The Baker in Me ~ Bake, Baking, Baked.

Saboten

2010-09-07T21:41:00.001+08:00

Have always had tonkatsu at Tonkichi; this time we attempt a new outlet.

As with Tonkichi, you are served free flow of cabbage, miso soup and rice. There were 2 types of sauces for the cabbage - an orange peel sauce and sesame sauce. I personally preferred the former for its lighter and slightly sour taste.

If you are having the tonkatsu, you are given this mini bowl of sesame seeds to grind on your own and add it to the tonkatsu sauce.

I ordered the special set, which came with hire katsu, rosu katsu, ebi and cream croquette. I usually order the hire katsu because I do not eat the fats, but I seem to realise that the meat on the rosu katsu somehow tasted more tender and aromatic, although I still did not consume the fats. And sad to say, none of the miso soup I had locally can beat what I had in Japan.

The set came with green tea ice cream. Not too sweet, but still had a strong green tea taste.

Ohsumi Shabu Shabu

2010-08-31T19:24:00.003+08:00

Back to little Japan at Cuppage, this time to have shabu shabu.

We were given this seaweed-like appetizer.

In shabu shabu, the meat is cooked in konbu broth which is pretty tasteless in itself. So we have dips for the meat. From top to bottom, sesame sauce for any kind of meat, ginger sauce for pork and a vinegar based one for beef. Surprisingly, each sauce went very well with its intended meat.

Condiments to add to your sauce if you wish.

This was the beef in its beautiful red. However, it was not as tender as we would like when cooked.

The pork felt a little more tender, probably because it's more marbled. Note that we took the beef set, and this plate of pork was an extra order.

Came with an assortment of vegetables, tofu and konnyaku.

The pot which you cook your meats in.

The set comes with your choice of rice, ramen or udon.

Jones the Grocer @ Dempsey

2010-08-24T21:24:00.000+08:00

First time here. The place was bright and spacious, with in-house products lined all around the sides.

Shared this muscato wine from Australia. First time having this wine, and I kinda like it. A little sweet, fruity and sparkling. Alcohol content was only at 5%. This is probably the last time I can drink on a working day.

Had the lamb meatballs which came with flatbread and a yoghurt dip. The yoghurt dip was cold and had zucchini in it, which was rather refreshing. The lamb meatballs were covered with tomato-based sauce and was juicy on the inside. This whole dish had a very Moroccan feel to it.

Ended the meal with tiramisu. Expresso taste was strong, but I think there was no alcohol in this as I could not detect any.

Nagomi

2010-08-04T18:54:00.002+08:00

Nagomi located at Cuppage Plaza, serves fresh seafood flown in from Japan and imported Japanese liquors.

The place seats less than 30 persons. Basically, it's omakase style, meaning you allow them to decide your menu depending the seafood they have, although they will first enquire if there is any food that you do not eat. I did notice that some japanese diners were shown a japanese menu, but locals would do fine allowing your menu to be decided on your behalf.

You are served a small amount of appetizers - macaroni and tuna with mayonnaise on the left, and seasoned vegetables on the right.

Shoyu for sashimi, and the other one for oysters which I actually forgot to use. The small cup was for the sake that I ordered. You are given a tray full of sake cups and you choose a cup of your liking. My first time doing that so I felt a little sua ku and embarrassed for not knowing.

My sake served cold. I chose the smooth over dry.

First up was japanese tomato - sweet and juicy. Tasted pretty amazing with the salt.

My god! These have to be the best oysters I had in my life. My experience with oysters had been so-so, so I usually steer away. But these were the best - extremely fresh and succulent, with nary a hint of fishy smell.

Our sashimi platter, which the owner explained to us the kind of seafood served. Counter-clockwise from top left: uni, scallop, maguro, snapper, and I can't remember the last 2! The uni was really good, just like that ones I had in Hokkaido!

Can't remember what fish this was, but it had a very soft and fine texture inside. Went really well with the salt.

Braised pork belly. Well braised and sinful.

I remember the name of this one - Mehikari, a kind of solefish. This was steamed and light in flavour. I like the soft texture of the meat.

Grilled beef. Beef slices were tender and aromatic.

Lastly, we had chicken broth porridge, which was savoury and hearty.

The owner came over and informed us that this was our last dish and if we would like more food, but we declined.

Finally, for desserts we were served fresh peach from Japan. These were really sweet and juicy, the way you would expect Japanese fruits to be.

At $260 for 2, it is worth every single cent for the quality of the food. I think this is my best Japanese meal in Singapore thus far (Kazu serves yakitori, so that's of another category). Certainly worth coming back for more.

Mad for Garlic

2010-07-27T14:11:00.000+08:00

Came to this Italian bistro which supposedly originated from Korea. They serve pasta, pizzas and steaks, and has a garlic theme for almost all its dishes.

They seemed to have a large collection of wines. Ordered a glass of red wine at $10.50.

Tried this Garlic Tower Bread, so named because when it was served it came standing upright with a heap of minced garlic. The waiter will then cut it into fours, after stuffing the garlic into the bread.

The bread was warm and crispy. The garlic had a texture like that of preserved radish sans the garlic taste. However, I'll take the usual garlic butter bread any time over this.

"Tenderloin Steak topped with Special Balsamic Sauce and Fresh Rucola." Sounds interesting, eh? Which was why I ordered this dish called Cacciattore as my main. For $32.90, I thought this was pretty small, as the tenderloin was half the height of what you get at Jack's Place.

What's worse is that even though I ordered a medium doneness, the tenderloin was still rather rubber-y in texture. Definitely not tender at all.

Although I am not sure about their pastas and pizzas, I will definitely not be coming back here again. I think I can get way better quality food at these prices.

PS Cafe @ Dempsey

2010-07-23T19:27:00.005+08:00

First time here, and there was a healthy crowd even on a weekday lunchtime.

I had the PS Burger consisting of grilled wagyu + US chuck patty topped with camembert cheese, wilted spinach, bacon, tomato & caramelized onion on toasted sesame bun. The meat was quite juicy and succulent. Fries were broad and not over-fried. The dip was pretty unique; tasted like a mayonnaise base with hints of lemongrass and garlic.

For desserts, we had flourless orange cake with vanilla ice cream. Cake was not sweet and balanced well with the sweet ice cream. However, I found the butterscotch sauce tasted a little bitter to me. The cake tasted more marmalade than orange-y, but overall, it was something not usually seen.

We also had the Ultimate Fudgy Brownie with vanilla ice cream. The brownie was on the outside, while the fudge and marshmallows were on the inner end. The marshmallows were very soft, and again the brownie was not too sweet so it went well with the ice cream.

Nando's

2010-07-20T19:13:00.002+08:00

After a few unsuccessful attempts to dine here due to the crowds, I finally got the chance.

Packed inside on a weekend. Probably due to the crowds and the long queue outside, I thought the service was a little lacking.

Each table has 4 bottles of sauces - Tomato, Hot Peri-Peri, Extra Hot Peri-Peri and Garlic Peri-Peri. So if you think your order is not spicy enough, you can actually add more on your own. The garlic version tasted like the garlic chilli sauce from Macdonald's.

Ordered the skewered chicken, which had 4 pieces of thigh meat and 2 sides.

Maybe because the chicken are smaller pieces here, the slightly charred edges gave it flavour.

The sides were nothing to shout about. The baby potatoes only had a slight hint of the lime leaves, while the roasted vegetables were pretty tasteless.

The half chicken was rather big - enough to make me full. The breast was still tender and juicy, but I think the overall flavour came only from the sauce, and not the meat itself. I hated the taste of their coleslaw, as it seemed too sour for me. The fries weren't too bad, and were the fatty kind that I liked.

Overall, an ok meal. This place is not one I would come too often.

Taste Paradise

2010-07-08T19:09:00.000+08:00

Heard that the dim sum here was good, and it was! Probably just became one of my faves at the moment.

Decor inside was very Chinese-styled including the cups. We were served some pickled radish.

We ordered a XO Carrot Cake. This was mildly spicy, with bean sprouts and some leek. The carrot cake was very soft, and the texture was very slightly powdery, which made it somewhat unique, possibly home-made by the restaurant.

Smoked Duck fried spring rolls. I could taste the smoked duck, but I thought the amount inside was a little lacking. Would have been better if the filling was more generous.

Har Gao. The skin here was very soft, and the prawns very fresh and succulent.

Cod Fish Dumpling in silken egg white. This was a very light but delicious dish. The crystal skin was very soft, and inside contained pieces of cod fish and gourd vegetables.

Roast Pork. The skin was very crispy. Again, am no expert on roast pork, but it did keep me going for a couple more pieces than usual.

Siew Mai. I like this more than what I had at Wah Lok or Asia Grand. Very generous serving of roe on the top. I could taste the individual pieces of pork and prawn inside. Very juicy and hearty.

Beef Balls. The menu stated mandarin peel, but I could taste none of it. Only a slight hint of coriander; not as strong as the ones at Asia Grand.

Steamed honey pork buns. The filling was the usual and they were up to standard. I did think that the skin was very fluffy and soft. Absolute delight.

Pan fried pork dumplings. These were pan fried on the underside.

Inside, the filling was moist and savoury. I like the differences in texture and taste between the steamed portion and the pan fried portion.

Custard buns!

Ooey gooey goodness. Definitely pass the taste test. Not too overly sweet, and you can still taste the buttery goodness and the sandy texture from the yolks.

