Enoteca L'Operetta, Boat Quay

This place (78 Boat Quay, tel : +65 6438 2482) fell in my radar because I had learnt that it was the first and only place locally that had achieved the Vera Pizza Napoletana certification from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. In plain speak, it meant that L'Operetta had gotten themselves a stamp of approval for making what's defined as proper wood fired pizza through the traditional and accepted method that Naples considers authentic.

What provoked thought was that in spite of the numerous Italian restaurants that have set up shop in this country, it was the Japanese (I'm still referring to L'Operetta here in case you got lost) that got this certification. Perhaps it might have been because the other Italian chefs think that the trouble was not worth the the results and that the locals probably will not know the difference in any case. Perhaps, perhaps....

Going against the usual grain (pun unintended) I've decided to start with what I felt to be the most enjoyable item which we had instead of the usual starter to end. The Mantecato al Minuto nella Forma di Parmigiano was a parmigiano reggiano risotto made a la minute. The grains of rice were coated with the rich flavours of the creamy and salty cheese and this was probably the first of risottos which I've had that left me pondering on seconds. That I did not have.

The pizzas were not mind blowing in any way. In fact, it was all was quite ordinary if nicely done. The tomatoes tasted fresh but their mozzarella didn't taste like it was different from the ordinary. The crust was a little more chewy than I had expected. Maybe I'm not missing that much out from Naples after all. Their Gorgonzola e miele turned out to be another bummer. The aroma was surprisingly good when the pizza was served. The toppings - a mixture of Gorgonzola and mozzarella and wasn't even half as satisfying as the one in Benten Cafe. The spread of the cheeses were poor and the stingy drizzles of honey were just sweet without the associated aromas.

L'Operetta's signature starter is apparently an oven baked Hokkaido scallop which was described to be flavoured by aromatized butter. Not that I could taste anything that I could have even remotely associate with butter. The cheese blanketed shellfish was cooked medium rare and was pretty juicy. Still I didn't feel I was impressed. The accompanying mushrooms stood out more.

Lucky Wanton Noodle, Tanjong Pagar

It's been a number of years since I've last stepped into this hawker centre. Was a little overwhelmed over by options. The original intention for this out of the way lunch trip was to try a recommended nasi lemak but the said stall was closed. I ended up giving Lucky Wanton Noodles (Blk 6 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, #02-33) a try. Ordered a plate of their sui kao noodles with additional char siew. 

I liked it. They noodles weren't as chewy as I preferred but the mix of dark soy sauce, chilli sauce and pickled green chilli went some ways with the flavours and that helped. The char siew wasn't fantastic by any stretch. Tasted very old school to me. Much like how many char siew from wanton noodles stalls tasted when i was a kid. It was a pleasant kind of familiarity there. The dumplings were however pretty good. Pink minced pork, crunchy shrimps and bits of water chestnut.

Beef tendon soup noodles from Noodle Place Restaurant

This could possibly be my favourite noodles in the vicinity for a while. That being said, the beef tendon noodles wasn't exactly mind blowing-ly fantastic. I rank the noodles here second place versus the ones down at Canton-i. The beef tendons were just beef tendons. Pretty tender. While they were nothing out of the ordinary, I liked them so. Something uncomplicated and comforting in the moments I need uncomplicated. I couldn't deny that their brand of soup mixed with a little beef broth helped sway me towards enjoying this.

Roadhouse, Dempsey Road

Roadhouse (13 Dempsey Road, #01-07, tel : +65 6476 2922) it seems is another venture by the Privé Group that's mushroomed out at Dempsey. The characteristic element of Roadhouse as with the current profile of Privé seems to be food powered by the Josper Grill. We dropped by over the week end without reservations and managed to get seats.

To be honest, we were a little spoilt for choice because quite a number of items on the menu sounded like they might be good. We ended up with their Shrimps in a Blanket which was basically bacon wrapped prawns roasted in the oven with a coat of maple syrup. Yeap, those were a little too large for me to call them shrimps. Large and succulent prawns they were, flavored by the smokiness of the bacon and sweetened by maple syrup. I would come back just for these again.

