Nesuto Patisserie @ Tras Street

Popped by Nesuto to check out the Japanese-French pastries. Despite the hefty price tag of at least $9 ($9.90 for 10% dine-in service charge), there was a steady flow of customers, probably a good sign that Singaporeans are willing to splurge on cakes.

Overall, I would be more willing to invest in the petit gateaux than the sliced cakes because the latter is more common in the market and the taste doesn't stand out far from the rest. Le "Omm", a matcha mascarpone azuki cake, may possessed a rather dry-looking sponge but it turned out pleasantly light and moist. The intensity of matcha is just right; not overly bitter that will chase away the crowd, not overly light that will make matcha fans grumpy. On the other hand, the Le "Goma" ($9++) is a faithful interpretation of black sesame with layers of black sesame roulade and diplomat cream. However, the texture is too heavy and dense it reminded us of kueh.

As said earlier, I prefer the petit gateaux and the Cocochoc ($9.80++) is one remarkably accomplished piece that plays with coconut and milk chocolate. I like the use of Jivara 40% because the hints of malt enhanced the brown sugar sable and coconut pannacotta. The Foret Noire ($9.80++) is one cake that I would never order if not for my friend who wanted to try it. And I've got to thank my friend for her choice because it was mindblowingly good. I did not expect Manjari 64% to be exceptionally dark and rich in this case. But that's what makes this Foret Noire so memorable.

Not for a faint-hearted at chocolate, of course.

53 Tras Street
Mon-Thurs 12pm-10pm
Fri-Sat 12pm-11pm
Sun 12pm-7pm
https://www.facebook.com/dear.nesuto/

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Matchaya @ The Cathay : New Outlet with Expanded Dessert Menu

I used to lament at the shortage of authentic and quality Japanese dessert places in Singapore. Hoshino? Maccha House? Nana? Well, even though they originate from Japan, the standards belonged to the average cafe quality and nothing much outstanding.

But now, I can finally rest my worries as I have found the One and only--Matchaya, a humble tea house that specializes in desserts and beverages of various flavors besides matcha.  It plays around with houjicha (roasted green tea), goma (black sesame) and even Hokkaido milk.  After the successful opening of its first outlet in Tanjong Pagar, it has recently opened its second outlet (a sit-in cafe) at The Cathay, with an expanded dessert menu that include kakigoris, fondues and Warabi mochis. The concept is almost close to those established tea brands in Japan such as Fukujuen, Nakamura Toikichi, Gion Tsujiri, Morihan, etc.

These big boys use the tea from their tea farms to produce desserts of standards that sit above national average.  Land-scarce Singapore doesn't quite allow that to happen but the team at Matchaya works directly with tea farmers and sources the best ingredients from prefectures all over Japan to present the uniquely "Matchaya" tea dessert experience

It might sound like a whole truck of big words but I was instantly convinced after trying the desserts. Their signature soft serves were smooth yet refined, creamy but not buttery. I'm not sure if our local weather helps but I couldn't recall any soft serve in Japan which can match Matchaya's excellent texture. The Matcha soft serve struck a beautiful balance between sweet and bitter. This is actually highly tricky because being too bitter-rich can be dull and disconcerting but try toning it down could make it taste like white chocolate easily. Don’t get me wrong. I love those intense rich ones like Far East Bazaar but I don’t want every single matcha soft serve to taste like that. The black sesame was gratifyingly intense but could be better if it was less sweet.  

While much has been raved about the matcha and black sesame, our unanimous favourite was the Houjicha which we had as a parfait from the Matchaya specialties ($10.90) exclusive to The Cathay outlet. The taste was exceptional. For those new to houjicha, it is virtually bitterless with a pleasant roasty, caramel-like flavor.  Somehow, there is an inexplicable depth to houjicha desserts just like kuromitsu and kinako that appeals to me strongly. The flavor in the parfait was enhanced with red bean, brownies, rice puffs and even some chewy tea jelly at the base. If you haven’t try one before, Matchaya is a good place to start with.  

It was a delight to find Kakigori on the menu but there’s still some issues to be tweaked. The Hokkaido cream espuma was airy but the shaved ice was coarse and too icy.  The respective sauces (matcha, houjicha, black sesame) could perhaps be weaved into the espuma to fortify the profile of each kakigori. The price is considerably steep at $18.90 and thus the soft serves ($5.90 each/+$1 for mixed flavour) would be a more rational re-investment.   

I heard that they are going to introduce other flavors such as genmaicha. But before that, I need to return to try their Kinako-Kuromitsu and Hokkaido Milk.

