cornerstone, bishan park.

was supposed to meet C somewhere in the ang mo kio/bishan area for dinner, but we also needed a place that was quiet and had wifi to discuss our upcoming trip. while googling for a place, cornerstone came up (there is really a lack of interesting options in the ang mo kio/bishan area- most of the places are chain restaurants). decided to go with cornerstone on a whim, and we headed over, taking a bus from ang mo kio.



i called to make a reservation, but it wasn't necessary. it was really quiet, with only a couple of other tables occupied. pondered over the menu for a while before deciding on the country style slow smoked beef brisket ($25) while C went with the salmon steak with basil pesto crust ($26).



our food came fairly quickly, but upon taking a bite of my beef brisket, i came to the realisation that it was way overcooked. it was tough, dry and chewy. i gave it another try before giving up on it. the accompanying sides were good, though- the creamy, buttery mash was delicious. i don't usually send food back, but i did this time. thankfully enough they were nice about it, apologising and replacing it with a fresh plate. (took quite a while, though. C was done by the time it came back.) the second time around, it was much better- juicier at least. still, it wasn't something i would pay $25, before taxes, for.



i tried bits of C's salmon, and found it pretty ordinary. would've liked the salmon, too, to be less cooked, but C had no complaints about that, so maybe that's just me.



the ambience of the place was nice, though! i guess that was what we were paying for. it was a good place to have a conversation (and in our case, to research on stuff). won't be back for the food, in any case, though service saved it.


cornerstone
1380 ang mo kio avenue 1
http://www.cornerstone.com.sg

brickworks tacos, bukit merah.

i have a soft spot for hawker/coffeeshop stalls selling not the usual hawker fare, because it means unique food without the accompanying high price tag. so it was natural that i'd want to check out brickworks tacos. tacos at a fraction of the price it's sold at in restaurants- why not? the only thing preventing me from heading over was its location. bukit merah- really?! and so far away from a train station, too. so it was only today, when i had oodles of time on my hands, that i managed to head over.



it was located in a coffeeshop beside abc brickworks hawker. not sure whether it was because it was slightly after the lunch break, but i was the only one who patronised them the entire time i was there. examined the menu and decided to ask regarding the difference between the taco meal and bowl. the taco meal came with two tacos and a small side of rice, while the bowl was basically a deconstructed taco, sans tortilla but with rice. happily enough, they were running a special, with all bowls and meals going at $5.



they were also having beef rendang and chicken curry tacos, which sounded really good. so the beef rendang taco meal was what i went with, though the chicken curry was also tempting.



i was told to take a seat, and they'd serve me my food. my food came pretty quickly! it even came with free grilled corn, which was buttery, sweet and delicious. the beef rendang taco itself was really good, too. shredded beef rendang topped with coleslaw, wrapped with a warm, soft tortilla- fusion done well. eating tacos usually end up being a messy affair, but the tacos were wrapped with paper, making eating less cumbersome. i could've done without the rice, though. that was the only part of the meal that i felt was a letdown. the rice had all the colour, but none of the flavour- it was kind of like eating plain rice. the coleslaw on top helped slightly. i would've swapped the rice for another of the corn, though!

the food was delicious- i scarfed everything down in minutes. that, though, was one of the problems, too. portions was more snack-size than meal-size. i was tempted to go nab another of the tacos (probably the chicken curry one) but managed to stop myself. i would come back if i'm in the area. they have quesadillas that look tempting.

brickworks tacos
2 jalan bukit merah
#01-5134 stall 3
https://www.facebook.com/brickworkstacos/

salt tapas & bar, raffles city.

been meaning to try salt tapas & bar's set lunch since forever, because it seems to be pretty good value. they now also offer brunch on weekends, and i've heard good things, so i figured i might as well come by and give it a try. i came by with C on a sunday afternoon (more for lunch than brunch, to be honest) with a reservation, and was promptly seated inside.

ssäm, marina bay link mall, 2.0.

it's been a while since i've been back to ssäm- my last visit was sometime late last year. i've gone back several times since my last post, always ordering the bowl, but switching to kimchi rice instead of the mild tasting cilantro lime rice. the bowl has been the thing i was craving every time i go back, so i've never been tempted to try the burrito.

