here's the scoop

So I dragged the family out to dinner at Tampopo.

The place is packed with locals. On hindsight, not a good sign when it comes to Japanese places - especially this one since it's next to a Japanese supermarket.

I ordered a miso ramen, my sister the shoyu ramen, my mom the korean ramen, my dad an unagi don. We also get some gyoza and assorted sashimi.

The ramen comes with a couple of thin slices of melt-in-your-mouth pork, the usual bamboo, seaweed, and unfortunately, beansprouts.
The noodles are nice and springy but the soup - while far better than the shoyu-based stock - is rather salty and I end up trying to avoid drinking the soup and just eat the ingredients instead. Tsk.

The gyoza is shoddily made. My sister does a far better gyoza.

The desserts look a bit more promising - with warabi mochi, mont blanc etc on the menu.

But I'm really at Liang Court for the ice-cream.

Just a few metres away from Tampopo, is this stall - also within Meidi-Ya - that does a rather delicious sweet potato and chestnut gelato. I ask for a double scoop on a cone - with the sweetpotatochestnut and a black sesame.

The guy piles it on and I feel like one greedy bugger walking away with a two scoops of ice-cream taller than the cone they sit on. One pale creamy mound, the other a dark cement-like tone with little dots of black sesame dancing all around it.

Mmm... gelatolicious.

Of course with two mammoth mounds to contend with, the family has to wander around the shelves of Meidi-Ya, checking out weird frozen items, that shelf of fresh tofu products, and that whole tantalising section of raw seafood.

I am a supermarket junkie. I like to wander the shelves of supermarkets that are not called NTUC. I love to feast my eyes on the fresh produce section - the crisp, colourful vegetables, fruits and herbs, the blood red of meats, the creamy lushy cheeses. I rather enjoy pottering around the baking section, letting my eyes wander around the alcohol and wine departments. And of course, filling up the basket full of goodies to check out.

Tampopo Restaurant
#B1-50 Liang Court Shopping Centre
Tel: 6338-3186