Hainan Chicken Rice Ball at Jalan Besar With Video

Thanks to my friend working nearby, I was introduced to this wonderful chicken rice place very near Sim Lim Square, and just opposite Sim Tower at the end of Dickson Road.

It is situated at one corner near the main road, and despite the less than adequate surroundings, we were treated to a wonderful concoction of chicken rice balls and Hainan Chicken Rice.

Poached Red Snapper with Chilli Lime Capellini

This week, we made a conscious decision to create a fish dish, and wanted to do something simple as well.

I wanted to do a simple recipe for some of you out there who have recently taken to cooking (thanks for the emails!), and I encourage you to try this out.

Victoria Peak Chinese Cuisine

We had wanted to try out another restaurant at Orchard Central recently, and by some chance, we ended discovering Victoria Peak instead.

So, funny enough, the other place did not turn out positive, but we were intrigued by the seemingly unending traffic that was resonating at this chinese outlet just nearby.

Favorite Nasi Lemak at Caili Cooked Food

To find nasi lemak for breakfast has always been very convenient, but to find really good nasi lemak is another thing.

A good friend of mine who lives in Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 brought me to this corner stall at Kebun Bahru market one morning and I was hooked.

Kim's Seafood Place - Best Hokkien Prawn Mee

One of the most unique and original Singaporean dishes ever is fried hokkien prawn mee.

It is one of the most distinguishable local dishes, and one that not many can get it perfectly.

The one place where we really fancy our hokkien mee is the one at Joo Chiat Place called Kim's Seafood Place, and in fact, they have a sister branch very nearby as well.

Skinny Pizza With Video

It is often interesting how one gets to know of a new eatery from the most unusual of sources, and Skinny Pizza was a find totally out of the blue from cyberspace.

We understand that Skinny Pizza has been around for some time, and has its first outlet sometime in Suntec, which unfortunately, we haven't been to for ages.

Oven Roasted Beef Short Ribs with Ginger and Capsicum Cuscus

There are Sundays where one just has no idea what to cook, and this weekend was just that kind of Sunday.

There we were, standing in the middle of a supermart at Thomson, thinking of what to whip up for dinner. And then, I turned to Pauline and asked, "Why don't you choose something?"

Jonker's Nyonya Deli - Excellent Chendol With Video

Pauline and I often do our groceries at Thomson Plaza's NTUC, seeing how it is near our home in Bishan.

And I happen to have a good friend who often sends his daughter to classes here and it was him who introduced me to this somewhat new place called Jonker's Nyonya Deli.

Appreciation is in Order - My 40th post

It's amazing what started out as a simple exercise to document my recipes, has turned out to be something much more.

What has transformed from a personal library, has somehow taken a life of its own.

This marks my 40th post, in this food blog that just started a little less than 2 months back in mid August.

Sirloin with Wine Infused Bacon

Sometimes, the best plate is a simple plate, and this is what this dish is, simple to make, but deceptively delicious.

It is classic steak and potatoes, but with a small added twist that can make a whole of difference - bacon.

Founder Bak Kut Teh

In my second of my bak kut teh hunt, we went to Founder at Balestier Road and this has been a favorite of ours for quite some time.

We were there on a Sunday evening and as expected, there was a sizeable queue, which meant you had to wait about 20 mins or so before you could get a table.

Kampong Chicken Rice at Upper Thomson

Our national dish, chicken rice has been well documented and discussed. Countless hours have been spent on debating who and what is the best chicken rice in Singapore.

Here, I will just touch on our own personal rave, which is Kampong Chicken Rice at Upper Thomson.

Kampong chicken differs from conventional chicken in the sense that the chickens are reared as free rein, which tend to result in a more tender and succulent meat, and less fat.

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh

I thought it would be a good time to talk about my favourite bak kut teh in town, although I do have another fav outside of town.

The first one is Songfa which is just located opposite Clarke Quay Central, and has 2 outlets almost next to each other.

The other fav of mine is Founder at Balestier, but I will leave that for another post.

Crispy Salmon with Butter Poached Apples

This was one of the first successful dishes of mine (By successful, I meant that it got basically a rave from Pauline!).

It is also very simple to make this dish.

Make sure you get a salmon fillet with skin as the skin is meant to be pan fried until crispy. Season generously on both sides and score the fish. Insert a few sprigs of thyme in the slits.

Heat up a pan until it is piping hot and add some olive oil. Use your hand to place the salmon, skin side down and press down on it for a few seconds. To cook a perfect fish, always only turn the fish once during the cooking process.

The Old Malaya Cafe

It's strange when you think that there's nothing left to excite you foodwise in mainstream Orchard Road, that you stumble onto a gem.

