Nice Interesting Lunch @ Nirai Kanai Okinawan Diner on 27Feb2015

Posted on February 27, 2015 by chefquak

pig’s ear

a friend arranged to buy 6pax lunch today 27.2.2015. not sure if he made a killing in the US market? haha! ^^

it’s an interesting place, narai kana okinawan diner at liang court.

he/we ordered many interesting dishes.

wasabi octopus

first was the pig’s ear ( i saw on couple of blog reviews), and the wasabi octopus.

both were good. ^^ small dishes, especially the pig’s ears. the octopus was interesting, very nice teture & flavours.

okinawan braised belly pork

we had the okinawan braised belly pork (a famous okinawan dish) well reported by almost every blogger. it was good, but not much different from the kakuni i did. it was also a little on the sweet side, and by comparison, the steamed knuckles we had later was better! 🙂

deepfried small river shrimps

the deepfried small river shrimps was nice.

bitter gourd

bitter gourd was done well, no bitter taste. it was something quite easy to do at home though.

silk gourd with minced pork

the silk gourd with minced was nice. i liked it, for me a better dish than the bitter gourd. our dentist friend split the dish for 6 servings. very well done indeed!^^

steamed pig trotters

we had the steamed pig trotters. i liked the very good gelatine & bite texture, w/o too heavy overpowering sauce.

onsen egg

i had the onsen egg. nothing special here. i can make a 6mins runny yolk egg easily enough.^^

somen

the somen was nice, with the usual tsuyu sauce.

seaweed dish

okinawan style onigiri

deepfried seaweed

we were basically full but did not mind trying out couple more dishes. so our friend ordered the onigiri, a triangular shaped rice balls okinawan style? the deep-fried seaweed, and another seaweed dish.

a very enjoyable lunch with great company.

c.h.e.f andy

Excellent Sashimi & Sushi from Fukuoka Mitsukoshi at Tenjin on 28Jan2015

Posted on February 27, 2015 by chefquak

uni 1500yen

we arrived fukuoka hakataeki by train from beppu about noon time on 28.1.2015. 🙂

after checking into our hotel JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom Fukuoka on the west side of hakataeki, we decided to take the subway to tenjin to walk around & explore the area.

it was a tenjin underground city with huge shopping streets – tenjin chikagai.

we planned to go to the canal city & maybe try out the yatai 屋台 at nakasu in the evening, so decided to go back to hotel for a rest first.

my wife & i had always enjoyed sashimi & sushi from the supermarkets. this time we bought a few from mitsukoshi at tenjin to enjoy our own omakase sashimi treat in the hotel room…haha!^^

on the way back to hotel, we decided to share a ramen at ichiran at B2F of fukuoka bank bldg. in front of hakata station.^^

the uni, needless to say, was heavenly – so sweet, fragrant, melt in the mouth.

toro 900yen

& the toro, it was excellent! maybe it was chutoro but it was quite fatty, & simply lovely!^^

hotate 500yen

hotate always good, plump, sweet, tasty.

sayori 500yen

we had not take sayori (flying fish or half-beak) for long time since the good old days at unkai (tanglin road) & mezzanine as we don’t go (super rare) sushi counter nowadays in singapore. this was good though i now don’t miss it much.

shellfish sushi 1100yen

& we had a top quality sushi platter, with akagai, torigai, awabi (abalone), hotate & atlantic surf clam etc.

all these came to 4500yen! & absolutely restaurant quality in the best jap restaurants in singapore. the box of uni alone would cost S$60++, likely S$80++.

such a wonderful feasting!^^

c.h.e.f andy

Superb Hokkaido Wagyu Steak & Sukiyaki @ Imahan Hakata on 29Jan2015

Posted on February 27, 2015 by chefquak

excellent kuroge wagyu 黑毛和牛 steak

this would rank as one of our best wagyu dinners in japan!^^

we decided to try out imahan hakata at hakataeki level 9 on 29.1.2015.

we had another best wagyu yakiniku & sukiyaki at moritaya at kyoto station during our previous tateyama alpine route & kamikochi trip in 2013.

we had a steak at imahan hakata & yakiniku at moritaya & sukiyaki at both. imahan was more expensive.

imahan might not be better. moritaya was equally good. but the overall experience in terms of service & ambience was better. 🙂 moritaya has view of kyoto tower & surrounding mountains though. ^^

salad

for the steak dinner, we had a salad with the usual ponzu sauce. nice & refreshing.

excellent kuroge wagyu 黑毛和牛 steak

the hokkaido wagyu was just excellent! marbled & flavourful, on elf our best wagyu dinners in japan!^^

sukiyaki hotplate

very marbled sukiyaki wagyu

sukiyaki veg

excellent kuroge wagyu 黑毛和牛 sukiyaki

the sukiyaki was done on a hotplate. it was really good! we also had the usual vege.

kyoto station moritaya’s sukiyaki was just as equally good.

the other excellent sukiyaki we had was at chinya at asakusa. but i guess the wagyu we had at chinya quite many years back was not the same quality as the ones we had at moritaya & here at imahan, so it was not comparing apples with apples.

c.h.e.f andy

Wanton Noodles, Pig Trotter Jelly, Pig Trotters & Fish Maw Soup @ Whampoa Hawker Centre on 25Feb2015

Posted on February 25, 2015 by chefquak

幸福潮州小食 fishmaw soup – S$4

a few friends decided to have 4pax lunch at whampoa hawker centre on 25.2.2105.

whampoa hawker centre of course has many famous stalls. 1 of my favourite is the chinese mutton soup stall. i prefer yu ji (宇记) chinese herbal mutton soup (羊肉汤) but both stalls are about same, so the other stall #01-75 is good for me too.^^

anyhow on this day, it was chinese new year day 6 (初六)， and both stalls were closed.

most other stalls were also closed – the hoover fish porridge, the braised duck & the hoover rojak were all closed.

