The Black Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen from Menya Aoi

I was a bit bummed when we arrived at Menya Aoi today to find that they have removed their customization options. Fortunately, that "normal" bowl above still featured firm noodles and a decently salty broth, and I was happy with that bowl above. The black sauce was decently smoky and spicy, and the egg was pleasantly savory. The food here is a little better than its plasticky outward appearance suggests.

The Impossible Steak Haché Grillé from Les Bouchons

Les Bouchons runs a pretty generous weekday set lunch that I treated myself to today. I didn't go for the steak frites though; instead, I was curious to see how that Impossible patty would fare, especially since they even offered a medium rare option. Despite how sterile the outside crust looked, it was better than I thought it would be, especially in terms of texture. But it still isn't as good as real beef. I just need to remember to pay the extra five bucks to upgrade to the ribeye since the sirloin here really doesn't cut it. And I need to remember not to order a salad as my starter given that a salad already comes on the side as part of the set.

Eggslut’s Bacon, Egg & Cheese Sandwich

I finally tried the basic bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich from Eggslut today. It looked and sounded nice, but it was more sodium than substance, as there was just no body in this sandwich to make it satisfying. I left the place hungry, and the experience was made worse by the fact that the wait was so darned long. I'm not too big on Eggslut anymore.

Yunnan’s Grilled Seabass (In Person This Time)

It's nice that Yunhaiyao finally has an outlet in the city (2 Orchard Turn #B3-17, 6513-0828), and fortunately there was no line tonight, so I finally got to try their grilled fish in person this time. That earthy dry rub was nice, and interestingly, it was garnished with some laksa leaf (not sure if that's how they serve it in China or if it was a local adaptation). But sadly, they used a frozen seabass that was rather lousy; maybe that's why they offered a fish upgrade if you wanted it. Next time I'll skip this and go for those mushrooms and maybe some noodles and skewers.

The Budaejjigae from Hansang at Square 2

I think this is our first time at Hansang for dinner rather than lunch. We not only had that budaejjigae above, but also both kurobuta and wagyu on the grill. The service was engaging and the food was fine, but my preference is still for Go! K-BBQ, both for food and price reasons.

Thatsmypizza at Bukit Timah Market in Singpoare

This hawker center-based pizza stall is pretty good (51 Upper Bukit Timah Road #02-198). It features a pleasantly chewy crust that was so chewy that it almost felt a little mantou-like, and mine was topped with a local curry chicken that was seasoned and greased up nicely. The S$18 (US$13.40) price for that little pie was much higher than what one would expect in a hawker center, but I'd still rather get this than one of the pizzas at The Yeast Side across the street.

Set #1 from Xiaonanmen in Taiwan

I just realized that this is the same thing that I ate at Taoyuan Airport last time, although I don't think it had the Xiaonammen brand on it then. Either way, you can't get more Taiwanese than this set, featuring luroufan and thick geng soup, a braised egg, as well as soybean milk and edamame with coarse black pepper. It wasn't anything special, but it got food into my belly this morning before getting on the plane.

Mum Home (Amancuo) in Taipei, Taiwan

The English name may sound a bit weird, but they basically serve humble home-cooked Taiwanese food here (5 Lane 6 Section 2 Jianguo North Road, 02-2925-3999). And it's impressively good, not just because of how delicately balanced it is, but also because of the high quality of ingredients used, including the super fresh seafood, produce, and even bloodcakes and intestines. I'm surprised that this place hasn't gotten more attention yet. Thumbs up.

Chili House Restaurant (Wu Chaoshou) Has Expanded in Taipei

I haven't been back to Sichuan Wu Chaoshou in a long time, but it looks like they have expanded to multiple branches, and with a Michelin Bib Gourmand to boot. We got an array of items, all of which fared well. Too bad that they totally forgot our order of sijidou though, as the menu said that it was the "chef's special," and interestingly came with some pancakes, presumably to make little burritos out of. Will have to try it next time.

Le Chamber (Canjiuguan) in Taipei, Taiwan

Even though they put emphasis on their cocktails here, this is not to be confused with the upscale cocktail bar Le Chamber in Seoul's Cheongdam-dong. This instead was more of a restaurant (152 Section 2 Dunhua South Road, 0227061687). It was hard to place an identity on the food, but there were some interesting things like crab served in little pani puri shells, or that spicy crab risotto above featuring local doufuru fermented tofu. The taste didn't really work for me though, with that risotto being oddly sour, for example. Then again, this place is probably easier to get into than Longtail across the street.

Hong Kong's Dim Sim Sum in Taipei, Taiwan

That may look a little weird above, but that's literally how the menu instructs you to eat it: shove a chopstick into the nostril so that you can squeeze out the yellow filling inside to make it look like snot coming out of the little piggy-shaped bun. It is basically the signature item from this chain of dim sum restaurants from Hong Kong, and there was an outlet here at Taipei Station for us to load up at before getting onto the train. The food was fine, and it came out quickly, but Tim Ho Wan was definitely better.

Lo Chi Hsiao Chao in Taipei, Taiwan

Luoji Xiaochao is a little rechao at Linjiang Street Night Market that happens to be a Michelin Bib Gourmand (27 Alley 50 Lane 39 Tonghua Street). They have a variety of proteins that they stir fry to order on little plates, like those clams as well as sliced lamb with veggies above. And they can make it pretty darned spicy too. It was fresh, cheap, fast, and delicious...and even comes with a free self-service bowl of soup. What's not to like?