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Dilmah Tea: School of Tea, Part II: Very Special Rare Tea

2012-01-30T10:00:00.002+08:00

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Very Special Rare Tea: Seasonal Flush UVA Estate August 9th 2011

Rockett Girl and I have been having a sort of Tea Renaissance ever since we came back from the Dilmah tea gardens in Sri Lanka. During our trip, we tasted a wide variety of black teas but there was one that really stood out as the ultimate black tea for us. It is the "show off" tea that I always bring out when friends come over because it is the always a joy to see my friends experience the "Wow!".

So what makes the Seasonal Flush UVA estate a "Very Special Rare Tea"?

Just like wine, the taste, flavour and character of Tea is affected by climate and terrain. That is why there can be so many different types of Tea but they are all from the same plant, camilia sinensis. The familiar black tea that we order at the coffeeshop is like brandy, where teas from different regions are blended together to give a consistent character. The Seasonal Flush is more akin to vintage wine, where the tea comes from a particular region and its character varies from season to season depending on climatic conditions.

The four most famous black teas of the world are Darjeeling and Assam from India, Keemun from China and Uva from Ceylon. Teas grown in the UVA region of Ceylon are mid to high grown teas characterized by its intensity of aroma and flavour. The best UVA teas are plucked between June and September each year but every year, the tea grower waits in anticipation for a confluence of climatic conditions that produces teas of exceptional quality. They call this event the Seasonal Flush.

The tea plucking season at the UVA highlands starts when the South West Monsoon rains give way to the Eastern coastal winds in July. What the tea growers look for is three continuous weeks of hot, dry days accompanied by cold windy nights. There cannot be any rain during this time or the seasonal flush phenomenon will be disrupted.

Physiologically, what happens is that the tea bushes are stressed during this period and as a result, the chemical processes in the leaves (photosynthesis) undergo a fundamental change. It might be a bit complicated to discuss it here in detail, but for those who really want to know, the process of photosynthesis shifts from inside the chloroplasts to outside and this produces flavour compounds that are not found in your normal tea leaves. That is why Seasonal Flush is considered a Very Special Rare Tea!

According to the literature, this tea offers a "complex of citrus, with hints of eucalyptus, mint and an energetic personality." Honestly, for an untrained palate like mine, I can't taste the citrus, eucalyptus and mint. But I can honestly say that every time I drink the tea, the intensity of the tea aroma brings me back to my visit to the Somerset Estate tea processing factory and especially in the room where the teas are being baked.

This tea is not available in Singapore, but you can buy it from the Dilmah online store. They only produced 5000 tins of it and each one is individually numbered and signed. It costs $US35 for 100g and delivery is free. It's excellent value and worth every cent. I just bought another two cans from the online store and they arrived by Fedex within two weeks so I can confidently tell you that the service is very dependable.

Another "Very Special Rare Tea" that I have been enjoying is the Ceylon Silver Tips White Tea which is also in the Dilmah t-Series range.

There has been much talk in recent years about White Teas containing the highest amount of antioxidants which has resulted in White Teas appearing in our supermarket shelves. But if you are about to pick up a pack of White Tea for $4.50, you should stop and ask yourself if you are getting the real deal, because White Tea cannot be so cheap.

It is said that White Tea used to be served to the Emperor of China and the leaves are never touched by hand. Instead, the tea pickers, (who have to be virgins) use gold scissors to carefully cut the buds of the tea plants and place them on a golden platter!

Of course, nowadays, the tea is plucked by hand and there is no requirement for the tea plucker to be a virgin. The reason they are still handplucked is because White Tea is only made from the buds of the tea plant and they have to be carefully picked and placed in a silk bag so that they don't get bruised. (Once bruised they start to oxidize and turn brown) They are then carefully dried in fitlered sunlight and packed.

So, when you open a bag of real White Tea, what you are supposed to see is only pale greyish spears with little downy hairs giving them that whitish appearance, hence White Tea. The brew is very gentle and lightly fruity with floral tones and full of antioxidants!

Again, this is only available at Dilmah's online store.

Get the Dilmah Exceptional sample pack by signing up online

So far I have been telling you about their t-Series which will hopefully be introduced to the Singapore market sometime in the future. What Dilmah has just introduced to the Singapore market is the Dilmah Exceptional range which you can find on the shelves of NTUC Finest and Cold Storage.

The Exceptional Range is made from quality single estate Ceylon tea which have been carefully selected to pair with a range of nature identical flavours. With many of these flavoured teas that you can find in the market, you might find that the tea itself only adds tea colour to the brew as inferior tea leaves are often used. With the Exceptional Range, the tea makers at Dilmah have carefully chosen teas from their various Estates to complement the flavours.

If you enjoy Earl Grey Tea, you should give their Elegant Earl Grey a try. The tea used as the base is a delicate Ceylon Pekoe which is flavoured with Bergamot which results in a tea which is very bright with a nice balance of astringency and citrus flavour. The Rose with French Vanilla is also very good but unlike the delicate Earl Grey, it is medium bodied so you get a bit more mouth feel to complement the wonderfully floral Rose and Vanilla fragrance.

Get Free Samples Online!
No point me trying to describe all the tea flavours here. The best way for you to appreciate the tea is to taste it for yourself! All you got to do is to sign up at their website to receive a free sample of 6 different flavours Dilmah Exceptional tea delivered to your mailbox. Here's the link: http://dilmah.sg/trial-signup/.

Read my previous post on Dilmah's orthodox tea making process here.
Read about the MJF foundation's various social enterprises here.

Yakiniku Ten: Wagyu Beef on Rice, Very Nice!

2012-01-27T09:49:00.000+08:00

Oumi Tokujo (premium) Kalbi $39.80 for 100g

Don't you find it amazing that Japanese Cattle can walk around with so much fat in their muscles and yet the cow doesn't die of a heart attack? That incredible marbling is the result of years of genetic selection and careful choice of feeds.

Up till only a few years ago, Wagyu beef was still very much the stuff of legend. Tales of how the cattle are fed beer and get massages to produce that beautiful marbling were propagated in the West by videos such as the one below, giving Wagyu beef that Eastern mystique. But just how much of it contributes to that intense marbling?

