台湾2012 (5) - Day 2: 港式饮茶。俪宴会馆

2012年11月4日

从动物园回到住处后不多久妹妹的两个女儿就睡醒了，而Lucius刚好相反，因为在动物园消耗太多体力，一回到住处就倒头大睡。

我们也不打算出门，就窝在住处小息，吃点点心。妹夫特地去买了这家他非常推荐的泡泡茶请我们喝，店面叫“水苍茶弄”。我觉得这家店的泡泡茶真的很不错，连不爱喝泡泡茶的我都爱上了。

趁Lucius在睡觉我们出门到附近的Seven办了预付费电话卡和买了一些饮料（当然是又便宜又好喝的台湾啤酒）。然后我们步行到附近的一家小型超市买Lucius的纸尿片，虽然他已经toilet trained 但是晚上睡觉还是得包尿布。去到超市很多东西都想买但是要克制毕竟才是第二天，结果走一圈出来还是大袋小袋。买了些零食，调味品，即溶饮料，D还买了芭乐（就是我们这里的番石榴）因为台湾的芭乐超好吃的。

台湾2012 (2) – Day 1: 明星开的店。Kiki 餐厅

2012年11月3日

一取得行李，D立即飞奔到洗手间换衣服。

今天的气温偏高，一点也没感觉到要入冬的凉意。

从桃园机场到台北市区只需约45分钟的车程。抵达台北住处我们稍作休息，大概6点钟左右就出发去吃晚餐咯。11月天的台北6点钟就已经黑漆漆了，天气也开始转凉但不会冷。

来台的第一餐我们吃Kiki。Kiki是台湾著名艺人蓝心湄所经营的餐厅，在台北和台中都有分店。餐厅的生意非常火红，所以需要预先定位。我们光顾的是复兴店，主要是卖川菜。

Savour 2012 (Bread making tips and Demo Video from the Global Baker Dean Brettschneider Included)

Sharing some photos taken during SAVOUR, a gourmet event in Singapore.

The SAVOUR concept is a first of its kind in Singapore, with a philosophy to unite the finest food and drink with a plethora of expert master classes, live demonstrations, fun workshops and culinary shopping, in an event that is accessible to all. It was held from 30th March to 1st April 2012 at the F1 Paddock and Pit Building, just beside Singapore Flyer. I was there on 30th March evening.

I have bookmarked three workshops that I would like to attend prior to the event but unfortunately I only managed to attend two which already made me feel very excited. I will share the detail and what I have learnt (including video clips) at the end of this post.

A glance from top

The prominent Singapore Flyer

Hong Kong’s popular street food - egg waffle “gai dan zai”

Do you notice the black colour thingy? It’s black truffle!


This is the final product, serve with a scoop of condensed milk ice-cream (S$9), creation of Bo Innovation, Hong Kong.

Molecular xiao long bao

Molecular xiao long bao by Chef Alvin Leung of Bo Innovation, Hong Kong (S$6).

Borrowing a technique created by el Bulli's Ferran Adria, the liquid soup filling is served without its traditional dough wrapper. Rather, the liquid is encapsulated in a thin gel skin which bursts immediately upon entering your mouth, creating much the same effect as eating a traditional xiao long bao.

It’s about the same size of a typical tangyuan or slightly smaller, the whole thing is ultra smooth and jelly like. The red colour hairline is actually pickled ginger. Eating this is an unique experience to me. In fact this is the first time I tasted molecular food.

Some macarons and sweet treats seen in the Gourmet Market



From a stall selling organic veggies and food in the Gourmet Market 



ThreeSixty Market Place. Can't get enough of food sampling.

ThreeSixty Market Place. I didn't try the Iberico ham because I had tasted it before and I didn't like it.

ThreeSixty Market Place

ThreeSixty Market Place. Do you expect this in a supermarket?

ThreeSixty Market Place must be the largest exibitor in the Gourmet Market. It occupied the entire flour. The set up was almost like the real one at ION, except that there were many booths for food sampling, even with a live band to keep all the visitors entertained.

