Pan-Fried Salmon

This is an easy to make yet delicious and nutritious meal for the whole family.

 

Pan-Fried Salmon

 

 

Ingredients:

Salmon

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Lemon

 

 

Method:

(1) Make a few cuts on the skin of the salmon

(2) To both sides of the salmon, season with a dash of salt, pepper and lemon zest

(3) Refrigerate for at least an hour

(4) Add olive oil to the frying pan

(5) Put the skin side of the salmon on to the pan (skin facing pan)

(6) Once half of the salmon is cooked (you can easily see it from the side profile of the salmon), flip it to cook on the other side. Do not flip the salmon too early or else the skin would stick to the pan.

(7) Once the salmon is cooked, serve it on a plate with other accompanying side dishes - such as potato salad or mashed potato or blanched broccoli and carrots

 

Verdict:

(+) Time saving

(+) Simple ingredients

(=) A hard-to-fail dish 

Loola's by Awfully Chocolate

This was our ad-hoc, unplanned, last-minute attempt to have a post Valentine's Day lunch together, alone. My treat! :)

Ideal venue would be some place with a nice scenic view and not overly crowded with throngs of tourists. And not being the adventurous kind to roam the 'wilderness' of our little island city, we settled for the Esplanade.

We ventured to the restaurant on the second level (facing the escalator) as it offers a great view of the Singapore river and in my umpteen times there, there were already quite some changeover of restaurants in its place. SoI gathered it's either the price or the food. But whatever the case, we just wanted a nice, quiet lunch.

The restaurant is called "Loola's by Awfully Chocolate" and it has a very 'raw' touch to the decor with the exposed pipings on the ceiling and the concrete finished flooring. Even the waiters and cooks look like trainees from Shatec. However, one quick glance at the menu contradicts all that with it's pricing. But honestly, what am I expecting from a restaurant at the Esplanade?

We ordered a bread and salad entrée followed by a whole grilled chicken.

It turned out to be fruit salad which was not our original intention. But it was our fault anyway and it tasted alright so no damaged was done.

The bread entrée was unexpectedly awesome! It was made up of varying kinds of small bread, European style and toasted slightly prior to serving. There really was no need for all the fancy dips. A good bread just needs a spread of butter on it or even nothing at all!

The grilled chicken looked, well, like how it's supposed to look and smell. But I was slightly disappointed to have the waiter serve us both chicken breasts leaving behind the succulent thighs. However, unknown to us, there was a tiny surprise hidden just behind the golden brown skin - slices of ham! This was a bit too much meat for me but nevertheless, it added a slightly different twist to the othewise, predictable grilled chicken. The portion was big enough for four person. So we ended up bringing the remaining of the unfinished grilled chicken home.

Will I be back again? It will be a plain and simple "Yes" - just for the bread entrée! :)

30-minutes Thin Crust Pizza

I got this recipe while chancing upon the 'Jamie's 30-minute meal" programme by Jamie Oliver.

Without thinking that there just might be a website listing all the recipes shown on the programme, I found myself furiously scribbling away on a small notepad while Jamie were busy alternating between the different dishes in his attempt to whip up one pizza and four salads within 30 minutes.

Up till having this recipe, I always found it tedious to make a pizza dough from scratch. Even though with the amount of time spent, it doesn’t always guaranteed me a decent pizza dough albeit an edible one. It would either be too thick, too dry or simply too hard.

I made some modifications to the recipe for simplicity sake and while it doesn’t yield the restaurant type pizza dough, it is nevertheless, a decent one.

30-minutes Thin Crust Pizza

Ingredients (pizza dough):
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt
drizzle of olive oil

Ingredients (tomato spread):
1 small can of tomato paste
a few basil leaves - finely chopped
drizzle of olive oil

Ingredients (toppings):
1 piece of mozarella cheese
finely grated parmesan cheese
few slices of ham (optional)
diced pineapples (optional)
slices of button mushrooms
drizzle of olive oil

Method:
(1) Pour all the ingredients for the pizza dough into a mixer and mix till a dough forms. If necessary, add more flour.
(2) Sprinkle some flour on a table top
(3) With a rolling pin (or a glass bottle), roll the dough to the desired thickness
(4) Drizzle some olive oil in a flat pan over low heat
(5) Mix the ingredients of the tomato spread in a bowl
(6) Transfer the flat pizza dough onto the pan
(7) Spread the tomato paste evenly on the pizza dough
(8) Add the toppings according to your preference before drizzling some olive oil on top
(9) Check that the underside of the pizza dough is slightly browned
(10) Transfer the pan into a pre-heated oven at ~200°C and bake for approximately 10-15 minutes or till the pizza dough browned at the edges

Verdict:
(+) Only simplest of ingredients required!
(+) Pizza can be ready in about 30 minutes! Tried and tested!

