Good Dinner Set @ la Darsena Tremezzo on 16Apr2014

Posted on May 9, 2014 by chefquak

45euros pax menu darsena #1 selection of 5 lake fishes done different ways

la perla’s proprietress was very friendly & enthusiastic. she made 2 restaurant recommendations for dinner on 16.4.2014. we picked la darsena, restaurant at hotel la daserna located at the road junction entering the main road coming from la perla b&b, and she made a reservation for us. 🙂

we went to pigra cable car at argegno after lunch & still found time to wonder through the beautiful villa carlotta and got back to la perla 6-ish, so dinner at darsena at 8pm was ‘perfecto’. 🙂

the owner’s son waited on us. a very friendly & helpful guy. he recommended some of their signature dishes & as couple of them were already on the 45euros pax 4-course menu darsena, we ordered 2 sets plus 1 order of pasta to share among the 3 of us.

food was overall good, quite above average, just did not bowl us over.

#1 the selection of 5 lake fishes done different ways (top photo) was their signature dish & really good, though personally i felt the one at the alle darsene lunch the next day was even better. this a dish i would pick if ordering ala carte. this seemed to be a popular starter dish in restaurants here & also in cinque terre.

45euros pax menu darsena #2 crispy perch fillet risotto

#2 the crispy perch fillet risotto though was below expectation. texture-wise risotto were always done very well al dente in all the restaurants including darsena. taste-wise though we were expecting a bit more. the perch tasted quite dry & flat & the risotto was quite plain. portions in italy were quite large & i ended up taking more than i should 😦 to make up the smaller quantities my wife & daughter took.

seafood pasta – ala carte

the seafood pasta, also 1 of their recommendations, looked good but also tasted average or just better. spaghetti was the thicker version & somewhat less al dente. the dish was ok just not as tasty as expected.

45euros pax menu darsena #3 lemon sorbet

#3 this 1/2 eaten lemon sorbet was excellent. the owner’s son said he owned a gelato stall further down the road & he made these himself & brought them over to serve at darsena. 🙂

45euros pax menu darsena #4 fillet of pork

#4 the fillet of pork was good actually. unfortunate not sure what was the combination of factors, i had either tired from the driving or taken too much of the risotto & pasta, or the wine, i was feeling drowsy & also not comfortable. in the end i took only 1 quarter off my plate & my wife & daughter were also too full to take any. the portions were also truly huge in italy. 🙂

45euros pax menu darsena #5 trio of desserts

#5 the dessert combo of custard with some crumble inside, apple tart & chocolate mousse was excellent. 🙂

overall, except for the crispy perch, i think it was actually a very good set for the price 45euros. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Good Dinner (not Great) @ Fleur de Sel on 7May2014

Posted on May 8, 2014 by chefquak

le homard – poached lobster with lobster bisque

had a pleasant & relaxing dinner chat with a close friend at fleur de sel on 7.5.2014. he was going to do some hiking at cinque terre & could not find his walking stick so i brought mine along for him. 🙂

i heard about fleur de sel from my wife’s good friend (who bought us an excellent dinner recently at the very artisan singapore fusion restaurant started by a 29 year old investment banker, labyrinth on 30.4.2014). seemed that the whole lobster, completely shelled at S$49++ was very good here. 🙂

my wife came by 2 nights ago with the same friend and took the S$88pax 4-course set menu. she felt that the escargot was not good, and it was not the cooking but the quality of the escargot itself – not sweet, tasty. 😦 she also felt the soup was average, the cod was ok good & the rhubarb dessert was good.

i was decided on the lobster for myself. when my good friend arrived, i gave him my wife’s feedback & suggested he took the other S$108 set instead, as the dinner was a belated celebration of his recently past birthday. anyhow he decided to join me to order a lobster each. looking at the menu i was not attracted by the appetisers, so i suggested we ordered a cod (main) & a lapin (rabbit) risotto main to share before starting the lobster. my friend though wanted only the cod. i got him to order a wine so he got himself a cloudy bay (white).

semi sour dough served with butter & del (salt)

semi sour dough served with butter & sel (salt)

we were served semi sour dough with butter, and advised we could dab the sel (salt) too. the restaurant name fleur de sel means flower of salt, apparently hand harvested (haha..what a description!) by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans. 🙂

one salt was flavoured with rosemary, the other with citron & something else. good fun…lol. 🙂 we tried the salt but our palate not sophi enough & they felt non-descript. the butter was ok average so we asked for some olive oil, which was very good, very fragrant extra virgin olive oil. 🙂

crab meat – amuse bouche

the amuse bouche was some crab meat, pretty good. 🙂

10314551_10152377190784494_2719474494078675568_n

pan seared atlantic cod

the pan seared atlantic cod was pretty good, though the cod was firm but did not feel so smooth & bouncy, somewhat different from the texture of cod i was accustomed with. it was served with some sauce so more a wetter version (not knowing how to describe!).

my own Nobu miso cod

my own teriyaki cod

i guessed it was a very good cod regards this method of preparation but for me personally, the satisfaction was not at the level i had with my own nobu miso cod & teriyaki cod (whereas by comparison the teriyaki cod at mikuni & at keyaki would of course be better than mine).

le homard – poached lobster with lobster bisque

the shelled whole lobster in lobster bisque was very good (the dark photos above & top taken with my samsung s4 did not do justice to the dish). meat was fresh, sweet, tender & very tasty with the bisque. excellent dish this! 🙂

apple crumble with granitee dessert

complimentary mini birthday cake

service was very good. server knew we were celebrating my friend’s birthday so brought a small cake with 1 lit candle. 🙂 it might have been expected of a good restaurant. still it was much appreciated as an important guesture that defined good service & training for a good restaurant. 🙂

the apple crumble was very average non descript.

Chef Alexandre Lozachmeur at work

the bill was S$198 for 2pax including 1 glass cloudy bay white & dessert.

overall, with the exception of the lobster, i would consider the food just average for this level of dining & prices. of course it would be much better than a usual eat. 🙂 on the lobster while it was really good & competitively priced, many restaurants, both chinese & western, are able to & indeed does the same, equally good & inexpensively priced.

if I made a comparison with labyrinth, the latter was a lot more artisan, creative, able to reproduce the flavours from ingredients that were beautifully assembled, tasted similar but looked entirely different from the usual singaporean dishes like chilli crab etc. however, some may consider paying (say) S$90nett for whole lobster etc better deal than paying for same for labyrinth’s set, creative or not! it is a very subjective thing.

won’t be back soon, but probably will have another go a bit more time later.

c.h.e.f andy

Enjoyable Lunch @ Sun with Moon on 7May2014

Posted on May 8, 2014 by chefquak

unagi & gyudon kamameshi set with kurobuta

unagi & gyu kamameshi set with kurobuta

went with wife to sun with moon at wheelock for lunch on 7.5.2014. last came to sun with moon wheelock 4 months ago on 7.1.2014. 🙂

there was a 20% discount promotion for kamameshi set so i picked the unagi & gyu set & picked a kurobuta side dish (came with the set including soup & pickles). we also added a chawanmushi & a salmon sashimi (S$3.50 for each item). my wife ordered a maki & a green tea mochi parfait. we shared all the food.

