Tempura Tsunahachi in Tokyo, Japan

Tempura Tsunahachi (not to be confused with Tsubohachi) is actually the place that I wanted to go to for lunch today when I was out in Shinjuku. But I was just so darned hungry at the time that there was no way I could walk over there without fainting. Fortunately, these guys have another outlet not far from my hotel tonight, so I made it there for dinner just before they closed.

And it was wonderful. I opted for the high-end set, which was about US$15 more than the one below it, just to get one more prawn plus that sea urchin above. Wait, sea urchin?? You can deep fry sea urchin? Yep, they wrapped in seaweed and into the oil it went. Now, honestly I don't think it was worth the extra 15 bucks. But it was still full of sea urchin goodness, and how often do you get you eat deep fried sea urchin!

Anyway, I was more impressed with a clam that they deep-fried in the shell (!), and perhaps more memorably, a wonderfully tender and tasty sea bream as well as anago, all dipped in one of their four flavors of salt. That was a great meal, and the best thing about it was is that was probably also half the price of what I would have paid in Singapore. Who would've thought that Japan is now a (relative) bargain place to eat?

Tonchin Ramen in Tokyo, Japan

I can't remember how I found out about this small tonkotsu ramen chain, but there was an outlet next to me this morning and I desperately needed food. So I went up to the ticket machine and grabbed this fish powder-accented tsukemen and gyoza. It was all done with care using quality ingredients, but I didn't really like the taste, as the broth was a bit tangy and the gyoza were in fact slightly sweet too. The noodles were also softer than I prefer. Oh well.

Kajiya Bunzou in Tokyo, Japan

I was desperately in need of food after getting into the hotel tonight, and there was an outlet of this yakitori chain nearby. I grabbed my usual izakaya favorites like hiyayakko and daikon sarada; none of it was anything spectacular, but they did the job. More importantly, I was surprised at how cheap it all was. I left here totally stuffed and only spent perhaps half the amount I would've spent back in Singapore for the same thing, even if I excluded the alcohol (seriously, restaurants in Singapore are just getting ridiculously overpriced these days). I only wish I had more stomach space to get the basashi, something I noticed on the menu only after I ordered.

Bikanervala at Changi Airport is Open 24 Hours!

After getting off a red-eye flight this morning, I needed some food. And it turns out that there's a Bikanervala at Changi Terminal 3 that's open 24 hours! (That's not Bikaner Express, by the way.) At such an early hour, the kitchen was limited to just the South Indian menu, so I got this plate of idli, which perhaps to no surprise just couldn't compare to Murugan given how heavy they were...and the chutneys weren't as good either. Still, it was a meal to start the day.

Fun Beerking Chicken & Beer Cafe in Seoul

We needed another beer or two before calling it a night, and this place was down the street from dinner earlier. But apparently it wasn't nice to just order beer without food, so we grabbed this boneless chicken with leek, and it turned out to be huge. Despite the fact that we were stuffed from the meal prior, we still did some damage to this thing. Yes, it was a bit sweet, but I guess it just went so well with beer (especially since some of the pieces were chicken skin rather than meat) that this plate nearly disappeared in no time.

Dwaeji Yonguso in Seoul, South Korea

We were on the hunt for dinner in a side alley tonight when this place in Gangnam-gu (on Eonju-ro 134-gil, 02-540-0199) looked the most promising, in part because it was the most packed. And it turned out to be wonderful. It was focused on pork, and they had a sampler plate that went in progressively different stages of fat, all of which were delicious, especially when matched with some fermented chili paste, sesame oil-laced garlic, and fresh lettuce and chives.

Chamjoh Eunuliso in Yeoeuido, Seoul

I'm not sure if I got the name of this place right, but this shop is supposed to be known for gopchang jeongol, a spicy intestine stew, in the Yeoeuido area. So that's what we got for lunch today before our next meeting (18 Yeouinaru-ro 4-gil, 2-782-4848). And it was delicious, particularly after more time passed and the broth got even grittier and rich. I could've drank that thick stew all day, except that the pan got all dried out pretty quickly. Thumbs up.

