Makan Kaki

Needless to say, Sentosa Island will never be the same again. Thanks to Resorts World Sentosa, more visitors will be looking to get away without actually going away. How many more? Well, Mike Barclay, chief executive officer, Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said, “we expect Sentosa’s annual visitor numbers to more than double in the coming years.”

How sure are they? Let’s just say that SDC is spending a whopping $300 million to “bolster infrastructure” – widen roads and such. They have also raised the cost to drive onto the island during most parts of the day in a bid to regulate traffic. Fair enough. Trains and trams do have their charm.

But what if you, like me, just want to take advantage of the record number fine eats taking root on the island? Well, loosen you belt, invest in stretchy dinner wear and a designated driver, and get ready to feast on some really good news.

You may or may not have already heard about this. But besides SDC’s move to cut the price of its shuttle bus service by a dollar (basically visitors only need to pay the $2 island admission charge), those who still prefer to drive to dinner can look forward to paying just $2 per car on weekdays and $3 per car on weekends (from 7.01pm to 6.59am, to be precise).

For the same period, car park charges are just $1 per entry on weekdays and $2 on weekends.

Yummy!

It’s been a while. I know. But somewhere between my desperate search for the perfect Hokkaido ramen and the second best sauvignon blanc I’d tasted from Cloudy Bay, life, as they say, has been one big messy buffet (and you know how I feel about all-you-can-eat menus).

I’ll try to keep this sad excuse for an apology letter short. Let’s just say that when served well chilled and then allowed to warm up to perfection in the palms of my hands, the Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc 2009 was all of the young, spirited and sprightly fairy of young white wines many had promised it would be. But don’t take my word for it. Keep a lookout for insights from winemaker Nick Lane (who graced us with his presence last week to launch the 2009 vintage) himself, in an upcoming issue of Weekend TODAY’s Living, of course.

As for my search for the surprisingly elusive “perfect ramen”, I’m glad to report that the Japanese themselves aren’t too bothered with the fact that my brief search was, alas, in vain. The locals I was told (by a local) don’t take ramen that seriously, anyway – in a good way, that is.

Having said that, I am glad to say that it has not left me too disheartened. I was actually rather pleased that the incident had at least reminded me of one of my favourite albeit clichéd idiom. No need to hold your breath. And no, it’s not the one about how too much sex makes the heart pump stronger.

The old turn of phrase I’m referring to has less to do with acts of instant gratification and more to do with being grateful for every step I take, whatever the culinary odyssey. Like great food and the never ceasing surprises they seem to always deliver, life, as they say, is about the journey and never really just about the destination.

Besides, in about a month or so (I’m sure), Singaporeans will get to sample one of the most famous bowls of Hakata-style pork-based ramen to date. And we won’t need to travel more than 30 minutes on the MRT to get there. Keep checking back to find out what and who I’m talking about.

I looked up and the mid-afternoon sun seemed to cast an ethereal glow around the canopy of the old maple tree I was lying under. I shut my eyes and time seemed to stand still. Before I knew it … before the wine had a chance to breathe its first breath in seven years … I found myself lost in this beautiful Saturday afternoon.

I had brought a small feast along. Nothing fancy – a basket of a few of my favourite things, you could say. Gazing into the picnic basket, though, I suddenly felt something I had not experienced in a while. It was a subtle hunger – nowhere near a ravenous yearning but certainly past peckish.

Strangely – almost compelled to do so – I started with the wine. Not the usual Pinot Noir or one of my favourite Barolos, but a young and shy yet salacious Albarino, Bodegas Valdamor (Rias Baixas), of course.

I then began to pick at a little procuitto (only because I did not have any Jamon Iberico de Bellota Pata Negra), indulging in a bite of chilled rock melon every once in a while. I remember being a little surprised at how cold and crisp the food was, given the fact that I had packed this humble basket banquet more than two hours ago.

