[Food Review] Wang Thai Kitchen

We were introduced and invited to a food tasting at Wang Thai Kitchen. Having only being a fan of another local eatery that serves Thai food for the longest time, I was only too happy to discover this wonderful little gem in the heart of Toa Payoh.

A wall of fame for Ivan, whose restaurant was discovered by the mainstream media.

Wang Thai Kitchen is a no-frills decor, 'family feel' casual restaurant. The owner and solo-chef of Wang Thai Kitchen, Ivan Then, serves up pretty delicious dishes when we went to lunch at his restaurant. 

During a casual chat we had with Ivan after serving us lunch, we learned that he had invested himself to up a notch in Thai culinary skills, in the land of smiles itself. I was all the more impressed with the variety of dishes he manages alone in his kitchen! When we asked him why he was taking on the role of a lone chef instead of hiring one to assist, he ascertained that it was the only way he could ensure that the flavors of his dishes are consistent everyday. I give him two thumbs up for his dedication!

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$2.80

Nothing could beat a nice Thai iced tea, especially on a hot day. This is commonly served in Thai restaurants and is certainly addictive! Although it was a tad sweet for me in the beginning, it complimented very well with the dishes, when I sipped it in between the food tasting.

$10.00

If you're familiar with Thai mango salad, it doesn't come with crispy fish skin. We were pleasantly surprised that it was served this way and it truly was a match made in heaven. The mango was fresh and crunchy, just the way it should be. There was enough of the sour and it was pretty spicy for me. Definitely whetted our appetite! If I may say this the local way, got kick!

$10.00

This has to be my favorite dish of the lot! I love tang hoon (or better known as glass vermicelli) very much because of it's light, silky smooth texture. The blend of chilli, lime and fish sauce always come together very well - which is very apparent in this dish. It wasn't at all salty so it will be a delightful clean dish to have in our meal (though I secretly wish there was more fish sauce!).

$12.00

[Food Review] Marina South Curry House

The last time I stepped foot in the Tanjong Pagar vicinity was about 7 years ago, when I had a little private jewelry showcase invitation for the female staff in a recruitment office, during lunch hour. A few days ago, I was back at the area for a food tasting session with Marina South Curry House, and at a mall called 100am, which *ahem, I never knew existed. I certainly felt alien. Well, at least, now I know I have one more mall in my to-shop list! 

Anyway, back to my post. I found out, that the restaurant name Marina South Curry House, does not imply that their dishes are 100% curry based, as anyone would have rightly assumed so. They used to operate in Marina South but that was a very long time ago. It was a relief to know that they serve up old school zhichar dishes that caters to everyone in the family. So no worries there if there are family members, like my children, who are not into spicy food yet. 

The ambience of the restaurant portrays a sense of the olden days - nothing fanciful but definitely a comfortable and cosy setting, which I like.

S$3.90 per drink

We were introduced to try their signature drink - Iced Buah Long Long or buah kedongdong, which is better known in Malay. It was my first time trying it and I quite like it. It was slightly tart with a hint of mango flavor. Refreshing! It is a must-try.

S$8.90 per dish

When we dine with children, the sweet and sour pork dish is always a must-have at a zhichar stall. We liked the fact that the meat is very tender and not flour-filled crusted. There's enough of the sweet and the sour, which makes it an appetizing dish.

S$8.90 per dish

Pork ribs, when cooked right, is tender and it's meat will fall off the bones. It is our first time having curried pork ribs. This was a pretty flavorful dish and went great with our plain rice. If you are a novice with curry, this would probably suit your tastebud as it is mild. Spiciness level : 2 out of 5.

S$8.90 per dish

With a special dish name like that, how is it possible that it wouldn't taste heavenly? I've never come across such an exotic vegetable dish with a combination of long beans, aubergine, okra and stink bean (petai). The rempah (mixed spices) infused well with the vegetables and is very delectable! I'll be very happy to pair this alone with plain rice. Spiciness level : 3 out of 5.

S$8.90 per dish

It tasted nothing like the curried pork ribs, even though the curry looks the same. If you have a penchant for mutton, you will definitely enjoy this dish. I am quite particular about the gamey mutton flavor which was hardly present in this curry. Spiciness level is also pretty low : 2 out of 5.

S$18.90 per claypot

The 'Fish Head Bee Hoon' was a much awaited dish as the family is always on the quest for the best one. This is definitely not your typical kind of fish bee hoon soup you would expect from a zhichar stall. Although we appreciate that it was cooked with a rich, tasty and superior broth that has been simmered for over 6 hours, we couldn't help but be a little let down with a tad of fishiness in the soup that night. There is certainly room for improvement and I'm confident the chef will live up to the expectations of this dish in due time. This claypot 'Fish head bee hoon' is good for sharing.

S$6.90

I can't help but think of my favorite Thai food when I see green curry.  The chicken meat is tender and the aroma of the curry is pretty mouth-watering. It would have been perfect if it was a little less salty. Spiciness level : 2 out of 5

S$9.90

A wholesome vegetable dish which is lightly flavored. I love the crunch of the bok-choy, which was cooked to perfection.

