Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Pistachio kunafa tiramisu from Sugar Mama Lah

Sugar Mama Lah, pistachio kunafa tiramisu

Heard about the pistachio kunafa tiramisu from Sugar Mama Lah (Curbside Crafter, 730 North Bridge Road) and was curious if they were good.

Sugar Mama Lah, pistachio kunafa tiramisu

Tasted kinda hollow. Flavour reminded me of hazelnut chocolate and there doesn't appear to be enough or any mascarpone in it. Also a little dry-ish. Now I know.

Sugar Mama Lah, Curbside Crafter, North Bridge Road

The one with the peanut sauce from No Ordinary Chicken

No Ordinary Chicken, peanut sauce

This was the peanut sauce topping at No Ordinary Chicken. Tasted exactly like satay sauce. Mildly spicy, and I mean really mild, some sweetness and pretty nutty. If they could find a way to keep the both the bird and the rice moist, it could have been pretty good. I prefer the shallot one from the last time.

Monday, April 28, 2025

Tori Sanwa (鶏三和), Great World

Tori Sanwa (鶏三和), Great World

This Tori Sanwa experience (B1-K117 Great World, 1 Kim Seng Promenade, tel : +65 6219 1271) was a better one than the previous one at Raffles City. I don't normally do this but, kudos to the Chinese lady working there who exemplified good service attitude in spite of being swarmed. 👍🏼 That's over and above the bespectacled middle aged looking Chinese dude who behaved like he doesn't deserve a job there. 👎🏼

Tori Sanwa (鶏三和), yakitori

Chicken yakitori's actually pretty tasty. Meat was well grilled with some burnt ends and moist. Nicer than the ones from the neighbour that mostly sells yakitori. 😂

Tori Sanwa (鶏三和), mentaiko oyako don

Wanted to try this...the oyakodon with mentaiko. Love the flavour infusion from the mentaiko into the bowl.

Tori Sanwa (鶏三和), scotch egg teishoku

The other thing I was curious about were their Scotch eggs. It's obviously not the English variety and is wrapped in minced chicken. The surface was browned with a bit of chewiness and glazed with a savoury sweet tare. Not bad.

Tori Sanwa (鶏三和), pudding

Pudding's not fantastic. Custard's not eggy.

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Mahmud's Tandoor, Kandahar Street

Mahmud's Tandoor, Kandahar Street

I've been wanting to try the tandoori chicken burger from Mahmud's Tandoor (20 Kandahar Street, tel : +65 8849 9182).

Mahmud's Tandoor, og tandoori burger

Their tandoori chicken doesn't come from a tandoor. Would have been awesome if they were. These were oven baked.

Mahmud's Tandoor, og tandoori burger

Buns were really soft. Flavour profile with the mint/coriander yoghurt and sliced onions made it pretty classic tasting. Fries were decent but I'm not big on the masala powder.

Mahmud's Tandoor, og tandoori burger

Chicken's tender. All thigh meat. Nice flavour though it doesn't have the smokiness that would have been inherent if it had been cooked in an actual clay oven. No qualms coming back again though.

Mahmud's Tandoor, chai peng slush

Not a fan of their chai peng slush. There's an oddish vanilla flavour flavour to the tea that tasted extra artificial.

Mahmud's Tandoor, Kandahar Street
Mahmud's Tandoor, Kandahar Street

Saturday, April 26, 2025

D'RIM Korean Steak House, Mandarin Gallery

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.

D'RIM Korean Steak House, sparkling water lemon

Something sparkling while waiting for the food.

D'RIM Korean Steak House, minari jeon

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.

D'RIM Korean Steak House, minari jeon

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.

D'RIM Korean Steak House, minari jeon dip

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.

D'RIM Korean Steak House, jeju yukgaejang

That's the Jeju yukgaejang. Our first yukgaejang.

D'RIM Korean Steak House, jeju 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.

D'RIM Korean Steak House, yukhoe mulhoe bibim naengmyeon

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

D'RIM Korean Steak House, yukhoe mulhoe bibim naengmyeon

Is gochujang slushie even a thing?

D'RIM Korean Steak House, yukhoe mulhoe bibim naengmyeon

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! 👍🏼

D'RIM Korean Steak House, refresher shot

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

D'RIM Korean Steak House, Mandarin Gallery
D'RIM Korean Steak House, Mandarin Gallery

Friday, April 25, 2025

Saravanaa Bhavan, Centrium Square

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).

Saravanaa Bhavan, medhu vada

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

Saravanaa Bhavan, dahi papdi chaat

Guess what's this sev covered chaat?

Saravanaa Bhavan, dahi papdi chaat

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

Saravanaa Bhavan, pongal

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.

Saravanaa Bhavan, benne cheese masala dosa

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.

Saravanaa Bhavan, benne cheese masala dosa

Awesome. Mozzarella cheese as well.

Saravanaa Bhavan, masala tea

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.

Saravanaa Bhavan, Centrium Square