CAMEMBERU

My first Krispy Kreme doughnut

2012-01-31T12:35:00.003+08:00

Yes, finally. The famous original glazed doughnut. Can't believe it took this long for me to try Krispy Kreme. I never thought it would be in Manila (well, I didn't want to join the queue in Shinjuku years ago).

I have to say I understand why people love it. It's amazingly soft and satisfying, as you sink your teeth into it. I like that gorgeous glaze that's so crinkly light. On the whole, it's a tad too sweet for me, but yeah, I'd eat it again.

Fried Nian Gao with Crispy Batter

2012-01-25T19:54:00.003+08:00

Are you eating this today? If you have leftover or hardened nian gao (glutinous rice cake), as we often do after Chinese New Year, there's no better way to revive them than giving them a coat of batter and frying them up! A crispy coat on the outside, and gooey sweetness on the inside. Best way to have nian gao, I say!

It's just a simple coat of batter, but I never realised there were so many variations! I found one post that tested 5 different batter recipes.

I just used this:

40-50g flour (all-purpose should be fine, I just used cake flour since I had some open)
1 egg
half teaspoon baking powder (this makes it extra crispy!)
half teaspoon salt (optional)
2 ice cubes (stir until almost melted, but make sure batter remains cold)

So it's a bit like a tempura batter. Stays crispy for a bit longer after frying too.

Here's wishing everyone 年年有余! May you all have abundance year after year.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2012-01-23T00:30:00.000+08:00

Here's wishing everyone a fantastic lunar new year! I have a feeling the Year of the Dragon is going to be absolutely roaring. Just that it's a water Dragon, and looks like it is already making a splashing entry, creating ponding situations all over Singapore.

Nonetheless, I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities, reunion with family and visiting with friends. We are over in Malaysia, where the kids are visiting grandpa.

Some time ago, Mr Brown posted about the difficulties of photographing for passport purposes his kid Faith (who has autism). I know exactly what he is talking about. We had to take Nadine's photo because her passport had expired (my gosh, it's been five years already since she did hers as a baby).

Nadine doesn't have autism; she has Down Syndrome. But the difficulty in getting her to pose properly is not due to her special needs condition. It's just because she's an imp!

She understands the instructions perfectly. Because for a mini split second, she complies. But then she finds it heck of a lot more interesting to do something else.

And here's Jolie. We took like one shot.

Too bad she's not the one needing her passport renewed.

Speaking of passports and traveling, I must apologise for my Hong Kong and Manila posts being hijacked and interrupted. But now that I've cleared all the CNY-related stuff, I'll be back posting about them. Looking forward to that!

Bengawan Solo - An Inside Look

2012-01-20T23:45:00.001+08:00

There is an old school Bengawan Solo shop in my Marine Terrace neighbourhood that is just different from the rest that are located in the malls. Someone told me that is the very first outlet, so they have always kept it.

And recently, my friend Joanna introduced me to the Liew family that owns Bengawan Solo, and they confirmed the story. Bengawan Solo opened here in 1979, which makes them as old as Red Star Restaurant down at Chin Swee Road.

The founder Anastasia Liew, now in her 60s, still runs the business with tremendous passion, energy and attention to detail. Her son, Henry Liew, is also working with her, as are five other family members.

Now Singaporeans are all very familiar with the brand and the kuehs, cakes and cookies they make. These are so readily available (44 outlets all over Singapore), and so uniformly consistent, that we sometimes tend to dismiss them as "mass-produced" goods. But did you know that some of the items are still handmade?

Yes, there is a central factory up in Woodlands, supplying the outlets. But as the Liews showed us, it's not all machines at work, because there are some things machines just cannot do. And they refuse to compromise the quality of the products, so some things are still painstakingly done by hand.

Their ondeh-ondeh, for example, are rolled and cooked individually - all 11,900 of them per day every day! To do this by machine would require a less desirable texture for the dough, so that was unacceptable.

Have you ever had fresh and warm ondeh ondeh? It's like coddling a sweet piece of heaven in your mouth.

The kueh dadar is also made by hand. You can see the saucepans with the crepes or green skin being made, and once these are ready, they add the coconut filling and roll them up.

Hand-made. Every one of them.

The lapis sagu has many thin layers. They've got a clever way to make this. Trays and trays of it go around on a conveyor belt being steamed as they go, and a new layer is freshly poured on with each loop. Very efficient.

And guess what - each of these are hand-cut too. Seriously, there is a guy here that specialises in cutting the lapis sagu, and I saw how he chopped each one of them into uniform pieces with practiced precision. The sagu is too soft for machines to handle, and so they would rather do this by hand, than make lapis sagu that's less delightful to chew.

The premium (round ones) pineapple tarts are also finished by hand.

Yummy.

Well, attention goes not just into the preparation, but also ingredients. Bengawan Solo insists on using freshly pressed coconut milk instead of pre-packed ones, and real pandan juice instead of essence. For their cakes, they mix an Australian premium butter with a certain Dutch butter that costs four times as much but has incredible buttery aroma and taste.

But the most fun part of the factory has got to be the icing room.

See all the Disney cakes come to life!

It's like an art studio in here, with so many fun colours! Edible colours!

Only freshly baked sponge cakes are used. Unlike many places, they don't use cakes that are not baked on the very same day.

Ever wonder how they get the likeness down pat for the cartoon characters? They use this thing like an overhead projector to project the image onto a cake and frost the outlines. But even so, it's still not an easy job. Trust me, you still need some skill to do this, and do it quickly.

There are also the "printed" cakes. Much easier to make, and madly popular. Some little girl called Chloe is getting this one.

And another lucky boy has got this coming for him. Who doesn't like Toy Story?

Look at this 3D airplane cake! Yes, they are now making 3D cakes as well.

Their ever popular kueh lapis is also made by hand, using a similar conveyor belt system - a smart way of saving a lot of effort! Instead of opening and closing ovens all the time to pour in each new layer, the cake makers have a whole line of cakes on the move. They add a new layer, send it off to be grilled, and work on the next, and repeat until the cake is completed (takes about 2-3 hours).

There's a prune lapis as well. And they've introduced a cranberry lapis too, which doesn't use any spices, but is fragrantly buttery. I love it! See it in the second photo (the row in the middle of the platter).

One of my family's perennial favourites is their walnut cake. It's just one of those simple pleasures in life.

Nadine and Jolie always run into the Marine Terrace Bengawan Solo shop, yelling, "Cake!"
It's the only shop in the neighbourhood they instinctively love dashing in to.

For Chinese New Year, they have an airconditioned tent outside the factory at 23 Woodlands Link (take shuttle bus 964 from Admiralty MRT or Woodlands interchange), selling CNY goodies at a 10% discount. Visitors have been thronging there for to buy stuff in bulk. They also have festive hampers you can pick up. Interestingly, Bengawan Solo does not raise their prices for the festive season, except for the last two days before Chinese New Year.

It's ironic that they don't make as much profits during Chinese New Year, despite the increased sales. That's because they have to pay a lot of overtime for workers to cope with the orders.

But anyway, here's what we bought.

Fish keropok (ball-shaped) using fish from Bangka (near Palembang) where Anastasia was born. The fish there is particularly sweet, it seems.

Casava Cheese Cookies. These were new to us, and had a most unusual taste. I can't quite describe it, but has a delicate savoury touch from the cheese.

The "hae bee hiam" spicy dried shrimp mini-rolls. So tedious to make, but so easy to eat.

If you like belinjo crackers, you will love these "Emping Manis" or sweet crackers. They're made from the same fruit.

It was a very enlightening visit, and I now have a new appreciation for Bengawan Solo and the way they are such sticklers for quality. Philip, Serene and I were very pleased to meet Anastasia and Henry Liew. They are wonderful folks. I'll be back hopefully to do a personality profile on Anastasia.

Meanwhile, enjoy the Lunar New Year festivities! 恭喜发财 in the year of the Dragon!

Photo credit: first and last photo from Bengawan Solo.

Justin Quek Showcases Kagoshima's Finest Produce at Sky on 57

2012-01-18T10:42:00.000+08:00

Justin Quek visited the beautiful Kagoshima prefecture in Japan last year and loved it all. He's incorporating some of their best marine and farm produce into his cuisine at Sky on 57 as it goes into its second year of operation at the Marina Bay Sands.

For his support, Chef Justin Quek received a Certification of Recommendation from Kagoshima Governor Yuichiro Ito. This is only the second time such a certificate has been presented (the first one went to a five-star hotel in Hong Kong last year).

To mark this event and to welcome the Chinese New Year (CNY), Chef Quek will be presenting a special five-course menu (S$138++) inspired by the various products from Kagoshima. The menu will be available for from 17 January to 7 Feb 2012.

Some of the produce are real eye-popping wonders, like this enormous Sakurajima Daikon. Sakurajima is an active volcano at Kagoshima Bay. I think it's that mountain in the background of the first picture. Kagoshima is so beautiful, I want to go there too!

The supermodels of produce. Vegetables from Kagoshima.

Various Shochu labels from Kagoshima.

