Rumah Makan Minang, Kandahar Street

Wow, this (18 & 18A Kandahar Street, tel: + 65 6294 4805) was another great find located right behind Sultan Mosque. I've no idea how long this place has been around since I don't often wander into this vicinity, but I think I will be heading back again pretty soon for their great nasi padang. What was good here? Let's see....there was a good telur dadar (chilli filled omelette), crispy chewy paru goreng, a delicious squid in squid ink stew and mackerel in a coconut gravy. Sweet shaven coconut toppings for the rice? Checked as well.

This shop had a bit more going on in terms of variety than Sabar Menanti right down the corridor. It seemed that they're related by extended family. It's going to be difficult to determine which one of them I would like better since the both of them has so much that looked good that I was really spoilt for choice. But for now, this place is calling me back.

Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice, Tiong Bahru

The flavours here (Blk 57 Eng Hoon Street, #01-88 Tai Kwang Huat Coffee Shop) were a trip down memory lane for me even though my hazy memory told me that it used to taste much better in the past. There's a number of these Hainanese curry rice joints over the island and most of them couldn't capture the memories of what I had when I was young. 

This particular stall probably came closest because of their pork chops which had a batter that was different from what's being sold in other places. I believe it includes the use of biscuit crumbs and that these pork chops weren't sliver thin. Which was how I remember them as a kid. Was this the best representative of Hainanese curry rice? I couldn't say, but I think it's pretty good. Love the over simmered eggs that were packed with the flavour of the dark sauce they've been in. The simmered cabbages weren't as nice as I remember them though. Sure didn't beat Tai Dong at that.

Lontong goreng from Mas-Ayu Restaurant

This lontong goreng from Mas-Ayu (55 Upper East Coast Road, tel : +65 6449 2844) was not what I had in mind initially when I had first heard of the dish. I was imagining that it would be literally stir fried lontong with the vegetables and possibly a dried out the sayur lodeh gravy from the stir frying. Instead, it looked like Chinese chai tau kuey and it was basically stir fried ketupat with eggs and fried chicken in a sweet and savoury sauce. Sans the garlic-ky flavours.

The taste of this greasy stir fried dish wasn't as intense as radish cake. Aside from the mentioned lack of garlic and char aroma, it did taste like chai tau kuey. Which made for a pretty decent comfort food item that I wouldn't mind eating again. I think it would have been great if it were spicier.

Donna Carmela, Greenwood Avenue

So I've heard that this place (2 Greenwood Avenue, Hillcrest Park, tel : +65 6463 4206) is essentially run by the people that used to do Mama Lucia, which would explain the similar theme of having both Italian food and churrascaria under the same roof. The dinner had started off quite promising with their rich and creamy burrata cheese that was topped off with truffle oil and some shaven black summer truffles. They had both of them mutually accentuated the flavours of each other resulting in a heady and creamy concoction.

Their Gorgonzola risotto was pretty disappointing as I was expecting unadulterated pungent flavour coming from such a straight forward dish. While it tasted cheesy, it wasn't stinky from the blue cheese and it was actually saved by the serving of grated cheese and pepper on the side. For $28, I thought that one could be much more generous with the Gorgonzola. Sigh......

This was the bombette which were strips of tenderloin rolled with Scarmoza cheese and then probably pan roasted. The result were tubes of flat salty medium rare meat which I thought was something more suited in their churrascaria offerings rather than the Italian menu. While it wasn't bad tasting, it didn't come across as spectacular. And tad overpriced.

We picked the white profiteroles (the other option was black) for dessert. Choux pastry turned out to be blanketed under a thick coat of cream which tasted suspiciously like melted marshmallows. The pastry underneath which was a little soggy and housed a rich chocolate cream in the middle. I actually liked this even though it was a little sweeter than my usual preferences.

Gindara teriyaki and others from Chikuwa Tei...

I've been craving for grilled teriyaiki cod of late and remembered that it used to be pretty good down at the old Wasabi Tei. So this was the update of what they used to do down in Chikuwa Tei these days. Things didn't change very much for that. It still appeared as burnt as I remember them, but I think they might have overdone it a little this time round. The application of the sauce was a little sparse this time round but the meat was still pretty juicy and oily. The skin was remarkably crispy even though it was a little bitter from all that char.


