Friday 21 September 2012

King Pot Steamboat @ Big Splash

King Pot Steamboat which is located at Big Splash (East Coast Park) offers an unique casual atmosphere with fine dining experience when you set foot into the restaurant that makes you feel like King and Queen. Overall I find their service is good with attentive serving staffs who are quick and skillful in placing and arranging the platters of food on our table and also they are very observant in taking care of each individual needs such as making sure my boy could enjoy his food and hotpot under safety precaution too.

The photo shows the setup of the steamboat table at KingPot where we each has our personal "hotpot" that cooks using modern gas stove. The cutlers and plates used are quiet similar to those for fine dining which makes you feel so different when compared to those traditional steamboat which we had at home or coffee shop where we used those metal net scoop to hold and cook the food.

King Pot has range of soup broth that cater for each individual preference from the lightest Clear Wild Mushroom broth to thick and spicy Laksa broth. Overall we have tried their Mushroom, Herbal, Bak Kut Teh, Laksa, Minestrone and Szechuan Ma Lai broth.

Out of the broths that we tried, most of us agreed that Bak Kut Teh, Minestrone and Laksa are the "Must Try" whereas for lighter broth you could ask for Wild Mushroom or for strong and spicy taste, try the Ma Lai broth which a few of us find it too spicy.

My choice of Bak Kut Teh broth is very flavoursome and taste good with their complimentary rice. And to our surprised it is not normal steamed white rice but rather a bowl of very fragrant and delicious "chicken rice" to accompany the steamboat items.  Other than soup broth and rice, each set meal also comes with some vegetables (mushroom, black fungus, vegetables and etc), cellophane noodles (dong fen) and a dipping sauce of your choice.

Basically there are 4 types of dipping sauce available on their menu which are:- KingPot Signature Sauce, KingPot Specialty Sauce, Specialty Sauce and Satay Sauce. For chef recommendation, we tried their KingPot Signature Sauce (back) and KingPot Specialty Sauce (front, with sesame seeds topping).

Before using the KingPot Specialty Sauce, you have to use the chopstick or spoon to break up the ball (which resemble a ball of ice-cream) and mix it well with the sauce and overall it taste quiet like Japanese sesame dipping sauce but just with a hint of saltiness. And this goes well with meat, especially lamb.

There were also a few core set menus to choose from such as Meat lover Set (S$28.80++; UP S$39.90++), Seafood Lover Set (S$28.80++; UP S$36.80++), Vegetarian Pot (S$32.80++; UP S$42.80++), Combi Platter With Seafood And Meat (S$36.80++; UP S$46.80++) and Kids Meal (S$9.80++; UP S$12.80++) with the option to top up on individual items.

Above shows the Combi Platter With Seafood and Meat that range from Angus Beef Ribeye, Pork, Lamb, Fresh Black Prawn, Red Grouper, meat balls, Bitter Gourd Fish Paste Yong Tau Foo and etc.

The Seafood Lover Set comes with prawns, squid, fish, meatballs and accompany Yong Tau Foo items. The selections are fresh except they freeze the fresh fish slices and thaw before serving which I personally feel it would be even better if they used fresh daily supply instead of freeze and thaw.

{Ala Carte Order} This is one of the KINGPOT Special Roll which is known as Boneless Lamb Rack - French Cut (S$22.00/plate). If you look carefully from the photo above, you could see it is specially roll with two "cylinder hole" that enable chopsticks to pick up the cut and swirl in the steamboat  for quick cooking.

Accordingly to the chef, this lamb rack must go with their "Specialty Sauce" which covers 80% of the lamb odor. And the few of us did do a test on eating the lamb with and without the dipping sauce and it did proof on what their chef has recommended.

The set meal has a complimentary beverage of either Coffee/Tea together with cake (depend on what they have on that day) at the end of the meal. Although they might be be specialize on cake but their Tiramisu still taste quiet decent. 

Other than the complimentary coffee/tea that served from the set menu ordered, there are also some other beverages such as juices, sparking water, wine and etc on their beverage menu too.


King Pot Steamboat
902 East Coast Parkway Block B
#01-05 Big Splash
Singapore 449874
Reservation: (65) 6348 7997
Website: http://www.kingpot.com.sg

Opening Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 6.00pm – 10:30pm
Friday – Sunday: 11.00am – 2:30pm and 6.00pm – 10:30pm


Lastly I would like to thank Adrian from KingPot for arranging this tasting as well as all the friendly serving staffs who served and attended to us during the tasting.

