@ Tendon Ginza Itsuki

A Saturday night dinner with E and W at Tendon Ginza Itsuki, Tanjong Pagar. I have always wanted to visit this tempura donburi or tendon restaurant after news of its opening. Guess I wasn't the only one as we waited patiently in the alley for close to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, our orders of special tendon were taken while we queued. The only other dish on the menu was the vegetable tendon. Finally, it's our turn and we were greeted enthusiastically by the service staffs.

Cooking the fresh ingredients right in front of the customers

Chawanmushi
(Silky smooth and full of ingredients)

As soon as we were seated, our first dish of chawanmushi arrived. Do not underestimate this dish as other restaurants have failed to execute. The chawanmushi at Ginza Itsuki was silky smooth and hidden with ingredients such as chicken, prawn and almond. The best chawanmushi I have eaten so far.

Special Tendon - $13.90++
(What a beauty. It's super delicious.)

And finally the main dish arrived. Lots of photo taking to capture this painstakingly-arranged beauty. There's 2 prawns, 2 chicken breasts, 2 long beans, 1 shiitake mushroom, 1 pumpkin, 1 baby corn and a hidden fried egg. Such a great combination of fresh ingredients which retained their natural sweetness after the frying. The tempura batter was very light and not oily at all. I must say that the chicken breasts was surprisingly tender.  

Very tender chicken breast

Look at that yolk

The fried egg was a great surprise and even more so when the golden yolk spread beautifully over the rice. And that's the good thing about sitting at the counter which allowed the customers to watch how the food was prepared. For this fried egg, the chefs cracked soft-boiled eggs onto a ladle and quickly fry it in the hot oil. So much dedication for a fried egg.

Thank you for the meal

Gochisousama deshita or thank you for the meal. Ginza Itsuki met all my expectations and I will certainly be back.

@ Whisk and Paddle

Whisk and Paddle, a cafe by the river at Punggol Waterway, is an oasis to escape from the heat and enjoy with your friends. A good place to escape to.

Lychee Mint Cooler ($6.90)

@ White Restaurant, Punggol Settlement

We were at Punggol Settlement for lunch and White Restaurant was the only one with a queue. That was certainly a tell-tale sign of good food and there we were. Not a moment too soon as they closes around 2pm. We got a couple of dishes to share but most of them were pretty average. However, you must get their signature white beehoon. The thin strands of noodles soaked up the umami of the egg and seafood stock. The seafood of squid and prawn were fresh and plenty as well. Definitely lived up to their name.

Japanese curry

Rilakkuma became a cat

Why my bento so ugly

Inspired to make my own bento but it turned out to be a rabbit monster.

@ 4Fingers

R and I were walking around Changi Airport Terminal 3 looking for food and decided to satisfy ourselves with 4Fingers. What I like about the 4Fingers branch at the airport is that the place is spacious and the service is fast. We didn't have to queue for long before getting our hands on the irresistible chicken. Certainly a plus point. The drumlets were extra crunchy and I had to control myself from ordering more. The chicken is definitely the star because the fries were rather lacklustre.

@ Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

Met with H and the married S for dinner at Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King, Paya Lebar. Similar to other Keisuke branches, there were free flow of hard-boiled eggs and spiced beansprouts. My tonkotsu king came with yummy stir fried pork and a dependable slice of charshu. Comforting and reliable.

@ Old Street Bak Kut Teh

We had our father's day meal at Old Street Bak Kut Teh, Westgate. The queue was long and we waited for close to 30 minutes. Luckily, the service was fast and I liked how we could use the tablet to view and order our food. In all, we ordered the normal pork ribs soup, the premium pork ribs soup, pig trotters, beancurd skin and fried dough fritters. Dad said that the premium pork ribs were delicious. We ordered another serving of the crispy dough fritters which went really well with the slightly salty pork broth, and finally cleansing our palate with the fragrant tea.  

