Gunkee Claypot in Singapore's Chinatown

If my information is correct, this is a small chain from Nanyang City in China's Henan province, although their outlet here in Singapore (277 South Bridge Road, 6320-3235) doesn't seem to be talking up its roots very much. Well, apparently claypot cooking is the way to do things up there, so that's why it is in its name. And that stir-fried pork above is one of their top manu recommendations, although oddly it is not served in a clay pot.

Anyway, the pork was suitable for my price and portion requirements, and I was quite happy with it. Even if the meat was a little dry, it was thin and with just the right amount of borderline excessive grease and salt to help shovel down a bowl of rice. The savory black beans carried a lot of it, while the chili was not spicy at all. I was happy to eat it along with some of the chuanr that I got on the side. I don't mind going back.

Mulan Yipin Lanzhou Beef Noodle Restaurant

I'm not sure why this shop calls itself Mulanyipin on the outside but Lyzik or laiyouke on the inside (283 South Bridge Road, 8460-0686). Maybe it was a recent rebranding or ownership transfer? Or maybe even a loss of franchise rights, although I couldn't find much about online about Lyzik being a chain (sounds like a pharma brand or even some kind synthetic clothing material).

Anyway, it's a Lanzhou noodle shop, and I liked it. The beef was pleasantly thin, the broth was salty and crispy, and the chili sauce worked. The noodles lacked chewiness, but that's not a big issue for me, as it's really the broth and quality of the beef that are key. They even had a kaedama-like extra noodle option, not to mention other menu items like chuanr, roujiamo, and xihuniurougeng that I'd like to go back to try.

KFC Singapore's Ghost Pepper Wings

KFC Singapore launched these ghost pepper wings the other day and they were much spicier than I thought they would be (much more than Popeye's version a while back). They were so spicy that I had to pause to use some of that cheese sauce. I admittedly didn't want to finish the last piece either, although that was also because it was pretty darned sweet, and a bit garlicky at that. I'm glad that I tried it, but one time is enough.

A Huge Plate of Golbaengi-Muchim

Had I known this thing was going to be so big, I probably wouldn't have ordered it. It was also a bit of a challenge to eat with those giant clumps of noodles spilling over the sides.

Well, I got it because it was a sea snail salad that sounded interesting. The whelks were firm but without much taste. I suppose it didn't matter when everything (including the tons of green onions in there) was drowned out by the red sauce. Clearly this was meant to be shared with a group and consumed with alcohol.

Anyway, this is from Myeongdong Taste Street at Taste Orchard (160 Orchard Road). The stalls didn't look very encouraging at first, so we nearly walked away. But I'm glad that I spotted this on the menu.

591 Hok Ciu Neng by Lee Do Restaurant

I've never been to Lee Do Restaurant, but they set up a Fuzhou stall at 313@somerset's Food Republic where Yu Zhong Bu Tong used to be. I went for this "red wine chicken" at the top of the menu.

Keep in mind that this isn't like coq au vin featuring grape-based red wine, but instead hongzao, which is fermented glutinous rice mixed with red yeast rice. The broth was pleasantly fragrant enough to slurp this all down with ease. No, it was not spicy despite its appearance. The (boneless!) chicken inside was tender too, but it was all about the broth for me.

I tried this dish once at another restaurant last year and haven't come across it since, so I'm glad that I was able to get it again tonight. The mee sua noodles on the side are apparently a traditional accompaniment.

Nongshim Shin Ramyun x Jay Fai Stir Fry Tom Yum

I have yet to try Jay Fai's food. But I recognized her face right away when seeing this at 7-Eleven, and thus got one to try out. It was a dry noodle that still used Shin Ramyun's red powder mix. But then there was an extra purple packet with Jay Fai's branding on it for the tom yum twist. It was pretty spicy and fun to eat. Now, if only I can figure out a way to eat at her place in Bangkok without having to queue for ages.

Pork Lardon Rice at Crystal Jade Hong Kong Kitchen

I don't go to Crystal Jade very much, so I'm not sure if this has always been on the menu. But it turns out that their Hong Kong Kitchen outlets offer pork lard rice! Rather than providing bottles for you to mix it yourself, this one was pre-constructed with some mildly sweet sauce and big crunchy bits of crackling on top. I happily gobbled it up, and it was cheap too.

