Some of the nice and not-so-nice things I've eaten this past week.
1. Kurobota Pork Chop ($35) from The Moomba Restraurant. I don't know if this came from the same family as the black pigs featured on one episode of Japan Hour. When I asked, the staff at the restaurant replied that the pork came from Australia. Never mind the origin, the pork chop was very nice. In fact, I've never had tastier pork in Singapore. Sweet, with a mild hint of grass, the meat was lean inside and skirted with a rim of fat. The chef had simply grilled and then glazed it with an umami-licious sauce that may have honey and fu-yu , but don't quote me, I am only guessing.
Husband remarked that the only better pork chop would be the one he ate at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco last year; he still remembers the meal fondly. The memory of the Kurobota chop taunted me again this evening when I was sampling husband's steak ($50 for a 10 oz slab) at the Mezzanine at Grand Hyatt. The steak was properly cooked to the medium rare state as requested, but other than its tenderness, there was hardly any flavour that would make me go mmmmm... it is a sad thing to pay $50 and over for something so unsatisfying. Even though it was my very kind and generous uncle who paid for the meal, my heart ached no end when I think of the outrageous price they charge for the mostly mediocre food. They even have the nerve to cook hor-fun with po-li ha (my name for prawns frozen in sugared water and chemicals like boric acid, the process gives the prawns an unnaturally glassy texture) and charge $25 for the privilege.
2. Terra Chips. Nearly $10 for a packet of chips, but well worth the price. I don't think I will ever go back to Jack n Jills ever again. Yes I should have been studying, but Sims2 needed my attention too.
3. Chicken Marsala Wrap at Toast at Ngee Ann City. Very chi-chi place but the food is fresh and generally good. The wrap was very well composed and tasty; it had mango slices, mustard, yoghurt sauce and crisp lettuce. Very comforting too, after a morning sitting for a very tough 3-hour exam (work-related) and then driving around the Asian Civilisation Museum looking for a car park lot only to find out later that the Turkish bazaar (held at the museum this weekend only) offered nothing more "Turkish" than nasi padang and Ramly Burger.
4. Two weeks ago, Cedele had a new sandwich called the Otah Fish Burger which was very nice. Last night they replaced it with a Spicy Fish Burger which was not the same at all, and definitely not nice to eat!
5. There is a dire shortage in the market of Tung-I Beehoon with Chicken and Abalone Flavour. None to be found in NTUC, Cold Storage and Giant. We are down to our last two packets. To make things worse, there wasn't even an egg in the kitchen to boost the nutritional value of my exam-cramming lunch. I had to settle for XO sauce, not a bad thing in itself, but dammit, egg would have been better.
