HealthWorks @ New Town Plaza, Sha Tin

Lunch

• Long-an/Lychee Chicken Lunchbox
• Miso Soup
• Cold Japanese Preserves dish
• Fresh Watermelon Juice

This place strikes me as rather schizophrenic. They say they're a health food shop but the only items on the menu seemingly healthy are their fruit juices and mixes. They serve their meals in Japanese Bento boxes (and even have Japanese seaweed, vinegar-preserved clams and miso soup!) but their style of cooking was distinctly Chinese. All the same, though, because this chicken lunchbox wasn't half bad.

In fact, it was quite good. The lunchbox was beautifully prepared, involving chunks of chicken and chips of half-caramelized onions on top of a bed of rice, topped with a fried egg with a still-raw yolk, and (at the corners of the Bento box) pieces of green bell peppers, further garnished with a piece of long-an/lychee, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and drips of soy sauce.

I say long-an/lychee because, truthfully, I couldn't remember and couldn't tell which one it was. Biting into that piece of oval pitted piece of fruit released a gush of sweet juice. But I couldn't tell if it was one or the other. It had the size of a long-an, but it looked shriveled up - a shriveled up lychee to be precise. Its texture was more lychee-ish, being rougher than your usually soft and more delicate long-an, but the cooking process could have screwed it up too. Either way, the fruit's sweetness went well with the chicken chunks.

The first thing I did when the box came was to break the egg yolk. Some people hate doing this, but I like letting the bright yellow goo ooze all over the rice and eat it like that. The chicken didn't seem to have been marinated or anything - except for maybe with a bit of cornstarch and the long-an/lychee. The slightly broiled green bell peppers were a nice touch, although I thought the slices were too big.

So it was a supposedly healthy meal in a restaurant promoting its healthy fare. But I didn't really feel I was eating a particularly healthy meal. But who really cares - as long as it tasted good. It probably had more to do with the psychological aspect - and the watermelon drink. Besides, it's the thought that counts.

Total cost: around HK$40-50
Rating: aaaaa

http://www.health-wks.com/ (Last I checked, it was still under construction though.)

Yut Zan (Viet House) @ Citylink Plaza, Sha Tin

Lunch

• Noodle with Rare Beef in Soup
• Green Lime Soda

This is a really deserving-of-praise adulterated version of beef pho. When you first walk into the place, it doesn't seem like a "Viet House" at all. Though the authenticity is a bit low, at least the food's not that bad.

Their bowl of noodle with rare beef in soup did seem a bit small. The noodles are softer, more like the Chinese kind, and wider. The beef also wasn't what is normally in pho, marinated longer and more tender. But overall, they got the taste of the soup right. And the combination of spices wasn't too bad, managing to mask the stronger raw tastes of the beef. And what they did with the presentation - the chili slice through the mint leaves stem - was a nice touch.

But although the food wasn't bad, and relatively cheap too, I didn't think it was that worth it. Maybe it's best to stick to letting the Vietnamese cook their own cuisine.

Total cost: HK$35
Rating: aaaaa

Yukiguni Ramen @ New Town Plaza, Sha Tin

Dinner

• Prawn-roe Salad
• Assorted Sushi Platter
• Soy Beef Ramen in Pork-bone Soup Base
• Soft-shell crab
• Nai Cha

It's proper that I start out with a good example of cheap and great food in Hong Kong. This entire set meal only cost HK$66, which is approximately S$14, which is coincidentally the same price of that sandwich at Corduroy & Finch (see below), which just goes to show how much of a rip off that place (and Singapore in general) really is. For some reason, certain Singaporeans actually speak proudly of the fact that their city is more expensive than New York. Why, I will never fathom.

The most beautiful item was the first to come, the Prawn-roe salad. This consisted a bed of shredded lettuce topped and thin strips of crabmeat (mixed in a milky mayonnaise dressing) topped with a healthy spoonful of bright orange prawn roe - the really small kind, the big ones are from salmon. Its beauty was further accentuated by the black earthen plate which these bright colors came on; and its taste was just as beautiful - a chilling feel of fresh sweetness with the rawness of the roe and (albeit cooked) crabmeat. A great way to start the meal. (And to think I had to wait for the rest of the items to come to take the above photo first before indulging. I think it would've tasted even better had I eaten it the moment it arrived - like most foods, it tastes better fresh from the kitchen.)

