Beppu, Suntec City Basement

I've decided that after today, I won't be back here for the ramen again. I first visited this place years ago at the branch at Far East Square when they were fairly new and the idea of sprucing up the ramen with chilli count was a novelty. Thought they weren't bad. That was then. 

Today, they didn't seem to be as good as I remember them. Things have changed so it's either their method of preparation or it's me. And I cannot fathom why anyone who wants to enjoy their food would want to opt for the seven chilli option since it masked almost every trace of other flavour and drowned the whole bowl with chilli powder. It just didn't make sense to go that far.

They menu has expanded since I last came and now they have beef char siew ramen. I hadn't any idea what beef char siew was like. After trying, it didn't turn out to be recognizable as char siew to me. Just marinated and sliced cooked beef. On the bright side, the grilled squid was still as tasty I remember it. The slightly crispy charred surface and chewy meat. I'm not sure I'll come back here just for the grilled squid though. There're options aplenty and this place just didn't quite seem enjoyable anymore.

The Call of theMuthu

Definitely didn't plan to re-visit Muthu's Curry again so soon. It was all a result of lethargic spontaneity. Whatever it is that you made out of that description. It also meant that I liked enough of what I had here previously to want to come back again. This time round, it was even better because we've found more delicious items on menu. Apart from the much talked about fish head curry which I've mentioned previously, there were a slew of other items in the menu that featured both southern and northern Indian cuisine. Those didn't deter us from getting a serving of the fish head curry again. This time round, the fish was less meaty, but seemed to taste fresher.

fish head curry

murg pudina kebab

The murg pudina kebab reminds me of the murg malai tikka from Copper Chimney which I didn't enjoy. The initial apprehension was wiped off after the first bite. This was pretty good stuff. The only similarity with the malai tikka was the burnt chicken. It wasn't overly covered with herbs. Spicy yoghurt marinate and ground mint was good here.

marsala prawns

These marsala prawns deserved special mention because they were extraordinary. I was totally surprised by how good the prawns were. Something that one would have to try to understand. What rocked wasn't so much the masala. In fact, the sauce was unremarkable. Sadly.  It was the prawns that made this dish. Big, fat and fresh tiger prawns fully loaded with meaty crunchiness. Made me a happy man. Lol. The restaurant offered the options of having them with shells or de-shelled. We picked the de-shelled option which left us with the tail end and the heads which were easily removed. It's $6 for one prawn and judging from the menu, prices may fluctuate.

Cheese naan

And there was better cheese naan this time round. In comparison with the previous visit, the naan today had more fragrance, was served warmer and had more cheese. It looks like I could be back again.

Sum's Kitchen, 3 Jalan Legundi

Jalan Legundi runs perpendicular from the main road where Sembawang Shopping Center is. I was brought here once by a friend who told me that the owner here used to do roast duck in Hong Kong and it apparently a signature dish in this restaurant. That time, we were here at about 8pm and we just managed to get the last of their roast duck for the day. The duck was pretty good. These guys serve roast duck breast meat that's tender, so I guess it says something about how they're a cut above the norm. Besides duck, the restaurant does serve other Chinese cze char dishes. The menu is not large, but there's a bunch of other dishes that can be gotten to accompany the duck.

a serving of roast duck

three egg spinach

This three egg spinach wasn't as tasty as I've had at other places previously. It could have been a personal thing where I prefer the soup to be more robust and rich as opposed to being lightweight. Apart from this little thing with the soup, the rest of the dish was quite rather enjoyable.

sliced fish with black bean

I enjoy dishes with black beans (fermented?). Their sliced fish, although freshness were quite disappointing. Similarly to the one I had at Chin Chin Eating House (which is in sauce mode), the flavour of the black beans were underwhelming. Didn't feel that this stir fried fish was remarkable in any way.

fried bean curd with salted skin

I was expecting plain fried bean curd for this one with perhaps just salt These crispy skinned bean curd (which are served really hot by the way) were stuffed with a small variety of vegetables and some of which, made enemies with my tongue. Apart from bits of carrot and mushrooms, there was coriander. If not for the coriander, the bean curd was actually not too bad.

The cost for dinner was about $50 for four persons with rice and Chinese tea. Service was relatively snappy, albeit curt. Although this was relatively inexpensive, it can be noted that one can do with more for less at Taste of Thailand just across the main road at Sembawang Shopping Centre.

Togi, 11 Mosque Street

Tucked away in the hustle and bustle of the crowded Chinatown district in Mosque Street is this innocuous Korean restaurant. Cozy little place. Which euphemistically meant small, crowded and noisy. The interior consisted of closely packed tables with chairs up to the glass doorway with several tables outdoors as well. It looked like one of those where one would have to stand in line for a long wait if reservations are not made in advance judging from the crowd on a Friday evening.

