The Suancaiyu Pianbao from Cailinji Singapore

It turns out that Cailinji also serves suancaiyu. One can tell just by appearances alone that this was nothing like Tai Er. But it sufficed today, and was quite filling with all of the veggies and tofu skin underneath. I also grabbed a pair of those fried half-bagel mianwo thingies; they still didn't get me terribly excited, although at least they came out of the fryer piping hot.

Heritage Pork Noodles at the Yi Ho Eating House

This stall serves that Sabah shengroumian above (5 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #02-04). I'm not sure what the differences are with that Sandakan stall nor Sarawak noodles, but this did the job, even if the broth was a little sweet. I liked that the cuts of meat were fresh and of decent quality.

Actually, it was the noodles that were the best part of it all. That was not only because they were cooked firmly with a nice bite, but also because of that dark soy sauce and shallot mixture that gave it a pleasantly earthy taste. I should have ordered a double portion of noodles.

Hokkaido's Kumachan Onsen Shabu Shabu & Yakiniku

I'm not sure how this place is pitched in Japan, but their outlet down here at Orchard Central is rather confusing (181 Orchard Road #07-10/11, 6509-1176). I mean, clearly the cute frozen teddy bear broth above is the main draw, but then they appended a budget yakiniku part to it.

We twiddled our thumbs waiting for the bear to melt before we could eat. And that's when we realized that maybe that's where the yakiniku part came in: for you to grill your meat while waiting for the broth. But then people who ordered from the separate "set meal" portion had just a yakiniku tray without the broth.

Well, the food itself was edible enough, and they even had a Haidilao-like condiment bar for you to raid, albeit with a pretty limited selection. Either way, the confusing setup and off-beat location were enough of a turn-off that we're not likely going back. It's one of those get-your-photo-once and that's enough kind of a place.

A Hainanese Chicken Cutlet Aglio Olio Set

This was from a random stall called Western Boy up at the top of Great World. It wasn't anything to get excited about, but I was nonetheless fascinated by the idea behind combining two separate "Western" dishes that have been so lovingly embraced locally. The chicken was thin and crispy but covered with a standard-issue sweet sauce, while the noodles were heavy on the (slightly burnt) garlic but featured dried chili. I liked them enough to clear the plate and now wonder how their standard chicken chop fares.

Style Palate at Woodleigh Village Hawker Centre

I was really curious about this stall (202C Woodleigh Link #01-30). They promoted things like cold angel hair pasta for just S$6 (US$4.50) and duck confit for just S$12 (US$9), making it sound a bit like Saveur or The Masses, but even cheaper. And indeed, their food tasted like them too, leaning toward the over-seasoned side, particularly that heavily-truffled (and even slightly acidic) pasta, not to mention a jellyfish special that they served tonight. I wasn't a big fan as a result, and my preference for hawker center duck confit would be Eddy's. But I love the idea of such affordable food, especially at a shiny new gigantic hawker center. I only wish Ah Bong's would come back.

The Xiang Yang Niuroumian from Cailinji Singapore

Oooh, that was nice...thanks for the tip! Yep, the beef noodle at Cailinji was pretty good, especially when cranked up to the extra chili oil version. The underlying broth was deep and savory while the relatively thin beef was tender. I happily consumed this along with one of those fried mianwo half-donut thingies. It's not pictured above as it arrived later, but it was less interesting than it sounded.

Revisiting No. 25 Minced Meat Noodle

I tried this bak chor mee shop a couple of years ago, but something looked different about the bowls that came out this morning. Indeed, only am I now realizing that they changed their recipe this year. One thing in particular that I was excited to see was the use of dry chili pepper flakes. Cool!

I'm not sure if this was on the menu previously, but they also had a "special" bowl above, which apparently was inspired by a customer who requested kway teow noodles without ketchup nor chili. Yes, it appealed to the minimalist in me, although it wasn't so different that I'd pay 60% more for it.

One other interesting thing was that they had a limited edition handmade "meatball-ception" available today. If you didn't get the Chris Nolan reference, it was basically a meatball within another meatball. There was broth inside there too, but it was a little sweet. I'll stick to their basic bowl without the top-up next time.

Youjian Chufang ("A Kitchen") at Goldhill Centre

On the grounds of that short-lived Yummiz noodle shop now lies a chuanr restaurant that draws a decent-sized crowd at night (187 Thomson Road, 9866-5533). Maybe that's because the chuanr is pretty good, featuring impressively tender and moist meat, all with a lot of smoky aroma and being seasoned nicely. There were other dishes available as well; the ganbian sijidou was a bit limp and just a tad sweet, thus giving the advantage to Ah Gu Kaka Wa. But at least this one is more convenient to access.

ANTO Pizza e Aperitivi off Keong Saik Road

There used to be a Caribbean restaurant at this location previously. Now it's a pizza and cocktail place, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would (2 Jiak Chuan Road, 9689-6869). That pizza above was awesome with its chewy crust, rich cheese, and mild yet savory tomatoes. I prefer this over that Da Michele place, not to mention some other places that have popped up recently. I very much would like to go back, although I have to keep my distance from those cocktails given how pricey they are.

Korea's Doran Chicken Has Opened in Singapore

This fried chicken chain from Daegu has taken over Upin's former location at Orchard Gateway (277 Orchard Road #04-19). They used a smooth batter that I wasn't a fan of; it reminded me of those frozen chicken nuggets that you buy from the supermarket in a bag and put into the air fryer. To be fair, this was much fresher, but that batter and sauce didn't do it for me.

The thing I did like, however, were some flat dumplings filled with a few glass noodles, which was quite unique. They were pan-fried and served with a mildly sweet and spicy squid salad. I'd go there again just for that dish, but I won't bother with their tuna rice balls nor those cheese fries with that disturbingly saccharine-ish cheese powder on top. The food takes quite a long time to come out too.

Bhoomi by Milind Sovani in Singapore

The gentleman behind Song of India and Masalaa Bar has opened a moderately upscale place behind Orchard Towers (1 Claymore Drive #01-05, 6225-4221). It was rather quaintly decorated and featured nice tableware, while the dishes featured quality ingredients too.

The pani puri above were fine, as were the Amritsari potatoes to the right. But my favorite was a Lucknowi curry called murg baradari that featured some impressively tender chicken soaking in a deliciously light but savory curry that was fun to mop up with the flat ulta tava paratha.

I'll go back, but I'll avoid their tandoori lamb chops, which used some odd cuts that were difficult to eat. And they weren't cheap either, although that's probably why it was presented at the table with a theatrical smoke display.

The Zhenzhu Wanzi from Cailinji Singapore

Those looked better than they tasted. I was hoping that either the broth or fenzhengrou-like meatballs might be spiked with something savory like dried scallops or mushrooms, but it was rather flat and boring. This was part of a lunch set at Cailinji today, which I admittedly haven't been back to since my first visit. The thick sesame paste in the noodles is still the best thing here, although maybe I'll find something else of interest now that they have an outlet in the city at Guoco Tower, making it much easier to get to (1 Wallich Street #B2-26).