Steamed rice rolls with prawn. Skin here was up to standard - soft and delicate.

Overall a very satisfying dim sum lunch, and prices here are pretty similar to Wah Lok and Asia Grand. Will be back again, I'm sure.

Kazu Sumiyaki

2010-07-06T18:49:00.000+08:00

The last time I was here, I did not have my camera. Finally, I have the chance to come back again. This is probably my fifth time here, but boy, is it still as good as ever!

Fresh, crisp raw cabbage for you to dip into the miso sauce as an appetizer.

Ordered a bowl of garlic fried rice to share. This has bit pieces of fried garlic in it, but does not leave an overly garlicky taste in your mouth. Overall, very aromatic.

Zuchinni Cheese. Extremely soft and cheesy, and went well with the slight tang of the mustard sauce.

Pork belly asparagus. The pork belly was very thin and wrapped well around the soft asparagus, and grilled till it was slightly crispy but still juicy.

Beef with cheese. Extremely tender pieces of beef, which give way to the oozing cheese in your mouth.

Chicken Tsukune balls. Well marinated and soft, with a slight aromatic burnt taste. On the right is grilled gingko nuts with salt. One of my favorites as it is something out of the ordinary.

Chicken skin. This was rather fatty. I think it would have been better if it had been more crisp.

Foie gras. I am no expert on foie gras, but I like the savoury and grilled taste to it. Feels rather fatty, but not too queasy to the palate.

Spicy beef balls. This is slightly different from the chicken ones as there is no sauce here. Slightly dry on the outside, but still soft and moist on the inside.

Sweet potato. This you have to order the moment you sat down, as you have to wait for this. Somehow, they cooked this till it was very soft, moist and tender inside. Sweet on its own, but adding the butter brought it to another level.

The Baker goes BKK: Hongmin Restaurant

2010-07-02T14:25:00.002+08:00

After a massage, we headed to MBK hoping to get some food, but there weren't much choices, so we settled for a Thai-Chinese place.

The usual order of Tom Yum Goong, but we thought the room service at our serviced apartment served a better version.

Kangkong with chili.

I took the Jasmine fried rice with curry prawns. No idea why they called it jasmine fried rice, since it tasted pretty normal. The curry prawns were pretty spicy. Overall, this is place is nothing to shout about.

The Baker goes BKK: Fuji Japanese Restaurant

2010-06-30T13:06:00.001+08:00

Anyone who has been to Bangkok will probably know of this place. One of the Japanese sushi chains where you can get quality food at Bangkok prices.

We had a Maguro Tataki. Raw slices of tuna dressed in a Thai dressing which was rather spicy.

Ordered a deluxe sashimi boat; there were maguro, salmon, mackerel, octopus, crabstick and scallop. All thickly sliced and fresh. Even their wasabi was freshly grated, and was rather spicy. All these for only SGD30+. I think this would cost at least SGD50 back in Singapore.

California Roll.

We ordered a bento set, which came with grilled prawns and some asparagus as well.

Salmon rolls.

Fried chicken which was part of the bento set. This was quite aromatic and crispy.

The Baker goes BKK: Ban Khun Mae

2010-06-28T13:04:00.000+08:00

Last came here 3 years back when I was in Bangkok, and visited this place twice because I liked the food here. Located opposite the Novotel hotel at Siam Square, I'm back again this time.

Inside the setting is rather traditional; some of the tables are made of old-fashioned sewing machines.

Well, we were so hungry, we dug in without taking a shot first, so here's a half eaten Tom Yum Goong. Full of seafood; and the spiciness was just right.

Green curry with chicken. The curry was creamy, and you can taste the sinful aroma of coconut milk. The chicken pieces were tender enough. I always love green curry with rice; makes you eat the rice non-stop.

Otah fishcake. These were pretty good. It was soft on the inside and pretty tasty.

Prawns steamed in coconut milk.

Fried mixed vegetables. Pretty normal stuff here.

Pad Thai. I think this was good. You don't get the queasy feeling like that from the Thai Express version, which can be a little too sweet sometimes. The noodles were thin and soft, but not overcooked.

Pineapple rice. The rice was a little dry in my opinion, but as usual, the nuts gave it additional flavours.

Desserts are a must here, as they are pretty authentic, and way better than what you get in Singapore. The red ruby here are practically large pieces of chestnuts covered thinly with the chewy exterior.

Thai Tapioca. Slightly too sweet, but the whole piece was very soft. Sinfully good.

Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant (2nd visit)

2010-06-24T18:32:00.000+08:00

Back to Wah Lok for a quick lunch on one afternoon.

One of the perennial orders - Har Gao.

And Siew Mai...

My favorite steamed carrot cake and prawn rice rolls.

It was close to the dumpling festival, and we were recommended this limited edition dumpling which was probably twice the size of the usual ones. It contains pork, duck, mung beans and chestnuts. It came served with sugar and soy sauce, and you choose which you prefer to dip in. In fact, the dumpling itself was quite bland. I personally preferred dipping it the soy sauce. This was quite filling, hence we only ordered so few dishes this time.

Fremantle Seafood Market

2010-06-22T16:23:00.000+08:00

Had supper at Fremantle Seafood Market over at Clarke Quay. We chose the indoor seats, although there were outdoor seats where you can indulge in alcohol. Do note that indoor area may not open till late; we were told it closes at 10pm, but we still saw people streaming indoors around 10pm.

We ordered our drinks - I had the Mai Tai which was basically a rum cocktail, while SparklingOrStill had his ginger beer.

We ordered the Frolic platter for 2. This was huge and took up almost all the space on our little table. It consisted of shrimps, mussels, jellyfish, oysters, sashimi, squid, smoked salmon, smoked trout, olives, mozarella-stuffed tomatoes. All the seafood were very fresh, although SparklingOrStill thinks the oysters weren't that good. I seldom eat oysters, so am no expert here.

We ordered the grilled fish to share. Herein lies the problem - we have no idea if this fish is barramundi or white hamachi. We had a pretty blur waiter who recommended barramundi, but we chose hamachi in the end. But when the bill came, it stated barramundi instead. Nonetheless, we loved this dish. The fish was succulent, tender and sweet. It came on a bed of mashed potatoes and sauteed lotus roots and carrots. The lotus roots were crunchy and a unique side you seldom see.

I love escargots, so we ordered one. I would prefer it to be served in its shell, but here, they served it on toast with butter, herbs and pine nuts. It was still good and very buttery. The escargot did feel a little small, though.

We heard the fish and chips were good too, so we ordered to share. Indeed, the fish was also very fresh and flaky. The batter did not have any 'oily' smell to it. The chips were good; they were not over-fried and you can taste the potato within each chip.

记得吃

2010-06-17T16:15:00.001+08:00

Popped by Ji De Chi at Liang Seah Street. I think they have an outlet along Upper Cross Street too.

The first time I came here I had their shaved ice which I think was great. This time I took the hot milk pudding. The pudding a fairly strong taste of milk and was not too sweet. I think it was pretty good here, although still not enough to beat what I had in Hong Kong.

When I was in Hong Kong, I had a dessert which consisted of black glutinous rice and a piece of fresh mango fruit dunked in it. While the combination seemed weird, the sweetness of the black glutinous rice and the slight tang of the mango went well together.

Upon seeing this being served here albeit wrapped in green tea mochi, I decided to try it. The mochi was not overly chewy and the whole combination complemented itself well. I do wish they served what I had in Hong Kong though.

Lai Lai Casual Dining

2010-06-15T15:58:00.000+08:00

After a failed attempt to have lunch at Nando's, we popped over to Lai Lai at Liang Seah Street. This place has been around for more than 5 years, and should be testament to its food.

We both ordered similar set meals, which came with a side dish of your choice per set. We took the tofu with century egg and pork floss. The sauce was quite thick, making the whole dish pretty savoury.

We also took the salted fried chicken. I thought this was a little dry. I think the one at one of the stalls over at Bugis Village fared better.

Our main which was Taiwan Beef Noodles. The soup was a little salty but it had the strong taste of spices and herbs. The beef was tender enough and the noodles were just right. Lai Lai still keeps its standard after so long.

The meal comes also with bubble tea.

Contemporary Melting-Pot Bar

2010-06-07T19:31:00.003+08:00

Although I had read about this place, it was my first time coming here since it's pretty inaccessible without a car.

What better way to live the life of my boss than having alcohol in the middle of the day? So I ordered myself a Mojito. Usual price was $14, but lunch time was happy hour so it costs only $10.

I ordered the CM-PB Burger which was wagyu beef patty, with bacon, caramelized onions, lettuce and onions. The beef patty was juicy and aromatic. Fries was not over-fried and just right. The seasoning on the fries also made it pretty tasty.

They were stacked so high the fries were covered when photographed from the side.

RamenPlay

2010-06-03T19:44:00.002+08:00

RamenPlay is part of the BreadTalk group; I have never quite fancied any of the restaurants under this group, but I'll give this a go..

Tried the Tonkatsu Karaage Ramen. You don't get to choose the soup base, so am not sure what the soup base is, but I think should be shoyu. The pork was a little dry and thin. Noodles might have been a little overcooked as they are not springy enough; in fact, they remind me of cook-yourself ramen packs found in supermarkets.

They serve pork cheek here too, so I decided to try one and see how it stacks up to Santouka's. Well, they were comparable in terms of tenderness but seemed to have a stronger pork taste. Compared to Santouka's, these were a little more moist; more like they were braised. These were good, but personally, I prefer Santouka's.

