Wan He Lou Restaurant @ Maude Road

If you love lobster porridge, which is so hard to find in Singapore, you would be delighted to know that there is an award-winning lobster porridge at Wan He Lou Restaurant, conveniently located at Eastern-Central part of Singapore - Maude Road.

Thanks to MollyMia, I went with the M&Ms to savour the famous lobster porridge at Wan He Lou Restaurant one weekend!

Wan He Lou Restaurant

65 Maude Road

Opening Hours

Daily: 11:00 - 14:30

Daily: 17:00 - 22:30

Contact Number

+65 62948057

Website

http://www.wanhelou.com/

Parking is readily available right opposite the restaurant by per-entry fees for weekday evenings and weekends.

For non-drivers, you can take the public transport to either Lavender station or Farrer Park station, and the restaurant just within 10-15 mins by foot! Good for a walk after meal :)



Being excited, we reached super early, before the official opening hours lol.

Being a Chinese restaurant, the interior decor is of Eastern Asia tone needless to say. The huge hanging lanterns adds on to the Oriental characteristic, without taking up unnecessary space for more tables and seats!

Signature Lobster Porridge (招牌龙虾粥) $29.90 onwards

The story of the award-winning lobster porridge began with Chef Lau, an avid diver, out on a routine leisure trip with his friends when he caught a lobster and decided to cook it for dinner. As they were on an isolated island, he could only find rice from the locals so he decided to make porridge using seawater and the lobster. The fresh sea flavours of the lobster worked so well with the porridge that Chef Dee continued to experiment and refine the dish after he had gone home.

That was how 萬合樓 (Wàn Hé Lóu) signature dish - the award winning Lobster Porridge was born. This is but one of many delectable dishes created by culinary ingenuity of Chef Lau. Besides Chef Lau's other awards and achievement, this particular dish had won the top prize at a culinary event which was part of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.



The lobsters were scooped up for each individual once the dish is served to prevent the lobsters from overcooking in the piping hot porridge.
Having tried this some time back, the porridge is exactly what I remembered it to be!
Fresh, flavorful soup with loose rice grains, and delectable lobster halves. The flavor of the lobster broth/soup is intensified with lobster roe, not just any concentrated stock, giving us a bona fide lobster broth experience.

Serving of the lobsters is also quite generous - prices go by number of lobster halves, not by weight! :)
Also, the lobsters are perfectly cooked with the flesh remaining tender and springy to bite.

Gonna bring my family back again to enjoy it once more!



On a side note, I like how the dishes come in two sizes - small and large - to cater to smaller groups so that we can relish more variety of food by ordering smaller portions each!

Pan Fried Kurobuta Pork $14.90 / $26.90

Also commonly known as 黑豚肉. Kurobuta is the Japanese name for Black Pork.
This premium pork is done well, tender and juicy with Wan He Lou's special sauce.

The dish was polished off pretty fast and I grabbed the last piece of meat despite the fact that I'm not a pork-lover (can even say I quite hate the taste of pork). Shows how good it is! :)

Green Dragon Vegetable with Dried Shrimps $9.90 / $17.90

This is the next best dish we had, after the lobster porridge and kurobuta pork.

As simple as it may look, I just can't put in words how GOOD it taste! The vegetable is so fresh and crunchy, done with dried shrimps which makes it really tasty and aromatic.

Many of us have not heard of this vegetable before and the owner gladly enlightened us that it is a variation of chives (though it taste nothing like chives) and is in fact, "creme of the crop" quite literally:

The farmer lets his chives grow for six weeks before chopping off the top half of the leaves to be used as mulch and fertiliser. He then covers the remaining chives with a thick nylon netting for 10 days in a process known as blanching before harvesting them. Limiting sunlight made the chives more tender and delicious as they contained less fibre.

The vegetables can be prepared in alternative styles, such as sauteed with chopped garlic, sambal belacan, spicy bean paste, or anchovies just to name a few!

Crispy Lotus with Salted Egg $11.90 / $19.90

I'm sure we are all familiar with lotus root in soups and salted egg yolk in liu sha pao. Combine the both together? We get a whole new innovative creation.

The lotus root is sliced thin and deep fried with a coat of salted egg yolk.

AWESOME.

This acts as a good appetizer while waiting for the mains, or a good side dish to pair with the porridge, or even an after-meal munch.

