Thursday, June 29, 2006

melons 101.

After reading this entry, I think many people are going to laugh. Why? Cos the supposed "foodie" (that would be me) doesn't know how to shop for melons! Yes.. I can't for the life of me remember how to tell if a melon is ripe or whether it's going to be sweet, not even when I've read about it or been told a gazillion times. So after reading about this in the Wine and Dine mag again, I've decided to put it down in writing to remind myself. Afterall, I'm sure there are many out there like me who can't tell a good melon from a bad or an unripe melon from one that's ready to be eaten. So here goes...


W A T E R M E L O N S
Tap the fruit to tell if it's ripe. A ripe melon will have a dull thud whilst an unripe melon would sound hollow.

C A N T A L O U P E S & H O N E Y D E W S
The aroma of the fruit should tell you if it is ripe for eating. Basically, the aroma should be strong and sweet.
The weight of the fruit should be between 1 to 1.5 kg. If it's heavy for its size and if the base of the melon where the stem is located is soft, this also means that the melon is ready to be eaten.


So start practising please. At the supermarket, at home or wherever. There! I've written it down so I've got no more excuses to forget. Well technically, that could happen too since I may forget that I wrote this entry...

Friday, June 16, 2006

über-ly satisfying.

überburger
9 Raffles Boulevard, Time Square
# 01-06 to 10, Millenia Walk
Tel: 6837 0280
Website: http://www.uberburger.com/














Seems like there's still a buzz over the $101 wagyu burger and the total number of $101 burgers they've sold to date is actually quite impressive. Seriously, I personally wouldn't pay to have that burger. It's so sad that the wagyu burger has to be minced up! But of course, if someone wants to give me a treat, it would cheer me up a little... heh.

I didn't think that burgers should cost so much. When Carl's Junior came along, I thought it was expensive although the portions are much bigger than the regular McDonald's burgers. At least Carl's Junior serves their burgers the way they should be; greasy and messy. As skeptical as I was about überburger, it actually turned out to be a pretty satisfying experience.

D had the überbockwurst sausage which I was thought was decently priced at $9.50. Bro had the chopped beef and pork loin burger whereas I had the übmonster colossal burger. We also had the steak tartare to share. Unfortunately, some of my pics got corrupted so I can't show much of it. The hotdog was actually quite good although it's technically not a burger. Bro thought his meat was a little tough cos of the pork that was added in the patty. Mine was huge as you can tell from the name but it was really yum! They gave this nice salad with very sweet mini radishes on the side.














steak tartare
The steak tartare was so-so. We thought they should have mixed everything up for us instead of leaving it to us. Compared to the steak tartare we had at some random cafe in Paris in the past, this version doesn't measure up. Somehow, I think the meat's not as fresh tasting cos of all the freezing from importing.












überbockwurst sausage
















überlemonade and squished strawberries thick shake
I highly recommend that you try their thick shakes when you're there. Bro ordered the strawberry thick shake. It was so creamy and thick; so sinful but so good! They have lots of other flavours too which I think might be worth a try.

Overall, although their menu is too confusing to read and prices are not that friendly for the food you're getting, it's still a nice place to have a casual meal and catch-ups with old pals.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

seoul-ful experience.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've been pretty caught up and obsessed with certain things lately. Heh.. Anyways, I've uploaded pics from my Korean trip as promised. The experience I had there, not just food wise, was really memorable. Although I would say that I DID enjoy myself food wise especially on my last night in Seoul (Thanks to JK!), I feel like I haven't really experience their food culture to its fullest though. I mean, can't blame anyone cos I went on a tour package. Although I had my little bites, I missed a lot of other stuff like Soon DuBu Chigae, Naeng Myon, Chap Jae etc. There's so much stuff to try there so no points for guessing. I'm going back to Seoul again! As for when, I'm not sure yet but hopefully soon. *crosses fingers* This time on my own though so I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want.

I have to make special mention of the food I had in my last night in Seoul. We had too much fun at Lotte World so we didn't have dinner. Thank god for that cos otherwise I wouldn't have tasted Kamjatang! It's actually a soup that's boiled with the pork backbone so the soup turns out really sweet and tasty. Kamja refers to potatoes so obviously there are potatoes in the soup. Then they add chilli to add kick to the soup and some sort of pickled vegetables. After the soup and meat course was over, they put a bowl of rice in the same pot and stirred in kimchi and seawood. Mix it all together and leaving it to burn a little made the rice dish simply delicious! We were sitting on the flour with our legs crossed, sipping our soju, learning about Korean customs from JK and best of all, soaking in the Korean culture and atmosphere. I don't think we can get Kamjatang here though cos I've asked around so I guess to know what it tastes like, you'd have to make a trip to Seoul! I'm thinking of it again just looking at the pic.














So I had a lot more good foods along the way. Even tried the famous sulphur duck (ppl who have watched Da Chang Jin would probably know this)! I've put together a collage of some of the stuff I tried. Tell me if you might be making Korea your next holiday destination.