HAPPY SNAKE YEAR!

I have been wanting to do a snake bento to celebrate the new year, but it’s really difficult because many of us view snake as a poisonous creature. Well, frankly I am scared of snake too, so I have to google and find a snake which doesn’t look that scary!

Time passes so fast! For the past two days, I have been busy visiting relatives, and the visiting is over, some of them I will only see them next year. Thankfully I still have two more days of rest before work begins. I will be heading to Sentosa today to see the flowers, very excited!

Hope you like my snake bento, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Do you know, Post-it notes were invented by Dr. Spencer Silver, a chemist at 3M in the United States, who was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive, but instead he accidentally created a “low-tack”, reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive that has been characterized as “a solution without a problem”. Silver tried to promote it for years but it didn’t succeed. In 1974, a colleague of his, Art Fry, who had attended one of Silver’s seminars, came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook. Since then, post-it was developed and it became a huge success.

I am a very messy person, be it at home or at work. My aunt always has nag at me when she sees my messy table at home. Everywhere is full of files and press releases and it just stacks up everyday. Of course, office table is much worse. So post-it is really my best friend at work.

I don’t know about you, but I have a habit of using different colour post-it on different day. For instance, Monday is always blue, so I have a blue post-it. And Friday is always a happy day for me, so I will have a pink post-it. Then I will paste it all over my monitor because the rest of my workspace are too messy and I may lost the post-it.

I also have a white board where I will paste post-it of important events, such as meeting with boss, or a date with the man. Because of its adhesive quality, I can paste it anywhere without losing the post-it. And they are all in bright colours, so it is very easy to spot them!

My favourite is big pads like this. During my school days, I will use these big pads while studying for examinations. Every morning, I will write down the things I need to study for the day and as I finish it, I will put a tick to it. Now that I start working, I use the big pads as well. Especially when I have many things to do in a day, I will first jot down the things to do in a list and start working on it. Setting a daily target is important. It just makes me more organized.

All these page markers can be put in recipe books. And sometimes while reading, I will put a note a remind myself to buy the ingredients I need. With 3M products, it increases work productivity and help to meet your deadlines and get your timing right!

If 3M products has helped you to work smarter and stay happier, JOIN their contest by sharing your Post-it tips on how to work smarter and stay happier at work and stand to win $1,000 worth of Travel Vouchers! GOOD LUCK!

Whenever we pick a restaurant for a meal, ambience becomes an important factor. Many restaurants have hence opened in interesting places such as parks, factories, or in small street. And for Bliss Restaurant, they are located in Cheng San Community Club!

Bliss used to be at Punggol Park and they only moved into Cheng San CC about 2 years back. I am so happy that there is a nice chill out place in Ang Mo Kio! Enveloping the tranquil restaurant is a lush and relaxing atmosphere.

Dinner started with Mussels in White Wine ($13.90/dozen). The mussels are cooked in white wine, garlic and parsley, simple yet yummy.

It was quite rare to find top shell in restaurants. Bliss’s top shell ($7.90) is tossed with chilli marinade, similar to the cold appetizers in wedding dinners.

We also had 1/2 Dozen Escargots ($9.90). The six plump snails were well soaked in garlic, herbs and butter sauce and had a nice bouncy bite. Addictive!

Not exactly a fan of their Smoked Pepper Duck Aglio Olio ($12.90) because its aglio olio wasn’t spicy and garlic-ky enough.

Mild and moist, Norwegian Salmon Fish Fillet ($15.90) can be served with choice of sweet onion sambal or miso-mayo. We went for the miso-mayo so as to taste the texture of the salmon. Their veggies and carrots, unfortunately, were pretty raw and tasteless. Perhaps a light stir fry will make it better.

My favourite main dish for dinner that day was Gratin Steak ($16.90) accompanied with baby potatoes and cheese. It’s served hot and sizzling, which makes it different. In fact, you can actually hear your steak sizzling from across the room and the fragrance was permeated the whole room. Considering the price, the steak is sensationally tender and tasty. Cheddar cheese is melted over sirloin and grilled to perfection.

Another favourite of mine is the Durian Gold Rush ($6.90) with unadulterated pure durian pulps deep fried with batter. Every bite has thick durian pulps, I suggest you eat this last!

Dinner ended with Sea Salt Caramel Banana Waffle ($7.90) with fresh banana tossed with salty caramel sauce topped over freshly made waffles.

It’s quite a nice place to chill out to late, have some beer and talk with friends. Food here has some hits and misses but prices here are afforable, so I don’t mind coming back if I need to find a nice chillout place. It is also nice to know that Bliss donates all their used carton box & canned tin to low-income elderly resident; and groceries to low-income needy resident thru Aljunied GRC.

Bliss Restaurant
Address: 6 Ang Mo Kio Street 53, #01-01 Cheng San Community Club
Tel: 6280 3389 / 97624226 / 97242931
Opening hours: Sun-Thur 3pm to 12am; Fri-Sat 3pm to 2am

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! If you have not decided where to spend this special day with your loved one, or are planning to celebrate this weekends, why not treat him/her to afternoon tea at Brasserie Les Saveurs!

The St. Regis Singapore’s signature dining establishment, Brasserie Les Saveurs, has launched a luxurious and elegant three-part Afternoon Tea set menu for guests to partake in this cherished affair.

Cheese makes a wonderful addition to any tea time, Brasserie Les Saveurs serves a variety of cheese such as Fontina, Camembert, Lingot Des Causes, Kikorangi Blue etc.

Elevating the traditional staple of afternoon tea, the Scone Bar features both sweet and savoury versions of the freshly baked treat which includes the St. Regis Classic Scones, Duck with Orange Scones, Blackcurrant scones, Truffle scones, California Pistachio and Cranberry scones etc.

These scones are on rotating basis and they can be completed with lashings of home-made seasonal fruit jams and conserves, assorted berries, decadent chocolate sauce, Chantilly or the obligatory clotted cream.

Afternoon tea is not only about eating western scones, there are japanese sushi as well!

Enjoy a range of homemade tarts. My favourite is the chicken sausage tart.

Above all these, traditionalists will delight in savouring classic afternoon tea set on a three-tiered silver stand which has finger sandwiches like Sliced Tomato and Cucumber and Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream Cheese, to the flavourful Oven-Roasted Chicken with Celery and Creamy Egg-Chive Mayonnaise, all which are prepared à la minute for optimum freshness. Follow with heartier nosh like the Pot Pie and Quiche of the Day for a satisfying bite.

Round off the afternoon tea with sweet treats and pastries – the Dessert Display presents a selection of decadent French pastries and delectable cakes to provide a sweet finish to the leisurely mid-day indulgence. These includes:

Green Tea Ginger Financier

Chocolate Molleux

Apricot Financier

Seasonal fruit panna cotta and fruit tart.

The high tea also has a waffle and crepe station where the staff will make fragrant waffles and crepes. If you like, you can spread some homemade jam on top of it. All of this comes with 24 of the finest TWG teas, St. Regis custom blended coffee, and the option to add a glass of Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve.

Brasserie Les Saveurs’ Afternoon Tea is available from Mondays to Thursdays from 3pm to 5pm, and Saturdays from 12.30pm to 2.30pm, priced at $56++ per person, with an additional $10++ for a glass of Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve.

Afternoon tea dance happens on Fridays and Saturdays from 3pm to 5pm, priced at $66++ per person, and $76++ with a glass of Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve. Waltz and tango the afternoon away, with dance instructors to guide you, and a band to provide a lively soundtrack to this elegant affair.

Brasserie Les Saveurs, St. Regis Singapore
Address: 29 Tanglin Road
Tel: +65 6506 6866
Website: www.stregissingapore.com

Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate. Although my aunt always tells me,”Everyday is Valentine’s Day!”, but I still insist on spending the effort to celebrate with the boyf to remind us of our love for each other.

Unfortunately, this man is not a romantic man, so I don’t get things like a bouquet of roses or handwritten cards. But I do get amusing and somewhat useful gifts from him. A few days before V Day, he lugged a big plastic bag to meet me for dinner, and in the bag, I found a Sous Vide Supreme oven!

