southernoise gluttony

Beerfest Asia 2009: Beer Samplers

2009-04-28T22:50:00.003+08:00

The good people behind Beerfest Asia send me some samples and I've enlisted my fellow beer fiend Raymond to down em cold ones.

Its only right that we start with the lightest tasting one. San Miguel Super Dry from the Philippines. We both downed this in no time. Verdict: Where's the flavour? Was that beer?

Then its Flying Dog's Old Scratch Amber Lager from US. Verdict: The best brew for the night. Malty with pleasant bitterness and nice toasted malt aftertaste. Will buy this from the stores.

Next off, Negra Modelo from Mexico. Verdict: Overly sweet and not very enjoyable. I was expecting nice malty vienna styled dark beer "think Paulaner Munich Dark" but got something that neither here nor there.

Then its good old Belgium standard Leffe Blonde. Verdict: Fruity, spicy and alcoholic.

Ended it with Oakleaf's Heart of Oak from England. Verdict: Pours murky and flat with zero head. Mouthfeel was watery light not unlike Kilkennys. Tastewise was not that bad with a dry finish and light roasted taste.

Many thanks to Beerfest Asia for the *hics*.

Beerfest Asia 2009

2009-04-28T08:11:00.004+08:00

Beerfest Asia is here in town this week from Wednesday till Sunday @ The Singapore Flyer! Great timing that coincides with Labour day holidays. Good chance to catch up and down a few good quality cold ones, hopefully fresh, with the buds. Website here.

I'm looking forward to taste beers from Flying Dogs, Rogue and Stone Brewing Company, incidentally all from US hmmmm...

From the website:

Tickets are available from BYTES TICKETING now. Visit www.bytes.sg or call hotline 63326919. 15% discount for Citi Clear Platinum credit cardmembers and 10% discount for other Citibank credit cardmembers for Early Bird and At-the-door tickets. Early Bird extended to 3pm, 29 April 2009. Hurry!"

Ciabatta, take two...

2009-03-19T00:08:00.000+08:00

I wasn't convinced that I got the ciabatta recipe and method right, so gotta try it again to make sure that it was no fluke.

Same old recipe and method here, no changes and I got a nice loaf of ciabatta with a thin crispy crust and soft chewy crumb with plenty of holes to pick em dipping sauces. This will be the house specialty for now! Yippeedeedooo!

Yoshimaru Ramen

2009-03-18T07:33:00.001+08:00

oh yes! I was ecstatic when I found out that there is a new proper ramen joint in the West side of Singapore! ya lah like Singapore is damn big like that.... but its a big deal when the ramen withdrawal symptoms gets bad and there are only Ajisen-Ajisen-Ajisen-Ajisen-AND-fricken-Ajisen, Ramen Ramen and Menichi... I'd rather pop open a pack of expensive Sanyo Ramen Hakata Tonkotsu, at least the soup taste right!

Yoshimaru Ramen(Managed by Jumbo Seafood in Singapore) originated from Hakata, Kyushu is now available right in the smack of parking hell... Holland Village. Found out that Hakata style ramen are typically very thin ramen almost like them wanton noodles and not the curly ones I had from Sanyo! Oh well learn something new each day.

Read more here....

I had but of course the Hakata Ramen. It was pretty all right. The noodles were firm and chewy, pretty much like a thinner version of Ajisen's ramen(The only saving grace of Ajisen IMHO) and the soup is rich from all the collagen extracted from pork bones. The ni tamago(seasoned egg) was delicious and charsu pretty all right. Its of the pork belly kind. However, yes... however, being a big fan of Santouka's tonkotsu broth, I must say that Yoshimaru's tonkotsu is a bit one dimensional. Santouka's tonkotsu has many layers of flavour the keeps my taste buds in hyperdrive. Oh and I personally feel that Yoshimaru's level of saltiness is tweaked for the local taste buds aka... not salty enough! :P

That said, I'd love to pop by every now and then into the depths of parking hell called Holland Village and have a pipping hot bowl of ramen at Yoshimaru.

They're now having a preopening discount of 25% before service charge and GST, so bargain hunters... go get em!

Yoshimaru Ramen Bar
31 Lorong Liput Holland Village
Singapore 277742
Tel: 64633132
Fax: 64664522

www.youshimaruramen.com.sg

Opening hours:
Weekdays and Sunday: 1100 - 2300
Friday, Saturday and eve of public holidays: 1100 - 0100

Sanyo Ramen: Hakata Tonkotsu

2009-03-17T22:01:00.003+08:00

Oh hai... got this from Meidiya... 5 packs of ramen for fricken $8.65. Better be worth it!

So its Hakata Tonkotsu style yeah.... instant Tonkotsu? hmmmm....

The packaging looks very convincing...

Ok lah not too bad! Meat balls and sesame seed sold separately! :P

Hakutsuru Draught Sake

2009-03-14T23:32:00.004+08:00

Sake! Oh the lovely delicate aroma, soft and luscious. I'm beginning to appreciate sake more these days as I'm predominantly a beer brewer/drinker. Bad for my wallet but oh hell why not. Life's little pleasures!

Hakutsuru draught sake, which is what they'll call table sake to what table wine is to the wine world. I'm a noob in both departments so I'm learning and groping along the way.

This is relatively an easy drinker, pleasant and just goes down like water. I do not have any good vocabulary in describing sake now but it seems like what it is easy to drink like store bought draught beer.

Ciabatta , great success!

2009-03-10T08:11:00.003+08:00

Very happy with the ciabatta this time.

I've been playing around with Benoit Hogue's Ciabatta recipe @ Allrecipes.com for a while and baked a loaf that I'm pretty much pleased with. Love the holey crumb, great for picking up olive oil and balsamic vinegar!

I changed the process a little bit using the no knead method but did not change the ingredients at all.

Ciabatta(Benoit Hogue@All Recipes) (My notes in italics.)
INGREDIENTS
Sponge
* 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
* 2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1/3 cup warm water
* 1 cup bread flour

Bread dough
* 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
* 2 tablespoons warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 2/3 cup warm water
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 cups bread flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

DIRECTIONS
1. To Make Sponge: In a small bowl stir together 1/8 teaspoon of the yeast and the warm water and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In a bowl stir together yeast mixture, 1/3 cup of the water, and 1cup of the bread flour. Stir 4 minutes, then over bowl with plastic wrap. Let sponge stand at cool room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.
(I used a plastic container with a lid for this and let it ferment in the kitchen at room temperature for up to 24 hours. The sponge smells sour, so its OK, don't bin it!)

2. To Make Bread: In a small bowl stir together yeast and milk and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with dough hook blend together milk mixture, sponge, water, oil, and flour at low speed until flour is just moistened; add salt and mix until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Scrape dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
(I added in the water and the milk into the sponge and stir up the sponge, followed by everything else. Stirred it up a bit till it is well mixed. The consistency is pretty sticky than other bread doughs.)

3. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough will be sticky and full of air bubbles.)
(Left it in the plastic container to rise for around 2-4 hours. I didn't time myself. After that I just dump the container into the fridge and shape the dough the next day.)

Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface and cut in half. Transfer each half to a parchment sheet and form into an irregular oval about 9 inches long. Dimple loaves with floured fingers and dust tops with flour. Cover loaves with a dampened kitchen towel. Let loaves rise at room temperature until almost doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
(I prepared a sheet of parchment paper and spread evenly around 1 teaspoon of olive oil onto the surface. Poured the dough on the parchment paper and flatten it a bit to almost rectangular but try not to squeeze out all the air. I used the oiled parchment paper as an aid to fold the dough like a letter. Lift the top portion of the paper and fold in the dough 1/3 and followed by the bottom 1/3. The olive oil and parchment paper makes it so easy! I tried folding wet doughs with "very well floured kitchen" and it was a bloody mess! Let the loaf rise till double the bulk.)

4. At least 45 minutes before baking ciabatta, put a baking stone on oven rack in lowest position in oven and preheat oven to 425 F (220 degrees C).
(I preheat the oven with the baking tray in the middle and another smaller stainless steel tray on the base for steam)

5. Transfer 1 loaf on its parchment to a rimless baking sheet with a long side of loaf parallel to far edge of baking sheet. Line up far edge of baking sheet with far edge of stone or tiles, and tilt baking sheet to slide loaf with parchment onto back half of stone or tiles. Transfer remaining loaf to front half of stone in a similar manner. Bake ciabatta loaves 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool loaves on a wire rack.
(I used a thin IKEA plastic cutting board to scoop the loaf and then slide it onto the HOT baking tray. Careful not to touch the plastic to any hot surface! Poured a cup of water into the bottom tray and let it sizzle.)

Two Chefs Chze Char @ Commonwealth Crescent

2009-03-07T18:53:00.003+08:00

Makan'ed with a group of old friends at Two Chefs about a week ago. Heard/read/saw this place quite often in blogs, newspaper and TV shows(I think). It was already packed when I got there and thank goodness keropokman was there to "chop" a table.

First we had 2 portions of their cold blood cockles with a very nice tangy soy sauce based dressing, with chopped garlic, spring onion and cili padi. The sauce reminded me something of those store bought Japanese seasoning. The best dish of the night! I'd go back and devour a few more. :P

Then came the Butter Pork Ribs. Its another one of the recommended dish here. Taste great if you like buttery stuff and the pork was well tenderized with baking soda. However this dish can get quite jelak once it turns cold as with any other butter based dishes.

Honey chicken that is well marinated. Pretty good but not to my palate that night. I dunno why. Maybe its just honey chicken.

3 eggs with Kau Kee vegetable otherwise known as Matrimony Vine which I think is another name for Goji Berry/Wolfberry plant leaves. Ahh learn something new each day. Always love this dish. Nom nom nom nom nom....

Fried Yam Fries! Too much starch for the night! Pretty nice if you like yam as the yam they use is quite fluffy, probably of the Thai variety.

Cereal prawns. OK lah as I prefer my cereal prawns to be more heavy handed in curry leaves and chilli padi. They used pretty large prawns and was succulent and fresh.

I thought their chilli crabs were a bit on the sweet side. Definitely tasted better versions else where. Consolation is the crabs were fresh with the white firm flesh separating easily from the shell.

Two Chefs is located at one of the 4 corners of coffee shops at Commonwealth Crescent otherwise known as Tanglin Halt "Chap Lak Lau"(16 storey in Hokkien).

Two Chefs,
Blk 116 Commonwealth Crescent,
#01-129
Singapore 140116
Tel: 64725361, 94379712

Light Whole Wheat Bread

2009-02-22T01:41:00.007+08:00

I've been experimenting with "Bread Improver" from Phoon Huat to make softer bread as the better half prefers her bread to be softer and not as rustic as those big chunk o' crumb that I like so much. Oh well, one batch rustic, one batch mr. softee.

For the purists, using bread improvers are an absolute NO-NO for home baking but I'm no purist and I use canned chicken/pork broth(*1), MSG(*2) and prepared basil paste(*3) when I cook. So there. ;)

I adapted this light whole wheat bread recipe from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Half all the portions, made a sponge the day before and in the fridge for a day before baking.

Ingredients for Sponge to be prepared a day in advance
1/2 cup plain flour
1/8 tsp yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water

Ingredients for bread dough
1 cup lukewarm water
3/4 tbsp granulated yeast
3/4 tbsp coarse seasalt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1 tbsp of bread improver

1. Mix the ingredients for sponge in a plastic tub and leave it covered overnight
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients for the bread dough together with 1) and let it rise for 2 hours room temperature.
3. Chill the dough in the fridge for a day or so.
4. Shape the dough and let it rest on parchment paper for around 30-40 minutes. I'd normally leave the parchment paper on my cutting board.
5. Preheat the oven the 230 deg C. I'd normally leave a baking tray in the middle rack and a pan at the bottom for steam creation.
6. Slide the dough together with the parchment paper onto the hot baking tray. Pour in a cup of water into the bottom pan for steam. The steam allows the bread to spring up beautifully in the oven.
7. Bake for around 30 minutes till brown and firm.

Fluffy airy whole meal bread thats light. Taste great toasted with balsamic vinegar/olive oil and also as bruschetta.

*1: I used to boil me own chicken/pork broth with chicken carcasses/pork bones and freeze em but lately I can't afford the luxury of time to prepare all these. I still love to cook and no homemade broth is NOT going to deter me from cooking.
*2: MSG must be used with finesse. Its not the end of the world if you use it and the kitchen gods ain't gonna whip yer ass for it.
*3: Basil is some sort of an EXPENSIVE herb where I come from. SGD1.95 for a few measly sprigs of basil is not the type of money that I'm willing to pay when I need a big bunch of basil to make pesto sauce. Give me those prepared basil paste anytime. I know fresh is best but I don't have that kinda fresh wads of cash all the time. Oh maybe when I start my lil own herb garden next time then fresh CAN be best.

Him Heang Beh Teh Sor

2009-02-13T00:54:00.002+08:00

My all time favourite Beh Teh Sor from Penang. Teh best of teh best.

