Bagelwich

April 30, 2007: I picked up a wholemeal (last piece again) and a raisin-and-cinnamon at Cluny Court's Cold Storage last night. This morning, I did some jaw work; it's not easy to eat a bagelwich, but it satisfied my cravings for bagels this week and the last!

Dim Sum at Mouth Restaurant シンガポールのヤムチャ （6534-4233）

April 29, 2007 (Sunday): It seems ages since I last had dim sum at Dragon City on January 1 this year. The restaurant is located in Corpthorne Orchid Inn (ex-Novotel Orchid Inn). Since then, I really thought I would not eat anymore Chinese food out of my home. Dragon City used to be one of my favourites a decade ago, but its standard has plunged so much that I think chefs working there must be paid peanuts. I had deep-fried seafood rolls (frozen Southern Vietnamese seafood rolls)- the most horrendous combination of some jackfruit mayo sauce mixed with oil, its nightmarish stirfried fuyi noodles, and its steamed tofu dish all tasted like substandard hawker fare.

This time, after browsing through UOB's brochure on one-for-one deals, I've decided to check out this restaurant where one of my nephews had his birthday bash. There was no good deal I could get from my UOB card, though, having not gone there with a group of four.

When I reached there at 3:00 pm, the restaurant was still packed. There wasn't much of an ambience to talk about -- just a rather clean-looking place with pacquet floor, some timber works, two huge pillars diagonally positioned probably for good fengshui. I have always wondered why this place was named so uncreatively, upon seeing its Chinese name 地茂馆（lit. 'land prosper restaurant/place'), I sensed some humor in it. The Chinese name phonetically reminds one of the way a Chinese would attempt to pronounce 'the mouth' in English for the first time -- it is rather ingeneous!

The menu is expansive; one features the deep-fried stuff, the other the steamed dishes. Then there are lunch and promotion sets. Prices range from SGD 3.80-4.90 a dish. I only picked the steamed stuff because I didn't think oily food would work well with my stomach. Finally, after being told that 80 percent of the steamed menu were no longer available for that day, I'd not much choice left. What I ended up ordering were: siew mai with crab roe, Beijing jiaozi , yam cake, special har gao (shrimp dimplings), and bamboo shoot in beancurd skin rolls. I couldn't have more because they forgot my steamed carrot cake. The total bill added up to SGD 25.28 ( a little discount on service for UOB cardholders).

My overall rating: food: 4.0 out of 5.0 points; service: 2.5 - 3.0 points; ambience: 2.5 - 3 points. I wouldn't mind making another trip there at the end of the year.

Address　場所: 133 Chinatown Point #02-01；New Bridge Rd 059413.

Buffet Lunch at Ellenborough Market Cafe (6239-1848)

Good Friday, April 6, 2007: After my swim this morning, I was all ready to go to Swisshotel Merchant Court for my buffet. This would be my first visit to this hotel, tucked at the corner of two busy streets near the Singapore River.

When I reached there, a short line was already formed. The hotel interior exuded a strong Balinese accent which I liked very much. The polished teak, porcelain, rattan flower-pot stands and other embellishments were coordinated to create a mellowed brown ambience of tranquility. The spacious cafe is decorated with tiles reminiscent of Peranakan houses and Portuguese-style ceramics. In fact I saw some Eurasians who looked Portuguese!

The feast derived from four generous spreads of food - quite a rarity in hotel buffets on Orchard Road- and I immediately felt my guilty conscience prompting. First, the vivid scene from a You Tube video clip on 'Daily Life in North Korea' was still lingering in my mind; next was the sudden disturbing appearance of the bloated me posing with Evelyn for a picture outside our dormitory on Seaview Street in Oahu (Honolulu). Ughh...Life is a journey of negotiating dilemmas, and it later turned out, a battle with onslaughts of temptations:

Sushi, sashimi, braised sea cucumber with mushrooms, fresh roast duck, arrow squids in chili, flower crab with a spicy gravy, beef rendang, chicken masala, steamed oysters, western salad spread, marinated abalone, roast chicken, duck in soy sauce, spring rolls, beef goulash soup and boiled shrimps; the dessert counters offered Thai Bubur Terigu, green tea brulee, brownies, Easter eggs with choc, Ah Balling (Peranakan glutinous dumplings with black sesame filling), 'foo chok pak kor' (a soupy dessert with bean sheets 'yuba' and ginko nuts), fresh tropical fruit platter, ice cream, apple and raisin crumble, bread and butter pudding, vanilla sponge...