kurobuta side

the kuobuta side dish was very good. there were 4 large slices of pork which came in a tasty broth. 🙂

unagi & gyu kamameshi

the kamameshi (釜饭) pot had a thick wooden cover, and they placed an hourglass for accurate timing….maybe 5mins not sure…

it was a very large helping. the rice was very fragrant, tasty & the unagi & beef were all good. 🙂

red bean mochi dessert

i ordered ice green tea which was included for the set & my wife added S$1 for her hot green tea. 🙂

green tea ice cream mochi parfait

the mochi parfait was still nice though the price went up from $4.90 couple years back to $6.80 now.

forgot to take photos of the maki (S$15) but it was quite good though not a must have item for us. after 20% discounts, the kamameshi set cost S$24. all in we paid S$60. the other place i used to go was kuriya dining at great world city. however recently, prices there had gone up quite a bit, and the lunch sets i liked are now priced at S$68pax instead of S$58pax, a 15% increase.

will come back for sure. the 20% discounts on kamameshi promotion will expire 31.5.2014.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Pizza Lunch @ Pizzeria Balognett Tremezzo Lake Como on 16.4.2014

Posted on May 7, 2014 by chefquak

frutti di mare pizza, beef carpaccio, grilled eggplants, toast

we left amsterdam on an early easyjet flight & arrived at milan’s malpensa airport at 1020am on 16.4.2014, picked up our car from avis at our arrival terminal 2, and drove to our b&b la perla perched on a hill at tremezzo at lake como. 🙂

the journey was 85km & took about 1 hr 20mins. the drive was scary as the roads were very narrow, i was driving on the “wrong” side of the road (left wheel drive), and the cars including heavy vehicles were coming at you quite fast.

pizza balognett

i had read about pizzeria balognett (some claimed the best pizzas in lake como!) & had made a prior reservations at 1pm. place was quite empty actually, there was only 1 other table of 2pax americans i think, i guessed the location was a bit inaccessible w/o a car. for us it was 3 minutes drive after checking in at la perla & b&b owner assured us it was an excellent choice for lunch. 🙂

we ordered beef carpaccio, frutti di mare pizza & grilled eggplant to share among 3pax, ending the lunch with a panacotta & macchiato. we were served a toast basket, nice! we were hun-gwee. 🙂

food, especially the pizza, was good. 2 thumbs up! 🙂

beef carpaccio

beef carpaccio was ok, ordinary.

pizza frutti di mare (fruits of the sea)

pizza was excellent. i not much into pizza, would not normally order them. this though was very good. the texture of the dough was good, the ingredients (squid, octopus & especially the mussels) were good, but mostly the flavour of the pizza was outstanding, very tasty. 🙂

& this grilled eggplant was very good!

lovely if inaccessible

plateful

beef carpaccio, grilled eggplants, toasts

very satisfying lunch, but we were not finished yet. 🙂

panna cotta

normally my wife & i are not so hot on desserts, tiramisu & stuff (my daughter loves dessert of course). & i unlikely to order panna cotta in singapore. but we did here, and it was extremely delicious (for a panacotta). texture was excellent & it was very tasty. i guessed the best of not so many panna cotta i had tried! haha. 🙂

anyway we went back next day just to ta pao (takeout) the panna cotta & had it at la perla’s scenic terrace patio overlooking lake como with couple macchiatos. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

RI Buddies 11pax Homecooked 11-course Chinese Dinner on 5May2014

Posted on May 6, 2014 by chefquak

wanted to try out some chinese dishes, so got my usual RI gang to be guinea pigs once again for an 11-course dinner for 11pax on 5.5.2014. 🙂

LYghBCqs4Lv_4vZHA4PVqiTcsPvqBBHDYO67azRJC3E,jxbFQwPsZVgMwEIv07UrItGub3proIqVC56QzFTsCAU

500g paradiso cake from swissbake at 5th avenue

got a paradiso cake too from swissbake at 5th avenue to celebrate 1 of our friend’s birthday. 🙂

t71iJX0vLDqlMlCcE5BciGGLyMXATtSKuRa3S21qW8U,24XtVMU0f8ANFZfsY_wyB1i0S55EH-ICs84k35dz9PI

#1 蒜泥白肉

i always find chinese cooking to be much more challenging than western (re my “worthwhile to do?” philosophy). i do a good steak, Nobu miso cod, teriyaki cod, and good pasta & paella, risotto etc, and sometimes comparable to a good restaurant even, sans the artisan garnishes, sides & plating etc. 🙂

many good chinese dishes are equally hard to do but not associated with fine dining (e.g. serving up a very good whole steamed fish does not usually evoke fine dining but serving a steamed cod fillet chinese or fusion style is somehow fine dining? or i guess there is a reason in that fine dining is about the entire experience & not just the food). much of it though i suspect is market forces & cultural programming about what fine dining is.

#1 蒜泥白肉. this a new dish for me. tried once with belly pork, and this evening with lean pork. i realised that the key was getting the right sauce recipe. the sauce this evening was excellent as everyone commented, mildly sweet, spicy, tasty sauce (we all used it for the 白斩鸡 which meant the 白斩鸡 was not tasty enough..lol). 🙂 need to improve on the dish & plating though. may try loin or neck, not sure, or go back to belly pork. 🙂

UKPTYov8LhlNDTP0KmNukYIKXl-AbBd7l0mmyKISWwg,3bapGAaRtDG47GE9Y_L5vP3-q8UcMLU0my-9siEPSb4

＃2 drunken chicken 醉鸡

＃2 drunken chicken 醉鸡. this was done the same way as 白斩鸡 but 1 day ahead for the shao xing wine marinade (绍兴酒) to infuse. the new recipe i used produced a more tender juicy chicken with nice yellow colour. for this i cut chicken in 1/2, placed in boiling water (with spring onions, red onion, garlic, salt & some tumeric) & turned down to just more than a simmer for 10 minutes, left in the hot water for 15mins to 20mins, then transfer to a ice water bath. then marinade in 1 cup 绍兴酒 1/2cup chicken stock, 1 tablespoon sugar. 🙂

HEl5djPornAp4jd3kII25yuRRixiYUBdPxJxDlzvvQQ,EfS3a586u4LFj6lNISOIWJNDb5tufLuC4m-HovFahTk

#3 sous vide char siew (1 of 2 best dishes)

#3 sous vide char siew. this was 1 of 2 best dishes for the evening, i think everyone’s favourites. (the other was poor man’s buddha-jump-over-the-wall). 🙂 again the char siew marinade was key. i had the char siew marinated in a ziploc bag for 3days, then cooked in a marinade bath in oven at 90degC for 5hrs.

