Walk Regent’s Canal, Primrose Hill & Regent Park on 24Aug2014

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regent’s canal from bridge along york way

this marks my last entry for the enjoyable time in london with my son 22aug to 27aug. we took easyjet to milan malpensa airport & took alibus to stresa at lake maggiore (a €12 55mins journey) on 28.8.2014. 🙂

we were staying at kings quarters apartment along copenhagen street, a short walk from york way & regent canal, which is right by king’s cross saint pancras station.

regent’s canal is 13.8km long linking paddington to limehouse basin in east london, running through the north end of regent’s park before the 78m primrose hill.  there is pleasure cruising & a regular waterbus service operating between Maida Vale and Camden, running hourly during the summer months.

with increase in cycle commuting  and increasing environmental awareness, the canal’s towpath has become a busy cycle route for commuters.

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regent’s canal from bridge along york way (evening)

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Arthouse apartment along york way, looking over regent’s canal

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king’s cross station from along regent canal access

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along regent’s canal outside central saint martins

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regent’s canal

we started from the terrace in front of central saint martins, university of arts london.

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regent’s canal

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regent’s canal

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camden lock

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camden lock

camden lock is located by the camden market. it allows the water crafts to traverse the canal across a change of water level.

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camden market refers to a number of adjoining large retail markets, including camden lock market & horse tunnel market (stables market).  it’s a treasure trove of new & old collectibles, arts & crafts, artefacts and daily use items.

gyros - greek kebab

gyros – greek kebab

we had a greek gyros (pronounced yee ro). it was really good for just £3, so much better & satisfying c/w the very poor £15.90+ cod fish & chips at poppies. my son ordered the chicken. i would have preferred lamb. still the chicken was very tasty & tender & the pita bread was good. even the potato chips were much better than poppies’. 🙂

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after an unfulfilled lunch at poppies, we walked along the canal & came to the signage showing the direction of primrose hill.

we came onto gloucester avenue & stopped for a cuppa at melrose & morgan. it was really good. my son though tit was better than monmouth, but he was probably just having coffee withdrawal. anyway coffee was good! 🙂

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primrose hill

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primrose hill

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primrose hill

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primrose hill

primrose hill sits north of regent’s park. it’s only 78m. weather was good today about 22degC & the children, frisbees, dogs were all out & enjoying the sun, breeze, green fields, wide expanse of sceneries or activities. there was a board showing the various buildings on the skyline, from BT Tower to the Shard to Canary Wharf. 🙂

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regent’s park

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regent’s park

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regent’s park

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regent’s park

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regent’s park

after primrose hill, we walked through regent’s park, & took a bus back to our kings quarters apartment, had some nice nespresso, did some internet & then got ready for the pre-theatre dinner at joel robuchon. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Mille Crepe & Lady M Cakes on 8Sep2014

lady M's cheese cake

lady M’s cheese cake

on the day the 6 of us had lunch at nuvo on 8.9.2014, we planned also to try out the mille crepe at lady M confections, which came under the same caerus holding group. caerus was set up in 2008 as a wine distribution company in India, Maldives and Malaysia & moved into the crowded f&b business a year later.

we adjourned from nuvo to lady M which was conveniently located next to the escalator at the dining edition with direct access to the car park. 🙂

lady M's mille crepe

lady M’s mille crepe

we ordered the mille crepe & a gateau nuage plus some drinks.

a few of us had lady M couple times before. the last i had though was already some time off, when a friend brought a mille crepe to a dinner at alborgo on 22.11.2013.  the cream was light & not too sweet. it was for sure a nice cake but actually overall there was a lot of cream in it. i actually prefers the ritz apple strudel as i liked a fluffier texture to go with that much cream (even if light) & the apple to jazz it up.

gateau nuage translates to “cloud cake”. it was nice too, a light cheese cake with a cinnamon graham cracker crust with a thin layer of sweetened sour cream to give it a silky finish.

i generally don’t mind cheese cakes. this one was good, but did not hold any special attraction (say) like the cheese cake i had at honey & co, londonrecently on 22.8.2014. my own tofu cheesecake does not look the class but is lighter w/o the crepe pastry & also jazzed up with lemon & yogurt. 🙂

the prices were not cheap. it was though the going price of cakes & coffees for such ambience & location. not a place i would usually go.

c.h.e.f andy

 

Prawn Ramen in Golden Braising Sauce – 黄焖草虾面 (Part 1)

prawn ramen in golden braising sauce – 黄焖草虾面

tunglok lobster ramen - 龙虾焖拉面

tunglok lobster ramen – 姜葱龙虾焖拉面

enjoyed much the lobster 6-course dinner set last evening at tunglok signature orchard parade hotel 0n 13.9.2014.

the  lobster ramen – 姜葱龙虾焖拉面 came with a yummy golden sauce. i didn’t know the recipe but was thinking how i could replicate a sauce that looked the same pleasing golden & had similar texture & taste good.

prawn ramen in golden sauce

prawn ramen in golden braising sauce – 黄焖草虾面

i defrosted 7 small grass prawns & used kitchen sears (scissors) to de-vein the prawns. i marinated lightly with some fish sauce & white pepper.

for the golden sauce, i added 5 tablespoon vegetable stock (leftover soup) – that’s about 75ml approx 1/3 cup. i added 1 tablespoon each of mirin & sake. i then added 1 teaspoon white sugar &1 teaspoon fish sauce. i also added  1 teaspoon corn flour & 1 egg yolk for body & the yellow colour, then whisked.

i boiled a very cheap china noodle called white jade noodles for 4 minutes+ tasted it almost al dente & drained in a strainer & placed in cold water.

i placed a piece of butter (about 10g), some sliced ginger, cut spring onions & chilli padi in the pan. then immersed the prawns in the golden sauce & placed them in the hot pan & cooked for 2 minutes. i then added the golden sauce, cooked the prawns & added some water to achieve the slight starchy consistency.

i placed the noodles in a bowl & added the prawns & golden sauce, then garnished with chopped spring onions & coriander leaves. voila! 🙂

the key experiment here was the golden sauce. the current version was tasty, had the colour & body. it had just a little corn starch taste. egg yoke was fine. i am thinking of trying some pumpkin puree to replace the corn starch & see how it goes.

