Meatsmith Little India

A friend made lunch reservations for us at this place on New Year's Eve afternoon. 

Rypical unadventurous me had the usual barrage of questions- hey, it was New Year's Eve- but I later decided that it wasn't every day I got to lunch in a shop house, it wasn't every day I got to eat in a quaint little lane, and it wasn't every day that I got to experience something called Modern Indian Barbecue.

To be honest, I thought of it as Indian Fusion more than Modern Indian Barbecue when I first got there and looked at the menu. 

But gradually (as I began narrowing down the choices), I began to understand why. 

Meatsmith is the mid-range restaurant from the Burnt Ends group. With two locations at Telok Ayer and Campbell Lane, their menu consists of starters, smoked meats, burgers, sides, desserts and, of course, drinks. 

Other joints might have other offerings, but nowhere in the starter list would they have things like Lamb meatballs with Fresh Mint and Yogurt, Stuffed Tandoori Wings, Crispy Pork Madras, and Smoked Duck Cigars. 

Neither would they have mains like Smoked Cauliflower with Tomato Relish (for the vegan), Butter Chicken Chop (for those who miss their Indian-style butter chicken), Soft Shell Crab in Wrap, Coconut Pork Ribs, and Kerala Beef Short Rib. 

They might have fries as a side- that's for certain- but Bombay Butter Naan? ONion Bhaji? Crab and Tobiko Biryani? Or (the US South type) of Corn Bread and Honey Butter? 

There was certainly a bit of the American South in their burger menu- which, by the way, exists because Meatsmith is the mid-range restaurant of the Burnt Ends group whom, have for quite a while, made their name with big, satisfying burgers.  

It would have been nice to go all American South with the Nashville Fried Chicken Sandwich, the Pulled Pork Sandwich, the Pastrami Beef Sandwich, the Bacon Double Cheeseburger, and the Corn Bread drizzled with Honey served with smoked(!) butter, but my friend and dining companion had eyes firmly set on the Meatsmith Wagyu Burger. 

So, because variety is the key to any good meal, I decided to forgo the burger and go straight for the Soft Shell Crab Wrap instead. 

Let's just say that I was in for a surprise. 

Look, I've had wraps before. 

I've also had soft shell crab before. 

What I haven't had, however, is a wrap done in such an open-faced style so much so that I wasn't able to recognize it when the plate arrived at my table and I had a near argument with the poor (hapless) staff over what I thought might have been a mistaken order.

Misunderstanding (my apologies) aside, the soft shell crab wrap was really good. 

 

The body of the crab was no small, hard, tiny, portion- there was sufficient meat to chew on- and the crab legs were crunchy. 

For a moment I worried that they might have been sharp at the edge, but no, they were actually quite fun to eat, and the meat was deliciously tasty too. 

The soft shell crab wrap came with a sauce- which I can't remember what- but the crab was so good on its own that I didn't have it at all. 

Then again, I might have had the sauce with the flour wrap. 

Or I might not have had it at all. 

The wrap reminded me a little of a tortilla, so I ate it the way I eat tortillas- breaking little bits off with my hands. 

The Meatsmith Wagyu Burger that my friend had was no less impressive. 

Warm, bulky, chubby, big and solid, it enticed you sink your teeth straight in. 

But we didn't. 

Instead we began with the fries. 

Along with the gorgeous burger came a side of gun powder fries. 

I don't know what it is about the spice- there's no mention what it is either- but it was a little bit salty, little bit spicy, little bit sweet and very, very tasty. 

What delighted me about the fries wasn't just the taste- but its size. 

I had been expecting the portion to be just a handful (like what many other burger places do) but no, this was half a plate- almost a full plate- and it had the most delish dip (I think it was mint chutney or some sort of chutney) on the side.

I'd been expecting just a handful (like what many other burger places serve you) I don't know what it is about the burger that impressed me. 

Together with the burger, it made for a most fantastic meal. 

I didn't get to try much of the double beef patties- too busy devouring the crab leg- but I did get a little bite of the patty topped with American sliced cheddar cheese, the entire portion of house pickles, and a good half of the homemade potato bun. 

I'd like to try more of the starters and the sides next time. 

The Onion Bhaji (onion petals served with date yogurt sauce) looked good, as did the Corn Bread with Honey Butter. The Tandoori Stuffed Wings and the Gun Powder Duck Cigars look pretty interesting too.

But I'll likely go back for the Crispy Pork Madras too. 

Because this crispy spiced pork belly on skewers has its own charm. 