The second barrage of food came soon enough. There was the bowl of ramen, the soft-shell crab and the sushi platter, which all came at once. The soft-shell crab was average. I think it was a bit undercooked, because the raw flavor from the juices inside its crunchy exterior was a bit too overpowering. The sushi on the platter was just palatable also, being rather warm and made amateurishly. But then again, like Ajisen, you can't expect a ramen shop to make good sushi.

But you can expect them to make good ramen, which is what this meal was all about. The high point of it finally came when I took the first slurp of noodles. The soup wasn't overly salty like Ajisen's, it was just right. This bowl, instead, made use of all the different ingredients in the bowl to give it taste as well. The thinly sliced strips of beef were marinated in soy paste and served on top of the noodles. Also giving the bowl flavor was the slightly salted seaweed pieces, the bits of red preserved ginger the raw onion slices and the small rings of green spring onion - not to mention other condiments such as the broiled egg and bean sprouts.

Even though some of the side dishes weren't exactly perfect, the ramen was this place's redeeming point. It's nice to know that shops that stick to what it does best are the ones that do the best. The place was a bit crowded when we got there, but what else did you expect.

Total cost: HK$66
Rating: aaaaa

Guess where I am..

So the flight was bloody early. And the food on the flight was horrible. (A lousy attempt at recreating chicken rice 10000 feet in the air. Should have gone with the omelet.) But it was all worth it. I had a horrible nightmare a few nights back that the plane would crash - but that I'd be the sole survivor in that crash because I escaped in an escape pod. My dreams are so weird.

How good it felt to touch down, to see the Chek Lap Kwok control tower, to hear the familiar Cantonese announcements over the PA system, to smell the smell of a grand airport, to fell that spirit. So begins my escapades of shopping and eating. I need to load up on winter clothes (which is ironic since I come in the summer) and good, cheap food.

Sidebar: The current exchange rate is about S$1 = HK$4.75. As of now, all currency amounts will be in HK$ unless otherwise stated.

Corduroy & Finch @ Bukit Timah Road

Rushed Lunch

• Farmed Chicken Breast, c&f Mayonnaise, Cheese and Egg
• A glass of Ginger Beer

This is probably the best deli in Singapore to get ripped off. But it’s sure a damn nice place to get ripped off at. Located at this small arcade of shops at the corner of Bukit Timah Road and Sixth Avenue, the glass-paned front of the shop shows of its art-deco modern interior. And what a cozy interior this was. The furniture had sleek corners and stainless steel finishing. Its walls were adorned with framed movie posters and photographs of celebrities. One wall consisted entirely from floorboard to ceiling a shelf full of cans, bottles and jars of foodstuff. And this was a two-storey ceiling, mind you.

We were led to this gallery-like second level, overlooking the entire first level and below which was the kitchen, as new age easy listening music blared over surround sound speakers. The Caucasian lady who sat us down on the plush sofas was jovial and understanding, especially after we told her that we were in a hurry. I think she was one of the co-owners of the deli - Corduroy or Finch? You only see foreigners open up restaurants like these with so much personality and dedication. Very few Singaporeans open restaurants and run it themselves (note the caveat); most of them think it’s beneath them perhaps.

I went with the “Farmed Chicken Breast, c&f (house) Mayonnaise, Cheese and Egg” sandwich (one of their house specials) and a Ginger beer. The food came slower than expected. The setup was really meticulous. First, they put down square pieces of tracing paper with a sticker of the Corduroy & Finch logo in the center on the knee high coffee table as place mats, together with the utensils. The sandwich came in an oval bowl with another piece of tracing paper. On it was the sandwich, two slices of homemade brown bread holding slightly toasted slices of chicken, tomato, eggs, and a mache salad which continued beyond the hold of the two slices and into the whiteness of the paper, as if it were growing out of the sandwich. The mache on the outside was topped with a light lemony dressing and a few pine nuts. How absolutely beautiful this was, the extended continuity of the salad as both part of the sandwich and a separate aspect of the meal itself. I wish I had a picture of this; my camera ran out of juice just then.

