His Food Blog's Reviews
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It always makes me wonder why there is always such a long queue outside Fa Ji Noodles stall – are the noodles really that great-tasting or are they simply adoring fans of the hawker himself?
If you don’t believe, you can see it for yourself (In fact HFB thought he distinctively like look an older, more macho copy of Krisandro – are you guys related?).
At $3.00 for a bowl or Minced Pork Noodle Dry, HFB thought the noodles and ingredients were really generous – Minced pork, Fishcake, Pig Liver, Meatball, and dash of Braised Mushrooms!
Although HFB did felt that the Vinegar was slightly overpowering, the Chilli within more than made up for it. Noodles were cooked just right, thus making the whole bowl of minced pork noodles an instant gratification!
Being a glutton, HFB wouldn’t stop at just a bowl of noodles (of course). A bowl of Meatball Soup ($3.00) was added to the order, but somehow it kinda missed the mark. The meatballs are the softer, none the chewy, meatier type.
Somehow HFB is more of a sucker for those supermarkets off-the-shelf meatballs (tip: look out for the ones with the lion dance packaging, they taste really awesome!!!).
You can view all the photos here.
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Conveniently located opposite National Library, the café has been helmed by our own local boy, David Heng, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, and used to work in Le St Julien, under the tutorage of Chef de Cuisine Julien Bompard.
Watermelon Mint & Lychee Sage Freeze ($4.00 each) was the initial order of the evening. HFB can’t think of any good reasons why one wouldn’t love these drinks. Simply revitalising!
Our appetiser falls under the “Premium Salad” category of Honey Mustard Smoked Duck Salad ($12.90). HFB simply dig the smoked duck. The thin layer of fats gave it a nice marbling chew and the meat is tender and succulent. The dish is also well complemented with orange slices. Can I also add that the serving is pretty generous?
What’s best to pair with a premium salad? It’s none other than a “Premium Sandwich” of Cuban Ham & Pork Steak ($10.90) – made of Grilled Gamon Ham, Hand-shred Slow-roasted Tender Pork Shoulder, topped with a sliced of Grilled Pineapple. Sandwiched within home-baked Foccacia Bread, drizzled with creamy mustard dressing and homemade barbecue sauce, this is definitely one of the better sandwiches that HFB has polished off. My only nitpick is that the mixture of over zealous dressing and sauce, coupled with the meat’s natural juices, cause the bread to turn soggy a little.
What’s a meal without its dessert? The Butterscotch Peach Crumble ($7.90) is created with bubbling homemade butterscotch sauce, filled with Peaches, Raisins and Roasted Almond Slices. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, HFB thought that the combination was a little too generous for it’s own good. Being a hot dessert, the ice cream tends to melt quickly into a mess. Perhaps a better option is to serve the ice cream on the side.
The Vanilla Caramel Crème Brulee was nothing extraordinary to say the least – the custard was smooth with a hint of caramel goodness all right, but the caramelised crust was disappointingly too thick for HFB. However, using fine icing sugar should eliminate the problem.
You can view all the photos here.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!oo my goodness~~~ ur pictures of the food made me drool
07 Jul 2009 at 4:16 pm
Although one needs to make their way to the cashier to place their orders, the good news is they do not charge GST. Also do not expect fanciful plateware and cutlery set as the complimentary bread came serve in plastic plate. Bread was warm but otherwise nothing extraordinary.
The Ravioli of Prawns Foie Gras in Light Lemon Crème ($14.00) was pretty interesting – the ingredients within the ravioli was generous, and the sauce was nice, but despondently, one could see the foie gras but not taste it – the prawns simply overwhelmed the former. In fact, it tasted more like prawn dumplings served French style.
The Foie Gras Panfried with Orange Confit Served with Salad ($17.00) was of decent portion. At such a size, HFB thought it was pretty good value for money. Nicely panfried on the surface, yet quiver when cut, it was done pleasingly. The orange sauce that came along with it goes really well also. Love it!
