Parking Pizza in Barcelona, Spain

It's time for Barcelona pizza. This small chain is supposed to be one of the best ones, securing Ferran Adria as a fan. I went to the original location, which as the names suggests, is in a parking structure (98 Carrer de Londres, +34-93-633-9645). The service was very fast and the dough was nice and chewy, while all those ingredients on top were generous. It didn't blow me away, but I'll go back to try that truffle one that they are famous for.

Bar La Esquina in Barcelona, Spain

I admittedly went here out of convenience. It was a hotel restaurant, but it was packed and had some decent comments online, so I stepped in (2 Carrer de Bergara, 937-68-7242). The good thing was that the quality of the ingredients was all good, including that wonderful pollack special above. But surprisingly, everything was also underseasoned and really could have used more salt. There were a few slices of punchy botifarra sausages underneath the fish, but it still needed more salt. If I go back, it will likely just be due to its operating hours, as they are also open before 1 PM.

Colmado Wilmot in Barcelona, Spain

Apologies for the photo of the half-eaten plate above, but I didn't really have a better one to put up there. And that's a pity since it's not doing justice to the food, which was awesome. Those prawns, for instance, were wonderfully tender and naturally sweet, with deliciously rich and savory headfat to go with it. I was also very happy with their fricandó, which is a Catalan stew with delightfully tender and thin slices of beef in a dark and savory sauce. This shop (28 Carrer de Calvet, 93247-4782) has pretty convenient hours too, seeing how it's not easy to find a place around here that is open earlier than 1 PM and yet isn't a tourist trap. I'll be back.

China's Jincheng Lantingxu Has Opened in Singapore

Yay, a Lanzhou beef noodle chain from China has opened at TripleOne Somerset (111 Somerset Road #01-18). It's a proper shop, offering a wide range of noodle widths, stretched to order before being covered in a crisp (almost pho-like) broth and garnished with fragrant aromatics and chili oil, not to mention decently tender beef. The noodle texture wasn't as chewy as Shejianjian, but they offered a wider range of items like roujiamo and liangpi. I won't bother with their chuanr again though, as it is done in that slightly wet style that I don't care that much for. They definitely aren't shy about the seasoning here, by the way.

Swag & Sizzle in Tanjong Pagar

On the former grounds of Mr & Mrs Nasi Lemak is a stall run by L'Entrecote alumni (243 Cantonment Road). On one hand, I wasn't getting my hopes up given how scarred I am by affordably-priced steak frites places like Brasiero, but if these guys really have experience at L'Entrecote, then I was hoping that they could do it a little better.

The good thing was that the meat was much better than I was expecting: it was decently tender, even if one can't expect much quality just $21.90 (US$16.20). But I couldn't stand the fries, which were crispy rather than tasting of potatoes. Well, it was very affordable at least. Maybe next time I'll just get their steak and eggs breakfast as as to avoid the fries.

Maruhachi’s Nagoya Miso Katsu Set

No, that brown stuff is not tonkatsu sauce. It's a red miso sauce that Maruhachi is doing as a tribute to the Nagoya region (it looked much redder in the stall's signage by the way). The sauce turned out to be almost sugary sweet, which means that I won't bother getting it again. But at least the thick texture of the sauce gave it some appeal, even if the pork itself was a bit greasy and certainly couldn't compare to Tonshou. It was nonetheless quite a steal at only S$12.30 (US$9.20).

The Mul Naengmyeon from Seoul Noodle Shop

Here was the mul naengmyeon from Seoul Noodle Shop. It looked great, but I didn't like it at all, mainly because the watered-down broth. They didn't even provide vinegar and mustard until I asked for it. Well, I'll still go back to try other menu items, but it definitely won't be this one again.

Rasa Istimewa at Woodlands Waterfront Park

I've been wanting to check this place out for a while (6A Admiralty Road West, 6366-9339). It's an outlet of a small chain of halal restaurants, but with this one in particular being on a jetty in the Straits of Johor. So one gets a view of JB, the Johor-Singapore Causeway, and Woodlands Waterfront Park in one go. (And no, this wasn't intentionally meant to be a weekend of eating on jetties; I just happened to go head up here on a whim this morning.)

Anyway, the menu consists of standard local cze cha fare, including seafood, noodles, and even localized Western plates. Their satay caught my eye though, as they offered one cut that I don't often see: babat, or those cuts of beef tripe on the left. They were pleasantly tender, chewy, and fatty. The mutton and chicken to the right of them were comparatively tougher but still quite edible given that they were nicely caramelized. And the sauce wasn't too sweet either. I'd like to come back again when I'm not in such a rush.

Returning to Um Yong Baek in Singapore

I love Um Yong Baek, but the aromatics are so potent there that it's not the best choice during the work week when I need to be around people afterwards. So it was nice to come here this weekend to load up on things like their pickled leeks and not have to worry about chomping on raw garlic while I was at it.

Actually, this might be my first time back in two years, and they have since opened a second location around the corner at Far East Square (80 Telok Ayer Street). I'm not sure if the second location is what spurred a second set of thin and thick lunch configurations, but that's the thick - yet not Milyang - version above.

It was better than the thin Busan one, especially since there were some fun slivers of fatty meat that they put into this one. We also had a side of myeongran-jeot pollack roe that was deliciously savory and perfumed with some lovely sesame oil.

The Long Weekend Pizza in Singapore

This place is quite interesting in that it's someone's house (61 Saint Patrick's Road, 8913-0331). They have a wood-fired oven in their driveway and sell drive-through pizza to the public via WhatsApp on weekends. Admittedly, I didn't care that much for the pizza itself, as it was rather underseasoned and the dough was forgettable, if chewy (granted, the bar was set very high given that I just ate at Fico earlier). Either way, the concept of driving up to someone's house to pick up a pizza that they made on their driveway is very cool.

The Red Onion Focaccina from Fico’s Kiosk

Fico is awesome, but securing a reservation and paying for that table service have been big deterrents. Still, I was nearby this afternoon, so I went up to the takeaway kiosk, paid twenty bucks, and had this delicious gem in ten minutes. I didn't even need to order that pricey picnic basket package, as they had food a la carte.

Yes, it was deliciously rich and gooey with stinky blue cheese and the occasional kick of fragrant cracked black pepper on top of an airy yet moist dough. Perhaps the more treasured thing was being to walk out to the end of the nearby jetty and eat it under a gentle sea breeze, free of charge.

Yiwanmian (“First Noodles”) Bone Broth Noodles

A new chain of Lanzhou chingzhen beef noodle stalls has appeared at some food courts recently. The beef was more tender than I was expecting, and I liked how there was a huge tub of chili oil in front at one's disposal, complete with a big ladle inside that made it easy to put a pretty generous scoop into my bowl. But the broth was rather watered down and the noodles were oddly spaghetti-like, making this pale in comparison to Shejianjian. I still ate it all though.