...have a taste of Japan in Singapore?

I made a new discovery in Far East Plaza today.

I met a friend for dinner today and after shopping around with little to show for it, we were both famished. My friend then suggested having Japanese food.

"It's supposed to be good....Somewhere on Level 5," she quipped. She was about to call her friend (for the umpteenth time, according to her) to ask about the venue when we noted a queue quietly forming just around the escalator on Level 5.

Understanding that "queue=good food", we figured that there was little to lose and swiftly joined the queue. To our delight, the queue moved quickly and before long, we were greeted warmly by the waitress at the entrance. We were fortunate, because there seemed to be a lot of reservations and we managed to get in only because we promised to finish our food in one hour.

We soon found out that Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant's specialty was Yakitori and decided on a Set B combination and grilled Saba to share. Set B came with sashimi, eight sticks of Yakitori, rice, miso and pickles. Every stick tasted really good - tasty and not too greasy. Personally, I enjoyed the beef, tomato and chicken the most!

Overall, the food was a tad salty, but otherwise yummy. The decor was typical of a Japanese restaurant - small and cozy. The chefs (at least one of them) were Japanese and I particularly liked the part where the entire crew greeted every guest who comes into the restaurant!

Though very different, Nanbantei* reminds me of Gonpachi in Tokyo, which also serves Yakitori. For an hour, I felt I was back in Tokyo. Until I visit Japan again, I guess this will be one of the choices** whenever I need my Yakitori fix! :)



* Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant, Far East Plaza, #05-132.

** I will remember to bring my camera the next time so that there are pictures to show how good the food looked!

... rediscover the joys of baking?

Life has been crazy good. Good because I'm happy and crazy because I haven't found the time to indulge in one of my favorite things on earth for ages! Today after Core Fusion, I decided to take a walk through Boston Commons (Boston Commons is so lovely this time of the year, with the prettiest flowers in full bloom.) to the Whole Foods at Charles River Plaza. I picked up some cherries and made a clafoutis with the apricots and mangoes I already had in the refrigerator. Work has been stressful of late but baking, and particularly the warm and sweet scent that emanates from the oven, always relaxes and cheers me up.

Now I'm just waiting for it to cool completely and for someone to return from NYC before we tuck into it!

...have one of the best ramen at Mutekiya?

I asked KS for a list of food places in Tokyo before K and I went on our trip last month. He gave me a list, and said that the restaurants were listed in order of priority.

Top of his list of recommendations was Mutekiya. He said that the ramen was so good that that he would usually visit the restaurant more than once on his travels to Tokyo; and that locals would queue 30 minutes in the cold during winter for the ramen.

So K and I decided to head to Mutekiya on the second day of our trip, and found ourselves in a short queue. We waited for about 20 minutes (there are only 17 seats in the ramen bar) before being ushered in.



K and I both ordered the ramen that came with one slice of char siew and one egg (I can't remember what it is called, maybe K will remember?). It must have been the best ramen I have ever tasted in my entire life.



The soup was boiled with pork bones and was really tasty. Best of all, you could tell there was no MSG because even though K and I drank up all the soup, we did not feel thirsty at all! The ramen was cooked al-dente, the egg was perfect, runny and soft inside but firm outside, and the one slice of char siew was very delicious. All this for only 780 yen (that's about S$12)!

The ramen was really very good that K and I decided that we absolutely have to go back again before we left Tokyo. So we found time on the second last day of our trip and went back to Mutekiya for lunch. This time, I had a bigger bowl! With 3 slices of char siew and 2 eggs! And only 980 yen (less than S$15.60)!



Mutekiya is a must-visit when you go to Tokyo. I can't wait to have it again!


Mutekiya
1-17-1 Minami-Ikebukuro
Take the East exit of Ikebukuro JR station
Walk about 10 minutes along Meiji-Dori

... enjoy summer's bounty?

