Archive

Monthly Archives: June 2013

Stew Küche @Bukit Merah Lane (Singapore)

@Alexandra, @Singapore, German, German Pork Knuckle

Leave a comment

Knuckles!

When stopping over on the way back from Sentosa for ‘De Burg‘ burgers we decided to also try out the german stall in the corner to see what their skills were on german rotisserie. Being all hungry we ordered the large ‘Pork Knuckle‘ which was 1.6 kg bone in.

When a friend brought it over it looked a bit weird, all crisped up like on the picture. This might have been caused by quick frying the knuckle after roasting it to make it extremely crispy and less chewy to eat. The meat was very nice and tender and the skin was roasted til super crisp and therefore actually wasn’t that greasy. I would have liked it a tad more greasy for once but this was good; so good I even used some of the crackling to pimp my ‘Singhjector‘. What I found best about this dish was the gravy which was meaty, dark rich and savory and fantastically had cumin in it which reminded me of the style you get in Munich, lovely. The sides though were not really anything to be crazy about – the roast/mashed potatoes were okay but there was a weird tangy cucumber veggie dish as well which reminded me more of the stuff you get aside ‘Nasi Biryani‘.

Summarized, this was actually quite nice and compared to all the german restaurants, I have been to here and that are offering the same dish, it was also a bargain at around $25 for the huge portion. I loved the meat, I loved the cumin and will definitely come back here once I crave the knuckles again.

Stew Küche
119 Bukit Merah Lane
#01-40
Singapore 151119
Tel: +65 6276 6445

De Burg @Bukit Merah (Singapore)

@Alexandra, @Singapore, Burger, Western/International/American

Leave a comment

Porky Pork with Porkish Pork

After a nice sunny day at the beach we were craving some juicy burgers from and made a little detour ‘De Burg’ in Bukit Merah before heading home. Business was already going well which pushed the waiting time up to thirty minutes but being in Asia for some time now I don’t really mind waiting if it’s for some great grub.

I ordered the ‘Singhjector‘ which was next in line of my to try burgers even that it was quite difficult for me not to have their fantastic ‘Choco Lamb‘ burger again. The ‘Singhjector‘ truly was pork galore with a super juicy and well seasoned pork patty, some wonderful crispy and salty Canadian bacon and Iberico chorizo which I couldn’t really work out from all the other ingredients. The smoky cheese and the sweet bbq sauce gave it all a nice finish and the only thing I missed was maybe a little bit of lettuce. At the same time my friend had ordered a ‘Pork Knuckle‘ from neighboring ‘Stew Küche‘ – from which I took some crackling and slipped it into my burger. The birth of the ‘Singhjector – Heart Attack Edition‘.

If you like pork, this is your burger; juicy, salty goodness with great quality ingredients. It didn’t really need any modifications but when I saw my three pork ingredients burger next to the pork knuckle it just came naturally. Thanks again for keeping up a constant high level of quality burgers. Still the best on the island I reckon.

De Burg Food and Drink Private Limited
119 Bukit Merah Lane
#01-40
Singapore 151119

El Rocho’s @Circular Road (Singapore)

@Boat Quay, @Singapore, Ceviche, Mexican, Tacos

Leave a comment

New Mexican Shop at Boat Quay

I went to Circular Road for lunch to meet two of my friends and to check out a new Mexican restaurant – ‘El Rocho’s’ – which just opened here not long time ago.

First up was the ‘Beef Taco‘ that looked promising when it arrived. Unfortunately the beef chunks were chewy and stringy and reminded me of a cheese steak sandwich from one of the big sandwich chains.

The second round I ordered the ‘Chorizo Taco‘ which besides the sausage used the same ingredients as the beefy version – cilantro, chimichurri mayo, lime and veggies but tasted much better. I liked the freshness of the herbs and the seasoning and saltiness of the chorizo. This one worked for me and was much more satisfying.

Unfortunately the ‘Fish Ceviche‘ we ordered for sharing was also rather a disappointment.The portion was big and the taste wasn’t bad really. I also liked the crispy corn and crunchy jicama sticks (mexican turnip) in it but the dressing was quite viscous and the fish cut in way too big pieces for my liking.

The place is actually quite nicely located around the Boat Quay area and I guess also convenient for the banker’s lunch break and afterwork, the staff was very friendly too but unfortunately the food just didn’t cut it for me this time. They sell ‘Pacifico Cerveza‘ though and some menu items like ‘Ox Tongue Tacos‘ sound pretty interesting so I might come to back some time to check those out.

