You are what you eat

After graduating from university a few years ago, its fair to say that just ‘good food’ doesnt cut it any more. It has to be : the dosas from that place or the godawesome samosas from the other or as a last resort you try fire-defying stunts at home to produce these little pieces of heaven. So here is a short review of the places we’ve been to which are a bit out of the way:

1) Himalaya Kitchen: Our trip to Dharamsala early this year has made us crave for tibetan/nepali food including rocking momos and soul reviving thukpas. While this place doesnt serve thukpas, it does have some pretty brilliant momos with a sauce to match. They have a nepali chef who works nights and while we were only there for lunch, the place didnt disappoint. The dal was simple and bland (I’m not a fan of overspiced dals) if a touch gingery and my vegetable jalfrezi connoisseur girlfriend says this dish was good too. All in all, good food and good value for money.

2) The Garden Slug: This rather ulu place seems to have the only veggie burger in singapore with a potato patty. I’ve had portobello, tofu and other kinds but as a kid in India pocket money to meant me meant only one thing – burgers. Rs100 = 7 burgers with 2 rupees saved for next time. Those were brilliant days when happiness came in the form of a wonderfully gooey potato patty burger with onions and the works. Sigh. Anyway, The Garden Slug’s burger was a bit jugheady especially since I replaced my portobello with some tall and mean onions. It was a little drier than I would have liked it and ofcourse Indian burgers have a lot more oomph but it is by far the best I’ve had in Singapore. Top it off with a Hobgoblin and you will be a satisfied Indian teen graduated to adult all over again.

3) Stevo’s Salads and Such: Again, this isnt a place you’d call mainstream and it seems to cater for the Singaporean teen/uni student who just have waaay too many yuppie eateries like this targeting them. We had a veggie burger with a sweet potato patty and I must admit that I felt like slapping the chef for his laziness on this one. It was 2 buns and a patty (and maybe a tomato slice?)! Where is the mayo, lettuce, onions, tomato and all the other wonderful goodness that go into a truly special burger? Tsk Tsk. Anyway, this burger did have some real potential so if I do feel like traipsing all the way back to this place then I might take the trouble to ask for all of these ingredients and end up having a kickass burger. Think this place doesnt serve beer, yet another reminder of its target audience being below the drinkable age. Its ozzie some more!

PS : This image is an authentic poster from one of my childhood haunts – burgerola!

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