Peranakan Flavours

Peranakan Flavours is quite a low-key restaurant compared to its peers such as Candlenut/Violet Oon. They were originally in Ardennes Hotel, a boutique hotel along Jalan Klapa. Recently, they have moved to Tan Quee Lan street which is much more accessible from Bugis MRT station. 

Being an ardent fan of Peranakan food and a frequent visitor of Bugis, this was right up my alley.

The menu comprises the usual suspects: babi pongteh, buah keluak, though there were quite a few special ones that caught my attention.

Hae Cho

Out of the appetizers, this Hae Cho ($16++) caught our attention. Wrapped in crispy fried beancurd skin, the fillings were substantial, made of minced prawns, pork and water chestnuts. The accompanying plum sauce elevated the overall taste of this savoury dish by giving it a sweet and sour note.

Laksa goreng

The chef's personal recommendation: Laksa goreng ($15++). Woah.

I can have this every day if only it doesn't give me clogged arteries. A twist to the soupy laksa, this comes in a dry version with a texture akin to hokkien mee. The thin noodles and other essential ingredients such as tau pok, prawns, egg are drenched in a thick home-made rempah gravy that packs a spicy umami punch. Very satisfying.

Sotong Hitam

Another chef's recommendation: Sotong Hitam ($18++). No woah for this though. The squid was a bit tough for our old teeth to chew. The lemongrass, which was supposed to be in the supporting role, was in conflict with the sweet black sauce. The result was an identity crisis that confused us.

The modest decor couldn't have been more ironic to the rich flavours of Peranakan cuisine. But it's ok. It was a delicious one-way ticket (albeit pricey) to food coma. 

Not trying to be a cheapskate but I think this place will bring in the crowds if the prices were about 33.33% cheaper. A promising establishment. 

Address:  7 Tan Quee Lan Street Singapore 188096
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peranakanflavours/

Singapore Favourite Food Village 2016 : What to eat

Recently, the Singapore food scene has a seen a lot of fussing and buzzing. Besides the first Michelin awards which has its fair share of fuss and buzz, the Singapore food festival is also ongoing till end of July. I'm usually not a fad person but it's hard to ignore them. One of the highlights of the Singapore Food Festival is the Singapore Favourite Food Village which is held from 22 July 2016 till 31 July 2016. Featuring over 20 culinary partners, it features our traditional favourites and their modern interpretations. Think seafood LAKSAgna, Salted egg yolk prata, Chilli crab prata, Pulut Hitam Matcha dirt cake, Gula Melaka ice-cream etc.

Held in a temporary site, the Singapore Favourite Food Village is a short walk from the Bugis Mrt station (take exit A). My passion for food was undeterred by the rain (ok slight drizzle actually) on Friday night. 

Our little bellies could only eat 5 out of the 20 stalls. While you are judging, here's the 5:

1) Salted egg yolk turnip pudding chai tow kway (or fried carrot cake) -$6

This salted egg version only adds to the recent identity crisis that our favourite Singaporean food has been going through. First called a carrot cake (when it's neither a carrot nor a cake), and then called a turnip pudding by Michelin recently. Now it's being modified with salted egg yolk.  

I like this modified version more! The carrot cake is fried using the usual chicken eggs and then topped with generous salted egg yolk sauce. Surprisingly, the rich and briny salted egg yolk paired perfectly with the fragrant fried carrot cake with a tinge of sweetness. A must try!

2) Crackling roast pork - $12.90 for set with side and salad

This skin of this roast pork is roasted till it is very crispy and indeed crackles in the mouth. Other than that, I think it will taste better if served hotter. There's apple sauce or mustard sauce available to pair the roast pork. Be careful with the mustard sauce which is rather stinging. Try pairing with the sweet apple sauce. 

3) Wei Yi Laksa - $5

Wei Yi means "The Only One" and also a very famous laksa stall in Tanglin Halt. Which I've never tried because I am a lazy Eastie foodie who doesn't do the Journey to the West. 

To me, Laksa is all about the golden ratio of coconut milk to spices (shallots, candlenut, lemongrass, dried chillies, shrimp paste). I find Wei Yi's ratio leaning towards more coconut milk. I suspect it lacked one of the spices, making the taste a little underwhelming. But I can't tell which spice is it. Can anyone let me know? 

Tip: remember to stir the laksa first so that the flavours are mixed better. Even though it's not perfect, it's a very good bowl of laksa chocked with much tau pok, prawns, fish cakes. One of the best stalls at Singapore Favourite Food Village. 

