20 posts tagged “food”

It's the time of the year to stuff your face again!

Goodies list for CNY 2008:

1. Season pineapple tarts & other biscuits (JB)
2. Koi Kei almond biscuits 杏仁餅 (mini plain, with whole almonds, with black sesame) & sesame biscuits 盲公餅 (Macau)

3. Kee Wah sweet crispies 沙琪瑪 (egg, with walnuts, Taiwanese style) (Hong Kong)
4. Hang Heung wife cakes 老婆餅 & phoenix rolls 鳳凰卷 (Hong Kong)
5. YiKouWei pineapple tarts, love letters with black sesame, green bean biscuits

And what does he recommend? I've added notes from the programme and corrected the awful spelling.

第8集 2007年6月17日
   
1. 咖哩魚頭 (fish head curry)
這裏華人煮的咖哩魚頭甚具印度風味，蔡生吃過也讚不絕口。

我們的餐室 (Our Makan Shop)
74, Race Course Road

[He also recommends Muthu's Curry for Indian-style fish head curry.]

2.炒粿條 (char kway teow)
這是地道風味十足的美食，鑊氣極佳，值得一試。

天香國炒粿條
#01-04, 4A Jalan Batu Hawker Centre

3.羅雜 (rojak)
這是東南亞目前少見的小食，食法就如西方人的沙律，現在會做這個菜式的人已經不多了。

豪華羅雜
Stall no.641, Balestier Food Market
Blk 90, Whampoa Drive

4.海南雞飯 (Hainanese chicken rice)
這裏有正宗的海南雞飯，其風味是其他地方不易嘗到的。

逸群雞飯餐室 (Yet Con)
25, Purvis Street

5.炸香蕉 (goreng pisang)
香蕉食得多，用油炸的香蕉你試過嗎？

炸香蕉
Serangoon Gardens

6. 叻沙 (laksa)
這是地道馬拉菜，廣東地方不易嘗到呢。

加東叻沙 (Katong Laksa)
No.51, No.53 East Coast Road

7.福建炒麵 (fried Hokkien mee)
這裏的福建炒麵做法正宗，口感和在福建吃到的分別不大。

水源福建麵
Sing Lian Eating House, No.549 Geylang Lor 29

8. 辣椒炒蟹 (chilli crab)
這裏的辣椒炒蟹，兩位女主持都大讚好味。

珍寶海鮮 (Jumbo)
East Coast Seafood Centre

[Also recommended is my favourite black pepper crab!]

9.雲吞麵 (wonton noodles)
這裏的雲吞麵與香港的不同，只有豬肉而沒有蝦，味道別具風味。

金記丹戎雲吞麵
#01-113, Chin Sin Huan Eating House
Blk 7, Jalan Batu

I'm disappointed that he missed satay and bak kut teh! I remember some years back, on a local programme, he explained the subtle differences between Hokkien and Teochew bak kut teh, and recommended good places to eat them.

Edited to add one more rec from the final episode (a round-up) of the series:

新加坡炒伊麵 (Singapore-style stirfried yi-mein)
炒伊麵：近年香港也流行過這種炒伊麵，不過新加坡的炒法，與香港又有一點不同，蔡生請當地師父下廚示範。

肥仔榮菜館 (Fatty Weng's)
No. 94 Guillemard Road, Singapore 399717
6345-2702

Ever since I saw that Nanxiang Steamed Bun (of Shanghai Yuyuan fame) had opened an outlet at Bugis, I'd wanted to try it. When I tried it in Shanghai, I thought it wasn't too bad, though I wonder now if it's because we'd queued for so long.

Today, feeling kind of bored, I walked to Bugis for lunch and indulged in their crab and pork xiaolongbao. Verdict: I wouldn't go back again. It wasn't terrible, but it was kind of average. I didn't find the skin too thick, but I did dislike how it kept sticking to my chopsticks, which made eating them rather irritating. The filling wasn't as good as Din Tai Fung's; the pork was gristly and it didn't really taste much of crab, despite the crab shell I kept biting into. As for the soup, it tasted kind of... bland?

