It all started all wrong. My wife had a bad day at work the day before and I thought what better way to cheer her up but to have a good meal at a nice restaurant. Somehow, carb loading does make people happy but Atkins denies that. Anyways, we were thinking about what and where to eat the whole day and my stupid mouth had to say Prego at Raffles City.
Before meeting my wife outside the restaurant, I met my other wife Tasty Bites for a quick caffeine shot and he told me not to go to Prego. I knew that. I trust him. But somehow his other suggestion for a restaurant was closed, I mean never to open again because it was CLOSED. So we had no choice but to end up at Prego.
Some background, I have been to Prego so many times when I was younger that I feel that I know the place by heart. I remembering ordering the cabonara and hated it because I hate cheese when I was 13. And I remember Prego being on the third floor of the Raffles City Shopping mall instead of the swanky corner that it is situated now. And recently, my colleague, which I shall call that person adnil mis recently went there and thought it wasn't that bad. I like my colleague and I think my colleague is a great person and friend.
But my wife and I left the place more disappointed then anything. The service was outstanding, deco was okay. There were alot of man couples and hetro-sexual couples, which made people watching interesting. The bread was somewhat warm the first time round but cold the second. We had a budget of $80 last night and we blew it by $7.
We ordered the calzone, the seafood pasta with tomato sauce and the lemon based sauced salad. First thing's first, the calzone was average at best. The one at Al Forno was much better. It was too cheesy for my liking and there wasn't enough tomato sauce in the calzone. The sausages in the calzone were not done correctly I thought. Instead of putting in cooked sausages, it seemed as if they were thrown in raw, so the texture of the sausages inside the calzone tasted steamed rather than tangy and juicy. The seafood pasta was average. I thought I could make something like that but charge at a much lower price. The salad. Well, I don't know how you say it but its probably one of the worst things I have tasted in my life. All you can taste is lemon juice and the blue cheese had a funky taste to it. It just tasted like vegetables with tons of lemon squeezed over it .
We declined to order more desserts but I think I should listen to Mr. and Mrs. Tasty Bites and my previous experience at Prego was probably right. My wife felt better after the meal not because it was a good meal but because we were laughing at each other while having a fake quarrel. Oh, the good times.
P.S. mama mia merda Prego cucina.
Astons Specialities
I like beef. Wait. I love beef. I love cows. Don't love milk. But I like Ice Cream. On the other hand, I do love steaks. I studied at a state where they name their steak cuts the Kansas City Strip. I can have beef every week or nearly every day. My wife, can be a testament to that because in school, every 3 days was a beef day. But when I came back to Singapore and discovered the quality of beef to be bad or poor, I told myself to have steaks maybe once or twice a year.
Everyone loves a good deal. Wait. Everyone absolutely loves a bargain. I thought I found it recently but I might have been having a meat mirage. People around me have been talking about Aston Specialities. It's a restaurant located along East Coast road and they serve good steaks. That's what people tell me.
I arrived at the place around 8pm on a Friday and it was full. Full with teenagers and families and young couples. I would like to think that I am part of a young couple but lets face it, these couples were probably still in college. We had to wait in line because the restaurant was full and the restaurant insisted that we had to order before we could find a place to sit (strike 1!)
And so I waited. I waited and waited. I waited for 30 mins before I could order and get a seat and see what all the fuss was about. We ordered the strip loin steak, the bbq ribs, a burger and alot of drinks along with a side of garlic bread. When the food came, I was surprised. The total bill we paid was less than $40. So yes, it is reasonable. The steak that my wife ordered was about 4 ounces? Which is small in my book because any steak you eat has to be about 8 - 12 ounces. We ordered with the sauce placed on the side because Singapore restaurants tend to have an over kill of sauce on the steak and this place was no different (strike 2!) The ribs were decent. It was sweet, the meat came off the bones easily, the burger was bad. I paid for a $5.50 burger and it came with beef patty and a slice of cheese. I was confused. The steak was decent, but the sides that came with it, was not that good. The mashed potatoes tasted processed (strike 3 and you're out!) but the fries, onion rings and potato salad wasn't bad at all. the garlic bread was slightly too soggy for my liking (strike 4?)
