Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Here Fishy Fishy~~

My family loves eating fish, and we never fail to have a fish dish on the dinner table every night. From the traditional Teochew and Cantonese-Style Steamed Fish to Deep Fried Fish, my family enjoys indulging in every style of it. However, the one fish dish that I simply find it irresistible is that of Teochew Fish Porridge. And to cook a bowl of delicious fish porridge is not too difficult.

1. Cooked rice and leave it in the open to dry. Ensure rice is not cooked too moist.

2. Thick slice of freshly cut fish – from modest Batang (Mackerel) to the preferred Pomfret.

3. Pot of Ikan Bilis soup.

4. Seaweed and Dried Flat Fish along with Freshly Fried Shallots to enhance the soup.

5. Greens – Lettuce or the preferred Tang-O.

6. Alternatively, you have wish to pan-fried some Shrimps under small fire (without oil) to add more Oomph! to the soup.

7. Add salt or fish-sauce to taste and Viola! A delicious home-cooked Teochew Fish Porridge to match any hawker stalls out there.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

New Year, New Rating

The old has gone, the new has come. What a better way to usher in the New Year than to revamp the new rating system on my food blog. And what better way to label them other than the phrases that we, Singaporeans, are familiar with. Starting from those that fall below 10, they go down under the category of “Cannot Make It”.

You can try as hard, but the difference in yardstick is so apparent that you can never catch up with the rest in the industry. For those from 10 – 12.5, there is nothing fantastic to holler about. Nonchalant Singaporeans will simply put it as “So-So Lor” – or no comments kind of remark.

Of course, since Singaporeans are never easily satisfied, but yet when they do not wish to sound too difficult, you can always catch them saying “Ok La! Not Bad”,

but we all know there is room improvement – this category is created for those that falls under 13 – 15. Of course, when Singaporeans enjoy something they really like, the very one word you can find them exclaiming would be “Shiok”.

This is especially for those that fall under 15.5 – 17.5. However, when they found something really worth crying out for, the no-hold barred statement would simply be “Si Bei Song Ah” – a delightful yell that is only fit for those that falls within 18 to 20.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Service with a Frown

Last Saturday, took me back to En Japanese Dinning (Yes I know, I am getting predictable, but I will never shy away from good food). The food was okay alright but surprisingly, it was a comedy of errors when it came to their service that night – the 1st though in my 4 outings. It started with the person taking my phone reservation that I will be given a table outside; only to be assigned a table inside the restaurant upon arrival. You see, En has an open concept kitchen and the smoke from its Okinawa grilled cuisine doesn’t go very well with me. Next, the main dish, Unagi Fried Rice, was served before the appetiser, Sashimi and Beef Carpaccio. Foodies will know that getting the order of your meals mixed up is an absolute misdemeanour in F&B. And when specifically ask for warm sake to go with my meals, I was recommended the house pour, only to be told that it is only served cold upon arrival of the wine. Also, the salad we ordered didn’t come with a spoon to scoop the veggies as well. Lastly, 2 dishes that we didn’t order were presented to our table.

And just when you thought it was over, after dinner activities took us to St. James PowerStation and service was obviously lacking too when we were at Movida – the service staffs was rude and came up to us a couple of times to shoo us off from the counter where we were ordering our drinks, and it took a good 30 mins and me standing at the counter staring at them before my drinks came. Considering that she wanted to served me a half-spilled drink (which I refuse to accept) that turned out wrong (I ordered a Martini Bianco with 7-up but was served a Sweet Martini Neat instead), I am happy to announce that St. James has just lost me as a patron forever, unless serious training is being conducted to their staffs. The only positive thing out of the whole night was that I were able to catch a 7-mth “getai” performance in the mid of January of 2007 at Dragonfly.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Zambuca

Year 2006 ended with a fabulous Christmas celebration that took place in one of Singapore’s most notable restaurants – Zambuca.

Executive Chef Dennis Sim teamed up with Culinary Director Angelo Sanelli, of Michelangelo’s distinction, presented us with selections of original and contemporary Italian dishes balances with a well though out selection of conventional delights.

Zambuca happens to be a bar as well as a restaurant that features a magnificent wine cellar. Specially set to the temperature of 18°C and use mainly for wine dinners, this cellar is a definitely an enchantment for all wine enthusiasts.

Appetisers were soon served as we were still busy deciding on what read like mouth-watering dishes from the menu.

However, the pretty dreadful Bruschetta they serve as a complimentary were pretty stale toast and even staler toppings of Italian Sausage and Mushy Beef Spread or Egg Mayo with Caviar. Thankfully, the sampler starters were dished out in succession not long after and I have to say I am quite impressed. First up was the Carpaccio di Manzo, or Beef carpaccio with parmesan cheese and quail eggs, lightly drizzled with extra virgin oil.

The thinly sliced beef melts in your mouth and the parmesan adds zest to the otherwise bland dish. This was soon followed by Parma Ham with Rockmelon.

