Sunday, July 18, 2010
France - Food and more food
The husband and I were in France and Belgium last month for a friend's wedding and to eat, respectively. More pictures and posts to follow : )
Japanese Snacks
The neighbours of the inlaws went to Japan, and brought back this weird mochi-peanut thing as a souvenir. As with all Japanese snacks, it had very interesting packaging.
Each individually-wrapped parcel came with a pack of what we thought was shoyu.
We tried to follow the instructions - could only refer to the picture.
Under the shoyu was a bed of peanut powder on top of mochi.
You're meant to pour the dark sauce on top of the mochi. It was some sweet sauce that was also a little salty. Very weird.
Interesting, but not very yummy.
Each individually-wrapped parcel came with a pack of what we thought was shoyu.
We tried to follow the instructions - could only refer to the picture.
Under the shoyu was a bed of peanut powder on top of mochi.
You're meant to pour the dark sauce on top of the mochi. It was some sweet sauce that was also a little salty. Very weird.
Interesting, but not very yummy.
Wasabi Kit Kat!
The brother-in-law was back from Tokyo and bought us the most interesting snack - wasabi kit kat!
Mother-in-law's cooking: Roti Jala
After a long hard day at work, we went to the in-law's place for dinner and were most delighted to find that the MIL had made chicken curry and roti jala. Her roti jala is even better than what you can get at restaurants - it's soft, fluffy and best of all, non-oily.
The curry she cooks is amazing. I can try with the same curry powder but it's just not the same.
The sister-in-law made lemongrass jelly.
The curry she cooks is amazing. I can try with the same curry powder but it's just not the same.
The sister-in-law made lemongrass jelly.
Better than those served in restaurants. I am so lucky : )
Mother-in-law's cooking: Japanese
It's no secret that I think I have the best parents-in-law ever. Particularly with a mother-in-law who is blessed with the ability to cook only good food - even her so-called disasters are delicious.
She recently went for a Japanese cooking class and decided to test out her new found skills...we were fortunate enough to be invited. It was an amazing spread : )
She recently went for a Japanese cooking class and decided to test out her new found skills...we were fortunate enough to be invited. It was an amazing spread : )
Her wakame salad with shredded carrots. As good as the ones found in Japanese restaurants. I think I've eaten other versions with thinly sliced taupok and konnyaku, but this was by no means inferior.
Miso soup
Ebi fry and tonkatsu.
There was chawan mushi
An absolutely smooth surface
And steamed Japanese rice
And even picked radish
Ebi fry and tonkatsu.
There was chawan mushi
An absolutely smooth surface
And steamed Japanese rice
And even picked radish
It was a wonderful meal : )
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Da Dong Episode 3
I was passing through Beijing 2 months ago and had some time to kill before taking the red-eye back to Singapore. I always think it is important to have a good meal so that one can be mentally prepared for the physical, emotional and mental discomfort of economy class. Fortunately my travelling companions also shared the same view. And so off we went to the Tuanjiehu branch, which was nearer to the airport.
Deep thinking is better done when there is beer (RMB 15 each) on the table. Thinking about...what to eat.
Deep thinking is better done when there is beer (RMB 15 each) on the table. Thinking about...what to eat.
The place was absolutely packed. No hope of walking right up and getting a table. The last time I went to Da Dong and tried to make a booking on the same day, I was told that the only available table for 2 persons was at 5.30pm. This time, my friend made a booking a few days in advance only to be told that the last booking available was for 6.30pm, no later.
Spicy Chicken Sichuan Style, or 口水鸡 (RMB 32). I love the sesame sauce and chilli oil enough to be able to drink it up.
Spicy Chicken Sichuan Style, or 口水鸡 (RMB 32). I love the sesame sauce and chilli oil enough to be able to drink it up.
No mistaking where you are. What a unique chopstick holder.
Beancurd with Chinese Toon (RMB 42). I have no idea what on earth a Chinese Toon is (and I couldn't read the Chinese script), but I presume it's some spinach-like vegetable. Although it was pretty, this wasn't all that impressive in terms of taste. The veggies were very dry, and it was really hard to pick up the tofu/veg discs using chopsticks. It wasn't really worth the effort.
Beancurd with Chinese Toon (RMB 42). I have no idea what on earth a Chinese Toon is (and I couldn't read the Chinese script), but I presume it's some spinach-like vegetable. Although it was pretty, this wasn't all that impressive in terms of taste. The veggies were very dry, and it was really hard to pick up the tofu/veg discs using chopsticks. It wasn't really worth the effort.
Sauteed cuttlefish with XO Sauce (RMB 68). This was very delicious although a bit too salty.
Good with steamed rice though.
Sauteed diced duck in bird's nest (RMB 12 per serving). It reminded me of the sang choy bow served in Asian restaurants located in obscure Australian suburbs. Not very exciting.
Beancurd with saffron sauce (RMB 68). Now this was seriously good stuff. Warm, soft, rich sauce that was amazing with white steamed slightly glutinous rice.
