Sous Vide Duck Breast & Tea Smoked Duck Fettucine (Gordon Ramsay’s Cold Pan Method)

6hr sous vide pan-roast duck breast

6hr sous vide pan-roast duck breast

was in 2 minds whether to make this post.

anyway i had 1/2 duck leftover from my recent 15pax homecooked dinner for friends on 3.10.2014. i used 1/2 duck to make a 盐水鸭.

& i read 2 interesting recipes & thought i would try out sous vide duck breast & use the drumstick for a tea smoked duck fettucine. 🙂

the results were not that great so i thought of not posting it as a recipe. anyway, i will give the tea smoked duck another try to see if i can get it right.

6hr sous vide pan-roast duck breast

6hr sous vide pan-roast duck breast

6hr sous vide pan-roast duck breast

6hr sous vide pan-roast duck breast

the 6hr sous vide pan-roast duck breast was fine actually. i made quite a good one for my canard l’orange anyway, so the main difference was just the sauce.

the grape ginger sauce was kind of an overkill. next time i will just do it as a small dip. pouring it over the medium rare duck breast actually killed the photo & also masked the taste. i tried the duck w/o the sauce & it was quite good on its own. unfortunately i did not take a photo of the nicely medium rare duck after slicing it. 😦

i would rate it as passable but not great.

tea smoked duck fettucine

tea smoked duck fettucine

the tea smoked duck fettucine was an exciting recipe for me, as i can use this method to smoke meats (duck, belly pork, pork kuckles, even beef i think) w/o a real smoker.

however my first attempt wasn’t right in terms of timing. i did only 45mins in the oven at 130degC after smoking the tea & other condiments on a aluminium foil in an oven-proof wok over high heat & crimping the foil to make a fully sealed “smoking chamber”, i placed it in a preheated oven at 130degC for 45mins. for the crispy skin i used gordon ramsay’s cold pan method.

removing the aluminium foil, the tea smoked duck gave off a nice aroma in the room but the flavours could not really infuse to the meat..need longer than 45mins. i will probably try it for 2.5hrs to 3 hrs instead.

the fettucine recipe was actually ok & my 2 daughters ate up the pasta on the day & next. but the tea smoked duck achieved nothing & the texture was a bit tough nearer the bones as it was not smoked for long enough time.

my current standard of sous vide duck breast (much ado about nothing) is no match for my simple & easy to do 盐水鸭…

i can use both methods – 6hrs sous vide at 70degC OR smoking chamber method to produce the tender meat & then the cold pan method to produce the cripy skin. then a small grape ginger sauce dip would do.

i will post the recipe later when i get the correct preparation & results for the tea smoke duck.

c.h.e.f andy

 

Wife Made Simple & Tasty Chicken Wrap

chicken wrap

chicken wrap

wife made packed lunch most days, for herself & sometimes daughter. 🙂 it’s nice & healthier for busy lunch. & very simple to do. 🙂

i made pan-roasted brined chicken, miso cod, teriyaki cod or simply plain grilled cod which was just as nice for her some days. she (& helper) made her own very nice oven baked prawns, pan-grilled chicken breast, grilled pumpkin, quinoa, rocket salad, very sweet grilled peppers etc and lately very nice wraps. 🙂

chicken wrap

chicken wrap

chicken wrap

chicken wrap

today’s wrap was excellent. so was the one few days back. chicken breast was seasoned & pan-grilled by helper, very tasty & heathy.  the salad included grilled sweet peppers, rockets, cherry tomatoes, honey mustard, agave nectar etc.

wonderful! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Vietnamese Chargrilled Pork Neck with Cold Beehoon (Vermicelli)

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar with cold beehoon

today i experimented quite successfully a vietnamese street food = a chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon (vermicelli). 🙂

the pork neck was marinated with fish sauce, chilli padi, sugar, paprika, orange marmalade, yuzu salad sauce, chopped shallots/garlic & grated ginger. & i kept it for 48hrs in the chiller.

i followed this video recipe.

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

i chargrilled the pork neck over 1 tablespoon oil in non-stick pan over high heat. it was really good! so tasty & tender! 🙂

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar with cold beehoon

i did not have many items. so i improvised. earlier for the marinade, i did not have honey so i used fruit jam (orange marmalade) & yuzu sauce.

then i did not have tau gay (bean sprouts) so i used kang kong (morning glory) – not ideal!

i did not have mint so just used basil. no peanuts & no spring onions, just skipped.

it was nice. first layered the sliced japanese cucumber & kang kong (for bean sprouts), then add the bee hoon (vermicelli), pickled carrots & radish (sugar, rice vinegar, chilli padi). then add the pork neck, prawns & then the chopped shallots & basil.

drizzle with the fish sauce dip (chicken stock, fish sugar, sugar, rice vinegar, chilli padi)

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

once more, the chargrilled pork neck was fabulous! 🙂

i served this vietnamese chargrilled pork collar to my friends at 11pax homecooked lunch on 15.10.2014, & everyone just loved it.

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

that’s the real thing in the video.

miso garoupa

miso garoupa

i had some experimental miso garoupa. it was ok, not fantastic.

