吃在无锡 (Makan @ Wuxi)

I began to enjoy China food more as the days passed...

Hangzhou is famous for Dongpo's meat.

Nanjing is famous for Salted Duck.

What about Wuxi?

If you have read my other blog, I have written somewhere “无锡看骨头" which literally means 'Go Wuxi to see bones'.

Bones?!?!

The bones actually refers to Pork Ribs.

Besides Pork Ribs, Wuxi is also famous for Fried Glutton and Three-White Lake Delicacies(White Shrimp, White Fish and White Bait). Because of the freshness of the water from Tai Lake (太湖), it rears good quality seafood.

太湖三白 : 白虾，白鱼，银鱼

2 of my meals in Wuxi were at the hotel I stayed - Kaida Grand Hotel. The restaurant is located at Level 1.

The location of this hotel is quite good - next to a train and bus station. On the same day where we checked in, some of our tour mates din get their luggage delivered to them room till quite late cos there were 100 other guests from HK who arrived at abt the same time. That caused a bottle neck!

We were lucky that dinner was served on time!

Yummy! Yummy! This is the Pork Ribs. The ribs were tender and 够味！

And the rest of my dinner...

Breakfast queue was slightly longer cos of the 100 + guests from HK. But it was bearable... but something else did irritate us!

I wonder if Ruby is reading this. If so, CAN YOU HEAR ME??

By now, I know that typical chinese breakfast comprised fried egg, cold fried rice, cold steamed bao / mantou etc. oops!

But I was pleasantly surprised to see french fries!! Though they are cold french fries! :(

I wonder if my tour mates were irritated by an unusual ritual that bb and I had - we had to take pics of our food before we start eating. And I would wait till I have "collected" all the dishes that I want before I take my pic and start eating.

Lunch was at a nice restaurant - 紫云湖鲜馆 - probably means a seafood restaurant. Opposite the restaurant is a fish farm.

That's my lunch. Can you see the small silver fish at 12 o'clock position of the pile and fried glutton at the 6 o'clock position?

That's the White Fish - indeed it is white like correction fluid but tastes rather blend by itself. Think someone told me it is high in cholesterol. On my! I ate a lot cos I love fried food :P

That's the White Shrimp. Actually I was expecting to see something totally white white leh... how come it is still orangy?!

