Not wanting to be left out, I decided to venture into Balestier, a place I hardly venture in.
Very difficult to find a carpark space. Managed to squeeze into a slot next to a half completed condo.
It is located below Value Hotel, which is owned by the Hotel 81 group. From the looks of the customers at Value Hotel, I don't think it is a sleazy hotel. More of a family oriented budget hotel.
2nd Kitchen is famous for its Giant Grouper. On the menu, there are news reports of how the owner of Seafood City (which owns 2nd Kitchen) managed to catch these giant grouper near the seas of Sabah and Sarawak. The owner was from Batam, and former Indonesian President Suharto and Habibi (the red dot guy) were fans of his.
We had this Signature Winged Bean With Sambal (S$12). Winged Bean is a common dish in Malaysia, and this was my 1st time tasting it. It was good. The winged bean was crunchy (and very fresh), and the sambal was top notch.
Next come the secret dish which till now, no blogger dares (I think...) to name it on their blog. Even though it is served only to their regulars, I had to persuade the aunty to let me try it.
Me: Aunty, can I order this special meat dish you all have?
Aunty: Wah, how you know? U came here before?
Me: No la, I know of people who ate here, and they raved about this secret meat dish.
Aunty: Ermmm...
Me: Can?
So here comes the secret dish:
Gosh. This is my 1st time trying this meat. It is soooo tender and so full of flavour. The aunty recommend us to cook the meat wiht ginger and spring onion, and indeed it was a great choice. MUST ORDER!
Also ordered the steam pectoral fins of the Giant Grouper. The meat is very fresh, sweet and tender.
Finally, another soup dish which many bloggers raved about - The photophores soup. Cooked with different chinese herbs and the photophores (those light emitting skins on a fish to attract food) of the giant grouper for many many hours, it reminded me of the shark cartilage soup with it's milky texture. Some may not like the soup due to it's fish taste, but I love every drop of the soup.
The eatery only has a small air con seating place which is always fully reserved. So do come here in the evening where it is cooler as there are more seats outside along Balestier Road and behind the hotel.
2nd Kitchen
592 Balestier Road
#01-03