Classic Wagyu Beef Video

Very little.

If you think beer gives the Cattle great marbling, think again. How many guys do you know who have beer bellies? That's the result of an accumulation of visceral fat, ie fat in the abdominal cavity. That is the kind of fat found in-between the intestines, liver, stomach etc, which results in a rounded tummy that rests precariously atop of the belt. But that is not the kind of fat we want in Wagyu. That intense marbling is the result of intramuscular fat which is the fat found in between muscle fibres.

Now, Cardio vascular disease is directly related to visceral fat and not intramuscular fat, so that is why the cow does not die of a heart attack. Actually I only assume they don't (I can't find any stats on it), but the point I am trying to make is that it is not the drinking of beer that creates that Shimofuri (snow flake) marbling in Wagyu. You can feed an Angus steer all the beer you want and it still wouldn't develop the marbling of a Wagyu.

So do they actually feed beer to the cattle? It turns out that it does happen in some Waygu ranches, but only during the summer months as a way of stimulating their appetite. Sake massages are done to keep the animal relaxed as too much stress will result in poor quality meat. Some ranches do play music while others rear their cattle in pairs. All of these are strategies to keep the cattle relaxed to improve the quality of the meat. But that intense marbling... it's all down to the genes.

Australian Kalbi vs Japanese Oumi Kalbi

When you eat at a Yakiniku restaurant or Shabu Shabu restaurant for that matter, most of the work of delivering a great meal experience has already been done by the farmers beforehand. So if the restaurant carries beef from a good source, then most of the battle is won since all you need to do is simply grill the beef and eat it with a bit of salt.

If you are looking for Japanese Wagyu at a good price, Yakiniku Ten is one place which you can consider. As with many restaurants that are located in golf clubs, the main mission of the restaurant is to provide great food for their members at reasonable prices. What a lot of people may not realize is that a lot of these restaurants are also opened to the public and it is often at these places that you can find great value deals.

The selection at Yakiniku Ten is quite wide and you can order both Australian as well as the Japanese Wagyu here. For example, you can get 200g of Australian Premium Wagyu Kalbi for $39.80 or 100g Japanese Premium Wagyu Kalbi for the same price. So the Japanese beef is twice the price, but there is a discernible difference in the quality. Whether that difference is worth twice the price is, of course, subjective. It would have been perfect if they served a good Japanese rice with the beef and used real Japanese charcoal in the grill instead of an electrical BBQ, but all these extras would push up prices. 4/5

Enmaru Roll $21.80

The other item that is well worth ordering is their house specialty, the Enmaru Roll. This is basically a sushi roll that is filled with cucumber and pickles and topped with a variety of ingredients like tuna, salmon, ebi, unagi, tamago etc. For around $22, you get 12 pieces of sushi which is rather good value and everyone on the table can take a pick of what they like. 4/5

Conclusion

Japanese Wagyu is not cheap, so I am always on the lookout for places where you can get it at a good price. The place might not have all the bells and whistles of a fine Japanese restaurant, but it's a great place for family and friends to gather around for Yakiniku.

Special Japanese Wagyu Set for ieatishootipost readers

Oumi Premium Kalbi (60g)
Oumi Kalbi (60g)
Satsuma Sirloin (50g)
Served with Rice, Miso Soup and Pickles
$59.80++
Just ask for the "Ieatishootipost Set" when make your reservations. Offer valid till 29 Feb 2012

Yakiniku Ten
Laguna National Golf and Country Club
(Turn right at the main entrance)
12pm to 2.30pm
6pm to 9.30pm
Closed Mon
62481722

This was an invited review

Featured on Cover of Buzz Magazine

2012-01-25T08:55:00.000+08:00

My food photography feature on BUZZ magazine, Issue 22

Nasi Padang River Valley: Less spicy, more sweet, Yummy all round!

2012-01-20T09:35:00.002+08:00

If you love Nasi Padang, I am sure you would have at least heard of Nasi Padang River Valley. This place is probably one of the most well known places for Nasi Padang in Singapore and it is quite a known fact that one of their regular customers is the Sultan of Brunei who would tarpau food from there whenever he is in Singapore.

The restaurant started off as a little stall in River Valley at the corner of Mohd Sultan Road in 1957 and were infamous for its snaking long queues. That was one of the reasons they moved to their present location in 1998. The 2nd generation owner, Zul, tells me that he still pretty much does most of the cooking which is based on his mother's recipes from the Bukit Tinggi region of West Sumatra.

But do they serve authentic Nasi Padang?

By his own admission, no! Zul tells me that although most of the recipes have their roots in Bukit Tinggi, they have all been modified to suit the local tastebuds and in particular, the local Chinese palate. So that means the food is generally milder and sweeter instead of salty and spicy as it is back home. Bukit Tinggi is one of the cities within the province of West Sumatra which is situated in the highland region. As such, seafood is difficult to obtain, unlike Pariaman which is a coastal city. So although they have a few fish dishes, don't expect to find fantastic Ikan bakar here!

Beef Rendang $5

The one thing dish that is common amongst the Minangkabau people (inhabitants of West Sumatra) is Beef Rendang. Even then, it is said that with 2000 provinces in Indonesia, there is probably 2000 different recipes for Beef Rendang. The Beef Rendang here would probably be version 2001. As I said earlier, the taste has been tweaked to suit the local Chinese palate, which explains why I like it so much. The meat is tender and the aroma of the spices are distinct without too much heat to induce sweat! 4.5/5

Opor Ayam

When I assess Nasi Padang, I usually ask the following questions:

1. Do you grind your own curry powder?
2. Do you squeeze your own coconut milk?
3. Are you still using mortar and pestle?

Most of the good places say yes to No. 1 and I have never come across anyone who are still using mortar and pestle to pound their rempah. So question No. 2 is a very important in separating the good from the great. In the case of Nasi Padang River Valley, I am glad to report that Zul still squeezes coconut milk by hand daily! He proudly walked me into his kitchen to show me the tubs of coconut milk in the fridge which he squeezed in the morning. On top of that, Zul tells me that they only use fresh meats, never frozen which is why he is not apologetic about his prices being a little on the higher side.

