Lee Kui (Ah Hoi) Restaurant 李貴(亞蟹)席館

When you talk about authentic old school Teochew restaurants in Singapore, Lee Kui (Ah Hoi) is one of the restaurants that will come to mind. I remember going to the restaurant as a child with my parents, and my favourite and most memorable dish would be their succulent cold crab.

It’s located along a row of shophouses in Chinatown, and easily accessible by Chinatown train station which is just one street away.

The restaurant was a buzz of activity during the Chinese New Year when I met up with my friends.

Yusheng! I love how each restaurant has their own version, and how the staff says all the good wishes when they prepare the yusheng. Some of them are pretty creative with their greetings, I must say.

捞啊！Toss to a great year ahead!
My ambition is to toss yusheng 20 times during the 15 days of Chinese New Year. My record so far is 6, so a long long way more to go haha.

Braised Duck, one of the restaurant’s specialities

I really liked the yam ring, which was soft and crispy. Awfully good.

Oyster Omelette
Another popular dish at Ah Hoi. It’s not too bad.

Chee Hong tucking in the yummy yam ring.

Fried greens

Kong Bak Pau (braised/stewed pork served in steamed buns/扣肉包)
A sinfully good dish that’s hard to resist. Heck, it’s New Year so I’ll just eat!

Lee Kui is a dependable place to go to if you are looking for some traditional Teochew eats. There’s no frills, no fancy decor nor ground-breaking dishes, but the wholesome dishes and friendly staff make you feel right at home. You can never go wrong here, and it’s a place where I will bring people I call family to. :)

Lee Kui (Ah Hoi) Restaurant
Address: 8,9,10 Mosque Street
Tel: 6222 3654
Opening Hours: Daily 11:00AM – 2:30PM; 5:00PM – 10:00PM

2014 Extreme Sailing Series

Singapore hosted the opening round of the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series over the weekend of 20-23 February at the Promontory@Marina Bay. The winds and weather were perfect for racing, and coupled with a few heart-stopping moments, it was a rather exciting event to watch and a great way to spend the weekend.

The Promontory@Marina Bay was turned into a Race Village with a huge clubhouse. Look at the crowd!

A total of 12 teams took part

“Live” commentary made watching the races more exhilarating, and helped the bimbo in me to understand what was happening. I jumped out of my skin more than once when the start gun was fired.

One of the most exciting moments was when the Extreme 40 catamarans rode the wind and lifted out of the water, sometimes as much as over three metres. The Extreme 40 is capable of reaching speeds of 30 knots, akin to travelling in an open-air convertible at 35mph (56kph).

Spectators rooting for their team. If you would like to be a 6th sailor on board a race boat, you can do so by buying a hospitality package.

Red Bull made its first foray in the Extreme 40 circuit at the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia. They have double Olympic gold medal winning Austrian duo Roman Hagara and Hans Peter-Steinacher on the team.

Gliding over the water like a bird!

Led by Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi is the first European team ever to win the America’s Cup and to successfully defend it. They are also the eventual winners of the 2013 and 2014 races in Singapore.

How interesting – I spotted a videographer on board one of the boats. I think I would get seasick in no time, much less to film the race.

The Wave, Muscat
The Wave, Muscat is supported by a leading lifestyle development of the same name, just north of the Sultanate of Oman’s capital city. The Wave, Muscat is also Host Venue for Act 2 of the 2014 Series starting on the 19th March. Reigning champion Leigh McMillan will be back at the helm of The Wave, Muscat and he will not be giving up his crown without a serious fight, in what could be a hat-trick year in 2014 for the British Olympian. They also have Sarah Ayton from UK who is a 2 time British Olympic Gold Medalist.

Groupama, France
Winner of the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, Franck Cammas, returns to the Series with heavyweights from his past Extreme 40 campaign Tanguy Cariou and Devan Le Bihan, plus America’s Cup and former Extreme 40 sailor Thierry Fouchier.

Gazprom Team Russia
Led by Russia’s top laser sailor, the team have drafted some of the Extreme Sailing Series’ most successful sailors, including Britain’s Paul Campbell-James, who steered The Wave, Muscat and then Luna Rossa to victories in the 2010 and 2011 Series respectively, as their helm.

What a pose!
GAC Pindar are one of the longest standing teams in the Series

The Muscat team at work

J.P. Morgan BAR
Sir Ben Ainslie leads a full British team, in J.P. Morgan BAR’s first time competing as team in the Series.

Emirates Team New Zealand
The legendary America’s Cup team has some of the hottest talent on the international sailing scene, including skipper Dean Barker, a world-renowned America’s Cup sailing legend and is most recently known for his participation in the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco.

