u m a m i

Tea Bone Zen Mind

Remember our tea dinner in January?  Good news, Carrie has finally opened her own tea house. Just opposite her shop, on the second floor accessed via a discreetly signposted stairway, is her little hideaway space. Tucked away from the hustle and bustle below, yet conveniently close by. Knowing Carrie's fine taste and attention to detail, one can expect an experience to awaken and refresh all the senses.

Over 50 types of tea served. With unusual snacks like Taiwanese dried fish and wagashi. Old-fashioned and properly made home brews like ginger tea, red date tea and her well-known ba bao cha. To be enjoyed at leisure in the double-volume space decorated in her own inimitable eclectic style. Stylish, unconventional and yet traditional, I believe that very soon the lifestyle magazines will come and coo all over it, so do visit before they do.

Where?

Purvis Seah St. Entrance by door next to Soup Restaurant.

When?

Official opening 1st June. 11.00 a.m- 7.00 p.m ( space available for private function in evenings).

Pineapple and Char

I had the most pleasant surprise when I opened my tar-pow lunch this afternoon. I had ordered rice with char xiu, siew yoke (roast pork) and a soya sauce egg (all for $3.50). The last thing I expected was a sizeable chunk of fresh pineapple nestled in one corner.

Now, I have eaten char xiu rice in Singapore for years, this was the first time it came with pineapple.  So I called my makanguru friend Andrew to solve the puzzle. Andrew thinks that it is probably a substitute for cucumbers that are normally served with char xiu rice. To aid the digestion. Ah! Brilliant idea this is, the pineapple was sweet, tart and juicy, much better than ordinary local cucumbers. Maybe he couldn't get cucumbers in the market today.

And there were lots to digest too. As usual, the portion included so much meat that there were still plenty left after I finished the rice. The soya-sauce egg was lovely too, the whites not too hard yet had absorbed the braising liquid.

This roasted meats stall opened at the same time as our shop did, the first operator was from JB and his roast duck was die die must try but he moved out after about a year, citing rental costs. The stall changed hands a few times after that, and I eventually stopped eating there. Recently I passed by the place and rediscovered it all over again. Hmm, what are the chances of umami getting pineapple with her char xiu rice again?

Where? Coffeeshop at the corner of Lavender St and Race Course Rd. Same unit as Lam's Abalone Noodle.

Tonkichi

Hello Tonkichi my friend. Do you remember me? Probably not, and I can't say I blame you. We've not seen each other for gosh, at least two years, maybe even more. Before then we used to vist more often, at one point we were here almost every fortnight.

I am really glad to be back at this location. You look as good as the day you opened . That was what, at least five years ago? Restaurants nowadays, they make do with flimsy chipwood tables, plastic lighting and idiotic graphics. I find your pendant lamps, subdued wallpaper, wooden booths and the view of the green treetops a whole bunch more pleasant. The J-pop music though, is a little louder and more jarring than before, or is that just my age showing?

You remember husband, no? He said we simply must have some tonkatsu and rice today. He loved your rice so much he used to ask for at least two extra bowls. Don't know whether it is still free-flow now but it doesn't matter now because he has cut down to just one bowl per meal. And, we still buy Tamaki rice and cook it like how you taught us to.

Oh, so many things I like on the menu. What the heck, let's have it all. The misokatsu hire set for husband, the hire kaki set for me, and to share, kamaage udon set. A lot of food huh, your staff promptly tried to give us a bigger table. Good staff you have here, they top up the tea repeatedly and kept asking us if we want extra cabbage. Sometimes they smile too.

We used to like the misokatsu hire set so much we never had to refer to the menu, it was item no 18 and your staff refers to it by its shortened name miso hire. The first time I tried your tonkatsu (fried breaded pork chop) was way back in 1997, at the Taka outlet, by way of my second sister. Her husband loves pork dishes, and one of the things about living in Malaysia is that many places have gone halal. Chicken cha xiu bao and all that, so a Japanese restaurant that specialises in fried pork is not something you'll find easily in KL. So he always made it a point to eat here when he comes to town.

