Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant @ Carlton Hotel

This was a recent meal with my in-laws. MIL's Cantonese and we like to go around some good Cantonese restaurants to experience some good stuff so that it will trigger the memories of dishes she grew up eating, or experience new ways of how traditional dishes are done by the expert Cantonese Shifu.

We were going to order à la carte but caught a glimpse of the set Special Seafood Set Menu that's $188 for 4 persons that was on the transparent stand on the table. It had almost everything we wanted to order from the menu, so we thought we shall try it out, it turns out more value for money too.


Appetizer

The appetizer was mushrooms, cucumber, jelly fish and fish maw. It had a nice marinate and our folks really liked it, in fact they finished it. (Ya, just as the wife and I were busy instagramming!)


Classic Daily Boiled Soup (Set Menu)

The soup of the day was Papaya and Pork Soup. It was a very delicious soup that was probably boiled for a long time. The soup had the sweetness of the papaya and you can see the viscosity of the soup from the photo above. It got the approval from the MIL. MIL always prepares soup when we go to her place for dinner.


Roast Pork 

You can guess who requested for it...
The skin on top is just c-r-i-s-p-y! Oh, so y-u-m-m-y!



A closer look of the layers of fat and lean meat of the pork belly.
I am sure you can imagine the taste. Goes so well with the horseradish dip. 


Deep Fried Century Eggs

MIL loves century eggs and we thought we would just order this to nibble.

All of us loved it! I usually only eat them in porridge, but this proved to be exceptional.

Crispy outside, it has the usual jelly like part of the egg white. The egg yolk part was all custard like! It has a dribble of shrimp paste sauce over it.


Pan-fried Live Prawns with Soya Sauce (Set Menu)

The beautiful captivating aroma hit us even before we ate it.

A simple dish,  executed with fresh ingredients made it so enjoyable. Prawns are always a finger licking experience. Who doesn't lick the sauce off their fingers? A nice portion too, each of us get to eat 2 relatively big prawns.  

Pardon the pun, but we ate it and we were rather 'haa'-py!


Stewed Garoupa with Beancurd Skin & Garlic (Set Menu)

Another dish that sizzles and the aroma engulf our senses before eating. FIL is a fish person and he loves all kinds of fish and stewed fish dishes are one of the favourites.

Nicely executed. Fish was fresh, sizeable portions too, sauces good, really fragrant and I just love the whole garlic pieces in it! A good portion for 4 too.


Smoked Chicken (Set Menu)

We did not expect much when we saw this on the set menu, but it came out quite good.

Smoked Chicken, but it's like soya sauce chicken that's really addictive. You will want to pop another piece into your mouth right after having one. This was a cold dish.


Poached Chinese Spinach with Ling Zhi Mushrooms in Rich Broth (Set Menu)

The problem with this vegetable is that it is sometimes bitter.
We must have been in heaven's favour, none of the strand of spinach had any hint of bitterness!

Not too salty too that you can drink up the broth. FIL did finish it all up. Haha....


Braised Ee Fu Noodles with Chives (Set Menu)

Reminds us of wedding dinners in many ways. It always served right at the end, and we knew it was almost the end of our meal. Of course, this dish is a wedding dinner favourite.

Can't find any fault with it. Nice, warm, flavourful, enough mushrooms, not too chivy, not too wet, not too dry.


Chilled Sea Coconut, Preserved Apricot and Sweet Basil Seed (Set Menu)

It was a rather interesting dessert. What you see on the spoon is dried apricot that has been hydrated, it taste exactly like dried apricot that we always love chewing. It has the 'tadpoles' covering it too. Beautiful ya?

The set meal was quite good value for money, good sized portions too. The service staff knows it and said it was not a good idea to order any more sides. She was right, but we were still glad we ordered the Century Egg and Roast Pork. Luckily we did not order another of the side dishes after she wanted to stop us. We love service staff that are truthful and honest.

Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant
Carlton Hotel
Level 2
76 Bras Basah Road
Singapore 189558

Tel: +65 6311 8188

Food Bloggers Recommends @ Swensen's Singapore

How many of you grew up going to Swensen's and still order the same starters that you have since long ago? My wife always orders the Deep Fried Mushrooms in Swensen's. I don't know why, but we always eat it when we dine at Swensens!

