Japan's Gatten Sushi in Singapore

This place at ION Orchard looks like it's another low-grade kaiten sushi place from the outside (2 Orchard Turn #B3-20, 6876-1210). But the quality of the fish is so much better than places like Sushiro and Genki. They featured a number of specials today that I was quite happy with, while that flamboyant fried green onion and mayonnaise-topped squid above is more of an exception to what is otherwise a surprisingly conservative menu. The quality of the food comes at a higher price than those other shops though, as I racked up quite a bill when grabbing some rather pricey items off the conveyor belt. In that sense, I'd rather go to Sushidan, which delivers even better fish at a lower price.

Katsu by Kyu at OUE Downtown Gallery

One the surface, this place looks like it's a ripoff of Tonshou, especially since they finish their tonkatsu over a grill (6A Shenton Way #01-09). They may not get any originality points for that, but the good thing at least is that the food is actually pretty good.

That includes the quality of the ingredients as well as the techniques used in things like the perky salad dressing and smoky tartar sauce. Wrapping the prawns in super thin threads of kadaif pastry may have been for showy theatrics, but nonethless it was impressively light and airy without being soggy. I don't mind going here again, even if Tonshou is still my first choice.

By the way, it looks like "Kyu" is neither a restaurant nor a person. But this place is from the folks who brought in Song Gye Ok, and also run Tofu G. I'm quite a big fan of Tofu G's smooth soybean taste, and I even went there afterwards for dessert. These guys sure seem to have a thing for wooden decors at their restaurants.

Hong Kong's Bari Bari Steak in Singapore

Here's another Japanese hot plate steak place, but this one's from Hong Kong. And if you hadn't told me it was from Hong Kong, I would've thought it was a badly done knockoff of Keisuke's hanbaagu shop given the prominent positioning of a salad bar that even included a big tub of hard-boiled eggs. The salad bar turned out to be rather sad and small, and certainly was not a draw on its own.

The good thing is that the meat quality was better than I thought it would be. I got the cheapest flank above, and it was surprisingly tender. In that sense, I don't mind going back based on the quality of the beef. But that salad bar was lousy, and those potato wedges were like what one would find at Saizeriya. I'd rather go to Yappari, which is better as a whole.

Crab Roe Ramen from Chen’s Singapore

It looks like these guys are doubling down on their distant Michelin association. The top of the menu features dishes that they say are curated from Chef Chen's repertoire, like this crab roe noodle.

I assume that it is meant to be like the one that I had in Shanghai last year. I don't know the dish well enough to make comparisons, but this one had some delicately sweet and savory bits of crab meat and roe in a silky a sauce that one could accentuate with black vinegar.

Perhaps more interesting was the fact that one could get a small bowl of his mapo tofu on the side. It didn't come with any rice, which felt odd, but at least I could satisfy my cravings for it for just a few bucks more.

The Rainforest Fried Rice from KANTIN Singapore

I told you that I'd be back here. This time I went for their rainforest fried rice above, and I liked it. The rice was firm yet carefully seasoned, and even garnished with crunchy nuts and crispy tapioca leaves. I also got to try those banana leaf-grilled ikan balut fish packets. There was a delicate and moist piece of fish inside that was accentuated with some ginger flowers. Thumbs up. It was all better than that headhunter chicken meal from yesterday.

Taverna by The Tokyo Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

The name above looks confusing, but it's a spinoff of a place called The Tokyo Restaurant. It's an Italian itameshi place on the third floor of The Gardens Mall. And I was quite happy with that mentaiko pasta above, as it was super savory and buttery without being overwhelming. The thick noodles were chewy, and they provided a generous portion at that.

On top of that, the parent restaurant is apparently known for its burnt cheesecake, and they serve it here too. It was deliciously rich; I gobbled it all up in the blink of an eye despite how heavy it was. I'll be very happy to come back here again, and perhaps also check out the many Japanese restaurants here at The Table restaurant area at the Isetan in Mid Valley.

Returning to ChoCha Foodstore in Kuala Lumpur

I'm not intentionally on the hunt for ingredients from Borneo two times in the same day. I just liked this place so much from last time that my heart was set on coming here again. It was only only after I sat down did I realize their Borneo heritage. Yet it was completely different from KANTIN's traditional tribal take.

