Lee Shan (李汕), Bukit Merah View Hawker Centre

Decent economic bee hoon from Lee Shan (#01-82 Bukit Merah View Hawker Centre, 115 Bukit Merah View). It didn't look like much but I guess it tasted better than it looked. Serviceable is the appropriate adjective here. Chilli's kinda generically sweet and spicy - didn't find myself swayed much towards the ends of the like/dislike spectrum. Luncheon meat's not great here as well but we'll have a good luncheon meat soon so stay tuned. The stall also sells radish cake but we didn't get any of those. 

Refreshing the experience at Smiths Fish & Chips

Been a while since the last Smiths.

Ciders first and last.

This was new from their menu - or at least it was new to us; a giant Yorkshire pudding with caramelized onions and brown sauce. Not bad tasting. Onions were sweet and the sauce was savoury. I have a particular...idiosyncrasy if you would, of comparing Yorkshire puddings we have had to the ones at Lawry's. Because I feel they are a standard to be benchmarked against. Smiths' rendition is less greasy/buttery. Not bad tasting as a whole with the toppings but comparing pastry alone, Lawry's still takes the cake with it. 

Lamb doner kebab with cheesy chips. Got this because I liked the pita version from the last time. Unhealthily delicious with probably a little too much salt and loads of nice lamb-y flavour in reconstituted meat. Cheesy chips were cheesy chips and I liked those.

Tried a Welsh rissole for the first time. Looked inconspicuous.

I reckon it can be regarded as an English begedil. Mashed potatoes, corned beef and onions that's breaded and deep fried. Not bad.

Ichijiku raimu soba from Healthy Soba IKI

The current seasonal bowl from Healthy Soba IKI (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九, 十, 十一, 十二, 十三, 十四, 十五, 十六, 十七, 十八, 十九, 二十) is ichijiku raimu soba - fig and lime soba. I ordered mine with a side of their mini ikura don and it looked like a tray of jewels. 

Figs were very tender with a honeyed sweetness, juxtaposed onto a refreshing lime infused umami broth. Nicely textured noodles as usual. This time round, also peppered with toasted buckwheat for crunch and aroma. 

I don't remember the ikura don option before this outpost at 100AM. Glad that they did it. Loads of briny ikura with a smidgeon of grated wasabi. Nice.

Queenstown Lontong, Margaret Drive Hawker Centre

Haven't had Queenstown Lontong since they moved to their current location at Margaret Drive Hawker Centre (#01-27 Margaret Drive Hawker Centre, 38A Margaret Drive). While I was tempted to fall back onto their lontong, nasi lemak and soto ayam which I've enjoyed in the past, I was also curious about the mee rebus which I've heard about. Gravy was creamy sweet, spicy and nutty with viscosity that gave way a bit after a while. I like that gravy but I'm not smitten by the mee rebus as a whole.

No paru at the stall today so chicken wings - these wings were cold and generally not as nice as I remember them.

Mushroom minced meat noodle from Ding Ji (鼎记)

Decent but not outstanding bak chor mee from Ding Ji at Jalan Membina. I remember liking their sambal from the last time and also from the visit at Ang Mo Kio. Today's bowl definitely did not taste like those times. Pity. Now I know these guys can be inconsistent.

Il Clay Supper Club, Clarke Quay

Mixed feelings about Il Clay (#01-04 Clarke Quay, 3D River Valley Road). Food's pretty good but portion can be pretty small. Service was spotty. While the restaurant was generally polite and obliging, one of them attempted to pull wool over us by not checking on an order we were inquiring and giving us a reply without ever consulting with his colleagues that were processing it. He shambled one round around the bar and came back with an answer provided by a voice in his head. He thought we did not notice. 

That was a deliberate lie by the wait staff of Il Clay. Not to mention that said staff has a reaction speed of someone high on something. Didn't think it was worth the effort to pursue. I didn't think the restaurant cared much since they hired him in the first place.

Smoked eel and scallops were delicious. Love the olives. Dill looked more like decoration rather than an actual flavouring ingredient. Portion was small.

This burnt cabbage thing was delicious. Steaming hot delicious that involved a nicely done pairing of that chilli jam and whipped feta cream. The menu mentioned truffle oil, ham and something call pistachio crush - I didn't know where were all those things. Bad - very bad form for a restaurant to claim, charge for it and not provide.

Waited pretty long for our pasta. The restaurant looked like it had a lot of people working and wasn't filled up entirely. For some reasons, there was simply a lot of waiting and it wasn't exactly easy to get the attention of the staff.

The oyster reginette (or also known as mafaldine) was outstanding. The sauce was creamy, sour, spicy and garlicky with spikes of heat from.... chilli padi I suppose. Oysters were delicious. 

I thought well in general of their duck confit cannelloni. Looked long and slender like a stalk of asparagus that's filled with the minced confit. Love the Gorgonzola sauce where the flavours from the spots of squid ink surprisingly came through. What I also thought was that double of this "primi piatti" portion of cannelloni should have been more reasonable for what they were charging. 

Pizzas looked intriguing but I don't think I'm prepared to pay their prices. Don't think we will be back in any case since we weren't getting much of the positive vibes. There are surely other better places to spend money on food.