"Sunday" Brunch - Lam's Abalone Noodles

Met with the Sunday Brunch Club again but this time on Christmas morning. We were wondering around pointlessly in the Balestier area when I recalled driving pass Lam’s Abalone Noodles (阿南鲍鱼面) all the time and being intrigued by their prominent soup urn or vat, if you find the former expression inappropriate.


First up was a neatly presented plate of perfectly golden roast pork belly. I thought the skin was a wee bit soggy but still a competent offering overall.


Fishcake was, well, fishcake.


And then the true star of the day was this little crock of abalone soup made from double boiling chicken, pork, abalone, dried scallops and fish maw and then topping off with a few ladles white Chinese stock (白汤) when ready to serve. The secret of the urn was finally revealed when the soup was brought to us. It is charcoal fired from the bottom and within the urn there are shelves where individual soup crocks, filled with the ingredients and a little water, are stacked.


Anyone who says abalone is tasteless will be silenced by the umami that dominate the broth. The milky stock, already very tasty on its own, was able to stand its own ground against the abalone, resulting in a harmonious overlap. The scant abalone cubes in the soup were quite good, tasting almost sweet.



Their noodles was no slouch too, especially their zingy chilli sauce and a liberal sprinkling of lard. The whole piece of dried fish was a unique touch.


Ah Lam certainly warrants repeated visits.

Fish and Chips

If you love the feeling of sweating oil out of your pores even after 2 showers, try making Kilkenny-Battered Cod and Triple-Cooked Chips at home.

Chips are a pain to do. After reading a few sources I settled on following the most tedious, that is, Heston Blumenthal’s recipe. (You can actually see the book in the background in the picture below.) There’s not a whole lot of choice when it comes to potatoes in Singapore so I went with the trusty old Russets.

The general steps were to:
1. Peel, cut and rinse.
2. Steam until tender.
3. Dry.
4. Blanch in 130 °C oil.
5. Dry.
6. Fry in 190 °C oil.



Controlling oil temperature is still a bit of a black art for me but I think my thermometer is reading 5-10 °C too low and my fries took on too much colour in the blanching process. You can see the test fries below, they were pretty good but not exactly mind blowing. The crust was crumbly and crunchy but the interior was too dry and lacked texture of fluffy potatoes I was hoping for. Still, not too bad for a first attempt.


The cod was done in the same batter prescribed in the tempura post a few months back. By the time I done mine (the cook eats last!), the beer has sort of fizzled out but the first few servings had much puffier coating. I was quite proud of my control of the cooking time. The fish came out yielding and moist. Then again, cod is a pretty forgivable fish to cook.


Still, there’s lots of room for improvement so hang in there for Round 2...

Sunday Brunch – Hoe Nam Prawn Noodles and Lao Zhong Zhong Ngoh Hiang

Sunday brunch last week was the celebrated prawn noodles at Hoe Nam. One wonders what drives Hoe Nam to operate their long hours. Dedication to customers? Profit? Insomnia? Either way, the customers still throng in so I suppose it works for everyone.

In what is almost a ritual when eating at Hoe Nam, I went across the street to get some Ngoh Hiang from Lao Zhong Zhong – there will be plenty of time to make the purchase and finish it before the noodles arrive. To quote a HGWer, Lao Zhong Zhong is an institution for Ngoh Hiang. Rightly so, I felt. Arriving in the late morning, we perhaps even had the luxury of fresh oil in the wok and every item turned out light, crisp and not greasy at all. The prawn cracker is my perennial favourite – airy and crunchy. What could be a better starter before a prawn noodle? I also love a prawn cracker when having Hokkien Mee but that’s another story. Special mention also goes out to the Tau Kwa which tasted richly and properly of beans. Their chilli sauce was spot on too.


Now the prawn noodles. Where do I start? The stock, silly! I thought that day’s soup was perfect. It’s not the strongest tasting prawn stock but it contained purely the sweet essence of prawns without its negative elements (i.e. bitter and muddy notes). The silky mouthfeel and big umami was definitely a result of the rapid boiling of gelatinous pork bones – giving the prawns a solid canvas on which to express themselves. A dash of chilli powder and some fresh chilli takes it lofty heights. My friends thought it was too subtle - different strokes. Noodles were excellent too. I always have Kuay Teow Mee as I find the yellow noodles itself to be too cloying. The prawns were a little better than average but still nothing to shout home about but I quite liked the tender pork ribs. Of course, no prawn noodle could go wrong with a sprinkling of fried onions and little flavour bombs of crispy lard on top.


