Asian Kitchen

Oh my god!! It was a fabulous day. I think I had Chinese Orchestra practise. And after that, I went out to eat with Jasmin, Hui Yi and Kim Leng. I think I ate in Asian Kitchen before, however, it has been so long that I think I have forgotten the taste that lingers in my mouth. As for this, it has been some time too...

Anyway, back to business. I wasn't super hungry that day but still unable to resist the temptation of eating. The picture below is Shrimp Fried Rice. The taste isn't that fantastic, but for a mere $9+, I think it is acceptable. The prawns had the taste that it was chemically treated to make them taste like plump and firm. If it was anything but fake, I would have totally love it. But being me, I chose to ignore the fact that it was 'fake' and 'enjoyed' them for the day. But what was commentable was the rice. Personally, I love to eat short and plump Japanese rice. But, the restuarant would not be able to cover the overall cost if they have done so. But, they cooked the rice just right before they fried it. I totally love the fact that it was soft yet firm and able to feel the slight sweetness that lingered for a while before I swallowed. Also, the coriander or 'yuan xi' gave a crisp and aromatic taste to the rice when chewed with it. Overall, I think I would give it 4/5 stars.

The dish below, similar to the above mentioned one, instead of shrimps, luncheon meat was added instead. Nothing much to say about this dish as it shares a great deal of difference as the above. Just that, I hate to eat green peas. Well, hate is quite a strong word. But I detest to eat it. That is, in the unprocessed form. If it is fried and coated with wasabi powder, I will like it better. Such a contradiction huh? Overall, I will give this 3.5/5 stars. (due to the peas.)


The dish below is 'Ngor Hiang'. However, this isn't the best it could have been I think that it could have been better. That is because, this dish must have been prepared in the kitchen of a modern interior. The most authentic taste can only be incorporated when food is made using traditional equipment and traditional setting. The best tasting one should be cooked in a charcoal grill and roast to perfection. The taste of the 'Ngor Hiang' that was from this restaurant tasted like...well, let's just say I was kinda disappointed. But presentation-wise, I can't say it is terrible. The sweet thai chilli sauce looks semi sweet but had quite a punch when a lot of it is taken at one go. Overall I would give this 2.5/5stars.

Last but not least, my favourite - XIAO LONG BAO!!! But it was to my dismay that the xiao long bao didn't taste what I imagined it to be. It was not minced well enough. The seasoning added could have been better. More starch could have been added to give it a smoother taste. The soup added should have a splash of chinese wine. That will certainly make the meat taste more tender. Not much to say about this xiao long bao. Overall, it barely made it. I would have given it 3/5stars.

That is about all I have. I will post more on CNY celebrations.

Cousin's wedding!

WOW! It has been so long since I have updated. But what's new? Anyway, This post is a tribute to my cousin whose wedding I attended on the 20/1/07 (Saturday) at Orchard parade hotel (Antica Ballroom) . Wonder how it feels being the second cousin in my family to be married. HAHA. Anyway, below are the photos that are taken on that wonderful day and courtesy of

Anna, my fabulous cousin!

ME and Anna plus my cute 1st niece.

My brother, ME and Anna.

Family photo! (without my brother due to football!)

Us AGAIN!!

After much photo taking, it was time for dinner! Well, actually, the family photo was taken like during the 9 course meal. HAHA. Anyway, below are the food photos!!

龙虾沙律拼香茅虾球

Combination of cold lobster salad with lemongrass prawns

This dish looks a lot tastier than it taste. This is because most instead or giving as much lobster meat as prawns, it is usually the opposite. The shell of the lobster was re-used. The sauce, though sinful was absolutely delicious! Like duh, mayonnaise is nice what. Made of large amounts of oil and egg yolk, whats not to like? The prawns like most restaurant would serve them succulent after chemical treatment. But thankfully I didn't taste the after-taste of bicarbonate. Overall, not a bad dish. But in terms of health, let's just say I will be better off eating grass.

海蜇拌金猪件

Crisp roast suckling pig with marinated jelly fish.

MY FAVOURITE!!! Sorry muslim guys! BUT I LOVE PORK. I am sorry if I have offended any muslim after saying that but I am chinese and it is in my blood. Anyway, this year is the year of the pig and eating pork is a must - for chinese that is.

