notable eats (1st - 14th october)

1. at home

巨峰の葡萄 - ever wonder why grape sweets from japan taste the way they do; i.e. not quite "normal" grape-ish? one bite of kyoho grapes and you'll know why. these ultra-expensive grapes (bought with my first proper paycheck - $16 for twenty-five to thirty globes of pure heaven) taste extremely sweet, albeit with a faint kick of sourness. very, very juicy. the skins are much thicker than other varieties, and rather unpleasant to eat - no wonder japanese almost always peel their grapes before serving them!

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2. the soup spoon - with j / with jo

tangy tomato soup with basil - one of my favourite soups at soup spoon, creamy (though not thick-creamy) and resplendent with the taste of roasted tomato. slightly spicy (though i can never quite identify the mesclun of spices used).

naan mezze plate - consisting of a few pieces of plain naan and falafel with basil pesto, sundried tomato cream cheese, and mint dips. the naans were rather dry, and the falafel disappointing - obvious reheating in a microwave resulting in a rather soggy texture. also not spiced enough. it doesn't help that one of my first encounters with falafel is an excellent one from l'as du fallafel in paris =p

the dips were quite good; though the mint dip was strangely un-minty - which i thought was quite wierd since mint is such an assertive herb.

velvety mushroom stroganoff - another favourite from soup spoon. creamy-creamy, and chock full of mushroom chunks. nothing like the dainty mushroom cappuccinos one encounters in restaurants, this is hearty and almost peasant-like.

spicy herby cheesy wedges - a popular side, judging from the fact that they always seem to come piping hot from the fryer. nicely browned and crisp, with a liberal dusting of paprika. comes with a yummy tomato-cream cheese dip, similar to the naan mezze plate one, though more liquid.

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3. 厨 raffles city - with j and d

刺身盛り合わせ： 鮭の腹、縞鰺、いくら - salmon belly, white trevally and salmon roe. the salmon and jack were very good; their sweetness enhanced by the optimal temperature at which they were served. excellent texture too; clean and firm, with just the slightest bite. the salmon roe was not so good - instead of firm, jewel-like sacs, these were rather limp appearance-wise, and didn't quite have the pop that marks a good いくら.

鴨ロース煮 - very eh. duck was okay, i guess. the brown gloopy cornstarch-y sauce was not.

鮨盛り合わせ：鮃、魬の腹、甘海老、海胆、とろ、穴子 - flounder, young yellowtail belly, raw pink shrimp, sea urchin, tuna belly (possibly 中とろ) and conger eel. what delightful morsels of vinegared rice and ocean produce! i've not eaten sushi rice as good as this for a while - just the right temperature (i.e. not too cold), and firm; none of the mushy stuff that often gets passed off as しゃりhere. taste was exquisite - a touch of sweetness and sourness playing an assertive fiddle to the ねた.

started with the flounder, which had a clean taste, and excellent bite. least assertive of the six different types of sushi, it nevertheless had a good fishiness to it - a sign of things to come. the yellowtail belly was similar in taste, but with a touch of oiliness, and added smoothness due to the cut. topped with a thin slice of lime, which provided the faintest touch of sourness.

the pink shrimp, or sweet shrimp was, again, excellent. firm and very slightly "milky" texture. the natural sweetness of the flesh was a wonderful contrast to the sea urchin, which was literally an explosion of the sea in my mouth. together with its firm, and yet slightly slimy texture, this was quite divine.

then came the fatty tuna - very good, even if it's not quite 大とろ. what more needs to be said of とろ, really?

and the finale - the conger eel - a whole piece of lightly barbecued eel literally wrapped around the rice, glistening with a sweet shoyu-based sauce. texture was markedly different from freshwater eel - more creamy than the latter. a perfect marriage of rice and fish.



for a not-so-glowing review of 厨 see here

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4. 利苑酒家 - with mum and sis

my first treat for the family, with my first proper paycheck.

皮蛋瘦肉粥 - not bad. i'm starting to like century egg more and more; it's really quite divine in hk-style porridge. texture of the porridge was good, even though it could be a bit more creamy (i like the texture of my porridge to be "吃不到米粒").

蟹肉金丝卷 - the miniscule amount of crabmeat was completely overwhelmed by the cheesy sauce. encased by deep-fried bee-hoon-like cocoons that provided an interesting texture.

芝梨果虾筒 - this was very good; one of the nicer fried dim sum items i've eaten - the skin was not the common thin golden yellow type used for spring rolls, but the thicker and somewhat more substantial milky white type, which really suited the strong prawn and avocado filling. texture was lovely - the creamy avocado contrasted well with the fresh-crunchy prawn and fried-crunchy skin. excellent taste too; the skin was rather neutral, albeit with a touch of oiliness, which accentuated the flavours of the contents - a buttery burst of the sea.

