Chef knows best.

If you want late night eats in any city the best way to get the good stuff is find the hospitality hang outs.

A couple of our friends having just finished work were heading out for a little something something and we tagged along.... The little something in this case is pig organ soup. It's not much to look at but swimming within it's murky depths is part or parts from every internal piece of the noble pig. With it's fragrant punchy peppery flavor it's a perfect just finished-the-grind late night snack. Looking around a lot of others think so too.



Side it up with a plate of braised pig feet and your good to go.



Ming fa fish ball
5 Chinatown food street
Singapore


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Checking in on an old friend, Tian Tian, Singapore

On our recent trip back to Singapore, Tian Tian Hainese chicken at Maxwell food centre was on our to-eat list. We had visited previously, and were well impressed with their chicken rice.. the finest example we have found of this classic dish. We wanted to check in on this old friend, the succulent boiled chicken, plump slices sitting on a fragrant rice with a bowl of the peppered cooking broth.



Our friend is doing well, and still as delicious as ever. All washed down with a glass of fresh sugarcane juice from the stall across the way. We will see you both next time we are in Singapore!

Tian Tian Hiananese Chicken Rice
Stall no. 10
Maxwell Food Center
11 S Bridge Road, Singapore 058656

11am - 8pm, closed Monday


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Yan Ting, St Regis, Singapore

The St Regis on the top of Orchard road is fancy, not your regular fancy but over the top outta this world fancy. We walk into the huge marble lined foyer and wonder if we can really be in the right place. Walked by one doorman to the lift and by a lift attendant to the door of the restaurant it's a far cry from the hawker centres we eat most of our lunch time meals at. We're at Yan Ting, the Regis's Chinese restaurant, rumor on the street is that the restaurant serves some of the best dim sum in town and at very reasonable prices.

As we're seated the customary tea is brought to the table, no chipped rubber capped teapot today though, the teapot is beautiful china inlaid with gold leaf as are the plates and bowls. There's also not the usual procession of trolleys swing past your table by angry old woman ignoring you as you try to order rather a menu to order from and to our surprise the rumors are correct the dim sum is of regular pricing. We rattle off an order and sit back to soak in our opulent surrounding while we wait.



It's not long before the food arrives. Bbq pork pies are one of our yum cha standards and these are exceptional, the pastry crisp and flaky, the pork not too sweet.



The carrot cake is one of my all time favorites, it has no carrots, it's not really a cake and it's all delicious, wok fried with a touch of xo sauce, bean sprouts and garlic sprouts. It has great texture and the kiss of the wok smokiness. Awesome.



Beautiful vegetable dumplings were the next to the table. Cleverly folded to display three small square of different colored peppers. The dumplings were clean and fresh tasting.



Three sui mai with the orange dash of crab roe, plump and firm bursting with sweet pork and crab flavor.



Soup dumplings always present a challenge, I know that they're filled with piping liquid yet I'm always surprised when I burn myself not waiting for the soup to cool a little. This time was no different.



I don't think you can go wrong with black vinegar braised pork belly, sweet sour and unctuous swimming along side shiitake mushrooms and egg.



At yum cha unless you happen to be siting right next to the kitchen by the time the fried goodies get to you they are often soft and not as awesome as the could be. Not this time. Salt and pepper white bait straight from the fryer, paused long enough to get a nice heavy shake of seasoning.Each one a crispy crunchy delight.



I've played around with making steamed pork bun from time to time and the one thing you'll never find in any recipe or that not many people will tell you is the secret to that spectacularly fluffy soft white bun. I don't know if I'm breaking some secret unwritten code here of not but the secret is ammonia. Ammonia was actually one of the first rising agents used by bakers. As long as the bread is not to large the ammonia flavor and smell evaporate during cooking. In the case if the pork bun its what make it so white and fluffy. You can usually buy cooking ammonia in any decent Chinese grocery. But enough history for one day. These buns were good.



To finish up we have our traditional yum cha ender of egg tarts. These were delicious but a touch on the small side. I think we should of had two each.



Yan Ting's dim sum stepped up to the mark giving us as good as we've had anywhere. While the dim sum cost was no more than the usual the twenty dollar bottle of mineral water reminded us of where we were, still you can always just have the bottomless tea, and to sit in such fine surrounds was lovely.

