I’ve been contributing to The Eclectic Chef lately, so apologies that I’m not posting as frequently as before!! I’ve got a new recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs – it’s super easy and tasty! =)
Find it here at The Eclectic Chef.
After all of that, I only have 2 words left to say:
Food. Coma
We ate at:
Town Restaurant
1, Fullerton,
#01-01 One Fullerton,
Singapore 049214
I really like the Carrot Cake at Cedele, and through the power of positive association, I thought it was a good idea to try some of their savoury dishes.
The service was ok – the staff tried really really hard – but for me, if the food wasn’t entirely up to scratch, it’s not as worth going. There is a saving grace however – the scrambled eggs were very nicely done and had notes of butter through it. If nothing else, order the scrambled eggs!
We ate at:
Cedele
Wheelock Place
501 Orchard Road #03-14
Singapore 238880
+65 6732 8520
This is a really really popular lunching outlet with the office crowd nearby, so remember to go there early in order to secure yourself a table. Also, the service is not the most patient, but when it’s bustling like the day we went, I’m not expecting much in terms of service, because the food is so good!!!
We ate at:
Victor’s Kitchen
Sunshine Plaza
91 Bencoolen St
Singapore 189652
+65 9838 2851
Ah, I love food festivals. And Taste Sydney is an excellent example of that. Not only can you get a huge variety of people showcasing their food-wares, you can also get to sample food from all the top restaurants in the one spot!
After having so much fun last year, I absolutely had to go again this year.
But first, we all know that I love free food, and I certainly got a lot of that this weekend!
Free Food!
Johnny Walker had a tent that held tasting sessions (to full tents) every 20 minutes. I would love to tell you more, but I am, quite unfortunately, allergic to alcohol. But it did look interesting though!
One of the sponsors was Regal Salmon, and there were little cups of awesome given out at various points of the festival.
What else can I say? I love salmon, and when you put fresh, raw, salmon, and salmon roe together, I believe that nothing much can go wrong. Seriously yummy.
Tabasco had a booth again this year, and I had to go again. (I am an absolute Tabasco fiend – I carry a small bottle in my handbag always – you never know when you need that burst of flavour on something!) They had dips made with all the different flavours of Tabasco, and Sean and I had a lot of balancing piles of dips on itty bitty crackers.
The omnipresent Pukara estate (I see them at practically every food festival/fair that I go to) had flavoured oils, vinegars and mayos up for tasting.
Little bits of bread on the end of toothpicks were dipped into every flavour and savoured. Most of the flavours were good, but not particularly outstanding, but the blackcurrant vinegar was definitely a winner. I could definitely see ripe, red, succulent strawberries macerating in it. The caramelized balsamic added a syrupy coating to the little cubes of bread, and it’s something that I can eat all day.
Speaking of little cubes of bread, there was a fantastic selection of yeasty goodness from The Grumpy Baker.
Soft, fluffy sourdough were amongst other offerings, and my absolute favourite was the roasted garlic and olive sourdough. Chunks of smoky roasted garlic and bits of salty olives were threaded through each chewy bite. An om nom nom moment.
Another thing that I love about Taste is the ability to mingle with the chefs!!
Chefs
The crew at Aperitif were a hoot and a half. Miguel Maestre was his charming self as always, and early on in the evening there was quite a bit of friendly banter between Miguel and Manu, who own Aperitif together.
But the thing that makes Taste stand out for me is definitely the Chefs Table. It’s one thing to ask a quick question as you see a chef walk past you, but chances are, they would be busy, and it wouldn’t be nice to disrupt them in the middle of work.
And that’s where the Chefs Table comes in. The chefs take some time out of their busy schedules, and about 20 people get to sit around the table with them and have a chat. You can ask them anything you want, anything, and the answers are fairly candid, but some of the sessions are filled with hilarity.
The very extremely expressive Matt Kemp, who spoke about his start in cooking, working in Balzac…all with wild gestures and a very quick wit.
And this year, the man whom I think is the sexiest chef EVER had been scheduled to speak. He talked about his son, Ready Steady Cook, Aperitif, the best places to eat in London…amongst a myriad of other things.
How sexy is that? And the best part of all is that he has such a wicked sense of humour – every sentence was followed by guffaws of laughter and giddy giggles.
I even managed to get a photo with him!
Other chefs who spoke included Alessandro Pavoni of Ormeggio at the spit and Alex Herbert of Bird Cow Fish.
They both shared insight into the culinary world, and they discussed their experiences in cooking. It was extremely enlightening to hear words of advice from the mouth of experienced chefs. It gave me some ideas and inspiration, which definitely helps with my obsession with food.