4) Churros 

This is embarrassing.. My unadventurous friend bought for us the chocolate version instead of the ondeh-ondeh version. Yes an ondeh-ondeh churros they have! Anyway, the churros was wondrously crispy deep fried dough that's topped with a crackle-thin crust of sugar. Very nice with the warm chocolate. You won't regret trying!

5) Sea salt Hokkaido milk soft serve -$4 

Before leaving, end off with this rich creamy milky soft serve. 

I'll recommend you to upgrade to an Instagram-worthy version (biscuit cone plus candy floss) for a small price.

6) Extra - Old Chang Kee Rendang Puff - $1.80

Old Chang was located outside the tent area. Not sure why. Anyway they have a new Rendang curry pok which is really good other than the weird green crust colouring. It is more inclined towards tangy tones. 

The Singapore Favourite Food Village is on till 31 July 2016. Admission is free. Food is not free. Only 1 week left so chop chop curry pok. 

Chocolate Origin

A few years ago, I made a public love declaration (click here) for Chocolate Origin's Cuppa Lava Cake. 

Some said it smelled like an awkward teenage love story. But really, it changed my life. 

Recently, I was invited by Chocolate Origin to try their new dark chocolate gelato and latte art session, together with the other existing cakes. 

One does not get invited to a chocolate feast party every other day. Especially when it's from Chocolate Origin. Unless one is certifiably insane, one does not reject it. So off I went with great anticipation.

I was given a moment with my old love - the Cuppa Lava Cake. The airy moist chocolate sponge and luscious chocolatey intense lava goodness still had me swooned over. Yes.. yes and yes! It's still that warm fuzzy ecstatic feeling. As I dug deeper, however, the vanilla ice-cream that I used to be familiar with seemed to have grown colder (pun intended) - Cold and hard, literally. Likened to a lover who was warm on the outside but cold and stranger on the inside.

I'm going to ignore that slight sign of trouble for the moment and turn to the Original Chocolate Cake. For the love of food, it is the best-chocolate-cake-ever. That ratio of mousse vs sponge, and that ratio of chocolatey bitterness vs sweetness... golden, perfect, mind boggling and amazing. Washed down with its liquid equivalent - Iced Chocolate Shake.

It's chocolate at its best.



Apart from the rich cakes and gelato that you can indulge in, Chocolate Origin also offers coffee made from the finest Arabica coffee beans from Latin America. The Arabica beans, known for their distinctive aroma and exquisitely smooth texture, form a perfect marriage with Chocolate Origin’s cakes and gelato. They are looking into organising latte art sessions where you can show off your inner barista.

I was a little restless as the star, Dark Chocolate Gelato, hasn't made its appearance as the night goes by. After all, we all know the law of anticipation which increases invariably as time ticks on. They do know how to play this game.

Finally.



It was love at first bite.

For a moment, it felt like a guilty betrayal towards Cuppa Lava Cake. My mind and heart were pretty much out of control. They were right about this one. It's richly divine, intense and effortlessly smooth. Made with Belgian chocolate, it's not overly sweet and tastes how chocolate should be - bittersweet. According to Chocolate Origin, it was a five year work-in-progress, from curating the perfect Belgian premium chocolate, the right gelato-making machine (from Italy, the birthplace of gelatos), tweaking, testing, tweaking, testing.

$4.50 a scoop, and $12.50 a pint which is cheaper than Haagen. Give me the pint.

In conclusion, this place is dangerous and a slippery slope to diabetics and heart problems. Chocolate Origin does what it sets out to do - steal my heart at the first bite. There is no stopping. It never will.

Gastrosmiths

Gastrosmiths stated on its website that it serves globally inspired comfort food. I believe that is equivalent to fusion. Fusion means caution for me as it can either turn out superb or absurd. 

Luckily for Gastrosmiths, it's fusion without confusion. 

The menu is made of European comfort fare with Asian influences. Some out of the box creations include an Atlantic cod fried mee sua, a Shio koji seafood linguine. 

Truffled chopped eggs ($12++, above) were delightfully topped with smoked caviar. The truffle oil was overpowering. The crispy toasted bread topped with  eggs complemented each other well. Overall a decent dish.

We also got another eggs dish - the Sea-ly eggs ($9.50++, above) which includes two 63 degree eggs and toast, garnished with scottish smoked salmon, marinated nori and chili oil. This was slurpy good and sweet and it went well with the nice toast. 

