Daily Archives: November 18, 2015

Pan Seared Scallops in Prawn Vegetable Veloute

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pan seared scallops in prawn vegetable veloute

my own pan seared scallops in prawn vegetable veloute

i did a homegourmet adventure 4-course dinner on 15.11.2015. ^^

one of the 4 courses was a pan seared scallops in prawn vegetable veloute. 🙂

had dinner with wife at stellar at 1-altitude on 9.11.2015.

one of the dishes was pan seared scallops with carbonara sauce.

scallops were good, but not comparable with disgruntled chef’s scallop dish which also had a wonderful sauce.

i do a good pan seared scallops myself.

pan seared scallops in prawn vegetable veloute

pan seared scallops in prawn vegetable veloute

i was thinking how to make a sauce, and decided to use the prawn shells from the prawn capellini dish.

i did the usual prawn bisque preparation. fried prawns shells with butter till fragrant, add vegetable stock (i had some in the fridge). then i cut & fried some chinese cabbage, added cut yellow onions, then added some prawn stock & stew the cabbage. then blended the cabbage/onions & prawn stock.

result was a really wonderful veloute. my daughter commented it was not really a prawn or shellfish bisque (i did not add brandy & cream).

but that combination was just superb! intense yet smooth combination of shellfish & vegetable sweetness. i would say one of the best soup i created mostly by accident! ^^

pan seared scallops in prawn vegetable veloute3

in fact i did not do the searing well this evening but the scallops were still very tasty & great texture.

the prawn vegetable veloute though was an accidental discovery. it was just so good! ^^

intense yet very smooth, and very tasty, and just the right body & texture. this really is an excellent recipe & among the best soup i have made.

i would say for myself, though the scallop itself was not comparable to stellar’s, but the overall taste experience including the prawn veg veloute was better than stellar’s, but not comparable with disgruntled chef’s 100gourmet scallop dish.

very happy with the new dish, principally the prawn & vegetable veloute, which was a very rewarding discovery for me. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

 

OK Only Quick 3pax Lunch @ Two Chefs Commonwealth Crescent on 18Nov2015

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black bean sauce song fish head3

S$15 black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头

went with sis & b-i-l to two chefs @ commonwealth crescent for a quick lunch today on 18.11.2015. 🙂

my last post on two chefs was 2 years ago, no change in opinion..haha!

two chefs at commonwealth crescent

two chefs @ commonwealth crescent.

it was 11.35am. they were open, no customer yet. we were the first. 🙂

see hum (cockles)

S$7 see-hum (cockles)

we ordered a see hum (cockles).

see hum (cockles)2

see-hum (cockles)

cockles were tiny! & the serving very small for S$7. inflation la..usd going up? whatever…

S$5.50 san lo hor fun2

S$5.50 san lo hor fun

for me the best dish was this S$5.50 san lo hor fun.

S$5.50 san lo hor fun

S$5.50 san lo hor fun

really flavourful, the real meaning of wok hae, good serving of sliced snakehead too. ^^

black bean sauce song fish head2

S$15 black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头

the S$15 black bean sauce 松鱼头 was good.

fish head was fresh. sauce was good. but fish head was so very tiny leh…super tiny…eh…never see before..haha! 🙂

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special sauce song fish head (松鱼头)

but really no comparison with 香港街珍记 – Hong Kong Street Chun Kee, just 1 level up at the market next door

the sauce at chun kee has a nice tangy lime taste, & it’s like 2x the size.

& even the zi char stall hong man ji delights 鴻满记小吃 at mei ling market & food centre sells a good S$13 hk steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头.

black bean sauce song fish head

S$15 black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头

lunch came to S$27.50. not ex but then servings really tiny. so for me only the san lo hor fun consider good (but then it was not always consistent!). the song fish head & cockles were just ok only…

& lastly, the old lady server had a poor service attitude. haughty, unfriendly, told us curtly there was no sliced fish beehoon soup here, the S$5.50 hor fun was very small, & looked very fed-up when we didn’t order a larger portion.

& interestingly, the young fella who took the bill was quite courteous, maybe he’s the boss..

i think no chance i will come here again for the song fish head la when hk street chun kee is one step away.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++

Two Chefs Eating Place 双厨菜馆 (Commonwelath)

Address: #01-129, 116 Commonwealth Crescent, 140116

OPENING HOURS:

Mon: 17:00 – 23:30

Tue – Sun: 11:30 – 14:30

Tue – Sun: 17:00 – 23:30

Closed on Every Last Mon of the Month

PHONE:+65 64725361

Nice Vietnamese pho & cold beehoon lunch @ Saigon Baguette on 17Nov2015

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vietnamese makan

vietnamese homelies

went to my good friend’s clinic at central for a dental follow-up on 17.11.2015.

mei mei was working afternoon shift starting at 2pm. i got an extra 8″ springform cake tin to pass to her, so we arranged to have lunch at saigon baguette at central. ^^

saigon baguette3

saigon-baguette

i was first at saigon baguette at 12pm, but by 1230pm most tables were taken up.

saigon baguette2

saigon-baguette

a small, cosy, pleasant ambience.

pho

S$9.90 pho (pronounced “fur”)

they had a lunch set comprising a main, a side & drink at S$14.90. it included mains like the beef combo pho at S$9.90 & the vietnamese grilled pork at S$10.50. the drinks were like S$2.50 & S$3 etc, so the S$14.90 set was pretty ok.

i ordered a vietnamese drip coffee. they said they do inside & served me a black coffee like at coffeeshop. i asked for sugar on the side. coffee was nicely flavoured not sour so i did not add any & took it black.

pho3

S$9.90 pho (pronounced “fur”)

the pho (& the garnishes) were good. soup was excellent, a very delicate, light, fragrant sweetness. i thought the serving of ingredients were small for S$9.90 dish. overall quite a light, enjoyable dish. we didn’t want too much carbs also.

rice rolls

rice rolls

we ordered 1 side for each set.

rice rolls2

rice rolls

the rice rolls were good, and quite nice with the sauce. skin was thin & smooth, prawn was fresh, competent la.

deepfried chicken wings

deep-fried chicken wings

deep-fried chicken wings were a bit dry. just the chicken wings alone, my helper does it much better (& sometimes i do also myself). what was interesting was the caramelised garlic. we usually take with thai sweet chilli sauce at home. the caramelised garlic was no better (in fact i still prefer thai sweet chilli dip) but maybe i will try that a t home – chopped garlic & honey? caramelised. 🙂

vietnamese grilled pork & srping rolls on beehoon2

S$10.50 vietnamese grilled pork & spring rolls on beehoon

the mildly sweet fish sauce condiments that came with the dry beehoon was very good. but actually also not better than my own la…

vietnamese grilled pork & srping rolls on beehoon

S$10.50 vietnamese grilled pork & spring rolls on beehoon

the spring rolls & the grilled pork which was basically i guess home-made pork balls like the beef balls were good especially with the chilli on the table.

but really my own vietnamese chargrilled pork neck cold beehoon + condiments still better la…

pho2

S$9.90 pho (pronounced “fur”)

food was good, nothing really special.

comparing the pho, i would prefer the S$9.50 combo pho at mrs pho (it had briskets!).

likewise comparing the vietnamese grilled pork dry cold beehoon also, mrs pho’s was better!

the S$14.90 lunch was quite good value.

the ala carte prices were ok for the food.

anyway, great lunch with mei mei. she bought me some curry puffs too.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Saigon Baguette (The Central Mall)

Address: #01-58/59,  The Central, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, 059817

OPENING HOURS:

Daily: 11:00 – 10:00

WEBSITE: http://saigonbaguettes.com.sg/