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Archive for the ‘Eating out’ Category

Green peppers with Century Eggs 青椒皮蛋 and Chicken soup rice 鸡汤饭

In Eating out, Outside Dubai on March 1, 2016 at 09:39

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The 2nd in my street food series of Chengdu, I present green peppers with century eggs paired with chicken soup rice. A typical breakfast for the locals who can’t seem to live without their favorite spices.

The green peppers are 1st minced and then lightly fried in a dry wok before black pepper and chilli oil to the mix. This mixture is then poured over cut century eggs.

The century eggs are preserved duck eggs in this case that has been treated and cured with a mixture of clay, Ash, salt, quicklime and rice husks, resulting in the colors that u see in the picture. This chemical process breaks down some of the complex, flavorless proteins and fats, which produces a variety of smaller flavorful compounds and a jelly like texture for the egg white. It may be an aquired taste if you are not used to it, as the egg is now highly alkaline and smells of ammonia.

The chicken soup rice on the other hand is much easier on the pallette. It is a local version of congee/porridge that had been cooked using chicken soup instead of the usual water that is used in the cooking of congee.  In this version, wood ear fungus, Chinese ham and silvers of shredded chicken has been used to help develop a more complete flavor profile.

All in all a filling and yummy breakfast that is just the right thing to start a cold winter morning. The cherry on the sundae is the cost of this meal! This meal was found in a small deli barely 400 meters away from my hotel that is filled with local regulars and I can see what brings them back,  it is the unbeatable combination of great food at reasonable prices. This meal cost me 15 Rmb or just over 3 SGD and definitely beats the breakfast that was included with my room at the hotel!

Da Dong Prawn Noodle

In Eating out, Outside Dubai, singapore on April 4, 2013 at 21:26

It has been awhile since I had time to blog and finally found something worth taking time out to write about.IMG-20130124-00165

Rediscovery this Prawn noodle place that I used to have years ago, not the cheapest around but I guess I don’t really mind playing for what I really enjoy.

Their commitment to fresh and quality produce is obvious and the fact that the soup doesn’t contain MSG is a plus for someone who is MSG intolerant like me as it means no endless thirst after my meal.

The noodles here cost anything from SGD$5-13, depending on the serving size as well as the types of ingredients requested.

The uncle manning the stall tends to get orders wrong when they are busy but I guess that’s something that I’m just not that particular about considering how good the food is here.

The soup is fragrant and filled with the unmai taste of prawns, however the uncle does not allow any refills. Aside from the soup version, the uncle also serves a yummicous ‘dry’ version of noodles with a kickass homecooked chill paste.

Guess that I will be back more often now that I have found them again!

 

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Meals in the Air : Mocktail @ 30000ft

In Eating out, High Altitude Dining, snacks n bites on October 31, 2012 at 01:23

Just in case you were wondering what I was up to, well been traveling quite a bit these days and mainly around Asia and all that work is making blogging almost impossible despite all the wonderful meals that I have been having recently.

Been flying to the same destinations and I reached a stage whereby I’m able to recite the meal options for the flight even before the cabin crew comes around with the menu.

But boy am I glad that Cathay has decided to bring one of my all time favorite mocktails back to their J class menu! Yippe finally something to look forward to on my flights! The oriental breeze is back ! It is sour-plum tea based with honey, fresh lemon juice and a touch a rose water. It may not sound appetizing but trust me it’s wonderful and I love love love it to bits!

One more for the road? Ps goes great with the pralines provided too!

Chả Cá Thăng Long

In Eating out, Outside Dubai, Vietnam on October 4, 2012 at 00:27

Chả Cá Thăng Long is an infamous Hà Nội dish. It originates from the Chả Cá Lã Vọng restaurant that is more than 100 years old. In the simplest of terms it can be describes as fish that has been marinaded in turmeric. The fish is first grilled and then fried table-side. It’s served with tons of fresh dill, other herbs, crush peanuts, and rice noodles.

Ms H my Vietnamese colleague was insistent that I had to try this else it would have been like as if I never visited Hanoi, how can I resist trying a dish that has survived more than 100 years to become a well-loved cultural icon. The restaurant’s exterior was nothing to shout about being located in an old shop house with surprise surprise … no menus!

Who says you need a menu a mile long to succeed? Just one dish is what this place needed. The fish was simply cooked but it was the complex and yet well balanced flavours that won me over. Will I be back, sure anytime I’m in Hanoi that is!

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Me thinks that this is the year of the come backs … Guess who’s back too?

