Spaghetti Prawn Aglio Olio Gamberi Recipe By Chef Felix Chong

Kicking off our professional series featuring chefs and hawkers sharing their recipes for their signature dishes, is Monti’s spearheading Chef Felix Chong showing us how he cooks his Spaghetti Aglio Olio Gamberi. 

Start by butterflying 3 large tiger prawns and removing the veins. Keep the heads and shells intact whilst exposing the butterflied prawn meat at the center as seen in the video. Lightly season the prawns with a pinch of salt.

Emperor Herbal Chicken Recipe

This is the perfect dish for that reunion dinner, nutritious and highly delicious. With an addition of fish maw to suit the festive occasion.

First place the 2 Sakura chicken legs on a sheet of baking tray, with a sheet of aluminum foil underneath. Season with 1/2 tsp of salt for taste. 

Add the following herbs, dang gui (angelica root), yu zhu, red dates, dried scallops, dried longan and goji berries onto the chicken and surroundings. 

Chicken One Pot Udon - One Pot Series

Our one pot series kicks off with a healthy and tasty Japanese inspired noodle dish. The ingredients are fairly easy to find in most supermarkets.

Marinate 200g of chopped chicken with 2 tbsp soba sauce or light soya sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, black pepper and 1 tbsp corn flour. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking.

In a pot, add 1 tsp cooking oil. Sauté 2 minced garlic until aromatic, then add 1 sliced carrot. Cook until the carrots are somewhat soft.

Potato Gratin Recipe

This is such an easy and simple classic French recipe to do at home. And it is so delicious.

Start by slicing thinly 4 potatoes and 1 onion. Make a simple roux with one tbsp butter and 2 tsp plain flour in a saucepan. Turn on at low flame and slowly wipe the butter around flour filled pan to absorb all the flour.

You will end up with a yellow thick paste. Add fresh cream or milk slowly and let it mix with the roux. The milk or cream will quickly thicken up. Just keep adding until you get a sauce like consistency like what you see in the video. This is known as a bechamel sauce. Season with a tsp salt and black pepper and set aside.

Taiwanese Oyster Mee Sua Recipe - Orh Ah Mee Sua

Take 10 oysters and coat them thoroughly with corn flour. Then blanch them in water for a few minutes, strain and remove. They should look glossy and plump.

Next, make the mee sua broth, pour in half a large pot worth of chicken stock or water. Add a dried piece of cuttlefish or octopus, followed by a cup of bonito flakes. Turn on the fire and bring it to a boil.

Once it’s boiling, add in 5 slices of ginger and 2 cloves of garlic. Then season the stock with 2 tbsp light soya and 5 small rock sugar. Add more salt if required. Next add in the blanched oysters and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Homecooked Bee Hoon Recipe

This is a comfort dish that we will always come back to. And we can make it vegetarian by replacing or omitting some components like garlic and eggs. 

Start by frying 2 beaten eggs into an omelette. Then slice them into thin strips for garnishing later. Add 

Potatoes Minced Pork in Soya Sauce Recipe

This is one of the most comforting dishes to cook at home, and so easy to do with a few simple ingredients.

Slice 2 medium potatoes into thin discs and fry them in a pan of oil until they are soft and lightly browned. Cook for about 10 minutes or so. Once they turn soft, remove and set aside.

In the same pan, fry 2 chopped garlic and some white bits of scallion until fragrant. 

Teochew Orh Nee Recipe

Start by steaming 650g of chopped yam in a wok for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, the yam will turn soft. Remove the yam. Once the yam is soft, add them into a blender and blitz them you get a yam paste or purée. 

Steam 150g of pumpkin or butternut squash, chopped into chunks and a handful of gingko nuts for 15 minutes.

After the butternut squash has softened after steaming, use the back of a fork to mash the squash until it looks slightly pasty.

Garoupa Pao Fan Recipe

Start by making the fish stock. In a large pot, add and sauté 5 slices of ginger and a stalk of chopped leek until they turn fragrant. 

Add 2 handfuls of ikan bilis and 1 handful of dried shrimp, followed by 300g of fish bones, preferably Garoupa as they make the best tasting fish broths. 

Hainanese Chicken Rice Cooker Recipe

Here is an easy way to make our favourite chicken rice, using just a rice cooker and easily found ingredients in most supermarkets. 

Start with blitzing 3 shallots, 2 cloves garlic and 6 or 8 slices ginger, basically equal portions of everything into a rempah paste. This is the key to getting your rice fragrant. Then lightly fry in oil in a pan for a few minutes until they are golden and aromatic. Trust me, your kitchen will smell like an old school Hainanese chicken rice stall.

