Ms Skinnyfat: Cuisine (Asian)

Riding on the Korean wave, home-grown brand Seoul Garden Group has opened two new Korean F&B concepts at Century Square mall- Seoul in a Sandwich and Two Hana to draw in the young and trendy. The former is a Korea sandwich kiosk, and the latter a Korean cafe, both with Western influences.

Time pressed but don't wanna reach out for instant ramyeon? Well Seoul in a Sandwich provides the warm comfort of Korean food in a convenient sandwich made with Western breads. I'm sure you'd know of the Issac toast craze, well, it's very similar but you get better breads at Seoul in a Sandwich for sure.

Of course they have a similar Seoul Street Toast ($6.50), a simple buttered sandwich with onion-cabbage omelette, chicken ham, sliced cheese and mayo. It sounds really simple but woah, it's a sandwich that i can have for days. I would love for more mayo on this but apparently everyone feels that it's sufficient. How can there ever be enough mayo??

An unsuspecting favorite of mine is the Kimchi Prawn Cocktail ($7.50). I loved the fluffy and fragrant buttered focaccia bun which sandwiches a cold mix of Asian pear, kimchi, and mesclun mix. The kimchi flavor is very subtle in this one, which allows the light sweetness of the pear and prawns to come through.

Something special is the Army Stew-wich ($8.50) made of a soft Tteokbokki, chicken sausage and spam, sliced cheese, daikon slaw on mayo ciabatta toast. I would say this tastes like what a healthier version of an Army stew. I was expecting punchier flavors but this was more balanced with a bed of refreshing daikon salad. If you love bulgogi, there's a Bulgogi Cheese Steak ($8.50) filled with sauteed peppers, grilled bulgogi beef and cheddar mozzarella mix, all in a buttered baguette. I'm not a huge fan of sweet meats so this wasn't for me.

If you prefer sweet toast, give their Asian Pear Toast consisting of citron jam bits with cream cheese a try. The Matcha White Chocolate toast was also calling my name.

If you have more time, head over to Two Hana for a modern Korean meal any time of the day. From 8am to 10pm, Two Hana promises to fill you up any time. What i love is the hearty and generous food served at value-for-money prices.

Now, i'll just go straight to what i enjoyed. Go for the Korean Cauliflower Fritters ($9 for 6-8pcs) rather than the Kimchi Mac & Cheese or the Drumlets. The tempura battered cauliflowers are coated with a lightly spiced inspired dakkanjung sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds and spring onions. It's light and refreshing.

The downfall of the Kimchi Mac & Cheese and the Drumlets (Honey Butter and Yangnyeom) is the oily flavor. It could be an opening issue so it could be rectified by the time you try it. I couldn't taste much of the kimchi in the mac & cheese cubes though, but be careful of the extremely spicy chili dip that it comes with. The drumlets had too much batter, some of which soggy and uncooked. Flavor wise, the spicy flavor helped to mask the oily taste but the honey butter sauce unfortunately enhanced it.

For mains, i absolutely LOVE the Striploin Bap ($13). Kimgarou rice is topped with with generous servings of kimchi, spinach and beansprout namul, caramelised onions and 63 degree poached egg, crowned with perfectly-seared juicy medium-rare striploin slices. I cannot believe how much meat there was on my bowl. SO GOOD!!

For sharing, go for the huge Braised Gochujang Lamb Shank ($24) which if fork tender from being sous vide for 36 hours! There isn't any strong lamb taste to this and the flavors reminded me more of an ox-tail stew. Whatever it is, it's super hearty and perfect for 2-3pax. The lamb is served with a special kimchi-soft rolls, and a side of kimchi mash, which has a distinct butter flavor to it (we hear that it's 40% butter in this mix)!

For something lighter, the Korean Seafood Ciopinno ($13) takes its inspiration from a soondubu jigae but i thought it was a little more like a tomato-based western soup. Anyhow, lovely creamy tomato flavor in this, with fresh mussels, clams and prawns in it. Choose to have this with their soft rolls or tofu in this.

Two Hana is perfect for that coffee break as well. Allpress coffee is used here and the desserts and ice cream are quire spectacular. Do not miss the Apple Caramel Waffles with Doenjang Caramel Ice Cream ($9)! Love the crispy waffles and the salty-sweet fermented soy bean icecream pairs perfectly with the cinnamon spiced apple puree. Their honey citron ice cream is very refreshing as well.