with a good tasty golden sauce, it would be quite easy to vary the ingredients like using lobster, some better ramen (but this cheap one was light & quite ok), and i can also cook this as a larger dish to serve say 6pax or 8pax as a light carb dish for my dinners.

c.h.e.f andy

P.S. – see latest update @ King Prawn Noodles (黄焖大虾面) – Part 2

Food that Pleases @ Tunglok Signature Orchard Parade Hotel on 13Sep2014

lobster ramen - the best!

lobster ramen – the best!

time flies. almost a year had passed, the last time i took the fabulous 6-course lobster dinner set at tunglok signature orchard parade hotel was on 19.10.2013.

so i was looking forward to relish the wonderful moments on 13.9.2014. we took the exact same S$98 lobster & seafood set. as i noted previously, it was of exceptional quality, both in terms of quality of ingredients & quality of cooking. 🙂

as before & always, every dish pleases. if i have to pick my least favourite, it would be the kurobuta & it was good too. 🙂

foie gras & smoked duck wrap

foie gras & smoked duck wrap

duck & duck liver wrap

foie gras & smoked duck wrap

the foie gras & smoked duck wrap was good, tasty, refreshing. i thought the “pan-fried foie gras” tasted similar to the usual unglamorous poached duck liver though.

crab roe sharksfin soup

crab roe sharksfin soup

crab roe sharksfin soup

crab roe sharksfin soup

the crab roe sharkskin was super & chokeful of ingredients.

steamed garoupa fillet

steamed soon hock fillet

steamed garoupa fillet

steamed soon hock fillet

the steamed soon hock fillet was very well done, very sweet, tasty, smooth, with the garnishes & sauce as well. i am thinking to replicate this for my home dinners.

pan-fried kurobuta

pan-fried kurobuta

pan-fried kurobuta

pan-fried kurobuta

the pan-fried spanish kurobuta was quite delicious too. if there were not other also great dishes, i would consider this pretty good.

lobster ramen - the best!

lobster ramen – the best!

lobster ramen - the best!

lobster ramen – the best!

the lobster ramen was the best. this time the serving came with shelled 1/2 lobster (before it was a 1/2 lobster in shell). lobster meat was fresh, bouncy, sweet. the sauce was excellent. i was impressed with this dish & thinking how to replicate it at home.

(P.S. i subsequently created my own prawn ramen in golden braising sauce – 黄焖草虾面, not quite the same obviously but anyhow pretty good on its own).

雪种情怀

雪种情怀

& i love the dessert 雪种情怀 – 1 vanilla & 1 coconut ice cream on the usual grapefruit mango puree (杨支甘露).

with palate 50% discounts for 2pax, dinner was S$49pax + S$2pax for the tea. wonderful deal! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

 

 

Chwee Kueh & Char Siew from Chinatown on 14Sep2014

char siew

char siew

wife went marketing at chinatown complex market today on 14.9.2014.

she also bought chwee kueh from our favourite stall bedok chwee kueh (#02-43) & char siew from the stall next to it, mayflower roasted meat specialist. 🙂

chwee kueh

chwee kueh

char siew

char siew

chwee kueh with chye por

chwee kueh with chye por

love the chwee kueh here. soft & firm texture & especially the chye por & chilli condiments. my habit is to cut the chwee kueh in 2 (a bitesize mouthful) using a teaspoon, spoon the chye pro & chilli on top & spoon the whole thing in to combine the flavours & texture. 🙂

the char siew was a convenient buy, probably not the best stall there, and often touch & go. today it was fresh, tasty with flavourful fatty bits. other times meat could be a bit dry. it was not comparable with imperial treasure teochew char siew OR charcoal broiled pork collar, and about the standard of a decent neighbourful coffeeshop roast meat stall.

c.h.e.f andy

Scrumptious Homechef Mooncake Dinner on 8Sep2014

buddha jump over the wall (b-j-o-t-w)

buddha jump over the wall (b-j-o-t-w)

was invited to a friend’s place for “makan kueh bulan” dinner on 8sep2014, to celebrate (though in subsequent whatsapps, there was discovery that for some it was celibrate – ok just kidding la. 🙂 )  mid autumn festival.

the last 3 times i was invited – it was a peranakan feast on 30.5.2014, and before that another “michelin star” home gourmet peranakan feast on 7.6.2013, & a teochew gourmet lunch on 12.4.2012. running out of vocab but who can blame me? haha! 🙂 that btw is why i blog = help me to recall all the fun moments! 🙂

one important promising observation – the invitations seem to get a bit more frequent. keep it up my friend!…lol. 🙂

the buddha jump over the wall (b-j-o-t-w) was absolutely delicious. myself, and the other “buddha” among us, were among the first in line, and of course once a buddha was not quite enough. 🙂

fish maws for b-j-o-t-w

fish maws for b-j-o-t-w

sharks fin & sea cucumber for b-j-o-t-w

sharks fin & sea cucumber for b-j-o-t-w

the sharks fin, sea cucumber & fish maw were all very good with the b-j-o-t-w, which had pig trotters & dried scallops (& i guess chicken) as soup base, and thick mushrooms – very sweet, tasty, intense. i loved it! 🙂

abalone for b-j-o-t-w

abalone for b-j-o-t-w

the very expensive abalones made it a sumptuous & not just scrumptious dinner. i tried 1 slice for each bowl of b-j-o-t-w i had.  couldn’t say that i fully appreciate this delicacy. texture was quite fine, not tough. i like abalones with deep flavours with just a slight chewy bite, & not rubbery.

my own peasant “poor man’s” version of buddha jump over the wall (b-j-o-t-w) is more like an imposter, not quite in the same class. haha! 🙂 & i had a S$9.90 can of limpets masquerading as abalones, from the “lowly ntuc type” (in this case sheng shiong) according to the teases on our group whatsapp. 🙂

buddha jump over the wall (b-j-o-t-w)

buddha jump over the wall (b-j-o-t-w)

a friend “ta pao” some food back including b-j-o-t-w, and was still relishing the divine enlightenment days later! 🙂

marvellous spread

marvellous spread

the scrumptious spread!

octopus wasabi salad

squid wasabi salad

the squid wasabi salad was very good. i am trying out later myself with zucchini.