Before I get accused of being a high brow for food, let me say this, if you're a teenager and want to bring your girlfriend to a cool place to eat to show that you "know," secret hideouts, I say you bring your girlfriend there. Again, if you're a teenager, I don't know why you would be reading this blog. Anyways, if you have a young family with kids, bring your family there. They will like the place. I have been told that its better than Han's and Jack's Place. Honestly, I have hardly stepped into any of these restaurants in like many years so you can't take my word for it.
Just remember, don't order the mashed potatoes as one of your sides and stay away from the Burger and specifically ask for the sauce on the side for your steak. I was so ready to be impressed, and the pictures on their blog are pretty sexy meats. If you want to order the burger, they have this special burger they make that looks fantastic, order that! Don't order the burger on the menu. Don't order the ribs. And wait, if you could, ask the server if the cooks can abstain from putting the steak seasoning on the steak, and .... I think that's it.
I would really have digged this place if I was younger. I really do.
Everyone loves a good deal. Wait. Everyone absolutely loves a bargain. I thought I found it recently but I might have been having a meat mirage. People around me have been talking about Aston Specialities. It's a restaurant located along East Coast road and they serve good steaks. That's what people tell me.
I arrived at the place around 8pm on a Friday and it was full. Full with teenagers and families and young couples. I would like to think that I am part of a young couple but lets face it, these couples were probably still in college. We had to wait in line because the restaurant was full and the restaurant insisted that we had to order before we could find a place to sit (strike 1!)
And so I waited. I waited and waited. I waited for 30 mins before I could order and get a seat and see what all the fuss was about. We ordered the strip loin steak, the bbq ribs, a burger and alot of drinks along with a side of garlic bread. When the food came, I was surprised. The total bill we paid was less than $40. So yes, it is reasonable. The steak that my wife ordered was about 4 ounces? Which is small in my book because any steak you eat has to be about 8 - 12 ounces. We ordered with the sauce placed on the side because Singapore restaurants tend to have an over kill of sauce on the steak and this place was no different (strike 2!) The ribs were decent. It was sweet, the meat came off the bones easily, the burger was bad. I paid for a $5.50 burger and it came with beef patty and a slice of cheese. I was confused. The steak was decent, but the sides that came with it, was not that good. The mashed potatoes tasted processed (strike 3 and you're out!) but the fries, onion rings and potato salad wasn't bad at all. the garlic bread was slightly too soggy for my liking (strike 4?)
Before I get accused of being a high brow for food, let me say this, if you're a teenager and want to bring your girlfriend to a cool place to eat to show that you "know," secret hideouts, I say you bring your girlfriend there. Again, if you're a teenager, I don't know why you would be reading this blog. Anyways, if you have a young family with kids, bring your family there. They will like the place. I have been told that its better than Han's and Jack's Place. Honestly, I have hardly stepped into any of these restaurants in like many years so you can't take my word for it.
Just remember, don't order the mashed potatoes as one of your sides and stay away from the Burger and specifically ask for the sauce on the side for your steak. I was so ready to be impressed, and the pictures on their blog are pretty sexy meats. If you want to order the burger, they have this special burger they make that looks fantastic, order that! Don't order the burger on the menu. Don't order the ribs. And wait, if you could, ask the server if the cooks can abstain from putting the steak seasoning on the steak, and .... I think that's it.
I would really have digged this place if I was younger. I really do.
Reason for Prison Break at Changi Prison
Porta Porta is an Italian restaurant I have been to since I was a young lad. My parents wanted me to try Italian food and had read an article about this restaurant across from Changi Prison. Excited that I was going somewhere near a prison, I remembered ordering the squid ink pasta, and had tons of bread. I was thoroughly excited that my mouth was black with the squid ink.
I do not know if it is my mum's Cantonese culinary background or just my mum, my sister and I grew up being very critical of food. My family is the type of family that allows my mum to have the first bite of a fish head curry so that she can determine how fresh the fish is and thus to decide if we need to return the fish head curry. Yes, we are that family. I am also in the family where my mum and my sister can go to a restaurant and tell the server that the dish was horrible, or tell me its too salty or confound the critics by deciding that those fools were wrong.
Why am I writing this? The very fact that I was 12 years old when I first went to Porta Porta and I am still talking about it now means something about the restaurant. I do not know the owner and I do not know who cooks the food. I do know that this is truly one of THE hidden gems not only in the eastern part of Singapore but I can safely add that can include all directions in Singapore.