The Sunday Brunch club:

Alexis


Weixun


Victor



And Your's Truly

Imperial Treasure 'Super' Peking Duck

Meh. It was underwhelming. Sure, the skin was shatteringly crispy and everyone promised it to be and delivers a rush of duck oil as fat melts in your mouth. The problem is the taste. I found it offensively gamey and livery, almost muttony, and I am one who loves my foie gras. It is definitely an issue with the quality of the duck rather than the technique. In fact, I thought that the cooking merited an almost perfect score. Perhaps I scored a dud with that particular duck.


We also had some dim sum. I won’t belabour with the details of it but I thought it was quite competitive in terms of pricing and quality. It’s definitely a notch above Crystal Jade but, of course, pales in comparison to specialists like Lei Garden (used to be).

I would return to give the duck another chance, if not, it’s still a decent place to drop by for dim sum. Apologies for the lack of pictures – did not have my camera with me.

A Modest Grill

My modest attempt at some yakitori after inspiration from Kushigin.

Chicken wings turned out to be more satay-style bbq than yakitori. No idea why.


The yaki onigiri turned out quite well - sticky but not mushy rice.


Last up was a flash-grilled prawn in miso soup.

Kushigin 串銀炭火燒

Cuppage Plaza and the adjoining Orchard Plaza are veritable treasure troves of Japanese entertainment. The congregation of Japanese KTVs naturally drew the opening of several authentic restaurants to serve the homesick expats. I have only been and returned several times to Kushigin (串銀炭火燒) and am seldom disappointed with the food. The atmosphere is wonderful too, just last evening we were the only 4 of about 6 locals in a restaurant packed full of Japanese working men (exclusively men, somehow) looking to wind down... on a Monday night.

Surprisingly, the tebasaki (chicken wings) were the first to arrive. They usually take quite long but I guess these were already started before I placed my order. So what’s so special about them? These dainty little fellows are obviously not from the usual breed of chicken. They are devoid of the excess fat under the skin which lends to a satisfying crunch as you bite in and a burst of hot chicken juices and fat embedded between the skin and meat.


Not pictured were the grilled chicken skin and the liver. The liver can be a hit or miss affair. Today, I thought it spent a few seconds too many over the coals. However, when the chef gets the window just right, meltingly tender chicken liver is just as decadent as foie gras. Unfortunately, they ran out of bonjiri (chicken arse) this time. I highly recommend that you abandon your inhibitions and give that arse a chance.

The grilled negi (leek) and negi (eggplant) are also my perennial favourites but they fell somewhat short of their mark today. The leek was a little stringy and the pieces of eggplant were too small for sufficient impact. Still, they remained sweet and juicy. I quite like the balance of flavours by the sharp salty soy and stinging grated ginger.


Asparagus Maki is somewhat of a misnomer, I feel. In this case, the asparagus clearly plays a supporting role behind the smoky and crispy pork belly. Full marks for the meat, but the young asparagus lacked definition.


I forgot to picture the Mini Tomato Maki, scoffing down the little balls of fire as soon as they were set down on the table. Here’s my recommended eating method: pop in mouth and bite softly until the tomato juice just trickles out. Slowly savour until you can stand the heat then chew. Unlike the asparagus, the tomato is unmistakably the star here.

The Shishamo was Ivan’s order but I was surprised by how well it turned out. The last few times I have ordered any fish (an Ayu and a Saba comes to mind), they have been way overcooked for my taste. The Shishamo stood well under the grill and the eggs were quite creamy.



Last up was the slightly unusual but delicious Grilled Fried Tofu. The crunchy smoky crust gives way to smooth tofu. Again the combination of grated ginger and soy works well.


The order in which in your dishes emerge can be hilariously random sometimes but in all, a great start to the week after a weekend struggling with quantum mechanics assignments.

Caution, Sharp Objects!

Gyuto (牛刀) translates to “Cow Sword” in Japanese. It just refers to a western style chef’s knives and since the Caucasians eat alot of beef... you get it. It’s the most versatile weapon in my arsenal of a dozen knives and my current workhorse is the Ichimionji(brand) TKC(line/steel) 240 mm(blade length) Gyuto(shape). I got in from the actual Ichimonji store on Doguya-Suji in Osaka but it only bloomed into its maximum potential when I got home with it. At first it tended to wedge in hard vegetables but after thinning and convexing the edge, it cuts gorgeously. Here’s it freshly sharpened and snapping a free hanging hair into two.

To learn more about kitchen knives, visit Knifeforums.com but be warned - its a terribly addictive habit and you need to have deep pockets.

