亮亮 Fried Carrot Cake . Fried Oyster, Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre

Noticed the pan fried radish cake going on at this stall (#02-69 Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre, 31 Commonwealth Crescent) while getting desserts from next door at Xi Le Ting (喜樂亭). This was the small plate with extra eggs. I enjoyed it. This was done in the style that came in smaller bits rather than chunkier pieces. I'm good with both types. Will be back to try the black one the next time.

Wham Poa Satay Bee Hoon (黄埔唦嗲米粉), Whampoa Makan Place

I was told that the words "唦嗲" from the name of the stall were the incorrect ones but that was what their sign said. The correct one is 潮州沙爹米粉 (#01-38 Whampoa Makan Place, 90 Whampoa Drive). 

Anyways, satay bee hoon - something I haven't had in a long while. The first thing I noticed was the pretty consistent texture of the gravy from the crushed peanuts. It's also a little watery. Not a bad tasting gravy but not outstanding as well. The toppings were good though - prawns were naturally crunchy & sweet and the pork slices were tender. But the gravy's not calling out to me.

Prata Boom from Prata Alley

Came across Prata Alley (#01-12 321 Clementi, 321 Clementi Avenue 3, tel : +65 6924 2037) and wanted to do masala tea. Ended up with their prata boom as well because curiosity and I didn't mind something sweet then. From what they described it's prata with butter and sugar. Might be ghee methinks. I didn't dislike it but I did feel it had too much sugar. Melted sugar was coagulating on the plate. And $5 for two pieces - this place was pricey. But I guess someone has to pay for air conditioning rental in Clementi Central so.... 

Yes, they came in pairs with no option to order just one. 

Luckmeow, Maxwell Food Centre

I had read about this Luckmeow (#01-03 Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Steet, tel : +65 8366 9311) recently from a local publication. Something about the chef and his family roots to Uttar Pradesh, whose capital is Lucknow. Luckmeow sounds like Lucknow - I get it. 

The stall totally slipped my mind until we happened past them. From what I could tell, it's contemporary Indian food with Japanese/European influences. Don't the servings remind you of Korean banchan? Anyways...top left to right were Japanese cucumber sorbet, okra + kombu tamarind curry, French been stir fried with coconut. Bottom left to right were butter chicken, lentil mousse and butter pilaf. Tasty and not as heavy or rich as many from the more traditional methods of preparation. It looked like a lot of work had gone into the food.

Henry's Chicken Rice, Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre

I've heard a bit about Henry's Chicken Rice (#02-84 Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre, 31 Commonwealth Crescent). About how the owner used to apprentice under an ex chef from Chatterbox. About about the stall being named after a son Henry that didn't have interest in taking over. There's chatter on how the proprietors behave like they have a chip on the shoulder and also the queue that one should look out for during peak hours. You know. Stuff. About them. Don't know how much is true.

Except for the queue. That I can attest to because I ended up in it. Snuck up on me and appeared out of nowhere. Fortunately, it wasn't too slow moving.

Rice was light tasting. Not bad but I don't think it's something most people would give credit to when they judge chicken rice. I didn't mind it because even as it was light, there was enough flavour to be chicken rice. What these lightweight flavours meant was there would be no dilemma with chilli or no chilli. Their garlic-ky and lime-y chilli packed a bit of bitterness and heat. Not a bad chilli.

They were already out of drumsticks (鸡腿) before 11.30am so I ended up asking for ji wei (鸡尾) - the part I no longer am sure is from which part of the chicken. It looked like a meaty rear end of the bird today.

Most people seemed to be ordering the "roast" chicken. Heard it was what they were known for so I got that too. Not bad. Some parts tasted more salty than others. If one were looking for outstanding, I don't think this will be it.

I wouldn't mind eating at Henry's. But I won't miss it if I never had a chance again. That's how it was.

Huber's - Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday lunch at Huber's. They have a bunch of lamb items on their menu this week. While I was tempted by a few of them, I stuck to something that was only available today. A spit roasted lamb which they carved and served on order. Yeah, they had a spit out back for that whole lamb.

But we were here early enough that the breakfast menu was still available. Had been curious about their "Savoyer" style beef tartare so why not to start? I don't know what Savoyer referred to but this was a delicious beef tartare with well moderated seasoning. Not as in your face as Le Bistrot du Sommelier (we liked that one too) with the seasoning and definitely more enjoyable than the one at Coucou.

I thought the Tomme de Savoie sauce they drizzled over was a good call. So yummy.

Their Easter spit roasted lamb was served with ratatouille and potatoes. Jus they drizzled over was nice, I wished they gave some bread to mop them up with.

These lamb chops were from the regular menu. Simple and nicely done.