Firestation Hillside Gastrobar .............. European cuisine in a firemen's quarters?

Where can you find the novelty of dining in firemen's quarters? This may sound kinky to some and a turn off to others. But fret not! Firestation Hillside Gastrobar (FHG) is not your Firestation themed diner where you'll expect to see a full size fire engine/truck with service personnel wearing firemen uniforms to serve you food. I was secretly hoping that I get to wear a firemen's helmet and dine in a fire truck!

FHG is located inside an old firestation. It is not at the main building but is a little distance from the main road and in one block of the firemen's living quarters. The cleverly placed lights have brightened the once regimented, "no-nonsense", building. They've build a transparent shelter that you can dine with a roof over your head and yet still able to enjoy the stars. As this diner is quite new, I wonder if their private rooms, which are actually "blueprinted" to be on the upper levels, are ready for business.

 

The Gastrobar serves modern European comfort food in a casual environment. There's also tapas that goes with the drinks from their bar. 

The following are the food that I've tried and would recommend.

TheBig Five pizza (S$24) has five main toppings : Chorizo Sausage, BBQ chicken, Salami, Onions, Mushrooms ..........

My wife ate the Pan Fried Salmon (S$26)  that comes with Fine Beans, Confit Cherry Tomato and Mashed Potato. This dish is not too oily which is to her liking! ..........

The Potato Gnocchi (S$28) is prepared with  Duck Confit, Wild mushrooms, Pomodoro, Garlic, White Truffle Oil. ..........

A  close up of the gnocchi ..........

A few of my friends ordered the "Grain fed 120 days Beef Sirloin" - S$30. The Sirloin does have an interesting name but I did not get a taste of it. The fries that comes with it was so nicely made that my wife was busy picking it from the plates!

For the sake of an adventurous spirit or the fetish for firemen ........... go try it and see for yourself. Will the fire from Firestation Hillside Gastrobar continue to burn?

Address : 274 Upper Bukit Timah Road (Look at the website for exact location)

Website : http://www.firestation.sg/

Country : Singapore

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

I love the world of food blogging, there are so many great food blogs out there that I could probably spend all day cruising them! I found this gem on mykitchencafe.blogspot.com, who in turn found it on prudencepennywise.blogspot.com. It was a great find at a time when I had no dinner plans and no ambition to spend time in the kitchen.

This recipe is DELICIOUS and so easy that it almost shouldn't be allowed. It will most definitely become a regular in our house. I added a WW friendly alternative, but either way will be great. I will also add that if you are sensitive to meat that has a sweet flavor, you may want to alter the amount of brown sugar in it, but I personally loved the sweetness. It was wonderful on tacos but I absolutely loved it on a bed of brown rice with a side of steamed peas, ah, slurpalicious! Next time I make this I'm doubling it because I was sad when I ate the rest of the leftovers!

Sweet and Spicy Slow-Cooker Chicken

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts1

(14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained (if you are interested in a really spicy chicken, use Rotelle

1/3 cup brown sugar (use Splenda brown sugar to save calories)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Coat the inside of your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, or until chicken shreds very easily with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Chicken will absorb liquid after it is shredded.) Serve in tacos or however your little heart desires.

1 serving=1/2 cup chicken (when using Splenda)

2 points per serving

If you do put this on rice, 1/2 cup of white or brown rice is 2 pts

Bak Kee Teochew Satay Bee Hoon .......... where's the satay?

The Satay Bee Hoon at Redhill Food Centre always has a constant queue. When you are in front of the queue you can see how the food is prepared. The bee hoon is cooked in the boiling water. It is then scooped up and placed in a plate. They'll take the underside of another plate and press at the bee hoon so hard that most of the water is squeezed out. The satay gravy (peanut sauce) is poured over the cooked bee hoon. Typical of satay bee hoon, you'll have lean pork meat, pork liver, cockles, cuttle fish and some kang kong. Apart from satay bee hoon, the stall also sells Cuttle Fish Kang Kong. This dish is actually kang kong and cuttle fish with some sweetened sauce. The stall is closed on Wednesday.

Satay Bee Hoon still not mixed up yet ..........

My S$3 satay bee hoon after it's mixed up ..........

