Fish Head Curry, the Chinese way

My brother always says that the best tasting food is never served on a nice looking, polished restaurants. He has this philosophy that the dirtier and shabbier the place is, the more out of reach it is, the better it tastes. Not sure if that is all true, but there is some truth in that if a place is shabby but years in and year out people still come, then it says something about the quality of food and taste of that restaurant. That is the case with the fish head curry from Our Makan Shop.

Fish Head Curry, Indian dish cooked by Chinese with a Chinese twist

I'm not actually big on eating fish head, maybe it's because I kinda feel guilty that the fish is staring at me while I poke, flesh out and nibble its body. Though the neck and cheek of the fish are almost always have the most tender meat than the rest of the body. I must say that for this dish, the curry is my favorite. Sweet, sour and savory. Mucho addictive! The best part for me is to dip the crispy papadum to the curry. Hm.... Last time I was there, I had to order a second round of papadum.

Squid in Squid Ink and Curry

Yes, it's rather dark in color isn't it? Fret not, it tasted wonderful. The squid was tender, chewy but not rubbery. Tasted great with some rice. The curry taste was very interesting as I never thought of putting squid ink together with curry...

Eggplant Curry

As an eggplant afficionado, this dish rank high in my favorite list. The eggplant are tender without being too mushy and the curry seeped deep inside the skin of the eggplant.

Stir fried long beans

My plate of rice, papadum, stir fried long beans, squid and eggplant

Since all the dishes are quite rich in flavor, be it spicy or curry, the rice moderates the flavor of each dish. And the papadum,... it's good on its own, and it's great dipped into the curry sauce. Either way with the papadum, you win.

Our Makan Shop
Blk 34 Whampoa West #01-27

Near Boon Keng MRT

Singapore 330034

+65 6297 9729

Daily Scoop of ice cream

Who doesn't love ice cream? And in humid Singapore, who doesn't feel like ice cream, almost everyday? Apparently there are a couple of locally handmade ice cream shops, Island Creamery and The Daily Scoop. The place is small and cozy. There were quit a selection of ice cream too and they make new batches right in front of you. The catch is that they don't always have all the flavors out at the same time.

Salted Mr. Brown

That day, I wanted to have the Brandied Figs & Honey. I spent a good ten minutes checking out the selection out there, trying to find it. Alas, it wasn't there. Finally something caught my eye, Salted Mr. Brown. The ingredients list said: sea salt, caramel and brownies. Hm... something sweet yet not too sweet and a little salty? One scoop later I was really happy with my choice.

Baileys and Amaretto

A, my partner in crime was all too happy when she find Bailey ice cream and decided to double it up with the Amaretto. The Baileys tasted cappucino-y but can't really taste the Baileys, need more Baileys on the batch. The Amaretto was sweet and I could taste the cherry. We were satisfied at the end of our scoops. Hopefully next time I get to try the Brandied Figs & Honey, or another scoop of the Salted Mr. Brown.

Daily Scoop
41 Sunset Way Arcade
Singapore
+65 6463 3365
http://www.thedailyscoop.com.sg/

Lhanna Thai for Dessert & Pad Thai

Thai iced tea for two with a candlelight table... How romantic no? Well, I was with M so we both agreed that there was nothing romantic about that! But, M is an old friend of mine and old friends are the best because you grew up with them and have gone through the ups and downs of friendship. It's also a good thing that M has a car and gives me a lift! Thanks M! For me, the best Thai iced tea that I've ever had is here in Lhanna Thai. It's sweet but you can taste the strength of the tea. It's very refreshing.


Mango Sticky Rice

The best Thai dessert is without a doubt the mango sticky rice. The sweetness from the mango and the hint of fruitiness works like a charm with the sticky rice and sweet coconut milk. And I can fool myself into believing that it's actually healthy since it's fruit... Though in reality, mango is a high calories fruit. Oh well, I ain't no saint.

Pad thai

While I enjoyed my mango sticky rice, M got pad thai instead since she hadn't had dinner. It was good, tasty and filling. However, if I were to have a Thai meal, I would probably go with the fried garoupa, chicken cashew and/or curry... yummm.....

