Duck rice from Wen Ge Charcoal Delights (文哥烧腊)

Not bad duck rice from Wen Ge Charcoal Delights. The thin sliced roasted duck was pretty moist. Stewed tau kwa's nice and the rice was moist, drizzled with a light herbal gravy which presumably a dang gui (当归) sauce of sorts. Wouldn't mind having it again.

Fried Rice Story (炒饭故事), Bukit Merah View

So this stall (116 Bukit Merah View, #01-253) is Halal. Pretty decent fried rice there. Texture's a little dry, beady and a little chewy. I got their mala plate with braised beef shank which was way better than what I remember of the rendition from King of Fried Rice. There's noticeably more mala flavour going on and because of sufficient saltiness, much more savoury as well. Their smoky chilli paired nicely with this one.  

Joo Chiat Beef Noodle (如切牛腩面), Zion Riverside Food Centre

This bowl of dry tendon kuey teow from Joo Chiat Beef Noodle (#01-28 Zion Riverside Food Centre, 70 Zion Road) was pretty good. I liked that the sauce wasn't overly starchy/gloopy and they were pretty generous with the toppings. The proverbial icing on the cake were the diced tangy sweet pickled mustard you could help yourself with and the chilli that's ripe with the flavour of fermented shrimp.

What might not be apparent from a distance to the stall was that the menu includes pig's stomach/organ soup and there's 红油抄手 as well. Gotta come back again for some of those. 

Tokyo (東京烧), Ayer Rajah Food Centre

I've heard mentions of Tokyo (Stall #58 Ayer Rajah Food Centre, 503 West Coast Drive) for a while and we've finally made our way down. They're one of a few, I think, Chinese bbq seafood stalls at Ayer Rajah Food Centre. Speaking of barbeque, the ventilation system of this food centre could really do with upgrades.

From impressions, their barbequed sambal stingray are a thing to get here. Flavours pretty good but the texture isn't as defined and moist as I had imagined. For fresh barbequed stingray that is. Some parts were a little stiff and others just a little bit mushy. Probably frozen meat. Portions weren't big for $20.

Gong gongs (strombus turturella) were nice. Love the chewiness on the meat. They also had this deep seafood flavour that one can get from mock abalones. The accompanying creamy limey sambal was outstanding.

Nicely done barbecued squids which weren't overly chewy.

These guys also stir fried a mean plate of nai bai and mushrooms. Faint bits of scorching, great garlic flavour and a telling crunch to the vegetables.

McGriddling in 2024

Feels like they've shrunk. I remember McGriddles being somewhat more substantial. I also remember saying this. The hotcake buns appear to be dryer today and I'm not tasting the "maple syrup" much. Didn't get any serviettes for a takeaway. They're operating on the cheap it seems cutting everything they can get away with. It's otherwise a guilty pleasure that gets more expensive by the year.

Revisiting the Ru Ji Kitchen (如記小厨) next door

Another round at the next door from the original Ru Ji Kitchen (如記小厨) for a $5 bak chor mee breakfast. Also just posting a picture for comparison to the last round. Umami, spicy and satisfying bowl.