A Taste Of Home

2009-02-05T23:35:00.000+08:00

Do check out this site, A Taste of Home for some recipe's from our very own local celebrity chef's and food writers.

Nicely done and I'd probably attempt some of the recipe's down the road, especially the Chef Ronnie Chia's Teriyaki Chicken, Gina Choong's Hokkien Kiam Png and Christopher Tan's Bakwan Kepeting.

Little Creatures direct, finally!

2009-02-03T22:58:00.003+08:00

I was given this link possibly from the good people behind Barley Brothers Beer Importers Pte Ltd. They are the ones responsible for bringing in one of my favouritest ale Little Creatures Pale Ale. Furthermore, I found out that they have Rogue's Ale as well. Hot damn.

I feel so lucky to be here in this country now. Flying Dogs, Little Creatures and Rogue's. I'll drink to this, that and that!

Now my trigger happy fingers are itching to order a case of Little Creatures Pale Ale. Question is, why buy when I can brew? Next question would be, I'd still go out to drink em anyway! BUY!

Little Creatures Pale Ale. Its teh addiction.

2009 Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner in Batu Pahat

2009-02-01T01:04:00.007+08:00

Been too busy(lazy!) to post up stuff since my short holiday to Bali a few weekends back. Guess my lazy fingers went to Bali and never did came back... hur hur hur...

Onwards to something that is more current, Chinese New Year's eve dinner! It was a blast as I offered to cook for the family! Don't wanna waste all the cooking lessons that I've been attending, I told me old folks back home that I'll settle the dinner for em.

One thing for sure it was quite a challenge to get the food out on time while trying to stay focused especially with mum hanging around trying to get things done her way... hur hur hur. I managed to get her out of the kitchen. Peace and quiet at last! Sis in law was around to help me as I realised halfway, no way am I gonna get all these dishes done on time.

Pardon the bad pictures and poor plating. I was too flustered to get everything down perfect.

First up, Cold poached chicken with spicy soy sauce(no where to be found in the picture!). First time cooking "pak kai"(White chicken) and deboning it some more! Oh oh and skinless too. I guess it was quite all right as no one complained. I would've kept the skin on though. Ha!

Second one, Mani Chai(Cangkok Manis:Sarawakian) cooked with 3 type of eggs, fresh chicken eggs, salted eggs and century eggs. I was lucky to be able to find Mani Chai at Carrefour in Batu Pahat. Guess what? A huge bunch for only RM0.50. WHOAAAA, my eggs were more expensive than the vege! Looking back at the photo, I should have prepared more gravy and the eggs were a bit overcooked. Better luck next time! This is a buddhist(without the 5 pungent spices) Lacto-ovo vegetarian version for my brother.

"Hay Cho" or minced prawn/pork rolls with kumquat sauce(again nowhere to be found in the picture). I liked this best, Chef Yong's recipe is spot on and his sauce is a refreshing change from the boring old plum sauce! One thing I realised is that I can never coat the potato starch evenly before frying. Look at all those ugly white spots. Must ask the Chef next time I see him!

Cereal prawns! I got a big bunch of HUGE frozen tiger prawns with shell on for only SGD8.00 @ Sheng Siong(they can has everthings!) and just have to cook this. I should've added MORE curry leaves and chilli padi. Will improve on this the next time!

Coffee chicken fillet! Its supposed to be pork like those "Pai Kut Ong"(pork prime ribs?) but I totally forgotten to get my supplies from MMMM. It was supposed to be done with Kurobuta pork... always get the best for the family! Oh well, I couldn't find any nice looking fresh pork on Chinese New Years Eve and had to make do with chicken fillet. They seemed to like it though, so its all good!

Sauteed portobello with butter and black pepper. Looks ugly but tasted pretty nice I must say so myself. Brother gave his nod of approval. Yay!

Braised monkey head shrooms, shitake, radish, carrots and black fungus with sichuan peppercorn. Another vegetarian dish for me bro. Mum quite liked this. Yay!

Fish maw soup, SAY NO SHARKSFIN! This is sure one ugly photo. heh heh...

All in all I'm quite proud to be able to pull this off and the best part, appreciation from the family. Nothing beats their nods of approval, praise and encouragement after tasting the food. It beats any other feeling in this world!

Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant

2009-01-14T20:19:00.004+08:00

Sharks fin… oh my. I still remember my first bowl of premium full sized fin in a piping hot personal claypot courtesy of a VERY rich contractor many many many moons back (when I could still fit into size 30 jeans!) @ a Chinese Thai restaurant at Jalan Legundi, Sembawang. It was delicious! Was it the fin or the starchy superior soup? Or was it the “prestige” of having a full sized fin in a personal claypot?

Then I had oodles more “inferior” ones and some occasional decent ones down the road served in many Chinese wedding dinners. Relatives, colleagues and friends. Almost every wedding dinner banquet will serve this. Some as bland as cornstarch thickened tap water with loaded with MSG.

Then I watched a documentary on TV showing fishermen hauling up sharks, cutting up their fins and throwing them back into the sea. The sharks were still alive when they threw them in mind you. Disgusting.

Then I swore not to eat sharks fin anymore. It’s just not worth it. TV propaganda + 1. Ah Seng – 0. Ok not really… but I realised it was that starchy SOUP that gave me the umami kick and not the fins.

However, I do like shark meat though. Teochew economical rice stalls would normally have something like baby sharks chopped up and cooked together with salted vegetables, tomatoes and chilli. Hypocritical maybe, but what’s worse? Kill the little babies before letting them grow up full size to be finned alive. I don’t know how to justify myself when it comes down to the nitty gritty. However, my tastebuds tell me that REAL shark’s fin is NOT necessary to make a good bowl of “sharks fin” soup. Period.

All I know is if you’re gonna kill an animal for food, make good use of it. That’s why I love teh pig. *snort*

Ok enough of rambling. I was pretty excited when a group of us were invited by lovesharks.sg to dine @ Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant, Quality Hotel for their Chinese New Year set dinner featuring vegetarian sharks fin soup. I was looking forward to see if a vegetarian based soup stock would give me that umami punch that a meat based superior stock of jinhua ham, dried scallops and chicken would give.

The first dish prosperity yu sheng. The mock fish meat if coloured more intense deep maroon would look like tuna! Ha…. Not a big fan of yu sheng but I do enjoy tossing it up mumbling nonsensical lucky phrases that wouldn’t make a difference in life if the person is lazy and won’t work hard and smart for their own future. Bleah…

I tried shooting a few shots using my semi retired DSLR but wised up to put it back into bag. The Panasonic LX3 did a much better job. Yeah I know, it’s so easy to blame the gear rather than the skills of a photographer.

The much anticipated vegetarian sharks fin soup.

I’ll have to say, ho hum. Lacks the umami and complexity of a superior stock used in the regular sharks fin. The mock fins were pretty decent but would be better if it had a bit more bite.

IMHO, to convince a shark’s fin soup enthusiast to abstain from sharks fin, keep the soup as is (non vegetarian superior soup stock) and scrap the fins. Use alternatives such as mock fins made from mung bean and I believe that there’s another version out there that’s even more “authentic” but I can’t find any reference to it yet. You can substitute the fins with sharks fin melon if you’re not so discerning about the mouth feel. Fish maw would make me more than happy though.

Caltrops with hairy mushroom

This I like. I’ve always like the texture of hairy mushrooms aka monkey head mushrooms. Caltrops look like mini buffalo horns when unpeeled. Its teh DEVIL!

Spicy pan-fried vegetarian fish

Cod fish! Ha…. I like it for what it is… TOFU. The bell pepper sauce was a wee bit too sourish, probably from rice vinegar. Cut back a bit on the vinegar and I’ll eat it again.

Fresh mushroom with asparagus.

This dish itself is decent and nice but keep that ready made store bought ice cream cones to the general consumer grade ice cream. Store bought ice cream cones has got no place in a dish like this. The flavours clashed. It would have scored if the cones were freshly made, thin and crispy.

Fruity almond rolls with otah

This one reminds me of banana fritters. I didn’t like the pairing of fruity almond rolls with the otah. No harmony when eaten together-gether.

The otah looks strangely like real fish otah of the Muar variety!

Stewed chestnuts with golden fungus

I think we all agreed that this was the best tasting dish of the night. Funny, it was the accompanying ingredients like monkey head mushrooms, radish and mock tendons that stole the show from the featured chestnuts and golden fungus. Never been a big fan of chestnuts. The monkey head mushrooms and radish were stewed to perfection. Very nice!

I like this so much that I rushed out the next day to buy a pack of monkey head mushroom! I'll try to attempt this for the coming Chinese New Year reunion dinner as my eldest bro is a full time vegetarian.

DOG MEAT?!?!?!?!?! damn wrong!

Ok... back to the food!

Chicken rice balls...

...and mock chicken

I can’t say I really like this. I’d prefer the regular MSG laden vegetarian soy “chicken” rice from vegetarian stalls at hawker centres. Nevertheless +1 for the effort and staying current with the chicken rice ball trend if there is one to start with…. Note: Malacca chicken rice balls are over rated. It tastes like… chicken rice.

Osmanthus pudding with xue lian

Normally when I see any jelly like dish as a dessert, I’m already half expecting the jelly to be soft, insipid and tasteless. However this dish proved me wrong. It was firm and refreshing with nice bits stuff to chew on that is quite foreign to me plus the sweet/sour berry like puree.

Check out what the rest of my fellow bloggers thought of the food and their views on shark conservation.

Keropokman
Camemberu
Ladyironchef
Superfinefeline

Kudos to lovesharks.sg for hosting this event and more importantly for taking the initiative and effort to raise awareness for shark conservation. Please visit lovesharks.sg to find out more about shark conservation.

Its an uphill climb with all the naysayers, the ignorant ones, the ones living in denial that the WHOLE shark is used and of course the one who chooose to order and consume sharksfin. Also the constant bickering amongst those militant activists who are supposed to be for the cause but being militants as they are their cause is way more benevolent than others. Get a life, get a grip. The world is so full of hate, every little bit counts. Let those who can only afford to do that little bit of positivity do what they can and those who can do more do more. Its not a race, its not a competition.

*Reading the comments on my fellow bloggers only shows the tunnel vision of some anonymous losers who are just around to troll blogs.

Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant
2nd level, Quality Hotel
201 Balestier Road
Singapore 329926

Hours: Open daily, Lunch: 1130hrs - 1500hrs, Dinner: 1800hrs - 2200hrs
Tel: 6254 0090

Sourdough

2008-12-23T01:03:00.004+08:00

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!

Breakfast @ Coffee Club Harbourfront

2008-12-13T02:07:00.004+08:00

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

Noodle House Ken

2008-12-07T19:16:00.004+08:00

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)

Fusili al cartoccio

2008-12-06T02:24:00.003+08:00

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.

Menya Shinchan

2008-12-02T00:05:00.008+08:00

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)

Da Mario Pizzeria

2008-11-21T00:57:00.002+08:00

So Camemberu, Keropokman and I finally decided that talk does not cook rice... or pasta. We headed down Da Mario Pizzeria and we fell in love the food there... or something like that.

While we were deciding on what to eat, they served us with a complimentary basket of bread. I was looking for olive oil + balsamic vinegar dip... but alas, beggars cannot be choosers, its our first time there, its complimentary, its not nice to ask for freebies on top of freebies... ;)

We ordered calamari as I "overheard" earlier on that Mario mentioned out loud to another table that "Teh calaaahmaaareeeee eessss freessssh!" ahhh... love the Italian accent! The batter used for this calamari is quite different from the pretty standard boring same old same old batter used everywhere else. Little bit more crunchy, little bit more floury, little bit nicer and not oil soaked. The tartare sauce dip was also light and tasty. Calamari is otherwise commonly known as Sotong(Malay) in Singapore and Malaysia.

I've been secretly craving for parma ham and rock melons for quite a while since my last visit to La Noce. I was delighted that Mario's had an antipasto salad that has a bit of everything(Grilled eggplant/zucchini, sundried tomatoes, buffalo mozarella with fresh tomatoes, parma ham with rock melons, some greens and olives) and even happier that we decided to order it. On paper $30 for a plate of salad seems expensive but the quality of ingredients used were impeccable plus the LARGE serving makes it pretty bang for the buck! See those lovely purple/green olives? I so glad that I have food buddies that dislikes olives. nom nom nom....

We were quite overwhelmed by the various type of pizzas and pastas in the menu so we asked for recommendations. We were told that the Spaghetti al cartoccio was quite popular together with their Pizza Rustica and we went ahead with the recommendations.

Serving pasta al cartoccio means to cook the pasta, sauced, wrapped in parchment paper and then bake. Cooking like this takes some L337 skillz to get the timing right else the pasta and shell fish may be overcooked or undercooked or both extremes. They got the seafood right but the pasta was too soft for my liking.

