Migrated to slowchomp.com

Hi All,

I have migrated this blog site to www.slowchomp.com

Do join me at my new site with more eating adventures! :)

Cheers,
Slow

Fantasy cakes in 3D

I was flipping through some old copies of the The Sunday Times and the featured article on the Lifestyle page on 31 October 2010 caught my eye - Fantasy Cakes. 

Cakes, 3D ones, are not new in Singapore but in recent years, have been gaining popularity.  It could partly be due to the showing of the Cake Boss on TLC that piped the interested of many or the novelty of having a center piece at parties that will wow your guests.

To me, it is the art of creating the 3D pieces and every piece looking like the real stuff that wowed me. The creativity of the people in coming up with themes for the birthday cakes and how the bakers, or should I say designers, go about creating them. Really really amazing.

The thought of making such a masterpiece has been twirling in my head but I have not gotten down to doing it for numerous reasons. Perhaps when the time is right, you will get to see my masterpieces here J 

I have extracted some of the useful information in the article summarizing where you can buy or customized your elaborate 3-D cakes. Information that may come in handy should I need to customize some 3D cakes in the future J

Cake Avenue

Price: From $55 a kg

www.cakeavebue.com

Et Artisan Sweets

Price: From $150 a cake

www.etasweets.com

The Icing Room

Price: From $45 to $90 a kg

www.theicingroom.com

E-Creative – Creative Floral and Cake Design

Price: From $90 for a 3D cake.

www.ecreative.com.sg

Metrocakes

Price: From $190 a cake. Minimum order of 2kg

Metrocakes.com.sg

1 Caramel

Price: Between $85 and $120 a kg

www.1-caramel.com

The Pattiser

Price: From $120 and onwards for a 1kg cake

www.thepatissier.com

Pine Garden’s Cakes

Price: From $150 a cake

www.pgcake.com

Prima Deli

Price: Novelty cakes start from $42 a kg while 3D cakes start from $65 a kg. Cakes must be at least 3kg and up.

www.primadeli.com

Smiling Orchid

Price: From $300 a cake and upwards.

www.smilingorchid.com

Day 7 - Tanjong Pagar Market Food Center – Issan Thai Food - Tom Yum Seafood Soup With Rice

1st Friday of 2011 and the last day of my food theme “Something with Rice”. Had to think really hard as to what I can eat to fulfill this theme. After much debate, I walked to a stall that I have never frequent before, Isaan Thai Food (#02-23) at Tanjong Pagar Market Food Center and ordered something with rice. :p

While waiting for my food, I am really tempted to change my order. Seeing plates and plates of Phad Thai being dished out, I kind of hated myself for setting the theme this week.. Argh.. I will be back for the Phad Thai for it looks too delicious! Even Ang Mos are queuing for it!

Back to my lunch, I finally got my Tom Yum Seafood Soup ($4.00) with Rice ($0.50).

Close up of the rice 

 A close up of the ingredients inside my Tom Yum Seafood Soup. There were 3 fishballs, 2 prawns some squid rings, straw mushrooms and basil - simple ingredients easily available and suitable for people of all ages. The soup was quite sour and a little spicy, strangely addictive though it felt like it was made from a paste. I had missed out on the cooking process as I was distracted by the plates of Phad Thai :P Will have to verify it the next time round :P

Day 6 - Amara Food Court – Lotus Roots and Pork Rib Soup

4th working day and I am running out of ideas for this week’s theme. :P  We decided to head out to Amara  Food Court for lunch and my brain was already mentally scanning through the stalls for an appropriate meal to fit into the theme - "Something with Rice".

To make things simple and similar, I looked around at what the rest of the patrons were eating and settled on my lunch for today. 

My Lunch – Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup ($3.50) with Rice ($0.50) J

I opted for white rice instead of Yam rice to keep to this week’s theme. 

