Meat Zero Patties by Thailand’s CP Foods

I have a bit of a fascination with plant-based meats. So when I saw advertisements for this new Meat Zero brand from Thailand's CP Foods, I was curious enough to pick up a pack. This one was done in a garlic and herb patty, which was impressively crispy when it came out of an air fryer. But the breading was all that I could taste, so I had to scrape it away in order to taste the "meat," which was firm and looked like chicken but tasted nothing like it. No, I won't get it again, especially since it was a little sweet. But at least it was better than those old school meat substitutes.

Yumen Hut at Downtown East in Pasir Ris

I'm not sure why, but this small chain of noodle shops has only two outlets, and they are both located at Downtown East in Pasir Ris. It didn't look like much, but we stopped by one of them out of sheer convenience. It turns out that it is run by a very old noodle manufacturer, which one would think would be a big bonus. But the food wasn't very inspiring despite the fun-colored spinach noodles above. It just seemed like what one could get at your everyday food court. Oh well.

The Kim San Leng Food Centre in Bishan

I'd been to this kopitiam many years ago, but it recently got refurbished. Now it features outlets of King of Fried Rice as well as Chef Wei HK Cheong Fun. The latter has been getting a lot of attention lately, commanding a longer line than the former when we arrived this morning. The good thing is that the changfen were delicately made to order and came with a nice chili mixture. But it wasn't so great that it was worth the wait. If anything, it just made me wonder if Yin Ji was still around in Singapore.



A couple of stalls down was a shared space doing both Teochew fish porridge and char siew noodles. It looked like a corporate chain called Lee Kwang Kee, but I wouldn't have known it based on the food. The char siew was impressively smoky, while the broth carried a mild scent of Chinese herbs.



What was even better was the fish soup, which came with a selection of different types of fish while the fried fish was served in a separate bowl. Now, the fried fish had clearly been sitting around for a while, and frankly it wouldn't have made a difference had they just thrown it into the bowl. But the broth was pleasantly murky, all without needing the addition of milk, and they also provided those awesome Teochew brown beans that I like so much.

Thousand Layer Beef Rumen from Haidilao Singapore

Haidilao had these gruesome yet gorgeous-looking slices of tripe on the menu today, and I had to get some out of sheer curiosity. They were cutaway sections of rolled-up tripe that was supposed to be seasoned with things like ginger, spring onions, and huadiao huangjiu. But they basically just tasted like tripe, which fortunately I'm a fan of, even if it's usually the white version rather than black one. In retrospect, I should've asked them if this was meant to be dunked into the broth or eaten straight.

A Box of Uni from Toyosu Market in Japan

I'm not exactly sure what type of uni this is, but I got a big box of it as a gift, and I've been trying out different ways to eat it at home. The most effective has been with just rice and seaweed, as that let the sweet and savory richness come through. When I tried putting it on scrambled eggs and sourdough bread, the taste of the urchin got lost inside it. Using it as a topping for buttered pasta worked pretty well though, giving those carbs delightful punches of creamy brininess once in a while. But rice was still the best fit.

The Jogi Croaker Set from Nanta BBQ

If you've ever stepped foot into Nanta, you may have noticed a brick oven in the corner of the restaurant. It struck me as odd, since it looked like what you'd do a Neapolitan pizza in. Surely enough, the menu says that they brought in a lava stone oven from Italy. I was thus very curious to try the fish that they bake inside, like this yellow croaker. It came out with some lovely skin, being both crispy and fatty to go with the delicate meat. I am not sure if it is common to bake fish in an Italian oven in Korea, but I devoured this easily and am ready to go back for more.

Hoàng Hâu Vietnamese Restaurant in Bukit Merah

I came to this shop (146 Jalan Bukit Merah #01-1090, 9622-1077) with the intention of trying something that one doesn't see on menus very frequently: freshwater eel porridge. But they were sold out by the time that I arrived, so I went for this "Vietnamese street pizza" instead. It was fine, but what surprised me about this place was how sugary everything was...almost candy-like. That included not just the minced pork topping above (it totally overshadowed the rice paper that it sat on), but also the bún chả and even the phở broth. I still ate it all, and want to return to try that porridge, although I hope it isn't too sweet.