We had a little incident with one of the mussels with its beard still stuck. I was quite peeved as this has happened to Camemberu before at another coffeeshop Italian stall that need not be named. They just have to "keep on cooking" but I digress. ;) Without going into details, Mario came out to explain the cooking method, showed us the frozen mussels, apologized eventually, threw in a tiramisu, which was NOT the purpose of our feedback, we'd like to pay and we're able to pay for our food thank you very much, nevertheless a nice gesture and all was good after that.

IMHO, any restaurant worth its salt would make sure that slip ups like this should not have happened or in any case if it did, not let pride take over, own up and all would be good.

The pizza was OK for me but Keropokman and Camemberu seems like it a lot. Ah taste IS subjective!

Their tiramisu is delicious! A little easy on the alcohol but is still a very nice piece of tiramisu. I'll definitely bring the better half over to try this.

I'd love to pop by this place as often as I can to sample more of Mario's creation. Both Keropokman and Camemberu agrees as well.

Da Mario Pizzeria
60 Robertson Quay
#01-10 The Quayside
Tel: 6235 7623
Open Tue to Sun: 12noon - 3pm, 6pm - 10.30pm (closed Mondays)

Vietnamese coriander

2008-11-16T03:41:00.004+08:00

I've just learn something new at 3:44am loaded with Flying Dog's Imperial Porter.

Vietnamese Coriander = Laksa Leaves(Singapore) = Daun Kesom(Malaysia)

Just by reading Vietnamese Herbs thro Rasa Malaysia's guest post by White on Rice Couple on Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls. All these while I was thinking it was Culantro(Mexico) = Wild Coriander = Phak Chii Farang(Thai) = Ketumbar Jawa(Malay)

And I also googled into this website that has pretty good information of herbs and spices.

Teh internet... can't live without it.

Bobby's Taproom/Grill/Ribs

2008-11-14T02:00:00.004+08:00

Today Southernoise will write in third person just for the heck of it and he will never do it again. Evaaahhhh. If he ever refer to himself as Southernoise on this blog again... please hit him on the back of his head, poke his eyeballs and kick him in the ass the next time you see him.

Camemberu, Keropokman and Southernoise went to the market... lets do this again.

Camemberu, Keropokman and Southernoise went to Bobby's at the newly revamped Cuppage Terrace for an invited food tasting session to promote their Festive Set Dinner Menu available from 15-23 December 2008. Southernoise was late due to the bad weather and traffic, however he reached just in time before the salad was served.

Festive Tossed Salad with Honey Baked Ham

Southernoise felt that the salad was not a good representative the capabilities of the restaurant and the chef. He felt that the greens could have been more crisp and crunchy, in other words fresh. The vinaigrette dressing was not balanced, tilting towards balsamic vinegar sourness. He agrees with Camemberu that the ham would be nicer in shavings rather than chopped. Also he thinks that homemade croutons should be used. Southernoise is being honest and not snotty here as he is a big fan of salads.

Grilled Dory Fillet with Sorrel Cream Sauce
Fillet of Beef with Signature Mushroom Sauce(Hidden at the back)

Southernoise went "mmmmmm..." when he tasted the fish. Well seared and the accompanying sorrel sauce was a very good blend together with the mashed pumpkin. He was wondering what sorrel sauce was till he googled it up now. And now he knows that sharp taste almost being spicy but not the familiar spicy was from sorrel a herb/plant. Commonly used as an ingredient to sauces that goes very well with fish. Common in French cuisine. Kudos to the chef for this. Southernoise would go back to Bobby's again for this fish.

The Fillet of Beef he felt was competent with the use of the fillet cut to ensure tenderness. Beef was done just nice. He has no complaints here.

In the set menu, there's another item which is the Grilled Turkey Breast topped with Chestnut Stuffing and Giblet Gravy Side with Cranberry Sauce. This was not served during the tasting session but Southernoise thinks its sounds absolutely like Christmas.

Bobby's Signature BBQ Babyback Pork Ribs

Camemberu, Keropokman and Southernoise was quite surprised when 2 plates of ribs was served. Nice.

Southernoise took a small portion of the ribs as he is NOT a fan instant Hickory Flavoured BBQ sauce that is commonly slathered all over ribs served at other establishments. However he regretted as Bobby's ribs were not slathered with this pungent repulsive sauce. Instead it tasted pretty good! He had a portion that was a bit dry but ribs being ribs, there are portions that are drier than the rest.

We were told that the ribs are available for takeaways.

Chocolate Log Cake

Southernoise impression of logcakes are generally very sweet, very dense cakes with plenty of cream. However the ones served at Bobby's is light and not overly sweet.

Check out Camemberu's and Keropokman's review of Bobby's.

Bobby's @ Cuppage, Orchard
25-27 Cuppage Road
Cuppage Terrace
Singapore 229454

Tel : 6734-3323
Hours: Open daily, 12pm to 12am (Sun-Tues), 12pm - 2am (Wed-Sat)
Website: http://www.bobbys.com.sg

Pumpernickel

2008-11-11T11:05:00.006+08:00

With a name as cute as Pumpernickel, I can't help but not to ignore this recipe. Bits of cocoa power, instant coffee and molasses into the no knead recipe... whalllaaaa.... tasty, tasty yummy bread!

I've been eating and drinking waaay too much for the past few days, its bordering on ridiculous!

This is gonna be my "healthy" dinner for the next few days as the better half is out on business. Gonna pair it up with beer butt chicken and plenty of fresh salad.

Here's a shot of the "shaped" dough all risen. I still suck in the dough shaping department but I'll get there!

Did a corn starch wash over and slice it up with parallel cuts.

Out from the oven! Delicious looking thing....

I can has PUMPERNICKEL! lulz

Wholemeal Bread

2008-11-06T22:35:00.003+08:00

Oh hai... its been a while again. Too busy with so many things, blogging took a back seat but I've been eating, cooking and taking pictures.

I've been baking bread using "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" method. Get the book man. Its so easy to bake bread, tasty ones AND often.

So this is how the dough looks like in a 4L plastic tub.

This is how it looks like fresh from the oven.

Tasty crunchy crust and chewy crumb. nom nom nom nom nom...

And pair it up my chicken salad.

More pictures of bread coming up.

Foodbuzz Publisher Community Launches

2008-10-14T15:10:00.003+08:00

I've not been posting for a while as I was busy as a bee from work, getting drunk like a fish(not really!) from Singapore Beer Fest and ended up being sick as a dog. :P There's a strange flu bug going on here in Singapore. Seems like everyone is getting all sniffy and hoarse. My bad bad throat is getting better at the expense of my poor tastebuds with help from heavy doses of antibiotics. Everything taste like medicine and every swallow, even my own saliva, is a pain. Ah but its getting better!

This post is about the official launch of Foodbuzz.com, a great online networking portal for foodies. I've joined Foodbuzz as a Featured Publisher since sometime May this year and its been good fun checking out recipes, blogs and delicious photos of food PLUS all the nice surprises I've been receiving in the mail and Paypal from them. If you love food and if you're traveling around the world in search of good food, you should pay Foodbuzz a visit. Plus if you have a food blog, drop me a mail at edwinths AT gmail DOT com and I'll send you some info.

Big cheers to Foodbuzz!

DIY Bread

2008-09-21T23:43:00.003+08:00

Been messing around with bread recently. Always wanted to bake my own loaf but my first loaf while smelling good was a hunk of rock, too little water. :(

This was my 2nd attempt. A simple focaccia with some parmesan cheese, black pepper, paprika and sea salt. Not too bad though... but can be better.

Focaccia bread(adapted from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food)
2 teaspoon dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
Add and mix well:
1/4 cup unbleached white flour(I used bread flour)
1/4 cup rye flour(I used semolina flour)
Allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes
Mix together in another bowl:
3 1/2 cup unbleached white flour(Bread flour)
1 teaspoon salt
Stir this into the yeast and flour mixture with:
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup olive oil
Knead until soft and elastic.
Put the dough in a large bowl, cover and let double in size around 2 hours.
Shape the dough in a generously oiled pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoon of olive oil.
cover and let double in size around 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 230 deg C
Sprinkle some salt on the dough and place it at the bottom tray of the oven for around 20 - 25 minutes.

Wanna try a sour dough style soon.

Japanese Ramen in the West?

2008-09-10T01:30:00.004+08:00

And it is not from Ajisen? I was quite delighted when I passed by a new ramen joint in the new food extension focusing on Japanese food located at the basement of Jurong Point.

Menichi Japanese Ramen, never heard of it before, so try lah. I did try to google it up to find out more but zilch info. So I wonder if the "With 30 years of experience in Japanese ramen kitchens, the grand chef of Men Ichi is certainly not one to compromise on standards" is just a marketing blurb or...

Then I noticed that their email ends with res.com.sg which means that they're under the same umbrella of Kuriya, Kuishin-bo, Ichiban Boshi etc.

Never mind, the proof is in the tasting...

Prices seems quite reasonable... and they have some spicy ramen thingie with varying amount of spiciness not unlike the grand old dame of localized Singapore ramen, Beppu Menkan.

Ordered a bowl of their Char Siew Ramen in tonkotsu based soup.

And the Buta Kakuni cos I just can't resist pork belly.

And how was it? It was palatable, nothing to shout about or go crazy to text all my friends to check out this place.
1) The soup could've been saltier, more robust and ahem... oilier. Its just too healthy for a tonkotsu(I'm basing on Santouka's offering) and it reminded me of the instant soup base sachet from Ajisen takeaway ramen. Oh no...
2) The noodles were cooked just nice but if you hate Ajisen's noodles, you won't like this cos its of the similar kind. Personally, I don't mind it at all.
3) "Generous" serving of 5 thinly sliced tender char shu. Their char shu are of the pork belly variety and is pretty plain in flavour. While I love everything pork but I'd much prefer the shoulder cut char shu. Noodle House Ken's come to mind, oh I need to pay my monthly pilgrimage there soon.
4) The ni tamago or seasoned egg was too plain as well. Needed more soaking time in the sauce. However the egg was cooked just nice, with some soft yolk.
5) The buta kakuni was pretty all right but too thinly sliced. I like the chunks at Marutama but oh... the price difference, so its fine.

I'll go a few more times to check out their other stuff by virtue of them being so close from my work place.

Menichi Japanese Ramen
1 Jurong West Central 2
B1-54 Jurong Point
Tel: 67945125
1130am - 1000pm, last order at 930pm

I can has Delirium Tremens?

2008-08-30T17:42:00.002+08:00

Not this delirium tremens! But this....

What a lovely Belgium beer! Brewed by Brewery Huyghe NV, its packaged in a super funky "ceramic" like bottle which is actually plastic film and features its signature pink elephant. Now pink elephants... I wonder if I imbibe enough of these potent 9% ABV brew would I be able to see them pink elephants?

Its smells typically of a Belgium strong ale which is bready, malty and with plenty of yeast aromas plus a bit of that medicinal scent. Not one overpowering the other but finely balanced.

Tastewise its very complex with citrus, apple, apricots and hops bitterness coming in and out. Even with the high alcohol content, it does not have that sharp fusel alcohol bite like some other Belgium beer.

Not a session beer where you can drink loads of it but a nice one to end the day with. Worth drinking again!

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

2008-08-29T00:02:00.002+08:00

Had a bunch of crispy bacon bits that I made over some leftover streaky bacon in the fridge. You know them little bunch of perishable something in the fridge waiting to turn bad? Yeah those… ;)

Saw some nice fresh great looking small'ish medium portobellos and had to get the bacon bits in there!

Prepared them with a drizzle of olive oil, chopped enoki mushrooms, bacon bits, chopped cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, sprinkle of ground black pepper and paprika. Put it in the toaster oven for around 15 minutes or so at 200 deg C.

Spicy pepper paste pork

2008-08-24T15:05:00.003+08:00

Whipped up a quick meal by stir frying a bunch of pork to go with white rice.

Marinated around 200g of slices of tender pork loin with this korean sauce called "Wormtree Vinegared Hot Pepper Paste" around 2 tablespoon of it, 1 tablespoon of cooking sake, 1 tablespoon of Hua Tiaw Chiew, 1 teaspoon of mirin and some ground black pepper. Put aside in the fridge for around 30 minutes.

Julienned some carrots, sliced some garlic and prepared some spring onions.

Heat up wok, add garlic, fry till slightly golden and add in carrots. Then dump in the pork and stir fry till cooked. Throw in the spring onions just before scooping up from the wok.

Here's how the sauce looks like. Taste great when added to instant Korean Kimchi ramen... :)

Sauce ingredients

Diced longbean omelette

2008-08-23T00:41:00.004+08:00

This is one of our favourite dishes for dinner. Long beans aka kacang panjang(Malay)aka chaitao(Hokkien) a relatively inexpensive vegetable are traditionally(as far as I know ;)...) stir-fried with sambal and dried shrimp, added into sayur lodeh or various kinds of curry, nasi ulam(malay styled chopped raw veggies with rice) and all diced up in an omelette.

IMHO, omelettes are one of those easiest thing to cook and eat with rice. You can dump in anything from crispy ikan bilis to chives to spring onions to leeks to prawns to almost anything in the fridge. Comfort food at its best!