Are all these yummy food making you hungry?

~~~

吃在南京 (Makan @ Nanjing)

Was told that Nanjing is famous for its Salted Soup Duck (盐水鸭). It is a steam dish marinated with salt and spices.

In fact, walking along the streets in Nanjing, there are lots of Salted Soup Duck ready-packs... like those u open and eat. May not even require any heating.

Dinner @ Nanjing

Dinner was in a restaurant in Fuzimiao (夫子庙）region.

You can easily miss the restaurant cos

1) it is located on 2nd floor

2) they do not on the lights at the entrance and even the stairs to 2nd floor

3) it looks run down ... a make-over seems quite necessary

At first, we did not feel too comfortable dining in this restaurant at all...cos the table top was wet, the plates were wet and the washroom... er... the advise was not to go if you can tahan.

BUT, BUT... the food was good! The cabbage was well-cooked (which I like), the sweet and sour pork was crispy and yummy. The food definitely looked more colourful and appetising.

The saltwater duck was not disappointing at all.

But guess what... I forgot to take down the restaurant's name... :(

Breakfast @ Nanjing

Breakfast was provided by the hotel (Hanzhong Hotel 汉中酒店). It was quite a disappointing meal.

Cold youtiao, cold bao, cold rice does not suit my taste...

Lunch @ Nanjing

Was told our guide that this may be the largest restaurant in Asia. The entire building is a restaurant. The restaurant name is Sunward Fishery Restaurant (向阳渔港). According to its website, it can hold a capacity of 5,000 people.



The quality of food was good (except for 1 dish which I find it stinko... no joke... it is stinko). Even so, the rest of the dishes made up for my breakfast disappointment. On the top left corner is Salted Soup Duck.

We thought the food was good but something else impressed us more - the toilet cubicles. Most of the cubs has a small TV flat screen... you get to know what is happening in the world while doing your "business".

Interesting, ya?

吃在杭州 (Makan @ Hangzhou)

Was told by the Hangzhou local guide that Dongpo's meat is Hangzhou's signature dish. Apparently this dish was 'invented' by a famous poet cum politician Su Dongpo (苏东坡).

Dinner @ Hangzhou

At a fishing resort.

This is Dongpo's meat. It is made from streaky pork (五花肉) with wine. I usually avoid eating pork if given a choice but this dish (which I only ate the lean portion) was really yummy.

This was what I had for dinner + rice + some soup.

Breakfast @ Hangzhou

I had a filling breakfast though there was not much selection...

The 汤圆 was pretty good. The sesame filling is slightly finer than what we normally have in Singapore.

There was no soup for my dumpling, which I though was a bit strange. Thought that the portion was a little too much for 1 person. There were about 8 dumplings.

Also had 2 pieces of cakes that looks like mini buns + milk (牛奶水).

And a mini 包.

Lunch @ Hangzhou

Lunch was at this place called Grandma's Kitchen (外婆家). The food there was quite good... we were optimistic that the food will get better as the days pass. Haha!

Well, there were greater variety la - got fried chicken, pork, fried fish fillet, vege, potatoe, tou gua etc...

3-day Detox Plan

Eat, eat and eat. That's what I have been doing for the past few days. Not only do I feel fat, I also feel that toxins are accumulating in my body cos food nowadays aren't that healthy. Maybe I shd consider going on a detox plan.

I found this on AsiaOne Health website.

3-day detox plan By Sandra Cabot

- Jan 04, 2007 The Business Times

Avoid the following foods:

1) Alcohol 2) Sugar 3) Coffee

4) Dairy products - no cow, sheep or goat milk, or any products containing these.

5) Gluten - this is found in wheat, rye, oats, spelt and barley, and all foods containing these. Gluten is hidden in many foods, so you will need to read food labels carefully.

6) Food additives such as artificial colours, flavours, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, MSG, etc.

7) Vegetable oil that does not state cold pressed or extra virgin. Avoid all margarine, partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oil.

8) Red meat, chicken, fish and eggs. For three days, you will obtain protein from vegetarian sources such as legumes, grains, nuts and seeds. You should also drink two litres of pure water - spring, mineral or filtered - each day. Also take one or two glasses of raw vegetable juice each day. You may include regular tea, green tea and herbal tea in your diet. Tea should be free of sugar, artificial sweeteners and dairy milk. You can use stevia or xylitol to sweeten tea.

9) Use beneficial fats such as olive oil, flaxseed oil, avocados, coconut milk and raw, unsalted nuts and seeds. You must have one raw vegetable salad each day, either for lunch or dinner. You may include sea salt in your diet; it is preferable to regular table salt. In place of dairy milk, you may use rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, quinoa milk or coconut milk.