I'm still in the process of discovering Korean food. This would be the first entry I have under the label Korean. I've been under the impression that most of their food were just spicy, sweet or sour and it seemed that I wasn't not too far off with that perception. Besides Seoul Garden which I've had the misfortune to visit years back, I haven't really eaten anything Korean (I know Seoul Garden doesn't count) before. Here I am then, sifting through tongue twisting names that I have difficulty pronouncing and not understanding a single word of the names without translation. I had it better with Japanese. In retrospect, I still maintain that Japanese food is more interesting than Korean. Things may change in the future of course. That much is for time to unfold.

brown rice with beans

We were started with a serving of rice and an assortment of pickles and banchan (small side dishes). There are options for white rice or the brown ones with beans. Those banchan which can be refilled as often as requested included kimchi, salted fried anchovies, potato salad and assorted stir fried or pickled vegetables.

Kim chi hea mool jun (kimchi and seafood pancake)

This seafood pancake contained what I detected to be only squid. That's about all the seafood in there. The rest of the fillings were miscellaneous bits of vegetables and chilli. The pancake tasted a little like Chinese radish cakes.

Nak j bok (spicy stir fried octopus)

This is octopus by name from the menu, but I think they were actually squid in some sort of nutty spicy sauce. That sauce tasted like satay gravy with a sharper flavour. Nothing much to see here, just stir fried squid in a spicy sauce.

Dak do li tang (spicy chicken stew with potatoes and onions)

The dak do li tan was a chicken stew in some spicy broth. The broth again has a nutty flavour to it. This was a serving for 3.

Sam gyeuo sal (pan grilled pork belly)

Sam gyeuo sal cooked

The sam gyeuo sal was pork belly that came with onions, sliced potatoes and mushrooms on the side. The ingredients were brought to the table uncooked and prepared table side. The melted fat of the pork belly greased the pan for grilling the accompanied vegetables and excess oil was drained off into the center of the grill. The meats can be eaten as is or wrapped in lettuce leaves with garlic, green chilli and some salty brown sauce that tasted like they're made from fermented beans.

Bao Today, Marina Square

Bao Today at Marina Square (#02-234-235/236) is a little dim sum place a difference in ingredients and delivery. From the menu of Bao Today prices aren't over the roof. In fact, it was really affordable. I've personally been told that the food here isn't really exceptional (euphemism for mediocre if you didn't catch the drift) by people that I know (and trust in recommendations). Still I didn't think that it would be so bad that I would write them off without even trying. It's not too bad really. For their prices, it was actually decent. But as I like to think it, taste, like art is subjective.

Minced meat & century egg congee

@ $2.50 a bowl, I got a generous amount of minced meat and some bits of century eggs in there, however it's a very noticeably smaller bowl than I expected. I think it's of a good size if you're doing dim sum and not just having congee. Not mediocre, just pretty ordinary.

Xiao long bao

The xiao long baos ($3) were actually a disappointment. They seem to contain little soup in each dumpling. The skins of the dumpling stuck to any surface they come in contact with so picking them up was tedious process. If you're concerned with having them with the juices intact well..... Crystal Jade and Din Tai Feng does much better ones than these. These, are truly mediocre.

har gao (prawn dumplings)

The prawn dumpings ($3.50) here are quite large. The prawn filling however does come with something which could be fish paste as they look fused together. In all, it was not too bad, but I couldn't wipe away the suspicions of the fillings.

Open faced buns

A basket of these open faced buns came at $2.50. These aren't the usual baos as we know them. What you get is an assortment of meats (pork, shrimp and maybe chicken) with mushrooms and salted egg yoke laid on top of clam shaped "half buns". It looks gimmicky, but didn't taste too bad.

Bao Today's signature Black Sesame Bun with pork fillings

Noteable things about these black sesame buns apart from the grayish skin shade is that the interior were filled with soup or juices more than a usual bao has. For a non dumpling, the insides were really wet and biting into them risks those hot juices bursting into your mouth. I didn't really think too much of the meat fillings which has a generic processed meat flavor making it quite unidentifiable. The black sesame which has been added into the flour that made the bun didn't have the fragrance I was expecting neither.

a gaping wound in the Black Sesame Bun

With a name like Bao Today, I think that it would be great if there was some improvement in how their buns are done. I expected so.

The Diamond Cut

Lawry's is currently doing a promotion called The More the Merrier (it ends in a couple of days so hurry!) Basically they subject the interested to a mind boggling formula which calculates a certain discount percentage based on the number of mains ordered which goes something like x = (total amount of mains X 10) - 10 where x is the said discount in percentage which only applies to mains. Phew, I'm sure it didn't boggle you there. What better time than now to take advantage of the deal for some solid juicy prime ribs... or a Diamond Jim Brady. This promotion does trim some corners off the usual offering that come with their meal. The servings of the Yorkshire pudding were reduced to a single piece per person as compared to the usual entire pudding per person. How much cost could they have saved for some eggs and flour anyway?


The Diamond Jim Brady cut from Lawry's is their largest cut, weighing 450g. For $94.80, one can land themselves a juicy and most satisfying slab of prime rib meat. Does cost a pretty penny obviously. I'll save myself the usual description and let the pictures do the talking. This was the first time I'm having one and in retrospect, I think nothing else smaller might do in the future.