my SG itinerary centres around food (part 2)

Read part 1 here. My second week of gluttony in Singapore as below.

Old Chang Kee snacks are must-haves on my trips back home. Besides the usual curry puff, I had the deep fried squid heads that Sunshine23 highly recommends and the super spicy sardine puffs which is Mama's favourite. I am blessed with an Old Chang Kee outlet just minutes away from my flat so I indulge myself in these deep fried sins every other day.



I was craving for some chilli crab and Bro suggested we try out the newly opened House of Seafood branch (formerly located in Joo Chiat) at Bedok North. The crab dinner plan that initially involved only three people turned into a logistics nightmare when the group became seven people including me, Mama, Uncle, Bro, Grandma, Monkey Cousin and her Dad. We had to shove everyone into the back of the delivery van that Monkey Cousin's dad uses for work. Hence, began the bumpy ride to crab haven. Here's some beer and nuts as appetisers while waiting for the dishes to be served.



We had the hotplate egg tofu, sambal kang kong (a green vege stir fried in a spicy shrimp paste), champagne pork ribs (I don't think they really added Champagne into the dish), a seafood and vege soup, and chilli crabs with buns. Disappointingly, the highlight of the meal was the kang kong. That coming from a non-green lover like me should tell you something about the rest of the dishes. Still, I appreciate Bro's kind gesture of attempting to help satisfy my crab craving and for footing the $130 bill.



I caught up with an old primary schoolmate at Easpoint Mall one noon. In want of an air-conditioned environment, we chose to lunch at the Banquet foodcourt. I stood very undecided at the nasi briyani stall and eventually ordered the mee soto (a malay dish of yellow noodles in a clear chicken broth) with a begedil (deep fried potato patty). The mee soto was tasteless and I make far better begedils so the lunch was a great disappoinment for me, but at least I crossed out yet another dish on my must-eat checklist.



My friend ordered a chicken thigh with rice set at the BBQ food stall and I stole a few chunks of chicken meat from her plate. It was good! Far better than what I had. Bleah.



Dinner with Tudi one evening left me with a tummy like a 5-months pregnant mother-to-be. We had a bowl of bah chor mee (noodles with minced pork and mushrooms) each in the basement foodcourt at Central, Clarke Quay.



Not satisfied with just having one dish for dinner, the greedy me went and ordered a plate of chwee kueh and a bowl of laksa both of which I devoured 65% of while Tudi helped finish up the rest. That wasn't the end. Tudi bought me a pack of mini donuts ($4 for 12 pieces) and we had one donut each. That was when we reached puking point and decided enough was enough.



I also had the luxury of having some of the best homecooked feasts in the last one week, thanks to Uncle and Mama. Here you see all the dishes I had to go with Mama's homecooked nasi lemak (coconut steamed rice) and homemade chilli. After tasting all the below, I had no need to pay visits to Chongpang Nasi Lemak and Punggol Nasi Lemak stalls.



There was also a homecooked seafood feast where Sunshine23, Mr P and old friend Ginn were invited. We started the meal with a lot of chattering and excitement as we tried each dish in turn. When we finally stopped eating, we were all too full to even talk. And I had another meal appointment in 2 hours time. I think I am giving too much stress to my digestive system.



Another night, I had dinner at the NUS Guild House in Suntec with my ex boss and an ex colleague. I was told the restaurant serves very good local favourites. I had the Best of Macau (stir fried vermicelli with large chunks of seafood). Thanks to my dearest brack labbit ex colleague for the meal and the great company.



Immediately after leaving the NUS Guild House, I was off to another meal (I guess you can call this supper) of wanton mee. Mr Rubbish brought me to North Bridge Road market for the famous Koka Wanton Noodles. It was the only stall open at 9.30pm and we waited almost 40min for just two plates of wanton mee. Rubbish said it's better than that served at my favourite stall in Lavender Food Square. I think they are quite on par on the taste, but Koka's serving is more generous with more meat and at a lower price. But I find the noodles at Lavender slightly more 'Q' though.



Another friend JT bought me lunch at Ma Maison at Central. It serves very value-for-money Japanese-Western fusion set lunches.



I really liked the cute set-up on the table. Here we have the seafood chowder and salad to start with.



For the mains, I had the katsu curry with rice while JT had the wagyu patty with rice set. I enjoyed the curry but found the meat a bit too tough. We finished up the meal with a cup of coffee. Nice ambience, great value for money, reasonable food. Good for catching up with friends but not a place I will specially pay a visit to for a meal.



I finally got to try the mango slush dessert at Shokudo (I hope I got the name right), Raffles City basement that my Tudi always raves about. I also got us a Macha Float which I slurped greedily all up, not allowing my Tudi much of it.



Right after our mango slush dessert, we headed to Liang Court where Tudi bought me a Legendee Coffee at Trung Nguyen! Tudi and Rae both had the English Breakfast Tea. And we proceeded to have dinner at an Okinawan restaurant in the basement level of Liang Court. I was first too intrigued by the interior, then too distracted by the food, and then too engrossed in our conversations that I totally didn't take note of the restaurant name.



From the above right pic, you see a coat hanger behind the seat. There is one for each seat. Very thoughtful of them.



Rae had the agedashi tofu which she rated it way better than Sakae's.



And this dish that came highly recommended by Tudi was the highlight of the meal - a cold tofu dish that I again didn't take note of its name. So soft, so smooth, it's like ice cream, actually no, I thought it's softer and smoother than ice cream.



We shared a bento set that had their specialty Okinawan pork belly (totally sinful), some bittergourd with meat and egg (unexpectedly good! I don't normally enjoy bittergourd), a few slices of tuna sashimi and rice.



Throughout the meal, we had ocha (japanese hot green tea) from this nice teapot. Very embarrassingly, I referred to it as the flowerpot when tea was first served.



We had a scoop of ice cream for dessert. Tudi said it's yam flavoured but I thought it tasted water chestnut-ish. It was a bit too sweet for my liking. I enjoyed the meal there both for the ambience and food. Thanks Rae for the treat!



With only one more week to go before I leave for Sydney again, I now have limited time left to savour all my favourite dishes. Part 3 of my gastronomical adventures will be posted when I get back to Sydney.