10308340_10152371913009494_6823904526565620218_n

#3 sous vide char siew (1 of 2 best dishes)

hmmm…ok i am still ogling this now. it had such wonderful flavours & melt-in-the-mouth texture. 🙂

10151820_10152371912729494_9101437405980039537_n

#4 白斩鸡

wko2V7qWBeDz8OJFnxhMn7-jPdHA_QHIMWJTW-L7e8Y,4c04uU_aQ_o_IGcMgNvRT7Q1h8aQT0-HEelG3XGKQMM

#4 白斩鸡

10173545_10152371912754494_4657384811018793950_n

#4 白斩鸡

#4 白斩鸡. same method as drunken chicken, but i brined the chicken in water with salt & sugar first for 2 days. water molecules would infuse the chicken by diffusion & sugar & salt molecules by reverse osmosis, so the chicken would be moist (as in above photos) & tender & also tasty. 1 friend commented the texture was very good, better than the drunken chicken. however in managing so many dishes i forgot to add a touch of fish sauce to bring out the taste further. i did this the next day on some leftovers for a portion i kept for my daughter & it was excellent. 🙂

7uBq1daANwgDFPqFNA7_73Gqe3ph8FAAqOyiR5wRzeM,olUnvUD-V8EDquMa7_K_AWPlySgrXupxyUgnv18l5P0

#5 盐水鸭

#5 盐水鸭. this dish was my very first attempt & it turned out superbly well, a wonderfully flavoured dish, which everyone commented. 🙂 again the marinade was the key. i googled a recipe & marinated the duck for 24hrs. was initially supposed to do a tea smoked duck using the 5hr liquid bath sous vide method (like the char siew) but it worked better with breast & i always had leftover duck legs so decided to experiment the new 盐水鸭 dish with leftover duck legs. 🙂

2TTQBGIqziJwUg1jo8PRkxSI6Ma68JaqdfLqPRnGgO0,8BBOChhnYE9oMiht9MkPhd8HcfpYP-BP3weUW3CGVlo

#6 poor man’s buddha-jump-over-the-wall (bjotw)

#6 poor man’s buddha-jump-over-the-wall (bjotw). this was my best attempt so far, excellent, very flavourful & intense, as all my friends commented. 🙂 just pig trotters, mushrooms, belly pork, and limpets masquerading as abalones..lol. 🙂 the soup was running low for 11 bowls but i did not want to add chicken stock which would dilute the intense flavours.

gRFQRod_YJ-Osv7bp_0GXRmO-dxUxHwiBU8bw93weS4,e8XfbtqH1ZIt8kpVgMUKbLUjUvOWo7x3BT51o-Rbp8w

#7 HK steamed garoupa

#7 HK steamed garoupa. this had been like a reliable, “always good”, “staple” dish & the garnishing & sauce were still good but unfortunately the fish was somehow not the best. i had gotten it from chinatown 2 days before & they had always been good & but let down on this occasion. sigh. 😦

A0ZOoLaIPCK0-8RjikvRmFJf-Xh_rAx2aEM65txxsQo,DZ-JL1MRwNiP1wVXD_o_l7subF0IHHIAPTZAGoxdTJo

#8 romaine lettuce with fermented bean curd 腐乳油麦菜

#8 romaine lettuce with fermented bean curd 腐乳油麦菜. this was what was served in almost all zi char restaurants & a really excellent one i had was at kok sen at kiong siak street. 🙂 this evening my version was quite ok with some wok hae, not too salty & still with the nice taste of the fermented bean curd.

05j4ISB3bNQGkNA59Mk1R6CB7FrtiZS0mpHGB_kjW00,42SUzP3OJR6j5466Yp-AKYHZfMyg-B0Twk8wM6D5GXY

#9 my version of pineapple prawns

the real thing – shin yeh’s pineapple prawns

#9 pineapple prawns. was trying to rehash shin yeh’s dish…lol. both prawns & pineapples tasted ok i guessed. plating was million miles behind…haha. 🙂 satisfaction as a dish i guess was quite behind my dry wok prawns, but good to have variation and not same dish everytime.

b7IZAVH5s0u3VEYstEApcb4GQ2VebtsYbAosOgfMLh8,zQCk_qu8nqkagKHnzusVub4B5EpbFmV6BSJwqjsKPNQ

#10 miso lamb chops

#10 miso lamb chops. this my very first attempt. i do a good pistachio crusted rack of lamb but no other variations, so decided to do a 3day miso marinade on a cheap frozen lamb cut & coincide the 5hr sous vide bath in 90degC oven with the char siew (to save electricity). 90degC is also the optimum temperature (fastest) for conversion of collagen the tough connective tissues to gelatine with excellent texture & flavours. 🙂

the result was a very tasty flavourful lamb. the miso was not enough to cover or remove the very strong gamey taste (or we say “hiang” or “bah woo” in teochew=not a good thing) but it was tasty nonetheless though many who did not take lamb for that reason would likely not like this. 🙂

K3BiDc8JMjBbBzoxRcTshw-TYGfkiV5GhwizO3dfkwA,kz-Yl5rwaUYcL4qcgu6zeg0Q5A7fMLQOWMqq2zds4mY

#11 HK steamed chicken, mushrooms, chinese sausage rice

ZJJi-gjpeurwVKwXCuU5R_76kNt-Z5Yf71AtRkqNBAA,oTe2Qzxq5YEjOI_U758lQWa12u55KjJ9NRiGOxv3USM

#11 HK steamed chicken, mushrooms, chinese sausage rice

yyFkYVmm5aLku6HZAVxntmUFxY4CFyj0KgMLDR74MdM,ZnPh2Jd1GowOfG2nYWjnbhA8T3RSz6Wccmrw6LBVyL4

#11 HK steamed chicken, mushrooms, chinese sausage rice

#11 HK steamed chicken, mushrooms, chinese sausage rice. this was a very easy dish to make. the key again was the marinade for the chicken & the drizzling sauce, & i took my wife’s feedback & bought some xo chinese sausages (cost 2x the red wine sausages but nothing c/w – like 25% the cost of – spanish chorizo..lol..). chicken was marinated 1 day before, and once rice cooker starts to steam just add in sausage, chicken & mushrooms. and voila! the chicken was extremely tender & tasty & the sausage super nice…could see how 1 friend was walloping them…haha. 🙂

can improve further. anyway a very fun evening with very good friends & very shiok ie satisfying for me. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Trip Planning, Airbnb, Holland Pass, Restaurants & Sights 13-15Apr2014

Posted on May 6, 2014 by chefquak

1939444_10152323518184494_295813700025215480_n

haarlemmerplein at night

this my last post on amsterdam.

wife did good trip planning & reserved a haarlemmerdijk apartment via airbnb. it was a huge apartment with 1 bedroom, big hall, full kitchen (with great coffee maker & coffee & tea provided) & dining, great toilets & showers, and was located in amsterdam’s famous jordan district. its a diverse happening place, filled with fashion boutiques, interior decor shops, cheese, specialty food, dining, cafe & of course amsterdam’s famous coffeeshops, just a stroll from amsterdam central station along haarlemmerstraat linking into haarlemmerdijk. 🙂

we purchased the holland pass online, and i bought the 5 tickets pass for 49.50 euors (5% discounts online). it came with a free train connection from schipol airport to amsterdam central (4euros) & a free 24hr city bus ride (7euros). considering that i had used 2 gold tickets for keukenhof (15euros) & rijksmesuem (15euros), & 2 silvers for schipol-keukenhof return bus connection (9euros) & 100 highlights canal cruise (15.5euros), i would say it was well worth it.

we brought a huawei 3g/4g mifi with us (lent to us by my wife’s good friend) and bought a lebara 1gb sim card at schipol (it’s also available in shops around town). so we stayed connected throughout & my daughter became expert in google map guiding us to beulings & zazas (we took the trams) where we had made prior dinner reservations, and also during the waterland cycling trip. 🙂

we made some miscalculations & was not able to get the bikes at zaandan station to cycle at zaanse schans, but otherwise everything went smoothly. 🙂

cheese – really excellent cheese here

we were slightly early on checking in. fortunately haarlemmerdijk had many cafes around every corner. 🙂 cheese shops too.

the cruise terminal next to amsterdam central

multi-storey bicycle park next to amsterdam central

beautiful amsterdam central station opened in 1889 & handles 250,000 passengers/day

after visiting zaanse schans windmill country on my first day arrival on 13.4.2014, we went to holland international terminal in front of beautiful amsterdam central train station, & queued 45mins for the 100 highlights cruise.

rihksmeseum – taken using my samsung s4 4x magnification from tram

i amsterdam in front of rijksmeseum

night watch

an old woman reading

after seeing the dazzling keukenhof gardens on 14.4.2014, we went to rijksmeseum, saw rembrandt’s night watch & an old woman reading, such incredible details. 🙂

city trams – we got quite used to taking them

we used the trams a lot to get from our apartment to amsterdam central & to get to the restaurants beulings & zazas, so made full use of the 24hr pass. 🙂

984046_10152323518404494_3481802143555449988_n

herons scavenging in the streets – on our way to zazas

we saw herons scavenging on the streets on our way to zazas on our second evening on 14.4.2014. flea market or something in the day?