I have been getting tagged on Instagram and Facebook because friends and readers have seen this menu at Swensen's.  It's a special menu that chef has come out with using the high quality ingredients and asking 4 food bloggers in Singapore to choose what they like best. Best of all, the prices are very reasonable!



Oh yes, I am a bit shy, so it's a caricature for my face on the cover.



The menu opens up to look like our blogs!
The dishes are photographs by the 4 of us too, and it's shot in a Swensen's Restaurant itself.



Have you tried the dishes? Let us know how you think!


 Crispy Cereal King Prawns $19.90

If you like cereal prawns, you would like this version of it. This is using King Prawns, it's 4 big prawns for $19.90. Deep fried till crispy using their own home made batter. Served with steak cut fries and meslun salad. Quite a good value!

To make it easier for most people to eat, they have butterfly the prawns so it's easier for you to cut the crispy and yet still juicy flesh out of the shell. I recommend just using your hands to enjoy it!

This is my recommendation.



Herb Crusted King Snapper $15.90

If you like fish, this version uses King Snapper, which I like!
This is Camemberu's recommendation.


Spiced Maple Syrup Waffle $14.90

If you like waffle and deep fried chicken, this is for you.
DanielFoodDiary's recommendation.


Braised BBQ Beef Cheeks $21.90

A Beef Cheeks person? You will know this is for you.
LadyIronChef's recommendation.


Go try it at the nearest Swensen's near you!
This is the September-October Special Menu and October is ending soon! Hurry!

We did not forget that people go to Swensen's for Ice Cream! If you order the sets, there's a recommended ice cream that pairs with the dish, the ice cream has been discounted if you order the special meals. How's that?

Visit http://www.swensens.com.sg for location and other up to date details.

Recipe: Chocolate and Orange Cointreau Butter Cake

My sister has a way to de-stress after work. She and her colleagues will go eat cake or desserts to undo the stress of the day. On other days, she will bake! She usually bakes on weekends or sometimes on weeknights when she can't sleep.  If you are a cake and dessert lover, you can follow her on http://instagram.com/carelorie to see what she has been baking.

She will bake and then give them to her colleagues. Sometimes my colleagues or my wife's colleagues get to eat it too. Recently, I brought home a Bosch MUM5 Home Professional Kitchen Machine MUM57830 to review.

Here's a recipe that we tried on the Bosch MUM5. We baked it a few times and documented it with Bosch machine settings, so if you have got yourself a Bosch MUM5 recently, you can follow exactly to get the same results!




Chocolate and Orange Cointreau Butter Cake
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Baking Time: 45 mins
Yield: 10 slices of cake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
165g Self raising flour
1/4 tsp Salt
4  Eggs - separated
50g + 100g Caster Sugar
175g  Butter, at room temperature
30ml Orange juice
1 tbsp Orange liqueur (Cointreau)
1 tbsp Orange zest

Method:
1. Preparation
Heat the oven to 180 degree celcius. Greese a 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Sift together the flour and salt; set aside.

2. Orange Batter
Beat the butter in a mixing bowl at Setting 5 until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 100g of sugar and beat at Setting 7 until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. At Setting 5, add the egg yolks 1 at a time until well mixed. Add in orange juice, orange liqueur and orange zest until combined. Add in sifted flour gradually until just combined.

3. Egg Whites
In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites at Speed 4 until foamy. Increase to Speed 5 and gradually add 50g of sugar. Increase to Speed 7 and continue to beat the whites to soft peaks. Do not overbeat. Fold in the egg whites into the orange batter until well blended.

4.  Cocoa Batter
Pour half of the Orange batter into a bowl. Add cocoa and fold very gently.

5.  Assemble and Bake
Pour the cocoa batter into the prepared cake pan, followed by the orange batter. Bake until a toothpick or a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cake on a wire rack and chill for at least 2 hours.

6.  Serve
Cut the cake into slices and serve chilled.



It's a very nice buttery and fragrant cake.
Best enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea.

Try out the recipe and let us know how you like it!

