Cheap Eats in the East

My strong affinity with the East side of Singapore has alot to do with the fact that I was raised and schooled here. But for most part, it is the sheer delight in the abundance of cheap and good food easily available in this area that has my head pounding in ecstasy. Okay, perhaps that is a rather strong metaphor but I will stand by it and ask that you check with another Eastie. I can assure you that it is most likely the appetising buffet of sweet, sour, and hot that gets our blood pumping more than anything. Couple that with a rich culture and breezy location, and you know you have a winner.

Granted that the East is not so small, you must be wondering which part of this Eastern side I am talking about. Well well well, that photo above should be ample enough, if you do live in this area.

That my friend which you see above is my latest new favourite cheap food find. This fine gem sits at the junction of East Coast and Joo Chiat Road. Its exact location is 125 Joo Chiat Road, in a coffeeshop called D'Orange. Dot discovered this place last week when her colleague brought her to try it. Her workplace is right smack in Katong so exploring the great eats there is really convenient. It's a blessing I say, because I get to benefit as well. I've tried several great eats there due to her recommendations and all have turned out to be really satisfying and lip-smackingly good.

Every person should have at least one foodie friend who loves food just as much as you do. That way, you can always count on stumbling on great food finds even when you aren't looking. :) Dot is obviously a foodie like me and as said, most of the time when we chill out, it usually surrounds not just fun adventures but also delicious outings. Yesterday was one of them.

After mass ended at OLPS, we met and headed to 125 Joo Chiat Road, the place that's about to become my favourite la mian and xiao long bao dig. Known as Dragon Delights, this small little stall is tucked right behind Mary's Tau Kwa Pau stall and a famous hokkien mee & char kway teow stall. I was quite surprised to find out about this place because truth be told, I've never bothered entering the coffeeshop though I've walked past it a million times. Shame on me I say. This is what happens when you become too comfortable with your current food choices and don't bother sussing out other potential good eats. Curiousity never killed the cat, it only made it happier. I should learn.

Okay, on to the la mian a.k.a. pulled noodles. Till this day I still hold a deep fascination for the way pulled noodles come together. Pulled dough never gave you silky slim threads of noodles, at least that was what I thought when I used to be young and ignorant. I used to tell myself that it was all just a simple trick. Perhaps the chef just wanted some theatrics so when in an open kitchen, he would play with balls of dough, stretching it out, long and wide, slamming it onto the countertop one time, two times, three times following a rhythem and then when no one's looking, he'll hide the 'play' dough and use pre-cut noodles to cook and serve. Can you believe how silly that is? No wonder I never really was good in science. If only I knew that how magical flour can be. Pulled noodles are far from a figment of my imagination. They are a real treat, especially when done well. Like these:




They look like tagliatelle which is one of my favourite pastas especially for pairing with thick sauces. This bowl here is actually zha jiang mian, which means 'fried sauce noodles'. This is a popular chinese dry noodle dish that's loved by those looking for something with a salty bite. It's usually paired with normal thin pulled noodles but Dot ordered the flat version as seen here because we both think it goes better with the thick meat sauce.



Not only were the noodles done al dente, the sauce itself can be compared and referred to as an Asian version of bechamel sauce. It sounds far fetched, but just the texture and flavour of the minced pork and sauce itself kind of made me to a double-take. For a split second, I did almost think I was slurping up Italian pasta. You know a sauce is good when you find yourself wanting to lick every morsel off the bowl, throwing away all thoughts of hygiene and potential embarrassment. These noodles were cheap too. At $3.50 a bowl, I must say it is a steal, especially since it was a generous portion.

And if you think the pulled noodles were the main attraction, you're so wrong. Ahem, shall I present what is by far the cheapest xiao long bao ever:




These cost us only $2.80. Okay, so they are cheap. Your natural instinct would of course be, 'Okay, for that price, it's cheap, but is it good?'.

'YES', would be my immediate answer.

Go try some if you doubt me.

The silky skin folded tightly, yielded neat folds that were thin and uniformed:




Gently prodding each dumpling, I slowly transferred one to my spoon carefully, lest I waste the precious caramel-brown coloured broth held in by the thin and slightly buoyant skin.

Once it slid into my mouth, I closed it, preparing for the warm flood as my teeth sank into the dumpling, breaking the delicate skin in the process. Yes it was good and yes it was $2.80 very well spent. We could have ordered several more portions if only we hadn't gotten a plate of hokkien mee and some tau kwa pau already.

Just for you, I broke one dumpling in my spoon to show the beauty of such well-made xiao long bao:



Let me guess, you certainly wish you had a steamer full of piping hot xiao long baos in front of you now eh? Unforgettable dumplings I'd call them. This would be my new xiao long bao place from now on. It's a commitment I'd gladly take on. My compliments to the chef. I hear that they've been here for quite a while and I actually saw several proudly displayed food awards. Quite surprising however, that the stall was not packed and super busy. Hey, I'm not complaining. It's good this way I guess, so I can easily get my fill of xiao long baos without a long wait.