I give thumbs up to the prawn noodle for its excellent authentic stock which contained some fallen shrimp legs, followed by the well-braised sea cucumber (namako)with mushrooms, the steamed oysters and the beef goulash. It was such pity that my stomach wasn't able to make room for everything in the buffet.

Finally I ended this gluttonous sojourn with several morsels of sweets that immediately melted in the intermittent sips of European style coffee. I'd to change my plan of finishing a paper at a quiet cafe in Marina Square and head for home!


What a guilty Good Friday - at SGD 31.35 (everything thrown in).

Other detail from the web (but I didn't see any lobster, abalone noodle, or durian pengat!):
Swissotel Merchant Court Singapore - Buffet Lunch & Dinner
When: Noon-2.30pm, 6.30-10pm daily
Cost: $19.90+++ for lunch and $24.90+++ for dinner on weekdays, $25.90+++ for weekend dinner.
Children pay $11.90+++ for lunch, $13.90+++ for weekday dinner and $14.90+++ for weekend dinner.
This spread with a strong nonya component has gained fame since 1997 and the star remains the durian pengat, a yummy mousse. Other must-haves include the slipper lobster in black bean sauce and abalone mushroom noodles.

Marks & Spencer's Messicani & Swiss Bakery's Pannini

Friday, April 5 (Thurs): Today seemed like a Friday, tomorrow being Good Friday holiday. I went to Cluny Court's Cold Storage and had a surprise when I saw 'Ubaldi' ravioli on the shelf. This was the brand of the ravioli I picked up at a Sydney Supermarket (Costwell?) near Manly Pacific, where I stayed. The cost for a box here is SGD 10.10. Not too bad, really. But tonight, I wasn't in a ravioli mood. I was thinking of the half-box of Messicani left in the fridge. I thought some really fresh Pomodoro e basilico would be perfect with it. It turned out to be true, with an excellent Bordeaux, Chateau L'eglise Saget (2004) as well. This has a profound body, a wift of fruitiness, and a refined balance. It was one of the six bottles I picked up at Carrefour during the French Fair. Vive la France; vive le bon appetit!

I have not seen Messicani in Italy and wonder if it's an Anglo-Italian creation. It read something like this on the packet: Made from durum wheat semolina and fresh free-range eggs. Wow! No wonder I thought the best food in Oxford was any food stuff from Marks and Spencer on High Street...

Nikujaga

March 29: After a full day of training, I felt tired. But while everything was simmering in the Japanese pot, I had a good scrub in the shower. Missed swimming in the morning because of training. I had to be at the training venue at 8:30 am.

Nikujaga is a very delicious and easy-to-cook dish. Cut up potatoes and carrots (I always believe in cutting them neatly) and blanch 'shirataki', or 'itoo konyaku' (arrowroot starch vermicelli). Boil some peas if desired. Thaw your packed sukiyaki or paperthin beef. Slice some onion rings.

Fry the sliced onions until aromatic. Add in carrots. Stir well, followed by the potatoes. Add in shirataki, then water, mirin (sweet rice wine, which I usually omit), sake, and finally soy sauce. Simmer all. When the ingredients are cooked, flavour them with beef. Many add in sugar but I don't.

Garnish with peas. The dish is ready to be relished with piping hot Japanese rice - for a day or two!

This was also the first time I had Saumer with it. And it is really a weird but interesting wine. Very good with cheese, as I found out on the next day.