Cost : S$3/4/5

Address : Blk 85 Redhill Lane #01-40 Redhill Market

Country : Singapore

夜来香 Ye Lai Xiang Tasty Barbeque Charcoal Grill .......... Grill in Big Portions

One of my ex colleague had introduced me to this Western Grill place about 6~7 years ago. Ever since Ye Lai Xiang is one of my choiced place for budget Western Food. The boss wears a big spectacles and always seems to wear a white T-shirt while preparing the food. He's not very friendly to customers an even rejects orders of only french fries. However, his food is good. Many people will go for the $12 Sirloin steak. When preparing the thick sirloin steak, he'll first place the steak vertical, leaning the steak at the side of the metal support at the edge of the hot plate or wok cover for support. The lard will melt some and then he'll place the steak at its sides to cook to near his standard of perfection. The chicken chops that he prepare is equally good.

The queue at Ye Lai Xiang 夜来香 ..............



I'm not a beef eater so I ordered my delicious chicken chop (S$6). The photo shows 2 big pieces of chicken thigh meat.............



A close up of the chicken chop cooked to a nice golden brown colour. It's still tender inside .........



Address : 40A Commonwealth Avenue, #01-560 Commonwealth Ave Cooked Food Centre

Country : Singapore

卤面 178 .......... Lor Mee Expert in Tiong Bahru

178 is actually the stall number of the stall. This Lor Mee is popular in the food centre. There's always a queue during lunch time. They are still selling food priced at S$2. Vinegar, garlic and chilli is self service. 

Standard prices. S$2 food is rarity nowadays ........

S$3 portion of Lor Mee ............

Cost : S$3 per bowl

Address : 30 Seng Poh Road, Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre, #02-178

Country : Singapore

Baked Chicken and Ziti

Again, I'm sorry about the poor photography on my blog, it's a talent I have yet to develop!

This is one of those recipes that has become an ever-occurring incidence in our home. It's rich, wholesome, LOWFAT, and the kids love it. The best thing about this recipe is that after I make it once, I always have enough ingredients to make it again and freeze it, (or you could be smart about it, double the recipe and do it all at once, why didn't I think of that!) When I made it the second time to freeze it, I put it in two 8x8 disposable pans, covered it in foil and wrote the baking directions. It's a meal that keeps on giving!

Adapted from Weight Watchers, Simply the Best

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 cups ziti
2/3 cup fat free ricotta cheese
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce

1 TB Italian seasoning (I also love pizza seasoning in this)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup mozz cheese

2 TB parm cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring as needed, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring as needed, until the mixture is thickened slightly, 8-10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cook the ziti according the package directions. Drain and mix with the ricotta cheese.

4. Pour half of the tomato mixture into a 13x9 inch pan, layer with ziti mixture, the chicken and the remaining tomato mixture. Sprinkle wih the cheese. Bake until hot and bubbling and the cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes.

4 Servings

Serving Size-1/4 of casserole

381 cal, 5g fat, 2g sat fat, 40mg chol, 209mg sod, 52g total carbs, 3g dietary fiber, 31g prot

7 Points per serving

Pumpkin Spice Biscuits with Cinnamon Butter

I found this recipe in the November issue of Cooking Light (can't say enough about Cooking Light, I always get my money's worth out of that magazine). I was expecting them to be a little more sweet, but they were delicious the way they were. They are only sweetened with honey, so there is a tiny hint of sweetness, but you still get the rich pumpkin spice flavor, and they are wonderfully aromatic. I tried smearing honey on them, as I usually do with biscuits, but it drowned out the pumpkin taste. So I made a very simple cinnamon-sugar (Splenda) butter to go with them, which was a perfect compliment. My kids snarfed these down, my husband loved them and the best news, if you are on WW, only three points a biscuit (or one if you made them teeny-tiny like I did!)

Ingredients

9 oz all purpose flour (about two cups)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

5 TB chilled butter, cut into small pieces (the smaller the pieces, the easier it will be to combine with flour)

1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk

3 TB honey

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles a course meal. Chill 10 minutes.

3. Combine buttermilk, honey and pumpkin, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly four times. Roll dough into a (1/2-inch thick) 9x5 inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds (as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope, this will give your biscuit it's flaky layers). Reroll dough into a (1/2 inch thick) 9x5 inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds; gently roll or pat to a 3/4 inch thickness. Cut dough with a 1 3/4 inch biscuit cutter to form 14 dough rounds. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 or until golden (my tiny biscuits only needed seven minutes). Remove from pan; cool two minutes on wire racks. Serve warm.