There was the fresh lemonade snuggled next to the baguette, as well as a refreshing radish salad, seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pink peppercorns, which I had decided to put together at the last minute.

I began to wonder if a steamed corn on the cob would go nicely with it, but quickly remembered that I had also brought along a portion of my wife’s favourite fennel and prawn salad.

I took a bite and thought to myself: Surely, few indulgences are greater than a languid feast of your favourite gourmet grub, sans the straight-laced formalities of a fine dining restaurant.

For more insights into the makings of an inspired gourmet picnic, check out this weekend’s TODAY.

Tags: picnic

Variety, for some, may be the spice of life. For many F&B businesses here, though, staying focused on a signature dish or specialising in dishes made from a specific produce has proven to be a winning business strategy.

As you will read in this weekend’s edition, Singapore boasts a fine assortment of specialised eateries, many of which serve just that one popular rendition of an iconic local dish.

Hawking these winning local adaptations of popular regional dishes – such as the famed one-dish meal, the nasi briyani – has proven to be a winning formula, which has consequently given rise to a number of must-visit one-dish-wonder and produce specific eateries peppered across the island.

Even stalls selling side dishes, such as Lau Hong Ser Rojak at Dunman Food Centre are enjoying continued boom, despite the current economic gloom. Fellow foodies, by the way, recommend calling in your order in advance (tel: 6346 6519).

Interestingly enough, this trend has also given birth to several new stalls pushing a rare variety of Asian snacks. Taking up a space at the basement of the newly opened Tampines 1 mall, Sheng Jian Man Tou (Lou Chun Ge) is a new snack stall selling its namesake Shanghainese pan-fried pau.

Likewise, visitors to the revamped Thomson Plaza will notice a newly opened sweet potato desert stand (just outside the newly renovated food court) offering a variety of treats inspired by this sweet spud.

So here is my question of the week for you: What are some of your favourite speciality stalls and eateries?

I’ve got to be honest. When a good friend – and respected foodie – suggested I try the delightfully crispy thin crust pizzas at a new Italian restaurant, I was genuinely piqued.

I’m no snob, but I thought she knew that I knew better than to even assume, or even worse, suggest that there is anything genuinely Italian about a thin crust pizza.

I remembered a similar conversation with one of the owners/chefs of Cugini (an Italian restaurant by Italians specialising in South Italian cuisine). I could not even get a word in, not that there was more to be said. But at the mere mention of the term “thin crust pizza” (which I thought would be a good joke to share), the chef crossed his arms, then his legs, leaned back, looked away and asked (rhetorically, of course): “You know that this is a mistake in the oven …”

He then went on about how amazed he was with the phenomenal popularity of this abomination … oops, I meant “good mistake”.

Back to the latest mention of the “crusty caper”, my foodie friend then quickly, yet nonchalantly continued: “And while you’re there, buy me back a side of chips, and hold the mustard.”

If you were actually thinking about asking me where this joint is, well, shame on you. And oh, Happy April Fool’s Day!

[For the genuine stuff, and a quick insider’s look at what makes Asia – and specifically Singapore – attractive to top foreign chefs, check out TODAY’s weekend edition (April 4).]

Tags: dining out

… that is the question. In light of a good number of wine events I’ve come to learn about in recent weeks, I’m not convinced that we’re as naïve a wine drinker as we make ourselves out to be.

Buyers and distributors must be noticing a growing appreciation in the local market.

We’ve complained about the high cost, but good wine has grown increasingly affordable. Heck, just check out the supermarkets these days and you’re sure to find more than a few labels under $25 to toast to.

And I’m not just talking about New World Australian labels.

What? Did you say you want only the best? Well, did you know that in the last 20 years, the province of Marlborough has moved from virtual obscurity to become New Zealand’s largest and best-known wine region – with a reputation for producing some of the world’s finest sauvignon blanc, if you didn’t already know this.

