Stewhaus, Cactus Road

I remember seeing this place at Siglap some years back and it seems they're relocated (6 Cactus Road, Seletar Gardens, tel : +65 65557845) to the sleepy neighbourhood at Seletar Gardens. My guess is that in spite of a spread in the menu, they're better known for stews or at least are suppose to be good at them. So I ordered myself a Guinness lamb stew which actually came with a shot of Guinness. 

Can't say that it was impressive to any extent. There were definitely flavours going on, especially when freshly doused with that stout and the pieces of lamb within were tender as well. However the pieces of potatoes and green vegetables looked worn and limp and I'm guessing that they've been boiled to death. The lamb strangely didn't look overcooked. Sides of the mashed potatoes was at best ordinary. The stew felt medieval. I've tasted better.

Brunch @ Epicurious

Been hearing about the breakfast items at Epicurious (60 Robertson Quay, #01-02 The Quayside, tel : +65 6734 7720) for quite a while and here came the opportunity for a brunch pig out on a late Saturday morning and wishing that I could afford more mornings like these.

So what was it all about? Decently fluffy pancakes, a larger than expected Full Monty plate that included three eggs (yeah!), streaky bacon, buttered and toasted bread, token side of canned beans, some pretty good sauteed mushrooms, pan fried tomatoes and a few meaty but bland sausages in a morning fry up along with juice and coffee. There was a pretty decent breakfast burrito filled with scrambled eggs and bits of chorizo and cheese that did hit the morning spot. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a good hearty breakfast as a doctor might recommend.

It would be worth noting that the coffee here isn't as robust as I would have liked though.

Putu piring...

It's been a long while since I've had these. The taste rekindled memories of childhood when my parents used to buy them from this stall at Haig Road. The only thing that I could detect that has changed with these airy steamed flour cakes was that the flour shells today are rather skimpy, making the size of the putu piring smaller than I remembered them. Fortunately, the molten fillings of gula melaka (palm sugar) inside were still plentiful. This however made them difficult to pick up by hand since they simply fell apart from the weight of the fillings. Not that eating the freshly steamed ones by hands are a good idea in the first place.

Very tasty with those slightly chilled shredded coconut that came with each packet.

Arnold's Fried Chicken, City Plaza

The sealed in juices in the fried chicken thigh seeped out onto the plates as I peeled strips of cooked meat from it. I'm usually not really big on fried chicken, but these ones from Arnold's, (810 Geylang Road, #02-99/101, City Plaza, tel : +65 6746 2372) - I be liking them. 

It's definitely because of the fresher tasting chickens which they claimed to be from the farm rather than the freezer. Not forgetting the thin and spicy crispy batter and their chilled and chopped coleslaw which could improve on the portions. Not surprisingly these put the monopoly by old man Sanders to shame. The gripe I have with this joint is that we're "forced" to pay extras for choice parts. If not, you'll probably end up with mostly the less meaty cuts that everyone else seems to avoid asking for.

Shin Yeh Restaurant, Liang Court Shopping Centre

Woah, this was some pretty expensive Taiwanese porridge down at Shin Yeh (177 River Valley Road, Liang Court Shopping Center, #02-19, tel : +65 6338 7337). The restaurant which originated from Taipei was set up and opened here in collaboration with the Tung Lok Group. 

This was so far, the most I've ever paid for Taiwanese porridge. Apart from the complimentary pickled zucchini and muah chee that was presented right at the end, the rest of the food along with three bowls of sweet potato porridge totalled almost $80. That being said, it was mostly delicious. From the sauce soaked tender braised intestines that still had bite to the also tender braise pork belly which had quivery layers of fat that dissolved in your mouth. The steamed minced meat was savoury and accented with a borderline sweetness from the sauce while the roasted mullet slices were both salty and smoky at the same time, reminding me of strangely - a less crumbly Parmesan cheese. A definite run for all those Italian restaurants working with measly bottarga crumbles. 

All in all, Shin Yeh did a respectable rendition of the pork based dishes and scored with the mullet roe which was something we would never find in other Taiwanese porridge establishments locally.

pickles pickles

braised pig intestines

braised pork belly with bamboo shoots

steamed minced pork with salted yolk

roasted mullet roe and cuttlefish with turnip and leek

muah chee

The of two pieces of muah chee they gave with the bill were quite good. Must have been a combination of warm gooey rice dough rolled with fragrant and finely ground peanuts with sugar that did the trick. Moreish even after we were all so stuffed from all the food.

Komala's Deli @ Northpoint

The crave for Indian food continues as I endured the insufferable weekend crowd of the grease ventilated basement food court of a Sunday afternoon at Northpoint. This was definitely not going to be the laid back and quiet lunch I would have preferred to have where I can lounge over my caffeine laced beverage of choice. Here, one loitered in hopes of catching a recently emptied table, get your food, eat up and then leave.

As with the other of their outlets, Komala's Deli here does a brisk business which translates to a good turnover for their cooked meals for their kitchen. This in turn meant that there will be a good chance of getting orders that were freshly made. We did end up with some freshly made idlys and vadai, a dosai of a variety of fillings made to order and of course the not so great chutneys that they have. Those did the trick and were filling as well. Not beyond consideration the next time I feel like having something vegetarian.