The Main Event
The Churros Con Chocolate from Aperitif were fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, and it was all coated with silky smooth chocolate.
The Regal King Salmon carpaccio with orange segments, citrus and chardonnay vinegar dressing, shaved fennel, salmon roe, baby herbs and crispy salmon skin might have been a mouthful to order, but it was a delicious mouthful nonetheless. it was all wonderfully balanced – my only gripe about it was that I felt the salmon skin wasn’t quite as crispy as I had hoped it would be, but in the grand scheme of things it was good.
The Regal King Salmon curado with chilli and star anise tasted good, but personally I couldn’t really taste the chilli nor the star anise. All I could taste was the dill with the firm flesh of the salmon, which, I’m really not complaining about.
To follow my salmon obsession, Balzac’s Seared Regal Salmon with a salad of pomogranate, mint and feta was light and refreshing, with the just amount of tang and sweetness. Very good for a hot and sticky day.
And how can I visit a food fair and not sample one of Manu’s creations. The Slow cooked shoulder of lamb, smoked potato puree and jus had the deep mature flavours that I absolutely love about lamb. Every bite just falls apart in your mouth, and the puree leaves a lingering sense of luxurious creaminess.
Dank Street Depot & Cotton Duck’s Stone fruit roasted with home cured pancetta, verjuice and chilli was glorious in all its succulent, salty, garlicky goodness. Every mouthful was an absolute joy, and Dank Street Depot never disappoints. I’m still dreaming about last year’s Watermelon Smoked Ribs.
Now if you’re in the market for a heart attack, then Balzac’s Saddle of suckling pig with baby garden peas is for you. According to Matthew Kemp, the suckling pig is smothered in duck fat, slow cooked in a vacuum pack, deep fried, then covered in a buttery sauce. Oh, and the peas apparently have bacon bits too. If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then the road to coronary failure must be paved with mouthfuls of this delectable, melt-in-your-mouth dish. Definitely something I couldn’t get enough of.
On the lighter side of pork, Four in Hand’s offering of Confit of pork belly with Squid, Chorizo and Chickpea was a hearty dish indeed. It invoked memories of rich winter stews and the aroma of ripe, fresh tomatoes. Not quite as impressive for me as the saddle of suckling pork, but not bad at all!
And there were a couple of desserts that we absolutely had to try.
The Ricotta Fritters with berries and honey were soft sweet balls of lovely. For some reason, they reminded me of very sophisticated jam doughnuts!
On a side note, Sean and I were just having a discussion about how many cultures seemed to have somehow have created a dish involving fried dough sometime through history. There are doughnuts, 油条 you tiao, roti prata, churros…Every culture seems to have come up with a dish that includes flour, moisture and hot oil.
But anyway, back to the food.
The final dish that we had for the day was Otto Ristorante’s Amadei milk chocolate mousse with salted caramel and fresh berries. The mouse was light and lovely, and an excellent foil to the rich, dense salted caramel that it hid within. This was a dessert to share for sure. It was one of those ones where we really felt like we wanted much more, but knew that we absolutely couldn’t have any more of the rich stuff.
As Sean and I waddled slowly out of Taste, patting our satisfied tummies, we made the decision that we absolutely have to go back next year. We had an absolute blast, and can’t wait for the next one!
And to leave you, I will end with this hilarious picture of the sexy Manu.
LOL.
Happy Chap Gor Meh!!!! It’s the fifteenth (and last) day of Chinese New Year today, and I thought that I’d do bumper posts highlighting some CNY activities this year!
Usually, I’d be in Singapore for CNY, but with the new job and other stuff, I didn’t manage to make it home this year. No matter though, since Sydney had plenty of stuff going on – much more than I could go to!
An impromptu trip to Cabramatta was rewarded with a Chinese New Year festival!!
There were people playing chess, playing music and there were beautiful decorations everywhere!!
And of course, the food.
After hearing so much about it, I finally get to try Iron Chef‘s Peking Duck Pancakes!
A succulent strip of duck is paired with spring onion and cucumber. The whole lot is encased in a soft floury pancake and drizzled with hoi sin Sauce.
It was so yummy, I really wanted more. The duck was really the shining star, and personally, I prefer my peking duck with plum sauce. I really really really felt like buying a duck home though – it was juicy and not too greasy. Next time…next time.
Sean and I then went to Dong Son, which had menus written in Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese! How’s that for a multilingual restaurant?