Close up of the lotus roots and pork rib in the soup. There were 3 pork ribs that literally melt in your mouth and plenty of thinly sliced lotus roots which were cooked so nicely that it still retains a little crunch when you bite into it. The soup is sweet and savoury, having been boiled with red dates and some cuttlefish. It felt like home made lotus root soup which is nutritious and delicious. J

Day 5 - Thai Tom Yum Seafood Soup with Rice

With back to back meetings today, we had no choice but to grab a quick lunch. Today only being the third day of the working week and it seems like my themed food post will be short-lived. Undeterred and after some brainstorming, I managed to change the theme into “Something with Rice” instead of the original “Herbal Kitchen Stall” ;P

So for lunch today, it is Tom Yum Seafood Soup with Rice ($4)

Close-up of the fish slices and prawn in the tom yum seafood soup. The soup is neither too tangy nor spicy and you get generous slices of fish, 2 prawns and some canned button mushroom in the soup. This soup has been adaptable to the local palette and is suitable for folks who are not used to eating too spicy food. 

Tanjong Pagar Market Food Center - Herbal Kitchen Preserved Vegetable Chicken Soup

Today, it is back to Tanjong Pagar Market Food Center for lunch. I was thinking of the theme that I should be doing this week. Since I started with Herbal Kitchen yesterday, I thought I might as well do the theme - “Herbal Kitchen Stall”, and sample all the different dishes the stall offers. The food that this stall sells is all very nourishing stuff. The main ingredient is chicken in some sort of Chinese herb.

Browsing through the menu, I found one that does not have herb in it – Preserved Vegetable Chicken ($3.50). It has been a long long time since I last ate preserved vegetables and thought that this dish would be a nice change to the soup I had yesterday. 

From the menu, I thought the dish would be a dry one but was surprised when it turned out really soupy.  

The rice ($0.40) that I add to the soup that came with some braised peanuts and drizzled with sauce.

There were plenty of preserved vegetables surrounding the chicken drumstick. The soup was a little sweet, quite a contrast to the taste I had in mind.  To me, this is a well balanced meal as you get fiber from the vegetable, protein from the meat and carbohydrate from the rice.

First Working Day in 2011

Off to a good start on the first working day of the year by starting it with a sumptuous breakfast from Burger King (BK). Decided to make a detour to BK on the way to office and ordered a breakfast set that I had never ordered before – Turkey Bacon Croissan’wich

My Croissan’wich – Turkey Bacon with Hashbrown ($5.45). Good to see that BK has come up with new initiative such as the sticktogo which acts as a stopper for the takeaway cup.  They could have made it more environmentally friendly by lengthening the stick such that it can double up as a stirrer.

The croissan’wich with the cheese, egg and crispy bacon is simply the best one can have for breakfast to kick start the year! J

For lunch, I really pampered myself by ordering a Ginseng Chicken Soup with Rice ($3.80) from the Herbal Kitchen Stall (unit #02-11) at Tanjong Pagar Market.

Close-up of my rice drizzled with some sauce and braised peanuts.

Close-up of the Ginseng and chicken drum in the soup. The soup was pleasantly light and the flavor of the ginseng was not overpowering. The chicken has been cooked so well that it takes very little effort to break it away from the bones. Yummy J

Best of all, the rain prevented us from returning to our office and we ended the meal with desserts from Dessert Hut!

My Gingko Barley Dessert ($1.50)

New Year , More Fun Food Ideas/Places?

As I was walking home from work today, I contemplated if I should continue with my lunch blog posts. To be very frank, it is easy to eat and take pictures of food but not so easy to maintain the food blog. It takes a lot of effort to really sit down, sort the photos, and organise your train of thoughts. I have also wanted to revamp the layout of the food blog but just have not gotten down to doing it. Perhaps with the start of a new year, I should really get my butt working on it. :p