1 of the stalls i like, 幸福潮州小食 a teochew food stall, was open. i ordered the fish maw soup, braised pig trotters & also the “ter kar tan” 猪脚冻 or pig trotter jelly. the stall also sells sharks meat & shark meat jelly 鲨鱼冻. i did not order them.

the S$4 fish maw soup was good as always, quite a lot of ingredients, and the taste of the soup was good.

幸福潮州小食猪脚冻 pig trotter jelly – S$5.50

the “ter kar tan” 猪脚冻 or pig trotter jelly was i guess good as another at the restaurants & it was just S$5.50 for a good portion.

幸福潮州小食鲁猪脚 braised pig trotters – S$5.50

the 鲁猪脚 braised pig trotters were exactly the flavour, texture & colour i liked. to me it was so much better than han jia bakuteh & pork leg, east coast lagoon food village.

the colours looked attractive & it was properly cut & neat, not dark & overcooked & uncut block like han jia’s. the texture & bite was just right, gelatinous & with bite, not falling apart, and the taste was light & flavourful.

one friend though preferred han jia’s, so really it was very much a matter of personal preference.^^

幸福潮州小食 lunch dishes = 3 dishes for S$15

the 3 dishes cost S$15. i liked all of them.^^

wanton noodles – S$3

wanton

one friend bought 4 wanton noodles (S$3 per bowl).

it was good. noodles were just right QQ, and i liked the spiciness. it was no better though than any of the other places i had, wanton mee @ KPT coffeeshop (this a different black version), cho kee noodles wanton mee at old airport road food centre (i think this was better), or the wanton mee at first centre serangoon avenue 4.

i would put kok kee (was at lavendar food centre but not sure where (or if) it is relocated) as the best for me, and red ring as second.

mee chiang kueh – S$0.80

the lunch including a bowl of wanton noodles each was S$7pax.

we walked over to blk 92 & had the mee chiang kueh (peanut pancake). we all preferred the peanut fillings. it was overflowing. very fun!

food was good, company better. after lunch 3 of us went to visit a friend who was admitted to ttsh.

c.h.e.f andy

Very Good & Huge Breakfast @ Beppu 別府潮騒の宿晴海 on 28Jan2015

Posted on February 24, 2015 by chefquak

japanese breakfast

we had a very good breakfast the next morning on 28.1.2015.^^

for comparison, this breakfast was good standard, the kaiseki dinner last evening was so-so, and below par for the ryokan price.

breakfast menu

started with a juice.

tofu

had a nice tofu.

boiled veg?? side dish

there was a vege side dish. it was nice.^^

egg

egg

the onsen egg though was not the usual poached egg standard. egg yolk & white were cooked rather than smooth, silky & oozing.

asari miso soup

the miso soup was excellent!^^

it had more than asari (littleneck clams), also sazae (turban shell) & prawns.

fish, fish cake, mushrooms

the fish, fish cake & mushrooms were great too!

mixed fruits

the dessert was mixed fruit.

it was a very good breakfast overall.

c.h.e.f andy

Kaiseki Dinner @ Beppu Seikai 別府潮騒の宿晴海 on 27Jan2015

Posted on February 24, 2015 by chefquak

sakizuke先附

after visiting beppu’s hell umi-jogoku海地獄, we collected our bags at beppu ski & took a taxi to our ryokan beppu saikei 別府潮騒の宿晴海.

after a good rest we went to the onsen before going for dinner kaiseki.

kaiseki menu

seikai is a bit modern type, with high rise hotel rooms & english menu.

sake

we ordered sake (chargeable).

poor porridge starter

the porridge started was a spoiler, quite tasteless & unnecessary, added nothing to the experience & made us worry about the quality of the kaiseki.

pressed tamago

ikura+radish etc

the sakezuki (先附) was ok – pressed tamago (egg), some side dishes. i would say quite average.

sashimi moriawase

the sashimi moriawase looked ok but was actually very poor. i couldn’t decide if this sashimi was worse than the 1st night at Gettoan on 25.1.2015. everything was very tough. was it bad cut or the chef did not know how to cut? i am clueless.

aji sashimi 5000yen+8%

we ordered an additional aji sashimi at 5000yen+8%.

i could not understand why the aji was also very tough. it was a live fish, something must really be wrong either with the fish here in kyushu (but we had excellent sashimi from the supermarket at fukuoka later) or with the way it was cut. aji should be very sweet (it was ok sweet not too bad) & not tough. for me, taka’s supermarket aji at 1/3 the price or less, is better than this.

deep-fried aji fish head

the deep-fried aji fish head was not nice too.

asari chawanmushi

they had asari (littleneck clams or la la) chawanmushi. it was pretty ok. 🙂

asari chawanmushi

some radish i think in the chawanmushi.

mayo prawn side dish

there was a mayo prawn dish, nothing much there.

sushi with ginger flower

a sushi with pickled ginger flower (which i like).

yuba side dish

a yuba side dish. this was quite good.^^

bungo wagyu 丰后和牛 with soy bean shabu

bungo wagyu 丰后和牛

there was an interesting soya bean shabu shabu with the local bungo wagyu 丰后和牛. this was very good. but by comparison the 2nd night kaiseki at Gettoan on 26.1.2015, with lots more beef & other shabu items, was much better.

gohan set with pickles

the usual gohan (rice) with pickles.

noodles in clear broth

this time there was cold noodles in a clear soup. pretty ok.

strawberries + pineapples

& there was fruits & jelly for dessert.

i guess this kaiseki would be above average, but nothing special & kind of below expectation for the ryokan price. for me, for both Gettoan & Seikai, for the ryokan price they were charging, every kaiseki dinner should be at a standard equivalent to Gettoan’s second night kaiseki! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