But at that first visit, second sis told me that she didn't like your miso sauce, so I did not get to try it then. That was the only time, because on subsequent visit I found I loved it and sometimes I even asked for extras. It's sweet salty beaniness enhanced with a little mirin coats the cutlets beautifully, especially if combined with the yellow mustard that is hot yet not overpowering, it is simply a great sauce to go with the pork. Much better than ponzu, I'm afraid I still dislike ponzu sauce fervently.

The pork is still very good, all meaty, sweet and juicy. You are terribly consistent. I remember the pig virus scare some years back, I think it was 1999, when nobody served pork and I was suffering severe withdrawal symptoms. We dropped by and discovered to our delight that you were still serving pork as your supply came from USA.

And the breading for the pork, perfectly fried coating of breadcrumbs that stays crisp for a long time.The crumb used to be harder, I remember my upper palate used to be so sore after my meals. But you paid attention, and a few years back changed the breadcrumb to one that would melt in the mouth.

Well, the miso hire is husband's favourite item. Mine has to be the hire kaki set, at least that's what I call my fried oyster and pork fillet set. Your kaki furai is one of the best in town, because the oyster always remain fresh and very juicy in its coating and the tartar sauce that accompanies it has loads of pickled gerkins which I like. But today my oysters were a little small, May is not really the time for them is it?

All those fried foods can be unhealthy but we can always ask for extra portions of finely sliced cabbage which is amazingly crisp and sweet. Other sides include some pickles, I like the cucumbers but not the radish. The miso soup was lovely too, not too salty, with soft little tofu cubes.

And the kamaage udon, another reasons why I prefer your Isetan-Scotts location. The Taka outlet does not serve noodles still? A shame really, your udon with sesame sauce is a wonderful thing. The noodles are addictively chewy and thick, making it the perfect vehicle for the warm, nutty, full-bodied (and tipsy!) sauce. Oiiiishiii! Didn't want to waste the sauce, so I tipped it into the accompanying salad of sliced cabbage and cold pork slices.

We didn't really need the croquette that came with the udon set, already quite full. But we managed to finish that too. It has nice chunks of potato inside, and plenty of minced pork.

The final bit was just as good. I finished with a little cupful of coffee jelly, because I remember that the little raisin you put on top is just such an elegant touch. And it still is.

You have a menu based on a few simple items. Fried pork. Fried seafood. But you pay attention to and are consistently consistent in all the other things that matter too: the decor, the ventilation (no greasy smells at all), the service, the tea, the condiments, the presentation, etc. Which is why you are still in business after all these years, when many other restaurants would have already come and go.

I wish you many more good years ahead. I'll definitely be back, my old friend.

Tonkichi (Isetan)

Level 4, Isetan Scotts

350, Orchard Rd

Shaw House

Tel: 68354648

Last weekend we were visited by Daddy, Mummy and C, my 4th Sister. We took them to the usual places we take visitors to, e.g. the Durian for show-and-tell , Mustafa's and Geylang for a more underbelly feeling, and good old Taka for shopping.

Have infected C with my Mustafa's habit, now all my family knows I spend restless evenings checking out their washing machines and plasma TVs, that now is the season for the highly aromatic Bhangrapalli mangoes, and they have the freshest, widest, cheapest (does not apply to basket-packing types) range of dates in town and of course all the coloured bangles and Bollywood DVDs our hearts desire.

At Taka, C was keen on red-bean desserts. She bought a piece of taiyaki (fish-shaped pancake) and two types of hockey puck pancakes from the auntie manning the taiyaki stall.  And that's when she had her first encounter of The Rude Singapore Service Staff.

The auntie with the black face grumbled loudly that "We don't cut into half" when mummy asked her nicely if she could, the same one who sighed loudly when mummy asked her nicely, again, to pack the cakes in separate paper bags. Sure she gets inane requests like these all the time, but she could have handled it with a bit more grace. The auntie was so rude I felt uncharacteristically tempted to punch her smug face. Mum and sis were shocked, all of us pretended we didn't notice it and carried on shopping.

At Spizza (Balmoral) for dinner later, the waiter was repeating C's order back to her but she was distracted by something mummy said. What did this waiter do? He stopped in the middle of his sentence, waved his hands in front of her and said, HARLOW! so loudly the whole table was startled. Even Mimi sitting below the table stirred. Raised eyebrows around the table. WTF!

