My Three Course Lunch at AMK Hub’s NTUC Foodfare

OK, maybe it's four courses if you count the salad too. Anyway, I made the trek up to this food court because of a stall called Nice Rice (53 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 #03-12), which got some attention for being run by a former fine dining chef doing pilaf using short grain Taiwanese rice. The beef was a bit tough, and the brown truffle sauce adorning it was a bit sweet, but I still ate it quickly, and was delighted to find dill in the salad too.



The portion was small enough that I had space to also try their fish bowl, whose thin slices of seabass arrived with a crisp yet moist texture. Now, they tended to overdo the ingredients a bit: a simple lemon wedge could've sufficed in place of that green citrus gel on top, and the buttery rice really didn't need the shichimi. But I still ate it, and nearly went back to try their mushroom bowl next until I saw a neighboring stall called Xiaoguanzi doing mixian, roujiamo, and Shaanxi liangpi.



And that's when sheer curiosity pulled me over, as they had something called Chaoxian yanji lengmian available. I looked it up, and it was basically naengmyeon done by ethnic Koreans in China. Presumably this was not a great rendition: the noodles were soft, the beef was jerky-like, and the broth was sugary sweet. So I left most of it uneaten, but the chili sauce was on point, so I might come back to try their mixian.

Poh Preserved Veg Hor Fun at Chinatown Complex

This didn't look as good as it did on the stall's signage (335 Smith Street #02-011). But it also didn't taste as bad as it looked either. There were bits of smokiness, greasiness, and saltiness that made this plate of carbs easy to eat. It would've been even easier to eat if the smokiness, greasiness, and saltiness were taken up another notch or two, but it was good enough. I should try the oyster version next time.

Artichoke on Middle Road (In Person This Time)

I ordered delivery from these guys during the lockdown last year and liked it, but I don't often go over to this part of town. Well, today I was nearby and was able to walk in, and was happy with what I had, including not just those mushrooms above (those are falafel crumbs topping the potato salad in the upper left corner, in case you're wondering), but also a nice plate of BBQ clams, even if they were rather expensive.

Actually, this place is a bit rough around the edges, including not just the gruff receptionist, but also a good portion of my clams arrived with broken shells, leaving some crunchy surprises in there. And the food is not as delicate as Miznon, which is in a class of its own, especially their ethereal pita. But I was still happy to mop the plates clean here with their bread, and the speed at which everything came out was a nice bonus too.

Charim Korean BBQ in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore

I'll admit: I came here (65 Tanjong Pagar Road, because a big sign for "meat sushi" sounded interesting. But after I sat down and realized that it really wasn't anything more than just a few rectangles of rice that they formed for you, I shifted to that pork neck set above. It was tender and grilled nicely, but the marinade was so sugary sweet that I was put off by it. The naengmyeon broth was refreshing, but the herbs also reminded me of Tiger Balm. And the banchan wasn't anything special either. I wouldn't mind coming back to try other things here, but I'm staying clear of these items.

Ichikokudo Hokkaido Ramen in Singapore

This chain has been around for a number of years now. Yet I never bothered to go there, mainly because their signage features gigantic red prawns in their bowls, and frankly it just looked like way too much of a hassle to have to shell.

Upon closer inspection of the menu though, they had bowls that didn't feature prawns. So I went for their original shoyu, whose only protein was chicken (this place is halal), and whose broth was based on chicken and fish.

The quality of the ingredients, including the skinny noodles, were better than I thought they would be. But the broth had a sweet finish to it. It wasn't so annoying that it deterred me from finishing the bowl, but I won't get it again. I wonder how their orochon bowl tastes though.

Big Winners from The Vegetarian Butcher

I bought the box on the left out of sheer amusement with the cheeky name. But what I failed to realize was that I've tried The Vegetarian Butcher before, and I didn't like it. This time was no different: those sausages were spongy and slightly bitter, and not very cheap either. Impossible is still the one to beat. I won't even bother trying those Little Peckers on the right.

Hi Noodle (Haiyiwan Miandian) at 313@somerset

I'm not sure where this place is from (313 Orchard Road #B3-19). On the surface, it looks like it's from mainland China, especially with a condiment bar that looks like it's from a hotpot shop, as well as things like suancaiyu and mala xiaolongxia-topped noodles on the menu. But I couldn't find anything online about it, and the menu features local items like bak chor mee and chili crab noodles too.

My egg noodles turned out very soft, but it was still edible with that salted egg yolk and fish skin topping. I was more excited about the "Western Mixed Vegetables" in the foreground, as it was basically a salad with a respectable mala dressing. I'd come back more for that salad, and perhaps also the novelty of their automated soft serve ice cream machine that dispensed a cone in exchange for returning your tray.

My Kosong Bowl at Newton Tian Xiang Big Prawn Noodle

I love prawns, but it's hard to get in the mood to peel those darned things. So I've been searching for a shop that does a kosong version, and this shop (500 Clemenceau Avenue North #01-60) was happy to oblige.

To be sure, that was probably because they still charged me the same price as a prawn-adorned version. But it was affordable, and the the dark broth was nice and savory with a pleasant prawn-based aroma.

Still, it was sweet...like sugary sweet. So were the noodles. The dry chili flakes helped, but I definitely preferred the firm (non-sweet) noodles from their neighbors XO Minced Meat Noodles instead.

A9 Noodle Dumpling at Fortune Centre

I never realized that there were so many things to eat in this old building beyond vegetarian restaurants. Anyway, here is a Chinese shop that has gotten some attention lately for its prices in particular (190 Middle Road #02-26, 9667-1550). That plate of 15 dumplings above went for just S$4 (US$2.90).

To be sure, the dumplings themselves weren't anything special; I'd rather go to Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao or Shenyang Feng Wei. But this guy has gigantic tubs full of chili oil, julienned ginger, and picked garlic, which was a big plus in my books.

Likewise, the noodles here were way too soft for me, and those fried items were rather limp and sad. But the bowl was seasoned with a tasty oil, and also came topped with chopped white onions, reminding me of Enishi. By the way, does anyone know what those savory white crumbs were that he topped it with?

Pondok Jawa Timur at Far East Plaza, Singapore

I kinda had a hunch that I would like this place given that the menu started with Indonesian soups (14 Scotts Road #05-22, 6884-5853). Sop buntut was at the top, followed by soto ayam. Third on the list was something that I hadn't tried before: rawan, or that dark soup above. It was dark because it was based on not just beef, but also keluak. The taste of the latter was subtle, while the texture of the former wasn't anything special, but I liked how they weren't afraid to make it salty. Indeed, the best part about this place is how deliciously savory things like that kangkung were. It was the best item that I had today.

Nuodle’s Lemon Beef La Mian

The thought of putting sliced lemons in a bowl of Lanzhou beef noodles sounded so strange to me that I couldn't get it out of my head. But that's what Niuyizui was advertising at one of its food court stalls, so I went back to gave it a shot.

It wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. After all, citrus works well with phở, sop buntut, menudo, and even the occasional bowl of ramen, so why not Lanzhou beef noodles? I happily ate this along with a couple of short yangrouchuanr that they threw into a paper sleeve.

Miznon’s “Fresh Golden Bag of Calamari”

We needed a late dinner tonight, and Miznon was conveniently nearby. They had their artichoke on the menu, as well as that calamari above. It hit the spot with all of its refreshing lemon, aioli, and herbs. Miznon rocks.