Rakuichi Japanese Restaurant: I am now truly a Sashimi Convert!

On Commercial Shoot with PowerAunty and gang

Appetizer: Sardine sheet, pitan tofu, river shrimp, semi-grilled tuna belly, yam $12.50

It's not everyday that you get to eat a $200 per head meal. The last time I did it was in Tokyo, but that was when I fulfilled a life's dream of eating Matsuzaka beef. For guys without a corporate account like myself, spending $200 on a meal requires a good excuse or in the case of Rakuichi, a blessing.

PowerAunty had invited me along for a commercial shoot at Rakuichi Japanese Restaurant. Her friend, the owner of the restaurant had asked her to help gather some calefare to star in a video commercial they are shooting. With us that day was Chef Tom Kondo who is a Japanese Chef. So I had a Japanese Japanese (sic) expert on hand to tell me about the exquisite dishes we had that day.

You will get to meet Chef Tom later on in the blog as we have been shooting a series of Video Blogs where I will be accompanying Chef Tom to the Japanese Supermarket to buy groceries. He will be showing us how to choose the different Japanese sauces and ingredients and then show us some simple Japanese recipes which you can also cook at home. That is "Akan Datang" (coming soon), so this is just a teaser.

When PowerAunty invited me for this lunch, I had no idea it was going to be a showcase of the best that Rakuichi had to offer and we only really found out the actual value of the meal afterwards. But don't be taken aback, Rakuichi is one of those places where you can order a Bento box from as low as $18 to a meal as high as the sky if you want.

Japanese food is always a joy to photograph (the worst is rojak) and even more so at Rakuichi where there seems to be quite an emphasis on immaculate presentation. The appetizer was a work of art and I would admit that I enjoyed it more with my eyes then I did with my tongue. But that is not to say it is not good. It is just that the presentation of the sardine sheet (small little deep fried fish) arching over little river prawns was such a delight to look at that I derived more enjoyment photographing it than actually eating it. But as an appetizer, it really does fire your anticipation of what is coming next. 4.25/5


Sashimi Boat: Botan prawn and sea urchin shown $466 for 6 persons

The bulk of the price of this $200 meal lies with this Sashimi boat. I have been slowly developing my interest in Sashimi and after this particular meal, I would say that I am truly a convert. Really good quality Sashimi is divine and I realise that the reason I did not like Sashimi before was because I hadn't eaten the good ones. This is the best Sashimi I have come across. I know it is not cheap but you really can't get quality unless you pay for it.

The Uni (Sea Urchin) is served in its shell and the icy cold roe is an absolutely dream to eat. We simply wrapped a bit of it in seaweed, add a bit of cucumber, fresh wasabi and sesame seeds. It was the sweetest, freshest Uni I ever had. 4.8/5


Otoro: Tuna Belly

The rest of the items on the boat were similarly excellent including the scallops and ark shell which are currently in season. Then of course there is the Otoro (Tuna Belly) which was served in big generous slabs, beautifully pink and chilled. I was however a little confused about the pattern of marbling on the Otoro. The Otoro I had in the past all had a more intricate reticular marbling pattern. So my first impression of this "Otoro" was that it was "Chutoro" instead. Chutoro, as you know, is the part between the actual belly (Otoro) and the flesh (Akami). It is not as fat as Otoro. Perhaps our Sashimi experts can enlighten us? 4.5/5


Fresh wasabi on sharkskin board

There are some people who prefer processed Wasabi because it tends to be spicier. But I prefer the fresh version because it adds the taste of Wasabi without too much heat and the slightly fibrous texture is a nice contrast to the smooth flesh of the fish. As Japanese food continues to enjoy its growing popularity in Singapore, we will be seeing more of these fresh Wasabi around.


Deep fried prawn and vegetable $12.60

I included this picture of the deep fried prawn because I think it is a nice photo, but I am partial to this prawn wrapped in beehoon. Still prefer tempura style prawn. 3.5/5


Grilled skewer set: Fish belly with leek, eggplant miso, gingo nuts, pork belly, mushroom wrapped with bacon, mushroom with minced chicken: $36

The other dish I would highly recommend is the grilled skewer set. In particular the grilled pork belly is fabulous. This is actually Yakibuta which is pork belly which has been braised first before grilling. The seasoning is excellent though the pork was just slightly dry. Still, it was quite memorable. 4.25/5. Ironically, I derived the most enjoyment from a non-meat item. The eggplant with miso was perfectly balanced. Soft on the inside, charred, sweet and smoky on the outside, it's a vegetarian dish which any carnivore would be more than happy to eat. 4.5/5


Grilled Ayu (Sweetfish) with salt: $16

I had seen this Ayu (Sweetfish) before, live, the last time I was in Tokyo. It looked a little bit like a miniture trout (when it was alive) and I know it is a favourite among the Japanese. This seasonal fish can be found in the rivers of Japan and is often eaten simply grilled with salt. It is said that the flesh is sweet, hinting of flavour of melons and cucumber. It was interesting for me. I found the flesh very fine but I think I should have eaten it freshly out from the grill because it was a bit dry after I finished with the photography. Trust the Japanese to be able to make you pay $16 for it. I don't think we will ever be able to get the Japanese to pay $16 for Ikan Kuning. 4/5


