Superb Sashimi & Unagi don Set @ Sun with Moon Wheelock on 22Jun2014

Posted on June 23, 2014 by chefquak

sashimi moriwasse for 2 = S$29.80

my wife & i were in between meals & decided to have “tea” (more of 2 meals dinner & lunch into 1, save time, money, calories..haha) @ sun with moon at wheelock. this is becoming our favourite restaurant. 🙂

we were not really interested in their tea menu. likely we were not the only ones so they provided full meal sets in their “tea” menu.

sashimi moriwasse for 2 = S$29.80

sashimi & unagi don set = S$34.80 (addition chawanmushi S$3.50, salmon sashimi S$3)

sashimi & unagi don set = S$34.80

i was already thinking of the sashimi at sun with moon after the not entirely fulfilling chirashi don dinner at chikuwatei on 17.6.2014, so 1 ordered a sashimi & unagi don set S$34.80. we did not want to have 2 sets so we added another sashimi moriawasse for 2pax at S$29.80.

(P.S. subsequently i had dinner at momoya on 6.7.2014 & it was 1 of the best value sushi & sashimi bento).

the sashimi moriawasse that came with the set had 9 pieces c/w with the ala carte sashimi for 2 (only missing 1 ama ebi & 2 slices of hotate in comparison) , and cost S$5 more. i would consider both quite reasonably priced & vis a vis each other. 🙂

as i mentioned on my post on chikuwatei, the salmon sashimi were sweeter, tastier here. the cut was also quite thick but perhaps just somewhat thinner c/w chikuwatei. the kajiki (swordfish) was a lot sweeter & there were ama ebi & hotate (missing in chikuwatei). for me it was a lot more shiok here. we also added a salmon sashimi side (3 thinner slices for S$3) & a chawanmushi (S$3.50). 🙂

sashimi & unagi don set = S$34.80

the set also came with the unagi don which i liked, side dish (vinegared unagi which my wife liked), soup, pickles & a drink.

we also added 1 small green tea parfait S$6.80.

there was a 15% card discount for ocbc, however it only applied to the ala carte order. since i had the members card (cost S$20 & you get back S$20 in points for redemption) which entitled to 10% discount for the whole bill, which came to S$82nett. its somewhat more ex c/w chikuwatei which was an overdose (not complaining!) of average to just above average thick cut sashimi for a S$25++ chirashi don.

c.h.e.f andy

4pax Family Dinner @ Crystal Jade Lamian Xioalongbao at HollandV on 21Jun2014

Posted on June 22, 2014 by chefquak

xiaolongbao 小笼包

just had a 4pax family dinner at crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao at hollandv. it was 630pm but i managed to get parking across the road at warna road side carpark next to the mrt exit. 🙂

this time i wanted to order the spicy beef lamian 水煮牛肉面 so forgo our favourite XO seafood fried rice.

xiaolongbao 小笼包

#1 xiaolongbao 小笼包 here was among the best i had tried. a friend commented on facebook that the skin look thick on the photo. but actually the skin was quite thin, and the soup in the dumpling was very tasty. 🙂

spicy dumplings 抄手

#2 spicy dumplings 抄手 was another favourite. enjoyed the spicy kick & also the vinegar flavour.

spicy beef lamian 水煮牛肉面

#3 i was not disappointed. the spicy beef lamian 水煮牛肉面 was not bad at all. fair amount of sliced beef, lots of vegetables & the soup was flavourful not over spicy & quite drinkable. of course it was not near to the real thing 水煮牛肉 or 水煮鱼 but that really is a different dish.

spicy chicken 口水鸡

spicy chicken lamian 口水鸡拉面

#4 & #5 we ordered both the spicy chicken 口水鸡 & the spicy chicken lamian so we could just share the noodles. this another favourite dish. chicken was sweet & the sichuan chilli sauce made it really flavourful.

wanton lamian

#6 my daughter ordered the plain wanton lamian. it was good too.

the total for the 6 dishes plus 3 barley drinks for 4pax came to S$68, quite ok for a simple family dinner. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Oyster Omelette (蚝烙) Starchy Orh Luah

Posted on June 21, 2014 by chefquak

Oyster Omelette (蚝烙) Starchy OrhLuah

continuing on my quest for the starchy orh luah (蚝烙), i bought sweet potato flour from sheng shiong after my passable first attempt on orh jian (蚝煎) – crispy oyster egg.

Oyster Omelette (蚝烙) Starchy OrhLuah

this time i tried a smaller portion, so i used only 1 heap tablespoon sweet potato flour & mixed about 30ml water, adding 1 teaspoon fish sauce & some white pepper(& i would add some chopped spring onions if i have). i used only 1 egg, beating well & adding 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce & some pepper.

i added 3 tablespoon oil & make sure the pan is totally greased, then i spread the sweet potato flour mixture over the pan on low fire. the difference c/w cornflour is that you see the familiar light transparent batter (whereas cornflour batter is opaque). somehow just the familiar look made it feel delicious. haha. 🙂

i then added the egg & 1 tablespoon of chilli paste & spread with the egg. then i turned fire to high to crisp the egg starch mixture, used the spatula to break up into smaller pieces & pushed to 1 side while i added the oysters. i cooked the oysters for (say) 2minutes making sure it was cooked but not overcooked (it would shrink & become tougher if overcooked).

i would probably need to tweak a bit & do proper garnishing with coriander, but this preparation was nearly there in producing a good oyster omelette, certainly it tasted better than the average hawker stalls. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

蒜泥白肉 Spicy Garlic Pork

Posted on June 20, 2014 by chefquak

蒜泥白肉

蒜泥白肉, a spicy garlic pork, is a common sichuan dish which i like but don’t take often.

it was 1 of the dishes i explored when planning a “fine” chinese menu for 11pax RI friends on 5.5.2014. 🙂

spicy garlic pork 蒜泥白肉

i also tried drunken chicken. it was ok but several friends though my chicken rice chicken白斩鸡(a much easier preparation) was better. i tried ter kar tan (teochew pig trotter jelly) but so far not very successful. the other which i have not yet try out is 镇江肴肉, a cured pig trotter terrine.

spicy garlic pork 蒜泥白肉

i already produced a very tender belly pork by brining in sugar & salt & then using the crockpot method – place the belly pork in a crockpot & add enough brine to cover completely, turn on crockpot to low & cook for about 4hrs (OR use a meat thermometer set at 76degC & off the crockpot when alarm sounds).

i felt that the key to a good 蒜泥白肉 is a good sauce. so i googled & picked what i thought would be a good sauce recipe for 蒜泥白肉.

