Rakuichi Bento

OK, no more bad poetry, I promise. Here's the review proper. Rakuichi proved to be a luxurious lunch, right after Jones the Grocer at Dempsey Hill. Luxurious both in terms of cost and food quality. The Rakuichi Bento (S$32.90) I had was a very pretty set. The tempura, so dainty and nicely arranged, was light and tasty.


The bento came with some of the sweetest and freshest sashimi I've had in a long time. In addition to the chrysanthemum petals, I was delighted to taste fine shavings of yuzu zest - the dream-like citrusy notes simply took the luscious fish to greater heights of flavour. Trussed up like a garden over scintillating ice, the sashimi array even offered various sorts of seaweed as accompaniment. Loved every bit of this.


A modest slab of silver cod, grilled to near perfection. The delicate meat held its shape only to survive the journey on the chopsticks to melt in your mouth. I only wish it was a more generous portion. Hubby wouldn't touch this though, as he doesn't like "strong-flavoured" fish.


Appetiser of stewed or blanched vegetables in clear broth. Pleasant but the flavours were really too subtle for my liking.


The set also comes with chawanmushi, white miso soup and rice. I really have to commend their chawanmushi for its extremely silky texture and beautifully delicate taste. It was also chockful of ingredients - kinoko (mushrooms), gingko nut, chicken, prawn, crabstick, and I forget what else. In all, my set was fantastic value for money - good quality food and the effort taken into presentation aesthetics. And it comes with the scoop of goma (black sesame) ice cream. The Rakuichi Sushi (S$28) was less than stellar but we could have been too full when we ate it (it took a while to come). Inaniwa udon (S$12) was decent and refreshing.

Hubby thought the place was competent but pricey. But good things rarely come cheap. I like this place better than Akashi and Tatsuya. I might visit the Rakuichi outlet at Far East Shopping Centre in town next time, a much better location.

RAKUICHI
Blk 10 Dempsey Road #01-22
Tel: 6474-2143
(another outlet at Far East Shopping Centre)

Rakuichi - In Seasons

Suggestive of life,
the colours of Spring.
Rousing the palate,
and new beginnings.


Arid wastelands this used to be
Summer comes to this oasis
Even the fish seek cool relief
But few will get their rest in peace


Autumn harvest of soft-shell crab
Slivers of fish and avocado
Dainty rice speckled with roe
Crowned with pearl of orange gold


Dark cold Winter brings sweet delight
A frosty palace of suspended life
Sandy black sesame seizes the soul
And melts away the cares of old

As with the inaniwa udon, all can be found at...

RAKUICHI
Blk 10 Dempsey Road #01-22
Tel: 6474-2143
(another outlet at Far East Shopping Centre)

Ode to Inaniwa Udon

Natsu yoru no
Shiroi, tsumetai
Inaniwa....dechu!

Very rough translation:
The cold, the white
of a summer's night
It's...inaniwa!

Diablo in glorious 3D!

Wooohooo! Diablo 3 has been announced! Long overdue, yessssss! I am so going to get this, even if I have to buy a new PC to play it! The gameplay trailer and graphics are TEH AWSUMS! Hubby is not so enthusiastic - "What? More of 'I can't carry anymore!' (referring to the character's voice alert on inadequate inventory space) and mindless slashing?"

Hahaha. But hey, don't knock it. Hack-and-slash can be very therapeutic. Not too sure about the new witch doctor character class. Seems like a Necromancer gone tribal with disease spells instead of curses. Still, the game looks like it's off to a great start. And knowing Blizzard, the game will pwn them all when it comes out!

Jones the Grocer at Dempsey Hill

I must be the last person or foodie to explore Dempsey Hill. I have my reasons. Apart from the hefty S$30+ return cab costs, the other deterrent is the steady stream of stories of how the eateries there are merely expensive hangouts for the well-heeled. But hubby had a chance to experience Jones the Grocer one day via work, and he liked it enough to bring the family there.

We came for lunch at noon. Only to find they serve breakfast til 3pm, so we did not get to try the open-faced wagyu sandwich we were aiming for. Still, breakfast looked good. We sat ourselves down in the indoor tuckshop amidst the eclectic clientele. Though it was quite crowded and bustling, the tall roof ceilings gave the place spatial respite.


I'm glad I can't resist smoked salmon. This was quite delicious. The Woodbridge smoked salmon - so smooth, so meltingly soft and light - is probably one of the most delicate I've had. The greens provided crunch and a peppery aftertaste. Incredibly, the toasted bagel was soft and easy to chew. I could even feed Nadine some (but Jolie will have to wait). My only grouse was that the avocado was not fresh - it had turned a messy goop of brown. Haven't these guys heard of lemon juice? On hindsight, I should have sent it back to the kitchen instead of pretending it was vegetarian foie gras. Sometimes I need to be more fussy! Quality control ought to be better at S$13.50.


Hubby had the Jones English Breakfast (S$20). It comes with a most sunny, crusty slice of sourdough bread, butter, delicious curls of smoked bacon, two pork sausages, sauteed mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and a whole lotta scrambled egg. The works, literally. My, the eggs were so lush and satiny, it must have been scrambled with heavy cream instead of milk!


Mmmh. The iced mocha with devilish swirls of chocolate at the bottom and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top is to die for. Not overly sweet but rich nonetheless. S$6.50 well spent.


Ah, the artisanal cheeses in their temperature and humidity controlled walk-in room. I did not dare go in. My credit card would take a severe beating if I did. Jones has some fairly interesting premium products in the deli, charcuterie and butchery. It really makes Cold Storage look like Shen Shiong, the discount supermarket. There were so many things we wanted to take home but in the end, we decided the breakfast alone was enough of a treat.

