One-Ninety, Four Seasons, Singapore

One-Ninety revamped their menu a few months ago to offer a more family-style dining concept where dishes could be ordered and shared with a few people. The menu now is systematically laid out to offer you mix-and-match options going down from their appetizers, salads, mains, sides and desserts. The Wagyu burger also now has a more prominent position right in the middle of the "Grilled" section of their new menu.

We were offered some bread to whet our appetite. This brioche-looking loaf is made of laminated or layered dough, which is a similar dough used in crossants, puff pastry and Danish pastry. Although it's almost hollow in the middle, it's still rather filling if you eat too much of it which is pretty hard to resist since it's so buttery and tasty.

We had their parma ham salad to begin. Toss in fresh, crunchy salad, the nutty flavor of the virgin olive oil went well with the saltiness of the parma ham. There were also slices of caramelized grilled aubergine and honeydew melon to lend a slight sweetness to this salad.

The Wagyu burger can be ordered plain or with some nice enhancements. We opted to add American chedder, grilled foie gras and the black truffles. The ultimate indulgence of a grease bomb, the bun below was virtually soaked by the juices (and oil?) from the Wagyu patty and burst with juicy beefy flavor in every bite. Onion rings, fries and a little salad came as standard sides and there was also a little dipping platter of mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup. Juicy hand-minced Wagyu, foie gras, truffles sandwiched between two soft and warm sesame buns. Is this the perfect burger? I'm not sure, but it comes pretty damn close.

This side of grilled asparagus provided a nice little vegetable breather between the mouthfuls of the rich burger. Despite their charred appearance these asparagus stalks were really fat and maintained their crunch and juiciness.

I'm also a sucker for mushrooms and wanted to add some to my burger but on second thought decided to order it as a side instead because I didn't want it to compete with the truffles. Grilled mushrooms with a generous dash of herbs, garlic and butter - a tasty addition to complete the savories.

I ordered the foolproof, trialed and tested chocolate lava cake for dessert. Despite trying chocolate lava cakes at numerous places I'm still slightly inclined to the ones served at One-Ninety, maybe it's because of the consistent richness of the chocolate or the ratio of molten chocolate to its casing but I've always found theirs to step up to the task. I also like it how they serve their chocolate lava cake with citrus sorbets rather than rich ice-creams because it's more refreshing and you won't get too much of an overdose of richness.

One-Ninety is a nice cosy place to have a personal dinner but can also cater for larger groups. Their well-spaced tables ensure a comfortable privacy for diners. This meal very happily fed two persons at about 130SGD.

D

Fengshan Food Centre, North Bedok, Singapore

After a rather boring, lacklustre concert, the only thing I could look forward to was supper. I don't normally go to the East much but I've heard quite abit about this place at Blk 85, North Bedok and have been wanting to try it out.

We were off to a good start with this plate of barbecued chook wings. Well-seasoned and grilled till there was a nicely charred crispy edge, these were almost comparable to the ones I had along Jalan Alor in Kuala Lumper.

This serve of Chinese soft springrolls were quite average, the turnip was too salty and mushy. The only thing worth mentioning is that they were going for only 1SGD a pop, which I think is below the current going market-rate.

I was quite wary about this dish of oyster-egg when I ordered it because they boasted pictures of celebrity clientale and had numerous newspaper cuttings extolling the "superiority" of their version of the product. My suspicions prove well-founded, this was perhaps the least remarkable of the three dishes. The egg was not fluffy, the oysters were not big and juicy, quite a disappointment.

I think we arrived slightly late because the barbeque seafood and satay stores (which were recommended) were already closed or in the process of winding up for the night. Maybe if I'm somehow in the vicinity again I'll drop by to try the barbeque seafood and satays but for now I don't think I'll go out of my way to come back here again.

D

Deep-fried Vietnamese Springrolls

Quite a few years ago, I had the honor and privilege to live with a Vietnamese family. Throughout my stay, I was fortunate enough that their matriarch would teach me how to prepare some traditional Vietnamese foods. Deep-fried Vietnamese springrolls are as great a starter to any meal or even just as a snack by itself. She used to make a few thousand of these daily (by hand mind you!) to sell in order to put her kids through college (respect) so she rolls them like a machine.