@ Sushi Tei, Takashimaya

Sushi Tei at Takashimaya after our failed attempt at Hai Di Lao. I ordered Unagi Hitsumabushi in remembrance of the good one I had in Tokyo, while R had a salmon don. Among ourselves, we got the Golden roll and Lobster roll. Perhaps I came with too high an expectation, but the food did not impress. The unagi rice was not as fragrant and the golden roll was a tad dry. Sadly, the service was sub par for a Japanese restaurant.

@ Din Tai Fung

A long overdue meetup with J, S and E at Din Tai Fung, our trusted choice for good food and wonderful night.

@ Peperoni Pizza, Suntec City

Peperoni Pizza

A long queue formed outside Peperoni Pizza at Suntec City during dinner time. Being the typical Singaporean, we  were curious and decided to join the queue. While waiting, we could look into the open kitchen where the chefs were spreading the various ingredients onto the pizza and putting the pizza into the wood fire oven. Simple and efficient. It wasn't a long wait before we were shown to our seats. After a quick order, our huge pizza arrived. Huge was an understatement as the three of us (E, W and myself) almost couldn't finish it.

My opinion of the food. The huge pizza was definitely fun and great for sharing. However, they could be more generous with the tomato base which would have pique our appetite. Also , service could have be much better.

@ Sing Yi Seafood Garden

We went to JP house for housewarming and decided to try out this zichar place at Yishun industrial street.

Chef's recommended chicken
(Good but could be crispier)

Spinach with three eggs
(Didn't expect to be so soupy but nice broth)

Mix of fried duck and thai style tofu
(Surprisingly light) 

Mongolian pork
(Tough meat in bbq sauce)

Sambal kangkong
(Not enough sambal)

@ Wen Dou Sek

My department welfare event brought us to Wen Dou Sek, Geylang. Coincidentally or not, the shop number is 126 which rhymes with its shop name in Cantonese. More than 40 of us turned up and we almost occupied the entire restaurant.

Fried rice
(Average)

Lor mee
(The noodles with the crispy ikan bilis can be addictive)

Xiao long bao
(Soupless but still tasty)

Banana fritters
(Not oily at all)

Charsiew cheong fun
(Served piping hot with an addictive sauce)

Liu sha bao
(More like custard bun)

Prawn fritter
(Slightly smaller; average)

King siew mai
(Plump and juicy; highly recommended)

Overall, the food was decent and these were only some of their very extensive menu. Might return to try their crab beehoon and softshell crab.

Stir Fry

@ Roosevelt Cafe

Enjoying good food with prompt service in a spacious place.

@ Sho Teppan

Sirloin

I wanted to try something different and we ended up at Sho Teppan, Raffles City. There were lots of people, probably attracted by novelty of cooking for yourself. Well, I cannot fathom that since I would rather cook at home or pay for others to cook for me. Food wise, they were salty and monotonous, perhaps due to the set that I ordered.

@ The Protein Cafe, Science Park

Chef's Nasi Lemak
(Slightly salty and a lack of variety)

For those working in Science Park, give The Protein Café @ Oasis a try. The food may not be the best but it offers a different lunch menu.

Chill with a Teh Peng

@ Dashi Master Marusaya

Hungry and walking along quiet Robertson Quay late at night, we were welcomed by the sight of Dashi Master Marusaya. We were quickly shown in to the clean-cut izakaya where some Japanese were enjoying their meals.   

 

Tempura Udon
(Light and subtle)

The kimono-dressed waitress promptly took our orders on her iPad and we were served with wet towels and iced water. My tempura udon arrived shortly to my delight. Bonito flakes was then served fresh from the box onto the piping hot soup. The soup was light and flavourful, pairing nicely with the thick chewy udon. My preference would be a heavier soup but this was wonderful as well. The tempura of prawn, pepper, mushroom and eggplant could have been served separately to retain its crispiness. 

Duck Penne Pasta

Leftover from the celebration but nonetheless perfect for dinner.