Crispy Duck @Teahouse

My parents seem to think that I am their errand girl, and this night I was running an errand for them. I just needed to drop something to a friend, but it was friday night and we were hungry and another friend came along starved. When N finally came, she was a girl with a mission and a concrete decision on where to eat and what to order. Teahouse at Raffles City it was.


My cup of Chinese tea and chilli oil

Since I never been there before and N had, I let her ordered; Teahouse Crispy Duck, Broccoli and Mushroom and Reunion Omelette. Oh and of course rice. We ordered as we were waiting for a table, did I mention already that N was determined? The tiny little place was crowded, the night was getting late and we were getting hungrier. After a 15 minutes wait, we finally found ourselves a table. Shortly after the food starting to arrive. Yippee!


Teahouse Crispy Duck @SGD10.70

The teahouse crispy duck, I suppose was their specialty. It definitely looked attractive and glossy with yumminess. The duck was showered with that special soy sauce for duck. The meat was tender, juicy and sweet. It still had that earthy taste to it, but just right not too much. However, even though the dish is named "Crispy Duck" I found that it wasn't crispy. I felt rather cheated on that, but it has been while since I last had a good duck, so since the meat is nice I forgave them for naming it so.


Reunion Omelette @SGD 6.90 Sorry I almost forgot taking the picture, what did I tell you? It was so good thats why I got carried away eating it...

The Reunion Omelette came next. Not sure why they call it that, but it had generous amount of prawns. There were supposed to be pork sausage too, but we opted for a halal dish. It was such a simple dish, a prawn omelette, but it was so delicious. Just the right combination of ingredients I guess. It definitely made me miss foo yung hai.


Broccoli and Mushroom in Oyster Sauce @8.20

The veggies came last. A dollop of thickened oyster sauce on top of the broccoli and mushrooms. The mushrooms, wow, huge and thick! It's quite rare to have that kind of mushrooms these days. So I was very excited and happy. The mushrooms indeed delivered to its promising look. They are so thick yet tender. The oyster sauce complimented the mushroom's original taste well because each one of them is so simple but the combination is delish!

Teahouse
The Asian Kitchen
252 North Bridge Rd, #B1-15
Raffles City Shopping Centre
+65 6336 4838

Late Lunch @Casa

Casa in Kemang, kinda feels like the display in Ikea, no?

It was one of those days when you wake up late and have breakfast late so that even though you are meeting your friend around lunchtime, you end up having a late lunch. We were in Kemang, in Saberro House checking things out when I realized that I have to feed my stomach soon as the worms were revolting and demonstrating as I breathe. Since I was going to have dinner Koi Gallery that same night, M and I decided to go to Casa. R had recommended me to try it out too so I decided to take our chances.


The bar and kitchen area at the far end, and tables with whimsical plastic/melamine chairs... It works to the whole atmosphere though

Casa is located on the second floor, above Aksara book shop in Kemang. The atmosphere that you get is quite homey, which rings true to its name, Casa afterall means 'home' in Spanish. Remember the phrase 'mi casa es su casa'? When I asked if we could get a table for two, the waiter asked me back, 'where do you wanna seat?' Never had that before, but I like the fact that he asked us to choose ourselves since the place was quite empty at that time anyway.


Pizza or sandwich? Hm.....

As soon as we sat down, I scanned the menu with a mission: to order asap. I was torn between having flaky french comte cheese pizza or a sandwich. A quick mental battle and I decided to go with the U.S. Beef Roberspierre sandwich. I wished I could have swapped the potato chips with potato fries, or wedges. Wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce would be good... hmmm... K, sorry for getting side tracked. Beef Roberspierre sandwich was yum, I asked for focaccia bread. The beef could be more tender, but the sauces were nice. It was my first time having Roberspierre beef, so I'm not sure how it's supposed to be though I did like it. It came also with some salad, so I ate it in my attempt to eat healthy.


US Beef Roberspierre sandwich, Rp 62,500 includes salad and potato chips, iced lemon tea, Rp 17,000


A close up of the beef sandwich. Sorry it's a bit blurry! I was way too hungry to focus...