Here's how the stall looks like:



As you can see, it's very much no frills. Everything is said in the food.

The xiao long baos all wrapped and ready to be steamed:



If you think that was the end of our Sunday lunch, you are so wrong. We were indeed full from our meal but not full enough to want to skip dessert. When it comes to dessert, we always have appetite for it. Of course we went with something light, something icy and again, a new find as discovered by Dot. This one's really close to her office. Called Summer Frost, it's actually kind of like an ice-kachang place, except that they use flavoured milk ice. The flavours offered are champagne grape, peanut, black sesame, green tea, and milk. It comes with a topping of your choice and only cost $2.

I chose black sesame and paired it with nata de coco:



While Dot got the green tea one and paired it with chocolate chips:



We really liked the combinations we chose. My black sesame ice was flavoured with the right amount of milk and black sesame and the nata de coco added a lovely bit to it. It was refreshing. Dot's green tea ice was great too. I was rather surprised that I could really taste the green tea. I think they used matcha powder. The chocolate chips given was great, and I think they were dark chocolate, and wasn't too sweet. These desserts are a great end to any meal, especially on a hot day.

If you thought our lunch was delicious, you should hear what we had for dinner yesterday: fried or luak (oysters) and ikan penyet from Changi Village. Sorry I don't have photos for those dishes. We were really hungry from cycling all the way from home. These days, my favourite hobby is cycling to a food destination for a satisfying meal and then cycling back home or to another place that grabs my nose. Yes, did I tell you how sometimes I let my nose lead me to my great food finds? But ah, that's nothing new.

What about you, how do you stumble onto your food finds? What are your sources? Feel free to share them with me, and of course, if there's any other place that you love and think that I would like as well, drop me a note.

Satisfying my cravings

Till this day, I still find my love of food to be an utter blessing. I'm glad I enjoy eating. It does sound tragically mundane but it's really not. That's because I do know some people who find eating a chore. I find that to be quite a pity though. Look at it this way - we have three meals a day to play with (some say more, especially those who snack, including me) and I would say it can be exciting, the anticipation that creeps up prior to a meal as I ponder, dream or crave the food that I'm to partake. You know me, I'm the girl who thinks about what to have for dinner even before I've gone out for lunch. And there are those times when watching food porn on Tastespotting simply triggers a random food outburst, or yearning. It's no joke. It's dangerous to look at photos of food when I'm hungry. I just want to peel off the liquid crystal layers of my laptop and hope that I can find a sliver of that vividly rich velvet cake somehow.

In some ways, I think food cravings are fun. I enjoy the process. To me, it's a game. A game where I try to sense what I feel like eating. At times, it can seem weird. Take for example just now - I was walking home in the pouring rain (with my trusty green umbrella of course) and I passed by a block of flats and just for that few seconds, my nose picked up the comforting scent of curry. Yes, piping hot, and bubbly curry. It was a quick scent so I was not able to pick out what type of curry it was. All I know is that for that split second, I could picture a bowl of that spicy thick broth paired with warm toasted french loaves ready to be coated with that golden sauce of heaven to be consumed by me. You can tell that I was hungry. I make no effort to disguise that. It was nearly 9.30pm and I haven't had dinner, save for some instant miso soup (bought from Daiso) I made in the office at 7pm. You bet I wished the curry smells came from my home. I secretly wished that Dad had cooked curry. I wasn't disappointed to find out that I might have just encountered a pseudo craving because of my hunger. Dad was preparing chicken salad and I was thrilled - both because I was hungry and the fact that his salad rocks. It's a simple salad that's both easy to make and big on taste. More on those wonder greens another time.

What I'm trying to say is, when cravings come, don't hide or think that you are simply being greedy. I belong to the camp of people who pursue their cravings, no matter the time or day. Take for example last week. I had recently noticed a stall in Geylang selling bak kut teh. It was not just any normal bak kut teh. The signage said Klang bak kut teh. You could have guessed how intrigued I was. Thing is, I've been to Klang a couple of times because I have family there, but never once have I gotten a chance to taste any bak kut teh while I was there. So I told myself that I would come to check out the herbal soup at this stall one day. Little did I know that that 'one day' was going to be that same week. It's true. I"m not making this up. One evening after work, I was hungry and it was late as usual. My parents did not cook and I was just thinking of what to have for dinner when I suddenly pictured soup. Hot and steamy soup. Then I remembered the bak kut teh stall. And the rest as you know it, satisfactory slurping of soup and all, is the result of my craving.

It seems as though my craving encounters will never end. I have one more to tell before I go to bed. This one is the kicker. Why? Well, because you are about to find out what the best mee siam tastes like. Do take note that it is in my opinion so unless you like the same flavours as I do, you might not like the said dish, or rather, dishes.

