Gustatory Explorer

Moved! : Relocated To Nigel · Eats

2011-10-02T14:09:00.002+08:00

A big HELLO to all my readers and subscribers who have been with me for a few months!

It's official, I've moved to http://nigeleats.blogspot.com/ - Nigel · Eats and will be staying there for a long time to come! I've been thinking of a new site because gustatory explorer is a mouthful to say and remember and yes, Nigel Eats sounds much better.

With this move (pun unintended), I'll also be creating a facebook page and printing namecards for Nigel Eats too, so stay excited and tuned to my new site! I'll get all these done probably soon after my O lvls. (:

See you all around!
God bless,
Nigel

Graces Court Vegetarian Restaurant: Meatless or Tasteless?

2011-09-30T16:17:00.000+08:00

The word 'vegetarian' might not appeal to many, especially the carnivores amongst us or omnivores whose diets consist more of meat. Personally, and honestly, I prefer to acquire my daily intake of lean protein mainly from poultry, not from legumes, and mock meat and all had always been associated with flour and more flour, to me.

I'm not an avid vegetarian and in fact, this was my first time I had a vegetarian dinner because my dad's friend was having a birthday celebration. This dinner was an eye opener to me, I felt. It widened up my narrow mindset and corrected my misconceptions regarding vegetarianism. How? You may ask, read on to find out.

Graces Court Vegetarian Restaurant is, I heard, famous among vegetarians here and situating itself at Hotel Royal @ Queens makes dining here seem even more refined.

The appetizer was a platter of visually authentic dishes, such as the sausages, chicken and the five spice meat roll. You'll be surprised, some of them tastes amazingly identical to the real deal as well!

The sausages, though not having that intense meatiness of the real sausages, did well and tasted very close to the actual ones. This goes for the five spice meat roll as well.

Among the six different appetizer, I liked the five spice meat roll the best. Not only because it tasted like the actual thing itself but it had a balanced taste although I couldn't make out what was in them.

The Mock Lemon Chicken was served hidden below a mountain of keropok.

The lemon sauce was too sweet and mock chicken was on the bland side. Loved the keropoks that had speckles of spices in them, but not the mock chicken. Speaking of which, I wondered what the keropoks are made of? (it's a vegetarian dinner - no meat, no fish)

We had a pumpkin mock shark fin soup as well. It was interesting to see a bowl of orangey yellow bowl of shark fin soup and it was okay, with tofu skin substituting shark fins and a generous amount of straw mushrooms, a little on the strachy side though.

This dish is as real and as good as it looks. I felt that this dish of mushrooms and broccoli was probably the best dish for the night. The broccolis were cooked just right, resulting in tender stalks and delightful mouthfuls.

This was mock ham/luncheon meat with a surprise cube of pineapple placed in the middle. This surprisingly has the meaty taste in it and was delectable.

This was... did you guess it? Teochew Style Steamed Pomfret, a black one I was presume.

I wouldn't have known if I hadn't read the menu initially. I was anticipating what it would look like. It didn't have the looks, I agree, but it had taste. This tasted 70% similar to the real deal I dare to say.

The greenish black surface is actually layers of seaweed containing a sponge-like ingredient, I don't know what it is made of, but it certainly amazed me.

Last dish of the night, a dessert of course. Any fans of this heavy teochew dessert would be able to tell you what it is with this picture alone.

Yes, it was Orh Nee, and fans of it would surely be able to tell by the looks of gingko nuts studded onto the yam paste. I know of people who hate this but I absolutely love this. Haha, hi-fives to other fans of orh nee.

The Orh Nee was not as smooth as I picture it would be and they used artificial coconut milk which was diluted and thus gave this dish hefty discount. Worth a try, but certainly not the best.

This vegetarian dinner changed my mindset towards vegetarian food - that a lot of flour is being used and it was not tasty - and it was an eating adventure certainly. Though many of the dishes consisted of yellow beans or it products, I quite enjoyed the dinner and would recommend those wanting to try vegetarian food to come here and give it a go. Enjoy.

Graces Court Vegetarian Restaurant

Hotel Royal @ Queens
12 Queen Street #02-03 Singapore 188553

Tel: 62385085 Fax: 62385302

Website: http://www.gracescourt.com.sg/

Hong Kong Street Chun Kee Restaurant: The Real Deal?

2011-09-26T16:32:00.001+08:00

Hong Kong Street Restaurant or 香港街珍记 may ring a bell to those who frequent tze char stalls cum restaurants. You might have seen it at Novena, or Bukit Timah, or maybe even Changi, but today I'm introducing the one at Ang Mo Kio.

Hmm? And you thought they ~~are~~ were all under one man's monopoly. Wrong. I'm uncertain as to who's the real founder of the chain of Hong Kong Street Restaurants we have been seeing all around the island, but one thing's for sure, they are famous for their milky fish soup and other fish dishes.

The Sliced Fish with Spring Onion and Ginger certainly did not disappoint. The succulent slices of fishes were well fried with ginger and spring onion, resting on a pool of slightly thicken savoury gravy, it was lip-smacking good. Oh, and FYI, this type of fish said to be good for those who just had undergone any surgical operations as it helps the surgical wound to close up faster.

We ordered the Yam Ring Basket, which was chocked full of mushrooms, vegetables, prawns and topped with some cashew nuts. I have to admit, that although I wouldn't pay so much for a yam ring and mainly vegetables, but the yam ring was no doubt well-prepared. The yam paste, which was smooth and not cloying, does not leaving your mouth feeling very dry and it was fried to a nice and light crisp; Dipping it into sweet, stick sweet sauce was delightfully satisfying.

Unfortunately, the Claypot Tofu was disappointing. With vegetables, slices of yam, roasted pork and big square pieces of tofu all in a claypot, slathered with a starchy gravy, it didn't not exactly appeal to me or surprised me with it taste.

The famous 'Sam Lor Hor Fun' was the equally delicious as the Sliced Fish with Spring Onion and Ginger. Succulent slices of fishes was fried with hor fun and a generous amount of bean sprouts. The bean sprouts added a nice crunch to the overall texture of the dish and the hor fun had a nice subtle 'wok hei' taste to it.

In addition, we called for a plate of Sweet and Sour Pork too. It was good, but didn't come across as great to us.

Have you eaten at another Hong Kong Street Restaurant and would love to share your views? Or do you know the real story behind the chain of Hong Kong Street Restaurants that are popping up all around the island? I would love to hear from you. Please leave your comments below, thank you.

Hong Kong Chun Kee Street Resturant
Blk 151, Ang Mo Kio Ave 5
#01-3030, (S) 560157
Opening Hours: 11am - 2pm, 5pm - 11pm.

Sakura International Buffet @ Clementi Woods Park

2011-09-22T15:57:00.002+08:00

Buffets are well loved by many, especially Singaporeans, with the dining concept of free flow of food and beverages. At Sakaru International Buffet Restaurant, they cater specifically to the buffet crowd.

I've been to Sakura Restaurant once, a few years back that is, and in my vague recollect, it was decent. This time around at Sakura, there were a lot of hit and misses. Too many, in fact.

Trays of cooked food welcome you as you step foot into the restaurant. Fried rice and noodles are the staples here, accompanied by various meat and vegetables cooked with a variety of methods.

(Clockwise) Siew Mai, Mushrooms, Teriyaki Chicken, Beef

The teriyaki chicken was tasty and flavourful - not too tough chicken meat, teriyaki flavors and sesame seeds strewn on top on it. The beef, on the other hand, was another story, it was tough and rubbery.