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

this was fun! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 300g pork collar, sliced 5mm across grain
  • 150g bee hoon (vermicelli)
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp honey (i used 1 heap tbsp orange marmalade + 1 tsp yuzu salad sauce)
  • 1 flat tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp paprika (or coarse black pepper)
  • 4 spring onions, white part only
  • 2+2 chopped shallots
  • 2 chopped garlic
  • 1cm grated ginger
  • bunch of bean sprouts (i used kang kong)
  • sliced japanese cucumber
  • pickled radish & carrots
  • mint leaves (i used thai basil)
  • 1/6 cup crushed peanuts

fish sauce dip

  • 1/3 cup (80ml) chicken stock
  • 4 tbsp fish sauce (more to taste)
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar (more to taste)
  • 1 chopped chilli padi

Directions:

  1. scald pork neck to remove scum. cut 5mm slices across grain. mixed fish sauce, honey, sugar, pepper, garlic, shallots, ginger to make marinade. season pork neck in marinade, cover with cellophane & refrigerate for 48hrs in chiller.
  2. put 1 tbsp oil in non-stick pan on high heat. stir fry the pork neck (cooled to room temperature first) over high heat to caramelised the pork. turn to medium & cook for 5 minutes. pork will be charred & very flavourful.
  3. to serve – first layer the sliced japanese cucumber & bean sprouts, then add the bee hoon (vermicelli), pickled carrots & radish. then add the pork neck, prawns & then the chopped shallots & basil. drizzle with the fish sauce dip.

 

Our Favourite Yakiniku @ Aburiya on 6Oct2014

ohmi wagyu beef set

ohmi wagyu beef set – S$39.95

went to aburiya for dinner with wife & daughter on 6.10.2014. 🙂

i had an excellent dinner here last on 19.3.2014. today was just as good! 🙂

yakiniku

yakiniku

aburiya yakiniku

aburiya yakiniku

sake

sake

kimchi chigae

kimchi chigae – S$11.90

kimchi chigae

kimchi chigae – S$11.90

bibimen

bibimen – S$12.90

we ordered our usuals – kimchi chigae & bibimen. i love both these dishes.

kimchi chigae always so tasty, with some slices of thin belly pork. i love the kurobuta kimchi nabe at shirokiya @ cuppage terrace but for a simple small helping of kimchi chigae, aburiya’s is the best.

bibimen is something i come to like because my wife prefers it to bibimbap. now i get to like everything about it, flavours, texture. 🙂

ohmi wagyu beef set

ohmi wagyu beef set – S$39.90

we decided to order the ohmi wagyu beef set (above & top photo). it looked marbled, tasted good, but somehow not quite matching our expectations of the intense marbled flavours of 1 of the 3 best kuroge wagyu (黑毛和牛) in japan, along with kobe & matsuzaka. somehow the last time we had the cheaper hokkaido wagyu here on 19.3.2014, it left a more lasting impression. maybe it’s better just to order karubi or jo-karubi than to have the tokumori mixed set.

for me tajimaya@vivocity’s wagyu was pricy but good too only if there is amex 50% discount, but they did not have the kimchi chigae & bibimen we liked here, so the enjoyment was not the same. 🙂

 jo karubi negi (prime short ribs with leek)

karubi negi (short ribs with leek) – S$11.90

we had the cheap australian angus karubi negi (short ribs with leek). it was quite ok. anyway we had always liked it before we started trying the wagyu here.

kurobuta & iberia pork set

kurobuta & iberia pork set – S$25

kurobuta & iberia pork set

kurobuta & iberia pork set – S$25

we tried the kurobuta & iberia pork set this time. it was really good. certainly better than the karubi. i think overall our enjoyment of the pork was more than even the ohmi tokumori set, not that the ohmi was poor.

the bill

the bill

the bill came to S$143 nett for 3pax including a bottle of sake. quite ok for a very enjoyable dinner. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Good & Super-value Dinner @ Nassim Hill Bakery on 5Oct2014

D-I-Y steak sandwich - S$22

D-I-Y steak sandwich – S$22

had a wonderful dinner with my wife at nassim hill bakery last evening on 5.10.2014. 🙂

last came here for an ok not-too-bad average family afternoon tea on 6.4.2014.

they have an ongoing 1 for 1 promotion for DBS cards from 6pm onwards, until end nov2014.

we ordered a D-I-Y steak sandwich (menu price S$22) and a crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes) main course portion (menu price S$24). also added a white for S$10 happy hour price (till 8pm).

D-I-Y steak sandwich - S$22

D-I-Y steak sandwich – S$22

D-I-Y steak sandwich - S$22

D-I-Y steak sandwich – S$22

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D-I-Y steak sandwich – S$22

the D-I-Y steak sandwich – S$22 was fabulous, much better quality than we expected from a cafe, very much good restaurant standard & quite worthy of S$22 full price. 🙂

it was sweet, tender, nicely medium rare.  the toasted baguette was great & the english & french mustards dip made the whole experience even better. it was truly a D-I-Y steak sandwich! kudos to the chef! 🙂

crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes)

crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes) – S$24

crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes)

crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes) – $24

crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes)

crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes) – S$24

the crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes) was very good too. a good portion, quite spicy which i loved & loads of crab meat. good canned crab meat is very expensive & fresh ones too. so the dish was fairly priced at S$24 even at full price. for me of course a good steak sandwich always prime a good pasta. 🙂

with the 1 for 1 discounts, the 2 items were just S$24++ excluding the S$10++ white. incredible deal really!

service was kind of below par – polite & not unfriendly, but kind of inattentive & untrained. small disadvantage c/w with the food deal.

c.h.e.f. andy

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Excellent Italian tapas @ Sons Bacaro on 4Oct2014

truflle pesto tagliatelle

truffle pesto tagliatelle – S$12

daughter picked sons bacaro for 6pax family dinner on 4.10.2014. she is far more happening than her old folks. 🙂

it was an excellent choice! food was good. 🙂 dishes were served in small plates, kind of like italian tapas.

the restaurant was by beppe devito. somehow i didn’t really fancy il lido much even with 50% for 2pax palate discounts (never tried it under palate actually) & it was “far away” in sentosa. maybe ought to consider trying some time.