I really laughed out loud when I saw it and I don’t quite understand why did he give me a sous vide oven because I didn’t ask for it. In fact, I wanted a waffle maker very much. His explanation was,”Aiya, if I buy you a waffle maker, I have to eat your waffles everyday in future. But I buy you a sous vide oven better, I can eat different dishes everyday!”

Well planned, my boy, well planned! He has already imagined me planning a 5 course dinner for him everyday just like the meal we had in Andre! He didn’t realize it may take days for some meat to be cooked in the sous vide oven! -.-

Anyway, I didn’t get him a physical present because everything on his wishlist is, as usual, over budget. Instead, I brought him to Restaurant Andre for a good lunch because he has been dreaming and talking about it since last year.

Chef Andre Chiang needs no introduction. He made an impression in the local culinary scene when he took over Jaan. 3 years back, he started his flagship restaurant in a quaint three storey building along Bukit Pasoh.

Before my 5 course lunch ($128++) begins, we were treated to this super thin porcini chips which has a delightful earthly flavour, along with edible garlic chocolate soil.

The fresh prawns, kampachi, abalone and other seasonal seafood swims in a pool of beautiful rose champagne vinaigrette. Accompanying them are fruit tomatoes and peach salad which instantly gives a refreshing flavour.

For anyone who cooks, you will know that it is really not easy to cook vegetables. It has to remain crunchy and green, which is really difficult, be it in chinese or western cooking. But this “croquant” seasonal vegetables is very well done. Not only is it beautifully plated, it has delicate flavours with lots of texture. Pour some aromatic kaffir lime consome over and the semi-cooked lobster, scallop and toro tasted so much better!

The next course was “Memory” and it was a dish that Chef Andre has always kept on his menu, with different variations. It is essentially silky smooth chawanmushi infused with foie gras, and enriched with Perigold black truffles and sprinkles of Fleur de Seul. Perfect.

My main course is a thick slab of Kurobuta pork belly with charred oyster and broccoli puree. Streaked with fine marbling, this pork belly is exceptionally sweet, juicy and tender. The broccoli puree adds the right amount of umami and the addition of potato souffle adds a unexpected crunch.

Rounding off the meal on a rather heavy note with a chocolate dessert. There are royal chocolate palet, burnt butter ice cream and caramel cacao sponge.

For someone like me who don’t like chocolate and cheese, the restaurant has specially prepared red berries compote with pistachio ice cream for me.

Happy V Day sweetheart. Thanks for loving me.

The food and service were both excellent and I left impressed. A meal at Andre certainly doesn’t come cheap but through the explanations from the waiters, we can truly understand and appreciate the meaning of every course and the way it was presented. The dinner menu is definitely much more ambitious and I would like to try it, but of course, the pricing is approximately 3 times the cost of lunch, so I guess I have to save longer for it.

Restaurant Andre
Address: 41 Bukit Pasoh Road
Tel: 6534 8880

Sentosa Flowers is back again! Started in 2005, this is the most celebrated flower exhibition during Chinese New Year.

Themed as “Joys of Spring”, this year’s exhibition was held along Palawan Beach which showcases the wonders of creation with thousands of tropical and spring flowers in a myriad of species presented in a natural outdoor setting. This year, I brought my Ah Yi, my Grandpa and my boyf with me to enjoy the flowers!

Giant Floral Carpet

The most beautiful attraction this year is the Giant Floral Carpet. It is made up of 30,000 fresh flowers and measures 50-metres by 40-metres. In the middle, you will be greeted with Zodiac Water Snake floral display that is made up of Cuphea, Carnation and Forget-me-not flowers.

Story of Nuwa

A lady named Nuwa vowed to help the villagers. She collected 7 coloured stones and melted them into one giant rock to seal the broken sky. The beauty of the earth was restored and the villages were overjoyed and invited people of all nations to have a great celebration to welcome spring.

Beach fun

Not everything here is flora and fauna. Famous sand sculptor JOOheng leads a team of volunteers to create the longest Glittering Sandy Snake sculpture along Palawan Beach.

Take photo with REAL Snakeeeeeeeee

It is real! Oh mine, my legs shiver when I see it. And I only have the courage to take photos from this distance. This snake will be here at 11am, 2pm and 4pm for you to take photo with it. Have fun!

The String Garden

This special garden is presented by Tivoli Garden (Denmark). String garden (or Kokedama) means moss ball, is a type of Japanese bonsai. The plant is transferred out of its pot and into a boil of soil held together by moss and string. They are then suspended in the air creating a spectacular sight.

Rainbow Snake

Everywhere you will see snake. The rainbow snake is a visual feast for the eyes.

Spring Comes Alive

Spring comes alive with flowers blooming and little bugs skittering into the walk! Have fun taking a walk in the garden!

Four Seasons of LOVE

For the first time, you will be greeted with FOUR love gardens this year. Featuring a spring, summer, autumn and winter love garden, each garden is uniquely decorated according to its theme.

Sunflowers!

Don’t forget to cross the bridge to the southern most part of Singapore and take a look at the beautiful sunflowers which will only bloom for 10 days!

Sentosa, Palawan Beach
Date: 9-17 February 2013
Time: 10am-7pm
*Price: Standard ticket- $5; Advance ticket- $4
FREE entry for Child (12 years old and below)
Purchase your tickets at flowers.sentosa.com.sg

Traveling is not solely about visiting tourist attractions or sceneries. Understanding the culture plays an important part too. That is why I have great passion talking about my experience in Taichung. It is not just about eating everyday, but we get a hands-on experience which helps to understand the lifestyle of this often overlooked city.

Taichung is often ignored by foreign tourists due to its lack of natural scenery. According to CNA, Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau and local businesses have been setting up tourism activities in Taichung that let tourists get an in-depth understanding of the local culture. Spearheaded by the iSee Taiwan Foundation, the campaign offers tourists a different experience instead of just sightseeing and shopping. I am sure you have read my post on learning how to roast coffee in Coffee Area, and this time round, I am learning to make the city’s most famous beverage — BUBBLE TEA.

So we arrived at Chun Shui Tang Cultural Tea House @ National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, a famous maker of bubble tea, to make my own bubble tea. There has been many versions on who is the actual creator of bubble tea. We will leave this research to the historians because I am more interested in drinking the tea itself.

Chinese people love tea. The history of tea party lasts over thousand years. In Chinese society, people are gathering to drink tea, and thus developed a unique tea culture. In past 300 years, making tea with small teakettle is popular in Taiwan.

The founder of Chun Shui Tang, Liu Han-Chieh, first came up with the idea of serving Chinese tea cold in the early 1980s after visiting Japan where he saw coffee served cold. In 1983, he made the traditional tea become the popular ice drink by introducing foam black tea (or bubble tea).

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term “bubble tea” or “pearl tea” (zhen zhu nai cha), they are derived from the black pearls added in the tea. These black pearls are made from tapioca starch and look like “bubbles”. Today, bubble tea shops occupy nearly every corner of Taiwan’s streets. They spread to neighboring countries like Japan, South Korea and China and then to the rest of the world.

Chun Shui Tang is very proud of their bubble tea. And they should be. I don’t really care if they are the pioneers for bubble tea, but they take pride in producing their own chewy black pearls instead of getting the factory made ones, and that is already commendable.

So you shake and shake your drinks for about 20 seconds…

Pour it into the cup and enjoy!

Chun Shui Tang can roughly be translated to “Spring Water Haven,” and there’s no doubt that their teas offer a refreshing taste. It is the perfect place to relax and enjoy a cool drink under the comfort and shade of a traditional tea house.

If you prefer to have a traditional pot of Chinese tea, you can hop over next door and visit “Qiu Shui Tang”. It has a really nice traditional mixed with modern art decor with soft lighting, creating a great atmosphere for chatting with friends over some tea and side dishes.

If you are visiting Taichung and would like to have a DIY bubble tea making session, you can drop an email to: contact@iseetaiwan.org

The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts is located on the corner of Wuquan West Road and Meicun Road. It houses the world’s largest collection of Taiwanese art. There is a stream and an area outside of the museum that is very popular with families when there is good weather.

