Sakunthala's Restaurant, Syed Alwi Road

First time eating at this branch (88 Syed Alwi Road, tel : +65 6297 0895) of Sakunthala's. We've previously eaten at their other branches at Race Course Road, Dunlop Street and Safra Mount Faber. Their food so far have been hits and misses for me.

Had their Mysore mutton briyani. Not a fan of their Mysore mutton. The spice paste was spicy and nutty which I liked but the meat was a little hard and stringy. Hard and stringy's a dealbreaker. The rest of the stuff on the plate was decent.

Their onion uttapam was nice. The pancake was lightly browned with a crisp exterior and a toasty aromatic sweetness from the shredded onions. Their chutneys were serviceable but not memorable.

So...back at Suju @ Mandarin Gallery

We found ourselves back at the Mandarin Gallery branch of Suju ( 一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九, 十, 十一, 十二, 十三, 十四, 十五, 十六, 十七, 十八, 十九, 二十, 二十一, 二十二, 二十三).

Miso cream cheese without white corn. Without the distraction from the corn, the miso marination along with the rich creaminess was put into focus. Love this. Love this with the wasabi as well where the sweet sharpness turned out to be a great pairing.

Nasu dengaku - or eggplant topped with their house miso. Nice and that's mostly because of that miso.

Got myself a kanpanchi shioyaki teishoku today.

Delicious fish with moderate oil richness layered with flavour from the browning and salt.

Chicken rice from Food Republic @ Breadtalk IHQ

That's the cheapest $5.50 plate. Not bad tasting. Portion was a little small. The chilli was a little more sweet than it was lime-y.

More spicy kuey teow 白 with vinegar from Authentic Teochew Tradition Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle (潮州传统香菇肉脞面)

Another breakfast at Authentic Teochew Tradition Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle. No more crazy and crazy slow queues because it's not the old guy cooking these days. The Chinese lady running the shop appears competent and responsive.

The question that came to mind was - were they seriously trying to get the old folks around here to eat these thick chunks of dried sole? 🫠

Hong Lim Curry Puff (芳林咖喱角), Alexandra Village Food Centre

Came across this stall (#01-53, Alexandra Village Food Centre, Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1) and was curious because the Hong Lim curry puff stalls that I knew of were Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff and Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff Original. They're apparently the Halal branch of the former. Tried their yam puff. 

Crispy skin's a little bland and the hot yam paste filling were just lightly sweetened hot yam paste. Would prefer the paste to be a little sweeter. It's a decent pastry but also kinda forgettable.

Remembering Zhang Liang Mala Tang (张亮麻辣烫)

Has been a while since we last ate at Zhang Liang Mala Tang. I have over the past couple of years remembered them to be "nice" without actually recalling what exactly it was about them that's nice until I'm eating there. One of the "nice" things, is the generally better quality thin sliced beef.

We got a little greedy and ended up with one xiang guo and a tang.

Broth from their mala tang has a noticeable beefy flavour and was also creamier in comparison with say Gong Yuan Ma La Tang which has a thinner concoction.