At the press luncheon, we were treated to some dishes that are in the CNY menu.

We started off very well with the Ceviche of 'Buri-OH' marinated in lemon dressing (foreground) and Steamed bamboo Shoots in Truffle Dressing with Micro Greens. Buri is Japanese amberjack, and is refreshingly sweet. The lemon dressing is a perfect match. You'll find a variation of this in the CNY menu - Prosperity Salad with Sliced Buri-oh fillet and jellyfish.

Spring Salad with Kagoshima Vegetables - sweet potato and cheese croquette, snow peas, fava beans, fried leeks and grilled pumpkin. Amazingly fresh and beautiful. I love the croquette. What a lovely combination of cheese and sweet potato, and it wasn't oily at all.

Organic Kagoshima Pumpkin Veloute with Crabmeat Custard - smooth and very savoury. The crabmeat custard is interesting. It almost tastes like very tender half-boiled egg white. Goes well with the breads here, which are excellent, by the way.

The highlight however is the Kurobuta pork. Oh, the wondrous little black pig.

Grean Pea Risotto: Sauteed Kagoshima Kurobuta Confit, Green Pea and Bacon, Natural Meat Jus (extracted from pork bone).

Kagoshima exports some of the world's best kurobuta, and it is very evident here how good it really is. The surface is seared to a gentle crisp, and the juicy fat and tender meat inside is absolutely divine. Sweet and clean-tasting. My last meal on earth - yes, can I have this please?

This dish is in the CNY menu too, as is the wagyu below.

Kagoshima Wagyu: Grilled Minute Steak with Kagoshima Vegetables. Kagoshima also has very good wagyu, and the robust flavours here will thrill your tastebuds almost as much as the kurobuta pork.

Dessert was Chilled Musk Melon and Mousseline and Sauternes Jelly. The natural sweetness of the fruit was allowed to come through in this.

It's not just the food that's pleasing. Feast your eyes on the unbeatable view from the top of Marina Bay Sands. Sky on 57 is very open and spacious, designed with dynamic flowing forms. It's my first visit, but won't be my last, given that Chef Quek will continue to use Kagoshima's produce in his dishes even after the promotion.

SKY ON 57
Sands Skypark
Tower 1, Level 57
Marina Bay Sands
10 Bayfront Avenue
Singapore 018956
Tel: +65 6688 8857 (reservations highly recommended)
Open daily
BREAKFAST: 7AM TO 10.30AM
LUNCH: 12PM TO 2.30PM
DINNER: 6PM TO 10.30PM
BAR: 11AM TO MIDNIGHT

Warmest thanks to the Marina Bay Sands team for inviting me to the press luncheon.

Xin Cuisine CNY Highlights

2012-01-16T00:52:00.000+08:00

Familiar faces, familiar places.

I was glad to be able to have an early lo-hei with some fellow blogger friends at Xin Cuisine. We had good memories of the food from last Chinese New Year at this Holiday Inn Atrium restaurant.

So are you ready to charge into the new Dragon year?

This lobster certainly looks so!

It's the star in Xin’s Gold Leaf Australian Lobster, Canadian Geoduck Clam and Salmon Yusheng, which is part of its most lavish Bountiful Harvest set (S$3,999++ for 10). They use a whole lobster for this.

Side view of the impressive ice tower upon which the various sashimi slices nest. I first saw this last year, and was totally blown away.

This year's yu sheng comes assembled in the shape of a dragon. There's more of the pickled and sweetened vegetables in order to provide the vibrant colours. But last year's pyramid-shaped offering tasted more refreshing because it didn't have so much of these.

But it makes for a festive-looking dish nonetheless. Later on, we asked for extra crispy fritters. More symbolic "gold" too!

Xin Cuisine has also included in its festive menus certain customer favourites that are on the regular menu. Pan-Fried Scallop with Eggplant in Japanese Miso Sauce is one of those - each bite of these is somehow very comforting, like a homemade dish.

Steamed Garoupa Fillet with Beancurd with Light Soya Sauce - this dish has a very nice name in Chinese ending with 老少平安 (old and young peacefully safe). It somewhat alludes to the fish and beancurd as similar to parent and child in terms of colour and texture.

And here is the Prosperity Pen Cai (S$398 for 10 pax, S$298 for 6 pax). It features a whopping 17 ingredients: Lobster, Abalone, Shark’s Fin, Fish Maw (two kinds - 花胶 and 鱼肚), Sea Cucumber, Dried Oyster, Dried Scallop, Wolf Berry, Fresh Scallop, Jelly Fish, Mushroom, Sea Moss, Bamboo Pith, Radish, Sea Whelk and Chinese Cabbage.

This is more of a delicate seafood-based pen cai. If you prefer something more robust and meaty, they have other versions like the Imperial Pen Cai, which has deer tendon and goose web among its ingredients.

And what's Chinese New Year without some nian gao? These were nice, because they weren't too sweet or sticky.

The dessert you do have to try is the Fried Sesame Ball with Red Bean and Chocolate Liqueur Filling. Inside this innocuous exterior is a champagne-infused truffle. Very potent!

Or soothe your satiated tastebuds with this Bird’s Nest with Almond Cream. Your skin will also thank you for it.

If you are still looking for a restaurant to celebrate Chinese New Year at, well, you shouldn't tarry. Xin Cuisine itself is almost fully booked. There might be a couple more tables for New Year's Eve, but that's about it.

Wherever you decide to celebrate - have a wonderful feast and fabulous reunion with friends and family!

XIN CUISINE
Level 4, Holiday Inn Atrium
317 Outram Road
Singapore 169075
Tel: +65 6731-7173

Thanks to the lovely team at Holiday Inn Atrium for hosting this dinner!

Delicious Hong Bao Packets from &PlentyMore

2012-01-15T13:43:00.001+08:00

Ooh stop press! Look at these deliciously themed "hong bao" or red packets, by a local quintet of young designers called "&PLentyMore". They got featured in the Wall Street Journal blog! OK, that post is a little snarky of Singapore and the tacky side of Chinese New Year, but is such a boost for the designers who face the uphill challenge of selling "ang pao" envelopes that are freely available from more companies than we can count.

But you know, it is so cool to hand out a slice of photogenic bak kwa or kueh lapis, instead of cartoonish or red-gold embossed prints. For once, recipients might actually be more distracted by the envelope than what's in it.

The ang paos come wrapped in that old school pink paper wrapper used by the Chinese for various things from candy to traditional Chinese medicine.

Open the packets, and you'll see witty or cheeky descriptions of the food printed at the back.

They do cost more than ordinary ang baos - S$5 for a pack of eight designs (four square ones - pineapple tarts, nian gao, kueh bahulu, mandarin orange; and four rectangular ones - kueh lapis, bak kwa, mini shrimp rolls and love letters).

But good design is always worth that little bit more, and you get volume discounts:

A single set of 8 angbao packets - S$5
A happy pair (two sets) - S$8.80
3 happy pairs (six sets) - S$25.80
5 happy pairs of sets - S$41.80 (i.e. 10 sets of 80 envelopes)

Plus, it's nice to support local designers while making a tasty statement. You can buy them online or at these retail outlets:

Arbite
66A Serangoon Garden Way, Singapore 555962

BooksActually
No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru, Singapore 168645

Drips Bakery Cafe
82 Tiong Poh Road, #01-05, Singapore 160082

The Garden Slug
55 Lorong L Telok Kurau #01-59/61 Bright Centre, Singapore 425500

Group Therapy Coffee
49 Duxton Road, Singapore 089513

Old School Delights
215M Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574349

Pause Cafe
5 Jalan Kilang, Singapore 159405

Scoop of Art
278 Marine Parade Road, #01-03, Singapore 449282

Many thanks to my friend Yvonne who passed me two packs.

Resorts World Manila: The Remington (Budget Hotel)

2012-01-12T15:46:00.000+08:00

Welcome to Manila, where it is apparently still Christmas (almost ten days into January)! Christmas decorations are still everywhere.

Seriously, I kid you not. But hey, it's kinda nice to have that jolly Christmas feeling lasting this long, no?

Anyway. We reached Resorts World Manila (RWM) in the afternoon. There are three hotel properties here. This is the Remington Hotel, their value hotel which aims to offer its guests a safe, comfortable and convenient stay. There is the luxurious all-suite Maxims Tower, and the Marriott as well.

I had my first intriguing moment. They had K9 dogs to "welcome" our luggage! Looks like drugs are an issue in the Philippines.

We also had to go through metal detectors, bag searches and a quick body search. Why the meticulous scrutiny? I learned that, just like in the U.S., you have the right to bear arms in the Philippines (you can read @TLWH 's post on this issue). Yeah, guns are everywhere here. So EVERY TIME you enter the hotel or the mall, you will be searched.

Well, that's us! After your body search, you can proceed to check in.

The procedure is pretty efficient, even for our fairly large group of travel agents and media from several countries. This familiarisation trip was organised by Star Cruises, which is under the Genting Hong Kong umbrella, together with RWM.