蒜泥白肉 sichuan spicy garlic pork belly

i added 1/3 cup light soy sauce (80ml), 2 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 cm sliced ginger, 1 cinnamon bark, 1 clove, 2 anise seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin to 1/2 cup stock (chicken or from the pork) to a pan on low fire. i then added 4 cloves chopped garlic, 2 chopped shallots & 2 tablespoon sichuan spicy chilli oil. i heat it for until fragrant (5mins or more). i checked the taste. it should be very mildly sweet, just slight spicy & quite fragrant/flavourful. sliced the belly pork thinly, lay out on a dish with sliced zucchini, & drizzle the sauce over the pork. serve. 🙂

the result was in the above photos. when i brought out at the 27pax dinner for RI friends on 28.5.2014, everyone liked it. so was the case for the 11pax family birthday dinner on 14.6.2014. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

400g belly pork
small zucchini (sliced)

sauce

1/3 cup light soy sauce (80ml)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cm sliced ginger
1 cinnamon bark
1 clove
2 anise seeds
1 tsp cumin
1/2 cup stock (chicken stock or from the pork)
4 cloves chopped garlic
2 chopped shallots
2 tbsp sichuan spicy chilli oil

Directions:

scald the belly pork in boiling water to remove scum. place in 600ml water (or enough to cover the pork fully) with 2 heap tbsp sugar & 1 heap tbsp salt & brine for 48hrs. placed the belly pork in a crockpot (cold) & add enough brine to cover completely, turn on crockpot to low for cook for about 4hrs (or use a meat thermometer set at 76degC & off the crockpot when alarm sounds).
add 1/3 cup light soy sauce (80ml), 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 cm sliced ginger, 1 cinnamon bark, 1 clove, 2 anise seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin to 1/2 cup stock (chicken or from the pork) to pan on low fire. add 4 cloves chopped garlic, 2 chopped shallots & 2 tbsp sichuan spicy chilli oil. heat until fragrant (5mins or more). check the taste. it should be very mildly sweet, just slight spicy & quite fragrant/flavourful.
slice the belly pork thinly, lay out on a dish with sliced zucchini, & drizzle the sauce over the pork. serve.

Kaya (Coconut Jam)

Posted on June 20, 2014 by chefquak

kaya toast

this truly a 10 minute kaya (coconut jam)! 🙂

i decided to try after watching this video by kitchen tigress. the same recipe was repeated in many other blogpost. i kind of got inspired after having a scrumptious lunch at a friend’s house on 30.5.2014 & brought home some of his homemade kaya to go with the kee chang he made for us. 🙂

kaya (coconut jam)

it’s so easy to make, just like in the video. i just added 200ml coconut milk (i used packet ones), added 45g palm sugar (gula melaka), 3 flat tablespoon white sugar (it was supposed to be 45g white sugar but i preferred it less sweet) & 4 pandan leaves. i put under low heat & stirred till the sugar melt & the liquid just began to boil.

i beat 4 egg yolks & added 1/2 the liquid into the egg yolk & stirred continuously. then i added the mixture back to the remaining liquid & stirred & reduced over low heat (as in the video) till i got the right viscosity & texture. it really tasted good. i think much better than kaya you get in the stalls. 🙂

i wonder what you can do with kaya apart from kaya toast & recently i discovered kee chang. perhaps i will try it with cheese! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

11pax Homecooked 11-course Family Birthday Dinner on 14.6.2014

Posted on June 19, 2014 by chefquak

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

time passes us by. my brother’s & sister’s birthday fall on 14June. since i had started cooking for 2 years hence, and had hosted many homecooked dinners, i wanted to do a homecooked chinese dinner for my brother & sister. 🙂

the chinese dishes i planned were simple stuff like chicken & duck & belly pork. there’s also fish & 2 vege as they both like vege. i added a lamb as my sister like lamb. my niece & her husband are buddhist & vegetarian, so i cooked a pesto pasta for them. also i had the tofu cheese cake. 🙂

#1 chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

#1 chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡 was a favourite when i did my 27pax homecooked buffet for my RI friends recently on 28.5.2014. it was brined in sugar & salt water for 48hrs, then 10minutes simmering & 20 minutes poached in hot water, and placed in ice water bath to taut the skin & stop cooking. this time though i only tried a small slice of breast meat, but it did not seem as sweet, juicy & tasty as it usually were. 😦

#2 dry salt spice brined duck 盐水鸭

#2 the 盐水鸭 (dry salt spice brined duck) though was very good this time. it was flavourful yet not too intense, and the meat was tender as the boil-poach preparation (similar to 白斩鸡 but 15mins+30minutes for duck) produced a more gently cooked meat. i applied a dry brine of salt, sugar, cinnamon bark, anise seeds, clove, bay leaves, and sichuan chilli pepper for 48hrs. 🙂

when cutting & tasting the breast which was thicker than the thigh, i felt the breast meat was less flavourful. so perhaps i will reserve thigh meat for this preparation & breast meat for the sous vide duck a l’orange. 🙂

#3 “sous vide” char siew

#3 “sous vide” char siew was a bit too fat but melt-in-the-mouth tender after 5hrs at 90degC in the oven & quick pan-grilled with butter. it was marinated for 3 days & well infused & tasty, but after many attempts i felt the marinade recipe i used was still not the best tasting & not comparable with my miso belly pork, which marinade requires a much simpler preparation. 🙂

#4 spicy garlic pork 蒜泥白肉

#4 my brother loved the 蒜泥白肉 ( spicy garlic pork). this was also a crowd favourite during my recent 27pax homecooked buffet dinner for RI friends. 🙂

actually i over added the sichuan chilli so the sauce was overly spicy. i had to drizzle less sauce than i usually did. the sauce was made from light soy sauce, sugar, chopped garlic, chopped onions, sliced ginger, cinnamon bark, anise seed, dash of cumin & sichuan chilli. the belly pork was done using the crockpot method – in cold water on low for about 4hrs. this another inventive method of slow cooking as it starts from room temperature & very slowly gets to boiling & remain simmering not hard boiling thus retaining the moisture. pork & skin were very tender. 🙂

#5 miso lamb shoulder chop

#5 my sister like lamb so i did a miso preparation for a cheap lamb shoulder chop. the lamb was marinated for 3 days in miso to infuse the flavours. it was then placed in the marinade bath in the oven at 90degC for 5hrs. this meat has lots of connective tissues & so very tough & not easy to make tender. 90degC happens to be the optimum temperature to convert collagen (the tough connective tissues) to tasty excellent texture gelatine. this time though i forgot to remove from oven & it dried out a bit c/w a quite perfect preparation for a 11pax sit-down dinner i had for RI friends recently on 5.5.2014.

pesto spaghetti with grilled eggplant, zucchini & mushrooms

as my niece & her husband are vegetarians, i prepared a separate vegetarian dish, a pesto spaghetti with grilled eggplant, zucchini & mushrooms for them. this was a very tasty dish that i experimented/recreated after very good meals during my recent travels to lake como, cinque terre & milan. 🙂

the pesto was made with pine nuts (i used almonds as substitute as pine nuts are very ex), spinach, basil, cheese & olive oil & a dash of salt, and blended. the pesto & grilled eggplant, zucchini & mushrooms were added to the pasta & tossed, with a teaspoon of sugar, some white wine & sea salt to taste. 🙂

#6 fried large prawns with leek

#6 fried large prawns with leek was quite poor this time. the leek was “sek” somehow very tough. usually i cooked it just right so it was still brightly green but soft & tasty. this time i had to cook it very long till blackish to get it to soften. i did not try the prawns but my wife & daughter both thought the prawns were poor. i knew the prawns were large & very fresh when i cut the heads & shelled. & the butter pan-grilled method always produce a very tasty, slightly bbq flavour prawns. but because i had to heat up the dish 3 times, even though i took out the prawns & put back each time, the steam got into the prawns & the meat became “hu hu” i.e. mushy.

#7 poor man’s buddha jump over the wall

#7 the shorthand 佛跳墙 (buddha jump over the wall) was a dish i modelled after the very nice soup jh’s father (a chef) made. i used pig trotters, thick mushrooms, belly pork, dried scallops & also 2 cans of cheap limpets (S$10/can). 🙂

#8 auntie bes made a teochew steamed pomfret (did not take photo). this time though the pomfret was not very fresh & had a “chow chor” (fishy) taste. 😦

fermented bean curd raomaine lettuce 腐乳油麦菜

#9 fermented bean curd romaine lettuce 腐乳油麦菜

#9 腐乳油麦菜 (fermented bean curd romaine lettuce) is a common zi char dish e.g. kok sen. this time 腐乳 & chilli were just right & my wife liked it. 🙂

#10 HK steamed chicken, mushrooms, chinese sausage rice(香汁蒸蘑菇鸡饭)

#10 香汁蒸蘑菇鸡饭 (HK styled steamed chicken, mushrooms, chinese sausage rice) is the common steamed rice dish in hk’s dim sum restaurants, usually they used chicken feet and/or pork ribs, drizzled with tasty black sauce. the sauce is very important. it is easily made – just 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark sauce, 1 tbsp sugar & 6 tbsp water or to taste. it looked dark but was not salty & quite perfect taste – mildly sweet & nice soy flavour. 🙂

#11 tofu cheese cake

#11 just as in my 27pax recent gathering, the tofu cheese cake was again a crowd favourite. it is the easiest of dessert, a no bake very light cheese cake. the simplest of recipes = 200g cream cheese, 200g silken tofu, 200ml yogurt, 100ml whipped cream, 4 tbsp brown sugar (60g), 2 tbsp lime juice (30ml), & dissolved 3 tsp gelatine powder (15g) in 50ml hot water, then blend & pour over the biscuit base (made with 7 digestive biscuits (105g) & 60g melted butter). 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

盐水鸭 Dry Brined Spice Salt Marinade Duck

Posted on June 18, 2014 by chefquak

dry salt spice brined duck 盐水鸭 (thigh)

i started exploring 盐水鸭 as even though my teochew braised duck was pretty ok, especially for large group buffets, i was looking for a “finer” chinese preparation for sit-down dinners. also often if i do my sous vide crispy skin canard a l’orange, i only used the breast & was left with the thighs. i also tried tea smoked duck couple of times. it was ok but the preparation was a bit elaborate & also the method i used with only 15minutes of tea-smoking offered more fragrance aroma when serving than was actually infused in the duck.

