Midnight Feast

I don't know what the fascination of Bak Kut Teh, or "meat bone tea", amongst Asians is really about. Apparently, this pork rib has been submerged in a complex-tasting broth of strong smelling herbs such as cinnamon and star anise. Added to the soup is a strong dose of black pepper to give it that fiery kick. Yong Bak Kut Teh @ 233 River Valley Road has a regular crowd. Especially after clubbing hours, the coffee shop tables are occupied by teenagers and young executives. The open air makan place has been open ever since forever, and was still serving food at 5 a.m. yesterday. Usually the popular side dishes to complement the pork ribs are salty vegetables, sweet groundnuts and a healthy serving of simple white rice. I don't get it...

Paddy-Cake, Paddy-Cake

Hungry already? At House (8D Dempsey Hill, 6475 7787 - www.dempseyhouse.com), I always love the presentations almost as much as I love putting the food in my mouth. 7-Layer Pancake is especially good with a massive dressing of Canadian maple syrup (yes, Canadian). And fresh fruit conserve...rich old-fashioned butter helps with the calorie-imbibing experience. Live large and live very well (...well beyond your means...) xoxo

Sway-cows

Swakows or shrimp dumplings are my comfort food - low in calories, rich in taste, and well-measured in texture. We had this at Peach Blossoms @ Marina Mandarin one weekend, with a gazillion other yummy yum cha thingeys at an a la carte buffet price of $30.80++ per pax. My only gripe is that one diner can only have a pick of one dessert...how lonely and sad is that??? :(

Pok, Pok, Pok...

Apparently this chicken rice stall attracts a long line of hungry people especially during lunch. Is it the cheap price of $2.50 per plate that lures poeple here? Or the fragrant boneless white chicken meat? Or the well-flavored rice? My friend says the smooth pureed orangey chilli keeps her wanting for more pok, pok, pok everytime we're at Redhill Market. The wanton noodles and freshly-squeezed sugarcane juice are popular with local diners too. I hate rice, but I'll try it out...one day...when I'm sick of the wanton noodles (egg noodles with slices of barbecued pork and soft or fried dumplings), yong tau foo (selection of seafood and vegetables with noodles), and fried char kway teow (fried rice flour noodles with cockles and slices of fish cake and meat in black sweet sauce)...

Zhou's Kitchen is So-So Kitchen

I'm a yum cha freak. I make it a point to taste the Cantonese snacks the island can offer. Usually steamed or fried, my favorite place to go is Imperial Treasure Nan Bei @ Takashimaya. However, we decided to check out Zhou's Kitchen @ Anchorpoint. Char siew bao (steamed barbecued pork bun), pan fried carrot cake, shrimps wrapped in fired beancurd skin, scallop dumplings, mango dessert roll...and a whole lot more between the two of us. The selections were alright, smaller than usual...and pricier too. The service was not bad, though we were asked to order a number of times even before we had a minute to peruse the menu. We'll probably not return. Too boring for me.

Putting the FUN back in FUNghi

This was such a fun pasta selection at lunch today by my colleague. We landed up in Pastamania at Funan. It's called Miso Mushroom - Japanese influenced tastes of course. Bunashimeiji mushrooms with miso, cream and tonkatsu sauce and bonito flakes. The light and thinner-than-air fish flakes (a.k.a. katsuo-bushi) were interesting to watch cause they swayed swiftly from one side of the plate to the other for a long long time...like they were alive. Thank goodness my order was Spicy Portobello - nothing exciting besides difficult-to-get-rid-of galicky breath :(

Eighteen Chefs

We were at Eighteen Chefs yesterday @ Eastpoint Mall last night. They're known for their gazillion combinations of cheese baked rice. I was very happy to have bumped into Chef Benny Seetoo (chef/owner/friend). My girlfriend and I, however, opted for the daily specials - she got herself Japanese Curry Rice with ebi, and Beer Battered Fish & Baked Beans for me :) Value-for-money since the set meal came with soup of the day, generous portions of garlic bread, and chocolate ice-cream. Mmmmm....They've spread the love to their latest outlet at Fusionopolis (www.eighteenchefs.com).

Dial 789

Not the best pic, but the flavor composition is beautiful - what is it? It's a gorgeous presentation of poached egg (which looks like a mangosteen!), dome-shaped mushrooms, balanced carefully on a crisp piece of toast, layered with seasoned vegetables. You'll probably never see this on the menu at newbie champagne bar & restaurant, 7atenine @ Esplanade (http://www.sevenatenine.com/sg/index.html) but check out their Latin Asian tapas and original mojitos and Atomic No. 2...xoxo

Fiver Meal in Little India

This was my lunch 20 minutes ago. This is possibly my most favorite place to have Nepalese food - fluffy yet crispy naan with lentil curry and geenrous portion of fish, chicken or mutton, potatoes, as well as bismati rice all in one meal at FIVE BUCKS! Everest Kitchen @ Little India is the yummiest ever...the authentic momo's, fried lady's fingers and shrimps in papaya are irresistible.

Go Green

I know, at Steeple's Deli, arguably the first deli ever in Singapore, one must order their open-faced burgers or meaty sandwiches with Swiss cheese. However, I opted for the Waldorf Salad seasoned with balsamic vinaigrette - chunks of green apple and walnuts and raisins. A pure Gardener's delicacy...And top it off with clean-tasting carrot soup and super thick chocolate milk shake...so yummy...

Best Brekkie for 2009

White omelette with crunchy green asparagus and freshly seasoned tomatoes were definitely food for the gods at SALA Samui. What a glamorous brekkie, me thought. For the lactose-intolerant and dairy snobs, you won't regret biting into the light, fluffy egg whites, dunked into sweet ketchup and beautifully burnt rosti. Everyday of your life.

Chee Cheong F-U-N

Chee Cheong Fun or starchy rice noodley sheets are simply funky when presented as Chee Cheong Fun Maki @ People's Park Hawker Centre in Chinatown. Stuffed with sweet chicken floss embedded with chopped peanuts, cushioned by carrot strips and a good chunk of cucumber, I say this snack/dinner is HEALTHY! Smeared with hey bee or spicy dried shrimp, drenched with even sweeter soy sauce and a drizzle of my favorite sesame seeds. I inhaled almost the whole roll...in tandem with chee cheong fun curry noodles, Cantonese gyoza, and Sichuan sweet & sour soup with mee sua...So what did you put in your mouth today?