SQ's Low Sodium Meal out of Taipei

Ugh - that was nasty. My last two special meals on SQ were a lot better than I thought they would be, but this one tasted just like what the words "low sodium" invoke: bland and unappetizing.

Sadly, this featured tasteless pieces of chicken breast in both the appetizer as well as the main course, and they even left the third plastic tray empty - as if they couldn't find anything else to put in there. I wonder if this was because of the local caterer in Taiwan?

The ironic thing is that I had to add some of the standard issue table salt and butter that came with the roll on the side in order to make it half-bearable. So much for eating healthy.

Yong Kang Beef Noodle, Taipei

The Taiwanese are as passionate about beef noodle soup as the Japanese are about ramen: everybody has their own opinion on which little shop makes the best one. And this place (Jinshan South Road Section 2, Lane 31, Number 17, 2351-1051) apparently has established quite a name for itself.

I can see why. The meat was tender, the broth was rich, and they had a number of condiments to go with it. I still prefer the uniqueness of Chuan Wong, but this one was still a worthy representative.

Actually, I got more excited about the red oil wontons that they had available on the side. It looked like a mushy mess when it first arrived, but to my surprise, the stuff was loaded up with so much lard that it was impossible to resist. The spicy peanuty sauce never hurt either.

Some Random Taiwanese Food

This was just a random shop around the corner from our office that my local colleagues took me to. They ordered a bunch of little local dishes, like that bowl of rice noodles as well as a small bowl of rice topped with ground beef that was supposed to be some local specialty. It was fine, but I didn't see what the big deal was as it tasted just liked it looked.

What was interesting was that little plate of cold shark meat in the background, which was covered in shreds of raw ginger and was to be dipped into soy sauce and wasabi...kinda like that cuttlefish that I had on the streets last time. It wasn't really anything special from taste-wise, but it was unique.

Room Service: A Taiwanese Breakfast

I very rarely order room service. But with such a hectic day ahead of me, I settled for convenience and ordered a local breakfast in my room, which turned out to be gigantic with a huge bowl of porridge that I only ate half of, plus a bunch of dishes to go with it that I barely touched. I felt pretty bad about that. I should have just eaten off the street.

SQ's Low Sodium Meal Again

Here was the low sodium meal again on SQ today. Just as with last time, it wasn't as bland as the term "low sodium" might suggest...although it wasn't exactly anything to go nuts over. But I am glad that I got it instead of the regular meal.

Gyoza no Tetsujin by En, ION Orchard

I wasn't planning to come here, but I needed a bit more food after that Korean fried chicken. Fortunately, just across from Bon Chon was this new gyoza shop (#B4-88, 6509-3256) from the people behind Okinawan restaurant En. I grabbed a box to top it off.

The thing that immediately struck me about these were the skins. They were super thin, but were also sticky enough that it was hard to separate these without ripping the neighboring piece open, even if it still tasted fine in the end. My preference is still for Ohsho as a result.

Interestingly, they had a sign out front that said that these were from Osaka Osho, which apparently is not the same as the Gyoza no Ohsho chain that referenced above. I'm not sure what Osaka Osho is like, but it reminded me that a visit to the Gyoza Stadium is in order next time I get the chance to head back up to Osaka.

Hunting Down Korean Fried Chicken

I've never been a huge fan of Korean fried chicken. I've liked the spiciness, but the heavy sweetness was always a huge turn-off. And yet deep inside I somehow held onto hope that I would eventually find a shop - possibly in Korea - that would take it easy on the sugar. Fortunately, last week's Sunday Times listed out a few shops in Singapore that perhaps could do it without the travel.

I went to the story's highest-rated Kko Kko Na Ra on Tras Street first. The bool dak was light, crispy, and scorchingly spicy - so much that I felt like Adam Richman in Man v. Food struggling to finish the last piece. But it was also so sweet that I really wouldn't have wanted to finish even if it weren't that spicy. I was thus pleasantly surprised when visiting the new outlet of Bon Chon at ION Orchard (#B4-06A) instead. The chicken pictured above was still a little sweet, but it was gentle enough where it actually complemented the taste rather than overpowered it. I finished these with ease.

Now, I still prefer buffalo wings (ironically, Korean chicken has apparently been successful in New York, of all places). But at least Bon Chon proved to me that I could find Korean chicken that wasn't too sweet, even if it really wasn't that spicy either. Well, I'm sure that I'll also end up at Kko Kko Na Ra again, not just because of their late hours but also because of a bunch of other items on their menu that looked worthy of a try.

My First Bowl of Lor Mee

Every time I go to Tiong Bahru Market, I notice a huge line for stall number 80 selling something called lor mee. I had no idea what that stuff was, so today I finally waited it out to see what the big deal was.

