ninja bowl, duxton, 2.0.

time really flies- my previous visit to ninja bowl was more than a year ago! i told myself that i was going to return, but as usual life got in the way. finally made my way back because chope was offering a diners' choice tasting menu, consisting of a starter, main and dessert. sounded like a good deal, so i made a reservation and headed over.

i was there at about one-thirty, but there were still plenty of people, to my surprise. i placed my order at the counter and took a seat at one of the high chairs.



the starter, a mini version of the ebisu, came quite quickly. pan-seared hokkaido scallops, mussels and toast in miso butter cream- really, nothing could go wrong with it. the portion was small, so it was alright, but i could imagine it getting too heavy if one were to have the regular portion alone. still, i quite enjoyed the bowl- the scallops and mussels were plump and well-cooked, and the crisp and buttery toast went well with the cream.



the letdown, however, was the main. i remembered liking the unagi bowl i had previously, and so, i was expecting to like the ushi bowl that i got. it came with grassfed flank steak with marmite butter, furikake corn, sautéed mushrooms, cherry tomatoes (changed that to pickled beets) and an onsen egg. the bowl came with a choice of base: ninja rice, quinoa or salad greens; decided on the ninja rice. the flank steak itself was cooked medium rare, but it was strangely tasteless, even with the marmite butter. the other sides were okay... but nothing to shout about (perhaps i've been spoilt by the other salad places abound in the CBD). i finished everything anyway, because i was hungry.



the dessert took a while to arrive- probably at least fifteen minutes. it was a miniature version of the fancy french- fig jam french toast drizzled in umeboshi honey, paired with grapes, plums, figs and hazelnut butter. i was slightly apprehensive about it, because it sounded like it was potentially saccharine sweet, but it turned out to be okay. i actually quite liked the umeboshi honey- it wasn't sickly sweet, had a slight tang, and really tasted of umeboshi. the toast itself was pretty good as well. there was the tiniest bit of hazelnut butter that i devoured within two bites. they really should've been more generous with it, because it was pretty good, too.

i felt slightly letdown by the meal. starter and dessert was alright, but the main was disappointing, especially since i liked the other bowl i had previously. maybe it was an off day for them, or maybe i just didn't pick the correct bowl....?


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

sacha & sons, mandarin gallery, 2.0.

i've always liked sacha & sons, but it kind of fell off my radar, probably because there are just too many food options around. thanks to chope's diners' choice tasting menu, i got reminded that i like sacha & sons, so i bought a voucher and went over with J for a weeknight dinner.

the tasting menu was basically a specialty platter, where we got to pick three meat and smoked fish items. we picked pastrami, house cured gravlax and an egg & onion dip. the platter included two bagels, house pickles, onion, coleslaw and tomato. i've never had their platter, so i wasn't sure what kind of quantities that entailed (we were greedy and wanted to order more stuff). the waitress who took our order was really helpful though! she told us that the platter would be enough for two, and even showed us a picture of the platter on her phone, thus solving our dilemma. we still decided to be greedy though. J, having had their scrambled eggs before, was insistent on getting her scrambled eggs with sturgeon and caramelised onion ($20). i missed their latkes, so added on the one with apple sauce and sour cream ($10). we were musing at the matzo brei, wondering what it was, when the waitress told us that they'd run out of latkes (!) took that as a sign and decided to change my latkes to a savoury matzo brei ($14).



the platter came first. i was at first skeptical about the egg and onion dip, because i don't like raw onions, but we'd settled on that because the waitress told us that the onions were caramelised and the dip was pretty good. glad that we'd listened to the waitress! it was like egg mayo, but with much less mayo, and more egg. the pastrami was also just as delicious as i remembered it to be. in fact, everything on the platter was good, right down to the coleslaw. i loved that they weren't heavy handed with the mayo in both the egg and coleslaw, and that portions of the platter were super generous.

the scrambled eggs were, just as J said, delicious. super smooth and creamy- probably one of the best scrambled eggs that i've had.



