En route to MBS - Happy Lemon and 4 Fingers Bonchon

On Thursday, I had my 2nd most productive postcall (which explains why I was awake for >35hrs with about an hours sleep in between) - because I decided to make the most use of my time and stop going home to sleep for 14hrs straight (which is what I usually do), and to go to Marina Bay Sands, just to take a look at what it was like.

Thanks to Fish (who was also on leave :D) who went to search and check up on the eating places (she did the search and said it was not feasible for us to eat at MBS itself since we have tight budgets till the 15th next month, and that we should try Parco instead) and how to get there or we would have been incredibly lost!

On the way there, I stopped over at Ion orchard and indulged in my Happy Lemon. For once, I got myself the milk tea (which I have been avoiding cos I need my sleep at night and sometimes the caffeine keeps me awake) and had it with puff cream (according to the server, it's made of egg protein or something) and oreo bits. The oreo bits became rather soggy and started clumping together, so I had to work quite hard stirring it up. I think the tea from Gong Cha (now at Square 2) is better, but I like Happy Lemon for their fruity and yogurt and yakult drinks.

Being greedy, and since my tummy was waking up (usually don't feel so hungry cos I'm very very tired), and being unable to resist trying new foods, I went to get myself a 8 piece Bonchon chicken wing/drumlet set. Since I was trying to save space for my ramen at Parco Millenia walk, I decided to try the chicken only, since there was so much hype and rave reviews on it when it first opened in Ion.

I still don't understand why it's called 4 fingers but according to Fish, it's cos you use your index and thumb of both hands? But then again, the picture shows a weird 4 fingered hand? Hmm I am very confused but nevermind! I usually try to eat chicken wings with one thumb and one finger especially when I don't wash my hands before eating. And I try not to get so many fingers oily cos it'll be hard to answer my handphone if it rings.

Personally, I prefer having a meaty juicy chicken rather than wings, cos the wings have so much skin in proportion to the meat, and I much prefer sinking my teeth into juicy meat rather than crispy skin (fans of poultry skin please don't stone me - it's just that I prefer meat to skin since the beginning of life and I used to throw away my KFC chicken skin).

I think it's been too deeply ingrained into me that the thigh is better and chicken wings aren't cos they have a higher proportion of skin compared to meat, so I doubt that I can enjoy chicken wings the same way as I enjoya chicken thigh.

Bonchon's chicken skin has a extremely crispy batter (I have a nagging feeling that I am consuming alot of trans fats - not so sure if there really is or isn't though...), so crispy it's nearly crunchy, and I got myself the wings with their signature soy garlic sauce (as oppose to the other option of spicy, since my chilli tolerance is extremely pathetic). The garlic sauce isn't very fantastic, salty, mildly garlicky (not as garlicky as I would have imagined) but I did like the swet thai style chilli sauce that came with it.

While I was indulging in my artery clogging meal, I was watching their promotional clips on the TV screen conveniently located next to the table, where advocates and fans of 4fingers say that it's much better than KFC and Popeyes etc.

Well, it's all subjective and personally, I feel that 4fingers isn't my thing cos I'm more of a meat than skin person. But chicken skin fans rejoice - it's the perfect snack for you even though it's pretty costly at just slightly less than $8 for 7 pieces of chicken wings and drumlets. Then again, more or less everything in Ion is...

4 Fingers Bonchon Crispy Chicken

2 Orchard Turn

#B4-06AION Orchard

Next part of this will be on our journey to MBS - Nansuttei and Sweet Spot! And yay for annual leave - I'm dutifully clearing all my leave and I am enjoying myself at it!