If it weren't for those garnishes on top, this would have been nothing more than a bowl of heavy noodles doused in a goopy brown sauce. The sauce was unremarkable, but at least it had neither the sweet nor herbal taste that I worried about. Fortunately, the addition of cilantro, chili peppers, and Chinese black vinegar gave it a bit more life. Indeed, I wished that I had put more vinegar in it...and I went a bit overboard with the huge clump of minced raw garlic.

I thus went to get another bowl at stall number 4 across the way, which had close to no line but one that I liked better due to his toppings. Maybe it was also because I intentionally loaded it up with extra vinegar, reminding me a bit of that thick Chinese soup called geng. Well, if I get this again next time I'll need to remember to go heavy on the vinegar but easy on the garlic.

Wood Tub Rice from Lau Pa Sat

Some stall at Lau Pa Sat was selling these wooden tubs of rice, as well as what they called a Chinese Burger. They looked interesting, but they were nothing more than just gimmicks in the end. The "burger" was forgettable, while the rice wasn't really anything special - it was just served in an atypical looking bowl, that's all. In fact, the chicken on top was also so sweet that I didn't bother finishing it. I liked that spicy chili oil that they had on the side though.

Hamachi Carpaccio from Shin Kushiya

Shin Kushiya has been around for a while, but I had always avoided it because of how commercialized it looked. Still, tonight we stopped at the VivoCity location (1 Harbourfront Walk #02-120, 6275-8766) in part because I spotted this item on the menu, which looked strikingly like Nobu Matsuhisa's signature yellowtail with jalapeño...at least, it looked like it on Shin Kushiya's nicely printed menu.

I was thus a bit surprised to find the dish itself adorned with bell pepper chunks, with barely a slice of chili pepper to be seen. Nor was it as fragrant...at least, to the best that my memory from over ten years ago could recall. Well, this place didn't exactly pitch it to be like Nobu's version, so it was my own fault for assuming so. I suppose that it was fresh at least.

Oh - and how did the other food fare? Given its name, we had to get some kushiyaki, some of which was fine, but some of which was totally drowning in sweet tare sauce (if I somehow end up here again, I'll definitely have to request that they don't use that stuff). At least I liked the ginger dressing in the kaiso sarada.

A Raiden Red Melon from Hokkaido

Time for more pricey Japanese fruit. This "red" version was from Hokkaido, where they also produce the usual green variety. I got half a melon for S$20 (US$14) at Cold Storage today. Sure, it looked just like everyday North American cantaloupe. But it was the sweetest, ripest, juiciest darned cantaloupe I'd ever had. S$20 might have been pushing the price a bit, but it beats taking a chance with normal cantaloupe only to find that it is boringly tasteless inside.

Toku Toku Handmade Udon, Singapore

It looks like Botejyu at Liang Court recently added Toku Toku's udon to its menu. I didn't really care too much for it when I tried it last time at Manpuku in Tampines, but I was thinking that maybe that was only because the kitchen was stretched in such a crowded environment, whereas a calmer sit-down shop would produce something better.

Well, if there was supposed to be something more to it, then I had trouble tasting it, as it still seemed like the frozen stuff that I could have bought at Meidi-ya downstairs...which, mind you, is still good, but is just something that could have been made at home. OK, I wouldn't have had the tempura at home, and most likely not that Japanese curry either. It still couldn't replace what I liked from the now-defunct Wakashachiya though.

Subway's Veggie Delite Salad

Salads at Subway are really not much more than an Atkins version of their sandwiches; instead of bread, just dump everything onto a plate...meat, cheese, jalapeno peppers, and all. And I've been surprising myself at how much I've been eating the Veggie Delite version in recent months.

I suppose that it's partially because I've been able to find the configuration that I like - specifically, without meat, cheese, or jalapeno peppers - it makes for a refreshingly fresh snack. The problem is that I have to eat two of them in order to get somewhat satisfied. Those thick plastic plates and utensils are a bit of a waste too.

Big O Cafe & Restaurant, Paragon

Big O, a chain of local cafes in Singapore, is not someplace that I'd usually go to given its heavy focus on dessert and cakes. But out of sheer convenience, we stopped at their new Paragon outlet (290 Orchard Road #B1-08, 6836-1495) tonight. The food came out at lightning speed, and this cod was loaded with butter, making it super easy to eat. I won't make any effort to come back (the pasta that I tasted was too soft for my liking), but at least this was better than I thought it would be.

Cha Soba from Shimbashi Soba

Shimbashi Soba in Singapore is running a cha soba special this month. Yes, one could taste the matcha flavor when eating a naked strand of noodle, but unfortunately after a quick dunk into that salty tsuyu, that green tea flavor got all covered up. I just got it for the novelty of it, I suppose. What got me more filled up was the jyako gohan in the background...for some reason, I've really come around to enjoying a bowl of quality rice.