Nestled in the picturesque Wairau Valley, Hunter’s Wines (set up in 1983) currently outputs around 60,000 cases of wine annually, and nearly half of these are exported.

Hunter’s Wines have won more than 100 gold medals at national and international wine competitions. Want a taste? Visit the good guys at Indoguna, or logon to www.greengrocer.com.sg to shop online.

Another middle-earth vinous moment to celebrate this month is Cloudy Bay’s international launch of its limited release: an alternative style of sauvignon blanc. This is a new identity, inspired by the story behind the wine. Developed for the release of which wine, you ask? The 2006 Cloudy Bay Te Koko (the eleventh vintage of this intriguing and sought-after wine), of course.

According to a recent press release, the original label developed for the 1996 release was designed to clearly differentiate Te Koko from Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. More than a decade later, a new identity has been created – one that justly captures the spirit of the place and its people, both past and present.

Visually, the story of Te Koko is told on the new label through a Maori pattern (of the waka cutting through the waves into the bay).

[Made in limited quantities, Cloudy Bay Te Koko is available in selected restaurants and fine wine stores. For sales enquiries, please contact Moët Hennessy Diageo Singapore Customer Service at 6838 9826.]

Tags: New Zealand wines, wine appreciation, wines

Here’s a quick cool trivia (courtesy of Picotin’s recent newsletter): What do Eskimos use to prevent their food from freezing?

The answer, which I will share with you in a while, is perhaps less significant than the lesson in what some Singaporeans like to call “same-difference” – it offers.

I’ve often bitched about how spoilt we are in our approach to food, and similarly, how narrow-minded our perception of a well-plated dish can be.

But fact is, many of us seldom look at the various ways the same dish – or even an ingredient – tastes like to another person. We often judge it on the way it taste to us, giving little slack to the fact that it may taste the way it is suppose to taste to someone who is familiar it.

Love it for what it is, I say.

Some of us only think we love a good ribeye or salmon steak when what we they really love is, quite simply, red meat or fish. But I digress. 

The answer to the above question, ready or not, is: A refrigerator. (Duh…)

Okay, admittedly, it wasn’t my first guess, either – which involved natural insulators, such as hay or straw and mud, which aren’t exactly in abundance on the icy tundra.

Granted, this doesn’t make me a pea brain, or a nut case for thinking out of the box. But much like the fact that a peanut is not a nut, rather a legume (from the pea family), my point is simple: Eat with an open mind and build a better understanding of the foods you consume.

Give new flavours and flavour combinations a chance. What do you think mashed peas and spuds taste like to a child having it for the first time?

[Pocotin Bistro, Bar and Epicerie is located on Turf Club Road, tel: 6877 1191]

It’s one thing to have your cake and eat it too, but it’s another to pay close to 200 hundred bucks (and I don’t mean antelopes) for a child’s 1.5kg birthday cake.

For you fans of unprovoked acts of online profanities, alas, this is not one of those rants.

For the record, I had just bought a cake from a local patisserie for my younger daughter’s 3rd birthday party. Granted, it was at the last minute (3 days before the day, to be exact), so my thanks go out to the chef.

She (don’t really know which of the four chefs she is) had managed to squeeze in two handmade “princess” sisters for the said cake. And had even agreed to make them slightly different – one “younger” (smaller in size actually) than the other, and in a different coloured dress.

The double chocolate praline cake lived up to its reputation as one of their bestsellers, but I’ll have to say that there weren’t many other decorative elements (piped grass and icing flowers) to worry too much about – the five rabbits on the cake were pre-fabricated white sugar bunnies. This had begged the question (one that my wife is still asking me): How much would you pay for such a cake?

I leave you guys to chew on this, and with this one request. If you have the time, do let me know what the most you’ve ever paid for a whole cake was.

Till then, have another slice for me. And, oh, Happy Birthday!

