Tori Sanwa (鶏三和), Raffles City

Tori Sanwa (#B1-75 Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road) from Nagoya opened up a while back. They're of some repute from what I've gathered, with more than a few dozen outlets in Japan, a half dozen in Taiwan and a couple now on our sunny shores. 

The restaurant here didn't have the vibes of a Japanese joint. It felt local. The service from a particular wait staff was atrocious with an A.

If you would believe it, this was their aburi okayo don. Did not look or smell aburi-ed. We asked wait staff A to confirm that this was the correct order and she insisted so. We were quite sure this either a mistake or was poorly done.

Had a couple of spoons and didn't taste any of the smokiness. Decided not to put up with the shit so we asked that wait staff if we could have the bowl torched again. She did not bother to inquire with anyone if it was possible while looking uncomfortably unsure before claiming that there was a procedure the kitchen had to follow and nothing could be done. 

We reached out to wait staff E who immediately explained that it was possible that they didn't aburi for long because there were people who complained about the char. I think little of restaurants that engage with such excuses. And I'm of the opinion that those who don't like a bit of bitter and are deathly afraid of cancer shouldn't be ordering aburi-ed anything.

To her credit, wait staff E recovered immediately by offering to replace our bowl with a fresh one that was "more aburi-ed".

Not bad tasting oyako don with the smokiness. I wouldn't mind eating this again.

There's a chicken teriyaki hitsumabushi. Not excessively glazed and flavour was pleasant. But the chicken was obviously frozen from the texture of the meat. Not sure how this was a showcase of these guys being a chicken specialist. Or maybe they aren't.

To be fair the tori karaage and their sweet vinegary tori nanban was quite nice. Chicken was crisp on the outside and pretty tender. The tartar sauce for the latter....we've definitely had better.

潮州鱼粥大排档 (Teochew Fish Porridge Da Pai Dang), Ang Mo Kio 631

We've seen 潮州鱼粥大排档 (#01-906, 631 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4) previously and have been intrigued by their fridge and menu so we came to try what they had to offer.

Pretty decent tasting pork aspic. Not the most complex spicing among those we've had before but I have no complains on their rendition.

This was steamed glutinous rice stuffed in pig's intestines. I've only had this once before at Koh Brothers Pig's Organ Soup in Tiong Bahru Market a little over a decade ago. Did not realize that there was another stall out here that makes them. The crushed peanuts were a nice touch. This was served with sweet dark soy sauce which was pretty good pairing with all that.

Fried fish roe was delicious. The flavouring and crisp of the exterior was outstanding but it was also pretty expensive for $12 a pop.

We ordered a dry claypot fish head. Black grouper if I remember correctly. It's delicious but I'm pretty sure they did not give us fish head because the bones sure as hell didn't look like it. Both the flavour and the quality of the fish was good but these guys are a little pricey.

Tong Sheng Mian Jia (通聖面家), Redhill Food Centre

Stumbled upon a curiosity which was laksa wanton mee from 通聖面家 (#01-38, Redhill Food Centre, 85 Redhill Lane). I guess it was a logical combination since the stall sold both wanton mee and laksa. Exactly like how it is with Hong Heng for their laksa beef noodle. Got myself a hum-less bowl.

Pretty enjoyable laksa broth that had a bit of heat and creaminess infused with hae bi. Had this with mee kia which I thought was the better choice over the regular yellow noodle or thick bee hoon. No alkaline flavour so yay! There's slices of generic tasting fish cake, tau pok, wantons and some hard dry char siew which I'll see if I can swap for more wanton if I get this again.

All that Zazz had to end

Quality appears to be fluctuating at Zazz Pizza (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九, 十, 十一, 十二) as we approach the end. The boss wasn't in today. Which wasn't usual.

The balance of their bufala pizza didn't feel right but I don't know if that ratio of ingredients was intentional. I would have imagined that people got this for the milky richness of the buffalo mozzarella. The cheese was buried under the flavours of the other toppings. Pity. That being said, this was not a bad pizza. I enjoyed it.

We've had their saffron fettuccine the first time we ate at their restaurant at Short Street. Today's plate was lacking much of that saffron flavour that impressed us from that time.😔

You know it.

Nurhidayah Food Corner, Golden Mile Food Centre

What caught my attention from this stall (#B1-10 Golden Mile Food Centre, 505 Beach Road) was basically nasi goreng petai. They have a few variations of it - this one was supposedly with "cutlet". I had expected that to be boneless fried chicken but instead, it was just one of those bone in parts they used for their ayam penyet.

Portions were generous, petai was potent and the fried chicken was full of crunch. But it wasn't satisfying. 

Pontian MeiGui BBQ (笨珍玫瑰烧鱼), Geylang East Central

Pontian MeiGui BBQ (#01-90, 121 Geylang East Central) is from Malaysia. They've set up an outpost here with a smaller seafood focused menu near Aljunied MRT.

What headlines the stall is their shrimp-y tasting sambal. Which was pretty good on their barbequed stingray. Would have been great if those stingrays were thicker though.

Tried a tongue fish for the first time. Fish was layered with the same sambal. The meat's softer - which also reduced its textural quality. So, stingray was nicer for mouthfeel.

Personally thought their sambal sotong petai was delicious, especially with rice. Yes, that would be the same sambal as the prior two dishes. While the name sambal sotong petai implied that there was squid and petai, there's also lady's finger and wing beans in the dish as well. Squids were pretty tender here.

This was recommended as their chinchalok but it's not chinchalok as I, or many people might identify for the lack of fermented shrimp flavour. What the dip packed was a bit of heat, some sweetness and a robust citrus which paired with the seafood or even just white rice. It tasted similar to the chilli at Putien minus the heat.