Suigei Sake Salon, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel

Long introduction short, this sake lounge (#01-04 Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, 320 Orchard Road, tel : +65 6235 5514) is a collaboration between Ginza Sushi Ichi and the sake producer Suigei Shuzo from the Kouchi prefecture located at the ground floor of Marriott. There is a limited menu which comes directly from Ginza Sushi Ichi just next door. Apparently, some of their sets like the chirashi are limited to 5 servings per day only during lunch.

Hokkaido Izakaya, Tanjong Pagar Road

Hokkaido Izakaya (95 Tg Pagar Road, tel : +65 6221 7118) has gotten quite a bit of buzz recently online, so I guess we have gotten intrigued by what they had to offer. What stands them apart from the rest of the izakaya here is that the focus of their food is on Hokkaido produce. Namely what they term as the best imported from the towns Yakumo, Akkeshi, Furano and Kamishihoro.

Japanese styled curry beef rice at home

It's sometimes hard to beat home made stuff. This one had slices of shabu slices of beef on top of the minced meat plus a scoop of secret sambal to up the heat factor. So while Japanese curry cubes were used, it didn't taste exactly like a traditional variety. I dare say this was better.

Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck (金記潮州卤鸭), Chinatown Food Centre

That's the bento combo jumbo set from Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck (#02-156 Chinatown Food Centre, 335 Smith Street). A Japanese influenced take on our local braised duck rice upsized with a variety of side dishes that are found in kuey chap. From what I could discover, the current proprietor is a second generation hawker from the stall that's been around for over three decades. Remember what Charles Xavier mentioned on evolution taking a leap? Here's a small metaphorical leap from the relatively unchanging pool of tradition which resulted in an idea taking shape. I'm still talking about the bento duck rice if you're still confused.

Food was in no way bad, but nothing so extraordinary that I'll be back in a hurry to revisit. The only things that were different from the usual apart from the presentation was the egg which was attempted in the style of ajitama (the operative word is attempted) and the yam rice which were served in balls. Also perhaps, that cup of broth which they had also provided was much more spiced that I'm used to.

Revisiting the fish maw soup from Seng Kee

The queue at Seng Kee is much less of a pain during the weekdays it seems. Today's bowl was the large one and it came with a large piece of ti poh (dried sole). The soup wasn't cheap by hawker food standards, but it was a satisfying bowl with little other mettle out there to match.

Another lunch at Japanese Restaurant Suju

We sat at the other side of Suju today. Light came from the sun instead of the lamp.

Their beef hayashi was listed in a separate front portion of the menu. I wonder if that meant anything. Anyway, it was good. I detected a good bit of red wine and also tomatoes in the stew. The flavour was robust and texture creamy even though most of that hayashi was beef. I liked this.

There was a tori karaage teishoku on the specials list. It was the same specials list that was available the last time we were here. This was possibly the first time we've ordered a tori karaage set. Or a tori karaage anything. Ever. One of those things up there don't belong. Guess which?

Time's up. It's the egg which we added on to be stirred into the hot rice and eaten. Instead of shoyu, they added fermented soy bean for that aroma and bit of saltiness. This added a richness to the rice. 

The tori karaage? It was good. Fried to a crisp exterior without excessive oil while the meat of the chicken was tender and moist. Strange that this isn't on the regular menu.