pho stop, tanjong pagar.

Thursday, April 30, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

i'll start off by saying that i really like this place. this is, in fact, my third visit, and i brought my sister along. 

the first time i went, i became completely enamoured with their take on vietnamese chicken salad ($7). crunchy cabbage slaw combined with shredded chicken, topped with crispy golden fried shallots, peanuts and pickled bombay onions. the dressing was tangy and appetizing. since then, i've never failed to order this (picture was taken on my first visit).


for my main, i had my usual order of grilled chicken chop bún ($9.30) while my sister had the deep fried spring rolls bún ($8.50). i always want to try something else, but i remember how good the grilled chicken is... and so i end up getting the same thing. good that i went with my sister then- i got to try the spring rolls. i expected the spring rolls to be vegetarian for some reason, though the menu did not say so; and so i was pleasantly surprised to bite into a juicy, meaty roll that was almost reminiscent of a dumpling. it came piping hot with a crackly wrapper- of course i liked it. 

i've never liked bún before trying their version, as i've always found the dressing disturbingly sweet. the fish sauce that came with this bún had no trace of saccharine sweetness at all, and went really well with the vermicelli and vegetables. not sure how an authentic bún is supposed to be, but who cares, i like this. the grilled chicken was as good as the first time i had it, with a charred exterior and tender meat, though it leans towards the salty side. plus, portion is definitely not stingy, especially the chicken. 




service was efficient- we were served in about ten minutes despite the place being packed and it being lunch hour. also, i asked for my grilled chicken bún to have more veggies and less noodles, and the guy taking my order was very good about it. in fact, when i was placing my sister's order, he even took the initiative to ask if i wanted that order to be normal or the same as mine, which was a nice touch.  


one of my favorite places for vietnamese. i wish i work in the cbd at times like this- so many good places to eat at! 

pho stop
72+74 tanjong pagar road

the rabbit hole, raffles place.

Monday, April 27, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

wanted a salad after the gym today, so decided to utilize the sugar voucher that i had bought. 

they had craft salads for $10, including 1 base, 5 toppings and 1 dressing, which was what i got. the house salads looked quite interesting actually- might try that out next time. 

the base was of lettuce, with an option of changing to a more premium base (spinach, from what it looks like) for an additional $1.50. the toppings available were quite standard- vegetables, fruits, nuts, some simple proteins, but they had cheese! awesome. so i picked edamame, alfalfa sprouts, parmesan cheese, egg, ham and avocado (i had six because the guy making my salad told me that i could have a free topping if i liked their facebook page- apparently that's their offer for april). then i saw that they had some special toppings on the board, and decided to get the sautéed mushrooms and sous vide chicken breast as well, for an additional $2.50 each. they do sirloin steak too, for an additional $4. 



they actually had quite a lot of interesting dressings- i picked miso sesame, after some deliberation. the dressing came in a shot glass, which was really cute. i liked that it came with a mini handle thing, which i presume is for me to flick the dressing over the salad, allowing control over how much dressing to put (i'm really not a dressing kind of person; most of the time i eat my salads plain). 



the salad came in a huge wooden bowl of generous portions. most salad bars are measly about portions and i usually leave feeling unsatisfied. this was different. i was actually full after eating it (and that's saying something). also helped that the salad was delicious, especially the sautéed mushrooms. the miso sesame dressing was on the sweet side, but i did like it. 



service was excellent. when i was leaving, the guy who served me noticed that i hadn't finished my dressing and was concerned if it was because i didn't like it. he also said that if i didn't like the dressing they would be okay to replace it with another one. wow, that's a first. i doubt most places would care enough to ask if we didn't finish our food. i reassured him that it wasn't because i didn't like it, but just that i'm not that much into salad dressings in general. for a place with no service charge (or even those with service charge), this was surprising (but in a good way). 


good service does make a difference. really liked this place. food was good and portions generous- which makes it stand out from all the other salad bars. prices are admittedly on the steep side, but i'll come back when i have a salad craving. 

the rabbit hole
#04-30 one raffles place
https://www.facebook.com/therabbitholesalad

chirashi tei, 313 somerset.

Saturday, April 25, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

read that chef peter teo has opened a new place at 313 somerset, and of course, i wanted to go, being a fan of the thickly sliced sashimi that he's famous for. strangely enough, this place was located at food republic. haven't been to 313's food republic in ages and i was surprised to find that there were quite a few interesting looking stalls.

anyway, there were only counter seats, and was located right next to the teppanyaki place. 



they mainly offered set meals, with various sides. 


i was briefly tempted by the gyuniku foie gras set, because beef and foie gras!!! but logic persevered in the end- the restaurant is called chirashi tei, after all. 