The Chinese side of me thinks of it as a (very small) but skillfully roasted piece of sio bak stuck onto a satay stick. 

But I like the idea of it. 

This is Modern Indian Barbecue after all, and if they can take a commonplace meat like pork belly, marinate it with (whatever) spice, roast it delicately, and serve it up with Madras mustard sauce, if they can make it such that the meat is tender, soft and melty with a crisp skin and no pork smell- then they're worth the order, worth the price, and worth making a trip back to Campbell Lane for. 

Bus Ride Sights: Serangoon-Jalan Besar

The last time I took pictures of this route I sat on the left hand side of the bus. 

This time I sat on the right hand side. 

Was the scenery any different? 

Yes, and no. 

Yes, because one sees different things on the right hand side of the bus. 

No, because, I've seen the scenery countless times before. 

It's interesting how we don't bother capturing moments of our lives until some radical change happens and then we suddenly realize we don't have memories of what was previously there.

I decided against this habit several years ago. 

Hence... random pictures of my day to day surroundings here and there.

The pictures this afternoon began somewhere on Upper Serangoon Road after Serangoon Central and the NEX shopping mall. 

First one I took was of the flyover near the Braddell Road junction- and all the thick green foliage right underneath.

This flyover has been around for quite a number of years. When exactly it was built, I don't know. It might have been the late 90s or the early 00s.

I wish buses went up there. 

Then again, it doesn't really matter- the route comes down to the same place, near the space that used to be Youngberg Adventist Hospital (and later the Salvation Army) but is now Stamford International School. 

Potong Pasir follows close after that with its new (suburban) shopping mall and its condominiums right beside. I didn't manage to take pictures of their iconic housing blocks, and I haven't been to this estate much in recent years, but there still remains a remarkable feel of space, I've heard. 

The  sense of space continues until the all-important turn down the road. 

I've written about this turn before. 

It's the one that connects the northeast to the east to the central to the south. I still find it amazing when I think about it. How does this little circle of space bring one from, say, Whitley Road and Mount Pleasant Road to MacPherson Road, Paya Lebar and Airport Road? And yet also lead one from the forests of Punggol and Serangoon River all the way to the shop houses of Jalan Besar, Rochor, and Fort Canning Hill?

Being on the left side this time I didn't get a picture of the connecting roads today- the right side leads to Whitley and Toa Payoh- but they were a distance away on the other side. 

What I did get, however, was a glimpse of the red brick building in the middle, the exit of the very long (and considerably new) underpass, and a bunch of trees. 

Bendeemer and Boon Keng came right after. 

Both places have a heritage of their own. One sits bordering the estate along a tributary of the Kallang River. The other sits right smack the center between the Kallang Industrial Estate, the Lavender area, and the Balestier-Moulmein in front.

Both places too have their own quirks that generally speak to the heartlander inside of us, like the Lai Wah Restaurant under one of the blocks in Bendeemer, which with their history and nostalgic charm keep patrons and customers coming for dinner celebrations year after year. 

What's interesting about Bendeemer and Boon Keng however isn't just their heritage or their history but the housing estate itself. Unlike many estates that are built in a circular space sort of way, Bendeemer and Boon Keng seem to be built lateral where the blocks, the coffee shops, the shops and even the hawker center lie entirely along the main road. 

It's a piece of prime estate, I hear. 

Maybe because it's along the route towards the Marina Bay area and the Downtown Core. 

Right after Boon Keng comes the entire stretch of Jalan Besar. 

I decided to take as many pictures of the shop houses today- never mind the rain. 

But don't ask me what sort of shops they were. 

In all honesty, I dont' know. 

Jalan Besar is an interesting area where in a single stretch of road you'll find small businesses like paint shops, hardware shops, electrical shops, shops selling bathroom fittings, vehicle repair shops, convenience stores, random shops, eateries, and millennial-style cafes. 

They're so random that you never know what it is that comes up next. 

This is a stretch where you can find a hostel with a vehicle repair shop side by side, or a cupcake store right next to a TCM therapy place right next to a pub right next to a convenience store right next to a motorcycle helmet store. 

The popular Rochor Beancurd used to have a nook and cranny shop here- I think they're still around- the famous Jalan Berseh Food Center is here, a well known cake studio has (had) operations here, and nearer to the Mustafa side on Syed Alwi Road is Swee Choon Dim Sum. 

There're a couple of new dim sum places along this stretch these days as well. 

