Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Looking Back at 2014 - It's More Than Just Being About Food

It is always more than just being about food. And 2014 has gone a long way to prove this point. What started as a year of exciting food opportunities, turned into something more. And more meaningful as well.

At the beginning of this year, the discovery of social enterprises like Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh led me to learn more about the people behind the scenes.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Smør - Nordic Open-Faced Sandwiches With Heart and Soul

Traveen used to work as a sales executive at Bloomberg, just a shout away from his newly opened sandwich cafe at One Raffles Place.

These days, he can be seen running Smor, the name of his eatery at the basement of the mall. It is a rather small and compact outlet, but boy does he put a lot of heart and soul into it.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Oceans of Seafood at PasarBella - Oceans of Freshness

Oceans of Seafood has the some of the freshest seafood in Singapore. Period. With that said, there is little reason to read this and simply dash down to the old Turf Club area along Bukit Timah Road this very minute.

Nestled at the entrance to PasarBella, it occupies the largest eatery area there and the place is filled with sights of some of the freshest seafood you can see here.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Fishball Story - A Young Hawker Journeyman

He fondly remembers his grandma's fishballs, which were all made by hand. It is this food memory of his that galvanised him to want to set up his own hawker stall to preserve his grandma's food.

It is also his passion that drove him to become a hawker at the tender age of 23. Where many of his peers are more comfortable working in an office, he is slogging away at his kitchen on a daily basis.

Friday, December 12, 2014

PAUL Boulangerie Patisserie - Tempting French Bistro Savoury Fare

I have always frequented PAUL outlets for their tasty pastries, and compared to some of their closest competitors, PAUL has far better breads and desserts.

It is a surprise to discover that with their recent menu revamp, that they do provide a nice alternative for a full meal outing as well.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Laksa Risotto - Chef Chua Yew Hock's Tasty Laksa Paste From Holiday Inn Atrium Restaurant

Everyone loves a good bowl of laksa in Singapore. And my personal favourite for some time now has been Sungei Road Laksa, which is not only delicious, but very affordable.

Most hotels's cafe will also have this delectable dish, but sadly, they tend to use the prima mix to make the soup base. It is good and eatable, but not necessarily spectacular and they tend to taste the same from hotel cafe to hotel cafe.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Shelter In The Woods - A Master Class in French Classics

It is not easy to get French classics done right in Singapore. For one, the produce which is essential to French cooking is hardly the best you can find here.

Secondly, there are many eateries who profess to cook up rustic French home styled cooking, but very few can nail it perfectly. There is nothing worse than a poorly executed French classic dish.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Tenderfresh Classic - Better Than KFC, By Lots

I really cannot stomach KFC's chicken these days. Mainly because of the choice of chicken used. Darkened bones, flavourless meat and inconsistent batter and frying standards.

Therefore, it was such a respite to find Tenderfresh's own version of fried chicken to be such a better, healthier alternative. These guys have been around for awhile, but it has only gotten through my attention during our collaboration during the Ultimate Hawke Fest 2014.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Restaurant HOME with Chef Tan Yong Hua - Lychee Wood Peking Duck

Chef Tan Yong Hua is a familiar face in the Singapore culinary scene. He was most famously known for being the first Singaporean to defeat the Iron Chef of Thailand.

He has also been at the helm of a number of reputable Chinese restaurants and now, he has decided to venture out on his own at the very appropriately named Restaurant HOME at the Rail Mall.