I diced a bunch of longbeans, a medium carrot and minced a few cloves of garlic. Stirfried in a wok with a bit of oil. While its cooking, beat 3 eggs, seasoned with a dash or two of fish sauce, some chinese wine, dash of sesame oil, pinch of pepper and salt. Pour it over the vegetables, let it set, quartered and then flipped to make sure both sides are evenly browned. Done!

Wonton Soup

2008-08-21T00:57:00.005+08:00

Wontons! Little parcels of food! I saw Jaden's video on how to wrap wontons into little gold ingots and I told myself, I gotta try this.

Its a lot of fun really to wrap wontons, making little bits of marinated meat and wonton skin into these cute little wraps.

In addition to Jaden's recipe, I added some chopped water chestnuts and diced prawns into the mince meat. Oh and the process of peeling water chestnuts was a major pain in the backside. This I didn't enjoy at all.

The wontons were delicious and I like the extra crunch from the water chestnuts plus the savoury seafood flavour of the prawns.

Nom nom nom nom nom....

Herbed butter rice with Siobak

2008-08-19T00:36:00.003+08:00

So whats good to go with the Siobak? Plain white rice? hmmm boring... So how about herbed butter rice? Yeah... so thats what I did.

Herbed butter rice(for 1 big eater or 2 medium portions)
1 cup Thai Hom Mali rice
10g pack of unsalted butter
1-2 cups of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of raisins
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper
1 pinch and a bit more of dried basil leaves

Rinse the rice only once and add in enough chicken stock to meet the 1 cup mark in the rice cooker. I have a small little rice cooker with a max capacity of 3.5 cups cos I cook for 2 most of the time and I don't really need some huge ultra modern rice cooker with fuzzy logic that would even do your laundry. Then again, it'll be nice to own one!

Dump in the rest of the ingredients and cook as usual. When the rice is cooked, fluff it up, mix the herbs and raisin evenly and keep warm for a while more to rest.

Served with siobak and it was wowee zoweee... nom nom crunch nom nom nom....

Sio Bak (Roasted Pork Belly) Part 2

2008-08-17T23:29:00.004+08:00

The image and taste of crispy roasted pork skin kept replaying in my head... gotta make some... gotta make some!

Bought a nice 1.6kg slab of pork belly from the butcher. Prepared it like the last time and roasted it in the oven at 200 deg C. Used a fork this time round to poke the skin till my whole arm went numb. Worth it though, the crackling turned out super nice!

Looks a bit burned in some places but easily scraped off. Nom nom *crunch* nom nom nom...

Peri peri grilled chicken salad

2008-08-12T14:39:00.006+08:00

I can't believe I ate this for lunch. No way... salad? huh?

Got a pack of salad mix from Cold Storage and found out that its from Genting Highlands, Malaysia. Wow. I've always associated that place with gambling and vice not agriculture. It says Genting Garden, and its a mix of Lollo Rossa, Lollo Bionda, Butterhead, Frisse, Mizuna, Celery Leaf and Radicchio. I don't know a single one of them other than Butterhead but I've definitely eaten all of them before! Time to do more reading.

Dress with a simple vinaigrette recipe adapted from Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food. Rule of thumb is to have 1 parts vinegar to 4 parts oil.

Vinaigrette (For one serving)
1 teaspoon of Balsamic Vinegar
A squeeze of lemon
Pinch of salt
Pinch of fresh ground pepper
Stir the above in a fairly large bowl and add around 2 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil till it taste right.
Mix in the washed salad leaves properly spin dried to allow the dressing to coat the leaves.

I topped that up with some boiled eggs, green olives and sliced Peri peri grilled chicken to make it a complete meal. Yah right...

Peri peri grilled chicken
1/2 a chicken breast sliced to 3 parts and marinated with the following for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Pinch of salt
Pinch of fresh ground pepper
Glug of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of Hickory liquid smoke
1 tablespoon of Extra Hot Peri Peri Sauce
1 tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

Heat up the toaster oven to max and melt a bit of butter on the aluminium foil lined tray.
Coat the chicken with the butter both sides and bake till it looks right, probably around 7-10 minutes.
Let it rest for a bit to absorb the juice before slicing the chicken.

Needless to say, I was hungry the next hour and had a bowl of instant ramen. Hur hur hur...

The Lard Brothers

2008-08-09T16:14:00.006+08:00

Not really food related... but with a name like The Lard Brothers, its gotta be! Their FREE album is launched today on their label's website Aging Youth and this blog's food photos are featured on their album sleeves! Clickity click. Its free!

Miharu Sapporo Ramen

2008-08-01T00:30:00.004+08:00

YOOOOO FOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! RAMEN AGAIN DESUUU............

Ok too much Hardgay here. :P

This is Miharu's Tokusen Tonshio. Tonkotsu broth with salt as seasoning plus lovely lovely Sapporo Nishiyama noodles imported from Hokkaido. Think of the noodles texture to be a bit "similar" to Korean thick Nong Shin instant noodles. Thicker than your regular instant nooodles but with enough bite and springiness.

Comes with a slice of charshu, half an egg, bamboo shoots, sweetcorn and a piece of seaweed. I love it but just slightly less than Santouka. Santouka is still love for me.

Oh and I remember eating them a while back before this blog even started was that their bamboo shoots were damn smelly, almost can fight with those bottled Taiwanese shoots. Either they're much more pleasant now or my taste buds have already adjusted to the stench.

Miharu is over along Mohammed Sultan Road.
Address:
1 Nanson Road
GF The Gallery Hotel
Tel: 6733 8464

More Bangkok information

2008-07-28T23:44:00.003+08:00

Now traveling in Bangkok can sometimes be difficult if you can't speak Thai and if the destination is not exactly easy to describe.

We had a bit of trouble trying to tell the taxis where our hotel is. This was a life saver. Taxi cards to direct the drivers to the hotel. Now you have it if you're planning stay at Siam@Siam Design Hotel & Spa and you're stuck at the airport.

As for massages, we'd normally head to Healthland Spa at Sathorn area. Its best to call for a booking and go during the earlier part of the day. Cos at night the poor ladies there are overworked and most are pretty tired to do a good job. Its 15 minutes from Chong Nonsi Station which means LEK SEAFOOD afterwards!! hahaha... ok ok... so here's a handwritten address to Healthland Spa Sathorn. Thanks to the nice lady at Isetan tax rebate counter.

On our last day, we wanted to get a quick massage before heading for the airport. Headed to Asoke BTS station and went to this place called Reflex Place Massage Therapy. The environment was pretty nice and not your usual hole in the wall massage joints, even had soothing new age elevator music piped in. We're planning to go back again in future and also to check out their other sister companies like Senses Massage Therapy and Chivit Chiva Massage & Spa which are all around the same area.

Another one of my MUST GO place is Tawandang(pronounced TA-WAN-DENG) German Brewery. One of the other two microbrewery in Bangkok. I've not been to the other which is more English style but I've been told that the place is pretty sleazy so spare me, give me Tawandang anytime. Its a fricken HUGE place, think our Paulaner 30 times the size and filled up with people. Oh and the beer is pretty excellent! Huge portions of pork knuckles too!

Normally for any asian microbrewery joint you'll see a majority of expats and foreign tourists but its the exact opposite here. I'd say 90% of their customers are locals. The live band there is EXCELLENT and they virtually play the whole night non-stop. Even though I can't understand Thai but I know a tight and entertaining band when I see one. They have a great command of the crowd and you can see that the locals there truly dig their own local music.

Another place to make reservations before going down.

BBQ @ Bangkok

2008-07-26T00:56:00.009+08:00

Street food is abundant in Bangkok and I particularly love their BBQ meats on skewer.

On the first day, we had lunch at Greyhound Cafe which we felt was just OK. Nothing was bad but nothing was outstanding either. Then dinner was at the multiple award winning restaurant Baan Khanita with the better half's boss. We thought it was HO HUM as well BUT then, the boss might have ordered the wrong stuff. Their website states the below as their popular dishes and we had none of it other than Tom Yam Khung(Lek Seafood's one was better!).

Kaeng Phed Ped Yang A-Ngun (Roast Duck Curry With Grapes)
Som Tam Song See (Spicy Papaya And Carrot Salad)
Tom Yam Khung (Spicy River Prawn Soup)
Yam Som O (Spicy Pomelo Salad With Shrimp And Chicken)
Khung Phad Sauce Makham (Deep Fried River Prawn With Tamarind Sauce)
Poo Nim Phad Prik Thai Dam (Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab Fried With Black Pepper Sauce)
Pla Krapong Phad Khee Mao (Stir-fried Sea Bass With Chili, Hot Basil, and Eggplant)
Plaa Khung Yang (Grilled River Prawn With Spicy Herb Salad)

So when we got out of our hotel on the second day, I was hungry for something tasty, something truly local and at it was right there at the corner. What can be better than greasy smoky sweet BBQ meat on skewers to tantalise the tastebuds? And I had the tastiest most delicious BBQ skewered chicken evaaah...

Then on the last day, I just needed more! Spied this cool fella telling me that there's something good at the end of the street.

And its true! BBQ meat! So thats me surveying what to order.

Chicken butt, wings, drumstick, thighs, innards like gizzard and liver plus pork as well.

I took 3 sticks, butt, thighs and innards. This is how the chicken butt looks like. It was YUMMY! I'm missing Bangkok already.

Kuay Tiew Rua Tha Siam @ Bangkok

2008-07-19T02:26:00.003+08:00

BABIIIII BUKAN KHINZIRRRR!!!!! hur hur hur.... With a mascot like this, there are no reasons at all not to enter this restaurant!

I read that they serve boat noodles which are noodles that are sold over at floating markets. I've not been to floating markets but from the looks and taste of their noodles, I reckon that they serve street hawker style noodles in an air conditioned and presumely more "hygienic" place. I get diarrhea eating food in Singapore, so Bangkok ain't that bad as it seems to be.

This bowl if I can remember correctly is mama instant noodles with a mix of all things pork in a mildly spicy dark broth. I read too that the broth is made from pig's blood but you can only trust what you read online like uhm... 10%? :P Whatever it is, it taste pretty all right but really, the soup could have been so much better served piping hot instead of lukewarm-ish.

And this should be rice noodles with pork + liver in Tom Yam broth. Pretty nice as well.

All in all we had 3 bowls of noodles and a mango salad plus a drink and it cost only 210 baht. They seem to be a chain restaurant of sorts and we've visited the one at MBK ground floor opposite SUMO and TOPS.

Lek Seafood @ Bangkok

2008-07-18T01:29:00.003+08:00

One thing I love most about Bangkok is the food. I love their use of herbs and the way they cook pork. The Thais just know their pork! But this post is about their seafood which is uber excellent as well.

Anyway, we travel up to Bangkok once a year like an annual pilgrimage and during the last trip we stayed in this service apartment Unico Grande Sathorn(Now FuramaXclusive) which is almost like side by side with Lek Seafood. I didn't know better then and totally dismissed this dingy looking outdoor cooking "food place". Well better late than never!

This time round we made our way to Chong Nonsi BTS skytrain to savour their most excellent seafood. Oh and there's an excellent massage place called Healthland Spa thats around 15 minutes walking distance from this station too. Better to make bookings before going down though!

After getting all settled down in the air-conditioned section of the restaurant, we were served with their rendition of the quintessential Tom Yam Goong. Simple ordinary looking soup but is a burst of flavour. So much better than the version we had the night before at this award winning restaurant Baan Khanita. Compared one which is pretty upmarket to a regular restaurant, I'd take the regular one anytime.

After that came a vegetable that we've never tried before called bitter melon tip. Its like a cross between a Kangkong(Water Spinach) and Spinach with its own unique taste.

And then the most anticipated dish arrived. Grilled river prawns!!!!! The better half who supposedly had a bout of allergy reaction to prawns sometime back, whacked 2 of it without me prompting her to. I was expecting to walloped 3 of em but alas... she knows a good thing when she see one! Very fresh and succulent and plenty of juicy prawn paste in the head department. YUMMY!

Another one of my favourite is their grilled squid. Together with this spicy sauce... mmmm mmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmm... I practically finished the whole squid.

When we arrived inside the restaurant, we spied that most table had this baked seabass dish, so following the age old adage "when in Rome, do as the Romans do," we ordered one as well. It was no mistake at all! Its seemingly plain, seasoned with plenty of salt and probably a bit of garlic wrapped in banana leaf and aluminium foil and grilled. The fish was not even descaled and cleaned of its gills and innards. Boy oh boy, the freshness of the fish shines through and through. One of the nicest seabass I've ever had.

We over ordered and stuffed ourselves silly but if you were to ask me if I'd do it again, I'd say HELL YEAH and DOUBLE UP THE PORTIONS FOR THE RIVER PRAWNS!

Here's how it looks like from the outside.

