Shrimp Prawn Seafood at Boat Quay in Singapore

I don't think I've ever had this dish in Thailand before, but this steelpot prawn vermicelli above is this local shop's signature dish (53 Boat Quay, 8375-3888). And I was rather happy with it. As you can imagine, the tastiest part was not the prawns on top, but instead the vermicelli at the bottom, which I dove straight into after moving the prawns out of the way.

They're not afraid of using pepper, garlic, and oil here, and that's what made it so fun, especially when topped with crackling, spring onion, and cilantro. Those prawns weren't bad either, as they were fresh and huge. But the headfat wasn't very tasty, and honestly I'd be happy with just a big pot of the vermicelli on its own. Do you think they'd offer a kosong version?

Sheng Seng Fried Prawn Noodles at Pek Kio Market

I didn't have time to get lunch today, so I turned to GrabFood and found this Michelin-listed Hokkien mee stall from Pek Kio Market and Food Centre (41 Cambridge Road #01-40). It didn't have much gravy in there, but that might've been a function of how slow my delivery guy was. The chili sauce was a bit sweet too, but I still ate it all, especially since the ingredients were decent. I was happy that it was so cheap too.

Menya Kanae Hokkaido Tonkotsu Ramen House & Cafe

I'm not completely sure about the background of this place, but it seems to be a local chain that the Kokoro folks started. They have an outlet at Hokkaido Marche (I think they took over Shirakaba Sansou's stall), and also have a larger cafe at Novena Regency (275 Thomson Road #01-08, 6261-6205).

They said that they created "the spiciest miso ramen" above for local palates. It was spicy, but it was sheer heat without much else to make it exciting. The gyoza were rather sad too. I'm not getting either of these again, but I'm kinda curious about their zangi, as it comes served on waffles if you'd like.

The Pregnant Woman Fried Rice from Honolulu Cafe

I'm not sure if this is a common dish in Hong Kong, but the English name certainly got my attention when I saw it at the menu at Honolulu Cafe. And that's really the only reason why I ordered it, even if I knew that I probably wouldn't like it given that it featured chicken floss. Yep, that made it a bit sweet.

The rest of the fried rice wasn't anything to get that excited about either, as it wasn't smoky nor featured any ingredients worth boasting about (those were frozen peas and chopped carrots in there, right?). But I liked their egg tarts this time, and was happy with the hot Coke with ginger too.

Japan's Hotto Motto at JCube in Singapore

I don't get out to Jurong very often, but Don Don Donki has a food court out there (2 Jurong East Central 1), many of which were chains from Japan. Some of them already have a presence down here, particularly Keisuke, Sabar, Marutama, and Gindako. But I'd never tried Hotto Motto before, so I went for that, even if the menu didn't look very impressive.

Actually, the food wasn't that impressive either, but I still ate it all. What perhaps got me more interested was a shop called Arizuki, where I had a better experience with their teppan plate. It was only after I placed my order though did I realize that Arizuki was a chain known for motsunabe; I will be sure to try that next time I'm out here, as well as maybe the unagi shop.

Huevas de Caballa from Conservas Ortiz

 

I was perusing the deli section at Meidi-ya the other day when I passed by some Ortiz products, figuring that they were the usual tuna and anchovies. But then I had to do a double take: wait, huevas? Eggs?? Yep, it was mackerel roe. They provided entire sacs, which one could slice and put on top of bread. They were more mild-tasting than I thought they would be, but in a good way, with a smooth well-rounded finish. A sprinkle of salt brightened it up too. I mopped up everything inside that tin to the last drop.

The Chicken Sandwich from Popeye's in Singapore

I saw people in the US raving about this online last year, but I didn't know what the big deal was. After all, Popeye's has had chicken burgers on their menus here for a while, right? Well, those burgers are still on the menu, but now, these chicken sandwiches just started selling in Singapore yesterday. And oh my GODDDDD, was it good!

It didn't look like much, but what made it work was the sauce, which was not just spicy but also deliciously fatty. I'm not sure what kind of grease they used in that thing, but it reminded me of the orange sauce at La Victoria, giving it such a tasty coating that I nearly went for a second one if will power hadn't stopped me.

And yes, the chicken itself was good too, being both moist as well as crunchy; apparently they swapped the breast for a thigh to cater to local palates here (the pickles interestingly weren't very briny; I'm not sure if that was a local adjustment too, but I didn't mind, as I like the taste of cucumbers). Either way, it's all about the sauce, and I'm going back for more.

