Machan's Kitchen in Singapore's Little India

This little restaurant was pretty good, not to mention a refreshing change from a lot of the other places nearby. (74 Race Course Road, 6291-2626). They serve Tamil food. Maybe I'm not just familiar with the cuisine, but I loved how most of the food wasn't based on a thick mixture of spices, but instead was much more chili-centric...which also meant that a lot of the dishes packed some heat, particularly a mutton chukka that I was all over. That's fish in the photo above, in case you're wondering, while a gooseberry pepper soup that we started with was pleasantly thin yet tart. I loved how the betel leaf rice was smoky as well. The only thing to be mindful of is that the proteins were chopped with bones attached, so it requires a bit of patience when consuming.

The Old "F Set" from Gyoza no Ohsho Singapore

I still needed a little more food after that dinner, and in particular I wanted carbs. What better then to stop by Gyoza no Ohsho where I could grab that "F Set"...except that the F Set on the menu now has become something else. So I ordered my chahan and gyoza a la carte, the former of which came out borderline salty and dry compared to all of the Din Tai Fung style ones lately. But this grease, sodium, and carb bomb was just what I needed.

Nagomi at Cuppage Plaza in Singapore

Here's a little omakase place (5 Koek Road #02-22, 6732-4300) whose walls are lined with dark casks for storing customers' alcohol...and apparently there is a waiting list to get one. One can still order booze by the bottle though, and yes, the food was good too. We had a more seafood-focused selection tonight, including a Hokkaido crab and a range of sashimi including uni that you could wrap in seaweed. Everything had a bit of a home-cooked feel to it, particularly a braised fish that featured very tender meat in a deliciously savory sauce. Now, I still prefer Apollon for both the food and drinks, but this worked too, with very friendly and attentive service to boot.

Torasho Ramen’s Gyokai Tonkotsu Bowl

I went to Torasho once before the pandemic, but I haven't been back since. And yet they came up in conversation the other day, so I grabbed their gyokai tonkotsu bowl from their stand in the Takashimaya basement for lunch today. It was better than I thought it would be with all of its smoky and earthy accents.

Oh, and the Maguro Donya folks have opened up a sushi stall down there called Maguro Yukimitsu. Some of the sets were priced as high as S$39 (US$29), but that got you several cuts of tuna including the decently fatty ootoro that you see in the background. I guess it was cheaper than going to a proper sushi place.

Shanghai Tan Pan-Fried Bun at Goldhill Shopping Centre

A shengjianbao shop has opened up next door to Chye Kee Chicken Rice (153 Thompson Road). The skin was fried nicely, but the stuffing inside was disturbingly sweet, and wasn't as tender as it could've been either. Their xiaolongbao also had a sweet stuffing inside, although at least the skin was decently thin. They have other things on the menu like noodles and fried rice, but I didn't go much further, worried that the other items might be sweet too.

Black Pepper Mee Pok from Wang Jia Wang

A sign at an outlet of this small chain of kopitiam stalls caught my eye today: black pepper mee pok. It turned out to be your typical bowl of Teochew noodles, but replace the Chinese vinegar with a mildly thick black pepper sauce. It wasn't particularly edgy in any direction, which meant that I'd rather have vinegar in mine. But I still ate this with ease given its tender meat, firm noodles, and earthy soup loaded with shallots.

The Classic Chicken Chop from Eightisfy Western

For some reason, I was in the mood for a local chicken chop from a kopitiam tonight. So I made my way over to this stall at the Maddox Canteen Bar (3752 Bukit Merah Central). It is run by a former Cicheti chef, but the pastas have been dropped from the menu, leaving chicken chops as its focus. This one was pleasantly crispy, which meant that I ate it quickly, even if it wasn't as moist as what one usually gets at places like El Carbon. I left most of those fries uneaten BTW, as they were hard and tasteless.

Hambaobao at the Trio Building in Singapore

When I first heard of this local burger shop last year, it didn't interest me enough to go down there (11 Sam Leong Road #03-08, 9475-1457). But recently I saw another photo of this place that halted me in my tracks: was that a board showing all of the craft beers on tap, including multiple sours?? OMG, I AM SOOO THERE!

Yep, I went there for the beer, one of which turned out to be one of my all-time faves, even if it was outrageously expensive. The (much cheaper) food was decently good too, particularly that tender fish burger above. The fries were better than average, even if they could've used a thicker potato-ey cut.

To be sure, some of the burgers felt a bit forced, particularly the crispy pork belly and ayam buah keluak, both of which were decent on their own but unnecessarily shoved inside a bun. Still, I am delighted to see so many places pairing fun local food with an array of draft beers, including sours.

Araya Shouten at Tanglin Mall, Singapore

8 Days mentioned that these guys supply fish to everyone from Odette to the Naked Finn and even Reiwa. And now they have a small retail store (163 Tanglin Road #B1-115), which on Wednesdays does something called kattedon, which is basically a chirashidon except that you get to pick the proteins that you want.

