Marmalade Panrty

 My 2 favourite dishes (other than all things Japanese) is actually the Crabmeat Linguine and the Sticky Date Pudding from Marmalade Pantry. Although I don't blog about it much, I do go there to get my pasta and dessert fix once every few months, for >5years already (shucks I'm such an old woman).

I'm happy to say that they have maintained their food standards, although the prices of their dishes has risen exponentially. Oh how I miss the days when the Stick Date Pudding used to be $10 (yes I am secretly 82years old). I love their sticky date pudding (can taste the butter yum) and the huge scoop of Kapiti Vanilla bean ice cream and just looking at this picture makes me want to go back tomorrow...

Marmalade Pantry
#03-22 Ion Orchard

Teppei Syokudo

I really really like Teppei for its budget no frills super worth it chirashi don. But going to Tajong Pagar area during lunch time is really a major pain. Not only do I have to pay ERP, pay for the super expensive CBD parking when I finally get a carpark lot, I have to queue too. I'm so glad that Teppei has come up with the concept of takeaway chirashi dons.

They have a very concise little menu, which includes a hamburg steak as well as some Japanese Curry dishes. But of course, I didn't manage to try those.

The chirashi don is great - marginally less tasty than the original Teppei but for no queues and no carpark angst, I'll definitely come back here again. All those lucky people who work in the area - I'm envious +++. No frills fuss free seating - stools and wooden tables uncomfortable enough so you won't hog the seat.

Teppei Syokudo
Millenia Walk #01-105
9 Raffles Boulevard
Tel 62381945

There's another branch in Takashimaya but I have yet to go there.

Sushi Mitsuya Lunch

I've had the pleasure of dining at Sushi Mitsuya quite a few times since they first opened. Having lunch there  is really exciting as I always get to try new fish that I've never had before. Usually, I'll try to go during different seasons, so that I can try different kinds of fish. I usually go for the Ichie (entry level lunch set at about $70) because I'm feel too poor to indulge in anything else, and eating lunch there is an indulgence by itself already... Being the last minute person I am, I tried to book lunch on the day itself and to my horror it was nearly full! Managed to snag the last lunch seats there. Whew!

 Vegetables marinated in tofu and sesame sauce

 Short goldfish memory - can't remember what this was if I'm not wrong it's pickled sardine?

 Sea goby

 Scallop with black salt

 Baby snapper - it's called Hime Kodai in Japanese
Bland tasting whitefish

 Glass fish - I thought this was really interesting - it's similar to the baby fish that we usual fry in the egg, slightly slimy and a bit crunchy (I'm guessing the crunch comes from the skull or eyeballs here) and lightly marinated. I liked the way that it was moulded into a little mound on top of the sushi rice.

 Big prawn that has been marinated in egg yolk and vinegar - just noticed for the first time that they slice it into two if you're female and leave it as a whole if you're male (sneakily peeping at what other people around me are eating hehe)

 I think this was Aji (but I'm not too sure, I didn't write it down and can't remember now!:/)

 Akame (lean tuna) which was lightly brushed with sauce

 Their signature Osaka style bo sea eel  sushi

Light clear broth to end the meal

 6 pieces of assorted maki - with pickles and cucumber

 Dessert was red bean cake and pomelo

The lunch will not make you feel uncomfortably full - most of the time if I'm not exceptionally famished, this will leave me feeling about 80% full (which is supposed to be the correct level of fullness) but since lunches are rare, I usually fill the extra 20% of stomach space with dessert.

Of course, dessert is Tsujiri at the nearby 100am mall.


You can check out my other posts where I got to try different kinds of fish :
Barachirashi set lunch
4th November 2013
26th November 2013 

Hmm I actually went a few more times in between then and now but I think I was too lazy to blog... Can't remember what I ate anymore T-T

Sushi Mitsuya
60 Tras Street
#01-10 Singapore 078999
Tel 64382608
*Do call for reservations as seating is limited

Fix

 Was surfing the internet for new food places, and saw a review on Fix cafe online. The thing that caught my eye was the liu sha doughnuts. I absolutely had to go and try them! 6 mini doughnuts, piping hot, with liu sha (salted egg yolk) sauce. How amazing is that! I'm such a fan of salted egg sotong, salted egg crab, and salted egg just about anything else. Salted egg doughnuts are a a level up! Can you imagine if they injected the doughnuts with liu sha sauce? They would be selling out faster than you can say Krispy Kreme! The liu sha sauce was a bit cold when served, but since the doughnuts were so warm, it didn't quite matter to me.

