Monday, November 04, 2024

Nan Yang Dao (南洋岛), Bugis+

Nan Yang Dao (南洋岛), Bugis+

Visited the branch at Bugis+ (#04-08 Bugis+, 201 Victoria Street). Comparisons are abound.

Nan Yang Dao (南洋岛), ice coffee

Ice coffee was not bad because it was sufficiently thick through the ice. We could taste the evaporated milk in it so it's kopi c. Gotta remember to siew dai it.

Nan Yang Dao (南洋岛), fried penang prawn noodle

We had something on the menu called Penang prawn noodle. We were trying to figure out if this was a dry-ish hae mee tng or was it a soupy Hokkien mee. Turned out to be the latter. Not bad tasting in a pretty decent broth. Prawns had natural meaty texture and were sweet even. Fried lard was a little bitter, not very fragrant and hence, also not the better ones around. That being said, the lard wasn't a deal breaker and I could eat this again.

Nan Yang Dao (南洋岛), petai fried nasi lemak

This was petai fried nasi lemak with fried chicken from the petai series of their menu. We were expecting savoury and this turned out a little sweet. Sweetness that annoyed me. Sweetness that came from the sambal and possibly onions. Who puts onions in fried rice or nasi lemak? Especially these which are neither caramelized nor raw. Even the turmeric infused batter of the fried chicken on the side was sweet. Dislike. 👎🏼

Nan Yang Dao (南洋岛), yam roll

Yam rolls - floury and filled with bits of vegetables. Like some of the fried bread in Indian rojak. I have no idea where this was standing with that Nanyang themed food. Don't know where the yams were because we couldn't taste them. Also don't know why there were carrots. This was largely a filler fritter which was saved by the rojak sauce on the side. Pleasantly surprised with that sauce but that did not vindicate anything with these "yam rolls".

Nan Yang Dao (南洋岛), Bugis+

Sunday, November 03, 2024

Suukee Coffee, Scotts Square

Suukee Coffee, Scotts Square

Been wanting to try Suukee Coffee for a while after reading about their orh nee toasts. Suffice it is to say that their opening hours and location at One North wasn't the most accessible. But it seems that they've sprung up in town (#01-11 Scotts Square, 6 Scotts Road).

Suukee Coffee, orh nee butter toast

I like the one with butter the most because the taste was the cleanest; and also, butter. I liked that the yam paste wasn't overly sweet. That being said, it also didn't have that much flavour; so one can surmise that it wouldn't take much to subdue their flavour into the background. 

Suukee Coffee, orh nee chicken floss toast

The one with chicken floss was not bad tasting too. This was where the orh nee started disappearing into the background because of the chicken floss. I could tell the yam paste was there but the flavour had become something you'd be trying to taste if you know, just to discern its presence.

Suukee Coffee, orh nee salted egg toast

This was the outlet exclusive with salted yolk. And curry leaves and a bit of heat. I couldn't tell the orh nee at this point - it was just something sweet-ish and creamy between the toast with the salted egg sauce. Didn't taste bad but I wouldn't get this if I wanted orh nee toast.

Suukee Coffee, Scotts Square

Liu Lang Mian Noodle Bar (流浪面), Alexandra Central

Liu Lang Mian Noodle Bar (流浪面), Alexandra Central

Been wanting to try Liu Lang Mian (#01-03 Alexandra Central, 321 Alexandra Road) for a while. They do noodles that could conceivably be characterized with ramen-esque attributes. Their style has influences from Japanese and local Chinese food which is represented by their choices of ingredients/toppings. Yeah, it's another one of those. 

Liu Lang Mian Noodle Bar (流浪面), squid ink yakisoba

Here's their monthly special for October. Something they called squid ink yakisoba. Definitely not the yakisoba most of us know. This was more mazesoba.

Liu Lang Mian Noodle Bar (流浪面), squid ink yakisoba

Menu described the cephalopods as octopus tempura - which I find misleading. It's more like ika geso karaage. I'm pretty sure that's squid and not octopus. Stir fried prawns were meaty and kinda tasty. Most of the flavour in the bowl came from the chilli, accented by spring onions and maybe the tobiko. Not tasting any squid ink. Noodle texture reminded me of those squiggly chewy type in Hokkaido ramen.

Liu Lang Mian Noodle Bar (流浪面), Alexandra Central

Saturday, November 02, 2024

Al Mubin Restaurant, Syed Alwi Road

Al Mubin Restaurant, Syed Alwi Road

Local Indian food is tagged with both 'a local signature' and 'indian'. This group union is for the category of food which I recognize/identify as local Indian food, which has transcended for the reasons I won't be deeper diving into, from the way it was prepared back when the Indian migrants brought them here. Recipes and ingredients evolved and hence localized because of accessiblity, creating the local renditions of such dishes. 

This was breakfast at Al Mubin (92 Syed Alwi Road, tel : +65 6970 4700) - local Indian food eatery. Or mamak stall as some people call it. We ate at their branch at Ang Mo Kio previously.

Al Mubin Restaurant, masala tea

Masala tea was light on the spice, milky and and sweet. Perhaps a little sweeter than I like.

Al Mubin Restaurant, honey mushroom prata

Was intrigued by their honey mushroom prata. I know right? As far as local flavours go, this combination was new to me. 

Al Mubin Restaurant, honey mushroom prata

There were a lot more mushrooms than I thought. Which was nice. The sweetness from the "honey" was not commonplace with mushrooms but it turned out not as odd as one might think. Not conventional but they didn't cancel each other out in a blinding flash of light. 😂

Al Mubin Restaurant, poori keema

The menu called these puri but what they had was actually poori. Just not ones that were properly puffy. 😅 I was initially confused with why puri would be served with keema as well. Anyways, the fried bread tasted better than their looks suggested. Keema had pretty fine mince lamb, was creamy with a rich coconut flavour and more mellow spice that I associate with korma than keema which is usually more...in your face. 

Al Mubin Restaurant, Syed Alwi Road

Friday, November 01, 2024

Small White Rabbit Fruit Bowl from Jane Deer

Jane Deer, small white rabbit fruit bowl

I like this more than the Claw Taro Bowl because there're more fruits and none of those chewy ball thingies. Both were otherwise pretty similar tasting.

Santapan Padang by Tina Indulgence, Ubi

Santapan Padang by Tina Indulgence, nasi lemak

Read about Santapan Padang (#01-03 Frontier, 50 Ubi Ave 3) which is run by a Tina Amin, a season 4 runner-up in MasterChef Singapore. They're just next door to Fook Kee Ipoh Famous Claypot Noodle. We were expecting nasi padang but there weren't much dishes to be had so I ended up with nasi lemak. Which was edible. Nothing was particularly outstanding or bad about it. I guess hearing about the stall being helmed by a late stage MasterChef participant raises expectations.

Santapan Padang by Tina Indulgence, Ubi