Enjoy Everytime – Chai Chuan Tou Chinese Mutton Soup 柴船头羊肉汤 on 15Aug2015

chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤

chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤

went to people’s park complex to make some remittance.

i decided to drop by chai chuan tou at bukit merah view for some chinese mutton soup on the way back on 15.8.2015. ^^

chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤

chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤

it was 11am, & the queue was like 10pax. but service was quite fast.

chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤

chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤

i enjoy mutton soup here at chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤 everytime. this time was no exception. 🙂

recently i had chinese mutton soup at chinatown beef noodles stall @ food republic at vivocity. i thought then that the soup was not as good as chai chuan tou.

but having tried chai chuan tou again today, i thought both were equally good. chai chuan tou’s is more intense, but the one at chinatown beef noodles stall @ food republic at vivocity was smoother with nice herbal balance, and the meat was thicker & meatier though higher price. so that’s a stall i would want to take mutton soup at again. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Below Par Toa Payoh Lor 7 Teochew Fishball Noodles @ Food Republic at Lido on 12Aug2015

S$5 fishball noodles

S$5 fishball noodles

went with friends to watch fantastic 4 at lido at 12.30pm on 12.8.2015. ^^

show was a bit lacking storyline, basically just an intro of how f4 got their powers, this time via teleporting to another dimension instead of exposure to cosmic rays, whatever…

after the show went down to food republic in the basement for a bite. the last time i had the beef noodles at brisket king 牛腩大王 here. this time i decided to try the fishball noodles stall, toa payoh lor 7 teochew fishball noodles.

S$5 fishball noodles

S$5 fishball noodles

i took the S$5 meepok tar. it came with 5 fishballs. fishballs were bouncy, sweet, easy to the bite.

fishballs were as good as xin lu (新路) teochew fish ball noodles (formerly from margaret drive) at mei chin road food centre.

S$5 fishball noodles

S$5 fishball noodles

the noodles though were a let down. they were not QQ!

S$5 fishball noodles

S$5 fishball noodles

there were a bit more sauce & colour c/w the one at xin lu (新路) teochew fish ball noodles.

the look & colour was more like the one at food opera at ion orchard, which i also thought was poor.

and of course it was S$5, c/w with S$3 at xin lu.

anyway it a very average stall and not one i will pick.

c.h.e.f andy

Great SG50 5-course Dinner @ Oso on 11Aug2015

braised veal cheek with beetroot - stracotto

braised veal cheek with beetroot – stracotto

organised a belated birthday for a close friend at oso on 11.8.2015. ^^

oso SG50 5-course menu

oso SG50 5-course menu

we took the SG50 5-course dinner menu. we had 7pax.

bread tray

bread tray

we were served some rye bread & focaccia with olive oil & balsamic. quite ok.

cured salmon with caviar

cured salmon with caviar

first was a cured salmon with caviar & some shaved fennel. 🙂

cured salmon with caviar

cured salmon with caviar

it was nice. not exceptional but a great starter. 🙂

cream of cauliflower

cream of cauliflower

we had cream of cauliflower soup.

soup was smooth, quite tasty, a bit thick. pretty ok but no better than my own cream of cauliflower.

amatriciana - bacon, red wine, tomato pasta

amatriciana – bacon, red wine, tomato pasta

pasta was also average.

amatriciana - bacon, red wine, tomato pasta

amatriciana – bacon, red wine, tomato pasta

good pasta certainly, but quite ordinary, no stand out.

dory fillet in lobster-orange sauce

dory fillet in lobster-orange sauce

we had 4 orders of veal cheeks & 3 orders of fish. dory not my choice fish.

dory fillet in lobster-orange sauce

dory fillet in lobster-orange sauce

i tried some from my friend. it was pretty ok. i guess good for a dory fillet.

braised veal cheek with beetroot - stracotto

braised veal cheek with beetroot – stracotto

the braised veal cheek with beetroot – stracotto was excellent though.

braised veal cheek with beetroot - stracotto

braised veal cheek with beetroot – stracotto

tender, totally consistent & not very beefy, quite gentle & quite excellent bite, not the sinewy stewed meat type. i would say one of the best braised meat.

croatata - choc lava tart

crotata – choc lava tart

& the crotata – choc lava tart was marvellous.

croatata - choc lava tart

croatata – choc lava tart

it’s like any good choc lava cake, with the tart giving it very good combination of texture.

tiramisu - buon compleanno

tiramisu – buon compleanno

the restaurant was told that it was a birthday celebration, so they provided a tiramisu cake for the birthday, a good gesture practiced by most good restaurants.

however, when i called to reconfirm the reservation on the day, the person who answered told me he reserved a nice quiet corner for us. but in fact we had 7pax seated on a table 6 with 1 chair at the end & next to the kitchen with a lot of traffic. that would have been quite fine if the restaurant was full but it was just 50% occupied, so i think that was not quite the level of service for a good restaurant.

anyway we had a great evening. food was good, especially the braised veal cheeks & the choc lava tart. the cured salmon was pretty good as well.

dinner was S$50pax for 5-course. we were all quite happy with the meal & ambience.

c.h.e.f andy

Decent Food @ Balestier Food Centre on 28Jul2015

chicken rice

chicken rice

went with some close friends to watch the movie “ant-man”. quite enjoyed the movie. quite entertaining.

after the movie we went over to balaestier food centre for some dinner makan on 28.7.2015. 🙂

poached chicken feet

poached chicken feet

there were 4 of us. we ordered our separate dishes.

one friend ordered chicken rice, with chicken breast, liver & some chicken feet. i tried some it was ok.

laksa

ah hui laksa

i decided to try the laksa stall. the stall, ah hui fishball noodles, seemed to be also owned by ah hui prawn noodles.

laksa

ah hui laksa

bad choice. it was mediocre. can eat la..but not really worth eating.

got the ingredients. but flavour-wise simply no comparison with weiyi laksa at tanglin halt food centre.

nor the laksa at teck hin fishball noodles stall at the food loft at clementi.

猪杂汤 pig inards soup

猪杂汤 pig organ soup

another friend had the 猪杂汤 pig organ soup. he said it was good. i guess must be competent enough.

prawn noodles

ah hui prawn noodles

another friend took the ah hui prawn noodles. i had the S$5 few months back & it was not bad.

but it’s a matter of comparison. my friend ordered the large one S$8 i think & she didn’t think it was all that good. and we both agreed that c/w “why eat har”, the soup base did not have the same flavours, smoothness & intensity.

c.h.e.f andy

Authentic Thai Meal – Quite Shiok! @ Nakhon Kitchen Hollandv on 9Aug2015

red curry beef

red curry beef

family decided to try out lunch at nakhon kitchen at hollandv on 9.8.2015.^^

(friend brought me to nakhon kitchen @ AMK recently. i enjoyed the authentic thai food very much).

place opened at 12pm & don’t take reservations, and has reputation of long queues, and parking at hollandv at 12pm is usually horrendous. wife said 1/2 the people were away on national day (in this case maybe also because of the many SG50 festivities) and true enough, carpark was quite empty at 11.50am.

