We all knew how textured and tasteless Thai durians can be, but with a touch of local and regional produces, the MSW Durian Sticky Rice (S$13.00) was a lot tastier, thanks to the richness and creaminess of the durian puree.
The sticky rice was probably cooked with natural butterfly pea flower dye to give the yellow flesh a contrast in colour, but the drizzle of coconut milk and the sesame seeds also gave the texture and taste a little uplift. As always, one would always ask why the cup was so small when the dessert was such a hit.
We all knew how textured and tasteless Thai durians can be, but with a touch of local and regional produces, the MSW Durian Sticky Rice (S$13.00) was a lot tastier, thanks to the richness and creaminess of the durian puree.
The sticky rice was probably cooked with natural butterfly pea flower dye to give the yellow flesh a contrast in colour, but the drizzle of coconut milk and the sesame seeds also gave the texture and taste a little uplift. As always, one would always ask why the cup was so small when the dessert was such a hit.
Better known as “Khao Phad Talay” in the native language, the Superior Seafood Fried Rice (S$18.00) was quite a tasty dish as it contained crab meat, prawns and conpoy, before garnished with some pork floss and coated with lots of crispy rice. Adding the latter created texture and bursting fragrance when chewed.
Portion-wise, this dish can be finished by one person if there were no other dishes to share on the dining table, but since I could apply Burpple Beyond offers here, it would be nice to also get a second Rice / Noodles dish just to try different foods within the same meal.
#BurppleBeyond
5 Senses Bistro was located away from most of the other restaurants within the mall, and with the current safe management measures in place, they might have lost a fair bit of business to the other dining establishments.
However, the pricing of their food was quite acceptable, and they served some decent western food. I ordered the Confit French Duck Leg (S$17.90) that came with a nice sauce, some mashed potato and a side salad. I was pleased with the way the bones were pulled out so effortlessly and the skin was indeed crispy. Yes, even if the duck leg was cooked in oil, the meat was tender and not too greasy, plus it was well-complemented with the smooth mash and the greens with two wedges of mandarin oranges.
Even though the skin was very very slightly overcooked (with a subtle char), I appreciated the fact that the skin was in a nice and complete piece, almost appearing like a duck fat tuile atop the leg. Happy meal, it is.
The Duck Fried Rice (S$12.00) was executed well with a perfect fried rice, done in a “zi char” way, with diced roast duck, diced cucumber, corn, spring onions and shallots. The duck meat were mostly visible from the top of the mountain of rice, showing abundance of them. And of course, you could taste the distinct duck fat that came largely from the skin.
However, I felt that the portion was really too big for (a hungry) one as after all this was a rice dish. I would say that this was best served among 2 to 3 people for optimum marginal utility.
Autumn beverages had arrived at Starbucks and one of their newest items on the menu was the Pumpkin Spice Cream Cold Brew (S$7.80 for Grande size). The familiar sweetness from the pumpkin spice syrup was pretty distinct, and definitely added some contrast to the cold brew beneath, but the spice notes could have been more prominent in this case. Guess the natural bitterness from the coffee had overpowered the spice flavours somehow.
Five Guys might have been in business for a few months already, but queues were still pretty long during meal hours. And it was a big deal that day when they were out of bacon, like how could this happen when a few menu items depended on bacon as a main ingredient?
Bacon or not, this visit was clearly not wasted as I continued to order what was essential in a burger restaurant: burger, fries and a milkshake. What was beautiful was that both the burger and the milkshake allowed as many additional ingredients as I would like, and of course the “kiasuism” in me tried to put a few things down.
The Cheeseburger (S$15.00), just like any of the others, was wrapped in foil, and my hands were already greasy before they could even reach the bun. Messy as it might have seemed, the burger tasted good, and that was all that mattered.
Something that really surprised me was their generosity with their fries. A large fries costed S$11.00, and it was measured by a large drink cup, plus any extra that came with the fries scoop; the paperbag that housed the cup had a full cup of chips plus a whole lot of them “spilled out”.
Needless to say, I would aim for their Five Guys Shake (S$10.00) again. Next time, I would want to mix-in bacon just to give that a shot.
The pandemic had definitely changed the dining habits for some, and those who would prefer to stay home for some comforting burgers would have another option to consider — the Slidin’ In (S$23.90).
Comprising six scrumptious sliders in a six-pack box set, one could mix-and-match from the following menu: Impossible, Classic American, Honey Chicken, Crispy Chicken, Fish Fillet and Mushroom. Since there was a variety provided between chicken, fish, beef and plant-based, there was bound to be at least one that would suit your appetite. I personally liked the Honey Chicken, Fish Fillet and the Impossible sliders as the flavour was on point for me and were not too dry.
Generally, this box was designed for sharing among 2 - 3 persons, but you could try to gorge yourself silly if you really wanted. I would highly recommend ordering a set of their fries to complement the entree, because what are burgers when you do not paired them with fries?
This was a recommended dish by the staff, as they claimed that it was quite a crowd favourite. Interestingly, the Deep-fried Eggplant with Pork Floss (S$11.90 for Small portion) was fried until it attained that golden crisp before plated and tossed over pork floss. The texture was multi-layered, and who would not mind scooping some of those pork floss on to rice or noodles and finishing everything up?
I was not a big fan of eggplants, but I suppose I could finish this portion alone. That was how addictive it was.
Although the café belt along Upper Thomson received flocks of diners during weekends, occasionally we just had to brave the crowd to get that hearty breakfast fix.
And so the Breakfast Platter (S$24.00) did the trick. This brunch item comprised two eggs of your choice of doneness, and came with all those good stuff as shown on the photo. The only thing that shocked me was that they started to adopt a “No Pork, No Lard” policy. Halal certification in the near future? Maybe... but that would have meant that the pork sausages and thick cut bacon that used to be there would be replaced by chicken or turkey substitutes. Breakfast just seemed imperfect without perfectly-crisped bacon.
Paying S$3.00 for this Seared Beef Sushi was indeed a good choice from all the S$1.50 sushi plates that were on the turbo-speed conveyor belts. What was amazing of this plate was that the beef was tender and juicy as opposed to the seemingly dry items that were going round and round. I also thought that it was a nice touch for the kitchen to leave some Himalayan pink salt by the side to season the beef to my own preference!
Sushi Plus was like the “premium” version of their sister restaurant Sushi Express, serving up additional dishes at a slightly higher price, yet the quality was not too bad in my opinion.
Take for instance their Triple Flavour Salmon Selection (S$5.00), with three pieces of salmon belly completely blanketing the sushi rice below them, each seared before sauced up using nacho cheese sauce, Mentaiko sauce and caramelised mayonnaise respectively.
Among the three flavours, the Mentaiko sauce was the most predictable flavour that was also my favourite on that board. The nacho cheese sauce was a little off for me because the fatty salmon belly was just not enhanced by a saucy cheese. As for the mayonnaise, of course who would reject mayonnaise right? But having felt the graininess of the sugar crystals that were not brûlée completely left an awkward sweetness aftertaste, regardless how subtle that might seem to be.
No matter what, if this dish was marketed at this price, it would still be worthwhile to order it during my next visit.
