Izakaya Nijumaru Restaurant, Cuppage Plaza

So here are a couple of teishoku sets from a izakaya place (5 Koek Road, #02-10 Cuppage Plaza, tel : +65 6235 6693) down at Cuppage. The restaurant actually consists of quite a few units and business must be really good for them to be able to afford such space. There seemed to an even mix of local and Japanese clientele. I've heard about this place from a few sources so decided to drop by for what looked to be the the popular items that people order.

The food here was definitely straight forward and frills free. It was also probably not someplace that I would like to order sashimi based on the samples I've had from the Nijumaru bento which also came with some forgettable grilled saba, pieces of mixed tempura and a piece of braised pork which was really the best item from the set. Even though as my memory serves, it probably wasn't as tasty as the rafute from Mimigar, it was definitely still good. And there was also a decent unajyu set which featured fatty eels as well.

I've yet to order much of anything else beyond a agedashi tofu so I couldn't really say if I liked this place much or not. I'm sure there must be an appeal somewhere and perhaps, it lies with the grills.

Le Bistrot, Stadium Walk

I've been meaning to come to Le Bistrot (2 Stadium Walk, #01-03 Singapore Indoor Stadium, tel : +65 6447 0018) for quite some time. I'm not sure how many people were aware of its existence but it didn't look as filled up as I was expecting on a Friday night. The location probably had a part to play with the crowd as well since it wasn't all that accessible. Since it was our first visit, we took a while to actually find it. But all was good and I'm pretty glad we made this trip.

Gravlax (Saumon Cru Mariné), Oeuf Mollet Croquant, Crème Fraîche à la Menthe

I'd have to admit that their cured salmon slices were actually pretty good and tasted refreshing with their mint crème fraîche. There was also the flavour of the dill from that added to it. This was also the first time I've had a deep fried soft boiled egg. Must have been some effort to get an egg cooked to the point where it was almost solid enough to hold shape; and then to finish it with a light breading and deep fry. The salmon was supposed to come with truffle oil It was only at the point when most of the fish was done that we realised that the flavour could hardly be discerned. A feedback to the restaurant resulted in a fresh portion being brought in as replacement and subsequently doused with a generous dose of the oil. Wow.

foie gras terrine w/ Cadillac

The smooth and creamy foie gras terrine came in a generous slice, topped with what I thought were forgettable pan fried pineapples. While the fruit was to serve as a counter for the rich foie, the accompanying Cadillac did a much better job. In fact, I really liked that white wine.

Crumble au Joue de Boeuf Wagyu, Pommes Sarladaises

Haven't had beef cheeks much. I picked the wagyu beef cheek crumble to try their savoury crumble and was curious how wagyu beef cheek would be like. It was in the end like decently done beef pie with cheese and crumbles. Wouldn't say it was impressive. The duck fat potato slices were on the other hand very nice.

herb crusted spring lamb

I hadn't expected the spring lamb to be a baked dish at all. In fact, I was thinking along the lines of what I had at Mietta's. Still it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Lamb was tender and despite lacking the natural flavour of the meat, was quite enjoyable. I liked that they didn't overdo the herb crust. Liked the sliced potato gratin that served as the base - that had goat's cheese in it. 

Pastilla au Pistache-Chocolat Noir

Don't think we were wowed by the dessert. Most of its saving grace came from the dark chocolate. The skin of pastilla was tough and the pistachio cream did taste oddly soapy. I'm quite sure it wasn't imagined on my part, but I couldn't understand what could have happened.

While I didn't quite agree with all the things we had, I was impressed by the service. Am quite sure I'll be back.

Takeaway chicken rice at lunch

This was a takeaway from a JTC canteen near my workplace where lunch options are actually quite limited if one doesn't depart the premises of the building. The options out of convenience for many is usually the food court which I would really prefer to avoid most of the time. This chicken rice was an example of how much a better choice it was since it costed me almost the same as the one at the food court and I get a portion of roast pork and eggs with them as well. Now this wasn't anywhere amongst the better chicken rice I've had, it didn't have to be and still was certainly a couple of notches better in taste and portions than the one in the food court.

Some Korean beef and rice set from SGH food court

Having had to spend quite a few evenings at the hospital recently put me through some dinner options that I normally would avoid. One such option is the food court which serves, in my not so humbled opinion, generally expensive food with mediocre quality and poor taste to boot. There are definitely exceptions and this beef and rice set from the Korean stall in the Kopitiam at SGH was unexpectedly satisfying. I've gotten into my head that this isn't really Korean food and I needed not to view them as such.

In the end it was a very decently done beef still simmering in the it's own juices along with that of the shredded cabbage and onions. The seasoning was well handled in a way whereby the added flavours didn't overwhelm the beefiness and I could actually taste the natural sweetness of the cabbage from the residual broth left at the bottom of the bowl of meat. Rice was unexpectedly soft and very agreeable.

Chili's, Tanglin Mall

As a student many many dozens of moons ago, I've visited Chili's (#02-23 Tanglin Mall, 163 Tanglin Road, tel : +65 6733-3317) once. It was such a long time back that I have little to no recollection of my experience there. Then again, it could have been that it wasn't memorable at all. This impromptu visit could be consider a clean slate for myself in getting acquainted with the food from this Tex Mex restaurant.

The food was pretty decent tasting with generous portions. There was a curiously named fajita quesadillas which was basically just quesadillas with chunks of beef (or chicken) in them. The skins were buttery, meat was a little more cooked than I would have preferred and the lime flavoured rice was addictive. Unexpectedly better than I had anticipated was their Southern Smokehouse Bacon Big Mouth Burger. Big mouthful there for the name as well. Lol. Wasn't expecting much from the meat which was surprisingly not too bad in the department of beefiness. What got my attention was the description of the brown sugar and chilli rubbed bacon which tasted very much like ba kwa.

All in all rather meaty meals that were heavy on grease, cheese and carbs. Reminded me of the early days of Tony Romas. I have suspicions on the decline of the food quality as time passes. We'll have to see about that.

Mang Kiko's Lechon, Lau Pa Sat

This stall (18 Raffles Quay, Stall #27 Lau Pa Sat Festival Market) was brought to my attention by a Filipino colleague at work. Mang Kiko's Lechon basically serves roasted pork (lechon) and chicken on a rotisserie.

The food stood out. Roast pork belly was quite similar Chinese roast pork but had a much more smokey aroma from the roast. These guys were quite generous with the portions as well. Which might or might not be a good thing since roast meat was laced with quite a bit of fat. Some of the skin was a little tough though. Chicken was well roasted, greasy and had breast meat which was surprisingly tender. Loved the spicy vinegar and a black sauce - which tasted much like dark soya sauce. There was an aroma from chilli though it wasn't really spicy. On the side, there was also a sour and garlicky soup that one could have free refills on. Needless to say, we're going to come back.