Nogawa, Le Meridien

Nogawa at Le Meridien was exam-hall quiet for a Wednesday lunch but the mood was anything but daunting. Needless to say, we sat at the sushi counter and Mia, her usual charming self, chatted with Chef Kelvin and Chef Shingo while I browsed through the menu. I learnt very quickly that if you want to get past the strong-silent-stoic mien of Japanese chefs, if you want to feel "taken care of", you got to seat by the sashimi counter and chat up the maestros behind the counter. Even if you are not doing omakase, you never know where it a little chit-chat may lead you to.


Appetizer- mustard and peanut sauce-dripped greens

That being said, I'm awful at picking up sushi chefs, opting to reserve the look of adoration for the food instead. Luckily for me, my friend called Mia, our resident Charm Offensive strategist erased the need for any icebreaker games.



Both of us ordered from the lunch menu. Mia's chiraishi was so pretty and I immediately thought of a decorous float that glazed the streets in Sanrio Puroland. I see Hello Kitties dancing...



I celebrated my Fetish of The Moment (sushi) with the nigiri, a simple mix of cucumber makis and assorted nigiris. Each mouthful featured a satisfying fish-dominated experience that was undoubtedly fresh, albeit on the dry side.

To girlfriends.
To a love for Japanese food.

Next on the Ladies Who Lunch agenda: Tatsuya.

I'm done with Heroes Season 2. I actually like Season 2 better though the first 5 episodes were a little hohummovealongplease. I don't want to spoil the plot for you guys but I have this to say: Marry Me Thank gawd you got a haircut, Pee-tar! Cough. Your turn, Nathan... Hmmm, bad haircuts must run in the Petrelli family or at least, within siblings. Also I'm just amazed by the -pause- perfectly-mascaraed eyelashes of the female costars. Seriously, you would think that when one is battling with (choose one from the following) superhero-in-denial crisises, boy-girl problems or save-the-world anxieties, eyelash-grooming would be the last thing on their minds. Guess there never will be a good enough reason to let yourself go.

Pre-Fall 2008

Can Wonder Boys Proenza Schouler do no wrong? Never mind that I (like 99% of population) still can't figure out how the label's pronounced, their Pre-Fall collection 2008 is -sigh- utterly covetable.

The photos done for Lanvin really appeals to the monochromatic phase that I'm in.

My favorite look from Lanvin.

Island Creamery

After Relish, a few of us did the MOST logical thing and popped by Island Creamery for dessert. These guys have been around forever and introduced teh tarik pulot hitam local-moco flavors even before it became trendy. While blog surfing, I found out they make special flavours for special occasions (why not?!), like say pineapple tart ice cream for Chinese New Year, rum and raisin ice-cream with maraschino cherries, eggnog latte for Christmas.



I can't remember when I last visited Island Creamery -probably back in those days when school uniform was mandatory- and I made sure this trip made up for lost time.

ReversO. Blackforest. Cookies and Cream. Apple pie.



I pressed against the ice cream display, in search of an emotional connection. Then I found it. My You-had-me-at-Oh-Yeah moment.

The Mud Pie. Complete with -breathe- oreo cookie shards.

This was it. I knew I had to have it, simply because i wanted to have my ice cream AND cake AND eat them. A drizzle of chocolate sauce would be heavenly but since I'm hardly critical of ice cream (think Paula, not Simon), I'm going to have to give Island Creamery the thumbs-up. .

Got. To. Head. Back. Soon.

Da Paolo, Gastronomia. Once more.

GASTRONOMIA packs its way into one of Singapore's most beloved sub-cultures- 'dapao'.



Gastronomia has become my family's default place to get lunch. Admittedly, there's nothing mind-blowing about their food but rather I feel like we're paying to enjoy the variety, flexibility and convenience. It's kinda like visiting the hawker centre or food court- without the hassle. Is it just me or do you find the rows and rows of Tupperware is plain comforting? Whoops, guess it's just me.

I like people kid-watching here at Chip Bee Gardens. Every now and then, you see a toddler that reminds of a doll you used to own. Think super cute 'Cereal Killer' tees and baby Crocs ***. Then there are the super cool parents. Folks in their most laid-back get-ups, channeling that whole neighbourhood chic vibe.. with a yoga sling bag, instead of a Chanel or Marc Jacobs tote.

Da Paolo Gastronomia is also one of those places where my sense of rationlizing fails me. The food's ok, the service 'I'm seen better else where', the location so-so (depends on where you are) and the comfort level barely scratching the pass-fail line.

But I still like te desserts better. I'm a dessert nut after all...


Pumpkin soup with rosemary bread roll.

Compared to Soup Spoon, I found their soups lackluster and anaemic-looking. Is it just me or does Gastromonia's breads rools suffer from an overly doughy aroma (a sign that it is underbaked, perhaps) ?

Anyway, most people head straight for the fuss-free safe bet pizzas.







That said, if you like the whole 'doing-doing springy cheese' effect, you are probably not going to like this either.

Moving onto the hot items.


Grilled eggplant

I like the grilled eggplant which was stuffed with mashed vegetables.



The sausages with caramelized onion went down easily enough.


Baked salmon with spinach

While in Copenhagen, I saw supermarkets selling frozen salmon wrapped in puff pastry. Just pop it into the oven for about 45 minutes and you get an incredibly sumptuous meal. In Europe, the puff pastry was as thick as the salmon and the spinach minimal. Here at Gastronomia, I greatly preferred the thin parchment of pastry and the generous spinach slabs made this waistline-friendly.

As I mentioned earlier, you may think, "Gastronomia? big deal... NOT" and you are probably right. The foods' tiptoes on mediocrity and is 'tasty' at best... but to those who value serenity, it seats nicely away from mass civilisation, without getting too far out. As you bite into your pizza, the pace of life trickles to a breathable pace and the kids toddling about look cuter...

Cliche as it may sound: It's all in the experience.




Naturally, desserts are my undoing. The white chocolate, yogurt crumble scores for its tangy but decadent slash buttery play of flavours and textures. A spoonful of it weaves the Life is Beautiful spell on me.



The dark twin chocolate with lemon crumble works along the same sweet-tangy logic, only that it is higher on the zest meter, less decadent and buttery. It's 'nice' (*generic word* alert!) but I like my desserts uber-rich, in a 'falling off my chair you make me breathless' kinda way.



Arh, desserts... how can you not fall in love with them?

*** Note: Crocs footwear should come with this Warning Label- Keep Away from All above the Age of Five

Relish at Cluny Court

Come grab our buns:
#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)
501 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 259760

Teased the Relish website teased.

The first 2008 event held by SMU Gourmet Club took us to Wilin Low's new hideaway 'Relish' at Cluny Court. Grab Our Buns Sorry to disappoint you but one should really toss out burgeoning thoughts of a Chippendales calendar shoot because any event held by SMU Special Interest Group is at best "M-18". The event was oversubscribed (good news for the Event Team and restuarant) and more than 20 smu students invaded the smallish restaurant (bad news for the other diners) on a moderately busy Wednesday night.



While I didn't get to meet the chef himself, the restaurant's interior was symbolic of the chef's rumoured good nature. Blessed with a high ceiling, a soothing blend of seemingly-nondescript furniture melded to create an inviting space fit for relaxed-chic get-together.

Referencing the usual cheese-and-wine-pairing, Relish scores points for novelty for introducing a a burger-and-beer-pairing concept. Nudging the meter up slightly, the onion rings spotted a hodgepodge of oddly-shapped onions and crisp flaky batter, instead of the usual machine-cut-and-breadcrumbed-in-factory versions.


Onion Rings

I chose the weirdest sounding burger, the garam masala lamb and mint hummus pita burger, crossing my fingers that everyone around me would order something different. The small comprehensive menu offered something to the traditionalists and more to those hoping to hone their adventurous side. All burgers were served with hearty fries that were well-acquainted with the deep fryer.

On one camp, the signature wild rocket burger with sarawak pepper cream and sun-dried tomato relish and classic bacon and cheese burger with emmental cheese would have appealed to the no-nonsense.

Apart from those two, the other items on the menu evoked comments that ranged from 'OOO sounds interesting' to 'Are you suuuuuuuuure...' or in my case, 'You shouldn't order that... because I want to share with you and I don't like the sound of what you are ordering'. Among the "We are Different" (ha! sorry couldn't resist) options, I had a bite-full of the BBQ charsiew soft-bone pork open foccacia burger, Ram Lee Beef Burger and portebello tofu burger with eggplant salsa.


The Lamb Pita Burger

I chose the lamb burger because
a. aside from beef, it was the 'other' red meat. To me, there's a strong inexcusable bond between red meat and burger, like cheese and pizza, fried egg and kecap manis... You got to have one with the another, otherwise it just doesn't quite work.
b. for some strange unexplainable-by-rationale reason, the word 'hummus' just called out to me. Hummus... Getcha Hummas

I liked my My Big Fat Greek Burger enough to er- blog about it. I think the other burgers met with mixed reviews and since I was the only one who ordered the lamb, I didn't have differing opinions to compare notes with.


The Char Siew Burger

I think the other burgers met with identity crisis. Whether it was the East-Meets-West or Gourmet-Versus-Street-Grub problem, the burgers battled with an innate sense of lost identity as they grappled to find a balance between their street roots and newfound highbrow status.
Stuck at the culture-status crossroads, the burgers were confused and in the process of figuring out what they stood for, lost the ultimate goal of satisfying diners' palates.


The Ram Lee Burger

If the char siew was a living person, people would labelled it 'jiak kentang' behind his back. It would have fared better if it just called itself "Roast Pork," instead of trying to play the fusion game. The Ram Lee beef patty was in dire need of a good shake-up of seasoning and in the process of atahs-sation, the burger had lost its authentic greasefest flavour. Never thought I would say this but it appears the dingier the eatery, the tastier the Ramly.



