Tekka prawns

Tekka market has the freshest and cheapest produce. A kg of tiger prawns costs only SGD 22. I bought it at 2.30 pm on a weekday afternoon. At this time, you would expect the best and the freshest to be sold out and you are left with a few miserable bits. But no. The prawns were still fresh! 

Made some for a BBQ with garlic, Rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper the rest went into this mid week dinner of prawns with linguine. Made very simply, aglio olio style. But so delicious. Sarah enjoyed every bit. 

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.