Pork knuckles from Marché

Can't say that I know where I could find the better fried pork knuckles around but I thought that Marché has generally done a pretty good job of being dependable with them. I wouldn't say that it's good all the time, but I think they're very decent most of the time. Nice meaty trotters and crispy skin. Is it just me or am I tasting more beer in the sauce these days?

Summer Hill, Sunset Way

Summer Hill is a French restaurant nestled in Sunset Way (#01-62, 106 Clementi Street 12, tel : +65 +65 62515337) by Anthony Yeoh from the defunct Cocotte. Yes, that Cocotte.

They have small plates and regular ones. This glazed beetroot with ricotta was one of the small ones. I believe it's been marinated with possibly the juice of some fruit. Loads of perky citrus paired with a light earthiness of the beets and richness from the ricotta. I loved this. Very nice.

We had some roasted baby eggplants with hummus, crispy chickpeas and some pretty plump raisins. Not bad.

Their mains included chicken pot pie with truffle and foie gras. The pot pie was a lot smaller than it looked. Only half the pot beneath the crust was filled. It was creamy and delicious though.

Also had the fried boned in Dutch veal with a panko and thyme crust. The meat was very tender. Would have preferred a fruity sauce to go with it but I guess whole grain mustard was also fine. I didn't dislike this but I wouldn't order it again because it was expensive. For that price I was also hoping for a showcase of a spectacular sauce/compote to go with the veal than just mustard.

Dessert was an olive oil cake flavoured with citrus and rosemary. Not bad. Rather small though. Nice with the cream.

Kurobuta X Kombu & Oroshi from Tonkatsu by Ma Maison

I had gotten the impression that the kombu component to this kurobuta rosu katsu at Tonkatsu by Ma Maison was some sort of shredded cabbage salad with the seaweed. Apparently not. It was dry and fine with texture somewhat similar to dragon beard candy (龙须糖) if you could believe it. Yep, that green stuff above the katsu was it. Underneath the pile of it was the oroshi. 

I've never had kombu in this form. Couldn't get much flavour of them. All the moisture from the oroshi had clumped the kombu together making it a little messy to eat. Didn't taste bad with the dashi/yuzu-y dip they provided though.

Hamburg Steak Keisuke, Peck Seah Street

Finally visited Hamburg Steak Keisuke (72 Peck Seah Street, tel : +65 6908 4348) after attempting to wait out till the queue has subsided. It didn't quite. If the name was not already obvious enough, the selling point of the restaurant is their hamburg steak - or hambagu (ハンバーグ). 

There's a salad bar. It's not Astons but there was still a decent variety. I recommend the crabby flavoured mayonnaise hijiki, potato salad and the noodles. 

The other attraction was their egg station. One can load up on unlimited serving of eggs cooked in various ways. Their scrambled eggs were deliciously buttery. Tamagoyaki was passable. They do sunny side up as well which was awesome when it's laid over rice with a splash of shoyu and some pepper. I know because I had two of those sunny side ups.

This was their triple cheese hamburg. Came with an ebi fry.

The mince of the hamburg was too fine. There wasn't much texture apart from the caramelized crust. Which was my first problem with it. The second was the marinate which was sweet. To add on, I'm not getting much beefiness from the hamburg. 

The cheese helped mask the sweetness but it didn't change the fact that it was sweet. 

There's coffee jelly at the salad bar. The jelly was bitter and unsweetened. Which paired nicely with the sweet cream you could ladle over them. Yums!

Liked the place. For the quality of food and the price they charged, it represented good value for money. The irony was that I didn't like the hamburg but enjoyed the rest. I spied a shiokoji chicken on the menu. Will come back to try that. And also for the salad bar, egg station and coffee jelly.

Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant, Keppel Road

Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant (201 Keppel Road, tel : +65 6272 8822) has been around. I remember the place from the time I was a kid. A whiff of nostalgia for people like me and also a lens that reaches a few decades back into the past of Chinese restaurants in this country. 

For the younger folks, it's probably just a relic from another era. Albeit one with a beating heart.

It's located in this old building. The top right is the revolving platform where the restaurant is located. There's a view to be had. Used to be fascinating when I was a kid because it rotates. Now it's just a view. 

We had chee cheong fun. These were the ones without stuffings. Sometimes, it's nice to just have them without.

Char siew bao were competent. Skin was light and fluffy around the sweet char siew fillings.

Their steamed ma lai ko/Malay cake/马来糕 was not bad too. There's sliced almonds in them. While it didn't have the almost ethereal quality of the ones at Imperial Treasure or was it One Dim Sum good, it was enough to me happy. 

Har gow was okay. Really okay.

Their siew mai has the tail of the prawns they used sticking out. Tasted old school and decently made.

I liked the stewed tripe. They were tender. The broth had a good flavour going on. I don't know where else to get something like this.

This was one of their signature dishes. Made with fish, egg white and dried scallops. It's one of those dishes I look forward to here. Not cheap though.

You could eat them on their own or with added pepper and vinegar. Both ways work for me.

There's Peking duck to be had there. It's decent. Not top duck if you catch my drift. With the sweet sauce and the wrap, it's all good. I didn't like that they charged extra if you asked for more cucumber.

There's a $5 surcharge for having the meat sliced up. I've always felt that this was the better way to have the meat instead of some stir fry they tend to recommend you to do.

These are deep fried egg white soufflé balls filled with red bean paste. Sprinkle sugar and eat. Another flavour of nostalgia that only old school Chinese restaurants make.

Bedok Chwee Kueh, Chinatown Food Centre

This was not bad. The taste of the chwee kueh and the chilli from this outpost of Bedok Chwee Kueh reminded me of the ones from Tangs Market. What was different was the texture and the size. These were noticeably larger and more tender. The latter made them really easy to eat. Liked the generosity of the cai por.