These eggs while not totally cooked, still fails for being not being gooey enough.

Chicken balls in takoyaki sauce, which were soft and moist inside, but overall nothing special here.

やっぱりBreadTalkが関係の店が全然好きではなっかたね。。。

Since the ramen failed to satisfy, we ended off with a tea break at Fruits Paradise, where I took the Mixed Berries Chocolate Tart. $9.80++ with choice of coffee, tea or soft drink.

Santouka Ramen

2010-06-01T19:34:00.003+08:00

Santouka Ramen hails from Hokkaido and has many outlets spread across Japan. I remembered reading about this place, but have never came here until today, but this is probably the best place thus far for tonkotsu ramen.

I took the Tokusen Toroniku Ramen, which supposedly had limited orders available per day. I have no idea why the ingredients are all served separately here, but who cares so long as the food is great, right? The egg was an extra side order and not included in the default set.

I love these eggs, and would always order one when I can. This one passes my taste test. It was well marinated, and the yolk is certainly still gooey-liciously good!

For soup base, you can choose the usual Shio, Shoyu or Miso. I took the miso which was great and the pork taste was not too overbearing. My partner took the Shio and while he liked his, the porky taste was too much for my personal preference. The texture of the ramen was close to that of Marutama's - al dente and springy - and I liked it.

This is why I consider this place to have the best tonkotsu ramen (Marutama's in a different league as I always order the seven nuts soup base there.). I usually avoid Char Siu because I dislike the layers of fat. But these are apparently made from the cheeks of a pig, which is why there are limited orders a day. A connoisseur who knows his fish would probably go for the meat around a fish's cheek because it is the most tender. I guess the same goes for a pig.

These innocent looking pieces of meat have only a thin layer of fat, are extremely tender and pull apart easily as you bite into them. They are well marinated although might be a little too salty for some palates.

All taken into account, this place joins Marutama in my list of places worth returning to.

Lemon Thyme Fish with Roasted Sweet Potato

2010-05-31T19:39:00.000+08:00

Dinner on Saturday was fish as I had been making chicken and beef dishes. Decided to make something lighter in flavours.

Thyme and lemon went rather well together. The fish was soft and not too dry. A good choice for a lighter flavoured meal. The sweet potatoes could do better; guess I have to look for better ideas for that next time.

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Recipe

Roasted Sweet Potato
Sweet Potato 2 medium
Cinnamon 1/2tsp
Olive Oil 2tbsp
Brown Sugar 1tbsp
Salt 1tsp

1. Cube the sweet potatoes.
2. Marinate it in the other ingredients and bake at 210 degrees C for 50 minutes or until soft.

Lemon Thyme Fish
Fish fillet of choice
Juice and zest of half lemon
4-5 sprigs of thyme
Olive Oil 2tbsp
Salt 3/4tsp
Pepper to taste

1. Marinate the fish fillet together with all the other ingredients for about 1 hour.
2. On high heat, sear the fish on both sides until lightly browned.
3. Bake in an oven at 200 degrees C for 10 minutes, putting in some of the thyme as well.

Apple Raisin Bread Pudding

2010-05-30T12:13:00.001+08:00

Had a craving for both tiramisu and bread pudding, and so wanted to make tiramisu bread pudding, but Marsala wine was all out of stock. So I made apple and raisins bread pudding instead.

This was what I made my Brioche for and turns out to be pretty good. The top was a little crusty, but the inside was still moist and soft.

Sweetness was just nice, and you can taste the hint of cinnamon coupled with the apple, raisins and custard flavours.

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Recipe

Brioche Bread (stale)
Apples 2 (Royal Gala)
Raisins as desired
Eggs 4
Sugar 3/4cup
Vanilla essence 1tsp
Cinnamon powder 1tsp
Salt 1/2tsp
Milk 3cups

1. Remove the crust from the Brioche and cut into cubes. If your bread is not stale, bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees C.
2. Skin and core the apples and slice cross-sectionally.
3. Put the raisins in a bowl and soak in hot water.
4. In a bowl, mix all the other ingredients together.
5. Lay your cubed brioche in a pan and pour the egg mixture in. Soak for about 30 minutes.
6. I use 5cm wide aluminum molds for easy eating. Lightly butter the molds. The brioche will be mushy, so just grab an amount enough to line the bottom.
7. Lay some raisins and apple slices, before topping with another later of brioche.
8. Bake at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes.

Brioche

2010-05-29T21:12:00.000+08:00

Have never actually eaten Brioche bread before, but attempted to make one as I wanted to use it to make something else.

The whole process involved proofing the dough overnight. Since I have not actually eaten one before, I had no point of reference. However, mine did look very much like the photos I saw. It was quite soft and crumbly, but I would personally prefer the tangzhong method.

Click here for the recipe.

Chicken Stew

2010-05-28T21:17:00.000+08:00

Dinner on a Saturday was chicken stewed with zucchini and chickpeas in tomato sauce, topped with coriander and feta cheese.

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Recipe

Zucchini 1 medium
Chicken 500g
Tomato Paste 1 can
Diced Tomato 1 can
Onion 1 medium
Chickpeas 1 can

1. Cut the chicken meat into pieces, season with salt and pepper to taste, and brown in your pan. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Dice the zucchini and onion and cook till soft.
3. Pour the chicken back into the pot. Add in the chickpeas, tomato paste and diced tomatoes with all the juice.
4. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
5. Serve with a sprinkling of herbs or parsley and crumbled feta cheese.

Sun with Moon

2010-05-26T19:22:00.001+08:00

First time dining at Sun with Moon @ Central Clarke Quay. Took the lunch set.

The unagi was fatty enough, but seemed a little overcooked, and was a little dry and hard.

The mushroom broth was very hearty and good. There were lots of ingredients inside besides mushroom. They even had these little round balls which I initially though to look like fishballs, but turned out to be actually japanese yam.

A small platter of fruits to end it all off.

Opera Cake

2010-05-22T21:22:00.000+08:00

Wanted to make an opera cake for a long time, but always ended up making other stuff.

3 layers of almond sponge cake sandwiched with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache.

The sponge turned out to be pretty good. However, I think if I ever make this again, I can drip more coffee onto it for a stronger flavour.

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Recipe

Cake
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
30g granulated sugar
225g ground blanched almonds
225g confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
70g all-purpose flour
45g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy.
2. In another bowl, beat the almonds, confectioners' sugar and whole eggs until light and voluminous.
3. Add the flour and beat on low speed only until it disappears.
4. Gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture, then fold in the melted butter.
5. Pour into 3 10-inch pans and bake at 220 degrees C for 7 minutes.

Coffee Buttercream
10g instant coffee
15g hot water
100g sugar
30g water
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
1 egg yolk
200g unsalted butter

1. Make the coffee extract by dissolving the instant espresso in the boiling water; set aside.
2. Boil the sugar, water and vanilla essence in a small pot.
3. Beat the egg and the yolk in a bowl until the eggs are pale and foamy.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly pour in the boiling syrup. Beat until the eggs are thick, satiny and room temperature.
5. In another bowl, beat the butter until it is soft and creamy.
6. With the mixer on medium speed, steadily add the butter in 2-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been added, raise the speed and beat until thickened and satiny.
7. Beat in the coffee extract.
8. Chill the buttercream until it is firm enough to be spread.

Chocolate Ganache
240 grams bittersweet chocolate
125g whole milk
30g heavy cream
60g unsalted butter at room temperature

1. Bring the milk and cream to a full boil, pour it over the chocolate, wait 1 minute, then stir gently until the ganache is smooth and glossy.
2. Beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy, then stir it into the ganache in 2 to 3 additions.
3. Refrigerate the ganache until thickened and spreadable.

Chocolate Glaze
150g bittersweet chocolate
115g unsalted butter

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.
3. Melt the butter and mix well into the chocolate.

Assembly
1. On one layer of sponger, spread 3/4 of buttercream.
2. Place second layer of sponge on top and spread all the chocolate ganache.
3. Place the last layer of cake on top and spread the remaining buttercream.
4. Freeze the cake for 20 minutes.
5. Pour the glaze over the cake and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Slice the edges to clean up any uneven edges.

Asia Grand Restaurant

2010-05-18T20:17:00.000+08:00

Had a dim sum lunch at Asia Grand Restaurant located at Odeon Towers.

Har Gao - the skin was quite soft; better than what I had at Dim Joy in my opinion.

Siew Mai - the insides were quite 'solid', and you can feel the pieces of meat.

Beef Rice Rolls - I thought that the skin was not soft enough, and I think prawn still goes best in rice rolls.

Fried Shrimp Dumpling - the usual here; nothing extraordinary.

Steamed carrot cake - I prefer this version which is more paste-y, as opposed to the julienne radish version at Dim Joy.

Beef Balls - I kinda like this, although the presence of coriander inside might turn some people off.

I cannot remember the name of this, but its skin was a chewy texture and the insides were filled with marinated meat and mushrooms.

Steamed BBQ Pork buns - these were tasty and fluffy - what you would expect from Hongkong-styled buns.

Fried Banana & Shrimp - I remembered eating something similar at a restaurant called Oriental Restaurant in Bedok when I was young, and I loved it. But I think the texture of this skin was not to my liking.

Saw good reviews of their custard bun. Their version here is actually a Pineapple Bun with custard inside.

