Stinky shirt day after Uncle Sam's Claypot

I don't remember how I ended up at Uncle Sam's claypot for lunch that day as I'm not a big fan of claypot, I blame it on the rain from that day. The restaurant felt more like a canteen than a restaurant. The waitresses milling about barking orders and giving checks even before you had a sip of your drink. I didn't worry so much on those things but I did worry on how rice was sizzling agaisnt the hot claypot and sauces that were giving such strong smell that would no doubt stick to my clothes all day long. The food came in a little while sizzling hot with smoke coming out of the dish. It looked appetizing enough.

Pipping hot Thai chicken claypot

I ordered their specialty which was the Spicy Thai Chicken Claypot or something the like. Come to think of it I should have ordered the original chicken claypot since now I had to battle not only the hotness from the Thai chilli but also the temperature. Due to time constrain I wasn't able to let it cool down for long as I had to get back to work. If I was eating at leisurely pace I might have a different experience. I couldn't help but comparing this claypot with the Korean version of claypot: Dol Sot Bibimbap. The claypot rice which used the long grained rice wasn't as crispy as the korean rice which are usually fluffier hence when it is scorched agaisnt the hot claypot it browns lightly and tasted crispy while the long grained rice was prone to getting burnt. To see the positive side, the claypot rice saved me from being hungry and the price was reasonable though my clothes stink for the whole day.

The Uncle Sam's Claypots
#01-01A, 63 Robinson Road,
Afro-Asia Building
Singapore
+65 6221 3098

Big Breakfast @Cedele

Big Breakfast @SGD 17.40:

Rustic White Toast, Bacon Rashers (which I switch to an extra sausage!!), Sausages, Scramble Eggs, Mushrooms & Tomatoes

Lately I have been reminiscing about the food from a small town in Pennsylvania where I spent a good few years of my life as a student. I miss the food from the local tavern wannabe, the wing night at the small local pubs on the 5 block stretch of so called main street. Little choices as they were, I do miss it from time to time especially the American style breakfast from Perkins, a family restaurant chain that serves breakfast food all day, 24/7/365! Scrambled eggs, or omelet with sausages, bacon and hash browns; pancakes and waffles. *sigh* Notmany is available here in Singapore and certainly not as cheap. Luckily, A suggested Cedele, a local cafe that serves breakfast daily with a healthy twist (definitely no hash browns) and slightly costing more.

Pasta, it was the first dish to come out...

Making our way to Cedele Wheelock Place, I knew exactly what I wanted. After a quick consideration I decided to get the Big Breakfast set which include eggs, sausages and bacon rashers which I switched to sausage, mushrooms, salad and toasts. No hash browns, sadly. It also came with a side of coffee or tea for SGD17.40. Yeah, a bit steep, but I was desparate. I was so happy when it finally came. Armed with ketchup, I devoured the eggs, mushroom and sausage. The toast came with butter and strawberry jam, my favorite combo. The bread was soft, lightly toasted, warm and tasted slightly milky and doughy. I love the bread with butter and jam. The mushrooms were firm and earthy. If only it came with hash browns, it would have been perfect.

Carrot cake, yum...

P had the carrot cake, which was delicious as it wasn't too sweet and the walnut gave it a savory, crunchy twist. The pasta that A was having, was so-so. Cedele is where I would go for sandwich, soup, breakfast food, cakes and coffee or tea but not pasta. For pasta I would rather go to an Italian joint or Japanese Italian. Carbonara with kimchi...yumm....The queue at Whelock was definitely better and the waitres staff responded better for your requests though they did gave us the bill twice without us asking and when we finally did ask, they didn't bring it. The food was good but for the price that they were demanding, service should be better....

Wheelock Place
501 Orchard Road #03-14
Wheelock Place
+65 6732 8520
Click here for website

Ramen gallore @Tanpopo

My friend P was craving some ramen that day and she had one place in mind: Tanpopo at Liang Court. I happened to stumble this restaurant by accident almost a year ago during which Liang Court was still in renovation. I found it when I found Meidi-ya, the Japanese supermarket which is heaven for good food. Back then, Tanpopo was on the same level as the supermarket, now it has moved up one floor, right next to the Novotel Hotel's lobby.

It's bigger and drew more crowd these days. Back then it was mostly patronized by Japanese living in Singapore but these days the crowd is mixed. They are famous for their killer tonkatsu and well anything black pig. I have to admit though that despite their quality tonkatsu, I find the price more expensive than other tonkatsu places.

My green tea: funny how even though they have both ice cubes and green tea,

they don't serve iced green tea.....

Back to P, we decided to go on Wednesday. It took me a while to order as I didn't have any particular craving . Whenever I came here, I always ordered the katsu so this time I decided that I should try something new there and ordered the cold ramen set while P ordered the Tonkatsu Ramen and we decided to have the Tonkatsu salad to share.

It took a while for the orders to come that day, we had to remind them as the place was super busy. We also had to wait about 20-30 minutes before we got a table. P's tonkatsu ramen came first, a bowl full of yummy treats for your taste buds. The ramen broth was thick, rich and spicy (as in many spices but not chili). The ramen noodle chewy with just the right consistency. The tonkatsu? Steaming golden crisp of heavenly smell! The pork was so tender, you can eat it as is or dip it into your ramen soup or use the katsu sauce. For me, I love soaking it in the broth. Gosh, my mouth waters just thinking about it!

Tonkatsu Ramen: cute and creative way to keep the tonkatsu crispy!

