Beef Steak & Pork Belly Shio Kouji from Ootoya Japanese Restaurant (Singapore). Essentially two Manhunt-esque hunks topless-wrestling energetically in a catwalk battle of who is the juicier, chewier, saltier, orally pleasing stud. In the primarily oceanic landscape in which they showdown, the quality of the earthly creatures surprises. 3.8/5 This…
Wafu Tagliatelle from Mariko’s – mixed mushroom, wafu, bluefin chunks, konbu sauce. The waifish pasta seemed to have slathered salted buttery all over its slithery body before sliding down a smoking chimney to join its thick, crunchy mushroom friends at the other end. 3.9/5 This was a hosted meal, courtesy…
DIY Kaisendon with additional mentaiko and salmon roe from Teppei Syokudo at Ion Orchard. Essentially your usual reliable Teppei Syokudo experience, with one major distinction – the sashimi here is softer, more thoughtfully cubed and sized (in contrast to the mouth-busting outrageousness you occasionally get at other outlets which requires…
Pincho Moruno from Catalunya – grilled marinated in a special house blended spice and served with apple aioli. Essentially the kebab equivalent of a surly, reserved Moroccan army regular who canes his children for bad behaviour and goes on desert missions. Mighty filling, though. 3.4/5 This was a hosted meal,…
Sukiyaki set with Japanese Wagyu-Holstein F1 Crossbreed Striploin and Ribeye from Sakurazaka, a new shabu-shabu concept at Greenwood Avenue. Essentially a gloriously tummy-warming and cleanly robust send-up of that familiar sukiyaki sweetness. Elsewhere, the Bukit Timah-esque quality of the beef on hand offers one lesson – taboo and adventurous yet…
Bangkok Fried Chicken with green chilli nam jim from Bird Bird. The chicken smells like it had just finished a rejuvenating spa session, whilst elsewhere the green chilli nam jim launches a fiery seed blast which envelopes your tongue with a sharp citric wave – an attack that is, interestingly,…
Grand Marnier Crema Catalana from Milagro Spanish Restaurant at Orchard Central. Essentially your standard crème brûlée but with sassy unwashed blonde hair, being inappropriately high on sangria (and Grand Marnier, of course) and warbling lines such as “lucky that my breasts are small and humble so you don’t confuse them…
Chilli Crab Txangurro from Catalunya – 120 grams of shredded Alaskan snow crab cooked in spicy tomato sofrito and topped with toasted bread crumbs. Essentially an indulgent chilli crab bonanza in a pot – pure, unadulterated chilli crab goodness sans any distracting pincer, shell or mantou nonsense. The succulent crab…
Kaisendon with added quail egg and chicken leek skewers from the newly-opened Teppei Daidokoro at Raffles City, a takeaway kiosk concept serving yakitori, croquettes, bentos and their now-ubiquitous kaisendon. The emotionally uninvested rice and mouth-fillingly obese sashimi chunks failed to generate much Lust, Caution-esque chemistry, whilst elsewhere the egg softness,…