Koh Grill & Sushi Bar x Punggol Waterway Park

One bright not-too-hazy morning, we took the kids to a less-ventured (well, to us) part of town - Punggol Waterway Park for much outdoor fun. The manmade natural development was a refreshing change from our usual pace of life, and for those who need their dose of a mall, don't worry, Punggol Waterway Point is a stone's throw away. 

Early morning rigorous activity calls for fuel fast and we had our weekly dose of Japanese at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar. Koh Grill & Sushi Bar has been around and clearly still popular among the masses, despite online reviews that standards have dropped blah blah. Clearly, I fall into another category of customers and I thought the food was pleasing in a somewhat low-brow bastardised kind of way. That said, the kitchen service is s-l-o-w; our last dish (a maki) only arrived after 40 mins of us placing our order. So be patient, partake in humanly conversation and enjoy the grub you are about to receive. 

Since our last visit which was eons ago, they now have a tendon which is ridiculously yummy and value-for-money. Two shrimps, an eggplant, pumpkin, seaweed and onsen egg (!!!)  all for $10.Tempura onsen egg?!  Human meets egg, human is happy. 

Also paraded shamelessly on the new menu is their aburi chirashi. Though not quite as bountiful as The Sushi Bar's, it is also less expensive but perhaps more satisfying thanks to the aburi mentiko-mayo sauce. It's like walking into Zara and seeing an inspired-piece from your favourite designer. Score!

A couple of aburi engawa (flounder) sushi earned its keep in our gut. Plenty delicious. 

One of the more decadent items is the Foie Gras Maki, wrapped with either aburi swordfish or beef. We had it with the beef which was too thinly sliced and as a result, overdone under the wrath of the blowtorch. Interesting but not as shiok as the other makis. Worth a try once though. 

And of course, we had to order the Shiok maki, which was heavily slathered in shiok sauce. This probably won't earn any Michelin stars but it keeps the customers coming and the tills ringing.  

Weekend Outdoor Play x Baker & Cook

We had a play date with our friends and their little ones. I love taking the kids out for outdoor play but it gets unbearably hot after 9am and not to mention, I really hate being out under the sun. But this was nice - experiencing the sun and sand with ALOT OF SHADE!

But first, breakfast at Baker & Cook. A bacon and mushroom tart, smoked salmon quiche, scrambled eggs and toast, plus two coffees because mama and papa need all the sustenance they can get to keep up with the boys.

Russell enjoyed the bacon and mushroom tart, Lucas polished off the scrambled eggs, so yes, we can come back again. I also had serious food envy when I saw our friend tuck into her egg mayo tartines. Egg mayo tartine ... you be mine soon. 

On Sunday night, we channelled our not commonly known artsy-fartsy side and made our way to the Singapore Night Festival. Pretty remarkable. Good to know our tiny red dot isn't all about malls and hawker food.

Quite surreal to see a Booksactually books vending machine at the National Museum. What a great idea! If you have time to catch Pokemon, you definitely have time to read 💪🏻 #noexcuses

Pit Stop at Tiong Bahru Bakery, Raffles City

A puckery lemon tart is pure delight. This lemon tart had a short buttery base akin to the texture of a cookie (yasss!). While I thought the curd could have more "moltenous," I loved the tanginess of level 2 and wouldn't mind trying level 3 the next time round.

I have a soft weak-in-the-knees spot for their kouign amann. It's really the only must-have for me at Tiong Bahru Bakery. I haven't had the guts to do so, but I dare sayI can finish up one on my own in one sitting. Caramelised buttery puff pastry - it's hard to beat that, my friend. I got the apple kouign amann (to prove I am capable of change); the apple bits were pleasant, a short distraction from the aching sweetness of this delightful party.

Fat Pork Roll from Fat Saigon Boy Express

Got myself another banh mi from Fat Saigon Boy Express and this time round I had the Fat Pork Roll, which was stuffed with 24-hr BBQ pork. I really hope they keep up such generous portions. I don't know (and don't care) how authentic this is, but this is legit. Good stuff.

Ka Soh, Amoy Street

We had a team farewell lunch for one of our American colleagues at Ka Soh along Amoy Street. It checked the boxes for local food, walking distance from office and "Yay, there is air-conditioning!" I must admit I had a good time thanks to the company and the nostalgia. It's been a while since I had tze char or ate at one of these old school establishments.