On Saturday, I was on the bus, on my way to meet Dot in the morning to check out some stuff at East Coast Park. I was to meet her at Parkway Parade and on the bus, right smack in front of me was TV mobile (for my non Singaporean readers, this is a mobile TV set mounted in almost every bus all over the island. which literally translates into free TV when you'[re on the go). There was a food programme on the TV just when I was staring at the box, out of boredom. Then I saw close-up shots of carrot cake. Fried carrot cake, yes the oriental kind, in other words 'char tau kueh'. This carrot cake looked immensely sinful yet delicious. It was unique because the hawker uses fried ikan bilis as a topping and he adds extra 'icing' on his fried carrot cake to give it that extra kick - I wasn't sure what that extra ingredient was because the bus was too noisy.

Anyway, all I knew was that I had to have some fried carrot cake. I need not have that exact same one featured on the show but I knew that I had to get my hands on some. I immediately sms-ed Dot and told her about the carrot cake. This lass knows me best. She happily replied saying why not we go get some for lunch. That made me smile and you could have sensed my glee if you were right next to me. So I went to meet her at the foodcourt at Parkway Parade. They have a fried carrot cake stall that sold both white and black (white is without soy sauce, black contains soy sauce) versions on a 'yin-yang-esque' dish which cost $5:



The fried carrot cake was decent. It wasn't mind blowing but it did satisfy my craving. Dot seemed to like it too so that was good.

But of course we didn't just have fried carrot cake for lunch. Both of us have healthy appetites and our latest obesession (or mine for that matter) is this nonya-style mee siam sold at Parkway Parade's food court. I heard that it's been here even before Parkway underwent renovations. According to Dot, she grew up eating the stall's mee siam after mass every sunday. I was really taken by surprise because first of all, I've always seen people eating the huge plate of mee siam but I never thought much of it because I don't really like mee siam all that much. But oh boy was it all about to change. I think it has alot to do with the fact that this version is very Peranakan in taste.



This mee siam had a gravy that had a perfect balance of salty and tangy. A true indication of a genius use of assam and I believe fish stock? I hope I am right. All I know is that this watery gravy is meant to be drunk, every drop of it. I also like the fact that they gave plenty of bean sprouts, scallions and tau pok. There's also this wicked sambal you scoop from a huge porcelain bowl in front of the stall and onto your plate as you proceed to return to your table. Trust me, this sambal is IT. It is not your typical sambal. It is a nonya type of sambal, spicy but not too spicy, savoury but not too savoury. There are shallots in it too and you can so imagine eating it with lots of fried ikan bilis. This is only the second time that I am eating this mee siam and it still feels like love at first side. Believe me when I say that this mee siam beats all others hands down. Best part? It's only $3.70. Can you imagine that?

Not only do they sell some kick-ass mee siam, there's also curry chicken (which also rocks my socks by the way, but that is for another post), laksa, mee rebus, bean curd and chin chow jelly. Mind you, everything is made from scratch and that includes the bouncy shiny black jelly:



At first I was amused that a mee siam stall would sell home made chin chow. But then I realised what a smart idea that was. Topped with ice, this jelly is the perfect foil for those out there who have scorched tongues. It clearly is homemade - the texture of the jelly reveals that. It is neither too synthetic and neither do they use excessive flavouring. The cold dessert is ideal on a hot day.

After chowing down our carrot cake, mee siam and chin chow, we were clearly full. But we managed to walk it off with plenty of shopping. How's that for a random Saturday craving? Trust me when I tell you that this is only the beginning.

More tales of food cravings coming up soon....

Coffeeshop talk

My recent sporadic posting might have led you to believe that I have indeed got sick of this little blog of mine. I assure you that I am not about to abandon this cosy space. What I do know is that I want to continue to entertain you with not just delicious photos but more recipes and appetite-inducing musings.

I do realise that it is very easy to fall into bouts of laziness in the kitchen especially after a long day at work. I eat out more than I used to. I spend more money on meals at restaurants and cafes. I also find that I no longer bring my camera out with me wherever I go. Oh the horror of horrors. How can someone who manages a food blog NOT have her camera with her especially when she tries a new restaurant? Believe me, there have been many instances when I just wish I had brought my humble Canon Ixus out with me.

But not bringing out my camera also means I have an excuse to go back to said restaurant to sample the food again, especially if it was memorable. Case in point, Pasta Cafe. I tried it last week for the first time and was pretty much dumbfounded. It made me kick myself and think aloud how I never got to try this place even though I've walked past it a million of times. But I will save that story for another post.