Simmered Kinki (red eye fish) $146

This is the first time that I am eating Kinki. When it comes to steamed fish, I think we are most accustomed to the usual Coral Trout, Parrot fish, Seabass that is served Cantonese style. So this Japanese style simmered Kinki was really something quite novel. This fish was really fresh and the flesh was so delicate and smooth that it just dissolves in the mouth. Not cheap, but very good. 4.5/5


Gindara Bento Set $46.60

The meal I had was so good that I had to go back a second time the following week to try their Bento sets which are quite good value. This return trip was more modest but the food was still excellent. The Gindara Bento is one of the more expensive sets but as you can see in the picture, you get, amongst other things, a whole tray of sushi and sashimi accompanied by teapot soup, prawn and vegetable tempura, gindara teriyaki, salmon eggs and deep fried river prawns. If you have a few friends, it is just a matter of ordering a few of these sets to share around and you will get to try a lot of different things. The prices start from $18 and they have quite a few interesting sets in the $20 - $40 price range.


Rainbow Set $36.60

I would highly recommend the Rainbow Set. Actually, this was highly recommended to me by PowerAunty and I think you can see why when you look at the photo. The visual and gustatory appeal of this set is well balanced. This one is not just eye candy. Besides looking good, you will derive a lot of pleasure from savouring the different types of Aburi (torched) Sushi as well as a plate of fresh sashimi.

Conclusion

There are many segments in the Japanese restaurant industry. You have the low cost sushi trains found in shopping centres and the high end Japanese restaurants found in 5 star hotels. Rakuichi falls somewhere in the upper range in terms of quality but mid to upper range in terms of price. I think it is a place where you can get your quality at quite a reasonable price.

But don't just take it from me. Chef Tom is a regular here and according to him, this place sells the freshest sashimi at prices which are not inflated like elsewhere. Definitely worth a visit for lovers of Japanese food.

Special for ieatishootipost readers
Mention ieatishootipost and get 10% off the total bill.
(Cannot be used with other credit card promotions)

Rakuichi
Blk 10 Dempsey Road #01-22
(Near Jones the Grocer)
64742143
www.rakuichi.com.sg

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ieat Durian Degustation IV: Registration is now Open

Sorry, due to overwhelming response. Registration is now closed.



Since our last Durian Degustation, I have had a lot of requests to organize another one. This time round, I wanted to find a bigger place which can host at least 100 pax so that more people can come.

So after a bit of haggling, I am glad to finally announce that the nice people at 717 Trading have agreed to host our Durian Degustation for a very special price of $20 per head (MSW is currently $18 per kg). 717 Trading as you might already know, has a solid reputation for providing only the best Durians and when you visit their stall you can get to see Durian Gloves adorning the walls with famous names of people from Mediacorp to Ministers.

Mr Goh has assured me that there is going to be MSW and D24 available, but we will also get to taste whatever cultivars are available that day. In order to get the $20 per head price, we must gather at least 100 pax, so I am counting on everyone for your support!

The Details:

Venue: 717 Trading, 22 Yio Chu Kang Road, #01-01 Highland Centre
Time: 8pm (registration starts)
Date: 31 July 2009 (Fri)
Price: $20 per person

To book your seats, email to: ieatishootipost@gmail.com, in the title put Durian Degustation IV and leave your name, nickname, handphone number and number of persons coming in the first line of your email. Keep the first line as short as possible as I can get all the info I need without opening the email.

Due to overwhelming demand Registration is currently closed

The Participants list is published here.

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ieat Super Supper Feast!

Many thanks for the overwhelming support for the ieat Super Supper Feast! Over 100 ieaters signed up and we made up one quarter of the 431 people who set the record for the most number of people eating chilli crab in Singapore!

I think everyone agreed that it was indeed good value and many ended up buying drinks and pau home at the end of the evening.

It was great to meet so many new friends! I hope you all will continue to share your foodie adventures with the group through our forum and facebook group.

See you all at the next makan gathering this Saturday at Cafe de Hong Kong! Tickets have been sold out for this event, but there is still the Zento session and the Durian Session coming up. So if you want to be sent an invitation, do join the facebook group.

We are also looking for a few tasters for Buzzing Cashier this Wednesday afternoon at 2.30pm at Ulu Pandan area. Please write to leslie.tay@gmail.com if you would like to attend.

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Heng Ji Chicken Rice: I waited three years to eat this Chicken Rice!

Well here is another stall that I waited three years to eat.

When I started the blog, Smith Street Food Centre had shifted to its temporary premises at Outram and Heng Ji decided to take a break rather than shift there. So the blog post for this very famous Chicken Rice was put on hold for a while. It is quite amazing that even with the number of chicken rice stalls at Smith Street Food Centre, this particular stall still stands out for many a foodie. I guess it might have something to do with their long history at the food centre and of course the standard of their chicken rice.



The lady boss who was chopping the chicken tells me that their chicken is special. Just how is it special, she did not say. But she just said to try it first and see if I also felt it was special. And indeed it was. Their chicken is not exceptionally large, perhaps around 1.6 kg only, but I felt the meat had a very nice savoury flavour about it which is missing in many a food court chicken rice. So the chicken gets a 4.5/5 from me.

However, the rice that day was a bit of a dissappointment. It certainly looked great, with that light tea colour and slightly broken grains but the flavour was only so so. Holydrummer commented that they used a lot of fried shallots which might explain the brown colour of the rice. It wasn't all that bad, it just wasn't up to expectations. 4/5



Their chilli is a bit of surprise and it is quite unique in that it is exceptionally sweet. Very unlike any chicken rice chilli I know and I am sure some people might not even consider it chicken rice chilli. This one will depend on your preference for sweet stuff. I personally like my food a little sweet, but not really when it comes to chicken rice. 3.5/5

Conclusion

I am sure there must be many fans of this chicken rice out there. I think it is good, but there are a lot of stalls nearer to me where I can get better ones. The chicken is perhaps the only thing that stands out for me.