To me, the word "relish" conjures images of forgoing table manners, devoting unwarranted attention on your food and at the end of your meal, you pat your belly and say, "it was worth it." Relish's burgers were too sterile and 'restrained', like the censored version of 'Lust Caution'. Though the restaurant seems to have filled the consumer-segmentation void, appealing to those Raoul-Zara clad yuppies, I found my meal (sadly) anti-climax.

If you are happy and you know...

Two years ago, I left for Copenhagen.

Businessweek has just ranked Denmark as the happiest nation in the world (again!). Among the Top 10, Bhutan and Brunei made it to 8th and 9th spot respectively. No surprises.



But I am happy. YAY.

Akashi, Tanglin Shopping Centre

I have been recommended by friends to try out Akashi though I never quite managed to do so, despite its central location. When I eventually did however, I crossed its Tanglin premises three times in less than a month.

My maiden encounter with Akashi took place when I met up with the girls for lunch, where I decided Akashi was good enough to Meet The Parents. Scoring a break from our regular Saturday hangout at Tampopo, I took my parents there a week later, where to my surprise, the waitress
1. remembered me
2. what I ordered and scarily enough,
3. where I sat!

Ok, it’s a lot less creepy than it sounds. I was like, Phwoar not bad arh, so what’s 246 + 124 x 3 / 2 – 200 +12?



The service “force” made up of experienced old-timers, sparing customers from those ‘you may have forgotten so I’m asking for the 5th time- can you please top up my green tea?’ scenarios. Sparing the waitress from mental sums (for now), I was secretly pleased and very impressed that she remembered me. Hey, we may be customers but we have feelings too! We aren’t just nitpicking know-it-alls sent by our guts to occupy restaurants space.

Their nabeyaki udon, which was sufficiently satisfying, save for the fact that the tempura prawn and salmon fish had turned soggy by the time the dish arrived. No complains about the sukiyaki either, which came with beef slices rimmed with fat that wrinkled in hot soup.



Zee had raved about the gyu tenderloin –grilled and smothered in teriyaki sauce-and now its my duty to do so too. However thanks to a limited vocabulary (Juicy? Tender? Yawn), I can only say it was so good we ordered another portion within minutes.



Yup, that's the second plate up there. I’m guessing by now you can tell that when we like something, we do it in multiples.



Be it Tom Ton, Tampopo or sushi tei, Mum’s barometer of how good a Japanese restaurant much she likes the restaurant depends the katsu don. But I personally prefer the tori katsu, where aint’t no gravy gonna mess with the cr-cr-crunch

Nowadays I find myself being drawn to the powers of sushi and sashimi- "cold food" that typically rank highly on the bland-o-meter.





I have never seen such nigiris served in Singapore where the upper half acts as some protective shield that wraps around a tiny no-bigger-than-my-thumb knob of vinegar rice. Looking at the pictures, you may have thought the rice disintegrated and I’ve only photographed a part of it but that’s all there was to the nigiri. Do as the Japanese do, I crammed in the entire nigiri whole, at the risk of blocking my windpipe. It was a mouthful of immense joy and satisfaction as the eel nigiri had been lightly dapped with teriyaki sauce and sprinkled with tasted sesame seeds.



I had my reservations about the futomaki- never been a fan of food coloring that looks like it has been inspired by My Little Pony but I wolfed down more than half the plate. Perhaps it’s the new-found appreciation for the sweet vinegar rice and unfussy sushi. Let’s leave creativity for scrapbooking class ok? No more soft shell crab (legs dangling out and all that), tempura stuffed, bonito flakes topped, chili power sprinkled, mango slices drapped, mayonnaise drizzled art-and-crafty sushi for me.

Less is more (this doesn’t apply to my closet or shoe collection under any circumstances).

I could sing about the sashimi! The swordfish sashimi beat others I’ve had hands (and fins) down with its uber milky creaminess that got me slightly dizzy after 2 slices. The salmon slices, ostentatiously lined with fatty streaks, up the ante with its firm freshness. The ama ebi was absolutely resplendent in chilled sweetness.

That being said, our second order of salmon (not pictured) fell short of expectations as it looked not unlike something served by [insert name of conveyor belt chain]. Were we just lucky the first time round?

All in all, Akashi is a dependable family restaurant, kicking off 2008 and the new school term with a considerably loud bang. Lunch time is a lot quieter despite lower prices and it becomes hard to talk once the restaurant fills up and the noise level escalates. Then again, you might probably have tuned out of whatever conversation you were in.

Shimokitazawa, Tokyo

My sister went off to Ginza and as I wasn't interested in shops where I had to sell a liver to buy a dress, I decided to visit Japan's suburbs, one of which was Shimokitazawa.

















New York Times called Shimokitazawa "Tokyo’s answer to Greenwich Village" and I like it's quiet but quirky ambience.