Les Ducs on Ann Siang Hill in Singapore

This Michelin-listed French place is naturally quite pricey (8 Ann Siang Hill), but fortunately they do some much more affordable prices at lunchtime. That means simple stuff like my Toulouse sausage above, which I was happy with, along with the beans and bread. The quality of the ingredients was all good, and the service was attentive. But the kitchen is a little shy with the salt, so next time I should just ask for some on the side.

Japan’s Hikuniku To Come in Singapore

Right next-door to Torikizoku at VivoCity is this other chain from Japan serving grilled hanbaagu. Like Niku Niku Oh!! Kome, they have counter seating surrounding a central grill (1 Harbourfront Walk #01-102). But this one is more upscale, featuring a charcoal grill rather than a flat top, and all without those silly cheese theatrics nor that pedestrian-looking broccoli.

The meat quality was fine. Aside from one minor piece of gristle in one of my three patties, it was tender with a reasonable amount of fat and juice that went nicely with the unlimited rice and huge spread of condiments. It is better than Niku Niku Oh!! Kome. I failed to get my egg yolk balanced on my patty this time though, so that will be my challenge next time.

Liuding Fire's Chinese Dalu Noodles in Singapore

Right next to the new Wu Gu Yu Fen stall at 313@somerset lies another chain from China...kinda. Apparently Liuding Fire is a chain of barbecue shops, but I don't think they have shops dedicated to these noodles in China. Either way, this is a simple concept: pick from three noodle widths, and then pick from five thick sauces that are scooped on top...and then you can go back for a second bowl of free noodles and sauce, even if they are completely different. My tomato sauce above (as well as the separate mushroom sauce that I got later) was fine but nothing to get excited about. The more memorable thing was the wide noodles, but I won't get cravings for this place.

Malaysia's Bai Wei Minibowl in Singapore

It's interesting to see how many of these steamed bowl spreads are around these days, with this chain being from Malaysia. It serves Chinese food though, like that mala chicken above, which was decently salty, greasy, and spicy enough to wolf down rice with. The appearance of their food is quite grim, with most dishes looking sad, dark, and lifeless. And the white vessels are *not* insulated, which I learned the hard way after trying to pick one up, giving me burned fingers. I was happy to eat the food at least.

Swatow Seafood in Toa Payoh, Singapore

This is a Teochew restaurant that serves dim sum in the mornings (181 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh #02-602, 6363-1717). There wasn't anything special about the food, but it's pretty fast, with everything on old school push carts in a giant banquet room with linens stuck in a time warp (and yet, the decor was still a notch up from Red Star). They serve Teochew food after dim sum; I wonder if it's any good.

China's Wu Gu Yu Fen in Singapore

Another chain from China has taken over the stall formerly occupied by Zheng Nan Qi Bai at 313@somerset's Food Republic. This one does thinner five grain (yet tri-color) rice noodles though, which I like better because they are firmer. That white broth is a bit deceptive too; it is a bit like Tamjai Samgor in that it can get pretty peppery, even without adding the red chili oil that they have available on the side.

Lao Zhang Halal Beef Noodles at Taoyuan Airport T2

There are a number of beef noodle shops in the city with a similar name, but this one is based in Ximending and has been around since 1950. They have an outlet at the airport next to Wang's Broth, offering both a dark and a light broth. I grabbed the former since it was at the top of the menu, but it wasn't as soy sauce-heavy as the color suggested. It turned out to be surprisingly beefy, and the rib meat that they used was also rather tasty too. Still, the bowl just wasn't very satisfying for me, even if the noodles were thick and chewy. Apparently their city location gives free soup and noodle refills, but I'm pretty sure that that policy didn't apply at the airport.

Fujin Tree Taiwanese Cuisine & Champagne in Taipei

After a week of endless meetings and mostly forgettable meals, I'm glad that I finally got to finish it off with this place, which does food from Tainan. They have a few outlets including one carrying a Michelin star, but there are no table linens to be seen.

Pretty much everything that we had was delicious, ranging from that oysters and youtiao mixture above to a sliced beef with daikon platter as well as a vermicelli soup that was super earthy from all of the dried seafood in the broth.

The best dish of the night was a scrambled egg and crabmeat mixture that was wonderfully fluffy, delicate, and savory. And yes, as the name suggests, they offer quite a range of bottles to go with all of this food. This goes right into my list of favorite places in Taipei, along with Shann Rice Bar and Sinchao Rice Shoppe.

Bafang Yunji Dumplings in Taiwan

The other day I noticed that there was an outlet of Bafang Dumplings near my hotel. Wasn't that the big chain that inspired that knockoff in Singapore a while back? It was, and it was definitely better than the other shop that I ate at earlier this week. It was an interesting fast food-like setup with a range of fillings available for those long-shaped potstickers, including some yellow curry powder-based ones that were more potent than I thought they would be. Too bad there wasn't any red chili oil available as a condiment though; they only had that local sauce that I don't care much for.

Moonlight Cantonese Restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan

This was supposed to be a well-known Cantonese restaurant suitable for an upscale business dinner (359 Zhongxiao East Road Section 7, 8F). The selling point seemed to be more about the venue than the food though. The lobster above was more shell than meat, while their Peking duck wasn't particularly tasty nor crispy. The more interesting items were the vegetables, like a morel and bamboo shoot claypot as well as a stringy vegetable called water snowflake that is local to the area. I guess I liked their almond mochi dessert at the end.

Yami Kaoya Canting ("Amazing Duck") in Taipei

We had a team dinner at this small Peking duck chain, featuring local poultry from Yilan. It was leaner than I thought it would be, but was still tasty and interestingly came with different colored crepes, liked ones that were accentuated green (from chives, I think), as well as grey (from activated carbon or something). They had other dishes too, including a duck meat soup that was nice and salty, as well as some tofu and veggie dishes. That said, this place wasn't as unique to me as Shann Rice Bar, so I suspect that I won't be back here too quickly.

Zhanyu Feng in Taipei, Taiwan

This is a small local chain doing things like noodles and dumplings. But I didn't like it, as they didn't have a clean tasting red chili oil, but instead a thick and beany sauce. They used it across a number of dishes, which were not spicy enough and also slightly sweet. I don't need to go back; there are other dumpling shops nearby to go to.