Anyway, The skin was so crisp. Though a tad too much oil on the surface, it was EXTREMELY sinful. The meat was commendable too. Tender and moist and was not soaking heavily in oil. PLUS, the well seasoned jelly fish. After the oily-ness in the mouth, some light jelly fish was pleasing to the mouth. Also, if you have notice, during 'LOU HEI' some restuarants use jelly fish that is too chewy and difficult to swallow. And some may choke over it. However, the jelly fish used here was different as it was soft and jelly-like. But I think it could do a bit better and make it melt in my mouth instead. Overall, VERY FABULOUS! (maybe I am just bias because I love everything pork.)

干贝竹笙蟹肉烩生翅

Shark’s fin broth with crab meat, bamboo fungus and dried scallop

Shark Fin. What can I say about this. Well, the usual. Not much big sharkfin. Only those small ones. Mainly I was eating starch water/broth. Don't see much scallop or bamboo fungus. Overall, this was quite a downer.

XO 酱金线玉带炒芦笋
Sautéed scallops with asparagus in homemade spicy X.O. sauce

The scallop used, if I am not wrong, are 'fresh'. Meaning they didn't used the dried kind. Most probably the frozen kind. The taste was retained. But if real fresh ones were used then it will be a different taste altogether. The XO sauce was not too heavy with liquor. The asparagus was nicely done. Not too tough. Especially if the older ones are used. The taste was unique and the texture was soft and tender. Also, the unique taste was contributed by the small amount of chilli added which thus gave a pinch of spiciness. Overall, not as bad as the sharkfin.

潮泰蒸大红斑
Steamed live red garoupa with teochew – Thai style

北菇海产扒菠菜
Braised mushrooms with sea cucumber and spinach

As you can see that there is no picture above. This is because, those two dishes above are quite common ones. That is why I decided not to have the pictures taken. Also, the taste was some what bland and similar to what my mom can cook, which goes to say a lot above this two dishes. However, having said that, there is of cause certain different taste in the dish. Like for example, the garoupa was a little flaky - just well-done. But its texture should be not too flaky, smooth and feeling moist and not dry. However, the sauce was whats makes the fish platable.

For the braised mushrooms with sea cucumber and spinach, the mushrooms were braised to near perfection, as some were a little soggy with sauce, but what saved the day was perhaps the spinach. I think I am just bias because I love to eat spinach and maybe they the blanched it nicely.

新华蒜香鸡

Crisp roast chicken served with Haw and Red wine sauce

Oh My Gawd! This was such a downer. The chicken was not very moist. Quite dry, but the skin and sauce was what save the day. Do not wish to elaborate.

八宝荷叶饭
Lotus rice with eight treasures

Though the name states that there are 8 different 'treasures', I don't think I tasted all of them. There were only dried shitake mushroom, a bit of dried scallop, I don't remember much of the taste but all I can say is it feels the stomach.

杨枝甘露
Chilled mango cream with sago & pomelo

For quite a long time, I have not tasted cold and refreshing dessert at Chinese wedding dinner for a long time. Most of the time, dessert is usually something hot like 'cheng teng' or some stuff that I probably can't pronoun the names. Mango! A tropical fruit that I am sure most of us love. Especially the sweet ripe kinds. However, the sour kinds are great for salads. Anyway, back to the cold dessert. The sago was cooked just right. Not too hard and not too soft. Jelly-like. The pomelo bits and other fruits balanced the sweetness of the mango cream. However, I think that the mango cream taste a little fake. It taste more puree-like taste rather than real mango paste. Overall, the taste, well...let's just say it is ok.

Well, that is all I have for my cousin's wedding. Cheers!

TP concert.

It has been so long since I have blogged. Well, the last post wasn't really considered a post. Anyway, I don't wanna talk about it.

It is quite surprising as I have stopped being so personal in my blog. That is to say, I have not really written much about my life, my friends, my family so on and so forth. But, I will be...soon.

