Christain Bochard Chocolatier : I Know You Want It Too

Yesterday, good friend Fangie brought me a pleasant surprise - macarons from Christain Bochard Chocolatier.  Christain Bochard is an established chocolatier in Grenoble, Fangie's hubby hometown.  I am totally touched by the lovely couple bringing a pack of such delicate sweets all the way from France.  Love you :)

I am no big macaron fan but the texture of these babies were simply amazing.  Light, chewy and sugary crisp.  The chocolate is out of this world!  Chocolate is rich in flavour but light and ultra smooth in texture.  There is zero acidic tinge and the texture is slightly QQ (ha ha I guess only Chinese speaking people knows what I mean).  I am totally IMPRESSED.  Thank you fangie and remi for being so nice to me! Now, aren't you envious?

Christain Bochard Chocolatier
39 Cours Liberation Gen. De Gaulle
38100 Grenoble
Tel: 04 76 96 53 34

Sederhana : Nasi Padang Indonesian Style

It has been a turbulent but great week. The events that unfold before my eyes were nothing less than sobering.  I am glad the price I paid was not that great.  I am enlightened and indeed very fortunate. Anyway, I have no time to sort out the pending Gunther's post.  So shall tide this "dry spell" with a rustic and delightful lunch I had in Batam a couple of weeks ago.  Well, the photos are taken with a dslr, my very first try!  The experience with a non-idiot-proof camera was sure fun but I am still too lazy to delve into it.

Sederhana - a rather spartan but must-try chain in Indonesia

Yup, one interesting dining experience at Batam was Sederhana.  I was totally appalled/intrigued/disgusted by this restaurant when it was featured on tv.  Apparently, the Indonesian style nasi padang (masakan padang) stall is - they just serve and serve and serve everything. Customers eat the dishes they like and the leftovers are kept away after the meal is done.  No prize for guessing what will happen to the dishes that were 'returned' after the meal.

This one rare occasion when I do not do close-ups of food just to show off the range! We stuffed our faces with more than 10 dishes and just cost us approximately S$12

We were so not used to such liberal dining concept and just asked the server to keep the stuff we won't be eating before we start. I try not to think about how many tables (read:saliva) the food has been to.  If you can get over this psychological barrier and eat in peace, most dishes are very hearty and appetising.  In fact, for the past two weeks, I kept having some strange cravings for their ayam goreng at the oddest hours of the day. Oh, the Jarkarta's outlet has also been featured on makansutra :) 

Restoran Serderhana
Windsor Central
Block B No. 1 Nagoya Batam

Jones the Grocer : Whenever I Miss Sydney

I will head straight to my dearest Jones.  I love Jones at Woollahra. I love Mandarin Gallery.  I love Jones at Mandarin Gallery.  Compare to the Dempsey branch, Jones@Mandarin looks and feels more like the original Sydney's flagship store.  I love how this branch teleports me to Woollahra without having to fly an inch. I love how I can continue to buy things to eat even after my breakfast at Jones.   

 

Spanish Eggs En Cocotte, $19.50

Nothing beats dipping freshly baked bread into piping hot egg yolk.  Nothing beats hard and cold butter on warm bread.  Nothing beats wiping up the oil with sauteed spinach.  Nothing beats neutralising the salty bacon with charred egg whites.  Nothing beats the Spanish Eggs at Jones.

 

Jones English Breakfast, $22

Nothing much to say about the Jones breakfast.  It lacks the presentation, excitement and heartiness of the Spanish Eggs.  I just concentrate on the Spanish Eggs, memories of Sydney and my fabulous breakfast company :)  

Jones The Grocer

21-23 Mandarin Gallery

333 Orchard Road Singapore

Tel: 64761512

Italiannies : On the Right Side of Identity Crisis

Italiannies is an American-Italian fusion family restaurant which encourages diners to share as the joy of eating stems from sharing good food at affordable prices.  Yes, the people at Italiannies look like they want to save the world! Imagine promoting

1) American food

2) Italian food

3) Sharing

4) Bonding

5) Healthy eating

just by having a very affordable dinner!  At least, this is what the posters and slogans of the newly opened restaurant at TripleOne Somerset says to me. Glad to see such altruistic restaurant in this day and age :P  Other than feeling this chain better resolve its issue of what their identity ought to be.  Food we had the other day was really quite good for a newly open chain restaurant.