We tried one place last year during HAHA where we tapaoed char siew pau, siew mai, beancurd skin rolls, egg tarts, cheong funs, and brought them to the outdoor communal plaza downstairs the blocks of Rowell estate close by. 

Perhaps the cuisine is becoming more popular. 

Or maybe because of quarantine conditions that guests in the hotels and hostels on this stretch have to face.

Steamed dim sum, fried dim sum, small dishes and porridge make for great comfort when you're stuck 14 days in a room with a door you cannot step out of and windows which you cannot open. 

Come to think of it, I didn't have any pictures of the hotels on this day. 

Most of the hotels are on the left hand side whilst the shops are on the right. 

Still, they're a great series of pictures. 

Blur as they are (thanks, no thanks to the windows washed by rain), their timeless architecture, and the colors of their walls beautifully shine. 

Taiwanese Typhoon

This is probably one of the very few posts I've ever written (specifically) about dessert. 

IF you've read my blog, you'll know that I hardly write anything about desserts, ice cream, cakes, or drinks.

It isn't because I don't like them. 

It's just that I don't patronize these places very often. 

If I do, it means that either the ice cream there is very, very unique, or the dessert is very, very good.

What makes it even worse is that I tend not to go back to a place very often.

Like this place near Holland V that had really delicious Lavender Earl Grey ice cream and which I went there for perhaps two, three times within a month, and then I stopped going there.

Also, the traditional dessert places on Liang Seah Street that I used to frequent for their steamed egg white pudding, their sesame paste, their tang yuan in ginger soup and their snow ice, but which I haven't been back there for very long. 

I have, however, found a new place for dessert in recent weeks.

And this place- I think I might keep going back there.

Typhoon- with their locations at Plaza Singapura, Bugis+ and Kallang- serves up a variety of Taiwanese-style foods, hot teas, cakes, desserts and beverages that can only be described as fun.

They've got quite a bit of offerings on the menu. 

Drinks alone, they've got soy milk, fruit teas, fresh milk selections, creative smoothies and milk teas. 

If you like soy milk, you might like the brown sugar soy milk with black tapioca pearls. 

If you like milk tea, there's classic milk tea, brown sugar milk tea and caramel milk tea for you to choose.

I thought the fresh milk selections rather interesting, and were it not for the fact that I already knew what I wanted, I would have gone for the chocolate fresh milk with pudding, or the coconut milk peach gum.

But I had come here to their Bugis+ outlet specifically for the dessert- and it didn't seem possible that I'd be able to do one whole plate of dessert, one whole plate of dinner, plus a jug of fresh milk. 

To be honest, even dinner hadn't been part of the plan. 

But I'd arrived at the place around dinner time- and the food on the tables surrounding me seemed rather good.

So, instead of sticking to the original plan of dessert, and dessert only, I ordered a Panko Canadian Pork Chop with Egg Fried Rice as well.

Guess what, fantastic decision it turned out to be. 

You know how some people say that fried rice has to be oily and shiny with a sheen of vegetable oil glistening on top, or how others insist that fried rice is only good when it's dry and nothing else? 

This one had a little bit of both. 

It glistened beautifully- not with the oil- but with the glaze of the egg instead. 

And it was dry. 

The rice was light, amazingly clean on the palate, and so devoid of the taste of oil that had I not known what I ordered, I would have thought the rice not fried at all.

Not just that, the texture of the grains went very well with the tender, lightly breaded, crisp, and clean-tasting pork chop too. 

Here's the thing though. 

As much as I relished my dinner, it was the Caramel Pudding Mochi Waffle that made for me the greatest surprise of all.

It's one thing when you know what to expect. 

It's another thing when what you actually get surpasses the expectations you have. 

I'd known that the dessert would have a waffle, an ice cream, a pudding, and mochi. 

What I didn't know was that the mochi would be embedded so deep within the flour of the waffle that every bite became crispy, sweet and chewy all at the same time. 

It was so comforting.

And that wasn't the only surprise. 

There was more to come. 

Little black balls on top of the waffle that I thought were blueberries turned out to be boba pearls. 

The caramel sauce and the milk tea sauce that I thought would be tooth-achingly sweet turned out to be otherwise. 

Honeycomb ice cream which I thought was just a combination of vanilla, milk and honey turned out to have a teeny weeny bit of fizz to it. 

And the crumbles at the bottom of the ice cream which I'd at first assumed to be chunks of bread crumbs turned out to be real honeycomb like the kind you find in the Violet Crumble confectionary. 

Truth be told, I'd never eaten a dessert anything like it. 

