the royal bbq pork is a must order!

what i love about kph's royal bbq pork bakkwa is that it is made of sliced pork instead of minced pork. to date, it is one of the thickest bakkwas that i know! i would say that texture wise, it is chewy due to sliced pork being used instead of minced pork which usually breaks away/crumbles more easily. i think what makes kph popular with its customers is the texture of the meat that you probably can't find anywhere else. it feels like you're eating an extremely thin slice of dried pork chop.
kph's bakkwa is sweet and juicy with a slight smoky aftertaste. if you're looking for a strong smoky aftertaste, i'm afraid that kph isn't the right place to go for you. a store like lim chee guan 林志源 would better serve your needs.
other popular items at kph would be their famous pineapple bbq pork bakkwa and the royal chilli sliced pork. the pineapple bbq pork bakkwa is definitely a unique selling point that draws the crowd to kph every year and you'll see people buying up boxes after boxes of it. it tastes like a slightly sweeter version of be royal bbq sliced pork bakkwa but with pineapple bits mixed into it. some find the pineapple version more tender than the royal bbq sliced pork but i don't remember the difference being that great. as for the royal chilli sliced pork, I wouldn't mind eating it but if offered the pineapple version or the royal bbq pork version, i would go for them instead. i find that the royal chilli sliced pork version offers a slightly different texture since the meat is more dry in comparison to the other two.

be prepared to queue for hours if you want a taste of this or just try to go at the odd timings and pray that there isn't a queue. i think that they impose restrictions on the quantity that you can buy but you can always just queue again or bring a few friends along with you.
新年块乐 and 新年快乐 everyone 🍊🍊

the royal bbq pork is a must order!

what i love about kph's royal bbq pork bakkwa is that it is made of sliced pork instead of minced pork. the royal bbq pork bakkwa is one of the thickest that i know of and this just means greater satisfaction with each bite especially given how tender the meat is. i would say that texture wise, it is chewy due to sliced pork being used instead of minced pork which usually breaks away/crumbles more easily. i think what makes kph popular with its customers is the texture of the meat that you probably can't find anywhere else. it feels like you're eating an extremely thin slice of dried pork chop.
kph's bakkwa is sweet and juicy with a slight smoky aftertaste. if you're looking for a strong smoky aftertaste, i'm afraid that kph isn't the right place to go for you. a store like lim chee guan 林志源 would better serve your needs.
other popular items at kph would be their famous pineapple bbq pork bakkwa and the royal chilli sliced pork. the pineapple bbq pork bakkwa is definitely a unique selling point that draws the crowd to kph every year and you'll see people buying up boxes after boxes of it. it tastes like a slightly sweeter version of be royal bbq sliced pork bakkwa but with pineapple bits mixed into it. some find the pineapple version more tender than the royal bbq sliced pork but i don't remember the difference being that great. as for the royal chilli sliced pork, I wouldn't mind eating it but if offered the pineapple version or the royal bbq pork version, i would go for them instead. i find that the royal chilli sliced pork version offers a slightly different texture since the meat is more dry in comparison to the other two.

be prepared to queue for hours if you want a taste of this or just try to go at the odd timings and pray that there isn't a queue. i think that they impose restrictions on the quantity that you can buy but you can always just queue again or bring a few friends along with you.
新年块乐 and 新年快乐!

after seeing the @burpple team's post about @jinzakaya, the newly opened sister restaurant of @sushijin_sg, i decided i had to check it out. for lunch, jinzakaya offers what they call a four x four lunch, essentially 4 categories of food (salads, rice, noodles and sandwiches) with 4 options per category all priced at $12.80 each.
yakimono skewers are also not served during lunch but only during dinner. it felt really strange visiting an izakaya and not having yakimono skewers but then again, jinzakaya isn’t supposed to be your typical izakaya.
i got to try the kimchi ramen and the jin yakitori don. the kimchi ramen came with an onsen egg, slices of chargrilled chicken thigh meat and springy ramen noodles. for the soup, kimchi paste was added to white chicken soup base, forming a combination which sets this bowl of noodles apart from the usual kimchi ramyun you find elsewhere. the chargrilled chicken thigh meat looked especially enticing but i felt it was a little too lightly seasoned hence resulting in a rather tasteless piece of meat, especially when contrasted with the soup.
similarly for the jin yakitori don, my friend and i came to a consensus that the yakitori sticks were too bland for our liking. given that the yakitori sticks are supposed to be the main accompaniment with each scoop of rice, i think the flavour of the meat is something that can be improved on. there was however no fault to be found with the onsen eggs in both the ramen and the yakitori don.
i’ll probably end up trying the salads and sandwiches during my next visit as they've gotten some pretty good reviews. for those intending to pay a visit, be sure to arrive early to avoid disappointment as some of their dishes run out real quick!

missing the affordable truffle yakiniku don at tanuki raw while they’re undergoing renovations?head over to @grilllosg located in in the new @pasarbella in suntec city where you can get your fix of something similar. in fact, i prefer grilllo's version of this dish over tanuki’s. priced at $14.90, just $0.10 more than tanuki’s truffle yakiniku don, i felt that the short ribs used in grilllo’s version were of slightly better quality. also, can we take a minute to appreciate that beautiful egg please? with crispy garlic chips scattered all over and a light drizzle of truffle soy sauce over the bed of fluffy rice, this dish definitely made for a satisfying meal.

the only point of improvement would perhaps be the meat to rice to sauce ratio. because grilllo gives quite a generous portion of rice, it got a little plain towards the end (despite my rationing efforts) as the meat had run out and there was barely any sauce left to coat the remaining 4-5 spoonfuls of rice grains.

