The Hungry Cow

Chinese New Year Dining @ Xin Cuisine

2012-01-09T00:09:00.014+08:00

Hot on the heels of Christmas is Chinese New Year. This year CNY comes barely a month after the Yuletide season. So it's moo-re feasting! Again! :D

It'll be the Dragon (some say drag-on) year and ~~since we can't really eat dragons, no not even komodo dragons~~ hence many yu shengs are shaped into a dragon.

Check out this one from Xin Cuisine over at Holiday Inn Atrium!

The Gold Leaf Australian Lobster Yu Sheng (market price) featured a whole lobster (still craving for a dish of noodles stir-fried with the head), salmon, tuna, amaebi (Japanese sweet prawns), geoduck clam and cobia- all sashimi.

With extra long chopsticks and enduring hand cramps, we heaved and tossed the yu sheng, allowing each blogger to take turns in capturing the moo-ment. LOL! A light and very fragrant yu sheng especially with the zesty mandarin peel bits.

Then the Pan-Fried Scallop with Eggplant in Japanese Miso Sauce ($30 for small) was brought to the table. The scallop was nice though I found the eggplant too oily.

Double-Boiled Shark’s Fin and Baby Cabbage in Chicken Broth ($188 for 4 pax) was comforting and homely. Love the juicy wanton!

The Steamed Garoupa Fillet with Beancurd in Light Soya Sauce ($33 for small). The fish was rather Hong Kong-style while the beancurd, with what I'm guessing were bits of waterchestnuts and Chinese parsley, had a homemade and rustic appeal.

Xin’s Prosperity Seafood Pen Cai ($298 for 6 pax, $398 for 10 pax) was a pot of abundance with ingredients like lobster, abalone, shark's fin, fish maw, sea cucumber, dried oyster, dried scallop, wolfberry, fresh scallop, jellyfish, mushroom, sea moss, bamboo pith, radish, sea whelk and Chinese cabbage. The braising sauce had a delicate seafood flavour.

There were so much ingredients that we had to portion them out into 2 bowls per person. Moo had 3 cos some were too full and could only stomach down 1 bowl. So helpful right? Moohehhehe.

Then we came to desserts.

Chewed on Deep-Fried Xin’s “Nian Gao” ($6 per pax) and the Chocolate Champagne Glutinous Rice Ball, which should appeal to alkies! Teetotallers beware. LOL.

As a final end to dinner, the Bird’s Nest with Almond Cream ($28 per pax) was perfect. Its warmth, smoothness and almond-y flavour caressed the palate. The visible strands of bird's nest added a luxurious touch. A sweet ending to the meal and perhaps a sweet beginning to the new year!

Thanks to Tracy Lim of the Holiday Inn Atrium for the invitation and the rest of the team for hosting moo.

Xin Cuisine
Level 4
Holiday Inn Atrium
317 Outram Road
Tel: 6731 7173

Chew On This: If you prefer some privacy or just want to celebrate with family/friends/business associates, consider booking their nicely done up private dining rooms. Named after teas, each dining room offers a unique tea. There is also a cosy sofa area to relax at should ~~one have had one too many of the Chocolate Champagne Glutinous Rice Balls~~ the table environment be a bit boring or stiff after a while. :p

Still Mama Mia After All These Years.

2012-01-06T01:00:00.005+08:00

Al Forno is one restaurant that moo family enjoys but oddly have not returned to in the past 6 or 7 years. But boy were we happy to have revisited it recently at Dad's suggestion!

Pizza Al Forno ($23) was a delicious option topped with spinach, feta cheese and sausage meat. The crust wasn't too thin had a nice chew which I like.

We also enjoyed the Saute Di Vongole ($19)- a sliver dish load of clams cooked simply in white wine, garlic, olive oil, chili and parsley. The broth had sweet flavours of shellfish and garlic with a heat (from bird's eye chili) towards the back palate.

For those who like their rice in big portions, consider the Mushroom Risotto ($23). It's a nice vegetarian option but I found it to be a bit too rich for one person. Best shared around the table. :)

Al Forno's signature pasta dish- Spaghetti Cartocci ($59 for 2 person). Spaghetti tossed in a tomato sauce with olives, capers, crayfish, prawns, squid, clams and mussels! While the seafood was a tad overcooked for my liking, the flavours- oh rich tomato and sweet seafoody flavours were sooooo comfortingly gooooood.

For desserts Sis wanted the Panna Cotta but it was sold out. Boohoo. But no point crying over cuddled milk, no? Moohehehe. So we tried the Tiramisu ($9) instead. Pretty decent.

We brought a bottle of Teo Costa Nebbiolo d'Alba 2003 DOC which is drinking very nicely now. Corkage is $20.

Blessed Anniversary, Dad & Mum!

The place is casual and relaxed. The food is the kinda Italian food I like- rustic and homely. The portions are big (I lagi like!). I don't think we should wait another 6 or 7 sevens before returning.

Al Forno
400 East Coast Road
Tel: 6348 8781

Chew On This:
They use a wood-fired oven for their pizzas. Delivery is also available to selected areas in the east. Call 6348 8861 to enquire. Buon Appetito!

First Dinner of 2012

2012-01-02T23:53:00.005+08:00

2012 began on an awesome note with the first church service of the year. The message for 2012? Unceasing Fruitfulness!

Jeremiah 17:8
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out his roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Psalm 1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

2012 will be a year where heat comes but in Jesus, I stand secure. I shall not be anxious nor worried. My health will not wither. I will be fruitful and be blessed in whatever I do.

What an assuring and powerful promise of God!

After service, we headed near home for the first dinner of 2012- at the recently-opened new branch of House of Seafood @180.

The "kacang" was an interesting medley of nuts. Gone in a flash!

The Poached Live Prawns ($6.50/100g) were very good. Fresh, sweet and the meat did not stick to the shell. Quite a bit of tasty prawn head juice too! :p

There was a small saucer of chilli oil, black vinegar and minced garlic but I felt this sauce was too overpowering. Good for those who prefer very strong (spicy! sharp! intense!) flavours but like that cannot taste the beautiful flavours of fresh seafood leh.

Another yummilicious dish to order would be the Salted Egg Crab ($45/kg; seasonal price). Fresh, meaty Sri Lankan crab smothered in a blanket of creamy, sweet and savoury salted egg sauce spiked with chilli and curry leaves. Absolutely to LIVE for! Die already cannot eat mah. Moohahaha.

This cow has never really been a big fan of shark's fins soup...but shark's bone or cartilage soup? Yes! Love the one at Man Fu Yuan. The Double Boiled Shark's Bone Soup with Fish Maw ($13.80/person) here was also quite nice. Milky, lightly thickened and with the goodness of a well-boiled soup. A mushroom and a piece of fresh fish maw accompanied the soup.

Sauteed Nai Bai with Minced Garlic ($12 for small). Simple and good.

Braised Superior Seafood Delicacies in Claypot ($48 for small) had sea cucumber, sliced abalone, scallops, prawns, mushroom and snow peas in a pot. A pity the prawns were overcooked but nonetheless, this tasty dish spooned over a bowl of rice was quite comforting.

Dessert for us was Sweetened Yam Paste with Gingko Nut ($5/person). Bits of corn kernels and water chestnuts gave the starchy dessert some crunch. I would have preferred more yam paste. This one was, to me, a bit like orh nee + corn soup. Moohehehe.

Oh and yes, I have to say that a very nice touch was the live piano performance. No GST, no 10% service charge still got live moo-sic leh! :D

Here's to a great 2012 ahead everyone! May you be blessed with good health, success and joy...and good eats!

House of Seafood @180
30 Cosford Road (Changi Prison area; other branches at 180 Yio Chu Kang Road & 36 Yio Chu Kang Road)
Tel: 6746 9000

Chew On This:

Besides air-conditioned indoor seating, there are also quite a number of outdoor tables surrounded by greenery and water features. A playground is available to keep the tots busy!

And hey! Wabbits! A small pen of rabbits prove popular with both children and adults.

After too much turkey and ham...

2011-12-27T00:01:00.005+08:00

After the past few days of Christmas home parties, I was soooo happpppy to return back to the comforts of warm steamed rice and spices!

Initially we wanted to check out J Pot but it was fully booked and the waiting list was until 9pm. Zzzzz. So we did the next best thing- see if the neighbouring restaurant, Nyonya and Baba Peranakan Restaurant, had space. Moohahaha.

Thankfully they did and so we did not faint from hunger!

The Steam Fish with Nyonya Sauce ($35 for small) featured red snapper- good for those who like their fish firmer. The sauce was pretty appetising with its sweet notes, sourish tang and spicy hints. Pieces of ladies fingers, brinjal and pineapple complete the dish.

White rice and Otak-otak ($6) are good friends. I found the version here a tad dry around the edges but overall nice with a spicy, aromatic paste streaked with mackerel. The slivers of fish gave it a nice bite.

The Nyonya Chap Chye ($10 for small) was savoury (think tau cheo aka fermented soy beans) and sweet. But oh how I wished the cabbage was stewed a little longer. :p

If you've had enough of salads for now, the familiar sight and crunch of Sambal Kang Kong ($10 for small) would be a big welcome. The one here wasn't oily nor saucy. Drier style with sambal and (I'm guessing) ginger.

Ayam Buah Keluah ($12 for small) is probably one of the most popular Peranakan dishes in Singapore. Though I found the one here to be more sour (think assam) than most others, it was indeed appetising. Dig into the black nuts for the buah keluah paste- earthy, almost like a chocolate paste with pleasant slight bitter taste. I love this with rice!

The food is not the best around but after all the festive makaning, this feels good.

Nyonya and Baba Peranakan Restaurant
#01-54/56 Vivo City
Tel: 6376 9138

Chew On This:
They have got very nice sambal. Squeeze a lime in and lagi shiok!

Moo-ry Christmas!

2011-12-24T13:46:00.012+08:00

Ahh. I just love the end of the year feeling. With the festive moo-d and a sense of joy in the air, everything looks good. Everything feels good.

And everyone enjoys Christmas. Celebrate the true reason of the season- Jesus Christ! He came for he so loved us and in him we have hope, an abundant life and salvation.

Christmas is usually celebrated at home with the family.

And the maternal extended family. Moohehehe. We also had a Christmas dinner with the paternal side a week earlier this year.

The 5 cousins. We grew up playing together and now everyone is so...erm.. less young. LOL.

Me and couz, Howie Dweeb, with Xiao Yi who brought Kim Chi from her recent trip to Korea. Kim Chi Turkey anyone? Moohehe. I think it might have been this aunt of mine that influenced my fondness for food and wine. All her fault! :p

Speaking of turkey...here's a sexy bird. Our first time getting it from Four Seasons Gourmet Market. Pretty good! And the leftovers became a quick turkey stir-fry the next day and turkey congee a week later.

All photos credited to Mum and Melyi.

Moo-ry Christmas everyone and Happy Birthday, Jesus! Moohohoho.

Chew On This: Cos I can't wait for Christmas to come again! :D

Secret Sensations with Haagen Dazs

2011-12-19T00:23:00.006+08:00

Thanks to Jansen and Sarah from Word of Mouth Communications, I was invited to the launch of Haagen Dazs's latest weapon of pleasure- Secret Sensations.

Available in two flavours- Chocolat Fondant and Creme Brulee ($5.95 each; twin pack at $10.95). With the small tubs of ice cream in our hands, we were told to wait for 10 minutes before digging in. If that 10 minutes were not torturous, I don't know what will be. Moohehe.

Here's the Chocolat Fondant and after what I would like to think was 10 minutes, I discovered the inner molten chocolate sauce. Oooo... Think rich chocolate ice cream, bits of brownies and that molten sauce. :)))

The Creme Brulee had a caramel sauce within and crunchy bits of caramelized sugar- to mirror the burnt sugar crust of creme brulee. I'm biased towards chocolate so I preferred the Chocolat Fondant! :p

Oh and yes, for posing for the very challenging word- Sensational, I won some Haagen Dazs vouchers! Here's Class 95's Yasminne Cheng, who hosted the event, very gamely posing with me. Moohahha. Photo thanks to SuperAdrianMe!

Check out their festive creations like Christmas Cassata, Royal Fondue and more! Only available until 2 Jan.

Haagen Dazs

Chew On This: Since ~~I can't eat so much ice cream on my own~~ this is the season of giving again, I'll be giving away $20 Haagen Dazs vouchers each to 3 winners! All you have to do is to comment here and include your name and email address by 26 Dec. I will pick 3 winners using the online random number generator. The vouchers expire end of this month but that should still allow you the next weekend to go grab some fab ice cream....otherwise...it'll all be donated to moo four stomachs! Moohahhaha.

Traits of a Popular Buffet Among Singaporeans

2011-12-13T00:24:00.016+08:00

There's no doubt that Singaporeans love buffets. You hear about it. See it on TV programmes. And even participate heartily of course.

But what makes a buffet popular?

While this cow was grazing at the well-received PARKROYAL on Beach Road's Cafe Brasserie, I've noticed a few traits that seem to appeal to the palate of Singaporeans.

#1. The buffet should ideally be in a hotel. Most people tend to associate hotel buffets with better than average quality.

#2. Feature local favourites. The laksa here was pretty yummy with a rich, lemak broth.

Many people here like their Chicken Rice too. Decent stuff.

#3. Must! Have! Sashimi!

#4. Live stations. It's more interesting to watch and food is usually served hot. An Indian chef whipping up prata adds perceived authenticity to the dish.

There was also a Fried Oyster Omelette station.

#5. Variety. It's not only the spice of life but hey, everyone loves to be spoilt for choices at a buffet, no?

Pay one price, try more, eat all! Moohahaha.

#6. Have chefs around. Their presence alone assures quite a few. :p

#7. Feature seafood items. Diners see them as more expensive and hence are drawn to them to "get one's money's worth". Plaza Brasserie's Drunken Prawns were fresh, and I like the fortifying herbal soup- perfect for the recent chilly weather.

#8. Do a meat station. Unless it's a vegetarian buffet, meats are prized and alluring! Brings out the inner caveman in most.

#9. Be seasonal! With Christmas just round the corner, the above meat station became...

This! Awesome Roasted Honey Glazed Ham. The Roasted Turkey was also pretty good and moist.

And it has 12 types of sauces! I particularly liked the Tong Gui Herbal Sauce for its pleasantly bitter notes, Thai Mango Sauce for its perky, fruity flavours and the Sichuan Sauce for its savoury-tangy, mildly spicy taste (though it could have been cranked up a few notches for Singaporean's spicy-loving tongues).

#10. Have a board with some cheeses and condiments. Despite a good proportion of the population being lactose-intolerant, there seems to be a growing number of diners who love their cheese. Also for the ang mohs lah. Afterall, they came up with Who Moved My Cheese. This cow would have just named it Oei! Where My Cheese Go? Moohahaha.

#11. D for desserts! While some people have an extra stomach for sweet stuff, this is the main course area for the even more hardcore ones. The above shows just part of the dessert spread. I've seen bread and butter pudding, green bean soup, chocolate fountain, fresh fruits, ondeh ondeh, cheesecake etc. This festive season expect log cakes, ginger bread, Christmas fruit cake and puddings.

#12. Have signatures to bring people back. Plaza Brasserie's Chocolate Cake had a creamy mousse and sponge with a nice chocolate flavour. Studded with rum-soaked raisins too. Hic.

#Don'tKnowWhatNumberAlreadyLah LOL. Have a big bunch of food-loving people with you! The joys of eating with good company can't be over emphasized. (Group photo courtesy of GourmetEstorie.)

Thanks to Karen Chang of PARKROYAL on Beach Road for the invite and for hosting this cow.

Click here for the festive buffet pricing.

Plaza Brasserie
PARKROYAL on Beach Road
7500 Beach Road
Tel: 6505 5710

Chew On This: Heads up kiddos! Santa Claus will be making an appearance on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to give out goodies to children and the forever young.

Homely Bak Kut Teh

2011-12-10T17:17:00.010+08:00

The recent rainy weather has driven my desire for a pipping hot bowl of soup. Bak Kut Teh easily came to mind one afternoon....after lunch part one (the wanton mee in the previous post). Moohehe.

What's not so funny is that Bak Kut Teh seems to be getting pricier. It's now tough finding a bowl at $3.50 and at popular BKT destinations like along Balestier road, it comes to $7 or $8.

How was the one at Song Huat?

Well, I was pretty happy to pay $5 for this bowl- 3-4 long pieces of pork ribs that one can hold and nibble. The meat was tender and had just a nice amount to fat. The soup brought to mind a scene of a happy pig in lush green fields with garlic and pepper. Gentle, clean and flavourful. It had a homely touch which reminded me of bak kut teh at home during my childhood years.

The Pork Trotters ($5) however were so-so. The light sauce reminded me a bit of Teochew braised duck/goose but the meat was unfortunately dry.

Turkey season may be upon us but bak kut teh is definitely here to stay!

Song Huat Bak Kut Teh
1 Rochor Road
#01-506
Rochor Centre
Opens: 8am-10pm
Closes: Every Monday (except if it's a public holiday)

Chew On This:
Not sure what rice they use but it's surprisingly good! Fluffy and the individual grains held their own. Often, it's the simple things done right that makes a difference. :)

One Ton Mee

2011-12-06T01:28:00.006+08:00

Seriously. That's what the signboard says! Moohehe.

Anyway, this stall has been apparently serving up wanton mee for over 30 years! Wow. While I find the char siew disappointingly without any caramelised charred bits, the noodles were nicely done- firm, springy bite with a balanced flavour of egg and alkaline water. Tossed in a bit of oil and chilli, the noodles here would appeal to those who do not like sweet (read ketchup) notes in their noodles.

The ~~one tons~~ wantons were yummy too. Good flavours of minced pork and crunchy bits of water chestnut. Maybe on my next visit I'll do an all-wanton noodles!

Oh and if you prefer mee kia's flatter brother, you can opt for mee pok too! Lol.