The cold ramen came soon after. I ordered it because it said that the sauce was mixed using yuzu, Japanese citrus, which I really love. Once when I was in Tokyo wondering around Tsukiji fish market area, I found a store selling pickles and they had daikon (horse radish) with yuzu pickles which of course I bought. Amazing!!! I've yet to seen it again. I suppose a visit to Tokyo is in order sometime soon. Back to the cold ramen, it came with ama ebi (Sweet prawns), kani (crab meat) and some eggs. The taste was fresh and cool, very appropriate for the humid Singapore weather. The sauce was citruz-y, me like!

Cold Ramen Set

Close up of the ramen, topped with fish roe

Close up of the ama ebi, kani and tamago

The salad was delicious. If I have that kind of salad everyday, I wouldn't mind being a vegetarian. Oh shoot, the tonkatsu is never gonna be vegetarian. Oh well, the salad was a mixture of greens with some asparagus dressed in sesame sauce with little tonkatsu balls. I like to think that it was a healthy side dish, but of course the deep fried tonkatsu cancelled all those healthiness away. But just let me pretend, ok?

Tonkatsu Salad @ SGD 10.80

When we pay, we got a little surprise. It was Ladies night, so we got 10% discount. Yay!

Tanpopo

Japanese Family Dining Restaurant

177 River Valley Road

Liang Court Shopping Centre #01-23/24

Singapore 179030

www.cfc.com.sg

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

The menu at Quattro Stagioni

On my way home from work that day, I decided to stop by Liang Court to get a light bite for dinner as I wasn't that hungry but knew that if I were to skip dinner I'd be hungry later. Earlier that day, I was looking at the Wisconsin state cheese promotion where the tourism board claims that Wisconsin is for cheese what California is to wine. Click here if you want more details. Do let me know if you go there or if you have been there, tell me if it worth going.

The back of the store and the bar-like seats

Needless to say, I had this nagging feeling for some cheese. So I decided to try this little deli that I have been curious to try but haven't had the chance. Seating myself on the little bar like table at the back, I studied the menu and decided to have Aosta. The girl made it right in front of me. So I saw how many slices of ham goes into my sandwich (2 slices :-\ ) and how much cheese (enough but I prefer more!).

Aosta sandwich consisted of Cotto ham, Fontal cheese, tomato slices, lettuce and mayo. I asked for sliced whole grain, toasted. I was very surprised to see how thin the toast slice was as the sandwich cost me SGD 8. It worked fine that night as I wasn't too hungry but still, it was a rather expensive sandwich! There was only one person working that night so I had to wait for a while to get my sandwich, but since I wasn't that hungry it helped me worked an appetite.

Aosta: Cotto Ham, Fontal Cheese, Tomato slices, Lettuce and Mayo on

sliced whole grain SGD 8

When the sandwich finally came, the presentation wasn't great nor was the size however the taste was really nice and light. The cotto ham was mild and the cheese too was very mild but creamy and comforting. Later on I found out that Fontal cheese is used to make fondue, so that's probably why the taste is mild. The tomato slices were fresh and juicy, overall the sandwich was just nice.

Certosa: Parma Ham, Imported Stracchino Cheese, Rucola on Ciabatta

The next day, I wondered Liang Court again and since I was still in the mood for some cheese, I decided to try the Certosa; parma ham, imported stracchino cheese and Rucola on ciabatta as I was feeling a little hungrier than the previous day. The presentation and service that day was better as there were three people serving and working. The sandwich tasted delicious but the parma ham and the cheese had such strong taste that I couldn't finish the whole sandwich. It was such a shame...

Grapefruit San Pellegrino SGD 2.20

The grapefruit San Pellegrino was nice too. Not sure why, but lately I have been craving grapefruit juice. What I really would like is to find those grapefruit spoon and then have half of a grapefruit each morning. It's a great way to start your day.

Quattro Stagioni Deli

Liang Court Shopping Centre

B1-27/29

177 River Valley Road

Singapore 179030

Cheap good meal @Fu Lin Tou Fu

The small shop with the long queue

Not too far away from my office, there is this crabby looking little place that sells dry yong tau foo with cramped seats inside and on the dodgy little alley on the side of the shop. Unlike the usual yong tau foo in Singapore, this shop fried most of the items (other than veggies of course) and uses this beef and mushroom sauce. They serve it with either rice or white noodles with the beef mushroom sauce as it's base. It's very unique so it is of little wonder why even though the place is crabby and seats are on a dodgy alley, the shop always have an insanely long queue. Just make sure you get there early, or after the rush hour crowd else you have to wait for a long time.

A set of 6 items with rice and extra sauce

A close up of the dish: veggies, chicken wrapped in seaweed, eggplant fish cakes,...

I always have a hard time choosing between noodle or rice, because as much as I love the noodles its so slippery and I hate making a mess and staining my shirt. These days, I opted for the rice. My favorite is of course the eggplant fish cake, so yummy! Actually I don't think there's anything there that is not tasty, but do try the mushroom, eggplant and the yue tiao like fish cakes. I have to admit that after a long abstinent of this yong tau foo, I went yesterday and today for lunch, same order. It's that good. Trust me.

6 items + rice/noodle SGD 4.50
7 items + rice/noodle SGD 5.00
8 items + rice/noodle SGD 5.50

additional items 60 cents/each.

Fu Lin Tou Fu Yuen
19 Amoy St
Singapore 069854
+65 6423 1911