盐水鸭 spicy duck – 6.2.2015

i googled & found 1 recipe here 🙂 = http://home.meishichina.com/recipe-33399.html

after couple of tries, i quite perfected it (the above 2 photos) & served this beautiful dish at the 22pax RI friends get-together on 6.2.2015.^^

dry salt spice brined duck 盐水鸭

dry salt spice brined duck 盐水鸭 (thigh)

dry salt spice brined duck 盐水鸭 (breast)

dry salt spice brined duck 盐水鸭 (thigh)

the preparation was really quite easy, and much rest with the dry brining marinade.

i added table salt to a non-stick pan, then added sugar, spicy sichuan chilli sauce, and cinnamon bark, anise seeds, clove, sliced ginger, bay leaves & some fennel, and fried over low fire until fragrant, and set aside.

i cut 1/2 duck & exfoliate with salt & dried. then i used a tablespoon to apply the dry brine rub all over the duck, on the skin & on the inside. i then wrapped it in cellophane & left it in the chiller for 48hrs.

when ready to cook, i took out the marinated duck let it rest to room temperature then added to boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt. i let the duck simmered for 15minutes, off fire & poached in the hot water for another 30minutes. the poaching produced a gentler more tender texture & the dry brining produced a very nice flavourful duck.

i tried these twice for my RI friends on 5.5.2014 (only duck thigh) & for my brother & sister birthday on 14.6.2014 (1/2 duck include thigh & breast). i found that (surprisingly) it was better with thigh. i think the breast was thicker & the flavour was not infused enough. anyway it was ok result for me as i can keep the breast for the western sous vide preparation & the thigh for this 盐水鸭. 🙂

Ingredients:

1/2 duck

dry brine marinade

1 heap tbsp table salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 bay leaves
1 small cinnamon bark
2 anise seeds
1 clove
1cm sliced ginger
1.5 to 2 tbsp spicy sichuan chilli
1 tsp fennel

Directions:

add table salt to a non-stick pan, then added sugar, spicy sichuan chilli sauce, and cinnamon bark, anise seeds, clove, sliced ginger, bay leaves & some fennel, and fry over low fire until fragrant, and set aside.
cut 1/2 duck & exfoliate with salt & dried. use a tablespoon to apply the dry brine marinade rub all over the duck, on the skin on on the inside. wrap it in cellophane & left it in the chiller for 48hrs.
when ready to cook, take out marinated duck let it rest to room temperature then add to boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt. let the duck simmer for 15minutes, off fire & poach in the hot water for another 30minutes. the poaching produced a gentler more tender texture & the dry brining produced a very nice flavourful duck.

Another Fabulous Degustation Dinner @ Jaan on 16Jun2014

Posted on June 18, 2014 by chefquak

amuse bouche 1

had another wonderful degustation par excellence at jaan on 16.6.2014. 🙂

regretfully jaan is fully booked for the rest of the year for feed-at-raffles (FAR) discounts. looks like only mikuni & occasionally equinox & prego to go to.

amuse bouche 1

the new amuse bouche of beetroot macaron, an eel mousse, (can’t remember the last) plus the rye cracker with very good hummus was good, pleasant & quite fine, though no better than previous.

amuse bouche 2 – cepe mushroom tea

the second amuse bouche, a cepe mushroom tea, was the best soup ever, so intense & flavourful & lingering. 🙂

#1 ocean – simply delicious!

# the ocean seafood composition was simply delicious! every item was excellent & there were so many – langoustine, oyster (yummy!), scallop, ikura (salmon roe), eel, caviar, another prawn. i could have this again! 🙂

#2 toast

not quite sure what the toast do? anyway a good toast.

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#2 zucchini, tomatoes, olive, burrata

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#2 zucchini, tomatoes, olive, burrata

#2 the zucchini trumbetta was nice, pleasant, refreshing, not quite a standout among so many excellent dishes.

64degC 55mins sous vide egg with iberico ham

#3 64degC 55mins sous vide egg with iberico chorizo

#3 the 64degC 55mins sous vide egg with iberico chorizo was quite a complete dining experience with the dry ice foam flowing down. the silky egg yolk added texture combination to the crispy iberico chorizo.

#4 foie gras

#4 the foie gras preparation/presentation had changed several times but texture wise quite the same. the inside was soft tender tasty. the outside though was different from the more caramelised preparation which we preferred.

#5 monk fish, white asparagus

#5 monk fish was pretty good – firm, bouncy. meat was slightly sweet. somehow all the monkfish i tried in singapore (& this was a better one) could not match the excellent sweet tasting monkfish ala plancha i had in barcelona’s bouqueria market & tapas restaurants. white asparagus was very good, very tasty & tender. 🙂

#6 hay roasted pigeon

#6 the hay roasted pigeon was as usual, nothing less than superb. the medium rare sous vide breast was the best. i couldn’t quite decide if amsterdam beulings’ quail was better or this. 🙂

the best dinner we had at jaan though was on 20.1.2014 where we had miyazaki beef in place of pigeon. 🙂

pre-dessert grape granite

the grape granite palate cleanser was refreshingly good. 🙂

#7 choconuts – taste & texture

#7 choconuts was supposed to offer different temperature, texture & taste. i supposed it did & its a good dessert, but i thought some of the previous choconuts editions were distinctly better.

petit fours

the petit four were good or competent for this level of restaurant, not a standout.

well, looks like i have to try the waiting list & see my luck play out.

c.h.e.f andy

Oysters & Chirashi Don @ Chikuwatei on 17Jun2014

Posted on June 17, 2014 by chefquak

japanese oysters = S$22 for 2

my daughter & jh bought dinner as return treat for my wife & i ‘lombang’ aka enjoyed collateral benefits. 🙂

they suggested chikuwatei, and now thinking back the last time i went there was 3yrs+ ago. these few days i had been thinking of going to chikuwatei again so the time was most fitting.

(P.S. subsequently i had dinner at momoya on 6.7.2014 & it was the best value sushi & sashimi bento, quality equal if not better than chikuwatei & much better value)

not sure if there was any change of ownership but the service was very much better. the lady taking charge at the front counter, showing us to the table, gave good recommendations and was not pushy. the oysters she recommended were excellent. when she was clearing the dishes at the end of the meal she tipped over my wife’s sake cup. later she came back with a full cup of sake. i guess we could have reasonably asked for that too but we did not, & did not really expect it. 🙂

chirashi don = S$25

teriyaki chicken = S$10

japanese oysters = S$22 for 2

we ordered 4 chirashi don for 4pax, 2 servings of oysters (4 oysters), teriyaki chicken & a 250ml house sake (S$16).

i was much looking forward for the chirashi don as i had not taken here for so long. in fact i was slightly disappointed. the helpings were just as large – 5 slices of salmon, 3 maguro, 3 kajiki, 2 hamachi & 2 tamago (egg), with a heap of ikura. rice was good, ok not the best. the salmon was not so sweet (2 of the 5 were sweeter). i thought that the salmon sashimi i had at sun with moon wheelock as a S$3 side dish for 3 pieces were better! the kajiki & maguro were also not very sweet, the hamachi was a bit sweeter. the ikura added a slightly salty, flavourful touch to the vinegared rice.

i guessed overall it was not too bad but a bit underwhelming for me & kind of below what i expected. if i were having just sashimi, the S$20 chirashi don lunch set i had recently at ginza kuroson was a lot better quality, but that was lunch. if i wanted combination then the sets at sun with moon would be more attractive than this.

must add though that the oysters were quite large & excellent, juicy, tasty with no metallic taste, very enjoyable. the teriyaki chicken was good too, though not really food i would order.

probably won’t come here too soon unless there are some other specials or promotions.

c.h.e.f andy

Quite Poor Ming Fa (明发) Bakchormee @ HollandV Food Centre on 17Jun2014

Posted on June 17, 2014 by chefquak

ming fa (明发) bakchormee

did some errands at hollandv. walking through the food centre & thought the bakchormee stall looked different. i had a good bakchormee at a commonwealth crescent fai zai eatery bakchormee here on 24.9.2013. now the stall is called ming fa (明发). i guess ming fa (明发) has acquired & franchised the stall. it used to be a middle-aged man hawking, now there were 2 women.

i tried ming fa (明发) at upper thomson road couple times recently & it was 1 of the best. the branding was the same so i decided to give it a go.

ming fa (明发) bakchormee

must say this was really quite poor. the meepok noodles were slightly soggy not enough qq (al dente), ingredients were less. taste was just passable but not great. the previous stall commonwealth crescent fai zai eatery bakchormee was a lot better than this, though the ming fa (明发) at upper thomson was far better. but this ming fa (明发) at hollandv is quite poor indeed!

i am not sure this thus the brand any good at all!

c.h.e.f andy

Protected: Yong Siu’s & Yong Hui’s 63 Birthday 11pax Homecooked 11-course Dinner on 14.6.2014

Posted on June 16, 2014 by chefquak

Romantic Villa del Balbainello Lake Como Italy on 17Apr2014

Posted on June 14, 2014 by chefquak

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villa balbainello

our next visit was to villa balbainello on 17.4.2014. it is a beautiful and romantic attractions at lenno on lake como, at the tip of a small wooded peninsula with beautiful terraced gardens. it was also the filming location for star wars episode 2 – attack of the clones (2002) & casino royale (2006). 🙂

we spent the morning taking the lake shuttle from villa carlotta to varenna, had lunch at alle darsene, strolls through villa melzi & did some fast shopping at bellagio (& earlier at varenna) before picking up our car at villa carlotta jetty, and drove 30mins to villa balbainello at lenno.

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route accès to villa balbainello

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route accès to villa balbainello

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river taxi to villa balbainello

it was possible to trek/walk to villa balbainello, but it was late afternoon, so we decided to take the private river taxi. the round trip fare including access to the gardens was euro13pax. 🙂

we strolled around the terraced gardens overlooking the lake.

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loggia at top of the hill

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loggia at top of the hill

the loggia with the famous sunset scene, the kiss (anekin & padme) & the secret marriange. 🙂

a charming & romantic garden setting, perched on the hill & overlooking the lake. villa carlotta was also facing the lake & had a lot more trees, flowers & plants to admire while you strolled. here at villa balbainello the space were more expansive living space & you could sit in the lawn (as in 007 recuperating in casino royale), rest on the verandah etc.

on the return journey, the river taxi took us on a short cruise further south, and we had a good view of villa balbainello & another villa further south of the lake & also lenno from the craft.

it was past 5pm when we got back to our hotel la perla. we liked the panna cotta at pizza balognett so much that we stopped by & ta pao (take-out). la perla has a sprawling scenic terrace patio overlooking the lake. we had couple of macchiatos to go with the panna cotta while enjoying the great views. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Great Lunch @ Boon Tong Kee Balestier on 13Jun2014

Posted on June 13, 2014 by chefquak

chinese cabbage with taupok

a good friend had a S$10 boon tong kee voucher to use & invited us for a 3pax lunch at the balestier branch. this a restaurant with 31 years history. 🙂 the stall at chinatown was started by a thian boon hua in 1979. and the very first btk restaurant opened at balestier road in 1983. 🙂

my friend wanted to book btk at 1pm (as we were all watching world cup soccer opener brazil vs croatia) but it was fully booked. we decided to go early instead at 11.45am, also there were limited kampong chicken so better to be early. 🙂

there is a huge carpark just behind balestier food centre which is adjacent to btk.

we got ourselves a table. the place was aircon-ed. it was full & a queue soon formed outside. about 3 tables were reserved for tourist busload!

chicken liver & gizzard

white-cut kampong chicken

HK steamed cod with wood fungus

chinese cabbage with taupok

S$30 HK steamed cod with wood fungus

my friend ordered 4 dishes.

#1 kampong chicken was very good, though my friend the connoisseur felt it was not as good as usual. for me it was very good, smooth, sweet & not so fatty. 🙂 & the rice was very good, flavourful & not too oily. the thinly chopped ginger oil dip was excellent! 🙂

#2 the chicken liver & gizzard were ok. i am partial though to chicken intestine which was not offered at this btk branch.

