The Best Yet

One of my favourite chicken rice places would be Yet Con located at Purvis Street. I've only been there twice so far, but it is enough for me to highly recommend it. Everything about it is "old school"; the tiles, the tables and chairs, the old cashier man(dressed in his pyjama pants) and the abacus on his counter top.

We had dinner there last night, vastly different from my initial request to have something "soupy". We ordered chicken, sambal kang kong and Hainanese pork chop. The chicken meat was really good; it was fresh and not drenched in sauce. Of all the Hainanese pork chops, this one is the best I've had. The vegetable deserves some praise too! I meant to order white rice but they had sold out (honest!) so we had the chicken rice instead. I quite liked the onion bits hidden among the grains. The chilli, however, didn't do it for me. I found it a tad bit too salty and had no heat at all.

Good thing we were there relatively early. Ten minutes into ordering our food, a queue had formed at the door. This place is really popular. I think it offers what people are looking for: straighforward, authentic Hainanese chicken rice that is good because the business believes in preserving traditions. It is sad that there is high likelihood for the restaurant to disappear soon if no one continues the business. So do yourself a favour today.

And Cockle Shells...

Week 5.5

Ahh... they grow so quickly...

Fire Me Up!

The Husband and I indulged in a great Japanese meal recently at our favourite albeit expensive Japanese restaurant. Sun with Moon Japanese Dining is like a spa for our mouths and tummies. The food is every bit as good as it looks. Art on a plate, some might say. They serve an array of yummy dishes from salads to noodle and rice items. The salmon avocado salad we had was really good. The fish was half broiled and the dressing had a hint of wasabi in it. But they also have a good selection of sushi with half broiled toppings. This means fresh fish slices that are lightly browned with a blow torch.



Our must-have: Aburi Foie Gras Sushi - Half broiled goose liver sushi. I can't even begin describing the joy of how it tastes. It is one hell of a party in the mouth. I remember the first time we had it, we were blown away. The sashimi is also the best we've tasted so far; it is fresh and served at a nice cool temperature. Point of information: I only eat salmon sashimi because it generally has no smell and the texture is slightly springy, unless its old. I just don't like the taste of any other fish. A big thank you to The Husband who generously let me have all the salmon in the sashimi platter, as well as the extra piece of foie gras sushi. ***

It's a Sticky Date!

I love a good sticky date. I am referring to the dessert, sticky date pudding. Now, I don't suppose a sticky "date" will be a good thing. Anyway, I digress. We recently had the dessert at Marmalade Pantry and it was pretty good. Didn't exactly hit the spot but I was happy. So far, the best I have tasted is from BROTH, located at Duxton Hill.I think the latter serves up a plenty nice one. Or it could just be the whole romantic ambience that made it perfect. I am just dying to go back there (this is one of the many hints that I throw at The Husband)!

The Husband would take me to BROTH for dinner on our anniversaries. But we were more adventurous last year, besides the fact that it was our first anniversary as "Man and Wife" (cringe). My crave for the sticky date pudding has been insatiable since. I have found the recipe for this dessert and will try my hand at it sometime soon.

Sticky Date Pudding from Marmalade Pantry, Holland Village.

Mixed Rice, Filipino Style!

Such an adventure. JT suggested we try Filipino food and even called our colleague to check which floor and restaurant to go to at Lucky Plaza. When we got to the restaurant, which looks more like a cafeteria, we were greeted with a thousand pairs of eyes staring at us like we were aliens. Well, quoting Sting, that makes us legal aliens then. Still unsure of what we were doing, we ordered our dinner of beef, pork, vegetables and an omelet. It's just like "cai png" (loosely translated to dishes and rice in the Hokkien dialect), with some Thai and Malay influenced flavors. Interesting! Oh yes, there were three sauces that accompanied our meal. Unidentified soy based sauce, "banana" sauce and "multi purpose" sauce which tastes like rust, according to JT.

With Silverbells..

Week 4

I am most pleased at how my basil babies are growing. I have come to realise how much water a basil plant needs. I water all of them twice a day, and they sometimes still look like they could do with more. JT, are you jealous now?

How Does My Garden Grow?

Week 3

I am growing myself a garden, or balcony, of basil. I love basil. I LOVE BASIL. I harvested seeds from the flowering basil and threw them in a pot of soil. They have been growing and look the cutest pot of basil I have ever seen. I will continue to document its growth right here. How fun!

One Step Closer

I think I am almost there. I can almost taste success. And I think one of the reasons why I could not achieve the flavor of Aglio Olio was because I used wheat based pasta. The noodle itself had a strong flavor which probably masked up the flavor of the garlic and olive oil. The Husband said it was a much better attempt, or that was what I interpreted. His request for a poached egg on top failed miserably because I haven't mastered the art of making it. However, I must applaud him for suggesting to have some crumbled roasted chestnuts sprinkled in the noodles.

In a Stew About Stew

Note to self: Use potatoes!

Quite Contrary

I have been trying to grow a green thumb of late. Actually it has been a while, just that I'm not particularly impressed myself. I started with basil plants (what else?) from the supermarket. I think I went through about 2 pots before I eventually decided that I need to re-pot them for it to actually perpetuate. So my third pot withered till there was 1 stem left and I re-potted it. It deserves a shot, I thought. And boy, did it grow with a vengeance!

From a single stem, it branched out with small yet sturdy and frangrant leaves. Not before long, it started to flower. 'Oh, how pretty!', I said to myself with a big smile. I also began to use the leaves in my cooking. By this time, the stem and branches have turned brown and woody. "It's diseased", JT said. But if its flowering, it can't be that bad right? WRONG. Apparently, for basil, it is a sign of premature ageing and dehydration. Thanks for the heads up, JT.

Fed up, I cut off all its branches, leaves and all. I put the twigs in a new pot of soil and watered it everyday. For fun. Water is the giver of life, right? Well well! What do you know!