S$12.90 per plate

Another dish we looked forward to having that night was the 'Salted Egg Chicken Wings' which met our expectations. Fried to perfection with salted egg coating, it gives the dish a very distinctive taste which  my children liked - even though they don't take salted eggs and were of course, not aware it was coated with it! The crispy skin was a plus.

The friendly boss of Marina South Curry House also served up 2 new fish dishes for us to try, which will be available at their new concept stall which I am looking forward to patronize. It's location is still a secret but I just had to share what I tried. I absolutely love the sambal fish dish shown on the left photo. Whereas my children enjoyed the sweet and tangy coated one on the right. The fish used were very fresh, soft and meaty. Definitely something to look forward to! The stall will ready for operation by year end so stay tuned for news of the location at their facebook page. It may just be very near you.

Overall food experience :  8/10

The food is fresh and the portions served are pretty generous. We especially like that the prices are kept affordable. A very family friendly and casual place to dine with attentive service. I would definitely go back to try their hor fun dishes, which looks very yummy too.

Many thanks to Agnes and Irene of ATMC for the invite.
ATMC facebook.

Marina South Curry House is located at

100am

100 Tras Street #03-14

Singapore 079027

Contact number : 6694 8108

Operating hours :

11.30am - 4pm, 5pm - 9.30pm, daily

Till the next post, have a wonderful day!

Disclaimer : The Accidental Mom Blogger and family were invited for a food tasting session at the said restaurant. The opinions written in this blog post are purely my own. No monetary compensation was given.

[Food Review] Arossa Singapore

Arossa is located at Scotts Square, #02-01

Arossa is a grill and wine bar concept restaurant, helmed by a very passionate female Japanese Chef Chiaki Watanabe. Touted as "the new hotspot in culinary experience in the heart of Orchard Road", Chef Watanabe offers diners simplicity in her food without compromising on delectable tastes. As the restaurant name suggests, Arossa serves up classic grilled cuisine with fresh seasonal ingredients sourced from Australia and New Zealand.

Arossa's open concept kitchen.

Arossa offers diners a classy yet cosy and relaxing ambience. A wonderful place for a quiet intimate dinner date with your partner or chill with a small gathering of close friends. The view along Scotts Road is especially wonderful in the evening, to people watch as the day winds down.

We started off our evening with a thirst quenching cocktail, Moscow Mule. If you like a tangy and refreshing punch with your vodka - this one is a must-try. 1-for-1 at $15 or $18 ala carte.

Complimentary freshly made artisan bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip.

  ANTIPASTI (Appetizer)

An appetizer is not an appetizer without calamari! Deep fried squid lightly coated in flour and spicy aioli dip. Good for sharing, but always never enough. Very addictive! $21.

I am not a cheese lover but this appetizer left me quite speechless. Burrata cheese is fresh Italian cheese, made from mozeralla and cream - hardly any hint that it's cheese at all! It has a rich tasting and an unusual soft and slightly chewy texture, topped with basil pesto. If you love mozzarella, ricotta, or anything creamy, this cheese is for you. $34.
SECONDO (Main Course)

Tonno is an exceptional meaty blue fin tuna fish with a subtle flavor that has proven to be best eaten grilled. As with a person who wonders how this would taste, I will honestly say it tastes like chicken. It does! Except, the flesh is 3 times more tender and hardly a hint that you are having tuna. It is accompanied with caponata, a Sicilian style cooked vegetable salad. A very healthy option. $36.

The highlight of our dinner must be this succulent ribeye steak. Grilled to perfection, it is tender and juicy on the inside with an all natural flavor that we like. Go for medium rare for the best tasting steak! I couldn't get enough of it. 250g - $70.

Arossa prides itself for offering an amazingly extensive and exclusive wine menu, mostly from Australia and New Zealand. We were recommended to pair our ribeye steak with this soft, medium bodied red wine - '09 Cascina Bruni, Barolo Marialunga, Piedmont, Italy at $16/glass. If you are unsure about what kind of wine to consume, the restaurant managers would be more than happy to recommend suitable wines to pair them with your meals. (Last I heard, it's their expertise!)     DESSERT

Rejoice! All you tiramisu lovers out there! This is probably one of the best tasting all time favorite desserts in town. This is Arossa's signature coffee flavored Italian dessert and truly deserves all the rave. $14.

Another must-try side dish in this restaurant which I didn't manage to take photo of :

Truffle mash potato - $12

Very smooth and creamy to perfection. I loved it to the moon and back.

Thank you, Arossa Singapore for having us over to dinner.

~~ If you prefer to have a casual lunch instead, Arossa also offers affordable pasta set lunch options. Please see menu here. ~~

Location :

Arossa Wine and Grill

No.6 Scotts Road, Scotts Square (next to Grand Hyatt Hotel)

#02-01

Singapore 228209

Reservations : 6636  2951

Opening Hours
Lunch 11:30 – 15:00 (last order 14:00)
Dinner 18:00 – 22:30 (last order 21:30)

Website : www.arossa.com.sg

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/Arossa.singapore

Arossa also offers private room dining options for larger groups, at no extra cost. Please make sure to call and make your reservations.