China's Xiaojiaotian Sichuan Restaurant in Singapore

I saw signs for this place at City Square Mall bragging about being the "No. 1 Seller of Pickled Chilli Bullfrogs in China" (180 Kitchener Road #04-37, 6312-4698). I knew exactly what I was going to order then, even though the menu featured a number of Sichuan items like laziji that I wanted to try too.

The frog legs tasted like proverbial chicken but lighter and firmer, and was also like eating crab in that one had to slowly work through the little bones. The yellow chili peppers tasted like Chicago sport peppers, while the broth was sour from the pickles. It wasn't super spicy, but apparently they toned it down for local tastes.

The Vietsea Vua Lẩu Việt Express Store in Singapore

I'm not intentionally on a hunt for Vietamese dishes. It's just that we were at Kopitiam Square today and the menu at this stall that caught my eye (10 Sengkang Square #01-52). I was curious about the "crispy pork rectum" (I think they meant large intestines, and it probably would have been pretty good), but instead focused on this chicken salad called gỏi gà xé in the foreground and a savory sticky rice called xôi mặn behind it.

The chicken salad was OK; compared to the rice paper salad from the other day, this wasn't as sweet and didn't have as much fishmint. But it still wasn't a taste that I've acquired. The thing in the background was much more interesting, despite how boring it looked. See, underneath all of that egg and pork floss was a mound of sticky rice with scallion oil and pâté smeared on it, making it deliciously rich and savory. Yum.

Chef Vo Quoc Vietnamese Cuisines in Singapore

Yes, the name of this place uses the plural form of cuisine (180 Kitchener Road #04–41, 6970-0768). It's a restaurant at the top of City Square Mall from an industry gentleman who had a brief appearance on Netflix's Street Food Asia. He had some items on his menu that I was curious about, one of which was this bánh tráng trộn salad above, featuring cut strips of rice paper thrown together with some herbs and seasonings. Unfortunately, that included fishmint and a sweet floss that I did't really like, But I'm glad that I tried it.



Perhaps more interesting was this bánh mì nướng muối ớt. It wasn't the usual bánh mì sandwich that normally comes to mind, but was more like a pizza instead. See, they took a loaf of bread and flattened it with a rolling pin before slathering on a chili-mayonnaise mixture and grilling it to make it crisp and airy. It was then topped with things like meat floss, quail eggs, and some bright pink ham slices. It was too sweet and sauce-heavy for my taste, but I suspect I might like it more in a different configuration.



The last plate above was just a combo set of Huế-style dumplings, which was nice to see given the departure of my beloved stall Bếp Huế. Somehow I wasn't too excited when I ate these though, perhaps because these weren't as new to me as the previous two items. I still ate them all, but now I am wondering if he has bánh khoái on the menu.

Dian Xiao Er's Thunder Tea Fried Rice

It's been a long time since I've been to Dian Xiao Er, so I'm not sure how long this has been on their menu. But it's a fried rice version of leichafan, which was kinda cool. There was no green paste involved, but there was basil and tofu there, as well as some puffed rice for some extra crunch. I was happy with it.

Tachibana's S$13.90 (US$10.80) Sukiyaki Lunch

Tachibana is doing this single-serving sukiyaki at a discounted lunchtime price. I don't know if they drew inspiration from Keisuke's old spot across the street, but the food itself wasn't anything special, and they oddly provided an onsen egg instead of a raw one. Still, it was cheap, fast, and good enough to finish.

Jicong Wuyong Near Bugis in Singapore

The signage for this place caught my eye, as it featured green scallions crossed out in a big red circle and English letters that read "Scallion Free" (2 Tan Quee Lan Street #01-02). After walking closer though, I realized that they were being cheeky, as the sign actually read "Scallion For Free" with the second word scribbled in with a small caret. And yes, the food was garnished with scallions.

