Food memories

Growing up in a food loving Peranakan family, I have always been just a little bit food obsessed. My yearly family calendar is dotted with events surrounding food, such as Chinese New Year, the yearly National Day lunch that mummy single handedly accomplishes with lots of compliments and admiration from those invited, and the Christmas and New Year feast at my cousin's place. My earliest memories are images of my mother and grandmother chopping up vegetables and frying all the colours of the rainbow in a hot wok, the sounds of mummy's trusty kenwood fluffing up egg whites for her signature chiffon cake, and delicious food smells (particularly the fragrance of frying rempah or sambal belachan) wafting out from the kitchen.

When I was younger, more idealistic and fiercely feminist, I took the side of the bra burning feminists (not literally) and rejected the traditional female role as the nurturer and home maker. Hence, I never did take hold of the opportunity to learn first hand from the masters of the kitchen, a decision I regret today. My interest in cooking to preserve cultures,excite the senses and nourish the body only developed later in life when I started working. Being in a mindless 9 to 5 environment with a daily nightmarish journey on the public transport that was operating at a 100 times over its capacity (in my dramatised mind) made me seek out alternative hobbies to make life less dreary. So I began baking, experimenting with bread because I fell in love with the hard European types when I was in the continent during a semester exchange programme.

After packing my bags for a move to yet another continent for further studies and a career switch, I found myself longing for more time in the kitchen, recreating familiar recipes. I guess my homesickness manifested in the longing for food that was more readily available back home. While I am thankful to be in a place where  farmers markets are aplenty and people are as conscious about sustainable farming and cooking according to the seasonal produce available, I still hanker for the colourful and bustling streets of South East Asia where food is available at every corner and at any time of the day. Cannot wait to be home next week, even if it is only a short trip! 

The food is better on the other side?

Ever since my first plane ride out of Singapore, I've always lamented being "stuck" in my regimented and 99% man-made country (that probably sparked my insatiable desire to see the world). Yet when I recently read a post written by a former expat who quit the country and the subsequent comments left by readers far and wide, I was left blurry eyed and burning with a fierce sense of patriotism (or maybe it was just my emo-nemo self bursting forth). But! This post is not about my struggle to keep from crying in the train (!) It is about my love and hankering for street food across the border, even when my country prides itself on its food. 

A few weekends ago, I hopped onto a plane for two days in Penang. Our main priority was eating our way through Georgetown at a leisurely pace. And boy did we have a feast! It was street food at its best and Penang quickly won my stomach over!

I stubbornly refused to eat anything at home and promptly regretted it when my stomach began churning in hunger while up in the air. Once we arrived and checked into our hotel, I herded my girlfriends out in search of the traditional charcoal toasted kaya bread with soft boiled eggs in a narrow alleyway. Tradition never tasted so good! I loved the crispy toasted bread that won our home grown Yakun just by its simplicity and authenticity.  

Greed took a firmer hold on us when the nasi lemak seller delivered a tray of piping hot packets of soft fluffy goodness to the alley. It was simple - consisting of just kickass chilli, hard boiled egg, ikan billis and rice - but done to perfection. 

Breakfast was quickly washed down with fragrant cups of coffee. This first taste of Penang street food left our stomachs wanting. 

Orange and chocolate chip scones

Breakfast is my favourite part of the day, and even if I wake up at noon on the weekends, I will still choose to have breakfast food with a steaming hot cup of tea. So imagine my disappointment when I checked the kitchen for food to bring to work for Monday's breakfast and found nothing.

Thankfully, the kitchen is well stocked with ingredients for baking due to my penchant for baked goods. So I searched for some recipes online and decided on orange chocolate chip scones. I developed a taste for scones while on a semester exchange programme in Leeds, UK and really miss having scones straight from the oven.

Ingredients
2 cups of all-purpose flour
150 ml of milk
60 g of butter (cold and in small pieces)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Juice and grated peel of one orange
Handful of chocolate chips

Directions
Measure butter and set it aside in the freezer then pour the grated peel and orange juice into milk. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Quickly grate butter into the dry mixture using a cheese grater (this makes rubbing the butter in quicker and prevents the butter from melting). Make a well in the mixture and slowly pour the wet mixture into the well, stirring to mix it until it becomes dough-like. Stir the chocolate chips into the dough and place the dough mixture into the fridge for 5 minutes.

Use an ice cream scoop to scoop individual scone portions onto a floured tray surface. Place scones into the oven (200 degrees celcius) and bake for 15-20 minutes.

This is a quick and easy recipe and I could not help myself from gulping down one freshly baked scone despite being really bloated from dinner.

Focaccia

Garlic rosemary focaccia

I'm munching on strawberries as I type this post, waiting in anticipation for my garlic tomato focaccia to cool down.