春水堂 (Chun Shui Tang) 
Address: 台中市公益路155巷17號
How to go? From Taichung train station, take either 59 or 89 (operated by Renyou) or 71 (Taichung bus) or U Bus (Tunglien). Chun Shui Tang is located at the basement of the museum. For other branches of Chun Shui Tang, click here.

* Food for Fun (食在有趣) gourmet tour is proudly organized by iSee Taiwan Foundation. Only airfare, hotel accommodation and selected meals are sponsored. For other Food For Fun blogposts, please click here.

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EXTRA!

If you are someone who loves visiting the museum, loves to drink bubble tea and loves to visit thematic restaurant, you can probably spend a day exploring around this place! Across the road of National Museum of Fine Arts, is this beautiful street called 綠園道 (Address: 五權西四街). Here, there is a quiet park and many many thematic restaurants. Because they are all so pretty, alot of wedding couples love to pop by the different restaurants for their wedding photoshoot. Here are some of the restaurants:

Restaurant name: 聖托里尼－地中海式美食風情
Address: 台中市五權五街43號
Tel: 04-2371-6568

Restaurant name: 吉凡尼花園
Address: 台中市五權七街58號
Tel: 04-2376-9755

Restaurant name: 小義大利莊園 Little Italy
Address: 台中市五權西四街106號(105號)
Tel: 04-23726463

Restaurant name: 南瓜屋－紐奧良義大利餐廳
Address: 台中市西區五權西四街108號
Tel: 04-23728456

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Hope you enjoy my Food For Fun Taiwan blogposts. Here are the Food For Fun posts which I did:

• Food For Fun #1: Tien Ming An (天命庵) – Ex dormitory turned Japanese restaurant
• Food For Fun #2: Shuang Ren Hsu Noodles & Bar (双人徐概念店) – High Class Zha Jiang Mian!
• Food for Fun #3: Quan Hotpot (寬巷子) – When food combines with floriculture
• Food for Fun #4: Coffee Area (珈琲院) – Make your own coffee!
• Food For Fun #5: Carton King Creativity Park (紙箱王創意主題園區) – Everything is made from Cardboard!

Just like Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh has many hawker centres. At blk 22 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh, Kim Keat Palm Food Centre has many yummy food stalls worth exploring. Here are my favourite 6 at Kim Keat Palm Food Centre!

Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodles
Stall: #01-06
Opening hours: 8am to 7pm (closed on Mon)
Price: from $4

Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodles（海南星洲牛肉粉）has been around for about 60 years. They started from Cuppage Centre many years back and later move Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Center about 15 years ago.

The beef is very fresh and they do not add any tenderiser to the meat. They are sliced thinly and slightly blanch with the water. No marination or whatsoever. Most importantly, the soup is continuously simmered for many days, hence it is very sweet!

The beef was cooked to perfection, not too tough neither does it have the stench. I like it dry because I love to mix the dark thick sauce with laksa noodles and salted vegetables. The chilli sauce with lime gave it an additional oomph.

Dove Desserts
Stall: #01-21
Opening Hours: 11am-8pm on Mondays to Saturdays, 11am-5pm on Fridays. Closed on Sundays
Price: Chendol $1.50

Many of you told me this is one of the best chendol in Singapore, I certainly agree! Look at the beautiful hue of pale jade green. All these green worms are homemade by the stall owner. It has a mild pandan scent and a springy texture.

The coconut milk and gula melaka here are fresh! The owner visits Malacca every three months to buy gula melaka from a factory there. And definitely not forgetting the red beans which is fragrant. For 50 cents more, you can top it with durian puree to take this sin to a higher level.

Chao Zhou Fishball Noodle
Stall: #01-20
Opening Hours: 8am – 1pm, closed on Monday, Tuesday, Friday
Price: $2.50

Chao Zhou Fishball Noodle started in 1968 and is managed by a old couple. It only opens for FOUR days (which hawker stall can do that?). Their noodles are very springy with a good proportion of chilli and ketchup sauce which gives the noodles a well balanced flavour of sweet and savoury.

Most importantly, for $2.50 you get not one, not two but 5 golf ball size fishballs. These fishballs tasted very fresh and it was bouncy and juicy. And did I tell you, I really love their pork lard!

Ah Chuan Oyster Omelette
Stall: #01-25
Opening Hours: 3pm – 8pm, Closed on Tuesdays
Price: $4

The boss Uncle Tan has been selling Fried Oysters in this hawker centre for more than 40 years. It has got the right mixture of flour to get the perfect texture of chewy and crispy starchy bits. The plate I ate here is moist and a little touch of crispiness, not too oily nor dry.

The plump and succulent oysters here came from Korea, not as big as I expected but definitely juicy and fresh. Each plate is topped with loads of coriander leaves, dipping it into the watery chilli sauce, shiok! If you don’t fancy oysters, the boss also has prawn omelette.

Old Long House Popiah
Stall: #01-03
Opening hours: 6am – 4pm, closed on Monday and Tuesday
Price: $1.30

Since 1930, Old Long House has been selling Popiah with their own secret recipes with no MSG, no artificial colourings, no preservatives, no pork & no lard in turnips. Hence their turnip is very juicy and sweet.

Eggs, bean sprouts, coriander are some other ingredients added into the thick but chewy popiah skin. What is unique is, they add crispy fish batter into their popiah.

Lai Heng Cooked Food
Stall: #01-08
Opening hours: 6am to 8pm, Closed on Saturdays
Price: from $2.50

One of the cheaper and better chap chye peng. This stall sells curry rice and they are usually long queue during lunch and dinner. Love their fried pork chop, curry and fried cabbage. These are the three must order dishes from this stall.
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Kim Keat Palm Food Centre (Toa Payoh)
Address: Blk 22 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh
How to go? Take bus 232 or 238 from Toa Payoh Bus Interchange

Food trends go up and come down very quickly. 2 years ago, many Taiwanese bubble tea outlets set up in various parts of Singapore. Last year, I remembered we were all crazy about Beancurd Pudding. Then this year, all of us were into something new – BLACKBALL GRASS JELLY!

The local food trends also represent my love journey. I remembered my first date with the man about 3 years back was at Gong Cha @ Novena. Subsequently, we spent almost every date drinking different bubble tea outlets, from KOI to Gong Cha to A-Gan Tea etc.

Then, we were crazy over beancurd pudding, and every hawker centre we went to, we will definitely look for a bowl of beancurd pudding. And the family got crazy over it too and we start to make our own beancurd pudding (click here for recipe).

Lately, the conversation I have with the man is always about “BLACKBALL GRASS JELLY”. Almost every night after work, he will call me to tell me that he is going to queue for Black Ball Grass Jelly in Bedok. On days when he ends work late, he will call to tell me that he can’t eat BlackBall Grass Jelly that night. And everyday I will be complaining that I didn’t get to eat Black Ball with him. I guess BlackBall must gave us some rewards card for being the most loyal customers (just kidding).

Blackball Signature (cold), $4.90

Blackball Singapore (warm), $4.90

So how did the love for Black Ball Grass Jelly begins? We ate it once in Star Vista, then we visited Taiwan and ate the hot grass jelly. We also visited Jiu Fen (click here to read) and tried the different grass jelly outlets in the old street and fell in love with it. When we came back to Singapore, we were crazy over it!

There are four ways to enjoy the BlackBall Signature, you can either have it hot, cold, warm or icy. There are a combination of yamQ, golden sweet potato, yamballs, sweet potato balls, red bean and pearls. If you like the semi-liquid kind of grass jelly, like the ones you have tasted in Taiwan, go for the hot one. If you like to quench your thirst, go for the icy one.

The grass jelly is definitely yummy. The texture is so soft, be it hot or cold, and you can’t possibly get this texture if you were to buy the original ones from supermarkets.

Jiu Fen Crushed ($4.50)

Having been to Jiu Fen and tried the jiu fen balls, we can of course taste the difference in the texture of the yam balls. Up till today, I still can vividly remember the taste of Ah Gan Yi Yu Yuan (阿柑姨芋圆) @ Jiu Fen because every taro balls are so so so fragrant as though you are eating the real yam!

