I heave a sigh of relief whenever the weekend finally descends on us. To me, after 5 days of running on coffee and campus grub, the weekend seems like an excuse to slurge and overindulge.
Just yesterday, Mum, Jimmy and I lunched at Patara Fine Thai at Tanglin Mall, which in my opinion, is the best Thai restaurant in Singapore. Since it had been a while since we last visited Patara and (given how much we ate) could be a while before we patronized it, we literally thai-ed ourselves to our seats, savouring the buffet.. Mayday Mayday! B-U-F-F-E-T DIRTY WORD ALERT! I know I sound like I'm trying to redeem myself but it was REALLY an issue of scarcity.
The oustandings..
Whille the mango salad was a had-to-order, the backdoor to my heart was clearly Patara's papaya salad. The stuffed chicken wings proved that despite the lack of aviatory skills, chicken wings existed for a greater cause. Though the golden fried garoupa fillets would have been better with less batter, batter-wise, they were bless-the-batterly good. I'm still thinking about the stir-fried aubergine and despite more than one previous experience with the black olive fried rice, this time round it was uniquely sensational... and the honey and spice marinated tender pork spareribs were polished off before you were done with this paragraph...
Oddly enough, we didn't given order any of the four curries available... and OF COURSE, there was DESSERT- wide variety despite some inconsistencies in quality.
Last sunday morning, my mum and I decided to head onto Da Paolo Pizza Bar at Chip Bee Gardens, albeit being camera-less.
I had the 3 egg omelette and smoked salmon cream cheese spread with toast, which was pretty ordinary. Like the Travelling Hungryboy, I was surprised to see the omelette and salmon as separates but unlike him, I preferred it this way.
I have a habit of eating orderly because I don't like mish-mash of flavours. Give me a burger and I would go through it layer by layer, first the sesame bun, then the egg and melted cheese, followed by the patty and eventually the bun bottom. Maybe that's why I have a thing for bento boxes and tiffin cans- the flavours and tastes of each morsel are spacially contained, protected from the intrusion of uninvited flavours.
My mum had an Italian corn frittata, with avocado salsa and bacon. The sweetish avocado salsa complimented the fat salty bacon nicely but the both of us found the Italian omelette too rich.
The one thing that kinda bugged me was the solid state of butter and cream cheese. Anyone with an IQ level above room temperature would thaw their breads spreads before serving. Yet what we got was unspreadable, un-glide-able and unpardonable.
What a pity.
da paolo pizza bar
44, Jalan Merah Saga,
#01-46, Chip Bee Gardens, Holland Village.
Tel: 6479 6059
Thursday, January 25
A year ago...
And now... I'm either too busy to blog properly or when free time surfaces arises, I feel guilty for blogging, like as if I should be reading up on my Business Ethics text or figuring out my computer excel module.
And now... I'm either too busy to blog properly or when free time surfaces arises, I feel guilty for blogging, like as if I should be reading up on my Business Ethics text or figuring out my computer excel module.
Saturday, January 20
Da Paolo Pizza Bar
If I hadn't known any better, I would describe pizza as a calorie-laden junk food, staple of society's underbelly, masked as comfort food for the masses and glamourised by the folks over at NBC.
Truth is, I really don't know any better.
Apart from pizza chains and those frozen prepacks, I haven't tasted any that qualifies as weapon of mass toxication. Am I just plain lucky? Nah. It is just that my judgement has been marred by deadly conoction of melted cheese and baked dough. A whiff of which tickles my nasal cavity and eventually morphes into an intangible clamp over my being, not unlike Ursula's tentacles clasped over Ariel's voicebox.
Adding onto that, there was a time when I would and could gamely finish an entire pizza on my own. I still could though I probably shouldn't, because nobody would want to hear me sing about my 'lovely lady lumps'.
On Sunday, my cousin celebrated his birthday at Da Paolo's Pizza Bar, a family-run Italian restaurant, at Chip Bee Gardens. Oooo family run? Must be homely, cosy... Erm well actually, this is one family whose 'Mamma' and 'Poppa' are short of down-to-earth and they happen to be regular fixtures on the glossy pages of Tatler.