knowing L and her liking for korean food, i've always wanted to bring L along, but ssäm's only open on weekdays, and only until 6 pm at that. it's only now that L's working in raffles place that i've been able to introduce her to the place.

we took a quick walk over from republic plaza. it was nearing the end of the lunch rush, so even though there were still only two tiny tables, we managed to grab a table after waiting around for a bit. it's more of a grab-and-go type of place (what with the high, not really comfortable stools and limited shop space), not somewhere to linger over lunch, which suited our purpose fine. the other table, however, was occupied by three girls who seemed to have a leisurely lunch in mind- even after we left, they were still there. i remember having to share a table almost every time i was there, and this time, it was no different.



i, of course, ordered the bowl. they're pretty flexible about the base- i got half kimchi rice and half salad. and because i was starving, i got the beef and chicken as protein. happy to say that they're still as generous with servings as i remembered them to be! even L, who is as much of a bottomless pit as i am, was taken aback by the size of the bowl. the toppings remained the same, as were the prices ($11 for mine). L was less greedy and got just the beef bowl.



the food was just as gloriously yummy as i remembered. it was a delicious explosion of korean-mexican flavours- who knew korean and mexican could go so seamlessly together? i was especially fond of the seaweed topping. we were both equally enamoured with the beef. thinly sliced (kind of like those for shabu shabu), with just enough fat to make it flavoursome, and well marinated.

standards were just as high as i remembered- rare, really. and i'm so glad that L liked it just as much as i did! definitely going back for more of the bowls with L (i should probably try the burritos next, but the rice bowls are just so good).


ssäm
#b2-45
marina bay financial tower 1
https://www.facebook.com/ssam.est2014

omnivore, chevron house, 3.0.

wanted something clean and simple, and omnivore quickly came to mind. i still remember how their steak was the previous time, though, so i was slightly hesitant about getting the steak again. still, i was craving steak, so i decided to go for it, after telling the counter that it had to be medium rare.

i know that usually salad places are into quick, grab and go service, so i didn't expect them to pay so much attention! the guy who took my order was very apologetic once i told him about my previous visit, even asking whether it happened during the lunch rush (i went back another time after my second visit, making sure that it was after the lunch rush, to test out my theory that it was because of the lunch rush that led to negligence, but the result was the same). he even waived the $1 top-up for the steak, despite my protests that it was okay, so i paid $10.40.



and they really paid attention to my request (so much so that i felt slightly embarrassed- made me feel like i was overly picky). they assembled my bowl, and was waiting on the steak. the lady in charge of slicing steak looked really carefully at the steak that was sent over, checking for doneness. she sliced perhaps half of the steak, put into my bowl, before looking at me and saying apologetically that the rest of it was too over. and she got them to get another one done for me. the second one that came back was perfectly medium rare. my friend, who ordered after me, even lucked out by getting the "rejected" steak, on top of another piece.

the steak was just as good as it looked- as good as when i had it the first time. the rest of my salad was just as delicious. clean, simple and tasty.

super impressed by their service- most places would've probably just pretend to be agreeable about the doneness, and serve it whatever. omnivore, however, really went the extra mile. and that guarantees that i'll be a return customer.

omnivore
chevron house
basement 1

tsukeru shabu-shabu つけるなべ物, emporium shokuhin.

bought a groupon for tsukeru shabu-shabu over at emporium shokuhin, because it seemed like a good deal for the quality of ingredients ($74 for two people). made a reservation and went for a weeknight dinner with L.

ordering was fuss-free. there was an ipad mini on the table, and to order, we just had to key in whatever we wanted, and it'd be brought to our table. there are usually glitches when it comes to technology like that, but not in this case. everything we ordered arrived promptly and in the correct portion size.

the interesting thing about this shabu-shabu place is the individual pots. theoretically each person would get their own pot to cook their own stuff in, making hygiene less of a concern, but L and i got two different soups to share for variety, so the mini pot felt a bit small. L was commenting that dining in larger groups would feel a bit awkward, because the individual pots takes away the sharing aspect of shabu-shabu. i guess it caters to a different crowd. i, for one, quite like it.



