Changi Fishery: Sashimi doesn't get fresher than this!

There is something very romantic about Kelongs.

I guess if you were a child growing up in the 70's, you will still remember seeing the Kelongs offshore especially when you travel to Changi beach for that family day out at the beach. Nowadays, the traditional Kelongs built on stilts have all but disappeared, so my kids have no idea what a Kelong is. But that doesn't mean there are no Kelongs in Singapore. In fact, the AVA has been encouraging aquaculture in Singapore, and Kelongs are being leased out to private enterprises. The reason that you don't realize that there are still Kelongs around is that since they are no longer built on stilts, it is not as easy to spot them.

If you go to Changi and look towards Pulau Ubin, you can actually see these Kelongs. They not only catch fish from the wild, but they are also rearing fish, prawns and even lobsters.

I happened to chance upon Changi Fishery while surfing online and was fascinated by the fact that we actually still have Kelongs in Singapore. So I made a date with Rosemary, the lady who runs the Kelong to bring my family to experience what life is like on a floating fish farm. Changi Fishery is a 5 minute boat ride from the Changi Sailing Club and is open to the public for educational tours and hosting makan sessions.



One of the fishes that are being reared at Changi Fishery is the Cobia which the AVA has identified as one of six species of fish to be reared for food. The Cobia is also known as Black Kingfish, Ling and Lemonfish and has been is touted to be the next big thing after Salmon. They grow really quickly and within 8 to 9 months they can grow to a size that is ready for the table. Salmons in contrast can take up to three years. In the US, they have successfully reared these fish in tanks and have started marketing the meat to the consumers. Earlier this year, Jamie Oliver was featured in US Iron Chef where he pitted his skills against Mario Battali in "Battle Cobia" where both chefs had to creat dishes using the Cobia. Guess who won?

I was told that the Cobia is slowly making its way into the Japanese Sushi Market where the fish is known as Sugi. So we decided to try some really fresh Sugi Sashimi. Our Cobia was fished out of the water and filleted rather unceremoniously by our Indian Sushi Chef (Not). Actually, we were not well prepared for a meal there or we would have brought our own filleting knife, wasabi and soy sauce.

If you never tasted Cobia before, well, it tastes like chicken. Kidding lah. The fish looks very similar to the more familiar Kanpachi/Hamachi/Hiramasa and tastes like it. The flesh is white and translucent and has a hint of citrus which might be why it is also known as Lemonfish. Information on Sugi is still quite sparse on the net but I found this really helpful website which lists the different fish used for sushi. The fish is so new that it hasn't been listed yet, but the very helpful author did respond to my email query on Cobia, by saying that:

Most cobia sold as sushi is in lower-end establishments, where it is offered under false names, most commonly masquerading as kanpachi or hiramasa. After several glasses of sake, a forgiving person could almost mistake very high-quality cobia for a mediocre piece of amberjack (kanpachi, etc.) Almost.

The Cobia is also slowly making its way into our Sushi restaurants as well as other eating establishments here. I think it won't be too long before the fish will be seen swimming in the tanks ready for our Cze Char Chefs to turn it into a meal for your family.



In case you are after some fresh seafood for the weekend, you can actually place your orders on Friday with Changi Fishery and pick up your seafood on Saturday afternoons at the Changi Sailing Club. The various Kelongs there have actually formed a conglomerate, so you are able to get quite a variety of seafood ranging from prawns to lobsters, seabass, groupers and so on. If you are feeling more adventurous, you can even organize for a group to visit the Kelong and have dinner there.

More information can be found at the Changi Fishery website at www.changifishery.com. Contact numbers: 96150215, 61001638

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Chef on Call: Fine dining in the comfort of home!

Hokkaido sea scallop with pumpkin mash, white wine cream reduction

Ever thought about hosting an intimate dinner party for your friends? I am sure you have and for those of us who cook, it is usually an opportunity to show off our culinary skills. But the problem with that is you end up going in and out of the kitchen and miss out on the fellowship. Furthermore, it would be very difficult if you are planning to do a 8 course, gourmet type meal where each course has to be constructed just prior to serving.