Sure, Teppei has his own DIY kaisendon shops around, but the quality of fish here is in another league. I basically picked items that I had never heard of before, with the tan-colored smoked scallops being one of my favorites, as well as a dark-colored isaki that was deliciously savory.

The prices added up though. Many of the slices were S$3 (US$2.20) each, but if you grab about ten of them like I did, and then add the cost of the rice and even pricier options like ikura or uni, you can see where you end up. I'd be happy to build a bowl around those smoked scallops if he has them again either way.

Henleshan at Heritage Place near Bugis

Located next door to BBQ Box, this is a rather quaintly decorated place that always looked rather interesting from the outside (21 Tan Quee Lan Street #01-02, 6250-3539). But I never really figured out what they were selling until this morning, when I realized that the restaurant was named after the city of Leshan in Sichuan. They basically focus on two things here: skinny mixian rice noodles and chuanr, the latter of which are deep-fried without batter. That made the meat more dry than the grilled version that I usually consume, but they used such a nice blend of oil and spices that it was more unique, even without the dry dipping powder that accompanied them. The noodles were good too, and were also decently spicy without me requesting it. Yay!

Soba Kappo Reiwa off Smith Street in Chinatown

So it turns out that the Reiwa folks have shut down their original kopitiam location and have opened up a little restaurant (25 Trengganu Street #01-12, 9355-1618). It still serves many of the same dishes as before, but they have also augmented the menu with izakaya fare, like karaage and gyu tataki. I was happy with what I had, but the firm soba was still the king here. Next time I must go on a day when the tai soba is in stock.

Butter Bread at the Midtown in Hougang

So I finally got my hands on those coveted croissants from Butter Bread (1187 Upper Serangoon Road #01-44). Yes, I liked them, including not just their delicate buttery taste, but also their flaky crispy texture. I'm willing to wait in line for them again, although I won't bother with the plain sourdough anymore, as they were more like dinner rolls rather than the crusty loaf that I was hoping for. I'd be interested in trying the kimchi sourdough though if it's available next time.

Monori Crispy Shrimp Cheeks from Thailand

Yep, I was wondering the same thing: what is a shrimp cheek? It's basically the midsection of a shrimp between the tail and the head. As you can see in the photo, it's basically where the legs connect, but they also aren't as big as they seem in the photo, as clearly these were smaller shrimp rather than larger prawns. How did they taste? They were crunchy but light, kinda like fried crickets. But they were ultimately just a delivery vehicle for salt, grease, and MSG, which is basically all you can taste.

Fei Lou Fatt near Springfield MRT Station in Singapore

The folks behind White Restaurant opened up a prawn noodle shop, and a rather commercialized-looking one at that (928 Upper Thomson Road, 6252-3400). Yet, I didn't go for their prawn noodles, as they had a rice option instead. Instead of calling it paofan though, they called it tangfan, or "prawn-zuke," as in ochazuke.

That meant that it came complete with a kettle on the side for the broth. Surely it was optimized for social media exposure, but there was a practical benefit to it too: it kept my excess broth warm, making for a nice chaser at the end of my meal.

Yeah, I liked that bowl above, even if the prawns were not as fresh as they could've been. The broth would've been better had they dialed back the sugar a notch or two, but it was still hearty and savory enough for me to clear everything, especially with the cilantro, rice cakes, and crackling keeping it all fun.

Bamboo Bowls at Far East Square, Singapore

That grain bowl trend here in recent years has never resonated very well with me. But I was kinda curious about this shop (137 Amoy Street #01-01, 8748-9978), not only because of its mobile app-driven system, but also since their bowls were pre-configured by chefs from places like Thevar, Neon Pigeon, and Artichoke. Each bowl was named after a different place in Asia, and I started with that "Singapore" bowl above featuring laksa noodles and a coconut curry.

Yes, I was happy enough with it (and the portions were small enough) that I went for a second bowl, the Sichuan, featuring things like black vinegar marinated wood ear mushrooms. The app-based system made it convenient to place your order while you are en route and pick it up quickly upon arrival. Granted, they force you to install an app - and worse, you have to register since there was no guest mode - but I'm reluctantly willing to tolerate those given that the food was decent and service was fast. I'll be back to try more bowls.

Epilogue: I finally tried all of the bowls, and the Singapore and Bangkok bowls were the best. The Saigon was too acidic, the Bombay was too dry, and the Seoul was too in-your-face. The Bali and Sichuan were OK but not my first choices, while the Tokyo was forgettable.

Bistro Du Le Pin at Orchard Plaza in Singapore

Here's another one of those little ten-seater Japanese counters at Orchard Plaza (150 Orchard Road #02-25, 6980-5699). It's kinda downscale though, thus making it more like Al Solito than Apollon. But that also meant that the prices were reasonable, and yet the food was still pretty good, including that gyutan above, seasoned nicely with a deliciously savory shio sauce. One day I'd like to try their omakase shop downstairs; I think they used to do it up here on the second floor but have since expanded downstairs, thus using this unit for a la carte service.