Spinach and Artichokes Formaggio, $13.90

We obediently shared the starter which is basically parmesan cheese blended with spinach, artichokes and mushroom, served with garlic bread.  The amalgamation of cheese and artichokes is distinctively Italian but the serving size of Italiannies's take on this hearty country dish is certainly very American!  I like the formaggio, very rich and sharp in taste.  The addition of artichokes and mushrooms went well with the saltiness of cheese.  It's an excellent dip for the crispy garlic bread.  Can just imagine little children who hates vegetables finishing this up most willingly.  The only issue was the cheese got a bit too starchy and had a tinge of powdery texture when it cooled.  

Parmesan Crusted Fish, $17.90

We obediently shared the entree - parmesan fish served with fried zucchini and red onion rings and white caper sauce.  While the presentation has a slight Italian feel, the serving is once again American.  We enjoyed the ring of fried vegetables but the fish was a bit over-cooked and rather blanded.  But hey, the fried veg was so well-seasoned, light, "softly crisp" and addictive that the tasteless fish can be overlooked.  In fact, the unexciting fish highlights how yummy the veg rings were. 

Complimentary Bread

We also like the complimentary foccacia.  There was enough herbs in the bread for us to eat it on its own.  Otherwise, the olive oil and vinegar at Italiannies are flavourful too.  I particularly like the mellow and sour vinegar.  Seriously, the bread is one good reason for me to drop by Italiannies again.

 
In short, I like the bread, the vinegar, the formaggio, the fried red onion rings and the prices.  Did I mention that Italiannies has a take-away counter for their freshly baked foccacia ($4.90 per loaf) ?  Well, if Italiannies ever want to choose from being a restaurant, a civil organisation in promoting good values or a bakery. I suggest they specialise in baking foccacia to sell in "a grab and go bakery".  If it ever happens, they will still survive the cruel food scene in Singapore perfectly.

Italiannies
TripleOne Somerset
111 Somerset Road #01-01
Singapore 238164
Tel: 67364211
www.italiannies.com.sg

Soprano : The Overture Reigns

With a restaurant named Soprano, please indulge in my irrelevant ramblings before I go on to the food.  Italian operas are much easier to listen than their French counterparts.  Think Puccini and Berlioz, give me light-hearted Puccini anytime please.  I have long past the age of listening to serious and dark music just to prove a don't-know-what point.  The world is painful enough. Listening to Berlioz's anything after work will simply drive me to suicide.  Anyway Italian operas are the most often staged, a good indicator of how easy to swallow their music is.  Me? Of course I cannot even sit through the acts, the moment the overture ends, my zzz times begin.  With a name like Soprano, I expect this cosy restaurant in lovely Portsdown is as easy to swallow as a compilation of Rossini's overtures. 

 

Misto Formaggi Affeittato, $25

Continuing with the irrelevant ramblings.  I always prefer overtures to operas.  Overtures can heighten spirits and expectations.  The reason why the following acts 1-4... frequently send me to slumber is because the overtures simply hype me up too much.  In short, the better the antipasti in a restaurant the more likely the main courses disappoint.  The misto formaggi affeittato at Soprano was fabulous that night.  The starter was the only course I enjoyed tremendously.  The freshness of the cuts and cheese, the mix of balsamic vinegar and olive oil simply prepared me for more great stuff to come...

  

I like the artichokes 

 

Salmone Caviale, $19 (taken by guest photographer, ET)

Took a bit off ET's plate and I like the rich and creamy sauce.  Perhaps it is my chinese tongue, the pasta was too perfectly al dente hence too much bite for my liking.  

 

Linguine Seppia Mare, $17 (taken by guest photographer, XM)

The presentation and generous amount of seafood were the strongest point of this pasta.  I didn't try this as the fishy smell was a bit off-putting.  But this is surely a delight for people who avoid carbo and love all sorts of seafood.  Anyway, there is a much better and addictive squid-ink pasta just a stone's throw from Soprano.  Review coming up soon!

  

Risotti Fungi Porcini, $19

My risotti was definitely a disappointment.  It was too heavy and the truffle oil did nothing to enhance its taste.  The texture of porcini mushroom simply didn't match with the 'powdery' arborio grain.  :( It was rare that I could not even manage half the portion and the two boys had to finish it for me.  Hey Italian food is supposed to have universal appeal.  There is good reason why Italian restaurants and operas are ubiquitious.  Dear Soprano, what happened? 

The trip to Soprano is just like watching the supposingly palatable Verdi's Aida....  Started with a bang and what followed were just avalanches of yawns. If that is the case, I rather pretend to be sophiscated.  Eat French and  listen to Benvenuto Cellini. 

