Homecooked Family New Year Dinner for 21pax on 29Dec2013

i started serious cooking since my first home cooked dinner for friends in mar2012. 🙂

most dinners were 10pax sit-down course dinners. i also did a home cooked buffet for 22pax in nov2012 for my RI friends. 2013 is a special year for us as my cohort of RI friends are 55, so i did 2 55ers homecooked buffet for 21pax & 27pax respectively, and another for 17pax friends.

all these while i had not actually cooked for my brother & his extended in-law family and also my sister, so the new year festive period is a good occasion to do.

on 29.12.2013, i did a 11-dishes homecooked buffet for 21pax for brother, sis-in-law family & my sister family.

it was a very enjoyable get-together. I did my now usual teochew braised duck, braised egg/taukua/taupok, miso belly pork, char siu, nonya curry chicken, white-cut chicken & garlic dry-wok prawns and my helper did steamed spicy bean sauce seabass, black bean pork ribs, vege dish & chilli so tong (squid).

all dishes were all great, though i broiled the char siu & miso pork a bit too long, but my son still finished the few leftovers the next day.

its really a great thing to cook. it brings people – family & friends – together for fun & relaxing fellowship & sharing, and it feels good, is enormously satisfying & gives a sense of fulfilment when i am able to reproduce food that are enjoyed by my guests. i am truly glad that i took up cooking. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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4pax Birthday ala Carte Buffet Lunch @ Jing on 28Dec2013

korean-styled beef ribs with kimchi

korean-styled beef ribs with kimchi

was buying a birthday lunch for a friend couple & decided to go Jing for the weekend ala carte buffet lunch on 28.12.2013.  Jing is a joint venture by majestic chef yong bing ngen & low lik peng. the location is better however somehow i always find majestic food better. anyhow had not been to jing for many years so thought i would try it out again. 🙂

the weekend ala carte buffet is S$48pax, with 1 fee for 3paying using citibank credit card. previously it was S$36pax also with the 1 free promotion but perhaps that was sometime ago. anyway these days most better ala carte buffet would have cost this amount. 🙂

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fishmaw soup

fishmaw soup

peking duck

peking duck

previously peking duck was served at a cold cut station. this time it was served as a table order which was preferred. it was competent.

the fish maw soup was good as usual. we also tried the dumpling soup which was very tasty too!

we ordered 3 dim sum – a scallop dumpling, a deep-fried dragon beard scallop dumpling & a abalone crystal dumpling..they were good too.

signature wasabi prawns

signature wasabi prawns

chilean seabass topped with chye poh

chilean seabass topped with chye poh

deep-fried soon hock (marble goby)

deep-fried soon hock (marble goby)

chilli crab

chilli crab

monkey head mushrooms sichuan style

monkey head mushrooms sichuan style

sliced beef with sweet basil

sliced beef with sweet basil

shark fin on rice (泡饭)

shark fin on rice (泡饭)

杨枝甘露 - mango pomelo dessert

杨枝甘露 – mango pomelo dessert

the korean-styled galbi beef ribs with kimchi (top photo) was good as usual. the wasabi prawns were crispy, juicy, good, though my personal preference was for less mayo (like at majestic). the chilean seabass was kind of disappointment as majestic served a very tasty chilean seabass – this one was not firm & flat in taste.

the deep-fried soon hock was competent. the chilli crab was better than i expected as i had previously very poor chilli crab at majestic.

we had the monkey head mushroom dish – quite a meaningless nothing dish for me, just tasting the sweet sour “gong bao” taste.

the sliced beef with sweet basil was poor. most zi char did this better, even the S$9 thai basil beef set at le wu.

the sharkskin “pao fan”, a soupy rice dish, was also a dish that could do w/o, basically just eating carbo.

the mango pomelo dish was very average, nothing like that the 杨枝甘露 at tunglok signature.

birthday cake - swissbake paradiso

birthday cake – swissbake paradiso

overall, my guests felt it was quite a good lunch. i thought i was ok too, though i didn’t really think it was any better than peach garden’s ala carte buffet which was cheaper & had wider choice of food.