羊年话羊－ Talking About Words Sounding like Goat (Year of the Goat)

Posted on February 19, 2015 by chefquak

acknowledgement:

permission to use my friend Carol Seah’s Wynnes company logo

today is the 1st day of chinese new year. a friend sent me a CNY well wishes message comprising 6 phrases using words that sounded like 羊 or “goat” in chinese. that inspired me to think of various phrases with words sounding like 羊 (扬，养，阳，洋，鸯，仰，恙） here goes, for the fun of it –

祝你🐐年… 正月飛羊, 二子奉羊，三羊開泰, 四海羊名, 五不赞羊，六氣羊羊, 七世鸳鸯，八方表羊，九九重羊，十分敬羊，百般羊望，千秋颂羊，万载发羊

the forgoing also uses words to make the whole list sounded like 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, 100, 1000, 10,000.. there are a few other phrases using words sounding like 羊 –

别来无恙，羊羊得意, 羊眉吐氣, 精神羊溢, 兴高彩羊，气宇飞羊, 飞羊腾达, 羊生有道, 羊光普照, 奉羊天年

c.h.e.f andy

Visiting Beppu’s Hells Umi-jogoku 海地獄 on 27Jan2015

Posted on February 16, 2015 by chefquak

Umi-Jigoku Beppu hells valley

after another excellent breakfast at Gettoan, we took the free car transfer from ryokan to yufuin ekimae bus centre & took the bus to beppu on 27.1.2015. journey is 1 hr & cost 900yen pax. 🙂

we arrived before 11am & deposited our luggage at the station lockers. we were deciding what to do in the meantime, as check-in time at beppu seikai 別府潮騒の宿晴海 is 3pm.

we did not want to go to the takasaki monkey park, also not particularly interested to see the unitamago aquarium, so we settled on going to hells (jigoku).^^

we took bus no9 from JR beppu station to kannawa. cost about 200yen & took 15mins. here you can walk to the 6 jigoku within the kannawa district.

we picked the umi-jogoku海地獄, which is the more beautiful with spacious gardens. entrance was 400yen pax or 2100yen for all 6 jigokus. we paid 400yen.

Umi-Jigoku Beppu hells valley

nice huge gardens & open space.^^

Umi-Jigoku Beppu hells valley

boiling bubbling onsen 92degC! definitely not suitable for sauna.

Umi-Jigoku Beppu hells valley

children on water lilies Umi-Jigoku Beppu

this not the time to see the giant water lilies.

greenhouse – Umi-Jigoku Beppu16

there is the greenhouse.

Umi-Jigoku Beppu hells valley

another boiling reddish onset pool.

Umi-Jigoku Beppu hells valley

after this, we looked at the neighbouring yama jigoku. japan-guide description “The “mountain hell” features small ponds of steaming hot water and a run-down zoo with large animals in small cages”.

we decided we had enough of hells. wife read about jigoku mushi 地獄釜, using the onset water for to cook steamed dishes, so we walked over to such a eating place & gave it a try. i must say nothing great though!

c.h.e.f andy

Nice Stroll Along Yunotsubo Kaido & Lake Kinrinko 金麟湖 on 26&26Jan2015

Posted on February 14, 2015 by chefquak

lake kinrinko

arrived yufuin 汤布院 bus station which is 20m from yufuin eki (train station) near noon time on 25.1.2015.

yufuin – view from yufuin eki (train station)

too early for check-in to Gettoan ryokan (after 3pm). as planned, we deposited our bags at the lockers & took a pleasant walk towards yunotsubo shopping street & lake kinrinko 金麟湖. weather was about 14degC, quite perfect!

yufuin

we had earlier planned to have lunch at wasaku (or any nice eats we fancied along the walk). we found wasaku just short distance from yufuib eki, and had very nice bungo wagyu yakiniku lunch there. ^^

yufuin

yunotsubo kaido shopping street

we past the 1/2 dried-up stream to yunotsubo kaido shopping street. the was just at the corner.

yunotsubo shopping street

yufuin-architecture

there was some nice architecture highlighted by other bloggers, and of course lots of shopping. wife was interested in the sake cups.^^

yunotsubo shopping street

yufuin-flower village

there was this flower village.

yufuin-flower village

yunotsubo shopping street

bee honey parfait

there was this bee honey stall which others talked about.

got a parfait. the soft cream here was really nice, just like the excellent dairy in hokkaido (something to do with very good quality milk). as a parfait though, it was kind of “not the real thing”!

lake kinrinko

lake kinrinko was beautiful, very serene.

lake kinrinko

we went back the next morning. the ryokan sent us right to the “doorstep”.^^

lake kinrinko

everything was so tranquil, so zen.^^

we had excellent lunch here at lamp sha sited right by & overlooking the lake.^^

snoopy chaya at yufuin

on the way back we stopped by snoopy chaya.

we spied this the first day, and this was perfect after the lamp sha steak lunch.

macha

greentea parfait

we had macha & the real thing – an excellent parfait, with green tea cakes, mochi, the brown dusted warabi mochi, caramelised chestnut, red beans, cornflakes etc etc. this excellent!

when we got back to ryokan, we were offered another macha at the lounge & served with nice coffee & mochi.

c.h.e.f. andy

Good Standard Turtle Soup @ Tan Ser Seng on 13Feb2015

Posted on February 14, 2015 by chefquak

turtle soup

had turtle soup lunch with sis & bil at tan ser seng at geylang lor21 on 13.2.2015. 🙂

i was here with my group of friends last on 20.8.2014.^^

this place is expensive viz a viz fu he @ jalan berseh food centre, which was really good!, but i figure about the same as turtle house (which is now located along geylang road between lor21 & lor23.

