estiatorio Milos at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

I've been wanting to eat here for a very long time, as this Montreal-based restaurant flies in seafood from Greece and lays it all out on a glorious-looking ice display (10 Bayfront Avenue #B1-48). MBS was conveniently near me during F1 tonight, so I tried my luck was able to get a walk-in at the bar.

That's their namesake special above, featuring thin and crisp slices of deep fried eggplant and zucchini with saganaki cheese and tzatziki as dip underneath it all. I also had a small lithrini fish that was done with olive oil and capers. Being at Marina Bay Sands meant that it wasn't cheap, but I needed to pamper myself.

Palapa Indonesian Fast Food in Singapore

I like walking to City Gate for food during F1 if I'm near Gate 1, especially since it can be much faster than waiting in those long lines, and in air conditioned comfort at that.

This time, I went to this Indonesian place (371 Beach Road #02-28). I grabbed that plate above because it was supposed to be a coriander chicken along with lime rice, which I envisioned to be covered in green leaves (or at least a green sauce) along with a citrusy and mildly acidic rice. It was only after I got it that I realized that coriander was actually in reference to the seeds rather than the plant, so it was brown and earthy in that crunchy batter.

And the rice was not in reference to the fruit, but the strong taste of the leaves. It was fragrant, but next time I'll get the Indomie option instead. I still ate it all with that mild but clean red sambal.

Kim Hock Guan Traditional Bakkua in Singapore

Time for more small batch bak kwa shops, with this one being the oldest one in Singapore (180 Bencoolen Street #01-25). To my surprise, the meat was rather tough and dry, requiring a bit of effort to chew. But I think that was by design, as they used lean meat. I don't think I'll get it again, but I am kinda curious if the spicy version is a little more exciting.

La Table d'Emma in Singapore

This is a rather large Alsatian restaurant at the Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre from a former Jaan chef (8 Club Street #01-04). And it was pretty good, with that chicken leg above done in a nice mustard sauce and paired with spaetzle. A small beef boullion starter had nice touches like bone marrow financiers on the side too. I'd be happy to go back, but the prices aren't cheap here, especially when ordering a la carte.

Luck Bros Kopi in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Interestingly, this Malaysian chain was previously called Luckin Kopi, but they changed their name to Luck Bros before the big Chinese chain spread its wings. Anyway, they do this flight of local coffee styles that was pretty cool. I liked the Ipoh one the best for its complexity, while the Melaka one was nice with its gula melaka, even if it tasted more of palm sugar than coffee. The Penang one was surprisingly strong, while the KL one was surprisingly watery. The Johor one was the most approachable. They have a big food menu here too, but I didn't have the stomach space to try it. Next time.

Juăn Chinese Beef Roti in Kuala Lumpur

When in Malaysia, I had to grab a local beef roti to see how it compared to Ameen in Singapore. This one (Lot S.6, 101 Jalan Bukit Bintang) competes with a big street-facing outlet of Mon Chinese Beef Roti down the street. The dough was the best part, as it was not just crispy and greasy, but also noticeably salty, which gave it a nice edge. The filling wasn't as spicy as Ameen though, which means that I still prefer Ameen.

Al - Sultan Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

One really cool thing about KL is the fact that there are a lot of respectable Middle Eastern restaurants, especially to cater to travelers from the Gulf. But it was only recently that I realized that Yemeni cuisine in particular is dominant here, and this small chain had an outlet near me today.

I think I had a chicken mandi above, but mine was pitched as a "sidr," complete with flaming theatrics and pot thumping. Either way, the rice and chicken were deliciously spiced, even if the chicken was a bit dry. They provided my favorite sahowqa salsa-like sauce, which made it go down easily.

Decker's Smash Burger from Kuala Lumpur

Not to be confused with Decker Barbecue down in Singapore, this is a small burger chain from KL's Chinatown that had a setup in Sepang this weekend. That crispy patty with onions was nice, as was the soft pillowy bun. The bun was a bit sweet, as were the globs of sauce in there, but that didn't stop me from inhaling it quickly.

Food from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

It's so cool that the organizers of the F1 race in Sepang this year brought a cultural exchange along, including some local Bahraini vendors and food! One of them was a chain called Lumee, which was doing these wraps featuring their signature beef. It was smoky from the grilling and also pleasantly acidic from a dark lime marinade. There was even a bit of tahini in it, if I tasted it correctly. It was surprisingly tiny yet delicious.



That's not to leave out Malaysian kebab shops though. This one called Azry is a chain that originated from Melaka. I grabbed one of their chicken shawarmas, which to my surprise was loaded with a mildly sweet and spicy curry-like sauce...or I guess it was local chili sauce and mayonnaise, kinda like a Ramly Burger? As much as I preferred the Bahraini one above, I still consumed this quickly.



And then there was a Malaysian taco stall, although this one was from Penang. The use of flour tortillas normally would have been a turnoff, but I didn't mind it that much this time, perhaps because there was just so much cheese loaded into these things. They called these "not birria" lamb tacos above, although what really hooked me was their prawn tacos, which were rich and tangy.

Anak Baba in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

I grabbed a plate of nasi lemak from this Michelin Bib Gourmand near my hotel this morning (159 Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad). The rice itself was the least exciting part of this plate. Instead, it was more about the super airy and salty ikan bilis as well as the optional side of ayam goreng kuyit fried chicken, which had a very light batter with a touch of ginger in it, if I tasted it correctly. The chicken was a little hard to eat given that it was scaldingly hot and bone-in, but I'm sure that that's a feature rather than a bug.

Laoganma Prawn Crackers and Potato Chips by Oishi

These Laoganma-branded snacks stopped me in my tracks when I saw them in Chinatown last week. We've only opened the prawn crackers for now; they were mild in heat but very strong on the Chinese fermented black bean taste, making them surprisingly earthy. If my information is correct, this wasn't created by Oishi's headquarters in the Philippines but instead their Shanghaojia operations in China. And hence, this was launched for the China market.

Kun Ji Duck Rice at Marine Parade Central Market

I needed something fast to eat out here in Marine Parade today, so I landed on this old school family-run stall that seemed to be rather popular for its braised duck (84 Marine Parade Central #01-25). The meat was indeed tender, and the broth was nicely done. But the duck meat itself got drowned out by everything else, including the meicai that I got on the side. It's quality food that I certainly don't mind eating again if it's conveniently in front of me, but I wouldn't wait in line for it either.