A Local Drink Roundup From Vietnam

Time for another local drink update. I was rather curious about the first one as it was the first time I had seen soda chanh in a packaged form. Not surprisingly, it didn't have the punch of freshly squeezed lime in it, and it was much sweeter than I was expecting. I definitely prefer the fresh version instead, even if this bottle saves the time and hassle of having to mix up soda chanh on one's own. At least it wasn't 7-Up, which I worried it might be. The other drink was just your everyday orange soda.

Next up was this green tea stuff, which to my surprise was sweetened with honey. It wasn't exactly like the unsweetened Pokka Oolong Tea that I was expecting. I also got a box of artichoke tea bags below. I've been drinking this stuff occasionally at Pho Lan's new Boon Tat Street location back in Singapore, so I picked up a box here at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City just for the fun of it. It tastes like rather straighforward tea, although being based purely on artichokes, it naturally carries an artichoke flavor, if only very mildly. This is from the Dalat region of Vietnam where this stuff is apparently quite common.

Note to self: as great as it is to find a new international terminal here, the fruit drinks are sold inside at a whopping US$4 each - even beer is cheaper. But there is a Vietnamese restaurant upstairs selling bowls of phở (and they take American Express - yay!), which might come in handy if I am flying a low-cost carrier again without lounge access. It's amusing that Jetstar even charges S$2 for a copy of the Straits Times...they've gotta look for every opportunity to feed that bottom line, I suppose.

Bánh Mì Hà Nội, Saigon

On the way back to our hotel, we made a quick stop at a bánh mì shop that was recommended to us (82 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật‎, 833-4288). I liked these guys better than Bánh Mì Như Lan, as the sandwich had an interesting taste of coconut butter or something.

The bread was a bit softer than I was expecting (perhaps because it sat for a while before we ate it?), but it worked. I also spotted one of those rotating kebab spit contraptions out front - presumably as roasted meat to go into a sandwich, which would definitely be worth trying next time.

Sights from Chợ Bình Tây, Saigon

On our last morning in Vietnam before heading to the airport, a thought dawned on me. Saigon's Chinatown was apparently founded by Teochew Chinese. So if my beloved Tung Kee from back home was "Teochew Noodles" but run by Vietnamese, could the Chinatown here hold be the origin behind that unique Teochew-Vietnamese combination that I've come to love so much about Tung Kee? We came down to find out.



At first it was a typical open market selling all sorts of stuff: cheap clothes, kitchenware, and groceries, including the spices seen above. But outside we came across a lady in a cart selling what appeared to be yaki onigiri at a first glance. I suspected that it was probably that sticky rice breakfast stuff that I read about though, and I was right. She cut one of those rice balls open with scissors, and out came steaming hot bananas before she doused it in some sweet coconut milk. It tasted like it sounded.



But then we found a row of cooked food stalls inside, with a number of folks eating soup noodes. We figured that this was the time to try hủ tiếu, which was apparently brought to the country by Chinese immigrants. It may look like a bit of a murky mess with slices of unknown organ meat, but I liked how the Vietnamese localized it, especially with those bean sprouts plus a squeeze of lime. Now, it still wasn't quite the #2 from Tung Kee, so my mystery is still unsolved. But clearly I haven't spent enough time here to properly figure this out.

Bánh Xèo Ăn Là Ghiền, Saigon

After all of that food today, we figured that we'd keep it light tonight, and the thought of a bunch of fresh herbs paired with bánh xèo sounded pretty good. This shop (54A Nguyễn Văn Trỗi, 8847-9574) tried to take a healthier stance with mushrooms and the like, so we grabbed a watercress version called bánh xèo rau mầm. It got a bit soggy but did the job.

We also got some of those tart-shaped things above called bánh khọt miền tây chay. And while they still provided that leaf that I dislike, I pretty much liked all of the other varieties they had...and I loaded up in particular on that fresh basil.

Interestingly, my favorite thing of the night wasn't even the bánh xèo, but rather something called bì cuốn, which I had never tried before. Wrapped up in rice paper like its close relative gỏi cuốn, the fillings in this one, such as shredded pork skin and rice powder, instantly resonated with me. I liked those things so much that I ordered two more just to round out the meal. I think I just like that thick rice paper.

Bánh Mì Như Lan, Saigon

There was no way that we were going to Vietnam without getting some bánh mì. We were given this place (365 Hai Bà Trưng, 829-2590) as a recommendation, and it was just a couple of doors down the street (10.78997°N, 106.68921°E) from Phở Hùng. I liked this one - even though the bread was a bit soft, it featured scallion segments rather than cilantro, and also had some delightfully spicy chili pepper slices inside to go with just a touch of mayonnaise. It made for a great afternoon snack, and was only 20,000 Dong (US$1).