the place was chic as advertised on its website, which also showed menu items & prices. not really buzzy on a saturday evening (same for other chic restaurants on nankin street), a pity but no complaints from us…haha! sons was less than 50% full, and interestingly the other 5 tables looked mostly family like us. 🙂

tagliata di manzo

tagliata di manzo wagyu – S$28

we had the wagyu tagliata. it was good, chargrilled flavourful, tender, medium rare. 🙂

baccala (salt cod) cake with uni sauce

baccala (salt cod) cake with uni sauce – S$15

baccala (salt cod) cake with uni sauce was the best dish of the night.  thin crispy crust was excellent, minced salt cod was excellent, and great uni sauce combination.

i would put the light cream, flavourful truffle pesto tagliatelle (top photo) as my second favourite for the night.  no feel of pesto though – not sure how a strong pesto flavour goes with subtle truffle scent.

roasted cod

roasted cod – S$19

the roasted cod was very good. my wife & i both made very good cod ourselves at home. this though had better grilled flavours.

grilled pork neck salad

grilled kurobuta pork neck, balsamic mushrooms – S$16

the grilled kurobuta pork neck was very good, like a good char siew or the charcoal broiled pork collar at imperial treasure teochew. maybe i should try & reinvent this dish at home again.

pork paccheri

iberico pork truffle paccheri – S$16

i liked the iberico pork truffle paccheri too. very agreeable but i preferred the truffle pesto if asked to choose.

burrata

burrata, asparagus cream – S$16

burrata was fine, nothing like the supreme version in valentino, after all that cost 3x more.

pasta with uni sauce

spaghetti with uni sauce carbonara – S$16

surprising the same uni sauce did not come out good on this carbonara dish. i would not order this.

potato & cheese ravioli

potato & cheese ravioli – S$9

looked like ah bor ling – mochi dumplings..cheese was very strong, not sure if blue cheese. anyway i liked blue cheese, but its not the most popular dish.

italian tapas

italian tapas

we had a S$55 bottle of wine, 2 beers & 1 mojito. dinner for 6pax came to S$260nett, about S$30nett pax excluding drinks, pretty ok. 🙂

service by the western servers were ok,  not too friendly, kind of unsmiling. one server kept filling water to the glasses, a good thing. 🙂

lunch is cheaper. S$10 pasta etc. the street is quite interesting with mad poets gastrobar, platypus gourmet etc. will go back again. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Fun & Satisfying Homecooked 13-course Dinner for 15pax on 3Oct2014

had a very s  satisfying homecooked dinner last evening on 3.10.2014. 🙂

while i really enjoy cooking for my family & friends even if there is considerable effort (& a close friend said exactly what it felt like – he really enjoyed it so he did not see it as effort), the point is how to plan the dishes & keep improving to manage the dinner smoothly & achieve best results with least effort. this is also part of the fun. 🙂

i decided to follow a friend’s lead to serve all dishes pre-cooked or served at the start buffet style instead of course by course (i enjoyed the delicious food at 4 of his makan sessions, most recently at a scrumptious homechef mooncake dinner on 8.9.2014).

it is quite important actually not to be disrupted from dinner conversation even though going into the kitchen to cook every course does have its own satisfaction. 🙂 i may even try that for my monterosso seafood risotto, lobster pasta. for king prawn ramen in golden sauce etc which are best served in individual portions, it seems best still to serve them course by course. so i do those for smaller sit down dinners. 🙂

#1 poached chicken

#1 poached chicken

#1 poached chicken – i brined in sugar & salt for 48hrs which made it tasty & moist & then 10mins simmered & 20-25mins poached, then cold water. this a crowd favourite with many supporters. 🙂

#2 braised pig trotters & #3 braised belly pork – i did them together using the cold crockpot method & set meat thermometer to 82degC. this would take about 5hrs, gentle slow & low temperature braising. i did this 1 day before. both were tender, gelatinous but still firm. i prefer this firmer texture.

#4 盐水鸭 – i applied a dry brine seasoning rub & put in chiller for for 48hrs (main condiment is sichuan spicy chilli sauce). cooking method same as poached chicken, but 15mins simmered & 30mins poached. duck was tender & tasty but i felt the 风味 taste was not pronouced enough like last time.

#5 蒜泥白肉 – i got the pork a day before dinner so only brined 24hrs. used the same cold crockpot method to produce a very gentle braise using chicken stock from the poached chicken. this one again many supporters.

#6 6hr "sous vide" miso lamb shoulder

#6 6hr “sous vide” miso lamb shoulder

#6 6hr “sous vide” miso lamb shoulder – more or less perfected this dish. the miso tempered the strong gamey taste & 90degC was apparently the optimum temperature to break down collagen (tough connective tissues) to tasty gelatine, so a very tasty, tender dish. 🙂

1 friend said she especially liked the dish. another mentioned it was a bit sweet. i would probably reduce the sweetness in the miso marinade a bit.

#7 peanut carrots pig trotter soup

#7 peanut carrots pig trotter soup

#7 peanut carrots pig trotter soup

#7 peanut carrots pig trotter soup

#7 peanut carrots pig trotter soup – peanut porkrib soup is a common nice lie tong 例汤. i preferred to do my pig trotters w/o bones & the toe ends so i used those leftovers for the soup, which worked perfectly & added a gelatine texture to the soup. i added some carrots & also as the amount of soup was not enough for 15pax & i did not want to dilute the soup (better not enough soup than enough diluted soup), the chicken stock came to rescue. this i added & the soup tasted quite perfect for me. 🙂

so it was kind of a planned & orderly execution. braised pig trotters & belly pork i did 1 day before, and the leftover pig trotter bones & tips I made soup 1 day before. this freed up the crockpot for the 蒜泥白肉 on the day. chicken & duck were brined 48hrs before & an easy 10mins+20mins for chicken & 15mins+30mins for 1/2duck simmered + poached. miso lamb was marinated 3days before & just gone into oven for 6hrs on dinner day.

