long phung, joo chiat.

i only really started to like vietnamese food a lot after being to ho chi minh. prior to that, my knowledge of vietnamese food was limited to banh mi, pho and spring rolls. the trip really exposed me to a range of vietnamese food, and one that i particularly took to was bun thit nuong. so that was why i had bun thit nuong ($7.50) instead of the pho that most people have at long phung.

not my first time at long phung. the first was quite some time ago, at dinner, and i remember having to queue for a seat. but at off peak lunch time, the restaurant was only half-filled, so i snagged a seat with ease. was briefly considering getting a chicken salad side to go with my noodles, but then realised that it was priced at something like $12- probably more for sharing, so i made do with just the noodles.

service was fast and efficient. my noodles probably came five minutes after i placed my order. at first glance, i was slightly disappointed because of the large amount of noodles, while the amount of vegetables looked to be negligible. one of the things i love most about vietnamese food is the amount of fresh vegetables they give. however, after digging around, i realised that the amount of vermicelli was an illusion. the vermicelli looked like a formidable amount only because it was covering a mound of crunchy beansprouts, and that discovery made me happy again.



the grilled pork was awesome. it was piping hot and had a respectable char. the best part, though, was that it wasn't fatty pork. i know most people have this thing for fatty pork, but i'm not one of them, so i appreciated the leanness of the pork (usually i find myself digging and cutting away the fat bits, but for this, i didn't have to at all). there was a sprinkling of peanuts and fried shallots over the noodles, but i found myself wishing there was more. it came with a salty-sweet sauce that had pickled carrots and radish. portion-wise, i found it to be just right.

i can fully understand why long phung has remained so popular over the years. will come back to try more of their stuff- in particular the bun thit bo xao called out to me.

long phung
159 joo chiat road

face to face noodle house, city square.

to be perfectly honest, the thing that drew us in to try this (aside from the fact that it's newly opened and really, city square mall does not leave us with too many options) was their opening promotion. they were having 50% off all mains on the menu.

it was nine-ish on a monday night when we stepped in, which was probably why it was so quiet, but still, it was not confidence inspiring. decided to go ahead and try anyway- with the 50% promotion factored in, prices were comfortable.

it was simple to order. grab a seat, order and pay at the cashier, then wait for your number on the receipt to be called.

i tried the signature soup pan mee (originally $8.90). choice of flat or round noodle- of course i got the flat one, given my preference for linguine over spaghetti. came with minced meat and an onsen egg, with fried anchovies on the side.



the soup itself was pretty good- warm, comforting, and flavourful. also liked how the noodles were cooked al dente (i hate soft, overcooked noodles) and there was a bite to it. the fried anchovies also added a savoury crunch. with it being served on the side, it meant that i could add it to the soup whenever i wanted, and it wouldn't get overly soggy. the egg was also well cooked.

i found that they could've been more generous with the other ingredients, though, for a $8.90 pan mee. while pan mee is basically a carb dish, they could've given more of the minced meat to make it a more complete meal. or maybe i'm just a more protein-based rather than carb-based eater.

without the opening promo, not sure if i'll be back. sure, it was a passable bowl of noodles, with better than average noodles, but for $8.90? questionable.

face to face noodle house
#02-23/24 city square mall

grain traders, market street, 2.0.

swung by for a... post-gym snack (not quite sure what to call it, given that i'd eaten breakfast, and it was definitely not lunch). i had been tempted by seeing instagram posts of their polenta egg rancheros ($8) which was only available for breakfast- wish they would do it for lunch! the roasted pork brown rice porridge from their breakfast menu tempts me too.

service was quick, rather like lunch. everything was already prepared and on the counter, so it was just a matter of putting it together. thankfully it was pretty empty during breakfast- i could envision myself having a leisurely breakfast there.



it came with two boiled eggs, with a dab of guacamole, on top of polenta cakes, with a generous side of mixed bean pico de gallo (which i think also comes as a side for their lunch bowls). also had a small serving of greens on the side. it's a pretty good post-gym meal, actually- full of protein.



i cut into the first egg, envisioning it to be runny, but was sorely disappointed. it was more like a hard boiled egg than one with a runny center. the other egg fared better, with a runny, half molten yolk than ran onto the polenta cakes. also wished they'd been more generous with the guacamole. there was so little of it that i could barely taste it. still, it was a pretty good meal, with a delicious combination of flavours.