Chef Dong's braised eggplant (RMB 58). Very nicely arranged.
And extremely tasty, too - with a garlicky dark soy sauce.
Finally the highlight of our meal came - we had ordered one roast duck to be shared among 5 people for RMB 198, with an extra RMB 8 per person for condiments.
Stuff to dip the roast duck in, or to smear on the flour pancake.
Really crispy tasty skin with minimal fat.
烧饼, or roasted bun - a more interesting alternative to the flour pancake.
The skin is meant to be dipped into the sugar. OH SO GOOD.
The food was disappearing fast.
How to eat the roasted bun - stuff it with duck, spring onion and cucumber, plus sauce.
They also give free dessert - lychees, which were super sweet....
And a strawberry granita/sorbet.
Plus chewing gum too!
Good with steamed rice though.
Sauteed diced duck in bird's nest (RMB 12 per serving). It reminded me of the sang choy bow served in Asian restaurants located in obscure Australian suburbs. Not very exciting.
Beancurd with saffron sauce (RMB 68). Now this was seriously good stuff. Warm, soft, rich sauce that was amazing with white steamed slightly glutinous rice.
Chef Dong's braised eggplant (RMB 58). Very nicely arranged.
And extremely tasty, too - with a garlicky dark soy sauce.
Finally the highlight of our meal came - we had ordered one roast duck to be shared among 5 people for RMB 198, with an extra RMB 8 per person for condiments.
Stuff to dip the roast duck in, or to smear on the flour pancake.
Really crispy tasty skin with minimal fat.
烧饼, or roasted bun - a more interesting alternative to the flour pancake.
The skin is meant to be dipped into the sugar. OH SO GOOD.
The food was disappearing fast.
How to eat the roasted bun - stuff it with duck, spring onion and cucumber, plus sauce.
They also give free dessert - lychees, which were super sweet....
And a strawberry granita/sorbet.
Plus chewing gum too!
The bill came up to RMB 736 for 5 persons, including the extra condiments for the roast duck. This was about S$150, or S$30 per person. Again, very reasonable by Singapore standards, but how on earth do the PRCs afford it?!
This visit to Da Dong took place barely 2 weeks after the last time, but I was perfectly happy to stick with the tried and tested. My next goal is to try Made In China which I've been told is much better than Da Dong. I am not sure how that is possible, but it's always worth the effort finding out! Will be flying to Beijing this coming Wednesday so that's locked down in my itinerary.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Kang Shifu Beef Noodles (康师傅牛肉面)
Kang Shifu is a Chinese instant noodle brand that I discovered during one of my trips to China. They have pretty good spicy beef cup noodles that are just right for the hungry cold dark alone nights in the hotel room when there's massive work to be done and no time at all to get something to eat. I was most excited when my Tianjin friend told me that there was a Kang Shifu restaurant near where we were staying at the 天津开发区 along 黄海路. I was even more excited when she offered to bring me there for lunch.
She ordered cold dishes - a staple in Chinese dining. Only the uncultured ones ie. the Singaporeans like us would think to go straight to the point, ie. the noodles.
Beef tendon with chilli (RMB 10)
Cold cucumber (RMB 10)
Black fungus (RMB 6)
She ordered cold dishes - a staple in Chinese dining. Only the uncultured ones ie. the Singaporeans like us would think to go straight to the point, ie. the noodles.
Beef tendon with chilli (RMB 10)
Cold cucumber (RMB 10)
Black fungus (RMB 6)
My Tianjin friend ordered beef on rice. I had absolutely no idea why, particularly since the place was well known for noodles.
I had the standard house noodle (RMB 28) which came with with different beef meat cuts in a hot steaming bowl of warm hearty soup. This was very very delicious and tasty, particularly since I hadn't eaten a morsel on the plane or slept one minute the night before uncomfortably wedged into my economy class seat.
My colleague had the spicy chilli special which came with beef tendon (RMB 24). The soup was similarly very thick, warm and hearty, and the chilli brought out the beefy flavour even more strongly. I regretted not ordering this.
The gang hard at work
We still had room for dessert. There was a peanut-covered shaved ice (RMB 15)...
And a mango/red+green bean/jelly covered ice-kachang wanna be (RMB 22).
I had the standard house noodle (RMB 28) which came with with different beef meat cuts in a hot steaming bowl of warm hearty soup. This was very very delicious and tasty, particularly since I hadn't eaten a morsel on the plane or slept one minute the night before uncomfortably wedged into my economy class seat.
My colleague had the spicy chilli special which came with beef tendon (RMB 24). The soup was similarly very thick, warm and hearty, and the chilli brought out the beefy flavour even more strongly. I regretted not ordering this.
The gang hard at work
We still had room for dessert. There was a peanut-covered shaved ice (RMB 15)...
And a mango/red+green bean/jelly covered ice-kachang wanna be (RMB 22).
The final bill came up to RMB 235 (approx S$50) for 5 people. Great if you're on a Singapore income, but how a PRC local can afford this given that the average annual wage is RMB 30,000, I have absolutely no idea.
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