Trattoria Pizzeria Logic, Craig Road

Trattoria Pizzeria Logic (#01-03 Craig Place, 20 Craig Road, tel : +65 6226 2250) from Japan has opened up in the unit that Perbacco had previously occupied. Word is that the kitchen is helmed by a Junichi Shoji who was the winner for 2012 World Pizza Championship held in Naples. 

Got a bollito to start off. TPL's rendition of the dish include just gyutan with tasty salsa verde and chunky tomato sauce along with boiled egg and potatoes. Not so much like the more traditional bollito misto.

There were a number of things I wanted to get from their menu but in the end, we succumbed to the specials. Like their aglio olio with shirasu. Which was nicely done with a bit of heat going on. It was a lot less garlic-ky compared to Luka's and also didn't have capers. That meant that more of the shirasu flavour got through. I wished there was more shirasu though. Like double the portions of what they gave.

The other special was their pizza which featured pineapple, ricotta and jalapeño with ham. The pie was "juicy" in the centre with toppings that were sweet, tangy and spicy at the same time on a puffy crust.

October in Keria Japanese Restaurant

The zephyrs of autumn swept us through the doors of Keria again.

Today's otoshi was hijiki with mushrooms and some vegetable.

We had aji sashimi. A little chewy this one.

And Hokkaido oysters. These ones were smaller than the ones from the last time. The flavour was still outstanding with the lemon and ponzu.

Their freshly grilled shishamo was delicious. These were not as pregnant as the ones that Nakajima Suisan has though. Were a little thin even though they were filled with roe.

Hey look, some flecks of gold on the uni. Uni ikura spaghetti. Chilled. Spiked with flavour from julienned shiso. There were intense flavours going on from the sauce and the bursts of the ikura.  One of those things to be experienced because words might not do it justice. Expensive but thoroughly enjoyed it till the last strand.

Matsutake is in season so matsutake yaki it was. Served with some sudachi on the side. The flavour from the mushroom was so good. Good got better, enhanced by the citrus from the sudachi. 

Did not forget our regular order of mentaiko cabbage. Whomever it was in the kitchen, he/she is a master at this dish.

We ended with a ohagi which was on the specials board. A sweet of rice and glutinous rice covered in anko.

Would never have recognized it or knew what it was if not for Kantaro. Thanks to Kantaro we decided to try one. It's not bad if one enjoyed anko. The red bean paste wasn't too sweet. Just remember to wait for them to get close to room temperature if it had been refrigerated or the glutinous rice would be stiff.

Not so strange because it was almost just like the red bean paste version of kueh salat. 甘味のみぞ知る！

Ang Moh Dumplings, Tanjong Pagar Station

We came by Ang Moh Dumplings over the weekend. The pictures on their (#B1-39 Tanjong Pagar Exchange) website featured garnishes on the food which looked prettier than the real thing. What was obvious though was that the shop wasn't ready for business on a weekend because most of what they had were sold out so we ended up with just a couple of dumplings.

The ang moh dumplings they have are pelmeni. Pretty surprised that the the black ones which were stuffed with beef had coriander. I didn't like it and cannot will not give an objective opinion. It sucked. The other greenish one was stuffed with mutton and according to their menu, mint. I couldn't taste the mint and was barely able to discern the flavour of mutton from the stuffings. Tasted something like butter though. It's not bad but also not good enough that I'd want to eat them again. *sigh*

Hosay Mee Pok, Cantonment Road

The signage of Hosay Mee Pok (243 Cantonment Road) stated that they are endorsed by Ah Hoe Mee Pok. Don't know what's the relationship between the two stalls but I was curious enough to want to find out.

I have previously mentioned that Ah Hoe was about balance. Hosay is definitely a more local take with punchier flavours for their bowl of noodles. While very savoury and umami, the texture of the mee pok was unexcitingly ordinary. #disappointed Love those strips of fried stuff they added in there though.

The dry mee pok came with a bowl of cloudy soup with the other ingredients. The soup was flavoured, but nothing compared to the likes of Seng Kee. A few small slices of pork, liver, probably frozen scallops and a few clams with bits of cabbage that sweetened the soup. Drinkable stuff that's better than many but nothing memorable. 

I found Xing Heng Feng at Whampoa much more satisfying if I had to compare a non-ba chor mee pok.

We asked for lard and this was what they gave. Looked like deep fried pork belly strips that didn't have the fragrance of lard. After the tasting the mee pok with their chilli and a bit of vinegar, these fried bits didn't even taste like it had flavour.

Their prawn paste cake thingies were not bad though. Similar to the ones from Guan's Mee Pok and Bai Nian Yong Tau Foo. All of these renditions were tastier than the ones from Le Shrimp Ramen.

I don't dislike the food here but I didn't feel that there was much that would make me definitively like them either. Wouldn't come out of the way just to eat their noodles.

The Autumn Special at Tonkatsu by Ma Maison

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison currently has an autumn special - Kurobuta Mushroom Katsu which features their kurobuta rosu katsu with mushrooms on daikon oroshi that has been infused with truffle oil and shiro dashi. I'm glad they didn't go overboard with the truffle oil, using only enough to perfume the food.

Very nicely done like they normally do their katsu with a dry crisp breading and moist pork beneath. Since this was kurobuta, it was also nicely marbled with fat for that difference in texture and flavour. I thought the mushrooms were delicious, pairing well with the oroshi that was mellowed by the shiro dashi. Those went along nicely with the fried pork

Hawkerman, Funan

We noticed Hawkerman (#B2-18 Funan Mall, 109 North Bridge Road) the last time we were here and were curious. Warily so but curious nonetheless. So we decided to give it a try.

One of those things that got my attention were the sour plum watermelon cubes which I thought was awesome. They were exactly as the name described - sour plum juice infused watermelon that was refreshing and juicy. Loved these.

Tried their maki poh piah which was obviously a maki take on the local poh piah with a nori wrap. For something that had so much chicken floss, I was pretty surprised that I could barely taste them when I popped one of those oversized pieces. Most of the flavour came from the garlic heavy stewed turnips that made the stuffings - which was was oddly called 'rainbow fillings'.

The Tenderfresh spring chicken wasn't shabby. A little small though but the bird was pretty tender. The turmeric infused fragrant rice was delicious. Tasted just like chicken rice.

Hokkien mee was better than I had imagined. The seafood stock that they had used to stir fry the noodles was flavourful. Noodles weren't overcooked. Couldn't argue with that fried chicken. While this plate wasn't in the same league as the Serangoon Gardens Fried Prawn Noodles or Nam Sing, it wasn't bad at all. The lime and sambal added a much appreciated zest to it.