RI bro bought 4pax lunch at black society today on 6.1.2021. ^^
I think chinese name previously the big boss first time i dine here.
friend ordered a 4pax 7-course set $228 quite ex.. dishes were good..
fish skin was good don’t know price a good starter
roast pork competent ordinary..
roast duck was flavourful & tender 👍
drunken prawns fresh & succulent done well i guess not much else can do with this dish
sharkbone soup was best dish for me..intense, smooth flavours, top standard花胶干贝👍
abalones thick mushrooms broccoli good standard..abalone was tender but sauce taste can improve though..sauce most important in this dish & this sauce is kind of mediocre not tasty enuf
fried rice was good..i asked for chilli they only give 豆瓣chilli..didn’t want to ask xo chilli likely they will charge..
one friend thought the rice was very good & it was..no better than imperial treasure crystal jade or paradise though..
they changed our fish from 笋壳to 星班..they said live fish but cannot change to steam..
i thought deepfried soon hock is better even if star garoupa is supposedly better fish..it turned out they don’t have the small soon hock so got to top up if take large soon hock so we agreed to star garoupa..
after eating i think soon hock better more 脆& better infused with sauce..also can’t tell star garoupa or red garoupa deepfried
snow fungus dessert was good not too sweet & nicely refreshing…
wai mun & jessie dropped by & we proceeded to kin hoi & pung pung zichar at 6 holland close 7pm on 3.1.2021.
all tables taken up & sign said 1hr queue..
we decided to go hoy yong zichar at clementi ave 2 instead..food was good..
kam hiong fish head $26, lots of haebee & curiously chye poh also larpok..good
deepfried big intestines done very well..tasty ..actually not my preferred preparation..i prefer braised (lor)..it is not so common dish & done well so deserved the try
红烧braised pork ribs ok ordinary frozen ribs..for me poorest dish no need order next time
pig stomach $18 tasty & choke full of ingredients ..4 bowls full of chicken, deepfried pigskin, & of course pig stomach
sambal long beans (wanted petai but don’t have) had prawns,squid and chicken..nice just sambal very heavy..
wonderful dinner with close friend & bro WM& Jessie
wife organised new year day family lunch at caffe cicheti on 1.1.2021.
they did not have usual brunch. got set menu.
we decided to order ala carte.
dishes were all good except oddly, iberico pork, which is below par c/w most places for a dish that cannot go wrong, almost always good.
truffle fries very nice.eggplant with melted cheese really good. So was the cauliflower.
we ordered the recommended tuna tartare on avogado on aoili but never came.
iberico pork had nicely flavoured charring but was overdone a bit dry not tender enuf only failed piece..
well actually the coffee as well..the first order of coffee, magic & flat white undrinkable..but service was good & the lady server redo with good standard coffees. so service was good and friendly despite wrong and missed orders..
we took the 3 recommended pastas..all excellent..
the crabmeat linguine was excellent!
the duck ragout with tube pasta was very good..the sauce was delightful..
the lobster pasta was the best! $98 for a large lobster and large tagliatelle serving ..we shared among 8pax.
actually the crab linguine was just as tasty just more delicate not as strong and intense.
the bouillabaisse seafood stew was good..the prawns and squid rings were average..overcooked actually not fresh tender enuf …the tomato base fish broth and probably vegetables broth was very tasty .
.surprisingly the chicken was very good..another missed order we decided to go ahead with it..the charring & flavours were very good & sauce too.
I made delectable 6pax RI OPS bros chinese herbal mutton rib soup & claypot braised mutton ribs on 10.9.2020.^^
bought 1kg mutton ribs S$18 from bedok market S$18/kg clearly frozen …mutton rib soup still very good though last 2 times fresh ribs & better cut much better than this…
made roast pork (quite excellent very crackling, moist, tender & flavourful) on 8.7.2020.^^
and a few more times afterwards. 🙂
the 2 key difference in this method are-
using a tuy 48pin needle cutter meat tenderiser to stab the skin, cover with layer of salt when roasting
low temperature roasting – 2hrs in120degC then 15mins at 250degC
needle cutter meat tenderiser
the low temperature roasting made the pork very tender and moist. and the tenderising created nice blistering…
the big difference with western preparation is that scoring only produce crackling 脆 whereas the asian method of poking the skin with the needle cutter meat tenderiser produce blistering 酥
concept is the same..whether scoring or poking with improvised fork or needle cutter meat tenderiser and roasting covered with a layer of salt, the idea is to extract moisture out and to render out the fat, so that skin can crisp and becoming crackling and when there are many small holes, blister….
