Chic Bites

picture: http://www.mortons.com/

Labels: Foodie Adventures

My cousin bought us a box of 8 "moon cakes" for Mid-Autumn Festival this year. The only that they aren't cakes, they're "moon pies".

Like their cake cousins, these "moon pies" ($9.80 for 8 pieces) from Le Cafe Confectionery & Pastry are sugary calorie-laden treats that do a fair bit of damage to your waistline. There are 7 different flavours in a box - Original (lotus seed paste in a pastry shell), Savoury, Pandan, Green Tea, Coffee, Yam and Black & White Sesame.

In spite being sooooo picky, my mum thinks the yam one is great. I tried Original (since there were 2 in the box) and Coffee. At first bite, the coffee moon pie was fantastic. The pastry exuded a buttery fragrance and the filling had an intense coffee flavour. Unfortunately, both were really really jelat. I had two halves and gave up after. I feel so fat~~~ *help*

If you wanna try something different this Mid-Autumn Festival (8th September 2007), go visit Le Cafe Confectionery & Pastry. This fifty year old pastry shop is famous for its golf ball pineapple tarts (10 for $7.20) and, for the health conscious, bean curd tarts ($5.50 for 6).



Le Cafe Confectionery & Pastry
264 Middle Road
Tel: 6 337 2417

Opening hours:
10.30am to 7.30pm from Mon - Sat
10.30am to 3pm on Sun and PH


*prices taken from AsiaOne

Labels: Festival Food

Here are my pics from my trip to Perth & the South West of Western Australia :)

Labels: Foodie Adventures

Psst... Have you heard? The Cannery has come up with a membership card, only for students 21 and above, with a credit limit of up to $2,000! The Cannery Attitude offers pretty serious discounts on alcohol, priority entry into MOS and Clinic, access to exclusive members' areas and best of all, 15% off food bills! That's great news for people like me, who'd love to try molecular gastronomy at Aurum - if only there was some discount! The discount off food bills also applies to:

• Barfly
• Bice Bistro (if you can read mandarin, here's a review of Bice Bistro)
• Balcony at Heeren
• Nectarie

Also joining the bandwagon of no minimum income cards is the Citi Clear Card. What used to be a prestigious card now only affords $500 credit limit to people aged 21 and above, with tonnes of gourmet privileges at places that range from Bistro Delifrance to Marmalade Pantry and even Lawry's! There is however a Citibank Clear Platinum Visa Card for those earning at least $30k a year.

So is it socially responsible for The Cannery and Citibank to come up with no minimum income credit cards? Well, that's for another blog to discuss. :)

Labels: Dining Privileges

Eat your flowers! They're good for you.

That's what I did last week when I visited Club Street's new culinary alcove, Eden Cafe. Officially opened last Friday, the cafe brings something different to the table, literally.

Honestly, eating flowers seemed really dodgy and with a whole menu of things like, Rose Petal Salad, Orchid Sauceless Pasta and Apple Osmanthus Crumble, it's hard not to be worried. Putting all my faith in Clement, owner of the former Helio Cafe (who makes really good Nonya Chicken Curry with Penne, btw), I sacrificed my taste buds to bring you this review! hehe... :D

The best we tried there was Portobello Mushroom Sandwich ($8.50). This extremely light sandwich is made with crisp focaccia bread, a sweet and succulent portobello mushroom, crunchy lettuce, tangy tomatoes, homemade mayonnaise (healthier; made with mostly lemon juice) and violets! Well-balanced in natural sweetness and sourness, this sandwich is great for a snack but not for anyone with a big appetite.

Another crowd favourite is the Hibiscus Soft Cheesecake ($6.90). Where's the hibiscus, you say? It's made into a "jam" and spread on top of the cheesecake to give it more a more tangy flavour and health benefits, such as improving metabolism, detoxifying the body and relieving water retention. This soft, cloud-like cheesecake melts instantly in your mouth and satisfies that sweet tooth without resulting in a sugar overdose.