teochew braised duck

teochew braised duck

the teochew braised duck was very tasty. meat was tender. the flavours & braising sauce a bit different from my own teochew braised duck (i just use tai wah braising sauce), and seems like a longer cooking time than mine, which is about 1 hr for a 2kg duck.

crackling roast pork

crackling roast pork

crackling belly pork is a dish that i failed many times. this one was good, both the crackling skin & the meat flavours, maybe it would give me some impetus to try again the crackling part. has been difficult for me to have motivation on this dish which is a bit unhealthy & i had to eat myself or throw away when i missed the mark, so i did not post any recipe to date. 😦

drunken prawns

drunken prawns

hmmm…drunken prawns. somehow i missed trying this dish, too absorbed in buddha’s teachings. 🙂

drunken chicken

drunken chicken

drunken chicken was tender & tasty, perhaps could do with a bit more chinese shaoxing wine (绍兴酒). not sure. i did this drunken chicken pretty ok myself but a good 绍兴酒 is costly & may cost 1/2 the price of the chicken unless you reuse the marinade, so i mostly just do the poached chicken (白斩鸡) sans the wine. 🙂

the friend who also brought back b-j-o-t-w added macaroni to the drunken chicken 3 days later & was apparently in divine drunken stupor in some nirvana state he converged the drunken chicken with the b-j-o-t-w, something clearly requiring advanced practice in mental discipline & powers of perception. 🙂

steamed ang kuay

steamed ang kuay

liked the ang kuay too. meat was tender. nice fish.

stir-fried naibai (奶白)

stir-fried naibai (奶白)

the  naibai (奶白) was a good round up after the meat dishes. 🙂

heng hua beehoon

heng hua beehoon

the heng hua beehoon was well infused with the littleneck clam (“la la”) flavours. according to my friend, heng hua was the only cuisine to add clams to beehoon. haha..if you exclude vongole..lol (but you don’t usually use capellini for vongole). 🙂

my plateful

my plateful

my plateful of all the great dishes.

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water caltrop (菱角)

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water caltrop (菱角)

batman! perfect for superimposing over the moon. 🙂

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water caltrop (菱角),潮州 月饼, 月糕

one interesting, nostalgic journey this evening was bringing back the dissappearring food. one friend brought the 潮州 月饼, 月糕. the 潮州 月饼 was kind of similar to pong piah or ma tai soh (1 soft skin & 1 crispy). the 月糕 is a black sesame version. the ones i now remember were white versions of月糕 used to come in cheap red paper wrappings & i had them when very young.

water caltrop (菱角) – we had to google this. very nostalgic. alas! it’s hard to shell & quite bland to eat! 🙂

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homemade mooncakes

the host also prepared homemade moon cakes with coloured 冰皮 & very smooth, not too sweet 莲蓉. yum!

a friend’s birthday falls a few days after the dinner, so we bought a mille crepe cake from lady M, put on 1 “big” candle & sang happy birthday. 🙂 still managed to polish off the cake despite being “very full”. haha! 🙂

we sat at the garden afterwards. very nice evening with friends!

c.h.e.f andy

So-So Dinner @ Sopra Cucina on 10Sep2014

suckling pig - S$48

suckling pig – S$48

decided to have dinner at sopra cucina at pan pacific orchard after watching a movie “magic in the moonlight” at shaw lido on 10.9.2014.

sopra cucina & bar had great ambience. the inside was like a large private drawing room with chesterfield deep-buttoned leather seats. it had a charming facade & there was an open patio bar area & live music. some hungrygowhere reviewers commented on the loud & bad singing. on this evening seated inside the restaurant, the music was ok & the singing was fine & probably welcomed by the bar customers. 🙂

the restaurant had few customers on this evening.

bread basket

bread basket

the bread basket was poor (or like a pizzeria or fast-food serving) & not really consistent with the furnishings & ambience of the restaurant.

octopus salad - S$18

octopus salad – S$18

octopus salad - S$18

octopus salad – S$18

we ordered the octopus salad. it was not chef’s recommendations but apparently quite popular with customers. it was quite a large helping. the steamed octopus were ok not tough, like the ones at vicoletti at stresa, but not the standard of the grilled octopus at alle darsene at bellagio. still it was pretty good for an antipasti. 🙂

pregola frutti di mare - S$28

pregola frutti di mare – S$28

sopra cucina served sardinia (second largest island in the mediterranean after sicily & before cyprus) cuisine.  we ordered the pregola frutti di mare. the prawns were fresh. the scallops & squid were so-so. the tomato flavours were ok but felt more like an average sauce than that from nice fresh tomatoes. the pregolas looked like “barley risotto” but pasta in texture. i would rather have a spaghetti or linguine or fettucine anytime. it’s a personal preference i guess. somehow the dish did not give me the same satisfaction & enjoyment of a good pasta.

suckling pig - S$48

suckling pig – S$48

suckling pig - S$48

suckling pig – S$48

suckling pig - S$48

suckling pig – S$48

suckling pig - S$48

suckling pig – S$48

the roast suckling pig was quite flavourful & the skin was crispy. of course i would rather have the chinese roast suckling pig anytime. i supposed it’s as good as the suckling pig at capri, but for me the suckling pig with stuffing at one ninety mezze lunch was far better.

with 50% palate discounts for 2pax, the bill came to S$74nett including a glass of wine, or S$47++=S$55nett just for the 3 dishes. so price was ok but the satisfaction was not there, unlike say the scrumptious dinner at arossa on 3.9.2014.

i saw that there were several sadinian dishes like gnocchi, ravioli, the lamb & the fish which all looked pretty good on photos. still undecided whether i want to give it another try later.

c.h.e.f andy

Affordable “Nouveau?” Lunch Sets @ Nuvo on 8Sep2014

spiced carrot soup

spiced carrot soup

a friend recommended nuvo. the ongoing S$15pax set lunches looked ok (even though it had a lot of supplements for dish selections) so 6 of us went for lunch on 8.9.2014. chef mark richards hailed from keystone (which i went several times when it was accepting palate privileges – 50% discount for 2pax ala carte. i viewed keystone as the standard of saint pierre & slightly less expensive), and excelled in sous vide techniques. 🙂

the restaurant was located at the food edition at marina square at the corner facing citylink mall & suntec convention centre. it was nice, bright & airy & had a attached bar that was directly overlooking raffles link & raffles boulevard. we all commented this a place to be to watch the F1 (though i always prefer the couch at home..haha..not to mention it cost S$500 to come here & watch the cars turn round a corner!).