Asian Masters, the 4th Edition : 1 Nov - 7 Dec 2013 + Giveaway

The Asian Masters, one of Singapore's popular Gastronomy Experience for Asian Delights is back from 1 November to 7 December 2013. This is its 4th Edition and things are getting very exciting. It's one of the many events for you, if you love experiences that excites both your taste-buds and sight.



This year's there are two guest chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants, one each from Hong Kong and Japan. Chef Mok Kit Keung and Chef Hajime Yoneda will be here to create spectacular gastronomic treats for their guests. This will be their first time at Asian Masters. Joining them for the first time are celebrity Chef Chumpol Jangprai, known as the Iron Chef of Thai Cuisine, and Chef Alex Kang from Korea.

You can read more about the various events at https://www.facebook.com/asianmasters
It's going to be a long read because there's so many exciting things!

Readers of Keropokman.com, here's a treat for you.


One of the highlights of Asian Masters is the Masterchef Workshops. You get to see the Masterchefs prepare food right in front of you and you can get up close and personal to them.

See them cook, grill them with questions as they grill food in front of you. You can see the list of Masterclasses above and readers of Keropokman.com will win 2 pairs of passes (worth $50++ per pair) for a culinary workshop held by Chef Samia Ahad of Coriander Leaf.

The Sunday Times Masterchef Workshop by Chef Samia Ahad of Coriander Leaf



I am sure you have seen her many times on TV and probably ate at her restaurant.
Now to attend her Masterclass.

The details of the Masterclass:

Date: 17 Nov 2013 (Sat)
Time: 12 pm
Venue: TOTT Cooking Studio, 896 Dunearn Rd, Singapore 589472.

Chef Samia Ahad of Coriander Leaf's Menu:
1) Hainanese US Chicken Rice
2) Marinated US Turkey Breast with Fresh Green Herbs


For a chance too win it, continue to https://www.facebook.com/keropokmancom to enter the contest.

Entries close at 11.59pm on 3 Nov 2013 (Sunday).

Hubalicious is back again! 2 - 3 Nov @ Pasarbella

In our household, the TV is tuned only to a channel that shows HK/Korean/Japanese drama or to channels that show cooking shows like BBC Lifestyle (to watch Gordon Ramsay, Eric Lanlard etc), TLC, Asian Food Channel, Lifestyle (for Masterchef Australia) and Food Network Asia. You can tell we really like to watch food related TV and I am sure many of you too!

Do you want to meet up with some of the celebrity chefs in person?

Starhub's Hubalicious this year is a Free 2 Day Event at PasarBella @ The Grandstand.

At Hubalicious, you will get to meet the following people:

• Eric Lanlard of BBC Lifestyle (StarHub TV Ch 432)
• Henry and Tom Herbert, The Fabulous Baker Brothers of TLC (StarHub TV Ch 427)
• Willin Low (劉偉仁) of the Asian Food Channel (StarHub TV Ch 435)
• George Young of DIVA Universal (StarHub TV Ch 522)
• Chefs from hit reality TV series Chef Corner Junior of now TV On Demand (now TV 随选) (StarHub TV Ch 837) - Ricky Cheung (張錦祥), Christian Yang (楊尚友) & Gabriel Choy (蔡家富)

Are you excited? 



Eric Lanlard is a Master Pâtissier and twice winner of the prestigious Continental Pâtissier of the Year at the British Baking Awards.  I am sure you have seen his show on BBC Lifestyle. He makes baking and making desserts seems so effortless!

He will be at Hubalicious! My sis who bakes and loves watching him on TV is very eager to see Eric in person!



This pair of brothers, Henry and Tom Herbert come from a family of food lovers and are fifth-generation bakers! One is very food in baking and the other meats. If you have not caught them on TV, maybe it's time to tune in and see if you like watching them.