later a friend on Facebook recommended another (hawker) place havelock turtle soup at blk 22 jalan klinik, enter from havelock road. will try that some weeks later.^^

turtle soup

we loved the turtle soup. it was tasty & not overly strong with herbs or too thick. it was light, with fragrance of herbs & tasty. there were lots of gelatine parts, paws, innards etc.^^

it also cost S$65 – we ordered the large one for 3.

yam rice

& the yam rice was S$1.30 per bowl for a quite small bowl (above photo though was just a small portion from the bowl).

bill S$69.55 for 3pax

it came to S$69.55 for 3pax. we did not order drinks so it was no frills.^^

anyway, main thing is we all enjoyed it very much.

turtle soup

we were there at 1130am so parked right alongside the restaurant. at 12pm many tables were occupied, carparks were still available. if you are parking at the open carpark, you have to enter from lor21. we entered from lor19 as at the time there was no difficulty to get parking along the road near the turtle soup restaurant.^^

c.h.e.f andy

Excellent Ohmi Wagyu & Early Valentine Dinner @ ME.OUE on 12Feb2015

Posted on February 14, 2015 by chefquak

A4 ohmi wagyu

decided to do an early valentine dinner with wife on 12.2.2015. 🙂

we do that usually, no point paying through the nose on 14feb for poorer food & service.^^

me.oue

there were quite good reviews for me@oue at OUE Bayfront. this place offers a choice of 3 cuisine – french/european, japanese & chinese. & of course it offers spectacular views on the roof terrace.

parking was S$3.21 after 6pm.

service was quite good, friendly not the top professional type which could be overly formal.

we asked for recommendations. server suggested red lobster & lamb (chinese), miso cod, the signature A4 ohmi wagyu (japanese) and pan-seared dorade (a fish) & tenderloin (french). for appetisers, he recommended crystal prawns (chinese), poached egg (french).

we enquire about sashimi moriawase. i showed the server a blog photo on sashimi moriawase which included chutoro, otoro, uni etc. the server returned to say that they were having maguro, sea bream etc (probably hirame, hamachi etc). well, it pays to ask. this nothing like what was written & not exciting at all!

squid ink brioche

we were served a squid ink brioche & butter.

tuna tartare

we ordered the maguro tartare. this came to akami (lean toro), hotate & avocado. the starter was very nice, though i agreed with my wife that it was not very fine (or refine). it was a good cut so it was very tasty, but no better than the S$18.80 chirashi don at sumiya.

scallop carpaccio

the scallop carpaccio was very fresh & tasty, a reasonable serving.

red lobster (chlli crab sauce)

the server recommended the red lobster (S$55). i saw the photos before & thought it was 1/2 lobster but in fact it was a full whole lobster. the lobster was fresh, bouncy, very tasty & the chilli crustaceans sauce was excellent, better than many indifferent chilli crab places.

A4 ohmi wagyu

the signature A4 ohmi wagyu (S$145) was quite expectedly, superb!

this was japan standard, better than most of the bungo wagyu 丰后和牛we had in kyushu (yufuin, beppu, fukuoka) during our recent trip.

it was better than what we had at arossa previously & also about same as the kagoshima wagyu ishiyaki at mikuni. it cost nearly 2x what we paid at arossa (but arossa is closed now & even just prior to closing, palate privileges 50% discount was withdrawn & the wagyu cut was no more on the menu).

chocolate lava cake

i ordered the S$16 lava cake because it had good reviews. that was a mistake. it was competent but i think no better than my own lava cake, though lately i don’t do that much so fumbled couple times when i tried to do it. i must try it again!

MBS skyline

marina square skyline

marina bay skyline

after dinner, we went to the roof terrace outside for the nice night views of MBS & the marina bay. it was windy, there were very few people & it was a very pleasant & brief stop.^^

overall, price was S$193nett (inclusive of a S$20 red wine with no discount) after 50% palate discounts for 2pax, including japanese A4 ohmi wagyu & a whole lobster.

for me that was a very good deal. i would certainly come back for both the red lobster & also the ohmi wagyu. it was not quite fine dining yet, but it was overall pretty good & the 2 mains were just awesome!

c.h.e.f andy

Tapao (Takeaway) Dinner @ Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hun Restaurant on 11Feb2015

Posted on February 12, 2015 by chefquak

fish belly soup 鱼肌汤

went to watch “Still Alice” at orchard cineleisure with friends on 11.2.2015. 🙂

it’s a movie about early onset of alzeimer. it’s quite slow. but it was a meaningful movie. good actress julianne moore. & kristen stewart was pretty good too.

some of my friends felt the movie was not intense enough, too watered down. they made the same comment about “The Theory of Everything” on stephen hawkings.

for me though, both were ok. the director & scriptwriter had to pick the scenes that best communicated with the audience. perhaps some real live stresses, more intense discord among the characters, tempers flaring might carry the message better. maybe that will offer more tension among the characters & more acting challenges. but i also understand that some methods of portrayal use subtle conversations to convey deep emotions, distress, tension and being conflicted. (i must say that i did not feel any strong connection to alec baldwin feeling conflicted with wanting to go to washington instead of spending the final months with his alzeimer wife though he did stay with her, so in my view that was mediocre acting).

for me the few scenes like telling the husband “why are you not listening to me” when her facial expression seamlessly morphed from anxious sharing to indignation & frustration with the husband not listening to anguish, sorrow & despair needing comfort marked her out as a very good actress. so was the speech at the alzeimer interest group.