nakhon kitchen @ hollandv

nakhon kitchen @ hollandv

restaurant was also quite empty at 12pm but filled up soon enough.

nakhon kitchen @ hollandv

nakhon kitchen @ hollandv

no frills decor, no frills prices.

mango salad

mango salad – S$5

we ordered the mango salad.

mango salad

mango salad – S$5

not to be compared with relish burger’s prawn turnip salad which was >2x the price, but it was ok.

chicken wings

chicken wings – S$8

the chicken wings were surprising very good.

chicken wings

chicken wings – S$8

and it’s comparable (almost i guess) to patara’s, which are >2x the price. that’s how good it was. 🙂

tomyam seafood soup

tomyam talay (seafood) soup – S$6

tomyam talay (seafood) soup was competent, maybe nothing to comment i guess for S$6.

my daughter prefers the tomyam noodles (S$6 student price) at le wu.

tomyam seafood soup

tomyam talay (seafood) soup – S$6

only 1 prawn so maybe so do tomyam gung next time instead of talay.

but i would rather have the S$10 one at thai gold food which we had recently.

red curry beef

red curry beef – S$8

we all loved the red curry beef. it was really good! ^^

for me the red curry was patara’s standard.

green curry chicken

green curry chicken – S$8

the green curry chicken was much less good.

green curry chicken

green curry chicken – S$8

it was ok, but strangely it seemed much thicker & from the photos looked completely different from vibrant, yummy one at nakhon kitchen AMK. that one i finished up all the curries.

deepfried grouper with thai chilli

deepfried grouper with thai chilli – S$22

my son wanted the deepfried garoupa. i had some doubts it would turn up like the really excellent dish at patara. the server said it was a favourite dish here.

deepfried grouper with thai chilli

deepfried grouper with thai chilli – S$22

it was quite small. but it was quite good actually, so i didn’t mind it. but i thought i could do this easily at home, only have to conjure up the right sauce. 🙂

the one at patara cost S$39++but is like 2x the size & sauce much better, so i think patara more worthwhile. 🙂

pad thai

pad thai – S$5

pad thai was just S$5.

pad thai

pad thai – S$5

it’s not my favourite dish, but it’s quite authentic here, not too sweet. overall quite good.

minced beef basil rice

minced beef basil rice – S$6

son ordered the basil minced beef rice.

minced beef basil rice

minced beef basil rice – S$6

taste was ok. cannot c/w with le wu’s fried basil beef but i guess not really a like for like comparison.

we also had a S$5 mango sticky rice to share. did not take photo. anyway sticky rice not fragrant, a dish i could do without.

lunch for 4pax came to S$80, or S$20nett, no service, no GST.

must say it was a very authentic thai meal, quite shiok!

c.h.e.f andy

Great Burgers @ Relish Burger Cluny Court on 4Aug2015

wild rocket burger

wild rocket burger

wife had a groupon that was expiring. son was in town & he loved burgers. so we arranged to have 3pax lunch at relish burgers by wild rockets at cluny court on 4.8.2015.^^

i don’t mind burgers. they are not ranked anywhere in my priority though. the last time i had relish burger was with wife at serangoon gardens in dec2014, also by way of groupons. haha! 🙂

relish @ cluny court

relish @ cluny court

place was bright & pleasant. 🙂

relish @ cluny court

relish @ cluny court

quite well patronised maybe because of groupon discounts?

prawn salad

prawn salad

wife ordered a prawn turnip salad.

prawn salad

prawn salad

it was very good. prawns were very fresh. salad was refreshing & tangy, very appetising. 🙂

wild rocket burger

wild rocket burger

wife & i shared a wild rocket burger.

wild rocket burger

wild rocket burger

it is true that the burger is excellent. charred outside, medium rare & moist inside, very nice flavours with peppers & mustard & onions.

blue cheese & william pear burger

blue cheese & william pear burger

son ordered the popular blue cheese & william pear burger.

blue cheese & william pear burger

blue cheese & william pear burger

it was very good too. the blue cheese left a very nice lingering after taste. 🙂

deconstructed strawberry cheesecake

deconstructed strawberry cheesecake

the last time we liked the deconstructed strawberry cheese cake.

deconstructed strawberry cheesecake

deconstructed strawberry cheesecake

i even tried making one myself, which was quite good really but maybe not yet up for comparison.

deconstructed strawberry cheesecake

deconstructed strawberry cheesecake

that’s part of the fun for me eating out, tasting different food & making an assessment if i can reproduce w/o much hassle.

the lunch was S$77. somehow we could not locate the groupon so we paid the full amount & the restaurant (angie the lady we spoke to) agreed to let us used it the week after even though it would have expired. part of good service i guess.

c.h.e.f andy

Good & Cheap Teochew Muay 潮州靡 @ ye shanghai 夜上海 on 8Aug2015

teochew muay 潮州靡dishes

teochew muay 潮州靡dishes

wife wanted to try the cheap havelock turtle soup at havelock food centre. unfortunately it was closed.

we passed by bukit merah view to see if ye shanghai teochew porridge  夜上海潮州靡 was open (i was here recenty on 16.7.2015). it was, so i parked & joined the short queue (4pax in front) at 1130am on 8.8.2015.

Ye Shang Hai 夜上海 Teochew Porridge

Ye Shang Hai 夜上海 Teochew Porridge

i got our food soon enough, maybe just 5 mins waiting in the queue.

Ye Shang Hai 夜上海 Teochew Porridge

Ye Shang Hai 夜上海 Teochew Porridge

by the time i sat down, the queue had grown to >15pax and remained so. the turnover though was quick enough.

teochew fishcake

teochew fishcake

i ordered 7 dishes. it came to S$11.40 including the 2 porridge. 🙂

the teochew fishcake here was nice, much better than the shi le yuan version.

taupok & taukee

taupok & taukee

wife did not like the taupok & taukee. they were not the very soft well infused with the lor flavours, but overall still ok for me.

salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼

salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼

the salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼 was good as ever, salted fish very flavourful, maybe shi le yuan’s version was better. our own salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼 would be better than this.

eggplants

eggplants

eggplants was the best! ^^

not sure how they do this. maybe will give it a try at home. 🙂

chilli ray

chilli ray

chilli ray was good, one of the dishes i like more. fish was great, so was the sauce. 🙂

chai buay

chai buay

chai buay the usual good standards one, just mildly sweet not sour.

cauliflower greens

cauliflower etc greens

the cauliflowers etc were freshly cooked, nice & crunchy, nothing special i guess. only the price is special.haha!

very nice simple lunch.

c.h.e.f andy

Satisfying Dinner with Son @ Aburiya on 7Aug2015

kimchi chigae 킴치찌개

kimchi chigae 킴치찌개

had a great family dinner with son (back for summer holidays) at aburiya on 7.8.2015. ^^ from my 3 previous posts, looks like i come here every 6 months, the last one in mar2015. could be more frequent than that & i did not post, but that’s the value of the posts for me, helping me to savour moments of joy. 🙂

yakiniku smokeless grill

yakiniku smokeless grill

aburiya has a good ventilation system & smokeless grill. i talked about this last time when c/w azmaya omakaseya which was poor in ventilation.