One Ton Mee
Kwang Hui Kopitiam
Rochor Centre
1 Rochor Road

Chew On This: Before it's too late. Rochor Centre is slated for redevelopment in 2-3 years time and who knows what might happen to this stall. :(

Really No Name Hokkien Mee

2011-11-28T23:37:00.004+08:00

Ever wondered why a restaurant with the name "no signboard" still has a signboard? Anyway, this stall has a signboard but with no name to it!

The Hokkien Mee ($5 for medium) here is pretty nice- moist and a little saucy, relatively fresh seafood with its flavours infused into the noodles. The chilli and a squeeze of lime added a good depth to the dish.

You know what's the amoo-sing thing? No name but still got queue! Moohahaha.

Inside TP 802 Food House
Blk 802 Tampines Ave 4

Chew On This: This stall serves up fried carrot cake and oyster omelette too. I saw them steaming the carrot cake! That should be a good start. :)

Fried Fish & Milky Soup Comfort

2011-11-22T10:31:00.003+08:00

There are some days when one dish would give so much comfort that we call it, well, comfort dish. Moohahaha.

This bowl of Fried Fish Bee Hoon from Jin Hua at Maxwell Market is one such dish to me. Somehow fried food is always comforting (even if just psychological). The fried chunks of fish meat here were tasty and being dunked in the soup, had absorbed more flavours. The soup here had evaporated milk added which gave it a sweet, milkiness. Heat from the ginger and fragrance from the fried shallots and Chinese cooking wine balanced out this soup nicely.

Instead of just the usual red chilies in soy sauce as a side condiment, they mix green chilies here too. Great for those who like the tangy-spicy touch of the green chilies.

These days when the weather has gone wonky, this bowl is pure comfort- come rain or shine.

Jin Hua
Stall 77
Maxwell Food Centre

Chew On This: The bee hoon here is a medium thickness variety! In between the thin ones used in fried bee hoon and the thick version used in laksa. I think it gives a good balance between mouthfeel and the ability to absorb flavours.

A Tribute to the Late Lee Kwee Cheng- My Superman Ah Kong

2011-11-19T15:39:00.010+08:00

For those who are here after reading December's CLEO issue, sorry you had to see this non-food blog post. But I guess that's the beauty of blogs. It is something personal and I use mine as a platform of expression.

Foodie posts will resume after this tribute entry.

Last Friday (11/11/11) at about 4.10am, my Ah Kong passed on. I had mixed emotions- part of me was happy that he no longer felt pain or suffering, another part of me grieved.

My earliest memories of Ah Kong was at Nam Hong, a family provision shop at the junction of Serangoon Road and St Micheal's. Then I was perhaps only in primary school. Ah Kong loved when me, sis and my cousins came over. He would give us sticks of rainbow paddle pop ice cream. I can't recall that much during that time except oddly of the old school toilet (metal door, concrete squad type, single light bulb hanging from the top) and pulley system of 2 Milo tins used as a cashier's storage for money.

Every Sunday, the entire family (Ah Kong had 8 children) would gather at his 3-room Ang Mo Kio flat for dinner cooked by Ah Ma. Her ngoh hiang, chili fish, mee hoon kueh, hae bee hiam and pig's stomach soup were awesome by the way. With so many people crammed into the flat, dinners were usually a sweaty, sticky affair. I remember the times we spent watching variety shows like Gao Xiao Xing Dong sitting on the floor. No air con, no PSP, no iPhone. Despite the seemingly lack of modern comforts, dinners at Ah Ma's house were always noisy and happy.

I grew closer to Ah Kong only in my Secondary school days when he and I both manned the bar counter at our family's steamboat restaurant at Prinsep Place. Ah Kong made his popular Suan Mei Tang (Sour Plum Drink) alongside soursop drink and the occasional pineapple drink. His preferred mode of transport was always his bicycle and he often cycled to Poon Huat to buy ingredients for his drinks. Bottles of citric acid, flavourings and colourings filled his cupboard. It's amazing how he even knew what to use and buy without attending any formal training and especially with the labels in English!

Because Ah Kong and Ah Ma both spoke mainly Hokkien, I picked up the dialect to be able to communicate with them. As a tribute, I gave a short eulogy in Hokkien.

If you are wondering about the "Superman" in the title. Well, Ah Kong accepted Jesus later in his life and his friends at New Creation Church's Hokkien service gave him the nickname after he, at the age of 70, made it to the top of the hill in Israel beating people less than half his age. Power lah!

Foodwise, I will always remember Ah Kong as a fan of sashimi and beef. Salmon, tuna, swordfish, octopus, squid...he ate them all. He liked beef soup, shabu shabu and steak. I think I just realised where I got my cow-loving genes from. ;)

One big family misses him. Finding strength through faith and family togetherness.

Though Ah Kong is no longer physically with us, I know that this separation is but temporal. And that we will all reunite again one day in heaven.

To my dear Ah Kong, I bet you are enjoying yourself in a glorified body with Jesus. Can't image the awesome sashimi and beef in heaven. :)

Just in case you miss your favourite bird, here he/she is. Granduncle will take good care of it.

A big thank you to all family and friends who have lent their support and sent heartfelt condolences via FB, Twitter, SMS and visits.

Catching Up Over Ramen

2011-11-07T14:09:00.007+08:00

Having missed the first 2 days of Wine for Asia this year ($#@%!), I was only able to visit on the last day which was opened to the public. This sucked as quite a few wine merchants had packed and left their booths empty. Also equally annoying, people now had to pay a fee to taste this year's winners of the Wine Style Asia awards.

Any that's for another story. I was happy to meet a few friends at Wine For Asia- RecentRunes, Qisheng, Tommy, Alice, Lawrence etc. After the exhibition, Qisheng and I headed for dinner. It was a simple and satisfying ramen dinner.

At Keisuke Tokyo, one can choose the level of taste/saltiness of the soup, ramen texture, onion and chicken oil etc. Pretty customisable to suit personal preferences. For mine, I opted for "normal" for everything.

I had the Tokyo Style Pork Broth Ramen with Flavoured Egg ($13). The soup was milky and tasty. A little salty but perfect with the firm, straight egg noodles. A slice of charshu, spring onions, seaweed and a yummy egg with a semi-solid yolk completed the dish. Oh and btw, there was chicken oil in this bowl of ramen. It provided a smooth coat to the ramen and had a light perfumed.

For added omph (which is always a good thing. Moohehe), I suggest adding heaps of the beansprouts. Served slightly chilled, it was a bit spicy and fragrant with sesame oil. It also gave the noodle dish a refreshing crunch.

Add some onions in too for more depth. On its own, it was astringent and unpleasant but when a small amount was added to the soup, it became sweet and balanced.

I forgot to take a shot of the bonito flakes that was another optional topping but DO add it! Moo-re umami flavours. Mmmm.

If you're hungry or have four stomachs too, order another serving of ramen at $2.50. Just indicate to the wait staff after finishing the original portion of ramen and they will bring you your additional serving. Remember to keep some soup though!

We decided to try the Yaki Gyoza ($5 for 5 pieces). But I was disappointed with these. The skin had a nice chewy bite but the filling had no feeling- smallish and a bit bland. :(

But anyway, it was good catching up with Qisheng!

Keisuke Tokyo
#03-02 Millenia Walk
Tel: 6337 7919
Opens: Mondays-Fridays 11.30am-3.30pm; 5.30pm-10.30pm
Saturdays & Sundays 11am-10pm

Chew On This: No fear of splashes and messy eaters for dining companions here! :p

Yummy Klang Bak Kut Teh

2011-10-31T00:02:00.005+08:00

When it comes to Bak Kut Teh, I am a bigger fan of the white, peppery Teochew style. But I came across a darker, herbal style that was really good on one recent Sunday afternoon. Apparently Klang style but I haven't had Bak Kut Teh there so I shall reserve my comments on authenticity. Maybe a Klang-ian can comment and share with us? :)

The Bak Kut Teh ($5.50) had tender pieces of pork ribs in a heady broth that tasted of Chinese herbs like dang gui (Angelica root) with the garlic and white pepper taking a background role. It felt almost fortifying. In fact, I would hug a big bowl of this on a rainy day. :p

The other thing I like to order with Bak Kut Teh is the Braised Pig Trotters ($5.50). While the version here came in chunks instead of the usual bone-in trotters, I like the fact that had bite and was very flavourful. The darkish braising liquid was a little thicker than the watery versions more common elsewhere. It too was tasty with garlic, star anise, dark soy sauce, pepper and chilli. I like the small spicy heat. Chilli oil maybe?

Order the Mee Sua ($3)- a flour vermicelli cooked in the Bak Kut Teh soup with lettuce, mushrooms and tau kee (beanstick). The starch from the mee sua tamed the spiciness of the soup a bit. More importantly, the flavours of the soup seemed to have been transferred to the mee sua.

The use of claypot meant that food is kept nicely hot for a longer time. Perfect for slowly enjoying the robust, tasty soup.

Leong Kee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh
321 Beach Road (Junction of Jalan Sultan Gate)
Opens: 11am-9pm
Closed: Mondays

Chew On This: For those who prefer a non-pork dish but somehow find themselves here anyway, there's always the Herbal Chicken and Mutton Soup! Maybe I'll try those when I return with more people.

Makankakis at G7 Sin Ma Live Seafood

2011-10-26T18:17:00.014+08:00

As per monthly tradition, the makankakis descended onto the predetermined venue for yet another dinner with good food, wines and friends.

People were excited as the first dish, Scallop with Mango Roll & Dragon Beard Prawns, arrived. While it signalled the start to the dinner and that more food would follow suit, it also kept hungry stomachs and itchy mouths happy. Always a good thing. Moohehe.

A fried pillow containing mango and scallops bursts forth with creamy, simple yet tasty flavours. The prawn roll with the light (phyllo pastry?) layers was crunchy and moreish.

Next came the Braised Dried and Fresh Fish Maw in Casserole. This was a dish of textures. The dried fish maw was spongy while the fresh version had a chewy, gummy feel.

The next dish of Steamed Shark's Head made many feel like ordering some rice. Realising that rice was free and already included in the prefix dinner price made many order some rice. LOL. Anyway, dig away and you'll soon realise that there's no meat! But that's not a bad thing as the gelatinous "flesh" was soft, sticky and went well with the piquant sauce that tasted of garlic, ginger, preserved black beans and chilli. The "shark" was actually a Shovel Nose Ray. Not shark.

Ta-daa! Ze bone is zclean.

Dad was beaming when this dish was brought to the table. He's a big roast meats fan. The Roast Duck was tender and had hints of Chinese herbs while the Roast Pork was relatively lean, meaty and with a five-spice flavour.

My favourite dish of the evening was this Dried Shrimp with Twin Delight. Lightly battered and deep fried slices of brinjal spotted a crisp shell and soft, mushy interior. I love brinjal for that delicious mushiness. Moohehe. Together with the brinjal were long beans, small silver fish, hae bee (dried shrimps) and chai poh (preserved radish). An aromatic dish that hits the spot with varying flavours and textures.

When it comes to beef in general, most cze char places tend to over tenderise their beef with bicarb. I personally do not appreciate this style as the beef tends to be artificially tender and loses beefy flavour. The Chinese Style Beef Steak here was such an example. :(

Now that we were towards the end of the meal, it was time for carbs to make their appearance. The Tai-O Rice Vermicelli looked simple but was flavoured nicely with a seafood stock and wok hei.

The Seafood Hor Fun was also served on opeh leaf. A pity that it lacked sufficient wok hei to give it body.

The meal ended with Yam Paste aka Orh Ni. It is one of my favourite desserts and the one here was pretty good with the flavour of yam coming through nicely. In fact the version here felt almost healthy with the absence of lard and being not too sweet.

All in all, this was one of the best Makansutra forum dinners in a while. The food was very good with some unique dishes, and dessert was served at 10.30pm! Moohahaha. The excellent company and infectious atmosphere of foodies just hanging out and enjoying dinner and wines made for a memorable dinner.

Big thanks to TTC and Eslim for the awesome job of putting this dinner (and many others) together.

Aiyah, I was probably too happy I forgot to take a shot of the shopfront! :/

G7 Sin Ma Live Seafood
161 Geylang Road (junction of Geylang Lorong 3)
Tel: 6743 2201
Opens: 5pm - 4am

Chew On This: . When the glasses have been cleared and there is no straw....do what you have to do to get the last drop of Champagne. LOL *Photo credit to TTC

A Middle Eastern Experience at Anar

2011-10-24T22:49:00.008+08:00

It's during busy work weeks that this cow reminiscence relaxing Saturdays such as this one- an enjoyable walk from Vivocity via the new boardwalk to Sentosa....not for sand, sun and sea but for lunch. Moohehe.

Lunch destination was Anar- a fairly new Middle Eastern restaurant.

After the walk, a refreshing drink tasted lagi refreshing! The Anar Guru ($20; above left) looked feminine and delicate but make no mistake. This drink made with fresh promegranite juice shaken with vodka and topped up with Moet & Chandon Brut Champagne had a good alcoholic base that followed the initial sweetness. I like!

For something non-alcoholic, try the Jasmine Belle ($12; above right). Lime and honey syrup, cranberry juice and chilled jasmine tea. It tasted soothing and I think one would kill in the dessert for a sip of this.

But just before mental images of camels crossing sand dunes, wisen old man puffing shisha and the many intricately-weaved carpets (some say magic!) float into moo head, I was brought back to lunch with the arrival of breads.

Served complimentary to all diners, these flat breads were studded with sesame seeds and served from a traditional oven to our table faster than you can say Ali Baba. The wait staff even offered to replenish our bread basket with fresh, ~~warm~~ hot bread. A platter of pickles, vegetables and cheese were accompanions.

In a Middle Eastern restaurant, what's bread without dips?

The Hummus with Minced Beef ($14) was pure comfort with pureed chickpeas, sesame seed paste, garlic, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and grilled minced beef. Doesn't it make you wanna moo already? ;)

I also enjoyed the Moutabbal ($12) for its deeply smokey flavour. EGGPLANT. Yums.

For extra oomph, the Mohammarah ($12) hits the spot. A smooth dip of walnut, pomergranite, red peppers and spices, this was tangy and nutty. Apparently, the Middle Easterners consider this to be spicy but I'm sure local palates will be puzzled. Spicy no enough!

Mooo-ving on to some salad, the Dejaj Salad ($14) offered plenty. Think crunchy cucumbers, fleshy tomatoes, cubes of creamy, salty feta cheese and roasted chicken...all tossed in thyme, lemon juice and EVOO. For some, this might even be a meal on its own. But then it would mark the end of this blog post.

For your sake...and the sake of moo four stomachs, this cow pressed on. Moohahaha.

The Shish Taouk ($32; above in front) was a beautiful piece of chicken breast marinated in yoghurt, garlic and tomato puree before being grilled over charcoal. Apparently a Babylonion recipe. The meat was succulent and reminded me of the Indians also using yoghurt as a natural tenderiser in tandoori chicken.

In the background, was a most delicious Lamb Kubideh Kebab ($38). Minced lamb that wasn't too gamey and well flavoured with spices and (I'm guessing) lots of onions (sweet!).

The lamb was served with a Persian Saffron Rice. The saffron was pretty subtle but I love the long, fluffy grains! Could imagine this in briyani. Aiyoh, what's with me and Indian food? Must be the effects of Deepavali drawing near. LOL.

The next dish, Riz Be Lahem Ala Djaij ($35), was my least favourite. The spiced rice and yoghurt were nice but the chicken was just too dry.

On to desserts! Cos there's still Ben & Jerry's ChunkFest to go to...moohehe.

The Mohalabieh ($12) would be perfect for those who like their desserts full-bodied. This was creamy, milky and intensely perfumed with rose water and orange blossom. Personally, it was a tad too rich for me.

What I preferred was the Baklawa ($12)- a small parcel that was just nicely sweetened and had the lovely combined fragrance of ghee and pastry. Biting into it revealed crunchy, flaky layers of texture. This and a cup of coffee/tea would be great!

Anyone notice a certain element being repeated in quite a number of dishes? Yes, pomegranite. Anar is the Persian word for pomegranate.

Special mention also has to go to the interior design. Materials such as tiles, carpets, curtains and lamps were imported from different countries in the Middle East.

Check out their semi-private dining room! Pretty opulent feel with the high, beautiful stained glass ceiling and huge chandelier that a man can purportedly walk across. I can imagine the knights of the round table already.

Thanks to Mindy and Kelvin of Touch Communications and Toufik of Anar for the kind invitation and for hosting this hungry cow.

Anar
Resorts World Sentosa,
26 Sentosa Gateway
#01-291
Tel: 6884 6989
Opens: 12noon-3pm; 6pm-10pm

Chew On This:

Or should I say Sip On This....They've got Lebanese wine on the menu! I haven't got to try this but I remember RecentRunes raving about this one.

The Lunch After PE

2011-10-14T02:52:00.008+08:00

After voting in the recent Presidential Election, moo family went to a Community Centre near the voting venue for lunch.

We ordered the Soup of the Day- Watercress ($8). Turns out to be very homely. :)

The Roast Duck ($8) was pretty good. Sufficiently tender with a fragrant skin and a subtle herbal flavour.

One can opt for the roast duck in a bowl of noodles with soup too- H.K. Roasted Duck Bee Hoon ($4.50). But I think the flavour of the duck is a little diluted here.

The Shallow Fried Seasonal Vegetables with Three Different Eggs ($6.50 for small) wasn't well integrated between the stock and the spinach. Nonetheless, the portion was very generous and the stock pretty tasty. By the way, who invented this dish? It seems like it's available almost at every Chinese restaurant or czechar place. Moohehe.

For something moreish and yummy, try the Salted Egg Prawn Balls ($12 for small). It had a crisp coat of flour that was smeared with salted egg yolk. The curry leaves added another taste dimension to the savouriness. This is best eaten hot and with plenty of rice.

Speaking of rice, instead of the usual fried rice or hor fun, consider the Sweet Corn Sliced Fish Rice ($6). It looked a bit scary and could probably do with a bit of green garnish (spring onions?). But it was surprisingly comforting. The warm gravy provided a slickness to the fish slices and the corn kernels burst forth sweetness and also added crunch.

