Crawfish and Noodles, Little Saigon, Houston

The good thing about eating a pound of crawfish is that there really isn't that much meat after you shell those darned things, thus leaving some stomach space to try other items. So I took advantage of that by coming to another Vietnamese-Cajun place around the corner called Crawfish and Noodles (11360 Bellaire Blvd, 281-988-8098), just to see if it would be any different.

Sure, the name was strange, but the idea was that one could get a piping hot bowl of phở alongside a serving of crawfish. Actually, this place was much more Vietnamese than that Wild Cajun place, as evidenced not only by the huge selection of Vietnamese dishes on the menu, but also the fact that they had clean chopsticks sitting upright in a metal container on each table. Cool.

And the good thing was that I could much more easily suck out the headfat of these bad boys than I could at Wild Cajun. It still wasn't as buttery as the Boiling Crab (nor did it have the onions that Wild Cajun had), but hey - I could get a soda chanh here to help wash it all down. How cool is that?

Wild Cajun in Houston, Texas

Yes, while I was in Houston, my priority was not only to get some fresh local seafood, but also to finally get to the origin of that peculiar but delicious Vietnamese-Cajun way of doing crawfish. When I finally got to Little Saigon, I was surprised by how many crawfish places there were. But I came here, as this place was supposed to be one of the best in the city (6533 Wilcrest Drive Suite 104, 832-328-4000).

Now, keep in mind that my benchmark is the Boiling Crab. So when I walked in, I immediately started noticing the similarities and differences. The decor was similarly Bubba Gump-like, despite the strange presence of a sushi bar in the back. And yet, little differences arose as I proceeded, such as those off-puttingly blue plastic bags that they used as tablecloths, as well as the big metal bowls that the crawfish came out in (not to mention that plastic American-Chinese tableware).

They also provided more than the usual salt/pepper/lime mixture, as there was a shaker of cajun spice too (and peculiarly, a squeeze bottle of mayonnaise??). Perhaps most notably, this mixture was done with less butter and a lot more onions than the Boiling Crab. It was fine, but for some reason I could hardly get any of that delicious head fat out of these things. At least it was cheap at only $6.99/pound.

The Hong Kong Food Market in Houston

I actually wasn't even going to write about these guys at first. But when I saw this sign, I couldn't contain my laughter and had to take a photo. Yeah, despite the shop's name, this was actually a Vietnamese supermarket, and a huge one at that. I'm sure that the Little Saigons in Westminster or San Jose have something to rival it, but I haven't been to one myself. There's even an outlet of Lee's Sandwiches across the street.



Anyway, this place blew my mind, in part because of how big it was, but also since it was so cool that crawfish was on sale at the (smelly and fly-swarming) fish section in the back. Now I know what kind of margins those Viet-Cajun crawfish places are making, seeing how the *retail* price of live crawfish can be merely a sixth of what they charge for the cooked product.

Danton's Gulf Coast Seafood Kitchen, Houston

It was only after I ordered this did I realize how "sparse" a half-dozen looks when they put it on a big platter like this. Anyway, I came here after that Firehouse Burger, in part since I needed some raw oysters to cleanse the palate, in part since I was nearby, and in part since I wanted to get some local Texan oysters. And these guys had an oyster bar that was supposed to be pretty well known (4611 Montrose Road, 713-807-8883).

Unfortunately, it was only when I walked in did I realize that the oyster bar only opened at 4 PM for Happy Hour. No worries though - I got a little booth in the dining room and ordered a half dozen as well as a side of okra and tomatoes. The oysters were surprisingly creamy, and were hardly briny compared to the ones that I'm used to. It was different, but nonetheless fresh enough that I wolfed them down in seconds, and naked at that (the oysters, not me).

Lankford Grocery & Market, Houston

Admittedly I wasn't in the mood for hamburgers this morning, but these guys were only open until 3 PM and had a burger that I really wanted to try (88 Dennis Street, 713-522-9555). So I figured that I'd come down here early enough such that I could still get hungry enough by the afternoon to eat more.

And what was this burger that I wanted to try? It was this Firehouse Burger, so named for the habanero sauce, cayenne butter, and slices of jalapeno in this thing. It wasn't as spicy as it sounded, but nonetheless still fiery enough to make me pant a little at the end of it all. (And in case you're wondering what those strangely dark things are on the right, that was what they called "Tex Mex," or battered onions and jalapenos).