Pizza

Not my work but my brother's recipe for the dough. Toppings are sliced cherry tomatoes, shiitake 'shrooms, Hungarian salami, buffalo mozzarella and Scarmoza.

Shanghai Hairy Crab

It’s the Shanghai Hairy Crab (大閘蟹) season! Every year my Mom’s friend will gift us a few from a reputable dealer in Shanghai. That’s imperative, for a bad example will have you wondering what’s with all the fuss about this little creature. I eat mine the patient way, getting every bit of meat out and then mix the whole glorious mess in the semi-liquid roe. The taste? Simply incredible – imagine a uni and salted egg yolk custard.

Steak Sandwich

Enfin, les petites vacances! A couple of weeks ago I had a craving for a nice juicy steak sandwich after viewing this article on Serious Eats. It's interesting, but I thought the chipotle mayo didn't add much to the steak. Instead of slicing the steak after grilling I butterflied it thinly to give it more surface to brown.

Bee Hoon stewed in 奶汤

I must admit I completely lifted this dish from Fook Weng restaurant which is helmed by Chef Kang, formerly of the Canton Wok fame. The new place serves up some sublime cuisine too, but sadly on both the occasions I went business was really slow. Their struggle was clearly reflected in how this Bee Hoon soup evolved between the both times I had it. The original version combined poached prawns and scallops with thin sliced asparagus for crunch but when I next had it, they lowered the price and substituted the scallops with an unidentifiable tasteless fish and the asparagus were replaced with broccoli stems. Still, I wish them the very best and hope to return soon.

Start out with a Nai Tang (奶汤) and add some fish racks. I won’t go into detail about the recipe but the whole idea is that under vigorous boiling, the proteins and fat from the meat incorporate into the liquid to make a whitish and slightly creamy stock. Poach the prawns and scallops and set aside. If you are using unshelled prawns then use the peelings to make a flavour boosting prawn stock. For the greens, I used Kailan bone as it was available but it’s flexible. Blanch the Bee Hoon until half cooked and then drain well. This step is important! If you don’t drain the blanching liquid will dilute your lovingly prepared soup. When ready to eat just complete the cooking of the noodles in the stock. Top with shredded and fried dried scallops and with dried flatfish flakes.

Chikuwa Tei

10 days gone without blogging. It doesn’t look very long but it sure feels like it. While I am still sitting on a pile of work, I think I deserve a break after battling through Edbert’s quantum mechanics homework.

Fans of the old Wasabi Tei in Far East Plaza ought to know that Chef Peter Teo has moved to a swanky location in Mohamed Sultan. This new place, Chikuwa Tei (nothing to do with chikus, mind you), couldn’t be more different from the old restaurant. For the uninitiated, Wasabi Tei is (the restaurant still exists but with a different owner) this dumpy little store which sits barely 20 in a U-shaped counter. The chef ran the kitchen singlehandedly with his wife doing the cleaning. This system obviously produces a lot frayed nerves and rarely a meal goes by without Chef Peter making a sharp rebuke to his wife or an indecisive customer. Once, he even had a policy to take order from each person only once! Things have improved in the new place obviously.

Chikuwa Tei still excels in all things raw. We had the Sashimi Platter which had generous slices of salmon, salmon belly, yellowtail, tuna, swordfish, sakura shrimp and a scallop. All were great, especially the swordfish which was firm, springy and bursting with intramuscular fats. On the day we went, the restaurant happened to receive a shipment of deep sea scallops and botan ebi. How could we miss that? The freshly shucked scallops were on a totally different plane in sweetness and texture from the regular ones. To describe it, the fibres of the flesh are still well defined and when you bite into it, it breaks apart almost like the scallop has been blanched ever so rapidly. By the way, did you know that even most sashimi-grade scallops were blast frozen? I cannot vouch for the botan ebi though. It tasted fine but the slimy texture is not to my liking.



The grilled fish (eel, cod and salmon) are all still as good as they used to be. They are boldy grilled to the point where the skin almost burns while not overcooking the flesh. The sweet and intense teriyaki goes well with rice. The thinly sliced raw cabbage salad may be overlooked by some, but to me it remains an enigma how he gets rid of the bitterness and ‘greeness’ of vegetable.

Unfortunately, that’s about as far as the strength of Chikuwa Tei goes. I thought the cod nabe was ho-hum. Worse still was the assorted tempura which came soggy and oily. Obviously, the quality control in the back kitchen still has some way to go.


If I were to return to Chikuwa Teo, I will stick with either of these strategies: stick with sashimi and rice or order one of the grilled fish sets.