Lunch not cheap - around $30 per person - despite the seemingly rustic set-up (read: can't be bothered to renovate). On hindsight, their signature Sliced Fish Bee Hoon is not something I would order again. It was quite underwhelming and clearly need the help of all the condiments on offer.

Ooo crispy pork lard? Yes, please.

Apart from their disappointing signature dish, the other dishes were pretty good. The San Lor Hor Fun was a pleasing mountainous carb-load. Perhaps I'm severely biased for this is one of my favourite tze char carbs

Cuttlefish sambal kang Kong was well done too. Fiery with kick and the cuttlefish was crunchy instead of being insufferably chewy.

A tze char classic done well. Juicy and crisp, with a garlicky chili sauce to kick things up a notch. 

Another crowd favourite was the sweet and sour pork. Little nuggets of deep-fried pork tossed about in sweet tangy sauce. Eat them while warm for Maximus pleasure.

The pierce de resistance was their cereal prawns. Best of all, they were shelled! No finicking unglamorous wrestles with the prawns #FirstWorldProblems These bouncy prawns and cereal overload were right up my alley. I was really glad we had a vegetarian at our table, who was more than happy to give me his share.

For dessert, we had a serviceable but not-mind-blowing red bean pancake, on request by the vegetarian. Pity the pastry was dull and flat, instead of being crispy and light.

Recipe: Fried Hokkien Mee

I was never a Fried Hokkien Mee person till I met KW. Though Penang Char Kway Teow is still my first love, I find it hard to resist a solid plate of Fried Hokkien Mee, especially one made with thin beehoon. I was partially motivated by my boys too since they both love Fried Hokkien Mee. I guess my maternal instincts kicked in, and I wanted to master something they could both identify with in their childhood. 

On National Day, I decided to try making Fried Hokkien Mee for our family potluck; this is my second attempt and I was determined to make a new and improved version since my first attempt was just 'good enough.' This is by no means near hawker standards (which only goes to show how sinful the hawker versions are), but I am quite proud to say this homemade version is my signature dish. I might be another version should the occasion arise but in the meantime, I am sharing my tried-and-tested recipe should you want to try making Fried Hokkien Mee too. 

Fried Hokkien Mee 
Adapted from EC Kitchen SG
Serves: 8 pax

Ingredients 

Prawn Stock

• 2 tablespoon oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 300g prawn shells (from ~800g of prawns)
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 2-4 huge pork knuckle bones
• 500g pork belly

Noodles

• 2 tablespoon oil + 2 tablespoon oil (to use after frying the egg)
• 4 eggs (beaten)
• 500g prawns (from ~800g of prawns)
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 200g thin bee hoon (or thick, if you prefer so)
• 400g Hokkien yellow noodle
• 15 stalks of spring onion, sectioned
• 3 tablespoon fish sauce
• 3 tablespoon shaoxing wine

Instructions

Prawn Stock

1. Add the oil to a heated saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and shallots to the saucepan when the oil is heated and wait out for the aroma. Don't bot burn the garlic and shallots.  
3. Add prawn shells and stir fry for 3-5 mins until fragrant (the fragrance is unmissable – I keep sticking my head into the pot to inhale the aroma).
4. Add bones, pork belly and chicken stock to the shells and boil for ~45 mins.
5. Set aside for later use; I like to do this early in the day and let the stock do its thang over the course of the day.
6. Fish out and slice up the pork belly for later use.

Fry the noodle 

1. Add some oil to a heated wok or deep frying pan over medium.
2. Add in beaten eggs and fry away. Break it up into smaller pieces when the eggs are cooked.
3. Push the fried eggs to the side and add 2 tablespoon of oil to the centre of the pot
4. Add in minced garlic and stir fry until the scent of garlic hits you (without burning the garlic)
5. Add in sliced pork belly and stir fry for another 1 minute – FYI, if you want, you should add some squid too at this point.
6. Add in the noodles and stir fry for another minute.
7. Add in about 8-10 ladles of prawn stock (about enough to cover the noodles), spring onion, fish sauce and shaoxing wine. Work those elbows and toss a few times. 
8. Cover the lid and boil for 10 minutes; add the prawns in 5 mins before the noodle is ready.
9. Remove the pot from the heat and serve hot. If your guys are running late, leave it in the wok with the cover on to harness the magic.

Celebrating National Day SG51

Celebrated Esther's birthday with a scrumptious cake from Bakers Brew studio 

Remember these old school treats?

Get together at my place with the family

Proud of my Fried Hokkien Mee second time round

In-laws brought a really awesome roast duck from Silk (SICC)

And we had lots of durians

There were 4 different types - 

Black Pearl, Golden Phoenix, Mao Shan Wang, Wang Zhong Wang (my fav)

You have been warned

The boys =)

Zion Riverside Food Centre

A dear ex-collegue's farewell lunch took us to Zion Riverside Food Centre as prawn mee is one of his favourite local food. I haven't been to Zion Riverside Food Centre in a long while and it is one of my favourite hawkers centres. 

We shared a tableload of goodies, including braised duck, deliciously crisp white carrot cake (stall 26), Teochew Char Kway Teow (stall 20) and Sichuan dumplings, rounding the meal up with a much-needed ice cheng teng. 

This Teochew Char Kway Teow is such a revelation! People queue up for stall 18's char kway teow, but I know which stall I would come back to next. The friendly uncle even reminded me to add more pork lard; "沒有油的” he claims =)

Don't worry, the dried chili concoction is not as fiery as it looks. The crispy crunch of the dried chilies provided savoury textural contrast to the silky dumplings. Yums!

Teppei Syokudo, ION Orchard

Keeping in line with my birthday barachirashi theme, I visited Teppei Syokudo at ION Orchard on my actual birthday. When it comes to barachraishi, the name "Teppei" can't be left out of the conversation and for good reason too.

Feeling greedy, I also got a shrimp katsu, which provided a good break in textures but isn't exactly worth travelling down all the way for.

The barachraishis, on the other hand, were superb! Bearing in mind this is my first visit, I would expect Laws of Diminishing Returns to set up after multiple visits. Both of us picked the Medium size that gave us an options of 4 fishes; while I went for 2 portions of salmon, swordfish and baby scallops, KW opted for for salmon, yellowtail, swordfish and baby scallop. On hindsight, I probably won't pick the baby scallops again - they didn't do much for me. The fresh chunky marinated sashimi proved to be extremely satisfying and I was woozy-high after ingesting all that salmon. 

Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh, Midview City

I think that out of all the meats, pork is probably my least favourite. So it's quite funny when I find myself craving Bak Kut Teh one fine evening. While we can debate until the pigs come home over the best Bak Kut Teh in Singapore, I will always have a soft spot for Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh. Rong Chen holds deep memories for me as my parents used to take us to the Sin Ming branch when we were kids. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of Bak Kut Teh then, having it now sets off a warm fuzzy feeling in my gut. 

Though the original outlet is one which many swear by, the Midview City branch screams convenience to me as it is alot more kid-friendly. Frankly speaking, my tastebuds can't tell the difference too. Perhaps the grim of Sin Ming adds to the appeal for some =)

I only get the 龙骨 (dragon bone) when I take Bak Kut Teh. It was moreishly fatty and tender, steeped in a warm peppery broth that I had seconds of.

There is only one way to eat the ribs - dunk into thick sweetish dark soya sauce with red-cut chili.

The collagenous pork trotter was tender and gratifying. The boys loved it. You don't order it because it's da bomb, you order it because it feels right. 

The very humble prawn omelette was a fluffy waft of home-cooked goodness. Deceptively simple. 

My idea of a happy meal

Weekend at Gardens by the Bay

Perhaps in connection with National Day, Gardens by the Bay has a really “Orchid Extravaganza” going on from now till 28 August in the Flower Dome.We had a lovely time with the boys there over the weekend. The countdown to the next weekend officially begins ... xoxo

Over a team lunch, one of my colleagues let on she knew approximately how many "productive work days" she has left (around 15000 days) and what she was doing to make sure she was absolutely efficient. While that was quite an absurd thought, I realized I habour similar sentiments towards my children. By a conservation estimate, I roughly have about 10 more years with them. 10 years where I'm the center of their universe, where they will repeat "Mama" about a dozen times within 3 minutes, and fight between themselves to sit on me.

10 years. 3650 days.

Sobering thoughts... Life put in perspective for you. Let's make every day count.