Of course BlackBall is not comparable to Ah Gan Yi Yu Yuan, the taro balls has more glutinous flour than yam and they give you more ice than the ingredients. Which is why I don’t really like Jiu Fen Crushed because I feel it is too expensive.

Grass Jelly Milk ($3.80)

We also have a tall cup of Grass Jelly Milk which we love!

If you are wondering how the name “BlackBall” came about, it draws from the idea of ‘Xian Cao’(grass jelly) being ‘black’ in colour and taro ‘balls’. The company was founded and created by Mr. Tang in 2006, who is an experienced tour guide, when he came across ‘Xian Cao’(grass jelly) by chance upon travelling to ‘Guan Xi’. He was thrilled and decided to open BlackBall. It has transformed into one of the biggest dessert chains in Taiwan and Malaysia and now, it is expanding into Singapore. At first, someone told me it was Mediacorp artiste, Zhang Yao Dong, who brought the franchise in Singapore. Later, then I realised he is only the ambassador for Blackball.

BlackBall
Address: 1 Vista Exchange Green, Unit#02-14/15, The Star Vista

Other Branches:
- CityVibe, 3151 Commonwealth Avenue West, #01-19
- 201 Victoria Street, Bugis+, #01-14
- 112 East Coast Road, 112 Katong, #02-27
- Blk 204, Bedok North St 1, #01-393

Enjoy an indulgent Sunday with fine trattoria-style Italian cuisine in LaBrezza at St Regis, complemented with unlimited serving of Prosecco at The St. Regis Singapore, The Address for distinctive culinary experiences.

This Italian restaurant offers the veritable experience of a gastronomic tour of Italy, through its array of speciality dishes spanning the various regions of Italy. The brunch here is very worth it, because everything here is FREE FLOW. With one price, you can have as many plates of salad, pasta, grilled meat and dessert as you like!

To begin the lazy Sunday epicurean journey, LaBrezza offers an extensive selection of appetizers that includes lovely breads like Cherry Tomato Focaccia and Walnut-Gorgonzola Bread and gourmet cold cuts of 24-month cured Parm Prosciutto, Salami and Smoked Salmon.

There is also a spread of tantalising antipasti that features Grilled Artichokes Salad, Pearl Barley Salad with Spring Vegetables, Marinated Porcini Mushrooms, Burrata Cheese, Bocconcini di Mozzarella, complete with an exceptional choice of tomato selection like Pachino Cherry, Sardinia Green Tomato and San Marzano Tomato.

Don’t forget to leave some stomach space for your main courses. Specially presented by the masterchefs at The St. Regis Singapore, the main course selection at the Prosecco Brunch @ LaBrezza is an intimate spread of pizzas, handmade pastas and delicious grilled seafood and meats, all prepared à la minute and served with precision.

Best dish I had for the brunch is this 45-minute poached eggs. A little truffle oil gives these delicate domes a wonderful sensation!

Pizza with tomato sauce, Italian sausage and roasted sweet peppers

Chef’s daily risotto special that day came with smoked cheese, perfect for people who loves dairy. The starchy rice, the cheese, both are the perfect counterpoint for each other.

Aglio Olio comes with homemade fresh tagliatelle egg pasta, garlic and dried chilli, it doesn’t that like the aglio olio you will get in other Italian restaurant. Well executed!

We also have Vongole marinara sauce.

And Carbonara with egg, pancetta and basil. Don’t worry that you cannot finish, all these pastas are served with small portions so that you get to try everything!

The grills are done by the pool and cook upon order. Grilled garlic prawns are delicious combination of flavours, all you need are some really fresh prawns. They are paired with beans and lemon chilli flakes.

Spicy Spring Chicken which isn’t really spicy.

Grilled Australian Lamb Chop is marinaded with lemon-mint and served with roasted potatoes. It was unfortunate that the lamb chop was slightly burnt that day.

Seabass is lovely on the grill; its firm white flesh holds up very well, if only there was a sauce to go with this light fish.

We ordered medium rare US Striploin and it came perfect. Tender, juicy and full of flavour.

End the brunch on a sweet note with our delectable desserts of Pistachio Canoli with candied lemon.

Their homemade gelato which consists of pistachio, lemon, chocolate and vanilla. Try their pistachio ice cream which has a sensual nutty flavour and not too sweet.

Very happy to know that they offer Masala Sabayon here. This egg-based Italian dessert has a subtle wine and egg fragrance, which is a happy ending to the meal.

Tiramisu has a complex expresso flavour followed by creamy, spongy layers of mascarpone and ladyfingers. It is dense, moist and each bite fills the mouth with a balanced flavour. Remember to dig your spoon all the way to the bottom of the cup to enjoy the fullest.

LaBrezza is located on the 2nd storey of the St Regis, by the poolside. There is a choice of either alfresco or indoor dining. The Prosecco Brunch @ LaBrezza is available every Sunday from 12noon to 3pm.

LaBrezza
Address: 29 Tanglin Road, The St. Regis
For enquiries and dining reservations, please contact LaBrezza at (65) 6506 6884 or email labrezza@stregis.com.

We know that Golden Mile is famous for Thai mookata steamboat. We were there to eat mookata one night and after eating, a friend commented that there was another yummy hainanese steamboat place at Golden Mile Tower called Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat, so we went for second round. Traditional Hainanese eateries are getting lesser these day and I really treasure the existing ones. It’s a shame that I have never heard of Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat even though I am a Hainanese.

Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat is a well-loved Hainanese restaurant, famous for its traditional steamboat and chicken rice. Just like Yet Con, it is one of those eating place where a lot of Hainanese goes to because the flavour of the food there can provide that Hainanese nostalgia. When I enter the restaurant, I feel like home because the older staff talk to each other in hainanese and I understand them all!

Each of us ordered a standard set which consists of pig liver, cockles, squid, sea cucumber, fish balls, fish maw, sliced pork, sliced fish, vegetables and eggs. I am quite surprised that they offer cockles here. You can add and minus items as you like. All the food is served a la carte instead of buffet style. Everything is amazingly fresh and the vegetables are crunchy.

You can’t find any tom yam or herbal soup here, just simple traditional chicken soup. Nothing much to rave about, just a simple pot of clear chicken soup. Good thing is, I don’t think they add any MSG into their soup because we don’t feel thirsty after it.

Being a hainanese restaurant, they are obviously famous for chicken rice. We went at about 8.45pm and ate the last few plates of chicken rice!

This is a yummy plate of chicken rice. Even though it is just breast meat, but it is tender and juicy. For the rice, I can finish the whole bowl, even though it was my second round of dinner. Each grain is solid and firm, packed with the fragrance from ginger and chicken stock, without being too oily. Pairing the chicken with home made chilli sauce, it tastes even better!

Another famous Hainanese dish which you must try when you come here, is their pork chop. Each slice is very thick and crispy, cooked with tomato based sweet and sour sauce and peas. Pairs well with my chicken rice, especially when it is still hot.

Another dish highly recommended by my friend is their satay. You can choose either chicken, pork or beef. Each slice has a good amount of fats which keeps the satay tender. Well marinated and perfectly grilled, not too burnt. Unfortunately, it was already cold when served on our table. The sauce will be better withh more peanuts.

Prices of the steamboat are calculated according to the number of diners and how much the set is. There were only three of us and we paid about $50. It was obvious that we ordered more than enough for sharing. The place is air-conditioned so you won’t sweat buckets while eating steamboat.

Will I come back again? Of course!

Thien Kee Steamboat Restaurant
Address: 6001 Beach Road, #B1-20 Golden Mile Tower
Tel: 6293 5910

Singaporeans love food. This is a fact.

Our food culture has such a wide spectrum of different cultures from all over the world. After globalization, everyone gathers in this small island and our local food culture is slowly shaped from different sources such as Chinese, European, Japanese etc.

In recent years, many Asian countries have become bastions of high gastronomy. Especially Singapore, we have so many restaurants that make the world take notice of us and we are definitely proud of them.

In two days’ time, my country is going to play host to the inaugural Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards at the Marina Bay Sands resort.

Partnered with Diners Club International, the list is created from The Diners Club World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of over 900 international leaders in the restaurant industry such as food critics, chefs and restaurateurs etc.