#3 the bean curd with nai bai (奶白) chinese cabbage was very good too, especially the beam curd!

#4 the hk steamed cod fish with wood fungus (木耳) was excellent, the best. 🙂

the meal came to S$84 for 3pax including 3 barley drink (S$2.20 each) before using the S$10 voucher. it was not cheap but it was really a very good meal for me.

btk is more like a zi char than just a chicken rice stall. i don’t take so much chicken rice these days but this was really good relative to many good neighbourhood chicken rice stalls like the ones i had at tanglin halt & 6th avenue. i will certainly come back both for the chicken rice & also the zi char dishes.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Kurobuta Kimchi Nabe Dinner @ Shirokiya on 11Jun2014

Posted on June 12, 2014 by chefquak

kurobuta kimchi nabe

bought a groupon voucher for a japanese hotpot at shirokiya cuppage terrace branch (S$22.80 voucher for a S$38.80++ nabe) & went with my sis for a 2pax dinner on 11.6.2014. 🙂

there were 3 choices of nabe for the S$38.80 price option, 2 were chicken. we picked the kurobuta kimchi nabe.

kurobuta kimchi nabe

there were about 10 large slices of kurobuta belly pork (the restaurant said 160g for 2 servings), and you could add another serving (80g) for S$9++.

kurobuta was quite excellent. nabe also came with 4 mussels (ok la..), tofu, lots of vegetables & kimchi. it was a good tasty & satisfying nabe.

broiled kurobuta

the other menu items though did not attract me. sashimi salad at S$20.80++, sushi & sashimi were quite ex, assorted sushi maki was S$25.80++. i would rather take these at mikuni or sun with moon at wheelock.

there was a (limited order) S$17.80 grilled salmon belly that looked great but was too large for 2 of us. we considered a S$13.80++ ishiyaki kurobuta don but decided we didn’t need the carb & selected the S$10.80 broiled kurobuta. this was really good! 🙂 a very tasty, flavourful, generous helping.

both items were very good. dinner came to S$35.50 nett (S$22.80+S$12.70). i bought 2 more shirokiya vouchers when i got home. 🙂

not sure i would do this at the usual price of S$38.80++, but at 1/2 price S$22.80, it was very good value. the very good kimchi chigae at aburiya cost S$13.80 for <1/2 portion & <20% pork (& not kurobuta) by comparison. azmaya used to offer 50% discount for pork shabu shabu ala carte buffer at S$12++. currently there is only a S$17.50 pork shabu shabu set, which comes to S$35 for 2pax c/w S$22.80. so shirokiya’s groupon offer great value. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Good Zi Char Dinner @ Keng Eng Kee (KEK) Restaurant & Teochew Opera on 9Jun2014

Posted on June 10, 2014 by chefquak

S$10 claypot liver

i had wanted to try keng eng kee (KEK) the last time the few of us were doing a hawker & zi char tour but had never gotten to it.

was watching a teochew classical tunes (operatic) concert at singapore concert hall at 7.30pm by ngee ann cultural centre, singapore teochew federation & nan hua opera (南华儒剧社) – program here, so decided to have early dinner at KEK on 9.6.2014.

i must say i really enjoyed the teochew opera singing. used to listen to them a lot when very young, so even though had not listen to some for decades, the songs were still familiar. 🙂

the singing was good & the ones by 孙小华 (芦林会) & 陈纬恬 (刘明珠) was outstanding, extremely emotive, moving & captivating. 陈纬恬, singaporean, is just 11 years old. she performed 小蝴蝶 in (莫愁女) in shantou, china when she was 5! this young girl is set to be a super star.

S$10 claypot liver

we were there at 5pm on a monday. the indoor aircon seating was fully booked, & 1/2 of the outdoor seating at the coffeeshop was also reserved with the names on the tables.

famous dishes at KEK includes claypot liver, moonlight nor fun, mingzhu rolls (明珠卷) & salted egg crab etc.

#1 i do like liver but am not particularly fond of claypot liver which is like a liver overkill. we ordered it anyhow & it turned out to be really good! the liver was not overcooked, had great wine flavours & very sweet & just the right texture. an excellent dish! 🙂

S$25 nonya song fish head

#2 we were deciding between black beans bitter gourd with sliced snakehead (生鱼) or a song fish head(松鱼头). the server recommended the fish head nonya style. it was very good, the sauce was the same as the very nice fish head at forture seafood but dryer & less curry. i would think that angkoli (red snapper) which forture used would go better than 松鱼 for this dish.

cuttlefish kang kong

#3 cuttle fish kang kong was competent & tasty, the sweet sauce though was kind of overpowering.

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明珠卷 mingzhu roll

#4 the 明珠卷 mingzhu roll (6 pieces) was good too. however we did not really need this dish. the other 4 dishes were already too big for 3pax, so we tapao (take out) remaining 3 pieces.

S$5 moonlight hor fun

#5 the moonlight dry nor fun was a good dish. it was a strange concoction combining char kuay teow with hor fun(河粉), and came with chinese sausage & also prawns & squid with thick hor fun. it was not really my favourite. i would prefer the usual hor fun or san lor hor fun (生捞河粉) to this.

keng eng kee alexandra village

S$25 nonya song fish head

there was no service or get. the bill came up to S$60 for 5 dishes for 3pax. the food would easily have served 4pax. i would rate KEK on par with kok sen & much better than two chefs. i would expect the song fish head(松鱼头) at 香港街珍记 (Hong Kong Street Chun Kee) to be better but then the menu range at the latter is small.

this definitely a eating place that i will come back again! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Squid-ink Seafood Spaghetti

Posted on June 9, 2014 by chefquak

squid ink manila clams with squid spaghetti

reserved the squid-ink pouch in the freezer when i was cooking a grilled large squid. there was also a defrosted squid in the chiller & couple prawns which needed to be used before the head turned black, so decided to cook squid-ink pasta. this my first attempt. 🙂

squid-ink seafood linguine-added 24.10.2014

i used the squid-ink from 3 squids, from the large one & 2 medium ones.

squid-ink linguine with clams & squid – added 24.10.2014

squid ink manila clams with squid spaghetti

squid-ink linguine with clams & squid – added 24.10.2014

as usual i browned a whole bulb of garlic cloves in olive oil over low fire, and set aside. i seasoned the prawns & squid in 1 teaspoon fish sauce & white pepper. i added 2 teaspoon butter to the pan & turned to high fire till it just began to smoke, then i added the squid & prawns & cooked to about 90%. i removed the squid & prawns & added back the garlic olive oil & added 1 chopped chilli padi and the squid ink. then i added white wine & 1 teaspoon sugar & reduced.

meanwhile i boiled some spaghetti till just before specified time (just before al dente). i added back the squid & prawns & then the spaghetti, off the fire & tossed.

it was a really good squid-ink pasta, really tasty. i would say matching in taste the squid-ink pasta at al borgo. well almost la. haha! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Hawker Food @ East Coast Lagoon Food Village then Music & Roland Garros Finals on 8.6.2014

Posted on June 9, 2014 by chefquak

orh luah (oyster egg)

went to a good friend’s house to watch roland garros finals between nadal & djokovic on 8.6.2014.

3 of us started with a leisurely stroll via the underpass to the recently renovated east coast lagoon food village for dinner.

we enjoyed nice music after dinner at my friend’s place with his amazing sound system & acoustics. mostly we listened to david foster, his guest artists & wonderful songs –

katherine mcphee (america idol 2005 runners-up) who also sang “the prayer” with andrea bocelli;
michael buble who sang the very nice song “home” co-written with his wife amy foster with country singer blake shelton,
jackie evancho (america got talent 2010 runners-up), &
lucia micarelli’s simply incredible moving mesmerising lingering violin instrumental with chris botti “emmanuel”.

another friend joined to watch nadal vs djokovic roland garros finals at 9pm. we are all nadal supporters though my friend’s son who joined us supports djokovic. we were not hopeful this time as nadal had lost 3 masters to almegro, ferrer & djokovic in the clay court build-up before roland garros. djokovic is deservedly on the rise & is nadal’s nemesis & tormentor as nadal had been to federer. nadal’s progress into the second week had also been tentative & less convincing than djokovic’s, and my friends & i were not convinced despite his thrashing andy murray in the semi-final.

as it turned out, nadal won again! & for the 9th times (& 5 times in a row, consecutively), something no one has ever done before. djokovic started perfectly. nadal was playing well but djokovic was 1 step ahead in everything, returning every ball & his backhand was simply lethal. nothing nadal did could hurt djokovic. nadal was simply being owned & prospects looked bleak, insurmountable. we were not hopeful. djokovic’s play however dropped towards the end of the second set which nadal won 7-5 & that proved to be the turning point. djokovic looked winded & regurgitated (like vomitting) in the 3rd set which nadal again won. in the fourth though nadal looked worrying, bending over & clutching his wrist & after 1 shot was bending over with back pain (he lost to wawrinka at the australia open finals, playing through his back pain).

there was a very unfortunate, most regrettable incident. at match point, as djokovic threw up the ball for the second serve, someone in the audience intentionally shouted & as a result djokovic double-faulted on match point. (i think with the extensive camera surveillance, the culprit(s) should be hauled up & banned for all future games). djokovic was extremely bitter (as can only be expected with the sweat & blood, hardwork & complete dedication), and applauded the audience in his usual cynical, wry, sacarstic manner (my friend did not like this trait of his but i am ok with djokovic, it is just his make-up & he is a really good sporting guy). djokovic was very gracious through the prize presentation ceremony. i actually quite like him.

a friend whatsapped me the headlines afterwards – “nadal in cloud 9”. yes indeed, nadal had resume 9 to 5 service (normal service). he won a record 9 times roland garros & 5 times consecutively, only interrupted by his second round exit by robert soderling in 2009, where he suffered tendonitis in both knees & laid-off for 2 months.

beef soup noodles

for dinner, we ordered a S$5 beef soup kuay teow mee each & a S$8 orh luah to share. 🙂

never taken this style of beef kuayteow mee before. only had the hainanese style starchy thick beehoon (which i don’t quite like), the vietnamese pho & thai thin kuay teow (i like the beef noodles at thai noodle house, even more so in bangkok siam centre or street etc, a lot more than the vietnamese), and nothing like the hong kong beef noodles, my favourite but cannot quite find in singapore, maybe noodles restaurant’s version comes just a bit close. still!

this supposedly famous leng kee beef noodles though was really nondescript. very average.

the orh luah had a long queue. it was pretty good but not special. & since i started trying out orh luah last week, i think it was no better than my own crispy orh luah & the wetter starchy version which i had not posted yet.

i also brought my tofu cheese cake & also some “sous vide” char siew, which we enjoyed before & during the match.

a most enjoyable evening!

c.h.e.f andy

Average Lunch Buffet @ Street 50 Bay Hotel on 7June2014

Posted on June 7, 2014 by chefquak

fried prawns

bought a S$20pax weekend asian lunch buffet voucher @ street 50 at bay hotel from groupon, so went there for lunch on 7.6.2014.

place is new. there is outdoor setting but it was hot & most part in the sun at lunch & very high ceiling (like 12m) so not useable when heavy downpour. it was fully booked so i could only get outdoors but i was there among the first few just before the crowd so managed to get seated inside anyway.

