kopibren

Hawker food in Malaysia is better than in Singapore. Ok I said it. The friendly competition between these two neighbouring food-obsessed countries is an ongoing bone of contention. At least in Penang that's definitely true. And this past weekend when I was there I realised why. Because it's like time stood still in Penang. Most hawkers still operate from a mobile stall, cook with charcoal, the obsessive attention to detail, preparing the dish in the same way it's always been, with love and soul. One of our most mind-blowing meals this weekend was Char Koay Teow from Kafe Heng Huat on Lorong Selamat. The lady chef has an electric fan constantly stoking her charcoal stove to keep her wok stonking hot, another fan behind her presumably to keep her cool, and a bouffant shower cap type contraption to keep her hair in place. It's quite a sight to see, smoke billowing out onto the street from her little stall, her in a constant dance of wok frying the noodle, and the air is absolutely smoky delicious. It's a crazy tiring thing for her to do day in day out, and I love her for it. Because her char koay teow is so good we could weep. Or eat another 10 plates. Which we didn't, in remarkable self-restraint.

That's not to say there aren't good crazy mad hawkers in Singapore. There are, and as long as the Ghim Moh chwee kueh lady continues to steam her rice cakes in pork fat, my other half will eternally be blissful. But they're certainly fading out in Singapore. These hawkers grow old and retire, their kids may not want the same laborious work, the old hawker centres get renovated into shiny new food courts and people trade in their charcoal stoves for cleaning burning gas or electric ones, and slowly it changes. It becomes a formula, it becomes generic. But you can taste love and care and pride in food. It feeds your soul. We may not be able to do anything as hawkers age, but we can create something new. Like Papa Palheta, where its all about the brew. Like my friend Goz, who runs a Singaporean supperclub plusixfive (albeit in London), and painstakingly handmakes every kueh pie tee shell even though easier options exist, and I believe people respond to his manic exuberance, because you can literally taste it. And it makes you smile. (Or stuns you into silence).

Wherever you are, keep doing what you're doing. Heart.

A new modern bistro had popped up in Singapore and have been getting positive reviews, so we had to try it for ourselves. A collaboration between the TIppling Club, 40 Hands, and Spa Esprit owners - it had the right mix of style and street cred. It promises affordable and relaxed modern dining, and set in the hipster old/new skool neighbourhood of Tiong Bahru, the proposition is good. Reservations are required a week in advance for busy weekend slots, and when we got to the compact shophouse restaurant on a Friday night, the place was packed. Buzzy vibe, concrete floor, brick wall, tin roof, shabby chic chairs all created a cool loft conversion feel. Menu is modern European, right up the current bistronomy trend. Flamed tuna carpaccio, roasted pork belly, braised beef cheek, straightforward and easy to understand. They were mostly well-executed too, simple but sophisticated. The pudding and coffee were no mere afterthought, either. A few misses made it not perfect - a meh steak tartare (mediocre meat quality with ketchup in the dressing), slightly slow and patchy service, but it's a good step in the right direction.

Now, a few meal highlights.


Flamed tuna carpaccio with smoked sesame & yuzu dressing & shredded daikon. Very nutty yet refreshing.


Roasted pork belly with quinoa & celery. Simple, but so well done. Could do with some crackling though.


Best dessert ever - Fluffy chocolate pistachio souffle. They crack it and pour cream into it in front of you. Swoon worthy.


Special effort on my coffee - kung fu panda :)

Heston Blumenthal's two restaurants - the legendary classic Fat Duck in Bray and the new Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental London - were on my bucket list for London, and I got to try them both this year. Heston is probably UK's most famous chef and his every culinary and personal move has been covered within an inch of his life. Poor man. Because it's Heston, the punters' expectations sometimes feel impossible to meet. Still, he's an extremely talented and creative man with an obsessive attention to detail, and I enjoyed both meals immensely. It's just food, you know?

Everything at the Fat Duck is elaborate, meticulously prepared, and dinner theatre in the fullest sense. It was immensely enjoyable and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Dinner serves a menu researched from England's medieval dining traditions, with less fanfare but no less tasty. Both menus have been covered within an inch of their lives, praised, criticised and debated. I thought they were exceptional meals and well worth the money. Here're some of my faves.

I guess Heston likes porridge and reinventing oat porridge to become savoury was pretty well done. Chinese savoury rice porridge is already one of my favourite things so these were no-brainer favourites for me. The Snail Porridge (Iberico Bellota Ham, Shaved Fennel) at the Fat Duck (picture below left) is is a famous classic, I suppose because they look like snails in their natural grassy surroundings but they go down a treat. The Savoury Porridge (Snails, Girolles, Garlic and Fennel) at Dinner (below right) is very similar but with slightly less posh ingredients perhaps. But girolles are always gorgeous.


Pretty as an edible picture. The most visually memorable item in the Fat Duck menu for me was the Mock Turtle Soup (calves' head and feet), complete with an Alice in Wonderland backstory, a gold-covered bouillon dissolved with 'tea' to create the soup, poured into a magical bowl with floating bits (below left). It wasn't the tastiest thing for me, but it was so beautiful and enchanting I'll always remember it fondly. The star item at Dinner is undoubtedly its Meat Fruit (Mandarin, Chicken Liver Parfait, and grilled bread) - (below right). It looks like a fruit but its a creamy meat mousse inside. Geddit. This was as tasty as it looked. But it was a lot smaller than it appeared in many food blogs ;-)


Simple perfection. There are a lot more elaborate and clever things on the Fat Duck menu, but one of the best dishes for me was the relatively simple Salmon Poached in a Liquorice Gel (Asparagus, Vanilla Mayonaise and Golden Trout Roe) - (below left). The salmon was sous vide to an unreal consistency that was sublime, and the liquorice gel encasing the fish gave it a slight edge that cut the rich fish taste. Superb. In a similar vein, the Spiced Pigeon (Ale, Artichokes) from Dinner (below right) was lovely, because the pigeon meat was cooked to tender perfection. The texture of both meats really lifted the dishes.


The best dessert at Fat Duck by far, was the BFG (Black Forest Gateau) - (below left). I can't describe it but it was the best chocolate dessert I've ever tasted. The most talked-about dessert at Dinner was the Tipsy Cake (Spit Roast Pineapple) - (below right), with a slow-caramelised pineapple section that went amazingly with the soft, sweet brioche. It was worth all the hype.


Last things to say is if you can hold your liquor, the wine pairing at the Fat Duck was spectacular. While expensive, every dish was imaginatively paired - sometimes it was the highlight compared to the dish. And while it seems impossible to get a booking at Dinner we found the Sunday night waiting list to be our lucky charm. Enjoy.

The Fat Duck
High Street, Bray, Berkshire SL6 2AQ
T: 01628 580 333

Dinner by Heston
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
66 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LA
T: 0207 201 3833

At the end of Jas' hen do weekend in Berlin when we thought we couldn't be more hungover, we stumbled on a hidden gem that cheered us right up. A little Japanese Ramen noodle bar called Cocolo was tucked away in a little sidestreet centrally near Rosenthaler Platz and Oranienburger Str area. Though it had a German owner, the staff are all Japanese and it felt like a little piece of Tokyo in Berlin. The small menu had a focused ramen selection with classics like  Miso (vegetarian), Shoyu (soy), Shio (salt), Tonkatsu (pork). Tonkatsu was the natural choice, and the broth was deep, rich, and intense in a way that could cheer up anyone caught in the rain. Who would've thought?






Cocolo

Finished my last day at work this past Friday, welcome to the land of joblessness. Thought I'd mark it by coming back to post to this blog, that I'd neglected woefully for months. Lots to update. Heading off to Barcelona for a last Europe hurrah then one last week to work through our London bucket list before we move back to Singer-town. Lots to update.