Ingredients:
1. Springroll skin (I use the small sized ones)
2. Minced pork
3. Shredded cabbage
4. Shredded carrot
5. Bean vermicelli (the original recipe used rice vermicelli but by accident I found that bean vermicelli gives a nicer bite)

Method:
1. Pre-soak the bean vermicelli till slightly soft
2. Mix the minced pork, shredded cabbage, carrot and bean vermicelli together. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Put a small amount of filling mixed in 2. onto the springroll skin and roll away!
4. Leave a little shredded carrot behind to add to the sauce

Hint:
1. When I'm in the mood to make springrolls, I normally go crazy and make a few hundred and store them in my freezer. That way I can just take them out and fry them for a quick snack
2. You can use a variety of edible adhesives to seal your springrolls. Some of my friends swear by egg white but I normally use a partially cooked rice starch mixture

If followed properly, the springrolls should taste 80% there. The last 20% goes to the sauce. This is where I cheat because I use a bottled sweet fish sauce which I buy in bulk from the Vietnamese stores in Australia. If anyone can find this in Singapore, please let me know?

D

Block 38 #01-42, Beo Crescent, Singapore

The first time I've been here was years ago so I'm rather ashamed I don't even know the name of this coffeeshop (not the Starbucks type). This place serves some tasty curry rice and fishball noodles early in the morning. It's opened as early as 6:45 to 7am, which is ideal for breakfast after my morning run. I mean afterall, why waste all that exercise?

This store sells Hainanese curry rice, which is a variant of the "economy" rice stores out there. Basically you're confronted with an array of side-dishes and you mix and match whichever you choose. As you can see from the spread, some quintessential Hainanese curry rice dishes are present such as the red colored fried pork chop bits, the chicken chop and the various curries and braised sauces.

So spread out before me was my breakfast. I love this store's steamed meatball (bottom-center) because he does not add any flour or any other annoying filler such as preserved vegetable into it. It's just a pure, unadulterated, fatty, minced pork ball.

A special mention needs to be said for their pork chop. There isn't really much meat within the crispy battered coating, in fact, what lies within is so much more sinful and hence tastier. The pork chop is essentially very fatty (almost pure lard bits) cuts of pork, seasoned and deepfried Each piece is just a little fragrant morsel waiting to be chewed on.

But hey, where's the rice? You see, I'm always sort of in a dilemma when I'm here because even though I wouldn't mind eating my Hainanese curry rice the traditional way i.e. with a plate of rice drowned in mix sauces, I love this guy's fishball noodles too much.

He uses good quality (crunchy) fishballs and adds in the token meatball. I love the token meatball. In addition he doesn't mind custom-orders. Mine's usually with extra crispy lard bits and black vinegar (the vinegar dissolves the lard so it's all healthy haha).

Lastly, for the coffee fans, this place serves a pretty fragrant and thick cuppa. I don't drink it often because I'm more of a tea person but on the rare occasion that I do, it has always been satisfying.

D

Sun with Moon, Wheelock Place, Singapore

The little alarm bells in my head started ringing the moment I stepped into this joint. It looked like one of those places that placed a greater emphasis on decor and presentation rather than on the food itself but I still went in with an open mind as I've heard quite abit about the desserts and drinks here. I went during that period between lunch and dinner where the menu was limited to only snacks, sweets and drinks which was fine with me because drinks and sweets were what I had in mind. This review only covers some of the sweets and drinks but if these results could be extrapolated to their main courses, I wouldn't be too eager to come back again.

This is their premium green tea which tasted only very average. In fact I've had much better green tea served on the side at Japanese restaurants. But look, it's so pretty! It comes in a little teapot! Yes, sadly it seemed that this trend of "pretty-looking" foods lacking substance carried on with the rest of the items ordered.

