pimp my salad, pasarbella suntec.

Monday, February 29, 2016 0 Comments A+ a-

pasarbella suntec is proving to be quite interesting after all, what with porsena deli, grillo (whose truffle short rib bowl i've yet to try) and now pimp my salad. pimp my salad is by the people behind sarnies, and having had a couple of meals at sarnies (think roast beef sandwich) as well as club meatballs, i had quite a lot of confidence in their new salad concept.

it reminded me of grain traders, actually, but with much more flexibility. instead of plain sides at most salad bars, pimp my salad offers sides with a twist. think roasted carrots with cumin, baby corn with paprika, japanese cucumber with black sesame. you get the idea. even its layout was similar to grain traders', in which everything is laid out in huge ceramic bowls behind a glass counter. fill up an order chit, hand it to the staff, wait for them to ladle the stuff onto a plate (and hope that they give more, please, because i'm a growing girl) and pay at the cashier. pretty fuss free.



it does give a bit too much flexibility in terms of choice, though, forcing me, a rather poor decision maker even on my best days, to have to really think about what i want. no rules, no preselected base or limit to the number of toppings- everything had its price.



in the end, even though i was there for salad, i passed on the greens, because $2 for a salad base? really? comparing that with the sides, which were also mostly $2, i figured that i'd get a better deal with the sides. so in the end i chose smashed sweet potato ($2), grilled thai asparagus ($2), a mix of shimeji and button mushrooms ($2), lamb shoulder ($6) and roast beef ($4) for a total of $16. (extra protein for $4, so i made C who was ordering the roast beef anyway, add on onto her plate before i stole it off.)





i was shocked at the portion of smashed sweet potato they ladled onto my plate. i was expecting perhaps one scoop, but no, they gave at least two heaping scoops. the rest of the sides were less generous in portion- would've liked more of the yummy mushrooms especially. still, even though everything was lukewarm (i'm used to not having hot food, but i can see that some people would mind ie. C) it was pretty awesome. C even commented that she could eat clean, if all clean eating meals entailed such food. that, i think, is the highest compliment anyone could pay.



i loved the lamb shoulder. in fact, i liked it more than the roast beef. it was tender and full of flavour, with just enough fat to not be off-putting. and even though it was a salad, they did put effort into plating it, making it a really pretty dish- we eat with our eyes, too, after all.

it's not cheap, but it's good. i would happily come back here again. i just wish it was easier to get a seat. we were there on a saturday night, not expecting much of a crowd because it was so empty the previous time we went, but were taken aback by the crowd. had to move fast to get a table- and not even a good one at that. it was right at the entrance, on high stools. (but beggars hungry people can't be choosers.) ambience aside, it's a good place, with an abundance of choice. i'll be back for more lamb shoulder.

pimp my salad
pasarbella suntec
#01-455

omnivore, chevron house.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016 0 Comments A+ a-

on the whole 30 plan, and today's day 17 of clean eating. i actually enjoy eating like this (though my friends are more disapproving, since my choices are limited). so it's been days of salads, and it's been good! i've been on the lookout for good salad places (some places are so stingy with portions it makes me wonder if it would kill them to give me just a bit more). my friend recommended me this place, and so i decided to give it a try.

i went at around two plus, way after the lunch crowd had dissipated, so i barely had to wait. the concept is pretty similar to the daily cut, which i am a fan of (just not the prices). fill up an order chit, pay at the cashier, and wait for the food. the offerings are also pretty similar, but at a cheaper price.



i was feeling greedy, so i got the medium box with two proteins. picked the sirloin steak (additional $1) and chicken thigh. got romaine lettuce as the base, with toppings of sous vide egg, aloe vera (!) and button mushrooms (additional 50 cents). it added up to a total of $14.40.

i watched as they built the box, and they were so generous, giving hefty scoops of everything. i was pretty shocked at the portion of the proteins as well- much more than palm-sized. so much so that i half regretted being greedy and was wondering if i could actually finish everything. liked that they cooked the steak on order, rather than pre-cooking it and letting it sit there in hot trays (and thus overcooking it).



the chicken thigh was juicy and tender, as was the steak, which was cooked a perfect medium rare. in fact i loved everything about the box, aside from the aloe vera, which i found to be too sweet and left untouched. i'll probably skip the aloe vera in favour of other toppings next time (probably edamame once i'm off the plan).

in short, this is my favourite salad shop for now. it beats the daily cut hands down. i'll be back for more (but i'll probably get the regular box the next time).

omnivore
basement 1
chevron house

seoul roll, raffles city.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016 0 Comments A+ a-

needed to pick up a quick and light lunch, and this sounded like the perfect thing. i was there pretty early, so the shelves were mostly empty, and it made me wonder if those items were unavailable. also because i was in a rush, i decided to just pick one that was available, so that i wouldn't have to wait for them to roll. chose the anchovy & almond roll ($5) because i really liked the one from house of gimbap, and i was curious to see how it compared.

turned out that i still had to wait. the woman started rolling a new one instead of taking the one already made- i suppose i should be happy that i got a fresh one, but i got slightly antsy waiting.



it was a tiny kiosk, so takeaway only, coming packed in a paper box. the roll itself was a pretty hefty one, filled with egg, crispy anchovies, cream cheese and vegetables. in fact, it was such a big one that i had some trouble fitting a whole piece into my mouth.



it was delicious, but because i had a comparison with the one from house of gimbap, this paled in comparison. this was a slightly less refined version, with not as much careful balance of flavours- i felt that there was too much cream cheese, actually. still, i would come back to try their other flavours.

seoul roll
raffles city
#b1-58
http://www.seoulroll-sg.com

thien long vietnamese, bencoolen street.

Tuesday, February 09, 2016 0 Comments A+ a-

had such a hard time locating this place! knew the exact address, but i literally walked past it without realising that it was there. i circled around the building for a while before finally finding it. mainly because the main signage is confusing. it's located inside a shop with the signboard of a dessert shop. turns out that they share a space- half is the vietnamese restaurant, the other half is the dessert shop.

it was worth the hunt, though! i ordered the bun ga nuong ($6), grilled chicken chop with vermicelli, served dry. it was a toss up between the chicken chop and the beef, so i tried asking if i could have the two together, but sadly, no. (the girl who took my order said that it wouldn't be nice like that (!))



it came with a thick slab of grilled chicken that was perfectly cooked- crispy and juicy. also came with peanuts, fried shallots, julienned cucumber, carrots and lettuce over vermicelli. i was wondering where the accompanying sauce was, because it's usually served beside, but was told that it was already in the bowl. flavours are on the light side, so it suited me. fresh and tasty, it made for a good lunch.



subsequently i went to their other outlet at orchard towers, but didn't find it as good as this one. i'll definitely come back for fuss free vietnamese.

thien long vietnamese
180 bencoolen street
#01-03

house of gimbap, millenia walk.

Tuesday, February 02, 2016 0 Comments A+ a-

i've been to house of gimbap three times now. the first time, on a regular visit, where i ordered the dry anchovy and nut kimbap ($11.50).



was initially aiming for the special set that they were promoting on their facebook page- one of each flavour of kimbap (perfect for an indecisive person like me) but it just so happens that it wasn't available that day. grr. the korean lady boss (?) was nice enough to offer me a free doenjang soup as an apology.

i've never had kimbap that i've liked- this was the first one. loved the crispy anchovies, offset by the crunchiness of the fresh vegetables. what set it apart from sushi, though, was the use of sesame oil in the rice instead of vinegar. it gave a delicious fragrance. there was also an interesting spicy hit from the cheongyang spicy pepper slices. loved it- all the elements went well together.

for $11.50, it's on the pricey side, though i really liked it. so when i saw that they were having a groupon promotion, i jumped at the opportunity.

the groupon set came with two kimbaps and two noodles ($27.80).



i liked the dry anchovy and nut one so much that i ordered it again. my friend picked the bulgogi beef, which was delicious as well.

there were two noodles available to choose from, so we just got one of each.





i preferred the spicy bibim noodles to the doenjangmari soup noodles, while my friend, being sick, felt differently. i felt the soup noodles were on the bland side. for both noodles, though, i felt that there could be less noodle and more of other ingredients. but that's perhaps just me, since i'm not such a noodle person. definitely prefer their kimbap to noodles.

came by a third time with X, and this time, i got my wish! they'd run out of flat noodles, so they were serving the dish with regular noodle instead. i requested to swap the noodles with kimbap instead, and they agreed to let me pick one of the lower value kimbaps. i got the egg roll and vegetable kimbap, which was just egg roll, pickles and vegetables. X got the spicy pork, which was one of those i've been eyeing on the menu. but since she got it... it gave me the opportunity to grab the dry anchovy and nut again.



i've never been interested in kimbaps up until now. they've changed my perspective, and i'll definitely head over again, especially since they're having the promotion.

house of gimbap
millenia walk
#01-103
https://www.facebook.com/houseofgimbap/

porsena deli, pasarbella suntec.

Tuesday, February 02, 2016 0 Comments A+ a-

read that porsena deli's sandwiches are good, so i came by to have a look. the first thing that caught my eye off the menu was the pastrami slider roll ($4.90), which also happened to be half the price of their normal sandwiches. i'm hardly ever so decisive, but it was smoked corned beef brisket, provolone cheese and dijon mustard between brioche buns. if that doesn't scream order me, i don't know what does.

ordered and got a buzzer. i was expecting it to be served quickly, but it took longer than i expected. it was worth the wait, though.



can't really tell from the picture, but the brisket portion was a pretty good one. what's obvious from this picture, though, is the generosity of the cheese- it was practically oozing out with each bite i took. the brioche buns were the perfect vehicle, being fluffy and light. it's a simple sandwich (burger?) but its simplicity works. i wolfed the thing down pretty quickly, it being really rather petite in size. i was in a hurry, so i kind of wished i had the time to slowly savour it.

i wanted a quick and light snack to tide me over until lunch, so its size worked. for it to be a proper meal, though... that's a no go, unless you're one of those people with a tiny appetite. i liked the sandwich enough to want to come back and try their other offerings.

porsena deli
pasarbella suntec
https://www.facebook.com/porsenadeli/

nunsaram korean dessert café, orchard central.

Monday, February 01, 2016 0 Comments A+ a-

not much of an ambience to speak of- located just at a open space right outside some retail shops, and simply decorated. if i'm not wrong, i think that space used to be fruit paradise- i remember eating there several years ago (and not liking it much).

we were there after an early dinner, so the place wasn't that crowded. quickly decided on the injeolmi ($12.90). self service only- order at the counter, and collect it at the pick up counter. water was provided, self service as well. we barely had to wait- we'd just placed our orders and were expecting to wait for a while, but our bingsu was ready for collection very quickly.



came with a variety of nuts- cashews, almond flakes and almonds. yum! it was dusted with a generous layer of soybean powder as well. also loved the big mochi pieces on top (i'm just a sucker for mochi) and the hidden mochi bits. excellent variety of textures, though i would've loved more mochi (yeah, i'm just a sucker for mochi). based on that alone, i would still pick bing go jung as my favourite. but still, this comes a close second (and at a more central location to boot). definitely better than nunsongyee, at any rate.

nunsaram korean dessert café
orchard central
#05-51/52
https://www.facebook.com/NUNSARAMSG/