In fact, that is what made it surprisingly good, as many items were dressed in a fragrant chili oil and onion mixture that got caramelized on a grill. There were a range of proteins to pick from, but almost no carbs, and the tab added up quickly (one needs a WeChat account to use their ordering system BTW). Either way, I am more than happy to come back to this place as it's more fragrant than BBQ Box down the street.

Korea's Song Gye Ok in Singapore

Samgyetang isn't something that I normally order. But this is a popular barbecue chain from Korea that has opened down here (113 Telok Ayer Street), and they specialize in chicken parts. This bowl was at the top of their lunch menu, apparently as a collaboration with some other samgyetang specialist called Modu. Granted, their rendition didn't really change my opinion of the dish, but the quality of the food was good enough that I still finished it all, including the savory broth.

One should note though that there are enough bones in there that it requires quite a bit of patience to eat (kinda like how I've learned not to eat crab when I'm hungry). It wasn't very filling either, especially since they only provided a little wad of rice rather than a full bowl (presumably that was because there was glutinous rice already stuffed inside the chicken). The thing that I liked more was their minari salad with water snails. They provided small portions of it so one doesn't need to order the full dish.

Wok Hei Hor Fun at Redhill Food Centre

I am not sure why this hawker center is so Michelin-rich, but here is yet another stall listed in the guide (85 Redhill Lane #01-94). One gets a choice of protein (my beef selection above was tender) on top of smoky rice noodles, all of which was smothered in a delicate and savory "wet" egg drop sauce. This place's weekday afternoon-only hours are prohibitive though.

China's Xiao Yu Hao at Change Alley in Singapore

This suancaiyu chain from China has opened an outlet in Singapore (16 Collyer Quay #01-10), It's downscale like Yunizaiyiqi, so instead of the gigantic porcelain bowls that one gets at Tai Er, this shop uses smaller single-serving plastic tubs (they are deceptively shallow by the way, being no more than a few centimeters deep). The lower price also meant that it wasn't as fragrant as Tai Er nor Yao Yao, and not as peppery either. It's not worth making an effort to go to, but it serves its purpose as cheap fast food.

Haus Spinach & Noodles in Sengkang, Singapore

I almost thought this place was German when I first saw the signage for this Koufu stall at Sengkang General Hospital (110 Sengkang East Way #01-21). But they were selling local spinach noodles instead, making me realize that the name was probably meant to include an apostrophe.

Anyway, this is just your typical food court spinach soup. Mind you, the spinach in this dish is not what Popeye eats, but a Chinese spinach called xiancai instead (kinda like how local "carrot cake" is actually made from turnips). It's great dietary fiber either way.

Oh, and this place is halal, so the meat in this bowl was chicken instead of pork. It still featured the classic three egg combo inclusive of century egg and salted egg though. I happily gobbled iit up and regretted not paying for extra spinach.

Some Non-Suancaiyu Items From Tai Er

I wanted some suancaiyu for lunch today, but that gigantic bowl at Tai Er would have been too much. So I tried some of their other items, like that ganguo shousi baocai above, along with some liangfen on the side. Both were good, with the rich oil of the former being particuarly soothing, especially when coating some white rice. I liked how the rice was available in a half-bowl portion by the way, and it's also nice that they are now serving an iced version of that free roselle tea. Next time I should just get one of their mini bowls of suancaiyu, which looks like is only available as a takeout option.

Du Du Pasta from Du Du Dumplings in Singapore

This wasn't much more than just a bowl of orecchiette-like pieces of dough dressed in a rather sweet yet thin tomato sauce. I liked that it was chewy, but it's not something that I'll yearn for again. I guess I was just tickled by how it was listed on the menu at Du Du Dumplings as pasta or mian er "noodle ears." I guess they are both apt in describing it.

A Few Items from 7-Eleven Japan

Convenience stores in Japan are kinda neat given the range of packaged food there, including egg salad sandwiches, fried chicken filets, and an aburasoba that I had the other night. Even cats can get "lightly grilled bay scallop" treats that sounded so good that I wondered if it were suitable for human consumption.



This one really caught my eye though: pizzas from Pizzeria e Trattoria da Isa, a place in Tokyo that I literally walked by back in March but never tried. Frozen pizzas naturally couldn't do the real dish justice, but I still liked the rich cheese and tomato sauce on this thin crust.