“If you believe culture can be tasted, you belong.”– Diners Club International

Diners Club International (read their blog here), which provides consumers with the most exclusive experiences, is the perfect partner for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. All DCI members will benefit from exclusive dining experiences at partner restaurants.

Ahead of the Award Ceremony on Monday night, congratulations to Jaan, preferred merchant of Diners Club International, for winning The One to Watch Award winner for 2013. The One to Watch Award goes to an emerging restaurant that our experts believe is most likely to rise up the list in future years.

Created by Chef de Cuisine Julien Royer, Jaan’s Artisanal menu is built around a passion to showcase the freshest ingredients through simple but beautiful dishes that reflect both culinary tradition and creativity. The result is an imaginative, innovative cuisine that celebrates and respects seasonality, terroir and the skills of the world’s best gourmet producers.

Having visited the restaurant just last year, I had a memorable lunch. He may be a young chef but he did not disappoint. Besides the exceptional service, Chef Julien has picked up a strong reputation for its beautiful views of Singapore and modern spin on French cuisine.

Take for example, Chef’s Stellar 55′ Smoked Organic Egg, paired with Jerusalem artichoke and chanterelles. The organic egg was cooked gently at 64 degree celcius for 55 minutes to maintain its creamy translucence, and it was accompanied with the salty crunch of iberico de bellota slivers and porcini nougat crumbs. Presentation is excellent, and what’s more, the egg is cracked in front of you, just like how we do it in normal coffee shops. One can totally relate to the dish and the flavours did not disappoint. It was runny and silky!

Another Diners Club International’s preferred merchant, Gunther’s at Purvis Street, has made a name for itself for bringing sophisticated French food to Singapore’s chic fine dining scene. Chef Gunther Hubrechsen’s down-to-earth yet deftly executed cooking demonstrates the kitchen’s ability to re-interpret classic dishes and flavours, breathing new life into them in terms of both taste and presentation.

Chef Gunther is very good creating unusual flavour combinations with delicate sensitivity, resulting in a novel, yet pleasurable, eating experience. One of his signature dishes, Cold angel hair pasta with oscietra caviar, is a dish that I have not tasted in many years, yet still remembers it very well.

The pasta is served delicately chilled, tossed with chives and truffle jus and with a generous dollop of oscietra caviar on top. Once it reaches your table, your can immediately smell the truffle and it hits your palate on the first bite.

10 years ago, do we even have a fine dining restaurant? Or will you spend so much on your food? I don’t think I even understand the term “molecular gastronomy”. But now, things are different. Asia is the next big culinary heavyweight on the scene. Singapore is already showing it and with Asia’s 50 Best happening in town, it clearly shows the high positioning of this country in terms of dining.

The inaugural Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, is just like the Asian version of Michelin awards. Yes we have a Miele Guide but this will be the first time anyone has tried to compile a list of the best 50 restaurants, 50 truly amazing dining experiences and 50 chefs who are trying to change the face of dining throughout Asia.

My predictions for the first Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list? I would love to see Jaan, Les Amis & Gunther’s in the list!

Which restaurant are you rooting for? Join in the conversation on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants at Diners Club International Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dinersclubinternational. Watch the Diners Club advertising showcase here.

This post is brought to you by Diners Club International.

Do you:
1. Play hopscotch, chapteh, five stones and goli (marbles) when you are young?

2. Live in the generation when pager is still the “in thing”?

3. Once owned a robotic pencil box, which had many functions, springy buttons and “secret” compartments?

4. Watch Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) dramas?

5. Enjoy eating sng bao (ice pop), White Rabbit Creamy Candy, Hawflakes or A&W Root Beer Float?

If your answer has more than 2 “yes”, you probably belong to the “OLD SCHOOL” category!

Many of the things which we have used / played during our childhood days kind of disappeared or changed. But upon visiting Old School Delights for dinner last Saturday, it felt like a walk down the memory lane and alot of items we once have now appeared right before us!

This lil’ cafe in Upper Thomson is decorated into a classroom setting, with chalkboards on both sides, classroom style wooden furniture, menu that comes in an exercise book, and card games to play with. Love their website as well, which is very interactive!

What do you eat in school when you are young? I remember when I was in Primary School, I would either spend 50 cents on a bowl of wanton noodle soup or 70 cents on Nasi Lemak. These food has accompanied for so many years and once in a while, I will still go back to my alma mater to eat the nasi lemak. (They no longer sell it at 70 cents of course!)

Old School Delights is about re-living culinary memories of Singapore’s past through authentic recipes handed down through generations. What sparked their desire to go on this culinary journey into the heydays is that special bowl of Mee Siam that his grand-aunt used to serve to her guest every Chinese New Year.

Therefore, if there is one dish that you must try in this cafe, bee sure to try their signature Old School Heritage Mee Siam ($5.50). Using a 30-year-old recipe comprising of a secret blend of 11 fresh grounded spices, the mee siam is accompanied by half hard boiled egg, and tau pok (beancurd). The gravy was thick and robust, a burst of a little spicy, sour and sweetness in every mouthful.

Hainanese Chicken Cutlet with Fried Rice ($8.90) doesn’t taste anything like our typical Hainanese pork cutlet, more like sweet and sour fried chicken. The fried rice had too much garlic, which was overpowering. But the good thing is, the cutlet was crispy and not very oily.

A house speciality, OSD Signature Pulut ($2.20) is made up of Gultinous rice with a filling of savory sweet “Hay-bee-Hiam” (dried shrimps) in it. We can’t really find this now, except for those traditional kueh shops or malay stall. Personally, it was pretty expensive for such a small piece and it will taste better if the hae bee hiam has the punch.

Another appetizer which we ordered was Jumbo Otak ($2.40). It wasn’t as jumbo as we expected and it arrived at our table in room temperature. Despite its unappealing outlook, it tasted quite good! Fresh fish meat was marinated with coconut milk and ground chilli, wrapped in banana leaf. Of course, will taste better when eaten hot.

I may not be crazy over cakes and chocolate, but I have a soft spot for traditional desserts. The Chendol ($3.80) here is excellent. Using pure 100% gula melaka with no artificial sweeteners, it is served with homemade, preservative-free chendol worms and red beans. The chendol worms has a lovely dark green, it is fat and has a good bite. I may just come back for that.

After a hearty meal, you can grab some childhood biscuits at the counter for $1.

It is definitely not easy running a cafe selling Singapore classics. Because I am sure some of you won’t pay double the price for something we can be eaten in hawker centre. But well, I guess the ambience of the restaurant plays a big part for its popularity as well. By the way, they are not halal-certified but they use halal products to prepare their food, and there is no pork or lard in the dishes.

Old School Delights
Address: 215M Upper Thomson Road
Tel: 64584518

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant announced the winners of the first ever list at a glittering awards ceremony yesterday at Marina Bay Sands. The list is created from The Diners Club International World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of over 900 international leaders in the restaurant industry, each selected for their expert opinion of the international restaurant scene.

Over 400 invited guests attended the event including many of the top 50 nominated chefs, the media, VIP guests as well as sponsors.

Here’s the Diners Club International lounge. Diners Club International (DCI) is the Official Financial Services Sponsor of the new restaurant awards, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants (ABR).

We had some canapés prepared by Marina Bay Sands. This includes Crispy Oyster Cromisque with unique Warm Bloody Mary Shooter.

Tender Kabayaki Glazed Kurobuta with Kombu Flakes.

Some chocolate pralines for you?

Back at Diners Club area, President of Diners Club International,
Mr. Eduardo Tobon, doing an interview with Mr. William Drew, editor of Restaurant Magazine.

Here’s another shot of Mr. Eduardo with Les Amis Group Director, Mr Raymond Lim.

Les Amis group has started from Les Amis restaurant founded in 1994. At that period, French restaurant was only available in hotels and it was the first independent French cuisine restaurant. Today group is owned by 3 owners and expanded to 25 branches underneath. Mr. Desmond Lim is the chairman as well as one of the owners.