El Rocho’s
36 Circular Road
Singapore 049392
Tel: +65 6438 7879

Fukuichi @Triple One Somerset (Singapore)

@Orchard, @Singapore, @Somerset, Japanese, Sashimi, Sushi, Teppanyaki

Leave a comment

My Sushi Wonderland

Through unforeseen coincidence my friend, who I just had visited in Hong Kong, came into town for a few days meeting. He stayed the Friday so I took him out to my newly discovered favorite sushi restaurant, ‘Fukuichi’.

Since I just been here a few weeks back we ordered some new things that I hadn’t tried the first time around. First up was the ‘Sake Sashimi‘ (salmon) which was lovely fresh and fatty, I just didn’t fancy the silver piece of skin on the top too much.

I was glad to hear they had the ‘Kanpachi Sushi‘ (greater amberjack) this time that was lovely soft and just a little oily on the dark red bits and because my buddy likes ‘Tamago Sushi‘ (sweet omelette) so much we also ordered one set of those. It was only lightly sweet which I appreciated, fluffy and nicely presented.

I’m not sure why we didn’t order ‘Uni Sushi‘ (sea urchin) the last time but this was simply fantastic. Even that I always have issues which too unique textures, this tasted so fresh and sweet and creamy that I hardly took notice of the consistency which actually wasn’t too bad anyway.

Like the last time we had the ‘Toro Aburi Sushi‘ (charred tuna belly) which again was very nice but to see what it would taste like in it’s original state we ordered the raw version as well. And oh my goodness this melted the exact same way in my mouth just colder and fresher than the charred version. Absolutely amazing.

Another newbie for me here was the ‘Hotate Sushi‘ (scallop). Raw scallop was something I sadly avoided for a very long time which I only regretted when I forced myself trying it at ‘Nagomi‘ for the first time. The flesh had a very delicate texture, soft and light and tasted like pure freshness without any fishy aftertaste.

A new cooked dish we had was the ‘Grilled Beef with Miso Paste‘. The waiter unfortunately couldn’t tell me what type of meat it was but only that it was a sirloin cut. It was incredibly soft which I found slightly weird because of my distinct dislike of tenderized meat – I doubt this one was though – but it tasted great and dipping it into the miso paste gave it a lovely aroma.

You’re at good place when the dishes make you smile. That’s all I have to say.

http://www.fukuichidining.com.sg/

Fukuichi Japanese Dining
111 Somerset Road
#02-11/12 TripleOne Somerset
Singapore 238164
Tel: +65 6271 5586

Ristorante da Valentino @The Grandstand (Singapore)

#Dessert, #Noodles, @Bukit Timah, @Singapore, Antipasti, Italian, Panna Cotta, Pasta, Pizza

Leave a comment

Bigger’s Not Better

I had been to ‘Valentino’s’ before when they still were in their small shophouse at Riffle Range Road and since a colleague and I didn’t have anything better to do tonight we decided to try out their new location at the Grandstand, former Turf City Shopping Mall.

After a lovely nutty ‘Ham Platter‘ and some creamy ‘Vitello Tonnato‘ I ordered one of their off-menu specials, the ‘Aglio e Oglio Linguini Nero di Seppia‘ with king prawn. The linguini were nicely al dente and not too oily. The prawn was humongous, quite fresh but rather bland. The kicker though were the roasted garlic gloves that melted in my mouth and had a nice charr flavor without being to overwhelming garlicy. A bit more seasoning and this would have been pretty great.

Out of pure curiosity we ordered a pizza ‘Margherita‘. Unfortunately this was pretty underwhelming. The dough was thin and crispy but the sugo didn’t taste like much and the amount of cheese on top was simply too much for my preference. It was not a bad pizza but from a place with such a reputation I was expecting a little more than just ok.

The ‘Panna Cotta‘ I had for dessert was not that special either with very little vanilla and a bit amateurish in presentation but what I really liked was the berry sauce that came with it. Nice and sour.

