Mensho Tokyo, Raffles City

Finally got around to Mensho Tokyo (#03-43 Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, tel  : +65 8380 8467). I was initially excited about them opening up because of the lamb ramen I've read about in Tokyo but apparently they aren't doing any of that here.

Got some stuff from their menu which sounded like they were worth trying. Like their A5 Miyazaki wagyu caviar sushi which was actually pretty good.

Aji fry has a solid crispy breading and good quality fish beneath.

Not a fan of their signature tori paitan bowl. I've had a few tori paitan before and this tasted like none of it. This was heavier, grittier and had more going on than the other renditions like say Brothers Ramen or Marutama which I prefer. I also thought I tasted something like mushrooms and detected a sweetness that bothered me a little. Don't think I'll get it again. 

The matcha duck bowl was another thing though. It looked and smelled a little like matcha latte. I have been looking forward to this since reading about it.

I love how the matcha was present in the broth without overpowering the savouriness of the base broth. Love the meatiness in the smooth thin slices of duck. Loved the vegetal sweetness from the torched chunks of negi. Thick curly noodles were nice and chewy. Those were what I enjoyed about this bowl.

Here's evidence of how much we liked it. Will come back for this.

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.