Lhanna Thai

Jl. KH Hashim no. 112

Jakarta Pusat

+62 21 319 25037

Grounding sesame lesson @Tonkichi

Tonkichi is one of my favorite restaurants in Singapore, for sure. The first time I saw it on the fourth floor of Takashimaya, it brought me back to the good old times in Kyoto, especially this awesome tonkatsu restaurant down at Shijo. For the life of me I can't remember what it's called but I can still picture my way there from my school. I ate there multiple times. It was there when I learnt to grind my own sesame and learn what a pleasure it is to have the fragrant smell of sesame wafting through your nose. It was my first ever proper Japanese tonkatsu and what a happy camper I was to discover a similar restaurant, here! in Singapore!

For some reason, there is always a long line around lunch and dinner time, which is why I always avoid the rush hour, hence eating at weird hours at times...

I had the pleasure of having K, who is Japanese that night which was awesome because I learnt something new. I forgot what she ordered, but I get the one thing that I always order every time I go, Hire Katsu Oyster set at SGD 24. Hire Katsu is claimed to be the premium fillet and it has less fat while Rosu Katsu, is more tender because it has some fat on the edges. I've tried both previously but Hire is my favorite. So for my set, I got 3 pieces of hire katsu and 2 pieces of oyster fry with tartar sauce on the side. The set comes with free flow of rice, shredded cabbage and miso soup. Good deal I say.

K demonstrating how to ground the sesame using the mortar

As soon as we ordered, the waiter gave us our sesame bowl to ground on our own. The fragrant was so nice and relaxing. Then when our orders came, K told me that after you mixed the tonkatsu sauce with the ground sesame, you're supposed to pour it on your tonkatsu and shredded cabbage! Usually I would just dip my katsu in... Oops.. Well I guess at the end of the day it is a personal choice though, so don't feel obliged!

Hire Katsu and Oyster Fry set @SGD 24, set includes; rice, miso soup, pickles and fruits for dessert.

I just the way all of the katsu, cabbage, the sauce, compliments the fluffy white rice. The hire katsu was crisp and firm but tender at the same time. Oyster-fry was also crisp and yum especially with the tartar sauce.

Bite off section of the oyster fry with the tartar sauce at the background

If you come here starving, try to upgrade your set meal and get tonjiru instead of miso soup. It's definitely not my host mom's home cooked tonjiru, but definitely worth the try. Tonjiru is pork soup with veggies and also includes gobo which is burdock root and konyaku which is jelly like food made from potato super yum!

A slice of hire katsu, you can see the pinkness of the meat and the ground sesame mixed tonkatsu sauce

It was a satisfying dinner indeed. I think of all the restaurants in Singapore, I've come here the most. Hmm... maybe I'll go there for lunch today....

Tonkichi

Ngee Ann City (Takashimaya)

391 Orchard Rd, #04-24

Singapore 238872

+65 6735 7522

Thursday Lunch @Makan Mumbai

The Special North Indian Meal

It's a little authentic Indian shop that has various set menu for different days. I haven't been here for a while so when S and I were at a lost on what to eat for lunch on a Thursday, I suggested Makan Mumbai. The shop is frequented with many South Asians which is why I deemed it authentic. There is another Indian food shop nearby that is also good, but I don't think it's authentic since I always see foreigners there. Anyway, I like Makan Mumbai's food, they taste good and the price is reasonable. The set menus are around SGD 6-8 which is a bargain for the food quality.

Gujharati Meal with spiced rice, two dishes, veggies, papadum, papadum like thing, cucumber and tomato pieces in yoghurt

That day I ordered the Gujharati meal, vegetarian set menu of the day at SGD 7.50. The set was yellow colored rice cooked with different spices, stir fried veggies in Indian style, green bean light curry-ish dish, and fried veggies dough balls in a tangy creamy soup. There were also a couple of papadum and a couple of papadum like things which I'm not sure what it's called. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal that I had, all the different veggies dishes were very appetizing and made me felt healthy eating it. The papadum a bit soggy and not crunchy but usually theirs are crunchy. My favorite was the tangy creamy sauce, I used that to mix with the rest of my food, very yummy.

The fried veggie balls in tangy creamy sauce

The veggie in the Gujharati meal

The Special North Indian mean was also vegetarian at SGD 7, consisting of rice, red bean curry-ish dish and creamy lentils dish. Dipping your papadum to the lentil dish is almost heavenly. It's my comfort food. My little piece of heaven that happens at lunchtime during my weekday. Both dishes were served on a steel plates with a couple of small steel bowls for the soupy dishes. It's very practical for the restaurant as they don't have to worry about cracked plates and also makes it more unique compared to other places.