The quality and taste of the food was pretty good but because I thought to remember it a bit different and also because ‘Valentino’s’ is not necessarily a cheap restaurant I was just expecting a little more. On the upside the service was outstanding and the staff super friendly but it was a bit sad to see they had lost a bit of their family run restaurant charm which only small places have and small is not was ‘Valentino’s’ is anymore.

http://valentino.sg/

Ristorante da Valentino
#01-19 The Grandstand
200 Turfclub Road
Singapore 289774
Tel: +65 6462 0555

Santouka Hokkaido Ramen @Cuppage Terrace (Singapore)

#Noodles, @Orchard, @Singapore, Chashu Bun, Japanese, Ramen, Shoyu

Leave a comment

Shoyu’s My New Thing

Being back in Singapore I craved for some shoyu ramen (soya based), which I re-discovered for myself when I was in Tokyo, so a couple of colleagues and I went to ‘Santouka‘ at Cuppage Terrace.

I ordered the standard ‘Shoyu Ramen‘ which is a mixture of pork broth and soya sauce. The pork flavors were much more dominant in this ramen and even that it tasted pretty good that way I wished it would’ve been much more salty. Unfortunately the noodles were a bit overcooked and the chashu even though quite tasty was not the melt-in-your-mouth kind. They did a pretty good job on the extra egg I ordered though, it had the perfect yolk, waxy and delicious.

I also had one ‘Cashu Bun‘ that funny wise came accompanied by a cup of Japanese tea and tasted pretty nice. Here they had used the soft and melting chashu which I missed in the soup and had glazed the meat with a sweetish sauce and topped with Japanese mayonaise. Also the bun was nice and fluffy, it was just a little bit too big in ratio to the much smaller slice of pork.

I like this place and sitting outside when it’s not too hot – which most of the time it is – and additionally they plate up some pretty decent ramen even that this time they slacked a bit on the details.

http://www.santouka.co.jp/en/index.html

Santouka Hokkaido Ramen
21 Cuppage Road
Cuppage Terrace
Singapore 229452
Tel: +65 6235 1059

Tsim Chai Kee Noodle 沾仔記 @Queen’s Road Central (Hong Kong, China)

#Dumplings, #Noodles, Chinese, Wanton Mee

Leave a comment

Prawn Dumpling Galore

I had checked out of my apartment and my friend picked me up to have a quick bite before I left for Singapore. On the way to Central Station we passed a little underground branch of a popular restaurant chain recommended in one of the past Michelin Guides – ‘Tsim Chai Kee’.

They didn’t have many dishes to chose from but since we needed something after a rough night we ordered their signature ‘Wanton Noodles‘ with sliced beef and prawn dumplings. They also had shredded fishballs as add on but since I genuinely dislike those I totally didn’t care.

Not even five minutes after ordering our bowls already arrived and looked promising. I’m usually not a big fan of prawn dumplings but these ones were actually pretty decent. Fully stuffed with big chunks of prawn this was exactly what I needed. The beef on the other hand was as expected super tenderized and as wobbly meat grosses me out most of it stayed in the bowl. The noodles were lovely yellow and eggy with a firm bite to them and the broth was well seasoned and tasted like a strong concentrated chicken soup.

Definitely not many points on the interior design scale but a cheap and decent noodle fix after a long night, no question.

Tsim Chai Kee Noodle 沾仔記
Basement, 154 Queen’s Road Central
Central
Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
Tel: +852 2581 3369

Blue Butcher @Hollywood Road (Hong Kong, China)

@China (PRC), @Hong Kong, @Sheung Wan, @Soho, Roasted Chicken, Steak, Western/International/American

Leave a comment

Meat Heaven is Close

The evening of the actual farewell party had arrived and to kick off the night we had a guys dinner before meeting up with the girls for some drinking games in Wan Chai. My mate chose the ‘Blue Butcher’ which was just a 2 minute walk away from the apartment that I had rented for the weekend.

For starters we had besides others the ‘Truffle Fries‘ that were actually made with real truffles rather than truffle oil and tasted great and crisp.

Another one was the ‘Bone Marrow‘ that came together with delicious crusty toasted bread, some arugula with caper berries and sea salt. Putting all ingredients together this became a delicious combination of flavors.

Then we had the ‘Compressed Organic Tomato with Burrata‘ which consisted of green and red tomatos that were skinned and glazed with a light tasteless oil as well as a knot of burrata cheese. The cheese was light with only a very little creamy center which I liked but real burrata fanatics might feel let down by. The tomatoes on the other side were refreshingly cool and had a clean tomato-y taste with a nice texture. This was pretty okay but still kinda just tomatoes.

