Quest for Pasta Perfection #1: Spicy Prawn Mexicana

I love pasta. As a pasta aficionado, I decided to document my pasta cooking adventures to share my discoveries on the intricacies of pasta perfection..........mmmm..........I love pasta......did I mention that before??

Anyway, Pat got me a pasta cookbook recently and to show my appreciation, I cooked her a pasta lunch. As my cooking experiences aren't exactly extensive, I chose the relatively easy Spicy Prawn Mexicana. This is a bit of a cheat's recipe since the sauce is based on store bought salsa. All you need is:

700g prawns, shelled and deveined
1 chilli, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1 jar of hot salsa
1 cup of cream
500g rigatoni
parsley to garnish

Ingredients for Spicy Prawn Mexicana: prawns, chilli, garlic, spring onion, parsley, hot salsa, rigatoni pasta and cream.

To make the sauce, fry the chilli, garlic and green onion until fragrant.

Add the prawns...

then the salsa and cream...

and cook until the prawns are done. Serve with al dente rigatoni pasta and garnish with parsley.

The sauce was surprisingly good, even though it tasted mostly of salsa. I'd consider making my own salsa next time but seeing as the kitchen did not set alight and nobody keeled over from food poisoning, I'll count this as a success :).

Temasek - Singaporean Delights!!

My recent burst of wealth generated by the long and tedious hours on the GIO phones have continually disappeared from my coffers with the distribution of these funds heavily skewed towards my trip to SE Asia. Regardless of this communistic and centrally controlled budgeting system, I always wanted to do something for Pat's parents for their generosity, hospitality and their tolerance towards my juvenile table manners and ceaseless fridge raids.

A few weeks ago, I finally took the initiative to book a table for four at Temasek on the evening of the 18th of November. This highly anticipated visit was about to be fulfilled with a night full of exquisite and exotic Asian cuisines that would leave all food lovers salivating after the trailing scent of aromatic spices and herbs.

The atmosphere upon arrival set the tone for the whole evening. As we approached the congested alleyway which harboured the entrance to the west wing of the restaurant, our passage inside was obstructed by a group of people inquiring about their bookings and availabilities. After scurrying about looking for the very few vacant seats remaining for these customers, the waitress eventually noticed my feeble attempts to catch her attention. After a rapid scan of the restaurant, the waitress shoved us into one of the 'cosy' corners of the restaurant and scurried back to the entrance to accommodate the growing queue of hungry customers. 'Finally, a table!!' we thought. This excitement was short-lived as we were shipped to the other side of the restaurant to make way for a larger group of people who had just arrived moments after us. The restaurant was like a Bangkok marketplace!!!

After the hustle and bustle, we immediately analysed and dissected the menu for meals that would satiate our hunger. Luring our attention were the 'Special Set Menu for 4 person' deals which offerred an excellent assortment of dishes covering a flexible price range from $46 to $66. Having already tried some of the set menus during previous visits we opted for the most expensive one of all which was populated by the following dishes.

The first dish from the set menu was the Serai pork: pork slices marinaded in a succulent and sweet lemon grass marinade sauce. The lemon grass accent was definitely the highlight of this dish, however, when eaten together with rice, this subtlety quickly diminished, leaving only the sweet caramelised flavours teasing away at the taste buds. I personally would have liked a more stronger lemon grass appeal but overall this dish was worth 3 YUMS.

Serai Pork

Next on the menu was the Sambal fish: fish drenched with a sweet onion and red chili sauce. This dish is a must for all spice lovers. The wonderful aspect of this dish is the strange sequence of flavours upon its encounter with the taste buds. The initial sweetness of the onion sauce leaves a pleasurable taste lingering in the mouth, however, this is soon overcome by the rush of spices accentuated by the chili seeds scattered throughout the dish. You will definitely need rice, water or a firetruck to cool this baby down! Overall a great dish - 4 YUMS.

