We ate with the locals

In Singapore, we found a great Japanese hawker where you can get a brief tasting what Japanese kitchen is like. If you look for it just go to Bugis+ mall and take your ride up directly to the Ramen Champion Singapore. Well, there you can find a bunch of ramen providers, but some web research got us to the Tonkotsu Ikkyu, who used to be the best ramen master around here. So, we tried his food. We ordered Special Tonkotsu Ramen and Teriyaki Chicken Rice. On the other side, we got Ayitama Ramen and Ebi Fry aka Japanese Breaded and deep-fried Shrimp. In Tonkotsu ramen, we found rich broth with a nice piece of cha shu (marinated braised pork belly), which was well cooked in sous vide style. The broth itself was full, of a nice boney taste and well-balanced. Collagen was very rich in it, so our Kyushu white styled thin noodles didn’t sink right into it. Over them, there was a great portion of black fungus, egg, and spring onions. The egg was abnormally delicious and a great counter for this heavy soup while fungus adds some crunchiness and earthy taste. The other soup was also good. Only the shrimps were a little bit too oily. Teriyaki wasn’t the best we tried, but just good enough to complete our dish. Overall – a sweet Japanese stop.

Our second expedition was to Little India, where we searched for some best Indian food. Our first stop was a vegetarian restaurant, which our friend prefers. This place is called Komala Vilas and has been operating since 1947. We got some nice Aaloo Paratha (potato paratha) and Chole (chickpea curry). Here, they also have the amazingly good Tosai and its thicker version Uthappam. Don’t expect to see a lot of tourists here, but the food is good.

The other place was called Selmor and you can find them directly opposite to the Indian Heritage Center in Little India. This center is easy to recognize by the big wooden door. For this place, we got info from Sidd, whom we met at the BBQ. According to him, this place got the best butter chicken in town. We invited our friends Goga and Gregor to test this rumor out. We ordered samosas, which were great. Not too oily and the filling was very tasty and fresh. We also ordered Paneer Matter (Cottage cheese cubes & green peas in onion-tomato gravy). This dish was Vivi’s favorites. The cheese was very soft and tasty. It was a great combination of rich and slightly sour gravy. For a non-vegetarian option, we took Aloo Matter (potatoes and green peas in spiced creamy tomato sauce). I must admit this dish was a great substitute for meat. I guess it’s much easier to be a vegetarian in India than in Europe. There was also flawless Masala Chicken and notorious butter chicken. This butter chicken truly was a flavorsome dish. The chicken was soft, gravy buttery and spiced just right. Garam masala with turmeric and ground coriander were nice zesty additions. Yogurt made the sauce a little bit lighter, but, hey, this is Butter Chicken! On the side, we got some naan and Biryani rice. Both very tasty and well executed.

Our next great restaurant was in Chinese style. It’s a little bit hidden, but still in the busy part of China town and no tourist guests are there. This place is named Yum Cha and they are famous for their dim sum (small steamed or fried savory dumplings containing various fillings). Here, you will get a nice formulary and you just write down the number of your dim sums. We took Sesame BBQ Pork Pastry, Crispy Shrimp Dumpling, Prawn and Mango Sesame Fritters and Prawn Ball with Chestnuts. All those fried specialties were very tasty. We liked Prawn and Mango the most. It was a great combination, especially with sweet chili sauce. From the steamed dim sum menu, we choose Christal Mushroom dumpling, Fish Roe with Siew Mai, Yum Cha Prawn Dumpling, and Custard Bun with Salted Egg Yolk as a desert. All steamed dim sums were delicious and very moist. The fillings were generous and fresh. The one Vivi and I didn’t like were Custard ones. The taste just wasn’t for us, but I’m sure it’s a great one if you are into eggy fillings. Well, we still haven’t found the best Asian dessert.

Dim sum

Here, you have some not so “Trip Advisor” places to get some really good and authentic food. We hope you will try it and see what we are hyping about.