虾饺 - quite good (i.e. skin was thin, and did not break, prawns were fresh). still, a bit too small; i'd prefer if the prawn-to-skin ratio to be a bit higher, and the only way that'd be is for the 虾饺 to be bigger, since there is a limit to how thin the skin can be. i really miss the ones in hk.

烧卖 - very good and fresh-tasting; these were not overly-porky, but a good balance between lean pork, shiitake and prawn. the filling was wrapped in a thin dumpling skin which retained its texture (i.e. not soggy).

虾肠粉 - not very good - the 肠粉 did not taste very fresh, and was way too thick. both texture and taste were upsetted as a result: the whole dish was way too chewy, and the soy-based sauce, which would be perfect for a good 肠粉, was too weak, resulting in a flat taste.

直火叉烧 - i don't particularly care for hk-style 叉烧, since i like the charred bits of a good singapore-style 叉烧 (the roasted type, not the dye-job type). this was hk-style, and very fatty - i prefer my 叉烧 to be 半肥瘦. not my favourite.

京川饺子 - excellent. the vinegar-based sauce had a touch of fresh chotness, which really livens the whole dish. together with the chopped fresh spring onion, it was the perfect accompaniment for the little dumplings of minced meat and vegetables.



杏仁茶 - good; not overly thin like powdered almond milk, yet not scarily thick, this was just the right consistency. taste was very almond-y - right up my alley.

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5. ラーメン・ケン - with d and yq

冷やしラーメン - quite nice. i'm not the greatest fan of ramen, being much more partial to soba. but there are few other places in singapore where ramen is decent. the cold ramen comes with a peanut-based sauce (my achilles' heel) - yum yum, and a slight touch of yellow horseradish.

and no one should leave ken's without trying their hard-boiled egg, which is more three-quarters-boiled. a sticky-runny yolk, with a small portion of the white also runny still. tea bone zen mind may do hard-boiled eggs slightly better, but i'll take this one gladly, since it's available any day, unlike at tbzm, where availability really depends on one's luck.

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6. bakerzin - with d and yq

desire - everything but. the inner mousses (milk and white chocolate) rather characterless, the outer sponge-like cake casing drier than the sahara desert. and the chocolate roses were sweating like crazy. full marks for presentation, zero for substance. seems that j is correct, at least for the paragon branch. avoid like the plague, unless you feel lucky, or happen to like stale desserts.

what a pity - it would have made for such a pretty picture.

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7. 憩 - with j, d, yq, g

one of the more famous japanese buffets around in singapore; many have commented to me on its value-for-money. quite true, i guess, from a purely economic viewpoint; however, since i always overeat at buffets, negative utility inevitably sets in. and the sashimi, though very decent, just lacks the magical burst of brillance.

枝豆, broad bean - normal

鮭ポン酢 - very good; one of the better dishes that night; ponzu is such a wonderful accompaniment to raw fish.

刺身：鮭、鮪、めかじき、たこ、いか、かんぱち - fresher than i'd imagine it'd be. the salmon and yellowtail was pretty good; the squid had the requisite "milky" texture, which j hated though, heh.

seafood tea - interesting; a light, yet flavourful "tea" which tastes of produce from the sea. imagine seafood soup, but with a dry feel, like tea (i.e., without the "oiliness" of soups)

天ぷら：いか、椎茸、茄子、海老、おくら - pedestrian but acceptable. i'm still amazed that everywhere in singapore does better tempura than inagiku, one-off-bad-lunch-menu-choice that might have been. the shiitake came with the stalks, something that i've never seen done; anyway, the stalk itself was too tough to chew, and we only ate the caps.

茶碗蒸し - not bad, until i hit the surimi. oh well, i guess something has to give at a mid-priced buffet. the texture was perfectly acceptable, though; not the best, but quite silky.

鯖塩焼き - nice and oily; i think it's difficult to screw this up.

鳥から揚げ - very good. crispy, without being too oily, the chicken pieces were nicely browned, yet still retaining their tenderness.

揚げ出し豆腐, 冷奴 - normal.

鯖押し寿司 - quite bad. the sushi rice is unacceptable: too warm, not vinegary enough, too soft - all the hallmarks of amateurish しゃり. the mackerel たね was the thinnest slice of fish one can imagine, resulting in a bottom-heavy sushi. seems to me a devious trick to cheaply fill up diners' stomachs.

とんかつ - quite bad too; the pork was unacceptably tough, and very flat taste-wise.