Fried Carrot Cake, Tanjong Pagar

"Fried carrot cake" is actually cubes of a turnip puree or something (in Chinese, turnip is literally translated as "white carrot") stir fried in eggs and grease, which makes for a nice little grease bomb. And in Singapore, the turnip cake is cut up into small bite-sized pieces before going into the pan, unlike the huge squares one gets in Taiwan.

Anyway, I like this guy (Tanjong Pagar Market stall #02-53) because he uses just the right amount of salt (salty enough to be tasty, but not excessively) and grease (similarly, greasy enough to be tasty, but not drenched), while getting it to just the right crispiness without overcooking.

D'Lemon Tree (Lemon Thai)

We really rolled the dice on this one tonight (173 Bencoolen Street, Summerview Hotel, 6338-1122, ext 120). The only reason we came here was because we were at Ice Monster across the street and needed something to eat (OK, we ate in reverse tonight with dessert first since Ice Monster was closing at 10 PM). This place was open but completely empty, which was not a good sign. The decor was tacky and the place was adjacent to a downscale hotel too, which made it even more questionable. But hey - don't judge a book by its cover, right?

And how true that is. The food was definitely much better than I was expecting. The tom kah gai was full of rich coconut milk, whereas the tom yum gai was definitely one of the spiciest that I've tasted (it really gives you a kick). The spicy puk ki mau kway teow was also impressively tender and rich, but not greasy. Wow...hey that wasn't too bad! And they take American Express here (unlike Margarita's, where the bill was three times higher)!

The only letdown was the pandan chicken (I think I was mentally conditioned as a kid to veer to such greasy wrapped chicken things thanks to those lame "paper (foil) wrapped chicken" bits at Chinese restaurants in the US). Although they were greasy here, they had a strange curry seasoning in it, which was a turn off for me. I had to drown it in chili sauce *and* dry chili just to cover up the taste. At least they were cooked just right though, staying tender yet with a mildly crisp outside.

OK, this place wasn't too bad. I may not go out of my way to come here, but it is across the street from Ice Monster. So if we can just get the timing right next time, then maybe we can hit Ice Monster *after* dinner here like normal people would.

Taiwan's Ice Monster in Singapore

Whoa. It looks like Ice Monster from Taipei has opened a shop in Singapore (180 Bencoolen Street #01-23, 6339-7362) - and it's been here for about a year now, according to the waiter. Wow...and to think that I went all the way to Yong Kang Street in Taipei to hit up Ice Monster, only to find that mango was out of season in Taipei (whereas they are still in season down here).

Was it the same though? Generally yes, they still had the mango in a sweet syrup with milk and sorbet. But they offer a small size here in Singapore, and the mango ice comes in a preselected dish with milk and sorbet provided by default. The store is only open until 10 PM, and it is not very crowded, which is interesting considering how warm it is in Singapore (compare it to the long lines at the Taipei location). What's more, it's located right next to Hong Kong-based Hui Lau Shan, which also has a competing mango-type dessert (but definitely is not as good). Anyway, this is one to bookmark for the future. I just wish they would stay open later in the evening.

Paneer Chaat at Bombay Woodlands

Chartered with a personal pledge to try more chaat at Bombay Woodlands, I blindly grabbed the paneer chaat today (in addition to of course the great pani puri). It definitely had a fire-breathing kick to it, but I couldn't quite get accustomed to the tofu/ricotta-like paneer unaged cheese. I guess the paneer wasn't horrendous, but here is where I wish the restaurant were not vegetarian and thus used mutton or something instead. Well, at least it was really spicy. I'll probably try something else on the chaat menu next time though.

Margarita's Restaurant, Faber Drive

I had heard about this place a while back, as the Singaporean chef had taught Mexican cooking in Mexico. Wow - that's a credential if I'd ever heard one. With the disappointing renditions of Mexican food that I've had in Singapore before (especially compared to the stuff that I'm used to in California), I had to come try this (108 Faber Drive, 6777-1782).

It started off on a very encouraging note. The namesake margaritas were pretty good, and the chips were much fresher than the pathetically stale stuff that I've been served at Cafe Iguana on more than one occasion. The salsa was not quite as fresh as I would like, but still had a good kick to it. There was also one interesting item on the menu, hongos al mojo de ajo, or mushrooms in a garlic sauce. What surprised and impressed me was that these mushrooms were breaded and fried to a crisp, and I loved it (and all this time, I thought I could only get breaded mushrooms at dumpy bars and buffalo wing places in the US).