Best Japanese soft serve in Singapore? I can’t think of a better place than Matchaya.   

Matchaya

The Cathay

Level 1 1pm-10pm daily

Tanjong Pagar

#01-72 Icon Village, 12 Gopeng Street
Singapore 078877

Daily 12pm-8pm

https://www.facebook.com/matchayasg/

https://www.matchaya.sg/

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Shop Wonderland Cafe @ Telok Ayer : Sweet English Tea Cakes and a Popcorn Matcha Latte?

Chanced upon this neon pink cafe that was bustling with lunchtime crowd as my colleague and I were looking for a nice cafe for coffee and tea. We never notice its existence right next to Sarnies and a Google search revealed that this is a new cafe that adds to the list of hipster cafes in this area. Its floral studio sits on the 2nd floor where floral classes are conducted.

Apart from the list of beverage menu on the wall, the first thing that caught my eye was an elegant display of cakes. Not those artisanal French entremets sitting pretty in a chiller, but rustic English tea cakes in room temperature. Both the Rose Raspberry Pistachio ($8) and White Chocolate Passionfruit Coconut ($8) were fragrant and moist but probably too sweet that I couldn't really catch the flavors. The white cake didn't speak the language of coconut expressively except the layer of frosting topped with coconut shavings. As for the Rose, the rosy pink cream cheese frosting tasted mostly of.......cream cheese after a while. 

For the beverages, I had the Popcorn Matcha Latte ($7.50) as the Matcha Latte was sold out. Thankfully it wasn't some latte topped with popcorn. It still resembled Matcha Latte except for the additional blend of roasted rice which made it more aromatic than an average Matcha Latte. I enjoyed this drink but it should really go low on the sugar, just like the cakes. Overall, this place is a good option for sugar rush in the Telok Ayer area but note that prices are not cheap. Budget $14 ++ for a drink and a cake. 

134 Telok Ayer Street

Singapore 068600

Mon-Sat 8am-6pm

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A Noodle Story @ Amoy : Must Try Singapore-style Ramen

Let me tell you a story. A story about a bowl of delicious noodles that has rewritten Singapore's hawker history. 

This is no longer a closely held secret. I am sure many people have tried this Singapore-style ramen and raved about it. But I would still like to chronicle it on my humble site because it is worthy of the price, the calories, the long queuing time and the Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition (or even more than that)


Everything is handmade, fresh and artisanal. Just the wantons alone are enough to impress you on first taste. Made with 100% fresh Indonesian pork with shrimps, the wantons are bigger than average; unbelievably plump and springy. Then, I hit up on the Crispy Potato Wrapped Prawn that easily surpassed the standards of dimsum served in local Chinese Restaurants.

With these promising signs of a good bowl, I fast forwarded enthusiastically to savour the Mee Kia, cooked just al dente and shaken free of excess water. Ooh, surprisingly robust. We noticed that some seasoning were scattered on the noodles before it was draped in charsiu and that could explain why the noodles itself were flavorful on its own already.

But there lies the danger. The sambal chilli, which was very salty without any fiery kick.

I stopped mixing the sambal chilli with the noodles because it could potentially ruin the bowl. In other words, the sambal was slightly redundant because it didn't add value to the dish. That's a pity because I could imagine how kick-ass shiok this bowl would be if the chilli was good. Even chilli padi or dry chilli flakes could work. But I am not a noodle professional. So some may argue that making the chilli too outstanding might just rob the limelight from the noodles.

Slurping on, I reached the piece of fat-flecked charsiu that require little effort to chew. And as we always save the best thing to the last, the molten egg. The perfect version with luscious orangey yolk, achieved not only by precise execution but also choice of superior eggs.

$9 bowl (noodles portion same as $7 bowl but with more toppings)

In short, it tasted like a bowl of delicious Wanton Mee with all the necessary components of a ramen. I read somewhere about how tedious and time-consuming it took for the folks behind this stall to prepare everything daily. And I can ascertain now that this ain't no media hype. Every cent and effort invested has bore fruits on the taste. I'm so proud of this Singapore-style ramen which I thought was even better than Japanese ramen, tsukemen or mazesoba.

Wonderland dream of noodly bliss. It's a happily ever after ending for my noodle story.

A Noodle Story
01-39 Amoy St Food Centre
7 Maxwell Rd Singapore 069111
Mon-Fri 11.15am-2.30pm, 5.30pm-7.30pm
Sat 10.30am-1.30pm
Closed on Sun and PH

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IZY Dining & Bar @ Club Street : Relaunch of Japanese-American Fusion Menu

 Over-the-top sushi piled with all sort of luxurious ingredients can be found in several  izakayas in Tokyo and Izy Japanese Dining is probably the first place in Singapore which serves this. Opened since 2013,  this pop culture urban izakaya has recently revamped its menu featuring new items with a focus on sushi rolls.

