The Food Nazi

Mei Heong Yuan (mei heong means "fragrant flavor") has become one of my favorites in my ongoing quest to find the best Asian dessert shops in Singapore; their peanut sweet soup, black sesame sweet soup, and steamed milk pudding are some of the best I've tried. Another recent venture took me to the Temporary Chinatown Complex where I sampled the black sesame and peanut soups at Dessert 115. Though not quite as impressive as the dessert soups at Mei Heong Yuan, 115 was good enough to earn an honorable mention.

This afternoon, I took a trip up Cross Street in search of more Asian-flavored sweets. Located on the first level of the new Market Street Car Park along Cross Street, among a handful of other exciting new eateries, is a trendy new dessert shop: By the Servings serves Asian-style desserts with odd names. A quick glance at the menu unearths such surprises as "Popeye's Pudding" (below right) is a spinach-flavored egg custard and "Bug's Bunny" (below left)--a popular carrot-raisin konnyaku jelly. (I have some morbidy curiosity about the spinach pudding, so it is very likely that I will return there again next week just to try it. )


For my first visit, I went for the most popular item on their menu, the "Wild Blossoms." The owner invited me to sit myself down at the counter while she ladled generous servings of the warm dessert soup into a ceramic bowl for me. The dessert soup arrived piping hot with lots of pieces of dried longan, wolfberries, ginko nuts, and red bean--just the way I like it! And, like any good Asian dessert, the sweetness of the soup was subtle, just enough to meet the requirements for being a dessert without becoming so excessively sweet as to overpower the nutty flavors of the ginko nuts and red bean. The natural flavors of the dried longan and the wolfberries brought an extra bit of sweetness to the dish--an earthy sort of sweetness.

My curiosity got the best of me, and I couldn't stop at just one bowl: I had to try more! The owner saw me eyeing the menu and encouraged me to try the "Purple Petals" which the menu describes as a "Hawthorn Roselle Nata De-Coco Jelly." Seeing as how I love the flavor of hawthorn berries, I decided to order one to go. I was also enticed by the "Black Oats," a new menu item listed under an assortment of all-day breakfast items: black sesame oatmeal with golden raisins sounded too good to pass up. So, I ordered that to take back with me as well.



With both the "Purple Petals" and "Black Oats" packed up to go, I hurried back to the office--I absolutely could not wait to taste them! I sampled the black sesame oatmeal first. After sitting in the container for so long, the raisins had already gotten fat and juicy--the way that raisins get in a nice warm bread or rice pudding. The flavor of the black sesame was wonderful, and with the consistency of the oatmeal, this dessert reminded me of a traditional black sesame dessert soup with the extra nuttiness of wild oats. The oatmeal's consistency was neither too thin nor too thick. This would make a wonderful breakfast or afternoon snack! (I am eager to sample their museli and granola some day as well.)

The hawthorn berry jelly was a great disappointment. After being told that it was one of their more popular items, I was expecting something truly remarkable. The dessert was nothing more than an unbearably sweet cafeteria-style jello with cubes of nata de-coco for added aesthetics. After having consumed both the oatmeal and the red bean soup (both of which were subtly sweet dessert items), I was disappointed to find my taste buds swimming in the artificial sweetness of hawthorn berry flavoring which was, suffice it to say, overpowering.

By the Servings is a dreamland for those Asian-dessert enthusiasts like myself who appreciate the subtleties of Asian-style desserts. But, a word of caution: this dreamland does contain a few jarring doses of syrupy-sweet reality. For the most part, you can't go wrong--just don't expect everything to be perfect.

By the Servings / Market Street Car Park, Cross Street - Singapore

Posted by J. Lo at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

The slogan for Eden Cafe is, "...where it all begins." Sadly enough for me, Eden Cafe is where it all ends. Perhaps I'm overreacting just a tad, but this yuppy cafe has convinced me to boycott salads for the remainder of my trip in Singapore. The large part of the problem, of course, started with two meals I had at the California Pizza Kitchen along Orchard Road. I ordered the field green salad with carmelized walnuts and fresh mozzarella, as I usually do back home in the states. What came out of the kitchen was an unattractive pile of crudely cut iceberg lettuce (not mesclun greens) and a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella (not fresh) and a handful of plain walnuts (not carmelized or baked). And, being a man who rarely learns from his mistakes, I assumed this to be a freak accident by some newbie chef so I ordered the salad a second time aorund. This time was even worse! Not only was the salad browning (from obviously spending far too much time in a refrigerator), but the mozzarella cost an extra $2 SGD!


