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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La Granja and Xurreria, Barcelona Spain

Our first visit to Barcelona we had some trouble finding authentic churros. We had read a great little piece on Barcelona Food Girl but after wandering up and down the little Banys Nous several times, it was clear both places were taking an Easter break. On our return, we are eager to hunt them down ... The Banys Nous was then alive, and all the shops were open. We first spotted the Xurreria with piles of fried goodness in the window.



So the deal is, you buy a paper bag full of churros, which are sold by weight. A few euros gets us enough for 2. Then you head next door into La Granja, or the Milk Bar, where they are more-than happy for you to bring in your churros and open on the table. They have an extensive drink menu, so there is bound to be something for everyone. Coffees, liquers, tisanes, tea and of course the hot chocolates.



We both choose a Xocolata Picant. It is thick, rich and spiced with chili and cinamon. We dip the churros into our cups, the sugar that has been sprinkled on the giving a beautiful contrast against the lick of heat from the chili's...

The tiled walls, bright paint, marble tabletops and friendly staff make this a place we could easily spend a lot of time. It might just be a good thing they were closed for the Easter holidays...



Banys Nous
Carrer dels Banys Nous, 3
08002 Barcelona, Spain
933 437 994


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Holy mushrooms, breakfast at Kiosko Universal, La Boqueria Barcelona

Holy mushrooms, this lone platter of giant mushrooms on the counter at Kiosko Universal made our decision of breakfast on this morning an easy one.



We'll have those, sautéed, with a few eggs. Oh sure, throw some fried potatoes in there too!



All we need is a few slices of pan con tomate which are sitting on the counter and we are good to go.



Not a bad choice at all for a quick breakfast before taking to the streets, it's on the top end of the boqueria a few blocks over from Pinotxo bar.



Mercat Sant Josep, PUESTO 691
08002 Barcelona, Spain
933 178 286


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Espai Sucre Dessert Restaurant, Barcelona Spain

Espai Sucre is the work of partners Jordi Butrón and Xano Saguer. They opened in 2000 with the proclaim of being the "only Dessert restaurant in the World". 11 years on, I am still not aware of any other sole dessert restaurants of this caliber. They also provide a consulting service, as well as a range of pastry school classes. We didn't make a booking, but arrive around 9pm. They are very happy to accommodate us, and lead us through the small dining room in the front, past the kitchen, to a small area at the back seating only 6-10 people.



We get a nice little seat with a view of the kitchen. Giant mirrors line the ceiling, so you can see the whole process of each little intricate sweet bite being made. There is a range of menus to choose from, and we go with one of the Chocolate Menu's and one of the Little Dessert Menu's.

The Chocolate menu included 3 desserts & petit fors for 37.5€. There's the option to take matching sweet wines with each course, 4€ for 1 pairing, and 10€ for 3 pairings. Of course we take 3... The first chocolate course is Chocolate with vinegar, strawberries, mint and pepper. There was a mint foam, and hints of pepper in the chocolate wafer, and the strawberry ice was amazing.



The next on the Chocolate menu was truffle mushroom, butter, hazelnut and cocoa. This swayed on both sides of savory and sweet, with a rich earthiness from the combination of butter, hazelnuts and truffle. I could eat this for breakfast ....



The last of the chocolate courses, before petit fors of course, was the Chocolate energy bar, pumpernickel ice-cream, Tanzanie 75% and basil. The bar is made with the Tanzanie 75% covuture chocolate harvested exclusively in Tanzania. It is a blend of Criollo and Forastero beans, which produces a chocolate with spicy & fruit characteristics that is both intense and subtle at the same time. The pumpernickel ice-cream mellows the whole dish, and there is no doubt that we got a boost of energy from this one (although that may just be all of the sugar!).



The second menu we have chosen is the Littler Dessert Menu. This also has 3 courses, with petit fors, and is just 30€. We take another 3 wine pairings with this menu for the additional 10€ as well. The little menu starts off with "Ginger Ale", cucumber, pineapple and tarragon sherbet. The ginger ale is an intense foam sitting in the base of the bowl, there are cucumber and mint rolls and then the sherbet which is elevated with the addition of tarragon.



"Idiazábal" cake with cherry, beet and black beer. Idiazábal is a Basque cheese from the mountains in Spain, made from ewe's milk. The cheese was earthy, and the texture soft like pillows. The cherry and beet in the form of an ice, was sweet and tart and the black beer gave a pleasant, almost dark chocolate like bitterness to the dish.



Hm, I wonder who was doing bacon ice-cream first? We try a bread pudding, bacon ice-cream and pineapple. It's a wonderful finish to a well rounded sweet sensation. The crisp piece of bread really adding to the whole experience of the pudding. The bacon ice-cream was awesome! I could eat that stuff on toast. This dish though, really favored eating each component as a whole, with each part enhancing the other.



The little petit fors selection is delivered to the table on a very cool welded metal stand (Dad, take note;) we may want some of these made some day!) with a couple of little frozen shots. There were cake pops, chocolate florentine, chocolate truffles, short bread, fruit jubes and some cinnamon and almond cookies.



An espresso is the perfect end to our dessert feast. (Dad, also take note of the little welded sugar-compartment box in the background, this too is awesome).



Now, how many occasions after a wonderful meal have you just been dying to go somewhere with an impressive dessert menu and some nice digestifs and coffee? It happens to us a lot ... I think more people around the world should embrace the whole Dessert Restaurant thing. We for one would support that movement!



Espai Sucre
C/ PRINCESA, 53
08003 Barcelona, Spain
T: 932 681 630


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