Yan Ting

The St. Regis Singapore
29 Tanglin Road
Singapore 247911
Phone: (65) 6506 6888


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Killiney Kopitiam, Singapore

Killiney Kopitiam is serious. It's serious about it's coffee which is a blend of Columbian arabica beans and Indonesian robusta beans. It's also very serious about it's kaya jam, which is made daily in the store. Kaya is as synonymous with Singapore eating, as Killiney Kopitiam is synonymous with Kaya.



This humble little kopitiams beginnings back in 1919 were as a little shop serving well brewed coffee & tea, with charcoal grilled kaya toast. Then a gentlemen by the name of Mr Woon, a regular to the shop, loved it so much he bought it in 1993 and renamed it Killiney Kopitiam. We both start with a kaya and coffee.



The toast is nicely grilled, while still being soft on the inside. The light green kaya is full of coconut flavor and the sweetness being mellowed by the slices of cold butter. The eggs at Killiney are small, and extremely fresh. The eggs come out in their shell with a small bowl to crack them into. There's something quite satisfying of cracking these soft eggs into the bowl, the way they cascade from the shell, with their big, bright orange yolks. We have a little of the dark soy, and some white pepper on top. I like to dip my toast into the egg, then savor any remains with a small spoon (or just order more toast!).

The Killiney menu today has expanded, with a range of local delicacies. We also try the little Nasi Lemak parcels. We see a stream of these going out the door with take-away coffees, what an awesome fast-food breakfast. Little banana leaf parcels filled with aromatic steamed coconut rice, dried fishies and sambal.



We also try the chicken curry with French bread. This is an old breakfast classic, that Mr Woon is trying to revive. Chunks of bone-in chicken leg are simmered in a rich curry broth, with some potatoes adding a nice bit of body. There is then some crusty French bread on the side, which we just tear off and dip into the broth. Definitely not a light start to the day, but a damn fine start!



We finish off with a couple of iced-milo drinks. Light and frothy, over loads of ice. Seems to ease the tummy just nicely ...

Killiney Kopi Tiam
67 Killiney Road
Singapore 239525
T: 6734 9648


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Worlds apart; Kway Teow at Zion Road, Singapore

So, our Spring holiday last year started with 5 weeks of travels around Spain and Morocco. This was the first time we had done any extensive traveling around Europe, and the food and culture was infectious. The casual, relaxed days that revolve around eating and drinking and of course the afternoon Siesta...

It was then we find ourselves in Singapore for a few days before heading to Thailand. Immediately upon arrival it is clear we are Worlds apart. There are a lot more buildings, tall ones and it seems quite sterile (especially after Morocco). The humidity hangs in the air. The taxi driver speaks English, la. And we are ready for some Hawker Food. We make our way to the Zion Road Riverside Food Centre. It's so different to what we have been doing for the past 5 weeks ... Plastic tables, open air space, fans spinning around and a little more urgency here.



It's certainly not a long, relaxed lunch with alcohol and coffee. It's a quick plate of noodles. Kway Teow noodles, from stall no. 18 to be precise.



We also have a plate of stir-fried greens, which are the most vibrant green we've seen in a while. The noodles have pieces of fish cake, clams, beansprouts and egg in a rich brown sauce while still remaining somewhat light. The greens simply dressed with oyster sauce.



Now, it may be jetlag, but we're off for a Siesta;)

Zion Riverside Food Centre Stall no. 18
70 Zion Rd
S247792 Singapore
12-3pm and 6:30-11pm
Closed alternate Mondays


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Cause we can ..

What do you do when you have a five hour stop over in Singapore on your way somewhere? You could hang around in the airport. Changi is probably the best airport in the world, 24 hour dining (actual real food too), free internet, free beds and massage chairs, and a movie room, it's not a bad place to be. But if your us (and we are) you jump in a cab and head straight to No Signboard chill crab restaurant in the red light district of Geylang.

Don't get me wrong we love living in Japan, but as chilli lovers and also with a strong liking for south east Asia, after a year the food can tend to seem to smother you in overwhelming mildness and perfection in subtlety. The immigration officials thought this was the best reason for coming to Singapore they had heard all day. So into a cab and across town, with a running commentary from the driver (love Singaporean taxi drivers) about how Geylang No Signboard was the best now the chef had moved from the Eastcoast seafood center, and had we tried King of crab yet, and so on.

Jumped out of the cab and woah! it's like thirty something degrees, makes a change from the minus ten we were in this morning. We grab a seat and order. One chilli crab, sambal Kangkong, sign board eggplant and 8 Mantou (fried buns) a large tiger beer and an iced tea please. With traditional Chinese restaurant aplomb a plate of peanuts, chilli sauce and pickled green chilli were smacked down in front of us.