it was an easy pick for soup bases. there were six available, and we were entitled to choose two. we got the miso tonkotsu and the tsukeru kombu soup. i was briefly tempted by the tan tan sesame, but L reminded that it'd be spicy, and we didn't feel that brave, so that went out the window.

not much to choose from from the menu, but who needs variety when what was available was so delicious? the quality of the meat especially shone through. they had wagyu brisket, wagyu rump and kurobuta, all thinly sliced. we got one of each to start, but quickly figured out that what we liked was the wagyu brisket and the kurobuta. just look at the marbling on the meat! the fats were so delicious i threw all thought of calories out the window. the buffet also included seafood- salmon and scallops. didn't particularly take to the salmon, but the scallops were pretty good.



we also got plenty of vegetables to go with the meat. like the rest of the ingredients, the vegetables were fresh and delicious.

the miso tonkotsu soup was especially good with the meat. it reminded me of ramen soup, actually! the kombu soup was, in comparison, lighter, and more suited for the vegetables. both were good in their own way. even the pork dumplings were not the afterthought that i thought they'd be- thin skinned and packed with pork and vegetables.

not sure how many servings of the wagyu and kurobuta we had (and not sure i want to think too much about that, either). the meat was of such good quality that i didn't mind the lack of variety. i'd come back easily.

tsukeru shabu-shabu つけるなべ物
marina square
#01-18
emporium shokuhin
http://www.emporiumshokuhin.com.sg/dining/Tsukeru

ninja bowl, duxton.

i feel smug whenever i traipse down to try out a new place, and i end up loving it even more than i'd expected. i've wanted to try ninja bowl ever since i saw posts on it on instagram. so happily enough, i had enough time today, and they were also conveniently open on sundays (surprise, given that it's located in the cbd).



i usually like to google the menu of the place that i'm going to before i go, so my visit to ninja bowl followed the same protocol. didn't manage to dig it up, though, because they are so new their website link on facebook doesn't work. knew that they had a hokkaido scallops and mussels bowl, so i was initially eyeing that. when i got the menu, however, i changed my mind, deciding on the genki ($16) instead. topped up another $2 for some ninja rice.

ordered and paid at the counter, took a tag, and sat down. i was kind of in a hurry (and hungry) so i was happy to see my food served so swiftly. the place was also emptier than i'd expected- i remember going to department of caffeine (where ninja bowl is currently located) and having to wait for both a table and food. speaking of department of caffeine, ninja bowl seems to have retained most of the furnishing.





i firmly believe that donburis are almost an art form. there needs to be a balance- the right combination of toppings, as well as the right amount. ninja bowl nailed it on both counts. a combination of buttery roasted pumpkin, savoury marinated beansprouts, refreshingly acidic pickled beetroot, a juicy slab of just-sweet-enough yaki unagi and of course, that glorious onsen egg, over a bed of ninja rice. the ninja rice was basically a mixture of brown and japanese rice, with sesame seeds thrown in for good measure. each component of the donburi worked well together. the richness of the roasted pumpkin was offset by the sweet-sour beetroot pickles. the gooey onsen egg was such a good match with the rice, i wish i had another of that egg. i liked the diversity of each topping- each bite was a different explosion of flavours. also helped that all the toppings were delicious in their own way.



i'm plotting a return visit- this place warrants that. eyeing one of the items on the all day brunch menu next. definitely coming back!

ninja bowl
15 duxton road
https://www.facebook.com/NinjaBowl/

the bento people, kallang ct hub, 2.0.

swung by for a quick lunch, with my eye on their quinoa bowls again. i stuck to most of what i had previously, but swapped one vegetable side to a protein because i was starving. loved the yangzhou fried rice style quinoa so much that i had to have it again, along with ratatouille and both proteins (sous vide cajun chicken breast and bulgogi beef).



this time, the wait for my food was much shorter. i probably waited less than five minutes before my bowl was brought over. everything was toasty and warm; just as good as i'd remembered.



of course, without the groupon voucher, prices are kind of steep, especially considering the location (not cbd) and the fact that the portion of protein isn't exactly big. still, the quality of the food is there, and i'd still come back for the yangzhou fried rice style quinoa.

the bento people
ct hub
#02-17
http://www.thebentopeople.com

the laneway market, tanjong katong road, 2.0.

