u m a m i

Luka Italian - Dining/Pizza/Bar

Who doesn't like pizza? I don't know anyone who doesn't.

Pizza is a universal favourite food. Unfortunately we are not that well served for pizzas in our city. Sure we have the big chains that are convenient but quite horrid, my chief complain is the rank frozen smell from the dough sitting too long in the freezer. We had some good pizzerias until about six months ago, such as Cicheti and Pizza Fabricca, but quality has declined until we can't justify the prices anymore. We mourn the loss of our neighbourhood Extra Virgin Pizza, and even Crust refuses to deliver to our area these days. I have never liked Mozza and Skinny Pizza, because the crust is more cracker-like than bready. Peperoni? Don't like them either, a bit too much like Hard Rock Cafe, too loud, too theme-park. Atmastel? Only if someone else is paying, pizzas should not be costing $29+++.

Well, it seems like there are positive changes. There are 3 new pizza places in town. Last Saturday, we tried out one of them, mainly because they were open. To our delight, they are still featuring their Grand Opening menu; even though they have been opened since mid-May.

When was the last time you saw squid ink pasta at $18? Year 2000? I can't remember either, I only know my husband loves this dish and whenever we order it (actually,  must pre-order, and they then lay your table with black linen instead of the usual white, in order to make the food stains less obvious) at Restaurant da Valentino we always get a small heart attack when the bill is presented. 

Anyway, no sadness this time. The squid ink pasta was very delicious, and generously portioned too. The pizzas were very good, topped with lots of ingredients and very satisfying. I especially liked the Marinara with anchovies, it's a clever combination because it maximises the umami factor, and still allows V the option of having her favourite pizza by simply removing the anchovies before she eats.  They use wood-fired oven, which helps the dough to rise spectacularly and encourages lots of blisters in the crust. My only complaint is the crust is a little tough, not chewy, but kind of hard, but not so bad that I leave it behind. 

I looked through the online menu, it has a wider selection of dishes than what was available last Saturday lunchtime. Definitely a reason to re-visit, better try to do it before the inevitable price hikes. 

Luka Italian

18 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088441

T: +65 6221 3988

closed on Sundays

Boss & Me, C-drama adaptation of Come & Eat, Shan Shan

I binge-watched this C-drama over the weekend. 

Image from the wiki page 

To take a break from the non-stop action in the xianxia stories I am following, I clicked around and discovered the works of Gu Man. Come & Eat, Shan Shan is a quick 2-3 hour read as a highly enjoyable modern romance, and I was thrilled to discover there is a C-drama of it. 

The C-drama Boss & Me expands on the novel, and they adapted most of the memorable parts. It's modern Cinderella with a typical cold over-powered male lead and an adorable female lead. Released in 2014, and very popular, there are a few favourable reviews online. I love the main characters and the levity of the plot, they kept the comic elements so there are many scenes to chuckle over. 

The story and drama plays a lot with the word 'eat ' and some food terms, so let's talk about it. 

Male lead character, Feng Teng, is said by another character as being 'on top of the food chain'. 

The female lead character is Xue Shan Shan. She loves to eat. When someone asked Feng Teng in the drama why he likes Shan Shan, he replied that she loves to eat. Actually, in the novel, he said she is 'easy to eat', which is interesting. In Chinese, to eat someone is to get the better of them, to take advantage, to get the desired result, to cheat, you get the idea? She is a simple person unlike the devious and over-ambitious types that he sees at work and socially. 

Shan Shan came to Feng Teng's notice because she had the same rare blood type as his own sister, and donated some to the sister during an emergency. To give thanks, the sister sent Shan Shan packed lunches to fortify her. Every day, the lunch box will include stir-fried pork liver. Shan Shan enjoyed the pork liver the first time, but was pretty sick of it after a few weeks. Her colleagues gossiped that she is receiving special treatment and is favoured by the boss, Shan Shan sighs and says if only it is true, then she should be getting foie gras instead!

In the novel, to eat is also an euphimism for having sex. It's not in the drama, but in the novel we read about them 'eating' too. What's the book title again? 

Caffe Beviamo, Tanglin Mall

I would not have noticed Caffe Beviamo if not for the fact that it has an open plan kitchen that is visible from the third floor of the building. The third floor of Tanglin Mall, where my quilting teacher's shop Quilts N Calicoes used to be located at.

While waiting for the quilt shop to open, I could observe the kitchen below preparing for lunch service. I watched them make their cakes and cookies from scratch. The range is not wide, nor are they terribly fancy, just a few comforting standbys like scones, lamingtons, Victoria sponge sandwiched with jam and cookies which my daughter was very fond of. 

After a few years, I know what I like. I always get the egg sandwich, it's a simple thing done well. Sure, I could make it myself, but the version here is not too bad. They use good juicy flavoursome tomatoes, and there is plenty of, but not excessively so, rich egg mayonaisse, held together in toasted ciabatta. The child usually orders the pizza or pasta, and of course, the babyccino which is nothing more than shot milk with foam served like a capuccino. Husband is like me, he has tried almost everything in the menu, and in the end, he ends up ordering the same thing as me. 

My favourite item in the menu though, is their Hummingbird cake. I love finding chunks of pineapple and bits of chopped walnut in almost every bite, it is rich with spices and coconuts. There isn't too much frosting, but what little of it is delicious and goes so well with the cake. Sometimes the cake gets a bit dense, but never soggy or sticky, and the crust is always perfect. My second favourite cake their apple cake,  it's a light tea cake, the apples inside are always that desirable balance of sweet and tart. 

CAFFE BEVIAMO
163 Tanglin Road
#02-K1 Tanglin Mall
Singapore 247933
Telephone: +65 6738 7906

C-drama Princess Agents

                                                                (Image from wiki page)

 Update 2 August 2017: The final episode was screened last night. The ending sucks, it is actually a cliffhanger. However, the casting and production schedule for the next season is not even confirmed, who knows when they will continue the story. Viewers are very upset, I visited the forums and there was a lot of howling and screaming. Watch at your own risk. 

I have a long list of English translated light novels that I am trying to read, as well as at least 3 C-dramas that I am following on Viki. Which should leave me little time for any new distractions, but the moment I watched the first episode of Princess Agents, I was totally hooked. 

Zhao Liying is awesome as the main character. She can always be depended upon to carry entire shows and is one of the most highly paid, if not the most highly paid, actress in mainland China. Beautiful, fearless, strong and yet vulnerable, of course she will be paired with at least 2 lead actors. Storyline is quite predictable, but execution is compelling, and much "feels" in every episode. We are only 8 episodes in, available for anyone to watch on Youtube. Don't miss!!

Suju Japanese Restaurant, Mandarin Gallery

Suju was an accidental finding for us. When Ippudo opened in Mandarin Gallery, a friend's daughter was keen to try, but we were intimidated by the long lines and we ended up eating at the restaurant next door. What a pleasant surprise, we had a wonderful Japanese dinner and since then (8 years already, I think) it has become a firm family favourite. 

Everything in the menu is good. It is a very ingredient-centred place, whether imported from Japan or elsewhere, the main criteria seems to be deliciousness. Their lunch sets are amazing value, and I return time and again for only one item: Char-Grilled Chicken ($24+++).

It's just a grilled chicken chop, but the skin is crispy and salty with a bit of smokiness, the meat is juicy and succulent without any of the dankness associated with frozen battery chicken meat. The chicken tastes like it should, clean and distinctively chicken-y, like good chicken should. Husband read somewhere that they use Kee Song GG chicken, which for a while was available at NTUC outlets but are now quite elusive, so I am not sure how true this information is. All I know is, I love this dish, to the point that I can't be bothered with anything else on their menu. I can eat this every day for the rest of my life if I have to. 

The chicken is served with a bowl of rice, miso soup and pickles. The pickles are delicious too, it's the fresh type, made to be eaten immediately or within a couple of days, the brine fruity and plummy rather than salty or sour, making the radish even more exciting than it could ever dream of. The soup is  probably quite good, I don't drink much miso soup because I don't think it's good for my blood pressure, but my daughter loves it.

The only way they can improve this dish is to serve the chicken ON TOP of the rice, which would allow the meat and lemon juices to drip onto and flavour the rice, but I have never been able to convince the staff to this idea. So I always end up tipping the plate over my rice to drizzle the jus over, it's an awkward act to do this without dropping the meat pieces, and probably a bit uncouth. 

Service is not bad, at least the staff don't give robotic answers or talk too loudly. The background music is very tasteful, most of the time it's French jazz. They closed recently for renovation, but it looks Exactly the same as before, i.e. dark woods, muted soft furnishings. I thought they don't take reservations but apparently they do, but most of the time, you can easily walk in. 

Suju Restaurant

Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Road, #04-05
+65 6737 7764
Open for lunch from 11.30am to 4.30pm and dinner from 4.30pm to 10.30pm

God of War, Zhao Yun

As I am still suffering withdrawal symptoms after finishing Ten Miles of Peach Blossom, I turned back to Viki in the hopes of finding another C-drama that I can immerse myself in. Unfortunately their C-drama library does not include the most popular shows. I have enjoyed Nirvana in Fire, The Disguiser, When a Snail Falls in Love, Love Me If You Dare and Surgeons, but the other dramas do not sustain my interest. After cycling through a few of the recent offerings, the furthest I've watched is God of War, Zhao Yun. 

(image taken directly from Viki site )

I have long been a fan of the Three Kingdom stories. The translated book is not the most engaging work mainly because the style is dry and reads like a historical journal, but there is so much material inside that has been spunned off into movies and games. Heck, it's no secret that I was quite addicted to the MMO game  Three Kingdoms Online up till about 5 years ago. Team Cao Cao, always, but my all-time favourite character is Zhao Zi Long, also known as Zhao Yun. His character was battling baddies while holding a baby long before Chow Yun Fatt was born. I like Zhao Yun so much that I actually spent money buying his cute little figurine. 

This little guy measures about 3 inches. Sooo cute!

Anyway, the C-drama. I can't recommend it for plot, which is focusing on the early development of our hero and heavily romance-based, nor for it's production values which is mainly cheap-looking CGIs , choppy editing and terrible pacing. However, it spent quite a big chunk of budget on its photogenic cast.

Lin Geng Xin, above, plays Zhao Yun. I was very impressed with his 14th Son character in Scarlet Heart, because he looked very heroic in armour and he looked adorable even as he pouted and acted as an angry young man. As Zhao Yun though, his acting inadequacies seem more obvious, but maybe it's early days yet, he will probably be better once he evolves into battlegear-wearing hero. 

The character that hooked me in though, was actually LvBv. Played by Godfrey Gao, hitherto unbeknownst to me, but I googled him and found out that he is a Taiwanese actor. Like Wallace Huo and Mark Chao, seems to me Taiwanese actors of good looks can find more success in mainland China. So, I was falling asleep trying to like this show about my favourite Three Kingdoms character, when suddenly this character burst on to my screen. Such a resplendent figure! I have never seen, and I have been watching costume dramas for many decades now, such a splendid costume before. Gold plated scaled armour with winged shoulderpads, scarlet robe, purple floral sash, winged coronet complete with that red woolly bobble that vibrates with every step. His costumes are all like this, magnificient, unapologetically OTT. Being tall and muscular, he wears them well, on most other pretty-boy actors it would be too overwhelming. Then I also noticed that he is also quite handsome, and I found my reason to continue watching this drama. LvBv as a character should be a fun challenge to play and watch-he has strong fighting attributes and almost impossible to defeat, also self-serving and cunning, and terribly vain.- so i will stick around for a while. Diao Chan is played by a cookie-cutter guniang actress, very dull, so he gets all the limelight whenever they are together. 

Despite the failings of this drama, i.e. poor plot, poor production etc, it is enjoying rather good success. One reason is that the cast also includes a popular Korean actor ( poor guy, he can't measure up to Lin Geng Xin or Godfrey Gao in terms of looks, talents or charisma, so I can't be bothered to look up his wiki) and this pretty young actress / singer Yoona who is apparently hugely popular. Certainly most of the adoring comments are for her alone. She plays a sassy character, quite watchable.