Food for Thought - Seriously...

Food for the busy Urbanite...
Food for lounging hang-outs Students
Food, for a good cause.

That probably sums up some thoughts for the new addition to little chic eateries along North Bridge Road - Food for Thought - giving Miss Clarity, Indulgz, and even Hans a run for their money.

Run by a group of 5 friends, this little eatery is initiated by the very same who started School of Thought - the tuition centre passionate about the education and nurturing of our second generation. In line with their passion for society and the less privileged, their second initiative, no doubt, embraces their bold cause entirely and primes an entire dining experience for patrons to give back to society in little but meaningful ways.

The small kitchen is helmed by Head Chef David Heng and Sous Chef Peter Boyer. Working compatibly along side and colourful resumes behind them, they humbly aspire to create good but unpretentious food. Chef David graces every patron with his endearing (sometimes boyishly cheeky) smiles and his love for cooking and passion to serve comes across evidently from his light but sincere banter with the customers. "This has always been my dream" he sheepishly grins and confesses in dialogue between servings.

Open for less then a week, they haven't gotten all things worked out yet. Without ventilation, frying is out of the question for now. It's mainly sandwiches featuring slow roasting and baking for now, but we can expect changes in the menus.. I'll be waiting for my eggs and pancakes in the morning once the frying begins.

Since we were a big party of 8, David prepared a special chef's sampler platter for us. Innovatively served on a long heavy plank, 8 pristine white dishes cradling the cafe's current special creations were presented to us. Generous servings of home-made Focaccia bread were placed alongside so that we could get into the fun and personal of making and matching our sandwiches to our liking. Everything... and I really mean everything is home-made in this kitchen. From the chili-and-lime butter, the four types of olive oils (garlic, laksa, chili and rosemary) the pickled cucumbers on the side, to even the sun-drying of the tomatoes in the pesto chicken! Imagine the excitement of two chefs about their food, so genuine, it's translated to painstakingly ensuring everything served, go through their hands. That alone, will bring you back.

From the front to the back: Basil Pesto Chicken with home-made Sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms

Second: Grilled Spring Vegetables - Cucumbers, Zucchinis, Capsicums, Pea Shoots in a local zesty sauce

Third : Mama Heng's Spicy Pork - The Heng's Family secret recipe - *Strongly recommended

Fourth: Slow roasted pulled pork with sweet potatoes and home-made BBQ sauce - *Strongly recommended

The slow roasted pork was beautiful, soft and full of flavour. The bbq sauce enhanced the flavour and was perfectly balanced with the natural sweetness of the sweet potato. To add a nice healthy note, the meat was served with baked, not fried, pork crackling.

Mama Heng's spicy 3-layer pork also deserved two thumbs up and a mouthful!. The pork, braised for close to 6 hours, was tender and sweet. With a sprinkle of bird's eye chili to give it a good kick and healthy tau kwa slices to balance the oil from the good fatty layer. According to mom's instructions, "picked cucumbers must be eaten alongside the pork, that's what makes it special" - Chef David adds earnestly.

The grilled vegetables didn't do anything for me since I am a pure-bred carnivore. Though my dining companions commented that the sauce was interesting, refreshing and different. The basil pesto chicken was a little dry for my liking but the sun-dried local tomatoes were beautiful.

And that's what I like about the sandwiches here - they seem to scream "be true to our roots!" Dime a dozen are the petite shops that boast sandwiches with rather 'western fillings'. No doubt, the very concept of sandwiches is western, but the sandwiches churned from this kitchen carries a certian fusion with authentic Asian and local flavours. It was truly an enjoyable and comforting experience. A braised pork sandwich over pot-roast or turket breast anyday!

Apart from the main selection of sandwiches, we also sampled the soups. The roasted roots of vegetables was an intensive healthy shade of orange - thick and sweet. For the weight-conscious, the no cream, no dairy, no MSG Shitake Mushroom fennel would be most suitable. The house salad - TLC - was served in a homely wooden salad bowl, Asian favourites like corn, lemon grass and water cress, are tossed together with tomato wedges and a twist of Vietnamese mint. A queer combination of ingredients, but the result, a refreshing crunch of fresh vegetables with a local flavour.