Since they seem to have a plethora of dessert options, we decided to go for the sampler platter. I normally order sampler platters in places I've never been to before because I think it's a good way to give them a fair chance and try abit of everything. I swear that brown blob at the bottom-left there is Kings Brand ice-cream (or at least came from the same factory), it tasted exactly like Kings, I would have expected something slightly more premium for the price I paid. The mochis on the top really gave me a good chew, they were the chewiest (almost rubbery) mochis I've ever eaten, the redbean sauce was pretty good though. The fruits and konnyaku jelly were of run-of-the-mill generic quality and the sesame tofu pudding could not come close to the one I had at Tampopo. In fact the black sesame sauce tasted slightly burnt. But boy did everything look pretty.

Upon recommendation we tried their iced green tea latte. A teenybopper's idol best describes this drink - too sweet and thin. It seemed almost as though milk powder was used in this instead of fresh or even UHT milk. But did it look pretty.

Inspired by all the decorations, I decided to make my own little piece of food art above by utilizing the melted ice-cream, black sesame paste and some soy sauce to express how I felt about this experience. Maybe I came on a "bad day" but inconsistency is a poor excuse. I did notice on the menu that they have aburi sushi here, so there's a remote possibility I may come back. If you're looking for some place to get some good, hearty grub, I'm sorry, this isn't the place for you.

BUT if you're a highschool kid wanting to impress your girl (who's on a diet) on a first date? Welcome to your paradise!

D

Adam Rd Food Centre, Adam Rd, Singapore

Adam Rd Food Centre is a good place to get your fix of Indian and Malay foods during an early supper period. As a friend was craving some Malay fried noodles (mee goreng) we decided to pay this place a visit. I would classify Adam Rd as one of the few remaining old-school hawker centres (like Chomp Chomp) because despite undergoing some renovations previously, it still maintained it's hardcore hawker charm.

We started off the meal with a steaming hot bowl of savory mutton soup. Like its Chinese mutton soup counterpart, the option to add in more exotic items such as "brains" was there but I stuck to the chunks of pure meat. This variant of mutton soup has a very dominant savory taste without excessive herbal overtones. A great way to start a supper.

Another appetizer - Roti John. Legend has it that this dish was the Indian variant of French toast and is actually somewhat an example of pioneering fusion cooking which took place when Singapore was still a colony. I'm no expert on history but I do know this one tasted pretty damn good because not only was there a generous serve of onions and egg in it, but they also included minced mutton.

This serve of mutton chop was actually a mistake because we had intended to order mutton steak instead. But like a blessing in disguise, this was actually one of the top dishes we had. The chunks of muttons were generous and the crinkled cut fries absorbed enough ghee (clarified butter) to make it fantastically fragrant and mouth-wateringly tasty.

Here came the dish we were waiting for - the mee goreng. Unfortunately, it was sort of an anti-climax because we had built up such an anticipation for this and were quite disappointed with the average nature of it. It wasn't bad, just that we had a lot better before. The noodle this time round seemed rather damp and soft and there just wasn't enough smokey, greasy flavor in it. The sunny-side-up egg was done pretty well though.

We decided to try out a store that we didn't notice before. A Chinese-Western store on the other side of the food centre. Their spring chicken was quite tasty and the batter on it was seasoned just right without being too salty. I do appreciate their deep-frying of the bread bun to warm it up. I think anyone who uses deep-frying as a means of warming up any type of food deserves to be commended haha! I would have preferred if they used chunky steak fries instead of shoestring but I guess crinkled is about as chunky as you can get in most stores here.

I do apologize that except for the Chinese-Western and mutton soup store, I did not take note of where I ordered the other stuff from.

D

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Pao, Ngee Ann City, Singapore

Over the years the Crystal Jade group has spawned up eateries at the rate of jellyfish in the Seas of Japan. With branches now spreading out to Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia, I won't be too surprised if I see their company listed pretty soon. I normally frequent their La Mian Xiao Long Pao at Ngee Ann City because it's the most convenient. Most of my meals have been ok. Not spectacular but predictable enough to keep me fairly satiated. Having not come here for quite a few months, I was in the building and decided to patronize them again. Maybe I went on a "bad day" but this has got to be my most unsatisfying Crystal Jade meal.

