Peach beer, black curry and bonito tonkotsu at Ippudo

Saw that Ippudo has a black curry ramen so wanted to try it.

Happenstance also found us peach beer currently on the menu - there were cubes of sweet canned peaches with syrup in the beer. Didn't deny that guilty pleasure.

The black curry ramen was suppose to have won some award. What award that was and who awarded them, no body seems to know. Tasted spices and squid ink in the thick curry which also had its brand of sweetness that was unlike most Japanese curry.

Noodles weren't the thin Hakata type, it was more like tagliolini. Not bad tasting but it also only good for a one exploratory bowl for me. Wouldn't get it again.

We've seen the bonito tonkotsu bowl in Ippudo's menu since pretty much the beginning but have never tried it until today. This bowl had a thick broth which was smokey, sweet and savoury - nothing like the one from Ikkousha. Underneath were the thin and wiry Hakata noodles. This one blew Ikkousha's rendition out of the water.

Hot durian mousse from Yat Ka Yan (一家人)

Never had durian mousse served hot before but it's available at Yat Ka Yan. It's not so much piping hot than warm and I definitely get why it works at this temperature. Yummy.

L' Arte Pizza & Focaccia, Guoco Tower

I was curious about L' Arte Pizza (#01-14, Guoco Tower, 5 Wallich Street, tel : +65 8932 2923) because I've read the chef, a Radostin Kiryazov described as Bulgaria’s ‘God of Pizza’. Also gathered that they're doing Romana pizza which as I understand was pizza al taglio. 

If shops were a representative of their chefs, I'd say that Bulgaria’s ‘God of Pizza’ isn't on the same level of playing field as Italy's' Michelangelo of pizza'.

Bread was airy and crunchy - but it didn't taste like the ones I've had in Rome which were generally more rich in olive oil. The toppings were decent quality but not particularly memorable or outstanding. I guess Pizzarium had left a benchmark I'll never meet here.

Matsutake chawanmushi from Sushiro

It's on Sushiro's menu lately. Underwhelming. I'm assuming that those bits beside the edamame are the matsutake because I couldn't tell. Couldn't taste the mushroom in the steamed egg either.

Good Pig Trotters Fried Bee Hoon (好猪脚米粉), The Arcade @ Collyer Quay

Hell yeah this was good! Good Pig Trotters Fried Bee Hoon (# 01-08 The Arcade, 11 Collyer Quay) used to be known as Good Old Taste. They've been around for at least a decade. 

Came by for breakfast. That light coloured bee hoon belied the flavour that was infused in it. I hear that it's stewed with Ma Ling canned pork trotters. Moist (or perhaps greasy as well), savoury and deliciously salty that one could also pair with the chunks of fried lard and the tangy/spicy chilli sauce. Need to come back.

Chao Shan Cuisine (潮山林), Philip Street

Have read/heard quite a bit about Chaoshan Cuisine (#01-01/02 Grand Building, 17 Phillip Street, tel : +65 6336 2390). These guys are supposed to be an institution for Teochew food. Look at how deep brown that Pu'er tea is up there - it's practically tasteless. I wonder why is that.

Both their pork aspic and fried liver rolls were delicious. The former had a nice flavour from the melty collagenic jelly while the latter was moist and didn't have a strong livery taste. Great use of spices for these starters which I didn't find excessive.

Sambal kang kong has lard. Pretty competent rendition.

That's stir fried leather jacket - a fish I generally like and have had numerous times in the past. They're not difficult to debone as fishes go. What disappointed me was how tiny these were compared to those that I used to have. The salty black bean sauce was awesome though.

The sauce for the steamed baby squids was bland. Easily rectified by the plum sauce that was served on the side.

Pretty solid smoky olive fried rice there. Gotta remember that these have chopped bits of 芹菜 - something that Google thinks is parsley or celery but it's specifically the local variety found often in beef noodles that I don't like.