Lek Seafood
156 Soi Phiphat, Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Road, Silom, Bangkok
Below the Chong Nonsi Skytrain Platform
Tel : (02) 636-6460, 636-6054

Siam@Siam Hotel, Bangkok

2008-07-15T23:54:00.003+08:00

Went on a short trip to Bangkok last weekend and stayed in this classy boutique hotel called Siam@Siam Design Hotel & Spa Bangkok. Beautiful place with very nice industrial meets fine art decor. 5 minutes walk from the National Stadium BTS and around 10 minutes from MBK. The staff there was excellent as well.

These 2 wireframe sculptures greeted us or more like each other at the entrance.

The whole place was quite dimly lit, which is perfectly fine for us but probably a problem for the traditional folks who insists on brightly lit, plush carpets and shiny brass handles everywhere hotels. Well different folks, different strokes.

We got upgraded to the executive floor as it was fully overbooked, which was totally fine for us!

The whole wall is an oil painting. In fact all the lift doors are also painted using oil paints. The lighting fixtures are wireframes, stainless steel pipings and bits of simulated old lumber frames all over. Very cosy, very nice.

This is part of the lounge area beside their bar. I love one of their leather sofa that just pulls me right into it, swallowing me big fat ass right in.

A view of the reception at the far end and the bar from my sunken ass.

One of their metal tree sculptures.

Of course I had plenty of beer. Singha with the toilets as backdrop. Yes, the toilet is behind those stained glass.

Even their common ashtrays are "designed". I wonder if ahem... David Gan would like this. *sniggers* designer mah... *limp wrist*

More about the Bangkok adventure the next few posts.

Siam @ Siam Design Hotel & Spa Bangkok
865 Rama 1 Road,
Opposite National Stadium,
Wang Mai, Patumwan,
Bangkok,
Thailand

Quick and simple food for a midweek dinner

2008-07-10T23:13:00.000+08:00

Teriyaki chicken midjoint. Marinated overnight with some mirin, sake, hua diao wine, soysauce and teriyaki sauce. Rub with a bit of olive oil before putting it into the toaster oven. Glaze with the leftover mariinate + a bit more teriyaki sauce, turning occasionally.

Simple minced pork omelette. Marinate mince pork around 100gm with the standard chinese style marinate, soy sauce, pepper, sesame oil and corn starch. I added in a dash of fish sauce and a sprinkle of dried basil. Mix well with 2 eggs and panfry.

Steamed enoki and abalone mushroom. A just whack dish with ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fermented black bean and some spring onions. Steamed for around 6-7 minutes.

Ate with white rice and its so much more wholesome than to eat out.

Santouka Ramen

2008-07-09T01:41:00.003+08:00

So much has been written about this ramen joint at the Central and a lot more of their USA outlets online. They've even stole the thunder from good old Marutama one floor above them when they'd just opened for business.

I was there last weekend with old friends from KL to savour its porkiness yet again. As always I took the Tokusen Toroniku Ramen which is supposedly only 60 portions a day which I think is BLAH. Check out that tender melts in your mouth not on your chopstick braised pork cheek. mmmmmmmmmmmm............

Their Tonkotsu IMHO is the best I've tasted in Singapore, my friendly neighbourhood coffeeshop uncle would say "No horse run!". The soup is so rich in flavour, its just simply amazing. I prefer my broth seasoned with salt. I'd never be able to brew Tonkotsu like this at home. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........

Chicken curry is easy with A1, 2 & 3

2008-07-04T16:07:00.004+08:00

Who would've thought that cooking a nice tasty chicken curry would be so easy to the point of no kitchen skills involved?

1 pack of A1 Best One meat curry paste(I'm not sure of this other Action One A1 but I'll try the next time to see which one is better, don't get mixed up with the other company making A1 Bak Kut Teh spices)
1 chicken(you can buy it prechopped or carve it up yourself)
2-3 medium potatoes, skinned
1 small packet of coconut milk

No prefrying of the curry paste required as its all done nicely, just plop the paste into the 500ml water, boil, add chicken, boil, add potato, boil, add coconut milk, boil and tadaaaa... yummy curry chicken. Taste great with slices of baguette.

Red Dot Brewhouse

2008-07-02T00:33:00.004+08:00

I've been wanting to check out Red Dot for the longest time and finally I got down on one fine Sunday to check the place.

How was the place? One word. NICE. It has an open rustic ambience thats pretty cosy. Non airconditioned though if that is important for you. Click here to check out their website and photos of the place.

So what did I order first? But of course that crazy looking Green Monster Lager. It has spirulina in it. Its pretty easy to drink but as a lager I find that its a bit on the sweet side. Nevertheless, the taste was clean and did not taste any off flavours. I'll drink this again.

Next, Summer Ale. Now this is a lovely thirst quencher. Not exactly very hoppy as stated on their tasting notes but pleasantly hoppy. Definitely more!

By then I was comfortably numb on a Sunday evening but what the hell... give the man another. English Ale. Stronger tasting and definitely maltier. Pretty well balanced ale me thinks without strong grassy taste like the brews sometimes at Brewerkz.

Halfway thro the English Ale, I just had to nibble on something. So picked a Quattro formaggi pizza thats consist of four classic cheese fontal, gorgonzola, mozzarella and provolone.

Unfortunately the pizza came a bit burnt at the base, which made it too bitter on the palate. A little is fine but after a slice it got to me and I don't really look forward to additional carcinogenic substances in my body. I'd normally not return stuff to the kitchen but I don't know what got into me that day, probably the alcohol? hur hur hur. To my surprise the staff was very professional and the 2nd pizza that came out tasted way much better. They even sprinkled some fresh chopped herbs on it. See the picture on top? No fresh herbs. Alamak... So this pizza supposed to have herbs one or not ah?

Beers per pint are $7 before 6pm and $11 after that. The pizza's $18.

Blk 25A , #01-01
Dempsey Road
Operational Hours:
11:30am – 3pm; 6pm – 11 pm (Mondays – Thursdays and Sundays)
11:30am – 3pm; 6pm – 1am (Fridays, Saturdays and eve of public holidays)

For Reservations:
Tel – (65) 6475 0500,
Fax – (65) 6475 5532

Kitchen Toys II

2008-07-01T00:45:00.002+08:00

Now who does not love a sharp knife? It makes life so much easier in the kitchen.

Never regretted getting this wonderful Wusthof 2 Stage Knife Sharpener. It has a carbide steel blade for coarse sharpening of blunt blades and a ceramic rods for honing. My cheapass old set of kitchen knives had a new lease of life after a running em thro it. Best... but I still want that nice Shun Classic 7" Santoku knife with that Damascus steel pattern.... damn... okok... and what surprised me is that it revived all 3 of my blunt kitchen scissors. Best lah.

Kitchen Toys I

2008-06-29T23:19:00.002+08:00

One of those things that I've been curious about. Stainless steel soap. Yeah I know... like WTFOMGBBQ right?

Well believe the hype. It does removes odour from garlic and onions lah. Wash under running water and rub your smelly fingers on it. Not exactly 100% removal but I suspect the residual odour are from under the fingernails.

Old Speckle Hen and Tastespotting.com may be back....

2008-06-25T22:33:00.003+08:00

....sooner than expected.... YAY! But for now, Foodgawker is doing a damn good job filling up the void for food porn.

check this out yourself here. AND.... they have this new site for alcoholics like me... Liqurious.com NICE!

so just for you alcoholics...

An copper coloured English ale with little aroma on the nose and minimal head retention from the bottle. Tastewise is quite low on late hopping but is substantially bitter at the end for a pale ale. Strong taste of roasted malt as well. Mouthfeel its pretty thin and dry with moderate carbonation. Not really that bad but not my kind of beer.

Ramen again...

2008-06-17T00:12:00.003+08:00

Just had Tonkotsu ramen at Ichibantei, Robertson Quay for lunch. Yummy AND salty. I like the fact that its not packed like Santouka and its tonkotsu is not diluted like many others. Good enough for a few more visits. nom nom nom nom nom...

On the other hand last week's visit to Baikohken, Boat Quay/Circular Rd area was just OKAYYYY.... large portions, nice ice water infused with roasted tea/barley(?) but the soup could've been more robust. Or... I should've taken the miso version rather than the shio. Will try the miso when I ever get around that area again.

No pictures of the ramen eaten, as I don't really have a habit of taking shots of food porn outside of home. Hmm.... maybe I should utilise the Fujifilm F30 more often.

And... More homemade ramen at home, shot with the Fujifilm F30. Enough of ramen already... :P

Homemade ramen noodles. nom nom nom nom nom....

Ichibantei
#01-04, 60 Robertson Quay, The Quayside
Singapore 238252
67333923
Monday to Friday: 11.30am to 2.30pm & 6.00pm to 11.00pm
Saturday & Sunday: 11.30am to 10.30pm

Baikohken
7 North Canal Road
Singapore 48820
65343808
11.00am to 3.00pm & 5.00pm to 10.00pm Daily

Le Rouge

2008-06-12T01:00:00.000+08:00

Mmmmm.... chocolates... mmmm....

uhm... one missing... uhm... in maaah bellyyyyyyy... uhm... mmmmmm....

hmm... mmmmm..... yeah... here. Many thanks to Linda of Lunarin. mmmmmmmmmmm.....

Beh Teh Sor

2008-06-11T01:50:00.000+08:00

Or otherwise known as Heong Peang and closely related to Pong Piah. Mum used to buy this all the time when we were young. Its flaky on the outside, hollow on the inside and coated internally with maltose and sometimes with caramelised shallots plus other stuff that I can't really tell.

Got this pack cos the vegetarian stall below my block was selling them, give support lah. It doesn't taste fresh and the maltose inside was not fragrant with caramelised shallots due to buddhist beliefs that it belongs to the category of Five Pungent Spices.

Quote unquote from this webbie

Other foods that may fall into the "forbidden" category include "the Five Pungent Spices." This refers to onions, scallions, chives, garlic, etc. Traditionally, Buddhists have believed that a person who eats these foods will suffer the following ill effects:
His blood and flesh will be rejected by the gods, and the heavens will distance themselves far from him.
His breath is always foul; therefore, all gods and saints will reject him.
If eaten cooked, these foods will arouse lust and cause explosive temper.
If eaten raw, they will increase one's anger and cause bad body odor that will not please the gods but will stimulate interested "hungry ghosts" who will hover around and kiss one's lips. Being near ghosts is believed to hinder one's enlightenment.

Further reading on this here and "The Five Pungent Spices" are namely

Garlic
Chive
Leek
Onion
Devils dung (hing/asfoetida)

But I digress. This has been one of my pet research that I feel strongly about and lets just keep it there. You draw your own conclusions, I draw mine. ;)

IMHO, Beh Teh Sor must have the caramalised shallots flavour in the sticky maltose like KL Hokkien Mee with crispy pork lard! :P

So there you go. Beh Teh Sor, one of those things that brings me back to memory lane.

Mushroom leek soup

2008-06-10T21:20:00.004+08:00

Had a bunch of leek in the fridge for the longest time, so went into recipezaar.com and found this recipe for Potato-Leek-Mushroom Soup.

I use whatever that was easily available.

Ingredients

3 medium leek, white part only, 1/4 inch slices(I only had 2)
2 potato, 1/4 inch dice (I used 3, too much though, too thick)
10-20 cremini mushroom, sliced (I used around 8 baby portobellos)
5 cups water or stock (I cheated and used a Knorr chicken cube)
3 shallot, minced
3 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons butter
salt
pepper
1 cup milk or 1/2 cup cream

Directions

Heat butter in large stock pot over low heat.
Cook shallots and garlic until tender.
Add potato and leeks- cook for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
Add stock or water, salt and pepper and bring to boil.
Reduce to simmer, add mushrooms and continue for 15 minutes, or until potato is tender.
Whiz with blender stick, or blender in batches (careful with hot in blender).
Add cream or milk and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Ate this together with baked Oxford Bangers sausage, sauteed baby french beans with mushroom and carrots with some toasted focaccia bread. The soup tasted great but too much potato making it too thick and powdery. *Burrp*

Everything in the fridge ramen

2008-06-09T18:26:00.002+08:00

Fresh corn, carrots and spring onions in the fridge. Frozen yakibuta and one hidden container of tonkotsu from the last batch. Freshly made ramen.

I lub lamen to deth and I ken leee tolibu dibu dauchoo...

Lumpfish Roe aka "Caviar"

2008-06-08T01:20:00.003+08:00

Caviar with the "......" :)

I was walking around IKEA's food section and saw this curious looking bottle called ABBA Black Lumpfish Caviar Roe and "took a chance on it". "Mamma mia" it was like "knowing me, knowing you" that "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" like it quite a bit and this is getting way too corny.... "Does your mother know?" :P

Ok, I'm not even a fan of caviar... its just salty little black fishy globules. Somehow caviar just reminds of South Park's salty chocolate balls. hur hur hur

Now the most intriguing thing about this is Lumpfish, click this. Fricken ugly innit? I don't know if that was a good example of how a lumpfish looks like as there are many types around but this happen to be the ugliest. This is another page showing the roe in its raw and processed form aka dyed black with cuttlefish ink to make it look like the sturgeon roe.