In Eating out, Outside Dubai, singapore on August 17, 2012 at 07:33

2 come-back posts in the row with more to come!!! Its really nice to see our the chefs that we like come back from either retirement or from setbacks!

For those of us who have missed Pips and Charcoal Grill and Chef Simon who helms the grill there since they closed in the earlier part of 2012, there is some good news to share! They are back!!!

With a new name and a new place, the sambal chill chicken chop and the sirloin steaks are back! Are they as good as they used to be, well yupz in fact I feel that things have improved as they now have a much bigger variety of food available. In addition to the grill menu that they are known for, they have now gotten a bigger menu that includes desserts too!

The only gripe that I have about the new location is the same one I had in their previous one, I’m so not liking the lack of parking spaces around!

There’s what we had that day!

The classic sambal hot wings which were the hot hot hot fav! So good that we almost forgot to take its photo before we attacked it!

The grill salmon … one of the better ones we had in ages … Don’t you hate salmon that over cooked and dry? I’m so glad that the salmon that day was grilled to perfection with a plump pink centre that was moist! Yummy!

Who could forget the chicken chop and sirloin steaks? They were just like we remembered!


Remembered what I said about dessert in the beginning of the post. Pls don’t forget to leave some space for the desserts here. We had the Bobo Hitam that is served in a coconut with ice-cream topped wif durian puree and served with coconut juice in test tubes …

Little Nonya Express

101 Jalan Kembangan Singapore 419139
Tel : +65 6242 8191

From Sun-Thurs
11.30am-3.00pm (last order 2.30pm)
6pm-10pm (Last order 9.30pm)

Fri & Sat
11.30am-3.00 (last order 2.30pm)
6pm-10.30pm (Last order 10pm)

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Nasi Ambeng in Jakarta

In Eating out, Indonesia, Outside Dubai on August 14, 2012 at 00:18

Nasi Ambeng, a traditional and authentic Javanese feast served on a ‘dulang’ (big serving tray) and lined with banana leaves. More than 7 delectable dishes are stacked on a bed of steamed rice in a mountainous display. It truly is a feast!
Nasi Ambeng is a festive dish of Javanese origin. Note that it’s pronounced “um-bng”, and does not rhyme with kambing (goat/mutton). At weddings and festivals, it’s usually served communal style in a big heaping stack, on a serving tray called “dulang” lined with banana leaves. The name “ambeng” apparently refers to that round tray. The dulang can be a large silver or wooden platter, the use of which celebrates abundance and sharing.

Traditionally, four to eight people sit on the floor around the rice-stacked dulang and share the feast. They eat using their hands as they banter and bond over the delicious food. Leftovers are packed for guests to take home. In fact, historically the nasi ambeng takeaway was evidence for husbands to prove to jealous wives that they were indeed at a kenduri (feast), and not elsewhere.

Authentic Nasi Ambeng is truly a feast of many toppings – sambal goreng (fried sambal vegetables and beancurd), serunding (fried grated coconut), acar (mixed pickles), urap (salad with spicy grated coconut), bagedil (potato cutlet), beancurd and fried tempeh (fermented soya bean) plus a choice of a main dish – mutton, chicken or beef rendang, or fish. Some versions even include noodles as a side dish.
Ambeng rice dish is typical of Java in the form of white rice that is placed on Tampah and side dishes were all around. Side dishes may include cakes , salted fish fried, peanut brittle , chili fries , eggs boiled, tempeh fried, ointment , fried noodles , and fried chicken .

Ambeng rice dish is served in salvation as a symbol of good luck. Rice is eaten by a gang of four to five adults. Rice is eaten by wearing with bare hands, without a spoon and fork . Presentation ambeng rice contains a request that all parties who participated endowed much sustenance.
This is one version I had in Jakarta recently.

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Chikuwa Tei – Reborn as Mitsuba by Yurine Japanese Restaurant

In Eating out, Outside Dubai, singapore, singapore on July 26, 2012 at 22:34

Latest update: 26 Jul 12 Guess who is back in action? Chef Peter!

Location：Mitsuba by Yurine Japanese Restaurant:

Address： 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, The Central, #03-88, Singapore, Singapore 059817

Tel: 6227 0388

An old fren who was lost and found and lost again … Update as of 1st Mar12  >>> Chef Peter aka Mr grumpy food nazi uncle has left Chikuwa Tei …one less jap place to go when one has to be on a budget .. sadness ….

 

The bread run …

In Eating out, Food from Home, Outside Dubai, singapore, snacks n bites on July 17, 2012 at 18:53

Some unexpected fun on a routine boring sunday.

Sundays are rest days for me and I usually would rather stay home than head out.

S wanted to check out this bakery that she read about in the paper for having an interesting range of breads and is supposed to produce one of the better tau sa bao in town.

There I was thinking that it was going to be easy to score some bread and be home in no time but boy was I gonna be proven wrong.

We were led on a wild goose chase, lesson learnt: double check the address listed in the review done by the straits times!!!

They listed the address as Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 Blk728 #01-48. We arrived at Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 and spend like 25 mins driving around looking for blk 728 but despite driving up and down Ave 2 three times we were unable to locate blk 728.

We tried google and checked found another address listed in hungrygowhere.com. The address listed was Ang Mo Kio Ave 6 Blk728 #01-48. We then drove to Ave 6 from Ave 4. It took us 5 mins to drive to Ave 6 but took us another 30 mins to locate the block. We finally found block 728 and were overjoyed but then our joy was short-lived as we went around the entire block and guess what? No bakery found.

We got pretty frustrated at this point and we were determined to locate the bakery.

We finally decided to try Ave 4 again and this time we decided to try block 628 which houses the food centre. Euraka! this was the breakthrough that we had been looking for! We had finally located Yi Dai Mian Bao (translated as ‘A bag of bread)!!!

We were glad to see that there was still bread available for us at 8pm at night and that it was not all sold out.

Rather trying just a one or two types of bread, we literally ended up with the namesake of the bakery, A bag of bread each lolz. So much so that the auntie at the counter had an issue adding the total price!

Was it worth the journey? Well I would say that they do serve one of the best versions of tau sa biah and do a mean version of the curry buns! Try the charcoal black sesame bun for something that is out of the ordinary.

Do note that they do not mass produce items so it would take some waiting if there is something in particular that you would like.

Ps loved the way the car smells after we left the bread in the car … The yummy smell of freshly baked bread …

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Bruno’s Pizzeria & Grill

In Eating out, singapore on July 8, 2012 at 11:46

Wanted a change from the usual Italian places that we frequent as we felt like having something different. Rather than fine dining, we had been on the lookout for something a little more homey. Bruno’s had been a recommendation from an Italian friend so I guess it would have been pretty authentic.

Arranged for a dinner there with the girls on one Saturday evening, more people meant more dishes to try and share :). Reservations were recommended as they are usually busy. There are 2 seatings for dinner, the 1800hrs and the 2000hrs. We chose the 2000hrs seating as we would have had more time to enjoy our dinner. But it also meant that we were pretty hungry come dinner time.

We were served the complementary bread basket, the bread was toasty warm. It wasn’t the best we ever had but I guess it will do.

We had the 3 starters to share between us. The FOIE GRAS, the FRUITTI DI MARE FRITTOand the CARPACCIO DI FILITTO DI MANZO.

The FOIE GRAS wasn’t fantastic but the serving generous and I loved the truffle oil salad that came with it. It was a Pan seared duck liver served with granny smith apple, prune and balsamic reduction.

The CARPACCIO DI FILITTO DI MANZO or Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio was served on a bed of fresh Salad tossed in truffle oil dressing was fresh and met our expectations.

The FRUITTI DI MARE FRITTO was by far the best starter we had, the batter looked thick but taste great. It was a nice plate of calamari, shrimp and fish. We enjoyed both the red and white sauce that came with this dish.

Then came the main dishes, we had LASAGNA DI CARNE, RAVIOLI AI FUNGHI PORCINI CREAMA, LINGUINE AL GRANCHIO CREAMA, RUCOLA, PROSCIUTTO E SCAGLIE DI PARMIGIANO and ANGEL HAIR WITH WHITE TRUFFLE SHAVINGS.

The LASAGNA DI CARNE or traditional oven baked beef Ragu lasagne was yummy and is a dish that grows on you. If you had been expecting lasagne like those you get in a tv dinner or at pizza hut, you will be blown away by the simplicity this dish. It is light and not overly cheesy or creamy like one versions you get and it is something that I think would a favourite with this group.

RAVIOLI AI FUNGHI PORCINI CREAMA or simply stuffed pasta with porcini mushroom in cream sauce with white truffle oil. We loved the flavours of this dish but at the same time we were glad that we had ordered it for sharing as it would have been way too rich for just 1 person to finish but lovely to be shared. We loved it so much we soaked up the leftover sauce with the bread provided unglam as that may seem but we still did it.

LINGUINE AL GRANCHIO CREAMA or linguine with crab meat, garlic, in pink sauce
(tomato and cream) and fresh basil. Was something that one of the gals had been craving and had insisted that we had to order this. It was a refreshing change from the usual type of pasta that we have been having but we still enjoyed it. We loved the generous serving of crab meat that came with the pasta and later we sort of realised by we liked it. It seems that this actually reminds us of chilli crab the iconic Singaporean dish!

RUCOLA, PROSCIUTTO E SCAGLIE DI PARMIGIANO or pizza with mozzarella cheese, arugula leaves, parma ham and shaved parmesan was our nod to the pizza bit of the menu. We love the crust of the pizza as it was the traditional wood-fire oven type of crust and would have loved it more if the prosciutto was not so salty!

ANGEL HAIR WITH WHITE TRUFFLE SHAVINGS this was the special of the day. It was angel hair that was in truffle oil and butter sauce and topped with white truffle shavings. It was our little nod to decadence that night and was the most expensive dish but we truly enjoyed the taste of the truffle and will gladly order this again. Ps it was the lightest dish of the day!

It was finally time for the dessert. We had the TORTA DI MELE and TIRAMISU CLASSICO to share when actually we were so fully we shouldn’t be eating any more. But the temptation of dessert was too great and so we decided to only have 2 to share amongst the 6 of us.

The TORTA DI MELE or warm apple pie served with vanilla ice cream and sea-salt caramel sauce was the crowd favourite and came highly recommended by my friend who told me that it is a treat not to be missed and yes he was absolutely right about this! The crispy pie crust combined with the caramelized apple was a great match for the vanilla ice cream and sea-salt caramel sauce and as expected we finished every single bit of it. But as with most good things in life, patience is required, there is a 20 minutes waiting time as these are done ala minute.

How can we ever not have the traditional Italian TIRAMISU CLASSICO or traditional classic tiramisu with mascarpone cheese, coffee and rum when we dine at an Italian place? It was a little of a letdown after the wonderful apple pie as we would have preferred a stronger coffee taste but to those who appreciate the taste of rum in your tiramisu, I reckon you are going to love it.

A wonderful meal for six costs us only a total of SGD $230 (abt AED 700) after a 15% credit card discount. With food this food and a price this attractive, it is only a matter of time before we return for more!

Bruno’s Pizzeria & Grill

338 Tanjong Katong Road
437110 Singapore
Tel: +65 6440 4525
Fax: +65 64440 4527

Opening Hours:

Tuesdays – Sundays
Lunch: 12pm – 2.30pm
Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm

Closed on Mondays

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池記雲吞麵家 – Chi Ji Wanton Noodles

In Eating out, Hong Kong on July 1, 2012 at 15:02

In Hong Kong, wonton noodles are usually served in steaming hot soup with shrimp wontons and garnished with leafy vegetables. There are plenty of variations of this popular Cantonese dish, with different toppings and garnishes.

There are four distinct features: First, the wontons are predominantly prawn, with small amounts of minced pork, or no pork at all. Second, aficionados will insist on fresh, smooth thin noodles which are al dente, free from the taste and odor which is characteristic in many egg noodles when cooked. Third, the bouillon is light brown (prepared from dried flounder) and is usually steaming hot. Lastly, garlic chives are used as a garnish. The first two give the dish a wet but crunchy or crispy mouthfeel. The last two give the dish a unique bouquet.

In order to ensure that the noodles are perfectly al dente the cooking process and sequence must be meticulously adhered to. The wonton is cooked first, and then placed in the bowl. The noodles are blanched for only 10 seconds, after which they are rinsed under cold water and placed in the serving bowl. Piping hot bouillon is then scooped into the bowl, on top of the wonton noodles. The bouillon must be tasty, yet not so strong as to overpower the delicate taste of the wonton and the noodles which it is meant to accompany.

Was looking for a quick lunch that was near to office in central and was looking forward to a yummy time. Chi Ji is one of the more popular wanton mee joints in Hong Kong and I just love their branch in central!

Being summer its too hot for my favorite crab porridge so I just went for the special of the day. The wantons that were made from live sea shrimps. The soup was just how I remember it to be and the special wantons were tastier than the normal wantons.

My colleague had the beef tendon and wanton noodle soup and fresh veggies. This was his lunch!

The lunch crowd here is insane and the whole 2 story restaurant is packed to its rafters! Ps the is a 15% discount for weekday takeout order so we actually will consider this option the next time I’m in for a meeting.