麺 (Men) House Yamamoto - Truffle Shio Ramen with no MSG by a One-Star Michelin Chef from Japan @ Raffles City Shopping Centre [Singapore]

It's past 1.00 pm and as i didn't have breakfast that Saturday morning; you can do imagine how desperate my tummy was, craving for much needed food. My initial intention was to check out a soba place at Raffles City Shopping Centre and in the midst of the search, the above digital image caught my attention.

 麺 House Yamamoto - founder was a chef from Japan who had won one michelin star two years in a row! My heart was stirred and since the place appeared relatively crowded (and i was hungry), my friends and i decided to give it a try! Such spontaneity! 

Guess partly due to slow business as a result of the ongoing pandemic, we were allowed free choice from the daily sets, which were usually restricted to the days you visit and not applicable for weekends. I didn't have a hard time deciding as the signature ramen appeared to be Truffle Shio! 

Ordering made via the tablet. 

Fried Tofu (Side) - the selection also included gyoza, simmered vegetable tofu, cold tofu, cha shu salad and fried chicken. Fried tofu was chosen as Alex commented that visually, it was the most appealing.

Well, i am not sure about the rest but the fried tofu we had was quite average. Maybe i should have gone with the gyoza or fried chicken instead!  

Truffle Shio Ramen - to be honest, i find the presentation interesting for a bowl of ramen as you don't commonly see cherry tomatoes, chopped onions and shreds of lettuce in ramen. 

Took a sip of the soup after mixing up everything - the translucent broth said to be made from chicken and seafood was light and to be totally honest; bland without the richness i expected from the aforementioned ingredients. Even the taste of truffle appeared be just faint from just the surface.

Noodle was again, not the type i am accustomed too; rough and seemed like the healthier mixed grain version. Taste wise was alright; not particularly memorable.

There's only one pathetic piece of cha shu! I would have expected more but well, its truffle we are talking although and with the premium associated with the pricey fungus, guess it's a matter of balancing the eventual price with the ingredients. 

Whatever the case, hunger prevails! In summary, food is always based on personal preferences; maybe some of you would prefer this no-MSG ramen but in my case, i think once is enough.

p.s. i like the cold houji tea though.

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Address

252, North Bridge Road,

#B1-44C, Raffles City Shopping Centre,

Singapore 179103

Pricing

Truffle Shio Ramen Set - S$19.80 

(Subject to GST and Service Charge)

The Wanton Noodle from Weng Kee @ Changi Village Hawker Centre [Singapore] #changivillagehawkercentre #wantonmee

Changi Village Hawker Centre was one of my favourite to-go-places-at-night when i still owned a car and although i was aware of Weng Kee for a long time; i was quite fixated on just getting its famous chicken chop hor fun and nothing else since my precious stomach space would also be shared with other food stalls within the food centre.

Decided to opt for something different this time round; the wanton noodle but i didn't forget the famous chicken chop too, sans the hor fun as that would have been carbohydrate overload!

At $2.00 apiece for just the chicken chop, i think it's quite a good buy for sharing among your mates; it's chunky and i absolutely love the crispiness of the skin and the sweet marination for the meat.

Wanton noodle cost a minimum of S$3.50 which was slightly above average pricing when compared with competitors from other hawker centres. The saving grace was that you get two boiled dumplings and two deep fried dumplings; most stalls would likely give three pathetically tiny boiled dumplings, the soup.

Coated with the tomato sauce, the noodles were delicious with an interesting peppery aftertaste. I almost regretted ordering the smallest portion, until my friend brought over a bowl of hot beancurd for me! That's way too much food!

Another reason why i would likely be re-ordering the wanton noodle in the future; the boiled wantons. The dumplings were packed with meat that tasted exceptionally good; almost like the siew mail commonly sold in dim sum restaurants!

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Address

2 Changi Village Rd, #01-19,

Changi Village Hawker Centre,

Singapore 500002

Location Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Chicken Chop - S$2.00

Wanton Noodle - S$3.50

Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang Fried Bananas (美香炸香蕉）@ Changi Village Hawker Centre [Singapore] #changivillagehawkercentre

I am still mourning the closure of Lim Kee Goreng Pisang but the crusade for delicious Chinese-style banana fritters in Singapore continues. A few weekends ago, my legs brought me to Changi Village Hawker Centre where two stalls battle in close proximity.

Million Star Fried Banana was the first tenant selling fried bananas in the hawker centre but my review today shall focus on the newer Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang which was originally from Lau Pat Sat.

Fried Banana - was lucky to secure a banana that was just out from the boiling oil although it was hard to take a picture with it being so hot!

Thin, crispy batter with a sweet, mushy interior. It was good but still can't fight Lim Kee Goreng Pisang on two fronts; the size (that came with a higher price) and the rich creaminess of the banana that's signature of the rajah species that Lim Kee brought in. 

