Opaque with a sweet, rich milkiness, this stall's soup boasts an aromatic heat from slices of ginger too. You can choose between having fish head or pieces of fish (top and bottom bowls respectively in above pic) to go with the thick beehoon. I always pick the latter as it's easier to eat. Plus, with the hefty chunks of fish, it feels like I'm getting more bang for my buck.
(Price: $6 per bowl)

Every meal at @folkloresg should include the 4 Angled Bean Salad. Meticulously cut into very thin slices, the four-angled beans are tossed with small cubes of mangos, red and green chillies, ginger flower and kaffir lime leaves in a mouthwatering sauce made with sambal belachan.
Heritage-style cooking can produce really rich results (which is precisely why I enjoy the dishes here), so the crunchy brightness from by this zingy salad makes for a welcome cut-through.

Here is real black magic.
Those posts on Instagram of @folkloresg's #trending "Sambal Buak Keluak Fried Rice"? Well, this bewitching paste in deepest shade of midnight is its ground zero.
Since young, I have always preferred a plate (or two) of plain white rice to go with the rich flavours of my grandma's Peranakan dishes. I feel that all the effort that'd gone into the making in order to achieve the distinctive taste of each dish, should be appreciated by savouring it in its full glory. And white rice is the best blank canvas.
The point of my spiel (yes, there's one) is THIS Sambal Buak Keluak ($22++) is a damn good dish to order! Don't question the price because the amount of work to push out just one bowl is unbelievable. Go ask any Peranakan bibik.
So the way I like to eat is to rotate between different dishes. Once every minute or so, I'm back to spoon on this mildly spicy, velvety pitch black paste to mix with my rice. Then I take my time to savour it because that's the way to do ambrosia justice.

Sticky and fudge-like in texture, the Sea Salt Caramel Brownie resembles a regular chocolate brownie but tastes just like very good caramel sauce formed into a block.
Even though it is sprinkled with sparkly flakes of sea salt that'll make your salivary glands go into overdrive, you do need a sweet tooth to appreciate this.

Went on a Monday at 11.30am, their opening time, and was glad to see only one couple ahead of me.
I got the $6 mixed version in a dry-style "meepok", and it came with 3 large fishballs (really bouncy and not as salty as some places'), 2 "tau pok" stuffed with fish paste (a little dehydrated but a soak in the accompanying bowl of soup helped) plus 2 "her keow" (these flat dumplings formed by fish paste skin and stuffed with juicy minced pore were excellent!).
The noodles were also beautifully al dente and the balance of chili sambal and vinegar suited my palate. Just to be clear, I am personally averse to heavy-handedness of the latter when it comes to my "meepok tah", and this suited me fine. If you are hardcore, you can help yourself to the big bottle of black vinegar placed on every table.

Because this is fellow Burppler @happygreedyfoodie's favourite Fried Hokkien Mee in Singapore, I couldn't not give it a try. Once I saw the signboard, I recalled having had it before but we're talking more than five to six years ago, so my tastebuds can hardly recall.
Anyway, today's plate of noodles ($4) turned out to be very satisfactory. It was well fried and the "wok hei" announced its presence loud and clear. Unlike Nam Sing's at Old Airport Road Hawker Centre which is drier and comes with only sliced big chillies, this is thick with some wetness from stock splashed on during the cooking, and is served with chilli padi as well as a spicy dark sambal.
I found it fascinating to watch the elderly couple in action as they moved smoothly together in the confines of their small hawker stall. Like seasoned dancers who've tango-ed for decades, the aunty took the order and as she repeated it to the uncle, she prepared either a plate or a sheet of brown paper for it. Uncle, in his Minion-style goggles, swung into action, cooking every batch of noodles with care. He first fried a big enough portion for a few plates, before dividing it into individual orders and throwing on the prawns, squid and pork belly for that serving. When he deemed it ready, he scooped the noodles onto a plate to transfer to the waiting plate or paper Aunty had prepared. Slick moves indeed 👍😄.

Cooked over hot charcoal, the laksa from this stall isn't the super thick-with-coconut-milk kind. Instead, their gravy is a tad thinner but rest assured it is damn shiok because it is robust in other ways. I always get it with extra sambal.

Limited to only 5 servings for lunch each day, Suigei's Chirashi Sushi Set is of the delicate tasting type.
Assorted fresh seafood, which changes according to the season, are cut into neat little pieces and strewn over a bed of sushi rice. Mixed in there are a few slices of Japanese cucumber, lotus root and chopped up pickled radish - they never overwhelm the raw seafood due to their small quantities. As expected, only fresh wasabi is included.
The set meal is presented on a tray with a small cup of miso soup that contains a bit of Japanese yam (you'll need to stir before sipping), pickles and a freshly fried crab croquette (I'm pretty sure this changes all the time).
On the day of my visit, dessert was a choice of either ginger soya milk pudding with kinako or soya milk pudding with matcha cream. I went for the former and it pretty much blew my mind. Actually, I suspect the latter would have done the same.
Suigei is a sake bar by the same owner of Ginza Sushi Ichi right next door. The space is intimate and even at lunchtime, it has a quiet, rather formal vibe with conversations conducted at a low volume.

I feel the omakase we had at @yodajapanesedining was worth the $100++ as Chef Fabio served plenty of premium quality ingredients throughout our meal. Here's what we had in order:
1) Oyster shooter - It was the huge and creamy variety and the dressing was a good blend of savoury and spicy with a hint of sour.
2) Raw squid and okra with mentaiko - Chewy and slimy with an umami kick.
3) Cold poached egg with wasabi-marinated octopus and ikura - A really sensuous creation.
4) Sashimi - The botan ebi shrimp and thick cuts of otoro, chutoro and kanpachi were superbly fresh. When we were done, the shrimp head was taken away, deepfried and served again, all hot and crispy this time. Total scrumptiousness.
5) Two kinds of tempura with mentaiko mayo - I love, love, love the natto and seaweed because I am a natto fan. The Tai fish with Shiso leaf was also delicious.
6) Crab and foie gras - The former, which was really fresh, had been cooked in a light sauce, while the latter was pan-fried. The chunk of braised daikon below proved a nice foil to the richness of this dish.
7) Mangalica pork with burdock root crisps, edamame and potato salad - I chose to replace the original item of lamb with this because I am more of a pork person.
No regrets.
8) Sanbo Rice - Not shown here but I posted this separately as it is too good!
9) Somen with chives - The soft noodles look plain but every strand was full of flavour from being cooked in a tasty stock.
10) Japanese musk melon - One half was original but the other had been soaked in whisky (thanks to @jiaknonstop's instructions to the chef). Both were divine.
Conclusion: The ambience of this rather spacious restaurant isn't anything to shout about but the quality and variety of the food at those prices makes it worth traveling for.

This was the second last course before dessert in tonight's Omakase dinner ($100++). It's basically a premium version of a do-it-yourself handroll.
We were each presented with a bowl that contained very fresh minced fatty tuna, uni, ikura and sushi rice. On the side, neatly fanned out, were a few sheets of crispy roasted seaweed. The correct way to enjoy this was to first give everything in the bowl a good stir, then scoop a bit of the mixture onto a piece of the seaweed, roll it to form a cigar shape of sorts and start munching.
I must say, this was an absolute winner. So fresh and tasty, especially with the pops of flavour and texture from tiny bits of crunchy tempura batter and toasted sesame seeds buried within the mixture.

I'm so glad we made it to @pankosg on their opening night, with less than 5 minutes to spare for their last orders for food (yeah, we were cutting it close!)
We decided to get a modest assortment of their signature kushikatsu (menu prices are based on per skewer and they range between $2 and $8) plus a plate of karaage ($12) as our bellies were still full from a wine-filled dinner earlier.
After munching on the skewers of panko-ed and deepfried prawns, scallops, pork neck, baby corn and ladyfingers, it was unanimously agreed that the battered coating was very well done. Regardless of whatever it covered, the layer of crunchiness was thin, nicely even all over, and remarkably oil-free.
The double-compartment saucers that had arrived once we were seated, held a ponzu dip, a lemon wedge, Japanese salt and a housemade sauce for us to enjoy our kushikatsu with.
We had hot tea with our food on this first visit which was pleasant but I am pretty sure alcohol would prove a more fun pairing.
If you work close to Haji Lane, you might be like to know they offer lunch sets priced between $16 and $20 that include choices beyond deepfried items such as sashimi, chirashi, oyako don and cold soba. There's also an $88 Panko course meal as well.
(All prices above are before tax).

Woke up with a sudden desire to try the brunch at @firebakesg, so I jumped in a cab and got there in a jiffy.
My eyes were instantly drawn to the "Ham & Cheese Toasty on their menu as I was in the mood for something rich and substantial. It was a good choice, if I may say so myself.
The large, thick slice of house-made white sourdough (which goes by the name of "Wave") had been spread with Norwegian butter and mustard, followed by a neat layering of ham, brie and cheddar cheeses, strips of pickles and tomatoes. I like that they kept the ham topmost because after being popped in the oven, it was lightly crisped which made it extra tasty.