Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Careme pastry

Incredible stuff.

On A's annual pilgrimage to celebrate her birthday with large amounts of red wine, we discovered Careme pastry at Charles Melton.

Normally it is homemade pastry but we have recently had some Careme in the freezer. The sour cream short crust pastry used for a lemon tart and some puff pastry for chicken and leek pies. It is expensive but you just cannot match it either by making it or with a generic brand. The puff pastry puffed about 70mm and after taking the pies out of the oven, it slowly settled like a souffle.

Singapore update from November 2nd, 2009

Amanda and I are just back from Tokyo after a 4 day trip watching the Wallabies-All Blacks game with super-size me amounts of eating either side of the 80 minute game of rugby. And we managed to eat a little bit during the match as well.

The rugby in Japan is a very civilised affair. There are absolutely no bottles or cans allowed into the stadium and bag searches are undertaken to ensure you can’t sneak anything in. Should you dishonour your family and the regulations of the stadium then you are sent directly to the adjacent table where you are provided with extremely large paper cups to pour you alcohol into and politely told to enjoy the match and that sake is available in middy-size cups for your double happiness super fun-time rugby match. Got to love the Japanese drinking culture.

After the whistle blew for kick-off, the teams played each other and a bunch of stuff happened and there was probably a winner and a loser but those details are unimportant until we win next game.

MEALS (in no particular order)

  • Joel Robuchon degustation where Amanda ate so much bread from the bread cart that she was presented with the gift of an entire loaf of bread as we left (this is not a joke, it actually happened).
  • A “street” food extravaganza in tiny little restaurants specialising in one dish, each seating around 5 people. We went to one restaurant for a meal of yakatori, another restaurant for a meal of ramen, and another for sushi & sashimi. That was all on Thursday night. Then cream puffs for desert . If you ever come across Beard Papa (Singapore & Tokyo) go the classic puff and you will never be the same.
  • An incredible yakitori restaurant with a friend who lives in Tokyo. Whatever you want grilled on a stick. Tofu, quail eggs, mince for you to crack a raw egg over, chicken wings, garlic..... all served with stone pot rice.
  • A Tonkatsu dish where the pork is prepared wafer thin (yes, this was a very Monty Python“ oh shit, its Mr Cresote” moment) with what I am sure is fat, spread in between the strudel-like layer after layer of pork. Add crumbs and deep fry.
  • The most incredible sashimi I have ever eaten. 6 am after a 2 hour tour of the Tsukiji fish markets.

The fish markets were unbelievable. It was right up my alley, but scary the amount of seafood being pulled out of our waters with 2 billion yen of seafood traded daily. Gladly it seems at least some of the produce is aquaculture.

I did learn something about the whaling industry which made me realise that we actually are fed a lot of propaganda in Australia. Our guide translated my questions on whether the whale-meat merchant disliked Australians (yes) due to our attitude towards whaling and I was informed that whales are eating all the little fish in the ocean and so unbalancing the seas. Please everyone, think of all the little fish next time Greenpeace knocks on your door and remember that by saying nothing about the murder of the little fish, you are as bad as the whales themselves.
Incidentally, it tastes like steak tartare but a little gamier.

Another great area (thanks Nicky) was Golden Gai where there must be about 100 tiny bars each seating somewhere between 2-4 people. Some of them have function rooms upstairs for 5 people. The bars are owned and run by individuals who theme them along their own interests. We drank at a latino bar with salsa and mamba music playing. We passed by the English bar (“I love English, come in English people” with the owner belting out Bowie), the Japanese bar ( “foreigners, if you can understand Japanese you can come in” (written in English strangely)), transvestite bars, film noir bars, school uniform bars (“go on ahead Amanda, I just have to do up my shoe-laces” I was expecting something very different from Angus Young) .....Just about any interest you might have.