The Special North Indian meal close up

We wanted to end the lunch with a sweet note so we ordered gulab jamun which is small doughnuts made from mainly milk solids in sugar syrups flavored with indian herbs and spices. Its so soft and so sweet, I wish I can eat however many that I can, but gotta keep the sugar level in checks and don't want those excess calories piling up. So, once in a while, I indulge myself to a sweet treat. Like this time.


Sweet sweet gulab jamun at SGD 3 for two pieces

Makan Mumbai
84 Telok Ayer St
#01-0184 Far East Square
Singapore
+65 6536 4565

A little bit of sugar rush from Komugi

I woke up that day with a craving of strawberry shortcake. That was all I wanted to eat, actually since the night before. I remembered that there is a small cakery at the Papaya Japanese supermarket in Melawai that had cute fancy looking cakes. After securing a ride, I was on my way there. In less than half an hour I was already on my way back with a strawberry shortcake, pistachio pudding, montmercy and fruit anmitsu. I just had to try it so that I could write it for you all. So you see, it's for a greater purpose, not just gluttony.


Sideview of the strawberry shortcake @Rp 18,000

The strawberry shortcake looked so fluffy, like it would just melt in your mouth. It lived up to its look definitely. The short bread was firm with just a hint of sweetness. The cream felt white (yes white), fresh and sweet. The cream really complimented the shortbread. The strawberry was sour, unfortunately, but if you diced it to small enough pieces and eat one piece with a dollop of the cake and cream, it's good. I suppose, you can't blame them for not using the finest strawberry as it would increase the cost of this delectable treat.


Montmercy - intriguing little thing isn't it? A slice for Rp 28,000

Montmercy. I have no idea what that means. I just know that it looks like pie, green pie, that was made from pistachio I was told. In the middle of the pie, they put some cherries. Whole cherries. It has this sweet almond-y taste to it. Perhaps it was made from almond flour. The cherry was the highlight of my piece of montmercy, as it gave a fruity flavor to the otherwise sweet pie. I think they should put more cherries...


The fruit anmitsu and pistachio pudding

Fruit anmitsu was yummy, but it was mainly jelly instead of fruits. The spritzy jelly part wasn't my favorite as it was quite sour, I'd much rather they not have that at all. They should have used brown sugar instead to stay true to the real anmitsu.


Pretty colorful fruit anmitsu @Rp 19,000


My little pint of pistachio pudding @Rp 29,000

I love the cute pudding jar! It's shaped as a miniature milk jar. The pistachio pudding was so soft and creamy with a hint of pistachio. The color was green and it was oh so smooth it almost taste like cream.

Komugi Bakery & Pastry
Papaya Supermarket
Jl. Melawai Raya No. 28
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta
+62 21 7279 3777

Spicin' it up @Minang House

Since yesterday I have been craving ayam panggang (grilled chicken) from this Indo restaurant in Lucky Plaza, Minang House. The restaurant is quite small and you can see all that they have to offer on display. Minang refers to an ethnic group in West of Sumatra, Indonesia which makes sense to those who understand Indonesian because the food that they sell is Minang food. Since the Minangs are muslim, all the food here is halal.The signature of Minang food is definitely heavy spices and some curry, all of them spciy, which is also good for your digestive system. You get to pick and choose what you want to eat. The set menus ranges from 6-9 Singapore dollars. Each set you get a rice and you get to choose 3 other things, which can be a mixture of veggies and meat. The portion is quite generous, I always feel full even 3/4 of my meal, perhaps the coconut base curry is also accountable.


Pick and choose what you'd like to eat from these 'edible' menu

So today, I got myself my ayam panggang, eggplant with chili, sayur nangka (jackfruit curry) and a little bit of cassava leaves curry. Of course with krupuk. The grilled chicken was tender, sweet with just a hint of spiciness. This grilled chicken was definitely soaked in a mixture of herbs before being grilled that's why you could see the yellow color. The jackfruit curry was quite spicy but satisfyingly good, little pieces of jackfruits were tender but still chewy. The chili eggplants were so pretty, the skin color were pinkish purple and white on the inside, the flesh so tender yet still crunchy. Sometimes eggplants can be too overcooked but this one was perfect. I asked a little bit of chicken curry for on top of the rice, and it tastes so good. You could taste the chicken stock on the curry. To make this combination even better, remember to order the Krupuk, only a dollar for a pack, dip it with your curry soaked rice, it's almost heaven.