I really appreciate the cafe's emphasis on simplicity - I do feel that many restaurants and cafes are over reliant on sauces to mask the imperfections of each dish. With less sauces and artificial seasonings, however, some of the cafe's offerings aren't for everyone.

The Creamless Mushroom Soup ($4.90), Asian Pesto Penne Pasta ($10.90) and Bread Crumb Pasta ($10.90) won't tickle your fancy if you're carnivorous or if you love rich, intense flavours.

Whether the food is to your taste or not, you shouldn't miss out on a nice pot of tea. The cafe currently offers a selection of 100 teas, all of which serve different purposes (including slimming!). Priced between $6 to $18, the tea doesn't come cheap but is certainly worth the sip.

A three-course meal at Eden should cost you around $32+++ without drinks - reasonable, don't you think?


Eden Cafe
54 Club Street
tel: 6 536 1181

Opening Hours:
Sun to Thurs 11.30am – 10pm (last order 9.15pm)
Friday to Saturday 11.30am – 2am (last order 1.15am)

Labels: Foodie Adventures

Who are your favourite? Drop me your top 3 in a comment or poll here! :D


1. Gordon Ramsay
Perhaps my sadistic nature has taken over but I do enjoy watching Gordon Ramsay's abusive antics on television. If you haven't watched his shows, the names of his reality tv programmes should clue you in on his personality - The F Word, Hell's Kitchen and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. Filled with acerbic and highly-censored (at least in Singapore) vocabulary, Ramsay's shows aren't quite suitable for the young and give new meaning to "No Reservations" (sorry about that, Anthony Bourdain!).

I particularly like Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, which reminds me of the Japanese show 抢救贫穷 shown on channel 8 quite a number of years ago, except (of course) with Ramsay's special touch of profanities. Ramsay goes around trying to save failing restaurants and is treated to a bout of bad attitude and even spoilt scallops! Those who currently or want to own a restaurant/cafe should watch this show for Ramsay's great ideas.

Want to watch the ex-footballer behind Michelin-starred restaurants? Check out Asian Food Channel (channel 69) on cable tv.


2. Anthony Bourdain

Chef, writer and food travel host - Tony gets paid to travel and savour cuisines from all over the world. Sounds like a good deal? Guess again.

When you have to swallow fermented shark's meat (twice!), sheep testicles and a cobra's heart, you may want to rethink your job. Poor Tony!

Tony's funny sarcasm and devil-may-care attitude really does work some magic on television. We like to watch him squirm when he swallows some of the weirdest foods. In one episode, he even tried durian, which smells like heaven to most Asians and smells like crap to most Caucasians. In any case, I'm glad he liked it - You'll never know if you like something unless you try it! :D (but please don't make me eat bugs! *eeks*)

Anthony Bourdain has written several books about his culinary adventures into foreign lands. His newest show, "No Reservations", can be found on Discovery Travel & Living (channel 16 on cable tv).

3. Nigella Lawson

What can I say about Nigella? She's gorgeous, and so is her food! We love a woman who can cook so effortlessly and who really enjoys her own creations. She makes cooking seem so easy!

Nigella is what every woman should be - she's highly intelligent, beautiful and great at cooking. Inheriting her father's intelligence, Nigella studied Medieval and Modern Languages at Oxford University and thereafter freelanced as a writer for several famous US and UK publications, like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, The Guardian and Times Magazine.

It's hard being the child of a famous man, specifically one of the most prominent politicians under Margaret Thatcher. Nonetheless, Nigella has successfully emerged from her father's shadow and is now known as a "Domestic Goddess".

Nigella has penned five books, the most famous of which may be "How to be a Domestic Goddess". You can find her books at any big bookstore, like Kinokuniya and Borders, or simply watch her on Discovery Travel & Living.

