The Salad Shop

Salad places have been sprouting up at Raffles Place recently - helps make you and your wallet slimmer at the same time.

Latest one I tried is The Salad Shop somewhere behind UOB building.

Here, prices start at $6.00, where you have your greens + 4 main feeds which are the cheaper ingredients, I guess. Or you can have the Zebra size ($8.00) which is greens + 4 main feeds + 2 supplementary feeds which are a little more pricey than the main feeds. Lastly, there's the elephant size ($10.00) which is greens + 4 main feeds + 4 supplementary feeds.

In all, I think there were almost 50 ingredients to choose from. However, I think their system of ordering whereby you first ticked all the things you wanted, are issued a number and stand around waiting for your number to be called, seemed somewhat chaotic. I think I will just continue going to my usual salad place at OUB centre.

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Chicken Pau

Attempted to make Hong Kong style steamed chicken pau with mixed success.

It started with making the starter dough the night before, and allowing it to proof for 12 hours.

Next morning it looked like this:

I cooked my chicken meat which did not taste too bad.

Pleating the paus were a challenge, as the dough would not maintain its form and shrank each time. Maybe I did not knead long enough.

I packed my first batch too tightly and they did not have space to expand as they steamed, leading to these weird shapes. I allowed more space in my subsequent batches and the turned out more rounded.

Inside my pau:

Unfortunately, the dough was a little dry and turned a little hard when cooled, although heating it before eating made it a little better. Still, it did not turn out as fluffy as I hoped.

Well, I still have some Hong Kong flour left, so maybe I try another method of making the dough the next time.

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Egg Tart

Attempted egg tarts which was a failure by my standards.

Instructions called for baking at 300 degrees C, so that the pastry will be cooked but the custard will not curdle too much. But my oven could only reach 250.

As it turns out, the custard was a little too sweet for my liking as well. I have never had much success with pastries, so the recipe is not worth chronicling here. I think I should just stick to my cakes.

Egg Tarts

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Ah Chiang's Porridge

Since we are more free on weekdays than on weekends, we ventured out for lunch at Tiong Poh Road.

There were a variety of fish, pork or century egg congee. I took the century egg mixed with pig's liver. Congee was not too salty; pig's liver was not too thick, which would otherwise give me a queasy feel. Dough fritters were a separate order, which we forgot to do, compared to some other places which come with the congee by default.

Also ordered the raw fish; not too sure what kind of fish this was, but the meat was slightly chewy which was a little different from what I tried in the past.

Ended off the meal at Bakerzin. Actually, this is not mine, but my friend's as they did not have the pana cotta which I wanted. The colourful sticks here are made of meringue. Ice cream flavours were cream cheese, vanilla and caramel. The cream cheese taste was fairly strong, although overall, their ice cream seem to feel quite 'diluted'. But now I am quite inspired to make my own cream cheese ice cream.

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Mini Burgers

It was supposed to be lamb burgers, but I could not find minced lamb, so beef burgers it is.

I made the buns myself as well, since I wanted a small sized one. The beef patty turned out to be juicy. Saltiness was just right as well. A little Dijon mustard on the base and topped with cheese and romaine lettuce.

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Recipe

Minced Beef 220g
Salt 1/2tsp
Coriander 2tbsp
Mixed Herbs 1tbsp
Pepper to taste

1. Mixed all ingredients together and make into patty size of choice.
2. Sear the surface and sides on high heat in your pan, before turning down fire to medium and cooking to desired doneness.

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Negi Takoyaki & Okonomiyaki

The Kyushu Fair at Isetan had been there for more than a week, but I only stepped in today.

The takoyaki caught my eye, as they have the negi (spring onion) version. Usually in Singapore, you only find the ones with bonito flakes, but this is another way it is served in Japan, amongst many other ways.

Inside was soft and moist, and the tako was not too chewy. Not too oily as well, compared to Gindako.

How could I miss my favorite okonomiyaki. They had another with spicy mayonnaise, but I decided to go with original.

You can see the red ginger mixed in. When I made my own, I did not add in ginger and I think overall, okonomiyaki tastes better with it. Actually, the base was made of noodles. Come to think of it, I did not read the signs, so maybe this is actually modanyaki instead.

Got praised by the somewhat cute Japanese salesgirl as I decided to practise my spoken Japanese =p. Too bad this weekend's the last or I'll surely go back for more food - both for my stomach and my eyes!

But the real test's when I go Japan again right? Sendai, Sendai, Sendai!!!

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Menya Shinchan

Had lunch at Menya Shinchan located at Robertson Quay. The shop seats less than 20, and the cook is a Japanese. Quite a few Japanese patrons when I was there.

You can select the usual miso, shio or shoyu flavours in tonkotsu or sardine-based broths. Beyond that, you can select either a rich or light broth.

I chose the rich sardine miso one; turns out to be quite oily. Noodles was of the straight kind and char siu was pretty normal to me. Overall, I thought it was only ok at best...

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Chocolate Gateau

When I was in Hokkaido, LeTao was selling this chocolate thing which looked absolutely heavenly but I did not try it. Recently, I was watching TV and saw this supposedly famous place in Tokyo making something similar, so I found the Japanese recipe.

In the TV programme, they seem to have only mixed egg and chocolate, although since it was not a cooking show, I have no idea if that was truly the complete recipe. The recipe I found online had flour mixed in, so I decide to follow the online recipe.

As it turns out, it seems more like a souffle cake, whereas what I saw on TV seemed more like eating a paste-like chocolate texture, as opposed to a cake-like texture.

Nonetheless, this was pretty fluffy and soft when eaten warm. When refrigerated, it was a little harder and tasted more like a brownie. I think I shall try this again next time without the flour and see if it's turns out closer to what I saw.

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Recipe

Semi-sweet Chocolate 45g
Cream 35g
Unsalted butter 40g
Flour 15g
Caster Sugar 70g
Caster Sugar (for meringue) 40g
Eggs 2

1. Put the butter, chocolate and cream in a bowl, and microwave for 1 minute on high. Mix well after taking out from oven.
2. Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
3. Add the caster sugar (70g) and egg yolks into the chocolate mixture, followed by the flour.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites into a meringue, while adding the caster sugar (40g) in two separate batches.
5. Fold the meringue into the chocolate mixture in 2 batches.
6. Bake at 170 degrees C for 30 minutes.

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Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

I remember years back when there were many shops in Singapore selling this. Actually attempted this some time back, but it was a failed attempt by my standards then. This time, I did it!

It turned out to be very soft, moist and light in texture, although the cheese taste was still pretty strong. Will probably taste better when refrigerated.

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Recipe

Cream Cheese 225g
Caster Sugar 30g
Caster Sugar (for meringue) 50g
Unsalted Butter 30g
Cream 100ml
Flour 40g
Juice of 1/3 lemon
Eggs 3

1. Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
2. Mix the cream cheese, caster sugar (30g), butter, cream and egg yolks together.
3. Add in the flour and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites into a meringue, adding the 50g of sugar in 2 batches until soft peaks form.
5. Fold half of the meringue into the batter, then mix in the remaining half.
6. Bake at 150 degrees C for 30-35 minutes.

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Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

I have attempted pancakes many times on my own in the past, but they always turned out dense and not fluffy. Now, I have found the perfect pancake recipe!

I guess the buttermilk did the trick and helped make the pancakes fluffy, just like how cream made my bread softer. The tinge of sourness from the blueberries balanced well with the sweetness of the maple syrup. Blueberries and pancakes just go so well together.

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Recipe
(makes 8-12 pancakes)

Buttermilk 2cups
Flour 2cups
Baking soda 1tsp
Baking powder 2tsp
Salt 1/4tsp
Sugar 2tbsp
Vegetable Oil 1/4cup
Eggs 2

1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Heat your pan on low heat and scoop in desired amount of batter.
3. When edges are a little cooked and top begins to bubble, flip over and cook on other side for another 1-2 minutes.

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Dian Xiao Er

Since our initial choice of Japanese did not pan out, we settled for Dian Xiao Er.

Ordered the dang gui duck which had a strong herbal taste. Slightly on the salty side. However, the meat was a little tough.



Chinese cabbage cooked in fermented beancurd. This was something different and was quite tasty.

Hot plate lamb. The meat was very tender. There were some spices used here, which was mightily familiar, but I just cannot recall what it is.

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Deep Dish Pizza

 

Dinner on Saturday night this week is deep dish pizza. Deep dish pizza is commonly found in Chicago, at least that is what I watched on shows before. This is entirely home-made, as I made the dough myself, as well as the pizza sauce.

  

Lots of mozzarella cheese!

 

Topped with veal sausage and salami. Dough did turn out to be pretty soft and not overly dry.

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Recipe 

Dough
Bread Flour 250g
Caster Sugar 1tsp
Salt 1/2tsp
Yeast 1tsp
Unsalted Butter 3tbsp
Water 250g

1. Mix all ingredients, with the exception of butter, together and allow dough to proof until doubled.
2. Spread the dough onto work surface. Spread the butter on it, and roll the dough into a cylinder.
3. Make a book-fold and proof again in a fridge for 2-3 hours.

Pizza Sauce
Crushed/Diced Tomato 1 can(~250g)
Basil 3tbsp
Onion (medium) 1
Salt 1/2tsp
Olive Oil 1tbsp
Black pepper to taste

1. Saute the onions in a pot first until translucent.
2. Add in the tomatoes including the water.
3. Mix in remaining ingredients and bring to simmer until reduced.

Assembly
(250g Mozzarella cheese needed)

1. Spread olive oil in baking pan. Put ball of dough in; spread and press against and up sides.
2. Put in half of mozzarella cheese, followed by sauce.
3. Add in desired ingredients and cover with remaining cheese.
4. Bake at 210 degrees C for 30 minutes.

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Bonchon Crispy Chicken

Tried the 4 Fingers Bonchon Crispy Chicken at Ion Orchard. Supposedly from USA, but I have no idea why there were Korean words on their menus.

I took the 6 piece set and chose the Soy Garlic flavour. It was quite tasty, but I felt my chicken was over-fried and some parts were dry.

The set came with fries, which was seasoned with seaweed and chili flakes. Again, over-fried as well, and some pieces were even hollowed because of that. Didn't bother to finish it.

Overall, Popeye's is still my favourite!

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Gunther's

 

That's my lunch partner trying to dodge my camera. For his sake, I have pixelated his face to protect his identity... =p

We were served this warm little baguette, which had a very crispy crust.

  

Also given olive oil and vinegar. Not my first time dipping bread in this, but I usually stuck with butter. The vinegar here, however, tasted somewhat sweet and I liked it. So, for the first time, I dipped most of my bread in this.

  

First up, I took the Foie Gras Ravioli Consomme. The ravioli texture was more like wanton skin and not as chewy as the kind cooked as pasta.

  

For mains, I had the day's special which was striploin. The meat had a nice grilled flavour to it, although meat was a little tough at some parts.

  

Dessert was was mango sorbet. I think this was quite nice given that it was not too sweet and had a slight sour taste to it.

  

Coffee was very intense and aromatic.

We were given a plate of this. Not too sure what to term it as. It consisted of canelle, madeleine (I think..) and semi-sweet chocolate. Ended the meal with a challenge from cknewsstand to make canelles...

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