Sushi Raku 鮨樂 @ Raffles City

I chanced upon this new kid on the block, Sushi Raku 鮨樂 during one of my window shopping trip at Raffles City.

Being not able to travel to Japan due to Covid 19 coupled with sushi craving, I decided to give it a try.

Interestingly, Sushi Raku offers good quality food at affordable pricing with a brightly litted Izakaya dining experience. You get to enjoy sushi, sashimi, charcoal-grilled eats, appetisers & sake.

Grilled Dried Puffer Fish

I just love their fugu. This is my all time favourite starter. The texture is chewily delicious and goes extremely well with the tobiko mayonnaise dip. It’s akin to eating bee cheng hiang bbq pork.

Grilled Dried Fish Fin

Another more economical option will be their dried fish fin which is equally good and can do the job as well. 😉

Raku Seafood Steam Egg

Their chawanmushi is equally power and comes with asari clam, shrimp, mushroom and crab stick.

Homemade Tofu with Sesame Sauce

I have had pitan tofu and this variation of tofu flooding with roasted sesame sauce is another good surprise in my opinion. 👍

Deep Fried Chicken

Their tori karaage batter is soft and not the crispy type which we are used to having. Surprisingly, the chicken meat is super tender and juicy. Deliciously power!

Shrimp Tempura Handroll

Their handroll is one of the better handroll that I have had, crispy seaweed with crunchy prawn tempura that leaves each mouthful with a punch.

California Handroll

Handroll with egg, lettuce, avocado and crab stick with mayonnaise and tobiko coupled with crispy seaweed. Yum yum.

Roasted Egg with 3 Kinds Sauce

This is an interesting tamago-yaki that comes with 3 kinds sauce comprising of spicy mayo, truffle & olive oil and mentaiko. Really tasty and not overly sweet.

Miso Soup with Clams

Rich and flavoursome miso soup with a generous serving of big clams.

Crab Stick & Cucumber with Mango Salad

Light and refreshing. Definitely a great appetizer prior to the start of meal.

Mako Garei Sashimi (350g)

One of their seasonal special, shipped weekly and direct from Aomori. This fish is as fresh as it can get. The fish meat is firmed and has a nice chew texture. You can even request to have half of the fish done in sushi style and the other half in sashimi style. 美味しいです.

Houbou Seasonal Sashimi

Another seasonal special, Houbou Sashimi. Houbou (sometimes spelled as Hobo) is a rare kind of fish that can be pricey due to its scarcity. Like most white flesh fish, hobo has a smooth, mild taste and firm flesh when it is served fresh.

In one of my trip, I managed to enjoy a whole Hobo fish on its own.

Hobo Fish Head Soup

Enjoying the entire Hobo fish head cooked in a nice soup pot. The sweetness of the fish head coupled with the soup essence is just beyond words.

Hobo Sashimi

Enjoying half of the portion for its freshness as sashimi….

Hobo Sushi

……and the other half portion as sushi. Heavenly combination indeed. One fish in 3 different ways of enjoyment.

Okoze Stonefish Sashimi

Another freshly imported seasonal item, whole Okoze Stonefish (220g) enjoyed in 2 different style, sashimi and sushi.

Okoze Stonefish Sushi

The fish meat is firm and chewy. Super fresh. 👍

Ainame Sashimi

Ainame or Fat Greening is another type of seasonal fish and shipped direct from Akita. Super fresh and tasty.

Thin Cut Tai Sashimi

Loved the freshness of the fish coupled with the firm flesh texture.

Japan Fresh Fish Sushi Platter
Japan Fresh Fish Sashimi Platter

Weekly fresh fish shipped direct from Japan.

Maguro Sushi Set (4 pcs)

For tuna lovers, this is a must order sushi item. You get to enjoy blue fin tuna otoro, blue fun tuna chutoro, blue fin tuna and spring onion fatty tuna warship. Their sushi rice is different from what you are used to having. In Sushi Raku, they uses red vinegar rice that explains the reddish-orange colour sushi rice which is less commonly seen. The rice somehow tastes exceptionally good.

Sea Urchin Tai Sushi

Another seasonal special, the uni is as fresh as it can get.

Sushi Lunch Set with Tempura

If you happen to drop by during lunch, you may get to try one of their value for money lunch set too.

Tiger Prawn Roll

You may even go for their tiger prawn roll from one of their creative roll selection if you enjoy prawn tempura.

