Munchin' Round The CBD

Level up from their Short Rib bowl by adding some foie gras. A generous portion of beef slices, with a gorgeous onsen egg in the middle and a pretty decent portion of foie gras as well! Felt the marinade of the beef slices was nicer at Waa Cow. Guess it is inevitable to compare the two since they’re so close to each other.

Always loved their food, and once again they didn't disappoint :) @lunarcoffeebrewers serves a variety of #fusion #ricebowls, but we went straight for the Miso Nori #Salmon #Soba ($14.50). A generously portioned poached salmon sat atop a tasty marinated soba base topped with a delicious seasoning and in-house miso nori butter. A perfect #onsenegg and pickled ginger sealed the deal. Such a perfect blend of flavors! #burpple

Newly opened place for rice bowls, there are so many around nowadays that you’ll be spoilt for choice! Though it cost a pretty penny, I was happy to pay the price for a generous slab of salmon that was fork-tender, with a perfectly wobbly onsen egg on the side. Quite similar to Waa Cow, though I would say that the portion here is bigger, while I preferred the doneness of the salmon at the former. Guess it depends on what you’re going for!

Healthy, vegan food can taste yummy. I didn’t even notice the fact that there wasn’t any meat in this Buddha Bowl ($9.90) that looked so eye-catching and tasted amazing! With a plethora of ingredients from chickpeas/edamame, tumeric cauliflower, sautéed mushrooms, purple slaw, marinated tofu, quinoa, other grilled vegetables and topped with a huge dollop of beetroot hummus, this bowl kept me satisfied all the way till dinner. So happy that I managed to score this item, which is honestly cheaper than any other similar dish I’ve seen so far.

With a decent selection of burgers to choose from, and a variety of meat fillings, there is sure to be one that satisfies any appetite. We opted for the Portobello ($25), which came with their standard 150g Angus Chuck patty. Was super impressed by the succulent patty, and juicy mushrooms that burst with flavor in or mouths. The Mangalica Pork ($26) was something different - you don’t often get a pork patty do you? Though tender as well, I still leaned towards the beef as my top choice. What was interesting though, was the tomato bacon marmalade and pineapples which lent a tropical touch to the pork patty and complemented it well! The sesame buns that sandwich the burger are a highlight too, toasted to a nice crispness on the grill with crunchy sesame seeds on top. Definitely one of the better burgers out there!

Quite a generous portion of salmon and tuna cubes in this bowl. I felt that the fish lacked freshness expected of sashimi though. The rice was also quite sticky and did not have much taste. Guess I should’ve opted for soba since that’s what they’re famous for?

What a surprising dish to find at a ramen shop! But this is exactly what they mean when they say this Ramen joint run by 3 Singaporeans does not pretend to be Japanese despite their clear niche. Dishing out bowls of ramen that has been tweaked to the local tastebuds, they’ve come up with items that aren’t quite your typical jap but nonetheless retain their perfectionist standards. Their signature sous vide flame-grilled kokuni pork belly sandwiched between mantous is a twist on a traditional Chinese dish, and boy, the result is spectacular!

I love ramen, but I do feel that it can be a bit too heavy/“gao” sometimes. For those who have that same emotional conflict as me, the Shoyu Chashu Ramen is a great option to go for, with its clear, light soy sauce pork broth that is a nice contrast to the rest of its soup bases which tend to be a bit creamier. You might detect hints of spices in it, thanks to the fragrant, floral notes of the sansho pepper oil in the broth. At Buta Ramen, you don’t get pathetic slivers of chashu that simply disappear into the bowl. The guys here are proud of their meats, and it shows in the two generously-portioned slabs of pork chashu which are sous vide for tenderness.

One of Buta Ramen’s owners is a huge beer-lover, and perhaps that’s how this dish came about! This premium ramen is made from a rich tonkotsu broth and what they call a “healthy dose of Sapporo beer”. Everything in moderation, I guess you can’t dispute that! Plus it lends such an amazing breath of malty flavor that adds a whole new dimension to the umami-laden broth. The icing on top of the cake, a long slab of flame-grilled, almost melt-in-your-mouth yakitori pork belly. *slurps*

Known for being the only place that serves Japanese pork ribs with ramen, this signature item is a clear winner with its fall-off-the-bone texture and addictive sweet/savory marinade. I could not stop at just one, especially when it complemented the Sapporo beer on the side so well. Buta’s ramen broth is painstakingly made daily from scratch (no store-bought soup stock please!) and brewed for 8-10 hours before they dish it out into your bowls to be eaten. There are a tonne of other good things I could say about Buta, but I shall save that for another post. Located along an alley at China Square Central which is often bustling during lunch, it quietens down in the evenings which is a great respite from the revelry around that area. Thanks @burpple for the invite and Chris for your hospitality! #burpple #burppletastemaker

A reasonably-priced plate that will give you good vibes - pick a base/carb, a protein, 2 sides and a dressing for just $12nett. The chicken breast, though pale in appearance, was tender and juicy, thanks to sous vide I presume? The spicy mango salsa gave the dish quite a kick and was surprisingly hot so do beware if you can’t take chili padi too well! Overall a good selection for a healthy lunch!

While the slabs of tender, grilled pork were meant to be the highlight of the bowl (and they were certainly delicious), what stole the show for me was the fragrant mound of rice beneath it, marinated in a piquant garlic sauce and mixed in with egg yolk. Help yourself to the free-flow salad bar, and I especially liked the lotus root salad! Come by in the month of Jan for 15% off with Burpple 😉