Tag Archives: tako

Good 1-for-1 S$55 Lunch Buffet @ Furama Riverfront on 23Feb2016

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maki, prawn, tako, salmon sashimi, pickled ginger

maki, prawn, tako, salmon sashimi, pickled ginger

a friend bought lunch today. we were to meet at the square @ furama on 23.2.2016.

silly me did not find out that it was furama riverfront at havelock road (did not come to mind altogether) & just went to furama at eu tong sen street. & i parked at clarke quay for free parking 12pm to 3pm, and walked to furama. that was rather inconvenient since it was the wrong hotel. so i took a cab to furama riverfront & my friend sent me to clarke quay after lunch. 🙂

the square on level 2 serves buffet. there is 1 for 1 promotion at S$55 for lunch, so quite ok, not too pricey.

we were seated near the window area, very pleasant.

salmon sashimi

salmon sashimi

started with the sashimi station. with the current GBS (Group B Streptococcus) scare, there was a sign stating it was “salt water salmon”.

salmon was very good sweet & fresh. i took very few by my usual standard, just 4 slices.

sashimi

sashimi

had the cooked prawns (good), tako, skipped the shell fish.

smoked salmon & cold cuts

smoked salmon & cold cuts

took a pieces of slami & some smoked salmon.

sushi

sushi

& 2 maki – a reverse roll & a spider maki.

root veg confit, asparagus, amerircan prawn salad, sundried tomatoes, salami, turkey salad

root veg confit, asparagus, amerircan prawn salad, sundried tomatoes, salami, turkey salad

i wasn’t expecting much of the buffet actually. there are usually so so.

but these were quite good. turkey salad best, asparagus was good, the prawn salad was good (nothing unusual but good), sundried tomatoes, and the vegetables confit tasty too. i didn’t quite like the beetroot, had much better beetroots before.

tasty curry chicken noodles (not the real curry chicken noodles)

tasty curry chicken noodles (not the real curry chicken noodles)

i had to try the curry chicken noodles. it was nothing like (no comparison with) the ah heng curry chicken noodles of course. i would say basically 2 quite different dishes. still the curry was very tasty as a curry dish.

main courses

main courses

i was surprised by the main courses too. i almost w/o fail avoid main courses in buffet except for semi-buffet as a single alacarte order. i guess buffet main courses have improved!

i tried nearly every dish.

main courses

main courses

pork rib was good, tasty. roast prime rib was competent. fish au gratin was good, but the steamed fish was overdone (both were the same cheap sutchi fish. i am thinking of doing this for my community meals so tried both). oxtail was competent, the braised sauce & vegetables were good. my friend especially liked the deep-fried belly pork. it was just ok for me. there was a mid-eastern lamb preparation i think, very nice too.

pork collar & ham casserole

pork collar & ham casserole

& the pork collar casserole, surprising quite good. meat looked (& felt when cutting) tough & overdone ut it was actually quite tender.

fish au gratin

fish au gratin

as said earlier, fish au gratin was the better preparation.

cheese platter, dried fruits, nuts

cheese platter, dried fruits, nuts

i took the 3 cheese – a brie, a blue & another cheese, some dried apricots, sultanas & walnut.

dessert - water melon, new york cheese cake, jelly shooter

dessert – water melon, new york cheese cake, jelly shooter

not impressed with dessert. anyway not expecting much.

peanut paste (unedible)

peanut paste (unedible)

the peanut paste was unedible & should not be served. need a hong kong chef.

i quite enjoyed this lunch, chat with friend & trying out different food. one of the few times i actually bordered to try out the main courses, usually just took lots of sashimi…lol..

c.h.e.f andy

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Homemade Miso Salmon Lunch + Japanese Condiments/Side Dishes on 19Apr2015

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miso salmon

miso salmon

wife bought some japanese side dishes/condiments from meidi ya liang court. we had a simple really nice home lunch on 19.4.2015.^^

i made a miso salmon, the best i have made..after a few tries, it’s now nearly perfected. wife said same as those bought from japan & from isetan..almost, i guess..

i marinated the salmon with 1 tbsp (heap) miso, 1tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp brown sugar. then put on a rack in the fridge (or chiller compartment) for 2days. then i put in 55degC oven for 3hrs. the idea was to dry out the salmon & marinade. this is only major difference from my usual miso salmon preparation. becos i see the miso salmon or mentaiko salmon in Japan were all dryer preparation. then 20mins in aluminium foil tabletop oven 250degC (include 5mins open foil to grill skin),

with this preparation, my miso salmon was almost same as those we bought in Japan. a lot cheaper, haha!^^

japanese condiments-marinated/cured squid, octopus, seaweed

japanese condiments-marinated/cured squid, octopus, seaweed

love the condiments, side dishes. they are perfect with Japanese rice. salty though & made you eat more rice, so unhealthy on both score. haha!

miso salmon in tabletop oven

miso salmon in tabletop oven

20mins in aluminium foil tabletop oven 250degC (include 5mins open foil to grill skin),

lunch

lunch

the bestest!^^

wasabi ika-squid

wasabi ika-squid

wasabi ika the best.

negi tako - marinated octopus with scallions

negi tako – marinated octopus with scallions

tako slightly tough, taste ok.

marinated squid - this not worth maybe 10x price of chinese one

marinated squid – this not worth maybe 10x price of chinese one

marinated squid no difference from the chinese style. this like S$5.40 small packet, chinese ones like <S$2 a whole bottle? i think like 10x the price…not worth buying la…

seaweed

seaweed

seaweed nice, perfect texture to go with japanese rice.

wasabi ika on japanese rice

wasabi ika on japanese rice

enjoyment!

homemade yuzu pepper

homemade yuzu pepper

homemade yuzu pepper

homemade yuzu pepper

& i made a yuzu pepper, again modelling after what we bought from japan. it was very good in fact.

we bought yuzu from the gourmet market at savour 2015. this came from the skin of 1 yuzu. i added 3 chilli padi, 2 tbsp flat brown sugar, 1tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 1tbsp tsuyu, & 1 tbsp strawberry jam, and blend.

very nice, almost same as the Japanese yuzu pepper, good for beef, rice etc.

c.h.e.f andy

Very Expensive Kaiseki & Way Below Expectations @ GOTO on 23Oct2014

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#1 sakizuki – a selection of small appetizers

#1 sakizuke – a selection of small appetizers

we had good recent experience of GOTO’s S$68 omakase lunch on 1.10.2014.

my wife wanted to buy me a good dinner & also to invite her close couple friends. since GOTO will start renovation very shortly & remodel to a casual non kaiseki restaurant, we decided to order the S$280pax omakase dinner on 23.10.2014.

food was good of course, but relative to the exorbitant price, it was really far below expectations, compared with keyaki, kuriya, hachi & of course mikuni. 😦

#1 sakizuki – a selection of small appetizers

#1 sakizuke – a selection of small appetizers

the #1 sakizuke – a selection of small appetizers 先附 was of very good standard, with a very nice pickled sanma (秋刀鱼) pacific dory which i liked, duck, a periwinkle?, prawn, cured squid, ikura, pickled shimeji mushrooms & spinach.

#2 dobinmushi

#2 dobinmushi

#2 dobinmushi

#2 dobinmushi

#2 dobinmushi was a very good soup, very clear, tasty soup, with pieces of fish fillet, mushrooms etc.

#2 sashimi moriawase

#3 sashimi moriawase

#2 sashimi moriawase

#3 sashimi moriawase

#2 sashimi moriawase

#3 sashimi moriawase

#3 sashimi moriawase

#3 sashimi moriawase

#3 uni - sashimi moriawase

#3 uni – sashimi moriawase

the #3 sashimi moriawase was a very large serving than the usual served in a kaiseki or course meal. there were 2 chutoro, 1 botan ebi, 2 hotate, several thick cut tako, 2 kampachi, hirame & tai, & uni. it was good standard but no better, in fact the toro was distinctly poorer c/w the S$45 chirashi don (after 50% feed at raffles discounts) at mikuni.

#6 braised kinki (expensive japanese fish)

#4 braised kinki (expensive japanese fish)

#6 braised kinki (expensive japanese fish)

#4 braised kinki (expensive japanese fish)

the #4 braised kinki (expensive japanese fish) was a good tasty fish but to me it tasted like angkoli (red snapper), so i didn’t really understand why it was expensive. this was a nitsuke or simmered dish.

#5 minced prawn in lily bulb paste

#5 minced prawn in lily bulb + yan paste

the #5 minced prawn in lily bulb paste was an interesting, unique dish. the lily bulb + mountain yam paste had the slightly sticky yam texture, and the dish was very tasty overall. 🙂

#6 miso ebi tempura

#6 miso ebi tempura

#6 miso ebi tempura

#6 miso ebi tempura

as with the S$68 lunch, they served a dry miso tempura. it was very nice. 🙂

#8 kagoshima wagyu

#7 kagoshima wagyu

#8 kagoshima wagyu

#7 kagoshima wagyu

#7 kagoshima wagyu was very good, but the better marbled much tastier kagoshima wagyu ishiyaki at mikuni only cost S$37.50 alacarte after 50% discounts.