Sambal fish

The Assam Prawns.....hmm......what can I say about this dish?? Does Tom Yam Soup ring a bell to anyone??? I don't know who stole what from who but the Singaporeans or Malaysians certainly took a leaf out of the Thai cookbook here (or maybe it was the other way around). Anyway, disregarding the origin of these flavours, this soup is fantastic. I've always been a fan of Tom Yam Soup so anything that resembles it can't really go wrong. For those that don't know, Tom Yam is a subtle blend of hot and sour with citrus overtones. This version definitely has that plus tomotoes which adds an extra element of viscosity to it. The disappointing thing about this dish was the time it took to get it out. The service was quite poor at this restaurant with stressed out waiters forgetting about requests and orders. It took them almost 30-40 minutes to bring out this dish out (after reminding them about 3 times!!!). 4 YUMS.

Assam prawns

Cabbage that grows in a swamp........or swamp cabbage........is the main ingredient of the next dish. The Balacan Kang Kong combines this ingredient with a shrimp paste/sauce which provides a.....well....shrimp paste flavour funnily enough. Despite the simplicity of this dish, its flavours complemented the other dishes very well. 3 YUMS for this one.

Balacan kang kong

Last, but definitely not least, is the Hainanese Chicken. Looking at the picture below you might think that the chicken is bland as a rump steak cooked on a BBQ with no hint of seasoning (that one is for you Patrick). Ah hah! But do not be fooled people! Notice its three colourful companions adoring and hugging the chicken flesh - we named these kecap manis (far left), ginger (center top) and chilli sauce (far right). Combining these three sauces with the slices of chicken added an array of flavours that blended well with each other. The kecap manis added the saltiness, with the ginger and chilli ameliorating and complementing the chicken with subtle spices and flavours. I'll give this one 3.5 YUMS.

Hainanese chicken served with pickled chili sauce, kecap manis and ginger

By the end of the night we were all stuffed. Great food and poor service, but what can you expect from a busy restaurant. Overall this was a pleasurable experience and I'll give it 3.5 YUMS for the food only (If I considered the service, it would be significantly lower).

Ichi-ban Boshi

After pushing through crowds of people, lining up in queues for absolutely everything (i.e change rooms, cash registers, escalators) and sampling yummy Lindt chocolate at the Myer Special Christmas night, Pat and I decided to walk to Ichiban Boshi for some ramen goodness. Plus, it was the only decent joint opened at eight pm on a Tuesday night that was conveniently located near public transport.

The queue was peculiarly short (hurrah!). We already knew what we wanted so this was what we ordered:

Gyoza

Very Hot Ramen

Hiyashi Chuka

Just the thing to hit the spot after a long, tiring night of shopping.

Jangers' Birthday at The Malaya

After a failed attempt to book The Malaya for Ken's birthday, we decided to try again for Jangers' birthday. We arrived at the restaurant on a wet, dreary sunday evening with pretty high expectations of the meal to come. The restaurant was not too busy and dimly lit with a chilled atmosphere. While we waited for the others to arrive, we started leafing through the menu, settling on the set menu section, being too lazy to make the decision of which dishes order. A tease of intense spicy smells emanated from the open kitchen so that by the time the others had been seated, we felt we could eat everything from the menu. We opted for the set menu 2 as we were all intrigued by the Malaya Chef's Hat and it seemed to have a better range of dishes than the others.

First up were the scallops. Sweet, juicy scallops steamed in a light soy sauce and cooked to perfection. Patrick thought this dish was a little ordinary but both Irene and I though the natural flavour of the scallops was the centrepiece. Although they were a little on the small side, it was a great start to our dinner.

Steamed Scallops: Scallops in the shell steamed with fresh ginger, shallots, chilli and soy sauce.

One disappointing point of the evening was that two dishes from the set menu weren't available. Instead of the Barbecued Atlantic Salmon, we had the Prawn Paggang and the The Malaya Chef's Hat was replaced by Salmon Rolls. Boo! However, both the replacement dishes were surprisingly good. The prawns were firm and fresh and were topped with a creamy, nutty sauce. The salmon rolls (which I can't seem to find on the menu) were a hit with almost everyone on the table.