my last visit to the laneway market was almost a year ago. i've always wanted to try their squid ink risotto, but somehow never made it back, despite liking the dashi risotto i had previously. maybe because i'm not much of a carb-based dish kind of person- most of my meals are protein-centric, making it unlikely that i'd want to have risotto for lunch.



i finally made my way back to the laneway market for lunch yesterday. perusing the menu, i realised that they'd changed up the menu quite a bit. lots more new stuff (things like small plates and pies), but some of the old stuff was gone. and prices were quite a bit higher, now that i check back with my previous post. i saw that they had something called black rice ($21), so i assumed that it was just the squid ink risotto renamed. the menu described it as coming with crispy squid, salmon roe, olive tapenade, poached crabmeat and bonito flakes, which sounded awesome.



i ended up having to wait quite a while for my food. i was reading my kindle, so that helped while away the time, but i was really hungry. ended up eyeing the kitchen, which i could see from my table. seemed like there was only one chef churning out all the food. okay, given that, i suppose the wait was not that bad- he was cooking for all the tables in the café, and there were at least four occupied tables.



i was getting antsy by the time my food came- i had something on after that, so it wasn't quite the leisurely lunch i'd planned on having, given that i spent so long waiting. the black rice wasn't quite what i expected, though. i was expecting something more risotto-like, but it wasn't. it had none of the sticky starchy-ness i associate with risottos, reminding me more of a not-so-watery porridge than anything else. that's not to say that the food was bad- it just wasn't quite what i expected. i guess that's my fault, since nowhere in the menu did it describe it as a risotto. once i adjusted my expectations, it was actually not bad.

still, the menu description wasn't exactly accurate, either. i was promised salmon roe, so i was envisioning vibrant orange pearls. what i got, however, was black caviar. the bonito flakes was nowhere to be found as well. i got dill instead (which actually went well with the dish). couldn't find the olive tapenade- what i got was red pepper tapenade (i think).



the dish worked well as a whole, but i think portions are on the tiny side (more crispy squid please!). i remember the dashi risotto to be much more generous. they could've given more tapenade to balance out the dish, too. once i'd finished the blobs of tapenade, leaving me with just the black rice, the dish was crying out for acidity.

service was excellent as previously. the waitress was courteous and attentive, topping up my water whenever it was close to empty. perhaps i'll come back to try their other stuff (they have pulled pork sliders)! they should change the menu descriptions though- i don't like being promised things and not getting them, though perhaps other (less anal) people wouldn't mind.

the laneway market
266 tanjong katong road
https://www.facebook.com/thelanewaymarket

vatos urban tacos, south beach quarter.

vatos urban tacos has been filed away on my to-try list for ages, but i have so many places on my to-try list that i clean forgot about this place. korean-mexican sounded like a good fit for my dinner with X, so finally! i get to try it!

it being a wednesday night, i didn't think that we'd need a reservation (though i usually just make reservations in case- don't know what i was thinking that day. probably feeling lazy). man, was i wrong. we reached at about seven-thirty, and the place was PACKED. the guy at the counter told us that it was fully reserved (!) and we were looking at a wait of about one to one and half hours. ridiculous really. since it was raining, we decided to just stay put, wait and try our luck. also managed to snag a copy of the menu to peruse, and the more we looked, the more tempted we were. so i guess it was lucky that we managed to get a table after about twenty minutes, even if it was a (makeshift looking) table outside the restaurant. reminder to self: make a reservation next time.

while waiting, we'd already half-decided what to eat, so we didn't take long to place our orders. i got one of the signature burrito bowls, the fat bastard ($21) while X got the galbi short rib tacos ($12 for 2). because i was feeling greedy, we got the spicy chicken quesadillas ($16) to share. X also got the passionfruit makgeolita ($25) which came in a seriously HUGE glass, taking both of us by surprise. (luckily X has a separate stomach for liquids... and she was determined to prove it to me.)



we got complimentary tortilla chips with dips as starters (necessary, given that our mains took quite a long while to appear).



the quesadillas came first, toasty and cheesy. i was halfway through my first slice when i realised that, strangely enough, the meat inside was brown and totally looked unlike chicken. upon closer inspection i realised that it was actually beef. to be honest, i liked the beef, and didn't really mind that they'd served us wrongly, but X was adamant on getting the chicken one (because she wanted to try the chicken) so we sent it back. a new plate came slightly later- tasted more or less the same, but i liked the beef more, though X didn't agree. i found the chicken bland, overpowered by the abundance of cheese, so all i could taste was cheese. the beef, on the other hand, held its own against the cheese. oh well- at least we got to try both, i guess.



the tacos came slightly later (why do they not serve everything at one go?!). for some reason, X was expecting pork (even though the menu very clearly showed a picture of a cow next to the item...), so she was taken by surprise when she realised it was actually beef. given that she doesn't usually like beef, it was a rude shock. so i decided to trade half my burrito bowl with her, in exchange for one taco. i ended up really liking the taco, actually! after picking out the raw onion bits, that is. the freshness of the slaw combined with the well marinated short rib and soft tortilla was good, though a messy eat- i think there's no way to eat a taco glamourously. the next time i come by, i'd want to get the tacos.



the burrito bowl was way easier to eat. it was full of toppings- steak, pulled pork, grilled fajita vegetables, guacamole, beans and salsa atop mexican rice. it also came with two tortilla chips, which X practically inhaled. it was pretty yummy, but way too much rice (i think that's just me, though).

i quite liked the food, though not the wait. i'd come back, but with a reservation next time.

vatos urban tacos
36 beach road
https://www.facebook.com/vatossg/

montana singapore, pomo.

i'm a firm believer of not fixing unbroken things. montana, however, believes in the opposite. when i was there the previous time (probably more than a year ago), they were in the midst of revamping their menu, despite being open for a very short time. as such, the items that my friend wanted weren't available, because they'd taken it off the menu but hadn't gotten around to changing the physical menu yet. i remember liking the mac and cheese waffle, though! despite resembling a waffle, it was packed chock full of mac and cheese. it was delicious- full of gooey cheese, but with a crisp exterior. we also had the matcha waffle, which was equally delicious.

they'd recently changed locations, expanding from a small shop downstairs to a bigger location upstairs. also rebranded from montana brew bar to montana singapore, adding different concepts like a burger joint and donut place to their brand. reviews i read online remained positive, though, so i kept them in mind.

so last night, after a particularly gruelling training, my friend wanted waffles, and i thought of montana. we swung by, arriving at eight plus on a sunday night. it was surprisingly quiet, though! without much of the waffling about that i usually do when it comes to menus, we decided to share the bulgogi beef rice waffle ($16.80) and the jalapeños mac and cheese waffle ($13.80).



our food came fairly quickly (i remember a long wait the previous time i was there)- a good thing because i was starving. the bulgogi beef rice waffle came with a poached egg perched atop, along with beef and a kimchi sauce. certainly impressive looking, but i found it underwhelming. since it was marketed as a "rice" waffle, i was expecting it to be... well... more rice-y, for lack of a better word. probably envisioned something mochi-like, at least. in this one, though, couldn't really discern the difference between it and a regular waffle. the sauce was a bit overwhelming, too- made the top waffle soggy and we left the soggy bits uneaten. for $16.80... they probably could've been more generous with the beef, too.



i couldn't help comparing the previous version of the mac and cheese waffle. to say they were different would be a gross understatement. in the previous one, i could really see the mac and cheese that made up the waffle. this version, however, was more like a mac and cheese flavoured waffle. meh. also, too light and airy for my liking.



why fix something that's not broken? i doubt i'll be back. like the concept and new ideas, but execution, sadly, failed to measure up. (i'm currently wondering about the glowing reviews online...) service was excellent, with our water topped up whenever they were half empty, but i didn't expect to be charged $4 service AND gst on top of that. is that a new policy...? i would've assumed that it was 10% service charge.

montana singapore
pomo
#02-25
https://www.facebook.com/montanasingapore/

elements & co., cecil street.

i really didn't expect to like the food so much. despite seeing reviews that were quite neutral, i came by out of curiosity (and also because perx was offering free coffee with purchase of any meal, so might as well).



