[Monthly Gathering] CNY Steamboat Feast

Last Saturday we settled our usual monthly food gathering at Susan's house where we have a Steamboat feast since it still falls between the 15th days of Chinese Lunar New Year. Each and everyone of us was very excited and we all go with an empty stomach in order to enjoy all those delicious food that Susan had prepared for us.

[Chef At Work] Susan is very thoughtful that she purposely bought some fresh crabs for her husband to cook his signature "Chili Crabs" because she knows that most of us in the group loves crab.This dish is indeed very delicious and it makes us ladies all envy Susan who has a good husband that can cooks so well for the family.

Other than Chili Crab, Susan also asks her domestic helper to fry some "Bee Hoon" and cook Rice just in case we have "huge" appetite.

[Chicken Curry] This is what I hint Susan to prepare as we all love this delicious curry chicken since the last time we had it during our Christmas Potluck Party(read more HERE) over at my place.

[YuSheng(鱼生)] This is a must have appetiser before any Chinese New Year meal as it represent "good luck" for the new year where everyone toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks together by saying various "auspicious wishes". Here we have a medium yusheng from Sakae Sushi..........

[Steamboat Ingredients] Look at all these fresh seafood, marinated meat, fish and all sort of fishcakes, Abalone, Scallop, vegetables and etc.......

Everyone enjoys the companies of chatting, cooking and BBQ of those steamboat ingredients. Susan also specially prepares a pot of herbal chicken soup to act as the soup broth for our steamboat.

[Dessert 1] Susan's mum prepares her special Bobo Cha Cha which we all loves it. And this is my very 1st time seeing Pumpkin and Tapioca as one of the ingredients compare to the usual "Sweet Potato and Yam".

[Dessert 2] One of our friends, Rae also bought some homemade ice-cream which is specially made by her Aunt. As you can see from the photo the creamy texture of the “Durian” flavour ice-cream which is fragrant and full of durian bits is definitely something that you won’t want to miss out.

[Dessert 2] From top:- Durian, Milo and Rum and Raisin. If you would like to find out more about these homemade ice-cream, you can refer to their website HERE (http://www.jessdesserts.sg)

[Dessert 3] Extra Filling Extra Tall, Durian Cream Puffs from Durian King which Susan bought from North Point, basement. Everyone was shock to see those puffs with so much durian fillings in it.

[Dessert 4] Last dessert is what the kids are eagerly waiting for..... Yes!!!! It is "Chocolate Fondue" where Susan used 55% Valrhona Dark Chocolate to accompany the nature sweetness of the fruits.

[Celebration] On that day we also celebrates Susan's daughters birthday which is just a day before Valentine's Day. Since Chinese New Year, Birthday and Valentine's Day are all in connection, I decide to settle for these two lovely heart shaped cakes from "Four Leaves" for a little extra surprise for the girls..

Here we are, a lovely group photo that captures the wonderful moments where everyone puts on a "HAPPY SMILE". Happy New Year!!!!!!! Thanks everyone (Maureen, Rae、Kai、Derrick、Yan Cai、Lobsterpaints、Alvin、and Amanda) who attends and makes this gathering happen and also Susan and her family for their warm hospitality.

Look forward for our next foodies outing soon........ :)

Sakae Junior Club - Sushi Making Workshop

Last Friday, 17 December we went for a kids' Sushi Making Workshop organised by Sakae Sushi at one of its' outlets at Causeway Point. Although making sushi is not something new for my boy who loves to help me in the kitchen but from his facial expression I am sure he is having great fun and enjoyable experience with the new friends.

After registration at level one, we are asked to proceed to the Kid's Section at Level 2. From a glance you can see that the venue is well-prepared with kids' friendly sitting area, ingredients and great atmosphere towards kids liking.

This sushi workshop lasted for about an hour plus and all kids get to learn the steps and hands on at how to make Chawanmushi, Tri-Colour Sushi Balls and Cartoon Inari with some assists from their accompany parent(s).

Each and everyone of the kids enjoyed this interesting workshop very much and you could heard laughter almost every few minutes during the whole section. And another encouraging issue is everyone present at the workshop is very co-operative in following instructions which makes everything goes on smooth and enjoyable. Above are the 3 items done by my boy.

After the workshop, each and everyone of us get a set of the Lunch Bento according to our preference choice. For both Adults and Kids, everyone gets  to choose their desire bento set from the pre-ordering menu before the workshop. Since we have two adults we could get to try out both the Salmon and Spicy Chicken Bento while Rey settle for his Fire Engine set.

Christmas with Sakae Sushi

Christmas is just 2 day around the corner and I am sure everyone is getting pretty excited with the Christmas Eve countdown event  and feast. At early this December Sakae Sushi has launched some innovative Christmas Theme (menu HERE) items to excite the sight and taste of their customers. Below are two of the Christmas items that we have a few weeks back.

