Nara Thai Cuisine Revisited

There are now two branches of Nara Thai in Singapore, at B3 of Ion Orchard and 3rd floor of Westgate. While I have visited the restaurant a few times over the years, it has always been to the former. For appetiser, my dining companions and I usually go for its tangy green mango salad or pomelo salad. The latter consists of crunchy and juicy pomelo and prawns, with cashew nut and shallots in a spicy and more-sweet-than-sour dressing. Instead of River Prawns in Spicy Lemongrass and Lime Soup, we would order Tom Yum Kung with chicken. Could neither rave about its tender Gai Pak Panang, or barbequed chicken in spicy Thai marinade that reminded me of our local satay, and Kaeng Phed Ped Yang (roasted duck red curry) nor fault the Kang Panaeng Moo/Gai – red curry with pork/chicken, Phad Thai with chicken and stir-fried minced pork with chilli and hot basil served with steamed jasmine rice. And nothing beats washing these food down with an ice-blended plum juice.

Tim Ho Wan – Has the Standard Dropped?

3 years have passed since Tim Ho Wan 1st landed on our shores. Now, the Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant has expanded its presence to 8 locations across the island – 112 Katong, Aperia Mall (Lavender), Atrium@Orchard (Plaza Singapura), CityLink Mall, ERA Centre (Toa Payoh), Pacific Plaza, Tai Seng and Westgate. Last weekend, I visited its newest branch at Pacific Plaza and ordered my favourites. The Steamed Egg Cake was as airy-light, soft and fluffy as the 1st time I tried it though the caramelised taste was more muted than the ones in Hong Kong. Skin of the Steamed Prawn Dumplings was not as springy and translucent-thin as I remembered, and a tad mushy but did not stick to the paper on the bamboo steamer basket. I preferred the succulent and well-marinated prawns in Singapore to Hong Kong's. While Spring Roll with Egg White seemed oilier, the skin was still crackling-crispy thin and went well with the egg white, prawns and chopped carrots. By the way, breakfast sets are also available at CityLink Mall's takeaway counter.

Mak's Noodle

Founded by Mak Woon Chi in 1920, Mak's Noodle moved from Guangzhou to Hong Kong during the Second World War. It has since expanded from an open air street stall in Central to six eateries with indoor seating (Causeway Bay, Jordan, Tin Hau, Tsim Sha Tsui, The Peak). Its 1st branch in Singapore opened at Centrepoint last year, and can also be found at Westgate and VivoCity. I finally tried at the latter recently for a quick bite before going Sentosa. Ordered wonton and dumpling noodles in soup to try both the wonton and dumpling – both had well-marinated succulent prawns I could not fault. As it was originally intended as a snack, the portion is small which also keeps the springy noodles from turning soggy. While my dining companion thought it was above average, I found it good enough though supposedly not as good as Hong Kong's. Now, I just want to buy an air ticket and fly there to try the real thing at the original Central branch. Wait for me…

Update: The branches at Westgate and Vivocity have closed.

Ippudo

Happened to be in the area when one of my dining companions suggested having dinner at Westgate's Ippudo, which I of course had no objections to since the Japanese restaurant is ranked as one of my top 3 bowls of ramen in Singapore. It was founded in 1985 by Shigemi Kawahara, the internationally-acclaimed Ramen King and CEO of Chikaranomoto Company. According to its website, there are more than 120 branches worldwide including 80 in Japan. The rest are located in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Having eaten at Mandarin Gallery's and Mohamed Sultan's Ippudo, and preferring the former to the latter, I wanted to try at this branch. It was a weekday and we were there for dinner before the queues started. Ordered my usual Shiromaru Tamago – classic Hakata-style ramen in tonkotsu broth with flavoured egg, and chose medium hardness for the noodles over soft, hard and very hard.

Westgate Food Trail

Last Saturday, I participated in Westgate Food Trail organised by Food & Travel magazine. While this was not my first time to the shopping mall beside Jem, I have never been to the 4th floor where we gathered at Westgate Wonderland, a themed play area. What I like about Westgate is its mix of tenants including the only Borders (Kinokuniya is in Jem) in Singapore, Isetan department store and supermarket as well as restaurants opening their first branch outside the heart of Singapore – MK Restaurants at 313@Somerset and Ippudo with presence at Mandarin Gallery, Mohamed Sultan and Asia Square. Nara Thai Cuisine, with a branch at Ion Orchard, will open next week. CapitaLand vouchers can be used here or at nearby IMM and JCube.

Tim Ho Wan

Now, the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant has four branches in Singapore – Atrium@Orchard, ERA Centre, Bedok Mall and Westgate. Almost a year since it started offering authentic made-to-order (not pre-steamed and reheated) Hong Kong style dim sum on our sunny shores, the initial hype has died down so queues were no longer as long. We visited this hole-in-the-wall eatery in the west, and queued about half an hour for lunch despite Sunday being perfect for yum cha. How could we miss the legendary Baked Buns with BBQ Pork? My dining companions, who have eaten at Westgate's Tim Ho Wan before, declared that the standard had dropped though it was still delicious albeit smaller. Steamed Egg Cake was a tad moist, not as airy-light and fluffy as the first time I tried it and no longer addictive. Deep-Fried Spring Roll with Egg White and Steamed Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce tasted largely the same as my previous visits, except maybe the former was a tad oilier.

Eggs & Berries

When I first saw drooling pictures and rave reviews about Eggs & Berries, there was only a branch at Changi City Point beside Expo MRT Station. But now, a 2nd had opened at Westgate beside Jem in Jurong East. Located beside 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken on the 2nd floor, the all-day American-styled breakfast restaurant had both indoor and outdoor seats. Candy-coloured chairs in blue, pink and yellow against lots of wood (from the chair frames and tables to counters and cabinets) gave the 50-seater place a cheerful vibe. My dining companions and I visited on a weekday for its tea time special of 50% off selected crêpes, desserts, pancakes and waffles. In fact, it also has a breakfast special of 1-for-1 for its triple omelette on weekdays. I believe these run 'til month-end though am not sure about the $3.90 deal for grilled chipotle sausage with choice of egg (fried, poached or scrambled), baked beans, warm sandwich toast, a side salad and coffee or tea.

Menya Musashi

My dining companions and I were looking for a place to lunch at Westgate yesterday when we chanced upon Menya Musashi's lunch sets at $13.90 for a ramen and a side dish. Since Ippudo has yet to open and Paul is better known for its pastries and sweets, we decided to try this Japanese ramen chain located on the 2nd floor. Established since 1996 in Japan, it was named after legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi famous for his double sword style. Other branches in Singapore include Bedok Mall, Ion Orchard, Raffles City Shopping Centre, The Star Vista, Thomson Plaza and VivoCity. There are three versions of soup base for its ramen – white or original, red (spicy) and black with garlic. The tonkotsu broth is supposedly boiled with a substantial amount of pork bones for more than 9 hours with a chef stirring it every half an hour to prevent the bottom from being burned. According to the website, it is creamier than most other places.