The absolute clincher was when, halfway through my meal, I spotted something in my saucer of ginger and vinegar. There was some sort of larva clinging to one of the ginger shreds. I called the waitress, whose response was to give me another container of ginger and a clean saucer. I don't think she apologised. When she walked away, I helped myself to the vinegar from the next table, just in case the larva came from the vinegar on mine.

Round 1: Raffles Hotel
1. Mini Pandan Snowskin with Organic Dark Chocolate and Sunflower Seed
2. Mini Snowskin with Macadamia Gianduja and Sesame Seed (amazing!)

Round 2: Raffles the Plaza Szechuan Court
1. Mini Snowskin Lychee, Almond & Dark Chocolate

Round 3: Peach Garden Chinese Restaurant
1. Mixed Nuts with Ham

Round 4: Kee Wah
1. Mini White Lotus Seed Paste

Round 5: Ritz-Carlton
1. Chocolate Mooncake

Went all the way to Fullerton to check out their Chestnut Amaretto Snowskin. All sold out! ALL their mooncakes. Argh.

I am just so thrilled by the day I had that I have to post this now, despite being dead tired. I had attended the opening of the Singapore Arts Fest last night - very good except I was too short to see what wasn't going on in the air, and the MC was honestly really crap. I got myself a really cute commemorative t-shirt, though.

Of course, I had already celebrated my birthday last Saturday with Jade Greenleaf at Sun With Moon, but the actual day itself was kind of a non-event. I had birthday wishes from as far away as the UK and Australia, and my folks gave me ang baos, but it was still a rather sian way of passing my 30th birthday.

Today was our monthly get-together, and the biggest yet since I started this thing. Aiingel, Cat Flying, enq and JusChev all came, and we were also joined by Dimples from CozyCot. We had a really delicious dimsum meal at Lei Garden (Somerset), where the service - and perhaps the food - was way better than at Crystal Jade Dining IN, and after the meal, the girls surprised me with a cake! It was my favourite cake from Spinelli, Chocolate Chocolate Rumba. I was really touched! Thank you, girls! Especially to enq for ordering and collecting the cake.

(Thanks to enq for the Lei Garden pictures :-) )

I got a lot of stuff today too! Aiingel got me the Russian Doll I requested for from Moscow, as well as something more for my birthday (which she really didn't have to - thank you!) JusChev brought me my KATE cp from Hong Kong. Cat Flying my UD cp from NYC, together with lots of wonderful extras. Thank you so much, everyone, for making this a day to remember :-)

Aiingel and I then shopped till really late. I was looking for a nice pair of dressy thong sandals and also a nice bag to bring to yoga. During lunch, JusChev and enq had suggested the "dumpling" bag from agnès b., so we checked it out at Taka. Service at the shop was kinda lousy though, so we moved off. I was interested in a pair of Nine West shoes, but didn't get them because I wasn't sure of the colour. Later on we went to the agnès b. concession at Isetan Orchard, and had really excellent service there. They had more colours for the size I was interested in too (second largest). Aiingel wanted one too, and we spent too much time deliberating on the colour we wanted. In the end she picked the green (lined in dark grey), and I got the taupe (lined in maroon). This bag is stylish, yet practical. You could take it from work to gym, and it would also be perfect for travel. It's made of sturdy, lightweight nylon, and is very roomy, yet compact. After discounts, it was less than S$160, with is really quite decent for a branded, if not quite "designer", bag. Better value than LeSportSac, which I was also considering.

Aiingel's hubby, D, picked us up and we drove to Serangoon Gardens. It was already 11pm by then and we were pretty much starving. We wandered into Friends At Chomp Chomp. These people are really serious about good food! I indulged in a porterhouse steak, while Aiingel and D had a pizza and pasta respectively. I mentioned that it's my birthday (more or less lah), and the manager brought me a fresh oyster on the house. Mmm! We ate till they were pretty much closed for the night. I think we all agreed that we'd go there again.