Had some leftover focaccia bread in the fridge. Sliced them to around 1 inch thick, spreaded some butter, top with 1/3 slice of cheddar cheese, some dried thyme and oregano with some freshly ground black pepper. Toast it in the oven for a bit and top with some sundried cherry tomatoes and a few spoonful of the lumpfish roe. Not too bad I must say so myself.

3 Monts/Trois Monts

2008-06-06T03:01:00.005+08:00

Got this French Trois Monts ale brewed by Brasserie De Saint-Sylvestre way back from my favourite beer stall at Bukit Timah Market and it was standing in the fridge for the longest time waiting for an occasion to pop the cork. Yeah... this beer is corked like Chimay Grande Reserve. Unfortunately this occasion never came, no BBQ sessions and no more mahjong sessions by the better half and the poly alumni.

The beer style belongs to the French Bière de Garde which is also known as farmhouse ales.

Its bottle conditioned and had quite a bit of yeast at the bottom. My bottle was way past its expiry, so the taste could be way off from the original. Blond in colour, highly carbonated with 8% ABV. I recognised some vanilla and coriander but somehow did not like the cloying sweetness. I do find expired ales sometimes to have this yucky sweetness to it. Oh well... I know I got pretty shitfaced after finishing this rocket fuel. :P

Old Mother Hen

2008-06-02T00:01:00.008+08:00

The informal Batu Pahat makankakis in Singapore met up at Old Mother Hen aka Lau Kway Bu in Hokkien, last Saturday for some nom nom nom nom nom..... I've been there with some friends before and quite like the food there. Especially loved the fish head, pork fallopian tubes and Shi Quan chicken soup.

First dish... KL style hokkien noodles. Love this love this love this. I can eat this everyday and die a happy man. We agreed that it tasted better than the one we had at Big Eater during the last outing.

Next, pork fallopian tubes! I personally have no problems devouring "spareparts" other than kidneys. Kidneys if not prepared properly would have that ammonia aka URINE stench but then again, improperly washed stomach, intestines, rectum(yes we eat pork rectum too) and many other spareparts would have yucky stench as well.... hmmm... I just can't stand that urine taste in my mouth. Ok I digress...

I love this dish too. As far as I know, I've not eaten this anywhere else and I'm glad that they serve this here. "Crunchy" and firm without any offensive odour. The savoury sauce is sweet and spicy and blends really well with the fallopian tubes.

Homemade tofu... which self respecting chinese style restaurant would not have this on their menu? Their version is competent there's nothing to dislike about this dish.

Next is the source of fibre for every meal. The vegetables! I like their imaginative way of serving the boring kai lan with this but majority of us didn't like it. The kai lan was a bit old and chewy.

The star of the meal was this. Half a very fresh red grouper head with a very tasty and spicy sauce. Guarantee to whet up the appetite. Enjoyed picking on the skin and bones.

This is their version of claypot chicken rice. Not too bad I'd say and competently executed but I know I've tasted better elsewhere. One thing thats different is there were no salted fish added and replaced by a salted egg yolk. I'd prefer it with the salted fish though. Edit: Seems like I didn't scoop any of the salted fish at all!

I've always love herbal soups and especially Shi Quan(Mandarin)/Sip Chuan(Hokkien). Mum used to cook this for the whole family. We had some pantang(taboo) that after drinking the soup, we should not drink cold drinks and not drink tea, reason being we'll have permature greying hair. I dunno man, there are some things that we just follow without questioning.

This soup belongs to the "heaty" group. According to teh interwebs it is said to consist of the following

Panax ginseng (Ginseng)
Angelica sinensis (Dong quai)
Paeonia lactiflora (Peony), root
Atractylodes macrocephala (Atractylodes), rhizome
Poria cocos (Hoelen)
Cinnamomum cassia (Cinnamom)
Astragalus membranaceus (Astragulus), root
Liqusticum wallichii (Cnidium), rhizome
Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Licorice)
Rehmannia glutinosa (Rehmannia), root

Also it is not recommended for expecting mothers to consume this soup. The other alternative Ba Zhen that is said to be the same minus 2 ingredients. Well thats what my friendly neighbourhood chinese medicine hall proprietor tells me.

Check out Camemberu's account of the outing here and Keropok Man's here.

I can has dried cherry tomatoes?

2008-05-31T20:07:00.003+08:00

YES! I can has! :P

Was chatting with Keropokman and Camemberu on Facebook about dried tomatoes and stuff like that recently, plus Camemberu made this totally delicious looking Moonblush Tomatoes AND browsing thro Chez Pim's Tomato Confit got me in the mood to make something with tomatoes.

Good old Sheng Siong had some cherry tomatoes promotion that was something like 3 boxes for less than 3 bucks or something like that.... I think. :P

Rinse and soak em for a bit.

Slice it halfway through but on hindsight, I should have sliced it into halves so that it would have dried faster. Placed em all on my dehydrator.

After a whole night of drying, it looks all shriveled up like this.

All three boxes of cherry tomatoes, dried and shriveled in a little bowl.

Beer, biiru, cerveza, birra, bir... = VERY HAPPY MAN

2008-05-30T00:43:00.002+08:00

While I was melting butter on the grill pan last night the door bell rang DING DONG DING DONG....

And I got this nice little carton. Looks like a good thing innit? YUM YUM YUM....

Aaaaaaannnndddd.... whats in there?

Yippeeee deee dooo...
From left to right
Fullers Vintage Ale 2006, Fullers London Porter, Fullers 1845, Greene King Abbot Ale, Greene King Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale, Belhaven St. Andrew Ale, Belhaven Wee Heavy, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Brouwerij Huyghe Delirium Tremens and Brouwerij Alken-Maes Judas. The other 2 hiding behind are Fullers 1845, one of my favourite ales from Fullers.

All these nice beer can be bought from The Beer Club. Free delivery of orders above $100 and 15% discount of UK beers if you're a homebrew club member which I AM NOT... for now. Gonna get me membership pretty soon.

Grilled marlin with tomato salsa

2008-05-29T13:06:00.002+08:00

Purchased 2 slabs of frozen marlin fillet and got this out from the kitchen.

Defrosted 1 piece of that thick marlin fillet and halved it. The fillet was simply marinated for around 2 hours with salt, pepper and Shichimi Togarashi which is a combination of red chili pepper, orange peel, sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, ginger and seaweed. Grilled on butter.

Made a tomato salsa to go along with it.
Ingredients
1) A box of cherry tomatoes around 200g or thereabouts, quartered
2) 1 sweet corn, core removed and boil kernels
3) 3 bunch of coriander, chopped
4) ½ lemon squeezed
5) 1 lime squeezed
6) 2 teaspoon of olive oil
7) Pinch of salt, pepper and sugar to taste.

Method
Mix em all in a large bowl.

Had another sweet corn lying around, they sell them in pairs over here, so cut it into half, wrapped with aluminium foil and bake it in the toaster oven.

Marlin, definitely not our favourite kinda fish. Meat is firm and tough not unlike shark or even chicken breast. Bits and pieces of the fish kept getting stuck in between out teeth. But then, I may have overcooked it... I can only think of chopping the meat into small pieces and cook baked rice with it... or make fish paste or other kinda cooking that either cook it till disintegration or pulverise it into oblivion.

Beet pickled eggs

2008-05-28T00:28:00.003+08:00

Beet pickled eggs are one of the craziest looking things I've ever seen and I just have to make some. I reckon pickled eggs are as extreme to me as what century eggs are to a caucasian or a balut is to my mum.

So here I went along trying to make something that I've not even tasted before. Cobbled some recipes online and tried this out.

Ingredients
6 hard boiled eggs
1 beet boiled, peel skin and sliced to around 1/4" thick
1 yellow onion, sliced

Sauce
2 cups water
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bay leaf powder
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon mustard

Method
- Boil all the ingredient for the sauce for a few minutes and add in the beets and onions for a few more.
- Place the eggs in a nicely sterilised jar and pour sauce over it.
- Store in the fridge and eggs are good to eat in 3 days

Can't say I really love it but I don't hate it either. Texture is chewy after being pickled. I can see why it is a pub grub, I can imagine eating it and downing a Greene King Suffolk Vintage Ale

Grilled mustard kurobuta with potato salad and cherry tomatoes

2008-05-26T22:24:00.006+08:00

Got a whole bunch of stuff at Meats Marinate and Much More aka MMMM at Square 2, Novena last weekend. They have a website http://www.mmmm.com.sg but its not working now lah. Good range of frozen as well as chilled meat and seafood. More frozen than chilled though. Noteworthy stuff would be wagyu, kurobuta, alaskan crab legs, fish fillets not commonly heard of like mahi mahi and marlin.

Got a pack of Kurobuta loin. Inspired by Camemberu's Nigella Mustard Pork Chops, I thought I can give it a go... and there you go, I forgot to buy fresh cream.

So.... the loin was plain marinated with some salt and some Whole Grain Mustard from Masterfood. I'm still learning how to use that damn grill pan properly for some nice charred lines while not overcooking the meat. So here's an ugly version of grilled babi hitam(black pig) aka kurobuta aka Berkshire pig.

The thing about kurobuta is that you don't really need to marinate it to death. It just taste great with a little bit of salt and pepper.

Made a potato salad for the carbo and some fibre, a first try and I thought it tasted pretty good.

Ingredients, dump all into a big bowl minus the egg.
4 medium potatoes boiled, peeled and cubed
2 eggs, boiled, deshelled and diced
3 japanese cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 yellow onion, diced

Dressing, mix well in a smaller bowl.
4 tablespoon of mayonnaise
2 teaspoon of mustard
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of dried basil

Add the dressing mixture to the ingredients and carefully mix in the egg.

Oh and grilled some cherry tomatoes with olive oil while I was grilling the pork.

Olive Focaccia with Siobak

2008-05-25T23:51:00.003+08:00

Had a quick dinner before going down to the Esplanade for Zero Sequence and Lunarin. Bought this loaf of olive focaccia from Sun Moulin at Isetan cos it looked so good. Tastewise... ho hum.... the bread was not as robust and tasty even when compared to those mass produced by Gardenia. It tasted like they forgotten about adding the olive oil to the dough but the olives were delicious though. Maybe one day I'll try to bake some. hmmm....

Udon

2008-05-23T00:06:00.003+08:00

Buying groceries and cooking for 2 can sometimes be quite challenging. Minimum quantity can be too much and can't store it too long to retain freshness. There's also a tendency to over cook and over eat. The better half was away for the week and I was over cooking and over eating... not complaining though hur hur hur...

Using the leftovers from yesterday, dump them all into the pot and got one big bowl of udon. nom nom nom nom nom....

Final equation...

2008-05-21T23:44:00.003+08:00

... of the whole ramen experiment... the noodles!

Got this nifty little fella from Carrefour in Batu Pahat. Costed my RM49.90(less than SGD25) and I was really happy to find it cos the ones available in Singapore are all going from SGD60-90... made in Italy though but who cares... I've had my fair share of Italian machineries... and you know what they say about them... ;) Best part of this story is that my dad proudly show me a newspaper advertisement for the exact same thing going for around RM25 over at Giant. Tough luck, I could do a refund at Carrefour but can't be bothered to do so.

So how did I go about making ramen? I don't have any special recipe to make ramen but this is just a combination of stuff I've read online so here goes.

Mix around 50/50 portion of plain flour and semolina flour. I just estimated the amount.

And then crack an egg in.

Stir with a spoon and slowly mix the flour in.

Stir and stir till you get this. Add in more flour if its too sticky.

And then start imagining that the dough is someone that you'll like to crush and mangle. So the image of Sean Kingston automatically came into my head and I went on auto pilot mode punching and strangling that piece of dough for a good few minutes. Add a bit more flour if it gets sticky.

Run it thro the machine and got this. I didn't get a chance to take photos cos its kinda hard to handle the camera with floury hands.

So this is the ramen for dinner tonight. Yes with prawns! hur hur hur... so wrong yet so right. Damn fresh lah... oh and I've added in Camemberu's No 1 most hated vegetable, Chai Sim.

Yummy succulent, "Q Q" handmade machine cut ramen. WHOOOOOOOOOOO! Hardu gay ramen desu!

Basil mince pork with shitake

2008-05-20T23:57:00.003+08:00

A simple dish of stir fried basil minced pork with shitake mushrooms topped with chopped spring onions.

I feel in love with basil on my first trip to Bangkok. What a wonderful scent and aroma. Taste lovely especially with savoury meat.

Use the same mince meat marinade below plus a pinch of dried basil, more if you like your basil more upfront. Fry some sliced garlic till brown and add in the mince meat followed by the sliced shitake mushroom. Salt and pepper to taste. Try not to overcook the mushrooms.

Zwillings JA Henckels

2008-05-20T22:52:00.003+08:00

I've been wanting to get a nice quality chef knife for the longest time and finally I got one during the Isetan private sale. Paid SGD90++ for this beautiful Henckel Twin 5 Star 9" Chef Knife.

