The Hungry Bunny

I'd leftover cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes from last week's fusilli, and thought I'd mix it up with some shrimp, and set it against a base of risotto using the bottles of shrimp stock in my freezer. Shrimp stock can be a little heavy, so I lightened it up with some chicken stock, and threw in a packet of rocket leaves to lend a mild peppery heat. Ingredients (feeds 4-6): 2 cups arborio or canaroli rice 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp olive oil 1 large yellow onion, minced 1 cup dry white wine (I'm partial to chardonnay) 4-6 cups shrimp stock 2-4 cups chicken stock 200 gm shrimp, deshelled, deveined and given the alkali treatment 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, minced 1 cup red cherry tomatoes, halved 1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, halved 4 cups unpacked arugula 1 cup parmesan, grated Salt to taste Optional: 1 tbsp lemon juice, lemon zest of 1 lemon to finish if shrimp stock too heavy Directions: 1) Fry onions in pre-heated melted butter until soft and tra...

Cat & the Fiddle should really start a loyalty program. My colleagues and I have bought 5 cakes from them in just 8 months. That's 1 cake every 1-2 months! We're taking every opportunity to buy their awesome value-for-money cheesecakes and going through their entire range. For a birthday girl who loves her sour gummies, the zesty Maneki Neko ($33.90 for 1.1kg), with its tangy and refreshing notes of yuzu, mandarin orange, lemon zest and shredded lime leaves, is a sure-win. Its tart and invigorating overtones were perfectly in sync with the rich creamy cheesecake base. Cat & the Fiddle Website: www.catandthefiddle.com

Bob's Bar is one of those places I could chill out at forever. The seascapes are gorgeous, foliage lush, and even in the heat of the afternoon, is breezy enough to hang out. And because the Capella is so resort-like, the resident bar seems worlds apart from the bustling citystate. I can understand why so many people take staycations here. There's such a wonderful holiday vibe about this place! A major perk of chilling out here: the peacocks, peahens and peachicks milling about, in quiet companionship with us cityfolk. They come up real close, especially if you have peanuts on hand, but don't worry, they aren't aggressive. Sleeping beauty...zzz Even more adorable was this little family with triplet peachicks scampering along behind their parents. The cocktails here are refreshing and cool. Clockwise from top: Virgin Bob's Fresh-Pressed Mojito ($19) with sugarcane, lime juice, organic mint; Windward Island Shake ($19) with orange juice, banana puree, va...

The Fat Cow is the premier steakhouse of all things Japanese and wagyu. To be perfectly honest, I don't usually make the leap from 'steakhouse' to 'Japanese' because steakhouses are more commonly associated with America or Australia, but then I remembered that Japan gifted the world with wagyu and kobe, the most prized and luxurious of cows. A little off the main thoroughfare of Orchard Road, and tucked away in a corner of the Camden Medical Center, the nondescript restaurant is an oasis of low-lit, pinewood-ed tranquility.  The food's a mix of Japanese sashimi and anything bovine-related, distinguished by a distinctive Japanese twist. Every dish was flawless, exquisite and perfectly executed, but it all comes at a price that's eye-poppingly expensive and in portions that were depressingly petite. Little wonder, then, their set lunches are a lot more well-received than their ala carte dinner. Reservations aren't really required, because it's a...

Our Hanoi travel guide recently visited Singapore, and we took the opportunity to show him around our little island city-state. He'd been instrumental in our new-found love for Vietnamese cuisine, and we wanted to inculcate a reciprocal love for our local cuisine. Turns out, our friend wasn't too keen on our spice-and-oil-laden signatures like laksa, chilli crab, char kway teow and hokkien mee. In hindsight, it made sense that a Hanoian, who's accustomed to light and clean flavours, would find our typical "national dishes" overwhelmingly robust. It was serendipitous, then, that we suggested he sample Teochew fare, a Chinese dialect cuisine characterised by clear and delicate flavours. This meal alone changed his opinion of Singaporean cuisine; he couldn't understand, before, why everyone seemed to rave about Singaporean food. We brought our friend to Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine , an anchor restaurant at the Teochew Chui Huay Lim Club. The Jumbo-affiliate...

