Hotate yaki and unagi hitsumabushi from Man Man Unagi at Duo Galleria

The theme for the menu at the Man Man branch at Duo Galleria seems to be combo pairings with unagi for their hitsumabushi and teishoku. There's option for roast beef, salmon belly and even crab. Here's a grilled scallop and unagi hitsumabushi. The scallops were from Hokkaido and were grilled with just salt and pepper.

What I've basically confirmed for myself was that the grilled eels are of a different standard over here at Duo Galleria compared with the original shop at Keong Saik. The end product from this shop just didn't have that light-flaky-meat-under-well-caramelized-surface texture that made them outstanding in the first place. Today's unagi didn't even have those scorch marks like what I've always expected from them. Did they remove the wasabi root for the hitsumabushi as well? 

A year end dinner at Keria Japanese Restaurant

It's feeling like Christmas at Keria.

Today's otoshi was simmered eggs and mushrooms.

Their sashimi moriawase for today was hotate, kanpachi and shima aji. The hotate was sweet and the shima aji tasted fatty.

Shirako is on the menu. We had them in tempura.

We had them grilled too. On hindsight, the grilled ones were much tastier. These came with ponzu on the side which was appetizing too.

I don't remember the last time we didn't order their mentaiko cabbage when we were here. Sweet, crunchy and mentaiko-y,

I had ordered the beef cubes thinking that they'd be pan fried with just pepper and salt and maybe a bit of shoyu. I'm not sure what's that sauce.

That's the raw egg with rice set.

Pour egg into rice.

Add a splash of shoyu to taste, give it a good stir and...

.....itadakimasu!

*burp!*

Dee Tongue Thai by Rung Mama, Golden Mile Complex

I've only heard about De Tongue Thai (#02-33 Golden Mile Complex, 5001 Beach Road, tel : +65 9626 1913) recently but according to their website, they've been operating since the 80s. The shop's location is at the corner of the second floor so I guess for the most of us who aren't regulars at Golden Mile Complex, they wouldn't have as much visibility as say Diandin Leluk.

We ordered their prawn porridge because it looked good on the menu. It didn't look much like that picture on their menu though. Those prawns were much smaller looking and this was akin to Teochew styled porridge which was basically rice in a broth rather than the congee style which I was thinking of. The broth had a sweetness and was deliciously garlicky.

Their yum mama talay was warm, tangy and appetising. With a bit of heat. If the picture wasn't apparent, it's a noodle salad with seafood. Pretty tasty with the crushed peanuts that were available in their condiment cups on every table.

I liked their spicy mango salad too which was delicious with a spoonful of sugar and lots of crushed peanuts. Those helped with the acidity that's often found in such salads.

We had some fried pig intestines that came with very fragrant bits of fried garlic which were really good. These intestines were chewy, not in a bad way, and salted very lightly compared to the Chinese variety that can be found in porridge stalls.

Wanted to try their grilled pig's tongue but they were sold out. So we swapped that order for some snappy Isaan styled sausages which were stuffed with pork and rice and also garlicky. Don't mind coming back again.

Tteok galbi from SBCD Korean Tofu House

I ordered this because it looked nice on the menu (I know...) and thought it might be good since it was short rib patties. It didn't look like the picture on the menu for a start. All the caramelization for some strange reasons didn't bring with them much flavour or aroma. The patties weren't beefy tasting and their sweet marinate made sure that this death would never be followed by a resurrection. For 30 bucks! Sigh......

Xin Heng Feng Guo Tiao Tan (新恆豐粿條攤), Whampoa Makan Place

It is time. To finally put a name to the mee pok stall which I like at Whampoa Market (#01-14/15 Whampoa Makan Place, 91 Whampoa Drive) after all these years. We haven't been back for quite a while so the good news for us was that the noodles have remained delicious. This serving was the smaller portion when I've only ever ordered the larger one previously. The stall isn't exactly a secret. There's always a queue and they do fish head steamboat at night which I've gathered is pretty popular.

Ayam Penyet President, Lucky Plaza

I wanted to see if these guys (#03-36/37 Lucky Plaza, 304 Orchard Road, tel : +65 6735 1262) were any good compared to Ayam Penyet Ria - turns out that it's been so long since Ayam Penyet Ria that I don't actually remember much apart from what I previously mentioned. So no comparisons.

Ayam bakar's pretty tasty thanks to the caramelization from the grill. I enjoyed it. Just didn't think it was so good that I'll crave for them anytime soon. The portions were a little small though and it could have been nice to have a half chicken option rather than just a thigh. That sauce on the side was their sambal with kecap manis.

Their ayam penyet's not bad too. These people know how to properly fry chicken without all the excessive grease. This sambal without the kecap manis did pack enough heat to get my lips burning and my scalp prickling.

These fried potato patties were known as potato frikkadel - If anyone noticed that the name sounded like begedil, they were pretty much the same thing. Not one of the better tasting ones we've had, but no complains either.

Because we didn't order any vegetables, I thought some crunchy green mangos would be a good idea. It was. Though they tasted more like guavas than mangoes. That sauce on the side tasted suspiciously like another mixture of their sambal and kecap manis again. More of the latter than the former.