The siew mai's skin was too thick, resulting in a floury taste in your mouth as you chewed on it. The mushrooms were alright, nothing too special.

The soft shell crab was off quality, far off from the real deal. However, the fish fillets, which I think are dory fillets, were not too bad. They are quite generous with the fish over here, steaming the fillets in a light soy sauce gravy, hong kong style, and serving them in whole fillets in a tray. The refills here are a little slow though.

The dining area was separately into many sections, and in fact two floors to be exact. Here at the fried section, they offer many deep fried sides.

At the local delights area, I tried the steamed chicken and the fried tau pok and egg. The chicken was too tough and cold while the tau pok, I felt, was too bland.

A grilling station is present as well, with selections such as salmon steak, steaks, skewered scallops, satays and etc. There will be cloth pegs on your table with your table no. on them, you can then use them to order these things as they're cooked a la minute.

The scallops were flavoursome, fleshy but a tad dry. The salmon steak was too thin and overcooked. You could hardly taste the actual salmon with the strong grilled taste on the outside, resulting in a tough surface as well.

The lotus bun is something worth recommending, I loved how smooth the paste was and the sweetness was just right.

Once you're done exploring with the first floor of the dining area, don't forget there's a second floor! The desserts and japanese foods are served up on the second floor. This concept of a second floor is rather weird I feel, and it isn't customer friendly because you might leave without knowing there's a second floor of food!

The sushis are of acceptable quality and quantity. You can find most of your common sushis here. The sashimi section do not come in second too, they have a wide selection of raw fishes, octopus and prawns.

A chocolate fondue is found on the second floor as well. Good quality chocolate wasn't used here, disappointed, but I don't blame them.

A whole molten chocolate cake is for your taking here. The molten chocolate was average, enough only for a mild chocolate satisfaction.

I concluded lunch by trying one of these and they salvaged the lunch a little. Sweet surprise because I wasn't expecting much out of these jellies. They were very nice with the different fruit flavours in them, real fruit juice must have been incorporated to manufacture a taste so similar to the fruit itself. They were konnyaku jelly, my new favourites for jellies.

Overall, a wide array of food, drinks and desserts, however the quality of the food was lacking tremendously. I would have preferred quality over quantity.

How about you? Have you tried any Sakura outlets around the island too? Do leave a comment to let me know your views or experiences. Thank you.

Sakura International Buffet (Clementi)
Clementi Wood Park

93A Clementi Rd

Daily: 12pm - 2.30pm, 6pm -9.30pm
Tel: 6474 8197

Official Opening @ The Gallerie : Redefine A Food Court

2011-09-14T18:59:00.001+08:00

Following the success of the Rasapura Masters at Marina Bay Sands, Koufu Pte Ltd, one of Singapore's most established food and beverage operators, officially opened The Gallerie on the 8th of September at Marina Square. The addition of The Gallerie will bring Koufu's count of establishments in the Marina Bay waterfront area up to three - Rasapura Masters, Dining Gallery and The Gallerie.

This new age food court will redefine your concept of a food court in Singapore. The Gallerie boast of a total floor area of est. 36,00 sq feet with a seating capacity of est. 889 people, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Gallerie has, 3 mini restaurants, 16 Boutique food stalls, 7 island stalls and 4 kiosks, a total of 29 tenents, guaranteeing a gastronomical adventure.

I was honored to be invited to the opening of The Gallerie. It may not mean much to others, or seem interesting and exciting to others (yes I was very excited!), but it sure felt like Gustatory Explorer reached a certain milestone in food blogging, yes, I'm referring to invites. I will continue to put in the conscientious effort to churn out good posts, regardless or invites or not, because invites are just a bonus yea.(:

Patrons at The Gallerie would also be able to enjoy a parnomic view of the waterfront. An absolutely beautiful view, I would suppose, in the night when the waterfront is lit up. Especially during major events including the F1 Grand Prix. F1 Power Boat Race, National Day Parade, fireworks displays and many others. Yes, patrons at The Gallerie would be able to see all these on the respective event dates! Very cool indeed.

At the very beginning of event, before the official opening, there were numerous waitresses walking around serving guests with some items from the bakery. I asked this lady which was the nicest out of all, she kindly pointed to -and recommended- the green tea swiss roll, on the left side of the tray. It was indeed quite nice, with a mild green tea scent released in your mouth with every bite.

Oh and I met 2 more food bloggers on this trip! Very glad I did. They are Daniel of Daniel's Food Diary and Kai Yi of Lazy Foodies. Kai Yi was practically my food buddy during this event - we went to scour around for good food, taking turns to photograph our food and eat till we almost burst. Haha.

As the Mooncake Festival was just around the corner...

We were treated to Koufu's mooncakes too! The lotus paste mooncake was tasty, with the lotus paste not being overly thick nor sweet.

The Thunder Tea Rice was first dish I tasted in the food court that night. I was intrigued and it being something I haven't try, my curiosity was piqued. I bought the Thunder Tea set meal ($7) which comes with Hakka Tofu and a Basil Omelette. For the main dish, customers have a choice of white rice, brown rice or a house-made special brown rice vermicelli, which is then topped with ikan billis, longs beans, cabbage, pork floss, cubes of tau pok, kang kong and a spoonful of peanuts. The thunder tea is served separately in another bowl.

The thunder tea rice is a hakka speciality which boasts of being very simple and healthy. First timers are recommended to try some of the tea before deciding how much to add to their main dish and mixing everything together. The tea is made from a blend of tea, basil and mint.

It's an acquired taste I would say, really. The blend of basil and mint was too strong for me. I personally ain't too used to the taste of mint which was very prominent in the tea, thus I would conclude that thunder tea rice isn't for me but it definitely wasn't bad either.

Custard Buns a.k.a Liu Sha Bao are available at the dim sum section in this food court. 'What? Really?' Yes they are, at the price of 3 for $3.60, at the dim sum section in The Gallerie.

Kai Yi spotted this, and being a lover of it, it was longer before we had a chance to taste one. I was excited to try after reading various description of how good a custard bun can get when its custard filling is runny, oozes out and according to Kai Yi, the best one she have had is from Victor's Kitchen at Sunshine Plaza and Taste Paradise. Where's your favourite custard bun from?

The Custard Bun brought me to heaven momentarily. I might not have tasted the best yet nor was the custard filling at its runniest but I was sold. One bite of it and the warm custard filling trickling down my throat. I was sold. It was so good. I love the fluffiness of the bun and the sweet-savouriness of the custard.

The steamed scallop topped shrimp dumplings (3 for $3.80) from the same dim sum stall was an entirely different story though. I feel that it's too expensive to pay $3.80 for 3 small shrimp dumplings which you could barely taste the scallops and there was some funny glutinous filling in the dumpling which tasted like starch. I would not recommend trying this.

Kai Yi and I tried the popiah at the food court as well. We were surprised to find the popiah stall selling a variety of popiah and one of them was salmon. The salmon filling were too little in my opinion and the popiah was too plain. I could only get a hint of the salmon inside the popiah, which resembles mayo tuna. Interesting concept, but definitely more room for improvement.

Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice opened their first outlet here in Marina Square after starting off as a chicken rice speciality shop and eventually evolving into a family restaurant along Thomson Road. This mini restaurant sells not just the Wee Nam Kee chicken rice but also their various Nanyang inspired dishes or simply their zi char dishes too.