The PE wasn't as exciting as GE. A Tan was elected President. The spoofs and jokes were entertaining but it's time to moo-ve on now. I only hope differences will be put aside so we as a nation can press onwards. Majulah Singapura!

J.HK. Kitchen
Pasir Ris East Community Club
No. 1 Pasir Ris Drive 4
#01-07
Tel: 6582 4209
Opens: 8am to 10pm (cze char available from 10.30am)

Chew On This: They've got individual set meals at $6.50. Steamed Chicken with Mushroom Rice + Vegetables + Dumpling Soup. Sounds good for a nice one-person meal!

Moo-ve on Down to ChunkFest 2011!

2011-10-08T16:14:00.004+08:00

It's here again! Ben & Jerry's annual ice cream festival, ChunkFest, is back for its 4th year and boasts a record 32 flavours (some of which are brought in just for ChunkFest!).

Moooooo. This hungry cow will be there. See you guys!

ChunkFest 2011
15 Oct
2pm-10pm
The Promontory @ Marina Bay

Eat the Circle Line!

2011-10-04T00:23:00.007+08:00

The opening of the remaining stations of the Circle Line has sure brought cheer to those who living/working/studying in the vicinity. Lucky NUS people!

Hmm....just a random thought but I hope the Haw Par Villa Station does not have 13 levels. LOL.

Ahem. Anyway to join in the celebration, BreadTalk has launched the Circle Line buns ($1.50)! Ok, more like pastry actually. I heated this up in the toaster and enjoyed this over a cup of Earl Grey for breakfast one morning.

Layers of pastry rings are filled with a perky lemon cream custard, topped with slices of peaches and sprinkled with pistachios. Yums!

Thanks to Carrie of BANG PR and BreadTalk for the buns.

BreadTalk
#01-23
Plaza Singapura (various other outlets)
Tel: 6334 4644

Chew On This: These Circle Line buns are only available from 6th to 16th October 2011 at all outlets islandwide!

De Burger

2011-09-26T18:15:00.011+08:00

On one fine Saturday, it was the case of one burger to rule them all. Camemberu, Keropokman, Aromacookery and special guest from KL, Life for Beginners, were lured to DB Bistro Moderne by the much hyped about DB Burger...and of course catching up especially with Aromacookery and baby Matilda! Such a lovely baby. So happy for them! :)

Then two complimentary appetisers were served to the table. Reminded me a little of German pizzas. Crisp base with a mushroom topping (foreground) and bacon (background).

Here's the bread that was served and later topped up. Always comforting and great to ease hunger. Nomnomnom. The butter was solid....literally very solid. LOL.

On to starters. Anticipating a heavy burger, we opted to share two starters.

The Chop-Chop Salad with Shrimp ($21) had vegetables all..well...chopped chopped. Moohehe. Rather interesting dressing that brought to mind sesame oil and ginger. Some at the table say chicken rice!

Our second starter was the Lobster Salad ($36) with a creamy pesto sauce. Specially loved the crisp endives and lobster chunks.

After all that ~~grass~~ salad, it was about time for...

Eh not yet. Suddenly moo-re starters appeared moo-gically. LOL.

The Charcuterie Platter ($26) had yummy cured meats and terrine. The sides of whole grain mustard, pickles and fresh figs helped cut the richness and salt. In particular, I really enjoyed the fried cutlet of what seemed like a tuna bergedil! ;)

Unfortunately oysters ($4/piece) are not really my kind of thing....even these ones. But it did really taste of the sea. I guess I haven't learnt to appreciate them and don't enjoy tasting the sea that much. Moohaha.

Lastly, we had the Tarte Fine Provencale ($20)- a vegetarian option featuring tomatoes, eggplants and mozzarella cheese. I found these a little underwhelming in flavour. Or maybe my taste buds were primed for the main event...

*Cues dramatic music*

The Original db Burger ($38).

Let's take a step closer to view this. The patty was made from sirloin and filled with braised short ribs and foie gras! Woah. It was so meaty and savoury that I craved for pasta there and then. This patty was one that made me forget the bun, cheese (was there cheese?) and tomato salsa altogether. If not for civility, I would have ripped the patty into chunks and tossed them into a big, big bowl of pasta.

Oh and I should mention that the fries were goood! Good untill I ended up munching on Life For Beginner's fries. I is jialat lah. Moohehe.

By this time we were all too full for desserts. BUT the Warm Madeleines ($8) were awesome! Their warmth and perky citrus fragrance were so soothing.

I risk sounding like a TV Media advert from the 90s... Hey but wait there's more!

The Grapefruit Givre or frozen grapefruit was uniquely unique. It had a sesame halva crust that covered a grapefruit sorbet with Turkish delight. Slightly sweet, perfumed and bitter. I very much enjoyed the slight icy bitterness which proved refreshing after a heavy lunch.

Oh man. I felt really happy and sleepy! :p

See MBS' website here for some handy info.

DB Bistro Moderne
B1-48 Galleria Level
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Tel: 6688 8525

Chew On This:
Behind the slightly translucent screen is the actual kitchen. Look hard enough and you might just discover Daniel Boulud cooking!

French Fare la Kopitiam

2011-09-19T23:20:00.016+08:00

One of my favourite episodes of The Noose is the one featuring taxi drivers learning French to better communicate the many French-inspired condominium names around Singapore.

La Chateau Quay became Lah Chaitao Kway! LOL.

But mixing French with local culture is no more a joke. One of the bastions of local culture- the ubiquitous kopitiam, can now boast a French stall! Alongside stalls selling kopi, char kway teow and taukwa pau, Savuer serves up duck confit, chicken roulade and wait for this...

Foie Gras (60g- $14)! Yes, that beloved goose liver dish usually found in posh restaurants and bistros is now at a kopitiam. From my visit, it wasn't the best foie gras I've had. But at this price, it was a very good deal. Nice, buttery rich flavours with just a slight crisp on the surface. The bed of lentils were much simple and rustic and delicious.

For starters, try the Duck Rillette ($4). Three very well-buttered slices of French loaf came with a duck rillette that was salted and not too gamey.

With the Angel Hair Pasta with Konbu ($4) staring at me from the menu, I knew I was going to have to order it. This turned out not too bad with a clean, slightly sea-savoury taste but would have been better chilled down a little more. The tiny prawns gave light punctuations of crustacean flavour.

Their Duck Leg Confit ($8.90) has been raved about in The Business Times. I thought it was ok on the whole but the skin lacked crispness. But the mashed potato was absolutely yummy with a buttery lure.

I had wanted to order the Salmon Confit (which, btw is cooked a la sous vide in a kopitiam mind you) but it was sold out! That dish looked really good and judging by the number of people who were tucking into it, it seemed popular.

But it still ended well as the Pan-Fried Cod Fish ($12.90) was rockingly good. Very impressed with its crispy salted crust and moist interior. It lay over a mound of couscous and was accompanied by sliced celery. Unfortuntely, this cow cannot tahan celery so I didn't enjoy that veggie side and the bit of celery-tasting foam.

In a nutshell, the food here at this months old stall isn't refined French fare and sure, there's space for fine-tuning and ironing out kinks but I like that it is the dream of two young chefs.... and that valued-for-money foie gras can now be a lunch option alonside local fare in a kopitiam.

After dinner that day, I craved for a glass of wine. Hmm...now to check if they allow BYO.

Chef-owners Dylan and Joshua are both Shatec-trained and have worked their way in French restaurants here before striking it out on their own. A big applause to their guts for entering the competitive and tough F&B scene, and for bringing French food to a kopitiam. :)

Saveur
Foodstall No 3
Ali Baba Eating House
125 East Coast Road (junction with Joo Chiat Road)
Tel: 9125 0124

Chew On This: Foie Gras starting from $7.50 (30g)! Enough said.

Doing Thai (Again) at Orchard Towers

2011-09-10T09:50:00.012+08:00

Food of course! ;)

I remembered it was a hell of a week but I'm thankful for ending it with foodie friends and good food. Yay! The last visit to Jane Thai was a year ago.

Here's what we recently nom-ed down.

Som Tam ($6) aka Papaya Salad was fresh, spicy, tangy and will awake the palate.

Yum Woon Sen ($10) aka Seafood Vermicelli Salad was so spicy it had us all seeking comfort in lots of ice cream later. Moohahaha.

The rest of what we had were a little more gentle on the tongue.

Moo Yang ($10) aka BBQ Pork was a tad dry on this visit but otherwise nicely done with the flavours of grilled pork heightened by the chilli dip.

Thod Mun Kung ($10) aka Deep Fried Prawn Cakes were as always, awesome! Juicy prawn feeling and filling with a lightly-crumbed crust.

Another fried food that's really good- Peek Gai Thod ($5 for 3 pieces) aka Fried Chicken Wings. I'm not sure what marinate they used but it was savoury (fermented beans? garlic? fish sauce?). No matter cos I'm loving it!

Phad Thai ($5) aka Fried Thai Flat Rice Noodles. You can choose from Beef/Pork/Chicken/Seafood. We picked seafood. The noodles had a nice wok hei but I found the flavours quite mild. Maybe moo taste buds were affect by the innocent-looking Seafood Vermicelli Salad. LOL.

Phad Pak Bung ($6) aka Kang Kong was stir fried with bean paste.

Tom Yum ($10) aka Spicy Sour Red Soup came with a choice of Seafood/Prawns/Chicken. We opted for seafood again. Hehe. I pretty much enjoyed the soup with its sourish notes with a spicy finish.

And of course, some carbs to go with all the yummy food. This was the Khao Nam Liap ($10) aka Olive Minced Pork Fried Rice. Nothing too intense. A pleasant nuttiness.

Ka Pao Moo ($10) aka Stir Fried Pork with Basil. This and rice? Match made in heaven!

Speaking of rice....

The Khao Plao ($1) aka Steamed Rice is shaped like a heart! Awww...so lomantic.

People come to Orchard Towers looking for love in all the wrong places. Maybe they should try Jane Thai instead! Love you long long. Moohahaha.

Jane Thai
#04-30
Orchard Towers
Opens: Monday-Saturday- 6pm-5am
Sunday- 6pm-3am

Chew On This: In another Eastie pride moment, Jane Thai has opened a new branch at 314 Bedok Road (Simpang Bedok) which opens 10am-10pm! Woot!

Coffeeshop Italiano

2011-09-05T00:46:00.006+08:00

I was at SPH for a photoshoot. No not me, it was my chef. Moohehe. Anyway, I was talking to another chef who told me of his plans to open a Japanese sushi stall in the heartlands that served quality sushi and sashimi at wallet-friendly prices. His aim? To bring good Japanese food to the heartlands and allow more people to experience them.

Thanks to entrepreneurial chefs like him, we get to choose from more than the usual bak chor mee, economical rice, roti prata and chicken rice. Over at one canteen near by SPH, there's Il Piccolo- a stall selling pastas and pizzas.

While I usually order their Four Cheese Pizza (a little blue cheese for that beautiful stinky allure), I also like their..

Gnocchi di Patate ($7). Essentially a potato dumpling, these gnocchi are first boiled them further cooked with a creamy sauce that had a cheesy flavour balanced out with tart tomato sauce. Nice! With mushrooms and asparagus, I think this is one vegetarian option that most would eat happily and forget there's no meat...until they see the roast meat stall just next door. LOL.

A printed poster promoting their Peri-Peri Chicken Spaghetti ($7.50) caught my attention and so I ordered it too. The power of marketing. Moohaha. Anyway, the pasta was a tad too soft for my liking but I did enjoy the spicy punch from sliced chili padi in the tomato and onion sauce. The whole chicken leg was fried and unfortunately a little dry. A freshly and properly fried chicken leg with the spicy tomato sauce would have been perfect!

In this month, with any order of a pasta or pizza, opt to get a dessert (Tiramissu, Panna Cotta, Chocolate Mousse) at just $1.50 (U.P. $3)!

I did and went for the Chocolate Mousse. This was surprisingly very, very good! Even at the usual ala carte price of $3, I reckon it's worth it. Smooth, just nicely sweetened and with a lovely slightly bitter chocolate flavour, the Chocolate Mousse rocked.

Cheers to entrepreneurs and chefs who bring more variety and cafe-standard food at coffeeshop prices to the heartlands.

Il Piccolo
970A Toa Payoh North
Tel: 6259 8897

Chew On This: Want to have your own pizza party? Call them and arrange for a pizza chef to come down to your location with his dough and ingredients!

Moooo-n Cakes!

2011-08-27T13:38:00.017+08:00

Some festive foods like bak chang (rice dumpling) are now available year round. Thankfully, mooncakes only make their appearance once a year during the lunar mid-autumn festival. That means, eat now or think about the calories and live to regret for a year. Nothankyou.

This year, I received two boxes of mooncakes- one from Crystal Jade and the other from Marina Bay Sands (MBS). Interestingly, both are the snow skin varieties and are not the usual lotus paste ones.

Personally, I still prefer the traditional lotus paste mooncakes- both baked and snow skin. New fangled flavours are interesting but some can be really weird. Heard from a media friend that she received gummy bears mooncakes! I think Chang Er would puke. Moohaha.

So let's see how the Crystal Jade and MBS mooncakes fared.

The ones from Crystal Jade came in pink, yellow, green and brown. Flavours were pretty experimental and bold. The green one (Green Tea & Plum Paste) tasted like the plum liqueur, umeshu, with a gentle green tea flavour coming at the back. A little intriguing but seems to grow on moo. LOL. Pinkies were Red Wine Cranberry. I didn't enjoy this due to its strong taste. Almost a little medicinal to me. The brown ones (Cognac Coffee) packed a strong slightly bitter coffee punch. Perfect for sleepy heads and students studying for exams!

My favourite was the yellow one (white lotus with egg yolk). :)

MBS' packaging was just beautiful! Yes, report says that mooncake packaging are excessive and wasteful. But then again mooncakes are a gift to family, friends and business associates. Wouldn't gifts be elaborately dressed up? Shaped like a lantern, the outer box encased an inner column which could be slided out...

...and opened to reveal 4 layers of mooncakes! Very chio indeed.

There were two flavours- Salted-Caramel Almond Crunch and Dark Chocolate Orange Grand Marnier. While the former had the nice salty-sweet balance, it was the later that killed me. How to not resist the smooth, dark chocolate flavours with the citrusy orange hint? Crunchy bits provided a nice textural contrast to the smooth paste and ganache.

This hungry cow wishes one and all a happy mid-autumn festival with delicious mooo-ncake moments with family and friends. But please don't contribute to the haze.

Thanks to Jolynn Lai of Crystal Jade and Venetia Chung of MBS for the mooncakes.

Chew On This: with a good pot of Chinese tea!

A Laid Back NomNom Spot

2011-08-22T23:58:00.013+08:00

Quite a few relatively remote parts of Singapore all seem to have a common formula for eateries- a mix of both local and western favourites. Where hor fun and grilled lamb racks coexist. Bark Cafe and The Bunker in Changi, Beaulieu House and Galley by the Straits in Sembawang come to mind.

The ulu-ness of these places adds to the charm. Away from the city skyscrapers, modern shopping malls and the maddening crowd. Often, lush greenery, serenity and sometimes a gentle sea breeze caress the urban soul.

I had this experience again when Miss Tam Chiak shot out an sms and soon after I found myself grazing at Labrador Seafood.

Their house signature- Labrador Breeze ($12) is a good mix of kiwi, passion fruit, lychee syrup, mangosteen jello and vodka. Fruity sweetness with the alcohol hitting the back for a nice kick.

But alcohol might not be everybody's thing. I have a friend who used to be allergic to alcohol....until she stayed in UK for 4 months. Ok, before I get stoned by the League members for bringing up this old story, I should recommend this Mixed Juice ($7.80). It was a combination of apple, orange and watermelon. Perfect for people who can't decide which juice to order! Moohehe. Freshly-squeezed and sans syrup.

If you are a fan of the flavours of those chilli-spiked fishballs/cakes, try the Deep Fried Tofu Fritters ($12). Leaning more towards the rough and rustic than smooth and creamy version, the mashed tofu filling is encased in a crispy batter, which some how reminded me of goreng pisang.

The Chinese-style Ponggol Mee Goreng ($10) was pretty tasty with hints of chili and ketchup, and with squid rings and prawns.

For ang moh noodles, there was the Spaghetti Aglio Olio Prawns ($11). Not too bad with the taste of garlic and chilli padi coming though. Wished they had fried the prawn shells in the oil. That would have upgraded (yes, you Singaporeans! moohahaha) this dish by a few notches.

For seafood, I've always loved the simpler the better. This BBQ Giant Squid ($4/100g) was such an example. With just a squeeze of lemon for sharp acidity and the gentle grilled aroma from the charcoal grill, it was delish.

These Pearl Clams ($6/100g) were giant sized. Check out their size compared to the crab-cracker tool. These were fresh though not really sweet. I quite like the sauce which tasted like those used in steamed fish.

Crabby people should check out the Black Pepper Sri Lankan Crab ($4.50/100g). The sauce was peppery and had a very savoury edge to it.

But if salted egg yolk rocks your boat, go for the Salted Egg Sri Lankan Crab ($4.50/100g). Instead of a sauce/gravy, the salted egg yolk coated the exterior of the shell....which made me suck on them. Nice salty, savouriness with rich flavours of salted egg yolk and a background of curry leaves and dried chilli.

The Fried Beef Hor Fun ($10) was said to be good so an impromptu order was made. Hor Fun lures moo like magic. There was some wok hei but pity that it was just a tad underseasoned. The beef was, thankfully, not over-tenderised.

And since the whole country was preparing for curry wars.... Hey we even protest through food and eating! I love SG. LOL! Anyway the Indonesian Curry Large Tiger Prawns ($7.50/100g) here was delicious! The prawns could have been fresher but the curry itself was fragrant and could have easily made me demolish a huge mound of rice. But I didn't want to scare the nice people at the table lah. Moohaha.

Jumbo Kajang Satay (Chicken, Mutton, Beef- $9/6 skewers)! Skewered meats over a charcoal flame. Yums. See? A ruler was even brought in to prove the 4.5 inches length of the meat on the stick! We is porfessional okay. LOL.

Fresh Fruit Platter ($15) was a healthy way to end the meal. No added sugars, no fat, no guilt.

