Otak Otak in Penang

I'm in Penang right now and have spent a good deal trying to find new dishes that I can't get in Singapore.

It seems that Singapore has acquired much of the Malaysian favourites but I have discovered that the Malay's do it better.

I had a wonderful otak otak on a side street called 'new lane' yesterday. It was presented as a pyramid wrapped banana leaf, and contained the most lightest fish mouse. The texture was so delicate yet the flavours were robust with aromatics and a rich curry taste. The mouse on it's own was the highlight though it was nice to get a decent amount of fish pieces and herbs throughout.

I really enjoyed this version. It reminds me of a Lao dish 'mok pa' that I love. The size of it was fantastic. I've only seen it in Singapore, long and flat making it hard to get a true sense of the moussey texture it really should be.

Roast Pork @ Espirito Santo

Today is my birthday.
It is the day turn 30 and I'm actually quite excited by it all.

It happens to be a public holiday tommorrow so I'm looking forward to leaving for a long weekend to Bintan Island later in the day.

Bintan is part of Indonesia and only one hour by ferry.

I wanted to make sure I didn't repeat yesterday's events and look to eat something that will be sure to satisfy. My mind was on eggs benedict with smoked salmon though I didn't know of a place near East Coast that does a good all day breakfast.

Instead I went to Espirito Santo at Parkway Parade to have the roast pork panini. I had have this before and really enjoy it.

I must say that I love all versions of roast pork and this one was served on a soft panini roll with melted cheese, pickles, mustard and tomato, with fries and salad on the side.There was plenty of pork crackle so lots to feel guilty about.

Okay, so it's probably not the best thing to eat when entering your 30's but its a simple pleasure that makes me happy.

Espirito Santo is a gourmet butcher which also has cafe. The menu and quality of the food is really exceptional.

The place is owned by a Brazilian expat. You can always trust a Brazilian when it comes to meat.


Visit Espirito Santo

Saved by Tropical Fruit

I just came back from a horrible breakfast at LTN food village. It was my fault really, I should have known that choosing rice with fried chicken wings for breakfast would put a bad start to my day.

I had three dishes, fried chicken, sambal beans and tofu custard. The only thing that was enjoyable was the tofu custard though by that point it was still unsatisfying.

With my thoughts still on food I went to buy some fruit. I love eating fruit, particular the tropical kind.

Today, I had Thai honey mango and Thai rose apple. It was really refreshing and may I add healthy. I really couldn't risking eating another bad thing.



If you haven't had a rose apple before, I would say that it is across between a nashi and a quince. It's crisp and sweet like a nashi but then is slightly dry and tart like a quince.

The honey mango is not a sweet and the normal variety but I liked the slight sourness of it. I just wish I had some chilli salt to sprinkle on top of it.

Handmade Noodles with Minced Meat @ LTN Food Village

LTN Food Village doesn't sound all that exciting but it happens to be my local food centre.

It's on 936 East Coast Rd, Siglap open 24 hours and I like to think of it as my extended dining room.

We practically eat out for every meal, so it's nice to be able to feel at home somewhere.

I had a dish today that was very exciting. It was minced meat tossed with fermented soya bean. Served on fresh crispy cucumber and hand made noodles ($4).


This dish was superb. The guy who owns the stall hand makes the noodles and dumpling. I'm actually intrigued by him every time I visit, he is quite a gentle man and has the physique of a former ballet dancer. All I know about him is he can cook.

I always like ordering this dish as the fermented soya bean taste reminds me of my mum cooking. This particular version is really nice as it was not over powering and you can taste the freshness of the garlic, ginger and chilli with the cucumber staying crisp. The texture of the noodles is also cooked al dente.

It is a very traditional Chinese dish but you could also take this as a light noodle salad. It was so good!


P.S I was told by a friend that this stall is actually pretty famous for their handmade noodle soups.

I have had their soups and am not convinced.

I can say that the minced meat noodle and steamed Shanghai dumpling have been perfected.

Creme Brulee @ Laurent Bernard Chocolatier

Last night was a fun night. I had asked Adrian to plan the night for us and he suggested we go to Mohamed Sultan Rd.

This area was new to me. Looking back, I kind of feel dumb assuming that the fun stopped at Clarke Quay.

I was in an area called Robertson Quay, it was fantastic. The atmosphere very chilled out and there were some restaurants I'm keen to go back and try. There was also a piazza area, which reminded me of the Lygon St Forum in Sydney.

