torikin, bukit timah

surprisingly delicious collagen chicken hotpot (or is it chicken collagen hotpot?), also known as hakata mizutaki, at this little place along bukit timah. I admit to ALOT a healthy amount of skepticism before coming to this place – I don’t like thick soups, the texture or excessive flavor of fat, and the whole idea of collagen as a age-defying beautificant (literary license) is a pretty strange notion (like, do you just grow so fat you don’t get wrinkles?

and, well, it tastes (and is) a fantastically long-brewed chicken broth, although definitely a little too unctuous and viscous for me. but the chicken that comes out the pot is beautifully tender and flavorful, as are the vegetables that cook in the same.

but they don’t just do a collagen hotpot – you get things like okonomiyaki and oden, the latter possibly my favorite dish ever.

boteyju san, star vista

one-up-from-fast-food japanese at the star vista. this place sits price-wise and feel-wise somewhat with ichiban boshi, with sub-twenty prices and a space that feels better than a food court (but perhaps only slight better).

it’s a decent place for a quick lunch, which is really why we were here – my dad likes the fried rice for a simple meal if he’s in the area.