There's a Shake Shack in Seoul, South Korea

Who would have thought that just two weeks after coming back from New York, I end up going to an outlet of Shake Shack in Korea?? Well, it was conveniently located near some rather nice bars not far from my hotel, making for a good post drinking snack that I wolfed down in seconds (452 Gangnam-daero, 080-731-2027). And yes, the beef was good here, but it was also drowned out by the cheese and bun. Do they have a protein style option here? Either that, or just give me the patty without the bun, as it's really just the beef that I'm after!

Jjimagi in Seongnam, South Korea

Some time ago, I asked our local Korea team about some kind of steamed seafood towers that were getting increasingly popular in Singapore and were suspiciously billed as Korean. They were puzzled though, as they had never seen something like that in Seoul. Upon doing some research, they found that you could go out to Incheon to get it, but even then, it wasn't that popular.

Later on, they heard about this place serving steamed shellfish (53-3 Jeongja-dong, Bundang-gu, 31-711-0663). Instead of tiered cylindrical towers though, they threw everything into a custom-made rectangular thing together with stock at the bottom. That made for a nice savory broth that eventually got mixed with noodles, quail eggs, and fried shallot dumplings. On top were a wide variety of shellfish including clams, mussels, scallop, abalone, and shrimp, all with a blue plastic pail on the floor for you to toss the shells into. The taste was naturally light, but the food could also be dipped into soy sauce or even a quasi-cocktail sauce by mixing their sweet red sauce with fake wasabi powder. Or you could use that melted cup of mozzarella cheese in the center for a fondue of sorts.

Oh, and part of the banchan tonight featured silkworms, something that I've been meaning to try for a long time. They weren't gooey like I thought they might be. Instead they were kind of gritty and without any particularly offensive taste. Actually, they tasted a bit like bread. It wasn't anything in particular that I cared for, but hey, it's a source of protein.

Singgeulbeong Geulbogeo in Suwon, South Korea

I'm not even sure if I got the name of this place above correctly or not (1262-1 Maetan-dong, 031-216-5007), but we needed a quick meal in between meetings down in Suwon today in the local team decided that blowfish would be a good idea. They brought out a battered version to start; it was fine, but if no one had told me that it was blowfish, I never would have known.

The main event, however, was that stew above. That picture is rather misleading because it looks clear. But there's actually a huge scoop of red chili paste underneath that turned this thing bright red. And it was sitting upon a huge bed of bean sprouts, which were eventually extracted and served on the side. It was a bit too tangy for my taste, but nonetheless was interesting to try for the first time.

Lim Chang-Jung's 73Bbrothers Restaurant in Seoul

No, that's not a typo above; there really is a second "B" in Brothers above. And I'm not even sure if I got the name of the restaurant correct. But it was the best that I could make out of this chain opened by some famous singer and actor, decorated in a traditional way (yet with green neon), playing his songs and shows in the background. We came here out of convenience here in Seoul tonight.

The things to get here were that triple hot plate above (featuring beef, potatoes, and onions, which crisped up nicely on the grill) as well as some fish roe soup that was supposed to go well with soju. Personally, I preferred beer, and it wasn't so exciting that I'd come running back. But apparently it's a place to go for drinks and a snack after dinner.

An Outlet of Phở Bay in South Korea

For some reason, Vietnamese phở is rather popular here in South Korea. I've seen lots of shops in the many times that I've been here, including this chain. And today there was an outlet nearby before our next meeting, so I suggested coming here to see if it was done differently in Korea.

I didn't like it. The broth was very faint, and lacked the aromatic bouquet of spices that I'm accustomed to. They got the noodles right, but the garnish lacked things like basil (does that make this North Vietnamese then?).

Interestingly, the onions on the garnish plate were pickled (sweet), and big cuts of oshinko were provided too (I can only assume that it was part of an effort to cater to the local interest in banchan?). Next time, I'll gladly take a lovely bowl of gomtang instead.

My First Taste of Wolfgang Puck's Smoked Salmon Pizza

That probably looks like a naked marinara pizza at a quick glance, but it's actually Wolfgang Puck's famous smoked salmon pizza, which I got at The Kitchen at Changi Terminal 3 before getting on the plane today.

