the Bigrill, 110 Yishun Ring Road

The evolution of the local western food scene presses on slowly but surely, introducing standards and quality that slowly climb upwards and sometimes even sideways. Bigrill (Blk 110 Yishun Ring Road, You & Lai coffeeshop) looks to be one of those hailing from the newer era serving food that are not seen in shape, form or species, in the drab generic stalls of it's genre. For one, the steak here looks decent and one of the signature items from the menu is apparently, crocodile meat. There's no need to backtrack. You read it right the first time. I did say crocodile.

This Texas sirloin (200g, $10) according to the menu, is one of the favourites. On first look, one must admit that it's quite pretty considering the fact that most steaks from coffeeshop westerns are simply pieces of meat that I don't really consider to be real steaks. The downside is that the meat was actually a little tough for medium doneness. Apart from that, this is probably one of the better ones from coffeeshops that I've had. This is definitely better stuff than E.Blackboard which I thought was utterly disappointing.


I'm sure some of you might have heard the recurring joke about exotic meats tasting like chicken. On a serious note here, this crocodile filet (200g, $18) does taste like chicken. The main difference that I could detect from the meat is probably the texture which puts it a little more fish like from the way it breaks and crumbles slightly. Looking back, I should have requested for the white pepper sauce on the side to get more of the natural flavor of the meat. Otherwise, the bite and texture could really pass off for chicken. I've heard that it's low in fat and cholesterol and that really makes it a much more expensive and exotic chicken alternative?

Cafe Oliv, East Coast Road

This establishment has some ways to go with their food. Cafe Olive (220 East Coast Road) is affordable; costs less and provides equivalent or better quality than the run of the mill family restaurants in town. There isn't any GST and service charge. I dropped by on the notice from a reader regarding their tenderloin sandwich which I did not regret. In fact, I was surprised by what I had and judging from what I saw from the other tables, there were other offerings which looked good enough for me to come back. Including some good looking braised lamb shanks going around the tables.

Salty egg soft shell crab biscuit fritter

This would make the second soft shell crab in recent years that I've had that was good enough to be mention worthy amongst the gamut of many. Most soft shell crabs today have become unremarkable and many are poorly done. To the point that I've really been avoiding them. I picked this starter based on the recommendation of a friend and it turned out quite good. The entire of the exterior of the crab was crispy and the insides were hot, tender and juicy. And at $4.90, I couldn't complain. I only wonder what did the salty egg of the named referred to because I was expecting it to be covered in salted egg yolk sauce and it didn't really taste anything of that.

tenderloin foccacia

This tenderloin sandwich was surprisingly good. It's beat the ribeye sandwich from Marmalade Pantry which now paled badly in comparison. And this went at about half the cost at $10.90. There's a doneness option. Tenderloin cut for the sandwich was noticeably heftier than the ribeye in comparison. Shame on Marmalade Pantry. I believe that the buttered and lightly toasted focaccia stood out more than a ciabatta in a weak wasabi sauce in comparison as well. That said, if anyone does know of good steak sandwiches, I'd appreciate a heads up. For now, this recommendation is the best I've had around.

Some spoils from the Hokkaido Fair

I have no idea how often the Hokkaido Fairs come by, but I seem to see it every few times I pass by Istetan. This time round, they seem quite particular about people taking photos so I didn't get to get pictuers of some of the interesting sights of the fair. Temptation did succeed in making me part with some money for the Hokkaido produce which were really good stuff. These fairs are also really great for picking up tasty bites that one normally do not find elsewhere. Look out for the mouthwatering cheese scallops and check the price tags before you pay!

preserved octopus

cheesy cuttlefish

more processed cuttlefish

grilled, dried and sweetened scallops

candied crabs

Ribeye steak sandwich from Marmalade Pantry

It was just wishful thinking on my part imagining the rib eye steak in this sandwich to be thick and dripping with juices. Well, it was dripping with juices, but it didn't quite qualify with what I had in mind for the thickness. That's what wishful thinking gets you. Lol. The bread, which I think is ciabatta, isn't actually as large as it appears to be. It's puffed up in side so it just looks larger than it actually is. There was the option for the doneness of the steak in the sandwich. The really enjoyable thing about this sandwich is that you get a real piece of meat which you can rip out with your teeth. Apart from that, I thought that the ultimate beef burger was ultimately more satisfying. I would attribute that to that the wasabi sauce which did mask up quite abit of the beefy flavor. It wasn't a really strong wasabi in there, but the taste got through and I honestly thought that it would have been better if there wasn't any of it. The fries here are pretty good, so the tapioca chips probably should go as well. I am entertaining the consideration to attempting on this what I do at McDonalds. But that would probably make it the most expensive sandwich I've ever had.



The sticky date pudding I was told, is pretty good. It wasn't really as good as the descriptions that I've been given of it. I very much prefer the one at B.R.O.T.H.. And the magic involved was plenty of hot butterscotch and sour cream which worked for me, much better than vanilla ice cream on this particular one.

Esmirada, Orchard Hotel

The lingering impression of this place from the last time almost 3 years back was that the food was pricey and quite forgettable. Three years later today, the experience at Esmirada (442 Orchard Road, #01-29, Orchard Hotel) turned out similar and service in this place really needs work. A service that could be described as wildly inconsistent. I've only discovered that they're the same group that manages Brasserie Wolf down at Robertson Quay.

This place is spoken of for their grills which I thought was quite decent, but really nothing to rave over. The price of the grills goes a little on the high side and portions aren't exactly generous. Esmirada does paella and the noodle option of that dish actually comes with penne instead of noodles that I thought would be. What doesn't feel right is that there isn't chorizos in the platter and the description of chicken from the menu really just involves a couple of mid wings. Really, a couple means just two if you still remember the actual definition of the word. That is certainly astounding generosity.

The rabo del toro is described by the menu to be a Spanish ox tail stew that is served with saffron rice. I really do not know what's so distinctively Spanish about the ox tail stew but it wasn't too too bad with four chunky pieces of the tail and served with boiled root vegetables. A signature dessert from the place known as Melting Moments probably has outlived it's moments. The unromantic description of it, is two tiny molten chocolate cakes with a scoop of walnut ice cream and cherries. There are places that does equally good or better renditions these days which also comes in larger portions.

Cheok Kee Duck Rice, East Coast Lagoon

This stall (Stall 29) at East Coast Lagoon seemed one of those (out of two in the stalls that was opened for lunch) which had a long queue during lunch. I'm usually not a fan of queues. I've learnt that they are usually not worth the wait and I personally dislike having to wait. I made an exception because I was told good things their duck. That and that I'm not likely to be here often so I thought why not.

   

As hawker prices go, they were a little pricier than usual. A single portion of the duck be it with noodles, rice or porridge was $4.50. Agree that the duck was good and a notch above many other braised (that seems to be the only type at Cheok Kee) ducks. I'm saying this even though I generally prefer roasted variety. Will not mind having this again if I do come back to East Coast Lagoon.