The taste itself wasn't half bad, a bit bland but it did give you this feeling of purity, a natural taste, as if all the ingredients were organic and wholesome. Its c&f house mayo lived up to its name indeed, not too creamy but it doesn't overpowering either, not like the ones out of the jar. The bread was homemade too, but it was done amateurishly. The crust was a bit rough and the inside was too moist, with no suppleness one expects in bread, probably because it wasn't given enough time to rise. It would've been nice to stay for a while more and just chill - but that was just out of the question. I just had a lot of errands to run. The sandwiches are good, but not really worth the price. The drinks though are worth it, my ginger beer was so tall!

Total cost: S$17.80++
Rating: aaaaa

SSEILMCC Recipe: Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki

As many of you may know, I am stuck at home most of the time with not much to do. So, I have quite a lot of time on my hands to try my hand at some recipes. And since this is a food blog, I thought it'd be nice to actually post recipes too with the reviews. So, in an excited narrative voice, I am proud to announce the start of the "So Simple Even Idiots Like Me Can Cook" Recipe series - or SSEILMCC. (I've given up on finding a nice acronym. I'm not Singaporean you know.)

First, let's start with "What the hell is an Okonomiyaki?" Well, if I'm not wrong (and Jan, you can correct me on this), Okonomiyaki in Japanese means "as you like it". In general, Okonomiyakis are Japanese pancakes. There are 2 main types or styles of Okonomiyaki. The first one is the Kansai style which is literally a pancake because you just pour all the ingredients in a batter and pan-fry it. Back in Seattle, there was a restaurant specializing in this on the second floor of a shophouse across from the first Uwajimaya. I didn't really like this style much.

I only fell in love with Okonomiyaki when I tried the Hiroshima style ones in Singapore (more on the shop later). Now, the difference between the Kansai style and Hiroshima style is that the Hiroshima style is layered. The bottom layer is a very thin slice of batter, like a burrito wrap, but thinner. On top of that is the soba noodles and the ingredients, usually consisting of vegetables, meat and seafood. Then, this is covered with a piece of thinly fried egg. All this is topped with Okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise. Garnishing ideas may also include Bonito flakes and grated seaweed.

Why, might you ask, did I even attempt to cook this pancake-like thing called a "Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki"? Well, as with many things in my life, it arose from anger - well, silent anger. If anybody reading this were lucky enough to have patronized it, there was this quaint Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki stall (called none other than "Hiroshima") at Takashimaya which has been there for years. It was outside the Cold Storage supermarket near the elevators. And when I went there after having been away for a couple of months in Hong Kong, to my horror, it had been replaced by a Japanese curry shop!

No, I'm not talking about the one near the Takopachi stall which sells their Okonomiyaki (made from that disgusting yellow mee) at S$3.50 a pop. Why this establishment has survived longer than Hiroshima is totally beyond me, though it does tell you something about Singaporean tastes and price elasticities. No. Hiroshima sold their Okonomiyaki at S$8 to S$11, made from real soba noodles, real Okonomiyaki sauce and fresh ingredients. Of course, it also came on a clean plate with a seat in front of the open air kitchen, and you could watch as the "chefs" prepared your order on a large teppanyaki-like frying surface with skill and feat. Plus, the service was great; they immediately serve you a glass of water while you waited and watched, and it's never without a smile. I was a real regular at the place because I just loved the taste of the Okonomiyaki. So, I've practically seen them do it a million times, which makes it easier for me to recreate at home. But enough lamenting; let's get down to business.

For one serving, you will need...

For the bottom layer/batter:

• 1 - 2 tablespoons of plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of rice wine
• 1 - 2 tablespoon of water
• 1 egg (to be split for the batter and the top)

For the middle layer:

• 1/4 head of cabbage (cut into shreds)
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion
• 1 packet of soba noodles with yakisoba sauce
• A handful of bean sprouts*
• Carrot strips (thinly sliced)*
• 2 strips of bacon*
• 1/4 head of onion (cut into shreds as well)*

For the top layer/garnishing:

• The rest of that egg
• Okonomiyaki sauce
• Mayonnaise
• Cooking oil
• Coriander (finely chopped, or out of a dried spice bottle) for garnishing*

* Optional. Vary the amount of these ingredients to your heart's content. You can also try other ingredients like prawns, squid, ham - even cheese! Or you can just go with nothing except the cabbage and soba. As for garnishing, you can use Boneto flakes, grated kelp, etc.