Piled with heaps of fresh uni, Ikura, crab meat and negitoro, the Nokke Roll ($32) is a feast for the eyes as much as it is for the belly. The ingredients are surely fresh but I'm not so sure it is worth the value as I've had an almost exact same replica at half the price back in Tokyo.

One issue was the rice. It was rather dry and the grains did not bind well. The same issue arose in the Izy Roll ($16), a tempura shrimp and asparagus roll with spicy crab mayo and avocado spread on top. While Izy has a leaning towards Japanese-American fare such as these kind of mayo sushi, one can still find classic sushi on the menu.

Nonetheless, the game is not lost. The Wagyu Don with Fresh Truffle Slices ($40) was an excellent rice bowl. The Josper grilled beef was well-marinated and juicy, bonding cohesively with the rice thanks to the Onsen egg buried within. The presence of truffles is definitely welcomed here as its aroma enhanced the sweetness of the beef.

I had always thought Gyu Katsu $30 would be thick and chewy, but not the case here. The beef was sliced so finely, cooked to a beautiful pink with only a thin layer of fried batter around it to qualify this as a katsu. It comes with three different types of sauce but I think the best way to enjoy it is just simply with a dabble of salt.

For some sharing dishes, get the Grilled Swordfish or the Nanban Chicken (ala carte $9/$20 as lunch set). The fish was fresh and the the unique combination of parmesan and seaweed in the sauce gave it a delicious twist to the usual grilled fish we have in Japanese restaurants. The Naban Chicken were simply juicy and tender, doused generously in the tasty tartar sauce. Both dishes are my favourites that night too.

Interestingly, they also served Bayan Cauda ($15), a very common dish in Japan, especially Italian trattorias, but rarely found here. It's a classic Piedmont vegetable fondue made with onion, garlic and anchovy but here white miso is incorporated, giving it an extra intense umami boost. Located in Club Street, I can understand why this place is popular with after-work crowd and business expats looking for a nice place to chill out after work.

IZY Dining & Bar
27 Club Street, Singapore 069413
Reservations: 9678 0027
www.izy.com.sg
Mon to Fri 12pm to 2pm;
Mon to Sat 6pm to 10.30pm


This is an invited tasting

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Silk Road @ Amara Hotel : Celebrating Ah Ma's Birthday with Excellent Chinese Food and Restaurant Service

It's a yearly affair to celebrate Ah Ma's birthday at a Teochew restaurant but for her 80th birthday this year, we decided to try out Silk Road in Amara Hotel, since I've heard several good reviews about this place. This restaurant has been around since 2001 and is one of the earliest places that serves authentic Sichuan cuisine in Singapore 


Since it will be CNY in less than a week's time, we took the opportunity to try the CNY set menu for $128/pax. We booked a private room for a group of 14 and the food and service--from the start to the end--were truly impeccable. 


Before the Eight Treasures Yu Sheng, we had the mandatory longevity buns were unprecedentedly fluffy and delicate. But it was the first time for everyone to have crispy fish skin and golden silverfish in the luxurious Yu Sheng which came with sliced abalones, cured salmon, jellyfish, ikura roe and tobiko roe as well. The chef's special Spicy Sichuan Garlic Sauce wasn't as fiery as I would love, in fact, rather sweet for me, but it was a refreshing change to the usual dressing. 

The Double boiled free range chicken soup with shark bone's cartilage and dried scallops was nourishing and creamy but it was too salty.

Fortunately, the same issue did not happen for the Steamed Free range chicken infused with salt (白切盐鸡). The chicken was beautifully cooked to a tender soft with a glistening shine on the skin. It came with a side of minced ginger in shallot oil but I thought the meat itself was already flavourful to stand on its own. 

The Soy-glazed Baked Cod with Bonito sauce (日式焗鳕鱼) was the best dish that evening. The fish was uber fresh-so good that even my Ah Ma who usually don't take commercial fish gives her full thumbs up. It was melt-in-the-mouth tender, with bonito flakes and sake-Mirin sauce that gave the fish a delicious umami dressing. Simply faultless buttery indulgence at best! 

We all know that sea cucumber is one of the highly prized delicacy especially during CNY and this came in the dish of Braised pork knuckle with sweet chestnuts. The theatrical piece of pork knuckle received a generous pour of the aromatic dark sauce but all flavors have already been absorbed into the meat thanks to the 6-hour long slow cooking process. You can imagine all the ladies at the table were aiming at this collagen-rich dish.

