A Bún Chả for Lunch!

While Co Chung has an outlet in Plaza Singapura, It's nice to see that Co Chung is still around at Boat Quay because it has an al fresco area. I kinda like that location. They bothered to put a canvas shelter over the outdoor area, and added on like four air coolers. Those really helped with easing the mid-day heat and all. 

Importantly, they've never minded Choya at the outdoor tables. The floor ain't the cleanest, but it would do. Although I have seen children eat here, and they leave a mess of vegetables and food remnants after they leave. My dog is definitely quiter and cleaner than they are. 

The food has been dependable. The menu is quite extensive and covers many items. The man likes the pho here, and would add on beef slices and meatballs to his bowl. I'm not keen on pho, so I usually order a bún chả or bún thịt nướng of sorts. I like their lime soda since it came as a cute little can for me to add on and top-up to glass. I like these extras.

This afternoon, we ordered what we usually do — beef pho, and a bún chả Hanoi. The man enjoys pouring the broth over to blanch the raw thin beef. That works well for him. I can't say no to fish sauce. I love that piquant dipping broth and cold rice noodles, grilled pork and patties. That's more than a sufficient volume of lunch for me.

Fat Belly at Serene Center

The husband is always up for a steak. For years, we haven't tried Fat Belly because the menu seemed to have been previously focused on wagyu and really fatty cuts that we're not fond of. The restaurant fell off my radar and when Serene Center was done with its renovations, I thought I should pop by.

The day's rains made the evening's temperature rather bearable. We sat at the table by the mall's door, so the AC coming out kinda ameliorated the humidity. But bring portable fans. Otherwise it's still stuffy. The outdoor area of Fat Belly is super bright, like white-light fluorescent bright. So it makes you feel hotter. 

This location still works for us even if it's raining. The sheltered walkway is great. Unless the Bukit Timah area of Cluny Court floods, then it's a no-go. We went for a late dinner tonight at 8.30pm. Most of the crowd had cleared since TwoFold sells out by 8pm or so. But the area was still bustling. Orh Gao next door was chockful of happy drinkers and barky dogs. 

The husband wanted the blue swimmer crab cake with hand-chopped tartare sauce, and also the smoked burratina with heirloom tomatoes, balsamic crema and scallion oil. They were quite light appetizers. That tartare sauce was excellent. I almost wanted to order a little tub of it to go with my steak. Hahaha. 

We both opted for a USDA Prime onglet from Harris Ranch. It's about 200g. Couldn't resist a side of pomme puree drizzled with evo oil. That was honestly fantastic. I love potatoes and I don't actually need them to be mashed with butter. This was a gorgeous version. Also got a bit of dressing in the form of salsa verde for taste. Mmmm. Well, our bellies were certainly happy.

Coffee at J's

Happiness is going to J's home and getting two gorgeous cups of coffee. It was a rainy morning, but no matter. The rains weren't the white-out sort. So it was very manageable. I haven't seen J for a bit. It's always nice to catch up IRL. Although our schedules totally do not match, and it takes like two months to find a common slot. 

Choya was invited too, and she was so pleased about it. (I made sure to brush out her coat so that she doesn't shed everywhere.) She followed J around for a bit, and found her comfy corners. This Smol Girl is really very 'guai'. She's fairly respectful of other people's space and wouldn't jump up on the bed or on the couch unless she's invited to. I can take her everywhere. 

J's got a gorgeous and practical coffee station set-up. It's her thing lah. So she's pedantic about coffee. Maybe more so than I am. Hehehe. I didn't want espresso things even though she has a lovely nifty 9Barista stovetop. I asked for filter coffee. J generously obliged. Two cups with two rather different beans. The different flavors totally hit a spot. 

We always have got good beans. Different sort of roasts. It's fun figuring out each roastery's quirks. Mmmmm. These cups have got to be the best coffee I've had this week. It was perfect weather to sit and chat for a bit. She had ordered financiers from Little Favors. Ahhhhh. What a treat! Those always go so well with coffee. Wheeeeeee. I wasn't able to do lunch per se. So it had to be a morning thing.