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[Post] Korean, Eats in Busan

2013-04-16T10:00:00.000+08:00

Beautiful Meat

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert in Korean food, Im not, but I sure as hell enjoy it to bits. I have the good blessing to have a sister-in-law who speaks decent Korean to get us about the country and getting ourselves fed. I'm not going to go in depth about the food we had there, but here's a whirlwind tour of what Busan has to offer.

The usual bulgogi(s), you'd find them across the country, pretty damn awesome to tuck into getting out the freezing winds in winter. Nothing says warmth better than a steaming pot of meat and vegetables.

Street side snacks, steamy, relatively cheap and good for a quick boost. Warm and toasty, warms up you hands, but eat it quick, the warmth leaves with the wind. Taking with it the tastiness it should have had a minute ago.

A particularly interesting breakfast meal at the markets, a savoury black sesame porridge. I'm completely accustomed to the sweet ones we have back home, and to be honest, this took some getting used too. I think out of 10, only 2 persons were favorable to it. I was one of them. And towards the end of it I could really get used to the nutty, salty and slightly bitter taste of black sesame.

Writhing and squirming octopus tentacles might put off a lot of people, I was one of them. The prospect of a wrathful octopus spirit lodging its severed tentacle in your throat to choke you till you die didn't make the dish any more appealing. But fears aside, it really is pretty damn good. Paired with the chilli condiment, and shiso leaf, it was honestly one of the rare times I would eat octopus. Just chew, chew like your life depended on it, because it does.

Busan is a coastal city, and you'd be a fool to not have any seafood, a damn big fool. Even if you are not big on seafood, give it a shot, and you might find yourself in love with at least one or two new ingredients from the sea. The sashimi could not be any fresher, almost everything was alive and in tanks.

The lobsters they have, had claws the size of the tails off the ones we usually have back home.

Sweet street snacks, I'm particularly fond of one called Hotteok, a chewy rice flour based pancake filled with molten cinnamon sugar and peanuts, beautiful, like heaven in a pancake.

What is Korean cuisine with side dishes? There are so many, different ones for different types of restaurants. While maybe the more commercialised joints would have pretty standard ranges of dishes, you would be nicely surprised when you come across the smaller places with some different stuff. I really love the fermented (I think?) Shiso Leaves, it's amazing that it had a nutty, almost cheesy flavour to it.

Well, that's it for Busan, there's more to come about my trip to Korea in the near future. So much for a quick rundown. Have a great week!

[Recipe] Word of week: Entrecôte

2013-04-12T10:00:00.000+08:00

Pronunciation here.

A prime-quality piece of beef, cut from in between two ribs (côtes).

A good entrecôte steak should be about 2cm thick, flat and well trimmed with a thin margin of fat.

The cut is marbled and tender, suggested cooking methods are grilling or frying.

French writer, even goes to mention a very specific cooking method:
Grilled over a barbecue fuelled by Cabernet Sauvignon vine shoots that have been dried from the year before. It is seared on one side, flipped over, sliced shallots and butter sprinkled over. Once the second side is seared, sprinkle with more butter and shallots, cover with another hot pan to create a makeshift oven and let to poach in the butter for 2 - 3 minutes.

I would really love to try this method out, but there's no way I can get my hands on dried cabernet sauvignon vines.

[Post] Box N Sticks

2013-04-09T10:30:00.001+08:00

So in the future, you will see more and more restaurant reviews of the Bugis area, simply because it's where I work and it's easier and more logical for me to gather material here. And believe me, there is no shortage of material at all here. In fact I could spread out the net a little wider and do Raffles, Ann Siang/Duxton, everything is stone's throw away now that I'm stationed in the central region.

Prior to writing this post, I've visited Box N Sticks a couple of times, because it was a short walk away, and it's a nice treat away from economic rice meals daily. Best thing is that you could add a little extra $3.80 to get a lunch set deal.

The food here is decent, slightly above above average, the plus point is that it's at this level of decency while still being at a rather affordable price point. Better than being sub-par at a once-in-a-month dinner price point right? It's rather generic Japanese restaurant fare, although they have some interesting menu items that I'm gonna order in the near future.

The only lunch item I had a problem with so far was the vegetable tempura rice set, too greasy to stomach, needing copious amounts of green tea to wash down after. Otherwise, the food really is pretty decent. Oh, and there's no GST and Service charge here too, isn't that great?

Cha Soba

Katsu Don

Tendon

Review Comparisons:
Daniel's Food Dairy - Box n Sticks – Bento and Yakimono at Arab St
Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow - Box N Sticks, Aliwal St
Coffee Table People - Review: Do it the Japanese way at Box n Sticks
Daintyflair - MYSTERY MAKAN AT BOX N STICKS

Box N Sticks

Address: 14 Aliwal St, Singapore 199907
Phone: 6396 4223
Hours: Mondays - Saturdays: 11:30 am – 11:00 pm

[Post] Word of the Week: Tomato Sauce

2013-04-05T10:00:00.000+08:00

One of the five mother sauces in French cuisine.