we were debating the name. i googled afterwards but there was no special meaning associated with the word so likely nuvo was just short for nouveau. 🙂

i was late, arriving at 12.15pm. the restaurant soon filled up & i would say perhaps >60% occupied during lunch hour on a monday.

a practice that did not find favour with me was NOT serving tap water.  we ordered 1 still & 1 sparkling for 6pax. they cost S$4.50each for a 500ml bottle. for me, i looked at the overall price vs the food & experience so paying S$9 for bottled water for 6pax (which also meant we have to drink less water) was not a big issue.

olive focaccia

olive focaccia

olive focaccia with herb butter

olive focaccia with herb butter

the olive focaccia bread with herb butter was pretty good, ok. 🙂

cha smoked salmon

cha smoked salmon

there were 3 choices of starters & main courses & 2 choices of dessert.

i thought my spiced carrot soup (top photo) with mascarpone, croutons & honey was really good & of fine dining standard. it was creamy, smooth in texture & flavourful, looked wonderful as well! 🙂

the smoked salmon with wasabi cream, furikake & baby spinach came with S$3 supplement. it looked great & appetising. the thick square cuts looked more like ceviche, cured or sashimi. my friends all liked the dish. 🙂 i asked 1 friend afterwards. he said the combination of flavours with the baby spinach was great. 🙂

tempura soft shell crab

tempura soft shell crab

the tempura soft shell crab had S$4 supplement. soft shell crab not my favourite dish but this looked fine & no complaints on the taste. 🙂

grilled pork collar

grilled pork collar

grilled pork collar

grilled pork collar

3 of us took the grilled pork collar on our friend’s recommendations. 2 took the risotto & 1 took the pesto cold soba.

the pork collar had good consistent texture of sous vide. the chef is famous for his sous vide cuisine. the friend who took cold soba & i both commented that the pork collar was kind of lean. i personally would prefer it the usual fatty collar. the 2 other friends preferred it lean. 🙂 fries were good. mash/cold slaw? were good too. i didn’t take much of either.

kabayaki squid risotto

kabayaki squid risotto

the squid risotto looked a bit skimpy to me. 5 or 6 pieces of squid on risotto. maybe it was the minimalist philosophy (just kidding…lol). i asked 1 friend afterwards. he agreed it was kind of plain.

pesto cold soba

pesto cold soba

the friend who took soba said it was too salty & maybe the set lunch was not that great for the price. i said a zaru soba could cost S$12 to S$15 so everything depended on how good the taste.

panna cotta with honeycomb

panna cotta with honeycomb

panna cotta with honeycomb

panna cotta with honeycomb

green tea kochi with melon

green tea mochi with melon

i hardly ever ordered panna cotta in singapore. so i started with the green tea mochi. when the dessert were served, i thought the panna cotta with honeycomb looked quite good so i asked to change the dessert (S$4 supplement).  i had excellent panna cotta at pizzeria balognett at tremezzo, i thought i would give the singapore version a try since it looked quite good. it was pretty good – light, smooth texture – but nothing amazing. the green tea mochi also looked competent. 🙂

overall including S$1.50pax for the mineral water, my share came to S$25++ (S$30nett). to me it was pretty ok & something i would not mind doing again. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Just OK Lunch @ Ichiban Boshi on 9Sep2014

bara chirashi don

S$15.90 bara chirashi don

a friend bought lunch at ichiban boshi @ great world city on 9.9.2014.

i had been to ichiban boshi a few times some time ago. more recently i went mostly to sun with moon wheelock. looking at the internet menu, and comparing with the dinner & lunch sets available at sun with moon wheelock & say tonkichichikuwatei, momoya & kuroson, my view is that by comparison ichiban boshi is not value-for-moeny.

i decided to order a bara chirashi don (they called it chirashi don but it was actually bara chirashi don) because the bara chirashi don set at sun with moon wheelock was really very good, even better than a chirashi don at say tonkichi.

but it was a mistake (i would be better off if i ordered the S$19.90 seafood don, which was actually a chirashi don). the rice was nothing like the very tasty rice at sun with moon wheelock & the sashimi cut & amount were poorer in quality & quantity.

gyu yaki set

gyu yaki set

bara chirashi don

bara chirashi don

sashimi moriawase

sashimi moriawase

my friend ordered a beef yaki set for himself & he added a sashimi moriawase. not quite sure how much but i guess maybe S$25.90. it had good quality ingredient like mirugai (geoduck) and so-so hokkigai (atlantic surf clams). salmon was average, hamachi was good.

in my opinion it would be much better value-for-money to pay 25% or 35% more at sun with moon wheelock & get a lot more quality food. at the very least, sashimi is probably not the food to try at ichiban boshi since it is serving kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi 回転寿司, quality likely mediocre, so perhaps it maybe better to try the cooked food. however just looking at the photos, the kamameshi for example does not look anything like the appetising ones at sun with moon wheelock.

the point here is that even though ichiban boshi is cheaper than sun with moon wheelock, but if you add a dish say like sashimi moriawase, then the cost maybe S$35pax which is equal or more than the cost of a good set at sun with moon wheelock, but i had a lot more satisfaction with the wheelock set.

c.h.e.f quak

Royal Walk (London for Free) on 22Aug2014

view of 10 downing street

view of 10 downing street

last time i came to london was in oct2011. that time my wife & i & our son walked around saint james park.

this time as we had more time, we decided to follow the london for free/royal walk route. we took the victoria line from kings cross to green park & changed to jubilee line to westminster on 22.8.2014.

we started with 10 downing street, but the street was closed with security post and not accessible to tourist. 😦

victoria embankment view of flyer

victoria embankment view of london eye

victoria embankment view of flyer

victoria embankment view of london eye

from there we walked along richmond terrace towards river thames, crossed the road to victoria embankment next to the battle of britain memorial. 🙂

the london eye was opposite. i had not taken the london eye nor indeed the singapore flyer. i did not pay much attention earlier as the initial thought was paying £18 (S$33 for singapore flyer) to spend 30mins (32mins for singapore flyer) with 20+ strangers (25 in 1 capsule for london eye & 28 for singapore flyer). but in a way it is like paying to go up eiffel tower or empire state building to view the city.  i may try them some time….

the appreciative & the critical, from wiki on london eye

Sir Richard Rogers, winner of the 2007 Pritzker Architecture Prize, wrote of the London Eye in a book about the project:

The Eye has done for London what the Eiffel Tower did for Paris, which is to give it a symbol and to let people climb above the city and look back down on it. Not just specialists or rich people, but everybody. That’s the beauty of it: it is public and accessible, and it is in a great position at the heart of London.

Writing for G2 in an article from August 2007, Steve Rose described the Eye as follows:

The Eye… exists in a category of its own…. It essentially has to fulfil only one function, and what a brilliantly inessential function it is: to lift people up from the ground, take them round a giant loop in the sky, then put them back down where they started. That is all it needs to do, and thankfully, that is all it does.

view from victoria embankment

view from victoria embankment

victoria embankment view of flyer

victoria embankment view of flyer

never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few - winston churchill

never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few – winston churchill

we walked along the embankment towards house of parliament aka palace of westminster.

there was winston churchill’s famous quote – “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” by the memorial.

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big ben @ house of parliament aka palace of westminster

big ben was right ahead. we crossed the road to the house of parliament aka palace of westminster.

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statue of winston churchill at the parliament square

there was the statue of winston churchill at the parliament square.

apparently one cannot find any pigeon resting on the head as it is wired & will give the poor creature an electric shock.

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house of parliament aka palace of westminster

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house of parliament aka palace of westminster

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house of parliament aka palace of westminster

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big ben @ house of parliament aka palace of westminster

house of parliament aka palace of westminster

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house of parliament aka palace of westminster

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house of parliament aka palace of westminster

the house of parliament aka palace of westminster was an impressive sight. it would be an awesome sight if we had seen it in any european city. here in london we might have went past it many a times. still such an amazing architecture. 🙂

It is the largest gothic building in the world with over 1,000 rooms and two miles of corridors in it. the current building dated back to 1840 (rebuilding was initiated after the great fire of 1834), took mostly more than 20years to build, with construction completed only in the 1870s.

many great treason trials have taken place here. in 1305, braveheart was sentenced to death here and in 1606 guy fawkes, the man who tried to blow up Parliament, met a similar fate.

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westminster abbey

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dean’s yard

westminster abbey is steeped in 1000 year history. it has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of 17 monarchs. 1000s of people were buried here. the last burial in the abbey was in 1906; since then, only ashes have been accepted.

we past the dean’s yard which housed the remaining grounds of the former monastery of westminster, not occupied by the abbey buildings, including the church house, the headquarters of the church of england.

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saint james park

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duck island cottage @ saint james park

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saint james park

we crossed over victoria street & birdcage walk & walked by the pond in saint james park, passing the duck island cottage, a picturesque lodge that housed the offices of the london historic parks and gardens trust in saint james’s park.

guards division memorial

guards division memorial

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guards division memorial

horse guards parade square in front of white hall

horse guards parade square in front of white hall

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horse guards parade square in front of white hall

we reached the guards division memorial.

looking in the direction of river thames & the london eye, there was horse guards parade, a large square in front of whitehall flanking the ministry of defence on the left. took some nice panoramic photos of whitehall & horse guard parade. 🙂

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ducks sunning in the garden

we cut across saint james park westwards in the direction of buckingham palace towards the mall.

horse guards riding past

horse guards riding past

horse guards riding past

horse guards riding past

we were lucky to catch the horse guards riding past, along the mall from buckingham palace. 🙂

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along the mall pavement towards buckingham palace

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along the mall pavement towards buckingham palace

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victoria memorial

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victoria memorial

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victoria memorial

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buckingham palace

we walked along the mall to Buckingham Palace. 🙂

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green park

we walked through green park.

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my son’s former apartment along shaftesbury avenue

then along piccadilly to piccadilly circus & shaftesbury avenue to my son’s former apartment which he rented for 2 years with 3 other friends. it was very centrally located along shaftesbury avenue between soho & chinatown. 🙂

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monmouth cappuccino

from there, my son took me to monmouth at covent gardens to enjoy a great cuppa!

after that we proceeded to a very interesting lunch at honey & co on warren street. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

 

Affordable Family Dinner @ Hong Kong Street (Sin Rong) Blk 325 Clementi Ave 5 on 5Sep2014

minced pork, salted fish on deep-fried bean curd

minced pork, salted fish on deep-fried bean curd

my brother wanted a family dinner for mid-autumn festival 中秋节. this time arrangements were a bit last minute and many were busy so we could not do on the actual 八月十五, and had to do it earlier on 5.9.2014.

even then there were only 7 of us. still it was good to get together whenever we could. my eldest daughter who could not attend called my s-i-l afterwards to chat briefly. 🙂

my brother was busy that day, so we decided to just go downstairs to makan.

we walked over to hong kong street (sin rong) at blk 325 clementi ave 5 located in kopitiam coffeeshop alongside botak jones.

we ordere 8 dishes. for me the best dish for the evening was the minced pork, salted fish on deep-fried bean curd. this a common dish among zi char stall & 1 of the best minced pork bean curd i had was at kok sen, followed by the one at muliangzai liang kee. couldn’t really say this was better but it was different as it had the salted fish making it quite distinctive. 🙂

assam fish head

assam fish head

the assam fish head curry was good, but for S$20, the tiny, almost disappearing or disappeared fish head (ikan tengirri??) was really pathetic. compare this with the fish head (angkoli) at forture restaurant which is more than twice the size! this more the size of the S$6 fish head at guan kim coffeeshop at tanglin halt. I would never order this dish again however good the curry. 😦

pork ribs with bitter gourd

pork ribs with bitter gourd

the bitter gourd pork ribs was good, competent, no difference with kok sen or the hong kong street chun kee at commonwealth crescent.

claypot sea cucumber

claypot sea cucumber

the claypot sea cucumber was ok, average, to me a neither here nor there dish – some gluey sauce, cheap sea cucumber, threw in some veg.

har jeong kai (prawn paste chicken)

har jeong kai (prawn paste chicken)

har jeong kai (prawn paste chicken) never my favourite. these ones ok competent. i like my homecooked chicken wings better though they did not have the prawn paste flavour.

san loh hor fun (生捞河粉)

san loh hor fun (生捞河粉)

san loh hor fun (生捞河粉) was nice, flavourful, but of course many stalls now do it at this standard or better. 🙂

sambal kan kong (马来风光)

sambal kan kong (马来风光)

garlic kailan

garlic kailan

i liked both the vegetables – the sambal kan kong (马来风光) & the garlic kailan.

the dinner came to S$94 all-in included some drinks. quite ok & a very pleasant evening together with family.

c.h.e.f quak

Fish Soup, Pig Trotters & Fish Maw Soup @ Whampoa Hawker Centre on 6Sep2014

幸福潮州小食 pig trotter

幸福潮州小食 pig trotter – S$5.50

went with sis & b-i-l to watch chinese operatic performance at nkf centre on 6.9.2014.

we went earlier at 6pm to have dinner at whampoa hawker centre. we all love hawker food! 🙂

幸福潮州小食

幸福潮州小食

there was the usual long queue for hoover rojak. the liang zhao ji 梁照记 duck rice stall was closed.

the next stall, 幸福潮州小食, seems to be popular with teochew pig trotter jelly (猪脚冻) & shark jelly (鲨鱼冻). i wanted more to eat the pig trotters and looking at the trotter jelly it didn’t look that great, so i ordered just the pig trotters & fish maw soup. think i will go back one day to try both the pig trotter jelly (猪脚冻) & shark jelly (鲨鱼冻).

幸福潮州小食 pig trotter

幸福潮州小食 pig trotter – $5.50

幸福潮州小食 fish maw soup

幸福潮州小食 fish maw soup – S$4

the pig trotters were very good. everything was right about this pig trotter – good gelatinous texture (in teochew we say “kar kar”), cooked just right, & tasty. just compared the above photo with that of the quite poor ones i had at the famous han jia bakuteh, pork leg at east coast lagoon food village on 4.7.2014.

the S$4 fish maw soup was a good deal, 3 fish maw, 2 fish balls, 2 pork balls, lots of minced pork & 2-3 think sliced pork. very good! 🙂

hoover fish porridge fish head soup

hoover fish porridge fish head soup

hoover fish porridge sliced fish soup

hoover fish porridge sliced fish soup

hoover fish porridge sliced fish soup

hoover fish porridge sliced fish soup

3pax dinner at whampoa market

3pax dinner at whampoa market

my sis came here to take her favourite fish soup at hoover fish porridge. she ordered 1 bowl of sliced fish soup & 1 bowl of fish head soup, S$12 including 2 bowls of rice. the sliced fish soup was sweeter & ok amount of fish. i usually like fish head but the quantity was quite small & not so much meat vs bones.

for me, i didn’t think much of this fish soup. it was ok but just like any fish soup. also fish soup not my favourite dish.

dinner for 3pax came to S$21.50, so about S$7pax, quite ok.

after dinner i saw 2 chinese herbal mutton soup stalls. i would want to try them next time.

i want to come back again! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Cambridge Day Trip & College Walk on 25Aug2014

our lady & english matyrs church, hills road

our lady & english matyrs church, hills road

set off for a day trip to cambridge monday 25.8.2014.

we enjoyed 3 days of glorious sunshine over the weekend, weather was wet on monday, so we were hoping to escape the rain by going to cambridge. but no luck! at least we were armed with disposal raincoats + an umbrella each. sigh! 😦

it was bank holiday & son booked on internet a very cheap day return fare just £26 for 2pax for the 46mins journey from kings cross. 🙂

i found this easy walking route. the guide says “If you are visiting Cambridge, and want one walk to see things, this is the walk. You will see the Round Church, St Johns and Trinity gatehouses, the Backs, Kings College Chapel (from the outside) and the Mathematical bridge“.

we took the 8.44am train from kings cross & arrived cambridge at 9.30am. there was a slight drizzle.

our lady & english matyrs church, hills road

our lady & english matyrs church, hills road

we checked out the map at the station & followed the station road to hills road. i took some photos of our lady & english matyrs church.

downing college lawn

downing college lawn

we continued on regent street, and entered downing college, a college that does not charge entry fee. 🙂

st andrew's street baptist church

st andrew’s street baptist church

i took a photo of st andrew’s street baptist church. it incorporated stone pebbles on its exterior wall design. 🙂

market square

market square

market square

market square

we passed by market square & also walked through the grand arcade.

round church, bridge street

round church, bridge street

we passed the round church.

view from magdalene bridge

view from magdalene bridge

view from magdalene bridge

view from magdalene bridge

& got onto magdalene bridge. it was wet & not many punts were out.

trinity college

trinity college

we followed the walk past st john’s college to trinity college on trinity street. we paid £1 at the porter’s lodge to visit the trinity quad & chapel. 🙂

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trinity college quad

trinity college quad

trinity college quad

quad (or trinity great court) was nice. weather was depressing. 😦

trinity college chapel

trinity college chapel

trinity college chapel

trinity college chapel

trinity college chapel

trinity college chapel

there was a collection of sculptures at the trinity chapel. the one above is sir is sac newton.

view from garett hostel bridge

view from garett hostel bridge

view from garett hostel bridge

view from garett hostel bridge

exiting trinity college, we found garret hostel lane and walked on to garret hostel bridge.  the extensive backs adjoining river cam & many bridges are mostly private college property & not accessible unless you pay the entry fees. garret hostel bridge is 1 of few which is a public bridge.

from here we could see clare college ground & further king’s backs.

king's college (view from the backs)

king’s college (view from the backs)

king's college (view from the backs)

king’s college (view from the backs)

after crossing the bridge we walked on queen’s road, passing king’s college. i took some photos of king’s backs & the famous college buildings. 🙂

we next passed queen’s college, followed the guide & proceeded along silver street. the mathematical bridge was located within queen’s college compound & could be viewed from the silver street crossing over river cam.

