Restoran Hen Hwa

Hey, this was really tasty food there and inexpensive to boot from a shop house eatery of the old world charm where one could still find themselves seated on plastic chairs and foldable tables on the road aside parked cars. I didn't really take note of the address unfortunately, but its somewhere in the vicinity of Taman Sentosa, Johor Bahru. I was told that the food that they serve are quite similar to what you can find in kuey chap. So what we had was essentially a sampler of just a few of the items that was suppose to be quite popular here as we already started off with a healthy dose of some street side grilled/steamboat skewers (lok-lok).

It definitely helped some that their bowls of kuey teow kia (thin rice noodles) were actually light and clear tasting in that mildly herbal broth with crunchy bean sprouts and a helping of spring onions with fried shallots.

The deep fried pipa duck and fish stood out pretty well being greasy but not excessively so. The fish was fried in a manner that almost everything on the exterior was chew-ably crispy and the only remnant of it after one was through with them was the bone at the centre and nothing else. With a home made chilli sauce and squeezed lime on the side. They're definitely one of those things that could be grouped under beer food.

I can definitely revisit this place.

Saraceno Ristorante

So, this was a rather new place down at Tanjong Pagar (83 Duxton Road, Berjaya Hotel Singapore, tel : 6438-9638) that was opened about 3 months or so back with a Czech chef that has done a stint in Italy and also formerly under Gordon Ramsey. I don't really know if the latter situation really makes any difference, but so far, I must say that the food was really not bad. In a way that it wasn't overly complicated and that the individual wasn't overwhelmed by the sum of its part if you catch my drift. Much modern cooking transforms a dish into a form where the original ingredients are often lost in translation (lol!), but it certainly didn't look like it was that way here.

There was a generously portion Parma ham with juicy pieces of porcini on bruchetta to start. The truffle oil was a very nice accent to the rockets and mushrooms with neither of the flavors overpowering. In fact, what was really nice about it was that every ingredient could be distinctly tasted.

The pan roasted tenderloin featured also porcini and truffle oil. I'm wondering if its the same batch of mushrooms that was done with the starter. Again, it was another item where both fungal aromas were identifiably in harmony even with the red wine reduction. The beef was a well medium-rare, nicely browned on the outside and a juicy red on the interior. No complains except for the size. Lol. I've gotta say that I hope the grilled calf livers are here to stay as a permanent item on the menu. Done medium with a very nice char grill fragrance on the exterior, I would expect this to be rather enjoyable to anyone who has a thing for innards. On a bed of exquisitely soft gnocchis.

I like them freshly made baked apples on puff pastry. They certainly appeared very unassuming to me on first glance but it's really good, served hot with a good measure of drizzled caramel. Even though the base of the pastry was soggy, hot and buttery really elevated it into a good difference there. It's kinda like bread pudding. This is something that one should not give a miss for dessert. Personally, I liked the pineapple raviolis as well which seems to be a signature dessert that they have. It's basically thinly sliced frozen pineapples folded across a lime sorbet. Along with chopped bits of strawberries in balsamic vinegar. It's not the usual sweet item for dessert, but chilled as they are, I found them rather refreshingly sour for an interesting change.

Prosciutto di Parma con Bruschetta ai Porcini e scaglie di grana
Parma ham with Porcini on toasted bread, parmesan shavings and truffle oil

how does black pearls of vinegar in olive oil sound?

bread basket

amuse bouche (steak tartare)

Filetto di Manzo con Porcini e salsa al vino rosso
Fillet of Beef tenderloin with Porcini, Potatoe purée and red wine sauce

Fegato di Vitello alla griglia con gnocchi, burro, salvia e cipolle croccanti
Grilled Calves liver with gnocchi, butter and sage, crispy onions aged balsamic vinegar

Torta di mele
Peeled apples slowly baked on puff pastry

Ravioli di Ananas

Thickburger

It's thick because it's padded with the girth of two slices of tomatoes, onions and lettuce. But otherwise, the patty wasn't that big of a deal. Sure it was bigger than the usual of the fast food variety, but I didn't think it was that impressive of a difference. This Thickburger from CJ purports the use of Angus beef which I really can't tell. I mean, is it suppose to even taste different at all? The marketing tag say that some like it long and most would prefer it thick. I like mine less wet. Would have been better if the buns weren't soaked and disintegrating with all that mayo and ketchup.

Teck Fu Bak Kut Teh, Sembawang Hill Food Centre

I was brought down to try this BKT stall down at Thomson (Sembawang Hill Food Centre, 590 Upper Thomson Road, #01-24) which was described to be not bad. True enough, it really wasn't too bad. There was a bone or two which I could pick on it like the broth being less peppery than the norm and that they could've been much more generous with the soft boiled cloves of garlic. Those things aside, this was quite decent. There was just enough fat in the meat for me and the meat didn't come across too dry or hard. It actually got off the bone quite easily which I liked. Portions were unfortunately, quite small. Still, there was a nice braised tau kee (dried bean curd sheets) in that dark sauce that scored some points with me. I wouldn't mind eating here again, but probably not make that extra effort to go out of the way.