Opor Ayam is one of those special dishes which I can distinctly remember my first time eating it. I was pretty young then and didn't eat spicy food. So whenever curries were served at home, mom used to have to wash the curry chicken wing with water before I would eat it. So when Mom brought me to Rendesvous Nasi Padang one day, she ordered Opor Ayam for me and assured me that it wasn't spicy. I tell you, I still remember that taste up till today and so far, I haven't found any place that sells Opor Ayam with that exact same taste!

In case you were expecting me to tell you that I found that taste here, I am afraid you are in for an anticlimax. The gravy is very good here, but still lacked that special something which I remembered from a long time ago! 4.25/5

Egg Omelette

The Egg Omelette is not a Padang dish. It was something Zul's father had come up with a long time ago. Essentially it is a frittata or a thick omelet with onion and parsley. But unlike omelets in the west where they take pains to ensure the omelette doesn't turn brown on the surface, the omelet here is cooked quickly over a hot fire so that the egg turns into that familiar chewy stringy brown texture. If you showed it to a French Chef, he might just go "pppffff!", but hey, I actually enjoy it this way as I do the deep fried egg coating on a bergedil! 4.5/5

Sambal Sotong

I like the Sambal Sotong here as it is more sweet than fiery and the sotong is cooked to perfection with a nice tender bite. Just a little dissappointed that it didn't have that creamy roe inside but otherwise the sambal is sweet complement to the other more savoury curries. 4.25/5

Hjh Nurma Lutan, 84, Matriach at Nasi Padang River Valley

Conclusion

I guess Nasi Padang purists might complain that the food is too sweet and not spicy enough, but I am always very happy whenever I eat there. The quality of the food is very good and the family still prepares so meticulously that they still squeeze their coconut milk! The main complaint I always hear is about the prices being on the high side, but judging from the crowds, I don't think that stopped them from coming back again and again!

Note:
They will be opened on the first two days of Chinese New Year! (23-24 Jan)

Nasi Padang River Valley
54 Zion Road
Singapore 247779
67343383
10am to 8.30pm
Closed Mon and PH

New Lucky Claypot Rice: The thing about Claypots.....

2012-01-18T09:36:00.000+08:00

Claypots. They are just not meant for hawkers to use. Have you ever notice what the hawkers do with their claypots? They always reinforce it with some kind of metal wire. Why? Because most of them are cracked. Most of the hawkers who sell Claypot rice tell me that they usually discard their Claypots after only a few uses. It's almost like a disposable cooking utensil! So here is the conundrum. Why did the Chinese invent such a useless cooking utensil which cracks so easily?

Metal reinforcements for Claypots

In order to increase the useful lifespan of their claypots, most Hawkers devise their own ways to reinforce their claypots. Now here's another thought. Why don't the claypot manufacturer's simply just make claypots with the metal reinforcement already attached? Seems like the logical thing to do right?

Well, the short answer to this long question is that our Hawkers simply don't use the claypots according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Not that there are instructions anyway).

The reason for the existence of the unglazed claypot is that it cooks food differently from a normal steel pot. You are supposed to soak it first so that water is absorbed into the porous clay. Then when you heat it GENTLY, the water in the clay turns to steam and steams the food in the claypot. It is meant to be used with gentle heat and with an adequate soaking in water before the next use!

Here herein lies the problem. Which hawker has the time to soak the claypot and cook the rice under gentle heat? Most people already complain about the minimum 20 minute wait to eat Claypot rice. So the solution is to turn up the heat and reinforce the pots with metal!

In case you don't know it yet, the famous New Lucky Claypot Rice which used to be a Clementi "must eat" has relocated to Holland Drive not long ago. Now they occupy two whole stalls in the food centre. I have wanted to blog New Lucky since they were still at Clementi, but when I eventually got round to it, they have already moved to Holland Drive!

Like most good Claypot Rice places, the rice is cooked in the claypot itself. That, for me, is the minimum criteria for me to even order it. Some places cheat by assembling cooked rice plus ingredients in the claypot and just char the rice slightly inside of the claypot. Forget it. Might as well just order a plate of fried rice.

The other key ingredients are the marinade in the chicken, quality of the lup cheong (Chinese sausages), good salted fish flavour and most importantly, a great dark soy sauce. Of these, I would say that New Lucky scored highest on the quality of the lup cheong which had that wonderful floral fragrance which I thoroughly enjoyed. The chicken was cooked just right such that it was tender and juicy, but the marinade could have been a little more fragrant. I think they cut down on the amount of salted fish because people nowadays don't want to eat too much of it. I would ask for more salted fish next time though. I was told that the dark soy sauce was a special blend from a few selected manufacturers which they have been using for many years. It was good but I can't help but wish I had brought along my own bottle of one and a half year, naturally fermented Dark Soy Sauce from Kwong Woh Hing. 4/5

Conclusion

Good claypot rice with excellent lup cheong but I have this niggling feeling that it must have been better in the past. Any long time fans of this place who can attest to this?

New Lucky Claypot Rice
Blk 44 Holland Drive
#02-19, S270044
11am to 1.30pm, 5pm to 10.30pm
Closed Wed
67787808, 93697922

The Cliff Restaurant: Anniversary Dinner

2012-01-16T10:47:00.003+08:00

Amuse Bouche: Truffle Goat Cheese Creme with Cassis Mustard Keropok

I have never heard anyone who is reminiscing about the past complain that it took so long to get to the present. Everyone will remark about how time flies. I guess that when you get older, time seems to fly faster since every event in your life really feels as if it happened only yesterday. Of course, memories fade, but the thing is that your brain doesn't seem to be able to perceive the passage of time for each memory. We can only perceive the present, so an event that happened a year ago and twenty years ago are both perceived in the "present tense" and you only place the events on a timeline at your conscious level. I guess that is why older folks perceive time flying faster then when they were younger.

It seemed like only yesterday when we were dating. Suddenly, NS, uni, work and kids went by like a bullet train. Before I knew it, my son is taller than my wife and we have been married for so many years! What is more scary is that 10 or 20 years from now, I would probably look back and say that the 2nd half went by even faster than the first!

Every January I get stressed out looking for a place to bring my wife for our Anniversary Dinner. It has become some sort of tradition that I keep the destination secret up until we actually reached the doorstep of the restaurant. This year, the plan was to bring her "overseas" to The Cliff restaurant at The Sentosa. I had heard much about the place being one of the very few places in Singapore where you can really feel that you don't have people above, below and all around you. Apart from that, Chef Yew Eng Tong is one of those local chefs who represents Singapore in International Culinary competitions, so the food must be at the forefront of culinary evolution.

Pink Shrimp: Tartare, shrimp cracker, jelly, salsa verde, shrimp roe

For dinner, we ordered the 6 course degustation menu which is actually 7 courses when you add in the Amuse Bouche. In case you haven't come across an Amuse Bouche before, it's sort of like an opening dish in which the chef gives you a peep into what the rest of the courses are going to be like. You don't get to choose, so it's always a bit of a surprise which is great because otherwise, I would end up ordering the same familiar stuff. So nowadays, I prefer to let the chef take me on a culinary voyage or as the French like to call it, voyage culinaire.

Judging from the Amuse Bouche, the kind of expedition that we were going to embark on was going to be about ingredients altered beyond recognition, artfully plated with scatterings of food items which require an internet search to identify. Of the three items on the slate, the one that hit all the right buttons for me was the Tuna espuma. This is a creamy mayonnaise that has been infused with an intense umami made from, surprise, surprise, canned Tuna! Yep, what I was eating was none other than a liquefied Tuna and mayo sandwich in a small jar with a crispy tomato crusted foccacia on top. Amused, very amused! 4.5/5

Actually, before I go on to comment about the rest of the courses, I would just like to say that the Cliff is an excellent place for a date. We were sitting in a balcony amongst tree tops overlooking an otherwise magnificent sunset if had been a clear day. So even before we started dinner, I was already ahead on points in Rockett Girl's books. We were especially blessed that it rained that afternoon, so there was a cool breeze caressing the trees making a soothing melody with the crickets during the course of our dinner. The cushioned benches that we sat on were extremely comfy and I had a whole bench to stretch out, relax and get ready for an evening of gastronomic surprises!

Chef had recently just came back from a stint at the three Michelin Star Victor's Gourmet restaurant in Germany which uses a lot of Japanese ingredients in their cuisine. So it was no surprise that our first dish was amaebi (spot shrimps), served with a finely diced avocado salad and sprinkled with tiny cubes of jelly made from the prawn shells. It was served with Shrimp roe and crackers to add texture. The taste was good overall but I felt that I would have liked the dish to be served colder so that the avacado was a little lighter on the palate. 4/5

Tasmanian Salmon: Slow cooked, tartare, collagen jelly, Nutty leek, Pernod foam

There was a time when I wouldn't even touch Sashimi, but once I got over the mental hurdle, there was no turning back. There are some fish which I don't mind taking either raw or cooked but when it comes to Salmon, I really don't like it fishy and flaky. A slice of cold salmon belly sashimi is textural heaven for me. So what can I say about Salmon cooked at 42 degrees?

First of all, I am not a big fan of Sou Vide cooking. Some things like beef steaks should never be cooked Sous Vide in my opinion. But Salmon at 42 degrees? You can't really call it cooked because the proteins haven't really denatured such that they become opaque. On the other hand, it it doesn't have the fresh, springy texture of raw salmon either. Instead, it has a texture more akin to cold smoked salmon. Chef explains that he cooks it at 42 degrees in order to be able to make the flesh moldable and hold its unique shape. This is one dish that I personally feel has sacrificed taste for style. It was rather heavy as a whole and it would have been nice to have more leafy greens to balance the heavy texture of the salmon. 3.5/5

Oyster Emulsion: Fresh Oyster, sago, dukkah spice

Some people swear by raw oysters and would never eat a cooked one. I can understand why. When eaten raw, oysters have a wonderful, creamy mouth feel and intense savoriness because of the amount of amino acids contained in the mollusk. When it is cooked, the flesh becomes rather dry and pastey and you don't get the intense umami as the amino acids get trapped in the coagulated protein. But what you do get in cooked oysters is an intense aroma. Think of the difference in the smell of oyster omelet and a fresh oyster and you will know what I mean.

The Oyster soup manages to combine the best of both worlds by heightening the aroma of the oyster whiles still maximizing umami. Chef does this by first making a stock out of mirepoix and oyster shells and then blending fresh oyster into the heated stock. The heat of the soup stock releases the aroma of the oyster while the blending of the oyster releases the amino acids. The other component of the dish is the lightly sauteed oyster and chopped beansprouts which give the dish its texture and sweetness. Another layer of texture was added with sago that was cooked in the oyster stock. I would very much like to have 2nds please. 4.5/5

Iberico Pork: Strip Loin, rib roll, apple-sauerkraut puree, Potato Dumpling, cabbage roll

I am so glad that the AVA has allowed Iberico pork to be imported. These acorn eating Spanish pigs are just about what you would imagine an ideal pig should taste like. The striploin was perfectly cooked with a very thin, salty crust enveloping the meat which is tender, juicy and amazingly tasty. It is a piece of pork heaven which I would recommend to any pork lovers. The pork comes in slabs with the bone in, so after carving out the loin, the meat that that is still attached to the bones is slow cooked and then rolled in beancurd skin and fried. A sort of French Ngor Hiang of sorts. By itself it is very good but I personally felt that the Asian flavours did not quite pair with the Pork Loin itself. Chef likes to serve pork with a more acidic and tart sauce, but being Teochew, my palate is more skewed towards the sweet, so the sauce did not quite work for me. But the Iberico Pork itself was something really look forward to eating again soon! 4/5

Scallop: Apple, textures of pumpkin, burned butter

Rockett girl loves scallops and so she was very happy with her Scallop dish which consisted of Hokkaido Scallops served with pumpkin that has been morphed into different textural forms. She gave it a 4.5/5. I would have liked my Scallops a little undercooked in the middle so that there is a contrast of textures between the crust on the outside and the sweetness of the raw in the middle.

