Crossovers

Essentially a rich, fragrant yam cake-mousse which is likely to evoke memories of coconut-based neighbourhood confectionery cakes you had as a TAF club child. The pumpkin purée was a confused cross between savoury and sweet, and somewhere out there lurked a source of peppery spice, which provided a jack-in-the-box-esque jolt to the mouth. 3.6/5

Essentially a most scintillating extra-marital jungle romp between instant noodle curry powder, mee rebus and green curry…if you request for it to be more spicy. The picture on the menu showed sliced red chilli in this dish, but said chilli was missing when the pasta was served. I tried the pasta anyway, and subsequently asked if I could add the chilli for an extra spicy kick in the pants. They added the chilli and more, and the pasta went from hmmm to HELLOOOOOOO. 4/5

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/10/pasta-x-curry-x-green-curry-som-tam/

The very exotic-looking pandan chicken, which looks like an intimidating love child of Street Fighter’s Blanka and The Hulk, was an aromatic and intriguing mixture of sweet, tender and roasty, while elsewhere the fries were delightfully addictive, coated with the kind of wondrous powder you get all over Taiwanese fried chicken. 3.8/5

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/09/pandan-chicken-burger-collective-brewers/

The minced chicken filling had the no-nonsense candour and meatiness of a tattooed chaokeng storeman, remaining safe in its ravioli bunk away from any propaganda and brainwashing from the weak, Indian-tinged green curry. Addictive fried wanton skin bits though. 3.2/5

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/08/fickle-ravioli-green-curry-the-fickle-mussel/

What you get if one of those glamorously-blinged, big-permed aunties chopping meats behind the hanging carcasses and greasy partition decides to marry an angmoh chef – the roast pork (sio bak) is sweet, fatty and lean all at once with each piece offering you a most crucial crackling moment and the pasta itself, which excitingly has absorbed some of the oinkiness, is suitably well-oiled and ready to padi. 4.2/5

This was a hosted meal, courtesy of Old Boys Gallery.

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/08/roast-pork-aglio-olio-old-boys-gallery/

The noodles were thin and highly slurpable, coated in a sexy dressing that is tangy and slightly spicy. Elsewhere, the calamari is initially addictive with its salty energy but your patience quickly wears thin due to its slowly apparent shallow personality, so it is highly fortunate that mango chunks are in attendance for your refreshment purposes. 4/5

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/07/thailand-paddy-hills/

Essentially the laksa flavour from Nissin’s laksa cup noodles…given an injection of sophistication and a smouldering, sweat-inducing upgrade. The crayfish is relegated to recurring guest status here, but who cares when the laksa pasta itself is so seriously shiok? 4.3/5

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/08/laksa-linguine-pasta-the-fickle-mussel/

While other laksa/pasta crossover projects (the magnificent Tolido's Espresso Nook variant comes to mind) bring the flavour of laksa to the pasta playground for exploratory experimentation, here the interpretation remains true to its traditional laksa beliefs. Essentially old-school laksa but blown-dry leaving a lingering moisture, like those 8.30am wet-hair mops which brush onto your face in the rush hour MRT train. 3.9/5

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/07/seafood-laksa-pasta-the-diner-by-the-travelling-c-o-w/

The salted egg dip is like McDonald’s curry sauce undergone some supernova explosion of an evolution – thick, creamy, spicy, peppery and very, very gao. Control your dosage. 3.9/5

This was a hosted meal, courtesy of The Quarters.

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/07/salted-egg-fries-the-quarters/

Not my ultimate favourite tom yum seafood pasta just yet – Rise & Grind still holds the throne as of July 2015 with its strong seafood flavour – but the marvelously full-bodied sauce here is like boiled, reduced tom yum soup concentrate. Notable also is the presence of enoki mushrooms, which usually tend to crave entry into one’s tooth crevices but here add an annoyingly pleasant chew. 3.9/5

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/07/tom-yum-seafood-pasta-collective-brewers/

The equivalent of that “exotic” racially mixed person you met in primary school who did not fit cleanly into that whole CMIO framework and looked really unique and attractive and had a cool accent. The ang moh spaghetti had the strong aroma of Chinese cooking and the chilli oil helped further that Chinese vibe, but then the seaweed and moist shimeji mushrooms added a strong sense of konnichiwa to the proceedings. Elsewhere, the prawns were absolutely gargantuan in size, and probably need to be cut into three pieces each to be comfortably consumed. I enjoyed the pasta so much, I did not even mind all the pea action going on (and said action was hot and heavy, with all them hipster peas rolling around smirking at me and languidly flaunting their self-aware mushiness). 4.1/5

http://secretlifeoffatbacks.com/2015/07/ochazuke-konbu-spaghetti-curious-palette/