Mussels Marinaere

24 December 2012, Kar Wee's Home

Folks, I am back to this blog. I disappeared for around a year just to concentrate my career as an engineer. Of course during my MIA, I went to restaurants in LA, Singapore, China and Jakarta for fantastic cuisine. Sometime I feel that it is the best if I can cook like a chef. So I spent my free time taking course to learn Italian Cuisine and techniques. And now I would like to show my results. Well the greatest achievement for last year was not learning to cook like a chef, eating absolutely cuisine worldwide, but I found the one I love and she shares the same interests in dining, cooking and photography as I do. Now I am her personal chef.

(The above photo was taken by my best friend's wife, Cuilin)

I had the most delicious chicken dish ever and the best part was I cooked and I share with my friends in Christmas. Before that I cooked the most amazing Mussels Marinaere for them. Below is the recipe for the dish.

(The above photo was taken by my best friend's wife, Cuilin)

1 Onion (Diced)

2 stalks of Leek (Sliced)

3 stalks of Celery (Diced)

4 Garlic groves (Thin Slice)

500 grams Mussels (Fresh and Washed)

White Wine

Parsley (Chopped)

Firstly add olive oil to the pot, add onion and celery to cook till the onion looks semi translucent. Then add leeks and garlic groves and cook till the garlic starts to turn light brown. Add the mussels then the white wine and close the lid of the pots. Wait for a few minutes till the mussels open. After that put in the parsley and give a quick stir. Serve.

My friends love the white wine sauce more than the mussels. :-/ But the mussels are awesome as well.

Will Be Back Soon

The images above are my creation from my Italian Cuisine course. Will be back soon, folks!!!

Travel Photography Quick Tips -- National Geographic

Travel Photography Quick Tips -- National Geographic

The Best Restaurant in Asia again

Iggy's, 24th February 2012

Iggy's, the restaurant famous for its European and Japanese fusion, has once again reached Asia fine dining mountain top. Out of the top three restaurants in Asia, I have not been to Andre to experience Chef Andre Chiang's octaphilosophy french cuisine with a modern interpretation. If I need to understand french cuisine, I would need to make a trip to France to taste the authentic French cuisine in the local French restaurants and from home cooks. Then I will go to Andre to taste Chef Chiang's finest and artistic creation.

This is my second time in Iggy's my fine dining lunch. I am excited to taste the finest and artistic creation from the outstanding kitchen brigade  in Asia.

First is the Amouz-bouche, Peach Sorbet with Caviar and Gold. My pre-appetizer is tasty and refreshing. I just love the idea to combine the sourness of the peach and the saltiness of the caviar. It is absolutely brilliant. This is a good way to start a sumptuous lunch. I am not too sure how's the gold foil add to the taste of my "amuse the mouth". But it is bland and I dislike the idea of using gold foil.

My appetizer is Foie Gras with pear, balsamic and natural jus. Foie gras and pear are perfect for each other. The pear has the strong fruity flavors to cut through the richness of my pan seared foie gras. Together with the reduced balsamic vinegar, it is more sweeten and less sour and all ingredients of this dish strike the perfect balance. It is absolutely delicious and I absolutely love the presentation of this dish.

My pasta is Linguine with Alba black truffle and poultry jus. This pasta dish is simple yet luxurious. This dish is perfect and absolutely delicious.

My entree dish is Wagyu with brussels sprouts, garlic and Kalamanta Olive. My steak is tender, well seasoned, juicy and delicious. There is nothing I can complain with my entree.

My dessert will be Chocolate with coconut, hazelnut and milk chocolate biscuit. This sexy and sweet chocolate concludes my sumptuous lunch in the Asia Best Restaurant perfectly.

I recommend my readers to go Iggy's for lunch or dinner. The service is great and attentive. The atmosphere is quiet, definitely a good place for dining. The price is still at the higher side. 

Iggy's is at the 3rd floor of Hilton Hotel, which is located in Orchard Road.

Chawanmushi and Warm Salad

Home, 22 February 2012

These two recipes came from Japan Food Addict (japanfoodaddict.com). The author of the website is Mai-chan from Kyoto. Please show support for the website. In my opinion it is a great website for simple yet delicious traditional Japanese recipes. I think Mai is a great cook. The recipes are straight forward, the presentation of the dishes look great and most importantly the taste is absolutely delicious. I will learn as much from Mai-chan.