(=) Short preparation, fast cooking time and yet decent tasting pizza! Two thumbs up!

Dinner at Chef Daniel's Kitchen @ Iluma

After trying out their lunch menu, I have been wanting to find an opportunity to check out their dinner menu, at $28nett for a full course dinner, it was worth the curiosity!

Yesterday presented the perfect opportunity to visit Chef Daniel's Kitchen again, I made a reservation for 4 pax and headed down to the restaurant on the 7th floor roof top of Iluma right after work.

The restaurant is also now featuring the 3 dishes that Chef Daniel concocted in China during the shooting of the current TV reality show on Channel U - 名厨出走记. I made up my mind to try all 3 of the dishes in addition to the dinner set menu, furthermore, the restaurant is offering a 15% discount in August as part of the Singapore 45th National Day Celebration!

The Potato Dumpling with Minced Meat Sauce was an interesting dish, the potato dumplings doesn't have any filling and in itself is rather chewy and tasteless. The accompaniment of the mince meat fried with garlic, however, gave the dish it's much needed fragrance and taste. This dish would have been better if the minced meat sauce was more abundant!



The white asparagus salad was light and refreshing and because of the choice of using the white asparagus instead of the regular green asparagus, the salad wasn't too fibrous and the asparagus went well with the radishes, rockets (arugula) and the other veggies.


The mushroom rice, probably the most popular amongst the 3 dishes had a more traditional taste to it. It almost tasted like the Chinese lotus leaves dumpling made of glutinous rice and mushroom meat fillings. The strong flavors of the mushrooms again lent much savouries to the plain rice. I'm a mushroom-lover, especially when the mushroom is done Chinese-style which significantly enhances the natural fragrance of the fungi.

As part of the set dinner, we were presented with the soup of the day, which was Potato-Leek Soup and the standard slice of herb bread. The soup was decent, nothing too spectacular. It was served in an over-sized soup bowl which was fine except that the tables were simply not big enough for it, especially since we were still having the first 3 dishes and our drinks on the table. I would definitely suggest that they change their soup bowls unless the tables get bigger! The other thing that I found surprisingly lacking was that the waitress who was serving out table doesn't understand English at all! I tried ordering the from the menu which was in English and she asked me in Mandarin if I can order in Mandarin instead! I would think that the restaurant would minimally train the serving staffs to understand the restaurant's own menu in English!

The lamb shank was a little dry to start with but it became increasingly moist when it reaches the portion that was soaked in the gravy. It's more a fusion style cooking and different from the traditional western styled lamb shank. This dish resembled more of a Chinese lamb stew.

The Black Cod Casino was again a fusion between a western style ingredient with a twist of Japanese influence. The cod fish was fried and baked with a layer of fish roe which gave it that very Japanese presentation. The taste however was a little too sweet to my liking.

The Ribeye Steak was probably the only dish we had that was true to it's origin. Served with a portion of Caesar's Salad, I had my steak cooked to medium well and it suited me well. The steak was still moist and juicy within and very minimal fat.


The standard dessert of the day that came with the set dinner was brownie served with vanilla ice-cream. Another minus point to note is that the house pour that were featured in the menu wasn't available so we were told to order a whole bottle from the wine menu instead.

Being a new restaurant and all, I think that they are doing decently well but unfortunately flawed by the small details such as the non-English speaking staff, the table layout for dinner as well as the missing house-pour. Hopefully they will be able to iron out these issues as they continue to gain more visibility and popularity.

Light Lunch Along The Autobahn

On our way from Kärnten to Steiermark, we stopped by a restaurant along the autobahn (German for highway) for a quick grab at lunch.

It was a traditional Austrian restaurant and there were already quite a number of motorbikes parked outside when we arrived.

As we were rushing for time, I decided to go for soup and a simple salad.

Asparagus was in season, both the white and green version, and there was quite a long list of asparagus-themed dishes in the menu. I ordered the Spargel Cremesuppe (which simply translates to asparagus cream soup) to be accompanied by Gemischter Salat mit Putenstreifen (mixed salad with turkey strips).

Despite the simplicity of the dishes, it took the kitchen quite a while before I was served the soup. Nevertheless, the wait was worth while.

