Kimchi-Jjigae at DRIM

The online reservation form indicated that DRIM was full for the evening. I was headed into a gym class and didn't bother to call or text. While I was sweating it out, the clever S texted the restaurant instead and got us two seats for dinner. Yayyy! I love it when friends are efficient.

S wouldn't have minded the ginseng chicken soup (samgyetang). But there's no way I can do ginseng, not even a sip. Plus I didn't take antihistamines tonight. So she said to skip it. I did get a portion to-go for the husband though. He loves this iteration, and this would keep well for lunch the next day.

Took the a la carte portions of beef — a USDA Prime cut and a Hanwoo oyster blade. Then we had a prime cut of pork. That was more than enough for us. I think next round, I'll skip all Hanwoo and get two portions of USDA prime cut beef. I really have no interest in fatty cuts of meat. Hanwoo is fatty. Sure, while wagyu has up to 70% fat in a ribeye, and Hanwoo has about 40%-50% in the same cut and it has been described as balance, it's still not as lean as I would like it.

S really liked the Iberico pork kimchi tofu stew. She enjoyed the flavors loads because this version is robust and held depth. It's a proper stew! They didn't use the 'good cut' in the stew, which means the pork in there ain't fatty. Yay for us!

Tortoise at the Esplanade Annexe

I'm glad to have caught Tortoise in Singapore in 2005 and 2011, and elsewhere. They sang the songs of my junior college days. The band is very much older now. Their average ages are like, 59 years old. I mean, they've stuck around for 40 years. FOUR DECADES. The members pretty much remained the same since Bundy Brown and David Pajo left way back in 1996/1998.

Last year, 'Touch' came out. This is their eighth studio album. I'm reminded of how music-making used to be; the younger bands rarely make music this way anymore. I didn't realize back then that their genre is considered 'post-rock'. I only know that I like bands without vocals. Their music has been described as "interweaving repetitive motorik krautrock rhythms with sophisticated jazz improvisations, minimalist structures, and subtle electronic text."

I really enjoyed the show. It was soooo... for the lack of a better word... nostalgic. They played the songs of my youth, and then they played something more. While tonight's show was a mix of old and new, I still don't know all their songs. I didn't bother to memorize all of those, and I don't play it enough to be that familiar. I got lost at some point regarding which pieces were from which album, and I couldn't even recognize two pieces. Hahaha.

Of course they played 'Ten-Day Interval' and 'The Equator' (from one of my fav albums 'TNT', 1998). There was 'Gesceap' from ('The Catastrophist', 2016). They did new songs too — 'Night Gang' and 'Layered Presence' ('Touch', 2025). I'm less keen on the jazz bits, and more into the heavier parts, but this album would do. 

UMMI for Its Lamb Shoulder & Rice

Headed out to UMMI for dinner. It has become one of our go-to places with friends because of its menu. There's something for every dietary preferences. Heh.

Had an easy mezze platter of three dips. We never could resist hummus and baba ganoush with warm flatbread. The table couldn't resist more carbs and added on crispy potatoes tossed in garlic, chilli and coriander. 

The garlic rotisserie chicken was delicious as usual — the half portion was perfect for sharing. A whole chicken would honestly have been too much, unless it's a table of five or six. Had the lamb shoulder too, a six-hour slow-cooked tender protein. This is quite the signature of the restaurant. We could never move away from a lamb shoulder done well.

They made it to dessert. Only one was ordered. No way we could do two desserts. They wanted the kunefe, that mad delicious sweet-savory combination of cheese with spun pastry dough, rose syrup and pistachio. It was a big portion and very filling. 

We ordered prudently and didn't waste any food. We didn't have to force ourselves to stuff our faces either. We couldn't finish all the rice though, that was a bit regretful. We weren't picky about the wine tonight. Ordered a bottle of house sauvignon blanc to share. None of us would be drinking more than two glasses each.