As I walked, an idea came into my mind. Instead of the usual post of the random food that I eat, I can, perhaps, themed the food that I will eat each week. Eg: trying out all the dishes that one particular stall sells, trying out the same type of food sold in the food center, eating food prepared with a certain ingredient, etc... Sounds like a fun thing to do but this may need a little effort on my end and to get my lunch kakis going to where I want to go. I do wonder if I will get sick and tired of the food, get too “heaty” from all the tonic, or grow extremely fat after being on a high fat or high cholesterol diet for the whole week. LOL..  Cannot help chuckling at such a thought but I think I am still gonna give it a try in order to inject some food fun into my daily routine.. Hee hee... work life is boring enough hence this should give the mind something interesting to work on :)

Shin-Sapporo Ramen @Suntec City Mall

Tonight is another cold December night and what could be a better meal to complement such a night other than to slurp a bowl of yummy and piping hot ramen?

We headed to Shin-Sapporo Ramen at Suntec City near Carrefour upon the suggestion of a col. It has been ages since I last went to Carrefour@ Suntec and the place has really changed quite a fair bit. Singapore is not exactly big since it is only a dot on the world map but to be frequenting all the corners, it may take you a bit of time :P

As with most of the ramen outlets, the seating capacity is quite limited. It looks big from the outside but can only sit about 30 customers (inclusive of counter seats) at one time. It was about 80% full when we went in at around 8pm.

A shoot of the empty interior, with the back of the main door in the center

Condiments and new Menu on the table

My col’s order of Wakayama Tonkotsu-Shoyu Ramen ($15). It is a new item on the menu. 

 He also ordered an extra egg ($1.50) Look at how the Tamago is firm on the outside, runny in the inside. Really cooked to perfection! Yum...

Another side dish he ordered was the Yakibuta ($4.00 for 3 slices of grilled char-shu).

Close-up of the thinly sliced Yakibuta. The Yakibuta is marinated using a secret blend of Japanese Shoyu and spices and grilled to perfection prior to serving. The fat to meat ratio was just nice in each slice and the brown bits on top complemented the meat. However, we were not able to make out what the brown pieces on top of the pork slices were but guessed that it could be garlic which has soaked up the shoyu and spices.

My order of Shin-Sapporo Miso Ramen ($15). This ramen is made with an authentic blend of four miso pastes from Sapporo in a white pork bone with traditional, slightly-thick curly noodles made fresh for the day. The waitress was very nice and had checked with us if it was okay if our order comes with the freshly made noodles that are slightly thicker and harder. I was a little surprised by her question but we went ahead with the order anyway. She suggested that it would taste better with butter and asked if we would like some butter to be added but we politely rejected.

Close up of the curly noodles. The soup was light and went well with the noodles, the tamago was so yummy that it was gone before I know. The 2 slices of yakibuta did seem a little miserable in the big bowl of ramen but since we had ordered extra Yakibuta, we had no complaints. :P

Overall, Shin-Sapporo is a nice place for ramen. What makes the deal sweeter is that there is a Citibank Credit Card promotion going on (till 02 Jan2011) which gets you 30% off the second ramen. Alternatively, you can opt to go during lunch as they have set lunch promotion where you get a ramen and 1 side dish for $15.80 – 16.80. Pretty value for money I would say :)

Weekday Lunch Set A 

Weekday Lunch Set B

Shin-Sapporo Ramen

3 Temasek Boulevard #01-223,

Suntec City Mall, Tower 4 S(038983)

Tel: 6836 3538

http://www.shin-sappororamen.com

Opening hours:-

Monday to Friday

11.30am to 3pm (Last order at 2.30pm)

5.30pm to 10.00pm (last order at 9.30pm)

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays

12pm to 10.00pm (last order at 9.30pm)





Les Amis Style Mushroom Alfredo Pasta Lunch

Of all the weekends that I got out of the house, Mum cooked lunch. Today, when I chose to stay home to finish up some of my stuff, Mum decide not to cook. L I am not sure if that is good or bad as I ended up having a Les Amis Style lunch.. LOL

Rampaging through my freezer, I found a packet of Mushroom Alfredo from Lazy Gourmet that I bought some time ago. With the ready sauce, cooking a good cream based spaghetti for lunch is considered “chicken feet” ;P

It is a pity that Les Amis decided to discontinue the Lazy Gourmet line of food. It really provides an easy, convenient and healthy way of enjoying good food in the comfort of your home.  All I had to do was to boil some water, throw the package into the boiling water and cook for 10min, pour it over the spaghetti and lunch is ready! :P

The box of Lazy Gourmet’s Mushroom Alfredo that I bought from Isetan some time back. Listed ingredients included: Button mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, shallots, garlic, cream, white wine, olive oil, bay leaves, butter, herbs and spices.