We had met a friend for dinner and he suggested we go to Laurent Bernard Chocolatier for dessert. I loved having local on the team, nice one Jeremy!!
The creme brulee had a nice thick crackle of caramel toffee and the soft centre was not too sweet or eggy.

Okay, it was good though have to admit it wasn't life changing.
I think I might have been a little high from soaking up too much of the great atmosphere.

Visit Laurent Bernard Chocolatier

Breakfast this week

Breakfast this week has been exciting.

One savoury, hummus & salami
One sweet, Rose's lime jam

This has meant that I've actually been eating breakfast at home.

Last week, we only had vegemite in the cupboard so I often made an excuse to eat out.

The salami is actually one from France.

I'm guilty of leaving my patriotism for Australian products at the equator. There is so much Australia produce here and the prices are alot more then they are back at home.

I'd rather pay ridiculous prices to try food imported from different parts of the northern hemisphere. The salami was actually $69 a kilo. I really should be getting serrano jamon for that price.

Teh Tarik

Who ever invented this drink is genious.

Teh Tarik literally means pulled tea, I never knew the Malay's could be so intuitive.

The tea is pulled and stretched between two containers. The tea is light, frothy and served at just the right temperature.

This is one of my new favourite drinks.

It kind of taste like a light caramel flavoured Nesquick after you've playing with it for too long blowing air bubbles with your straw.

Okay, didn't we all used to do that years ago.


How Teh Tarik is made

Xiao Long Bao @ Swee Choo

My fascination with Xiao Long Bao started when I saw them featured in an episode of Anthony Bourdain's show.

He travelled to China and indulged in these delectable delights with such enthusiasm.
In the espisode, he actually used a straw to drink up all the soupy goodness.

Since watching that espisode, I waited about one year until I knew of a place in Australia that specialised in these......Argh, too long!!

I must say that I haven't had the privilege of having them served to me with a straw but let's just say I take much care in making sure I slurp up all the soupy goodness freestyle.

The Xiao Long Bao at Swee Choo - 189 Jalan Besar Rd

have been the best one's I've had so far. The dumpling casing is so thin and delicate, I felt privileged to indulge in such craftsmanship.

The soup that ouzed out was full bodied and the meaty center was seasoned just nicely.
These dumplings are so intricate in the way they are made, they should be handled with delicate care and savoured.

Though it kind of makes me chuckle when I see them held up with my chopsticks and for a split second I just think of them as soup sacks.

P.S For those who don't know I think Anthony Bourdain is a legend.
I read his first book way back in the hey days.

His sensationally funny and kind of sexy in the wrong way. His like your 'cool' uncle who you would consider sleeping with if 1. He wasn't related and 2. You weren't married.

Beef Kway Teow Soup @ Ham Lam

Mmmm...nothing is more satisfying then a good bowl of beef noodle soup on a rainy day.

I found 'Ham Lam Street Popular Beef Kway Teow' stall not on Ham Lam street but in the city at 189 Purvis St.

The place was packed so I knew it was going to be good. The broth was beefy but not too heavy and had a cloudiness to it that made me feel good about eating it as miso soup does.

It's served with thin slices of beef and pickled Chinese cabbage and beansprouts.
It was what beef soup should takes like. The perfect dish would also be great when your feeling under the weather or you don't know what to have for a late breakfast.

Fish Head Curry @ Different Taste Cafe

My first fish head curry (FHC) experience was at Different Taste Cafe, 111 Frankel Ave Siglap.

I had just moved to the area so was keen to try some local fare. This variation of FHC was of Nonya/Peranakan style.

It was very much to my liking as the fish was fresh, the meat was soft and sweet and the curry gravy was slightly spicy and sour at the same time.

Much to my surprise, there is actually a lot of meat on a fish's head. And this dish is always packed with heaps of vegetables. This one had some of my favourites like pineapple, lady finger eggplant, okra and tomato. Okay, so technically two of them are classified as a fruit but who's counting?

P.S The sambal kang kong (morning glory, top left of picture) was also very tasty.

Black Pepper @ Eng Seng Restaurant

I was excited to have my brother James come to visit. He was only here for a couple of days, a local told me there are two things I needed to do with him if he was only visiting for a short period of time. Take him to Sentosa Island and out to eat some crab.

Well, we never made it to Sentosa but we did have the best black pepper crab in Singapore.

Eng Seng on Joo Chiat Place is a well known place to go for this dish. I was advised to go early as there is usually a long queue.

We arrived at about 6:45pm on a Sat night and took one of the few remaining seats without much drama. There were three of us at the table and we ordered three crabs ($75) smothered in the dark rich and subtly sweet sauce.
It was like nothing I had ever tasted before. The crab had a slight smokey taste from the wok, the warmth of the black pepper was matched with the right balance sweetness.

My curiousity to know what could be in this dish lead me to google a version of the recipe.

I could not see any visual signs of ginger, garlic or other aromatics in this dish but definite that ketchap manis, sugar and butter was used. The rest remains a mystery......I sat and enjoyed a whole crab to myself trying hard in my head to figure out the ingredients.

The boys just sat there, ate and both said that this is the best meal they have had in Singpaore so far.

P.S The deep fried tofu/fish cake things served with a weird lemon mayo sauce were also nice.

Mee Rebus @ Ananas Cafe

New adventures mean new discoveries.

On a day when I needed to go from Kembangan MRT to the next station on the East West line, Bedok MRT. I find myself taking a detour as a result of taking a different bus.

After, the long journey I find myself at the end of the MRT line at Pasir Ris.
So late in the day already and in need of some food. I sit down at an outdoor eatery underneath the MRT.

At that stage I knew I wanted something spicy given the fact that I had just travelled for one hour on two buses to end up back on the MRT line.

I order Mee Rebus ($2.50) and take a seat at Ananas Cafe.
I'd never heard of the dish before, I suspected that it is a Malay dish given the fact the Nasi Lemak was also on offer.
The noodle soup looked really good when it came out. Hokkien noodles and an egg served with a thick gravy that tasted sweet, spicy and sour all in the same mouthful. The flavours were enhanced with local limes and chopped up local green peppers on top.

The added crunch from the bits of fried beancurd, fried onion and fresh Chinese celery stalks made it extraordinary.

This dish has by far superseded laksa and assam laksa in my books.

When you get a good mee rebus, you just want more and more of it.

The dish is in fact Malay - meaning boiled noodles in English
Mee Rebus

P.S Since having Mee Rebus at Ananas Cafe, Ive had some traumatic experiences with other vendors leaving me a little hesitant to try this dish anywhere else.

Chilli Crab @ Jumbo

When I found out that I would be moving to Singapore, I was excited about the prospect of eating Chilli Crab all year round.

I love all types of seafood but I've always had a soft spot for crab.
It's the sweetnees of the meat and the fact that you really have to get your hands dirty is what I really enjoy. A slow but rewarding meal.

My first chilli crab experience was at Jumbo, East Coast Seafood Centre.


The restuarant is renowned for is fresh seafood and with a view overlooking the sea, it's a great place to indulge. The restaurant is one that is on the tad expensive side though still pretty reasonable.

Serving large Sri Lankan Mud Crabs at $38 kilo.
Crabs served at Hawker style centre such as East Coast Food Village & Newton Food Circus still charge about $32-35.

The belated cost of gst (10%) and service charge (7%), make it more of a luxury restaurant to dine in. Also, be mindful that Jumbo charge $1.20 for what you think are complementary peanuts.....I found that amusing that they get away with that!

Back to the crab......

The size of the crab was big. The order was for one that was 900grams and the crab came out fat and buldging. The claws were so sweet and packed with meat.
I really enjoyed the Chilli Crab sauce at Jumbo, it had a good balance of sweet and spicy.
The sauce was also a nice consistency, not too running.

As a newbie to Singapore, I didn't know that the sauce should have been mopped up with a serving of mantou buns so I didn't get a chance to try the buns there.

There is always next time I say, as this is a place where I'd definitely come back with visiting guests.


Visit Jumbo's website

Hello from Singapore

Since my initial post, a turmoil of events have happened, luckily all for the better.

Such events have seen a move from Melbourne to Singapore as Adrian landed himself a fantastic opportunity for his career.

From the multicultural delights of Australia to the multicultural delights of Singapore, I think I'm ready for it.

My first step into the 'Blog' world

On my first note, I would like to say a special thank you to my wonderful husband Adrian for his help with the design of my blog. I really love it and the colours really scream out 'Sis'. Funny enough, it was the same look I had for our wedding back in 2008.

So, it seems that I'm actually doing this. I'm becoming a food blogger like many thousands already out there. I thought to myself, well why not? I really enjoy reading my close friends (as well as random people) blog's and you can really learn so much more about them than an email or facebook.

One of my passions in life is food. Eating it, cooking it and finding new ways of using it. I thought I'll take this opportunity share with my friends (and anyone interested) how I like my food and what gets me excited.

Im really pumped about it all, hopefully I can keep the momentum.

Stay tuned for more!

Sis x