The May eating-out journal: better record it before the memories gather cobwebs in my tiny overcrowded brain.
Food court at Anchorpoint: Why? Lunch with makankakis. One of them wanted to try the 'best pizza" in town. Not quite, but the pies were loaded with plentiful fresh ingredients. If they were thinner and crispier, maybe. Other good options, the thosai and xiao long bao.
Soup Restaurant (1/2), United Sq: Crowded as usual. Dishes other than the samsui chicken very mediocre, oh why why do I bother? The service staff, terribly lazy and indifferent, maybe they are fed up with the good business.
Ya Kun Kaya Toast, United Sq: Standard continues to decline, food and service wise. But I only go for the cold butter slices anyway.
Royal Copenhagen, Takashimaya Shopping Centre: I have to thank my good friend G who brought me here when it first opened nearly 10 years ago, and in turn I introduce this spot to quite a few friends. It remains a favourite place to have tea when shopping along Orchard Rd. But I haven't been shopping much, and this place have had a revamp of the decor and menu in my absence. Banished from the menu is the crepe filled with fresh whipped cream and drizzled with jam- I cannot figure why they would remove such a delicious treat. Though I was soon mollified after eating some honey date pudding, an elegant portion neither sickly nor too sweet and accompanied by a generous dollop of that light-as-cloud cream. And who can remain cross sipping tea from such beautiful china, no?
Crystal Jade (2/10): Once at the Korean restaurant in Taka, and once at the La Mian Xiao Long Bao at GWC. Why is my favourite Korean restaurant run by Chinese?
Haebok Korean Restaurant, Novotel Apollo: I wanted to like this place, because the owner is Korean and he is so nice. The side dishes were more interesting than Crystal Jade's, and they kept giving us refills without our prompting. The kimchee soup packed a good whallop and I loved the seafood pancakes.
Why then didn't I enjoy myself? My beef was, well, the beef. Seriously. the BBQ beef was very disappointing, it tasted wet, like an amateur stir fry effort. The problem may have been the generous portion of beef, which may have overcrowded the grill pan and caused a steaming effect instead. Most patrons would grill the meat themselves, usually one slice at a time, so to be fair maybe they are not used to weird customers like us who prefer the beef to be cooked before being brought to the table.
Epicurious (1/ 5): Sunday brunch with the dogs. it gets quite hot though. Cannot remember what we ate.
Cellar Door, Bukit Timah: Another occasional brunch place. Don't know what yoghurt they use, it was really light, smooth and creamy. I substituted the bacon with some yummy meaty sausages. Husband gets a little irritated everytime we eat here because the wait staff seems to treat their Caucasian customers better than the locals.
Bali Nasi Lemak, Geylang: It is run by a friend's in laws, but I am not being biased when I say how much I like eating here, and would eat here all the time if only I have a gene that resists cholesterol. The chicken wings come in two versions, crispy or doused in a finger-licking, lip-smacking honey soy sauce. The sambal petai is always fresh and feisty. Most important, I am happy just eating the rice with just some sambal ikan bilis here. Another bonus to eating here is watching the colourful local characters come and go, but the police cameras mounted opposite have dampened the action quite considerably.
RSSH: The rains made me crave something hot and soupy, so to RSSH it was. If Andrew is around it gets more fun, because he is always test-driving new recipes and dishes. So on this visit we sampled his latest creation, a mutton begedel, which is a vast improvement on the usual greasy potato bullets other places flog I must say.
Farmhouse Village. Second visit with family. The food was good and cheap. My Chinaman Father approved, helped in large part by the chineseness of the whole place.
Pho Hoa, Holland V: Because it has outdoor seating and because I like their sng-buay (preserved sour lime) soda.
Blood Cafe, Paragon: went for lunch after checkup at the gynae's. The Siam Sour is their take on the mee-siam. What came was pasta in a creamy sauce which was mee-siam like only because it had some sourness from squeezes of lime. But it wasn't wholly unpleasant, even taking into account the extremely salty bean curd sheets which was piled generously on top, that day I happened to be in the mood for salt. I had a slice of cake which compensated much for the weirdness of the pasta. Note to self, Paragon is not a safe place for the wallet. Bought birthday gifts for husband. New handbag and clothes for meself.
Bakerzin, United Sq: I hate their new name, sounds really silly and unimaginative. Their cakes can still please though, I quite enjoyed my Mont Blanc which was piped over with generous trails of chestnut creams. Their Ginger Milk Pudding is excellent too, much nicer than my home-made attempts.
Spizza, Balmoral: We are moving away from the Ursulas and Claudias. My new favourite is Tiana, the salmon & mascarpone makes lovely pairing on top of pizza crust.
Lai Heng Noodles (1/2): Although I have only eaten here twice this year, husband goes there almost every month. Husband has converted mummy into a fan too, she initiated the request to eat here when the parents were in town.
Whitebait & Kale: This time our dinner did not go well. The waiter was very moronic about the dogs and about the bread that came only after the first course. Dessert was a nightmare, the already not-quite delicate pavlova was buried alive by cement masquerading as whipped cream and the whole bloody carnage emphasized with violent streaks of ugly red jam (regretful flashbacks to ethereal cream at Royal Copenhagen). Chocolate mousse was more like chocolate brick. But the live clams were good, and so was the vegetarian risotto. Bad start, good middle, poor finish- Total Impression: Very Bad. We won't be back for a long time.
Shun Juu, Robertson Quay: As usual, husband over-ordered too many stick-things with bacon. I went home with indigestion.
Kaisan (1/3): Where we went for restorative recuperative cuisine the day after the Shun Juu blow-out. Grilled something fish with lemon was mucho oiishi. Surprisingly the therapy worked, I found room in tummy for some Thos chocolates.
And of course the monthly makan session at Gim Tin.
And at work, continue to enjoy Sergeant Chicken Rice at the Chevron Building because my boss likes the chicken and so must I then, even though I am loathe to cross the overhead bridge and expose myself to the evil sunrays. Still it was nicer than what is available up yonder at the Crunchy Carrot, IMM, which serves food that is, gasp, worse than Han's, a total crime even if we took into consideration the 30% discount if we ordered before 12 pm. A better option is the eggy crepes filled with pork floss from Shihlin XXL Taiwan Snacks. And when I absolutely must have lunch in the building, the sandwiches and coffee at Spinelli are quite acceptable, even more so than the offerings in the foodcourt next door.
Oops, no more photos for May. So we have instead the view of the next-door condo's rear staircases.
