Saturday, April 21, 2012

Back in Kushigin

Kushigin

Kushigin has always been pretty respectable for kushiyaki. The experience here has always been along the lines of 'not bad' rather than 'wow!'. Unlike Kazu which just does a better grill and has a larger variety on a menu that seems more interesting. Food at Kazu also tastes like it's a little bit more on the edge and they give the feel that they're a couple of steps up ahead of Kushigin. That applies even to the bill you're expected to pay at the end.

This place as I perceive it, has always been second fiddle. Little brother to the best. Which reminds me, it's been more than 2 years since I've visited big brother. Time to make plans soon.

Kushigin, otoshi
otoshi

Kushigin, cuttlefish tentacles
deep fried cuttlefish legs

Kushigin, asparagus pork belly
pork wrapped asparagus

Kushigin, kurobuta shimeiji
kurobuta wrapped shimeiji

Kushigin, ankimo
ankimo

Kushigin, reba
chicken livers

Kushigin, bacon oysters
bacon wrapped oysters

Kushigin, mentaiko cabbage
cabbages stir fried with mentaiko

Kushigin, yakitori
chicken skin and chicken gizzard 

 Kushigin, wagyu 
grilled wagyu

Friday, April 20, 2012

Crispy chicken breakfast from McD

McDonald's, crispy chicken breakfast

This wasn't half as bad as I had thought, being a mass produced breakfast and all. There seemed to be a lot more of the liquid scrambled egg and this breakfast packed a lot more carbs with both muffins and hotcakes. The crispy chicken was unexpectedly juicy and didn't have an overly thick batter which would have really killed it. I guess if I ever had to choose between this and their Big Breakfast, this would definitely be it.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Gerry's Grill, Cuppage Road


Get a load of those murals of aromatic char, scorched along the sides of the squid. These alone made it worth the wait at Gerry's Grill (Ground floor, StarHub Centre, 51 Cuppage Road, tel : +65 8348 7431). Dare I say that Gerry's here has one of the bigger and better tasting grilled squids in town. It's actually kind of sad for this country that attempts to compete for best aviation services and seaport logistics, while claiming to be first world and yet, created an socioeconomic climate where a affordable and delicious grill squid is a rarity. No need to go figure.

I would come back just to have these mouthfuls of sweet, char grilled and chewy goodness.


Their garlic rice was pretty decent. The flavors of the spice was not over the top and the rice was both light and moist.


Gerry's grilled pork belly was another one of those that shouldn't be passed up on. This was the porky and soy savory take of offerings from their char grills. The meat texture was hearty, doused with smokey flavors and fat on the belly that was slightly chewy. Nothing of those melt in your mouth nonsense here to be found in their down to earth grills.


Yes, these chicharron (deep fried pork rinds) were very good indeed. For something that was deep fried, it certainly tasted neither overly greasy nor heavy even without the vinegar dips. Each mouthful was full of crisp and fragrant porkiness. Needless to say, these would make excellent bar food.


As much as I like San Miguel Light for a light thirst quenching make believe that helps to wash off all that excess cholesterol, the green mango shake here was really a much better option. It was certainly also sweeter than the one at 7107, a place which also charged a lot more for food.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Lau Dai Hua Minced Pork Noodles, Food Opera @ ION Orchard

Lau Dai Hua Minced Pork Noodles, Food Opera @ ION Orchard

I wonder if this has any relations with Tai Hwa down at Crawford Lane. The names sound almost alike and the noodles that both stalls used are remarkably similar in appearances. But then again, Tai Hwa still does claim that they do not have any other branches, don't they?

I think latter place has better texture for the noodles and there was vinegar going on where this one simply presented vinegar as an option you could help yourself with. This bowl wasn't cheap as ba chor mee goes, but it tasted pretty good and the larger sized orders are pretty generous. I liked the bits of dried sole they added to the wantons. And yes, soup with bits of minced meat on the side that I actually do bother to drink.