Pao Xiang, the largest and most talked about bah kut teh restaurant chain in Kuala Lumpur, sets up its second outlet here at The Gallerie following its first outlet at NEX. Pao Xiang offers 18 different types of bak kut teh so for bak kut teh lovers, you can come here or NEX to try them if you're itnerested!

The Noodee Box by Lam's is a novelty thought up by Vicent, Mr Yap's son. Mr Yap, founder of Lam's Noodle House, who came up with the famous 'Lam's Abalone Noodle', has passed the baton on to his son after 40 years of passion for food and innovating unique flavours.

Noodles in a box originated from the West where they have chinese takeouts in boxes like these(above). Vincent, who just returned from Australia after graduating with a degree in psychology, decided to adapt this idea and try it out in Singapore.

The menu at the Noodee Box by Lam's isn't very complicated or fanciful with 4 vareity of noodles, a number of sides, one type of soup and a drink. 'That Green Drink' as it is named, it made by blending vegetable with their secret ingredients. It's a drink that will get your appetite going with it's distinct sweetness from the sour plum extract they use. Opps, did I just reveal one of their secret ingredients. Haha.

Vincent is a very friendly and nice guy. Kai Yi and I got a chance to Do-It-Ourselves a box of char siew noodles while Vincent patiently guided us along and explained to us the different steps. We tried the duck and char siew noodles but I'll not be posting them as the shots were too ugly to justify the noodles. The slices of duck were delicious and in each box of noodles, you'll get the ramen-kind of egg, where the egg yolk inside the hard boiled egg is still soft, thumbs up for this! The char siew is not the roasted kind that we're used to, it's pan seared instead but the pork was too gamey.

Vincent was very hospitable to treat us to an otah carrot cake too even though he knew we couldn't finish it but he just wanted us to have a taste of it. The carrot cake was pan fried to a crisp but I didn't get to really taste the otah inside. I liked the carrot cake on its own though, crispy and fragrant after being pan fried with margarine.

Tofu Mania is the third and last mini restaurant at The Gallerie. It is a Korean restaurant in New Zealand which ventured into Singapore, serving up healthy offering of popular Korean fares. The Bibimbab, which is extremely popular in Korea, was nothing special to shout about here.

They offer Korean Fried Rice here at this restaurant too. Kim chi, rice and slices of pork were fried together with kim chi sauce. The kim chi was very sour if I'm not mistaken.

Mixed Berry, Spicy Cinnamon, Grape (left to right)

Something that I've tried at Tofu Mania and would love to share with everyone is the different Korean beverages being offered there. I would definitely bring home these cans if I were to try them again. There's something about cute, small cans with beautiful designs that make them adorable and collectable.

The manager at the outlet introduced us to the different drinks. The Mixed Berry, as he said, was a sort of energy drink in Korea. Tasted like mixed berry fruit juice, sweet and sourish. The Spicy Cinnamon sounded a little daunting but it was fine, a little queer because it taste like the cinnamon topping on top of Auntie Anne's cinnamon pretzel in liquid form. The Grape drink tasted fine, just like the grape itself with halves of the grapes found in the can. So do shake before opening unless it's a soft drink!

Sweet Rice, Crushed Pear, Sour Plum (left to right)

That wasn't all. There are three more! The Sweet Rice beverage was, I heard, a very traditonal and popular beverage in Korea. It tasted like diluted horlicks or ovaltine. The Crushed Pear tasted like the pear itself, refreshing and nice, with pear bits in it. The sour plum tasted like its sour plum fruit too. It was a very nice experience tasting all the 6 different Korean beverages. 'Thank You!'

I had a very pleasant time at the opening of the Gallerie, tasting different foods and drinks. Especially meeting Kai Yi, who was friendly and a great foodie indeed. The Gallerie has redefined my idea of a food court, has it for you too? Have you been to The Gallerie and tried any of its foods? Please leave a comment in the comment box below, thank you.

Special thanks to Koufu for the invite.

The Gallerie

#04-101/102, Marina Square, 6 Raffles Boulevard

Tel: 63362958

Opening Hours: 11am-9pm (Daily)

Jonathan & Eunice's Wedding: A Fairytale Turned Reality

2011-09-11T00:40:00.001+08:00

The Groom : Jonathan Tan

The Bride : Eunice Lin

On this faithful Saturday, 10.9.2011, Jonathan and Eunice officially became Mr and Mrs Tan! Love filled the air and the sounds of wedding bells ringing propagated through the neighbourhood of Toa Payoh as a special communion between Jonathan and Eunice was formed as they exchanged vows and became husband and wife. Congratulations once again!

I know they probably would not see this, but it's alright, I just felt I had to post this. Well, simply because it's something special that happens only once in a lifetime y'know.

‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. - Mark 10:7-8

This post shall give me a chance to express my well wishes for both of them too, which I never got down to writing it on a card for them. (guilt stricken is me, but hey I gave them a gift!)

First of all, what a couple both of them are! In every good way possible, I mean! As individuals, Jonathan or Xin Liang as we usually refer him to, has a God gifted sense of humour; He is extremely funny. (I dare say Jesus bestowed more of his humorous side to him than the rest of us!) He can easily give your cheeks and stomachs a good workout any time, just talk to him. Easy going, friendly are words that befits him well too.

Eunice or Chun Hui, as I'm used to calling her, is humble, friendly and super nice. I say this not because it's a time to use only positive words but rather, they're base on my own encounters while being working together as ushers in church. Even if she's in charge and she's the boss/leader, she doesn't act like one at all, she's quick to share the blame and not push it to others. Imagine. These two becoming one. -smiles-

Secondly, I believe this marriage is pleasing in the eyes of our Lord and He shall sustain this marriage as long as they live because marriage is sacred and it wouldn't have happened if God didn't allow it. So don't fret and live happily ever after! Life might not be so perfect but let your quibbles, fights, and any forms of unhappiness that might arise, bring you two closer as you two learn what it means to live as one.

Last but not least, may you two continue to be committed and united as the days go by! May you two not have just intimacy in love, in life but also spiritually, in God. Help each other to be more God fearing everyday, carry your crosses and follow Jesus as you two support each other. Let your lives be a testimony to others, shine in your families, communities, workplaces and flavour the world with your saltiness.(:

The wedding itself was a simple, elegant and touching one. I loved it. There was love in the air and there was God's presence and that's all that matters.

Now, what's a complete joyous occasion without food? People might not think much when 'tea reception' is mentioned, especially when it's catered food. You expect a spread but you don't expect a feast. You haven't found a good caterer yet.

It was a feast for our eyes as well as our mouths. I regretted not coming down to photograph the food earlier. It was a complete meal - entrées, mains, desserts and drinks. Everyone was in for a treat.

The smoked salmon and prawns, you see above, are part of the entrées served. The smoked salmon could do with less salt as it was simply too salty, or was it suppose to whet your appetite with its saltiness? The prawns were dipped in a sourish, tomato looking sauce which tasted a little queer and the prawns were a little too fishy, though they were firm and big which tells of their freshness.

There were sushis too!

I skipped the mains, this is why:

Paradise.

How. Do. You. Resist. This. Tell me if you know how, okay?

It was dessert haven. There was a decent variety of desserts and pastries available for anyone's taking.

The butter cupcakes were very pretty looking with their flower decoration but the flowers were so tough. They should have put up a sign that says 'Flowers might be too hard for consumption.' or something. They were great in taste too, like the yummy strawberry frosting which I loved. No addition complains.