Heng Ji Chicken Rice
Chinatown Smith St FC
#02-131
Open from 3pm till 9pm

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Ah Chuan Oyster Omelette: At long last!

With Taukwa

Oyster Omelette $4

I have been waiting 3 years to eat at this stall. No kidding. The last 5 times that I visited Toa Payoh Lor 7 food centre, it was either on a day when he was closed, not yet opened or on holidays in China.

When I first starting blogging back in 2006, one of the first group of hawkers that I targeted were the Hawker Legends listed by Makansutra. This was the first batch of hawkers who won the award and I think that most of them deserved the honour. Three years on, I have almost completed the list. After Ah Chuan Oyster Omelette, there is only one more left and that is Mattar Road Seafood BBQ. Ok, must press on to finish what I started three years ago!


Ah Chuan: The most important thing is to control the fire

I have been largely disappointed with this particular dish the last few times I have eaten it. Mind you, this is a high calorie, high cholesterol kind of dish, so when you eat it, you really want to make sure that the calories are worth it. From my point of view, this is a dish with simple ingredients so it is really dependent on skill and experience to get it right. The flavour comes basically from eggs, oil, oyster and fish sauce and I feel a good oyster omelette should not even need to be bathed in chilli to taste good. But even if you prefer it with chilli, the chilli sauce here is well balanced and has the right amount of sourness to cut through the oil.

The texture on the other hand is a bit more complex. There's got to be just the right balance of crispy starchy bits, crispy brown egg bits, chewy starcy bits and sticky starchy bits. And of course it is a given that the oysters must be fresh.

I must say that this is the most satisfactory Oyster Omelette I have eaten since I started blogging. The oysters are big, juicy and fresh and the texture of the dish is just perfect. The only thing I can think of that would make it even better is if he fried it in pork lard. 4.75/5

Conclusion

Oyster Omelette is one of those dishes that I try to avoid eating too much of because it really isn't all that healthy. So if I were to have the craving for oyster omelette, this is the one stall that I will head to gurantee that my calories are not wasted.

What to do next:

After eating the Oyster Omelette, go for Chendol at Dove Dessert!
If you still have the stomach, you must not miss Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Kway Teow.
Check out the rest of the Hawker Legends.
Where else to eat Oyster Omelette.

Ah Chuan Oyster Omelette
Toa Payoh Lor 7 Food Centre
Stall #01-25
3pm to 9pm
cloosed on Tuesdays

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Ieat Supper Session this Saturday!

Please note: Tickets have been sold out.

The Singapore Food Festival 2009 is upon us and there is going to be lots of eating to do in the coming weeks!

We are taking this opportunity to organize an ieat Supper Session this Saturday in conjunction with the Super Supper Madness event at Chinatown Food Street.

What is happening is that we will be involved in setting the record for the most number of people eating chilli crabs. They will be setting up a super long table and we have arranged for one section to be reserved for ieatishootipost readers. The chilli crab will be provided by Boon Tat Seafood.

After the chilli crabs there will be some activities on stage by DJs from Love 972 and then we will use our $25 worth of tokens to buy food from any of the 15 participating stalls along Smith Street, then head back to our table to feast. It would be a great opportunity to meet with kakis from our forum and facebook group!

So come, bring your friends and family and join our supper makan session!

Event Details:
Date: 18th July 2009, Saturday
Venue: Chinatown Food Street (Smith Street)
Time: 830pm - 12 Midnight
Ticket Price: ieatishootipost readers special price $12.50 (usual $15)
There will be a special section reserved for ieatishootipost readers.

Each ticket is entitled to a lucky draw, the Chilli Crab feast plus $25 worth of tokens which can be used at more than 20 participating stalls:

Some of the Stalls are:

1. Da Dong Dim Sum
2. New Generation Desserts
3. City Satay
4. Ah Balling Peanut Soup
5. Local Delights
6. Food Street Fried Kway Teow
7. Smith Street Prawn Noodles
8. Select Hot & Cold Drinks
9. BBQ Otah, Squid, Bacon with Mushroom/Asparagus, Chicken with Green Pepper, Chicken Mid Wings, Baked Scallop, Hotate, Crabstrick, Prawns and Pork
10. Fei Fei Wanton Mee
11. Hwa Kee Tai Pai Tong (Thai Food)
12. Your Choice Nasi Padang
13. Boon Tat Street Seafood
14. Select Fruits and Juices

What to do:

Register by calling 64747909. Make sure you mention ieatshootipost so that you will get the special price and a seat at the ieatishootipost section. You will need to pick up the tickets on Saturday between 6pm to 7.30pm and be seated by 8.30pm at our section. Bring your family and friends and let's supp together and be a part of Singapore's most number of people eating chilli crabs!

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Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle: A Most Elaborate Mee Pok Tah

Mee Pok Tar with the Works $4

I have alluded many times to the fact that us Teochews are really very fussy about the freshness. It is part and parcel of the cultural trait of being Teochew that everything must be "Chnee Chnee" (Fresh).

