Taverna by The Tokyo Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

The name above looks confusing, but it's a spinoff of a place called The Tokyo Restaurant.It's an Italian itameshi place on the third floor of The Gardens Mall. And I was quite happy with that mentaiko pasta above, as it was super savory and buttery without being excessive. The relatively thick noodles were chewy, and they provided a generous portion at that.

On top of that, the parent restaurant is apparently known for its burnt cheesecake, and they serve it here too. It was deliciously rich; I gobbled it all up in the blink of an eye despite how heavy it was. I'll be very happy to come back here again, and perhaps also check out the many Japanese restaurants here at The Table restaurant area at the Isetan in Mid Valley.

Returning to ChoCha Foodstore in Kuala Lumpur

I'm not intentionally on the hunt for ingredients from Borneo two times in the same day. I just liked this place so much from last time that my heart was set on coming here again. It was only only after I sat down did I realize their Borneo heritage. Yet it was completely different from KANTIN's traditional tribal take.

As with before, ChoCha is progressively modern, and fantastic at it. I loved everything I had, including a duck leg with duck fried rice as well as a smoked golden pomfret salad, all of which was balanced and accentuated with local herbs and aroma. That thing above might look weird, but it's mackerel paste stuffed into a betel leaf-like thing that was deep fried and topped with a gel made from a wild ginger from Borneo. It was comfortingly soft and savory.

I just love how this place does everything, including how it handles its ingredients, as well as the charming old venue that was filled with a smoky aroma and calming music. I'm really surprised that this place hasn't gotten more praise and attention, because it really deserves it.

KANTIN from Sarawak at Jewel Changi Airport

How cool is this?? This restaurant from Kuching specializes in tribal food from Borneo, and they've opened an outlet here in Singapore (78 Airport Boulevard #05-206). I went for that bamboo-cooked chicken set above; it tasted like you might imagine it to be: delicate but accentuated with a number of exotic herbs and vegetables, including those little dishes to the side. It wasn't so satisfying that I'll get it again, but I intend to go back for other things like their fried rice and banana leaf-grilled fish, as those sounded promising. This is probably one of the most unique places to eat at the airport right now.

Emily's Chicken Noodles from Thailand

This was a home-based business in Bangkok that went viral on social media due to their family's shredded chicken noodle dish above. They now have multiple outlets in Thailand now, and are even doing a pop-up in Singapore for a few weeks at the Amoy Hotel at Far East Square, where these pre-assembled takeout boxes are conveniently waiting to be sold (76 Telok Ayer Street). Those boxes travel well by the way, so it makes sense that Grab is also doing deliveries.

Yes, it's fun to eat, with the skinny noodles being laced with a mildly sweet and perky fish sauce. I don't know if it was so unique to justify it going viral though, especially since it was topped with shredded chicken breast that was a little dry. I guess one tended not to notice as much when it was eaten with those tangy noodles and lettuce, not to mention a fried shallot topping was pleasantly greasy and spicy. It must have been the crunchy bits that resonated with audiences.

Boon Chiang Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore

This is a small chain of neighborhood chicken rice stalls that I kinda like because the rice is firm and the chicken is moist, despite my selection of breast meat above. Now, the rice and chili aren't as fragrant as they could be, but at least the proprietor that I engaged with today was charming despite his failed attempts to upsell me past the cheapest plate above. It was certainly far beyond that thing that United was trying to do.

Tavola Aperta at Plaza Singapura in Singapore

This place is kinda interesting in that it's a large and rather upscale-looking venue in a crowded mall where rent can't be cheap (68 Orchard Road #01-60), and yet they are able to keep pasta prices below S$20 (US$16). It's run by someone who spent time working for a famous pasta chef in Los Angeles, and I liked what I had above, especially with its surprisingly potent black pepper. It was better than than a lot of the other low-cost pasta places around, although I'd probably still choose Sio Pasta if there were no wait there.

Anchor Oyster Bar in San Francisco, California

You know that you're going to like a place when you want to order nearly everything on the menu (579 Castro Street, 415-431-3990). I ultimately settled for that local petrale sole above, along with an order of steamed clams. And I ended up, well, happy as a clam.

The fish was deliciously done in a lemon beurre blanc and featured not just capers, but also rice with crispy bits on the side. I wiped that plate clean with a couple orders of sourdough bread and was delighted with some steamed clams as well as local wine. They had artichoke on the list of specials today but sold out just before I put in my order.

It turns out that this place is actually a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and is known for its cioppino. But to me it was just one of those local seafood places that I've always had a soft spot for. It's a bit like Swan Oyster Depot but taken up a notch in terms of preparation.

Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, California

This place consistently came up on the number of lists about being one of the best pizza places in town (422 Larkin Street, 415-829-3108). It's a New York-style place where they sell by the slice. The crust was super thin but still had a lot of texture and moisture. And they used quality ingredients on top, particularly for a number of rather creative-looking specials. I wanted to try more, but didn't have the time nor stomach space for it.

Pinecrest Diner in San Francisco, California

I'll admit that I didn't really need this meal. But I needed to go out, and this old school place on the corner looked like it had some character (405 Geary Street, 415-885-6407).

The menu featured your classic greasy spoon items, including a patty melt that looked rather promising. But I grabbed the lightest thing available, which was this plate with these thick strips of bacon. The hashbrowns weren't as crispy as I thought they would be, and it needed salt too.

I ultimately cleared the whole plate and some slices of rye bread thanks to a good dose of Tabasco sauce. It was fun just to sit at the counter and watch the activity in the kitchen.

Otra in San Francisco's Lower Haight

This is apparently quite a popular place in the lower Haight, so I popped in for a quick bite (682 Haight Street, 415-500-2774). The ingredients were all good, including the quality of the beef and tortillas above, both of which were very delicate. But the seasoning was so delicate that it needed more salt (I ended up licking my margarita rim). Oddly, they couldn't do micheladas, and the tacos took forever to come out of the kitchen.

Tropisueno in San Francisco, California

As much as I wanted to hop down to the Mission District for a burrito tonight, I was dead tired and just went for a place nearby, even if it was in the commercialized area near the convention center (75 Yerba Buena Lane, 415-985-2264). I got this pozole, which oddly came with huge chunks of pork inside while lacking limes, cilantro, and onions for garnish. But at least the pork was tender and there was a citrusy slaw that was kinda nice, along with a sesame chili oil. In retrospect, there were a lot of other things that I could have ordered instead.

Douglass Saloon in Columbia, California

Haven't done a $100 burger trip in a while. This time, we headed up to a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills that is walkable from the town's little airport. The wooden downtown looks like it's straight out of a country western movie, inclusive of an opportunity to pan for gold. Despite it seemingly being constructed for tourists, it's apparently a real gold rush town preserved in a historic park.

There were multiple saloons around; we stopped into this one (22718 Main Street, 209-288-2382) for their homemade sarsaparilla, which is a predecessor to root beer and apparently leverages the bottles that they make here. But it just tasted like root beer, and the wild cherry flavor came from a Torani syrup bottle. I am not entirely sure about their homemade pitch, but at least it was refreshing on a hot day like today.