will be back for their breakfast offerings- much prefer it to their lunch, given the price point. too bad they only offer breakfast till ten-thirty. will make an effort to swing by to try the brown rice porridge.

birdie num num bar, kembangan.

it was their name that caught my attention at first. walked past a few times but they were always closed (operating hours are from three onwards), sadly ruling it out for lunch. but i was eventually motivated to head there for dinner after reading several positive instagram reviews (i'm a sucker for underrated, hidden finds).



out of the three starters they had available, we got two- foie gras and pan-seared scallops, both $7.90.

the foie gras was on top of a caramelised slice of apple. i loved the tangy sweetness of the caramelised apple (thought it was pear at first, then re-read the menu) paired with the richness of the foie gras. couldn't really discern the grape puree, probably because of how strong the flavours were already. also would've liked a fatter piece of foie gras, but then i'm probably asking for too much, given that it's only $7.90.



X didn't quite take to the foie gras, and much preferred the pan-seared scallops. the scallops came perfectly cooked- golden brown, as the menu promised, on top of cauliflower puree. also came with caviar, but i found the caviar to be unnecessary, since it didn't add too much to the dish. but okay, i'm probably just nitpicking here.



our mains came shortly after (in fact, even before we've finished taking photos of our starters). X got the pan-seared salmon while i chose the miso cod, both $15.90.

the pan-seared salmon was certainly generous in portion- a huge slab of salmon, with a golden, crackly skin, over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and salad on the side. X found the salmon to be slightly overcooked, but the end that i tried was alright. she loved the mashed potatoes though! it had a dominating flavour that was familiar, but we couldn't seem to really place it. i thought it was bacon, while X guessed truffle. whatever it was, the mash was delicious.



my miso cod came with two pieces of perfectly cooked cod, marinated in miso, making it sweet and salty at the same time- yum! it was served on top of creamy risotto, with greens on the side. quite liked the combination, though i found quite a few bones in my cod. aside from that hiccup, it was really pretty good. and for $15.90!!!





what i didn't understand, though, was the need to have squiggles of sticky, black balsamic sauce on top of all the dishes. i found it superfluous, given that the taste of the dishes were on the strong side to begin with, so adding the sauce wouldn't have made much of a difference taste-wise. X liked the black balsamic though, and was scraping it off the plate to go with her mash.

it was a sunday night when we went, but the place was pretty quiet. a good place for a quiet, relaxing dinner, away from the bustle of more central restaurants. they serve up honest, unpretentious food; reasonably priced to boot (prices are nett!). highly recommended.


birdie num num bar
54 jalan kembangan
https://www.facebook.com/birdienumnumbar

aroy dee thai kitchen, middle road.

my sister had had lunch there previously and was pretty satisfied with the food, so it was on her recommendation that we went. still, even though my sister had recommended it, i was still surprised by how good all the dishes were. usually when we order a variety of dishes to share, i tend to have a favourite. this time, however, i was hard pressed to find a favourite dish, simply because all the dishes were of reasonably high standards.

we got the papaya salad ($7), pineapple fried rice with chicken floss ($6.50) and of course, pad thai ($6.50).



also got the green curry chicken ($10) and soft shell crab in thai curry ($15).



we ordered the smallest size for each of the dishes, but the portions were substantial. liked how they were generous with ingredients even in the carb-centric dishes like the pad thai and fried rice- i found several juicy prawns and squid in the pad thai. pretty generous for $6.50, i think. even in the green curry they didn't skimp on the chicken pieces.

flavours were spot on. my mum commented, though, that since the flavours were so heavy we probably should've just gone with white rice, especially to pair with the green curry. (in fact we did order a small portion of rice to go with the dishes.) but... i think of the fragrance of the pineapple fried rice and peanutty goodness of the pad thai... and i don't think i can give that up.

might be worth coming by for their lunch sets! prices were reasonable for dinner, but only in a party of four and above, i think. with fewer people than that i think it'd be hard to share dishes. no service charge, so for four people we paid less than $50. would come by for a group dinner again- good food, and reasonably priced.

aroy dee thai kitchen
262 middle road
https://www.facebook.com/aroydeekitchenthai/

sushi on wheelz, city link.

was walking through city link mall on our way to dinner, and chanced upon this new place. really, it's more of a takeaway kiosk than anything else, but they do have quite a variety of items, including oden and of course, sushi.