Another Notable Mention

It's hard not to like David Rocco. He's handsome, charming and fit (rare, really rare for a famous "food" personality). I like to see him prepare for his marathon, have a boy's night out or even plan a surprise for his wife (who's also quite pretty, by the way). But most of all, I love to watch the way he flirts with a frying pan. :D Why are Italian men so charming? *ponders*

His recipes are really easy to make. Find out more at www.davidrocco.com. Also, watch him live the sweet life in Discovery Travel & Living's "David Rocco's Dolce Vita".

Labels: Couch Potato

Dining with toys in a museum conjures images of sitting in a dark creepy room, where a multitude of dolls stare at you with their huge eyes. Then suddenly, you see the head of a doll jerk - a story horrifying enough for any adult to pee in his (sexist! :P) pants!

But being the foodie I am, I was game enough to try out Dining Among Toys at the Mint Museum of Toys, as part of the International Museum Day celebrations.

The experience was nothing like my wild imagination. The five-storey high Mint Museum of Toys was a swanky (and well-lit!) treasure trove of toys from all over the world. Here you'll find toys from Greece, Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria, South America and even Korea and Bangladesh - all of which are valued at... (don't choke)....... S$5 million!

It's hard to believe that anyone would spend such a fortune on toys and even more money building this state-of-the-art private museum (the museum's facade is lit by countless fiber optics). I met the man whose passion for toys is probably inimitable - Mr. Chang Yang Fa. The museum's entire collection is owed to his 30 years of toy collecting.

There's another reason why the museum is called Mint - the toys in there are kept in pristine condition, with their original boxes, and usually come in different versions. You can see the evolution of a single toy robot as it changes from rubber hands to plastic, etc.


Dining in Outer Space

My bf and I dined in "Outer Space" (the 5th floor of the museum where space shuttles dock). Instead of dolls, Buck Rogers, an American space hero from 1928, was minding his own business near us.

Since the main attraction of the evening was the novelty of dining with toys, I wasn't expecting much from the four course meal. To our surprise, the food delivered by the Mint Cafe downstairs was fairly good! (with the exception of the main courses, that is.)


Starters

Shanghainese Salad
Never judge a salad by its "cover" - that's what I learnt yesterday.

The Shanghainese Salad was a fairly plain-looking dish --> shredded iceberg lettuce topped with tiny rice crackers and golden crackers (similar to the kind used in yu-sheng). The essence however was in the dressing. Made from soy sauce and sesame oil, the brown dressing added savoury sweetness and an irresistible fragrance to the crunchy salad.

Seafood Chimichanga
The Mint's version of this Mexican dish is stuffed with seafood paste for subtle sweetness and deep fried to golden brown perfection. Of the two starters, the Shanghainese Salad was more refreshing and satisfying on the palate.


Soup
Creamy soups are always comforting - this pumpkin soup, in particular, will give chocolate a run for its money. The milky fragrance of this soup seduces you to taste the thick and creamy concoction.

A dash of chilli powder on the top adds a piquant kick to it and keeps you craving for more. It was, however, overly filling, limiting our appetite for the main course and dessert.


Main Courses
It's fairly mind boggling how the same eatery can serve dishes that are so far apart in quality. Unlike the starters, the main courses were fairly disappointing. In fact, there's only one word for both the Rack of Lamb with Mint Hollandaise and the Pan-fried Antartic Whiting - Overcooked. Thankfully, there's always dessert to save the day.


Dessert
Served in champagne flutes, creamy Panna Cotta was enlivened with a layer of molten palm sugar and coconut milk - this Asian twist added the intense aroma and flavour of coconut to the classic Italian pudding. What's even more delightful is the combination of melted sticky palm sugar with the crunchy bits of solid palm sugar that gives the Panna Cotta a unique texture.

Although $48+++ is a bit steep, dining among toys in the museum galleries is a really rare experience. Moreover, the price tag includes museum admission fees. :)

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Dining Among Toys ends at 10pm today but the museum and its cafe are opened everyday for visitors. Check out http://www.emint.com for more details.


MORE PICTURES OF TOYS
(Can you recognize them?)

Labels: Foodie Adventures