Burgers at The Market Grill

But first, a New England styled clam chowder to start. This was not bad. Chopped bits of shellfish in a creamy but not cloying garlic-ky broth.

I thought their bleu cheese burger wasn't bad. There was enough cheese, hence enough of that stinky presence while the walnut raisin held it up nicely. The Greg Norman from Black Tap still beats this though.

Market Grill's cod burger was unexpectedly good. The fish was smooth and buttery while those tomatoes were pretty garlic-ky. Almost a light as air sandwich between that parmesan bun.

Mei Wei Hainanese Chicken Rice, Tiong Bahru Food Centre

We came across this stall (#02-47, Tiong Bahru Food Centre, 30 Seng Poh Road) and saw that they had sesame chicken rice which reminded us of the ones we had previously at Shi Mei Hainanese Chicken Rice.

In retrospect, we liked the chicken rice at Shi Mei better. Much better. They had a nicer tasting sweet and spiced brown sauce which was leaps ahead of this gloopy one which I didn't like. Not to mention sesame chicken that wasn't so dry and chilli that was punchier. Even the garlicky rice was more enjoyable. This one wasn't bad to be fair. It just wasn't outstanding. 

Re-visiting Blu Kouzina

It's been a couple of years since the last time we were here at Blu Kouzina.

Had some refreshing watermelon salad with feta while waiting for the rest of the food. While this wasn't the first time we've had watermelon and feta, I've just noticed more of how nicely they paired up.

We had their spanakorizo a few years ago back at their old premise at Bt Timah. Enjoyed it. It was more lemon-y than I remembered it but that was about all that was different. I was of the opinion that the dill made this dish then and still think it today.

Some grilled sardines that were pretty delicious.

And a roasted Cornish hen that had a nice chicken-y flavour zested up with lemon as well. The bird was reasonably tender and wasn't dried out.

Looking forward to coming back.

A rice bento from Duck Master

I noticed Duck Master when they first set up shop at People's Park a few years back. The queue deterred me so they ended up pretty much out of sight and out of mind until recently when I stumbled upon another of their shops at the basement of Tiong Bahru Plaza. It seemed their business have expanded to more than a handful of outlets in the island. This was one of the bento-esque set which they offered. 

It was actually pretty good eating. The rice tasted very much like chicken rice which was a bonus. The herbal-ish duck was reasonably tender and moist. While there're definitely better roasted ducks out there, this one wasn't bad at all. I wouldn't mind having them again.

Bee hoon from Ivan's Porridge

People go to Ivan's Porridge (#01-11 Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre, 22A/B Havelock Road) for their porridge and bee hoon. The latter isn't mentioned as part of the name of the stall but is pretty well known by those who visit them with any regularity. It's not bad bee hoon. Their "fish cutlets" and luncheon meat are usually crisp and I was lucky to get a freshly fried sunny side up today.

Tsui Wah (翠華), Clark Quay

We weren't fans or had even visited with any regularity at Tsui Wah in Hong Kong. Don't get me wrong. It was just that one time so far. But we've also been curious about the outfit of theirs (#01-03 Clark Quay, 3A River Valley Road, tel : +65 6250 9270) that's opened up here. Despite that curiosity, we also understood that it would be wise for the initially barrage to subside before checking it out for ourselves. 

That's wanton in fish soup. Not getting the fish flavour from the soup but the wantons were okay. It's not bad but I wouldn't order them again.

Prawns were chunky and aside from some of the prawn-y flavour, they were devoid of all other taste. Like sweetness. No, there was not salt as well. We expected nothing out of the dried shrimp roe that they added because we knew expectations will not be met. Noodles were okay. XO sauce was okay. Everything was in the grey of okay. Will not be ordering this again as well.

Curry lamb chops were nice. Those ribs were browned - probably pan fried before they were served in a curry of their concoction. The meat of the lamb wasn't overcooked and were tender. Pretty tasty curry that one. The only thing I thought that could have made it better was the rice. Not a fan of the dry and beady type of rice which wasn't absorbent. But I could come back for this.

People talk well about their condensed milk buns. This was one of those instances where we agree with the masses. Those loaves were toasted, airy and soaked on the flat surface with butter and condensed milk.

The almond cream with egg white tasted like the one we had in Wellington Street. Nice.

We skipped the tea for the hot fizzy Coke with lemon which was just the drink to wash the food down.