Grilled cod wasn't bad but it didn't quite satisfy my craving.


Meanwhile, we had a bunch of other items on the side which included some pretty juicy and breaded deep fried kaki, their signature laden chawanmushi and an ugly looking favourite of mine, ankimo. The creamy textured fish liver drenched in ponzu and flavoured with scallions were nicely chilled and tasted exceptional this time round. Good stuff.

Tong Kee Chicken Rice (東記雞飯), Commonwealth Drive Food Centre

I've been eating from this chicken rice stall (Commonwealth Drive Food Centre or is it Tanglin Halt Food Centre?, #01-25) a number of times over the past months this year and it was only not too long back that I realised that they only do roasted chicken. To be more accurate, there wasn't any boiled/steamed chicken to be had. Talk about being oblivious. The initial impression was that it was pretty decent and the portions were generous. It wasn't fancy and didn't have anything in particular that was outstanding but it served well as a generic chicken rice option that wasn't the least shabby. There was also the option of roast pork belly to be had too. If I might add, their sweet sauce which they use for their roast pork and eggs was good. It was all fine here until Sin Kee which had pretty much ruined most of the other options out there for me.

Etna Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria, Duxton Road

We came by Etna (49/50 Duxton Road, tel : +65 6220 5513) previously for dessert when we visited Inaho's Kitchen Bar and decided that we would come back for the food another time. The place looked sharp and fuss free - much like the old Al Forno Trattoria or Da Luca with a focus on Sicilian styled cooking and pistachios on the menu.

Their focaccia with sun dried tomatoes were pretty good. The bread was glazed with light layer of oil and was warm and moist. Was definitely better than the dried out husks that are commonly seen elsewhere.

Starter was their frittura mista. The seafood tasted better than it looked. For the prawns, most of the fried ends were so crispy that they could be eaten. Nothing was over fried or excessively greasy. Their accompanying tartar sauce also didn't taste cheap.

Margherite al Pistacchio di Bronte

We ordered their home made ravioli stuffed with four cheeses and walnut stuffings because it sounded interesting with pistachio pesto sauce. For the lack of a better description at this point, it tasted creamy and walnut-ty. I know the latter is not a word but it conveys quite accurately how the taste was. The stuffings in the pasta were pretty robust in flavour. To the point that I didn't quite remember how the sauce tasted like beyond the walnut and a generic creamy salted cheese. Like.

Risotto Siciliano

This was a very nicely timed risotto. I could smell the Parmigiano Reggiano wafting from the rice as they brought it to the table. The flavour was an interesting and also refreshing blend of orange and the cheese which were balanced in a manner that neither overwhelmed the other. The rice was beady, well cooked and coated in the the stock that made the dish. Enjoyed the slices of oranges and the generous amounts of fresh tasting and crunchy prawns. Like.

Dessert was a caramel cream. Disappointing because it was sweet and boring. The drizzles of the chocolate sauce didn't rescue anything at all.

I don't think I'll be deterred by the dessert. I like this place enough to consider coming back again for sure.

A musical interlude

A briyani poori set

It's been a little while since my last Indian meal so again, I've hit the rather convenient Komala's for their oil heavy vegetarian meals. This time round, it was their briyani poori set which consisted of their vegetarian briyani and a couple of the air filled puri. Nothing very unexpected from what I've gotten here, but I wished that they were more generous with their raita which made the rice go down a lot faster. That's not to say that the briyani was no good at all. In fact, the old Gardenia tagline on TV advertisements applied more appropriately to them rather than those generic white loaves.

My papadum was not crispy again today.

Black spicy ramen from Keisuke's Tonkotsu King

I think I prefer the original. This black spicy rendition tasted peppery, but it didn't much enhance the experience or flavours for the broth. This time round, there seemed to be more oil floating at the top too.

