Boomarang, The Quayside

Have finally gotten over my curiosity about Boomarang (#01-15 The Quayside, 60 Robertson Quay, tel  : +65 6738 1077) today. Part of the reason why the curiosity was because, I've never been able to definitively describe what's Australian about Australian food due to the cultural confluence that has been part of their cuisine.

I won't pretend that Boomerang is a definitive of that because it won't be and cannot be. But it is still a casual representative? Superficially?

There's Suntory Black on tap. Did not expect this.

These are known as prawn cutlets on the menu. Deep fried coconut crumbed prawns is what they were. No coconut taste so it was pretty meh. Overpriced for it's portion but I won't complain because I came here of my own accord and didn't have a gun over my head to order them.

Kangaroo burger was....kinda boring. I've had kangaroo before and have enjoyed it. This one wasn't delicious. At least I didn't think it was. Won't find excuses for it. I'm not sure what to make out of that patty but it didn't taste satisfying. For some reasons, they didn't salt the meat much.

Pizza's called Far North Queensland. Prawns, salmon, calamari and spinach on a mango chutney base. Did not expect the crust to be so biscuit thin. It was okay. Okay meaning that if I ever came back I won't be ordering it again. The accompanying yoghurt on the side was nice though.

The closest place I could relate to in Melbourne was The General Assembly and those guys were way better for what we ate.

Hong Kong Street Chun Kee (香港街珍記), Bukit Merah Lane

Haven't eaten at Hong Kong Street Chun Kee (125 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-190, tel : +65 6271 8484) for a long time.

Yu gai mai fan (鱼鸡米粉) was disappointing. I normally wouldn't complain about hua diao wine in the broth but today's was excessive to cover up the lack of proper flavour in it. The chunks of yu gai were also smaller than what we had been expecting. With a reputation like theirs, I hadn't expected this particular dish to be sub par.

Cereal fried rice was competent though. Looked like yang zhou fried rice (扬州炒饭) heaped over with cereal. There's real char siew in it. No excessive grease and it was a good mix of savoury sweetness.

This was a claypot of fish maw, prawns and scallops. Pretty good quality seafood there. Loved those old school firm and crunchy prawns.

300 at Brothers Ramen

Trying more bowls from Brothers Ramen (一, 二 , 三, 四, 五, 六).

That's their iekei ramen. Got it spicy and with extra garlic. The broth for this bowl is probably a combination of their regular tori paitan and shoyu. This was good. The thick noodles reminded me of the megamen.

First time with their vegemen. The kombu/shoyu/mushroom broth was lightweight compared with their other bowls and sweet even. There's a faint truffle aroma. Other than what's visible on top of the bowl (menma/ajitama/spinach/nori/tomato/rice puffs), there's some tofu in it. 

Mr. Uncle & Auntie Kitchen, Norris Road

I'm not entirely sure how to describe Mr. Uncle & Auntie Kitchen (#01-01 Anna Illam, 35 Norris Road, tel : +65 8661 5899). In not so little words, they're a restaurant that looked like a food court - with flamboyant disco lights, plenty of alcohol options, a pool table and loud music emanating from the Bollywood videos they're playing on screens. Try putting that image together.

That's a pomegranate shake. It's wasn't the sort of shake I had in mind. Maybe it's because the menu didn't say milkshake. It was more juice than a shake. I asked and they confirmed I had gotten the correct order.

We ordered some food to eat with naan. Their egg podimas was nicely done. A little spicy, savoury and with a bit of sweetness from the finely diced onions. Preferred this over the egg burji at Urban Roti.

Paneer korma was not good. Nothing was wrong with the paneer. It was the korma that tasted off. Can't put a finger to what exactly made it weird but it might have been the freshness of the cashews that were used to make it.

Their kashmiri naan tasted nicer than the looks suggested. Plenty of dried fruits and we could taste the bits of nuts in there.

What I was looking forward to was their satti sorru; a curried claypot briyani that's could be described as an Indian 煲仔饭. I hear that it's a Malaysian thing.

This one had canned sardines and curry folded into rice that's topped with crispy ikan bilis and a boiled egg. What got me in this pot was the moreish savoury spiciness that kept me continuously spooning mouthfuls of that curried rice.

The sweet lassi looked a wee bit pink because the funky disco lights had been switched on at this point. Anyways, their rendition is thin but not diluted. Kinda refreshing.

A change in Keisuke's Red Spicy?

Haven't had a bowl from Keisuke's Tonkotsu King for a while. It's mostly because......

...long queues. I was looking forward to the red spicy bowl again but what I got today wasn't what I had been anticipating.

I remember the fiery red being mostly oil. This looked like sambal and even tasted like one. Have I been victim to the Mandela Effect again?!😱 Anyways, it was good. I don't know if I've imagined it but it felt a little less spicy than the impression I had previously.

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.