Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru, Liang Court

otoro

I think I'm gonna have to say that I think Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru (177 River Valley Road, #B1-48 Liang Court, tel : +65 6337 1022) was generally better than the looks of the place suggested. The quality and prices both indicated that what they served, were entry level stuff. Albeit respectable entry level which puts them on similar leagues with perhaps, Itacho Sushi. Which probably means that this place could be a sushi fix spot in Liang Court and that I wouldn't have to deal with an insane queue in a place like ION. Yay?

There were some hits and misses, thankfully, more hits than misses. I enjoyed the ankimo in ponzu as clinical as the presentation might have been and their cheap otoro actually tasted pretty good.  The chilly nama shirasu gunkan with little fish that popped between the teeth was definitely up my alley with their mild briny flavors while the kanimiso ones was rich in flavor of crab liver. Good that we had seconds. Even the torched cheese from the aburi cheese ebi was memorable in its own salty cheesy way.

The 'off' sides came from the uni gunkan which was frankly far from the best representitive of uni that could be served. The hue of the flesh from the uni looked a little dark and the flavors were lacking of the bouquet that could be found in fresh sea urchin of better quality. Anago was a little thin and could use a little more browning for better flavor in my opinion.

Like I said, hits and misses. I wouldn't scramble back in a hurry for sushi here, but will definitely consider them as an option for quick fixes when I'm in Liang Court.

ankimo

salmon belly

nama shirasu

uni

kanimiso

maguro and avocado

nama sakuraebi

engawa

anago

aburi cheese ebi

Tendon only from Hong Heng Beef Noodles

Something has happened to Hong Heng (#01-16 Kebun Baru Food Centre, Ang Mo Kio St. 22)? It's been only two visits since they've moved to the current location but the beef balls that they're using no longer taste as good and the chilli sauce has definitely changed. Not for the better in my opinion. I liked the old ones much better. On the bright side, I've discovered that they do a tendon only option for their noodles and since they chilli was no longer appealing, a squeeze of lime did wonders to the beefy broth.

What's happening to their magical touch?

Sushi Tei after all these years......

I used to like Sushi Tei years ago. They were really pretty decent at least for their cooked food department. Used to be top dog for the conveyor belt sushi chains until the current king of the hill, Itacho Sushi which is noticeably more than a notch better.

I don't think so much of them these days. The signs of a "local" business stain the establishment and their food with the same old unimaginative marketing slogans and localized food proportions which are tipped towards one specific cost/profit spectrum. I'm positive that QC must be a major issue for a chain with so many outlets. That and perhaps, my palate had undergone metamorphosis.

Once in a long while, I end up there.

Like many chain outlets, part of what helps Sushi Tei thrive are "promotions". Which includes dish concoctions of "seasonal" ingredients. Currently, there seems to be some new creations by their various outlet "chefs".

Here's something known as spicy ban ban ji ramen that purportedly uses a spicy sesame sauce. For a local establishment, the word spicy seems to be interpreted liberally towards a specific and almost-nonexistent end. My three year old niece was slurping noodle and sauce, apparently enjoying it. I personally found the lack of fragrance from the sesame sauce disappointing. Chicken was cold and hard and is probably something that was boiled and packed into fridges for easy use. I think grilling the chicken would have done wonders but then who am I to say eh? I'm quite sure can do this at home with bottled sesame dressing. This has got nothing at all on the hiyashi tan tan mien that I previously had from Ichibantei.

On the other hand, the rice stuffed squids were actually pretty good. Not that this was imaginative by any stretch of imagination as part of Sushi Tei's creation challenges. These stuff have been made available from the Japanese fairs over Isetan and Takashimaya for years already, and wow, today they're a creation from some competition. 

I liked that the flavours seeped into the rice. The squid was a little dry and chewy from the grill but I think real grilled squids need that bit of bite.

And then, there was a cheeseburger interpretation of an American sushi roll that came in Singaporean portions. Truly fusion indeed. There were even sliced cheddar, chopped onions and lettuce strips to complete the textures and flavours of the strips of cold chewy cow. Jokes aside, what needs work would have been fattier sliced beef that hadn't been cooked to death. This one component would have done some serious elevation on the roll to another level.

There......finally outta my chest.

Home made ham and crispy cheddar sandwich with black truffle paste

Pan toasted with some butter of course.

Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice, Katong Shopping Centre

I got to hear about this particular chicken rice stall at Katong Shopping Centre (865 Mountbatten Road, #B1-85/87 Katong Shopping Centre) from some friends, but hadn't had the opportunity to come by until today.

Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice was memorable for me because of a few things. The chickens that they served were pretty meaty and weren't boneless at all in spite of their name. The meat was tender and reminded me more than a little of the ones at Ming Kee. Their chicken was also topped with crispy deep fried bits of garlic which was something one doesn't get from other chicken rice stalls. They also had the saltiest sesame/soy sauce that I've come across.

Their yellow looking rice more subtle in the aroma than the colour let on. It was also a little too dry from what I normally prefer. Fortunately, their chilli was up to the job as accompaniment. 

What I found myself liking were their creamy chicken livers and their tasty soups. One loaded with soft cabbages and the other, pig stomach. Most delicious cabbage soup from chicken rice stall. There's achar (lightly pickled here) on unlimited refills - achar with chunky pieces of pineapple which were actually good with the chicken rice.

One can even order sides of char siew, roasted pork belly and lup cheong (with large chunks of lard) from them. I didn't have room to try them all in a seating

I wouldn't mind eating here even though it felt like sodium overload with loads of garlic. Definitely not regularly. Different from the revisitabilty of Sin Kee which is still the top of my list to date.

Bakmie Jakarta by Jiak Bak Mee, Killiney Road

This was interestingly. An Indonesian and halal rendition of ba chor mee that uses minced chicken instead of pork. The place (117a Killiney Road) also claims that their noodles are hand made daily. Hmmm......

I ordered one of their bakmie ayam specials which had a little bit of everything with their curly noodles in ketchup manis. First impression was that noodles were ok. I would love a little more bite in them. After finishing the noodles, I realised that I had totally forgotten about their home made chilli sauce that they had on every table.

Noodles aside, the only item that I really thought was good were their beef balls. The crispy wanton was simply just that. Didn't care for it. The fried chicken was puny and little to write home about. Portions as a whole was small for a hungry person and extra noodles costed a princely $1.50.

What I found myself liking that I had seconds of was their soda susu. Which was soda with condensed milk. Never had them before. It was the condensed milk that got me.

Would I eat here again? I suppose I wouldn't mind if I'm in the vicinity. The small portions here were still larger than the Kolo mee stall down the road which costed more and came in even smaller portions.