L'Occitane Cafe, Peninsula Plaza, Bangkok

We started the first meal of this trip at a cafe and coincidentally ended in a last meal with one as well just before we made our way to the airport. It partially out of convenience and also that I've heard that the beef noodles here were good that we landed up at this place (153 Rachadamri Road, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330) for lunch after dropping our belongings at the concierge.

But I ended up with a braised ox tongue with butter rice.

This was actually not bad. The tender and chewy ox tongue came with a light tomato sauce which tasted slightly beefy. Made a sufficient meal that wasn't too heavy since that butter rice didn't quite taste of butter and light was something I was really looking for before the return flight.

A breakfast of duck kuey teow at Otoko market

This was a real breakfast of braised duck rice noodles that we got in the morning. Not the type that we normally grab during lunch because we didn't wake up early enough for a real one. For 50 baht, it was a relatively cheap. The portions were pretty small as well. Gotta admit it was quite good though. It came with cubes of duck blood. This was one of those things we saw people eating around at the market and it didn't take us too long to decide to get us a bowl.

Their kuey teow was a little chewy that I had initially mistaken them for a thinner version of mee pok. The broth was a mix of sweet and savoury with an umami depth. If that made sense. All in all, a comforting breakfast that we didn't expect to find. This market will be location marked for returns.

Fireplace Grill, InterContinental Bangkok, Bangkok

There were definitely encouraging signs that this place (InterContinental Bangkok, 973 Ploenchit Road, Bangkok 10330, tel : + 660 2656 0444 ) could be good from the start. For one, it was located conveniently within strolling distance from where we were staying. The ambiance was good and the menu looked like that of a serious steakhouse that didn't attempt to confuse with variety. Service was pretty sharp. They even had some superlative award on display right near the front door by Thailand Tatler for 2011. All encouraging omens right until the moment the food arrived.

The bread was ok. There was a small variety for selection and they came with unsalted butter. I would definitely have preferred the salted ones.

Amuse bouche was a shrimp with salsa. This was ok as well. Nothing much to talk about here.

Some of us tried the caramelised onion soup with cognac because it was listed as a signature item. There were even little symbols on the menu indicating that it was a food item that contains alcohol. When the soup arrived, all that fanciful description on menu was reduced into a pretty singular dimensional French onion soup with toasted cheese topped baguette. Not one of the better ones I've had.

The biggest bummer was their prime rib. The meat was a little to close to rare for a medium rare, suffered from poor distribution of fat and lacked flavor. Even on the caps and the edges where most of the salt and rubbings went. This one tasted pretty bland. The meat in the middle was a little sinewy and could not even be redeemed by the jus they had provided. Their crispy Yorkshire pudding and vine ripen tomatoes were safe to say, the best tasting items on the plate. For the first time ever, I've left my prime rib unfinished.

Wait, there's more....the creamed spinach they had one the side were merely boiled spinach in a cream sauce. Nothing like I imagined and tasted lousier than the microwaved stuff I've had on plane. In response, I'm giving this place a pass for ever. I had xpected much better for what they charged. You know, I had much better tasting roast beef at Javier's.

Greyhound Cafe, Siam Centre, Bangkok

the hangover view

Greyhound Cafe (Siam Centre, ground floor, +66 2 6581129 30) looked much like PS Cafe. Reasonably convenient from where we were staying after a late night and casual enough to grab the first meal of the day with much hassle. Which was lunch.

We hit a bunch of finger food for starters which included plates of nicely browned and deep fried half mid wings. Those were very good by the way. And then some corn and crab fritters which was also very nicely done. All the latter just needed a little salt that would have gotten along very very nicely with the sweetness from the corn and crab meat.

The main reason for us visiting was to have their recommended Complicated Kuey Teow. What might that be? I actually hadn't a clue until it was served. I had always imagined it to be some stir fried or soup kuey teow with a fancy name. It turned out to be a board of lettuces with a stack of kuey teow, some green chilli condiment with coriander and a thick minced pork gravy on the side.

One places a thin slice of the kuey teow on the lettuce, adds the sauce and minced meat which is then folded into a vegetable wrap. That's how complicated it all was. Quite good with the play of textures and spicy flavors.