The tiramisu, which means 'pick me up' literally in Italian, was a let down. The biscuit stick on the top lost its crispiness and there was simply too much coffee cream. My taste buds only picked up the cream and nothing else.

There were two chocolate fondues as well. Decent chcolate was used with a wide selection of fresh fruits and marshmallow available for dipping. Thumbs up for that. Chocoholics, you can go 'high' on chocolate now. Oh and if you love to know the caterer? It's Smiling Orchid or http://www.smilingorchid.com/index.php.

'Smile!'

The wedding was magical, the food was fantastic but these matter not. It's the couple who gave the whole wedding its meaning. I shall end off simply by giving my utmost sincere blessing to you two!

To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. - May you two always hold steadfast to this vow.

Wishing you a very blessed marriage,

Nigel

Dian Xiao Er: Roast Duck And More

2011-09-07T21:40:00.002+08:00

The Soup Restaurant Group operates 2 chains of restaurants, namely 'Soup Restaurant' and 'Dian Xiao Er'. It's a clever idea, really, as the former one is famed for their Samsui Ginger Chicken while the latter specializes in their roast ducks; Each of the restaurant serves up one of the two main type of poultry Singaporeans eat on a normal basis. Thus, often times, you'll find a branch of the 'Soup Restaurant' in a mall and a branch of 'Dian Xiao Er' springing up either next to it or within it's vicinity.

This dish of Stir Fried Lotus Root with Macadamia Nut is a great dish for all nut lovers out there. Whipped up with a variety of colourful, great tasting vegetables and a generous amount of crunchy macadamia nuts, it is visually enticing as well as gastronomically. A dish that would make nut lovers go nuts or you, the no so nut loving ones, complain there is a little too much macadamia nuts in there.

Dian Xiao Er truly serves up most of the most beautifully crisped roast duck. Look at the picture, doesn't it get you salivating? There are three choices of roast duck served at Dain Xiao Er - with Angelica Herb, Wild Ginseng or Ten Wonder Herb. The waitress told us that the wild ginseng gravy was on the sweet side while the ten wonder herb is on the savoury boundary I think. You can clarify with the waites or waitresses there.

We placed an order for the Herbal Roasted Duck with Wild Ginseng. Personally, I can't take the taste of ginseng, it just puts me off somehow. Nonetheless, I tried the duck - it was too hard to resist. There's a subtle ginseng taste and the rest is sweetness. If you're like me who can't take a hint too strong of ginseng, you can perhaps give this a try, it's not that strong.

The roasted duck was delicious, with its succulent flesh except for its not very crispy skin and I blame the gravy for that. A pity, I feel, that the skin is not as crispy as it appears to be after the gravy is drenched over the duck.

This is a funny photo, see the conflict? My dad's just hungry for the fish while he has to wait for me and my sister to finish photographing the dishes. Haha. This was a claypot of Old Style Steamed Fish Slices. It was a simple yet beautiful dish. The snakehead fish slices were well steamed with red dates, mushroom and spring onions in a savoury sauce that is not too salty. A well balanced dish with it's taste and nutrient value both earning a thumb up.

All in all, a pleasant and satisfying first time at Dian Xiao Er. I have to commend them for their extremely efficient service in serving up the dishes, it took less than 20-25 mins for all the dishes to be served up. Fast and efficient, well done.

Dian Xiao Er
Serangoon NEX
#02-09/10, 23 Serangoon Central, S556083
Tel: (65)6634 4828

Mon - Fri : 11.30am - 2.30pm (last order 2.30pm), 5.30pm - 10.00pm (last order 9.30pm)

Weekends and Public Holiday : 11.30am - 10.00pm (last order 9.30pm)

Cheok Kee Boneless Braised Duck

2011-09-05T11:33:00.000+08:00

As they say, 'people eat to live, but Singaporeans live to eat.' Agreed.

Singapore, being a city renowned for its diversity of food and flavours, have cultivated a culture within its citizen to be food scouts - always on the lookout for good food. The island is teeming with braised duck stalls all around, but memorable ones? Only a handful. At Cheok Kee Duck Rice, the owner does it right.

Located at the Geylang Bahru Market and Food Centre, this duck rice stall is famous for all the right reasons; the duck is flavoursome and wonderfully accompanied by a thick, rich gravy. Why the duck meat is de-boned too, for your convenience.

In sum, a very satisfactory meal of braised duck rice. I would definitely be back to patronise this stall in the near future.

Cheok Kee Boneless Braised Duck
69 Geylang Bahru
Geylang Bahru Market and Food Centre, S330069

Domino's Pizza: An Appreciation Dinner

2011-08-29T17:51:00.007+08:00

Bloggers who participated in the Singapore Blog Awards(SBA), which started in May, were invited to an appreciation dinner by Domino's Pizza. Domino's Pizza have received the help of many blogger and thus, organised this dinner in appreciation.

8 bloggers, including myself, turned up for it. It was really just a time of mingling around with other bloggers who shared the same passion for blogging and well, when there is company, it is bound to be accompanied by food right? I had a great time getting to know: Hazel of AiMakan, Roxanne of Laced Ivory, Joey of iisjong, Melissa of Melissa Choi and Alexis of alex.is.

We were in for a treat that night, as we were served a number of sides, pizzas and a lava cake each.

The gathering started off with Ms Linda, the marketing manger of Domino's Pizza, feeding us with a little of Domino's Pizaa's background information and its history.

She then told us about the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of Domino's. It's really customers first at Domino's where they would offer customers a free pizza voucher if there is any complains, no questions asked.

They are committed to making sure that every customer is not short-changed with CCTVs at every work station while the staff made the pizzas. Thus, in any instances of complains of too little ingredients, they can easily check through the CCTV. Now that's commitment for you.

It was time to eat and, the sides were served first.

The Crazy Chicken Crunchies(Tom Yam) were a little cold after we have finished taking photos and whatsnot. However, with that aside, I thought the spiciness of the chicken was overwhelming; you could only taste the spiciness along with the crunch of the chicken.

These onion rings could do with a little more cheese. I couldn't taste the garlic cheese on the Garlic Cheese Onion Rings.

The Golden Roasted Drummets were Melissa's favourite. She had 5 of them and wanted more. 'Chickens, fear her.' Haha. They were tasty and finger licking good.

At Domino's, there are 4 chocices of crust available. They are, in ascending thickness, Crunchy Thin Crust, Cheese Burst Crust, New York Crust and Classic Hand Tossed Crust. You can see from the picture, the obvious difference between a hand tossed crust and the cheese burst crust.

Domino's ushered in the arrival of a new crust - the cheese burst crust - not too long ago. The cheese burst crust is described as such, two crunchy thin crust with a layer of creamy cheddar cheese sauce in between. Did that get your saliva glands working?

I only managed to try these two pizzas before I was full. You'll see why later on. These two are the Hawaiian Paradise (bottom) and the Chicken Temptation.

The Hawaiian Paradise had supposedly the cheese burst crust, but my tastebuds only manged to detect their signature sauce - tomato sauce - and the cheese in the pizza. The crust wasn't crunchy crispy but it was nice, with it being thin.

The Chicken Temptation was decent with its thick crust. I think I prefer the thin crust to a thick hand tossed one. Though for you out there, who likes chewy food, you'll enjoy the hand tossed crust.

The Classified Chicken pizza.

The Extravaganzza pizza.

Oops, it's gone. Domino's Lava Cake was devoured. And this was the reason why I didn't have the chance to sample the other two pizzas.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins when 'chocolate lava cake' was mentioned. The thought of warm, runny, molten chocolate flowing out as your fork nudged a piece of cake off, was too much to bear. I skipped the two pizzas and went for this first.