& the several scenes of tension with lydia (kristen stewart) showed very good (if subtle – i quite like this subtle approach rather than flaring of emotions though it really depends on the acting, scripting & portrayals) tension between a mother losing her mind & a daughter wanting to be independent & not emotionally blackmailed but loving & caring for the mother. she got across the emotions of tension & conflicted. 🙂

ok, so much for the movie.

the food at cineleisure B1 sucks. so we decided to tapao dinner before movie. a friend picked up the food from Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hun Restaurant 荷兰村XO鱼头米粉酒楼.

san loh hor fun三捞河粉

the san loh hor fun三捞河粉 was good, but i thought i had tapao better wok hae ones from there. still it was tasty, good fish slices & i love the chilli padi & pickled green chilli.

some tofu dish with prawns & shimeji

the tofu dish with prawns & shimeji was competent, a good dish.

chicken breast with liver & gizzard

the 白斩鸡 chicken rice chicken? pretty good. my friend got the healthy chicken breast. actually chicken breast is the real test of good cooking, so this was pretty good – tender, moist, sweet. didn’t think it was better than my own poached chicken 白斩鸡 nor my son’s lemon roast chicken though.

& confession – i still like drumstick better..haha!^^

fish belly soup 鱼肌汤

i liked the fish belly soup 鱼肌汤 especially. it was xo preparation with good amount of xo (i guess). enjoyed the soup very much.

it was very substantial dinner at S$40 for 4pax (though we had someone who hardly ate), very decent considering food court prices these days. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Good Set Lunch @ Concetto by Saveur on 10Feb2015

Posted on February 11, 2015 by chefquak

concetto pasta

had lunch with a friend at concetto by saveur at the cathay on 10.2.2015. 🙂

i had a nice 4pax family dinner here recently on 18.1.2015.

she ordered the concetto pasta & the kurobuta pork cheek, plus a ice lemon tea.

i ordered the S$20.90 3-course set lunch + S$1.50 for ice lemon tea. i picked the concetto pasta, beef oyster blade & as the server recommended, the pistachio panna cotta.

concetto pasta

the concetto pasta was a chilled capellini with crab & prawn tartare (tiny morsels) tossed in lobster oil & topped with lobster foam & ikura (salmon roe). it’s a very tasty appetiser though i was less blown away as the last time.

perhaps some truffle oil? but maybe cannot mix too many ingredients. the lobster bisque made it very flavourful already.^^

beef oyster blade

i had the 36hr sous vide beef oyster blade.

beef was tender & consistent. it was not sinewy like a braised beef dish. still i thought taste was bland & lacking, and still basically a braised item c/w very flavourful grilled steaks. i am not sure if the beef was charred first before sous vide-that should add some flavours. there was french mustard with seeds layered on top, and the coffee soil provided some taste when taken together.

overall i would think the kurobuta or the duck confit would be better.

kurobuta pork cheek

my friend had the braised kurobuta pork cheek with gnocchi.

i had this the least time. the kurobuta was flavourful & tender, very good. between duck confit (which was also very good) and kurobuta i would take kurobuta.^^

pistachio panna cotta

the last time we had the dark chocolate tart. i asked the younger server (she just finished A levels & waiting for results). she recommended the pistachio panna cotta. good recommendations!

i thought this was a very good dessert. it was not the flavourful panna cotta we had at tremezzo lake como, but it was a very good one, & the plus over the plain one (even a very good one at tremezzo) was that this came with pistachio crumble & salted pistachio. i also tasted strong black pepper flavours which strangely made the whole combination really nice!

i would order this panna cotta again if i dine here next time!^^

c.h.e.f andy

Another Wonderful Breakfast to Savour @ Gettoan Ryokan 月灯庵 Yufuin汤布院 Kyushu 九州 on 27Jan2015

Posted on February 8, 2015 by chefquak

braised wagyu with sticky mountain yam

this time we were expecting a wonderful breakfast on the second day on 27.1.2015.^^

it proved to be as great as the wonderful breakfast the day before. 🙂

i looked at the dishes for both days and surmised that both basically had rice & good pickles and 4 side dishes.

breakfast pickles

the pickles included a tasty seaweed dish in the middle (i drank up the sauce) + konbu, some veg pickles on the right & another on the left.

breakfast pickles

one more with radish, veg & seaweed.

steamed tofu dish

1st side dish was a steamed tofu dish. you scooped it out onto a bowl, and added some sauce from the curve beak pot. it was tasty & had excellent texture. i added just enough sauce so i could finished off everything including the sauce.

simmered veg

the second side was a simmered veg with sweet peas, pumpkin etc was very good. this is a common dish for japanese breakfast & course dinners.

braised wagyu with sticky mountain yam

the 3rd side was a braised wagyu with sticky mountain yam topped with a dash of grated wasabi & a shiso leaf. this was excellent though the braised wagyu side dish for the dinner kaiseki on 26.1.2015 was even better.^^

grilled fish

the 4th side was a grilled fish, not saba this time but nice too.

pot of rice

gohan (rice)

there was some special rice with toasted sesame and dried scallops. i added the pickles. very nice.

raw egg added to rice

the server told us we could cracked an egg & add it over the rice. i did that. i liked it as i liked the silky texture of egg yolk.

the rice was quite fine on its own. & it was nice too with the egg. i liked it both ways.

orange & yuzu jelly

dessert was orange & yuzu jelly, nice & refreshing.

great breakfast, this!^^

c.h.e.f andy

A Tale of 2 Dinners Part 2 The Good Ending – A Marvellous Kaiseki Dinner @ Gettoan on 26Jan2015

Posted on February 8, 2015 by chefquak

excellent uni

after the excellent ryokan breakfast this morning, we now had cause to anticipate a nice kaiseki dinner on 26.1.2015.

kaiseki menu

this time we were not disappointed.

hence i had termed these 2 dinners on 25.1.2015 & 26.1.2015 “a tale of 2 dinners”

what a difference a menu change made.

