Daily Archives: June 16, 2016

Poor Coffee OK Cakes @ Carpenters & Cook on 15Jun2016

Posted on by
passiona fruit meringue tart & earl grey lavendar loaf

passion fruit meringue tart & earl grey lavendar loaf

today a good friend’s birthday on 15.6.2016. ^^

we were wishing happy birthdays on whatsapp. then another friend offered his chauffeur driven service on his new car. & they decided to drop by my place. not exactly sure how that worked out. 🙂

mao shan wang 猫山王 & tawa from ah seng

mao shan wang 猫山王 & tawa from ah seng

anyway i happened to be at ah seng to check on the reservations for a 20jun durian party. it was kind of complicated. ghim moh market closed for cleaning on 20, 21jun so a friend reserved the durians on 19jun. some of us wanted to hedge a bit rather than getting all the durians one day earlier & kept in the fridge so decided to 1/2 the orders. evidently too complicated for ah seng also so just as well i went to check & got the numbers right.

anyway ah seng has 2 deliveries at 1.30pm & 5.30pm. i was there at 1.45pm & all mao shan wang 猫山王were sold out only left 1 already vaccum packed. i figured it was the ok leftovers saved from not so good durians??

anyway ah seng himself got me to buy 2 tawas (S$19 for 2 fruits) & WTH i just buy the last packet S$25 also. 🙂

so these 2 friends came to my house & we had some durians. fortunately both the mao shan wang 猫山王 & tawa (bitter & very tasty not as creamy as MSW) were very good. these 2 too kek ki insisted on leaving for my family so we didn’t eat much though.

passiona fruit meringue tart

passion fruit meringue tart

we went nearby for coffee. decided on carpenters & cook as assembly coffee closed & one friend had tried dutch colony before.

i ordered the tea for 2 S$19.50 which included 2 cakes.

the server recommended the passion fruit meringue tart.

earl grey lavendar loaf

earl grey lavendar loaf

& the earl grey lavendar loaf. & we had 2 flat white. she said it was S$3 cheaper to get the combo, & it was!

& added a cappuccino.

the last time i came was a year ago on 10.4.2015. i thought the coffee was ok.

but today my flat white was very poor. very dilute not much aroma & not smooth, silky, velvety like a good flat white should be in the other coffee places. i am never taking coffee here again!

later 3 more friends came to join coffee.

the friends were divided on the cakes. some prefer the tart & some the earl grey loaf. the earl grey flavour was good. i too generally prefer a tart to a pound cake. the passion fruit meringue tart was a bit too sweet.

lemon meringue cake & chocolate tart

lemon meringue cake & chocolate tart

i bought some cakes back for my daughters. the chocolate tart was very good. the lemon meringue was again too sweet. of the 4 i think the chocolate tart was the best.

for me coffee was priority so not good coffee then not coming again la.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Dinner @ Ah Yat Seafood Grandstand on 13Jun2016

Posted on by
alaskan crab tanhoon

alaskan crab tanhoon

brother & sis celebrated their birthday at ah yat seafood restaurant at the grandstand on 13.6.2016.

i did their birthday dinners for last many years. this year my brother organised 2 tables & invited us.

he often host dinners here so they offered him a good menu at S$400 per table.

longevity buns 寿桃

longevity buns 寿桃

we had the complimentary  longevity buns 寿桃.

roast duck

roast duck

roast duck was flavourful, tender.

roast duck

roast duck

quit good standard like canton paradise. tunglok etc.

la la

la la

la la was ok.

la la

la la

didn’t stand out.

steamed soon hock

steamed soon hock

the steamed soon hock was good.

steamed soon hock

steamed soon hock

very fresh, tender and disappear fast too.

scallops with asparagus

scallops with asparagus

they gave lots of scallops.

this dish was quite good. frying was good, nice wok hae.

hot plate deer meat

hot plate deer meat

deer meat was poor!

hot plate deer meat

hot plate deer meat

i think at zi char deer meat mostly poor, kind of artificially tender with bicarbonate.

this one even poorer with quite strong gamey smell.

hk kailans

hk kailans

hk kailans was good, very competent.

alaskan crab tanhoon

alaskan crab tanhoon

the alaskan tanhoon dish was very good. very flavourful, pepper, coriander etc.

alaskan crab tanhoon

alaskan crab tanhoon

the alaskan crab meat was super, very sweet, & easy to remove shell too.

i am going to try out a prawn tanhoon dish for the first time tomorrow. read some recipes yesterday. 🙂

pepper crab

pepper crab

pepper crab was also top standard, very flavourful peppery taste.

pepper crab

pepper crab

don”t eat pepper crab much but this was a very good specimen.