Mori Bento

Alternatively, you may go for their creative Mori Bento that comes with squid & salmon roe, deep fried tosa tofu, edaname, seasonal seaweed, fatty salmon, seasonal octopus, grilled mackerel, egg and fried chicken. Definitely a feast for the eyes. 😯

Kawa Bento

A more elaborate, Kawa Bento is another option to go for. Comprising scallop, seasonal jelly fish, salmon, edaname, sweet shrimp, yellow tail, blue fin tuna, egg and deep fried tosa tofu. Another great eye candle feast too. 😯

Aburi Seafood Don

If you are a rice bowl fan, you are highly recommended to try their aburi seafood don. Confirmed champion and won’t go wrong.

Tempura Don

This is also a great option for rice bowl. The tempura bits is crunchily good and goes well with the rice coupled with the light battered items.

Pork Chop with Scrambled Egg Rice

Another value for money dish. Cooked to perfection with the flavoured onion, egg, slices of shitake mushroom and the main star item (pork chop).

Deluxe Mini Rice

Comprises of Sea Urchin, Snow Crab, Salmon Roe and Salmon. This is really quality ingredients and just nice for small eaters. Great for ladies’ meal.

Grilled Eel & Foie Gras Mini Rice

OMG! A highly recommended must have dish. Loved the well-cooked eel and foie gras. Deliciously good…….😋😍

Charcoal Grilled Pork Jowl

Their pork jowl is tenderliciously good. It is like having a piece of nicely charcoal grilled char siew. Really power and great beer food for sure!

Charcoal Grilled Black Pepper Beef Tenderloin

The beef cubes are grilled to perfection with the crispy garlic chips that gives it a good hit.

Cold Zaru Soba

A great last line of defence, their soba noodles are springyly good with a nice chewy feel too. 😉

Cold Inaniwa Udon

Alternatively you may go for their udon if you are a big fan of udon. Noodle texture is springy and chewy too. Shape like Ipoh hor fun. 🙂

Sushi Raku offers a couple of good and decent desserts as well.

Peach Sherbet

Oh mine, this is insanely refreshingly good. The sherbet is served on a frozen peach skin and tastes peachily appetising. Only comment that I have is on the small portion but it is really good.

Yuzu Sherbet

You may also consider their yuzu sherbet, citrussy good too. Likewise, it is served on a frozen yuzu skin. My personal favourite. 🤩

Deep Fried Rice Cake with Cheese

This is another nice dessert if you are a fan of mochi and cheese. Nothing fanciful just that it is mochi wrapped with cheese and deep fried to it. 😉

Without a doubt, the food quality is of standard and importantly, it offers great variety menu options to suit all diners. I am definitely looking forward to try all their items in time to come. 😋

Eat 3 Bowls 呷三碗車站 @ Pasir Panjang

If you have enjoyed Lee’s Taiwanese, you will also like Eat 3 Bowls, a Taiwanese Café with train theme serving Taiwanese night market food.

Eat 3 Bowls specializes in authentic Taiwanese food especially with their famed 3 bowls (hence the name) : Braised Pork Rice, Chicken Rice and Oyster Intestine Mee Sua.

The shop’s interior decoration features the theme of a train station, a time table reflecting the arrival timing of the trains at the various train stations in Taiwan. It gives diners a feel of presence being in Taiwan.

Braised Pork Rice

Their braised pork rice is of standard and is really good with the savoury braised gravy.

Chicken Rice

Their Taiwanese Chicken Rice is another must order dish here, it is different from our Hainanese chicken rice. Instead, it is served with tender shredded chicken meat, topped with savoury onion and soy sauce. Really power despite the plain look.

Oyster Intestine Mee Sua

This is definitely heavenly. Loved the vinegary taste of the mee sua. The intestine is chewily delicious coupled with the tasty succulent oyster. Their oyster is exactly the same texture as the one in the oyster omelette when in Taiwan. Power lah!

No wonder, these 3 items are the restaurant’s 镇店之宝. 👍

Braised Chinese Cabbage

Their braised chinese cabbage is another great shout-out. Cooked till tender coupled with the strong aroma of the dried shrimp bits. Pretty similar to our nonya chap chye. Goes extremely well with a bowl of white rice.

Salted Crispy Chicken

Small chunks of chicken meat deep fried until golden brown. You may decide on the spiciness based on your choice of spice level by varying the amount of chilli powder sprinkled onto it.

The food quality is without a doubt champion, the portion served is rather small in size though (in my opinion) for the price it charges. 😫

Given the quality and portion, Lee’s Taiwanese is definitely much more value for money. Having said that, this is still one alternative for you to explore if you are craving for authentic Taiwanese snack food.

Tingkat PeraMakan (娘惹餐) @ Owen Road

Apart from Straits Chinese Nonya Restaurant, Tingkat PeraMakan is another option for a truly authentic Peranakan cuisine.

Tingkat PeraMakan offers diners a no-frills authentic Peranakan dining experience with their delicious home-cooked Perankan meals.

Tingkat referring to layered containers, is often used in the past by parents to provide home-cooked meals to their children for them to bring along to their school or work place.

Pricing is relatively affordable as can be seen from their set menu with prices ranging from $12.80 to $16.80 per set. The set comprises of a choice selection from one of the mains, 2 of the side dishes, a drink and a dessert. Definitely a great choice for first timer to sample some of their dishes.

Sambal Sotong with Nonya Chap Chye and Sayur Masak Lemak

Fresh, juicy squids stir-fried in sambal sauce. I love the sambal sauce as it really creates the wow sambal experience for me. Nonya Chap Chye, cabbage & chinese dried ingredients braised in delicious bean sauce, has the strong aroma of the umami taste from the dried shrimps. Sayur Masak Lemak comprising of assorted vegetables cooked in spicy coconut gravy is similar to sayur lodeh. Another power dish to my liking.

Ayam Buah Keluak with Cinchalok Omelette and Nonya Tauhu

Chicken braised in garam assam & Indonesian black nut pulp. Fluffy egg omelette filled with green chillies, onions and preserved shrimps. Cinchalok comes with an acquired taste and different people have different reactions to the taste. The nonya tauhu is deep fried and served with minced pork and prawns in taucheo (fermented bean sauce) gravy.

Babi Pongtay with Cinchalok Omelette and Nonya Chap Chye

Pork belly, dried shitake mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots braised in delicious bean sauce. The pork belly is really tender, savoury and certainly deserves a big thumbs up from me. 👍👍👍

Alternatively, you may choose to order their ala-carte item and go along with a plate of steaming white rice.

Nyonya Chap Chye

This is really a power non spicy dish and a must order item.

Sayur Masak Lemak

For those who enjoy spicy vegetables, this is the dish for you.

Beef Rendang

Tender pieces of beef cooked in spices & scented with turmeric leaves. Really generous with their serving portion amd literally melts in your mouth type. Another not to be missed dish.

Ayam Buah Keluak

Boneless chicken meat braised in rich Indonesian black nut gravy with one nut. Easy to eat and sizeable portion.

Ayam Kleo

Chicken cooked in spicy coconut gravy. The chicken meat is super tender and you can see it falls apart easily.

Babi Pongtay

The pork belly is tenderlicious good especially with the fats melting in your mouth type. Sinfully good. 😋

Udang Masak Kuah Nanas

Fresh prawns cooked with pineapples in garam assam gravy. Loves the appetizing gravy and goes extremely well with steaming white rice. Comes with 3 large prawns.

Ikan Garam Assam

Fresh mackeral cooked in garam assam gravy served with brinjals and ladyfingers.

Seafood Otak

Unique to PeraMakan, fish, squids & prawns in a rich spicy paste, grilled on a kunyit (turmeric) leaf. This is another good stuff.

Sambal Sotong

Super appetizing especially with the sambal sauce over fragrant jasmine white rice.

Sambal Udang Petai

Petai beans stir-fried with sambal udang. This dish is only offered at their Owen & Tampines Mart outlets only. The sambal sauce is heavenly good and goes extremely well with a bowl of piping hot steam jasmine rice. 👍

Sambal Terung

Grilled brinjals with onion sambal topped with shrimp. Pretty unique dish with the flavourful sambal sauce.  Tastes awesomely good too.

Fried Seafood Laksa

Noodles tossed in a flavourful laksa sauce, topped with sautéed seafood. Garnished with fresh laksa leaves and crispy bean puffs. Something unique and interesting.