It's summer in Boston and while I'm not a big fan of the Boston summer weather (these past two weeks have been exceptionally brutal-- think heatwave + high humidity or thunderstorms), I tolerate summer in New England because that means I get to start shopping at farmers markets again! Unlike California (I miss you, Berkeley!), the growing season in the Northeast is way shorter and that makes eating locally challenging. This is especially true late in the winter when I'm starting to get sick of all the winter squashes I've been storing since late fall. But for now, we have plenty of berries, stone fruits, tomatoes etc. in season. Aside from being too lazy and busy to cook of late, I also think that fresh good quality in-season produce should be enjoyed with as little cooking as possible. As a result, I've been having lots of salads (both fruit and vegetable-based) and desserts that incorporate fresh fruits.

Perfect Summer Breakfasts: (clockwise) Apricots+raw honey+yogurt; Strawberries+peppermint+yogurt; Raspberries+peppermint+yogurt

Perfect Summer Lunch: Heirloom tomatoes, Fiore di Nonno handcrafted small batch mozzarella, sweet basil (from my window sill!), Maldon sea salt, fresh ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil

 Perfect Summer Dessert: Champagne mangoes, coconut milk infused sticky rice, coconut cream, toasted mung beans

... seek perfection?

My friends all know that I love trying new recipes and that I rarely cook or bake the same thing more than once unless I am absolutely head over heels in love with it, it takes less than 30 min to prepare from start to finish, or one of them really love it and they ask me to make it again. There are just way too many delicious concoctions out there for me to remain fixated on one thing for too long.

My friends also know that I have a soft spot for desserts, and tangy and citrusy desserts in particular. When we go out for dinner, I ineveitably gravitate towards something with lemon, meyer lemon, yuzu, lime or key lime come dessert time. I'm not sure exactly what it is but I do tend to enjoy things with a good amount of acidity in general-- Thai food, bright and refreshing white wines and the aforementioned type of desserts.

Since I started baking a year and a half ago, lemon yogurt cakes have been my number one obsession. Aside from my weakness for tangy and citrusy desserts, I am also on the constant lookout for somewhat healthy desserts that I can indulge in without feeling too guilty. Lemon yogurt cakes are the closest I've found that are both delicious and almost healthy. I also started out my baking odessey with yogurt cakes because they are apparently so easy and foolproof that French children make them all the time.

The first yogurt cake recipe I tried was Clotilde Desoulier's Gâteau au Yaourt à la Framboise (Raspberry Yogurt Cake). I liked it-- easy, moist and tasty but I didn't fall head over heels in love with it. This was back in Winter 08 and since then, I've made and tried countless other cakes, yogurt cakes, olive oil cakes, butter cakes, genoises, chiffons etc. (Incidentally, I have a serious weakness for chiffon cakes too but I think recipes that require a large number of eggs, and very different number of yolks and whites are a little too fussy for me on a day-to-day basis. I save these for times when I feel incredibly motivated to bake, which is not very often.)

Over 6 months ago, I first heard about Ina Garten's supposedly amazing Lemon Yogurt Cake from various posts on both Serious Eats and The Kitchn. Then, when I went back to Singapore over the Christmas holidays, I saw a writeup of the same recipe, with a few modifications, in The Sunday Times. "Well, it seems like I'll have to try this recipe when I return to Cambridge", I murmured to myself as I read (and subsequently cut out) the article with interest.

When I returned to Cambridge, life and work both got crazy (in good ways!) and it wasn't until one sleepness night in late March that I finally tried Ina's lemon yogurt cake recipe for the first time. The result? Yumminess-- moist, tangy and not too sweet. (I had substituted half of the AP flour with whole wheat pastry flour, used extra virgin olive oil, cut the amount of sugar, upped the amount of lemon (juice and zest), included some orange zest as well (yes, I love citrus zest!) and used my favorite Wallaby nonfat yogurt since that was what I had in the frigo and I wasn't about to go grocery shopping at 2 a.m. in the morning.)

Attempt 1: Exterior

Attempt 1: Cross-section

In short, I loved it (and so did the rest of my friends and colleagues who tried it). Ina's lemon yogurt cake was definitely the best I've tried by far, but it wasn't quite perfect yet. The soaking syrup is genius but it didn't create a crusty exterior similar to that of Tante E's Syrup Butter Cake (spiked with some rum of course!).