However, their custard was way better than Dim Joy's, and did not have the sugary feel to it.

Beef & Cornbread Casserole

2010-05-15T20:07:00.001+08:00

Attempted this recipe which turned out to go pretty well with each other.

Minced beef with corn, capsicum, onions in BBQ sauce and topped with corn bread.

I actually forgot to buy cheese, otherwise it might taste even better. And perhaps I should add some corn starch next time to make the sauce thicker, which I think would be better.

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Recipe

Minced Beef 550g
Capsicum 1 medium
Onion 1 medium
Corn 1 can
Coriander 1tsp
Mixed Herbs 1tsp
Tomato ketchup 2tbsp
BBQ sauce to taste
1 box of cornbread mix

1. Oil your pan lightly, and add in the coriander, herbs, onions and capsicum, cooking until soft.
2. Add in corn and cook for a while more. Transfer to bowl.
3. Brown the minced beef in the pan, and add the onions and capsicum back into pan.
4. Remove from heat, and in ketchup and BBQ sauce to taste. Leave to cool.
5. Prepare the cornbread mix as per instructions.
6. Place the beef in your baking container, and top with the cornbread mix.
7. Bake as per instructions for cornbread mix.

Cinnamon Rolls

2010-05-15T19:48:00.000+08:00

Another attempt at cinnamon rolls, and this time it is better...

This time, I did not over bake it and it came out soft enough. However, I think I did not put enough butter and cinnamon sugar, so although I can taste the cinnamon, it was not gooey enough.

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Recipe

Dough
Bread Flour 540g
Sugar 86g
Salt 8g
Yeast 11g
Fresh Cream 100g
Unsalted Butter 50g
Eggs 2

Proof for 1hr.

Cinnamon Sugar
Brown Sugar 1cup
Cinnamon powder 5tbsp
Raisins as desired

1. After proofing dough, roll out into a rectangular shape to desired thickness.
2. Spread 3tbsp of butter on the dough, before spreading the cinnamon sugar.
3. Bake at 180 degrees C for 16-20 minutes.

Wild Honey

2010-05-13T18:55:00.001+08:00

Back at Wild Honey again, but this time I tried something else.

I took the Tunisian breakfast, which was tomato stew with eggs and chorizo sausages and Brioche bread. The stew came with runny eggs, and overall it was pretty savoury with the tomato stew. I love the Brioche bread which was lightly toasted, yet soft on the inside, and went well when dipped into the stew.

I tried the Banoffee Brulee drink. The texture was almost like that of milkshake and made with bananas and coffee, I think. I think the top was made of meringue. Wasn't too bad, but I felt it would have been better with a little more intense flavour.

Fruit Paradise

2010-05-11T18:37:00.001+08:00

Fruit Paradise has been around for some time and the exquisite presentation of the tarts always catches my eye, but this is my first time trying it out.

Tried the the Grapefruit & Orange Tart, which had a cream cheese base. I like the pie crust which was crisp and aromatic. The cream cheese base was delicate and overall, it was not too sweet.

Chestnut Mont Blanc Strawberry Tart. This has a custard base, although the pie crust was pretty much the same. I never quite fancied chestnut cream as they usually feel pretty bland to me. I still preferred the cream cheese base over this.

Dim Joy

2010-05-05T19:12:00.002+08:00

Had dim sum lunch at Dim Joy at the corner of Neil Road and Teck Lim Road. It's a little out of the way, and is housed in a shophouse-like place with a little yard. You might miss it if you did not look close enough.

Steamed prawn rice rolls. The skin of this is not the extremely soft kind, but still good enough. The medium sized prawns were fresh and the soy sauce was not too salty.

Steamed radish cake. Actually, this was more like julienne radish, and not the usual starchy cake-like texture you usually get. It was nice, but i personally prefer the usual kind like the one I had a Wah Lok.

Siew Mai. I did not quite like the texture of what they had here. It centre felt a little too mushy for my liking.

Har Gao. Prawns inside were fresh, but I would prefer a softer skin.

Lotus leaf wrapped chicken glutinous rice. This was good. The glutinous rice was very soft and moist, and the chicken was well marinated.

Fortune Dumplings, which was like a crepe-like skin wrapping a braised mixture of mushrooms and chestnuts within.

Traditional Layer Cake containing coconut and egg yolks.

This was very soft and fluffy; you can see the layers in this pic.

Lastly, we had Custard Buns a.k.a Liu Sha Bao. Actually, not quite considered the usual kind custard I think, as the recipe I found seemed to be of egg yolks and butter.

Fresh out of the steamer and the insides are oozing out. Somehow, this seem to contain sugar, and I can actually feel the crunch of the sugar as I bit into it, which was something I did not quite like.

Relax Bistro @ 313 Somerset

2010-05-03T19:56:00.000+08:00

This bistro is hidden in one part of 313 Somerset, near the Cold Rock Creamery. Probably a little hard to find unless you thoroughly cover the floor.

We took the set lunch at $9.90++, which comes with a soup or salad, a main and coffee or tea. I took the soup which was pumpkin. This was rather thick and creamy, and you can feel the fibres from the pumpkin.

For mains, I had Aglio Olio angel hair pasta with bacon. The pasta was al dente, a little spicy and quite tasty. I do like my food with lots of ingredients though, so this was a little lacking in that department. But for $9.90++, I can't quite complain.

I had the coffee which was freshly brewed. I think this was of good quality as it was quite aromatic and intense.

My partner chose the tea, and a 3-minute hour glass was provided so that you know when to remove the tea bag.

Chocolate Truffle Cake

2010-05-02T01:44:00.000+08:00

Tried a Chocolate Truffle cake recently and decided to attempt recreating it.

Made biscuit sponge for the base and sides. I probably need to improve on making them as this was my virgin attempt.

Biscuit sponge kind of deflated after cooling. Not too sure why, but could be due to not sprinkling icing sugar over the piped batter before baking.

Overall, the truffle did not taste too bad, but mine seemed a little 'airy' compared to the one I had which was a little more dense, and I think it would have tasted even better if the chocolate was more intense. Not bad, but not up to my expectations.

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Recipe
(Fills a 20cm diameter cake tin 10cm high.)

Biscuit Sponge
Caster Sugar 100g
Cake Flour 75g
Eggs 3

1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
2. Mix 70g of sugar into the yolks and whip until mixture is pale in colour.
3. In a seperate bowl, whip the egg whites into a stiff meringue, whilst adding in the remaining 30g of sugar.
4. Fold the meringue into the yolk mixture.
5. Using a 1cm nozzle, pipe the batter onto your baking tray, creating 30 10cm long fingers.
6. Use the remaining batter and create a disc for the base approximately 19cm in diameter.
7. Bake at 200 degrees C for about 10 minutes.

Chocolate Truffle
Dark Chocolate 370g
Fresh Cream 800ml

1. Whip the cream until it thickens to the consistency of milkshake.
2. Melt the chocolate by microwaving it on High for about 4 minutes.
3. Pour the melted chocolate into the whipped cream and mix until combined.

Assembly
1. Line your cake tin with the biscuit sponge base, and on the sides with the fingers.
2. Pour the chocolate truffle mixture in, and smooth the top with a spoon.
3. Refrigerate for 2 hours or more, or until the truffle sets.

Ootoya 大戸屋

2010-04-30T19:33:00.003+08:00

Back to Ootoya at Orchard Central, but now there's no longer as much crowd as before.

Shared this salad dish, which was a mix of seaweed, egg, taro and okra. Actually, it came with natto too, but we requested for it to be omitted as we were not quite into that. This was very light in taste and probably extremely healthy too.

Took the Sweet & Sour Chicken. I was a little disappointed that it did not come with the braised pumpkin side dish that I had the last time I was here. But the chicken pieces were fairly large and well coated with the tangy sauce.

Once again, we bought the waffles from Marvelous Cream. This time we tried the Tiramisu and Mandarin Orange Mango & Pineapple Yogurt. The Tiramisu was great, and the chocolate within was soft yet intense.

Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant

2010-04-28T19:48:00.004+08:00

Been some time since I had proper dim sum meal. Came here as I had a good experience here before.

I don't actually eat fatty pork, so I can't quite say how this stacks up against other places.

Steamed carrot cake which I rather like. Reminds me of a similar one at Victor's Kitchen. Carrot cake was very soft and the sauce was not too salty.

This was probably one of our favorites - Char Siu Bo Luo Bun. The fillings inside was quite tasty. On the outside, crust was sinfully good, while the bread was thin and soft. We had 2 servings of this. I still miss the Bo Luo Yao in Hong Kong, though.

We ordered 2 types of steamed rice rolls - Char Siu and scallops.

Steamed glutinous rice with chicken inside. Nothing to shout about.

I like the Har Gao. The prawns were succulent and fresh, and the skin was not hard nor too chewy.

The Siew Mai tasted pretty good too.

Fried prawn dumplings with mayonnaise.

Egg tarts. The pastry was extremely fragile and literally breaks apart in your mouth.

Beancurd Skin which I found to be too hard.

Ended off the meal with desserts. The almond cream on the left seemed pretty watery, but I did not taste it so I have no idea how good it was. I took the Mango & Pomelo Sago. It was fairly thick and full of sago, and not too sweet. Overall, I thought it was quite nice although maybe it would have been a little better with more mango.

Pizza Kun

2010-04-26T19:47:00.000+08:00

I probably passed by this stall at the basement of Bugis Junction for years, but never bothered to try it until 2 weeks ago.