Nyonya Fried Mee Siam

Rice vermicelli stir-fried in Nyonya spices and served with sambal prawns, fried beancake, egg omelette and cucumber. Garnished with chives, fried shallots and sliced red chillies. Tastily done. Perfect.

Hee Peow Soup

Cabbage, fish maw, fish, prawn & pork balls in rich pork & chicken broth. Light and tasty. Just right for 2 to share.

Bakwan Kepiting

Pork, crabmeat & bamboo shoots balls in chicken broth. This soup is really delicious with the power meat ball. Good for single portion.

Nyonya Ngoh Hiang

Deep-fried prawn & pork rolls. Somehow, this seems to be one of the must order item (for me). Simply loves it. ☺

Sambal Belachan

My personal favourite condiment. Their sambal belachan is really power. Goes extremely well with white rice. The thought of doing so can already make me salivate. 🤤🤤🤤

Desserts

The desserts that comes with the set. Chendol, shaved ice with slurpy chendol, red beans, Gula Melaka syrup and coconut milk. Sago Gula Melaka, sago pudding served chilled with Gula Melaka. Bubor Cha Cha, steamed yams and sweet potato with tapioca jujube in freshly squeezed coconut milk served cold.

Sago Gula Melaka

Sweet-toothed lovers would enjoy this dessert.

Hot Bubor Cha Cha

I would prefer the hot version to the cold version.

Their desserts are not overly sweet for those who are worried on the sweetness level. Well for me, only missing part is the sweetness. It will be perfect if the desserts are sweeter, in my opinion. ☺

Tingkat PeraMakan is certainly one place you can consider for a decent Peranakan meal. Delicious, authentic quality food and most importantly value for money. 👍

Stella Restaurant @ NSRCC Sea Sports Centre

I have recently been recommended to try out Stella Restaurant (located at 11 Changi Coast Walk) because of its amazing sea view alfresco dining ambience.

Stella is one of those few places in Singapore that offer diners a nice cozy romantic alfresco dining experience.

Bar counter view
Dining by the sea side
Beautiful sea view overlooking Singapore Straits

You can enjoy the cool sea breeze while savouring the gourmet food served right up for you.

Make it a point to be there just before sunset, watch the change in landscape and at the same time enjoy close encounter with the plane zooming past & making music to your ears while you dine.

Plane catching

When will I be able to take to the skies again? 🤣

Stella serves both western and local cuisines on their menu. Food quality is of standard with reasonable serving sized portion.

Items selection are available ranging from Appetisers, Pasta, Local Favourites, Main Courses, 10″ Pizza to Desserts.

Appetisers

Luncheon Chips

Thickly cut luncheon chips to start your appetite. Makes a good beer companion.

Truffle Fries

Shoe-strings crispily fried drizzled with truffle oil. Oooh….

Samosa & Springroll

Another simple appetizer that cannot go wrong. Crispily good too.

Pasta

Marinara

Spaghetti served with prawn, scallop, mussel, tomato sauce and garnished with grated cheese.

Aglio Olio

Spaghetti served with prawn, chilli, bacon, garlic and garnished with grated cheese.

Main Courses

Fish & Chips with Fries and Tartar Sauce
Norwegian Salmon Fillet with Mashed Potato

Salmon skin is grilled till crispy.

Lamb Shank with Mashed Potato

The lamb shank is the melt in your type. Easily broken off using folk.

10″ Pizza

Quattro Formaggi

10″ pizza with mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar and gorgonzola.

Meat Lover’s

10″ pizza with chicken, ham, pork pepperoni, bacon & sliced sausage.

Overall, food quality is without complain. Taste wise…. just like what western meal should taste like. No additional surprises. Ambience is what the meal entails and matters most!

Desserts

Stella’s Chocolate Molten

Single serve size chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream & home made biscuit.

Good for 3-4 pax

Large sharing size chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream and home made biscuits.

If you are wondering where to go for your next romantic alfresco dining venue, do consider Stella. 😉

Remember to call and make advance reservation for a table at the seaside to enjoy a spectacular dining view.

HeyMe Prawn Porridge @ Upper Boon Keng Market & Food Centre

Porridge is often classified as a comfort food (for me) especially enjoying it during cold rainy day.

There are various versions of porridge which we are all familiar with in our growing up years. Commonly known are Teochew Muay, fish porridge, pork porridge, seafood porridge, lobster porridge and many more others that you can think of.