Sure, it was fun to eat, but I could hardly taste the beef with all of that sauce. Somehow it seemed fitting that the wait staff's T-shirts boasted about being on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. All of the sodium in this thing no doubt resonates well with Guy "Flavortown" Fieri. Next time I should try a normal burger so that I can see what the ingredients actually taste like.

Barbecue Inn in Houston, Texas

Despite the name of this place, barbecue was the last thing on my mind. Instead, I came here because I was after another Texan specialty: chicken fried steak. And this place was supposed to do a pretty good one, so I made sure to stop here for dinner after getting off that flight from Austin (BTW, TSA Pre✓ is awesome!).

It turned out to be a very old place, which was encouraging, as I figured that they had to be doing something right. Unfortunately, that probably got my expectations a bit too high, as I was kinda let down by this thing when it finally came out. Sure, I kinda liked that crispy batter, but at the end of the day, it was just deep fried beef.

Apparently these guys do a good job of fried chicken though, so maybe I should have gotten that instead. Or maybe some of that catfish that I saw on the menu. Well, at least I liked the fries that came with this thing; they were so fresh that I finished it all off.

Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka from Austin

This locally-produced tea-flavored vodka was available at the bar here tonight in Austin, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. You could hardly taste the alcohol...it was more like a strongly-brewed iced tea, which also made it very dangerous given how easy it was to drink straight. The other one on the right was basically a local limoncello, which was fine, but I still preferred the vodka.

A Tortilla Soup from Room Service

I swear - I'm not starting a new habit of ordering room service. But my flight got in late, forcing me to miss dinner, and thus I quickly placed an order given that there was basically no way to leave this isolated resort. I figured that a high-end retreat in Texas would do a decent job of a tortilla soup, but this was so salty that I couldn't even make it through half of the bowl before putting the tray back out into the hallway.

OMG! UA Old School B-Class Seats!

My jaw practically dropped when I stepped on board this plane at Narita. United is still using these old school non-flat business class seats with the continuous loop video systems and power outlets that require an adaptor?? I thought that they had almost refurbished all of their seats by now. (I wonder if this old thing was pulled back into service because of the Dreamliner issues?)

And to think that I was hopeful to get a Wi-Fi enabled plane to get some work done. Well, I should be thankful that at least my upgrade request was cleared on this leg, especially since my chances don't look very good on the return. And to my surprise, that fish above was better than I thought it would be, with that buttery sauce and rice going down the hatch more quickly than I would have thought.

Epilogue: After I landed, there was an email from United waiting for me in my inbox that apologized for the "airplane substitution," offering miles as compensation. It's like they were reading my mind!

Nachos from Chili's Singapore

Don't ask me how we ended up here, but I just found it interesting since they did their nachos the more traditional way, with a slice of jalapeno on each cheese-baked chip rather than dousing it all in the more common cheese sauce that I would have expected of an American place like this. And no, there's no repeat visit planned; everything was so salty and excessive (bottomless drinks!) that it was a huge turnoff. Ugh!

Cold Shrimp Somen from Dolce Tokyo

This was an unplanned visit, as we were at 313@Somerset tonight and needed a place to park ourselves for a while. So we decided to stop at this little cafe (313 Orchard Road #03-41, 6836-5612), which seemed to like to do somen on the side. I wasn't expecting much, seeing how it was run by the guys behind places like Lena's and the strangely named MOF @ My Izakaya.

To be fair, I've never been to either of those places, as they were superficially unappealing to me. But this special featuring a sesame dipping sauce was better than I thought it would be. Now, I won't exactly be yearning to come back, but I'd be willing to sit down here again if we needed another break.

Tokushima Ramen Iwataya at Isetan Singapore

I'm such a dork. I marked my calendar for this, as Isetan was running yet another fair, this time featuring stuff from the island of Shikoku. And the thing that I was specifically chasing was this bowl from a shop called Iwataya in Tokushima. It took a while to find it at first given the renovations going on down there, but I eventually found it.

My first impression wasn't anything great - the taste of the menma was so strong that it overpowered it. But after pushing those aside, I started to realize how unique this bowl really was, particularly with those thin shabu shabu-like slices of pork, which had a deep smokiness in it that pervaded the broth.

It was only when I looked it up afterwards did I realize that ramen from Tokushima tends to feature this stuff, especially since they have a ham processing factory there. Then again, they are apparently supposed to use raw egg with this stuff too, and yet clearly we got a hard boiled one instead. Anyway, that might be worth going back to another time before the festival ends next week.