And who'd have thought that 7-Eleven would have a collaboration with Denny's Japan to do frozen tantanmen? The broth wasn't anything to flip out about, but it was only now that I realized that Denny's even does tantanmen in their physical restaurants.

Kamukura Soup With Noodles in Osaka

I saw so many outlets of this ramen chain around Osaka that I was a bit worried that it was overly commercialized. However, it turns out it originated here from a chef who wanted to create a French consomme-like broth using cabbage and pork. And since they had an outlet here at the airport, I figured I'd finally give it a try on my way out.

They had quite a few options for toppings, including a few kinds of meat and vegetables as well as the requisite gyoza on the side. I wasn't hungry when I ordered this though, so I just got the cheapest bowl possible. The broth was indeed crisp and savory like what one would expect from cabbage and pork. I'd be happy to eat that again.

Kushiyakitei in Namba, Osaka

It turns out there's a style of cooking that originated here in Osaka called kuwayaki, with farmers using their hoes as metal platters to cook their food on while they were in the fields. And this restaurant is known for serving this style of food (5 Chome−1−18 Namba, 050-5870-0261). Big teppan grills are used instead of hoes now, so these kushiyaki-like skewers were done like teppanyaki. It wasn't anything that different from a taste perspective. But this place used quality products, including everything from the prawns to tsukune to konnyaku, not to mention wagyu. It was a convenient place to get local food in a nice setting at a decent price.

Chicken Skin Gyoza from Osaka, Japan

This was unexpected. I randomly walked into a nearby izakaya tonight and was told that one of their popular items was chicken skin gyoza. I had incorrectly thought that it was your typical gyoza that was stuffed with minced chicken skin. But it was the opposite: chicken skin was used as the wrapper (which makes sense given that it where you need contact with the heat source to make the fat deliciously crispy) while minced chicken meat was stuffed inside. That was a fun surprise.

My Empty Bowl from Ichiran Ramen in Japan

It's been a while since I've been to Ichiran. So today I went all-out with my bowl by requesting strong dashi, extra rich broth, one full clove of garlic, green onions inclusive of the white bulbs, and extra firm noodles. Despite that, I realized that my brain now associates Ichiran with instant noodles given how easy it is to buy their boxes these days. But I still ate it with ease, and drank all the broth above.

Next time I need to remember that the red sauce was decently spicy enough at level 2 but was just too sweet. So I could crank it down one notch just to avoid the sugar. Plus, the default noodle portion is really small. That can be a good thing when one is just getting a quick afternoon snack, while also easy being enough to opt for kaedama with a few coins in the booth if one is really pursuing a full meal.

The Akauo Himono from Shinpachi Shokudo

I didn't realize that this was an outlet of Shinpachi Shokudo at first, as it just looked like a nice place to get traditional grilled fish. My red akauo himono above was deliciously savory, and towards the end I commented about how amazingly affordable this all was. It was only after I paid did I take another look at the sign to realize that this was a Shinpachi Shokudo. It hardly looked like the little urban counter that I saw last time, as this outlet in the middle of Tenjinbashi-suji in Osaka (3 Chome-4-14 Tenjinbashi) was much larger and even had washitsu tatami seating.

Nagata Meat Shop in Osaka, Japan

Beef was requested for dinner tonight, and yet we didn't want to spend a lot of money nor sit for a long fancy dinner. Fortunately, there was a small butcher in the basement of the South Gate Building of Osaka Station City, just as one enters Daimaru in the basement (3 Chome−1−1 Umeda, 06-4400-4758).

People lined up at the counter to buy meat on the go, but they also had a small dining area where they served cheap and casual hanbaagu sets, complete with a warming grill in front of you, kinda like Yappari. Yes, it was juicy and rich patty, and they even gave free refills of rice. The skirt steak was a bit tough though.

Jinrui Mina Menrui Premium in Osaka, Japan

Jinrui Mina Menrui is awkwardly listed on Google Maps as "Human Beings Everybody Noodles," presumably as a literal translation. Nonetheless, we made it to an outlet today, and in particular their Premium outlet in the Barchika 03 basement of the LUCUA building (3 Chome−1−3 Umeda, 06-6131-8840).