Shopping - or as NTUC calls it, Supermarketing!

Shopping for ingredients can be a hassle sometimes, so let me guide you through. For Japanese ingredients, the best place in Singapore to get them is the Cold Storage supermarket at the Takashimaya basement. First, head for the Japanese goods section and pick up a bottle of Okonomiyaki sauce (pictured above). It's made by this company called Otafuku and has this doll face logo on a red circle. There are two types, if you notice closely. The orange bottles are the Otafuku sauce (thick and brown) at about S$8 a bottle and they come in a plastic packaging - what a waste, just like the Japanese. That's the one you want. Don't bother buying the Yakisoba sauce (runny and lighter brown) in the yellow bottles.

Now, go and find the cold soba noodles which are refrigerated. They are light yellow in color and has a squarish profile. They usually sell them in bags of 3 packets/servings and come with small sachets of Yakisoba sauce. I went with the cheapest kind at S$3; just make sure it's imported from Japan and there should be no problem. (Note: Japanese characters on the packaging does not mean its from Japan!) The other ingredients should be easy enough.

Off to the kitchen

Because I am only going to use one pan, I can't cook the Okonomiyaki in the conventional way, which involves flipping and cooking multiple layers on a huge teppanyaki surface. Thus, I shall cook mine layer by layer. In order to do this, get ready a large plate on hand to put the finished layers on. Now, the Okonomiyaki should be about 20cm/8in. in diameter, about the size of a flat volleyball, if I may. So make sure you have a big enough pan.

First, we mix the batter for the bottom layer. Break the egg into a small bowl and break the yolk, but don't scramble. Now, use a spoon and spoon about one tablespoon (or 1/20 of an egg, approx.) of mixed egg white and yolk into another small bowl. Save the larger portion of the egg for the top layer. As for the spoonful of egg, add to the bowl the water, flour and rice wine and mix well. You should end up with a batter. Heat up the pan and add some oil. Then, turn down the flame and, with a ladle or spoon ready, very quickly pour the batter onto the pan and use the bottom of the ladle/spoon and spread it out into the 20cm base. This must be done really quickly, or the batter will set thick and you won't get a big enough base. (Don't worry if you screw this up the first time. It took me 3 tries to get it right.) After that's done, put it on the large plate.

Next, add a bit more oil onto the pan and add the onions. Sear these a bit before adding all the other vegetables - don't add the bacon or soba yet! Then, after about 2 to 3 minutes of stirfrying, put all the vegies into the bowl you use to mix the batter in. (Don't waste bowls; besides, it wouldn't hurt to get a bit of batter on the vegies.)

Now, add a bit more oil and take the soba out of the packet, loosen it with your hands and drop it in the pan. Add some water (about 3 to 5 tablespoons) and loosen it further with chopsticks. Season the soba with either yakisoba sauce (use what came in the packaging) or Okonomiyaki sauce. I recommend you don't use the yakisoba sauce at all - I just added about 2 tablespoons of the Okonomiyaki sauce and stirred it in and saved the yakisoba sauce for frying yakiudon on a separate occasion. But if you want to, then use the yakisoba sauce, but don't use both, or it'll just be too salty. Now, before all the water dries up, add the vegetables in and stir them up well, until they are thoroughly mixed, for about one more minute (the pair of chopsticks together with your spatula would help). Then, set this on top of the bottom layer on your large plate.

Now for the final layer. This is easy. Just add more oil onto the heated pan and pour the egg in. Be sure to spread the egg out into a bigger ~20cm circle. It's okay for the yolk and white to mix - in fact, they're suppose to. After it starts to brown just a little, it's done and you can put this on top of your whole thing on the large plate.