Soprano

No 7, Portsdown Road

Tel: 64722100

Tajimaya Yakiniku : Kitchen Stories

Remember the charming Norwegian movie Kitchen Stories (2003)?  The plot centred around a group of researchers' attempts to record down the dietarty habits of single Norwegian men.  The movie is weird and funny in a strangely disturbing manner.  I still remember the movie's Rule Number 3 when watching single man cook and try to abide by it during a delightful lunch at Taijimaya - "To Observe Without Interference".

 

Raw Meat Galore

Yes, as the name of the restaurant implies, we need to cook our own food, this made our lunch a little more tedious and a little less harmonious than usual.  Okay, Rule Number 3, Rule Number 3. 

 Red hot charcoal grill 

Still pretty determined to make a point after my post on charming is a lawyer who can cook, A decided to do all the grilling.  Just to make sure I get some carbo (read: decent food) to go with all the meat , I sneaked in an order of Potato Korroke Don just before the waiter walked away, smiled sweetly at the person who volunteered to do all the cooking and chirped, "I feel like eating rice for once".     

Potato Korokke Don, $7.90

The potato don other than being a serious carbo overload was really quite nice.  The mashed potatoes were sweet and the crispy exterior went extremely well with creamy mayo and spring onions.  Though a common dish but really well executed.  

Chicken, $9.90

Chicken was the most boring order of all.  Seriously, the level of tenderness depends on how good you are at grilling stuff.  A had his hits and misses while I abided by Rule Number 3 to maintain peace during lunch.  

Kurobuta Pork Belly, $10.90

Love this and will just go back to Taijimaya just for the kurobuta pork.  A learnt quickly and placed the pork at the strongest fire.  He grilled them quickly to achieve the charred and yet tender texture.  The meat was really fresh and the subtle seasoning did its job of just enhancing the flavour of such a good cut of meat.  

Salmon, $10.90

Don't think we can get such a huge plate of salmon for just $10 at the supermarket.  Yup, for the quality and quantity of fresh meats, Taijimaya has super reasonable pricing.  If there is anything to rant about it will be the uneven thickness of the fish which gave A a hard time estimating the perfect cooking time. 

I like the lime and lemon dip! Went very well with both the oily fish. 

Teriyaki Gindara (Cod), $12.90

Again, cod was excellent (if you are not already spoilt by black cod).  Cod gave A a much easier time as no matter how long we left them on the grill, the oily and firm texture stayed. 

Look at all the meat on the Grill!

At the end of the meal, I felt happy and well-fed! Lunch was a relatively peaceful affair as I faithfully followed Rule Number 3 and left the man to do all the cooking himself. Taijimaya is definitely not a place I will go with my girlfriends who like to behave like princesses :P but will go there with someone who will cook and serve me like a princess :P

Nice and clean interior but we end up smelling like a kitchen at the end of the meal! 

Tajimaya Yakiniku

1 Harbourfront Walk

#01-102 S(098585)

Tel: 63770070

Fengshan Food Centre: Hawkerfare On A Roll

This blog seldom features hawker food simply because the blog owner LOVE THEM TOO MUCH!  I try to control my cravings for those sinfully yummy food to avoid overeating.  However,  A knew I was in a bad, bad mood and brought me to Bedok to cheer me up!

Pork Satay @ Lin Yuan Satay

We usually order satay and chicken wings to ease the pain of waiting for an hour for THE bak chor mee.  Lin Yuan's pork satay has been consistently tender and well marinated.  I prefer stronger flavours so the thick and rich satay sauce suits my taste.  Of course, the satays are good enough on their own. 

BBQ chicken wings @ Sin Bedok North BBQ chicken wings

Well, Sin is probably living on its past glory.  The chicken wings are no longer as fresh and juicy as they used to be.  I still like them mainly because I live in a part of our sunny island with many nice "ang moh" restaurants but painfully deprived of decent hawkerfare. 

Bak Chor Mee @ Seng Hiang Food Stall

Many of us know about the famous bak chor mee's competition.  Seng Hiang's broth is less flavourful but more meaty while Xing Ji's soup is slightly richer and gives more kick.  See which one you like. We usually order Seng Hiang due to the shorter waiting time!

The 2 "Rivals/Friends" Stalls

Fried Oyster Omelette @ Bedok North Fried Osyter

Probably the crispiest oyster omelette in Singapore.  A and I couldn't resist ordering this after 2 bowls of bak chor mee, 10 satays and 4 chicken wings.  We have good stomach for oil hence we love this! For dessert, we had the sesame ah balling with peanut soup but I forgot to take photo! 

A popular spot for supper!

Fengshan Food Centre
Blk 85 Bedok North Road