It was back to the drawing board. Maybe I need to up the sugar ratio in the soaking syrup? Two months later, I found myself with time to test out another version. This time around, I used limes instead of lemon (because again, this was what I had at home), 100% whole wheat pastry flour, and upped the sugar ratio in the soaking syrup. (To my scientist friends: I know you're only supposed to tweak 1 variable at a time but unfortunately, I am constrained by my impatience and what I have available at home. Besides, I'm a social scientist=P.)

Attempt 2: Exterior

Attempt 2: Cross-section

Upping the sugar ratio didn't seem to help form that crystalized layer I was hoping to achieve (Or perhaps the 100% whole wheat flour substitution affected it too-- serves me right for tweaking too many things at one go!). There was also a little too much of a nutty taste from the whole wheat and the lime gave it a slight bitterness too. Again, good but not great.

Last weekend, a friend's House Cooling Party gave me the perfect excuse to experiment yet again. This time around, I used 100% AP flour and tried upping the sugar ratio again (I also replaced an egg with flaxseed + water because I only had 2 eggs left). Midway through the baking process, I suddenly experienced a flash of inspiration though. Why don't I toast the cake after I slice it? This way, I'll achieve a lovely crisp outer exterior AND caramelized sugar is always a good thing. So I took the cake out from the oven 5 minutes earlier (I didn't want it to lose too much moisture since I was going to effectively bake it twice-- like biscotti.), sliced it into half-inch wide slices, and tried to figure out the best way to obtain that perfect crisp I was seeking.

Attempt 3: Toasting in the oven (L) vs. on a grill pan (R)

I tried toasting it in the oven at various temperatures and grilling it on my stovetop grill pan (see photo above-- I forgot to take a photo before I wolfed down half of each test slice, in the name of research no less=P). In the end, while the grill marks were pretty, obtaining a 90% uniform crisp crust on both sides from toasting it in the oven at 400 degrees (F) gave me what I was looking for-- lots of crispy parts and a hint of caramelized sugar!

Attempt 3: Toasted lemon yogurt cake, raspberry sauce, peppermint

The only minor drawback of this method is that the cake has to be freshly toasted to retain its crispness. So I quickly sliced up the rest of the cake, packed it up in foil and rushed over to my friend's party. Everyone there loved it and one of my friends who dislikes cakes in general said it's probaly the best cake she's ever had! I smell success. Was it perfect? Of course not. But it's close and other ideas are brewing in my head as I type. The search for perfection continues!

... indulge in a 10 course meal?

On our second attempt, we finally managed to secure reservations to David Chang's much talked about 2 Michelin star establishment. Momofuku Ko is situated at the old Noodle Bar space in East Village. The entrance to Ko is but a mesh stainless steel and wood door imprinted with a peach (the Momofuku group of restaurants' emblem) and as nondescript as a restaurant can possibly be-- there is no signboard, no neon lights, nor are there windows from which you can look into (or out of). In short, it's a place you'd probably walk right by unless you were really looking out for it. This is a place you go to for the food alone-- the decor is minimal, the service basic and the 12 diners are seated on stools around a bar counter where one can observe the chefs at work. We decided to forgo the wine pairing and each had a glass of a delightful frizzante rose lambrusco.

