Thursday, March 28, 2024

Dashi Master Marusaya is Serving Ramen Now

Dashi Shoyu Ramen

Wow, it’s been almost ten years since I was last here, despite what I had mentioned previously. Well, the reason why I came back today was because they’re now doing ramen. Given that they are literally named after their dashi, I went for the shoyu version to try to keep it as purist as possible. It had a nice and earthy taste, presumably due to not just smoky dried fish but also shallots and even dried scallops, if I tasted it correctly. The toppings weren’t anything special nor was the service, but it didn't matter because it was all about the broth. They also offer a tonkotsu and tantanmen version but I'm not sure if I'll go for those if they cover up the taste of the dashi.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

KOMA at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore

Curry Meat Cigar

I was a bit concerned when the team mentioned that we were headed here for a business lunch today (2 Bayfront Avenue #B1-67, 6688-8690). Sure, it was upscale and known for hosting Taylor Swift earlier this month. But it also seemed very commercialized in a Vegas-like way, especially given how over the top they went with the decor.

And yes, that's basically how it turned out, with dishes like that "curry meat cigar" above made to be eye-catching, but oftentimes were more about appearances than anything that my stomach got excited about. To be fair, the ingredients were of decent quality, but you also paid a price for it. This is not high on my list of places to go back to, even if it was a memorable experience.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Trying Out O.BBa Jjajang Express

Jjajangmyeon

I'm not sure if this applies to all of their outlets, but the stall at the Taste Orchard building where OG used to be has one of its screens displaying Michelin signage. It turns out though that this place isn't Michelin-listed. Instead, it was featured in a video and blog post by Michelin when they interviewed the Michelin-starred chef from Meta on where he likes to eat, one of which is the original restaurant that this stall spun out of. Anyway, I figured that it would make for a fast lunch, especially while I'm still on this recent fascination with jjajangmyeon.

It's too bad then that this didn't get me excited, mainly because the taste of the onions was not as pronounced as at Paik Jong Won's shop. Don't get me wrong, one definitely tastes the onion finish at the end of it, but I wanted it more upfront, whereas this one bored me. Well, I'm hardly an expert on this stuff, and maybe the original shop and/or whatever the Meta guy ordered was different. But I'll get something different if I come back.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Anna's Sourdough at Oasis Terraces in Punggol

Anna's Harvest Bowl

This place serves slightly upscale cafe fare along the Punggol Waterway (681 Punggol Drive #01-04, 6966-7503). We didn't eat much here, but that salad above was refreshing and healthy enough, and the bread was nicely textured too, even if my preference is for the denser loaves at Starter Lab. I didn't realize until afterwards that it was run by the Soup Spoon folks, which admittedly I haven't been the biggest fan of. But I can come back to this place. They even provide a nice canvas bag to go with your bread loaves if you buy one.

Ba Wang Pan Mee in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore

Classic Handmade Noodles With Minced Pork

This kopitiam stall has gotten some attention for being run by a local celebrity chef, and we happened to be nearby this afternoon (133 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3). The noodles - or mee hoon kueh in our case today - were nice and chewy coming out of the pasta machine. And sure, the rest of the bowl was edible enough to finish quickly. But I was a bit bummed to find that the chili sauce wasn't the gritty smoky stuff that I had come to expect of pan mee, but rather a smooth acidic one instead. I like the sour ones too, but just need to reset my expectations if I come here again.

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Meat Dishes Yakisuki Yanma at Narita Airport Terminal 1

Gyutan Set

I haven't been to the landside part of Narita Terminal 1 in ages, but this shop caught my eye, not only for all of the meat available, but also the tofu from a Tokyo shop called Tougenkyo, the latter of which was nice and creamy. If you look closely in the upper right hand corner of the photo above, there are some brown oval-shaped thing that I also got precisely because those teppozuke pickles were unique to Narita (i.e., I'd never been to the actual town of Narita despite passing through the airport so much). That gyutan above was fine too, but in retrospect I should have ordered their namesake "yakisuki," which is a mashup of yakiniku and sukiyaki where the beef and sauce are placed on a flat rectangular platter. Maybe next time.

Ginza Chojuan in Tokyo, Japan

Kamo-seiro

We needed a quick bite and randomly decided to try this shop after walking past it on the streets (1 Chome−21−15 Ginza, 03-3561-2647). It looked like one of those local soba shops, but only after sitting down did we realize that this place has been around since 1935 and was the inventor of the kamo seiro. Admittedly the meat didn't blow me away, nor did the broth. But the noodles were firm and it was all fast, affordable, and friendly.

Monday, March 18, 2024

Sushi Nakamura in Roppongi, Tokyo

Sushi

I didn't realize this until I looked it up just now, but there seem to be many sushi places in Tokyo called Nakamura, and I assume that they are all unrelated to each other. To be clear, this is the edomae shop in Roppongi (7 Chome-17-16 Roppongi, 03-3746-0856), and Nakamura-san himself was serving us tonight. Some of my favorites included a roasted blackperch and braised monkfish liver, not to mention an otoro maki. What also made pieces like the one above stand out was the way that the soy sauce and vinegar were blended to be edgy, but only borderline excessive. Either way, he fed us a very generous amount of very high quality food. It wasn't cheap, but there was also such high value that I was surprised that our bill wasn't higher.

Kusaiya Near Aoyama-Itchome in Tokyo, Japan

Tsukune

This was another one of those local kushiyaki places without any tourists, which was a nice thing (Minamiaoyama 1 Chome−3−21, 03-5411-9318). Each table was adorned with a giant bowl of daikon oroshi, and they served affordable food that went well with drinks, like those giant tsukune above. None of it was so unique that I'd go out of my way to go back there, but I'd go there for a quick meal if I were nearby.

Haru Chan Ramen in Shimbashi, Tokyo



Here's another Bib Gourmand ramen shop that I decided to stop at on my way back (2 Chome−20−15 Shimbashi, 03-6263-9636). It can be a bit hard to find. Basically, go to the drab Ekimai Building 1 just northeast of Shimbashi station to find a bunch of little old food places on the ground floor; this little 6-seater C-shaped counter is on the northwest side of the building.

The best thing here were the flat chewy noodles, which arguably were even better than at Seijo Seika. The broth was crispy here as well, but it definitely wasn't smoky, which was too bad. The thick cuts of meat here weren't exciting either. That means that I'd rather go to Seijo Seika, even if this is more accessible from the city. The proprietor was very sweet though.

Chūkasoba Seijo Seika in Setagaya City

Shio Soba

Whoa, I was blown away by how amazing this Bib Gourmand bowl was (3 Chome-1-12 Minamikarasuyama). Despite how deceptively simple it looked, each individual component rocked, in particular that crisp and smoky dried sardine broth. It was scaldingly hot to help cook that thin rare slice of pork, while that tightly bound wad of spring onions and the bamboo shoots pulled it together. He also had sansho grinders on the counter, which totally changed the flavor profile with just a small dusting. I loved this place, but just wish that it weren't so far out of town.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Yaro Ramen from Akihabara in Tokyo

Tonkotsu Ramen

Once again we just needed somewhere quickly to refuel before getting on the train, and this ramen chain happened to have seats available. I didn't want something so heavy, but somehow I still cleared that bowl with ease given its chewy noodles and loads of veggies. Plus, having an array of toppings like spicy tempura bits made it kinda fun. But I am not entirely sure whether this qualifies as jirokei nor what the difference is between this tonkotsu bowl and the limited quantity namesake bowl that they seemed to be pushing.