Pavillion Restaurant: Chinese Food, Fine Dining Style

Text by Holydrummer, Photos by ieat

Nestled within the Tanjong Pagar enclave is a chi-chi Chinese restaurant resplendent with contemporary chinoiserie decor. Helmed by Executive Head Chef Kelvin Sim, who seeks to transform traditional Chinese cuisine by channelling his culinary creativity into crafting exquisite & elegant modern masterpieces, Pavillion Restaurant offers to redefine the art of Modern Chinese fine dining for discerning diners.

But before any innovation is incorporated into the dishes, the foundation must be firm.

For starters, the benchmark is set with their Dim Sum selection. Pavillion's signature Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao delivers on all accounts with the translucent skin revealing its fine, delicate texture; just about the right thickness to hold in the tasty & generous amount of hot soup when picked up by the chopsticks, testimony to the sublime skill in the kitchen. 4.25/5

Please vote for "The End of Char Kway Teow"

 

Thanks to everyone who have already voted for "The End of Char Kway Teow" for the Popular Readers' Choice Awards 2011!

There are only two days left to vote, so if you are the type that likes to KIV things till the last minute, then this is the LAST MINUTE!  Do click on this link to vote online now!

Thanks for your support!

Sincerely,

Leslie Tay

Hainan Chicken Rice Balls: Necessary Pilgrimage for any Chicken Rice Fan

Chicken Rice Ball 30 cents each

I have blogged almost forty chicken rice stalls in Singapore and I must say that it is getting harder to find one that can stand out from among the rest.  I must say that there are many good Chicken Rice Stalls in Singapore and no one can dispute that we are the Chicken Rice capital of the World!

I got very excited when I saw this particular stall being featured on Foodage.  What makes this stall different is not just that they serve Chicken Rice balls, but the owner of this 3rd generation stall is still doing a lot of things in a traditional way.

Karu's Banana Leaf Restaurant: Fish Head Curry worth travelling for

Fish Head Curry $28

There are two versions of Curry Fish Head in Singapore.  One is the Chinese version where the fish head is steamed first before cooking in a curry which has less powdery spices and the other is the Indian version where the fish head is cooked a in pot of fiery spices that is designed to make you sweat so that, ironically, you will feel cooler in the hot weather.  So far I have been writing a lot about the Chinese version, so its time to give the Indian version some air time.  Curry Fish Head was invented by an Indian man afterall.

Hiang Soon Otar: AKA Jalan Kayu Otar

Otah 50 cents

I asked our facebook fans where I can get the best Otar in Singapore and this particular shop at Jalan Kayu turned up the most times!  I have been to Jalan Kayu on many occasions but I don't ever remember seeing an Otar stall there!  The funny thing is that most people don't even know that the name of the stall is actually Hiang Soon Otar, they simply called it Jalan Kayu Otar.  I think the owners might need to do some rebranding soon!

Talking about Otah, I was reprimanded by one of our readers that this particular snack is supposed to be called Otak-Otak in Malay and not Otah or Otar. Incidentally, in case you don't know, Otak Otak in Malay means "brains" and they called it Otak Otak because the texture resembles the mushy brains of some unfortunate animal.  But you know, I feel Otah or Otar is very much now a part of our Singlish vocabulary.  The Chinese community has adopted and transliterated many other Malay words such as Pasak (Market), Nasi Lormah (Nasi Lemak), and Loti Planta (Roti Prata) so I think it is quite acceptable to call Otak-Otak, Otah.  You know what it is, I know what it is, so relac ah! (relax, take it easy).

Ieatishootipost on Okto

Thanks to Sen for the upload!

Here is the snippet on Foodage yesterday night. This is the last episode of Foodage, a series that traces the history of Singapore through food from the 50's till today. Last night's episode dealt with the current food scene in which blogging plays a big role.

I really enjoyed watching it and learning about the history of Singapore food. The black and white footage of our hawkers are precious archives that you don't often get to see! If you missed the series, do write in to Mediacorp to ask them to do a rerun!

Again, thanks to everyone who took part in the filming and to all my kakis and supporters who made the blog what it is today.

Lao San Kway Chap: Oh, so Kway Chap is supposed to be like this!