If you want to see an extreme example of this in action, you must come to this Mee Pok Stall in Smith Street Food Centre. But you have to be prepared to queue for at least 20 minutes even in the middle of the afternoon in order to partake of this particular Hawker's dish, nay, I would say, his passion.



His bowl of Mee Pok Tar with the works is just $4, but it is packed with many quality ingredients many of which he prepares on the spot. When I say "On the spot", I really mean literally "on the spot". The uncle will turn aside while waiting for the noodles to cook to make some dumplings (Giao), then turn back to toss his noodles a few times before turning to his chopping board to slice a few pieces of meat. I also notice that he would pinch the noodles every time he cooks a batch in order to see if they are cooked perfectly. All these things really slow down the process of producing one bowl of noodle which definitely contributes the the length of the queue.



There is no doubt that his ingredients are fresh and for $4 you really do get quite a few goodies. There is one medium sized peeled prawn which tastes like it is a sea prawn rather than the farmed ones, several slivers of crispy sole fish, one dumpling, one pork ball, slices of lean meat and minced meat, braised mushrooms and unique to this stall, a piece of braised pork skin. All the ingredients are excellent but I can't give them top marks because I felt the noodles and sauce lacked a bit of flavour. 4.25/5

Conclusion

This is probably the best value, most elaborate and freshly made Bak Chor Mee that I have ever come across. It really is frustrating that there never seems to be a lull period where the queue is less than 15 mins! But then again, I guess everybody knows a good deal when they see one.

Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle
Chinatown Smith Street Food Centre
#02-023
Closed Mon - Tues
12.30pm to 9pm

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Ramen Santouka: Pork Cheek Char Siew!

Special Pork Cheek Ramen set $19.90

Ramen. It's the Japanese version of our Bak Chor Mee Soup. But like everything else, the Japanese take on food of other cultures and show the world that perhaps their way of doing it is better than the original. Just take Tonkatsu for example. That dish is really their version of the Pork Schnitzel. But who would take the train to the middle of nowhere in Tokyo to eat a Pork Schnitzel? But for the juiciest Tonkatsu, that's exactly what I did. Another example is mayonnaise, how many of us buy the Japanese version instead? See what I mean?

So Ramen. It's called Ramen because it is an idea borrowed from the Chinese La Mien. But somehow, people are willing to pay $15 for a bowl of Ramen and only $8 for a bowl of La Mien. Even worse, they are only willing to pay $4 for a bowl of Bak Chor Mee and that is only when the stall is quite famous.

At the end of the day, we are talking about Egg Noodles in pork bone soup with some ingredients like slices of pork and eggs on top. But how come the Japanese can do it so that we won't blink an eye at paying upwards of $10 to eat it? If I were to give our best Bak Chor Mee stalls the permission to produce a $10 Bak Chor Mee, I wonder what it would be like? Perhaps, they too will boil the pork bones long enough till it turns milky white and add extra stuff like dried scallops and plenty of Ti Poh (dried sole fish) in it. Perhaps they might even add slices of slowly stewed pork ribs plus other yummy ingredients ingredients in it. Hold on, this is beginning to sound like something I can get at Seng Kee when you order the fish maw noodle soup and add their braised Pork Ribs on top!


Sliced slivers of juicy Pork Cheek

But let us come back to this Ramen. When I read about this Pork Cheek Ramen from our forum, I just had to go try it. I think it had me at "Pork Cheek". Ironically, the occasion arose because my wife had just returned from Tokyo dissappointed that the Ramen she had there on this occasion was pretty lack lustre. Yes, they do have bad food in Japan too you know. So to make up for the lack of a good Ramen, we decided to try Santouka's Pork Cheek Ramen, which was regarded by our Makan Kaki PChong to be one of the best in Singapore.



My favourite part of the pig used to be the belly, but now I think it is the cheek. Belly is great as Sio Bak, streaky bacon and Japanese style Char Siew but when it comes to slivers of meat that you savour slowly, I reckon the cheek is second to none. The restaurant proudly proclaims that each pig has only about 200 to 300 grams of Pork Cheek in order to justify their hefty price tag of $19.90 for the Pork Cheek set. Hey, man, I can think of rarer parts of the pig, both of which would only weigh 100g, but I won't pay to eat them!

But anyway, the pork cheeks were heavenly. They were braised till they were so soft that it just dissolves on your tongue. Well almost. I wonder why our local hawkers don't serve braised pork cheeks? The pork bone soup that came with the noodles where satisfyingly creamy and savoury and the noodles were excellent. But just a friendly warning, this little indulgence is going to cost you $20! 4.5/5


Chicken Ramen

For those who are cutting down on their cholesterol, the chicken ramen is a healthier alternative. But unfortunately, cholesterol usually equals taste. So I found the chicken ramen very ordinary even though they tell me that their customers rave about it. 3.5/5

Conclusion

So what do you think of Ramen vs Bak Chor Mee Soup? Obviously people are happily paying 3 to 4 times the price to eat Ramen. Is the price of Ramen justified or is it simply overpriced?

Ramen Santouka
The Central
#02-86
Open 11am to 9.30pm daily

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Zento Contemporary Japanese Restaurant: Want to take on Iron Chef Morimoto?

Wagyu Beef and Shrimp Tempura roll with melted Gruyre and garlic sauce $30

If you are a fan of the Iron Chef series, then the mention of Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto might conjure up images of fantastic Japanese creations which his critics would say is not Japanese at all. This is the paradox. Chef Morimoto, the man responsible for the highly acclaimed Nobu Restaurant in New York who plays the role of Iron Chef Japan is supposed to represent Japanese cuisine but he always comes up with creations so bizarre that some might question its "Japaneseness". But..... he still manages to beat his challengers most of the time.