kurobuta

kurobuta S$16.90

we had the kurobuta.

kurobuta S$14.90

kurobuta S$14.90

this time we did not take the kurobuta belly. the meat looked marbled. texture was great but more like a loin than the flavourful fatty meat.

karubi S$10.90

karubi S$10.90

we take the cheaper beef, the karubi or short ribs.

karubi negi S$11.90

karubi negi S$11.90

& we orderd karubi negi which came with a seasoned/pickled negi or leek for S$1 more. love the leeks.

jo karubi S$16.90

jo karubi S$16.90

we also had jo karubi, the prime short ribs.

yakiniku grill

yakiniku grill

the meats were ok, not really special & my own homecooked steak dishes like tagliata di manzo are a lot better basically because i use very much better cuts like grain-fed black angus ribeye or striploin & sometimes aussie or even japanese wagyu. still it was very tasty & nice done this way even for cheap meats & we sometimes do teppanyaki ourselves at home, which is just as wonderful. ^^

kimchi chigae 킴치찌개

kimchi chigae 킴치찌개

& i just love the kimchi chigae 킴치찌개 here. not even the kimchi nabe hotpot at shirokiya can compare with this in terms of flavours. maybe i will think of some ways to do this at home.

bibimen

bibimen

and we also love the bibimen here.

bibimen

bibimen

really like the noodles & the pork & cucumber condiments mixed in the ubiquitous gochujang sauce고추장. such a wonderful comfort food. maybe can try this at home too, not sure. the dinner sans the sake was about S$30nett pax, pretty ok. 🙂

Hawker Food @ Food Republic Vivocity on 6Aug2015

thye hong fried hokkien noodles

thye hong fried hokkien noodles

went with son to watch MI5 – mission impossible (rogue nation) at vivocity on 6.8.2015.

we were early & collected the tickets about 6.20pm for a 7pm show. walked around a bit but nothing to shop. decided to go 1 floor up to the food republic at the roof top.

son took the fried hokkien noodles, think it was thye hong hokkien noodles. expensive leh S$5 for a small serving! guess i don’t go food court often and only reference hawker centre prices which are quite a bit lower.

the flavours was good though, very good wok hae!

chinese mutton ribs soup 羊排汤

chinese mutton ribs soup 羊排汤

i thought of having bakchormee, but somehow could not find a bakchormee stall. there was a stall selling some noodles with different variations that might include bakchormee.

(P.S. later i found out that there is supposed to be a lao da hua 老大华 stall there)

anyway i decided to take the chinese mutton soup. did not pay attention, i think it was chinatown beef noodles stall (they sell mainly beef noodles but also has mutton soup).

the girl told me they only serve mutton ribs, so i should call it 羊排汤. it was expensive too, at S$8 & what looked like a few pieces of meat floating around.

my favoruite is chai chuan tou 柴船头羊肉汤 at bukit merah view food centre & it’s only S$6 for the large serving.

the soup was good but when i first tasted it, i thought it confirmed my suspicion as the soup was not so good c/w chai chuan tou 柴船头羊肉汤.

but the mutton ribs, i think it was 崩沙腩,was really good, excellent in fact! ^^

it was very meaty, and still came with the collagen bits just like the very good beef briskets 牛腩i had in hong kong, except that this was mutton. & the texture was perfect tender but not sinewy. chai chuan tou 柴船头羊肉汤‘s mutton also like this but this ones here were a lot thicker & meatier. this is something i really like, so S$8 was quite worth it!

c.h.e.f andy

Really Fun 12pax Homegourmet Dinner on 5Aug2015

had a very enjoyable dinner last evening. ^^

i prepared a 12-course dinner for my friends. every dish was good…

this mostly the pulau ubin durian picking group.
https://chefquak.com/2015/07/19/durian-picking-adventure-pulau-ubin-on-21jun2015/

wife & youngest daughter (who just finished her last paper in the morning) joined the dinner. 🙂

#1 wife prepared a nice quinoa pumpkin tofu salad for me. ^^

quinoa gave it a bit of texture & also savoury, some sweetnes from the agave nectar. a very nice salad.

#2 made a nice chicken ballotine. this time i steamed for 11mins, so not overcooked. maybe even 10mins will do. nice tender chicken, & the bacon & onions, spinach made it quite tasty. 🙂

#3 oven roasted kurobuta medium rare

#3 oven roasted kurobuta medium rare

#3 was experimenting on the kurobuta.

used the vietnamese pork collar marinade. 2days in chiller. browned over high heat in butter then 18mins in a preheated 250degC oven!

texture was marvelous. the marinade flavours pretty good. & the colour a very pretty pink medium rare. it is pork though so some friends might be a little worried, but restaurants like salta parilla also served kurobuta steak medium rare.

#4 my headcheese terrine was just superb.

i varied my usual pig trotters braising sauce recipe & added 1 cup of red wine. i used the slow crockpot roast method (starting from cold on low heat) for the 1/2head+hear i bought from sheng shiong, and texture was perfect in about 6 hrs.

#5 pig's ear ragout served on toast3 #5 pig's ear ragout served on toast

#5 for the pig’s ear ragout, i took out the ear & minced/chopped it, took out some sauce & heat the minced pig’s ear & reduced the sauce.

this was an excellent dish we had at dinner by heston blumenthal in london. i did not have the recipe so this is my very own concoction!^^

#6 one of my most impressive dish this evening was the flamed squid in spinach veloute.^^

i softened yellow onions, green pepper, leek & lastly spinach leaves in a pan & blend it with olive oil, chicken (or veg) stock & salt & pepper to taste. i added 1 teaspoon of tsuyu sauce.

i first did this for my anniversary dinner after our recent cornwall trip. we had a great lunch at porthminster cafe in st ives & saw a photo of the dish. i did not have the recipe so i concocted my own.

#7 shellfish bisque

#7 shellfish bisque

#7 shellfish bisque was excellent too! ^^ very intense, smooth & flavourful & excellent brandy flavours.

it’s similar to my lobster bisque. i had a vegetable base to balance the intense stock from prawn shells & heads. i used carrots, onion, leek, red pepper, & the leftover spinach stems.

#8 tagliata di manzo is my regular dish. i had 100D grain-fed black angus striploin this time.

i had ribeye recently for my daughter’s 30pax home party which was better, but striploin done medium rare was still very good. 🙂

#9 for the second main, i did a pistachio crusted lamb.

i don’t do this often. lamb rack is very expensive. i bought the cheaper ones which were still frenched but with caps on. the denuded ones were too expensive. so i had to cut away like a ton of fat, a bit tedious.

anyway, the pistachio rack of lamb was really excellent, no strong gamey taste, nicely medium rare to medium & excellent with the pistachios.^^

#10 for the pastas, i made a funghi linguine. it was good but my wife & daughter told me it was not as good as the one i did for my daughter’s recent party.

