Hokkien Mee, at home

One of my favourite Saturday lunches is home-made Hokkien Mee. This dish is fabulous when made in a controlled setting, unlike the thin, watery store-bought version, this is full of good flavour and really comforting. There aren't an unreasonable number of ingredients, they are all easily available in a trip to the wet market and this is a great dish to subtly impress your mother-in-law with (that is, unless she has her own fantastical and untouchable heirloom version that you should, of course, never try to upstage).

You start by boiling a large piece of pork shin and slicing it into julienned strips. Ideally, you should flash-boil the pork first and pour away the water from that first boil. Then on the second boil, save the water that you used to boil the pork, that will become the stock base. Boil a large, cleaned squid in the same water and again, slice it up into neat rings.


Having rinsed a kilo of prawns, boil them in the same stock, then remove, de-head and de-shell them. Return the heads and shells into the stock and keep boiling for an hour. (At the end of that time, you can either keep boiling, or cool and sieve the stock). Slice the prawns neatly in half to defiliberate them and keep aside.


We tend to make our hokkien mee with a mix of white and yellow noodles, about half a kilo of each. This kind of proportion will make a sizable serving dish for 7-8 people (depending on how large appetites they have, on several occasions my friends have eaten 4 serving plates each, so personally I would make more rather than less!), if you are making this for a small family, then halve the recipe accordingly.

The greens used are Chinese chives, not the common spring onions but one-blade chives, alhtough you can also later use spring onions as garnish. Chop these into inch-long pieces. The other vegetable we use is a kilo of beansprouts.


To assemble, you fry the meat ingredients with the chives and noodles, adding the stock as you go. If you're so inclined, you can fry some thin omelletes on a seperate pan, roll and slice them for garnish. If you like them, you can also add some fried shallots or chilli belachan mixed with lime juice as toppings. (The reason you see the prawns on top here is that my own mom has a strange idea that it looks better this way).

I say subtly impress your mother-in-law because if you bust out the extravagant frenched lamb rack with herb risotto, well, no one will believe you cook or eat like that all the time. This dish though, is such a good riff on the familiar and yet it's so superior to the mealy $2 hawker version that it's much more believable that this is the stuff you churn out for their darling child on a daily basis.

The Vanilla Challenge Giveaway!

As you can tell, Colin is returned and eating voraciously. He will resume writing on the blog (oh, happy day) and I will be from time to time, interjecting; the reason for which is tri-fold. The first is that I can concentrate on writing about recipes given Colin's stranglehold on restaurant reviews, secondly, I've been travelling for work a fair bit (more posts about that later) and thirdly, I've been struck down by the bane of food bloggers- gastric reflux.

Which is probably more information than you needed to know. It's amazing how three years passes, isn't it? Anyway, to celebrate our new more interactive voice, we're having a giveaway! Those of you who've been readers for some time will have heard me wax lyrical about the beauty of fresh vanilla beans. These little pods can be used in cakes, in custards and if you're luxurious, to stir your morning coffee.

While in Indonesia, I picked up a bundle of fresh vanilla beans, not the Madagascan ones but having tried them out, I know they are still very potent and flavourful. We are looking to give away these packs of 10 beans each and you know it's got your name on it!

To win one, simply leave us a comment with contact information and one thing you intend to make with the beans. Then, in the interest of more interactive blogging, we're asking that you send us an easy-blog write-up with pictures of your product/process. One product only uses a bean (or half) but you get 10, it's good math!

Review: The French Kitchen

The thing about going away for a while is that when you come back, you find a profusion of new restaurants (and an absence of old ones); such is the rapidity with which the restaurant scene changes here, and such is the fickle taste of the Singaporean consumer.



The French Kitchen is one of the latest restaurants to offer formal French fare, and is one of those places that suffers from a mysterious lack of custom, despite having everything going for it (except, perhaps, location, though being situated in Central Mall never stopped St Pierre).



While it does not make for very good photography, the dim lighting is perfect for a romantic dinner, under the friendly, unobtrusive and very competent stewardship of Jan Stroop, who brings his wry humour and impeccable service to bear.

In the kitchen are Jean-Charles Dubois and Jutet Lim, whose illustrious CVs are easily accessible on the restaurant's website, and who will ensure that your meal is both memorable and enjoyable.