The chocolate cake was very chocolatey, I think I just sounded the alarm for chocoholics, but the molten chocolate was too thick and cloying. I was expecting a runnier chocolate filling. It was filling too, so beware. This should do fine if you should ever need a quick dose of chocolate.

Well, that was more or less the entire gathering. This was my first bloggers meeting and I've happy to say that they're all friendly and nice!

Thank you Janet for the invite and the team behind Domino's for the wonderful dinner!

Domino's Pizza

Kovan
943/945, Upper Serangoon Road, Singapore 534710

Ang Mo Kio
1, Blk 339 #01-1587, Singapore 560339

Bedok
Blk 218, Bedok North 1, #01-15 Singapore 460218

Bukit Merah
Blk 111 Jalan Bukit Merah, #01-1678, Singapore 160111

Choa Chu Kang
Block 253 Choa Chu Kang #01-01 ( Keat Hong Shopping Centre) Singapore 680253

Elias Mall
Blk 625 #01-312 Elias Mall, Elias Road, Singapore 510625

Jurong
6 Jurong West Avenue 1, #01-03, Singapore 649520

Katong
301,Tanjong Katong Road,Singapore 437084

Killiney
71 & 71A,Killiney Road,Singapore 239527

Sembawang
369 Sembawang Road,#01-06 Sembawang Cottage, Singapore 758382

Tampines
No. 15 Jalan Tepong #04-11/12 Jurong Food Hub , Singapore 619336

Bukit Timah
8 Chun Tin Road, Singapore 599595

Microwave An Egg: Cook An Egg Under A Minute

2011-08-25T14:24:00.002+08:00

Off to work or school and time is not on your side? Late, late, late but you know you've got to have some eggs for breakfast, yet it's impossible to cook an egg lightning fast using the conventional methods of boiling or frying. Don't worry, there's a way when there's a will; Go the unconventional way - microwave! It might sound strange, absurd or even dangerous to some, but not to worry, this is tested and proven and I live to share the joy.

Cautious parents, rest assure, the cases of exploding eggs you've heard are probably of hard boiled eggs being microwaved without being pierced. Thus, the pressure builds up in the egg and it explodes. Short bursts of microwave time, in this recipe, will put your mind at ease after you've tried it once or twice.(:

Eggs are nutritious, a good source of proteins and omega 3, simple and delicious. In simple words, eggs are good for you. So have one or two to start your day off with, but do remember that the daily limit for a normal person is around 2-3 eggs per days - the yolks are all too generous with their contribution of cholesterol!

Microwave Egg

Egg(s)

1. Crack your egg into a porcelain bowl. (not a plastic bowl!)
2. Microwave for around 20s and stop.

After 20s in the mircowave

3. You'll find the sides are a little cooked now. Using a small spoon coax the cooked sides into the centre. This is done so that your whole egg will be cooked properly, not just the sides.

4. Microwave, 2 times, for 20s each time.* The egg is cooked. (Stop earlier if you're into half boiled eggs like I do.)

Half microwaved eggs

5. Served egg with bread or eat on its own. You're off to a good start now!

*Stop once you hear 2 'pop' sounds, you are most likely done already.

Saung Sunda Sawargi A.K.A SSS: Sundanese Cuisine

2011-08-23T12:36:00.009+08:00

This post would sum up the meals I ate at different restaurants in Batam during my church camp last June.

I wasn't aware that Sundanese cuisine existed till it appeared on the itinerary and I actually tried it. "Sundanese cuisine is the cuisine of Sundanese people of West Java, Indonesia. It is among one of the most popular food in Indonesia." by Wikipedia

I can't say for sure the dishes I had were all authentic Sundanese dishes, but this speaks for the popularity of this restaurant:

They must be celebrities or respectable people.

The dishes that were served, buffet style, were decent. Especially the Gado Gado, a type of Indonesian salad. The big crispy look thing, I'm not sure what it is called, was okay, would make a good side to dip into the spicy gravy of the dishes actually.

Frankly speaking, I can only vaguely recall the flavours of this lunch. The hard boiled egg was fried then bathed in a spicy, curry like sauce, not too spicy. The corn and vegetable behind the egg was the contents of some soup but they didn't have a bowl at that time so I just scooped a little onto my rice, no recollection at all. I'm thinking they were normal.

The Gado Gado stood out from the rest. The different vegetables were fresh and crisp, paired with egg and their in-house peanut sauce, resulted in a good starter. The peanut sauce was thicker and sweeter than our satay peanut sauce if I am not wrong.

This must either be beef or mutton, but I think it was pretty good, tender and juicy if I'm not mistaken.

So there you have it, a simple yet flavourful Sundanese lunch before I bid farewell to the island of Batam. It was a great camp with pleasant memories, thankyou. Are there any Sundanese restaurants in Singapore? Tell me about your experience there.

Rong Yi Hong Kong Tim Sum: Ang Mo Kio Branch

2011-08-22T15:16:00.003+08:00

I have decided on writing short and concise posts for the months leading up to the Os to come; I can update this blog more regularly (so you don't have to wait too long for a updates!) and well, more time on the books.(:

One thing to celebrate if you have been with me for awhile now, reading this blog of mine, chinese O level results were released last Thursday and well, it was a moment of pure joy : A1! Praise be to God for the good results and many thanks to my teacher, who put in a lot of effort to teach us, and my friends for their constant encouragements to spur me on, thank you all!

Coming back to the topic, this chicken pao(top picture) is well worth a try. Surprisingly, I realised the main branch of this stall seems to be in Rochor Centre as I was googling for the name of this stall. Unfortunately, that means I haven't tried the main branch dim sum so there's no knowing if what I ate was up to their best standards. However, I can confidently say, comparing to the other chicken paos I've eaten, this is truly one of the better ones.

I'm not sure what's your idealistic pao or the best pao you've eaten - soft and fluffy skin, tender chicken filling, egg, mushroom and juices bursting out as the inside of the pao is being revealed?

This chicken pao ($1.50) is near there but a little different as well. For starters, there's no mushroom nor juices bursting out. But wait, the pao contains onions and, I suspect, radish, these two add great flavour and crunch to the chicken filling. Thus, overall, I would say it's worth a try if you're in the vicinity or having a craving for chicken paos. I've tried the lotus paste pao as well, decent but a little too expensive for its small size.

The best pao I've tried, that fulfils the idealistic pao above, was in malaysia, will definitely blog about it if I go over to malaysia in the future. Meanwhile, anyone knows if the chicken pao is the same over at the main branch?

Rong Yi Hong Kong Tim Sum (AMK)

Blk 158 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4
#01-590
Singapore (S)560158

Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo: Worth The Wait

2011-08-11T15:43:00.003+08:00

Studying makes you hungry. After hitting the books with my cousin at the library earlier on, and it was decided that we'll go to the nearby Ang Mo Kio Ave 6 Food Centre to have lunch. We did go but the original plan for me was to try the duck porridge there.

The duck porridge was always sold out or the stall was closed on the particular day I went, thus I never had the chance to try it yet. Today, was just one of those days unfortunately. Oh, wait, or was it a blessing in disguise? As a result, I chanced upon the perpetual long line of queue outside Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo stall.

Recalling my sister telling me that there was a Yong Tau Foo stall that was recommended by Dr Leslie Tay and we seem to have tried the wrong one the other time, so my mind pieced the partial memories together and there I was, plonked myself into the queue. Now, if only my mind could create links as fast as that during study time and yes this is the right stall that Dr Leslie Tay recommends. Happy as a bird was I, snapping a few pictures of the stall name, till I finally saw it.

