Nakhon Kitchen and Project Acai

 Thai food is my 3rd most favourite kind of food - but since my chilli tolerance is pathetically low, I can't eat most of the ultra spicy dishes. I've tried Nakhon Kitchen in Bedok once (recommended by colleague KH 5 years ago) and most of their branches are located in really hard to get to out of the way places (i.e. industrial estates). I'm really glad that they have a branch in Holland Village now.

Its a no frills extremely affordable Thai restaurant, which serves really delicious authentic Thai Food. Quite similar to Diandin Leluk at Golden Mile, just much more accessible.

I their papaya salad as they can adjust the chilli level according to your tolerance. The pineapple rice is nice and sweet, and their phad thai tastes really authentic. Their fish cakes and prawn cakes are not bad either. Plus they serve water for free!

Also, the prices here are really pocket friendly (much more affordable than Thai Express) and the taste is really good (lots of Thai staff here). Superb place for lunch when you're in the Holland V area. The queues can be a pain but if you eat lunch early at about 1130 it shouldn't be a problem.

Nakhon Kitchen Holland Village
27A Lorong Liput
Singapore 277738

 One of the highlights of going to Nakhon Kitchen is that I can hop over next door to get myself a bowl of Acai goodness from Project Acai. I'm not sure about the purported health benefits of acai, but since it tastes so good, I just take it as a dessert (plus perhaps half a serving of fruits).

The acai pulp texture is similar to a slushie and it is the same shade of colour as red bean. I really like how refreshing it tastes, especially when paired with lots of fresh fruits.


Project Acai 
Holland Village
27 Lorong Liput
Singapore 277738

http://www.project-acai.com

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.

Tart Blanc

We were hankering for some dessert after Teppei, so after trudging around Millenia Walk, we settled on Tart Blanc. Because I wanted to eat the peach salted egg yolk tart.

I must say that it is a really good combination - syrupy sweet peach on top of a subdued salted egg yolk custard. Served warm. The shortcurst pastry is just right - at least, for me. Not too buttery or oily and yet not too flakey or crumbly. Would definitely be back to eat more of this, when I next come back to have some Teppei.

Tart Blanc
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-102 Millenia Walk
Singapore 039596

Hibiki Restaurant - Bukit Timah

I'm the most uninitiated person when it comes to trying food near my house. Hibiki restaurant has been there for quite some time but I've been dragging my feet and haven't gotten around to trying it. Dropped by Hibiki restaurant for lunch on a Sunday (recommended by C and WKR).

The yakitori is really good but isn't cheap. The Tsukune ($4.60/stick) which is their chicken meatball was very delicious, and so was their Tokujyo Pork ($5.80/stick). It's similar to what you'll get from somewhere like Kazu, just minus their ultra crampness and noise.

We also had some yakitori vegetables - the Nasu ($5.50/2sticks) eggplant with a brushing of miso sauce, Eringi Mushroom ($5/2sticks) and their Shishitou ($3.20/2sticks).

I really liked their tofu salad  ($12) which is quite a generous portion. I'm a huge sucker for tofu salads, especially those with home made sesame dressing. The sesame taste was very strong and it wasn't as sweet as the ready made ones. I really liked how the sliced onions were nice and crisp.

We also had the Negitori don ($20) to share - semi fatty tuna minced with lots of sliced shallots on top of a bed of Japanese Rice. Similar to the tofu salad, I felt that the portion was good sized for the price.

Overall we paid $70 for 2 people - not bad - will prob be back for a weekday lunch to try their lunch sets (the Yakitori don is $19++, comes with miso soup, chawanmushi and a dessert).

Hibiki Restaurant 
833 Bukit Timah Road #01-06
Royal Ville
Singapore 279887 
Tel 65196894

Banana Tree

So we conquered 3 side-by-side restaurants within 3 hours - the last being BananaTree. 

All my judge-y friends walked past and completely dismissed the dessert cafe. Despite my best attempts to tell them that it really looked interesting - and all because of the name!! :OAnyway, I managed to persuade them to go in (despite all of them hating the name)and so that's how my post came about.

They have a saccharine sweet concept - desserts on top of desserts and to top it off, and make their desserts even more cutesey - they stuff some flowers on top of the dessert. Presentation ftw. 

So we tried 2 of their desserts (but not their signature cotton candy drink) - one of which (the small pot) was the banana chocolate pudding. I'm not a big fan of bananas unless they're in dessert - and their banana pudding really exceeded my (initially very low) expectations. Layers of cake, chocolate and banana packed into the small pot (on the left).

The large pot is actually the Korena Bing Su - which is essentially a Korean ice kachang.  Topped with a huge ball of vanilla ice cream, red bean, and lots and lots of milk. I wouldn't buy this again though - rather spend my empty calories on the pudding. 

 The interior is really bright and cheerful and best of all there's free flow of iced water. Service is prompt and efficient (they were rather empty when we went).

Banana Tree Singapore

26 Keong Siak Road Singapore 089133

Muchachos

 So after my animal-fat-free pre-dinner snack, we hop next door to eat Muchachos.
I've had it once (take away) and it was great - very filling and lasted me through the long and tedious night. So just before we went, the Straits Times had a section of all these incredible people who made their first million before they became 30, and one of them is the owner of Muchachos. I suppose my friends wanted to get some inspiration and hence decided to come here lol.