Chef Morimoto left Nobu after the series to start his own restaurant, Morimoto, in Philadelphia. This is where our young protagonist comes into the picture. Chef Gunawan Wibisono, an Indonesian by birth, worked his way up the Sushi ladder without formal training to eventually work at Morimoto's kitchen. After he left Morimoto, Chef Gunawan opened Zento in Philadelphia and won numerous praise for his contemporary Japanese cuisine. He and his wife had recently moved here to open another branch of Zento to introduce his creations to Singaporeans.

Truth be told, I was attracted to the fact that there are several dishes at Zento which are inspired by Chef Morimoto. Short of travelling to the US to taste the mighty Morimoto's food, I guess this is the next best option. With the dearth of Japanese restaurants opening up in Singapore, Zento takes Japanese cuisine to uncharted waters. Just like Morimoto's creations in the Iron Chef series, the judges might not think it is classically Japanese, but it tastes so good that they award him the win anyway. After all, when it comes to food, it all boils down to how the it tastes right?


Zento Sashimi Set - Otoro with Caviar, Miso marinated Salmon, Madai with onion vinaigrette, Wasabi encrusted Tuna, live oyster with fish and Yuzu sauce $29 (one and half portion shown in photo)

So if you have been enamored by Japanese food, as are a lot of Singaporeans currently, you would be very glad to know that Zento will challenge you to re-define Sushi and Sashimi. If you have read my previous posts on eating raw fish, you would know that I am quite a late bloomer to the Sushi/Sashimi scene. I went from " I will never ever walk into one", to "Only if I have to accompany my wife into one", to "Hey let's go eat some Sushi!" only of late. So for me, I am starting to really like Sashimi, but I still have a soft spot for a bit of char grill flavour.

If you are still find eating raw fish a little distasteful, then the Zento Sashimi Set might just change your mind. Here you are presented with five different types of fish which have been blowtorched to cook just the exterior. Then, instead of the usual wasabi and soy sauce, they provide different toppings for the different fish. The Aburi (blowtorched) Otoro with Caviar is, as you can imagine, quite heavenly as is the miso marinated Salmon Belly. 4.5/5


Scallop Carpaccio $25

You can follow the Sashimi set with the Scallop Carpaccio which is also excellent. This is again a creative departure from Scallop Sashimi as they top the scallops with Yuzu sauce, ginger, garlic and Mitsuma leaves, then bathed it with hot grapeseed oil. The combination works very well to bring out the sweetness of the scallops. 4.25/5


Rock shrimp tempura with spicy kochujan sauce $15

Now we get to the two dishes which were Chef Morimoto's creations. The Rock Shrimp Tempura with a Korean inspired kochujan sauce can be really addictive. However, this dish did remind me a lot of what we can get at the Cze Char places. Perhaps it is novel for the Americans, but I think a lot of Singaporeans will find it very familiar. That said, it was still a dish which resonated with me. 4/5


Tuna Pizza $22

The Tuna Pizza is basically it's a crispy thin tortilla chip topped with hiyashi wakame (seaweed), raw tuna and a secret sauce which is imported from the US. The flavours are excellently balanced and the crispy tortilla is a nice contrast to the cold tuna and wakame. Another dish I would order again. 4.25/5


Wagyu Shrimp Tempura Roll with Melted Gruyre and Garlic Sauce $30

Now to the piece de resistance. I have to qualify first that one of my favourite things to eat is a piece of grilled marbled beef with a mouthful of pearly sweet Japanese rice. So I only needed to take one look at the dish to know that the chances of me raving about it is quite high. I am glad to report that I wasn't dissappointed one bit. I think it was brilliant of Chef Gunawan to depart from the usual way of straightening the prawns out for tempura and keep its elegant curved shaped. The curves serve to remind you that beneath that lightly torched Wagyu beef is a tender and juicy giant shrimp! For me, this would be the perfect "Steak and Surf".

The Gruyre cheese sauce gave it just the right amount of creaminess to complement the crunch of the tempura batter and add a wonderful umami kick to the beef. I could just come here and eat just to eat this one dish. 4.75/5


Mango Sashimi - Salmon, Tuna, Yellowtail, Avocado and Mango $25

For those who are trying to cut down on carbos, the riceless sushi rolls are an interesting concept. Instead of the usual Sushi Rice, they taken a few calories off, but still retaining some carbo satisfaction by using rice paper. I like the novelty of the dish but felt the sweetness of the honey mustard sauce overpowers the natural sweetness of the sashimi. Good for dieters. 3.75/5


Volcano Roll- $25

I love these small chef owner eateries. It really is a labour of love rather than just a job for the chef. I was told that all the dishes here have been passed by his greatest critic who is none other than Dyana, his wife. If you visit the restaurant, you will get to be introduced to the dishes by her who I think is the real boss of the restaurant. (But maybe I am just extrapolating from my personal life). This passion translates to procuring the freshest fish and making all of their sauces in-house. I mean you just have to respect someone who bothers to make their own coriander oil right?