easy eh? 🙂

i only had to do the seafood fried rice & wok grilled prawns, nearer dinner time.

i cooked the rice in rice cooker in the morning (forgot to do day before), & i fried the rice with the sichuan spicy chilli early.

about 1 hr (530pm) before dinner at 630pm, i fried in butter the small prawns & squid. when 90% guests arrived, i heat the fried rice & seafood in the wok together, & i did the dry wok king prawns with ginger, garlic, chilli padi & fish sauce. so every dish was ready to serve together. 🙂

#10 sambal seabass

#10 sambal seabass

#11 poached hk kailan with shitake

#11 poached hk kailan with shitake

aunty bes did the #10 sambal seabass & #11 poached hk kailan with shitake. everyone loved the fish. 1 friend commented the kailan was so vibrant in colour. kailan was poached & usually looked greener.

& everyone loved the tofu cheese cake & tiramisu. i did them 1 day before. 1 friend said the dessert topped everything. 🙂

1 friend would be celebrating her birthday few days later, so i asked another to bring a candle (i did not have one) & used the tofu cheese cake as the birthday cake. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Fabulous Omakase Lunch @ GOTO on 1Oct2014

sakizuki - a selection of small appetizers

sakizuke(先附) – a selection of small appetizers

GOTO is closing for renovations on 26.10.2014 & reopening on 11.11.2014.

i had wanted to go GOTO all these while but somehow did not get to do. a friend suggested recently & 5 of us decided to go for the  S$68pax omakase lunch on 1.10.2014. there was no GST so it was just S$75nett! 🙂

GOTO at 14 ang siang road is currently a kaiseki only restaurant. lunch is 6-course at S$68pax & dinner S$180pax & S$280pax. the chef owner GOTO HISAO, was previously the personal chef to the japanese ambassador to singapore.  after the renovation it will be remodelled to a casual restaurants. according to the server lunch sets would be like S$40 onwards.

we were wondering about the economics of a straight kaiseki restaurant where the dishes & ingredients were limited,  vs a normal restaurant with an extensive menu, dishes & ingredients. we were of course out of our depths, no expert in f&b, but perhaps the main objective was to increase traffic & customers. kaiseki restaurant would have a limited number of patrons. a casual restaurant would attract a larger customer base & the sitting could be doubled from the current 20?

seems the restaurant name would be changed as well to G-One. couldn’t figure out G-One, but we were kidding the place change from GOTO to GONE? is that good? 🙂

who cares as long as food is good right? & it was, quite excellent! 🙂

sakizuki - a selection of small appetizers

sakizuke(先附) – a selection of small appetizers

ikura on enoki mushrooms

ikura on enoki mushrooms

we had the first course sakizuke(先附) – a selection of small appetizers. it had a delicious pickled sanma (秋刀鱼), a equally delicious tofu, pickled ika (squid), some vege, and ikura on enoki in small bowl. really good! we were saying if every dish could be like this.  they were, quite! maybe minus the rice. 🙂

sashimi moriawase = maguro, hirame, hamachi, hotate, anago

sashimi moriawase = maguro, hirame, hamachi, hotate, anago

the sashimi moriawase = maguro, hirame, hamachi, hotate, anago was just incredible! they told us its maguro, but it was so sweet its like akamai (lean toro). hotate was just 1/2 a piece but very sweet. same for hirame (flat fish) & hamachi (yellow tail). the anago (conger eel) was an expensive item too but actually that was my least preferred among the quality sashimi.

tempura moriawase

tempura moriawase

the tempura moriawase was served differently w/o the dip & radish & wasabi. there was a lemon & a dish with what looked like green tea powder but actually salt. the server missed out explanation at our table for this dish, so we were guessing the lemon should go on the salt (lemon juice with salt is a very good dip for yakiniku), anyway a few of us including myself was too quick & just squeezed the lemon on the tempura. there was shisamo (pregnant fish), asparagus, 2 like fish cakes etc. very good dish. 🙂

a simmered kamo (duck) dish

a simmered kamo (duck) dish

we have a simmered duck dish. i liked it very much. 1 friend felt the duck had too gamey taste. the rest didn’t. a few thought the duck was tough. 1 said the sauce a bit sweet (japanese like to add sugar to their dishes).

for me though it was quite perfect – duck, yam etc. 🙂

gohan (rice) set

chicken & mushroom gohan (rice) set

a friend said that the mushroom smell was really good. & indeed it was. however i & a few of us did not think this good was great. it did not really had the wok hae of a good chinese fried rice, nor the flavours of a good japanese unagi chahan (fried rice) like say in zen or its sister restaurant en japanese dining. nor is it flavourful c/w the very nice kamameshi at sun with moon.

of course we were just picking bones. haha! 🙂

dessert - mochi, fruits, black sesame ice cream

dessert – mochi, fruits, black sesame ice cream

dessert was good too. kochi i liked, good quality fruits & a great black sesame ice cream.

i think this a very good lunch for S$75. i consider this perhaps more refine & better than the S$68 omakse lunch at hachi & about same as (or sometimes better than depending on menu) the S$68 monthly lunch special at kuriya dining. anyway i have booked to go back next week. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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Spicy Sichuan Poached Chicken 口水鸡

口水鸡 sichuan spicy poached chicken

口水鸡 sichuan spicy poached chicken

decided to try 口水鸡, the sichuan spicy poached chicken. 🙂

we had 口水鸡 many times at crystal jade lamian xianglongbao. 🙂

poached kampong chicken

poached kampong chicken

i can do a very good poached chicken, so like many dishes, getting the spicy sauce right is the key.

