1-for-1 main + appetizer with #burpplebeyond!

An upgrade option to add lobster for $10.

Especially on days where the craving for comfort food is strong, this wok-hei laden porridge surely doesn’t disappoint. Cooked in a Cantonese-style, the porridge is of mushy texture and a strong wok-hei flavour. Interestingly, tobiko is added which, along with the fresh crab meat, contributes a subtle sweetness and umami taste to the dish. Additionally fragrant with the topping of fried shallots.

1-for-1 Main + Appetizer with #burpplebeyond!

Their take on cheese fries + fish & chips was a twist to produce the #blackfriesday, served with squid ink cheese and mentaiko. An option to upgrade with uni cream sauce for $2. Don’t be intimidated by the pool of squid ink yet, because what’s gonna come next is pretty tantalizing. Expect creamy, cheese-loaded shoestring fries with slight briny taste, but with addition of tiny fish nuggets, sakura ebi, nori flakes, a wobbly egg smacked right in the middle and a scoop of mentaiko. I kinda got confused by the complexity of this dish, as if too ambitious in wanting to combine a myriad of flavours, but ultimately an explosion of umami-ness especially through the mentaiko that I truly enjoyed. Suitable for sharing in case it gets too jelak.

1-for-1 Main + Appetizer with #burpplebeyond!

Japanese? Western? Or deep down Asian peranakan. At @unclekiisu, the extensive menu of bold ModSin creations proves breaking through culinary norms with their affordable creative dishes.

What you see is what you get. No-frills about it, a large slab of unagi lays nicely atop a bed of chahan, or garlic fried rice. Garlic, egg, kebayashi sauce and the smoky wok-hei that came through almost immediately from the rice. A good control of garlic portion to avoid conflicting taste. Simple flavours that complemented wonderfully to the sweet-savory coated tender boneless unagi fillet.

1-for-1 Mains + Appetizer with #burpplebeyond!

The thing about Uncle Kiisu is that everything on the menu looked so inviting that it makes choosing a difficult task!

Taking inspiration from our local Kueh Pie Tee, the Samurai version is made using unagi coleslaw topped with tobiko and bonito flakes (2 each). Biting in, the shell broke with a delicate crispiness before the crunchiness of the coleslaw hit me. In fact, the sweetness from the unagi flavour tasted so similar to the sweet sauce in a usual Kueh Pie Tee. Especially enjoyed the one topped with tobiko for the popping sensation.

An intriguing tapas that I have never came across and never thought that it would appear in a Spanish restaurant. Based on appearance, it looked like an eggplant tempura in a Japanese dish instead.

For someone who doesn’t like eggplant at all, this eggplant chips with honey was an impresser. Thinly sliced and a crispy batter deep fried, the eggplant itself practically didn’t have much taste nor overly-soft texture. Dipping it in the thick honey made a delicious snack, and you could actually tell the quality of honey given as it has a natural sweetness without being diluted.

We gave this a different take by dipping it in the sauce of the other tapas, garlic prawns, resulting in a savory tapas which was quite delicious too!

Considered a national dish or particularly a Valencian dish, a paella requires tremendous effort and time to be cooked, much less a tasty one. Although good paellas are hard to come by in Singapore, this one from Tapas Club makes a decent and value-for-money paella.

Defined grains cooked in chicken stock, apart from being flavorful, a subtle floral earthiness was delivered by the underlying saffron mixed in the rice. Enjoyed the combination of having chicken and chorizo, that has its fermented smokiness contributing to the overall savoriness. The herbaceous parsley sauce gave the dish a good balance in flavour.

I would never leave a Spanish restaurant without this classic Spanish dessert!

Paired with a hot chocolate sauce, there are 6 churros sticks in each serving. Fried till golden brown and dusted with cinnamon powder and sugar, these dough sticks would have even been better if they had an airier interior and the batter less hard. Nevertheless, it’s decent and value for money. The hot chocolate sauce, though enjoyable, was a little too watery. A thicker sauce would have coated the churros nicely.

1-for-1 with #burpplebeyond!

And again, trip to Tom’s Palette before they shut their doors next June! It’s a pity that they have no plans for relocation currently.