Yes, the food was good, including that "micro" bowl above, featuring a super dark and punchy soy sauce, as well as a crisper "macro" bowl more reminiscent of that seafood broth from Chosen Shite Koso the other day. The noodles were chewy and the chashu was tender, including their thick-cut option.

They also had a bowl here called the D-Men that this is presumably what makes this outlet "premium," as it was created by a chef from a local Italian restaurant. The noodles were soupless and tossed in a pesto sauce with chopped meat and onions, which I rather liked. I'll get their half-and-half combo deal next time.

Miyamoto Munashi from Japan's Kansai Region

Miyamoto Munashi is a chain of teishoku restaurants from the Kansai region, and there was an outlet nearby on the way to the train station. Apparently they are known for their chicken nanban above; I'm actually not a fan of the dish in the first place due to the sweet brown sauce, but I still ate all of this given that the tartar sauce on top was more like a nicely done egg salad, and with tender fried chicken underneath it. It did the job of being both affordable and accessible, although next time I should try some of the local specials that I saw on the menu.

My First Taste of Saiboshi from Osaka

I've eaten horse meat in raw basashi form a lot of times, but I never knew that there was a smoked version called saiboshi that is a specialty of southern Osaka until tonight. It was only toward the end of our meal did I notice that it was buried deep in the menu at this shop. It definitely got my attention, so I placed an order right away.

What surprised me was the texture: it was coarse and tasted like pastrami. Now, the serving here was garnished with soy sauce plus ginger puree and even garlic puree, and they suggested some shichimi pepper as well. I'd be happy to order it again, although it would probably be more for the novelty given that this was ultimately still lean without much of a unique taste to differentiate it.

By the way, this was from a chain in Osaka called Kushikatsu Tanaka, as we finally made it out to a proper kushikatsu shop with big trays of fried food on skewers, along with unlimited cabbage. It all fared fine, and the energetic pace of the staff kept things fun. But it was ultimately just a lot of fried batter in the end, which is why I was happy to have found that saiboshi above.

Some Snacks from McDonald's in Japan

I'm pretty sure that I've eaten an Ebi Filet-O from McDonald's Japan before, but I can't seem to find any record of it. Anyway, all I could taste today was the breading and sauce rather than the shrimp. It's not like one can expect much from McDonald's, but somehow I had the impression that this was supposed to be good.

It might not be too obvious in the photo by the way, but those Chicken McNuggets in the background are actually red in color. They are a spicy variant that they are promoting in Japan right now, but they weren't spicy and were off-puttingly dry. Too bad that the bacon potato pie is gone.

Yakiniku Horumon Maun in Osaka, Japan

Maun is a yakiniku restaurant out in Shin-Fukae that specializes in A5 cows including horumon offal. We went to their other outlet in Tanimachi today, which had countertop grills on a bar as well as a couple of tables in the back (3 Chome-2-6 Tanimachi, 06-6910-8876).

They featured a number of notable items on the menu, including that cute little pot of overnight-marinated karubi; it was sweet but not syrupy, and it came together nicely on the grill. It was also fun trying their Hiroshima kone brisket, which was served in large thin frozen sheets with instructions to only keep it on the grill for five seconds. That meant that it barely got seared without cooking, and one was supposed to wrap that thin slice in marinated raw white onions.

The other cuts and dishes were delicious too, and best of all, everything that we ate was surprisingly affordable. I really should stick to more of these local yakiniku places from now on, even if I end up walking out of there smelling like food.

Ishinoya Tendon Tenkushi Kushikatsu in Osaka, Japan

I've been meaning to get out to a kushikatsu shop while we're out here, but haven't had a chance to yet. So the next best thing in the meantime was to get this small assortment as an afternoon snack from this stall at the Hankyu Sanbangai North Building basement next to Osaka Umeda Station. It didn't come with cabbage, but nonetheless they fried it to order, making it crispy and hot, even if it left my fingers a bit greasy. I liked it.