口水鸡 sichuan spicy poached chicken

口水鸡 sichuan spicy poached chicken

口水鸡 sichuan spicy poached chicken

口水鸡 sichuan spicy poached chicken

口水鸡 sichuan spicy poached chicken

口水鸡 sichuan spicy poached chicken

saliva chicken (口水鸡)

crystal jade version of saliva chicken (口水鸡)

i decided to use a modified 蒜泥白肉 sauce recipe, as it was a dish i served several times & everyone liked. 🙂

i did without all the additional stuff like cinnamon bark, clove, anise seeds, cumin, and just added chicken stock, sliced ginger, chopped shallots, chopped garlic, brown sugar & sichuan spicy chilli oil, looks something like this-

  • 1 cup stock (chicken stock or from the pork)
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce (80ml)
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 cm sliced ginger
  • 2 tsp chopped garlic
  • 2 chopped shallots
  • 2 tbsp sichuan spicy chilli oil

the sauce was delicious, mildly sweet & delivering the spicy punch.

comparing with crystal jade version (above photo), it looked just as potent but actually not as 麻辣 as crystal jade version which is itself not very 麻辣. guess i missed the toasted sesame part (i did have coriander for garnishing though not in the photos).

though some like me will take it even spicier, the current preparation is easier on the palate for most. & many friends had enjoyed the 蒜泥白肉 in no small part because of the sauce. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

 

OK Lunch @ Paradise Dynasty on 29Sep2014

crystal pork (镇江淆肉)

crystal pork (镇江淆肉)

a friend bought lunch at paradise dynasty at level 4 ion orchard today on 29.9.2014. 🙂

they do not take reservations so we arranged to go early at 11.45am to avoid, traffic, carpark issues & avoid queue.

spicy dumplings (抄手)

spicy dumplings (抄手)

we had 2 appetisers.

crystal pork (镇江淆肉) was competent, nothing special.

spicy dumplings (抄手) was good, guess no better than crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao.

belly pork ramen

belly pork lamian

the belly pork lamian was good! the soup was very tasty & smooth, the braised belly pork was excellent & the egg, noodles etc were all good. this was as good as a good japanese chashumen. 🙂

poached sliced beef

poached sliced beef

we tried a poached sliced beef. it was pretty good, the usual tenderised beef. 🙂

paradise dynasty level 4 ion orchard

paradise dynasty level 4 ion orchard

ambience was good & there was a good lunch crowd though not full & there was no queue when we left about 130pm.

pumpkin dessert

pumpkin dessert

my friend ordered a pumpkin dessert. it was non-descript. i guess a “healthy” dessert.

there was a discount on some menu items under PGR (paradise gourmet rewards) + 30% rebates on non-discounted items. i think lunch came to about $50nett & there was a S$4.50 rebate. ok & doable lunch though nothing special. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

 

King Prawn Noodles (黄焖大虾面) (Part 2)

king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面)

king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面)

did an almost perfect king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面) today on 28.9.2014, on the third try (top photo). 🙂

tunglok lobster ramen - 龙虾焖拉面

tunglok lobster ramen – 龙虾焖拉面

wife actually said it was better than tunglok’s lobster ramen – 龙虾焖拉面 (above photo).  & the dry wok king prawns better than lobster. i think so also – almost there. sauce was very tasty with no sugar added.

i was very impressed with tunglok’s lobster ramen – 龙虾焖拉面 actually…the 黄焖 golden bisque was always very tasty, smooth & flavourful. it was very similar to & tasty like a good crab roe sharkskin soup. lobster was very good too. for purpose of recreating a dish, lobster is lobster, steamed, grilled or pan-grilled it is not hard to reproduce, so mainly it’s about how to recreate the 黄焖 slight starchy golden bisque.

i tested with egg yoke, mirin, sake, sugar, chicken stock, cornflour, fish sauce. 🙂

braised prawn noodles (黄焖虾面)

braised prawn noodles (黄焖虾面)

braised prawn noodles (黄焖虾面)

braised prawn noodles (黄焖虾面)

my first attempt used small grass prawns & vegetable stock (above 2 photos), whatever was readily available. i had slightly too much starch. i added fish sauce as i thought light soy sauce & oyster sauce might darken the golden colour of sauce.  anyway the sauce was tasty & my daughter liked it, but i could taste the starch – a negative point.

king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面)

king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面)

king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面)

king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面)

last evening i used the king prawns my wife bought from chinatown. these were very large prawns – 7 prawns/kg so like 140g per prawn. i fried cut chilli padi, ginger strips, & garlic in butter on high heat & added the king prawns & did the dry wok prawn method. it turned out beautifully, with perfect char-grilled flavours & texture. it is true that sometimes giant prawns taste even better than lobster. & they cost a lot less when comparing meat to shell ratio.

i did not have stock so i added sugar & more mirin. also i reduced the flour & added 2 egg yokes. the sauce was still ok tasty. my wife felt that the sweetness was artificial, which i agreed too. also 2 egg yokes did not work well as they separated from the mixture during cooking & did not blend fully. 😦

king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面)

king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面)

for lunch today, i had chicken stock, added 1 egg yoke & added light soy sauce & oyster sauce, & yuzu salad sauce & could still produce the golden sauce, this time a really, really tasty bisque. excellent! prawns were perfect as before. 🙂

it was important to record the recipe, as there was a bit of experimentation & varying amount of condiments used. that was the reason i blog anyway, as often i have to refer to my own recipes. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 600g king prawns (i had 4 large prawns 560g, but 300g small grass prawns should do also)
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 1 egg yoke
  • 2 tbsp cooking sake
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp fish sauce (& add sea salt if required to taste)
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp yuzu salad sauce
  • 1.5tsp cornflour
  • 1 chopped chilli padi
  • 1.5cm ginger (julienned)
  • 2 tsp chopped garlic