#11 prawn spaghetti in pinck sauce (creamy tomatoes)

#11 prawn spaghetti in pinck sauce (creamy tomatoes)

#11 they thought the prawn spaghetti in pink sauce was the best. and yes, it was very tasty & flavourful.

crayfish pasta was a dish which my wife does very well. and i am just trying to model after, using small prawns instead of crayfish.

#12 for dessert, i did a banoffee (banana toffee) cake.

it was very good. i put about 1/3 of the caramel i made after heating a can on condensed milk for 4hrs, and lots of bananas. so it was not too sweet & an excellent combination of flavours & texture. 🙂

very expensive

very expensive “black gold”durians – 2x price of maoshanwang!

a friend brought very expensive “black gold” durians.

it’s like 2x maoshanwang 猫山王 prices, so the 3 durians he brought probably cost $200!

very expensive

very expensive “black gold”durians – 2x price of maoshanwang!

it was super nice, very creamy, small seeds & bitter. better be! at such astronomical prices…

mangoesteen

mangoesteen

& mangosteens too, very good ones. 🙂

another friend brought an entire box 15kg of mangoesteens! i managed to get the guys to bring back so i probably kept about 3 to 4 kg.

my very good friend who took the nice photos brought a sparkling wine. and some friends brought fruits.

konyaku jelly

konyaku jelly

another friend brought konyaku jelly.

oat shortbread - it was really good!

oat shortbread – it was really good!

& a personal gift for me – a very nice oat shortbread! ^^

very fun evening with good friends, and the food turning out very well too! haha! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Enjoying My Chirashi Don @ Kuriya Dining on 1Aug2015

chirashi sushi zen

chirashi sushi zen

a quick post. wife wanted to go kuriya dining for lunch on 1.8.2015.^^

last time we came was 2 months ago. we took the same chirashi sushi zen set. this time though we did not want to eat too much so ordered 1 set to share. 🙂

salad with goma dressing

salad with goma dressing

chirashi set included a salad with goma (sesame) dressing. refreshing as usual.

grilled spanish pork

grilled spanish pork

we decided to share a grilled spanish pork, think it was like S$28. 🙂

grilled spanish pork

grilled spanish pork

the pork was really nice, very flavourful& very tender.

grilled spanish pork

grilled spanish pork

roast garlic bulb though was not too great, not softened enough.  the pan-roasted garlic cloves in olive oil i do for my pastas etc a lot better than this. 🙂

oven roasted kurobuta medium rare

my own oven roasted kurobuta medium rare 5.8.2015

i wanted to try it at home. i did a oven roast kurobuta medium rare 250degC 18mins (there was a kurobuta bought from mmmm in the freezer for several months to be used).

i used my vietnamese pork collar marinade. the result was good, very nice kurobuta, but not quite the same experience. will try the spanish mustard beef marinade on a pork collar, see if that comes closer.

oysters - otoshi for chirashi sushi set

oysters – otoshi for chirashi sushi set

the oysters otoshi was ok, so-so.

snow crab chawanmushi

snow crab chawanmushi

the crab chawanmushi very tasty, good as always.

chirashi sushi zen set

chirashi sushi zen set

the chirashi don zen was just incredible.

chirashi sushi zen

chirashi sushi zen

you can see so many different quality cuts including a heap of uni (sea urchin), i included the details in my earlier post.

chirashi sushi zen

chirashi sushi zen

i can have this again!^^

chirashi sushi zen

chirashi sushi zen

so sumptuous & yummy!

c.h.e.f andy

Shiok as Before 2pax Dinner @ Tunglok Signature on 4Aug2015

steamed razor clams with tanhoon

S$12.80 steamed razor clams with tanhoon

had not been to tunglok signature at orchard parade for a while. last was in sep2014.

was deciding where to eat out for dinner. we had japanese recently at kuriya dining, and tomorrow i am cooking 12pax dinner at home which is mostly western/italian.

so we went to tunglok signature at orchard parade hotel for dinner this evening on 4.8.2015.

for me, the food never dissappoints, just as shiok as ever.

tunglok signature orchard parade hotel

tunglok signature orchard parade hotel

don’t think other diners share my views though. the place had just few tables, quite empty.

garlic pork 蒜泥白肉

S$8 garlic pork 蒜泥白肉

we ordered the garlic pork 蒜泥白肉.

garlic pork 蒜泥白肉

S$8 garlic pork 蒜泥白肉

it was good. i liked it & would order it again, but honestly it was not better than my own garlic pork 蒜泥白肉 though the style was quite different. i like my spicy garlic pork 蒜泥白肉 more in terms of the flavours & tenderness of my belly pork but this here was good & looked very nice too.

lie tong 例汤

S$16 lie tong 例汤

we had the  lie tong 例汤.

lie tong 例汤

S$ 16 lie tong 例汤

it was really good! ^^

my helper made very good lie tong 例汤 at home quite often, so this had to be really good to impress us. they had old cucumber & dried cuttlefish & pork softbones soup base. it was really tasty! 🙂

lie tong 例汤 ingredients

lie tong 例汤 ingredients

we ate up the 3 large pieces of pork softbones before remembering to take photo.

steamed razor clams with tanhoon

S$12.80 steamed razor clams with tanhoon

the  steamed razor clams with tanhoon was really good too. this was as good as the ones we often had previously at ah yat grandstand & very less frequently at jumbo and long beach at dempsey.

steamed razor clams with tanhoon

steamed razor clams with tanhoon

top restaurant standards & very much better than the ones we had at the daipaidongs 大排档 in hong kong.

garoupa fillet with brocoli & lily bulbs 百合

S$42 garoupa fillet with brocoli & lily bulbs 百合

we ordered the garoupa fillet with brocoli & lily bulbs 百合.

garoupa fillet with brocoli & lily bulbs 百合

garoupa fillet with brocoli & lily bulbs 百合

this was excellent too.

wok hae was very good. the garoupa fillet & vegetables – brocoli & lily bulbs 百合- were very well done.

i can definitely do this dish at home, maybe i will start with a vegetarian one for my niece’s coming brthday. 🙂

lobster noodles

S$28 lobster noodles

i was looking forward to the lobster noodles.

lobster noodles

S$28 lobster noodles

it was still good, but a far cry from the lobster noodles we had here previously(just looked at the previous photos here), or at any good restaurants eg xin restaurant.

just look at the old photos of the “real” loster noodles. that’s how it should look like!

dessert 雪中情怀

S$8 dessert 雪中情怀

& i always like the dessert 雪中情怀.

dessert 雪中情怀

dessert 雪中情怀

it did not dissappoint. really excellent, the combination of fresh coconut, mango, grapefruit, vanilla & coconut ice cream was super!

i take this everytime!^^

with 50% for 2pax amex palate discounts the food came to S$100nett for 2pax & we got free parking as well.

c.h.e.f andy

Fabulous 5-course Wine Dinner @ Da Luca on 30Jul2015

chilled capellini in wild truffle emulsion

#1 chilled capellini in wild truffle emulsion

wife was invited to a credit suisse wine dinner so i tagged along.^^

the menu looked fabulous, that’s why…i not really a wine person though i drink some red for health reasons… haha! 🙂

da luca (wine dinner)

da luca (wine dinner)

restaurant was filled up.  there were 45 diners including quite many bank staff.