The meal started on this high-note serve of beef brisket and dumplings in spicy sauce and practically went downhill from there. The beef brisket and tendon were stewed to the right texture and consistency and the dumplings were flavored just nice to complement the chilli-oil gravy.

Crispy pork ribs, these arrived hot and crispy but it was lacking one thing. Flavor! It seemed like marinade (or salt) had become taboo in this restaurant because the major flaw in most of their dishes that followed obeyed a common theme - blandness.

Sichuan "saliva" chicken. The chilli-oil had absolutely no kick in it whatsoever. It's almost as though all the "hotness" in this Sichuan dish was toned down to be rated G.

I normally really enjoy this dish of crispy beanskins, ham and steamed buns because it's like Peking duck, you get to have some fun fixing it up yourself. The beancurd skins and buns were as good as I remembered them to be, the ham was slightly dry but still not too bad, however, the major kick in the face was the orange sauce. This sauce used to have a subtle sweet flavor but today it seemed as though they just went crazy with the sugar (there should be a diabetic warning on this dish). I felt as though I could scoop up some of this sauce and stir it in cold-water for a refreshing glass of Tang.

Nevertheless, I still had some fun playing with this dish and arranging the pieces. A pity I can't say the same when I ate it.

Fried chicken with dried chillis, another Sichuan dish that just went wrong. No flavor, no chilli hotness, nothing...all that lovely grease for nought.

Even their signature dish of xiao long paos could not save the day. They were quite dry today and didn't burst with the soupy goodness I once knew. I do appreciate the touch that they still use chinese cabbage as the dumpling platform rather than just paper.

For some weird reason, they didn't serve the chilled dishes first but interspaced it throughout the meal. Maybe I had to request for the chilled dishes to be served first and probably just took it for granted because that's what they do in Shanghai. This chilled salted duck was quite good, it actually had some salt in it, I figured the chef chould not blatantly ignore the "salt" since it's in the name of the dish.

Marinated boiled belly pork, another chilled dish which tasted pretty decent. Come to think of it, most of the chilled dishes were actually still quite good (with the exception of the saliva chicken). Maybe the chef for the rest of their regular dishes had changed? Or perhaps chilled dishes could be prepared in advanced and hence would taste more well marinated as compared to churning out hundreds of hot items on a crazy crowded weekend afternoon? We may have to call in Mulder and Scully to solve this one.

We ended our savories with a bowl of la mian with fragrant oil. I think that oil would have been pretty fragrant, if I could find any of it that is. It was so dry that all the noodles were just stuck together, luckily we asked them to pre-cut the noodles if not, I would have probably picked up the whole clump of noodles with my chopsticks.

I actually liked this dessert of rice wine grains and glutinous rice balls in syrup. But it's really one of those desserts that begs an acquired taste because some of my dining companions didn't share my sentiment. It's slightly sweet, fragrant and leaves a mild sour taste in your mouth which I thought was a pretty good way to cleanse my palate after this disappointing meal. Was this dessert good? In my opinion, "yes" but it wasn't good enough to pull us out from this sad gustatory abyss we had crashed down into.

D

McDonald's Sundae, Turf Club City, Singapore

There are only a few things worth eating at Maccas, the nuggets and ice-creams are pretty much it.

I think the air-conditioner wasn't working or something because it was really warm that night in Turf Club City and I had to cool myself down abit. What better way than to do so with a McDonald's hot fudge sundae?

I have to admit though, this has got to be the ugliest mother of a Maccas sundae I've ever had. I mean just look at it, it's grotesque, the little pointy tip at the top is limp and there was this little vent-hole at the side where bubbles of trapped air were escaping from. Yes, my sundae had erectile dysfunction and a flatulence issue (I will refrain from any fudge-packing jokes).

I swear I didn't wait for my sundae to melt abit to make something out of nothing, it was really served this way. But the lady who served me the sundae was so cheerful and pleased about it, I could not possibly get peeved. Anyway, it doesn't really affect the taste and I like to stir it all up to form some sludge before eating it. A pity they don't do the super sundaes in Singapore where there's both hot fudge at the bottom and on the top.