For the sweets, a very interesting philosophy is adopted. Desserts are outsourced from various self-made cake-baking ladies across the island. When we were there, there was a wide selections of traditional classics and yummy creations. Old school familiar rice krispies snacks, and old-fashion carrot cake, baked by a certain Auntie Mabel. For the hip and trendy, there are modern cupcakes flavoured with the popular nutella, peanut butter and banana walnut. All hand-made and from different bakers.
This concept of outsourcing desserts is brilliant. Each dessert thus has ownership, character and appeal to different taste-buds. Of course, giving budding culinary talents around the island some advertisement and showcase works great too.

We chose our form of decadence and apparently the nutella cupcake was the most popular dessert of choice. Runner-up would have to be the warm marshmallow and chocolate brownie. The nutella cupcake was excellent. Served warm, the nutella frosting was creamy and rich, while the moist dark chocolate cake base was soft and light. The perfect pairing of chocolate and frosting. Blame it on limited stomach space, we didn't get to try everything displayed, but I am sure there will be other chances for that.

If that doesn't fix the sugar endings of your dinner, order their signature frozen lychee sage. Fresh lychee is blended with sage and a little mint, refreshing and the perfect ending for any hot day and busy work / school day.

Food for Thought
420 North Bridge Road
North Bridge Centre
#01-06
Singapore 188727
http://www.foodforthought.com.sg/

Confessions of a Bridesmaid #? - The PARTY!

Heh heh, clearly from my title, it's quite evident that I am quite the terrible bridesmaid. Haven't been really posting much about the wedding and the preparatory stuff, but we are about exactly 10 days away from the BIG DAY. And so, it's only apt that we had our gals' night out and had a party.

The lovely Princess for the evening =)

Ok, it wasn't exactly a night out for me since Q and I hosted a dinner party for our special girl at my place. Joone graciously agreed to cook for our little dinner party of 7 and she brought along Mia, a.k.a Skinny Epicurean, a fabulous girl, enviously skinny, bubbly and funny and such a great help.

My cousin chef is amazing. Procrastination on my part, gave her only a week and half to plan the menu for the party. At 5pm, she arrived with a big basket of ingredients and semi-prepared courses and a crumpled piece of paper with her scribbling and drawing. I seriously doubt there will ever be a day I can cook off a piece of paper and still remain calm and in full control of the pots, the knives, the cooking fire and the food!


By 645pm, the wonderful smells from the pots on the stove and the bread baking in the oven were reaching the point of temptation.
In conjunction with her manic bread-making phase" revelation in her recent feature interview in AsiaOne Wine and Dine, Joone baked some herb and cheese bread. The bread was really good and warm, moist and bursting with flavours of the herbs and cheese. Aptly whetting our appetites, we were all eager for dinner to start.

Dinner comprised of a 4 course menu:

Crab Wantons in a Tom Yam Broth

Mentaiko Pasta

Braised beef cheek served with Mash Potato and vegetables

Flourless chocolate cake with Macadamia Ice Cream

When Joone suggested this dish, I could not imagine anything better. Ling has always liked her food spicy and I knew she was going to like the Tom Yam broth. The crab wantons were absolutely yummy! So fresh and the broth went perfectly with the little parcels of fresh seafood.

Our amuse buse was rather interesting. Kudos to the chef for her innovation. Who would have thought a little balsamic vinegar, and cheese atop of a simple cube of watermelon can provoke such an intense explosion of flavours on the palette!

Next up, was the Mentaiko pasta. Generous on the mentaiko and ebiko and nori, the pasta was a big hit with the girls. Joone was quite generous with the portions and most of us were absolutely stuffed after the pasta. But the next course was on the way and smelt too good to pass up.

The beef cheeks were sooo tender, a knife was almost unnecessary. But we are civilized girls, so we tried to preserve good table manners. Close to tearing the meat off the plate, I only stopped occasionally to have some mash potato crammed crassly into my mouth. The potatoes melt in your mouth and they were so creamy and good. Joone later reluctantly revealed her secret ingredient and for the fat-averse and faint-hearted, you'll miss a good creation.

For our sugar and sweet fix that evening, Joone prepared a secret recipe flourless chocolate cake - much to Q's delight. She and Mia were helping a friend bake carrot cakes in the afternoon and we were privileged to sample some of that as well. I was happy my favourite macadamia ice cream and berries along side to balance off.

It was truly an enjoyable night, though I think most of us were close to bursting at the seams. I also got a few of those lovely chocolate lollipops from Canele because they looked so beautiful and yummy! Plus, every princess has to have a wand doesn't she!

So, dinner slurped and chomped, wines tipped to the last drop, desserts devoured and stomachs bloated and exploding, we got down to doing silly things. Tipsy or sugar high, or perhaps the magic of tempting chocolate lollipops, it was a blast of a night. =)

Debs and Charissa with their choc pops

Q and Ling embracing the princess - unicorn - theme

Q enjoying her dark choc pop

At the end of the evening, we all snuggled contently on the couch to finish of the evening with - 300! I know, a queer choice of a movie, inappropriate with the blood and violence. But yet, quite a chick flick if we think of the hot bods and too many a pecs!

That's when Joone suggested that we should go into a joint venture and rent out my kitchen and living room for private dining! She can do the cooking and the dining experience and I can create the ambience and the private experience.. Not too bad an idea!

SO,

Ladies and Gentlemen, my black house with the red dog is officially available to nightly rents! Joone is our official cook for hire and we can give you a private dining experience! For rates and details, leave a message on my blog!!!!

The Black House with the red dog

For Hire per night / per hour / per dinner

The Black House with the red dog

Joone - Cook for Hire

For Hire for any kinds of dining experience

Nibbles and Scribbles

Lazy Saturday Brunch with Epicurious

What is it about Saturday mornings that gives one's endorphins a significant boost? I think Saturday mornings are my absolute favourite... Alarm-clock-less mornings, morning pillow and comforter laze, and flexible options for breakfast to choose from.

My pancake crazes have gone on for a few weekends without being fixed. I was having an extremely sugar-craving this morning and I was insistent on having some good fluffy pancakes, if not french toast and hearty eggs to go with. So off we went to Robertson Quay. Hubs G found this list of breakfast places to try in an old review done by AsiaOne and judging by the extensive American breakfast menus and yumm-er-lious photos, I am quite bent to happily work my way down that list.

Our venture on this fine Sunny perfect Saturday morning was to Epicurious. This place reminded me alot of Bali. Perhaps it was the evident drawing of only Western alfresco-loving families, the traditional wooden side coffee shop furniture and furnishing and the various old school Asian utensils and kitchen nic-nacs for sale.

Impression: Lounging.

Patrons were there clearly to have a leisurely breakfast, where their children could spend hours doodling with crayons and drawing paper, with the faint hope of having their picture selected to make it to the 'counter of fame' like those of other visiting children from around the world.

I had the french toast with marmalade butter and the 'green eggs and ham'. Made with walnuts and raisin bread, my lovely sugar fix was delightfully sprinkled with little cheery pieces of strawberry and banana, completed with icing sugar. The fruit gave the toast a lovely sweetness and the nuts, a gratifying crunch. Unpretentious crockery, but comfort breakfast food with a simple twist.

The interestingly coined name for the eggs left me no choice to order them to satisfy the curiosity. The green eggs such named was because the chef chose to scramble the breakfast eggs with pesto and served with ham on toast. Fluffy and well done, the scrambled eggs were a delight to have.

G had the Full Monty, which in my books should have been coined the full heart attack.
Three fried eggs, yellow yokes gleaming sinfully, with greasy bacon strips and sausages accompanying, the mushrooms and grilled tomato and baked beans couldn't possibly balance all that fat and calories.

Breakfast set us back by $45 dollars. Even with the 2% increase in GST, one would certainly define that as quite an extravagant breakfast / brunch. Such are cravings for pancakes and french toasts, they drive you to go the 'Full Monty' and have leisurely brunches that could have included lunch and dinner in a decent budget.

It's a good thing sugar-craving lazy Saturdays come only once in a little while... Or so we hope!

Epicurious
60 Robertson Quay #01-02
THE QUAYSIDE
Singapore 238252
Tel : 6734-7720Fax : 6734-7259
http://www.epicurious.com.sg

Dreams Do Come True...

He's Finally Arrived!!

Baby's Gone and Became Junior.

Just when Pigs couldn't Possibly be Tastier

I love red meat. I love my pork cutlets, my Wagyu beef, my juicy chicken drumsticks.
So imagine my ecstasy when G took me to a Japanese restaurant in the new Central with the promise of a wonderful new pork.. not just any juicy pork, but from a Black Pig.


With the proliferation of Japanese restaurants, fancy and tradition, Waraku to Ma Maison, Tomton is a simple wood-furnished exterior but donned extravagantly with a flat screen LCD featuring Japanese cuisine.


Of course I wouldn't be true to form if I didn't go Jap and have my absolute all-time favourite - Jap curry! I had my curry fix with their premium black pig tonkatsu. It's like having the wagyu version of pork. The visible marbling made each slice of juicy pork, so tender and tasty and of course, so heart stopping.



