Ubin Seafood is an old, old place...I understand it originated in Pulau Ubin...a small island off our small island, hence the name...but, has been for many years reloacted to the mainland. The current owner is a retired professional, who loves to eat, and uses the restaurant as his test kitchen, and offers some of his favourites. Lucky for us, we are likeminded...
Now, tucked in the Sin Ming Industrial estate, amongst the car re-spray people, finding a place to park on a weekday lunch can be a challenge. I was told its rather easier to find a lot in the evenings and weekends.
Step into the restaurant, and you step into an oasis...almost like going back to the kampung of Ubin years ago. They have private rooms and a large air conditioned dining area. And the board is scribbled with the stuff the owner likes....
Note small selection of wines. And mix of western dishes like steak and local favourites like chilli crab.
We had to have the steak...its a slab of Black Angus, minimum order of 500g, which is grilled, sliced and served with potato wedges and mustard sauce on a wooden platter.
We asked for the meat to be grilled medium-medium rare, but I think this is rather a bit shy of that...I judge it to be perhaps medium rare-rare. But matters not to me...
Wolfgang Puck can rest safe at night that this does not threaten his Cut for the title of best steak in Singapore...but the Astons of the world should take note. The meat is high quality. Lean, mostly, as the fat has been trimmed (more on this in a moment). The meat was not melt in your mouth tender, it was vigrous and fiesty...giving the teeth a bit of a fight, but the flavour was full, and bursting. Lightly sprinkled before serving with salt and pepper, it was quite satisfying.
The fat was trimmed in the kitchen, and used to fry a killer fried rice. My friend Larry dubbed this dish as heart attack on a plate.
This is probably the best fried rice I have eaten...full flavoured. The wok was super powerful, the wok hei very strong and apparent. The crispy bits of the charred beef fat was wonderful in the mouth. The overall mouthfeel of the greasy, oily tallow and the fragrance of the fat was amazing. I believe you cannot order this dish on its own...but only as an accompaniment to the steak, as I don't find it in the bill anywhere when I paid.
We were also mightly tempted with the steamed kurau in a sambal petai sauce. Such is the diversity of the cooking...amazing...
The sauce is simply fantastic. Piquant, spicy, sour, a tinge of sweet, and the oh so marvellous taste of petai. The fish was a tad oversteamed, rendering the meat a bit flaky. But the fish...we had the entire tail of a fish weighing perhaps 3kg, was very fresh.
And the Boss Bee Hoon...called such because the boss - PM Pang, loves this dish...when asked what was so special...he replied...nothing special, this dish is to demonstrate the power of the wok hei.
Indeed the wok hei was fantastic. This is an excellent fried bee hoon...though it looked simple and like any other...the combination of lard, sauce and the powerful wok hei and chilli padi was very good. Excellent dish.
We were served som complimentary desserts...a durian pengat
Which tasted like it was made from durian cake instead of fresh durian. Not very exciting for me. I much preferred the one served at Peramakan.
And the red bean pancake
Nothing special too...the pastry was a bit too heavy, but I found it mildly addictive, though Larry thought it to be unspectacular.
Overall a very interesting cze char stall/restaurant. With an interesting and unusual dishes. But cooked with passion to pursue the ultimate taste. Worth revisits.
New Ubin Seafood
Blk 27, Sin Ming Road
64669558, 91701281 Mr Pang
11.30am - 2.00pm,
5.30pm - 10.30pm
No comments:
Post a Comment