Omakase Burger revisited

So, it seems that the flavour of the month here is their foie gras burger. That's the product picture above from their social media by the way.

As much as I had anticipated the misrepresentation that they did advertising it, the appearances still had me taken aback a little. Foie gras flavour? Sure - the word to describe the strength of that flavours is 'residual'. It was still a pretty well done thing with the juicy & beefy medium done patty that had tongues wagging when they first opened up. It's never going to win any semblance of an award for being a foie gras burger. Not by any stretch.

Now, the Mexican coke that they have. It tasted like the regular thing. Maybe the sweetness wasn't as cloying. Can't really tell.

Foie gras isn't exactly cheap and Omakase Burger also never priced themselves at what could be construed as basic level cheap already in the first place. This creates a predicament. Where a balance between keeping the liver amount "manicured" and maintain what is perceived to be a sweet spot for the price tag or - put enough of the gras that no one should ever doubt it for what it is with at the risk of a cost that will turn people away. What a pickle eh?

Ootoya in 2013

So, it's been a while since the last time. The menu seems to have changed and so has presentation. They used to cram their teishoku sets into a large tray. Now we get a smaller tray, and a big plate.

This was the first time with their blue fin tuna sashimi. The portions looked petite for what they were charging and the knife work a little amateurish. But the fish was smooth and the flavors were good.

Taking from a page of their shio-koji teishoku selection, there was some beef and pork. Shio-koji as I learnt is koji (a fermented culture of rice and/or soya beans) that is fermented in salt. The result is suppose to provide the same amount of flavor with less than half the actual salt content.

I was initially a little apprehensive of the beef from appearances, but it turned out to be pretty tasty. Fat laced with beefy flavors and uplifted by small bits of burnt ends. The pork belly was likewise really flavorful with delicious grease and soft fats, topped with char aroma.

Probably my favourite option of hijiki rice.

Why settle for one dessert when.......

...the second one comes for free! I don't know what's happening here. But we were told it's a one for one deal. The banana parfait remains the top pick for us while the green tea mousse thingy was pretty good as well. The roasted sesame on cream was nice.

Some's, Goldhill Plaza

I was brought to this place (189 Thomson Road, Goldhill Centre, tel : +65 6251 1278) by a friend who lives in the vicinity and during the first visit, this rather new shop was mysteriously closed even though it was supposed to be open based on their stated opening hours. We got lucky on the second try last week and I was pretty impressed by their crispy pork which featured oven roasted pork belly with a very crispy crackling. At that point, there was a hint of something familiar about the food, but I couldn't quite place what it was. They have apparently been in the business for four decades and was previously operating at Commonwealth.

This evening was second dips where the order was a little larger and we requested for the sambal which they only provide upon request. I'm not sure if it was that sambal, but certain things about the food clicked again and it dawned upon me that this could have been that stall at Tanglin Halt Food Centre which I had only remembered the number. I did a quick check with the proprietress and as it turns out, it was indeed them! Then it all came back to me, from the taste of the sambal to the way the roasted pork belly was fanned out across their plates and the fact that they took a long time to chop up some already cooked meat. Kinda like the moment you realized whom Keyser Söze was. This new location was certainly some makeover.

This second visit also saw some inconsistencies with the above mentioned roasted pork crackling. While it was a little less crispy compared to the first time round, it was also harder. Their signature ribs were unfortunately a bore and the duck was a so so kind of thing. The other thing I wanted to come back for was a pretty good wanton soup which the proprietress had to emphasize for a second time that there was no MSG or any artificial flavoring involved and all sweetness was natural, buffed with conpoy, lotus root and ikan bilis.

Fish soup noodles from The Ship

First visit to this other outlet of The Ship at Nex (#01-61/62, Nex, 23 Serangoon Central, tel : +65 6834 3833) now that the main one is under renovation.