I ordered the Vongole and my wife ordered the Gnocchi, a mixed appetizer starter which consisted of olive oil cured cucumbers, mushrooms, red peppers and eggplant, free flow bread, an apple pie and a lemon gelato type sorbet for dessert coupled with a glass of wine and plain water. The bill was $100. But it was worth it.
I don't normally like to say this but the Vongole is probably the best I have tasted so far in Singapore over the last 2 years. If ever you can complain about having too much Vongole, this might just be it. I took about 15 mins to deshell everything. And once my task was completed, it took about 5 minutes to complete it. Not because the serving was small. But my mouth is big you see. The noodles were al dente, the white wine sauce was tangy and garlic protruded the taste. The blend was a great mix and I felt like drinking the sauce as soup. But I stopped myself.
The gnocchi was lovely. The cheese and the tomato mix was delightful and I personally hate cheese.
The mixed appetizer got me going, the bread wasn't the warmest but it did its job as a condiment to the starters. The desserts were great. My lemon gelato sorbet came in a lemon. How cool was that? (no pun intended) and the apple pie was much better than alot of the apple smush that I have had at other restaurants.
Service was polite and nice. I mean, its a small restaurant.
The only knock I do have is this: the menu is limited. I wish it has more variety so that I can sample more Italian cooking but its a small restaurant based on a very niche market.
So if any of you who decides to be Wentworth Miller and break out Changi Prison, try the Italian food. Its worth the prison break.
I do not know if it is my mum's Cantonese culinary background or just my mum, my sister and I grew up being very critical of food. My family is the type of family that allows my mum to have the first bite of a fish head curry so that she can determine how fresh the fish is and thus to decide if we need to return the fish head curry. Yes, we are that family. I am also in the family where my mum and my sister can go to a restaurant and tell the server that the dish was horrible, or tell me its too salty or confound the critics by deciding that those fools were wrong.
Why am I writing this? The very fact that I was 12 years old when I first went to Porta Porta and I am still talking about it now means something about the restaurant. I do not know the owner and I do not know who cooks the food. I do know that this is truly one of THE hidden gems not only in the eastern part of Singapore but I can safely add that can include all directions in Singapore.
I ordered the Vongole and my wife ordered the Gnocchi, a mixed appetizer starter which consisted of olive oil cured cucumbers, mushrooms, red peppers and eggplant, free flow bread, an apple pie and a lemon gelato type sorbet for dessert coupled with a glass of wine and plain water. The bill was $100. But it was worth it.
I don't normally like to say this but the Vongole is probably the best I have tasted so far in Singapore over the last 2 years. If ever you can complain about having too much Vongole, this might just be it. I took about 15 mins to deshell everything. And once my task was completed, it took about 5 minutes to complete it. Not because the serving was small. But my mouth is big you see. The noodles were al dente, the white wine sauce was tangy and garlic protruded the taste. The blend was a great mix and I felt like drinking the sauce as soup. But I stopped myself.
The gnocchi was lovely. The cheese and the tomato mix was delightful and I personally hate cheese.
The mixed appetizer got me going, the bread wasn't the warmest but it did its job as a condiment to the starters. The desserts were great. My lemon gelato sorbet came in a lemon. How cool was that? (no pun intended) and the apple pie was much better than alot of the apple smush that I have had at other restaurants.
Service was polite and nice. I mean, its a small restaurant.
The only knock I do have is this: the menu is limited. I wish it has more variety so that I can sample more Italian cooking but its a small restaurant based on a very niche market.
So if any of you who decides to be Wentworth Miller and break out Changi Prison, try the Italian food. Its worth the prison break.
Knives
During the long holiday week, the missus and I went to Sushi Tei at Takashimaya. While ordering the food by the sushi train, I paid attention to the sushi chefs and in particular, how pretty the knives were. I believe that besides the cleaver, you should maybe have about 3 knives in the kitchen to cook. And these are definitely on my list.
The pictures are taken from Watanabe Blades. Aren't they pretty?
The pictures are taken from Watanabe Blades. Aren't they pretty?
OSO
In my quest for better Italian food in Singapore. The wife and I have decided to explore another restaurant that is somewhat away from where we normally hang out. Located in Tanjong Pagar road, right next to FairField Methodist Church, is a deceptively sexy Italian restaurant. If you take a peek from the outside, it looks like a small eatery but as you enter the restaurant and turn a corner, its a hidden adjacent room filled with tables and I have to keep repeating this throughout the review, good service.
