Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh @ Bedok Interchange

One of the inexplicable oddities of Singapore hawkers is that they like to name their stalls after locations where the stall is NOT located - Rochor Beancurd in Serangoon, Blanco Court kway chap in Old Airport Road etc. (ok, it's actually not that inexplicable, I am told that it is because the stall is named after its PREVIOUS location).


And so we have Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh in Bedok.

Luscious cakes of steamed rice flour topped with crunchy, savoury preserved radish. The topping is not too finely minced, so there is some interesting texture. This is a perfect combination.

This is the more traditional way of serving chwee kueh (compared to the other stall that I patronise which adds more fusion-type ingredients like sesame seeds).

I remember I used to have a colleague whose mom hand-made these delicious things. He brought them to the office for me once, and it had meat-filling inside!! That was awesome!

This morning's breakfast was kindly bought and delivered by YS, who even considerately had the topping and chili packed in separate containers (at an additional cost too!). Thanks YS! A chwee kueh breakfast on a rainy morning just warms my heart and my tummy.

Look, I think Mr K likes it too. Local breakfasts, so common to most of us, are probably something of a Fear Factor thing for Mr K (alright, I exaggerate!). After all, we Asians eat everything, so who knows what goes into these things right?

PS. the photo is deliberately overexposed to protect Mr K's identity. If you can tell who Mr K is, drop me a note, and I will have to find other ways of concealing his true persona.

Strawberry Banana Smoothies @ Home

This is really simple and easy to make. And, so refreshing on a hot afternoon!

Recipe:

1 punnet of strawberries (about 250 g)

2 large bananas or 3 small bananas

1/2 cup of milk (substitute with yoghurt or ice cream for creamier texture)

1 cup of ice (about 8 - 10 cubes)

directions:

1. slice up all the fruits

2. put them all the blender

3. add milk and ice

4. blend, blend, blend.

Serves 2.

There you go, enjoy!

Chat Masala @ Upper East Coast Road

DH and I have reached our verdict.



Between Chat Masala and Kinara, Chat Masala wins hands down. We came here for dinner over the weekend, and although both places were quite crowded, we opted for Chat Masala.





Actually Chat Masala's naans were not as fluffy as those in Kinara. Although these naans were still enjoyable. We ordered 2 garlic naans, 1 cheese naan, and 1 lacha paratha.

Fish curry. This was slightly tangy and spicy. With 3 sizeable chunks of fish. MIL liked this gravy best.

Butter chicken. This was creamy and delicious. DH's and my favourite. It was not spicy-hot, but it had a nice fragrance of spices.

Palak Paneer. This is cubes of cottage cheese cooked in pureed spinach. It's a really healthy dish, and it was also delicious.

We mopped up the gravy from all the dishes. I think the choices tonight were excellent. Kinara's dishes are too salty for my palate, but Chat Masala's dishes are all interesting and delicious, with a perfect pairing of spices and textures. I particularly like the fact that everything takes effort to prepare and tastes different. (you know, not like some places where the fish, the chicken, the beef are all covered with the same boring sauce).

Aji by Hanabi @ Vivocity

DH wanted to come to Vivocity to buy something (a British Columbia double-layered windbreaker), so Cutie and I decided to have dinner at Aji by Hanabi (Vivocity, #01-158).

We usually end up having Japanese when Cutie is around, as somehow Cutie has developed a preference for chawanmushi and noodles.

Foie Gras Chawanmushi (SGD16). This is the most expensive chawanmushi I have ever eaten. Except maybe for the sharks' fin chawanmushi, but I didn't pay for that, so I don't know how much that cost.

Its presentation was quite unusual, since it didn't come in the typical cylindrical chawanmushi cup (this was more of a flat dish), and the foie gras was more like a puree on top (rather than the cubes of foie gras that I was expecting).