The first dish is the warm salad. I replace avocado with carrots. I do not add in ham because I want this dish to be vegetarian. This will be my first vegetarian dish for my vegetarian friends. Mine dish is a bit dark because my light soy sauce is darker then usual. I guess I need to change a new brand for my light soy sauce. My asparagus dish is crunchy, beautiful, and absolutely delicious. The only problem I have with this dish is it is so delicious and the serving is not enough for my "hippopotamus" stomach size. The receipt can be found here http://www.japanfoodaddict.com/salad/warm-salad/

The next dish I learn from Mai-chan is Chawanmushi. I use dried anchovies as my stock (instead of Japanese traditional Dashi), my ingredients for my chawanmushi are eggs (of course), carrots, shitake mushroom, crab sticks, chinese wine, prawns and caviars. My seasoning is one teaspoon of salt, one dash of white pepper and half teaspoon of light soy sauce and half teaspoon of sugar. I follow Mai-chan's recipe very closely and again I am trying to divert this dish to my own. So the outcome is just like the picture from the right hand side. The dish looks beautiful, and absolutely delicious. I just love the silky texture of the eggs. The recipe can be found here http://www.japanfoodaddict.com/chicken/chawanmushi/

I am trying to make time for Gordon Ramsay's recipes. Stay tune folks.

Serenidad

Serenity Spanish Bar and Restaurant, 30 December 2011

Honestly I tried to avoid outside dining since the start of 2012. After Christmas, I have too much gatherings on Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year. And I almost forget I have a "diary" to write my eat-venture. I need to take the opportunity to find more eateries in Singapore which deserve my praise and a place "in my stomach". I need to get back to my kitchen and start cooking again.

My friends introduce me Serenity Spanish Bar ad Restaurant in Vivo City. This is my first Spanish dining experience. I like to sit outside of the restaurant to enjoy my sunset scenery. Service is mediocre. price is a let down because of my lamb shank is not "butchered". I will talk about my lamb shank in details later.

Crema de Mariscos

I recommend this soup to my readers. My soup is Crema de Mariscos, seafood cream soup with mussel, prawn, dory and squid rings. This soup is awesome, Every ingredient is fresh. I like the savory and a bit of sour taste. I just like a bit of sourness in my starter. It will "seduce" my taste buds and "command" me to keep eating. No wonder I have grow "horizontally" since last year. 

Costillas de Cordero

My entree is Costillas de Cordero, marinated lamb rack with tomato salad and mash potato. I must admit this lamb is perfectly marinated. The taste is delicious. But I find the inside a bit raw for my liking. Last but not least it is not easy to eat with this big chunk of meat. I think this lamb shank has to be butchered first before serving. I am not recommending this dish to my reader.

Churros

Last but not least my dessert is Churros with hot Chocolates. In my opinion a good dinner shall be finished off by having hot and sexy chocolate, with a beautiful sunset in front of me. The feeling of this dish is just like I returned to Delphi Automotive Systems and I met her, my first love of my life, the feeling is awesome. I recommend this dessert to my readers, and those who like chocolate very much as I do.

Address: Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant #01-98/99 VivoCity, Singapore 098585
Tel: 6376 8185

Meizhou Delicacies

Meizhou Xiao Chi (湄洲小吃), 20 November 2011

It is always nice to have a decent meal after my Great Wall of China "expitition". There is a Chinese saying: If you do not climb up the Great Wall of China, you are not a hero. So now I am a "Hero". However this hero glutton needs food after climbing the Great Wall of China. My host in Beijing recommends me 湄洲小吃, Meizhou Eatery. This is a restaurant cuisine serves Meizhou cuisine and there are a few dishes in this restaurants I like and specially recommended. The Meizhou Sausage is tasty and spicy.

Pig intestine Rice Noodles is awesome. It is actually a Sichuan cuisine, but it is awesomely tasty and spicy. I like the contrast of the texture between the intestine and rice noodles.

The Melons Soup is awesome. The main ingredients of this soups are winter melons and pumpkins and pork meatballs. This soup is delicious.

This version of Dongpo Meat is exciting. This pork belly is not only melt-in-mouth tender, moist and has a spicy flavour. This is absolutely tasty.

It is always perfect to end a meal with the desserts. First dessert is Icy Green Bean Soup. The sweetness of the soup is just nice for me and it is tasty. The next dessert I have is Crispy Yam. The outer layer of Crispy yam is crispy and the yam filling is creamy. I like both desserts.

It is even perfect to go for a short nap right after the sumptuous dinner and to meet my princess in my dreamland! :P

Address: 北京市朝阳区慧忠北里413号楼中国科技馆新馆东侧

413 Beijing City Chaoyang Huizhong Beili ( near China Techological Center)