X and i both got the chirashi set ($23). we requested to replace tuna, and the waitress obliged, suggesting white tuna with no extra charge. awesome. the set came with appetizers of a small salad with wafu dressing, another unidentifiable (i'm guessing dried fish) but tasty dish, and miso soup. tea was provided at $1. 


the chirashi came with salmon, mekajiki, white tuna, fish roe and japanese omelette, on a bed of japanese rice. the fish was fresh, but not nearly as thickly sliced as i'd expected it to be. the white tuna was especially good though- buttery, succulent and just plain delicious. the japanese rice was also competent- i almost finished all of mine. 



wanted some sides, so we got a grilled mackerel ($6) to share. it came with a crackly, slightly charred skin and was grilled just right. X also got a chawanmushi ($5) but said that the texture was slightly too soft and runny. 


sure, it was nothing mindblowingly spectacular, but it was a good meal, and for the price, value for money. there's no service charge and gst- all prices on the menu are nett; but service was efficient anyway. on top of that, they were having an opening promotion with 20% discount off all items, until the end of april. i left satisfied- will be back if i need a quick chirashi fix (which is, come to think of it, pretty often).

chirashi tei
food republic, 313 somerset level 5 

bami express, tanjong pagar.

Friday, April 24, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

the first time i ever had banh mi was at nam nam, and that started my thing with banh mi. i particularly like nam nam's chicken banh mi, though i order it sans mayo. since then i've tried a couple more places, including moc quan and sandwich saigon; this is also why i was so interested to check out this place.

it's a very small shop with barely any seating space- makeshift tables and chairs are placed along the corridor outside the shop. 


this is their menu.


their food is really reasonably priced. $5 for a banh mi, add on a bit more to get a set of drink/spring roll, or both. their menu is not extensive, but what they do, they do well. the bami saigon that i got ($5.50 with vietnamese coffee) was really good. crisp and light baguette, filled with fresh, crunchy pickles, tasty pâté and cured meat. just look at the generous filling! 


the vietnamese coffee was a miss though; too diluted. my sister got the smoked duck version of the banh mi, which i tried as well, and it was just as good as mine. i have to say that the chili really packed a punch though! i didn't expect it to be quite that spicy- next time i'll probably ask for the no chili version. 


what i wanted to try was the bbq chicken banh mi, but i was informed that they'd run out. also wanted the spring roll, but they'd also run out. hmph. we were there at about one in the afternoon- not that late for lunch, so i was quite taken aback. will head back another time to try- the food was awesome, especially the crackly, airy baguette. probably the best banh mi i've had to date, and the cheapest one too.

bami express
#02-53
block 1 tanjong pagar plaza 

ô comptoir (formerly le comptoir), circular road.

Monday, April 20, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

they're offering a lunch set that gives a salad and dessert with any galette ordered. chose the ménage à 5 because i was tempted by the mushrooms, though the nordic inspiration sounded good too. this is their menu: 



the salad that came with the set lunch was a simple one of lettuce and tomato drizzled with balsamic. 


the galette came generously filled with emmental cheese, tomatoes, ham, mushrooms and egg. the texture of the galette reminded me of thosai- maybe that's why i liked it. 



there is just something so nice about runny egg yolks, and this was done to perfection, and went well with the light tasting galette. i thought that i might still be hungry, the galette seeming insubstantial, but it was actually a good portion. 



the lunch set also came with dessert, which was a trio of small bites, including a caramel crepe. nothing spectacular, but it was a good end to the meal. 



ô comptoir
79 circular road

saint marc café, raffles city.

Monday, April 20, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

wanted dessert after dinner, so settled for saint marc's. saw that they had a new special of vanilla rum bread pudding ($7.80); decided to be adventurous and tried that, along with the miyako ($8.20). 



what came was really different from the picture. the bread pudding looked stodgy and was surprisingly large- twice the size of what i had expected. we took a bite each and immediately gave each other weird looks. it was strangely salty and had none of the pudding texture i like so much about bread pudding. even the rum sauce was weird- extremely thick and the rum was overpowering. i tried to like it, but really couldn't. after some discussion, L and i decided to return it because it was just so bad. i've never had to return food because of its taste before. thankfully the staff was accommodating and processed it for us; we exchanged it for a little fuji. 

the miyako (warabi, green tea ice cream, vanilla soft serve + azuki bean paste) was thankfully normal. liked the warabi- then again i always do. japanese red bean paste is always shockingly sweet though, and this was no exception. 

the little fuji ($6.30) was so much better than the bread pudding. glad we mustered the courage to change it. it came with a crisp croissant base, topped by a generous swirl of soft serve and drizzled with caramel sauce. it was okay- expected it to be better with the rave reviews i read about some time ago. wouldn't get cravings for it, though. 



saint marc café
raffles city #b1-44m

alt pizza, suntec city.