Have I lost my eagerness to ramble about food and capture delicious moments of my life? I think not. Alot of the the problem has to do with time. Work has been busy so it's very easy to neglect this blog. On the other hand, that does not mean I am not thinking about my next food adventure. My life still revolves around food and there are times where I find myself craving for a certain dish that I want to have for dinner even before lunch is over. This is one occupational hazard I am glad to have. It is my job to keep myself updated with what's new, hot and upcoming in the restaurant scene, the food industry etc. I find myself reading more food literature, in hope of becoming the next Ruth Reichl or Alan Richman. I am really fascinated with the entire business of food writing. Both food and writing are equally enigmatic and each have the potential to cause extreme emotions. For me, all I know is that I am going to do whatever it takes to get there. To get to that level where I can simply look at a dish and in 10 minutes, come up with a vivid and enjoyable description of it without using any of those forbidden and vague adjectives (ie. amazing, fantastic, tasty, yummy etc).

Why am I submitting you to a boring account of my personal self-discovery of sorts? Perhaps it is because I feel like there is nothing to hide. It's been 3 years since I started this blog and a portion of my life have been documented here; well at least the most delicious ones. I feel like I can speak my mind and not be misunderstood.

So thank you dear reader for staying on to read this. This blog might have been quite quiet but I assure you, I am working hard to get into the baking and cooking groove yet again. Time is precious and although I don't have the luxury of ample free time everyday, I will work a way around it. There are just too many cakes, cookies and muffins out there for me to bake and too little time to fret about not having time. I might have regular columns with specific themes. It won't be immediate but it's in the works.

Right now, I will have my coffee, drink it and stew in the many possibilities for the future of this blog. As we grow, and as we advance, so do our surroundings. Please stick around and have some coffee with me while I steer the direction of this blog to more culinary endeavours.

Cheers.

The Cafe Expedition

We all look forward to the weekend for various reasons.

Though it might only be two days, and technically (that is, if we want to be specific) only a mere 48 hours, it feels as if time does stop. For two whole days, your time is stretched, you are a bit more calm and you naturally have more time to do the things you've been planning to do all week.

Of course that's only a given if you do not have to work overtime or rush a deadline on a Saturday or Sunday. To sum it up - weekends are a luxury of many who are working and I am well aware of that especially since I relinquished my undergraduate status about 8 months ago.

Most of the time, I spend my weekends at home, relaxing with a cup of tea and a book. Mornings are spent reading the newspapers with soothing tunes chiming out of my speakers. At times there's work to be completed so I immediately switch on my laptop and busy myself for the rest of the day.

Then there are lovely weekends where my friends and I plan outings together and those, ah those are another thing altogether. Especially when it concerns the taste buds.

For some reason, I'm totally sold on the idea of weekend brunch. I would however admit that it's only a recent occurence to me. I never understood the idea because I like having my three meals and the anticipation that builds up as I think of what to eat for those three meals. I know it does sound really stupid but brunch just shortens my choices. Or at least that was what I used to think.

I won't deny it - I can be quite the greedy girl. I enjoy my meals thoroughly (delicious and tasty ones of course). Eating to me can never be a chore simply because I not only enjoy the process of consuming food that's carefully prepared, but also the excitement that comes with each bite or each new dish that I'm trying for the first time. This then leads me to another reason why I'm so eager to explore new eating grounds and if you love food as much as I do, I'm sure I don't need to explain further.

Also, other than the quality of the food and the ambience of the place, another major factor is of course the company.

Trust me, nothing dampens a bright perky sunny-side up (complete with crisp toasty bread!) than a companion who pushes his/her food around with a fork without ever intending to let that piece of food see the insides of his/her tightly sealed mouth. It might sound harsh but I see no joy in dining with someone who cannot understand why God created food. Believe me, I will cry if I ever have to eat pellets in place of food.

On a happier note, I will say that I have no lack of friends who share the same joy as I. The joy that is instantly recognisable from the tone of voice, a gleaming pair of eyes radiating with anticipation of what is to come from the kitchen, or a ready tummy all revved up to go. I really am thankful for these friends. You hear me (or rather read) mention them once in a while in this little space on cyberworld and alot of times, I wish I could share more with you, like the smells we smelled or the savoury, sweet, salty, spicy, sour tastes that we experienced and so on. But alas a simple blog can only do so much.

I know what I can do is to continue to supply you with photos (taken with the best of my ability, hopefully meeting your expectations) and wax lyrical with descriptive language. I try my best to make you salivate as do I, when I await for the food to arrive on my table, after a torturing time lounging in the well permeated smells of deliciousness.

Today is no different. Here's a peek into one of those planned weekends I have, and one filled with tasty things.

But first, let me introduce to you someone you most probably already know (since I mention her so often) especially if you had ordered cupcakes/cookies from me last year.

This is Butterscotch:



One half of Cocoa & Butterscotch which we created last year, this perky girl is a great friend of mine. She requested to remain anonymous, so you shall not get to see who she is. But yes, she is none other than my best friend Dot. Dot's a designer, and a very talented one at that. She's cool, quirky, cheerful, and upbeat and the best thing is that she loves food about as much as I do. And oh, she also has great fashion sense (in my opinion) and I always consult her whenever I face a style dilemma.

So anyway, she called me up two weeks ago asking me if we could go explore cafes for a project she's working on. So after discussing a bit on where we were going to go, it was set. The date, time and place of what was to be the first official documented Adventures of Cocoa & Butterscotch was born.

