Oh what a beauty. Sourdough, formed with a brotform. Smells heavenly with that little bit of sour tinge.
No I didn't bake this. I wished I did though but I got this nice loaf from Prive's bakery when one of my best buds proposed to his girlfriend.
Its not that costly as it looks. Only SGD5.60 for this big loaf of artisan bread. Oh, I'd like to drop by and pick up a loaf every now and then. Gotta taste the real thing to be able to have a reference for future bread baking!
I was asked to go on a working trip to Batam few weeks back and got stuck at Harbourfront for almost 2 hours due to some ferry schedule. Where else to go in the morning but to find a cosy place to hang around and have another breakfast... yes the 2nd one. :P
So I popped by Coffee Club which was around the corner, uhm not really cos I just had to ignore Starbucks and McCafe... just because.
Ordered one of their set breakie and this is their regular coffee. Mmmm... pretty decent perk me up or perk me up again, 2nd dose of coffee within an hour. Give me a third one and I'll be as perky as a mutated chipmunk with a sore throat aka Miss E.V.O.O... YUM-O! salt over the shoulder BLEAH....
And the breakie consisted of ciabatta topped with portobello and cheese plus a few drizzle of pesto and omelette with a bunch of wild rocket on top. Not too bad really, all the flavours and texture balanced up pretty well. All that with a coffee for $8 sounds pretty OK for me. YUM-O! * perky smile and knocks himself silly with a stale baguette*
Coffee Club (Harbourfront)
1 Maritime Square
#01-65/66 Harbourfront Centre
Tel: 6271 1885
Operating Hours:
Daily: 8am - 10pm
I've been eating and talking about Noodle House Ken for quite a bit but I've never posted any pictures of their ramen! Noodle House Ken is the place I'd go to when I need my comfort food. The taste and flavour somehow agrees with me so much that I just wanna keep going back for more. If you ask me Santouka or Ken... I'd say Santouka and at the same time pop by Ken's for my next nth bowl of ramen. Amazing innit?
My usual bowl of Char shu ramen with extra egg. Ken is generous with his char shu. His char shu is a bit on the healthy side aka less fat. I'd prefer it with more fats but I'd still be back there more. Go figure. 
This is their cold ramen. Drenched in sesame sauce. Its pretty nice and I only have it when I'm there past 12 midnight and they've run out of $#%#$ soup. You know, after a session of beer guzzling and all you want is that piping hot bowl of ramen... all you get is cold ramen? Yeah.... $#%#$ soup but its all good.
Delicious gyoza that's pan fried and steamed at the same time. They have this cooking device that a little like a cross between a steamer and a shallow fryer. Bottom pan fried till crispy, top soft and succulent. The taste of Ken's gyoza is pretty delicate with a bit of sweetish aftertaste. I think its from the mirin used to marinade the meat. The better half thinks its bland, I think its sublime and my friend Bryan thinks its delicious! Heh... taste IS subjective.
Noodle House Ken is one place that I'd keep going back again and again and again. Oh and for the alcoholics, they serve a variety of cold sake and Japanese beer like Asahi and Yebisu. Love the Yebisu Dark which is a dark lager.
Noodle House Ken
150 Orchard Road
#01-17/18 Orchard Plaza
Tel: 6235 5540
Operating Hours:
Mon-Sat: 12noon - 2pm, 6pm - 2am Closed on Sundays)
After that meal from Da Mario, I was thinking about al cartoccio preparation method of wrapping with parchment paper and foil. Well to keep the long story short, I came up with this. Fusili in homemade tomato based pasta sauce + some IQF large vietnamese clams + prawns.
Notes:
1. Undercook the pasta a bit so that it can continue cooking and absorbing the fluids in the bag.
2. Shucked shellfish cooks faster than unshucked ones.
3. Gotta get the timing right so that the shellfish don't get chewy.
4. Keep the sauce light and more liquid.
5. Learn how to keep the parchment paper sealed. Egg white helps.
6. Cooking at home, somehow its just easier to pop everything into the wok and stir it all up. Its about the same really.
And I'm about 2 weeks late blogging about Menya Shinchan when my food buddies, Camemberu and Keropokman, had gone on with tons of other stuff!
Like both of my foodies compatriots, I was impressed with the HOT TOWELS! +1 for the thoughtfulness.
Plus the statement, Ramen is Art! Indeed it is. After attempting to craft my own ramen from scratch, it is an art and I love this artform!
So this was what I had. Salty Pork ramen. Took the "Rich" aka more arteries clogging pork oil floating on top of the tonkotsu broth. Salty... hmmm... I wished the chef would have scoop another teaspoon of seasalt into the broth. It was pretty bland for my standard which is probably at the level of "ramen whore/will work for ramen/I'd polish your shoes for that thick salty tonkotsu broth". The char shu while NOT as generous as Noodle House Ken or Santouka, it was plenty tasty. Noodles texture was kinda soggy and too soft for my taste as well. I dunno... could the sogginess be due to that we were taking pictures and not eating the ramen immediately? I'd like to visit them again to verify this again. Also I've read on some comments that there are option for firmer noodles. hmmmmm.... 
These were what Camemberu and Keropokman ordered. Keropokman had a miso based ramen with the same black seasoning.
Camemberu had a shio based ramen with scorched sesame and garlic oil seasoning. 
Their reaction to the food was similar to mine, definitely not the best ramen we have tried. However I'd really like to try them out again. I'm a sucker for endearing stories like how the boss left the corporate world to set up Menya Shinchan to pursue and elevate the ramen artform. Reminds me of the story of Ramen Ramen at Railway Mall. However, after trying Ramen Ramen once, I won't be enticed to visit them anymore. I just like the story. 
MENYA SHINCHAN
30 Robertson Quay
#01-05 Riverside View
Tel: 6732 0114
Open daily: 11.30am - 3pm; 6.30pm - 10pm (Sundays from 6pm only)