French cuisine “Les Amis” is obtaining high recognition in global standard. It was awarded in 2011 San Pellegrino List of World’s Best 55th. So in this year’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant, do you think Les Amis will be in the list?

Shortly after the reception, all of us gathered in the ballroom to witness the announcement of results; I was so nervous and hoping that all my favourite restaurants enter the Top 50 list. Narisawa has secured the top spot at the inaugural Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants award, and has been named The S.Pellegrino Best Restaurant in Asia. The restaurant has also been named The S.Pellegrino Best Restaurant in Japan.

If you are wondering what constitutes “best”, there is no pre-determined check-list of criteria; for example an interesting experience in a simple establishment, where exceptional innovation was discovered, could be judged better than a more opulent meal from a widely feted restaurant team. The results are a simple computation of votes.

The full results can be obtained from the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants website but here are some of the highlights:

- Janice Wong has won Asia’s Best Pastry Chef due to her creation and delivery of a multi-sensory experience for her desserts combined with her experimentation with sweet and savoury flavours.

- Les Amis has won the 14th place. Being one of the forerunners of fine dining in Singapore, Les Amis is still going strong in the trusted hands of maître d’ Christian Wild. This classic restaurant has an elegant neighbourhood feel that strikes the right balance between meticulous service and friendliness – the sort of restaurant that every foodie wishes they could have at the end of their road.

- Gunther’s is awarded 43rd place. Located in a converted shophouse, the vast tray of impressive raw ingredients, including live seafood, shown to each diner at the start of the meal and testament that produce here remains king.

- Voted as “One to Watch” restaurant, JAAN came in 22nd. The view from the 70th floor is jaw-dropping, matched only by the wittily presented and immaculately executed dishes emerging from the kitchen of Chef de Cuisine Julien Royer. ‘One To Watch’ is awarded to an establishment within the inaugural Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list that the organisers believe has made a significant impact in a relatively short period and that has the potential to rise further up the rankings.

- Restaurant Andre came in 5th and Imperial Treasure came in 49th.

Congratulations!

After the award ended, we went to the Diners Club lounge. It was huge and so classy!

Let’s start with some iberico ham.

Seared-Brittany Se scallop tartar with Sea Urchin Espuma.

Pan Seared Foie Gras, Crispy Rosemary, Cranberry Compote.

My favourite for the night is Seared Snake River Beef, Fluer de Sel, Truffle Jus.

Here’s the chef preparing the smoked salmon.

There is always space for desserts!

With the Diners Club International team.

It has been an honour to attend Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant under Diners Club International last evening. It is exciting to see so many creative chefs serving interesting dishes in the Aisa’s culinary scene and this program has certainly recognised their efforts. With 6 local restaurants in Asia’s Top 50 Best Restaurant list, I guess this is going to shape our plate for this year.

Asia is becoming a huge pie among the global culinary landscape with more east-meets-west content on our plates. I am so glad that all my favourite restaurants are in the list, now it’s time to visit them again!

Also, check out my guest blog post that will go live soon on Diners Club International BelieveBelong Blog!

In a very elegant and cosy ambience decorated with unique Italian artefacts, Etna Italian Restaurant serves a delightful contemporary Italian cuisine with a Sicilian touch. The name of the restaurant derives from Mount Etna, which is an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy.

Opened for 6 years, Etna Restaurant serves delightful Italian Chef’s specialties, unique recipes from the Italian region of Sicily, and the best original Italian pizza, all using finest ingredients imported from Italy.

Etna is one of the 18 restaurants which get accredited by Italian Embassy. The few criteria that entails this accreditation are: chef must be Italian, 70% of the ingredients must come from Italy and have DOP certification. DOP stands for the Italian phrase Denominazione d’ Origine Protetta (roughly, “protected designation of origin”).

The purpose of the DOP mark is to “protect the reputation of the regional foods and eliminate the unfair competition and misleading of consumers by non-genuine products, which may be of inferior quality or of different flavor.”(source: Wikipedia)

Dinner started with some Fresh mozzarella cheese with rocket salad, Pachino cherry tomatoes and Parma raw ham ($32). These are the freshest batch of air-flown cheese from Italy, they are firm on the outside but milky and smooth on the inside. The ham and tomatoes are good too! If you didn’t realize, the ingredients here form the colours of the Italy flag.

For someone like me who doesn’t like eggplant, it’s quite an achievement to be able to enjoy the Baked eggplant ($18) with buffalo mozzarella cheese and light basil pesto in a tomato sauce. The eggplant is soft and has a hint of sweetness from the tomato sauce.

Grilled calamari ($18) is topped with crispy garlic and chilli, served with home-made Aioli sauce. The texture is chewy but I think it is quite mild. Perhaps abit more garlic or a hint of zest will be good.

Everyday, Etna will come up with daily specials which will be displayed in the chalkboard above the open concept kitchen. One of the daily specials we had that day was Mussels with Mixed Herbs. The herbs and pistachio left the mussels a wonderfully fragrant flavour.

Lasagna Tradizionale Emiliana (Oven-baked pasta with Bolognese ragout (minced beef and pork), béchamel sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese) – familiar but more generous in fillings, a challenged even for big eaters like me

Anything with mushrooms and truffle tastes good. My favourite for that night was Homemade Semolina Pasta in a cream sauce of porcini mushroom, homemade pork sausage and Italian truffle cream ($28). The truffle cream permeates through the pasta, just do a slight toss and everything will fall in place.

We had many dishes with a bright orange cream sauce and it all looked the same, but taste different lah. Linguine with scallops in a prawn cream sauce ($25) had nicely grilled scallops.

Perhaps we had other pasta with stronger flavours, Spaghetti with sea-urchin and Carloforte bottarga (cured mullet roe) ($30) wasn’t as impressive as the rest.

Here’s a plate of rich Linguine with crab meat in a lobster cream sauce ($25) which is my second favourite paste. The thick and distinct lobster cream coated the noodles perfectly with visible crab meat strands.

Love the presentation of Slow-cooked braised veal shank with chopped herbs with Italian Saffron rice ($34).

One of Etna’s signature is the Italian style Roasted pork knuckle with potatoes ($48). The pork knuckle may look deep fried, but it is actually braised with beer sauce for 4 good hours. The end result? Very tender meat!

Instead of the usual panna cotta, we had a Bi-coloured panna cotta in a glass ($14) with mango and mixed berries. Refreshing!

Tiramisu with pistachio cream ($14) is one of restaurant’s signature and it was ranked as the top 10 desserts by Standard Chartered. The pistachio cream came from Bronte in Sicily and there are a few drops of mandarin liqueur.

It is my first time trying Fresh sabayon with Pantelleria Moscato wine ($14) and I fell in love with it. Can’t make comparison with any but this a light, mousse-y Italian dessert that’s made by whisking eggs, sugar and white wine is addictive.

We are also give three small cups of Italian liqueurs to give it a try. They are Limoncello (yellow), Amaro (red) and Grappa (colourless). The Grappa has the strong alcohol level of 45%.

Lovely food at Etna. Heard they have very good pizzas, would love to come back and try it next time! By the way, from now till 31 Dec 2013, DBS/POSB cardholders enjoy a 10% discount on a la carte food items!

Etna Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria (East Coast)
110 Upper East Coast Road
Tel: 64449530

Bulau Bulau Aboriginal Village is the most interesting place I ever visit in Taiwan. What is Bulau Bulau? It literally means idling around in the Atayal language. This villlage was created to recapture the tradition of Atayal tribe, while maintaining everything as close to nature as possible.

It took almost two months for the Food for Fun team to book the seats for us because this tour is very popular. They will only welcome 30 guests on Wednesday to Saturday. Located up in the mountains, you have to take their transport to reach the village. On the way, we passed by the Hanxi Suspension Bridge which is the longest cable suspension bridge in Yilan County.

There are 9 families in the village. Chief Wilang used to be a landscape architect in Taipei. But he decided give up his city life and return to his wife’s Atayal homeland. He took years to gather the aborigines, moved back to the moutains and fulfill the dream.

Our welcome treat was to BBQ our own pork on a stick which took them 4 days to marinate, and has a very special zesty scent to the meat. You are served with some hot ginger tea.

