Island Cafe, Tangs Orchard

 

I was first introduced to this place (310 & 320 Orchard Road, Level 4 TANGS Orchard, tel : +65 6311 3424) which serves what many would describe as atas local food years ago by a friend. Since then I've only been here a few times. With said friend. In all that few times, I've only ever ordered the crayfish laksa. Recommendations of said friend. Until today.

Their crayfish laksa was pretty heart clogging good. Rich coconut infusion into the moderately spicy broth. Tau pok, slices of fish cake, quail eggs. And of course, crayfish that wasn't obscenely tiny and also not overcooked. One could taste the sweetness from the meat still.

 

Their Penang char kuey teow was a decently done plate of stir fried rice noodles. Well fried, not too soggy, laced with fresh tasting ingredients and probably not like how it is done in Penang. But I suppose a rather good local rendition. A little mild in the department of flavour though.

Breakfast at Club Street Social

The crostinis were excellent. Imagine chilled creamy ricotta with a slice of briney anchovy and a sprinkle of citrus salt. All that on top of crispy sliced toast. The flavors brought together pretty much screamed 'Japanese!' for me.

Lobster bisque was actually pretty decent. Served hot and with enough of that crustacean flavors without being luxuriant like the rendition from Morton's with cream and brandy. Unfortunately the truffle egg toast was woefully inadequate for flavor and their ribeye panini featured meat that was both nicely done medium rare but yet very lacking in the natural flavors of the beef. For a moment, I was torn about how to feel about the sandwich, but I think I will probably never order it again.

ChoWon Garden, Peck Seah Street

I've been wanting to drop by this place (2 Peck Seah Street, #01-01 Air View Building, tel : +65 6225 1317) for dinner for quite some time. Tonight finally happened.

It started as usual with a selection of banchan. We didn't get any refills this time round. Not that any was really needed.

Notable mention went to the jaeyuk bosam kimchi which was marinated pork belly with kimchi. The slices of pork were served piping hot while the kimchi (which contained a few raw oysters) was almost icy cold. The chilled kimchi from this dish was stronger in flavour than the crunchier ones from the banchan which were less fermented. Eaten with the slices of pork, the taste altogether became different than if one were to eat either the pork or the kimchi separately. Couldn't really describe how it was, but we thought the synergy of flavours was good.

There was a dish of fried oyster battered in egg which was pretty decent if ordinary. They tasted like how they looked.

ChoWon Garden has a Korean spicy sausage soup call sundae kuk. It was served bubbling hot and the broth was redolent with a heavy umami flavour that was probably infused by what seems to be tang hoon stuffed sausage (amidst some other stuff that looked like it might be blood). And bits of fatty, some chewy, some crunchy cartilage like bits of unknown parts that had been simmering in the spicy broth. It was very delicious.

Wouldn't mind revisiting again in spite of that air conditioning that can barely be felt.

Casa Latina, Waterloo Street

I've had this recent bout of craving for Mexican food after a recent disappointing experience. Hence, Casa Latina (42 Waterloo Street, tel : +65 6884 6929).

We were intrigued by their Casa Latina melted cheese starter which was mozzarella cheese in a hot stone bowl with a spicy green sauce (it was laced with coriander/cilantro). Melted cheese was hot and gooey and one could just scoop them into tortillas that were served on the the side. The bonus this dish had for us came from the burnt cheese that were at the bottom of the bowl.

Their Jarocha seafood soup turned out to be a good choice. That being said, it was also kinda hard to discern the flavours of the soup. If I had to describe, it was savoury, umami and spicy altogether in a robust broth. In spite of appearances, it didn't taste of any tomatoes as I had initially suspected might. Heat did pack a bit of punch. Very good stuff. Will order them again if I come back.

Our first time having mole. The flavour was a mixture of mild sweetness, spice and a hint of pepper amid a pronounced chocolate body. The shredded chicken that came in the fried tortillas were just shredded chicken. This dish was about the mole. Taste did become monotonous after a while. What it did remind me a little of was the sweet sauce from chee cheong fun.

There, more green cilantro flavoured sauce ladled over their crab enchilada. This enchilada was loaded with shredded crab meat. Couldn't say that it was close to the best crab I've had but portions were pretty generous. Tasty refried beans on the side as well.

More home breakfast porn

Battle Sisig

No, there won't be any Alton Brown styled motormouth commentary from me. Here's a look between the sisig from Gerry's Grill (bottom) and 7107 Flavors (top).

The rendition from 7107 wins hands down for both flavour and texture. The latter attribute can obviously be seen from the sliced chilli, chopped onions along with bits of unknown cartilage-y parts which are thickened by a raw egg beaten over as they served the hot plate. There was also a whole lot more flavours going on.

As much as I liked some of the other items at Gerry's the sisig simply tasted burnt and it looked like it was just minced meat, some onions and garlic.