Said meal began with slices of raisin and rye bread, which came with little tubs of thyme butter and mackerel paste (a tad strong for me but very well-received by my father), and an amuse-bouche of skinned baby tomato stuffed with fresh tuna, topped with a quail's egg and a parmesan crisp, nestled on a futon of creamy avocado mousse. I'm not usually a fan of fish, but as an amouse-bouche this was technically perfect: the baby tomato is a fairly exotic riff on a common ingredient, imparting a sweetness and acidity to the fish which was in turn mellowed by the neutral mousse, soft and cloudy, which then played off against the crispy parmesan. A kaleidoscope of tastes, textures and colours all encapsulated in one little ensemble.



The French Kitchen offers a fairly affordable degustation menu (6 courses, $88) and a very worthwhile set lunch (3 courses (many from the main menu), $36), both of which feature the lobster bisque, which is supposedly a Dubois family recipe. Served with prawn tempura and a slight flourish as the soup is poured before you, this is a great addition to any prix fixe menu.



Another French Kitchen special is the veal sweetbreads, which are lightly fried and paired with a creamy morel sauce in vol au vent pastry. I've not had sweetbreads for a long time, and was hoping this would rekindle my love affair with them. Unfortunately, the sweetbreads were stodgier than I would have liked, lacking the creamy consistency I am more fond of. Surprisingly, the combination of sweetbreads in a cream-based morel sauce is not overwhelmingly rich, the earthy tones feeding off each other rather well.



An apricot granite to cleanse the palate and we continued onwards through the menu.



My father, feeling peckish, decided to order a huge cote de boeuf, and naturally I was co-opted into helping him finish this rather spectacular side of beef. I've recently bought myself the River Cottage Meat Book, which is a carnivore's bible, and a well-cooked piece of meat, as the author appreciates, can be a true thing of beauty.



Such a beautiful piece of meat is to be enjoyed simply, without too many distractions. A velvety reduction, some garnishings, and a gratin dauphinois are all that's necessary to elevate beef into an artform.



The current meat course on the degustation is a braised angus beef short rib with pink garlic purée, onion and Vieux Comté cheese gratin, served with a shallot and red wine sauce. Slow-cooked to perfection, with layers of caramelised sweetness, and an extra shade of moodiness from the garlic, this is an utterly delectable dish.



Having had to underwrite half my father's beef, I could not manage dessert, but the degustation's peach melba is an update on an old classic, which really cannot go wrong.

Mondays are BYOB nights at the French Kitchen, which combines inventive cooking with attentive and professional service, and I would definitely place the restaurant on my list of "places to come back to".

The French Kitchen
7 Magazine Road, #01-03 Central Mall
Tel: +65 6438 1823
Website

Review: Metropole Herbal Restaurant

"Don't worry," my father said, seeing a shadow of apprehension cross my face, "the food is not going to be that exotic."



The Metropole Herbal Restaurant in Clarke Quay is one of my father's new favoured Chinese restaurants, and after having lunch there with him and some of his friends, I can see why. Usually I'm a bit leery of Chinese herbs, as they tend to be strongly flavoured, evoking some rarely-encountered tastes and oral sensations. But the Metropole Herbal Restaurant serves delicate and sumptuous Chinese fare without you having to politely decline every other course.



The restaurant seats 100 diners quite comfortably, and is pretty quiet at lunchtime, ensuring prompt and friendly service. Apparently, however, it's rather crowded for dinner, so a reservation is advisable.



Being a herbal restaurant, all the dishes are intended to improve your health and well-being in some way, while still being delicious and even hearty. Our first course was a bowl of scrambled egg whites on a crispy potato nest with shredded scallops, said to be good for lowering cholestrol. The egg whites were fluffy and slightly creamy, and when contrasted with the crunchy potato strands, laced with some vinegar, provided a burst of varying tastes and textures.



Next up was the obligatory fish course, which appeared to be fried, though the flesh remained soft and delicate, lubricated by an umami sauce that was liberally enlivened by some fried "stuffing" - almost like Chinese rice krispies. This was a popular dish, and deservedly so, as the sauce was light and sweet, easily complementing the smoothness of the fish and the crispiness of the condiment.



The prawn fritters were a little heavy for my liking; I thought the batter seemed a bit stodgy and deflated, though that may have to do with our humidity. Otherwise, they come served with a creamy mayonnaise - safe but nothing that special.