I also had the Cookies and Cream Affogato and that cream balanced the acidity in the espresso perfectly. Their Iced Matcha Latte ($6) isn't a bad choice either as it's not overly sweet. Oh and it comes with a super buttery fish bochubang!

I need no more reasons to head back to Seoul In A Sandwich and Two Hana for a meal. Missing that Kimchi Prawn Sandwich and Sirloin Bap already!

Seoul In A Sandwich

#B1-23 Century Square

2 Tampines Central 5 Singapore 529509

Daily: 10am – 10pm

Two Hana

#01-21 Century Square

2 Tampines Central 5 Singapore 529509

Daily: 8am - 10pm

Truth be told, i wasn't expecting much from The Spot when i first heard about it- multi-concept venue that is café, restaurant, bar, and cigar lounge? Well there's only that much that one can do well. But god it hits the spot and it definitely is one of the best restaurants of 2018.

Located at Marina One, The Spot provides a seamless wine-and-dine experience together with its strategic partners- 1855 The Bottle Shop and South East Asia’s first and only The Macallan Boutique @1855. It sounds very drink-focused and the decor screams chi-chi bar but dayum the food has fine-dining hidden in every plate. #mindblown

The man behind the dishes is Executive Chef Lee Boon Seng – formerly of Osia and Curate, and he serves a ‘Contemporary European, South East Asian-sauce- centric cuisine.’ The secret is in the sauces, which consists of exotic South East Asian fruits, spices and herbs. Each sauce could take months to develop and you'd be surprised at how luscious they are!

One of the greatest challenge of a chef must be running an all-day dining restaurant in a hotel. There must be a wide selection of dishes for guests of all nationality and ages, and a balance between serving Singapore cuisine and international ones. Now throw in the healthy eating trend too and get the chef to whip up a menu that incorporates all of the above! Thankfully for Courtyard by Marriott, they've found Executive Chef John Chye who managed to do all of that at Sky 22.

Sky 22 is located on the 22nd floor of the newly opened hotel and diners get to enjoy an expansive view of the city area while dining. While breakfast is quite typical (western and local), lunch is more refreshing with the option to Build Your Own (Healthy) Bowl.

You'll taste more of Chef Chye's creations at dinner. Local flavors are infused into Western cooking and some of his inspirations come from dishes like Hakka Braised Pork, Singapore Chili Crab and more. Of course, standard Western dishes as thrown in for diners who are not that adventurous.

A safe but tasty appetizer is the Oven-baked Camembert Cheese ($18). Somehow the saltiness of the Camembert was enhanced and it's gorgeous with the herby arugula walnut pesto and the earthy and tart Rosemary-balsamic portobello. Perfect combination on the crusty sourdough. Simplicity is awesome.

There was a time when Yung Kee was the go to for roast goose in Hong Kong. But as predictable as HK TVB dramas, a family feud resulted in a winding up order end 2015. Well, truth be told, the falling standard and the rising prices have made it an unpopular choice and i sought other alternatives on my subsequent trips. This time, we compare the "successor" of Yung Kee- Kam's Roast Goose and hole-in-the-wall cranky Yat Lok, both of which have been earning the 1 Michelin Star badge since 2015.

Kam's Roast Goose (KRG) was started by the third generation of the family that started Yung Kung. Within a year of opening, they earned their first Michelin star, a feat that Yung Kee did not even managed. KRG knew to stick with the winning formula and kept the family recipe (sauce and marinade techniques), goose supplier, and chef (formerly at Yung Kee) the same.

Of course, KRG must have improved something along the way. How else could we explain the consecutive Michelin star that they have clinched from 2015 to 2017. They are so successful that they have even opened an outpost here in Singapore (read the review of Kam's Roast Goose Singapore here).

The 30 seater store at Wan Chai is perpetually packed. Be prepared to queue or you may miss out on their signature roast goose leg on rice. Well we went at 3pm and had to order half a goose in order to enjoy the juicy leg. To be honest, i'm not a fan of roast goose, i find them too fatty and would rather have roast duck or char siew instead. I was a bit disappointed at the roast goose at Kam's as the skin wasn't very crispy and the fats weren't quite rendered enough to flavor the meat.