  My boy was attracted to this "Christmas Tree Wonder" while waiting for our seats at the queue. So when the order came he was very excited with the layout of this mini Christmas Tree that is assemble using a graham biscuit base, potato salad body with avocado that decorates with fresh fish roes and yellow Star cutout from Tamago.
Price: S$6.99 per plate

Emo Iruka Delight was my choice and look at this lovely pressie that sparks with those tiny fish roes coating. This pressie is made up with 2 layers of 4 sushi roll each and sandwich with cheese slice.  This is indeed a very lovely combination in taste too.
Price: S$6.99 per plate


Despite with the two impressive Christmas items above we also ordered a set of  "Deluxe Bento" which serves with Prawn and mix vegetable tempura, mix Sashimi, Sakura ebi tofu, seasoned Scallop wings, grilled Eel with tamago and Chawanmushi, rice, miso soup and etc . This set was quite a huge serving which can be consume by 2 persons with additional of some sides plates from the conveyor belt.
Price: S$17.99 per set

Sakae Sushi ~ New Menu Launched

Last week, 08 November 2010 Sakae Sushi has launched a brand new menu with over 40 new & exciting items including "Sakae Candle" in all its outlets islandwide. And for those customers who dine-in at Sakae Sushi you could also join in their November special photo contest in conjunction with their new menu. Here I would like to share with you some of their “NEW” dishes that I have tried.

Look at these gorgeous colour tones of the salmon slices on this “Salmon Blossom” dish. The touch of the burnt edge, salmon roe topping and codfish roe base makes this a perfect combination from the freshness of the sea lingering in your mouth. Love the taste of the different layers of texture for this dish.
Price: S$6.99 per plate (3 pieces)

I was attracted to the photo of this dish at Sakae Sushi Facebook (HERE) which draws my attention to drop by Sakae to try this out. But as usual when the dish served it was only about 80% similar to the photo illustration and the waitress was trying all her best to light up the "candle" which doesn't seems to light up. So in the end I was kind of disappointed with the "Sakae Candle" which has no flame. Guess I would have to try my luck on this dish again at another branch to see whether the "candle" does lights up. Despite of the "flame" issue, this dish is indeed another innovative idea from Sakae that captures both sight and taste of the patrons especially during coming Christmas season which added much atmosphere to it.
Price: S$6.99 per plate (2 pieces)

This new deep-fried tofu dish is supposed to be with Kimuchi sauce and not Kimuchi Soup like what shown in the photo. But despite of the appearance, this "Mushroom Kimuchi Tofu" is very appetizing due to its hot and sour taste from kimchi, great side dish to accompany with rice.
Price: S$5.99 per plate

Although this dish is marked with “New” but the content is quite similar to the previous Lobster Tofu dish in the old menu. Perhaps the only different is this new “Lobster Salad Tofu” is divided into smaller serving sizes compared to the big portion previously. The cold beancurd is sandwich with some lobster salad and topped with shrimp roe and mango cubes and served together with goma dressing.
Price: S$7.99 per plate

Lovely fresh Scallop resting on top of the sushi cubes which are coated with rice crackers. The moment when we bite it, we are all surprised by the hint of the spice taste that is quite similar to curry aroma. Each "Hotate Arare Maki" consists a thick layer of fresh scallop and a good spread of codfish roe that makes this a scrumptious maki dish. If you like adventure taste, try this!
Price: S$8.99 per plate

There are three types of "Carpaccio(raw fish)" dishes available in their new menu which are Hamachi(Yellow tail fish), Maguro(Tuna Fish) and Salmon. Since mum has not tried yellow tail sashimi before, I choose this “Hamachi Carpaccio” which comes with thinly sliced yellow tail resting on top of some shredded white onion and lettuce then drizzle with their special sauce. Love the fresh and sweet taste of the yellow tail would definitely order again during my next visit.
Price: S$8.99 per plate

For vegetable lovers or those who are looking for more healthier bites, Sakae Sushi has a new range of healthy veggie delights specially prepared for you too. You can try their new deep-fried "Vegetarian Mock Prawn", light and refreshing "Rice Paper Maki" or start off with some "Kinoko Salad" if you are mushroom lovers like us. Here we ordered two items from this veggie category such as "Vegetarian Mock Prawns" which is made with beancurd skin and other ingredients, deep-fried till golden brown then served with some vegetables and mayonnaise sauce on the side.
Price: S$4.99 per plate (3 pieces)

When I spotted this "Rice Paper Maki" on the menu, the first thing that flash across my mind is would this taste similar to the "Vietnamese Spring Roll"? I love the light and refreshing taste of Vietnamese spring roll that comes with their special chilli dipping sauce. But this Rice Paper Maki served at Sakae does not come with any dipping sauce which makes it taste rather a bit blend and dry. Perhaps a little dipping sauce to go with this would make it a perfect cooling snacks.
Price: S$6.99 per plate

For more photos of these "new" dishes that we tried, you can take a look at our Facebook page HERE.