Pomfret with Pinot Blanc

Saturday Mar 24- The silver pomfret had been lying for a week in the fridge and it seemed overdue to cook it. I would try anyway, I thought, with assam (tamarind gravy) again. Surprisingly, it turned out the best pomfret I've eaten so far, thanks to those Malaysian fishmonger from whom I always get my seafood. It was still very fresh (perhaps partially due to my excellent fridge). I sliced the red onions neatly, smashed the ginger with a wooden pestle I bought from the wet market in Hoi An, did the same to the lemon grass and aromatized everything in order. It was a great lunch with a pinot blanc from Alsace and boiled Southeast Asian spinach. I also prepared my comfort food ('dragon bones', potatoes, carrots, onions, and gourd). After the fantastic seminar by Professor Murowchick on surprising finds at Sanxing-dui, Szechuan, at Asian Civilisation Museum on Thursday, Mar 22, I realised 'dragon bones' were what physicians initially prescribed to cure malaria in the 19th century. They led to the discovery of the Shang dynasty oracle bones!

I read some of my notes at TCC, Plaza Singapore in the hot afternoon. At TCC I saw many SMU students working on their assignments and noshing their finger food when they finished. Their food orders looked great. I had my TCC house premium as usual before going to Carrefour to pick up four bottles of wine for the forthcoming week and a half. It would be a busy week!

Nattoo and Baked Beans

Strange. I craved for baked beans tonight. And poached eggs! True, I did not have my breakfast this morning, except for coffee and fruit.
I recalled what the Vietnamese told me: 'We eat at any time hunger pangs hit. We don't specifically differentiate the meals.'

Then I thought of the Japanese who also eat nattoo in the morning and night. Well, so why can't I have my baked beans and eggs at night? I prepared a mushroom soup, a fresh wakame salad, and a good Bordeaux Chateau Pey La Tour 2005, a gold medalist, to go with it. It wasn't a bad combo.

Vina Sol and Old Cucumber Soup

March 18 was another full day of sultry weather. After my morning swim, I wondered whether to make Gaspacho or Old Cucumber Soup. I decided the latter because it was much easier. Besides, the last time I had it was probably four months ago.

I bought more than 400 g of what the butcher told me were 'dragon bones' and also a bag full of vegetables including the yellowish brown gourd.

After five hours, I served it from the slow cooker. Many would suggest that I enjoy the soup with Alsace's Riesling, but I chose a well-chilled Vina Sol (2006) made from the 'palleda' grapes in Spain instead. It turned out to be the right choice. The soup was so mild that the lychee fragrance of the Riesling would have overwhelmed it. Vina Sol is very light; it smells like fresh Baby's Breath...the tiny white flowers. I think I will get another bottle this coming weekend.

Oishii Ramen

The reasons to go to Marina Square on Saturday were compelling. Ah Kiat had made sure that I'd be there for the Fashion Week promotions. He quipped: "Fifteen percent off for Rip Curls, Grace." Wow. I'd surely get my second bikini.

But another reason existed for me to go to the mall. I love Imperial Treasure's ramen at this outlet. It's 'z' best for me and it's even better than its own outlet in Takashimaya. Crystal Jade's version of Tan Tan Men really pales in comparison -but it's slightly more decent than the Dan Dan Mian one gets in Japan. It was in Japan where I'd my first encounters with some Chinese food that people of Southern Chinese ancestry do not eat.

Roxy and Billabong are good alternatives to VS. There's no Victoria Secret outlets here in SG -and I have vowed never to get anything from its catalogue after having lost a box of merchandise to my classmates from Taiwan who moved into the house when I vacuated Monterey. Victoria Secret did not materialize a full refund although they'd promised-so they'd lost a customer.

My new bikini is named: La Fronda, from Roxy and not Rip Curls. I didn't find any thing suitable at Rip Curls. "There's no discount for UOB cards, though," informed the sweet sales assistant at Roxy. "I guess I am lucky to get this last piece for my size," I replied.


I did not hesitate to go for my Sunday morning swim at the break of dawn but the joy of swimming in my new swim suit was dampened by a 'copy cat' who also chose to swim at my usual swimming time. He's got no stamina, neither good hygiene habits. He was in the pool already before me but the shower area appeared dry from last night.

