A Birthday Gift to Myself

After a year and a half of resistance, I finally broke down and bought from Korin.com the Suisin Hayate Yanagi-ba on the final days of the Winter Sale. This knife was forged by Master Smith Keijiro Doi “under the lowest possible temperature so that there is minimal carbon migration from the hagane (cutting edge) to the jigane (cladding)”. It is said that the success rate of this type of forging is southwards of 20%. Such is the quality of his work that even partially successful blades, sold under the stamp of “Hayate Light”, still command over US$400. Doi-san has been forging knives since 1946. Here’s a mesmerizing video of his manufacturing process from Chef's Armoury:

I was, in fact, yearning not only for the Hayate but the Shiro-Hayate. The difference being that the Hayate uses Hitachi Blue #2 steel – a tougher alloyed steel while the Shiro-Hayate employs the White #1 – a pure carbon steel that attains unparalleled sharpness. Sadly, Doi-san has stopped working with White #1 a few years back due to his declining eyesight.





I had bought the knife without any intention of using it – at least until I have the skills to justify it. Right now, it will remain as a drawer queen. Here’s it with my other drawer queen, also from Suisin, a Gin #3 (stain-resistant) Damascus Funayuki.

Taste Paradise @ Ion Orchard

I don’t really enjoy writing negative reports, so I am going to be brief.

Carrot Cake in XO sauce – Okay. Savoury but I prefer it when the shredded radish shows up ocassionally in the carrot cake.

Peking Duck – Drowned in sweet sauce. Perhaps we should have wrapped the crêpes by ourselves.

Shark’s Fin in Stone Pot – Flavourful chicken stock ruined by heavy-handedness with cornstarch. Generous with the fins, at least.

Bamboo Clams – Scrawny.

Eggplant in Claypot – Over salted.

Braised Beehoon – Okay.

Service – Disordered and rushed.

Conclusion – For $65 a person, avoid!

Sole Pomodoro – Wood-fired Pizzas

I read about Sole Pomodoro from ieatishootipost a couple of months back. That was close to the start of exams and immediately followed by the holiday season. So, for 2 whole months, I could only simmer in my anticipation for their pies. Therefore, it was only natural that on the first possible weekend, I headed straight there with the Sunday Brunch Club.

Unlike other wood-fired pizzerias in Singapore which uses partially gas-powered ovens, Sole Pomodoro distinguishes itself by using a fully wood-fired oven. It’s actually possible to see the chef having to top up the fuel rather frequently – the wood burns itself out much quicker than charcoal.


We shared 4 pizzas and most memorable were the Calzone Tradionalle and the Buffala. I thought the former would have been perfect as a hearty and satisfying breakfast pizza. I couldn’t recall what the exact toppings were but the egg inside, almost like a sauce, binded all the elements well. The top crust was charred but still tender, airy and aromatic – the Neapolitan style, according to literature. However, if I were to be picky about it, I would say that the crust on the underside was a touch too blonde for my liking.


Although I thought that the Margherita is supposed to be topped with buffalo mozzarella, Sole Pomodoro makes an apparent distinction between a Margherita (with basil) and a Buffala (without basil but with buffalo mozzarella). Presented with this difficult choice, I was keener to try out the latter. The buffalo mozzarella definitely set itself apart with a creamier texture and an almost yoghurt-like taste. It quite rightly demanded a solo performance on the pizza stage.



Towards the end, we were quite stuffed but still, we couldn’t resist a sampling of their Tiramisu. It was like eating a cloud.

Serious Beef Cheek Ragù Bolognese

"To most people outside Italy, Bolognese is lowly refectoire fare... But in Bologna, one of Italy's most prestigious cities for food, ragù bolognese is a legendary dish that is not only part, but defines the city's identity... Two legendary Bologna home chefs, sisters Margherita and Valeria Simili, have become the most respected authority on all things related to Bolognese pasta. In their book 'Sfida al Matterello', a manual in Italian to teach the principles of homemade pasta, la sfoglia bolognese, there is a whole chapter about making ragù. It is called 'His Majesty the Ragù'.” – FXcusine.com

Here’s my take on the recipe. To take a step further, I’ve read that the original Bolognese contained shredded, not minced meat so I used cubes of beef cheeks. This kicks the ass of any meat sauce pasta I have ever eaten.


(edit) Supplement photos:

Iron Chef Recipes – Cabbage, Scallops and Foie Gras Risotto

Iron Chef is the greatest culinary show ever produced. Even till this day, I can think of no cooking programme that approaches close to it the skills and techniques you can pick up by watching battles between real chefs using all the imaginable tricks up their sleeves to win. Unlike in scripted programmes where everything is nice and easy and the results are always perfect, Iron Chef is raw, every mistake and miscalculation is immediately apparent. Also to its benefit is that Iron Chef predates the age of avant garde molecular cuisine which I am apathetic towards. I first got interested in cuisine watching Iron Chef and I cannot imagine a better start. Visit ironcheffans.info to download episodes.

Here is a rough recreation of Challenger Hiromi Yamada’s dish in Battle Cabbage (217) – a Cabbage, Scallops and Foie Gras Risotto.


The risotto I made this time is one of my best so far after many experiments. Here’s what I learnt:
1. Use more onions that you think you need, they add sweetness and lightness to the risotto.
2. Cook slowly on low heat and stir gently. To diffuse the heat evenly, the pot was placed over a thick carbon steel pan. Towards the end, check the doneness frequently and remove just before al dente.
3. Don’t be shy with the seasoning. Also, for risotto I tend to use white pepper instead of black.
4. For a wetter risotto, add more stock and then thicken with cream/mascarpone cheese. I find that the rice alone has insufficient starch to make a creamy but wet (as in the liquid to rice ratio) risotto.
With these tricks, combined with the basic techniques which are left as an exercise to the reader (inside joke, by the way) to discover, you can apply it to any variation of risotto dishes.


The scallops are large frozen Hokkaido ones which can be found at the more upscale supermarkets. They were done in a ghetto sous vide (under vacuum) style. I never thought that I would have the need to sous vide anything until my repeated frustrations with controlling the doneness of scallops. The molluscs were bagged in a small ziplock and immersed in a large insulated mug of water at 56 ˚C (some people go as low as 50 ˚C ) for 30 minutes. Check out the results for yourself.

Brocollini Duo

Here's a duo of brocollini efforts. First up is a simple breakfast of lengths of brocollini and woodwillow mushrooms pan roasted with a soft boiled egg for dipping on the side.


The next day, I made a risotto with the the stem diced and mixed in the rice, the heads roasted and a few whittles of raw brocollini stem. For texture, there were parmesan chips and crisp pancetta.