Cod-dling up at Wasabi Tei

Not doing any advertising for Wasabi Tei if that's a thought that's in your head but I needed to give myself a chance at their grilled cod which caught my attention the last time we were here. Due to probable inconsistency, it also turned out not as thick and large as I remember seeing them but there weren't any regrets. And yes, it did look quite charred, like their unagi and grilled chicken which were nice in that charred manner. I'm quite sure that many would have something to say about the quality of the cooking but it didn't taste as burnt as it looked. In fact it was fragrant on the outside while tender and moist on the insides. This was also an opportunity to try the cod in claypot which never fails to turn up on someone else's seat every time we visit. What we learnt was that at each seating, only 4 of these can be served up since it takes about a half hour for the cooking to be done. It was actually not bad. What you got from the hot bubbling pot beside from the fish was a whole lot of soft boiled cabbage, seaweed and golden mushrooms in a lightly sweet dashi broth. I'm not an expert on fishes nor do I order them very often, but I've eaten them enough in my life to recognize that these were pretty fresh as they go.

Angus House, Ngee Ann City

This was one place (391 Orchard Road, #04-25 Ngee Ann City, tel : 6735 6015) where I'll have little beef with their beef. Haha. Well, it's actually a second visit . The first first time was a treat from a friend a few years back and the food from the set seemed to be exactly as I remember it - from the fried fish starter to the tiramisu for dessert. I guess they're one of those dependable go to places where one can always rely on getting a decent steak with minimal frills.

Capricci, Tanjong Pagar

Relatively new restaurant that has moved into the place along Duxton where Oso used to be (27 Tanjong Pagar Road, tel : 6221 6761). The food was decent, with a savory starter of parmesan and wild mushroom souffle that stood out being both cheesy and comforting; and a ficattole which reminded me of deep fried dough fritters from Indian rojak stores. The latter would have gotten boring in a while, being a little heavy from the the grease, if not for the Parma ham that actually paired off pretty well with them.

Pasta was a little disappointing. What was meant by disappointing is that while it was really not terrible, it simply didn't hold enough of an appeal that I would look forward to coming back. The carbonara had a seafoody taste of clams and squids in the cream was a little interesting for a while. Gnocchi was just uninspiringly dull since one couldn't really taste the bits of chestnuts in them and the crushed pistachios are really doing nothing apart from providing texture to the dish since the flavors are a tad weak to content with a Gorgonzola based sauce which also didn't contain enough of the blue cheese to make me impressed in the first place. Maybe it could have been because of not having ordered their "signature" items. I definitely don't subscribe to depending on that.

"the bread wok"

soffiato di parmigiano in fonduta

ficattole with Parma ham

tagliatelle seafood carbonara

chestnut and potato gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce and crushed pistachio

Restoran Hen Hwa

Hey, this was really tasty food there and inexpensive to boot from a shop house eatery of the old world charm where one could still find themselves seated on plastic chairs and foldable tables on the road aside parked cars. I didn't really take note of the address unfortunately, but its somewhere in the vicinity of Taman Sentosa, Johor Bahru. I was told that the food that they serve are quite similar to what you can find in kuey chap. So what we had was essentially a sampler of just a few of the items that was suppose to be quite popular here as we already started off with a healthy dose of some street side grilled/steamboat skewers (lok-lok). It definitely helped some that their bowls of kuey teow kia (thin rice noodles) were actually light and clear tasting in that mildly herbal broth with crunchy bean sprouts and a helping of spring onions with fried shallots.

The deep fried pipa duck and fish stood out pretty well being greasy but not excessively so. The fish was fried in a manner that almost everything on the exterior was chew-ably crispy and the only remnant of it after one was through with them was the bone at the centre and nothing else. With a home made chilli sauce and squeezed lime on the side. They're definitely one of those things that could be grouped under beer food. I can definitely revisit this place.

Saraceno Ristorante

Pretty new place at Tanjong Pagar (83 Duxton Road, Berjaya Hotel Singapore, tel : 6438-9638) that was opened about 3 months or so ago with a Czech chef that has done a stint in Italy and was also formerly under Gordon Ramsey. I don't know if the latter situation made any difference but the food was not bad. In a way that it wasn't overly complicated and that the individual wasn't overwhelmed by the sum of its part if you catch my drift. Much cooking transforms a dish into a form where the original ingredients are often lost in translation (lol!) but it didn't look like it was that way here.

There was a generously portion Parma ham with juicy pieces of porcini on bruschetta to start. The truffle oil added a very nice accent to the rockets and mushrooms with neither of the flavours overpowering one another. In fact, what was really nice about it was that every ingredient could be distinctly tasted.

The pan roasted tenderloin featured also porcini and truffle oil. I'm wondering if it was the same batch of mushrooms that was done with the starter. Again, it was another item where both fungal aromas were in harmony even with the red wine reduction. The beef was a medium-rare, nicely browned on the outside and a juicy red on the interior. No complains except for the size. We enjoyed the grilled calf liver and hoped that they were here to stay as a permanent item on the menu. Done medium with a very nice char grill on a bed of exquisitely soft gnocchi.

Loved the freshly made baked apples on puff pastry. They appeared unassuming. Turned out awesome served hot with a good measure of drizzled caramel. Even though the base of the pastry was soggy, it was saved by how buttery it tasted. Almost like bread pudding. I liked the pineapple raviolis as well which seemed to be their signature dessert. Those were basically thinly sliced frozen pineapples folded across a lime sorbet. Along with chopped bits of strawberries in balsamic vinegar. Found them refreshingly sour for an interesting change.

Prosciutto di Parma con Bruschetta ai Porcini e scaglie di grana
Parma ham with Porcini on toasted bread, parmesan shavings and truffle oil

how does black pearls of vinegar in olive oil sound?

bread basket

amuse bouche (steak tartare)

Filetto di Manzo con Porcini e salsa al vino rosso
Fillet of Beef tenderloin with Porcini, Potatoe purée and red wine sauce

Fegato di Vitello alla griglia con gnocchi, burro, salvia e cipolle croccanti
Grilled Calves liver with gnocchi, butter and sage, crispy onions aged balsamic vinegar

Torta di mele
Peeled apples slowly baked on puff pastry

Ravioli di Ananas

Thickburger

It's thick because it's padded with the girth of two slices of tomatoes, onions and lettuce. But otherwise, the patty wasn't that big of a deal. Sure it was bigger than the usual of the fast food variety, but I didn't think it was that impressive of a difference. This Thickburger from CJ purports the use of Angus beef which I really can't tell. I mean, is it suppose to even taste different at all? The marketing tag say that some like it long and most would prefer it thick. I like mine less wet. Would have been better if the buns weren't soaked and disintegrating with all that mayo and ketchup.