the matzo brei, however, took some getting used to. it came looking like a hybrid of omelette and pancake, dusted with fresh herbs and stuffed with caramelised onions. sour cream and salmon pearls were served in separate dishes on the side. the matzo brei tasted oddly bland, as though it needed some salt. paired it with the sour cream and salmon pearls, and that made it taste a bit better, but it still wasn't really our kind of thing. managed to get through about half of it, before we got too full- we'd obviously ordered too much, and the waitress had been right about the platter being enough for two people.



we had so much food we didn't even have space for the bagels, and asked for them to be packed. service was excellent- they paper bagged the bagels, even asking if we wanted separate bags. upon seeing that we'd put on our jackets and were cold, the waitress took the initiative to turn down the air conditioning.

probably won't be getting the matzo brei anytime soon, but the rest of the food was good! plus, on a weeknight, the place was quiet and just the right place for dinner, away from the bustle of town. it goes without saying that we'll be back- i was enthusing throughout dinner about making a return, much to J's amusement.


sacha & sons
mandarin gallery
#03-02
http://sacha-deli.com.sg

the lokal, neil road, 3.0.

i can never resist a good deal- saw that chope was offering a diners' choice tasting menu for certain restaurants and was excited. the lokal's tasting menu enticed me enough to purchase a voucher. the catch, though, was that it had to be used by 30th November. and so back to the lokal i went- the third time in a few weeks.

i'd made a reservation just in case, even though i was there pretty late for lunch. upon entering, i told the waitress that i'd made one, but she looked at me weirdly and said something like, we've stopped taking reservations. ???? okay... no matter, since there were still seats anyway.

once seated, i told her that i wanted to redeem the diners' choice tasting menu... and received another confused look in return. she quickly scurried off to find someone else for help, and shortly after, a guy came over. i re-explained the situation. thankfully the guy was aware of the tasting menu, and he went off to scrounge up a hardcopy of it. i probably should've told him that i had the digital copy in my phone, but i didn't know he would spend a while looking for it (he only came back with it five minutes later).

after all that drama, i finally managed to order my food. there was a choice of two mains- a special pimp platter or a roast pumpkin salad. i got the platter since i'd already tried the salad on my previous visit. there was also dessert included (either sticky date pudding or chocolate stout brownie). i'd had the sticky date pudding complimentary previously and found it way too sweet. besides which, i don't really have a sweet tooth anymore, so i asked if they could just give me a coffee in replacement. i was flatly rejected, so i decided to just forgo dessert.



the platter came after a short wait, presented on a wooden plank. frankly, i'd expected the portion to be slightly bigger (even though yes, i know it's a tasting menu), but i ended up being quite full, strangely enough. the platter came with smoked salmon and mackerel, scrambled eggs, bacon, ricotta and kaya toast. apparently everything was in-house made, even the ricotta! it definitely made a difference- everything was fresh and delicious. the hot smoked salmon was perfectly cooked- tender, delicious, and with just a hint of smoke.



the star, however, was, surprisingly enough, the kaya. it barely resembled the commercially made, saccharine sweet green ones, in the best possible way- packed full of coconut flavour, and super, super smooth. paired with the thick, fluffy white toast, it was so delicious it made my day. i literally wiped the little dish clean with the toast.

service boo-boos aside, the food (though on the overpriced end) was good. i'd come back just for the kaya toast. yum.


the lokal
136 neil road
http://www.thelokalsingapore.com

the living café, bukit timah.

i hardly ever wish to go to bukit timah unless someone is driving, because it's such a hassle! so that's why the living café has been idling on my to-try list for the longest time. J was driving that day and we were heading to the west side, so i figured it was time to finally try it out. happily enough, it was a sunday, and so they had brunch offerings- our favourite!