To sum up, it is simply yummy anytime! :D

Hokkaido Scallop with Hawthorn Sauce & Asparagus $20.90 / $39.90

Another green dish, the asparagus, comes with huge, expensive Hokkaido scallops to top it off and an unique sauce made with Hawthorn.

So you get a little of the sourish tang of the (Hawthorn) fruit with sweetness of the scallops.

Next up is the Fresh Vegetable Juice which I really couldn't stop gushing about!

The drink is a concoction of pineapple, sour plum and cai xin that turns out so well that nobody could believed it. I could only taste the pineapple and sour plum, which is refreshing and appetizing, and at the same time, so good for the body with the cai xin blended in (don't worry! the cai xin remains pretty "anonymous" for non-veg lovers).

I almost wanted to have a THIRD glass that day. 

If only there could be more space in my tummy, lol!

Dessert of the week $3.90 onwards

Lychee pudding with chocolate ice-cream

Laoban-style beancurd with chocolate ice-cream and chendol

Quite a unique combination. 

Clearly, the ladies preferred the lychee pudding and M was almost left with only the beancurd lol.

Wan He Lou also has lunch buffet available.
Ooh lala, can consider for TGIF lunches :p

Wan He Lou Restaurant

65 Maude Road

Opening Hours

Daily: 11:00 - 14:30

Daily: 17:00 - 22:30

Contact Number

+65 62948057

Website

http://www.wanhelou.com/

The Cat Cafe @ Bugis Village

Following the first cat cafe that opened in Singapore, there seems to be an influx of such cafe themes and one of them is The Cat Cafe.

A quick comparison of the two cat cafes I've visited:

With that, you can more or less know which cafe I prefer personally :) 

The Cat Cafe wins hands down to date in Singapore. The staff/keeper at The Cat Cafe are approachable and interactive, chatting with the customers every now and then about the kitties and their liking. Interestingly, the felines are similarly sociable and communicative - some of them have traits that are simply too adorable to know!

I also like the idea that all cats from The Cat Cafe were ex-strays or cats abandoned by their owners. They were rescued by Kitty Care Haven and now given a "second chance/life" at The Cat Cafe.

Entrance fee to the cafe is also very reasonable, especially since we stayed for around 3 hours at the cafe, at just $15 with a complimentary soft drink.

The Cat Cafe is very spacious at 1,200 sq ft with a dining area that allows the cats to roam around freely. Also, cushions and floor seats are plentiful making sure that both customers and felines are comfortable chilling at the cafe.

Cliche, but I must still say, The Cat Cafe is almost purrrfect :)

The Cat Cafe is located above Bugis Village, which is convenient for those not driving.

The Cat Cafe SG

241B Victoria Street Level 3

(Right above Burger King)

$15 per entry (with a complimentary soft drink)

Top ups available to upgrade drinks to coffee/tea/juices

Age requirement: 6 & Above only. Children under 12 must be accompanied by adults

Hours

Monday: 3pm to 10pm

Tuesday – Sunday, Public Holiday: 10am to 10pm

Upon entering the cafe, you'll be greeted by a smiley staff/owner that makes you feel welcomed right away.

Currently there are no reservation system in place. However, you may call the cafe beforehand to enquire on the "waitlist", or to place your name on it so that you may gauge the time to arrive and not required to wait any further.

While making payment for the entrance fees, you'll be asked for your choice of soft drinks and any additional food orders.

We had to sanitized our hands before entering the cats/dining area and changed into non-slip footwear.

Once at our seats, the staff briefed us on the cafe rules with this plastic sheet, and asked if we have any queries or any other food orders.

Pet grooming items on sale in the cat cafe.

Here's their beef lasagne with chips and the complimentary soft drinks.

At only $8.90 (no GST and service charge), I would say the lasagna is pretty good for a proper meal while enjoying the time with the felines.

It would be great to drop by the cafe during dinner time (I mean dinner time of the felines) so as to catch them in action!

Look at them gathering for dinner.

Getting into petty catfights while waiting.

Finally!

(I'm contented, lalala..!)

It was a joy to watch all of them munch hungrily at their dry food.

Naturally, there will be a few greedy ones that goes around sneakily once they're done, to grab others' food. Lmao. You HAVE to go down and watch them in real life! :)

See Elly searching for the "weakest link" to attack as soon as she was done with her dish.

Elly is probably the greediest and most approachable cat in the cafe. When there are no food in sight, she behaves like a guardcat seated constantly on the gate when we went, so she will be the first to "greet" all customers! (Thou I suspect she's seated at such a high point becos it helps in sighting food more easily, rofl.)