Here's the line-up, as I best recall (and my accompanying thoughts):

• 
  
  
  Trio of amuse-bouches: red pepper puree + japanese eggplant + green almond; lamb rib + green garbanzo bean puree; glazed biscuit + chicharrón (I liked the lamb rib amuse the most among the three though the chicharrón was also excellent.)
• 
  
  
  White fluke sashimi + watercress + peas + sesame (This was very good, though I've had something similar before.)
• 
  
  
  Sirloin carpaccio + buttermilk sauce + blackened scallions + crispy rice sheets (Best carpaccio I've ever had, hands down.)
• 
  
  
  Toasted brioche + bone marrow + caramelized pearl onions + comte and gruyere broth (This was lovely-- the bone marrow and onions both added a subtle sweetness to the dish. The cheese broth was surprisingly light and of course, very flavorful.)
• 
  
  
  Smoked soft boiled egg + hackleback caviar + fingerling potato chips + sweet potato vinegar + softened onions (This was good but the egg dish at Blue Hill is better.)
• 
  
  
  Almond crusted skate + roasted cauliflower + water chestnuts + almond milk foam (It's hard to go wrong with skate but this was over-salted.)
• 
  
  
  Orecchiette + asparagus + crawfish + ricotta (Most uninspired dish of the evening.)
• 
  
  
  Shaved foie gras + riesling gelee + lychees + nut brittle (My absolute favorite of the night. The combination of flavors and textures was sheer perfection.)
• 
  
  
  Long Island duck breast + seared mustard greens + honeyed white baby radish (This was very tender but I would have liked a far crispier skin.)
• 
  
  
  Apricot sorbet + cookie crumb + bourbon molasses (Very nice palette cleanser. Bourbon molasses gave an otherwise pedestrian combination of flavors more depth.)
• 
  
  
  Pretzel panna cotta + caraway crumb/soil + root beer sorbet (The consistency of the panna cotta was extraordinary; the root beer sorbet simply delicious; and the caraway crumb-- yum!)

Overall, this was definitely the best tasting menu I've ever had. Was I blown away by every course? Well, no-- but there a few that certainly did (the foie gras, panna cotta, carpaccio and toasted brioche + marrow come to mind) and should the opportunity present itself, I will love to pop by Ko again.

... talk about food so much you get your own blog tag?

It's true-- I'm a tad obsessed with food and most things to do with it. I love to bake so much I typically prepare at least two desserts when I have company over at my place. I love to cook so much I cook almost everyday, even when I come back late from work. Sometimes when I can't seem to fall asleep or wake up in the middle of the night, I find myself baking lemon yogurt cakes in the kitchen. I find cooking therapeutic and good food makes me very happy.

What I particularly love about food is that it brings people together-- there are few things I enjoy more than sharing a meal with others who enjoy good food, posess curious palettes and are not snobbish about what they eat or drink. As much as I enjoy dining out at Michelin-starred restaurants, I'm just as happy wolfing down thoughtfully prepared street food. In short, I'm pretty sure I'm the sort of person who lives to eat.

Luckily for me, I'm surrounded by many like-minded friends. We frequently organize potlucks, explore new restaurants and flavors, exchange baked goods and indulge at wine and cheese parties. Winnie is one such friend of mine who recently started a food blog with a foodie friend of hers. As a testament to the amount of time I spend obesessing about all things food related, be it eating, cooking, exchanging tips about kitchen tools or telling everyone how I can't hardly wait for the return of the farmers markets, I was honored with, ahem, a tag on her blog! Check it out here: http://oohmummy.blogspot.com/.

…… cook for your dog!

A’s growing up to be quite the fussy eater! I fear she’s learnt that there are more yummy things out there than kibbles. So after one week of A picking at her food, we decided to change her over to home-cooked food. First up was gathering recipes and cookbooks from our friends, then off to the supermarket. We decided to go with the cookbook with simpler instructions and preparation first since I’m far from a gourmet chef and we hardly even have time to cook for ourselves anymore these days.

A’s first home-cooked dinner was pasta with minced pork, tomatoes, long beans and grated parmesan cheese. And, boy, she loved her new food! Since then, we’ve tried some other recipes like fish with rice and asparagus; chicken with potatoes, peaches and grated carrots; and chicken with rice, barley and long beans. We even tried to bake some peanut butter cookies for her. In fact, I think it's my first attempt at baking cookies. Hahaha, so the cookies turned out just too big to be bite-sized and really quite bland to the human palate, but strangely, she lapped it up. For all the effort put in cooking for her, it has really been gratifying to watch her finish up all her food and licking her bowl clean.