Eden Cafe has confirmed for me that, if you want yuppie cuisine (or just a decent salad), go to the land of the yuppies: try New Haven - they've got a pretty decent garden salad at Atticus Bread on Chapel Street. Anyway, that's just a foot note to all of this. Patrons at this institution were obviously yuppy expats (from the UK) looking to satisfy their yuppy desires with organics and whole wheat. Some were, from what I learned by listening into their conversations, frequent customers at Eden Cafe. One woman strutted right into the restaurant, walked right into the kitchen and placed her order (a burrito?).

To be fair, the owners at Eden Cafe have done a wonderful job of making the place inviting - I suppose for the typical yuppy expat, this cafe serves as a comfortable oasis far from the grime and dinge of local hawker centers and food courts. (Lord knows how "dirty" Singapore tends to be.) I too found it a bit refreshing to be in the yuppy embassy for a change. The minute you walk into the restaurant, you are greeted by a lovely dessert case full of exquisite desserts: rose petal brownies and orchid apple crumble and the like. I did not try any of these desserts because I was so obviously disappointed by the end of my meal that I refused to pay another cent, but I suppose I would (if asked) go back to try some of their dessert selections some other time. Their orchid fondue sounds interesting enough for a go.

Eden Cafe prepares cafe-style cuisine (soups/salads, finger foods, pasta) - for an added touch (and this is their signature), they garnish their dishes with edible orchids and rose petals. I'm not sure how these flavors actually infuse into the dish because the orchids used on my dish were purely garnish (they were not incorporated into the dish in any creative way).

To start, I ordered the fruit and vegetable summer salad which is served with, instead of vinagrette, a bit of yogurt and garnished with yellow orchids. The base was a mixture of unattractive iceberg lettuce and purple cabbage (which lent a certain bitterness to the dish that actually went horribly with the yogurt dressing and the watermelon/strawberry garnish). The dish was horribly inspired and actually hard to stomach (especially at $8.50 SGD). Any idiot could have made just as good (if not better) a salad at a college dining hall. What the dish really could have used was something to give the dish more meat and flavor since watery iceberg lettuce is pretty unremarkable as far as salad greens go. I would suggest a few slices of avocado to lend their characteristic buttery texture to enhancing the dish. I would also suggest substituting the yogurt for something a bit less tangy since the tanginess only seems to make the iceberg lettuce even less appealing to the palate.

I also ordered a plate of what the menu calls "Pie Tees." These are essentially wonton shells stuffed with a slice of lox, a basil leaf, tomato, and a dollop of American-style mayonaise (or was it Ranch dressing?). While this dish was slightly more appetizing, what was just as obvious was the fact that this dish could have been conjured up by anybody with half his wits. For $4.50 SGD, you'd be better off ordering 3 popiah rolls at a local hawker center. It's quickier and much tastier.

Long story short, don't go here unless maybe you want to sample some desserts....but do so at your own risk. Don't be fooled by the charm of this yuppy emporium - it'll take your money and your sense of pride.

Eden Cafe / 54 Club Street Singapore 069431 / 6536 1181

Posted by J. Lo at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Back home, Sunday lunches were always Korean--no exceptions. My father, whose palate for Chinese cuisine and dim sum lunches, grudgingly went along with our weekly ritual. At Seoul Garden, lunch specials like seafood handmade noodles, grilled porgy, and soon du bu jigae were inexpensive but satisfying. The whole package was made even sweeter by an assortment of side dishes that came with every meal: garlic anchovies, chop chae, pickled radish, kim chee cucumbers, marinated fish cake, tofu/egg, and, of course, the requisite won bok kim chee. One of my favorite things to do at lunchtime was to mix some of the chili red broth from the tofu stew (jigae) and a few of the seasoned veggies into a bowl of steamed white rice, and give it a little stir to let the flavors marry with one another. The liquids from the soup and the veggies would give the rice a porridge-like consistency and an exquisite flavor of whole garlic and chili peppers. Smelling heavily of garlic and other things one should not eat before going out in public, every Sunday lunch would be followed up, of course, with a much-needed afternoon nap. Repeat as needed.

The week before I made my way to Singapore, I went back to Seoul Garden one last time. It would, I predicted, be the last Korean feast I would have in a long time (at least until the end of summer). You can imagine then how ecstatic I was to discover that, just a few streets down from my office in Chinatown was a wonderful little Korean eatery along Mosque Street (right across the street from one of Singapore's most well-known yong tau fu joints....I'll cover that in another post):

Togi serves up a wonderful selection of Korean dishes and, as with any Korean restaurant worth its weight in gold, the side dishes are delightful. As I waited for the kitchen to prepare my kim chee pancake and soon du bu jigae (tofu stew), I sipped on some warm brown rice cha (tea) which is sweet and so refreshing. To be honest, I actually prefer Korean rice teas over Chinese or Japanese or English teas. (Million Korean Restaurant and Sorabol back home used to give us complimentary glasses of ice cold sweet rice drink after every meal to cleanse the palate - the cool flavors of the drink did a good job of extinguishing the heat of a fiery Korean feast.)

As I waited, the waitress also came out with a tray of side dishes:


Kim chee tofu, won bok kim chee, seasoned anchovies, marinated fish cake, cucumber kim chee, and Asian chives with chilis were a few of the items served with my meal. (The only downside is they'll charge you for second helpings....which you'll pretty much end up BEGGING for after the first helping. But, whatever.)

Posted by J. Lo at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

There is nothing quite like the experience of gathering around a traditional Chinese hot pot (also sometimes referred to as "steamboat." The Japanese have similar traditions of "shabu shabu" and, its slightly distant cousin, "yakiniku." The Koreans are also big on cook-it-yourself dining--Korean bbq famously leaves you reeking of charcoal smoke and whole garlic cloves. My family loves to set up a portable gas stove in the middle of the dining room table for our own version of Chinese hot pot--with some of the freshest ingredients from the local wet market. My favorite items for a good Chinese steamboat feast include fresh clams and scallops, Chinese broccoli, mushrooms (enoki, abalone, and shimeji), soft tofu, fish balls, konnyaku (Japanese yam) noodles, and, for a little local flavor, a few opihi (Hawaiian cockles).

The best part about Chinese steamboat is that the flavors are very clean. (If you're in the mood for a light salad, consider trying a Chinese hot pot for a change.) Obviously, everything is boiled or parboiled in a clear broth so the natural flavors of the items are left entirely intact from start to finish. This form of cooking truly allows you to really appreciate the freshness and purity of the ingredients themselves. This also means that poor quality ingredients have nothing to hide behind--unlike Chinese takeout, food items used in hot pots have no cornstarchy sauces or oily film to mask their nakedness. So, if you want to have a decent hot pot, you had better invest the time and money into finding high quality ingredients (unless of course you don't mind the acrid taste of freezer burn in your food).

Guo Fu Vegetarian Restaurant offers a wonderful ala-carte style steamboat buffet for lunch, which I happened across during one of my many lunch breaks. (Word to the wise: hot pots require time so, if you really want to savor the experience, you are probably better off waiting until you have a bit more time to spare.) Once you're seated, the waitresses will ask you to select from among their many varieties of broth (for those with a penchant for heat, they offer a few spicier broths). I opted for the herbal broth--strangely enough, there was nothing herbal about it (at least as far as I could tell).

While waiting for your pot to heat up over the stove, you order from an assortment of items which the waitresses will bring out for you in individual servings. I was a big fan of the ala-carte style buffet - I was especially grateful to avoid the messiness of buffets where you literally pile your plate up with raw food items and carry it back to your table (Imagine having a plateful of raw veggies mixed in with raw seafood and slices of raw beef/chicken....). Some of the more interesting items on the menu include: abalone/shimeji/enoki mushrooms, fish head, squid, yam noodles, black fungus, taro, and beancurd strips. And, of course, the popular favorites: fish balls, soft tofu, shrimp, and Chinese broccoli. You just CAN'T go wrong with fish balls and a Chinese hot pot (as evidenced by the fact I ordered five servings of fish balls). To be fair, the waitresses kept forgetting whether or not they had already given me my order of fish balls, so invariably they kept giving me extra orders just in case (suffice to say, I did not resist).

Every buffet also comes with a complimentary order of Shanghai-style dumplings (xiao long bao), pumpkin fritters, dessert soup (pumpkin, again), and fresh fruits. The xiao long bao were heavenly: one bite out of these juicy dumplings just to let the liquid encased in the center seep out, mix in a little vinegar and ginger, then slip the little treasure into your mouth and savor the savory aroma of pork meat and sweet broth. The pumpkin fritters were a pleasant surprise - crispy exterior like a croquette, but the interior was delightfully chewy and fragrant. Like pumpkin butter mochi....only better!

Yes, at $16 SGD the buffet is relatively pricey. But, you honestly won't regret it! If you have the time, this buffet is a wonderful indulgence. The ingredients are so fresh and the little bonuses only help to sweeten the package.