This first adventure was to be named The Cafe Expedition.

And so on a bright sunny Saturday last weekend, we set foot into town and proceeded to roam cafes, with a hungry vengence...




Yes we completed this expedition on foot. We are quite the energetic pair and love putting our sturdy feet to good use. :)

We went to three cafes located at two different places.

There was Dempsey Hill:



It was clearly touted as a paradise of which we have no violent objections. It is quite the charmer. I've been here before so it was nice to be back.

The two places we visited there was Barracks:




and of course (unsurprisingly!) PS. Cafe:




The other location was at Tanglin Shopping Centre. You should be careful not to judge this nondescript location because trust me, it will astound you with a gem such as this:



It claims to be the first deli in Singapore and although I do not have any evidence, I might as well believe it to be true. What gives, you ask?

Plenty it seems. From the chocolate peanut butter milkshake to their hearty sandwiches that come with a tame mound of coleslaw - everything here at Steeple's is authentic; authentically quaint and worthy of its 'first deli in Singapore' status.

A quick scan of their interiors send me back into the time machine. I would dare say that if I were to assume what a deli in the 80's would look like, this would be it. Afterall, they supposedly opened in 1981. Again, though I might not be able to prove that, I have photos to show:








Check out the chalkboard menu design and the ceiling-hung lamps. What about the wood furnishing and counter seats.



I loved every nook and cranny of this deli. I would describe it as a mild establishment with good food worthy of praise that need not be trumpeted out loud in order to lure steady customers. I do believe this place has a reputation for its sandwiches, burgers and milkshakes (yes I did google).

We had the BLT:




We chose rye bread and ordered a serving of sauerkraut to go with it:



It was memorable. Not so much 'knock your socks off' kind of memorable but more so in a home-style warm and fuzzy way. It's the place you would go to if you just want to down a sandwich with a good milkshake to go. In any case, the seating here will not allow you to lounge or chill-out long, unless you want to be the bane of other customers waiting for their turn at a delectable Steeple's Deli burger.

Of course it will not be fair to compare Steeple's Deli to PS. cafe, so I shall not. Instead, I will ramble on about the merits of the latter, on its own, as a gorgeous place to spend your entire Saturday afternoon at:



Don't ask me why but this area was closed when we were there. I forgot to take photos of the other section where we sat, but well, you can imagine yes :) Although you would forget that I even mentioned the decor when you see this baby:



The PS. burger is a sin worth commiting. It might very well be that apple in the garden of Eden that ever dieter craves they could chow on without having it affect their waistlines.

Indeed it is huge and it does look like it contains 5000 calories (or maybe more!). But you see, the cool thing about dining with someone who's game enough to eat bacon (fats and all) is that they are up for anything you offer, including a humongous burger that comes with crazy-good fries.

So the burger is a combination of juicy wagyu beef, crisp and smoky bacon, cheese, egg, spinach and tomato all packed in a big sesame seed bun. The buns are spread with a garlicky butter of sorts (if I remember correctly!) and act sas a neutral foil to the chockful of fillings.

The burger was shared among us and I was so excited that I happily announced to Dot that the burger was arriving as soon as I spotted the waitress carrying it and walking in our direction. Such is the extent of my greed - I have to spot my food because I cannot wait to have it.

That burger lived up to every ounce of our expectations. The meat was perfect, the bacon oh-so-good (i think it speaks for itself, really. bacon is bacon is bacon is divine) and the whole marriage of spinach with the rest of the ingredients is worthy of a silent W-O-W, mouthed with great effect.

Before I move on to the next eating venue, let me fawn over this elegant piece of china:



I had the digestive tea in this pretty little tea cup. I really like it. Then again, I love everything English don't I? I looked at the bottom of the cup and it said Queen Anne, Made in England. So hey, it's legit. Perfect prim and proper teacup ideal of those English afternoon teas. Hmmm..

Okay, you would think that after that burger, there was no way we could fit dessert into our satisfied tummies eh?

We did indeed feel full and therefore skip dessert at PS. Cafe, we couldn't help but order a strawberry shortcake when we sat down at Barracks after roaming round Dempsey for an hour or two. In that short time, I bought myself a bottle of Tetsuya Truffle Salt from Culina, while Dot bought some pistachio fairy floss from Jones the Grocer. Pretty efficient girls we are, aren't we? I do think we managed to squeeze out alot out of that Saturday last week.

Here's the strawberry shortcake with a shot of vanilla bean cream at the side for us to eat with the cake:




It was a relatively nice cake. No fireworks there although we did like that they presented it in a mess tin, which coincided with the Barracks theme. The two plump strawberries on top were appealing too.