14 Servings

Serving Size: 1 biscuit

121cal, 4.2g fat, 2.4g prot, 18.4g carb, 0.5g fib, 11mg chol

3 points per serving

Cinnamon Butter

3-4 TB low cal butter

1-2 TB Splenda

1-2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients, add more or less to taste

1/2 tsp=1 pt

La Paella de la Reina ........ Madrid, Spain

La Paella de la Reina serves one of the better Paella, Spainish baked rice, that I've eaten during my Spain trip a few years back. What you see is the Seafood Paella. Whenever I looked at this photo when I browse through my photos, I swear I can still remember how it taste like. La Paella de la Reina was recommended by the "Time Out - Madrid" guide book. It is a simple and neat restaurant but the real emphasis is their food. Their specialty is already spell out in the restaurant's name, Paella. Apart from the seafood paella, there's also the chicken and the rabbit paella.

Cost : About 13 ~ 20 euros

Address : C/Reina 39, Madrid, Spain (Near Metro Chueca)

Tel : 91 531 15 85

Chicken Tetrazzini

I really liked this recipe because, it's lowfat and WW friendly for one, but it also act as a great "blank slate" for whatever extra flavors you want to add to it. You could easily sub tuna, or even steak for a different, but delicious casserole.

When I made this, I added red pepper flakes for a bit of heat, as well as some garlic salt (of course). It was warm and comfy in our bellies, and the kids loved it, which always makes it a winner!

Ingredients
2 tsp unsalted stick marg
2 celery stalks, diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 TB all purpose flour
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup shredded reduced fat cheese
1 cup cubed skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 cup cooked elbow macaroni
1/2 cup frozen peas
7 fat free saltine crackers crumbled (I used breadcrumbs)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large nonstick saucepan melt the marg. Add the celery and scallions; cook, stirring as needed, until softened, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Stir in the milk and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens, about three minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
4. Stir in the chicken, macaroni, and peas; cook, stirring as needed, until heated through and the peas are thawed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a 1 1/2 quart casserole; top with cracker crumbs. Bake until crackers are lightly browned, about ten minutes.

Makes 2 servings
Serving Size: 1/2 of casserole
Per Serving: 406 cal, 10g fat, 4g sat fat, 64 mg chol, 410mg sod, 3g fiber
8 points per serving

Toa Payoh Rojak @ Old Airport .......... my regular "tau pok" and "you cha gwei" fix

This Toa Payoh Rojak is not in Toa Payoh. It is in Old Airport. Business is so good for this stall that they need to install an electronic counter that shows the queue number. So, don't wait there. Take a number from the stall and be off to get your mains. After all rojak is a side dish. Well ........ at least for me.

When your number appears on the counter, go rattle off your order. This is when the uncle will grill the "tau pok" and the "you cha gwei". This is why you get the crispy crunchy rojak. The prawn paste is thick enough and they are generous with the peanuts.

As my munching buddies are mostly not vegetable people, we usually order only "tau pok", "you cha gwei" and skip the vegetables.

Sometimes, the uncle's son will help out at the stall. One of my friend actually thought that the rojak prepared by uncle is better and would "prayed" in his heart that uncle and not his son is preparing the regular mix for us.

One tip for eating this dish. Do not let the "tau pok" and "you cha gwei" wait too long. Savour its crisp else it'll punish you. When you leave it long enough, like 10 mins, the "you cha gwei" at the bottom will get over-soaked in the prawn paste. It looses the crisp and it becomes too sweet. So, I'll not advise this dish to be taken away unless you are just 5 minutes away from your destination.
The "tau pok" and "you cha gwei" mix ...............

Cost : S$3~5

Address : 51 Old Airport Road, #01-108, Old Airport Road Food Centre.

Country : Singapore

Western Barbeque @ Old Airport ................ Garlic Sauce is Fabulous!

This is one of the better budget Western food in Singapore. It was featured in many food shows and is one of Makansutra rated Western food stall. The secret behind the tasty grilled meat is the garlic sauce that they add. They'll only bring the food to you if your table is nearby. Their mixed grill is value for money at S$7.50. The portion is quite big.

