Food Attack

It is my first taste of Cinnabon and I really enjoyed the ongoing Nom-Nom Mochi Series! At week 2 (2 Sep-8 Sep), the Mini Black Sesame Mochibon ($4.80) was bangin’. Giving black sesame tang yuan vibes with the rich, nutty and earthy black sesame paste swirled with the mini cinnabon as well as the soft, gooey, chewy mochi center. The silky black sesame cream cheese frosting was lovely as well and added some much needed moisture as I found the rolls a tad dry by themselves.

The Mini Biscoff Cookie Butterbon ($4.80) was lovely too. A little sweeter than I would prefer but I am a fan of biscoff so the iconic caramelised flavour is certainly present in the Minibon. Topped with cookie crumbs and a cream cheese & cookie butter frosting, the roll is well worth a try. However, if I had to choose between the two, I would pick the mochibon and the weekly rotating flavours all sound so good~

Feeling the need to splurge?! The A5 Miyazaki Sirloin ($55) was decadent. A little too fatty for me, the marbled beef was truly melt-in-your-mouth and can come off kinda greasy in my opinion. I would suggest going for the more affordable options to get your money’s worth.

Non-beef eaters, don’t fret, cause I am happy to report that the Seafood Katsu Zen ($32) was yums. The salmon was flakey and moist - great with the tartar sauce. The jumbo ebi was well-executed; beautifully battered and the shrimp tasted fresh. Oh wow and the juicy-sweet scallops were the unanimous favourite at the table.

Bringing over their signature menu of breaded and deep-fried beef cutlets from Japan, the famed beef katsu chain, Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu has finally reached our shores. Mark your calendar for their official opening tomorrow, September 7 at the basement of Raffles City!

Starting from $25, note that each set comes with an assortment of dipping sauces, an onsen egg, Kyoto-style curry, red miso soup, and unlimited servings of rice as well as cabbage with deliciously refreshing Yuzu Shoyu dressing. From sirloin, chuck tail flap, tenderloin, tongue, to the more premium wagyu; it is pretty hard to decide so I would recommend going straight for the half-and-half option! And so we went with the Sirloin and Tenderloin ($29) as well as the Sirloin and Beef Tongue ($32) set.

I had tried gyukatsu from other stores so I would say the Sirloin offered is pretty similar to the cut you would usually get from the sets in Japan. Leaner, decently marbled, and a safe well-balanced choice - good with a quick searing. However, the option of thicker Tenderloin and succulent Beef Tongue can’t be missed. That much more satisfying to bite into, the Tenderloin needed extra minutes on the hot plate but was supple, beefy and not cloying. Similarly, the Beef Tongue was toothsome, by no means gamey and had that fun tender bite. The togarashi miso sauce with every order of tongue was also umami, not spicy. Chef’s kisses.

Got the best of both worlds with Jeong's Jjajang half-half portion, the TangJjaMyeon set for dinner. I was initially planning to get jjajangmyeon with the half serving of tangsuyuk but since my friend was going to order it, I swapped it for the spicy-sweet fried chicken for an additional $2.50; Jjajangmyeon + Kkanpunggi ($24) and thankfully I made the right decision.

Not a fan, I think their tangsuyuk was kinda mid so I would highly recommend getting the Kkanpunggi instead. Served pipping hot, the beautifully glazed chunks of chicken was so juicy, succulent and well-fried. The batter was relatively thin which I love and the exterior remained decently crisp with the even coating of the slightly tacky sauce. A little spicy for me but very moreish with the sweet-tangy flavours and the aromatic from the spring onion-garlic-dried chilli blend. The signature jjajangmyeon delivered as well with the springy strands and the savoury black bean meat sauce which was nicely balanced.

And to get a taste of their sourdough, you have to get their beautifully plated lunch sandwich, the Ricotta Tartine ($18). So good! The toasted sourdough bread was topped with house made ricotta, chili jam, Charentais melon, confit tomatoes, toasted almonds, and basil. A literal mouthful, the refined combo was amazingly refreshing. Think burst of sweetness from the tomatoes and luscious ricotta with pops of nuttiness from the crunchy nuts and aromatic bites of basil.

A lighter, more delicate number, the Gâteau St.Honoré ($13) was lovely too. Stacked with velvety vanilla pastry cream, mascarpone chantilly and small caramelized choux puffs loaded with more smooth cream, the house-made feuilletage (multi-layered puff pastry) was so fun to eat texturally. Not cloying at all, despite the amount of cream.

If you are going New Bahru, you can’t miss ÁTIPICO! Although their New Bahru outpost promises a robust brunch menu, we just had to try the freshly baked pastries and bread that they are known for.

Marrying tangy fresh notes of raspberry from the fruity confit layer with distinct nuttiness from the pistachio almond cream, the signature French Kiss ($13) was simply exquisite. The colour of the pistachio ganache was kinda intimidating for me but it didn’t taste artificial. The tart texture was really crisp as well which was very complementary to the softer filling.

Braving the peak weekday dinner crowd (about 6pm), we made it in after about one hour. We were not that hungry so we decided to join the insane queue but I would highly recommend going before 5pm if you can.

For starters, we tried Casa Vostra's antipasti, Frittatina Lasagne ($8) - a palm-sized portion of warm, crispy fried beef-cheese filled lasagna, Think seasoned minced beef layered with savoury pancetta (Italian cured pork belly), soffritto, San Marzano DOP encased in an ultra crunchy golden crust. Pretty interesting; it was my first time having the fried variant but I am not much of a fan so I would save the money and top up to get a solid plate of pasta instead.

I love La Bottega’s Doublecrunch but this time I only ordered their slow-fermented Newpolitan pizza and because I am a big fan of truffle, the Tartufo e Funghi ($28) was right up my alley. Embellished with mushrooms, fiordilatte, taleggio, thyme, drizzled with truffle oil and finished with a generous helping of fresh black truffle shavings, the signature dough was wonderfully soft-chewy and pillowy. Not forgetting the creamy white sauce base which tied all the savoury, earthy elements together.

Luxuriously creamy and uber umami, Mensho Tokyo’s Signature Toripaitan ($28) was kinda over the top for me. Looking past the price tag, the rich bowl was indeed flavourful and included tons of ingredients. See A5 Wagyu, smoked pork, duck, chicken chashu, ajitama eggs (beautiful lava yolk), king oyster mushrooms, crispy fried burdock root chips, green onions and a generous dollop of their OG truffle sauce. The house-made wavy whole wheat noodles were thick, chewy and al dente. What’s more, the proteins were well-executed but the highlight was truly the melt-in-your-mouth slices of beef chashu - so good, if I do go back I might just get their wagyu ramen. Oh and don’t get me started on the exceptional chicken broth which had a smokey, deep savoury aftertaste and earthy kick when the paste gets mixed in. Worth a try and it isn’t all that cloying, however, it is a little much for me overall.