OSO is a sexy Italian restaurant. If you have been following this blog, we stumbled by this restaurant several weeks back before we reached Le Papillion. The wife and I wanted to head out for somewhere quaint and pretty and OSO was the choice. Its a pretty small restaurant but not as big as Garibaldis. The servers are all extremely pleasant and polite. Very helpful and was willing to put up with my nonsense, and that says quite a bit. We were going to meet our friends "Louis Vuitton," and his girlfriend "Pearly Whites," who were again fashionably 30 minutes late. Please do make your reservations. It'll do you good. So we were on time and hungry and we wanted to order everything first but wanted them to hold the orders for us to wait until our friends arrived. The servers more than happily agreed to our suggestion and we ordered the following:
Soup of the day - shreded crab meat soup in tomato base.
Foir Gras Brushcetta with almond and marsala wine sauce.
Penne pasta in tomato bisque and orange zest
roasted pork loin with honey served with braised capsicum and cinnamon
Hot dark chocolate tart crostata
Mascapone Cheese cake
The latecomers ordered:
The Soup of the day - after seeing me and the missus drink the soup silly
Homemade Ravioli filled with beef in cream, cheese and mushroom sauce
Rigatoni with braised rabbit, thyme black olives, Taggiasche
Sicilian Cannoli filled with ricotta cheese mouse and mixed candied fruits
First of all, I have to say that I love their cutlery and plates. Very pretty plates and utensils. What I didn't do that I should have done was actually to bring a camera because words can't do justice to how pretty the dishes were. Chef Diego Chiarini makes all the dishes looks like art. The decoration for each dish was immaculate and a sight.
I loved the soup, my wife didn't really like it but it was actually one of the best tomato based crab meat soup I have drank in a long time. It was smooth and refine. The foie gras bruschetta wreaked of decadence and beauty. Instead of the typical diced tomatoes, it was foie gras! The almond and Marsala wine sauce made the plate more appetizing and sweet. There was a mix of smokiness and nuttiness that made the bruschetta a great experience.
My wife wasn't too impressed with her pasta. But I was surprised she ordered what she did because it is unusual to have orange zest in pasta, but tasting it, there was a good compliment with the tomato bisque. My dish on the other hand was fantastic. The roasted pork was pink, sweet and succulent. The capsicum and cinnamon complimented the pork to a tee. I clearly had the best dish on the table!
My friends ordered the rabbit pasta ended up returning the pasta because she felt like it tasted like tuna, and the servers took it back without complain and asked her what she didn't like about it. She ordered the shrimp salad later. Louis Vuitton's Ravioli was excellent as well.
The reaction to the desserts were mixed. Again, I ordered the best thing. The chocolate tart. The milk ice cream that came along with the tart made it an excellent dish. And I don't drink milk! My wife's mascapone cheese cake was good too. I like it because it was a light cheese cake and the mascapone cream carried the cake.
Right before the end of our meal, the Maitre'd Stephene Colleoni came by and asked my friend and joked with us for a couple of seconds about the rabbit pasta. It was funny, but you could tell, at least from my perspective that they bothered about what the customer thought. That is good service!
The bill turned out to be about $150 per couple. Just about what I thought it was. I liked the restaurant. Its quite obvious. My wife thought it was one of the best she ever had in Singapore. So that says quite a bit.
Go to the website and see for yourself what they have. The current menu on their website is not updated but they have nearly everything that is in the current menu. I would definitely recommend this Italian restaurant!
OSO is a sexy Italian restaurant. If you have been following this blog, we stumbled by this restaurant several weeks back before we reached Le Papillion. The wife and I wanted to head out for somewhere quaint and pretty and OSO was the choice. Its a pretty small restaurant but not as big as Garibaldis. The servers are all extremely pleasant and polite. Very helpful and was willing to put up with my nonsense, and that says quite a bit. We were going to meet our friends "Louis Vuitton," and his girlfriend "Pearly Whites," who were again fashionably 30 minutes late. Please do make your reservations. It'll do you good. So we were on time and hungry and we wanted to order everything first but wanted them to hold the orders for us to wait until our friends arrived. The servers more than happily agreed to our suggestion and we ordered the following:
Soup of the day - shreded crab meat soup in tomato base.