Wednesday 19 September 2012

[Wordless Wednesday] Torte At Waterloo Street

Yuzu infused Snow-Skin Mooncake with White Lotus and Creme de Marron(chestnut) (S$40/box of 8 mini mooncakes)

An unique combination of Yuzu, White Lotus Paste and Creme de Marron which leave you a refreshing after taste. You can read more reviews on melicacy.com

Torte (S$4.50 with ice cream) is a MUST TRY flourless chocolate cake which even my picky 8yrs old cannot resists.





Love their Thai Ice Tea (S$2.00) which is refreshing and thirst quencher.

TORTE
SCWO Building
96 Waterloo Street
Reservation: 6571 0197
Website: http://www.torte-sg.com/

Opening Hours:-
Monday – Friday: 10am – 10pm; Sunday: 10am – 3pm
Closed on Saturday

Monday 17 September 2012

Okara Black Butter Cake

After using Okara (豆渣) to make the Okara Mantou and Omelette (recipes here) I am again inspired to bake an Okara Butter Cake which is "Black" in colour. This is a random thought on baking something common but yet in a "black" theme to support a past "dining issue".

When I first drafting out the recipe I have a mixture of banana and Durian Butter Cake in mind whereby I replace certain amount of the mashed banana/durian pulps with fresh Okara and Homemade Organic Soymilk.


BLACK BUTTER CAKE
(using Homemade Soymilk, Okara and Charcoal Powder)


In order to achieve the "charcoal" colour and yet not using too many black soybean to bitten the taste of the soymilk and okara, I added a teaspoon of Bamboo Charcoal powder. 


(Make: 2 tins (17cm x 8cm x 6cm) | Preparation: 10 minutes   | Cooking: 40 minutes)

Ingredients:
  • 200g Self Raising Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Charcoal Powder, optional
  • 200g Unsalted Butter, soften
  • 180g Caster Sugar
  • 4 Eggs (55g each)
  • 150g Okara
  • 50ml Homemade Soymilk
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract


Method:-
1. Preheat Oven to 170°C degree Celsius.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (beating with an electric mixer for about 4 - 5 minutes on medium speed).

3. Add in 1 egg at a time, beating well in between each additions.


4. Beat in Okara till combined (a few seconds). Using a rubber spatula, fold in half the sifted flour mixture (careful not to over-stir or beat the mixture) and follow by milk and remaining flour.

5. Divide the batter into the prepared casing, bake the cake in preheated oven for 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer insert in the middle and come out clean.

6. When cooked, remove cake from the oven, allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.


Overall the cake is moist and infuse with an aromatic fragrance from the soymilk and okara used. Best of all it's sweet and fragrance taste has take over the usual rich butter cake texture and hence it tastes "light" and "refreshing".

So if you do make your own soymilk, remember to keep some of those Okara to try out this unusual butter cake.

Saturday 15 September 2012

Swensen's New Breakfast Menu‏

It's weekend again, are you looking for some weekend breakfast idea? I am sure after a tiring week at work you would want to enjoy some hearty breakfast treat to reward yourself and also spend some quality time with family or friends while enjoying weekend breakfast.

From this September, Swensen's is serving nine NEW breakfast creations and two Kiddie Corner sets to spoil your palette with the brunch classic such as pancakes, omelettes, eggs, French toast and even bee hoon soup for Asian style breakfast. 

Each breakfast set comes with a complimentary cup of coffee or tea and a glass of fruit juice for kid's set. Bu alternative you could also top an additional dollar for a glass of fruit juice instead of the normal beverage or Milo for the kids.

But for those who need a dose of their daily Espresso, Cappuccino or Cafe Latte; an additional S$2.50 with any breakfast set ordered could be done.

These are Ciabatta Rolls which are freshly baked daily and filled with delicious honey butter which they made in-house. And this accompany side comes with either the Good Morning Sunnies, Hearty Steak and Eggs or Swensen's Sunrise Omelette/Scrambled Eggs.

I just simply love munching them with sip of coffee/tea and they are so addicting and flavorsome.  Hope they will include this in their ala crate menu too.

Good Morning Sunnies (S$11.90) starts off your day with a full breakfast set that consists of two sunny-side up eggs together with baked honey butter cream Ciabatta rolls, chicken sausages, hashbrown and sauteed mushrooms. 

