Tag: Top Picks

Dazed by Crab Beehoon

Or something like that.  Anthony Bourdain was all praises, enjoying almost all the dishes set before him at Sin Huat Eating House in Singapore.

I actually didn’t know about this episode of Mr. Bourdain’s earlier show A Cook’s Tour until my friend V insisted that we go there for dinner one night in Singapore.  If it’s good enough for Anthony, it’s good enough for me.

We arrived at a shabby looking eatery in Gaylang Rd. with tables extending almost to the sidewalk.  On one area of the restaurant, there were staffs watching TV.  Known to have a line, the restaurant was unusually quiet that night with only a few tables occupied.   But who’s complaining?

Our friend V, leaving there for a few years now was given the task of ordering our meal for the night.  She did well.

Served first was the scallops in garlic sauce — fresh and simply steamed and then topped with a black bean garlic sauce.  The dark sauce does not make for a pretty sight but is high up there in the flavor scale.

Essence of Chicken I am not fond of but this Essence of Chicken Frog’s Leg was a surprise.

They poured the essence over the dish just before serving, which had me worried for a second.  But there really wasn’t anything to worry about as the flavor of garlic won over the tonic taste.  Overall the dish, albeit not my favorite, came out pretty good.

Winning an award is a good sign, a very good sign for this trademark dish of chef/owner Danny.

The gigantic crab, sweet and firm, was cooked with the beehoon (vermicelli) in a wicked, spicy “secret” sauce that brought Sin Huat to fame.  A definite crab-lover’s paradise, if I may call it that.

As mentioned on the clip, this could be the most expensive restaurant in Singapore.   That said and despite the lack of ambiance, I see myself going back there on my next visit to Singapore to savor more of Chef Danny’s trademark and try his other fresh seafood dishes.  With food this good, who needs ambience?

Useful Info:

Sin Huat Eating House
659 Geylang Road
Loreng 35 Junction
Singapore 389589
Tel. (656)7449755
Posted on by Jenn 1

Antonio’s

Clockwise:  One of the many dinning halls, Steak Tartare, Pumpkin or Squash Soup, Panna Cotta with Vanilla, Caramel and Chocolate Notes, Sorbet, House mesclun salad with blue cheese and Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, Crispy Deboned Lamb Ribs.

One restaurant that never fails me is Antonio’s.  A lot has been written about the restaurant and its chef-owner Tony Boy Escalante and recently, it was named the 5th top restaurant in Asia by the Miele Guide.  It is in fact the only Philippine restaurant included on their Top 20 list for 2010/2011, sharing the stage with Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore on the top 5.

Most trips to Tagaytay would entail a sumptuous meal at Antonio’s, whether it be dinner or lunch.  Lovely food from starter to dessert, great service, throw in a welcoming ambience and you get an experience worth every buck each time.  Never fails.

Useful Info:

Antonio’s
Bgy. Neogan
Tagaytay City, Cavite
(0918) 899-2866

 

Posted on by Jenn 7

Double Double

Credits:  Papers from LivEdesigns’ SsunFun Paper pack — Moss, Sidewalk Chalk, Stripey and Vineyard.  Elements from PouYou’s Pink & Me kit — round stitch / couture 2; Scrapmatter’s Life’s Little Surprises Kit — dbo staple.

Over-rated or not, I am a fan.  Whether it be the fresh-never-frozen patties, the sweet, toasted buns, the sweet and tangy spread or the fresh lettuce, onions and tomatoes — all together, it is one burger that is without equal – still.  The quest for the best burger is still on for many but I think unless I stumble on another that can equal or top this, I remain a fan.

In-N-Out is the place to get real fresh burgers, great shakes and the hottest fries.  The menu so simple, unless you go for their Not-So-Secret Menu, has just 3 choices.

Posted on by Jenn 2

Blue Bottle Coffee

“Actually, this seems to be the basic need of the human heart in nearly every great crisis – a good hot cup of coffee.” Alexander King

A good hot cup of coffee is how I often start my day.  As soon as I wake up, I go straight to the stove and brew myself a good hot cup of coffee on my Bialetti Moka Express.  Aside from straightening up my wonky days, I love how the room smells after each brewing.

If faced with many choices, I feel like I’m in a candy store and cannot resist the urge to get myself something, “just to try”.   I tend to hoard as A would always tell me.  I know… guilty as charged.  He’d occasionally inspect the cupboard or the freezer and exclaim, “you bought coffee again?”   😕

I take mine black, and prefer it medium roasted.  I don’t like sour or bitter coffee, I prefer mine smooth with a tinge of sweetness at the end.  Does that make me a coffee connoisseur?  Not at all.  I just … love coffee to pieces.

I swore to myself that I’d stop buying until I’ve used up half of my stash but how could I resist this?  It seems like my kind of coffee!