The waitress warned me that the salmon was cold, and I figured that maybe previous customers had complained that the salmon was smoked rather than cooked. But it actually meant the salmon was served cold when it came out to you. In other words, they baked the crust in the oven (still warm when it arrived), but then they applied the sour cream and salmon on afterwards at a cold temperature. It made for an unexpected pizza experience, but in a good way because was kind of like eating a bagel and lox except in pizza form (and sour cream and fish eggs instead of cream cheese and capers).

The crust wasn't a traditional Neapolitan kind but still fun in that it was both crispy and chewy at the same time. Yes, I liked it enough to order again and would also like to get that chopped chicken salad again too.

Instant Nakiryu Tantanmen from Nissin Foods

Nakiryu is a Michelin-starred ramen shop that has been getting a bit of attention lately because Nissin has made an instant version of it. And fortunately, a friend of ours scored some in Japan and brought some back. Naturally, we were very curious to see if a one-Michelin starred bowl could be replicated in instant form.

It's too bad then that was disappointingly boring, and in fact tasted like mere instant noodles. The broth was relatively bland and lacked the punchiness that I was hoping for, despite the packet of red oil that comes along with it. The noodles were slightly better than your typical instant noodle, but it got soft very quickly.

I'm assuming that the actual shop in Japan is much better than this. But if the real thing tastes similar, then I won't bother waiting in line there. In the meantime, if I want a good tantanmen at home, then UberEATS delivers a pretty good bowl of Bingiri from Takumen.

Chef-in-Box Vendcafé in Sengkang, Singapore

Ever since this 24-hour vending machine café opened last year, I'd been curious about it, but never had the chance to go. Today, I was in the neighborhood and went to check it out (320C Anchorvale Drive #01-K1, 8606-8800).

It was a lot cheaper than I thought it would be, with most items under S$5 (US$3.70). I splurged on this S$8.80 (US$6.50) prawn curry, as it was from their "World Chef Series" featuring someone named Satish Arora, who it seems has quite a bit of history in the hospitality space. And yeah, I ate this piping hot spicy concoction pretty quickly, even if the prawns were nothing to get excited about.

After all, it was just frozen food that was automatically microwaved for you. If you think about it, it wasn't really that different from airplane food, actually. But Indian food has always been one of my favorites in midair, so I guess it's no surprise that I liked it at sea level too.

My First Taste of Haldiram's Chana Nuts

I was perusing a random market on the corner today when I noticed a bunch of snacks from Haldiram's. This one featuring chickpeas and peanuts in particular caught my eye, in part because of the tagline "a tasty, crispy, spicy treat." And indeed it was the salty and spicy thing that I was looking for. Yum.

Japan's Ramen Nagi in Singapore

The chain from Japan opened up at Suntec City Tower 2 earlier this week (9 Temasek Boulevard #01-512, 6821-1601). Like Keisuke's Tonkotsu King Four Seasons, these guys had a white, black, red, and green version of tonkotsu. I assume that Keisuke-san was inspired by these guys.

It's only a half menu right now with things like gyoza and chashudon unavailable. I went for the plain butao bowl just to get a taste of the pure broth, and unfortunately that's exactly what I didn't like. It was a bit too sweet and swiney, and wasn't salty enough. I didn't even want to finish it.

Granted, the checklist menu probably would've let me crank up the saltiness, but I couldn't get it to taste good using the tabletop array of condiments. Maybe I'll like it better if I try one of the four flavors and also crank up the chili sauce, but based on this bowl, I'm not going to be rushing to come back to prove myself right.

Epilogue: whoa, whoa, whoa what the heck is this?? I just realized that these guys have the same logo as Butao Ramen in Hong Kong!! I thought Butao was a local shop up there, but the similarities are too close to be a coincidence, including the same impression that I had of their sweet broth. Butao's web page shows different branding now, but I wonder if they were somehow related in the past.