In conjunction with the launched of the New Menu, there are five sets of S$30.00 Sakae Sushi Vouchers up for grabs in the month of November! To qualify for the "Foo-de-li-cious" Photo Contest, simply order any NEW item from Sakae Sushi New Menu and snap a photo of you, your family and/or friends enjoying the food to WIN!

To participate, please follow the steps below:
~ Step 1: Join us as Fan on Sakae Sushi Facebook

~ Step 2: Attach your photo(s) on our Facebook’s Wall (on top of the page)

~ Step 3: Add your own captions and include your name, contact no. and email address.

Good Luck~!

Sakae Unagi Dishes

Since July this year, Sakae sushi has being having this monthly theme promotion on its new dishes. And for this October month, the theme is using “Unagi” where they launch 5 new dishes using unagi as one of the ingredient. So as a regular customer of Sakae, I always look forward to their monthly theme and these two unagi dishes such as “Unagi Sushi Cake” and “Unagi Cheesy Kushlyaki” are we have tried from the list.

Before meal, let's try some of this lovely sweet Japanese Plum Wine (梅酒) that goes pretty well with Sushi, Salad and appetiser. It has a very refreshing and sweet fruity taste that can be served at lunch or dinner during hot summer months. So do give it a try if you like something sweet and fruity to complete your meal for a relaxing weekend.
Price: S$12.00++ per bottle.


As usually these are my boy's favourite "Tamago Sushi" that he would always picked them from sushi belt.
Price: S$1.99 per plate of 2 sushi

This cold "Potato Salad" appetiser goes well with the plum wine above.
Price: S$4.99 per serving

The Unagi Sushi Cake comes with a few slices of unagi serving on top of the rice cake together with some diced mango, avocado and a little spoonful of fish roes. Although the portion might be slightly bigger for a mouthful bite but I am sure this is a healthy dish that combines the goodness of fish and fresh fruits.
Price: S$5.99 per serving

On the other hand, Unagi Cheesy Kushlyaki might be quite a disappointment because the deep-fried bread is simply soak with oil stain that makes this appetizer dish so oily for consuming. Guess this is either over fried or the staffs need to really drain or soak up all the oil from the bread before serving to the customers.
Price: S$8.99 per serving of 4 sticks

As you can refer to the photo the bread are kind of over fried and there is only a tiny bites of unagi sandwich in it together with some mayonnaise cream. Unless they do something to this dish or else I don't think I will pay S$9.00 to eat such oily bread with miserable unagi fillings.

We also have Tempura Udon that serves with a generous amount of soup udon and two tempura ebi. Luckily the prawns are not over cooked or too oily with soggy batter, it is still hot and crispy while served to us.
Price: S$10.99 per bowl

Spicy Delights @ Sakae September Theme

Every month Sakae Sushi will come out with an interesting theme, which consists of a few side dishes to surprise their regular patrons. If you remember, in July they have the Seafood theme follow by Oyster theme in August. As for this month, those of you who have visited Sakae would have already tried their Spicy September dishes where you can find Korea kimchi, Japanese curry, green chili pepper and etc.

Out of the 5 spicy dishes for this month we have tried two, above is this “Shishito Mentai Zukushi” where the halve green chili pepper is topped with mentai and wrapped with nigiri sushi. Love the hint of spiciness from the chili and it blends well with the wrap too, this is indeed an interesting dish that reminds us of our local stuffed "Yong Tau Foo".

Was quite disappointed with this “Fire Maki” firstly on its outlook which is so different from their menu where it there are some flames over the roll which makes it look so delicious. Secondly instead of that kind of “fire” or rather spicy taste, this roll was rather a bit salty due to the Kimchi and the nori sheet that is wrapped in it taste so chewy and elastic which spoilt the overall taste of this maki.

Ebi Fry is one of the ala carte item found under the Agemono category. To be honest this is the first time we tried Sakae’s Ebi Fry as we usually ordered either their Ebi Tempura or Tempura Moriawase. Surprisingly this Ebi Fry is just as good with its crispy and crunchy texture.

From their menu, we also spot a great lunch deal at S$20.99 for this “Deluxe Unagi Set” that comes with salad as starter, stir-fried mixed vegetables and prawn, miso soup and rice, Tofu and Venison, Unagi slices cooked with egg and served in foil. Overall this is a steal price with some many items in a set that we think it worth the price for lunch treat. Moreover their venison tastes rather tender, which is not too tough or overcooked when bite too.

Now we are already excited to look forward to their October theme, wonder what dishes will they come out with to seduce the taste bud of their patrons.