Directions:

  1. cooke prawn –  season de-veined prawns (keep in shell) with fish sauce & white pepper.  fry cut chilli padi, ginger strips, & garlic in butter on high heat. add king prawns & chargrilled using the dry wok prawn method to get perfect char-grilled flavours & texture. set aside the cooked prawns.
  2. make sauce – add 1 egg yoke, mirin, sake, chicken stock, fish sauce, oyster sauce, cornflour in a mixing bowl & mix thoroughly. fry cut chilli padi, ginger strips, & garlic in olive oil. add the mixture on low fire to boiling. taste the bisque & add salt to taste.
  3. cooke noodles – cook noodles (i used white jade 白玉 noodles which had a bit of ramen texture)to just below al dente & pour into a sieve or colander & add ice & cold water to stop the cooking.
  4. now put together the dish!

S$4 Meepok Tar @ 6th Ave Jalan Tua Kong on 27Sep2014

6th ave jln tua kong meepok tar

6th ave jln tua kong meepok tar

went with wife to 6th avenue jalan tua kong to eat meepok tar.

the stall was back after renovation of good good coffeeshop some months back. to me, it was as good as before, nothing changed. i had it in july and enjoyed as much.

6th ave jln tua kong meepok tar

6th ave jln tua kong meepok tar

now, got high tech, so we have a light buzzle when noodles were ready. not bad!

6th ave jln tua kong meepok tar

6th ave jln tua kong meepok tar

to me, there are 2 things special about this style of meepok tar. 1 is the very spicy chilli, really shiok! the other is the sliced pork & prawn. here everything is done quite perfectly – noodle was qq, chilli potent, fish balls bouncy & lots of minced pork (in the very tasty soup too) & also a few pieces of lar pok (crispy lard)…..just compared that with the mediocre amigo bakchormee we had at changi village food centre,

c.h.e.f andy

Mediocre S$15.90 Set Lunch @ Amirah’s Grill on 26Sep2014

hibiscus drink

hibiscus drink

a RI friend organised a 6pax lunch at amirah’s grill at bussorah street on 26.9.2014. 🙂

parking was horrendous at 1pm on a friday. 😦 after turning a few rounds, and finding no space at the roadside parking & the 3 open carparks and lots of traffic on the small roads, i got over to park at sultan plaza. anyway it was just a short walk. i was 10minutes late as in my whatsapp message. my 5 friends were already at the table. this happened a bit more often lately, i must not make this a habit, parking or traffic aside. 🙂

the recent reviews  (2014) on tripadvisor of this place were quite bad. the reviews on openrice & hungrygowhere were equally bad but more dated (2013).

i checked the website & they had this S$15.90 lunch set so i called & confirmed the lunch sets were still available & that it was 2-course + drink.  you need to ask for the set lunch menu though. we were not given until we asked specifically.

for the drinks, 2 friends had coffee, 2 including me had the hibiscus drink. it tasted like a rose syrup with nice mint, sweet but not overly, it was quite ok for me. 2 other friends probably had tea. i couldn’t quite recall.

chicken soup

chicken soup

the soup of the day was a chicken soup. it was better than a canned soup – i guess very few served canned soup these days. basically a minestrone with chicken stock, mediocre but a pretty ok soup actually.

chicken kebab with rice

chicken kebab with rice

there was a choice of mains. i picked chicken kebab with rice. chicken was tender & had grilled flavours but otherwise not much taste. the sauce added nothing to the taste. the vegetables – cauliflowers, carrots etc were just boiled vege. rice? not much taste.

beef kofta with rice

lamb  kofta with rice

the lamb  kofta with rice seemed quite ok too. basically a minced lamb kebab? they were often served in indian buffets, not really my kind of dish, but perhaps if done well with herbs, it could still be better than the chicken?

vegetarian wrap

vegetarian wrap

a friend who is vegetarian took a vege wrap with fries.

at S$15.90 which came to about S$18+, i guessed nothing much to complain about, and food was actually a bit more than passable.

the 6 of us were the solitary patrons. f&b is really a struggle in singapore with so much competition.  if i were to use the criteria we recently talked much about – worthwhile cholesterol & worthwhile calories, then this lunch didn’t really fall into the category. so far for indian food, the best i had was the S$19++ weekday lunch buffet at yantra at tanglin mall, though it is a bit more expensive. but i guess many restaurants in serangoon would serve cheaper & tastier food than amirah’s grill. i don’t know much about middle-eastern restaurants so cannot really make comparisons. i did have a most memorable middle eastern lunch at honey & co london with my son during my recent trip.

we had great fun. i really enjoyed these lunches & dinners with old RI friends. ambience was fine. we had the whole place to ourselves & we stayed & chatted for quite long after makan. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Great Suckling Pig Set @ Summer Garden SAFRA Mt Faber on 24Sep2014

#1 suckling pig

#1 suckling pig

a friend organised the sep2014 G20 12pax dinner at summer garden SAFRA Mt Faber on 24.9.2014. summer garden is part of qian xi group of restaurants.

the restaurant was empty save our table + 1 other table, like 10% occupied. it’s a waste really as the food was good & service ok.

the friend ordered the S$398 10pax suckling pig set. guess it was upsized to 12pax & we paid for 12pax, though some dishes like suckling pig was same size whether 10pax or 12pax.