There are many more details, all of it are free.
Look at the summary below for details of what is happening this weekend:

Date	Time	Celebrity	What’s happening
2 November	12pm – 1:30pm	Henry and Tom Herbert, The Fabulous Baker Brothers	Bake-off challenge Baking secrets and quick guide to meat cuts Photograph and  autograph opportunity
	2pm – 2:30pm	George Young	Meet-and-greet session
	3pm – 4:30pm	Eric Lanlard	Baking demonstration
	5:30pm – 6:30pm	Chefs from Chef Corner Junior	Cooking demonstration
3 November	11am – 12:30pm	Eric Lanlard	Baking demonstration Cake decoration challenge
	2pm – 3pm	George Young	Cooking demonstration Quick guide to meat cuts
	3:30pm – 4:30pm	Chefs from Chef Corner Junior	Cooking demonstration
	5pm – 6:30pm	Willin Low	Canapés demonstration

For more information and updates, visit http://hubalicious.starhub.com/

PasarBella @ The Grandstand 
200 Turf Club Road
Singapore 287994

Tim Ho Wan @ Plaza Singapura

We always pop by Tim Ho Wan when we visit Hong Kong. It's the cheapest Michelin-Starred Restaurant in the world as they proudly proclaim. That is true if you are in Hong Kong, definitely not the case for the Singapore branches.

When the branch in Singapore opened, we were wondering, to go or not to go.  We decided 'No' because when it first opened, we just came back and the queue was just too long. We have no energy to queue up waiting so long for a meal.

Just the other day, the folks in office says, let's go try it! The queue should have died down, it should  be a nice place to celebrate a birthday our style. (ie, we can order a variety of food to try).

So we headed off to the Plaza Singapura branch. We realised that if you are going in pairs, it's rather easy to get a place. They sit 2 people rather quickly because there are always pockets of tables for 2 persons. We were a group of 9, and wait for around 45 minutes before we got our table. We were placed in a 'room' at the end where they can fit all of us in, probably after a big group left.

We ordered so many things because after waiting for so long, all of us were famished!
Our tables had the most number of steamers being stacked.


The Baked Bun with BBQ Pork ($4.50 for 3 pieces).

One of the 'Big 4 Heavenly Kings' on the menu. Almost every table has it. One of their signature dishes that it's worth trying here.

I was recently in Hong Kong again and popped by Tim Ho Wan there, yes the ones in Hong Kong are nicer and a little different, but the ones here are tasty too, probably the better ones amongst all the different places that have the similar buns in Singapore.



A nice brown bottom, nicely browned. I like the top which has a nice crumbly texture to it. It has such a nice mouth-feel as you bite into it.



The sweetish char siu filling inside. In a big group like ours, there's a range of taste buds. It's a sweetish filling, so those who have no sweet tooth says it's way too sweet for their liking. For some with sweet tooth, they liked it.

Since we like to compare, the prices in HK and Singapore:
HKD 17 (about SGD 2.70) in Hong Kong, SGD 4.50 in Singapore.


Rice with Chicken, Sausage and Mushroom ($6).

This was so so, everyone of us took a mouth of it and pass it along....


Beancurd Spring Roll with  Shrimp (3 pcs) ($5.50)

This was nice. It was crispy and the filling had a nice consistency and tasted good too.


Glutinous Rice Dumpling ($5)

This was all right. We ate it but it did not wow us. Something that will fill you up only.
This particular one in Hong Kong was much better. 


Pan Fried Carrot Cake (3 pcs) ($4.50)

Another of the 'Big 4 Heavenly Kings' on the menu, so we thought we should try it. It's text book correct. No fault about it, no wow to it too.


Spring Roll with Egg White (3 pcs) ($4.50)

There so many things that we tried, I forgot how this tasted. LOL


Garlic, Mushroom and Spinach Dumpling (3 pcs) ($3.80)

This was interesting to me. Something different from the other meat based dumplings that we had. The skin consistency was good too. You can see it from the photo above.


Dumpling Teochew Style (3 pcs) ($4)

We put 2 or 3 for every single 'Steamed' item on the menu, so the items came non stop. They had really fast service, so food kept coming and we kept eating.

As the food kept coming to our table, this stood out because it tasted rather different. It had peanuts inside. You get a crunchy bite as you bite into it. It's something like the Pink Triangular shape kueh we eat locally, but these were wrapped delicately in thin dumpling skin.


Prawn Dumpling (4 pcs) ($5.50)

It's ok...


Steamed Egg Cake ($3.80)

The 'Ma Lai Ko' listed as the 'Big 4 Heavenly King' really was very good. Served steaming hot, you pick it up and it's so light and fluffy. You eat it and it gives you a nice aroma that makes you want to have more.

We only ordered 2 of this, and though we should order a few more!


Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce ($4)

Our lunch group is a 'siao kway kar' (chicken feet fanatic) group of people. Someone suggested we do the usual 8-10 steamers of it, but the gatekeeper said, no! 4 is max because we have ordered too much things here.

We were a bit disappointed with it though. It's lacking in flavour, the feet was not marinated enough. We rate it as barely pass. Hard to describe, it's the kind of 'connection' that only chicken feet lovers will know. All of us had a mouth and 'shake head'. LOL

However, as chicken feet enthusiast, we finished it all. We left no small bones unsucked!


Beancurd Skin Roll with Pork and Shrimp (3 pcs) ($4)

This was again OK. Nice to eat, but leaves no feeling of having wanting more of it.


Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (4 pcs) ($5)

It's all right.
If you can't 'dimsum' without ordering this, go ahead.


Beef Ball with Beancurd Skin (3 pcs) (4.20)

This just tasted so weird. It's mushy and just mushy period.

This is totally unlike the Hong Kong version which had nice hints of orange peel and the beef ball bouncy there.


Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce ($4.20)

I like pork ribs, so the following statement might be a bit bias. It was nicely done, light and yet has flavour to it. The meat I remembered was tender.


Tonic Medlar and Osmanthus Cake (3 pcs) ($3.50)

There are two desserts and we ordered both. This Osmanthus Cake was really nice. It's something sweet tooth folks will like. It's nicely chilled and it's not as sweet as the ones in Hong Kong. Something that we all liked.

The Yam Puree with Sago was ordered because there's a colleague who is a die hard Yam Puree fan. It's the warm dessert and of course he liked it because it was Yam.


Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver ($5.50)

When we placed our orders when we arrived, we were told there's no vermicelli rolls today because the rice vermicelli steamer had broken down. So we thought what a pity because there's this colleague who loves Pig's Liver.

Just as we were about to ask for the bill, we noticed there was a sudden stream of vermicelli roll being served to other customers. We asked if the machine is back in order. The service staff said yes. And so, another round of ordering begun......


Vermicelli Roll with Prawns ($5.50)

Knowing that we are big eaters, the lady asked if we also wanted the Shrimp with Chives version too. We were already way too full to remember how it tasted. I faintly recall this was something we can order.

There are certain things that we nice here, others not so. If you are heading to Hong Kong for a holiday, eat the ones there. It's cheap in Hong Kong as their promotional material says, but be reminded that only applies to Hong Kong. :-)


Tim Ho Wan
68 Orchard Road
Plaza Singapura
#01-29A
Singapore 238839

Autumn Vintage Champagne Sunday Brunch @ The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore

People in Singapore work a bit too hard on weekdays. Most people work very hard on weekdays, become Saturday exercise warriors and then indulge in a Sunday Brunch. How many of you are like that?

(Tourist coming to Singapore are also asking what is a nice place for Brunch, I know 2 friends visiting Singapore in the coming weeks and have made plans for this brunch. So, here's a preview for B, E and M before they arrive in Singapore.)

If you are going to indulge in the Sunday Brunch, here's one recommendation that I know you will enjoy. The Autumn Vintage Champagne Sunday Brunch at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore.

For the past few Sundays since 8 September, people are making their way here for the usual Brunch Classics here plus the "Truffle Hour" at 1 pm. More of that later in this post. To make you salivate and enjoy the atmosphere, I took a shot video of it for you to enjoy.



For the Sunday Brunch, you can enjoy unlimited Möet & Chandon Grand Vintage Blanc 2004 and Moët & Chandon NV Rosé. There are also Autumn Cocktails, Selected House Wines, Soft Drinks and Fruit-flavoured Sparkling Mineral Water.



Some of you who are regulars to the Ritz's buffet would have tasted this delicious 24-hour roasted 'Mayura Station' Wagyu Leg. This will be part of the new carving station feature now for the Sunday Brunch.

For meat lovers, just walk over and admire this piece of delicious protein. Those with a sharp nose might be led here by the aroma.



The part I love most is the outer layer where seasoning is more intense. Be there early, and get this bits carved out for you.



Oysters fans: There are 8 varieties of French and Canadian Oysters here for you!



For those Charcuterie fans: Live Carving of Whole Iberico Ham Bellota and Serrano, Homemade Smoked Salmon, Smoked Trout, Coppa Ham, Air Dried Beef and Smoked Ham for you to nibble.



I see truffles here and there in many dishes. It's in season now! Here's a slice even on the asparagus.

On the same plate are some anchovies too. I am a fan of anchovies, I know not everyone likes them, but I do! (It's one of my secret ingredients when I cook pasta at home. No longer a secret now)



There are the different fish being served. I am quite a 'fish person' and could not resist it. I took a 2 servings of fish. The Deep Fried Snapper with Tangy Lime Sauce was very soft and tender inside. Just lovely.



Hidden partially at one corner, near the oysters is the area where a chef is there pan frying lobsters almost non stop! Look at the butter! I am sure you can imagine how fragrant it will taste!



With so much butter used to cook it, it was not that oily. It was in fact juicy.
Yes, I limit myself to 1 serving only, so proud of myself.

These were Canadian lobsters.  I like to know where my food comes from, so I asked.



I posted the photo of the whole Pork Shoulder on the serving plate on Instagram. You can click on the link to see it in its full glory. How can you walk pass it and not take a bit of it. I think I took a few bits! A bit every time I walked past.

It's best eaten with their fried rice! Everyone on my table said, you got to try the Fried Rice!



And now.... The Truffle!
Not the chocolate version, the fungi version! The diamond of the kitchen!

At 1 pm on Sundays till 17 November 2013, it's the Truffle Hour during the Sunday Brunch.
Chefs of all ranks come out and perform what I call the "Ritz Sunday Brunch Truffle Presentation".

Here's a video of the presentation.



Black Truffle shaved by the Exec Chef by hand over Creamy Polenta. It's also topped with Garlic Chili Oil, Pecorino Cheese, Sautéed Porcini and Perigordine Gravy.

It's quite interesting to watch the video ya?



Looking glorious doesn't it? The chefs will then scoop them into little bowls for diners to take and try.



Join the queue to get yourself a serving of it!
Here's mine!



As usual, there's a great selection of desserts here. This was something I had that was quite nice!  A nice mix of bitterness and sweetness.

What do you see? I asked the same question on Instagram and have so many interesting answers!



I walked around wondering what dessert to pick and saw this!
The hands just reach out for a slice of it. It's a Pistachio Crepe Cake.

Can you imagine how tedious it is to make this? You got to make so many pieces of crepes. It has to be of uniform thickness as well. You then layer them above each other until you have a cake!



A slice of pistachio crepe cake and a slice of fig tart.
As I was enjoying the crepes, I counted it. 37 layers!



For those who taste-buds are created for sweet desserts, there the cheese board. There are 50 different cheeses from Australia, England, France, Italy, New Zealand and Switzerland.

I have only eaten a little of what's available at the Sunday Brunch. I only picked certain things and I was already quite satisfied.  There's also the Crustacean on Ice Station, Foie Gras station, Oktoberfest Station, Eggs a la minute station, Japanese selection, Pasta a la minute station, Salad Spread, Grilled Veggies Spread, Soups (like Lobster Bisque) Station and a range of Tapas selection.

A special thanks to Wenxian and Celine for the invitation to this Brunch.

Interested in this Sunday Brunch?
The following are the booking information.

Autumn Vintage Champagne Sunday Brunch will be served at Greenhouse.
It's availabe from 8 September to 17 November 2013, 12 noon to 3.30 p.m. in a single seating.

Prices:
SGD 168 ++ per adult.
SGD 84 ++ per child (six to 12 years of age).
SGD 42 ++ per child (three to five years of age). 

Greenhouse @ The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore
7 Raffles Avenue
Singapore 039799

Tel: +65 6434 5288
Email: rc.sinrz.restaurantreservations@ritzcarlton.com