The Da Paolo chain in Singapore is like what Prada is to luxury bags- synonynamous with quality but on the commercialized side. Despite the well-regarded chains of restaurants, I have only visited Da Paolo Gastronomia, which is a short walk from La Terrazza and Da Paolo Pizza Bar.
Calamari Fritter
I never order fried calamari because somehow, someone around the table would definitely ask for it. Yes, the calamari suffers from overexposure but I still dig those squiggly bits.
Bruschettas
The delivery was hardly surprising- an insipid dish of diced tomatoes on toasted baguette. Having said that, bruschettas IS an unimaginative dish and to traditionalists, it should stay that way.
The grilled tuna salad with black pepper rims, adorned soy sprouts, greens, olives and wasabi dressing above was marginally interesting but only because I'm less than partial towards soy sprouts and arugula. However, the pretty pink tuna does remind me of designer guild furniture...
Done with the duds, moving onto the dudes.
The Pizza of the Day was one topped with Italian sausages and bunashimeji mushrooms.
Seafood pizza
Also making an appearance was the seafood pizza, with more than sufficient toppings of mussels, salmon, prawns.
For something more 'out of the box,' the pizza above topped with salmon and capers was definitely funky food for thought. The drips of salty piquant capers, against the backdrop of salmon was a bold take which I appreciated.
Oh, pizza prosciutto e funghi.. the ever dependable ham and mushroom combination.
On the whole, the pizzas were great, save for one problem. Ok, one BIG problem.
The pia-zzahs were TOO WET.
As in "slippery-slop-slop, OOO there goes my white chiffon top" WET!
I know that must be hard to imagine but because we shared the pizzas, there was a whole lot of 'tearing and dragging' going on. In mid air, each slice limped at a ninety degree, allowing laws of gravity to set in as the fillings drooped off the pizza dough.
Of course, an intact pizza still sensational.. but it wasn't along the lines of "INSANE WICKED AWESOME". Though the crust had a burnt crispness edge, more attention should have been paid to the sturdiness of the pizza.
Calzone Vegetariano
I always wondered under what circumstances was the calzone created. Was it a "geez, the pizza's too ugly, let's fold it up" moment? Anyhow, I loved the calzone and will be back for it.
I never thought I would whisper these words, but I think "I OD-ed on pizza " Yes, the unthinkable has happened and the Unidentified Flying Object you saw last night was a flying pig.
Hey guys, gotta run.. I see the chef coming after me with his rolling pin. But not before I introduce dessert...
We didn't order dessert because my cousin brought a chocolate cake, made by a retired ex-chef of some five-start hotel. Chocolate fudge top with hazelnut and cream layers... Oh, the stiff waffle layer never fails to get me. I'm trying to refrain from making biblical references but it was gAWd-FULLY godivalicious-ly gorgeous.
Self-restraint? What's that?
da paolo pizza bar
44, Jalan Merah Saga,
#01-46, Chip Bee Gardens, Holland Village.
Tel: 6479 6059
Truth is, I really don't know any better.
Apart from pizza chains and those frozen prepacks, I haven't tasted any that qualifies as weapon of mass toxication. Am I just plain lucky? Nah. It is just that my judgement has been marred by deadly conoction of melted cheese and baked dough. A whiff of which tickles my nasal cavity and eventually morphes into an intangible clamp over my being, not unlike Ursula's tentacles clasped over Ariel's voicebox.
Adding onto that, there was a time when I would and could gamely finish an entire pizza on my own. I still could though I probably shouldn't, because nobody would want to hear me sing about my 'lovely lady lumps'.
On Sunday, my cousin celebrated his birthday at Da Paolo's Pizza Bar, a family-run Italian restaurant, at Chip Bee Gardens. Oooo family run? Must be homely, cosy... Erm well actually, this is one family whose 'Mamma' and 'Poppa' are short of down-to-earth and they happen to be regular fixtures on the glossy pages of Tatler.