King Prawn Paggang: Marinated king prawns skewered, barbequed and served with a spicy cashew nut, peanut and coconut sauce.

Salmon roll: Salmon sashimi and vegetables wrapped in a thin pastry skin and served with sweet chili sauce (foreground). Malaytini: Lychees crushed with gomme, panama passionfruit, Skyy vodka and Soho lychee liqueur. Fruitasia: Fresh strawberries, lychees and passionfruit with gomme, red grapefruit, apple & cranberry juice (background).

The dish that scored five yums from everyone was definitely the Satay Beef. The beef was tender and the sauce was incredibly tasty - not your run of the mill "peanut butter" satay sauce.

Satay Beef: Singaporean style marinated pieces of beef fillet skewered, barbequed and served with Malaya Satay sauce made from fresh ground peanuts and chilli.

By the time they cleared our bowls and plates, we were all smiles and we'd only had the entree's! We didn't have to wait long for the mains with the vegetables, prawns and chicken arriving in quick succession. Each dish had its own unique flavour - the vegetables light and fresh, the prawns creamy and the chicken sweet and spicy.

Fresh Seasonal Vegetables: Asian green vegetables stir-fried with garlic, soy sauce and fresh chilli.

Kapitan King Prawns: Penang style curry sauce made with fresh chilli and coconut milk served with lightly battered king prawns.

Szechuan Chicken: Marinated pieces of chicken thigh fillet stir-fried dry style with shallots, cashew nuts and dry chillies. Served on a bed of English spinach.

After the three mains, we all wondered whether there were any more courses to come when this arrived:

Lamb Bali with Roti Canai: Indonesian style red curry lamb cooked with a tomato base. Served with pan fried crispy Malay bread.

Patrick's face said it all...

We were completely stuff by the end of the 8 courses and not even the slightly slow waiter nor the sunday surcharge spoilt our experience. Overall, The Malaya was great value ($48 p.p. for set menu 2) for its waterfront location and quality of dishes. We rate it 4 yums!

Yum Cha @ Marigold

How could anyone not love yum cha? Steamed dumplings, savoury dishes and desserts paraded in trolleys weaving around a busy, noisy and packed restaurant. Yum cha dishes are normally strongly flavoured, served in bite-size portions (similar to that of hors d'oeuvres) in metal or bamboo steamers and complemented with chinese tea. Due to the variety of dishes, everyone can enjoy assorted food with different ingredients, flavour and taste in one meal.

FFL are such devotees of yum cha that we decided to forego the GFM Sydney Food & Wine Fair and headed to the hustle & bustle of Chinatown for a Saturday brunch at Marigold instead. We rate Marigold as our Yum Cha restaurant of choice in terms of quality and price. As we patiently stood and waited in the cramped little lift to Level 5, we started salavating at the enticing smell of the familiar classic dishes such as har gow & fung jao, to more intriguing dishes like clams with black beans. We were surprisingly seated almost immediately and therefore, did not have to endure the agonising wait for other patrons to leave quickly!

(Note: when heading to Marigold, avoid being seated on Level 4, Level 5 is where the action is! On Level 5, it is seriously about a minute's lapse between the time your morsel of choice leaves the steamer, the sauté pan or the deep fryer and the moment it lands on your table and inevitably, in your mouth)

As we sat there sipping jasmine tea, we started excitedly waving down passing trolleys and loading our table with crowd favourites like:

Cha siu bao (BBQ pork buns), Gai lan (chinese broccoli in oyster sauce), squid and Fung jao (chicken's feet)

Fung Jao (literally "Phoenix claws" but we call them chicken's feet)

Fried rice noodle with hoi sin and peanut sauce

Sticky rice with chicken

Har Gow (Prawn dumplings) and spinach dumplings

Fish balls

Mango pancakes aka mango weiss bars!

Other than the weirdo salty sauce for the fishballs, everything was delicious. The fung jao and har gow were of exceptional standard (those are my staples for measuring quality of yum cha). Marigold offers a wide selection of dishes, the food is incredibly tasty & satisfying, and the service is good (well about as good as it can get for yum cha!).