Ramen Kagetsu Arashi is in Singapore!

When I saw the listing for this place in 8 Days yesterday, I had to do a double-take. Katgetsu? Wasn't that that shop outside of immigration at Narita with the garlic press? Yes, it was. Sweeeeet!! They opened one at the Star Vista, so I made sure to come down here today for lunch (1 Vista Exchange Green #01-41, 6339-0335).

The good thing is that it was delicious...the broth, anyway. OK, the noodles were a bit overcooked, the gyoza was peculiarly sweet, and the service was pretty lousy. But I drank that garlic-based soup to the bottom, creating a lovely dragon breath for me to terrorize the rest of the office with later this afternoon. Nice one. I'd rather come here than neighboring Musashi.

Jue Wei Ban Cai at People's Park Complex

That thing looks pretty hideous, but there were a few vendors at People's Park Complex with these big troughs of cold Sichuan starters, so I was curious. I thus stopped at this place (1 Park Road #01-29) to see what the big deal was. Basically one just chooses what he wants and they shove it into a foam box. Only after I ate it did I realize that this was basically what Let's Toss! does. None of it was spicy enough to get me too excited, but it was shockingly cheap with my selection of four items here at only S$4 (US$3.20).

Mövenpick Heritage Hotel in Sentosa

When I first heard about the Mövenpick hotel, I figured that it would have lots of cheese and charcuterie available. And while they did indeed have that spread above during last night's happy hour as well as this morning's breakfast, I was surprised by how lousy the rest of the catering was during the days that we had been here. Ugh - what a letdown.

That's too bad, since the rooms in this hotel were pretty darned nice, and the service was decently attentive and friendly too. I'm not sure why they failed so much in the food department, but this was a huge difference with the Capella just down the street. They did provide free ice cream though, in case you were wondering.

Lolla on Ann Siang Road, Singapore

This place is one of my favorite restaurants in Singapore (22 Ann Siang Road, 6423-1228). I've been here three times in the past few weeks and have liked each dish that I've had. They may be known for their sea urchin pudding, but everything on the menu from the beef tripe to the scrambled eggs have been delicious. The quality of the ingredients is the key.

Adding to the fun is a list of specials on the board that seems to keep changing, such as that grilled portobello above, or an octopus with a super smoky paprika butter that I could not stop mopping up with bread. More than anything, I just love the fact that it is simple and down-to-earth food from a place that doesn't pressure you to order still or sparkling (yes, they have paper napkins). Awesome.

Indian Wok on East Coast Road

Yes, I chuckled a bit when they brought this thing out. It was as if Panda Express got in a fight with Swenson's, and this was the result. But it was a proper dessert called darsaan, featuring honey-glazed strips of wonton skins served à la mode (if you think that was weird, you should have seen the "sizzling brownie" served on a hot plate!). I didn't care that much for it, but it was interesting to see.

Anyway, this was all from a place called Indian Wok (695B East Coast Road, 6448-2003), which we came to for a business lunch today. The same trusted adviser who introduced me to gems like Bar-B-Q Tonight and Bismillah has been talking about this place for ages. And the good thing was that he was right: all of the items that we got in the beginning were delightfully spicy. I'm normally not big on paneer, but this one was done so nicely that I kept eating it.

Unfortunately, some of the items that we got toward the end weren't as exciting, especially since most of them were rather goopy. But if I focus on those things that we got in the beginning, then this was some of the best Chindian food that I've had. It tasted like American Chinese take-out, but much spicier and better.

It's Indian Mango Season Again!

It's May, which means that it's Indian mango season! And luckily, we were in Little India the other day, so we took advantage of the opportunity to check out some of the fruit/veggie stalls to see if there were any interesting varieties available.

They of course had alphonsos and banganapalli, but I wanted to try things that I hadn't had before. So I tried to grab one of each variety and brand that I could spot, including one in front that the lady called a peacock nose. None of them were as rich as an alphonso though.

Le Petit Navire on Ann Siang Road

I've been wanting to come here for a while now (18 Ann Siang Road, 6221-6897). See, it's run by the folks at L'Angelus, featuring a bar that had a big selection of seafood sitting in a glass case for you to choose from. And since I had already eaten a bit before I got there, I figured that a little bit of shellfish would be just the right thing to complete my meal.

I didn't realize that I had ordered such a huge platter though. I felt bad for not being able to finish it all, but it was good to try, with the bulots (or whelks) in particular being an unexpected favorite (and conversely, the langoustine being a surprising letdown). Next time I'll just order individual portions, and let that bread and sinfully rich French butter fill the rest of the belly.