Yan Kee Bak Chor Mee

This unassuming store within BK Eating House at Boat Quay is one of my favourite supper spots. Usually we think of Bak Chor Mee with Mee Pok but this place is unique as they do a Mee Sua version as well and that’s what I always order. Mee Sua is a rice noodle that is easy to overcook into a lumpy mess but this place manages to time to cooking so precisely the noodles retains a slight bite while turning just tender enough to absorb the sauce. I find the lighter Mee Sua a welcome deviation from the eggy Mee Pok. The highlight of the sauce is the strong vinegary hit from Chinese black vinegar mixed with a savoury chilli paste and wonderfully aromatic pork lard. The addition of crunchy deep fried ikan bilis (tiny anchovies) is another genius touch.

The Black Sheep Cafe

The Black Sheep Café is a little gem that used to be tucked away in an idyllic corner of Seletar which was great since it was a 2 minutes drive from my place. My brother used to be a regular and I tagged along occasionally but when they moved to Mayo Street, our visits came to a halt. Fast forward a couple of years and I thought it would be nice to drop by.

Chef Ratha still operates a one man show in the kitchen, but this time with a lot more space than his old restaurant. The menu is still pretty much unchanged, sporting well-loved classics like the baked brie and duck confit.

We started by sharing a Baked Brie crusted with pistachio and citrus fruit compote. As usual, the cheese failed to hold its structural integrity (as far as I remember, there was only once when I had this dish at the old place did the cheese maintained its shape). That’s not important, however. The sweet-sour compote offsets the creamy melting cheese to make a very nice appetiser.


Evelyn had the Duck Confit with Apple Rosti. Duck confit can get cloyingly oily and taste preserved but one can tell that this version was made only recently and skilfully fried to rid it of excess oil. The tangy mango relish pairs well with the duck leg and especially well with the crisp skin. I always liked the Apple Rosti but this time I found it slightly limp – perhaps too little oil in the pan.


My snapper came quite awhile later. The thick piece was seared and then finished in the oven in a text-book demonstration of how it’s supposed to be done. The flesh retained its firm texture, juicy interior and most importantly, tasted properly of sea fish.


Desserts were Ratha’s ever present Flourless Chocolate Tart and a Kahlua Soufflé. Both were excellent but a special mention goes out to the soufflé as the most spectacular one I have ever seen.



The Black Sheep Café is highly recommended if you can spare a couple of hours for a meal. Costs about S$50 a person for 3 courses + wine.

Crab Ravioli

This crab ravioli is an idea that’s been floating around in my head for awhile. While I am one who never minds getting my hands and fingers dirty tunnelling for every morsel of crab, there are times you wish somebody has done all the work first. Unfortunately, that somebody still turns out to be me which leads to this ravioli being hands down the most time consuming dish I ever attempted.


I’d never have started on this dish if I didn’t score these amazing crabs at the market. These are some of the best I’ve had in ages – the meat was dense and sweet. All too often, crabs sold nowadays have spent so much time in tanks without room to move that their meat turns watery and cottony. Anyway, steam the crab until done and then pick out the meat. Unshell the claw meat in one glorious chunk. That will be the piece de resistance in the centre of each ravioli. Bind the loose crab meat with minced prawns, scallops and mascarpone then moisten with milk. Figure one medium-large crab to make 6 large ravioli.



For the sauce, toss cherry tomatoes and garlic in salt, pepper and olive oil then roast in a low oven for 1.5 hours. Make a stock from the crab legs. Puree the tomato, garlic and stock and strain very thoroughly.


Making pasta is tricky. None of the recipes I followed were ever exactly right. I guess that our humidity causes the flour to have greater moisture content. Yet, you don’t need to be a chemist to make pasta dough. The dough communicates with you. If it’s crumbly, the dough is too dry and you need to add something wet and if it’s sticky, dust with flour to dry it up. Personally, I use the following ratio: 20g semolina flour, 80g organic unbleached flour, 1 large egg yolk, 2/3 of the large egg white, 1 tsp olive oil, a pinch of saffron steeped in a little warm water and a pinch of salt. This yields enough dough to make 6 large ravioli or 2 small portions of long pasta.


Here, I rolled out the dough with poppy seeds folded in. Cut out 8-10 cm diameter rounds, using a bowl as a guide.


Be sure to fill each ravioli generously. Somehow the stuffing shrinks while cooking.


Cook in rapidly boiling salted water for 4 minutes, drain and serve on a pool of the roasted tomato puree. It’s really nice with a few pieces of crispy chorizo.