Ma Maison, Anchorpoint

Some food from Ma Maison (#01-12 Anchorpoint, 370 Alexandra Road, tel : +65 6479 1670). These guys have been around for ages and have generally been pretty decent. They're also my first exposure to Japanese styled western food.

Onion gratin soup which was made with beef stock was not bad tasting. Sufficiently savoury and beefy plus pretty cheesy as well.

Their sirloin's generally not bad. I like that they get doneness correct and the crust that they give to the steak. This one has tamari sauce which was actually pretty good pairing with the meat. The only thing that they haven't quite gotten going well is the consistency of their meat. There's silverskin sometimes which can be a bummer. 

Yummy ikasumi omu rice. Creamy but not excessively because they didn't overdose with that cream sauce.

There's seafood and mushrooms about with squid ink rice in the omelette which was delicious. One can taste that squid ink flavour in it.

Love their chocolate strawberry shortcake too. These tasted better than their appearances belie. Pretty chocolate-y from the combination of the cream and sponge and the chocolate flavour's quite nice. Have mentioned liking them before.

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice (天天海南雞飯), Clementi Central

Did not realise that Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice has an outlet at Clementi (450 Clementi Avenue 3) until recently. They're located in the same coffeeshop as Golden Rooster. This was thigh meat for two with eggs, liver and tau kwa. Not bad tasting for the most of it.

Except for their rice which has texture I'm not fan of that their lime-y chilli and fragrant dark soy sauce couldn't save. There's easily a handful of other stalls/shops out there I'd pick over Tian Tian just because of the rice. But I suppose I wouldn't mind eating it if I felt like chicken rice and was in the vicinity.

Mei Jing Sabah Sandakan Fried Pork Noodle (美景沙巴山打根炸肉面), Hong Lim Food Centre

Mei Jing Sabah Sandakan Fried Pork Noodle (#02-33 Hong Lim Food Centre, 531A Upper Cross Street) happened by way of recommendation. There was one thing that I wasn't sure of from my bowl of noodles and that was the sauce. I didn't know if that's the sauce that they used for all their noodles or did that come with the pork belly I added - which were pretty tender by the way. 

Anyway, that sauce grew on me as I ate. Love it with the pickled green chilli.

Not a fan of their fermented bean curd pork. It had plenty of flavour from the marinate but barely any crunch from the fried exterior. What bothered me also was that the meat was a little chewy. Noodle has a nice bite though.

I don't mind coming back but it won't be for the fried pork. 

TamJai SamGor (譚仔三哥) has changed

 

TamJai SamGor's menu seems to have changed. There's also something different about their food as well though I can't put a finger to precisely what. The quality appears to have suffered. 😏 Anyways this was the branch at Chinatown Point.

Here's a set that came with a bowl with the non spicy broth. Something about the thin broth felt mediocre. Those French beans on the side were pretty fibrous. 😓

This was their Chendu spicy beef and duck bowl. They actually forgot about the beef and served it separately after I reminded them. The broth from the noodles tasted like spicy luncheon meat soup. Didn't think much of it. Smoked duck tasted like it came out of a vacuum pack and the beef wasn't exactly beefy. Paid to top up with cuttlefish balls which didn't taste very good and were kinda small. 😓

Seemed like only the Tufei wings remained tasty. So sad.

I haven't had 7 Up in ages. This one had sour plum in it. What I didn't like was that the cup was almost 50% ice. This was a pricey for a cup of cheap sugary drink. 😓

Nasi lemak from Aini Muslim Food

It's been shockingly (for me) almost a decade since I last ate at this stall. To think that I actually mentioned trying their other food at that time and that has happened after almost 10 years. 😱 Anyywayyys, nasi lemak with fried chicken. Decent tasting. No surprises and nothing particularly special to mention. I prefer the fried chicken from Madam Lim's Nasi Lemak in the same food centre but I like the rice here better.

Chicken rice from Jumboree

Jumboree (#01-02, 26 Tai Seng Street) is a food court by the Jumbo Group. They're at the spot previously occupied by B.E.D.. The zi char stall is run by Jumbo with the rest of stalls formed by tenants of various brandings. Everything can be ordered from QRs on each table and a notification is sent when the order is ready for collection.

