Chik's Crib: September 2015

30 September 2015

Vanilla Cookies Recipe

Recipe September 30, 2015 0

Photo by R

I know how you're feeling when you first read the title.

Meh.

I know. I felt the same way too.

Vanilla Cookies? Isn't this what bakers call plain cookies because they're all out of other ingredients?

But wait. Just hang on a second. This ain't just any recipe you find on the streets. (Or the internet.) This recipe ain't shy about its pedigree. Known as Ovis Mollis in Italy, this recipe was from one of Italy's baking bibles: the 1927 classic Il Pasticcere e Confettiere Moderno. When Francine Segan was writing Dolci: Italy's Sweets, Giancarlo Gonizzi from Academia Barilla in Parma recommended this recipe above all others.

Taste-wise, this, without a doubt, is one of the most impressive cookie I've eaten. No exaggeration. This ranks among the top of my list, alongside other winners like Famous Amos Cookie recipe, cocoa tuiles and Hazelnut Cookies. Actually, scratch that. This recipe is so simple, it beats all of the others. Hands down. This recipe needs no exotic nuts or chocolate to bolster its flavour. In fact, this recipe doesn't call for any exotic ingredients at all, just the things that you probably already have in your fridge.

Little Chloe Micro-Roastery

Western Food September 28, 2015 0

I was flipping through an old issue of 8 Days (an entertainment magazine circulating in Singapore), reading up on the latest(-ish...) restaurants opening in Singapore when I read that one of the restaurants, Carvers and Co, sources their single origin beans from a Melbourne micro-roastery called Little Chloe. I did a quick web search of Little Chloe, and was pretty chuffed that it's just about 20 minutes from where I live. They enjoy pretty decent reviews online, so I made plans with a couple of friends to have brunch there.

They both happen to be really handy with a camera, so I sat back for most of the shots, and let the two of them let 'rip with their skills. I'm happy to sit and watch.

It was kind of sweet to learn that the cafe was named after the owner's granddaughter.

It was bustling when we got there, but we managed to get a table and was served by an enthusiastic waiter who cheerfully informed us it was his first day here. His enthusiasm was catching. He double-checked with the barista that they serve magic ($3.50), and the rest of our orders went without a hitch.

Is ordering magic a gimmick? Whatever. Yes, it's just a double-shot flat white. But it's like a secret handshake, and when in Melbourne, do as the locals do... . I like how the magic was the same price as the other coffees we ordered: a mocha and a cappuccino, even though it has two shots. R noted that the mocha could have used a little more chocolate. I didn't try, but seeing it is a micro-roastery, I would likely stick to coffee-only drinks on my next visit.

Mocha. The latte art was grand.

The Sushi Bar @ Takashimaya

Singapore September 24, 2015 0

Words by Miss XS

The Sushi Bar's first outlet was a small unpretentious joint in Far East Plaza, with a snaking queue at its shopfront during peak hours. I remember having to wait up to an hour to get in (on a weekday night!) and no one was happier than me when I heard that a more spacious branch is due to be opened in Takashimaya.

The Sushi Bar is located on the fifth level of Takashimaya. We was there on a weekend afternoon and surprisingly there was no queue! We were ushered to our seats immediately which was a bonus compared to my previous visits to the sushi bar at Far East Plaza.

The Salmon Aburi Roll came in 8 pieces and was undoubtedly the star dish of everything we tried. The play-off between the raw salmon, the torched salmon and the mayo combined to give the most marvelous melt-in-the-mouth effect. Personally, I prefer this over "shiok maki" which gets jelat pretty quickly with the rich cream sauce.

Matcha Nama Chocolate Recipe

Recipe September 20, 2015 2

A while back, J sent me a link for a Hong Kong-Style Custard French Toast recipe, which I'll get around to making. Sometime. Promise. But the Royce Matcha Nama Chocolate video tutorial, also by the same person, intrigued me more. And when I get an idea in my head, nothing can shake it out.

When I brought this to a potluck, everybody was pretty impressed that I made nama chocolate, although it really couldn't be easier. Heat up cream in a saucepan (or microwave), add to chopped chocolate and booya! A genuine, bona fide nama chocolate. There's a couple more steps for matcha nama chocolate, but really, I couldn't be more happy about how easy it is, or how well this turned out. There just wasn't enough to go around, which I take to be a good sign. After so many potlucks, I learnt to judge when a recipe is successful just by seeing if there is any leftovers to cart back home. And this was gone in no time flat.

Pillar of Salt

Review September 16, 2015 0

I remember at the start of this year before our hospital attachments begun, a cardiologist came to us and spoke on the importance of having a work-life balance (his words), and not just be a work zombie (slightly paraphrased). After all, h appier doctors are associated with higher rates of patient empathy, greater patient satisfaction and lower rates of medical errors. One of his tips to avoid burn-out was to have two things to look forward to every week, and was one which stuck in my brain. It's one that I try to abide by, because relaxation, like anything, requires practice. Knowing when to give something your all, and when not to push yourself too hard, is a skill and requires practice... right?

Something I've recently started was to schedule lunch with a few friends at a different restaurant every week, just to have something to look forward to. Pillar of Salt was one that we have tried, and one that I heard about only recently. It boasts of excellent online reviews, and everybody was surprised I hadn't heard of it before. It was a brunch place that N has been itching to try for some time, so off we went.

We were wary of the peak-period brunch crowd, so we set off early and reached around 9.45. We got a table relatively quickly, but when we looked out of the window half an hour later, there was already a queue forming out in the cold. Lucky us! There was a flask of hot jasmine-honey tea set up for people queuing for a table, and was a thoughtful little gesture.

Bonus! As they wait in line, they can enjoy the scent of hot buttermilk pancakes drifting from the window sills where they cool.

And... darn it, I want some of these cute wooden cutlery. To eat honey (I'll buy some) with and be all posh.

Yokohama Teppan

Review September 12, 2015 1

While flipping through Melbourne's entertainment book one afternoon, I bookmarked several restaurants that looked promising, and I was surprised to find that Yokohama Teppan is in Glen Waverley, one of our favourite (and nearby!) areas of Melbourne. I must have walked past Yokohama Teppan half a dozen times without registering it in my pea-brain. Still, it's better late than never to discover something new, and we made plans to take an evening off and have a meal there.

I didn't know this, but according to J, the traditional Japanese chef-style approach to Teppan was to cook and serve with little commentary, perhaps just a suggestion or two on how to best appreciate the flavour of each dish. Other than that, you're pretty much left to enjoy the food and have a conversation with your friends. In the Western adaptation, be prepared for a display of knife skills, magic tricks and juggling to fill the time between each course.

Here he is tossing a whole egg in midair before catching it square with the sharp end of his spatula.

Cafe Florentine

Western Food September 08, 2015 0

Just a hop, a skip and a (10 minutes) jump away from Brighton beach is Cafe Florentine, which I had the opportunity to visit recently with a friend. The idealist in me told me it's a spectacular idea to head to Brighton beach to catch the sun rays and sea breeze and have brunch with a cup of cappuccino.

When I got to Cafe Florentine, it was a little disconcerting to find that it's not actually a brunch cafe, but offers a more upscale dining experience. It sounds brunch-like, and looks brunch-like, but the dishes offered there aren't. There's nothing much wrong with the Charcuterie Board or the starched white tablecloth per se, but they don't seem to gel with the brunch-like decorations the cafe has going for it.

I had the Beef Short Ribs ($32), which was falling-off-the-bone tender and delicious.

My friend had the Charcuterie Board ($32), which came with wagyu bresaolo, wayu salami, jamon and chicken and pistachio terrine. It was lovely. I wasn't familiar with charcuterie, and between the two of us, we googled nearly everything on the platter. Even then, I only had the vaguest sense of which cut was which. Charcuterie is a pretty novel food for me, and I left with a pretty good impression of charcuterie. Though, it probably makes more sense to order this dish to share, as all the salt from the preserved meat can be overwhelming towards the end of the dish.

Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

Recipe September 01, 2015 0

I had come across David Lebovitz's recipe before and bookmarked this as something I would like to try. After all, who doesn't like swirling patterns in their batter? But I was happy with my brownies recipes and didn't think they could be improved on, and cheesecakes had always been - with a couple of exceptions - too rich for me to fancy. So I never got around to trying this recipe, and it languished in my "maybe-one-day" pile.

30 September 2015

Vanilla Cookies Recipe

28 September 2015

Little Chloe Micro-Roastery

24 September 2015

The Sushi Bar @ Takashimaya

20 September 2015

Matcha Nama Chocolate Recipe

16 September 2015

Pillar of Salt

12 September 2015

Yokohama Teppan

08 September 2015

Cafe Florentine

01 September 2015

Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

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