The following dish was a spicy hot pot of chicken, peanuts and greens in a thick, sticky sweet and sour sauce. This was served with some steamed and fried man tous, but, being the youngest at the table, I had to observe hierarchy and refrain from having any as there weren't enough to go round. I hear they are very good though, and are unusually shaped; twisted and wreathed to resemble seashells or fans.



Lunch ended with a presentation of some of the more exotic ingredients the restaurant uses: deer's whip, dried ants and scorpions. Thankfully, none of them went into the preparation of our lunch.

The Metropole Herbal Restaurant is a nice change from the usual offering of Cantonese, Teochew or Szechuan cuisine, especially if you're sick of the mindless parade of poor cafes and restaurants in the Clarke Quay area.

Metropole Herbal Restaurant
3B River Valley Road
#01-12 Clarke Quay
Tel: 6333 0398

Business Hours: 11.30am to 2.30pm; 6.30pm to 11.00pm

Real Hot Chocolate in London

I have a Thing for hot chocolate. Food-lovers in particular will know what I mean: every one of us has something we are extremely particular and even pedantic about, a certain hang-up or obsession (or perhaps more than one) that we cannot be blase or nonchalant about, but must take absolutely seriously. Perhaps you like your meat done just so, or your pizza base must be crisp and crunchy but never spongy, or your soup must always be scaldingly hot.

Well, one of my Things is hot chocolate. I have drunk a lot of hot chocolate in my life, and I cannot abide the watery, bodyless, insipid swill that involves dissolving some "instant" hot chocolate powder in hot water to produce a very disappointing brown liquid that is unappealing and characterless. It seems like a crime to debase something as glorious as chocolate in that way.

For me, true hot chocolate is thick, rich, brimming with an earthy, deep, dark and enticing aroma of ground cocoa. Made with milk or water I make no bones with, but it actually has to taste like chocolate (not as obvious as it sounds - try ordering any hot chocolate in Singapore).

In Europe, this form of hot chocolate is very common in France, Spain or Italy, which makes it all the more baffling that it is almost completely absent from the UK. Thankfully, however, I found a TimeOut guide here which points the way to some of the places in London which stick to the true hot chocolate philosophy.

So I decided, after my exams, to take a hot chocolate tour of London, ambitiously making a list of a number of places that I knew or heard made the real stuff. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time or opportunity to sample hot chocolate from all these places, and there are a few that are not on the TimeOut list that I have tried but didn't manage to get a photograph of. Still, what follows is a list I hope to build on when I next return to London, which I hope will be of interest to anyone who takes hot chocolate fairly seriously.

Apostrophe

Apostrophe is one of these newish chains that have sprouted up, specialising in boulangerie and patisserie (baked goods and desserts).



They've got outlets all over London, so it shouldn't be hard to find one at all, especially not when the stores are eye-catchingly black and pink.



Unfortunately, the hot chocolate was not as pleasing as the decor. It certainly was very thick; the skin from the scalded milk rapidly forming across the surface of the chocolate, and you'd probably need a spoon to finish it all. Nor was it very expensive: 2.50 GBP for a decently-sized cup of hot chocolate.

The real problem was the taste of the hot chocolate. It lacked any real blossoming of cocoa flavours in the mouth, and the taste of the starchy thickener they used was very obvious. If you're just looking for something to warm you up during winter, this is fine, but if you're looking for a true chocolate fix, Apostrophe's hot chocolate is sadly not quite it.

Apostrophe
Too many to list; see here for locations.

Paul

I've been to Paul's so many times that I've never taken a photo of the hot chocolate they sell, which I suppose in its own way is a testament to how good it is.

Paul, like Apostrophe, is a boulangerie and patisserie, but I rarely come here for anything other than the hot chocolate, and I've heard complaints that their other products are rather expensive.

Unlike Apostrophe, however, Paul's hot chocolate is the real deal. From the first sip, the chocolate flavours dance across your palate and warms you up, not just from the heat of the drink alone, but from the warmth and comfort of the cocoa. This was my favourite morning pick-me-up when I was interning in London last summer.

The best thing about Paul is that for 5 GBP, you can take away a 1L tetrapack carton of hot chocolate to enjoy at home, and all you have to do is heat it up in a saucepan or microwave yourself a glass. A good DVD and a glass of hot chocolate beats a night out in a London nightclub any day.

Paul
Too many outlets to list; see here for locations.

Melt

Melt is a boutique chocolatier in the heart of chic Notting Hill, not far from the equally trendy Ottolenghi.



It's not quite operational in this picture, but under the lime-green umbrella Melt sells its own ice cream, which I imagine must be cold comfort for the denizens of London in the current heatwave.



The aroma of cocoa powder and tempered dark chocolate tempts you into the shop, and you'll find not just the usual pyramids of pralines and truffles, but also a workspace where all the finnicky tempering work takes place, and where chocolate workshops are run on weekends.



The actual hot chocolate, however, is somewhat unglamorous and ungenerous. For 2 GBP you get a small disposable cup's worth of liquid dark chocolate. But that little cup definitely delivers an impressive hit of intense richness.

Melt
59 Ledbury Rd, Notting Hill, London W11 2AA
Tel: 020 7727 5030

Caffe Nero

Caffe Nero induces mixed feelings in people: I know some who are there almost religiously, while others claim their coffee is actually repulsive.

While I can't vouch for their coffee (though I did have some rather poor latte), they do a fairly credible hot chocolate, which is better than none (or hot cocoa water), but is somewhat too sweet for my tastes.

Caffe Nero
Outlets all over the UK; look for one near you.

Carluccio's

Continuing the Italian theme, Antonio Carluccio's chain of cafes, although they offer pretty little by way of food, do sell a small espresso glass of thick, unctuous cioccolata fiorentina.

Like Apostrophe's, I find this to be somewhat lacklustre (figuratively, not literally, as the chocolate does have a nice sheen to it), missing the depth and intensity and power that a true cup of hot chocolate should have.

Carluccio's
Outlets all over the UK; look for one near you.

Hotel Chocolat

This was, due to some rather unfortunate circumstances detailed below, the last cup of hot chocolate I managed to sample, and thankfully it delivered in spades.



I believe only the flagship store in High Street Kensington sells hot chocolate, as I don't recall the Knightsbridge branch having any when I dropped in for a look. But that is not, however, the only thing Hotel Chocolat sells.



Hotel Chocolat sells almost every chocolate product imaginable: from chocolate liqueurs to cocoa nibs, from grand cru chocolates to gift scrolls.

But what I've come for is the hot chocolate, and Hotel Chocolat offers three: one made with 50% chocolate, one made with 72% chocolate, and one made with 100% (!) chocolate.

I'm very curious as to what the 100% chocolate tastes like, as I imagine it must be terribly bitter, which is why I went with the 72% chocolate.



Unlike all the other hot chocolates pictured here, you can see that the one offered by Hotel Chocolat is much thinner and lighter in colour. At the same time, however, look at how magnificently it catches the light - a smooth, glossy, gleaming bowl of hot chocolate. That's right: for 3 GBP you get an absolutely enormous bowl of hot chocolate, to be slurped up just as the ancient Mayans did. I would strongly advise coming here on an empty stomach.

Hotel Chocolat's hot chocolate trades texture for taste: since they use water instead of milk (resulting in a thinner hot chocolate with no "skin"), the bitter sweetness of the chocolate really shines through, unadulterated by any additional sweetness from the milk. This is something you can sit down and enjoy the entire afternoon, so grab a friend to join you.

Hotel Chocolat
163 Kensington High Street, London W8 6SU
Tel: 0207 938 2144


Things started to go wrong from here, as places like L'Artisan de Chocolat inexplicably ceased serving hot chocolate, while Paul A Young apparently don't do hot chocolate over summer.

So what follows is a list of places I'll be going back to when I'm back in London to try out the hot chocolate they offer, and if you've been to any of them, I'd love to hear about it!

L'Artisan de Chocolat
89 Lower Sloane Street, London SW1 W8DA
81 Westbourne Grove, London W2 4UL
400 Oxford Street, London W1

Cake Therapy
59 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 6CF
Tel: 07939 574315

Camino
3 Varnishers Yard, Regents Quarter, London N1 9AF
Tel: 020 7841 7331

Chocolate Society
36 Elizabeth St, London SW1W 9NZ
Tel: 0207 259 9222

Konditor and Cook
22 Cornwall Road, London SE1 8TW
Tel: 020 7261 0456
10 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
Tel: 020 7407 5100

Laduree
71-72 Burlington Arcade, Londond W1J 0QX

Paul A Young
33 Camden Passage, off Upper Street, Islington, London N1 8EA
Tel: 020 7424 5750
20 Royal Exchange, Threadneedle Street, London EC3V 3LP
Tel: 020 7929 7007