But then things started sliding a bit. The beef enchiladas had a mildly sweet cinnamon sauce on it (not to mention too much sour cream), which didn't quite agree with me. The chocolate-based sauce in the chicken mole pueblano wasn't anything to wow me. And all of these dishes so far kept featuring a pickled jalapeno and strand of cilantro as a garnish, which seemed like a bit of a cliche. Finally, the capirotada bread pudding dessert was a bit of a yawner.

The chef (who is very personable and energetic, thankfully) said that he does his own little interpretations of Mexican food, which explains things. I guess it just doesn't sit well with what I am accustomed to. Plus they don't take American Express, which is rather surprising for a place like this (and the prices are a lot higher than I'd usually pay for Mexican food). Nonetheless, I will say that this probably is the best Mexican food that I've had in Singapore so far, and at least the first half of the meal was pretty good. But honestly, I'd prefer to wait for my next trip to the West Coast instead of coming back here.

Relief at Shimbashi Soba, Singapore

After all that meat from Germany, I had to get something "light and clean," and Shimbashi Soba (290 Orchard Road, #B1-41, Paragon, 6735-9882) was the immediate source of relief. I correctly ordered the tempura seiro this time (I often make the mistake of ordering the tempura soba instead, which is hot instead of cold, and is one ho-hum dish that I can understand people yawning at). Those huge German portions from the past few days must have played tricks on me, as I had to order several extra portions of noodles tonight in order to get full.



They had a couple specials today, including a soba dengaku, which was almost like little glutinous mochi balls, but savory. One was topped with seaweed, another with melted cheese, and a third with miso, each of which got better and better. The cold temchirashi soba had a bunch of nice vegetables in tempura batter too. Anyway, this was just a much needed change of pace now that I'm back, that's all.

LH Biz Class Dinner - Victoria-Jungfrau

Tonight's "Star Chefs" creation on LH featured Manfred Roth and Mike Wehrle from the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel in Interlaken, Switzerland. I started with the veal, "marinated and thinly sliced with Quince Vinaigrette and Herb Mousse." I found it a bit odd at first, seeing as I'd never had cold slices of veal with celery slices on top, but it pretty much tasted just like it looked. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything that I'll get cravings for. The mousse didn't really add much of an additional kick either as it was pretty light.



Next I moved on to the pike-perch: "pan-seared, with Meaux Mustard Sauce, Savoy Cabbage, Carrots and Potatoes." This looked pretty disappointing to me when it was brought out, especially since I hate cooked carrots. But to my surprise, this was actually really good. The fish was prepared just right (which is especially respectable considering that it was on an airplane), and it went well with the creamy mustard sauce. I love cooked cabbage of course too, and gobbled that up. After I realized that the yellow bits were potatoes, I cleared this plate pretty quickly, leaving only a choice selection of cooked carrots in the corner for the flight attendants to pick up (raw carrots are great, but cooking them changes the taste completely into a mildly sweet mush). Anyway, that was it. I didn't bother with dessert - it was time to get my body clock back on Singapore time.

Eisbein from Berlin - sorta

One very unique dish to Berlin (not just Germany, but specifically Berlin) is Eisbein, which I understand is a crackling pork roast. I tried getting it today, but this place didn't have it. The Weihenstephaner folks did offer something similar though. I didn't quite catch the name, but I suspect it is Schweinshaxe. I noticed an English menu later that stated an item called "crackling pork roast in a Weihenstephaner dark-beer sauce with potato dumplings and bacon-cabbage salad." I'm still not sure if that was really what I ate as I didn't order from the menu (I talked to the waiter instead, but my broken German didn't help me in understanding his explanation of the dish).

Damn, this was a huge chunk of meat. The skin was a bit thick and tough, but if you could cut through it, then you got a great piece of crispy fat to go along with the very tender and moist meat underneath (the meat almost reminded me of a Hawaiian roast pig - yum). Interestingly, those things on the left that looked like potatoes weren't quite potatoes themselves, but were rather spongy and springy. Well anyway, we had to get the big one liter steins of beer to go with it - although they were interestingly not that common up here in Berlin, as apparently that is more of a southern German thing (which I believe this restaurant is). All of this was a lot of food and I could hardly finish. Well, I had to try to get this while I was up here.

