Whale meat, anyone?

October 21, 2008 (Tuesday): June this year, I was at the Japanese Association lounge browsing the Japanese magazine Dancyu ダンチュウ (June, p. 111) when I chanced upon this captivating ad on gourmet tours of Kyushu. It is so attractively illustrated and plied with such innocence that everything looks perfectly OK. I don't know what vets would say, especially my nephew, if he sees this. Having our New Year lunch with him at the Equinox has made me abandon my former favorite, the fois gras (Below: fois gras baked on grilled scallop, garnished with fish roe).

I have tasted the whale in Dotonburi, Osaka. My ex-company supplier, who tried to please my boss, treated me to the most unforgettable steam-boat feast. I naively asked how he managed to get whale meat and was told it was declared as a research object by his son-in-law, a researcher of some organization, who was there to share this 'delicacy'. Anyway, it tasted close to beef.

That was my first and last time eating the whale... especially when it looks so cute in this gourmet ad!

DONGURI's どんぐり Tokusen Bentoo for September; Tea at Raffles

September 2, 2007: Last month's Tokusen Bentoo (Special Bentoo) turned out unimpressive. The adjective for it is bland. There was the cold udon, sashimi, the beef stew -with no beef cubes or potatoes in it, an uninteresting simmered dish of pumpkin garnished with boiled shrimps, agedashi tofu and unagi don. It's summer - the season for unagi which is believed to be energy-supplying, a property to combat the summer heat which can rise beyond 40 degrees. The record summer temperature in Japan to date is 40. 8 degree Celcius in 1938. My only favorite in the set was agedashi tofu.

I am glad there's a sprinkle of creativity and generosity for this month's bentoo. Meats and veggies are varied- and surely more elaborately prepared.

The hamburg is not exactly my fave because I've made a return to the 'more-veg-less-meat' diet after my platecount has reached the normal; but the mushrooms surrounding it was nevertheless tempting. The colorfully presented hiyayako was the most welcoming and the tastier sashimi and roe this month make the bentoo a treat.

The cubed eggplant enclosed by a beautifully carved wall of skin, picqued with sansho herb, came indeed as a surprise.

A final countdown to those outrageous scones at Raffles Hotel for our four-o'clock tea. It'd probably be the last time for these moist cakes, unless we'd be willing to go by the subway and avoid the maddening traffic downtown in the vicinity of Raffles Hotel.

I suppose it's fair if I say "I am fortunate to be in Singapore because I have the best of many worlds!" Seriously I'd have to watch out or I'll break my bathroom scale soon.

Probably the Cheapest Japanese Restaurant Downtown, Sun with Moon Restaurant

August 26, 2007: I went to Sun with Moon Restaurant, Wheelock Place, Orchard Road,
for my first lunch at this restaurant. Previously I'd dinner and tea.

Sun with Moon is synonymous with a great variety of desserts, evident from its colorful wall-paper of alluring Japanese beans and mochi spread across its exteriors.

The mellowed interior calms you down immediately with a lot of wood and a long panel of glass that reveals a contrasting scene of heady traffic and crowd at the junction of Boulevard and Orchard. Further there is some greenery bordering the Paterson slope. The dimness of the restaurant captures the Christmas mood perfectly when all the decorative trees in the room are also sprayed white.

I ordered a tempura and salmon sashimi set, priced at SGD 17.80-which is cheaper than many others on Orchard Road. The evidently careful matching of crockery is really a plus.

A. ordered his unagi don (eel on rice), naberyouri (hot pot dish) and nikujaga (simmered meat with potatoes) set, tagged at SGD 16.80.

The lunch crowd is there because of such prices? I wonder... Tea is great: Order a dessert and add one or two dollars for coffee or tea - which were good. The mango parfait is highly recommended. A fragrant green apple Japanese tea may just make it divine.

At the end, what would I say about this meal? A simple taste "SWEET" predominated - except for the sashimi.

Sticking to its signature dishes (e.g. kamameshi) and desserts is probably the safest bet (see my earlier entries "Sun with Moon Japanese Dining and Cafe").

Food: 2.5/5.0; Food quality: 3.0/5; Service: 3.5/5; Ambience: 4/5

New Restaurant, Akane (Chikuyotei)(Tel: 6738-1990)

August 18, 2007: A new restaurant opened at The Japanese Association, Singapore, on August 10, 2007. It replaced the previous Akane Restaurant (thank goodness), including its name. This new restaurant is run by Chikuyotei, a reputable century- old eatery that began in the Edo period in Tokyo. Its signature dish has faithfully remained as the eel, but at Akane here, it's offering a wide variety with the highest level of authencity, reasonably priced. Its outlet in Takashimaya seems a little higher in price, probably due to the Takashimaya rent.