Saw what, you may ask. I saw that customers were supposed to choose their items and placed their order before queueing up! Yup, that's how they operate here. You queue up AFTER you have placed your order. Don't make the mistake that I've made and waste 15mins of your life queueing up for nothing.

Coming back to the bowl of yong tau foo, it was deliciously satisfying. This bowl of dried vermicelli, served along with your picked items, topped with sweet sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds justified the long wait and seemingly endless queue. It was that good.

The ingredients were fresh, the fried items were delicious, noting in particular some kind of fried flour ball they have and their fried meatball (the second picture). The meatball was chewy, juicy and flavourful - all the characteristics of an outstanding meatball. The vermicelli they used were a little different, a little flatter and thicker than the usual ones. The sweet sauce balanced out nicely on the palate, not too sweet. The small bowl of soup that comes along will help to cleanse your palate if the sweet sauce is too cloying for you after awhile. Overall, a great bowl of yong tau foo. I would certainly revisit this stall!

Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo
Ang Mo Kio Blk 724
#01-23
Open from 7am to 7pm daily
Sunday closed
96353203

Durian Puff: First Attempt On Choux Pastry

2011-08-10T20:59:00.005+08:00

Efforts to resist myself were futile; I succumbed to temptation. I baked. Really, I should have been digging into my books and excavating that abundant wealth of knowledge, yet I didn't.

However, one would be guilty too if they had an absolutely legitimate craving and desire and they didn't fulfil it, right? Oh, it's an excuse, but I baked durian puffs anyway hehe. You could say that I was celebrating Singapore's 46th birthday as well. Yup, I baked them yesterday, on the 9th of August.

'Happy belated birthday Singapore! Majulah Singapura!'

Durians are an iconic food in Singapore since you normally don't see them elsewhere except Malaysia and Thailand and we even have the Esplanade building whose design was inspired by durians.

Being the king of fruits, it is easily recognisably by its spiky green shell, pungent smell and strong taste that lingers in your mouth and breath long afterwards. Many would avoid it, yet ironically, many would flock to places selling them once they are in season. It's a love or hate thing really, like I've mentioned in my previous post.

Enough said, it was my first attempt at baking choux pastries and it was a success I would conclude. Nothing terrifying about them, you just need to inject love and patience like all other times of baking and they'll come out rewardingly well. Proof?

Proved.

Durian Puff (adapted from Maameemoomoo)

For 8 puffs

85ml water
50g butter
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
50g bread flour
20g cake flour — i didn’t bother with cake flour, substituted with plain flour –
2 eggs (lightly beaten)

Step 5 - the signature triangle you're looking out for.

1. Cook water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan till bubbling hot. Turn the heat to low.
2. Add in the flour mixture in one go and mix with a wooden spoon till a dough is formed
(picture on the left)
3. Still on low heat, cook the dough for 1 – 2 minutes till a thin white film is formed at the bottom of the saucepan.
(picture in the middle)
4. Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and beat till it is lukewarm.
5. Add in egg by thirds and mix till well blended and smooth. It needs to be glossy looking. Test the batter by taking a scoop of it and it hangs down and form a smooth triangular shape, it means u’re on the right track ;)
(picture on the right)
6. Place batter into piping bag and pipe it onto a lined pan in rounds of about 5cm in diameter. Spray some water on it. (i piped mine 5cm and it turned out HUGE! will pipe 2cm and get 20 small puff pastry instead. i like them mini :))
7. Gently smoothen out the pointed peaks with a moistened finger.
8. Bake at 200C for 25 (mine took only 20) minutes then 180C for 8 – 10 minutes or till dry and golden brown in color.

Durian filling

200ml whipping cream (will reduce this to 150-170ml)
1 tbsp rum
550g durian pulp
3 tbsp milk

1. Whip up whipping cream to a soft peak.
2. Fold in durian pulp. Stir in milk and rum.
3. Put fillings in a piping bag and pipe it out into the baked choux pastry.

Ayam Penyet: Cheap and good food!

2011-08-05T23:56:00.004+08:00

When someone says,'fried chicken.' What comes into your mind? Personally, it's crispy skin and tender chicken meat. This was no Manchu Han Imperial Feast nor a dish served in a high end restuarant, yet it was good; This was just simple Indonesian fare. The chicken thigh was fried to a crisp and the meat within still remained tender.

The chicken thigh was crispy goodness. How did I end up discovering this? It was lunchtime during my church camp in Batam back in June. A group of us decided to visit the largest shopping mall on Batam island, Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall, as the hotel could provide shuttle service and it was only good to go exploring and going new places in a foreign land. Though, it was my second time there but I had very little recollection about the first. *It is strongly recommended that you visit this shopping mall if you're at Batam because this shopping mall is the most complete mall, in terms of shops and food, compared to the other shopping malls in Batam. We skipped lunch at the hotel and decided to have it at the shopping mall itself, own time own target. A&W fast food restuarant was a big temptation since we don't have it anymore in Singapore. I was determined to try something local.

This stall caught my eye eventually, besides being directly opposite of A&W, it had the most customers. I was in the store and seated in a jiffy, with two other churchmates. We decided have one ayam penyet each since we presumed it must be the best seller in this stall, where the sign says it all. The rest, they say, is history.

The chicken was served alongside with some cabbage, cucumber, mint, 2 pieces of what tasted like fried beancurd, their signature chilli I presume, and topped with a generous amount of deep fried batter bits. The chilli was fine, a little too oily though. The vegetables did a great job to cleanse the palate from the oilness of the chicken. The chicken thigh came with rice too.

In addition, we ordered a bowl of beef soup to try. It tasted okay. The chicken remained the star of the meal.

I've saved the best for the last: this meal cost me around S$3-4! It is cheap and good indeed. And it looks like they have branches in Malaysia and Singapore as weel, have anyone tried this stall?

Durians : One man's treasure is another man's poison?

2011-08-02T19:52:00.003+08:00

Durians; It's a love or hate thing.

I faithfully declare that I belong to the former; I love durians.

It's really a love or hate thing with durians. I've ever heard them being described as "completely rotten, mushy onions." on tv, by Chef Andrew Zimmern - host of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. He has certainly tasted some of the weirdest things on earth yet, when it came to durians, it was too much for him. 'What a waste,' I would say. It never fails to make me to crave for them, even when you have ulcers, at the risk of being too 'heaty' or overeating them previously. It's edible, creamy, lucious gold.

My aunt just bought a bag of them back from Malaysia but I'm gessing they'll only last a maximum of three days before they're all devoured by us heh.

555 Golden Prawn Restaurant: Seafood Dinner

2011-07-07T19:20:00.004+08:00

As the big Os near and school start their countdown to it, stress levels soar and multiply. Eat well and sleep well are key in maintaining optimum work ability. The way to destress? Eat and blog about food. At least that's for foodies like us, I believe.

Which brings me back to my previous post about my church camp in Batam. Third night's dinner was at 555 Golden Prawn Restaurant. From the looks of the area dedicated to keeping live seafood at the entrance, they specialize in live seafood I suppose.

All our dishes had some kind of sea creature in it.

Except this:

The first dish was sweet and sour fish. Maybe they were serving a large group so they cooked most of the dishes in advance, thus the fish was a little cold when it arrived at our table. However the fish was not doubt meaty and fresh but it did not impress.