Spaghetti Aglio Olio Scallop Recipe

Spaghetti aglio olio with scallops, cooked with a glossy buttery and almost creamy finish. Without any cream being used at all.

We are using the much more premium Barilla bronze dye spaghetti here. It has a rougher texture and is able to absorb sauces even better than the regular pasta.

Victor's Kitchen at Sunshine Plaza - Forget the Liu Sha Bao, It's the Dim Sum That Shines

Dim sum joints these days can be quite boring and bland, the same recycling of the usual steamed and fried items, albeit served up at fine dining establishments with fine dining prices.

Yet, when we long for the old school push trolley dim sum places, the remaining ones are a pale shadow of their former glory.

Duality Series - Chef Pang, French Pastries Extraordinaire and Hakka Cuisine Custodian

Mention french pastries in Singapore and one of the first names to come up will be Antoinette. Chef Pang Kok Keong is the brainchild behind this bastion of French patisseries here, but behind his intricate cakes and sugary creations, there is a faithful Hakka son deep within.

Recognised as the best local baker here, Chef Pang was brought up on a staple of mum's cooking during his childhood days. His fondest food memory being his mum's authentic Hakka leek kueh, which itself is a rarity these days.

Shao at Jurong East - The Perfect Char Siew

Traditionally, the most authentic and best tasting char siew are made in Apollo roasters, and the mere thought of using a conventional oven to make this popular BBQ pork dish is unthinkable.

Yet, one resourceful chef has managed to not only make a char siew using a combi oven with incredible results, he has also managed to surpass almost everyone else in this field of expertise.

Morton's Steakhouse Fall Menu - The Chanel of Modern Cuisine

Somehow, classics can never go out of fashion. Look at Chanel and Audrey Hepburn, timeless icons that will remain as sought after as they are classy.

Morton's Steakhouse belongs to that same category when even in an culinary era of gimmicky foams and colourful purees, the sense that stepping into this equally timeless institution will guarantee you a night of unmatched deliciousness and gastronomic satisfaction.

BakBak at Circular Road - Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh in a New Light

Traditions are hard to change, especially when it comes to heritage food. For decades, our popular Bak Kut Teh has remained largely the same since the 60s.

White peppery, garlicky broth filled with chunks of pork ribs. Served with a side of soy braised pork trotters and pickled vegetables. Finished off with a brew of Chinese oolong tea.

Antoinette Heritage Menu - The Hakka Son Returns

Sometimes, it is all about the execution. And in the case of Mod-Sin cuisine, very few can pull it off, not even the originator of that movement.

But now, Chef Pang from Antoinette has come dangerously close to making Mod-Sin his own. And in the process, he has also thoughtfully revisited his Hakka roots, something that I have always wished for.

Double Happy Bak Kut Teh - The Golden Age of Singapore Hawkers

Whenever people talk of bak kut teh, they will invariably point to either the peppery Teochew version, or the herbal Hokkien rendition that some say originates from Klang in Malaysia.

The truth of the matter is that we may never know how this pork bone broth originated, save for some scant details published on the web.

Audace - Precise, Retrained Modern French Cooking

Audace means audacity in French, and that is also the new name of the restaurant formerly known as Cocotte located in the main lobby of Wanderlust Hotel.

But the cooking is less audacious here, and more inclined to a cuisine that has a Steve Jobs focus and precision, and Chef Jeremy Gilon shows much restraint on his simple but visually pleasing crafted plates.

Authentic Carbonara - Cooking the Classic Italian Pasta Dish

Carbonara is such a bastardised dish in Singapore. Almost everywhere you go, you get the wrong interpretation of the classic Roman dish.

Cream, bacon and watery renditions are the ones that will likely show up on your social media feeds. And worse, some joints even dare to paddle authentic Carbonara dishes when ingredients like wine and chicken stock are added into the mix.

The Return of Simon Road Oyster Omelette

There are a lot of fans of the original Simon Road Oyster Omelette. And when they left their original location along Upper Serangoon Road, many have thought they were gone for good.

It was around five years ago that the father and sons team moved into a stall a few units away next to the Punggol Nasi Lemak place. A few loyal fans managed to find it but was largely unnoticed.

Boru Boru - Chirashi Gem

Teppei's Chirashi revolution is showing no sign of slowing. It has, instead, initiated a horde of other entries into this visually appealing trend of Japanese inspired rice bowls.

For the most part, the other rice bowl establishments have only added more colour and creativity to the scene. Very few can match the quality and freshness from Chef Teppei's outlets.

Ristorante Luka - Simply the Best New Eatery of 2017

Sometimes, it's really tough to get excited about new restaurant openings. New eateries rely too much on marketing and social media, and rarely do they live up to the hype.