"Spicy Chicken" From United Airlines

I haven't written about airplane food in a while, as it's not really anything that I want to remember. But this surprise from United tonight was good enough that I'd be happy to pay money for it. It's a misleadingly named "spicy chicken," which was not that spicy nor really about the chicken either. Instead, it was the coconut-based curry broth on noodles that I slurped down and even mopped up the remainder with bread. Now to be sure, if it were from a restaurant, I would've expected more from it. And I'm sure that my opinion was influenced by the fact that I was starving earlier. Nonetheless, it's been a long time since I've honestly liked eating something on an airplane.

The Halal Guys in New York City

I made my way over to 43rd and 6th to try to find the Trini Paki Boys cart today, but for some reason they weren't there this morning (thanks for the tip nonetheless). I thus decided to just walk a few more blocks up to 53rd and 6th to finally give the famous Halal Guys a try.

It was much better than the random cart that I tried the other day, including not just better quality meat, but perhaps more notably, that surprisingly potent red hot sauce, which made this more fun to eat. That said, I still don't know if I'd eat this salt and grease bomb again, not while sober at least.

Barney Greengrass on Manhattan's Upper West Side

Here's another place that I didn't get around to trying last time I was in New York (541 Amsterdam Avenue, 212-724-4707). It's an old school deli specializing in smoked fish. I naturally wanted to get a bagel and lox as a result, but apparently they were good at these scrambled eggs, which I got with both sturgeon and salmon, as well as a bialy on the side. Yeah, it was fine and tasted like it looked, but wasn't anything terribly mind-blowing either. In that sense, I kinda wish I had gotten a smoked fish platter (they have sable!) and maybe tried their chopped liver too.

Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn, New York

Last time I was in Brooklyn, I couldn't get into this place because of the huge line (178 Broadway, 718-387-7400). It was largely filled with tourists from what I could see, which made me think twice about coming here today. Still, this is a one Michelin-starred institution bearing praise from the likes of Zagat and the James Beard Foundation, so I had to at least give it a try.

It's definitely a unique place. It's in an old German-style wooden beer hall, it's cash only, and the only cut of beef on their menu is their porterhouse (you only choose the size depending on the number of people you have). They bring it out to you pre-sliced and sizzling in butter.

The good thing was that the fat was tasty and plentiful, with the charred edges being the best. But mine wasn't very evenly cooked, and some parts of the steak were rather difficult to eat too. Really, Michelin? I suppose it does have character, but I won't be going back. Or if I do, it would be for lunch so that I can try their burger or prime rib.

The John Dory Oyster Bar in New York City

Shellfish was exactly the top-up that I needed after dinner tonight, so I made my way to this shop, which I noticed on my way to the Breslin last night (1196 Broadway, 212-792-9000). And I was extremely happy with that Jonah crab above. It's the east coast version of a Dungeness, and the flesh was nearly as delicate and sweet too. But the best thing was the tomalley, which was richer and smoother than Dungeness. I liked this much more than when I first tried it in Boston a few years ago, and I nearly ordered another one. I suspect that I'll be back here again soon, especially since this place has great cocktails too.

Adam's Halal Food Cart in New York City

It's fascinating how "halal carts" have developed into their own thing in New York. Halal Guys is supposed to be one of the most famous ones, but I was in a rush for lunch today and just randomly found this guy at the corner of 35th and 5th. The "lamb over rice" basically turned out to be a deconstructed gyro on a plate, using that same processed meat and a selection of sauces, but on a bed of rice rather than in a pita. And it tasted like you would think it would: salty and greasy, and not in an entirely bad way, but probably something more suitable after a few drinks. Anyway, I ate this pretty quickly, and his firm rice was pretty good. Now I'm kinda curious to see what the difference is with the Halal Guys.

A Random Stop at Joe's Pizza in New York City

I still needed just a little more food after that last meal, and in fact was trying to hunt down one of those honey roasted nut stands on one of the street corners. But then I just happened to walk by an outlet of Joe's Pizza on the way back to the hotel, and I figured that I might as well get that given that it's not often that I get out to New York. The toppings on this supreme were nicely savory, but it ultimately still came down to that chewy yet crispy crust, especially when dusted with the four plastic bottles of parmesan, garlic powder, chili pepper, and oregano, all washed down with a cherry soda.