Honigmond, Berlin

This place (Borsigstrasse 28, 2844-5512) has some history behind it, as it has been around since 1920, and apparently was frequented by many a East German politician back in the days, only to be started up again in 1995. They are largely a Central European place, featuring things like cheese fondue, among others, but it looks like they are going more “international,” judging by the alfalfa sprouts used in a few of the dishes.

Regardless, the food was rich and filling. I started with the Kartoffel-Lauchcreme mit Croutons (potato and leek soup), which was really thick but full of flavor (gotta love the leek and crouton toppings). From there I moved on to the Hausgemachte Koenigsberger Kloptze (homemade Prussian meatballs in a caper cream sauce), which pretty much tasted like they looked. The portions at German restaurants tend to be pretty big though, and I had trouble finishing everything, especially considering the steamed potatoes and mixed green salad on the side.

After just a couple days though, I’m getting rather of all these heavy German meat dishes. I was surprised to find some German beers that I liked though (I’m not a huge fan of Pilsners), including a dark one called Koestritzer. It suited my tastes as it was fuller bodied with little or no hops, although I admittedly still prefer even more satisfying English ales instead.

Currywurst and other Berlin Pickings

We stopped by Weihenstephaner this afternoon to pick up some beer and pretzels (two kinds of mustard, one sweet and one more like dijon) as well as the Slyrs’er Kaes und Zwiebelrahmsuppe, a cheese-based soup with onions. To my disappointment, the soup didn’t quite have as much of a cheese stank as the meal last night, but I still gobbled it up quickly.



Finally, I nibbled on a currywurst on the way back too. This is another Berlin late-night type of snack. I had envisioned it as a curry-seasoned meat packed into the sausage, but it’s actually just a regular sausage with curry powder sprinkled on top as well as loads of ketchup. I didn’t think I would really like it since I don’t really like ketchup, but it was actually OK since the sausage was reheated in a piping hot oil, giving it a mildly crispy greasy element to add to the curry powder taste. It was only 1.60 Euros (US$1.90), so it’s definitely a post-drinking grease bomb rather than anything elegant.

Hasir (Turkish food), Berlin

With the huge Turkish population here in Berlin, it’s no surprise that there are some nice restaurants around too (not just the late nite Doner Kebab places). Hasir (Oranienburger Strasse 4, 2804-1616) is a family-run spot that we hit up, starting with the obligatory humus (a great sesame topping) and kuver sesame flat breads. Cacik, a yogurt-based cucumber dip (kinda like Indian raita, but with dill weed - is that a European localization?), was also great for dipping.



My main course was the beyti, or “minced lamb barbecued on a skewer, seasoned with slices of radish.” I still prefer Persian kebabs instead as they seem more pure to me, and don’t necessarily have all the extra spices and stuff. Or maybe this place just undercooked it a bit (the rice was also a bit mushy). It was still good to have though, especially with my favorite grilled vegetables (the peppers were spicy), and even huge radish slices. I got a bit excited to eat the onions too, but it was interspersed with parsley, which is something that I absolutely abhor (and thus obviously don't like Lebanese tabbouleh).

We finally finished the meal with some Turkish tea. It wasn’t quite as spicy as I was hoping (there was more of a tea taste than spices), but it was nonetheless good to have.

Doner Kebabs off the streets of Berlin

Wow – apparently Turkish immigrants popularized Doner Kebabs in Berlin before they hit the European/ANZ stage. There are now Doner Kebab (doner kebap in Turkish) shops all over the town, and they are all open late, which, just as with other towns across Europe and ANZ, make kebabs accessible to the millions of drunkards looking for a grease bomb to sit in their bellies at 4 AM. Perfect!

And this was no ordinary kebab, that’s for sure. It was filled with many more ingredients and sauces than one gets in places like England, including a sweet chili sauce with a pretty good kick to it. The bread was also toasted to a perfect crisp, and fresh veggies abounded. What a great snack for only 2.30 Euros (US$2.75).