Some mornings I just wanna get myself one of these...

Barley malt shake from BurgerLabo

BurgerLabo has in recent time relocated from their previous/original premise at Gillman to where 2280 is. So 2280 is kinda like gone and the place is just BurgerLabo. Kinda. They have kinda kept the burgers from both places so in a way, 2280 is still around.

Anyways, I got their barley malt shake in a recent visit. Tasted like Horlicks. I liked it. Not big on their truffle cheese fries. That truffle flavour tasted extra synthetic.

Noodle Star K, Tanjong Pagar Road

Noodle Star K (58 Tanjong Pagar Road, tel  : +65 6224 6061) opened more than a couple of years back. They're under Super Star K which does K bbq. This one as the name goes is obviously a shop focused on noodles.

Banchan's fixed. Kimchi, takuan and bean sprouts. What sets them apart is the cup of light beef broth that's part of the side dishes. Everyone gets one of those and they're refillable. It's not bad drinking. Like I mentioned, it's light and there's also a savoury beefiness to it.

I read they're known for their naengmyeon. The mul (potato flour) ones and the chik (arrowroot flour). The difference is texture and nutritional composition and both noodle types are pretty much tasteless on their own. But they soak up the broth pretty well. Each type of naengmyeon also has the regular and the spicy bowl. 

This was the regular chik naengmyeon. I like it. Noodles were soft and a bit chewy. The broth is made with beef stock and pear juice I believe, so it's savoury and fruity. Because it's chilled, it's also refreshing. Gets even more lively with a few squirts of vinegar and mustard.

That's their deulkkae kalguksu. We've just had one recently from Myung Ga II nearby. Flavour's similar but I like the one from Myung Ga II better because of the texture from the broth and I believe that one's also nuttier. 

The white ones are the gogi mandu (pork) and the red ones are kimchi mandu. Think the latter also has meat in it. There's a lot more chilli flavour to the kimchi stuffings than what I detect in regular kimchi. I like the gogi better. These dumplings were piping hot, had thin smooth (albeit crumpled looking) skin and were pretty tender.

That's a bindaetteok - mung bean pancake. It's not bad. Texture's potato-y and the taste reminded me a little of those mung bean fritters at goreng pisang shops. These were lightly salted.

McD's kueh bangkit soft serve

Yes it does taste like kueh bangkit albeit with less intensity. Not bad actually - I had imagined it to be powdery/chalky 😂 but it was creamy like their usual soft serve.

Hong Xing Handmade Fishball • Meatball Noodle (鸿興手工鱼圆•肉圆面), Bukit Merah View Hawker Centre

Finally got to try Hong Xing (#01-07 Bukit Merah View Hawker Centre, 115 Bukit Merah View) after a couple of unsuccessful attempts. Noodles were well tossed and aromatic with a light layer of lard flavouring. Chilli sauce was gentle. A concoction I did not particularly mind.

What's interesting was their "meatball" with the pitted surface. They aren't actually meatballs as most of us know them. These were a slightly less tender fishball with infused with dried sole and if my palate didn't fail me, a light dong cai (冬菜) flavour. I don't know if these actually contained any pork but it was delicious. Soup had a lot of fishball flavour.

Hyang Yeon Korean Restaurant, Peck Seah Street

Hyang Yeon Korean Restaurant (2 Peck Seah Street, #01-02 Air View Building, tel : +65 6970 4678) is located next door to where ChoWon Garden used to be. They've a few things on their menu which we thought was worth giving a go.

But first a sikhye. Made in house according to them. This tasted better than the canned version and wasn't as cloying sweet as I imagined. I can see this being really good with ginger.

Banchan has a nice variety and was pretty good quality. A couple of mention worthy items included the pressed tofu/tau kwa (top left) and those potato strips with curry powder (bottom 2nd from right)

What stood out amongst the banchan for me was what I think might have been baek kimchi. Clean tangy fermented taste minus the chilli, layered with the taste of dried anchovies.

Remember I mentioned that I thought kong guksu might have been better sweet. We did it today with a sprinkle of salt and more sugar than salt. The creamy soybean taste of the broth pairs naturally with sweetness. Nice! 👍🏼

Other than the kong guksu, we also wanted to try their kong biji jjigae. The mushy stuff inside is pureed soybean and kimchi.

Not bad tasting. The flavour is more defined when the stew was no longer as hot so it makes sense to wait for some of the heat to dissipate before eating. Texture's kinda sandy (slightly gritty) with a flavour that's tofu infused with tanginess from kimchi.