I've been hearing about their fish soup noodles that they serve at lunch. Apparently, it's available daily for lunch. And it's really quite good. The fish broth that was filled with rice noodles was deep, savory and backed with a light creamy texture. I'm not sure if it's just fish bones or milk, I suspect there's some of the latter, but I don't really care. Pop in a few slices of the chilli padi and a few shakes of pepper, it becomes darn enjoyable.

I was also pretty impressed by the servings of deep fried fish slices on the side which were dry and crisp all the way.

Shashlik Restaurant, Far East Shopping Centre

This was a walk down memory lane as I recalled my very first visit down to Shashlik (545 Orchard Road, #06-19 Far East Shopping Centre, tel : +65 6732 6401) more than two decades ago. The number of subsequent visits after up to this point was less than the number of fingers of my hands. Back in that first visit, I was told it was Russian food. Well...to be honest, it did descend from a former and supposedly wildly popular Russian restaurant in the sixties called Troika which folded up in the eighties; their former Hainanese employees then banded up, bought over the business and created the Shashlik we all (and our parents) knew. And throughout the decades after that, little has changed as I know. 

Their piping hot and sweet loaves that one could melt SCS butter with used to be free flow back in the past. Now it's just one complimentary piece per person. And it's almost magical.

As much flair and effort it took to prepare their Irish coffee a la minute, it didn't quite make the standard as coffee goes these days. They're still using the old styled Hainanese coffee which has been pretty much blown away by the espresso roasts in these decades. Still, I ordered one out of nostalgia and also probably to appreciate the fact that no one really quite flames your glasses and whiskey for your coffee at the table side anymore.

Of course, we couldn't pass on the order of their "famous" borscht - which was really a minestrone mellowed with sour cream. As far it was from the actual thing, this interpretation was a pretty decent soup. Since I haven't had the original before, I'm also left wondering if this tomato based one beets the real deal. Hahaha....

Their oyster soup looked unimpressive. In fact, abysmal would be pretty accurate. It looked like the simplest of Campbell canned soup without life, colour or depth; and anyone would probably mistaken it for that until the first sip. Briny and full of that oyster-ly flavour. And it came with two oysters. Pleasant surprise eh?

These chicken livers with caper sauce were something I had never realised were on menu. But then again, it's not like I'm a regular. They were tender, livery and awesome......with all that richness enlivened by them tart capers. 

Their steak a la Russe was pretty much a steak with mushroom sauce. The quantity of mushrooms and the sauce looked pretty disappointing and I was on the verge of condemning it until I realised that the meat that they had used tasted like a hanging tender. Lean, soft and quite packed with flavour. It was a rather pleasant surprise.

Unfortunately, the shashliks at Shashlik aren't exactly the best of items to order in our opinion. Thanks to the great job they have done with their marinade, most of the natural flavours of the meat were lost. But - that's how they roll.

We ended the meal flashy by ordering a flaming dessert. A cherries jubilee that was flambéed with butter, brandy and cream and then served with ice cream. 

Woh Hup, Hong Lim Food Centre

sauteed kailan

I discovered the existence of this place (Hong Lim Food Centre & Market, 531A Upper Cross St #02-55, tel : +65 6535 8813) from the newspaper and it turned out to be a pretty damned good recommendation. The atmosphere brought forth a reminisce of the times when I was little and eating out with my family. Right down to that blasting furnace of a stall front and the grease slicked table tops that never truly gets cleaned up from the oil stained rags that are used to wipe them.

But the food was heartily good. From the fresh and crunchy sautéed kailan to their flavourful black bean sauces and also some very nicely done steamed baby squids which were sweet, savoury and delicious. What got my attention too was a their stir fried bean sprouts with bits of fish liver, intestine, roe and stomach. That was pretty unforgettable. Pretty much everything we had ordered was faultless with the exception of the minced meat omelette which suffered from a far too heavy hand with the salt.

I can definitely see myself heading back.

steamed baby squids

minced meat omelette

a very straight forward and crisp old school deep fried chicken

fish stir fried in black bean sauce

bean sprouts stir fried with fish viscera