One of their signature dishes is this Volcano roll which is a deep fried Shrimp Tempura roll with smoked salmon, avocado, crabstick and masago. This is a very tasty Sushi roll whose identity (I am afraid) might get mixed up with the stuff we see at S____ Sushi. The addition of the masago (capelin roe) and their special homemade sauces gives it that extra special touch. 4.25/5


Philly Roll - Salmon, Cream Cheese and Scallion $14

There are so many more items on the menu which I can talk about but I shall stop here with the Philly roll, which I guess celebrates their humble roots from Philidelphia. Cream cheese and salmon is always a great combination, but this is the first time I have seen this combination in a sushi roll. I am partial to this one but Amagada loves it. 4/5

Conclusion

Zento means "Future" (前途 qian2 tu2) in Japanese. I guess its name reflects what they are trying to do by sharing the same spirit of innovation as Iron Chef Morimoto to challenge age old traditions to create new taste sensations. Anything that is novel is always worth a try, but when it is truly good, what is novel will eventually become a classic.

I think there are a few classics in the making here.

Special for ieatishootipost readers:

Complimentary dessert when you mention "ieatishootipost"!

Makan Session in the works:

I am in the midst of organizing a special 10 course tasting menu for everyone which will feature some of the dishes here, including, of course, the Wagyu roll. The special menu will be $38 nett and be held on a Saturday at 2pm. Can I have an indication of how many would be interested to attend?

In order to be notified of this and other events, please join our ieatishootipost facebook group.

Zento Contemporary Japanese
Blk 18B Dempsey Hill
Singapore 249677
64740378
Open daily for lunch and dinner
www.zento.com.sg
This was an invited review

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Haig Road Food Centre Imprompto Lunch Session

Haig Road Food Centre will be closing in Aug for renovations, so we had to go down at least one last time to visit all the famous stalls there. The main event was Yong Li's Kway Chap which is Cactuskit's all time favourite which he will sorely miss when they close. Everyone agreed that the Da Chang is very well prepared and clean.

It was great to meet all our new kakis from the Facebook Group! With all the positive response, we shall be looking at organizing more informal sessions like this. If you want to be informed of the makan session, make sure you are registered on the facebook group! Click here to register.

In the meantime, if you missed our session, you can still go down yourself to check out the stalls!

Yong Li Kway Chap
Fandi Mona Mee Rebus
Warung Sudi Mapir Satay
Putu Piring

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How To Make Tau Huay (Tofu Fa): Featuring the Si Chuan Dou Hua Recipe

Homemade Tau Huay using the recipe from Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant

Why Bother?

You might be wondering, "Why bother to make Tau Huay when it is so cheap and you can buy it just about anywhere?" Well, I can think of three reasons. First, there is a certain "Wow" factor about Tau Huay especially if you can serve it fresh at home to your friends. Secondly, when you make your own Tau Huay, you can use organically grown soybeans to ensure that you get the best tasting and nutritious Tau Huay. Thirdly, once you mastered this skill, you can start to experiment with many interesting twists like adding vanilla pods, green tea or even Baileys to the soymilk. Oh, did I mention that Tau Huay is my wife's all time favourite dessert? All these years and I am still trying to impress her.

In this post, I hope to share with you what I have learnt about Tau Huay making so that you too can make Tau Huay as smooth as those in Dim Sum restaurants right in your own at home.

According to our polls last year, Tau Huay is Singapore's favourite dessert. There is a certain level of mystique surrounding this, most traditional of Chinese desssert whose secret seems to be closely guarded by a select few. Yes, there are lots of bean curd stalls sprouting up all over the island selling fresh Bean Curd, but there are only a few stalls who can achieve a level of mystique like Rochor Bean Curd whose Tau Huay is regarded by many to be the best in Singapore. Part of the mystique surrounding Rochor, apart from the family rivalry, is its use of the traditional Gypsum powder or Shi Gao to make the Tau Huay. Gypsum, which has been traditionally used for more than 2000 years and partly responsible for producing the 1.3 billion Chinese today, has been having some bad rep for being the cause of kidney stones. So for some people, eating Tau Huay made with Gypsum is like eating Fugu where you suspect that it might kill you but heck, its so good you'd take a risk. (More about this point later)

Although I like the smooth texture of Rochor Bean Curd, I have always felt that there is a lack of soybean fragrance in the bean curd. Most of the best Bean Curds I have eaten have been in Dim Sum Restaurants (overseas mostly), including the Si Chuan Dou Hua restaurant which in my opinion sells one of the smoothest Bean Curd in Singapore. For me, a great Bean Curd must not only be smooth, but it has to be firm enough to be chiseled and at the same time, there must be a fragrant beany flavour. Since I can't get this Tau Huay unless I go to a Dim Sum restaurant, I decided that I would try to make it myself at home and try to debunk this Bean Curd myth once and for all. After all, there are only two ingredients in Tau Huay: Soybeans and coagulant. So it can't be all that difficult right?

Wrong!

Bean Curd making is really more like a science than an art. I say this categorically after I have been trying to make Bean Curd almost everyday for over a month. It is true that Bean Curd is basically soybean milk that has been curdled. But as I have found out (the hard way), there is a technique involved which need to be followed religiously. This is a dish that a Chemist will be able to do very well! If you think about it, the process of turning a bean into a jelly is akin to what they are doing in Molecular Gastronomy nowadays. So, it is not far fetched to say that Bean Curd is one of the earliest forms of Molecular Gastronomy!

