Celebrity Sighting in Hanoi

For my birthday celebration this year, we decided to spend it quietly by taking a short trip down to Vietnam. Why Vietnam? Well, you really can't get any decent Vietnamese restaurant in Singapore, can you? If any of you know of a good one (not Pho Hoa pls!), please leave your comments. So for this very reason, we were determined to head to Hanoi to sample my most loved asian cuisine.

We stayed @ a small boutique hotel called Zephr near the Hoem Kiem River. It was a nice coincidence that Bobby Chinn's restaurant was nicely situated opposite our hotel.

We met him @ his restaurant on a Saturday spending time with his customers, not flying around the Asia hosting his series "World Cafe Asia". It was serious celebrity chef sighting for me. :-) Couldn't resist but chatted him up about our bad and expensive french dinner in Sofitel Metropole Hotel in Hanoi(one of the most prestige hotel in Hanoi). He warmly welcomed us in and promised to erase the bad meal by serving us a nice Amuse Buse. He then sat down and chatted with us for 15 mins about restaurants and celebrity chefs. Couldn't resist asking for a photo with the man, of course.

Bobby is surprisingly a down-to-earth fellow for a well-known TV chef.
What a nice encounter for us!

Last of all, how can i resist not putting a photo of the best Pho Bo i've had in Hanoi for all of your enjoyment !

Also to see all of my Hanoi photos, go to Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/gp/15806994@N00/8774mS

Great dining experience in Singapore

Check out this link for a good writeup on great dining experiences in Singapore, http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/travel/01next.html?pagewanted=1

For a authentic french bistro dining experience in Singapore, check out Le Bistrot(www.lebistrot.com.sg) @ 451 Joo Chiat Road, #01-06 Singapore 427664. Call +65-6447-0018 for a reservation as the bistro is really cosy and small. Look at the photo i've included, that came with the slice of cheese we had for desert. Mind you, you don't get that kinda grapes anywhere in Singapore.

That blew me away and made my day.

Beef noodle in Taipei

In my most recent business trip to Taipei, i had the chance to taste and enjoy one of the best or maybe it is the best braised beef noodle in Taipei. I am not sure what is in it that made it quite so yummy; the beef broth with a tingle of spiceness but not really hot spicy though. The noodle used in the Taiwanese beef noodle is smooth and fresh - not like your usual egg noodle. It is a 'Must-try' when in Taipei.

This mom-pop beef noodle store is located at BoAi Road, Lane 160. The 1st store in the stretch of food places there. In addition to it beef noodle, they serve a great pork rib rice on wooden bowl that was also extremely yummy. The glutinous rice was spread thinly over the pork rib meat that seem to have been marinated for quite awhile since the meat is extremely tasty.

I look forward to more eating experiences in Taipei and sharing them. I am thinking seriously about taking a short holiday in Taiwan, a very vibrant and creative country.

The best place to have steak in Singapore ?

What is the best steak place in Singapore?

You ask any of the reviewers and they would unanimously bring up 1 place: Morton's Steakhouse.

Returning from a business trip 6 months ago, we decided that enough Korean food had been bestowed upon me and that it was time for seriously good simple food. A big steak was in order.

How disappointing the whole experience was is.... difficult to describe. From oversized (3-painful-mouthful-per-oyster size) freshly unfrozen oysters to boastful service to bad steak to as-large-as-an-oyster bill... everything was bad !

So tonight, after a full day of reliving the footbalistic gourging of Argentina vs Serbia, we decided to enjoy an earthy French dinner at Au Petit Salut in Chip Bee Garden, Holland Road.

The starters were the usual good but not spectacular fair... and then the Plat de Resistance. The Angus beef for 2 arrived. The whole ceremony in itself is interesting (not sure if this is the right way to describe it but it is definitely not the usual)... they do set up a separate table onto which the Chef will come and personally carve the beef.

He tells you the beef life story as if he had been part of his family and recently won the World Cup. 18 months milk fed, no hard labour, Pitera skin treatment to ensure good meat! Nothing bad ever happened to this beef (ok maybe his father died in a ring with thousands of screaming spaniards but it does not really count...)

The beef was served exactly as requested (RARE) and topped with caramelised garlic and shallots... Have you ever felt that only one bite and you know this is something very special "type of" feeling? well that was dinner for us.

The heavenly beef was served with 2 sides (we left half of both as we were contented with the beef): gratin dauphinois (a dish composed of everything your doctor told you to avoid: potatoes, cream and cheese) and a simple yet tasty salad.

All in all, one of the best dishes we had in Singapore so far. We tried to compare our experience in Au Petit Salut with the one in Mortons and decided not to do this after a very short while. As my grand mother says, you cannot mix fine linen with the rags you use to wipe your dishes.

Any thoughts from anyone out there?

Salut ! Bon Appetit, Singapour ....

Guest writer - Frederic Cosny

My best restaurants in Singapore

Singapore might be one of the tiniest cities in asia but it is undoubtedly the most modern and cosmopolitan. You feel immediately like you are in a tropical version of "New York" but just really small and gets boring after awhile. Anyway, when you are here, either on holiday or business, do check out the Wine and Dine scene. It's one of the best in asia.

My favorite restaurants for foodies are:-

1) My Choice Chinese Restaurant @ River Valley Road - Run by 2 Hong Kong brothers and most friendly. Ask for what's on their daily specials, we loved all of them so far. Very good with braised dishes (very similar to the slow food culture of the European), Steamed Sea Perch with black olives, their special Tofu with conpoy and mushroom, deep fried silver fish and etc.... All really good. Oh oh, very reasonable and good promotional wine list as well.

