The Hungry Bunny

Now that the CNY festivities has well and truly died down, we thought we'd do our digestive system a favour and detox a little bit with the help of Chinese herbal soups. So we made a beeline for Soup Restaurant , our go-to place for some double-boiled wholesomeness. The Double-Boiled Black Chicken Soup ($7.90), with puk kay and tong sam, is a mellow, sweet-ish soup that immediately transported me back to my maternal gran's kitchen. Best of all, this soup reduces blood pressure and has a slimming effect. The calming Double Boiled Lingzhi Pork Ribs Soup ($7.50) has a distinct earthy overtone with the nutritious mushroom. Wolfberries, gingko nuts and walnuts lend nutty sweetness. The Claypot Tofu ($8) may be damn small a portion, but the beancurd is smooth as silk and sea cucumber-laden sauce just so luscious.  The Teochew Olive Rice ($5.90) pales in comparison to the one at The Lawn in terms of flavour. It was just as well, we're trying to lay off the sodiu...

Homemade Chicken Stock is and should be a building block of every cook's repertoire of recipes. I know buying the pre-made ones from the supermarket is real convenient and a mega time-saver, but making it from scratch is a lot easier than you'd think. And, a big plus is that homemade stock greatly reduces the amount of preservatives in your food. I've set out below a very basic stock recipe, sans salt or herbs, so it goes with EVERYTHING. You can opt to add your preferred aromatics (some like to add bay leaves and/or thyme for a western slant, while Asians prefer sweet wolfberries and dried seafood such as conpoy, and herbs such as huai shan and dangshen) and salt accordingly when cooking. Ingredients: 5 whole chicken carcasses 1 onion, cut to 1 inch dice 2 carrots, diced to 1 inch cubes 2 celery ribs, cut to 1 inch dice 3 cloves garlic, smashed Directions: 1) Heat olive oil in wok, and fry the chicken carcasses till browned. Or else, use the bones of a lefto...

This is an Oriental take on classic chicken stew, with the use of Chinese five-spice powder and oyster sauce. A splash of apple cider vinegar, my "secret ingredient", enhances this comforting dish with a ray of brightness. Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (get the butcher to pre-cut into large chunks for convenience) 1 can champignon mushrooms, quartered (you can use 10-15 white button mushrooms here instead) 3 large russet potatoes, cut to 1 inch cubes 200gm baby carrots, cut to 1cm dice 2 celery ribs, cut to 1 inch dice 2 tomatoes, cut to 1 inch dice 1 large onion, minced finely 2 cinnamon sticks 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar Stewing liquid (pre-mixed in a bowl): Dash of cinnamon powder Dash of Chinese five-spice powder 1 tsp sugar 2 tbsp oyster sauce 2 cups stock 2 cups water Directions (serves 2): 1) Fry onions in two-thirds proportion olive oil and one-third proportion sesame oil until translucent. 2) Add chicken to sear till browned. 3) Add mus...

Korean food is not for everyone. It takes a certain palate to appreciate Korean food, because they love their meats sweet instead of savoury, appetizers cold instead of hot and flavours predominantly sour and pungent. For non-Koreans, Soondubu Jjigae , or beancurd stew, is probably the least polarizing Korean dish. Its simple, straightforward, hot and spicy flavours are what makes it very popular amongst non-Koreans. For a long time, this was one of the only 2 dishes that I'd eat during our annual "pilgrimage" to the Hubs' motherland, while the Hubs is happily wolfing down his year's quota of Korean food. Soondubu Jjigae is super easy to make, and there are a ton of variations for you to change up, once you've got the base recipe down pat. You start off with the yangnyum, the Korean version of our nonya or Malay rempah. That forms the base flavour for the stew, that you add water or stock to, and then load it up with any protein and vegetables you'd lik...

Akashi is one of the longest tenant restaurants of Paragon's food basement. Weekends will see it packed with raucous families; the sheer number of kids here reminded me of a kiddy gym. If you're the type to prefer a lot of peace and quiet during mealtimes, then maybe you should hit this place up only on weekdays, where you're likely to bump into a local celebrity or two. I hear Akashi 's salmon tail handroll is a firm favourite of the celebrity set. I don't quite understand the fandom though. While their set meals were affordably decent, I thought the ala carte menu was a little overpriced. Their sushi/sashimi may be a smidge better than Sushi Tei , but at twice the price points, Akashi didn't strike me as particularly competitive. We started off with the sparkling fresh Shake Sashimi ($20), sliced appreciatively thick and fat.  We loved the Aburi Toro Sushi ($36), beautifully seared tuna belly that was meltingly moist. That said, this was a little ...

You wouldn't think anyone in the right mind would sit in the blazing afternoon heat to drink hot soup in their office attire, but here at SOUPerich , it becomes evident that Singaporeans love Chinese-style clear soups! Like Yee Jia Chun just 1 street away, this tiny, non-air-conditioned place consistently sports a long queue. While many are seen to takeaway their soups to dine in the air-conditioned comfort of their office, a number still opt to brave the heat to dine at the eatery. Although the indoors is superheated like a convection oven, the outdoor seating is slightly less uncomfortable as the tables here catch a light breeze every now and then. One of their most popular soups, the Lotus Root Soup ($5) is full-bodied and rich, with a delectable homestyled flavour to it.This was loaded with peanuts, lending an addictively toothsome bite. The Pumpkin Rice ($2) is both nutritious and delicious, packed with shredded pork, dried shrimp, stewed mushrooms and nuts.  SOUP...

The doubly auspicious chap goh mei (15th day of Chinese New Year) and yuan xiao jie (the unofficial Chinese version of Valentine's Day) last Friday translated to big bucks for the F&B industry. Many restaurants capitalised on the lucky date by having 2-3 different seatings, or in Majestic Restaurant 's case, appropriated part of the Majestic Hotel lobby as its temporary premises.Yet another manifestation of the over-commercialization of our heritage celebrations, the restaurant's sardine-packed, makeshift tables and chairs, and temporary set up in the hotel lobby all felt a little cheap and very much like an after-thought. It reminded me of those over-subscribed weddings in the 70's where unexpected guests were chucked to the corridor of the hotel ballroom in hastily set up tables. We dined on the Auspicious Menu ($98+ per person) and not surprisingly, the food that unfortunate day was choppy and inconsistent; mediocre compared to their usual standard . Service w...