The Hungry Bunny

Most of my stews use bone-in chicken thighs, which require time to simmer. But sometimes, when time is tight, I use boneless chicken fillets, diced up and pre-marinated, and saute them separately from the stewed vegetables, which will take a much shorter time to cook. I managed this, including prep work, but excluding marinating time, in just half an hour. A godsend when you're sick, but nothing but a steaming bowl of homemade chicken stew would do. Ingredients (feeds 4 pax): 1 yellow onion, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced 5-6 strips streaky bacon 2 medium carrots, diced to 1" cubes 500 gm white button mushrooms, sliced 2 green zucchini, diced to 1" cubes 1 cup dry white wine (I used a chardonnay) 4 cups chicken stock 2 tbsp olive oil Marinate 500gm chicken fillet, diced, for at least 1 hour: 1 lemon, zest and juice 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 pinch dried rosemary 1 pinch dried thyme 1 pinch dried oregano salt freshly ground black pepper Directions:...

Christchurch was our gateway into the South Island so apart from ushering in 2016 at The George, we spent little time in this city. Apart from The George Hotel , the Christchurch International Airport was the only other place we spent the most time in Christchurch. Unlike Auckland's sprawling international terminals, Christchurch is a little modest, in comparison. It's still one of the nicest airports around, sleek furnishings, a modern aesthetic, and sundrenched for a bright cheery countenance. The departure area The check-in area - queues move very fast, and on this note, clearing immigration when entering New Zealand was very efficient, with hardly any lag. The Air New Zealand International Lounge in Christchurch Airport, a Singapore Airlines partner lounge seating area business center Coffee & Tea station, with all the fixings: milk, lemon, cookies, sugar, cream The chiller of drinks, both alcoholic and non. I liked that they carried Sav Bla...

There are a number of kway chap hawkers laying its heritage claim to the original from Blanco Court. There's the one at Old Airport Road, which name embeds the purported place of origin, or the one at Holland Drive, popular with the 'westies', and then, there's that one at Serangoon Gardens, which signboard asserts itself as the legendary original of Blanco Court. But while some may fuss over the originality of a hawker as a determinant of its noteworthiness, I really only care about the quality of the food, and I say, whomever finesses a more preferable dish is the most worthwhile of them all. Besides, the customer can only be in a winning position as the increased competition ups the ante. The Garden Street Kway Chap is one of several distinguished hawkers in the Serangoon Gardens Food Centre. Yes, that Serangoon Gardens of Chomp Chomp fame. Apparently, whoever said that the North is starved of good hawker food has never been to either hawker centers. Dine ear...

One-Ninety is the long-timer in-house continental restaurant of the Four Seasons in Singapore. It may be a trite dining concept, but it's an old-reliable that can be counted on for a simple, low-fuss meal amidst elegant digs. The Mezze Dinner Buffet ($64+ per pax) is a semi-buffet spread of curated appetizers and desserts, and supplemented with an ala carte main course. It's not the most extensive or outstanding of buffets, but where the selection is kept purposefully small, the quality is maintained pretty highly. My main was a Pan-fried Mediterranean Seabass , cooked beautifully, and simply adorned by a broccolini caponata, lemon, ketchup, and a lemon cream sauce. The Hubs had the Black Angus Prime Tenderloin ($32 supplement) juicy, imbued with a wonderful char, and served with a red wine jus and blistered baby peppers. Nice if a little overpriced for the quality. DIY Salad Station, nice crisp greens and a lovely selection of evoo Poached Baby Kailan; Feta ...