Buffet Lunch @ Classic Lao Di Fang Park Mall

It has been a long time since I last updated on Lao Di Fang ("LDF"). LDF used to have 3 outlets and it is very sad to see just this last one standing now. I have no idea if the one at Ang Mo Kio is still operating.
I used to patronise the LDF at Chinatown as the prices was much cheaper. However, the standard has dropped a lot and it has since closed down. Hence if I am craving for Braised Beef Noodles (红烧面), there is only one choice now.. which is Classic LDF, which has since relocated to Parkmall.

Classic LDF now offers value-for-money buffet lunch which I think is very worth.

Menu

There are over 30 selections available ranging from appetizers to dim sum to soups and all time favourites. If only braised beef noodles is available, it would have been more perfect. Anyway, this was good enough to make me feel spoilt for choice, as I wanted to try a mouthful of everything on the menu. Furthermore, it only costs $12.80 for Adults and $9.80 for Children. The only catch here is that this is only available from Mon to Fri, inclusive of first and fifteen of the lunar month, where you are required to pay a dollar more.

Beancurd Fries

This is my family favourite must-order side dish. Instead of the usual potato, this is made out of beancurd, making it taste really chewy. Im starting to drool as I write!

Sambal Sweet Potato Leaves

This was quite well cooked with bean sauce as well as sambal chili, aint too spicy as well. Would be great with a bowl of rice!

Spicy & Sour Soup

It was written as hot & sour soup in the menu but I've decided to name it spicy & sour instead, as this is really spicy! Not suitable for the weak stomach. One thing good is that the soups are served by per serving. Hence if you and your friend want to try 2 types of soups, you may order a serving each. The mushroom soup is yummy and tasty too.

Gyoza

Nicely fried, tastes good with ginger and vinegar..

Curry Spare Ribs

I was expecting this to have a strong curry taste but was proven wrong. This was more sweet & sour sauce cooked with curry leaves. Aint too bad as the spare ribs is made from lotus roots wrapped with mock meat. Quite a unique taste with the strong aroma from the curry leaves.

Olive Fried Rice

Fragrantly fried, but a little more olives would make it even better.

Trotters Meat Slices Dipped in Chili Oil

This dish is served cold. Im not sure if this meat is readily availale in the market or not, but this tasted well. The fatty portion is made from konnyaku and meat side was chewy. A tad oily since this is dipped in chili oil.

All in all, 2 of us ate a total of 8 dishes and a dessert.

Other MUST trys - French Beans, Cuttlefish Ball, HK Noodles

Location: 9 Penang Road, B1-12, Park Mall

Tel: 6533 8959

Loving Hut @ Parklane

I've earlier blogged about loving hut @ Suntec and I'm a frequent customer of this outlet. As for the parklane outlet, I've never been there, but heard that business is brisk too. Here's miumiu's contribution from the parklane outlet.

Parklane Mall is just besides Paradiz Centre and you could easily recognize the store along the Selegie road. The nearest MRT station is Dhoby Ghaut. Note: some of the dishes do contain onion or garlic. If you don’t consume, you should mention when ordering.

Lemongrass Curry Rice Set $5.80

This dish I ordered is a set meal, which comes with rice and soup. You can also choose to order the main dish, which costs only $4.50 (just the bowl of curry). The plate of brown rice comes with curry brinjal (aka eggplant), which is not a fixed side vegetable for this dish, depending on what they are cooking on that day. I must compliment that their brinjal is well cooked. As for the curry, it is not so fragrant. However, it does compliment with the rice. Comprises of some potato chunks and vegetarian mutton meat.

Loving hut's soup is one of the best I've tried. It also consists of carrots, corns, melon and some vegetable. Overall, it’s definitely worth trying.

Pumpkin Soup $3.80

The soup is quite blend and I think that the herb (not the coriander) is also unnecessary for it. It doesn’t add to the taste but spoil the flavor of the soup.

Thanks miumiu for your contribution!

Locations:

1. 3 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City Mall,Sky Garden #03-016, Tower 2, S 038983; Tel: 65 6238 6755; Opening Hours: Till 9+PM daily

2. Parklane Shopping Mall, 35 Selegie Road #01-07, Singapore 188307
Opening Hours: Till 9+PM daily

3. Block 161, Bukit Merah Central, #01-3725, next to POSB; Tel: 6377 4354

Website: http://www.lovinghut.com.sg/

Loving Hut

Finally i'm writing about this cafe since it opened last week. Anyway, loving hut is a new cafe replacing the previous indinine. Its quite a pity as Indinine has built a reputation over the years. Anyway, If you do know where indinine has moved to, please let me know!
I'm quite happy that it is yet another vegetarian cafe replacing and this gives me more options to choose from since Im working at suntec.

Thats the cafe.. the Sofas are gone, but the tables, chairs are still the same. One thing is you wouldnt know its vegetarian till you see the poster or menus. This is a good marketing strategy, as loads of meat eaters shun the word veggie.

