Arnold's Fried Chicken, Yishun Golden Village

Man, these were still as good as I remember them. Crisp seasoned skin on the surface and tender meat underneath. They (51 Yishun Central 1, #01-04) even have their own fried chicken rice these days. Before anyone knocks them off, the rice was actually pretty good. There was a balance of aromas from both garlic and ginger infused into them and I surprised myself by inhaling till the last grain even though I have an aversion to ginger.  

Liang Kee Teochew Restaurant, Whampoa West

Great food coming from this old school Teochew restaurant (#01-27, 34 Whampoa West, tel : +65 6297 7789). There were quite a number of dishes that sounded appealing tand we simply couldn't try them all in a single seating, including the usual favourites that most people can't steer away from. 

These cold crabs were very good. Chilled, firm and sweet flesh underneath the soft shell along with the rich crab liver.

Don't they remind of a scene from Aliens?

Chilled pork aspic which is one of the favourites that I had mentioned. These jellied odds and ends of pork were served on a bed of ice cubes. Tasted pretty decent, but I thought the flavour came through better if they were slightly less chilled. They were also not as spiced up as the ones from Ban Heng.

That's the oyster omelette.

And the fat juicy oysters underneath.

Liang Kee is apparently known for their sambal crayfish. I haven't had good Chinese sambal in quite a while and these here were pretty tasty. One of those gravies that would make one consume copious amounts of rice. And to top it off, the crayfish were plump and fresh. Easily stripped off their shell.

The starch was their hor fun stir fried with cai por. This was quite good too. If you are into wok hei, this has plenty of it.

Dessert was even more starch. Orh nee (yam paste) with pumpkin and ginko nuts. Not bad.

Fill-a-Pita, Shenton Way

This was good. I'm going just say it up front that I enjoyed everything we've tried so far here from Fill-a-Pita (#01-02 Shenton House, 3 Shenton Way, tel : +65 9835 1446) on the first visit. From the heavyweight falafel filled pitas, mouth watering spiced fava beans with tahini to the salty halloumi cheese (also in pita). I had actually stumbled upon their existence by chance through Hungry Ang Mo. Total happenstance and long live Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Here's also a thumbs up to the very affable Mark Ruffalo-esque proprietor of the shop.

I'm not so familiar with some of these stuff here, but the falafel tasted more bean-y rather than chick pea-y here. Very delicious and hefty stuff that sticks. And having halloumi cheese my friends, are the closest thing that one can get to eating bacon without actually eating meat. That came with their invigoratingly spicy house made sauce which was right up my alley. It's just too bad for me that I'm almost never near this locale.

And yes, we got a couple of sweet dates for desserts at the end too.

Burger Up, Yishun Golden Village

Burger Up's a rather new shop (51 Yishun Central 1, #01-03 Yishun Ten Complex) that took over the space that Wendy's left behind. That was certainly good riddance. If I had to describe what this current joint was, I guess it'll be local fast food? With an electronic ordering kiosk that allows a modicum of customisation for your meal that prints out an order chit for payment & collection and subsequently notifies you when your order is ready by flashing the chit number on the display screens around the restaurant. 

Here's their beef patty and rice meal. Mine came with puny coleslaw (with diced canned pineapples) and a hot chocolate (tasted like Swiss Miss). The meat was basically a well done (technically) and un-fancy disc of dry-ish fast food quality ground beef patty that had a nice chew - some gristles. It actually tasted beefy in its un-fancy kind of way. Rice was a ubiquitous butter garlic flavour.

This doesn't pretend to do more beyond a basic grab, eat and go plate of food. And it actually tasted better than Wendy's.

Masa Steak & Hamburg, Robertson Walk

Been wanting to visit Masa (#01-03, Robertson Walk, 11 Unity Street, tel : +65 68362529) for a long time. The restaurant serves mainly wagyu, so eating here is - generally for people who are willing to shell out big dollars for prized quality meat. Me? I was mainly drawn in because they also do hambaagu, or Japanese hamburg. A noticeably less expensive proposition which was also made with wagyu beef.

We supplemented our 200g hamburgs with their gyutoro don which featured hand chopped beef with an egg yolk over Japanese rice. That was really good by the way. To the meat of the matter (pun intended), the quality of the beef was irrefutable. To be tried to be understood.

The hamburgs were quite good. A shell of nicely brown sear encapsulating a juicy interior. Their meat was packed dense, wasn't crumbly when cut and yet still arrived tender at their medium doneness. The mince was quite fine, somewhat like how Morton's does for their Prime burgers. So don't expect the chew that comes with gristles because they don't do the meat that way here. While it wasn't exactly my preferred composite for the mince, I liked it enough that I wouldn't mind having them again.

inItaly re-visited

Popped by on a quiet Sunday for lunch at inItaly. Every time I pass by the restaurant, I recall their rose flavoured soufflé. But unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be on the menu anymore.

We started off with their carpaccio which was quite good. Thinly sliced Angus tenderloin flavoured with a light mustard dressing that didn't overwhelm the meat at all; topped with thin shavings of truffled cheese. And all that with sprigs of rocket underneath. If I had to gripe, it would be that I wished there was more of the carpaccio.

Coming as a follow up pleasant surprise, their pan seared foie gras was delicious as well. Again, I'd love for the cut of the liver to be a little bigger. But the sweet and sour pumpkin sauce was a very delicious and creamy foil to the richness of the liver along with the candied fruit. What impressed me was that the pumpkin flavours stood out still. I'd eat this again easily.

Another unexpected mention worthy was their sautéed broccolini. Sautéed with garlic, anchovies and a bit of chilli. Again, the sauce was drool worthy. We had additional bread just to mop up after the crunchy greens. By the way, this came from the il contorno. 

That's gnocchi with Parmigiano cream and balsamic syrup. It's made in house, tender without too much chew and the sauce was - well, a light and creamy Parmigiano flavouring accented with the reduced vinegar. And then some pepper. 

This was risoni, not rice. We ordered this out of curiosity because the menu said lobster and gold with squid ink. The pasta pretty much provided a smoother finish to each of the grains then regular rice does - all steeped in the squid ink flavour. Lobster was a little dry, but still with the natural sweetness of the meat. If you don't already know by now, gold flakes doesn't have any taste, but it contributed (in cost as well) to the aesthetics.