M ordered Banana chocolate cheese flaky pizza. The pizza was indeed flaky and crispy; my favorite kind of dough. And of course, banana, chocolate and cheese are always a good combo... hmm... I could feel my stomach so happy it almost sang!


Banana Chocolate Cheese Flaky Pizza Rp 45,000

All in all, Casa's food is nice and I'd come back. It's a cozy place to hang out with friends for long talks or even to bring your board games or cards. You can just drink, eat, whatever, just hang out. The only thing that I would like is, if they can have a smoke free environment. Is that too much to ask? =S If it is, then how about a separate seating area? With bigger exhaust fan? I'm hopeful...

Casa
Jl. Kemang Raya no. 8B
Jakarta 12730
+62 21 719 9289
www.casajakarta.com

Dim Sum: High Tea @Min Jiang ~ Goodwood Park Hotel

What is better than to spend one weekend morning or noon or afternoon with family and friends for good old dim sum? Dim sum allows you to relax while you eat little scrumptious bite size delights while sipping good old authentic Chinese tea, unsweetened of course, with your family and/or friends. You can eat as many or as little as you want, and you can linger, provided that the waiters or waitresses did not boot you out.


Some of the selections, this one in particular seems like tofu with crab meat balls

At that particular Saturday, I was helping out a friend moving house and when we went to get lunch, we didn't mean to have dim sum, we actually were going for Indonesian. However, on the way there, we passed Goodwood Park hotel and I was telling her about this dim sum place and she was intrigued. Then we found ourselves putting our names down as they were still preparing for high tea. Dim sum high tea at Min Jiang starts at 3pm to 5pm on saturdays, sundays and public holidays. Buffet on the dim sum including tea is SGD23.80++ per person. "++" means that you will be charged 10% service and 7% GST at the end of your total bill. It came down to around 28 bucks per person. I thought it was reasonable enough, considering you can eat anything you can fit to your stomach and the quality of the food.


Our table, after ransacking the buffet table, a tableful of yumms...

I didn't have breakfast that morning, so I was famished. So were my partners in crime. At 3pm on the dot, we were seated and ready to get our food. Once the waitress told us it was ready, we nearly run to the buffet table. We went completely bezerk. We picked up a tray and started to load anything and everything within sight, we came back with two full trays and a few plates on hand. I was almost embarrassed at the amount of food we have laid out at our table.


Garlic Pork (bottom) and Duck (top) all smothered with herbs, ingredients and sauces!

Since it would take ages if I were to do a complete review, I shall highlight to you a few dishes. I have to say that the garlic pork is a Must-Have with capitals M and H. It is oh-so-good. The thin slices of pork were submerged in vinegary soy sauce with lots and lots of garlic and other spices that really brought out the meat's natural flavor. All the flavors simply exploded in your mouth. We had a second helping of this. Just can't help it.


Fried stuff: deep fried dumplings, chicken dumplings (the one that is tied with straw like edible thing), fried lotus buns (the golden brown round things on the left) and siew mai, which isn't fried but steamed...


Dipping, lathering, preparing the deep fried dumplings before we eat them

Deep fried prawn dumplings. Such a simple dish, such a delight when cooked in perfection. The dumpling skin were golden crisp and the inside of it were simply ladden with prawn. Dipped it ever so lightly on a mayonnaise dip, Y.U.M.


Chicken feet (top left corner), cong fan - prawn wrapped in dumpling skin like that is made from rice flour (the white goodies with soy sauce), steamed spring rolls, broccoli and of course, the amazing chili sauce.

I also just have to rave about their chili sauce. Simply amazing! The best way for me to describe it would be Thai sweet chili sauce with fermented beans. Please do not be put out by fermented beans, just try this delicious chili, you'd be a convert. Just don't hold me responsible if you get addicted.

Although dim sum's veggies are usually kai-lan (chinese broccoli), at Min Jiang, I found the real broccoli with oyster sauce. I would prefer if they have kai-lan, but broccoli is a type of veggie so its better than not having any veggie at all.


