BBQ pineapples from Shami Banana Leaf Delights

I spotted these on the menu at Shami's some time ago but didn't get the chance to order them until very recently. I'm guessing that it's just the regular chicken tikka marinate with extra heat on the fruit? The juicy pineapples were spicy and sweet. I kinda liked them.

New Rasa Singapura, Tanglin Road

I’m not sure how to describe New Rasa Singapura (56 Tanglin Road, tel : +65 9818 8102). It looks like a bar/watering hole with al fresco seating. If not for having read about them on the web, I would not have been able to tell that the establishment had a proper kitchen that did local food. Or at least their rendition of local food. And I also would have been puzzled as to why would they name a bar after an old iconic hawker centre that had been closed more than two decades prior.

So now that we’ve cleared the facade, here’s a few things.

1. It’s also a social enterprise that employs those that may have impairments.
2. It’s local food, no doubt about that. The price just falls under the tourist spectrum. And I'm inclined to feel that the flavour profile for the food is made for tourists too.
3. They have Asahi Kuronama on tab.

We wanted to try the satay because we were hoping it’ll be good. As iconic as those marinated skewers of meat are for us locals, they’re really not so common these days in places that are priced for locals. These satay here were decent, but there was a sense of refinement in it that made them passable rather than not bad. These had no char and I’m doubtful if they had been graced in a proper charcoal grill. The dipping gravy was decent. Better than most, but there are better. In a local colloquial, mai hiam buay pai.

There was a dry laksa they called New Rasa Laksa. Possibly something they wanted to do as a signature dish? Honestly, it didn't taste too bad. It just tasted like Hokkien mee with rempah and minus the lard. Those laksa leaves that they used are in another local colloquial, lao hong. Could barely taste them.

Moving on, we also had soup kambing. Can't say that I did not enjoy it. There were also pretty generous portions of tender mutton and boned in rib. But this simply didn't taste like soup/sup kambing as it is everywhere else. I don't pretend to know what are the spices involved in the cooking but the ones here do not use exactly the same or have the same ratio. Don't mind having it again though.

Small Potatoes Make The Steak Look Bigger : Year Ten

I missed the usual anniversary milestone date because I've been pretty tied up, so this post is a week late. For those of you who have been around reading this from the early days and haven't yet found a better place to waste your time, it's been 10 years! 10 years of food bloggery!

There will be no words of introspection or pseudo erudite expressions. The show will simply go on.

Lamb and crepe suzette at Lawry's

This must have been only the second time where I've actually ordered something other than prime rib at Lawry's. While their rack of lamb wasn't too shabby, it was also kinda pricey for three little ribs worth of meat. Those orange furrows on the side are carrot puree by the way. All in all very decent but I won't be having them again.

Not when their prime rib is their forte and is still one of the better ones around.

Today we tried their crepe Suzette. We've been wanting to have it for quite a while so it was actually kinda exciting when they carted the trolley over to prepare the dessert. Three whole oranges, half a lemon, some butter and sugar.

It was rather nice. Not that I've had that many crepe Suzette to make a proper comparison but I think we enjoyed it.

328 Katong Laksa, Queensway Shopping Centre

This was the other laksa stall (#01-60 Queensway Shopping Centre, 1 Queensway) near to Janggut Laksa down in Queensway. This shop had a thin but flavourful broth which was also pretty tasty. I think it's kinda difficult for me to choose between the two if I had to pick one on the virtue of taste but I'm thinking that Janggut would probably be a preferred pick since they had their fried chicken cutlet curry rice. I liked that curry much better than the curry chicken here in 328 which tasted a little sweet. Honestly, both these guys are a little expensive. One can get similar for almost half the price at 928 Yishun Laksa.

Komala's Fusion Restaurant, Syed Alwi Road

We needed to be at Mustafa so we dropped by for a late dinner at Komala's Fusion Restaurant just across the road. This branch (87 Syed Alwi Rd, tel : +65 6444 0444) of the Komala's group of restaurant actually has table service. A man can order and pay without having to go to the counter. A man does not need an order chit.

I couldn't tell what was the fusion portion of the name referring to but if I had to venture a guess, it's probably the Chindian offerings that they had. Which was strange since many Indian restaurants already have Chindian on the menu.

We had dahi puri. These were just passable in my limited experience. Certainly did not beat the ones from the neighbouring Raj or Kailash Parbat. I suppose there was much more of the yoghurt than any of the other flavours going on and maybe I prefer the yoghurt to also be more chilled.

What we liked was their paneer fried rice which was from the Chindian section of their menu. This was actually better than most of the Chinese fried rice around. The aroma from the cumin and wok, the texture from the basmati rice and bits of vegetables; it was not bad at all. Pleasantly surprised. I think it would benefit from chunkier pieces of the paneer though. If anyone's familiar enough with Komala's, their mint chutney which comes with their dosai works pretty well with the fried rice. 

Nothing (not really but...) like a really smooth chilled plastic cup of sweet rose milk to beat the heat and to wash down the food.