This is a new chocolate boutique in my neighbourhood. I do not fancy sweet chocolate, but this one catches my eye.
The first time I went in and wanted to buy this Lavender Love, it was out of stock. Maybe becoz it was late at night, so it got sold out. The staff told me that all their chocolates are handmade. Not mass produce-machine kind. Hence, it’s damn rare.
So, I visited it a week later - in the morning. Yesh, I got a chance to buy it. ONE PIECE cost me a BOMB - SGD2plus.
One bite, it’s soft. Sweet. Too sweet for me. It has a very light lavender taste. I dun really like sweet fudge type. One piece is enough.
I like to eat the taiwanese O-ah Mee Sua. I like the hot and sourish taste. Yesh, lots of pepper and black vinegar please. I visited the Shilin Taiwan Street Snacks' branch at The Cathay, thought that since it's a BRANCH, the quality should be the same. But I was wrong.
They were out of oyster (due to shortage of supply according to what they said), so they replace it with scallop. I decided to give it a try. It is a total failure. The chicken strips are not fresh, and I dun call it strips, I called it rubbings! Heng, the mushroom cheese crepe that I ordered is still edible and still the same old good taste.
A couple of months ago, we went for a movie at THE CATHAY, decided to have a quick dinner before the show. Where did we go? To their basement lor.
We order a mix grilled bento and golden brown drumlets karage from that QUICKBITE Stall. Not too bad. The pork asparagus roll is chewy. The drumlets are not to oily, but … not much flavour.
Been to the newly renovated Food Court in Junction 8 a couple of months ago. The deco is refreshing, and it has writings on the history of the particular food sold there on their ceiling pillars.
We tried the OMU RICE. It’s tasty. If I am not wrong, there is an OMU RICE stall at the Taka Food Court too.
I do like their stir fried noodles. :D Though they cooked with Ketchup, it still has the balance of the natural flavour of the food. But it’s slightly salty and their soup is too bland.
Other stalls are the old vendors which are there before.
The Mid-Autumn festival falls on the 15th of Aug of the Chinese lunar colander every year. People celebrate the festival by eating moon cakes, sipping a cup of tea while appreciating the round moon, while children run about holding their colourful lanterns.
Moon cakes are Chinese pastries eaten during the Mid-Autumn festival, while they traditionally comes in lotus seed paste, the food & beverage experts have constantly come up with creative and exotic ingredients to pair up with the moon cake. Snow skin moon cakes are not uncommon now, with most places offering it as an alternative to the traditional moon cake.
I was given the opportunity for a moon cake-tasting session with Yan Ting’s snow skin moon cake. They are available at the lobby of St Regis hotel, the snow skin moon cake comes in 6 different flavours, and there’s also the traditional baked moon cake to choose from.
St Regis, with the 6 Star luxury hotel tag, pays full attention to detail. According the Yan Ting’s manager, Mr Danny Chan, the box containing the moon cake samplings are made of superior wood and does not come cheap.
Besides the lobby booth, you can also pick up their moon cake directly outside the restaurant on the second level after you finished a meal there.
The box for 8 snow skin moon cakes is also nicely designed, with majesty gold set as the theme. This is a great box to give to relatives, or business associates as gift during the Mid-autumn festival. Alternatively, there’s also another premium gift set which features Yan Ting six uniquely flavoured snow skin moon cake with two tins of Dammann Frères tea, set in an elegantly designed casing.
For the mini snow skin selection, there are 6 different flavours to choose from, you can either have 8 of the same flavour, or choose a mix of all the flavours.
Almond snow skin, martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, custard paste ($8 per piece) Martell drinkers would rejoice with the martell cordon bleu congac moon cake. Made with almond, the snowy-white skin like all the other moon cake bears the signature Chinese name of Yan Ting on the surface.
Beneath the snowy white almond skin, there’s the custard paste filling with the luxurious martell cordon bleu cognac truffle in the heart. The almond taste was quite heavy, together with the strong martell cognac, the overwhelming taste covered the custard paste.
It was interesting to try martell truffle inside a moon cake, and it came in a generous portion. There’s a strong after-taste of the martell truffle. Overall an interesting take on snow skin moon cake, and if you like Martell and almond, this novelty might just work for you.
Seven perfumes snow skin, martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, white lotus paste ($8.5 per piece) This one was quite similar to the previous one, with the use of martell cordon blue cognac truffle, but in place of the almond skin and custard paste were seven perfumes snow skin and white lotus paste respectively.
I love the aromatic and subtle seven perfumes snow skin, which was made from St Regis’s exclusive Dammann Frères tea from France. And at the centre of the moon cake, the martell cordon bleu cognac truffle. There’s no clashing of flavours because the subtle tea snow skin and white lotus paste seemed to blend in perfectly with the stronger Martell truffle.
Almond snow skin, advocaat egg liqueuer truffle, black sesame paste ($5.25 per piece) Besides having custard and lotus paste as fillings, Yan Ting also used the fragrant and rich black sesame paste. Under the dainty white snow skin, the black sesame provided a good contrast to the colour of the moon cake.
I felt that almond worked better with black sesame than custard paste. The advocaat egg liqueur truffle was also unique in its own right. Advocaat is a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy, its smooth taste was rather similar to the almond skin. And the liqueur taste wasn’t as robust as the martell cordon bleu cognac truffle.
Bloody mary snow skin with custard paste ($5.25 per piece) Inspired by the iconic signature cocktail at the original St Regis New York, Yan Ting introduces the first-ever Bloody mary moon cake. The bloody mary snow skin brought the innovation level for moon cakes to another level.
The unique use of bloody mary is worth mentioning, but bloody mary being a mix of vodka and tomato juice, having a stronger taste, covered the custard paste. Personally, I felt that it would be better by combining bloody mary and white lotus paste instead. But I guess Chef Chan Siu Kong and his culinary team would have experience with many different combinations and felt that this is the one that provides a different view.
Seven perfumes snow skin with single yolk and white lotus paste ($6 per piece) Moon cake purist need not fret; the seven perfume snow skin came closest to the traditional moon cake with your white lotus and egg yolk, the only exception the snow skin. The scented Seven perfumes snow skin gave it an edge over other normal snow skin with white lotus paste.
This was the most ordinary and simple moon cake among the snow skin offered by Yan Ting. The superior quality of the white lotus paste meant that it’s not overly-sweet, smooth and silky. Together with the salty egg yolk, like they say, simple is beautiful.
Almond snow skin with premium bird’s nest and custard paste ($28.5 per piece) The moon cake with edible gold foil and premium bird’s nest screams extravagant. The gold foil on the top looked magnificence, I’m not sure about the taste of gold though. This among the 6 flavours, is the most expensive at $28.5 per piece, while the rest are all in the $5-8 repertoire.
Manager Mr. Chan mentioned that 1 “jin” of premium bird’s nest goes into making 4 bird’s nest moon cake. And for once, i thought that the use of custard paste worked very well with the whole-strand bird’s nest. The ultimate indulgence, glittering gold and top-grade bird’s nest.
The total cost of this particular box of 8 snow skin moon cake (mix-and-match) comes up to a princely $75.25. According to St Regis, customers usually get a box of 8 of the same moon cake, otherwise they will purchase St Regis Premium gift set at $98. But as this was a moon cake tasting session, I had the mix of the 6 flavours.
Yan Ting’s extensive use of custard meant that if you do not like custard, then your judgement of Yan Ting moon cake will likely be affected. Nevertheless, they uses top-notch lotus paste, and their unique seven perfume snow skin is very aromatic and i will definitely recommend you to try that at least.
The exotic ingredients such as martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, advocaat egg liqueur truffle, and bloody mary fits the price tag of the moon cakes, and if you do not like liqueur, there’s also a range of traditional baked moon cakes, top quality lotus paste and yolk, fragrant and rich black sesame paste, pandan paste, Jin Hua ham and assorted nuts, all based on recipes of Chef Chan.
The moon cake pricing is indeed hefty, but that is the least you can expected coming from St Regis, the glamorous and prestigious 6 star hotel. Yan Ting. The St. Regis moon cakes are available from special retail booths at Change Alley in Raffles Place and the hotel lobby, by visiting Yan Ting restaurant in the hotel or by placing orders over the phone or email.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
HFB is happy to announce that a new Astons Specialities has finally come to TOWN and is located at The Cathay Building!
With its simple wood-based furbishing and its signatured chalkboard indicating the Special of the Day, HFB couldn’t resist himself but be tempted by the promotion screaming WAGYU RIBEYE Grade 5/6 - $38.90nett [including 2 side dishes] and end up ordering it along with Sweet Corn and Coleslaw.
The sweet corn patted with butter was satisfyingly sweet – love it! As for the coleslaw, I would prefer the cut of the veggies be thinner, but otherwise it was normal.
Grilled to a perfect charred on the outside and medium rare on the inside, what sets this wagyu ribeye apart from the normal ribeye is the tenderness of the meat - marbled with monounsaturated fats; the natural juices that gushed out with each chew were such a delight! Also, the lingering tint of sweetness on the palate was pure enjoyment.
But coming back to reality, HFB wasn’t fully satisfied with 200gm of meat, and he was harbouring over his dining partner’s Prime Ribeye X’tra Cut ($16.50nett) that was much thicker and bigger.
Besides nicely cooked to medium rare, what HFB found lacking in the wagyu, was ironically satisfied by the X’tra Cut – the “Beefy” taste!
A personal preference, HFB believes a beef should taste like beef and that was somehow missing from the wagyu, or perhaps he is just not used to eating wagyu.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Took part in the recent Prego - Spaghetti & Meatball Eating Challenge. Nestled in Fairmont Hotel Singapore, Prego is a contemporary, chic restaurant that serves hearty authentic Italian fare. The restaurant is huge with high ceilings and easily seats more than a 100 pax - a place ideal for both business dining and large group gatherings.
Although my plate of meatball spaghetti was gobbled down in a space of 4mins and 05secs, HFB was able to taste the very smooth pasta sauce and al dente pasta. The tomato based sauce didn't come across as too heavy - which HFB likes it a lot!
Due to the eating challenge reasons, the meatballs were made slightly harder than usual, so HFB is not going to comment of the texture of the meatballs. But what I like is the "beefy" taste of the meatballs, yet not overwhelming. They charged $12nett for the competition and the actual retail price of the pasta is $25 .
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Its been a while since I last stepped into Shangri-La hotel (the last time being the IISS about a year back) and what better way to revisit than a leisurely dim sum meal at its flagship Chinese restaurant, Shang Palace. It definitely helped that Shang Palace was offering a 30% discount on all its dim sum items from now till 31st Dec 2008 for its first dim sum seating (10.30am - 12pm).
Located at lobby level of this highly regarded premium hotel, Shang Palace's recent facelift sees a more contemporary and posh interior with elements of tradition through the usage of red crystal chandeliers amidst flowery wall panels and black wooden door arches. Is it just me or are alot of the Chinese restaurants starting to look alike?
What I found rather ingenious was the tea menu. Instead of the usual book like menu, the names of the various teas were inscribed onto colour coded sticks and placed in a container. Merely a novelty, but at least it beats flipping through pages.
Custard Bun - Fast becoming one of the quintessential items on my dim sum list, the custard bun got the meal off to a great start with its piping hot and sinfully rich custard mixed with sediments of egg yolk, all contained within a soft and slightly chewy bun. I would have liked it better if the custard to bun ratio was lower, ie. decrease the amount of flour or increase the amount of custard. There's the issue of its minute size though.