With a rustic, outdoor feel combined with a homely vibe, Labrador Seafood is ideal for a break away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Take a short walk to the near by coast front. Look at Sentosa, ~~wish you were a resident~~ enjoy the seabreeze. Let time pass and don't forget to smell the (yellow frangipani) flowers.

Check out Labrador Seafood on Miss Tam Chiak and Gourmetestorie. Thanks to Angela and Paul for hosting us.

Labrador Seafood
No. 8 Port Road
Tel: 6273 2779
Opens: 11am-12.30am daily

Chew On This: It is best to either cab or drive in! Parking is free by the way. :)

Lor of Attraction

2011-08-17T09:16:00.004+08:00

Law #1: Thou shall add a good spoonful of minced garlic.
Law #2: Thou shall drizzle lots of black vinegar.
Law #3: Thou shall throw in chopped chilli padi and chilli paste.

Next, it's not a law but freakin dig in and eat already! Moohahaha.

The ~~law~~ Lor Mee ($3) here is a bowl of deliciousness. The fragrant starchy sauce redolent of five spice, thick egg noodles that are a little flat and more waxy, fried bits of fish meat (red snapper), ngoh hiang, crunchy beansprouts, hard-boiled egg and oh-so-yummy juicy pork belly slices!

Zhen Hao Lor Mee

The stall is inside:

Food Hub @ Chai Chee
26A Chai Chee Road (Opposite Technopark @ Chai Chee)

Chew On This: Apparently many of the stalls in this coffee shop are either 24 hours or open untill really late at night!

One Dessert to Lure Moo Back

2011-08-09T10:16:00.007+08:00

It's not very often that a dessert has such powers to draw me back to a place...what more when the place isn't even a dessert shop.

I first found out about Le Chasseur from one of the monthly Makansutra forum dinners. Traded my soul (yes, so drama) for that one bowl of sweet soup and then I returned for more.

Ok, I'm going to break moo own history by blogging about dessert first. Icannotbelieveijustsaidthat.

Looks like an ordinary bowl of tau suan? This, my friends, is the art of doing something simple really, really well. The Tau Suan ($2.20) was fragrant with the aroma of pandan and spilt mung beans. The beans were soft yet held their own integrity amidst the runny sweet soup. A must to order together with the Tau Suan is the You Tiao (50cents)- grilled over charcoal for that characteristic smokey aroma.

In the words of a once famous song- Hit me baby one more time!

Unfortunately life is more than just tau suan. Even awesome tau suan.

We had other stuff too. The Watercress Soup ($5.20) was decent with pork ribs, watercress, dates, dried figs and Chinese almonds.

The Lotus Root Soup ($5.20) didn't fair well. It was pretty diluted and didn't taste like much.

For something interesting, try the Otah Omelette ($6). Fried eggs are yums and when paired with the spicy flavours of otah, it's a winner which goes perfectly with rice...hey or even baguette!

Ladies Fingers ($4.80) were fried with sambal. Not too bad and had nice heat.

The Emperor Sprout ($4.20) was a tad slimy. I like some slimy things like natto and ladies fingers but Emperor Sprout...hmmm...

Oh I quite enjoyed the The Claypot Chicken Rice ($17 for 3-4 pax's portion). The rice grains were long and fluffy. They used basmati rice! This claypot rice was flavourful (chicken, mushroom, salted fish, lup chiong) with restrain. Nothing over powering. Well-balanced.

Balance. Ah the delicate way of life...

Le Chasseur
31 New Bridge Road (opposite The Central)
Tel: 6337 7677
Opens: 11.30am-3pm; 5.30pm-10.30pm

Chew On This:
Check out their letter box. Cool!

Shooting at Level 70

2011-08-06T22:21:00.015+08:00

Despite the gloomy skies outside, it was a soothing lunch at Swissotel The Stamford's Equinox, 70 floors above the ground. Such a luxury and treat in this mad, hectic world. My last meal at the Equinox was dinner with the 938LIVE deejays and fellow foodie lunch pickers almost two years ago. Such fond memories.

Anyway, it was lunch this time round.

A canape was served to whet the appetite. ~~Potato chips with ikan bilies, mayo and spring onions~~ Ahem. I mean Potato Crisp with Anchovies, Aoili and Chives. Served in a sardine tin, this was cute, fancy and so easy to over-munch!

Then came the breads- a choice of about 4-5 varieties. I love the baguette and butter. All I need now is a bottle of red wine and the scenic comforts of the countryside.... Yes, it's no crime to (day) dream. :D

My dream bubble burst with the soft citric tang of the Tomato Soup with Basil Oil.

The first official course was Veloute of White Beans, Confit Oxtail and Mushrooms. There was a nice, creamy sweetness of the white beans and earthiness of the mushrooms though the oxtail flavour was drowned. Overall very light dish with all the foam....maybe that's why the portion was small? Eat too much later will float. LOL.

Next came the Seared Escalope of Foie Gras, Beetroot and Cherry Composition. Very pretty dish and for a usually robust-tasting item, this foie gras felt almost feminine. Nice coarse salt flakes gave bursts of saltiness against the creamy foie gras. The beetroot jelly and cherry meringue (I'm guessing) kept things well-balanced.

Here's the Pan-Roasted Crispy Seabass, Fricassee of Squid and Fava Beans, Farfalle Pasta. The seabass had a crisp skin and moist flesh. The pasta, squid rings and beans were a tad under seasoned I felt.

Roasted Ballotine of Sakura Chicken, Trompettes, Roasted Salsify and Hazelnuts. This was lean and tender chicken. I like the texture of chopped hazelnuts. What's Salsify? Here's the answer from everyone's favourite online guru- Wiki. Moohehe.

Lastly, dessert was served. Elderflower Chibouste, Compote of Rhubarb and Strawberry Sorbet. Dig (deep) into this and get perked up by the tangy rhubarb compote at the bottom. This dessert leans a little more to the sour side than sweet.

I don't know if you did notice but the photos in this post look vastly different from my usual ones, no? That's because all these photos were taken using the newly launched Panasonic LUMIX GF-3!

Yep, the above lunch was served at the GF-3 media launch. Well, actually the GF-3 was served before lunch. :p

Here's the GF-3, big brother of the GF-2. It is the world's smallest and lightest digital interchangeable lens system camera! It's LUMIX G Micro System makes auto-focusing just 0.18 seconds.

Here are the specs from DP Review:
•12MP CMOS sensor (standard Four Thirds size)
•ISO 160-6400
•3.8 fps continuous shooting (2.8 fps with live view)
•GF2-style touch screen interface
•1080i60 AVCHD shooting (from 25p sensor output)
•All-area AF point selection
•'Pinpoint' AF mode (magnifies focus point to allow confirmation and fine-tune of AF position)
•Tracking AF in video mode
•Picture-in-picture manual focus magnification
•460k dot LCD

Price: $899 (with standard pancake lens) and $1099 (with dual kit lens).

I like the GF-3's slim, compact body. At 222g, it is also very portable! I needed a bit of time to get use to a touch screen cam but once ok, I like that one touch on the LCD screen could command the camera to focus on that spot. In fact, they have a function that can create a bit of bokeh even for someone who doesn't know anything about aperture! Cool.

The White Balance and Exposure controls were also very handy. Simply push a button and scroll to the desired setting.

While the plastic exterior, together with its light weight, makes it feel like a toy, thankfully the images are pretty solid.

I think the GF-3 is good for those who want good quality images without the bulk of a DSLR. Manual freaks would appreciate the manual controls available while those who simply prefer to point and shoot would benefit from the smart and easy to use iA+ mode.

My trusty LX-3 has served moo well for the past 2+ years. Having bought it at about $650, hmm....tempting indeed.

Thanks to Glenn Woo of The Right Spin and Panasonic Singapore for hosting this hungry cow.

Panasonic LUMIX GF-3 Launch @ Equinox Restaurant
Swissotel The Stamford
2 Stamford Road
Level 70
Tel: 6837 3322

Chew On This:

LUMIX GF-3 candies!

My First Group Coupon Buy

2011-08-02T00:00:00.014+08:00

With National Day coming, I am reminded of what it is to be Singaporean. Among the many quirks and traits, being able to sniff out and secure a good lobang (deal) is definitely one of them.

Maybe it's this drive for good lobangs that has led to the proliferation of the many group buying coupon sites here. I even have a friend who signed up with many of these websites and receives nothing but email updates promoting the latest deals everyday! LOL.

Anyway, I saw BigDeal.sg dangling a 4-course set meal for $18 at Friends and... I bought 4 coupons and brought the family for lunch.

What was in the 4-course set meal?

First Course: Chilled Angel Hair Pasta & Lumpfish Caviar OR Caesar Salad

First course: Chilled Angel Hair Pasta & Lumpfish Caviar Tossed with Konbu, Chives & White Truffle Oil. This was a very nice starter. Well-chilled and delicately packed with umami flavours. Reminded me of the version at Gunther's but there it's $60 a plate. The one at Friends more...er...friendly. Moohehehe.

The other choice of Caesar Salad was also not bad. Creamy dressing, crunchy lettuce, hard-boiled egg and bacon bits are quite hard to go wrong.

Second course: Wild Forest Mushroom Soup (foreground) OR Vongole Flower Clam Soup (background)

The soups were disappointing. They tasted watered down and could do with a lot more body and flavour. :(

Third course: Pan Fried Dory Fish OR French Styled Chicken Stew OR Grilled Ribeye Served with Au Jus (220g). * Additional $5 for ribeye.

The Pan Fried Dory Fish was a simple dish. Tender dory fillet lightly dusted with flour, pan fried and served with pineapple salsa. Ok but nothing to moo too much about.

The French Styled Chicken Stew arrived with less gravy than I had expected. Stew mah. Moohaha. Anyway, it seemed more like pan fried chicken with sauce. Tasty. I like the sauce a lot...especially with the mashed potatoes that had a nice hint of butter. :p

This was the Grilled Ribeye Served with Au Jus. Additional $5 supplement to the set meal price but worth it! Yah, this cow can be biased by supporting his own kind but sometimes nothing like a nice piece of grilled cow! The doneness wasn't spot on but it was a day when I would rather have peace prevail.

A simple meal with peace and love beats a lavish one with strife.

Fourth course: Daily Dessert of the Day- a small piece of cheesecake.

What are my thoughts on this lobang that almost sounded to good to be true? Hmm...the portions are generally small (check out the photos with the fork to act as a size gauge) but should be sufficient for most. Food was ok though with the "special deal" pricing, I think it was not representative of what Friends could offer. The price of $18NETT still makes this very good value. There was coffee and tea too.

Friends
Cold Storage Jelita Building
293 Holland Road Level 2
Tel: 6463 1011

Chew On This: Friends offers a 1-for-1 set lunch daily at $35 for 3 courses! See here for the set lunch menu.

Simple Yet Good Food!

2011-07-21T22:57:00.006+08:00

After visiting my buddy one Saturday evening, we headed in search of a near by spot for dinner. Ah, I remembered this particular casual Chinese eatery that I thought looked promising- odd-sounding shop name, old, simply furnished and operated by Chinese (Chinese from China to be more specific).

The Pan Fried Pork & Leek Dumplings ($4 for 6 pieces) turned out to be very good! Instead of the usual meat filling entirely enveloped within the dumpling skin, the ones here were sort of like cannoli, the Italian pastry. The filling was packed with the sweet, full flavours of Chinese chives and minced pork. Juicy! The bottom of the dumpling was nicely pan-fried too.

The Shanghai Steamed Pork Dumpling ($3.50 for 4 pieces) aka xiaolongbao was decent too. The slightly thicker skin (yes, apparently Shanghainese xiaolongbao has thicker skin) encased a ball of minced pork that had a small portion of fat for added flavour and a smooth texture. Good value for money xlb.

But it is said that man cannot live by bao alone.

So we ordered some noodles. Moohehehe.

Noodles with Soy Bean Paste, Beijing Style ($5.80) or better known as zha jiang mian. Crisp shreds of carrots, cucumbers and beansprouts gave a refreshing crunch against the savoury minced pork and soy bean paste sauce. Belly nice!

QOB had Noodles in Sichuan Style ($5). It stated "dan dan mian" in Chinese but it was quite unlike any dan dan mian I have seen. Chopped carrots, long beans and minced pork featured in a sauce that tasted slightly peppery and garlicky. Strange but reminded me of bak kut teh... or maybe it's just my craving lah. ;)

Here's the Seafood Fried Rice ($5) that XPP had. Sad to say it was more like fried rice paralyse than paradise.

Still feeling a little greedy and curious, we also ordered the Pan Fried Pork Buns ($6 for 4 pieces) aka sheng jian bao. These took a while to arrive as they had to freshly make this bao and then steam it and then pan fry it. Nice doughy texture of the bao and pan fried bottom but I thought the pork filling could be a bit less one-dimensional. Not bad on the whole though I think I would prefer another plate of guo tie.

On a random note, QOB ate two of the above buns! *Applause*

Finally, a cold bottle of TsingTao Beer ($6.50) felt so gooooood. This and the guo tie would be perfect together.

It was a simple yet good dinner. Moo. Will. Be. Back.

Savor Rey La Mian Xiao Long Bao Restaurant
3 Kampung Bahru Road
Opens: 11am - 11pm daily

Chew On This: No GST! No service charge! No MSG! Huh? Still want some more ah? Moohahaha.

Crystal Jade Celebrates 20th Anniversary!

2011-07-17T18:51:00.005+08:00

Crystal Jade is a well-loved brand with casual Chinese dining, specialty restaurants, bakeries as well as fine dining options in its vast stable of establishments.

Dim sum? Check.

Steamboat? Check.

Xiao long bao? Check.

La mian? Check.

Roast meats? Check.

Popularity here in Singapore? Check check check!

I think there's no denying that the brand is well established in the hearts, minds and stomachs of Singaporeans.

Anyway, I had the privilege to attend their 20th anniversary media lunch hosted by Chairman and CEO, Mr Ip Yiu Tung, and held at the fine dining Crystal Jade Golden Palace at Paragon.

We were treated to a sumptuous 6-course lunch showcasing its new dishes.

To start the ball rolling (and the gastric juices flowing) we were served the Cold Lobster in Teochew Style & Marinated Pig's Knuckle & Pickles Wrapped with Lettuce ($32/serving). The live Aussie lobster poached then served at room temperature was succulent and delicate. The pig's knuckle tasted very refined and was beautifully flavoured with the braising sauce. I loved the Teochew preserved vegetables! Very crunchy, slightly sweet, salty and tart. They were brave to serve this to a hungry cow. ;)

Oh and notice the single blackberry (not the phone lah!)? Interesting to see it at a Chinese restaurant.

Here's the actual full portion of the lobster. It somehow makes me wanna toss it with noodles in a hot wok! Drools.

And here we present the pig's knuckle.

Then came the Double-boiled Sea Whelk & Chicken with Starfruit & Pomelo ($20/serving). I was very much looking forward to this since I'm a soup person. And it didn't disappoint. Imagine a good chicken stock flavoured with the savoury sweetness of seafood from both the sea whelk and dried scallop. The starfruit and pomelo added bursts of fruity sweetness. I've had apples and pears in soups but it was my first with pomelo and starfruit. Apparently this soup is nourishing but not heaty. Perfect for busy working folks!

The Deep-fried Chicken with Black Truffle ($80/whole chicken) was a very modern interpretation of a popular dish. The chicken had an almost fat-free crisp skin and was paired with a sauce made of virgin olive oil, mushroom and French black truffle. Though the sauce doesn't taste very Chinese, it was nonetheless delicious! The purple cauliflower (I know right?) had a pleasant nuttiness that went well with the chicken. :D Two super thin slices of jambu were at hand to cleanse the palate.

Simmered Cabbage Topped with Cordycep Flower in Pumpkin Soup ($22 for small). My favourite part was the crispy shreds of dried scallop (I think) scattered over the dish!

For a healthy alternative to fried rice, try the Steamed Assorted Grain Rice with Prawn ($20 for small). See the many many different grains? There's white rice, brown rice, red rice, black glutinous rice, wheat, black and green beans, sesame and sweet corn. The result is a tasty and very wholesome dish. But do factor in longer chewing time. Can exercise while eating....I knew chewing was a good exercise! Moohehe.

I digress. The chicken pieces were also very good. Smooth and tender- like some claypot rice versions.

Chilled Pea Cake ($1.20/ piece) & Teochew Sweetened Soup with Bird's Nest ($21/serving) rounded up the meal. The former was said to be a favourite of the Empress Dowager. It had a very fine and smooth texture and had just enough sweetness. The sweetened soup contained hashima, dried longan, lotus seed, gingko and....

Bird's nest! Someone joked that we can all skip this month's facial. LOL.

Congrats to Crystal Jade on their 20th anniversary and 100th outlet!

Thanks to Geraldine Kan of linea Communications for the invitation and to the Crystal Jade team for hosting this hungry cow.

Note: Most photos in this post are of individual servings, unless where stated otherwise.

Crystal Jade Golden Palace
#05-22
Paragon
Tel: 6734 6866
Opens: Monday-Friday 11.30am-3pm; 6pm-11pm
Saturday 11am-3pm; 6pm-11pm
Sunday 10.30pm-3pm; 6pm-11pm

Chew On This: To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Crystal Jade is holding a Culinary Carnival! 5-7 Aug, outside Crystal Jade Kitchen @ nex. Catch live cooking demonstrations, learn to make mooncakes, performances by Jack & Rai, la mian competition, 12 F&B kiosks etc. Profits from coupon sales will be donated to World Vision to help needy children in developing countries!

Not all that tweets are birds....

2011-07-11T08:18:00.009+08:00

While cows are natural-born moo-ers, this hungry one is starting to tweet too....much to the delight of his neighbouring birds. Moohahaha.

Follow this cow, his grazing, nonsense and rants @thehungrycow!

*Picture taken from ShutterStock. Don't expect me to go hunt for a cow and bird in Singapore to photograph lah. :p

Another Tian Tian in the East!