I also made the mistake of not ordering the char siew!! Well, i was seduced by the lap cheong because we don't get the cured goose liver sausage in Singapore. That obviously didn't turn out too well and i ended up having to stuff my face with the incredibly seasoned and strong-flavored sausage and not having space for that glorious fatty caramelized meat. I was hoping that the blood sausage would be as good as the version that i had at Man Fu Yuan (they serve it with the stuffed suckling pig).

Decent fare at KRG. The noodles are super springy and i'd pick that over the rice. Next time, i'll stick to char siew, and their suckling pig.

Kam’s Roast Goose 甘牌燒鵝

Po Wah Commercial Centre, 226 Hennessy Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2520 1110

Daily: 11.30am – 9.30pm

I will always remember my first Yat Lok experience. I was exploring Sheung Wan on my own and i couldn't decide on what to have for dinner (because i ruined it with Tim Ho Wan's char siew bo lo bao for tea, and i was also down with a cold). The Michelin guide told me there's a 1 star roast goose place in the area and i ended up eating a meal because it was empty (at 8ish pm) and the food is quite cheap. FYI they have also clinched a 1 Michelin star from 2015 - 2017.

It was late and Yat Lok had already ran out of roast goose leg so i went for the meat and another side of char siew on rice. I only wanted to have a taste because my throat was protesting from an inflammation, but i ended up polishing the entire plate of rice. That was how good it was.

The skin was thin and crispy with a thin layer of fats that melt in your mouth. The meat was succulent and well flavored and that sauce was amazing! I wasn't expecting much when the dish was presented to me but that light colored sauce added so much more flavor to the fluffy rice. Even though the char siew looked a little pale and not caramelized enough, it was a great accompaniment to the glistening roast goose.

The environment is not as comfortable as Kam's Roast Goose and I heard that the service can be pretty curt but i'll bear with that for their delicious meats.

Yat Lok
34-38 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2524 3882

While writing this article, i was a little confused on whether Yung Kee has reopened. I didn't bother checking it out when i was in Hong Kong this year but it seems like they are active on their social media accounts. If that's the case, perhaps there's a need to check them out again to make a comparison.

Yung Kee

32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2522 1624

Daily: 11am - 11.30pm

The winner of the Michelin Star Hong Kong Roast Meat goes to... YAT LOK! If they can make a sick girl with an inflamed throat wolf down a plate of roast meat on rice, you can bet that it's worth your calories.

Share with us your other favorite roast meat places in Hong Kong and we'll check them off the next time we visit.

XOXO
Travelerintransit

Kogane Yama is the latest kid on the block to join the Ten-don craze in Singapore. Japanese for “golden mountain”, that is the image the folks behind Chir Chir Fusion Chicken and Masizzim want to evoke in you when you stare at the pieces of golden brown tempura piled up high on a mound of sticky, warm Japanese rice (if you order the set with udon or soba, then sorry you might have to imagine a golden field instead, since your tempura comes served on a plate!).

Located on Level 2 of Bugis Junction, Kogane Yama is a cosy restaurant that seats around 40. As with any specialty restaurants, you do not get a lot of choices as the menu is kept very lean. The decision making process involves 4 steps, from choosing your tempura, to choosing your carbs, then choosing the spiciness of your sauce and finally whether to make it a set. Simple! If you don’t eat tempura, or do not espouse deep fried food, then you might want to go somewhere else instead because there really isn’t much else of an option for you.

Kogane Yama offers a choice of 4 types of tempura bowls (or plates) - vegetable, chicken, prawn or combination. If greedy or indecisive are qualities ascribed to you, then the choice is simple- the combination bowl offers two prawns, a piece of fried chicken (that reminded me a lot of Long John Silver, not a bad thing since I love the batter but that of course is personal!) and an assortment of tempura vegetables. As the items are fried-to-order, you should expect a bit of waiting time; after all this is no fast food restaurant!