This is obviously modern-fusion Japanese, rather than traditional Japanese. DH and I both enjoyed it though. The foie gras was fragrant and flavourful, and provided a unique twist to this traditional appetiser. I think there might have been a few strands of sharks' fin on top too, which added an interesting texture.

My tempura soba (SGD18). It was beautifully presented - I really liked this bowl which was slightly slanted and therefore made this photo very easy to take. The tempura wasn't very nice as the batter was too thick and too hard. Tempura batter should be really delicate and light, not like eating goreng pisang.

DH's sushi moriwase (assorted sushi, SGD36). DH said it was ok, but nothing exceptional.

Before heading to Vivocity, DH and I brought Cutie to East Coast park. I think he had a good time...

Building sandcastles...

and riding his tricycle...

Akashi @ Tanglin Shopping Centre

I enjoyed my lunch at Akashi with Mr C so much, I brought DH to Akashi Japanese Restaurant (Tanglin Shopping Centre, 19 Tanglin Road #B1-09).

We asked for an omakase kaiseki for 2.

This is chilled tofu with century egg topping. It was interesting and very tasty. This is my first time trying this, so it was indeed novel and refreshing.


Next up, Sashimi Platter (SGD109) (clockwise from top left: tuna belly (chu toro), flounder, yellowtail (hamachi), salmon and ark shell (akagai)). As you can tell, this is really premium stuff. Mouthwateringly delicious. The slices of sashimi were thick and juicy, and very fresh. I wish they gave us otoro instead of chutoro. Otoro is very very marbled, so it literally just melts in your mouth. That day, when I went with Mr C, they served us otoro. Chutoro is less fatty and less marbled.

braised pork belly. Very tender and juicy. Akin to Chinese braised pork, but this was slightly sweet, probably because of the addition of mirin.



Fried fish. Eaten with a squeeze of lemon, it was crispy and flavoursome. Not at all greasy or heavy.

Chutoro sushi topped with uni. How unique. I've never eaten toro sushi like this. The addition of uni created a burst of flavour and texture in my mouth. As you can see, the serving of toro is very generous.


Clam miso soup to cleanse the palate. This is very very sweet. Not chockful of fish like at Inagiku, but this was sweet and light.

Grape ice cream for me and Yuzu ice cream for DH. DH wanted to go for macha ice cream again but I vetoed him. Both were served with soft red beans. I recently had lots of Japanese grapes (both the tiny champagne ones and the large black Kyoho ones), so I was still in a midst of a grape craze. I am amazed how Japanese grapes can taste so much sweeter than any other grapes I have ever eaten. So fragrant and the grape flavour just pervades all your senses. And the texture! They are so firm, almost like a grapey jelly. Nothing like any other grape I have ever eaten. How do they do it?


Cutie also went to Akashi (if you look at the photos above closely, you see his hands in one of the shots). Cutie had chawanmushi, which he liked, but his favourite part of the meal was playing with the bowls and spoons that the restaurant staff placed in front of him.

Inclusive of 2 glasses of shochu (japanese plum wine) with soda, we paid a reasonable sum of about SGD200.

Food Bloggers' Dinner @ Le Papilon

Ooh, my first Food Bloggers' dinner! I didn't know what to expect.



I wasn't even sure if I qualified to attend, to be honest, since I only started blogging so recently. (In fact, I was quite sure no one would know who I was, and I would therefore be extremely embarrassed. But surprise! There was at least 1 person who did read this blog, and all this time, I thought I only had 2 readers ! Now I realise, I have 3!! Thanks Mia dearie!).


Well, there was great food, great company and great fun. DH and Cutie had a good time too.



And we were so lucky! We received a set of Italian cooking spoons... Perfect! Cutie was all tired out, so here he is, sleeping in my arms.



Hokkaido Scallop Carpaccio and Barracuda Fish Mousse with Miso Cream. It was an interesting and harmonious blend of flavours, textures and colours.