Shanghai Pork Dumpling - I was utterly disappointed with Shang Palace's rendition of this classic Shanghainese dish. The skin was a tad too thick while the gravy came across as thick and oily. After popping one XLB into my mouth, I couldn't bear to eat another one.
Fried Spring Roll - This spring roll was rather different from the commonplace ones that you get elsewhere. Instead of vegetables, you get egg white and crab meat as a filling. Not that it made much of a difference honestly. The oil taste from the crisp skin overwhelmed everything. Not that egg white or crab meat had much taste to begin with though.
Shark's Fin Dumpling Soup - At $8 a bowl, the fins were ample but of very low quality. I like the fact that there were bits of scallops in the dumpling and that the soup was very light on the palate.
Deep Fried Beancurd Skin Roll with Prawns - The fried beancurd skin roll or 腐皮卷 came stuffed with prawns, spotting a nice crisp exterior that wasn't overly fried. However, it did come across as a tad too oily.
BBQ Pork Custard Bun - This dish was essentially pineapple bun stuffed with char siew (叉燒菠蘿包). I personally liked this quite a bit as the bun was soft and not too sweet while the char siew was plump and juicy. The sweetness from the char siew permeated through, which made for a nice but extremely high in calorie snack.
Siew Mai - Very much like the siew mai I had at Peach Garden, Shang Palace's offering had small chunks of prawns in it as well. There was a noticeable absence of the overwhelming pork taste that plagues alot of siew mais but I did find the salt level a little high.
Scallop & Lobster Roll - I don't quite remember the name of this dish but it tasted to me like Har Gao, which wasn't really what I was expecting. The lobster shreds were minimal, not to mention tasteless and the whole thing was mainly prawn paste (I believe) and a small piece of scallop.
Har Gao - The Har Gao skin was excessively thick and became gross when cold. Not even the crunchy prawn filling could save it after we left a piece to cool for about 10 minutes. However, when eaten hot, its still rather decent overall.
Four Treasure Flour Roll - Fancy names aside, the flour roll aka chee cheong fan, was smooth, silky and not too thick. I could only make out char siew and prawns in the filling so I'm not sure where did the 4 treasures come from. One of the better chee cheong fans I've had in a long long time.
Century Egg Porridge - $10 got me a bowl of congee that's probably three quarters the size of those you get for $3 at food centres. Topped with thin slices of crispy dough fritters, the porridge had a generous amount of chicken shreds and century egg. But I did think that the chef was a little too liberal with the salt.
A disappointment really. The mini egg tarts were, as the name suggests, mini and the pastry was a little too flaky. No buttery undertone that I personally like as well. The custard filling could also have done with more sugar. $4.90 for 3 is really a rip off.
It was really an expensive dim sum experience, at $113 before discount and $87 after a 30% early bird discount for 2 pax. Overall I thought that the dim sum lacked finesse, and pales in comparison to places like Royal China or Yan Ting. Service was good but pacing of the dishes would be much appreciated - all my dishes came in the space of 10 minutes. I highly doubt that I'll be back, not even with the discount.
Had the extreme good fortune to partake in a food tasting session at Seafood Paradise one day with couple of like minded bloggers. Part of the paradise group which also operates Taste Paradise, this is a well received and critically acclaimed restaurant that has garnered more supporters, business and foodies alike with each passing day. The kind owner and our host also kindly positioned the restaurant as a mid range restaurant that will appeal to a greater clientèle as opposed to being a totally high end eating place.
Located at the swanky new premises right below the Singapore Flyer, Seafood paradise here ushers in a new era of style and taste with a noted increase in clientèle which includes but notwithstanding the rich and the famous. The restaurant itself is ambient, carpeted and boasts a huge wine cellar next to the door. Lighting is bright to mid in the early hours and ambient and dim at night. The private room is open to spenders and groups in access of 10 to 15 people and comes with a floor manager and personalized waiter for on the spot service.
The day kicked off with the usual roasted peanuts which set the mood well. Regardless of the exterior, this place is at its heart, still a chinese restaurant with a twist.
Combination Trio Consisting of Tea-Smoked Sliced Duck ($10) Chilled Jellyfish With Chef's Special sauce ($12) and Yammy Scallop Pie ($14) - Our host has already prepared a nice menu for our sampling pleasure and the first to come is a trio platter that is available separately on the menu. The tea smoked duck was tender with a smokey taste which didn't appeal too much to me while i found the chilled jellyfish to embody just the right springiness and sweetness that is pleasing. The yammy scallop pie tastes just like it would it you wrapped a small layer of yam around scallop and deep fried it. The scallop was fresh and the yam, light.
Australian Lobster Baked In Salted Egg Yolk (Seasonal Price) - Our visit of luxury then led to our next dish, salted egg lobster. Now, this is described as having a silky and velvety taste and true enough, thats exactly how it tasted like. In fact, its difficult to explain what velvety means so i recommend trying it to find out. The salted yoke has a light powdery texture that extends and enhances the natural sweetness of a fresh lobster. An excellent dish for any occasion.
Crispy Chicken With Special Szechuan Sauce ($26) - The special Szechuan sauce in question tastes strongely of vinegar and is only a little bit spicy so its perfect for kids. The deep fried stuff above tastes like kellogs crispy puffs and goes along surprisingly well with the sauce. The chicken is also worth mentioning for being well marinated and roasted. Thus it means that the juices are intact while the skin is as crispy as it should be. The meat is tender and moist and you'll be lapping up its juices with ease.
Homemade Beancurd with Seafood in Claypot ($12 per portion) - Silky smooth and soft tofu that literally melts in your mouth. Add in an equally tempting and ingredient filled seafood claypot and its easy to see why customers order so much of this item.
Sea Bass with Salted Raddish ($4 per 100 gram) - The sea bass is fresh, sweet and simply delectable however i must say that the salted raddish concoction doesn't quite appeal to me. I'm not sure if lard is used but sprinkled amongst the raddish are little chewy bits that got in the way of enjoyment of the sweet meat of the fish.
Honshimeiji Mushrooms with Broccoli ($14) - Fresh Hoshimeiji mushrooms are a delight to eat. Springy and chewy, it's reminiscent of abalone in some ways and this rendition is pretty good. Doing it much justice.
Seafood Supreme Fried Rice ($24) - Their rendition of this done to death fried rice is of the dry variety. This means that the rice are not moist and have a decidedly wok hei like taste to it. Seafood like shrimp, squid and crab meat are plentiful and deliberately placed in the rice to good effect. I loved this with the sauce from their creamy butter crab.
Man Tou Bun ($0.60 each) - The man tou is simply excellent. No 2 ways around it. The pan fried base is hard and contrasts with the rest of the bun which feels as though its deep fried in oil but was not oily. I was pretty amazed. It also emits an excellent aroma that makes the chili and creamy butter sauce alot better then it should be.
Signature Creamy Butter Crab ($3.80 per 100 gram) - Their signature creamy butter immediately reminded me of Mellben's version which is the golden sand crab. This version is more milky, contains less cheese and egg and has a more peppery taste to it then the other rendition. Definitely still a winner since their crab is sizable, fresh and has all the goodness of a good crab.
Popular Chili Crab ($3.80 per 100 gram) - The chili crab is starchy, mildly spicy and has a stronger tangy tomato taste then most outside. As the host also kindly points out, the sauce gets better with each bite. And i can attest that its addictive, perhaps more so than the creamy butter above. No faulting their crab on this though, its still fresh and sweet and still lovable.
For the crabs, if you do get a private room, the host will gladly deshell it for you. Although the scene reminds me of gangster flicks in which the bosses have such service, i'd say its a step in the right direction in terms of service.
Finally, after the stomach expanding meal above, i'm glad to say. Seafood paradise is a great place for a meal. In fact, all lovers of Zhi Ca can gather to try their food. Its pretty darn good. Do watch the price though, even though its a mid range offering, over ordering does cause quite a burn on the pocket. If you have a deep pocket, no worries then. Come along and enjoy the food.
It was another day when the search for food led us to town, this time, to Centrepoint in Orchard road. It was during the GSS season and we happened to chance upon this newly opened restaurant nestled in an inconspicuous corner of the enhanced Food Wing at Centrepoint. Touted as serving Yakitori (skewed delicacies) cooked in white charcoal, this Japanese restaurant also served cheap Ramen below $10. Me and my gf were the only people who went for the set meal that night.
Special Set Menu for 2 ($45) - Seeing that everyone is having the Ramen here brought shudders to me which i can't quite explain, thus, we opted for the GSS set dinner which seemed like a good deal. @ $45 for 2 people, it falls in the mid range. However, compare it to the actual ala carte menu and its easily double the price if ordered item by item.
Mixed Sashimi - The meal started with the mixed sashimi platter which came with squid, swordfish, salmon and tuna sashimi all in one plate. Everything on the platter was fresh and tasted sweet albeit being in a smaller portion. It still felt like a good value item though.
Tofu - The first grilled item to appear was the grilled tofu and to be honest, it was very average. Tasted slightly dry like dao pok and most of the taste was covered under thick teriyaki sauce.
8 Yakitori White Charcoal Grilled Sticks - The sticks included 2 grill corns, 1 grilled enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon, 1 grilled shittake mushroom, 2 grilled prawns and 1 grilled chicken meat ball. The grilled corn was sweet with a thin layer of butter for a salty finish while the bacon and enoki combination tasted fresh but was a little too difficult to chew through. The mushroom itself was juicy and tasty while the prawns were nicely grilled to a crispy finish with tasty and sweet meat. The chicken meatballs were the least memorable, being salty and overly peppery.
Japanese Organic Momotaro Tomato - This is a wonderful starter actually but was strangely served midway through the meal. The sauce is made up of a concoction that seems to be filled with mustard, peanut sauce, mayonnaise and maybe vegetable oil. The tomato went really well with it too and it should be noted that the tomato itself was firm, juicy, sweet and simply delectable. Something anyone can enjoy.
Chef's Appetiser - The chef's appetiser tastes like vermicelli tossed in thai sweet and sour sauce and is yet another tasty treat that shouldn't be missed.
Pan Seared Foie Gras With Ume Sauce - This sinful item came pretty late as well and to be honest, it tasted pretty well done. The inside were left springy and melts in your mouth while the outer covering of ume (cranberry) sauce enriched its taste on the outside. However, it was oily, very very oily.
Creme Brulee - This creme brulee had the thin layer of sugar burnt just right and tasted good without being too eggy on the inside. I found the vanilla taste just right for this and find it easy to recommend.
Black Sesame Gelato - One taste and you'll find this strong. The sesame taste is present throughout without overwhelming. It was the right sweetness and creamy to the end.
Bill - The total bill for 2 only came up to $57.67 which was great value for a meal with such variety and above average quality.
In the end, i'm glad i tried this place. It serves tasty charcoal grilled Japanese food at bargain prices. I do have gripes about the service and order of food served though. The appetisers did not come first and i had to call at least 3 times before my rice and foie gras was served. It was as though they didn't want to make a loss or something. Still, considering food quality, it definitely is value for menu in this offer. Ala carte and normal prices though...and i probably won't recommend when prices are back to normal.
1=SGD 0.0587
This is a new chocolate boutique in my neighbourhood. I do not fancy sweet chocolate, but this one catches my eye.
The first time I went in and wanted to buy this Lavender Love, it was out of stock. Maybe becoz it was late at night, so it got sold out. The staff told me that all their chocolates are handmade. Not mass produce-machine kind. Hence, it’s damn rare.
So, I visited it a week later - in the morning. Yesh, I got a chance to buy it. ONE PIECE cost me a BOMB - SGD2plus.
One bite, it’s soft. Sweet. Too sweet for me. It has a very light lavender taste. I dun really like sweet fudge type. One piece is enough.
Rating given:
I like to eat the taiwanese O-ah Mee Sua. I like the hot and sourish taste. Yesh, lots of pepper and black vinegar please. I visited the Shilin Taiwan Street Snacks' branch at The Cathay, thought that since it's a BRANCH, the quality should be the same. But I was wrong.
They were out of oyster (due to shortage of supply according to what they said), so they replace it with scallop. I decided to give it a try. It is a total failure. The chicken strips are not fresh, and I dun call it strips, I called it rubbings! Heng, the mushroom cheese crepe that I ordered is still edible and still the same old good taste.
Rating given:
A couple of months ago, we went for a movie at THE CATHAY, decided to have a quick dinner before the show. Where did we go? To their basement lor.
We order a mix grilled bento and golden brown drumlets karage from that QUICKBITE Stall. Not too bad. The pork asparagus roll is chewy. The drumlets are not to oily, but … not much flavour.
Rating given:
Been to the newly renovated Food Court in Junction 8 a couple of months ago. The deco is refreshing, and it has writings on the history of the particular food sold there on their ceiling pillars.
We tried the OMU RICE. It’s tasty. If I am not wrong, there is an OMU RICE stall at the Taka Food Court too.
I do like their stir fried noodles. :D Though they cooked with Ketchup, it still has the balance of the natural flavour of the food. But it’s slightly salty and their soup is too bland.
Other stalls are the old vendors which are there before.
Rating given:
The Mid-Autumn festival falls on the 15th of Aug of the Chinese lunar colander every year. People celebrate the festival by eating moon cakes, sipping a cup of tea while appreciating the round moon, while children run about holding their colourful lanterns.
Moon cakes are Chinese pastries eaten during the Mid-Autumn festival, while they traditionally comes in lotus seed paste, the food & beverage experts have constantly come up with creative and exotic ingredients to pair up with the moon cake. Snow skin moon cakes are not uncommon now, with most places offering it as an alternative to the traditional moon cake.
I was given the opportunity for a moon cake-tasting session with Yan Ting’s snow skin moon cake. They are available at the lobby of St Regis hotel, the snow skin moon cake comes in 6 different flavours, and there’s also the traditional baked moon cake to choose from.
St Regis, with the 6 Star luxury hotel tag, pays full attention to detail. According the Yan Ting’s manager, Mr Danny Chan, the box containing the moon cake samplings are made of superior wood and does not come cheap.
Besides the lobby booth, you can also pick up their moon cake directly outside the restaurant on the second level after you finished a meal there.
The box for 8 snow skin moon cakes is also nicely designed, with majesty gold set as the theme. This is a great box to give to relatives, or business associates as gift during the Mid-autumn festival. Alternatively, there’s also another premium gift set which features Yan Ting six uniquely flavoured snow skin moon cake with two tins of Dammann Frères tea, set in an elegantly designed casing.
For the mini snow skin selection, there are 6 different flavours to choose from, you can either have 8 of the same flavour, or choose a mix of all the flavours.
Almond snow skin, martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, custard paste ($8 per piece)
Martell drinkers would rejoice with the martell cordon bleu congac moon cake. Made with almond, the snowy-white skin like all the other moon cake bears the signature Chinese name of Yan Ting on the surface.
Beneath the snowy white almond skin, there’s the custard paste filling with the luxurious martell cordon bleu cognac truffle in the heart. The almond taste was quite heavy, together with the strong martell cognac, the overwhelming taste covered the custard paste.
It was interesting to try martell truffle inside a moon cake, and it came in a generous portion. There’s a strong after-taste of the martell truffle. Overall an interesting take on snow skin moon cake, and if you like Martell and almond, this novelty might just work for you.
Seven perfumes snow skin, martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, white lotus paste ($8.5 per piece)
This one was quite similar to the previous one, with the use of martell cordon blue cognac truffle, but in place of the almond skin and custard paste were seven perfumes snow skin and white lotus paste respectively.
I love the aromatic and subtle seven perfumes snow skin, which was made from St Regis’s exclusive Dammann Frères tea from France. And at the centre of the moon cake, the martell cordon bleu cognac truffle. There’s no clashing of flavours because the subtle tea snow skin and white lotus paste seemed to blend in perfectly with the stronger Martell truffle.
Almond snow skin, advocaat egg liqueuer truffle, black sesame paste ($5.25 per piece)
Besides having custard and lotus paste as fillings, Yan Ting also used the fragrant and rich black sesame paste. Under the dainty white snow skin, the black sesame provided a good contrast to the colour of the moon cake.
I felt that almond worked better with black sesame than custard paste. The advocaat egg liqueur truffle was also unique in its own right. Advocaat is a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy, its smooth taste was rather similar to the almond skin. And the liqueur taste wasn’t as robust as the martell cordon bleu cognac truffle.
Bloody mary snow skin with custard paste ($5.25 per piece)
Inspired by the iconic signature cocktail at the original St Regis New York, Yan Ting introduces the first-ever Bloody mary moon cake. The bloody mary snow skin brought the innovation level for moon cakes to another level.
The unique use of bloody mary is worth mentioning, but bloody mary being a mix of vodka and tomato juice, having a stronger taste, covered the custard paste. Personally, I felt that it would be better by combining bloody mary and white lotus paste instead. But I guess Chef Chan Siu Kong and his culinary team would have experience with many different combinations and felt that this is the one that provides a different view.
Seven perfumes snow skin with single yolk and white lotus paste ($6 per piece)
Moon cake purist need not fret; the seven perfume snow skin came closest to the traditional moon cake with your white lotus and egg yolk, the only exception the snow skin. The scented Seven perfumes snow skin gave it an edge over other normal snow skin with white lotus paste.
This was the most ordinary and simple moon cake among the snow skin offered by Yan Ting. The superior quality of the white lotus paste meant that it’s not overly-sweet, smooth and silky. Together with the salty egg yolk, like they say, simple is beautiful.
Almond snow skin with premium bird’s nest and custard paste ($28.5 per piece)
The moon cake with edible gold foil and premium bird’s nest screams extravagant. The gold foil on the top looked magnificence, I’m not sure about the taste of gold though. This among the 6 flavours, is the most expensive at $28.5 per piece, while the rest are all in the $5-8 repertoire.
Manager Mr. Chan mentioned that 1 “jin” of premium bird’s nest goes into making 4 bird’s nest moon cake. And for once, i thought that the use of custard paste worked very well with the whole-strand bird’s nest. The ultimate indulgence, glittering gold and top-grade bird’s nest.
The total cost of this particular box of 8 snow skin moon cake (mix-and-match) comes up to a princely $75.25. According to St Regis, customers usually get a box of 8 of the same moon cake, otherwise they will purchase St Regis Premium gift set at $98. But as this was a moon cake tasting session, I had the mix of the 6 flavours.
Yan Ting’s extensive use of custard meant that if you do not like custard, then your judgement of Yan Ting moon cake will likely be affected. Nevertheless, they uses top-notch lotus paste, and their unique seven perfume snow skin is very aromatic and i will definitely recommend you to try that at least.
The exotic ingredients such as martell cordon bleu cognac truffle, advocaat egg liqueur truffle, and bloody mary fits the price tag of the moon cakes, and if you do not like liqueur, there’s also a range of traditional baked moon cakes, top quality lotus paste and yolk, fragrant and rich black sesame paste, pandan paste, Jin Hua ham and assorted nuts, all based on recipes of Chef Chan.
The moon cake pricing is indeed hefty, but that is the least you can expected coming from St Regis, the glamorous and prestigious 6 star hotel. Yan Ting. The St. Regis moon cakes are available from special retail booths at Change Alley in Raffles Place and the hotel lobby, by visiting Yan Ting restaurant in the hotel or by placing orders over the phone or email.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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HFB is happy to announce that a new Astons Specialities has finally come to TOWN and is located at The Cathay Building!
With its simple wood-based furbishing and its signatured chalkboard indicating the Special of the Day, HFB couldn’t resist himself but be tempted by the promotion screaming WAGYU RIBEYE Grade 5/6 - $38.90nett [including 2 side dishes] and end up ordering it along with Sweet Corn and Coleslaw.
The sweet corn patted with butter was satisfyingly sweet – love it! As for the coleslaw, I would prefer the cut of the veggies be thinner, but otherwise it was normal.
Grilled to a perfect charred on the outside and medium rare on the inside, what sets this wagyu ribeye apart from the normal ribeye is the tenderness of the meat - marbled with monounsaturated fats; the natural juices that gushed out with each chew were such a delight! Also, the lingering tint of sweetness on the palate was pure enjoyment.
But coming back to reality, HFB wasn’t fully satisfied with 200gm of meat, and he was harbouring over his dining partner’s Prime Ribeye X’tra Cut ($16.50nett) that was much thicker and bigger.
Besides nicely cooked to medium rare, what HFB found lacking in the wagyu, was ironically satisfied by the X’tra Cut – the “Beefy” taste!
A personal preference, HFB believes a beef should taste like beef and that was somehow missing from the wagyu, or perhaps he is just not used to eating wagyu.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
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Took part in the recent Prego - Spaghetti & Meatball Eating Challenge. Nestled in Fairmont Hotel Singapore, Prego is a contemporary, chic restaurant that serves hearty authentic Italian fare. The restaurant is huge with high ceilings and easily seats more than a 100 pax - a place ideal for both business dining and large group gatherings.
Although my plate of meatball spaghetti was gobbled down in a space of 4mins and 05secs, HFB was able to taste the very smooth pasta sauce and al dente pasta. The tomato based sauce didn't come across as too heavy - which HFB likes it a lot!
Due to the eating challenge reasons, the meatballs were made slightly harder than usual, so HFB is not going to comment of the texture of the meatballs. But what I like is the "beefy" taste of the meatballs, yet not overwhelming. They charged $12nett for the competition and the actual retail price of the pasta is $25 .
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
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Its been a while since I last stepped into Shangri-La hotel (the last time being the IISS about a year back) and what better way to revisit than a leisurely dim sum meal at its flagship Chinese restaurant, Shang Palace. It definitely helped that Shang Palace was offering a 30% discount on all its dim sum items from now till 31st Dec 2008 for its first dim sum seating (10.30am - 12pm).
Located at lobby level of this highly regarded premium hotel, Shang Palace's recent facelift sees a more contemporary and posh interior with elements of tradition through the usage of red crystal chandeliers amidst flowery wall panels and black wooden door arches. Is it just me or are alot of the Chinese restaurants starting to look alike?
What I found rather ingenious was the tea menu. Instead of the usual book like menu, the names of the various teas were inscribed onto colour coded sticks and placed in a container. Merely a novelty, but at least it beats flipping through pages.