...try Omakase at Nogawa?

At my friend’s recommendation, I decided to try Omakase at Nogawa. I had a fresh tomato with salt to start off the meal, yes gals, H actually ate a fresh tomato. Although I’ve not exactly fallen in love with raw tomatoes, I did feel that it was refreshing and it whet the palate for more good things to come.

Next up was the sashimi platter, with the tuna belly melting in my mouth, it was over all too soon! If only I had some Ikura in the platter *drool*.

Baby eel in vinegared sauce (above). I slurped the smooth, cool eel down and it set the stage for the rest of the meal!

Kobe beef wrapping deep-fried garlic (I believe) was up next, and finally, something that S could take a bite out of too! ( since S doesn't take raw food!) It was delicious, though a just a little strong on the garlic.

Soup was Milt with Dancing Mushrooms ( I forget which fish the milt came from), the thought was a little disgusting but hey, what’s life without trying out some new stuff. The soup and mushrooms were delightful, but I think milt may be an acquired taste.

Braised seasonal squid in sweet sauce, with its eggs in the squid (above). This was well done, the squid with its eggs had a lovely texture as you chew on it.

For sushi, I had yellowtail, tuna pre-soaked in shoya, seared tuna belly, omelet, octopus and more tuna. The sushi was fresh and I loved the seared tuna belly!

Strawberries for me for dessert!

I do love having a good Japanese dinner because it always leaves me refreshingly ‘lightly’ full, if you get what I mean.

... jump out of the pan?

Okay, I was just kidding. This blog has absolutely nothing to do with “jumping out of the pan”, but has everything to do with the restaurant “Out of the Pan”.

One of my more significant encounters with The Crepe was in 2003. LK took me to this place (Imperial, Kensington?) which sold fabulous crepes. I must say, I never knew crepes could taste this good. And friends who have seen photos of me with The Crepe testify that I looked blissful – happy and satisfied!

So, Out of the Pan is really a good substitute whenever I have my crepe cravings, one of which was the Thursday that just passed.

My friend and I ordered some tortilla chips, two crepes (Seafood Juggle and Peking Duck) wrapped in sundried tomato and a Fresh Berry waffle (with chocolate ice-cream) to share. Between two gals, I think that is a lot of food. However, the strange thing was we both did not feel grotesquely full despite eating a lot – which in my opinion, is a key success factor to the food at Out of the Pan. Tasty but light to the stomach.

Out of the Pan is a good place for gatherings of various sizes. The atmosphere is open, vibrant or noisy, depending on how you look at it. The waiters are generally chirpy (more so than what I recall from memory). One of the drawbacks though is that they tuck people into corners which sometimes require 10 seconds of vigorous waving and gesturing before customers can catch the waiters’ attention. That said, it’s hard to be frustrated when the waiters are so apologetic when they realised what they have done.

At the end of our meal, we were also pleasantly surprised when we learnt that they are currently doing a 1-for-1 promotion for crepes for UOB cardholders. On the way out, one of the staff also thanked us and greeted us farewell, something that we have never experienced before.

I wish I have brought my camera and took some pictures, in particular the waffle (by far, one of those I enjoy the most).

But even without the pictures, I hope you believe that the food is really good and if you are in the mood for crepes, please do not deny yourself of the pleasure and satisfaction!

...try a new dish?

One of my 2010 New Year resolutions is to step out of my comfort zone.

Learn a new language.

Pick up a new sport.

Stop procrastinating.

Try new dishes, or ever better - pick up cooking.

I have not embarked on my cooking aspirations. But I have tried a couple of new dishes, which have been delightful to say the least. One of which, included German food at Brotzeit.

Brotzeit has two outlets in Singapore; and although I have walked past both outlets many a times, it never really occurred to me to dine there (which explains my New Year resolution).

Anyway, for a lack of ideas and at a friend's suggestion, I went to the outlet at Raffles City some weeks back. The setting at the Raffles City felt somewhat more inviting than the one at Vivo City. At the very least, it felt more relaxed and welcoming– a good place to chill out over a couple of drinks and light snacks in the evening.