As mains we ordered the ‘Australian Wagyu Bone in Ribeye‘ 32 ounces rare and the ‘Free Range Charred French Chicken‘. The steak was absolutely amazing in quality and taste. It had a strong char on the outside so the fat had melted and the inside was wonderful red and moist with a lovely marbling and a good fatty flavor mixing with the beef aroma. Brilliant. The chicken came accompanied by some crunchy caramelized carrots and was wonderful moist and glazed with slightly sweetish sauce. Tasty stuff.

The ‘Blue Butcher’ is a stylish and modern place that sure comes with a price tag but therefore you’ll get a great ambience and some amazing food. Nothing for every day dining but definitely a place for a special night. Pretty good.

The Blue Butcher
108 Hollywood Road
Central
Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
Tel: +852 2613 9286
http://www.bluebutcher.com/

Tai Ping Koon 太平館餐廳 @Stanley Street (Hong Kong, China)

@Central, @China (PRC), @Hong Kong, Chinese, Roasted Pigeon

Leave a comment

These Wings are Swiss

One of my good buddies never stopped raving about this place in Causeway Bay that’s famous for it’s ‘Roasted Pigeon‘ and ‘Swiss Chicken Wings‘ (瑞士鸡翼). Since I just came back from breakfast in TST and it was a more convenient location I met my friends at their branch in Central instead.

The meat of the signature ‘TPK Roasted Young Pigeon‘ was dark and tasted similar to goose but was quite tough and not as easy to nibble off the bones. The skin was lovely crispy and glazed with a sweetish soya sauce that was cooked and concentrated together with the pigeon’s innards for deeper taste. This was my first ever pigeon and I actually really liked it just a little smallish maybe.

The ‘TPK Swiss Sauce Chicken Wings‘ apparently have their name from a misunderstanding between a Western customer and a Chinese waiter mixing up “sweet” and “swiss”. The special soya sauce with sugar and rice wine indeed was sweet but tasted great and the chicken was juicy and tender. I would have preferred the wings to be more grilled cause the skin wasn’t crispy or anything and rather wobbly and fatty. Nevertheless the special swiss sauce was a nice twist to the usual chicken wings you get.

I liked this restaurant, super friendly and attentive waiters, tea house setting in the middle of Hong Kong with dishes that are not your everyday fair so when having some time during future visits I might pop by for some more miniature goose.

Tai Ping Koon Restaurant 太平館餐廳
60 Stanley Street
Central
Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
Tel: +852 2899 2780
http://www.taipingkoon.com/

Sing Lum Khui Rice Noodle House 星林居雲南米線餐廳 @Lock Road (Hong Kong, China)

#Noodles, @China (PRC), @Hong Kong, @Kowloon, @Tsim Sha Tsui, Chinese, Yunnan Noodle

Very Very Little Medium Spicy

Without fail this is the one place I always come back to since my first time I visited Hong Kong when I found this just around the corner of the hotel I stayed at in Tsim Sha Tsui. The noodles here literally burnt themselves into my memory as I firstly underestimated their spice level and paid the price for it big time. It was supposed to be breakfast but since I stayed in Sheung Wan this time around the trip to Kowloon pushed it all more into the lunch zone.

For the first time I didn’t challenge myself going up another spice level as I really wanted to taste all the ingredients for once, pure self-discipline. Because I couldn’t 100% figure it out I researched what ‘Yunnan‘ or ‘Crossing the Bridge Noodles‘ broth is usually made of and many sources suggested that it comes from boiling a fat chicken together with pork bones which totally made sense knowing it. I thought there was some beef stock in there as well though as the soup had this natural sour touch to it. The spicy minced pork I added gave it just the litte pep it needed without making me sweat and added extra meaty flavors to the dish. I went full on with the greens and loved the extra portion coriander, leek and green onions that enhanced the whole thing with freshness. All above the noodles were plenty – naturally I ordered large – and awesome. They were thin and surprisingly springy and chewy considering the steaming heat of the soup should have cooked them to mushy strings, I was happy it didn’t.

Now that I know how the original base tastes I can return to climbing up the nine spoke ladder picking up at level seven where I last left off. I will be coming back here every time again and again as it is still under my top favorite bowls of noodles in Asia and never gets old or boring. “Very spicy” here I come.

Sing Lum Khui Rice Noodle House 星林居雲南米線餐廳
Shop A, G/F, No. 23 Lock Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
Tel: +852 2416 2424

Brickhouse @D’Aguilar Street (Hong Kong, China)

@Central, @China (PRC), @Hong Kong, @Lan Kwai Fong, Mexican, Tacos

Leave a comment

Back to My Taco Roots

I was at ‘Brickhouse’ for the first time a few years back and this is where I had my first proper corn tortilla taco. As always when coming to Hong Kong my schedule – my food schedule in particular – was packed full so I requested for a second dinner here a few hours after the ‘Double Happiness Cafe‘ and when it became more likely to get a seat.

