Songfa Bak Kut Teh 松發肉骨茶 @ JEM

It was dinner with family and all had arrived except me. The good thing about that, was that I got to arrive at a table full of food! Hahaa! Songfa @ JEM is located at the basement level (same level as NTUC Fairprice) and at the Watson side.

feeds a family of 5 adults

When having bak kut teh, it is essential to have tea. So out came the tiny teapot with equally tiny tea cups. Kind of felt like 'masak-masak' if you asked me.

tea set

Not sure which tea goes well with the pork ribs, but the Jasmine tea that we had gotten was pretty good since the flavour had intensified into the small pot.

superior grade jasmine

Hmm, since we didn't know how to 'execute' the tea making, there was help from the service staff. She patiently demonstrated the way. If you asked me now, I can't remember the steps but roughly its about warming the teapot and teacups and to pour away the first pour.

tea making

washing the cups?

enjoy

Having had many bak kut teh in my lifetime, I must commend that Songfa pork ribs were quite good. Tender and flavourful. The white pepper soup was not too overpowering too. No need to get the premium ribs as the normal ones were already quite good.

The intestines were also not bitter so that was a plus point. The vegetables were done well with it being crunchy and not overly cooked. The kidneys were a tad too tough but it was washed nicely without any funky smell. Surprisingly, the soup of the pigs stomach was a tad spicier than the pork ribs soup though both should've came from the same soup pot. Just don't choke on the soup like me.

do you like kidney?

pork ribs

If you're a lover of garlic, Songfa seemed pretty generous as our bowls of pork ribs and stomach had quite a lot of those. Cooked till soft and not pungent, these were pretty good snacks and probably good for our health too.

Overall, we had enjoyed our meal at Songfa Bak Kut Teh.

Songfa Bak Kut Teh

Location:  JEM #B1-09, 50 Jurong Gateway Road, Singapore 608549
Website: https://www.songfa.com.sg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/songfabkt/

Hoppy Bar ホッピーバー @ Icon Village

There's The Public Izakaya by Hachi and there's Hoppy Bar. Physically, both are just opposite one another and by the same parent company. Hoppy Beer (bottled) is available at both joints. There's differentiation in food offered, and you can't cross-order. If you want kick-ass sized tori karaage, that'll be Public Izakaya.

menu

There's counter seats where one needs to remove shoes, or bar seats and alfresco seats where one need not. The bar area was rather warm and so was the outdoor area.

Liked the decor of the place and service staff were friendly and more than happy to make recommendations on drinks and food.

bar seats view

Started with lemon chu-hi, which is a simple shochu lemon soda mix. Friend had draft beer.

Suntory Kaoru Premium (@$9.80++) and Lemon Chu-hi (@$10++)

For food, we tried the beef stew, an ebi mayo and some yakitori. The beef stew was served with some toasts. The bread was crisp and fluffy, and we used it to mop up the stew. The majority of the beef was too tough and that was disappointing. However, the flavour of the stew was thick and good with a touch of spice.

The bartender handed us a plate of edamame and said, "As a service." Lovely gesture to surprise guests with complimentary food. Later, we observed that a guest who came later and was seated next to us, was given complimentary fries.

ビフシチュ(beef stew) @$13++

scoop it up

The Ebi Mayo turned out to be one large fried shrimp, served with an onsen egg. The waitress advised us to break the egg and use it as a dip. Hmm, ok but rather unnecessary as the prawn was already doused with a substantial amount of creamy mayo.

Ebi Mayo @$11++

Next was our assortment of yakitori. The chicken heart was super tender and yums.

ハツ (chickcen heart) @$4++

レバ(chicken liver) @$4.50++

カワ(chicken skin) @$4++

ブタミズナ (enoki bacon) @$5++

Overall, expect to spend about $35+ per pax for a drink and some food.