My friends and I ordered a mixed salad and seafood platter to share.

The mixed salad - Salatteller mit Huhn, was generous with the greens and was accompanied by grilled spicy chicken sausage, chicken ham, feta cheese, walnuts, cherry tomatoes and sour cream dressing. The greens were fresh and crunchy, and the sausages were not too salty or “artificial”.

Next was the seafood platter - Fischplatte. The seafood platter came with smoked salmon, marinated tuna, marinated prawns, white anchovies and crab salad with a basket of selected German breads. I loved the breads – very different from the usual served at American outlets. As everyone would be aware, one of the most important things about seafood dishes, is that the seafood itself must be fresh and free of the “fishy” smell. The chef did a great job with the seasoning, accentuating the original tastes of the various seafood types without overcooking.

What’s a meal at a German restaurant without German beer? To top it off, some of my friends ordered German beer. Though I can’t remember the names and flavours – None of my friends complained, which is a testament to the quality of the beer in itself.

I think, I would be back for more. In the meantime, time to brush up on some basic German.

Guten Appetit!

... celebrate Pi Day?

Yes, I'm referring to Pi, the mathematical constant we all learned in geometry class back in the days. In my office, we celebrate Pi Day every year on March 14, or the following week day. While somewhat geeky, I think Pi Day celebrations are awesome-- I mean, what's not to love about copious amounts of pie consumption?

This year, I was appointed pie coordinator of Pi Day and my job was to solicit at least 10 of my colleagues to either bake or buy a pie for Pi Day celebrations. Naturally, I wasn't going to be a very successful pie coordinator if I myself did not pre-commit to bringing in a pie. However, given the number of people who love baking and food in my office, this turned out to be a walk in the park. Within an hour of sending out an e-mail, I had eight others respond positively and by the end of it all, we had 12 pies, which is a lot of pie for ~50 people! Now what pies were these? Well, we had a southern sweet potato pie; a blueberry crumble pie; a strawberry rhubarb pie; two reese's inspired pies; a vanilla custard and fudge pie; a chess pie; an apple, cranberry and apricot pie; a chocolate chip cookie dough pie; and a vinegar pie. Yes, a vinegar pie, no typo here. That was the pie I ended up making after going back and forth between Momofuku's crack pie and a vinegar pie. Vinegar pie won because it sounded wackier than crack pie. I liked it very much, as it tasted surprisingly light with just a touch of tanginess. I loved the crust more than anything though-- Martha Stewart's pâte brisée recipe is truly excellent. My favorite pie that day though was the chocolate chip cookie dough pie. Yum... I love Pi Day! Looking forward to 2 Pi Day (Yes, we celebrate that too!)...

The vinegar pie I made, lightly dusted with powdered cinnamon.

... spend a weekend in NYC?

New York City is one of my favorite weekend destinations for many reasons: good food everywhere; top notch museums around the city; endless performance arts options; lovely boutiques selling one of a kind items; street-side vendors etc.

So last Saturday, I took the Bolt bus from South Station and arrived in NYC at lunchtime. During the entire 4-hour ride from Boston to NYC, I was contemplating my lunch options (I already had dinner reservations). In the end, I settled on Ippudo. Upon arriving at Penn station, I immediately made my way to East Village for what I've been told to be the best ramen I'll ever have. When I got there, I was told that I'll have to wait 20-30 minutes so I took the opportunity to pop by David Chang's Milk Bar and got a slice of crack pie (It was good, kind of like pecan pie without the pecans, but I had much higher expectations) to go. Back at Ippudo, I was finally seated at the bar. I ordered their famed Akamaru Modern ramen and side order of menma. The menma was nothing to rave about  but the noodles were cooked to al dente perfection and the broth was flavorful, complex and addictive. For the first time in my life, I slurped up every last drop of ramen broth. The Berkshire pork chashu was tender and even the boiled egg was an excellent mix of creamy egg yolk goodness and cooked but not rubbery white. $14 for a bowl of ramen, even in NYC, is a little steep but I suppose one does have to pay a premium for the best ramen ever!

Next up, dinner at WD-50 in a somewhat non conspicuous location in the Lower East Side. We looked at the menu but didn't take long to figure out that we were going for the 12-course tasting menu. I am a new fan of wine from Washington state's Columbia Valley so I had a glass of  Soos Creek's 2005 'Artist Series 5', a blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. It was one of the most lusciously smooth and elegant reds I've had of late, with a hint of black raspberries. Aside from the beef and bearnaise, which we didn't really care for, and the way too raw lamb loin, the savory courses on the tasting menu were all very good. Everything bagel ice-cream with smoked salmon threads and crispy cream cheese was the brightest star among them all, and the only savory course I wish I could have more of. Alex Stupak's desserts, on the other hand, were out of this world. Caramelized brioche, apricot, buttercream with lemon thyme ice-cream was amazing. I've always been a fan of the lemon + thyme combination but these two flavors were so perfectly well balanced in this ice-cream that I suddenly realized what was wrong with all the lemon + thyme confections I have had and loved in the past. The cocoa packets consisted of a leathery chocolate pouch with crunchy oreo-like cocoa bits inside. The chocolate shortbread balls enclosed condensed milk ice-cream that exploded delightfully when I took a bite. But my favorite that night was cheesecake ice-cream with pineapple, raisin, saffron and lime. My friends know how much I love tangy flavors in my desserts, especially lemon and lime. Here, the pineapple and lime flavors were the ideal complements to the creamy cheesecake ice-cream. The raisins added an additional textural dimension to the dish, while the saffron gave it an elegant but restrained touch.

The next morning, we began our day with an awesome Mexican brunch at El Toro Partido in Harlem: a quesadilla stuffed with fried Oaxacan cheese and a huarache with tinga de pollo. This was the first time I had tinga de pollo and it has now joined my list of favorite Mexican dishes. To accompany our meal, we were offered two tasty salsas-- a spicy light green salsa with chunks of avocados and a brownish-reddish chipotle (i think) based salsa. They were both very good but we really loved the green salsa-- it was spicy and refreshing with bits of creaminess from the avocado chunks.

After taking a quick walk around the gorgeous City College campus, we proceeded to the Time Warner Center to pick up some goodies from Bouchon Bakery en route to the Lincoln Center. Their chocolate bouchons were exceptional-- moist, very nearly light, perfectly sized and as pretty as chocolate brownies get. The rectangular bacon, cheddar and chive scone was buttery, exploded with umami (how can it not with bacon?) and texturally one of the best scones I've ever had.

After almost two full days of non-stop eating, I finally arrived at the Lincoln Center for the New York City Ballet's All Robbins performance, which is, incidentally the real reason I made my way to NYC. I have watched countless Balanchine ballets but have never watched a Robbins ballet. Dances at a Gathering, set to Chopin's beautiful music was loveliness, playfulness and simplicity all in one. The entire cast was extraordinary but I was particularly impressed with Maria Kowroski (green) and Jared Angle (purple). The second dance on the program, West Side Story Suite, was a complete contrast from Dances at a Gathering. It was energetic and as one would expect, much more contemporary. Georgina Pazcoguin's Anita was sharp, spunky and stole the show with her rendition of "America". Robbins' style is certainly distinct from Balanchine's-- more modern although still classical and in a way, more dramatic.

This, in my opinion, is as perfect a weekend as can be.

... go for breakfast at Canele Patisserie?

I met up with some school friends over breakfast at Canele Patisserie today.

Canele, to me, has always been a dessert place – somewhere comfortable where one can hang out with friends and chit chat over a cuppa of hot tea or coffee and of course, yummy desserts…

As for breakfast…It started as a big question mark to me and ended up as a pleasant surprise.

