D'RIM Korean Steak House, Mandarin Gallery

D'RIM (#02-14 Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Road, tel : +65 9660 9964) is run by the same folks that manage Modu - that samgyetang place which everyone has the hots for lately. What's here then? I guess an upscale KBBQ joint would be a pretty accurate description. We ended up here because the queue at Modu was a little crazy and we managed to snag seats here during the pivot.

Something sparkling while waiting for the food.

Were curious about their pricey minari jeon (water dropwort pancake) which featured barley shrimp. One might wonder what's the latter. That was what we were trying to discover. The wait staff thoughtfully positioned this for photos before they scissor-ed up the pancake.

There's a lot more crunch and batter mouthfeel than what we could see from the thin layer of fried batter. Not a complain. This was delicious. Not excessively greasy from the frying.

There's a great salty sweet dip on the side which brought out the flavours of those barley shrimps that tasted much like sakura ebi.

That's the Jeju yukgaejang. Our first yukgaejang.

The broth was beefy, viscous and filled with shredded beef brisket. Instantly reminded us of the moum guk from Jeju Sanghoe. Sliced chilli added a nice layer of heat to it. Those green stuff on the little dish were pickled sea asparagus.

Yukhoe mulhoe bibim naengmyeon - beef tartare salad spicy cold noodle if my interpretation is accurate.

Is gochujang slushie even a thing?

Awesome-est cold noodle I've had. All of it was chilled all the way till the end. Imagine an icy broth with a fruity sweetness coupled with a respectable tangy heat. All that paired with loads of textures and subtle flavour layering collectively from the cold firm noodles, minced beef, julienned pears and vegetables. Very nice! 👍🏼

We were given some complimentary refresher shots at the end. Think it was some plum tea/juice thingy.

Saravanaa Bhavan, Centrium Square

 

I last ate at Saravanaa Bhavan some years ago. Their previous location as I recall included a stall at the food court at Westgate and a restaurant at Syed Alwi. They seemed to have disappeared for a bit and have reemerged at their current location in a relatively new mall (Centrium Square, 320 Serangoon Road, tel : +65 6957 7184).

Pretty good medhu vada. Crisp crusty skin and pillowy inside flavoured with black peppercorns and cumin.

Guess what's this sev covered chaat?

Dahi papdi sans coriander. There's slices of potatoes in it.

Pongal was listed as pongal in their menu but printed as ghee pongal in the receipt. I don't know which was it. The ghee flavour was a little weak - no match for the one at A2B Veg Restaurant.

Benne cheese masala dosa. I found out moments before I ordered that a benne dosa is one made with butter. Dosa was served with a chunk of that melting over.

Awesome. Mozzarella cheese as well.

The masala tea here tasted different. Don't know specifically what was it that I'm tasting but I think it's the tea. Not sure how I feel about it.

Tasty Corner, Verdun Road

Noticed Tasty Corner (24 Verdun Road, tel : +65 8054 1998) some months ago when we were in the vicinity.

We were curious about their supposed banana leaf wrapped kili prata from the picture in their IG. Deliberate misrepresentation of products should be made an offence methinks. 😐

The actual product was wrapped in aluminium foil. When we asked about the banana leaf, the proprietress disappeared into the kitchen awkwardly and returned shortly, mumbling some excuse about not being able to serve them in banana leaf.

That aside, it's pretty tasty. Even though it's really just a two kosong banjir with curry chicken and egg.

The other special they had was their coin cheese prawn prata. From the picture, I was scratching my head over how the cheese or the prawns would come about.

Actual product. Looked like canapé. Appetiser portions. Prawns were pretty meaty, cheese toasty and those coin pratas were unexpectedly sweetened. Not bad tasting.

Pesarattu dosai. Made with mung bean flour. I like the one at Kalam Restaurant better. My guard has been lowered in recent times and I've started forgetting to remind about omitting coriander. This was filled with surprise coriander. Lots of it! 😢

Masala tea's pretty balanced, including a sweetness that was pleasant and not excessive in my opinion. Didn't have a strong hit of the spices but it was a nicely done cup of chai.

This year's creamy mushroom triple cheeseburger from McD

Unlike the one from last year which had a peppery sauce, this year's rendition had a spicy sauce. Still puny. Still think half of what they're charging would be fair. But I enjoyed it. 😬

Takagi Ramen, Redhill

Takagi Ramen has been around for about a decade. 24 hour ramen shop with a Japanese-y name but they're local. They first sprung up after a site which shares the same initials was taken down 10 years ago...for reasons. 😏 Over the years, I've heard mentions of them which have been a mixed bag of opinions. Was never curious until recently. Anyways, this one was the branch at Redhill (#01-11 ARTRA, 12 Alexandra View).

That's the tantanmen. 担担面 inspired obviously. It's not bad. It's edible. 🌶️ The sweet spicy nuttiness was unmistakeable. But it's also not great. Broth would benefit with better flavouring. They're obviously not seeped deep enough in ramen culture to even provide a noodle doneness option. Would have been nice if the noodles were firmer. Eating here reminded me what I'm paying for going to shops like Keisuke, Brothers Ramen and...maybe not Ippudo. Ippudo is just expensive.

The lower cost here is commensurated by the quality. They are available all hours for a quick fix though.

Kaedama is free apparently. It's something I normally don't do but I guess I was hungry enough to today. The cake of noodles held its form in entirety as I stabbed my chopsticks into it to move them into the broth. 😲

The marking on the box and the yellow sign was sending mixed signals. Ramen soup in a box?! Noodles aside, room for improvement could definitely include more conscientiousness with the cleanliness of the shop. Seriously. 

L’Senna Bakery Cafe, Jalan Bukit Merah

Came across L’Senna Bakery Cafe (#01-1526, 133 Jalan Bukit Merah, tel : +65 8897 2639) by chance in this sleepy part of the island. What caught our eye was their setup with a sit in space and coffee on the menu. And they're a local-ish old school-ish kind of bakery. With a few bakes that the local old school bakeries don't have.

Like this nut cheese bread studded with pumpkin seeds, walnut bits, cranberries and raisins.

Fruits & nuts only on the outside. Cream inside. Bread's dry-ish and soft. Couldn't make out what's that cream because it didn't taste like whipped cream or cream cheese.

Translation's funny but it's a piece of fried chicken with cheese in between the bread. And more toasted cheese outside. What the name didn't mention was meat floss which was also inside. Don't know if the floss was chicken or pork.