As with before, ChoCha is progressively modern, and fantastic at it. I loved everything I had, including a duck leg with duck fat fried rice as well as a smoked golden pomfret salad, all of which was balanced and accentuated with local herbs and aroma. That thing above might look weird, but it's mackerel paste stuffed into a betel leaf-like thing that was deep fried and topped with a gel made from a wild ginger from Borneo. It was comfortingly soft and savory.

I just love how this place does everything, like how it handles its ingredients, as well as the charming old venue that was filled with a smoky aroma and calming music. I'm really surprised that this place hasn't gotten more praise and attention, because it really deserves it.

KANTIN from Sarawak at Jewel Changi Airport

How cool is this?? This restaurant from Kuching specializes in tribal food from Borneo, and they've opened an outlet here in Singapore (78 Airport Boulevard #05-206). I went for that bamboo-cooked chicken set above; it tasted like you might imagine it to be: delicate but accentuated with a number of exotic herbs and vegetables, including those little dishes to the side. It wasn't so satisfying that I'll get it again, but I intend to go back for other things like their fried rice and banana leaf-grilled fish, as those sounded promising. This is probably one of the most unique places to eat at the airport right now.

Emily's Chicken Noodles from Thailand

This was a home-based business in Bangkok that went viral on social media due to their family's shredded chicken noodle dish above. They now have multiple outlets in Thailand now, and are even doing a pop-up in Singapore for a few weeks at the Amoy Hotel at Far East Square, where these pre-assembled takeout boxes are conveniently waiting to be sold (76 Telok Ayer Street). Those boxes travel well by the way, so it makes sense that Grab is also doing deliveries.

Yes, it's fun to eat, with the skinny noodles being laced with a mildly sweet and perky fish sauce. I don't know if it was so unique to justify it going viral though, especially since it was topped with shredded chicken breast that was a little dry. I guess one tended not to notice as much when it was eaten with those tangy noodles and lettuce, not to mention a fried shallot topping was pleasantly greasy and spicy. It must have been the crunchy bits that resonated with audiences.

Boon Chiang Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore

This is a small chain of neighborhood chicken rice stalls that I kinda like because the rice is firm and the chicken is moist, despite my selection of breast meat above. Now, the rice and chili aren't as fragrant as they could be, but at least the proprietor that I engaged with today was charming despite his failed attempts to upsell me past the cheapest plate above. It was certainly far beyond that thing that United was trying to do.

Tavola Aperta at Plaza Singapura in Singapore

This place is kinda interesting in that it's a large and rather upscale-looking venue in a crowded mall where rent can't be cheap (68 Orchard Road #01-60), and yet they are able to keep pasta prices below S$20 (US$16). It's run by someone who spent time working for a famous pasta chef in Los Angeles, and I liked what I had above, especially with its surprisingly potent black pepper. It was better than than a lot of the other low-cost pasta places around, although I'd probably still choose Sio Pasta if there were no wait there.

Anchor Oyster Bar in San Francisco, California

You know that you're going to like a place when you want to order nearly everything on the menu (579 Castro Street, 415-431-3990). I ultimately settled for that local petrale sole above, along with an order of steamed clams. And I ended up, well, happy as a clam.

The fish was deliciously done in a lemon beurre blanc and featured not just capers, but also rice with crispy bits on the side. I wiped that plate clean with a couple orders of sourdough bread and was delighted with some steamed clams as well as local wine. They had artichoke on the list of specials today but sold out just before I put in my order.

It turns out that this place is actually a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and is known for its cioppino. But to me it was just one of those local seafood places that I've always had a soft spot for. It's a bit like Swan Oyster Depot but taken up a notch in terms of preparation.

Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, California

This place consistently came up on the number of lists about being one of the best pizza places in town (422 Larkin Street, 415-829-3108). It's a New York-style place where they sell by the slice. The crust was super thin but still had a lot of texture and moisture. And they used quality ingredients on top, particularly for a number of rather creative-looking specials. I wanted to try more, but didn't have the time nor stomach space for it.

Pinecrest Diner in San Francisco, California

I'll admit that I didn't really need this meal. But I needed to go out, and this old school place on the corner looked like it had some character (405 Geary Street, 415-885-6407).

