A tendon from Kanda Wadatsumi

I don't know if the price had anything to do with it but I'm getting the feeling that this tendon from Kanda Wadatsumi was of a better quality than the one from Tendon Ginza Itsuki just a few minutes walk away. And no, I don't have any proof or appropriate points of comparison. I just felt that there was a noticeable difference in the quality of the tempura for both the ingredient and the batter that they had. Even the pearly beady starch-less rice felt like it was better.

This bowl here had kurumaebi, diamondback squid, takenoko (bamboo shoot) and canola; drizzled with some tempura sauce. The two tiger prawns - separated body and heads were well fried to a nice crisp that none of the shell was chewy.  Bamboo shoots were literally the best I've tasted anywhere (I haven't eaten them that much, so...) and tempura-ed canola was a first time for me.

Their miso soup came with two prawn heads and had flecks of orange bits floating about. I was initially excited thinking that this would be a prawny one, but it just tasted like the regular thing. There wasn't much to suck out of those heads too.

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.