Jasmine Tea Perfumed Duck Consomme made with Fiji Water, Foie Gras Tortellini. This seemed like a very interesting dish. What a clever way to present foie gras. This would indeed be a burst of flavour, theoretically. However, I think the proportion of foie gras to pasta skin was a little unbalanced, so I only tasted tortellini, not the foie gras. (I would also add that, this could be my fault as I arrived late, and maybe the chef thought that I wouldn't be coming so didn't cater for another portion of foie gras?)

Escargot with Herb-Garlic Butter on Button Mushroom GratineeParsley Oil and Arugula Salad. Enjoyed this very much. Again, a clever juxtaposition of flavours and textures - with the spongy mushroom, chewy escargot and slightly crunchy garlic.

Rigatoni tossed in Crustacean Oil, Tiger Prawn, Shaved Bottarga and Parmesan Cheese. Sorry for the poor photo. This was my favourite. Delicious and tasty morsels of pasta which were perfectly al dente.

Char-Grilled King George Whiting Fillet with Toasted Mustard Seeds andSaffron Tomato Sauce. This was very good as well. It was fragrant and tender. I liked how the chef decided to char-grill the fish. It really added oomph to this delicate dish. And, it looks so pretty!

Palate-cleansing raspberry sorbet. Chef ran out of blood orange sorbet, boo hoo. This was good nevertheless.

Slow-Cooked Oxtail in Feuille de Brik Parcel with Truffle Butter and Jus Gras. My other favourite of the evening. How creative. I was expecting oxtail with a bone in the centre, but I barely recognised this. Is it really oxtail? Yes it is! Tender, sinewy oxtail wrapped in phyllo pastry, thereby rendering it totally different from what I am accustomed to. I liked the addition of the pastry which added a light yet interesting crunch. Very clever.

Passionfruit Symphony Souffle, Macaroon (with passionfruit mousse inbetween) and Creme Brulee. Sorry for the bad lighting. I liked the souffle best, as it was light and airy. The creme brulee was a little too piquant and the mousse was a little too stodgy. The souffle however was a masterpiece. And see how beautifully it is presented in a passionfruit skin.

I am glad to have met these other food bloggers, and I can't wait for the next one Colin!

Osaka Gastronomy Part 3

The day before we left Osaka, we asked the hotel concierge for recommendations on where we could get good okonomiyaki (Osaka is where okonomiyaki originated, after all!).

So we arrived at Yukari, a popular okonomiyaki restaurant.

We ordered 3 of their specialities, which they promplty cooked for us on the hotplates in front of us.

LEFT: seafood okonomiyaki with prawns and scallops.

MIDDLE: okonomiyaki with spring onions and an egg in the centre.

RIGHT: okonomiyaki with mentaiko seasoning and grated wild mountain yam.

MIL and I both liked the one on the right best. Texture wise, all were about the same, but the mentaiko added a twist to the flavour of the okonomiyaki, and the wild mountain yam (aka wai san) had an interesting crunchy yet slippery texture, which added a unique dimension to this dish.

We later walked down the street and had huge ice cream cones each. DH had a double scoop of macha!

Osaka Gastronomy Part 2

Most of the time, when we are having dinner, one of us would be trying to feed / entertain Cutie. For this meal, Cutie already had his dinner (in the hotel), so he joined us at the table, and was very well-behaved. The nice people at the restaurant gave Cutie a crab hat, which looked very nice on him, wouldn't you agree?

Cutie spent his time flirting with the baby girl at hte next table... I think she was quite taken with him really...

So, with Cutie well occupied, we managed to take photos of this meal, which we all (with the exception of one) thoroughly enjoyed.

This restaurant in Dotonburi, Osaka was a crab speciality restaurant. We ordered the crab kaiseki set, so every dish had crab in it. And oh boy was it delicious.

This beautiful crab platter had different parts of the crab, with different dips. This was an interesting dish because it paired cooked and raw crab with different complementary things like mentaiko (spicy codfish roe).

