Anthony Bourdain’s Theory on the Foodie Revolution

"When I grew up in the ’60s, we’d go to see a movie, then we would go to a restaurant. And we would talk about the movie we just saw. Now, you go right to dinner and you talk about the dinner you had last week and the dinner you’re going to have next week, while you’re taking pictures of the dinner you’re having now."

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Fu Xiang Chicken Rice : Boiled Edition

Here's me cutting back on the roasted pork and sticking to all things chicken in this plate from Fu Xiang which I mentioned wanting to try. I can't say that I've got how they've done their birds all figured out, but I think I like their roasted chicken better. The skin for this boiled one was a little thicker and just didn't quite work out for me. That's not to say that I won't change my mind about it with a better experience in the future though.

Mr Teh Tarik, Ang Mo Kio Ave. 5

This place sure brought back memories because an old friend used to live in the vicinity and also that, this was where Small Potatoes first started! To add on to the trivia when Botak Jones ended their tenantship (is that a word?), Charco's the Flaming Chicken took over. Though I do seem to recall that they had also left at some point as well, Charco's is easily and oddly, tops in page viewership on this blog. I know because Google says so and I didnt think they would lie about it. So I haven't been back here for a really long while and behold, it's Mr Teh Tarik (608 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5, #01-2771) today. A name that I remember from getting teh tarik at the outlet at Far East Square. This was however, a Muslim coffeeshop.

I hadn't a chance to explore much in this first visit, but I really dug the sup ikan stall which served a generous portion of piping hot fish soup prepared with an unabashedly generous dash of Carnation milk soul. It's been a while since I've watched someone make fish soup and tell myself 'hey, this looks so street food!'. The ritual of preparation wholly lacks pretence and knowing what to expect, I thought the soup rocked. The sliced ikan tenggiri was fresh and even the fried fish tasted good. Healthy eating as locals would consider it with a decent obligatory greens of crunchy sambal kangkong from the seafood tze char stall. Washed down with none other than teh tarik.

Kopi gu you (coffee with butter)

This is local coffee, not a fancy roast. But it's pretty decent local coffee. And then a slice cold butter melting in it. I've been wanting to try this for some time since I've heard of it some years back. Recently, I came across its mention again and that was pretty much what prompted me to seek out a cuppa. Apparently, this coffee with butter used to be a rather popular beverage back in the day. It's not seen commonly these days and Heap Seng Leong (10 North Bridge Road, #01-5109) is one time capsule of a local coffeeshop that still serves them. How did it taste? The buttery flavour was actually quite mild, but it did make the coffee noticeably smoother which I believe is the appeal. Sitting in this coffeeshop sipping one as time subtly decelerates is quite the experience by itself too.

I think I'll try making this at home. 

The Lokal, Neil Road

I first heard about The Lokal (126 Neil Road, tel  : +65 6423 9918) a couple of months back via Sarnies' social media streams. A cafe/restaurant with food using ingredients that's made in house from scratch. Cool beans. I told myself that I needed to come by to take a look to see what's their new venture about. With a little bit of Googling, I found the place - and a few websites that conveniently cut and pasted the exact same information about the resident chef from Sydney, Darren Farr, onto their own.

Anyway, I thought the food had room for improvement. Just my view. Like the avocado with ricotta and and pomelo and almonds and olive oil on sourdough thing. While the ingredients were fresh and of good quality (well...maybe the olive oil wasn't fruity), a generous drizzle of honey would have definitely brought the plate together some ways. Honey after all does work with every ingredient that they've piled up.

Scrambled eggs on the side were a little dry, but I wasn't complaining.

There was a veal schnitzel sandwich with grilled pineapple that sounded interesting from the menu. There was a bit too much going on there. The dominant flavour came from the pineapple which was really good grilled pineapple by the way. The rest of the ingredients were a mess. I couldn't taste the cheese, had difficulty in trying to identify the anchovy mayo which was mixed with the said cheese and drowning out from the pineapple and so forth. Couldn't taste much of the veal at all. For a meat that was lightweight in flavour that even lettuce could have contended with, it might not have been the best showcase. They could have used pork and most people would not have notice the difference. 

But I don't mind coming back.

Coffee's from Sarnies (meaning not too bad) and the staff was friendly. The menu has more to explore.

Grub, Bishan Park

So, the double cheeseburger from Grub (510 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, tel : +65 6459 5743) comes with bacon and the single one doesn't? That's a little odd. Still I thought it was better done than I had anticipated. No junk fillers nor needless seasoning in the coarse minced patty and the meat was a nice shade of medium. New Zealand grass fed I hear. There's very decent fries that came along with that and I did enjoy their mentaiko mayo dip there. And oh yes, a very small pickle too.

I think I like this place for their cheaper drinks as well. The staff were friendly and seats outdoor were actually pleasant if not for the sweltering heat. What didn't leave a positive impression was their over oily and overcooked sakura ebi pasta and churros which doesn't even have cinnamon. 

I can see myself coming back again just for the burgers and some beers though.