I was immersed in a peaceful ambience when I passed the narrow passageway into the restaurant. The dining area peeps at a tiny rock "garden"(rather a pebble garden) outside the large all-glass panels. It's on the fourth level of the Japan Association but oversees no streetscape except the tiny triangular patch of pebbles and plants.

As for the food, it's "thumbs up!". The tamago yaki is not poisoned with mirin and sugar like what you'll get outside for instance. 'A' gave full marks to its koaji boozushi and the set he ordered which came with soomen (soft fine angel's hair), al dente, and beautifully garnished. I rate it as excellent as well, but the only snag is: like any healthy Japanese restaurant, it only fills up 80 percent of your stomach. The bill was reasonable - in fact, cheaper than Kuriya, the Japanese food "factory".

Each of our set was SGD 20, which came with a tiny piece of well-chilled melon and papaya at the end.

I have to say Donguri's crown for service remains untoppled, but the experience at Akane was memorable: The Japanese usherette gave Akio the wrong bill to sign on and returned the wrong membership card. He'd to go back to retrieve his card which was almost given to someone else. It's a lesson for all though, but we'll certainly go back again because it serves real Japanese food!

How I Increased My Blood Platelet Count

July 21, 2007: I thought I'd want to remember the strategies I took to increase my platelet count on the way to the hospital for the bruise on my hand as well as to do another blood platelet count-strategies that I, as a layman, thought would work. . A took me to have a feast in the midst of his heavy work load and appointments. Poor him! I remember he worked till close to 9 pm that evening...

First, the bloody viande- which was good- at Donguri. I craved for that, I remember, the minute I was discharged! Talk about basic instincts...This was my third piece of meat for the week.

I pinched bits and pieces from A.'s bentoo as well...

At the hospital, before the nurse finally drew my blood, I'd repeatedly refused to let her do it. I was terrified after having my veins penetrated so many times in hospital. This time, I was weakened further by fear. Finally after two attempts (the latter one with a thinner and sharper needle; the former shot having been interrupted by me), she managed to siphon 6 cubic ml (two short test tubes) of blood from my body...

On the way back, I'd a sudden urge for milk protein despite feeling quite exhausted- what a gluttonous dengue patient.


I hit the hay after reaching home.

シンガポール日本人会のどんぐりレストラン （６月の特選弁当）Donguri's June Bentoo

June 3: It seemed like yesterday (June 6) that I went to Donguri. But in fact, it was on Sunday, five days ago, when I was there for lunch. And tomorrow will actually be the last day of the work week!

Now after leading a group of Japanese school teachers in my Centre's museum exhibition, a whole chunk of my 'hard disk' seemed to be occupied with historical materials in Japanese, and memories of what I ate at the Japanese Association's Donguri seem to have been eradicated. Thank goodness there is this menu (see bottom of this post) and the pictures.

This month's bentoo offers a lot of my favourite dishes. They all add up to what I would describe as "mild" and "variably textured".

There is the crunchy lotus root slices on two pieces of soft tataki maguro coated with fragrant sesame seeds dribbled over by wasabi miso sauce. This is my fave among the more mainstream dishes such as tempura, grilled saba, and cold soba.

But even these mainstream dishes happen to be irresistables for me in Japanese cuisine.

Accompanied by the Japanese lilies growing outside the glass panel, I enjoyed both the tropical scenery, the food and the company. Appreciating these Japanese lilies revived my first experience of tasting the grilled pork on noodles (my thit nuong) in Hoi An. This delicious dish which I ordered at a small shop on Nhi Trung Street cost about 50 Singapore cents (5000 dong) in the late 1990s. What was exotic about it was its garnish. The owner threw some of these bitter lilies into it and morphed the dish into one that was out of this world. The shop unfortunately cannot be found at the old location anymore. I wonder where the family has moved to since then?

