Japan's Yamamoto no Hamburg in Singapore

Taking the place of Urban Roti's former location at Lau Pa Sat (18 Raffles Quay) is this chain from Japan that happens to be the precursor to Hikiniku to Come at VivoCity.

This one is the more elaborate of the two, featuring things like beef-and-pork-blended patties stuffed with gorgonzola cheese and a mushroom cream sauce, and even a few strands of noodles in that bowl. They even give you a vegetable smoothie thing to go with it, all while presenting the individual veggies to you so that you know what it's composed of.

The food was all fine enough for me to eat quickly, but the minimalist in me prefers Hikiniku to Come instead. I suppose that one can request a relatively minimalist version here too.

Dinner at Song Gye Ok Singapore

I finally went to Song Gye Ok for dinner tonight; unlike their samgyetang-centric lunch menu, the dinner menu serves barbecue, and specifically chicken, which is kinda neat, especialy since the basic "special grill platter" gives you an assortment of chicken parts.

That naturally included some basic thigh and breast meat (the latter was moist, albeit the most boring), but also things like cartilage, which to my surprise was my favorite. See, they grilled it in front of you and got it to just the right crunchy texture yet still with some smoky meat attached. They even threw in some fun veggies.

The items were all seasoned without being excessive, be it some coarsely ground black pepper or even a mild red sauce. That garlic fried rice above though was the only thing that went a bit too far, as I'm going to stink when I get home tonight.

The New rumeL with Booze and Pasta

I was intrigued that rumeL redid its menu with expansions into not just pastas and salads, but also wine and even canapes. It's like it was trying to go head-on with Saizeriya; and delivering a similar quality level too. The pasta that I had was underseasoned, while that burrata salad above tasted very flat. Fortunately, they kept the pizza menu; their chewy dough is still the best thing here.

Yaki Zakana 99 Grilled Fish in Singapore

The JFH folks have opened up this grilled fish place on the former grounds of Ajisen at Tiong Bahru Plaza (302 Tiong Bahru Road #02-133), with that Steak 99 place just further down the hallway. The menu looked appealing at first, considering all the different kinds of fish that they offered, including halibut, cod, and yellowtail. And it was affordable, with my halibut at under S$10 ($7.80) inclusive of free rice refills.

It was a little sad though when it came out; not just with the frail piece of fish, but also a rather lousy miso soup. I guess I was naive in thinking that I could get something like Nakajima Suisan, Shinpachi Shokudo, or even Grilled Fish Keisuke at a cheaper price, but you get what you pay for. I guess it's like going to Saizeriya; it's edible, but you do have to manage your expectations.

LocoBoys Birria Tacos from Johor Bahru

A few doors down from Ameen Roti is a small takeaway window called Opah Satay that is co-branded with Loco Boys, a birria taco shop from JB, of all places (680 North Bridge Road). I was kinda curious to know what tacos from Malaysia tasted like, especially when they claimed to have gone viral on TikTok.

They were very generous with the meat, and it was tender too. But what was different was the consome, which wasn't a broth at all. It was a cup of oil on top of a thick sauce that tasted like Chinese sour plums, although it was probably tamarind instead. I regret consuming so much of that oil, but at least I got my protein.

Saintmarc Bistro at Duo Galleria

LOL I didn't realize that this would come out looking like Saizeriya's pepper chicken. See, this shop had signage pitching its "ever popular signature grilled chicken recipe," and with a photo that didn't feature a black sizzling platter. At least this was a notch up from Saizeriya, but not by much.

Anyway, the other reason why I stopped here was because I saw the name and thought of the Japanese orange-themed pastry shop, not a sit-down restaurant bragging about its cocktails. Well, it turns out that it is the same Saint Marc, but they created an upscale version down here in Singapore.

King of Laksa at The Central, Singapore

When I first saw this Katong laksa stall at the Sinfoodie food court, I was worried that it was trying too hard (6 Eu Tong Sen Street #B1-31). They put up a big Michelin logo with a star, but they were only a Bib Gourmand. Still, the food really was good. It wasn't because it was "healthier," but because of the quality of ingredients and the bowl's overall balance.

Despite them pouring a copious amount of coconut milk in there, it wasn't excessively rich, and instead was just the right amount of thickness and spiciness, not to mention a bit of grittiness from dried seafood or something. The best part was the cockles, which were amazingly delicate yet briny. That was wonderful and I'm definitely going back.

Leila in Singapore's Chinatown

On the former grounds of Takeshi Noodle bar is this Middle Eastern and Balkan place (12 Teck Lim Road). It's got vibes and dishes a bit like North Miznon, including engaging service and an upbeat tempo. And the food was pretty good, including a pillowy Yemeni brioche called kubana that went nicely with some pickled peppers. We were happy with some of their other items too, including their artichoke on labneh as well as "Moroccan sashimi." To be sure, that fish above didn't get me too excited, while their green chili shrimp were not the freshest, but they did the job. My preference is still for North Miznon.

Korea's Dolpan Hwajoo in Singapore

This shop from Busan has taken over the Seoul Noodle Shop outlet next to Grilled Fish Keisuke (99 Tanjong Pagar Road). As with a lot of Korean places, they focus on shared group dinners with alcohol, but fortunately they do individual portions at lunch.

I went for this braised chicken and beef intestine dish at the top of their menu, and it was pretty good. The stew was mildly thick and sweet, in a good way, with just the right amount of spiciness to go with the tender boneless chicken and large intestines.

I liked it better than Kelim Dakdoritang, even if they aren't quite the same thing. This shop also does things like cheese-toppped pork ribs that even come with some big blowtorch theatrics at dinner time, along with some flavored makgeolli. That's not really my thing, but I'll go back for the lunch.

China's Chang An Ji at Lau Pa Sat in Singapore

Chang An Ji is a chain from Xian that has an outlet down here at Lau Pat Sat (18 Raffles Quay #01-24). But it's quite different given that they do full-blown sitdown restaurants up there, whereas this was a mere hawker stall limited to dumplings and noodles. And if my information is correct, they don't even have niuroubing on their China menu, even if they offer it here. Theirs was rather dense and lifeless compared to Ameen Roti. And those shrimp and crab roe dumplings above looked rather sloppy, but at least they came out faster than I expected. I ate it pretty quickly either way.

Saikyo Pasta at Icon Village, Singapore

This is a cute little Japanese pasta counter that was apparently a home-based business previously (12 Gopeng Street #01-86). They have a limited selection of three different pastas on the menu, like the mentaiko one above. The good thing was that they kept the noodles super firm. But it was also rather heavy on the garlic for me, and I am not entirely sure if I'll go back.

Sin & Savage Bakehouse at Stirling View

This place is pretty cool in that it's tucked away in an unassuming housing estate near Mei Ling Market (169 Stirling Road, #01-1153). It's run by fine-dining alums, and it shows in the cooking, like the texture and taste of those scrambled eggs above. Next time, I'm going for the Rösti, which looked impressive.