Revisiting Motsunabe Goku (博多もつ鍋 悟喰)

We did not get to try the motsunabe at Goku the last time so we were here tonight for that.

A refreshing Sapporo and ginger ale to start. 

There's also a half and half pint of the lager and the dark. So that's not Kilkenny in there.

Munchies while waiting for the motsunabe. They have pretty tasty ika geso karaage with a crunchy batter. That batter reminded me of dried beancurd for some reasons. 

Shio yakisoba. This was kinda nice without the Worcestershire-y sauce they normally stir fry the regular rendition with. Some crunch from bean sprouts and cabbage and a bit zesty tanginess from the squeeze of lemon made the noodles.

Fried sweet potato with butter. And ketchup.

Grilled shishamo was okay. Not as pregnant as I would have preferred.

So this was our first motsunabe. If anyone's wondering what they are, they're a stew with offal. Beef intestines to be specific. There were a few flavours to choose for the broth. This one was natto miso. Broth was rich, sweet and savoury altogether. Nice one.

But the intestines were super chewy. I managed a few pieces before I gave up on them. Just wondering at this point if that's the way it is for motsunabe or is it just here.

福海咖喱雞米粉麵, Tanjong Pagar Food Centre

I don't know if this stall (#02-37 Tanjong Pagar Food Centre, 6 Tanjong Pagar Plaza) is related in any way to the one at Tiong Bahru Food Centre but they have the same name on their signage. Both do curry chicken noodles. Clones, rivals or relatives? I don't recall seeing the option for briyani for this stall though. Google lists them Fu Hai Curry Chicken Noodles.

This was a bowl with 鸡尾. Tasted similar to bowl at Tiong Bahru except that the potatoes were well cooked this time. Not bad curry noodles which I wouldn't mind coming back for. 

Fish & Bones, UE Square

Fish & Bones (#01-13 UE Square, 81 Clemenceau Avenue, tel : +65 9724 7488 ) is a butcher that's also selling seafood and has a dine in area. Getting Korean vibes here from the menu and meat.

Anyways, we heard about their burger and came by for one. Not bad. Fresh tasting meat and vegetables - all between a light and sweet brioch-y nutty bun. Importantly, the burger wasn't sauced to death. The only gripe I had was wishing that they had used better cheese than the plasticky ones they did.

The Market Grill & Wine 90, Telok Ayer Street

The Market Grill (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七) has been rebranded to The Market Grill & Wine 90 (208 Telok Ayer Street, tel : +65 6221 3323). The location is still the same. The previous chef Colin West is currently in The Corner Grill at Ann Siang Hill so there's a new guy on board here. The rest of the place looked preeee-ty much the same.

But I think the onions for the onion matchsticks are different though. These had purple skin which I do not remember from the last time and a little more greasy. Still good munching.

These are cod croquettes - breaded and fried potato balls stuffed with minced cod. Even though the cod was inside the potato balls, we could smell the fish as soon as the brought in the plate. Not bad.

Not so impressed by how they did the pork jowl. The texture on the surface was actually their mustard glaze which dominated pretty much everything. There was too much mustard - surprising considering that this was Market Grill.

Fortunately, it's something we could scrape off and we did. Those slices of fatty jowl with the jus (or whatever that might have been) were good enough.

Took advantage of the their 1-for-1 bavette which was usually $60 for a 300g portion. This made it $60 for 600g. Nice. 👍🏼 Loved the smokey caramelized exterior of the steak. The insides were moist with juices. Good beefy flavour and great texture too. 

Aside from that bavette, the other outstanding item was their smoked chocolate cake. Belying its inconspicuous appearances, the cake was dense like cheesecake, pretty chocolate-y and had an impressive depth of smokiness which I thought was sublime.

Soi 47, Yong Siak Street

Soi 47 (27 Yong Siak Street, tel  : +65 6588 4747) is a relatively new Thai zi char (煮炒)  place that has taken over the previous occupant Cheng's 27 which I gathered was Hainanese. The menu features the gamut of what can be considered pretty common Thai Chinese stir fry dishes. 

A fizzy sweet and salty preserved plum (酸梅) soda while waiting for the food. 

Som tam mamaung has shredded coconut. So the flavour's less refreshing or clean compared to...well, most of the mango salads I've had which didn't. Not that it was a bad thing. This one wasn't spicy.

Krapow moo with century egg. Dish was a little wetter than I expected but it was still delicious in its savoury manner.

Thai styled kang kong which wasn't spicy.

Fried prawn cakes were nice. These were fat and tender.

We ordered a salt baked tilapia. Fish was pretty decent and very moist. Did not even need the nam jim on the side.

Well, it's zi char.

Café 2000, M Hotel

Before today, I have attributed to Café 2000 (Level 1 M Hotel, 81 Anson Road, tel : +65 6500 6112) only one thing. Chicken pies. The ones we have always called the "M Hotel chicken pies". We knew next to nothing about the restaurant. Today is the day we make new memories and remember them for more than just their chicken pies.

Memories like their cappuccino if one were inclined to notice, is taken from the same coffee machine that dispenses them in their buffets. It's drinkable stuff and nothing to be scoffed at during the absence of other similar caffeine beverages. I say that with all seriousness. 😬

But first the chicken pie.

The one with minimal fillers. It doesn't have the most buttery crust around but that crust passes muster. There's bits of carrots which I speculate are in there just for a bit of colour and some mushrooms. No peas or potatoes. And then chunks of chicken in a creamy sauce. I detect dark meat. I liked how straightforward this pie was since......my first time around 2007.

Cleaned it up.

So we decided to try the XO halibut fish noodles soup on their menu. Portions were huge perhaps in an attempt to commensurate the price tag. The fried fish was okay, not spectacular as what one might hope for considering how much they were charging. But the savoury broth was quite delicious and soaked up by the rice noodles. Fish aside, I enjoyed this better than the cod fish soup noodle from Amara Hotel. I'd rank this bowl just below the one from The Ship. 

That dish on the left, it's cognac. Not soya sauce or Chinese tea. Yes it's for the fish broth with the noodles. 😏