Yakitori Enmaru 焼鳥 炎丸 @ ION Orchard (Part III)

Was here again, for dinner, on a weekday with two friends. Their first visit.

menu

special menu

table, looking out

One noticeable difference, as compared to previous visit, was that we were offered the 'oshibori' (おしぼり) upon seated. The warm wet towel (feels comforting in a cold weather) was for us to clean our hands before the meal.

The Kirin frozen beer actually looked quite cute but we didn't get those. Got ourselves a jug (@$39++) of the regular Kirin draft.

nicely chilled glass

かんぱい！

There was another noticeable difference. We were served a small dish one each, 'otoshi' as cover-charge. Not sure what it was (cucumber or radish strips?), but it tasted salty and there were chicken bits in it and it made quite a nice snack to go along with the cold beer.

otoshi

The yakitori arrived rather quickly as well. Requested for the beef to be done medium rare, but felt that it came as medium instead.

wagyu

Basically, our table looked quite crowded at one point in time, with no space to put the next plate!

mekajiki (swordfish) sashimi (@$16.80++)

plump

Also had the unagi sushi.

unagi sushi

side view

The unagi was a little chewy due to the attached skin. Don't expect the melt in your mouth kind of texture. Still likeable and looked so pretty.

grilled hotate (scallops)

overcooked scallops

It was rather unfortunate that the scallops turned out dissappointingly overcooked. Skip this. Next, we had the bacon wrapped asparagus. The bacon could be crispier but was happy with the asparagus. Nicely cooked and still retained abit of crunch.

bacon wrapped asparagus

Ordered the Japanese style omelette, with cheese mentai from the special menu. The other flavours included natto or eel. Didn't dare to try natto, so chose cheese mentai.

Japanese style omelette with cheese mentai (@$9.80++)

yummy fluffy eggs

salty cheese mentai

Quite liked the omelette, though it was quite salty at the cheese mentai parts. Slightly quivering, yet still can be picked up with chopsticks. Best eaten while still warm. Goes well with beer!

Next was the chicken cheese sticks. Seems like the cheese here are all quite salty.

grilled chicken with cheese

grilled chicken with quails eggs

The grilled chicken with quails eggs has a smokey hint to it. Otherwise, it was pretty normal.

resting the chopsticks for a while

The jug was gone but we still had a glass full of beer, so more food it is to munch on!

chicken wings

The chicken wing was nice. Slight char on its skin, adequately seasoned and still juicy on its inside. Yums! Also had the cajun french fries. Hmm, give me chicken wings anytime!

french fries

Service staff was friendly. One observant service crew (Japanese lady) noticed that the table was not balanced and offered to quickly fix it.

This meal costs about $63 per pax.

Skyve Elementary Bistro & Bar @ 10 Winstedt Road

Fancy a glass of cold beer? It came with a complimentary sampler dish of fried chicken. Think it was only for the first glass of beer during Happy Hour.

is the glass half-empty or half-full?

yummy chicken popcorn style

Iced water available upon request.

iced water

For munchies, we tried their fried chicken wings, otherwise also known as "Flying Kick" (??) Hahaa.

Flying Kick

crispy outside, juicy inside and tasted of ginger

Founder Bak Kut Teh @ Rangoon Road

Located at 154 Rangoon Road, this shop was easily recognisable with its big signboard as well as the many pictures plastered on its wall.

menu

Found ourselves a seat pretty fast, and service was quite efficient. We ordered their signature bak kut teh, pig's kidney, choy sim with oyster sauce, rice and two drinks.

lime juice (@$1.80+)

from top, clockwise: Founder Bak Kut Teh, choy sim and pig kidney soup

The Found Bak Kut Teh (@$7+) comprises of one prime rib and two meat bones. The pepper soup was pretty mild. The meat wasn't fall-off the bone kind, but not too chewy as well. The kidney soup arrived with blood still oozing out of the kidney. Kind of scary, come to think of it! The choy sim (chye sim) was quite a big plate (@$4+). However, it was too bad that the deep fried lard wasn't crispy. The vege themselves were ok. Nicely blanched and retained a little crunch.

dark sauce with chilies, a must have dip for the meats

cute logo of founder holding onto, prime ribs?