Wonder what kind of impression of Singapore C took away with her. C has always thought Singapore is too rigid, too boring, too sanitised. The parents wonder if she will ever settle back home, i.e. Malaysia or failing that, Singapore. The unspoken wish was maybe I, as elder sister, can convince her to move back home, but it has to be a soft sell approach, hence the bazaar like Mustafa's, the sweaty noodle experience at Lai Heng, the jog around the pleasant grounds around TTSH. C prefers her life in London, when she needs excitement she goes to Cuba to learn Spanish and improve her salsa, or apply to MSF to work in Guangxi which is what she will be doing for the next six months. I like to think that after staying three days with us she changed her mind a little but definitely not enough to make any difference. I also hate to think that on top of thinking this place quite dull, it is also rather rude. It really was too bad.

Gim Tin

Makan with friends May 05:

One more minute and I would have to photograph an empty plate. How to resist suckling pig? Crispy suckling pig rubbed with sambal belacan. Enak sekali.

Fried tapioca noodle dough. Old-fashioned. Chewy. Sticky. Yummy.

Wine. White. Red. Brain too fuzzy to write anymore.

Gim Tin Restaurant (air-con),

Blk 157 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 #01-546

T:6459 7766.

Did you do it?

I have only done 9 of the The Top 50 Things Every Foodie should Do. I am a failed foodie, boohoo.

1. Make toast. We, as in my university mates, made toast in a similar fashion at the cottage rental in the Cotswold a long time ago. There was white bread cut from a loaf, and things cooking on the Aga e.g. sausages and mushrooms.

3. Dismember a chicken: Learnt from watching Chan-Che, our multi-tasking nanny/cook/cleaner, she did it on geese and ducks too. Not difficult. But I hate chicken kidneys.

5. Boil a new-laid egg: Back in the 70's most people I knew kept chickens in their yard. But I didn't eat boiled eggs with granary toast soldiers because we don't get that kind of bread in Malaysia routinely. Not until I went to my friend S's converted farmhouse in Norfolk two years ago. She has all those fresh-laid eggs from her chickens and ducks all the time but she never heard about eating it soft-boiled which is how I like it, i.e. runny whites and partially set yolks. I think 4.5 minutes on the boil is too long and too hot, I would just set the eggs in a bowl of just-boiled water and cover bowl for 10 minutes.

6. Dine at The French Laundry. Check. Last November

23. Order fish at Doyle's. On a working trip in the late 90's. Technically my order was a lobster salad which I didn't enjoy because the lobster was too cold and hard. Pinched my colleagues grilled fish though.

26. Dice with death. Have had fugu about 3-4 times, mostly in the dried form. Too chewy, pffaw. Tried a delicious grilled version at Nara in Goldhill Sq a few months ago.

31. Get up early and go to market. Avignon is part of Provence right? I remember going to a market, was it Arles? Also markets in San Francisco and Melbourne, and of course the wet markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok.

40. Bake a loaf of bread. My first loaf was an olive bread, saw a TV cook make it on telly and it looked easy so I tried it and it was delicious.

44. Catch a lobster: Nantucket Island is near Kennebunkport I suppose, and the fresh lobsters with melted butter at Noonan the Lobster Shack was quite unforgettable.

Maybe I get points for trying?

28. Dine at Jean Georges in New York. I ate at the Shanghai outpost.

30. Queue for fish and chips. But not at the chippie mentioned in the article.

50. Go for a pee at Felix. Not fair, only guys get to do that. Husband still gets a thrill from the memory though.

Seriously, the list is too Euro-centric for me. We should have a list for Asian food. Some ideas:

1. Eat grilled pork and potatoes at Fernandas, Macau.
2. Make kaya from scratch
3. Gather herbs for nasi ulam in the kampung.
4. Open a just-fell-from-tree durian with a parang knife.
5. Eat patin fish in Genting-actually I haven't done this, keep meaning to though.
6. Dismember a chicken, then make chicken rice with it. Haha.
7. Eat Kajang satay- that stall in the stadium food centre
8. Make indian pickles from scratch, with fruits from own orchards.
9. Participate in an authentic loak tok panjang.
10. Drink gyokuro.