The second dish was fried calamri rings. The batter coating was too thick and the squid rings were over fried, leading to tough rubbery calamari rings. Next was the fried prawns which were fried to a crisp with the shell. Only if it was hot and remained crispy.

The chilli crabs did not take long to come too. Their chilli crab is different from our Singapore chilli crab as you can see in the picture. Their chilli sauce was somewhat like our sambal chilli while our chilli crab sauce is usually a chilli paste cooked down and thicken. It was too oily in my opinion and the crabs weren't in season at that time I suppose. The crabs weren't very meaty as well.

Overall I think this dish of stir fried vegetable was done the best. The vegetables were crunchy and the strips of squid inside it were done well, not too tough.

The dinner was, however, made complete with great company and fun!

Batam Golden View Hotel : AMKCMC Church Camp 2011

2011-07-01T17:37:00.004+08:00

Hello everyone, finally a post from Gustatory Explorer, you might say. I temporarily stopped posting initially because I left for my church camp, at Batam. It felt great putting everything aside (well, I did bring some school work but I only did a little) and just relax and recharge myself.

However, once I was back at home, reality sank in that my school holidays were coming to an end and yet not even half of my homework is done. Thus, the remainder of my holiday was spent on homework and revision; no time to update my blog. And it has only been 5 days of school from the start of school on Monday and I'm already getting a little overwhelmed by it.

Well, there's your reason for my absence. Coming back to the topic, we stayed at Golden View Hotel in Batam. The four-star hotel was neatly furbished with facilities such as swimming pool, gym and a few pool tables at the hotel lobby. Wifi is provided at the lobby too. Restaurants such as 555 Golden Prawn and 933 Golden Prawn Restaurant are a stone throw away from the hotel which makes meals pretty convenient. (I ate at 555 Golden Prawn and a few other places, will blog about them in separate posts)

I would recommend staying at this hotel if you're visiting Batam. It's roughly a 20mins drive from the ferry terminal to the hotel. However, one thing I would want to highlight is the rooms. My room was felt a little small and squeezy while my friends' room felt spacious and nice. It was the difference in the height of the ceiling that gave that overall feel I suspect.

A sneak peak at my friends' room:

A decent room with two beds and a toilet.

The toilet was a little small but not too bad.

The view from the room. - Great location to watch the sunrise if you are keen on sunrises!

That's all for the hotel. I shall end off with one of the most beautiful creations by God that I woke up to watch with a few others everyday.

Ampang Yong Tau Foo - A different kind of flavour altogether.

2011-06-14T23:37:00.003+08:00

Eating Ampang Yong Tau Foo reminds me of eating Ngoh Hiang or Wu Xiang as they call it in mandarin. You get to select your own ingredients, then its re-fried and served. Only this time with the yong tau foo, its generously drenched with a starchy sauce and served with their special sauce.

Ampang Yong Tau Foo is much raved about, but it failed to impress me. I've tasted it twice, yet I still feel that its not nice. Maybe I prefer the normal yong tau foo that we are familiar with, the not all fried ingredients and soupy kind.

The plate of yong tau foo was for sharing that night, and so I had a kway chap store found there. I didn't see any store name, so I presume its owned under the same family? Maybe not, but the bowl of kway was pretty good. It was served with a herbal soup base, unlike the ones that I've eaten so far - served with braised sauce.

The pig innards, tau pok, lor bak, braised egg and tau kwa were okay. Decent but nothing there left an impression on me.

'In Malaysia, the Ampang region of Kuala Lumpur is particularly famous for this dish.' (source from Wiki)I wouldn't discount the original Ampang Yong Tau Foo to be bad just because I don't like the one in Singapore. Will definitely head there to try the original version of it if I ever have the chance.

So, do you prefer the usual, more familiar, ubiquitous yong tau foo we all know? Or do you like this Ampang yong tau foo more?

Yam Bean with Pork and Dried Squid - The 'stock' gets sweeter when its leftover!

2011-06-14T12:18:00.006+08:00

Yam bean may sound strange and unfamiliar to many but mang guang, in hokkien, might just ring a bell in you. Yes, its flesh is white in colour, sweet and commonly used in our rojak, popiah and kueh pie tee.

This is another one of my grandma's recipe and I've been wanting to learn this for a long time. It surprised me to be really quick and easy to prepare and cook yet it taste so good! The frying of garlic and dried squid imparts loads of flavour into this dish so be sure to go get them if you need to!

Goes down really well with rice and one thing I've discovered : leftovers might not be recommended by doctors but reheating this dish after a day or two, the whole dish just seem sweeter and nicer. Its true, try it out yourself.

Yam Bean with Pork and Dried Squid

800g of pork (parts of the pig that are known to be tender will be good)
3 medium sized yam bean, skinned and shredded
5-7 cloves of garlic, smashed
5 rice bowls of water
some soy sauce and salt, to taste
2-3 tbsp dark soy sauce, for colouring
2 dried squid - washed and cut into pieces

1. Fry the garlic with the dried squid. Add the pork and cook till its half cooked before adding in the shredded yam bean.

2. Add in the dark soy sauce and toss everything together before transferring into a pot. Pour the 5 rice bowls of water and let it boil, over medium heat, for 30mins.

3. Check, and add salt and soy sauce to taste. Let it boil for another 20-30 mins till the yam bean shreds are soft and have soaked up the juices. Serve hot, shiok.

Bak Chang (Rice Dumpling) - Grandma's Recipe

2011-06-13T08:17:00.007+08:00

Rice Dumpling Festival, or traditionally known as Duan Wu Jie in mandarin, is celebrated annually on the 5th day of the 5th month in accordance to the Chinese lunar calender.

Which fell on 6 June this year. Its over already. However there's no reason for panic, bak chang used to be available only during the rice dumpling festival period, but ever since it is commercialized, bak chang are now available all year round. You just need to keep your eyes peeled to spot a store near you selling them and you can get a taste of them, or do it the more satisfying way (harder too), make them yourself.

The history of Du Wu Jie, this is one of the moments where reading my chinese textbook passages helps other than studying for spelling tests, originates a Chinese scholar named Qu Yuan.

Legend has it that during the Warring States Period in China, another country tried to take over Qu Yuan's country - state of Chu - the enemy poisoned the emperor's mind and Qu Yuan being a wise adviser to the emperor was deemed as traitor. Thus, leading to Qu Yuan being sent to exile and being a very patriotic citizen of his state, he couldn't bear seeing his country falling into the hands of the enemy thus he jumped into the river. Upon learning of his death in the river, villagers came up with the idea of wrapping rice dumplings then throwing them in the river in a bid to save his body from being eaten by the fishes in the river. Thereafter, the Rice Dumpling Festival is born.

I love chinese festivals. They always seemingly come paired with some sort of food meant for that specific festival. This rice dumpling that my grandma makes is the nyonya type I think, since its fillings contains pork and is sweet. Personally I feel putting more fillings into each dumpling would certain make one very happy becuase the fillings are so good that I believe they can make up a dish on their own!

But its true, I should learn to be thankful that my grandma makes them and is willing to show me a live demo of it. My grandma had a by-pass a few years back so she isn't as strong as she was before anymore. She stopped wrapping bak changs 2 years back I think so I haven't had hers for awhile already, and there was actually no plans to wrap bak changs this year too till my request to learn, which my grandma swiftly acceded to. 'Thank you grandma!'

*Feel free to add in more ingredients that you like and test them out. I'm thinking chestnuts, peanuts and etc.