So sometimes it is nice to hang up the apron, sit down and just enjoy the dinner conversation. If that is the case, then one of the ways to still enjoy a gourmet style meal is to hire a chef to prepare the meal for you, ala Channel 5's "Chef for Hire". But you know, it can get quite expensive to do this. I read in the Straits Times that Ryan from "Chef for Hire" charges $170 per head to make an appearance! For that amount of money, I think most people will opt to just go to a nice restaurant to eat.

It so happened that one day I got this email from a young aspiring chef who has just started a Chef for Hire business. His credentials seemed to be a little limited but his rates were reasonable, so I'd thought I'd give him a try just to see what he can do.

Chris is a young fella who has been through Shatec and worked in the kitchens of five star hotels. Not a great resume by any means, but the guy seemed passionate about cooking and I had a gut feeling that he would do a good job despite his youth.

On the day of the dinner, Chris came by at around 1pm to start his preparations, armed with all the ingredients which he had procured through a gourmet supplier and a truckload of his own kitchen equipment. I could tell he was quite serious as he had even brought along small pots of fresh herbs including Rosemary which he subsequently used for the lamb.

By 7.15pm, he was ready to start with our first course which was a Scallop with pumpkin mash. We were very impressed with his presentation and the little details that he went into, like slow roasted the cherry tomatoes for a couple of hours in the oven to intensify the flavour. The scallop (I think it was just mine) was slightly overcooked, other than that, everyone around the table were suitably impressed by the first course. 4/5


Truffle scented mushroom soup served with frog leg

The mushroom soup had an intense flavour the frog leg as an interesting addition to the soup. However there was like three spoonfuls of soup in the bowl, so it looked almost like a frog leg served with mushroom sauce instead. 4/5


Our Chef preparing "Instant" Sorbet

Chris also tried to do some culinary magic to add some excitement doing what he called "instant Sorbet". The use of liquid nitrogen to flash freeze food seems to be quite the fad nowadays. It is hard to get hold of liquid nitrogen, so Chris was using dry ice to try to achieve the same effect with the Raspberry Sorbet. Great effort but needs a bit more polishing as the sorbet came out a little untidily. 3/5


Rack of lamb with Italian Parsley crust with rosemary sauce

We all loved the Rack of Lamb. It was pink and juicy all through and the lamb was very good quality. The parsley crust and Rosemary sauce complemented the lamb very well. This is as good as some of the best lamb dishes I have tasted. 4.5/5


Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee is a very common dessert which Chris did very well. The texture was nice and smooth and the use of fresh vanilla beans gave it that edge. 4.25/5

Conclusion

In a nutshell, Chris exceeded our expectations. For a young aspiring chef, he has put a lot of heart and soul into his craft and it shows through the food. Given a few more years, he might well be one of those chefs that get featured in the media, but by then he would be asking for a much higher fee.

So for your next gathering, why not consider hiring a chef? He will buy all the ingredients, bring his own kitchen utensils and come over to your house to cook a gourmet meal. Chris charges $70 per head and you need a minimum of 10 pax. You can check out his website at www.chefoncall.sg.

For my next dinner party, I am planning to do a "How to Host a Murder" night. That means dinner in four courses and everyone assumes a role in a mystery where someone got killed. The game is played in four rounds where clues are given to each person and over the course of the meal, everyone gets to interact, accuse and reveal each other's deep dark secrets. It's a great get together kind of activity which we used to do a lot of when we were living in Australia. Having a chef do all the cooking really means that I get to enjoy the game without having to worry about preparing the next course!

Special offer for ieatishootipost readers:

For the first 3 reservations, Chris will charge $55 per head for a minimum of 10 pax. You can call him at 81482726 or email chrischefoncall@gmail.com. Just let him know you found out about him through this blog.

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