2011-07-06T22:16:00.009+08:00

Yes, yes. Eastie pride again! :p The popular Tian Tian Chicken Rice stall at Maxwell Food Centre has opened another outlet in the east after their Joo Chiat branch.

Located at the Simpang Bedok area, this outlet is the closest to my home. Moohehehe.

One Sunday evening, my family of four decided to check this Tian Tian out instead of our once-a-week home-cooked dinner.

Here's the Poached Chicken ($14 for 1/2 a bird). I really enjoyed this for its smooth. tender texture and flavoursome meat. The only thing I found odd was unlike most sauces used to drizzle of the chicken, the one here was gooey and viscous. Don't remember the Maxwell stall to have this gooey sauce but it's been ages since I last ate there. Can anyone confirm?

The Roasted Chicken ($14 for 1/2 a bird) didn't appeal too much to me. It was relatively rough and tough, and lacked fragrance. I'll stick to the white poached chicken. :)

You Cai or literally Oil Vegetables ($6) was a simple dish of blanched xiao bai cai, oyster sauce and fried shallots.

A surprisingly good find here is the Plain Macaroni (80cents)! It was cooked just right and there was a pleasant flavour of the flour used to make the pasta. I would have gobbled a 2nd bowl if not for the fact that my bowl was the last portion for the day.

Oh the rice! Can't forget the holy trinity of chicken rice- chicken, rice & chili sauce. The rice was very tasty with a good chicken, pandan and garlic flavour. Individual grains separated nicely with a good mouthfeel. The chili sauce, spiked with lime juice, was a little too sharp for my liking though.

Yay! I don't have to travel to Maxwell for Tian Tian Chicken Rice anymore! Yippeee.

Tian Tian Chicken Rice
12 Jalan Pari Burong (other outlets at Maxwell Food Centre and Joo Chiat)
Tel: 6448 0120

Chew On This: Are you a fan of Tian Tian Chicken Rice? Follow them on Facebook and Twitter! Woah, our hawker titans are also catching up with social media. Very cool.

A Lovely Saturday Lunch in the North

2011-07-04T23:21:00.009+08:00

This cow trotted over to the north one fine recent Saturday. It has been like 5-6 years since I last traced this path. It sure brought back nostalgic memories. Then, it was a regular commute between army camp and home, often in semi-comatose state.

But on this Saturday, the mood was relaxed and leisurely as it was to a friend's place for a home-cooked lunch.

Maameemoomoo cooked up Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak and Chicken Rendang. It was a simple and delicious lunch, made even more enjoyable with foodie friends. :) The rice reminded me of my late paternal grandma's nasi lemak. There was a pronounced coconut milk and pandan fragrance. A little ginger in the background.

The rempah and sambal were all made from scratch. Lots of hard work and love in the cooking!

Question: Which was the hottest dish?
Answer: Sambal. Why? Because it had the camera's attention. Moohahaha! Ahem. Ok, sorry. I digress.

Dessert arrived in the form of Strawberry Mousse & White Chocolate Cream with Chopped Mangoes. So pretty right?! I dare say this would not look out of place at a cafe or restaurant.

Then this was turned into...

Lemon & Orange Yogurt Cake! She made it look so easy lah. :p

The cake looked like a pound cake but was much lighter and had an interesting slightly kueh-like texture. I loved the citrusy flavour and that it was made to be not too sweet. A cake like this is just too dangerous!

By the way, if you are female and would like to learn baking, Maameemoomoo is holding baking sessions at her place...FOC! Simply to help spread the joys of baking. What a great idea! Check it out here. July's slots are full but keep your fingers crossed for August ones.

Many thanks to Maameemoomoo for toiling on a Saturday to prepare a lovely lunch and bake for us! It was such a relaxed and enjoyable Saturday lunch that I just felt like nuah-ing. Moohehe.

Chew On This:

Or else someone else would!

5* Crab Bee Hoon!

2011-06-28T10:02:00.008+08:00

I thought I had white balanced but apparently the awesome crab bee hoon proved too much of a distraction.

Yes, yes. It's all this one's fault! Moohahaha. Crab Bee Hoon ($48/kg; $86.40 for 2 crabs at this dinner). The bee hoon was tasty having absorbed the delicious flavours of the crab and aromatics like ginger and spring onions. But it was still best supporting actor to the crabs that stole the show. Now, I know a comment like the one I'm going to make will raise expectations and might draw flak. But on this evening the crabs were outstandingly outstanding!

The flesh was meaty, firm, delicate and sweet....enough to make this usually bovine fan weak in his knees.

The other must order here is the Steamed Flower Clams ($40/kg). Simply steamed with fragrant oil, soy sauce and fried chopped garlic, the natural sweetness of the clams were beautifully enhanced. The timing of the steaming was perfect too rendering the clams nice and tender.

Deep Fried Fish Skin ($8) is a fun dish to order. Once you pop, you really can't stop! :p

I liked the Butter Cereal Prawn ($60/kg; $36 for 600g for this dinner) not for the prawns but actually for the cereal. It's usually sinfully fried in butter but the one here was surprisingly un-oily! Fragrant with curry leaves and chilli, it made for yummy munching.

Sometimes the simpler dishes fail and this was the case with the Nai Bai with Assorted Eggs ($15 for Medium). See the photo and one will know CMI. The thick, gooey, starchy gravy was such a turn off. Bukkake veggie anyone? Yucks.

Then we went off for durians! Was hosting my uncle and auntie from Taiwan. :)

Ming Kee Live Seafood
556 Macpherson Road
Tel: 6747 4075
Opens: 12pm-2pm; 6-11pm

Chew On This: Feel free to BYO here. Glasses provided and no corkage charged!

Meatworks

2011-06-23T10:02:00.012+08:00

ION Orchard is usually associated with high-end boutiques and atas shops. Even the food court there is priced higher than most. So it was comforting to find a restaurant at ION that offers reasonably-priced dishes and is pretty low key (which also means no crowd, no queues!).

Here's what I sampled at a lunch at Meatworks:

The Beef Carpaccio ($16) featured thin slices of beef (yep, raw) with gran padano shavings, rocket leaves, fresh button mushrooms, wasabi emulsion, crushed black pepper and a wedge of lemon. The flavours were simple, clean and scrumptious.

The Salmon Tartare ($14) also turned out very well. I loved it- sensation of chilled salmon with the astringent-sweetness of shallots.

Our last starter, Foie Gras ($22), was alright but could do with a crispier crust. Pairing it with longan and a crust pastry was interesting.

Cow-lovers:"Where's the beef?"

Hang on, before we touch on the slayed cows, let's do one fish dish.

The Chilean Silver Cod ($30) was moist and flaked nicely. The roasted veggies didn't quite appeal though.

And now time for the beef...

Ribeye ($42) was a 250g steak from Meyer Angus 150-200 day corn-fed USA cows. The beef flavour is rather subtle...in fact a little too subtle for me. :p

I much preferred the Hanging Tender ($26)- 200g, Aussie 100 day grass-fed Diamantina. The meat required a bit more chewing but the flavours....oh the flavours. Think rich, beefy, iron-y, liver-like flavours!

If size is all that matters (seriously), go for the Brontosaurus ($108). It is a 1.5kg hunk that needs 1 hour preparation time and is only available in limited quantities. I found this one overdone such that it was dry and tough for most parts. But I guess those who don't mind or actually like the toughness, and its size appeal would probably better appreciate this!

Desserts on the whole were decent. :) We had:

Tiramisu ($8)

Cheesecake ($6)

Creme Brulee with Berries ($8)

You can tell what I came for. Moohahaha.

Meatworks is much bigger than it looks. There is a cafe-like dining area outside, a restaurant setting area inside and further in, a private dining room and an open-air section. Hmm...I'm thinking of the Steak Lovers' Association already....

Thanks to James Lu for the invite and hosting this cow.

Meatworks
ION Orchard
#04-27 to 32
Tel: 6634 0026
Opens: 12noon–9pm daily

Chew On This:
Wanna DIY steak at home or preparing for a barbecue? Various vacuum packed beef steaks are available here for take away!

SBA

2011-06-20T22:43:00.002+08:00

Yay! This cow has returned from a 2-week long reservist! :D

So here's a post! Moohehe.

Seeing how Singaporeans like acronyms (those 3 letter abbreviations), here's one...what does SBA stand for? Singapore Badminton Association? Serangoon Bridal Arrangements? Sentosa Building Authority? Si Bei Angry?

Okok, before this turns into a lame episode of We Are Singaporeans.... I meant it as Soup Broth Asia! Lol.

The Chicken Tonic ($7.20) sounded more potent than it was. I would have liked a more robust herbal influence but I guess people who prefer a mild herbal taste might take to this better. The addition of a friend wanton into the soup puzzled me a little. Anyway, this was a clear chicken broth flavoured mildly with Chinese herbs. The pea shoots added a sweet vegetal touch.

What I liked much better was the Sumo Wrestler ($8.60)- a good stock with a light creaminess and natural sweetness of soy milk. Ingredients included pork, tofu, mushrooms and veggies. Nice!

Each order of soup comes with white rice but for an additional $1, one can get Yam Rice. Quite alright with the sprinkling of fried shallots adding fragrance.

Upgrade your meal ($3.80) and get to choose 2 side dishes. Here we had, clockwise from top left, Fried Fish Slices, Cold Tofu, Papaya Salad and Chicken Adobo. I like the variety that these side dishes added. The tofu was well-chilled and had a ponzu like sauce. The Papaya was tangy and slightly spicy. The Chicken Adobo (not sure if this was supposed to be the Filipino dish since I have not tried it before) was fried chicken wing coated in a sour, savoury and spicy sauce. Can be quite addictive!

Hmmm the Hainanese Beef Tripe Soup sounds tempting...Maybe SBA = Souping Back Again.

Soup Broth Asia
Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-62
Tel: 6338 6909
Opens: Sunday-Thursday 10.30am-10pm
Friday-Saturday 10.30am-10.30pm

Chew On This: No MSG or artificial flavourings are added! Their aim is to brew nourishing Asian soups!

A short green break- Reservist, here I come!

2011-06-05T22:08:00.002+08:00

Yes, it is my first call up for ICT. After 5 years of non-army stuff...it's time to don the green fatigue again. Rusty and all, it should be fun. Have been really stressed so I guess it should be a good break from the craziness.

Blogging will resume once national duty ends in 2 weeks. Now, is it the left or right leg that moves for serdia (spelling?)? Moohahaha.

Ugly But Yummy

2011-05-21T11:03:00.003+08:00

There is beauty in ugliness. Proof of that? Hainanese curry rice.

It looks sloppy and unappetising....ly scrumptious! Almost undiscernible, fried pork chop ($1), ngoh hiang (60 cents), fried egg (50 cents) and braised cabbage (60 cents) topped the rice on my plate. In a fussy-wussy world, the pork chop could have been crispier, the ngoh hiang wrapped tighter and the fried egg less cooked. But all is forgiven smothered under that lovely, gooey blanket of thick, fragrant and spicy-sweet curry and braised sauce.

The individual components by themselves seemed ordinary but when combined, sang a beautiful song of delicious harmony.

Some say we eat with our eyes, this cow says I can eat this happily with moo eyes closed.

Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice
229 Jalan Besar (Junction of Jalan Besar & Kitchener Road)
Opens: 11am-3.30am daily

Chew On This: This stall is famous for using old-school metal scissors to snip up food items into bite-sized pieces (how convenient!). It is comforting to know that even after decades, some things never change. :)

Meeting & Eating

2011-05-18T03:48:00.006+08:00

It's nice to have lunch meetings because....well, there's lunch! :p

This was some time ago at KUMO Kaiseki.

The kaiseki lunch ($58) started with a plate of 3 appetisers. Small morsels to prep the taste buds for more.

Then sashimi followed. Absolutely yummers! Just something alluring about fresh raw fish dabbed with wasabi and dipped in soy sauce.

Next course was supposed to be duck but my host recommended skipping that and going for both the beef and fish. Usually it's a choice of one out of the two.

The Grilled US Beef was disappointingly tough and dry. It had good flavour though. Thought it to be more like a braised dish than grilled.

The Grilled Kanpachi Cheek was much, much better. Simply grilled with a bit of salt, the slivers of flesh were smooth and silky. Niceee.

For dessert, we enjoyed a Choya Jelly. Nothing too potent or flammable unlike my friend, Ewan's memorable vodka jelly. Moohahaha.

Lunch ended and work resumed. Sometimes the lines blur.

Oh and I forgot to snap a shot of the restaurant front. Oopsie!

KUMO
12 Gopeng Street
#01-58 ICON Village
Tel: 6225 8433

Chew On This: There's no service charge, only GST added to the bill. Thankfully, there was service! LOL. Quite good value.

Taking Singapore Out

2011-05-12T10:59:00.006+08:00

Bringing a taste of Singapore to the world, the Singapore International Culinary Exchange (SPICE) presents Singapore Takeout- 1 mobile kitchen, 9 cities, 10 chefs and 15 food brands on a 365-day gastronomic journey. Here you see the fully customised shipping container that houses the mobile kitchen.

After a count down, the participating folks in the Singapore Takeout were revealed- Andre Chiang (Restaurant Andre), Janice Wong (2am:dessertbar), Eric Teo (Manderin Oriental Hotel Group), Ryan Clift (Tippling Club), Armin Leitgab (Les Amis), Willin Low (Wild Rocket), Benjamin Seck (True Blue Cuisine), Haikal Johari and Ignatius Chan (Iggy's).

Chef Janice Wong served up canapes at the media event.

Pardon the photos as white balance was pretty hard with the lights changing colour every few seconds.

Xiaolongbao with a bit of chocolate anyone? This was intriguing with the cocoa notes just coming at the end.

Or how about Chef Janice's cool take on ice kacang? It was an icy dessert though quite different from the usual bowl of ice kacang.

There were also laksa dumplings with a gingery-lemony (lemongrass?) jelly. Pretty refreshing with the fragrant spices and a pleasant tartness from the jelly.

Chef Janice really gives Singapore dishes/flavours a very modern interpretation. Being a dessert specialist, she seems to infuse her dishes (even savoury ones!) with her own sweet touch.

And what are the above? Salted caramel popcorns. They tasted salty and sweet with an interesting texture of liquid-nitrogen-frozen marshmallow (not that I've tasted one before but I think it would have a similar texture. Moohahaha)

Rocher magnums are melty, silky chocolate rounds on picks. Having this go round at a party looks cool eh?

So which cities will Singapore Takeout visit? London, Paris, Moscow, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Delhi, Dubai, Sydney! Each stopover will be for just 3 days so blink and you'll miss it!

Singapore Takeout
June 2011 - April 2012

Thanks to Samantha of Ate Consultancy for the invite.

Chew On This: SPICE is backed by the Singapore Tourism Board, IE Singapore and SPRING Singapore. Don't pray pray.

Fat Boys Burgers

2011-05-09T12:42:00.007+08:00

"Fat Boys, Fat Boys. What you gonna do when they come for you?"

Eat! Moohahaha.

Was deciding between Fat Boys and the Fat Cat for dinner with some friends. Ended up at Fat Boys as it was deemed more cooling with the Fat Cat looking like it does not have air con.

Tsk tsk. But it this heat, can't blame lah.

Anyway, I quite enjoyed my burger- The Burgatory ($12.50). It had a beef patty slathered in Chilli Queso and sliced jalapenos. A little bit of heat in an ang moh way.

Thick cut fries, tomato slice and lettuce accompanied all burgers here.

For something with more colourful, healthy pigments, opt for the Bushtucker ($13). This had beef patty, beets, bacon, emmenthal cheese, wild arugula and garlic aoili sandwiched between wholewheat buns. Delicious combi.

But the most interesting burger to me that evening was the Elvis ($11). A pork and bacon patty was paired with bananas and peanut butter, and held together with honey oat buns. It all sounded a little odd but turned out to be well...interesting. Really! The sweetness of the banana and pork contrasted with the savouriness of the peanut butter and bacon. I could eat this burger though a Basterd size (like in the above photo, $16) which comes with double the ingredients would prove too much of a good thing for me.

We ordered the Crispy Hot Wings ($10.50 for 10 pieces), thinking it would be a good snack to munch on before the burgers but it arrived after them burgers. Oh well. Anyway, to be more exact, these were drumlets rather than wings. It was relatively tasty though a tad dry (over-fried maybe?) and could pack more spicy punch.

A Macadamia Nut Milkshake ($6.50) which was thick and sweet with nutty honey tones, rounded up dinner.

Then it was time to adjourn a few doors down to Joo Joo for some Asahi and grilled salmon fish head! Moohahaha.

Fat Boys
465 Joo Chiat Road (other outlet at 187 Upper Thomson Road)
Tel: 6346 6081
Opens: Daily noon till late (Kitchen closes at 10.30pm Mon-Thurs; 12.30am Fri-Sun)

Chew On This: After 10pm, pints go for $10 each! They close late so it's a pretty nice spot to hang out and nurse a pint or two.

A Cow's Moo-sing on GE 2011

2011-05-05T19:02:00.006+08:00

So it seems besides shopping and food, Singaporeans now have another interest- General Election 2011. And how not to be excited?

Rallies attracted more people than S-League matches and could rival megachurches here; the vibes more exciting than Singapore Idol. Being my second time voting, I am very excited!

In the past, the opposition has always been more low-key and sometimes a bit of a joke. They also struggle with getting messages across to the public. But this elections, with the rampant use of social media (YouTube, Facebook, blogs, Twitter), messages/ideas/propaganda get spread around quickly. Opposition candidates are also seen as better qualified and of a higher calibre than before. Kudos to them on projecting an improved image!

I went to a WP rally in Bedok and it was swarmed! Singaporeans standing in an open field for 3 hours without complaining is making a serious statement. Add the rain and mud to that and it becomes very unSingaporean-like.

Anyway it's often easy to point out mistakes and faults but who's to say that if the opposition forms a government, it won't also make mistakes?

The ruling PAP, on the other hand, has never seemed more shaken. For once, I think they feel the heat judjing by the boo boo comments some PAP leaders have made. But the pressure's good too. Mistakes were acknowledged, apologies delivered, promises of more engagement and listening to the people were made.