In terms of presentation, I thought this was one of the best that night. The chef was even generous enough to give us a huge chunk of the melon wrapped around with a wedge of ham. The Gamberi con Aglio Olio e Crema, or Tender tiger prawns with sliced garlic, finished with Devon cream and placed on a bed of shredded spinach served in a hot iron terrine, as put simply - Divine.

The prawns were gigantic and fresh, and the cream sauce was purely mouth-watering, so good that we were scooping the sauce straight from the iron bowl and gulping it. The Mussels topped with Tomato-based Sauce though were ordinary.

Although the flesh of the mussels was big and juicy, I suspect that they were cooked separately from the sauce as the mussels lacked taste and flavouring from the gravy. The gravy also was not the best I have tasted as compared to the many mussels dishes I have tried in Perth. However, the biggest disappointment of the night was that of the Calamari Fritti.

The Squid rings were too salty and the coating of the flour was done badly such that we end up eating the squid separately from the flour. Thankfully the last starter of the night, Foie Gras, or Seared duck liver served on toasted brioche topped with Granny Smith apple, peppered fig and port wine redeemed it all.

Consider one of the greatest delicacies in French Cuisine, the liver was juicy and the fatty oil that oozes out from it is simply blissful. It was simply so delicious that I decided to have more servings of duck for my main.

And thus it ensures that I also have a whole serving of Foie Gras to myself along with the breast of the duck – pretty sinful I must say, but for occasional indulgence, I reckon that it was all worth it. Known for their lamb dishes, I would also highly recommend the Agnello Marinato alla Griglia, or grilled and marinated rack of lamb served with asparagus and mushroom ragout, parsnip puree and drizzled with chili chocolate sauce - done in medium rare.

The tenderness of the meat along with an exotic sauce simply tops all the dishes for the night.

Rating
Food: 3/5

Service: 4.5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Price: 2/5
Total: 14.5/20
The Pan Pacific Singapore
7 Raffles Boulevard,
#03-00
Singapore 039595

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Search for the Best Ramen

The best ramen I ever had was in Hokkaido, and ever since then, I have been searching high and low for good ramen in Singapore. And I am pleased to declare that I have managed to relish two excellent ramen restaurants.

The first restaurant happens to share the same name of a 1985 Japanese comedy that revolves around the art of making ramen, Tampopo’s Black Pig Shabu Ramen, was even voted as ST Lifestyle’s No. 1 in its Top 10 Ramen in Singapore.

This simply delightful ramen is served with tasty and tender Black Pig Shabu Slice (which is also known as Berkshire Pork, or Kurobuta Pork in Japan, and is prized for its fine marbling of fat and exceptional flavor), in spicy Kyushu (pork bone) soup base that is said to be brewed over 2 days.

As my family and I were in a restaurant specializing in Berkshire Pork, we couldn’t resist ordering a Black Pig Tonkatsu to share.

Once again, one bite and it was apparent that it wasn’t your average piece of meat. The pork chop was meltingly tender and juicy, without any hint of dryness due to the layer of fats.

I can boldly declare that it is the best Tonkatsu I have ever tasted and making all $19.50 simply worth it. However, it’s a pity that the stewed egg wasn’t as firm as the one I had in Hokkaido.


Rating
Food: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4.5/5
Price: 3.5/5
Total: 16.5/20
#B1-50 Liang Court Shopping Centre


The next ramen place, voted 2nd just behind Tampopo, is Noodle House Ken.

Found in the heart of Orchard, this ramen place happens to offer a very unique, Cold Ramen in Sesame Sauce. However, I felt that the taste was too authentic for me and being a sucker for hot food, the coldness in the noodles wasn’t very appealing to me.

I also found the ramen too dry due to the lacked of soup, but however, the Miso Ramen was pretty delightful. The noodles were tangy and the sweet corn along with the bamboo shoots was a great compliment to it.

The stewed egg was a pretty good proxy to the one I had in Hokkaido, but the egg yolk wasn’t as watery as I would like it to be.

Although I hadn't had a chance to sample the Chasu Ramen, I believed it would be a great choice for future visits, as the 2 Japanese sitting next to our table were slurping loudly away. Also another good feature about Ken Noodle House is that it operates till 2a.m. on Monday till Saturday, so hungry shoppers and clubbers can enjoy delicious ramen in town.

Rating
Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Price: 4.5/5
Total: 15.5/20
Orchard Plaza #01-17/18
(Opp Cuppage Plaza)

Friday, January 05, 2007

Is This Where The Future Lies?

Academy at sunrise @ Fort Canning Centre

Spice Garden @ Fort Canning Park - Pandan Leaf

Spice Garden @ Fort Canning Park - Chilli

Pastry & Baking Kitchen

Western Kitchen

Asian Kitchen

Classroom where Pratical Workshops are Held

Modern "Fireless" Stove for Safety Reasons

Home Kitchen Where more Lessons are Taught