Dumplings.ru, Maxwell Chambers

We tried the food from Dumplings.ru (#01-05 Maxwell Chambers, 32 Maxwell Rd, tel : +65 8875 7033) some time back when they were just Ang Moh Dumplings. They've set up a bigger shop now. It's more of a tavern/bar than a restaurant. Remembered that I wasn't impressed previously at all but someone we trusted tried recently and the feedback was that they weren't bad. So we thought, what the hell - let's give them another try.

Kvass. Quite like this.

Ordered their okroshka because it looked so nice on their menu.

This was how it was served. Tasted like raita with dill and potatoes. The menu mentioned ham but we didn't get any. Nice for the hot weather but when we had this, it was one of those rainy nights.

Tried their kholodets. If you're trying to figure out from the picture, it was a chicken jelly/aspic dish. It was okay. Jelly was salty.

The shuba was not bad. Haven't had much of these before so I can only describe them based on whether I tasted good or not. Liked the mild earthy sweetness of the beets together with the smoky saltiness of the herring. Not as fancy or high quality as the one at Dacha though.

When we had their lamb pelmeni previously, I remember that they were unimpressive. These tasted different from the last time. We could discern the lamb flavour from the fillings today which was a good thing. A little more salty than I preferred but still quite tasty.

Ang Moh Dumplings, Tanjong Pagar Station

We came by Ang Moh Dumplings over the weekend. The pictures on their (#B1-39 Tanjong Pagar Exchange) website featured garnishes on the food which looked prettier than the real thing. What was obvious though was that the shop wasn't ready for business on a weekend because most of what they had were sold out so we ended up with just a couple of dumplings.

The ang moh dumplings they have are pelmeni. Pretty surprised that the the black ones which were stuffed with beef had coriander. I didn't like it and cannot will not give an objective opinion. It sucked. The other greenish one was stuffed with mutton and according to their menu, mint. I couldn't taste the mint and was barely able to discern the flavour of mutton from the stuffings. Tasted something like butter though. It's not bad but also not good enough that I'd want to eat them again. *sigh*

Slavic day food at Beerfest

We had the distinct impression that it would be a sort of Slavic fair event with fun and games and tradition down at Beerfest (4 Rochester Park) - which is by the way an actual brewery/restaurant and not a beer festival as the name might have implied. In the end, it was just a one day event where they featured food from the region. 

The menu included earthy borscht, some cured fishes, dumplings and a tasty but pricey golubtsy which looked like an inside out poh piah. What was outstanding though, was their pork shashlik which featured tender and one of the juiciest grilled pork I've had. Juices that were squirting out as the knife went through the meat. Fragrant bits from the burnt ends. Wow. This pork shashlik made Shashlik look bad. Too bad it's a one off.

But beer seems pretty good and outrageously super value for the weekends. Drinks from $2 at 2pm anyone? Their cherry brew was a great flavour for the sweltering heat and there was also some fruity/yeasty kvass which I found myself enjoying.

Grilyarch from Laman's Delight

So, now you know where I've been revisiting. I bought this partially based on a mention previously and decided to try out the Grilyarch from Laman's Delight. What does the name even mean? Anyway, it's as one can tell, a layered chocolate cake with cream and caramelized walnut bits in between. And supposedly brown sugar as well, but I can't tell. It was actually all quite nice eating from the tip end. The cake was largely moist and crumbly at the same time and the flavours played nicely with bits of bite from those nuts. Until we got to the back part which had noticeably more walnuts plastered across. And because there was much more of those caramelized walnuts, it was wayyy too sweet.  Didn't enjoy the last part.

Pomegranate cake from Laman's Delight

This was pretty enjoyable. I've never had cake (or anything else) with so much pomegranates before. Certainly not one in a shade of enchanting red and layered with cream, sold by a couple of ladies that looked like grumpy Russian gypsies. Laman's Delight (PasarBella @ The Grandstand, 200 Turf Club Road) the shop's called. I hear that this particular cake has been infused with hibiscus juices too. Anyway, the shop's located right beside Keith Crackling Roast - which does very delicious caramelized char siew by the way. For $12 a slice, this cake sure didn't come cheap. But I'm pretty sure I'll pop by the shop to buy again the next time I'm there.