[Media Invite] Carol Mel Cafe @ The Commerze @ Irving Place

Have you been to Carol Mel Cafe? It's a small cosy cafe located near Tai Seng MRT, or rather specifically at a building called The Commerze somewhere alobng Irving Place. It was quite hard to find if you are coming by cab as there are ongoing construction at the front of the road.

lunch menu

The last time that I was there, we had the Whimsical Waffles and that, was the best waffles that I ever had! However, they weren't producing anymore of those so, it was a bit sad then.

Was invited for a tasting recently and sampled more of their dishes, plus The Signature Whimsical Waffles is making its comeback. Yay! Wait. Did you know that that there's no GST nor service charge imposed on diners at Carol Mel Cafe? Now you know.

To start, you might want to get the fried chicken (mid) wings with maple syrup or the salted egg luncheon fries. Both were well fried and its exterior remained crispy throughout the meal. But of course, the mid-wings were polished off in no time. I liked it without the syrup.

The salted egg yolk luncheon fries were so addictive! None of those skinny nonsense. The ones here were thick and meaty.

Chicken Wings with Maple Syrup @$9

Salted Egg Luncheon Fries @$12 (handmodel cr: @damien_tc)

If the weather is super hot and if you feel like having cold noodles, why not try the Rakuzen Cold Pasta? Imagine chilled angel hair, thoroughly tossed in a refreshing dressing of wasabi yuzu soy, and plenty of seafood accompaniment such as mussel, prawns surimi and smoked salmon with a bit of ikura thrown in. Yummy.

Rakuzen Cold Pasta @$18 

Ah, but for meatatarians, you prefer pasta with something more substantial? How about the Signature Braised Lamb Shank with aglio olio? Personally, I felt that it was a tad too much for a female to handle the entire plate, so best to share it with your bffs. There's 450 gm of slow braised flavourful lamb shank in red wine sauce, served with seasonal vegetables and pepperish aglio olio pasta. I don't think anyone would still be hungry after having this mammoth of a plate.

Signature Braised Lamb Shank @$26

For the more dainty us, we tried the Buttermilk Waffle Curry Chicken Katsu with melted cheese and the French Confit Du Canard.

The Japanese curry was lighter than expected and has a sweet savoury tinge. Liked the salad to balance out the meaty quotient in this dish. The duck confit was firm and meaty with crisp skin. Plus point for not being too oily! Liked mine with the sauce. The butter potato mash was enjoyable too!

Buttermilk Waffle Curry Chicken Katsu with Melted Cheese @$17

Duck Confit with Bordeux herb reduction @$18

And, for desserts, one could choose from the available cakes at the counter or its signature waffle. The cakes would vary depending one what the resident baker wanted to do for that day. On the day of our visit, we had the Pandan Lychee Cake. It was so good yo! But can tone down on the sugar a bit. Very fragrant, light and moist.

Pandan Lychee Cake @$8.50 (handmodel cr: @singaporeliciouz)

Creme Brulee @$5 (or $6.50 for take-out)

But, the dessert that I was waiting for, make a guess. Why, it definitely was the Signature Whimsical Waffle, of course! Pretty looking, with lots of fruits, crispy buttermilk waffle that made that kruk kruk sound when cut, sharp cheddar cheese for some saltiness and ice-cream, of course for that sweetness plus pillowy grilled marshmallows for some contrast in texture.

Signature Whimsical Waffle @$16

Thank you Carol and Andy for having us at Carol Mel Cafe and Damien for the invite.

Please call ahead to make your reservations. Enjoy!

Carol Mel Cafe

Address: 1 Irving Place, Unit #01-30 The Commerze@Irving, Singapore 369546
Website: www.carolmel.com
Business Hours:
Mon to Sat 12noon to 9pm
Sun 11am - 4pm
Reservations: 66355755

The Public Izakaya By Hachi @ Icon Village

Chanced upon this place while we were at Icon Village. Fell in love with its decor which is pretty much izakaya styled. We sat down, ordered a couple of beers and some small bites.

feels like Japan

Suntory Kaoru Premium and Black Draft @$9.80++ each

First visit was more of post-dinner drinks with some light bites. However, we ended up having more than we should but that gave us a rough idea of what the shop could offer and we liked it so much that a second visit was planned.