Sundays have become my bread making days simply because I love munching on freshly baked bread. I've also learnt a lot from baking bread that can be applied to life. Like being patient and all. I think that bread takes a bit more experience and skill to get right, unlike cakes and pastries. Everything from the humidity, temperature of water added, kneading time and dough consistency can and will affect the final product. Who knew that something made up of only 4 key ingredients - flour, water, yeast, salt - could be so temperamental!

Garlic focaccia with tomatoes

After experimenting with recipes and watching some videos on kneading focaccia dough on YouTube, I've settled on the one below:

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups flour (I mixed all purpose flour with bread flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup warm water

Toppings
1 tomato, chopped, or,
1 sprinking of rosemary leaves and
1 large clove garlic, roasted in the oven for an hour

Directions
Mix flour, salt, sugar and yeast together and tip the mixture onto a large working surface. Make a hole in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in half the water and olive oil. Slowly incorporate the liquids with the flour mixture, gradually adding the remaining water and olive oil to dough.

Add the garlic and oregano to the dough and continue kneading for 5 minutes, or until elastic. Form dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a wet towel. Leave to rise until doubled in size (about an hour).

Preheat oven to 220 Degrees Celsius once dough has risen. Deflate dough and spread it out onto a tray and make half indentations with fingers across the surface. Press chopped tomatoes or olives (if using) onto dough and pour olive oil over, letting some oil pool in the holes. (If using oven roasted garlic, squeeze garlic out of skin and spread over dough before pouring olive oil over). Sprinkle salt and pepper and let sit for another 10-15 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until dough sounds hollow when lightly tapped.

I enjoy eating focaccia with cherry tomatoes tossed in balsamic vinegar

Galle: Cafe Town

This will be the last of my posts on Sri Lanka. As you can tell, I've stretched it out so that I can pretend that I am still vacation-ing.

We arrived at pretty Galle after a gruelling 7 hour bus ride, which saw us standing for a vast majority of the journey. This was due to the arsehole of a fellow tourist and his family who decided that their bags and asses were more important than fellow human beings. When the lady refused to remove her bag from the chair to allow a little Sri Lankan child or her weary mother to sit down, I almost morphed into an angry bear and mauled her. Key word - almost. Thankfully, this sweet local guy offered to sit the child on his lap for a part of the journey so that she could rest her legs.  

Anyway, we were famished after that ride and headed straight to the forts for food and a place to lay our heads. We settled on Crepeology, which served what resembled wraps instead of crepes. But to-mah-to/to-may-to right, and so I proceeded to wolf mine down in record time. 

The Galle fort area was littered with cool cafes, hippie joints and expensive restaurants, and reminded me of a fellow UNESCO town, Luang Prabang in Laos. I guess that is the look and feel that UNESCO likes? *shrugs*

Nevertheless, I enjoyed strolling along the walls, taking in the salty sea breeze and the sounds of waves crashing upon the shore, with my companions at night. The next morning, we woke up to catch the sunrise, which we unfortunately discovered was in the other direction!

Our time in Sri Lanka was not enough and we didn't make it to the beautiful beaches for crab. So we made sure we got our asses down to the Ministry of Crab once we got back to Colombo for our flight home. 

Ahh, Sri Lanka. I will be back! 

Finishing off our Sri Lankan adventure at the Ministry of Crab.

Cultural Triangle

Due to its central location and proximity to Minneriya National Park, Polonnaruwa was chosen as our base to explore Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle, which consists of the ancient cities of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya.

The journey from Colombo to Polonnaruwa saw us on board the local bus, which was a crammed and unpleasant six to seven hour ride in the familiar tropical heat. Nevertheless, it took us to our destination for cheap.

After befriending a tuk tuk driver who won our hearts by recommending a cheap place for a big lunch, we decided to tour the ancient city with him; a rather good idea on hindsight since the oppressive heat called for minimal walking. The ruins at Polonnaruwa resembled other World Heritage Sites in Southeast Asia such as the Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Bagan in Myanmar, but for a much dearer entry fee. It is crazy that we had to pay US$25 to $30 to enter each of the ancient cities! So unfortunately or fortunately, we had to give Anuradhapura a miss due to the lack of time.

Still, Polonnaruwa was enchanting and the Buddhist images brought me back to my undergraduate days sitting in a lecture on religious art. Our tuk tuk driver was as tired as we were baking under the cloudless day but pushed us on to cover a majority of the sites.

After a tiring day under the sun, we decided to look to Trip Adviser for dinner recommendations and stumbled upon Priyamali Gedara. While I usually take Trip Adviser recommendations with a pinch of scepticism, the top place to dine in Polonnaruwa was a deserving one! The farmer host and his family really showed us true Sri Lankan hospitality. That was, without a doubt, our best meal in Sri Lanka.