Meal plan

Upon rising, drink two large glasses of purified water with the juice of half a lemon or lime. Fifteen minutes later eat breakfast.

Breakfast options

One bowl gluten-free muesli with non-dairy milk and a chopped pear.

One bowl rice porridge with 2 tablespoons chopped nuts sprinkled on top, with non-dairy milk and fresh berries.

Two pieces gluten-free toast with baked beans, served with a chopped apple.

Lunch options

Pasta with herbed vegetables (see recipe below), served with a small salad.

Brown rice and red lentil salad with tomatoes and cucumbers.

Sandwich using gluten-free bread, with hummus, grated carrot and sultanas.

Dinner options

Chick pea curry, served with brown rice (see recipe below)

Kidney beans with sauted spinach, served with brown rice.

Brown rice pilaf served with garden salad.

RECIPES
Pasta with herbed vegetables (serves 4)

Ingredients :

1 packet gluten free pasta

1 eggplant, peeled and chopped

1/3 cup olive oil

2 button squash, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 cup diced pumpkin

2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

3 very ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

Sea salt & black pepper to taste

Method

Cook the pasta according to packet directions.

Saute the onion, garlic and pumpkin in olive oil for 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, except the pasta; cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

Serve the vegetable mixture over warm pasta.

Chick pea curry (serves 4)
Ingredients:

1 tin chick peas

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (optional)

1 tbsp grated ginger (optional)

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp curry powder (optional)

1 cup vegetable stock

1 Swede or turnip, cubed

2 cups cubed pumpkin

2 button squash, chopped

1 can tinned tomatoes, chopped

Method

Cook the onion, garlic and ginger in oil for 5 minutes.

Add spices and cook a further 2 minutes.

Add all the other ingredients except the squash; simmer covered for 20 minutes.

Add the squash and simmer a further 10 minutes.

Serve with brown rice and garnish with fresh coriander.

Skin clearing juice
This vegetable juice will help improve the detox abilities of your skin.
2 apricots

1 carrot

1 green apple

1 handful endive or spinach

1/2 lemon, peeled

1 handful parsley

Pass all through a juicer and drink immediately.

Who shouldn't do a detox at home?

Most people who are in relatively good health can perform a detox by themselves at home. There are some groups of people who should not do a detox without supervision - they include diabetics, people with liver or kidney disease, cancer or other serious disease. Pregnant or lactating women should not undergo a detox.

This article first appeared in The Business Times Dec 30, 2006.

Source : http://health.asiaone.com.sg/eatright/20070104_001.html

IKEA Restaurant & Cafe

Finally checked out the new IKEA in Tampines. Mega Courts and giant-size Giant are nearby, making it a mega stores shopping centre.

It has 2 levels of excessive number of car parking lots. Furnitures and stuff are found at the 3rd & 4th floor.

The restaurant is at the 4th floor.

The design and 'system' at the new IKEA restaurant is the same as the classic IKEA. Just that this is of course bigger, making it proportionate to its store size.

I had poached salmon. It comes with potatoes and broccoli (i think it is $6.50). Looks like a pretty healthy meal. :) The herb (with pepper) cream sauce tastes good as well.

2 thumbs up for these fried chicken wings ($2.60 for 2 pieces). It was still hot and crispy when served.

After a hearty meal, we continued our shopping in IKEA. The height of the shelves say it more.

Check it out yourself.

The Cathay Restaurant

2Rs and 2Js had our reunion lunch at The Cathay Restaurant, located at the 2nd floor of Cathay Building at Handy Road.

The restaurant is barely a month old. I was initially tempted to try out the food because of the discounts offered by various credit cards. You can check those out from their website.

However, we ordered a 7-course set-lunch instead, which cost $68+++ per pax. This is the cheapest amongst the set lunches they offer during this CNY period. Headache ah...

Probably due to our prior reservation, they gave us a private room - a cosy room for just the 4 of us. The table was big enough for 8 pax. There were some nostalgic photos hung on the wall and we even have a personal waitress who stations herself inside the room throughout. She sometimes stands there quietly, sometimes paces up and down in the room a little. But she was polite and cheerful. :)