Back to Donguri, its service team is really one of the best in Singapore. It's always attentive, warm, friendly, efficient and cheerful. I noticed however that one of them has left to work somewhere else- presumably at the airport. Well, the core members are still there: Ben, Jenny and several more I know by face and not by their names. Here's a sunny example:


6月　特選弁当(970Kcal)

海の物山の物サラダ寄せ、

炙りマグロの胡麻風味

冷やしそば、

焼鯖の椀仕立て、天ぷら

冬瓜、ご飯、味噌汁


Salad, Lightly Grilled Tuna topped with sesame seeds,

Cold Soba, Grilled Mackerel with Soy

Sauce with grated daikon, Tempura, steamed winter melon,

Rice and Miso Soup

Surprise Birthday Dinner at Inagiku Singapore (6431-6156)

I took a day of leave on my special day.

I went for a morning swim and then had my breakfast. After that I snoozed off. The weather must be very conducive or I swam too much? When I woke up, it was already lunch time. I made a soba salad, which I have not had for a while.

In the evening, I was all ready to go to whichever restaurant I was taken to. The place turned out to be Inagiku. Gee...I haven't been here for more than a decade! was my immediate response.

When I stepped in, it seemed darker than I remember it to be. The chairs and tables seemed to be the same - small and short, but nevertheless, comfortable.

Chun Kit, the service personnel, came up and asked us what drinks we wanted. His colleague also said our reservation was not written with the full details and so forth. We asked for the Raffles Blend since it'd be free; and UOB card members also could get 15 percent-discount. Not too bad. Chun Kit recommended the teppanyaki set but we opted for the maguro (tuna) course instead.

After a long chat, we asked for the food to be served. The salad was very cold-and the slices of maguro were great. I was aware of the depleting stock of maguro in the ocean though. The salad came with what tasted like a mustard, soy sauce, sugar, sesame seed, and onion concoction.

Next was a warm eggplant topped with pieces of grilled maguro garnished with shiso. Yummy.

The following entry was a well-chilled watermelon cocktail which was very delicious and functional as it seemed to wash down the load of entrees and stimulated more orders... But actually my stomach started to signal for a halt because by then, my tummy was vigorously churning the wine, maguro, shiso, lettuce and cocktail. However, shortly after, a sushi platter with variations of maguro appeared.

The maguro maki was wrapped in high-quality seaweed and the platter was certainly living up to being named a maguro course. Yikes...More wine.

Before dessert, I went to the restroom and mine! the toilet smelled really bad for a hotel! I threw up everything I'd eaten!

When I returned, the fruit came. A very juicy sweet piece of rockmelon. That was refreshing. Then Keiko came with a surprise piece of Oreo cake topped with sweetened cream. I made a BIG wish and sent it to heaven. I saw my pictures being taken, and glanced at the digital screens - I am getting older, surely.

What an enjoyable dinner (and restroom). Now how would I rate this place:
Food: 3.0/ 5.0 ; wine: 4.0/5.0; service: 4.0/ 5.0; ambience: 3.0/5.0; value for money: 3.0/5.0.

Would I go back again? Well...I miss the Japanese garden and food at Keyaki, Pan Pacific.

Anyway here are the contact details for Inagiku:

Opening hours: Daily noon-2:30pm and 6:30-10:30pm

Address: 80 Bras Basah Rd

Location: Raffles The Plaza, Level 3, The Historic District

Phone (65) 6431-6156

Prices: Set lunch S$42-S$60; set dinner S$130-S$180

May's Dinner

May 4, 2007: It was good to see Mabel and Margaret again.
Margaret looked fitter than ever, and she's got a good tan as well.
"Ho Chi Minh City is too hot; hotter than Singapore," she explained.

We went directly to Donguri. It was easy for me to order; I knew I was going to try out May's tokusen bentoo. It was more difficult for Mabel and Margaret to make a choice- the menu seems too crowded. At last, they ordered a hamburg set and a Mini-Zen set respectively. I hoped that they were finally satisfied with what they had ordered. The Mini-Zen this month looked quite miserable, though...Anyway I had no idea how it tasted.

We tried a bit of Black Tower's Rivaner which is bottled like red wines. I didn't quite know each dish in the bentoo tasted like, as I was busy chatting and also listening to what Margaret had to say about Ho Chi Minh City. Some stories sounded like those familiar tales one can expect in Hanoi. I can't wait to go back to Vietnam as I heard more and more of those street names.

It's the month of May already. Time flies - I've almost lost track of it, but I know I am already a year older! I was quite "shy" to receive such beautiful gifts from Mabel and Margaret. Wow - such great Givenchy fragrances and flowers - I am sure that I will enjoy them.