Our meal costs $24 for two pax.

Omakase Burger @ The Grandstand (Turf City), Bukit Timah

Located at 200 Turf Club Road. Ample parking spaces. This burger joint can't be seen from the carpark, so go on inside and look for Giant Supermarket and you'll find the shop.

'outdoor' seats

omakase ~ let the chef decide

order from the counter

The burgers here are kind of pricey. Single patty burgers starts from $13.90. Just for the burger. To make it a meal (with fries and soft drink), that'll cost another $5.90. Nevertheless, we came to try the newest patty on the burger block, and so we did.

Between three people with normal appetite and one who just wanted to snack, we ordered a deluxe cheeseburger, two omakase cheese burgers and made one a meal plus changed the soft drink to root beer float, and the normal fries to cheese fries. Total damage for this combo? About $53+.

To order, simply saunter up to the bright and cheery looking cashier counter where it is currently helmed by Mr Cheng (senior). After making the payment and collecting the receipts, you'll get a buzzer that'll vibrate when either drinks/food are ready for collection.

buzzer

saw quite a lot of root beer floats getting ordered

Our burgers were ready in about ten minutes or less. First impression? Whoa, these are baby burgers! Hahaa, cute.

Omakase Cheeseburgers

Don't mind the look of the cheeseburger. I had them cut into half for easier sharing, although Mr Cheng Senior had warned that it wouldn't look as nice.

juicy beef patty of a special blend

artisanal bun, cheese and special sauce, beef patty, tomatoes and lettuce

special blend smashed beef patty, yums!

The star of the burger, was no doubt, its proprietry blended USDA Choice-grade beef patty. Its texture was akin to wagyu-like burger patties. Soft, juicy and with that last bit of bite of not too finely ground beef. The special sauce was supposed to be tangy and spicy but maybe because it had mixed in with the melted cheese, it tasted more salty and slight tangy than spicy. Would've preferred if the bun had its underside charred, but then again, that wouldn't be 'omakase' style already, right?

Feel free to take the sauces (chili, tomato, and mustard) from its dispenser. There's also pickles, if you'd like some.

young pickles

Here's a picture of the cheese fries (as part of a set meal), so probably the smaller sized version.

cheese fries

closer view

Not quite the taste that I had conjured up for cheese fries. Maybe I had it when its a tad too cold. But was pleasantly surprised to find one fries that tasted of truffle. That was nice (truffle + cheese + fries = yums!).

Also tried the AdstraGold (Golden Ale) draft beer (@$8.90). This has a slight metallic aftertaste to it, and the beer doesn't seem to be cold enough. Not sure.

AdstraGold beer

golden coloured

RedDot BrewHouse @ Dempsey

Located at Block 25A Dempsey Road, one can easily find this place. Within walking distance from the bus stop too.

menu

outdoor seats

What to order at a brewhouse? Beer, of course. Had a jug of lime wheat (@$26++) and some finger food.

nice coaster

frosted glass

cold beer, cheers!

Lime wheat beer, has a distinctive lime taste. Not too strong of a wheat-y aftertaste.

where's our food? Hungry...

bruschetta (@$12++)

tasty bread

The bruschetta came plated with greens that has been drizzled with balsamic vinegar. The leaves were somewhat dry, but otherwise tasty with the vinegar. First bite of the baguette, you'll get the crunch. Then, the jaw gets a workout chewing through the rest of the bread.

deep fried baby squid coated in salted egg yolk (@$11++)

closer view of baby squid

Kind of regretted the baby squid order. If you're thinking of nice salted egg yolk kind of taste, it was none of that. It tasted just like normal deep fried baby squids. The salted egg yolk coating was so thin and mild that it's quite unnoticeable.

When the night draws on, it gets pretty dark...

follow the balloon to RedDot