The soup was piping hot with melted cream and sprinkles of bread crumbs nicely soaking up the essence of the soup. Despite being a savoury dish, there was a slight tinge of sweetness in it which I'm guessing was due to the asparagus.
The salad had a generous serving of grilled turkey strips atop a plate of nicely laid out corn, carrot strips, cucumber slices, green salad, potato salad and beans dribbled in yoghurt dressing. The dish would have been perfect if not for the turkey strips which were a little on the salty end.
An hour or so later, I managed to waddle out of the restaurant, into the car - once again hitting the autobahn.

Gulasch

Gulasch is a traditional Hungarian dish but somehow made it into the list of traditional Austrian cuisine someway along it's long line of history. It is often served with semmel or semmelknödels in local restaurants of which I definitely prefer the former. The thick paprika and onion based soup with it's huge chunks of soft, well-stewed beef is good enough to win me over the first time I tasted it.

So on this fine Tuesday afternoon, having ran out of ideas on what to cook for dinner, I finally dug out my packet of "Knorr - Basis für Gulasch" from the depths of the kitchen cabinet and proceeded with my first attempt at Gulasch making. May The Force Be With Me!

Gulasch

Ingredients:

1 packet of "Knorr - Basis für Gulasch"

3/4l water

3tbs oil

1/2 onion - diced

1/2 red paprika - diced into cubes

300g beef chunks

Method:

(1) In a pot, add water and just prior to boiling, slowly stir in the contents of the Knorr packet.

(2) In another pot, add the oil and once it is heated up, stir fry the onions till it begins to brown slightly.

(3) Add the red paprika and continue to stir fry for a while more.

(4) Pour the Knorr soup mixture into the pot of stir-fried onions and paprika. Stir well.

(5) Add the beef chunks.

(6) With the lid half-covering the pot, allow the dish to simmer at low heat for 1.5hrs - 2hrs.

Verdict:

(+) It is so, so easy to recreate this traditional dish with the Knorr soup packet.

(=) A modern cooking twist to yield a traditional flavour!

Osteria Dal Conte @ Klagenfurt

Osteria Dal Conte is an Italian themed restaurant and it is the best one I could find in the Klagenfurt town centre!

I always find every visit to the restaurant packed full with customers and was even turned away on one occasion.

I first fell in love with the restaurant when I first patronized it on a Thursday evening and managed to find a seat next to the front door. On their menu, there would be the daily available dishes and one special dish for each day. It turned out that on that particular first visit, the Thursday special was seafood pasta in white wine sauce - my absolute favourite! The order was taken rather quickly and the food came within 15 minutes. The piping hot serving looked huge with plentiful quantities of shelled seafood topping the pasta. And it tasted so so good on that cold Autumn's evening. The seafood was fresh and the pasta was cooked to al dente perfection! I managed to wipe out the entire serving and was already looking forward to my next visit!

So needless to say, whenever I'm in Klagenfurt town centre, this restaurant would be my natural first choice. My recent visit was on a Friday late afternoon. Even at 6pm, most of the tables were already fully reserved and we were lucky to find one in the midst. I ordered the Friday special which was grilled fish with grilled baby potatoes coupled with vegetables. This was the first time I had a fish with both head and tail served to me in Austria. Very often, the fishes available in restaurants would either be in sections or in breaded fillets. The fish tasted fresh but could be better cleaned as there were still some scales on the skin, The vegetables were crunchy and potatoes excellently grilled that I can't seem to stop stuffing my mouth with it although my stomach is screaming *FULL*.

My companion ordered the other special for the day which was shell-shaped pasta in a cream sauce topped with bits of fresh seasonal mushrooms and deer meat. Simple as it look, it tasted fantastic! I couldn't stop forking at his plate even while I was already busy with mine. At a mere €6.50, this is definitely worth it!

The conclusion I drew from this recent visit was that their pasta is a must-try and certainly the safest option guaranteed to satisfy even the most fussy eater.

With good food at affordable prices, I am already looking forward to my next visit! :)

Outback Steakhouse @ Millenia Walk

I have passed by this restaurant (Outback Steakhouse) on several occasions but never the urge to frequent it. And that record was recently broken when it was the proposed gathering venue with a group of ex-schoolmates.

As the name implies, it is an Australian restaurant so I was rather puzzled to find a soft toy of a Kiwi instead of Kangeroos adoring the dividers of the seats.