#1 suckling pig was good! not better than hung kang or chui huay lim, but it was good, crispy skin, tasty. one friend commented no strong taste, not that i would mind a good porky flavour. 🙂

dried scallop crab meat sharksfin

#2 dried scallop crab meat sharksfin

#2 dried scallop crab meat sharkskin had good tasty stock & chokeful of ingredients. couldn’t say it was better than hung kang (which sharkskin fish maw soup was very tasty), but it was very good.

roast chicken

#3 roast chicken

#3 roast chicken was one of the best – very crispy skin & nice tender meat, tasty with the five-spice salt. as good as roland & better than yuanxing.

deep-fried soon hock

#4 deep-fried soon hock

#4 deep-fried soon hock good, very competent, as in most restaurants. wonder if it was 10pax would it be still 2 fishes. soon hock tended to be quite standard 600g size so not sure for 10pax they could find 1 larger soon hock or same 2 fishes.

wok grilled king prawns (13/15)

#5 wok grilled king prawns (13/15)

wok grilled king prawns (13/15)

#5 wok grilled king prawns (13/15)

#5 the wok grilled king prawns (13/15) was good. king prawns were large, 13 to 15 pieces per kg so 70g to 80g per prawn.  i would consider this better than the white cereal prawns at hung kang.

flower mushrooms, fish maw, sliced abalone, spinach

#6 flower mushrooms, fish maw, sliced abalone, spinach

#6 the abalone dish came with lots of ingredients – flower mushrooms, fish maw, sliced abalone, spinach. this dish would be superior to hung kang which had a bailing mushroom dish.

seafood heng hwa beehoon

#7 seafood heng hwa beehoon

#7 and my bowl of seafood heng hwa beehoon really chokeful of prawn, squid etc not sure if the rest got the same.

the beehoon was not tasty enough though, and did not have clams so not quite qualified as heng hwa beehoon?? perhaps the sauce was not mixed thoroughly, but the authentic heng hwa beehoon a friend cooked recently at his house was tastier than this one.

bird's nest

#8 bird’s nest

bird's nest

#8 bird’s nest

#8 bird’s nest with rock sugar was very good, not too sweet. i liked it, surprised me actually!

S$398++ suckling pig 10pax promotion menu

S$398++ suckling pig 10pax promotion menu

for me, the S$398++ suckling pig 10pax promotion menu was quite a good deal. i am likely to go back for a family dinner. 🙂

price wise it was cheaper than hung kang’s S$468++ “birthday” suckling pig menu. hung kang had the more expensive pomfret, but depending on taste, some may prefer the soon hock.

c.h.e.f andy

 

Lovely Lunch & Dinner @ Fresco & Cimmino on 30Aug2014

€12 spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini & parmesan)

€12 spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini & parmesan)

we took the 56mins morning train from stresa to milan on 30.8.2014, costing just €16.50 for 2pax, arriving at milano central at 10.35am, then took the metro yellow line 4 stops to duomo & checked in duomo apart hotel. 🙂

i had very good meals at fresco & cimmino last time on 21.4.2014. it was just a short walk away, so we went there for lunch.

€14 frutti di mare seafood salad

€14 frutti di mare seafood salad

€14 frutti di mare seafood salad

€14 frutti di mare seafood salad

the frutti di mare seafood salad was a very generous serving & excellent just like last time.

€12 spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini & parmesan)

€12 spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini & parmesan)

my version of spaghetti alls nerano with squid

my version of spaghetti alla nerano with squid

the spaghetti alla nerano (spaghetti with zucchini & parmesan), a popular serrento dish, was good as before, very flavourful from the parmesan cheese & zucchini with a great sauce.

i tried to reproduce this but was not quite successful – my version looked ok tasted good too but was far from the flavours i was trying to reproduce, so not quite spaghetti alla nerano.

€18 tagliata di manzo

€18 tagliata di manzo

€18 tagliata di manzo

€18 tagliata di manzo

the tagliata di manzo was great as always. 🙂

fresco & cimmino milan

fresco & cimmino milan

fresco & cimmino milan

fresco & cimmino milan

we went back again for dinner – boring people.

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€26 grilled whole lobster

€26 grilled whole lobster

€26 grilled whole lobster

€26 grilled whole lobster

we went back to fresco again for dinner on 30.8.2014.

the grilled lobster here was very good. at €26, price wise it was no different form london’s £20 lobster at burger & lobster. and it was just as good, only w/o the fries. 🙂

my son wanted to try the swordfish tube pasta which did not turn too great. it was kind of expected – the swordfish came in like a ragout sauce which was not my favourite.

c.h.e.f andy

Nasi Lemak Truly Sucks @ Changi Village Food Centre on 21Sep2014

top drinks & dessert

top drinks & dessert

we biked 35km from east coast lagoon to changi village food centre & back early morning on 21.9.2014.

so wanted to try out the hawker food at changi village food centre. turned out to be a huge disappointment.

amigo bakchomee

amigo bakchomee

amigo bakchomee

amigo bakchormee

my wife went first to get her food & came back with bakchormee some 15mins later. she bought from the stall with the longest queue “amigo”.

this amigo bakchormee was really mediocre, which really meant it was quite poor by comparison, far below the standard of 6th avenue jalan tua kong, lau lim @ bedok simpang, ming fa @ upper thomson etc. even the other stall sunny meepok tar at 6th avenue was better. the noodles were not QQ, and the chilli & flavours were what can i say, mediocre! 😦

sri sujana nasi lemak

sri sujana nasi lemak

sri sujana nasi lemak

sri sujana nasi lemak

sri sujana nasi lemak

sri sujana nasi lemak

sri sujana nasi lemak

sri sujana nasi lemak

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mizzy corner nasi lemak

there were 4 nasi lemak stalls. i decided not to queue at “mizzy corner” the one with longest queue. but my short queue (i was the 4th in the queue) at malay stall sri sujana turned out quite long as 2 before were buying 4packets & 5packets. the man was very naggy at every customer. service was poor & not cheerful. 😦

that would be ok if food was ok, but it was not! rice was poor and did not have the fragrant coconut flavours. & sambal chilli the most important ingredient was outright bad & odd tasting. it was salty & like having tau jeoh??? not sure can call it sambal?? to me rice & chilli were like the backbone of good nasi lemak, & both failed completely. 😦

otah was bad, the chicken was quite ok to good, the ikan kuning was ok. this was really poor c/w both stalls no.1 & no.2 nasi lemak at adam road food centre.