Overall, I feel great getting older. I associate age with wisdom - an eastern/ Asian philosophical thought that's coded in my genes. I remember my youth was wasted in preparing for vigorous exams, but as I get older, I care less about exams even when I had to take them, but I enjoy learning much better.

Anyway, I am thankful for all that I received tonight: good company and warmth.

DONGURI's どんぐり Tokusen Bentoo for April (Japanese Association)

April 25, 2007: It's a mid-week eat-out evening. I have not tried Donguri's bentoo set this month and so thought it'd be a good chance to stop by the Japanese Association. Besides, the weather was cool and wet with the rain continuously pouring down in torrents. These external conditions and my hunger pangs make a good miso soup and tempura irrestible.

On the way, I stopped to buy some handmade bagels at Cluny Court's Cold Storage: wholemeal (the last piece), sesame, and raisin and cinammon (SGD 1.50 each). Of course, some thick Swiss cheese would make a wholesome breakfast tomorrow, I thought, and so got a pack of that (SGD 6.80), and some smoked ham (SGD 2.49 per 100g). Along an aisle of the supermarket, I saw a Terre D'orb from France and picked up a bottle (SGD 18.95). This is an award-winning French 'varietal' in 2006 (25% Carignan, 20% Grenache; 15% Merlot; 25% Syrah; 15% Cab. Sauvignon). I could taste the sweetness already simply by reading the content composition.


4月　特選弁当(1025Kcal)

うなぎご飯 (SALMON, NOT UNAGI!)、

いかそうめん (SHOULD BE SANSAI SOBA!)

木の芽二色田楽、

若布ときゅうり

黄身酢和え、

竹の子筑前煮仕立て

鶏唐おろし餡、

味噌汁



Grilled salmon Rice, Assorted

Sashimi, Cold Soba with Wild

Vegetables and Grated Radish,

Simmered Butterbur(Fuki)

Assorted Seasonal Tempura,

Sesame Tofu, Miso Soup

Sun with Moon Restaurant Japanese Dining & Cafe at The Central (6534-7784)

April 11, 2007: I wanted to dine Japanese tonight and had Donguri in mind, but somehow was made to change my mind. I was taken to a new outlet of Sun with Moon, a new business venture of the Suntory Group. This new outlet just opened a few days ago-on April 8th, if I am not wrong.

This place is like a hip Tokyo-style outlet, but sprawling spaciously by the side of the Singapore River and is thus more relaxing. I ordered the mainstream fare: assorted sashimi (about SGD 32.50) and tempura (SGD 28?). The sashimi did not taste as good as it looks, maybe because I was comparing it to Sushi Yoshida on 10 Devonshire Road (Tel. 6735-5014), where I found fresh raw fish to be of No. 1 quality. The tempura at Sun with Moon turned out crispier and lighter than those I tried at Yoshida's, though. I was impressed with the succulent shiitake and the branch of golden mushroom which opened up like a Japanese fan.

I had Lindeman's Semillon, a very easy companion, to go with it. Most of the Japanese restaurants that I have been to do not carry good wine menus.

The signature dishes at Sun with Moon include kamameshi (averagely priced at SGD 25), traditional steamed seasoned rice pot which are subtle cousin to local claypot rice, and aburi - half-broiled sushi. I ordered the oyster and shiitake pot which turned out to be very good, partly because I was hankering for oysters. The warm house sake made it quite divine.

The most supreme seemed to be the desserts. In fact, the dessert menu is impressive. My tofu cheese cake (SGD 6.50) was a delightful call.

It's sour, smooth and creamy and contrasted with a very sweet crispy crust, lightened by its thinness.
There are certainly many other temptations worthwhile succumbing to the next time I come.

Address: 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, #01-70/71/72 The Central Singapore 059817

Hijiki Recipe

April 1: What a relief; my training's successfully ended and I could chat through dinner. With an enjoyable dinner conversation in mind, I prepared this healthy dish with much passion:
(1) Soak the hijiki seaweed. They resemble soft black pencil tip but are endowed with minerals; drain;
(2) Slice the carrots and aburage (fried tofu from Meidi-ya, where they are the best);
(3) Boil eda-mame (green flat peas);
(4) Stir fry the carrots, add in the tofu pieces, followed by hijiki;
(5) Flavour with a little mirin and soy sauce; simmer; and
(6) Garnish with green peas.

Itadakimasu! It tasted fantastic.

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.