Owen Road Authentic Teochew Chendul in Singapore

We walked around after that meal at Pek Kio and randomly came across this stall at the BGain 46 Eating House around the corner (46 Owen Road). Presumably the name is a play on the famous cart in Penang, but it wasn't the chendol that caught my eye; the signboard instead drew your eyes to their "Stinky Bowl." LOL, this one we had to check out.

It was a D24 durian mousse that you see in the background, and it was pretty good with its rich durian sweetness (and yes, it was stinky). I liked the chendol in the foreground too, especially with that gula melaka and coconut milk. That one had options for D13, D24, or mao shan wang durian toppings as well, but we went for a plain one.

Three Stalls at Pek Kio Market & Food Centre

I'm not sure if Lai Hiang was the one that was referred to in this recent comment, but there was a 20 minute line at this Pek Kio stall number 41 this morning (whereas there was no visible line at Wah Kee). I liked the prawns here and gobbled it all up quickly, but I still prefer the Tekka market shop over this one due to not just its more pure-tasting broth, but also the fun garnishes.



There was also a Michelin-listed chee cheong fun stall called Pin Wei at stall 25, where you can see the lady folding them in front of you with a plastic scraper. The fillings were pretty good, including not just firm prawns, but also minced char siew accentuated with cumin and sesame seeds. Note though that the chili sauce is local, despite it otherwise being Hong Kong-style with that thin fluid poured over it.



Finally, stall 28 did handmade chwee kueh, including a giant-sized one that they were sold out of today. I went for the normal-sized one then. The cakes were the best part, as they were firm with a pronounced taste that one doesn't often get from other stalls. But I didn't care that much for the tangy pickled topping nor chili; the salty Ghim Moh guy still wins in that department.

Japan’s Kimukatsu at Takashimaya Singapore

The Romankan stall in the basement food hall of Takashimaya has been replaced by this chain from Japan (391A Orchard Road #B201-5, 9773-7890). They claim to be the creators of mille-feuille tonkatsu, which we got in curry form today. The meat itself was a bit on the dry side, but those thin shabu shabu-like slices also kept them rather fun and tasty enough for me to gobble up quickly. These guys say that they are the only shop that does mille-feuille tonkatsu in multiple flavors; I'm curious to see what the ume shiso and yuzu kosho taste like.

London Fat Duck’s Ghost Pepper Fish Skin

I finally managed to get my hands on a pack of those new ghost pepper fish skins after passing by an outlet of London Fat Duck itself. Fortunately, they did a good job with these: not only were they potently spicy (I ran around the house like a headless chicken panting in both pain and glee), but they also didn't forget to make it taste good beyond sheer heat. Plus, there was the added bonus of big dried chili pods in the bag along with the fish skins. I don't think they were ghost peppers based on the shape, but my burning lips weren't in any position to verify them by placing them in my mouth either. Maybe I'll try again later today.

Menbaka Kyoto Fire Ramen Restaurant at Cineleisure Orchard

I braved the one hour wait in line for this. And I went through all of the theatrics at the counter with the huge flames and selfie sticks. Fortunately, I liked the taste too. See, this is a chain from Japan (8 Grange Road #05-03) that sets fire to their bowls, the idea being that it fuels the flavor of the negi on top, all while taking the raw edge off in the process.

It generally worked. There was a nice roasted aroma in the the broth that I happily slurped up. The thin chashu and skinny noodles worked for me, as did those add-ons, like the charred butter corn.

The bigger question then is: how did it compare to our all-time-favorite Gogyo? Well, despite the similar flame action, it wasn't quite the same thing. This tasted more like roasted onions, whereas Gogyo was more like yakiniku. And if I had to choose between the two, I'd choose Gogyo. But I'll eat this again if I don't have to wait in line.

The Ganchaomian from Top 4 Noodle Master

I've been going through the other items at Siye Niula, and that ganchaomian above looked better than it tasted. At least it came with a side of their clear soup, which I liked much more. The other thing that I've since tried here is their hongshao bowl, whose deep-tasting soup is pretty good. But I still prefer the clear original.

Huraideu Korean Fried Chicken in Singapore

This place requires a few explanations. First off, it turns out that the Korean transliteration of fried chicken is huraideu-chikin, and hence the name. Second, this is not a chain from Korea, but rather a local shop. More importantly, it's another cloud kitchen doing deliveries only; I only found out about it because a big ad was running when I opened GrabFood this afternoon.

And how about the food? The good thing was that it wasn't anywhere as sweet as I feared it would be. But the "extra spicy" ghost pepper sauce wasn't anywhere as spicy as I thought it would be either (those dry chili garnishes on top clearly were not ghost peppers either). Plus, the batter was thick and even tough sometimes. I still ate it (and the kimchi cole slaw was kinda cool), but I won't order it again.

545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles at Tekka Centre, Singapore

That was easily one of the best bowls of prawn noodles that I've had. It was nicely done all around, including not just the rich and savory broth, but also the well-seasoned noodles, and even the little things like the shelled but fresh prawns, crunchy shallots and lard, and the chili powder, which is not the usual dusty powder but a coarser grind with seeds. I'm not sure if there is a corresponding stall at Whampoa Food Centre that does it the same way, but this one here at Tekka Centre is worth coming back for (665 Buffalo Road #01-326).

Chuan Xiang Xiao Chu at Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre

The line at this hawker stall (22 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh #01-51) was pretty long tonight. I'm not sure how much of that was a function of some online coverage that it got recently, but presumably the lines are usually this long given that they were using a fancy remote buzzer system. After waiting at least 20 minutes, we finally got our shui zhu yu above.

It was good enough that we finished the whole bowl, but I left unsatisfied, without even touching a second bowl of rice like I thought I would. Part of it was simply that it wasn't as spicy, greasy, nor salty as I had expected it to be. Part of it was also because the choice of fish wasn't as luxurious as what Shisen Hanten uses. But this was also much, much cheaper, and it was still fresh.

The other part of my disappointment was the ganbian sijidou, which was surprisingly sweet. Actually, the sweetness was arguably a nice touch that complemented it, but it was also so sweet that it became a bit of a distraction, making me again wish that it were spicier, greasier, and saltier. Maybe this is because we didn't specify that we wanted it that way, but I'm in no rush to go back here.

The Beef Chow Fun from Hong Kong's Tsui Wah

I would think that I've eaten the ganchao niuhe from Tsui Wah before, but I can't seem to find any record of it. Anyway, I had it today for lunch, and admittedly I didn't care much for it, especially with its skinny noodles and slightly sweet seasoning. The chili oil was spicy but also with too many other things going on in there. I won't order this again, but there were other items on the menu that looked worthy of a try.

Good Year Seafood Village Restaurant in Tampines

These guys are right next door to Beng Poh (15 Tampines Avenue, 9642-5800). And they serve a lot of the same cze cha dishes too, although these guys also have Pontian-style bak kut teh. I'm not familiar with all of the nuances of that, but this was an herbal yet thin broth, in a good way. And as with Malaysian bak kut teh, it came with minced garlic in the thick dark soy sauce on the side, which I was happy to eat. The other food here like the noodles were slightly better than Beng Poh's too, although I'll pass on the steamed fish next time.

Beng Poh Eating House in Tampines, Singapore

This cze cha is out in the middle of nowhere (17 Tampines Avenue, 8205-2442), giving it an old school rural feel. That made a nice setting for some beer and fried kisu whiting on a breezy evening. Yes, the fish were fun to eat, especially the crispy and light (yet tasty) heads. The deep fried food here fares better than the stir-fried stuff though; the noodles didn't have much of a smoky wok hei aroma.