what caught our attention, though, was the salmon mentaiko waffurger- because waffle!!! and salmon!!! and mentaiko!!! i was hungry, so i was tempted to get it, but logic prevailed (we were on our way to dinner, after all). then L saw that they had mochi lollipops (!) and we were sold.

both savoury and sweet mochi lollipops were available, and they had a special promotion with 3 mochi lollipops going for $5. the catch, though, was that it was only for the $2 ones. the one we wanted, salmon mentaiko, happened to be a $3 one, so instead of getting one each we settled for sharing. (they should really do an offer for the $3 ones, too.)

the mochi lollipop came toasty and hot, with actual salmon on top and a generous squiggle of mentaiko mayo. L was surprised that they actually did give salmon slices (but for $3 i would think they should).



the base was basically mochi that had been toasted in a waffle iron, so it was soft and gummy. the salmon and mentaiko mayo had been aburi-ed, so it was a given that it was delicious. in all, it was a pretty good snack, got to remember to come back for the waffurger.

sushi on wheelz
#b1-61 city link mall
https://www.facebook.com/sushionwheelz

park bench deli, telok ayer.

the list of places i want to try is constantly growing, so i'm always glad whenever i can cross one out. park bench deli is one of those places. finally tried them out for lunch. came after the lunch rush, at about two plus, so it was fairly quiet and i managed to snag a seat with ease. got the one near the door, which afforded me much privacy (as well as the opportunity to people watch).



they had quite a number of sandwiches on offer, but the one that caught my eye was the pastrami ($17). mainly because it had a variety of different ingredients, not just meat. it came with smoked pastrami, sautéed bell peppers and onions, pimento cheese, pickles and their sauce. liked that they constructed the sandwich on order, which meant that my food was piping hot (but also that i had to wait a while for my food- i was hungry).



the sandwich was served already cut in half, which was good, because it made eating easier. still messy though, because of how they'd stuffed the sandwich with lots of ingredients, but not complaining because it was awesome. these guys really know how to make a sandwich.



the combination worked. salty, savoury kick from the pastrami and stretchy cheeeeseeee, combined with the tang of the pickles, along with the sweetness of the sautéed bell peppers and onions... it was my kind of sandwich. the ratio of bread to ingredients was also just right. found myself wolfing it down, and wishing there was more.



pricing is on the steep side, so it's hard to justify coming by often. but... i can see myself getting cravings for the pastrami sandwich.



park bench deli
179 telok ayer street
https://www.facebook.com/ParkBenchDeliSG/

enbu 炎舞, suntec city, 2.0.

came by the first time and was less than impressed by their yuzu chirashi. decided to give them another chance because i had a sugar voucher for the tsukune with onsen egg, so i came by for their lunch.

got one of the lunch sets- the tori warayaki don ($15), which came with miso soup.



they are supposedly famous for their warayaki. the chicken came quite well cooked, tender and moist, slathered in a spicy-sweet, sticky sauce. what i didn't like, though, was the rice. it was way too wet, making it a weird combination with the chicken.

the tsukune came a while later. that alone was worth the visit. the tsukune was topped with a wobbly onsen egg and saffron threads, with spring onions at the side. it also came with a soy-based sauce, which went really well with the egg.



the egg yolk was glorious and runny, flowing the moment i cut into it. the whole combination worked really well together. portion wasn't stingy as well- it was a well-sized patty.





it was a rather pleasant meal- a step up from my previous experience. will be back for the tsukune with onsen egg. yum!

enbu 炎舞
#03-307 suntec city
https://www.facebook.com/enbusingapore

lady m, orchard central.

wanted some dessert after dinner, so we came by. had to queue for about fifteen minutes before getting a table.

spent some time deciding what cake to get. initially we only wanted to share one slice, but then got tempted by all the cakes that were available, so ended up deciding to get two to share instead. of course we had to have a crêpe cake- it was lady m, after all. the other choice was harder. it was a tossup between the gâteau aux marrons and banana mille feuille, which both looked interesting.
chose the chocolate mille crêpe ($9) and the banana mille feuille ($8.50) in the end.



the chocolate mille crêpe was awesome- fully understand why they're famous for their crêpe cakes. the first chocolate crêpe cake that i liked is from awfully chocolate, but this version is quite different from awfully chocolate's. this was creamier and smoother. still like awfully chocolate's, though- i guess it depends on which kind of texture i'm craving for. both are around the same price, but lady m has the added bonus of having the option of dining in, in a gorgeous space to boot.

