Tarik, Arab Street

I noticed Tarik (92 Arab Street, #01-02) some time ago and made a mental note to come back for some of their tea. Making a mental note these days aren't as effective anymore because...out of sight is out of mind. Very often. But we were in the vicinity today.

Was spoilt for choice. Ended up with Boss Fav which was basically a saffron masala tea.

I liked it. Even though it was iced, it didn't taste diluted even till the end. Pretty creamy and moderately spiced with discernible notes of ginger in the saffron. Will come back to try the hot one another time.

Recently at Murugan Idli Veg. Restaurant (June 2026)

There appears to be more new items at Murugan Idli Veg. Restaurant (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九, 十).

They've included masala tea which wasn't available before. This one's milky, not so spicy. Kinda pedestrian.

Ghee pongal seemed dryer today than I remember them. Flavour's still good though.

There's also benne podi masala dosa which wasn't available previously. Not bad tasting but they weren't as good looking as the ones from MTR.

新路潮洲鱼圓粿條麵湯 (Xin Lu Teochew Fishball Noodles), Mei Ling Food Centre

Have noticed this stall (#02-05 Mei Lin Food Centre, 159 Mei Chin Road) and its queue in the past times I was here so decided to try today.

The chilli option came with ketchup which I didn't like. Had a couple of mee pok clumps. Fishballs were nice and bouncy but I prefer the flavour and texture from Hong Yong Chao Zhou Yu Yuan Guo Tiao Mian and Li Xin. Otherwise, it was an okay-ish bowl of fishball noodles.

More char siew rice from Mei Mei Roast (妹妹李记烧腊)

$6.50 in June 2026. Did not realise it's been more than a year since I last had this.

BatterCatch, Great World

First time at BatterCatch (#01-106 Great World, 1 Kim Seng Promenade, tel : +65 6485 3841).

Their Longan Tea Oasis drink tasted like some caramel sweetened bubble tea drink thing. Rosemary's entirely decorative. I'm not sure if there was even any tea in this.

This was haddock and chips. The buttery mushy peas was delicious. Love their dill & pickled infused tartare sauce. Curry sauce was also not bad.

The fish was not as good tasting as the one at Smiths. It's about as expensive though, considering cost to portions.

Batter is a little thick and floury around some parts.

Grilled barramundi tasted like it was frozen fish. Skin was chewy, not crispy. Not impressive as grilled fishes went.

Liked the peas enough to get another portion. Out of everything we had, this was probably my favourite. Tasted like lots of butter with plenty of green pea flavour. Would come back just for these.

Next Chapter (樂膳房), Ubi

Have gotten kopi peng a few times from this shop (#01-93, 304 Ubi Avenue 1) before. This was the first time getting food. Crispy chicken cutlet curry noodle. Very crunchy freshly fried chicken. Curry's decent.

Pizza Gorgonzola e salsiccia and honeyed baked Scamorza from Casa Vostra @ Raffles City

Back at Casa Vostra. Not bad tasting Gorgonzola e salsiccia pizza except for the Gorgonzola. I'm not even sure I could taste it. A bit disappointing I'd admit. As far as the taste went, this was just a sausage and onion pizza - a decent one at that.

Tried their baked scamorza cheese. Kind liked it. Chewy, salty and smoky with a light sweetness from honey. There's also a bit of spice from black pepper and I seem to recall tasting parsley.

Dry mixed seafood noodle with milk broth from Hai Kah Lang (海脚人)

Back at Hai Kah Lang. I've had something similar back at the branch at Taman Sentosa with clear broth instead of the one with milk. Topping of seafood appears to have differences. But those springy noodles and the milky broth with 花雕 were what mattered. The seafood quality's decent but not impressive so 21.90SGD (approx. 68MYR) is an experience I'd rather not repeat. Will stick to the sliced fish bowls which are cheaper the next time.

Taste Legend Charcoal Roasted Delights (味传炭香烧腊家), Tiong Bahru

The coffeeshop at Boon Tiong used to be called Food Paradise (11B Boon Tiong Road). It's been since renamed Food Hub after a recent renovation which has made the layout of the stalls....pretty templated. Anyways, Shiok Hokkien Mee and Chef Hong HoChiak Bar have survived that and are still around. One of the new stalls that caught our attention was Taste Legend Charcoal Roasted Delights.

Competent fat laced roast pork rice they do here.

Came back another time to get them with char siew because they looked pretty good hanging at the stall. We were initially disappointed with how they looked on the plate but turned out to be deliciously smoky. 👍🏼

A few weeks later......

Note to self: Char siew rice isn't always nice. Luck of the draw plays a part. Meat can be dry and lean.

Curry noodle's ordinary. The curry's savoury, had a bit of heat but flavour was otherwise a little flat. The stall use soya sauce chicken instead of the more commonly seen poached chicken. Pretty tender those. But this was nothing that I'll be looking forward to again.

Passable shui jiao.

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.