

Since we were seated right next to the cashier, I tried to catch a glimpse of the owner himself. He was busy talking shop with his business partner, who was there that day too. 

How much was spent: $23 per pax

Would I go back? Maybe for another time, to try other dishes.

Address: 28, Liang Seah Street Singapore 189049

Tel: 63375535

Opening hours: Mon - Sat: 3pm, 6pm-10pm, Sun: 6pm - 10pm