This post is about the recent TPCO concert that just occurred. I was to perform 'the entertainer' playing the zhong ruan. For the first time, other than playing the dizi, I have not played any other instrument. But, I am not that pleased for taking such a long time to learn just one piece of song.

Anyway, here are the pictures.

Mei Feng, Wei Kang, oops don't know your name, me and Felicia.

Tan Bo Yue group photo!!

The reason why there is this photo is because the president of TPCO just walked pass while we were going to take a second photo. LOLZ! Anyway, the concert was pretty fun. BUT, I only performed in one song which lasted 4 minutes but the concert was like 2 hours plus. So the other 98% of the time, I was at the back, 'sair gor'ing. But it was worthwhile.

Coming up next, would be on my recent cousin's wedding!!

sighs.

Thanks anonymous. But, I am what I am. The choice of my sexual preference is my decision to make. Regarding the answer, why would anyone be interested. And going by your remark, should I treat it as a sarcastic comment or a comforting one. No matter who comes to tag my tagboard, they should have the courtesy to at least place their names down. This is not to attack you (anonymous) but just that I dislike how people behave on the internet. I am sorry if I have mistaken your good intentions but I just can't trust people on the net these days. I sincerely apologize if your intentions were good. But if it is not...

This is a new year and a new start. I hope that people who I don't know would stop bugging me. especially people who refer to themselves as 'cb' or 'cb king'. I wish that if you have all the time to do ridiculous things like try to make fun, harress, cause distress and frustration, then you might as well spent that time doing something you really like. If your intentions were, as mention as above, then I would like to tell you my purpose of typing this post is to tell you that your goal has not been reached and never will. This is the last and final warning I am going to make. STAY OUT OF MY BLOG IF YOU DO NOT LIKE OR APPRECIATE WHAT YOU SEE!!!

Thank you for your cooperation. Have a pleasant day!

Korean restaurant

Another quick update. Went to get my hair chopped at Shunji Matsuo. Though more costly than the usual, not that bad actually. Was kinda thirsty and got this from Paragon Market Place. It is a carbonated drink. Mine was the peach flavour and 'ter was orange but there is no picture. I bought it as it was quite nostalgic to drink it and savour the good 'ol primary school days where I bought this from the Econ mini-mart. However, it was kinda gas-y and I didn't like that 'spicy' feeling when drinking carbonated drinks. Anyway, after that, we headed to suntec. Did some shopping, and then....

Went to A Korean Restaurant. The pictures below are the appetiters - I think. At one glance, it might see very spicy but lo and behold, it is actually quite mild. However, certain appetiters like the one on bottom right greens and the bottom left bean sprout, it was marinated with sesame oil. Thus it has a refreshing taste and makes one feel like eating more. On top of that, every time we finish a plate of the appetiters, the waitress would automatically refill for us unless we tell her otherwise. I think the refill is free. So eat till you faint!

The first 'dish' of this set was these prawns. Grill till perfection with a slice of lemon and a dash of spring onion. The meat was truly succulent. Unlike some restaurant where they cheat by soaking the prawns in baking soda, this taste quite natural.

Next would be this gigantic sotong. Two of them in fact.

After eating much appetiters and prawns, it was quite filling for me. Cause we ate quite early and I am not much of a food barrel. LOL. So the amount of chilli paste they added seem quite fiery at first but as usual, it is not so spicy. The taste was just nice. Oh and before I forget, the sotong were barbequed so there was some taste of carbon which can be quite good for the body in little amounts.

Famous Korean pancake!

As usual, the chilli is not that spicy unless you bite the membrane part. You know, the centre part of the chilli that holds the seeds. Yeah, it is not the seeds that 'holds' the spiciness but the membrane that holds on to the seeds that gives the punch of HOTTNESS! Though you can see the oil on this stone plate, it is not very greasy and but since it is made of flour, it can be quite filling.

Also, there was kim chi seafood soup with rice and a fruit platter but was unable to take pictures of them as 'ter phone camera was low in power.

By the time the kim chi seafood soup was served, I was quite full and didn't really enjoy the taste of it. So I have no comments on it. For the fruit platter, well, fruit is fruit no matter where it comes from. We had the usual, watermelon, honey dew and pineapple which I dislike.

So thats about it for Korean cuisine.