G had the shabu shabu set with the necessary big platter of vegetables and the shoulder and loin of the black pig. The accompanying dipping sauce was very interesting. Initial queer and caution quickly gave way to refreshing slurps. It seems to be the same sauce used to dip soba with, but there was a distinct taste of lime and ginger.




Plain, straight from the boiling water, the pork - both shoulder and loin had a natural sweetness and tenderness unlike most normal pork slices at regular steamboats. Sliced so thinly, they cook in seconds to a nice tender and juicy bite. I had to start removing the fat though after the 3rd or 4th slice, was starting to feel the fat clogging my arteries. Tried to remedy the guilt with some of the vegetables provided... The mushrooms and carrots surprisingly going quite well with the dipping sauce too. The set also comes with glass noodles to complete the meal with the essential carbo fix. Quite a substantial amount of food for two people.

A good tasting premium pork naturally comes with a 'good-looking' premium price tag. Won't be something worth trading the normal old pork we eat everyday, but at least worth that 1 experience.

Tom Ton Central
The Central#03-88/99
63277887
11.30am to 11pm
www.cfc.com.sg

Another Curry Rice- Lost and Found

Once upon a celebrity diary, a foreign talent, came to Singapore, got famous, listened to his feng shui master to change one character in his name, went in search for late night supper, committed a crime and changed his destiny forever.
That late night supper , is none other then this little secluded and simple curry rice stall.

Been around for years, the curry rice has become synonymous with good late night supper to taxi drivers and night owls over our small island for two simple reasons: (i) the ridiculously long opening hours and (ii) their curry rice.


The rich colour of the curry and meat gravy is so drawing after a hard day's work.
The food selection is simple and traditional - fried eggs, pork chops, stewed pork, white cabbage etc. I was slightly disappointed though, the pork chop was cold and evidently of an entire morning's shelf-life. Loo's curry rice , was also clearly much richer and tastier.


Perhaps the two dishes that packed some punch, was the spicy ikan bilis and the stewed three layer pork.

For a stall renowned for it's traditional curry rice and ability to draw one a famous and substantial crowd, I was really disappointed. I am subscribing to the theory that they do better and fresher in the very late evening and super early morning.

And so it seems, for good authentic Hainanese curry rice, either go breakfast brunch time , or late supper time... hmmm, we are one strange 'german chicken' (dialect joke).

Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice
Lao Di Fang, 229 Jalan Besar (off Kitchener Road - opposite Hong Leong Finance)

Inside of Dreams

Our little ones getting comfy in the new interior...

Zi Yean

While the Pu Tien craze is slowly fizzling, we found another place buying into the same concept - good chinese, reasonable prices, wield location - hiding nicely within Bukit Meriah view.



I applaud these restaurants' confidence, because without a constant stream of word of mouth reviews, they probably would be taking down their signboards within months.
A word of caution, if you hail from anyway but the west, it will be wise to arm yourself with a street directory or pay http://www.streetdirectory.com/ a visit before attempting to find these places.
As for food wise, you definitely won't need a magnifying glass or directions to see the quality for reasonable prices.

We ordered a couple of signatures including their abalone with vegetables, sliced fish rice noodles, emperor chicken, dog-duck, to name a few. I didn't of course touch the vegetables and abalone as clearly I'm anti-green and healthy stems. The fish noodles were not as tasty as the Hong Kong street famous soupy variation. What I really liked, was the chicken and duck.

The emperor chicken was rich in its stew-like broth and the meat tore so easily away from the bone. The duck, was interesting. Why the name 'dog-duck'? It seems the duck is cooked in ingredients and a gravy that was once used on dog-meat dishes. Well, better ducks then those cute lovely dogs, I say!! Simba will keel over...

The black pepper beef was pretty standard, nothing outstanding. The usual slightly soft chewy texture and lightly peppered flavours, are becoming common fixtures in Chinese restaurants big and small, ostentatious or basic.

I would say Zi Yean is still no where close to Pu Tien's standard. But if you are in the area and looking for some decent chinese food, you know where to go. They open at 7am and serve, apparently, recommended dim sum for breakfast. Considering the lack of good and reasonable dim sum available in Singapore, it could possibly become a gem pretty soon.

ZI YEAN RESTAURANT

Block 56 Lengkok Bahru #01-443,

Tel: 6474-0911