Sabar Menanti, Kandahar Street

I hadn't realized that this place (48 Kandahar Street, tel : +65 6396 6919) had been visited by Anthony Bourdain until very recently. So said his little photograph behind the cashier counter at the front of the restaurant.

That aside, the food was pretty damn good in a hearty sort of way. Good enough to send me to a coma shortly after lunch from the extra portions of rice made necessary by the rich and savoury/spicy gravies which I had found hard to resist.

I'm talking about heart clogging creamy goop from the ayam rendang and the spicily flavourful and rich tasting gravy from the ayam obor. Not to be overlooked as well, was the beef rendang redolent in the aromas of coconut and and char aroma which I suspiciously felt came from the black (read burnt) bits. This I'm sure, was enough reasons for one to request for more than one portion of their modestly portioned rice.

Their frills free (only potato and nothing else) begedil was really good too. Will try to make a trip down another day.

ayam rendang

ayam opor

paru belado

stir fried long beans?

begedil

some tasty omelete

pretty awesome beef rendang

Prime rib from Crossroads Cafe

I saw on the board behind the bar that they had prime rib on the menu on Thursdays. Beside appearing a little mangled and slightly undercooked, the meat did taste pretty ok. It wasn't the kind of quality they had over at Lawry's or at Tanglin Club but I guess for what it cost, you do get what you pay for. There was a pretty tasty and slightly tart au jus and a choice of sides which included a pretty smooth creamed spinach and some salted asparagus which I liked. Guess here's an option for affordable prime rib on the weekdays apart from the one down at Hog's Breath.

A semla from Ikea's cafeteria

I hadn't seen or heard of these things before so I grabbed one out of curiosity down in the Ikea at Tampines. These semla turned out to be pretty good. What they essentially were, is a cardamom spiced wheat bun with cream and almond paste on the top and a dusting of powdered sugar. It wasn't as sweet as I was worried about and I had to say that the subtle cardamom flavour in the bun did help in my decision of liking it. Now, if I could only try some of these freshly made!

Dry curry chahan and mapo tofu from Ohsho

Finally broke out of the charshu chahan repetition and picked another from the list of fried rice menu at Ohsho. The combination of curry powder and onions made reminded me of murtabak. A little Indian and Japanese and at the same time, yet still quite Chinese if you catch my drift. First impressions and no complains.

Speaking of comfort food, their rendition of mapo tofu wasn't too bad. I liked them better after the gravy had lost some of the starchy consistency. Just tofu, minced meat and a mild spiciness which probably would have worked better with white rice than fried rice.

Poutine, truffled mushroom soup and wagyu burger from Crossroads Cafe

What did I not like too much about the food here(320 Orchard Road, GF Marriott Hotel, tel : +65 6735 5800)? Probably just the truffled wild mushroom soup that reminded me a little too much of the Campbell variety with a tad generous dash of cream which was largely saved by the truffle oil that came in almost imperceptible portions. Maybe I could gripe over the gravy from the poutine that could have been a little richer and perhaps less watery. Or perhaps, the choice of bun which didn't quite do it's job holding the burger up together as the juices from the patty disintegrated them.

I'm just being picky :p.

I did enjoy the poutine in spite of the fact that I would definitely prefer it with a bit more of that gravy which wasn't too shabby in the first place. Couldn't complain about the stinky goat cheese and bits of salty chorizo that came with it as well. The wagyu burger was definitely more than a mouthful of stacked beef patties, nicely grilled and blanketed with raclette cheese. As one might have surmised from the above, there were a great deal of bovine flavoured meat juices and grease from the patty. Nothing beyond a some rockets, the fragrance of sliced raw red onions and a little tomato to detract from the flavour. And a juicy fat gherkin to cut through all the combined grease. I can't say that I won't be back......

...but I will not be ordering that mushroom soup again.

Kampong Glam Cafe

Here's a good stop (17 Bussorah Street) for some down to earth local food. One which I've passed by on countless occasions until recently. No complains at all from their hearty nasi padang which featured surprisingly tender paru goreng down to that blend of sweetness from the shaven coconut, spicy kick of their sambal belachan and lemak savouriness from the sayur lodeh. Pretty much a good selection of distinctive flavours on one plate.

In spite of being a little bland with the broth, the "upgraded with a begedil" mee soto was pretty decent. Piping hot with a mix of chillis and deep fried shallots to go along in a cool rainy afternoon.

Their teh tarik was just the drink to wash everything down with.

Will definitely drop by again when in the vicinity.