928 Yishun Laksa

I've had laksa from this shop (Blk 928 Yishun Central 1 #01-155) several times over many years but had somehow never mentioned it. Until now that is. It's the laksa without prawns. Pretty popular laksa without prawns. One gets crab sticks instead. And the prices have been creeping up, albeit slowly. But their rempah has a pretty good flavour and the resulting gravy has what I opine to be a good balance for flavour, coconut milk and viscosity. It's not thin like some pathetically weak bowls, nor is it so rich that it cannot endure. That and their chilli paste with a nice hum of heat and the flavour of dried shrimps.

All in all a very decent bowl. 

Balestier Frog Porridge arisen from the ashes

Not exactly trotting along the metaphorical lines here but this coffee shop (567 Balestier Road) was gutted by fire a couple of years ago. If you Google Map this address and get the street view at this point of time, you can still see the 2015 picture that shows the place still boarded up from the renovations. I remembered that the place was left as a charred husk for a while before they fixed the place up. And yes, in that literal way it is back from the ashes of the old stall.

Anyways, the stall is called Balestier Fresh Frog Porridge today, a different name from previously. One might assume that it's a different stall, but I'm thinking it's the same. The same luxuriant kung bao gravy that works its comforting sweet slow burn from the sliced bits of chilli padi and tender slurp off the bone frog meat. I should come by more often.

This year's last reunion dinner

Last reunion dinner here simply refers to the last one possible before the lunar new year begins its next cycle. So this usually happens in an informal fashion at home. Not at a restaurant where proprieties of any sort when eating with others are observed. 

This is usually the time when I get the yu sheng I want. The one without the horrible shreds of ginger which I detest.

Where we pop in things like loads of pomelo and pomegranate seeds to spruce up flavours.

We skipped the raw fish this year and substituted those with smoked duck. 年年有鸭? Though I'd rather 年年有鹅 so that I can look forward to an annual fix at Yat Lok or Kam's.

Made a similar mess out of the yu sheng tossing. Huat ah?

We had fried squid balls.

Bacon wrapped sausages oven roasted with a brown sugar glaze.

And a feeble attempt at making zucchini pasta which we've tried to mimic from the one we had at Afterglow. We'll do better the next time round.

Speaking of my current favourite burger...

I've gotten rid of the fries. I liked pretty much everything I've had at Luke's but their fries. Maybe it's their seasoning that doesn't agree with me.  So this was a kind of a trip back to reassure myself that the Travis burger is still as good and also to divest myself of the memories of some of the not so good ones I've had lately. The next time, I'll lose those vegetables that comes with the top bun. And maybe after that, lose the steak and burger routine for lunch. Speaking of buns, they're using black sesame seed buns these days instead of the old poppyseed ones. I liked those poppyseed buns!

The beef burger at The Naked Finn

The Naked Finn has introduced a beef burger on their lunch menu which features meat from a blend of dry aged grass fed beef with Japanese A4 wagyu. They said it was done medium well but the actual patty bordered almost on well done which I felt was too cooked for a better appreciation. Anyway, I couldn't tell much of a difference with the pedigreed and aged meat blend. The intensified flavour which I was hoping for simply didn't come through. Which was a pity. While I don't dislike it, I think I like their seafood options much better. Certainly not gonna beat my current favourite soon. Oh yes, seems like these guys aren't immune to the Truffle Fries Syndrome that's been sweeping the country.

Cod fish soup noodle from Amara Hotel

To be precise, this was at Cafe Oriental at Amara Hotel (1F, Amara Hotel, 165 Tanjong Pagar Road). One of numerous symbolic Asian retro-ish type of restaurant that one can find in local hotels to represent local cuisine - often at the upper crust. A friend had recommended me some time back to try their cod fish soup bee hoon. The broth was really lightweight - perhaps even a little bland for some. I had been expecting a lot more flavour coming from a hotel's kitchen but I supposed it was nothing a splash of soy sauce and a few slices of chilli padi cannot fix. I was also hoping that they'd add evaporated milk even but there wasn't any of that. The thick chunks of fried cod were pretty good and the vegetables were of good quality. Still it was kinda expensive at $20 for food that I could only hanker for when I'm ill.