VIP pavilion

VIP ticket holders got to enjoy free flow of wine, champagne and snack in the pavilion.

My cup of champagne

Now come to the highlights of the two bread making workshops that I attended.

Chef Jason Tan from Vina Artisan Bakery

I attended ARTISAN BREAD MAKING workshop taught by chef Jason Tan. He is young and friendly. In the workshop I got the chance to learn the basics of bread making from him including some hands-on. We were given the recipe of French Baguette.

Here is a video clip of chef Jason Tan demonstrating how to shape a French Baguette.

I ended my day by attending another workshop - SECRET RECIPES OF THE GLOBAL BAKER taught by chef Dean Brettschneider. Chef Dean is founder and co owner of the global bakery chain Baker & Cook in Singapore. Coincidentally, Baker & Cook was featured in the local newspaper (My Paper) that day.

The Global Baker Dean Brettschneider

Chef Dean is very charming and humorous in person (I think he looks better in person too :P).

Here is a short video clip of chef Dean demonstrating how to knead bread dough by hand.

In the video Chef Dean is kneading 1kg of flour. His hands motion helps to incorporate air into the dough and air is one of the key factors for the yeast to grow. This was the only step he followed throughout the kneading process. Look simple, isn't it?

Bread made by Chef Dean

The bread was not fully cooked art the end of the session. So I didn’t get the chance to taste it.

Dressed up pecan pie

Notice the beautiful caramel deco on top? Chef Dean showed us how it was done. He simply took spoonful of caramel and dripped it on the back of a ladle. The beautiful deco was then done in no time.

Often we do not know how to drop cream nicely on serving plate expect using a piping bag. The secret is to warm the spoon (just dip in warm water) before scooping the cream. See how the scoop of cream turns out in the picture.

Below are some tips of bread making I learnt from both workshops that I would like to share with you: -

1) The secret of easy and effective kneading by hand is to rest for 30-45 seconds several times during the kneading process. This allows both the baker and the elastic flour protein to relax a little before further kneading.

2) At the moulding stage, use both hands to roll the bread dough on tabletop in circular motion. The friction helps to “seal” the bottom of the dough and you will get a smooth round dough.

3) The correct way of punching after first proofing. After seeing the demonstration from chef Dean I realized I had done it wrongly all the while. When recipe writes punch down, we don’t really punch the dough. Instead, we should use both hands to press down the dough gently and fold in the four sides.

4) Singapore weather is perfect for proofing. Thus, don’t be tempted to create a warm environment to fasten the proofing process. It’s okay to let it proof for longer time. Importantly is to observe the dough. I like to put my dough in the oven beside a cup of warm water during second proofing; I should not do that next time.

5) Artisan bread needs to have steam during baking in order to get crispy and thin crust. Both chefs suggested to spray water right after the bread dough is sent into the oven. Chef Dean just poured some water from his mineral water bottle during the live demo. Chef Jason also suggested putting some ices in the oven. When the ices start to melt, they create steam.

The entrance ticket

The ticket was sponsored by Bosch. Thanks Bosch for the Savour experience. It was a long story. To cut it short, I was being stopped at the entrance because I brought an expired ticket unknowingly. It was not my fault but I also got to blame myself for being too careless by not checking the tickets individually. Luckily, Min of Bosch came and “rescued” me from the awkward situation and even passed me the VIP ticket.

Bosch is one of the main sponsors of Savour. Too bad I didn’t manage to attend any of the Bosch cooking class that day as the class schedule clashed with the bread making workshop.

Savour official website:
http://www.savour.sg/

11.11.11的约定 @ Tonkatsu by Ma Maison

11.11.11

这天我和D请了半天假，有了孩子后难得偷得浮生半日闲，可以慢慢享用午餐。D建议吃日式自助餐但是我不想在休闲的午后还要忙碌的招呼自己吃东西，所以自助餐out，再加上我不喜欢吃生鱼片，所以日式自助餐对我来说吸引力不大。

就顺着D想吃日本餐的意愿，我建议到开张不久的Tonkatsu by Ma Maison 吃日式猪排去。因为喜欢Ma Maison的环境和食物所以也想试试它旗下的其他餐厅。

 

 

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison 外观。餐厅是开放式的。

来这里当然要是点主打的日式炸猪扒，服务周到的日籍女服务生向我们介绍午餐套餐，最低价格S$18.80++，比我想像中便宜。在点餐的同时服务生已自动为我们送上各一杯冻茶（茶不另收费）。

我们选择了日式咖哩炸猪排，套餐包括前菜，pickles，包菜丝沙拉和miso soup。

因为不想两份都点肉类，另外一份套餐我们点了炸虾排（Ebi Katsu）。

 

前菜 – 白萝卜

服务生让我们加上酱油来吃，这个我们不大会欣赏，吃了一口就不吃了。

日式咖哩炸猪排套餐（S$21.80++） 

咖哩是另外放的，所以不担心猪排酥脆的外皮沾上咖哩汁变软。炸猪排吃起来外皮非常的酥但是却一点也不油腻，喜欢它的厚度，肉质不软不硬刚刚好。

之前服务生向我们推荐了特级的炸猪排，分别是黑猪肉和来自匈牙利（Hungary）的特种猪，这两种猪肉套餐的价格比普通级别贵约35%，因为是第一次光顾还不知道食物的素质，所以我们只点了普通的炸猪排，我跟D说下次光顾黑猪和匈牙利猪我们各来一份。

 

日式炸虾排套餐（S$24.80++）

和炸猪排比起来我觉得这个比较油腻，一样是外酥但是里头却太软了，吃不到虾子的爽口和鲜美。所以，到这里我不建议点这道。

Multi-grain rice

在这里用餐米饭可以选择一般的白饭或是multi-grain rice，不另收费。值得一提的是这里的米饭很好吃，还是选用日本米吧，现在很多日本餐厅提供的米饭已经不是正宗的日本米，其中还包括一些中上档次的餐厅。

 

 

很有诚意，料多多的miso soup

这个和一般随餐附送的miso soup很不同，味道很香浓好喝，虽然有点咸，但是miso soup有不咸的吗？还要，原来miso soup还能refill，服务生看到我们的汤喝完后很贴心的走来问我们还要来多一碗吗，D叫了多一碗，而我已经很饱了，想喝也喝不下了。

沾炸猪排的甜酱和一点也不辣的辣酱。很喜欢装酱料的容器。

那是一个下雨的周日午后，我们的座位又是餐厅比较少人的一角，听着怀旧英文圣诞歌曲，慢慢享用午餐，渡过了一个休闲宁静的下午。总的来说这里不管食物，服务和用餐环境都很不错，而且价格也算大众化，我会想再次光顾。

两人咖啡

当天晚上等Lucius睡着后，我泡了咖啡，准备了个小蛋糕和草莓，准备两人撑抬脚和交换结婚周年礼物。

前面是D送我的礼物，后面是我送给D的礼物。我的礼物是自己挑选的所有没有什么惊喜。几天前我就把礼物拿给D但他说要等到当天晚上才打开。

这就是我送给D的神秘礼物，知道他喝的cinnamon tea快完了，所以为特别买了这款带有cinnamon的茶叶让他试试，希望他会喜欢。

转眼四年就这样过去了。四年来当然不是天天艳阳天，总有些风风雨雨打雷闪电，不管过程，能够做到风雨同路，携手共进才是最重要的。期待接下来很多个四年。。。

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison
333A Orchard Road
#02-35/36 Mandarin Gallery S238897
Tel: 67334541
Website:
http://www.facebook.com/mamaisonsg#!/mamaisonsg?sk=info
http://www.ma-maison.co.jp
Opening Hours:
Mon to Fri: 11:00 - 15:00
Mon to Fri: 17:00 - 22:00
Sat, Sun & PH: 11:00 - 22:00
Mon-Fri, 3-5pm: Drinks & Desserts only
Nearest MRT: Somerset



SMRT Circle Line Makan Session with ieatishootipost

I attended a makan session hosted by my favourite food blogger, Dr. Leslie Tay from ieatisooripost last Saturday. Thanks to SMRT and Nuffnang for the invitation.