[Steak pic HERE ;-)]

Altogether a really excellent day - I think I finally gave my 20s the farewell it deserves :p

Recipe time!

Here's a recipe for Japanese 五目飯 (gomoku gohan) that my mum tried - successfully - today. We first saw it on TVB's 原裝入口 programme, demonstrated by a Japanese expat living in Hong Kong. The recipe in Chinese can be found here. English translation is mine, additions from the actual programme in square brackets.

Ingredients  材料

3 cups (1 cup=180ml) "no-wash" Japanese rice  日本無洗珍珠米 3杯 （*1杯＝180毫升）

300g chicken leg meat  雞腿肉 300克

1/3 carrot  甘筍 1/3條

1/3 fresh burdock [wash well, scrub with a piece of aluminium foil, then shave into slivers with knife]  鮮牛蒡 1/3條

1/2 packet konnyaku strips [rinse and blanche]  蒟蒻絲 1/2包

1 packet shimeji mushrooms  榎木菇 1包

[1 piece kombu (dried kelp)]

Seasoning  調味料

3 cups dashi stock (simmer bonito flakes in water for 5 minutes)  上湯 3杯 （*用木魚花及清水熬製5分鐘即成）

3 tbsp Japanese shoyu  日本醬油 3湯匙

2 tbsp mirin  味醂 2湯匙

1 tbsp sake  清酒 1湯匙

1/2 tsp salt  鹽 1/2茶匙

Garnish  裝飾

a few mitsuba [parsley-like plant] leaves  三葉 少許

Method  做法：

1. Soak rice in mineral water for 30 min and strain.  日本無洗米用礦泉水浸30分鐘後，隔水待用。
2. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, then season with shoyu and sake; wash and julienne carrot and burdock.  將雞肉切粒，用日本醬油和清酒稍醃一會，並將甘筍和牛蒡洗淨切絲。
3. Mix seasoning ingredients together.  預先將調味料攪[拌]備用。
4. Put rice in pot, place a piece of kombu in the middle, then add chicken, other ingredients and seasoning.  放入日本米，再放上一塊昆布在中間，然後將雞肉、其他材料和調味料鋪於煲仔內。
5. With the heat on high, bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and turn the heat down to simmer for 20 min.  開始大火煮、沸後轉細火，煮約20分鐘。
6. When ready, garnish with mitsuba.  煮成後，撒上三葉裝飾即可食用。

Notes:
We used normal Japanese rice, washed with tap water. Also dashi granules to make the stock. Instead of cutting konnyaku into strips, we used shirataki, which is konnyaku in noodle form; it should probably be cut into shorter strands for easier eating. Kombu was omitted since dad doesn't like seaweed of any kind, mitsuba since we didn't buy any. Burdock tastes a bit like ginseng and can be found at Isetan. We used our rice cooker rather than a claypot; this might have made the rice a bit more moist than it should be. 

I received Citibank Platinum Clear and Tangs Visa in the post today. No you didn't imagine it, they did reject my application last month. I was jubilant for a moment, until my dad said that I had better check with them, in case they'd make a mistake. If I tried to use the cards and was rejected, it'd be very lau kui for me. So I called the card centre. No mistake, the CSO said. My application was rejected the first time and approved the second. But I only applied once, I said. Er, he doesn't know what happened either, only that my credit card accounts were open, so there was no mistake. Ooookay.

Had dimsum lunch with the family at Crystal Jade Dining IN. I chose that place because of the view - grandparents had never been to Vivocity before. The food was really rather good, not as bland as one blogger said it was. What really irritated me was the service, specifically the manager's. She was impatient, unattentive and rather rude. The other waitstaff were ok, but there were no regular changes of plates and bowls like I was used to. Yes, it was rather crowded, but that's no excuse, IMO. When we went to the Crystal Jade at Xintiandi in Shanghai, the place was PACKED, but the manager was very helpful.