Grandma's Bak Chang

1kg pork thigh meat
300g chinese mushrooms, pre soaked then snipped into halves with stock removed.
6 shallots, sliced and divided equally in 2 bowls
2kg glutinous rice
100g candied winter melon, chopped
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp five spice powder
pinch of pepper
150g of dried scallops, contained in a small pot.
30 dried bamboo leaves, soaked until soft and wiped dry
1-2 bundle hemp strings, soaked

For the glutinous rice:

1. Wash rice and strain.
2. Brown 1 bowl of shallots in oil till their aroma is liberated. Scoop up half of the shallots, leaving the oil and the remaining shallots in the pan. Note: don't throw away, sprinkle them on your dishes or porridge.
3. Fry the rice in the pan till its half cooked. Put the half cooked rice in a big bowl and set aside.

For the fillings:

1. Fry 1 bowl of shallots till their amora is liberated. Add in the mushrooms and continue frying.
2. Add in pork after a minute or so, followed by the candied winter melon.
3. Before the pork is done, add in soy sauce, five spice powder and pepper to taste. *Add in more seasoning based on personal preferences. Scoop up into a small pot.

Boil wrapped dumplings for an hour or so then you're done.

Makes around 20 dumplings

Wrapped and assembling of the dumpling will be explained by the following video:

Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu - The Noodles Stole The Limelight!

2011-06-10T14:38:00.002+08:00

It was Chinatown Complex Food Centre for breakfast again. This time round, I managed to try the Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu stall that was closed the other time I was there.

Before I begin this review/write up, I must confess that the quality of the previous few posts were lacking. Lacking in terms of the heart and soul of a true foodie and it was evident in my reluctance to update my blog as frequently as I did before.

I was losing the heart to update this blog, its not easy but the passion for cooking and the love of food was the reason I started this blog and still is the driving force behind all the food photos and posts. I was getting too concerned about this blog's traffic and envying other bloggers' invite, etc. It removed the fun and simple motive for blogging : to let others know where good food are available at. But I have since sorted out my thoughts and shall keep at blogging because I know someone out there might just be having a headache over his/her meal and I could be of great help. (:

So there you have it, my confession of a foodie. Now, back to our review.

It was quite a long wait before I finally got my bowl of dry kway teow and 7 pieces of yong tau foo as a queue was already formed when I got there. The queue was seemingly endless with patrons replacing each other as one left, another came.

Oh, and the photos are still not up to standard yet becuase I'm still learning how to use my compact camera, dreams of getting a DSLR!

There's only a choice between 7 pieces of yong tau foo with bee hoon/noodles or 9 pieces of yong tau foo for $3. You can't choose your yau tau foo items at this stall, its all fixed and if you add any additional items, there will be a charge.

The yong tau foo items are handmade everyday and it is very evident as they have 2 stalls next to each other with one side preparing the items and the other cooking and serving them.

The noodles, or kway teow in this case, stole the limelight, surprisingly. The noodles are served with onion oil and fried ikan bilis. These two items greatly enhanced the flavorless noodles into something delightful and flavorsome. I'm pretty sure I could take 2 bowls of it if I knew it was so good!

The yong tau foo was okay, the handmade items did not stand out like I thought they would though I must commend the soup for being nice, light and flavorsome.

Overall, I think it would be great if they would improve on their yong tau foo items but definitely, keep serving that bowl of dried noodles!

Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu

Blk 335 Smith Street
#02-87/88 Chinatown Complex Food Centre
Singapore
Opening Hours: Daily 5.45am – 3pm

Thai Honey Mango - It truly lives up to its name!

2011-06-06T15:27:00.004+08:00

Thai Honey Mangoes are not ordinarily sweet, they are saccharine. I'm pretty certain if fruit doctors existed, they would have diagnosed this type of mangoes with diabetes. And it runs in the blood, or in this case the flesh of the mangoes!

Most importantly, you and I love it because it's this sweet.

I'm not sure if it's the season for thai honey mangoes yet, but when they're brought over specially from the country of origin are sure to be good. However, I did not go over to thailand for a holiday, neither did my family.

To cut a long story short, my dad has a client in Thailand where business dealings have since blossomed into friendship. So one of the employees came over to Singapore and brought a dozen of them over, including some green mangoes - I'm truly blessed because this happens a few times a year. Therefore, I decided to share the joy with everyone with this post.

A famous thai dessert made with this type of mango is the mango with sticky rice dessert - where they place thick slices of mango with a portion of glutinous rice, topped with a little coconut cream. Heavenly.

The mangoes have since been devoured by my family. So what are you waiting for? Go get a couple of these mangoes if you happen to see them!

Saybons - A Friend's Birthday

2011-06-03T14:04:00.003+08:00

Saybons opened a new brunch at Bishan recently. Its main brunch at Plaza Singapura is a rather prominent shop near the entrance of Dhoby Ghaut MRT. I've been wanting to try it ever since someone mentioned that their crepes and escargots are good.

This birthday lunch treat was a promise a few weeks back, but we were having our exams then, hence the late birthday treat. I decided on Saybons since both of us have been wanted to try it.

I ordered the Smoked Salmon, Cheese and Onion crepe while my friend had the Bacon, Egg and Cheese crepe(first picture). These two were the recommended crepes on the menu.

I didn't try his crepe, but mine was pretty decent. The saltiness of the smoke salmon together with the crisp of the onion and melted cheese went well with the crepe. The crepe was of just the right thickiness, neither too thick nor too thin.

We ordered a set each which came with a soup and a side of your choice. We had the Wild Mushroom Soup and Seafood Bisque. I would recommend the Seafood Bisque although there's an extra 50cent charge. The mushroom soup tasted a little diluted with the cream taste. A more concentrated mushroom flavour would make the soup real good.

The Seafood Bisque tasted like the ocean - it was rich with sweet flavours of the crabs and prawns shells, lacked the oomph though. I suggest drinking the soups without addition of any pepper or salt because I added a little pepper halfway through and the peppery taste was a little overpowering.

The Sundried Tomato Butter Focaccia Bread for my side was a let down. The bread lacked of even the slightest tomato taste, it was just essentially bread pan fried with butter.

The Garlic Herb Escargots were the last to arrive as it requires a 10mins bake time. They were not too bad, carried a strong garlicky and buttery taste. However, I don't think I would pay $8 to eat half a dozen of them, too costly.

All in all, their crepes were the best. I will be back to try their dessert crepe on another occasion.

Saybons

Junction 8

9 Bishan Place #02-27A (above McDonalds)
Singapore 579837
Tel: 62583138
Open 9am to 10pm daily
Nearest MRT station: Bishan

Plaza Singapura

68 Orchard Road #B2-30/31/32 ( near Carls' Junior)
Singapore 238839
Tel: 6884 9018
Open 9am to 10pm (Mon-Fri)
Open 10am to 10pm (Sat & Sun)
Nearest MRT station: Dhoby Ghaut Station

Brief Hiatus

2011-05-25T15:34:00.002+08:00

Dear readers of Gustatory Explorer,

I'm going to go on a brief hiatus from now till probably next Tuesday or Wednesday. Reason being that my mother tongue O level exam is just around the corner, next Monday to be exact. Therefore I feel that its best to focus and do my best for it so I won't have time to update this blog. I apologize for this, but be assured that I'll be back real soon with more good food! So in the meantime, please stay with me because it excites me to see my readers increasing and saddens me when you guys decrease. And remember to continue to spread the word about Gustatory Explorer, thank you!

With lots of love,

Nigel