It basically sells pizzas and you can choose to have either the usual dough crust or a base that is made of rice. There is a variety of preset toppings to choose from.

I cannot remember the name of this that I chose, but basically it's Japanese flavoured with baby octopuses, bonito, green peppers and cheese. It was a slightly unique taste with the rice base which was rather aromatic.

Manjyuu..or at least intended to be

2010-04-24T20:32:00.001+08:00

Wanted to make Japanese manjyuu; guess I failed and came out tasting like a biscuit, but it was not that bad after all.

Added a mochi in between out of my own imagination. I think it would have been better if my skin had succeeded. Well, another one to add to my "to master" list.

Red Bean Mochi

2010-04-23T22:46:00.000+08:00

Actually this was a test for something I am intending to make as I had extra red bean left from my Green Tea Mousse & Red Bean cake, but it turned out to be pretty good.

Mochi turned out to pretty soft and not too chewy. This was achieved by adding some rice flour to the mix, as I initially tried one batch without rice flour and it turned out to be too chewy when cooled.

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Recipe

Glutinous Rice Flour 80g
Rice Flour 20g
Sugar 20g
Water 120ml
Corn/Potato starch for dusting

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add in water and mix well until no more lumps.
2. Pop into the microwave at High for 30 seconds.
3. Stir and microwave at High for 20 seconds.
4. Repeat step 3 for another 2-3 times until you get an off-white coloured sticky paste. Go slow so that you do not overcook it and end up with it being too dry.
5. Allow it to cool. It will be very sticky, so dust the mochi and your hands with corn starch.

Funan Weng Hor Fun & Once Upon a Milk Shake

2010-04-21T17:30:00.020+08:00

Was just trying to settle lunch as this was not the main reason we were in the area, so we went to Funan Weng at Maxwell Chambers.

I took their signature hor fun, which came with prawns and chicken. The hor fun was very thin and soft, which I rather like. The chicken was all meat, yet very tender. Prawns were succulent and fresh, although it looks a little deceiving here as they were in fact sliced in half.

Next we went round the building to our main reason coming to this area - Once Upon a Milk Shake. The decor was interesting with some lower than usual stools and tables.

Was contemplating taking the Litchi or Rum & Raisin initially. At the last minute, I changed my mind and decided to try the chocolate which was supposedly the most popular. It was indeed very creamy and chocolate-y, although somehow it tasted a little like Milo to me. My friend took the Rum & Raisin, which was pretty intense.

Tampopo @ Ngee Ann City

2010-04-19T15:17:00.001+08:00

Tampopo serves ramen and a variety of tonkatsu dishes. But my favorite order over here has to be the yuzu infused tonkatsu.

This is something different from the usual tonkatsu, and is eaten without the usual tonkatsu sauce. It is seasoned with salt and drizzled with yuzu, giving it a slight tang. Served on a bed of mizuna or Japanese mustard, which was crisp and light. The only downside was that the meat seemed a little tough compared to the first time when I had it at the Liang Court outlet.

Green Tea Mousse & Red Bean Cake

2010-04-17T18:26:00.000+08:00

As much as I like chocolate, it was time to attempt something else apart from the usual chocolate and cheese related stuff.

Covered with green tea chocolate ganache. Ganache's was a little too sweet in my opinion. I had a problem, though. Whenever making a souffle kind of sponge cake, it will always shrink at the top end as it cooled, leaving somewhat of a trapezium cross section. In the end, I had to trim off the sides, resulting in a smaller cake.

Three layers of souffle sponge with green tea mousse in between, as well as adzuki or japanese red bean.

I like the end result. The cake was soft, and the combination of green tea and red bean went well together. I did think the green tea taste could have been stronger. And I still need to improve my skills at stacking a layered cake and applying the ganache.

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Recipe
Printable Recipe

Sponge Cake
Eggs 4
Castor Sugar 90g
Water 30g
Vegetable Oil 50g
Flour 90g
Green Tea powder 1 1/2tsp

1. Separate the yolks from the whites.
2. In a bowl, mix the yolks, water, oil and half of the sugar together.
3. Add in the green tea powder and flour, and mix well till no longer lumpy. You will have a thick batter.
4. In a clean bowl, whisk the eggs into a meringue, adding the remaining sugar as you go along.
5. Fold the meringue into the batter.
6. Bake at 170 degrees C for 30 minutes.

Green Tea Mousse
Castor Sugar 70g
Fresh Milk 150g
Green Tea Powder 2tsp
Whipping Cream 300g
Gelatine Powder 10g
Water 50ml

1. Dissolve the gelatine powder in the water.
2. Heat the milk and dissolve the sugar and green tea powder in.
3. Remove from heat, add in the gelatine and leave to cool.
4. Whip the cream until fold into the cooled milk mixture.

Green Tea Ganache
White Chocolate 200g
Cream 200g
Green Tea Powder 2tsp

1. Melt the white chocolate in a microwave at High for a minute.
2. Heat the cream over your stove and mix in the green tea powder.
3. Pour the hot cream into the chocolate and mix well, ensuring all the chocolate had melted and mixed well with the cream. Leave to cool, or put into your freezer for a while until it become thick and more easily spreadable.

Assembly
You will need a can of adzuki beans which is already cooked and sugared.

1. Slice the cake into your preferred number of layers. Or you can even bake and extra round of the sponge cake to create thicker layers.
2. Alternate the mousse and sponge cake layers, adding in your desired amount of red beans within each mousse layer. It's easier if you have a cake ring you can use. I didn't, so I refrigerated the mousse until it is thick and spreadable.
3. Once all the layers are completed, spread a little of your cooled ganache all around cake pop into the fridge until it is a little solidified. This helps in sealing the crumbs of the cake and avoid a grainy texture on the ganache.
4. Spread the ganache over the cake until the whole cake is well covered.

Din Tai Fung

2010-04-16T15:30:00.001+08:00

I have not been to Din Tai Fung for a long time. Frankly, while the food isn't all that bad, I prefer places where I can be spoilt for choice.

Ordered the sour and spicy soup which turned out to be not spicy and only a little sour. I think the stall below my workplace serves better soup.

I had the Fried Rice with prawns. A tad too oily and while still fairly aromatic, did not seem to be as much as what I remembered it to be, although I have to admit my last visit was years back, so maybe it's my memory that's fuzzy.

We ordered the prawn and meat dumplings. I have never been crazy over the dumplings, so they tasted as what I expected them to be. I did feel that the insides could do with a little more fillings than what they provided as seen in the pic below.

This red date dish was pretty nice in my opinion. Basically, it's red dates stuffed with mochi in the centre. The dates were a little sweet, although I'm not too sure if it was the natural sweetness or just having been sugared. The mochi in between did however balance well with the sweetness, and was not overly chewy. Overall, its texture was pretty unique, but this is definitely not for people who do not like herbal-like stuff.

Pay your bill with a Citibank credit card and you can get a free basket of 6 of yuanyang dumplings. This is a dessert dish with yam and red bean paste inside the dumpling. I thought this was quite nice and not too sweet.

Dessertstory

2010-04-14T19:28:00.000+08:00

Dessertstory at Tiong Bahru Plaza sells a variety of Chinese desserts and some savoury snacks as well.

I was in a yam paste mood, so I decided to buy some. The sweetness was just right as I do not like overly sweet stuff. However, I think it was a little tad too oily, but yam paste would not be 'smooth' enough without the oil. The blandness of the gingko balances with the sweetness as always.

Another Chinese dessert I will surely buy is the steamed milk pudding. I still miss the one I ate in Hong Kong. This one was a little sweet, but otherwise milk taste was pretty strong.

Caffe Beviamo

2010-04-12T19:00:00.000+08:00

Had lunch at Caffe Beviamo at Tanglin Mall, where my friend said there was good Sticky Date & Toffee Pudding.

The cafe serves a variety of sandwiches, pasta, salads and pizzas. I was adventurous and tried the Kumera sandwich. This basically consisted of sweet potato, lettuce, cheese and tomato pesto. It was quite a unique blend of tastes as you seldom find sweet potato in sandwiches, coupled with warm melting cheese oozing with every bite.

Finally, the reason why we were here in the first place - Sticky Date & Toffee Pudding. This was presented slightly differently, as it came in squarish slices with the vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between. The pudding was moist and soft, and in my opinion, does not lose out to Marmalade Pantry's. The vanilla ice cream however seemed pretty ordinary, and if I recall correctly, Marmalade Pantry's vanilla ice cream had a richer taste.

Spinach Quiche

2010-04-11T12:00:00.006+08:00

I always did like quiche, and I did try to make one long, long time ago. Decided to go meatless this time round and make something a little healthier - quiche with spinach, tomatoes and brie cheese.

The problem with my baking is that I am using the convection function of the microwave oven. The heat source emanates from one side, which usually results in the center of my cake/pie taking longer to cook, and when it does the sides may be a little over-done. A conventional oven would probably fare better since its heat source is either from the top or bottom.

I think this turned out to be pretty alright; just that I did not put enough salt, so it was slightly bland. You can taste the spinach and on the whole, it was not over-baked. However, I think I can actually bake it on lesser time so that it comes out a little more moist and soft.

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Recipe
Printable Recipe

Pastry Base
Flour 250g
Unsalted Butter 150g
Salt 1tsp
Milk 1tbsp
Egg 1

1. In a bowl, mix the flour and salt together.
2. Cut the butter into cubes and rub the flour into the butter cubes until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the flour/butter mixture, and mix well until you form a dough.
5. Roll the dough into a ball or disc shape and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.
6. Roll onto your pie tin. Using a fork, make a couple of holes at the base of the crust and bake at 180 degrees C for about 20 minutes.

Filling
Onion 1
Olive oil 1tsp
Spinach 280g
Tomato 1
Eggs 3
Heavy cream 1cup
Milk 1/2cup
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese of your choice

1. Dice the onions and sauteed it.
2. In a bowl, mix the eggs, cream, milk, salt and pepper and whisk lightly.
3. Dice the tomato, then add it together with the spinach (squeezed dry of water) and sauteed onions into the egg mixture.

Assembly
1. After baking the pie crust, allow it to cool.
2. Place cheese of your choice at the base of the crust.
3. Pour your filling in, and bake at 180 degrees C for about 30-35 minutes.

Marutama Ramen @ Liang Court

2010-04-09T20:00:00.000+08:00

Been patronizing Marutama Ramen since they first opened at Central, and I am glad to say their standard is still there after so long.

I took the Aka-Ramen, which is soup base made from seven nuts, and which has always felt unique to me compared to the usual tonkotsu stock. It is not overly salty and the tang from the pickles and lemon made it appetizing. The egg was runny on the inside as always. Marutama's egg has never disappointed.

We also ordered the yaki char siu, which was as flavourful as before. Slightly crisp at the edges and soft at the centre. The only time when I eat meat with fats and all.

The gyoza while looking fiery is not spicy at all. After all, Japanese food is never really that spicy.

Ended off lunch with a brief stop at Cedele Depot, where we had cakes. I took the Orange Chocolate Cheesecake. Unfortunately, the flavours of this did not blend as well as what I had at other places. The bitterness of the orange came through and spoilt the overall taste. Chocolate taste was lacking as it was only that thin layer at the top. The cake was also a little too soft for my liking. I should have tried the Chocolate Truffle cake instead.

Oriole's Cafe & Bar

2010-04-07T20:00:00.003+08:00

My second visit to this place, and I decided to try some other dishes.

I went with the set lunch at $20. For appetisers, I had the smoke ocean trout salad. It was the first time I had smoked ocean trout. Essentially, it tasted like smoked salmon, however, the texture was more like that of a cooked fish.

Next was the ribeye steak. Steak was very tender and the slightly tangy sauce went well with the meat.

On the way out, we passed by Marvelous Cream and they seemed to have a new range of desserts which were soft waffles sandwiched with many different kinds of flavoured creams.

We tried the Hokkaido Caramel and Rich Milk flavour. Sorry, no pics as we devoured it quickly. However, the cream did not give me the queasy, oily feel. It was not overly sweet and the slight bitter of the caramel balanced with it overall.

Applebee's

2010-04-05T19:00:00.000+08:00

Applebee's is a casual dining chain from USA focusing on mainstream American dishes such as salads, shrimp, chicken, pasta, and ribs. They serve alcoholic beverages as well, and is located at Singapore Power Building at Somerset.

As their portions are huge, we decided to share 1 appetiser and 1 main dish.

For the appetiser, we chose the sampler set which consisted of buffalo wings, quesadillas, mozarella sticks, nachos and served with 2 salsas, a ranch-like dip and their signature spinach and artichoke dip.

Special mention goes out to the quesadillas which were very tasty with the minced meat and onions. The mozzarella sticks were good as well as they did not come across as being overly chewy. The dip tasted more of spinach than artichokes, but it was a unique departure from the usual dips.

We did succumb to our appetites and ordered a half-sized serving of prawn salad. The prawns were crunchy and succulent, and sprinkled with cajun spices.

Finally, our main was the Lime Chicken which was covered with cheese, served with salsa and pilaf. Chicken was rather tender and had a slight grilled taste to it. The texture of the pilaf was nice, although there was a particular unidentifiable spice in it which I did not quite like.

Overall, I think their food is rather good and their large portions can easily fill your tummy. But as these are pretty heavy stuff in terms of flavours as well, it probably will not be a place I will return to too often.

Chocolate Eclairs

2010-04-03T20:48:00.004+08:00

Realised it's been a long time since I ate eclairs, so I decided to make some. It was also time for a change to some sweet baking as well.

Made all chocolate, then realised I should have made some as normal cream. Anyway, I think they were quite successful - pastry cream was full of chocolate flavour but not too sweet. I hate eclairs which are simply filled with whipped cream that are sometimes sold in our local bakeries, so this came up to my expectations.

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Recipe (makes about 20 7-cm long eclairs)

Choux Pastry
Whole milk 1/2cup
Water 1/2cup
Unsalted butter 100g
Sugar 1tsp
Salt 1/2tsp
Flour 1 1/4cup
Eggs 4

1. Mix the milk, water, sugar and butter in a pot. Heat until all the butter has melted.
2. Lower the heat and pour all the flour in.

You will get a paste-y looking dough at first. Continue stirring over low heat for another 2 mins or so until you get a smooth looking texture similar to the pic on the right.

3. Beat the eggs together in a separate bowl.
4. Remove the pot from heat. Using a hand-mixer, mix the dough for about 1 min.
5. Slowly add the egg in in batches while whisking at the same time.

The end result would be a glossy, thick, stretchy dough that stretches a little before breaking when you lift it. If it does not stretch, add a little more egg white bit by bit.

6. Pipe onto the tray of about 1 cm wide and 4-5 cm long.
(The pastry will expand a lot while baking, hence there is no need to pipe it too large if you want small to medium sized eclairs. 1 row of piped dough should be enough. More importantly, pipe it such that it fairly high in height, or it will come out pretty flat. Use the back of a teaspoon dipped in cold water to smooth the piped dough)

7. Bake at 200 degrees C for 20-25 mins or until brown and slightly hard on the top.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
Whole Milk 2cups
Egg yolks 4
Sugar 6tbsp
Cornstarch 3tbsp
Salt 1/4tsp
70% Dark Chocolate 190g

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave at high for about 1 minute.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar and corn starch together.
3. In a pot, heat the milk and salt together until boiling.
4. Pour half of the milk into the yolk mixture in a small stream to temper the yolks, while whisking all the time.
5. Pour the yolk mixture back into the pot of remaining milk and return to the stove.
6. Heat while whisking until the mixture thickens a little and starts to bubble.
7. Pour into the melted chocolate and mix well.
8. Press cling wrap directly onto the surface to prevent skin from forming. Allow to cool or refrigerate if not using on same day.

Chocolate Glaze
Semi-sweet chocolate 150g
Unsalted Butter 30g

1. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl and microwave until melted. Mix well and allow to cool.

Assembly:
1. Slice off the top third of the choux pastry.
2. Dip the upper piece in the chocolate glaze and allow it set. Freeze it for faster setting.
3. Using a spoon, fill the bottom piece with desired amount of pastry cream.
4. Cover with the top piece and enjoy!

Fruit Cake

2010-04-02T23:01:00.001+08:00

This is a healthy fruit cake as I did not add sugar. The sweetness is all from the dried fruits alone.

Maybe because I did not add enough oil as well, so the cake turned out to be pretty solid in texture. I think it would taste better if it was a little more crumbly. I should try adding a little milk in next time.

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Recipe

Flour 1.5 cups
Dried Fruit 1.5 cups (black raisins, golden raisins, prunes, cranberries)
Walnuts 0.5 cups
Baking powder 1tsp
Salt 1/2tsp
Cinnamon powder 1tsp
3 eggs
Vegetable Oil 9tbsp
1 medium apple

1. Soak the dried fruits in hot water for about 10 minutes or until plump.
2. Mix the flour, cinnamon powder, baking powder and salt together.
3. In a seperate bowl, whisk the eggs and oil together.
4. Dice the apples and chop the walnuts into pieces.
5. Add the flour mixture into the eggs. If too dry, add some milk in to get a thick batter.
6. Add in the walnuts, apple and dried fruits, leaving about 6tbsp of the dried fruits for sprinkling on the top later.
7. Pour the batter into your tin and sprinkle the remaining dried fruits on top.
8. Bake at 180 degrees C for about 20-30 minutes.

Hog's Breath @ Chjimes

2010-04-01T20:11:00.003+08:00

Was in a steak mood, so off to Hog's Breath we went. Been to Hog's Breath couple of times over the years and I'm still loving their prime rib. This is up there with Morton's as my favorite place. I would say when you need a reasonably priced and satisfying steak, this is the place to go.

We took the set lunch at $21.90++. First up was seafood chowder which was rather creamy. The garlic bread was pretty large and not dry at all although slightly oily.

Next the mains, and I had the blackened prime rib, which is my favorite of all their choices available. It's basically cajun-spiced and more importantly, has that chargrilled flavour which I love. However, I remember it was a little more charred the last few times I was here and I prefer that. But this was still soft and slightly fatty.

Their curly fries are great as well - crispy on the outside but you still can taste the soft, powdery potato on the inside. I hate fries that are over-fried and hollowed out inside, but this was just right. I wanted to change to baked potato but forgotten...

The set came with dessert and we had a choice of Mud Cake or Apple Crumble. Nothing special here, as the cake turned out to be kind of dry. I think my Moist Chocolate Cake beats this hands down anytime.

The Salad Shop

2010-03-30T19:55:00.002+08:00

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.