Five minutes later the food arrived, Five minutes after that, sweat was dripping from our foreheads, our lips were burning, our fingers were covered in chilli sauce and we both had a ridiculous smile from ear to ear. Bliss. The crab was as good as any Singaporean chilli crab we had had before, the crab dissmembered and sitting in a pool of rich tangy sauce.



The kangkong (water spinach) was fantastic, wok fried with sambal it was smokey, with great chilli and flecks of belacan (shrimp paste). It was every thing we were missing about the south east in one bite.



The eggplant fried and tossed with a chili bean paste fresh chilli and green onion.



It's all quite hard to remember being so far into the throws of ecsacty. I do recall sitting back content with a cold beer in the sweltering humidity and thinking "this is so good, why don't we live here again?"



Still can't contemplate to long, got to get back to the plane ... We're off to SPAIN! Sweet.

No Signboard Seafood
414 Geylang Road
Geylang, Singapore
8423415

Brown Sugar, Singapore

Well we're flying out this afternoon, time to say good-bye Singapore. But before we go I'm sure we have time for one more flirt with your gastronomic temptations... Today it's a burger we're after, not just any burger mind you, but a hand minced wagyu beef burger with truffle and foie gras. The creme de la creme of burgers. This beast is said to live at Brown Sugar a small cafe bistro hidden away in the StarDuS Clubhouse on River Valley road. It's a nice modern setting of only 30 seats or so, again we had wandered in with no booking but had we arrived 10 minutes later we would have wished we had one, the place filled up in as long as it took to read the menu and look back up.

They do a great deal for lunch S$27 for three courses with a couple of choices for each....bargain! But we were here for the burger though so two of your finest please. Complementary bread while you wait is delicious.


Then it arrives a glorious stack of bun, beef and foie gras topped with truffle.. the top of the bun tucked on the side unable to balance. The chips on the side were perfect, golden crispy and salted just so, the salad nicely dressed needed to cut the burgers richness.

It takes a little while to make (hand cut to order and all) but when you take your first bite you can taste the love and the foie gras and the truffle and the glorious wagyu. Joy!

Having just eaten our weeks fat intake allowance we share a dessert, Sticky date pudding with vanilla ice cream. Not a big fan of the old sticky date I must say, it has a tendency to be too heavy or lingering with bicarb, but this was again a joy to eat. Rich and moist with caramel sauce and roasted walnuts and a wicked ice cream, it put my faith back in the pud again.

Now if we can just get up we should be able to make the plane................

Brown Sugar
227 River Vally road
StarDuS Clubhouse
Open Tuesday - Saturday Lunch and Dinner
Sunday Brunch 10am - 4pm

Sage, the Restaurant, Singapore

Of all the much lauded restaurants in Singapore, Sage wasn't one we had heard of...now it's one we will never forget! Tucked away unobtrusively on Mohamed Sultan road not much is given up from the street that should you enter, your mouth, mind and soul will be thanking you for weeks to come. We had no booking, fortunately there was a spare table for two, next time we think booking would be advisable it seems we have joined a not so small, not so secretive club all enthralled with the masterful show put on by the crew from Sage.

With so many great choices we were only left with one...the degustation. And so with that decided we were off.

An amuse of salmon tartare with truffled green pea veloute set the tone for the night ... each spoonful a mouthful of flavor and contrasting textures.

Mille-feuille of smoked duck breast with pickled red beet, sorbet of grapes and hazelnut-tarragon dressing. The sorbet melting to provide a fantastic dressing for the nicely smoked duck and just crunchy beets.

Pan seared foie gras on a pear and walnut chutney, muscat poached fig with spiced port glaze. The foie gras cooked just so, it's rich creaminess off set by the poached fig and an amazing chutney the spiced port glaze a clever switch from the balsamic reduction oft seen around.

Seared scallop on Belgium endive gratin with avruga caviar, sauce Normandy and parmigiano lace, a single fat scallop sitting a top the endive the caviar serving to draw the dish back from being overwhelmed by the rich sauce. Amazing!

Roasted quail breast and leg confit with butter cream gnocchi on tomato fondue, prosciutto and parmigiano sauce. The quail sitting in a puddle of the delicately flavored sauce along side the softest creamiest piece of gnocchi we have ever encountered it almost seemed to be quivering in effort to maintain itself as a whole.

