福记怡保特制全面蛋 (Fook Kee Ipoh Famous Claypot Noodle), Ubi

I'm not sure which is the correct name from of this stall. The sign says 福记怡保特制全面蛋 while the online reference is 福记怡保驰名煲仔面 or Fook Kee Ipoh Famous Claypot Noodle (#01-03 Frontier, 50 Ubi Ave 3, tel : +65 9054 9303). Beneath the cake of fried crispy noodle (is this sang meen or ee meen?) in the claypot were minced pork nuggets, slice chicken, cabbage, some bean curd products and an egg. And also a couple of prawn paste balls (虾滑) I topped up.

I'm usually not big on hot soupy stuff in the blazing afternoon but I enjoyed this. The combination of light savoury sweetness in the broth was pleasant together with the flavour/texture of these toasty noodles. Spiking with their sliced chilli definitely upped the flavour ante. Those added on prawn paste balls were kinda pricey and puny but their quality was good.

The real bom prata from Prata Saga Sambal Berlada?

The bom prata / prata bomb I got today was made in the usual looking form compared to the previous one they gave me which looked like a regular prata, innit? It's salty and greasy from the margarine and sweet from the condense milk. Wondering how many people out there actually eat this with fish curry? 🙃

Mee kia from (大勝) Da Sheng Minced Pork Noodle

Got a bowl with mee kia with extra fried lard this time from Da Sheng Minced Pork Noodle. Not bad too. Noodles were eggy and the sauce clung well to them without getting soggy.

Cheese dakgalbi from Bigmama Korean Restaurant

Thanks to Netflix, we've gotten ourselves a "craving" for dakgalbi recently. Why "craving"? Because we've never had one before and this was our first. Bigmama Korean Restaurant which we hadn't looked at for a while had the honour.

We ordered a portion for two with double cheese. Sauce was sweet but not excessively so and a little nutty with a bit of heat. I recall strips of sweet potato, tteokbokki and cabbage accompanied the chunks of boneless chicken thighs. Not bad. Also glad that we didn't decide beforehand to also get the kimchi fried rice that would be stir fried in it because we were already stuffed by the time we were done with this.

Got some hot omija & yuja tea to wash the dakgalbi down. Tasted a little diluted initially and as we drank more, discovered that they were surprisingly astringent. In other news, banchan today was exactly the same as the ones we had the last time. That jelly I couldn't identify previously? I'm guessing that they could be either made with mung beans (nokdumuk) or acorn (dotorimuk). The japchae and bland boiled spinach were actually great add ons to the dakgalbi.

Rice King (饭王), Food Republic @ Breadtalk IHQ

饭王 (Food Republic, #01-06/07/08 BreadTalk IHQ, 30 Tai Seng Street) has taken over the unit that used to be occupied by Ah Yen Traditional Fried Pork. Appears to be Taiwanese (inspired). I was recommended to try the rice set with pork belly and it turned out to be a good one. The savoury and slightly sweet braising sauce infused their flavour into the tender belly which had fat that pretty much melted in the mouth. The set included small dishes of tomato scrambled egg (番茄蛋) and stewed cabbage. The tau kwa and egg were added on. I liked this. Might come back again for it.

Allora Ristorante & Bar, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport

 

This was our first time eating at Crowne Plaza at Changi Airport. The hotel and their food has never piqued our interest previously but Allora Ristorante & Bar (Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Changi Airport Terminal 3, 75 Airport Boulevard) has caught our attention recently.

Rosemary and black olive flavoured tonic water was actually pleasant. Then again, YMMV.

Their peach tea was odd. Tasted of jasmine and apple and there was too much syrupy sweetness. Pretty sure there was no beverage on the menu that had jasmine and apple.

Bread's forgettable but the tomato dip was chilled and refreshing.

This was their pizza tartare - a pizza bianca topped with Mozzarella, Castelmagno, Australia Angus beef tenderloin tartare and baby sprouts.

The tartare's not bad. Tasted like a milder rendition of French tartare de boeuf. Could taste capers. As a whole, the pizza was delicious with the combination of savoury cheeses, especially so for the toasty bits. The sprouts I suppose, was a green vegetal foil to the rest of the flavours. We liked this pizza.

The bruschetta mantecato which featured cod whipped in olive oil and flavoured with whole grain mustard came after the pizza. Had expected this to come first since it was bruschetta. This one not bad tasting.

Their lobster squid ink tagliolini sounded good and wasn't expensive for a lobster pasta. The menu even mention that it has "bisque".

Flavour from the sauce was mostly tomato with a hint of seafood; definitely not bisque as we imagined. I wouldn't even use the word 'crustacean' or 'seafood-y' to describe the flavour. It didn't taste bad though and the texture of their handmade black ink noodles was nice. What wasn't was the lobster. Size of the meat was a third of the tail and was a little mushy. The claw also had little meat.

So in retrospect, this was kinda expensive.

Their rendition of tiramisu was named Alloramisu. Tacky if you asked me. Savoiardi is homemade apparently. They wait staff trolly-ed out the ingredients and assembled it tableside, layering the coffee gel, mascarpone in cream canister and the biscuit that was drizzled with espresso before the topping of cocoa powder and flakes.

My thoughts? This was weak. Coffee gel's weak. Mascarpone's airy and weak. We could still get the crunch from the biscuit so it was obvious that the quantity of espresso was sorely lacking. It's a bit of flair and little substance.