Toa Payoh 93 Soon Kueh (大巴窑93筍粿), Bendemeer Market & Food Centre

These soon kueh from Toa Payoh 93 Soon Kueh (#01-14 Bendemeer Market & Food Centre, 29 Bendemeer Road) tasted better than the ones used in Yong Xiang Carrot Cake - that being said, I don't know if being pan fried made me like those less.

Yong Xiang Carrot Cake (永祥菜頭粿), Bendemeer Market & Food Centre

Came to try Yong Xiang Carrot Cake (#01-35 Bendemeer Market & Food Centre, 29 Bendemeer Road) because they have something that's not sold anywhere else.

Said unique item is their stir fried png kueh and soon kueh - both stir fried like their radish cake with eggs. The skins of both kuehs weren't as crusty as I had imagined and the one for the latter was kinda thick. Now that I've tried it, don't think I will ever get them again. 

Radish cake was decent if unremarkable. What I gather was that they've been doing this for a long time and the queue kinda spoke for that. Their style involves chopping the radish cake into small bits. I usually prefer chunkier cuts.

Le Bon Funk, Holland Village

The last time we ate at Le Bon Funk was at their original branch at Club Street. This one at Holland Village (277 Holland Avenue, tel : +65 9833 9867) is at where Fosters Steakhouse used to be.

The decor had a 60s-ish vibe which contrasted against the intersperse of more modern appliances/furniture. Lighting was a warm with hues of yellows and browns with the exception of areas at the front and back with tinted blue by the sunlight filtering through the window panes. I'm not sure if I'm getting this across.

Shaken iced tea with hibiscus, orange and sage - tasted fruity, couldn't tell that there was tea in it.

This was their foie gras toast. The fluffy stuff on the top was shaven foie gras. Beneath them was some roselle jam/jelly; the previous time we had it, it was cedar jelly which I couldn't tell. Roselle came across much more discernible. Nice.

Couldn't resist their beef tongue and gribiche sandwich. As good as we remembered it.

Cast iron pancake with maple syrup topped with caramelised bacon and banana. Nice. Served piping hot with crusty edges. Pretty sweet. Bacon was smoky sweet like bak kwa. Bananas tasted like they have cumin in it.

白鸡尾饭 from Da Po at Hawkers' Street @ 100AM

It's been a while since I've last had chicken rice at Da Po and that was at their stall at Golden Mile. This branch at Hawkers' Street @ 100AM kinda reaffirmed my faith in them. Solid plate with tender meat and creamy livers drizzled with that light soya sauce and sesame oil. Even got a heart today. Chilli's lime-y and gingery. If there was a gripe, it'll be that the thigh was kinda small.

Les Canons, IOI Central Boulevard Towers

Les Canons (#01-07, IOI Central Boulevard Towers, 2 Central Boulevard, tel : +65 8926 0726) by the il Lido Group is the 3rd bouillon styled restaurant that's open up lately together with Bouillon Gavroche and Les Ducs.

House lemonade was fizzy, has some mint and infused with maybe elderflower? Thought it tasted like elderflower.

Tartare de boeuf was not much tangy and didn't have much in the way of flavouring. Not one of the well flavoured ones around. The bread was very hard. Will not get again.

Pan fried foie gras on pain perdu. Nice. Thought I tasted orange in the sauce.

Pretty good tasting crevette Nantua - prawn bisque-esque sauce over mash and some meaty real prawns. Comfort food that's good enough to come back for. 👍🏼

Had a steak au poivre. Smallish Angus sirloin.

Fries were pretty good. Steak did not have much taste and very little salt. The meat was mostly dependent on the pepper sauce for flavour. Was more medium than medium rare that we asked for. Sauce was quite creamy and peppery.

Mashed potatoes was creamy, flavoured with browned butter. Nice.

I like the mousse from Les Ducs better. Tasted more like dark chocolate compared to his one which seemed to have much more milk in it. Not that it's bad. Love that creme Chantilly.

Nicely done thin apple tarte. Was served hot. Love the caramel on creme Chantilly on the side.

Coffee's smoky, bitter and nice.

Longjing (绿茶餐廳), Suntec City

Longjing (#01-384 Tower 5, Suntec City, 3 Temasek Boulevard) is supposed to represent Zhejiang food. I looked up Zhejiang cuisine online and 'non greasy' seems to be a characterisation of their food. Someone out there must be bullshitting but I don't know who.