Monday, April 20, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

i'm not a fan of thick crusted, doughy pizzas, so that is probably one of the reasons why i liked this place so much. then again, i'm also not that much into pizzas, so how much i liked this place surprised me- i already want to go back. but i'm getting ahead of myself.

was there for an early dinner (6-ish) so there were only a few other tables occupied aside from us. by the time we left though, the place was bustling. 



liked that they put their menu online- part of the reason why we got tempted into trying this place. 



took quite a while to decide, us being indecisive and the menu having more than a couple of tempting items. for sides, we eventually decided on the wagyu short rib meatballs ($12), which came piping hot and with six juicy meatballs. 



wanted two different sauce based pizzas, so we got the truffle shuffle ($14) and buffalo bill ($16). 


this was the truffle shuffle. white sauce, caramelized onions, roasted mushrooms, fennel sausage and truffle oil on a skinny crust. the moment it arrived, i could smell the truffle oil. so good it didn't even need the fennel sausage. especially loved the roasted mushrooms- i could easily inhale a whole bowl of that. the crust was crispy and chewy at the same time; really good. 


the buffalo bill came with buffalo sauce, mozzarella, roasted chicken breast, red onion, blue cheese, smoked bacon and parmesan. surprisingly enough, i didn't manage to taste the blue cheese at all; perhaps the buffalo sauce was too strong. it provided a good contrast with the milder truffle shuffle though, so i suppose the two were good complements. 


so many other things i want to try on the menu! also they seem to be doing a pretty good deal of having 1 for 1 on pizzas from 5 - 6 pm mondays to fridays. even without the deal it's reasonably priced- we spent about $25 each. the pizzas were also surprisingly filling, given that we're both bottomless pits. will absolutely be back. 


alt pizza
suntec city tower 4 #01-602

nakajima sushi, takashimaya.

Monday, April 13, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

was in town and needed a quick lunch. remembered seeing that cold storage at takashimaya had a sushi counter sometime ago, so made my way there. 

aburi salmon was on special today, at $6.90 instead of the usual $7.90, so i grabbed that and some shime saba ($6.90). they had some counter seats at a corner for dining in, and even provided hot tea, wasabi and soy sauce. 



in my opinion, nothing can really go wrong with shime saba, because it's always awesome, with its vinegary tang. the aburi salmon was surprisingly good for its price- i could easily wolf down more. good for a quick, fuss free meal. 

nakajima sushi
cold storage (takashimaya) #b2-01-1

club meatballs, china square central.

Sunday, April 12, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

awesome pulled pork sliders ($13) from club meatballs. came by for dinner with X sometime ago. i've been there for lunch (had one of their sandwiches) but their dinner menu is different. 


we also had a main each ($19.50). i had a hard time deciding what i wanted- risotto or pappardelle? an abundance of choices confounds me. but in the end, X and i, after some discussion, decided to share our mains. so i settled for pappardelle with onion and red wine sauce, topped with wagyu beef and rosemary meatballs. X ordered the parmesan risotto with truffled mushroom sauce (which was what i wanted) and chicken and cumin meatballs.

so this was mine-



i liked how the pappardelle came al dente, but X didn't like it precisely for that reason. i probably shouldn't have chosen the onion and red wine sauce with it though- the sauce was good on its own (X really liked it) and with the meatballs but didn't really go with the pappardelle. the wagyu balls were sadly overcooked and on the tough side, though generously portioned. 

i infinitely preferred the risotto with truffled mushroom sauce. really good, and the rice was al dente too, exactly the way i like it. in fact, i think i'll come back for the risotto. i think i ended up eating more of X's than my own. 


X much preferred the sliders to the mains, though that might be because of her sudden thing for pulled pork. but i would come back for the sliders and the risotto. strange, because they're called club meatballs, i would've thought i would leave with a better impression of their meatballs. i didn't try X's chicken meatballs, but she didn't like it much because of the overpowering cumin. 

the food is generally good- enough for me to overlook their nonchalant service, i suppose. we were pretty much ignored except for when they were taking our orders, serving our food, and settling payment. will be back if i'm not starving- food took quite a while to come, though the place wasn't even close to full. 

club meatballs 
#01-35 20 cross street