Once Upon A Milkshake, Maxwell Chambers

Kko Kko Nara, Tras Street

I got curious about Korean fried chicken lately so we decided to look up Kko Kko Nara (57 Tras Street, #01-01, tel : +65 6224 8186) which is located a few minutes stroll away from Tanjong Pagar MRT.

Being uncharacteristically cautious, we grabbed a sort of sample platter for the fried chicken since we didn't really want to be stuck with something in the event that we didn't like any of the flavours. This turned out to be a good decision as the garlic sauced variety was predictable and a little boring. The spicy sweet sauce for the...well, spicy sweet option was a little too sweet. Didn't really work out for us. The most enjoyable option from the platter was the original which featured deep fried crispy battered chicken parts which weren't excessively greasy. That, I liked.

On top of the chicken we got interested in a spicy pollack roe soup.

Tai Dong Teochew Braised Duck Rice, Lorong Telok

I'm not normally one for braised ducks because of the flat pieces of meat and the boring starchy gravy, but Tai Dong's (No 9 Lorong Telok, City Front Kopitiam, tel : +65 6532 3226) Teochew styled braised duck was a different beast altogether. For starters, the sauce accompanying the duck was a flavorful herbal concoction that tasteed much better than the gooey ones commonly available everywhere else.

Boiled peanuts which I normally don't pay much attention to. I still don't.

Their take on simmered cabbages was excellent, redolent in the flavors in both the aroma and taste of dried shrimps. We enjoyed this so much that we ordered another after another. Three plates of them (amongst 4 of us) if you had lost count.

When one opts for sides along with the duck, the livers, tau kwa and boiled eggs should never be forgotten. These items contribute to the heartiness of the meal. I have little doubt that the eggs and liver helped to the "hearty" effect. The soft and piping hot bean curd paired up excellently with the herbal sauces that came with them.

The main stay of the braised duck here as I've mentioned was the flavorful herbal sauce that comes with the bird. Notice that the skin of the duck is much darker than the common braised ducks.

Rice with that meal that made me eat more of my usual intake of carbs. It's the gravy's fault.

Home made stews

Zan Ji Mixed Veg Rice, Whampoa Food Centre

After several visits which I gave this stall passes, I've finally decided to give this neighbour (Block 90 Whampoa Drive, #01-67) of Uncle Sim a go and it turned out to be a pretty good recommendation. The food tasted better than I had initially thought, especially with the simmered cabbage that was like a fresher nonya chap chye. We were also fortunate to arrive at a timing when they had just brought out a fresh batch of crunchy stir fried french beans and warm fried chicken. They had a rich curry (which I had to request separately for) to go with the rice too which sealed the deal for me. While I don't write about mixed vegetable rice often, this one was just one I had to bring up.

Seventh Heaven, Raeburn Park

the itsy

This place (10 Raeburn Park, #01-24, Marketing Institute of Singapore, tel : +65 6227 7787) was an unusual setup. They had a fancy looking website, a shop that looked like a deli (even equipped with a ham slicing machine) and were touted as a shop that did artisanal ice creams. They were apparently also making what they called manwiches - sandwiches with a conglomerated mess of processed meat fillings. Something that I probably would have tried doing at home.

The differences between the manwiches were basically the meats. The Doobies Debris which they described as Dagwood's ultimate sandwich was filled with smoked turkey, pork roulade, ham and farmer's meatloaf and the Itsy was corned beef, roast beef, pastrami and salami. Even though there was about an inch thick of processed meat after compression, I didn't think they fit the depiction of what I used to see Dagwood Bumstead make for himself. Lol.

Jokes aside, the meat and cheese sandwiches were all cold cut. They looked hearty and generous but probably weren't the best behemoth I've had. Would have benefited from warm fillings but there didn't seem to be much of cooking facilities in the kitchen. The bread wasn't toasted or even warmed. Tasted a little sweet and milky and had a dry crumbly texture which couldn't hold the contents very well. Couldn't understand why the home made coleslaw. It tasted quite good but used as a filling made eating messy. Not one of the better built sandwiches out there. Some PLT or mustard would have been great.

doobies debris

Ice cream tasted a little dodgy. Textures were a little undulating. The peanut butter flavour wasn't particularly peanut-buttery but it was creamy. It also seemed like they ran out of a number of the other alcoholic flavours which were under the recommended list.

Don't think I'll make the effort to come out of the way unless there're doing warm sandwiches. Service without a crowd was excruciatingly slow for food that required little preparation.