Rice with grilled chicken, chilli eggplant, jackfruit curry, and krupuk @SGD 6.80 (including a canned drink)

Other Indonesians that I have brought here got really addicted to their food. I was never a believer of eating Indonesian food abroad because they never cook it right, but I make this one my exception. Whenever I feel homesick for some Indonesian food, I would cure it with a meal from here. Better yet, they serve teh botol! Which is the unofficial national drink for Indonesians. Ask any Indos abroad what teh botol is, they'd tell you its one of the best drinks from home.

Rice with omelette, beef jerky, grilled chicken, chili eggplant and cassava leaves curry

Minang House
#02-04 Lucky Plaza
Orchard Rd
Singapore
+65 6887 4702

On the way to catch a flight, a transit @Starbucks

I just have to say, plane food these days sucks. I used to like Singapore Airline's plane food, but lately the quality has been going down. Lufthansa serves cold sandwiches which is ok, but I like my food to be hot. Emirates has the best food these days. So I was very happy when I found out that Starbucks at Jakarta Airport terminal 2 has amazingly good tuna sandwich! Oh, and they reheat it for you!!!

It's a wholegrain bread and stuffed between are thick tasty mix of tuna, veggies, cheese and almonds! Let me just say that the almonds is the one thing that really brought this otherwise simple tuna sandwich over the top. It's just so damn good with the almonds. The veggies and the wholegrain really makes me feel like I eat healthy. Please don't remind me of the cheese part. Let me enjoy my 'healthy' meal.

The sandwich is definitely the perfect snack before flight especially when your flight is around those meal hours, there is no way you can eat on time; consider the take off, waiting till they serve you and not to mention, God forbid there is any delay. For people like me who get headache if they eat late, it's always good to have something to eat before flying. And, there's that chance that the airplane food is gonna be crappy...

Starbucks Cafe
Jakarta International Airport Terminal 2
(Just after the immigration)

Take Out from Tanpopo Deli

Liang Court is one of those old malls that they have just recently revamped and renovated. However, the special thing about this one is that, there is a LOT of Japanese stuff here. Meidi-ya, the Japanese Supermarket is here, an all Japanese food court, and at least 3 more Japanese restaurants are here that I know of. I started coming there last year when only the basement and part of the first floor were opened and since they opened all, I haven't been exploring yet. I usually just grab some food on my way back from the office and this is one of those nights.


The salad selection at Tanpopo deli: try the jellyfish salad and hijiki... well all their salads are good but these two are my favorites

The good thing about Tanpopo deli is that after a certain hour, I think its around 8pm ish, they slash the price of the take outs! This is to ensure that they have fresh food available only and to me, its a means to save! I love their salads, but that night I knew salad was just not going to cut it. So I got myself potato croquettes, sansai gohan and hijiki.


My bounty for the night

Sansai gohan is simply rice with wild vegetables. It's a very simple yet comforting dish that brought back delicious memories from the times that I spent in Japan. I think on the process of making the rice, some soy sauce and mirin is added because it had that savory taste that didn't come from plain rice. Very subtle flavoring that allowed you to still taste the fluffiness of the Japanese rice and doesn't give you a sickening after taste. I was so happy it came with the yellow radish pickles, one of my favorite Japanese pickles. Don't worry if you don't like the Japanese pickles, it is an acquired taste. Do try to acquire or you would miss out on some of the best pickles in the world!


Sansai gohan with yellow pickle @SGD 3.55

The potato croquette came with sliced cabbage and katsu sauce. The croquette is basically mashed potato mixed with pork mince breaded and fried katsu style. Simple yet very tasty. Not so healthy though, this one Japanese food.


Potato Croquette @SGD 4.11 (before tax)

Hijiki is one of my absolute Japanese food favorite that I discovered while living with a home stay family in Japan. It's this small black seaweed cooked very simply with soy sauce and mirin. Tossed a few aburaage slices, edamame beans and voila! A simple healthy dish! I could just eat hijiki and rice everyday.


Hijiki @SGD 3.73


My dinner for the night: Itadakimasu!


Tanpopo Deli
177 River Valley Rd #B1-16
Liang Court Shopping Centre
+65 6338 3186
Singapore

Friday Italian Lunch @Mont Calzone

It was the long awaited lunch hour. The most waited one of the week, because it was FRIDAY! It was also a lunch I was waiting for cause I was lunching with K that day. We were both running late due to issues and the so called "urgent" requests. Luckily, S decided to join us and she was free, so she ran to grab a table first. When we finally got there, the place was jammed packed. Since I hadn't been there before, I had to read the menu while my stomach starting to protest already. We finally decided; Curry Chicken Calzone for K, Al Fungi Linguini for S and Parma Ham and Arugula pasta for me.