Ideas anyone?

Where did I eat April 2005

April was a month of discoveries. Of interesting new places and places that have been right at my doorstep all these while.

Heng Hwa Hometown Cze Char(2/2) is an example that fits both descriptions. At No 276 Race Course S 218628. T: 62941061 . One day I took a taxi to work and when we passed this place the driver told me that the prawn noodle here is very good. He should know right? Being a taxi driver and therefore in a good position to explore the island and discover the best-est and the cheapest. Nah, turned out the noodles were only passable. But the cze char stall at the same shop was doing brisk business serving Heng Hwa dishes.

Heng Hwa is Hokkien sub-group and the main trade for this dialect group is the motor parts (engines, absorbers, pistons, bearings etc) or as the trade call themselves, spare parts business in Malaysia and Singapore. I know this because my father being a Cantonese man had a hard time getting accepted in this business when he first started it some thirty over years ago, the Chinese especially of his generation being typically very clannish and clique-y. In Singapore, the spare parts "hub" (local business accounts for only 30-40%, the rest gets re-exported to Brunei, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar, like, uhm, you know, the regional countries, and even Russia. It has been like this long before "hub" became such a mis-/ab-used word, but I guess Spare Parts Hub will never sound as glorious as Casino IR Hub, Money Chasing Finance Hub or White Elephant Semiconductor Hub) is concentrated in the side lanes off and along the stretch of Serangoon Rd between Rochor Rd and Lavender St, which pretty much decided why we came to this neighbourhood eleven years ago. How time flies. Now I spend about 2.5 days in the family business while the other 3 days of the week I work in a totally unrelated field over at outerspace Boon Lay.

Anyways, I digress. Heng Hwa food is easy to like. Their ancestral village must have been near the sea because seafood features prominently. Rice vermicelli noodles are typically cooked in rich seafood broth and garnished with loads of dried shrimps mussels, la-la clams and the usual pork and vegetables. I tried both the soup and stir-fried versions, both very shiok but I like the stir-fried noodles more as they seem to absorb the flavours of the broth better. Another dish that everyone orders is their mundane-sounding but delicious Deep-Fried Fish. Husband says it was garoupa though I think it is more like mackerel but no matter, point is they fried it very well. A group of aunties, with whom I shared a table one rainy afternoon, grudgingly conceded that they cannot replicate the fine- inside-crispy-outside characteristic at home.

Another surprise find was Lerk Thai at Singapore Expo: Located outside Hall 6 of the Singapore Expo building where the 142nd SKC dog show was held. Not many food options there besides fast food and food court. Lerk Thai is one of what, only three restaurants at that isolated place, therefore they are guaranteed a captive audience anytime a major event is held there. But we were pleasantly surprised that the food was quite tasty and inexpensive. Not at all authentic but adequate renditions of pad thai, pomelo salad, green curry etc. Run by Select caterers.

Iggy's, Regent Hotel (1/1): I had been meaning to try this place because I like the idea of ingredient-driven menus. Husband when phoning for reservations asked if photography was allowed. The lady not only said yes but gave us seats with a direct view of the kitchen. I counted at least 10 different colour-coded chopping board from my vantage viewpoint. Unfortunately I forgot to charge my battery and the camera died after the first course.

Fortunately the set dinner we had was largely enjoyable, my favourite dish being the Wagyu beef cheek with truffled potatoes because the cheek meat was both tenderly meaty and gelatinous. Also very good was husband's pasta carbonara, I mean carbonara with all its cream and cheese and bacon is always going to be good, but once you add truffles like they did here, of course it got even better. For dessert we shared a melted vacherin mont d'or salad first and then cleansed the palate with a pleasantly lip-puckering green apple sorbet. We will return.

What I enjoyed more than the food was the experience of sitting at the wide counter-top. It has the familiarity of a sushi counter without having to jostle with the chilling cabinets for space. Also, kaypoh diners like me can stare at the neighbours plates without craning the neck too much.