For the final step, using the same pan, add a bit of oil and sear the bacon strips. I do this last because after you cook the bacon, the pan gets all brown and you have to wash it, so if you do this last, you won't have to wash your pan twice. After they become cooked, but not crisp, just slip them under the egg layer into the Okonomiyaki.

Top it all off with a tablespoon of mayonnaise, spread over the egg, and squeeze a few lines of Okonomiyaki sauce on top of this. You definitely don't need as much as what's shown in the picture above - maybe about a third of that. You can always add more later. Besides, that picture's from the Okafuku website; obviously they'd want you to use more of their sauce. Sprinkle a bit of coriander on top and you're done.

Final Notes

I have to admit, this recipe is a bit complicated, but I guarantee it will be all worth it. This can also be done with udon instead of soba noodles, but the result is a bit wetter.

The original recipe (unaltered by me) can be found at http://www.otafuku.co.jp/us/default.htm, along with other recipes for different Okonomiyaki styles. I like the website because it has all these neat drawings guiding you how to do it - they even teach you how to slice up the cabbage. It's the website of the Otafuku company that makes the Okonomiyaki sauce. Their grammar can be so funny at times. Their slogan: "Let us help you build happy time through eating."

And if anyone knows a place to get good Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki in Singapore, please tell me in the comments section.

Pasta Cafe @ Takashimaya SC

Dinner

• Linguine ala Pescatore in white wine

(Allow me to bitch first.) At first, the plan was to go to Nooch at Wheelock Place. I haven't been there for at least five years because with each try, the food just sucked more and more. (I mean, Asian fusion by combining Jap, Viet and Chinese? What were they thinking!?) So it was great relief to find out that the place actually closed down. Evidence that market forces do exist in the F&B sector on this tiny island. So, we decided to walk over to Takashimaya and go to the Pasta Cafe at the basement there instead.

The place was quite crowded even on a weekday, but we still managed to get seats without much waiting. The decor had gotten a bit old and lost its sheen since the first time I came here. This is a true fusion restaurant (unlike some other place I can think of), because they use Japanese cooking techniques to cook Italian cuisine (see sidebar). They even have this item on the menu called "Spaghetti ala Japanese", which is pasta cooked with yakisoba sauce topped with seafood.

But as tempting as it was, I didn't try this item, because I'd just recently got my pop of yakisoba. So, I went with another, the Linguine ala Pescatore in white wine sauce. (I wanted the Vongole but they were out of clams.)

The service was relatively quick considering that the house was full that night. But the wait gave me time to admire the ugliness of the restaurant's water glasses. Well, actually, they looked more like goblets and were made of plastic. Its ugliness stemmed from it's shape, which is easy to describe; it seems like easily describable things are usually not that pretty, and beautiful things are harder to put in words. Anyways, this particular cup was an open cylindrical plastic "can" on top of a rather thick solid cylindrical plastic "stem", which itself sat on top of a circular disk of the same diameter as the top part. Its color didn't help much - the bottom was a translucent green which gradually died down in intensity towards the top, such that at the very top, the plastic was clear. And for some reason, its out-of-place unpleasantness really irked me.

But I digress. When the pasta finally came, i couldn't wait to taste it. It had mussels, some thinly sliced scallops pieces, a few prawns and a good helping of squid. The bed of Linguini was submerged in the sauce, which did seem a bit soupy at first. Felt like I was eating something akin to chicken noodle. But a whiff of it and I knew this was no ordinary white wine sauce.

The first sip was both great and shocking. The alcoholic taste of the white wine was overpowering. At first, you taste its sweetness because it goes so great with the seafood. Then, as you swallow the seafood, the dizzying aftertaste of the white wine lingers and you don't feel so great. And at the end of the meal, your liver's not thanking you much either.

But that didn't stop me from liking the place. I've always liked this particular pasta joint. Not sure why though. The decor's nice, but a bit dusty. It's been the same for as long as I can remember - and since I've been coming to this place for years now, that's quite a long time. The presentation was a bit sloppy too; but maybe that's because it was pretty late by the time we got seated. (See! I'm making excuses for them already.) Still, for pasta lovers, it's worth a try.