Guo Fu Vegetarian Restaurant - China Square Central #01-23/24 - Chinese Court Singapore 048422 / Tel: 6557 0906

Posted by J. Lo at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

There are a handful of food "genres" I get massive cravings for every now and so often: Indian food is one of them. And, having spent a considerable amount of time in New Haven, I'm used to indulging in cheap all-you-can-eat Indian buffets with all the fresh-baked naan bread your appetite can handle (which is, for me, usually a lot). To name a few: Royal India and Thali are two of my all-time favorites. The latter I usually reserve for special occassions because, although the food there is absolutely unbeatable, it is a bit on the expensive side (Click here to see the review I wrote up about the restaurant). My favorite part about Thali is the pilau rice (bits of raisin and slivers of almond give it a splendid texture) and the extensive dessert table. Royal India is out of the way, but definitely worth visiting for a quick-and-easy weekend bite. The owner there knows me well enough - he brings me tandoori roti instead of the standard naan bread (their roti is fantastic), he puts out some baigan bhartha (eggplant) for me even if it's not on the buffet line, and he always serves me a complimentary glass of mango lassi.

So, all of that is to say: whenever I can't magically transport myself to New Haven for good Indian food, I usually have to settle and find myself another place to feed my cravings. And, boy oh boy, do those restaurants have a lot to live up to. Not surprisingly, few often live up to my standards. Which brings me to the latest: Ivory Kitchen in Clarke Quay - elegantly situated along the river, keeping company with a host of other ritzy eateries at the quay. Sadly, the restaurant succeeds at putting on airs, but its food is lacking the excitement I get when I go to Thali or Royal India. Its atmosphere is inviting and the decor is lovely, but it is not enough to make up for the fact that its food is nothing remarkable.

That said, it wasn't BAD. It made for a pleasant meal which is pretty much a general rule here in Singapore. You can't really get a bad meal. You run into a few massive disappointments (CPK was pretty awful), but it's nothing a little ice kechang or peanut butter & kaya toast can't solve. All in all, I enjoyed the meal. The price ($25/lunch buffet, plus $8 for a mango lassi) was a bit steep, but the food didn't suck. Would I go back again? Probably not. But it was a fun little food adventure, nonetheless.

I started off by trying some of the salad options. Apart from a refreshing cucumber-jicama salad with fresh mango coulis, there was nothing particularly interesting at the salad station. Garlic broccoli, hard boiled egg salad, and picked onions were a few of the other options, none of which were memorable enough to write about. Word to the wise? Do not pass go, do not collect $200....skip the salad - head straight to the main course and dessert.


Ahhh, that's much better: chaat topped with puffed rice, lentils, cilantro, potatoes, and a sweet-sour tamarind sauce. I think of it as India's spin-off ofMexican nachos. The whitish sauce tasted almost like sour cream and it went awfully well with the tamarind sauce. The chaat (like tortilla chips) had a wonderful buttery flavor. I used the chaat to scoop up the generous portions of cilantro, sauce, and puffed rice. (Chef Prasad at Thali does a similar dish which he serves on curved spoons - making it easier to pop one in your mouth and just enjoy the entire in-mouth explosion of flavors and spices.)


Main courses included saag-potato (spinach-potato), goat fish curry, coconut cabbage, creamy cauliflower korma, paneer (indian cheese cubes), coriander leaf curry, tandoori chicken, mutton vindaloo, and more. The only real stand-out was the cauliflower korma which used a lot of heavy cream (I wonder if that's the reason why I liked it so much). The paneer was chewy, like a rubber tire, and lacked any real cheese flavor. The fish curry was not adequately spiced. Its blandness was made even worse by the dryness of the fish (which had been obviously overcooked). C'mon, people, how hard is it to get a decent piece of fish around here?! And, worst of all: the saag-potato tasted like smelly cabbage. It was the strangest tasting spinach puree I have ever eaten and almost made me wonder if they accidentally substituted Gerber baby puree for the spinach mixture. Ugh.

(Also, if you're into pilau rice, their pilau rice was nothing to be excited about. It lacked that characteristically-sexy aroma of coriander, cinnamon stick, and saffron you get with a good quality pilau rice.)


Okay, onto desserts: a few of the desserts were good enough to make this meal a wonderful finish (despite the obvious bumps and scratches along the way). One in particular tasted like a reinvention of the classic halwa (carrot pudding). Little orange beads with a texture reminiscent of goji berries tasted like pureed carrot. These were served warm with a creamy puree of ras malai and chopped pistachios, and slightly-saccharine rose water syrup. All-in-all, a very pleasant dish in small doses (I can imagine feeling a little sick from eating too much of this all at once).


But, best of all was the mango ras malai. (On your way there, be sure to pass on the brownie and the walnut dessert that tastes like treacle fudge. Save yourself ample room for the ras malai.) As with the cucumber-jicama salad, the restaurant does not skimp on using fresh mangoes for its dishes. This is evidenced by the wonderful fragrance of the mango ras malai. The aroma of fresh mangoes really makes this dish. The familiar texture of the ras malai (think of a soggy sponge) is taken to new heights with this dish. I enjoyed it so much, I went back for seconds!


