The revamp of PoMo had been massively delayed for quite a while now — glad that GR.ID had finally seen its first few F&B tenants moved into the building and having commenced business recently, which adds on to the number of dining options in this area.

Having started operations last year with their first outlet situated at East Coast Road (we had also visited that spot when they had first opened their doors), it seems that Isshin Machi does have plans to expand their operations — apart from the recent opening of their outlet at GR.ID, they have also recently did a sneak peek at an upcoming location in the west. The menu available at GR.ID is largely similar to the one offered at East Coast Road too.

The Hakka-style Braised Pork Rice is a dish that isn’t unfamiliar to us — also one of the items which we had ordered during our first visit to the East Coast Road outlet. Essentially being the classic braised pork rice bowl, the portion served here is slightly deceiving considering how the bowl does seem to be of a smaller size, but it’s a pretty well-sized portion for an individual. Coming with pickles, cucumber and braised pork, the braised pork is diced finely, but also to a point where one would still be able to feel small chunks of meat and fibre — the braised pork here being a mix of fatty parts and lean parts through generally beer towards the leaner end here. The braised sauce was pretty flavourful, and the braised pork was marinated evenly throughout — sufficiently savoury, and gives the entire bowl ample flavour. There was also sufficient meat to go around with the pearly rice grains beneath; soft and fluffy, and easy to finish. While the pickles here features julienned vegetables rather than sliced ones which some establishments may serve, they still have the dish a light tang especially between morsels of braised pork to refresh the taste buds.

Pretty glad to see Isshin Machi expand its operations; the outlet at GR.ID seemingly being their most ambitious outlet with a lot of emphasis being placed in the decor and look of the store. The food quality at the GR.ID outlet seems to be pretty consistent to that of what we had experienced previously at the East Coast Road outlet — something which we were found to be pretty good. No doubt I would still prefer heading to Eat 3 Bowls for some really stellar Taiwanese-style Braised Pork Rice, but with other items like the Din Tai Fung-style Egg Fried Rice on the menu that also deserves a mention, GR.ID’s Isshin Machi is a spot I would gladly return to for lunch or dinner when the cravings hit!