the banana mille feuille was not as impressive. too much cream, though the cream was delicious. would've liked to have more sponge and banana instead of cream. the sponge was fluffy and awesome- found myself digging for it. probably just not my kind of thing, since i'm more of a cake than cream person.



already planning a return trip, to try more of their cakes! especially want to try the checkers, since i've tasted their sponge and know that it's good.

lady m
#01-27/#02-27 orchard central
http://www.ladym.com.sg

dashi master marusaya, boat quay.

this place has been on my to-try list for the longest time- so glad i've finally crossed it off!

came by for lunch at about two, and just barely made their last order timing (about 2.15). spent some time deciding what to order off their lunch menu, even though it was quite compact.



eventually decided on the fish gozen set ($28), because it came with a variety of items. was torn between this and the sukiyaki udon set, but too much carbs in the sukiyaki udon put me off (onigiri + udon is just overkill).



at two plus on a monday afternoon, the place was quiet, with just two other tables occupied, one with japanese people- always a good sign.



my food came after a brief wait. i was seated below the skylight, which gave gorgeous (if slightly uneven) natural lighting.



fish stew and cold udon (choice of hot or cold), along with a variety of sides- braised octopus, spinach, pickles, chawanmushi and pudding. the katsuobushi, which they are known for, was freshly shaved on top of the udon and spinach in front of me by the waiter- a bit of theatrics.

had the udon first. didn't expect it to be so good, but it was. it was perfectly al dente, with a bite- exactly the way i like it, and exactly the way japanese udon should be. none of that soggy nonsense that makes me dislike udon. in fact, it brought me back to japan, where i remember loving the udon (and i hardly ever love udon). the chilled sauce was just the right amount of salty, and they'd given enough to coat the udon. off to an excellent start.



the braised octopus deserves a mention. i've never had octopus quite like this. it'd soaked up all the stock so it was flavoursome, very much unlike what i usually associate with octopus. the texture, however, was the most surprising- it was soft, and not chewy at all.

the fish stew was pretty good too. the fish had been cooked until it was almost melt-in-the-mouth, with a deep, umami flavour. the radish that came with it was delicious as well, having soaked up all the stock. wish there were more! the

the chawanmushi came with roe on top, and surprised me with its crunch (water chestnuts). texture was smooth, really really smooth.



i finished the meal and was surprised by how full i was. portions seemed on the small side, but it was just right. ended on a sweet note with the caramel pudding. didn't expect much from it, because it was after all a dessert that came along with a set, but it surprised me with how good it was. smooth and creamy, with a salty-sweet hit from the caramel sauce, i finished it easily.



loved the place and the food. thought was obviously put into the preparation of all the items. simple, but simple things are the most difficult to do well.



dashi master marusaya
#01-01
86 robertson quay
https://www.facebook.com/Marusaya.sg/

super dario lasagne café, city square mall.

we're at city square mall every week, and finding food to eat there has become some sort of a challenge. as with most malls, most things there are chain restaurants, and i generally don't take to chain restaurants, which leaves us with limited options. also, dinnertime for us is kind of late, which limits our options even further, since most restaurants there close at nine.



decided to try the lasagne that night, because the smell of baked cheese tempted us as we were coming down the escalator.



in the display case there were rows and rows of different lasagnes- not good for indecisive people like us. but on closer inspection it was just different variations on the same theme, and we quickly decided on the super dario plus ($9), which was beef and mushroom.

felt slightly guilty from the amount of sweet calories that we'd consumed during tea time, so we shared one. turned out to be a good decision, because it was actually quite a sizeable piece. don't think i'd be able to eat one by myself, actually, unless i'm ravenous.



after a short wait, it came piping hot, which is the way all lasagnes should be. no service charge, but they served it to us and even asked if we needed sharing plates and chili flakes.



it's hard to go wrong with lasagne, because: CHEESE and meat. so of course i liked it well enough. the ratio of cheese, pasta, meat and sauce was also just right, making it not too overwhelming. that being said, while it was tasty, i didn't like the gristly bits in the beef- don't like gristle, unless it's in tsukune. that was probably the only minus.

will probably be back to try their other offerings. my friend seemed quite drawn to their tiramisu, so probably that next time.