Charcoal grilled Kurobuta pork loin with red cherry chutney on a slow cooked terrine of pork cheek topped with polenta and lavender honey glaze. If there's one thing we love more than pork, that's two types of pork .. and Kurobuta at that! Well my mouth waters still thinking of this dish and that's all I have to say about that.

Finally ... Chocolate souffle with amaretto ice cream and vanilla bean custard. We're told our desert will be twenty minutes, I love that this hasn't been pre-fired even though by now we are the last in the house. The souffle arrives puffed and proud .. and so it should be! Crunchy on the outer and so soft and warm on the inside ... the ice cream is excellent, although the vanilla custard seemed a little third wheel, not that I'm complaining.

We think of adding a cheese plate to the end of our meal but seeing through the large glass window from the restaurant to the kitchen and seeing the chefs starting on tomorrows prep we leave them with our sympathy and thanks.

The foods was amazing the wine list extensive and the service superbly professional. We think a visit to Sage would be alone worth the price of a ticket to Singapore.



Sage, the Restaurant

No 7 Mohamed Sultan Road
Singapore
Tel (65) 6333 8726

Open Lunch 12:00-2:30pm Wednesday-Friday

Dinner 6:30 pm-10:30pm Tuesday-Sunday

Golden Mile Food Centre, Singapore

Our first visit to Golden Mile Food Centre we were on the hunt for some of the famous Soup Tulang. We first sniffed out the stand with Roti John, Adimann Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice ... this Muslim stall is known to do a mean Roti John with loads of minced mutton and egg topped with a little mayonnaise and chili sauce. The Roti John is a Singaporean creation of onions and eggs spread on a split French loaf and grilled. This one was awesome! it had just the right amount of chili sauce and mayonnaise, heaps of flavour from the mutton, slightly crunchy onions and all in a bizarre soft of French Toast / Omelet roll way ....

.. and then noticed Haji Kadir & M. Baharudeen Soup Tulang was right next door. After ordering our Roti John we placed an order. This is all they do, you just specify how much you want on your plate e.g $5, $6, $8, $10

Soup Tulang is a wicked mutton marrow bone dish. The bones braised in an addictive bright red tomato & chili broth served with chunks of French Bread, to mop it all up.

There's no polite way to eat it, you just need to get in there, fingers, hands and all. The little plastic spoon you're giving works well when reversed and the handle used to poke the last little bits of marrow through ... The soup here is very robust, sweet, spicy, thick & a little gamey with a good amount of meat left on the bone to gnaw on as you slurp through the marrow. What an experience!

We still had a little more room and a few more places on our list. On the top floor we found Chong Cheng Chilly Mee, Prawn Mee, Laksa a renowned hawker of chili noodles. A fragrant and fiery dish of egg noodle, pork slices, pork ribs, prawns, hard-boiled egg all topped with a smack-your-lips chili sauce. A small bowl of soup on the side, and all for S$3. How good is that?

Not able to fit it all in on one trip, we returned again later in the week. We were here to check out Mansaku, a hawker stall busting out traditional Japanese in the midst of all things Singaporean.

Here you have a choice of 6 sets including katsu, terriyaki, unagi and a couple of dons. Being very unimaginative we both went for the terriyaki chicken. In all fairness, it was the only set that came with the chawanmushi that we were both eyeing off ....

The chicken itself was a beautiful piece of thigh, still with the skin on. It was so tender inside, like it had been steamed. But with delicious crispy skin all laden in a glistening terriyaki sauce.. there was the standard shredded cabbage with chili mayo garnish. A great little chawanmushi with chunks of chicken and shitake mushroom sunk in the bottom. Miso soup. Rice and a wedge of fresh cut watermelon.

All this was served from a bustling little stall, with just 2 men doing the lot. Seriously, this place was so busy, we never saw the line less than 10 deep and constantly moving. Superb! and at S$4.80 a set, Amazing!

Golden Mile Food Centre

(not to be confused with the Golden Mile Food Complex)

505 Beach Rd

Adimann Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice, for Roti John

#B1 - 14

11am - 11:30pm

Haji Kadir & M. Baharudeen Soup Tulang

#B1 - 13/14/15

11:30am - 1:30am

Chong Cheng Chilly Mee, Prawn Mee, Laksa

#01 - 59

9am - 8pm

Mansaku

#01 - 93

11am - 4:30pm

Closed Monday