Prawn porridge is something new and unique especially coming from a prawn noodle stall.

There is a new kid on the block which I came across, HeyMe (I love this catchy stall name) that whips out surprisingly delicious power prawn porridge that catches my attention.

Prawn Porridge

This porridge really caught me by surprise with its exceptionally umami flavoured prawn broth. It comes topped with deshelled prawn that are acceptable for the price of $3.50 (small bowl), pork slices, fishcake and crispy pork lards. The prawn broth used for the porridge is somewhat different from the prawn soup broth used in their prawn noodle.

Prawn Noodle Dry Version

Though HeyMe is supposedly to be known for selling prawn noodle, somehow their prawn noodle is at best consider as average in my opinion. Nothing much to shout about. There are other more deserving Power Prawn Noodle that is way more palatable.

Prawn Meat Roll

Interestingly, they sell prawn meat roll at this stall too as a side to go along. It reminds me of the old-school type of ngoh hiang and each ingredient is highly visible. I would definitely recommend this side dish when you are here.

Head over to HeyMe should your cravings for the next soupy meal comes along especially on a cold rainy day. 😉

**Sad to learn that HeyMe is now permanently closed.  😂😂 Hope they are not one of the victim of Covid that forces them to exit from the F&B industry.

the connoisseur concerto (tcc)

tcc, a chained cafè and restaurant that boosts a comprehensive selection of gourmet food and creative beverages. A relaxing place where one can enjoy breakfast meal, light bite, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner. The food quality is of great standard and tastefully done.

tcc have outlets across the island and   you can always locate one such outlet near you.

I have tried some of the items on their menu. The food quality is (without a doubt) flavorful and importantly tastily done. Certainly, I hope to be able to try more (if not all) of their gourmet items on the menu in time to come.

Forest Mushroom Bisque

Forest Mushroom & Garlic Toast – one of the better mushroom soup that I have had. The garlicky toast accompaniment definitely adds additional brownie points to the overall soup enjoyment.

Smoked Salmon & Kabocha Soup

Smoked Salmon, Pumpkin and Garlic Toast – the bisque is tastefully done and goes extremely well with the smoked salmon. One of the more interesting soup that I come across.

Cauliflower Bites

Cauliflower Floret, Herb Batter, Japanese Chilli Spice & Chili-ginger Mayo.

Shroom Bites

Puff pastry, mushroom ragout, parmesan and mesclun green. The pastry is puffily delicious.

U.S Country Fries

Straight-cut Fries with Cheese Dip & Truffle as Add-on Flavor. The fries are freshly served and I like it piping hot.

Saucy Crispy Wings

Fried Chicken Wings tossed with Classic Buffalo Sauce.

Hokkaido Sweet Corn Croquettes

Potato with Hokkaido Corn Stew Filling and Citrus Soy-truffle Dip.

Soft-Shell Crab Tacos

Soft-Shell Crab, Chilli Mayo, Tobiko & Seaweed Tempura. Pretty unique dish and also one of their best seller.

Cold Angel Hair Pasta with Ponzu-Marinated Salmon & Scallop

Angel Hair, Black Truffle Paste, Ponzu-Marinated Salmon & Scallop. This is one pasta dish I would highly recommend.

Egg-drop Spaghetti Bolognese

Ground Beef with House-made Herb Tomato Stew, Spaghetti, Shaved Parmesan & Runny Egg Yolk.

Baby Crayfish Spaghetti

Baby Crayfish, Tomato Cream Sauce, Spaghetti, Wasabi Tobiko, Panko-crumbed Poached Egg & Tobiko. They are generous with the crayfish portion. 👍

White Pepper & Soft Shell Crab Pasta

Fried soft shell crab, spaghetti, white pepper sauce and tobiko. If you enjoy the peppery taste, you will like it.

Clam & Hotate Mentaiko Spaghetti

Clam, Hotate, Mentaiko Wafu Sauce, Spaghetti, Runny Egg Yolk and Seaweed.

Poached Salmon & Soba

Norwegian Salmon Fillet, Soba Noodle, Shimeiji Mushroom, Edamame and Bonito-Shoyu Sauce.

Grilled Snapper with Matcha-Lemongrass Velouté

Baby Snapper, Braised Negi, Forest Mushroom, Pressed Potato and Matcha-Lemongrass Sauce.

