TRAVEL THOUGHTS: SINGAPORE

I was in Singapore for a total of 1.5 days. I ate 5 meals in quantities unheard of for a mild-mannered, gentle female. It was EAT or MISS OUT! AND I COULD NOT MISS OUT. So eat I did.

For a very late lunch I had oyster omelette, char kwey tiao and a shrimp fritter at Maxwell

The vendor gave me 2 chopsticks, thinking there were 2 of us eating

After meandering around Chinatown looking for cheap shades (I left mine back home),  I just had to soak in the hotel tub because strolling leisurely around flat, sunny Singapore is the equivalent of several hours' worth of uphill climbs on the treadmill. Every crevice and corner of one's body just gets soaked in perspiration. Even between the toes. :)

Dinner was at Pollen. Loved the plates!

Dips, their version of airy chicharon, olives

Roast "quail" brunch, foie gras on toast, cereals and quail tea

Chef Jason Atherton's signature dish

Back to front squid risotto, cauliflower, roasted squid consomme

Butter poached lobster salad, tomato tartare, wild fennel, tomato water

Roasted sea bream, cabaneros, fennel, bouillabaisse

Roasted Brittany cod, cauliflower cheese puree, clam chowder, cauliflower and seaweed salt

A refreshing drink at a very local hawker center

Finally! Cereal prawns that don't taste like dessert!

Razor clams with garlic

My brother's favorite crab with noodles in soup

Chili crabs for me- lacks spice though

Bite-sized mantou, 4 of us finished off 15!

Crispy baby squid

Thank you to my brother and my college barkada for taking us here! 

When I met up with my Singapore-based brother and friend for lunch they brought us to a hawker center near housing estates, and there wasn't SINGLE TOURIST IN SIGHT. Definitely my kind of place.

Dinner starts with soup

Followed by an appetizer

Then the carbo loading begins--Chicken rice

Hokkien mee

And how could I not eat another oyster omelet?

No more pictures of our 5th meal - breakfast. To gain my tummy flab's forgiveness I just had oatmeal.

Pollen 
Flower Dome, Gardens By The Bay
18 Marina Gardens Drive #01-09
Singapore 018953
+65 6604 9988

Maxwell Food Center
1 Kadayanallur Street
Singapore

Mellben Seafood
211 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, Singapore
+65 6353 3120

MY FAVORITES! (C for Crystal Jade)

Now who hasn't heard of or eaten at Crystal Jade? If you haven't, you either live under a rock or hate Chinese food with a passion. In Singapore it's a ginormous restaurant chain. Click http://www.crystaljade.com/?locale=en_US to read about just how HUGE it is. In Hong Kong the most popular one is CJ La Mian Xiao Long Bao. They have others, but I have no idea where they are or what they serve. CJ is my older son's go-to place for comfort food. He slurps their pork dumpling noodles like there's no tomorrow. Personally I like their la mian in hot and spicy soup but my favorites are actually not their noodles nor xiao long baos (soup dumplings).

Perfectly cooked green beans with minced pork

Healthy looking (and tasting) fried rice

Sauteed mushrooms wrapped in tofu skin

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
various locations around Hong Kong

*Lines are way looooooong, service is brisk but can be brusque. The one at World Trade Center in Causeway Bay is the least busy and therefore the most relaxing, in my opinion.

LET"S chiuCHOW!

After checking out this exhibit http://www.timeout.com.hk/around-town/features/52225/the-majesty-of-all-under-heaven.html at the Hong Kong Museum of History, my family and I decided to skip our usual cha siu fan lunch at Tai Hing and opted to walk in at a nearby Chiu chow restaurant. Fantastic decision! We wanted pigeon but they ran out.

Vegetables with apricot kernels and beancurd skin

How odd, I actually forget what this is! Epidural moment!

My love affair with oyster omelette spans countries and oceans

Braised pork belly

Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the restaurant. Ooops. Double epidural moment.

Nam Fong Cantonese Restaurant

Excellent siumai

Amazeballs cod fillet with salted egg yolk. A yummy riff on the usual prawns.

Spring roll

Fried rice with crab roe

Seafood noodles

Pretty dimsum with truffle slices! Modern, fancy, and it works!

Vegetable dumpling

My favorite: cha siu bao

Taro "puff" that's baked and rolled in almonds

Free b-day cake for December celebrators me and my brother in law

My brother in law and I celebrated our birthday with family visiting from Manila. We usually steer clear of hotel restaurants (except for Amber, Caprice and the like, because most are mediocre and overpriced). However, Nam Fong at Le Meridien Cyberport, far, far away from any MTR stations, bus tops, malls or tourist spots, was surprising in its simplicity, modernity and very well-executed Cantonese fare.

We thoroughly enjoyed the unique dishes that came steaming hot, wrapped in paper-thin skins or flaky fried to a crisp, topped with ingredients like truffle and roe, rolled in slivered nuts, or smoked in tea. They were all pretty to look at, and delectable as well. From the a la carte menu we relished the moreish fried rice with crab roe, seafood noodles, fried chicken, and crazy fattening codfish coated with one of the most addicting and rich batters one can think of- salted egg yolk.

We've been back many times since, and have tried other dishes such as flat rice noodles with duck and xo sauce, individual steamed grouper fillet and mushroom with broth, a foie gras dimsum roll and duck and scallop dumpling. Nam Fong lacks the noisy, busy bee atmosphere of most Chinese eateries. It's quiet, elegant but not stuffy, the staff are polite and well-informed, and best of all, because of a membership card we have, most of our meals have been 30-40% off. :) Beat that!

Seriously though, even without the discount, we would eat here repeatedly. They change their dimsum menu often, and I think their resident Chef is one talented guy.


Nam Fong
100 Cyberport Rd, Hong Kong
2980 7410 

MY FAVORITES! (H for Hotpot)

On chilly, windy, rainy days I need the caress of steam emanating from hot broth, the silky kiss of long strands of noodles, the body heat from a mixture of spices, the firm touch of springy balls, the meaty aroma of marbled sliced beef. I don't need a lover, I need the deep-in-your-soul satisfaction guaranteed by my favorite hotpot place. The name is Western sounding and they do serve some funky, gimmicky soup bases, but their classic ones are pretty solid. They also serve Cantonese dishes and reasonably-priced set lunches. If you have time, walk around the area. The wet market here is complete and there is a wealth of small specialty food shops.

We usually order 2 kinds of broth served in a yin yang pot, but today we just got the winter melon soup with lotus seeds. The spicy satay one is our other broth of choice.

The table set-up

Aromatics

Spices and sauces

I heart my sauce

Fishballs which were bouncy- the mark of a good product with no extenders

Homemade cuttlefish balls in a rainbow of colors and flavors

Konyaku or shiritake (diet noodles which papa declared tasteless, but I survive on these for my carb fix)

One of the most abundant, cheapest vegetables in HK. One of the most delicious too. Watercress.

The only kind of marble I like

One of the many bowls I enjoyed

Megan's Kitchen (what a Western name!)
5/F, Lucky Centre, 165-171 Wan Chai Rd., Wan Chai, Hong Kong
2866-8305