After starting up with some of their delicious ‘Diablas‘ (vodka, rasberry and jalapeno) I ordered a slap of three ‘Tacos‘ – beef, fish and pork. Startup was the ‘Ribeye Taco‘. They obviously make the corn tortillas themselves as they first had a more rustic look than their assembly line manufactured cousins and were also much thicker. Latter made them also slightly dry and starchy but I didn’t mind due to the fact how much effort they had put into making them. This one was layered with a couple of thin slices of lean steak and gratinated with some sharp tasting cheese, simply sprinkled with some cilantro and a dash of lemon. Not bad at all but quite cheesy. The fish was a bit dry which was partially resolved by the avocado, the chipotle like sauce and the coleslaw but I couldn’t help but remembering this one to have tasted better at my last visit. Lastly I attended to the ‘Pork Taco‘ with it’s nicely moist slow cooked meat and which used the same sauce and avocado topping as the fishy version. Great taste still.

I still love this place for it’s great food, the amazing drink(s) and the bustling atmosphere so that we were lucky to get a table even at 11:00 p.m. at night. Maybe next time I’ll try to queue up with the crowd upon opening and finally get to taste some other dishes like the ‘Do-It-Yourself Bone Marrow Tacos‘ that unfortunately weren’t available til late. Muchas Gracias.

Brickhouse
G/F, 20A D’Aguilar Street (via Bricklane)
Central
Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
http://www.brickhouse.com.hk/

Double Happiness Cafe 紅雙喜 @Stauton Street (Hong Kong, China)

#Dumplings, #Noodles, @Central, @Hong Kong, @Soho, Chinese, Dan Dan Mian, Jiao Zi

Leave a comment

Shanghainese Soul Food

I went hiking on the “Dragon’s Back” with a friend from Australia who accidentally was in town at the same time and without breakfast and real lunch I was super hungry when it got to dinner time. We all met up at the ‘Double Happiness Cafe’ in Soho for some Shanghainese fair which was one of the places my other friend wanted to bring me the night before to try out their ‘Dan Dan Noodles‘.

And so this was one of the first dishes we ordered. The bowl arrived piping hot which unfortunately cooked the noodles a little too soft and caused me burning myself on several occasions. There was a very strong peanutty flavor to the broth emphasized by the whole peanuts swimming around in there which also added some crunchy texture. The soup was creamy but not unpleasantly thick or heavy. The meat was nice and juicy with quite a few fatty chunks that I left aside. Nevertheless a lovely dish.

Pretending to be healthy we ordered the crunchy and refreshing ‘Spicy Garlic Cucumber‘ with vinegar and the ‘Sichuan Style Vegetables‘ that consisted of cabbage, onions, peppers and broccoli and had a nice numbing punch.

I hardly leave any Chinese restaurant without having some dumplings if they have some so we ordered their ‘Steamed & Panfried Shanghainese Jiao Zi‘. They had a tasty skin which was a bit thicker and instead of chives they used preserved vegetables that gave the dumplings a unique taste I never had before.

My hiking friend said she had to have the ‘Stir Fried Glutinous Rice Cake‘ which I never even heard of before so I was more than up for it. When it arrived it reminded me of the haloumi from the night before. The slices of panfried rice cake had a nice charred flavor and were much harder than I anticipated, a bit similar to squid. With the sweet savory glaze and the veggies this really worked well together and creatively used something as basic and plain as rice and turned it into a tasty, tasty dish.

We were slowly filling up but had the ‘Roasted Pork Shanks with Herbs‘ left to tackle. The meat was quite tough and stuck to the bone but the spice rub tasted interestingly great with a strong hint of cinnamon.

I liked this place already for it’s name but also for the Chinese interior, the free welcome walnuts and above all the great food. I’m a huge fan of ‘Dan Dan Mian‘ and this sure is one I wouldn’t mind having again. Double happiness for everyone.