The Da Paolo chain in Singapore is like what Prada is to luxury bags- synonynamous with quality but on the commercialized side. Despite the well-regarded chains of restaurants, I have only visited Da Paolo Gastronomia, which is a short walk from La Terrazza and Da Paolo Pizza Bar.
Calamari Fritter
I never order fried calamari because somehow, someone around the table would definitely ask for it. Yes, the calamari suffers from overexposure but I still dig those squiggly bits.
Bruschettas
The delivery was hardly surprising- an insipid dish of diced tomatoes on toasted baguette. Having said that, bruschettas IS an unimaginative dish and to traditionalists, it should stay that way.
The grilled tuna salad with black pepper rims, adorned soy sprouts, greens, olives and wasabi dressing above was marginally interesting but only because I'm less than partial towards soy sprouts and arugula. However, the pretty pink tuna does remind me of designer guild furniture...
Done with the duds, moving onto the dudes.
The Pizza of the Day was one topped with Italian sausages and bunashimeji mushrooms.
Seafood pizza
Also making an appearance was the seafood pizza, with more than sufficient toppings of mussels, salmon, prawns.
For something more 'out of the box,' the pizza above topped with salmon and capers was definitely funky food for thought. The drips of salty piquant capers, against the backdrop of salmon was a bold take which I appreciated.
Oh, pizza prosciutto e funghi.. the ever dependable ham and mushroom combination.
On the whole, the pizzas were great, save for one problem. Ok, one BIG problem.
The pia-zzahs were TOO WET.
As in "slippery-slop-slop, OOO there goes my white chiffon top" WET!
I know that must be hard to imagine but because we shared the pizzas, there was a whole lot of 'tearing and dragging' going on. In mid air, each slice limped at a ninety degree, allowing laws of gravity to set in as the fillings drooped off the pizza dough.
Of course, an intact pizza still sensational.. but it wasn't along the lines of "INSANE WICKED AWESOME". Though the crust had a burnt crispness edge, more attention should have been paid to the sturdiness of the pizza.
Calzone Vegetariano
I always wondered under what circumstances was the calzone created. Was it a "geez, the pizza's too ugly, let's fold it up" moment? Anyhow, I loved the calzone and will be back for it.
I never thought I would whisper these words, but I think "I OD-ed on pizza " Yes, the unthinkable has happened and the Unidentified Flying Object you saw last night was a flying pig.
Hey guys, gotta run.. I see the chef coming after me with his rolling pin. But not before I introduce dessert...
We didn't order dessert because my cousin brought a chocolate cake, made by a retired ex-chef of some five-start hotel. Chocolate fudge top with hazelnut and cream layers... Oh, the stiff waffle layer never fails to get me. I'm trying to refrain from making biblical references but it was gAWd-FULLY godivalicious-ly gorgeous.
Self-restraint? What's that?
da paolo pizza bar
44, Jalan Merah Saga,
#01-46, Chip Bee Gardens, Holland Village.
Tel: 6479 6059
Wednesday, January 17
My mum and I were doing some spring cleaning yesterday. Basically we chucked out almost a third of our wardrobe... It was easy to get ride of those what-was-I-thinking outfits, those which revealed blotches of last night's laksa, yellowed armpit stains..
The toughies, on the other hand, were another moth-bitten story altogther.
Oh you know items that were not completely unwearable.. "almost here but not quite"... still intact but not going to catch another beam of sun ray.
It was naturally heart wrenching but I thought to myself: Be honest, if not heartless- If you didn't put on that top in the last six months, what makes you think you will in, say the next five years?
Chuck Chuck Chuck.
Ultimately, I had to convince my mum that we had good times with those outfits and after so long, one wonders if its such a good idea to keep stuff which we acquired ten years ago.
It's time to move on.
The toughies, on the other hand, were another moth-bitten story altogther.
Oh you know items that were not completely unwearable.. "almost here but not quite"... still intact but not going to catch another beam of sun ray.
It was naturally heart wrenching but I thought to myself: Be honest, if not heartless- If you didn't put on that top in the last six months, what makes you think you will in, say the next five years?
