The Asian Záhuò diàn

The winter chill is slowly creeping in the city.  This means that the a/c can start taking vacation from over-cooling the houses of Abu Dhabi.  Colder weather means hot chocolates and warm soups.  When I say warm soups, I meant those spicy Chinese noodles.  Ah, I miss my days in Singapore.  I can have noodles anytime of the day.  So how do we cope with cravings such as this?  Yes, we go to the shabu-shabu.  But, if moolah is a bit tight the best option is to make your own at home.  I don't mean buying those instant noodles with Chinese characters you can not read.  I meant, make it from scratch.  The noodles, the dumplings, the meatballs, and the vegetables.  So where to get all these?  Where else but at the Chinese grocery!

The Signage - Chinese LLC 02 491 9508

A friend showed me the place a few months before.  And what I have discovered was something that will keep me coming back to the store whenever the nostalgia for noodles and anything Asian hit me. 

The store with a huge Baqala signage and a smaller signage that reads Chinese Store is next to Beijing Restaurant along Salam St..  It is exactly in front of a bus stop.  If you will be taking the cab you can tell the driver to take you to the bus stop of HSBC bank along Salam St.,

Every time I visit the store, new items are displayed and it just makes me smile.  I remember, during the Autumn festival, they have tons of mooncake displayed.  I was so overwhelmed, I ended up buying nothing.  But I got some mochi instead.  They have all kinds of instant noodles if you are feeling lazy but want to eat noodles.  Fresh vegetables and noodles are also available and amazingly cheap.  They have all kinds of Asian condiments that you could think of.  Even refreshments that I used to see in Singapore but never dared to try are also being sold.  Frozen goods are also plentiful, I highly recommend buying those handmade frozen dumplings.  I can't get enough of those.

Instant Noodles (sorry its blurry)

Aisle of Asian Vegetables

I will be posting some pics, but I apologize if its not that good, since I was a bit hesitant to take some pictures, the lady at the store saw me taking pictures and she was eyeing me suspiciously.  Do come and visit the store, it was like Little China in there.

My loot! Vegetable Dumplings, Egg Noodles and Instant Noodles

Singapore After Five Years

My April 2013 was a total nightmare.  First the chasing of the housing thief Mr. Saeed episode then my legal stay in Abu Dhabi took a nose dive.  I will not delve into the dirty details of the latter as I still feel bitter and angry of what happened and what is continuously happening. To make the story short, I get to be a reluctant vacationer.

First stop is my first home abroad: Singapore.  It has been 5 years since I last step foot on this vibrant city.  I must admit, Singapore still is an exciting city.  Aside from re-exploring Singapore - I am visiting my sister.  I get to bond with my cheeky niece.

I often daydream of retracing my steps in Singapore particularly in the food department.  I try to look for cheap noodles here in Abu Dhabi but still that distinct taste of Singapore noodles is just not there.  Though some may say there are a lot of Chinese/Singaporean cuisines in the city - still not the same as that from the kopitiam.

My first day in Singapore was not exactly in Singapore style because we decided to give Jollibee Singapore a try.  My niece was particularly happy about it because there will be fries (shhh!) and my sister was craving for pinoy fast food.  Sad to say though, the chicken was not what I have expected. It is not the same back home.  Anyway, we still binge.  We ordered practically everything on the menu!

After the big bee moment, I had kaya toast.  The thin brown bread with a generous amount of butter and kaya spread is absolute heaven.  For those who are not aware of kaya spread, this is a coconut and egg jam.  If you visit Singapore never forget to try it.

Then came the noodles.  Yes the noodles that I think will never be replicated.  I had mee goreng.  The spicy vegetarian noodle will definitely burn your lips.  For a good reason, of course.  Then the ban mian.  Unfortunately, the store where I got the ban mian is not the same with the one I used to buy from in People's Park in Chinatown.

Mee Goreng

My sister also introduced me to bah kuh teh.  We bought two orders for lunch.  Sadly, I am not a big fan.  It was just too bland for my liking, but the ribs was well cook.  The meat literally falls off the bone.

Bah Kuh Teh

My Singapore rendezvous without a visit to Mustafa.  Who could pass up a chance to scour floor after floor of goodies.  Every visit is totally wallet-killing.

Another Shabu Session

It was a year ago when I first discovered shabu-shabu here in Abu Dhabi.  I even promised to sample the other resto in the next few days, unfortunately I was not able to fulfill it.