Ingredients-
500g pork belly
1tbsp chinese shoaling wine
2-3tbsp salt
Directions-
add belly pork to boiling water, boil for 1 min to remove scum, remove and clean
boiling pork also make it easier to pierce the skin with the needle cutter meat tenderiser…stamp thoroughly many times
add chinese shoaling wine marinade and rub over the pork w/o touching the skin, leave in fridge for 3hrs, basting a few times.
wrap the belly pork in aluminium foil leaving only the skin. cover skin with salt careful not to drop the salt into the foil
place pork in 120degC oven for 2 hrs. remove pork and remove the salt cake.
turn oven to 250degC. place pork in oven to blister the skin. 35mins.
Rene organised & invited T & DC (my neighbour), F and us to his newly completed architect abode. on 18.11.2020…really nice..^^ covid period only 5 visitors!
too many nooks & corners, air cushioned wall house within a house, moving wall partitions, hide away bay window couch..
walkin wardrobes double as music chamber & interconnect rooms,
rain water natural irrigation, space sculpture laundry chute, lots of creative carpentry, shoe closet, handbag closet, library wall,
fortune wheel shoe storage, a rotate over hidden miscalleneous handy items shelves etc etc
Rene asked me to make dinner.
I made-
Menu
spanish omelette (tortilla espanola)
pumpkin arugula salad
miso salmon belly
ika sugatayaki (flamed whole squid)
chorizo prawns (gambas al ajillo)
pangrilled sous vide chicken breast on potato puree
pangrilled halibut on soy butter sauce
japanese chashu & shabu beef shortplate donburi (on sushi rice)
peanut herb crusted spring rack of lamb
tara & DC brought ice creams. Fiona brought lovely cheesecake and fruits muscat grapes etc from RT&Q office. 🙂
tortilla – spanish omelette
ika sugatayaki
miso teriyaki salmon belly
pangrill halibut
sous vide chicken breast
peanut herb crusted rack of lamb
Rene’s 16yr old daughter L gave a mind blowing recital of one art song and one opera piece..
woe woei’s shetland fold
WW has incredibly cute cat, a shetland fold, so pretty, adorable. apparently shetland folds have some birth defects and maybe afflicted by disease, and the medical checks alone cost a bit of money…
location at MBS skypark level 57, change lift at L55.
a bit inconvenient becos covid regulated access.parked at the shoppes carpark B4M..circle B3 carpark full went down to B4… decided not to circle just turn down to B4M..quite lost but apparently that is a convenient parking.
easy access to lift lobby from B4M took lift up to B1 & walked over to hotel side.
bread basket, french butter & seaweed butter good.
the big eye tuna tartar cone was very good.
I didn’t try the chicken laksa spring rolls must be good too.
my burrata was very good, smooth, mild sweet flavours excellent texture with san daniel prosciutto & confit kamquat
mains were all good.the angus beef burger very nicely done..very tasty, nice patty & brioche..tasty aged cheddar & onions
miso broiled king salmon was one of the best i tasted, very moist and tender, not the very chunky meat texture..served on hoba leaf? ..
my own grilled iberico presa was excellent too..done medium..it’s one of the 3 special cuts..with nice caramelised fuji apples complement..
the strawberry panna cotta was excellent too a bit like a light deconstructed strawberry cheesecake.
excellent lunch & great time with friends.
c.h.e.f andy
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Spago Dining Room
Address-
10 Bayfront Avenue L57, Sands SkyPark, Hotel Tower 2, 018956
c.h.e.f 