We hung out at Barracks for quite a while because it started to pour, very heavily. We explored the place, we sat down a the sofa and looked out at the rain, patiently waiting for it to lighten up. When it finally did, it was about 5pm and we headed back to Orchard for some window shopping before going to Changi Village for somemore sinful food:



Fried oysters. Gosh, this oil-laden dish is heart-stopping (both sense of the word I'm afraid and happy to report). It is true how the tastiest foods are the most unhealthiest but when it comes to me and Dot, I don't think we care too much about it. Remember, moderation is the magic word. Don't worry, we don't have this everyday.

After dinner at Changi Village, we headed home with a big smile and a satiated tummy coupled with that occasional satisfying burp of course :)

P.S. We hope to have more food expeditions and will share them with you as we go along. For more photos, see our Cocoa & Butterscotch site. Have a great week!

________________________________________

Steeple Deli
#02-25, Tanglin Shopping Centre
19 Tanglin Road
Tel: +65 6737 0701

PS. Cafe
28B Harding Road
Tel: +65 6479 3343

Barracks
8D Dempsey Road
Tanglin Village
Tel: +65 6475 7787

Frozen Delights

A few weeks ago I wrote briefly about my attempts at making chocolate sorbet and matcha ice cream. I promised to post up recipes and I have not forgotten. It's just that I have been really busy at work. It is during these times when I wish I actually owned one of those fantastic Musso ice-cream machines.

With a Musso, I can simply dump the entire ice-cream mixture into the machine, press a button and within 30 minutes I can have a perfect quart of heaven.

Since I don't have a Musso, I have to contend with my old-school ice and salt ice-cream churner, which doesn't really make the best ice-cream but does allow me to come up with something quite decent. And by decent, I do mean something that kind of resembles ice-cream but nowhere near perfect. First of all, you got to understand that it's rather humid where I live and the ice-salt combination can only reduce the temperature down to a certain point.

However, today, I'm going to rave about two good recipes that I know would be 10 times better if I had a professional ice-cream maker. But until I have enough cash to actually buy one of my own, I will appreciate my beloved ice-cream churner.

Dessert-lovers like me always crave for ice-cream and there is never a wrong time to have a scoop or two. So I crave for ice-cream pretty often and will usually bookmark ice-cream recipes with the intention of making it. Sometimes I forget about it and sometimes I do end up actually making some. It really depends if I have enough ice in the fridge and if I have the time.

A couple of weekends ago, I set out to make two ice-cold treats and boy was it a delicious affair.

The chocolate sorbet was a shoo-in because I've been wanting to make something with a rich dark chocolate taste. I was sceptical of most chocolate ice-cream recipes because well, I wasn't too sure if it was going to be chocolatey enough. Yes I'm quite particular about my chocolate, I love it dark.

I first chanced upon the chocolate sorbet recipe at Su Good Sweets. I literally held my breath the moment I saw that scoop of decadent deep brown in a glass cup. You can't really blame me for being so easily enticed. It really did look irresistable.

With Su's recipe, I made a lovely chocolate sorbet which wasn't quite perfect (ice crystals weren't fine enough) but it did taste super. It also had that intense dark brown appearance which I adore.

As soon as I had finished making my sorbet, I made plans for another ice-cream escapade - this time involving my favourite matcha powder.

You might remember my previous attempt at matcha ice-cream. It was a success but I thought there has got to be a better recipe out there.

I was right. I did find another recipe and it was recommended to me by a reader who had tried it before. Though it did involve raw egg yolks, I thought I'd just give it a shot. I had great faith in the eggs - was dead sure I wouldn't fall ill and I was right.

The end result was a creamy textured matcha ice-cream with the right amount of matcha flavour made possible by the matcha powder of course.

It was a very lovely milky green too:



The recipe is apparently Harumi Kurihara’s. She's a well-known Japanese cookbook author. Her recipes have received rave reviews so I was absolutely sure her green tea ice-cream recipe won't fail. Thank god it didn't.

These days I don't buy green tea ice cream anymore. I'd rather make my own.

I await the day I can own my very own Musso and be totally bowled over. Then I will never have to settle for ice-cream that's second-best, ever again.

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Chocolate Sorbet
Paraphrased from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

1 cup (3.25 oz) cocoa
Scant 1 cup sugar
2 tiny pinches salt
2 cups boiling water
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp rum or vodka (optional)
Combine cocoa, sugar, salt in saucepan and whisk in 1/2 cup boiling water to make a thick paste. Add the remaining water. Stir over medium heat just until tiny bubbles form at the edges of the pan. Don’t cook any longer, as the heat can damage the flavor of the cocoa.
Take the mixture off the heat and add the vanilla. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours. Add the rum or vodka, if using. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Harden the sorbet in the freezer for at least 3 to 4 hours.
Note: The flavor is so rich that you can substitute half of the water with milk.


Harumi Kurihara’s Matcha Ice Cream (Green Tea Ice-cream)
Ingredients:
2 tbs/10g green tea powder (macha)
120g granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 cup/200ml milk
1 cup/200ml double cream
Method:
1. In a small bowl, mix the green tea powder with 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks and remaining sugar.
3. Pour the milk into a small pan and gently heat taking care not to let it boil (ideally the temperature of the milk should be 80oC). Remove from the heat and mix a few spoonfuls of the warm milk with the green tea powder and sugar in a small bowl. When you have a smooth paste, add it to the remaining milk in the pan, then gradually combine with the egg yolks and sugar mix. Leave to cool.
4. Lightly whip the cream till slightly firm and then add to the cold green tea milk mixture.
5. Transfer the mixture to a large container and put it in the frigde. Leave overnight.
6. Next day, assemble the ice cream machine, turn power on, then slowly pour mixture into it. Churn for about half an hour till mixture becomes double in volume. Then pour mixture into container and freeze for a few hours till firm

East Coast BBQ Seafood

A few weeks ago, I met up with Jiawei, an old friend of mine.

This dude is quite the character, and I mean it in a good way of course. I remembered him as being very animated and lively. He has wide hand gestures that are hard to miss. It has been more than two years since we last met up. We used to be coursemates back when I was still pursuing my Mass Communication diploma at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

It was great to see that he was exactly the same - as cheery as always. As we caught up, I asked him what he was doing now and what he said next definitely pricked my ears and I'm sure you will be interested too.

He was helping out at his uncle's barbeque seafood stall at East Coast Lagoon Food Village. Located at East Coast Park around the Marine Parade area, this food centre is known for serving up one of the best satay beehoon in Singapore. Then there's also the famous barbecue pork noodles, beef noodles and the most delicious chicken wings. There are also many bbq seafood stalls there. I've eaten at one of the bbq stalls before but am usually rather disappointed because of the small portions and cut-throat prices. So naturally, when Jiawei told me about his uncle's stall, I had to probe further.

But what's the use of asking so many questions when I could actually taste for myself how good it actually is? You've got to taste it to believe it, yes?

So I went down last weekend with my mum and Dot. Before I say anything, perhaps you want to see the first dish we ordered:




The photo alone says plenty. Okay, maybe only if you are a big fan of seafood and perhaps clams.

Commonly known as 'la-la' here, these clams are usually stir-fried in a tasty spicy red sauce. We locals enjoy dishing the sauce on plain rice once we've fished out all the clam-meat.

I did the same here. But it was different, so different that I was very surprised.

But in a GOOD way.

The sauce that came with the clams were unlike any I had ever tasted. This is not an exaggeration on my part. Thicker and tastier, it had a fuller flavour than the other versions I've eaten. There was a slight sweet and tangy hint that made the spicy note sort of 3-dimensional.

Okay, I might be stretching it quite thin here. But bear with me. I am desperately trying to use every opportunity I can to practise my food description skills since that's what I do (my full-time job).

So of course I was curious and I asked Jiawei's uncle what made it so special. I hope I'm not leaking some trade-secret here, but he said that he added tomatoes. Oh and one thing to note, he makes most of his sauces at home before bringing it down to the stall and yes it is his own recipe.

Even the sambal he used for the lip-smacking sambal stingray is homemade:




Yes it looks fiery red and it is spicy but not until it burns your taste buds.

Now when I ordered the stingray, I assumed the only option I had was sambal. Well at least that's what most of the bbq seafood stalls offer: Sambal Stingray. Then Jiawei told me that his uncle has another option: Butter & Garlic Stingray.

The moment he uttered those two words 'butter' and 'garlic', I was sold. But I still wanted my sambal stingray so he offered to season half of my stingray with sambal and the other half, with butter and garlic.

The result was enthralling. I know it's not a common word used for food but what the heck anyway. I have never seen any other bbq seafood stall serving stingray the way his uncle does. Any foodie would know that butter and garlic is a marriage made in aromatic heavens and when done right, can create a whirl-wind romance, yes between said dish and hungry diner.

Sometimes it is true, you have to try it to believe it.



It looks like Jiawei's uncle might have something really good up his sleeves. If he can manage to pull off good clams and stingray, I'm sure the rest of his dishes would be just as good, including the sambal kangkong:



And I was right. The kangkong was just as good with a solid sambal.

I found out from Jiawei that prior to the renovations of the food centre, his uncle used to have a satay stall there. But after they moved back in to the newly furbished food centre, he decided to focus on bbq seafood and they have been there for the past 4 years.

When I went there for dinner, I did tell Jiawei I would write about this place if I liked it enough and well since I loved it, I decided I had to share it with you.

They also sell salmon, sole, seabass, squid, lobster and fried oyster among others.

Seriously, I think sometimes, you don't need a table with white starched table cloths and a room in air-conditioned comfort to enjoy a good meal. This stall might be small but it serves some kick-ass seafood that would be a delight to any diner.

You can find this stall at number 38, it is relatively near the DBS atm.



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East Coast B.B.Q. Seafood
38, East Coast Lagoon Food Village
1220 East Coast Parkway

The Perfect Sunday Grilled Veggie Sandwich

Nothing says Sunday better than a good sandwich.