The balance is incredible and its bloody sharp. Never used a knife so sharp before, till I actually lost confidence in cutting.

Steamed stuffed bitter gourd and capsicum

2008-05-16T01:47:00.007+08:00

I was browsing thro some blogs just before leaving from work and saw quite a few stuffed bitter gourd food porn. While barely containing my drool, I made my way towards good old Sheng Siong supermarket and grabbed some ingredients to cook dinner.

I picked up a capsicum as well cos they looked so good that day.

Ingredients
- 1/2 Bitter gourd, cut to around 2cm thick rings, remove seed and as much as possible the white insides.
- 1/2 Green capsicum, cut also to around 2cm wide and remove all the seeds and ribs.
- 200gm of lean mince pork marinated with the following

1/2 tablespoon light soysauce
1 teaspoon of Oyster Sauce
1/2 tablespoon Shao Hsing Hua Tiao Chiew
1/2 tablespoon of corn starch
2 dried chilli padi*, seeds removed and chopped
a few dashes of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

- 1/2 table spoon of preserved salted black bean in oil for a little garnishing

Directions
- Blanch the vegetables in boiling water + a little bit of salt for a few minutes
- Set aside to cool
- When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, stuff the marinated mince meat into the center of the bittergourd and spread a layer on the inside surface of the capsicum
- Lay it out on a plate and top with a bit of black bean
- Steam for around 15 minutes

Notes
- Remember to blanch a little bit longer so that the steaming time can be reduced to prevent the meat from being overcooked
- Prepare a bowl of ice water to retain the colour the blanched veggies

Rose apple

2008-05-15T01:27:00.003+08:00

One of our favourite fruits. Always had another "cheaper" species thats refreshing, crunchy and juicy but lacks flavour during my childhood days. Dipped in a sauce made of sweet soysauce, chilli padi and sugar that is ground into a paste in the pestle and mortar. Remember helping my mum to pound the chilli padi and tearing up at the same time hahaha.... those were the days.

Had sorta discovered this "premium" version in the recent years and it can be so sweet and fragrant on top of being refreshing, crunchy and juicy. Normally retailing at around SGD5-6 per kg. Rose apple, what an apt name.

The better half got a good deal recently, only SGD3 per kg! Apparently that is teh wholesale price if bought by the carton. Yummy!

Braised Daikon (Radish)

2008-05-13T22:30:00.003+08:00

Got a huge one from Sheng Shiong for only a buck each. Removed the skin and chopped it up to about 1" thick. Used my leftover ni tamago sauce which was my leftover yakibuta braising sauce and added in a tablespoon each of soysauce, mirin, sake and chinese rice wine. Threw in a small piece of Konbu and braise. What a great way to keep reusing the sauce!

The ones here were not braised enough and was a bit hard. Reboiled and dumped the whole lot into my small thermal pot and it was good the next day.

Ramen, ramen and ramen and ramen....

2008-05-12T12:36:00.003+08:00

... and we're pretty sick of ramen already. Did I hear a big sigh of relief from the better half? hahahaha.... oh yes... we're sick of ramen.

The 3rd version with spicy miso flavouring, shoulder collar yakibuta and ni tamago. This time round the ni tamago was excellent, soup decent but the shoulder collar fats were a bit waaaay too porky. I blame it on using frozen Brazillian pork. :P and there's no spring onion... damn.

Here's a shot of the shibari'ed yakibuta before being stripped and sliced. :P

I'm going to take a break from home cooked ramen for a while but I'd welcome anytime a nice bowl from Tanpopo, Santouka or Noodle House Ken. ANYTIME!

Suan Miao aka Sweet garlic chives

2008-05-10T21:31:00.003+08:00

Suan miao is one of those vegetable that is non-traditional within my family. Somehow my family did not like garlic and stuff that has that similar taste like leek, chives etc. Any use of garlic is kept minimal and pulverized with the chopper into little tiny little specks. Mum used to be pretty anal about how fine the garlic should be chopped.

Being out of the comforts of home for the past 15 years had opened up my taste buds to all things "foreign" including alcohol and beer but thats another story altogether. :P Raw garlic is one of them especially with food from chze char stalls. Developed a liking for chives especially in the form of chive dumplings, leek stir fried with pork slices, raw leek as one of the toppings on japanese ramen and also the sweetness of stir fried suan miao.

This is a simple stir fried suan miao that I cooked a while back. Not much of a recipe, just cut up a bunch of the vege to around 2-3 inches and chop up a bunch of garlic. Sautee the chopped garlic with a bit of vegetable oil or lard if you have any till brown and dump in the suan miao. Salt, pepper and a bit of chinese rice wine or hua tiao wine. I'd cook it till slightly tender as the bunch I bought was a bit matured and was quite tough.

Chai Por Egg (Preserved Radish)

2008-05-07T16:01:00.006+08:00

This is a perennial favourite among us. Almost everything that has Chai Por aka Preserved Radish taste great. Chai por egg, chai por fish, chwee kueh, chai tow kueh blah blah blah.... When combined with garlic and lightly fried with oil, it has this irresistible salty, crunchy and aromatic flavour.

Cheap, ubiquitous and classic.

Recently all that fatty, rich and high blood pressure inducing food that I've been dumping into my belly (WITH RELISH!) has taken a toil on my appetite and I can feel my movements becoming sluggish. yah right.... So plain porridge combined with this simple dish seems like a healthy meal.

Ingredients and preparation

6 tablespoon of chai por soak and rinse with water to remove excessive saltiness.
A few pieces of dried large black fungus soak and dice around the same size as the chai por.
A few pieces of dried chinese mushroom soak and dice around the same size as the chai por.
2 tablespoon of dried white bait, wash and pat dry.
A few cloves of garlic, smash and chopped. I'd normally use half a bulb.
2 large eggs.
Salt and sugar to taste.

Preheat the wok with a bit of cooking oil and lard if you must... heh heh... and fry the white bait till crispy. Remove and place on a kitchen towel to cool and adsorb the excess oil.

Fry garlic till aromatic but taking care not to brown it too much as it will become bitter. Then dump in the chai por, black fungus and mushroom. Stir fry till you can see the chai por "dancing" in the heat. Taste a little to see if you need more salt. Add in some sugar as well. Crack the 2 eggs in, break it up and fry it till it becomes solid and browned.

Served and top with the fried white bait. The simple pleasures of life.

Sio Bak (Roasted Pork Belly)

2008-05-05T00:42:00.004+08:00

Somehow I'm a sucker for longdrawn cooking sessions that test my patience and sleep. Cooking this damn slab started from 12am straight into 6am.

Got a slab of fresh pork belly during the weekend plus a bunch of other stuff. Initially wanted to braise a part of this for japanese style kakuni but somehow due to the very little space left in the fridge I had to quickly cook this slab up.

Watched Channel 8's Buzzing Cashier episode on Cineleisure's roasted pork stall and had a vague impression of how to roast the bugger up.

Ingredients
1.5kg slab of pork belly
A bunch of satay sticks, presoaked in water.
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of 5 spices
1 tablespoon of pepper
2 pieces of fermented beancurd

Preparation
1. Slot the pork(skin face down) around 1 inch apart intervals but not too deep. Just till the fats below the skin.
2. Mix salt, 5 spices and pepper evenly in a bowl and rub all over, sides and slots but avoid the skin.
3. Crush the fermented beancurd and rub all over, sides and slots but avoid the skin.
4. Use the satay sticks and poke thro the belly in this pattern | X |. This is to prevent the belly from warping during the roasting process.
5. Leave it to marinate for around 2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 175 deg C and pop in the belly skin facing up for around 30 mins.
7. Remove from oven and score the skin using a knife criss cross around 1cm intervals.
8. Continue baking for around 2 hours or so.

Notes
1. Next time, will use a fork to puncture the skin rather than a knife to score. More control this way cos instead of scoring the skin, I kept cutting the skin.
2. Bloody plan the session to do it in the morning and also not to do any laundry. Friggin house smells like roast!
3. Not to buy more fresh produce that I can handle.
4. Cleaning up was a real PITA but thank goodness for Mr Muscle Kitchen Cleaner, best kitchen cleaner evaaaaah!

Marinated pork belly

Roasted pork belly, yum yum...

Chopped up and served with a slice of toasted focaccia

Beer batter cheese bread

2008-05-04T16:37:00.005+08:00

Another one for the record, however there are tons of this similar recipes online. Google : Beer batter cheese bread search.

However in the accompanying article that I did not scanned, the writer mentioned something about beer and bread having something in common which is yeast and something like substituting beer into this recipe will simulate the effect of yeast... OR something like that. Some websites also claims that "Beer bread is a remarkably moist and tasty bread that requires no leavening agent - the yeast in the beer does all the work!" and continue talking about using Coors or Miller Lite. Duh.

Commercial beers mostly have their yeast filtered off and there's zero yeast in that can or bottle. So there's no yeast to do anything to the dough. Probably the dissolved carbon dioxide and the alcohol doing the work. I dunno the mechanism of bread making enough to know what is what but that glaring misinformation about yeast present in most regular commercial beer just triggers off alarms from my beer brewing experience.

Recipe: Ya Kwang Da Pai Dong Braised Crab Beehoon

2008-05-02T00:49:00.002+08:00

Saw this on last weekend's Sunday Times. Before all of this is forgotten here you go...

Bar Bar Black Sheep/Smokinn Frogz Kitchen

2008-05-01T00:40:00.004+08:00

Was there last weekend with my fellow Batu friends for what it seems like going to be a monthly makan thingie. Great... more kaki more food.

This quaint little place is damn cosy for a burger and a beer or two... make it three. No frills, simple and unpretentious. Perfect for a Sunday evening chillout when the better half goes home. hur hur hur...

I can never get tired of their burgers. Beef burgers that is. Large, juicy, greasy and unpretentious with a good serving of fries. The way a burger should be. IMHO of course. It is well constructed and easy to pick up with both hands to chomp it down. Try doing that at some other "gourmet" burger places. ;)

Oh and they really bother to dress it up with a small portion of salad that has a whole OLIVE. I love olives and lucky for me the rest of the company didn't, nom nom nom nom nom.....

This is their chicken burger. I'd normally eat beef burger cos sometimes chicken burgers can be a bit on the dry side. Keropokman ordered this cos there were too many beef burgers and he wanted more variety! hahaha... perils of being a food blogger.

Fish and Chips! Their serving is pretty large and the last time I ate it, it was pretty good and fresh. Forgot to ask their opinions of this though... hmmmm...

Prawn Linguini. Check out the huge prawns and Camemberu said that they were pretty fresh and crunchy.

I just simply love this place for its value for money and cos they serve this... my favouritestesterest beer!

I'd secretly hoped that this place won't get too popular cos I'd still like to pop by every now and then and not queue or jostle with others for a little spot in this place. But then... its all about the dollar and cents. Fact is this place is getting popular... so they must be doing something right... Good food, good taste and affordable prices.

Spicy Miso Ramen

2008-04-29T22:04:00.000+08:00

Playing with the variations, tonight its spicy miso ramen. Used some of the goodies that I've bought the last visit to Meidiya. Nice...

La-Yu is exceptionally fragrant. I assumed it was only chilli oil all these while but was proven wrong. As stated in the ingredients list it has sesame oil, corn oil, chili pepper, chili pepper extract, paprika color. Made by S&B.

The miso was conveniently packed in a squeeze bottle. So much easier to use compared to the usual tub ones. Made by Marukome a pretty commonly available brand in supermarkets.

The chilli powder aka Shichimi Togarashi is made by House Foods Corporation, Japan. Ingredients include red chili pepper, orange peel, sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, ginger and seaweed.

A bit of this and a bit of that and I got this.

Yummy!! Even the better half says so herself. Alas! :D

Oh and this time round, I used instant Korean ramen from Nong Shin. Those ramen are thicker and springier.

Ramen... ramen...

2008-04-25T21:39:00.000+08:00

Again... hur hur hur... Konbu is killer... we were damn thirsty after last night's bowl and I'm damn thirsty now. Gotta reduce the amount of Konbu the next time. Down a pint of beer and I'm still thirsty...

I'm extremely pleased with the tamago and kakuni. Si beh song....

In pursuit of porkiness... Part 2

2008-04-24T21:38:00.000+08:00

And the ramen is done! And now its called Tanahseng Yakibuta Kakuni Tamago Tonkotsu Ramen!!! Over the top!!! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Yakibuta is a bit wimpy cos the shoulder cut was a bit tiny and was from the tip of the block. Tamago looks cancerous but the yolk was nice and molten... too busy slurping em down for pictures... Now with roasted sesame seed and white leek... enhances the flavour even more. The tonkotsu broth this time has got more robust flavour and is silky smooth. Somehow the broth still taste a bit Chinese than Japanese even with the addition of konbu. How ah?

This is the Kakuni... bad photo, ugly presentation but I love it. nom nom nom nom nom.... Pork, the other white meat!

