Trying Yuhua Village's Hup Hong Chicken Rice

Those Hawkers' Street food court chains are kinda nice in how they aggregate a number of better quality (and some Michelin-listed) stalls together. These chicken rice guys are way out in the west, which I hardly get out to, so this was my chance to see what the fuss was about. One unconventional thing at least was that they did these dual yuanyang plates given you both white and roasted chicken together.

It was fine, but honestly I never would have thought that it was Michelin-listed had no one told me. The white chicken was tender but not as moist as I would have hoped, while the roast chicken was surprisingly salty but still edible. The rice was decently tasty and oily but a little soft. The biggest turnoff for me was the sweet achar, even if it came in handy to cut through the fat. I doubt I'll get this again unless I'm at the original stall.

The Chicken Steak from Yappari at Wisma Atria

Teppei's old Kai Kai Sushi spot has been taken over by Yappari, and this charcoal grilled chicken steak is exclusive to that location. It may not look like much above, but it was pretty good, as it was super moist and tender, and came with a pepper sauce that was hardly salty, in a good way. One still gets all of the Yappari accompaniments like endless rice, soup, and salad, not to mention their array of condiemnts. It was certainly better than that Steak 99 place.

Zhengshishang Hunan Cuisine at 313@somerset

Another one of those individually-portioned steamed dish spreads has opened up at the Food Republic at 313@someret at the stall in between Piao Xiang and Baguo. That pork above was a little dry, but I was still quite happy with it because of that deliciously fermented meicai that just lit everything up and helped shoved down rice. I grabbed quite a few other items (a bit too much, actually), including a tofu and pork dish, a chili pepper and egg dish, and some steamed fish, all of which went down easily. But I just love meicai and think its complex savory notes are severely underappreciated on a global stage.

Yakizakana Ramen at Mashi no Mashi Singapore

Mashi no Mashi's new location at Nankin Row (3 Pickering Street #01-42) had a sign that caught my eye: grilled fish ramen. But when I got closer, it looked a little dubious, being on a separate menu from a brand called Yakizakana Ramen. Presumably the local operator created that as its own brand using the same facility, and indeed, the staff said that this other menu featured "local ramen," whatever that meant.

I was surprised by how much I liked it. Sure, the broth tasted like a peppery mix that one would get from an instant noodle packet, but that was part of the appeal. More importantly, the noodles were kept firm, and the fish was delicately laced with a bit of citrus and grilled aroma. And it was less than ten bucks too. I don't know if I'd try the fried version, but the grilled fish on its own is something that I'd be happy to eat again.

Uoharu Singapore at IOI Central Boulevard Towers

I finally made it over to Uoharu today, in part because I only recently realized that they did reasonably priced lunch sets (2 Central Boulevard #01-16). The daily special featuring oden and sashimi above was better than I thought it would be, as it used decent ingredients...and perhaps most importantly, featured rice that wasn't overcooked. I had previously assumed that this place would be rather commercialized given that it's a small chain across a few countries. But now that I've tasted the food, I'd be willing to go back for a proper izakaya session in the evening.

Golden Coin Beef Phở from Super Ngon

See how those cuts of beef above alternate in lines between meat and connective tissue? I'm only realizing now that this is a cut from the leg referred to as "golden coin" here, and Super Ngon serves that cut in their phở for a couple bucks more. Yep, they made it impressively tender, and I was happy to eat it along with that salty minimalist broth and thin but sour chili sauce. Next time I should remember to opt for a side of quay given the northern style used here.

The Pyongyang Naengmyeon from Joong San

Something occurred to me when walking through Singapore's blazing heat in the past week: I had yet to try the naengmyeon at Joong San, even though I've been there more than a handful of times. I thus got the Pyongyang version above, and I was quite happy with it. It was all about the subtle taste of the beef coming through in the broth. The sliced beef itself was similarly delicate, as were those textured buckwheat noodles. They still gave their usual array of banchan and rice, including that killer sesame oil, which just makes me like this place so much, especially since it's so healthy too. Sadly, the gomtang is no longer on the menu though.

Kalam Restaurant in Singapore's Little India

I liked this place a lot more than I thought I would (2 Veerasamy Road). See, on the surface it didn't look like much. A bunch of us had never heard of it, and the signage suggested that they were trying to be all things to all people. But it turns out they actually specialize in food from Mangalore and the city of Udupi, so that meant a softer coastal cuisine.

There were not only some rather notable dishes that one typically doesn't find at other shops, but they also they executed well with good quality ingredients and techniques. There was even decent ambience and service to boot.

Some of the unique things included some puffy buns that looked like many other flatbreads, but were actually mildly sweet and came with a coconut chutney. The prawn ghee roast as well as a mutton sukka were nice in that they didn't sit in a thick gravy, but was seemingly more like a stir-fry. And I liked how the portions weren't outrageous here, which let us try quite a few things. This place is worth returning to.

The Curry Paitan from Enishi Singapore

Enishi is doing this curry paitan special now. If I heard them correctly, they secured some kind of special curry powder from a shop in Japan, and I guess that's what gets added to their toripaitan bowl. I was very happy with how sophisticated and earthy the powder was; it really lit up the bowl and yet was also restrained enough not to overpower it. I hope they keep this on the menu.

Moutarde at Resorts World Sentosa

A Michelin-starred chef from Shanghai opened up a bistro in the basement level of WEAVE (26 Sentosa Gateway #B1-219). There were a few things that I wanted to get, including his steak tartare as well as steak frites. But they weren't cheap, and I wasn't in the mood to spend that kind of money.

Fortunately, he had a duck confit that was more reasonably priced, even if it was a rather small plate without any carbs. The ingredients were good though, including not just the duck but also the mushrooms underneath, which I was particularly happy with. I won't go back unless someone else is paying though.

HK Fei Guo Rice Noodle on Cross Street

This shop on the corner of South Bridge has big signage that surely gets lots of visibility from passers-by, and I finally tried it today (6 Upper Cross Street). As the name suggests, it's doing mixian in the same vein as TamJai SamGor. But the customization options weren't as obvious from the menu, which was trying to pitch other things like jigongbao. Well, the bowl above did the job, but also wasn't anything so special that I'd go back for it. I should go back to Fei Zap Mai Laan one of these days.

Smash Street in Singapore

The Scarpetta folks opened up a smashburger place a few doors down from it, and it's pretty good (50 Amoy Street). The beef patties were nicely charred for both texture and taste, and yet they were still juicy and accentuated with a mildly spicy yet rich mayo. The fries fortunately carried a decent potato taste despite my initial apprehension about them being shoestrings that were borderline dry.

The venue is just a sliver of a shophouse with maybe only ten bar stools. Miss out on one of those, and you're standing at the counter or leaning against the padded wall. This isn't somewhere to have big group conversations; loud hip-hop blares overhead and your clothes come out smelling like grease. But that's what made it fun. It is actually what I thought New York's Burger Joint would be like, but this was better.