see the sub-par dinner on 25.1.2015…

with a good kaiseki dinner & breafast, Gettoan 月灯庵 did fully meet our expectations of a good ryokan.

umeshu梅酒

for this evening, dinner started with umeshu梅酒.

excellent chawanmushi with egg & spring onions

the chawanmushi (茶碗蒸し) was outstanding. there was bits of minced ginger on top. the texture & flavours were exquisite. maybe i will try this at home.

superb braised wagyu & tendons

the braised wagyu & tendons was just superb. texture was almost like gelatinous, had bite yet dissolving in the mouth, and nice mellow beefy flavours, mildly sweet. this was par excellence! ^^

sashimi moriawase

grating own wasabi

ika

fish sashimi

we grated our own wasabi roots!

sashimi moriawase was nothing like last evening’s which was below those at sun with moon, or for that matter any supermarket basement sashimi picks in japan!

this time we had good serving each of uni, very sweet! ika was pretty good & the fish slices were very good too. the same lady server initially said it was swordfish, but when i mentioned it did not look remotely like kajiki, she corrected herself but we did not understand what fish it was actually. whatever, what counted was it’s good!

excellent anago tempura

& we had an excellent tempura!

the 2 large pieces each of anago (sea or conger eel) was a large helping. the tempura batter was just great & the whole experience wonderful.^^

bungo wagyu 丰后和牛

& we had a wonderful bungo wagyu 丰后和牛 shabu shabu. there were 10 large thick slices of wagyu for 2 pax, beef was well marbled and flavourful, very good indeed!

shabu shabu

noodles, mushrooms, veg

we had the usual noodles, mushrooms, vegetables.

bungo wagyu 丰后和牛

i can have this again! 🙂

if we were to make a comparison with mikuni’s excellent kagoshima wagyu sukiyaki konabe, certainly what we have at Gettoan was much more marbled & better beef quality. in terms of satisfaction, mikuni’s was almost as good & a good approximation to this.

pickles

we had pickles with the gohan (rice).

cake dessert

dessert was ok. we did not have much interest for the butter cake. it maybe that gettoan indeed is trying to be fusion, with the foie gras tofu last evening (tonight’s chawanmushi would beat tat hands down), and these cake stuff, which some restaurants in Singapore like kuriya etc does too.

anyway, we were immensely satisfied with the kaiseki dinner this second night. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Wonderful Breakfast – A Redemption @ Gettoan Ryokan 月灯庵 Yufuin汤布院 Kyushu 九州 on 26.1.2015

Posted on February 8, 2015 by chefquak

Gettoan japanese breakfast

after a totally underwhelming sub-par kaiseki dinner, we could be forgiven for lowering our expectations to base level for the following day breakfast on 26.1.2015. not a great feeling when you are staying 2 nights in an expensive ryokan.

fortunately this time, the breakfast surprised & delighted us, as it should jolly be.^^ redemption!

fresh mixed fruit juice

we started with a freshly made mixed fruit juice which was very good & refreshing.^^

excellent fish tartare with miso & shiso leaf

then we had an excellent fish tartare with brown miso, decorated with a shiso leaf (edible). this was good!

egg, saba dish

egg

grilled saba

there was a dish of egg, grilled saba (horse mackerel), some grated radish. well i guess this time “normal service (i.e. expected good japanese food)” resumed.^^

grilled saba was good, not special but good.

deep-fried tofu

the deep-fried tofu was very good – crispy skin, tasty inside, and looked great! this how good japanese cuisine ought to be.

nice yuba tofu

the yuba tofu dish was excellent too, in flavours, texture. i drank up the sauce.

mashed potatoes, mentaiko with crisp anchovies, pickles

pickled veg with bonito flakes

the mentaiko, potato dish & pickles was the usual good standard.

pineapples with yuzu jelly

pineapples & jelly were refreshing.

this not a kaiseki dinner, just a simple breakfast, but it showed some delightful fineness & execution befitting of japanese cuisine. ^^

so finally, we were looking forward to the kaiseki dinner later.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Seafood & Good Value Dinner @ Kamjiazhuang 甘家庄 on 7Feb2015

Posted on February 8, 2015 by chefquak

crab beehoon

daughter has become the family’s resident food convenor, sourcing out nice, happening makan & coffee places.

this evening she again organised an excellent seafood dinner at kamjiazhuang 甘家庄, located at blk 202 AMK ave3.

kamjiazhuang 甘家庄 AMK Ave3

it is located at a coffeeshop. we had a reservation. the place was quite crowded.

fish maw soup

we ordered a fish maw soup small. the colour did not look great, but the soup was in fact very tasty.^^

东坡肉 braised pork belly

we asked for popular & recommended dishes. 东坡肉 braised pork belly was one, and it was done pretty well, very good standards – very tender, moist and w/o the oily taste (肥而不腻).

pumpkin prawns

the pumpkin prawns was good, a slight variation/departure from the usual wasabi prawns. they were same deep-fried but coated with the pumpkin sauce (felt like it had salted egg in it but could not be certain).

conpoy tofu

the conpoy tofu was good too, very tasty, certainly better than the minced pork tofu we had recently at kok sen on 21.12.2014.

crab beehoon

& the S$60 crab beehoon –

just look at the above photos c/w those at seng kee recently. the crab was huge 1.1-1.2kg, bigger than the one at seng kee (S$70). the crab was also sweeter & firmer than seng kee’s.

however, somehow i was still not fully satisfied with the beehoon. yes, this was much better than seng kee and about same as ming kee live seafood. in my memory (& maybe that was just a memory!) house of steamed fish was much better, tastier, but really cannot tell now.

