The Highland beef burger from Nekkid

I've never thought highly of the premium burgers by The Naked Finn. The fact that it didn't taste outstanding was exacerbated by the listing of what made them premium and a matching price tag. But we were looking for nice burgers out of town and not too far from where we were and we ended up at Nekkid (41 Malan Road). The Naked Finn before The Naked Finn.

The beef was a third pounder. Highland beef (Scottish I presume) from cows that were free ranged, hormone-free and grass fed for their entire life of three years if what I read was accurate.

Like their basic burger, it left me with the feeling that it was getting there but not quite there and hence not exactly worth what we paid for. What I did like was the coarse grind of the patty that tasted a little gristly. The meat had a bit of bite in them which I kinda enjoyed. The menu mentioned blue cheese sauce but I was really getting none of that there.

And I said, "What about breakfast at Huber's Butchery?"

We haven't been to Huber's in quite a while. So how about getting....breakfast before butchery? Haha. The menu's changed a little and the deli no longer seem to have the mushroom ham that I liked. But it seems that they have introduced haggis into their small breakfast selection.

That's their potato and ham soup. There were a lot more cubed ham and potatoes that it looked. With a few twists of black pepper, this was surprisingly tasty.

That's the haggis which I wanted. The last time I had it was eleven years ago. From what I know, none have had the courage or foolhardiness to introduce them into their menu until now. These lamb parts that went into them according to Huber's were heart and fats. Along with stuff like oats, lamb stock, salt, onion and a bunch of spices. The haggis was sourced from Macsween, not made in house like what they do for many of the food in the bistro.

I liked it. The offal-ly flavours were delicious. But it was just two measly slices with a poached egg and a bit of bacon for 18 bucks.  Pret-ty expensive if you asked me.

There's onglet on the menu too. They had salted it lightly so with a generous sprinkle more, it was quite tasty. Not Le Bistrot du Sommelier kind of tasty but also not as hard on the wallet as well.

John's Pizzeria & Bakery, Alexandra Road

I came across the mention of this shop online (321 Alexandra Road, tel : +65 6254 8920) and thought it might be interesting to to see what their pizza is about. Apparently these guys are doing New York styled pizza. I mean, really? I certainly had reservations about that claim.

We had a half and half of pepperoni and sausage onions and mushrooms. I'm not an expert nor could I even say that I've had enough NY slices to know the difference but these didn't feel like them. The menu mentioned 14" but these looked to me more like 12-13". Not close to 16" for sure. Crust was thin and cornicione was a little bready. The topping was decent but not outstanding. The pie didn't taste too bad though.

Revisiting Atout

This was an unexpected long lunch fuelled with wine and conversation at Atout. Well over three hours. I'm thinking it should happen more often.

There was cod liver pâté on the menu. Never had these before. Only cod liver oil as a kid. The liver was delicious. The taste was much milder than chicken liver with a texture that was smoother as well. 

Because figs were in season and hence on the special boards, we just had to have them. Especially when they've been baked into a tender sweetness topped with melted blue cheese and walnuts.

The frog legs were similar to the ones at Le Bistrot du Sommelier and understandably so. Meat was slurp off the bone tender.

One of the reasons for this visit was for their ribeye au poivre with brandy cream sauce that we first tasted at Casse Croûte. Hell yeah it was good that it reduced us to "mmmm...."s. This was at least a light year beyond the sad con job that was Ruth's Chris. Shame on them. Here was nicely exectued doneness, tender good quality meat and proper browning with great flavour.

We had a side of sautéed baby potatoes to go along.

That red. I can't remember what it was but it was recommended to go with their meat. Excellent choice with sharp peppery notes that paired very nicely with their delicious ribeye au poivre.

For some reasons, we were also given a complimentary shot of Calvados.

I'm not sure if the shot of Calvados had a role to play as a subconscious suggestion but we ended up with their Calvados soufflé for dessert. Competently done. Liked those chunks of apples that were at the bottom.

Baby squids from Beo Crescent Curry Rice

Yup, the bottom left. I didn't know that these were available from the stall until today and decided to include them instead of the regular curried squids. These were pretty tasty. There was a squid-y flavour that reminded me of their ink and it was nice with the curry. What didn't like about them was that the quills were not removed. Every little squid had them. It's no fun trying to get those little plasticky pieces out in the middle of eating.

Japan Rail Cafe, Tanjong Pagar Centre

We've been here a few times and I definitely recall having taken photos. For some reasons, I've never gotten around to blogging Japan Rail Cafe (#01-20 Tanjong Pagar Centre, 5 Wallich Street, tel : +65 6385 5422). Well, better late than never. No? Anyways they're a Japanese cafe with Japan Rail theme - somewhat. Maybe 'Japan travel, lifestyle and news' would be a more appropriate description. One can actually purchase JR passes or even book hotels through their website. They're a mixed bag plus a cafe. That's right.

JR Cafe has staples on their menu which doesn't really change. Those stuff include curry rice, donburi and burgers to name a few. They're generally pretty decent but I feel that the portions are a little small. The curry rice has a few options for toppings and I think the fried chicken and scallops are nice. There are seasonal items occasionally like the gyutan teishoku for this month. Pretty flavoursome thick cut beef tongue with that beefy taste that got more pronounced the more one chewed on them. Not a bad place to drop by once in a while.