The Hungry Bunny

Terribly sorry for the extended silence; I got the blue screen of death and my computer went on the fritz. And after a frantic, and tearful, visit to some tech whiz, lappie's now all well and good...and my world finally makes sense again. I must confess, as terrifyingly handicapped that felt, it was a teensy weensy bit cathartic at the same time, this lack of access to the internet. So, to detract myself from the prospect of losing all my life's memories because I forgot to back up my data, I've been stuffing my face. Comfort eating, you know?? Anyways, Sin Kee Famous Chicken Rice has been on my to-eat list since forever, and which was just awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin people. I recently ate at its brother shop along Havelock , and thought it high time to pop by the "original" at Holland Drive. While Uncle Chicken Rice takes up an entire restaurant space and hawks a bunch of cze char dishes, Sin Kee Famous Chicken Rice is just the one stall in a

Sometimes, I think the West region of Singapore gets maligned for the deceptive lack of good food. It's not to say that the area is teeming with amazing food galore (because it's really not), but there's a decent smattering of dining options that I'd make the trek, even from the East, to eat at. Like this non-descript cze char spot in Clementi (it's really more West Coast than Clementi proper), which was depressingly devoid of people on a week night (I've been told it's crazy busy on weekends). A friend had raved about its claypot 'bee tai mak' or rat's tail noodles (not particularly appetizing a name, I know), back when it was still located in Toa Payoh, but I never got around to visiting the stall until now. In its new-ish coffeeshop premises all the way in the South-West of the island. Notwithstanding its moniker, skip the fish head steamboat, and head straight for the tze char menu, it's what's exceptional here. Also, you know how

This classic Chinese take-out dish is an incredibly easy, low-fuss stir fry that needs about half an hour of prep work, and even less time to cook. The key to this is a big big fire, so turn up the stove and fry away! Ingredients (feeds 3-4): 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets half a capsicum, julienned 10 white button mushrooms, sliced 1 cup sliced sirloin beef, marinated with spicy bulgogi sauce 1 small yellow onion, sliced 5 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp canola oil 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp light soy 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp mirin 2 dashes white ground pepper Directions: 1) Fry onions in canola-sesame oil mix, on high heat, about 1 minute till caramelised. 2) Add garlic and toss through for 15 seconds. 3) Add broccoli, fry for 1 minute. 4) Add mushrooms, fry about 1 minute. 5) Add peppers, fry about 1 minute. 6) Add beef, soy, mirin, pepper and oyster sauce, fry for 30 seconds or until beef is half cooked. Dish up immediately, the residual he

After that awesome dinner at Super Loco sometime back , we resolved to pop by for brunch one weekend. Izzy had raved about their brunch offerings, and I was curious how the Mexicans do breakfast. Turns out, Mexican brunch is simply regular Mexican food, just jazzed up with eggs. Robust and invigorating, Mexican breakfast foods are a punchy, rousing way to kickstart your day. We relished every dish ordered. My only gripe: in spite of my instructions to hold off the parsley/cilantro/coriander leaves/spring onions in everything, they kept putting cilantro in every.freaking.thing...urghh, that was quite a pain to pick off every.single.chopped.up.leaf. The Mexican take on an English full brekkie, The Grande Breakfast ($24) comprised scrambled eggs kicked up a notch with salted smoked chile, braised black beans, grilled chorizo, fried streaky bacon, esquites corn nibblets, guacamole, spicy ancho mayo, and a couple of toasted sourdough. A beautiful gestalt of flavours, the platter was a

How we stumbled upon this underrated but outstanding hawker centre was fortuitous. So, I've been hankering for soupy braised duck noodles (yes, there's such a thing!) recently; it's been yonks since I last had it (also, yes, I do have the most random cravings). It's not a dish widely available or easily found anywhere, but a little research turned up this little gem of a braised duck + kway chap stall in Ang Mo Kio Central Market & Food Centre . So, post-duck noodles, we waddled around said hawker centre, which led to the discovery of a treasure trove of hawker offerings. My picks are listed in descending preference as follows. Braised Duck A must-try, the Duck Noodle Soup  ($4) at Ban Chuan was exceptional. Supplemented with a soy braised hard-boiled egg ($0.60), the broth was robust and brimming with the richness of stewed duck bones, but not at all cloying with herbal accents which typically hit me with a "heaty" headache. The duck, too, was su

Ever since that incredible meal at the fabulous Maggie Joan's , I've been hankering to try their sister restaurant, Moosehead Kitchen and Bar . A casual restaurant serving modern Mediterranean cuisine in small-plates, Moosehead's  distinctively livelier and breezier (also because it's open-aired) than Maggie Joan's. Whereas the latter's food was a smidge more serious and boasted more refinement, Moosehead's  offerings were decidedly carefree and easygoing. Still, I preferred Maggie Joan's cuisine, which I felt had tighter execution and more cohesive flavours. (a fun bit of trivia: the owners of Moosehead Kitchen - Bar named Maggie Joan's after their beloved gran) Service was, similar to Maggie Joan's, sluggish. Our water glasses only got refilled once throughout the 3 hours we were seated, after we asked for it. And our credit card payment took 20 minutes to process. In a restaurant of 4 other occupied tables. To be fair, the restaurant was

First order of business whenever we're in Australia (or NZ), is to hunt down the best pies; it's our favourite Australian food. Located just next to Crocosaurus Cove, it was serendipitous that we chanced upon Tommo's Pies . We actually were looking to buy a drink, but the smells drew us in, and we ended up buying a couple of pies. Just to try. Turned out to be one of the best pies we'd ever eaten (and we've eaten A LOT of pies). So obviously, we promptly bought another round of pies. A bonus: it's open till late at night!! Must-trys are the classic Steak Pie (A$4.80) which is more mince pie than hefty steak chunks, and the Steak & Mushroom (A$4.80) which is studded with white buttons. Luscious and sumptuous with rich melty fillings, the pastry was buttery and flaky. A wonderfully comforting hunk of pie.  A brinner-styled pie, the Beef Bacon & Cheese (A$4.80) was really just minced pie luxed up with bacon nubbins and an egg as well as grated