Compounded by the fact that very little is accurate from what you read both online and offline. Reviews are too condescending to the establishments, and when you consider that many reviewers have little idea of what good food entails, it takes a rare gem to really stand out.

Morton's Spring Menu 2017 - Faultless as Always

Steakhouses in Singapore are certainly becoming more commonplace these days. Whilst the Cuts, Wooloomooloos and Chop Houses offer up a variety of options and prices,  Morton's still rules.

In recent years, they have seen a facelift and even opened up for Sunday lunches. Despite the various changes to cater for an ever discerning and equally fickle dining crowd, their signatures are still as good as ever.

Hawker Legends - Sheng Cheng Char Kway Teow

Behind that tough exterior, there is a gentle soul that has a sense of compassion well beyond the average man on the street.

Uncle Tan is 67 years old, and for most of his life, he knows little else besides the art of making a great plate of char kway teow.

Hawker Legends - Original Serangoon Fried Hokkien Mee

Unassuming and soft spoken, Ah Hock begins his work day in the middle of the afternoon. Moving with a habitual pace, he sorts out his stall, ready to fry the first plate of Hokkien Mee.

His weary lines betray a trying life behind a sweat inducing environment. Yet, when he spots us anxiously waiting for him to start, he immediately beckons us to fire the first order of the day.

Bosch Active Water Dishwasher - Washing Dishes Made Easier

Somewhere along the line, we thought we would always get a dishwasher to settle our dirty plates and utensils. Especially on those party nights, when entertaining the guests takes precedence over washing duties.

Last December, we finally had one of these installed at our home. It is the Bosch Active Dishwasher.

Singapore Food Journalism - Distinguishing Authentic and Legitimate Food Views

Whether you like it or not, food marketing is everywhere these days. On main media and especially, on social media platforms.

You might be just an individual, taking food pictures for the fun of it. But once you establish a following, invitations from food establishments will invariably start to come.

Hidden Hawker Gems - Lim Hokkien Fried Mee at Kembangan

Hokkien fried mee is, in my opinion, the hardest hawker dish to master. The recipe has been out in the wild, barring some minor differences. But the real test and quality of this dish lies in the person frying this dish.

With the same ingredients and base, this plate of seafood infused noodles can turn out very differently.

Hidden Hawker Gems - Sheng Kee Cooked Food and Soya Chicken

While lavish attention has been put on the French tyre starred soya chicken place in Chinatown, there is another soya chicken stall in Kallang Bahru that has been wowing its local audience for years.

The lady owner, Mrs See, started this place 36 years back with her husband. Now, it is a popular haunt for the residents around this area. But very little media attention has been given to them, save for a few blog posts here and there.

Hidden Hawker Gems - Jia Xiang Mee Siam at Redhill Market

Somehow, finding a good mee siam these days is proving increasingly difficult. Most renditions are watery moats with diluted flavours and half hearted cooking.

There is one, however, in Redhill Market that might just surprise you. It's a half century old stall, and it is hardly talked about in the culinary media scene.

Hidden Hawker Gems - The Original Nan Xiang Chicken Rice

Seriously, when you talk about the best char siew places in Singapore, you should avoid fine dining restaurants. Instead, look for authentic hawkers using old school methods for their classic roasting goodness.

And before discovering this, my only other two "go to" char siew stalls are Foong Kee and Fu Shi. The former is as classic as it gets, and the latter, a newer entry that has similar traits to the KL's Ming Kee which I still hold as the gold standard for char siew.

Hidden Hawker Gems - Blanco Court Traditional Hainan Beef Noodles

Instead of perpetually showcasing fine dining food, this is gonna be the start of a new series to showcase hidden hawker gems.

The idea behind this is that we are far too familiar with the STB favoured hawkers for too long. In addition, blogs and other publications tend to only write about the ones that are already having too much attention, or hawkers that have become media savvy.

Pollen at Gardens by the Bay - Immaculate Cooking

Pollen has a new head chef and his name is Steve Allen. The Briton's resume includes stints with Gordon Ramsay and in person, he looks like a slimmed down version of the famous loud-mouthed celebrity.

Talking to him, however, is a totally different ball game. He's actually quite unassuming, though when engaged on the subject of cooking, he will light up immediately and is rather animated to talk about the stories behind his dishes.

2017 Yusheng Round Up - Lan Ting

Seriously, if you really want to celebrate Lunar New Year, you should be cooking at home for your family as there is a true spirit of bonding at work.

But I do acknowledge that the majority of Singaporeans would prefer their matriarchs to take a breather for once and dine out. So here is my round up for the coming rooster year.