Monday, February 18, 2013

My Belated V Day Celebration

u r either super rich or super boliao to celebrate v day on the ACTUAL day.
or both.
baby n i went for an impromtu belated v day dinner at this vibrant tapas place at keong siak.
this place is creating a big big hype locally as the chef /owner of this place is the protege of gordon ramsey. n he was under the wing of ferran adria of el buli when the place was still functioning.
given this awesome credentials, hw can we miss the vibe created by this michelin starred chef?
and boy oh boy.
u will regret if u miss this.
 
 
baby studying the menu intensely
kua simi kua?
we were sitted infront of the open kitchen where we can c the chefs working their magic. awesome experience!
the menu. we wanted to order EVERYTHING.
we ordered the chef tasting menu (10 courses) to try out the different dishes.

ham croqueta.deep fried w melting manchego n topped w salty meaty iberico ham. yum yum.
scallop ceviche w radish salsa, soya n yuzu ponzu. v sweet n fresh scallops. v light. wet ur appetite.
this awesome dish is baby's fav. i forgot the name for this. it was one of the special dish they offered for that day. moist n juicy pork was wrapped in the crispy fragrant puff pastry, served w caramalised onion jam. n the greatest part? the foie gras on top. creamy, rich, melt in ur mouth foie gras helped bind the sweetness of the onion, the richness of the pastry n the meatiness of the pork. its like a taste n texture symphony in ur mouth. we nearly rolled our eyes to the back of our heads when we had this. so so so delicious!
raw tuna n jamon salad w aubergine miso, sherry n sesame. again, light n fresh. makes u wan to eat more!
this is also one of their specials for the day. uni n prawn bisque served in the outer shell of the sea urchin. the bisque is actually the "bubbles", while the shell is filled with crabmeat n uni. this is bloody delicious too! the sweetness of the seafood, w tinge of briny-ness from the uni, n the bisque juz binds everything together. the richness of the seafood exploded in our mouth. another master piece.
this was my ultimate favorite of the meal. i've nv tasted anything so yummy before. i am a seafood lover, n this dish had totally conqured my taste buds. totally. this is the squid, gambas n chirozo paella gremolata. the paella is cooked w squid ink w tiny little sweet fresh tender squids n chirozo. to elevate the texture of the dish, the chef topped the rice up w deep fried squids. the crunch of the fried squids acts as an absolute contrast w the soft boiled squid in the rice. n the surprise of this dish is definately the gambas (prawn) that was hidden under the pile of rice. the prawn was so so so so so so fresh n sweet, that we thought we r eating sashimi of botan prawn.super super super tasty! buonissimo!!!!!! 

this is oso one of my personal fav of the nite. marinated beetroot salad w honeycomb burrata n pinenut crumble. baby n i loved burrata, but sometimes felt that burrata is too rich. this definately chg our minds. the burrata is soft, creamy, but light. works so well w e crispy beetroot n sweet pine nuts! i totally love this dish. talking abt good balance of dishes.

beef tartare w spicy ketchup, confit egg yolk, frozen foie gras n toast. the egg yolk is served w the shell. u r supposed to pour out the yolk, mix it w the raw beef, n smear the mixture onto the toast.
again, another good dish, the richness of the egg yolk works well w the sweetness n tinge of raw taste (in a good way) of the beef.
i insisted to order this. grilled chilli w salt n pepper. it is NOT spicy at all. the chilli is SWEET. yumz.

slow cooked egg w bravas sauce, potato n crispy iberico. i simply love iberico! love the meatiness n the saltiness of it. i love it!
 
roast lamb rump, black olive polenta, baby romaine n anchovy chimichurri. i wonder wat kind of polenta i've tasted previously in other places. total crap! the polenta here is soft n creamy n rich. total goodness. n the lamb....omg. it does taste like lamb at all. it tasted like good quality beef! look at the pink meat! juicy n tender. n the romaine. they've roasted the romaine until it became so sweet n fragrant w the buttery sauce. i can eat the whole veg if someone roast it for me like this everytime.
 
can u c the two cones baby's holding? that is our pre-dessert. sangria ice cream!!!! totally cleanse our palate n make up wan to hav more! 
chocolate tea ice cream, sponge sacher, picked cherries n hazelnut praline. rich bitter sweet chocolate w hazelnut praline n rum soaked cherries. wat can possibly go wrong w this?
on the whole, the meal was AWESOME. we loved the food, the vibe n the service of this place. the downside is that no reservations r allowed n there r oni 19 seats in the restaurant. baby n i were so lucky to get a seat as the place was full 10 minutes after we sat down. verdict? one of our best meals ever(at the moment). worth every bloody cent. we will definately b back again!!!!
 
we went for a show at the esplanade on sat. baby was complaining abt her jumbo ulcer (4 in 1).

we went for this grilled spatchcock for 2. flavour wise, its good. included alot of veg too. but the meat is too dry for my liking.....
their crab souffle is good. but after that spatchcock, this is too heavy for us.


baby nearly fell asleep during the shw. sigh. wat to do leh. u need to b well versed in the red chambers in order to understand the performance. personally, i tot the preformance was nt bad. juz felt like denise's solo concert though. acting is superb. a good mordern interpretation of the classic story. made me re-read the novel again.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

CNY 2013

its that time of the yr yet again.
CNY.
totally hate it.
to me its juz a stretch of boring days, staying at hm, wayang here n there.
the best part is oni eating nw. (too old to recv ang bow).
it is a ritual for my family to have awesome pork porridge w century egg and fried mee/bee hoon on the 1st day morning of CNY.

 
mum preparing condiments for the porridge
 
 this is the 3rd bowl of porridge for me (dats y abit watery liao....) w marinated pork, dried oysters, dried scallops and lots of spring onions n chilli!!!
 
 fried bee hoon. pardon me for the poor lighting.
 
 shark's fin. shhhhhh. dun tell the environmentalist......


 chef at work. i am the assistant on this very impt day.
 









 shark's fin soup w loads of crabmeat n pepper. shiok max.
 

 talking abt cny feasting. these r oni my lunch for the 1st day.
 
 nt many shops open during cny, so baby n i went to this italian bistro for lunch during the long hoilday. baked eggplant.so so la.
 our fav pizza w porcini n black truffles.
 crabmeat linguine. this is delicious. i preferred this to the one at valentino. the sauce is lighter here, but it was packed w flavours from the sea. the crabmeat is so fresh n sweet n the pasta is cooked just rite for me. the one at valentino is richer n their ingredients r more premium (they use more cheese n cream n better tomatoes). ah well. its all subjective la. both r good. but i like the flavour of this more. :)
 

 baby likes this version of tiramisu. smooth, creamy n silky. i think it lack the punch from the coffee n alcohol. so so for me.
 
 baby n i wnet to this sushi place at liang court recently to try out their sushi. good! the ingredients r fresh, n its easy on our wallets. cheap n good! (forget ita****, it sux already). these oysters a so fresh n sweet. left a smile on my face after i slurp them into my semi-full stomach. yumz.


 this is a freaky looking sushi. sakura shrimps. v v v fresh n sweet. too fresh for baby. i ate 2 of this at one go. the freshness of the shrimps burst into my mouth. i had a sea of baby prawns swimming in my mouth.
 
the feasting season is yet to b over.
we will have loads of gatherings coming up.
control control. everything is under control.
i hope.