But the other night, we finally got the chance to sample the "other" shabu-shabu in town.  I'm sorry to say but I didn't get the name of the restaurant.  Because its in Chinese character.  My Chinese knowledge is limited to numbers and a few bad words (courtesy of my Chinese lessons way back in elementary days, oh but the bad words i learned it in high school, just so we're clear.)

Anyhoo, the location of the restaurant is a bit seedy.  It is at the top of Philippine House Restaurant in Najda St.  A door that leads inside has two non-working escalators, so you have to climb up manually.  Once at the mezannine floor turn left and another left, you'll see a door with bead curtains and blinking lights in Chinese characters.  Since its the only restaurant on that floor, we hesistantly went inside.  Once you get pass the cashier's counter, you'll see a buffet table.  Table is not for the food, it is actually for the condiments and sauces you create for your own hot pot. 

 
We were ushered to a table near the glass window with small Chinese lanterns hanging overhead.  I will give this restaurant an A for ambiance.  It sure does feel like I'm inside an Asian restaurant.  So were given this A3 size sheet which serves as the menu.  The waiter explained that there single serving hot pots and there is also the big one that can cater to 2-3 person.  We chose the medium size with one basic soup and one spicy soup.  An electric induction stove.  While our soup simmers, our ordered ingredients arrived, we had chicken, beef, frozed fried tofu, chicken balls, crab sticks, chinese cabbage, bok choy, carrots, potato and cauliflower.  Plus noodles and rice, we started dunking the ingredients. and stirred while it is being cooked.

What I love about this shabu-shabu is the sauce and dips that you can mix and match.  We were not able to finish off everything.  So we had it packed to take home.  All in all, the dinner was pretty filling and lip smacking the chili was enough to keep my lips burning for an hour.  We are definitely coming back and will be trying the single hot pot instead of the big one.  Total dinner damage was AED 164.00. Stiff? Oh yes!  But we were able to bring home some stuff and the dinner was super filling. *burp* 

Noodle Soup for the Rainy Night

The other night, on our way home doing some little shopping for my father's upcoming trip to his hometown Ibajay, Aklan heavy rain accompanied us.  I was smiling the whole time.  I love the rain and it just makes me want to snuggle beneath the sheets and dream the night away but for the rest of the people outside the car rushing for cover it was nightmare.  So we were driving a bit slower than usual, because my mother goes berserk when the speed goes over 40 kph and its rainy.  The road is slippery as she always justify.  And I was already thinking about food.  And what could be the best companion on a rainy night?  Noodle soup!  Of course, hot chocolate with marshmallows will also be on the top 3 list, but noodle soup?  Well, its a whole lot different.  This lures me back to my misadventures in Singapore.

Why I love Singapore so much, is because of all the noodle shops scattered everywhere.  I love noodles.  I could eat noodles for a month and still won't get enough of it.  Since my previous office is located in Chinatown we often take our lunch at the people's park building.  It is right across Pagoda street.  The ground floor of the building houses lots and lots of shops that sells all kinds of noodles.  My all time favorite is the one located at the farthest right when you enter the building.  For 5 months that I was there  eating almost everyday, I can't seem to remember the name of the shop.  Anyway, I always order meehon with fried egg.  Sometimes, I add another side dish if I feel a little generous on that day.  However, if I have some sandwiches which I prepared that day my office mate and I order mee goreng and share it.  Mee goreng is basically a Malaysian vegetarian noodle dish cook with so many chilies in it.  By the time you are in your 5th bite you would definitely be sweating already, thus the sharing scheme.  On the farther left on the other hand also sells noodles.  I don't know what really is its name but its really really good.  Boiled noodles seasoned with soy sauce and a bit of chili and garnished with grilled pork.  It even has a wanton soup to go with it as part of the meal.



For rainy days, which often happens anytime in Singapore, my office mate and I would go to another noodle shop that sells Ban Mian.  This is definitely the noodle soup you should not miss to eat when visiting Singapore.  Ban Mian has this wide flat noodles floating in a rich soup topped with minced pork, some vegetables, and some fried anchovies.  We often put some soy sauce with chili to go with it to give it a little kick.  Almost all noodles in Singapore have chili as side dish.  And its perfect combination.



There are gazillion choices of noodles to choose from.  If traveling in this country, might as well try them all and be the judge.