Food scene in SG

Again, a poor experience at a mid level steak restaurant in orchard road. The food was mediocre - oil used to fry the calamari and chicken wings were already blackened from overuse. Why do restaurants always assume consumers are dumb and would not know? My steak costs almost 40 dollars for an 8 oz and I have tasted better beef from Melbourne for half the price. 

Rachel's burger was soggy and uninspiring. I am now seriously going to avoid eating at any restaurant in the shopping belt unless it's unpretentious.  Sushi tei serves food for what it's worth and do not charge Nobu prices so you don't feel fleeced. Or soup restaurant. 

My food is way better. 

Bake fest

The baking frenzy continues and the kids surprised me with these cute cookies. I applaud their efforts. 

Fabulous baker girls

I am never going to a baker because I am not a stickler for precision. I cook with intuition and this has been a strength rather than a flaw in my approach to cooking. Because of this trait, I can handle pressure tests and emulate recipes with a success rate of 80%. Not bad eh?

But the kids love baking. Maybe it's the opportunity to tinker with different equipment and the joy of watching your cake rise in the oven. In any case, second attempt of the brownie and it looks and tastes perfect. 

Stuffed for good!

I discovered stuffing recipes with apples as part of the ingredients create such a beautiful sweet note that brings the entire roast chicken to another level. 

The recipe is from Ina Garten and absolutely fool proof because she is a technical chef. My daughter pointedly told me the difference between a cook and a chef. Not that I did not know but didn't try classifying the Jamie Oliver's apart from the Michael Symons. The chicken was well roasted, juicy and tender. Stuffing was so delicious especially the burnt bits. Great job from the kids. 

Buku Nero

I waited a decade to try this place. Never could find the right reason, moment or someone special to share this experience with. Till my wonderful baby remembered how much I wanted to dine at this place and booked it a few months in advance for my birthday. I was so excited!

The restaurant is unpretentious - small and cosy without the flamboyant decor that tries to impress. Rather it is more like a chef's table.  The food will speak for itself. Indeed it did. No photos allowed but it is the best Classic Italian meal I have had for a long time. Oscar and his wife, together with her mum, run this place. Service is quiet, professional and attentive. For once, someone knows the menu through and through. What a pleasure. We had appetizers, entree, main and desserts, for a total of SGD244 dollars. 

Wow. In Singapore, you get taken for a ride all the time with fancy named restaurants that serve you average food with astronomical prices. But not here. As good as the quality at DB bistro or even better. Same price range but without the fan fare of a MBS Michelin star restaurant. And it could hold its own. Best home made pasta and panacotta. I highly recommend to all genuine foodies out there. 

Mountbatten Room

This is the fine dining restaurant at the British Club and its a quiet and elegant place for a nice sit down civilized dinner. The food is seriously slightly above average. Good but not great. I won't rave about it nor will I hanker to head back again. 

A shame though. It has the right ambience and table setting with the expected English stuffiness provided by the service staff. They try but let slip a waitress that's from mainland China. So this is what is wrong with this restaurant. It get some bits right but other bits quite wrong. So you walk away feeling like something is amiss. For example the food. In either servings of appetizer or entree, some components are done well but others were like an after thought. Especially if it's not the main star of the dish eg pickled cabbage. Chefs must realize every component of the dish must be as good as the other. Otherwise diners are simply going on a roller coaster ride. Brilliance overshadowed by bad moments of executional flaws. For all the accolades it won, it has a lonnnggggg way to go before it can be a truly fine dining restaurant worth going back to. 

Local yummies

Local food is always comfort food. Laksa, mee siam, chicken curry, kueh pie tee, chendol.... Wonderful to devour these after months of carb less food. 

Chicken black curry

Trying to emulate a national dish of Sri Lanka we simply love. We bought a packet of roasted spices which has 8 different spices, roasted and grounded. Add to sauté onions, green chillies, curry leaves, grated ginger and garlic and viola it's done as a base paste. Add chicken, coconut milk, cayenne pepper and salt and leave to simmer for an hour. The whole house smells so good! 

Musings on the power of food

I was thinking to myself that day - the only memories of my grandmother and grand aunties, were the food they cooked. They were a very big part of my childhood. 

Therefore, food creates profound memories. So people, don't underestimate the power of cooking for your family. It's a legacy all mothers should leave behind. 

Curry Curry!

I am just beginning to discover curries as a cuisine to overcome technically. I have to learn the various spices, get the right equipment and ingredients. Since we do not have access to fresh spices and powder, I have to make do with little containers of ready made spices. Of course, I still try to get mustard seeds fresh, or garam masala etc. 

We have bought different types of curry powders from India and recently, sambors from Sri Lanka. We loved this particular aubergine pickle called vambatu moju. It's absolutely delicious. I have made a few types of Indian cuisine - tandoori chicken, cabbage with turmeric, fish curry, pork curry. Tonight I will be attempting a chicken black curry using roasted spices. It's almost black in color but oh so heavenly with a lot of depth and kick. 

Well, here's a collage of all our favorite food in Sri Lanka! Enjoy folks. 

Sous chefs in the making?

My kids have always been a great help in the kitchen. I think I have in many ways, rubbed off my love of cooking and food to all of them! They love watching cooking shows, pottering around in the kitchen, and discuss the food adventures they had. Sarah is definitely a baker. Rebekah enjoys experimenting and did very well for her F&N course in school. Rachel is a mix of both. 

I really hope this the legacy I will leave with them and in which they will remember me by. Food brings people together and create memories that stay with you forever. It creates a sense of belonging and identity. It is in essence, a means of understanding who you are and where you come from. Yes. It is that powerful and profound. So do not underestimate the binding power of the food that you eat. Here are pictures of a weekend dinner prepared by Rachel. 

With the Apple iPhone 6 plus...

I can now post my blog through my phone. More importantly, load pictures of food which I can never do in the past! Woo hoo! JACKLYN is officially back. 

So, it's been a very long while since I posted anything. Well, I am on a zero carb diet since June 2014 and slowly, I have been losing around 1 kg per month. You need to be extremely patient when it comes to weight loss and just keep focusing on the end goal. Most people give up easily because they did not see any immediate results. There is no magic formula except discipline and exercise. My body is now in a state of ketosis, meaning, it has been trained to burn fat as fuel since there is so little sugar. I just need to keep it that way for as long as I could. 

I also discovered three great insights while on this weight loss journey - we are all unconsciously addicted to carbs, we do not need 2,200 calories to survive a day. It's is all a lie by the USFDA and farm lobbyists. And, lastly, we are also unconsciously turning to carbs to cope with our modern stressful lives. So you see, what we are today in terms of health and sickness, is a result of our own creative design. Basically, we created our own shit. Our ancestors, the hunter gatherers, survived without carbs and ran marathon distance barefoot. Advancement in science is in a paradoxical way, harming us than helping us. Sounds weird? I leave you to these thoughts. Meanwhile, enjoy the food pics I took recently in HK.