Ah Er Soup (阿2煲靓汤), Food Republic @ Wisma Atria

I was initially drawn to Ah Er Soup at Food Republic (Level 4 Wisma Atria, 435 Orchard Road) by their olive rice. I didn't like it. Too little salt and there wasn't so much flavour coming from the olive leaves so it needed the soup and their lime-y chilli.

But I enjoyed the peppery pork tripe soup. It was thick with flavour from whatever they had put in the pot. Both the tripe and gingko nuts had simmered to the point of tenderness. Will come back for the soup, not the olive rice.

Tanglin Halt Roti Prata & Nasi Briyani, Tanglin Halt Road

This stall (#01-365, 49 Tanglin Halt Road) looked like it's been around but I've only noticed them sometime late last year when I was in the vicinity. They open early (6 or 6-ish in the morning) and are done by mid afternoon. Service is prata in the morning and then rice with curry and dishes in the afternoon. I think they have nasi briyani on Fridays and/or weekends for lunch as well. The queue can get pretty long here so I guess that speaks for itself. 

I like their egg prata. Light crisp on the exterior and a tender chewiness inside. I got a couple of pieces of unidentified soft chewy mutton bits in my dalcha today. :) 

Every, Havelock Road

Every (#01-03 Isetan Office Building, 593 Havelock Road, tel : +65 6732 8866) is a konbini - or convenience stall. With an attached cafe.

They're located at the ground floor of the Isetan Office Building just next door to Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh.

We came by for lunch and had their keema curry rice. Curry was a little bit sweet but altogether enjoyable. The mince meat they used was beef and you could taste it.

There's mentaiko pasta too which was creamy and buttery. Not the most mentaiko-y we've had though. Still enjoyed it. 

Not a fan of their beef & chips though. Those nuggets of tenderloin weren't nicely charred and there was too much of their sweet barbeque sauce for me.

Picked up some spring munchies since we were here.

Ponggol Nasi Lemak, Capitol Piazza

Ponggol Nasi Lemak is a local institution. They have been around just before John Lennon passed on and like a number of other local brands from that era, have updated their business and branched out. From what I gather, they are still well received. Me? I've never tried their nasi lemak until now. This was from their new outlet at Capitol Piazza (B1-36/36A, 13 Stamford Road).

This is where I slip into retrospect. I liked it more than I thought I would. To disclaim, I didn't visit with high expectations. I liked that there was sufficient flavour in their rice. Texture wasn't brought down by excessive moisture or dryness. I thought their sambal struck a good balance of (onion-y?) sweet and savoury for me amidst the mild heat but your mileage may vary. Deep fried chicken wings were delicious. They must be a signature of theirs. Loved the savoury dry crisp on the shell without excessive residual grease.

I added hae bi hiam. Those were a little crisp, unlike the softer flossier renditions that are more common. Found their ikan bilis with sugar very agreeable and the peanuts were nicely toasted. I'd be happy to come back.

Chapter 55, Tiong Bahru Road

I've been to Chapter 55 (#01-37, 55 Tiong Bahru Road, tel : +65 6221 2219) a few of times before and I did enjoy some of their food - hence worth a mention. The menu seemed to have changed recently though. 

Chapter 55 has their rendition of spaghetti vongole - one which is pretty garlicky with a bit of heat from the chilli. This version in my opinion has little focus on the quality of the olive oil or the clams. It's an unapologetically localized garlic and chilli rendition which I thought was quite nice.

Their pizza wasn't particularly Italian and definitely not Neapolitan. There's a thin crispy crust, not so airy and has a texture similar to crackers. Interestingly, there's one with duck and lychee for topping. Can't say I didn't enjoy this. 

Margaret Drive Chicken Rice, Havelock Road Food Centre

I saw this stall (#01-22, Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre, 22A/B Havelock Road) open in the recent weeks and was initially wondering if it was another one of those that might have been taking advantage of an old branding to sell chicken rice. Tried it and I'm happy to discover that these guys tasted very much like how Sin Kee did. The chicken was the same slurp off the bone tender type and the rice was good enough on its own. The only difference was the chilli sauce. This one was noticeably more lime-y. Which I liked too.

After checking with the proprietor, they were under the same management as the shop at Holland Drive and...*Lars Ulrich drumroll*....who also happened to be the same people who are managing Hua Kee at Redhill! Dots just connected. The stall's open from 10am till 4pm or until they're sold out.