Total cost: S$14.90++
Rating: aaaaa

http://www.pokkafood.com.sg/pasta.php

Sidebar: This is just one of the reasons why I love Japanese cuisine so much - they manage to use their techniques to cook dishes from other cuisines and do a spectacular job of it. Examples include Italian pastas (using wok techniques instead of the pots and pans), South Asian curries (giving it their own distinct Jap flavor by adding fruits like apples and pears) and western steaks (using a teppanyaki surface instead of a grill).

Nadezhda Russian Restaurant @ Arab Street

Lunch

• Borsch
• Beef Stroganoff served with Buckwheat and Salad
• Blinchiki Snow Apple Pancake
• Kvas (,a drink named)
• A Pelmeni Pork Dumpling (from my mom, smothered in sour cream)

My mom had seen this place recommended in a certain unmentionable newspaper and remembered one of her Russian colleagues mention it, so she decided to take the whole family there to try their cuisine.

The place was small; it did have an upstairs, but we just stayed on the ground floor. The walls were pretty bare, but there were other pieces which added nicely to the (rather scant) decor, such as a display of traditional dress and a wine barrel cut in half to make little mantlepieces for other displays. Its bar was also fully stocked, as you'd expect in a Russian establishment, with rows upon rows of bottles.

The orders took quite a while to come, but the service was friendly. It was a family run place, and there was none of that restaurant politics and the grumpy service which comes out of that. The chef, or at least I think it was the chef, a rather young woman with blond short hair, came out of the kitchen and served us our dishes directly, which seemed to be a more personal level of service.

The first thing that came was this drink I got called the Kvas (not sure how you pronounce it). It tasted exactly like beer, with its malt and barley sweetness, yet is non-alcoholic. I didn't like it that much - probably because I don't like beer much to begin with, except in scrambled eggs. And it did have this slight fizziness to it, but no bubbles came up. It did slip down the throat better after I added some ice and chilled it, but other than that, there was nothing special about it.

Next was the Borsch, a beef beetroot soup with sour cream. When I first saw it, I thought the beef was still raw and the blood had seeped into the soup, giving it its red color. But on closer inspection, I actually noticed that the color was not a blood red, but one closer to pinkish purple. It was only then that I realized it was the beetroot that caused the coloration. I felt so silly. The Borsch wasn't bad, with a light salty taste and a tinge of sour cream mixed into it.

The main course I ordered was the Beef Stroganoff. Unless my parents had fed it to me unknowingly as a child, I think this is my first time eating Buckwheat - and it wasn't half bad. It did have an ugly look to it, with its dirty grayish brown color, but once I tried it, I knew it was no different from rice or any other grain for that matter. It went great with the Stroganoff, a Russian beef stew, and I wished I had more of it. I finished up the portion quite quickly though, cos it tasted better hot (as with all cooked dishes like it), making me wonder whether it was that I was just really hungry from all the waiting, or that the portion was just small. Still, it was scrumptious.

The dessert was the best. It was this crepe-like pastry wrapped like a spring roll with a healthy serving of thinly sliced apple bits inside topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whip cream and a thin layer of honey, called the Blinchiki Snow Apple. I loved it. The crepe was soft and warm, but below that, the apple shreds gave the entire thing a chill crisp texture, and a tinge of sourness, which was nicely complemented with the natural sweetness of the honey. The trick was to shred the apple into very tiny bits, which made the bite into it all the more enjoyable.

Total cost: [unaccounted for]
Rating: aaaaa

Sidebar: The actual name of the restaurant in Cyrillic script is [Надежда], just for those who might be interested. (If you can't see it, try changing your browser's encoding to Unicode. I think it's best to surf under Unicode encoding, cos you can see all sorts of funny language fonts, like Japanese, Korean, Hebrew etc.) The sign outside is in Cyrillic though, so it can be hard to find. Try 140 Arab Street.

On a separate note, I finally got my laptop back. HP decided to fix it for free - i.e replace the entire TFT mon. *yay* Well, let's just hope the new mon works okay at least for 4 more years.

Restaurant Hoshigaoka @ Bugis Junction

Japanese Set Lunch

• Assorted Tempura (a mushroom, eggplant, prawn and carrot slices)
• Japanese Curry
• Cold Soba
• Rice
• Watermelon Slices
• Miso Soup
• Green Tea

A very complete meal - and not too expensive either. They have these different set meals every day. I usually come here for their noodle/sushi/salad sets, but this time, I decided to give their daily set a try. I just got back from queuing for nothing for an hour at the ICA and dropped by at Bugis to have lunch with my mom.

The compartmentalized bento box which the meal came in was huge, entirely at odds with the small portions in each of its compartments. I slurped up the soba first, not wanting it to get warm or soggy, since it was already soaking in the chilled sauce for it. It noodles were delectable, but the beans, which came with the noodles, were a bit out of place - never really liked beans to begin with.

The white rice was in a compartment of its own and had little black sesame seeds sprinked on top. The contrast of the little black dots on the soothing white grains was such a beautiful sight. I did feel a bit bad when I spooned the curry with its carrots and potato over the rice from the compartment next to it. It was like spoiling a work of art. The curry was not bad.

The tempura didn't do much to help with it though. Its batter exterior was not crispy at all, and for some pieces (the mushroom and eggplant), the juices from inside were overwhelming, causing a bit of confusion when you bit into it as to whether you were eating something deep fried or just boiled.

Well, I can't say it was bad, because it did taste okay. But then again, there are other places to eat good Japanese food.

Total cost: S$13.80++
Rating: aaaaa

Phò Hōa @ Holland Village

Lunch

• Phò Tái, Chín, Nąm (Large)

No matter how many times I come to this Vietnamese noodle shop, I never get bored of it, not even after eating the same item on the menu over and over again. I've been eating at this chain since I was seven or eight, with it's two branches in Seattle and San Francisco. (Last I heard, they'd open one more in Seattle.) Anyways, I had to wait 4 years after coming to Singa-no-good-food-pore before they opened a branch here.

This time, they changed the menu a bit and I obligingly braved a new item, the Phò Tái, Chín, Nąm, or "steak, brisket, flank noodles". It took a while for the order to come, but I knew it was all worth it. When it did arrive, the soup was piping hot and I quickly added in the bean sprouts and pushed down the still half-raw slices of steak into the soup with my chopsticks. Don't want to become a mad cow...

I had to wait a while for the soup to cool down, in fear of scalding my tongue. The sprouts did help a bit, but by only that much. The temptation was irresistible, as the wisps of steam from the soup floated in the air. I couldn't stand it any longer...

I carefully picked up a thin slice of flank and placed it into my spoon. I ladled in some soup with it, and carefully edged it into my mouth. It tasted just like what I'd always known, the strong taste of fresh beef in the slightly sweet and aromatic soup base. The piece was not too fat, but not too lean either, with a slight sliver of that unhealthy yet tender light-colored lipid substance carefully encroaching on the darker, leaner strands of beef. How absolutely pleasurable.

The noodles were perfect as well. These white strands of flattened rice noodles resembled the hor fun, but much less broad and of a stronger texture, such that the strands didn't fall apart once on your chopsticks. Although these were tasteless, the soup, once again, did its magic. It's hard for noodle soup to get any better than this.

I know it's a risk to give this place five solid ticks, because there are generally two types of people in this world: those who absolutely love beef noodles cooked this way and those who absolutely hate it - like my mother, who refuses to go there (and when she does, orders the dry rice noodle bowls only, with grilled chicken and/or seafood) and whose views have been discounted. But if you are like me though, who enjoy this type of noodles, then you've just got to try it.

Total cost: S$11.50++
Rating: aaaaa

Sidebar: It's really difficult to recreate their soup base here in Singapore, ever since the BSE scare. (You can't even get canned Beef Consume here anymore! - thanks to the ban on US beef imports. I think it's a shame.) I've always preferred US beef over the Australian kind, because the latter is rougher and leaner, making it hard to slice thin, which is what makes it so abound with taste in noodle dishes. Besides the beef, you need to get beef marrow, or the bones, which is near impossible to find in the markets here (I asked my grandma). Other spices required include star anise seeds, ginger, spring onion, parsley/coriander etc. I can't exactly remember the rest, but there are dozens of recipes available online. The fact that you have to boil all these for hours on end doesn't help either.

Maybe it's just better to eat out for Vietnamese beef noodle.