While lining up for my drip coffee (at a stall outside the Ferry Building), I asked a staff, which among all the different kinds displayed would she recommend.  “How do you make your coffee?” she asked.  “I use a Bialetti stove top device”, I answered.  “Do you like your coffee bold, sweet, light?”  she probed some more.  Well… she got me at “how do you make your coffee”.   And that, my friends, was how I ended up with more stash.  And she hit it right on!  It was definitely my kind of coffee.   😀

Blue Bottle.  One of the best I’ve ever tried.  I highly recommend.

Useful Info:

Where I had my first taste of Blue Bottle Coffee:

Ferry Building Marketplace, Shop #7, 1 Ferry Building. San Francisco
M-S 7-7, Sunday 8-5

Farmer’s Market Day:

San Francisco Ferry Plaza Market – One Ferry Building
espresso, drip coffee and beans
Saturday west side and south side 7:30-2
Tuesday west side 7:30-2
Thursday west side 7:30-2

Visit the Blue Bottle Website to see other locations.

Posted on by Jenn 2

The Slanted Door

The plan was to have a meal at one of the stalls or food trucks parked in front of the Ferry Building. Serendipitously though we managed to get a table at The Slanted Door.

I think this was a day mapped out by providence.

The Phan family owns The Slanted Door, a modern Vietnamese restaurant overlooking the Bay that showcases humble family recipes made exceptional (by Chef Charles Phan) with locally sourced ingredients.

The wait staffs were friendly albeit busy.  It was a busy lunch day after all and we were really lucky to have gotten a table without reservations.

We had, to share, the Green Papaya with pickled carrots, tofu, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander) and roasted peanuts.  Love the fresh and crunchy papaya with the tangy dressing.

The Grass-fed Estancia Shaking Beef – tender cubes of filet mignon sautéed in red onions and a soy sauce vinaigrette and served with a pepper & lime dipping sauce — outstanding. Even without the dipping sauce, the dish stands on its own.  A must-have on every visit.

Perfect with their broken jasmine rice.

This codfish over rice noodle was delish too.

Modern and trendy, The Slanted door is more than the food.  It has a sweeping view of the Bay too to go with the food.

The Slanted Door
Ferry Bldg
1, San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 861-8032
Posted on by Jenn 1

My Wonderland

If I lived in San Francisco, I’d be hanging out a lot here, spending all my hard-earned money on everything on display.  This is my wonderland.

Located at the foot of Market Street is Ferry Building Marketplace.  Shops in all sizes offer everything from frozen yogurt to artisan cheeses.

Acme Breads — giving Boudin a run for their money

Superb cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery — I went all gaga with the selections!

On the day we were there, stalls of fruits, vegetables, flowers and a wealth of other products,

which include artisan specialties like ice creams, cheeses and honey occupied the front of the building along the Embarcadero.

On the other side are food trucks and stalls where many from near and far would trek to enjoy good, affordable food.

Taken from the back… stall owners busy preparing orders.

Food trucks and stalls from the front

A really good food truck is Roli Roti that served a mean Porchetta sandwich — they wanted to go home and was selling the last slab at a very good price.  We obviously bought it to have for dinner that night.  Lip-smacking good!

At the back of the building, one could sit back and enjoy the goodies purchased perhaps from one of the stores or stalls while marveling at a beautiful view of the bay bridge.

As luck would have it, I will be back sooner than I ever expected but that’s a tale for another day.   😀

Posted on by Jenn 5

Tagaytay Food Trippin’: Marcia Adams

A reliable go-to if one just seeks for a relaxing time away from the metro is Tagaytay.  Nice charming restaurants abound and there is a buzz going around foodies of this new charming place called Marcia Adams.   I think it is such a secret that only those in the know would be able to find this place – without any sign that inside is a beautiful garden and a very charming restaurant that serves good food to boot.  Close to the main highway at the border of Tagaytay and Alfonso just across Villa Somerset, you will come across a gate, orange I think it is.  Stop and ask, most likely it is the place.

Once inside, you will be ushered in through the garden that leads down to the restaurant.

One can also choose to sit outdoor surrounded by a country cottage styled garden.  We chose to stay inside overlooking the beautiful scenery of hills and plains.

The interior is rustic, very Tuscan.

The food?  Beautifully cooked – all of those we chose at least.

We started with this Amalfi Prawns that is perfectly cooked, succulent and crispy.

We then shared a bowl of Aegean salad, which had a grilled pear on top of mixed greens with roasted pistachio and Italian ricotta cheese dressed in a herby tangy dressing.

For our main, I chose this Grilled Aromatic Pork, which was heavenly.  Soft and juicy and packed with so much flavor.

The Fish Souvlaki A chose, a Tanigue kebab marinated in olive oil, lemon and herbs, is also mouthwateringly good.