I'd passed Rive Gauche Patisserie by while in the food basement of Takashimaya, with 2 misconceptions. One: I've always thought that it was French, but as it turns out, it's actually Japanese-owned. Two: I've always thought it was a chocolatier, but as it turns out, it's a patisserie. An underrated confectionery, it seems, but with a good-sized following that's enabled the outfit to last decades. A signature, the Guanaja ($48 for 14cm x 19cm), is a sexy confection of dark chocolate mousse, dense chocolate sponge and crispy biscuit bed. Love how the gold specks glisten in the glow of the candlelight.  It's heady and luscious, but nuanced because of its bittersweet nature and contrasting textures. Rive Gauche Patisserie Takashimaya B2-07 391 Orchard Road Tel: 6887 4579 Open daily from 10am to 9.30pm

Cauliflower soup is one of my all-time favourite soups. The blended soup is mellow, comforting and fortifying. To spice things up, I've added a little curry powder to the soup. The curry powder lends a mild heat to the soup that elevates the sweetness of the cauliflower. Ingredients (feeds 4-6): 12 cups cauliflower florets 1 potato, diced 2 tbsp butter 1 large yellow onion, diced 4 tsp curry powder 1 tsp cumin 4-5 cups vegetable stock Directions: 1) Toss about 2 cups of florets with salt and olive oil. Roast cauliflower at 200C for  25 minutes till golden brown. Set aside, these will be used as toppings. 2) Melt butter in pan. 3) Add onions, and fry till transluscent, about 2 minutes on medium-high heat.  4) Add curry powder and cumin, and fry till toasty, about 1 minute. 5) Add cauliflower and potato, and fry till slightly softened, about 2 minutes. 6) Add vegetable broth, bring to boil, and simmer till cauliflower is soft and mushy, about 7...

As you may be aware, I recently purchased a punnet of marusho tomatoes from Ethan's Gourmet , wonderfully juicy balls of pure sunshine. This easy-to-make dish is vegetarian-friendly, incredibly simple, and highlights the natural sweetness of the rainbow-hued tomatoes. And because it's so gorgeous, it looks a lot more pro than it actually is! Ingredients (feeds 4): 400 gm fusilli 10 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 4 cups uncooked wild rocket leaves 2 cups marusho tomatoes, halved (regular red and yellow cherry tomatoes work in a pinch as well) 1/2 cup grated parmesan Salt to taste Directions: 1) Cook fusilli in salted boiling water till just underdone. These fusilli cook in 11 minutes, so I took them off the heat at the 9-minute mark. 2) Fry garlic in olive oil, about 1 minute on medium-heat. 3) Lower heat, add tomatoes, toss. 4) Add semi-cooked fusilli, toss for about 1 minute, coating each screw evenly with olive oil. 5) Turn ...

We had a thoroughly satisfying steak dinner at Wooloomooloo , so when invited to lunch at sister restaurant The Chop House , I jumped at it. Whereas Wooloomooloo is the upscale sophisticate, The Chop House is the modest laidback bistro. Prices are correspondingly reflective of the difference in quality of food, service and ambience. The Chop House has a condensed steak menu, with only 4 options for red meat lovers. But with the massive 400-gram T-bone tipping the scales at just under 50 buckaroos, I thought, after tempering my expectations, the meats here were just as value-for-money as Wooloomooloo.  Despite the many cautionary tales of the purportedly terrible food and awful service, my friends and I enjoyed our lunch here. The tip is to pick carefully, and stick to the burgers and steaks. I wouldn't wax lyrical about The Chop House , or rate it as a top steakhouse, but it's certainly far from horrible. I, and my friends, waddled away sated, and would consider The Cho...