even before i went, i knew that i wanted to order the moroccan souk kebab ($14), so that made decision making easy. their ordering system was easy- order at the counter, pay, and they'd serve the food. i also got a free flat white (usually $4.50) with soy milk.



i took a seat by the glass window- perfect for watching the world go by while i have a leisurely lunch. plus, the lighting was awesome! the only minus was the bar stool i was perched on wasn't exactly comfortable.



my flat white was served first, followed shortly by my main dish. didn't really like the flat white, though- way too acidic for my liking. my favourite flat white is still from sarnies and jab coffee bar.



the moroccan souk kebab, though, was all sorts of delicious. two lollipop-esque lamb kebabs came served on a generous bed of pumpkin mash. the mash was a delicious amalgamation of pumpkin, quinoa, chickpeas and sultanas, with a sprinkling of crunchy almond flakes for texture. the smooth, slightly sweet mash was balanced out well by the saltiness of the kebabs. i usually pick out the coriander that they use as garnish, but i actually liked its addition- it added a pop of freshness. for some reason i wasn't expecting the mash to be served quite that hot, but it was a bonus. a really comforting eat, given that it was served hot. i savoured every bite- and i want to go back again soon, especially to try the sea bass risotto.



spent a leisurely, quiet afternoon having lunch and doing some work at the café. i'll be back- really love the food.

elements & co.
137 cecil street
#01-01
http://elementsandco.com.sg

tsuiteru sakaba maido ついてる酒場まいど, boat quay.

decided to buy the groupon for tsuiteru maido because it's opened by omotenashi dining gosso, and i liked that place. i made a reservation for saturday night, but it seemed like it wasn't necessary- we were the only ones there when we arrived at seven thirty. (also, i'd made an online reservation, but they didn't seem to have registered that...)

sadly enough, the menu was also different from the one that was on groupon. i remember being tempted by the seafood meatball with cheese that i'd seen on the online menu, but it was nowhere to be found on the actual one. oh well. it was stated nowhere on the menu, but when we were ordering, the waitress told us that for every order, we HAD to get two- which really didn't make sense. i was initially planning to try one stick of the hokkaido beef (pricey at $8.50), but since they had that nonsensical policy, i scrapped that plan. we decided to get the beef karubi ($3.50 each), chicken tsukune ($2.80 each), hanging tender ($3 each) and pork with shiso leaf ($3 each). also decided to get the aburi charsiew don ($14.80) and a tako chazuke ($6.80) for carbs.



we were served corn tea, which was delicious, and cabbage as an appetiser. it looked plain, but was crunchy, refreshing and delicious, with a light soy based dressing. our food was served surprisingly quickly after- i was expecting it to take longer.



i found the beef sticks too heavy on the sauce, which made it hard to appreciate the beef. i remember omotenashi dining gosso's skewers to be more refined- definitely prefer the skewers from there. the tsukune was alright, as was the pork. none of the skewers really stood out.



the thing that stood out was, surprisingly, the aburi charsiew don, which we were on the fence about ordering, because the grainy picture showed charsiew that looked more like the dry pieces atop most ramen- so not confidence inspiring. so glad we decided to order it despite that! it came with four fat slices of aburi-ed charsiew and a molten egg on top of pearly japanese rice. i really didn't want to eat much rice, but the rice was so good with the charsiew i couldn't stop, especially with the sticky, caramelized yakitori sauce.





the chazuke was just chazuke, though its presentation was a pretty dramatic one. it was served in a hot stone bowl and the waitress poured the soup in so that it sizzled, with smoke billowing. i found it a comforting eat, though, and the rice was the same as the one in the charsiew don. however, it was basically just rice with bits of tako- way too much rice, so we ended up not finishing it.



got warabimochi with green tea ice-cream ($7.80) as dessert. for its portion... way too pricey for basically four pieces of warabimochi and a scoop of ice-cream. i didn't eat the ice-cream, but L said it was quite good. i liked the warabimochi (then again i always do) but i felt that the syrup they'd liberally poured over the plate was overkill- it didn't need that. L concurred.

will i be back? maybe- but only for the aburi charsiew don. still a good deal, but i think i'll stick to just the charsiew don.

tsuiteru sakaba maido ついてる酒場まいど
69 boat quay
http://maido69.com