The Roadhouse Ultimate Breakfast was ultimately a disappointment. The portions were hardly what one could consider hearty and the hash browns were the frozen variety that one could have bought anywhere. The poached eggs did look unusual and the butter they had provided for the toast was tasty, but on hindsight, I should have saved myself the $22 and spent it on something else.

Coming from the flaming depths of their Josper Grill, was the Juicy Lucy. Basically a cheese burger with more cheese stuffed in the wagyu patty. While it looked ordinary, this was really one of the better burgers I've had in a while. Living up to it's namesake, Lucy was juicy even though it was cooked way beyond my request and the house recommendation for medium rare. The fragrance of the char was evident in each bite and what I liked about them was that there wasn't unnecessary complication of sauces or spreads. Just lettuce and tomato. And very soft toasted bun. Will come back here for the burgers!

We had a warm salted triple nut tart for dessert. What made the good to great was the luscious caramel that accompanied the tart. It was the old salt and caramel that they pulled here, but it was pulled off pretty well. The scoop on the top was vanilla bean ice cream and not mashed potatoes.

Didn't have too much comments about their drinks, but I'm certainly agreeable to coming back just for more of their menu.

Nagomi, Cuppage Plaza

This was a first visit for me down at Nagomi (5 Koek Road, #02-22 Cuppage Plaza, tel : +65 6732 4300). I was initially a little excited about the place because, well.....it was Nagomi and I wasn't too sure what to expect. What threw me a little off about about the visit was that I ended up undecided about how I felt about the place as it was ultimately for me, a bunch of mixed feelings.

In their food, one could taste the savory depth of shoyu and the sweetness of mirin. That might have been a one liner summary of things apart from the sashimi where each slice of fish had the clarity of its own flavors. The grilled wagyu wasn't as buttery as I had expected but the steamed sole (I think that's what he said) was piping hot and was faultless. I enjoyed the tofu with the nutty ponzu tossed salad, the soft braised nasu which was part of the otoshi I believe and the tempura of freshwater smelt was one of the better if not the best I've had. The serving of uni was especially aromatic. And in it all, very unintrusive attention from the proprietor.

Oh, the savory chicken porridge was really good as well.

But I left the place satisfied with the food and feeling a little hollow about the entire experience.

Perhaps it was the subconscious expectation that I might have been bowled over by the dinner. There was nothing I could fault, yet there was a nagging echo at the back of my head that seemed to indicate that expectations fell short somehow, somewhere.

Wong Chiew Dim Sum, Sembawang Road

Another great find here (19 Sembawang Road, tel : +65 6456 683) for some local rustic dim sum. I've been passing by this place for years and noticed the stall at the corner shop house that sells roast meat. It's been always out of sight and out of mind until recently, when I had realized that they're selling dim sum as well as a pretty wide variety of other cooked food. 

What's the deal with this place? I thought that the char siew bao was nicely done with fillings that could rival ones found in restaurants. Their century egg siew mai was exactly that - with a chunk of century egg stuffed beneath the meat fillings. Couldn't say that I've ever had something done that way or even thought of it but I liked this. Pork ribs was filled with that golden porky grease which made the perfect douse for their porridge filled with minced meat and chunky century eggs. Down to earth would be a good description for all the food here. 

No, there wasn't the lump of ebiko/tobiko on their siew mai or even crab roe that could be seen in their more refined cousins. It was just a daub of what could have been sweet chilli sauce and the radish cake certainly certainly wasn't smooth and creamy. I could also gripe about how slightly less easy it was to slurp the skin off the steamed chicken claws but I wouldn't. I guess these things didn't have to be. I was enjoying them all without the frills. Definitely coming back another time.

chee cheong fun with prawns

char siew bao

innards

fish meat balls

pan fried radish cake

steamed chicken claws with black bean sauce

century egg siew mai

pei dan chok (that's minced meat and century egg porridge for you)

siew mai

deep fried prawn and mango fritters

har gao

fu pei qun (bean curd skin rolls)

steamed pork ribs with black bean