The spread at Priyamali Gedara

The next day, we set off to Sigiriya to climb the lion's rock, blessed with great weather that made climbing the 1200 steps to the top a little more bearable. (I am starting to realise that the weather affects my appreciation of a place). If I were to choose only one ancient site to visit in Sri Lanka, it would be Sigiriya. The view at the top was truly breathtaking and I was content to find a spot to sit and enjoy the strong winds.

Well preserved painting of nymphs.

The view at the top.

Shirred eggs on a beautiful Sunday morning

*Today, I will be interrupting my consecutive posts on my family trip to Europe with a post on food.*

Breakfast is a happy occasion for me because my stomach really looks forward to it after the night's fast. 

Mummy recently told me a story involving my tiny toddler self and a sugar plum. Apparently I was happily (and violently) sucking on it and she had wanted to remove it to peel off more skin and prevent me from swollowing the entire fruit, and I screamed in protest. Guess my deadly sin is really gluttony. 

Stories aside, I put together a quick and easy breakfast of shirred eggs on this beautiful Sunday morning and thought of sharing it (anything involving ramekins and oven baked eggs make me salivate). 

First, chop up two tomatoes and an onion into cubes while heating up a mix of olive oil and butter on the stove. Then cook the chopped veggies till soft. Add chopped basil, salt and pepper to taste. 

Next, oil the ramekins and pour the cooked items, filling about 1/3 of the pots. Crack a egg into each ramekin and pour a little more of the cooked mixture in. 

Shove ramekins into oven till eggs are done (about 15 minutes). 

Eat with toasted bread. Yum tums. 

Eating in Grenoble

Switzerland is an expensive country so we were glad to drive across to Grenoble for two days. In stark contrast to the working culture in Europe where the border between work and play is clearly delineated, the parents had arranged a business meeting there during our vacation.

We arrived in Grenoble, hungry and on a Sunday, to mostly closed shutters. Thankfully, some restaurants and shops along the main tourist street were opened for the day. So we popped into an eatery across the Notre Dame for a hearty meal and some wine.

Baked potatoes with salmon

Beef!

As compared to where we came from, we ate really well in France as food was more affordable. We stocked up on fresh strawberries and cherries, crusty bread and yummy cheese. Ahhh...such indulgences are hard to replicate back home. And even if we manage to, eating such fresh produce is pricey and unsustainable in Singapore.

There was a bakery near the city centre that I ran into on three different occasions (over a period of just two days!) to grab some freshly baked bread and tarts. Grenoble is famous for the production of walnuts and the tarte aux noix (walnut tart) was divine! 

Breakfast from our spree at the supermarket

Tarte au citron, tarte aux poires, the most amazing tarte aux noix and a chocolate cake 

Our last meal before heading back across the border was at a creperie. While we were not in Brittany, where the humble crepe originated from, it was a great meal. I loved the buttered apples and salted caramel crepe, which we had for dessert. My sister who is an extremely picky eater loved the meal and kept asking for crepes over the next few days!

Hamburger steak galette

Buttered apples and salted caramel. Oh, be still my heart!

The food adventure continues...

Seafood is one of my great loves in life. Whenever I go for an international buffet, I can usually be found in line for the offerings from the sea. I could eat those things forever!

Before flying to Ho Chi Minh City, I stumbled upon a seafood dinner tour and wanted to sign my friend and I up for it. Unfortunately, they were fully booked that weekend. So, we decided to have our own seafood feast!

Google proved to be really helpful in throwing out dining suggestions and we found ourselves near the backpackers' area for dinner.

And eat we did! We ordered to our heart's content and devoured the available shellfish. Such decadence is not wallet friendly in Singapore and seafood is not often available in so many cooking styles (steamed with lemongrass, stir-fried with a unique peanut sauce, etc). So we pointed with wild abandon at the menu and savoured the lovely morsels that were placed carefully on our table.

Cockles cooked with garlic

Snails

Squid

Clams with lovely peanut toppings

We left quietly content but our food adventure was not to end yet. The next day, we went in search for French food for lunch. Unluckily, Sunday turned out to be a day of rest for most of the restaurants in the French quarter.

Eagle-eyed and ever on the look out for good food, YL spotted a French creperie along the street that was open for business and it turned out to be a really great place for lunch (and shelter from the heat).

At La Creperie

My order with anchovies and olives

YL's squid crepe

Living it up in Saigon

The punishing heat beat down upon our backs as we walked through District 1 in Saigon. Armed with a sketchy map of the area and an umbrella that we shamelessly borrowed from the hotel, we trooped out into the hot sun. We left Singapore to escape reality and the dreariness of work, but could not leave the oppressive Southeast Asian heat behind (well, not unless we ventured a little bit further away from the equator).