The breakfast menu consists of six different sets, ranging from $7.50 to $13.50. One could choose to have eggs prepared in various ways (poached, scrambled, omelette). If one has a sweet tooth, one could also choose a bakery set (of muffin, croissant, and Danish), blue berry pancake or French Toast. For those who want the best of both worlds, Le Petit Dejeuner, which has eggs, toast, muffin, sausage, bacon, amongst others, would be the choice.

While I would agree that the menu choices were somewhat limited, the presentation of the various breakfast sets was rather pretty to behold. Needless to say, I was impressed with the way the food was arranged and couldn’t help but marvel at how simple breakfast foodfare can be presented in such a delightful way.

I guess it also helped that there wasn’t much of a breakfast crowd and this made Canele an ideal choice for people to meet up and enjoy a quiet morning.

So yes, next time when you would like to go to somewhere quiet for breakfast, why not give it a shot?

...try a new recipe each month?

You know good old tried-and-tested recipes that you've churned out time and again with satisfying results? It's a little like the comfort blanket you've been having for the past 20 years - a little too comfortable, almost.

Well, I'm always up for a new challenge and not just any old challenge. But a challenge to try a technically complicated recipe each month, from the myriad of cookbooks S has been collecting at the Craven Street library.

I've always admired the precision and technicality Thomas Keller goes into in his cookbook,
"The French Laundry Cookbook". It's more than just a recipe book - almost inspirational at times and it really does make you think hard about devouring the works of art when you're at your next Michelin-starred degustation meal, eating merrily into your Course No. 6 of 10.
All top chefs must be perfectionists I reckon. Only with that kind of attitude and drive can you create plates of artwork that will stimulate all senses.

Dr O and I poured through the 60 odd recipes and due to various food exclusions, seasonality and various other factors we pondered, did a SWOT analysis (just joking!) and finally chose "Surf and Turf" (he wanted meat, I wanted fish!) on Page 162.

This "Surf and Turf" of course was not the usual fare you get at steak joints but it was a sauteed monkfish tail with braised oxtail, Salsify and Cepes.
Excellent stuff I thought! I like all the components enough so that should make one satisfying meal.

So off to Borough market we went on a sunny Saturday afternoon, braving the crowds and tourists clicking away on their big ass SLRs. As this is where I do most of my food shopping for the week, it is annoying to get through the crowds that of course, we not going to buy fresh fish and meat at the stalls! They were more spectators and were only interested in composing an "arty photographer-like" shot, not how fresh or where the fish came from.

Anyhow, 2 hours later we finally got all the ingredients needed for the dish and kid you not, the list goes on and on...with 2 different types of stock (we made one from scratch, bought the other!) a red wine marinade that had it's own separate page of instructions and ingredients and lots and lots of chopping and cutting of brunoise. (very small, the smallest cube you could possibly cut of 4 different vegetables, all must be of the same size.

Well we started with the red wine marinade for the oxtail and it needed an overnighter.

One bottle of red wine, 5 pounds of oxtail and about 10 other ingredients went into this marinade.

Into a large ziplock bag all the marinade and oxtail went and there it sat peacefully in the fridge, allowing the marinade to do it's magic on the oxtail.


That seemed sort of easy enough and we were glad we got through the very first stages.



The next day, bright and early I jumped out of bed, eager to check on last night's work and started to prep all the other ingredients.

If you happen to get your hands on this cookbook, you will begin to realise it's a big challenge.

Let's skip and hop through most of it but let's say that there was a lot of sieving, skimming, cutting, browning, braising, deglazing, chopping, sauteing more skimming and sieving involved!


Brunoise of leek (green part only), carrot and turnips.

About 6 hours later,
And this is finally what we produced...

excuse the bad photography...we were exhausted by then.

The uncanny resemblance to the real deal on the cookbook

It was such good fun but would we attempt this recipe again? Probably not.
And how did it taste? It was very yummy and gone in about 4 mouthfuls.
Note: as I was cooking and assembling it during the final stages, Dr O said it was such a tiny portion he could eat 4 portions of it. But let's just say when he finished the first portion, the amount of burre monte (butter emulsion) he had consumed left him feeling rather full.

Till the next recipe challenge!