Smiths : blue cheese dip and scampi

It's been a while since we were last at Smiths. What got me this time round was their blue cheese dip which I was sure they never had previously. For a dollar fifty.

So haddock and chips it was with that blue cheese dip. The blue cheese flavour was light. Still identifiable as blue cheese though and I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant to taste like a block of Stilton since it was something to go with their fried fish. 

We had been curious about the scampi and chips for a while so we finally got about to trying it. Those breaded scampi tasted like a cross between scallops and shrimp. Flavour was good actually but at $26 for only ten pieces, it was bloody expensive. Not getting them again.

Ah Lock & Co., Tanjong Pagar Centre

This stall (#B2-22/23/24 Tanjong Pagar Centre, 7 Wallich Street, tel : +65 8826 0244) which is located just next to Chalong serves what appears to be Hakka style rice bowls/noodles and ban chang kueh. Or min chiang kueh. Whichever you were schooled to call these pancakes. 

I might come back to try their rice bowls someday. Was looking for something less substantial so I got their matcha pancake with anko. Not bad. Could taste both the green tea and red bean flavours. The pancakes were a little dense and the fillings could do with a bit more generosity. 

I'm wont to compare these things to Granny's Pancake at Whampoa because those are superb. Superb meaning thick, light, wobbly and have generous fillings.

There's butter kopi on the menu. This one tasted odd. There was a thickness which I could detect but that thickness with very little coffee flavour. Not as nice as Heap Seng Leong.

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.