Double Happiness Cafe
48 Stauton Street
Soho, Central
Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
Tel: +852 2549 1862

Sahara Mezz Bar @Elgin Street (Hong Kong, China)

@Central, @China (PRC), @Hong Kong, @Soho, African, Moroccan, North African

Leave a comment

Northern Africa in Central Hong Kong

I flew to Hong Kong over the weekend to see a good old friend before his move to Australia. I messed up my room booking so we spend a long time calling up hotels so all the place we planned to have dinner at had already closed. As it was getting late we went to ‘Sahara’ a Northern African restaurant in Soho. As starter we had the ‘Haloumi Salad‘ that tasted deliciously light with a sweetish caramelized dressing. Just the haloumi didn’t make the funny squeeky noises that I was hoping for.

After we shared the ‘Moroccan Lamb Tagine‘ with ‘Cous Cous‘. The lamb was super moist and tender and the potatoes were cooked just right. The kick though were the dried plums and apricots that I made a brilliant combination. Only off ingredient were the olives which I though were a bit out of place. We finished it completely soaking the extremely fluffy cous cous with the hearty meaty gravy.

‘Sahara’ is a great buzzing place to start, or like us, end a night with it’s low chairs and tables, soul food, clapping waiters and the option to closing your dinner by smoking a shisha. My second and probably not last time here.

Sahara Mezz Bar
11 Elgin Street
Soho, Central
Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
Tel: +852 2291 6060
http://www.sahara.com.hk/

Sakuraya Fish Mart @West Coast Plaza (Singapore)

#Noodles, #Seafood, @Clementi, @Singapore, Japanese, Sashimi, Soba, Sushi

Leave a comment

Sushi Fish Mart in the West

A very good friend brought me to ‘Sakuraya Fish Mart’ at West Coast Plaza because it is her family’s go to place for ‘Sashimi‘ and ‘Sushi‘. I entered the restaurant through a small Japanese grocery store and when my friend showed up we chose the ‘Sashimi‘ items from a chilled display right at the entrance.

We had the standards ‘Sake‘ (Salmon) which was super soft and ‘Maguro‘ (Tuna) that had the perfect texture and a clean and sweet taste. We also ordered ‘Hotate‘ (Scallop) which tasted good but was a bit moist and slippery, ‘Mekajiki‘ (Swordfish) that I didn’t like because of it’s unpleasant texture and the ‘Kanpachi‘ (Greater Amberjack) and ‘Hamachi‘ (Yellowtail) which both had great taste and were not too lardy on the red bit.

For the second round we had ‘Ebi & Tako‘ Sushi (Cooked Prawn and Octopus) which were ok but not overwhelming and the ‘Tako‘ was actually a bit on the chewy side. What was actually nice was the ‘Spicy Salmon Maki‘ which was not particularly tangy but had a great crunch from the fried salmon skin they put into it.

We also ordered some cooked dishes like the ‘Fried Edamame Tofu‘ that was pretty much chunky mashed soya beans in a tofu mix battered and fried. The texture was a bit odd but interesting with the edamame bits in between but the taste was rather blend. Another one was the ‘Fried Tako‘ which was nicely crispy but pretty dry and tough too bite on the other hand.

Last but not least we ate the ‘Cold Buckwheat Soba‘. Though taste wise ok, this was a bit of a difficult to eat as the noodles all stuck together in one lump and unfortunately they also didn’t use any ginger in the dipping sauce.

I quite like the food here fresh and all and I appreciated that I was able to choose the exact piece of fish I later got on my table but the setup was very mall like and lacked atmosphere but seemed very suitable for families with kids.

http://www.sakuraya.com.sg/

Sarukaya Fish Mart
154 West Coast Road
#B1-50/51/52 West Coast Plaza
127371 Singapore
Tel: +65 6773 6973

Megumi @Sunset Way (Singapore)

#Noodles, @Clementi, @Singapore, Japanese, Sushi, Teppanyaki, Udon

Leave a comment

Udon, Udon, Udon!

Despite that we just had an ‘Udon‘ lunch this week one of my colleagues suggested to take advantage of the fact that he had a car and make another trip to ‘Megumi’, one of his favorites. It was a sunny Friday and the last time we went it tasted great so it wasn’t really too difficult to convince me.

I really liked the ‘Beef Udon‘ the last time but forced myself trying something new so I ordered the ‘Curry Udon‘ instead. The bowl was huge and filled up to the top with noodles, vegetables and meat. The curry broth was more liquid then I the ones I know but therefore also felt lighter than the normal thicker gravy. It had this really deep curry taste with a light spicy kick that did get stronger the further I emptied the bowl. The noodles here are thinner than at most places which makes them a bit easier to eat but unfortunately also were a bit softer than I would have liked. I was happy to find two slices of softly cooked pork belly in there which I prefer heaps over the more common chashu and what was also nice were the big chunks of carrot, the greens and bamboo shoots. The one thing I didn’t like was the kamaboko or Japanese fish cake but I never really liked any sort of fish cake anyway.