 The unboxed Mushroom Alfred and spaghetti (80-100grams) - all the ingredient that is need to cook my lunch. Lazy Gourmet has suggested to top it with bacon bits and chopped parsley but since I have none of that at home, it will just be a simple one.

To make washing less of a hassle after cooking, I used only one cooking pot. 

 First, I cook my spaghetti. It takes about 8min to cook my spaghetti Al–dente.  J

 Then I put the packet of Mushroom Alfredo into the remaining water in the pot and continue to boil for 10-15min.

 That is my warmed up Mushroom Alfredo sauce! The bag is very hot hence I would suggest whoever is using such cooking method to let it cool for a while first! I can smell the butter the moment I cut open the bag. Yum…………….

 The final step: Pour the sauce over the spaghetti and viola! Lunch is ready! I did not expect to have such a generous portion of mushroom though. Cant wait to tuck in!

Presenting my Les Amis Style Lunch – Mushroom Alfredo Spaghetti! Like what was described on the box, it is truly deliciously rich and definitely one for cream aficionados! 

2 weeks to 2011

How time flies... In another 2 weeks, 2010 will come to an end..

This year has been quite an eventful year for me in terms of food tasting and exploration. I had 2 semi-long vacations and multiple short ones over the weekends which enable me to eat eat eat... :P Flipping through all my food photos, I think I really ate a lot and just by looking at the spare tyre and love handles that I have accumulated, you would know how yummy the food was and how much I really ate (or should I say overeat :P)

It is a pity that I have not gotten the time to do up all the posts in 'real-time'. I do hope I will be able to find the time to at least do up another 10-20 posts, interesting or unforgettable ones that I can look back on. With that, I will also be able to claim at least half a bet which I placed with a friend. ;) Finally I will get the chance to treat.. hehehe..

Keep watching this blog for more photo updates,my personal reviews on food and places and the whinings :P

Cambodia Food

Food forms a big part of Singaporeans’ lifestyle. Wherever you turn in Singapore, you are bound to be able to find an eatery or coffeeshop that is opened 24 hours a day. Greetings often comes with “Have you eaten” and conversations rarely stray away from discussing where one can find good food. Hence, it is not an exception when we go overseas, we look for nice food to eat. Perhaps we should just list eating as one of the hobby of Singaporeans! Haha

I am very glad to be able to travel to Cambodia for holiday this November. I have been eyeing this destination for a couple of years but it did not materialize till this year.  It was a good break from work and we had great weather, good company, a couple of scares (from losing SD cards to cameras and all the climbing and trekking) and of course, superb massage and delicious food kept us going for the 7 days! ;P

A quick recap of the places where we filled our growling tummies (In the order of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner):

11-Nov-2010: The Blue Pumpkin, Khmer Kitchen Restaurant & Temple

12-Nov-2010: Hotel (Steung Siem Reap), Krousar Khmer Restaurant & BBQ Lover

13-Nov-2010: Packed Breakfast by Hotel, Borey Sovann Restaurant & Khmer Kitchen Restaurant

14-Nov-2010: Hotel (Steung Siem Reap), Eating place at Koh Ker & The Red Piano

15-Nov-2010: Hotel (Steung Siem Reap), Sorya Shopping Center Food Court

16-Nov-2010: Hotel (Le Biz Hotel & Library), L’Atelier & KFC

16-Nov-2010: Hotel (Le Biz Hotel & Library), Bai Thong French & Indochinese Cuisine & The Pizza Company