The menu featured your classic greasy spoon items, including a patty melt that looked rather promising. But I grabbed the lightest thing available, which was this plate with these thick strips of bacon. The hashbrowns weren't as crispy as I thought they would be, and it needed salt too.

I ultimately cleared the whole plate and some slices of rye bread thanks to a good dose of Tabasco sauce. It was fun just to sit at the counter and watch the activity in the kitchen.

Otra in San Francisco's Lower Haight

This is apparently quite a popular place in the lower Haight, so I popped in for a quick bite (682 Haight Street, 415-500-2774). The ingredients were all good, including the quality of the beef and tortillas above, both of which were very delicate. But the seasoning was so delicate that it needed more salt (I ended up licking my margarita rim). Oddly, they couldn't do micheladas, and the tacos took forever to come out of the kitchen.

Tropisueno in San Francisco, California

As much as I wanted to hop down to the Mission District for a burrito tonight, I was dead tired and just went for a place nearby, even if it was in the commercialized area near the convention center (75 Yerba Buena Lane, 415-985-2264). I got this pozole, which oddly came with huge chunks of pork inside while lacking limes, cilantro, and onions for garnish. But at least the pork was tender and there was a citrusy slaw that was kinda nice, along with a sesame chili oil. In retrospect, there were a lot of other things that I could have ordered instead.

Douglass Saloon in Columbia, California

Haven't done a $100 burger trip in a while. This time, we headed up to a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills that is walkable from the town's little airport. The wooden downtown looks like it's straight out of a country western movie, inclusive of an opportunity to pan for gold. Despite it seemingly being constructed for tourists, it's apparently a real gold rush town preserved in a historic park.

There were multiple saloons around; we stopped into this one (22718 Main Street, 209-288-2382) for their homemade sarsaparilla, which is a predecessor to root beer and apparently leverages the bottles that they make here. But it just tasted like root beer, and the wild cherry flavor came from a Torani syrup bottle. I am not entirely sure about their homemade pitch, but at least it was refreshing on a hot day like today.

Tleaf Green Burmese Kitchen in San Jose, California

I was not expecting to eat Burmese food in San Jose, but there have been a few places popping up in the area, with this one done up in a bright fast-casual salad counter with ordering kiosks (5353 Almaden Expressway #40A). They also had cooked food in a Panda Express-like spread for creating combo plates.

My selection above was chicken kebat, which was both minty and earthy, and rather tender too. That was paired with some "Burmese noodles" done in a curry-like seasoning, which I believe is called kauswe kyaw. Unfortunately, they were sitting around for a while and were served at room temperature.

Perhaps more interesting then was their signature Tea Leaf Salad, which was lahpet thoke but with romaine lettuce instead of cabbage, tossed in a pureed tea leaf dressing with cherry tomatoes and even jalapenos. They even had plastic gloves for you to mix it by hand in the traditional way if you wanted to.

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse in California

The last time I went to a BJ's was decades ago. It's such a big generic chain now that I never had much interest in going again. But today we went for the bar, and I only now realized that they have a half-decent selection of beers available, both in-house and from local breweries. I was happy about that.

I can't say that I liked the food that much though. That was supposed to be their weekend prime rib above, but they threw it on the griddle or something, turning it into a tough steak. I guess it was my fault for requesting a medium; presumably they wouldn't do that if I had asked for medium rare.

Anyway, it was dry and not worth finishing. At least I gobbled up their wedge salad, and I have to admit that I liked their super sweet "Pizookie" cookie dessert, even if it was such a sugar bomb that I really should have stopped after just a few bites.

True Food Kitchen from Phoenix, Arizona

I had never heard of this restaurant before, but it's from Phoenix and has expanded to a number of outlets featuring big open kitchens. As the name suggests, it's focused on ingredient quality, which gave me hope despite what otherwise looked like a forgettable menu. The good thing was that it mostly delivered, as that Chinese chicken salad featured a ginger-centric dressing that was refreshingly perky rather than sweet. Sure, those huge chunks of breast meat were a bit of a turnoff (it felt like I was being force-fed tasteless protein), but at least it wasn't as dry as it could have been. And the selection of zero-proof cocktails was just what I needed today too.