Warm Up Cafe on Mackenzie Road in Singapore

These folks may have an odd name and location (110 Mackenzie Road, 8723-2332), but they serve Thai food, and it was better than I was expecting, especially since they didn't hold back on the spices. I was happy with the boat noodles that I ordered, and that cool backyard patio looks like it'd be pretty fun in the evenings. They even had a one-person mookata that looked worthy of a try.

Apollon at Orchard Plaza in Singapore

Wow, I was not expecting to like this place so much, but it's easily one of my favorite restaurants right now (150 Orchard Road #01-29). OK, I shouldn't call it a restaurant. It's more of a tiny 8-10 seater bar with sake on tap, and multiple selections at that. They even have a speakeasy behind it.

Like Toku Izakaya though, they serve food too, and it was awesome, including not just that savory potato salad above, but also the flaky crabcakes, tender minced tuna, and delicate amaebi. My favorite was the chicken liver, which was impressively rich and creamy, while the karaage here might even beat my all-time favorite Rang Mang Shokudo.

It turns out that this is run by the folks behind MoboMoga, but I liked this place much more for both its food and drinks. The draft sake was particuarly fun because we could sample so many of them. Next time I need to remember to check out the aged sake that they serve in the speakeasy.

Sambae: Sambal Is Bae in Ang Mo Kio

When I first saw this stall (721 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 #01-2823), I was confused. It wasn't the name that confused me; clearly it was a sambal-focused stall. I just didn't understand those rice bowls that they were offering, since they seemed merely like re-portioned bowls of food that you might get at a cze cha rather than anything that unique.

After taking one bite though, it made sense to me. Sure, the sambal was good, being spicier than it was sweet, not to mention earthy and even a bit smoky. But more important was the quality of the ingredients, in particular the pearly beads of rice, not to mention the firm prawns in my bowl. I nearly could've gone back for a second one if I didn't have a dinner appointment approaching in a couple of hours.

Shang Shang Qian Chuanr Bar at Sultan Plaza

I'm not sure how many times this spot has changed hands (100 Jalan Sultan #01-09, 6291-8006). But the current proprietors are doing chuanr, including a veal version, which was very tender, as was a chicken skewer. The mutton was my favorite given the inclusion of sliced pepperoncini-like pickled peppers that helped to cut through the grease. The beer is cheap too. I shall return.

The Roasted Fennel Bulb from North Miznon Singapore

I stopped by North Miznon on the way home tonight. That roasted fennel bulb was smoky and tender, and I was all over the dill weed and cream that came with the broccolini. What a wonderfully healthy meal this was too. Miznon rocks.

Japan’s Maji Curry Has Opened at Square 2 in Singapore

The folks behind Tonkotsu Kazan and Belle-Ville have brought in a small curry chain from Tokyo (10 Sinaran Drive #02-07, 9741-2706). It boasts of being an award-winner for a cheese sauce curry, and it's precisely that white sauce above that made it more unique; I think it was Parmesan-based, if I tasted it correctly.

The other stuff wasn't as remarkable though, as the curry itself was a bit sweet, the pork above was surprisingly tough (the hanbagu fared better but was a bit mealy), and the spicy levels weren't as exciting as CoCo Ichibanya's. They provided shakers of spices on each table for you to crank it up though.

A-Roy Thai Restaurant at Velocity @ Novena Square

Here's the goong ob woonsen from A-Roy, that Thai place that used to be at the old Funan Centre (238 Thomson Road #03-61, 6338-3880). It didn't compare to the one from the Boat Quay dude, especially since this one was sweeter without being as fragrant. But to be honest, I wasn't expecting much from these guys anyway, especially since one can go to places like Golden Mile to get much better and cheaper Thai food. At least the beef noodles here have some pretty impressively tender meat inside.

Shenyang Feng Wei at Tai Hwa Eating House

It's easy to overlook this little Chinese dumpling and noodle stall (466 Crawford Lane #01-12) when most people come over here for Tai Hwa instead. But it was good in its own right, as seen in those guotie above, whose chive-based stuffing was much better than that sweet duck at DaXi. The xiaolongbao were thicker-skinned and less refined than Din Tai Fung, but nonetheless were solid for a kopitiam offering and better than Hong Peng.

The big surprise for me was the congyoubing, which looked disappointingly dense at first. But it consisted of a crunchy yet thin exterior around a moist and chewy interior with a scallion oil that was nice and savory and even slightly smoky. His chili oil was on point too, as long as you ask for the dark chili oil rather than the tangy red chili sauce. There were plenty of tables available on a Saturday night, so I'm sure that I'll be back. Thanks for the tip!

Curry Level at Junction 8’s Food Junction

I headed up to Junction 8 with the intent of eating that famous Bishan curry chicken from Fu Xiang Signatures, only to find it closed. But there was another Hainanese curry place that looked interesting, especially since you could adjust the spiciness on a scale of 1 to 5. It's as if NaNa Curry and Monster Curry had a baby.

I grabbed level 2, which was potent enough for me. Basically, they just take a scoop of the level 0 curry and squirt a couple drops of some savagely dark red-looking oil into it. The curry wasn't anywhere as rich as NaNa Curry, but I was still happy to eat it, especially since the chicken was still hot and crispy from the fryer.