Por Kee Eating House

Air "Conditional" Funny! Haha!

This is another air-conditioned Tze Char place that I brought my casino guests to and they keep going back.
Por Kee is ideal for gatherings of more than 5 people so that you are able to sample their popular dishes.
It was a last minute decision to head down to Por Kee with Eunice and gang and boy were we glad we went! :-)

Just next to the Carpark

Stepping into the restaurant, we were transported back to the eighties, with big groups of people of all ages gathering around the different big round tables chatting and eating. Live seafood displayed in tanks near the kitchen area and most of the service staff are local aunties who probably have been working for Por Kee since their youth.

Home Made Bean Curd With Beans and Mushrooms

You just have to try the Home Made Bean Curd With Beans and Mushrooms! It's fried to golden perfection and served with carrots, sweet beans, mushrooms and sea cucumber.
I really wonder how they did it. The beancurd is very soft and very fragrant. I wonder if they drizzled some special sauces over it to give it that fragrance and savouriness!
A very humble and ordinary dish by appearance. But the bean curd is out of this world! As I am writing this, I have deleted countless of adjectives like "smooth", "light" and "flavourful", and I am stuck as I really cannot find an appropriate word to describe this dish. Yes the dish is smooth, light and flavourful, but its better than that! You just have to try it for yourself. Best tofu dish I've tried at zichar stall.
**PS : Bernard, this is much much much better than the tofu at Two Chefs. I swear. It's TMD 好吃!

Crunchy Fried Egg With Shrimp

Their Fried Egg With Shrimp is is really good! the sides are really crispy.. the centre is ok fluffy and the shrimps are soooo crunchy! very nice!

Frog Legs with Chicken Essence

I am not a fan of chicken essence. Bleah...!!! But for some strange reason I love the Frog Legs with Chicken Essence here. It's so good! The sauce yummy and the frog legs are so tender! 
ITS SO DAMN GOOD!!!

Champagne Pork Ribs (small version)

Champagne Pork Ribs. This is one of their specialty and the presentation is so old school! It has been ages since I saw these flowers used as deocrations on plates. LOL..

Fried Salt & Pepper Chicken

Next came the Crispy Fried Salt & Pepper Chicken. This dish was well executed as the skin was super crispy, no fats under the skin (wonder what is their secret?) and the meat moist and juicy. When dipped in the salt provided, it was a delightful burst of flavours! 

Salted egg crayfish

The Salted Egg Crayfish was very good! A very distinctive salted egg taste, very crispy some so crispy that you could even eat part of the shell. The meat was firm and juicy.

Steam Fish Thai Style

A must try is the Steam Fish Thai style - the steam fish is served in a metal plate. the waitress will then pour the spicy thai soup over the fish. the fire below is really strong, which allowed the soup to keep boiling. Fish is fresh and sweet. Highly recommended, but is quite spicy.


Por Kee Eating House 1996
Blk 69 Seng Poh Lane #01-02
Singapore 160069
Tel: 6221 0582
Opening hours:
Lunch – 11.30am to 2.30pm
Dinner – 5.30pm to 12.30am

Joo Hing Restaurant - Tze Char at it's best!

I was reminded of Joo Hing when Lou, Jer and myself dined at Sum Kee during our last makan session.
It's been a long while since I had their fish head & prawn paste chicken. Yummy!
Tucked away in the Eastern part of Singapore, it's a restaurant that even my Macau and Hong Kong guests gave it the thumbs up.
The only downside is the lack of parking space & the long wait for a table.
Unless you are Irene Nomnomnom of course. Hahaha!!!!
*cue evil laughter*

Restaurant Frontage

They have 2 adjacent shop fronts. One air-conditioned and the other looks like a typical coffeeshop without air-con.

Steamed Fish Head

Their specialty is a mean Steamed Fish Head.
The fish is so fresh and it's so well steamed you can literally taste the collagen and the fish meat melts in your mouth.

Hong Kong style Steamed Garoupa

Besides the steamed fish head, Joo Hing also does an awesome Hong Kong style Garoupa.
I wonder which brand of soya sauce they used because it's really really fragrant.
They added just the right amount of hot oil to bring out the fragrance of the spring onion and the natural omega 3 of the super fresh red garoupa was in each morsel.
It's heavier on the pocket, but worth a try especially since not many tze char stalls serve red garoupa.

Sambal Tapioca

Nobody walks in to Joo Hing without ordering the Sambal Tapioca.
So don't say I didn't warn you when it's sold out. :p
You really got to try it for yourself to know how good it is.
Beyond words.