Roasted Half Spring Chicken with Sansho Pepper Jus

Half Spring Chicken, Pressed Potato, Butternut Squash, Brussel Sprout, Kale, Pomegranate Seed and Sansho-Pepper Jus.

Grilled Striploin Steak with Mustard Butter

200g Grain-fed Beef Striploin, House-made Carrot-potato Puree, Charred Baby Romaine and Mustard Butter.

Baked Chicken & Cheese Waffle

Panko-crumbed Chicken Leg, Belgium Waffle, Cheddar Cheese, Japanese Dressing, Apple-tomato Salsa, Mesclun Green and Truffle Fries.

Mentai & Bonito Scrambled Egg

Scrambled Egg, Mentaiyaki, Bonito Flakes, Organic Red Quinoa, Avocado, Smoked Salmon & Flaky Toast.

Steak & Egg Benedict

Petite wagyu hamburg steak, sautéed beef striploin, yellow peperonata, English muffin “French toast”, poached egg, yuzu-mustard hollandaise. This is interestingly good. A must try in my opinion.

Scallop & Baby Crayfish Baked Rice

Hotate, baby crayfish, shimeiji mushroom, Japanese rice, shellfish sauce and mozzarella cheese. I am not really into baked rice but I must admit that this is good.

tcc offers a wide selection of beverages as well.

tcc Cold Brew Bottle

12 hours slow drip cold brew. Smooth, aromatic and refreshing. My personal favourite.

Orange Cold Brew

Slow drip for 12 hours, aromatic and smooth full-bodied cup with slice orange. Gives one a refreshing tangy taste.

tcc Caffè Latte

Espresso & Fresh Milk. The usual stuff as expected without surprises. 😯

For lovers of second stomach, you may be pleased to know that tcc offer a good selection of cakes too.

White Mille Crêpe Cake

Hokkaido vanilla layered crêpe cake, fresh berries, berries coulis, meringue stick and vanilla gelato.

Red Velvet

Red sponge cake, beautifully layered with cream cheese and white chocolate icing where you can let the medley of flavours and colours create a sensory treat.

Gula Melaka

A gula melaka cake, topped with salted caramel crunchies. The aromatic gula melaka taste and fragrance will leave you craving for more.

Strawberry Cheesecake

A lovely blend of strawberries-infused sponge cake layered with velvety, creamy cheese.

Rainbow Splash

Gorgeous layers of lightly-flavoured vanilla sponge cake – an absolute pleasure to brighten up your day!

Well, if you are feeling lost on where to dine on your next meal, consider to try out tcc and I am sure you will not be disappointed! 😉

Maguro-Donya Miura-Misaki-Kou Sushi & Dining @ Suntec City

I haven’t had any fresh and solid tuna ever since with the closure of International borders. It is tough to find one locally that serves up good and power tuna.

When it comes to tuna eating, bluefin tuna or maguro is often used as they are very huge in size. There are various parts and the price varies with the different cuts too.

You may refer to the various parts of a tuna captured in a visual image (courtesy of Japan Tuna Co-operative Association) above to better aid in understanding and appreciation.

I came across Maguro-Donya sometime back but did not have the intention to give it a try until recently. Well, it has been a long struggle with border closure that trigger me to get my fix for a good tuna meal.

Maguro-Donya specializes in bluefin tuna though they offer a wide selection of menu items.

Maguro 5 Cuts Sashimi

Indulge in 10 slices (2 each type) of 5 special cuts of Maguro : O-Toro, Chutoro, Akami, Kamatoro and Toumi. A luxurious platter for Maguro sampling. Really power as every piece is melts in your mouth type! 😋

O-Toro Don Set

The most premium cut of fatty Bluefin Maguro O-Toro atop sushi rice. Served with salad, chawanmushi, miso soup and dessert. Otoro is the fattiest part of a tuna. The cut comes with a distinctive fat marbeling which gives you the melts in your mouth feeling.

This is certainly one of the near perfect dish in times like this. No complains coupled with the value for money as compared to other sushi bar joints like Koji Sushi Bar.

Toro Hikkaki Aburi Don

Sliced and scraped Bluefin Maguro O-Toro atop sushi rice is flame-torched table-side to release the most luxurious flavour and aroma. Oh, this is heavenly delicious. The flame-torched really brings out the aroma as though the maguro is shouting for your attention.