Chicken Pau

2010-03-28T12:00:00.000+08:00

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.

Egg Tart

2010-03-26T20:00:00.001+08:00

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

Ah Chiang's Porridge

2010-03-24T20:00:00.013+08:00

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.

Mini Burgers

2010-03-22T20:00:00.002+08:00

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.

Negi Takoyaki & Okonomiyaki

2010-03-20T20:23:00.000+08:00

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!!!

Menya Shinchan

2010-03-16T22:42:00.002+08:00

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...

Chocolate Gateau

2010-03-15T20:00:00.010+08:00

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.

Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

2010-03-14T12:00:00.010+08:00

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.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

2010-03-13T20:08:00.001+08:00

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.

Dian Xiao Er

2010-03-09T22:28:00.000+08:00

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.

Deep Dish Pizza

2010-03-06T21:28:00.001+08:00

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.

Bonchon Crispy Chicken

2010-03-06T20:53:00.001+08:00

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!

Gunther's

2010-03-02T21:13:00.000+08:00

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...

Beef Sukiyaki

2010-03-01T12:00:00.001+08:00

Dinner on a Saturday..

Wanted to do a deep dish pizza, but I shall leave it for next week. Been some time I ate sukiyaki, so I decided to cook myself. However the sauce I bought was not as nice as what I bought last time. Shall stay away from Kikkoman next time!

Matcha Chiffon Bread

2010-02-28T12:00:00.001+08:00

Time to bake something less sweet after all the CNY goodies.

Since I still have some matcha powder leftover, I decided to give this a go. Essentially, it is vanilla sponge cake, wrapped on the outside with matcha bread.

However, the matcha taste did not come through even though I added more than what was called for.

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Recipe:

Sponge Cake
Caster Sugar 100g
Flour 100g
Milk 60g
Vegetable Oil 40g
Baking powder 1tsp
Eggs 4
Vanilla essence 1tsp

1. Separate the yolks from the whites.
2. Beat 25g of sugar into the yolks.
3. Add in the milk, oil and vanilla essence and mix well.
4. Mix in the flour and baking powder in batches.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add in the remaining 75g of sugar in batches while beating until you get a stiff meringue.
6. Add the meringue into the batter and mix well.
7. Pour into tray and bake at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes.

Bread
Bread flour 350g
Matcha powder 2tbsp
Caster sugar 55g
Salt 1/2tsp
Yeast 6g
Unsalted butter 50g
Cream 120g
tangzhong 110g
Egg 1

1. Prepare the bread dough and allow it to proof.
2. Roll out the dough into a size that is slightly larger than the spongecake.
3. Place the sponge cake on top, and roll it. Seal edges tightly.
4. Proof for another 40 minutes.
5. Bake at 180 degrees C for 25 minutes.

Apple Charlotte

2010-02-27T19:45:00.001+08:00

Did an Apple Charlotte over CNY...

Filled with custard cream inside. However, the taste did not impress me. Guess it was largely due to the taste of vanilla bean, which I think is not suitable for cooking through heat.

Jang Shou Charcoal BBQ

2010-02-13T22:16:00.002+08:00

First time I managed to get a shot of fireworks with the CBD as a backdrop (not that our CBD is anywhere compared to Hong Kong). But this was not the highlight of the day...

We had dinner at Jang Shou Charcoal BBQ which serves Korean BBQ. Had eaten once here before and felt that the food was not bad. Menu was all ala carte, but we were served 12 side dishes although they were not refillable.

We ordered 2 kinds of meat - beef brisket and marinate beef ribs. The above you see is the beef brisket. It was not marinated and you had to dip into the sauce provided.

This was the marinated beef ribs. It was marinated in some kind of sweet sauce and was very tender.

We ordered a kimchi casserole, which contained cabbage, rice cake, onions, tofu, meat and sausage. The soup was a little sour but very tasty. Overall, a pretty heartening soup. Didn't had proper camera with me so did not bother to take close ups. It was more important to satiate my hunger anyway; for more detailed pictures, head to Sparkling or Still.

Ended the night with shots of the fireworks. I think CNY in Singapore is getting more and more boring by the year, especially since it was flooded with foods and items from East Asia, and I do not mean my beloved Japan! I foresee there will come a time when I will just go overseas during CNY.

Nijyumaru Izakaya

2010-02-09T22:36:00.000+08:00

I'm still in 'Japan' mode. Visited Nijyumaru Izakaya located at a hidden corner on the 2nd floor of Cuppage Plaza.

Although the chef at the counter was Japanese, the waitresses were local aunties. The patrons seem mostly local.

We ordered a side dish to share - fried oysters. I felt they were little dry and slightly fishy. I think I prefer the ones at Tonkichi.

I love unagi and have not eaten it for some time. Took the set that came with sashimi. Overall, it did not taste that bad.

2010 Winter Hokkaido Day 6 - Sapporo

2010-01-23T18:27:00.001+08:00

The last day of any trip is usually wasted. I reached Sapporo's Shin Chitose Airport before noon. You can actually buy a lot of the Hokkaido snacks here without needing to go to the actual stores.

Ha! I found the Hanabatake store again, but there was no milk pudding, so I tried the caramel one. Somehow, I think the milk one still tasted better.

From the same store, I also tried the melon pan. Nothing extraordinarily special here.

My domestic flight was a Bombardier CRJ. It was my first time riding this kind of plane and I was pretty excited. We had to board by bus. Inside, it was just 4 seats across with an aisle in the middle. Actually, it was a little cramped.

It's been less than 24 hours, but I am already missing Japan, and suffering the withdrawal symptoms once again from the lack of eye candy, sights and sounds, and definitely the friggin' temperature. As before, I returned with renewed fervour to buck up my Japanese skills. Actually, this time round I was able to understand announcements better, but conversing with shop assistants still cries for improvement. The last time I came back, I signed up for extra lessons. I wonder what I will do next this time round. Work?

I still have to cover Japan in spring and autumn. For now, I know I love the place. I want to visit Europe but I know I will be back, and I have decided I shall make Japan an annual pilgrimage destination. I shall and I will make short trips there once a year, at least. This I promise myself.

2010 Winter Hokkaido Day 5 - Sapporo

2010-01-23T18:25:00.000+08:00

This picture was taken the night before. As I mentioned, I was walking the streets in the falling snow. And the snow got heavier as the night went on.

Next morning...

The streets were all covered with snow and I woke up to a -3 degrees morning, which eventually went to -8 degrees by night.

I had a sandwich I bought the night before as I intended to try a ramen place in a few hours' time. But as I walked out, it was so cold, I decided to hide in Mister Donut at the station.

While I was here, I decided to try the mochi donut my friend raved about. Indeed, it was quite delightful as it was not overly chewy. I also had this bitter chocolate donut which I think was sensational. Inside, was a gooey filling of chocolate pudding. Mind you, that's pure chocolate goodness and not the whipped cream kind we get at JCo. Overall, I think Mister Donut's great. Their donuts do not have that oily feel and smell like our local shops.

I decided to walk to the ramen shop which was actually quite far as I was still early. The streets are really covered with snow.

This ramen had better be good too, because I fell along the way crossing the streets, because of the slippery snow...so malu. I landed on my butt and spectacles literally flew. It was so cold I had to duck into convenience shops when I could, and I saw these cans along the way.

Finally, I found Ramen Gojyogen which was located in a really quiet neighbourhood, as it was pretty far from the bustling side of town. I knew about this shop not from books, but from some Taiwanese blogs.

Being so early, I was the first customer. I even had to wait a while as they were not quite ready yet.

Char-siu Onigiri as recommended by what I read.

I ordered a pork and salt flavoured ramen. Overall, I think it was not too bad in its own right. The egg was runny enough. The char-siu was well seasoned, and the little fats went well with the ramen.

However, therein lies my new resolution with regards to ramen: it no longer excites me. Apart from Marutama's Seven Nuts soup stock, every ramen place is usually salt, miso, tonkotsu or shoyu. Ramen no longer surprises any more in terms of taste or texture. It has, for me, simply become a case of "nice" or "not nice". I conclude henceforth ramen is no longer my priority and I will not make an effort to try it unless I'm in the mood.

It was snowing again and was freezing, but in the end I decided to make my way to the next stop: Sapporo Beer Factory. How could I possibly miss the birthplace of my favorite beer.

They have a museum inside on the history of the beer. Here are some old signages from 1900s.

A small gallery of their different bottles and cans.

Old advertisement posters.

At the lounge, I ordered their beer sampler set. The one of the left is the usual cans you see in Singapore. The one in the center had a stronger flavour. The one on the right is the one I like best. It was very light and refreshing. I wonder if they sell it in Singapore.

A complimentary pack of crackers.

Next to the beer factory was a large shopping mall.

There was a huge supermarket here and it was a delight walking through it looking at all the local produce. It was also the first supermarket in Japan that I came across that stocks everything from raw foods to tidbits, as the ones in the city usually stock only raw foods.

Next, I headed back to city center. Sapporo also has a tram system, but here, it costs a flat fee of 170yen.

Sweet innocent love trudging in front of me as I walked to my next destination after getting off the tram.

I was headed up Mt. Moiwa. As usual, you ride a ropeway up the mountain. A cemetery along the way.

But surprise surprise. I still have not reached the summit. I had to ride this mini bus which was modified with snow tracks.

From the summit, you get the view of Sapporo city. It was freezing and very windy. I had to hide indoors until night fell and the city was lit up.