J was worried that it was going to be crowded (we drove past atlas coffeehouse and saw the queue snaking out of the shopfront) but i assured her that it wouldn't be as crazy as that. after all, it is new age, vegan(-ish) food, and i always think that's less of a draw to normal human beings compared to regular brunch places.

sure enough, i was right. we managed to get a table pretty easily, though the place was bustling. it was hard getting the waitress's attention, though we only wanted to have a look at the menu. in the end we figured it was easier for us to just go up to the counter, order and pay, even though they do charge for service.

saw a lot of tables getting the breakfast burrito ($15) off the brunch special menu, so that sealed the deal for me. i like how they're a mostly vegan restaurant, but they still offer meat options. i need my (preferably meat based) protein at each meal, so i added on an extra wild barramundi ($6) as a side. J got the mediterranean omelette ($18) with an extra side of chicken ($5).

















i was pleased with my burrito- it was like eating a salad, but not really. it was packed full of spinach, scrambled eggs, mushroom ragout, cherry tomatoes and... raw eggplant bacon. i was intrigued by the raw eggplant bacon when i saw it on the menu- how can eggplant taste like bacon?! okay, to be honest, it did look kind of like bacon, but tasted nothing like it. didn't mean that it was bad, though! it was actually pretty yummy.


















my only complaint was there seemed to be too much wrap at the ends. i ended up discarding some of the wrap. i thought i might not be full, given that it was mostly just vegetables, but it was surprisingly filling- it lasted me all the way through another round at the gym, all the way till dinner time! the wild barramundi was well cooked, with a crispy skin and flaky flesh, sprinkled with just the right amount of salt to make the flavours pop. J's omelette was pretty tasty as well, though it came out flatter than both of us expected. the only letdown was probably the chicken, which was dry.

while waiting for our food, my attention was drawn to the zucchini lasagna ($18.50) being served to other tables. it looked really good. plus, it's totally my kind of thing, with zucchini instead of pasta sheets. i'd come back to try that if we're in the area.


the living café
779 bukit timah road
http://www.balancedlivingasia.com/the-living-cafe

the lokal, neil road, 2.0.

thanks to a botched attempt at using a chope voucher previously (it was apparently only valid during lunch, and i hadn't realised), we were left with an unused voucher that had to be used only during dinner within three months. we thus headed over on a saturday night for dinner (after calling to ascertain that the voucher could be used).

for a saturday night in the CBD, the place was actually quite full. the smaller tables inside were all taken, so we were seated at a big round table near the door.

i deliberated over the menu for a bit before settling on the braised beef cheek ($28). was tempted by the day's special, a seafood stew ($28), but they were only left with one portion and J wanted it, so i just went with the beef.

our food took quite a while to come- probably at least twenty to thirty minutes. we were both quite taken aback, because we were hungry and it was already pretty late (we have a penchant for late dinners, thanks to the gym). besides which, i thought the stew would've been pre-prepared.



seems that i've been having braised beef cheek quite regularly. not on purpose, though! it's just the thing that jumps out at me from the menu. the lokal's version was not too bad, but i found the portion of beef to be on the miserly side- for $28 (before taxes and service), can't i just have a bit more? in comparison, i would definitely prefer abc's rendition.



tried a bit of J's stew, and preferred that. it came with snapper, squid, scallops, slipper lobster and fregola. particularly liked the fregola- its texture was akin to barley, and provided a bite to the stew.

i found the dinner items to be on the overpriced side, though the food was competent. probably won't be back for dinner.


the lokal
136 neil road
http://www.thelokalsingapore.com

man man japanese restaurant, keong saik.

man man japanese unagi restaurant

pacamara boutique coffee roasters, upper thomson, 2.0.

i think pacamara might just be my favourite café for now- not that i've been there many times, but because it comes to mind whenever we want to go to a café for mealtimes. still, its location means it's not exactly accessible, unless J is driving. we happened to be nearby on a weeknight and so, drove over for dinner. just barely made last order- the place is open till 11pm, but last orders for food was at 9pm. J dropped me off before going to find parking, and i dashed in at something like 8.59pm. luckily they were nice enough to still let me order.  *wipes sweat*

given the short decision making time frame, i had to quickly decide what to eat, plus decide for J as well (lucky that's quite easy). i decided on the moroccan lamb stew ($22) and the pan-fried sea bass ($22) for J.



didn't take long for our orders to be served. my lamb stew came first- a generous mound of silky mash, topped with chunks of tender lamb. there was even crispy kale!



what surprised me was the vegetable stew, however- the carrots were slightly tangy, reminding me of pickles. it was a good sort of surprise, though, since it added a pop of freshness to the dish. the moroccan based sauce was on the salty side, but it was balanced out by the creamy mash. needless to say, i loved the dish. it was such a comforting eat.



