From there, I could watch all the works in the kitchen, and I loved seeing how the head chef (guy behind) made sure that all the placement of the ingredients are exactly the same as the bowl on their poster.
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The seasonal tendon was the Ocean Gems Tendon “Umi” ($23++), and I went for the spicy version which definitely had heat but not overwhelming. The seaweed tempura batter on every piece was light and nori-shing. They ran out of snow crab (sad), so they made up with an extra piece of prawn on top of the two already given together with scallop, squid, oyster, generous drizzle of ikura, and my favourite the king crab stick. It was the size of a fish fillet from LJS so I hadn’t expected it to be crab before biting into it. The juicy umami burst was astounding and left me stunned in wide-eye emoji mode 😳 I wish they had given more oysters instead of prawn, I tried my best to prolong finishing that fat morsel in three tiny bites haha.
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The multigrain rice had a nice chew and didn’t feel as filling as plain white rice, perhaps that's why this big bowl turned out to be a manageable portion. #burpple

I usually add on the fried sunny-side-up even though there’s already egg in the fried rice, but I love liquid yolk so... 😜
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The highlight for me is dousing the whole plate with the stall’s belachan concoction, I love the spicy and pungent fermented shrimp chilli sauce, so much that I would’ve slurped it up if it wasn’t so spicy.
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Issan Thai’s green curry and basil chicken are also hot sellers. It’s located at Tanjong Pagar Food Market #02-13.
#burpple

The Uni Chirashi lunch set ($28.90) is an indulgence anyone can look forward to, with 65-70 grams of fresh Aka uni placed beautifully on Japanese rice. A single piece of uni sushi gunkan or nigiri style can already cost $8-10 - this bowl portion is equivalent to having at least 5 pieces, but at half the price?? That’s an insane steal.
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If your Monday starts off pretty bad, cheer up with the Uni Ikura Chirashi set ($34.90) for an extra dollop of orange bliss that will get you through the rest of the day.
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Many thanks to @Burpple for the invite and @theprsalon for the wonderful meal! #Burpple

This Volcano Ramen is a mild Level 1 with a wee bit of heat that doesn’t overpower the flavours. Really enjoyed this chicken broth as it’s not heavy and oily like the usual tonkotsu broth. I’m also a fan of thin ramen noodles, though I’ll prefer them to be slightly more crunchy.
Level 2 was enough to make my colleague sweat and Level 3... I’ll let you know if I get to try it next time 🤪
$11+ for a delicious bowl with chicken char siew, minced meat, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, wakame, corn (removed from this bowl) and boiled egg is a pretty good value. Thanks to my colleagues @aisyarila and @adeesardali for bringing me and @thundrrr here for dinner! #burpple

Not the most accessible - I go there every couple of weeks for my TCM appts - but if you like the rich local or Malaysian kopis, you’ll have a blast here. Celebrity-owner Mark Lee and his partners have brought in coffee beans from 13(!!) different Malaysian states, each with its unique taste. First-timers can go for this triple-sampler, the Gem of Three States ($4.60 hot, $5.20 cold, $0.40 less for “kopi-o”), using the pre-selected Perak, Sembilan and Pahang blends. These are the sweeter coffees of the lot in my opinion, so if you prefer stronger coffees like me, try the Terengganu, Sabah or Sarawak coffees, the latter two roasted with some margarine for a buttery flavour. #Burpple

🤪 #wordsofasinglefemale
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Eating this big fat New Zealand oyster (almost palm-sized!) on its own would’ve been blissful enough. Having it with that generous lobe of Aka uni and a spoonful of ikura on top for this Uni Oyster Shot ($25) sent my tongue into culinary orgasmic spasms. I admit to letting out a few appreciative moans of umami pleasure while chewing - trust me, it’s uncontrollable.
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Many thanks to @Burpple for the invite and @theprsalon for the wonderful meal! #Burpple