2) Tetsuya Japanese Restaurant @ Crown Prince Hotel - It's like be part of the crew in a Sushi Chef TV show if you hang out at the Sushi bar. Definitely the best japanese restaurant for seasonal japan specials, knowledgeable and skillful sushi chef. Never fail to thrill us each time.

3) Iggy @ The Regent Hotel - Wonderful and interesting tastes - Get Bulli'ed in Singapore - we mean the Ferran Adria's El Bulli of Singapore

4) il Lido @ Sentosa Golf Club - Best good-looking restaurant in Singapore with mostly good looking patrons, great for impressing your date or proposing to yourself. If being seen or seeing good-looking people (with pasta in their mouth) is integral part of your lifestyle, then it is the best italian restaurant in Singapore. If you are looking for real italian food, go to Italy instead. However, the deserts are especially outstanding - The best warm chocolate cake in Singapore. Ask for a terrasse table, you might just have lotsa fun with our fave waiter ...

Enjoy!

What a wedding dinner does to me?

It's almost 1 am in the morning on a sunday morning. 2 events were deep on my mind despite just finishing half a bottle of Drappier (this one was nothing like a true champagne, no bubbles, not at all easy to drink, not chilled enough) to forget what an ordeal it is to once again attend a Chinese wedding dinner.

It was my God-brother's wedding day and as usual, there's the church ceremony and the wedding dinner. I opt for the latter which I shouldn't have. Sigh! Got to the restaurant at about 8pm, got to our designated table 6 with my family. Had to greet familiar faces i swear i met somewhere before, 3 aunties from my past and apparently, my mum was most at ease. Sis, Dad and me were bored to death while waiting for the 7 or 8 course chinese dinner to start. Thank God for my Xda Atom! I attempted to pass time playing bubble breaker on it. My only other alternative is to stare at the 3 aunties sitting in front of me. Oh my god! It is a social disaster!

Dinner started! Aunties and their family appeared to be really enthused about every dish that appeared on the Lazy Susan and went all out for it despite understanding that sharing of the dish among 10 people in a wedding dinner was more acceptable. "Oh nevermind, they are the old generation, i comforted myself! When there is abundance of food, feed the family, ignore the other people that might be sharing the table." Throughout, it was all about the food, no conversation, no nothing. It was a serious mental torture for the usually very sociable me!

The usual sheebang with Singaporean wedding - projecting of the couple ROM photos and most expensive wedding photo-shot. It is very interesting how my god-brother, a DJ in a club will put himself through a very taiwanese photo shot of 25 or more, very scripted poses developed by the wedding studios in Singapore. Once i was hanging out in KM8 (a very happening beach bar) in Sentosa, 5 couples were posing for their wedding photos, i swear all of the poses were very much the same thing. How can any couple pay $2.5K to look like every other married couple when love is a very special relationship between 2 people. Why? Why? Why?

Yes, half a bottle of bad champagne and having it all penned down make me feel a great deal better already. :->

Maybe i should drink half a bottle of champagne before I attend another one of these or just pass on an Ang Pao and stop torturing myself anymore.

Cest La Vie !

Caramelised Onions - Yummy

I just love how onions can be transformed into something so candy-like.
So good as toppings for a good fish or good meat. Recently, we found
a very good receipe of making caramelised onions from our favourite food magazine from Australia, "delicious".

Enjoy!

Here's the receipe
**********************************************************************

Caramelised Onions
Makes about 1 cup

2 tbs olive oil
3 large red or brown onions (Sliced)
2 tbs brown sugar
1 - 2 tbs balsamic vinegar

- Heat oil in a large frypan over low heat
- Add the onions and a good pinch of salt and cook very slowly for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent them from catching fire.
(Don't be tempted to turn the heat up, as you don't want the onions to burn)

- When the onions are softened and tinged golden, add sugar and balsamic - this will start the caramelisation process.
- Cook onions over low heat for a further 5 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sticky and caramelised.
- Use immediately or store in the fridge, in a sterilised jar or plastic container and use when required.

The day before @ Wine Garage

It's the day before i get one year old so how best to count down to it but with friends and loved one drinking good wine and having a yummy dish of the most fasionable meat among foodies these days, the sinful "pork belly".

We were sitting outside the river drinking Lynch-Bages (a very good Bordeaux red wine) and a white Sancerre (one of the best in the family of dry white wine) - refreshing, crisp and with a complex note to end. Perfect perfect evening ....

My fave travel writer and friend, Kim Inglis came with gifts of a signed copy of her book, "Cool hotels - india, maldives and sri lanka" and a bouquet of lovely white lilies (my fave flowers). I was dizzy and happy. Another book to do research for my holidays ...

Tchin Tchin :->

All my favorite things

It's an ordinary monday, the start of a work week once again. But this monday was special, it is the monday of my birthday week. So with all the pre-partying the last few days, i was in a jolly good mood. Hoping that no one will mess up my jolly good mood, i stayed out of trouble in the office, waiting for my next celebration tonite. :-) Well, tonite is a cosy home-cooked birthday dinner by Chef Cosny.

Here's the menu:-
For drinks - Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles
Starter - Escargots with herbs (Most simple and understated type of gastropod)
Main - Chicken Cacciatore served with tomato-based Tagliatelle pasta (my 2 favorite food - Tagliatelle and tomato)

" Simple, Comforting and Yummy" - all at the same time. Cooked with love by the chef. :-)

Bon Appetit !