da luca (wine dinner)

da luca (wine dinner)

food was excellent. & we had great company, seated with the wine distributor & the CS banker. a most enjoyable evening dining & chatting! ^^

bread

bread

we were served a toasted bread. it was good. i finished all of it. 🙂

& we had a prosecco. 🙂

chilled capellini in wild truffle emulsion

#1 chilled capellini in wild truffle emulsion

#1 first course was chef luca’s signature chilled capellini in wild truffle emulsion. chef luca hailed from garibaldi & gunther.

this was really good! it was so very flavourful, wonderful truffle aroma, with a japanese laver (seaweed) & ceviche of hokkaido scallops.

you can get decent even good chilled capellini at saveur & also just as good ones at concetto for S$7 but this here is the “real thing”.

bacula bididi 2011

maculan bididi 2011

we had the maculan bididi 2011, not that i know what it was. a pretty good, sweet white wine. wife liked it. ok for me too.

slow cooked spanish octopus

#2 slow cooked spanish octopus

#2 the slow cooked spanish octopus was done very nicely too, very tender. ^^

the grilled flavours (server said it was braised then grilled) kind of masked by the tomato sauce. 🙂

slow cooked spanish octopus

#2 slow cooked spanish octopus

the best octopus i had was at alle darsene at bellaggio lake como.

the roasted octopus tentacles at miky monterosso cinque terre was good too.

the preparation at da cula was perhaps more fine i guess, but taste & overall experience wise, alle darsene was just heavenly, and i think i prefer miky monterosso too.

in singapore the best i had was the sous vide octopus tempura we had almost everytime at mikuni.

funghi risotto

#3 funghi porcini risotto con tartufo nero

#3 & the porcini funghi risotto with black truffles was good, great texture, al dente, good taste.

funghi risotto

#3 funghi porcini risotto con tartufo nero

i did not find it as intense & flavourful as the funghi risotto (sans the black truffles) which i had recently at tess bar & kitchen though.

funghi risotto

#3 funghi porcini risotto con tartufo nero

not sure why. maybe the more expensive black truffles overwhelmed the mushrooms?

anyway it was a good risotto.

barolo braised wagyu cheeks

#4 barolo braised wagyu cheeks

the red wine braised wagyu cheeks was very good too. very tender, a very good braise.

barolo braised wagyu cheeks

#4 barolo braised wagyu cheeks

it was beefy but not very beefy so easier on the palate. portion was fairly generous, not totally satiated but almost there. 🙂

chatting with a CS banker, who i found out is a fellow cooking enthusiast. he asked me where to get wagyu beef cheeks. i have not tried cooking wagyu cheeks so have not looked into this. anyway, beef cheeks  & braises not really my favourite.

for a good braise, i think my own spanish slow-braised beef ribs with a vegetable ratatouille gives a more balanced flavour. and i also prefer beef ribs to the beef cheek.

barolo bricco fiasco 2001

barolo bricco fiasco 2001

there was good wine pairing for each course, & i do enjoy just a little of the wine, though they were basically lost on me. 🙂

chef da luca previously with garibaldi & gunther

chef da luca previously with garibaldi & gunther

chef luca came to say a few words.

chef da luca previously with garibaldi & gunther

chef da luca previously with garibaldi & gunther

we all enjoyed his food very much, so chef luca was very popular man for the evening.

crispy apple tart

#5 crispy apple tart

#5 & yes, the crispy apple tart was excellent!^^

crispy apple tart

#5 crispy apple tart

maybe i will give this a try if i can find a good online recipe.

5-course wine dinner at da luca

5-course wine dinner at da luca

it was really a fabulous dinner & company.

one gentleman on our table mentioned that the S$20pax lunch here was very good so i asked for the menu, and indeed definitely worthwhile coming to try the set lunch.

the ala carte menu prices looked pretty ok too, so likely i would come here for dinner too some time.

P.S. i went with wife to an amarone wine dinner at american club last november. looking at the food picture again, that dinner would be a bit better by comparison. still, this one was very good, and we enjoyed every bit of it. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Scrumptious Homecooked Lunch for 30+pax on 25Jul2015

youngest daughter was celebrating an important occasion & invited 30 friends to the house on 25.7.2015.^^

we had a really wonderfully scrumptious family-cooked lunch for her friends.

we did 13 delectable dishes!^^

& her friend made a professional pastry chef standard 2-tier cake. 🙂

wife's PIMMS

wife’s PIMMS cocktail

wife also made a PIMMS cocktail!^^

wife's PIMMS

wife’s PIMMS cocktail

i cannot hold liquor but i liked it very much & took maybe 5 or 6 cups & a bit drunk afterwards. 🙂

#1 wife made a lovely pumpkin tofu salad, something she picked up from marmalade after dining there. 🙂

#2 i did a vietnamese chargrilled pork cold beehoon. 🙂

we recently had this dish at mrs pho. i would think that my version was just as good. 🙂

#3 & i made a chicken ballotine.

#3 i steamed the first batch of 2 for 15mins. it was slight overdone.

the second batch i reduced to 12mins. & this was quite perfect! tender, juicy, flavourful.^^

helper's chicken nuggets

#4 helper’s chicken nuggets

#4 my helper did the chicken nuggets. pretty good too. 🙂

helper's deepfried chicken wings

#5 helper’s deepfried chicken wings

#5 & her chicken wings are a perennial favourite. 🙂

#6 i did a thai red curry sotong.

this the first time i cooked this dish. i fried in butter the sotong (squid) like i did for my flamed squid in spinanch veloute, but w/o flaming it (too tedious for quantity for 30+pax!). i tasted the sotong & it was excellent. i made the red curry gravy using the dancing chef’s ready mix with some cut yellow onions. the curry was just superb, so the combination was just crazy, a clear winner!^^

#7 for the chicken thigh, i pan-grilled on a very hot stainless steel pan. it was perfect, and daughters’ friends walloped the 6 pieces of deboned thighs from 3 chicken in double quick time. 🙂

unlike the red curry dish, for this yellow curry, i made it as a sauce similar to busaba’s to-die-for grilled chicken green curry fried rice.^^

there was actually an egg fried rice dish (which was also pretty good) to accompany the thai chicken & sotong curries but i did not have a photo.

#8 wife made an excellent creamy tomato pasta. she usually use crayfish from chinatown & for me it’s the best pasta ever.

this time, we could not get crayfish at chinatown so she used large prawns as proxy. 🙂

helper's sausage pasta

#9 helper’s sausage pasta

#9 & my helper made her crowd favourite cheese sausage spaghetti.

the whole family like this & all my children’s friends who came to the house previously all enjoyed this pasta by my helper. 🙂

#10 i made an excellent squid ink spaghetti this time, no errors, no horrors, no misses, simply fabulous, par excellence!

very nicely creamy, i added butter (only when tossing with fire off! – you don’t want to boil the butter).^^

& fantastic colour, al dente pasta & irresistible squid ink flavour with wonderful chicken stock & squid.

#11 & the tagliata di manzo had my daughter’s friends swooning & asking for more.

in the end i cooked a second portion, total 4x300g = 1.2kg of 150D grain-fed black angus ribeye.

birthday cake

birthday cake

daughter’s friend made her a totally professional pastry chef standard 2-tier cake.

birthday cake

birthday cake

plus lemon tarts & also cup cakes. every cake item was just fabulous! 🙂

#12 i made my usual tiramisu.

it was as good as ever. daughter’s friends finished an entire tub. ^^ i had a spare tub though. there was too much cake already so we saved that.

& my daughter arranged a photo booth which was a lot of fun, & her friends came in all kinds of costumes.

the photo booth guy just finished national service & is going to london for further studies. that’s what young people do a lot these days, with internet & social media offering excellent reach, connectivity & empowerment! 🙂

what a simply incredible, most enjoyable & memorable occasion to be savoured.

c.h.e.f andy

Wonderful Dinner @ Tess Bar & Kitchen on 24Jul2015

funghi risotto

funghi risotto

family celebrating a special occasion, so daughter arranged a 7pax dinner at tess bar & kitchen on 24.7.2015.^^

it was a quite wonderful dinner. ambience was very happening with drinking crowd & food was good. 🙂

i was here earlier in march. the food was pretty ok. 🙂

fresh oysters

fresh oysters

we ordered a dozen fresh oysters, S$3ea.

fresh oysters

fresh oysters

they were big, plump & sweet, no metallic aftertaste.

truflle fries

truflle fries

daughters liked the truffles fries. 🙂

truflle fries

truflle fries

there were yam, sweet potatoes & potatoes. i didn’t taste any truffle, didn’t think much of it.

cocktail

cocktail

wife ordered a cocktail to share.

cocktail

cocktail

it came with pink grapefruit, grapes & raspberries etc.

cocktail

cocktail

so you “mixed” your own, kind of anyway. i not into liquor but it was a drinkable cocktail of me. 🙂

bespoke vodka, egg white cocktail

bespoke vodka, egg white cocktail

wife ordered a bespoke cocktail for herself.

bespoke vodka, egg white cocktail

bespoke vodka, egg white cocktail

it was very nice!^^

we had an order of beer & another cocktail.

duck rillette

duck rillette

i loved the duck rillette! 🙂

duck rillette

duck rillette

the best i had was at the clifford. this one here was of no comparison with the favourful duck rilette at the clifford.

smoked duck breast with foie gras

smoked duck breast with foie gras

the smoked duck breast was nice too, with the lentils.

smoked duck breast with foie gras

smoked duck breast with foie gras

i don’t take foie gras these days if i can help it.

camembert cheese

camembert cheese

the camembert cheese was good too! 🙂

camembert cheese

camembert cheese

& the caramelised apples.

crispy skin salmon

crispy skin salmon

the crispy skin salmon was better than i expected, quite nice with the passion fruit sauce & mesclun.

funghi risotto

funghi risotto

the funghi risotto was excellent!^^

this definitely much better than my own funghi risotto.

prawn linguine

prawn linguine

the prawn linguine tomato sauce was good too. 🙂

prawn linguine

prawn linguine

it was nothing special though, just a very competent one. the gamberini linguine at kith looked really good & i must try it sometime.

vongole

vongole

vongole was very good. very tasty!^^

better than my own la. haha!

vongole

vongole

1 of the best vongole i had. & it was quite different from the vongole i had for lunch sometime ago. that seemed from the photos to be a lot drier & if you don’t taste the sauce at the bottom it was not so great. this new version was much better.

wagyu beef with bone marrow

wagyu beef with bone marrow

the wagyu beef with bone marrow was superb!^^

wagyu beef with bone marrow

wagyu beef with bone marrow

wagyu beef was tender & the bone marrow was fantastic! it was quite perfect to have the bread to mop up the bone marrow.

dinner was S$393 nett inclusive of the drinks for 7pax. less drinks it would be like S$280 so about S$40pax nett. pretty ok!

c.h.e.f andy

Durian Picking Adventure @ Pulau Ubin on 20Jun2015

picking durians at pulau ubin - good ones

picking durians at pulau ubin – good ones

a RI friend & her hubby organised an exciting durian picking “expedition”& biking trip at pulau ubin on sunday 20.6.2015.^^

this friend is the meticulous planning big sister kind, thought of every details from what to bring (like backpack, extra plastic bag for durians, helmet/cap, mosquito repellent, sunscreen, towel & change etc), timing & taking the bumboats to the specific locations to find the best durians. 🙂

as one friend mentioned on Facebook post-

Due credit is given to these 4 organizers with their faces shown to the start of this album.

I was very impressed as everything was done with such meticulous planning and with such military precision.

We have our medical and safety officer, to ensure we would be well taken care of in an emergency.

Mmm ….without them,  I think we would have gone home bare-handed

ferry to pulau ubin

ferry to pulau ubin

we had 14pax.

i got up at 5am & was ready to leave for changi jetty at 5.15am. i was on the whatsapp & 1 friend could not make it last minute. as he was fetching another friend, i waited till 5.45am for the other friend to reply messages & come online in order to confirm the pick up location & time.

anyway in the rush we missed the turning from telok paku road to changi village road & went further along loyang avenue before realising & turning back. so we missed the first bumboat load of 12pax. our 12 friends who were there earlier left for pulau ubin (as earlier arranged to do..ie the first to make up 12pax proceed first).

when we were at the changi jetty, we were missing another 3 or 4pax before the bumboats will leave. the system is to wait for 12pax to fill up a bumboat (fare is S$2.50pax) unless you want to pay S$30 to charter the boat.

ferry to pulau ubin

ferry to pulau ubin

we were very shortly on the 10mins bumboat journey from changi point ferry to pulau ubin. 🙂

several of the passengers on the bumboat were talking about picking durians. they all came well armed with backpacks & plastic bags. ^^

pulau ubin

pulau ubin

we arrived at the pulau ubin jetty.

a friend came to meet us, and we took some photos.

pulau ubin

pulau ubin

nice shoreline in morning light. 🙂

bicycle rentals

bicycle rentals

there were many bicycle rental shops near the jetty.

our friends who came earlier rented the bikes. couple brought their own bikes.

pulau ubin

pulau ubin

11 friends who were biking took to the road first. 3 of us took a pleasant morning stroll behind. a very enjoyable walk. 🙂

pulau ubin map

pulau ubin map

from the jetty we walked to belatok hut then turned left to jln ubin batu.

too many durians but few good ones

too many durians but few good ones

we walked passed the yellow hut to the next junction. the cyclist friends were already collecting durians.

i went into one bush & found a durian soon enough. it smelled good. my friend’s hubby who is the expert among us said it was ok. later when we were selecting the good durians to bring home, this was not among the really good ones. we opened it. one part was ok good taste but thin not so creamy, the other parts were not fully riped yet.

too many durians but few good ones

too many durians but few good ones

we collected many durians. just 2 friends & i (3 of us together) collected like 20 durians, but maybe only 3 or 4 were good ones.

