Some SG60 mazesobas from Menya Kokoro @ 100AM

Been a while since we ate at Menya Kokoro (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九. 十, 十一, 十二). We came over to check out a couple of their mazesoba they whipped up for SG60.

Was pleasantly surprised by their mapo tofu mazesoba. The umami gravy packed a bit of heat - more than what I imagined though not nearly the level 3 at Torasho Ramen & Charcoal Bar. I'd eat this again.

Unexpectedly, the bak kut teh mazesoba tasted like bak chor mee. Kinda. I've mixed feelings over this one. 

The ingredients that "made" this a bak kut teh mazesoba fell short. Pork rib was dry-ish and not exactly flavourful (the dark soy sauce helped). You tiao was dry and hard. Soup on the side was savoury and garlicky but not exactly bak kut teh. 

On the bright side, the noodles did not taste bad at all. Together with the minced meat sauce, mashed garlic, spring onion, nori and egg - it was actually pretty good. But that's just mazesoba. Much like what they normally do. Nothing bak kut teh about it.

The Food Place by Food Republic, Raffles City

The Food Place (#03-15/16/17 Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road) is another swanky food court venture by Food Republic. They've gotten a few brand names, both local and foreign, to set up a collection of eateries.

Tried the Indonesian nasi padang. Think their name is Padang Padang. Not bad tasting dishes here but kinda pricey at $15.60 for this plate. Got some sambal mussels, scrambled eggs, an arguably tender beef rendang and sayur lodeh. I don't mind coming back to this one for their variety.

This plate from Kam's Roast Express costed even more at $17.10. Char siew, siu yok and goose liver sausage. The latter was delicious with flavour from both the liver and what might be shao xing. But those few bite sized slices of goose liver sausage costed $4+. 😓 The roast meants here were decent but also do not taste similar in flavour or quantity compared to Kam's we previously ate in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Re-visiting Cheng Ji (成记)

Back at Cheng Ji. Been a while since the last time.

Their steamed fish head in fermented bean sauce is their mainstay dish. I used to think that it was a lot of fish body for steamed fish head. It seems like we're getting even more body these days. Not complaining.

Their prawn paste mid wings appeared a little shrunken. Flavour from the prawn paste was also a little weak -  while they weren't bad tasting mid wings, these also weren't in the same leagues as the ones from Sin Hoi Sai as prawn paste chicken went.

We discovered this stir fried prawn and brinjal the last time. The sauce is oil rich, robust with prawn paste and the toasty umami of dried sole. I think those were it. Great flavouring that's a rice thief.

First time trying their hong shao dou fu (红烧豆腐). Not bad tasting. There're thick strips of roasted pork belly in it.

Sambal from their cuttlefish kang kong was delicious. Will come back for this again.

As we go on at Umar Ali Cafe

Part 4 of the compilation of eats from Umar Ali Cafe. Probably the last one for a very long time. ABC has opened up another branch at the old premise of Kheng Nam Lee Teochew Porridge.

Mee hoon goreng mutton. Pretty tasty. Love the sunny side up.

The mutton came in little bits. Not keema but diced bits. 

Samosa. Skin reminded me of epok epok/curry puff.

In retrospect, with the skin and the curried potato fillings, it's pretty much a pyramid shaped curry puff.

Their chicken malai tikka was smoky, salty and piping hot. If anyone's wondering, the chicken's marinated in cream/yoghurt and spices before getting onto the grill. Not bad tasting with the lime and onions cutting through the creamy saltiness.

A few days later......

Egg briyani. Briyani was kinda disappointing. Flavour was thin, unlike the robust savouriness from the rendition at Anjappar.

Mutton keema masala's actually delicious but I'm never getting it again because of all the chopped up bits of coriander. Too bad for me because I liked their creamy nutty masala.

Maggi goreng also pretty good. Default is non-merah. Today's fried egg has crusty edges unlike the previous time so now I know the type of egg we get is...a game of chance depending on who's frying them.

An undefined number of weeks later......

They introduced idli on the menu. Available only for breakfast so we came by to try. These were small and a little bit..."rubbery". Fermented rice flour flavour there at least.

Bananas for the banana appam apparently uses what's available, not a specific type. Bananas we got this time weren't the same as the ones from the last time. These paler yellow variety, whichever they may be, had a more flat flavour. Felt a little déjà vu-ish of the banana prata experience at Ya-Mahyuddin Al-Jailani.

A few months later......

Nasi goreng merah mutton keema like what we've had previously. This one was just so moreish.

Tried their double egg chilli prata. Basically a rendition of their double egg with slice chilli padi sparingly scattered in. These packed pretty substantial heat. 🔥

Our SG60 lunch at Wolfgang's Steakhouse

This happened on National Day......SG60 is a good reason as any to celebrate with a nice lunch at Wolfgang's Steakhouse.

Got ourselves shrimp cocktail again. Big assed and meaty.

The Taste of New York set for lunch included their dry aged sirloin with creamed spinach, mashed potatoes and cheesecake. Meat's not bad. Mashed potatoes were addictive and that creamed spinach was another kind of delicious. Loads of actual spinach flavour in all that butter (or cream?). I liked that their cheesecake was frills free and unloaded with all the extras that many cafes/restaurants tend to include to make up for their inadequacy.

Highlight of the lunch was Wolfgang's beef kut teh. Made for SG60 obviously, this was a rendition of bak kut teh that was made with USDA Prime Black Angus short rib. Only for August they said. Broth was beefy, garlicky and a little herbal. Not a bad remake of the original if I might say so. That 500g short rib was tender, meaty and substantial. The kitchen even offered chilli padi as option with the dark soya sauce. 

Too bad about the coconut ice cream. Did not like it.

Recently at Zhong Pin Noodle House (众品麵萬家)

Same bowl as the last time without char siew except that I did it today with sliced red chilli. I think it's as good in its own way - had a burn which the pickled green ones doesn't. Their fried lard (猪油渣) was just not great so it's as well that I didn't ask for extras today.