Grandma's Restaurant, Orchard Paragon

A couple of weeks back, I had stepped in Grandma's Restaurant (290 Orchard Road, #B1-42/43 The Paragon, tel : +65 6737 7931) for some chendol and decided that I'll return for the food after seeing the spread on other people's tables. This time round, the realization struck me that I've actually visited this place before at the original outlet down in Orchard Parade Hotel. And that the chef that ran the place had been from Madam Kwan's which had left me pretty good impressions.

In retrospect, what made this place a winner for me was the soft and fragrant nasi lemak rice which I've realized, seemed to be a rarity these days. Granted that I am not often looking out for great nasi lemak, I've been having them now and then, noticing that there is always something that I didn't like about the rice. It was either the degree which the grains were cooked, or the lack of coconut fragrance of the rice or that it was simply tasted bland. This place did strike a really good balance. All of it with that coconut rich curry that threatened to make my arteries clog in protest.

Normally, steak is not an option I would even consider for a restaurant like this since the expertise of the kitchen point toward another direction. I wouldn't have had it here if not for the fact that I spied a really nice looking one at a neighbour's table which gave me give pause for reconsideration. This might not have been top quality meat. To be fair, the tenderloin in a light pepper sauce was quite enjoyable and the kitchen got medium rare spot on. A decent char grill on the surface for aroma and non crinkle cut fries, I could say that this would give Aston's a run for their money considering that steaks are not a forte here.

I would have preferred a heavier touch of heat to the otah otah but I have no complains. This was the stuff that's filled with chunks of fish, not just bits of them. I feel drawn back to the restaurant. For the nice coconut laden bubor cha cha with hot steaming pieces of yam that I enjoyed and also for the other things that I would like to try on menu. Perhaps too, for the pints of Erdinger at a steal at $5.

La Braceria Pizza and Grill, Greendale Avenue

La Braceria (5 Greendale Avenue, tel : +65 6465 5918), formerly located at the time capsule of Ban Guan Park near 6th Avenue is now literally around the corner from Greenwood Avenue. I hadn't realised that this current location was actually so close to the cluster of restaurants at Greenwood. And that someone I used to be acquainted with lives just above the restaurant.

Dinner started with a serving of an aromatically smoked scamoza cheese with parma ham and their trippa alla Fiorentina which is essentially a beef tripe stew in a tomato based broth with herbs. The latter dish appeared very different from what I had previously where it appeared more like a soup with pieces of tripe swimming in the broth. This time round, there wasn't much in the way of broth and it was actually more of a sauce in a bowl laden with very generous portions of the soft stewed tripe. I hadn't expected the portions to be so huge, making me regret asking for extra portions of bread while waiting for the food to arrive. But, I am definitely not complaining.

Both the house pasta, which was orecchlette with sausages and broccoli and the porcini risotto came in hearty portions as well. The decision of stuffing more bread earlier sunk heavier as they arrived. The former pasta which was done in a light but robust flavored sauce of what tasted to be meat and cheese was decent, albeit a little undercooked to be even al dente. The bits of meat tasted exactly like the sausages with fennel seeds that I had previously. Hearty, but the fennel wasn't something that I normally enjoy much.

This risotto was definitely well done as it struck an excellent balance between the taste of the poricini mushrooms and the truffle oil that perfumed the creamy reduction on the rice. Must make a mental note of this being one of the enjoyable risottos that I've had around.

The location was a little remote, but in the evening, had exuded a kind of charm which I found appealing in the quiet little corner relatively unrustled, mostly, by the noise of traffic. And with pizza bianca options on the menu, I'll definitely be looking forward to coming back.

And some from Café Iguana...

Nothing much to be said about the stuff here that I haven't already, especially when it's items on menu that I've had before. Just some random phone cam whoreography here.

The croissants that made me go wow......

The whispers of a not so little bird told me that Mirabelle Patisserie (27 Mackenzie Road, tel : +65 6238 6235) had good croissants and since it was located at an old haunt of mine, I decided to take a look. Took me three Saturdays of attempts before I managed to get my hands on the ham and cheese croissant. I tried thrice because I had managed by chance to get the regular ones on the first attempt and they were really good. Croissants are available easily here. Getting those that are crispy and buttery with enough grease for the moist innards without being overly heavy or soggy was another matter entirely and these ones from Mirabelle were just that. And as mentioned by the not so little bird, the ham and cheese version was really excellent value for the quality of ham and cheese that was used. The picture unfortunately does no justice to the taste of the pastry.

A breakfast uncommon......

Well, at least for me it is not the usual thing when I grab breakfast since all that grease and fat is really quite heavy even for the morning. Left me with a garlic breath for some time throughout the day. Roast chicken rice with roast pork would presumably be something that sounds like lunch or dinner for the most of us. This is one of the random stalls which featured the Channel U logos. I've never put much stock into those endorsements but this one was pretty decent.

Itacho Sushi, ION Orchard

I've been hearing quite a bit about Itacho Sushi (2 Orchard Turn, #B2-18 ION Orchard, tel : +65 6509 8911) which originated from Hong Kong from various people and decided to give them a try. Got some mixed feelings about the place because they were not quite there but yet I'm not ready to write them off. It did feel like a family restaurant but I think they've got more than what a family restaurant would serve. It's not exactly mid range as well. Prices were likewise somewhere in between, which means that it can get a little pricey, depending on what you order.

Mention worthy include the uni gunkans which were decent but I thought didn't match the value for the buck in comparison with Botan which costed the same. The anago on the sushi looked pretty impressive for a large but thin slice and the toro sashimi was also very edible. The latter wasn't really so much more affordable since the the individual pieces were quite small but the quality of the belly was surprisingly not bad at all. Aburi-ed items were a teaser as they lacked a fuller bodied scorch aroma. 

Didn't like the fish liver items. Wouldn't order again since they were in so tiny that they barely registered. The niku udon was nasty featuring not so thinly sliced meat that was overcooked to death. Udon wasn't as springy and had a mild starchy film. Definitely to be avoided. Service was also spotty as the waitresses barely understood English nor knew the Japanese names of the items on menu. There's an irony here since I'm not conversant in Japanese at all and I couldn't clarify if those items listed as dorsal fin sushi were engawa. They didn't seem to understand the word flounder and it took a while before someone could come up to clarify the items they had on menu which were in English. Sigh...... 

hotate sashimi

seared salmon with dill mayo?

some rolls with fish liver

the uni war ships

aburied hotate with fish liver

aburied wagyu, toro and engawa

anago sushi

pumpkin tempura

toro sashimi

niku udon