I enjoyed the meal, but did I love it? No. There were some definite highlights. But, in the world of Indian food, Ivory Kitchen just ain't happenin'. I won't discourage you from going - after all, it's not all bad.

Posted by J. Lo at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

The glorious thing about working in Singapore's Chinatown is that the best Singapore has to offer is literally at your fingertips:

One of these gems is the Maxwell Road Food Centre which is no more than two blocks from my office. Unlike Newton's Hawker (food court), this open-air venue, located in the heart of Chinatown, is far less of a tourist trap. You can pretty much tell, almost off the bat, just by looking at the prices that you are in for a treat - and if you need any more reassurance, just look around: no air-conditioning and plenty of locals! (Okay, so you're bound to run into a few wide-eyed touristy types during your time here, but far fewer than those at the hawker center in Newton.)

Today was my first visit to Maxwell, and I was absolutely overwhelmed by the number of food stalls they managed to fit under one roof. They have everything from stands selling Chinese beancurd (dou-hua) and soy milk (dou-jiang) to stands selling oyster/carrot pancakes to stands selling halal Muslim curries/biryanis and everybody's-favorite roti prata. There were even a few stands selling Chinese-style pastries - one stand, in particular, caught my eye with its mouthwatering cupcakes (fortunately, I avoided the temptation......for today, at least).

On the menu for me today was stall #77: Jin Hua Fish Head Bee Hoon. Most of its customers order the fish head bee hoon (fish head soup with vermicelli rice noodles).


Not feeling particularly in the mood for something starchy, however, I opted for the fish meat soup (#4, yu-rou tang). The fish makes a wonderfully savory broth to which they add a bit of milk - it gives the broth a creamy flavor that compliments the flavor of the fish quite nicely. The fish meat is lightly fried and, after you let it sit in the broth for a minute or two, the meat gets nice and soft, but manages to retain some of that satisfying crunchy exterior. A few pieces of tofu, some choy sum, and a garnish of seaweed and fried garlic completes this dish. (I ate the dish with a little bit of soy sauce with hot green-and-red peppers for an added kick.) -- #77 Jin Hua Fish Head Bee Hoon, Maxwell Road Food Centre ($4-5 SGD, $3-4 USD per dish)

For dessert, I scouted the food hall for signs of a queue. What caught my eye was a little queue forming outside of stall #57: Peanut Soup.

There is nothing I love more than Chinese desserts, especially sweet soups (usu. red/green bean or black sesame) served for dessert: peanut soup is no exception. Expecting something a bit thicker (like black sesame soup, zhi-ma hu), I was surprised to find that the peanut soup was thinner - with a consistency like soy milk. It tasted almost like a slightly sweeter version of soy milk made using peanuts (and there are whole peanuts in the soup too!).

The peanuts have been boiled in the sweet soup - long enough that they get nice and soft. To top it all off, the dish is served with a few pieces of Chinese donut (you tiao). The saltiness and greasiness of the donut (usually served in congee) offsets the sweetness perfectly, and gives the dish a wonderful savoriness that you don't find in most European desserts. It's mysterious and delightful, and not too sweet (I hate Chinese sweet soups that use too much rock sugar - it completely overpowers the natural sweetness of ingredients like black sesame, soy, walnuts, and peanut)! While you're at it, try their dou suan OR their red bean soup (both are dessert soups). -- #57 Peanuts Soup, Maxwell Road Food Centre (70 cents SGD per bowl....you may want to order two, if you've got a sweet tooth)

Posted by J. Lo at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

Back from outer space and in Singapore.......

The next generation of posts will begin shortly. I promise.

Posted by J. Lo at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Dear Readers,

I apologize for leaving this blog unattended for so long. Just to let you know, I have not abandoned this site at all, and will in fact be returning to it shortly.

I feel I owe you all an explanation -- one word: school started. Alas, this does NOT mean I have not had my fair share of food 'ventures. For one, I prepared a three-course dessert tasting for more than 80 students.

In the meantime, I want to leave you with a book recommendation: "Comfort Me With Apples" by Ruth Reichl is a gem of a book I picked up after reading her newest, "Garlic and Sapphires." While the latter was wonderful in its own right, Comfort is absolutely phenomenal. She has such a strong voice and a lovely personality that really comes through in her writing. She slips in and out of talking about food almost seamlessly - infusing her writing with a memoir that is food and life at the same time!

Best,
Justin

Posted by J. Lo at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments