Lee Fun Nam Kee Chicken Rice

Its been a long time since I had a plate of chicken rice! I suppose its because at such stalls, only chicken is offered and there are no other variety of food served so I usually shun it for its lack of choice. Unless I am craving for chicken…

So today, I am craving for the simple soya sauce chicken again! In the Toa Payoh area, I thought of this stall. The main draw here is its famous soya sauce chicken and its rich thick gravy. (See above photo for what I mean) It looks like an ordinary plate of chicken rice but the gravy is very thick and sweet, goes very well with the hot fragrant rice and the tender soya sauce chicken. When you are at the stall, also must try the side dish – the Kai-Lan vegetables (@ S$5 for small plate). The vegetables are cooked with those little rich fried pig’s skin (“zhu you cha”) and are absolutely fragrant and delicious! This one is a must-try for me because I simply love the crunchiness of the fresh kai-lan. The restaurant also serves bean sprouts or wanton soups as side dishes. But for me, I strongly recommend the kai-lan.

Great soya sauce chicken meals (@ S$3.50 per plate) can be found at Lee Fun Nam Kee Chicken Rice located at Blk 94, #01-04 Toa Payoh Lorong 4, Singapore 310094 Tel: 6225 0891

Tonkichi - Suntec City

Picture of a bowl of Sesame Seeds to grind at Tonkichi

Found another great Japanese food outlet at Suntec City Basement over the weekends! This one reminds me of my favourite “Ma Maison” (See earlier posts) and is quite close in the running too, in terms of the Japanese food served. Tonkichi is part of the Pokka Food group and renowned for Japanese food. We have to try it.

Curious as to how they would taste compared to the ones we had at "Ma Maison" (another favourite Japanese restaurant of ours), we also ordered the Tonkatsu sets we usually love to eat – this also appears to be their specialty! There are quite a few varieties here at Tonkichi such as: Rosu Katsu, Curry Katsu, Hire Katsu (pork cutlets) … We decided to order the Rosu Katsu set (consists of loin pork) @ S$ 20 and the Hire Katsu set (consisting of 3 pieces of pork cutlet) @ S$ 18.

Interestingly, we were served a bowl of sesame seeds before we were served with the main course! I thought why. I later understand that this was suppose to be one of the spices to be sprinkled over the katsu pork served later. We were supposed to grind the seeds in the bowl so that the sesame fragrance comes out. So we did!

Rosu Katsu Set

The katsu sets came. The presentation reminds me very much of the ones I had at “Ma Maison”. So I really had to try the pork to see if they come close too. My oh my! The pork katsu served here is more crispy in my opinion and the pork meat is much more tender and soft. Believed it’s the bread crumbs that they used to fry the pork slices in that makes it very crispy. Really nice. The katsu cutlet is even more tender and very sweet too!

Hire Katsu Set (Pork Cutlet)

The thoughtful restaurant also tops up your lettuces when your plate becomes empty and so there’s more for you! One thing lacking is the katsu sauce and the salad oil still pales in comparison to that at “Ma Maison”. But the food steals the show and its still very good overall. I would definitely come back here for a Japanese meal again. Their menu still offers many other Japanese sushi, sashimi and ala carte dishes. Worth exploring if you are looking for good Japanese food.

Tonkichi has another 2 outlets in Singapore; at Takashimaya and Isetan Scotts Shaw House respectively. The one we visited was at 3 Temasek Boulevard #B1-009, Suntec City Mall, Singapore 038985 Tel: 6339 4231.

Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak

This one is a great find and its already been famously acclaimed as the No. 1 Nasi Lemak so I must record it down in my foodie blog.

Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak is at Adam Road Food Centre. What I like about this simple dish sold here is the hot and fragrant nasi (i.e. malay word for “rice”) – this stall uses a special Basmati rice whose rice grain is very small and fine, hence its great taste! Nasi Lemak means rice cooked with coconut. It is always the fragrance of the rice that determines whether this dish is rated good or not.