Cambodian food are not spicy in general, quite unlike their neighbours in Thailand and the style is very much influenced by the French and Vietnamese though Western food are popping up all over due to the number of tourists visiting Cambodia. Urbanities who cannot do without Internet will be happy to know that Wifi is available, free for patrons, at most restaurants. Prices of main course ranged from USD3 -7, an amount which is out of reach for most Cambodians. If you feel that you have received good service or really enjoy the food or place, do remember to leave a tip. J

More detailed posts of the food which will be linked here is coming up later J

*Note: Posts are back-dated to the dates we visited to be fair to the establishments. 

Ramen Culture @ Icon Village

Ramen outlets are sprouting all over the island and it is not a surprise that one came to Icon Village. It is not difficult to spot the recently opened Ramen Culture as it lies on the main eating area at Icon Village. Just enter the sliding door from Sakae Sushi, walk straight and you will be able to see it.

As we were very late for lunch (2pm to be exact), there was no contention for seats. :P  
The eatery is not big. This is the interior of eatery with their logo on the wall. The black “plate” at the back of the seat actually holds your order so that the staff will know what you ordered and if the dishes were served.

This is view of the counter seats we had from where we sat. The area behind the row of bowls of all sizes is actually the kitchen.  “Explosions” could be heard at times while the food was being prepared. ( I had not believe it when I read a review online that there were “explosions” but witnessing it for myself, it was quite funny. Which food preparation requires such “explosion”?? ;P ). Some food was not available throughout the day/week as specified on the 2 pages of Full day menu and 2 pages of Dinner/weekend Menu. 

Full Day Menu 01

Full Day Menu 02

Dinner/Weekend Menu 01 

Dinner/Weekend Menu 02

It was not a difficult choice since we only had 2 pages to choose from. We were wondering what the difference between the Super Black Pig Shabu Ramen and the Black Pig Shabu Ramen was. A check with the waiter revealed that the Super Black Pig Shabu Ramen had a thicker broth and more ingredients than the Black Pig Shabu Ramen. Not convinced and not too hungry, I settled for the Black Pig Shabu Ramen.  

Something else that caught my eye in the menu was the eggs. There were 2 types of eggs being offered, White Egg and Tasty Egg.

The White Egg cost $1 and looks really white on the menu while the Tasty Egg cost almost double!

The Tasty Egg that costs $1.80 which I ended up adding to my ramen to satisfy my curiosity of how tasty the egg could be! HAHA 

The Super Black Pig Shabu Ramen ($16)  that my col ordered came first.

Quickly followed by my Black Pig Shabu Ramen ($13.80) and Tasty Egg ($1.80) by the side.  It does not look very different from the super one just that my bowl was smaller. 

Another col’s Sapparo Delux Ramen ($14.80) served in a very big but shallow bowl.

Close up of my ramen. It was the curly kind and texture was just right. However, I was a little disappointed to find one lump of it at the bottom. The soup may look frightening spicy but rest assured, it was not spicy at all and we had to resort to adding the chilli powder ourselves.

Close up of the pork and my tasty egg. There was a hint of buttery taste to the pork. Perhaps they cooked it in butter before adding it to the soup.

Close up of the Tasty Egg. It was indeed tasty and the inside was nicely done. However, most would find $1.80 too expensive to pay for an egg.

Overall, Ramen Culture is a good place for lunch if you are sick and tired of the food at the nearby hawker centers or coffeeshops. Service was prompt and pricing was reasonable. DO be warned that it is not a place where you can sit and chat after you are done with your meal as space is really quite limited.

 

Ramen Culture @ Icon Village

12 Goepng Street

#01-82/83 Icon Village

Singapore 078878

Tel: 6222 5110

Opening Hours:Mon – Sun 11:15am to 10pm (last order at 9.45pm)

Restoran Spoa @ Pasir Puteh, Johor (revisited)

It has been a while since we last went to the kelong for seafood. We had originally wanted to get in and out of the restaurant before dark due to the tricky road conditions. However, due to bad traffic, the sun was already setting as we drove in and I was a little appalled to find deforestation taking place here too! Trees were being chopped down for the wood and the whole road in to the restaurant was in kind of a mess. Haix..