 I've previously tried the pork burrito, so I decided to try chicken this time. The pork is much tastier (and oilier) but then again, this whole thing is calorie and fat packed so I suppose a little bit more fat won't quite make a difference.
Packed full with normal beans, refried beans, rice, cheese, salsa, guacamole - very delicious and very very filling.

Corn chips with more guacamole. It's all bar seating save for 2 tables outside - so not quite an ideal place for large groups. They're doing a roaring business - lots of people eating in, taking away etc and the turnover is really quick! The burritos and burrito bowls cost $12.50 each, and extra toppings are around $1.50. Would definitely be back.

Muchachos
22 Keong Siak Road 
S089129
Tel 62200458

Afterglow revisited

Finally managed to find someone to accompany me and eat Afterglow (even though it was a pre-dinner snack). The usual response I get is usually the nose wrinkling and head shaking on countless occasions. My whole logic on why I like to patronise such restaurants is that anyone (or most people at least) can make anything taste good with butter and an assortment of animal fats. So I personally think it takes great skill (or great ingredients) to make something taste good without the use of such tasty fats. And that's something that I am quite willing to pay for.

We had the Dragon Pom salad - which was lightly dressed in a lemon oil dressing and topped with chopped macadamia nuts and half an avocado.

I also tried the vegan nut 'cheese' platter - I swear that the nut cheese tastes like the real thing - and there's some herbs, peppers added in so the texture really reminds me of a cheese dip. The crackers on the side are dehydrated beetroot crackers and green apple crackers. Would definitely return to get more of these.

Afterglow

24 Keong Siak Road

Tel 62248921

Next to Muchachos

Neon Pigeon

Walked past Neon Pigeon a few weeks ago - while trying to digest the pre-dinner snack from Afterglow (more about that in the later posts) and stumbled upon this newly renovated building - the Working Capitol. 

They have a no reservations policy - but then if you end on time like most normal human beings, it shouldn't be a problem.  As most new restaurants nowadays, Neon Pigeon has this sharing concept - though the plates aren't that large. I would strongly recommend that you go in groups of 4, as the large portions are perfect when divided by 4. They recommend about 6-7 dishes so we got 7 exactly (despite haphazardly ordering random dishes).

Since we were ravenous (at least half of us were), we quickly ordered the Smoked Pork Buns with pickled daikon and ginger, umeboshi and hoisin ($24). It's an atas version of the kong bak pau, with nicely steamed leaf mantous. Of course, unlike the humble $1.50 cousin, the pork belly was well done and marinated with a layer of crackling skin, and the salty pickles gave an interesting twist to an old classic.

 The other dish we got really quickly was the slow cooked octopus with cauliflower puree and shimichi ($38). I really love octopus, but then it's usually a hit and miss and I dread getting a tough as leather extremely chewy and bland tasting octopus leg - plus octopus doesn't come cheap so it's double the sadness. This octopus totally hits the spot - soft and tender, with a slightly salty, creamy cauliflower puree.

Smokey Eggplant - mint shisho and lotus chips ($$17) 

one of the starters - the lotus chips were really nice (despite being slightly oily) and the eggplant was lightly marinated in a tangy dressing. I'm pretty partial to eggplant so I  quite liked this dish.  

The only dish of the day which fell short of our expectations - Tuna Crudo - miso pickled apple sprouts ($16). Essentially it was tuna sashimi with some salad leaves, the fuji type of apple and bean sprouts, with a mayonnaise based dressing. Absolutely nothing to shout about. I think you should try the other dishes - they sound much more interesting.

Crispy brussel sprouts - mirin glazed bacon, karashi ($26)
Good portion of brussel sprouts, with sweetish bacon bits - I conclude that anything cooked in animal fats will taste good.

Grilled duck breast - 'katsu curry' pumpkin sauce($38)
One of my favourite dishes for the night - the duck's breast was tender, juicy and completely unlike the over salted and preserved ready made kind. The sweet pumpkin puree acted as a foil for the saltiness from the duck, and I really liked how the little bits of red looked like the pickled ginger you get with the Japanese curry.

House smoked bacon crispy pork skin spring onion egg yolk on rice $38
Comes in a hot plate - I'm not a fan of the pork skin, but I really liked the rice. I would describe it as a cross between risotto and a bibimbap.

We also had some cocktails - the Ichigo-en - jasmine tea infused sake, campari, process, peychaud's bitters

 The kyoho fizz - campa de encanto pisco, june fleur de vinge, grape calpis and soda. Was completely sold when I saw grape and calpis together. Which reminds me that I have yet to try Naked Finn's kyoho grape cocktail :(

 The food came really quickly (perhaps because we were one of the earliest customers) and they were pretty efficient in topping up our iced water.
There's no service charge here (unless you prebook for a group >6) and they don't take in reservations unless your group is >8. Worth trying if you're in the area and looking for something new.

Neon Pigeon
1 Keong Siak Road #01-03 
Singapore 089109
Phone 62223623