Nasi lemak with plant based chicken from Ikea

It has been quite a while since I last had nasi lemak from Ikea. Prices appeared to have gone up with this plate that included plant based chicken at $5.50. What's plant based chicken? I'm not sure. But they go with the generic claims to make healthy and sustainable food more affordable and desirable. That these plant based foods require less resources to make on top of reducing individual's carbon footprint blah blah blah...

These looked like little chicken nuggets and actually tasted like them. Albeit one that was a little dry and a bit stringy. If I didn't know what I was ordering, I might not have noticed.

Xian Ji Porridge, Eng Hoon Street

I've been asked by a few people over more than a few years if I've tried that shop with watercress porridge (#01-72, 57 Eng Hoon Street) at Tiong Bahru. I gathered that they had eaten there and they liked it to some extent. The shop has for some reasons always slipped my mind until recently. Not bad tasting porridge. Didn't understand the watercress which I felt added nothing but vegetables stuck between the teeth.

What I didn't like was the rest of the experience. $9 for mixed pork porridge with dough fritters wasn't cheap. I asked for century eggs for the porridge to which the proprietress acknowledged but I didn't get any at all. No idea how much a bowl typically costed. While I enjoyed it somewhat and hadn't any complains about the ingredients, am probably not coming back. Ah Chiang or Old Shifu, both in the vicinity, were equally enjoyable and less expensive.

A couple of bowls and gyoza from Kanada-Ya

Some quick notes on the recent visit to Kanada-Ya.

That's the black garlic ramen - something that I've never quite understood. There's a toasty garlic flavour that gradually diminished as we went through the bowl. It's not a bad layer on top of the tonkotsu but it seemed a flavour that didn't endure. One had to eat something else and go back to rekindle the garlic taste.

Nice heat from the spiciness gekikara bowl which was a concocted with mixture of miso and tonkotsu. In the end, the mixture was its own thing which didn't have a strong characteristic from the component broths. Not a bad tasting one but not something I'd think I'll look forward to the next time.

Wasabi mayo gyozas - There's a light smoky taste but I couldn't tell if it came from the sauce or the gyoza skin. Not bad though. Could eat this again. 

Dapur Penyet, Centrepoint

These guys are hidden at the back of Centrepoint (#01-59 The Centrepoint, 176 Orchard Road, tel : +65 : 6734 2840) and open daily.

I was intrigued by their ayam geprek with mozzarella. Never had one of these before. From how it looked, shredded mozzarella was sprinkled over the smashed fried chicken thigh and torched. Some of the half melted cheese were still slightly cold. Not bad tasting actually and I wouldn't mind eating this again. Chicken had a familiar light garlicky flavour.

Ayam bakar in the spiced kecap manis sauce was delicious as it usually were. That came with a spicily moreish sambal on the side that was also infused with the flavour of onions and ikan bilis.

Didn't realize that their tahu telur was a small one. I had imagined the size of these to be similar to those we've previously had at Tambuah Mas. Liked the eggy taste. Needs more of the nutty gravy on the side though.

White asparaguses and brunch at Huber's

The white asparagus season is upon us for this year. Huber's (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九, 十, 十一, 十二, 十三) has gotten theirs from Germany and expectedly put out a limited time menu for the ivory shoots said to be grown in darkness. We were here to brunch on them.

But first some Ice Dazzle Berry Macchiato. Coffee with the citrus of berries mellowed with cream. This was kinda nice.

The unexpected surprise was their cream of white asparagus with curry and a strawberry & onion compote. Creamy and curry scented white asparagus-y soup accompanied by the tart sweetness from the spiced strawberry/onion. 👍🏼

Croissant with cooked ham and raclette cheese from their breakfast menu. Because we were here at the confluence of breakfast and the day menu. I liked this. For the buttery simplicity and the light pungent cheese.

White asparagus with Hollandaise, buttered boiled potatoes and Swiss farmer ham.

Same stuff with Tasmanian grass fed beef in mushroom cream sauce. 

White asparagus mousse with strawberry coulis for dessert. There was a lot of that white asparagus flavour in the mousse.

No white asparagus in this coffee. Just a regular one.

NBCB, Orchard Central

This spot was where Omakase Burger used to be. I had previously tried the cheese burger from NBCB (#04-23 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road, tel : +65 8872 0160 ) when they started their business which was available on delivery only. I thought it wasn't bad tasting then even though the buns were thoroughly soggy. 

Now that we've had the chance to have them freshly made, it didn't seem to taste as good. It was a very juicy cb for sure 😂 but the patty seemed to lack flavour. There was also too much saucing which I'm interpreting as an attempt to mask the blandness. Pretty disappointing. 

I'm gonna take this opportunity to compare them with a bunch of other burgers we've had in the recent couple of years which I think are alternatives. Just a couple of years or the list will get too long.

• 2280 - Their double cheeseburger was less expensive and tasted better. Nicer tasting fries also.
• Employees Only - The EO Smash Burger was obviously superior in every aspect. Reflected on their price tag as well which I would gladly rather pay actually. 
• McD - Sad but true case, the factory mass produced Angus cheeseburger was a nicer eat. Cheaper and more enjoyable
• Jollibee - Aloha burger was a different quality which has resulted in a different beast but I'd rather eat it too. Cheaper and more enjoyable.
• Astons Specialities - Same price but I'd pick them over it because of the cleaner flavour.
• Hammee's - Cheaper and definitely better tasting cheese burgers. 
• One Fattened Calf - Not necessarily cheaper but the meat quality was superior and I like them better. Nicer fries
• Ordinary Burgers - Cheaper and much better tasting cheese burgers.
• Phat Burger Bro. - Obviously better done burgers and they're a bit more expensive as well. Nicer fries here as well.
• Shake Shack - No way NBCB can beat Shake Shack's cheese burgers in terms of taste.
• Omakase Burger - They are not around anymore, they aren't cheap but they're doubtlessly superior.
• Five Guys - I definitely rather eat Five Guys who are just a little bit more expensive. The customization options blows NBCB out of the water.

Fries are okay. Tasted like those from Long John Silvers. Absorbs the cb juices well. 😅

The bandung milkshake was kinda nice. Creamy, milky and just enough of the flavour from the rose syrup.