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...

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.

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.

greetings from seoul.

It's my last night in Seoul. Feels all different blogging from outside of Singapore cos I'm typing on a keyboard that can write both English and Korean. All the words on the screen that usually appears in English is now in Korean!

I've had a blast here the past 6 days. I really really love it here. In fact I like it so much that I feel like packing my bags in Singapore and move to Korea. The people are friendly, the scenery is beautiful and most of all, the food is DELICIOUS! 맛있어요! Just ate one of the best meals of the trip with soju and all. I have lots of pics to share and I'll post it when I get back.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy whatever little time I have left here. Definitely going to come back again. If I have a choice, can I not go home??

a roaring business of fishball noodles.

Meng Boon Fishball Noodle Soup.Dry
Hillside Drive, along Upper Serangoon Road
Coffeeshop next to Greenland Vegeterian Restaurant














The recent elections seem to have made Singapore's political environment more vibrant. With so many things going on, I guess today must have been quite exciting for those who went to the polls. After Mum made her way to cast her vote, we headed for the Hougang Mall to get our money changed for our coming trip and on the way there, decided to stop for some fishball noodles which we haven't had in a while.

I first came to know about this place from Ling cos it's been her favourite hangout every Sunday since she was young. If I remember correctly from her, the son of the old man who used to cook her noodles years ago has now taken over the stall (Correct me if I'm wrong, Ling). I told my mum about it, she liked it and started buying it occassionally for breakfast.

To be honest, I can't really tell what's good or great fishball noodles. All I know is that the noodles served here is cooked well to the right texture for me. The chilli is not overly spicy so at least my tastebuds can still pick up the taste of the noodles. One thing to note though, is that for $3, they're quite extravagant with their ingredients especially with fishcake.

If you want to have a taste of the noodles, be prepared to wait at least half and hour. In fact, I think we waited longer than that. They're really packing in a roaring business with many take-away orders especially. Whether the fishball noodles is worth the wait and the patience is up to the individual. At least for me, I left with a satisfied tummy.

P/S: During the wait, Mum and I got too hungry and ordered some Indian Rojak from one of the stalls at the coffeeshop. It turned out quite good actually cos the gravy was tasty and the Rojak especially those with the flour, were lightly crispy. Quite good compared to many that I've tried before at least.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Seems like a long long time since I left an entry. Work has been pretty overwhelming for the past 2 weeks. It's just painful coming home to stare into the comp after 10 - 12 hours of doing that in the office. I'm just glad the busy period's coming to an end.

Well, before work started getting crazy, I managed to bake Pandan Chiffon Cake, something I've wanted to do for a long time. Baking this brings back very fond memories of the days back in Perth. I remember Ling spending many nights and days in our small pantry experimenting, trying to perfect the recipe. It got so successful in the end that we even baked for our whole hostel during one of the International Weeks. It was just like home; soft and spongy but better yet, it was made with our bare hands. It was fun, the good 'ol days. Unfortunately though, we've both lost the recipe so I did some searching on my own. Found something that's quite good but would be even better with the tweaking of what I remember from our Perth days. I know it's much simpler to just go out to buy a cake but it's the process that matters. I hope you give this a try.














10 Egg Whites
1 tsp Cream of Tartar

170ml Coconut Cream
2 tbsp Pandan Juice
1/2 tsp Green Food Colouring

Yolk Mixture
8 Egg Yolks
240g Caster Sugar
170ml Corn Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Flour Mixture
140g Plain Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Fine Salt

Oven Temperature: 170 degrees celsius

• Beat the egg whites til frothy, sieve the cream of tartar into the egg whites. Continue beating til very stiff but not dry. Set aside after this is complete.
• Combine all the ingredients in the Yolk Mixture. Beat lightly til well blended.
• Sift the ingredients in the Flour Mixture and place in a mixing bowl.
• Make a well in the centre of the Flour Mixture and pour in the Yolk Mixture. Bring the flour in from the sides and beat til smooth.
• Add the pandan juice, green food colouring and coconut cream to the Flour/Yolk Mixture. Stir til well blended.
• Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites to the Flour/Yolk Mixture and blend well.
• Add the rest of the egg whites and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula til well blended.
• Pour into an ungreased 25cm x 10cm chiffon cake tin & bake for 45 - 50 min or until cake is well baked.
• Remove from oven when cake is baked, invert cake tin and leave for 1 1/2 hours before removing the cake from the tin.

Notes

You may wish to use fresh coconut for the coconut cream. You will need around 445g of grated coconut. Squeeze the coconut for 170ml 'first round' milk. Cook over low heat til it boils and thickens like cream. Stir all the time while cooking and allow to cool.

The original recipe only asked for 9 egg whites but I found that it wasn't spongy enough. I remember that Ling added extra egg whites in the past so I think 10 should do the trick.

Use the green food colouring with discretion. Original recipe asked for 1 tsp but I don't like my cake to be too green so I only used half the portion. I guess it will depend on whether you're using pandan essence or real pandan juice. Try to use pandan juice cos the aroma and taste will turn out different and real juice makes it better.

The original recipe can be found here.