Came back the next day for more of the same stuff up there.

Phaiboon Seafood, Bangrak, Bangkok

More Thai Chinese food again here in Bangkok and this time round, it's the localized home styled restaurant (598/3 near Soi Jomsomboon, Rama 4 Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500, tel : + 66 0 2234 9568, 0 8504 70330) down a street near the old Mandarin Hotel.

The oyster omelette they served was a little different from the local variety. We got bigger oysters and a more sticky flour batter along with the crunch of beansprouts in a sizzling hot plate. This was quite delicious.

Phaiboon's tom yum goong has coconut milk, but wasn't done in excess like the rendition served at Baan Khanitha. The flavour from this prawn laden soup were still relatively clear in spite of that addition. It was also a tad spicier.

We had a deep fried prawn spring rolls that married savory, crispy and not excessively greasy.

One of the signature dishes at Phaiboon is apparently their curry crab. This wasn't the conventional curry as many people know of outside of Thailand. The viscous "curry" tasted only slightly spicy, was noticeably sweet and was also quite eggy. After it cooled, the "sauce" congealed and became what I thought looked like otah. While I couldn't say that I didn't like it, the taste was quite singular in dimensions and did become cloying after a while.

The crab however, was fantastically fresh with the sweetness of the meat that shone in the mash of all the other flavors.

The stir fried kang kong appeared to be quite ordinary. I suppose it was their style of the cooking here and didn't come with sambal or belachan. It seemed at the start to be a tame plate of vegetables in garlic until we all hit upon the small camouflaged slices of green chilli (very similarly colored as the kang kong there) that exploded with blazing heat. Pretty good stuff.

Small Potatoes Make The Steak Look Bigger : Year Five

This marker post might have been a little later than usual, but it's been 5 years! :)

Scala Shark's Fin Restaurant, Siam Square, Bangkok

This retro looking Chinese restaurant (218-218/1 Siam Square 1, opp. Scala Theatre, Bangkok, tel : +66 02-252-0322, 02-251-8899, 02-251 4799) has been around a little longer than I have and on the authority of someone who had been a customer for about three decades and is clinically allergic to MSG, the food here was good and recommended for its quality.

It seemed that the wait staff in this place were similar as the ones from Shaslik. Most of them had been part of the crew from the early days of the restaurant and that they had been around forever. Apparently there are a few other similarly named restaurants that use the name of Scala and this one was the original. They even indicated that they do not have any other branches on their business card.

The restaurant was an altogether not unfamiliar facade. The main stay dishes consisted of abalone, shark's fin, crabs and prawns. Traditional fruits of the sea for the wealthy Chinese. I was told that the food here hasn't changed much since the beginning.

Not to fill the shoes of Captain Obvious but, the specialty of the restaurant is shark's fin soup. These came in a claypot and were portioned from 800 - 5000 baht. The price of course, commensurates the amount of fin that one gets in the serving. The quality of the fin I hear, is all the same. Only the good ones are served. The brown broth was wicked with a healthy dose of powdered white pepper and sloshes of vinegar.

I couldn't comment much on the fins since I don't eat them so often. Wouldn't even consider ordering them under usual circumstances.

The restaurant also serves stir fried fish maw which was awesome. The texture of the maw was expectedly sponge like slightly chewy, flavoured by a certain savoury seasoning which I couldn't identify. It might have been a soy sauce based and it was to say the least, mouthwatering. I'm going to remember this place for the fish maw rather than the shark's fin.

We ordered a pot of collagen rich braised goose web. In retrospect, there was a little too much soup going on in this lunch. After the shark's fin, none of us in particular were really interested in having more fluids.

Our obligatory greens for the lunch today was boiled kale with oyster sauce. The stems of these greens retained quite a bit of crunch and sweetness, almost akin to water chestnuts. I had to admit that they were pretty good.

The carbs came in the form of crab fried rice. This was nicely done with the rice well tossed in the wok with eggs and came with very generous portions of chunky crab meat. It was also light enough that I had seconds.

I'm marking this place for returns the next time I visit Bangkok.