On the side we ordered the ‘Saiko Beef‘ which was lovely tender and juicy and came together with a delicate dipping jus that tasted like strong beef stock mixed with a high quality soya sauce. The fresh crunchy salad aside was a nice change in between and tasted similarly nice dipped into the jus which I’m quite sure was not meant to be for that.

One more side dish was the ‘UFO Maki‘ that had a center of cooked salmon rolled up in a thin cover of super crispy fried salmon skin. It tasted very fresh, the salmon was nice and buttery and the crunchy layer in between gave it all a special taste and a more diversified texture.

Still a nice no thrills place with a good selection of tasty dished but also still in a rather off location if you don’t have a car.

http://megumijapanese.com.sg/

Megumi Japanese Restaurant
Block 106 Clementi Street 12
#01-64
Singapore 120106

MexOut @Far East Square (Singapore)

@CBD, @Chinatown, @Singapore, Mexican, Tacos

Leave a comment

Yeah Baby, Another Taco Shop!

When dining at ‘Intrepid’ yesterday we recognized this Mexican place next door and came back for it with more friends tonight. They have a built-your-own menu for ‘Burritos‘, ‘Tacos‘, ‘Rice and Salad Bowls‘ as well as ‘Nachos‘ but my radar was all on the ‘Tacos‘ tonight.

I went with slab of ‘Tacos’ that come in three and mixed and matched a little to get a better idea of the flavors their menu has to offer. The first one was braised pork with cabbage and salsa fresca. It tasted nicely fruity and the meat was super juicy as they cook it in orange juice but the salsa fresca was not much more than just diced tomatos, onions and cucumbers. As second I had one with flank steak and the salsa verde. The meat was more chunky and didn’t have a very beefy or particularly special taste. I liked the salsa verde though as it was fresh and quite tangy in after taste. The last and by far my most favorite combination was the one with the beef brisket and mango pineapple salsa. The slow roasted brisket tasted fantastic and was very moist, the shredded cabbage added a nice crunchy texture to it and the fruity salsa was simply delicious, slightly acidy but so fresh and suited the dish just nicely and I also really liked the cilantro in it.

I think this is a great place. The food was pretty nice and very reasonable priced (3 tacos for 17$), they had good happy hour Corona buckets and the service was fast, on the spot and I found actually quite funny. Happy and content.

http://mexout.com/

Mexout – The Mex’perts
39 Pekin Street (Far East Square)
#01-01
Singapore 048769
Tel: +65 6536 9953

Tsuru-koshi @IMM (Singapore)

#Noodles, @Jurong East, @Singapore, Japanese, Udon

Leave a comment

Oops I Did It Again!

As long as the new Jem Mall didn’t manage to open up it’s doors we were stuck with our usual choices so it was time for another lunch visit at ‘Tsuru-koshi’. I initially wanted the cold ‘Zaru Udon‘ but then, I already had something similar at ‘Tamoya‘ on Sundays, so i quickly reconsidered and ordered the ‘Kamatama Udon‘.

This is a pretty simple dish, just hot udon sprinkled with spring onion and topped with a very soft poached egg and a cube of butter. After properly mixing all these ingredients I started slurping down my noodles loudly. I didn’t care my colleagues making fun about the noises I made because this actually tasted pretty awesome. Soft boiled egg is always a bit weird at first but it worked fantastic together with the melted butter and reminded me of the good times I just put butter on everything.

This place is slowely starting to grow on me and even that I still prefer ‘Tamoya‘ to this but appreciate having an udon shop so close to my work with a a big enough selection not to get bored too fast.

Tsuru-koshi Udon
Jurong East Street 21
#01-19 IMM Building
Singapore 609601

Intrepid Gastro Bar @Far East Square (Singapore)

@CBD, @Singapore, Burger, Crab Cake, Hot Dogs, Western/International/American

Leave a comment

The Roo Burgers are in Town

I had read about ‘Intrepid’ on other blogs and friend’s facebook posts and since then couldn’t get those ‘Kangaroo Sliders‘ out of my head. So when my friend asked me what my plans for dinner were I made this a suggestion and so we went. We had a bit of a hard time finding the place as it didn’t have a big sign yet but when you find the Water Gate of Far East Square and look very closely it’s exactly next to it.

Naturally we started with the famous ‘Kangaroo Sliders‘ and they looked pretty darn good coming out of the kitchen. As kangaroo meat gets tough and dry very fast they broiled it to a medium rare. I usually prefer my burgers medium to medium well but the meat was of such good quality that medium rare was perfect and kept the patty moist and juicy. It was lean and had this distinct venison like flavor lifted up a level by the saltiness of the prosciutto that was “melted” on top. The bun was lovely fluffy and the host told us that they are making them from scratch freshly every day just for this dish as well as the crispy chips which maybe could have used a pinch more salt.

As seconds I ordered the ‘Pork Sausage‘ which seemed to be some sort of special as it was off the usual menu. The “dog” came in a proper baguette bun, not that usual soft mushy stuff and the sausage had a great snappy casing, the meat was firm, well seasoned and tasted nice and porky. I found the sprinkled crackling on top was a great idea but maybe would have been even better if it was roasted instead of fried. The most delicate and special bits here though were the thinly sliced fennel slices that unfortunately were a bit overpowered by the sausage and the cubes of baked apple that had a fantastic sweet cinnamon flavor.

Recently we always seem to order beyond that hunger feeling and this time it was the ‘Crab Cakes‘. They were fully packed of sweet crab meat with a super crispy crust in which was a tad too much frying oil left. The cakes were accompanied by a salad of mixed leaves, tomato, creamy avocado as well as black and salty caviar that popped nicely in my mouth and tasted like little drops of sea.

I quite liked it here with the Aussi twist they took on the dishes and the very friendly and kind staff so I might be coming back to try their ‘Kangaroo Loin‘ and the brunch items. Thanks guys!

Intrepid Gastro Bar
40 Pekin Street
#01-01 Far East Square
Singapore 048770
Tel: +65 9068 8297

Da Luca @Goldhill Plaza (Singapore)

#Noodles, @Novena, @Singapore, Italian, Pasta

Leave a comment

Home Cooked Italian Food in Novena

I very spontaneously met up with my friend yesterday in Novena for a quick dinner and since I had not been to ‘Da Luca’ across the road we agreed on going there.

I ordered a pasta dish that I had here before and which I haven’t seen anywhere else – ‘Stracci Con Brasato Di Coniglio E Olive Nere‘. The pasta was super flat and homemade stracci that even being extremely thin still was perfectly al dente and nicely glued together where there was no sauce. The stracci were sitting in a ragout-like gravy which had a light taste of long cooked tomatos, red wine, fresh herbs and the deliciousy braised rabbit meat. There was heaps of the meat on the plate and I wouldn’t have needed any teeth to eat it as it was so softly cooked that it easily fell apart in my mouth. Once in a while I did hit some chunky vegetables or find some hidden cheese under the pasta which added new layers of flavor and texture to this lovely dish.

I loved this home style cooked rabbit pasta, delicious and simple which fits greatly to the unpretentious and down to earth ambience of ‘Da Luca’ with it’s friendly staff and fast service. Grazie mille!

http://daluca.com.sg/

Da Luca Restaurant
1 Goldhill Plaza
#01-19/21
Singapore 308899
Tel: +65 6258 4846

Tamoya @Liang Court (Singapore)

#Noodles, @Clarke Quay, @Singapore, Japanese, Udon

Leave a comment

It’s Tamoya Time Again!

It was one of those days again and my udon crew headed back to ‘Tamoya’ at Liang Court for another fix. I had set my mind to finally try their ‘Curry Udon‘ but since it got a bit late last night I felt more like something refreshing and spontaneously changed my mind and ordered the cold ‘Sanuki Udon‘ and added some of their newly added tempura items ‘Asparagus‘ and ‘Vegetable Croquettes‘ on top.

The noodles were lovely chewy as always and the cold soya broth tasted deluxe and was exactly what I needed, cooling and refreshing. The ‘Asparagus’ was nicely al dente but unfortunately a bit blend and tasteless. The croquette had a crisp coating with a soft nearly creamy potato-y inside which was a nice taste and texture contrast to the cold main.

I guess in the meantime it became clear that I will come back here on a fairly regular basis to further explore their menu and maybe eventually I will end up having these delicious looking ‘Curry Udon‘.

http://tamoya.com.sg/index.html

Tamoya
177 River Valley Road
#01-11 Liang Court Shopping Center
Singapore 179303