Spiced apple tart tartin from Porta

Not as spiced as I had imagined.

The pastry below was a filo shell which I had been expecting to be well buttered but wasn't. Beneath the filo shell were the stewed apples. Ice cream was rum and raisin. If anyone had been wondering if the brown stuff strewn over was bacon, it was. With maple syrup.  So it was sweet and saltiness going on. Not bad but I expected better fresher flavour from both the filo and bacon. This looked assembled rather than freshly made. From Porta (Level 1 Park Hotel Clarke Quay, 1 Unity Street, tel : +65 6593 8855).

Da Po Hainanese Chicken Rice & Curry Chicken Noodles (大坡海南鸡饭咖喱鸡面), Golden Mile Food Centre

I've been wanting to come by Da Po (#B1-53 Golden Mile Food Centre, 505 Beach Road) for years. This bowl happened just recently. I was initially intrigued by them selling both chicken rice and curry noodles. Got pushed over the edge when I saw their curry noodles featured in an online video so here we were.

I think comparison have been made and I'm in agreement with the fact that Da Po's curry is more savoury compared to Heng Kee and Ah Heng. It's also richer tasting though it didn't have the viscosity texture that richer curries tend to have. Those alone put Da Po ahead of the other two stalls for me. Noticed that the curry was also more spicy than their chilli paste. Which wasn't very spicy at all but packed some saltiness and a lot of flavour.

That's the $8 bowl which with boiled chicken, fish cake, tau pok, potatoes and pig skin. Pretty good eat. Would not mind them if I'm in the vicinity. I'm curious about their chicken rice though.

Re-revisiting Masa Steak & Hamburg

We still haven't taken the plunge with the expensive steaks at Masa. But we remembered having a better impression of their hamburg from the last visit so we came back for them again. More affordable even though they're still pricey.

We started with snapper carpaccio. Pretty good slices with good texture and a nice flavour from the fish thats paired with mostly some umami which we suspected came from the orange-y stuff (maybe bottarga or dried shrimp roe?) and the drizzles of balsamic. Refreshing but the portions were pretty small.

Today's hamburg was topped with Cheddar. The centre was a little mushy unlike the first time when it was properly textured by a better controlled doneness.

Had a gohan set to go with the hamburg. The rice came with miso soup and some tsukemono. Shredded takuan, gobo and I think spring onions.

Pleasantly surprised by their spaghetti bolognese. There was cream in it which soften the edge from the tanginess in the tomato component of the sauce and added a light creaminess. Pasta doneness was also nicely time resulting in firm noodles. This was much tastier than I had thought.

A couple of club sandwiches

I don't know if I've ever been a club sandwich person. But I've had a couple recently. The one above was from Providore (#02-05 Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Road, tel : +65 6732 1565). Rustic thick sliced sourdough with avocado, bacon and grilled chicken breast in between. Meat was a little dry and the bread was hard. It's okay.

The one below from TWG (Lobby, Swissôtel The Stamford, 2 Stamford Road) was much more refined dainty. Similar ingredients but no avocado and more greens. There was a dressing that made the fillings a little too wet. Each bite yielded more easily because the stack was more delicate. This sandwich fell apart easily and was held together by toothpicks. Definitely didn't have as much substance as the other one. It's also okay.

So what did okay meant? Don't mind eating it but wouldn't come back specially for them.

Another dinner at Suju

If you could believe it, this was the second time we've had dinner at Suju. There are reasons why one would come here during dinner instead of during the more wallet friendly lunches. Some of what they have on menu aren't available at lunch.

While waiting for our food and nursing a chilled Suntory, we munched on some nozawana tempura. Pickled vegetables, possibly mustard greens deep fried in batter. First time having these and I thought they were pretty good.

Loved their miso marinated foie gras with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Then came our gohan sets.

I was pretty bowled over by their beef cheek miso nikomi. That's beef cheeks simmered in red wine and miso for what I believe to be long hours. The flavour was intense from both the wine and miso with a richness that was both sweet and savoury. This was so tender that teeth was optional. Maybe I exaggerate but you get my point.

The other plate of richness came in the form of gindara harasu. Cod belly grilled and dripping with rendered fat from the fish. The foie gras wasn't the only thing that be clogging our arteries tonight.

Luke's before the year is out

We like Luke's. It's a pleasant place with pressed white tablecloth and napkins paired with wait staff that discreetly eye you from a distance like a hawk anticipating the next time you lift your finger for their attention. The people are generally not snotty. They're pricey no doubt but once in a while we do pricey because the restaurant has always been a pleasure.

I missed the coarse salt flakes they used for their Bloody Mary. Miss the old poppyseed buns for the Travis Burger here. But the Bloody Mary is still good.

All meals at Luke's begin with their corn bread. I'm not in a position to tell if they're one of the better ones around but they are nice.

I've also said pretty much all there is about the Travis Burger. Still the better if not best overall burger in my books. This I daresay. Still don't like their fries.

We ordered their Georges Bank scallops today. Something we've been wanting to get for some time now. They were delicious with properly done searing on the outside and half cooked insides. The sauce is light with flavour that isn't a distraction to for those scallops. Now how am I gonna not order these the next time?