New Makan Places

WARNING - LOOOOOOOONG POST AHEAD

Ok, I am taking a break from kitten talk. Discovered some new makan places around the HV/Bukit Timah neighbourhood. No photos yet coz I still haven't plugged up the courage to take photos as we try the new places.

1) Cold Rock at Holland Village

I will put in a separate post on why I am frequently at Holland Village nowadays. Well I always was but I definitely spend at least 1 day a week there now. Long story.Anyways, last Saturday, I tried Cold Rock ice cream. It's at Lorong Mambong, a few shops before NYDC and Cha Cha Cha and a few shops after Hazara (or is it Kinara?). It's a concept brought in from Brisbane and apparently is also popular in the States. How did I know about the new ice cream parlour? Er,shemelessly overheard some one talk about it; well who asked the guy to talk so loudly?

Basically, you pick a flavour of ice cream, sorbet or yoghurt (which *ah-hem* calorie conscious me chose)and choose mix-ins like Malteesers, fruit, Twix, Oreos, nuts and all. The counter folk (for lack of a better word) then take the scoop of whatever, throw it on a slab of marble (hence the rock)that is refrigerated I think and mix in the toppings you chose. I had a yummy Twix and raspberry mix; pity they don't have mint. Only realised they had my favourite Cheey Ripe AFTER I got my yoghurt. Verdict? Yummy though the regular size was a tad pricey for $7 ($6 for base, $1 for each mix-in; though they are throwing in a free mix-in as part of opening specials). For those of you who remember the 'WHIRL-A-WHIP' at the old Yaohan Orchard and Thomson, this is pretty similar.

Read from ieatishootipost about a similar joint over on the East side called Ice Cream Chefs that has a similar concept. Coincidence? Will try it when I venture Eastside.

2) Think Tofu

I have tried this eatery at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre (BTSC) twice. Stumbled on it on a day when I was craving for udon. We had been to lazy to venture downtown. I had
seen the signboards for the place when I pop by the OCBC at BTSC. Honesty, BTSC has seen better days and has always been a bit old and slightly seedy. Was surprised to find Think Tofu, a new cafe above it and a happening Asian furniture shop called Asia Box there. Of course, the cafe is tofu themed but fret not, it isn't a vegetarian place.

Its signature are its hotpots and what we tried on two trips - mushroom and tofu soup and fish maw and seaweed soup were yummy. We really scrapped the bottom of the pot. The meat mains - beef, chicken and pork can be done with a Western Worcester, Sweet&Sour, Black Pepper and Mango (I think)sauce. Being the Anglophile that I am (if you know me well, you know I drink Lea & Perrins, A1 and HP sauce), I had to have the beef and pork with the worcestershire sauce. It tasted like a combination of L&P and A1 sauces. Came with a side of fries with a yummy spicy salt that reminded me of chicken salt which you get at Oz snack bars.

Had the house special but I can't remember the name. It was mashed up tofu with some other bits, fried and then braised in a sauce. Also had the yummy prawns and steamed tofu.I topped it off with the honey lemongrass tea and free PUB gin (available FOC and self serve). Total bill on both occasions was about $24 for two,inclusive of drinks. Found out from the really nice cashier that the restaurant is part of the Yunnan Garden group.

At $5.50 for most dishes, TT does not break the bank and will sure give Prince Taiwan Porridge (my other favourite place for home style Chinese comfort food) a run for its money. It also does not give me that MSG stiff neck I am prone to. Be warned, like Prince, it does not accept NETS or credit cards. No worries though, you have OCBC,POSB & UOB atms spread across the 3 buildings on the block. It's also a nice respite from the busy Cheong Chin Nam Road stretch, which gets pretty crowded during peak makan times.

3) Tah Tan's Table Wine Dine

This 3 month old eatery is located at Royallville, along Bukit Timah Road and Annamalai Avenue. It's tucked in between Ritz Apple Strudel and Salvatore Ferragamo, I mean Pasta Fresca da Salvatore. I had given Drakon a shock when I said Ferragamo. Heheh.

Again, I am currently on a Japanese food craze and have covered quite a few ramen joints in the past month (saving for another post). Too cheapo to pay ERP to go to town. Hanabi's buffet would have been excessive and after the 'barf along Orchard Road' stunt post-Straits Kitchen lunch, I had enough of buffets.

Tah Tan (also TT abbreviated) was quiet and we were the only customers. We were a bit 'iffy' about the place but had apprehensions allayed when Yuko-san (I think that's what the manager called her) walked out of the kitchen and told us about the specials which were not on the regular menu. Drakon's eyes widened (after a night of staying up as midwife) when he saw the ika daikon on the menu and heard that the catch of the day was a saba shio or grilled horse mackerel. I was sad there was no soba or ramen but they did have a miso udon on the daily special. Also had homemade pickles for starters, along with a potato gratin (yum yum)and a grilled iringi mushroom, which was only $3 and EXCELLENT!

Verdict - we paid $57 (including my OJ and a shared cheesecake) BUT will definitely be there for the great food. It's not your traditional Japanese that you get at Waraku but it is a little bit fusion. Ooh and the homemade cheesecake is heavenly, not excessively sweet or rich and topped with homemade rum-ed raisins, which Drakon finished. He was also waxing lyrical and relishing every single bit of the saba. It did smell a little fishy initially to me but after I dug in, I had to agree with him. TT is going to be another hot favourite for us and proof that the Westside is not the food desert Easterners claim it to be.

Photos will follow once I pluck up courage to take pix at makan joints!