Restaurant Fiz

Stopped by Fiz for dinner. We didn't feel like ordering a la carte, so we requested to have their 'full-experience' menu. While it would have been much better to have it for lunch, we weren't able to make the time to sit down for a long one. It had to be dinner. As it is, it has taken us ages to make a date for any sort of meal lasting more than 1.5 hours.  

Tonight, we weren't disappointed. Flavors, textures and every dish was gorgeous. It was absolutely delicious. Chef-owner Haffizul Hashim turned his childhood memories into a menu, refining it, and bringing elegance and a nod to traditions. Sure, the chef's hometown is in Lumut in Perak. He's Malaysian, and he draws from Malaysian recipes and produce, but he has been lauded for his borderless approach to highlight Southeast Asian cooking. 

The kaya toast was one of the fanciest we've ever had. Ahahahah. With Iranian beluga caviar, and century egg kaya. Then came a really good ang kar prawn with white curry custard topped with uni. That was one superb otah. I felt that the shima aji ceviche topped with Iranian caviar (again) was just there to... cover the price of the menu, but it was well-executed. It felt like a palate cleanser of sorts; a light teaser before the heavier flavors came in. 

The sotong sumbat sambal hitam was quite fun. They bothered to grill it and stuffed, then fried up the tentacles for a different texture, matched it with latok (sea grapes) and shikuwasa (lime). The thing about the names of dishes on this menu. The chef termed this period's menu as 'Ep 3.0'. Sure. He used a mix of terms in its different languages for the ingredients and its dishes, not just by its anchor Malay and heritage. It was fine by me since I knew all of them. But for some, it would be quite fun, I suppose. 

The last few items before dessert came this 'communal' set. It was nasi dagang with urap, kerabu, chayote shoots and crackers. There was also fiddlehead ferns with sambal tumis. OMG. The meat came in the form of wagyu beef percik for me, and a lamb chop percik for the husband — ahhhh....that massaman gulai was soooo good.

We were also treated to a great side of sambal hijau. The servers and Chef Fiz warned us that it was spicy. I heard them. It was honestly not too spicy for me. It was just about the right amount of spice, and so much aweomeness in there. I had that with the nasi dagang, and over-ate the carbs. Nasi dagang is this rice from Teregganu and Kelantan. It's a rich, fragrant mix of rice and glutinous rice steamed in coconut milk with shallots, ginger, and fenugreek seed. I've had it a loooong time ago on dive trips off of the east coast. (But you know I don't go to Malaysia.) They usually serve it with a spicy tuna curry, but tonight, it was with percik. 

I kept hearing Khruangbin on the sound system. I was tickled. The band found a real market. LOL Is that like the standard of music at restaurants nowadays? Not that I mind, but who would have thought? Khruangbin.

It was dessert. OMG We got there. I loved them all. The buah keluak mousse with macadamia ice-cream and Vietnamese single-origin Li Chu chocolate (from Ben Tre) was paired beautifully. We ate ALL the kuih bahulu. That's just a mini sponge cake right? But whoa, freshly-baked kuih bahulu is the bomb. The gula apong in these was measured and so fragant. I couldn't resist. I used to call it ‘Malay madeleines’. And I do somehow like madeleines and financiers. The husband was ecstatic about dessert and ate all of his too.

The dishes were executed so well. All the flavors were there, and nothing was too oily. It was quite perfect. I enjoy Chef Haffizul's approach to his chosen cuisine and use of spices. I've missed food that tasted like this. Rasanya memang sungguh lazat. I was pleased to have had dinner here tonight. 

コンビニ ::「コンビニ人間」

I didn't realize that this was such a short book. At 69 pages, this is a novella. I decided to read it in its original Japanese too. This is 'Convenience Store Woman' (2016) by Sayaka Murata. 村田沙耶香氏の「コンビニ人間」. The English translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori was released in 2018.

Protagonist Keiko Furukura has always been an oddity since she was a kid. I didn't think she's odd. She's neurodivergent and marginalized. She can't decode human social cues. She's certainly got opinions that aren't shared by her family or society at large. I was laughing at her choice of action as a kid. At so many points in the story, I wanted to shout 'Leave her alone!'  

She decided to work at the local convenience store/konbini for some 18 years after graduating from university. She is uninterested in a romantic relationship or marriage. She likes the corporate employee handbook because it gives her a soul; she doesn't see it as restricting her freedom. The konbini trains them how to smile and what to say to customers. She likes that. After 18 years, she seemed to have no interest in getting promoted to be a store manager either. She welcomes feeling like a normal cog in the wheel. 

When I first started here, there was a detailed manual that taught me how to be a store worker, and I still don't have a clue how to be a normal person outside that manual. 

Keiko proposed a co-living arrangement to fellow worker Shiraha, who sounds like some giant loser of sorts. They do not have a relationship or a friendship. Living together posed a different set of problems. She had to feed him, and she considers this as 'adopting' him. This was purely an arrangement of convenience. But it wasn't convenient to anyone. Their families wished to see them get married. 

Keiko quit her job at the convenience store to apply for a better-paying regular corporate job. She felt miserable. She rejected having to live according to society and family's expectations. She decided that she would return to it. She broke the agreement with Shiraha too. Her one ambition in life is to be an excellent employee at the konbini. Those are bright and predictable aisles. She had pride in her job, and seemed to be able to do it well. To be honest, she was the best corporate asset as a tool, as a devoted worker. 

I don't know how far you want to read into capitalism and exploitation here. There's a illusion of choice. Yet, she is totally bound up in it, comfortable in it. She surrenders her humanity to a konbini.

I was wasting time talking like this. I had to get myself back in shape for the sake of the store. I had to restructure my body so it would be able to move more swiftly and precisely to replenish the refrigerated drinks or clean the floor, to more perfectly comply with the store's demands. 

D'RIM at Mandarin Gallery

It's very hard to eat at DRIM and not have indigestion or food coma. We popped in for lunch at Mandarin Gallery and left so stuffed. It's probably the only place that I actually like the idea of Korean BBQ. Many Korean restaurants in Singapore are honestly... pedestrian and lacking. DRIM's got way better standards. Its stews and noodles are pretty much what we can get only in Seoul in terms of stock and richness of broth. 

If you like samgyetang, here’s what I suggest, eat here at DRIM rather than queue at the other popular restaurant under the restaurant group, Modu. (Song Gye Ok is also under the same group.) Pro-tip — ask for the menu for Modu's chicken ginseng soup and you don't have to stand in a long line for it. I don't/can't take ginseng, so it's not for me. But for people who love it, this is a convenient option. 

I was at DRIM for their signature noodles done chilled and dry with perilla oil, and a bit of beef. Those noodles were quite delicious, but I wished they used a better grade of cold-pressed/single-press-extracted, and untoasted perilla oil.

I just want regular beef, but the cut wasn't available. Got a portion of Hanwoo oyster blade, and their signature prime cut of pork. I love it that the staff grilled them tableside for us. The exhaust works well, and I never leave with the stench of grease lingering in the hair. 

Couldn't resist the beef tartare (yukhoe). Got that. DRIM's iteration was refreshing, crisp and superb. Husband wanted a beef stew (sogogi doenjang jjigae) too; the stock was deliciously robust and hearty. The banchan and kimchi were lovely too.