It could well be because sandwiches are deemed as lazy meals. Okay, it probably depends. A lazy sandwich would be a plain picnic ham and processed Kraft cheese one. Or maybe one with peanut butter and jelly.

I'm not slighting these classic combinations, no, believe me, I love my PJs too. But these are indeed easy sandwiches that can be made within mere seconds so the accomplishment one feels can't be that substantial.

Okay, I'm saying this only because I felt like I had accomplished something this weekend. I made lunch for my family today, including dessert (that will come in another post!). Although simple, it just felt good, to feed my loved ones. It's been a while since I actually cooked a meal for my family. Usually it's just a cake or two, or something random hashed up from leftovers.

Today, ah today was something else. I was at Ngee Ann City yesterday and a lovely multigrain loaf beckoned me from the shelves of Swiss Bake. I love their breads and I couldn't resist this beautiful one. I bought the $5.90 loaf with the intention of doing something with it today.

It did not take long for me to figure out what I would use it for. It was quite a natural option. I looked at my dear sister and said, "You know what, tomorrow we shall all have grilled veggie sandwich for lunch, how does that sound?". She nodded her head and I took that as a sign of approval.

So Sunday lunch was settled. All I needed to do was to get the vegetables.

That wasn't a problem because mum offered to buy it from the supermarket after morning mass. I wrote down a list of what to buy the night before. It went something like this:

2 red capsicum, 2 yellow capsicum, 2 egg plant, 2 zucchini, and a pumpkin.

Next, I knew my grilled veggie sandwich wouldn't be complete without a caramelised onion relish.

So at midnight last night, I scooted to the kitchen and sliced up 4 onions thinly, sauteed it with olive oil and seasoned it with some sea salt. I cooked it for a further 20 minutes to caramelise and brown it so all the sweet juicy flavours will come out. After that, I added 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and viola I had a tasty relish that would make my sandwich perfect. I let it cool and then placed it in the fridge.

This is how it looked like:




When morning came, a very excited me started prepping the veggies as soon as my mum came home with the ingredients.

I sliced the eggplant, capsicum, and roasted pumpkin. There wasn't any zucchini because my mum couldn't find any at the supermarket. But it was okay.

Next was the grilling. Okay, for this, you get an aluminium pan (disposable ones are fine), grease it and place the vegetables evenly on the surface. Drizzle olive oil and season with some salt. Grill the vegetables until cooked.

I did mine in various batches:



That's my grilled eggplant. Make sure you don't burn your veggies. You should flip it over once you see the top side turning brown. You want the vegetables grilled nicely, not charred.




For the capsicum, it is best to grill the death of of it. Why? You want a nicely caramelised capsicum that's soft and sweet. Place the vegetable with the skin side facing up and grill until the skin looks black and deathly. You will notice juices oozing out - that's a good thing. Once the skins are all black, remove the pan and proceed to peel off the black charred skins. If you find it difficult, place the capsicum pieces into a paper bag and seal it for a while, after which you can open and continue to peel the skins.




You can use any pumpkin or squash for that matter. I think my mum bought the Japanese kind - the ones with dark green skins. Well I preferred these anyway. I sliced these up and grilled it in the pan as per normal. The result? Sweet soft pumpkins that tasted a bit like sweet potatoes. Lovely.

So you've got all your ingredients ready. Now it's time to assemble your perfect Sunday grilled veggie sandwich.

Oh don't forget to toast your bread before assembling. I think the toasted crunch adds to the whole experience. And please do take your caramelised onion relish out of the fridge, you will need it to make the sandwich extra delicious.

This is easy peasy stuff but I'm just showing you the steps for the heck of it, so enjoy!

Step 1: Spread the relish on the toasted bread:



Step 2: Place the grilled vegetables on top of the relish in any order you want:



Step 3: Take your other piece of toast, place it on top and press down!



And there you have it, a perfect Sunday grilled veggie sandwich that's super easy yet satisfying and of course one that tastes good and is good for you. How about that!

You can use any bread you want but for me, I love the taste of a wholesome multigrain toast with my grilled vegetables.



Perhaps you're not sold on the idea just yet. It is okay. Maybe you could try making it yourself and then you'll change your mind. To me, this is the cheaper alternative to the grilled vegetable sandwich at Cedele. Yes, i first fell in love with the sandwich at Cedele. But it isn't cheap. So I thought I could probably make a similar, if not, better one, and I think I just did. Just ask Dot, she loves Cedele grilled vegetable sandwich as much as I do and she dropped by for lunch and had a taste of my version and thinks that it is on par.

I love Sundays, especially sandwiches on Sundays.

Right now I'm toying with the idea of making Sunday sandwiches a weekly affair.

It'll be lots of fun and I am sure my family will be very happy.

Till next Sunday then. If you have a perfect sandwich combination of your own, do feel free to share it with me!