This chicken rice was from Bao Zai Chicken Rice (宝仔鸡饭). Pretty good tasting. Comparable to the one nearby at Food Republic. Adequate oiliness in the grains without being excessive and good enough flavour to eat without chilli. Chicken's tender. Chilli was bright, sweet and lime-y. There was pandan in the soup. My only gripe was that the plate was a little pricey for the portion. This was $7 and I could easily down another.

Mutton French loaf toastie from Jiakali

I noticed the French loaf toastie on their menu the last time we were here and came back to try them. Curried mutton, slaw and melted cheese sandwiched in French loaf. The flavour of the curry was dominant and because of that curry, I could only taste a little bit of the slaw and almost nothing of the cheese despite the portions. The gooey texture was there though.

If I had to describe, this one felt almost like some sort of pulled lamb sandwich. Those chunks of mutton in it were tender. 

Sam Leong St. Chicken Rice (三龍街海南雞飯), Verdun Road

I've been wanting to try Sam Leong St. Chicken Rice since they time they were just a coffeeshop stall. I know right? The owner has retired, Putien has bought the business over and basically relocated and revamped it into an air conditioned chicken rice restaurant (12 Verdun Road). Now I'm here. No idea if the taste is the same as before,

I like it. Chicken's tender, smooth and has some jelly beneath the skin. Bird's chilled. Rice was adequately flavoured that it's good with or without chilli for me. Speaking of the chilli, this concoction was garlicky without the lime and sugar which most places tend to use for theirs. Nice. Good dark soya sauce used here too.

Chicken liver's not bad.

Eggs be eggs.

I was expecting not to be impressed with the tau pok but it turned out to be pretty good. For some reasons, I kinda liked that hardy/chewy exterior.

Roast (fried actually) chicken was also not bad. If I had to gripe, it'll be their chopping skills for the chook.

Revisiting Tonshou

Back at Tonshou. Man, it's been almost a year and that sure went by quickly.

I just found out that the chilled corn soup is refillable. 😬

Tried their Blackpink Tonkatsu. According to them, it's Hokkaido kurobuta rosu with charcoal breadcrumbs imported from Korea.

This one has the same smokiness as their other tonkatsu. My favourite way to eat it is with salt and wasabi. Their rounded tonkatsu sauce was actually pretty good as well. It's less vinegary than most.

Super Mummy Minced Meat Noodle (全能俏妈妈), Smith Street Food Centre

Super Mummy Minced Meat Noodle (Red Zone, #02-170 Chinatown Food Centre, 335 Smith Street) is just next door to 169 Hainanese Chicken Rice which was previously known as Super Mummy Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Not a bad bowl here. Tender sliced pork, not overcooked livers, a couple of types of fish balls, flavourful stewed mushrooms and lardy vinegary noodles. I prefer this to Ming Fa.

Murugan Idli Veg. Restaurant in January

First breakfast at Murugan Idli Veg. Restaurant (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八) for 2026.

It'll probably be the end of days if we ever said no to these buttery rice/lentil porridge infused with black peppercorn and cumin. Today's ghee pongal was nicely salted and awesome!

Couldn't resist their always delicious freshly steamed ghee garlic podi idli.

Just noticed today that we can buy the podi/garlic powder from them. Hmmm...🤔

Ghee mudakkathan podi masala dosa - the masala rendition of the ghee mudakkathan podi dosai. If anyone's still struggling with what masala is in the context of dosa, it refers to the curried potato/vegetable stuffings. Anyways, great podi flavouring paired with ghee that you could further flavour bomb with the chutneys.

Some eats from Casa Vostra during the new year

Back at Casa Vostra in Raffles City. 

Agnolotti all'anatra in brodo - duck filled agnolotti in a duck consommé. The minced duck in the pasta was delicately textured but pretty packed with flavour. The broth, for the lack of a better word, was duck-y but also lightweight at the same time.  

Nicely done broccolini. Great pairing with that creamy/cheesy sauce on the plate.

That's their pizza prosciutto e fichi which featured prosciutto di Parma, fig puree, walnuts and rocket with shaven Parmigiano Reggiano. Fig puree tasted like honey.

Dark chocolate gelato's not bad.

Rather liked their strawberry lemonade. Granted I was pretty thirsty then.

Shiok Hokkien Mee, Beauty World

Just found out that there's a Shiok Hokkien Mee at Beauty World (#04-52 Beauty World Centre, 144 Upper Bukit Timah Road). This was a plate of kosong with extra egg and chilli. Similar tasting but not exactly the same as the one at Boon Tiong Road.