Big Day Out

Grover had a fabulous day chilling out at East Coast today with his new found friend Mocha.



He even carried his own bag! Kekeke...

Well, actually the main event of the day was to bring Mocha for her jab at the vet. Afterwhich, to cut the long story short, 3 of us - me, F and V - and the doggies went to East Coast Park for a lovely afternoon stroll. We landed an 'unplanned' major makan session.

I am very proud to say I stay in the East. It is somewhere I believe all great hawker food come from. East Coast Lagoon Hawker Centre is definitely one of my top favourites for quality hawker fare (the other being Bedok blk 85 Hawker Centre). What's more, the ambience here is fantastic whether you come here for a late weekend afternoon tunch or for a midnight supper rampage - it's all good. Always good.

We lurrveee Cheok Kee Duck Rice here. Tender braised duck on top perfectly cooked grains coated in dark soy, drenched in thick flavourful gravy. Highly recommended to be enjoyed with a side order of our favourite duck liver.

The popiah here is always delicious too. I was ordering popiah a few stalls down from the very famous Lagoon Leng Kee Beef Kway Teow when I saw it had no queue! Immediately I jumped at the chance to sample its goods. Many a time I came here for supper I had given up coz the queue was simply way too ridiculous. Anyway, I ordered the default Mixed beef Kway teow soup and this shit is really good! I mean, damn bloody nice loh... I have since gotten recurring cravings for the ultra tender beef, light soupy taste and it's QQ kway teow texture...

And if you are in the mood for some satay, make a beeline for Haron Satay (stall 55). It's my stall of choice. My other 2 friends haven't had satay from this stall before so I ordered 15 sticks for us. And they can't get over the fact that this is way tastier and juicier than most satay. The mutton here is especially excellent.

We didn't have this coz the stall wasn't opened yet but never miss the satay bee hoon. There is only one stall and loads people queue up for this. It's worth the wait. If you have Malaysian friends, do bring them here to try this. This is one dish that is totally, 100% unique to Singapore.

Are you hungry yet?

Wagyu Beef Sashimi @ Kazu

Me and CK were back at Kazu again recently. This time we were there coz CK had promised to treat his aunt on her birthday at Kazu.

I don't wish to bore by going into detail what we had stick-by-stick. But here's a lovely picture of the lovely cold appetizer we ordered. My only complain was that these came out slightly too frozen, such that when the beef touched the tongue, there was a delayed action in the 'melting fat' sensation! Other than that, it was as good as it looks, with the luscious fat slithering over my tastebuds as I popped one of these babies into my mouth and unleased the canivore in me.

Marutama Ramen

There is a ramen craze happening in Singapore now as evidenced by the number of new ramen joints sprouting all over the island. The one with the longest queues and most media hype happens to be Marutama Ramen.

I tried it the other day with 2 of my friends and was torn between 2 choices. The first one was the basic option of Marutama Ramen with an extra order of egg and the other was for the Aka Ramen, its broth boiled from 7 different kind of nuts. It has a pale orangey hue and comes with small chicken balls floating in the soup. There was also generous sprinkling of coriander, my favourite garnish. Lastly, it is served with a wedge of lemon.

I thought the ramen was ok only. The broth was not as nutty as I would expect. Also, I thought the lemon was a bad idea as the zangy kick it gave to the broth did not do much for its taste. The noodles also went soggy quite quickly and soon halfway into the bowl, I was reminded of Fei Fei Wanton mee (not one of my favourite things). I heaped on a whole load of garlic chips which helped lift the dish up immensely. Nevertheless at $15, I opt to finish every drop.

I got a taste of my friend's Marutama Ramen and thought the broth to be far tastier than mine. I may come back for this just to give it a second chance. Other than that, I thought the noodle at Miharu was by far springier and tastier.

Adventures in Bangkok

This trip happened amid the bomb scares in Bangkok and I am thankful my family came back safe and sound.
As usual, I went to Thailand with 3 things in mind:

1) Eat.
2) Massage.
3) Stock up on underwear


We touched down in the evening at the new airport and took a cab into Sukhumvit where our hotel was located. As if it was a premonition of our luck with BKK cabbies to come, our first taxi ride in BKK was a disaster. Our cab driver actually did not know his way to Sukhumvit! Can you believe we took over an hour to get to our hotel? And the whole time, the fella was on the phone with some operator trying to give him directions!

After an hour on the road, we FINALLY checked in and headed to Chinatown for dinner. Those who have been to BKK would know that there were 2 main restaurants in BKK, one occupying either side of the road recognisable by their T-shirt colour. One's red and the other's green. This time we went to the green one.



Not bad at all. Fresh and delicious, the oyster omelette was superb, as was a dish of giant prawns in milky broth I ordered. It was really cheap too. Just over a thousand baht per person!

Boat Noodle Stall. Check out the pork fat crisps at the side!

The next day we went to Chatuchak market and as expected, it was a feast for not just the senses, but the taste buds as well! I must point out that while I am generally impressed, or even in love, with thai styled pork or beef noodles, this one I tried at Chatuchak - curiously named "Boat Noodles" - was really fab! There was also a wonderful option of ordering a small bowl of those yummy pork fat crisps as a snack or to embellish the noodles further.



While the perils of staying at a relatively "unknown" hotel was frustration with cabs, the good part was that Sukhumvit was home to a number of very authentic Japanese restaurants. (Did you know that Thailand has the biggest number of overseas Japanese?)
We ate at a very nice jappy place called Niigata Restaurant at the road outside our hotel.

And this is my sister's lovely Hamburger steak. Yummy.



Now if you plan to have a special meal in BKK. Please try to catch a meal at Zanotti Restaurant in Silom. Here, I had one of the best pizzas and bruschetta. The pizza was really thin and flavourful. The aroma of the cheese tempting you to quickly savour it. The bruschetta was also exceptional. Topped with very fresh tomatoes, the overall taste was deliciously light and simple. For dessert, try the tiramisu, which was above average with its creamy yet fluffy texture.

Come eat me!


Bruschettas. Fresh and sweet!


I really think Zanotti is a must-visit in BKK. If not for the food, the lovely romantic ambience and cute yellow mustard walls will make your day too.