D

Warong M. Nasir, Killiney Rd, Singapore

I was at Killiney Rd the other day changing the tires on my ride when I suddenly remembered reading about "The best beef rendang " on Joone's blog and decided to look for it. Actually I didn't really look for it, I only asked the boss at the tire shop where it was and he pointed it out to me. This review is technically not a review on Warong M. Nasir but only the beef rendang because I didn't have time to dine in and just ordered some beef rendang to go.

I must admit I thought the place looked abit dodged because it was pretty spiffy and decked out in modern colors. I always have this presumption that a Malay rice store has to be hardcore for her food to taste good. The staff were friendly and efficient and although their card (I covered up the opening hours to avoid mistakes) says they open at 8am, I was informed they only start at 10am.

So I brought my little package of joy home and sat down to indulge. The gravy is very rich and with one taste I could tell they use fresh coconut cream here. None of those canned or tetra-paked cheap excuses here. The meat is extremely tender and despite the coarse meat fibers it was still soft to chew on without being mushy. I ate this straight but I'm sure the fragrant and rich gravy would go excellent with freshly steamed white rice. The only thing I could wish for was that they would use a cut of beef with a little tendon in it (like the one I had in an Indonesian restaurant), that would have elevated this beef rendang to perfection

The beauty about proclaiming this as "The best beef rending" is that it's really sort of open-ended hey. To what extent it is the best, is determined by yourself.

Is this the best beef rendang along Killiney road? Definitely.
Is this the best beef rendang in the city area of Singapore? Possibly.
Is this the best beef rendang in Singapore? Maybe.
Is this the best beef rendang in Asia? Hmm... you get the idea.

D

Mr Prata, Evans Rd, Singapore

Mr Prata is located along Evans Rd, near the hostel Evans Lodge opposite the previous SMU campus. This place used to be called Prata Cafe so I'm not sure if they have undergone a management change or just decided to "genderise" their facility. Having only eaten here once when it was known as Prata Cafe, it's difficult for me to make any comparisons between the two. The only reason why I came here was it's opened 24hrs and at 330am I couldn't think of anywhere else nearby.

Although they claim to be opened 24hrs, they only serve a limited menu during those wee hours. This is almost like misleading advertising (section 54!) in my opinion because what's the point of staying open when almost 80% of your menu is unavailable? All the stir-fry items such as the malay fried noodle and the Northern Indian food were unavailable when I was there at 330am. Luckily, they still had some meats so we ordered the fried chicken which was pretty average. Dry and salty, it did come warm but didn't taste freshly fried so I'm not sure if they re-fried it or zapped it in the microwave.

Continuing the trend of mediocrity was the curry chicken. It was ok, not spectacular but still rather edible. I'm not sure if they water down the sauce to increase the volume or anything here after the witch's hour because it sure tasted diluted.

The only section of the menu that seemed fully available was the "prata section" so we ordered a prata stuffed with minced mutton (known as a murtabak). Yet again it was average, the pastry wasn't crispy enough and the vegetable/fish curry served with it made the chicken curry taste awesome in comparison.

I'm not sure if the quality and standard of the fare here is compromised to keep themselves opened 24hrs but don't expect much here. It is convenient for the hostel crowd and late night clubbers who will eat anything to sober up.

D

Tampopo, Liang Court, Singapore

It takes alot of courage to name your restaurant after the classic film "Tampopo" and even more bravery to claim to serve Kyushu Jangara Ramen. This little restaurant is actually a combination of both a tonkatsu and ramen restaurant and resides in the basement of Liang Court, right next to Meidi-Ya. I first saw this place a few months ago and decided to give it a shot to see if it lives up to its name.

Their Kyushu Jangara Ramen broth is purported to be boiled over two days and only about twenty odd bowls are served each day. It comes with a nice little dallop of spicy cod roe, half a boiled-braised egg and two slices of pork loin. Any extra ingredients can be added (at an additional fee of course). The soup is salty and quite rich whilst the pork loin with its high fat content almost melts in your mouth. The spicy cod roe is a nice touch because it just gives this dish that little bit more extra flavor to push it into the realms of near divine. The noodles however, could be slightly more springy but this is pretty much a matter of personal taste.