rest stop

rest stop

after picking enough durians, we proceeded to puaka hill. again the cyclist went first. we took a slow walk, and a drink at the rest stop. the group stopped at the bridge & took some photos. then we took some photos at puaka hill & at the hut below where some of my energetic friends attempted yoga stunts & headstands???

pulau ubin

pulau ubin

we walked back to the jetty. the main party of cyclists went further ahead and joined us at the jetty afterwards.

pulau ubin

pulau ubin

it was a wonderful outing. lots of fun picking durians & enjoying nature around us.

drink stalls

drink stalls

going back, we stopped near the jetty & had some drinks. we went to the rest room to freshen up & change. it was very hot day & a lot of perspiration.

picking durians at pulau ubin - the good ones

picking durians at pulau ubin – the good ones

after discarding many durians, there were still a lot to bring back.

picking durians at pulau ubin - the good ones

picking durians at pulau ubin – the good ones

i did not bring back any. but those who brought back, thanks to my RI friend & her hubby’s good guidance & pick, enjoyed very good durians.

c.h.e.f andy

Very Good Dinner @ Level 2 at Killiney on 16Jul2015

chicken karaage

chicken karaage

this evening a RI friend arranged our monthly dinner at level 2 at killiney on 16.7.2015.^^

this friend is the district governor (elect) july2016 term for rotary 3310 & they meet often at level 2 at killiney. indeed the restaurant owner sylvia is also a rotary member at suntec.

it’s a small group this evening. at first there was 7 but 2 could not make it last minute so we had 5pax. 🙂

i guess it’s good to have a big group. still even in a large group, we often talked mostly among a few seated next to each other, so it’s quite fine among old friends, whether a big or small group.

place was small. we had a good chat with the lady server. she said there were 2 in the kitchen & 3 servers, though i only saw her serving.

there were 4 tables including ours occupied. the place can take 40pax for a private function. they have a S$30pax 3-course set dinner menu, and a S$9.80 set lunch menu. 🙂

the server gave us a complimentary tapas – chicken karaage to start. 🙂

smoked salmon canapes

smoked salmon canapes

the organiser arranged for a special menu – 3 tapas, lobster bisque, choice of 1 main & dessert of the day.

smoked salmon canapes

smoked salmon canapes

the smoked salmon canapés was ok – smoked salmon average, the pastry was crisp & good, quite a lot of avocado cream?

sausage with mustard &  pickled gerkhins

sausage with mustard & pickled gerkhins

the sausage with mustard & pickled gerkhins was good too. i had 2 pieces.

sausage with mustard &  pickled gerkhins

sausage with mustard & pickled gerkhins

it’s not chorizo, probably chipolata.

lobster bisque

lobster bisque

lobster bisque was competent, had all the right shellfish & bit of liquor flavours. 🙂

lobster bisque

lobster bisque

i guess not the best i had but certainly very competent. it’s also about personal preferences. i like a much more intense lobster bisque & slightly more liquor.

also for myself i prefer a good vegetable base to balance the shellfish flavours which i do for my own lobster bisque.

but i do also like a standalone just intense lobster bisque. ^^

seafood alio olio linguine

seafood alio olio linguine

i thought the seafood alio olio linguine was excellent. very nice garlic taste, very flavourful & al dente.

there were like 5-6prawns & several pieces of sliced scallops. the prawns were good, texture a bit like the chinese crystal prawns (brine treated?). not my preferred texture but overall it was good.

seafood alio olio linguine

seafood alio olio linguine

the server said they added white wine which was not the usual preparation. that’s what i do too for my seafood alio olio spaghetti.

i had the alio olio at kith recently. i liked both but overall i guess i would prefer this preparation.

braised beef cheeks

braised beef cheeks

the braised beef cheeks is 1 of the favourite dishes here. many bloggers had commented favourably.

another new favourite dish is the steak sandwich which had a ribeye steak (server told me about 2/3 normal steak portion). i will try that next time.

server told me they were braised for 4hrs.

braised beef cheeks

braised beef cheeks

it was a competent braise. soft, tender. i didn’t think it was special. texture wise i guess it was very good. the flavours were ok, beefy, not specially tasty. braises not really my thing, but for such cut of meat, slow gentle braises or low temperature cooking like sous vide are the way to produce a nice tender meat w/o making it too sinewy & to turn tough connective tissues to flavourful gelatine. for such preparation, i would prefer the more fatty meats & more gelatine. i have not made my spanish slow-braised beef ribs for a long time, maybe i will give it a try again.

dinner came to S$192 for 5pax so about S$38nett. we gave S$40ea & a friend decided to top up the remainder & give S$20 tip to the lady server. it was a great gesture & a good habit to have when you are happy with the service. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Satisfaction Guaranteed Teochew Muay @ Ye Shanghai on 16Jul2015

10 dishes teochew muay @ ye shanghai

10 dishes teochew muay @ ye shanghai

when i was queueing for shi le yuan 实叻圆糜 the other day, the guy in front of me said ye shanghai was cheaper & had a larger spread, and he only came to shi le yuan because ye shanghai was closed that day.

ye shanghai @ bukit merah view

ye shanghai @ bukit merah view

so i came with my sis & b-i-l to try out ye shanghai on 16.7.2015. it’s not bad!^^

we came at 1030am so no queue, but also not all dishes were ready.

we ordered total 10 dishes. it came to only S$20.60. so the man was right, a bit cheaper than shi le yuan, more variety of dishes just as good but not really better. maybe the veg dishes were better here.

“kee her” fish

there was no ngoh soon (small treadfin) & mullet 乌鱼 they only served those in the evening.

we ordered the “kee her” fish. i thought it was very good actually taken with tau jeon, good proxy to mullet 乌鱼.

big intestines+belly pork

big intestines+belly pork

the big intestines was good very well cleaned, nice texture, slightly milder lor 鲁 taste, i quite like it. 🙂

the kong bak belly pork too.

big intestines

big intestines

nice big intestines.

brinjal

brinjal

veg here very nice. the brinjal was every tasty.

pig's skin

pig’s skin

pig’s skin was very good. just like the ng ah sio one we had recently at rangoon road, no fat, all collagen. 🙂

salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼

salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼

salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼 was very good too. somewhat different from shi le yuan but equally good.

steamed egg

steamed egg

only dish not great was the steamed egg. not much taste, maybe that was to be expected of a steamed egg with nothing in it.

peanuts

peanuts

peanuts nothing to talk about.

spinach

spinach

spinach was very good, tasty!

tau kee

tau kee

tau kee was the usual.

cabbage

cabbage

cabbage was very good, very sweet & tasty.

cabbage

cabbage

we had a second order. so after the 10 dishes, sis went to order 2 more, cabbage for S$1.

steamed pomfret

steamed pomfret

and pomfret for S$4. pomfret was good too. i didn’t mind it but maybe i prefer the kee her more. 🙂

10 dishes teochew muay @ ye shanghai

10 dishes teochew muay @ ye shanghai

so we had 10 dishes (top & above) for S$20.60. then greedy added 2 more dishes so total S$25.60 including 3 porridge.

really good meal & totally satisfying with or w/o the additional 2 dishes.