And that is exactly what we found last week whilst at the basement food center of 313, the last place that I thought I would find something new and exciting. While it is new in discovery, but rich in old tradition where the food is concerned.

Burger Bench and Bar

Heard so much about Burger Bench n Bar (otherwise known as b3 from now), that we made a trip to this new Willin Low creation at Orchard Cineleisure.

It was relatively packed on a Saturday afternoon, where a steakhouse used to be at. Guess that one didn't fare too well.

Sin Ming Roti Prata With Video

I been wanting to post on my favorite roti prata stall in Singapore for some time. And trust me, there are numerous prata shops all around the island!

For those who do not know, roti prata is a form of dough that is fried using clarified butter, hence, disastrously sinful if consumed in large amounts.

Tender Braised Soy and Black Bean Pork Belly with Mango Butter

Pauline's mum has always made one of the best home cooked pork belly, and I was determined to replicate it with my own touch on it.

And credit must go to nuttylive, whose My Delicious Life's Babi Ponteh recipe formed the base for my new dish.

Bao Today and Black Sesame Bun

Small but cosy outlet, just a little hot

In recent years, there has been a deluge of Hong Kong cafes sprouting all over this island.

Some are very familiar names like Xin Wang and Central, and most of these will harbor ginormous menus covering everything from instant noodles with luncheon meat to frog leg congee to dim sum and yuan yang tea/coffee.

Most of these are alright if you want a quick bite, but rarely do any of these elevate themselves to be remembered for its great taste or genuine innovation. Until now.

White Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Puree

I must admit I am not very strong at desserts, as evidenced by my lack of posts on sweets.

For this, I defer to Pauline for a recipe that she worked on from another reference, but nevertheless, was a hit with our family diners recently.

To begin, blend some raspberries until they are smooth and syrupy. Strain the mixture to remove the seeds, and eliciting a nice texture of a puree.

From My Laptop to the Kitchen - Project Food Blog Official Entry

For the past couple of days, I been perplexing on what to put up for the entry for the competition. The entry is to touch on what defines a food blogger and what I think will make the next star of food blogging.

Myself, I am just literally weeks into food blogging, so I do not consider myself a foremost authority on food blogging.

My first published article on Technorati

This morning I woke up to an email from Technorati. It was to tell me that they have published my submission for a piece of writing I came up with yesterday.

To see it, just follow the link below. Admittedly, it is very exciting to see this being posted on a major site and quite a first for me!

The article basically is a little more backstory on myself and on food blogging, kind of an extended piece on my original introduction here. Go check it out.

Article first published as From Blackberries to Strawberries on Technorati.

Aromatic Broth of Asparagus with Caviar

Going thru my posts, I realised that I don't have many soup recipes. And over the weekend, whilst cooking for the family with a degustation menu, I decided to whip up this new broth.

I like it for the very distinctive taste of asparagus mixed with a nice broth base, made out of onions and leeks.

Fergburger - The Best Burger I Ever Had

Carl's Junior, MOS, Burger King ... you name it. Nothing beats New Zealand's Fergburger. I found it in Queenstown, NZ last year.

It was packed the evening I was recommended there, and the choices were certainly mouth-watering.

Little Lamby, Sweet Bambi, Mr Big Stuff and of course, the Fergburger! Seeing I was not gonna be back NZ for some time, I went for the big one ... Mr Big Stuff!

Micro Breakfast Amuse Bouche

This is kind of a spin-off from my gourmet breakfast post which I did before.

In essence, this is to create a mouthful of morning goodness in a spoonful, to be effectively used as a mouth amuser.

To prepare, just use the same components for the gourmet breakfast. Make a portion of scrambled eggs enough for 2 persons.

Project Food Blog 2010

If you have noticed on the right sidebar, there's an image of me participating in the 1st Annual Project Food Blog, hosted by Foodbuzz.

The aim is to find the best food blogger out there as voted by a panel of judges, which includes Food and Wine's editor-in-chief, Dana Cowin.

Dana has been most recently involved in the latest season of Top Chef as one of the guest judges and has a very significant repute in the food and culinary industry.

Gao Feng Minced Pork Noodles

Gao Feng Minced Pork Mee Stall

Living near Bishan, it's only a stone's throw away from Upper Thomson, a place I frequent.

We happened to be heading to the Kampong Chicken stall, but after alighting from the bus, this stall happened to caught our attention, so decided to give it a shot instead.

Saw that the abalone bak choh mee was only 3 dollars, which sounded more than reasonable.

Fragrant Seafood and Leek Congee

For once, I will let Pauline take the spotlight as this is mostly her recipe. It came about largely due to a time (not so long ago) when I was too ill to cook.

