Chiyoda Sushi Singapore’s Seasonal Specials Now

Chiyoda has updated some of its seasonal specials right now, most notably with the nishin herring and mebaru rockfish on the far left. The taste of the fatty herring was obviously more pronounced and thus more interesting, whereas the rockfish was more notable for its firm texture than its light taste. The buri and ankimo next to them were holdovers from what they had before, while the plate of baby scallops on the right were only mildly sweet and savory. Still, they were also only S$4.90 (US$3.80) for that serving of scallops, making for nice nibbles to go along with a bit of nihonshu.

The Afghani Kebab from Bar-B-Q Tonight Singapore

Bar-B-Q Tonight had these "non-spicy" Afghani kebabs on the menu. If I understand it correctly, Afghan cuisine is usually on the mild side, compared to spicy Pakistani food at least. So in relative terms, this impressively moist and tender chicken was presumably milder than other items on the menu here. But there was still a notable amount of cumin in there, perhaps to appeal to the Pakistani palate. Either way, it was pleasant and worth ordering again.

Peng Cheng Xiao Chu in Singapore's Chinatown

I'm not intentionally trying to get Jiangnan food two times in one day. It's just that I happened to be walking by this shop tonight, and the menu had some really interesting items (45 Temple Street, 6816-3787).

One of them was that diguoji pot above, featuring cuts of chicken braised in a spicy soy sauce and some flour pancakes cooked along the edges. The pancakes aside, it kinda reminded me of jigongbao, except that it was thicker and one didn't add broth and other toppings into it. Still, it was one of those salty bone-in dishes that requires slow and careful gnawing and ideally some booze to wash it down. Yes, I liked it.

To be sure, this place served Jiangsu cuisine rather than Hangzhou food from this morning. They had a number of things featuring thin pancake wraps on the side for carbs that looked promising enough to return for.

Chunhua Nainai ("Nainai Flavor") from China in Singapore

This chain from Hangzhou was much more casual than I was expecting; they served a range of Jiangnan dishes, including those tofu-filled dumplings above, along with that egg and chive pastry, steamed egg, and rice milk. Yes, it was all very delicate and made for a light but decently satisfying meal.

Meijing Sabah Sandakan Fried Pork Noodle

I think this is my third time having this Sandakan-style noodle, this time from a stall at Hong Lim Market (531A Upper Cross Street #02-33). He fried the pork to order, which made it hot and crispy. But the batter was sweet, as were the noodles. At least the chili sauce underneath was decently spicy, and he's open early in the morning. If I go back, I should remember to try the thick yellow egg noodles, as it is supposed to have some kind of bouncy texture.

Bouillon Gavroche at Mandarin Gallery in Singapore

I love Brasserie Gavroche, so I was quite excited when I saw them opening a more downscale place right in the middle of Orchard Road of all places (333A Orchard Road #01-16). Being downscale meant that the prices were impressively affordable, but unfortunately, the quality of the food scaled downwards with it. That chicken above, while edible, was not particularly tender, and I didn't care much for the quality of the bread and butter that I got either. Well, the service was good at least, and I'd rather go here than that lousy Les Canons place. But I'll stick to Brasserie Gavroche instead.

Skinny Mike's Bar in Manila, Philippines

No, this was not a culinary destination that I actively sought out; it was just a bar here in BGC that happened to be showing the F1 race tonight (A1/B1 Fith Avenue Lane A). Fortunately, their menu featured a number of local dishes. I was quite happy with that sisig above, as it was super greasy and savory. I went halfway through it before I realized I was supposed to squeeze the lime on top, and the chili pepper also provided a nice assist. These guys also did some shrimp on a hot plate that I was not expecting to like as much as I did, as it was similarly salty and greasy. And that local ube beer was pretty cool too; it indeed had a bit of a starchy yam taste that was kinda neat.

The Forgotten Carrots from Dirty Supper

Yep, those are carrots above. Those delightfully juicy and tender cuts were charred in butter and sat on whipped feta while being garnished with puffed buckwheat and dill. I just love the food at Dirty Supper; they also had a raw prawn in a mildly acidic macadamia milk that went great with this. These little snacks aren't cheap, especially when washed down with their drinks. But it is good.

STEAK GATZ at Orchard Plaza, Singapore

No, I'm not intentionally chasing cheap steak on hot plates this week. This is actually a Japanese steak place that popped up on the former grounds of Ao Ringo (150 Orchard Plaza #01-44). Yes, it's a bit like Yappari or even Sudaku with hot plates and an array of sauces, but in a more upscale counter setting. If my information is correct, this is from the Kakiin and Soshiji folks.

But the price was reasonable, with that serving of their signature hirami skirt steak above going for just S$21.80 US$16.80) with free refills of decent quality rice, soup, and tsukemono. Now, one isn't getting the nicest cut of meat at that price. In fact, they give you kitchen scissors and little tweezers to cut that unwieldy slab yourself. I still ate it all, but next time I'll upgrade to the wagyu.

The Tsukemen from Torasho Ramen at Takashimaya

I finally got around to trying the tsukemen from Torasho's newly reset Ngee Ann City stand. To my surprise, there didn't seem to be that much adjustment compared to the normal bowl, as it still featured normal-sized noodles and a thin broth. From what I could tell, it was the same broth that is used in the normal bowls.

To be sure, I absolutely love that super deep broth. But its thin consistency not only meant difficulty clinging to the noodles, but also the broth just isn't as good when its temperature has been lowered by cold noodles. His suggestion to add vinegar didn't do it for me either.

It's too bad, since his new broth is really underappreciated. There were barely any customers here on a bustling Friday night, which is sad. I worry that he's going to have to change his broth again; in the meantime, I'm going back for his normal bowls as much as I can, as I'm going to miss this broth when it's gone.

YenneY at Marina One Residences in Singapore

This shop (7 Straits View #B2-50) billed this off-menu special as "French Vietnamese steak," but I think it was bít tết, or Vietnamese steak on a hot plate doused in a mildly sweet and savory Maggi-like sauce. I haven't eaten it enough to establish a proper baseline comparison, but I kinda liked it given the wonderfully light and airy bread that came with it. Apparently this is supposed to come with pâté as well.

Artichoke New School Pizza Parlour in Singapore

Artichoke was a Middle Eastern place that I was rather fond of. They have since moved to New Bahru and made a rather big pivot to a pizza shop (46 Kim Yam Road #01-02). I never tried the pizza omakase course that he previously incubated at his Smalls counter, but it has graduated to the main stage.

Yep, the pizza is all done in his own way, with those "UnderCrust" slabs above being a bit like Detroit-style pizza in that there is cheese baked into the crust. But the cheese is on the bottom rather than the sides, and the dough is lighter and poofier. They were dressed with things like halloumi, pistachio, fennel, kumquat, and hazelnut, which I liked for not just its ambition but also proper quality ingredients (mmm...nice tomatoes!).

Some of the Middle Eastern items are apparently back on the menu by the way, including hummus and baked cauliflower. Either way, I like the fun attitude and service of this place. Next time we should try their stone baked "rounds" pizza featuring deep-fried dough.