Chuck Chuck Chuck.
Ultimately, I had to convince my mum that we had good times with those outfits and after so long, one wonders if its such a good idea to keep stuff which we acquired ten years ago.
It's time to move on.
Thursday, January 11
Abof, Second Time Round
Seeing how my dad took to herring at Ikea like a fish to clear water, I decided to introduce him to Abof at Millenia Walk.
Best Friend's Platter
The best way to introduce or warn somebody to the culinary eccentrics of Scandinavia would be to order the Best Friend's Platter. The BFP (throwback to Roald Dahl's Big Friendly Giant) is a colourful assortment of antipastos to be shared by ahem, more than two.
The time round, white toast was served and thus, I requested for the dark multigrain bread. Herein lies the allure of Abof: the people at Abof didn't just hand over a couple of slices out of the bag. Instead the bread was buttered, toasted and cut into halves before serving. Same with their dinner rolls- I have been to Abof twice previously and both times their dinner rolls were warm enough to melt the butter spontaneously.
The nondescript packaged butter though did raise some eyebrows and I wondered why they couldn't use something more imaginative such as herbed butter? But dear readers, it wasn't just any packaged butter, it was an AWARD WINNING DANISH PACKAGED BUTTER
Fried mushroom and zucchini with spicy dip.
The mushrooms and zucchinis with their thickish batter gave us little reason to complain. It was served hot and like me, you can't wait to tuck it, you would probably suffer first degree tongue-scalds and 'hooting' away to soothe those taste buds. Anyway since it was deep fried for calorie's sake, pleasure and enjoyment are self-explanatory. Accompanying the fritters was a mayo-esque dip, which was spicy by Scandinavian standards i.e. not spicy at all.
Linguine Tarako
As for the linguine, an immediate afterthought was it felt like an unfinished dish. More Japanese than Scandinavian, the linguine topped with roasted seaweed and salted Alaska pollock was unfortunately tara-NO-GO. Amongst the shreds, strands and spots, there wasn't an ingredient which successfully harmonized the flavours. I suspect, perhaps cream sauce would do nicely but otherwise, pick something else instead.
Roasted Spring Chicken
The oven roasted half chicken, with fresh herb glazed and red wine, accompanied with daily vegetables and potatoes, was good though on the ho-hum side. After two fork pricks, I put my fork down and reminisced about the amazing chicken dish I had during my company’s New Year lunch here at Abof. Slightly citrus, almost crisp and too delicious to forget, I never thought chicken could be THIS interesting or delectable.
I couldn’t leave without finding out what the dish was. On my way out, I stopped the lady boss and asked her what the incredible dish was.
Chicken Valencia.
Got it, folks?
Good thing, I left my number with her so that she could inform me when it appears on the special lunch menu.
Oysters Shots
My teetotaller Dad decided to round up dinner with half a dozen of shots. But since he is one person who would probably turn up at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting only to ask for directions to the nearest golf course, it was non-alcoholic oyster shots that made it to our dining table.
Half drowned in green chili sauce and the other half in tabasco, this was one dish . I’m sorry but aphrodisiacs or not, oysters weren’t being “sexy back” anytime soon for me. Although I love sashimi, I clammed up at the sight of raw oysters and only dared wipe my pinky off the rim of the shotglass for a taste of green chili. Very nice.
I like Abof for the cool serenity it exudes. I’m inclined to give their high tea sets a try, so if you are in a “honey, time out for English scones and tea” mood, work those tai-tai-manicured fingers and buzz me.
Aböf Restaurant & Tea Lounge
Millenia Walk #01-109
9 Raffles Boulevard
(S) 039596
Tel: 6338 7113
Opening hours: 8:30am - 11pm daily, last order at 10pm
Best Friend's Platter
The best way to introduce or warn somebody to the culinary eccentrics of Scandinavia would be to order the Best Friend's Platter. The BFP (throwback to Roald Dahl's Big Friendly Giant) is a colourful assortment of antipastos to be shared by ahem, more than two.
The time round, white toast was served and thus, I requested for the dark multigrain bread. Herein lies the allure of Abof: the people at Abof didn't just hand over a couple of slices out of the bag. Instead the bread was buttered, toasted and cut into halves before serving. Same with their dinner rolls- I have been to Abof twice previously and both times their dinner rolls were warm enough to melt the butter spontaneously.
The nondescript packaged butter though did raise some eyebrows and I wondered why they couldn't use something more imaginative such as herbed butter? But dear readers, it wasn't just any packaged butter, it was an AWARD WINNING DANISH PACKAGED BUTTER
Fried mushroom and zucchini with spicy dip.
The mushrooms and zucchinis with their thickish batter gave us little reason to complain. It was served hot and like me, you can't wait to tuck it, you would probably suffer first degree tongue-scalds and 'hooting' away to soothe those taste buds. Anyway since it was deep fried for calorie's sake, pleasure and enjoyment are self-explanatory. Accompanying the fritters was a mayo-esque dip, which was spicy by Scandinavian standards i.e. not spicy at all.
Linguine Tarako
As for the linguine, an immediate afterthought was it felt like an unfinished dish. More Japanese than Scandinavian, the linguine topped with roasted seaweed and salted Alaska pollock was unfortunately tara-NO-GO. Amongst the shreds, strands and spots, there wasn't an ingredient which successfully harmonized the flavours. I suspect, perhaps cream sauce would do nicely but otherwise, pick something else instead.
Roasted Spring Chicken
The oven roasted half chicken, with fresh herb glazed and red wine, accompanied with daily vegetables and potatoes, was good though on the ho-hum side. After two fork pricks, I put my fork down and reminisced about the amazing chicken dish I had during my company’s New Year lunch here at Abof. Slightly citrus, almost crisp and too delicious to forget, I never thought chicken could be THIS interesting or delectable.
I couldn’t leave without finding out what the dish was. On my way out, I stopped the lady boss and asked her what the incredible dish was.
Chicken Valencia.
Got it, folks?
Good thing, I left my number with her so that she could inform me when it appears on the special lunch menu.
Oysters Shots
My teetotaller Dad decided to round up dinner with half a dozen of shots. But since he is one person who would probably turn up at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting only to ask for directions to the nearest golf course, it was non-alcoholic oyster shots that made it to our dining table.
Half drowned in green chili sauce and the other half in tabasco, this was one dish . I’m sorry but aphrodisiacs or not, oysters weren’t being “sexy back” anytime soon for me. Although I love sashimi, I clammed up at the sight of raw oysters and only dared wipe my pinky off the rim of the shotglass for a taste of green chili. Very nice.
I like Abof for the cool serenity it exudes. I’m inclined to give their high tea sets a try, so if you are in a “honey, time out for English scones and tea” mood, work those tai-tai-manicured fingers and buzz me.
Aböf Restaurant & Tea Lounge
Millenia Walk #01-109
9 Raffles Boulevard
(S) 039596
Tel: 6338 7113
Opening hours: 8:30am - 11pm daily, last order at 10pm
Saturday, January 6
Tampopo
I have officially survived the first week of school.
Although with two days of public holiday and only three and a half lessons, this doesn't quite qualify as an official school week. It still felt like a mini onstacle course, which I emerged with unnoticeable beyond skin deep traumistisations.
I do also forsee this course CAT (Computer as an analysis tool) to be my Archilles Heel for the semester. Lesson 1 was plain torturous- only the devil knows what lies ahead for the next two months and the textbook looks like it was conocted out of a madman's fantasy of Microsoft Excel Dreamworld. Two months down the road, I will probably grow bald not due to stress-related hair loss but rather, frustration-induced spontaneous tearing of hair.
For my Ethics course, when I first laid eyes on my professor, his pot belly and gregarious waistline seemed paradoxical next to his 1.5 litre bottle of coke light, which sat beside him like an old faithful companion. I have always known there was something fishy about the "zero calorie" claim...
Anyway enough about school, moving on to less depressing issues...