The Cliff Lemon Tart: Textures of lemon, gin & tonic jelly, Tonka bean ice cream, yuzu sorbet

Now, if you take a lemon tart, put a small bomb inside it and blow it up, you would get the Cliff Lemon Tart (after tidying it up a little of course). This kind of modern plating style is called "landscaping" where all the components of the lemon tart are separated and artistically arranged on a platter. I like to think of it as "A walk through the Forest" because basically you don't know where to start, so you forage across the plate picking up small items here and there and put it in your mouth. You try combining a bit of lemon custard with ice cream, then pick up a tiny bit of meringue. Oh what's this tiny leaf doing here? In a plate of carrot cake they would have been left behind as a casualty of war, but here you jolly well eat it cos there is only four pieces on the plate so they must be significant. Then I come to the final piece, a cylindrical piece of transparent gin and tonic jelly the size of an eraser on the back of a pencil. I pop it into my mouth. Yep, gin flavored jelly. Interesting, but when I look at abstract art, I also go away wondering "Why ah?". I am not trying to be disparaging. The dish was very beautiful, very well constructed and you get to taste the lemon flavour in various forms and experiment with different combinations by mixing and matching flavours for yourself. Just like abstract art, I think I just haven't learnt to fully appreciate it yet. 4/5

Textures of Peach: Crisp, soft, light, frozen, liquid

If you go into a Japanese restaurant, you might get served with a slice of melon which costs as much as the Textures of Peach. Damn smart people, the Japanese. It takes an inordinate amount of work to render a peach into the myriad colours and textures in our second dessert. Like the Lemon Tart before, desserts like these are a game of hide and seek where the chef carefully disguises the peach in different forms and you work your way through the plate to find them. Again, very imaginative, very creative and fun to eat, but tastewise, I find myself asking if it is really tastier than eating a sweet and juicy freshly plucked peach from the tree? 4/5

Conclusion

The Cliff is a great place to get away to with your significant other for a romantic evening. They have positioned it as a casual dining place which serves fine dining food and I was told by the manager that the average cost per head is around $110. Service is friendly but isn't quite as polished as the food. Our bread was cold, the olive oil was not topped up automatically and the staff's knowledge of the menu was lacking. However, I was told that they have all just recently come on board, so it should improve with time. I do have a lot of confidence in Chef Yew's skills. Although some of the dishes did not quite suit my tastebuds, I will not hesitate to dine there again to try some of his other dishes.

Postscript

The Sentosa also operates Spa Botanica, a beautiful outdoor spa set within the rainforest of Sentosa. We both had the couples spa treatment package before heading over to The Cliff for dinner. We have been to the Spa Botanica before and really love the place. It has got individual outdoor "Huts" set in lush greenery and it's a great getaway if you have only a few hours to spare. If you are planning for something this Valentine's day, do check out their Spa and dinner packages here. (Please note that their dinner packages are at the Garden Restaurant, not The Cliff. You can contact them directly if you wish to arrange dinner at the The Cliff after your spa treatment)

The Cliff
2 Bukit Manis Road,
Sentosa, 099891
6371 1425
www.thecliff.sg

This post was sponsored by The Sentosa

Rumah Makan Minang: Of Padang and Minangkabau Cuisine

2012-01-13T10:16:00.002+08:00

We all enjoy Nasi Padang, but how much do we actually know about it? I would be the first to admit that I am guilty of calling any stall that sells rice with Malay style curry dishes Nasi Padang without much thought. But that is not entirely inaccurate as many of the dishes that are characteristic of Padang cuisine has become very much a part of Singapore food culture.

The other problem I have with Nasi Padang is that out of the 50 or so dishes that are served, I always end up trying the same handful of dishes. I guess I am the type that prefers to play safe and order something I know I like rather than taking the risk with something new. That's exactly what I did on my first visit to Rumah Makan Minang.

Read more »

Hougang 6 mile Famous Muah Chee: Black Muah Chee to usher in Chinese New Year!

2012-01-11T09:44:00.003+08:00

Black Muah Chee

Ever seen black Muah Chee before? Well, I don't blame you if you haven't cos this is one of the fast disappearing foods in Singapore made by the last artisanal Muah Chee man in town!

The Muah Chee man told me that the Black Muah Chee is only served during the Chinese New Year period because it is used as a dish to entice the god of fortune ( 财神) to come to your house.

"Why black?" I asked the Muah Chee man.

"No idea!" says he.

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Dilmah Tea: Ever Wondered what's inside that Teabag?

2012-01-09T09:56:00.004+08:00

Advertorial

When I was a kid, Chinese Tea at the Dim Sum was simply Chinese Tea. Nobody talks about Oolong, Pu Erh or Xiang Pian (Jasmine). Nowadays, people are getting more knowledgeable about Chinese Tea and more and more restaurants are stocking boutique Chinese Teas to pair with different Dim Sum.

Now, Oolong and Pu Erh may be different types of tea but they all come from the same plant viz, camillia sinensis. However, the same plant growing in different regions and processed differently produces teas of different character. In this blog post, I will be talking about the type of tea that we all know as "Ang Moh Teh" or English Tea. Technically, this is a known as Black Tea in the West while in China it is known as "Red Tea".

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Nasi Lemak Kukus: Traditional Steamed Rice and Homemade Burgers!

2012-01-06T09:35:00.001+08:00

If you are wondering what the future of Nasi Lemak looks like, then head towards Upper Thomson and you might just catch a glimpse of its evolutionary path in Singapore. I don't know why it has taken so long for someone to do this, but eating Nasi Lemak in a laid back place with customer's scribblings on the wall and listening to hard rock seems to be quite logical. Nasi Lemak is, after all, one of the favourite supper foods of Singaporeans, but so far, Malay style Nasi Lemak hasn't quite developed beyond the hawker stall concept... that is, until now.

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Mr and Mrs Mohgan's Super Crispy Roti Prata: Excellent Mom n Pop Shop Prata!

2012-01-04T10:52:00.001+08:00

It has been a while since I wrote about Roti Prata. It's not because I have started making my own Roti Prata at home, but just that I haven't come across any prata shop that excited me enough to write about. Sure, I have noticed a lot of Prata Cafes opening up in shopping centres and other places but every time I check out these joints, they invariably use commercial dough and the prata man is often a hired hand rather than an artisan. Good, artisanal prata is getting hard to come by these days which is why I got excited when my friend Colin told me about this Mom n Pop shop in an old Coffeeshop in Joo Chiat.

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Courageous Fathering: A New Year Resolution Worth Making!

2012-01-03T22:43:00.002+08:00

I don't know about you, but I have never been big on New Year resolutions. In fact, I never make them, or even if I did, they are usually frivolous, non-committal and gets forgotten before the end of the first week.

This year however, I think I found a resolution worth making. On 2 January, I attended the screening of "Courageous" together with 800 other people in an event organized by Focus on the Family. To tell you the truth, I have been dragging my feet and confirmed my attendance only at the last minute. Hey, its 9am in the morning and I would very much like to sleep in! But after much pestering from my friend, skinnyfoodie, I finally decided to bring the whole family to watch it.

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Happy New Year: Ieatishootipost's New Year's resolution.....

2011-12-31T09:57:00.001+08:00

Goducate's Founder Dr Paul Choo featured as Asians of the Year

It has been a milestone year for ieatishootipost in terms to our commitment to help the less fortunate. This year we managed to hit our target of raising $100k for Goducate's work in Sandakan. Thanks very much to everyone here for your support and also to MHC Asia for their tremendous support in matching our contributions dollar for dollar.

As we look to 2012, I would like to pledge our continued support for Goducate's work. Dr Paul Choo has told me that next year, we will be participating in their work in Medan to help farmers grow better coffee beans! Now, that would be very interesting, especially for coffee lovers! We will be making trips to Medan to see how a bit of education can help farmers increase their quality and quantity of their coffee crops! Aside from that, I was told that Medan is also a great place for food, which is of course, a very nice bonus.

So I wish you all a very Happy 2012 and look forward to your continued support for our fund raising events!

Read about our involvement with Goducate here.

Fragrance Berkshire Pork Bak Kwa: Bak Kwa Factory Tour

2011-12-28T13:19:00.001+08:00

Advertorial

Berkshire Pork (Kurobuta) Bak Kwa

I have always wondered how Bak Kwa is made. So when Fragrance invited me to write about their newly launched Berkshire (aka Kurobuta) Pork Bak Kwa, I jumped on the opportunity to do a factory tour to see how raw pork is transformed into the tasty slivers of BBQ meat.

When I first heard of the Berkshire Pork Bak Kwa, my first reaction was one of skepticism. Yes, you can tell the difference between Kurobuta (Berkshire) and normal pork when you are eating it as shabu shabu, but can you actually tell the difference when it is marinated and made into Bak Kwa?

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The Paradox of Christmas!

2011-12-24T12:23:00.002+08:00

The Paradox of Christmas

Why is Christmas a paradox? Well, one way to define paradox is "a situation which (if true) defies logic or reason".

So what is it about Christmas that defies logic? According to the video, the paradox of Christmas is the fact that God came to earth, not in pomp and splendor but as a little baby in a stable. That defies logic. That God came not to be served but to serve. That defies logic. That He would give up life in paradise to dwell on earth, knowing that one day he will need to die a painful death. That also defies logic.

This Christmas, I feel like Scrooge. I don't know why I feel so melancholic this year. You would think that as a Christian, Christmas would be the most joyous time of the year for me. But I am in more of a contemplative mood instead.

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You Huak Restaurant: White Bee Hoon!

2011-12-23T09:04:00.002+08:00

White Bee Hoon $12

This Cze Char place is famous for the White Bee Hoon! White Bee Hoon? Never heard of White Bee Hoon? Well, I don't blame you, because it isn't quite a recognized Singapore dish yet. I was told that there are several places in town that serves White Bee Hoon, but this one is by far the most famous. When I was doing my reservist in Nee Soon Camp, I heard so many recommendations for this White Bee Hoon, that we organized a troop movement to recce it out. Unfortunately, our first experience was a little disappointing and my reputation as a foodie took quite a beating amongst my fellow officers.

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SMRT Circle Line Makan Session at Buona Vista: Spice Peranakan Restaurant

2011-12-22T09:04:00.003+08:00

The opening of the Circle Line has made many great eateries more accessible. This time round, I brought a group of foodies to one of my favourite Peranakan Restaurant, Spice Peranakan which is conveniently located in the Biopolis which is a short walk from Buona Vista station. I have blogged about them previously when they were still at their old location at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. They have since relocated to the Biopolis and are now opened throughout the day which makes it very convenient to get your Nonya fix!

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The ieat AGM: Crab Fest 2 report

2011-12-21T09:08:00.002+08:00

Photos by OMark and Cactuskit

We came, we ate and probably depleted the ocean of 1 tonne of crabs. Well, at least a few hundred kilos.

Many thanks to all our readers who turned up for Crab Fest 2 last Friday! It was a blast as we had over 200 crabbers fulfilling their annual crab quota. I am sure no one left with a crustacean deficit!

The Crabs were all amazing, but the one that still stood out for me was the Alaskan King Crab steamed with egg white which really highlighted the natural sweetness of the crab. ($148 per kg). Coming in a close second is the Boston Maine Lobster in superior stock. ($98 per kg). The Man Tou with the Golden Sauce Crabs is still my pick for most addictive sauce!

It's been another great year for the blog! My book "The End of Char Kway Teow" won 3rd place at the Popular Reader's Choice awards and we managed to release the ieat hawker iphone app! We also managed to hit our target of raising $100K for Goducate to build Schools in Sandkan! Praise God for His bountiful blessings!

All these things would not have happen without the support of our kakis and readers of the blog, so I would like to thank all of you for your support! Special thanks also to Soundman, Holydrummer, Mark and Cactuskit for helping with Crab Fest 2!

For those who missed out on Crab Fest, I had tried to get Chin Huat to offer our readers the same menu but it is not possible due to seasonality of the crabs. However, they will offer a special discount for our readers for Boston Maine Lobster ($68 instead of $98) and Dungeness Crabs ($48 instead of $58). Just make your reservation and mention Crab Fest. Call Amy 67787198, 67757348 to book. Offer valid till 21 January.

Chin Huat Live Seafood Restaurant (11.30am - 2.30pm, 5.00pm - 10.30pm)
Blk 105 Clementi St 12,
#01-30, Singapore 120105 (Sunset Way)
Tel: 6775 7348

New Ubin Seafood: Kampung life revisited

2011-12-19T10:16:00.000+08:00

Crispy Baby Shrimps: $12

What comes to mind when you mention Pulau Ubin? Probably images of Kampong houses, kids running around in singlets and catching spiders right?

I guess that is the kind of image that a restaurant called New Ubin Seafood wants to project in the mind of the potential customer and they have managed to do it to a certain extent. When you step inside this rustic little restaurant inconspicuously hidden amongst the motor mechanic workshops in Sin Ming, you might momentarily imagine that you are in a little Kampong hut in Pulau Ubin! And, just as Pulau Ubin had somehow managed to escape the ravages of development, this eponymous little shack of a restaurant seemed that have done the same. In rapidly developing Singapore, shady little shacks like these are hard to come by!

The restaurant is run by Mr Pang, a retired professional who runs the restaurant as an excuse to have a big kitchen to experiment with the kinds of food he likes to eat. How else can you explain a menu which not only consists of atypical Cze Char dishes, but also western dishes like USDA Ribeye steaks and German pork trotters?

Steamed Baby Squid: $12

If you have ever dined in Pulau Ubin before, you might remember dishes which feature local seafood which are simply cooked so that you can enjoy the original fresh flavours of the Kelong. Here at the New Ubin Seafood, that experience is re-created with the Crispy Fried Baby Shrimp and the Steamed Baby Sotong. Mr Pang specially orders these fresh and wild caught from his suppliers. These two dishes are excellent appetizers for your main meal or simply as beer snacks which you are order if you decide to sit at the bar counter instead! 4/5

Beef $10 per 100g, min 500g

The reason that they serve Beef Steak here is simple. The owner likes to eat meat. Not only that, he likes good meat. So he buys USDA choice Ribeye, pan fries it and serves it with mustard, ketchup, fries and sauteed onions. The meat quality is very good, but our steak was just slightly underdone that day and needed to be returned to the kitchen for another quick saute.

Beef Fried Rice

The real star is the fried rice they serve after the beef. After they cook the steak, the meat is cut up into cubes while the fats are removed and used to fry the rice. I know it is really bad for you but this fried rice is amazingly simple and yet simply amazing! It's one of those dishes that just hit your palate receptors with a flavour symphony. Sinful but shiok! 4.5/5

Boss Bee Hoon $6

Now, if you are all alone and don't wish to fork out $50 to try the beef fried rice, then a good alternative for your carbs is the Boss Bee Hoon. Why is it called "Boss"? Well, simply put, that's how the Boss likes to eat his beehoon. On the surface, this looks like a simple plate of Bee Hoon fried with black sauce. I suspect that the magic probably lies in the combination of Pork Lard and Dark Soy that gives the Bee Hoon its addictive flavour. There's also a sprinkling of chopped Chilli Padi strategically hidden amongst the strands of Bee Hoon to induce some pleasurable pain when you least expect it. 4.25/5

Fish Eggs with Chincalok and Petai Sambal $15

Eggs of any type are delicious. We are all created with tastebuds that seek out foods which are nutritious and there isn't any other food more nutritionally power packed than an egg. It contains just about everything a growing embryo needs and that means lots of protein and fats which equals flavour. That is why Caviar, Salted Eggs and Hairy Crabs are right up there amongst the most yummy foods on earth!

So what do you get when you take the eggs of the Spanish Mackeral and fry it with another tasty ingredient called Cinchalok (fermented baby shrimp)? Flavour explosion, that's what. Add a bit of sambal which contains belachan and you add yet another layer of umami flavour. All you have to do after that is to balance out the umami with a bit of sour and a bit of bitterness from the petai and you have a dish which would make you finish a bowl of rice and ask for a second. 4/5

Shovel Nose Ray $4.50 per 100g. Min 300g-400g

If you enjoy the gooey, gelatinous mouth feel of eating stuff like stewed sea cucumbers and are always the one who go for fish eyes, then nothing will satisfy you more than a whole Shovel Nose Ray head. All that collagen is also great for those who want to reduce their wrinkles or make their lips look more like Angelina Jolie! The shark is nice and gelatinous but the steaming sauce could do with a bit more oommph. 4/5

Mr Pang and his custom built smoker

As I alluded to at the beginning of the post, New Ubin Restaurant is an excuse for owner, Mr Pang house his extra large kitchen gadgets. After our meal, he took me to the back of the restaurant to show off his smoker. Yes, I also wondered what a smoker is doing in a Chinese restaurant. Basically he uses it to smoke pork belly and other stuff. The smoke belly is actually quite tasty and I can just imagine how it would taste in a fried rice!

Conclusion

There aren't many places in Singapore where you can enjoy Steak and Cze Char and even fewer who serve rice fried with crispy beef fat! We did not taste the crabs that day, but they have a big banner in front of the restaurant saying that if you buy two crabs, you get the third one free! (Sri Lankan Crabs, $40 per kg) Might be a great place for your next Cze Char fix, don't you think?

New Ubin Seafood
Blk 27, Sin Ming Road
Singapore 575680
64669558, 91701281 Mr Pang
11.30am - 2.00pm,
5.30pm - 10.30pm

Chong Pang Nasi Lemak: Oooh the Chicken Wings!

2011-12-16T09:31:00.001+08:00

Nasi Lemak $3.50

Chong Pang Nasi Lemak hardly needs any introduction. Together with Ponggol Nasi Lemak, they are both probably the most well known Nasi Lemak brands in Singapore. Both actually started out making those pre-packed banana leaf wrapped Nasi Lemak but expanded to serve Nasi Lemak Ala-carte. In those good old days (they have been around for 50 years), Nasi Lemak was simply rice, eggs, fried fish and the sambal. In fact, some Nasi Lemak aficionados insist that it is sacrilegious to have Luncheon Meat or even fried Chicken Wings with it! Personally, I do agree that Nasi Lemak is about the rice and the chilli, but I still love to have my fried chicken wings! So I guess you can brand me a fair weather traditionalist!

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Earth Jar Treasure: Healthy Charcoal Baked Soup!

2011-12-13T10:00:00.002+08:00

Salted Vegetable and Duck Soup

OK, so you have been pigging out a little too much lately and feel a little bloated and a lot guilty. So you are looking for something a little bit more healthy in order to satisfy your conscience. Perhaps you even have to face your cardiologist (or your wife, mother or whoever) soon, and dread having to tell them that you have been eating all the wonderful yummy cholesterol laden, artery clogging foods! What you need is a plan, a kind of alibi, so that you can enthusiastically tell them about that ONE healthy meal you had and give them the impression that you have been a good boy (or girl) all along! What you need is this story about healthy medicinal soup!

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Featured in Pioneer Magazine: What's Army Food Like Now?

2011-12-09T10:00:00.000+08:00

Pioneer Magazine Nov 2011

I have received requests from readers to review Army Food before. So here now is my official assessment!

Bottomline: Much better than when I was in army but I wouldn't sign on just for the food!

Featured in Travel and Leisure SEA: Bloggers turned Authors

2011-12-07T10:00:00.000+08:00

A bit late, but I just got hold of the article in Travel + Leisure SEA Sep 2011 issue where they featured my book as one of four books by bloggers turned authors!

Betel Box The Living Bistro: Colonial Food reborn

2011-12-05T11:22:00.001+08:00

Roti Babi $6.90

I have wanted to try Roti Babi ever since I read about it in our forum. The most famous place for this dish of bread stuffed with pork is at a Cze Char called Yut Kee in KL which is on my list of places to visit one day. So when I heard about this little eatery in Joo Chiat serving Roti Babi, I had to rush down to see just what the hooha is all about!

Roti Babi was one of those foods that resulted from the Colonization of Malaya. Said to be a dish first served by Nonyas, Roti Babi it is essentially a souped up version of the British fried bread. The Nonyas had many business dealings with the British in the old days and so adapted this dish which they must have eaten during their business meetings. Whiles the British simply fry the bread in bacon fat, the Nonya added a layer of minced pork and caramelized onions on top of the toast before deep frying the bread. It was the Hainanese who who later made it available to the masses when they opened restaurants like Yut Kee in KL or Prince Coffee House to serve the foods that they were used to prepare for the Nonyas and the British when they were working as cookboys in their households.

Betel Box, The Living Bistro, is one of those quirky little places run by enthusiasts with a personal mission. In this case, the owner, Tony Tan (Now you know why our President is officially known as President Tony Tan Keng Yam) happens to be a heritage buff who is a member of the Singapore Heritage Society. He started a little backpacker hostel atop a Karaoke Bar in Joo Chiat a few years ago charging $20 per night for a bed with breakfast. When the Bar owners got evicted, he took the opportunity to take over the premises and made it into a restaurant cum museum of sorts. His idea was to bring back some of the disappearing cuisines of our Colonial past.

Now, I haven't had the chance to eat Roti Babi before, but compared with the photos of the Roti Babi in Yut Kee, the version here is a little different. Instead of being stuffed with the pork filling and deep fried, ciabatta bread is topped with the meat and pan fried instead. (This is considered a modernized version, I guess) Served with a traditional dip of Worchestershire sauce and chopped Chilli Padi, it's actually quite an addictive snack! 4/5

Laksa Goreng $6.90

Helming the kitchen is veteran Chef, Uncle Ben who is an experienced Nonya, Eurasian Chef who used to cook at Casa Bom Vento. One of his signature dishes is the Laksa Goreng which is essentially a dried form of the familiar curry laksa. You can also think of it as a Laksa flavoured Hokkien Mee. The Kakis all liked the dish and its certainly worth a trip to try it if you enjoy Laksa. 4.25/5

Mulligatawny Soup $5.90

Another dish that is iconic of the British Colonial era is Mulligatawny Soup. Essentially a dish from Madras, (modern day Chennai), Mulligatawny is Tamil for pepper soup. This used to be a vegetarian dish which the Brahmins ate but eventually got modified for the British palate. Again, I am not old enough to remember the days when this dish was enjoying the limelight. I was told that some of the old British clubs like Cricket Club and Tanglin Club would still have this on their menu. So, without a gold standard to compare with, I can only tell you that it tastes like a mild, watery curry in which some chickpeas and rice has been added. Good for the experience so that you know what Mulligatawny soup is all about. 3.5/5

Conclusion

If you enjoy "Indie" restaurants with a bit of character and a bit of heritage, then this little hole-in-the-wall would be of interest to you. The food is more like a modern take on the traditional foods and it's not just British Colonial dishes, there's a mishmash of other stuff like the Nonya burger and Kong Bak Pau which we didn't try. The western dishes are pretty much your standard fare if you are looking for fish and chips and steaks.

Betel Box: The Living Bistro
200 Joo Chiat Road, #01-01,
Singapore 427471
8am - 10pm

6440 5540
This was a media invite

Ma Li Ya Virgin Chicken: Heavenly Soy Sauce Chicken!

2011-12-02T09:47:00.009+08:00

Soy Sauce Chicken $14.80ea

So there we were, in front of this oddly named stall that sells Soy Sauce Chicken wondering why in the world it was called Ma Li Ya chicken? Was the feisty short haired lady behind the chopping board named Maria? My "A" level Chinese is so rusty that I had real difficulty in making out what the signboard actually said. Then heaven opened and a beam of light enveloped us.

"Santa Maria!" The words on the signboard miraculously morphed into something legible: Ma-Li-Ya-Chu-Nu-Ji... Ma Ri Ya Virgin Chicken.... Maria Virgin Chicken..... ohhhhh......Virgin Mary Chicken!!

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