#9 gohan - chicken shimeji musroom rice

#8 gohan – chicken shimeji mushroom rice

#9 gohan - chicken shimeji musroom rice

#8 gohan – chicken shimeji mushroom rice

the #8 gohan – chicken shimeji mushroom rice had good mushroom flavours but otherwise no comparison with any kamameshi at sun with moon wheelock or a unagi chahan at zen japanese.

#10 dessert tray

#9 dessert tray

#10 dessert tray

#9 dessert tray

they offered very good dessert – very good japanese melon + grapes. yuzu ice cream, orange jelly & strawberry mousse.

macha - nice end to dinner

macha – nice end to dinner

& i always enjoyed macha.

the kaiseki dinner was very good standard, but for me price was far too exorbitant relative to other good kaiseki restaurants & it was not at all value-for-money.  one could get a very good omakase dinner at hachi for S$118pax. and at this price i would want to try kumo anytime.

c.h.e.f andy

Japanese Dinner @ Mikuni at Fairmont Hotel on 24Mar2013

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20130324_194557

truffle kampachi sashimi

Note – see also update = FAR Card 50% for up to 5pax. 🙂

I go to Mikuni a lot as my wife & I really enjoy the food there, and with Feed@Raffles discounts (50% discount for 2pax), that is the best value eat we can get anywhere. 🙂

We always order ala carte so we pick only dishes we like and also it is much better value than ordering the Seasons Menu or the Grand Tour Tasting Menu. We explore the menu quite a bit & zero in on the dishes we like. In fact, we have now taken the same few dishes so many times that I can almost call it a “Andy Kaiseki Menu”..haha…just kidding. 🙂 It is just 5 course, but while it may not have like 10 courses to be a full kaiseki menu, every dish is very substantial when compared with individual course of a kaiseki or mini kaiseki.

My selected courses (shared by 2pax) as follows-

  1. truffle kampachi (S$28)
  2. botan ebi sashimi (3 large prawns for S$35)
  3. united nations futomaki (9 ingredients 6 pieces maki S$28)
  4. sous vide then deep-fried octopus (S$30)
  5. 2xkagoshima wagyu sukiyaki konabe (individual hotpot at S$48 each)
  6. 1 plain rice to share – they will split for you (S$5)

As you see, the price comes to S$222, and at 50% discount, it is S$111 or S$55.50++pax. 🙂

Now to the dishes.

The first dish, a truffle kampachi is a wonderful, wonderful dish, and as you can see in the top picture, it is so pretty. It is in a small way a fusion sashimi dish by the Korean Chef with kampachi sashimi fanned out in probably tsuyu sauce as the sauce is not so salty, and a dash of truffle oil – so very fragrant, fresh, sweet & tasty! 🙂

20130324_195940

botan ebi sashimi

20130324_195835

botan rbi heads deep-fried

The second dish is botan ebi sashimi – you get 3 prawns for sashimi & 2 if you order sushi. These are large (3x the size of regular ama ebi), plump & sweet prawns with the same pleasant slightly sticky to the bite texture as regular ama ebi.

and they deep fry the large prawn heads. We eat up almost the entire crispy deep-fried prawn heads every time so no need to elaborate la…haha. 🙂

united nations futomaki

united nations futomaki

Next the united nation futomaki. The name sounds like a disaster but there are 9 ingredients (I can see there are unagi, ebi, tamago, avogado, different fish roes, maybe crabstick etc) & it is good – may not be the best as there are many specialist maki in many restaurants these days, but it is good!

20130324_200837 20130324_200817 20130324_200920

Then we have the tako (octopus) sous vide & deep-fried in light batter. This is really very good as the meat is totally tender & consistent throughout because of sous vide (vacuum low temperature slow-cooking). it goes very well with just a little wasabi mayo (provided) – we always add more wasabi on our own.

20130324_201833

kagoshima wagyu sukiyaki konabe (小钵)

& the the finale – kagoshima wagyu sukiyaki konabe (小钵).

20130324_202132 20130324_202121

It is very, very good! there are 3 pieces of wagyu, and you can see from the photos that they are large & thick pieces – I reckon the 3 pieces to be at least 80g, probably 100g! these are Jap wagyu NOT australian wagyu, & they are so, so tasty,  the sukiyaki also comes with the usual vegetables, thick Japanese glass noodles & mushroom, and oh such great flavours! you can add the soup to the rice afterwards (and remember to add wasabi to it as well).

c.h.e.f andy