I think I know what Diana King meant when she sang, “I don't want no fly guy, I just want a shy guy” after it was the low key Tampopo at Liang Court that made my Friday night and end of a school week a little more memorable.
Worlds apart from chic-er competitors such as Sushi Tei and Kuriya, neither the interior design nor table settings require a stretch of your imagination- think traditional wooden tables and chairs, self-serviced chopsticks and condiments. However while the setting was ordinary, the food was anything but so.
One word, “Kurobuta“
It means “black pig” in Japanese and since Tampopo specializes in it, we had to try it out to see if it were worth the hype or justalotta hogwash (couldn’t resist). Service at Tampopo was quick, as within 8 minutes of our order taken, our steaming bowls of black pig shabu shabu ramen arrived.
Time for a Jessica Simpson moment: Gee, I didn’t know that kurobuta was white! [Insert Beethoven’s Symphony Number 5] Alright now, let’s try to restore the IQ level of this blog.
Sinewy but fatty stripes of pork and thin ramen noodles lay side by side, set in a warm bath of milky pork bone soup, with a dash of chili powder. How was it? Well, there exists no finer bowl of kotabura ramen. The ramen and pork stripes resembled loyal henchmen next to the incredible robust pork bone soup- result of a 2 day brew. Such pleasure it was, we had no qualms about ordering an extra portion of soup.
Get your Tasty Egg at just S$1.20 today!
The saba shioyaki above was expectedly good but lay almost forgotten beside our sashimi platter below. The sashimi platter mix consisted of fresh salmon, tuna, swordfish, prawn, octopus, cuttlefish and scallop. Each fold of thickly cut sashimi dipped in shoyu-wasabi made me glee with contentment in a very “world peace” sort of way. Would I ever get tired of fresh sashimi, say, “NAY-AY!”
Based on looks alone, the wafu beef diced steak wasn’t “wow”. Set on a bed of bean sprouts and heavy handedly sauced, the beef was lacking in smoky aroma but the texture was something altogether. Each cube squished-squshed in my mouth, working my jaw into a mild rhythmic workout.
But I will have to say the salt black pig katsu don (coated with himaraya pink salt) was absolutely INSANE! Here’s the trick- you have to eat the katsu in slow motion and please please please take a moment to consider the amalgamation of flavour and texture! Upon contact, your K9s would first crack the brittle crisp batter casing, tap into the thin fatty layer before sinking into the tender flesh. By now, your heart should be bursting with song and your idea of katsu don will hence be changed f-o-r-e-v-e-r. What's more, the nuggets of gratification rested on a chive and lemon zest topped vinegar rice, which added a unique refreshing twist.
One minor quibble was the time management of the dishes. We were two mouthfuls into our ramen when the sashimi arrived. While it didn’t seem right to set aside the ramen, we didn’t want to leave the sashimi out cold but mixing the two would only mask the freshness of the sashimi. Overall, it was hard to pick a favourite dish (though I am swinging in favour the the salt black pig katsu don), making this is the perfect first post for 2007!
Although with two days of public holiday and only three and a half lessons, this doesn't quite qualify as an official school week. It still felt like a mini onstacle course, which I emerged with unnoticeable beyond skin deep traumistisations.
I do also forsee this course CAT (Computer as an analysis tool) to be my Archilles Heel for the semester. Lesson 1 was plain torturous- only the devil knows what lies ahead for the next two months and the textbook looks like it was conocted out of a madman's fantasy of Microsoft Excel Dreamworld. Two months down the road, I will probably grow bald not due to stress-related hair loss but rather, frustration-induced spontaneous tearing of hair.
For my Ethics course, when I first laid eyes on my professor, his pot belly and gregarious waistline seemed paradoxical next to his 1.5 litre bottle of coke light, which sat beside him like an old faithful companion. I have always known there was something fishy about the "zero calorie" claim...
Anyway enough about school, moving on to less depressing issues...