I went shopping at Vivo later, and was unable to resist stepping into Citigems. I've been there quite a few times recently, but never really found anything I had to have. When they sent me my 50% off voucher, I thought I'd probably let it expire. They're running a Mothers' Day 50% storewide sale this weekend, so when I come away with a sapphire and diamond pendant (happy birthday to me!), I saved my voucher. Anybody for Citigems?

I'm going to wear it with my sapphire and diamond earrings.

As I was browsing, I mentioned to the salesperson that he looked familiar - did he use to work at another outlet? It turned that he's served me a number of times, the first time at Citylink 2 1/2 years ago! Colour me embarrassed! He remembered that 1. I've always worn the same chain (I got only one lah), 2. I have a pink sapphire pendant, 3. I usually come with friends. Oh dear.

Why is being frugal such an uphill struggle?

Went to Kr+ this morning to get new highlights. The service was really quite good, if not quite on par with Le Salon (which I never expected it to be anyway). The staff were friendly; my stylist was Shad Pritchard, technician Jordan Su, both of whom were assigned to me, since I didn't specify a particular stylist. I liked how they really spent time discussing with me to find out what I wanted and didn't want. I didn't want highlights that would turn brassy and dry-looking as they faded. In the end they chose a reddish-violet shade that flatters my bob. When it went on top on my previous highlights it turned a darker brown. It's a bit bright now, but should fade to something more natural after a few washes. I had a $35 off voucher, and so spent $205 in all. Not cheap, but quite a bit cheaper than what it would have cost me at Le Salon. They gave me a 50% off voucher for nail services, but I can't see myself going all the way to Millenia Walk just to get my nails done.

I had a late lunch appointment with J at Menotti, since we could only get the 1-for-1 deal from 3pm onwards. While waiting, I bought a slim Picard cardholder (10% off) and 3 tops from Giordano Ladies (20% off using A's privilege card - in absentia!)

Lunch was excellent, especially the cherry creme brulée I had. And we only spent $33 in all, for 2 pastas, 2 desserts and a double espresso for me.

So I didn't pay full price for anything today! That's something to be proud of, right??

My purchases from Giordano Ladies

The puffed sleeves actually have pleats. I also like how the shell buttons have two holes for the thread at the side of the button rather than in the middle.

This is actually a sheer mesh top that comes in a few different colours. I liked how they layered these two on the mannequin and so decided to get the same two. You can also wear them on their own with a cami underneath.

You know it must have been a particularly blah day if I've had to seek cheap thrills at the supermarket after work. It will seem even sadder when I tell you that I have a shelfful of unfinished snacks in my cubicle. (I have a tendency to buy more than I can eat.)

Damage: wasabi peas, and a couple of new finds.

When I saw these Jaffa Cake Bars, I got a bit excited. Real McVities Jaffa Cakes! Okay, Cake Bars (which are new to me), but could the original Cakes be far behind? I searched the shelves but couldn't find them :( I don't think Cake Bars are quite right - Jaffa Cakes should be round and flat.

But I bought them in the end, and ate one (they are individually wrapped) the moment I got out of Cold Storage. As I'd expected, they're not quite as good as the originals, but beggars can't be choosers.

Second find was nori sheets by Akituya Foods - in a plastic canister! Sheer genius :) I hate how seaweed flakes fall everywhere when I pull the sheets out from a packet. This should be much neater to eat.

Had a lovely dinner with girlfriends last night - thanks, girls!

On M's suggestion (too bad you could not make it!) we went to Café Swiss. The food was pretty good, though the chocolate fondue probably wasn't really worth the money (for one, they couldn't get the chocolate hot enough). As a bonus, we saw the Chingay fireworks from the windows! Of course, the best thing about last night was the company lah ;-)

I'm going to try to make this dinner date a monthly thing, with the next one after I return from Melbourne. Hopefully, being post-CNY, more people can make it then.

Tonight, JJ and JA are coming over for our annual lo hei dinner. Don't remember when this started, but it's become a little tradition of ours, together with our Xmas/NY dinner out. Will get yusheng from Capital again since it's cheap and good, and I don't think the girls have tried it yet.