Pai gut, so tender and delicious!

The pai gut (pork ribs) were so tender and sweet. I haven't had such a good pai gut in a long time. It is such a simple dish, but perhaps it is the simplicity of it that makes it really hard to reach perfection. It's real easy to screw up if the chef is not careful. The meat can get too hard, or chewy, but here... it was little bite size of heaven.


Prawn chong fan, I just love the combination of prawn, rice flour and the sweetened soy sauce... I wish they have the one with fried dough inside too...

Siu Mai, Ha Kaw, cong fan, all the other dishes were good. They were small yet succulent, steamed into perfection. The only thing that I didn't like that day was the duck, it was too bitter. However, other than that I have no complain. I was in dim sum heaven. I thought the quality of the food justified the price. I'd go back for sure.


Oh, did I mention that these awards assured me before we sat down?

Sorry if I'm making you hungry, even as I am posting this I am getting hungry of these dim sum...

Min Jiang
Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Rd
Singapore 228221
+65 6737 7411

The Egg tart challenge

Pretty, intriguing little things aren't they?

In the past few years, cupcakes has gained an unprecedented popularity. It has reached its tipping point, and its F.A.M.O.U.S. It's cool to want cupcake, its hip to bake them and its smart to sell them. These days you can find a whole slew of variety of cupcakes; ranging from the traditional flavors like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, to passion fruit, mochi, blackforrest and any flavor you could possibly imagine. Then today, as I was walking in Takashimaya's exhibition floor, I realized that the eggtart has stepped up to challenge cupcake's position on the Cake Idol Contest.


The Fancy Delight Stall at the Takashimaya Food Fair exhibition floor ~ I wasn't the one taking pictures of these puppies ;)


Chinese New Year Food Fair @Takashimaya (don't go on weekends if you are claustrophobic!

There were eggtarts of fruity tastes, local Singaporean flavors, savory and of course the traditional egg tart on the display case. All colorful and attention grabbing. The crust was thin, yellowy sturdy yet brittle. One that has been designe to crumble in your mouth. The thickness was just right, you can taste the crumbs of the crust without feeling your mouth getting dusty and sticky. It blended well with the smooth and soft flavors of the custard.


Double Chocolate Egg tarts ~ check out those crusts! Thin but not too thin aren't there? Just perfect thickness....

Since I had just eaten my lunch, I only bought one tart; the strawberry flavored one. It looked so pretty in pink. The custard was pinkish yellow with a dollop of bright strawberry jam on top. The skin was soft that a piece of the whole tart is an easy task. The custard, as mentioned before was soft and smooth, sweet but not overtly sweet. I couldn't really taste the strawberry in the custard other than the pinkish color. I could only taste the strawberry when I bite closer to the strawberry jam. I wished they incorporated the berry taste into the custard more than just depositing a dollop of strawberry jam on top. I think their new flavor should be raspberry eggtart.


The Strawberry Egg tarts ~ pretty in pink isn't it?


Aerial view of the strawberry egg tart ;)


Cross section of the strawberry egg tart... yeshhh... i did bite it, sorry I don't carry around knife just to make cross section...

At the end I decided to get a box of 6 and shared with some people at the office, of course after I was done taking pictures of those 6 tarts from all different angles, taking close ups whenever possible. If I were closer to them I would have sliced the tarts to take cross section pictures too. The feedback that I got was that the kaya eggtart was very nice as the coconut flavored jam complimented the custard. The kaya jam used was the pandan kind which makes it much more fragrant other than just giving it's young leaves green color. As I'm not much of a coconut fan, unless they are fresh young coconuts, I took his word for it.


The Kaya Egg Tart ~ check out the green dollop on the top, yes that is the pandan kaya

The corn eggtart, I was told that it has corn flavors all over the custard and not just on the top. The Melting Chocolate looked rich with little hershey kisses like chocolate topping on top of the tart, but inside the filling was the regular custard with no chocolates on the inside. Well there was, but very little. I thought it would resemble souffle, where inside the custard you will find melting chocolates. However, my volunteer for this tart was pleased.