I feel that while many want more voices and representation in parliament rather than the dominance of one party, they also wish that the PAP would remain the government. It's currently the only (even by the opposition's own admission) party capable to form the government and has brought about stability and growth. The danger is when the opposition wins majority and forms the government, I think we all better start praying.

Personally, I think the PAP will remain as the ruling party while the opposition will get a few more seats. Only time will tell. Should the PAP win, it will have lots of work to remain relevant and responsive to the people. Should the opposition win, they will have to live up to all that hot air rara-ing at the rallies. Whatever the results, the people have already won.

It's nice seeing Singaporeans showing interest, taking a ~~steak~~ stake in the next generation of leaders and making a stand. Sitting on the fence will probably constitute to damaging public property and beget a fine.

God Bless Singapore.

Oh and if SM Goh loses, it will be because of two young women. I hope voters vote with their hearts and minds and not with their eyes. This is not Miss Singapore contest hor. LOL.

Chew On This: When faced with a decision if to eat eg wanton mee or mee rebus, I usually end up with both. Unfortunately, voting in the GE is much more serious. I need to think ....Will I want to eat wanton mee or mee rebus for the next 5 years? Which will be better for me?

Another Good Simpang Bedok Cze Char

2011-05-03T09:29:00.005+08:00

My favourite cze char stall at Simpang Bedok has been Hock Leng Seafood later known as Simpang Kitchen, now known as Simpang @ Ease. But there's another cze char stall that also has been around for a while- Hock Lai Heng Restaurant.

And the food is pretty good with an old school charm.

Claypot Fish Head ($18) was essentially a good one pot dish. The fish head was coated with flour and fried before being braised with celery, yam, pork belly, corn, egg tofu etc. The brown gravy was given an added smoothness with the raw egg mixed into its heat. Very tasty with rice.

I found the Gao Geh Soup ($4) aka Boxthorn soup to be average. Plenty of ingredients though! I do like their dark green, slightly bitter leaves that are good source of vitamin A and iron.

A dish to savour here would be the Dry Curry Pork Ribs ($8). The pork ribs were fried in a fragrant and spicy curry paste with what I thought included blue ginger, lemongrass, shallot etc. Really appetising and great with rice!

We also tried a cze char staple- Hor Fun ($3.50). Decent with nicely-fried hor fun. Some wok hei. Though the seafood could have been fresher.

I'll be back to check out their other dishes! Will drool at the memory of their Dry Curry Pork Ribs in the meanwhile. :p

Hock Lai Heng Restaurant
294 Bedok Road
Tel: 6243 1732 ‎
Opens: 11am-2pm for lunch on weekdays except public holidays; 6pm onwards for dinner

Chew On This: The guy who took our orders was helpful with suggestions and not pushy at all! In fact, he was worried that we might over order as portions are hearty. Now, if only all other restaurants/cze char places were like that instead of pushing for expensive seafood items.

Moovellous Bowl of Ramen!

2011-04-23T16:17:00.007+08:00

I had just returned from Vietnam and had pho almost everyday....so instead of regurgitating all the pho experience here and giving everyone pho-bia *insert moohahahaha*, I decided to blog on another noodle dish- ramen.

Been ages since I last went to Millenia Walk. Seems like with Parco now one of their anchor tenants, there are many Japanese eateries that have sprouted there. Among them, I saw Nantsuttei- a ramen shop from Japan. And the rest, as I say, was ~~history~~ lunch.

The basic dish of Ramen ($12) was a simple bowl of egg noodles, spring onions, bean sprouts and chashu. Opt for an egg for additional $1. The tonkotsu broth was creamy and rich with a black layer of roasted garlic oil which clung onto the noodles as I slurped. The egg had a molten semi-liquid (gel like?) yolk and smooth whites. Very savoury when eaten with the soup.

The chashu was also equally exciting.

The Smoked Chashu ($6.50) was smoked with cherry chips and carried an alluring smokiness not unlike bacon. A good amount of tender flesh was marbled with just a sliver of fat, creating a succulent, tasty slice of meat.

Buta-manma ($6) made use of good chashu- chopped, stewed in a sweet dashi stock and topped over rice. Pretty comforting though a pity it wasn't the short grain sushi rice.

Back to ramen. For a spicy twist to the basic ramen, opt for the Hot Miso Ramen Extra Hot Tanmen ($16). It came with 4 different spicy levels- Standard, Moderately Hot, Medium Hot, Extremely Hot. I tried Moderately Hot. I think most would take to this with quite a few probably preferring 1 or 2 notch up. It was spicy but not enough to induce tears nor profuse sweating.

Those thinking of getting the Extremely Hot are advised "Please refrain from ordering if you have heart trouble, feel ill, or have a sensitive stomach. Please note that your social status will not be raised if you eat Extremely Hot. If you are brave enough to challenge yourself in private, please try Extremely Hot." LOL.

As with the basic Ramen, the egg is at additional $1. This spicy ramen came with an extra slice of yummy chashu and minced pork in Japanese peppers. Japanese bak chor mee anyone? :p

And here comes the stunner. Seeing a poster encouraging patrons to ask for (free) garlic which they say makes the ramen tastier, I did thinking it was fried garlic chips.

Then this appeared:

No joke. It was raw garlic! Seeing how pungent and overwhelming raw garlic can be, I was sceptical at first. But after pressing 2 garlic cloves into the spicy miso soup...Va-va-vroooom! The minced garlic imparted added depth and a lovely fresh, clean garlic flavour that blended well with the rest of the soup. Two hooves up!

The Fuufu Enman Gyoza ($6) was smallish, had a nice fried bottom and was quite tasty. But alas. In the presence of awesome ramen soup and chashu, even the good seems moo-serable.

Fortunately, miserable I was not. This cow was a happy camper with a satisfying glow from a shiokadoodle ramen lunch. :)

Ganbatte Japan!!

Nantsuttei
#03-06
Millenia Walk
Tel: 6337 7166

Chew On This: While waiting for your food to arrive, flip to the back of the menu and discover the nutritional goodness of the stuff in your bowl of ramen!

Mooing 5 Years On

2011-04-12T01:14:00.004+08:00

Can't believe The Hungry Cow is now 5 years old!

This blog hasn't won awards or accolades but that's not important...to me at least. The cow continues to be happily enjoying the pleasures of food, great company and amazing graze. The Hungry Cow blog remains a rather personal outlet of creative expression through something close to moo heart- food. Along the way, some have found ~~nonsensical~~ entertainment value in reading while others may have used it as some sort of "guide". Either ways, I would like to thank all my 5 fans (ok, maybe now 6) for mooing along with me these 5 years.

Happy birthday, Hungry Cow. Cheers to moo-re to come! :)

Oooh-toya!

2011-04-03T18:07:00.008+08:00

It's been some time since I last dined at Ootoya. After realising that they had recently opened an outlet at Suntec, we moo-ed over on fine Sunday.

Grilled fish always sounds good. The Charcoal Grilled Atka Mackerel Set ($15) which includes miso soup, pickles, an appetiser and free-flow of rice, had a whole fish that was delicate and moist.

Sprinkle some black sesame seeds and salt to enhance the fish's natural flavour.

The fragrance of black vinegar was alluring in the Pork Loin and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Black Vinegar Set ($17). Seems a little more Chinese than Japanese. I found it too oily but it was tasty nonetheless!

For something comforting and satisfying, the Rice with Charcoal Grilled Chicken and Egg Set ($15.50) rocks. Subtle fragrance from the grilled chicken together with a sweet and savoury sauce and runny eggs over rice is just mmmmmmm (now, that's a good word to describe food! Moohahahha).

Ootoya
#B1-057
Suntec City Mall (other outlet at Orchard Central)
Tel: 68373718
Opens: 11am-9.30pm

Chew On This: Get a sticker with every $20 spent. Five stickers will get you a free dessert while 10 will get you a free meal!

Char Kway Teow is Especially Shiok after a Run

2011-03-29T10:50:00.007+08:00

For the past 2 months, I've been training for the annual IPPT that's just round the corner (Bedok corner- which also serves yummy kacang phool). And what better way to reward a nice morning run than a good plate of char kway teow! Moohahaha.

This stall at Zion Road Food Centre is legendary. Having won many bowls and chopsticks, and being crowned as a "Master" by Makansutra, it is apparently even voted as the choice of many CEOs! I like the Char Kway Teow ($5- large plate) here for it's well-balanced flavours of chilli, sweet sauce, garlic, hum juice, lup chiong and lard. It's moist and utterly delicious with crispy bits of pork lard and crunchy beansprouts.

No. 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow
Stall 17
Zion Road Riverside Food Centre
Opens: 12pm-3pm; 6pm-11pm Daily

Chew On This: And then go for a walk/run lah! :p

Seoul Yummy

2011-03-24T10:09:00.004+08:00

With the opening of Seoul Yummy, it was a matter of time before this cow who churches at Suntec eventually tries it.

And we did one Sunday lunch. Since the mother and sister were overseas, while the grandparents were at a different location, it was a father and son lunch.

Here's the side dishes that were served. I found green leafy veg missing but still enjoyed the other sides- kimchi, tofu, ikan bilis, potato salad, peanuts and radish. I particularly like the radish cubes for their clean, refreshing crunch with a slight lemon aroma.

For mains, we decided to pick two items from their lunch specials.

Hotpot Spicy Beef Soup ($11.99) had sweet slices of beef with tofu, egg and plenty of spring onions in a spicy soup. Pretty nice especially since this brings back fond memories of the Korean food at NTU (Should have eaten more when I was still studying there. So cheap lah!).

The other dish we tried was the Half Ginseng Chicken Soup ($13.99). The ginseng flavour here came from fresh Korean ginseng. This soup is great for those who fear the strong flavours of ginseng. While I would have preferred a stronger ginseng kick, this was a nice bowl of chicken soup! Flavourful and almost good for the soul. The chicken was also surprisingly tasty! I think they rubbed it well with salt. :) The brown rice also had a sweet fragrance of pulot hitam!

Seoul Yummy is a causal Korean place with good value and yummy food. The above lunch specials come with freeflow side dishes and barley tea. The decor is simple but stylish and confortable too.

Seoul Yummy
#B1-048/049 (other outlets at Square 2 and The Central)
Suntec City Mall
Tel: 6836 2883

Chew On This: Add $3.99 to your lunch special and get a soft drink plus froyoo light (frozen yogurt)!

Mala Yong Tau Foo, Anyone?

2011-03-16T23:58:00.005+08:00

I am not a big fan of food courts but sometimes there are interesting finds. My auntie told me: "Ah boy, you should try the yong tau foo downstairs. They got mala!" Intrigued and like an obedient blogger, I went to check it out.

Now, we have come across the usual yong tau foo soup with a stock made from ikan bilis and soy beans, and also tom yum and laksa variants. But mala yong tau foo?!

The stall offered what seems like the usual works- stuffed bittergourd, cuttlefish, fishball, stuffed tofu, stuffed tau pok, hard-boiled eggs, assorted fried items and greens. For $3.80, I had a bowl with 6 items and rice. Wanting to try the Mala version, I added an additional 50 cents.

While the mala soup was a lot thinner than what I am used too (restaurant standard home-cooked pots of spicy love at home), it was certainly a very interesting option for jaded yong tau foo palates. The yong tau foo items I picked were fresh, especially the stuffed tofu. A good item with mala is, in my opinion (like everything here in this blog), luncheon meat! The soft slabs of salty tinned pork with meaty flavours are superb with the spicy broth! It could have been much better if the luncheon meat was braised with the broth for a while before ending up in customers' bowls.

Was it spicy? Pretty alright on first bite/slurp. But as I ate, beads of sweat formed and gradually I had to blow my nose. The spice mix of Szechuan peppercorns, cumin etc flavour in a layer of chilli oil was sadistically rewarding. I'm even salivating as I type this post! :p~~

The strange saliva-inducing powers of merely looking at or thinking of spicy foods rock.

Yong Tau Foo
Sophia Food Mall
1 Sophia Road
Peace Centre
Opens Daily

Chew On This: If you are not really good with spicy food but want to try this, I recommend not picking leafy veggies! Leafy veg like kang kong, long cabbage, spinach etc have large surface area for chilli oil to cling onto. If that fails, get a nicely-chilled can of soy bean milk to douse the fire. :)

McSurreal

2011-03-12T01:23:00.011+08:00

It was pure chance that brought me to this event. After the Restaurant Week party, Camemberu and Keropokman suggested I join them for dinner at McDonald's. Yea, it wasn't my usual choice for dinner (this cow needs quite a bit to feed four stomachs) but I was intrigued enough to follow them.

And what an experience it turned out to be! White table cloth, fresh yellow roses in a vase, metal cutlery, black napkins, a nice printed menu card and table service! WOAH.

Could this be real? Seriously at McDonald's?

But before I could digest all the surprise and confusion in my head, a (Mc)flurry of staff started to dance and belt out an original song in honour of their new burger! Got song and dance some more ah? Very cool. I could certainly get used to this! Moohahaha.

Anyway, an exclusive four-course dinner was held for invited guests who included bloggers, forumers and McDonald's supporters. A section of the restaurant (yes, now I know why all this while, it's called McDonald's restaurant!) was reserved for us and magically transformed into a full-fledged restaurant!

I was very happy to see Irene Jansen- a lifestyle singing chef, cook book author and founder of food consultancy business, Culinary Adventures. She was also a fellow Foodie Lunch Pick-er on 938LIVE! Irene was the chef who help put together this four-course menu and even wrote and performed the song! Awesomeness.

All four courses were made using most ingredients that were readily available at McDonald's, and of course some specially made by Chef Irene.

The first course of Fish & Corn Quiche comprised of cubes of Fillet-O-Fish, corn, egg and BBQ sauce. It tasted sweet and just a tad savoury. I wished it had been more savoury than sweet but..but..I'm stunned. It's served in a porcelain bowl?!

The second course of Fresh Salad Greens arrived next. This was fit for this cow as I happily chomped on fresh ~~grass~~ lettuce, tomato slices and corn kernels! The tangy Thousand Island dressing on the side was a low-fat version so when used in moderation, I guess one doesn't feel too guilty.

Then the main course arrived! The star of the night. The burger that is the reason for this whole dining experience- The Teppanyaki Chicken McGrill. Instead of sesame seed buns, this was a nice sourdough bread. A little chewy and pretty wholesome. It was no chicken patty here. A deboned chicken thigh was grilled skin-on and assembled with lettuce, tomato and chargrill sauce. Pretty tasty and relatively filling! Yay.

Watch out for a series of different flavours for the Chicken McGrill later this year!

Dessert was Apple Yogurt Trifle made with McDonald's Apple Dippers, strawberry yogurt, vanilla soft serve, toasted sourdough croutons, strawberry sauce and cinnamon powder. Delish! I love the balance of sweet and tang, and the contrasting textures. I hope this would be on the regular menu! Tolong lah. :p

Then I almost fell off my chair when a service staff asked if I would like coffee or tea. Seriously and totally unexpected at McDonald's! Wanting to ease into bed and continue this pleasant dreamy feeling, I opted for a caffeine-free camomile tea. :)

A nice group photo of fellow blogger friends at the table, courtesy of Yina. On the extreme left is Petrina Kow (former Class 95 deejay) who was the evening's emcee and did an excellent job! *Clap Clap* Beatrice, ladyironchef, Camemberu, Keropokman and yours moo-lly made up the rest at this table.

I woke up the next morning, still trying to believe it was not a dream. Surreal-ness hit not only during the dinner but even for the next few days.

Think I need more sleep. And perhaps another dose of McSurreal to keep withdrawal symptoms at bay.

Thanks to the folks from McDonald's and GolinHarris for hosting this hungry cow.

McDonald's
Alocassia Apartments (various other outlets)
383 Bukit Timah Road
#01-09B
Tel: 6887 4961

Chew On This:
I'm happy to give away this complete set of McDonald's Food Straps to one person! These miniatures are so cute lah. Drop me a comment here naming McDonald's latest chicken burger (psst...it's featured in this post) and don't forget to include your name and email address! Closing date is 31 March! One lucky winner will be picked by the online random number generator.

A Seriously Good Cafe

2011-03-10T09:29:00.005+08:00

It was supposed to be a post-dinner coffee/tea and cakes but because we felt peckish after the ayam penyet dinner, the above caught me eye! The Pasta Giant Prawn Cream Sauce ($21.80) with squid ink spaghetti was awesome. Rich and creamy with a slight crustacean flavour, it had juicy pieces of the giant prawn.

Penne Spicy Thai Salted Fish ($10.80) was a simple but very tasty dish! The bits of dried fish (not stinky!) gave a very savoury edge.

Because I seem to get affected by strong doses of caffeine nowadays (sigh), I opted for the Calamansi ($5)- freshly-squeezed lime juice and lots of preserved plums!

There was a good spread of cakes available so we picked 3 to try.

Durian Cake ($7.80) was disappointing to me. On the good side, it wouldn't give one durian breathe and frighten away ang mohs but I would much prefer a stronger durian flavour.

Thankfully the Green Tea Crepe & Chocolate Sauce ($7.90) was really good. The texture of the many layers of crepe breaking away in the mouth was interesting and the flavour of green tea did come through. Chocolate and green tea seems like a good match!

The third cake came about as a bonus for using OCBC card to pay the bill. Spend above $60 and receive a complimentary cake (supposedly popular with the royal family in Thailand). But as that cake was sold out, we picked the Black Forest which turned out alright. Will be back for the Green Tea Crepe & Chocolate Sauce!

Coffee Stars by Dao is a very interesting cafe with both western and Thai food, cakes and drinks. Service is very good and enthusiastic. Certainly good spot for a bite and to chill out with friends! I'll be back to try their Thai dishes.

Coffee Stars by Dao
Wisma Atria
#01-37/41
Opens: 10am-10pm daily

Chew On This: This cafe chain has been in Thailand for over 16 years and if you are wondering about the tai-tai-looking lady, she's the owner here and happens to be Miss Thailand 1997 or 1998!

The Ultimate Ice Cream FUN-draiser

2011-03-05T16:45:00.007+08:00

If I could rename these ice cream flavours, it would be.....