Not the one you get in plastic packets or glass bottles, that's ketchup.

A simple, inexpensive and easily made mother sauce.

Small sauces derived from Tomato sauce:
Creole
Spanish
Milanaise
Provençale

A simple and easy tomato sauce can be found in my Meatballs & Spaghetti article.

[Recipe]: Miso Marinade

2013-04-02T10:00:00.000+08:00

It's a little over 2 years since this blog began as a food blog, there's been its ups and downs, and there's been a number of changes. My ideals for this little space has changed a fair bit over time and I've had tons of ideas to do more, for myself and for the people for read this blog.

But work's getting increasingly difficult to balance with married live, and while I must say I am fortunate enough to find time to still cook and shoot, it's so tedious to be writing after juggling all of that. Being your own boss, isn't as glamorous as it seems. Besides, my love still lie with the camera and the chef knife, and writing is not my forte.

I sometimes really wonder if I should shut up all together and focus the food and the photographs, having to rush everything through every weekend really drops the standards of what you do.

Well enough of my ranting, here's the recipe. a simple simple simple (so simple I said it three times) marinade that you could apply to chicken, fish or pork. It's makes for a great barbeque, oan frying or even grilling in the oven. I like it over a charcoal fire, because of that smoky aromas that come extra.

Ingredients:
- Sake - 60ml
- Mirin - 60ml
- White Miso Paste - 60g
- Fine Sugar - 45g

Mise-en-place:
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together
- Marinade meat of choice for at least 6 hours in the fridge, overnight if possible

Cooking:
- Remove meat from marinade
- Grill over a charchoal flame/ in the oven for about 10-15 minutes

* Cooking time depends on the type of meat, thickness of the cut and temperature.
* For ovens, my recommendation is about 200 degrees celsius for about 10-15 minutes
* For grilling over the fire, 3-5 minutes on each side

And while you're at it , why not grill some shitake mushrooms to go with it too?

[Post] Word of the Week: Velouté

2013-03-29T10:00:00.000+08:00

Pronounciation here

Derived from the French word velour which means velvet.

Made with with a light stock and thickened with a blonde roux.

Unlike Bechamel, which branches out into many small sauces from one mother sauce, Velouté is a little more complicated as it branches Fish, Chicken, Veal Velouté, based on what stock is used to make it. It is then the base mother sauce for other specific small sauces.

i.e.
Chicken Velouté + Cream = Suprême sauce
Fish Velouté + Mushrooms + Egg yolk + Cream = Normandy

You can't add cream into a fish velouté and called it a suprême. Don't even try.

[Post] The Rabbit Stash

2013-03-26T10:30:00.001+08:00

The Rabbit Stash, a quirky name, a cosy restaurant tucked away in the Queenstown District. Unassuming, comfortable interiors almost make you expect a homely meal, but the food here is far from homely.

The dinner menu comes in the form of a 5/7/10 course degustation, a menu that changes seasonally. Chef Matthew goes on to challenge himself, using ingredients that he dislikes in his menus, something that would assure you that the dishes are created with the utmost care.

Smoked Trout; Potato Salad, Wasabi & Garden Pea Velouté

Smoky, savoury aromas waft through air as you watch them pour in the Garden Pea Velouté over the trout.

Match of the Day

I personally dread such dishes, it's a headache to photograph! Which one to focus on ?! But that isn't a fault on the restaurant, it's just a personal peeve. Food wise, I adored the crispy pork belly, complimented by a strong flavoured fermented bean sauce, made in-house, as the maitre-d so proudly mentioned, alongside many if not all of the menu items served here at The Rabbit Stash.

The crab pincer was a little dry though, making it rather troublesome to eat, I would have rather picked it up with my hands. But camera work and a touchscreen mobile phone hindered that call to action.

Amuse Bouche of Foie Gras and Braised Peach

Would have prefered it a little more salted, but the others seemed fine with it.

Plating here is done with finesse, and a great artistic flair. The play on colors is delightful, some people may not care for such extravagance, but something like this once in a while is always a refreshing sight.

Service here is warm and friendly, you shouldn't expect any less from a cosy place such as this, I loved how they shared morsels of information about the food and ingredients with great passion. The only hiccup with service that night is the slight lack of communication between service and kitchen when we popped an unexpected request. 3 different persons with 3 different answers, but seeing that we were in good hands, we let it be.

Here are some of the other reviews of the place I've dug up; something that I'll be doing more often for reviews, so you don't have to take my word for it, read the others and make the decision yourself. You'd also notice that I am trying to write less, let my photos do the talking, unless the dish wasn't satisfactory.