not been to ah yat for quite long…had a great, very enjoyable dinner & chat with family!

c.h.e.f andy

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

Address

#03-01/02, The Grandstand, 200Turf Club Road, 287994
Reservations

+65 6884 6884
+65 68832112
Opening Hours

Daily: 11:30 – 14:30

Daily: 17:30 – 22:30

HK Steamed Song Fish Head 港蒸松鱼头

Posted on by
HK steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头

HK steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头

bought a song fish head 松鱼头 from sheng shiong for S$8.90.

song fish head 松鱼头 is a very common dish in zo chars & restaurants.

many styles of preparation, HK steamed 港蒸 & spicy bean sauce (my favourite) are the 2 most common. also there is si chuan 剁椒 etc….

i yet to learn/find out about the spicy sauce but HK steamed 港蒸 is real easy stuff.

in fact, i pickedHK steamed 港蒸 when i was asked to give a cooking demo at teban gardens community centre on 29.4.2016 because it is a very easy practical dish that anyone can do at home, whether on a cheap fish like zutchu fillet or more expensive fish like red garoupa. 

HK steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头

HK steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头

see, meat so tender just nice not overdone.

& the light soy sauce brings out the sweetness of the fish.

HK steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头

HK steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头

not much of a recipe really.

just clean fish head in salt water, add 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp mirin & 2.5 – 3 tbsp light soy sauce.

add 2 cut chilli padi, 1 – 2 cm thinly sliced ginger, and garnish with spring onions ( i did not have it in the fridge).

HK steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头

HK steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头

pating & this song fish head 松鱼头 are among the dishes i like (i kind of like all fish all preparations) but don’t eat often.

they are more fishy, and wife doesn’t really like so i don’t eat often. also not particularly favourites of many friends. so must gather those who really like this fish then enjoy together. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • song fish head 松鱼头 (1/2)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 2.5 – 3 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 cut chilli padi
  • 1 – 2 cm thinly sliced ginger
  • 2 stalks spring onions (white part chopped, green part cut 3cm length)

Directions:

  1. clean fish head in salt water
  2. place on steaming tray. add 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp mirin & 2.5 – 3 tbsp light soy sauce.
  3. add 2 cut chilli padi, 1 – 2 cm thinly sliced ginger, chopped spring onions. and garnish with spring onions

Reverse Sear Pork Collar – Mock Kurobuta

Posted on by
#6 mock kurobuta

mock kurobuta

recently i have been making quite excellent pan-charred steak using the reverse sear method. ^^

i have used the oven for various low temperature gentle braise. 🙂

most recently a fine braised pork ribs.

#6 mock kurobuta

mock kurobuta

for a recent home dinner for 5pax, i made a pan-charred pork collar using the reverse sear preparation.

i called it mock kurobuta.

kurobuta steak is quite expensive like between S$38/kg & S$55/kg at (say) mmmm.

i bought frozen pork collar from sheng shiong at S$9.95/kg.

a 400g piece & thicker cut (say) 3/4in works best.

pork collar is marbled (fatty streaks) but tough with connective tissues (collagen). so for it to become a tender juicy pork steak, the collagen has to be converted to flavourful gelatine.

i did this with the pork collar in a 90degC over for 4hrs. first scald the pork collar with boiling water & clean thoroughly to remove scums. then place in a small oven dish with cover brine consisting of salt, shaoxing wine, sugar, mirin to cover the meat at least halfway> so the meat will not dry out too much.

Smoked duck. mock kurobuta, spanish omelette

Smoked duck. mock kurobuta, spanish omelette

remove pork collar from oven & dry it with kitchen towels. then season with sea salt & black pepper.

for a mock kurobuta steak no seasoning is required & salt & pepper is applied only at the time for pan frying.

(for other preparations/dishes like say doublecooked pork 回锅肉 & fine braised pork ribs, i add star anise, cinnamon bark etc to the brine accordingly).

then fry in just little oil or butter at high fire on a smoking pan, about a minute each side to char the steak.

remember what gordon ramsay said “it’s simple mathematics – no colour no flavour”.

beef or pork steak has to be charred to produce the maillard reaction to create the flavours.

let the steak rest for 5 minutes then slice & serve.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 400g pork collar

brine

  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 2 tsp sugar

Directions:

  1. scald pork collar with boiling water. clean thoroughly to remove scums.
  2. place in a small oven dish with cover<and add the brine to cover the meat at least halfway>in 90degC oven for 4hrs.
  3. remove pork collar from oven. dry with kitchen towels. season with sea salt & black pepper.
  4. fry in just little oil or butter at high fire on a smoking pan, about a minute each side to char the steak.
  5. let steak rest for 5 minutes. slice & serve