Jellyfish in my ramen

Here's the hiyashi chuka from Baikohken. And what I didn't expect to find in the cold ramen today were chilled jellyfish. I suppose it made a lot of sense to put them in since they certainly enhanced to some extent, the textures of the already springy cold noodles together with the crunch from the shreds of cucumbers. It was certainly fun to eat for that and their unassuming agi tama tasted much more flavourful of the soy sauce that the looks might suggest. The generous slices of almost tuna like charshu were enjoyable as well.

Based on my somewhat limited experience with hiyashi chuka, I'm going to rate this as my second favourite because the number one spot sealed the deal with a sesame based sauce which I prefer over the shoyu variety that this was.

Dry ba chor mee sua from Yan Kee

The specialty from this stall (21 South Bridge Road, BK Eating House) is their minced meat noodles which comes with mee sua rather than the usual mee kia or mee pok. Beside that, it was also a bowl of ba chor mee without sliced pig liver. The default portion was definitely small for a hungry person at $3.50. 

So how did that go? The bowl turned out to be pretty good and I liked it. Using mee sua allowed the flavours of their mixed sauce to be absorbed rather than just being coated over the surface of the noodles. What stood out were the vinegar and some heat from the chilli. Wouldn't mind eating them again if I were round the corner but I think they're a little pricey for such puny portions. The fish balls that they're selling looked pretty big. Maybe the next time.

Oso revisited

This was an overdue visit back to Oso. Have been wanting to come back for quite a while. Strangely, the service was almost exactly like how it was in the previous visit. A little splotchy, but not enough that I would make a fuss over. It was as if they wanted to not get just that little bit right.

Their servings of bread hasn't changed. I still like their cake-y textured foccacia and like the previous visit, I asked for seconds.

Italian mixed cold cut “affettati” served with shallot, onion and gherkin

We started off with a nice savory platter of cold cuts which included prosciutto di Parma, bresaola and some mortadella ham.

Pan fried eggs “tegamino” with black truffle purée and mixed cheese fondue

This was quickly followed up by a rather hearty combination of eggs and cheese with truffle puree and thin slices of crispy bread. I wouldn't have minded if it were regular non toasted bread as well. This would truly make a very awesome breakfast. But too bad Oso doesn't do breakfast.

With black truffle “tartufo” puree and mascarpone cheese

The flavors of the black truffle puree risotto and mascarpone cheese were very good in a simple and direct way. There was really nothing much but the savory factor apart from three prominent flavors of truffle, the cheese and pepper. This was marred by the fact that the rice was slightly under done and that the "splotch" of the service staff insisted that it was done just right and was suppose to be al dente. I suppose he either couldn't care less about a feedback or thought we didn't know anything.

Pan roasted sea bass with fennel and coffee and thick potato sauce

I made an uncommon decision to order fish off their daily menu. And I really liked this. The thick potato sauce was really a finely mashed potato puree and the coffee that went into this dish was barely registered. But the fish tasted fresh and juicy beneath the crisp of the charred skin.

Oven baked almond “Amaretto” liquor cake, Amaretti ice cream

Almond-ish dessert. Not too bad there.

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.