Gan Yakitori

My dining companion and I were at The Star Vista on a weekday and it was time for dinner. Having tried Bornga and Wrap & Roll, we settled on Gan Yakitori – an izakaya that uses bincho charcoal that supposedly produces a full flavour in the grilled food without destroying its proteins. Located on the 2nd floor, it is one of the many Japanese restaurants in this shopping mall that has seen many shops come and go since it opened a few years ago. Could neither rave about the grilled scallop and cold soba nor fault its fishcakes from the oden menu. All the yakitori items we ordered were well-seasoned and grilled nicely such as the hard-to-go-wrong tomato or asparagus bacon maki and mid-joint wing, which was crisp on the outside and moist inside. For some of the items like chicken with leek and quail egg, you can choose whether to have them with sauce or salt. Oh, and its extensive offerings extends beyond food to include a wide variety of alcoholic drinks too. Kanpai! Itadakimasu. 

BeansTalk and BlackBall

As I read The Sunday Times review on BeansTalk, I thought $2 for Taiwanese beancurd with 6 toppings was a good deal. No harm trying if I happened to be in Toa Payoh and have stomach space for it but alas, months have since passed me by. So when I saw another branch at Jurong East Temporary Interchange, decided to try it. Known as BeansTalk Signature, it was topped with grass jelly, pinto beans, red and green beans, roasted peanuts and taro balls. Silky beancurd was mediocre and left a strange taste on my tongue. Atop was grass jelly, beans and nuts I could neither rave about nor fault. Preferred BlackBall's grass jelly made with Mesona grass from Guan Xi, Taiwan – smooth and slippery enough to glide down my throat, not too sweet though some might find it a tad bitter. BeansTalk's colourful taro balls were chewy, just like that from BlackBall which also came with sweet potato balls. Though they were good, better ones could be found at Malaysia's Snowflakes.

Update: BeansTalk has been rebranded as Nine Fresh Desserts Taiwan.

New Kid on the Block – Owl Café

Owl coffee is a familiar brand I grew up with and it was with anticipation befitting of its more than 50 years of coffee roasting and blending experience that I made a trip to Super Group's first foray into a physical store. Coming via the sheltered walkway from Buona Vista MRT Station and up the escalator that leads to The Star Vista, the café is on the left with outdoor seating to its right. Against industrial concrete floor, metal chairs and minimalist naked bulbs hanging from the ceiling were lots of wood and nice lamp shades. An extension of the blue in its logo could be seen in patterns on the wall. Interestingly, packets of different coffee (instead of magazines) were displayed at racks around a pillar column. Items on the menu include Straits Asian-inspired drinks and food, ranging from snacks and toast to main course and desserts.