Bibik Gourmand (When they were still at Pandan Valley)

Time Tapestry ( This guy actually reviews watches though)

Business Times (Also when they were at Pandan Valley)

The Rabbit Stash
http://www.therabbitstash.com.sg/

354/356 Alexandra Road #01-07
Alexis Singapore
Singapore 159948

Phone: 9173 0723
Email: reservation@therabbitstash.com.sg

*Reservations for dinner highly recommended.

[Recipe] Croque Madame

2013-03-22T10:30:00.000+08:00

I've been having a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches lately, courtesy of Perfect Italiano. After attending a masterclass where Chef showed us a couple of dishes using Perfect Italiano products, they generously put a significant amount of their cheese products into our hands. And well the simplest and quickest way for me to enjoy cheese is in a grilled cheese sandwich!

The Croque Monsieur is the French variant of a grilled cheese sandwich, in the simplest sense, it's a humble gruyere and ham sandwich, fried in butter (That's what makes it French I guess). A quick, but absolutlely satisfying snack. The Croque Madame is where you step your game up, the monsieur is topped with a sunny side-up egg, then generously lathered up with Bechamel sauce. Simple, indulgent and delicious.

I find it rather odd though, that the plan version is named monsieur (or mister) and the calories overload version is called them madame, even if someone says that the name Madame comes from the fact that the sunny side-up resembles a ladies hat, which lady has a hat drizzled with white sauce?

Equipment you'll need:
- Non-stick frying pan (I used my cast iron skillet)
- Spatula

Ingredients: 1 sandwich
- Sliced Bread - 2 slices (I used multigrain to make myself feel a little healthier)
- Cheese of choice - 20-30g sliced or grated *
- Sliced meat of choice - 1-2 slices (I used 3 rashers of bacon)
- Egg - 1 nos
- Bechamel - 3 - 4 tablespoons
- Unsalted Butter - 5 grams (a small chunk)

Mise-en-place:
- Make bechamel before hand and set aside
- Fry sunny-side up egg and set aside

*I used Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus, it was a mix of mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar, bringing together flavour and and that melty texture everyone loves

Cooking:
- Heat up pan over a medium flame
- Assemble sandwich as such: bread- cheese - sliced meat - cheese - bread
- Melt butter in heated pan and wait till it smokes lightly
- Put sandwich into the pan and fry till side is golden brown
- Flip the sandwich over and fry till the other side is golden brown
- Place on serving plate, put sunny side-up on top, drizzle with bechamel and serve.

This dish is very simple, and you would noticed that I did set in stone, the type of cheese and meat in the recipe, because it really can be a combination of anything. As long as there's a sliced meat, and a semi soft cheese involved, the recipe would work. You could pair anything you fancy, or anything that's conveniently available at home. It's all up to you!

* This recipe is brought to you by the letters ~~C and H~~, I'm just kidding, it's brought to you by Perfect Italiano and the good people at Tribal DDB, thanks for inviting me to the masterclass, and putting up with my weirdness in wanting to do a recipe over event reportage.

[Post] Word of the Week: Béchamel (Recipe included)

2013-03-19T10:30:00.002+08:00

Pronunciation here.

White sauce, one of the 5 mother sauces.

Made by combining seasoned milk with white roux.

Named after the Marquis of Béchameil.

Is the mother sauce for Mornay, Nantua, Soubise, etc. And also in the ultimate comfort food Mac & Cheese, which is technically a mornay sauce.

Recipe: Makes about 300ml

Equipment you'll need:
- Saucepan
- Spatula

Ingredients:
- Milk - 300ml
- Flour - 20g
- Clarified Butter* - 20g
- Salt and White pepper - to taste
- Nutmeg Powder - to taste

* Butter is also usable.

Mise-en-place:
- Make a white roux
- Season Milk (optional: for a more flavourful sauce, simmer the milk with some onion or bay leaf)

Cooking:
- Over a medium flame, combine white roux and milk and mix well until roux dissolves
- Season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper
- Continue stirring until sauce is "a la nappe"

a la nappe: a term used to define the consistency of a sauce. The desired consistency of a sauce is acheived when it is able to coat the back of a wooden spoon or spatula without running off immediately. It is further tested by running a spoon or your finger across the spoon, if a line is formed and is able to maintain itself definitely, the sauce is considered to be at the right consistency, and is ready for use. (See opening photograph)

[Post] Word of the Week: Espagnole

2013-03-15T10:30:00.000+08:00

Pronunciation here.

Not to be confused with Español, the Spanish language.

A brown sauce, one of the five mother sauces, from which bordelaise, madeira, périgueux, etc. can be derived.

In fact it should be called THE brown sauce, it consists of a meat stock, brown roux, mirepoix and tomato paste. Cooked over a long period of time; skimmed, stirred, strained at certain points until you end up with a meaty delish sauce.

[Recipe] Social Media Black Box: Portobello Stuffed Eggplant

2013-03-12T10:30:00.001+08:00

Some time ago, I was kinda bored over weekend, and threw out a random request on social media, to have people shout out various ingredients to me, and I'd pick out a few of it randomly to come out with a next dish. I ended up with a combination of Eggplant, Portobello Mushrooms, Dried Mushrooms and Lettuce.

Special mentions to Nicole, Shi Ting, Karen, Melissa and other friends (who aren't on a blog) for shouting out ingredients. Here are the results:

It wasn't difficult to think of what I could do, I was thinking of doing a stuffed eggplant dish for some time now. And so I present to you my version of stuffed eggplants, totally random with some other stuff in my pantry.

I love this box of portobellos! all that goodness for about 10-ish bucks! And below we have a package of mixed grains I bought back from my trip in Korea.

Now this recipe is a little tedious, so there, I warned you!

Equipment You'll Need:
- Large Pot
- Chef's Knife
- Chopping Board
- Melon Baller or Small Knife + Teaspoon

Ingredients:
- Eggplants - 6 nos ( Choose large ones with fat bottoms!)
- Rice - 1/2 cup ( I used mixed grains, but you can use any other rice)
- Olive oil - 3~4 tablespoons
- Pine nuts - 3 tablespoons (I just happened to have these at home, my family is big on nuts)
- Onion - 1 large
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Chicken Stock - 2 cups
- Tomato Puree - 500g
- Portobello Mushrooms - 4 - 5 large ones
- Dried Mushrooms - 4 - 5 nos
- Romaine Lettuce - 1/4 of a head
- Ground Allspice - 1 teaspoon
- Lemon - 1/2 nos
- Mint Leaves - 2 sprigs
- Salt and Pepper - to taste

Mise-En-Place:- Wash rice
- Soaked dried mushrooms in warm water to rehydrate
- Chop onion
- Mince garlic
- Slice portobellos and dried mushrooms into medium dice sices
- Slicelettuce into fine strips
- Hollow out each eggplant with a melon-ball cutter
*work from bottom end and leave about 1/3 inch eggplant flesh along interior walls.
- Toast pine nuts until aromatice and golden, set aside
- Finely slice mint leaves (Chiffonade)

- Sauté onion and garlic in pot, stirring occasionally, until aromatic and onion is translucent
- Transfer 1/2 cup onion mixture to bowl with pine nuts.
- Add stock, tomatoes, salt and pepper to pot and simmer uncovered

- Proceed to stuff eggplant
- Add rice, mushrooms, lettuce, allspice, salt and pepper to bowl with onion mixture and mix well
- Stuff eggplant with stuffing
*Be careful not to pack tightly (rice will expand during cooking).

Cooking:
- Transfer stuffed eggplants to skillet with tomato sauce and simmer covered
- Turn the eggplants over after half an hour (be careful not to break them apart or spill the stuffing!)
- Cook for about 50 mins to a hour, or until the rice is cooked, Scoop out a little rice to try, or to be safe open up an entire eggplant
- Squeeze lemon over dish and garnish with mint to serve!

[Post] Word of the Week: Mother Sauce

2013-03-08T10:30:00.000+08:00

A classification of sauces in French cuisine.

All french sauces start of from one of the 5 mother sauces.

Béchamel

Espagnole

Hollandaise

Tomato

Velouté

Where each mother sauce is the starting point for numerous other sauces, which are known as small sauces.

[Post] Ocean By Cat Cora

2013-03-05T10:30:00.000+08:00

http://www.cooksnapeatlove.com/2013/03/post-ocean-by-cat-cora.html

When the news of Iron Chef Cat Cora's first restaurant in Asia was spread, everyone was excited. It was all the more sensational when I found out that it was to be right here in Singapore, beside the S.E.A Aquarium in Resorts World Sentosa. Both of these places I've been dying to visit. I was also reading about it on Camemberu, the amazing pictures of Manta rays and schools of fishes set my mind to going.

I got there at an awkward time, not really dinner and not really lunch, and hence both menu's was available. To be honest, it was pretty confusing, and somethings were not available, I really wanted to try out the set lunch, but was past the time for that.

I had rather high hopes for this place, seeing that they had an Iron Chef on the reigns. But it seems haphazardly put together. The interiors were stellar, it was amazingly beautiful and you'd get lost staring at the fish. Which was a good thing too, because the service was terribly slow and inattentive, despite being at less than 30% occupied. The dreamy conversations and comfortable silences watching the fish swim by made the waiting time seem insignificant.

The food was decent, but not befitting of an Iron Chef, even if she was there, making her rounds on the floor. Well thought out, but poorly executed, I say this gingerly, I am hardly capable enough to critique her (or at least her team's) food.

So would I come back here again? Most probably yes, but no not for the food. But for an unobstructed view of the aquarium, the other side is packed full of tourists and their wailing toddlers. You would notice that I didn't put up the prices, I apologise for that, I tossed the receipt, and for some strange reason there isn't an menu online (maybe I haven't searched hard enough), but the starters are about 20-ish and the mains 30-ish. Pretty decent prices for the location I would say, although the parking for 2-3 hours is enough to buy you another starter.

Managed to get a picture with the Iron Chef herself, I really do adore her, pity I didn't have to heart to tell her how I felt about the food.

OCEAN RESTAURANT BY CAT CORA

22 Sentosa Gateway, Marine Life Park
S.E.A. Aquarium
Tel: +65 6577-8888 for reservations (It goes to the hotel first)
Open daily 11am to 10.30pm (last order 10pm)
Minimum spending of S$25++ per person between 11.30am to 2.30pm; 5.30pm to 10.30pm

[Recipe] Pâo de Queijo - Brazilian Cheese Bread

2013-02-26T10:30:00.000+08:00

There's this thing I do, whenever I come across something new and particularly tasty, I'd set out to make it myself. That's the reason why this blog came to existence in the first place, to eat and to recreate. Maybe one day I would be able to easily create something of my own.

Pâo de Quejio(s) are my latest obsession, they are little balls of sin and addiction, aromatic cheesy clouds of steam wafting through the air as they come out of the oven fresh and toasty. I can barely wait to sink my teeth into them. Dull and plain as they look (I blame my inferior bread making skills), they really are a taste of heaven for me.

Equipment you'll need:

- Saucepan
- Spatula
- Standing mixer with paddle attachment
- Oven trays
- Baking parchment
- Oven
- Ice cream scoop (The correct name is portioning scoop though) - optional*

Ingredients: Makes approximately 20-ish buns

- Full Cream Milk - 250ml
- Vegetable Oil - 125ml
- Salt - 1/2 Teaspoon
- Tapioca flour - 250g
- Eggs - 2 nos
- Parmesan cheese - 50 ~ 60g (grated)

Mise-en-place:

- Preheat the oven to 230°C.
- Line trays with parchment and set aside
- Grate parmesan
- Measure out ingredients

Preparation:

- Combine the milk, oil, and salt in the saucepan
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally
- Remove from heat as soon as you see big bubbles coming through the milk.
- Add Tapioca Flour
- Mix well until there is no more dry flour and the entire mixture is a liquid paste, grainy and gelatinous.
- Transfer the dough to the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed
- Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl.
- When the dough is cool enough to touch for a few seconds (count to 5), pour in the eggs little by little with the mixer at medium speed still.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
- Pour in grated parmesan
- Beat until well incorporated.

* The dough will be very sticky, stretchy, and soft.

- Use a portioning scoop* to portion out the dough onto your baking trays. dipping it into water before and after each ball you make. It's going to be messy, but keep to it, the end result will be well worth it.

* A tablespoon (measuring spoon) would suffice if you don't have one of those.

- Put the trays of buns into the oven
- Immediately dial down the heat to 180°C.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes

When the buns have puffed, the outside starts to brown a little and dry up, they are done!

They absorb moisture quite well, so if you are keeping them, a dry, airtight container would be good. Toast them in a toaster for a bit to get back the crispy outsides!

People might confuse this for Korean Mochi Bread, and while I think they are similar, I like these better. These are softer while being chewy, while mochi bread if down poorly, tend to be a little tough. Besides! These are made of tapioca and mochi bread out of glutinous rice flour.

Note: An authentic Pâo de Queijo uses sour cassava flour, something I have great difficulty finding, so I make do with the closest alternative, tapioca flour.

[Post] Word Of the Week: Hollandaise

2013-02-22T10:30:00.000+08:00

A hot emulsified sauce. Made from egg yolks and clarified butter.

Usually served with steamed vegetables, fish or the ever popular eggs benedict.

Should be made in a copper or stainless steel pan, as an aluminium one will turn it greenish.

Hollandaise must be kept warm, not allowed to overheat, and should be discarded after 4 hours for food safety reasons.

[Post] Standing Sushi Bar

2013-02-19T10:30:00.000+08:00

I've wanted to come here for sometime already, but wasn't really impressed with it. The menu was haphazardly constructed, it took me some time to figure out what to order. Food was nothing much to speak about and the wait staff needed more training.

The sashimi is fresh, no doubt about that, but the rice was over-seasoned with vinegar and busted the dish. Too pricy for the entire experience really, I guess this place was over hyped?

As I mentioned, I'm changing (slowly!) the way this blog is, this post may seem a bit rushed out, but I'm not gonna spend too much time on a less than satisfactory place, but then again, I'm not gonna not tell you guys about a place that you might want to re-consider.

Standing Sushi Bar

http://standingsushibar.com/

8 Queen Street
Unit 01-03 Singapore Art Museum
Singapore 188535

Tel: +65 6333 1335

Operating Hours Open Daily
Lunch: 12 PM - 2:30 PM, last order 2:15 PM
Dinner: 6 PM - 11 PM, last order 10:30 PM

[Post] Word of the Week: Vichyssoise

2013-02-15T10:30:00.000+08:00

Pronunciation here.

A cold leek and potato soup, thickened with cream and garnished with chopped chives.

Named after a town in France, Vichy.

Also the name for any cold soup based on vegetable and potatoes.

[Post] Bo.lan; The Balance Menu

2013-02-12T10:30:00.000+08:00

Thai Rice Spirit with Pandanus Water; served with sour fruits

This is the second time I've dined at Bo.lan, and it is probably one of my favorite restaurants I've been too. Not only are they really good with their food, they are also consistent. Going back there was a charm and the meal was absolutely stunning, the kind that gives you that warm, content feeling.

Amuse Bouche

Chilli relish of steamed herbal fed chicken served with fried market fish & local vegetables

This time round I got the whole table of four to join me in the Balance Menu, which needed to be a shared thing amongst all the diners at the table. The whole concept of it is not like a set meal, but the chefs' representation of a complete and well rounded Thai meal. It contains items that represent certain aspects of Thai cuisine, like curries, chilli relishes, salads, stir-fry, soups. On top of that, the chefs would also throw in an item or two, if they see fit, that it would accompany the balance menu perfectly. This I believe, usually comes in the form of amuse bouche or maybe an extra dish?

Salad of Ayuthaya river prawns and grilled long aubergine served with soft duck egg

Though the Balance menu is meant for the whole table, they do not overlook that different diners have different dietary restrictions or preferences, as some of us preferred their food less fiery, the kitchen provided alternate versions of certain dishes that were considered too spicy. This is certainly a plus point for me, as I am very inclined to always try out the Balance menu(changes with the season), and the rest of the table will not be left-out should they have any special requests.

Cassioa leave & flower curry with slow cooked "KU" beef in Mon style

Stir-fried pork tenders with chili relish of dried prawn

One of the things I love about Bo.lan is their consistency, I had a relatively good experience there the first time, and on the second, I wasn't disappointed. Some restaurants do that, and it's sad because you would recommend people to go to places, when they don't deliver; it's on you. But with this second trip, another great dinner, possibly out-doing the previous one, I have really high hopes for the third.

The food is outstanding, everything is just right, not over seasoned or over spiced. The best dish of the night for me was the beef curry, it was rich and luxurious; creamy with nutty, almost chocolate like hints. It packed a light spiciness that was just enough to keep you tastebuds tingling.

Five spiced braised sweet pork belly salad with star fruit and orange dressing

Just look at that spread!

I failed to mention the last time, about the rice served at Bo.lan. It is cooked to absolute perfection. Every grain has a nice firm bite, but it's not hard. Even on it's own it's really really good. And if I could I would ask for a serving of rice, a bowl of the beef curry, and be a happy happy man.

Do you see the spread we have there!? It's a feast fit for a king, it took a bit of effort to finish up that sea of plates we had there.

Desserts!

Dessert was like a meal on it's own, by the time we got through the meal, we were ready to call it a day, but there was still pre-dessert, dessert and petit fours to go. Pre-dessert was chilled slices of jackfruit, served on top of black glutinous rice and jasmine syrup. Coconut milk and rice crispies where then poured over it. Dessert was mung beans served two ways, in a fritter and a dish similar to the Chinese "Tao Suan". Then came a whole party plate of petit fours, which by that time my brain was in heaven and I had shut down all systems to go into a food coma. But still petit fours were delicious.

Bo.lan
42 Soi Pichai Ronnarong
Songkram Sukhumvit 26
Klongteoy Bangkok 10110
Tel. +66 (2) 260-2962

[Post] Word of the Week: Medallion

2013-02-08T10:30:00.000+08:00

An item of food cut into a round/oval shape.

A filet mignon is essentially a medallion of the tenderloin, so are the tournedos and châteaubriand. In the nutshell they are the same cut of a beef tenderloin, just from different parts of the tenderloin with has a larger end and a smaller end.

Any item can be prepared as a medallion, poultry, pork, fish, foie gras, even shellfish.

[Post] Afterthoughts on the wedding: The Menu and Dinner Venue

2013-02-05T10:30:00.000+08:00

This post will just be a small highlight on the wedding dinner, and what I thought about it. These weren't the actual day shots, but the tasting meal that I had prior to the wedding.

I honestly didn't fuss over the menu given to us, because the wedding banquet menus are all pretty similar and sometimes uncreative. But I did have some hiccups with the quality of food, one problem I had was that this team of chefs overly salted, which I am happy to say that they took my feedback and reduced it across the board.

The biggest peeve I had was the "Wasabi" Mayonaise Cocktail Prawns, which was actually more like, green coloring plus mayonaise with no hint of wasabi at all. When I questioned the manager about the wasabi mayo, he told me that they used powdered wasabi and hence. Who is he trying to kid? The coloration is unnatural and without any hint of taste, there's no way you could say there was wasabi in there. In the end I told him to scrap the pseudo wasabi and just drizzle regular mayonaise over the dish.

And I took of Shark's fin off the menu, my stand with this is to eat what is served to me, but I will not voluntarily order it. I don't particularly enjoy the ingredient, but if it's served to me, the animal has died for that purpose and I will eat it out of respect to the host and the animal. That said, if somehow in the future, someone comes out with a sustainable and responsible manner of using shark as an ingredient, why not ?

So to the guests that night, I'm sorry to have failed in letting you know this little detail, it slipped my mind throughout the insane chaos.

Would I recommend this place to anyone as a banquet venue ? No. The food is passable, but there were many underlying issues with the preparation that made it an overall poor experience, better luck elsewhere!

Laguna National Golf and Country Club

11 Laguna Golf Green Singapore 488047
Tel: 6542 6888

[Post] Word of the Week: Peacock

2013-02-01T10:30:00.000+08:00

That pretty bird with an annoying call

What has this got to do with food? Because this pretty birdie was once found on the banquet tables of the rich and famous in the Middle Ages.

It was an ingredient of great prestige, but valued more for it's beauty than it's "succulent" (sarcasm) flesh.

The peacock was served with great ceremony, fabricated, cooked and put together with care. It was skinned, the head covered with a wet cloth to preserve it's crest, then roasted. And after all of that the skin with all it's plumage still on, is put over the roasted bird.

Carving is reserved for the VVIP, who was then supposed to vow to perform a great deed; like winning a war, or becoming king or something like that.

If only they had Instagram in the Middle Ages.

I swear I'm not bull-shitting.

[Post] Bangkok Random Eats

2013-01-29T10:30:00.001+08:00

Pomelo Salad

I've just got back from another whirlwind trip from Bangkok, this time there's more food, trying random things on the streets and frankly it's still not enough! I wish I had more time to explore and try out the different things there!

Fried Carrot Cake
30 Baht

I found this stall while exploring chinatown, pretty similar to what we have in Singapore, but the major difference is the addition of fish sauce. There is a resemblance to the fried oyster omelette we have back home as well, probably the fish sauce working it's wonders. Unlike many of the stalls we have at home, the vendor managed to give the radish cake (it's called carrot cake but it's radish, that always baffles me) a slightly crisp exterior even though it is fried in black sauce. Absolutely brilliant.

Pandan Cake

I gotta apologise, I've no idea how much this costs, but my guess is about 30 - 50 Baht? But if you do see this along the streets, order it! It's like mochi and cake had a half and half baby together, pleasantly sweet and chewy and a little cake like, I can't even describe it properly but it is that good.

Fish Cake
20 Baht for one

In all honesty, there's nothing different with what we have, but it's still worth a go if you are craving fishcake. Otherwise save so stomach space for the other stuff.

Deep Fried Chive Dumpling
20 Baht

I really fell in love with this little snack right here, it's sort of a dough made of rice flour, with chives then deep fried. Something like the Chinese "Ku Chai Kuey" but deep fried without mercy and drizzled with a sweet sauce.

Deep Fried Spring Rolls
Price varies

These deep fried vendors are another bunch of evil folk, tempting you every 500 metres or so along the food streets. You pick from their selection of spring rolls, shredded yams, tofu and more. They chop it up to smaller pieces, stuff it into a plastic bag and pour in some Thai sweet chilli. Then you get fat, but really happy.

Fish Maw Soup
50 Baht

Thick soup, with generous portions of fish maw, this stall along chinatown added a quail egg and some crabmeat. Bloody decadent. If you walk by one of these stalls and give it a miss, you are crazy. There's no way in Singapore you are going to get that at $2. No way.

20 Baht

I have no idea what this is called, but it's some sort of rice dumpling dessert, at first I thought it was sea coconut, but it turned out to be a rice dumpling. The vendor felt so mysterious with his large hat and we never really saw his face. He scooped a ladle from the brown side and topped it with another ladle from the white coconut side. The result is a harmonious blend of sweet and salty, coconut rich aromas and a soft but chewy texture, marvellous.

Quail Eggs in Wanton Wrappers
20 Baht a skewer

It's a surprising item I came across in Chatuchak market, not a culinary breakthrough, but still a tasty snack

Wanton Noodles
50 Baht

A little different from what we have, virtually no sauce to go with, but condiments are left on the table for you to add on. A quick meal when you are on the go.

Bird's Nest Soup
Price Varies but inexpensive

Again only in Thailand do you get these things at such low prices, Chinese shops dealing in Bird's nest usually would sell cooked soups as well, drop in and order a bowl, enjoy the luxury at low prices!

Pork Intestines and Braised Pork Trotters
200 Baht, 4 person portion

I've seen a number of these stalls all over the place in Bangkok, especially if you are living in the Platinum Mall area, explore out a little further along the streets, and look out for these, apparently it is quite popular with the locals to have a plate of pork with rice. If you are a fan of intestines, don't miss this, but don't skip the braised pork either, they are melt in your mouth good.

Pork Sausages
20 Baht

This particular one, was non spicy, filled with glutinous rice and lemongrass, it wasn't overly salted as you would expect a sausage to be.

Pomegranate juice
40 Baht

Pomemgranate juice is good, high in antioxidants and other nutritional gems. These bottles are freshly made with no preservatives so drink them quick and try not to leave it out too long. Watch out for light pink bottles as these may be watered down or of poor quality.

As with all street food in Thailand, eat at your own risk. Have some meds in your luggage, make sure what you eat is hot and cooked through, when in doubt, best chuck it in the bin. But that aside, don't be overly paranoid and have an open mind, you will be surprised with the crazy amount of good food you can find there!

[Post] Word of the Week: Navarin

2013-01-25T10:30:00.000+08:00

Pronounciation here.

A French dish, a ragoût of lamb with potatoes and other vegetables.

The dish is believed to be named after the turnip, which is called navet in French, it is the main accompanying vegetable in the dish.

Hence some chefs would name other ragôuts (like poultry and seafood) that are with turnips a navarin.

[Post] Updates on the New Year

2013-01-22T10:30:00.000+08:00

So it's a new year, and with all new years, there's gonna be new stuff up in the works.

This little blog has gone a long way, starting from a little thing with crappy photographs and no definite structure, to where it is now. A small improvement. But the road is long and hard, and I've seen enough of what's going on our there to have a clearer picture of what this space should be. And hence comes this announcement. What's coming in the Year of 2013:

No more tastings. Effective February, I will no longer attending anymore of this sort of media events promoting one particular restaurant or establishment. Other sort of activities may be considered, but if it's this restaurant with a new menu, or this a seasonal promotion, count me out. If you need that sort of information, it can be easily found on the gazillion other food blogs out there.

Why? Simple, most tastings are group events, that means that in one period of time at least 5 bloggers are going to post about that particular establishment. On top of that these events are possibly false representations of how the restaurants should be. Truth be told, we are treated like VIPs. Can you, the paying customer expect the same level of food and service? Maybe, Maybe not.

Review breakdowns and comparisons. My aim is to make this space a very cohesive and comprehensive source of information. So when I write about a place, I will do your research for you, and put and links and possibly quotes of what other food bloggers had to say about that place. So you can make your own decisions about spending your hard-earn money on a restaurant instead on relying on someone who calls every restaurant the best.

More focus on cooking and food education. This is still what I love to do, and I love to share more information about the world of food with you, starting with the ingredients. An apple is more than just an apple sometimes.

Less posts. Probably the only bad news I have lined up, I've started my own business, and that means more effort and time will be put there, and while I am not giving up on this thing here, I do not want to be over stressed and fussing over the blog. And hopefully, less posts will allow me to deliver better quality posts to you instead of rushing out stuff just to fit the time slots.

Expect changes to happen along the way, and if you haven't noticed, there's a Facebook commenting system to encourage open forum and exchange of ideas, feel free to use it.

[Recipe] Quick Appetizer Idea: Caprese Pops

2013-01-19T10:30:00.000+08:00

Need a quick appetiser for a last minute dinner party? How about a simple Caprese, not a regular boring old Caprese, but one that would get your guests interested and talking. These Caprese pops are easy peasy.

Ingredients:

- Cherry tomatoes

- Mini mozzarella balls

- Basil leaves

- Extra virgin olive oil

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Styrofoam board/

Mise-en-place:

- Give the cherry tomatoes a quick rinse

- Cut of the tops (where they join to the vine)

- Hollow out the insides with a melon baller, or the back of a teaspoon

- Finely chop up basil leaves

Assembly:

- Stuff mini mozzarella balls into hollowed out tomatoes

- Skewer stuffed tomatoes and place it into the styrofoam board to keep it upright

- Season with salt and pepper

- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil

- Add a little chopped basil on top

- Serve!

Notes:

Styrofoam is just on option, to be honest its not very presentable, so you might wanna do a little something to jazz it up a little, or you could use a really nice tall glass; fill it up with rice and stick it into the glass to keep them standing.