Hong Li Mei Wei Xiao Chi (鴻利美味小吃), Holland Village Food Centre

Pretty decent local fried rice from this stall (#01-17, Holland Village Food Centre, 1 Lorong Mambong). They even have char siew in there, tiny as they were along with a couple of prawns for just $3. As opposed to say a $5 plate which one can easily find that's too cheap to even use real crab sticks. Without comparing, the fried rice was serviceable and not fancy. Forget wok hei or even egg coatings on individual grains. It tasted simple and homely. Pickled green chilli's great for breaking the monotony. That chai por omelette on top is another dollar by the way.

Barakhath, Dalhousie Lane

Came to know of this eatery recently (11 Dalhousie Lane) and came by for lunch. These guys serve Indian rice meals. There's a menu with a bunch of dishes one could order and then there are specific items that are available on each day of the week. I got their fish kurma which was a Wednesday dish.

I liked it. The fish they used was Spanish mackerel - or commonly also known locally as batang. The meat was more moist than I had expected. Loved those pickled green chilli and onions that they added in the kurma. 

This rice meal came with regular rice because their basmati wasn't ready. It was pretty good with the kurma, the tangy sambal from the hard boiled eggs along with the pickles they served on the side.

粉肠虾面 from Covent Garden Prawn Noodle

I've been meaning to try this for a while from Covent Garden Prawn Noodle. The last time I was here, they were midway through the cooking of those 粉肠 (fen chang) so they weren't ready for serving yet. 粉肠 are small/sweet pork intestines if you don't know what those are.

The flavour of the 粉肠 was kinda crustacean-y/prawn-y. Could it be because it was cooked in the prawn broth?

Luke's Oyster Bar & Chop House - a return to Gemmill Lane

We've only eaten at Luke's at Gemmill Lane once. That was the first time. That original location was two doors down from here. Before it for a while became Wolf and then Angeleno for too short a time. Technically this was a first visit in this setup (22 Gemmill Lane, tel : +65 8125 5256). Classy looking like they've always been. Less white than the original space two doors down, less dark than my preferred location in town.

Take a time jump the previous occasions we ate at their restaurant. (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八)

There's whispers from a little bird that the corn bread is smaller these days.

I didn't notice, couldn't tell. As far as I am concerned, they've been too small since day one. They still taste good though.

Their steak fries for lunch is generally reliable and delicious. Down to the salad because it was properly tossed with just enough dressing. I swapped out the fries for the coleslaw which is my favourite coleslaw in this country. Bar none as of now. Creamy, tangy and fennel-y without being excessive.

Their steak comes with Béarnaise. Have never been much for that. Today was different. It was a lot more buttery than I remember of Béarnaise. I've found something else to like it seems.

Mee pok at Covent Garden Prawn Noodle

So this time it was mee pok. Got a $4 bowl with extra ingredients. The extra was a dollar more which adds up to $5. Again, I asked for no pork which they registered this time.

They've given me prawns with tail shells so I guess the "larger" bowls come with that. Still 3 prawns though. Maybe a bit more fish cakes as well. I'm not feeling the extra ingredients here unless that additional dollar I paid for was for a few more slices of fish cake. These prawns weren't of better quality than the shelled ones. So essentially I felt like I'm getting a $4 bowl minus pork and a bit more fish cakes. Confused? You're not alone.

The queue has visibly lessened since they've reopened and something has changed though I don't know exactly what. I'd say they're of decent standards and nothing more.

What Miznon keeps (in Davy Jones' Locker)

No, not the fennel. Not that particular locker that is. We managed to get counter seats at Miznon today.

Ordered a portion of their masabaha. Cooked chickpeas with chilli, tomatoes, tahini, hard boiled eggs and maybe olive oil too. I liked how they salted this.

We tried a couple of their seafood stuffed pitas. This was fish & chips which featured seared barramundi and fried potatoes. Loved the tanginess from the vinegar and pickles pairing with the creamy aioli on the fish. 

The other, Adom Yam, had seared calamari; not forgetting loads of sweet crunchy onions with sour cream. The sauce that soaked into the pita was savoury and peppery. Another delicious one as well.