Trying Cebuano Sikwate in the Philippines

The hotel breakfast had a few local items available this morning, including this drink called sikwate from Cebu. It looks like hot chocolate, and basically was hot chocolate when you consider that it's made from ground cacao beans (yep, apparently the Spanish brought it over). It was gritty and without sugar though, so it was nutty and slightly bitter. I like dark chocolate though, so this worked for me.

Lore by Chef Tatung in the Philippines

That might not look very appealing above, but it was delicious. See, it was from a Michelin-listed place on the third floor of One Bonifacio High Street Mall, and this chef has brought dishes from Mindanao in the south up to Manila.

That dish featured tender pieces of chicken slowly cooked in a blackened mixture of coconut and spices, and it was wonderful, especially when countered with those tart pickles in the foreground and assisted with some rice. I was happy with their inadobong baby pusit too, which featured baby squid sitting in a dark and savory mixture that one could mop up with bread.

Garlic featured heavily across all of my dishes tonight, but in a soft and roasted way rather than a harsh and stinky way. The service here was a little confusing (and the menu was incredibly long), but I'd be happy to eat here again.

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.