Tell them your table number and they'll let you know if they are able to send your food to you ..........

My S$5 pork chop set comes with fries, a sunny side up (at a cost of S$0.50) and a bun with butter ...............

Close up of the garlic sauce on my pork chop ...............

Address : 51 Old Airport Road, #01-53, Old Airport Road Food Centre.

Country : Singapore

Shun Li Yong Tau Foo 顺利酿豆腐 ............... Good Chilli Padi flavoured soup

Shun Li  Yong Tau Foo 顺利酿豆腐 is one of the "out of the world" dining experience in Singapore. Even if you're not really there for the food, it can still be a "fun" outing for a group of friends.

The stall is supposedly opened at 10.30pm but the opening hours usually stretched to 11.00pm. Last night, the stall opens at 12 midnight. That's just how erratic their time management can be. The stall is closed at around 3.00 ~ 4.00 am. This is not a typo error. Yes, 10.30 ~ 11.00 pm is the stall opening hours. Shun Li does the late night business. But just look at the crowd ....... Singaporeans are real hungry!

I've been to eat at Shun Li many times. The following describes my observations. Read it carefully .........  it is a free tip I'm giving to get your food faster at Shun Li. The "strategy" is in sequence.

You need at least 2 people and some strategies to get your food fast (1 person shall be the designated queuer and the other the food grabber).

TIPS FOR THE QUEUER :

The stall sign will not light up when the stall owners are still preparing to start business. At about 15 ~ 30 mins before the stall opens, many people will crowd around the stall. The aunty will sometimes chide the overly enthusiatic customer to stand back and stop obstructing her. Then all of a sudden the queue just forms. The queue is positioned on the left of the stall and right in front of the entrance into the stall. It'll lead out of the perimeter of the hawker center and then start to snake into an L shape.

The queue ..........

At this time you need to queue fast. If not you'll be standing at the back of the queue and it'll be 45 ~ 60mins lesser sleep for you (and your party of hungry frens). Every person that is in front of you will easily pose a minimum 10mins waiting time. Everyone will  grab as much food like there's no tomorrow. The mentality here is : since you wait for such a long time, might as well eat more!

TIPS FOR THE "FOOD GRABBER" :

When the stall sign light up, like in the start of an F1 race, you'll see many "dangerous" over taking manoeuvres. Make sure the "food grabber" goes in and grab the bowl and then the pincer (pincer at the top shelf). Then just flow with your food instinct and pick the food fast. If you think just a second more, you'll either miss some food item that you want or you'll have to wait again for the aunty to refill. When you are in position, stand your ground, ignore all shoving until you finish grabbing your food items. If you are behind, find gaps between people, or if you are tall enough, stretch you arm over people, to grab the food. After you are done, place your bowls onto the big metal tray on the table right in front of the stall. The "food grabber's" job is done. All that's left is to remember which bowls of food item on the metal tray belongs to you.

Grabbing food items for your Yong Tau Foo ...............

The big metal tray where bowls of food items are placed ...............

TIPS FOR THE QUEUER :

When the queuer reach the front, get your bowls of food items and pass them to the aunty or uncle. Let them know if you'l like extra ikan bilis or chillipadi to be added to the soup. Then when asked, tell them how many bowls of nodles you want to go with the Yong Tau Foo soup.

Observations:

1) At 15~30mins before the stalls open, you'll see groups of Yon Tau Foo "fanatics" creep slowly to the front of the stall and then some start cupping their ears to start discussing "strategies"

2) In the queue, you'll hear alot of grumbles about the long wait. So for the faint hearted and the impatient, avoid this stall.

The spoils of our "mission", 2 bowls of food filled Yong Tau Foo soup. Good tasting soup that taste even better after the effort ..........

Close up of the soup shows a good generous amount of the ikan bilis (anchovies) and green chill padi. Considered a fiery soup to some people with low chilli spiciness threshold .............

You'll be stopped by some mysterious folks (who's sipping beer at tables near the stall) from taking photos of the stall. Don't know what they'll do to you ........ I'm publishing this at a risk. :)

Cost : S$22 for 6 person (the 2 big bowls of Yong Tau Foo in the photo)

Address : Blk 115, Bukit Merah View, #01-397, Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre

Opening Hours : Daily 10.30pm ~ 3.30am. Closed on Monday.