The Deep Fried Prawns with Golden Pork Floss gave everyone a nice surprise as the floss is mixed with curry powder! Aromatic but not spicy, the prawns were another hit with its sweet succulence. 

But the steamed fragrant rice with Chinese sausages was the faultless finale of indulgence. It's nothing like those sizzling claypot rice with dark soy sauce. Here, the rice worked magic with a special blend of fragrant soy sauce that made it so irresistibly delicious. Not to forget the salted fish and two kinds of sausages (Sichuan sausage and traditional Chinese sausage) that brought additional sweet-savoury flavors to the dish. 

Desserts were originally Nian Gao and fried Sesame dumplings but the restaurant was flexible enough to accommodate a change to either a choice of Mango Pomelo and Lemongrass Aloe Vera Jelly. 

Before the desserts, we had the Longevity noodles (寿面), as a traditional practice for the birthday dinner. But little did we did not expect the restaurant to arrange it in such an exquisite manner. Understanding that everyone was already full to the brim, the chef and his team had tastefully prepared them in mini portions, plated with a sweet lotus paste-filled "flower" and the "寿” character written with raspberry sauce! The longevity noodles are quite unique because they are thick and chunky la-mian handmade by the noodle chef. The toothsome texture reminded me of udon and the broth was very tasty.  

But the most touching moment came when the noodles chef presented Ah Ma with a special version that had a longevity figure hand-crafted using noodle dough! What a talent he is! Ah Ma was so happy and couldn't stop grinning.  We were truly grateful to the restaurant team for going the extra mile to make the dinner such a memorable one for my ah ma and my family. In fact, we learnt later that the chef from Sichuan actually took the entire afternoon to create the figurine! Full marks for effort and sincerity. 

Being a huge fan of Sichuan cuisine, I'm already eyeing the spicy chicken, mapo tofu and spicy handmade noodles for the next trip. If you are still searching for an excellent Chinese restaurant in town? Look no further. This is it. 

Silk Road @ Amara Hotel Singapore
165 Tanjong Pagar Singapore 088539
Lunch: 11.30am to 3pm daily
Dinner : 6pm to 10.30pm daily
Reservations and enquiries:
Tel: (65) 6227 3848
Email: silkroad@amaraholdings.com
For menu : http://singapore.amarahotels.com/promotions/2017-chinese-new-year-silk-road/

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Birds of a Feather @ Amoy Street : Creative Contemporary Sichuan Cusine

As the saying goes, "Birds of the same feathers flock together", Birds of A Feather is a contemporary Sichuan all-day dining place where people of like mind, values and tastes congregate over good food and drinks as many times as they wish. Like a "third place" or another sanctuary nest to enjoy a moment of peace animated by the greens, beautiful Northern Chinese timber and overhead lamps "clouds". 

Opened by the same owners of successful cafe chain, 良木缘 Good Wood Coffee in Chengdu, Birds of a Feather offers modern Western food with an ostensible Sichuan influence. For instance, the Tofu Burger with Mapo meat sauce $22 is an oriental take on the western burger with a light and crisp tofu pattie in between Chinese Mantou. The overall dish leaned toward the light, healthy spectrum--a far cry from the typically gravy-laden Chinese dish but a more liberal dressing of the delicious meat sauce would be ideal.  

I prefer the Oriental Bolognese ($20), a scrumptious plate of angel hair pasta tossed in savoury pork ragout and Sakura Ebi.  It's a truly successful re-interpretation of the Zha Jiang Mian, but I would top up $2 for the spicy version when I come back next time. 

Besides the pasta, another favourite was the Crispy Panini with Pork Belly. As the name suggests, the crust is superbly crunchy but not tough. Once you sink your teeth into those wicked layers, you get a bastion of juicy flavors oozing from the Sichuan pork belly, grilled cheese and pickled cabbage. This is one great inspired dish not to be missed for lunch or dinner. Hot & Sour Chazuke ($28), a Sino-Japanese inspired dish of spicy pickled mustard broth, charcoal grilled Barramundi and mentaiko. The ensemble of flavors around the Niigata rice was just as vibrant as its colors.

As with any restaurants in China especially in the Sichuan province, there's bound to be an array of 小菜 to choose from. Here, there's the "Small Plates" section where one can find truly excellent bites such as Crispy Gyoza with Truffle Soy Vinegrette  ($16), Crispy Pork Trotters in a Bag ($12/5pcs), and the Fried Calamari with Yuzu Tartar Sauce ($19).