Tags: birthday cakes, cakes, custom cakes

I remember our first meeting. It was an evening filled with blisteringly passionate confrontations, but one that began with more than a few unspoken presumptions and wildly gratuitous expectations.

It was, in a way, a blind date. Fact is, I had only heard about her, and her reputation for bringing most men (and women) to their knees, weakened by their desire to indulge.

I had desired her, too, that summer. Friends had suggested that if introductions went well, I should just give in and let her take the lead.

I remember arriving early. I highlighted my intentions as briefly and imperturbably as I could to the staff, and sat patiently waiting for her to arrive. To calm my nerves, I resorted to an aperitif, something I did not usually do.

I should have been deliriously anxious. I was hot around the collar. I was no greenhorn, but I can’t say that I had sampled many of her kind before.

I admit that I’m the sort who won’t think twice about paying someone for a memorable experience; even if it is just for that one time.

That evening, I had to mentally face the fact that this meeting could lead to an affair. But that thought quickly left my mind when my eyes met her across the room, glued to her svelte form as she casually approached.

Before a word was even uttered, I found myself struggling to keep my hands clean. So I leaned forward – paying special attention to her perfume – readied my mouth and made the first move.

…

…

…

It was, as my friend’s had raved, the best damn crème chocolat and chocolate pudding trifle I had ever had. Luscious doesn’t even begin to describe what it felt, smelt and tasted like.

If you didn’t already notice, I find good food, much like a good woman, inspiring and intoxicating. It’s not that my approach to gastronomy is, as MFK Fisher once asserted, sexual. It’s just that women, more than men, have inspired me in life, love and the culinary arts.

Check out a few worthy examples of inspiring female gourmands in this weekend’s edition of TODAY (March 7-8). Happy International Women’s Day, mum!

Tags: foodies, women in F&B

You’d think that with the economy in a flux and the question of affordable good food hot on everyone’s lips, the last thing you’d imagine more people are getting into is wine.

Well, surprise, surprise. I’m thinking that this is most likely due to the growing availability and affordability of a wide variety of quality labels and celebrated vintages. And it’s not just the popular Australian, Spanish, French and German varieties that I’m talking about. I’m referring to an increased influx of prized Chilean, Argentinean, South African and Italian wines.

This could be partly attributed to a good number of true blue Italian restaurants promoting a worthy selection of Barolos and Chiantis, much like how other leading dining establishments are making a concerted effort to educate and encourage their guests to open their palates to the quality diversity that is on offer.

Greater focus is also being placed on helping diners select a good wine – by bottle or glass. Even the casual restaurant cum café at the Botanic Gardens – Casa Verde - has a roaming sommelier on hand to lend a hand.

What about eateries, or better yet, casual Indian restaurants? Well, surprise, surprise. Not only does Tandoori Corner at Balestier Plaza serve restaurant quality North Indian food at ridiculously affordable prices, it also stocks a commendable collection of wines that the manager is more than happy to help you peruse and find a perfect pairing.

Likewise, more restaurants are offering better vintages ‘by-the-glass’, while more menus are being designed around a growing range of top drink-now wines that have begun to flood the market.

An increasing number of consumers are similarly growing more discerning and knowledgeable. And those who aren’t quite sure what the fuss is all about are making a serious effort to, at the very least, ask the right questions.

Credit must also be given to the resilient wine distributors who continue to remain positive. And if you still doubt the quality of the range available here in Singapore, or within the region, for that matter, then check out The Local Nose – run by a panel of locally based pundits and MWs (Masters of Wine) – for proof, a little education and barrels of inspiration.

Note: TheLocalNose.com (TLN) is a Singapore-based wine recommendation website, wine locator, and consumer wine information hub. TLN features wine buying recommendations from a panel of expert “Local Noses” who taste wines from local merchants, recommend the wines first on quality basis, and second, rate the wines on value-for-money basis. Visit www.thelocalnose.com for more insights.

Tags: local wine market, wine, wine appreciation