In celebration of the Circle Line network completion, SMRT is organizing Free Makan Session with famous local bloggers to discover the simplest, tastiest local delights that can be found along the SMRT Circle Line stations. The one I attended was the second session; there are four more to go. So if you are keen to be part of the subsequent makan sessions, register yourself today at http://www.nuffnang.com.sg/smrt-makan-session/.

To find out more about SMRT Circle Line network and attractions around the Circle Line, please visit http://www.smrt.com.sg/trains/circle_line_attractions.asp . Personally I love Circle Line, it really brings a lot of conveniences to my daily life by shortening my travelling time to work 20 minutes a day and I can now visit my favourite chilled out places such as Holland Village, Esplanade and Botanic Garden conveniently.

Our destination that day was Westlake, a Chinese restaurant recommended by ieatishootipost, it was within 5 minutes walk from Farrer Road mrt station (CC20).

Here are some pictures taken on that day. I will be telling you my top 3 picks of the dishes I had tasted. Oh ya, you won’t be able to see me in any of the pictures below because I still prefer to hide inside my kitchen. :P

 Exterior of the restaurant.

Interior of the restaurant, the theme is green.

 We were offered hot tea and peanuts upon arrival.

This phone belongs to Dr. Leslie, he was trying to show me his new baby – ieat hawker, an App that designed to help you find Singapore’s Best Hawker fare at the flick of a finger. Read here if you want to find out more about this App.

Dr. Leslie in action.

By the way, Dr. Leslie is very friendly, humorous and approachable. He is also very good in 搞气氛，very fast he already 打成一片with everyone.

Chee Cheong Fun

Popiah

Sichuan Hot and Sour Soup

Guo Tie (fried dumplings)

This picture nice right? Dr Leslie taught us how to capture the Guo Tie. This is the best I could do with my iPhone camera. I was so regretted to leave my camera at home as I never expect Dr. Leslie is so generous to give us free food photography tutorial.

Sambal French Beans

Hot Plate Tofu

Yum Ring

 Kong Bak Pau

Kung Bao Chicken

Ngoh Hiang (Five-spice meat roll)

Dr. Leslie taught us how to make used of the lighting to capture the crispiness of the skin.

Red Bean Pancake

Dr. Leslie showing us his popular book “The End of Char Kway Teow”.

We had a Q&A session, 5 participants who got the most answers correct would win this book. Needless to say I didn’t win, else I will be showing my book here with Dr. Leslie’s autograph.

Dr. Leslie and the owner of Westlake.

Ok. Now let me tell you my top 3 picks of the day.

1. Kong Bak Pau
This is the restaurant’s signature dish, a must-have. I first came to know about Westlake Kong Bak Pau in 2006. I had it at a kiosk (with some seats) inside OG People’s Park, recommended by my colleague. It is now no longer available in OG. I would not elaborate how nice it tasted, there is a detailed review and story behind the Kong Bak Pau in ieatishootipost, go ahead and read that.

2. Kung Bao Chicken
The sauce is heavenly and the chicken bites are very tender and juicy, this is so far the best Kung Bao Chicken I had tasted.

3. Sichuan Hot and Sour Soup
Very flavourful and appetizing. The balance and “hot” and “sour” is just right. I didn’t feel thirsty at all after having it, this shows that the wonderful taste doesn’t come from MSG.

I had a wonderful afternoon with Dr. Leslie, new friends I met in the event and Nuffnang crew. I really enjoyed myself. If you ever read this, thank you very much folks!



Lastly, this is a small box of colour pencils found in the goodies bag given by SMRT. I find them cute and lovely. Don’t you think so?

Westlake

Blk 4 Queen's Road #02-139
Singapore 260004
Tel: 6474 7283/ 64711 441
Fax: 6474 0668
Opening hours: 11.00am - 2.30pm / 6.00pm - 10.00pm
Website: www.westlake.com.sg