Food-at-Large

Sabai Sabai is literally and figuratively a little hidden gem. It's hidden in the sense that it is located in a small little enclave in an obscure corner of another eatery (i.e. Nam Kee Pau) in Valley Point. You literally have to enter Nam Kee Pau to spot the entrance to Sabai Sabai.

I have visited this cosy and intimate restaurant several times over the years and their food has never failed to disappoint. I usually have their green curry fried rice but their green curry chicken is good as well.

I love that Sabai Sabai's green curry chicken comes with nice decent chunks of chicken meat (instead of scraps) and loads of Thai eggplant.

For the uninitiated, Thai eggplant has a nice crunchy bite and its mild bittersweet and earthy flavours remind me of brussel sprouts! The curry is creamy and packs a nice fiery kick. It is enjoyable on its own or over rice!

Ma Maison also runs seasonal specials from time to time. When we were there a few months ago, they were running a foie gras special!

We are big fans of their beef stroganoff which goes very well with rice though there are times when the sauce is a tad too salty and the beef too sinewy. At this price point, I wasn't expecting a refined smooth buttery piece of foie gras but this wasn't too bad!

IMHO Ma Maison serves one of the best value for money set lunches.

For $25.80, you get a soup of the day, salad, hamburger steak topped with a fried egg, omu rice, spaghetti and a drink to boot! That's a lot of food and probably enough to feed two pax! And the food is actually better than decent!

For desserts, we had their brie cheesecake, a light airy cheesecake made of creamy and rich brie cheese on a light crumbly cookie base.

I actually rather enjoyed this. The brie cheese was creamy, buttery and nutty and the cookie base was not too heavy.

Tapas24 is a wonderful place for Spanish food. The prices are a little steep and the portion a little on the small side. But the service was delightfully sincere and personable.

Paella is often considered the soul of Spanish cuisine, representing its rich cultural history, identity and communal spirit. It's a symbol of hospitality and togetherness.

Arroz Negro is a Valencian and Catalan form of seafood paella. Its signature black colour comes from squid ink and cuttlefish and it is usually made with garlic, green Cuban elle peppers, sweet paprika, olive oil and seafood broth.

I love its deep, umami-rich flavours of this dish - the uniquely earthy and mineral notes of the squid ink and the sweet savoury and oceanic essence of the seafood broth, enhanced by spices such as garlic, onions, smoked paprika and saffron which add more depth to the flavours.

I like that Tapas 24 serves a garlicky saffron aioli on the side as its rich and creamy elements complement the rich, briny and savoury flavours of the seafood. My only qualm is that the portion is a little on the small side!

Gambas Al Ajillo is a classic must order tapas in any Spanish restaurant that features sautéed prawns with garlic, chilli and extra virgin olive oil served hot.

Tapas24 serves a decent rendition of this classic dish. The shrimps were fleshy and juicy. However, the olive oil was lacking in garlic flavours and tasted rather flat. It was surprisingly my least favourite dish of the night.

The northwestern Spanish region of Galica is most famous for Pulpo Gallego, a tapas made of octopus. Traditionally the octopus is boiled and topped with olive oil, pimentón, and salt.

Tapas 24 grills their Galican octopus instead. I love how the octopus is crisp on the outside and yet juicy and tender on the inside. The mildly salty flavour of the octopus pairs beautifully with creamy and earthy tones of the potato mash and the floral and zesty notes of the chimichurri sauce.

This is personally my favourite dish of the night!

Tapas 24 is one of Barcelona's iconic and busiest tapas bar run by Michelin-starred chef Carles Abellan. Their Singapore outpost is their first outside of Spain and features most of the same dishes.

Their signature Bikini Sandwich is a crisp buttered toastie featuring black truffles, iberico ham and buffalo mozzarella. I love the symphony of flavours from the nutty and earthy black truffles, rich and savoury iberico ham and the gooey creamy and tangy buffalo mozzarella.

It is an excellent appertizer to start the meal!

As I said in my earlier post on Treasure Toast, I will be back to feature Bao Er Cafe which likewise serves kaya toast and hokkien mee.

Their kaya spread uses fresh coconut milk and you can immediately taste the creamy and nutty flavours in it. For those with a sweet tooth, you will definitely like their kaya which is on the sweet side.

I also like that they have somehow found the golden ratio of butter, kaya and bread, ensuring that you get a good balance of all in one mouth!

I personally peg this together with Coffee Hut at Jalan Berseh as my go to for kaya toast!

I usually go for chicken satay because it's harder to go wrong with them as compared to pork satay which can be a little tough if undercooked and I'm not really of the big tough chunk of fat most stalls put in the middle.

Pang's pork satay though had none of these issues. They used a leaner cut of pork, marinated it thoroughly and grilled it to perfection, keeping it sweet, juicy and tender. It's the perfect starter for any meal!

Claypot & Cooked Food Kitchen's signature dish is the quintessential Cantonese classic - sweet and sour pork.

Whilst most stalls use tomato sauce for this dish, C&c mixes deep fried slices of pork with sweet caramelised onions, sweet tomatoes and crunchy bell peppers and coats them all in a sweet tart and tangy hawthorn sauce, giving it a slightly different omph.

Although all I had were some takeaway leftovers, I guess I was fortunate in a way that i at least got to sample their food before they hung up their wok for good.

Unlike most stalls which serve either drumlets or winglets for their prawn paste chicken, Claypot & Chicken Food Kitchen serves theirs using chunks. I'm not a big fan of this because it usually means that you get weird ends of bones in each piece.

Thst said, the chicken was well marinated and oozing with juices. I like that the marinate permeates through the meat to give this dish a deeper depth in flavour.

I'm bummed though because I was really looking forward to trying their fish maw and claypot liver!