735667_10152325891724494_4570746694261889291_o

dam square – on the left is madame tussaud’s

10013392_10152325891654494_1309945835150156419_o

dam square

1507264_10152325892694494_4208903154135087850_o

dam square

after 1/2 day cycling to waterland on 15.4.2014, we had some time to spare before dinner. wife & daughter went to madame tussaud’s at dam square to use up the last 2 holland pass tickets.

10258095_10152325891104494_3343446793847690332_o

down the road from dam square toward de wallen, the red light district

1926082_10152325891984494_3429214607372308456_o

canal along oudezijds voorburgwal where de wallen is located

10257782_10152325892689494_8367830559762973898_o

canal along oudezijds voorburgwal where de wallen is located

178234_10152325892434494_2417389001128603557_o

canal along oudezijds voorburgwal where de wallen is located

hashish & marijuana meseum

10001170_10152325892024494_8475352937643523474_o

sex shops in de wallen

980270_10152325892529494_4230286064050472685_o

sex shops in de wallen

i took a stroll down towards the canal to see amsterdam famous de wallen red light district ( i was last here in 1980 after my final exams when studying in england). it was late afternoon so no activity only sex shops & weed museum…haha. 🙂

1961778_10152325891174494_125731678959208820_o

back to dam square

walked back to dam square. was walking across the road & tripped & fall mid way. had a cut at the brow & bled, broke the frame of my new specs (fortunately i brought spares), and had 2 balukus (swellings) on my chin & below the eye. fortunately it was just a shallow cut and only thing that was badly bruised was my ego. passersby were very helpful & a shopkeeper gave me tissues & let me cleaned up in his toilet. getting clumsy too soon. sigh!

c.h.e.f andy

Protected: RI Buddies 11pax Homecooked 11-course Chinese Dinner on 5May2014

Posted on May 6, 2014 by chefquak

Cycling the Waterland Route in Amsterdam on 15Apr2014

Posted on May 4, 2014 by chefquak

wife was keen with cycling in amsterdam so she did a bit of research.

the waterland cycling route looked quite exciting, covering about 51km return starting out from amsterdam, going along the dike by kinselmeer to marken & back by holysloot & ransdorp. and we were even thinking of taking the ferry to volendam….there is a very good guide in holland-cycling (marken cycle route) here.

regrettably in the end we did not manage that. the temperature was sub 10 degC & with windchill factor was colder than what we had planned for, and 1 of us repacked the bags & forgot & left out the gloves. we were quite ok though with the cold after cycling for a while, but the wind was too strong on the dike route (uitdammerdijk along kinselmeer) & it was substantial effort & slow progress & not really so fun for the 3 of us who were infrequent cyclist (like few times a year!). i knew i would get to enjoy this more in due course now that i finally got down to buying a dahon mu n360 foldable bike just before this trip. :-).

the cycling started quite well. we got our bikes from macbikes which was located on the eastern end of amsterdam central station, & the guy walked us through the double locks – one to lock the wheels, the other to chain the bicycle to a immovable object. 🙂 shortly we were on the bikes cycling to the ferry point to take the free ferry (for vehicles, bikes & passengers) to cross over to ij.

amsterdam is very flat country and quite easy to cycle. there were mostly dedicated cycle paths so very safe. we were confused with the signs on several stretch of roads. they showed a mo-ped & a bike with a diagonal bar cutting across them. a no-bike sign?? some dutch guy stopped to give us some help. he explained that paths w/o the sign was for bikes only, and the sign only meant that the road was used by bikes & other vehicles (& not for bikes only). 🙂

he commented it was a cold day & though unspoken obviously kind of thought we were rather ambitious when we mentioned that we were planning to go to marken & volendam! …so he knew better. haha. 🙂

the initial cold was manageable. but as we passed durgerdam & rode on to the dike on uitdammerdijk alongside kinselmeer, the wind was just too strong and the progress was so slow & of course it was very cold & over a very long stretch. it was very tiring and taking the fun out of a casual ride & enjoying the meadows & countryside. we decided to turn back on reaching 79 (see the holland-cycling marken cycle route map), and rode in the direction of holysloot to 78, and then towards 44, ransdorp.

without the wind impeding our progress, the ride was very pleasant & enjoyable past meadows & farms & windmills. 🙂

initially we thought of stopping at ij-kanteen for lunch (ij-kanteen is supposed to be a casual, modern, cheerful brasserie on a spacious ground previously a canteen for the shipyard…sounded hip & cool but not strictly a must for us..). but once we got back to the area, we wanted to have a quick bite so we stopped at a nice cosy cafe rather than to go looking for directions to ij-kanteen. guess we were just hungry. it was still cold outside so we chained our bikes to the railings and sat inside the cafe. we must be hungry as the burger tasted really good & the carrot coconut soup was super tasty. this soup was even better than the carrot soup at zazas & the movies restaurant (we must be real, really hungry! haha..), and perhaps not better but a different touch (more robust) c/w beulings. (i plan to do this at home after sourcing some internet recipes). 🙂

we were back to ij jetty to catch the ferry to cross back to amsterdam central. we decided to take a quick look at the Eye. a huge cruise ship passed by. it was quite a sight 10 storeys high.

we took the ferry & returned the bikes to macbike. i estimated we cycled 25km or more & we took just over 3 hrs in total so we had to pay the 24hr hire rates. with 10% discount from holland pass, macbikes 24hr rental include insurance for 3pax was 48euros. hmmm.. very expensive!

c.h.e.f andy

The Dazzling Keukenhof Gardens on 14Apr2014

Posted on May 4, 2014 by chefquak

2 things wife wanted to do was to cycle in amsterdam & see the tulips at keukenhof gardens, hence the “detour” from the initial vacation plan of lake como & cinque terre. 🙂

we had the holland pass so we used the gold pass for entry to keukenhof gardens (cost 15euros). we used a silver pass for the bus return from schipol airport to keukenhof (cost 9euros). for the journey from amsterdam central to schipol we had to pay 4euros as it was not covered by the holland pass. if you do not have holland pass, you can get a combi ticket here including return from amsterdam central & entry to keukenhof for 28euros.

keukenhof is located in lisse and used to be the part of the the estate of teylingen castle. games were hunted & food collected for the kitchens of the castle, hence keukenhof or kitchen courtyard in dutch. in 1857 the same architect who designed vondelpark, redesigned the castle gardens in english landscape style, the basis for keukenhof today. there is wifi throughout the gardens & you can download the map here.

tulips galore! 🙂

flowers were mostly in full bloom and it was a wonderful stroll through the garden. very pleasant indeed. 🙂

floral art. 🙂

sakuras. quite pretty these, but of course nothing could compare with seeing sakuras in kyoto or tokyo. 🙂

there was an animal pen.

fun time for the children, and adults too!

such beauty! 🙂

keukenhof was really beautiful. a very enjoyable day. we visited villa carlotta later when we visited tremezzo in lake como, and that was extremely beautiful too, and villa carlotta gardens was in a landscaped natural terrain setting, not garden plots, so it had added attraction. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Very Shiok! Bakchormee @ Ming Fa Upper Thomson on 4May2014

Posted on May 4, 2014 by chefquak

10269646_10152368887659494_7860351756984828555_n

ming fa bakchormee

went with wife & daughter to ming fa at upper thomson for bakchormee this afternoon on 4.5.2014. must say it as immensely fulfilling. haha. 🙂 such simple food & great satisfaction! guess i was also missing the jalan tea kong meepok tar at 6th avenue. having withdrawals. haha. 🙂

10322432_10152368887699494_1392962424640011771_n

ming fa bakchormee

the place was very well patronised at 3pm on a sunday afternoon. we could hardly find a table for 3.

the bakchormee was really good, the overall flavours & chilli, the qq noodles, minced pork, pork ball & sliced pork & liver. as good as the tai wah i remember (not been to tai wah for the longest time).

noodles was S$4 and ming fa now has expanded from a traditional stall in chinatown to 7 outlets with a manufacturing arm selling laksa and curry chicken etc. 🙂 saw on their website that there is an outlet at hollandv hawker centre etc. somehow did not notice. only tried the fei zai bakchormee stall, which was not too bad. will look out next time i am there. 🙂

very shook indeed!

c.h.e.f andy

Zaanse Schans Windmill Country on 13Apr2014

Posted on May 3, 2014 by chefquak

when i think of netherland 2 things came to mind – tulips & windmills! maybe milkmaids?

zaanse schans is the beautiful windmill country. the train station at koog-zaandijk is just 4 stops 17minutes from amsterdam central, & then a 15mins walk to zaanse schans village.

the zaan region used to be 1 of western europe’s oldest industrial area and boasted some 600 active windmills & factories powered by wind in the heydays in 18th & 19th century. it was also the centre of shipbuilding in the 17th century during the dutch golden age.

now there are some 10 working windmills in zaanse schans. though the windmills were relocated here piece by piece, today zaanse schans is a living & working community, with clog- and cheese-making, shops, boutiques, stunning buildings & meadow landscape.

Incredible Artisan Fusion Molecular Cuisine @ Labyrinth on 30Apr2014

Posted on May 2, 2014 by chefquak

10308075_10152361246044494_195352641471227117_n

lime sorbet

my wife’s close couple friends bought dinner @ labyrinth by han li guang at neil road on 30.4.2014. 🙂

i knew of the restaurant the day before, started googling, and found the beautiful food photos in bibikgourmand.

there was a reference made on willin low of wild rockets fame. i did like wild rockets & the laksa pesto pasta maybe 15 years back. personally i did not see any similarity just looking at bibikgourmand photos or having seen & tasted the food afterwards. 🙂 one was fusion in combining “western” & “singaporean” ingredients and most importantly, making the result taste good & not for fusion sake (in that both were similar).

in labyrinth’s case, it was going back to the ingredients, reassemble them into something that looked quite different (but very artisan & beautiful) and yet delivering the (excellent!) taste though perhaps not the overall experience eg the chilli crab ice cream combined with deep-fried soft-shell crab tasted like very good chilli crab but it’s not the same as eating a meaty crab, nor was it expected to be. 🙂 the science of taste? molecular cuisine in its finest form? i am NOT qualified to say… 🙂

10155848_10152361246164494_8610706207252561625_n

garlic mousse, olive powder, balsamic jam for focaccia bread

amuse bouche? the lime sorbet was nice, simple, refreshing, nothing special.

we were served focaccia bread with a garlic mousse, olive powder, balsamic jam. quite unique & pretty good & fun. could’t say this would match good freshly baked bread in a good restaurant, but they were good anyway & matched the food theme. balsamic jam was good, garlic mousse too, olive powder too refined for my taste buds..tasted nothing. 🙂

10171640_10152361137234494_5597954619760349095_n

beef tartare masquerade (imposter)

#1 this dish looked very like a beef tartare with the egg yoke even, and the taste was quite exquisite. 🙂 the mango sphere sat on a roasted tomato, which was very tasty & great with the greens. the mango sphere was, to me, amazing only to wonder how it was done but did not add much taste nor texture. it was a thin liquid & did not have the silky egg yolk texture.

1897826_10152361137304494_6167637602843969400_n

chilli crab

#2 the chilli crab looked incredible, a piece of art, so pretty. & excellent flavours, superb dish 🙂 the deep-fried soft-shell crab combined very well indeed with the chilli crab ice cream. they were arranged with the crab mousse, ikura, seaweed on mantou (馒头) sand to give a picture of sea (and tropical island?). not sure if the mantou sand added anything, my palate not sophisticated enough to capture all the taste & texture, need more practice..haha. 🙂

10301360_10152361137369494_4410949613633301481_n

curry chicken rice

there was a choice of mains – curry chicken or siew yoke fan.

#3 the curry chicken was better than what i expected, though my wife did not like the dish so much. deep-fried chicken balls did not sound that great for main course, but these were quite tasty & you could taste the curry. the quinoa (“kin wah”) risotto was tasty too. i am beginning to like quinoa. my son’s friend made a good quinoa salad & my wife too so she was less impressed. as a “deconstructed” or “reconstructed” or “pigeon-holing not important” dish that was plated quite nicely, looked different & yet tasted like curry chicken, the dish was a great success. so it was good & exceeded my expectation but c/w with a good main (fish or meat) in good restaurant, it may or may not measure up after the initial excitement. also, like going back to the excellent chilli crab, it was indeed a “wow” experience, very pleasantly surprised, but not the same as eating a meaty crab. so it’s a different kind of satisfaction & expectation.

10246665_10152361137434494_8332815593492446666_n

siew yoke fan

#4 the siew yoke fan was again superbly executed. 🙂 the crackling belly pork was excellent, though our friends said the ones they had at basilico recently were even better. the risotto was very tasty, though i could not really tell if it was a ramen (tonkotsu?) stock.

10312469_10152361137499494_8318490514275090593_n

chendol xiaolongbao

there were 2 desserts in the set – chendol xiaolongbao & a deconstructed apple crumble.

#5 the chendol xiaolongbao, with red beans, coconut milk ice shavings inside, had genuine chendol taste, was light & quite refreshing. it was pretty ok, i enjoyed it though it was not a favourite for me.

10169438_10152361137594494_5163702350731915593_n

deconstructed apple crumble

#6 the apple crumble was very good. the stewed apple balls, apple crisp, baked white chocolates & yogurt ice cream all very tasty & combined well. an excellent dessert. 🙂

5-course menu

the 5-course menu was S$78pax, a reasonable price for the quality of food & overall a very enjoyable fun experience. the food was very artisan (perhaps that would become an industry standard in due course), very creative (to me it felt totally new & had no peers in Singapore as yet). the other “affordable” place where the food presentation is very artisan is jaan (where i had the best degustation dinner on 20.1.2014 with the same couple friends), recently just got on to pelligrino world’s best 100, at 100th place. andre, iggy’s, les amis all very costly & i have yet to convince myself it is worth spending the money. it’s all about experience, very subjective, and also depends on expectations and perspectives, and perhaps very importantly on the the company too. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Very Good Dinner @ Zazas Amsterdam on 14Apr2014

Posted on April 30, 2014 by chefquak

10157369_10152323497309494_5545032536535348086_n

amuse bouche

10256102_10152323497709494_6399942943874098560_n

focaccia bread

had a good dinner at zazas on my second night in amsterdam on 14.4.2014. 🙂 like beulings, we planned & booked the restaurant before the trip.

could not recall the amuse bouche but it was good tasting.

the focaccia was good, the usual.