The best way to savor a little of everything from Tomton (the tonkatsu section of this restaurant) is to order the Tomton platter, this consists of the tonkatsu, rolled pork with preserved plum, shrimp and fish. This platter is huge enough to share amongst two to four persons eating a bowl of ramen each. Their quality of fried stuff is fairly decent although I feel that on some days, the tonkatsu is too lean for my liking. It comes with the nice refreshing side of shredded cabbage as well which functions as my obligatory guilt-relief-healthy-lifestyle vegetable haha.

They have quite an assortment of sweets here with some periodic specials which are worth a try because they won't be on the routine menu. This is their mochi-tofu pudding. I'm not sure if there's any dairy in this but it feels so smooth and creamy that most people will be easily hoodwinked into thinking they're eating something dairy in origin. Best of all, it's not too sweet and goes really well with the hot green tea.

This is the first time I ordered this, only because it was named "Scooped Strawberry Shortcake". I thought Strawberry Shortcake was a doll my sister played with when she was a kid haha. The beauty in this dessert is its simplicity. Light and fluffy sponge cake with real creamy dairy whipped cream and some fruits (yes, strawberries too) on top is all you get. And that's all you need because it's sometimes better to just have some straight forward pleasing flavors to cleanse your palate after a meal.

So, now begs the question. "Does Tampopo live up to its name?" If you want some pretty tasty ramen and tonkatsu, this place is probably one of the better ones in Singapore but it's still not Kyushu Jangara Ramen. Please don't get me wrong, Tampopo will consistently deliver a good and satisfying meal for about SGD25 a head but don't expect to be blasted into culinary Nirvana with what they have to offer.

D

Emicakes, D24 Durian Puffs, Singapore

I have a confession to make...
Something I am rather ashamed about...
Something that some people might even deem sacrilegious...

I am NOT a fan of pure durian.

However, I do enjoy durian derivatives such as durian milkshakes, ice-creams, cakes but somehow I never really enjoyed the "King of Fruit" in its glorious essence of purity. Emicakes has a few branches all over Singapore and they do a pretty decent durian puff. They claim to use only pure unadulterated D24 (supposedly the best model?) durian paste in these puffs and I love to eat them chilled.

We did buy some actual durians because my friends are fanatics and I decided to make the next best use out of it (besides eating it); I used some pieces to decorate my durian puff haha. The pastry was actually rather dry which may be a result of the refrigeration but once you get passed that barrier of pastry, the rich, heavenly goodness of the durian paste floods your tastebuds. I still flushed this snack down with some cool Chinese tea, hence retaining some purity of the durian-eating tradition.

D

Lucky Duck......Not

I love duck so much that I almost enjoy cooking it as much as eating it. Duck is a waterbird and has very high fat content. This is good because it allows the chef to have a wider buffer when cooking it. The amount of fat in a duck allows it to withstand being roasted in an oven at higher temperatures and for slightly longer periods without going dry.

As you can see, I like to put my Daffy on a rack because if there's one thing nicer than roast duck, it's duck fat. I normally use the fat to coat baby potatoes before roasting them for a nice crispy finish.

I cook my duck in a slightly more Western style because I don't have the time to let it "hang-dry" like the Chinese roast ducks. Go out, buy your Donald or Daffy and enjoy some good old home roasted crispy duck.

Ingredients:
1. Duck - go for a nice plump one, ducks can lose up to 50% of their weight after cooking due to fat and water loss!
2. Pepper and salt (I normally use a flavored salt such as garlic-salt but normal salt will suffice).
3. Herbs and spices: 1-2 bayleaves, a clove of garlic, a star anise, a stick of young ginger

Method:
1. Stuff your herbs and spices into the cavity of the duck
2. Rub the external surface with the salt and pepper
3. Put it on a rack and into your oven for about 1hr 20mins (for about a size 18 bird) at 160degC (fanforced) or 180degC (non-fanforced).
4. Serve hot

D