From the mochi waffle to the boba pearls to the honeycomb ice cream to the pudding and even the honeycomb crumbles and the Thai milk tea sauce, every single item on the plate was a complete delight. 

I fell deeply in love. 

I've gone back to try another of their desserts since. 

But even though the Souffle Stackers with Honeycomb ice cream was very, very wobbly, and also very, very good, I think the Caramel Pudding Mochi Waffle is what I'll be going back for next time. 

Miss Brown's Cake and Sushi

It came as a bit of a stunner for Miss Brown's caregivers when they found out that not only had her appointments been postponed to the early part of this year, the staff had also scheduled them to be on two different days (in the same week) contrasting her usual one.

Those two days, however, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. 

Especially when it was soon realized that her appointments had been scheduled for the last week of January, Chinese New Year was in the first week of February, and (as it later turned out) the Health Ministry announced a ban on visits to all residential care homes for three weeks starting from end January all the way to mid February. 

Those two days at once became a treasured opportunity. 

Two days Miss Brown went to the clinic at Level 1 of Annex 2. 

Two days Miss Brown also went to the Toast Box on Level 1 for a meal. 

It wasn't a grand meal- the original plan had been to take her to the mall opposite, but what with Omnicron and TraceTogether and whatever not, it was decided that better she remain on the hospital grounds instead. 

Nevertheless, (we hope) it was a satisfying one. 

Life is such that there are times where you have to decide what it is you really want to do. 

You can have the whole shebang of abalone, roast duck, steamed fish, shiny tablecloths and chandeliers on the walls- but the matriarch or patriarch cannot consume the food. 

You can even force a gathering of family members and friends for the sake of reunion and togetherness- but family does not want to spend money (whilst letting you know it), and friends don't care.

Miss Brown (and her caregivers) have long come to the acceptance that looks and tradition don't matter. 

What matters is that she can eat whatever it is on the table, that she likes whatever she is eating, and no need for decor or for people who don't care. 

(Festive) lunch this year constituted of crispy kaya butter toast, a slice of chocolate cake, soft boiled eggs and a few pieces of roasted salmon belly sushi sneaked in from the sushi outlet in the mall next door. 

Dont' laugh at the inclusion of sushi in the meal.

This particular choice of roasted salmon belly sushi not only is soft and tasty. Most importantly it has rice, and is of significance to Miss Brown too.

See, there once used to be a time when Miss Brown patronized this outlet's several branches nearly every day. 

It wasn't because she had grown a sudden love for Japanese sushi in her senior years, but because post-stroke, doctor's orders had necessitated an abrupt dietary change. 

Let's just say it took some time for her to get adjusted to the new diet, and an even longer time for her to fall in love with the same diet.

To her this piece of roasted salmon belly sushi symbolized a complete change from her previous lifestyle. 

It also symbolized the choices made by her family and loved ones. 

Some of those choices, unfortunately, weren't very pleasant. 

From being able to wake up at will and live her life (more or less) at will, now she had to turn up at the 5th floor clinic of TTSH at an early hour of 8am three times a week for therapy. 

Once a week she had to go to a daycare center at another place for recommended activities. 

Miss Brown didn't like her new schedule very much. 

She didn't like her (new) life either.

It would be several weeks before she dumped the large misshapen tote (in which she had stuffed many things inside) for a smaller, neater backpack, a side-slung black messenger bag, and two handbags.

One bag she bought from the BATA in Peninsula Plaza.

The other she bought from a makeshift stall in the mall opposite the hospital.

By then she had also gone through several red tops and red bottoms (because the new lifestyle had taken place around Chinese New Year and she'd taken the acupuncturist's words to wear red quite literally).

There would be several more changes in Miss Brown's life over the course of the next few years. 

She would move from her home to B Hospital to K Community Hospital to the R residential care home. 

She would also experience issues that (I reiterate) no elderly person seventy over years of age should have to go through. 

All through those years the clinic on the 5th floor of the Medical Center had been her constant. 

No more so today. 

Today marked as much a change as the last one she had had six years prior. 

It was like coming to a new place altogether. 

Gone were the comfortable armchairs, the coffee tables, the strategically placed potted plants, the warm lights, and the coffee machine. 

Gone too were the sights and sounds of the gym behind the reception counter. 

Now- on the first floor of the Centre for Geriatric Medicine- there were more turns she had to make and more lifts she had to take. 

There were also more people (supposedly) she would meet along the way.

But at least her doctor was the same. 

And at least the nurse who always took her blood pressure was still there. 