Most of the items served are pretty standard; the chicken I had was a tad dry although other diners commented that theirs were ok. The prawns were fairly sizeable and fresh but not mind blowing. But don’t get me wrong, it is definitely delicious for the price. The standout items for me were the tempura seaweed (essentially deep fried Taokaenoi) which was crispy and not too salty, as well as the deep fried prawn heads that were served detached from the bodies! All that crustacean brain goodness! Less commonly seen in Ten-don restaurants is the tempura Shisho leaf, an acquired taste for many because of its minty, herby taste. The tempura is drizzled all over with your choice of sauce- the Level 2 (out of 3) spicy level was the favourite for the night. It was a good mix of sweet and spicy without being overbearing.

When questioned on what is Singapore heritage food, most would think Peranakan but it's only a subset of it. Chef Damian D’Silva of Folklore will tell you that Singapore heritage food is a cuisine that represents the various ethnic groups in Singapore. It consists of the age-old recipes passed down from generation to generation; food that we eat at home; the my-grandmother-cooked-it-better dishes that are special to each family; the lost recipes that are not found in restaurants because they are too labor intensive to make. Because of one man's dedication to documenting his family's secret recipes, we now have Folklore

This man is passionate, some say crazy, to commercialize this sort of artisanal home cooking. Painstaking labor and long hours go into coaxing the flavors out of the handpicked ingredients. For the prices that he charges, I'm not sure if it makes any profit sense.

Let's bring on the rendang, chap chye, hae zor, assam fish and more!

We started with some cold appetizers. A spicy refreshing start came in the form of a Four Angled Bean Salad ($12). Green mangos, chilies, ginger flower and dried shrimps tossed in a sweet sour sambal belachan sauce. It can be very spicy!

Singapore Chinese are different from China Chinese (please get that right) and our cuisine cannot be more distinct. That said, i think that Singaporean Chinese are most familiar with the Cantonese and Teochew style of cooking. We hardly know much about provincial cuisine other than Beijing Roast Duck and Sichuan Ma La Hotpot. Well, Silk Road Restaurant at Amara Hotel Singapore endeavors to educate you a little through their fare from Sichuan, Shaanxi, Liaoning and Beijing.

Look at this pot of gold!!

Start your meal with something hot and comforting. Silk Road's Double-boiled Chicken Soup with ginseng and gastrodia root has extracted the essence of the chicken after having boiled it for over 6 hours with herbs used in sichuan cuisine. Umami yes, but a tad on the oily side though the flavors are quite nicely balanced and not too herby.

If the regular yusheng tastes too light for you, the Eight Treasures Yu Sheng will knock you out with its intense flavor. The toppings may seem more Japanese but the flavor is punchy, pungent Sichuan with their potent blend of spicy garlic sauce.

It's time to do some last minute snagging of tables for Chinese New Year reunion dinner! If you're lucky, you may still be able to dine at Hai Tien Lo, which has consistently been offering great menus for festive communal gatherings.

My favorite part of the Yu Sheng is always the crispy deep-fried cracker. Over at Hai Tien Lo, they have added an extra dimension to their Flourishing Wealth Yu Sheng with some deep fried salmon fish skin. If you, like me, have a pathological attraction to salted egg fish skin, you would definitely welcome this addition to the Yu Sheng. If not, you would still love tossing around the luxurious ingredients which include Boston lobster, Norwegian salmon and Pacific clams.

The Double-boiled Buddha Jumps Over the Wall with Maca and Wolfberry Soup was packed with indulgent ingredients like succulent abalone and dried scallop, and was hearty and nourishing.

It's time to start panicking about CNY dinners! Most restaurants are filling up fast, with some already fully reserved for Chinese New Year’s Eve. So it's gonna be a furious week of CNY posts on the blog. Here's one for you at Peach Blossoms at Marina Mandarin!

Chinese New Year is not complete without the ubiquitous Yu Sheng. Health conscious foodies have turned their backs on the traditional Yu Sheng that often gets additional sweetness from candied goodies like ginger and winter melon. Peach Blossoms' Marina Mandarin Salmon Yu Sheng with mixed fruits uses an array of colorful fruits that naturally sweetens the dish with the mix of shredded strawberry, jackfruit, kiwi and rock melon. We definitely approve the concept of eating by colors!

Guaranteed to elicit oohs-and-ahhs is the Barbecued Whole Suckling Pig. Golden brown, yet thin and crispy, the suckling pig skin goes exceptionally well with the steamed buns and sweet sauce that are served alongside.