I should return to the habits I adopted when I lived in Hanoi- day som!

Breakfast

I haven't eaten local breakfasts for almost a decade and one of them is local fave 'mee siam' - rice vermicelli in a tamarind based gravy.
Today after my daily morning fruit which is sweet papaya, a strong European coffee, and a fresh locally brewed soya milk, I gave my Post 'Cranberry Almond Crunch' cereal a pass and had the 'mee siam' Ah Kiat helped to buy at Old Chang Kee.

It tasted really delicious and I didn't feel uncomfortable after finishing it although I'd initially feared that my stomach would be scoured by the hot spices. Yummy...I look forward to the next chance of having it. (It looks like the Malay version of naeng myeon).

Paella

Yesterday was probably one of the most humid days in Singapore. It felt like a Tokyo summer.
I missed my Sunday morning swim and felt quite miserable the whole day.

In the afternoon, I spent quite some time preparing the prawn stock:
deshelling, deveining and then bringing everything to a boil in a marunabe (round-bottom Japanese pot), after which came cleaning the squids and slicing them into equal rings. Then I soaked the cilantro and washed the bell peppers and tomatoes.

In the evening, I washed some Thai rice and accurately measured the liquids for cooking. I took out the S & B paella mix which has expired for a month. Next came the aromatization of the julienned onions, carrots, and tomatoes in olive oil, followed by the addition of the rice and mix. Before it was ready to be served, I added in the rest of the ingredients.

I served a Chilean syrah 2005 from Ventisquero (a Colchagua Valley product)- a little sweeter than Aussie Syrah. Overall, I would say, I ate more than my usual portion of rice.

Scrumptious Home-made Fish Curry

SK and I went home on a train about two weeks ago. We were yakking about the Korean 'Rain' and then somehow, from there, we digressed into delicious assam fish which both of us missed. When I told Ah Kiat about our chat the next day after his trip back from Pontian, he immediately posted a pix of the assam fish he enjoyed in Pontian on his blog to torture us. Luckily for us, his assam fish looked bad in the picture.

I made this fish curry with a fresh paste from Malaysia and then added in onions, lemon grass, curry leaves, fresh coconut milk, et cetera, sometime last year. The nice script of my blog address was done by Designer, Song Khim. She did that on almost all my photos here.

So it's about time to make some good fish curry again. I think I'll make it right away this weekend. I am sure I will be able to enjoy it after a good haircut. Gee...I forgot the name of the Japanese hairstylist who is going to do my hair.

Avocado Salad

L. gave these Indonesian produce to me yesterday, the reason being they would add to his "cholestrol"! (Although he will not miss the chance to tell people that he is an "all-rounder", no one can convince me that any education system can produce one - ha!)
Anyway, these fruits measured 16 cm in length and roughly, 9 cm in their longest breadths. One looked unripe and the other, over ripe;but in fact, both were already fully ripe!I discovered that when I dropped them on the floor! The green one cracked a little, and some aromatic soft flesh slid out from it. The brown one withstood the shock, but there was a really soft patch on it. I ate the latter that evening.
After scooping out the flesh, I chopped some lettuce, cilantro and crimson bell peppers.
I think Japanese Tasty Dressing really goes well with avocado -and if you don't have it, just the gomadare for shabu-shabu and a bit of mayonnaise and soya sauce, pepper, and some sesame seeds will do some magic. The result: a halfway between guacamola and salad!

Raffles Tiffin Room & The Japanese Association 日本人会

I've confirmed that Northern Indian food is not on my top five entries for 'must-haves'.
I've been to Rang Mahal (Pan Pacific Hotel) and I must say, other than the ambience, I'd rate the food worse than many 'street' Indian food in Singapore. As for Tiffin Room, I think the service, atmosphere and food presentation all deserve some good remarks. It's probably just me who don't appreciate kitsui aji.
Top on my list of favorite cuisine is Japanese. The tokusen bentoo at Donguri (Japanese Association, Singapore) is something to look forward to every month. The attention to detail in presentation and skilful flavour- and texture- combination are not reflected in its price (SGD 20++).


