#burpple

most of you might have heard of 陳顺美 before due to their popular grass jelly products that are stocked in supermarkets. however, 陳顺美 also serves up an incredible bowl of 豆腐花 (beancurd) too! if you're wondering why you've never seen it around, that's because you can only find their 豆腐花 at serangoon gardens market and food centre. over the years, the price has increased from 50 cents a bowl to $1 but i'm not complaining as they're still one of the cheaper 豆腐花 places around singapore. if you ask me, i actually prefer 陳顺美 to the popular rochor beancurd due to their ability to achieve a consistently silky smooth textured beancurd. that and the fact that the 豆腐花 is always served in a beautiful porcelain bowl. the only gripe i have about a 豆腐花 experience at 陳顺美 is that you don't have youtiao 油条 to go with it 😢 oh yes, i know that a cold bowl of dessert always sounds perfect in a hot and humid climate like ours but when having 豆腐花 anywhere, my recommendation is for you to get the hot version as that ensures that the 豆腐花 is fresher. if you're craving for something cold at 陳顺美, you can always go for their grass jelly instead.

#burpple

if you're not a fan of soupy stuff like the lor mee, I suggest you go for either the xing hua thick bee hoon or xing hua bee hoon instead. while the difference only appears to be the type of bee hoon used, the xing hua bee hoon is actually really different from the xing hua thick bee hoon. the thick bee hoon version of the dish is definitely wetter, with a gravy that feels like a concentrated version of the soup used for the lor mee. my personal preference would be that of the xing hua thick bee hoon, it kinda feels like ordering hokkien prawn noodles without the yellow noodles. on the other hand, the thin bee hoon version will taste exactly the same as what you can find at putien with the exception of its price and the generosity of ingredients provided by uncle.
#burpple

fans of putien's lor mee should definitely pay special attention to this post. located in the sims vista market and food centre is a tiny stall called 合興板面之家 run by an old couple; the auntie greets everyone and takes orders with a smile while the old uncle works his magic all alone in the kitchen. easily noticeable by its pink signboard, auntie and uncle serve up the incredibly rare xinghua/ putian cuisine. during my recent visit, i saw almost everyone in the queue order the tom yam chicken cutlet noodles (tom yam noodles with a generous bowl of piping hot deep fried chicken), i chose to go with my usual order of xinghua lor mee. i paid attention to uncle as he whipped up my favourite dish at the stall. the interesting thing about him cooking the lor mee was that he used a wok instead of a pot! the chilli served here is different from what you get at putien, the chilli here is instead reminiscent of the chilli served at qiu lian ban mian stalls. so if you're a fan of it like me, be sure to help yourself to the chilli (try not to go overboard like i did lol). at just $4 a bowl, the xinghua lor mee comes with plenty of clams, prawns, pork belly and vegetables. the noodles aren't the plain handmade youmian that you get at most noodle shops, instead they seemed to have a slight wok hei flavour to them, possibly a result of uncle cooking the lor mee in a wok. furthermore, the high heat used in the process of cooking allows the flavour of the tiny slices of garlic and onions to be brought out and transferred to the soup, coating the noodles before you slurp them up.
i think that while the ingredients used by auntie and uncle aren't as fresh or as big as the ones served by putien, they are decent enough in quality. and whatever they lacked in quality is made up for by the generosity of the ingredients provided in each bowl. at such great value for money, the only thing preventing me from making more frequent visits is its not so convenient location. that and also the fact that i will probably end up finishing two bowls in one seating.

#burpple

LOL sorry for this incredibly bad photo but I didn't expect the food to be good enough for me to post. Went in to this restaurant with zero expectations and left it a very satisfied customer. For those who are fans of crab beehoon like the one Melben Seafood is known for, skip the queues and just come straight to Yaowarat Seafood instead. This place serves up a thick flavourful broth that I feel is better than Melben Seafood's. Come on a weekday and there are promotions for this dish as well. I'm honestly surprised that this place is still under the radar. I really hope to see this place surviving in the long run!

This was my first time trying The Market Grill so my friend and I decided to get a 1.1kg U.S Prime Rib accompanied by caramelised onions, potato saladaise and red wine jus to share. Having heard so many people raving about having good steaks at The Market Grill, I think I was sorely disappointed with the meal I had. The Prime Rib was really dry throughout. I had to eat all pieces of the steak with red wine jus otherwise it would've been bland and tasteless. Maybe my friend and I were just unlucky that day or maybe The Market Grill isn't good with bigger cuts of meat.

I remember Marutama as one of the first proper ramen shops that I got to try in Singapore. I used to frequent this place with my friends when they first opened on our shores and we used to order lots of ajitama and pork cheek. Revisiting Marutama again after so many years was a nostalgic experience. Their signature ramen broth is chicken based. Expect an almost tonkotsu like soup base that is less intense in flavourz You'll also get a chance to try the delicious aosa(seaweed) that they add into each bowl. While Marutama serves a decent bowl of chicken based soup ramen, its soup has traces of the alkaline taste you get from yellow noodles which I don't really like. The texture of the noodles however was m commendable and I found that they absorbed the flavour from the broth quite well, making each bite that I took very enjoyable.

Not your typical bone marrow bun, the Burnt Ends version is on my list of sinful treats that one must definitely try. It tasted like a slightly more toasted version of the brioche bun from the sanger, generously smeared with garlic butter and bone marrow. I'm not a fan of bone marrow by itself but this was a combination that left me wanting more.