Other highlights from the Chinese New Year festive set menus include the Double-boiled Kampung Chicken Soup with Premium Matsutake Mushroom. Affectionately also known as Japanese Truffle, the Matsutake mushrooms imparts a heady aroma and earthy flavour to the nourishing double boiled chicken soup, providing much comfort and satisfaction.

Peach Blossoms elevates the now commonplace salted egg prawns to a luxurious level with their Baked Boston Lobster with Creamy Salted Egg Yolk and Cheese. Rich but not overly unctuous, this dish is sure to win over even your fussy grandmother!

Birds of a feather, flock together. Any foodie gathering would be made more enjoyable with good food and rejuvenating ambience at Birds of a Feather, a newly opened cafe and bar at Amoy Street.

The all-day-dining cafe and bar offers a contemporary Western cuisine with a pronounced Szechuan influence. Hipster Szechuan i say! In the day, Birds of a Feather is an elegant Chinese tea house filled with light coming in through the air-well; In the night, it turns into a cozy speakeasy type of restaurant-bar.

The Crispy Pork Trotter in a Bag (5pcs for $12) is gonna be my standard order at Birds of a Feather. Shake the crispy meat with savory Szechuan spices a la shaker fries style before you take a bite. The meat may look tough and dry on the outside, but you'll realize it's anything but that once you take a bite. I simply can't stop thinking about that cracker-like skin..

The Fortune Skewers in Szechuan Pepper Broth ($19, +5 for Japanese arrowroot noodles) may look like a harmless pot of oden but be careful when you take a sip as the silent spice may creep up on you. I liked how this is light tasting but flavorful and you also get that numbing (ma la) sensation as you get through the sticks.

Another crunchy snack to have is the Chicken in the Chilies ($16) but it pales in comparison to the spicy trotters.

Need to reduce the heat? Well i chose to put out that fire with some Hot Yuzu Tea ($16), which is actually a cocktail! I'm pleased to report that there's a variety of cocktails, spirits, and wines to accompany the fiery dishes.

For lunch, tuck into a light Roasted Chicken & Avocado Salad with Szechuan Pepper; tantalizing and hearty Grilled Cheese Panini with Szechuan braised pork belly and pickled cabbage and fried potatoes; or a satisfying Birds Signature Burger of charcoal grilled beef patty, foie gras, cheddar, carmelized onion, with a chili soy tapenade inspired by Szechuan Dou Pan Jiang 豆瓣酱!

On the dinner menu, an interesting item is the Hot & Sour Chazuke ($28), a comforting rice-soup comprising Niigata rice and a spicy pickled mustard green broth, charcoal-grilled barramundi and mentaiko. It's like a refined version of a home cooked steamed fish dish. It's definitely perfect for a cold night or when you're in need of some familiar comfort.

Oriental Bolognaise ($20, or $22 with spice) is another of my favorite. I found it hard to resist the saucy angel hair pasta tossed with saucy pork ragout, and thickened with an onsen tamago. Go for spice for sure, it really isn't that spicy. I loved how the thin noodles pick up the minced meat in the their web.

Skip the Tofu Burger with MAPO Meat Sauce ($22). I found the breaded tofu cheese patty to be crumbly and bland and the MAPO pork ragout was so mild it went undetected by my tastebuds. More sauce and punch are needed in this one.

For desserts, how about a Deep fried Glutinous Rice Cake ($12) with Okinawan black sugar syrup and kinako (roasted whole soy flour)? This is like a fried version of warabi mochi with a crispy exterior and a slightly chewy center.

I preferred the Poached Pear ($12) with citrus, ginger, longan, snow fungus, and orange caramel ice cream. Flavorwise, it's exactly like cheng teng, with a pronounced burst of orange peel. Very refreshing!

Birds of a Feather has an interesting and strong dining concept that I enjoyed very much. I'm excited to give their breakfast a shot next time, given the excellent shot of Feather's Coffee ($7.50) that i tasted (made from a blend of Brazil, Guatemala and Sumatra beans). This comes topped with a torched meringue which may be a tad sweet for seasoned coffee drinkers. Fret now, they also have regular specialty coffee here, all with double shots of espresso (YAASSS). Single original coffee and manual brew methods are available too!