The Hungry Bunny

This is the easiest dish that makes anyone look like a seasoned chef. Its bright colours totally belie any lack of skill, and it's healthy to boot.An added bonus, it's great for the time-strapped as it takes no more than half an hour to whip up. Ingredients (feeds 4-6 pax): 12 large portobello, stems off, cleaned 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved extra virgin olive oil 1 ball fresh buffalo mozzarella salt 1 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn Directions: 1) Season cherry tomatoes in 3 tbsp olive oil and salt. Set aside. 2) Season portobellos with olive oil and salt and pepper. 3) Pre-heat oven at 205C, roast portobellos for 15 minutes. 4) Remove from heat, assemble portobellos by layering with mozzarella, seasoned tomatoes, and strips of basil. Return to oven, and bake for another 8-10 minutes until cheese melts and/or tomatoes burst. 5) Serve with extra lashings of fresh basil.

Braised chicken is one of my favourite things to cook. It's quick and easy, and can be changed up a million ways. I chanced upon a beautiful head of Savoy cabbage, and took the opportunity to whip up a low-fuss braise with chicken. Ingredients (feeds 4-6 pax): 8 chicken thighs 1 large yellow onion, minced 1 head garlic, minced 1 large head savoy cabbage, cut into thick 1" wide strips 14 strips streaky bacon 4 cups chicken stock 12 stalks fresh thyme, tied with butcher's twine salt pepper Olive oil Directions: 1) Brown and crisp bacon in a shallow pan of olive oil. 2) Set aside. Reserve 3 tbsp bacon-infused olive oil. 3) Brown chicken in bacon-flavoured olive oil, salting liberally and taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Set aside, and reserve 3 tbsp of bacon-and-chicken-fat-infused olive oil. 4) Fry onion in bacon-and-chicken-fat-infused olive oil, until transluscent. 5) Add garlic, and fry till fragrant. 6) Add cabbage and f...

Sometime ago, when I reviewed Relish, some boob (who'd inexplicably some unresolved issues with Relish??) had pompously commented that I was "seriously so uninformed", as Relish was "due to close soon". But, you know, as with any troll, you should always ignore and leave them be, in the dank shadows of wherever they slithered out from, because, more than 2 years after my visit, Relish is still standing strong. The healthy size of the weekday lunch service was an indication of a sustainable tenancy at Cluny Court. I'm on a bit of a salad craze right now, and the Sesame Chicken Salad ($15.40), a melange of mesclun, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken, and tossed in a delightful sesame-soy dressing, hit all the right notes. Perfectly moist chicken, check. Refreshingly crisp greens, check. A beautifully balanced, albeit marginally salty, dish, that evidently drew its inspiration from chicken rice, so you get the flavours of chicken rice, without...

Wow I've really fallen behind my blogging, haven't I? Life's been a whirlwind of travel, mixers, and zombified couch potato-ing, so you get an insight as to how lazy I've gotten with blogging. heh This was a meal I had a couple of weeks prior, where we double-dated with andmorefood, at Shang Palace . A venerable Chinese oldie in Singapore, Shang Palace is one of those grand 'ol restaurants that relies more on its lauded history than the quality of its food. The Cantonese fare was far from shabby, but it's definitely lost its competitive edge. And in the sea of Chinese offerings inundating our little red dot, being merely pedestrian marks a death knell to a restaurant. The less-than-stellar dinner may be why the restaurant was a virtual ghost-town when we visited on a Friday night. Many other restaurants would have been packed. On second thought, the dinner didn't resonate for a couple of reasons. Each dish was almost on point, with just a little somet...

I've just noticed a proliferation of Mexican restaurants on our little island. Not that any spawn of the Latin American movement was of personal significance, really, as I've never really been a fan of Mexican fare (they add cilantro in every-freaking-thing!). But I'll readily admit that I haven't ever had truly honest-to-goodness authentic Mexican food...so maybe I haven't given Mexican cuisine a fair shake. Until we came across Super Loco , sister restaurant to Duxton Hill resident Lucha Loco. We were at Robertson Quay and in desperate need of sustenance. Super Loco caught our eye, mostly because we were mighty tickled by its moniker, as "loco" also means "crazy". Yes, there's a part of me, that infantile, forever-Peter Pan part of me who laughs at childish things such as this. I'm glad our immature selves led us to Super Loco , as dinner turned out a fantastic immersion in Mexican grub. The open-air bistro is casual and breezy, in...

We haven't been to The White Rabbit in some time . The romantic restaurant is one of the best things about the Dempsey enclave, serving consistently exceptional food in a sleek and posh but relaxed setting. I like that it's sufficiently out of the way to feel far from the madding crowd, but its city-fringe locale makes it accessible enough for us. The menu's been refreshed, and while the focus remains steadfastly European, there are distinct pops of Asian influence. The meat entrees are always a safe bet, but save space for the pasta dishes, these were memorably outstanding. The Asian-inflected Alaskan King Crab Pasta ($28 appetizer sized), saw fresh tagliatelle strewn with sweet shreds of crabmeat bolstered by chewy kombu blobs, swimming in a rich but nuanced pork broth. A must-try, but a tip to those avoiding carbs, get this in the appetizer portion for sharing. The Truffle Pasta ($25) of homemade fusilli slathered in a velvety thick mushroom cream, was punctua...

Tamarind Hill has quickly become one of my favourite places to head to for Thai fine dining, the other 2 being good ol' Patara , and popular CBD haunt Sabai on the Bay . Here, classic Thai food is made exquisite with premium, ultra fresh ingredients and gorgeous plating. The Hors d'oeuvres comprised a duo of springy Thai Fish Cakes with a refreshingly crisp cucumber salad, a tender chicken skewer burnished with a chili peanut coat, and a papaya salad speckled with salted eggs. The fish cakes and chicken skewer were lovely, but the hightlight was the salad, a myriad of crunchy and smooth textures and addicting in its piquancy. A classic Thai salad, Lab Gai ($18), was a hodgepodge of minced chicken, fresh shallots, and assorted Thai herbs dressed in a savoury spicy marinade. It was just too bad (for me, at least) copious amounts of coriander leaves were weaved into this. A must-try, the E-Sarn Style Beef Soup ($8) was smashing. The beef was meltingly tender, and the...