Burger from Two Blur Guys

We had a burger for dinner on New Year's Day. 

It was a good burger. 

I had misgivings at first- the place was empty of customers when we first walked in (and it wasn't that late a dinner hour), but my friend had really wanted a burger- in lieu of Christmas season and everything- and upon looking at the menu, I remembered a positive review about the food at Two Blur Guys.

So we gave them a try. 

I'm glad we did. 

Like someone once told me, it's not always wise to be cynical and judgmental too fast, too soon.

When it comes to the Wagyu burger at this place, I have to agree.

Let me first say that I don't know the details of the burger very well. I wasn't paying attention to the details, and really, I'm the sort who just goes there to eat. 

But I remember the juiciness of the beef patty, the little bits of meat that I could so easily see with every bite, and the cheese (we had two kinds!) which melted so well into the patty, making each mouthful deliciously melty and gooey, and melty and gooey.

It might have been a different experience had I eaten the burger in its entirety, like bun and patty and vegetables and bun all together at one go, but because I didn't- I opened up my burger and ate everything separately- the lettuce seemed extra refreshing. 

As if I were having a side of salad with the burger.

But we weren't. 

We were having a side of delish truffle fries. 

Which were very good, by the way. 

Thick, chunky, crispy and hot, they weren't meagre with the truffle either. 

My friend loved how every fry was seasoned so thoroughly. 

I wish we'd taken a picture. :)

 

But I'd thought one picture was enough. 

That's what happens when your food is enticing. 

Well, we intend to make a visit there soon enough again. 

This time I hope to try the fish burger (the fillet looked really huge in the picture) and the grilled foie gras, and maybe we'll order a couple of drinks too. 

After all, their shophouse cafe near the Lavender Street edge of Jalan Besar is just too cozy  to simply munch away on a single burger- and go. 

Long Phung Vietnamese Food

One of my favorite orders at popular Vietnamese eatery Long Phung along Joo Chiat Road has to be this plate of grilled meat chop that comes served with egg sunny side up, spring onions, cucumber, sweet chili sauce, and rice.  

I say meat chop because you get a choice between chicken and pork. 

I tend to go for the chicken- the portion is (on occasion) a little smaller but most of the time the portion is good, the meat seems to be more tender and the chicken skin (when grilled) seems crispier and tastier. 

The pork I have on those days when I don't mind chewing the meat a bit longer to get the juices out. 

That, however, does not mean that I leave out Long Phung's signature dish of soup beef pho. 

It just means that I haven't taken a pretty picture of it (yet).

I've been a fan of their beef pho for quite a while. 

In fact it was a frequent takeaway to the office during the days of CB, HA and HAHA, and because the noodles were packed separately from the soup, I developed the habit of eating them dry doused with lots and lots of sesame oil. 

Beef pho, by the way, is certainly one of the most heartwarming dishes when it comes to Vietnamese food. To some it may look like nothing more than a bowl of beef kuay teow soup, but the inclusion of vegetables, bean sprouts, lime and fish sauce make for a great meal on days when you don't really have a great appetite yet don't feel like making do with a salad, a smoothie or a snack. 

In recent days I've been choosing the meat chops over the beef pho though. 

Maybe because Long Phung does theirs particularly well. 

You know there's a bit of heart in it when it tastes good in a takeaway Styrofoam box too. 

However, their marinate skews strongly towards the sweet side and you're not going to like this dish very much if you're used to your meat chops on the salty and savory side. 

I admit I was at first a bit surprised. 

But I got used to the sweetness after a while and I found myself enjoying their style very much. 

I've worked out my own way of eating it.

It's not very complicated- basically it involves alternating the chop with the rice, and eating the meat separately on its own whilst breaking the yolk of the sunny side up so that it dribbles all over the warm, fluffy rice. 

So maybe it does sound a tad over-the-top but, trust me, it makes one appreciate the dish (and the meal) way better. 

To the very least I now know that sweet spring onions and rice do go very well on their own together. 

We don't always stick to just one main when we're at Long Phung. 

Some days we order an avocado smoothie. 

Other days we decide on a plate of fried spring rolls. 

Again they do it very well here. 

I can't remember if I've had Vietnamese spring rolls elsewhere (maybe I've had- at one of the Nam Nam franchises somewhere) but the ones here are memorable. 

Crunchy, warm and crispy, each spring roll comes in a cute little size, has a flaky, pastry-like texture on the outside, is filled with lots of vegetables, nibbles and (I think) bits of minced meat inside and makes for a great appetizer to a most wonderful meal.