M chose Chicken Kebab marinated in cumin and yogurt.  Tender and delectable to say the least.

Left to right:  Panna Cotta with lemon Sauce, Guava Shells in Syrup with Crème Fraiche, Grilled Orange with Dairy Ice Cream

All their desserts sounded so good so we each decided to choose one so we ended up with these delightful beauties – the Panna Cotta with lemon sauce turned out to be our favorite and the Guava Shells was quite interesting too.  They’re all good!

Next time you’re in Tagaytay, make sure to pay a visit to Marcia Adams; she will definitely delight your taste buds.

Useful Info:

For reservations and directions:
Call (63) 917-801-1456

 

Posted on by Jenn 6

Eating Our Way Through NYC: Grand Sichuan and Amy’s Bread

We were in the mood for hot and spicy and Grand Sichuan seemed to be the popular choice that evening.  Noted for its fine Sichuan and Hunan food, they have several branches in NYC and we walked to one of their branch in Hell’s Kitchen.  It is said to be one of a handful of real Sichuan restaurants in the city.  A contrast to the contemporary feel and look of the restaurant, the menu was pretty extensive featuring many of the region’s favorites.  The staff were very friendly, also so unlike the typical.  The food was, without a doubt, smashing.

We started with some Sichuan cold noodles coated with a nice spicy peanut sauce.

We were there too for their Pork Soup Dumplings (or xiao long bao), which I think was not bad but quite forgettable compared to the ones I had here.

Mapo Tofu will always be part of a Sichuan meal and this one was pretty good.

We ordered Lotus Roots with Baby Shrimps out of curiosity, the shrimps were fresh and crunchy while the lotus roots uninteresting.

The baby shanghai bok choy, sautéed ever so lightly leaving the stalks crunchy and the flavor clean with only the right amount of wonderful fresh garlic.

On our way home, we passed Amy’s Bread and couldn’t resist the warm and cozy smell of bread and coffee,

we entered despite the line and sampled their hot chocolate made of thick Choco paste stirred into hot milk and finished off with a piece of homemade marshmallow.  The result was a drink with just the right richness.

The sticky buns, which to me looked like ordinary cinnamon roll and would otherwise just walk pass it were it not highly recommended by both friend and staff.  It was sticky and moist and does taste like a better version of a cinnamon roll, I still couldn’t tell the difference between the two, however.

Posted on by Jenn 0

Not Your Ordinary Ice Cream Truck

Sea Salt on your ice cream?  Or maybe some vanilla ice cream topped with balsamic syrup?

Check out The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck and you’ll soon find out that they are remarkable flavors that will blow your mind.  The truck roams the streets of NYC – a brainchild of musician Douglas Quint who announces the truck’s locations on Twitter and on his blog.

And that was what brought us to Broadway and 17th on Union Square one sunny day in October last year.  The truck is all about fun and unique toppings that brightens up an otherwise plain soft serve.

Novel and experimental toppings one would not think of pairing with ice cream, from the best-loved crushed graham crackers and nutella, to the innovative sea salt, olive oil, and elderflower syrup to the more radical wasabi and cayenne pepper to name a few.

Manned by no other than Quint himself, the truck was still closed when we arrived and not long after, a line of eager customers ensued.

I ordered their most popular regular – The Salty Pimp, which is vanilla ice cream injected with dulce de leche (something like caramel) sprinkled with sea salt and then dipped in chocolate.  The sweetness of the ice cream and dulce de leche fused with bursts of sea salt is a new marriage my taste buds easily took to.

My friend M got the simpler Bea Arthur, which was dulce de leche injected vanilla ice cream and sprinkled with crushed Nilla Wafers – which she says is her favorite.

There were daring concoctions that I wasn’t brave enough to try like the Cococone, vanilla ice cream and curried coconut flakes. –  my palate couldn’t marry that just yet.  There are however still an army of interesting blends that caught my fancy if only I can handle more ice cream that day… if given more days in New York, I’d probably be lining up again the next day to sample the peppermint syrup and cacao bits topping or its olive oil and sea salt combo or…  do you think I should pack up and transfer residence?   😀

 

Posted on by Jenn 3

A Good Start

I got this for Christmas and had it for breakfast today.  I’ve been eating way too much this last few weeks and the parties still ain’t over.  There are still those “let’s just meet up next year” because our schedules wouldn’t match.  So anyway, I promised to eat healthier as much as I can and because I stayed home today, I had this for brunch.

Not exactly the healthiest kind of granola—there’s white chocolate mixed with the oats, chopped macadamia nuts, raisins and craisins (mine) and loads of honey, that’s why.  But I love it.  With fresh milk (low-fat), a bowl of this homemade granola filled me up till dinnertime.  Seriously.  Methinks I’m off to a  good start.  I hope you’re having a good 1st day of the year too.   🙂

Posted on by Jenn 1