Trattoria Amanda, Stanley Street

Their (14 Stanley Street, tel : +65 6222 5808) bread was hard, didn't have any smell and didn't have much taste. Don't know why the restaurant felt it was suitable for bread gratis. I'm not sure that these could even be used for panzanella. They might have been good for croutons at best but I couldn't even tell if they would actually absorb anything. Strike one.

Tried a foie gras with brandied apples and oranges from their specials menu. The sautéed fruits were delicious. There was a problem with the foie. It looked nicely seared with a crusty browning on the surface but the inside was slightly chilled; with a texture like the terrine variety rather than the soft quivery ones with rendered fat. That meant it wasn't defrosted properly. Strike two.

Scallops were the frozen variety. Had a nice aroma from the sear but didn't have the natural sweetness of fresh ones. But I wouldn't blame them for using those since it was meant to be paired with Parmigiano Reggiano and prosciutto di Parma. Each scallop in a single bite made very good chewing with the prosciutto. Saffron sauce was nice and creamy.

This was their cacio e pepe. Google 'cacio e pepe', click Images, examine them and then come back. Menu said 'rich blend of 4 quality cheeses'. Didn't taste very cheesy. It was creamy though. Much too creamy for just cheese and pepper. There was quite a bit of pepper but nothing beyond what one could achieve with a pepper mill. Not sure if that Kampot pepper made any difference. Strike three.

That's their pistachio and mortadella pizza. Menu mentioned 'buttery pistachio puree'. There were some crushed pistachio on the pizza; not nearly enough for aroma or even texture. No puree of any sort to be found. The flavour was mostly mozzarella, tomato and the mortadella. Strike four. 

Of dancing fishes, spicy apples and cucumber latte...

I've just discovered that Dancing Fish Signature serves star fruit juices with preserved sour plum. Something suitably refreshing for the sweltering heat that seemed worse than usual in the recent weeks.  

We landed ourselves another salad from them. This time it was the spicy green apple which had the same dressing as the starfruit rendition. These two and the mango salad were nice. Something tangy, crunchy and very South East Asian.

Their nasi berempah kuning delicious as always.

Just like the sambal terasi which was also another cornerstone of tastiness.

Chicken satay's not bad. That peanut sauce on the side tasted better than it looked. Actually, it tasted like a competently done satay sauce which is not so easy to find nowadays. It just wasn't coloured like the ones we're normally used to seeing.

Finally got round to getting the pucuk paku stir fried with sambal belachan.  It's as tasty as their cha kangkong probably because its either exactly or mostly the same bunch of ingredients applied onto different vegetables

Beef ribs were okay. The sweet glaze on the surface of those ribs were nice. Tasted very kecap manis-y plus a bunch of spices. Accompanying sambal matah was moreish as usual.

There's a cucumber latte on the menu which I've been wanting to try since the first time we were here and never go the chance till today. Believe or not, it does have cucumber flavour and it's not as weird as it sounded.

He Ji Wu Xiang Guan Chang (合記五香贯腸), Maxwell Food Centre

For all the times we've been to Maxwell FC, we've either never paid attention to this stall (#01-97 Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street) or they've never been open since there was a queue for their bee hoon and fried stuff and we couldn't reasonably have missed them. What's more, at least half the queue were the older folks. Where one can safely assume "old taste".

Anyways, the stall looked like a competitor to China Street Fritters. The variety of their selection is curated to a bunch of stuff they specialize in. These include those liver rolls and egg lard things that one has simply got to try.

Speaking of which, their liver rolls do not taste the same as those from China Street Fritters. It was quite different but the ability to convey the difference eludes me. Both were good in their own ways. This stall though had an unexpectedly better sweet sticky sauce. Not the starchy gunk of starch most wu xiang stalls provide.

Revisiting Ramen Nagi

I recalled not having a bad impression of Ramen Nagi the couple of times I've been here. Things have kind gone downhill this time round. Their regular Butao King wasn't impressive with a pretty lightweight tonkotsu broth. I wouldn't go as far as to say that they're mediocre but as much as I like tonkotsu, this one didn't give me a reason to come back.

I thought their Green King bowl was disappointing. Not much flavours coming from the pesto and cheese in spite of appearances. I was hoping to get more of the basil or even olive oil but in the end, the fusion of flavours never quite took off for me. Oh well.

Empress Place Teochew Beef Kway Teow, Maxwell Food Centre

I've eaten from Empress Place Beef Kway Teow at Toa Payoh a few years ago before they disappeared. This stall (#01-43 Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street) looked like it might have been the same one though I cannot be sure. 

I got myself their dry bowl of mixed beef kuey teow. Beef ball, lean meat, brisket, tendon and some tripe. Kuey teow was flavoured with their broth and some sesame oil. No gloopy gravy like those Hainanese styled beef noodles. Awesome with the chilli and this came with a nice bowl of soup that was savoury with a hint of herbal sweetness. I'll be back.

Saveur, Purvis Street

It's been quite a while since we've last had anything from the Saveur Group. Meaning Saveur and the defunct Saveur Art. The original founders had left and gone their ways. Two ways to be exact. This restaurant at Purvis Street (#01-04, tel : +65 6333 3121) might have been their flagship but we've never actually visited this particular outlet before. Does anyone remember that this spot used to be Miss Clarity?

Think their Saveur pasta didn't change much. Still nice even with the artificial tasting truffle flavours. I guess what sold with this dish was that it still remained the umami bomb it was made to be and the texture of those capellini were still nicely done.

There's a salmon confit which looked like it might have been something they brought over from Saveur Art.

Duck confit was not bad. 

Liked their beef en croute too. Served with carrots, parsnips and mushrooms. Noticed that it wasn't called a beef Wellington. This even had the layer of mushroom duxelle and foie gras around the tenderloin beneath the puff pastry. Would have been great if there was more of their Bordelaise sauce to go around though.

Dessert was a pistachio panna cotta a little different from how I remembered them. The current rendition has some Bailey's mousse and I believe they've candied the pistachios. Nice too though. I liked this.