Tofu Prawns

Kids & the elderly love the Tofu Prawns.
I love their sauce so much I can eat plain rice on it's own with just the sauce.
The tofu is sooooo... soft and smooth. *slurpz*

Prawn Paste Chicken

Their prawn paste chicken is among my Top 3.
When you bite into them, the juices burst out and the meat inside is so moist it puts Colonel Sanders to shame.
Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
I love to dip it in the sambal belacan that they offer at the restaurant.
Power lah...!!!!

Minced Meat with Salted Egg

I love salted egg yolk, so I love this dish alot.
It's Minced Meat with Salted Egg.
The mix of fatty and lean meat makes it very smooth and the salted egg really brings out the flavour of the pork without overwhelming it.

Here are details of the restaurant :

Joo Hing Restaurant
360 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore
Tel : 6345 1503

Opening Hours :
11am - 2pm, 5pm - 10pm
Closed on Mondays

The Fish Head Curry that started it all...

This picture is how it all started.

One fine Sunday at about 7pm, Lou posted on his facebook that he is craving for Chinese style fish head curry. He had me at the word "curry".
So he picked me up, then Jer, and we went on a fish head curry hunt.

Well... I had several suggestions :
1) Gu Ma Jia who serves a mean assam fish head & roast duck.
(Lou insisted on only curry fish head, not assam fish head, so this was scraped.)

2) Ocean Curry Fish Head at Telok Ayer.
(They are not open on Sundays. Full stop.)

3) 136 Hong Kong Street Fish Head Steamboat Resaurant.
(We drove there but couldn't find it so we headed off to the next location)

4) Sum Kee Food Restaurant at Telok Blangah.
(Bingo!!!!)

Jer was the navigator and Lou, the driver.
As for me, I had the all important task of telling them where and what's the name of the restaurant.
You see... I only eat. 
Meaning that once that plate of tantalising, mouth-watering dish is served, I totally forget how I got there, how to go and where the place is near. :p

All I could provide for my dearest navigator, Jer is the name of the restaurant and where it's located approximately. Plus alot of description on the lovely food served. Hiak hiak hiak...

Anyway... to cut the story short.
WE HAVE REACHED OUR DESTINATION.

SUM KEE FOOD.

The fish head curry that spelled "cholesterol"

We ordered the fish head curry, "Ultraman Chicken" which is fried chicken pieces tossed in salted egg yolk, and sambal kangkong.
When the fish head arrived, Lou tasted it and exclaimed, "就是它了。就是這個味道！"
I took a sip of the curry and my eyes lit up.
It's cheesy... but I imagined I was swimming in an ocean of curry. Floating around me were taupok, brinjal, lady fingers and of course... fish head.
The curry was so tasty and so packed of flavours that it spelled CHOLESTEROL.
Every sip was full of coconut milk. 
We thought we wouldn't be able to finish the pot but oh boy we were wrong... please refer to the pic right at the top of this post. Hahaha!!! 
The nostalgic settings of the restaurant (complete with some 'live' fish staring at me from the tank right smack beside me) plus the power-packed curry reminded us of the 90's.
Away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

The "kjt ho jiak" sambal kangkong

Again, Lou was the first to bite into the sambal kangkong.
It looks like any other sambal kangkong... but phoarrrrrrrrrrr.......!!!!!
Lou almost spew vulgarities when he took a bite of those harmless looking vegatation.
It was THAT GOOD...!
The "wok hei" was "gau lat" and the sambal used to fry the kangkong had bits of dried shrimps and other "secret" ingredients in it.
The slightly burnt taste brought out the full flavours of the sambal... encapsulating every strand of kangkong.
My imagination led me to imagine a perspiring fat chef frying it in a very hot wok and tossing it over huge flames. And making the kiang kiang kiang sound in the process. Kekeke... 
吃了會流眼淚的 sambal kangkong it is.

Ultraman Chicken

The Ultraman Chicken was good... but sitting alongside the magnificent fish head curry and the "kjt ho jiak" sambal kangkong, it didn't deserve the attention (or the lack of it) from us.
But it really was good. If it was served in another restaurant, I'm sure we would slurp it up in 5 mins.

Here are details of the restaurant :

Sum Kee Food

No.2, Telok Blangah St 31
Yeo's Building
Singapore 108942
Tel 1: 6737 3233
Tel 2: 6333 8556
Open Daily 11am to 11pm
Website : http://www.sumkee.com.sg