The Hungry Bunny

C'est la saison de la soupe. Meme si on n'a pas les quarte saisons à Singapour, le temps devient "pas aussi chaud" vers la fin de l'année; c'est cette période que j'ai envie de soupes et de ragoûts...ils sont très très réconfortants!  Dans d'autres nouvelles, les lumières et décorations de Noël à Rue Orchard sont allumées!! Je ne suis pas sûr pourquoi, mais voir les lumières de Noël me rend toujours heureux. Je pense, c'est peut-être parce que les lumières de Noël signifient l'approche de Noël, ma saison préférée de tous. Même si on ne fête pas Noël pour des raisons religieuses, c'est toujours le temps de la gentillesse et l'amour, toutes les qualités que j'apprécie et chérit. Et parce que tous nos proches resteront à Singapour, nous inaugurerons et passerons les fêtes de Noël et du Nouvel An avec eux à la maison au lieu. Ce sera certainement un changement, car nous sommes habituellement à l'étranger et nous regardons les feux d...

Although Sichuan cuisine is renowned as one of the 'big four' pillars of Chinese cuisine, I've always thought it one-dimensional, in that the food just paralyzes your tastebuds with lots and lots, and lots of chilli. Also, it's coz my repository of Sichuan dishes was limited to mapo tofu, hot & sour soup, and kung pao chicken. But, there's apparently more to Szechuan cooking than spicy chillis that burn your tongue all the way to your stomach (and out your ass but that may be a tad too much information? heh). There's also delicate soups, clear and light noodles, and fresh raw vegetables. This recent revelation was by way of a lunch at Tian Bao Szechuan Kitchen , a casual eatery at Takashimaya so successful it's spawned an outlet at Hillview. The Lettuce with Sesame Paste ($6.60), crisp and refreshingly chilled, was a lifesaver, to douse the fiery potency of the chilli pepper dishes. I was surprised, I never thought Sichuan food would have such a dish....

In spite of Min Jiang 's longevity, it's not a restaurant we frequent. Their extensive menu is quite a hit-and-miss affair, and you'd really have to pick carefully for a commendable meal . This time round, we opted badly, and each dish comprised a jarring element, which made for a lackluster dinner. The appetizer of Szechuan Chicken ($12), simply poached and served chilled smothered in a spicy-piquant sesame-soy-chilli sauce, passed muster but was far from outstanding. The version at Shinsen Hanten bore more harmonious flavours. The Claypot of Braised Beancurd with Assorted Seafood ($28 for small) would have been wonderfully homestyled but for the less-than-fresh fish and overly treated prawns. Suffice it to say, we left the pieces of fish behind. The Fried String Beans with Minced Meat ($18), enlivened with preserved mustard greens, was lacking in the smoky char of the wok. We saw this served at just every other table, but we didn't quite take to the ...

Remember the original Iron Chef series? The one entirely in Japanese and dubbed over by some super animated commentator? That was one of my favourite shows growing up. I was obsessed, watching the 3 chefs, all masters in their own right, battle it out in that massively cavernous industrial kitchen against some poor overreaching sod. In just 1.5 hours, the chefs were able to create three-four masterpieces, putting their own spin on whatever "secret ingredient" theme highlighted in that episode. One of the chefs was the ever imposing, cleaver-wielding Chen Kenichi, a Japanese-born, ethnic Chinese chef also known as Iron Chef Chinese. Affectionately called the grandfather of Sichuan cooking in Japan, he went on to set up a restaurant empire, one of which is now in Singapore, Shisen Hanten . The name itself is already a mouthful (I just realised I've been mis-pronouncing it "Shinsen Hanten"), and really, I was initially hesitant about Japanese-Sichuan cuisine. I m...

Min Jiang is one of Singapore's most venerable Chinese restaurants.  A long-time anchor of Goodwood Park Hotel, the celebrated restaurant is a favourite of finicky old grandmothers and exacting businessmen alike. Tucked away at the back of Goodwood Park, and swathed in shades of cream, and punctuated with pops of dark brown wood panelling, it's both sophisticated and understated. Specialising in classic Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine, Min Jiang 's food is conservative but not tedious. It's an oldie but evergreen goodie, where you'd go to for comforting familiar fare. What struck me about the Prosperity Abalone Lo Hei ($78 for small) was how nuanced it was. Ingredients were pretty standard as far as yusheng went, but the julienned vegetables were compulsively even, and the honeyed-plum dressing was obsessively balanced. A supplement of Crispy Salmon Skin ($22) added dimension. The riotous seafood salad before the mayhem. An signature that's ironical...

We'd originally wanted to hit up Hai Di Lao for dinner; we wanted to detox after all that over-eating in Penang, but the restaurant had a waitlist of an hour, so we made a last-minute switch over to Peony Jade instead. It's been eons since we were last here, when we were attendees at a marriage prep course nearby, so it was nice to see the restaurant hadn't changed. Located on the second level of the furthest end of Clarke Quay, the side closest to Liang Court, the restaurant seems a world away from the party buzz of Clarke Quay. There was a wedding dinner hosted that Friday night, but despite that, service was surprisingly attentive, and kitchen churned out our dishes fairly quickly. If only they would do away with the cheesy 80's tunes blaring out of the speakers. The Sauteed Beef Cubes with Black Pepper ($32), a medley of wild mushrooms and onions, was moist, tender and scrumptious. The Stir-Fried French Beans ($18 for small) boasted a wonderful smoky s...

Like Beng Hiang , Westlake is another one of those old-school places that my family used to dine at eons ago. We haven't been here in ages, but I thought we'd pop by to see how the old girl's been doing. Like its dated furnishings and retro decor, its allure has faded with the ages but it's definitely made fans of its long-time customers. We were here over the weekend and it was a full-house, with many multi-generational families seated on tables that spilled out onto the open-air common corridor area. If you're going to be dining with an extended family, be sure to make reservations. The fare served up here is Chinese, with a focus on Sichuan, Hokkien and Cantonese cuisines. Food here is a bit of a hit and miss affair, but in the overall scheme of things, it makes for an above-average cze char meal.   The Braised Pork with Pau ($13) was decent enough, but considering that Westlake is synonymous with kong ba bao, rather underwhelming. This needed a while more br...

You know, everytime someone asks me whether it's stressful to be a lawyer, I always tell them that the work itself isn't what stresses me out, it's the clients. How good, or bad, a client is determines whether that particular file is 'painful' or not. We are, afterall, in the service line. We brought out one of our all-time favourite clients for a Chinese New Year luncheon at Peach Garden Sichuan , where we'd celebrated our firm's CNY Dinner last year . Although we hadn't done any work for him the past year, we were very pleasantly surprised with festive hampers that arrived at our doorstep just before the Lunar New Year. Really, it's clients like this that make us feel appreciated (and loved!).  As with most other Chinese restaurants during the festive period, only set menus were available for order. Lunch was a 7-course affair ($68++ per person) but because the portions were kept small, we didn't end up stuffed and bloated for the rest ...