This is the ramen that I use. Bought this from Meidiya Liang Court, 2+ for 2 servings. Pretty decent feel and a good alternative to those instant noodles kind. Was looking around for fresh or dried ramen if any but most of it were the instant noodle kind. Saw a few very nicely packed ones, 4 portions for 20 odd dollars with some sorta famous ramen institution from Japan... hmmm some other time bah....

In pursuit of Porkiness...

2008-04-24T08:39:00.000+08:00

or Khinzirness... hahaha... I never could accept the renaming of BABI or PIG or TER or Buta to Khinzir. The sound of it is already wrong. It doesn't sound right. We were born and bred to recognise that mud wallowing animal as BABI or PIG or TER, so don't come and tell us its KHINZIR. Fuck political correctness. Babi bukan Khinzir! I'm happy that there are people who share my same sentiments...

BABI BUKAN KHINZIR

Anyway...... pork bone soup was in my head again. With a vengeance, I got 4 big pork bones and 1 pork hock. More than doubled the pork content from first try!

A quick boil for around 3 minutes to get the scum and blood out and cleaned with running water.

Dumped the whole lot into my stock pot. This time round, no carrots and addition of white leek and spring onions.

After a few hours it looked like this.

After the next day, it looked like this. Was at Meidiya at Liang Court and got some konbu and other little stuff... wow konbu just makes a difference to the soup. Natural MSG! hur hur hur... Oh and Tanpopo is now one BIG restaurant at the ground floor. Opening today! Can't wait to visit them again.

Strained and filter and this time round I got 3 containers = 6 bowls worth! Much more robust and porky! But how come its still not WHITE like Santouka one har...

And then pan seared the marinated Yakibuta. This time round I used a smaller shoulder cut AND also a belly cut. Also modified the marinate ingredients to use less salt, added leek, mirin and a little bit of dark soy sauce.

After braising for 2 hours it looks like this.

Tonight we shall feast. Nom nom nom nom nom nom.........

OCD: Ramen fever Pt 3 FINALLY!

2008-04-16T21:36:00.000+08:00

ahhh... was pretty excited this evening, can't wait to get it assembled. No beansprout, no menma... actually I bought a bottle of Spicy Chinese Bamboo shoot, the aroma was a real challenge but inside the mouth it tasted all right... but then... the aroma... urrrrrggghhh. I threw away the whole bottle.

Here is the outcome.... tadaaaa..... I call this the Tanahseng Yakibuta Ekstra Tamago Tonkotsu Ramen! Over the top! hahahaha....

The Tonkotsu soup was not robust enough. As expected not enough porky piggy creamy flavour and the carrots overpowered the taste. So gotta double the bones and half the carrots or maybe even drop it.

The Tamago was pretty ok. First time I did Tamago it went over the top SALTY, saltier the saltiest salty egg evaaah. This time round it was much more pleasant. I could knock another minute off the resting time for an even more soft yolk. Room temperature large eggs, 5 minutes slow simmer, flame off, 3 minutes rest and straight into chilled water to stop the cooking.

The Yakibuta was nice, tender and tasty. However the next time, I'd put in 3/4 tablespoon of salt instead of 1 and a bit less ginger. Will either use pork belly or a more fatty loin. Rolled up and Shibari'ed with the right Butcher's twill. hur hur hur... oh and I'd need a better sharper knife... hint hint hint...

All in all it was worth the effort and I will not flinch to attempt this again and again and again till I get it right. Next... home made ramen! But I better get back to my pedals backlog... no money no honey, BLEAH.

OCD: Ramen fever Pt 2

2008-04-16T21:35:00.000+08:00

After all that boiling and reboiling and straining, I only got 2 measly container of Tonkotsu stock.

Taste wise, too much carrots and too little porky sweet taste. I'd double up the amount of pork and half the carrots plus dump in a chicken carcass or two the next time. Then... its not flavoured yet so I'll reserve my comments till tomorrow.

Braising time! Seared the marinated BDSM'ed pork loin on a pan. Slightly charred here and there due to the thickness of the rope as well as poor flame control. Must make a mental note to buy a ball of butcher's twine the next time I see it.

Dumped the whole seared BDSM'ed pork loin into a wok and added water + the rest of the leftover marinate. Braised for around 2 1/2 hours in low heat and got this.

I tasted a bit of the scraps while cutting the rope and it was damn YUMMY! Love it. Off into the fridge it went.

Strained scum/ginger/garlic/spring onions from the braising liquid. This was one of the times that I wished I still had my blender. Would've blended it instead of straining for more flavour. Oh well better luck next time... tasted the braising liquid and it was damn nice as well.

Boiled 3 eggs while hoping that the eggs yolks are not overcooked. Hate dry powdery cooked yolks. Poured the cooled reduced braising liquid over it and stored in the fridge as well.

Can't wait for tomorrow!

OCD: Ramen fever Pt 1

2008-04-14T21:32:00.000+08:00

Ok... I have a confession to make. I think I've got a slight OCD. Obsessive compulsive disorder. Thats right...

Guitars. Pedals. Beer. Food. Pron. In no particular order. HA!

Actually it more like the diehard DIYer in me. Just gotta do it myself at least once. The current phase of the day now is ramen. No, not those in plastic packets and sachets of artificial flavourings you infidels. The real thing. Made with tons of love and pride, sweating out in the kitchen for a piping hot bowl of chewy noodles in thick milky pork broth garnished with slices of stewed pork, a whole stewed egg and with preserved bamboo shoots and sliced black fungus.

My first proper encounter with this comfort food from the land of the rising sun was at Marutama, The Central. Saw Chubby Hubby's post on it and just gotta go. Enjoyed the meal totally and was hungry for more. So, this is how they do it, I told myself. Ventured then to Tanpopo at Liang Court, Miharu at Gallery Hotel, Santouka at The Central and Noodle House Ken at Orchard Plaza. Ajisen though hated by many diehards of the elite ramen society is also acceptable by me. Beggars can't be choosers in housing estate shopping centers.

Anyways, nothing beats sitting right at the counter watching the chef does his magic and popping that steamy hot bowl of decadence for my slurping pleasure.

So now... being much old and long winded, I'm attempting to make some at home myself.

Got a pack of Ajisen's noodles a few days back from their restaurant at 5 buckaroos. Good for 2 servings I'd say plus I actually like the texture of Ajisen's ramen. Searched online for tonkotsu broth recipe at got to Chubby Panda's blog with his Niko Niku Ramen recipe.

What else is there to do but to at least adapt the recipe to my kitchen and try it out.

Ingredients laid out in a rectangular Pyrex bowl prior to baking at 175 deg C for an hour or so.

2 big pork bone and a bunch of short rib bones
2 large carrots
1 yellow onion
1 bulb garlic
1 piece of dried sole fish
A few table spoon of Hua Tiao Jiu for "deglazing" whatever that was leftover on the glass bowl.

On hindsight, I shouldn't have been so lazy thinking about how to avoid washing the big baking tray by using that glass bowl cos the stuff were all piled up on top of each other. I'll get a smaller baking tray soon.

After baking for an hour or so. This is what I've got. Didn't want to brown it too much as I'd prefer a milky looking soup stock rather than a brownish one.

Threw the whole bunch into my stock pot, added water just enough to cover it and brought it up to boil. Once boiling, transfer to a smaller hob and slowly simmer. Its still simmering as I'm typing this. 3 hours already and still counting. Gonna boil this to DETH for a few days! hur hur hur... Though most ramen shops have this magical 8 hours... hmmm... huat ah!

Preparing the Yakibuta or otherwise known as Cha Shu marinate.

An inch and a half ginger chopped
2 cloves of garlic crushed
A bunch of spring onions chopped
A table spoon of sugar
A tablespoon of salt
A few black pepper seed crushed

Threw the whole bunch into a bowl and mixed with the following

5 tablespoon of superior soy sauce
5 tablespoon of cooking sake
5 tablespoon of Hua Tiao Jiu
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

This is the pork loin that I bought. Can't find fresh pork in the supermarkets of a good size, so bought this frozen one. This is the picture of it before going thro my amateur art of Japanese bondage... hur hur hur...

And after going thro a BDSM session... hur hur hur....

Couldn't find any BUTCHER TWINE so went with a BOILED packing rope. Dunno got what chemicals inside that rope, don't care lah... boil it for 10 minutes and rinse for quite a bit. My first attempt in Bondage... I mean doing a roast tie. Fun. On hindsight yet again... I should have halved the pork loin across and do a little roll, fats inside, macam how the ramen shop do it. Next time ba....

And poured the marinate and meat into a ziplock bag and marinating this overnight.

Tomorrow then sear and then braise. Will do the stewed eggs as well.

Making a bowl of ramen is truly a labour of love. Lets hope something tasty will come out of this... I'm already thinking of making my own noodles.... ahhhh.....

Greene King - Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale

2008-02-27T22:25:00.000+08:00

This one is YUMMY! As good as Fullers 1845 but not as complex.

The label says "A unique blend of two classic ales BPA and the Old5X. Old 5X is aged in oak for 2 years. Brewed in limited quantities."

One for the road....

2008-02-19T22:24:00.000+08:00

This is just uhm... beer. Ale. Nothing to shout about. Next beer prease! I'm having high hopes for the Suffolk Vintage Ale.

Beer, biiru, cerveza, birra, bir... = MABOK

2008-02-15T22:22:00.000+08:00

Passed by COLBAR last night after picking up tickets for Explosions in the Sky... couldn't resist and just have to stop by.

Had a Fullers ESB(Extra Special Bitter) that was one yummy beer but I still like their 1845 best.

The range of UK beer there is excellent... too many lah. Just had to buy a few back.

Popped open this just now.

Pleasantly bitter, not exactly bitter like say IPA at Brewerks. Well its supposed to be Scottish anyway... and their beer are known to be traditionally pretty stingy on hops. :mrgreen: Citrusy, stated on the bottle cascade and challenger hops. Some sweet caramel aftertaste but can be a bit cloying towards the end.

Archipelago

2007-05-13T21:21:00.000+08:00

Now they have bottled beers available over at Cold Storage. Their Straits Pale ain't that bad after a second tasting.

Chimay

2007-05-12T21:20:00.000+08:00

The evil trio from Belgium!

7%, 8% and 9% alcohol! Lim hor yi si!

Oh and trying out dual flash. One from the back and one from the front. Seems a bit too harsh... I dunno... I need to learn shit like this... damn...

Red Ale

2007-05-05T21:19:00.000+08:00

My adapted version of Jasper Murdoch's Whistling Pig Red Ale from Beer Captured recipe using Coopers Canadian Blonde. I think I went too easy on the bittering hops. A bit too bitter for this style I reckon but what the hell, I'll just drink it!

Will do another batch in the future using extract only following the recipe to a T. hmmm... on second thoughts there are so many other recipes... damn...

India Pale Ale

2007-05-03T21:09:00.000+08:00

My homebrewed India Pale Ale. I rikes this lots. And just got myself a 35cl redwine glass... wanted something like the Chimay glass but this will do. Beer just seems more yummy in this.

Hoegaarden Forbidden Fruit

2007-04-24T16:08:00.000+08:00

Me and Hoegaarden's Forbidden Fruit has got a history that goes way back to 2003 but lets not go there.

Revisited this beer after it being my favourite and then dismissed as a never again Ihatethisbeer. The taste palatte just keep evolving(for better or for worse?) and I'm loving this beer again. I used to drink it for the intense alcohol kick. 330ml that packs a 9% alcohol, isn't that nice?

Got tons of flavour in this beer. Make sure you don't empty the whole bottle as there's a bunch of yeast down there that will contribute to some off flavours. Some drinkers would swirl the bottom to get all the yeast up.... YUCKS. The only time I'd drink yeast is those Wheat Beer types aka Hoegaarden White.

ABC Ginseng Extra Stout

2007-03-19T16:06:00.000+08:00

Ginseng with stout? Blasphemy!!!

Couldn't resist myself to get a can to try. Upon opening the can, the ginseng flavour hit straight to the nose. Then when I was pouring... damn... did they dump a whole container of ginseng into the brewtank?????

GINSENG GINSENG GINSENG!

Janice hates the smell. Gave her a headache and nausea. Even worse when I burp.

I don't mind the flavour but its not something that I'd pick up from the shelves.

Chimay Grande Reserve

2007-03-16T16:03:00.000+08:00

This is the first time I bought a bottle of beer that cost more than 20 buckaroos.

But this is ace stuff. Stuff that I can only dream of brewing. Its even capped with a cork and not your regular metal cap.

YUMMY! But with 9% alcohol, you'll get shitfaced sooner than you can say muarpohdehuayiwasibehmuayi.

James Boag's Premium Lager Australian

2007-03-09T13:35:00.000+08:00

Clean and refreshing. Very pleasant thirst quencher.

Look at the nice lacing on the glass. Very nice!

Not the besterterest beer around but ranks slightly better than my Tsingtao Premium Lager.