The first dish was Yu-sheng, following by braised shark's fins with crab meat & roe (below). Most of the dishes were individually served.

The broth was quite thick. Quite nice except it has some fishy smell (腥味) and a little salty.

The 3rd course was braised dried oyster with lettuce and 'fa cai'. Most of us are not fans of oyster... did not quite enjoy it cos of the 腥味 as well. However, the beancurd skin which wraps the oyster tasted quite good.

4th course was pan-fried venison (deer meat) with mushroom. Looks fusion. Seems exotic since deer meat is not something we eat daily.

My portion was 'medium-rare'... so it was a little bloody. Eeks! The portion looks a little too small but actually it was just right. Anything more will make me lose my appetite.

My fav dish is the 5th dish - fried glutinous rice with chinese sausage. Haha... something close to daily food. hehe.

There were 2 dessert dishes. First is glutinuous rice ball in red date tea. The rice ball has a sesame filling which is not too sweet. I wish there were 2 instead of just 1 rice ball.

Lastly, we had golden ingots and nian-gao. The golden ingots is filled with lotus paste. Quite a novelty item.

I didn't mind the nian-gao (sprinkled with fried yam pieces on top) as well as I have not eaten it for some time already. But it was a little too sweet. :P

Would I go back there again? Yes, for the ala carte dishes. I think it will be cheaper.

顺发潮州沙爹米粉 (ABC Market)

ABC Market has been famous for its hawker food.

The place has been renovated not too long along.

It is located somewhere behind the old IKEA.

This day, I decided to give the satay beehoon a try.

Satay beehoon is not just beehoon with satay gravy (for the knowledge of those who do not know). There are ingredients including kangkong, prawn, pork, taupok, taugeh, 'hum', cuttlefish and sometimes pig liver.

Since there is a queue all the time, I assume the satay beehoon must have some standard la... I was attracted by the word '潮州' and hence, curious to know just how different it is from other satay beehoon I ate before.

This stall is self-service.
Like my usual order, I will ask to omit the cuttlefish, 'hum' and taugeh. Never like taugeh at all. I requested for additional sauce and that's how it looks.

Overall, it was a little disappointing cos it was a little too blend and the gravy was a little too watery.

Rating :&&&

It is not easy to find a good satay beehoon stall. So far, my fav satay beehoon stall is found in AMK Central Hawker (Blk 724), corner unit, facing a second-hand book shop.

Amici Authentic Italian Restaurant

Amici has set lunches that starts from $8. Sounds good?

My colleagues and I checked out the Holland V outlet during lunch one day.

The restaurant was not crowded at all when we reached abt 10 mins before 1pm. It has an open kitchen and you can see the chef in action.

Because it is open, it is best that you sit further from that area, unless you want to be reminded of what you ate for the rest of your day.

The set lunches come with a soup, bread and coffee/tea. No dessert :(

The above is mussle chowder. It tasted good although I do not like to eat mussle.

This is my main dish - Baked Dory Fillet in Pouch. The outer aluminiun is the pouch that contains the fillet, vegetable and stock.

The portion was just good for me, although some of the my colleagues think that the portion is a little too small.

Total damage : $10.90 (before taxes)

Sushi Tei @ Holland V

Had lunch at Holland V Sushi Tei as I did not want to waste the vouchers that I have.

There is an open kitchen for the 'raw food' section. Look at this chef, he was operating on a big fish!

I really like deep-fried food. Anything deep fried is delicious. haha.

The soft shell crab was cripsy but a bit too oily.

And I also like curry. Yeah. It's sinful stuff. I am always reminded of the japanese curry which I did not manage to eat when I went to Osaka many years ago. It was a road side stall and the curry simply smell so good.

Although the curry ramen does not seem like a huge portion, it was rather filling. There was also quite a large serving of potato, carrot and onion.

Overall, the food selection was interesting and food quality was good.

I shall be back for more Sushi Tei...

Chocolate Fondue

F invited P, JL, D and me to her place for a Fruit Chocolate Fondue session. Yummy!

I was hoping to see the chocolate fountain but it turned out to be this cute little thingie (which looks like an aromatherapy burner) ....

First, we melted the cocoa block in a separate bowl over a bowl of hot water.

These fruits are ready to be fondued - banana, chiku, strawberry and Korean pear.

Hmm... we also had mashmallow. Forgot to take pic of it.

Next, we heat up the chocolate by placing a tealight below. Then dip the cut fruits into the chocolate.

It was GOOD!