Li Xin Teochew Fishball Noodles, Food Opera @ ION

This was probably the most expensive fishball noodles I've ever had. Apart from those large ivory globules of hamachi fishball, it was also the constant queue that piqued my curiosity over the stall. Yeap, it is mentioned that yellowtails are used for the making of those fishballs which were honestly pretty good. Thee texture was both light and bouncy. What I didn't think that much of was their supposedly special blend of chilli sauce which tasted a little sweet and tangy like that of the bottled variety. It was definitely that pork lard that salvaged that chilli sauce for me.

Rosti with raclette cheese and egg from Marché

I say it's a pretty good way to start the day, don't you think?

Pietrasanta, Portsdown Road

I'd be tempted to drop by this place (5B Portsdown Road, #01-03 Wessex Estate, tel : +65 6479 9521) more often if not for the location. Funny thing that I used to work a few minutes drive away and I've never came by even though I was aware of it's existence then.

Pietrasanta themes itself as a Tuscan styled restaurant. As much as can be seen, the setup was comfortably country. It's a little unfortunate about the weather here or otherwise, outdoor sitting would have been great.

We started off with some trippa alla Fiorentina which was a delicate balanced mix of flavors that wasn't overly tangy from the tomato base with a healthy dose of Parmesan cheese and a very appropriate use of rosemary on the soft stewed tripe and beans. Definitely wasn't excessive on the herbs and that made the stew aromatic rather than overpowering. Portions and flavors were nothing short of hearty. I think I liked this better than the one over at La Braceria.

The same heartiness could be used to describe their polenta with bits of spicy sausage. It did arrive looking quite similar with their stewed tripe, but here, the flavors was a nice mix of smokiness and spiciness. The meaty textures were also of a different type since this was really minced sausage over a steaming hot cake of comforting polenta that disintegrated after you popped it into your mouth.

Very nice tagliatelle con salsiccia e tartufo they have here. The sauce was both light in texture and rich in flavors, fairly intensely of the truffle coupled with generous bits of more sausage. Quite the best representative of Italian ba chor mee I've ever had. This one, for it's lack of oregano and a much more truffle-y flavors beats the rendition from Da Mario.

Their cannelloni di cinghiale gratinati did look rather ubiquitous, but pleasantly surprising were the fillings of intense flavors. The minced wild boar was gamey enough to remind me of mutton which I found myself enjoying, blended in almost equal parts of intensity with the chopped olives and Parmesan cheese on the insides. Juicy!

The cannoli was unfortunately a little disappointing for me. It wasn't so much of the fruit filled ricotta cheese than the not so crispy chocolate tube. I was really imagining something like the one over at Garibaldi.

Blood orange sorbet here was pretty good. There was a nice mix of bitters and citrus there. The texture was surprisingly creamy and one might have thought that there was cream until it melted in the mouth and the flavors told otherwise.

This is the part where I'm suppose to say, I'll be back. :p

Angelo's, Killiney Road

Extremely disappointing. Has got to be the worst Italian food I've had this year. Will not return. Waste of money.

Ayam Penyet Ria, Lucky Plaza

I admit to being a little skeptical on first sight at this place (304 Orchard Road, #01-45 Lucky Plaza tel : +65 6235 6390) from the huge crowd and lengthening queue. The first thing that had occurred to me was simply how the kitchen could've kept up with what must have been a mad demand for their fried chicken since it was pretty much what everyone was having. The pessimist in me imagined greasy battered chicken fried in a rush resulting in what I thought to be another over rated chicken joint.

To my surprise, it was all pretty damn good in spite of their flash fast service after the order. And no, the chicken wasn't excessively greasy at all. What surprised me was that the crispy thin batter was nicely done, encapsulating meat that wasn't overly dehydrated. Even their fried tempeh has a creamy quality about it. Not to mention a really tasty gado gado with a rich and sweet peanut gravy. I'm definitely coming back again.

Our Food Story, Chinatown Point

Wasn't much of a story to be told here (Chinatown Point, Block 133 New Bridge Road, #01-01A) in this little restaurant attached to the Korean grocery joint down in Chinatown Point. The food might have been home styled but it left us little interest in returning. Let's see - their spicy tuna jigae was made from shredded canned tuna instead of pieces of the fish.

Couldn't find much redemption from that small portioned kimchi fried rice which packed the barest of flavour of kimchi. It looked like it was microwaved with some sliced cheese. Not that I was expecting a dizzying spread out of the banchan but they were quite forgettable and there wasn't any refills to speak of. I've had much better kimchi from Koufu at Toa Payoh Central.

So there you go, my food story.