Here’s what went down: uni. Rich, creamy, oceanic urchin roe. Uni on crab. Uni on oyster. Uni on its own. Uni on rice. Uni fried. I’m pretty sure I had a lifetime’s worth of uni in one sitting.
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The epic meal started with some uni-versity education. Uni Gallery carries three types - bafun (stronger-tasting and dark coloured when in season), murasake (mild and without the salty ocean taste) and aka, which is their house uni that’s sort of in between the earlier two and usually comes in larger portions.
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First dish was da bomb - the Uni Bomb ($99) that is. We were advised to work our way starting with the Bafun and fried Sawagani crab, move on to the Aka uni with kegani or hairy crab meat, the wagyu and uni shutou yuzu (seasoned uni), and finish off by downing that shot of Japanese gin. I love the deep ocean flavour from the bafun, but the aka and crab meat combination was even more of an intense flavour bomb! Best part was washing all the seafood down with the shot (actually two, because @fionatingx was on medication that night) of sake-distilled gin that had a strong citrus flavour.
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I’ll be posting more photos of what we had over the next few days... I try, I’m really slow with posts 😬
#Burpple

😷 Aside from durians, I’ve been thinking back on this green chilli crab that I ate at HolyCrab some months ago. Yup you read that right, GREEN chilli! I usually avoid eating it because I dislike the sharp sourness - I make an exception for jalapeño, don’t ask me why.
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The green chilli sauce here, however, had none of that unpleasant acid, and plenty of yummy from the aromatic spice blend or rempah, scallions, candlenut, lemongrass and two types of green chilli. Kinda like chilli crab dressed in a kebaya. Wipe up the unique sauce with the mantous - here, they fry the kong ba bao buns so you get more surface area 🤤
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This was from a hosted tasting thanks to @burpple and @holycrab.sg.

The gravy is loaded with capsaicin so if you plan to drink it, do it slowly… The stew comes with chewy jjolmyeon (wheat noodles), tteokbokki (rice cakes) and a mountain of beansprouts, so mix the pot well and let it simmer for some time before digging in. Get a pitcher of the grapefruit yogurt smoothie to quell the spiciness, or the Ladykiller (something like a beer frozen margarita) to cool off.

The mixed rice with seaweed flakes, flying fish roe and sesame oil lines the hotplate, with the roast chicken thigh pieces glazed in barbecue and soy sauce marinate resting on top - not for long though >D This dish is definitely safe enough for people who can’t handle spicy, but for those who need that fiery jolt, there’s a spicy version using barbecue sauce and gochujang! That, however, goes better with the Cheesy Dakgalbi ($32.90) with the ring of mozzarella to smother the heat when it starts to burn your palate.

I’m pretty sure the Curry Fried Chicken ($28.90) will be a hit with my friends on our next visit (whenever that will be). The aromatic curry seasoning powder full coats the fried chicken like a thin crusty shell, and taste a little like Japanese-style curry, or, dare I say, Maccas curry sauce dip - sweet, mildly spicy, and pretty addictive! You can dip the juicy tender chicken into the accompanying dip to amp up the flavour.

I found it fascinating that the tau pok gets grilled, what’s more over charcoal to get the crisp and aromatic char. At this Tiong Bahru Market stall, you can either be healthy and get just a few pieces of the tow kwar pop with some fruits for $3, or indulge in a rojak set for $4 or $5 portions.
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I like that the grilled tao pok is more pillowy than usual. The addition of fresh red apple was welcoming since most stalls use green apple for the tart flavour, but my tastebuds favour sweet.
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Confession: I only want to eat the fried youtiao (dough fritters) inside a rojak. I mean yeah sure I’ll take a few pieces of the turnip and nibble on the green mango or pineapple, but only to hide that I’m sneaking all the youtiao into my mouth - also easier when everything is (should be) drenched in the dark prawn sauce so ingredients are indistinguishable. The best part about this plate for me was surprisingly not the youtiao, but the thin crispy crackers, something I’ve never had in rojak before and it’s way better than fried youtiao which isn’t always sold crispy. Likely to be a healthier alternative too.
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You may be slightly disappointed that this rojak doesn’t have that much prawn sauce drizzled on, even though they gave a bit extra on a separate saucer. Healthier choice label? 😝 #Burpple
#BurppleTiongBahruMarket #BurppleTastemakerSGuides