i got a birthday cake from swissbake called paradiso, & Jing kept, served & arranged for the birthday boy to bring back the cake. 🙂

c.h.e.f. andy

Satisfying 10pax Dinner @ Beng Thin Hoon Kee on 23Dec2013

duck salad

duck salad

organiser of this months’ G10 dinner picked beng thin hoon kee. the hokkien restaurant started in 1949 & moved to its current premises at ocbc centre rooftop carpark in 1979. the founder, a lim yew hoon, recently passed on at 91, after building a very successful restaurant from scratch. it is a restaurant my wife liked & we used to go often in the past. 🙂

we had 10pax for the evening & had a nice quiet corner, good for the restaurant really as we were usually the noisy lot. anyway beng thin was less than 1/2 full this evening on 23.12.2013.

duck salad

duck salad

fishmaw soup

fishmaw soup

skewered prawns

skewered prawns

claypot herbal chicken

claypot herbal chicken

steamed promfret

steamed promfret

brocoli

brocoli

seafood mee suah

seafood mee suah

seafood mee suah

seafood mee suah

teochew orh nee (yam paste)

teochew orh nee (yam paste)

the organiser pre-ordered 9 dishes.

we started with the signature duck salad (top photo). this was really a great creation. it’s like a cny “loh hae”, looked wonderful & tasted refreshingly good every time. i took this countless times & enjoyed always. 🙂

next we had another signature dish – crabmeat fish maw soup. its chokeful of ingredients & well, tasted good every time! 🙂

my friend ordered the skewered prawns. this was something i had never tried. prawns were just prawns & mostly fresh & good, but these were really good & tasty. i know a many friends like le chasseur’s version skewered prawns. for me though these were a lot larger & tastier. 🙂

the claypot herbal chicken was next. i had not taken this dish too. usually i would go for the sea cucumber duck. it was good though, nice herbal flavour & a tender, tasty chicken. it was not my favourite however, i will always go for the duck. 🙂

and wow, we had 2 servings of the steamed promfret. it was really good, as good as any good teochew restaurant. few os us ate up the four 1/2 fishheads. my friend knew the entire table consisted of hungry big eaters!

after all the meat dishes, we had a broccoli. ok, competent dish.

then it was the carb, a seafood mee such. another nice competent dish.

the org nee was ok average, had pumpkin not oily & not “pang” aka tasty, maybe because of…haha! 🙂

missed my sea cucumber duck & crispy oyster egg, but then we had too much food for 10pax already. it was actually intended for 12pax but 2 could not make it. 🙂

$52nett per pax was kind of ex for this restaurant. still, we had 2 promfrets & large skewered prawns & the orders were intended for 12pax, so price was probably ok. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Very Cheap Sichuan Spicy Fish 水煮鱼@ Foodgle Hub NUS on 23Dec2013

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水煮鱼 sichuan spicy fish in sichuan peppercorn sauce

a chinese friend had been recommending this very cheap 水煮鱼 ( sichuan spicy fish in sichuan peppercorn sauce) place at foodgle hub, NUS prince george’s park. foodgle hub is like a food court at the NUS hostel having stalls that sell vietnamese pho, noodles & nasi padang etc. 2 of us decided to go there f0r lunch on 23.12.2013. 🙂

double cooked belly pork

回锅肉 twice cooked belly pork

garlic fried kang kong

garlic fried kang kong

my friend ordered 3 dishes –  水煮鱼(top photo), 回锅肉 (twice-cooked belly pork) & a garlic kang kong, & 2 rice. the price was S$17!

my favourite dish the  水煮鱼 was really quite good. almost as good as chengdu restaurant’s. it was less spicy (almost like not spicy) but still had the very tasty flavour.

the 回锅肉 was quite ok, tasty too, very fatty, nice dish but nothing special.

the garlic kang kong was excellent, very good wok hae, very tasty.

S$17 is really super cheap for such nice dishes. I will be back soon to try the 水煮牛肉. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Best Song Fish Head @ 香港街珍记 – Hong Kong Street Chun Kee at Commonwealth Crescent on 22Dec2013

special sauce song fish head (松鱼头)

special sauce song fish head (松鱼头)

used to go 香港街珍记 – Hong Kong Street Chun Kee at Commonwealth Crescent a lot 10 yrs+ ago but had not tried since they moved to the Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre level 2. had a few times very occasionally at the one at alexandra village but somehow did not have any traction.

yesterday was going to a chinese operatic singers concert at SOTA with my sis & brother-in-law & decided to go 香港街珍记 for a quick meal before attending the concert. 🙂

香港街珍记 - hong kong street chun kee

香港街珍记 – hong kong street chun kee

black bean bitter gourd pork ribs

black bean bitter gourd pork ribs

三捞和粉 - san lo ho fun

三捞和粉 – san lo hor fun

i had kind of forgotten how good the song fish head (松鱼头) was. it came with their special sauce, basically black bean sauce with a bit of plums to give the tanginess, a really great treatment for the slight ‘fishy’ fish.

the black beans bitter gourd pork ribs was also excellent, fork tender flavourful ribs. this is as good as kok sen. i must try this again at home.

the 三捞和粉 – san lo hor fun was good as always, very good wok hae & quite good helping of slice fish for a ‘small’ order.

all in, we paid S$33 for 3pax, was not quite sure of the breakdown but it should be something like S$18 for fish head, S$5 for small san lo hor fun, S$8 for pork ribs, and S$1 for 2 rice. i must come back again.

c.h.e.f andy

Superdeal Maybank 1 for 1 Set Lunch @ Bistro du vin Zion Road on 20Dec2013

grilled lamb ribs with lentils

grilled lamb ribs with lentils

maybank repeated the 1 for 1 set super lunch deal with les amis group’s bistro du vin. 4 of us had lunch at the zion road branch on 20.12.2013. it was an excellent 3-course lunch plus coffee normally priced at S$26pax. with maybank 1 for 1 we paid S$61 for 4pax lunch including 2 reds (1 glass of wine for 2pax). 🙂 this was even better than the great lunch we had at bistro du vin shaw branch on 18.11.2013.

bistro du vin zion road was located at the previous coffee shop next to nasi padang river valley & split the space with their sister restaurant peperoni pizzeria. it was small & cosy with added al fresco sitting, quite a wine bistro ambience i guess.

we met another friend who was there for lunch also on a 4pax table. soon afterwards, another friend arrived with her family also a 4pax table. 🙂

leek & potato soup with breaded oysters

leek & potato soup with breaded oysters

endives salad in french dressing

endives salad in french dressing

red wine escargot, fried egg & crispy bacon

red wine escargot, fried egg & crispy bacon

there were wide choices for appetisers, mains & dessert. i had the rabbit terrine (good too) last time at shaw branch, so picked the leek & potato soup with breaded oysters. i always like cream of leek & potato. this was certainly competent, and the breaded oysters (kaki furai) were excellent, very tasty & good batter. my friend liked the endives salad with some blue cheese. another friend picked the escargot in red wine with crispy bacon. it was good too. 🙂

duck leg confit

duck leg confit

seafood boullabaise

seafood boullabaise

beer beef short ribs with mash

beer beef short ribs with mash

i ordered grilled lamb ribs on a bed of lentils (top photo) for main. it was excellent. lamb was flavourful & fork tender. another friend ordered beer beef short ribs with mash. i had that at shaw branch, it was competent but not my favourite. 2 other friends ordered the duck leg confit & seafood bouillabaisse, both were popular diners’  choices. 🙂 i would probably try the bouillabaisse next time.

apple crumble, roasted apple ice cream

apple crumble, roasted apple ice cream

pear tart pastry with slated caramel ice cream

pear tart pastry with slated caramel ice cream

chocolate with magdaleine

chocolate with madaleine

2 friends had the apple crumble (i had that at shaw branch & it was good!). i had the pear tart on puff pastry with salted caramel. i liked it, though i would probably go back to apple crumble next time. the madaleine this time was good, unlike that at shaw branch which was dense & not fresh.

a friend on the another table who had tried the lamb ribs at shaw felt that the food at zion road was better than shaw, & another friend had said previously that the service was a lot better. i agreed with both. i thought the ambience was more cosy & the service was significantly better. every server was responsive & communicated well to our queries on menu, & even agreed to let us extend the maybank discounts to another 2 friends (there was a limit of 3 redemptions each time) at the next table who came w/o knowing about the promotion though in the end that was not needed as they also had the maybank card themselves (& were allowed to use it) only that they did not know about the promotion.

so my 2 thumbs up for the really excellent service. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Delightful Homecooked Japanese-themed Dinner for 8pax on 12Dec2013

char siu

char siu

had a delightful homecooked 8pax japanese-themed dinner on 12.12.2013. every dish turned out wonderfully, though wagyu was still not ideal – conservatively cooked more than medium rare. my miso belly pork, nobu miso cod & pan-fried steak were generally good dishes, though still made the occasional mistake. for this evening, i varied the recipe for miso belly pork with great results, and did char siu for the excess belly cut using the same slow oven cook method. i also added a curry miso mulligatawny & hata no nitsuke (simmered teriyaki garoupa fillet). the nikujaga this time was a failure though, so i did not serve the brisket but only the very tasty potato ratatouille.

miso belly pork

miso belly pork

miso belly pork, char siu & ponzu salad

miso belly pork, char siu & ponzu salad

the miso belly pork was slow-cooked for 4hrs in a 60degC oven, then pan-charred when ready to serve the first course. the char siu was done likewise in a lower rack in the same 60degC oven (save time & electricity).the char siu sauce was then reduced & coated on the char siu then broiled at 250degC 10mins on 1 side & 5 mins the other side. both miso belly pork & char siu were melt-in-the-mouth tender. most like the miso belly pork more though. 🙂 i also made a very simple cheap salad. just cut 1/2 a cabbage in very thin slices & added a yuzu salad dressing. just a small salad serving sufficed to balance the meaty dish.

curry miso mulligatawny soup

curry miso mulligatawny soup

the curry miso mulligatwany was the best i did, intense & flavourful, and the prawn & squid were excellent! (this my 3rd try). the sotong (squid) & devein medium prawn was fried in butter on high heat, just the right doneness, & the mussels also. the hot soup was then added to the individual bowl & served (lack garnishing this time – should have added coriander).

Nobu miso cod

Nobu miso cod

my miso cod had been consistently good. this evening it was wonderful, the moist tasty cod with just the right miso flavour.

delicious pumpkin tofu salad

delicious pumpkin tofu salad

my wife who did not join dinner had made a pumpkin tofu salad, tossed with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt & agave nectar. it was delicious & went nicely with the cod & wagyu.

pan-fried wagyu marbling score 6/7

pan-fried wagyu marbling score 6/7

pan-fried wagyu marbling score 6/7

pan-fried wagyu marbling score 6/7

i did the wagyu over intense heat, but made the mistake again of frying a second time as 2 of the guests didn’t really take medium care. it was erring on the safe side but didn’t really work with such marbled meats. must remind myself to be bold & keep to very well charred & medium rare – they always turned out great! for this evening wagyu was slight more than medium rare, still very good but perhaps underachieved!

nikujaga = japanese braised beef brisket

nikujaga = japanese braised beef brisket

my hata no nitsuke was ok though the reduced teriyaki sauce was not strong enough. the nikujaga though was a failure & i did not serve the beef briskets but only the potato ratatouille. everyone liked this as the potato & sauce had excellent beef flavour.

N.B. I repeated the menu for a couple friend on 17.12.2013 (mostly, though i added a miso scallop & ebi miso yaki as 1 could not take much fatty stuff like belly & wagyu). also i replaced the rice dish  with a seafood alio olio spaghetti as my wife didn’t like the nikujaga & simmered garoupa much, and also my friend liked my pasta dish. this couple friend did a really excellent homecooked 5-course fine dining meal for my wife & me recently so it was our turn to return the favour. I made more misses than the 8pax dinner. the curry miso soup was rather more intense & slightly salty. the nobu miso cod was also a bit salty (this was a rare miss for me). the pumpkin was somehow not as sweet as it normally was. the wagyu was nearer to medium rare but still not quite my ideal. the rest though were quite good – miso belly pork, char siu, miso scallop,ebi miso yaki & also the seafood pasta which my friend evidently enjoyed very much! anyhow it was really good fun for me, both the cooking & just getting together for a meal. there will always be things to learn, improvements to make in my cooking. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Char Siu

super nice char siu

super nice char siu

made super nice char siu last evening! 🙂

was doing a 5-course dinner for 8pax, and evolved & tried out a new recipe for my miso belly pork, which turned out excellent. had a small leftover cut of belly pork, no point returning to the freezer so might as well cook it. had been trying out marco pierre white crackling belly pork recipe & other chinese roast pork recipes which were ok taste-wise but abject failures when it came to the crackling skin.. so decided instead to duplicate the miso belly pork recipe on char siu. 🙂

melt-in-the-mouth tender

melt-in-the-mouth tender

char siu - so happy!

char siu – so happy!

char siu - so happy!

char siu – so happy!

i added boiling water to the excess belly cut & cleaned it thoroughly in slow running cold water. i then prepared the char siu sauce mix, covered the belly pork in char siu marinade in an oven dish & placed it in the chiller for 2days.

on the day of cooking, i brought the char siu out of the fridge & placed it in the oven set at 60degC for 4 hours (i was lazy to bring the pork to room temperature for 1 hour outside the fridge as it was a long 4hr low-temperature cooking & one could adjust the timing by 15mins to compensate for the lower starting chiller temperature). after 2 hours, i turned over the belly pork & placed it back in the oven. at 4 hours i removed the belly pork & placed it on a rack over a aluminium foil lined oven tray. i preheat the oven to 250degC while putting the char siu sauce in the oven dish to the microwave oven for 10mins to reduce the sauce. i then brushed the thicken sauce on both sides of the belly pork & returned it to the preheated oven at the top rack & turned to broiler function for 10mins, then turned over & repeated for 5 mins.

the result was a super nice char siu, very tasty & melt-in-the-mouth tender. 🙂

N.B. i did the miso belly pork pan-charred instead of oven broiled & it came out excellent, so will try pan-charred on char siu next time. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • belly pork (300g)

for the char siu sauce

  • 2 tbsp lee kum kee char siu sauce
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp red colouring (can skip this or add more ketchup for colouring)
  • 3/4 cup shaoxing wine

Directions:

  1. clean & marinade – add boiling water to remove scums & clean thoroughly in slow running cold water. combine the char siu sauce mix together & stir to dissolve the sugar. cover the belly pork in char siu marinade in an oven dish & place in the chiller for 2days.
  2. cook –  bring the char siu to room temperature (1/2 hour) & place it in the oven set at 60degC for 4 hours. after 2 hours, turn over the belly pork & place it back in the oven. at 4 hours remove the belly pork & place it on a rack over a aluminium foil lined oven tray. preheat the oven to 250degC while putting the char siu sauce in the oven dish to the microwave oven for 10mins to reduce the sauce. brush the thickened sauce on both sides of the belly pork & return it to the preheated oven at the top rack & turn to broiler function for 10mins, then turn over & repeat for 5 mins. the result was a super nice char siu, very tasty & melt-in-the-mouth tender.

Cheap & Good Thai Food @ Le Wu Cafe (乐屋) on 10Dec2013

$6 tomyam noodles (student price)

tomyam noodles – S$6 (student price)

thinking of where to go for some simple cheap food & daughter suggested le wu cafe (乐屋) which the children had been talking about. it was nearby so we went there for a quick dinner on 10.12.2013. 🙂

le wu (乐屋) cafe

le wu (乐屋) cafe

le wu is located along bukit timah road off queen’s road, and served thai & western food. it is a small place with alfresco seating.

tomyam soup - S$8

tomyam talay (seafood) soup – S$8

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beef noodle soup

beef noodle soup – S$8

my daughter ordered her favourite tom yam noodles at S$6 student price. my wife & i ordered a stir-fry beef basil rice set (S$9), a beef noodle soup (S$8) plus a tom yam talay (seafood) soup (S$8) to share.

the tom yam noodles tasted good & ingredients generous as in the photo. i am not one for tom yam noodles & prefer to take the more intense fragrant soup on its own. the tom yam talay (seafood) soup was good, and definitely much better than thai noodle house (which we often frequent to get our thai beef noodle soup fix). the beef noodle soup at le wu was again very generous with 5 beef balls & quite good serving of sliced beef (but no braised briskets). the soup flavour was quite good though i thought the lemongrass taste was slightly strong & my wife thought it had too much msg. i guess thai noodle house’s is better but not by much. the basil beef set was good though a bit salty but was thus excellent when taken with the rice. I would come back for this beef basil set & tom yam soup & i really didn’t mind the beef noodle soup. 🙂

the simple, nice dinner was S$31 for 4 dishes w/o service & GST.

c.h.e.f andy

50,000 Hits!

c.h.e.f past 50,000 hits today 7.12.2013. some 83% hits were from Singapore.

i started this food/travel blog on 4.3.2013 for my personal enjoyment, recollections, relishing & sharing moments of joy & get-togethers/fellowship with family & friends. that is still my primary motivation.

still, i have gained tremendously from shared knowledge of friends & strangers alike on internet & social media, and if my posts can be of use or enjoyment to anyone, then super!

thank you everyone for stopping by. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

P.S. please also “like” my Facebook page.

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December 7, 2013, 10:52 pm

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Good Mansard Champagne Dinner @ Halia at Raffles Hotel on 2Dec2013

baked oysters in feta cheese gratin

baked oysters in feta cheese gratin

i have this group of friends who are always in the know when it comes to the finest wine dinner in town. 🙂

we got ourselves a table for 10 at the mansard champagne dinner at halia @ raffles hotel on 2.12.2013. halia looked to occupy the previous seah deli space, with a open bar area at the pavilion outside. the acoustic was very poor as 1 of my “expert” friends noticed right away, and we had to “shout” at each other to be heard as the place was full & echoes were flying off all the hard surfaces – walls & glass windows. the din was like fish market – very happening…haha. 🙂

this the second time my wife & i joined the wine dinners. the last one at fordham & grand was one of the best dinners i had. 🙂

mansard champagne dinner menu

mansard champagne dinner menu

i looked at the halia mansard dinner menu & it looked great too. the concept was communal dining so the courses came in platters for sharing for 2pax. i had been to halia @ botanic gardens once, perhaps twice, likely more than 5 years ago. the experience was good, perhaps not compelling. i did remember it served 1 of the best lamb racks then. but halia standard should be fine. 🙂

the oyster gratin was a good, tasty, competent dish. most of us would prefer freshly shucked oysters or sashimi but if you had to have it baked, this was good. 🙂

spicy prawn salad

spicy prawn salad

the spicy prawn salad was 1 of my favourites. very refreshing. love especially the sharp spiciness that added kick to the dish. prawns & salad were fine but nothing special.

pan-fried foie gras risotto with shredded duck leg

pan-fried foie gras risotto with shredded duck leg

the foie gras risotto with apples & duck leg rillette was great too, the duck imparting some flavours to the risotto, which was nicely done al dente. this was perhaps a finer preparation than that served at jamie’s italian & alfresco gusto but taste-wise i preferred the latter 2 which were creamier & more hearty & intense. certainly it was not the best risotto experience i had. 🙂 a few friends did not like the al dente texture. 1 quipped that it was duck porridge..haha. 🙂

palate cleanser sorbet

lime & lemon sorbet palate cleanser

before getting on the main, we had a very nice lime sorbet palate cleanser.

seared yellow fin ahi tuna loin

seared yellow fin ahi tuna loin

the ahi tuna loin was another competent dish (maguro not quite my favourite sashimi as it is plain in taste, not so sweet like hamachi or kajiki or aji). these were very lightly seared. the japanese aburi (torched) sashimi preparation would be better. the capsicum & white beans garnishing were good & complement the fish rather well.  overall i liked the dish though i had better ahi tuna loin in california & aburi maguro in japanese restaurants. the dish did not win many votes among my companions though, 1 was shaking his head. 🙂

sous vide wagyu rump & polenta

sous vide wagyu rump & polenta

next was the sous vide wagyu. i thought it was rump as most restaurants served this cheaper cut braised in course meals & confirmed with the server that it was so. it was strange that after sous vide (slow vacuum low temp cooking) the beef was still slightly tough & not tender enough, something not usually associated with the tender consistency if anaemic colour that sous vide produced. it was still not a bad dish for a rump cut, perhaps fine preparation & kind of average taste. 🙂

white & dark chocolates

white & dark chocolates

the dessert was fabulous, especially the white chocolate. the caramel honeycomb had an interesting & pleasant after taste. some of us thought of it as “terng chan po piah” the vanishing food with a honeycomb wrapped in po piah skin. 🙂

many of my friends, having been schooled in (or just “spoilt” by) many good wine dinners, didn’t think the food was great. it was ok though for my wife & me. i guess everything is relative & depends on the point of reference. perhaps many other wine dinner were better & this would not rank high. but i didn’t see much difference between this (comparing over all the courses) & what one could get at oso, otto, absinthe or forlino at S$88 even w/o the champagne,  so to me dinner was quite good, & especially fun & enjoyable with the company, though the food at fordham & grand i had last was much better. 🙂

& that’s not the end. there was a lucky draw for a magnum (1500ml) champagne. there were 64 diners so we had 10 in 64 chances, & 1 of our friends took home the magnum, with the few among us trying in vain to coax him to let us do the safe-keeping! hahaha. 🙂

c.h.e.f. andy