J's fish was good as well! i stole a bite and it was well cooked, with the requisite crispy skin. it was similarly generously portioned. i hate it when cafés give dainty portions, and pacamara, on both occasions, proved to me that cafés don't necessarily equate that. food was consistently good, and i have no doubt that we'll be back soon.

pacamara boutique coffee roasters
185 upper thomson road
http://pacamara.sg/#home

la ristrettos, novena medical centre.

it seems i'm always going to places with all-day brunch nowadays (thanks to J). suggested la ristrettos, because the location was ideal, has all-day brunch, and has been on my to-try list for the longest time.



spied the breakfast crab cake ($15) on instagram, so i had my eye on that from the get go, though admittedly when i saw they had some daily specials (STEAK) i wavered slightly. perhaps i should have gotten the steak, though, because when the crab cake came we were both amused by how tiny it was. it would've been better marketed as a starter- or just give me two poached eggs and more spinach, please. after we left, i had to go get something else to eat.



tastewise, it was not too bad. i could actually taste the crab in the crab cake! the crab cake and the potato croquette could've been more crisp, though. as a whole, it was satisfactory, but not something i would come back for.

i wanted to wait for J's frittata before i tucked into my food, but i waited for about ten minutes before i gave up and started eating. i was probably already halfway through my food before her frittata FINALLY came. we went to ask when it'd be ready, and were told that because it had to be baked, it would take a while. okay... they probably should've stated that on the menu or told us when we were making our orders. it took about half an hour from when we placed our orders before it finally arrived.



pricing was nett, so it wasn't too expensive, though value for money is another question altogether. still, it was nice to spend a rainy weekday afternoon in the small café, just chilling out.


la ristrettos
novena medical centre
#08-37
https://www.facebook.com/LaRistrettos/

ninja cut, seah street.

liked ninja bowl enough on my previous visit, so when i saw that they were opening a new concept right in bugis, i was excited to go. met J for a late lunch at ninja cut since i happened to be in the area, and the place was quiet.



the roasted cauliflower ($10) jumped out at us from the sides menu, because CRISPY KALE! MIXED NUTS! we got one to share- it's good to have a friend with such similar tastebuds.



i was faffing about trying to decide on the numerous beef options, before finally settling on the hot cheek ($14), which came with japanese curry beef cheek. i asked if they could replace the cherry tomatoes in my bowl with sautéed mushrooms when i was ordering at the counter, mentally preparing to top up an amount, but the girl readily agreed. i like that they're flexible with their sides! so my bowl ended up with cauliflower, onsen egg, sautéed mushrooms, pickled beets and mixed nuts- all of my favourite things. i remembered liking the ninja rice from my previous visit, so i added that on as well for an extra $2.

J settled on the gimme chimi chicken ($14), adding on quinoa ($3).



the food was simple, but pretty good. i would've appreciated a bigger portion of protein, because i'm a growing girl, but the meal did keep me satisfied until dinner time, surprisingly enough.



also would've liked the roasted cauliflower to be a bit more roasted- it was leaning towards the raw side; and it was also oilier than both of us would've liked. probably wouldn't get the cauliflower again, but the grain bowls hit the spot for a clean lunch.

saw on instagram that everyone was raving about the grilled cheese sandwich in the cheeky cheese ($18), so that might be worth a try. their all-day brunch items look promising as well. no doubt that i'll be back.


ninja cut
32 seah street
https://www.facebook.com/TheNinjaCut/