a popular myth has it that-

the bridge was designed and built by sir is sac newton without the use of nuts or bolts….students or fellows of the University attempted to take the bridge apart and put it back together, but were unable to work out how to hold the structure together, and were obliged to resort to adding nuts and bolts….

newton cannot have been directly involved since he died in 1727, twenty-two years before the bridge was constructed.

king's college

king’s college

king's college

king’s college

from silver street we turned left into trumpington street & to king’s parade. we enquired about the entry fee. it was £7.50 to see king’s college, chapel & backs.  these days i treat entrance fees as worthwhile donations (which they are) for the upkeep of important museums & historical places etc. on this occasion though we did not need to visit so we did not enter the college.

the short walk was completed & we proceeded to cote brasserie for a very satisfying lunch. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Chewing Gum Man & Street Art – Walk from Borough Market to Millennium Bridge on 23Aug2014

after some street eats on a saturday morning on 23.8.2014 at borough market, my son & i took a short pleasant stroll alongside river thames to millennium bridge. this is a steel suspension pedestrian footbridge across river thames linking st paul cathedral & tate modern, located between southwark bridge & the blackfriars railway bridge.

 Screen Shot 2014-09-05 at 12.34.59 am

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what’s new & fun is the emergence of the “chewing gum man”, ben wilson, a year ago, who have created over 400 pieces of chewing gum art. 🙂

not only has he transformed the unsightly disgusting chewing gum spit stuck between the metal gratings into mini art pieces, he also paints on request when pedestrians stopped to chat with him and creates art that means something for people who ask for it, like one which is a tribute to the victims of the japanese tsunami. my son told me he & his friends stopped to chat with him once before. 🙂

several of these mini street art were included in this inspiringcity article on the chewing gum man. enjoy!

c.h.e.f andy

Simply Italian @ La Nonna on 4Sep2014

parma ham

parma ham

a friend bought lunch today on 4.9.2014. 🙂

it would be difficult to get parking at hollandv even at 12pm so we decided on la nonna at namly place.

i had not been here for ages (like 4 or 5 years). they were still having the 50% ala carte discounts for weekday lunches. i looked at the online menus of other palate outlets like la cuisson, sopra cucina & initaly which i had yet to try. actually i thought they all looked more exciting than la nonna, but never know until you try. anyway la nonna seemed ok.

bread

bread

we had some bread to start.

& the parma ham with melon (top photo) was pretty good, nice flavour of aged ham to go with sweet melon & some rockets/mesclun.

spicy prawn tagliatelle

spicy prawn fettuccine

i liked the spicy prawn fettuccine. i think they had this classic italian bisque sauce (probably a prawn bisque). it was just slightly creamy & quite tasty & the chilli gave it the kick. i can do this at home as alternative to the usual spicy tomatoes or alio olio white wine sauce. & i used prawn bisque for my seafood risotto also to good effect so it’s the same for the pasta.

ossobuco with saffron risotto

ossobuco with saffron risotto

my friend liked his ossobucco & risotto. i had this before many years back & remembered that it was 1 of the nice dishes here. i guess it still is. 🙂

the lunch came to S$47nett for 1 appetiser, 1 pasta, 1 main for 2pax.

i had not been doing this but i guess la nonna can be a place to go to some evenings if i want to dine out nearby. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Scrumptious Kagoshima Wagyu Dinner @ Arossa Scotts Square on 3Sep2014

kagoshima wagyu medium rare (180g)

kagoshima wagyu medium rare (180g)

watched a very good movie “the hundred-foot journey” at shaw lido with wife yesterday on 3.9.2014, and decided to go across the road to arossa at scotts square for dinner. 🙂

i weren’t going to take photos & blog at first as we came here only 2 weeks ago & had wonderful miyazaki wagyu on 16.8.2014.

anyhow we ordered the same uni (sea urchin) pasta to share & also 2 new menu items – kagoshima wagyu (miyazaki wagyu not available) and an iberico pork chop, so i decided to blog in the end. 🙂

uni (sea urchin) pasta

uni (sea urchin) pasta

uni (sea urchin) pasta

uni (sea urchin) pasta

the server offered to split the uni (sea urchin) pasta. it was good as before. i enjoyed this wonderful starter very much. 🙂

lightly breaded iberico pork chop

lightly breaded iberico pork chop

kagoshima wagyu medium rare (180g)

kagoshima wagyu medium rare (180g)

we had such a superb miyazaki wagyu steak here & we were looking forward. but this time they replaced it with a kagoshima & it was just fabulous, perhaps more. chef watanabe is such a skilful specialist in grilling technique. the steak was so nicely charred for maillard reaction & the meat was pink & consistent, and very flavourful & marbled with melt-in-the-mouth texture. 🙂

lightly breaded iberico pork chop

lightly breaded iberico pork chop

the lightly breaded iberico pork chop was very good as well, though one could not compare a spanish pork chop to japanese wagyu…lol. 🙂

the jap wagyu will bring me back here sooner than later, and also there are other items on the menu including squid ink pasta & antipasti etc which i can explore further. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Drunken (or Drunkard) Fried Rice @ Siam Central Charlotte Street on 27Aug2014

basil fried rice with beef,

basil fried rice with beef

there is this drunken fried rice that every singaporean student must have taken at siam central charlotte street london.

my son brought me after the college ceremony on 27.8.2014.

i ordered the fried rice with beef, & my son ordered fried rice with pork & tom yam seafood soup.

basically, it was a spicy fried rice with egg, fresh chilli and thai holy basil. there was no wine in the rice so i wondered why drunken. it was later that i found out that a pad kee mao dish = “drunken stir-fry” dish (pad = stir-fry, kee mao = drunkard) it referred to the more intense, piquant taste of the dish, saltier and spicier etc, favoured by a drunkard (with dulled tastebuds?? haha)

tom yam talay

tom yam seafood

i did not try the tom yam seafood. my son described it as between the very good tom yam talay at patara & the so-so one at thai noodle house.

basil fried rice with pork

basil fried rice with pork

the fried rice was indeed intense & flavourful & a bit oily, and the serving of beef & pork was quite large.