JONES THE GROCER
Blk 9 #01–12
Dempsey Road
Tel: 6476-1512
Open daily: 9.30am to 11.00pm (up to 6pm on Mondays)

Tastespotting is back

Hmmm...indeed, after a few days of saying "be right back, just undergoing change of hands" on a post-it message, Tastespotting indeed has quietly come back. So now how? We still have Foodgawker going strong. Will audiences and contributors be split? Or will they duplicate themselves at both sites (and perhaps others)?

Your three dream chefs are Jamie, Nigella and Bourdain!

Who did you want most as your personal chef? Jamie Oliver! OK, he's popular but I was surprised that he streaked so far ahead in the poll. You folks really like him, don't you? In second place is Nigella, deliciously with 35 per cent of all votes. She gets my vote too, although I reckon I'll increase my weight by 35 per cent as well if she really did cook for me (how do her kids stay so thin??).

Anthony Bourdain comes in third, with almost a quarter of votes. I like Bourdain but I've rarely seen him cook (and nothing in the Les Halles cookbook really appeals to me, apart from the fries). But him in my kitchen? Yes, please!

What's interesting is that local celebrity chef Sam Leong has won far more votes than Thomas Keller, Joël Robuchon and Ferran Adrià! Even Chef Wan got votes - I put him in for a lark - but well, he's quite an entertaining character. I think my maid will be tickled pink to have him around!

Madam Saigon

Madam Saigon has been at Liang Seah Street for quite a few years but it's only now that I've ever stepped in. Ah, I wish I discovered them earlier. It's a simple place with unpretentious food.

We began with a platter of mixed spring rolls (about S$18) - fresh prawn rice paper rolls, fried spring rolls and prawn net rolls. All very good, served with two dips - a fish sauce based one with sliced chili, and a mildly spicy fermented bean sauce (think "taucheo"). I could just eat platters of this and be happy!


Hubby thinks Vietnamese is like a pale cousin of Thai cuisine. I quite disagree, although this salad makes me understand why he would think so. It's similar to the Thai version, but tastes like they didn't add the usual fiery, tangy dressing.


Of course, the true test of a Vietnamese restaurant is always its "pho", or beef noodles in soup. Madam Saigon has various combinations -the Special Beef Noodle Soup (about S$8) comes with beef meatballs, flank and brisket.

The staff very thoughtfully replenished my plate of sprouts, mint and basil because hubby nearly finished munching on them before my soup arrived.

The broth is fairly robust and sweet, but did not impress me that much (but don't mind me, I'm just forever ruined by a most delicious pho in San Francisco). However, to my surprise, hubby (who normally hates soupy stuff) actually proclaimed preference for this pho over his own dish of fried noodles. Now that is a feat, getting hubby to like any soup at all!


Here's hubby's fried beef kway teow, which I initially disdained as more Chinese than Vietnamese. But I ended up preferring this to my soup. Nicely caramelised rice noodles, topped with sweetly savoury pieces of beef. It's not quite Chinese beef horfun, as the flavours are a little bit more complex (more like teriyaki with onion).

I love Vietnamese food for its light, clean, healthy but delicious flavours. But the general consensus is that authentic Vietnamese in Singapore is hard to find, even though more restaurants have sprouted up in recent years. I can't tell how authentic Madam Saigon is, given that I've never been to Vietnam per se. They don't serve pork or lard, so that's already one modification (they are not halal-certified though). But I did enjoy my meal. I also like that this is a casual but cosy joint. Service was quite good, with observant wait staff noting your needs and topping up iced water regularly. Portions here are not large but the food is generally decent. Most mains are less than S$10. The whole meal for two came up to a reasonable S$48 after taxes and service charge. I'd come back again to try other stuff.

MADAM SAIGON
30 Liang Seah Street
Tel: 6333-9798
Open daily 11.30am - 3pm (lunch); 6-11pm (dinner)
Sundays & public holidays: noon-4pm (lunch); 5.30pm - 11pm (dinner)

Toa Payoh Fried Kway Teow

Not too far from Ah Chuan's oyster omelette is the generic sounding Toa Payoh Fried Kway Teow. They don't seem to sell much else. We tried a small serving, just S$2.50, and weren't expecting much. But it proved to be a good call. Not the most good-looking but reasonably tasty and satisfying. You can't stop at one mouthful. Best thing is - no queues or long waiting time required. I say that's a winner.

TOA PAYOH FRIED KWAY TEOW
Blk 22 Toa Payoh Lor 7
Stall #01-51

Ah Chuan Oyster Omelette

Ah Chuan's Oyster Omelette. Finally. Third time's the charm, as they say. Been here two times earlier and it was closed. My own fault for not properly checking the opening hours/days. I am glad I finally got to try this Makansutra Legend. Because it means I no longer need to come here again. Ever. It is simply not worth travelling all the distance for.

OK, sure, there was certainly something tasty in the flavouring. Problem is, it wasn't evenly distributed.

My request for "extra crispy" met with a puzzled "Har!?" and resulted in more charred omelette pieces. Oysters were fresh, yes, but not very large, and few and far in between. Overall portion is also rather small for S$4. But even so, I had difficulty finishing it. OK, OK, I did just eat a lot of rojak too, so I wasn't too hungry to start with. It was very satiating though. I had to wait about a week before posting this. Felt too queasy just looking back at the photos.


Maybe I have lost my fervour for this grease-bomb. Oyster omelette doesn't seem to be such a treat these days. My system doth protest the liver-fattening aftermath. But hey, there's still Ah Hock at Whampoa to check out.

AH CHUAN FRIED OYSTER OMELETTE
Blk 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7
Stall #01-25
Open 3pm - 9pm (no, don't go there for lunch)
Closed Tuesdays