Cold spinach with tofu and pine nuts. Light on the palette and somewhat refreshing for the temperature and lack of intensity. Why doesn't this get mentioned much? Maybe it's not exciting. One would have to force a paragraph out just to describe it. Like what I just did.

Fried rice with truffle and roast pork's (黑松露烤肉炒饭) not bad tasting. Savoury would be the word. Kinda reminded me of the black truffle fried rice from Tampopo.

Not bad tasting dry pot spicy cauliflower (香锅花菜). It's not lard-ed up like the one from Nong Geng Ji or Xiang Xiang but it's similarly spicy and savoury.

Dong po rou (文火东坡肉) was not bad tasting. Sweet and just a little tangy. But I don't have these enough to know how well they measure. I was imagining the meat to fall apart more easily...like say great char siew from KL but I might be over imagining. 😂

Some dessert moulded in the shape of Leifeng Pagoda (雷峰塔) in Hangzhou. Tasted like sugar, gelatine and milk.

Ming Heng Boneless Chicken Rice (銘興起骨鸡饭), Jalan Bukit Merah

Came across Ming Heng Boneless Chicken Rice (#01-1688, 111 Jalan Bukit Merah) at the coffeeshop in the perpendicular block from Jalan Bukit Merah Food Centre. This was thigh meat (鸡尾) and an egg for $4.60. Portion felt a little small and the flavour in the rice was a little light - but I think it's decent and a totally legit plate.

One Ton Mee (一頓面), Bendemeer Market & Food Centre

Kolo mee from One Ton Mee #01-09 Bendemeer Market & Food Centre, 29 Bendemeer Road). Came with standard issue savoury saucing, salty minced pork and char siew. And a few wantons. Like three.

Didn't that just make it wanton mee with kolo mee squiggly noodles and minced pork? Anyways, the bowl was decent tasting if unextraordinary. What upped the ante and impressed me though was their sambal which packed considerable heat. I asked for more halfway through for that extra oomph to help inhale the rest of the bowl and it left my lips burning. It was worth it though.  

Zeng Ji Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice (曾記起骨鶺飯), Marine Parade Central Food Centre

Trying out another chicken rice stall (#01-52 Marine Parade Central Food Centre, 84 Marine Parade Central) from Marine Parade Central Food Centre. This one has a longer and slower moving queue. Got the serving with half 白 and half 烧. No additional charge for request for thigh meat. For some reasons, the details elude me but it was all round a pretty good plate as I remember it. 

Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu (秀记江鱼仔釀豆腐), Smith Street Food Centre

We've seen the queue at Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu (Green Zone, #02-88 Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre, 335 Smith Street) almost every time we're in the vicinity. Finally killed the cat to join that queue to find out what they might have been doing right.

One can get the basic bowl for $4 which includes noodles and 4 pieces of their yong tau foo. I topped up a couple of extra pieces. Not bad tasting. Came with the standard soya bean soup. I kinda liked the gentle savoury saucing they drizzled over the noodles. Watch out for those ikan bilis to avoid getting stabbed in the gums.

Tai Wah Pork Noodle (大華肉脞麵), Hawkers' Street @ 100AM

I've been disappointed by Tai Wah Pork Noodle more than a couple of times due to the inconsistency of their bcm standards across different outlets. Hence I was understandably wary of their noodles from new outpost (#04-05/06 100AM, 100 Tras Street). This was a $6.50 bowl of mee pok 白. Turned out that it was actually pretty good. Noodles were firm with a nice bite and the bowl was pleasantly lard-y. The meatballs may not be as stinky and there's less flavour of dried sole in the wanton, but I think I will come back another time for a bigger bowl.

One week later......

This was the larger $8.50 bowl. One more dumpling and meatball from what I could tell. The amount of noodles seemed the same. So it's still kinda small-ish for that what they're charging but still a solid tasting bowl. Quite sure their branches in coffeeshops are slightly cheaper than this one in the food court.

Smash Street, Amoy Street

Finally got to try Smash Street (50 Amoy Street). Space is narrow and the ventilation here isn't great so be prepared to smell like burgers when you step out.

There's a Classic and the House. The former has 2 patties and the latter has 3. This was a House which I requested for sauce on the side but there was still some sauce in it. Thankfully it wasn't overdone.

I like this. With some sauce and pickles, the meat and cheese came through like how I like them. Buns were soft but held up. May try with other toppings another time.

They forgot my pickles so I had to get some later and stuff them in myself.

Fries are good here.

Cornflakes flavoured milkshake. Pretty sweet.