Chilli pan mee from Nam Kee Pau

We were looking for breakfast at Plaza Singapura and I thought the chilli ban mee from Nam Kee (#B2-25, 68 Orchard Road) was worth a try. In retrospect, it was the chilli that saved it. A chilli that was flavoured with ikan bilis which reminded me of the sambal that some prata stalls still provide. As a bowl, it wasn't as enjoyable as the one from Grandma Ban Mee though I've to admit that I like this egg much better as something to enrich the chilli. 

Those vegetables in the bowl were too fibrous and shouldn't have been served. But seeing how Nam Kee as been expanding pretty successfully as a chain, I'm not surprised they don't give a damn at their lack of quality control.

Doubling up at O Banh Mi

O Banh Mi has 'double up' options for some of their rice plates now. I'm not sure when did this start but I'm glad that they actually did since the regular portions were a little puny. Nothing fancy here - just the simplicity of a hearty grilled pork chop or chicken (yes I've been back a couple of times) covered in their nice char and semi sweet marinade with rice and egg.

Re-visiting Kko Kko Nara

The last time we were at Kko Kko Nara (68 Tanjong Pagar Road, tel : +65 6225 9282), they were located at Tras Street. That's nine years ago and they've relocated to the main Tanjong Pagar Road with a bigger and brighter space. In those nine years since, many other Korean eateries have sprung up all around the vicinity.

Banchan wasn't plentiful but they were kinda nice. I liked those pickled radish which helped cut through grease from the food.

We ordered their fried chicken. It looked and even tasted different from how we remembered it. The batter seemed thicker. I guess with the prerequisite crunch and moist meat without being excessively greasy, it ticked the right boxes and there were no complains. 

What we thought was disappointing was their dogani tang. It was bland. Even after we asked for some saeujeot, I thought it needed a bit more salt. The tendons in the soup were unevenly cooked. Some were soft and chewy like beefy mochi while others were harder like cartilage. 

Squid pancake was nice even though it didn't look as pretty as the picture on the menu. Was savoury with a lot of textures from the leeks and squid.

Tsingtao Stout

I may have gotten this from Meidi Ya. I'm not sure. But I got it because I never knew that Tsing Tao had stouts and I was curious. It's not bad though. A little yeasty, not very bitter and pretty smooth going down.

Curious Palette, Prinsep Street

Got curious about Curious Palette (64 Prinsep Street, tel : +65 6238 1068) because their food appeared to be a little more interesting than the 99% run of the mill cafes that's proliferated our sunny island.

Nursed some salty chocolate while waiting for the food.

The first item we had was a little disappointing. Kaya toast with coffee butter, eggs and espresso shoyu sounded good. The kaya was the Hainanese variety so the flavour was predominantly coconut. Didn't think much of the coffee butter which had a weak coffee flavour and didn't taste like any butter. Espresso shoyu? I thought it was just soya sauce. 

The confit tomatoes and lardo got us sold on this one. I think it was pretty good. Loved that those tomatoes were sweet and juicy.

One of the things we were curious about was their sugarloaf cabbage with seaweed butter. The flavour was outstanding. A creamy umami richness from the seaweed butter and egg that was paired with a caramelized sweetness from the burnt cabbage and a fragrant nuttiness from toasted pine nuts and peanuts. Not forgetting aroma from the curry leaves as well. This was savoury, complex and delicious. 

Starter Lab, Havelock Road

These guys (721 Havelock Road, tel : +65 9839 0408) from Bali. Barely two years old. Found some measure of success marketing their baker Emerson Manibo who can drop some names from his previous work. 

Nothing much noteworthy to be said about what he has done but plenty of duplicated references to where he's work at so it is that kind of "marketing". Reminded me much of how the education system in this country has been geared for the past decades entrenched into glossing over the branding of one's academia rather than what one has actually achieved.

But I took the bait.

That's the Starter Lab 3 Cheese. Maybe it's me and my soft upper palate but the sourdough has a crust that's too hard. That crusty hardness was exacerbated by the toasting and it didn't have any texture or flavour that was particularly endearing compared to the other sourdough. My personal and not so humble opinion is that it also needs more butter. But otherwise, pretty nice grilled cheese.

The most memorable sourdough I've had came from Belon. For bread, that was worth talking about - not this.

Mortadella on focaccia was not bad but I'd say the saving grace was the Mortadella.

Not that the focaccia was bad. It was hard and crusty just like their sourdough. Slicked with olive oil that didn't have much flavour. 

Their honeyed Mascarpone posh toast was the easiest to eat because it was single sliced bread. I'll also credit the toppings of honey and mascarpone which was delicious topped with walnuts and black sea salt. Not sure which were the bee pollen though. Failsafe charming flavours I'd say.