This was king crab sashimi, served in its shell and with a little wasabi. It was very nice and unbelievably sweet.

This cold crab was also delicious. I think it's already cooked. And it was so so sweet. Eaten with a squeeze of lemon, it was fantastic.

This was cooked crab, served hot and a slice of lemon. The chawanmushi, was cooked with crab, and it was delicious. It was sweet and tasty and wobbly. One of the best chawanmushi I've eaten. Crab just adds extra sweetness to the chawanmushi.

This is baked cheese with crab. It was served piping hot, and it was... delicious. The cheese was a little crusty on the outside and was smooth and savoury on the inside, with additional surprising chunks of crab.

This crab tempura was next. It was a nice portion, not too heavy.

crab sushi next. All fresh crab.

This was delicious. It came in a nicely sized pot -steamed rice with crab. We lifted the wooden cover and ooh, the heady aroma of crab was heavenly.

Crab miso soup to clear the palate.

And dessert was very lovely. Vanilla ice cream with macha poured over it. Sort of like a japanese affogato (affogato is an italian dessert, where expresso coffee is poured over vanilla ice cream). It was good macha with a bitter edge, so it was a lovely dessert that was not too sweet.

delicious and memorable. Thanks for the recommendation, AA!

Kinara @ East Coast Road

Some competition heating up here in East Coast Road.



Just 2 doors away from Chat Masala, is Kinara. The decor is more traditional, with wooden carvings, metal cups, and even a big wooden swing outside.



Let's see how this place measures up, foodwise.



DH ordered a leg of lamb (SGD36 for half portion). It was expensive I think for so little meat. It was tender, but too salty.

This was mushroom methi (SGD12). Also too salty.

The naans were fantastic though. Freshly baked, and served piping hot. They were chewy and delicious. SGD2 each or SGD 6 for a basket of 4 different types of naan.

Hai Tien Lo, Pan Pacific Hotel

Pardon the poor pictures, the lighting was bad in such a posh restaurant.



We were here celebrating DM's birthday so DH chose a lavish set fitting the occasion.



Just a few highlights:



This was braised home-made tofu with bird's nest. It was delicious. Although a waste to use the bird's nest this way. It was, as you would imagine, rather tasteless by itself and absorbed the flavours of the braising stock. White fungus would have done the same job.

This is lobster in a very rich crab roe gravy. It was delicious, but by this time we were really stuffed.

We also had foie gras and lamb etc.

yum.

Cutie really enjoyed himself... He loved having Por Por's birthday cake in front of him... He wanted to blow the candle... and kept giggling when we said... wait, wait for Por Por to blow...

Akashi @ Tanglin Shopping Centre

This was seriously the best meal that I have had in a long long while - in terms of food quality and in terms of company. Thanks very much Mr C!

I didn't want to be rude, so I refrained from taking photos initially... and then really regretted not commemorating this fantastic meal with a gushing blog post.

Here's the menu:

1. amuse bouche: braised swordfish with miso paste

2. grilled shellfish with mentaiko paste (in shell)

3. sashimi - otoro, salmon, hamachi and surf clam

4. grilled pufferfish strips with tobikko mayo

5. shellfish in a huge shell done 2 ways - sashimi and grilled

6. grilled beef short ribs

7. fried whole fish

8. otoro sushi

and so I couldn't stand it any longer and had to take some photos... pardon my rudeness guys.

The most indulgent chawanmushi I have ever had in my life. Chawanmushi with sharks' fin. oooh, delicious. Slippery wobbly chawanmushi paired with combs of sharks' fin.

Then we had clam miso soup, with rice in it. Sort of like teochew seafood porridge. It was very sweet because of all the yummy clam juices.

Platter of Japanese fruits - which were very sweet. I find Japanese fruits somehow a lot sweeter. Wonder how they do it.Thanks TL for introducing this drink to me. Shoju (plum wine) with soda water. Very refreshing!