So I decided to make my own Tau Huay

As with many things nowadays, my search for a Tau Huay recipe started with an internet search. If you google "How to make Tofu Fa" you will get to see quite a few recipes. I think I must have read almost every site there is on making Tau Huay. The recipe from most sites seem to be quite standard. It calls for 25o grams of soybeans processed with 2 litres of water, filtered and boiled, then added to 1 teaspoon of gypsum powder and 1 teaspoon of cornflour. Some use a shortcut method which means that they buy ready made soybean milk and just add the coagulant. I have tried many of these recipes but even when I succeed in getting the soymilk to set, the texture of the bean curd was a far cry from what they serve in the best Tau Huay places.

After two to three weeks of near consistent failure, I was about to give up and leave Tau Huay on its hallowed altar. It was then that I decided to pluck up the courage to ask Linda from Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant if she would be willing to give me a few pointers on how their Dim Sum chefs make their famous Tau Huay. To my surprise, Linda responded quickly with a recipe which I could try at home! After that, I managed to pick up a few more tips from Chef William of Copthorne King's Hotel and also Chef Han of Meritus Mandarin, while filming for Buzzing Cashier. That was really the turning point of my Bean Curd adventure and after a few successful pots of Tau Huay, I have now reached a point where I am confident enough to pen down all the important points which I have learnt, so that whoever wants to make Tau Huay can achieve it in a much shorter time than I did. I hope that Tau Huay enthusiasts and experts out there can also chip in and add onto the pool of knowledge by writing what you know in the comments section.

So rather than giving you just a recipe, I am going to try to list down the some important tips on Tau Huay so that you can also work out what went wrong when your Tau Huay doesn't set properly. Let me encourage you, you will fail a few times, but the numerous failures only makes the success sweeter.


The coagulants: Lactone and Gypsum

About the Coagulants: Gypsum and Lactone

Before we lose the readers who do not want to make their own Tau Huay, just a quick word on the coagulants. In Singapore, there are essentially two coagulants you can buy. The more traditional is Gypsum powder which is essentially Calcium Sulphate, a chemical which occurs naturally as rock. It is the same stuff that you make plaster walls out of, which is why a lot of people believe that taking too much calcium will lead to kidney stones. This is true. BUT you have to consider that when you make Tau Huay, you are adding around 1000mg of calcium sulphate to every litre of soymilk. Since the daily requirement of calcium for an adult is 1000mg, you will need to take four bowls of Tau Huay in order to get enough calcium for the whole day. If you want to grow some kidney stones, you will have to exceed this amount by quite a bit and do that for an extended period of time before you have some kidney stones which you can show off on an Xray!

Gypsum is available at your friendly neighbourhood medicinal shop (Yo Chai Tiam). But you have to be careful as there are two versions. The Gypsum that you want is the "cooked" version. If you buy the "raw" version, which is used in Chinese medicine as a "cooling" agent. Your Tau Huay will not set and you will be very frustrated, wondering what happened. (I learnt that the hard way too). Incidentally, if you buy "cooling water", that is essentially water with a bit of Gypsum dissolved in it. The cooked Gypsum looks a bit greyish and more grainy than the raw Gypsum.

The other coagulant you can buy is Glucono delta Lactone (GDL) or Lactone for short. This is available from Phoon Huat. If you speak to some Bean Curd makers, they might mention that they use fruit pectin to make their Tau Huay. That is essentially what Lactone is called in Chinese. You can read it on the label itself. Lactone is the more popular coagulant which is supplied to most stalls selling bean curd as it is easier to use. This is also a "natural" coagulant since it is made by fermenting glucose. Lactone gives a smoother, more jelly like texture, while Gypsum gives a softer, more custardlike texture. The thing that I don't quite like about Lactone is that it does give the bean curd a bit of a sourish taste if you add too much of it. Gypsum is tasteless.

The following slideshow will give a step-by-step account of how to make your Tau Hway at home. The recipe is from Sze Chuan Dou Hua and the technique is a summary of all the things I learnt from reading the net and talking to the experts.

Si Chuan Dou Hua Bean Curd Recipe:

500g Soybeans
2.5 litres water
3.5g Lactone (1/4 teaspoon is approx 1 g Lactone)
150ml water

It is interesting to note that the Si Chuan Dou Hua Recipe uses double the amount of beans compared to all the recipes on the internet.

Ieat's Tau Huay Recipe:

The recipe as above but use 2 teaspoons of Gypsum instead of Lactone

Important Notes:

1. The quality of beans will affect the taste of the bean curd. So since you are going to put all that effort into making your own Tau Huay, go and buy some nice organic beans!

2. By removing the skin, you get rid of that waxy taste. This step is optional, but since you want to make your Tau Huay, you might as well spend another 5 minutes doing this.

3. Some recipes tell you to cook the slurry first then filter. But traditionally, soybean milk is filtered then cooked. There is a good reason for this. Heat deactivates some of enzymes in outer layers of the bean. These enzymes are actually needed to produce that beany flavour. The westerners don't like this but we Asians do. So, if you buy Soymilk produced in the US, you always find it doesn't taste like the soymilk we are used to. That is because, when they process their soymilk, they will blanch the beans first the deactivate the enzyme that gives the beany taste. I have cooked it both ways and I find that you should just stick to filter than cook as it is easier and gives a better fragrance.

4. It is vitally important that the soymilk is stirred and brought to the boil slowly to avoid burning the milk. Burnt Tau Huay is yuckly! (You can tell I am talking from experience right?)

5. It is important to simmer the milk for 10 minutes after you bring it to a boil in order to bring out the full flavour and fragrance of the soy milk.