....Sex-In-A-Cup! (On the beach is so sooo over)

....Screw-Everything-Give-Me-This!

Anyway before you start licking your computer screen, I just wanted to moo about this event that I am involved in. Psss...come say hi!

To celebrate Cold Stone Creamery's first opening in Singapore, the established American premium ice cream maker with more than 1500 stores in 17 countries will be partnering Make-A-Wish in The Ultimate Ice Cream FUN-draiser!

Part of the sales proceeds on 12 March will be donated to fulfilling the wish of 11 year-old Zhern Xin, who was diagnosed with lymphoma earlier this year.

Catch 98.7FM deejays Shan, Rozz, and the Muttons (Vernon and Justin) at the opening and enjoy fun games, giveaways, drum performances and even a flash mob!

Wanna take a sneak peek at Shan & Rozz dancing? ;)

Come on down for a day of fun and charity. And of course, awesome ice cream.

The Ultimate Ice Cream FUN-draiser
Date: 12 March 2011 (Saturday)
Time: 1-3pm
Venue: #01-09/10 Orchard Central

Chew On This: Cos there's almost nothing better than enjoying ice cream and doing good at the same time!

Todai Opens at MBS

2011-03-02T00:59:00.012+08:00

A friend buzzed me and asked if I would like to check out this "upscale buffet" at MBS. Having only been to MBS for last year's Wine For Asia, and because I had also wanted to refuel after a tiring week, I was happy to accept the invitation to Todai.

And what a huge spread it was! 82 metres of buffet line up! One could do a micro marathon there through one night. Moohahaha.

Hold your horses. We, stomachs, body and soul, had to wait for VIPs to arrive to officiate the red ribbon cutting ceremony. This was after all Todai's grand opening! Congrats to Todai on their first opening in South East Asia!!

We now head back to the food.

Going through every buffet item one by one is too boring, painful and difficult to balance with actually enjoying the food. So I will highlight what to me were interesting and/or good.

One item that is probably not on any other buffet spread is the Fried Korean Ginseng! The crisp batter gave way to a pleasant starchy bite not unlike tapioca. There was a sweet taste followed by a bitterness that cleansed the palate from any residual oil. Very interesting and nice!

Next up is the popular seafood on ice. But the star would have to be....

Snow crab pincers and legs! These were awesome. Firm, meaty and with the natural sweetness and salinity of the sea. Order a carbonara and peel some of these babies over it, for a poshed up pasta!

There were also sashimi. I spied these special ones that were prepared just for VIPs (not us unfortunately). So colourful!

The Churrascaria section had a selection of chicken drumlets, pork belly, pineapple, beef ribye, flank and chuck tender. My favourite was the pork belly! Succulent and flavourful with a tad of sin. Also check out the roasted sweet potatoes- warm with some parts nicely caramelised, they were sweet with a tasty cinnamon (and ginger?) edge.

Cheeses. Can't believe I missed the cheeses. Damn. But oh well, no point crying over missed cheese.

Also available were rows of salads, a pasta station, pizzas, ramen and udon soups, tempura corner, cold cuts, European dishes (frog legs, roast beef, fish in cream sauce, pork in orange sauce), Korean items...

..and sushi! Lots of them.

This buffet is definitely one for those who love extensive spreads. I seriously doubt one can eat a piece of every dish here and walk out straight. But then again, there are monsters...and we are talking about buffets to Singaporeans. Moohaha. Being a Korean company, many of Todai's food has a slight Korean/fusion-ish touch.

Anyway,desserts were a variety of cakes, mousse, fruits etc.

I picked and mixed and ended up with the above platter. See the cute strawberry with cream? Haha. Ya, I ate it. LOL.

Thanks to Venetia of Marina Bay Sands for hosting me.

Lunch Prices
Monday-Thursday: Adult $42++; Child $22++
Friday-Sunday, Public Holidays and Even of Public Holidays: $58++; Child $26++

Dinner Prices
Monday-Thursday: Adult $54++; Child $26++
Friday-Sunday, Public Holidays and Even of Public Holidays: $58++; Child $26++

Todai
2 Bayfront Ave
#B2-001
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Tel: 6688 7771
Opens Daily: 11.30am-4.30pm; 5.30pm-11pm (Last order 30mins before closing)

Chew On This: From now till 31 March 2011, receive 10% off your bill and enjoy free flow of Korean strawberries!

One Pot Meal at Home

2011-02-27T00:35:00.009+08:00

Ok, I got to blog about this as ~~Mum has threatened not to cook for us anymore if I don't blog about her food. Moohahaha.~~ home-cooked food is seriously under-rated!

Anyway, my mum's "simple" is often never really simple. But it is always special. Food cooked with love by loved ones for loved ones always is.

For a one-pot dinner at home one recent day (one pot meals are supposed to be simple), we had a bubbling cauldron of sliced beef, abalone, dried and fresh scallops, snow peas, fish maw, sea cucumber, Chinese black mushrooms, chicken pieces, fatt choy (sea moss), long cabbage etc in a flavourful milky stock made with ginger and dried scallops. What more would one wish for other than another big bowl of rice? :D

Chew On This: Because this won't be available at any restaurant!

Singapore Restaurant Week is Back!

2011-02-23T23:19:00.006+08:00

Last year, DiningCity.com introduced Singapore's first Restaurant Week and it was over-subscribed! As cliche as it sounds....How time flies, in a twinkle of an eye, Singapore Restaurant Week is back this year!

What exactly is Singapore Restaurant Week?

It's one week (21-27 March) where many of Singapore's restaurants offer an amazing $25++* for a 3-course lunch and $35++* for a 4-course dinner! This is a great chance for diners to experience different restaurants at an affordable price. This year's Restaurant Week includes 81 restaurants and counts Wild Rocket, FiftyThree, The White Rabbit, Table 66, KHA, Senso Ristorante & Bar, Novus Restaurant, Kinki and The Song of India among many others.

Book via www.restaurantweek.sg now because seats are hot! I hear they will be releasing a little more extra seats due to the strong booking demand.

*Do note that for some restaurants, there is an additional supplementary charge. Please refer to their website.

Thanks to Carlyn of Sixth Sense Communications for the invitation to the launch party.

Singapore Restaurant Week
21-27 March 2011

Chew On This: Wanna do more than merely eat? Drink up with CULINAire Wine Deals- wines from Brown Brothers, Ruffino, Torres and Chapoutiers will be paired with your meal. Wanna do more than merely eat and drink? How about Eat, Drink, Love? A singles event to bring together food lovers (Moohahah. Pun not intended. Or maybe it is.) where you will swap seats at each course and get to meet a different person. More details here.

Veg + Seafood - Meat

2011-02-20T23:49:00.005+08:00

I first heard of the pescetarian diet from M Eats who is a pescetarian. What exactly is it? Think of it as a vegetarian diet that also allows for seafood. No meat!

Then after reading about this pescetarian cafe in GourmetEstorie, I decided to swing by for a graze. After all, it is relatively near home. Yes, maybe it's the low-hanging fruit principle. ;)

Dann's Daily is a small cafe set up in the Eastwood estate. With just a small menu, we picked a few dishes to try and see how a dinner without meat would appeal.

The Set Meal ($10) included Organic Brown and Wild Rice with Sprouts served with Curry of the Day. I love the rice! Nicely chewy with a satisfying bite, the rice was tossed in fried shallot and olive oil (I think). Simple and satisfying. The curry was chockfull of root vegetables (radish, carrot, potato and even beetroot!), tau kwa and tau pok. It was creamy and a little sweet with the natural sweetness of the root veggies and soy items. But it packed a nice spicy note too.

Prawn Pasta Aglio Olio ($12.50) was also good with pasta (I'm guessing wholewheat pasta) and four sweet de-shelled, de-veined prawns. People who are not used to eating wholewheat pasta might find this a little rougher though. I detected an interesting turmeric touch which the staff later confirmed was in this dish.

Next came the Fish Soup ($8) which I found to be really average. The gingery broth was soothing but I felt that the fish slices were too thin and perhaps there could be more ingredients. It was a tad pricey for me with only fish slices, fresh shitake mushrooms, sprouts, ginger shreds and coriander in the bowl which costs $8. There wasn't rice or noodles included as well. :S

A more interesting fish dish was the Mackerel Mushroom Cheese Toasties ($5). Using essentially the same fish, mushroom and coriander, it was a pleasant alternative to the more common tuna sandwich. It was my first time having Spanish Mackerel (more commonly known locally as Batang) in a sandwich! Very surprisingly, I was alright with the coriander stalks in here.

For dessert, we had the Gula Melaka Steamed Cupcake ($3). Now, I was wondering why would people wanna steam cupcakes? Baking isn't unhealthy what. But I remembered my friend, Cherie, who steamed her cookies (I still don't know why) and tested her friendships. Lol. Anyway, this was more like a wa gou kueh (steamed bowl cake?) with a slightly dense, chewy texture. Nice, not overpowering gula malaka flavour.

Oh and this place seems rather kids-friendly. The sharp outer corners of the tables have protective "hands". There's even a small table and chair in one corner for junior to nomnomnom.

With no added MSG or heavy cooking (like deep-frying), the food here is simple and wholesome. A good break from too much meating.

Dann's Daily
20 Eastwood Road
Eastwood Centre
#01-06
Tel: 6449 1355

Chew On This:
Apparently the water served here for drinking (FOC), used for soaking vegetables, cooking soups, boiling pasta etc is alkaline and is believed to be better for our health!

A Morning of Baking at AFC

2011-02-14T15:21:00.007+08:00

I recently had the pleasure of spending a Saturday morning with some fellow foodies at the Asian Food Channel (AFC) studio at Orchard Central.

Chef Sue-Ann Lambert, AFC's resident chef, was on hand to demonstrate two simple recipes- Sugar Cookies and Chocolate Chip Biscotti.

Just for Valentine's Day's sake, we made heart-shaped cookies. Awww...

So here are my creations! Moohahaha.

But wait!

What's this? ~~It's a bird. It's a plane. It's...nah, certainly not superman.~~ Well, I attempted to make a cow but my hooves are not made for shaping. Lol. Thankfully, Camemberu came to the rescue! Having had loads of play dough experience with her kids, she shaped this cow cookie.

Some said it looked like a cat and since The Hungry Cat is probably someone else, I decided to inject a "moo" to bovinize it. Moohehe. And hey I've got sexy lips! ;)

For those who wanna try this simple Sugar Cookie recipe, here it is:
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- A pinch of salt
- 85g of butter, softened
- 170g sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs

Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C.
- Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and mix to combine. Add salt, vanilla and flour and mix until dough just combines.
- Chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll chilled dough and cut with desired cutter.
- Transfer to baking tray and bake at 160°C for about 8 to 12 minutes or until edges of cookies turn golden brown.

For the Royal Icing:
Ingredients
- 2 large (60g) egg whites
- 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 cups (330g) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
- Food colouring (optional)

Method
- In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until combined.
- Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth.
- Use icing immediately or transfer into an airtight container before it hardens.
- Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

Besides the Sugar Cookies, we were also shown how to make these Chocolate Chip Biscotti.

In case it gets jealous, here's its recipe too:

Ingredients
- 1 cup of white or brown sugar
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup, 4 tablespoons) of butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- A pinch of salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips

Method
- Cream the sugar and butter together in a stand-p mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat for a few more minutes, then add the vanilla.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, then add to the mixer. Combine well then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Shape the dough into a log, approximately, 12 inches long and 3 inches wide with lightly floured hands. You may find it easier to divide the dough in half and form two shorter logs. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool until you can handle it. Slice diagonally, into 1/2-inch slices and return to the baking sheet. Bake again until the cookies turn light brown for about ten minutes. Flip them over and brown for another few minutes.
- Allow to cool and enjoy with a cup of espresso!

It was absolutely good with a hot cup of Nespresso cappuccino! Perfect for a break after a tiring week. :)

Moo had fun! Thank you to AFC and Kimberly of Fulford PR for the invitation.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Asian Food Channel Studio
#07-02 Orchard Central
Tel: 6834 4829
Opens Daily: 12noon to 8pm

Chew On This: Catch One Night a Malaysian Wedding- Chef Wan and watch well-known Malaysian chef, Chef Wan, as he plans and prepares for his daughter's wedding. With about 700 guests, all that media buzz and some very high expectations, this looks to be one epic wedding! Check out the scheduled timings here.

Lunch Meeting

2011-02-10T00:05:00.005+08:00

It's nice to have a meeting and check out a restaurant at the same time- one of the reasons I'm thankful to be in F&B (more about my work in another post later). :)

Anyway, lunch meeting took us to OChre at the top of Orchard Central.

Doppio Carpaccio ($22) was a colourful plate of Hokkaido Scallop and
Parma Prosciutto ‘Pio Tosini’. Besides being a feast for the eyes, the appetising dish also appealed to me with the combination of fresh, luscious scallop and savoury prosciutto. The latter brought out a sweetness in the former.

Trio di Fegato Grasso ($28) featured foie gras in three ways- terrine, pan-fried and creme brulee. The terrine was great smeared over a bit of bread while the pan-fried foie gras was rich and good with the balsamic strawberry. But what I found to be really interesting was the creme brulee- foie gras creme brulee! A creamy custard with a nice balance between the savoury foie gras and sweet custard.

With three preparations of foie gras on one plate, this would make foie gras heads bob with pleasure.

For my mains, I tried the Risotto con Anatra Affumicata ($27) aka Smoked Duck & Radicchio Risotto. The flavour of the risotto was surprisingly more subdued than I had expected. But mouthfuls later, I understood it. The gentle flavours of white wine and onions supported the sharper, stronger flavour of the smoked duck nicely. This dish was no punchy powerhouse. It's delicate tastiness.

Dessert for me came in the form of Tiramisu ($10). A good size with light sponge and mascarpone that was creamy and not too heavy. Perfect for an end to a meal and when there's still work after this. ;)

Psss..no it's not the clouds. My camera lense fogged out the minute I stepped out.

OChre
Orchard Central
#11-03
Tel: 6634 0423
Opens Daily: 11:30am–2:30pm; 6:30pm–10:30pm

Chew On This: OChre has a private dining room that can also be used as a meeting room! Yes, we had a meeting after this lunch meeting. Moohaha.

Chicken Pot Comfort

2011-02-03T00:19:00.006+08:00

Having lunch in Suntec after church every Sunday for the past 10 years, a new makan place opening there will surely catch my eyes. And so lunch one Sunday was at the newly-opened Chang Feng Ji.

We dived straight for the Signature Hua Diao Kampung Chicken ($28 for small). A claypot with chicken in a herbal broth sounded comforting. And it was. The chicken pieces were not the most tender but had a rustic bite and feel to them which I rather enjoyed. The broth had plenty of Chinese herbs and a shot of hua diao wine. Instead of unpleasant bitter notes, it was rather sweet (not in the sugar sense) with the goodness of yu zhu (a herb also known as Solomon's seal).

Yu zhu is believed to be good for one's lungs, stomach and throat among many other benefits. Hey, it is believed to curb excessive hunger too! Moohahaha.

Anyway, the claypot dish also came with a plate of veggies with tang-o, long cabbage, tau pok, mushrooms, lotus roots and slices of huai shan (also known as Chinese wild yam). Huai shan is apparently good for the spleen, lowering blood sugar and ~~pleasure~~ pressure, and for improving appetite! Woot.

What scared me was the Mongolian Pork Ribs with Chili Sauce & Mayonnaise, Topped with Black & White Sesame Seeds ($12). Unfortunately, wayyyy too oily.

Good thing there was the Cabbage Cooked with Superior Stock ($10) to counter all that nasty grease. The nai bai cabbage was still crunchy and was cooked in a chicken (I think) broth with a very generous sprinkling of wolfberries.

With an in-house dessert stall, order your fill of bubble tea and shaved ice desserts.

I had an Iced Honey Green Tea ($2.50 for small) which was very fragrant and not too sweet.

I don't mind returning for that one pot of chicken!

Chang Feng Ji
Suntec City Mall #B1-011
Fountain Terrace
Tel: 6338 0116

Chew On This: There is no service charge! And they changed our plates pretty often!

Smash da Chicken!

2011-01-29T15:55:00.005+08:00

Not exactly a violence against chicken episode but after hearing good things first from my Malay army friends, then my American-Indonesian Chinese scientist friend and just yesterday, my Indonesian Muslim neighbours, I had to get to Ayam Penyet Ria. And where better (and nearer my home) than their new branch at the newly-opened Bedok Point.

I saw Smashed Beef Balls on the menu but this cow is against indignant treatment against the male bovine species...moohahaha. Next please!

Ayam Penyet + Nasi ($6.50)- a pretty complete meal! Ayam Penyet literally means smashed chicken and refers to fried chicken that is flattened/smashed, usually with a mallet. The meal here had crispy fried chicken with a kick-ass sambal chilli that was potent and sadistically delicious. Also on the sides were kangkong, raw cabbage and cucumber, fried taukwa and tempeh (fermented soybeans). Served with white rice to cushion some of the sambal's heat.

We also ordered the Sup Buntut + Nasi ($6). An Indonesian oxtail soup, this had lovely flavour of beef bones and aromatic spices but was unfortunately a tad on the salty side and felt like it had a sachet of instant noodle seasoning powder (read MSG) added in. Thankfully, there wasn't that nasty throat feeling from MSG overdose. I enjoyed the tender and tasty meat of the oxtail and felt that the best thing in this bowl was the humble potato. Cooked just right (neither too hard nor mushy), the small pieces of spuds had an amazing flavour! Sort of natural starchy sweetness infused with the beef broth and spices.

To cool off the sambal's spiciness and even fight off hot weather, Es Cendol ($3.50) is a perfect dessert. Crushed ice with coconut milk, rich gula melaka and chendol (the green worm-like jelly) were balanced in flavour and intensity.

Yums!

Ayam Penyet Ria
#01-05
Bedok Point (other outlets available)
Tel: 6441 0025

Chew On This: The Es Chendol here does not contain red beans (but please do not start writing to the Straits Times forum) unlike many versions of Chendol sold locally. It's apparently Indonesian style which means sans red beans but with the addition of small bits of jackfruit!