Abundance near Redhill (In Person This Time)

Abundance is another one of those shops that I tried during the lockdowns and only now am getting around to going there in person. It made a huge difference, not only due to all of the beer that they had available on tap, but also for things like their fish buns above, which really need to be eaten quickly on-site in order to experience the pillowy bun, light and crunchy fried fish, gooey egg yolk, as well as asparagus tips still smoky from the grill. I came for drinks rather than food this afternoon, but one day I'll come back here to give the menu a more thorough rundown.

Wano Niku at the Ace Eating House in SIngapore

I have a soft spot in my heart for cheap and fast yakiniku, and now there is another kopitiam yakiniku place that has taken over the Chinese stall next to Lao Gu Ban at 243 Cantonment Road. The menu tries to steer you toward their "karubi & loin mix," which turned out to be just a bunch of small scraps thrown into a small bowl. The karubi bits were tasty, but I hated coming across one of those boring cuts of loin.

The better thing to do is order specific cuts on the right side of the menu, which for me meant sticking to nice fatty parts like the premium karubi, as well as the sankaku that he had at the top of his list of specials today. Fortunately, those came without marinades, letting the fat go nicely with the pearly beads of rice that he provides, as well as that vegetable platter. Those prices added up pretty quickly though.

First Street Teochew Fish Soup in Singapore

This fish soup stall has gotten a bit of attention lately because they struck a deal with the BreadTalk folks to open more outlets. I was passing by the original store this morning and thus decided to stop by for breakfast to see what all of the fuss was about (1014 Upper Serangoon Road).

Yes, it featured very fresh fish and a slightly cloudy and gritty broth, making it nice and savory. They don't have a fried fish option though, and in that sense, I prefer Kwang Kee. But I guess the main thing with these guys is the variety of fish choices, not to mention optional add-ons like roe and milt.

Siam Smith Thai Noodle Bar at Palais Renaissance

Next to French Fold's new Orchard outlet is this upscale-looking Thai place (390 Orchard Road #01-01, 6235-8901). And it turns out that it's run by the folks who not only brought Go-Ang Pratunam over, but also run the Thai Express chain plus a number of not-so-encouraging buffets around town. Still, they were clearly going for ambience here, and fortunately, the signature noodles above were good enough, even if it surely wasn't going to be as cheap nor exciting as the shops over at Orchard Towers. I'm actually kinda curious about their baked pie featuring Thai curry inside, but I didn't have 30 minutes to wait around for it to come out.

A Farewell Set of Bánh Nậm from Bếp Huế

Sigh, Bếp Huế is closing for good today, so I quickly scrambled down to grab the last batch of bánh nậm that I could, gobbling it up within seconds. Half of their menu is already crossed out now, presumably as they liquidate their remaining stock. That meant that my usual bún hến was gone already, so I tried the bún mắm nêm, which featured a dark fermented anchovy sauce that the proprietor tried to warn me about. But the extra stank was precisely what appealed to me. I'm going to miss this place; she told me that they aren't opening up another location.

BBBURGERS at Punggol Plaza in Singapore

I'm not sure about the meaning and pronunciation of this stall (168 Punggol Field #B1-05), but they pitch themselves as doing "Korean smashed burgers," with their namesake one above featuring pickled radishes and their own ssamjang. Those condiments certainly were very prominent in the burger...so much that I couldn't taste the beef at all, especially since it was such a tiny patty that looked nothing like what was in the photos. The fries were rather unremarkable too. It all looked and sounded more interesting than it tasted.

The Bian Rou Soup from Putien

I really should go to Putien more often, as the food is just wonderful. Take that soup above, for instance. It may look like your everyday soup, but those dumplings are made from pork that have been pounded for three hours, giving the skins a delicately springy texture, all while sitting in a broth laced with vinegar. I was particularly happy with their seaweed starter too; it was basically just a pile of shredded black seaweed in a light marinade, but it was so deliciously savory that I kept nibbling it in small bites so as to stretch that portion as far as I could. Apparently the way that they harvest this seaweed in Putian makes it particularly unique. Next time I need to make sure that I get my hands on the yellow croaker.