i was having an almost full-blown flu & my tastebuds would have been dulled, perhaps even more than drunkards. anyhow i did not find the fried rice too “exceptional”. i told my son (& of course he did not agree) that the fried rice was like the old holland road stall or any good zi char stall. i guess perhaps it was better. 🙂

for sure, it was not to be compared to crystal jade spicy seafood fried rice (which is my gold standard). i actually think my own seafood fried rice is also better. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Exquisite Lunch @ HKK London on 26Aug2014

#1 crispy duck salad - pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

#1 crispy duck salad – pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

we had a fabulous. sublime lunch @ HKK London at worship street on 26.8.2014. to me it was par with the £36 3-course pre-theatre menu at joel robuchon no less. 🙂

it took us a while to decide. our instinct when it came to chinese food, was to go for the cheap, robust, proven good chinese eats like roast duck at goldmine & four seasons. there was this lack of faith, that fine chinese was just the same cheap chinese food repackaged to cost an arm & a leg. 😦

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we went to hkk all the same. hkk is the latest addition by hakkasan group. we took the northern line from king’s cross to moorgate. had the wonderful 4-course £28.50 lunch. 🙂

2 wet days in a row. the day before was raining in cambridge, and this time rain interfered with our plans to go greenwich, well at least we had a superb lunch to make up for the dreary start.

#1 crispy duck salad - pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

#1 crispy duck salad – pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

#1 the crispy duck salad – pulled duck with crispy skin bits in plum sauce, melon & dragon fruits & beautiful salad – was a superb dish. it was substantial too, with quite a good portion of duck meat. to me it was equal to any good appetiser in a top western restaurant.

#2 truffle chicken soup

#2 truffle chicken soup

#2 the truffle chicken soup was simply sublime. it was a wonderful tasting 当归鸡汤 with julienne cordyceps strips, a blended texture yet chinese tasting soup with great truffle flavour. 🙂

#3 wagyu, japanese yam, cripsy sweet potato & egg fried rice

#3 wagyu, japanese yam, cripsy sweet potato & egg fried rice

#3 the 3rd course was a wagyu, japanese yam, cripsy sweet potato & egg fried rice. the braised wagyu was top draw, soft tender braised texture not too sinewy & still bouncy, definitely better than the ox cheek at Joel Robuchon, and different but equal to the braised lamb shoulder at honey & co.

#4 salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbe

#4 salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbe

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#4 salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbe

#4 salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbe

#4 the salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbet was also a very good dessert. the parfait under the peanut crust was much like a good ice cream.

in terms of presentation, taste & quality of cooking departments, each dish & the overall experience of this 4-course hkk set lunch was equal to any set lunch or pre-theatre menu in a good fine dining restaurant. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Super £20 Whole Lobster @ Burger & Lobster on 26Aug2014

GBP20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

GBP20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

burger & lobster seems to be the the “go to” place in london. wife, son & daughter had all been there several times. and many friends too. it’s like all singaporeans visiting london go to the place. 🙂

business concept was simple – just 3 items on the menu, whole lobster steamed or grilled, lobster roll using shelled steamed lobster meat on a brioche, and a large beef burger, all at the same price £20. so import maine lobster yourself, no need celebrity chef, keep cost low& sell lots of lobsters.

i took the piccadilly line from king’s cross to leicester square & walked to burger & lobster outlet at dean street in soho.  it was still raining. son was out with friends & met me at the restaurant at 6pm on 26.8.2014. we got a 2pax table w/o waiting.

GBP20 lobster roll

£20 lobster roll

GBP20 lobster roll

£20 lobster roll

there was a choice of steamed or grilled lobster. the waitress also explained that both were first steamed, & the grilled lobster finished off with grilling.

before i ordered my whole grilled lobster, i confirmed with the waitress that the lobster roll was only served with steamed lobster meat. that made sense as the meat for the roll came from a common pool of shelled lobster meat, not that they could not still be grilled before serving but it’s just not done.

son cut me a bit of the lobster roll to try. the bread was very good. the lobster meat was fresh, bouncy & sweet. 🙂

GBP20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

£20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

GBP20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

£20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g) 

i love my lobster grilled, with that bbq flavour. it was very good! 🙂 there was the sides of shoestring fries & mesclun salad & a garlic butter dipping sauce. i had the same grilled lobster w/o the fries for €26 at fresco & cimmino in milan on 30.8.2014. equally good. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Very Satisfying Comfort Food @ Four Seasons Chinatown London on 25Aug2014

roast duck (烧鸭)

roast duck (烧鸭)

coming back from cambridge, we decided to go to the regent street nespresso outlet to get some capsules for my friend in singapore. we took the piccadilly line from king’s cross to piccadilly. i bought 50each of the black ristretto (intensity 10 arabica) & the purple arpeggio (intensity 9 arabica) capsules. 🙂

as we were near to four seasons in chinatown, we decided to have another go at roast duck just for the 2 of us. 🙂

son felt that the roast duck at four seasons was better & the sauce was sweeter c/w the roast duck gold mine. i could not tell the difference & i really love the roast duck at both restaurants. really shook! 🙂 price wise there wasn’t much to compare either – £12 at gold mine and £12.50 at four seasons.

roast pork (烧肉)  & char siew on rice

roast pork (烧肉) & char siew on rice

as there were only 2 of us & we already had 1/2duck, we decided to have a roast pork (烧肉) & char siew on rice for £7.80. i guessed it would be a smaller portion but this worked out well for us & was cheaper than getting a meat plate for £8.50 + £2.50 for rice.

the roast pork (烧肉)  at gold mine was distinctly superior to this.

my last experience with four seasons was in 2011 & as expected the service was brisk & business like bordering on unfriendly or even rudeness i had come to expect in chinese restaurants (or for that matter in any restaurants like this of so many nasi chefs in singapore, & at la botte in stresa where business was so good & they were always full & so busy).

i spoke cantonese with the 40-ish lady server i mistook as from hong kong. she was fast in words & thoughts & forceful. later when she talked about high teacher’s pay in singapore (which i guessed was misinformation) i realised she not likely to be from hong kong  & she told me she came to UK from malaysia 22 years ago. anyway she was very nice to us & gave 10% student discount when my son asked. we were not expecting that as my son was dining with me & not his student friends. 🙂

well, for me, gold mine & four seasons are the places i will go back every time i am in london.

c.h.e.f andy