A packed away nasi padang lunch

It is sometimes a chore getting lunch in the building at my current workplace. Occasionally when the sun is not as blistering, I venture out a little further into a grimy food centre amidst some JTC blocks and get some nasi padang which costs less and actually tastes pretty good. Here's a pack of that with curried mutton, a hard boiled egg and some salty fried squids. Did not register the name of the stall since I never looked, but good food finds a way. There couldn't have been a more blatant invitation for the Z monster to rake its claws across your back in the mid day.

A random nasi lemak breakfast

Here's a grease bomb of a breakfast with the sweet Taiwanese sausage, greasy fried egg with semi liquid yolk and deep fried chicken wings in bed with some hot coconut rice. It was definitely miles away from a healthy breakfast, but one doesn't begrudge the satisfaction that comes after. And to make up for something like this, I skipped lunch at work. Heh.

Lamb chops from Zac Cafe

What struck me about this rack of lamb from Zac Cafe was that each piece extra thick. Not double cut but thicker than most single rib. It was unfortunate that the meat was a little more cooked that I was hoping for. This resulted in them being a little more chewy than I would normally like. I recalled them being tender even when they were well done from a previous visit. It's hard for me to argue against thick hunks of grilled bone in lamb laced with fat. I'm going to try this again another time.

Bistro Du Vin, Shaw Center

Another good one by the Les Amis Group.

Admittedly, these guys are a little pricey (1 Scotts Road, #02-12 Shaw Centre, tel : 6733 7763), but I'm did feel that the price tag was commensurated by quality of food here. I don't pretend to be an expert on what they do, but previous experiences appear to point out qualities where their restaurants tend to outshine others.

Fricassée de Champignons aux morilles et oeuf poché

The mushroom fricassée - couldn't find myself disagreeing with the dish. This one was enjoyable, especially the salty bits of morel paired with the flavour of bacon grease. Liquid yolks rule!

Foie gras de canard des Landes aux pommes et réduction de
vinaigre balsamique

The foie gras came with the balsamic vinegar reduction a little dried out on the sides. It was otherwise familiarly lip smacking with a thin crusty exterior and the quivery insides that one would expect. I did wish that it was served in thicker slices though. There were some poached apples on the sides.

Soupe a l’oignon gratinée au gruyère et croûton

I'll describe their French onion soup as warm and comforting. Broth was filled with soft layers of boiled onion and topped with salty gruyere cheese. Great for a rainy day and something that I can see myself wanting to order again if I come back

cured ham sampler (Sanchez Romero Carvajal Cintos Jotas & Marcos Iberico de Bellota)

I'm not going to wonder about Spanish ham in a French place. These thinly sliced bits of cured meat had a nutty smoky flavour enhanced by the slivers of fat along the edges. Minus the saltiness of Parma ham. With a couple of years of prerequisite ageing, one might understand why they cost so much.

Confit de canard

Don't eat duck confit very often. Then again, I don't eat French food that much. This was quite nice in my opinion. The duck came with a nice crispy skin and tender flavourful meat. A bonus came in a form of a little jug of what I had heard to be a duck based reduction that enhanced the flavours of the meat noticeably to another level of - erm.... duckiness. In a good way.

kurobuta pork cutlet

I've only had a couple of pieces of the pork cutlet and they were very good. Tasted much like a refined version of that kurobuta pork loin from Big D's Grill and possessed too, a very nice smoky aroma from the grill.

steak frites (ribeye)

This was surprisingly awesome. Surprising because I hadn't been expecting a fat laced piece of ribeye that had enough natural flavours in the meat that widened my eye. I was expecting a regular steak and this was definitely better than your average steak. Mileages may indeed vary but I thought this made the stuff down at Aston Prime look like an amateur's job. Unfortunately, it doesn't look very impressive on photo. At $42, it also wasn't exactly wallet friendly as.

Crème brûlée

Nice crispy top and a very eggy custard. I liked this.

Profiteroles

I kinda like profiteroles for some reason. Maybe it's because of the soft choux pastry stuffed with ice cream texture. Wasn't anything extraordinary but I liked them the same.

apricot tart

The apricot tart wasn't bad but it was the least interesting amongst the dessert. Did turn out to be how I imagined the taste to be. But at least now I know for sure. Won't be missing it.

Ootoya, Orchard Central

Ootoya's a new restaurant in town (181 Orchard Road, #08-12 Orchard Central, tel : 6884 8901) that specialises in teishoku - which I've only recently learnt was the word for those Japanese set meals.

The Atka mackerel option I tried appeared appealing. The fish was flaky, salty and had a nice char aroma from the grilled skin. But those tiny bones which made it a hassle to eat. Rice was free flow with each order of their sets meals. There were a few toppings that one could pick for them. I got one with hijiki seaweed and it tasted like it had ume in them.

Steak and eggs from Handlebar

Wow, this was a pleasant surprise coming from Handlebar. Not that I was anticipating anything that I wouldn't have liked, but the steak and eggs plate did feature a tender and properly done medium rare cow that would make me re-think sirloin as an option. The sirloin in question was one juicy and flavourful piece. Then again, it's not a cut that I look at most of the time so perhaps, I've just been missing out. Coming from the Biker's food section of the menu, this was certainly a no frills and just a steak with sides thing that I appreciated. I noticed that the prices have gone up from the last visit. Their tenderloin has gone up by $10!