Lontong from Istimewa Nasi Padang

Sadly this was a very average tasting bowl of lontong. The fried bean curd (tau kwa) had a hard and chewy exterior, vegetables weren't tender (or well stewed) like we were hoping for and that gravy just didn't pack the punch like the usual suspects of our yardstick list from the recent years - Queenstown Lontong, Lontong Sedap and Nusa & Tara. One could also tell by how it didn't feel heart clogging even with the serunding. Maybe that's how they roll.

The paru goreng was great though. 

Fishball kolo mee from Tracy's Sarawak Kitchen

Back at Tracy's Sarawak Kitchen because I like their kolo mee. Since I found the sweetness of their char siew a little overbearing/cloying, I got the bowl with fishball version instead. Those tasted generic. But the noodles were what I was going for. Still yummy. Especially with extra fried lard, pickled green chilli and that fried egg was nice.

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison without tonkatsu on a Ladies Night

So Tonkatsu by Ma Maison has Ladies Night on Wednesdays which gets 20% off the bill.

I remember not being impressed by their ebi katsu in the past but this was not bad. Looked/tasted like a mixture of prawns and prawn paste.

Good quality oysters in their kaki fry with a pleasant oyster-ly flavour. Actually, I expected no less from them. Nicely done with a good crunch on the crispy panko encasing the shellfish which was hot and juicy.

 

Sunday brunch at MTR 1924

Was looking forward to this after our last round here (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七).

This button idly sambar was pretty good. Those are little idlys in sambar if anyone was wondering.

MTR's special pongal was a much better experience than the one from M.M.H Tiffin Centre. I had been expecting them to be dryer. Kinda like those we've previously had at Murugan Idli Shop, A2B Veg Restaurant or Ananda Bhavan. Maybe that's why this one was special.

Anyways, I did enjoy this rendition too. Rice-y tasting wet gruel with lentils flavoured with pepper, cumin and a bit of ginger. Pretty sure there's a bunch of other spices in there that have eluded me.

Vada from them has always been good and today wasn't any different. Crisp skin, spiced filled and tender yet dense savoury donuts.

That's the sagu masala dosa. Curried vegetables instead of potatoes in the dosa. Great stuff with lovely flavour from the crisp pancake. 

Pretty decent lemon rice. Tangy and savoury with nuts and a hint of ginger.

Trying uppit for the first time. They're also known as upma - kinda like pongal but are made with rice flour and semolina. The texture was pudding/dry porridge-like with a coconut-y flavour infused with ghee and black pepper. Amidst other stuff. 👍🏼

Badam kesari bhath - a rendition of their kesari bhath with slivers of almond. Nice.

I've been wanting to try their chandrahara for a while. It's a dense sweet pastry. Not sure if what we tasted came from just the creamy saffron sauce or did the pastry also include spices. Lots of cardamom and pretty milky.

For the first time ever in all our visits, a masala chai. This one had a balanced masala mix and was milky.

Atout by Patrick Heuberger

First time back in Atout (un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six) after their renovation.

The space has gotten some layout re-design and feels a little more bistro-y/brasserie-y compared to how it was previously. But that's just what I thought.

Snagged a plate of their seasonal heirloom beetroot with burrata.

Sweet and delicious as always with a bit of zing from the pickled onions and for today also, a nice creaminess from the cheese.

Charcuterie is always a good bet here. They're made in house and that means you wouldn't get exactly the same anywhere else. 

The pig head terrine was texturally engaging, paired well with the olive oil and mustard plus the crunch of those sliced cornichons. French pork aspic.

First time with their chickpea and artichoke pate. Can't say I can taste artichoke but this was not bad. Kinda like hummus with a cumin-y flavour.

Their brioche was delicious. Light yet buttery and peppered with bits of aromatic orange rind. We had seconds.

Oven baked 40 garlic French chicken.

Did not expect it but was pleasantly surprised that it was served with a cup of their celeriac and chestnut soup.

Couldn't get much taste from the garlic for some reason. The one we previously had at Les Bouchons was nicer because the garlic had noticeably more flavour.

Not a bad creamy linguine with wild mushrooms and shaven black truffle.

Was looking forward to their veal sweetbread. I seemed to have heard them mention that the risotto was cooked with duck jus but I'm not sure if I had heard correctly. This one was tangy - it's nice, just nothing like what I had imagined of duck jus. Today's sweetbread tasted like......chicken. The mushrooms on the rice also had more flavour than the ones from the mushroom linguine.

We found out what were their Agria potato puffs. They're balls of fried mashed potatoes. Enjoyed it.

No room for dessert today and a bitter black was actually what we needed.

Song Heng Fishball Noodles (松興鱼丸粿條麵), Telok Blangah Crescent Food Centre

Song Heng Fishball Noodles (#01-124 Telok Blangah Crescent Market & Food Centre, 11 Telok Blangah Crescent) from what I've read has been around for more than half a century. That's credibility right there I presume. The queue was admittedly a little daunting but since I was already here with my mind made up for breakfast...

The saucing for the noodles was vinegar-y and had a bit of heat from the chilli they used. Slightly lardy too. Portions were pretty generous. It's not a bad bowl of mee pok but it's not so great that I'd look forward to waiting in a long line for it.

Fishballs were pretty decent. They're made in house so you know you aren't paying for just the assembly of factory mass produced ones. Not as outright impressive as those from Li Xin but I shouldn't compare.