Another thing is that Fix is the sister cafe of Grub, which is this insanely popular cafe in Bishan Park, which has immensely long queues so I have't been there cos I don't particularly like standing in the sun, queuing and wasting my life away. Ok I hope that Fix does't get flooded after the word that they have liu sha doughnuts gets out >,<

We also tried their naanwiches, which are essentially open faced sandwiches on a naan base (instead of your normal muffin/bread). I had the chicken tikka naanwich, which was really delicious - soft tender chicken, with crispy achar on the side and a perfectly half boiled egg. The naan was soft and fluffy.

Check out their perfectly half cooked egg - the yolk was gel like and slightly runny. x2. It's so freaking hard to find a cafe which has such perfectly cooked eggs ( I hope the standard remains the same after I blog about it).

The beef kimchi naanwich - which I didn't try but my friend said the beef was so super soft and delicious.

The naanwiches come with a side of cheese nachos, with tomato salsa. Really value for money since the naanwiches are only $10 each. Who says you can't find good quality brunch at decent prices?

 Since I don't drink coffee, I got myself a chocolate peanut butter banana milkshake (there's some offer if you get it together with the main courses, can't remember exactly but it's $1-2 off the original price). Comes with crispy wafer flakes on top. The peanut butter taste wasn't very strong, but the chocolate and banana was really intense. I was so full after drinking this.

 Since I was so full, I had to dapao the cakes - this was a coconut and mango cake, which reminds me of the Kki cake that I really like. The coconut mousse layer was really light and refreshing.

Strawberry pistacho rose tart - the rose was only in the blob of cream, but nonetheless, the tart was good - buttery moist base, fresh strawberries 

Ordinarily I would have skipped going to a new cafe if there wasn't any air-conditioning cos it's so humid and hot, but Fix has a really nice poolside view, and lots and lots of ceiling fans so it's nice windy and cool.

Another good place near Novena (sigh) which opens early and are perfect for the people who post call at 830 ;P

FIX
31 Ah Hood Road
At the HomeTeamNS Clubhouse
#01-06
Tel 62561484

Hanare

Was agonising on where to spend my post-call lunch so I spent the morning searching though random blog posts - and found Hanare. It's Teppei's lesser known sister restaurant, and they were really new (2 months old) when we went there, so it was relatively less crowded. 

They do 2 kinds of lunch - either the barachirashi or a buffet style lunch, both which costs less than $20. 

With the barachirashi, you get a free flow of appetisers - the 4 appetisers that day was edamame, salad, some preserved vegetables which I didn't like, and a stew with different root vegetables. 

Of course, I made sure I reserved enough tummy space for the barachirashi - though not as chunky as the teppei one, and way too salty, it was a steal at $17.90 - seriously for the amount of fish (it's a mountain) you probably won't be able to find anywhere else which serves such hearty portions at this price.

And of course, it's off to Tsujiri for desserts post lunch

Hanare
99B Tanjong Pagar Road
Tel 62221976
Monday to Sat 12-1430 and 1830 - 2200

Kilo by Pact

 Kilo is still one of my favourite restaurants in town - however, I'm sad to say that they've stopped serving their awesome sushiros for dinner!! The horrors.

Their blue corn crusted crab cakes with balsamic vinaigrette and roasted red peppers - crab cakes are always a hit amongst all people and these were no exception. They were a little drier and crispier on the outside than the usual crab cakes, but when paired with the roasted red peppers, were just the right texture.

The BBQ pork riblets and parmesan wedges were extremely addictive - sticky soft fall-off-the-bone ribs.

 They have happy hour between 530 to 8pm on Tues to Fridays.

All plates are 16, and you have the option of combining plates so that everyone can try a bit of each.

Stuffed Roasted Figs, walnuts, Danish Blue Cheese, crispy bacon and chives (usual size $20) - it's a heavenly combination with the soft mushy figs, and the intense umami flavour from the blue cheese, paired with the saltiness of the bacon - super delicious and its something that I definitely want to recreate at home.

On the right is the octopus- lime guacamole and flaxseed chips - which didn't have too much lime, and since avocado makes everything taste better, it was polished off in a flash.

The last starter we had was the Tequila cured salmon and roasted Jalapeño crostini (I think that was what we ordered, in the background, but my memory fails me).