Pickle Bakery at Everton Park in Singapore

How nice it is that there have been so many small bakeries popping up lately doing proper sourdough. This one (2 Everton Park #01-61, 8322-9500) is pretty good, or at least that portobello potato tartine above is. I'll still go to my usual Starter Lab and Woodlands Sourdough first, but I'll happily check out Pickle again if I'm nearby.

The Set Lunch Menu at Merci Marcel on Club Street

The Club Street location of Merci Marcel (7 Club Street, 6438-3913) has a decently affordable lunch set, and I've basically gone through all of the permutations by now. Yeah, I liked it all, be it the grilled asparagus, snapper meunière, or steak frites, the latter of which had some nice fatty beef and potato-ey fries. I had those salmon rilettes above today, but my favorites are still the tiny baked cockles topped with Beurre Maître d'Hôtel and chorizo, as well as the duck parmentier with an easy to eat duck confit. I just need to remember *not* to upgrade to the cheese platter at the end, since that is a meal in and of itself.

Zion Road Blk 91 An Shun Seafood Soup in Toa Payoh

This is a fish soup stall that is presumably from the old HDB estates on Zion Road before having to move here (206 Toa Payoh North). It was pretty good, with fresh fish and a crisp, clean broth. Plus, they get bonus points for intentionally separating out the fried fish pieces from the broth, even if the batter was still on the thick side. I sure miss Hock Heng though.

Trying Bánh Ram Ít from Bếp Huế

That's my usual bún hến clam noodle from Bếp Huế above. But the thing in the lower left corner was something new that caught my eye this time. It's a big hard to make out from the photo, but those were sticky rice cakes, with a crunchy fried layer underneath yet a soft steamed piece topping it. They were fun little snacks, but they still paled compared to the green leaf-wrapped bánh nậm, whose peppery insides are still the best thing that they serve here. Next time I should just get a double order of those.

The Yeong Yang Jeongol at Myung Ga II

I'm not sure if this is a very common dish, but the menu at Myung Ga II described it as a beef, vegetable, and mushroom hot pot. So it was rather surprising to find it thick and gritty, yet also aromatic and earthy, all of which I think was due to a lot of ground sesame seeds. I was quite happy to have gotten this given how healthy and delicious it was, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to find other places serving it.

“The REAL Prawn Noodles” from Shrimp Prawn Seafood

To be clear, the capitalization emphasis is from the Shrimp Prawn Seafood folks, not me. And the reason why they did so is because these "noodles" are made from prawns (and a bit of fish and squid) rather than carbs. That gave them a delightfully firm texture and taste, but the portion provided was frustratingly small. I still wish that there were hawker stalls selling a proteinless kosong version of their vermicelli, especially if they are cheaper and faster.

Tomyum Mama Noodles from Phuket Town Mookata

I needed some post-drinking food tonight, and this stall was open late (340 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 #01-1697, 8613-0826). As their name suggests, they specialize in mookata. But they also offered this bowl of instant noodles, which I grabbed for S$13.90 (US$10.20). It was arranged rather neatly, and the seafood was fresher than I thought it would be. But the broth was sweet, so it's not something that I'd regularly eat.

2280 Burger at Henderson Industrial Park in Singapore

So the Naked Finn folks opened up a cheaper non-wagyu version of BurgerLabo (213 Henderson Road #01-10, 6908-2050). The good thing is that the non-wagyu part didn't matter, as the beef quality was still very good (much better than Burgs), and the sauce enhanced it rather than overpowered it. But they still used the same buns as BurgerLabo, which were spongy and dry, bringing me horrible thoughts of McDonald's. The fries were light and crispy but hardly carried any of the greasy potato taste that I wanted. I was pretty bummed at the very limited booze selection here too. I don't think I'll be going back, but if I do, then I'll be sure to get a double patty and pass on the fries.