Thanks to Gill who made the trip down to lunch with me!

Mee Pok Dry ($4.80)

I remember seeing the price tag at $2.50, maybe my eyes did play a trick on me. Anyway, the portion was big and the soup tasted good. The most important part in making good mee pok is the tactics of cooking the mee pok. Luckily this tasted just right, it wasnt too soggy and in fact was chewy enough to make me finish the entire bowl. Ingredients comprises of fresh lettuce, minced vegetarian meat with mushrooms and fishballs. Soup is brewed with corn, sweet potato and carrots, making it real sweet. I like it! If you do order this dish, remember to request for no onions.

Silky Tofu Mushrooms Set $5.80

The silky tofu mushroom is served with brown rice and stir fried cabbages and completed with a soup. It is a big portion for 1 serving. If you are a small eater, I guess you may just order this set meal and add another plate of rice to eat with another person. The tofu tasted normal and i reckon the ingredients used on top is the same for my mee pok. The mushrooms are chewy though.

Tofu Jacket $3.80

Doesn't look good on pictures, but it is quite a surprise. The tofu jacket is a side dish we have ordered to share. 5 big pieces of Tofu stuffed with ingredients. I couldn't really make out wat are the ingredients (other than carrots and minced tofu), but it was really juicy.

Sunny Forest/ Rose lemon Juice $3.80 Each

Im not really into juices as I usually requests for plain water since most places do not charge a fee. Anyway, since I wanted to write about this place, gotta write something on the drinks... so we ordered the Sunny Forest and Rose Lemon Juices. Sunny forest is a lemon, mint and soda mixed drink. I thought it was good, and it comprises of a combination taste of sweet and sour. As for the rose lemon juice, there is far too much lemon taste that I could hardly make out the taste of the rose petals available. You can just order plain water to save the money.

Do request for no garlic/onions if you do not take them.

All in all, loving hut seems to be going all out this year to promote vegetarianism in view of the growing global crisis. They are planning to open (some are already opened) outlets in HK, Taiwan, USA, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, and this is definitely great news for us vegetarians. Do google for more information!

Location:

1. 3 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City Mall,
Sky Garden #03-016, Tower 2, S 038983
Tel: 65 6238 6755
Opening Hours: Till 9+PM daily

2. Parklane Shopping Mall, 35 Selegie Road #01-07, Singapore 188307

Opening Hours: Till 9+PM daily

Website: http://www.lovinghut.com.sg/

3. Blk 161 #01-3752 Bukit Merah Central (next to POSBank) Singapore 150161,

Open Hours 11am - 9:30pm except Monday 11am - 3:30pm

Lao Di Fang Vegetarian Cafe (老地方素食)

Lao Di Fang on the Move again! Relocated Add below~

Anyway, last night as we had a craving for the food there, my second sis decided to give us all a treat. Woohooo!

Braised Beef Noodles (红烧面 ) $6.50

This is my family's all time favourite. My mum loved the Ma La (spicy) version. The soup is tasty and the noodles is chewy. Also, there is a lot of "beef" slices given. Fret not, it is not mock meat here. The "beef" is in fact made from mushrooms. Therefore, if you are not into mock meats, this is a good choice.

Kampong Chicken Rice Bento (山鸡排饭) $6.50

Other than noodles, the bentos totally captivated our hearts. Served from a nice box (as shown), not only the chicken is tantalising, the grilled corn is superb too! Nonetheless, the cafe serves free soup which you may help yourself to as many bowls as possible. There is also watermelon as your fruit after meal.

Pork Ribs Rice Bento ( 排骨饭) $6.50

The rice served is mixed with brown rice, which makes it a healthy choice too! Of course, there are other non-fried choices like the Eel Fish Rice Bento.

Braised Tofu Claypot (红烧豆腐煲) $8.80

As my dad is a traditional uncle, he is not very into bentos but he loves steamy hot dishes like that which he can go with Rice. The dishes here are not bad, but I would highly recommend the Beef and Tofu Stew （牛腩豆腐煲) as it is quite unusual to get it elsewhere.

Other foods~

(Picture taken from my god brother chuanz bloggie)

Side Dishes

Went there again the other day with my colls and irene loves the Cold Tofu So much that she took a total of 5 pictures (with different styles..). Cold Tofu is a dish where they serve homemade special sauce on fresh tofu (uncooked). It tastes heavenly as the sauce is not too saltish but at the same time the tofu is smooth and melts directly. On the right side is the Abalone Muchroom (fried). It is sprinkled with chili powder to make it tastier.

Location:

1. Classic Lao Di Fang Restaurant: 9 Penang Road, B1-12 Park Mall

Tel: 6533 8959

Website: http://www.classicldf.sg/

2. Classic Lao Di Fang (Ex- Shaw Towers): Blk 122 Ang Mo Kio Street 12, Inside coffee shop. Located opposite Mai Zhi Su. (Last heard: Selling Mixed Veg. Rice instead).