If you love the oozing yolks from the poached eggs that served with generous drizzle of Hollandaise sauce, I would suggest you go for Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict (S$12.90). The Eggs Benedict are served on two slices of sourdough bread together with slices of smoked salmon plus some homemade BBQ beans as side dish.

If sandwich is what you need for a weekend morning, perhaps The Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich (S$9.90) that is assemble with Parmesan eggs, chicken ham and tomato slices  in between two slices of toasted fragrant Japanese Bread will your excellent choice. To complete the meal, some homemade BBQ beans and sauteed mushrooms are served as sides too. 

Classic French Toast With Honey Butter Cream (S$10.90) is another option if you just simply love bread for breakfast. Instead of sandwich the thick Japanese bread with ham and egg shown above, here they have grilled it to golden brown toast and served with homemade honey butter cream, chicken sausage, sauteed mushrooms and hashbrown for a hearty set. 

For something light or extra to share amount friends or family, perhaps you can get this Simply French Toast (S$6.90) that comes with three slices of Japanese bread which are grilled instead of pan-fry to golden brown and served with homemade honey butter cream. Just simply love the texture of their French Toast!

Hearty Steak And Eggs (S$14.90) featured grilled steak which is layered with sauteed onions and top with a sunny-side up egg together with sauteed mushrooms, homemade BBQ beans and their signature baked honey butter cream Ciabatta rolls. .

This is the closed up of the grilled steak which is served with the Hearty Steak And Eggs. Although it might not be the prefect steak as compared to most restaurant selling steak but this Hearty set is definitely something worth and comfort for brunch. 

I am sure most of us love "pancakes" especially those from McDonald that served with meaty patty, butter cream and honey. Here I would urge you to try this All American Buttermilk Pancakes (S$9.90) from Swensen's new breakfast menu which are light and fluffy on the inside, golden brown on the outside as well with just a hint of crispness.

And these pancakes goes well with their homemade honey butter cream which makes you crave for more pancakes. 

Simply Pancakes (S$6.90) is quiet similar to the All American Buttermilk Pancakes set above, but it comes with an extra slice of buttermilk pancake without the accompany sides (sauteed mushrooms, hashbrown and chicken sausages). Most of us on the same table just love this simply and airy treat which is irresistible especially with their delicious homemade  butter cream and maple syrup.

Egg lovers can go for either Swensen's Sunrise Omelette/Scramble Eggs (S$10.90) which both served with Ciabatta Rolls, Chicken Sausages, Hashbrown and Sauteed Mushrooms.

As you can see from the photo above, the omelette is cooked together with diced tomatoes and herbs which remains slightly moist inside and it is nicely wrapped like Japanese "omurice" style.

But if you prefer something light, soft and moist rather than parcel wrapped perhaps, you could consider taking this Swensen's Sunrise Scrambled Egg. The scrambled egg we had that day is perfectly cooked with soft and a little moist in texture which goes well with the rest of the sides.

For the little ones, Swensen's also prepared two different set of Kid's Meal such as Eggy Delight (S$6.90) which is served with delicious sunny-side up eggs, grilled sausages and potato smiles for a perfect protein boost.

Or the little ones can go for Lil' Buttermilk Pancakes (S$6.90) which are pancakes served with chicken sausages and potato smiles.

For a Asian style preference, Prawn Bee Hoon Soup (S$11.90) which featured thick bee hoon in chicken broth together with fresh juicy prawns and vegetables would be something light and health for breakfast or even brunch. To go with the bee hoon soup, there is also a prawn gyoza (fritter) side which served with sweet mayonnaise that comes with it.

All these breakfast items are available at any 21 Swensen's outlets across the island during weekends and Public Holidays from 8am to 11am. But as for the Good Morning Sunnies and Hearty Steak And Egg, they are made available until 3pm.

Swensen's Changi outlet at Changi Airport Terminal 2, will be serving this breakfast menu from 3am to 11am, daily.

Between if you are having breakfast at their Swensen's ION flagship branch (2 Orchard Turn,#B1-31, ION Orchard), perhaps you would also like to try out their Ice-cream buffet which has a wide varieties of ice-cream, sorbet, cakes, tarts and etc.

I would like to thank Swensen's and Tiffany from Touch Communications for hosting me and the rest of the media for this wonderful Swensen's New Breakfast Menu tasting.

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