6. The best temperature to coagulate the soymilk is 85 degrees celcius. Don't pour boiling soymilk directly into the coagulant. There will be too many bubbles and it will affect the texture of the Bean Curd. If you do not have a thermometer, let it rest for 5 minutes before pouring it in. When you pour, you are trying to produce turbulence so that the coagulant mixes with the milk properly. Don't stir the milk once it is poured as coagulation starts almost immediately.

7. You can tell almost immediately if your Tau Huay is going to work. If the surface looks nice and smooth, either you are ok or there is too little coagulant. If it breaks ie precipitates to solids and water, then you have put too much coagulant. If you have too little coagulant, your Tua Huay will be like a thick milkshake.

8. Using a cloth to cover the bowl will prevent condensation droplets falling onto the surface of your Tau Huay.

9. The behavior of Lactone is different from Gypsum. It is more forgiving when it comes to texture, but not taste. If you add too much lactone, it just gets firmer but the taste is sour and quite unpalatable. I have found that 1 teaspoon of Lactone is roughly equivalent to 2 teaspoons of Gypsum.


Lactone gives a smoother jellylike texture, while Gypsum gives a fluffier, custardy texture

11. Gypsum as a very narrow window of success. Too little and the soybean milk just remains a thick liquid. Too much and the milk curdles and you can forget about your Tau Huay and proceed to drain the water and press it to make Tau Kwa. The window in between where the Tau Huay sets like silk is very narrow. So it is vitally important that you measure your beans and coagulant precisely. Do use a proper measuring teaspoon rather than a teaspoon that you use to stir your coffee. And remember 1 tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons, not 2.

12. Tau Huay is made by coagulating soybean protein. So the amount of bean protein to coagulant is critical. The amount of water can be adjusted to the texture you want. So if you find that your Tau Huay is too hard, add more water, but keep the amount of bean and water constant. By far the most important point in making Tau Huay is the ratio of the bean to the coagulant.

13. A lot of the recipes on the net call for the addition of Potato Starch or Cornflour. I haven't figured out exactly why because the recipe that I use does not have it and the texture is excellent. The only reason I can think of is that it is used to thicken the milk in recipes which uses a smaller bean to water ratio.

14. I have found that it is important to keep the temperature at around 85 degrees during the coagulation period. This is no problem if you are making 5 litres of Tau Huay, but if you are doing 1 litre or even half a litre, then it is vitally important that you buy one of those rice warmers so that the temperature does not drop too fast. I find that it is easier to make at least 2 litres at one go. When you play with small amounts like 250mls because you don't want to waste the soymilk, your margin for error when measuring the coagulant is very narrow.

15. If you wish to skip the laborious work of making your own soymilk you can buy soymilk from stalls which make their own milk. Then you have to work out the amount of coagulant based on the observations I provided in point 11. That is because different stalls might use different amount of beans and the machines used in extracting the soya milk might differ. If you use soymilk like off the supermarket shelves, do note that they usually add extra soybean oil and emulsifiers to give it that creamy texture.


Spoonful of silky smooth Tau Huay made with Gypsum.

Conclusion

It is my hope that this post will enable anyone out there to make good Tau Huay. I don't think my Tau Huay is quite perfect yet, but it is good enough as a starting block to work towards perfection. I hope that some enterprising person might just start making Tau Huay with the texture of Rochor's but with a nice lingering beany taste and a bouquet that you can savour. It would be great if we can get a Tau Huay that can rival the best in Hong Kong right here in our Hawker centres! I don't think it is too difficult as it just calls for a bit of passion and better quality beans.

Now, if you have been patiently reading my post till this point and are feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes to make a good Tau Huay, but still wish you could just pop into the kitchen and whip up something quick. Then this is what you do. Buy some Sobe brand unsweetened soymilk. Measure out 300ml of soymilk and add 200ml of water to make 500ml. Put it in the microwave for around 6 mins until it starts to boil. Let it settle for a few minutes and then add it to 1/4 teaspoon of Lactone that has been dissolved in water. It is not as great as the recipe above, but it will satisfy that craving especially if you are overseas and the nearest Tau Huay stall requires a passport to get to!

I look forward to hearing some good reports from you and please write in the comments to share what you have learnt or if you have additional points to add.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Linda from Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant who graciously shared her recipe with us! If you are too lazy to make your own Tau Huay, this is one of the best Tau Huays you can find in Singapore! And don't forget that their $18 High Tea with Dim Sum pairing special (one set free for every 3 sets) for ieatishootipost readers is still on!

Update: 21 Jul 2009



Finally managed to buy a proper packet of "Cooked" Gypsum Powder! Haven't tried it yet, but it looks a bit greyish instead of pure white, so it should be right. After all it says 熟石膏 on the packet, so it should be right. But really can't guarantee anything until I try it.

Oh btw, I had one failure last week when trying to make a batch of Tau Huay. I made the soy bean milk in the morning and tried to coagulate it in the afternoon, but it came out rough instead of smooth. I suspect it has something to do with leaving the soybean milk for too long. Chef Han from Meritus mentioned once before that the making of Tau Huay must be a continuous process. The next day I made another batch using the same Gypsum Powder but this time I did not stop in between and it came out beautifully. Does anyone here have a similar experience?

You can buy this gypsum powder at San Teck Soon Medical Hall at Hong Lim Complex, #01-53. it costs $6.50 and will last you forever!

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