A display of Hinamatsuri Festival at the lobby of The Japanese Association:

Australia's Premium Wine

TGIF- it's wine and food talk for now to catch my breath before preparation work in the weekend. Hopefully I will be able to finish my prep ...and then there's another piece of academic writing to start on and then...

Anyway, the oenophiles' delight is Penfold's St Henri Claret 1989. I had a few glasses of it, courtesy of Sam and Margaret-and I have to add, "Their marriage was made in heaven"-- thus explains the worthiness of this wine for the occasion.

When Sam and Margaret, together with Judith and Mabel dropped by my place last weekend, I served them this platter but what is here are the few left-over morsels. All I cooked that evening were thankfully palatable although my banh cuon tom (Vietnamese nama-maki) was the worst that I have made so far because I chilled the shrimps in a flurry. Surprisingly the lamb seemed delightful. It's the classical fresh Rosemary with chopped mint, worcestershire, pepper, premium sea salt with an intense sprinkle of hope on air-flown Australian lamb shoulder rack. The accompanying wine was Brown Brothers Cab Sauvignon Vintage 2002. I hope the St Henri had left no lingering aftertaste on them or they would be too disappointed with my Brown Brothers.

May blessings be showered on them all both in Singapore and Ho Chi Minh city! Chuc may man va thanh cong! Hen gap lai!

P.S. I am also quite sure that this will be the only lamb that I'll have this year.

True-blue Italians and Their Culinary Presence in Singapore

I went to "Porta-Porta" (Tel: 62227461) more than a year ago, but apparently remembers it well.

“Porta-Porta” oozes an eccentric atmosphere when you peer through its doors. Shirts, pants and bras suspended on clothesline gracing the ceiling zoom into sight as you step in; plastic vines twining around the wooden dividers at a corner become noticeable as you descend on your seat -- and then you cannot help wondering if you are in the midst of an eclectic Italian streetscape or a restaurant.

The Napoli usher, Daniel, a 13-year resident of Singapore, accustomed to curiosity cast on the laundry, was quick to explain with a Singaporean accent that the clothes were dipped in starch and cement to form an inevitable feature of his restaurant which he prided as enshrining the real Napoli - in spirit and in taste. Shortly, I was to appreciate the semantics of the phrase, “real Napoli” once my skepticism on the possibility of recreating a Napoli in Singapore vanished after just savoring the initial morsel of egg-plant in olive oil and herbs from a delightful platter of tomatoes, cauliflower and squash. The Cesari Mara (2001) that Daniel recommended outrageously scourged my appetite, and the desecration of dieting oaths was about to begin with bruschetta with tomatoes ($16.50) -- a dish that Kevin, the chef, and the loving father of Daniel, ensured would burst with aroma at every crunch into its warm golden crust crowned by soft, cold tomatoes and herbs. “I have to be so careful with timing here,” he explained the feat involved, “that’s why I often lose my voice in the kitchen.”

But it is certainly not precise timing alone that makes wonderful creations indelible: the calamari’s ($27.50) sheer thin coat lightly crumbled to give way to lingering succulence unfound in other versions; and aracini, meticulously rotund rice-balls with mozzarella-filling like Japanese koroke with an Italian expert’s twist, both manifested the belief that the inner core of freshness should be accorded supreme. These rice-balls have to be ordered in advance.

The climax of this orgasmic dining experience was reached with the family’s handmade ravioli al nero ($26.50) squid ink flavored ravioli with filling of clam, squid and codfish) before Daniel added a wholesome touch to the meal: a fresh salad and a hearty fish soup. That was not the end, he promised, as he brought out penne al dente with shrimp in tomato-base cream with a tinge of chilli-hot ($23.00). I queried its fragrance and found out that its magical scent exuded partially from the chopped cilantro. “But this is no place for fusion cuisine; my taste buds are true-blue Italian,” he stressed, as he made sure that I cleaned up the scrumptious sauce with Porta-Porta's divine homemade bread.