I was glad my friend Alvin was also on the trip, and was pleased to meet another blogger, Sheila Mandy, who came with her boyfriend.

The welcome drink was most welcome. Manila is just as sweltering as Singapore.

We got to stay two nights at the serviced apartment, which comes with a small sink, fridge and electric kettle. You get bottled water but no tea or coffee sachets. No minibar either. Note that the electrical sockets here are of the two-pin narrow blade type (similar to American sockets). Bring a travel adaptor!

The average room size is 21 sq meters, and it can take two adults and two children. It's got a queen-sized bed and a sofa bed. I like the wooden slatted sliding dividers.

There are 89 of such serviced apartments, and 623 standard rooms (two queen-sized beds) which are about the same size but do not come with the fridge, kettle or sofa bed.

Nice, clean bedlinen and a decently comfortable bed. You can adjust the air-conditioning with a remote like home units.

You have a 32-inch LCD TV with loads of cable channels. There is in-room wi-fi available at additional charges, but I found my connection only working within the lobby, so I'm not sure if it's early teething problems.

A peek inside the bathroom - pretty nice fittings for a budget hotel. However, it's pretty spartan. You are given dental kits, dispenser-style shower gel, two bath towels, toilet paper, and that's it. If you need anything else, bring your own.

The bathroom is small but functional. This is the shower stall.

All in all, not too shabby for a budget hotel. It offers all the barebone comforts you'll need. If you're out and about most of the time, this could be a good choice.

The Remington Hotel itself has no F&B outlets, although I see a McDonald's being built on the ground floor. But there are plenty of food choices just across the road at the main Resorts World building itself, which also houses the Newport shopping mall, four high-end cinemas, a performing arts theatre, and the three-storey casino.

Right now, the Remington has a "Holiday Saver" promotion until 31 January (excluding 22 and 23 Jan, of course). The Php 3,200++ (about US$73) package includes

Overnight stay in a standard room
Php1,000 (about US$23) worth of dining credit at participating RWM F&B outlets (Impressions, Passion, Ginzadon, Mercado, Noodle Works, Prosperity Court, Cafe Maxims and Bar 360)

You'll need to book at least 10 days in advance. There might be more promos later on too. Call your travel agent for bookings. Rate is subject to 10% service charge and 12% VAT (but if you are a foreigner, you will be exempted from the 12% VAT).

RWM also has a free shuttle bus to and from the three international airport terminals, as well as pick-up points within Metro Manila.

Coming up next...shopping, sightseeing, and one luxurious night at the Maxims Tower!

RESORTS WORLD MANILA
Newport Boulevard, Newport City, 1309 Pasay City, Philippines
Tel: +63 2 836-6333 / +63 2 908-8833

Many thanks to Star Cruises for arranging and hosting this media familiarisation trip.

Scoot has new uniforms!

2012-01-11T21:00:00.000+08:00

Scoot has revealed cabin crew uniforms! The medium- to long-haul budget carrier is looking to combine its perky attitude and practicality (to better serve passengers) in the uniform design. I quite like the girls' uniform - looks like a casual cheongsam tee with a curvy splash of yellow.

Flights begin mid 2012 and tickets should be available this quarter. It earlier announced Australia and China as destinations it will start with.

Photo courtesy of Scoot.

Philippine Airlines and Askinosie Chocolate

2012-01-09T00:34:00.001+08:00

[post uploaded using the Blogger App and iPhone 3GS photos, with layout adjusted afterwards]

The Philippines Airlines plane trundled in half an hour late to the gate at Changi Airport. It was a rainy morning, and the plane's fragile-looking windshield wipers waved frantically as though trying to make up for the delay.

It was a simple, small plane for the flight that was just over two hours. No personal video screen, so it was perfect for a snooze.

The inflight meal - fish in white sauce which turned out to be a mild coconut-like curry - was canteen fare, but edible.

There are lots of starving schoolkids in the Philippines who would cry in gratitude if you were to hand them this platter.

I was reading in the inflight magazine how one chocolate maker is helping poor and hungry children in Davao City. No, no, the kids are no eating chocolate!

Shawn Askinosie asked the PTA (parent-teacher association) of a school there to create tableya - tablets of ground roasted cocoa beans used to make hot chocolate. He sells them on his website and sends the entire profit of US$9 back to them. Each tableya makes possible 232 meals!

Askinosie is the first chocolate maker to import cocoa beans from The Philippines. He and the school are working towards funding an entire year of school lunches for all 579 students.

You can help too. Visit www.Askinosie.com to find out more. Buying Davao single-origin chocolate products, the Davao 77% bar and Hey Hey Hazelnut spread also helps.

Mabuhay! I'm in Manila!

2012-01-08T17:23:00.001+08:00

Happy Sunday, everyone! I am on my first visit to the Philippines! Am here on a 4D3N media fam trip to Resorts World Manila.

I'll be doing some short preview posts using the Blogger iPhone app. So you can see some semi-live updates. I will post the nicer photos when I get back to Singapore.

Sunnyhills Pineapple Cakes in Singapore

2012-01-07T22:38:00.002+08:00

What a festive pack to greet the Year of the Dragon! This box of 20 pineapple cakes is from Sunnyhills, a Taiwanese brand.

Last year when I blogged about the Sunnyhills Pineapple Cakes, they didn't really have a shop in Singapore yet. Now, they have a prestigious address - Raffles Hotel Shopping Arcade.

I asked why they chose such an expensive location to start out. Well, apart from the classy image and upmarket feel, it is also an endorsement for Sunnyhills as it is not easy to qualify for the Raffles Hotel address - they have to meet certain branding and hospitality criteria. So far their clientele has been an equal mix of Taiwanese living in Singapore, Japanese and locals. They see lots of corporate clients for special occasions.

If you think Raffles Hotel is grand, well, their next store will be in Omotesando in Tokyo! One of Japan's top architects, Kengo Kuma, will be designing their store. I wish I could see it.

But let's get back to the cakes!

They are as delicious as I remember - made from pineapples from the Nantou County in Taiwan, using flour from Japan and butter from New Zealand. The crust is so fragrant, and the filling is pleasantly sweet with the right balance of citric tang.

The pineapple cakes are still made in Taiwan and airflown here. Each golden brick is individually packed, and while they seem like large pieces, it's really hard to stop at just one.

The packaging for the CNY edition features their four founders doing a dragon dance to usher in the Year Of The Dragon, and wishing all a prosperous new year. Cute.

The good thing is prices have not gone up by much (despite food cost increase - flour and butter especially!).
Box of 10 (about half kg) - S$25 (up from S$23 last year)
Box of 15 (about 750g) - S$37.50
Box of 20 (about 1kg) - S$50

Specials: 10% off on all orders of $200 and above. Free Delivery on all orders of $100 and above.
(Standard delivery fee is $8)

SUNNYHILLS
Raffles Hotel Arcade
Unit #03-05
328 North Bridge Road
Singapore 188719
Tel: +65 8522-9605

Thanks to Sunnyhills for sending the pineapple cakes!

Viva Japan Cafe at Orchard ION Sky (56th floor)

2012-01-05T12:14:00.001+08:00

"Our Strength Within" - that is some awesome calligraphy. From the darkness, Japan's inner strength rises.

I am reminded of Japan choosing the word "Kizuna 絆 meaning "bond" as best representing 2011", when we saw strangers banding to help each other in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.

It's going to take a while before East Japan fully recovers. Once so rich with harvests from land and sea, it is now striving to recover and re-energise itself.

Meanwhile, we have Cool Japan which is a series of initiatives aimed at promoting Japanese culture and Japanese products to the global public. Cool Japan is supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.

Under this umbrella, comes several projects by Viva Japan Pte Ltd (a social e-commerce services company) and Cafe Company, Inc., which owns one of Japan's largest community cafe chains. These include:

1) Viva Japan Cafe: a 50-seater cafe on the 56th floor of ION Orchard (ION Sky), which is open for four months from Dec 16, 2011 to March 31, 2012. This is a contemporary "chaya" or teahouse that will serve Japanese teas and drinks, along with light bites and desserts.

2) The Cool Japan 100 Ambassador Official Online Store: featuring unique items with Japanese craftsmanship and design techniques passed down many generations. It's in Japanese though (you can run it through an online translator).

3) 100 Ambassadors: a community of selected influencers active in Asia, and based out of Singapore, with keen interest in and familiarity with Japan and Japanese culture.

Media, ambassadors and friends attended the Viva Japan Cafe launch last month.

The cafe also has a small installation of Japanese products featured in the online store. These are Nambu Cast Tekki (Ironware). Looks so dainty and yet is so much stronger than pottery or porcelain.

Rie Sakamoto's Collection. Sakamoto and her husband have created many award-winning pieces, some of which are in the permanent collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Aizu Lacquered Glass Crafts. Nouvelle lacquerware fusing Western glass with Eastern lacquer.

As you can tell, these are fairly high-end products of craftsmanship. If you are looking for bargains, Daiso is downstairs.