I just had to have the Pho. The broth was just so tasty, and the soft rice noodles soaked up all that flavour. The brisket was soft and melt-in-your-mouth, the tripe was springy…and did I mention the broth. That heavenly soup was just bursting with flavour and fragrance. For me, the litmus test for Pho is always the broth. If the first sip of the broth does not seranade you with flavour, then that is not good Pho.
The dish, of course, was served with a plate of raw beansprouts and lemon for you to add as you wish.
Sean, having a Salt and Pepper Calamari addiction, ordered just that.
The dish itself was quite unremarkable – the calamari was relatively fresh, but didn’t taste of the sea – but the sauce that it came with…wow. It had a salty, lemony, tastiness to it that just popped in our mouths.
And so ends Part 1 of my Chinese New Year bumper post. I hope the last 15 days have been good to you, and here’s wishing that the year ahead will bring you good health, and – quite importantly – all sorts of good eats. =)
We ate at:
Dong Son
44 Park Road
Cabramatta 2166
(02) 9724 4551
Sean and I decided to start a new tradition this year. We love going to Yum Cha (or “drink tea” if literally translated) and thought that it’d be nice to go for Yum Cha for lunch on the first of every year!
For this first gorge we decided to go to Tingha Palace in Parramatta. It was bustling with families of all nationalities, and we were quietly directed to a spot on a shaded balcony. Now let the ordering begin!
We ordered Fried Spring Rolls to start off with. Crispy on the outside and steaming hot on the inside, the spring rolls were good, but nothing out of the ordinary. If anything, I felt like the pastry to filling ratio was a little bit skewed, and that it should have just a little more (better seasoned) filling.
And what’s a Yum Cha session without dumplings?
We ordered Chive and Prawn Dumplings (pictured above), and Har Gow (which literally translates to Prawn Dumplings). They were both good, flavour-wise, but I personally found the texture rather lacking. There is something about the translucent, fragile skin that gently encases crunchy, fresh prawns, that has a comforting chewiness about it. I love biting into a prawn dumpling and feeling that token bit of resistance before it gives way to my determined appetite. These ones, however, were just a little too placid and limp for my taste. But they were good dumplings otherwise!
Sean also had to have his favourite – Char Siew Pao.
It was sort of…average. It had the lovely fluffy buns around sweet, barbecued pork. Nothing mind-blowing, but definitely nothing to complain about.
Now on to my Yum Cha must-haves…
Cheong Fun!!! I love the silky sheets clinging delicately around tasty fillings, smothered in a magically sweet and salty dark sauce. Again, similar to the pork buns, it’s good, but not inspiring. If anything, we found that the sheets of rice noodles were a little too thick in some places where they’ve clumped together.
And last but not least (of the savouries)…
The Phoenix’s Claw (or braised chicken feet) are lovely and well stewed, with the strategic hits of chilli rounding up a medley of exciting flavours. Kudos to the restaurant for getting this right, as chicken feet are quite hard to cook correctly, and has to be stewed enough to allow all the flavours to meld. It also has to be tender enough to fall apart in your mouth, but not fall apart around your chopsticks. Full marks for this dish.
And now, on to the desserts!!
We ordered the Mango Pancakes and the Mango Pudding. As with the other dishes, these were thoroughly average. In fact, the pancakes were a little too clumpy and not silky enough, and there was entirely too much pancake to filling. We were left craving more desserts at the end of this meal, and it didn’t help that the dessert cart took forever to arrive at our table. For some reason, our table had been cleared and we were waiting for a good 20min before the dessert cart was called to the us.
All in all, it was an average experience. The prices were regular Yum Cha prices, and not fantastic value for money, since the dishes were so…regular. If nothing else, it’s really convenient for when we want a Yum Cha hit, but otherwise, nothing really worth traveling for.
Of course, when you go to a Chinese restaurant, you gotta spend some time looking into the giant fish tanks that line the walls!!
We ate at
Tingha Palace
Parramatta Leagues Club
1st Floor, 13-15 O’Connell Street, Parramata NSW 2150, Australia
(02) 9890 168
The Sydney Food Bloggers’ Xmas Picnic 2010 was such a blast! It was such a lovely feeling to unwind for an afternoon – especially when that new job has me so beat all the time! It was just food and friends, and a much-appreciated chance to chill out.
And then there was the Kris Kringle!! Everyone had to bring a gift worth not more than $10, and contribute them to the pile. I contributed some homemade jam (which I had second thoughts about after I saw all the other cooler things that came out of the pile) that Peter got. I’m so glad that he liked it! =)
There were also Ninjabread cookie cutters that everyone fought over.
