Self saucing is back and the pork bone broth at Shi Li Fang

The option to concoct one's own dip/sauce for hot pots have been off the table since the measures of COVID 19 kicked in to...keep everyone safe. After two mask wearing years, Shi Li Fang has finally allowed us to mix our own dips again! Yay! I don't know if the other hot pot places have done the same though. Note to self : the pork bone broth wasn't great. It started off pretty drinkable even but became clear and strangely less flavourful at the end. Maybe it's because of the radish. Stick to the collagen broth. 

Chilli ban mee from Malaysia Chiak

Both Malaysia Chiak!, Tangs Market and Nam Kee Pau are under the Fei Xiong Group. One can generally notice similarities from the food served under the group. This chilli ban mee from Malaysia Chiak! looked and tasted different from the one at Nam Kee Pau or Tangs Market though. Also noticed that this bowl didn't have any vegetables.

Flavour's pretty good though. Deep savoury sweetness from the dark soya sauce and there's lard. What really got my attention was the texture of the noodles. These were much more springy than I expected. The chilli paste didn't bring much heat so if you need to crank the Scoville units up a little, those soya sauce marinated cut red chillis are just the thing.

piu M, Fortune Centre

These folks (#02-29 Fortune Centre, 190 Middle Road, tel : +65 9456 2204) are a Japanese Italian izakaya-esque kind of place. The kitchen's a two person show by chef Jun Matsubara and his wife Masako. Vibe's a little like Bistro Du Le Pin.

Reservations are recommended and ordering of alcohol's a requirement for the reservation. Unfortunately the only beer they have is Kirin and it's not on tap. Would be nice if there was say Asahi Kuronama or Suntory Black.

That's their miso burrata - burrata cheese that's been marinated in miso for 80 hours if I had heard correctly. There's a flavour on the outside of the cheese but it didn't taste like miso to me. Green stuff on top was shiso.

Chicken liver pate is done brûlée style with a crispy sugar crust and a few spritz of Yamazaki 12.

This one was unctuous and packed with rich sweetness and livery flavours from the creamy liver pate. Man this was so good.

Bacon. Lightly smoked, not very salty but nice munching.

Their menchi katsu is apparently something they're known for. I read it features wagyu.

Not getting much definitive out of the mince meat. It was very moist and juicy though.

Ordered their sui gyoza named "Machan's dumplings season 11". They were stuffed with minced pork and prawns so it's kinda like siew mai. The butter soya sauce was delicious.

Trippa - tomato broth with a distinctive onion sweetness and no beefiness. Haha.

Another dish on their social media circulation is their spaghetti with uni and bottarga. Not enough bottarga methinks and as uni pastas go, I much prefer the rendition from Keria. With just two main ingredients to showcase the flavours, this pasta fell a little flat. But if one compares to pictures online, it is also easy to surmise that they're inconsistent.

Tender gyutan stew. Again, the broth doesn't have any beefiness. The ingredients tasted like they are cooked independently of one another.

The mascarpone cream of their tiramisu was whipped on order. This one was smooth, creamy and pretty good.

Dark Meat Hot Chicken burger from Shake Shack

So Shake Shack currently has the Dark Meat Hot Chicken burger on menu. What did this bring to the table that hasn't been already done? Not so much. I mean, we in Asia know dark meat better than the West. McD's McSpicy and Popeye's chicken sandwich here are part of the testimony to that. 

In my nutshell, this Dark Meat Hot Chicken burger beats McSpicy in every aspect except maybe for the chicken. Now that this is out of my system...

I like the buns better for a start. Not to mention that the moderated creaminess from the slaw along with the tanginess from the pickles are next level - compared to the mayo/shredded lettuce mess from McSpicy. I cannot and won't tell which fried chicken thigh is better but I think McSpicy could be spicer and juicier while this one has a crispier crust. 

Lamb chops from Hot Tomato

Came to know of this at Hot Tomato (#B1-24 Funan, 107 North Bridge Road, tel : +65 6970 0679) from a co-worker. I had to admit that this wasn't bad - a rib with a couple of t-bone-ish cuts for what some restaurants would charge for just a rib. That and pasta on the side with a small salad. The meat was also beautifully browned with a respectable crusty surface. Not sure how I feel about that sweet mint sauce on the side though.

Chun Seng Noodle House (春成面之家), Ghim Moh Food Centre

This stall (#01-12 Ghim Moh Food Centre, 20 Ghim Moh Road) originated from ABC Brickworks Food Centre and seemed to have re-invented themselves after having shuttered their business for a while. What they are known for are their slices of stewed pork belly that they include in their noodles. I haven't eaten from their old premise before so I don't have any frame of reference for any comparisons. 

But I liked this one that I had. Great texture from their mee kia and it rocked with their soya sauce marinated sliced red chilli which packed a bit of heat. Those dumplings in the bowl were meaty and the meatballs were stinky. Nice bowl of noodles I'd love to come back to.