Ristorante Da Valentino 2017

Another few years have whisked by since our last visit to Valentino's. If you're wondering why we took so long, it's mostly because of their location. Not exactly the most accessible of places.

Today they had sakura ebi tossed with bottarga special that was off the menu. Those little shrimps were freshly fried and had a nice crisp. Paired with the briny bottarga, it was addictive to say the least.

This was their Bormio salad - with julienned apples, pine nuts, ricotta cheese and a an appetizing dressing. Tasty.

We had a pretty good saffron risotto with porcini. Beady grains of rice infused with the flavour of saffron and cheese. One of those things that some people would be wont to say is uncomplicated and tasty.

There was also a spaghetti frutti di mare with olive oil and bottarga. Couldn't get much from the oil but there was also zesty lemon which together with the cured roe made very good flavours on the pasta. The prawn even had some head fat!

Dessert was a conservative profiterole. Conservative and trusty.

And a nice glass of chilled moscato for lunch.

While it may sound cliché, Valentino's is a great place to eat. Getting pricier by the years though.

A pasta from Hoshino Coffee

Yes, this was the pasta from Hoshino Coffee. The one that is called Hoshino on the menu. It's actually kinda nice in a Japanese wafu kind of way. Nothing too heavy tasting as it's a soy sauce and olive oil base if I'm not mistaken. There's bacon, sausages, tomato, some spinach, a soft boiled egg and shimeiji mushrooms. A little salty, a little smoky and...just Japanese I suppose.

Ananda Bhavan, Syed Alwi Road

Apparently, Ananda Bhavan (95 Syed Alwi Road, tel : +65 6398 0837) which was set up in 1924 is the first Indian restaurant in the country. Wow, I never knew that till today. Too bad my first experience at their restaurant near Tekka market wasn't so memorable. But hey - this visit turned out to be an enjoyable re-acquaintence.

Their pav bhaji was delicious. Amazing flavours of mashed vegetables with the crunch and that bit of sharpness from the chopped onions along with a breath of zing from the squeeze of lime. Those pav were nicely buttered and that definitely helped. Vegetable briyani was likewise hearty and flavoursome, especially so with the refreshing raita or their rich kourma. Notable mentions also goes to the savoury aloo masala and the Chennai cabbage which for the first time, I've noticed having flavours of mustard. The little container in the middle was the dessert of the meal and that was actually pulut hitam. Pleasant and unexpected surprise there. As one can imagine, a good riot of flavours from the platter. And a meal to send one into a post lunch coma. Hah!

We were initially apprehensive of their pale looking masala tea, but it turned out to be quite nice. Not excessively sweet, milky and enough of the masala registered. Will be back again.

Tandoori chicken sandwich from Sarnies

Possibly the weakest offering from Sarnies (136 Telok Ayer Street) compared to the other mainstays that I've had. The chicken was a cold dry chopped up meat marinated with tikka spices. While I didn't expect that it would come from a tandoor, they could have really upped the game by putting it on the grill or do a pan fry for that char which would have done wonders for the flavour. The meat was barely better than the one at Subway. I'll stick to their chicken schnitzel the next time if I want a chicken sandwich here. And no more tandoori anything from any place I know doesn't have a tandoor.

O Banh Mi, Tiong Bahru Plaza

Here be banhminions! I couldn't find out much about O Banh Mi (#02-113, Tiong Bahru Plaza, 302 Tiong Bahru Road, tel : +65 9764 2108) but the fact that they were brought in by a Pegasus Group which till this day, only runs this joint which also happens to be the first and only shop. I'm guessing that they must come from somewhere to have been brought in.

Anyways, it's mostly Vietnamese street food here. At least of the variety that the rest of the world is familiar with.

We had gỏi cuốn - summer rolls. They were kinda nice actually but I was hoping for a bit more mint.

Their phở gầu bò viên was surprisingly enjoyable. That light beefy broth was the savoury kind I preferred so this bowl trumps the recent other one at Pho99. There were tender thinly sliced briskets and those bò viên didn't taste like the regular factory made ones. And yes, no raw bean sprouts. I'd eat this again.

And there was bún gà nướng chả giò - grilled chicken bún with fried spring rolls. Nicely done and basic. I'd eat this again.

The surprising find was deep fried chicken skins. These were awesome. Crispy with a little bit of chew and deliciously salty. These could be one of the more memorable fried chicken skins I've had in recent times.

Cottage Delight's Fiery Furnace

Found these under the "reduced to clear" tags at the Market Place in Raffles City. I bought a bottle out of curiosity. If anyone's wondering, it's beer. A hoppy amber hued English beer that left a prickly heat on the back of the throat. After a second session, I realized that I kinda enjoyed this new sensation. The brew was better drinking than our local brand and at the reduced to clear prices, quite a deal considering how much it would cost if one were to get a bottle of lesser known import or "craft beer" from a watering hole.