10151979_10152323497909494_5841242465590817956_n

carpaccio – euro10.50

10155957_10152323498109494_2119524832509377819_n

smoked duck mille feuille euro 10.50

we ordered 5 appetisers including the oysters & soup. 🙂

#1 the beef carpaccio was good, sweet & came with foie gras terrine.

#2 the smoked duck mille feuille was good too. smoked duck was good & the pastry too, overall a good dish. taste wise it was not as exciting as it looked. the duck & pastry were competent, good, not special.

10269538_10152323498299494_4627128764076367326_n

cheese ravioli 1/2 portion euro 8.80

10247210_10152323499054494_7766143869966422716_n

carrot soup 1/2portion euro2.80

1798592_10152323499504494_3028973852907956548_n

3 de claire oysters euro 7.50

10157203_10152323499724494_2680572961035819903_n

creamy & sweet de claire oyster

#3 the ravioli was good. couldn’t remember what was in it, I imagine cheese? but this was better than the green pea risotto we had at the movies restaurant the next day. 🙂

#4 the carrot soup (we had 3 servings of 1/2 portion) had some cream at the bottom & was again very good, and also better than the one at the movies restaurant.

#5 the oysters were excellent, very creamy and sweet. we ordered a second helping of 3 oysters. 🙂

1544612_10152323500114494_340378344166841496_n

black cod euro20.50

10171631_10152323500859494_2010623457424816283_n

guinea fowl euro 20.50

we ordered 2 mains to share.

#6 the cod was competent, but somehow the meat were firmer (& less oily??) than the texture i generally liked, as in my own nobu miso cod or teriyaki cod.

#7 the guinea fowl i guess was competent, just was not a dish that we particularly liked, and by comparison, the duck confit at the movies restaurant was much more enjoyable.

the service was very good – professional & friendly. there was 2 taiwanese ladies on our next table. 1 ordered a lamb but didn’t like it. she was requested to order a different main from the menu. the server took back the lamb & later explained politely & cheerfully that the chef tasted the lamb & it was fine however they would replace it with another main anyway. the lady said sorry when paying the bill & the server said they were sorry that she did not like it. all very nice & pleasant. 🙂

overall the dinner came to euro104 including 2 coffees & a glass of wine, quite good price. it was not really much more expensive than the movies restaurant. the appetisers were great but the mains were not as enjoyable for us c/w the movies restaurant. i would come back again when in amsterdam.

c.h.e.f andy

Far Surpassing Expectations @ The Movies Restaurant Amsterdam on 15Apr2014

Posted on April 29, 2014 by chefquak

10257891_10152325852804494_2632755217109860869_n

venison with herb cream & beetroots

my very good dutch friend, hugo, knowing that we were in amsterdam, took a train from rotterdam where he was living to have dinner with the 3 of us on 15.4.2014. 🙂

he met us at our haarlemmerdijke apartment and took us across the street, about 30m, to the movies restuarant. that suited us fine as we were taking the first flight the next day to milan on way to lake como at leaving at 6am.

we had walked past the movie theatre several times to go to haarlemmerplein to take the trams and did not notice from across the road that it had a restaurant.

it had a pub like pleasant cosy atmosphere & we could be forgiven to think the food would be like average. how pleasantly wrong we were! 🙂 i realised that it was quite a place to go to for art house movies afterwards.

the service was also excellent, very warm, friendly & helpful! not sure they could smell the baron-ness in my aristocratic looking friend. lol. 🙂

10154562_10152325852834494_4459793439470392742_n

green pea risotto

we ordered 4 appetisers & 3 mains.

#1 we did not try hugo’s venison (top photo) but it sure looked good!

#2 the green pea risotto was competent, the risotto done just right, al dente. nothing much to criticise, taste-wise i guess it was good (as could be good for a plain no ingredient risotto), nothing exceptional.

1781889_10152325852904494_1154807320495409383_n

carrot soup with croutons

#3 my carrot soup was good, well above average. it was though not as good as the carrot & coconut soup we had at a cafeteria during a cycle stop earlier in the day (that soup was truly excellent & i intend to try out myself at home).

10006587_10152325852979494_7985078250161989342_n

tuna rillette salad

#4 the tuna rillette was quite ok.salad was good.

65382_10152325853094494_378105697178164661_n

duck confit & slow braised belly port

10257795_10152325853149494_7932088257918818626_n

duck confit & slow braised belly port

#5 the duck confit & the slow braised belly pork were excellent, flavourful, moist (not dry & very sinewy like some were) and tender. duck confit not my favourite but this was 1 duck confit i would be quite happy to have, though the helping was too large & i would still prefer to share than to have one all by myself.

10246254_10152325853274494_7263316854447281574_n

EXCELLENT slow braised lamb loin

#6 hugo’s slow braised lamb turned out to be the best dish, superbly tender & without the very strong gamey taste (the “hiang”=reason many could not take lamb) despite retaining lots of fat. there were 2 large pieces. once hugo started sharing, we ate so fast & polished off 1 of his 2 pieces in a blink! 🙂 i am working on how i can reproduce this dish or with variation, likely using miso marinade or vegetable ratatouille. 🙂

1524568_10152325853354494_24128674503908973_n

grilled skate wings

#7 the skate wing my wife had was probably the poorer of the dishes. i guess it was still an ok dish, but this method of preparation would probably render a bland tasteless fish, unlike singapore’s intense chilli bbq preparation which brings out the flavours of the fish with great texture lots of edible cartilage. even the very chinese style of frying with black beans would enhance the flavour a lot more.

overall, i guess this was not quite at the level of zazas though i would rate both mains as better than what we had at zazas. i guess that actually says a lot!

i did not know the total price, but the lamb i think was like euro 22 or euro24 & the duck was like euro18, so it was excellent value by comparison. this would be a very top comfort food restuarant i would be quite happy to return to in amsterdam if i am not specifically trying out other restaurants hoping to find another beulings.

c.h.e.f andy

Beautiful Dinner @ Beulings Amsterdam on 13Apr2014

Posted on April 29, 2014 by chefquak

10168113_10152321835374494_374338007924765883_n

arctic char ?? ceviche with salad

had a beautiful dinner at beulings in amsterdam on 13.4.2014. most pleasant start to my amsterdam/como/cinque terre/milan vacationing 13-24apr2014. 🙂

this was the best meal i had during the trip, and that’s when i had several other really great meals at amsterdam, como, cinque terre. not too bad at milan too.

was deciding among beulings, bussia & bridges in amsterdam. bridges (1 michelin star at sofitel the grand), bussia & beulings all had raving tripadvisor reviews. bussia is modern fine italian & we were spending 8 subsequent days in italy, bridges is a bit more high brow, so we decided on the more casual, family-run beulings (husband & wife team i think, bas bont & lisja hu). and the food was simply outstanding! 🙂