Joséphine French Cuisine & Wine Bar on Amoy Street

A nice-looking French place opened up recently, and it was surprisingly busy on a Monday lunch hour (97 Amoy Street, 9642-4901). I grabbed the cheapest dish on the menu, which was this half baby chicken at S$18 (US$13). It was so nicely seasoned that I didn't even really need the blue cheese sauce that I selected to go with it. They have lunch sets going up to S$36 (US$26), but of course beverages will send that tab up much higher.

Chao Zhou Teochew Fish Soup in Ang Mo Kio

I've never eaten at Mott 32 at Marina Bay Sands, but it seems that this guy learned from their former head chef on how to make fish soup. He now runs stall number 5 in the Johnson9 Eatery kopitiam (332 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1), and his fish soup is quite unlike how it is usually done.

The biggest difference is the broth, which is not the more common crisp and clear fish-bone based one, but rather a thicker and murkier version due to the use of chicken and pork bones. Yes, that made it kinda like a tonkotsu, and I liked how savory it was. But the fried fish was mushy, as was the rice, which made the entire thing sludgy, albeit not as much as a Cantonese congee. (In case you are confused by the photo above, that's a big wooden ladle with a black claypot. It wasn't very functional, but I guess they were going for a unique look.)

The other thing that I got here was the congbao niuroufan beef rice, which featured some pleasantly thin and tender slices of meat. But again, the rice was mushy. I was still happy enough to eat it, but it does make me wonder if that's the way they intentionally did the rice.

FatFuku’s Sambal Achar Lobster Roll at Luke’s Lobster

The third installment of Luke Goes Local is here, with this one from a Peranakan chef. And it was much better than I was expecting, due to not just that refreshingly aromatic dill, but also in that the achar wasn't sweet and overpowering. It was much better done than that Birds of a Feather version, and on par, if not better than, the Thevar one. I nearly would've gone back for a second one had it not cost a whopping S$30.50 (US$22).

Burgs by Project Warung in Singapore

Not to be confused with BERGS Gourmet Burgers on East Coast Road, Burgs is a small local chain that I'd heard about before but had never tried. It was better than I thought it was going to be, especially since the sauce didn't dominate that classic burger above, and I could actually taste the beef. That said, there was a surprising amount of gristle in the patty, and I'd still prefer less (or none at all) sauce on it if I could. Phat Burger Bro. is better.

Khao Hom by Rung Mama at Djitsun Mall

Next door to Ah Gu Kaka Wa is this Thai restaurant (5 Ang Mo Kio Central 2 #01-06, 8202-2512). It's run by a team from Golden Mile Complex, and they have this kai jeow pu, which even came with the label that it was "inspired by Bangkok's famous Michelin one-star restaurant." I've never eaten at Raan Jay Fai so I can't really make a comparison, but this tasted like it looked and sounded: lots of crab meat with egg. It wasn't mindblowing, but was very edible.

The “Boner Marrow” from Freehouse

Yep, the Freehouse folks named this dish "boner marrow," and I laughed. They dressed theirs up with some garlic confit and paprika breadcrumbs, and it all went down nicely with that chewy Starter Lab bread. I tried their spicy Asian beef tartare too; it packed some heat, but a bit too much. I'll also need to remember to sit at the bar next time since the service outside was rather spotty tonight.

Fleur De Sel Le Restaurant in Tanjong Pagar

This place was a lot more upscale than Brasserie Gavroche next door (64 Tras Street, 6222-6861). In addition to the gorgeous porcelainware and decor, the food quality was very good, with a seared scallop and daikon dish as well as that crispy scaled madai fish above being my faves among the many courses that we were served today. The cheese cart service was fun too. The service wasn't as polished as I would've expected of a place like this, but we were satisfied.

Chico Loco on Amoy Street in Singapore

I haven't had the best experiences at the various Loco restaurants. So I was a bit hesitant about going to their "best roast chicken" place (102 Amoy Street, 3158-3539). The good thing is that the chicken was tender and juicy. But everything also leaned to the sweet side, including not just my sides, but also the "spicy" sauce on that chicken, which was like an American barbecue sauce. What frustrated me more was the fact that they had no corn tortillas here and couldn't make micheladas either. Sigh.