Jin Xi Lai (Mui Siong) Minced Meat Noodle/金喜来(梅松)肉脞面, Veerasamy Road

We've been hearing quite a bit about Jin Xi Lai (Mui Siong) Minced Meat Noodle (Yi He Eating House, 638 Veerasamy Road). Or simply just Mui Siong. From online and even from friends. I admit that I was a little skeptical at the start but the minced meat noodles made me a believer. 

The mee pok's kinda good with a likeable springy texture that had bite. This was with chilli and it wasn't very spicy. But what people talk about are their thick slices of pig liver which was the source of my initial skepticism. I was afraid that it wouldn't be well cooked or that it would have a texture that didn't agree with me. It was good. I loved the texture from the well timed doneness - not chewy of powdery nor crunchy because it was undercooked. I'd go for just the livers and minced meat the next time. Nothing special about the fishball and fish cakes.

Assam laksa from Malaysia Chiak at Great World

I've been wanting to try the assam laksa from this Penang stall at Malaysia Chiak. Out of curiosity, also because I like assam in general and I thought it might be a good time to get re-acquainted with Penang styled laksa which I haven't had for a long time.

I liked it. I don't know how it compared to a regular bowl in Penang but I enjoyed both the savoury tanginess of the broth and the chewy noodles that they used. Wished that there was more of the hae ko (shrimp paste) and fish in there though. Now I just need to discover the other shops out there that make good renditions of it.

White asparaguses, lamb rump and scallops at Bistro Du Vin

Another lunch at Bistro Du Vin.

Bread's no longer in baskets but paper bags. What we didn't understand was that butter's on every table and those were somehow excused from hygiene requirements in this social distancing era?

I seem to recall having onion soup here and being not impressed with them but cannot be sure if I remembered correctly. We enjoyed the onion soup today. I imagined what made this work was a good balance between the wine, beef stock and spices.

White asparagus was on the specials board. Wasn't impressive because it wasn't as juicy off the grill. White asparaguses don't have much complexity so if they don't deliver whatever little they have, they don't deliver much. Also, if the restaurant hadn't mentioned that the orange bits on the plate were Mimolette, I wouldn't have known either. I expected better of this restaurant than this weak posturing.

The St Jacques scallops weren't bad but were also not impressive either. These were thoroughly cooked instead of having a sear on the exterior with the inside still rare. Don't think I'll get them again. Would rather spend the money on those Georges Bank ones at Luke's. 

They did handle the lamb rump well. Was another special from the board. The meat was tender, chewy and layered with a good bit of flavour from the jus. The jus was described to be lamb and truffle but I couldn't get the least bit of truffle from the flavour. Also pretty expensive for the pretty small portions at $52. 

By the way, those aren't regular peas, carrots and corn at the bottom of the plate. The green and yellow thingy were balls of green and yellow zucchini. The orange balls were still carrots. 

Mrs Reuben with egg in garlic rye bagel from Two Men Bagel House

Things have been hectic lately and I was struggling over getting out of bed for breakfast or snoozing in for a well needed rest. Mrs Reuben beckoned and her siren song serenaded me out to get some. Bagels. With eggs. Here's link to some other bagels I've had before. (一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 十一 十二 十三)

I liked this. Pastrami with dill pickled cucumbers, Emmental and spicy Russian dressing. Small but hefty and very satisfying. 

Whampoa Soya Bean & Grass Jelly Drinks (黄埔豆花水), Whampoa Makan Place

We've gotten soya bean curd and drinks sporadically from this stall (#01-52 Whampoa Makan Place, 91 Whampoa Drive, tel :+65 9138 7800) for years. I remember the time when the stall used to be buzzing with bees. For some reasons, the bees aren't around anymore. 

Today, we tried something a little different from the plain bean curd we normally get. Bean curd with red beans (or are they kidney beans?) and gingko nuts. Not so big on those beans but the gingko nuts were tender and sweet.

They have rose flavoured soya bean drink which was basically infused with rose (bandung) syrup. I liked that they added enough for that rose flavour to be apparent and yet one could still taste the soya bean flavour.

Treasures Yi Dian Xin (一点心), Raffles City

Treasures Yi Dian Xin is by the Imperial Treasure Group - a casual outfit with a bit of similarity to their Noodle & Congee House. There are the main stays of noodles, porridge and dim sum and and the rest of the menu differs from there.

Chance happened us across a dried oyster and salted egg congee that they had on menu. Not a regular item. This was nice. Love the mix of dried oysters and salted egg flavours that melded in balance within the creamy porridge. The yolk from the salted egg was the reason why the porridge was yellowish. Not as gooey as the ones in Hong Kong but I'm not complaining.

Rice rolls with the regular sweet sauce and sesame sauce. Not bad.

Decent har gows. Theirs has always been. Though I do get the impression that the ones that are served at their Fine Teochew Cuisine are nicer.

Char siew baos were okay. Not particularly outstanding for the fillings but not bad as well. The porridge was the most memorable item we had this time.