Iggys Lunch

First meal I had with my brother since he came back from overseas for summer break after being away for >9months, and we both happened to be free that afternoon. Of course, such rare occasion gives me even more excuse to indulge in good food. I initially wanted to try Osia, which I have been reading about on so many other blogs, and I've been wanting to try their famous bread, but the thought of trudging down to Sentosa and having to pay the incredibly expensive parking fee, or the thought of parking at Vivo and taking the monorail in proved too daunting, and we settled for Iggys lunch.
The lunch comes with either 2 starters, 1main course and 1 dessert ($65++) or 3starters, 1main course and 1 dessert ($80++).
For amuse bouche, there was essence of momotaro (a type of sweet Japanese tomato) and a wedge of tomato (not sure of it's momotaro, can't remember...). The essence of momotaro was like drinking a concentrate of tomato juice, but just that it's clear and slightly sweet. Hopefully it's packed with antioxidants so that it'll help with my wrinkling face and eyebags (btw I have been awake for the past 35hours, with 1 hour of sleep!) Starters - I didn't quite like my 2 starters so it was a rather dissapointing start to my meal.
Gratinated yellowtail (hamachi), radish, fine herd salad and sesame-lime dressing
My brother ordered this and he enjoyed it lots - probably cos he's been deprived of Japanese tasting food. Of course, the yellowtail was fresh, well marinated and the flavours from the herbs and dressing complemented each other without overpowering the fish.
Little neck clams: sauteed clams, tarragon, kaffir lime, burrata, rice and sago pearls
I ordered this starter because of the burrata, but the burrata didn't have the 2 different textures I was expecting, and it was was quite little. The translucent beads of sago was interesting to have in the dish, but it was rather forgettable.
Egg: Slow-cooked egg, bacon, mushrooms and pinot jus
The egg was somewhat lacking in character - just fatty bits of bacon (not sure if it's some fancy/special bacon), some brown mushrooms and the egg (perhaps it's some fancy organic egg? I couldn't tell, don't have such specialized taste buds), and the whole thing was a bit too greasy for my liking. The hard croutons didn't really impress me either.
Foie Gras (supplement $10): Pan-fried foie gras, poached peach, toasted brioche and almond flakes
This dish had a moderately sized piece of foie gras, sprinkled with crackling crystals (those that go popping when it's in contact with any liquid like saliva! I used to like this lollipop which came with the crackling powder when I was in Primary School). Perhaps it's cos the crackling powder reminded me of my more favourite childhood sweet, or perhaps it was the nicely crisped yet oozey interior of the foie gras, I like this starter the best of the lot. The pulpy caramalized peach was nice and sweet tho.

Charcoal Grilled Quail with brussel sprouts, lady's finger and tapenade (an olive based puree).

My brother's main which was a very small portion (I don't know if he was full after this but I was extremely full from my sakura ebi capellini). It's very well done with the quail being tender and juicy. But then again, nothing out of the ordinary...

I've been missing Iggy's signature Sakura ebi cappellini ever since my last visit (so long ago, see my post here) but either my expectations were too high or my memory has deceived me cos it failed to impress me during this visit. The little black bits of konbu, full of natural MSG and perfectly cooked cappellini infused with aromatic scampi oil makes a filling dish, and the tiny pieces of sakura ebi which gives way with a satisfying crunch when you bit down was good, but not spectacular.Perhaps it's cos the portion was too big (cos I had it as a starter previously) or perhaps I was full from my 2 pieces of restaurant bread and their peppery good quality olive oil, I didn't think it was supremely good like the last time I tried it.

Black forest

Salted chocolate caramel, petit beurre (butter biscuit), sour cherry, beatroot
My brother initially ordered this because of the salted chocolate caramel, but because it came with a beetroot sorbet, he swapped desserts with me. Beetroot is a vegetable/tuber/root that you either love or hate - it has a distinct earthy taste and smell, and has a natural sweetness. I enjoy beetroot in anything, and I usually juice it with a variety of other fruits/vegetables, though I haven't had the chance to do it recently due to my busy schedule. The beetroot sorbet The dessert also comes with a piece of jellied beetroot.

The other dessert we had is the Butternut Squash - which had the pumpkin in different textures, coconut sorbet, kaffir lime and orange. I requested for them to not put any lime or orange into my dish since I dislike citrus fruits, especially orange. The pumpkin came pureed as well as in crispy sheets. The coconut ice cream was deliciously creamy.

As they say, taste is subjective and this time, Iggys has failed to impress me this occasion. Maybe it's a case of too high expectations, or perhaps my tastebuds are growing old but I really hope I have better luck next time since my previous 2 dining experiences here were so memorable.

Iggy’s

1 Cuscaden Road

#03-00 The Regent

Tel: 6732 2234

I'm so happy that I'm having the luxury of posting this in the afternoon cos I'm on leave until 31st August! So happy that I've survived my posting and moving onto something that I really like! And just a shout out to my now ex-colleagues (lol stop blog surfing and do summaries!) I enjoyed working and learning with you all :D I'm off to sleep now to attempt to correct the damage done by not sleeping last night and hopefully erase my forming wrinkles and enlarging eyebags....

Random Update

Hello everyone who still reads this blog of mine - I'm still alive after slightly 4 months of starting work, but with huger eyebags (my work hours are causing irreversible damage to my face). I'm currently extremely happy now (the last time I was this happy was 1 day to the end of my finals) and I am so happy that I just have to post a cheerful looking photo just to do an update! Sounds like I'm high on something but I assure you I am most definitely not. Can't wait can't wait!!!

The photo above is the happiest one I can find in my com and it's the thin crust pizzas from Pizza da Donato at 6th Avenue. Each slice is around $6-8 and there's quite alot of toppings available.

Pizza Da Donato
8 Sixth Avenue
Tel: +65 6219 7562
(There's another banch at Ghim Moh)