Pesto Chicken Calzone with red sauce on the side


Cross section of the pesto chicken calzone, doesn't it just look so good stuffed with all those yumminess?

We had to ask for our orders three times. Not good. Seems like they were either short staffed or not efficient. Since it was my first time there, I didn't know. Finally, K's calzone arrived. We were getting happy because that meant our food was on the way, right? WRONG! We had to wait 5-10 more minutes before ours finally came. And they gave K the wrong calzone! They gave her instead pesto chicken calzone with pineapples inside and red sauce on the side. K decided to stick with it and turned out that she liked it better than the curry chicken one.


Parma Arugula Pasta - check out that beauty

She was almost done when finally our order came. I love my parma arugula pasta. Yes, I am a fan of parma ham! It just looked so beautiful; white spaghetti with pinkish peach parma ham and arugula greens. It was done in garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. Very light to compliment the strong taste of parma ham and the arugula. The pasta was firm too. Good quality Italian food, though I wouldn't mind a little bit more parmesan cheese on my pasta next time. ;)


Al Fungi Linguini

S' al fungi linguini was also firm and I could see an abundance of mushrooms. The cream base sauce was infused with mushroom so that even the cream itself had mushroom taste. The earthy fragrant of the mushroom was really mouthwatering. That and our hunger probably made it really damn good pasta.

I would come back to Mont, but please shorten the wait time! Hmm.... I get hungry writing this...

Mont Calzone
#01-01 Far East Square
38 Pekin Street
+65 6557 2304
http://www.montcalzone.com.sg/
(Closed on Sundays)

*Due to hunger, I hereby apologize for forgetting to note down the price, however the pasta ranges about SGD15 per portion and so was the calzone, before tax that is...*

Taking a break from rice @Quiznos

So there's this new sandwich shop opens near my office which I didn't even notice till a colleague of mine S pointed out to me. One fine noon we went there for lunch, eager to sit outside to enjoy the sun and the warmth in exchange of our frosty office. She ordered Honey Bourbon Chicken sandwich set with a soup. Originally I wanted to order a turkey bacon guacamole, a recommendation from a reputable source and a die hard fan of Quiznos in the States, but alas, it does not exist here in Singapore. I ended up ordering Mesquite Chicken set with salad instead.

My mesquite chicken was tasty; it involves bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion and ranch dressing. My whole wheat bread was toasted, so it was warm and toasty. Yum! That is how I like my sandwich: W.A.R.M. and of course toasty. The sandwich did not disappoint though I didn't really taste the cheddar. The salad was a really nice decent salad. In a country where it's hard to find a good salad, I was very happy that afternoon. They even put some sweet onions instead o the usual lettuce and tomato! I get to choose from a range of salad dressing options too! I opted for honey mustard. Oh, did I tell you that the salad's size was also decent? Not just a few pieces of lettuce?


Chicken Mesquite 6" at SGD 5.90 plus SGD 2.70 for the combo drinks and a choice of: salad/chips/soup


Close ups of the Mesquite Chicken

I didn't try the Honey Bourbon that S ordered, but I did tried her soup which was broccoli cheese. Not a fan of broccoli cheddar to begin with, but this was decent. Though I am a die hard food fan, sometimes I do think of the calories and this was one of those moments. One thing that fascinate me about the honey bourbon chicken is that, they you coriander leaves! According to S, it was also one of the ingredients that really brought out the flavor of the sandwich. Coriander is definitely one of my favorite herbs. It really brings out the taste in whatever it is that you're cooking or eating. Not to mention the fragrance!


Honey Bourbon Chicken Combo with Broccoli Cheddar soup at SGD 5.10 for 6" sub. Notice the coriander leaves!

Quiznos was definitely a good break from Subway. Usually I would go to Subway whenever I need a break from rice and noodle diet that this country is in to get some sandwich. I love the simplicity of Subway and the way they allow you to pick and choose whatever you want on your sandwich, but Quiznos kinda gives you the impression that they are a premium deli cause you can't really make it at home. Well, you can technically. But are you really gonna make honey bourbon chicken just to make a sandwich? It's becoming one of my favorite lunch destination. Oh! And I do hope they bring out turkey bacon guacamole soon!

Quiznos Sub
49 Pekin St
#01-01 Far East Square
Singapore, 048781
+65 6557 2270
www.quisnoz.com
(Closed on Sundays)