Jyoshoken at Daikokuya Robertson Quay

I've never really liked Daikokuya, which explains why I've only been there once and never went back. But when I noticed that there was a special bowl of tsukemen offered at its Robertson Quay location (30 Robertson Quay #01-05, 6737-1521), I was curious. Apparently this thing was created by a disciple of Taishoken. And when I got there tonight (incidentally, this was the former location of Menya Shinchan), I was surprised to find that Jyoshoken had pretty much taken the place over. Sure, the signs still said Daikokuya, but the menu sure didn't seem to be the Daikokuya that I remember.

And neither were the noodles, which were much better than I was expecting. The broth had a strong fish powder taste, instantly bringing back good memories of Kusabi. Still, there was a slight citrus tinge that I didn't really care for (and the chashu sucked as it was totally lean and dry), so I probably won't be coming back for this. But there did seem to be a couple of other "light" and "spicy" variations that might be worth a try one of these days. I didn't realize until recently that Daikokuya was run by the same guys as Ramen Champion and Ebisboshi Shotengai. I guess that explains all of the guest ramen chef rotations.

Oceans of Seafood at PasarBella, Singapore

PasarBella at the Grandstand seemed like a pretty cool idea, especially for someone like me who loves going to outdoor markets. So I was a bit let down when I came down here to find that many of the (cooked food) stalls were just outlets of existing chains from around the island: Shiraz, SaladStop!, and (ugh!) Charly T's. Oceans of Seafood, however, was one of the few that seemed unique, and hence I decided to get my lunch here (200 Turf Club Road #02-06, 6466-1005).

Somehow I ended up in the sushi section, which as it turns out was run by the guy who used to run Miz in Tanjong Pagar. Yes, the fish above was fresh, but I wasn't very happy when I left, as none of his cooked food was on the menu. Moreover, it was only after I paid did I realize that there was a separate section serving steamed seafood, which is where I should have gone to begin with. Both sections were totally understaffed, leaving everyone to wonder how to order, where to sit, etc.

Yeah, that was a big letdown. Sure, if I'm up there again one of these days, maybe I'll try to get some steamed shellfish first. And actually, that paella stall out in front of it seemed like it might hold some promise. But otherwise, there wasn't really anything that exciting at this market in the end. I sure hope that some of those chains vacate their stalls and let something more interesting come in.

Morsels in Little India, Singapore

Little India is not where I would have expected to find a place like this (35 Mayo Street, 6396-6302). But after navigating our way past a bunch of seedy hostess bars and refurbished office supply shops, we finally found it: a small-plates counter-seating (and yes, paper napkins) kitchen that wouldn't be at all out of place back home. Indeed, apparently the chefs trained at the CIA in Napa Valley, so I guess that explains a few things.

Anyway, we ordered away at a number of dishes, all of which were tasty and of good quality. My favorite was that squid ink risotto above, with its tender and perfectly grilled octopus. Today's roasted pork belly special was moist yet crunchy, while the steamed clams were unique in that they were done in a kimchi fig broth. It sounded weird, but it worked.

Now, of all of the counter-seating, paper-napkin places that seem to have proliferated in Singapore recently, my favorite by far is still Lolla. But I'm nonetheless happy that there are suddenly so many of these cozy kitchen-side views in town now, most of which are serving respectable food. And while normally I'm not big on fusion either, these guys did a decent job of putting it to their advantage without making it annoying. It was worth coming to.

Ri Ri Hong Mala Xiang Guo, People's Park

We came back to People's Park Food Centre today to try out that mala xiang guo stall with the long lines (stall number 01-1048), in part to see if it were any better than our usual Piao Xiang at 313@somerset. The good thing was that the lack of air conditioning meant that the prices were only half of what we'd pay there. And generally, this did the job for me. But Piao Xiang was still better with its earthier spice mixture. The "medium" spicy version here wasn't very spicy in the end either.



On our way out, we stopped and grabbed this small bowl of cold noodles, which to me at least was a bit more exciting given that they laced it with a bit of sugar (there was just way too much sodium in that last bowl!). Still, it wasn't that spicy, even though we asked for them to make it extra hot. Oh well.