super dario lasagne café
#04-17 city square mall
http://www.superdariolasagne.com

two bakers, horne road.

finally got to try two bakers- i've been meaning to for quite some time. was in the area, so we popped by. just in time, too, as they close early on mondays.



i was meaning to try their ondeh ondeh éclair, because 1. i love éclairs and 2. i love ondeh ondeh. sadly, though, it wasn't in the display case, and when we enquired about it, we were told that it'd been replaced by the chendol éclair.



since they were closing, they only had a limited number of bakes available. in fact, most items were out. but we were lucky- there was still one chendol éclair ($7.50) left! so we got that, and on the staff's recommendation, also got the last lemon tart ($7.50).



the chendol éclair was filled with coconut mascarpone cream, pandan jelly and gula melaka gel. the combination of flavours really reminded me of chendol. i loved the filling, but not so much the choux pastry, which wasn't as crisp or fragrant as i'd have liked.



the lemon tart was delicious as well. the pie shell itself was buttery yet light, breaking once my spoon cut into it. the lemon filling itself was delicious as well- oozy and tangy. i'm usually not a fan of sour desserts, but i enjoyed the lemon tart.

so glad i finally managed to try their bakes! will be back for more of their desserts.

two bakers
88 horne road
https://www.facebook.com/twobakers/

privé grill, keppel bay.

made our way to privé for restaurant week, mainly because their menu drew me in, and also because reviews on their previous restaurant week offerings were positive.



since there were two options for each course, L and i had one of each (also helped that the options catered to each of our tastebuds), so it was an easy decision regarding what to order.





the meal started with a bread basket, served with olive oil and black vinegar. the bread was warm and toasty- i especially loved the raisin bun. service was pretty attentive- we were also offered more bread between courses, once we'd finished the bread.



i got the beef consommé, while L got the torched salmon belly tartare. the consommé was warm, comforting and light in taste, while the ravioli was alright.



the salmon belly tartare, however, stole the limelight with how beautifully presented it was- splashes of vibrant orange romesco sauce that looked like an artist has been at work, combined with a generous tumble of salmon sashimi and caviar. it was certainly the better appetiser choice, though we wondered what the sauce was for. it was so light in taste that it hardly added anything, aside from artistic value. still, salmon tartare can hardly go wrong.



mains were served shortly after. i had the rump cap, which was cooked to a perfect medium rare. the steak was so good it didn't even need the accompanying béarnaise sauce. the sides that came with it paled in comparison, even though they were passable. the slow-cooked baby carrots were particularly sad- skinny and shrivelled. i happened to glance over at a neighbouring table and realised that it was only my carrots were so sad. 



L had the scallop and foie gras risotto, which i had quite a bit of. they were certainly generous with the scallop- an entire row of plump, perfectly cooked scallops lay atop the risotto. L felt that there wasn't any wow factor though- they were just well cooked scallops to her. not that the food was bad, though! it was still a pretty good risotto with generous amount of ingredients.



for desserts, of course i picked the warm chocolate and peanut butter fondant, because PEANUT BUTTER. i am unabashedly a peanut butter fiend, and their rendition did not disappoint.





the moment i cut into it, chocolate and peanut butter oozed out. really awesome- i practically finished the entire thing by myself. as L says, all lava cakes should here on come with peanut butter. the peanut butter fondant absolutely stole the show- i didn't even need the vanilla bean ice-cream nor the salted caramel honeycomb perched on top of it (but of course i loved the honeycomb, which was crispy and delicious). i found it mysterious that the plate came with a swipe of jam and a random scatter of micro herbs, since the peanut butter fondant was already so overpowering in taste.



L had the banoffee pie, which turned out to be a deconstructed version. certainly eye-catching, but had way too much chantilly cream. the ratio of banana filling, pie crumble and cream was all off, and we found ourselves swiping off bits of the cream just to get to the filling and pie crust. didn't take to the crispy bits of wafer (?) either. the portion of dessert was generous- even the banoffee pie came with ice cream, even though it wasn't stated on the menu.



quite enjoyed our lunch at privé, especially since it was set in such a gorgeous and serene environment. i was expecting it to be inaccessible by public transport, but it turned out to be just a short walk in from the main road outside. the restaurant week lunch ($25) was certainly value for money, with food of reasonable standards. i'll want to come back for their next restaurant week offering.



privé grill
2 keppel bay vista
http://www.theprivegroup.com.sg