i will never eat from this stall again.

ice kacang

ice kacang

soursop ice

soursop ice

top drink & dessert

top drink & dessert

the only thing good was the ice kacang & soursop from top drink & dessert, & it was very good, so luckily i had that, otherwise the whole experience would have been a complete let down, very sian!

not sure if we would eat anything the next time we cycle here, probably just have ice kacang & soursop.

c.h.e.f andy

 

Good Hong Kong Food @ Canton Paradise Star Vista on 21Sep2014

roast duck

1/2 roast duck

had an early 5pax family dinner @ canton paradise on 21.9.2014.  last time we came was also early dinner on 22.2.2014.

it is first come first serve so we went at 5.45pm to avoid long queue. 🙂

it’s hk food. the hk roast duck looked particularly inviting & we decided to order 1/2duck at S$25. it was very good, genuinely hk standard. can’t say it was better than the roast duck at noodles restaurant @ centrepoint, but i would order this again anytime. 🙂

we ordered another roast 2-combo (烧腊双拼) of roast pork & char siew (did not take photos). it was competent but the char siew was not comparable with the excellent charcoal broiled pork neck & also the char siew at imperial treasure teochew ngee an city.

crispy char siew pao

crispy char siew pao

crispy char siew pao

crispy char siew pao

tastebuds had not changed since our feb2014 visit. my daughter still likes this crispy char siew pao best & i still preferred the crispy char siew pao @ timhowan toa payoh. for me though, both were not of the standard of timhowan @ shamshuipo hk.

canton paradise @ star vista

canton paradise @ star vista

hat gao

har gao

har gao was good, the skin tore when i picked up one, but the prawns filling was excellent-fresh, bouncy, sweet. 🙂

har fun cheong

charsiew fun cheong

charsiew fun cheong on this occasion was very poor, totally sub-par..the charsiew was not tasty enough & the cheong fun (肠粉) was thick & not smooth. this was the worse dish for me! 😦

we also had a xianglongbao. on this occasion the skin was a bit thick & the soup inside was not as sweet, so a poor second to crystal jade la mian xiaolongbao! 😦

porridge 3-combo=beef, pork live, kidney

porridge 3-combo=beef, pork liver, kidney

plain hk noodles

plain hk noodles

i did not try the noodles but it looked good & no different from hk standard & the children liked it too.

we ordered the porridge 3-combo=beef, pork liver, kidney. the porridge was excellent – velvety smooth & tasted great. the beef, pork liver, kidney were all great! i could come here just for porridge & roast duck. 🙂

salted egg bun

salted egg bun

salted egg bun

salted egg buns (流沙包)

daughter thought salted egg buns (流沙包) here was best. it was very good! for me, the 咸蛋流沙包 at imperial treasure teochew at ngee ann city was just as good. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

 

Cheap & Authentic Italian @ la Botte Stresa on 29Aug2014

€9 funghi pasta

€9 funghi pasta

we went to villa taranto & mottarone cable car on the second day, and decided to go to la botte (which was like 50m from hotel elena) for dinner. we got our hotel to book 2pax table for us on 29.8.2014 7pm.

we were there at 6.55pm. there was a queue about 10pax including us. the others did not have reservations. the restaurant was filled up quickly.

€9 mixed cold meats (goose, wild boar, deer, beef)

€9 mixed cold meats (goose, wild boar, deer, beef)

la botte stresa

la botte stresa

la botte stresa

la botte stresa

€9 mixed cold meats (goose, wild boar, deer, beef)

€9 cold meat platter (goose, wild boar, deer, beef)

€9 beef carpaccio with truffle melted cheese

€9 beef carpaccio with truffle melted cheese

we ordered the €9 cold meat platter (goose, wild boar, deer, beef) & the €9 beef carpaccio with truffle melted cheese.

the cold meat platter was a monstrous serving. the meats were good but it’s something i would like just 2 or 3 slices so it was not a good idea for 2pax unless you did not want to try other starters. also it killed the tastebuds for other more subtle dishes like the fungi pasta. it was very generous for €9 & would be great for like 4pax.

the beef carpaccio did not look great but the taste was excellent with the truffle scented melted cheese. it was better than the usual more classy looking ones with rockets & extra virgin olive oil & balsamic. 🙂

€15 tagliata di manzo

€15 tagliata di manzo

€15 tagliata di manzo

€15 tagliata di manzo

the €9 creamy fungi pasta was good, but i felt the cold meat platter aftertaste killed off my appreciation of this more subtle dish.

the tagliata di manzi was kind of ordinary but good for €15, and so much arugula. we had to cancel 1 order of lamb ravioli as we had too much food already & would not really enjoyed it.

my son was also eyeing the guy next to us who was having nice grilled lamb chops. certainly there were several items on the menu we would be happy to come again to try. for me personally it was important to bypass the cold meat next time & enjoy some of the other great dishes here.

the service was indifferent to impatient, not outright rude but they didn’t really need us…it’s no different from any nazi chefs in Singapore where people go just to have the food, in fact probably slightly better. 🙂 the table wine was undrinkable, better to pay for better wine or just pay for bottled water.

the dinner cost about €50 including a 500ml carafe of table wine.

c.h.e.f andy