Xun Qin Ji Shaanxi Noodles in Tiong Bahru, Singapore

How cool is it that there are more and more Shaanxi places showing up? This one (58 Seng Poh Road #01-17, 8922-2806) had a short menu similar to the Biang Biang folks up in Toa Payoh. I went for this set above, featuring liangpi, roujiamo, and some of that Xi'an orange soda.

I didn't care that much for the texture of the roujiamo bread, but the meat inside was fatty and moist at least. The liangpi was refreshing, even if it wasn't very spicy (and I asked for extra chili too). I was happy to have eaten it either way, especially since it was all less than S$10 (US$7.40).

Pang's Hakka Noodles at Tekka Place Annex Building

I stopped by the Xin Tekka food hall for lunch today, figuring that I'd try this shop (2 Serangoon Road #01-55 Stall 10). See, it's run by a former pastry chef celebrating his Hakka heritage. And while this didn't look like anything special when it came out, it was surprisingly delicious.

Let's start with the noodles first, which were impressively chewy and fun to eat. More importantly, they were laced with lard, providing a deliciously rich silky feel, yet all of the flavors were mild enough not to be distracting. The soup above it was a bit sweet, but in a good way, as it similarly was like a warm velvety blanket that complemented everything else.

The only thing I didn't care for was the chicken wings, which were too big and whose batter was too thick. But that's just nitpicking, as I was still happy to eat those crunchy yet moist things. Yes, this was good. I wonder if he'll do lei cha fan here too.

Saveur Restaurant on Purvis Street in Singapore

I've never eaten from these guys before despite having tried their two offshoots, Taste Affair and The Masses. I ordered delivery from them tonight though as I was in the mood for some affordable French food (5 Purvis Street #01-04, 6333-3121). Apparently they used to be run out of a hawker stall.

The food was much better than I was expecting, particularly that duck confit above with its crispy skin, tasty fat, and generous meat, not to mention nicely done sauce and sides. I was happy with their namesake pasta topped with sakura ebi too. I'll order these from them again.

Colbar Eating House off Portsdown Road in Singapore

This place is kinda fun (9A Whitchurch Road, 6779-4859). It's an old school colonial bar (hence, the name) tucked away in a quiet area away from the city. Everything from the decor to the menu to the cash-only payment system is from another era, but that's what gives it its charm. Yes, think of it a bit like Mariner's Corner or even Shashlik.

That means that the main draw is not the food. The T-bone steak that we got was paper thin and not worth the S$28 (US$17). And I didn't really care for the other stuff that we got either, like the prawn cocktail. But I still had fun, as it was basically a pub with fresh air and plenty of beer to chose from. And that ox liver sandwich on sliced bread above that grew on me after a few pints. The booze added up pretty quickly, actually.

If we come back, then we need to remember to stick to the curry, which was probably the best thing that we had today. No wait, actually the best thing that we had today were the chips that accompanied the aforementioned steak. I'm not sure what kind of potatoes they were, but I loved how they were naturally sweet yet with just the right amount of grease permeating them.

A Pair of Noodle Shops at Whampoa Makan Place

There are a couple of noodle stalls at Whampoa Hawker Centre that I never had a chance to try because they shut down by midday. We were able to head over for an early lunch this morning though, so I went straight to Xing Heng Feng (91 Whampoa Drive #01-14) to try those fishball noodles above. Yes, it was nicely done including both the firm eggy noodles as well as the quality of the other items in the bowl, including some bits of dried fish mixed into the dumpling stuffing for some extra stank. It's not so special that I'd go out of my way for it, but it was a high quality bowl at an affordable price.

The other one that I wanted to try was China Whampoa Home Made Noodle (91 Whampoa Drive #01-24), as they were supposed to have a killer chili sauce. It arrived front and center in the bowl, and was indeed pleasantly spicy. But that chili sauce was as sweet as it was garlicky (seriously, was it made from equal parts of chili, sugar, and garlic?). It was so sweet that I won't get it again, but I nonetheless really liked the crunchy texture of the green veggies, not to mention the chewy noodles, firm razor clams, and crispy bits of dried fish. To my surprise, I still finished the bowl (and even wanted more) despite how sweet it was.