If you are looking for that tingling, numbing sensation, opt for the Fortune Skewer in Sze Chuan Pepper Broth ($19) that comes with Japanese noodles. It's like Harry Potter's Candies where each skewer is of an ingredients.But the highlight was the piquant and robust broth which I couldn't resist slurping till the final drip.

Those familiar with Sichuan cuisine will know that 辣子鸡 is a must-have dish and I was satisfied with the version here known as "Find your chicken in the chillies" $16. Although it didn't make me sweat out, the crisp tender chicken pops offered a good kick without being greasy. Just stay clear of the bright red chillies if you don't want to end up with a prolonged numbness on your tongue. 

Desserts were no less delicious than the mains starting from the refreshing East-meet-West Poached Pear with Longans, white fungus and orange peel ($12). First impression counts and it was love at first sight for this blossoming pear  taking center stage in this dessert.  It's as light as those Cantonese 糖水 but forged a stronger presence with the bittersweet citrus caramel ice cream and gentle citrus perfumes from the orange peel.

The Feathers Cheesecake ($9) is just as feathery light as its name while the Deep Fried Glutinuous Rice Cake with Okinawan Syrup ($12) took me by surprise with an incredible soft texture beneath the browned surface, nothing of those chewy or rubbery rice cakes that I usually come across in other Chinese restaurants. 

While fusion can often be a confusion, none of the dishes I've tried land into this situation 

From the design to the food, everything here is very well-strategized and creatively pieced together. Across the mains I've tried, the spice levels are generally well-moderated without any major compromise in flavours. With so many new restaurants and cafes opening up these days, this place is definitely one of the best places I've dine in 2016.

Birds of a Feather

113 Amoy Street Singapore 069935 Tel: (65) 6221 7449  

Nov 2016

Mon-Sat 10am-11.45pm 

Sun 10am-6pm 

Dec 2016 onwards 

Mon-Sun 10am-11.45pm 

FB: birdsofafeathersg

Instagram @birdsofafeathersg

 

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Man Man鰻満 : New Unagi-ya in Singapore

The search for affordable unagi place in Singapore is gone with the opening of Man Man, an unagi specialty shop opened by Teppei, the same man behind Teppei Syokudo. The eels are imported alive from Isshiki-cho of Nishio city in Aichi prefecture, where annual eel production tops the nation. They are fished out from the tank water fresh upon order, nailed down, slit open, skewered and grilled directly over charcoal flame. 

The most recommended dish here is the Hitsumabushi--grilled, soy-basted eel laid out on a bed of rice in an ornate lacquer-look box. But I wondered if it's because I went on the first day of operation and the chef hasn't got a full control of the heat. Some parts of unagi was slightly charred to the point when it became rather bitter, especially for the ala carte unagi orders 

Nonetheless, there's no denying that unagi here on the overall is as tasty and fresh as it gets, not as soft and melting, but with a firmer chewy texture. Unlike the Hitsumabushi set that is served with unagi maki, the regular and large sized unadon comes with dashi maki. 

But the whole point here is, there's seems to be a lot of eggs in the unagi sets here. In fact, all the sets come with eggs! And that is something I'm not familiar with. Could this be intended to cater to local preferences? But the omelette could afford to be less salty and runny.

The Hitsumabushi was supposed to be eaten in three ways. Firstly, one has to eat it on it's own, followed by the second helping in a bowl with the basic spice combination of chopped green onions, grated wasabi, and nori seaweed sheet. Lastly, the remainder of about half the rice is eaten with green tea or hot broth. Do remember to ask for the tea/broth if that was left out by accident. Otherwise, your Hitsumabushi will end up being no different from a typical Unagi Don. 

If those unagi rice sets aren't enough to restore your energy, get the Unagi Kabayashi or Shiroyaki style. The key difference is the presence of sauce. As much as I love the savoury tang from the basting sauce in the Kabayaki style , I adore the simple grilled aroma from the Shiroyaki. 

In Japan, unagi-ya typically place Yakumi and shichimi at the side of the table but here you get even more--three types of tare sauces to go with the rice. I'm not sure if orthodox eel masters would agree with giving diners the free rein on the amount of tare for the eel but the tare did help or encourage me to finish my rice. Given that this is still in its early stage of operations, I think it's better to give it more time before you head down. Hopefully by then, the queue won't be too bad.

Budget $30 pax person

Rice Sets from $18++ onwards

Unagi Kabayaki/Shiroyaki from $27++ per order.

鰻満　Man Man Unagi Japanese Restaurant
Mon-Sat 1130-1500 (Lunch) / 1800-2230 (Dinner)
Closed on Sun/ Open on PH

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