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

Disclaimer : The Accidental Mom Blogger was invited for a food tasting session with Arossa Singapore. The opinions written in this blog post are purely my own. No monetary compensation was given.

Salmon Patties in a Jiffy

I have a confession. I screw up big time whenever I have to pan fry a fish! They often break up into pieces after I try to flip it over the other side to cook and I'll get very upset because it doesn't get presented edible-pretty on my plate. So, more often than not, I play it safe to steam em' fish which can get a tad boring without some variety in my cooking style.

Since having acquired a new kitchen appliance - the Philips Jamie Oliver food processor - I raked my brains to try new recipes that would optimize the use of this product. Spending lesser time in the kitchen sounds very ideal to me and the food processor is meant to help me do just that - speed up my cooking time!

Salmon Patties Recipe

   

After a brief run through over several recipes online, I decided to adapt and improvise by using my own ingredients from home.

My choice of ingredients are : - 1 medium sized piece salmon - 2 medium sized raw potatoes (peeled) - A few sprigs of spring onions and parsley - sweet corn - 1 egg - 2 tbsp of mayonaise - salt and pepper to taste - mixed herbs  
And here's the best part, I decided to experiment and plonk EVERYTHING into the food processor!  (everything except the sweet corn)

Yeah! Just like that! *plonk!*  Within 2 minutes, everything was finely chopped up and ready to be cooked!  Add in the sweet corn and mix well.  

 
Once your frying pan is heated up with some oil, scoop the mixture with a table spoon and compress them well before placing into the pan. As the mixture may be a little watery from the vegetables, do be mindful to drain it out before placing the patty into the pan. Otherwise, the patties may not stick well together and will break apart when flipping them over.

Pan fry about 2-3 minutes on each side or till golden brown.   FAMILY'S VERDICT ON PATTIES  

The patties came out crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. It is best served when hot and I am pretty sure it will go very well with tartar sauce - which I didn't have. It was the first time I tried mincing raw potatoes into the mixture together. Traditionally, I would have boiled them down and mashed it up if I didn't have the food processor. The potatoes were cooked pretty quickly, just like in a rosti dish. There were different flavors that came with every bite - especially from the herbs and parsley that I love in my dishes.

MY VERDICT ON THE PHILIPS JAMIE OLIVER FOOD PROCESSOR

It has indeed lived up to its purpose - speeding up my preparation time! It took me in total, less than 8 minutes to gather my ingredients and have my mixture ready for cooking. It has definitely cut down my time by 70% in the kitchen. Apart from the chopping/mincing function, it slices, makes dough and can also whip up ice cream - which I will share in a future post. 

Cooking has been made easier for me now, thanks to Philips!    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keep life simple with the PHILIPS | Jamie Oliver range which includes a food processor (S$268), blender (S$128) and hand blender (S$108).

Available at leading electronics and departmental stores.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about the Jamie Oliver range, please visit this link : http://www.philips.com.sg/c/food-preparation/319663/cat/

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

Disclaimer : The Accidental Mom Blogger received the Philips Jamie Oliver food processor for review purposes only. I am in no way affiliated to this company and opinions about the product are purely my own.

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An Exclusive Morning with Munch Ministry

As part of our Singapore Mom Blogger's 1st birthday bash, we were privileged to be part of an exclusive baking class session hosted by Munch Ministry at The Civil Service Club! We were all very excited to learn how to bake 'Hokkaido Chiffon Cake'. 

As with following the trend of a true blue blogger *cough*, I started snapping pictures with my iphone the minute I arrived at the studio.

A great sized cooking studio!

Took the opportunity to snap a pic with the founders of Munch Ministry! Pauline on my left and Louisa. They are probably one of my reason for wanting to cook better for my family. :)

Megan attended the baking session with me and she had a bird's eye view when Pauline demonstrated mixing the first part of the ingredients for the cupcake.

Pauline then proceeded to show us how to concoct the meringue which would then be mixed into the first part of the mixture.

Pauline made mixing the ingredients up so easy and before we knew it, it was ready to be sent for baking!

So off we went to make our cupcakes after the demonstration!

This came out smelling heavenly!

'Stabbing' the cream into the cupcake and filling a portion into it. This is the most fun part of the class for me!

 

I was very proud of this particular cupcake as the cream came out very perky. :p

tada! the final look of the cupcake after dusting it with snow powder and decorating with those cute little hearts. It looks like what you would buy off the bakery and tastes simply divine!

My partners-in-crime! Regina from MummyMoo.com with her mother-in-law and my daughter Megan. And honestly, the cakes turn out better because of Regina's mother-in-law who is an experienced home baker.

A group pic with all the SMBs! (L to R) Mabel, Ai, Delphine, Cherie, PC, Estella, Jennifer, Liza, Connie, Klessis, Jiahui, me!, Rachel and Regina

If you're keen to make this cupcake, visit Munch Ministry today for the recipe of Hokkaido Chiffon Cake! The site is truly a gem for your home cooked food recipes.

      Till the next post, have a blessed week!