Mouth Restaurant: Treasure Pot Feast 九大簋盆菜

相信大家对传统的“盆菜” 一点也不陌生、但是您可曾听过 “九大簋盆菜” ？ 虽然 [簋] 和[鬼] 同音，但它其实是中国广东传统的吉祥菜。据说贫民吃盆菜，而较富裕的家庭吃的就是九大簋盆菜。一向来都走在“食尚”尖端的地茂馆这次推出了“九大簋套餐” ，豪迈大气、价钱公道、适合一家大小来品尝。

相较与把所有珍贵食材混为一体的盆菜，九大簋盆菜则是分开来吃。因此簋指的就是古代放置食物的器皿，而「九大」则代表風、雲、雷、雨、海、火、水、地、天，是「造物之初」的「相爭」之物。

一般的九大都以烧乳猪开场。为配合十至十二月的寒季，店家把原有的脆皮烧猪改成上海清蒸大闸蟹 。采用清蒸的方式保留了蟹的原汁原味。蟹肉不多，重点在于蟹膏。浓郁的蟹膏沾上黑醋一起吃、一来抵消油腻、二来衬托出鲜甜。

自从多年前了解鱼翅的捕获过程，我已经不碰鱼翅了。不过这道街头碗仔翅却让我吃得津津有味。它虽起源于鱼翅，用的却不是真鱼翅。这道四五十年代的香港街边小吃有冬菇、木耳和猪肉丝、淋上红醋或黑醋，有趣地搭配酥脆的云吞皮、非常开胃。

紧接着的怀旧窝貼虾也是一道经典佳肴。炸至金黄色的吐司脆而不腻、搭配来自沙地阿拉伯特别养殖的 “沙漠虾” (desert prawn) ，鲜嫩爽口、炮制出微妙的双重口感。

豆腐料理也毫不逊色。月滿抱琵琶是道汉族鲁菜、类似酿豆腐，以简单清蒸的方式带出肉碎和虾肉的鲜味。

九道大菜当中我最钟爱的一道菜便是这个三杯酒班球。龙胆石斑鱼经过大火油炸、色泽金黄、口感细腻。淋上的三杯鸡调料味道香甜、倘若姜和九层塔的味道再突出一点就成为一道完美的菜肴了。一般农历新年才吃得到的海参也华丽登场。

鮑汁三海味犹如数珍宝、除了海参还有冬菇和魚鰾 。

黑松露野菌芦笋采用两种不同的松露提味、香味扑鼻，与爽脆的芦笋完美地结合。

香港庙街砂煲饭有“色” 有 “香”、唯独缺乏了“味”、或许它走的是清淡路线，不过如果增添多点黑酱油香会更棒。

大闸蟹属于寒性食物。精心安排的甜点便是能够暖身怯寒的双煮姜茶汤圆。姜茶带有微微的姜香，顺口清甜、为整场飨宴画上完美的句点。

传奇流沙包

地茂馆从即日起已推出多种套餐，除了套餐之外、大家一定不可错过闻名遐迩的“传奇流沙包”。即我上次拜访地茂馆虽已有一年之久、但流沙包维持水准、与一般的流沙包相比多了松脆的外皮，仍然是我至今吃过最好的流沙包。还有上次错失的墨汁叉烧包这次终于尝到。焦点不是墨汁，而是那柔软的包子，多汁的肉馅，吃起来格外满足，不容错过！

“九大簋套餐”（ 6-9人 每人$31.80++ / 10人以上 $29.80++）

“大闸蟹套餐” （三种选择： $38.80/$48.80 /$88.80）

详情请查阅：http://www.mouth.com.sg/

Mouth Restaurant (地茂馆)

China Square Central

South Bridge Court Shop House

22 Cross Street #01-61

Singapore 048421

Tel: +65 64385798 

鸣谢地茂馆的美食特邀

文献参考：

http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/8/1/23/n1987806.htm

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Les Patisseries Toa Payoh

Opened by three young culinary graduates, Les Patisserie may be "another cafe in the hoods" but not quite so because it churns out some fine French pastries which caught my curiosity. Very much so since there is a scarcity of good ones in SG. 

Dulcey Hazelnut $7

I selfishly wished that the people could just focus on pastries and execute them well. But perhaps diversifying into savoury brunches, light pasta meals and coffee is also part of their survival strategy. Trying to be as fair as possible (though it's still impossible la), I went twice and tasted everything except for the Fraiser, Tarte Au Citron and Tarte Tartin.

Is this Rocky or Softy?

L'Rocky ($7) created a false illusion of a sophisticated multi-textured gateau when it was simply a chocolate mousse-sponge coated with chocolate ganache. What could be an unadulterated chocolate experience was tainted by the rancid nuts and some compressed honeyed almond chips that failed to impart any exciting crunch. Same goes for the Chocolate macaron ($2.50/pc). It looked pretty but the meringue shells seemed to be subjected under much tension. Too chewy. 

I would be heavily condemned for trivializing the original inventor of the Plaisir because this is quite a faithful and successful reproduction of almond jaconde, vanilla Bavarian cream and chocolate mousse. Treading a safe and cautious path, the Plaisir could etch out a sharper character if the Pate a Bomb was torched longer for a more brilliantly golden caramelized sheen.

But to my great relief, I managed to find the Creme of the crop here-Dulcey Hazelnut $7. Like the buttery sweetness of melted Valhorna Blonde, there is a sublime overload of gooey milk jam, accented marvellously by the under layer of nutty nibbling and crunchy tart shell. Don't say I didn't warn you about the sweetness. But it's truly a revelation of the senses.

(Updates: the original tart shell has changed to chocolate shell on my most recent visit)

I can't appreciate coffee but I do love my Opera. The alternating layers of smooth, robust coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache worked in synchrony, triggering relapse of haunting and bitter melancholy. 

The pastries that I had on my 2nd visit fared much better, though the Salted Caramel macaron is still too chewy. The stretchy innards of the Croissant ($2.80) has a delectable saltiness which most croissants lacked, but it is still not the best in town.

If you are a fan of mango, then I'm quite sure you'll like the Mango Mousse Cake. Yes, the components were too prosaic but the silky texture of the mousse was noteworthy. Best of all, the chefs got the right sweetness. 

 

Tiramisu

This mountain-lookalike Italian classic consists of two biscuit sponges layered with mascarpone cream. Texture works but not the java flavour as the espresso and coffee liquor were too weak. 

Forest Berry $6.50

Not a novelty, but alas something that is quite rarely spotted here. Crunchy, lightly salted Sable Base topped with berries and piped with Creme patisserie. Together with the Dulcey Hazelnut Tart, this gave me the hope that Les Patisserie has the potential to create more promising pastries, if they can break out of the saturated zone. 

Price Range: Reasonable 
$5.50-$8.50 for petit cakes
$2.50 / macaron
$2.80 for plain croissant

Les Patisseries

Blk 186, Toa Payoh Central #01-428

Singapore 310186

10am-10pm Daily

https://www.facebook.com/lespatisseries.com.sg

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The Boiler: It's a Crustacean Feast

Run by bankers-turned restauranteurs, The Boiler is an Louisiana style Seafood restaurant located in the most unthinkable place-Tai Seng Industrial area. But the location doesn't seem to matter at all, given that it was brimming with diners on a weekday night of our visit.

 

First up, we kicked off the lobster relvery with the Live whole Boston lobsters that are available in three different sauces. The Works (spiciness ranging from mild to raging hot), Garlic Butter and Peppa Butter. The Works is piquant with an assam-like tang, but not too spicy. With lobsters shipped in daily from US, the taste can hardly go wrong. Sweet and not overcooked, the chunky fleshes might be a hassle to remove from the shells at first but all efforts were rewarded when you mopped down with the sauces.

 

But we soon found out that it's got more to offer than the lobster. Pick from brown crabs, prawns, mussels, clams and then choose your sauce. That said, the heartiest way to round off the evening is to feast on the Boiler's Bombdiggity Bag ($139/4); literally a seafood bomb filled with everything including sausages, corns and some deep-fried mantou buns at the side for soaking up the juices. 

The starters were overall quite impressive too. The Louisiana Spicy Mid Joint Wings ($8.90) were zappy with a nice sour kick that makes you grab for more. The Southern Chicks and Waffles ($9.90) had plenty of crisp, not only in the chicken but more importantly in the waffles that were drizzled in maple syrup. I shy away from the Bacon Shrimp ($11.90) in smoky Hickory sauce because they were too salty. 

As for the Fish & Chips ($12.90), it's a classic in its own league. The fish stayed moist and piping hot within a light, crunchy batter.

The Signature Lobsicle ($15.90), aka lobster on Popsicle, might be safer in the Boiler instead of the deep fryer as they were too chewy.

Business was so good that the chocolate molten lava cake ran out of stock and so we settled for the C.B.D, a pungent pun on the business district of Singapore because it stood for Crispy Banana Durians. Forget about the Bananas were substituted by yams that night, cos the pungent durians have already stolen the limelight. 

As we all know, never judge a restaurant by the history or the location. Despite being opened only for a few months, it's no nonsense when it comes to the Cajun-style lobsters here. Walk in, sit down and put on the apron. We did. And we ate. We ate very well indeed. 

 

PROMOTION!! LIVE Lobsters are going at $49 (usual $79) till end of Sept

The Boiler 

18 Howard Rd
#01-06, Novelty Bizcentre
Singapore 369585
Tel: +65 6635 1285
Access: Tai Seng MRT Exit B

http://www.theboiler.com.sg/
https://www.facebook.com/TheBoilerSG

Thank you Derrick and Carrie for the invite and hosting!



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Yojiya Cafe よーじや: From Kyoto to Tokyo

If you have been to Kyoto, you may have come across Yojiya, a famous cosmetic brand best known for their oil-blotting paper. It has finally stepped out of Kyoto to set up a cafe in Shibuya, Tokyo. 

Menu might not be as extensive as the cafe in Kyoto but it still features popular items like this Yojiya matcha parfait (¥1000). It is quite hard to forget this parfait, not because of the rather "scary" face but because it is exceptionally sweet.

The Vanilla ice cream tasted like condensed milk and one catches the usual suspects such as matcha ice cream, warabi mochi, red beans and black beans. Overall quality surpassed Morinoen and you can go for this after trying Gion Tsujiri, Kyo Hayashiya's and Gion Tokuya's version. 

Yojiya Cappucino 

Not cookie but Black Bean Financier that comes with the Cappuccino!

There are plenty of matcha sweets to satisfy the matcha lovers. But not sure if it's a good thing to list out the calories for each item on the menu. The calories for the Yojiya's parfait is as scary as the image so if you are concerned about it, there is a smaller version at ¥800.

I was dismayed by the small and lacklustre portions of the Mont Blanc Set. Each ball composed of houjicha/macha chestnut paste, chantily cream and a soft sponge. The Monaka Wafers which diverted away some sweetness, were slightly stale. If you are looking for Matcha or Houjicha Mont Blanc, head to Sanoah 

Other sweets include Matcha Tiramisu, matcha chiffon cake, matcha brownie. For savouries, there is also a small selection of Kyo-style pasta. The Matcha latte powder and soft cookies which I tried on my previous visit to Kyoto, are also available at the retail corner.

Yojiya Cafe よーじや

Shibuya Hikarie B2

Nearest Station: Shibuya

10am-9pm Daily

Last Order 8.30pm

www.yojiya.co.jp/

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Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh : Dark Clouds Looming

Disappointing.

 

Standards have dropped tremendously. The lukewarm bak kut soup ($7/pax) was the ominous sign of a meal that eventually went downhill. The pork ribs, regardless of which country it came from, was not consistently cooked. It was the first time I encountered so much difficulties tearing off the meat from the bones.

When cold lettuces and cold pig liver/kidney slices are thrown into a broth that is not hot enough, the final outcome of the Pig Liver & Kidney Soup ($5) was a mishap that stink of blood. Besides Bak Kut Teh, this place also sells some zi char dishes like the miserable plate of Sambal Potato Leaves ($7) full of withered greens. Other side dishes include braised beancurd skin ($3), braised peanuts ($2) and braised pig skin ($2) but none raised above the bar. Perhaps the Mee Sua Soup ($2) and the Fried Prawn Roll ($10) were the only pillars we could lean on.

Ironically, isn't this place known for its Bak Kut Teh in the first place?

Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh 榕城(新民路)肉骨茶

Blk 26 Sin Ming Lane #01-114/117
Mid View City
Singapore 573971
7am to 9pm daily

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