More from Wasabi Tei

I think I can quite safely establish that Wasabi Tei is not the place for me to have sushi. A little can be said of their generous and thick, but formless sashimi slices and I would admit to having enjoyed the salmon quite a bit, but otherwise it's really not what I'm looking for. Might have been a bad fish day today, but I don't think it's a valid excuse. The negiri was simply not up to the satisfaction factor and for something that is considered to be a form of art, this was really far too abstract. Lol. Just like Picasso without the brush. And fingers.

I could point it to the mekajiki and maguro that was really sinewy today, but I don't think there's much else to say about the raw food. There was also ankimo on the menu, something that normally gets my attention and this one was a little different from what I've had before. This simply tasted a lot like pâté. Really a lot like pâté than any fish liver I've had from its flavor and saltiness. Hmmm.....stick to the cooked food I will.

An okonomiyaki from Japanese Gourmet Town

Here's a mochi and cheese okonomiyaki from the Botejyu counterpart of the three in one themed Japanese food place at Vivocity. I wonder if the mayo designs at the top will ever evolve like latte art. Lol. Seriously, this stuff is quite good in the conforting sense, so I'm going to try more of them to see if they're as tasty or is it just this particular one. The addition of mochi in the batter made them taste a little like chinese radish cake and surprisingly for me, the sauces at the top weren't as overwhelming as I thought it might have been. Another unexpected thing were that the bits of chopped cabbage inside actually tasted naturally sweet.

Hakata Nihon Ryori, Mohd Sultan Road

I think this is one of those places (33, Mohd Sultan Road #01-03, S23897, tel : 6836 1039) that has been around for a while. One of the many that I've seen or passed by but never gotten myself to step in. Until today that is after a tip off about the Kyushu based food that they serve and a chance for me to try their tonkotsu ramen which ironically for me, did not turn out to be one of those that I had thought were the better rendition. A word of advice is, don't pick the seats at the bar. The counter radiates heat from the refrigeration unit and it could get uncomfortably warm after a while.

I was quite attracted to the idea of the uni to ama ebi don, but the uni was quite disappointing. It was a little less chilled than I would have liked and a little too stiff as well. The light aroma of the sea urchin didn't really quite get through. In short, it was a failed uni test for me and I didn't think was encouraging for me to actually want to try the gunkans. The sweetish ama ebi was fortunately quite decent, but wasn't good enough enough to be a salvation of any kind to the don.

The tonkotsu ramen was actually decent and I like these straight noodles that they use, as opposed to the curly ones. Since this was a sort of specialty at this place, it throws in some questions on my part as to why it tasted more peppery than what I've has before. The sliced chashu was small and definitely not the ones that will dissolve its fat in your mouth. In fact, it tasted like sliced pork in lor mee. At $10, it was also one of the better priced bowls around, considering that we're talking about Mohd Sultan here.

I like them potato no mentai yakis. They're basically sliced of potatoes coated with a layer of mentaiko and grilled (or baked?). We were informed that these things took a while to prepare and that we might have to wait a little, but it was actually served before the other items arrived. Now this wasn't just a flavoring if you're wondering. The potato slices were covered with enough mentaiko that you could taste the fish eggs.

All in all, the food wasn't too bad despite the poor show of the uni. And there was quite a variety on menu that kept me interested to the point that I can see myself coming back.

Wasabi Tei : cooked food edition

Dare I say that the unagi don from Wasabi Tei was actually not bad despite the charred appearances and I thought that I detected a little bit of that greasy fattiness underneath the grilled skin of the eel. Not much can really be attributed to the quality of eels in most of the places, but I guess there are some places that do serve a pretty decent non-Japanese import of those fishes and this one, in generous portions and a warm bowl of sticky rice to boot.

The unagi nigiris did surprise me a little since I wasn't expecting them to be so large. As expected though, they weren't much to look at, but the sizes were nothing one can raise any issues on. The rice at the bottom barely held the weight of the grilled eels on top.

I generally don't hold much hopes for gyu dons since I've never really had any that was really worth remembering apart from the savory variety at Yoshinoya which was surprisingly quite addictive. It's a pity that they're just another chain that takes no pride in what they serve by charging quite a bit and delivering pathetic portions for them. Wasabi Tei's rendition was nothing short of comfort food with sliced beef. Surprisingly well blended was the flavors of the thinly sliced striped of sauteed onions and bits of garlic that worked really well with their salty sauce and greasy thin slices of cow on top of the warm rice. Again, it's form over finesse in generous quantities of simple comfort. Did I mention that they have a mushroomy tasting chawanmushi that's loaded with Shimeiji mushrooms too?

Ichibantei, Robertson Quay

I think I'm starting to become a fan of these tan tan mian. This is a hiyashi tan tan mian from Ichibantei (60 Robertson Quay, #01-04 The Quayside, tel : 6733 3923) and it is probably going to make itself into my top of the list for cold ramen with its robust savory sweet and spicy sesame soup base and springy noodles. Not that there are any others in that list apart from the cold ramen at Noodle House Ken which was as good if not better in its own refreshing way. The generous toppings of ground meat helped with the textural chewiness in a good way too. There was also a rather decent tonkotsu ramen in the house that came with the usual milky pork bone broth, tender sliced chashu and egg. Quite unfortunately, the order of oyster kakis was frankly very disappointing. They were shrivelled and dry as compared to fat and juicy. I've passed by this place on countless occasions and only sometimes wondering if there was anything good about them. If not for today, that cycle would probably have continued.