Sapporo by night. Once again, I became a photographer for a Hong Kong couple who were on the deck as well.

Definitely not as breathtaking as Hakodate's view.

I returned to the Sapporo station area again. Remembering I saw an ad for restaurants above the Tokyu departmental store building, I headed there to check it out. In the end, I chose this tonkatsu restaurant.

I orderd the kurobuta hire katsu set. The sauce was a little different from the usual tonkatsu sauce. This was a little sharp and sweet, and went very well with the tender pork.

Since it was my last night, I decided to indulge in some desserts. At Daimaru's basement, I bought this snack from Morimoto. Morimoto also sells tomato jelly which looked to be pretty delicious, but as it came in a pack, I did not try it.

This item is actually like butterless egg cake; somewhat like our "huat kueh", and you can even taste the egg flavour. Sandwiched in between was white chocolate cream. Eaten cold, the combination was something different. Perhaps I shall try baking this some time.

The night does not end with a visit to the well-stocked convenience stores of Japan. I bought this red bean man ju. The outer layer was flavoured with shiso and the red bean paste on the inside was not overly sweet.

Finally, the finale. The one that dethroned the convenience store's milk pudding which I once adored. I came across this store in the station a few times. All I can say is I hate myself for not stepping in earlier. The store is called Hanabatake Bokujyo. It sells products made from Hokkaido milk, such as cheeses, jams, bread etc.

I bought this milk pudding. It had a strong mik taste to it. Texturally, the cross between a viscous liquid and mousse was simply pure heaven. The end result was a light and frothy pudding packed full of milk flavour!

2010 Winter Hokkaido Day 4 - Otaru

2010-01-23T18:20:00.000+08:00

Otaru is a coastal port town once flourishing with commerce. As that declined, the people turn towards glass-making. It houses glassware shops and is home to the oruguru or musical boxes, as well as the main shops of chocolatiers and confectioneries.

This is the view from Tengu-yama. Actually, there was pretty much nothing up there, save for this view and I was down within half an hour. However, Tengu-yama has a popular ski resort and you can see skiers along the way. I also saw a really cute little girl all wrapped up in ski gear and learning snowboarding.

A train once ran through the town, and its tracks are preserved for historical significance.

I was hunting for this shop which sells T-shirts and ice cream, and finally found it behind a corner.

One free ice cream per T-shirt bought. I wanted to try this at Hakodate but it was too cold then. This is ika sumi or squid ink ice cream. It was very creamy and sticky. Actually, I could not taste anything else besides its creaminess.

The Otaru canal, which once ferried boats along but no longer in use now. The warehouses were storage facilities in the past, but now houses some restaurants. During the winter festival, this place is lit with candles, and I am sure it would be beautiful at night. No worries though, as I am sure I will be back again!

A small area of eateries.

Had lunch at this tenpura shop.

Again, a small shop that seats less than 10.

I took the Hokkaido Ten-don. There was a mixture of crab, salmon, prawn and vegetables. The sauce was quite tasty. At the end of the meal, the owner asked if it was delicious. I guess I must have been too quiet eating again -_-"

Next to it was this shop that sold huge takoyaki, but I did not try as I was too full.

Next, I was making my way to the confectioneries. Along the way, there are many shops selling glassware. You can pay to experience making your own glass.

This is LeTao. There were many Hongkongers and Taiwanese snapping up the goodies. I bought my chocolates and I was served by a sweet smiling girl who turned out to be a Taiwanese working there. How I wish I could speak as fluently as her! Argh!

Opposite is the Oruguru museum. In front is a clock powered by steam. You can see a little steam coming out from the top of it.

Inside, they sell many glass souvenirs and musical boxes. I did not buy anything as I did not manage to find anything I fancied.

They also had on display a collection of antique musical boxes.

I had one last place I wanted to visited. Located inside what is Hall No. 3 is a really cool cafe.

Voila! The lights you see are actually all kerosene lamps. The lamps were pretty warm - good for a cold day.

I ordered a Matcha au liat. It was quite nice; not too sweet, but you can taste the milk.

I returned to Sapporo city, deposited my spoils of the day and walked the streets just with my jacket on. It had been a rainy day all day, and the rain subsequently turn into falling snow. I walked the streets under the falling snow, hands in pocket and hood up. A truly great experience.

No idea what to eat, so I decided to visit the food halls under the department stores. Here's a brand Singapore once had.

Bought an assortment of sushi. Better than my eki-bento at Hakodate, but this was too much rice.

The dumplings looked appetizing as I walked by, but this was a wrong order. I wanted some round shaped ones, but I guess I ordered wrongly. Still, they were pretty tasty.

Walked past this small stall at the station that sold grilled potatoes. This was amazing. Very sweet and moist. Right in the centre it is so soft you almost feel like you are eating mashed potatoes.

Devoid of fruits for the past day, I bought strawberries. Not the sweetest Japanese strawberries I ever eaten, but definitely sweet enough and better than our local ones.

2010 Winter Hokkaido Day 3 - Sapporo

2010-01-23T18:19:00.004+08:00

Woke up early to catch the 7.04am train to Sapporo. There were tractors plowing the snow on the roads.

Took the Super Hokuto which was a 3 hour ride to Sapporo.

Bought my breakfast at the convenience store to eat on the train.

Tasty onigiri with bonito flakes inside.

Some random shots of the snow-clad countryside.

After I deposited by bags, I made my way to the Ishiya's Shiroi Koibito Park - home of the Shiroi Koibito snacks.

You are given this passport thing which you can somehow accumulate points to become a member or something.

The production line of the factory.

Took a break at the cafe inside.

Had this chocolate and strawberry cake.

Coffee. Somehow, the whipped cream on top was mightily delicious - very fluffy and aromatic and does not give me that oily, queasy sensation I get with whipped creams in our local shops.

After doing some snack shopping, I proceeded back to the city centre. This is an old clock tower within the city. Quite a contrast to the surrounding modern buildings. Houses a museum within, but I did not venture in.

Hakodate was pretty quiet with not much eye candies. Sapporo being a city had more, but probably not as much as Tokyo. In the name of fashion, you can spot some of these girls actually wearing short skirts and no leggings in the winter, especially the high school students.

Sapporo TV tower located at one end of the Odori Park.

That's Odori Park running down right in the centre. You can see construction going on in preparation for the Snow Festival in February.

Unlike Tokyo, Sapporo is easy to navigate. To the right is North side of the city; and to the left is the south side. Addresses are simply in terms of how many blocks in a certain direction. For example, South 5 West 3 simply means 5th block south and 3rd block west!

The park lits up at night. I am sure it would be even more beautiful during the winter festival.

Yes, it is only 5.30pm and it is totally dark.

Next I was headed for my dinner, and I had to walk through Susukino, which was a nightlife area, with shops and hawks dealing in trades of the flesh.

It's 0 degrees tonight as seen on the Kirin board. It was cold but not the coldest of my days here.

I had called to book myself at this restaurant which I saw on Channelnewsasia's Japan Hour. After getting a little lost, I finally found the place, where I was soon to have my most expensive meal to date, but certainly the most worthy in my opinion.

I was headed to Kani-tei, a crab restaurant. There are many such restaurants in this city, but usually books recommend the more common ones which are probably more touristy.

Can't get any more local than this. I sat on tatami mats, and besides myself, there was only another table of three. I wonder how they actually survive.

They had a variety of crab courses, and I simply took the one which the proprietress recommended, which was neither the most expensive nor the cheapest.

First up is some appetizers - pickled bamboo shoots, scallop trimmings and a piece of beef.

Sauces to go with the food. Was not too sure what the sauce on the right was actually.

They asked if sashimi was ok for me; of course it was ok! It was a mixture of uni, scallop, shellfish, ebi and some kind of fish. They were all very fresh. First time I had shellfish sashimi and it was of a slightly crunchy texture. Ebi was very sweet and uni was as good as what I had in Hakodate.

Crab sashimi - first time for me too. Even in its raw state, you could see the fibrous strands of the meat. It was a little chewy and sweet.

Crab Shu-mai. This was amazing! It was crispy on the outside, and extremely soft inside because I think they used a little tofu. A textural contrast!

The course came with 2 kinds of steamed crabs. This was not a whole crab. Not too sure what kind it is, but you can see the horn-y shell. The meat was light and did not have the usual crab flavour, but it was very very sweet.

I was also served kegani or hairy crab. This was one whole crab. The meat on this one tasted like the crab taste we get locally, but a little more intense and sweet. The roe was packed full of flavour.

The shells are cracked ready for you such that you can easily dig out the meat with the special tool provided. I took a long time to eat this until they were no longer hot. I was probably too quiet too, because the cook and proprietress came to check on me a few times, asking me if it was delicious.

Grilled fish.

Steamed mussel.

The other thing Hokkaido is famous for is the quality of its potatoes. This was baked mashed potato which was very sweet. The topping was squid seasoned in miso. It was a pretty nice combination together.

Pickled radish.

The last item was porridge. It had the scent of what I believe to be shiso herb. The stock was very sweet and I think it was crab stock.

I was offered ice cream, but I passed as I was quite full.

This is the proprietress and the cook. I told them I knew their shop from a TV program, and apparently, it had aired in Japan a year ago, although I only saw it a few months back. Their reaction to me being from Singapore was again: "Merlion."

This course cost 12060yen or about about S$186. My most expensive meal, but definitely a memorable one and one for which the quality is worth the price.