You must definitely give the Confit de Canard with Gratin ($15.00) a try if you pay them a visit. The duck skin is slow-cooked to a perfect crisp, and fully flavoured. The mash that came with it was smooth and delightful too. This dish was way better than the lousy version served at The French Stall along Serangoon Road.
The dessert though was very disappointing – HFB could understand the 20 minutes wait for a hot dessert, but the Tarte Tatin, or Apple Tarte ($6.50) was just unpleasant in many ways. Serving was measly, and the whole puff pastry stacked above two slices of apple arrangement just failed miserably. HFB end up eating the puff pastry separately from the apples, which was still slightly unyielding for consumption.
He reckon one would be better off having ice cream at Island Creamery next door!
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Mr De Silva insisted on using fresh Snapper and not frozen Dory for his Beer-Battered Fish & Chips ($8.90). At that price, the serving was pretty value for money and the fish tasted fresh. One could also surely take pleasure in a hint of beer aftertaste from the exterior of the fish – seasoning was slightly uneven though with parts being overly salty. But snapper or not, there was hardly any taste to the flesh of the fish. HFB would prefer the fish meat to be lightly marinated. Homemade Chips were well fried and vastly addictive!
One of his signatured dishes, the dazzling Crabmeat Linguine ($10.90) was immensely under-priced and overly extravagant with Shredded Crabmeat. HFB would advise one to go for the spicy version, as crabmeat is pretty heavy for the palate and tanginess brings it down by a notch. The linguine was done al-dente and the ingredients harmonised perfectly – the sour from the tomato base sauce, spiciness from the chilli, and the sweetness from the crabmeat really complements each other very well. This coffeeshop adaptation triumphed convincingly against the supposedly fine-dining standard – dollar for value in HFB’s opinion. This is one dish HFB will return for it.
Weighed at least 200 grams, if not more, the US Kurabuta Pork Loin ($28.00) was something that HFB was looking forward to. Indeed seeing is believing, but tasting it truly convinced HFB that the fuss and the hearsay was spot on about how wickedly mouth-watering this piece of meat is. The glistening layer of fats gave the famed meat its luscious and moist consistency – the spurt of juicy goodness with every nibble testify to this. With the exterior charred grilled to perfection, the hint of pink in the centre also gave it a tender bite. Coupled with their homemade applesauce that is reasonably flavoursome, this dish is definitely a hearty no-no for the weak heart, but surely a treasured find for the brave!
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The complimentary Cod Fish snack was nothing fanciful – but it did keep HFB’s hands and mouth busy. It was pretty addictive.
The Seafood Doufu in Hot Plate ($18.00) came sizzling hot and rather generous with ingredients. However, with the sauce being rather starchy and salty on its own, a bowl of steam rice to complement it would be an ideal choice. Wow factor was sorely lacking though – HFB had tried many better ones elsewhere.
The Braised Japanese Shiitake with Seasonal Vegetables ($24.00 for medium serving) was much welcomed with its thick and juicy mushrooms. Vegetables were fresh and crunchy.
What’s a trip to Chen Fu Ji without sampling the legendary Imperial Fried Rice ($25.00 for medium serving)? Each grain of rice, believed to be selected for its size, texture and moisture content, was also said to be conditioned prior to frying. Nevertheless, what really distinct itself from the normal fried rice was the fusing of beaten eggs with each grain of rice that gave it a smooth texture, golden hue and aromatic fragrance. With a stack of freshly peeled Crab Meat and unique Egg Floss, the dish came with heighten expectations. It was good all right, with the non-greasy aftertaste and aromatic egg flavour, but it wasn’t great. There was a distinct lacked of ‘Wok Hei’ flavour that HFB would preferred in his fried rice though. Also the serving portion was only sufficient for a small bowl each.
Surprisingly, the best dish that night was the Peking Roast Duck ($35.00 for half portion). The roasted duck skin was deftly curved into thin slices and it was crunchy and full of taste.
The thick juicy duck meat, accompanied with condiments like scallions and cucumber, along with a coat of Hoisin Sauce wrapped with Chinese Pancake was also delightful.
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