When we next meet up, buy me a beer and ask me about the “Man-of-War” seen in store that is the equivalent of Singapore’s Mustafa Centre, but in Tokyo. I am having nightmares and feel very, very inadequate. I thought that the Mustafa Centre had everything, but I now know that they are missing a whole industry of freaky sexual outfits, appliances, salves, ointments, gels and robots. Please hide any tamagotchi if I am around. They disturb me now.

Next week Amanda and I have both sets of parents up in Singapore which we are quite looking forward to. Mum and Dad are on their way back from Europe, the Chans are on the way to HK. Ahhhh, chilli crab time. I expect there shall be some good stories.

Amanda and I will be down in Sydney mid-December for a wedding but will only be around for 3 days. We will be heading to the Riverview Hotel (for a change) on Sunday afternoon/evening and hope that if anyone is free you will join us for a beer and a pizza on Sunday 13th December.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Singapore update from October 12th 2009

So then,

Singapore almost 3 months in. I assume that as you did not delete this email then you are prepared for the diatribe that will follow.

When Amanda and I first arrived we were staying in a serviced apartment in an area called Robertson Quay. It’s a bar and restaurant area, mainly for expats and while fun for a little while, not an ideal long term place. Going for a walk along the river in the evenings was nice - man it’s hot here. The running joke is that if asked, the weather is 27-32 with a chance of rain. It’s the same every day. Get it? Funny stuff (they're calling me Little TG I am sure).

First task was looking for an apartment. We were not keen to try and emulate Sydney, having just left the most amazingly designed and built mansion in Balmain. There is no place like Sydney so we were looking for local flavour.

On our original look-see we had visited an apartment complex that we quite liked and we have ended up back in that place. It’s called City Square and is smack bang in the middle of Little India. Singapore as about 4 million people, 1 million of whom are foreigners. Of that, the bulk are migrant workers from India, Bangladesh and other loser countries (please see The Simpsons for that classic Moe quote - before you sick Harry Connick Jr on me).

Around the corner is the greatest shopping centre on earth. The Mustafa Centre. Push through the incredible number of moustaches (why do Indians love moustaches? I keep asking how to sponsor then for prostate cancer research!) It is 24 hours and sells everything. Absolutely everything. If you have a 3am hankering for diamonds - Mustafa. Want an am/fm radio at midday Mustafa. Cabbage and cumin. Must..... Well - you understand.

We have a big pool however the neighbours are always using it so I get a few laps in early. Dive, swim the short length and back, then book and coffee. Sometimes cake. I am hitting the gym pretty hard. I stupidly signed up for a bulk supply of oil so am having to get fit now. Touch football about once every two weeks.

I picked up my suit pants from the tailor today. All this food is putting generations of Indian tailor's children through IT college. luckily with the heat (27-32, chance of rain), suits are incredibly rare and it’s usually shorts and thongs in the office.

I set the business up in a serviced office on the river in Singapore's CBD. I picked the office with the prettiest girls - thank you Regus. Servcorp - lift you game. You are letting Australia down. Close to the MRT, close to all the clients I have (or will have....one day....was that a tumbleweed?) and close to the bars for some Friday night beers and complaining about:

1. The locals; or
2. The heat; or
3. The help; or
4. All of the above.

Good healthy expat conversation that reaffirms that we are better than everyone else. On that note, about half a rugby team of the Shanghai Hairy Crabs are here. 2 others with serious neck injuries and the rest are just too old. There are too many large foreigners here to risk playing rugby. We were great when the opposition weighed the same as Amanda.

Travel-wise we have been diving in Malaysia (KK - average) eating in Malaysia (Penang barely left poolside) off to Tokyo to watch the Wallabies smash the All Blacks at the end of the month. we have some other exciting trips planned but will wait and see if they happen yet.

Amanda is travelling a lot so it’s just me and my moustachioed friends many nights. The food is unbelievable. Right then - on to food.

Obviously the Indian around here is great. Northern, Southern, Punjabi, Bengali, Kashmiri, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, Halal, vegetarian, Chetendaadian and Burger King.