The view from the 56th floor is quite something. It normally costs S$20 for entry to ION Sky, but with the cafe installed here, the entry fee is now only S$16 per adult, and you get S$5 off your F&B with your ticket. Children aged 4-12 pay S$8. You can use the S$5 rebate to offset the kids' entry fees too, if you prefer.

The Viva Japan Cafe is also the setting for "Special Chef's Events" where a celebrity chef will be flown in to showcase his best to the ambassadors, media and guests. Sorry, it's not open to the public, but you may be able to order some of the ingredients online via Viva Japan.

We were treated to a ramen demonstration by Chef Yasuji Morizumi, owner of Japanese ramen chain Chabuya and Michelin-starred restaurant MINT. From winning a national ramen competition (TV Champion) to owning the first Michelin-starred restaurant, Chef Morizumi is a legend in the world of ramen. First of all, he's trained for almost ten years in classic French cooking, which is seen as fine-dining in Japan, but he eventually decided to go into ramen, a working class food. But he has transformed ramen into something a little more unusual with his in-depth know-how.

Witness the Umami Ramen (Bamboo Charcoal Noodle) served with roast pork. This is a "dry ramen" featuring noodles made with "natrium water". It doesn't leave you feeling as carbo-laden somehow after consuming it.

Other chefs in the line-up include Yosuke Imada, who is chef-owner of the renowned Ginza Kyubey, and Hironobu Tsujiguchi who is one of the most successful patissiers in Japan.

We had a lovely time at the Viva Japan Cafe. Here's wishing them all success in creating a community where people who adore all things Japanese can come together and enjoy Japanese food and products together.

VIVA JAPAN CAFE
56th Floor, ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn,
Singapore 238801
Tel: +65-6636-5156
Open daily 10am to 10pm, until 31 March 2012
Entrance fee S$16 per adult (you will receive a S$5 rebate on F&B); S$8 per child aged 4-12

My New Oven, the Sharp Healsio

2012-01-01T13:16:00.000+08:00

After suffering a few months, we finally got an oven! It's a hit to the wallet, but it is a beauty. Here's a quick, unedited shot from my aged iPhone 3Gs - which would have seen an upgrade to the 4S, if not for my budget being eaten up by this oven.

But! The Sharp Healsio can bake, grill, roast, steam, microwave and even proof bread! I think I need this more than a better phone.

You can cook stuff with superheated steam (literally a very hot colourless air). Like air-fry stuff, without oil. Yes, it gets things crispy...well, crispy enough. So here's to healthier eating in 2012.

And since it can inject steam into the oven, I'm hoping it won't spoil like my old Rowenta when I put water in to bake bread. Oh well. Breaking in starts today. Fingers crossed. Anyone else has this oven and can share their experience? From what little I've read, everyone who has this oven just raves about it.

P.S. I never thought the name Healsio was appealing, but I learned recently it is an approximation of the Japanese phrase for "reducing salt" (that explains the "sio" or shio). Well, that's one of its features. Reducing salt, and fat too. Well, I don't always want to remove fat from my food (especially omega-3 oils!) but I suppose my weighing will thank the oven for it.

Happy New Year and Good Luck for 2012 !

2012-01-01T00:30:00.000+08:00

A little Instagram photo I did for yesterday's flash mob new year party #sg2012.
Yeah, IKEA motifs do come in handy!

Here's wishing everyone a fabulous new year with some roaring dragon chi and vigour!

I've stopped making resolutions for a long time. You know how well they work. Every year it is the same recycled wish list.

But I still want to make some changes. For this year, I told myself to make habits instead. It takes three weeks to develop one (doing something consistently every day). So maybe I can have a nice new habit each month. Like sleep early every night. Teach the kids yoga.

And I want to focus. No long laundry lists. No more than three things at at time on the to-do slate. Steve Jobs was the master of focus. Laser beam-like focus! There's no point frittering yourself across too many things. When you pare down and focus on what's truly important, you will likely not only get it done, but do it better.

So then I was very happy to read Zen Habit's new year post, which talks about the same thing, but with lots more tips.

Also, take a look at what it's like to live 100 days without goals. You'd be surprised.

Well, happy first day of the year, and enjoy whatever you are doing!

Happy New Year's Eve! Best of 2011

2011-12-31T22:59:00.003+08:00

What are you eating for New Year's Eve? We just made a simple curry fried rice. It's got 5Cs - carrot, cabbage, corn, curry and coriander leaves! Oh, and some crispy "chao-ta" bits (the best part)! Photo from my Instagram.

It's the final hour of 2011. Some will be partying, some will be cosying up at home. Quite a few perhaps contemplating what's past, and what they want in the new year.

As I look back in the blog, I see some of my favourite experiences this year. Here they are, roughly in reverse chronological order...

Armani/Prive in Hong Kong: fabulously surreal rooftop bar
Kuriya Penthouse: my first fugu
il Lido: best pasta of 2011
Jane Thai at Orchard Towers: superspicy, simple but good Thai
db Bistro Moderne: lunch with and by Daniel Boulud himself.
Chengdu Restaurant: authentic Sichuan that will put fire in your belly
My baking fervour, especially artisanal breads! Pity it ruined my oven...
Meeting Chef Mak of Tim Ho Wan fame: he is so down-to-earth!
Meeting Joel Robuchon again, this time with both his restaurants launched!
Meeting, OK, Glimpsing Donnie Yen at Wuxia Movie Gala Premiere. Right, it's not food, but some would say still delicious...
The Battlestar Galactica Ride at Universal Studios: you might spill from the thrill
The French Window in Hong Kong: sublime modern French with utterly romantic ambiance
and kicking off the year with my all-time most visited post - The List of Japanese buffets! This page alone got almost 70,000 views!

This is also the year I finally created the Camemberu Facebook page. Thanks to all who "liked" it.

As a family, we explored the rustic resort at Telunas, and also the Banyu Biru Villas on Bintan.

So there have been some memorable highlights, but 2011 was also the year in which some devastating events happened, like the 3.11 Japan earthquake and tsunami. It was absolutely crushing, and we scrambled to help even as we felt so small and distant. We also lost Chef Santi Santamaria.

I don't know what next year will bring. But right now, I am just treasuring whatever moment I am in.

Let me leave you with something cheerfully lucky from traditional Japanese pantheon. The Seven Lucky Deities (Shichifukujin) travel on their treasure ship (Takarabune) on New Year's night, bringing gifts and good luck. It's like they have seven Santa Clauses. I just saw this on Muza-Chan and thought it was really cute. I so want to go back to Japan...I miss it so much.

あけましておめでとう！Happy New Year!

image from Muza-Chan.net

Pine Court Is Now Mandarin Court; Has Bak Kwa Nian Gao!

2011-12-30T22:11:00.000+08:00

Isn't this the biggest yu sheng serving platter you've seen? It is for me! Talk about living large. This is the Prosperity Salmon Yu Sheng at Mandarin Court.

Awesome platter aside, I was intrigued that Pine Court at the Mandarin Orchard had changed its name to Mandarin Court. But the chef is the same, and so is the menu by and large. Even the serving staff are the same (many of whom have been there a long time too). The name change is to better reflect the Mandarin branding, say the PR folks.

Executive Chinese Chef Sunny Kong has crafted 10 different signature menus ranging from a
$98++ per person menu (minimum 2 persons) to a luxurious $1,888++ meal for 10 persons. These will be available from 13 January to 6 February 2012.

These are some of the highlights from those menus.

Ah, what's Chinese New Year without pen cai? The Baby Abalone Fortune Pot is a huge bowl of many goodies. The only thing I miss here is some roast pork.

This is the "Bi Feng Tang" or "Typhoon Shelter" Roast Chicken with Minced Black Bean, Garlic and Almond Flakes. I love typhoon shelter anything. All that garlic. Dracula has no chance with my breath.

Stewed Fish Noodle with Conpoy and Enoki Mushroom. Fish noodles have more textural bite to them, but these were quite tender in general. A very healthy-tasting dish.

They have some really good XO sauce. We kept asking for more, because it just gives all the dishes extra zing.

There is a pretty good Red Bean Soup with Green Tea Glutinous Rice Ball Dumplings for dessert.

Last but not least, the CNY offering that I thought was most interesting: Bak kwa nian gao - sweet glutinous rice cake with dried BBQ pork! The pork gives a complexity to the sweetness plus a savoury edge. It works very well, and is especially good pan-fried. Like!

MANDARIN COURT
Level 35
Mandarin Orchard
333 Orchard Road
Singapore 238867
Tel: +65 6831 6288/62
Open daily
Lunch
Monday to Friday
12.00pm to 2.30pm

Dim Sum Brunch
Saturday, Sunday & public holiday
11.00am to 2.30pm

Dinner
Monday to Sunday
6.30pm to 10.30pm

Thanks to Mandarin Orchard for the media tasting.

Wagyu Beef Yu Sheng at Peach Blossoms, Marina Mandarin Hotel

2011-12-28T13:17:00.000+08:00

Are you tired of the usual, predictable lo hei with salmon or other raw fish? How does some char-grilled wagyu sound instead? Yes, Peach Blossoms at Marina Mandarin Singapore is shaking things up a little by going wagyu!