Thanks to Chocolatesuze and Grabyourfork for organizing!! I had a lovely time. =)
P.S. Sorry for the rather taciturn post. I was just really exhausted for the most of it. Also sorry that I don’t have everyone’s dishes down pat!! If you’d like to pop me an email or a comment ‘claiming’ your dish, please do and I’ll make the edits. Thanks guys!
With all the hype about gourmet burgers going around, Sean and I decided to visit Grill’d one afternoon. Rather than gourmet ingredients like some of the other restaurants, Grill’d’s thang was healthy burgers!
To be honest, the idea didn’t exactly appeal to me at first. If you’re going to eat a burger, then why bother with healthy right?
Well the food better be good…and to be honest, it was. I expected dry, flavourless, tiny-portioned burgers, but instead I got yummy juicy burgers that didn’t feel heavy on the tummy at all!!
I got the Hot Mama ($11.90). It had a beef patty, roasted peppers, dill pickle, tasty cheese, tzatziki, salad, and a spread of harissa.
There was a choice of sourdough and wholemeal, and I couldn’t not choose the sourdough could I? =)
I really really loved the juiciness of the patty, and the hit of chilli and the end. I could’ve done with more harissa, but I think that the staff probably thought that killing the customer with chilli wasn’t a good idea. I personally thought that the dill pickles really brought it all together, and Sean (who is not a pickle fan BY FAR) thought so too. The sourdough was a bit over-toasted for my liking, but it’s still a really good burger.
Sean had the Almighty ($12.50) with a beef patty, tasty cheese, bacon, free-range egg, beetroot, salad, relish and herb mayo and he chose the wholemeal bun.
And…well it’s AWESOME! It’s just so moreish that you want mouthful after hearty mouthful. Again, it doesn’t sound like a particularly “gourmet burger” – you could probably make a similar burger at home – but it’s really nice to go out and be able to have something so comforting and not feel awful about yourself after.
We realise then that the wholemeal took to the toasting a lot better.
Also, what’s burgers without chips yes?
We ordered a large side of chips with all three sauces: Sweet Chilli Mayo, Herbed Mayo, and Tomato Relish ($0.75 each). We didn’t feel the mayos so much, but the Tomato Relish was DA BOMB. Awesome shizzle. It had just the right amount of tartness and depth, and wasn’t just plain and boring like tomato accompaniments usually are. Good stuff.
I also really liked that you could see all the ingredients at the counter too! Makes me feel like I know where (kinda) my food is coming from. Haha.
All in all, it was a really good experience. The food was good, if a bit pricey – there aren’t any magical, exotic ingredients – but I think the price is well worth while because 1) it’s in the city, all food would cost you that much and 2) it’s comfort food that doesn’t leave you feeling awful about yourself afterward.
Oh and the staff! The staff truly made it all a lovely day. The guy who was serving us at the counter looked truly happy to be there, and was great about making sure we were having the best time possible.
There is a downside though – and it’s a small one or a big one depending on your dietary habits. They have gluten free buns available (yay!) and the menu tells you how to make it a gluten free burger. Great! BUT their gluten free buns are toasted in the same toaster that toasts the regular buns, so it might just have some gluten in it. Really? Then what’s the point of the gluten free buns right? It’s quite annoying cause I can’t really bring my celiac friends there, but otherwise, it’s a good place to go.
We ate at:
Grill’d
Darling Harbour
100 Murray Street
Sydney 2000
I went to Melbourne for a quick trip, and I just had to try Lord of the Fries! As you know, I kinda have an obsession with fries. You can choose different sauces for your fries, and that’s where the variety comes in. We had French Canadian (Cheese and gravy – pictured below), Indian (Indian spices (?) and mango chutney pictured above) and Mexican (Salsa and Sour Cream).
To be honest, as great as the fries sound, it wasn’t all that crash hot. The fries were wayyyy overcooked and stale, and the Indian sauce was uninspiring. The French Canadian was ok, but I’m pretty sure that it’s no where close to poutine and just tastes a lot like chips and gravy.
We requested the salsa to be served on the side, and they completely forgot the sour cream! We actually had another order with aoli sauce, but they completely forgot that too. It’s so disappointing, and it’s not like they were really quick about it. We could finish just about a whole soft-serve before the food even came out. The salsa was also very watery and doesn’t have the chunk that you’d associate with really good salsa.
It was a lot better when I went previously, but I think that it was because we went to the LOTF in the city. Just yeah.
Disappointing.