butter squid with pork floss

daughter wanted to try their butter squid with pork floss. batter was good & squid was not tough. at first bite it was quite crunchy & tasty but i agreed with my wife that the taste was too sweet, perhaps it was the pork floss, couldn’t really tell.

overall, we paid S$124 for 6 dishes including a S$60 crab beehoon with a very good & large crab. for me, that was a very good dinner. 🙂

c.h.e.f. andy

A Tale of 2 Dinners Part 1 – Disappointing Totally Below Par Kaiseki Dinner @ Gettoan on 25Jan2015

Posted on February 5, 2015 by chefquak

bungo wagyu ishiyaki 丰后和牛石烧

we were booked for 2 nights at Gettoan ryokan 月灯庵 at yufuin 汤布院. Gettoan ryokan & its kaiseki dinners had very good reviews, and we were expecting a very good dinner on the first evening we checked into the ryokan on 25.1.2015.

it turned out to be really disappointing. i would say this dinner was below just about every ryokan dinner i had in tohoku (we visited just before the tsunami, sadly cannot go back now), and way below (say) mikuni or hachi or kuriya in singapore.

i need to add here though that the japanese breakfast the next day was excellent (& the day after too) & the shabu shabu kaiseki on our second night 26.1.2015 was just exquisite, par excellence, so i term this a tale of 2 dinners. ^^

A Tale of 2 Dinners Part 2 The Good Ending – A Marvellous Kaiseki Dinner @ Gettoan on 26Jan2015

Wonderful Breakfast – A Redemption @ Gettoan Ryokan 月灯庵 Yufuin汤布院 Kyushu 九州 on 26.1.2015

https://chefquak.com/2015/02/08/another-wonderful-breakfast-to-savour-gettoan-ryokan-月灯庵-yufuin汤布院-kyushu-九州-on-27jan2015/

kaiseki menu

sensai

sensai-seaweed wrapped minced salmon?

sensai – fish roes

the sensai was ok, but really unexciting for this class of ryokan (i.e. very expensive ryokan). the mini kaiseki lunch at kuriya had far better sensai (前菜). and the omakase lunch at GOTO had just as good sakizuke(先附).

tofu dish with foie gras

the foie gras flavoured tofu dish was a nice dish, but really average by japanese kaiseki standards, non descript really.

sashimi moriawase

the sashimi moriawase (kampachi, tai maybe?? & hirame) was an immense let down, completely substandard. for me, even sun with moon sashimi is much better standard than this! sashimi was not sweet & was tough – a really low grade cut!

yuba pot

there was a egg, yuba pot with veg. i would give same assessment as the foie gras tofu…underwhelming, just like the entire dinner.

clear soup with fish

the clear soup came with a nice tasty piece of fish, maybe snapper? anyway for this dish alone, maybe one could say “normal service resumes??” but this was a non-substantial by-the-way dish in a kaiseki.

bungo wagyu ishiyaki 丰后和牛石烧

of course the bungo wagyu ishiyaki 丰后和牛石烧 was just excellent. like my wife said, ishiyaki is self service & they did gave a very good beef cut. in a good or at least par-for-the-course kaiseki, one expects to taste good cooking, some creativity & great matching of taste. those were non existent in this dinner!

ochazuke (お茶漬け)

other than the bungo wagyu ishiyaki 丰后和牛石烧, the ochazuke (お茶漬け) was the only other dish throughout the dinner that we consider of good standards. the kampachi cut was good & could be taken as sashimi or slightly poached with the rice. the yuzu miso paste was great & the dashi 上汤was just excellent! a very good dish.

deseert

the dessert was just as bad. any dessert in sun with moon would be better!

one comment on the service. the overall service of the ryokan was top notch as expected of any ryokans of this standard. we were assigned a server who spoke very good english & we were kind of expecting top level service.

but the service was really superficial! the server tried to get us to order red wine instead of sake claiming that the dishes suited wine better. i would say none of the dishes qualified at all as western or fusion & why would one take red or white wine instead of sake for a japanese dinner, they were just not very good japanese food! & it was quite blatant way to get us to spend more money. this the first & only time we encountered that in japan. even in Singapore these days, server will advise you NOT to order things you don’t need/want!

and worse, after the beef before ochazuke she asked us whether we wanted tea. we asked for ocha & was later billed 950yen! of course it was not about the money. she did not tell us it was chargeable, and the way she asked it was evident that she did not intend to reveal it was chargeable. immediately after the ochazuke, we were served another ocha, this one free. does that make any sense??

for me it was a lowly tactic suited for yesteryears, like london chinatown in the 1970s, not a top class ryokan in Japan, or for that matter any ordinary restaurants in Singapore.

fortunately for us, the ryokan redeemed itself the next few meals. we were asked again the next dinner if we wanted tea by the same server, again w/o telling us it was chargeable! some bad habits just do not go away!

c.h.e.f andy

Great Steaks & Views @ Lamp Sha Lake Kinrinko Yufuin on 26Jan2015

Posted on February 5, 2015 by chefquak

bungo wagyu 丰后和牛

we again had an excellent bungo wagyu 丰后和牛 lunch next day on 26.1.2015. ^^

we googled & originally wanted to go 湯の岳庵 yunotake which is located at kamenoi besso ryokan, also by lake kinrinko. when we enquired at our ryokan Gettoan, they mentioned the lamp sha, and it was really a very good recommendation. 🙂

we decided to both ordered the bungo wagyu 丰后和牛 steak set lunch.^^

sweet corn soup

first was the sweet corn soup. it was good! very good restaurant standard indeed!

sauce for steak

bungo wagyu 丰后和牛

bungo wagyu 丰后和牛

bungo wagyu 丰后和牛

next came the steak with the sauce comprising beef broth, onions, garlic, an excellent sauce.

the steak was tender w/o tough connecting tissues. it came in a hot place shielded all round with a cut paper. we were told to add sauce w/o removing the paper, that way the sauce would not splash onto our clothings when coming in touch with a hot surface. 🙂

my wife had a first piece in the middle (which was medium rare) & she said it was so good. we both felt the steak was somewhat overdone towards the end because it continued to cook on the hotplate. would have been so much better had it been medium rare!

lake kinrinko-view from lamp sha

lamp sha also boast a very nice view, overlooking lake kinrinko! ^^

yuzu sorbet – lamp sha

it was a 3-course lunch for 1650yen. the last item was an yuzu sorbet. that was like just S$17.30++ for 3-course lunch including japanese wagyu!

this was 1 of the most value-for-money lunches. you get to see the incredible views of the lake & an excellent bungo wagyu 丰后和牛steak! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

OK Zi Char Dinner @ Seng Kee on 1Feb2015

Posted on February 3, 2015 by chefquak

crab beehoon

went to a friend’s place to watch australian open tennis finals between djokovic & murray on 1.2.2015. 🙂

i supported djokovic. my 3 friends all supported murray, though 2 of them betted against him. djokovic won. our common favourite is nadal. cannot tell how long nadal can still go on, though he had came back from injuries twice before. between federer & djokovic i will support federer. but djokovic against anyone else i will support djokovic. 🙂

after the AO finals, one friend bought 4pax dinner at seng kee black chicken herbal soup, 467 Changi Road. i was here maybe 3yrs back, also a dinner treat from the same friend. ^^

seng kee black chicken herbal soup

seng kee occupies 2 corner units + one intermediate terrace unit along the terrace shop units adjacent to jalan masjid.

red snapper head

steamed red snapper head

we had a steamed red snapper 1/2 fish head. it was very nice. fish was sweet & tasty. i liked this dish best. ^^

steamed baby squid

the steamed baby squid was ok, nothing special. somehow the good teochew cold cooked baby squid was a lot sweeter & tastier, but i don’t get to eat that much these days. maybe still can get at teochew porridge stalls.

spinach

sambal potato leaves

i liked both the vegetables. the spinach was very good, and the soup with wolfberries & egg was very tasty. same with the sambal potato leaves. loved it.

crab beehoon

unfortunately the main event, crab beehoon, one of my favourite dishes, was quite poor. the beehoon did not have any rich infusion of crab flavours. just compare this with the very nice crab beehoon at ming kee on 23.3.2014. or house of steamed fish or golden spoon (though it seemed that golden spoon standard has also dropped substantially??).

there were lots of beehoon, but they tasted like any fried beehoon & not the best ones at that in terms of wok hae, but no hint of crab or shellfish flavours at all! where was the stock?

the crab itself was quit ok. a good, tasty crab, but not really special or outstanding.

steamed minced pork salted fish

the steamed minced pork salted fish was edible, but strangely felt like there was quite a bit of starch in the minced pork. also the pork was well, quite porky (not flavourful but porky). honestly my helper does this a lot better at home. anyway my friends who frequent seng kee every week gave their feedback to the server & the restaurant did not charge this dish.

臭豆 – petai

otah

the 臭豆 – petai was ok, quite a competent preparation but not a favourite dish for me.

the otah was pretty good for me (again otah not my favourite dish) but my friends who were here quite a lot thought it was poor.

the 4pax dinner came to S$140 or S$35pax. i thought it was quite ok in fact for the food we had, though the main event was the crab beehoon & that was a bit of a let down.

c.h.e.f andy

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c.h.e.f

cook.hangout.eat.fun

Category Archives: Buon Appetito!

Nice Interesting Lunch @ Nirai Kanai Okinawan Diner on 27Feb2015

Excellent Sashimi & Sushi from Fukuoka Mitsukoshi at Tenjin on 28Jan2015

Superb Hokkaido Wagyu Steak & Sukiyaki @ Imahan Hakata on 29Jan2015

Wanton Noodles, Pig Trotter Jelly, Pig Trotters & Fish Maw Soup @ Whampoa Hawker Centre on 25Feb2015

Very Good & Huge Breakfast @ Beppu 別府潮騒の宿晴海 on 28Jan2015

Kaiseki Dinner @ Beppu Seikai 別府潮騒の宿晴海 on 27Jan2015

羊年话羊－ Talking About Words Sounding like Goat (Year of the Goat)

Visiting Beppu’s Hells Umi-jogoku 海地獄 on 27Jan2015

Nice Stroll Along Yunotsubo Kaido & Lake Kinrinko 金麟湖 on 26&26Jan2015

Good Standard Turtle Soup @ Tan Ser Seng on 13Feb2015

Excellent Ohmi Wagyu & Early Valentine Dinner @ ME.OUE on 12Feb2015

Tapao (Takeaway) Dinner @ Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hun Restaurant on 11Feb2015

Good Set Lunch @ Concetto by Saveur on 10Feb2015

Another Wonderful Breakfast to Savour @ Gettoan Ryokan 月灯庵 Yufuin汤布院 Kyushu 九州 on 27Jan2015

A Tale of 2 Dinners Part 2 The Good Ending – A Marvellous Kaiseki Dinner @ Gettoan on 26Jan2015

Wonderful Breakfast – A Redemption @ Gettoan Ryokan 月灯庵 Yufuin汤布院 Kyushu 九州 on 26.1.2015

Great Seafood & Good Value Dinner @ Kamjiazhuang 甘家庄 on 7Feb2015

A Tale of 2 Dinners Part 1 – Disappointing Totally Below Par Kaiseki Dinner @ Gettoan on 25Jan2015

Great Steaks & Views @ Lamp Sha Lake Kinrinko Yufuin on 26Jan2015

OK Zi Char Dinner @ Seng Kee on 1Feb2015

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