Of course, the side-dishes served with the nasi lemak matters a lot too. With well-cooked side-dishes, even the simplest nasi lemak can turn out a winner. The meals served here at Selera Rasa is a winner in every way - including the tasty fried chicken wing, fried ikan bilis and otah! The fried chicken is crispy outside yet tender inside and so are the fried ikan bilis (small fishes). There must be a secret recipe as to how they are cooked because they all taste just so right! Words just can’t describe it.

The set meals are also interestingly named as deals we see in card games e.g. Full House, Royal Flush, and Royal Rumble ranging from S$2 - S$5. My favourite is the Full House meal @ S$4 which has my favourite fried chicken wing, otah, fried egg, handful of ikan bilis and few slices of cucumber. Of course, not forgetting the must-have chilly padi served with the Nasi Lemak.

After a scrumptious serving of Nasi Lemak, don’t forget to also have a cup of Teh Tarik (Malay Milk Tea) available from the nearby Malay drink stalls to complete your meal. No need to say more. Selera Rasi Nasi Lemak is at No. 2 Adam Road Food Centre, Singapore.

Viet Lang @ The Arts House

Visited The Arts House recently and found this little Vietnamese restaurant, Viet Lang. Viet Lang is derived from Vietname's present name "Vietnam" and its historical name "Anh Lang". As its name suggests, it serves authentic Vietnamese cuisine and was previously relocated from Chijmes.

Housed within a colonial style block at the Old Parliament Lane, Viet Lang exudes an old-world charm the minute you stepped into the restaurant. Soothing Vietnamese music was playing in the backdrop and the ambience was a cosy and comfortable one, just like when you stepped into your own home. We were shown to a table at the corner of the restaurant, with a backcouch filled with lots of cushions! So comfy!

Making ourselves at ease, we started the evening with some lovely Vietnamese Lemon Grass Tea served in a pot, which was a specialty @ S$7 per pot.

We could not resist the tantalising appetisers on the menu at irresistibly reasonable prices too. We ordered the Chef Recommended "Cha Cuon" - which were described as Imperial Rolls made of crispy net rice paper rolls with shrimp and chicken filling @ S$7. The rolls were simply delicious!! Not oily, very very crispy and crunchy indeed. The chilly sauce that was served with the dish deserves a mention as it went very well with the rolls. Overall with the fresh greens served, all of them brought out the flavour of this Vietnamese starter very well - simply refreshing and delicious! I noticed most of the diners also ordered this one and its definitely worthy of my recommendation too!

For the main, Ted went for the Soupy category. This was a luxury indeed! This dish known as "Banh Canh Cua Ca", were mini rice noodles with crabmeat and fish served in thick soup @ S$16. The broth was thick and fragrant! Served hot with the crabmeat and fish cooked together, it was heavenly. It reminds me of the delicious sharkfin's soup and just as delicious except this is crabmeat! I would recommend this one to you too, if you are one of those thick chinese sharkfin's soup lovers!


This simple Vietnamese dish - which is my favourite known as "Bun Ga Xao" (@ S$15) - made of cold noodles topped with stir fried chicken/beef, bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber served with Chef Bao's homemade sauce is quite a stir with me!! I simply love it! The ingredients were fresh and with the sauce, it was neither too sour or sweet. I had tried this dish before at some other Viet restaurants and found them to be either too sour or sweet to my liking. This one here seems perfect! With the chicken and bean sprouts mixed together in the dish, the noodles felt very crunchy and tasty indeed!

As I read from the menu, Chef Bao must be the chef here at Viet Lang and I would definitely like to salute him for all the delicious Viet cuisine served here. Each dish ordered brought out the flavours of Vietnam very well and we were definitely pleased ... !

The bill came out to be an average of about S$30 per person and this includes the tea and appetisers we had, plus 10% service charge and 7% GST. However, for the delicious food there, its definitely worth a visit! If you are near The Arts House next time, dont miss Viet Lang. Its at 1 Old Parliament Lane, #01-03, Annexe Building, Singapore 179429 Tel: 6337 3379. You may want to call and make a reservation just in case, as seats seem to be quite limited there.