There are quite a few hawker centres around - Hainan chicken rice, Teocheow food, Malay, the good old emperor of china - Nasi Goreng and a little chilli crab here and there. Several wet-markets close by, including one where I go some pretty good prawns. No coffin bay oysters to be seen though.

Singapore is a funny place. Very sophisticated, great infrastructure, well educated people however when you scratch the surface, it’s not that dissimilar to China. People are very obedient and do not stray from the rules. This can be great in some ways as you know where you stand, however when it is ridiculous, then there is no way to negotiate around it. In China there is always a way around however in Singapore you must fit into the expected pattern of behaviour or you cannot achieve what you need to.

I am finding that business is very causal with what we would consider very unprofessional behaviour. The front desk of major MNC's will answer the phone with "yes" and then patch me through to the MD even though I am cold-calling. I have called up several competitors and asked how many project managers they have. Only once did I run into trouble when I was transferred to HR - but as Amanda can confirm, I can wrap HR women around my little finger.


RATING (1-10)

Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 5
Value for money: 6
Ambience: 7.5
Singapore airline hostess: 9.5

P

The Miele Guide

So we ordered a copy of the Miele Guide and we have been lucky enough to try many of the restaurants that Miele rate as Asia's top 20 restaurants. Sadly it's all fine dining - go to Makanasutra for Singapore's street food.

I don't know enough adjectives to write food reviews so my general thoughts on some of the Singapore restaurants are:
  • Iggy's. At first Iggy's didn't impress me that much. It's in a dated, out of the way building, it is hard to find once in the building and I thought that they were trying to be casual but could not get over their own stiffness. I liked the decor - sort of Scandinavian chic meets 80's timber. A didn't like it but, who would you trust? On reflection, the food was actually very good with a couple of stand-out dished in the ocean trout with caviar & potato salad and the souffle. Iggy's is a quick business lunch kind of place.
  • Jaan Par Andre. On my first visit I was blown away. One dish in particular I thought was good a course as I have eaten in my life. Foie Gras a la Forestiere was unbelievably good but on my second visit I stupidly ate it again, only for the dish to fall short of my memory. The food is much more worked and fussy and sadly the restaurant has no soul. Jaan is good for tourists as the view from the view from the 70 floor is not bad.
  • Les Amis. The food at Les Amis was not as sophisticated as Jaan or Iggy's and while I had a good meal, I thought that I would rather go to one of the previous two restaurants before Les Amis again. As I have had time to think, I would now say that Les Amis is the pick for me. The food was rustic and relaxed, basic meals and great ingredients cooked simply and very well. I would be very happy taking it easy with a bunch of friends all afternoon in Les Amis - a relaxed and enjoyable restaurant.

I think that the list of Miele restaurant's is a pretty poor selection of restaurants as Asia's top 20. I think that the list has been compiled for and by wealthy expats, foreigners and locals who believe that a dirty street jaozi restaurant is a cultural embarrassment.

Bring on the Shanghai chilli yabbies, the Hoi An pho and the Tokyo yakitori

BBQ Ribs

I have had ribs on the brain for a little while and I think that I finally got a marinade I am happy with.
+Equal parts brown sugar, cayenne pepper, sweet paprika (I usually go a bit heavier on the sugar).
+Dark soy (should probably swap to light soy as the colour is a bit much), olive oil and worcestershire sauce and a touch of tomato paste.
+Marinade ribs overnight then drain, marinade (keep it for basting on BBQ) and cook at 100C for as long as you have.
+BBQ

Tales from the Crypt - Castellini in Chianti

+Eating lard spread on bread with the Butcher of Panzano.
+The deli in Greve and the ceiling of hanging hams.
+Hunters and chingale by the side of the road.
+Having to throw out a '97 Chianti Classico at the airport due to the restriction on fluids.
+The thick, green, pulpy olive oil from the Castellini enotecca - where can I find you!!!!
+Bistecca Fiorentina at Cantina di Rignetti & the ridiculous anitpasti plate - honey on cheese anyone?
+Whipping egg whites by hand for Christmas lemon meringue pie