This week, the rotation of flavours had some peculiar flavours like the white chocolate nori back while hazelnut latte that I really enjoyed on the last visit wasn’t available. Excited to see my favourite chocolate, After Eight, as one of the flavours. Milky chocolate with a mix of lingering sweet mint, but it would even be better with dark chocolate. Hence, I was recommended the non-dairy chocolate sorbet, which was nothing but an intense dark chocolate of depth. Dark chocolate lovers are bound to fall in love with this flavour!

The other 2 flavours we chose were the peanut butter cookie, which I don’t really fancy though I have to admit that it tasted like a salty creamy peanut butter indeed, and a sweet-sour musky soursop flavour.

1-for-1 with #burpplebeyond!

A miscommunication error had the staff serving us the Waterloo Beef Burger instead initially, but kudos to them for changing it to the Miso Pork Burger for us willingly.

One thing for sure at Crossings is that you will never leave the cafe feeling a dissatisfied stomach with their portions. Look at the long pork belly strips of reasonable thickness, they can’t even be sandwiched between the burger buns completely! The pork belly strips were nicely grilled but the miso seasoning seemed overwhelming that it got really salty in taste after a while. Toasted burger buns were a little dry and could do better with some butter spread. Pickled vegetables (achar), was there thankfully to salvage the situation as its sourness countered the saltiness. Served along with fluffy fries and salad.

1-for-1 with #burpplebeyond!

Being a social enterprise and providing job opportunities for disadvantaged youths were the reasons why I wanted to check Crossings Cafe our. Additionally, being on Burpple Beyond was a bonus!

Apart from the plating with greens that made the pasta look appealing and healthy, the taste was pretty decent too. Tossed in Crossings’ own chilli crab claw meat sauce which was made of a tangy tomato base with bits of actual crab meat, the fettuccine was cooked till al dente and was nicely coated with the chilli crab sauce. The sauce was also slightly alliaceous with ingredients such as onion and garlic. Served atop was fried garlic bits and a whole fried soft shell crab with light crispy batter that was juicy but not overly greasy.

Yum Cha lo! Helmed as one of the oldest dim sum restaurants in Penang, Yong Pin Dim Sum Restaurant has been in operations since 1981. Travel back in time as there’s no order chit or menu. Instead, the staff goes around each bearing a bamboo steamer with a variety of items. No doubt this place has evolved to a popular tourist stop, the patient staff makes recommendations specific to the point of what’s not to be missed and what’s only available on weekends.

Generally impressed with the freshness of their ingredients used in all their hand-made dim sum, especially those with prawns like the prawn wrapped in beancurd skin and har gao. One of the items that you should really try is the Thai-style beancurd. Piping hot silky tofu with a crispy exterior, dipped in the sweet chili sauce and shredded carrot. The addiction just somehow got a little out of hand.

The larger-than-usual char siew bao was handmade the traditional Cantonese way, shaped like a blooming flower. Encased in the center was diced roasted pork meat mixed in a sweet, thick, syrupy sauce evident of Hoisin. A pity the bun itself was a little dry and tough.

There were items that we didn’t get to try probably because we were near to their closing time, and that’s gonna be left till the next time! Till then, an authentic morning dim sum experience not to be missed.

🕗 6am-12pm daily, 7pm-12am (except Sundays). Cantonese dishes served during dinner.

Checked out Seng Heng Fried Carrot Cake that rendered a long queue on a Saturday evening during dinner time. Waiting time was about 20 minutes. The aunty who was taking orders has a good memory of different orders but was a little hostile while interestingly, the uncle who was frying the carrot cake was neatly dressed in shirt and pants.

There was a mix of white and black carrot cake orders, despite reading that white was the more popular choice. Unlike the black, it came in pretty big blocks, draped over by the egg batter. I usually prefer my carrot cake to be the sweeter black version, so it took a little longer to have it fried. A good ratio of eggs and the carrot cake, I could also taste the wok hei but sadly, lesser preserved radish. Portion was reasonable and the dish wasn’t too oily. Downside though, I had multiple pieces of egg shell in my carrot cake.