Foir Gras Brushcetta with almond and marsala wine sauce.
Penne pasta in tomato bisque and orange zest
roasted pork loin with honey served with braised capsicum and cinnamon
Hot dark chocolate tart crostata
Mascapone Cheese cake
The latecomers ordered:
The Soup of the day - after seeing me and the missus drink the soup silly
Homemade Ravioli filled with beef in cream, cheese and mushroom sauce
Rigatoni with braised rabbit, thyme black olives, Taggiasche
Sicilian Cannoli filled with ricotta cheese mouse and mixed candied fruits
First of all, I have to say that I love their cutlery and plates. Very pretty plates and utensils. What I didn't do that I should have done was actually to bring a camera because words can't do justice to how pretty the dishes were. Chef Diego Chiarini makes all the dishes looks like art. The decoration for each dish was immaculate and a sight.
I loved the soup, my wife didn't really like it but it was actually one of the best tomato based crab meat soup I have drank in a long time. It was smooth and refine. The foie gras bruschetta wreaked of decadence and beauty. Instead of the typical diced tomatoes, it was foie gras! The almond and Marsala wine sauce made the plate more appetizing and sweet. There was a mix of smokiness and nuttiness that made the bruschetta a great experience.
My wife wasn't too impressed with her pasta. But I was surprised she ordered what she did because it is unusual to have orange zest in pasta, but tasting it, there was a good compliment with the tomato bisque. My dish on the other hand was fantastic. The roasted pork was pink, sweet and succulent. The capsicum and cinnamon complimented the pork to a tee. I clearly had the best dish on the table!
My friends ordered the rabbit pasta ended up returning the pasta because she felt like it tasted like tuna, and the servers took it back without complain and asked her what she didn't like about it. She ordered the shrimp salad later. Louis Vuitton's Ravioli was excellent as well.
The reaction to the desserts were mixed. Again, I ordered the best thing. The chocolate tart. The milk ice cream that came along with the tart made it an excellent dish. And I don't drink milk! My wife's mascapone cheese cake was good too. I like it because it was a light cheese cake and the mascapone cream carried the cake.
Right before the end of our meal, the Maitre'd Stephene Colleoni came by and asked my friend and joked with us for a couple of seconds about the rabbit pasta. It was funny, but you could tell, at least from my perspective that they bothered about what the customer thought. That is good service!
The bill turned out to be about $150 per couple. Just about what I thought it was. I liked the restaurant. Its quite obvious. My wife thought it was one of the best she ever had in Singapore. So that says quite a bit.
Go to the website and see for yourself what they have. The current menu on their website is not updated but they have nearly everything that is in the current menu. I would definitely recommend this Italian restaurant!
Tis a sad day ...
Inventor of instant noodles dies
 Momofuku Ando often ate his company's instant noodles |
Mr Ando was born in Taiwan in 1910 and moved to Japan in 1933, founding Nissin Food Products Co after World War II to provide cheap food for the masses.
His most famous product, Cup Noodle, was released in 1971.
Its taste and ease of preparation - adding hot water to dried noodles in a waterproof polystyrene container - have made it popular around the world.
Mr Ando said the inspiration for his product came when he saw people lining up to buy bowls of hot ramen noodle soup at a black market stall during the food shortages after World War II.
Noodles in space
He developed his first instant noodles, Chicken Ramen, in 1958.
The product came out as Japan recovered from the ravages of World War II and began a long period of economic expansion.
It was the masterstroke of providing a waterproof polystyrene container for the noodles that made his Cup Noodle an instant success in 1971.
Nissin has led the global instant noodle industry since then, selling 85.7 billion servings every year, according to Agence France Presse.
His firm also developed a version of Cup Noodle for Japanese astronauts to eat on the space shuttle Discovery in 2005.
In 1999, Mr Ando opened a museum in Osaka devoted to instant noodles.
He retired as Nissin's chairman in 2005.
Japanese newspapers and business people have been paying tribute to Mr Ando.
"He was a self-made man who developed an epoch-making instant noodle product and spread it to all corners of the world," Akio Nomura, chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Kyodo news agency.
Mr Ando remained active until just days before his death, giving a New Year's speech to Nissin employees and having a lunch of Chicken Ramen with company executive.
Taken from BBC News
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