10246721_10152321834444494_5608235527699240794_n

nibble platter

10152047_10152321834679494_263020609407433925_n

cheese balls

we had a complimentary nibble platter plus some cheese balls. platter had anchovies (very similar to good ikan bilis!), chorizo (nice) & caviar on something, cannot recall. all very nice. 🙂

10151754_10152321834829494_5523315773161524867_n

very flavourful brioche

1002676_10152321834894494_8798184435718184895_n

love the bread

the bread was great too. we ate up everything! 🙂

the amuse bouche was a carrot soup. it was excellent soup, very smooth, with the sour cream?? taking off the sharp taste of carrots. 🙂

485631_10152321835214494_3491117406645732257_n

arctic char ?? ceviche with salad

#1 the fish (arctic char??) ceviche was delicious, very pretty artisan presentation & very sweet like a good sashimi. the salad & lady fingers added nice texture & taste. 🙂

10262044_10152321835444494_6749480232107010021_n

budels organic beer

my daughter took lisja’s recommendations – budels beer, an organic beer from south of amsterdam. it was light & fragrant, very good beer for euro3.50. we asked but could not find it in other cafes so perhaps its more boutique than popular brew. 🙂

sous vide quail

1510703_10152321835494494_9087058310987584455_n

sous vide quail

#2 we were served an excellent quail. i told lisja it was much like the sous vide bresse pigeon at jaan, my favourite restaurant in singapore. this was quite exquisite, very tender juicy breast & the leg too was not dry & sinewy. 🙂

10258465_10152321835594494_8381600577268167430_n

pasta with bacon & oyster

10170975_10152321835974494_4294639622969723957_n

pasta with bacon & oyster

#3 the pasta was super! the large fleshy oyster was excellent. the pasta was not quite al dente & yet quite perfect in texture & the slight pickled mildly sour vegetables combined wonderfully. 🙂 my wife & daughter loved this dish!

10259718_10152321835834494_3133439500447512794_n

pan seared halibut

1510348_10152321835934494_4174194777091750944_n

pan seared halibut

#4 the halibut?? was great, tasty. all the helpings including this one were quite good size. 🙂

1237889_10152321836079494_4345113907141076470_n

nicely done rare beef steak

#5 my daughter & i had the beef. it was done perfectly, rare & sweet, and the potato & pumpkin mash were great! 🙂

1533806_10152321836189494_197802663103111113_n

petit four

the petit four were pretty standard. macaron was too sweet i thought, chocolates usual, the madeleines & cakes were nice.

it was a small place with maybe 10 tables, one 2pax table was not occupied. place was cosy, service was attentive, friendly, efficient, casual. there was only lisja & 1 other server, but the chefs in the kitchen including bas all served the tables. lisja was busy but not rushed when serving the table & chatted quite a bit with the diners. the others too. 🙂

the price came to euro178. we had two 5-course at euro55 & one 4-course at euro45 plus water (euro9.75-kind of ex but maybe it was like cover charge or service), 2 glasses of wine & a beer. anyway we rounded it to euro200.

it was an very pleasant, relaxed & throughly enjoyable dinner for us, definitely a place i will come next time i am in amsterdam.

c.h.e.f andy

Protected: RI G20 23pax Dinner @ Ban Heng Orchard Central on 25Apr2014

Posted on April 28, 2014 by chefquak

23pax Dinner @ Ban Heng Orchard Central on 25Apr2014

Posted on April 26, 2014 by chefquak

1902929_10152348756429494_180431386195832186_n

braised small abalones with broccoli

had our dinner get-together for 23pax at ban heng @ orchard central on 25.4.2014. we had 3 tables. sure looks like our monthly dinners are gaining traction and we have sustainable numbers coming together to catch up each month. 🙂

i had never been to ban heng, the original at boon keng & the now many new outlets. they have a weekday ala carte buffet at S$26.80pax i emailed the link to the organiser & he arranged to do it at the orchard central outlet.

10250055_10152348755714494_3785061660402801784_n

chilli crab

10313848_10152348755769494_2136392099350962134_n

sharks fin soup

10155380_10152348755824494_2468732294084514197_n

stir-fried frog legs

10295761_10152348755894494_4078843553559793586_n

drunken prawns

1798501_10152348755959494_8715043722568842163_n

stir-fried scallops with asparagus

10311776_10152348756054494_587674490230530811_n

garlic steamed scallops with tanhoon

10171102_10152348756314494_2929438136504994036_n

deep-fried soon hock

we started with the list of chef’s recommendations above. for me the best dish was the abalone. 🙂 it was about or almost the normal good restaurant standard, not better.

the rest of the dishes were kind of below par or maybe i should say just ok. however everything is relative. the price of S$26.80 is i guess pretty alright for the number of dishes, though these days there were more talks of worthwhile calories & worthwhile cholesterol and focus was more on quality than quantity. 1 friend i asked during dinner said pretty much the same, that relative to price it was ok. another friend commented on FB post afterwards – “The food was actually quite satisfactory for the price and place”.

1 place though i would consider a whole lot better than (after trying) ban heng would be the ala carte buffet at peach garden.

the chilli crab was pretty ok though not spicy (as we were told by the servers), but it was not a dish that the ladies took much nor the rest.

the sharkskin soup was gluey like sometimes served in wedding dinners. i took <1/2 of the portion served.

the drunken prawn was among the better dishes. 1 lady on my table commented that it had nicely herb flavoured soup. the prawns were quite ok.

the frog legs were a bit below par (say) c/w the plump, meaty ones at ah yat turf city.

likewise the garlic steamed scallops with tanhoon. this should be a pretty standard dish if using live scallops, but somehow the scallop & garnishing were not tasty. i do a much better tasty dish using IQF frozen razor clams from giant, but of course i always prefer razor clams to scallops for this garlic steamed preparation.

the stir-fried scallops with asparagus was also an average dish. the asparagus were quite good in texture & taste. scallops were just average. like the frog leg, this dish was lacking in ‘wok hae”, which was surprising as the baby kailan dish that came later had very good wok hae.

the deep-fried soon hock was also quite average. this was also a standard dish at many restaurants. couldn’t say it was poor but while the fishes were crispy outside, the inside were not moist & tender as the usually good ones at most restaurants, & the sauce were not so tasty as well.

10274227_10152348756614494_6248572823945955837_n

roast duck

10308222_10152348756679494_3497810837823596129_n

steamed sea bass

the lady who commented on the drunken prawns went to spy on the other tables…haha…& we ordered the steamed seabass & the roast duck. good food-spotting, well done!

the 1/2 seabass with spicy bean sauce was good. 🙂 though 1 friend commented that soon hock was a better & more expensive fish…but it goes to show that quality of cooking/preparation is equally or sometime more important than quality of ingredients. 🙂

the roast duck was good too, flavourful but just a tad salty. 🙂 (but compare this with the really good roast duck at noodle restaurant at centrepoint!) it prompted the lady friend to say perhaps the trick was to mine the non chef recommendations.

1488270_10152348757144494_1782694798900778510_n

stir-fried baby kai lans

10178063_10152348757219494_4894090874682252270_n

spinach with superior stock

the 2 vegetables dishes we ordered were quite good, above average. the baby kailan had very good wok hae. & the spinach with superior stock was good. nice tasty stock.