Country : Singapore

Capitol Restaurant 首都酒家 ............... for Shanghai's Hairy Crab 上海大闸蟹

When it comes to hairy crab season (between September and December when the crabs mature), Capitol Restaurant 首都酒家 is one of the names to remember. They are one of the more established importers of this crab delicacy in Singapore. The ones that we ate comes from Tai Lake 太湖 in Shanghai. Please make a reservation during the hairy crab season. While I was there last night, the place was full.

The famous origin of this crab is Yang Cheng Lake 阳澄湖 in Shanghai but there's too many suppliers now that claimed the original Yang Cheng Lake ones that you wouldn't know exact origins of these crabs. The Hairy Crab 上海大闸蟹 is not your typical crab to go for the meat. It is small and hence it has little meaty portions. The roe and the inards are what people go for.

There's no corkage charge .......... so you can bring your favourite white wine to go with the crab. I've brought a champagne to start this feast ..............

Our plate of the Hairy Crabs all steamed up ............

Hairy crab with the authenticity tag. It even comes with a serial number ...............

To differentiate the male from the female crab, flip the crab over, the one at the top is the male the one at the bottom is the female. See the difference? ...............

The male crab with the shell opened up. Exposing the cooked inards. I'm too busy eating these crawlies that I forgot to take a photo of the female crab that has more roe when the shell is opened up ...............

The tools provided to disect and savour this delicacy. A scissors, a tea spoon and a picker/poker ................

How to eat hairy crabs :

The following is how we ate the crab following a little directions from one of our "expert" hairy crab gourmet.

1) Cut all the legs and pincers off the crab with the scissors. Leave it aside so that you come to it later.

2) Keep the crab on its back, gently lift and separate the body of the crab from the carapace (back shell). 

3) Add some malt vinegar with the teaspoon onto the inards and roe and start scraping them out of the crab and eat them. You can stop here if you really want to eat what's best of the hairy crab, its roe and inards. To make your money worth continue.

4) Break the crab's body right down the middle using both hands. Scrape the gills away.

5) Bite and chew to get the meat out and spit out the shells and cartilage. This is the more efficient way of eating these crabs although it can be quite rude to some non Chinese. Else, you can try cracking every shell and picking every piece of meat with the picker/poker that is provided. Thank god if you manage of finish one crab before the restaurant closes on you.

6) For the pincers and legs, cut the legs into their sections. Use the picker/poker, poke through one open end of the section and allow the meat to come out from the other open end.

Cost : About S$65 per person.

Address :  No. 323 New Bridge Road

Tel : +65 6222 3938

JELLO JIGGLER CUPCAKE...

rasberry, crushed pinapple, mini marshmellows and coconut...really fun...note to self: more expiremntation...

The Bridge Restaurant and Bar ............... Ubud-Bali, Indonesia

The Bridge Restaurant, Grill and Bar is where we rest for lunch after a 2 hour drive from Jimbaran. This restaurant is perched at a ravine beside the bridge along Ubud's main road. It has 2 floors that is build along the ravine wall.

At the entrance of the restaurant at the top floor .............

Although a caucasian, Tonny, the owner and chef creates the creative culinary from places around Asia. The menu includes, Thai chicken pizza, Szechuan pancakes and so on. However, there's one dish that caught me and my companions. Babi Guling. 

Babi Guling, roasted suckling pig, is a local Balinese food. Usually, this dish is served during dinner but Tonny prepare it especially for us since we drove 2 hours just to come to his restaurant for lunch. The Babi Guling special set lunch menu is RP 90000 per set. Here's what I had eaten;

Satay appetizer ..........

Fried long beans with coconut ............

Babi Guling, roast suckling pig. Crispy skin and tender meat! ..........

3 types of rice is served to us, white rice, tumeric rice, and unpolished rise.

The set meal comes with a glass of magaritas to cool us off the hot afternoon sun. If you are going for the weekend dinner, please pre order the Babi Guling to avoid disappointment.

Cost : RP 90 000

Address : Jalan Raya Tjampuhan, Ubud, Gianyar 80571, 

Tel : 0361 975 085

Country : Bali, Indonesia