Kougaryu Takoyaki in Osaka, Japan

I never realized until today that Michelin has given Bib Gourmand designations to takoyaki shops, and this 50 year old store was one of them. Yep, they had a nice skin on the outside while staying piping hot and mildly savory on the inside. Those two flavors above were dressed nicely with ponzu on the left and salt and pepper on the right, with neither being excessive nor sweet.

In case you were wondering, those were mini-sized balls above, as this was actually a half-and-half taster plate from their outlet at the Osaka Takoyaki Market at the HEP FIVE building in Umeda. It's one of those food museum/stadium-like concepts where multiple competing shops are aggregated into the same venue to facilitate comparisons. I didn't have time to try another shop though.

Moegi in Nanba Sennichimae, Osaka

This place right next to Jouroku was pretty cool in that it was a wooden okonomiyaki shop with not just in-table grills, but also one in the center of the restaurant with a counter (7-2 Nanbasennichimae, 06-6631-9966). They in fact cooked our items for us on that central grill while our tableside platter was only used to keep things warm after serving. And that included that negiyaki above, which I learned today is like a local Osaka variant with leeks replacing the cabbage. Despite how it looks and sounds, it was rather mild. It could have used a bit of salt, but I was still happy with it.

Sutando Ogawa in Osaka's Namba District

I passed by this little corner izakaya on my way back tonight and figured I'd stop in for a quick top-up (2 Chome-8-10 Sennichimae, 06-6630-6000). Those seseri chicken necks above sat in a perky ponzu sauce that went nicely with some booze, as did a baked eggplant and cheese item that I ordered. They also had a black fried rice on the menu that I closed with; it turned out to be more brown than black, and I think it was basically soy sauce rather than squid ink. Nonetheless, it did the job. It's nice that they are open until 4 AM, as is a standing yakiniku place across the street. Maybe next time I'll try those little oden street tents that I saw next to them too.

Marufuku Coffee Shop in Japan

That might look rather plain above, but the menu said that the owner of this wood-paneled coffee shop (think: old school booths like Hoshino) originally ran a yoshoku place called Ginrei in Tokyo, and that this curry was "retro" from the Showa period. I wasn't really sure if that meant much, but it made me curious enough to try it.

It was thinner than I was expecting, and the square-shaped slices of beef inside there were a bit tough. But it was also more peppery than I thought it would be, and they gave a generous amount of rakkyo pickled leeks to go with it. Now if only I can find a quick fix to get rid of this hairy dragon breath that it fueled.

An Outlet of Donmaru in Japan

This is a big chain of takeout kaisendon shops is oddly anglicized as Don Mar's, and it happened to have an outlet at our train station today when we needed a quick refueling. I went for their namesake bowl above, which did the job with all of that fresh seafood and firm yet mildly vinegared rice underneath. I wish I had read the menu more carefully though as they had a shirasu mentaiko bowl that I think I would have been a bigger fan of.

Chosen Shite Koso Mina Menrui in Osaka, Japam

This was just a random stall at the Community Food Hall at Takashimaya East Building (Nipponbashi 3 Chome−5−25) that turned out to be related to Jinrui Mina Menrui, a place in Osaka that is apparently rather well-regarded. That explained why the shellfish broth above was so crisp and savory, with quality products inside too (no, I wasn't intentionally trying to get another bowl with thin meat draped over the sides). They had a shoyu seabura version available too that was pretty good, but I liked the cleanliness of that one above.

Aozora Blue in Osaka, Japan

We didn't realize this until after we sat down, but this is a small Michelin Bib Gourmand chain in Osaka from a guy who makes udon using soba-making techniques.

These freshly ground wheat noodles were definitely not the typically smooth white ones, but instead an extra coarse (but still thick and chewy) creation that can throw you off if you're not prepared for it. Those were very tender pieces of Mount Daisen chicken on top by the way, and I liked some of the other configurations, including dried kombu flakes as well as an earthy curry that was kinda gritty from the spices in it.

I was quite happy with this place given how unique it was (and it was surprisingly affordable too!). But I can understand if some folks aren't able to stomach how different the noodles are.