3-in-1 Yummy Cake - this is actually quite an interesting deep-fried snack not commonly sold in the past. Even for me, i used to have it whenever my mom decided to cook the moldy nian gao placed on the altar after Chinese New Year. 

My mom's recipe was sweet potato and yam with nian gao in the middle and the one sold at Mei Xiang seemed to be tapioca and yam with nian gao. Unfortunately, the earthy taste of yam and tapioca overpowered the sweetness of the nian gao and it didn't help that the former two ingredients are renowned to fill up the tummy very fast. My mom's version wins, hands-down. 

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Address

Block 2, Changi Village Road, 

#01-51, Changi Village Market and Food Centre, 

Singapore 500002

Pricing

Fried Banana - S$1.50 apiece

3-in-1 Yummy Cake - S$1.20 apiece

Emo Snacks (饿魔小吃) - Taiwan Bentos, Fried Chicken, Milk Teas @ 223 Geylang Road [Singapore] #emosnacks #geylang

On weekday mornings, the first thing after i stepped out of my house is to tune in to UFM100.3 and on one particular day; the presenters were talking about this relatively new eatery called 饿魔小吃 which is literally translated as hungry demon's snacks! However, they used the Chinese hanyu pinyin pronunciation of hungry demon for the name; hence, emo.

Anyway, i was curious about the shop, especially all the talk about its braised pork rice and milk tea, and went all the way to Geylang one Sunday afternoon; WALKING under the hot sun from Paya Lebar MRT station and bypassing Aljunied MRT station! The strong air-conditioning that greeted us upon entering already made me super happy! 

Despite the small dining area, there were a few captivating features in the shop; one of which is the neon outline of the hungry demon mascot! It has horns, pitchfork, a forked tail, drooling mouth and the Chinese character, hunger, written on its tummy! 

With demons, there should always be a counterbalance with angels although it would just be a pair of angelic wings; waiting for a willing volunteer to wear it to defeat the hungry demon.

Not sure if we fit the bill but i think my friend looked more ready! Haha! 

There were also two claw machines in the area; i know they are popular but aren't they a waste of precious dining space? Oh well, maybe they were brought in given the safe distancing measures imposed by the authority due to the pandemic.

Interesting way to order; scan the QR code on your table! Technological changes have now rendered tablets as redundant for ordering as a high percentage of the population has a smartphone and maintaining a website is less costly than having to maintain both the tablets and the website.

My order; hardly any sweat! But for those who still prefer the manual way, as in call the service staff over and place your order; you can still do so. 

Note: there's a spicy challenge for the snacks you order with a spicy option. Known as SMLJ (same acronyms we used for a vulgar term), it's assumed you would go for the middle option if you fail to indicate the spicy level on your order; i learnt that the hard way. 

XXXL Crispy Chicken Chop - opting for the spicy version, i was expecting an uncut piece so that i can better visualize how XXXL it is compared to its competitors. With famous Taiwanese brands like Devil's Chicken and Monga Chicken setting up shop in Singapore selling Taiwanese chicken chops, the one from Emo Snacks was up for a stiff competition. 

Taste was pretty good with flavourful batter although it was too thick for my liking. I also regretting the spicy version as the default 50% spiciness was way over my threshold and it's the kind of numbing spiciness that stayed in my mouth for  a while! 

Oolong Milk Tea - up-sized, with 50% sugar and pearls, this was a thirst quencher and comparative in taste with my favourite one from Koi! I did order a normal milk tea for Alex but maybe because i took quite a while to get home (went for durians at Ah Di after the meal), the ice had melted and Alex was quite unhappy with the beverage.

Braised Pork Rice - i often shared with my friends that i don't enjoy the main meals when i was in Taiwan in 2014. One of the things i liked better then was luroufan (braised pork rice) and during the circuit breaker period in Singapore, i am a frequent patron of Jiak by Jin Feng (金峰) at Northpoint. 

At only S$4.90, it's cheaper with a bigger portion than Jiak (a takeaway outlet). Some of you might also be happy to note that the meat wasn't as fatty as the ones from Jiak and the egg had an almost runny yolk. 

The nice old taste of braised pork although those looking for something out of ordinary might be left disappointed. I thought the braised gravy was also on the bland side and hence, required the assistance of the crunchy preserved vegetables to up the flavour.    

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For the price i paid, including the mala chicken rice; it didn't burn a hole in my pocket. Food was decent (the mala chicken rice's spiciness was seriously no joke), service was friendly and i got to become an angel.   

Address

223 Geylang Road,

Singapore 389283

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

Mondays - Closed

Tuesdays to Thursdays - 11.30 am to 11.00 pm

Fridays to Sundays - 12.00 pm to 12.00 am

Website

https://emo-snacks.business.site/

Pricing

XXXL Crispy Chicken Chop - S$6.50

Oolong Milk Tea (Upsize with Pearls) - S$4.50

Braised Pork Rice - S$4.90

(No GST, No Service Charge)