1/2 roast London duck – S$32
went with friend for lunch at tunglok signature @ orchard parade on 6.4.2016. ^^
just returned from london last evening. had an excellent family holiday in london, lisbon, porto with wife, son & daughter.
my OPS friend bought me an excellent G7 Sinma frog porridge lunch on 11.3.2016 before my trip.
so my turn to buy lunch. 🙂
garlic steamed razor clams – S$12.80
we started with a steamed razor clam.
clam was smaller than what usually is served in say ah yat, jumbo, long beach etc. the sauce a bit gluey, but overall the taste was still very good. 🙂
i would order this again, also after 50% palate discounts for 2pax, this dish was only S$6.40++.
lie tong 例汤 1/2 pot=S$16
we shared 1/2 pot lie tong 例汤 1/2 pot at S$16 (full pot S$28).
lie tong 例汤 always good here, and at others like imperial treasure etc. for me, a good lie tong 例汤 1/2 (they usually very good la) is better than taking sharksfin (politically incorrect) or even fishmaw soup.
1/2 roast London duck – S$32
& i wanted to let my friend try the roast london duck. ^^
they used irish duck which is fatter & more flavourful.
can’t it’s better than the tea smoked duck at xin cuisine,
but certainly it is better than the very good roast duck at canton paradise.
Rack of lamb – S$15
rack of lamb was good too, tender not too strong gamey taste. but chinese preparation is for me, never as good for this dish c/w with modern european.
we shared one order.
String beans – S$18
string beans was more ex, basically S$18 is a good restuarant kind of pricing for veg.
Garoupa fillet noodles soup – S$12
i had a zhajiangmian variation here with my wife recently.
this time, it was a garoupa fillet noodle soup.
it was good, soup very tasty, garoupa fillet fresh & sweet.
we shared one order.
Nice Dinner @ Shelter in the Woods on 27Sep2015
quiche
wife, daughter & i went to shelter in the woods, greenwood ave for dinner on 27.9.2015. ^^
shelter in the woods
very nice ambience. we also managed to park just behind the restaurant. 🙂
this the favourite haunt of 1 of my friends. some months back he tried to buy me dinner here some time back but the place was fully booked, so he arranged a nice dinner at la braceria instead. 🙂
baguette
we had some complimentary baguette.
the server we had was polite, but she didn’t know anything we asked about the menu, maybe it’s difficulty with english.
endives salad
wife wanted to try a different salad, so we had the endives salad.
endives salad
pretty ok with the honey dressing. nothing special i guess.
escargot
the escargot tasted quite good, but was a bit dry.
escargot
it was served on a bone marrow, but unlike the lovely delicious wagyu with bone marrow at tess bar, here the bone marrow seems to be just presentation.
beef tartare
i loved the beef tartare, really nice! fresh, sweet small chunks of beef, and excellent with chooped onions, capers etc.
salt & pepper dispensers for beef tartare
some quaint bottles to dispense salt & pepper. 🙂
beef tartare
i want to have this again, S$18 for an appertiser portion.
japanese sweet corn soup
i ordered the japanese sweet corn soup because it was chef recommendation & also featured by other food writers.
japanese sweet corn soup
should not have bothered. looked lovely in photos, but it was the poorest of the dishes. any of my own soup would be better. not that it was bad, but just ordinary, very sweet & basically not the kind of good savoury soup i like. 🙂
quiche
quiche was good. it’s not the kind of dish i fancy much usually, but this one here i can take again. 🙂
rack of lamb-almost raw
we asked for medium rare for the rack of lamb. it came almost raw. 🙂
rack of lamb-almost raw
i took a piece. my wife & daughter couldn’t, so we asked the restaurant to cook it more. the guy server now said their chef’s recommendation was medium (which was different from what we asked of the earlier lady server who did not seem to communicate well in english).
rack of lamb-almost raw
anyhow we went ahead with medium. it came out medium rare, & it was perfect! 🙂
rack of lamb-almost raw
so once we gotten the medium rare (though they say medium), the lamb was very good actually. & the sauce was very good too, not too “beefy”.
apple tart with ice cream
crispy apple tart was quite good.
apple tart with ice cream
cannot quite compare with the da luca version. still it was pretty ok.
the dinner was S$146nett for 3pax. they forgot to charge a glass of wine (S$19++), so we told them to add in the charge.
we enjoyed the dinner, food & ambience. the 2 best dishes for me were the beef tartare & the lamb rack (when done right!). the quiche was worth ordering too. the sweet corn soup can skip. the rest were average.
c.h.e.f andy
Great Tapas @ FOC on 27Aug2015
chorizo & egg
son was back for summer holidays. this evening we went to FOC for a family dinner on 27.8.2015.^^
foc restaurant
restaurant has a chic ambience.
foc restaurant
it is supposed to be for fine food & fun dining from barcelona. for us, it’s tapas. 🙂
foc restaurant
FOC supposed to be fire in catalan.
chorizo & egg
chorizo & egg was a good start. its was a good tasty dish, the egg gave it a silky texture. maybe its a bit like my spanish omelette but deconstructed, no?
ham croquettes
like the ham croquettes.
mushroom croquettes
at first taste, the mushroom croquettes had much more intense flavours & bested the ham croquettes by comparison. but i tried the ham croquettes again & it had a very nice lingering flavour. i like both. ^^
patatas bravas
the patatas bravas, a deep-fried potato dish was very good too.
patatas bravas
really well done enjoyable dish.
pork trotters carpaccio
the pork trotters carpaccio was delightful.
pork trotters carpaccio
especially with the condiments & sauce it came in.
slow braised & grilled octopus
the slow braised octopus was excellent too.
slow braised & grilled octopus
taste & texture wise, it was almost comparable with the very good ones i tried recently –
& i still prefer the tako kakiage at mikuni. ^^
squid ink paella
i think this squidink paella is the best of all squidink i had. really flavourful, smooth & buttery. good enough for us to order a second serving.
squid ink risotto
i think it is better than (maybe) the dish i squid risotto i had at follia (which was outstanding).
& my own very good squidink pasta.
kith’s squidink pasta would be quite behind by comparison.
scampi fiduea alio olio
the first serving of scampi fiduea alio olio was excellent, very sweet, tasty, intense. unfortunately there was a hair in it!
scampi fiduea alio olio
restaurant did the right thing & replaced it with a new dish. again unfortunately the new dish was not tasty as before. i guess hair made a difference to the taste? :-p
rack of lamb
rack of lamb was pretty ok.
rack of lamb
it was very tender yes, but actually flavour-wise, my own pistachio crusted rack of lamb was a lot better!
iberico pork rack
the iberico pork rack was superb!
iberico pork rack
not only it was fork tender & yet not sinewy, it was very flavourful, excellent!
foc restaurant
the hanging sculpture.
chocolate galaxy
daughter wanted to try the chocolate galaxy.
it’s the chocolate bomb i thought of trying for my anniversary dinner but didn’t.
apple tart
we tried the apple tart. it was ok, nothing special & can do without. nothing like da luca’s crispy apple tart!
french toast
the french toast was good. looked at a dessert i may try myself at home.
i think minus the drinks it was about S$50pax. not cheap but doable.
c.h.e.f andy
6hr “Sous Vide” Miso Lamb Shoulder
miso lamb shoulder
this (above photo) was my very first attempt on miso lamb, which I did for a 11-course dinner for 11pax on 5.5.2014.
i do a good pistachio crusted rack of lamb but no other variations. decided to do a 3-day miso marinade on a cheap frozen lamb cut & coincide the 6hr sous vide bath in 90degC oven with the char siew (to save electricity).
90degC (oven temperature) is also the optimum temperature (fastest) for conversion of collagen the tough connective tissues to gelatine with excellent texture & flavours.
miso lamb shoulder
i did again for a 12-course 9-pax homecooked chinese dinner for friends on 15.7.2014.
that was the best i did then, better than the last 2 times & w/o the gamey taste. the 3-day miso marinade & 6hrs “sous vide” in 90degC oven did the trick. many liked this.
miso lamb shoulder
most recent was a homecooked dinner for 14pax friends + spouses on 18.12.2014.
the miso lamb shoulder chop was ok, very tender, with strong lamb flavours nicely masked by miso.
lamb though is in general not much a favourite dish among my family & friends, and a tenderised lamb shoulder, even miso-falvoured, cannot really match a good rack of lamb.
after having the most wonderful rack of lamb i had so far at american club amarone wine dinner on 29.11.2014, i was thinking of trying out a herb crusted rack of lamb as a variation of my pistachio rack of lamb.
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- packet of lamb shoulders from Giant S$4.95 (300g)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 3tbsp cup mirin
- 3tbsp cup cooking sake
Directions:
- mixed saké, mirin, sugar & miso paste in a large bowl and whisk.
- scald lamb shoulders with boiling water to remove scum. place lamb shoulders in a ziplock bag & pour in the cooled marinate and leave in fridge for 3 full days. turning over once in the morning & once in the evening to ensure all sides are fully coated.
- take out lamb shoulders & place it in an oven dish with lid with the miso marinade just covering the lamb for 1/2 hr to get it to room temperature. place it in the preheated oven at 90degC for 6hrs. 90degC is the optimum temperature (fastest) for conversion of collagen the tough connective tissues to gelatine with excellent texture & flavours.
- cut the lamb shoulders to bite size & serve.
Most Wonderfully Sumptuous Amarone Wine Dinner @ American Club on 29Nov2014
hors d’oeuvre (outside the main)
wife had an invitation for 2 to a zyme amarone wine dinner at amercian club on 29.11.2014, so i tagged along. 🙂
not that i even heard of amarone before (apparently it is quite well known), anyway it turned out to be quite an incredibly sumptuous wine dinner – the best i had! ^^
wine was so good (even for me) & food was just simply superb! 🙂
there was cocktail & hors d’oeuvre of prawn roll on sugar cane, oyster fritters, dumplings.
this was an american club wine dinner event, & the company which invited my wife piggyback on the event & reserve a private table of 10 – excellent decision!
==================
Saturday, November 29
The 2nd Floor
Cocktail Reception at 7:00 p.m.
Dinner at 7:30 p.m.
Member: $128
Guest: $148
5-Course Menu by Chefs Gary & Kelvin
Wine and food pairing by Matthew, Wine Director
Maximum of 50 attendees
— at The American Club, Singapore.
bread basket
there was a good bread basket of roll, baguette etc.
grilled scallop – amuse bouche
& a grilled scallop as amuse bouche to start the dinner. it was very well done, felt like sous vide consistency. 🙂
incredible zyme amarone wine dinner – the best i had
#1 uni on tuna tartare, guacamole with pine nuts
#1 uni on tuna tartare, guacamole with pine nuts
for the 1st course, we had uni on tuna tartar, guacamole with pine nuts. uni was great, tuna tartare a bit lacking in taste, guacamole was good.
first red was a ripasso 2009, apparently not meeting the 5 year requirement to be an amarone? anyhow, i like this wine.
#2 – 2 ricotta & grana padona cheese ravioli with truffle & wolfberries, excellent sauce
#2 – 2 ricotta & grana padona cheese ravioli with truffle & wolfberries, excellent sauce
2nd course was ricotta & grana padona cheese ravioli with a huge dollop of truffle & wolfberries. ravioli was good. truffle was very good. the shellfish sauce reduction was exquisite. 🙂
2nd red was a kairos 2008. it was a bit more full bodied & tannic. it’s a better wine but i liked the first one better.
$3 suckling pig – crackling skin on foie gras mousse, pork & mushroom tempura in deep-fried squidink pasta
#3 suckling pig – pork & mushroom tempura in deep-fried squidink pasta
#3 suckling pig – crackling skin on foie gras moussesuckling pig – crackling skin on foie gras mousse, pork & mushroom tempura in deep-fried squidink pasta
3rd course was suckling pig – crackling skin on a foie gras mousse, pork & mushroom tempura in deep-fried squid ink pasta nest. crackling skin was wonderful & the meat portions very tasty. most of us though would still prefer the chinese style suckling pig. 🙂
3rd red was a classico. it was a bit sweeter than the second. i liked this better.
#4 really superb lamb – no gamey taste, very tender & flavourful
& the lychee wood smoked lamb rack with herbal crust was really superb, the best i had – no gamey taste, very tender & flavourful…i am inspired to do my own again, but maybe not the pistachio crusted rack of lamb recipe, but a herb crusted one (thinking how to do the marinade).
this last wine harlequin was the best, even for me who don’t know wine. really wonderful taste.
the great wines – 3 amarone
i couldn’t really finish my wine, though they were very good indeed. i did finish off the harlequin, apparently S$300+ bottle. 🙂
#5 4 italian cheese platter
#5 4 italian cheese platter
we had the 4 cheese platter, a bit unusual not to have dessert. usually in restaurant set meals, cheese is served before dessert as an option order. i liked especially the blue.
throughout dinner, we were treated to some expert discussion of amarone (in addition to the brief by zyme wine distributor rep) & especially whisky by a connoisseur diner on our table.
for this top quality food & wine, i would certainly be happy even if i were a paying guest.
c.h.e.f andy
Protected: Homecooked 10pax Dinner for Friends @ 28Aug2013
Sumptuous Semi-buffet @ One Ninety at Four Seasons Hotel on 30May2013
roast suckling pig with stuffing was sooooooooo good!
It’s my turn to buy the monthly dining quartet meal. I had not been to One Ninety @ Four Seasons Hotel for years but I recalled they had a good semi-buffet. & there was a 1 free for 3 paying promotion using DBS card ending May2013, so we went there for lunch on 30.5.2013, in time for the promotion. 🙂
& it was a super, super lunch. I would go again w/o the promotion. 🙂
the appetizer & dessert buffet was priced at $38pax, and $48pax if we added a main course on the menu, which we did. & on saturdays & sundays, they throw in a Moet champagne buffet at $58pax.
The suckling pig with stuffing (top photo) was nothing short of fabulous – sooooooooooo good! it was so flavourful, tasty. I always felt nothing beat chinese roast suckling pig. still do. but this was as good as it gets, perhaps different (as the focus was not just on the crispy skin but overall flavours) but on par. 🙂
langoustine or scampi – sweet, quite good
snow crab legs
the langoustine or scampi was sweet, quite good but I actually thought the snow crab legs were better. though not the very best but still very good quality, and a few of us had a few helpings. it was sweet & not so salty as what Kuisinbo & some poorer buffets served.
the pork terrine in above left photo was the poorer one- could skip as there were so many good dishes. there was a better one with pig ears, which I had forgotten to take picture.
sushi – most sushi in buffet were a waste of time! this one I only took the aburi mayo prawn & smoked duck (twice I took meaning quite good..haha..). 🙂
pork pate below & pressed foie gras on top
the pork pate was extremely good – I took 3 pieces. 🙂 I did not take the pressed foie gras which according to my friends were even better.
excellent roast duck & stuffing
the excellent roast duck was almost as good as the suckling pig – both the duck & stuffing – & yet tasted different. 🙂
1st of my 3.5 plates haha!
nobody would believe me after this if I tell people I generally do not go for buffets. haha! 🙂
we didn’t really need to take the main course. we tried to cancel the main course but to be fair to the restaurant they said they already prepared the items once the order was placed. and the waiting staff here were really exemplary – they even “ta pao” for one of us the main course as we really could not finish. we would really not expect to ta pao for a buffet but it was a great gesture so we accepted happily! 🙂
we thought the main courses might be 1/2 portions like the French servings, but here they came in full portions. 🙂
I had a medium rare rack of lamb (above left) – it was very good. I thought it didn’t look great – my first impression was that the sauce might kill it -but it turned out to be quite complementary. the medium rare tenderloin was very good too.
glazed beef ribs – kind of braised then pan seared
WH had the glazed beef ribs – kind of braised then pan seared. I guessed it was good too but braised items were usually too heavy even for normal-sized meals. 🙂
my dining companions were thrilled with the dessert spread..they seemed quite average to me though. i was told the chocolate mousse was very good. the macarons were a bit too sweet for me. I did enjoy the cheese spread & condiments though. 🙂
I certainly plan to come back for this again (w/o the main course), with or without the promotion. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Homegourmet 8-Course Lunch @ 14Mar2013
I had another homegourmet 9pax lunch with friends recently.
I had quite some success on the pan-roasted brined chicken breast recipe, and was raring to try it on duck. 🙂 I wanted to test it once before I dumped the dish on my friends. I did this using both the pan-roasted chicken quick-roast method & the prime rib slow-roast method successfully, the slow-roast method producing an even more tender meat.
The slow-roast pork belly was still a work-in-progress. It turned up very well for my daughter’s 14pax friends lunch on CNY 3rd Day, but I felt it was still mostly touch & go. I would not have time to do on 14Mar if it turned up poorly so I did it in the evening of 13Mar & as it was passable if not great so I kept it in the fridge to warm up & serve the next day.
For the soup. I had been doing a “kick-ass” …self-praise haha…Basque seafood soup using prawn shells but was a bit tired of doing the same soup every time. I looked up some creamy mushroom soup recipe and thought it could not go too far wrong and was worth a gamble, since I had on hand willing devoted risk-taker volunteers high on faith. 🙂
skin-on pan-roasted brined duck breast
We started off with 4 tapas – (a) pan-roasted brined chicken breast (b)slow-roast brined duck breast (c)slow-roast pork belly & (d) Margaret River wagyu MBS6/7+angus striploin.
I think all were happy with the brined chicken breast & duck breast (except that I was rushing a little & destroyed the crispy skin of the chicken quite badly, I relaxed and did it right for the duck). They were moist, tender & tasty! 🙂 The belly pork was a bit iffy. This was a rather fatty piece & though the fat & meat were quite soft, the skin was still a tad tough to the bite, so the “mouth feel” 口感 wasn’t quite right. Fortunately, the natural jus was quite tasty & the Spanish spicy mustard sauce was a very good dip to go together with.
I thought the wagyu was below par. I had better marbling for MBS4/5 striploin from the same supplier mmmm previously for the “Best of” dinner on 28Jan2013 (of course my friends would say its the bad carpenter..haha). The rockets were also not good. I forgot to buy on 13Mar & there was no time to get it on 14Mar so went at 1am the night before to Sheng Shiong’s 24hr mart at Ghim Moh & the only ones there were quite old & not fresh. 😦
I had a separate portion of 3 pan-seared Hokkaido scallops for WL as he does not take beef. It should be quite ok now that I learned the simple technique=very hot pan +very dry scallop (scallops & fish etc contain a lot of water & if not bone dry, pan temperature will drop sharply & you will be steaming/poaching & will not have a hardened seared layer so it will stick to the pan). 🙂
pan-seared Hokkaido scallops
After the tapas, we had a pasta item, which was my seafood alio olio spaghetti with white wine. I was quite confident on the taste department as this dish mostly turned up quite well but I thought the texture was not enough al dente this time. 😦
seafood alio olio spaghetti with white wine
Next came my very first attempt at creamy mushroom soup, and gratefully it turned up very well indeed – really quite smooth in texture and tasty – though from the photo below, I could see the caramelised mushrooms but NOT few drops of extra virgin olive oil.
creamy mushroom soup
The pistachio rusted rack of lamb was also my very first attempt, and this was quite an excitement for me actually. The lamb rack looked fabulous & tasted great! although I found it slightly overdone as I would prefer medium rare. It was moist, tender and did not have much of the strong lamb gamey taste. 🙂
pistachio crusted rack of lamb
The 8-ribs lamb rack was good for 4 serving, and being my first attempt it was actually a stand-in for my more “established” Spanish 2-hr slow-braised beef ribs. This had been very good the few times I served previously, but the taste was a bit off this time, & we were at a lost to explain (other than bad carpenter). The vegetable base ratatouille (celery, carrots, yellow onions) should be sweet & balancing the beefy taste, the Chinese sausage added some sweetness & the chorizo (though may not be everyone’s favourite) had combined very well previously. I thought that it could be the chuck rib itself, though I bought it from Giant the day before, but I could not be sure how long it was on their shelves. Photo below still looked ok but looks deceived 😦
Spanish 2-hr slow-braised beef ribs
We had the usual chocolate lava cake. I was getting a bit bored though, hoping to try out a new soufle recipe next time.
WL brought very nice tarts and CH his usual strawberries & this time it was especially sweet. All the leftover tarts were polished off by my daughters soon enough. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
c.h.e.f 