Bulau Village continues to inherit Taiya aboriginal tradition, bringing in simplicity and using the original materials for traditional living philosophy. They adopt LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) concepts and try to be self sustainable among the village. Everyone has different roles to play. For example, the guy in the picture is a hunter. He was showing us a display of animal skulls on 2 wooden benches as souvenirs from hunting.

They hired craftsman from the city to come to the village once in a while to teach the young boys carpentry. The little furniture they made are then sold to guests like us.

Of course, they also rear chickens.

The women in the village either prepare meals or be involved in weaving.

Because Chef Wilang is a landscape designer, he built a very modern interior for the houses here. Bulau Bulau does not offer homestay, these houses are solely for the aborigines themselves.

After touring the place, it’s time for lunch! Here is how the kitchen looks like! The dining area has 3 long massive wooden tables where they take a maximum of 30 guests.

We then sat down to a lunch prepared by the women of the village. All the ingredients that were used were grown on-site; pictured here are some roasted peanuts.

Some home grown vegetables, picked tomatoes and escargots to begin the meal before we eat the purple yam with ginger. A bite of ginger downplayed the sweetness and added a spicy kick.

Coated with generous amount of salt, this salt grill fish is very soft and tender. The wrapped package is a millet rice dumplings.

The vegetarian friend we met at the village had millet rice dumplings with pumpkin.

This stew is very very good! It came with potatoes, pork (abit tough though), radish, carrot and vegetables.

Main course was lamb shank. You probably do not want to think where did the meat come from.

For people who do not eat lamb, they can choose grilled chicken. Oh I must say, they tweaked their menu everytime so the next time you visit, you may have something different!

Our vegetarian friend had very colourful pot of fried rice.

Lunch ended off with some vegetable soups and dessert.

We took a break from eating and listen to the villagers sing. Then we had to play some games where the losers have to share a bowl of their homemade rice wine.

Of course, I tried some archery…

And was really scared that it will hit my face or eyes. -_-”

The day in Bulau Bulau Village ended very fast. The villagers gather to sing us a goodbye song.

Here’s us!

With the handsome hunter.

And here’s Chef Wilang, a man who dare to chase after his dreams and create something which seems impossible.

It was a blast at Bulau Bulau! Everyone was very spontaneous and we just sing and dance together with the villagers! It just made me feel that I want to live here. The journey from Taipei to Yilan is approximately 1.5 hours, and it is another 15 mins before we reach the village. And remember, book early with them to avoid disappointment.

Bulau Bulau Village
Fee: NT$2200 per pax
Reservations: (03)9614198 / 0919090061
Website: http://www.bulaubulau.com/

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Aftermath

This is my last post for Food For Fun Taiwan series. It has been a very fulfilling experience for me and I am thankful to iSee Taiwan Foundation for giving me the opportunity to explore Taiwan.

I have visited many unique restaurants in Taiwan besides eating the usual night market street food. I have get my hands on making bubble tea and learnt about the basics of coffee making. I have even visited the Bulau Bulau Village and experience the culture of aborigines. Above all, I have learnt something new about Taiwan everyday and their attitude towards life.

Every travel makes me grow as a person and I really look forward to sharing my travel stories with all you through my blog. There are definitely so much more things to see and I can’t wait to come back for my next trip. Did I tell you? I have a little ambition. That is, I hope to write a book about Taiwan.

Hope you enjoy my Food For Fun Taiwan blogposts. Here are the Food For Fun posts which I did:

• Food For Fun #1: Tien Ming An (天命庵) – Ex dormitory turned Japanese restaurant
• Food For Fun #2: Shuang Ren Hsu Noodles & Bar (双人徐概念店) – High Class Zha Jiang Mian!
• Food for Fun #3: Quan Hotpot (寬巷子) – When food combines with floriculture
• Food for Fun #4: Coffee Area (珈琲院) – Make your own coffee!
• Food For Fun #5: Carton King Creativity Park (紙箱王創意主題園區) – Everything is made from Cardboard!
• Food For Fun #6: Chun Shui Tang (春水堂)– Make your own Bubble Tea

* Food for Fun (食在有趣) gourmet tour is proudly organized by iSee Taiwan Foundation. Only airfare, hotel accommodation and selected meals are sponsored. For other Food For Fun blogposts, please click here.

30 minutes. It took me about 30 minutes to queue for this stall during lunch time. It is my first time eating ipoh hor fun, in my memory. I chose to queue at this stall because of the huge crayfish on their hor fun. We seldom see such crayfish in hawker centres except for some cze char stalls.

Ingredients:
You get the whole crayfish and some prawns.The crayfish and prawns are fresh. The crayfish is cut into half so it is easy to remove the meat. The prawns are already deshelled so you can just eat them.

Noodles:
The hor fun is very smooth. Unlike the usual thick hor fun which we see in cze char stalls, the ipoh style hor fun is thinner, about half the size.

Gravy:
The gravy is an important part for this dish. I read from somewhere saying that it is made from prawns and chicken bones. Unfortunately, I feel the light brown gravy quite bland and it didn’t make the entire dish more tasty.

Crayfish Hor Fun costs $6.50. If you don’t feel like crayfish, you can go for other options such as chicken or prawn hor fun.

Tuck Kee (Ipoh) Sah Ho Fun
Address: 531A Upper Cross Street
#02-40 Hong Lim Food Centre

Sushi lovers will definitely remember Genki Sushi. Four years ago, they came into our local F&B scene. But during that time, the quality of the sushi were really below satisfaction. They have then withdrawn. But now, Genki Sushi is back again. The good news is, they serve pretty good sushi!

Re-established its presence in Singapore with the Orchard Central branch, Genki Sushi have now opened another branch in Chinatown Point. They have new technology by allowing diners to make their orders on iPads for speedy freshness and service. Once you place your order, orders comes within 2-3 mins

Food is delivered via the Kousoku (Express) system, shaped like a Shinkansen bullet train travelling on a track directly to the diner’s table. This original delivery system is programmed to reinforce the importance of freshness when serving sushi.

Need a cup of hot green tea? You can pour a teaspoon of green tea powder and pour some hot water. All these are found at your table!

Each table will also have a mechanised sushi plate-clearing system where empty round sushi plates can be slipped into a slot and directly to the stewarding area.

For the first month, instead of powdered versions, sushi dishes will be accompanied by fresh Wasabi which deliver stronger and more piquant flavours.

Genki Sushi have introduced new dishes to mark the start of SPRING and have called it the “Haru Select”. They offer gourmet sushi such as Scallop Carpaccio with Rocket Salad.

Cream Cheese Premium Shrimp Sushi ($5.80)

Smoked Duck Sushi with honey mustard ($2.30)

We all love Maguro (tuna). But there are sold as different cuts for the consumers. Here is a list in order of increasing fattiness:

Akami – the leaner flesh from the sides of the fish. This is what you usually get in restaurants if you as for “maguro”.

Chutoro – The belly area of the tuna along the side of the fish between the Akami and the Otoro. Often preferred because it is fatty but not as fatty as Otoro.

Otoro – The fattiest portion of the tuna, found on the underside of the fish.

If you were to order chutoro or otoro in high class Japanese restaurant, you probably need to pay more than 50 bucks. Here, you get good quality of Ohtoro (light pink, $5.80) and Chutoro (red, $3.80) Sushi at an affordable price.

Chawanmushi is my favourite and I order it in every Japanese restaurant. I tried Genki’s Steamed Egg Custard with Crab Meat ($3.80). It was abit too salty, I still prefer Itacho’s chawanmushi.

Inspired by soft shell crabs, Genki Sushi does Soft Shell Shrimp where you can eat the meat and shell altogether!

Using the cartilage of Fluke fish, Seared Fluke Fin (Aburi Engawa, $2.30) Sushi is very soft and tender.

Unagi (Eel) and Anago (Sea Eel) Sushi ($3.80)

Besides the usual sushi menu, Genki Sushi also serves don. To cater to the local market, the restaurant has come up with some asian flavoured don such as this Black Pepper Chicken Don ($5.80). The black pepper sauce is cooked with niri sauce and sake hence it is sweeter. Love it!