The only plans we had were dinner plans so we went about aimlessly and sought shelter in the first museum that we came across, which was the Ho Chi Minh City Museum. It was housed in a colonial building much like the National Museum back home.

Ho Chi Minh City Museum

We left after viewing the exhibits for food at a nearby French bakery. The pastries were dreamily beautiful and made me long for a cafe of my own. We then hopped to another cafe for coffee and desserts at a place near the Opera House. L'usine was tricky to find, but was a charming hideout from the punishing heat. 

At L'usine

Coffee, cupcakes and good conversation

My stomach was never in want during the entire trip. Shortly after this, we joined the crowd buying noodles at a corner street stall and shared a bowl of steaming goodness. Ahh, this is the life.

At the bustling street stall 

I live for random, spontaneous moments

A job that is only good to pay the bills can be soul crushing. One yearns for escape when caught in such a place.

For me, escape comes in the form of trips abroad, however short-lived and temporal they might be (that is, until the day when my other plan can be put into action). So when YL suggested a weekend trip to Ho Chi Minh city, I jumped at the opportunity without a second thought.

We lived a weekend of reckless hedonism where we made multiple stops for food and drink without any consideration in the world. And oh boy, was the food at every corner stall good! Travelling with YL was refreshing. Her willingness to be fully immersed in a foreign culture and to splurge on tastes that were local to our chosen destination were a refreshing take to my own brand of travel - maximising returns with little investment.

As with all Southeast Asian countries, street food in Ho Chi Minh was a wonderful explosion of tastes. We started out with a traditional bowl of pho and then, we allowed our stomachs to lead the way through the city.

A good warm bowl of pho to begin with

Walking through the Ben Thanh market in search for food.

Favourite shellfish and squid!

First up, a pipping hot bowl of prawn/crab noodles

Vietnamese spring rolls

Some gooey breakfast food

Vietnamese pancake!

Colourful glasses of goodness to wash our hearty breakfast down

We lived like kings, we felt invincible.

My 3 hour wait for amazing sushi

Ever since I watched the documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, I have had my own daydreams about chewing on a big piece of fatty tuna sushi, slowly savouring the taste and texture.

Since Jiro's restaurant is a crazy expensive place to dine in, I decided to try another highly raved but reasonably priced sushi restaurant at Tsukiji market, Sushi Dai. The only caveat is that reviews online mention that queuing for Sushi Dai takes about 2 hours, on average.

The reviews did not mention that Tsukiji market is darn hard to navigate especially in the dreary cold rain. Since I got lost and was cold, wet and miserable on my first attempt at finding the place, I ended up at another sushi restaurant on the outskirts of the market with my travel companions for the day. It was a good platter of sushi, but I was hankering for the best.

Sushi, not from Sushi Dai

After checking the weather report for the following day, I decided that I will not leave Tokyo without eating at Sushi Dai, and promptly made my way to the market for a second time. This time I had the good sense to ask for directions at the information counter (that was closed the day before) and successfully joined the snaking queue for Sushi Dai.

30 minutes into the queue, I overheard the lady in charge of the queue telling someone that the wait would be approximately 3 hours. I died a little inside and had an internal debate on the possibility of leaving and eating at Sushi Daiwa instead. Eventually my crazy, illogical side won and I stayed in the queue with my trusty kindle for entertainment (since I, and only I was crazy enough to want to queue for this, I had no companion).

2 hours into the queue, the midday sun was out and the sweet lady came out with umbrellas for us. By then, quite a few had given up and left. I was famished and imagined myself passing out. And then the queue moved and I moved on to the queue that was right outside the restaurant and in the shade. This.was.pure.torture. We could see the lucky 12 happily enjoying their meal while we stood and waited outside.

Finally it was my turn to enter after waiting for 3 and a half hours. Once seated and served some delicious miso soup, the brutal wait flew out of my mind and it was my turn to eat some sushi! I chose the omakase chef set, which included 11 pieces of sushi chosen by the chef, plus one additional piece of my choice.

Fatty tuna (toro)

Sea bream 

Sea urchin (uni)

Horse mackerel (aji)

Egg (tamago)

Clam, so fresh it was still moving (hokkigai)

Lean tuna (akami)

Baby prawns (amaebi)

Tuna rolls

Baby squid

Everything was amazing.At the end of the meal, I chose to have another piece of toro. Oh and if anyone was counting, two pictures are missing because I forgot to take the picture of my red snapper and eel due to my hunger and eagerness to eat.