c.h.e.f andy

6pax Homecooked Course Dinner on 9Jul2015

flamed squid in spinach veloute

#1 flamed squid in spinach veloute

did a 6pax homecooked sit-down dinner for my close friends on 9.7.2015.^^

had been doing the buffet style (which is still the more logistically optimised) for larger group of friends. since my helper is away back in philippines for 1 month break, it was easier to do a small group of 6pax, which allows me to pick dishes to be served course by course.

my first course was #1 flamed squid in spinach veloute. i flamed the squid, then fried in butter. when serving i heat up the veloute, plated the sauce, added the flamed squid & topped with a coriander branch. 🙂

i did this very well also for my early home anniversary dinner for 4pax on 28.5.2015.

flamed squid in spinach veloute

#1 flamed squid in spinach veloute

this was the best for the evening. everyone loved the bbq flavour. i was a bit worried it might be overcooked but squid turned out  just nice, succulent, not rubbery.  veloute was excellent very tasty, and plating did make a big difference! 🙂

chicken ballotine, head cheese terrine (猪头冻) & ragout of pig's ear on toast

#2 chicken ballotine, head cheese terrine (猪头冻) & ragout of pig’s ear on toast

i should have insisted to plate the second course #2 chicken ballotine, head cheese terrine (猪头冻) & ragout of pig’s ear on toast. my friends were extremely helpful & wanted to lessen the effort for me.

chicken ballotine, head cheese terrine (猪头冻) & ragout of pig's ear on toast

chicken ballotine, head cheese terrine (猪头冻) & ragout of pig’s ear on toast

all 3 were my quite new experimental dishes. i am planning to do them at the next larger dinner on 6.8.2015.

1. the ragout of pig’s ears was excellent, best of the trio. this i recreated with my own recipe modelling after the signature dish at the fabulous lunch @ Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.

2. the pig’s head meat was excellent too. the jelly, gelatine was awesome. the meat & skin were ok, but head cheese is harder to prepare than belly or trotters, so though i did scrap the skin to remove the hairs, they were not thoroughly removed. i will have to decide which meat to use for this dish.

3. the chicken ballotine was poor though. basically i had over-steamed the meat, so it was “old” and not so tasty & bouncy. the successful ones i did were here.

rockets & cherry tomatoes salad to go with tapas

rockets & cherry tomatoes salad to go with tapas

i mixed some rockets & cherry tomatoes salad to go with tapas dish. again i think the dish would be much better presented if i plated it myself. this i plan to do at the next dinner. 🙂

carrot soup

#3 carrot soup

the #3 carrot soup was very smooth & tasty. it was done with 2 carrots, and lots of vegetables for tasty soup base – 1 stalk leek, 1 red pepper, 1 yellow onions, and the leftover spinach stems (from the spinach veloute).

i added some brandy so there was a good slight liquor flavour.

i was worried that the sharp carrot taste was too strong, but my friends did not feel so.

carrot soup

#3 carrot soup

one friend thought it was too creamy. i think overall it was a very good smooth & tasty soup, and looked lovely too.^^

calamari & oyster fritters

#4 calamari & oyster fritters

i had some #4 calamari & oyster fritters to go with the soup. this was troublesome to do as i had to do the deep frying at the time i am serving the soup. i am going to skip this dish the next time. 🙂

calamari & oyster fritters

#4 calamari & oyster fritters

i think my calamari was not dry enough when i prepare the batter. also because it was rushed when i first started deep-frying the first piece, the oil was not hot enough.

also the oyster did not taste the best this evening, not quite sure why.

prawns to go with fungi linguine

#5 prawns to go with fungi linguine

the #5 prawns to go with fungi linguine were excellent though, very nicely done, fresh, bouncy, good flavours.

creamy mushroom onion sauce for fungi linguine

creamy mushroom onion sauce for fungi linguine

#5 fungi linguine was excellent too.

looked just perfect.

pan-fried prawns served with fungi linguine

pan-fried prawns served with fungi linguine

& tasted wonderful.

my friends made very good plating for this dish.

pan-fried prawns served with fungi linguine

pan-fried prawns served with fungi linguine

i intend to plate it myself the next round though, for 10pax on 6.8.2015. my helper would be back then. 🙂

squid ink risotto

#6 squid ink risotto

the #6 squid ink risotto was kind of a small disaster. haha! 🙂

i used 5 ink pouches from 5 small/medium squid but they had very little ink.

a friend took the trouble to go to 3 super marts to get for me last minute additional squids, but still with 5 more ink pouches, it didn’t do enough for my squid ink risotto.

also this dish was rushed because the extra squid ink came only when friends arrived for dinner, it was out of sequence with my usual preparation timing & steps & took a long time doing it after serving the #5 course.

i was lazy to go chinatown to buy the large flat cuttlefish which has lots of ink. so sometimes have to improve decision making. it may appear troublesome to do, but it is a lot more troublesome not doing it.

so much for the negative demonstration, for the right way see my squid ink risotto par excellence here.^^

i bought 1 2kg maoshanwang猫山王 + 2 D-24 durians for the evening (unfortunately we gobbled it up before taking photos). the D-24 were pretty good, but maoshanwang猫山王 was crazy, so creamy, tasty, very small seeds & lots of seeds for 2kg.

i had a tofu cheese cake just for backup. anyway we decided not to eat it & 3 friends each carried a piece back home. it’s a cake they all like anyway.

a friend brought angkukueh, & others brought cherries & lychees. 🙂

while there were hiccups it did not diminish any of the fun. overall the dishes were pretty good or ok & everyone had a good time! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Good Vietnamese Food @ Mrs Pho on 14Jul2015

cockles

cockles

was in jalan sultan area to collect a pair of glasses with wife on 14.7.2015. we asked the spectacles shop what to eat around there. they said mrs pho, or fish head soup etc.

mrs pho

mrs pho

we ended up at mrs pho at 349 beach road. ^^

mrs pho

mrs pho

small place. looked pretty ok.

salted lemon & liang teh

salted lemon & liang teh

we had a salted lemon (which tasted like sour plum) & liang teh 凉茶, S$2 each.

cockles

S$6.50 cockles

we added the cockles last. it was hard to eat, having to shell & it was hot to the touch. it was quite enjoyable though i always prefer the blood cockles say at two chefs.

mixed pho

S$9.50 mixed pho

the pho was pretty good.

sliced beef was good, there were 2 pieces of briskets, good too. beef balls ok. quantity wise could have more ingredients. 🙂

mixed pho

S$9.50 mixed pho

for the mixed pho which cost S$1 more there was a egg soup. not sure how this complements the pho but it was pretty ok.

mixed pho

S$9.50 mixed pho

the soup was quite good too.

vietnamese bbq pork

vietnamese bbq pork

the bbq pork with bee hoon was quite nice.

vietnamese bbq pork

vietnamese bbq pork

it is similar to the dish i cooked here except i pan-fried the pork.

vietnamese bbq pork

vietnamese bbq pork

anyway i am trying a oven roasted version of pork collar but with a thai curry flavour. let’s see how that turns out.^^

c.h.e.f andy