BEHIND THE SCENE

I was honored to take a tour around Genki Sushi’s kitchen. Innovation takes the form of sushi robots. Because the strength of moulding and temperature of our hand determines the quality of sushi rice, Genki Sushi invests in sushi robots which perfected the skill of squeezing sushi. Not only it is faster, the quality of the sushi is maintained. They also have a machine to defrost the tuna.

In line with Genki Sushi’s philosophy of staying true to tradition, the restaurants use only top-grade Koshihikari aromatic short-grain rice. This is cooked in purified water and mixed with a special blend of vinegar (Su), exclusively produced using a century old method of distilling in Gifu Prefecture. No manpower is needed to cook the rice. The staff just have to place the rice in a huge rice cooker, set it to their desired temperature and that’s it! Not only does it save labour costs, the staff can also come to work 1 hour later. You will be shock to know that there are only 2 to 3 kitchen staff in the kitchen!

You will also be delighted to hear that upon eating 8 plates of sushi, you will be granted a iPad jackpot game which either allows you to win a free plate of sushi or a 10% discount off total bill. Sushi prices range between $1.80 and $5.80.

With such advanced ideas, the Genki Sushi Singapore will serve as a blueprint for their restaurants around the world! Especially noteworthy is a table near the entrance, which allows a wheelchair to slide comfortably into.

Genki Sushi
Address: 133 New Bridge Road, Chinatown Point #02-33
Opening hours: Daily, 11.30am – 10.00pm

Ok I will be frank. I am not a cheese lover. Especially if you put a plate of blue cheese right in my face, I will probably run away. But, I do like to have some cheese in my food. Food like pizzas, sandwiches, omelette or nachos, I like it with more cheese.

Thanks for Perfect Italiano, I was invited to join their masterclass with Chef Lino Sauro, owner of Gattopardo. I was rather hesitant initially because I am not a cheese lover. But when I take a closer look at the dishes that we are going to learn, I agreed and was really curious how can he incorporate cheese into our daily food.

So how did Perfect Italiano begin? In 1922, Italian immigrant Natale Italiano arrived in Australia. Keen on continuing his family’s rich cheese making traditions, Natale started the Perfect Cheese Company in 1930. Natale prided himself on producing simple and authentic Italian cheeses using century-old methods he had taught himself back home in Southern Italy.

There are a whole range of Perfect Italiano cheese, but in Singapore, there are three types: Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Cheese, Perfect Italiano Parmesan Cheese and Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus Cheese. Today, I will be sharing with you 3 recipes by Chef Lino Sauro using Perfect Italiano cheeses. They are very convenient and easy to use. You can basically put them in any dish and it will taste good.

Wanton Ravioli with Soya Marinated Prawns and Parmesan Fondue

Ingredients (serves 4 pax):
100g Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese
100g Anchor unsalted butter
20pcs wonton skin (square shape)
20g light soya sauce
30g olive oil
2 garlic cloves
110g full cream milk
1 stalk of spring onion
20g white wine
10pcs tiger prawns

Method:
1. Peel and marinate prawns with soya, garlic, olive oil and spring onion.
2. Make Parmesan fondue by mixing Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese, milk, butter and white wine.
3. Warm up mixture in a bain-marie till creamy and season with white pepper.
4. Fill wanton with prawn. Seal nicely, put in boiling water for 3 mins.
5. Pour fondue on plate and lay down the ravioli.
6. Season with Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese and spring onion.

Rice Roll with Mozzarella Cheese and Salmon

Ingredients (serves 4 pax):
300g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese
200g sushi rice
4 sheets of nori (seaweed)
150g cured/smoked salmon
100g cucumber (cut into strips)
50g rice vinegar
5g wasabi
200g mayonnaise

Method:
1. Place a sheet of nori on bamboo mat.
2. Spread and flatten rice on top of nori.
3. Lay down salmon, cucumber and Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese in the middle.
4. Hold on to the ends of the bamboo mat and roll, making sure that the ingredients are held inside it.
5. Remove bamboo mat and cut rice roll by one inch.
6. Warm up rice roll to melt Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese.
7. Serve with mayonaise and/or wasabi.

Deep Fried Potato with Mozzarella Cheese

Ingredients (serves 4 pax):
200g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese
400g potatoes
50g corn starch
50g onion(chopped)
5g cinnamon
5g ground black pepper
5g curry powder
2 eggs
4 garlic cloves
30g lemongrass (minced)
20g shallots (minced)
300g Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
Lemon zest
Some oil to fry

Method:
1. Shred potatoes in food processor and place in strainer. Sprinkle with salt. Drain for 15 min.
2. Mix dry seasonings.
3 Squeeze potatoes dry and place in mixing bowl.
4. Add cornstarch and mix thoroughly. Add all remaining ingredients (except panko crumbs and oil) and mix well.
5. Add Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese. Drop a tablespoon mixture into the panko crumbs. Coat all the way around.
6. Heat oil in pan. Lower patties into oil and flatten patties with a spatula. Patties should be 2 inches across.
7. Fry until crisp and golden on the bottom. Fry the other side.
8. Drain the ready to serve. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

Here’s a shot of us with Chef Lino! You can find more recipes from www.perfectitaliano.com.sg

I haven’t been blogging about dim sum lately because the boy does not enjoy dim sum as much. He says those tiny little siew mai cannot fill up his stomach and it will cost a bomb if he wants a full meal. So when Girlfriend M’s birthday arrives, I took the opportunity to give her a dim sum treat and to satisfy my dim sum craving!

Imperial Treasure Nan Bei is probably one of the busiest dim sum place where you can see queues almost every moment and the staffs walk around in lightning speed. I guess they will get more busy because they are recently awarded 49th position in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant award ceremony.

Our lunch started with a plate of Roasted Pork ($9) with super crispy skin. The meat has more lean meat which is suitable for ladies!

For variety, we ordered a mixture of steamed and deep fried dim sum dishes. Imperial Treasure Nan Bei’s rendition of Baked BBQ Pork Pastry ($3.90) is flaky and buttery with some honey glaze on the surface. The savoury filling wrapped with sweet pork filling complements each other well.

Baked Chicken and Mushroom Pastry ($3.90) is very well done too. It may look like a normal chicken pie, but when you bite onto it, the pastry crumbles right away and you can taste the buttery flavour in the pastry. It has the right texture with generous amount of fillings. We also had Steamed Prawn Dumpling “Ha Kau” ($4.80) and Steamed Pork Dumpling “Siew Mai”($4.80).

Century egg with lean meat congee ($7.20) is super smooth.

Deep fried prawn dumpling with salad dressing ($4.80) has crispy and thin skin with chunks of prawns in it. But I feel abit too expensive.

We also had Steamed Rice Roll with Shrimps ($5.50) with superior soy sauce.

Actually it is really not easy to do dim sum well. I don’t have very high expectations on dim sum but at least my custard bun must flow. I am so happy when I peeled open the Steamed Custard Bun ($3.90) here. As you can see, the salted egg and melted custard ooze out. Take a big bite, the thick filling with steaming hot bun is pure indulgence!

Shanghai Steamed Pork Dumpling ($4.80) aka Xiao Long Bao is not in my must-order dim sum list but the girlfriend loves it, so we ordered. The skin did not break easily and each dumpling has very flavourful soup.

We usually have red bean pancake as dessert but as you can see, we had too much dim sum, so we decided to try something smaller. I was very glad that we ordered their Red Bean Paste Souffle Egg White Ball ($4.80). It was a long wait because the souffle will deflate if it is out for a long time. But it was definitely worth it. One bite into the souffle, you can taste the soft and puffy egg texture with generous amount of red bean and banana fillings. When I come back again, I will order it (don’t worry, this is in their menu).

The dim sum here is really not bad. It was too crowded during dim sum. The staff are too busy running around and they did not key in our orders correctly. We were supposed to have a few more dim sum dishes but it did not came. But it is alright, we were already filling to the brim after eating all the above. I hope to be back to try their ala carte dishes and barbecued meats.

Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Restaurant (Ngee Ann City)
Address: 391 Orchard Road, #05-12/13/14 Ngee Ann City
Tel: 6681 6425