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King Four Seasons

Keisuke-san is in town again to open yet another shop in Singapore, this time at Bugis Village (158 Rochor Road, 6333-5740). The name is a bit unwieldy, but the idea is that there are four different bowls on top of the basic tonkotsu broth that he named around each season. The one above is the "Spring" version, which featured basil and cheese. It was fine, but after having had the green bowl at Butao Ramen in HK, this one just didn't seem that special.

It might be interesting to see what the other "seasons" are like eventually, but frankly I'm not expecting them to beat the black sansho-based one that he does at the Orchid Hotel (and puleeeease, will he bring back that awesome ebi ramen one of these days, even if only as a temporary special??). In the meanwhile, it was interesting to try his private-labeled green tea cola, which looked like green tea but tasted like Coke. My eyes had trouble reconciling it with my tongue.

Communal New American Restaurant, Singapore

This place (12 North Canal Road #01-01, 6221-7790) is billed as a "New American Restaurant," serving not just burgers and sandwiches, but also a number of Southern dishes like fried chicken, cornbread, and that side of biscuits and gravy above. It was slightly upscale, but still unpretentious, complete with paper napkins and counter-style seating.

And I generally liked it, particularly the mac and cheese, which was thinner than I expected, but nonetheless good enough that it disappeared pretty quickly. Today's soup of the day, a celery root soup, was smooth and satisfying.

Now, some things were a bit of a head-scratcher. I was surprised to find that they used sliced bread for the BELT Sandwich (that's a BLT with egg, in case you're wondering), while the fries seemed like they were frozen. Nonetheless, I'm easily coming back here for the sides. I could probably just go down the list and order one of each.

L’Entrecôte, The Steak & Fries Bistro, Singapore

It took me long enough, but I finally got my hands on some steak-frites tonight. The interesting thing was that I wasn't even thinking of getting this (I've been eating waayyyy too much red meat lately), but somehow as I walked around the area, this place still seemed like the best option for dinner before going home (36 Duxton Hill, 6690-7561).

Now, I've never been to the real L'Entrecôte in France, so I hardly know what this should really taste like, but I liked the simplicity of the tender beef and velvety sauce. I didn't care that much for the fries (in that sense, I prefer Les Bouchons), but the sauce was what made this unique. Besides, I liked how the place was down to earth, as well as how quickly the food came out.

A Nasty Dinner Combo at Yoshinoya

No, I would never order something so nasty-looking on my own accord. But I saw a sign for a S$7 (US$5.60) Dinner Combo Set that included a drink and a "choice of 2 meats," which I figured would be my usual chicken and beef. It was only after I ordered did I realize that it was a "choice of 2 meats *of the day*," meaning that the staff got to choose your meats for you.

Lo and behold, they bring out two of the worst things available, all covered in mayo and sauce to boot. Ugh! Well, at least those things were crispy and hot from the fryer. But I couldn't finish the rest. And that fifty cent upgrade option to garlic rice wasn't worthwhile either.

Ramen Matsuri on North Canal Road

These guys took over Baikohken's previous location (7 North Canal Road, 6534-3808), and I wasn't expecting it to be any good. Why not? Some magazine that I read said something to the effect that it was "fusion ramen," which didn't exactly sound very inspiring. Still, I was curious enough to come down here to give it a shot, figuring that I would never come back. Little did I know.

It was surprisingly good. I'm not sure what was so fusion-y about it, but maybe it was in reference to the wok-fried cabbage and bean sprouts that they topped the bowl with. Either way, it was my favorite part of the bowl, as I just loved that smoky greasy wok flavor.

Moreover, the noodles were thin and the broth was good enough to pass my ultimate litmus test: I drank it down to the very last drop. No, it's not the best bowl in town, but this could easily be an "everyday ramen," if only this stuff were a little healthier. I'll be back.

Trying Out Sergeant Hainanese Chicken Rice

I've always been kinda curious about this chain, in part simply because of that unforgettable name, but also because I recently realized that it was done by yet another ex-Chatterbox chef. Well, the good thing was that they gave it a touch of sesame oil, which is a critical thing that makes or breaks this dish in my books. But there were no scallions nor cilantro to garnish it, thus relegating this to yet just another chicken rice place for me.

Sawagani from Fish Mart Sakuraya

It's been a while since I've had these little things. But I saw some of them teeming in a glass bowl at the Parkway Parade outlet of Sakuraya (80 Marine Parade Road #B1-84D, 6345-4714) and thus grabbed a plate. Somehow these aren't as fun to eat when you're not washing them down with cold beer after a long day's work, but it was interesting to try this little Japanese grocery/fish market with a dining area in the back nonetheless.