Crimson sky filled the horizon as we drove down to the restaurant. The whole place has a different charm to it at dusk. Though still busy as the restaurant was about 40% filled, the place has a kind of peacefulness that is not explainable in words. I guess you really have to be there to soak in the atmosphere.

We were ushered to the outdoor area this time round, to a corner of the platform built on wooden planks above the sea with a good view of the entire restaurant. With a constant stream of land breeze, dining under the stars, beside the sea is truly an unforgettable experience!

The view from where we were seated.

A fishing rod left behind our table by one of the boss’s friends.

One of the workers carting fish from the kelong to the restaurant.

Our pot of tea and bucket of ice. 

Our food was served not too long after we placed our orders. In order to take better pictures of the food, we had no choice but to use the flash as those without turned out too dark. :P  First came the Bamboo Clams Stir-Fried with Spring Onions (RM10.80). Freshness of the seafood here is somewhat guaranteed since this is a kelong and they fish their own! I usually do not eat shells related food as they tend to have a fishy taste. But the bamboo clams here do not have that taste and not only that, they are clean and sweet too.

A close up of the Bambo clam I had, without the shells of course! J

Next up was the Chilli Crab (RM42 for 700grams). We had asked for a bigger and meatier crab but I think they had run out of bigger ones. Though it looked a small, it was still very meaty, fresh and sweet. The chilli sauce here has curry leaves and hae-bi (dried shrimps) added which gives it a slightly different taste from that in Singapore.

A chilli crab dish will not be complete without these golden brown buns aka man tou (RM4.80 for 6). They are deep fried till crispy on the outside yet maintain the softness and sweetness inside. Eating it with the Chilli Crab sauce is just a wonderful combination.

Prawns are something that we always order when we are here. The prawns are fished out, live, and cooked in whatever method you choose. We racked our brains and finally decided on Steamed Prawns with Egg White (RM33 for 600g), a very simple way of preparation, so that you can taste the freshness/sweetness of the prawns. This dish was actually decided while we were in the car as we were already starving and wanted to order as quickly as possible and EAT! :P It turned out slightly different from what we had in mind as the one we ate in Singapore did not have ginger slices added. Nevertheless, it was still yummy J

There was a wide variety of live fish for us to choose too and since we have already ordered so many dishes, having a big fish was definitely not on my mind. After much deliberation, we decided to opt for the fish recommended by the Boss the last time round. The finest of the flesh was just unforgettable. We do not know the exact name of the fish, just that it had white spots on its body and from what we gathered later, this fish is not reared but caught from the sea. Oops…

As the fish is quite small, the lady decided that we should have 3 fishes (RM27 for 600g). Each fish is about the size of my palm and can easily be finished by one person. I decided on steaming the fish in Teochew Style (with salty plums and vegetables), not too sure if it goes down well with my dinner companions, though one commented that it was a little too sour. For me, I find it just nice as it balances out the entire meal. :)

Other than the man tou 曼头 , this is the only non-seafood dish that we ordered, Sambal Kang Kong (RM8).

We did very well this time round, considering that we ordered a lot and the portions were considered big for 3 pax. We finished all the dishes, even the vegetables!! (My dinner companions are just not fans of veg.. :P)

While we were on the way out of the kelong, we heard on the radio the passing on of the wife of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Kwa Geok Choo. This is one news that you probably would not expect to hear when you are having fun across the causeway. It is with a sadden heart that we take in the news, given the fact that Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew himself was not well and the demise of his wife must have come as a big blow to him. Take care Mr Lee and Rest in Peace Mrs Lee.

Restoran Spoa  合德宝阿期里海鲜

Telok Kabong, Kg Pair Puteh, Johor

Tel: 07-2162798