service was very good in terms of attitude & politeness, and i also got free parking coupon at the end. the food did not look exciting but did not look bad either. coffee was not included but iced water was quite fine. 🙂

pineapple curry chicken

fried beef average

mutton rendang

first foray

otah good

there was nothing to talk about in my first plateful. scallops & mussels were poor & tasteless (but they usually are even at say carousel for >S$60pax) w/o the thai? green dip sauce, which was also average. best was the otah (i had a second one later). the small octopus was quite good, and the long bean minced pork salad was ok. steam prawn was competent.

second foray

of the cooked food, curry chicken was quite good. curry was tasty, chicken ok but not really tender enough. mutton rendang was ok. fried prawn was tastier than the cold dish but just a competent prawn dish. mushrooms & spinach was pretty good. achar too.

beef ball beehoon soup

the beef ball beehoon soup was competent. soup was very tasty but too oily.

crispy yam

sweet & sour fish

third foray

fourth foray

the crispy yam was pretty good. sweet & sour fish was also good. 🙂

chendol good

mochi is poor

like the lapis sagu (九层糕)

and i liked the chendol & the lapis sagu (九层糕). pulut hitam ok but mochi was poor – skin was thick & the inside was hard.

indoor seating

outdoor seating

overall, i don’t really have much to comment about this place. food was competent. at S$20pax nett using groupon it was really very ok, though i am unlikely to return myself. at S$25++pax, hard to say, i mean, there are many alternatives like dinner@peach garden miramar for S$30nett pax.

c.h.e.f andy

Orh Nee with Pumpkin & Ginkgo Nuts (白果金瓜芋泥)

Posted on June 6, 2014 by chefquak

orh nee with pumpkin & ginkgo nuts (白果金瓜芋泥)

decided to try making the popular teochew dessert orh nee with pumpkin & ginkgo nuts (白果金瓜芋泥).

looked up some internet recipes, surprisingly turned out to be quite easy to do. 🙂

orh nee with pumpkin & ginkgo nuts (白果金瓜芋泥)

i bought a thai taro (yam) from sheng shiong (about 600g) & 1/2 a pumpkin (i used a 1/4 about 300g). i also had an unused packet of ginkgo nuts (200g) in the fridge.

ginkgo nut took a while. i added 3 heap tablespoon of brown sugar over the ginkgo nuts & melt the sugar over medium heat. i added some water & boiled the ginkgo nuts until the syrup reduced. then i repeated the process. took 15 to 20 minutes for ginkgo nuts to fully soften & be infused with the syrup.

i fried 2 shallots (sliced) in 4 tablespoon oil over low fire till brown and set aside.

i peeled & cut the yam in 1/2 & then 1 cm thickness. i diced a 1/4 pumpkin. then i placed both in a steamer & steamed for 20 minutes. i then mashed the yam & pumpkin (separately), pressing with the flat of the knife. it was quite easy to do. i added 1 tablespoon brown sugar to the pumpkin & 2 tablespoon to the yam. i then heat the yam over low fire in the non stick pan & added the onion oil, and checked for taste. i added another 2 tablespoon oil & some water, then mixed in the ginkgo nuts & topped off with the pumpkin.

the orh nee was quite good in colour, texture & taste. i would say better than the average ones in restaurants, some quite bland & tasteless.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

1 thai yam (600g)
1/4 pumpkin (300g)
1 packet ginkgo nuts (200g)
2 shallots (sliced)
6 tbsp oil
6tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water

Directions:

add 3 heap tbsp brown sugar to ginkgo nuts & melt the sugar over medium heat in a non-stick pan. add some water & boil ginkgo nuts till syrupy. repeat the process adding water, take about 15 to 20 minutes for ginkgo nuts to fully soften & be infused with syrup.
fry 2 shallots (sliced) in 4 tbsp oil over low fire till brown and set aside.
peel & cut the yam in 1/2 & then 1 cm thickness. peel & dice a 1/4 pumpkin. place both in a steamer & steam for 20 minutes. mash the yam & pumpkin (separately), pressing with the flat of the knife. add 1 tbsp brown sugar to pumpkin & 2 tablespoon to yam. heat the yam over low fire in non-stick pan & add onion oil, checking for taste. add another 2 tbsp oil & some water, mix in the ginkgo nuts & top off with the pumpkin.

Best Value Chirashi-don Lunch @ Ginza Kuroson on 6Jun2014

Posted on June 6, 2014 by chefquak

10013730_10152447976894494_5064793207471164058_n

mesclun salad

this truly the best value chirashi-don in singapore.

P.S. subsequently i had dinner at momoya on 6.7.2014. the sashimi selection were slightly not as good as kuroson (with amaebi & mirugai etc) but it was like double the quantity.

i had taken this ginza kuroson chirashi-don quite a few times previously, but had not been there lately. having lunch with my sis today & decided to go kuroson on 6.6.2014. 🙂

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iced green tea (free flow)

1544524_10152447976959494_3026904624503269905_n

miso soup & pickles

at S$20++, the chirashi-don alone was good value. the set came with free flow iced green tea, mesclun salad (& this had a lot of arugula & not a cheap salad), miso soup & a pickle.

1392055_10152447976999494_6692590990403522026_n

chirashi-don

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chirashi-don

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chocolate pudding

10447556_10152447977039494_5388447196574805774_n

chirashi-don

the chirashi-don itself was quite perfect as always. there were like 9 pieces of sashimi over the don. i counted 2 tai (or perhaps 1 tai, 1 hirame – the 2 white fish), 1 maguro, 1 shake (salmon), 1 katsuo (seared bonito), chopped aji (horse mackerel), 1 tako, 1 mirugai (geoduck) & 1 amaebi (sweet prawns), & piles of ikura, & some pickled ginger, sliced zucchini & chopped eggs. the rice itself was well vinegared & very tasty. this 1 of the worthwhile carbo I actually finished.

this would be much better quality & better value c/w the chirashi-don at tonkichi orchard central & the bara chirachi-don set at sun with moon.

lunch was very satisfying after quite long while. will come back soon.

c.h.e.f andy

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