San Marco Curry House from Japan's Kansai Region

I had no idea what this shop was, but Sanmaruko is a small chain from the Kansai region. They served a curry that was deeper than the typically sweeter ones usually found in Japan. My plate above featured Naniwa pork, but I am not sure if this is really much of a regional take on it, nor is it something that I'll rush back for. Nonetheless, it was nice to try a bit of variation; it's too bad that the Curry Museum in Yokohama isn't around anymore.

Keming Bing Sat at Plaza Singapura

I'm not sure if this place is really from Hong Kong or not, as it seems like a very large mainland chain. Nonetheless, it is a cha chaan teng that has opened an outlet down here (68 Orchard Road #B2-01). They probably get most of their attention from their cute bear-shaped ice drinks, as well as those French toast cubes and lava egg waffles. They also bragged about a char siew rice bowl and a scallion oil chicken chop rice platter. Fortunately the rice was cooked firmly, and we ate most of the food. But I have no huge interest in going back either.

Kyoto Ramen Hachicken in Singapore

Apparently there's some high-end chicken restaurant in Kyoto called Hachiki-an that has been around for a long time. And when they started up some overseas branches, they went with the name Hachicken. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face after seeing that and thus went to Chinatown Point to check it out (133 New Bridge Road #01-51).

Well, the overseas outlet is a downscale ramen shop, featuring both a chintan and paitan. I'm not sure if they mixed up my order for the former, but it was surprisingly thick like a sauce, and it wasn't as savory as I would have hoped either. The chicken parts were of decent quality, but clearly came from a chilling unit earlier. I won't be rushing back.

Vietnam's Chickita Flame Grilled Chicken in Singapore

From the outside, this place at City Square Mall looked like a copy of Nando's, right down to the colorful decor and the selection of hot sauces to go with your grilled chicken (180 Kitchener Road #04-33, 6531-0583). But this is actually a chain from Vietnam. The Vietnamese influence wasn't very obvious at first glance, but some of it came through with the lemongrass-based sauces and a few small things like tofu in the soup.

Otherwise, this was a lot like Nando's. The food wasn't anything to get terribly excited about, but at least the chicken was moist, while the sauces were better than I thought they would be (i.e., not too syrupy nor sour, even if they weren't very spicy). I guess one could argue that the sauces made this place a little more unique, but it's still just a plasticky chain restaurant that I won't make an effort to run back to.

Returning to Urban Roti in Singapore

I really should go to Urban Roti more often. Many of the things that we had today were awesome, in particular that yellow lentil and rice dish in the back called dal khichdi. It was so smooth and comfortingly velvety, all while being spiked with ginger and other spices. That chili pepper-covered laccha paratha in front was fun too, even if it wasn't as spicy as I had hoped. Their chicken chilli was moist and ginger-centric without being sweet, while the dal makhani was extra rich. Delicious.

IPPUDO Singapore's Kombu Sui Tsukemen

IPPUDO is doing a kombusui tsukemen special now. Basically, it's like the one I had at Fuuki a few months ago, except they didn't give much of the kombusui here, and it wasn't particuarly savory either. Moreover, they didn't give any salt to accentuate it with. Nonetheless, the broth on the left was French onion-like which meant that it was not just earthy and (naturally) sweet but also super potent. The quality of the ingredients was still of IPPUDO quality, but if I wanted tsukemen then I'd probably just go for their normal "Tsukemen Japan" version instead.

Pizzeria Vincenzo Capuano in Singapore

I finally made it to that new pizza shop at The Pier at Robertson (80 Mohamed Sultan Rd #01-12, 6031-1176). Admittedly, the amount of noise around its #12 ranking in the 50 Top Pizza World Artisan Pizza Chains list last year made me concerned that this place would be overblown and overpriced, especially with those gimmicky golden scissors.

Fortunately, it was better than I was expecting with its fruity tomatoes and rich cheese on top of that chewy plumped-up crust, and the service was fast too. Granted, the pizza was a bit underseasoned, and that crust was soft enough that I'd rather go to L'Operetta instead. But I'll probably eat here again soon, especially given that this was more accessible than those long waits for PST's new Singapore outlet.