The Importance of Ingredients

Crispy sweetbread with creamy morel mushrooms in home-made puff pastry, The French Kitchen.

I’ve been reading many ‘10 food recaps and roundups on the blogs lately. But I’d like to look forward to 2011. So here are some things I’d like to see after years of eating around Singapore.

The Importance of Ingredients

With the Integrated Resorts opening in Singapore, some heavyweight chefs are coming to set up shop in Singapore. From Marina Bay Sands: Guy Savoy, Santi Santamaria, Tetsuya Wakuda, Daniel Boulud, Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck. From Resorts World Sentosa: Joël Robuchon (!), Kunio Tokuoka, Scott Webster and Susur Lee.


There seems to be a link between gambling and haute cuisine. Well it’s probably more a correlation with money and the sort of tastes that these high rollers have, look at Vegas and Macau/Hong Kong, not so much Genting Highlands though (but Genting Singapore yes!) And with the casinos, the Michelin guide is usually not too far behind. There has been speculation that the Michelin Guide might be coming to Singapore. I recently heard from a few chefs that Michelin is indeed coming, probably next year or the year after.

My concern though, is whether chefs can get the sort of ingredients needed for Michelin caliber cuisine. A few months ago I had a serious craving for sweetbreads. I couldn’t find them on menu anywhere, so I asked a chef to order some for me. He did but said that they weren’t good and did not serve them. I caught wind that The French Kitchen was serving them and made a beeline for it. They were prepared well, but sadly the sweetbreads were frozen and the texture was a little off. Apparently only frozen and not fresh sweetbreads are allowed. The reason being that the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has very strict control on what sort of food can be imported into Singapore. Unfortunately for gastronomes, that list is pretty long. I understand and appreciate the AVA’s role and intention to ensure our food safety. But sometimes I think that they might be a little overprotective.

I’m curious as to see if the AVA policy will change once the Integrated Resorts open. And if it does what was the problem with these ingredients before? Ok never mind that, I just hope that the AVA will allow more types of food in.

I wonder if there is any sort of advisory panel of chefs that the AVA consults with in regard to what to bring in.

Carpaccio of peachwood smoked duck breast with Granny Smith apple puree, sorbet of red beets and yellow frissee salad. The best rendition of that ingredient. One of my favorite dishes of 2008. Sage.

I hope to see more purveyors in 2010. Most restaurants, at least in a western context, get their ingredients from Classic Fine Foods, Euraco and Indoguna. What happens is that everyone serves more or less the same stuff. I remember sometime in 2008 where it seemed that every chef had a culinary boner (thanks Andrew from Top Chef) for smoked duck breast. It was on menus everywhere!

Fun Taiwan

I went Taiwan for a good two weeks and the food here is really amazing.Pork, seafood, rice, and soy are very common ingredients. Beef is far less common, and some Taiwanese (particularly the elder generation) still refrain from eating it. This is in part due to the considerations of some Taiwanese Buddhists, a traditional reluctance towards slaughtering precious cattle needed for agriculture, and an emotional attachment to animals used for their labour. Curiously, the Taiwanese version of beef noodle soup remains one of the most popular dishes in Taiwan, in spite of this traditional aversion.

Taiwan's cuisine has also been influenced by its geographic location. Living on a crowded island, the Taiwanese had to look aside from the farmlands for sources of protein. As a result, seafood figures prominently in their cuisine. This seafood encompasses many different things, from large fish such as tuna and grouper, to sardines and even smaller fish such as anchovies. Crustaceans, squid, and cuttlefish are also eaten.

Because of the island's sub-tropical location, Taiwan has an abundant supply of various fruit, such as papayas, starfruit, melons, and citrus fruit. A wide variety of tropical fruits, imported and native, are also enjoyed in Taiwan. Other agricultural products in general are rice, corn, tea, pork, poultry, beef, fish, and other fruits and vegetables. Fresh ingredients in Taiwan are readily available from markets.

In many of their dishes, the Taiwanese have shown their creativity in their selection of spices. Taiwanese cuisine relies on an abundant array of seasonings for flavour: soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, fermented black beans, pickled daikon, pickled mustard greens, peanuts, chili peppers, cilantro (sometimes called Chinese parsley), and a local variety of basil (九層塔, literally "nine storey pagoda"). The resulting dishes thus combine and form interesting tastes which make Taiwanese cuisine simple in format yet complex in experience.

Taiwan's best-known snacks are present in the night markets, where street vendors sell a variety of different foods, from finger foods, drinks, sweets, to sit-down dishes. In these markets, one can also find fried and steamed meat-filled buns, oyster-filled omelets, refreshing fruit ices, and much more. Aside from snacks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts, night markets also have vendors selling clothes, accessories, and offer all kinds of entertainment and products.

Pictures will be uploaded once I'm back.

Mango Sorbet by Jasline

I received an ice cream machine for my birthday from X and I promised him that mango sorbet will be the first thing that I’ll make with the machine, because that is his favourite ice cream on Earth.

And I finally did it … after one year later. Yup, you heard me right, one year later.
We bought this ice cream machine in Hong Kong last year when we were there for a month. My friend told us that we can get the ice cream machine at a cheaper rate in Hong Kong than in Singapore so we went on a hunt for ice cream machine in Hong Kong when we were there. We bought ours at around S$60, around S$40 cheaper than those in Singapore. It’s not those atas brand like KitchenAid or Kenwood, but I think it’s good enough.