I think I know what Diana King meant when she sang, “I don't want no fly guy, I just want a shy guy” after it was the low key Tampopo at Liang Court that made my Friday night and end of a school week a little more memorable.Worlds apart from chic-er competitors such as Sushi Tei and Kuriya, neither the interior design nor table settings require a stretch of your imagination- think traditional wooden tables and chairs, self-serviced chopsticks and condiments. However while the setting was ordinary, the food was anything but so.
One word, “Kurobuta“
It means “black pig” in Japanese and since Tampopo specializes in it, we had to try it out to see if it were worth the hype or justalotta hogwash (couldn’t resist). Service at Tampopo was quick, as within 8 minutes of our order taken, our steaming bowls of black pig shabu shabu ramen arrived.
Time for a Jessica Simpson moment: Gee, I didn’t know that kurobuta was white! [Insert Beethoven’s Symphony Number 5] Alright now, let’s try to restore the IQ level of this blog.
Sinewy but fatty stripes of pork and thin ramen noodles lay side by side, set in a warm bath of milky pork bone soup, with a dash of chili powder. How was it? Well, there exists no finer bowl of kotabura ramen. The ramen and pork stripes resembled loyal henchmen next to the incredible robust pork bone soup- result of a 2 day brew. Such pleasure it was, we had no qualms about ordering an extra portion of soup.
Get your Tasty Egg at just S$1.20 today!
The saba shioyaki above was expectedly good but lay almost forgotten beside our sashimi platter below. The sashimi platter mix consisted of fresh salmon, tuna, swordfish, prawn, octopus, cuttlefish and scallop. Each fold of thickly cut sashimi dipped in shoyu-wasabi made me glee with contentment in a very “world peace” sort of way. Would I ever get tired of fresh sashimi, say, “NAY-AY!”
Based on looks alone, the wafu beef diced steak wasn’t “wow”. Set on a bed of bean sprouts and heavy handedly sauced, the beef was lacking in smoky aroma but the texture was something altogether. Each cube squished-squshed in my mouth, working my jaw into a mild rhythmic workout.
But I will have to say the salt black pig katsu don (coated with himaraya pink salt) was absolutely INSANE! Here’s the trick- you have to eat the katsu in slow motion and please please please take a moment to consider the amalgamation of flavour and texture! Upon contact, your K9s would first crack the brittle crisp batter casing, tap into the thin fatty layer before sinking into the tender flesh. By now, your heart should be bursting with song and your idea of katsu don will hence be changed f-o-r-e-v-e-r. What's more, the nuggets of gratification rested on a chive and lemon zest topped vinegar rice, which added a unique refreshing twist.
One minor quibble was the time management of the dishes. We were two mouthfuls into our ramen when the sashimi arrived. While it didn’t seem right to set aside the ramen, we didn’t want to leave the sashimi out cold but mixing the two would only mask the freshness of the sashimi. Overall, it was hard to pick a favourite dish (though I am swinging in favour the the salt black pig katsu don), making this is the perfect first post for 2007!
Monday, January 1
2006 going on 2007
I had an AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME 2006.
I wish I could put my best memories of 2006 into a time capsule and immortalize them. But i'm hardly the most sentimental person around so an Umbra photo album and photoblog would serve that purpose well too. HAH, how terribly un-Hallmark of me to say that!
Yes, I still believe that being 21 or over-celebrating your 21 is overrated.
If I could sum up 2006 in a breathful, it would very well be: I came. I saw. I chowed.
I have no idea how 2007 is going to top 2006 but I'd love to find out. If 2006 had been a year of eye-opening and feet-blistering experiences, 2007 could be the year I focus on the 'C' word. Not cash, car, condo, credit card nor country club but CAREER. Though I don't see a graduation ceremony within the next year at least, it's going to be one helluva prep year.
Just imagine: The Amazing Rat Race Season 2007.
It would be such a waste of time coming up with 2007 resolutions when resolutions for year 2005 and 2006 remain either forgotten or unresolved. But if I really had to come up with one (for the sake of new-year-related small talk), I would say, "Make It Happen."
Wishes, hopes and dreams remain wads of cotton candy fluff unless you do something about it. All but one on the my list of to-dos require a great deal of solo effort so "do or die," it's all up to me.
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