Be brave for the ultimate dish - the Shio Koji Seafood Marinara ($22.50, above). If you can only eat one dish, this is it. Shio Koji is a Japanese seasoning that brings out the umami taste. It is made with rice koji (a mixture of rice with strains of Aspergillus Oryzae, a beneficial mold), salt and water. When matched with the sweet tomato based linguine with the fresh seafood, it was like having both essences of Italian and Japanese cooking. A must try. 

Service was very warm and attentive. The place is really small but it comes across as cozy and sincere restaurant that has its own charm. Easily my favourite of the year. 

P.S: They have some 40% discount Groupon deals but those get sold out quickly. 

Address: 103 Beach Road, Tan Quee Lan Street, Singapore 189704

Tel: 6336 3680

Dong Po Colonial Cafe

Stepping into Dong Po Colonial Cafe felt like a blast from the past. It's located in a colonial shophouse ventilated by fans that hung from tall ceilings. Chinese oldies sung by Chinese songstresses played softly in the background. 

My immediate thought : This is totally my kind of place. You see, I am a huge fan of heritage, vintage, but not my age. 

Dong Po serves cream cakes and pastries that look like what mother fed me back in 80s and 90s. These cakes actually go all the way back in the colonial days when some Chinese pastry chefs learn western baking from the ang mohs. Hence such western cakes were popularized back then. I do realize that such cakes are now a rare sight in big shopping malls. But they can still be found in the neighborhood bakeries. 

I got a set meal which comprise of a bostock toast and teh for $3.50. While waiting for my bostock, I got a butterfly cake for $2. 

The butterfly cake looks like something I learnt to make during my home econs class back in the 90s. It's a sponge cake which has cream. I like that it's airy and light.  The icing in the middle of the "wings" might be a little hard but I like it that way.  I would say this is quite value for money. If I compare to what I charged for the one I created back then. 

After a good 10 minutes, my bostock arrived. The bostock is actually a buttered toast with almonds on top. The crunchy almonds and crispy toast make an interesting combo of different textures. My recommendation is to eat it best when it's hot.

The Teh was nothing to shout about. Tastes like the normal type you find from normal kopitiam. 

The cafe has a SG50 campaign where you can purchase a drink for our Pioneer Generation and the cafe will match it with another drink. You can also leave a note of appreciation. Kudos to the cafe for this meaningful initiative. 

It would be interesting to bring your ah gong or ah ma here. For an afternoon of story telling. Bet they would have lots of stories from good old days to tell you.  

Old is gold. 

Address: 56 Kandahar Street Singapore 198904

Tel: 6288 1318

Sawadee Thai Cuisine

Sawadee kha! It's long time no see kha! I found a lovely Thai restaurant in Bugis recently called Sawadee.. without the Kha. Thai food is one of my most favourite cuisines. And surprise surprise,  Sawadee has some awesome dishes.

The interior is elegant and exudes Thai charm. The prices are also very elegant. I would say a normal dish (small serving) costs around $12 to $18. Bigger servings typically cost more than $20. No GST but there is service charge. We didn't have much issues on what to order because everything on the menu sounds so nice! 

The duck curry ($15+) impressed me- a unique curry that was enhanced with real lychee and pineapple slices which gave a sweet fruity tone to the spicy thick curry. The creamy gravy was perfect with a bowl of rice. The only imperfection was the portion - too small!

We also ordered the otah ($15+) which was elegantly presented in seven portions in a clay plate that helped to keep the food warm. The fish paste was tasty, succulent, and well marinated with coconut milk and fish sauce. 

We only ordered two mains between the two of us.. as we wanted to try the desserts.. One dessert for each of us :)

Mango sticky rice ($6+) - The warm sticky rice was wondrously topped with coconut milk and tiny crispy soya beans. And the main star, golden yellow mangoes, were just like the ones from Bangkok.. Juicy and sweet. 

The red ruby ($4+) is a traditional Thai dessert that is made of crunchy water chestnuts and coconut milk. The icy dessert was a refreshing end to our meal.  

Service staff was elegant, courteous and  they seem to be real Thai. However I think their boss was less courteous. In fact, he was scolding them most of the time. So embarrassing. 

Overall, I would say this is some really good Thai cuisine, albeit a little pricy. No need to go Bangkok anymore. We can have authentic Thai food at Sawadee. Can't  wait to be back for another meal at Sawadee.

Address: 9 Tan Quee Lan St #01-01 TQL Suite S(188098)

Tel: 6238-6833