Special Maguro Don Set

You get to try all the best cuts of maguro in this special rice bowl. Enjoy thick, succulent slices of fresh O-Toro, Chutoro, Akami and Negitoro on top of premium Japanese rice.

Irodori Bento Set
Fresh Sashimi

Enjoy the best of Japanese cuisine including fresh sashimi, hand-formed nigiri sushi, mixed tempura, miso soup, chawanmushi and dessert. An all rounder set recommended for first-timer to this restaurant. 👍

Maguro Uni Ikura Misaki Maki

Their signature towering sushi topped generously with nama Hokkaido sea urchin, freshly scraped Maguro Toro and salmon roe. Definitely a must-try dish. Good for sharing.

Other than the usual mains, they do offer a selection of sides too and best part, they are equally champion. 🙂

Tori Karaage

Chicken in crispy karaage batter. This is by far one of the best karaage that I ever had. The chicken meat is big and juicy. Super value for money!

Kani Cream Croquette

Delicious creamy croquette with crab meat fried until golden brown with panko breadcrumbs. Each mouth of the creamy croquette gives one a feel of drinking a bowl of clam chowder. Really solid.

This is certainly one joint that I will revisit to get my fix for my next otoro craving. It is always nice to give yourself a pat on your shoulder once a while to splurge and reward oneself for a hard day’s work. 😉

Sungei Road Laksa @ Jalan Berseh

Laksa is a popular and iconic street food in Singapore. It is a spicy noodle soup, consists of thick bee hoon and usually with added condiments like fish cake, egg, prawn, chicken, tau pok or cockles. They are many different variations of laksa that you can find.

I am sure each of us will have our usual hangout stall that we often patronize for our own enjoyment. Laksa is one of my favourite hawker food amid many others.

For me, my favourite go-to stall for laksa is none other than Sungei Road Laksa located in 27 Jalan Berseh. There is no other franchise stall as they are the only stall in Singapore. 😯

As usual, good stuff always comes with a long waiting time as there is always a long snaking queue sighted at any time of the day here. 🤣

They are probably the only laksa stall that uses traditional charcoal stove to heat up the pot of laska gravy and I am sure that certainly creates the difference.

In addition, I observed that the stall owner in charge of preparing the laksa will pour the laksa gravy over each bowl of noodle to run through the heat up process. She will do it consistently over 4 times for each bowl of laksa before it is allowed to be served out. Guess, this is their standard ISO protocol I suppose. 😀

Standard Laksa Bowl

Each bowl of laksa comes with a generous serving of huge fresh cockles, fish cakes, laksa leaves and chilli sauce, beautify with the orange-coloured laksa gravy.

They only serve standard portion at $3 a bowl and you may choose to add-on more fresh cockles, fish cakes, noodles or laksa gravy at an additional cost of $1 per item. The laksa is served like a typical Katong 328 Laksa style using only spoon.

Standard Laksa Bowl With Add-On Cockles

Look at the amount of huge cockles flooding the bowl. Avid “hum” lovers should not miss this! Each spoonful comes with a good mouthful of cockles. Power lah! Definitely not for the faint hearted. 😃😃

It is a common sight to see patron enjoying 2 bowls of laksa on their own due to the small size bowl. Definitely welcomed by ladies as they will be able to enjoy it without much guilt. 😉

Rolling Rice @ Marina Square

Other than Ajumma’s, Pink Candy and Goobne Chicken, Rolling Rice is another authentic & affordable Korean food outlet that I wouldn’t mind frequenting.

Rolling Rice serves delicious and importantly quality authentic Korean food that gives diner a feel of home-cooked food at wallet friendly pricing. 👍👍👍

There is no price in guessing on the type of food offered in their menu. It is none other than the same old usual suspects with some slight items variation.

Fried Kim Mal-Yi

This fried seaweed roll with glass noodle is worth a try. With each mouthful bite, it exuberates a sticky chewy feel, similar to fried maki. A good warm-up side dish leading to the main dishes.

Fried Onion Ring

Goes well with the honey mustard dip. Nicely battered.

Fried Squid

Tender and succulent. One of the better squid rings that I have had.

Fried Kimchi Dumpling

Another great starter before the mains.

Traditional Gimbap

Fried Red Carrot, Fried Cucumber, Yellow Pickled Radish, Fried Pork Cutlet, Egg and Burdock. A comfort food snack often enjoyed by Koreans.

Cheese Topokki

Rolling Topokki with Mozzarella Cheese. A must try dish and you can decide on the spice level too.

Stir-Fried Chicken Hot Plate (Dak-Galbi)

Stired Fried Chicken and Vegetables, Onion and Cabbage, Rice Cake, Sweet Potato, Romaine. Different from the usual dakgalbi that I am expecting. Overall, still deliciously good with the sweet and soy bean paste sauce.

Spicy Boneless Chicken

Boneless Fried Chicken with Sweet Spicy Sauce & Fried Rice Cake. I love the chewy texture of the fried rice cake and the fried chicken blends extremely well with the sweet spicy sauce.

Soft Tofu Stew

Comes with Tofu, Clam, Chilli, Minced Pork, Egg & Spring Onion. I really love this soup stew as it is not only savoury but importantly the soup base is not overly empowered by the strong “fishy” seafood taste.

Kimchi Stew

Comes with Kimchi, Tofu, Chilli, Glass Noodle, Onion, Spring Onion & Pork Belly. The sourish spicy soup base is really appetizing in whetting your appetite.

Sausage Stew (Army Stew)

Their Budae-jjigae Ramen comes with Chicken, Sausage, Noodles, Pork Broth, Rice Cake, Baked Bean, Kimchi, Chives & Onion. Another not to be missed dish. Thought it is meant as a single portion item, it can be a sharing item for 2 too.

Hot Pot Ramen

Most popular traditional ramen comprising of Shiitake Mushroom, Spring Onion, Bean Sprout and Egg. My all time favourite menu. Strictly no compromise! 😉

Garlic Soya Chicken

Fried Chicken Wingettes & Drumettes with Garlic Soy Sauce. Another power must try item and definitely no way you can go wrong with Korean fried chicken. 😉

Sizzling Stone Pot Bibimbap

Their best selling Beef Bibimbap served in stone pot. Pretty tasty but still not as champion as the one I had in Jeonju.

Garlic Beef Fried Rice

Rolling Rice best selling fried rice using beef & garlic. If you enjoy the bulgogi sweetness, then this is a must order item. 😲

Kimchi Fried Rice

Spicy Fried Rice with Chopped Kimchi and Spam. Just like any usual kimchi fried rice in a Korean eatery joint. Can’t go really wrong with this dish. 😉

Banchan

You may enjoy free serving of kimchi and seaweed banchan if the average bill spend per person exceeds $10.

Overall, the dining experience is good and certainly I will be looking forward to try out more of their food items in time to come.

This is another alternative venue for your consideration if your next craving for Korean cuisine comes along. 🙂

Nasi Ayam Penyet @ Bedok Food Centre

What exactly is Nasi Ayam Penyet?

Nasi Ayam Penyet (smashed fried chicken) is an Indonesian cuisine, more precisely is an East Javanese cuisine.

What makes a good Nasi Ayam Penyet?

To me, a solid and power Nasi Ayam Penyet has to fulfil few factors; the succulent of the fried chicken meat with the crisp coating and the fried batter crispy bits have to be flavorful too (a must for me at least!), the sambal chilli, a nicely fried tempeh, beancurd (tau kwa) and importantly the chicken flavored rice with a bowl of savoury soup. These are the deadly concoction which cannot be compromised.

When one think of ayam penyet, immediately Ayam Penyet Ria at Lucky Plaza will surface in most instances. There are of cos many stalls selling ayam penyet which you can easily find one near you.

To me, the one stall that meets my stringent requirement above is none other than Nur Indah Kitchen at Bedok Food Centre. This is one stall that I will go to for my fix on ayam penyet.

I love the generous portion of the sambal chilli and the crispy bits batter. The chicken meat is succulent and tender, also not forgeting the accompaniment items, fried tempeh and beancurd that gives it the oomph….

Best part of all, the power flavored chicken rice is what makes the real difference. It is hard to find ayam penyet rice comes with flavored chicken rice as most ayam penyet stall provides for white rice. Quite a rare find in my opinion. I suppose diners are more skewed towards white rice from a healthy option perspective.

Last but not least, the simple yet tasty soup base with the fried shallots and cilantro provides for a complete ayam penyet dining experience.

If you have not experienced ayam penyet, I would strongly urge you to have a go at Nur Indah Kitchen to see what you have been missing out! 🏃‍♂️💨💨💨