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No, I'm not talking about hungry ghost festival. Eating supper seems to be something habitual to Singaporeans. One can easily pop by a 24hr coffeeshop or prata place to beat their late night hunger pangs. Even Mc Donald's is now 24/7. However, I was pretty intrigued to find a foodstall that only opens at midnight. And interestingly, you'll spot a queue on most nights. I have to find out what is it that their business has been running 顺顺利利 (smoothly) for years.
Shunli Niang Toufu is located in Bukit Merah View Market. You won't miss it because it's the only stall that's lit up at such wee hours. 
The choice of ingredients is regular. I believe the secret of its success lies in the stock, and the chilli sauce. Served in a 555 stainless steel bowl, the food did not look appetizing at all. But with a sip of the soup flavoured with green chilli paddies and ikan bilis, that didn't really matter. (It was really dark anyway.) It was very tasty. The ordinary ingredients also tasted extraordinary with the special sauces. If you think niang tofu is boring, I beg to differ.
I really don't mind having a healthy supper.
I'm never a west person for I've lived in the north since young and schooled in the east. Only of late, I got acquainted with the west due to work. And it got me interested to learn more about the west side story. I've only been to Sunset Way once but that was like 3 years ago and the sun has since risen and set countless times. The HDB estate has now developed into this so-called next Holland V with alfresco dining. Not much of a view though, but diners are pampered for choice with restaurants serving different cuisines including Japanese, Thai, Italian, etc. Ironically, my friends and I decided to settle for a more comfy air-conditioned dining instead because of our long walk earlier.
Rocky's Pizza is right at the corner of the array of restaurants. Unpretentious and in fact, feels kind of homely with waitresses in their 40-50s serving us like mums. We ordered a 12" Boston Special ($23.80) and a Lasagne ($10.70). The 12" pizza was huge! 8 huge slices enough for 4 to share! Tasty, cheesy and appetizing. The crust although was not the authentic crispy kind, was light and thin. Toppings was generous and it tasted very homestyle. The Lasagne was a delicious blend of meat, cheese and lots of sauce. We had a satisfying meal accompanied by familiar Italian tracks playing in the background.
Sorry for the lousy pictures which I shot with my handphone hastily as we were all starving.
On my second visit to Sunset Way, I brought my friends to Grill-Out. This time round, I got to enjoy the alfresco dining experience amongst lush greenery. As mentioned, not much of a view, but doesn't really matter because it was really dark. The service was excellent. From making reservation, taking orders, refilling our glasses, clearing the plates and keeping the kids entertained, they did a perfect job. The food however was a little disappointing. To begin with, there was no soup on the menu. I wonder why.
We started with with salad and bread which were complimentary. Nice. Appetisers came Clams with garlic and white wine and Kurobuta Pork Skewer. There wasn't enough garlic and white wine to cover the fishiness of the clams. I'd prefer the garlic to be finely chopped such that they'll be trapped in the clams. The pork skewer was not well-done and they were chewy. We told the waiter and he assured us it was perfectly safe to eat because it was Berkshire pig. But eating rare pork is the last thing I crave for.
I ordered the U.S. Black Angus Ribeye ($30) which was on promotion and it came twice the size. It turned out I got loads of extra fats. I washed it down with a glass of House Red ($6.80). The most affordable red wine ever. As a side note, the U.S. Kobe Ribeye ($60) was highly recommended but spending that amount at a suburban joint didn't seem rational. :P So, do drop me a note if you've tried and think it's worth the try. :)
The Yellowtail Cheek with wasabi sauce ($18.00) was the best on the table. The portion was generous. The wasabi sauce goes well with the crispy skin and tender meat. S thinks that it tasted better than the Yellowtail Fillet (more expensive than yellowtail cheek) which was on their Today's Special. I didn't try the Pork Collar which was decent according to K.
The overall dining experience was pleasant. And I believed the service has contributed largely.All in all, Sunset Way is a great place to chill out while not having to dress up for the occasion. After sunset.
Unfortunately, the view at the restaurants wasn't this magnificent. These were shot on the deserted railway tracks 5 minutes away (plus another 5 for trembling across the rusty tracks). They don't name the estate Sunset Way for nothing.
P/S: Thank you, IL & E, for the eventful day and "homemade ice-cream". ;)
This is a recipe for pork roast I adapted and improvised from Betty Crocker's Best of Baking. As I'm quite selective when it comes to pork dishes, I choose to substitute the roast with chicken. It tasted equally good, I imagined. Well, what it matters is it's good enough for him. :)
Ingredients:
chicken thighs
salt
black pepper
cooking wine
margarine
olive oil
rosemary
garlic (finely chopped)
onion (finely chopped)
Steps:
Make a few cuts in chicken thighs with a sharp knife.
Season with salt, black pepper and wine.
Mix rosemary with garlic.
Insert garlic mixture in cuts.
Melt margarine in shallow roasting pan in oven and sprinkle with onions.
Place chicken thighs in pan and drizzle with olive oil.
Bring to heat at 180ºC for 40 minutes.
My foodie fans are complaining that I've been eating too much and blogging too little. Here's a drink to quench their thirst first. :P
Post-Museum Pour-spiced apple tea ($2.00) from Food #03, is a concoction of apple tea, mint leaves, lime, longan and some spices. Unique and refreshing after a long walk around Little India.
I'm no big fan of vegetarian food but I'm impressed with the concept and feel of Food #03. You can check out what's cooking in their very healthy kitchen. I will definitely drop by again for their Tempeh Burger sometime. No GST, no service charge, no microwave oven. And yes, they recycle! I wonder what they recyle! Haha! Let's go green!