Hi there! :) *waves*

I realised, the higher you can ‘fly’, the faster you go and the more likely you can win a race…and also…

more dangerous and likely to end up in a collison. The crash between Singapore’s Team Aberdeen and France’s Groupama happened near the end of Day 2, with the commentator saying that it was the most dramatic crashes ever seen in the race’s eight-year history. Luckily, there were no casualties and both teams were able to race again the next day following overnight repairs.

See how the collision happened

Best way to watch the races – chill out at the bar with a cold beer in hand. While is exactly what I did to beat the scorching heat.

Here’s a round-up of the Singapore races!

Look of the Day – Pop Art

Trying out a new pop art effect

This green croc print haversack from Taiwan is so cool and versatile – I can carry it 3 ways – haversack, sling or tote!

Studded collar shirt – Editor’s Market
Steel plate choker – H&M

Eagle Claw Bangle – Pamela Love
Diamond tennis bracelet

Spilt-toe leather flats – Custom-made

A Dong Roast Chicken 阿東窯仔雞

On our way to Cingjing, our driver recommended we stop by A Dong Roast Chicken  for dinner. This restaurant got famous mainly through word-of-mouth so I was pretty looking forward to it.

We haven’t even ordered, and I already gave it full marks for ambience – it was cooling since we were halfway up the mountains; just  look at the view of tea plantations and cute guesthouses!

There’s an indoor and outdoor seating area. The decor is mainly bamboo and looks pretty homely. They also run a guest house below the restaurant (香彬小木屋).

Look at their cute house cat! There were two of them, both as fluffy. And comes with an attitude haha.

These custom-made kilns are part of the secret to A Dong’s famous roast chickens. Fired up at 200 degrees celsius, they nicely roast 10 chickens at a time. And – the design has also been patented. Roasting chickens is serious business. A Dong took 5 years to get the recipe right.

Quality lychee wood is used, adding to the fragrance of the roast chicken.

I like it when a chef shows pride in his cooking
A Dong only uses chickens reared by themselves, and they are marinated with lots of ingredients such as herbs and garlic 1 day before being roasted.

This secret ingredient is constantly sprinkled into the kiln while roasting to enhance the flavour

Look at the crispy-looking chicken (TWD 500)! So yummy-looking!
Oil dripping from the chicken during the roasting process is collected into the bowl below; slather your bowl of rice with a spoonful and you’re in heaven. Totally worth the carbs.

The restaurant supplies plastic and knit gloves with your roast chicken – one to keep you from burning yourself as it is very hot fresh out of the kiln (think 200 degrees celsius) and the other from getting your hands oily. Even better – the kind uncle helped to peel the chicken for us, awwww

The flesh was tender and flavourful, and the skin was crispy – very good indeed! Dip it with some pepper salt or the chicken oil for an even more indulgent experience.

高山高麗菜 Fried Cabbage (TWD 100)
Vegetables offered at A Dong are all mountain vegetables so it’s worth to try them

丁香山蘇 Fried Mountain Vegetables (TWD 100)
The mountain vegetables are all picked on the day itself too, what a treat!

野味山豬肉 Wild Boar Meat (TWD 200)
Not my cup of tea since I do not really eat meat, and wild boar meat was a tad tough for me (or what they would say ‘Q’)

香酥溪蝦 Fried River Prawns (TWD 150)

Mushroom Soup (TWD 100)
The mushroom smell was quite strong and the soup was lighter in taste

Time to tuck in! Cockadoodledool!
I was glad we stopped by A Dong, the people there were really nice and hospitable, we felt like we were eating from someone’s home. Do visit A Dong if you are visiting Cingjing :)

A Dong Roast Chicken 阿東窯仔雞
Address: No. 52 Renai Township, Nantou County, Taiwan 546
南投縣 仁愛鄉 大同村信義路52號 (仁愛國中對面)
Branch: 南投縣鹿谷鄉 中正路三段708-8號 (151線4公里處)
Tel: +886 4 9275 0068
Reservations 訂餐專線：＋886 92077 1888
Opening Hours: Mon – Sun: 11:00AM – 9:00PM
Website: http://www.adong.tw/
Menu: http://lugu.adong.tw/menu04.php

Driver
If you are looking to hire a driver, you can consider Mr Liu 刘先生. He’s a burly uncle who used to be a truck driver, and very honest. He charged us a very reasonable per day rate, brought us to all the places where the locals went, and none of those touristy crap. And we felt safe with him. You can give him a try if you wish. Mr Liu’s Mobile: (0)988-121-529.

Another contact you can try is Lucky Zhao +886 913 185 157, slightly pricier but good service and speaks well.