Rendezvous Restaurant Hock Lock Kee

Merry Christmas Everyone! Where did you spend your Xmas?

In our hot and tropical country Singapore, no one would have thought of us having Xmas dinner in a spicy flavoured Nasi Padang restaurant! We did! And it was Restaurant Hock Lock Kee at Hotel Rendevous that we went! It was a fantastic dinner with superb flavours of spices and chilli!

The current frenzy over the Channel 8 TV drama serial "The Little Nonya" depicting the heartwrenching story of a girl and her ups & downs in life in a Peranankan family has got everyone interested in the lifestyles, food, desserts, chilli spices and flavours of a Straits nonya-baba & their Peranankan dishes again! Failing to find a Peranakan restaurant nearby Dhoby Ghaut area, we settled for a close Nasi Padang Restaurant.. at Hotel Rendevous.

This restaurant was established since 6 decades ago and is famous for its delicious Western Sumatran Nasi Padang. Even our Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong had patronized them. They had quite a few shifts in their restaurant location previously from a modest coffeeshop along Bras Basah to Raffles City to finally being here at Hotel Rendezvous. The simple yet tasteful decor of the Straits kopitiam (coffeeshop) sums up the atmosphere and quality of food you expect there.

Big bro joined us this time for dinner. The three of us ordered the Assam Pedas Fish-Head @ S$23. The fish was tender and fresh. The dish was also spicy hot and correctly soured with the Assam spices. One of the rare few well cooked Assam dish you can find!

We added on with dishes of salad appetisers (of cucumber, onion and chilli), fried batang fish slices and fried mashed potatoes. The staff also served us with big plates of chicken curry gravy and green curry gravy to go with the rice and food. I tell you - the gravies are all I need! They are simply heavenly delicious and spicy. The food like the decor of the restaurant - are simple yet tasteful! You also got to try the icy cold and sweet colourful dessert, Chendol laden with thick coconut milk with sweet brown sugar. This dessert is a simply wonderful end to your dinner!

You have to visit this place to try their food if you love chilli, spices and Chendol! Restaurant Hock Lock Kee is at #02-02/03, Hotel Rendezvous Gourmet Gallery, 9 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189559 Tel: (65) 6339 7508.

Happy Chef Seafood Noodle House, Sydney

While away from home, sometimes you just get a sudden craving of your usual local delights. So this time while at Sydney, I ended up at this foodcourt in Chinatown Mall... in the hope of finding some local Singapore food to satisfy my tastebuds!

Happy Chef Seafood Noodle House was the name of the stall in the Sussex Centre foodcourt I chanced upon. I was attracted by their colourful signboard of photos displaying the huge variety of Asian noodle dishes they served. They seem to have a long list of accolades including – recommendation by some popular TV programs - “Yan Can Cook” (hosted by the famous Martin Yan), Chinatown series on Foxtel and Channel 7’s “Sydney Weekender”.

They are also voted as a finalist in the I LOVE FOOD AWARDS 2007. In particular, the stall is renowned for their delicious laksa which has been complimented by many including Luke Mangan, one of Sydney's top 10 chefs.

Their famous laksa is a fusion of ingredients of all sorts – wanton (Chinese dumplings), roasted pork, chunk of Tau Pok (fried beancurd), bean sprouts and vermicelli noodles. I thought the laksa would probably be customised to the local Aussie taste, which should be unlike the typical thick Nonya & coconut milk laden laksa we have back at home. To my pleasant surprise, their laksa gravy taste just like ours, although the flavour is much lighter but its more spicy by the Singaporean standard. I was a happy and satisfied man when I finished the whole bowl of laksa, perspiring all over because of the spices! One could not have asked for more … away from home yet being able to savour this delicious local dish!

Verdict - one of the better tasting laksa we had (outside Singapore)! Would go back again when craving for local food. Price is also reasonable at A$8.50. Worth visiting as it also serves many other authentic Asian cusines (Thai, Korean, Japanese, Chinese/HongKong,etc..)

Happy Chef Seafood Noodle House is at Sussex Centre, Shop F3, 401 Sussex Street, Haymarket, NSW 2000, Australia Tel: (02) 9281 5832