Pete's Place, Grand Hyatt

I haven't stepped into Pete's Place (Grand Hyatt Singapore, Basement Level, 10 Scotts Road, tel : +65 6732 1234) for ages. While my memories of the place are a little hazy, the restaurant looked like it hasn't changed since then.

We happened to order food in the time slot where a free round at the salad bar is available as long as main courses are ordered. One would come to the conclusion that the salad bar is more Sizzler than Basilico. There isn't much to be excited about from the small spread; but hey, we got ourselves some vegetables.

Their vitello tonnato looked unusual. The tuna sauce didn't look or taste like the usual creamy variety. That sauce looked like it was chopped up bits of tuna mixed in olive oil. It was a little...watery. I wonder if it's some regional variety or an older technique that I've never encountered before. Those caper berries were also very sour.

There's was a burrata pizza with anchovies. The creamy cheese a counter to the fish and the chopped tomato base. The latter of which was surprisingly enjoyable. Surprising for me that is. Don't expect Neapolitan styled crust here. They did mentioned that a 48 hour dough that is made in house was used and the baking is done in a brick oven.

The restaurant claimed that their spaghetti carbonara didn't have cream. It got us interested. The pasta was a little wet for something that didn't have cream. I was expecting a little more punch from the cheese and pepper. The flavours were a little less intense than I had hoped for but it wasn't a bad spaghetti carbonara.

Tiramisu was okay. The ladyfingers were quite thoroughly soaked and the espresso flavours were getting through. But I couldn't tell if there was any liquor involved.

Original Jalan Tua Kong 132, Sixth Avenue

I've heard about the Jalan Tua Kong noodle stall for some years and am aware that there are a few stalls. Personally, I don't know which was the original or the better. I was told that this was definitely not the original. This particular stall at Good Good Eating House (24 Sixth Ave.) was okay. If anyone's caught on that I'm not entirely impressed at this point, that would be about right. 

The toppings were generous and I suppose passed muster as a whole. Sliced fish cake, fish balls, sliced pork, minced pork, a single fish dumpling and a couple of shrimps. Chilli was gritty and packed a bit of heat. Ok, maybe I didn't like those flavourless shrimps very much.

Their mee pok was kinda disappointing though. The noodles were a little clumped together and didn't quite have that springy texture that I was looking forward to. Bummer. I wouldn't say that this was a bad bowl but it's definitely not one of the more enjoyable mee pok I've had. Wouldn't mind eating if I'm in the vicinity but it's not something that I would go out of the way for.

Another night at One Night Only

We're back again in O.N.O.. Doing a steady job of exploring their focused menu which we thought the restaurant has been doing a pretty good job of. I don't know if anyone has paid any attention to their sides; I think those are quite well done.

Their buttermilk fried chicken was kinda dark looking. The spice mix for the batter had a bit of heat and if I'm not mistaken, thyme. Bird was well brined with flavour getting into all of the meat. The pool of oil that gathered at the bottom of the fried chicken was a little off putting though. Between this and Clinton St., I prefer the latter.

But.....the creamed corn rocked. Those mashed potatoes they had, still have little chunks of potato in them. 

There's an aptly named No Frills Cheeseburger which quite kicks ass. Comparably so to something like say Wolf Burgers. And aptly named because they didn't overload unnecessary add ons to detract from the flavours of the meat and cheese beyond a piece of lettuce and a slice of tomato between the buttered brioche. That brioche didn't hold up very well from all the juices oozing out of the meat though. I'd eat this again. 

We had room for some malted vanilla shake this time round. 

Ma Li Ya Virgin Chicken (瑪莉亞處女雞), Chinatown Food Centre

I've been wanting to try the chicken rice from this stall (#02-189 Chinatown Food Centre, 335 Smith Street) for quite a while so here's a plate with a bit of almost everything. I'm glad it finally happened because I liked it. I'm impressed that the flavour and sweetness from their sauces permeated both the wobbly tofu (definitely worth considering) and even those chicken livers they had. Imagine. Sweet livers.

The chicken meat was tender with a similar light sweetness on the skin of the bird as the livers and tofu. And how fared the rice? They were good enough that one didn't actually need their garlicky chilli sauce. I did detect a hint of ginger in the rice there.

I'm thinking that this will likely become my go-to for soya sauce chicken in this food centre since I'm pretty sure that other Michelin starred one will continue to keep up their unbearable queues. While I'm readily admitting that they have a tastier soya sauce chicken, the truth is that it is no longer worth the time that one has to spend in the queue.

Economic bee hoon from Ye Xiang Fan (椰香饭)

The sign on the stall (#02-12 Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre, 30 Seng Poh Road) reads Ye Xiang Fan (椰香饭) while an online search with the same address gets me Ye Jiang Fan. I don't know what gives but here's an economic bee hoon from these guys.

I kinda liked it. The bee hoon was not bad but not as tasty as those from Hup Lee though. In spite of their lighter tan colour than usual golden brown appearances, those "fish filet" tasted quite freshly fried and even had a light crisp. The only thing that I didn't think much of was the otah which would have benefited from more heat and was also a little lacking in aroma.

Lunching at La Strada

We've only had lunch at La Strada once and that was a long time ago when the restaurant was a very different place from what it is today. Things are more casual, prices easier on the wallet and the outfit more rustic these days.

That's pork sausage and braised lentils. The sausages were tender, filled with bits of gelatinous stuff that probably collagenous and was pretty porky. Porky in a good way of course if one should be inclined towards salty porcine flavours.

We had some Tuscan styled chickpea and kale soup. Vegetables in a lightweight chicken broth flavoured with some cheese. This was quite good.

Braised lamb shank with artichokes. I couldn't decide if the broth was tangy or just meaty. The meat from the shanks were fork tender and had soft gelatinous bits. A dish that's hearty in every sense of the word but there was something missing that I couldn't quite put my finger too. So while I enjoyed it, I don't think I would order it again.

Their sea bream fillet was generously portioned and much more delicious than I had imagined. The firm and tender fish simply sat well in the tangy broth with peppers, tomatoes, olives and capers which reminded me of ratatouille. With those ingredients, the entire flavour profile of the dish was just so appetizing.

Dessert options at lunch included melons. These were sweet and fragrant. We expected no less from La Strada even for something as simple as sliced fruit.

Or their Limoncello tiramisu which was also much better than I had imagined from the description on the menu. The aroma from the liqueur was present but not overwhelmingly so. Those bits of passionfruit broke the monotony of the mascarpone with chocolate shavings. I think I might just eat this again the next time I come back.