The Breslin in New York City

If no one had told me this was a one Michelin-starred place, I would have never known given its outside appearances, as it looked like your everyday English pub attached to a hotel (16 West 29th Street, 212-679-1939). But I was floored after my very first bite of that seafood sausage above. Why? Who the heck packs shellfish into a sausage?? That's exactly what it tasted like: the aroma of walking into a raw bar but packed into a sausage!!! And it came with a wonderfully buttery beurre blanc with chives. F*CK YEAH!

I had some other stuff here, including a crispy Scotch egg as well as a beef and Stilton pie, both of which were good, even if I wished that the latter had a little more cheese in it. Either way, that seafood sausage is awesome and is probably one of the best things I've eaten in several years. I'm going to have to come back for that, especially since they have a lot of local beer on tap too, not to mention some potent cocktails available. The guy said that they are known for their lamb burger as well.

Cambodia's Kirum Premium Pepper Sauce

I was randomly walking through the hot sauce section at Mustafa this morning when I noticed these bottles of hot sauce from Cambodia on sale for just S$1 (US$0.75). Of course the price made it a steal (their expiration date is approaching in a few weeks), but I was more curious to find out what this stuff tasted like. The box said that it was a 1000 year old recipe consisting of local sap vinegar and Kampot peppers, whatever those were.

It ended up tasting like a spicy Worcestershire sauce, especially since it was more sour than it was spicy. Granted, Tabasco sauce is more sour than it is spicy too, but this was earthy like Worcestershire sauce. And actually, it wasn't very spicy; it was at least several notches down from Tabasco. It thus won't be something I'll yearn for again, but one day I'd love to go to Cambodia to see what real Cambodian food is like.

Ghee & Podi Idli from Murugan Idli Shop, Singapore

It's been a while since I've been to Murugan, but this morning I noticed that they have this ghee & podi-coated idli on the menu. It was cheaper than getting the ghee & podi on its own, all the added benefit of them coating it nice and evenly for you already.

And it was delicious: so much that I barely even needed the accompanying chutney surrounding it (but I still ate the chutney given how good it is). The podi wasn't that spicy going down, but it still left a bit of warmth on my lips afterwards.

Golden Nur at Market Street Interim Hawker Centre

I was near Market Street Interim Hawker Centre (8 Cross Street) and needed a quick bite before heading back to the office. I had no idea which stalls were good, so I did a quick search online and this one showed up, and with a reasonably short line when I arrived too.

This "famous crispy fried chicken" was apparently the thing to get, except that it wasn't exactly the fried chicken that one probably assumes it to be. Instead, what made it crispy was this showering of red crunchy bits all over it. And yes, they did make it fun.

The biryani wasn't anywhere as fragrant as say, Bismillah, but I suppose that it didn't really matter when those fried bits and curry were all over it. It's just too bad then that the chicken was so dry that I didn't even bother to eat the rest of it.

Macpherson Minced Meat Noodle in Singapore

I don't remember how I found out about this place (1 Opal Crescent), but it made for a convenient stop for breakfast this morning. And yes, I liked his crackling-topped noodles, but it just wasn't as punchy as Tai Wah without those bits of dried fish or those stanky meatballs that I love so much. Still, it was an above-average bowl and was definitely better than a lot of the stuff you would usually find in food courts.

Perhaps the more interesting thing was what looked like a basket of mini baguettes that I saw a lot of people ordering from. It was only when I saw her slicing them up did I realize that they were either fried tofu or fish cakes. It was the latter, and was firm and generous, but nothing super exciting either, so I'm not sure why everyone seemed to be getting it.

It's only now that I've read up on this place did I realize that one is supposed to get the soup version instead (or maybe the "mini wok" version so as to get the best of both worlds). Actually, the little bowl of broth that they gave wasn't that exciting either, in part simply since they didn't spike it with much white pepper. Everything was pretty mild, to be honest, and I'm not sure if I'd wait in line for that again.