10294413_10152348756534494_6515834032046957718_n

thai deep-fried tofu

10250122_10152348757049494_3249641854941169202_n

prawn cocktail salad

10295816_10152348756949494_9022415318003111282_n

braised goose

10170687_10152348756804494_6603289002782425165_n

hae chor

the deep-fried tofu with thai sauce was much below par, both the tofu & also the sauce.

the mayo prawn salad was quite ok & refreshing though not a favourite with me.

the hae chor looks were not so appealing. the taste was just ok.

the braised goose was to me below par, which is kind of surprising for an establishment that started out as teochew restaurant 42years ago in 1972. it was not “pang” i.e. flavourful & texture was over boiled. my favourite is the braised duck at imperial treasure teochew restaurant at ngee ann city. my own teochew braised duck is also more flavourful than this. 1 friend asked whether one could tell between goose & duck. couple of us felt that (say) when eating goose in hong kong the more gamey & fragrant taste was quite apparent. 🙂

desserts were provided on a self-serviced buffet table. the ice jelly was quite refreshing. i had 2 helpings topped up with sea coconut. 🙂

overall, food, ambience & price were quite ok for such a get-together. ala carte buffet was quite convenient, one price, easy to manage for groups & don’t really have to plan or pre-order the food, pretty much order anything you fancy. we were mostly more interested in talking, with food as a good accompaniment, so i was not paying much attention to the menu too. it’s probably not a place i would go much or soon.

c.h.e.f andy

Cheap Eats @ Guan Kim Coffeeshop on 10Apr2014

Posted on April 12, 2014 by chefquak

S$6 fish head curry – cheap, average

makan at guan kim coffeeshop next to tanglin halt market on 10.4.2014.

was waiting in queue for the S$2.80 teochew fishball noddles & saw a few tables ordering the curry fish head. decided to have that instead.

fish head was only S$6. i guess 1 of the cheapest around. the tenggiri (spanish mackerel) fish head was ok, the curry was average or below, a bit powdery, taste like some mix, not great ones.

1514618_10152315929524494_1390005258653016756_n

S$3.50 white cut chicken drumstick

10170795_10152315929844494_8989737562164782543_n

guan kim coffeeshop

1509128_10152315929754494_2923434125253672848_n

S$3.50 white cut chicken drumstick

S$6 fish head curry – cheap, average

the S$3.50 white cut chicken (白斩鸡) drumstick was quite well done , like many good chicken rice stall. texture-wise chicken was very smooth & tender (and tasty with the sauce). like a friend said, its quite different with kampong chicken, which is much sweeter.

guan kim is always quite well frequented so the food here is quite ok. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Posted on April 10, 2014 by chefquak

grilled cheese sandwich

a friend shared an interesting video on Facebook = 24 things you do wrong! 🙂

in it there was a video of how to make a grilled cheese sandwich.

i am not normally into sandwiches though i take a slice of buttered bread or toast for lunch if i can i.e. not lunching out with friends. for this evening, wife & daughter were away & i was feeling “sian” i.e. unmotivated & bored, so i gave this a try for nothing better to do. 🙂

grilled cheese sandwich

10013509_10152310919869494_7784042366506009095_n

grilled cheese sandwich

1922465_10152310920089494_4529686991427311164_n

grilled cheese sandwich

video was instructive. i simply followed so there is nothing really to note. 🙂

only cheese i had was a brie so i used that, buttered the wholemeal bread & did the slow heat on a non-stick pan & covered as shown in the video . result was pretty ok. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Return to Petite Menu on 8Apr2014

Posted on April 10, 2014 by chefquak

10001493_10152309440869494_9051213896920799162_n

lavendar pumpkin soup

went back to petite menu with my RI buddies for 7pax dinner on 8.4.2014. kind of soon as i just had a great dinner here at petite menu on 22.3.2014, but enjoyed just as much. 🙂

we all decided to take the S$36 4-course tasting menu since it featured the restaurants’ signature dishes. it came with the lavendar pumpkin soup, smoked duck salad, a choice of mains = pan-seared seabass or chicken leg confit, and the deconstructed blackforest.

we asked if some would like to try the ribeye, they could top-up the S$5 difference (ribeye was S$20 & the seabass & chicken confit were S$15 on the menu). the restaurant was under no obligation of course to consent to our requests (& we were ok if they were unable) but for this time they agreed. so 2 took the chicken confit, 1 took the seabass & 4 had the ribeye.

#1 this the second time i had the lavendar pumpkin soup. everyone agreed the lavendar fragrance was overpowering (like eating perfume) but the soup turned out to be quite good when eaten with the wakame seafood. the crunchy granny smith apple balls added some unusual texture. everyone quite liked/didn’t mind it. 🙂

sCIa4C0mH09LBFXVOY8tItCOn2rkLWxV6GK1Q7TmCm4,E4JBTgoR0Ts_Zq_6ex4ndFy-SNrIMVo_NOPKPvr9BOI

smoked duck salad

#2 smoked duck salad – duck was good (a bit salty), tomatoes good with mesclun salad & some dollops of creme fraiche.

10154074_10152309441034494_1899161201211354736_n

chicken leg confit

#3 the chicken confit (rather unusual) looked & smelled excellent, and came with purple cabbage & pumpkin puree. 1 friend said it was very tender. 🙂

10151191_10152309441149494_2335452615596049261_n

pan-seared seabass

1977303_10152309441254494_4230391806357761415_n

pan-seared seabass

#3 the pan seared seabass with quinoa salad was also par excellence! i thought the taste & texture of fish was very good (usually seabass has mud taste & falling apart meat texture), the foam, the flavour of sauce, the artisan presentation which enhanced the flavours & dining experience made it on par with most fine dining restaurant standard. 🙂

IFugaC8fc1LWOPjFNH7AXG5p5_M_CwfcAUv-NUV9loU,Y8SXbqLxm7KqYFtlxSZ5l9Ov7Lu_7XM4Si0SbcUTjUs

grilled ribeye

#3 the ribeye was a large serving for S$20, but it was quite disappointing. i had a very good onglet (hanger steak) here at last visit & ribeye is a better cut than hanger steak so i was expecting better. the cooking was actually ok, the browning (searing) & the medium rare doneness were ok, but the quality of the cut was not great. 1 friend left 2/3 of the steak with tendons etc though i finished mine completely. also the seabass was very good here so i would not order the ribeye next time.

lRp6cp2vJWP7UiA6zFXDTNE8uPjKgQFXypXG3eAGWE0,QOkIp1OHEz9v0LI1vz00ErJW0oCFdm9rj4u_nVAym60

kaya toast

10156020_10152309441324494_2310039056143634764_n

deconstructed blackforest

my friends were impressed with the dessert. the deconstructed blackforest was excellent. we ordered 2 servings of kaya toast to share & they all liked it too except 1 friend commented the helping was too small c/w the blackforest.

the bill came to S$48nett pax, including 4x top-ups & 2 extra orders of kaya toast. everyone was full & happy! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

	chefquak on HK Steamed Song Fish Head 港蒸松鱼…
	Penelope on HK Steamed Song Fish Head 港蒸松鱼…
	Rosemary on 50% Discounts for 2pax Excelle…
	Braised Pig Intestin… on Teochew Light Braised Large…
	edmundc38 on 赠我 Gift to Me
	David Ong on 咖喱鸡面 Curry Chicken Noodles
	10 Must-Try Michelin… on Oyster Omelette (蚝烙) Starchy O…
	chefquak on SCG Bought Hill Street CKT and…
	Elli on SCG Bought Hill Street CKT and…
	chefquak on 思永恒 Contemplate Eternity

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: