Dinner Tonight …

Was a trio of salads from Ottolenghi, all the way from London!

Favourite roasted aubergine is a MUST, this time it’s prepared with sorrel yogurt, pecans and radishes. Roasted sweet potato may not be butternut squash, but hey, I’m easy when it comes to Ottolenghi. Still very delicious coated with peanut satay sauce, chilli and coriander. And that unappetising looking glob at the back? That happens to be my all-time love, hummus with butterbeans, roasted red peppers and harissa oil.

Total damage for the above: £24. Or $46. Expensive, yes. Worth it? Absolutely!

Craving satisfied now. Missing shall continue.

Thanks, dear batchgirl, for making the trip there specially and taking such great care of this box of “atas veggie”!! Muackz.

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Sudden Craving for Ottolenghi

Ottolenghi, my darling…

I’m missing you very very very much today!

Ottolenghi
63 Ledbury Road
London

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Tsujiri: Tokyo VS Singapore

I decided to stop being lazy and unearth the photos of Tsujiri in Tokyo!

Over there, the parfaits were larger than life, elegantly served in tall sundae-ish glasses, and lavishly loaded with castella sponge cake, soft serve, kanten jelly, red bean paste, chestnut and mochi. Very very delicious, well worth the hefty price tag of around ¥1,500 (approximately $20) each. Tsujiri parfaits are not the best I’ve had in Japan, but will do nicely. We had a few savoury dishes too, not bad but skippable. Just focus on the parfaits, love!

1-8-2 Higashi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo

In Singapore, the parfaits are halved the size of the originals in Japan, sadly. Of course, prices are adjusted downwards too, making these sweet treats affordable for all. Tried, tested and approved both the green tea and vanilla soft serve, which were creamy and smooth, great stuff! The chiffon cake was a tad dry, not much of an issue once coated with the ice cream though.

Oh ya, I’m quite bothered by the presence of corn flakes in these “Singapore-style” parfaits. Not just here, but at St Marc Cafe too. I’ve tried countless (about 2-3 per day on average, no joke) parfaits at authentic traditional teahouses in Japan, mostly Kyoto (Gion Komori and Gion Koishi are some of my favourites!), and never once did I come across any corn flakes in them, hmmm…

From right to left: O-maccha Chiffon Cake Parfait ($7.50); Vanilla Shaved Ice ($7.50).

Tsujiri
#01-14B, 100AM
100 Tras Street
6543 6110

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Ladurée Glaces

Macarons from Ladurée, I’m not (and never will be) a fan.

But when it comes to their Ispahan (rose) and Paeva (violet) soft serve ice creams?

I approve!

1F, Shinjuku Lumine 2, Tokyo

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London: Pollen Street Social

I’m afraid that I’ve become a most unadventurous foodie in London. All my meals are happily settled at Ottolenghi, which IMO dishes out the most amazing un-sissy-like salads and too-gorgeous-to-be-eaten pastries I’ve ever had.

And so, I’ve stopped exploring London’s dining scene.

Until a couple of weeks ago. When I knew that Pollen Street Social was going to open in Singapore soon, I made an impromptu reservation at chef-proprietor Jason Atherton’s flagship restaurant in London.

2nd July 2012, table for one, lunch at 2pm.

From the moment I stepped into the tastefully done and elegant restaurant, I was in good hands. In fact, I haven’t experienced such wonderful service in a long long while. A slightly dog-eared menu was immediately retrieved back when the waiter was handing it to me; my pot of hot water was replaced by a fresh one not long after I placed my order (though I barely touched it); every dish was described in detail rather than a mere curt “here’s the starter”; owner Jason Atherton personally pulled back the table for me to slide into my seat comfortably when he noticed I was back from the washroom… Little gestures like these go a long way, kudos to the service team!

Now, to the food. Within 6 months of opening, Pollen Street Social was awarded a coveted Michelin star by the 2012 Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland. Easy to understand why, as I literally wiped the plates clean, course after course. Starter of slow cooked egg was paired with an intriguing smattering of curry puffed rice; main of cod was fresh enough, though it lacked the melt-in-the-mouth oomph factor; and dessert, wow, the best out of the lot, a clever deconstruction of the classic black forest cake that’s simply brilliant~

End of the day, the bill came up to a very affordable sum of £31 (approximately S$62), after a discretionary 12.5% service charge. For a Michelin-starred meal, it’s truly a bargain!

That’s the beauty of dining in London.

And guess what? My Pollen Street Social experience didn’t end here.. Check back for Part 2! : )

8 Pollen Street, London

Salt cod brandade, Sicilian green olives, dark sourdough bread

Slow cooked egg, home smoked Scottish haddock, curry puffed rice, parsley veloute

Haven’t seen such a vivid orange yolk in a long time!

Roasted cod, cockle vinaigrette, cooked and raw young leeks

Passion fruit foam, pineapple granita

Chocolate “black forest” fondant, praline, liqueur sponge, cherry sorbet

Green tea macaron, freeze-dried raspberries coated with white chocolate, hazelnut milk praline

Almond financiers

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Tokyo: of Skytree and (Mostly Kaiten) Sushi

Wow, May just flew past without a single post on this blog.

It’s been a month of intense vacationing for me; from 8 days in sunny Athens, Santorini and Mykonos, to 2 weeks in Hokkaido, where we ate so much soft-serve that I’m on a hiatus from ice cream for the time being, haha.

Thereafter, it’s back to work and guess what, I went back to Japan again! This time to Tokyo, and the latest Skytree was on my radar.

Standing at 634m, Tokyo Skytree is the world’s tallest broadcasting tower, the country’s tallest landmark, and the second tallest manmade skyscraper ever built, after Burj Khalifa in Dubai.  A pretty impressive record!

Adjacent to this monster tree is Tokyo Solamachi (a.k.a. Tokyo Sky Town), a huge shopping and dining facility that’s incredibly crowded with mainly domestic tourists.

Look for Sorakara-chan inside, the tower’s mascot with a star-shaped head. Not a very cute doll, imo.

My best foodie find from the massive food hall was this delicious La Poppo yaki-imo sweet potato pie from Shirohato Corporation (らぽっぽ). Naturally sweet and so so moist!

Since Skytree is in the Sumida River area, it’s an easy walk to Asakusa from there. There’s a great view of the tower and Asahi Beer‘s golden buildings from Azumabashi, a prominent red bridge that’s impossible to miss.

My favourite pic of the day! Love the juxtaposition between the quaint old streets of Asakusa and the new modern Skytree in the distance.

My 3rd time at Nakamise-dori; can never get tired of this festive walking street that links Kaminarimon to the famous Sensoji Temple.

Always have time for a quiet moment in peace.. This was taken from the top steps of the temple.

Ok, time to eat!

I’ve got a thing for kaiten sushi lately. Unlike Singapore, conveyor belt sushi joints in Japan don’t necessarily mean cheap and low quality. All it takes is some research to source out the good and reliable ones.

Maguro-Bito (まぐろ人) is one such restaurant. I totally enjoyed my experience here, from the friendly chef to the numerous yummy tuna sushi. The fatty aburi toro was especially memorable! <3

1-5-9 Asakusa, Taito-ku

Another fabulous kaiten place is Numazukou (沼津港) in Shinjuku. In fact, I like it so much that I went twice in a row, once for dinner and the other for lunch the next afternoon! Looking at the photos now, I’m missing the aburi iwashi (sardine), nama shirasu (raw anchovies), nama sakura ebi (raw shrimps) and of course, my standard must-eat order of anago~

1-10-1 Nishi-shinjuku, B2F MY Shinjuku Building, Shinjuku-ku

For a change, I had a quick dinner at Uogashi Nihonichi Standing Sushi Bar. As the name suggests, there’s no seats, only a sushi counter in the small shop. Freshly prepared, and very affordable with prices starting from ¥75 per piece! I’m definitely heading back again as this is so near to my hotel : )

1-12 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku

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Paris: Hello (Again), Jacques Genin!

Now that I’ve discovered Jacques Genin, every trip to Paris means at least one afternoon session at his tea salon in Marais~

133 Rue de Turenne, Paris

The made-to-order millefeuille is a MUST!

Vanilla-raspberry flavour this time : )

How about a tarte au citron?

Nice, but the killer version I had from Joel Robuchon in Tokyo is still unbeatable, imo.

Found another new favourite here!

Plain and simple it may be, this is the best chocolate éclair I’ve ever tried so far, with perfect choux pastry enveloping a cloud of light chocolate pastry cream that’s not too sweet~

I can easily eat two at one go, haha.

See you soon, JG!

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London: Arbutus, 1 Michelin Star

The eve of New Year’s eve, we had an impromptu dinner at Arbutus, a one Michelin star restaurant in Soho, before watching Ghost the musical (please watch it if you have a chance!! It’s darn good). I say impromptu cuz I was actually looking for Gaby’s Deli but tsk, I saved the wrong map in my phone.

So Arbutus it was!

Like us, most of the diners were there for the pre-theatre meal which is extremely affordable, considering that this is a one star restaurant. A 3-course dinner worked out to be approximately £22 after tax and an optional 12.5% service charge. Tell me, where to find that in Singapore?!

There’s 3 choices for each course and what we chose, we liked. While there’s nothing mindblowing, everything was competently cooked and we really couldn’t be greedy and ask for more, haha.

63-64 Frith Street, London

Salad of winter leaves, Sicilian clementines, goat’s cheese vinaigrette.

Risotto of wild mushrooms, parmesan.

Cornish silver mullet, wilted greens with tomato and chilli.

Lamb shoulder kofte, spinach, chickpeas, yoghurt.

Poached pears, sweet spiced ice cream.

Soft meringue, custard, pralines.

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Kyoto: Issen Yoshoku 壹銭洋食

Colourful and cheerful, with average-looking kimono-clad models scattered throughout the restaurant, Issen Yoshoku (壹銭洋食) is a very fun dining place!

Shijo Dori, Nawate-agaru, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto

Though the menu is big, only one item is served here!

Rumoured to be the original ‘Western food’ in Japan, Issen Yoshoku is an okonomiyaki-ish pancake filled with egg, beef, scallion, shrimp and topped with a sweet sauce.

Watch the chef in action at the grill!

Freshly made Issen Yoshoku~

This looks fake.

Wait, I think it is fake.

Here’s the real deal. I won’t say I love it, but the boys liked it so much that one order (this was just a pre-dinner snack, haha) quickly turned into two!

Me, I still prefer the old-fashioned okonomiyaki : )

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Kyoto: Matsuno

Did I mention that I LOVE UNAGI?

And I love that Japan has an abundance of unagi shops specialising in one thing: eel.

Just a few steps east of the Minamiza kabuki theater, Matsuno is a popular and reliable family-run restaurant to satisfy the ultimate unagi craving.

Minamiza-higashi 4-ken-me, Shijo-dori, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto

All 4 of us ordered the same thing: an exquisite lacquered box of warm rice topped with two beautifully grilled slices of fatty unagi sandwiching a layer of fluffy soft tamago.

Heaven.

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