Chilling out at Tokyo Soba

Was looking for something that wouldn't sit down heavy so a cold soba was usually the quick fix for that. This was a chilled kitsune soba with the sweet abura age from Tokyo Soba.

Topped it with extra portion of the abura age. Should I be admitting that they're a kind of guilty pleasure here?

Healthier options seem to be popping up recently - like this cold nebaneba soba that featured natto, tororo and okura. Not a bad eat though if natto's your friend and the slimy texture isn't a concern.

Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee (源春驰名卤面), Amoy Street Food Centre

I remember having a bowl of lor mee from Yuan Chun (#02-80 Amoy Street Food Centre, 7 Maxwell Road, tel : +65 62911439) some years ago and also recalled not being impressed. But there was a suggestion to give them a try so I relented since the memory was hazy from the last time round and importantly, there wasn't much of a queue.

The first thing I noticed was that the gravy was viscous but not starchy. Not outright impressive in flavour by itself but tasty with the spoonful of vinegar and chilli. Speaking of which - these guys don't have chilli paste, only chilli padi which I thought produced a cleaner heat compared with the paste. I didn't taste any garlic as well. The toppings were so so and I don't mind eating again as long as I didn't have to deal with a queue.

Chilled yuzu-miso chicken and immunity boost set from Healthy Soba IKI

The lemon soba is still around so maybe they're considering to keep that on the menu for good. Or for at least a longer term which is also good news anyways. So I've decided to try something else - the yuzu-miso soba. While it didn't have the same clean citrus clarity as the lemon soba did, it still had an appetizingly tangy broth which also masked the raw flavour from the dou miao. Today, they were also pretty generous with the shirasu in the donburi.

The other bowl was from their Immunity Boost Set that featured okura, kimchi, shimeiji and natto. Aside from the dashi base, the dominant flavour came from both the kimchi and the natto. It's not for everyone. I didn't mind it but I'm still trying to get used to the sliminess.

サラダ (home made)

We threw together a bunch of ingredients and fruit from the fridge. Peaches, tomato, grapes, cucumbers, half a head of lettuce and some Stilton. Made a dressing with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Korean yuja citron tea, salt and pepper.

Xiang Ji Lor Mee Zha Jiang Mian (香记卤面. 炸酱面), Old Airport Road Food Centre

Am usually not a lor mee person but seeing the bits of fish got me interested in a bowl from Xiang Ji Lor Mee (#01-81 Old Airport Road Food Centre, 51 Old Airport Road). Ordered mine with bee hoon and topped the bowl up with a dollar of extra fish. Enjoyed it, but that was after the gravy had lost most of the viscosity and the flavours from the garlic/vinegar/chilli paste had combined. Wouldn't mind eating this again but I'd like to give the other Tiong Bahru Lor Mee stall a try first.

Grilled 海老 and thoughts from Nakajima Suisan

Nakajima Suisan has progressed beyond just grilled fish teishoku for a while. We've had oysters, there's scallops and even large grilled prawns. Some of their old specials like the hon maguro nodo and fin (still hoping for the cheeks too) shioyaki have made their regular menu. Tried their prawns today and those were nice and meaty - meat easily stripped off the shells.

Those aren't taking over the mainstays anytime. People here still come for the grilled fish. The crowd seem to have gotten crazier. There are queues during off peak hours. Reaching the shop at opening hours simply means that you'd probably miss the first seating and have to wait in line. Here's still wishing that their kinmedai was bigger.