(Oh someone's here again!)

(O.O Is that FOOD i see??!)

(*sniffsniff*)

For the cats' safety, all customers had the permission to "grab" the cats away in the event that they touch human food.

Most of them seem to love coffees, no idea why. But you know what to order if you want them coming to you (your food..) ;)

Elly was nosing her way into my tote on the floor while we were not aware. Hence M had to protect it!

Here's her attempting to manja M into giving her my tote, before being distracted by a water fountain nearby.

(Water in the bowl is better than unknown tote on the lap. *enlightened*)

After dinner-hour would be treats time!

Look how the cats will crowd around once they spot someone carry treats!

The treats are available at $3 per bowl - canned tuna.

(Do I smell tuna??)

Some cats wait patiently for customers to feed them one-by-one.

Some happily lap up treats that are accidentally dropped.

Some simply snatch *slaps head*

Some wait patiently.. (But never get it rofl)

Others queue up for treats.

Talk about discipline!

After treat-time, the felines roamed around for play and drinks.

Here's Missy, drinking and showering with the fountain.

Missy

Missy is a shy siamese cross that take a while to warm up. 

Her 'half-face' is so unique!

Jimmy and Yogurt having a romantic drinking session. lol.

Jimmy

See the fluff - almost too much to bear!

Patches

Per The Cat Cafe, Patches is also the selfie queen as she would stay still and look straight into the camera when you try taking a selfie with Patches. So true!!

*Pose*

See? Lmao, still looking at the camera!

Ginny

A home grown Singapura kitty. In case, you didnt know Ginny is fully grown and not a kitten – Singapura cats are known for their smaller build.

Ginny can be extremely friendly at times and often found taking short naps on patrons lap. 

I believe she likes guys better though cos she was sniffing non-stop at M's butt lmao! And on another occasion, Mia told us that she fell asleep at T's crotch area for a good half hour *'.'*

Silver

Silver is one that constantly has that funny disapproving/bo-chup look on her face. But she is gentle and enjoys butt pats and stroking!

*Raises butt for patting*

*Bo chup towards my nom nom-ing*

Yogurt

Yogurt is the sibling of Cookie and Pudding. She might seem a little shy and need some time to warm up fully.

I can't really differentiate her from her siblings honestly. They look so alike!

Pudding 

*She was disagreeing that she looks alike with Yogurt*

(See how confident I stand, compared to Yogurt)

Pudding is one of the more playful cats and constantly on the move. She was often found wrestling with her sibling, Cookie.

Kelly

Another cat that looks highly similar to Pudding above!

She's slightly tinier in size, and naps most of the time right after dinner.

Cookie

Cookie seems to share a bromance with Tommy...

(Honey I'm home!)

(Oh sweets, you're back *smooches*)

The two black felines.

Tuxedo (left) and Tommy (right)

With his bromance with Cookie aside, Tommy loves playing with the fishing rod!

Tuxedo

Our favourite cat for the night! He is very active and constantly on a lookout for play!

His favourite toy is the mouse and he walks around meowing aloud with victory each time he catches it.

We called him the haolian cat, lol.

The staff told us that Tuxedo enjoys belly rubs too, awww.

And here's the staff showing us in the picture.

Tuxedo lay down in bliss totally.

FruitCake

Looking totally like a fruitcake from the bakery, she is one of the oldest cat in The Cat Cafe. No wonder she has a kinda old grandmother look.

Nevertheless, her fur is so gorgeously colored!

(Excuse me, are you talking about me?)

(Btw, who were you calling 'old grandmother'...)

(I sense someone stalking me)

(OH! You! Want a photo of me?)

(I look better in this lighting *winks*)

At aroud 8pm, the cats start to fall asleep.

In 3....

2...

1...

zzzz...

(*GLARES* It's so rude to stare while I'm asleep.)

*looks away*

But can't beat the zzz monster...

(Is someone taking my photo?)

(*SHOCKS*)

(I better wake up and look cute for the photoshoot)

(*Shows my cute pinky paws)

With that, we left the cats to their naps.

The Cat Cafe SG

241B Victoria Street Level 3

(Right above Burger King)

$15 per entry (with a complimentary soft drink)

Top ups available to upgrade drinks to coffee/tea/juices

Age requirement: 6 & Above only. Children under 12 must be accompanied by adults

Hours

Monday: 3pm to 10pm

Tuesday – Sunday, Public Holiday: 10am to 10pm