X and I used Thai honey mangoes for this sorbet. A friend of ours said that Thai honey mangoes (small ones) are most of the time guaranteed sweet so they will be perfect for making sorbet. In order to get 1kg of deseeded mangoes, we bought around 1.5kg of mangoes, which gave us just nice a little over a kg of diced mangoes.

I boiled some sugar syrup and let it cool before adding it into the mangoes. I am thinking of omitting the sugar syrup in the future and just let the mangoes’ natural sweetness do their job, but I guess that depends on the mangoes’ sweetness.

A little lemon juice was also added and that offset the sweetness (from the mangoes and sugar syrup) and brings the flavour to a higher level. A couple of tablespoons of rum was added as well and before the churning of the mixture, the taste of rum was still pretty strong, however, after churning, we can’t taste the rum anymore. So I guess I’ll add more rum in the future!

Mango Sorbet (makes 1 litre)


Recipe adapted from Chubby Hubby who in turn adapted the recipe from A Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Note: Our choice of mangoes is Thai honey mangoes. Yum yum! (:

As I didn’t have a blender (my blender is unfortunately spoiled), instead of puree all the ingredients, I mashed the mangoes up. Not all the mangoes are fully mashed but that didn’t really make a lot of difference in the final product. In addition, I dissolved the sugar in the water before adding it into the mangoes so that I won’t taste any sugar grains.

I believe the rum is additional, however try not to omit the lime or lemon! I think that it gives an additional edge to the flavour.
In order to get 1kg of diced mango, you’ll roughly need to buy around 1.5kg to 2kg of mangoes. And when I peel/dice the mangoes, I always peel/dice them above a bowl to catch all the mango juices. You wouldn’t want to waste them!

130 grams sugar

160 ml water

1 kilogram peeled and deseeded ripe mangoes, diced

8 tsps freshly squeezed lime/lemon juice

2 tbsps dark rum

Pinch of salt

Method 1 (using a blender)

Combine the ingredients and puree until smooth, adjusting the flavour (adding more lime/lemon juice or rum as you go along). Chill the mixture thoroughly and churn in your ice cream machine.

Method 2 (not using a blender)

Place sugar in a pot. Pour water over the sugar to wet it but do not stir to dissolve the sugar. Put it over high heat and bring it to boil. Boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Leave to cool completely before using.

Combine all the ingredients and mash until smooth. There may be chunks of mangoes in the mixture but it’s alright, we can live with it. Chill the mixture thoroughly and churn in your ice cream machine.

Do Singaporeans really understand the essence of fine food?

Having worked under 2 Michelin starred chefs and exposed to countless produce in my not-very-substantial kitchen stints as compared to older professional chefs, I have come to realize one similarity- the constant critique of local diners.

Diners in Singapore have been "pampered" so very much in many ways. Allow me to elaborate- Most diners that come to these two restaurants are usually expatriates or very well to do Singaporeans. The expats very most often do not complain or give problems. However, the locals are the ones that bitch-fit about almost everything they experience. No matter how flawless service, food and the overall dining experience was, nit-picking would get them some complimentary food, drinks or room-stay(s).

For example, Marina Bay Sands most recently brought top maestros of various cuisines together. Practitioners of what they call: "flawless cuisine/dinner service". Whereby the one of the holy grails of the Culinary World - Michelin Guide, awards stars to these ladies and gentlemen. These individuals along with their team, created dinner services so enjoyable and perfect, they wear a badge of honor all culinarians vie for.

However, when Singaporeans with a deeper-than-usual pocket decided to dine at these restaurants, they complained that prices were too high, service was not up to standard, food was mediocre and what not. But they do not understand why. Why was food "mediocre", why were they priced "too high"? Forget about profit making, forget about service. But think- why do we have to pay so much for these dishes?

Simple- These kitchens are mostly produce driven. And when I say produce driven, it simply means, these chefs are there not to create flavours, however, they are there to push the boundaries of accentuating the pure, clean flavours, to match flavours- to simply allow diners to savour what a true pea taste like, a true tomato taste like. These ingredients are there to complete the dish, not there to be a flavour carrier of a heavy sauce/glaze/marination. All produce are of top quality and thus as little is done to them as possible. Techniques are sophisticated but flavours were meant to come across like how they were meant to be, or even better.

Top quality produce equates to flying them in from Europe, Japan and what not.

Think taxes, freight and so forth. Think- Will it be more expensive to fly to France for the identical meal or here?

What are your views?

French VS Italian Cuisine

Often people asked : "What's the difference between French & Italian Cuisine ? How would you answer ? Which cuisine do you prefer ?

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Tapas? One aspect of Spanish Cuisine

Originally, and in some bars today, tapas were served, which were simply a few olives or almonds. In some places a selection of cheeses, sausages, serrano ham were served as tapas, often free to accompany the drink before the main meal.

But nowadays, more restaurants serve tapas which are more or less any hot or cold dish that can be served in small portions, so a meal is made up of lots of smaller dishes.

Tapas are typically displayed along the length of the counter of a bar or café to be ordered in a group, or individually. A selection of tapas is ideal for an interesting informal meal, and they are also great for a any party, buffet, picnic or barbecue.

Most can be made quickly and easily. Many can be made in advance and served at room temperature. Others are partly prepared and then finished at the last minute before serving.

Typical ingredients for tapas include - olives, pickled fish, schrimps, octopus, sausages, ham, mushrooms, peppers, aubergines.