 My favourite is still the warm baby eggplant with donburi sauce, marscapone cheese and tempura flakes ($12). It's a warm dish, served with sliced baby eggplants, in a sweetish Japanese sauce, and topped with a dollop of marscapone cheese for creaminess.

 The Kilo Smashburger which has 2 patties, cheddar, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, red onions on a brioche bun ($23)
No comment here since it's beef.

The squid ink fettucini with sautéed prawns, crispy baby squid, and raw egg yolk ($23)
They ran out of baby squid, so they gave us more prawns instead. I still think their appetisers trump their main courses!

It's a big pity about their non-existent sushiros, I really hope that they can bring those back for diner. Their website's menu was pretty much out of date (sadness cos I was all ready to order their awesome sushiros and pork belly donburi).

Kilo by Pact
#02-16/17/19 Orcahrd Central
181 Orchard Road
Tel 68847560

Sushi Mitsuya Lunch

Sushi Mitsuya is now my to-go place whenever I have the luxury of having lunch out (which is fortunately or unfortunately, not a very common occasion). I think the sushi lunch set is awesome - for $70 nett, you'll get 8 pieces of sushi, prepared right in front of you. That's in addition to 2 appetizers, a soup and a dessert. I have yet to try dinner, but after my experience at Sushi Ichi, I have decided that my tastebuds are suited to sushi meals not >$100, and I can't seem to appreciate the sushi enough to justify the cost.

I've been here for about 4 times for lunch, and it has been consistently good. The season has just changed, so here's what I had for lunch about 2 weeks back. Out of the 8 pieces of sushi, one is usually a lean tuna (can't expect otoro with that kind of lunch price), usually a 4-6 piece maki at the end. I usually get to try about 2 new and 'interesting' fishes per lunch, and the other 4 will usually be a 'mainstream' fish.

I don't eat raw prawn, so I always let the sushi chef know of my dietary restriction. (Along with not having any yuzu brushings on my sushi, or any other forms of citrus fruits).

 Starter was baby sardines with grated daikon

 Prawn and carrot salad with pumpkin sauce

Ika (Squid)
I used to dislike raw squid cos it always tastes rubbery and hard and too chewy. However, eating a good quality squid can make all the difference. It is very smooth, firm and not too chewy. I liked how they cut all the ridges on the squid too. Makes it look like a pine cone.

This was a pinfish (not sure if I got it correct) with some salt on top. It's a non-oily fish

One of my favourite sushis of the day - kawahagi, which is also known as a 'filefish'.
It is served with its own liver (the creamy thing) on top. I've never tried this fish before, and boy, was it delicious. The liver was light and creamy - imagine something like foie gras, but a lite version of that. Which made the blander tasting flesh more interesting.
Go to this link if you're interested to see what the kawahagi looks like.

Katsuo (bonito). It was so red and meaty I thought it was a akami (lean tuna) - but do note the grated ginger and sliced spring onion on the side. This version wasn't seared, and was very meaty and delicious.

Hamachi (yellow tail) sushi. It was a very thick and fatty slice of hamachi, probably one of the best I've eaten. Can't compare to those from the average sushi chain.

Akami (lean tuna)

Ikura sushi (salmon roe)
Extremely fresh, and each salty bubble of roe will pop in your mouth. Whenever I eat this sushi I think of the starting scenes from Finding Nemo.

Anago (sea eel) Osaka Boxed-style
This was the first time I've seen this style of sushi. Pretty interesting, especially since the rice isn't your usual plain sushi rice.

Soup - clear soup with tofu fishcake.

Katsuo (bonito) maki
I thought this was negitoro maki when I saw it but atlas, it wasn't! Then again, I like how the meaty bonito reminds me of tuna.

Autumn fruits - sweet and crunchy perssimon and melon sherbert.

This is the barachirashi, for those people who can't have the luxury of having a piece-by-piece sushi lunch. I would still highly recommend the sushi set. For $70 it's really a steal.

Btw, I always thought that Harada-san spoke with a queer accent (not the typical Japanese accent) but I've finally figured out why! He sounds exactly like a Hong Konger when he speaks English.

Disclaimer here: I have yet to try Shinji, which, according to all the other online reviews, is Singapore's best sushi restaurant. I shall aim to try it one day...

Sushi Mitsuya
60 Tras Street
#01-10 Singapore 078999
Tel 64382608
*Do call for reservations as seating is limited.