The Kiwis ~ so bright and green, so attractive doesn't it?!



Aerial view of the kiwi, check out the greenness and the seeds

The kiwi eggtart looks the most attractive to me, its bright green color was almost electric. It was the first one that jumped out on me from the bunch on the display. My Kiwi volunteer reported that it was nice and the sweetness is just right. However, I am sad to say that she did not report any kiwi taste blended in the custard. My strawberry volunteer was pleased with her selection and since I've tasted the same I didn't press her for much more report. The last tart was the orange chocolate one. I forgot to try to smell the fragrance before I gave it to my volunteer who wolved it down. His report was a little disappointing, as he didnt taste much orange overall. I would have expected that this could be one of the most dramatic taste as orange chocolate is definitely a strong blend.


The orange chocolate egg tart ~ another aerial view

For me the outcome of the cupcake vs. eggtart battle is still won by the cupcake. I think the eggtart some some ways to go before it can reach the popularity currently enjoyed by cupcake. Eggtarts makers out there should play more with the custard ingredients to spice it up and varies the taste from the more traditional sweet egg-y custard taste. One advantage that cupcake has over eggtarts is that, it is acceptable in many different parts of the world whereas eggtart is more common in central and South East Asia. However, I do believe that once eggtarts starting to come up with creative tastes and flavors, it will reach out to many different tongues from different backgrounds. I look forward to that day where there will be fruity flavored custard and more.


The last two pairs are the Pandan Kaya (right) and Melting Chocolate (Left), middle pair: Strawberry and orange chocolate, front pair: Kiwi and Corn. Each @SGD 1.40 or SGD 8 for 6

Fancy Delight
1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-04 or
IMM Building #01-K05, Jurong East or
Suntec City Mall Tower 3 #01-140F
www.fancydelight.com.sg
All outlets are in Singapore

A rather Indonesian lunch @Waroeng Penyet

"Budget lunch?" That was the title of the email that I received sometime ago from an Indonesian colleague at work. I shall spare you the glibs that went back and forth, suffice to say, the destination of the budget lunch was Banquet Food Court in Raffles Place. An interesting thing that I learnt about this place is that, this is a halal food court! There is a small section that sells pork, but apparently customers are banned from crossing the lines! That means if you are on the halal side of the food court, you stay there. And if you bought from the pork section, you stay there. Interesting!


The ordering area where you can see all of their other sets: ayam penyet (squashed chicken), empal penyet (squashed beef), ikan penyet (squashed fish), lele penyet (squashed eel), bakso penyet (squashed meat balls), etc

We ended up staying at the halal side and I decided to try out the empal penyet set from Warung Penyet. Empal is basically sweet fried beef. The meat is marinated with lots of coconut milk base concoction and simmered on a pan using small fire which ensure that the meat is marinated thoroughly and the end product a tender beef; designed to fall apart at the gentlest prodding. The set came with rice, fried tofu, fried tempeh, sliced cabbage and a slice o cucumber. All these came for just SGD 5.50!


Empal Rice Set @ SGD5.50 including empal, sliced cabbage, a slice of cucumber, freshly grounded chili, rice and crackers with soy sauce (that black thing on the upper left hand corner, on a little sauce bowl all on its own)

Since the shop is called "Penyet", which means squashed , it is only fitting that all the meat that they served are actually squashed. The empal too was squashed. "Sadistic" you said? Nah, not really, if anything it makes the meat more tender and brittle, so that when you touch it, they fall apart. With the chicken it helped separate the flesh from the bones.


Close up of the empal, crackers, a slice of cucumber, sliced cabbage and rice


Close up of fried tahu (tofu) and tempe ~ this pair is nationalistically Indonesian

Each spoonful of bits of empal, rice, with sweet soy sauce and chili was like going back to my childhood. I can taste the sweetness of the coconut milk mix on the beef and the salty crackers (the golden brownish cornflakes look alike on top of the empal) really complimented the empal taste. If you are more adventurous, then do try the chili. Please be warned however, that it is H.O.T. Have some milk or other dairy product nearby to calm the burning sensation your mouth will feel soon after consuming this chili. For your first time, just use a little. Or, mix a quarter of a teaspoon into the soy sauce. Try dipping the kerupuk there too... Don't blame me if you get addicted...