Kuriya Dining, Great World City: I used to like eating here when they first opened. Then one day I ran into E, previously sushi chef at Sushi Sagano, after he met with them for an interview. They were very patronizing to him, offering a junior position with monthly pay of $1000. Which I thought was insulting beyond belief as E had been in the business many years, served his apprenticeship with  (local) Japanese sushi chefs and basically paid his dues. So I boycotted them but the other day husband out of the blue said we should go back to Kuriya and I got to thinking, well, I am at their more down-market Ichiban all the time anyway so what point was my boycott trying to make.

I'll concede that their food is better than I remembered. Mochi grilled till crispy and brown outside and then poured over with a thick soup enlivened with wolfberries and golden needle mushroom was homely and rich. Sashimi was flawlessly fresh. The mentaiko omelet sounded good but in reality had too much mayonnaise which ruined it for me. Service was on the whole haphazard and uncoordinated. Discovered also that they have their own restrooms, unlike the other restaurant tenants in the building.

Also Por Kee with the makan gang.

Only one bad-egg experience: Central, Holland Village: Cha charn tng or Hong Kong style cafe. Charmless and clueless. Waste of time, money and my blogspace.

Some familiar places:

Epicurious (2/4): After four visits in two months, I am starting to entertain unfaithful thoughts about eating at the next door Japanese book cafe, because I used to like their simple cooked dishes like mapo-tofu and tried my first ever coffee jelly there about five years ago. But not sure how they would handle our dogs, have never seen the tidy Japanese customers bring theirs along.

Spizza (3/3): Because there is a branch nearby. They have a nice timber deck with plants and soft lighting which helps mute the noise from the road junction. The staff are very friendly with dogs. Delicious pizza with thin crispy base. We also discovered that if we asked for the mozarella to be omitted they will pile on extra toppings to compensate.

Crystal Jade Kitchen, GWC (1/8): They have new dishes. The prawns with egg yolk was good, so was the ham and crispy bean curd skin wrapped in mantou.

Some nice eats near my office in outerspace Boon Lay:

Fin/ Western, Kopitiam, IMM 2nd Level: The fish and chips here is very popular and deservedly so. The batter is crispy and has a piquant seasoning, the chef's secret recipe apparently, which may not be Brit ideal but is fine with me. The chips were unfortunately not the thick sort I was hoping to get. A rare sight for me, especially in a food court, was the bottle of malt vinegar which customers could help themselves to. I don't know why but no matter how much vinegar I pour my chips are never sour enough is it because I like my chips all salty and vinegary? And, for additional 50 cents one could also buy the mushroom soup which was almost 50% mushroom (canned, not fresh, but I am not quibbling for that price). If they continue this way it will be a short time before they move out of the food court environment.

Penang Place, IBP (1/2): Colleague and I treated our department secretary because it was Secretary's Week. The buffet spread gets my approval because almost all the dishes, especially the char kway teow, spicy prawn noodle soup, kuehs and bubur terigu are of very high standards. In fact I feel that their spread is better than the one at Copthorne Kings and the prices more reasonable. Cons: Location in outerspace Boon Lay.

Another good eatery is the Sergeant Chicken Rice at the Chevron building. The stall owner used to work at the Mandarin Chatterbox cafe so he knows some secrets to the famous chicken rice. Now we know where he moved to after leaving his premises at the Killiney Kopitiam at Novenaville last year.

Farmhouse Family Restaurant

Above: arguably the best wor-tip (otherwise known as guo-tie or potstickers) in Singapore. The skin is that beautiful blend of crispy and chewy without any trace of oil. The pork and chive filling is not too greasy, just juicy enough that when bitten into a squirt of hot stock would escape.

There is a boiled version which had a perfectly resilient skin, but the fried version is far superior. Other winning dishes for me included jellied pigs' ears, pig skin in aspic, liang fen (transparent green bean noodles) salad, stir-fried la-mian and hot-plate mutton. All typical Dongbei dishes but modified to suit local preference for less oil and salt.

BYO (sans corkage) of course. There were other dishes too but my memory is rather blurred by the copious amounts of wine shared by the hosts and other friends. I am no good at remembering names, but we had rose, muscadet, pinot noir, Cote du Rhone, cabernet sauvignon (Margaux, St Julien & Orlando Jacaranda), grenache and also the dullest one, an 1998 Australian cabernet merlot which husband bought because the bottle was decorated with six medal stickers.

Where? At family-run Farmhouse Family Restaurant at 72-74 Tanjong Pagar Road. The family came over to Singapore from China not too long ago. Father cooks, mother washes and son serves. The son is  streetwise and quick-witted, impressive qualities given that he is probably no older than 14 or 15. He works harder and smarter than ten waiters combined.

The owners have put some effort into the decorations and ambience too. The place is air-conditioned and the tables are covered with bright tablecloth printed with flowers. Chairs are covered in white slipcovers with red piping. And like many places in China, bottles of soya sauce and black vinegar is placed prominently on each table. Of course Chairman Mao's posters adorn the walls. He would definitely approve of the honest and good food served here. 

Por Kee

In the four and a half years I worked in the Outram campus, my colleagues were always talking about neighbourhoorhood cze char place Por Kee in satisfied, approving tones. Time and again they would find reasons to eat there, CNY, Secretary's Day, farewells, welcomes, anything really. Time and again something would come up that prevented me from joining them; I was away, too busy, the place was undergoing renovation, bad hair day, whatever. I even recce the place with husband once but could not find a parking lot so we gave up.

Only after I quit my job did I finally get an opportunity to find out what the big deal was. During the April gathering of the makan gang. Yes, the food at Por Kee is a few notches better than your average cze char operations, serving homely dishes with no frills. Very reasonable prices of course, an endless feast was had for $25 per person.

Standout dishes included a Seafood Yam Ring that did not taste like it came from a factory, a wok-fragrant beef hor-fun and an insanely potent Three Pepper Prawn Soup. My friend slurp took some beautiful dishes which he posted here.

But the rousing start did fizzle out towards the end. Careless afterthoughts like the mis-named Champagne Rib (?rice champagne), and spongy venison marred the overall good impression somewhat. To be fair the restaurant prides itself on its seafood dishes which were quite excellent throughout, so it may be a good idea to avoid ordering red meat next time.

Por Kee Eating House

Por Kee Eating House
Blk 69 Seng Poh Lane #01-02 S(160069)
Tel : 6221 0582

Did you enjoy your MC?

Went to see my gynae for follow-up today. He asked if I enjoyed my MC (medical leave). Oh yes I did. Because while on MC I

• Can sleep as much as I want.
• Don't have to do any chores at all, including giving the dogs their vitamins and brushing their teeth. But can play with them the whole day long.
• I also went out with a girlfriend for lunch and shopping. Had to resist ordering the shrimp salad (because mummy said shrimps are a no-no after surgery) at Royal Copenhagen, persuaded friend to eat it instead so I could steal one tiny piece. But shopping while on MC was very tiring. I felt like an old lady and walked really slowly. Noticed that shopping malls do not provide much resting benches for tired shoppers. They only want to force people to patronise St*rbucks and D+lifrance. Luckily there was the Osim fair happening in Taka basement. I pretended to be interested in an iDesire massage chair so the salesman let me use one for almost 30 minutes but I had to listen to his sales spiel. As if I would fork out $7800 for a massage machine, that much silly money can buy me years of massage in Bangkok. But the brain rot has set in, my inner auntie is actually contemplating their iEcologie vacuum-steam cleaner seriously.
• Received lovely fruit-and-flower baskets from my two bosses. The fruit selection in these baskets are not bad. Like lovely fat crimson grapes which are crunchy and sweet. A big rosy dragonfruit. Kiwis. Mangoes for my chicken salad. A big ya-pear for turning into a tong-sui with red dates and lily buds.
• Grapes make lovely snack while watching Lovers in Paris, a Korean series, in its entirety. The male actor very hansem one. He kept me captivated so I had no time to do those things I planned to do while on MC, like blogging and sewing.

I have one more week of MC left. But I am feeling quite well, maybe just a teensy bit tired, but definitely not tired enough to forget the work piling up in the office though, so, tomorrow it will be back to the office we go.

In the meantime, I have the rerun of Gilmore Girls IV to  catch up on. Shown every day at 5.00 pm, this would be one of those things I would definitely miss....