Siti Rodiah Nasi Padang, Tekka Food Centre

Needed a quick lunch in the vicinity and thought I'd try something other than briyani. Pretty good nasi padang from Siti Rodiah Nasi Padang (#01-261 Tekka Market & Food Centre, 665 Buffalo Road). I went for some predictable options; paru goreng, sayur lodeh, sambal goreng with some serunding and sambal belacan on the side. A pretty failsafe combination of savoury, sweet and spiciness. There was actually something I didn't like about this. Those flimsy plastic utensils.

Ganga thali from Madras Woodlands Ganga

We were trying to get a seat for lunch at Madras New Woodlands. With the tables completely filled, the restaurant suggested that we could eat at another location of theirs that would have seats and walked us over. That other location turned out to be Madras Woodlands Ganga a street away (1 Cuff Road, tel : +65 6295 3750). This was their Ganga thali which didn't seem very different from the VIP thali I had at Madras New Woodlands. With a couple of poori instead of a bhattura.

How was it? I loved it. Loved the rich and creamy paneer butter masala. Enjoyed their star anise flavoured korma. Couldn't get enough of those savoury vegetable sides and the briyani was delicious. Did I forget to mention the refreshing raita and hold up...... I even finished the gulab jamun. It's been a while since I've had one of these rice meals and I had almost forgotten how yummy these carb heavy and rich vegetarian meals could be.

The kid goat briyani again from Bismillah

I had said that I wouldn't be getting this kid goat briyani again. I chalked that up to mostly because of how expensive it was and that the flavour did not commensurate the cost of a plate. Wanted to try their tandoori chicken briyani today but they were for whatever reasons unavailable. So I picked what I saw on their menu as the young mutton briyani and only when I looked at the receipt that I realized it was the kid goat's.

Anyways, it was nicer this time. Meat was tender and moist with bits of flavourful fat that was delicious. Slurp off the bone tender as well. It was a nicer plate than the last time and it was also still pretty expensive.

87 Just Thai, Killiney Road

We noticed 87 Just Thai (57 Killiney Road, tel : +65 6269 8810) a while ago and made a mental note to come try their food. The food was delicious. They're located at the unit that used to be Freshly Baked by Le Bijoux. That was a long time ago huh?

Got mango salad. It wasn't so much how I imagined but it wasn't bad tasting. Sweet, sour and spicy with a refreshing crunch plus that fish sauce umami. Oh, there's also another kind of crunch from whole peanuts and crispy anchovies in there too. Portions were kinda small and I thought it was a pity this wasn't the dryer rendition that was accompanied with extra condiments to spruce to your liking.

Loved their Thai styled stir fried kang kong. The difference between this Thai rendition and the local sambal kang kong apart from the lack of sambal was the use of fermented beans and fish sauce. That combination resulted in a something that was moreish, savoury and spicy with the bonus of a nice vegetable crunch from well managed timing of the stir fry. So good with rice. 

Rice came next. We had ours topped with a fried egg.

I'd call this century egg krapow moo. Don't know the Thai name for it. It's basically krapow moo with fried century egg. Did not expect the fried basil leaves to be so light and crisp. This stuff was also good with rice.

This was their PFC - abbreviated from pandan fried chicken. There was a subtle sweetness in the flavour and the taste did remind me of a fried rendition of pandan chicken. Crispy, no excess grease and tender bird. I'd eat this again.

Tried their steamed tapioca dessert. The tapioca was pretty sweet but I liked it with the lightly salted coconut milk sauce. Will come back another time.

Astons' prime tenderloin

I've been curious about the prime tenderloin at Astons for a long time. It looked thicker on the pictures that they have and these were a little disappointing. I would have liked it better if they had done a single thick cut than these two slices they did which were a kinda thin. Didn't taste bad but it also wasn't memorable. Wouldn't get them again.

Chimichanga, Dunlop Street

I've read about these guys (36 Dunlop Street, tel : +65 6293 3314) but never got interested enough to look them up. Happened to be in the vicinity and came in for a light bit of lunch. Their carne asada tacos to be precise. It's not bad. Corn tacos enveloping a bit of that smokiness from the seared skirt. With the hot sauce, it was tangy, creamy and spicy at the same time so it went down pretty fast. Don't mind coming back to try other stuff.