Awesome K Soup for the Soul

2011-01-26T11:15:00.013+08:00

An SMS came in with info to meet at a Korean restaurant in Joo Chiat. And with that, dinner with the family was set. :)

I totally dig the two soups that came with the two set meals (Pork Set Meal $55; Beef Set meal $68) we ordered! D-E-licious!

The Galbitang (clear beef rib soup) was a clear broth of beef short ribs with leek. Rich, clean-tasting and beefy sweetness. The pieces of rib short rib were slightly chewy (in a good way) and tender, packed with tonnes of flavour.

The other soup- Bangaetang (half ginseng chicken) was equally satisfying. Pour in a shot of ginseng wine and inhale the warm waft of aromatics. The flavour from the chicken, dates and other ingredients had enriched the soup which also contained grey glutinous rice and other grains. This made it like a ginseng chicken porridge with texture, a slight nutty flavour and plenty of oomph!

Both are soups perfect especially in this @#$%&* muggy weather which makes blogging about them now torturous.

Anyway, like most typical Korean restaurants, there were the complimentary (some say cost already added into menu prices) banchan- small side dishes of kimchi, tofu, big sprouts, anchovies etc.

The beef was a 200g piece of fresh sirloin. Grilled over an electric grill, the meat was good though nothing exceptional or special.

What was better was the three slices of premium black pork collar! Sigh. It was a day when the pig won the cow. Sweet, tender and flavourful with small streaks of fat, its glistening powers went from my lips to my heart.

Slice the grilled meats, dab a little sesame oil and sweet-spicy sauce, and wrap with lettuce (free flow). Nom nom nom.

We ordered an ala carte portion of Korean rice cake ($2) which was yummy and chewy with a toasted exterior after grilling! A carbo-freak's popcorn. Moohehe.

Mushrooms ($10) were also another good dish to order. Simply grilled and dipped into sesame oil and soy sauce, its natural sweet earthiness made it delicious especially when eaten with rice.

A chilled cup of sweetened Cinnamon Tea and a heart-shaped watermelon ended dinner.

Each set came with a bottle of Korean traditional rice wine. Sweet, milky, fermented flavour with 7% alcohol.

The pork collar is good reason to return! :)

Ju Shin Jung
451 Joo Chiat Road (other branches at East Coast & West Coast)
#01-01/02 Katong Junction
Tel: 6440 7707
Opens: Monday to Thursday: 11.30am-2.30pm; 5.30pm-11pm (last order 10.30pm)
Friday to Sunday, Public Holidays: 11.30am-11pm (last order 10.30pm)

Chew On This:
A small, white, round tablet was presented at the start of the meal. Don't pop it. It's not a blue-pill-or-red-pill kinda pill. Place it in a dish, pour water on it and it transforms into a wet hand towel. Magic!

CNY Delights at Xin Cuisine!

2011-01-21T17:26:00.013+08:00

It's the time of the year where turkeys are so last season and where the colour red remains in vogue- Chinese New Year!

Yu Sheng is a firm favourite for many during this festive time. It really is a sort of raw fish salad- shreds of root vegetables, slices of raw fish and assorted condiments and sauces.

For a dramatically exquisite Yu Sheng, check out Xin Cuisine at the Holiday Inn Atrium! This Yu Sheng with Bling ($388) is assembled like no other Yu Sheng I have Xin. Instead of a mound, the shredded vegetables are layered to form an esthetically beautiful pyramid topped with gold flakes- a powerful symbolism of great wealth, beauty and position.

Now presentation aside, how can that warrant $388? And hey, who moved my ~~cheese~~ fish?

Ah that's where this ice sculpture comes into play. Nonono, don't start splashing coloured syrup on it. This, my friends, is no dessert. Slices of fresh sashimi are shaped into flowers and nestled on ice. Salmon! Tuna! Lobster! Sweet prawns! Cobia! Geoduck!

Once all tossed together, this CNY salad was scrumptious! Very well-balanced and refreshing without being overly sweet or heavy on the five spice.

Next up was the Pen Cai! The Imperial Pen Cai is a luxe rendition with whole Australian 3-head abalone, deer tendon, superior shark's fin, fish maw, sea moss, dried oyster, black mushroom, wild bamboo pith, goose web, sea cucumber and Chinese baby cabbage stewed for hours in a superior stock. I especially like the flavourful deer tendon, sweet baby cabbage and tender abalone. This pot with a bowl of rice will be an indulgent meal on its own. No joke.

The earlier photo was a pen cai meant for our tasting purpose. The actual size of the Imperial Pen Cai ($888) meant for 10 people is depicted above (the pot in the foreground). Not cheap but for all that quality premium ingredients, including 10 abalones that each costs $58 on its own, it is a worthwhile indulgence.... should one have the budget.

For something simpler, the Seafood Prosperity Pen Cai ($388 for large; $288 for small) with lobster, abalone, sea whelk, fresh scallops etc is also available.

But wait, there's more!

Takeaway the Imperial Pen Cai in style! It comes with this complementary silk bag completely resplendent in red imperial dragon motifs.

See what I mean? ;P

And since it's going to be the year of the Rabbit, we had a rabbit dim sum....more specifically- a rabbit-shaped dim sum. So cute lah! Encased within tasted like a fresh, meaty prawn stuffing with tiny bits of Chinese parsley.

It's not the year of the Pig but quite hard to say no to roast pork lah. Nice crispy crackling and good portion of meat. Would have preferred a little sweetness in the mustard though. Honey or malt candy perhaps?

Some small nibbles were, for tasting purposes, served in a platter. From left to right: chocolate Champagne glutinous rice ball, radish cake, chrysanthemum nian gao and coconut nian gao.

The chocolate Champagne glutinous rice ball hide a potent punch! Champagne usually has about 12% alcohol but this one had the horsepower of rum or brandy. Moohehe. Don't eat and drive.

As an end to the meal, I particularly like the chrysanthemum nian gao. It was sticky, chewy goodness with a distinct floral chrysanthemum flavour. Nice!

Thanks to Tracy of Holiday Inn Atrium for the invitation and to the staff of Xin Cuisine for their hospitality. Check out Camemberu's take!

*No rabbits were harmed for this blog post.

Xin Cuisine
Level 4
Holiday Inn Atrium
317 Outram Road

Tel: 6731 7173

Chew On This:

There are several private dining rooms available with each named after a certain tea.

And it's not named just for fun hor. Diners can request to have the "room tea" served ($6/person) or opt for the "room tea" of other rooms should they desire. We had the Morning Blossom Pearl Tea. I really like the Bodum-type tea cup which was double-insulated to keep the tea warm longer while being comfortably cool to hold! Swee lah!

Can't Believe I PS Cafe-d Again

2011-01-18T10:33:00.006+08:00

Not that I'm a regular at PS Cafe. My last experience getting a table at their Palais Renaissance branch was so off-putting....until we walked away and chose somewhere else.

Well, I went to PS Cafe just recently for Pookie's birthday. She set the venue. Anyway, it was a nice catch up with Xiao Lao Ban, Sugar Demoness and birthday girl, Pookie.

Before orders were made, there seemed to be a conspiracy amongst the 3 ladies to order smaller/lighter mains and leave space for desserts. Apparently, their previous visit resulted in too-stuffed-until-desserts-were-painful.

Still, we ordered Truffle Shoestring Fries ($15). Fried sticks of potato perfumed with truffle oil. Every cardiologist's nightmare but sedap lah. :p Fries served on a silver platter? Check. Atas skinny spuds indeed.

You think I would also go for something smaller/lighter? Ya right. The Chargrilled Cheese Burger ($28) was a sizable assembly of waygu and US chuck patty, melted gruyere and mozzarella, tomato, mesclun leaves, fried battered onions and sauteed mushrooms. All sandwiched between toasted sesame bun and served with fries. I requested for medium doneness and although a small portion of the patty was overcooked, it was still a great-tasting patty- sweet, beefy, relatively lean but tender with the minced beef just breaking away with a gentle chew. The rest of the ingredients were in harmony together...I especially like the earthy and juicy sauteed mushrooms!

Desserts were a shared affair.

Honestly, the Blackforest Profiteroles ($16) were half good....cos I was left with halve a profiterole! Moohahaha. I knew it was a bad choice leaving a plate of chocolate sin right in front of Sugar Demoness...but I don't blame her. Natural instinct at its very best.

Very really honestly, I preferred the Florida Key Lime Pie ($12). The tangy, citrusy notes with crumbly buttery cookie base refreshed the palate and was a great end to a meal.

Hail the Sugar Demoness. See her power? Don't pray pray hor. Ok, maybe I should quit Caipirinhas.

I forgot to take a photo of the entrance so I leave you instead with a shot from their rooftop bar. Happy birthday, Pookie!

PS Cafe
45 Ann Siang Road, #02-02 (entrance via Ann Siang Hill Park)
Tel: 6222 3143

Chew On This: Parents with kids take note: "We are sorry but PS.Cafe at A.S.H Park can admit Adults & Teenagers only. Families with younger children are very welcome at all other PS.Cafe locations." Not very pro-family here eh?

Scream for Free Ice Cream!!

2011-01-15T15:23:00.004+08:00

Money doesn't drop from heaven, some might say. But ice cream does!

A friend, who has requested to remain anonymous, has kindly passed me some Häagen-Dazs vouchers. This Ice Cream Angel has generously offered to share the ~~fat~~ love. So lucky you!

5 randomly-picked winners will each receive $18 Häagen-Dazs vouchers! All you have to do to win these vouchers is drop a comment here saying "I want ice cream!" and do include your email by midnight this Sunday (23 Jan).

The vouchers should reach you early next week and you'll have till end of Jan to redeem them at any Häagen-Dazs outlet.

Enjoy. :)

Cool Vegan Burger Joint

2011-01-12T09:48:00.009+08:00

Somehow thanks to a discount voucher bought off Beeconomic, we found ourselves at Veganburg- a cosy, interesting vegan concept near Eunos.

Burgers here contain no meat. In fact there wasn't any cheese as well! Vegan mah.

From left to right, we tried the Hawaiian Pineapple set ($10.85), Cracked Pepper Mayo Set ($9.85) and Smoky BBQ Set ($10.85).

Served in a mess tin, it was slightly reminiscent of Barracks ~~and an ingenious way to save on washing since the overlaying paper is disposable~~. Veganburg is bright, fresh and casually cool. The whole vegan burger joint concept is pretty novel (to me at least).

Back to burgers!

Since they do not use meat, soy and minced mushroom patties were used instead. Was it as good as meat? Honestly, no. But then again it is not meat so it should not be compared directly.

The Hawaiian Pineapple burger offered a pan-grilled pineapple slice and a soya patty glazed with plum sauce. Not too bad though the "mock meat taste" of the patty was a tad strong. I like the organic ciabatta as burger buns- crusty and fluffy.

The Cracked Pepper Mayo burger appealed more with its initial peppery punch, soothed by creamy mayo beneath a bed of lettuce. The organic ciabatta for this burger contained sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Lots of good oils!

Smoky BBQ burger featured an oven-baked minced, mushroom patty that was savoury and slathered with BBQ sauce. Tomato slices, lettuce and alfalfa gave it crunch and a pleasant vegetal sweetness. The bun for this burger was an organic rye with wholemeal grains.

Overall, the burgers were pleasant as long as one doesn't expect them to be like a cheeseburger. Fries had a nice sprinkling of seaweed but I feel they could be more crispy.

The set meal came with a choice of juice (apparently no preservatives and added sugar). Since we had 3 set meals, we picked 3 different juices to try. Then we realised the colours looked like a traffic light! Moohaha.

Green- Spinach Wheatgrass: Surprisingly no grassy taste or texture, pleasant apple flavour.
Yellow- Orange Passionfruit: Tangy and sweet!
Red- Apple Blackcurrant: Sweet and fruity.

We also ordered the Potato Spinach Pops ($3.80) to try. Unfortunately, it was disappointing. Maybe they should look to a good bergerdil for inspiration.

For dessert, the Guilt Free Chocolate Ice Cream ($3.80) was interesting. The chocolate flavour came through with a subtle background of nuttyness from brown rice. A rather light and refreshing ice cream. I assume they used soya milk instead of cow's milk too.

Yes, this is fast food with a healthier twist. Going meatless one meal a day (some say breakfast cos they skip that meal!) or once a week, be it for health, religious or environmental reasons, is not that difficult. And Veganburg offers a good starting point.

All their products are plant based and made entirely free from dairy. Their patties do not contain gluten, genetically modified organism product, preservatives and transfat.

Then we headed for a pint of Tiger beer....which is a great way to end a work week and coincidentally it's meatless too . ;)

Veganburg
44 Jalan Eunos (about 5-10 min walk from Eunos MRT)
Tel: 6844 6868
Opens: 11am-10pm daily

Chew On This:
Lazy to get there? Veganburg delivers too! Call or check their website.

Tapas-ing @ Holland V!

2011-01-06T12:53:00.008+08:00

This hungry moo trotted down to Holland V to check out tapas bar, Sabroso Tapas Wine Bar, at their invitation.

Helmed by Chef Alfred G with almost 30 years of F&B experience and who spent about two decades in Italy and Spain, they prepared a tapas and wine pairing tasting:

The evening started with Cacerola De Asar Vicira (Pan Broiled Scallops; $12). Small but fresh and sweet Canadian scallops were cooked in shallot butter. This was paired with Mont-Marcal NV Cava ($67) that had a quite fine mousse and with soft acidity. Fresh and not very dry.

Croquetas (Deep-fried Bread-Crumb-Coated Jamon Bechamel; $12) was a little bland. I had expected more because of the usually intense flavours of Jamon. But it was better with the accompanying creamy dip. Pair with an interesting Champagne of Ukraine ($52). Eeks. I think the French will cringe at it being labelled "Champagne". It was semi-sparkling with a floral nose. There goes my virgin experience with a wine from Ukraine!

I like the sweet-salty contrasting flavours of the Tocino Envulto Aceitunas (Bacon Wrapped Dates; $12). :) This was paired with Beronica Crianza 2006 ($57)- nose of cherries, oak, floral. Medium-bodied with dry finish and nice acidity that cut through the rich flavours and cleansed the palate.

Albondigas Sabroso (Sabroso Meatballs; $14)- minced chuck baked and served with smoked caciolla (chef said it was a type of sheep's cheese) cream sauce. Beef and cheese is pretty fail-proof. Went nicely with a Penmara Shiraz 2007 from Hunter Valley ($76). Medium to full bodied with a bit of an exotic nose. Spices and cherries.

Another meaty tapas dish was the Costillas a la Barbacoa (BBQ Ribs; $14) featuring pork ribs soaked in milk and marinated with Spanish BBQ seasoning. You know why the great (and now ancient) beauty Yang Gui Fei took milk baths? Moohehe.

Ahem. Thoughts of a bathing concubine aside, these tender pork ribs were paired with Queen's Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($43) from Chile. This pairing didn't appeal to me as the wine's greenish, stalky (under-ripe grapes??) tannins overwhelmed everything. I would have preferred the Crianza as a better match for this.

Then came bonus dishes...

Paella de Mariscos (Seafood Paella; $14) was flavoured with the sweetness of red bell peppers and seafood though the texture could be a tad firmer, less moist.

Espanol Brulee ($8) was a sweet custard spiced up with lime and Valencia orange zest for moments of zesty fragrance. A good take on the usual creme brulee.

Bizchoco aka "Drunken Cake" ($9) was a special dessert for that month. What's in it? Sherry, fresh whipped cream, cinnamon and lime zest.

Here's a line-up of the wines we tasted that evening.

Sabroso Tapas Wine Bar opens till late and offers a good late-night venue for tapas and drinks....especially with interesting wine choices and affordable wine prices!

Thanks to Elaine and Arif of Brand Inc for the invitation and to Sabroso Tapas Wine Bar for hosting me.

Sabroso Tapas Wine Bar
26A Lorong Mambong
Holland Village
Tel: 6766 0053
Opens: 11am-1am daily except for Saturday when it closes at 2am.

Chew On This:

RamenPlay

2011-01-04T01:04:00.008+08:00

For some reason I seldom am in Bishan. But for some reason I happened to be there and ended up at RamenPlay for dinner....which was a good thing because it was a surprisingly good dinner.

For starters, the Grilled Salmon Belly with Ponzu Sauce ($8.80 for 2 sticks) was nicely fatty and grilled. Grated radish, a sprinkling of spring onions, salt and a squeeze of lemon made this a tasty snack.

An interesting item that caught my eye was RamenPlay Bamboo Chicken ($6 for 2 sticks). Marinated minced chicken was steamed in a bamboo holder and served with a raw egg yolk. While a little gimmicky, the chicken was smooth in texture, well-marinated and when dipped into the egg yolk, the hot steam from within the chicken cooked the raw yolk leaving a smooth surface coat.

I tried the Sanpou Ramen ($14.80) which comes topped with a piggy trio of pork belly, cheeks and cha shu among other common toppings. I love the pork cheeks! Flavourful and with a tender almost-melt-in-the-mouth feeling. The noodles were sufficiently springy and the tonkotsu broth had small protein precipitates (or fat globules) with plenty of taste.

Add in some fried chopped garlic and chilli paste for added omph. But go easy on the soup though. The saltiness can get to you if you consume copious amounts of the soup.

The Pork Katsu Toji Set ($14.80) was pretty decent- comforting with fried pork cutlet simmering in a light, savoury sauce and topped with beaten egg. Good with plenty of rice and on cold days (yes, we have that now in Singapore).

The drink I opted for was the Super Lemon ($4.80). A chilled concoction of freshly squeezed lemon juice, soda water and shochu. Refreshing with a citrusy fragrance. Don't worry about having this with lunch, the shochu's effect is mild.

Burp.

RamenPlay (many other outlets)
#01-51
Junction 8 (outside of the main shopping centre; beside Bishan MRT)
Tel: 6258 2661

Chew On This: For weekday lunch, RamenPlay offers a Set Lunch
with a choice of ramen (selected options), one topping and a drink at just $10++! Only available at RamenPlay at Nex, 313@Somerset and Junction 8.