It certainly is unconventional, given that a number of Chinese (especially Buddhists) do not take beef. But these days, even non-Chinese partake in the lo-hei ritual, especially as part of a company get-together. And for those of us who do love beef, this option makes a nice change indeed.

The wagyu beef "yu sheng" comes with Hong Kong style sesame dressing instead of the usual plum sauce.

牛气冲天！Embrace the new year with bullish vigour!

It helps that this beef salad is really tasty. The crisp, cold vegetables are perfect with the sesame dressing and wagyu slices. I appreciate that it's not doused with cloyingly sweet sauces.

炭烧和牛捞生配港式芝麻酱
Char-grilled Wagyu Beef Yu Sheng
served with Hong Kong-style Sesame Dressing
$68++ (4 to 6 persons); $118++ (10 persons)

But if you still prefer the traditional fish-based yu sheng, tossing to 年年有余， they have that as well.

At the media tasting, we also got to preview some of the dishes that will be available during Chinese New Year.

福果虫草花鸡炖翅
Double-boiled Chicken Broth with Ginkgo Nuts and Cordycep Flower
$35++ per person

The Cantonese are fastidious about soups, and this one feels really fortifying with lots of cordycep flowers at the bottom.

飞跃龙门（白松露油蒜片焗开边龙虾） 
Baked Lobster with Sliced Garlic and White Truffle Oil
Available within Harmonious Set Menu at $1488++ for 10 persons

Lobsters will probably be very popular next year (Year of the Dragon), especially since its name in Chinese is 龙虾, the "dragon prawn". This baked lobster is delicious, but slightly on the chewy side. If you prefer, there is also a steamed lobster with superior sauce, and lobster yu sheng too.

鸿桃轩发财鹌鹑鲍鱼盆菜
Peach Blossoms Abalone Treasures Pot - $248++ (4 to 6 persons); $398++ (10 persons)

10-head Quality Whole Abalone, Fish Maw, Quail, Sea Cucumber,
Dried Scallops, Marinated Soya Chicken, Roast Duck, Roast Pork,
Deep-fried Live Prawns, Flower Mushrooms, Black Moss,
Abalone Mushrooms, Radish, Lotus Root,
Baby Corns, Pig’s Tongue, Fried Bean Curd Skin

I don't know about you, but this pot just makes me want to go, "HUAT AH!!!"
What a beautiful "pen cai" with layers of auspicious ingredients.
My favourite item in there? The crispy skin roast pork - it's so good, I'll trade abalones for it!

Peach Blossom's newly appointed Chef, Chan Shun Wong (陈顺煌), is from Hong Kong. He looks deceptively young (I hear he has an 11 year old kid). Chef Chan will keep to preparing authentic Cantonese food but will add a modern twist to create interest.

年年添有余（金银蒜蒸笋壳） 
Steamed Marble Goby with Fragrant and Raw Minced Garlic
Available in both A La Carte (market price) and Set Menus (from $388++ for 4 persons)

Of course, the Chinese must have a fish dish. This one is superloaded with garlic! You can request for it to be less intense, if you like.

We also got to sample their 年糕 Nian Gao in two very pleasing flavours:
Front *桂花马蹄糕 Water Chestnut Cake with Osmanthus ($28.80 per cake)
Back *椰汁枣皇糕 Red Dates Cake with Coconut Milk ($28.80 per cake)
I thought the red date cake was quite interesting.

You can have other desserts too. The hashima comes in the traditional hot version with red dates, and also a cold one with almond cream in a young coconut.

There are also colourful cold desserts - avocado, strawberry and mango with scoop of ice cream. I can see these being a hit with kids!

四色年饼
The Four Treasures Pastry ($18.80 per box) makes a nice gift when visiting.
*莓果酥 Mixed Berries Pastries*
*凤梨酥 Pineapple Tarts*
*腰果酥 Cashew Nuts Pastries*
*莲蓉核桃酥 Walnut with Lotus Paste Pastries*

Peach Blossoms itself has undergone a S$1 million makeover to usher in the new year. It's got a brand new menu and now seats 180. The four renovated private dining rooms will welcome guests with a choice of 11 premium teas.

The Chinese New Year menu, including orders for take away starts from 16th January right up till 6th February 2012.

PEACH BLOSSOMS
Level 5, Marina Mandarin Singapore
6 Raffles Boulevard
Singapore 039594
Tel: +65 6845-1111
Open daily
Lunch
Weekdays, 12.00pm – 2.30pm
Weekends & Public Holidays, 11.00am – 2.30pm

Dinner
Daily, 6.30pm – 11.00pm (Last order at 10.30pm)

Thanks to the lovely folks at Marina Mandarin Singapore for the CNY preview tasting.

Merry Christmas! Recipes for 7 Desserts, from Bosch Contest

2011-12-25T21:34:00.000+08:00

Some of you have asked regarding recipes from the Bosch Cook-off Competition. I've managed to get hold of the recipes and permission to publish them, so here they are! Merry Christmas!

But first, let me show you the machine that I believe the winner Fahizal used to make his winning chocolate raisin tart (first photo).

It is a MUM 5 all-in-one kitchen machine. It's got many functions in one compact body - a mixer, blender, shredder and citrus juicer. This is the shredder attached to the main arm. The output goes conveniently into the sturdy stainless steel mixing bowl.

The shredder comes with three different blades - for slicing, coarse grating, and fine grating (cheeses, chocolate, fruits, nuts, vegetables, etc). These are stored conveniently in a pouch that also contains the mixer attachments like the whisk, dough hook and mixer. The whole black pouch can be stored neatly in the mixing bowl when not in use. There's the bright orange citrus juicer too - great when you need lots of juice for a family brunch or party.

Fold the arm down, and you can attach a blender for blending drinks, pureeing fruit and vegetables, making mayonnaise, and even crushing ice cubes.

There are more options you can attach, including meat grinders and different slicing blades (for French fries, rosti, potato dumplings, etc).

As you can see, it's really versatile. I can't wait to make full use of mine when I finally get my oven! Yes, and when my tastebuds resume duty too. I'm sick of being sick, and eating porridge! I miss my homebaked stuff!

But on to the recipes!

--------------------------

BOSCH ORIGINAL RECIPE COMPETITION
PARTICIPANTS’ RECIPES

PARTICIPANT NAME: Fahizal Bin Maziland (WINNER)
NAME OF DESSERT: Chocolate Raisin My Favourite Tart

Ingredients:
Sweet Dough (Tart base)
85 g Butter (Unsalted)
85g Caster Sugar
150g Flour
1 no Egg Yolk

Chocolate Brownie (Filling)
75g Butter (Unsalted)
50g Dark Chocolate
113g Mascavado Sugar
1 no Eggs
1 no Vanilla Bean
25g All Purpose Flour
25g Cocoa Powder
2g Baking Powder
1 Pinch of Sea Salt
60g Golden Raisin

Chocolate Ganache
75g Dark Chocolate
75 g Whipping Cream

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Sweet Dough
1) Grease baking tin (35cm x 11cm x 3cm)
2) Add all ingredients into mixing bowl.
3) Using the stirrer to combine ingredients forming a crumble texture.
4) Using hand, knead into dough.
5) Prepare the tart base by placing the dough onto the tin and pressing it against the
tin to cover the entire tin.
6) Leave it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
7) Take it out from the freezer and bake for 20 min.

Chocolate Brownie (Filling)
1) Melt chocolate and butter using double boil method.
2) Mix dry ingredients & raisins in the mixer's bowl & beat at speed 3.
3) Add melted chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients followed by egg and vanilla
seeds.
4) Mix well and beat at Speed 6 for approximately 3-5 minutes.
5) Stop the mixer and scrap the mixture to fill the tart base.
6) Bake at 180 Degree Celsius for 13 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache
1) Place whipping cream, chocolate into a bowl.
2) Melt the chocolate using double boil method.
3) Mix well before pouring it on the cool tart.
4) Tart can be served chilled or warm.
5) Garnish with berries before serving.