Out of my desperation for congee, and the only grains we had in the house was actually risotto rice, she concocted this out of what was available in our fridge.

To begin, chopped some bacon and brown them in a pan until the flavors arise. Season some sliced thread fin fish (you can use other similar white fish) with salt, pepper, chinese wine and sesame oil and lightly fry them in the same pan with the bacon and remove, set aside.

Old Hong Kong Kitchen

Old Hong Kong Kitchen

This, being the first of my eatery reviews, thought it best to focus on places that Pauline and I do like, and would be focusing on places that might not be that well known to folks.

Well, Old HK may not necessarily be unknown, but it is tucked away in one hidden corner of Novena Square 2, and we ourselves, had found it by accident one night.

We had gone back again this time with the deliberate intention to blog and feature as my maiden review.

Baked Chicken Leg with Apples and Rosemary

This is a very simple dish to do in a matter of mins.

Simply season a nice juicy chicken leg with some salt and pepper, and lightly coat it with some flour. Slice an apple at the same time.

Seal the chicken in a hot pan for a min or 2, just to give the skin a slight crisp. Transfer the chicken into an oven tray, lined with some aluminum foil.

Pan Roasted Trout with Vodka Crab and Tomato Reduction

I have always loved the penne pasta vodka cream dish, and been dying to do something a bit different at home.

Hence, I decided to pair a milder version (milder as in less creamy) of that delicious sauce with a nice fish protein to give it a more refreshing taste.

Season the trout with generous amounts of salt and pepper and leave it aside. In a separate pot, boil 2 tomatoes until the skins are peeling. Remove the skins and set aside.

Mushroom Risotto with Pan Seared Sirloin Strips

We had a delicious mushroom risotto just this weekend at Skinny Pizza, and Pauline was egging me to do something similar at home. Well, I combined a risotto with her fav protein and came up with this.

I have already touched on how to cook risotto in a previous blog, so will not go into much detail. The difference here is I decided to create a mirepoix chicken stock instead of just regular broth.

Gourmet Breakfast

There was this one evening, when as usual, Pauline came back late from work and basically was hungering for a full meal and there I was, scratching my head to figure out a way to cook a full meal with what was basically only breakfast stuff in the fridge.

So, the natural thing was to cook breakfast as a dinner meal! 

The key part here is the scrambled eggs, and to cook great scrambled eggs is really not that hard. In addition, I use chirozo to replace the traditional sausage and if you have either parma ham and panchetta, to replace the classic bacon bit.

Baked Wanton Pouches with Minced Beef and Tomato Fennel Fillings

This was one of those times where I just basically wanted to fool around with some of the stuff that I had left from a previous dinner and thought what I could do to with my oven at the same time.

In the end, I came up with this interesting variation of deep fried wanton, but to keep it more healthy, this is baked rather than fried and the fillings have been somewhat altered.

Buttered Ribeye with Pesto Pasta

Pauline is an extreme beef lover, so apart from the mirepoix beef stew, I came up with another relatively simple beef dish to appease her.

I personally prefer to make fresh pesto instead of using pre-made ones. In fact, making pesto is quite simple. In a blender, blitz a bunch of chopped basil leaves, pine nuts (or almonds if you have trouble getting pine nuts) and sunflower seeds and add enough olive oil as you blitz to make it a smooth sauce like texture. Set aside.

Cook some pasta of your choice.

Dining Out in the Lion City

Singapore Food Court

Again, I thought I'd take a break from the usual food stuff by just reflecting on some food thoughts, this time on dining out in Singapore.

Eating in Singapore is not so much different from other countries and cities, and yes, we have a multi-cultural food repertoire, and yes, we have a very cosmopolitan food scene that's most vibrant and happening.

And certainly, we have local dishes that has a unique place on the global food map. Talk about Chili crabs and chicken rice and even foreigners have no problem understanding, and very likely have tasted those dishes before.

Coq Au Vin

Coq au vin is a very classic French dish where chicken drumsticks are literally bathed in hours in a rich wine stock and is absolutely gorgeous. It is just as absolutely tedious to prepare and make!

I typically use the largest chicken drumsticks that I can find for this particular dish. Season them well and lightly coat them with a layer of flour and seal it in a pan until they are lightly golden brown in color. Set aside.

For this dish, you can actually use your own combination of vegetables and ingredients to make up the delicious broth, but typically I would start to fry some chopped bacon (without oil as bacon will ooze oil as you cook).

Whiskey Salmon Linguine

Locally, we have this interesting dish called XO Bee Hoon, or sometimes another variation is Fish Head Bee Hoon. It's basically a milk based fish broth with sliced fish, or fish head pieces served with rice noodles and in the XO variant, a dash of brandy is added to give it an aromatic and sweet enhancement.

I decided to come up with a pasta variant over the weekend using salmon instead, among other minor changes.

Anyone can cook ...

Anyone can and should learn to cook

Anyone can cook ... but not everyone should!

This line was most recently quoted from the Pixar film Ratatouille, which of course, combined my love for films and food in a most imaginative and fully appetizing way. I am taking a deviant from the usual food and recipe blogs to just muse on a few things.

After all, I have intended this to be a journey and adventure for myself through the culinary zone, and in the midst of all this cooking and creating, I think it's also good to reflect on what food can mean to us at different times and at different places.

Laksa Risotto

Once you have learned to cook a basic risotto, it's amazing how many other variations one can come up with in a short amount of time. One of my favs is Laksa Risotto.

The secret is actually replacing the chicken broth with Laksa broth, which you can make either out of laksa paste and coconut milk. For those who want an easy way out, you can buy a laksa prepack in the supermarket, preferably from Prima.

Once you have the laksa broth, cooking the risotto is essentially the same as classic risotto, just control the amount of laksa broth for the spice levels in case there are those who prefer a milder taste, then add in water instead of the laksa broths at different junctures.

Cooking Risotto

Pauline absolutely loves risotto, from plain risotto to wild mushroom risotto to even more wild variations, including my own Laksa risotto which I will blog separately.

For now, I am focusing on cooking a straightforward risotto and from there, anyone can create variations from it. Risotto rice can usually only be bought at the finer supermarkets here in Singapore, so you can forget about going to NTUC to look for it. Usually, I go for Arborio rice but you can choose other variations as well.

Herb Crusted Lamb with Bacon and Leek Mash

The herb crusted lamb is mainly from Gordon Ramsay's recipe, but I decided to do a tasting portion with alternative take on classic potato mash.

Season the lamb with salt and pepper and seal it in a pan on all sides. Bake the lamb in an oven to about 180 deg C for about 6-7 mins.

To prepare the crust, put in a blender, crushed herbs (basil, thyme, parsley), grated Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and some olive oil to smoothen the mixture. Blitz it until you get an aromatic herb crust.

Mushroom Cappuccino

I first had this delightful concoction in a Les Amis outlet here called The Canteen, which has since been rebranded as La Strada. Just had to try this for myself at home and came up with my own version of it.

I use a mix of mushrooms (button, shitake etc) and dice them. Slice some onions and garlic and sautee all of them in a pan until the flavors are brought out. Splash just a dash of white wine and let the alcohol burn up. Add in lots of chicken stock/broth for the soup base.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin in a Pepper Hollandaise and Wine Infused Pear Compote

Cooking pork can be quite tricky, as with beef. I thought of this as I was looking for some protein to go with my Hollandaise (refer to previous blog). Prepare the Hollandaise and add in some extra black pepper for a bit of heat.

As for the pork, season with salt, pepper and some thyme leaves and seal it in a pan on all sides until the color changes. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C and put it the entire pan with the pork tenderloin and roast for 8 mins.

Mirepoix Beef Stew

Pauline, my wife has always have a fondness of all things beef, and I been trying to find the perfect beef dish for awhile, and this plate kinda finally found a place, and yeah, satisfied her!

Mirepoix is a french culinary term to mean a base of onions, celery and carrots. This mirepoix can be used to make soup bases, sauces and in this case, a wonderfully aromatic stew base.

To begin, create the mirepoix by sauteing some onions, carrots and celery first. Drizzle just a whisker of white wine and let it cook for a few minutes until the aroma is ever present.

Spoonful of Salmon Ceviche Amuse Bouche

I thought what better way to start off this food journey than with a simple to goodness salmon ceviche amuse bouche.

For those not in the know, amuse bouche refers to a bite sized appetizer, usually to excite the palette (hence, mouth amuser!) before the actual meal.

My salmon taster is simple salmon sashimi, chopped into fine slices, drizzled with lemon juice, just a touch of finely diced fresh tomatoes, caviar, slice of chive and another thinly sliced ginger.

Introducing the Silver Chef

The Silver Chef in Queenstown, NZ

My name is Ian Low and I hail from the island of Singapore, a food mecca of sorts where the east has already met the west and is now moving on to new ground.

It is this new ground that my humble self, a self-taught chef in the age of the Internet has dubbed myself the Silver Chef.

Why silver? Well, my hair has grown progressively from black to grey .... and now it seems to be silverish, so heck, the Silver Chef is thus born!

Hopefully this will be the first of many Singapore food blogs that I will contribute and hopefully, many will enjoy reading this and perhaps, even attempt at some of the dishes that will be featured on this blog.