The kerupuk (Indonesian crackers) was just a dollar. I wonder how could I almost forgot the wonderful taste of sweet soy sauce with kerupuk and rice?! It was simple and comforting. I think kerupuk is like pringles, once you pop, you can't stop. Till you finish your order that is. Kerupuk really reminds me of home, as we always have kerupuk on the dining table. It's almost a staple of Indonesian cuisine. At my brother's wedding, the caterer suggested that we served some kerupuk during the dinner. I was startled because I always thought of kerupuk as a cheap food, but then the caterer explained that Indonesian tongues are accustomed to kerupuk, we live with it, we need something that crackles in our mouth. It made perfect sense! Ever thought of that anyone?


Kerupuk! @ SGD1 for the whole lot

I've heard about this Warung before. A friend who used to work in my office and sat behind me told me about this place, but I always told her that it won't be as good as food in Indonesia. Damn, was I wrong... This empal, was good. I'd go back. As a matter of fact. The day following this lunch, I did went and get a take out of the same thing. Yeah, I should be creative, but it was so simple and nice. So I just closed my eyes for a couple of second savoring the taste of sweet soy sauce with rice and crackers. *yummm....

Waroeng Penyet
Banquet Food Court
Underground Level of
Clifford House
Raffles Place
Singapore

old school ramen: Taichan Ramen

Taichan Ramen is one of those restaurants that has been around in Jakarta for decades, but people have only been realizing it after they went public by establishing branches in malls, first in Plaza Senayan some years back. Not many people know that the original restaurant is in Midplaza I, which is fine by me since that is the place that I go to most often ever since I was little. I still remember I had this fear of falling down through the steps to the shallow pool underneath; the marble stairs are see-through.

Other things that I like about the Midplaza branch is the fact that many Japanese went there, some of them leave their liquor bottles behind for their next visit. A sign that they have a regular Japanese crowd which endorsed the food as authentic. I love the old chairs with grey cushion and their black and white tables, almost like an office table. The little restaurant was so cozy and familiar, with the staff greeting you when you come and when you leave. Last year, when I was back for a visit after a long while, I was surprised to find out that they have renovated the place. The chairs and the tables were different, to me, those changes made that branch lost some of its old charm. I wish they had renovated it but still preserving their old look and atmosphere. It seems like there are less Japanese visiting these days in the Midplaza branch. In the malls' branches, visitors are mostly locals. While its true that by localizing the food a restaurant ensure an in to the local population, I think they should stay true to the cuisine they are representing.


The ingredients to make the best dip for the gyoza: shoyu (soy sauce), layu (oil), and chuka (vinegar). And the chilli powder.

Anyway, back to the Taichan Restaurant in Plaza Senayan now. M told me after our movie today that she had only little food and was feeling hungry and decided to have Taichan, which is fine by me since I was actually thinking that it has been a while since I last ate there. She couldn't decide whether to have ramen or yakiniku, and I completely understand the hard decision that she had to make. The yakiniku is my favorite food there, even if the rest of my family loves the ramen. So I told her I'd order the ramen, and settled for Taichan Ramen with extra corn. We ordered gyozas to share and iced lemon tea and hot lemon tea; free refill.


Gyoza (Rp 25,000), Taichan Ramen (Small @Rp 29,500), and extra corn (Rp 13,500)

The gyozas came first; served upside down boasting their golden browned bottoms up. After preparing the dip of shoyu (soy sauce), chuka (vinegar) and layu (oil), and of course taking some pictures, we devoured the first couple of gyozas. Yum! Even though the gyozas are made from chicken meat, the ingredients that they mix, the crispness and firmness of the skin made it really yum.


One gyoza, up close and personal...


cross section of the gyoza

My Taichan Ramen came next with a small plate of the extra corn. The ramen itself has cubed chicken, shallots, corn, seaweed, bamboo shoots, carrots, bean sprouts and chinese cabbage. Plenty of veggies for your daily fiber and nutritional balance, or just my way of justifying a bowl of steaming goodness. The noodle is thin and firm, not too soft and just a tad chewy. Three quarters of the bowl was filled with the noodle, definitely value for money for those who are hungry. The soup is miso based, and I wonder whether the stock is veggie or chicken based. Either way, its delicious.


Taichan Ramen close up of the topping

Next came the Yakiniku set. It came with a bowl of rice, miso shiru, and a few appetizers including: seaweed and cucumber in vinegar and soy sauce, meat and potato stew and salad. The yakiniku itself was accompanied by stir fried bean sprouts with corn on top. The Yakiniku beef is sliced thinly and mixed with kucai (shallot like veggies) in dark soy sauce and either some sugar or mirin for the sweetness. The strong rich of the yakiniku is perfect to balance the succulent japanese rice.


Yakiniku set (Rp 65,000)

At the end of it, we were full and satisfied. To me, ramen and yakiniku set are comfort food and only just now do I realize how much vegetables are included in both dishes! Glad to have make that discovery, it would definitely justify my future visit to Taichan.


Taichan Ramen
Plaza Senayan 3rd Fl.
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8
+ 62 21 572 5262

(Also available at: Midplaza I, Plaza Indonesia, Pondok Indah Mall II and somewhere in Melawai)

cheap cheap fried bee hoon breakfast

Way back when I first started working, there were lots of mornings where I would see my manager get this fried bee hoon for breakfast, along with other members of my team. One day, they asked me if I'd like to try. My manager raved about this bee hoon. It is one of the best bee hoon around, he claimed. Ran by three old ladies, but even when they are old their bee hoon is so great. How good could a bee hoon be? Right?


One of the lady, preparing an order... not mine though...

Wrong! This bee hoon, is definitely one of the best around town, or the whole island. The vermicelli is just the right consistency, firm but crunchy. The darkness of the sauce that seeps through the surface of the vermicelli is also just right, not pale nor is it too dark. Again, just right. Value for money? Oh yeah. At 70 cents per pack or if you'd like a large serving, just pay another 30 cents!

There are two kinds of noodles: bee hoon (vermicelli on the right) or mee (thicker noodle on the left)

"Is that it?", you asked... No. When you eat these bee hoon, do get yourself another treat or treats. Get yourself some fish fillet, fish cake, taiwanese pork sausage, ngo hiang, eggs, whatever you fancy that is on display. All these other treats range from 70 cents to a dollar a piece! Yeah, talk about value for money indeed.

An assortment of toppings for the bee hoon


The price list ~ see, I wasn't lying when I proclaimed 'value for money'...

My favorite is the fish fillet and fish cake. "Fishy" some would say, but I love the taste. The fish fillet is breaded in bread crumb flour and deep fried, while the fish cake is just fried. Both of them are sweet and savory at the same time. If you want more than those two tastes, then do get some of their chillies. It's good. Really.

Actually, I also like the taiwanese sausage, its sweet and tasty, but I refrain myself from ordering those these days cause of the oiliness... I can only take so much of oil. But if you don't mind it, do order it. It's delish!


A portion of bee hoon with taiwanese sausage, fish fillet and fried egg


A portion of bee hoon with fish cake, fish fillet, stir fried cabbage, green chili pickles and chili sauce

As with anything fried, it is oily. Let's not beat around the bush on that subject. But, worry not. They have green chilli pickles which vinegary taste will wash away any oiliness on your mouth. If that is not enough, then do get yourself a glass of soy bean milk. Not only would it removes the oiliness from your mouth, it will also calm your tongue and mouth from the burning chillies that you so generously poured before. Oh! Guess what?! A glass of soy milk is 70 cents! 70 cents is the going rate in this particular hawker center isn't it?


The soy bean milk stall


The soy bean milk that I drank that morning... yeah I drank half already... forgot to snap the picture till then...

Golden Shoes Car Park
Hawker Center 2nd Floor, Middle row
Market Street
Raffles Place
Singapore