Having not much idea on the specialities of Australian cuisines, a glimpse into the menu doesn't offer me much insight either. It just looks like a typical western restaurant. Only item on the menu that caught my fancy would have to be the onion fries or Blossom Onion (so lovingly termed at the Handle Bar @ Gillman Village where I first sank my teeth into one several years back).

The rest of the items which we ordered off the menu seem pretty ordinary for local standards except that it's a little on the pricey side. The servings are huge too so it would be advisable to share 2 main dishes amongst three or four of you if you are petite diners. :)

heart-shaped grilled chicken breast

quarter chicken with a huge scoop of mashed potato

tomato based sphagetti with chicken and mushroom

fish and chip

A Decade since the Millenium

2010, two years away from the supposedly "End of the World" - 2012. But seriously, who cares? I don't. If the world must end, it will end. Meanwhile, life goes on.

And with that, I continue to indulge in more good food in celebration of the New Year; hopefully, a better year to come.

Interestingly, it was only recently that I became aware of Austrians having the custom of eating steamboat as well! That was indeed a rather pleasant surprise, very much like what we practise during Chinese New Year in Singapore, however, on a smaller scale.

Instead of the typical large electric steamboat pot, a fondue pot warmed over a candle was used instead. Bite-sized chunks of meat were then lowered into the hot soup (traditionally, hot oil filled the pot...ooohhhh....I like traditions but I also appreciate the slight deviation in this case)on mini colour coded skewers. Now, isn't that a nice idea?

There was quite a selection of yummy sauces to dip the meat in. In addition, there were also appetisers ranging from pickled paprikas to mini corns, gherkins, beans and aspharagus to go along with the meat.

To load up on the carbohydrates, there's always the piping basket of warm baguettes to fall back on.

The desert for the evening was a nice orange cake shaped as a duck - a traditional Italian pastry. I could almost not find anymore space in my stomach for this delicious, lovely looking desert.

With a full tummy and armed with my "Glück bringen" pig, I am prepared to take my first stride into 2010. :)

Tis' The Season To Be Jolly

~fa lah lah lah lah...lah lah lah lah~

This is absolutely THE season to huddle together with your loved ones and fatten oneself with a layer of blubber against the bitter cold winter.

cheese platter

ham platter

liver dumpling in beef soup
roast beef with bread dumpling, rice and berry sauce

deep fried chicken with potatoes

roast pork with butter rice and boiled potatoes

strudel in beef soup

For five consecutive days starting from 23rd December, my stomach never once experienced an emptiness level of more than 50%.

basketful of christmas cookies

dark chocolate cake filled with nutty goodness!

homemade bread with hazelnut fillings

That said, I'm still pooling in my share of work, dolling the house up for the great festivity.

silver christmas tree dangle

a typical navitity display at home

Steak It The Gordon Ramsey Way!

I do not know if it's got something to do with the Gordon Ramsey recipe or is it because of the edited clip. It seems terribly easy to cook a piece of steak which hasn't occured to me till recently!

And naturally, I feel so encouraged after watching the 1 minute video that I proceeded to cook three steaks all at once!


Well, It did not turn out so bad just that the steaks were a little on the tough side. And I gathered that while cooking the Gordon Ramsey "Way", one has to have sufficient common sense instead of simply following the recipes strictly. :)

Mushroom Hunt!

Mushroom as we all know is a kind of fungus. As such, it trives especially well in Summer together with the rain! The best time to go mushroom picking would be a few days after the rain stops, just enough time for the fungus to sprout from the earth.

We did manage to harvest quite some mushrooms, small ones though whilst the insects already beaten us to the bigger and matured ones.

It was quite an experience for me, a city dweller whose encounter with mushrooms are limited to either that at the supermarket or those grown in farms.

Here, in the wild, we had to literally pick our ways through the forest - brushing through prinkling branches, uneven grounds, sometimes even steep declines just to pick that one golden mushroom 'shimmering' in the faint sunlight. And of course, the eyes must be trained to spot the tiny mushrooms hidden amidst the dead leaves, fallen branches and similarly coloured earth.

At the end of our somewhat satisfatory harvest, we treated ourselves to some Jause, bread and hot drinks. Jause is a typical snack served in higher altitudes and consist mainly of thick slabs of fatty air-dried meat, thinly sliced hams, cheeses and gherkins. In the past, it is a fatty diet, an ideal one in fact for workers dealing with labour-intensive work in the harsh climate at higher altitudes. Now, it is tradition passed down and a form of comfort food which should only be indulged occasionally.

And lastly, a joke we often share whenever the topic of mushrooms crops up:

The last words from a mushroom picker are: "Those...I do not recognise..."