Friday, February 6, 2015

Tampopo - First Kyoto Food Fair in Singapore

If you like/love/adore Japanese food, there is really no need for you to read any further. Simply scroll down to the bottom of this post to get the address and hurry there right this minute!

But if you must know a bit more, then know this. Tampopo at Liang Court is currently having a very special Kyoto Food Fair promotion until the 11th of February.

Now you understand why the hurry? As of this writing, you have barely days left to savour this incredible selection of specially crafted dishes.

As the owner explained, Kyoto folks have usually been more of an exclusive group. Meaning you will have to fly there to savour their delicacies and rarely do they go overseas to promote their specialities.

Available as either lunch or dinner sets, they are all very worthwhile selections that will not only leave your tummy full, but sumptuously satisfied as well.

Fresh Gluten Cakes with Miso

The gluten cakes will definitely get you off on the right note. The textures were simply astounding and they come in 3 different distinctive miso sauces and all were equally brilliant. They came presented in tiny ice cream sticks that looked visually stunning to boot.

Kyoto Cold Tofu with Wasabi Shoyu

This is so good, where do I even begin? Well, with the best tasting tofu I have had for one. Rich, smooth and utterly creamy texture. The wasabi shoyu was also perfectly judged and coloured the richness of the tofu with just enough sharp and savoury notes that made this dish delicate and balanced.

Kyoto Beef and Daikon Pot

At first glance, it may looked like a normal sukiyaki pot. Then one piece of the Kyoto sliced beef was enough to send me to beef nirvana. It literally melted in my mouth with not a hint of resistance. And the flavours was brilliant. There was a beautiful layer of fat in that incredibly thin slice of meat.

The broth was sukiyaki sweet, and though I have never enjoyed that form of sweetness,  I must admit I found myself enjoying the sweetness here. It was not too overpowering and that was a great sense of depth in the broth that was still light but flavourful at the same time. There was more delicious tofu and vegetables underneath too.

Coupled with a bowl of delicious Japanese rice, I can imagine just having that rice with just the broth itself and still be very happy with that combination.

Stone Grilled Kyoto Beef A5 Tenderloin

I have had wonderful waygu and Kobe beef before, but I was not prepared for how magnificent this simple plate of hotstone beef was going to be. Thickly marbled with the greatness of beef fat, it was not overly rich either.

Left to cook until a perfect medium rare and accompanied by a simple spicy soya dip, this was probably as good as it gets for Japanese beef. Hardly anything else needs to be added.

That first bite will send you to more beef nirvana, and the wondrous rich layers of beef flavours that will engulf your sensitive palate will only enhance that notion further. The ultimate texture that will not put up any resistance, but rather succumb to your every bite will just leave you asking for more. Long after that last piece has been gobbled up.

Kyoto Beef in Soya Bean Milk Hotpot

I have saved the best for last. The supreme Kyoto Beef in soya bean milk hotpot. I have had my doubts about using soya bean milk as a hotpot broth. Well, my doubts have been forever banished by this dish at Tampopo.

Truly milky in every sense, looks can be deceptive. The end result was more of a delicious flavour profile combination of slightly sweetened soya bean milk infused into a delicate and natural flavourful broth base that only accentuated the best of both worlds.

But the kick was when the same, delicious, melting Kyoto beef was soaked in that broth and that resultant flavour provoked a soya bean coated, tongue pleasing tone to the tender beef is just too beautiful to describe. It might seem an unlikely match, but when unlikely things work out, they work against all expectations to give you the most amazing results ever. And this is one of those moments.

Kyoto Matcha Fondue

The ladies love their chocolate fondue and their matcha desserts separately. Kudos to the pastry chef for thinking of bring those two together. And when it works, it is a homerun right out of the park.

The matcha fondue was a revelation. A rich, shiny and bright ganache made from white chocolates and the finest of matcha powder was so good that you can drink it right out of the cup. They provided some fruits and mochi for you to dunk into the lovely fondue and all I can tell you is, it beats any chocolate fondue out there.

It is that good and when you think about it, there was hardly a misstep in this Kyoto festival here at Tampopo. The only real downside is that it ends February 11th. Yes, all good things must come to such a quick end.

If you are still reading this, then I must knock you on the head. You should have just closed your laptop or mobile after the first dish and head straight for Liang Court right this minute.

Well, what are you waiting for?

Kyoto Fair 2015
Tampopo
177 River Valley Road
#01-23 Liang Court

1 comment: