East Coast Lagoon Prawn Noodle • Laksa, Food Opera @ ION Orchard

I remember eating at this stall at Food Opera (#B4-03/04, ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn) a few times in the past decade but couldn't find any mention of those times except all the way back when I thought the stall was called 3rd Generation Laksa & Prawn Noodle.

Anyways, laksa's pretty damn good here. Gravy was velvety, heart clogging-ly lemak and robust with dried shrimp flavour. Quite Peranakan-ish. Hard boiled eggs, tau pok, some halved prawns and fish cake inside with thick bee hoon. A competent representation in my opinion. 👍🏼

Prawn kuey teow soup was okay-ish. Broth needs a splash of soya sauce.

Morel chicken soup with cordyceps and hot corn juice in May plus other stuff from Tsui Wah (翠華)

Some stuff we ate from Tsui Wah in May. We were here a couple of times recently because of the morel chicken soup and hot corn juice. Those were limited time menu items for May.

Mostly it was for the morel chicken soup with cordyceps. Soup's mushroomy and pretty flavourful with peppery notes. Chicken was tender and not dried out.

Their corn juice is the less gritty version compared to what Putien used to have. I don't think 'corny' is the best word to describe them but it's what they were. You know what I mean.

Probably the nicest char chan teng luncheon meat and egg sandwich around.

Have seen the char siew and scrambled egg fried rice for some time. Finally tried it. While I generally love some fat in the meat, I think there's too much of it in this one. Won't be getting it again.

A few days later......

More morel chicken soup with cordyceps.

More corn juice.

Finally tried their jumbo hot dog. Bread's dry-ish and studded with sesame seeds but not getting any flavour from them. The dog was falling apart as we ate. Bun's too dry. At least we've tried it.

JJ Fishball (舅舅鱼丸面), Alexandra Village Food Centre

Noticed JJ Fishball (#01-26, Alexandra Village Food Centre, Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1) some time back and wanted to try. Despite the name, they do a little more than just fishball noodles. Here's a $5.50 bowl of mushroom bak chor mee pok.

Nicely done with pretty generous portions. Mee pok was thick (as opposed to the flatter variety Xiang Jiang uses) and vinegary. There's minced pork, sliced pork, pork liver and stewed mushrooms - the latter was flavour packed and garlicky. No meatballs. Sambal didn't have much heat and it wasn't even that spicy even with the sliced chilli thrown in. Not a bad bowl though. Don't mind coming back.

Lye Huat Cooked Food (來發熟食), Jalan Bukit Merah Food Centre

Pretty good tasting Chinese mee siam from Lye Huat (#01-21, 112 Jalan Bukit Merah Market & Food Centre, 112 Jalan Bukit Merah). This one had a slightly gritty broth that was sweet, lime-y and a little nutty with a bit of heat. We were initially intending to try the lontong but that was sold out at around 9am in the morning. Whisper was that that this stall has been operating for many years.

Bai Sheng Teochew Minced Meat Noodle (百胜潮州肉脞面), Defu Industrial City

Pretty generously portioned $5 bowl from Bai Sheng Teochew Minced Meat Noodle (GHK Defu Industrial City, 2 Defu South Street 1). A few things I didn't like. Mee pok was overcooked. Fried lard (猪油渣) chunks were a little soggy and not particularly fragrant. I suppose the bowl could also benefit from the sambal packing a bit more punch. But otherwise edible.

Dabba Street, Tiong Bahru Plaza

Have been wanting to try Dabba Street (#B1-K06 Tiong Bahru Plaza, 302 Tiong Bahru Road) for some time and it finally happened.

Got the Butter Chicken Biryani and the Butter Chicken Dabba Bowl. They were kinda like Indian/mediterranean fast food. The chicken wasn't actually butter chicken per se but their baked chicken that's doused with their butter chicken sauce.

Briyani spices were kinda tame and low on the salt. The Dabba Bowl came with unflavoured blue pea rice. But I don't mind getting them again because it tasted kinda wholesome and didn't feel particularly heavy. Maybe with more of the yoghurt and aioli the next time.