Ika Ichiyaboshi @18++

Onigiri @$8++

Wagyu Rosu @$28++

The squid was tender and had a light smokeyness to it. The onigiri was rather dry, bland and disappointing but our faith was restored by the wagyu rosu. Wow. The tender medium rare wagyu slices were wonderfully salted but the bunch of spring onions and wasabi helped to balance the taste. Imagine oily, salty slices of beef with ice-cold beer. Yums. Don't forget the small cubes of beef fatty bits. Those were the best!

And, out of the blue, we were presented with a bowl of buta kakuni (braised pork belly). "On the house", the staff chirpily said. And nope, we aren't famous so this must mean that the staff in the shop had the flexibility to provide treats to their customers on their own accord. Nice and must say that I was impressed.

Buta Kakuni @$14++

The pork was well-braised and adequately seasoned. The mustard paste on the side will reduce some 'jelakness' if you think this dish might be too 'heavy'. All good with the alcohol!

Some months later, we revisited and this time with more friends. We over-ordered and over-ate...as usual. Haha!

Kakubin @$10++

My choice of drink was the Suntory Kakubin Highball but requested them to top it with Calpis instead. The staff was rather surprised and said none of her customers drank it this way. Is it? Hmm...but it's nicely sweet this way. A ladies drink, if you may.

Hoppy Original @$9++

Because we raved about the food there to our friends, there were some repeated orders. The wagyu rosu and buta kakuni. And, I've satisfied the curiosity on one of their signature dishes that the staff mentioned previously; the tori karaage. What's so special about tori karaage, you might ask. Isn't that a dime and a dozen at usual Japanese restaurants? Well, the version here is huge! Just slightly smaller than a clenched fist of a lady.

Tori Karaage (5 pieces) @$11++

Ivan warned that if one eats two of these karaage, one gets full. I didn't believe it then but after I ate two of those, I had to agree...but, they were good. Remember to have these when you're super hungry.

大きいね！

One of the most interesting starters would be the cold chicken liver in soy sauce and mirin/sake. It'll probably taste good with chicken hearts too!

reba shoyuzuke @$8++

Other snacks for drinks included fried river prawns (kawa ebi-age), marinated firefly squid and tako wasabi. The hotaru ika okizuke is an extremely salty dish where the firefly squid are marinated in soy and sake. The tako wasabi was both chewy and slimy but so shioks to eat.

kawa ebi-age @$9++

tako wasabi @$6++

hotaru ika okizuke @$7++

Ivan ordered an expensive rice-stick, the kiritanpo misoyaki. It's basically grilled rice stick glazed with miso. This one's better than the onigiri but not value for money though.

Kiritanpo Misoyaki @$6++

Besides the grilled rice-stick, we had some grilled mid-wings too.

tebasaki mikomi (2 orders) @$14++

In the middle of all those merry making, feasting and drinking, we ordered oysters. There's a bigger one at $8++ per piece but I think the $6++ was sufficient to try. Hmm, it was alright. Still can't forget the taste of the seafood in Hokkaido.

Oysters @$6++ each

カキ

We wondered how the grilled tuna cheek would taste like, so we ordered one. Takes some 20 minutes to make, so be prepared to wait. Hmm, not as much meat as we thought it'd have. Unfortunately, its skin was not to be eaten since its too tough. The flesh was much firmer than expected.

Maguro Kama Yaki @$25++

de-skinned

Other interesting fried item, was the gyoza croquette. We have eaten gyoza, we have eaten croquette but what's a gyoza croquette?! Well, it was what it was. Exactly a gyoza croquette! Hahaha! It's a croquette that has a filling similar to gyoza. Minced pork, cabbages and onions in a croquette and deep fried.

gyoza croquette @$9++

Expect to spend between $35 to $50 per pax for drinks and small bites. Happy times with fellow foodies.

The Public Izakaya by Hachi