---------------------------------

PARTICIPANT NAME: Young Beins, Diana
NAME OF DESSERT: Banana Top Cake with Cheese

Ingredients:
250g butter
180g sugar
5 eggs
200gm self raising flour
1 tsp vanilla powder
2 bananas
Mashed 2 bananas
Sliced 150gm shredded cheese

Method:
1) Beat butter and sugar until creamy on the MUM8 cake machine at speed 4
2) Add the eggs one at a time until well mixed
3) Add the self raising flour a little at a time and the vanilla powder
4) Lastly add in mashed bananas and mix well
5) Line a baking tin with baking paper and arrange the sliced bananas until it
covers the entire base of the cake tin
6) Pour the mixture on top and bake in the oven at 180 degree Celsius for
about 45 minutes or until the cake is baked thoroughly
7) Allow to cool and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top before serving

---------------------------------

PARTICIPANT NAME: Elizabeth Choy Wai Mai
NAME OF DESSERT: Sop with Jack Mousse Cake

Ingredients:
4 eggs
100g sugar
100g plain flour (sifted)
100g warm melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Mousse filling: 3 tbsp water, 20g gelatin, 150g soursop (blended), 250g fresh
cream (whipped), 100g jackfruit (sliced thinly or shredded)

Jelly topping: 400g water, 12g instant jelly, 80g sugar and 1tsp lemon/lime
juice

For decoration: 50-100g whipped fresh cream, 50g toasted almond flakes
and some sliced/shredded jackfruits

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 160 degrees C
2) Grease and line a deep 9" round baking tin with paper.
3) Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla essence at max. speed until stiff.
4) Fold in sifted flour.
5) Add in warm melted butter and mix well
6) Pour into baking tin and bake for about 35 minutes
7) Cut cake into 3 layers when it is cooled
8) Dissolve gelatin in water over low fire
9) Leave to cool. Whisk fresh cream until stiff and add in the blended
soursop, sliced/shredded jackfruit and the cooled gelatin and mix well.
10) Position one layer of cake on a cake board and place a cake ring over.
11) Spread 1/3 of mousse mixture on top of cake. Repeat the same process
until all the mousse is used up. Take care not to leave any gap at the sides to
prevent jelly topping from flowing down.
12) Leave in the freezer to set, about 1/2 hour.
13) Boil water, sugar, juice and instant jelly together.
14) Set aside until lukewarm.
15) Decorate the top of cake with sliced/shredded jackfruit and pour lukewarm
instant jelly on top.
16) Leave in the fridge to set. Remove the cake ring and decorate the side
with whipped fresh cream and toasted almond flakes.

---------------------------------

PARTICIPANT NAME: Florence Seow Kah May
NAME OF DESSERT: Peach Cheese Cake

Ingredients:
2packs Philadelphia Cream Cheese (226gm)
1tube Bulla Premium Sour Cream (200ml)
1tube Bulla Pura Cream (200ml)
100gm SCS Butter
13pcs McVites Digestive Biscuits
4 Medium Eggs 1Tps
Vanilla Essence 2Tps
Gelatine Powder 1/2cup
Castor Sugar 1can
Peach Halves

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 175c for 10minutes
2) First, crush McVites Digestive Biscuits in a bowl, add melt butter and put in
the baking tray. Leave in the freezer for 1/2hour.
3) Put Philadelphia Cream Cheese and sugar into mixing bowl and beat till
creamy.
4) Slowly add egg, one at the time. Lastly add sour cream and pura cream,
vanilla essence together beat till dissolve
5) Take out the baking tray from the freezer and pour items 3 & 4 into the baking tray, fold in the aluminium foil below the baking tray.
6) Add water bath in the tray
7) Bake at 175c for 45minutes then turn off the oven and leave it for 1hr inside.
8) Take the cake out from the oven and let it cool off for about 2hrs and then put in the fridge to chill
9) Decorate the cake with peaches
10) Cook gelatine powder till dissolve (set aside for 5minutes to cool) slowly pour all over onto the surface of the cheesecake and put in the fridge to chill again.

---------------------------------

PARTICIPANT NAME: Jane Kan Swee Lan
NAME OF DESSERT: Orange Chocolate Cupcake

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
1 cup of butter
¾ cup sugar
½ cup milk
2 cups self raising flour
½ Orange- Orange Juice
½ Orange- Orange Peel
¼ cup Cocoa powder
White chocolate silver topping (Optional)

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 160 Degree Celsius
2) Line 12 cupcake pans with cupcake paper
3) In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs, add butter and sugar, and then mix until light
4) Add milk and flour, stir until combined. Beat for 2 minutes, until light and creamy
5) Divide mixture into 2 bowls.
First bowl - add orange juice and peels.
Second bowl - add Cocoa
6) Add ½ mixture of each into each cupcake paper and stir gently to get a marble effect
7) Bake for 18-20 minutes until firm to touch. Allow to cool

---------------------------------

PARTICIPANT NAME: Karen Lum Chwee Fung
NAME OF DESSERT: Hokkaido Sweet Potato Steamed Cake

Ingredients:
200g butter
200g fine sugar
1 egg
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
300g flour (general purpose flour or cake flour)
1 tsp baking power
1 pinch of salt
50g full cream milk from Japan (Hokkaido)
50g coconut milk (fresh is better)
250g to 300g sweet potato cubes

Method:
1) Cream butter and sugar (120g) till light and fluffy
2) Add mixture of 1 egg and 3 egg yolks. Cream till smooth. Set aside.
3) In separate bowl, whip 3 egg whites with sugar (80g) till stiff peak.
4) Add egg whites mixture into the batter and combine well.
5) Fold in the flour (mixed and sifted flour and baking power) into the batter gently.
6) Add coconut milk with milk and fold gently.
7) Add sweet potato cubes.
8) Pour into baking or muffin pan.
9) Steam for 45mins.

---------------------------------

PARTICIPANT NAME: Susan Chan Lian Kee
NAME OF DESSERT: Banana Cake

Ingredients:
125g Butter
200g Sugar
200g Flour
4 ripe bananas (mashed)
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk (optional)
Method:
1) Cream butter and sugar till creamy n light
2) Add in eggs, a little at a time.
3) Add in mashed bananas and flour.
4) Pour mixture into a grease baking tin.
5) Bake in a preheated oven at 180 c for 35mins.
6) Cook and cut neatly before serving

Happy baking and experimenting!

Armani/Prive Rooftop Bar in Central HK

2011-12-23T22:57:00.001+08:00

Something with the name Armani in it is bound to be posh. But I was totally blown away by the huge, sprawling rooftop terrace at Armani/Prive. The awesome sense of space, together with skyscraper panoramic views, simply evokes a surreal feel.

Moët Hennessy brought us here for drinks before the wine-pairing dinner at which they unveiled their new iPad app, Flavours Asia. This bar just opened a few months ago in Central Hong Kong, and is one of only four Armani/Prive bars in the world.

You are flanked by some "hanging gardens" on one side of the wall. These were placed here to help cool the place, and enhance it with oxygen. I also like how the wooden floorboards give it a rather resort-like feel.

The buildings almost seem to be looming above the bar. I can see why they say this place has a Blade Runner-ish edge to it.

Even the birds are talking about it!

Despite the tall buildings, you don't feel hedged in, like in many places in Hong Kong. That's because there's some 5,000 square feet of space for you to chill out in. You're insulated from the frenzy of the city by the chic and relaxing atmosphere of the bar.

We joked that we could almost see the spreadsheets in those offices.
I wonder if the workers in there ever cast weary looks across at the cocktail sipping guests.

Speaking of cocktails, we tried a few. Their signature is the Wasabi Green Apple Martini (left most, HK$120), which is a concoction of Smirnoff Green Apple, Masenez Green Apple, pineapple juice, lime juice and wasabi paste.

Second from left at the bottom is the Lollipop Caipirinha (HK$125) - Sagatiba Velha, Sagatiba Pura, St Germain, fresh lime juice and sugar. It has a real lollipop (minus the stick) in it.

I'm guessing the bright red one is the Raspberry Mule (HK$95). It uses one whole lime, sugar, raspberry puree, topped up with sparkling water and ginger ale.

Last one is probably the AQUA Gin Martini (HK$135), with London No.1 Gin, Monin Gomme, and fresh lemon juice.

Bar snacks to accompany conversation - renkon chips and wasabi peas. We could not get enough of the lotus root chips. The waiters so patiently refilled it every time they passed by.

My Instagram photo. It's best to come here at sunset. Unwind here until you see the stars come out. With the cold weather right now in Hong Kong, I think it's the best time to enjoy al fresco rooftop bars.

Armani/Prive does have an indoor bar and lounge section downstairs. It was too dark there to take photos though.

Armani/Prive is at Chater House which encompasses an entire Armani complex. It's right next to Armani/Aqua, and both are collaborations between the Armani Group and the Aqua Restaurant Group.

ARMANI/PRIVE HONG KONG
2/F, Chater House,
8 Connaught Rd. Central,
Central Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3583 2828
Open daily
Mon-Sat noon-3pm, 6-11pm
Sundays noon-7:30pm

Many thanks to Moët Hennessy and Grebstad Hicks Communications for hosting us here.

Moët Hennessy Wine-Pairing Dinner at Island Tang, Hong Kong

2011-12-20T22:31:00.000+08:00

Last month, Moët Hennessy Asia Pacific invited me to Hong Kong for the launch of their iPad app, Flavours Asia, that helps pair wines with Asian food. You can see see screenshots and review of the app here (it is beautiful!). The app is a huge boon to wine aficionados, because we've had guidance galore on how to pair wine with French and European cuisines, but very little on what goes well with the diverse array of food across Asia (Japan, India, Thailand, China, Malaysia, etc).

And we put their wine-pairing suggestions to the test at one of Hong Kong's foremost Cantonese restaurants - Island Tang. It's gorgeous - step through the retro doors and you're in cosy 1930s Shanghai. It's got a 1 Michelin star rating, but don't hold that against them. Island Tang has been consistently well-rated in many publications including the New York Times and the Financial Times.