Excellent Kway!

This really is one amazing bowl of Kway Chap.  Bob has been raving about this in our forum but it was only when decided to focus my efforts on Ang Mo Kio that I finally got to try this Kway Chap. The reason for targeting Ang Mo Kio is because of the upcoming Iphone App which will have a map function.  It was when I was playing with it that I realized how few red pins I had in Ang Mo Kio!  So, be prepared for a few Ang Mo Kio posts soon! And if you have any "Really Must Try" stalls in Ang Mo Kio, please do let me know!

The King of Kong Bak Pau Makan Session (Menu Revised)

Registration is Closed!  Thanks for your support!
Notice is hereby given that the next Makan Session will be held at Westlake Restaurant!

Here are the details:

Venue: Westlake, Blk 4 Queen's Road, #02-139
Time: 7pm (registration)
Date: 7 October 2011 (Fri)
Price: $25 per pax

Ponggol Nasi Lemak Centre: There is a good reason why there is always a long queue!

Ah Nasi Lemak.  Just the mere mention of it makes you want to eat some right?

I remember the very first time I started to like Nasi Lemak.  It was during a Scout camp and we were served packets of Nasi Lemak which were wrapped in banana leaves for breakfast.  Up till then, I hadn't really eaten Nasi Lemak because I didn't like spicy food. (Just like my son now)  But it was the only thing they served for breakfast and it was that or nothing.  I remember just eating the rice and leaving the Sambal Tumis (Chilli sauce) at the side.  It was the most basic of Nasi Lemak.  Just ikan bilis (anchovies), peanuts, egg, cucumber, and of course Sambal.  The packet was so small and being the hungry boy that I was (I was in primary school), I ate most of the rice and tried to pick out the untainted rice near the chilli.  It is was then that I tasted some of the chilli tainted rice and suddenly I saw heaven open and the Angel of chilli appeared before me.  With the standard Angel salutation, he said...  "Do not be afraid".  Ok, there was no Angel, but if an Angel had appeared, he would have said "Do not be afraid". No kidding, I read it all the time in the Bible, to Angels it's like them saying "Jia Pa Buay?" (Have you eaten yet?)

Westlake: The King of Kong Bak Pau

Kong Bak Pau $23

It's a good thing to know that in fast paced Singapore where everything changes at breakneck speed that there are still some pockets of nostalgia waiting to be discovered.  The Kong Bak Pau at Westlake is one such pocket.

I am quite serious when I say that this Kong Bak Pau is still very much the same deal as it was when it was first introduced by Westlake in 1976.  Three families are involved in making this one dish and they have been doing it together for the last 30 years or so.  The first family are of course the Lims who are the owners of the restaurant.  Its founder, Mr Lim Tong Law started Westlake in the early 70's because of his love for cooking.  He was a PE teacher at Chinese High School at the time and was in his fifties when he dreamt of running a restaurant so that he can give the public a chance to try his dishes.  When he started Westlake, he was still teaching at Chinese High and had to shuttle between two jobs!  Business began to really pick up when the Kong Bak Pau was introduced which eventually became the iconic dish for Westlake.

Santaro Japanese Restaurant: Once Upon a Time in Singapore...

Sanma Shioyaki (Salt Grilled Pacific Saury) $40

It might be hard to imagine a Shopping Centre nowadays without a Japanese restaurant, but once upon a time in Singapore, Japanese food was a delicacy reserved for the few.  Then again, it would be hard to imagine a Shopping Centre without KFC or MacDonald's as well.  But in the 70's, that's what it was like.  I still remember when going to Swensen's at the Airport was such a treat!

Back in the days when most people thought that only cats ate raw fish, there came a band of brave men who would introduce the concept Sashimi to Singaporeans. Among them were Chef Nogawa who has been responsible for discipling most of the first generation Sushi Chefs in Singapore.  Chef Nogawa has since returned to Japan to open a Sushi Restaurant in Ginza, something he had always wanted to do.


Santaro-San

Another one of these Samurai of Sushi is none other than our protagonist today.  Santaro-San (nee Li Kwok Wing) was Nogawa's first Head Chef but counts himself as Chef Nogawa's Siong Di (brethren) as they were both trained by the same Master -- Chef Nishimura.  Like most well trained Sushi Chefs, Santaro-san is able to engage in lively, animated conversations with his customers at the Sushi counter without accidentally cutting his fingers.  However, you would have to be able to understand Mandarin as he was born in Shanghai.  As with most Sushi Chefs in his time, being a Sushi Chef was a lifelong vocation, thus he was given the Japanese name Santaro somewhere along the line. 


Sashimi platter

One thing that all these pioneer Sushi Chefs have in common is that their restaurants are adorn with photos of Presidents, PMs and Ministers.  I guess it reflects the fact that Japanese restaurants used to be much more exclusive in the good old days.  Nowadays, there are plenty of Japanese restaurants around and some are very modern.  So, this place still feels very old school, even though I must admit, I have never been to the old school when it was new.

The Sushi bar is stocked with the usual fish.  It was good quality but I was slightly disappointed with the variety as it seemed quite limited.  The usual Kanpachi, Hirami, Salmon, Chutoro, Mekajiki and Akagai were present.  But for such an established restaurant, I was expecting more variety of fish like Kohada and Kinki.  The sushi rice was a bit more vinegary for my personal liking but that is very subjective.  Santaro San likes to mold his rice a little larger, around 180 to 200 grains compared to Nogawa who does 150 grains.  This makes for larger Sushi, so you get filled quite quickly.  4/5




Chef Santaro was quite an interesting character. With so many years of experience, you can really pick up a few tips on Japanese cuisine if you show enough interest.  One thing I learnt was how to eat Sanma Shioyaki.  Sanma is in season now and one of the best way of cooking this pelagic fish is by simply salt grilling the fish to bring out its natural flavours.  This might seem very simple, but the control of the charcoal fire and cooking times will determine if your fish comes out mouthwateringly juicy or cardboard dry.

The way to enjoy Sanma Shioyaki is to first remove bones. To do this, you divide the flesh along the midline of the fish with your chopsticks and then lift the tail.  The whole spinal column can be lifted out of the fish easily.  You can then enjoy the flesh of the fish, leaving the stomach area for last.   The fish is usually served ungutted, so after you have eaten most of the flesh, you pick up the whole of the "stomach", together with the fine rib bones and put the whole thing into your mouth, suck out the oily, bitter contents and then spit out the bones!   Sounds disgusting but boy was it good!  4.25/5

Kabochia $25

The thing with such restaurants is that they usually shine when you go for their Omakase meals rather then the set lunches.  This is where you can really taste the Chef's specialties.  One of Chef Santaro's signature dishes is the Kabochia, or Steamed Japanese Pumpkin with egg white.  The dashi based sauce harmonized so well with the pumpkin and egg white and is certainly a dish I would look forward to eating again.  4.25/5

Ayu Futamidengakuyaki $35

The other signature dish is the Ayu Futamidengakuyaki which is a Sweetfish stuffed with prawns and grilled with miso.   The bones of the fish were first meticulously removed before the whole fish was stuffed with chopped prawns and then grilled.  Previously, I have always eaten Ayu simply grilled with salt, so this version is very refreshing. The concept is almost like the Thai Stuffed Chicken Wings!  The prawns added another dimension of natural sweetness to the Ayu which I found quite delectable.  4/5

Conclusion

There are so many Japanese eateries nowadays, but Santaro still stands out as one of pioneers of Japanese food in Singapore!

Special 20% discount plus dessert deal at Gastrocoutre

Book through www.gastrocouture.com to enjoy 20% discount off the ala carte menu plus a free dessert!

Santaro
165 Tanjong Pagar Road
#02-26 Amara Hotel
Singapore 088539
This was a media invited review

Ken's Delights: Traditional Wintermelon Dessert

Wintermelon $1.50

Now here's a dessert that your grandmother might have used to make that you can't easily find at the hawker centre.  According to our kaki, Cactuskit, the iced wintermelon soup here is as good as his grandmother's.  Now, I have never eaten his grandmother's soup before, but usually when people say their grandmother's this or that is the best, I would not dare to argue. Especially if the other fella does 1000 pushups a day. (Seriously, he does)

Anyway, if you have never tried this Wintermelon soup before, here is one place where you can because it is not very common.  It is quite a refreshing dish and basically tastes like wintermelon in a sugared iced syrup.  I can't rave about it as it was quite unremarkable except for the fact that it really does quench your thirst on a hot day.  But Cactuskit insists that it was very remarkable.  So I shall give it a 4.25/5

Cendol $1.50

This place prides itself on serving a very traditional bowl of cendol.  Traditional meaning that it only contains cendol, red beans and Chin Chow.  They do make the Chin Chow themselves but the Cendol is outsourced.   The pale green colour on the cendol was promising but the texture turned out to be quite hard as it was frozen.  Can't understand why so many people on the internet recommended this, I guess it must have been an off day. One thing I can say though is that for the price, you get a rather large bowl of Cendol.  3.5/5

Conclusion

Are you a fan of Ken's?  Do let us know why you love it so much!



Ken's Delight's
Dunman Food Centre, #01-01
271 Onan Road,  S424768
11am to 11pm
9105 9618

Kudeta: Possibly Singapore's Most Coveted Dining Address

Wild Strawberry Confit with Cardamom Rice Pudding and Szechuan Pepper Cloud $14

How often have you driven along the ECP into the city and looked at the three towers of the Marina Bay Sands and wondered to yourself what the view from the tip of the overhanging "banana split" looks like?  Well, it looks like this:

A Rashid Khan Indian Food: Old School Mee Siam and Sup Kambing!

Indian Mee Siam

I get really excited every time I manage to find a good Indian Mee Siam.  It's one of those dishes that are getting really hard to come by nowadays.   I guess if you belong to a certain age group, you will probably remember two places in Singapore where this dish was famous.  One is Waterloo Street and the other would be Shenton Way hawker centre.  I don't remember either of these because I was a Toa Payoh boy and my dad never brought me to these places when I was growing up.  But this type of mee siam is significant for me because I was eating it at the St Andrew's School Tuckshop for 10 years.  So it is a flavour that brings me back to my very happy school days of playing soccer during recess time and coming back to a classroom that felt more like a sauna.  Pity my teachers!

Habib's Rojak: Go West young man!

I am undergoing an Indian Rojak Renaissance of sorts.  Frankly I have not been eating that much Indian Rojak, but of late I have again rediscovered just how good Indian Rojak can be.  I think the problem is that most places serve mediocre stuff because not many people bother to make their own anymore.  So most of the Indian Rojak stalls are traders who buy their items from suppliers and employ other people to sell them.  You can't blame them really.  Making Indian Rojak is tedious and requires a fair amount of skill.  

How to make Teh Tarik: As much as you would need to know

Ahhh... Nothing like a cup of Teh Tarik!

The inspiration for this post came about during my last trip to Sandakan. It was hilarious, we all had this hankering for a good cup of Teh Tarik but everywhere we went, we only found Teh Tarik that tasted like condensed milk in dishwater.  OK, it was supposed to be a Mission Trip, but that doesn't mean we can't go out to find good food right?  Anyway, when I got back to Singapore, I was determined to come up with a recipe for making Teh Tarik so that anyone can have a decent cup whenever you feel like one because, quite frankly, it is also getting harder to find a good cup of Teh Tarik here as well.

The Disgruntled Chef: You won't want to share

Report and Photos by Joao

Baked Bone Marrow with Persillade and Sourdough Toast $16

I recently had the pleasure of being hosted by chef Daniel Sia and his team at The Disgruntled Chef on Dempsey Hill.  Situated in a cheerful little colonial era one-storey that used to house no more than four British junior officers, the restaurant seats 43 and is one third kitchen/bar.  How the kitchen staff manage to peaceably coexist in their tiny kitchen during the dinner rush is beyond me.  It's be a bit of a stretch to call TDC a restaurant — I would instead describe TDC as a bar made good.

Marine Parade Laksa: Katong Laksa Story Part III

Original Katong Laksa $3

Here I go again about Marine Parade Laksa.  Aiya, every time I mention Marine Parade Laksa, the same story will be rehashed.  My story of my dating days with Rockett Girl at Marine Parade Laksa is  one of those "Grandfather Story" which shows that I am indeed getting old.  So, since I don't want to be called Lor Sor (long winded), I shan't repeat myself again, but in case you really do want to hear it again, you can read about it here.

Hong Heng Beef Noodle King: Beef Laksa Anyone?

Beef Laksa $5

The mere mention of Beef Laksa would surely get many a foodie's antennae buzzing.  After all, when was the last time you ate Beef Laksa?  Unless you know of Hong Heng, then probably the answer is "Never!".

That being the case, if you are a foodie, then you would want to make a beeline for Hong Heng to get a taste of Beef Laksa.  However, I have to moderate your expectation a little here.  This literally a bowl of laksa with all the different cow parts that you would get at the Beef Kway Teow stall added on top and it tastes, well, it tastes exactly like it.

Privé Charity Makan: Etiquette and Wine Decorum

Photos by Joao

What a great Makan Session we had last Saturday!  It was an afternoon of fun and education as we learned about the rules of good dining etiquette!  For example, did you know that when the bread basket hits the table that it is the lady who will pick it up and offer it to the others around the table in a counter clockwise direction? Not only that, I also learned that you need to really suck in your wine to aerate it so that you can achieve two things.  1.  Bring out the best flavour in the wine, 2 Signal that you are a great kisser!  (Clinton, our Wine expert was a great entertainer!)

Chao Shan Cuisine: As Teochew as the Teochew Ah Bah that runs it!

Liver Rolls and Pork Aspic $28

The best type of Teochew food are the ones that are cooked by a Hao Lian Teochew Ah Bah (Teochew man proud of his craft).   Even better if the Teochew Ah Bah has been cooking Teochew food for the last 30 years! Even more better if the said Ah Bah loves Teochew food so much that he makes frequent trips to Swatow to enjoy the food there!

Ginza Kurosan: Great Value Chirashi Sushi!

Fisherman's Nagekomi Don $20 with salad, soup and dessert

How you react to this blog post will show how much of a Singaporean you are.

Singaporeans, as you are well aware, are attracted to good deals like a sotong (squid) to a fluorescent lamp.  So when my friend Yukari Sakamoto, author of Food, Sake, Tokyo (an excellent guide to Tokyo food) emailed me about this new place in Robertson Quay selling Chirashi Sushi topped with the freshest of seafood (her husband is a Japanese seafood supplier some more) for only $20*, she inflicted a pernicious itch in my subconscious that would not be satisfied unless it gets a good scratch!

The End of Char Kway Teow on Travel + Leisure SEA

The End of Char Kway Teow has been featured on Travel and Leisure South East Asia as part of the story of bloggers turned authors in our part of the world!

In case you haven't already done so, please remember to vote for my book "The End of Char Kway Teow" which has been nominated for the Popular Readers' Choice Awards 2011!   If I win, I promise to organize a big Crab Fest to celebrate together with you! 


 


All you need to do is to click on this link to vote online!

Thanks!!

Sincerely,

Leslie Tay

Chia Keng Kway Teow Mee: Arguably the Best Mee Pok Tar in Singapore!

Mee Pok Tar (Special) $5, Fishball Soup extra $3

I have been blogging for 5 years now and have tasted my fair share of Mee Pok Tar.  I don't know why it took me all this time to eventually try Chia Keng, but let me just say this; I have finally found a Mee Pok Tar that is one head above all the rest both in taste as well as the amount of passion going into preparing it.  Now, taste might be subjective and what is superlative for me might only be great for you, so let's just consider this bowl of Mee Pok Tar based solely on objective points first.

Man Fu Yuan: Of Dim Sum and Tea

Har Kou

My apologies to all wine connoisseurs.  I know that you all love your fermented grape juice and I am sure that it can be paired with Dim Sum, but being a traditionalist, (I am a fair weather traditionalist - you will probably read another post where I extol the marvels of modern cuisine) I really feel that there is already a perfect drink to go with Dim Sum and we really don't need a substitute.  So although I am not against pairing Dim Sum with wine, I think Tea Pairing is the more logical choice for Dim Sum since Dim Sum owes its very existence to Tea.