Vegetarian bee hoon from Holland Drive Market

This was Chinese vegetarian bee hoon down at Zhen Ji Vegetarian in Holland Drive Food Centre (44 Holland Drive, #02-26, Holland Drive Food Centre, S120044) which I came across some years ago. Some of the toppings on the bee hoon are made in short order, notably, the crispy mock duck made of dried bean curd sheets which were hot and crispy. Those cabbages included were tender and not soggy. I wonder if the store has ever adjusted for inflation and the increasing cost of food ingredients in the recent times. For $2, it certainly made a cheap and tasty breakfast.

Mamma Lucia Pasta & Pizza, Robertson Walk

Mamma Lucia's Italian restaurant (11 Unity Street, #01-07 Robertson Walk, tel: 6738 0242) just next door from their churrascaria place turned out to be quite disappointing. I've been wondering about the place and the food always looked to be pretty nice on someone else's table. Until today, I had the impression that they couldn't be too bad since mediocrity generally gets weeded out by the nearby competition. There are at least few Italian restaurants in the vicinity of Robertson Quay after all. I suppose it told why the prices here are kept low. Frills are almost non existent. Not even a cloth napkin. No more of their walnut sauces. And the dips tasted canned.


I was wondering what I'd get for a $15 prosciutto e melon and laid the expectations low. It did turn out okay and the melon was fragrant but I thought that it could have been ripened further. This was a little too crunchy for my liking. The fronds of rocket at the top simply looked like they couldn't care less.


Unfortunately for their gnocchi alla gamberetti and/or possibly for myself, I just had to compare with what Porta Porta did for a prawn cream sauce. This one was rich with tomato, a little too tangy and had too little flavour from the crustacean if any. The prawns in the gnocchi tasted exactly like those that were used in the sister restaurant next door which meant that they were overcooked. But at least now I know.


To plunge further downhill, the pizza Gorgonzola e rucola arrived initially without the rockets. I cannot imagine how an overlook like that would occur considering that the name of the pizza itself already mentioned rucola. When informed about the situation, the pizza was brought back with that you see in the picture. Haphazardly put into place made difficult to eat with all leaves and stalks. I was also pretty disappointed at how pathetically tiny the quantity of Gorgonzola cheese there were on the pizza. With burnt crust edges and a soggy base this looked like they didn't even care.

Will never return.

Baseball soto and briyani from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

This was known as a baseball soto from a store by the name of Noor Muslim Food down at Tanjong Pagar Railway (30 Keppel Road, S089059). I was quite intrigued by the name and guessed that it might have to do with the large begedil (potato ball) that was on display at the front of the shop. Turns out that the dish was indeed those big begedil that was stuffed with minced mutton. An order of it came in a bowl ladled over with that soto broth along with some chilli and fried shallots. The egg washed fried potato ball disintegrated quite easily after being cut open, becoming mushy like some kind of porridge. It was pretty good being spicy and all, but I thought it triggered the MSG alarm.


Over at the other end, we ordered a serving of chicken briyani from a store call Ali Nachia Dam Briyani. When one orders briyani from a supposedly dum briyani store, one expects dum briyani. Makes a whole lot of sense doesn't it? I wasn't expecting them to pick out a piece of fried chicken from a metal pot to be placed onto rice that came from a separate container. I had the idea they would have been cooked together. Anyway, no complains about the rice and fried chicken. However what passed off as raita and achar on the sides was a very watered down version. Curry was passable.

This wasn't what I had in mind. One might actually have to specify the type of briyani if you're looking for the dum version.

W.A.R.

This second part of Warhammer Online's cinematics is just so cool. Click to watch.

Da Mario revisited!

This was seriously an unplanned visit which also happened to be the result of trying to search for some place to quell a calamari craving. In the end somehow, a pasta turned up and a dessert too. Lol. Not that I'm complaining here, but so far, I have to admit to liking Da Mario and having it filed aside as a place for less expensive but still hearty Italian food.

That being said, the calamari was pretty good. Light on the crispy batter, mildly salted and I didn't even think that the tatare sauce was necessary. I had the unique experience this evening of having a large squirt of lemon juice heading straight for my eyes (seriously, it couldn't have been better positioned) while trying to squeeze that wedge over the fried seafood. I thought it felt like a scripted funny moment in Mr Bean with canned laughter, except that I certainly had not planned (nor ever will) to have lemon juice in my eyes.

There was a spaghetti al tartufo nero which I missed back at the first visit because they were out of truffles. Portions were heartily generous for both the pasta and the shaven black truffles in a light Gorgonzola sauce that wasn't too saltish. I think we had one that was perceptibly past al dente tonight. Having the notion that the truffle might be overwhelmed by the sauce I was wondering how the flavors would turn out, but as it was, both flavors contended amicably if you catch my drift. So while I wouldn't have minded a stronger Gorgonzola there, it could have well taken out the flavor from the fungus if it had been so.

Last visit, we had to leave out the zuccotto della cassa because there was simply no more room. In retrospect, we didn't really miss anything great. This was merely some pistachio and almond based semifreddo in a dense chocolate cake shell. The frozen cream centre did taste more of the almond than the pistachio and the cake was just unremarkable. Now I know I can safely discount the desserts here and just shoot straight for the food.

Spanish Fair @ Isetan

This must be the first time a fair like this have appeared at Isetan since it's been mostly Japanese and Korean ones that have made their presence felt in this corner of the departmental store. Truth be told, after numerous visits, it has started to become a little boring with the usual stuff in circulation that eventually felt like recycled events. Let's hope that this marks the beginning of more of such small food fairs from other places than the usual suspects. This Spanish one (9th - 18th Sept), although tiny was probably a good start.


What attracted me were probably the Spanish hams which were the counterparts to the prosciutto di Parma of the Italians. I managed to sample some together with a couple of variety of chorizos. I couldn't tell if the jamon were really any sweeter but I could taste that there was more depth in the aroma. If these were the lower grades of the major artisanal jamon, I would imagine the jamon iberico could be exceptional. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to try them and they don't seem to be available in this fair.

There was a also a variety of cheeses, largely from sheep and inclusive of a blue variety (Valdeón) to be had along with an an assortment of wines, preserved produce, date cakes and pastas. I didn't manage to get them all on photo. Today also marks the first day of their ham slicing demonstration which ends in 3 more days.


Now it wouldn't do at all to just view and just simply walk away without getting anything especially when it's something that new. So here's a borcadillo (baguette) with that jamon serrano and some freshly fried churros with chocolate dip. It was a nice sandwich on heated bread with butter and their Tomaca sauce and all, but there's really nothing majorly exciting. I would presume that such a ham would be better savored on its own. Fresh churros were also nice since we don't get them outside of restaurants. It seems that Alegra, a Spanish restaurant down at Clarke Quay are part of the team that's doing this little fair.

Edit 10.33pm
I've been informed that these fairs do rotate quite a bit, so I've probably never had the chance to see them happen.