This is by Sir David Tang the dynamic tycoon and avid reader who started the Shanghai Tang clothing line, and the very exclusive China Club not too far away. I've tried the China Club (had an event there some years back) and honestly, I much prefer the food at Island Tang. No membership required either!

We had a private room, where we could indulge in our journey of wines with our eight-course dinner.

The charismatic Jane Dee, Regional Brand Manager (Belvedere, Estates & Wines, Grand Marnier), Moët Hennessy Asia Pacific, showing us their new book on pairing wine with Asian food. Yes, the book came first, and the iPad app is based on it. I gave out four of those books in a previous post. And those who have seen my copy absolutely love it.

The book and app both feature wine labels under under Moët Hennessy. I never realised they had so many until this event. Well, at this dinner, we also got to try quite a few of these excellent wines.

A sight to warm any wine lover's heart, no?

Wines and Spirits Consultant Arnaud Mirey from Moët Hennessy explaining each wine in detail, and why it goes well with the dishes it's paired with. You may have seen him on the app itself.

Told you the app looks good.

Anyway, there were amazing discoveries, right off the bat, from the appetisers.

Island Tang Appetiser Delights - Spicy Frog Legs, Shichimi Tofu, and Century Egg. We had Chandon Brut, a nice bubbly that was a great hit with the rich and pungently creamy century egg! It totally cleansed the palate too, and you know how difficult that is with century egg.

Special mention goes to the shichimi tofu. If our local restaurants could also produce tofu as soft, delicious and flavoursome as this, I'd be popping these nonstop.

The best part of the appetisers was the Most Delicious Roast Pork Ever! I can't ask for a more perfectly and evenly crisped skin - such delightful crunch. And the ratio of fat and lean meat was just right. I'd just had Joy Hing (that's another post) before the dinner, and their famous roast pork is almost as good, but differently so (more like suckling pig). You can try this with the Terrazas Reserva Malbec, a deep red with hints of cassis.

Double-boiled Meat Ball with Hairy Crab in Chicken Bouillon. They recommended the lesser known Cloudy Bay Pinot Gris for this. Cloudy Bay is more famous for its Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir, but the Pinot Gris is light, floral, and not too acidic - perfect for the delicate soup. They use old oak barrels to age the wine, so the oaky flavour is not as strong.

Pan-fried Fillet of Spotted Garoupa with Premium Soy Sauce. A Cloudy Bay Chardonnay was chosen to pair this awesomely delicious fish. The wine is more creamy than the Pinot Gris, and has a lemonish tinge. It's more Burgundy in style, so it's great paired with cooked fish and sauce.

We had at least six different wines from Moët Hennessy, and this is what they look like.
Back: Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon, Terrazas Reserva Malbec, Chandon Brut.
Front: Chandon Brut Rose, Cloudy Bay Chardonnay, Cloudy Bay Pinot Gris.

The next course was Pan-fried Chicken Fillet Marinated with Fermented Bean Curd. Both the Cloudy Bay Chardonnay and the Chandon Brut went well with this (they do with most fish and chicken dishes).

Stewed De-boned Pig Trotter with Black Truffle Sauce. Succulent skin and juicy meat, richly flavoured with truffle sauce. De-boned! What convenience! No unsightly gnawing on trotter bones.

The Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with meat protein, and was a good match for this. But some people preferred the Terrazas Reserva Malbec as this particular dish had a lot of skin. There really are no rules, just preferences.

Braised Wagyu Short Rib with Onions, Peking Scallions and Spring Onions. This was a generous piece, and was so rich and filling that it proved a little challenging for some of us. The Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon was recommended for this. It met the luxuriously heavy dish head on, and enhanced it even more.

Braised Goose Web with Abalone Sauce on Egg Noodles. I'd envisioned full goose webs which might be fiddly to eat, but wow, Island Tang really takes care of everything for you. The goose web is in thin easy-to-eat slices. The abalone sauce is also sublime. It's the best mee pok I have ever had.

For this dish, Moët Hennessy asked us to see which wine we would pick. Most people chose the Chardonnay - it's not too sweet and good with meat.

By the time dessert rolled by, we were rolling on our tummies. The Chilled Mango Pudding is surrounded by so many glasses of wine, you'll swear you're seeing double after a while.

But it was here that the crowd favourite Cloudy Bay Riesling was unveiled. This is a late harvest wine, which means more sugar has accumulated in the fruit, and they use a noble mushroom or rot to dehydrate the grape further. All the sugars are even more concentrated, and it develops flavours like apricot, and strangely a kerosene scent too.

We thought it was more delicious than dessert itself.

And so the evening ended most happily. Here are some of the bloggers and PR folks with Arnaud (from left to right, Jason, Michelle, Virginia, Samantha, Rayner, Olivia and Patrick). I was thrilled to finally meet Jason Tse the Bonvivant, as well as the effusively funny Michelle Ng of Chopstixfix, and Patrick Lai of SmashingPumpkins fame on Openrice with more than 3,000 reviews! I also met KC the gourmet, Jennifer Luk, and folks from Winebuzz.hk (not pictured here).

Remember to download the gorgeous iPad app Flavours Asia!

ISLAND TANG
Shop 222 The Galleria
9 Queen's Road Central
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2526-8798
Open daily: noon to 10.30pm

Major thanks to Moët Hennessy for flying me up to Hong Kong to experience the iPad app, the enlightening dinner paired with lovely wines!

Goodwood Park Hotel's Mahjong Tile Poundcake!

2011-12-20T19:43:00.000+08:00

This is just too cute. A cake shaped like a giant mahjong tile with the word "fa" (to strike it rich)! The perfect thing to have while you rustle your mahjong tiles for prosperity in the lunar new year. The Goodwood Park Hotel's Fortune Mandarin Orange Pound Cake (S$72 for 1kg) is available from the Deli 9 Jan to 6 Feb 2012. Call +65 6730 1786 one day in advance to reserve. Huat ah!!

Photo courtesy of Goodwood Park Hotel

Crystal Jade Kitchen Opens at Scotts Square

2011-12-18T22:23:00.000+08:00

Delicious crispy roast duck and barbecued pork with honey sauce.

You know, Scotts Square is yet another place that makes my wallet and credit cards shiver. Lots of posh brands and upmarket goods. The residents living in this luxury development have Hermes at their doorstep. I don't even have a mamak shop at the bottom of my block.

But there's the familiar Cantonese comfort food of Crystal Jade Kitchen which just opened here a few days ago. Same consistent affordable fare, with prices from S$4.80 to S$39.90.

You'll have regular favourites like roast meats, noodles, congee and dim sum. I like all of these - (from front to back) pan-fried rice roll with spicy shrimp paste, "har gau" steamed shrimp dumpling, deep-fried yam puff.

The crispy roast duck (first photo, S$12.80 for small) uses free-range ducks raised in Malaysia until seven weeks. These are stuffed with Chinese herbs, and during roasting the chef carefully turns and adds layers of sweet glaze to caramelize the skin for that crisp texture.

The BBQ meat or char siew (S$10.80 for small) is really tender. Boneless pork is glazed with honey and roasted on long forks. Sliced nice and thick, so you can really taste how juicy it is.

Crispy Beancurd with Salt & Pepper (S$6.80 for small). A typical appetiser.

Crispy Eggplant with spices (S$6.80 for small). Not so typical, but certainly a delicious way to have your vegetables.

The Crystal Jade Kitchen here has some new dishes that you won't find at other Kitchen outlets.

There is a wider range of double-boiled and homestyle soups here. Have you noticed Crystal Jade's trend towards offering more soups and healthy dishes?

You'll find soups such as Double-boiled Pork Shoulder with Almond, Preserved Vegetable and Dried Octopus. It has no added MSG and is purported to enhance complexion and nourish the lungs.

There is even an opening promo - soup of the day at only S$1 - until end Dec 2011. But even at the regular price of $4.80, the double-boiled soup is already a good deal.

Roasted Chicken with Special Spicy Paste (S$12.80 for half) is also new. This dish is a Portugal adaptation that's become popular in Macau. The tomato, garlic and scallion based sauce would go really well with fish, and indeed you can request for it to be done with tilapia. Personally, I like roasted chicken just the way it is - especially with crispy skin.

Stewed Beef Tendon in Black Pepper (S$14.80 for small). The tendons have been stewed for two hours to produce melting tenderness. Delicious with white rice.

Sauteed Walnut with Assorted Vegetables - red capsicum, French beans, black fungus and fresh lily bulbs. Lovely colour combination, and a healthy dish that's tasty as well. This is also new.

They also introduced a fabulous "Steamed QQ Rice with Scallion Oil" (S$6.80 for small - enough for 3-4 persons). Scallions are mashed into a paste together with ginger and other condiments. It's spread atop the QQ rice (a mixture of fragrant and glutinous rice). The whole thing is left to steep for a while.

Then the server mixes it all up and it's a fragrant and delicious ensemble, almost good enough to eat on its own.

Perennial favourites for dessert - the Egg Tart (S$3 for 3 pieces) and Mango Pudding (S$4.50). We were stunned to hear that each mango pudding uses one whole Philippine mango!

What also drew us to the event were the demos - how to make har gau and egg tarts. The pleating of the dumpling skin is a real skill.

This outlet is also different from the rest in that it has an electric service bell system. So no more waving at busy staff for service. But it's too big a place anyway; it seats about 110. The restaurant is also more contemporary in decor, with muted pastel and cream leather seating. It's also the first to reflect their new branding too.

Well, it was nice to meet the Crystal Jade team again, as well as their pleasantly humble and affable Chairman, Mr Ip Yiu Tung. Have you seen the personality profile I wrote on him on Makanation (Yahoo's new online food magazine)? Crystal Jade has been on an expansion roll, and we take a closer look there at what makes them such a success story.

CRYSTAL JADE KITCHEN (their website is undergoing a revamp, but you can still access promotions)
#03-06 Scotts Square,
6 Scotts Road,
Singapore 228209
Scotts Square
Tel: +65 6636-1836

Opening hours:
Monday- Saturday
11.30am to 3pm
5.30pm to 10.30pm

Sundays and Public Holidays
10.30am to 3.30pm
5.30pm to 10.30pm

Thanks to linea and Crystal Jade for inviting us to the media session.

Happy birthday, Jolie! You're 4 now!

2011-12-17T21:36:00.000+08:00

Happy birthday, Jolie! You can now say you are four years old.

She is growing up really fast. I will miss the time when she was more of a toddler, but she continues to charm us with surprises as she develops.

She loves birthdays. She kept asking if her cake would be strawberry. "Strawberry's yummy!"

We had a uniQgift pack for Divine Desserts, and she pointed to the only strawberry shortcake from the booklet containing options from some 15 vendors. We called up to reserve the cake (from Tampopo Deli) a couple days in advance, and picked it up today.

I do like uniQgift's nice packaging and the way it lets your gift recipient choose they want. They have various lifestyle themes like food, wine, adventure, spa and even workshops. When you're unsure which exact gift will please, this is something that will take the headache of choosing out of your hands.

Oh, and I discovered, the end gift might even be worth more than the price of the uniQgift voucher. The Divine Desserts costs S$38, but the cake that we got retails at S$52 if you want to buy it yourself!

And this is the cake! For once, the actual item looks better (and bigger) than the one in the product shot.

There is a lot of cream on this thing. Not that we're complaining. The kids love digging into it. The cream is very light, almost like dense foam.

So all of us enjoyed the birthday ritual. We usually get our strawberry shortcake from Four Leaves nearby (that's got more cream in the middle than on the outside, and the vanilla sponge is more moist, but Tampopo's cream seems lighter), so it's nice to try something else once in a while.

Yes, birthday girl, what will you be dreaming of for next year?

Fat Cow: The Wagyu Atelier

2011-12-16T09:57:00.000+08:00

Fat Cow serves some really fat cows - premium brand wagyu from Japan and Australia, like the Grade A5 ribeye from Kagoshima (sliced for shabu shabu above) or Australian Beef Grade MS A8+ Ribeye from the Blackmore Ranch (grilled as steak below).

You can see the marbling of the A8+ grade beef in this medium rare steak.

It's love before first bite.

This Japanese-inspired meat atelier is the latest place where you can indulge in some of the best steak, teppanyaki, shabu shabu and sukiyaki available. Fat Cow is a concept by The Big Idea Group, the result of the merger between Kinki and the Marmalade Group. They take great pride in using ingredients flown in from Japan for everything from cocktails to dessert.

The vibe is contemporary Japanese with grid-like themes. There is a bar area upfront where you can chill before you head into the dining area.

The main dining area is a U-shaped counter that seats about 16. This is where you can watch the chefs work and engage in chit chat with them. There are private dining rooms as well, separated by shoji screens.

Well, it's not just the beef here that's great. I found myself liking the zensai or starters a lot. Here are three of them.

Heart of Palm Salad (Crisp Japanese onions, shaved heart of palm and Mizuna, $18). The crisp, moist white slices are heart of palm which provide great texture to the delicious salad.

Kegani Tofu (House-made silken crab tofu with truffle dressing, $25). This is probably the most luxurious tofu you can have - infused with king crab and topped with shaved black truffles. It's like chawan mushi for royalty.

Wagyu Ox Tendon and Foie Gras (Slow cooked wagyu ox tendon with pan-seared foie gras and braised daikon, $29). The sauce, oh the rich, thick, syrupy sauce! I would so love to be able to buy bottles of this sauce. It makes everything so delicious, from the ox tendon that's been braised for hours, to the aromatic cubes of foie gras topping the daikon.

But on to the main event.

It's a deliberately simple menu. There are four grades of beef, and you can specify how much you want. You can choose to have your meats done four styles - shabu shabu, sukiyaki, charcoal-grilled or teppanyaki. The servers are of course happy to advise on any combinations.

The Shabu Shabu uses a light stock, so that nothing overpowers the natural flavours of the ingredients.

Toss in these gorgeous fresh vegetables to sweeten it further.

And then indulge in the heavenly beef slices - so beautiful! We sampled all four grades of wagyu. The top two are the premium A5 and A3 grades of Kagoshima beef. Bottom two are Australian beef grade MS A8+ from Blackmore and Stockyard ranches.

Quick close-up of the Japanese wagyu and their excellent marbling.

We started eating the less fatty grades first, before proceeding upwards.

First up, the Australian Beef Grade MS A8+ Ribeye (From Stockyard Ranch, $52/100g). Tender and sweet.

The Australian Beef Grade MS A8+ Ribeye (From Blackmore Ranch, $85/100g), I found was the most "beefy" in terms of flavour.

Steamy hot slice of Japanese Beef Grade A3 Ribeye (From Kagoshima Prefecture, $80/100g) with thick ribbons of visible fat. But it's healthier fat (monounsaturated) compared to normal beef. The Japanese wagyu tastes almost ethereal. The beefy flavour is surprisingly very delicate.

The Japanese Beef Grade A5 Ribeye (From Kagoshima Prefecture, $95/100g) in the first photo above was the most tender, of course. Goes with the ponzu sauce or sesame sauce equally well.

The premium fatty slices swishing around in the shabu shabu pot will have created a nice broth, which can be made into a delicious porridge afterwards.

Would you like some steak while you wait for the porridge to cook?

This is an enormous slab of about 350g, which is more than enough shared by four people. OK, what am I saying, there's never "enough" when it comes to wagyu...

The Charcoal Grill (Steak) comes with two sides that change to reflect what is fresh and in season. The meat is grilled using binchotan (Japanese white charcoal). This is Australian Beef Grade MS A8+ Ribeye (From Blackmore Ranch, $85/100g). Can you smell how good it is? So tasty, so tender.

Desserts are also kept deliberately simple. You have fresh fruit, ice cream or the following two.

This is the Warabi Mochi (House-made warabi mochi seasoned with green tea and roasted soy bean flour, $18). The mochi is made with arrowroot flour, and is an incredibly laborious thing to create. The chef would not have placed this on the menu if he didn't have an assistant who loved making this despite the tedium.

- Kabocha Soy Soup (Warm sweet soup of kabocha and fresh soy, $18). Japanese pumpkin in light sweet soy milk. Comforting stuff.

But what drinks to accompany the sublime beef? Thankfully, there is a resident mixologist at Fat Cow, and he can make you various cocktails, including bespoke creations.

The Dealer's Choice is where you take a gamble on the mixologist's creation. He will concoct something for you, based on your preferences. Here we have a Kyoho Smash with Apricot Foam (Ron Zacapa 23 years, Fat Cow Kyoho liqueur, fresh yuzu juice, sugar syrup, fresh air flown Japanese purple Nagano grapes, apricot foam, $26). And no, those are not marijuana leaves!

I had to try the Hot Buttered Ume (Ron Zaccapa 23 years, Fat Cow Ume syrup, rose butter, $25).

It's like a rich, savoury tea with complex flavours (tangy, buttery, sweet and floral). And alcohol! I wonder if the Tibetans would say about this (given that they love yak butter tea)!

- Nichibotsu (Gran centenario anejo, Fat Cow Biwa Marmalade, Fat Cow cardamom syrup, fresh orange juice, egg white, yuzu, $25). Biwa is a Japanese kumquat. The nichibotsu tastes really light, so it's great for people who don't like strong drinks.

We really enjoyed dinner. I would love to go back for some of the starters - there's some yuzu grilled unagi as well, and also try the teppanyaki.

So Fat Cow is definitely an experience if you love good beef and fine food. However, you'll need a fat wallet or expense account to dine there comfortably. But there's no denying it's a great venue to celebrate important occasions.

FAT COW
1 Orchard Boulevard,
#01-01 Camden Medical Center,
Singapore 248649

Tel: +65 6735 0308

Open Mon–Sat: 6pm – 11pm
(right now it's only for dinner, but lunch is on the cards)

Many thanks to FoodNews and Fat Cow for the treat.