Custard Bun - Fast becoming one of the quintessential items on my dim sum list, the custard bun got the meal off to a great start with its piping hot and sinfully rich custard mixed with sediments of egg yolk, all contained within a soft and slightly chewy bun. I would have liked it better if the custard to bun ratio was lower, ie. decrease the amount of flour or increase the amount of custard. There's the issue of its minute size though.
Shanghai Pork Dumpling - I was utterly disappointed with Shang Palace's rendition of this classic Shanghainese dish. The skin was a tad too thick while the gravy came across as thick and oily. After popping one XLB into my mouth, I couldn't bear to eat another one.
Fried Spring Roll - This spring roll was rather different from the commonplace ones that you get elsewhere. Instead of vegetables, you get egg white and crab meat as a filling. Not that it made much of a difference honestly. The oil taste from the crisp skin overwhelmed everything. Not that egg white or crab meat had much taste to begin with though.
Shark's Fin Dumpling Soup - At $8 a bowl, the fins were ample but of very low quality. I like the fact that there were bits of scallops in the dumpling and that the soup was very light on the palate.
Deep Fried Beancurd Skin Roll with Prawns - The fried beancurd skin roll or 腐皮卷 came stuffed with prawns, spotting a nice crisp exterior that wasn't overly fried. However, it did come across as a tad too oily.
BBQ Pork Custard Bun - This dish was essentially pineapple bun stuffed with char siew (叉燒菠蘿包). I personally liked this quite a bit as the bun was soft and not too sweet while the char siew was plump and juicy. The sweetness from the char siew permeated through, which made for a nice but extremely high in calorie snack.
Siew Mai - Very much like the siew mai I had at Peach Garden, Shang Palace's offering had small chunks of prawns in it as well. There was a noticeable absence of the overwhelming pork taste that plagues alot of siew mais but I did find the salt level a little high.
Scallop & Lobster Roll - I don't quite remember the name of this dish but it tasted to me like Har Gao, which wasn't really what I was expecting. The lobster shreds were minimal, not to mention tasteless and the whole thing was mainly prawn paste (I believe) and a small piece of scallop.
Har Gao - The Har Gao skin was excessively thick and became gross when cold. Not even the crunchy prawn filling could save it after we left a piece to cool for about 10 minutes. However, when eaten hot, its still rather decent overall.
Four Treasure Flour Roll - Fancy names aside, the flour roll aka chee cheong fan, was smooth, silky and not too thick. I could only make out char siew and prawns in the filling so I'm not sure where did the 4 treasures come from. One of the better chee cheong fans I've had in a long long time.
Century Egg Porridge - $10 got me a bowl of congee that's probably three quarters the size of those you get for $3 at food centres. Topped with thin slices of crispy dough fritters, the porridge had a generous amount of chicken shreds and century egg. But I did think that the chef was a little too liberal with the salt.
A disappointment really. The mini egg tarts were, as the name suggests, mini and the pastry was a little too flaky. No buttery undertone that I personally like as well. The custard filling could also have done with more sugar. $4.90 for 3 is really a rip off.
It was really an expensive dim sum experience, at $113 before discount and $87 after a 30% early bird discount for 2 pax. Overall I thought that the dim sum lacked finesse, and pales in comparison to places like Royal China or Yan Ting. Service was good but pacing of the dishes would be much appreciated - all my dishes came in the space of 10 minutes. I highly doubt that I'll be back, not even with the discount.
See all my pictures here.
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Had the extreme good fortune to partake in a food tasting session at Seafood Paradise one day with couple of like minded bloggers. Part of the paradise group which also operates Taste Paradise, this is a well received and critically acclaimed restaurant that has garnered more supporters, business and foodies alike with each passing day. The kind owner and our host also kindly positioned the restaurant as a mid range restaurant that will appeal to a greater clientèle as opposed to being a totally high end eating place.
Located at the swanky new premises right below the Singapore Flyer, Seafood paradise here ushers in a new era of style and taste with a noted increase in clientèle which includes but notwithstanding the rich and the famous. The restaurant itself is ambient, carpeted and boasts a huge wine cellar next to the door. Lighting is bright to mid in the early hours and ambient and dim at night. The private room is open to spenders and groups in access of 10 to 15 people and comes with a floor manager and personalized waiter for on the spot service.
The day kicked off with the usual roasted peanuts which set the mood well. Regardless of the exterior, this place is at its heart, still a chinese restaurant with a twist.
Combination Trio Consisting of Tea-Smoked Sliced Duck ($10) Chilled Jellyfish With Chef's Special sauce ($12) and Yammy Scallop Pie ($14) - Our host has already prepared a nice menu for our sampling pleasure and the first to come is a trio platter that is available separately on the menu. The tea smoked duck was tender with a smokey taste which didn't appeal too much to me while i found the chilled jellyfish to embody just the right springiness and sweetness that is pleasing. The yammy scallop pie tastes just like it would it you wrapped a small layer of yam around scallop and deep fried it. The scallop was fresh and the yam, light.
Australian Lobster Baked In Salted Egg Yolk (Seasonal Price) - Our visit of luxury then led to our next dish, salted egg lobster. Now, this is described as having a silky and velvety taste and true enough, thats exactly how it tasted like. In fact, its difficult to explain what velvety means so i recommend trying it to find out. The salted yoke has a light powdery texture that extends and enhances the natural sweetness of a fresh lobster. An excellent dish for any occasion.
Crispy Chicken With Special Szechuan Sauce ($26) - The special Szechuan sauce in question tastes strongely of vinegar and is only a little bit spicy so its perfect for kids. The deep fried stuff above tastes like kellogs crispy puffs and goes along surprisingly well with the sauce. The chicken is also worth mentioning for being well marinated and roasted. Thus it means that the juices are intact while the skin is as crispy as it should be. The meat is tender and moist and you'll be lapping up its juices with ease.
Homemade Beancurd with Seafood in Claypot ($12 per portion) - Silky smooth and soft tofu that literally melts in your mouth. Add in an equally tempting and ingredient filled seafood claypot and its easy to see why customers order so much of this item.
Sea Bass with Salted Raddish ($4 per 100 gram) - The sea bass is fresh, sweet and simply delectable however i must say that the salted raddish concoction doesn't quite appeal to me. I'm not sure if lard is used but sprinkled amongst the raddish are little chewy bits that got in the way of enjoyment of the sweet meat of the fish.
Honshimeiji Mushrooms with Broccoli ($14) - Fresh Hoshimeiji mushrooms are a delight to eat. Springy and chewy, it's reminiscent of abalone in some ways and this rendition is pretty good. Doing it much justice.
Seafood Supreme Fried Rice ($24) - Their rendition of this done to death fried rice is of the dry variety. This means that the rice are not moist and have a decidedly wok hei like taste to it. Seafood like shrimp, squid and crab meat are plentiful and deliberately placed in the rice to good effect. I loved this with the sauce from their creamy butter crab.
Man Tou Bun ($0.60 each) - The man tou is simply excellent. No 2 ways around it. The pan fried base is hard and contrasts with the rest of the bun which feels as though its deep fried in oil but was not oily. I was pretty amazed. It also emits an excellent aroma that makes the chili and creamy butter sauce alot better then it should be.
Signature Creamy Butter Crab ($3.80 per 100 gram) - Their signature creamy butter immediately reminded me of Mellben's version which is the golden sand crab. This version is more milky, contains less cheese and egg and has a more peppery taste to it then the other rendition. Definitely still a winner since their crab is sizable, fresh and has all the goodness of a good crab.
Popular Chili Crab ($3.80 per 100 gram) - The chili crab is starchy, mildly spicy and has a stronger tangy tomato taste then most outside. As the host also kindly points out, the sauce gets better with each bite. And i can attest that its addictive, perhaps more so than the creamy butter above. No faulting their crab on this though, its still fresh and sweet and still lovable.
For the crabs, if you do get a private room, the host will gladly deshell it for you. Although the scene reminds me of gangster flicks in which the bosses have such service, i'd say its a step in the right direction in terms of service.
Finally, after the stomach expanding meal above, i'm glad to say. Seafood paradise is a great place for a meal. In fact, all lovers of Zhi Ca can gather to try their food. Its pretty darn good. Do watch the price though, even though its a mid range offering, over ordering does cause quite a burn on the pocket. If you have a deep pocket, no worries then. Come along and enjoy the food.
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It was another day when the search for food led us to town, this time, to Centrepoint in Orchard road. It was during the GSS season and we happened to chance upon this newly opened restaurant nestled in an inconspicuous corner of the enhanced Food Wing at Centrepoint. Touted as serving Yakitori (skewed delicacies) cooked in white charcoal, this Japanese restaurant also served cheap Ramen below $10. Me and my gf were the only people who went for the set meal that night.
Special Set Menu for 2 ($45) - Seeing that everyone is having the Ramen here brought shudders to me which i can't quite explain, thus, we opted for the GSS set dinner which seemed like a good deal. @ $45 for 2 people, it falls in the mid range. However, compare it to the actual ala carte menu and its easily double the price if ordered item by item.
Mixed Sashimi - The meal started with the mixed sashimi platter which came with squid, swordfish, salmon and tuna sashimi all in one plate. Everything on the platter was fresh and tasted sweet albeit being in a smaller portion. It still felt like a good value item though.
Tofu - The first grilled item to appear was the grilled tofu and to be honest, it was very average. Tasted slightly dry like dao pok and most of the taste was covered under thick teriyaki sauce.
8 Yakitori White Charcoal Grilled Sticks - The sticks included 2 grill corns, 1 grilled enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon, 1 grilled shittake mushroom, 2 grilled prawns and 1 grilled chicken meat ball. The grilled corn was sweet with a thin layer of butter for a salty finish while the bacon and enoki combination tasted fresh but was a little too difficult to chew through. The mushroom itself was juicy and tasty while the prawns were nicely grilled to a crispy finish with tasty and sweet meat. The chicken meatballs were the least memorable, being salty and overly peppery.
Japanese Organic Momotaro Tomato - This is a wonderful starter actually but was strangely served midway through the meal. The sauce is made up of a concoction that seems to be filled with mustard, peanut sauce, mayonnaise and maybe vegetable oil. The tomato went really well with it too and it should be noted that the tomato itself was firm, juicy, sweet and simply delectable. Something anyone can enjoy.
Chef's Appetiser - The chef's appetiser tastes like vermicelli tossed in thai sweet and sour sauce and is yet another tasty treat that shouldn't be missed.
Pan Seared Foie Gras With Ume Sauce - This sinful item came pretty late as well and to be honest, it tasted pretty well done. The inside were left springy and melts in your mouth while the outer covering of ume (cranberry) sauce enriched its taste on the outside. However, it was oily, very very oily.
Creme Brulee - This creme brulee had the thin layer of sugar burnt just right and tasted good without being too eggy on the inside. I found the vanilla taste just right for this and find it easy to recommend.
Black Sesame Gelato - One taste and you'll find this strong. The sesame taste is present throughout without overwhelming. It was the right sweetness and creamy to the end.
Bill - The total bill for 2 only came up to $57.67 which was great value for a meal with such variety and above average quality.
In the end, i'm glad i tried this place. It serves tasty charcoal grilled Japanese food at bargain prices. I do have gripes about the service and order of food served though. The appetisers did not come first and i had to call at least 3 times before my rice and foie gras was served. It was as though they didn't want to make a loss or something. Still, considering food quality, it definitely is value for menu in this offer. Ala carte and normal prices though...and i probably won't recommend when prices are back to normal.
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