Paying it forward at Menya Musahi Tampines Mall

We eat at the neighborhood mall quite often.. It's a convenient place to quickly grab a bite after a long day at work.

Neighbourhood malls are known for their standard template of franchised food and retail outlets. We had dinner at menya musahi ramen outlet last night, a relatively new brand which recently opened in numerous malls.

Ramen was mediocre for the price. At 16 bucks I had a portion of weak ramen broth with a measly portion of noodles. Topped up 3 bucks for some battered sting ray which was spiked with small bones. This is definitely my first and last visit. 

What made up for it was a heartwarming sight as I was settling the bill at the counter. Snuggled up at one of the tables, I spotted my neighbourhood provision shop uncle having dinner with his wife and 2 grown kids. They looked weary but happy. Indeed, a family that eats together stays together. Wanted to do something special for them so hubby and I made an impulse decision to secretly foot their bill. 

Best decision of the day. 

Hoshino coffee @ plaza singapura

Always wanted to try Hoshino, having read superb reviews on their pancake toasts.

Having been forewarned of bad service, I thought I was mentally prepared but this was really worse than expected. 

There was only 1 waiter serving our whole section of 10 tables. He was a sour faced bespectacled old man immaculately decked in smart western waiter outfit.  While his English was impeccable, he was also prone to impatient outbursts especially when we clarified on credit card promotions and took too long to make our order. Water took ages to refill and we had to help ourselves in the end. 

What really irked me was how attentive the other staff suddenly became from the time our food arrived right up till the time we settled the bill. They were probably eager to close and couldn't wait to shoo us out. All our food arrived in a quick succession even though I had ordered a starter (soup), main (pasta) and dessert. It was a miserable sight watching my ice cream melt and my pancake toast turn soggy as I tried to quickly gulp down my soup and pasta. 

To add salt to the wound, multiple persons kept checking our order chit, repeatedly informing us that our orders had arrived.

For the record, the hoshino pasta (with bacon, soft boiled egg and shimejj mushroom) was nice but nothing to rave about. Miam miam serves an identical version, if not better.

Dessert was a hit and miss. The chocolate banana pancake toast (with vanilla softee) turned out to be disappointing with a strange bitterness within the batter. 

Faring better was the French toast whose  pillowy soft bread was well complemented by a dollop of whipped cream and lashings of maple syrup.

Don't recommend visiting this place unless u are into Japanese food photography and maybe, coffee. 

Shiok maki

Located as a standalone restaurant within food republic wisma atria. It's hard to miss this place given the perpetually snaky queue. Some refer to this dish as the Singapore bastardization of the Japanese maki- hence it's title "shiok maki". I couldn't agree more. Japanese food purists will be crying murder.

That said.. This maki really packs a punch like no other. Order shiok maki 1 which comes with an unagi filling and give shiok maki 2 (prawn filling) a miss. Smothered with fish roe and a highly creamy cheesy sauce, the sheer richness of the dish overwhelms. A generous dollop of wasabi perched at the side offers some piquant respite. 

Enjoy but don't go too often lest u suffer a heart attack.

Other good stuff to order: a pork wrapped asparagus roll drenched in crispy garlic and black sauce