by the fire, east coast road.
came by for lunch with L. it was a hot afternoon, so i was initially worried that it was going to be unbearable inside the kopitiam-esque space, but with the fans, it turned out to be an invalid worry.
the place was interesting- it had a mix of different tenants, including ramen bar suzuki, a hokkien prawn noodle stall and a burger stall. despite working nearby for close to three years now, i'm ashamed to say that i've never eaten there until that day, though i've walked past and eyeballed it countless times. i like the concept- it's like a high class kopitiam, and ensures that there's no lack of choices.
this was by the fire's menu.
i knew i wanted the scotch egg ($6.90), and with L around, i had someone to share with! the runny egg yolk was glorious, and it was surrounded by breaded pork mince. it came with purple cabbage slaw that was slightly tangy, complementing the richness of the scotch egg well. breaded pork mince + runny egg yolk = can't go wrong. it was expectedly yummy.
i was extremely torn between the pork jowl and the onglet, but eventually decided on the pork because it seemed like the more popular choice when i googled. so this was the grilled pork jowl ($15.40). it came with a creamy potato and pumpkin salad. the confit pork jowl had a hint of japanese curry spice that made it interesting. i liked it, but it was on the oily side. i left the crispy but fatty skin untouched (though L says i should've just eaten it). it was yummy, but i probably wouldn't order it again because of how oily it was. that's just my personal preference though- i'm the type to skip pork belly.
L got the keystone's seaweed pasta ($8.90). prior to ordering we did a bit of googling, and someone commented that it was more of a chinese/japanese pasta than an italian one; L ordered it anyway because she likes japanese pasta. it was surprisingly spicy, but it was light tasting and L finished it easily. i think the chinese/japanese-ness came from the addition of spring onions.
will be back! want to try their other stuff, namely the onglet and squid ink pasta (comes with sea urchin cream and hokkaido scallop!).
by the fire
125 east coast road
