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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Wednesday 31 March 2010

A very short cake (Berry Shortcake)

I love to cook, but I'll be the first to admit that food presentation is definitely not my forté. I think this is mostly due to my upbringing on Chinese/Malaysian cuisine where, unlike the French or Japanese who pride in meticulous presentation, messy reigns (think: stir-fries and curries) because the food is so damn good that no one really cares how it looks (or perhaps it's because the cook just can't be bothered). I appreciate beautiful presentation and thoughtful plating, and I occasionally wish I had the skills, but for the most part I'm happy to just cook messily and enjoy beautiful food prepared by someone else. On Sunday, I had the opportunity to do a free cooking lesson at the ABC Cooking Studio at Midtown, and this Berry Shortcake is one of the prettiest things I've ever made. There's shortcake, and then there's the Japanese-style shortcake (I blogged a bit about it before).



We came across the cooking studio after our lunch last week, and both my sister and my friend C expressed an interest in taking lessons on how to bake cakes and desserts, so we signed up for a free trial lesson. I think it's great that my sister wants to get formal cooking instructions, but I feel that a cooking lesson would be too rigid for me personally. Part of the joy I get from cooking is doing the research, formulating my own recipe, and then shopping for the ingredients; cooking lessons would be an expensive way to remove those pleasures. Nevertheless, the lesson was fun, and I learnt a couple of new tricks. It ran for more than 2 hours and it is a great way to socialise with friends and meet new people. At the end of the day, though, I can't justify paying the steep fee to join any of the cooking courses offered by the cooking studio, and neither could my sister as she decided to save her money instead. Although we decided not to join, we did get to bring home a beautiful delicious cake that only cost us a few hours.

We made one cake each, and pictured is my sister's cake because we decided to give mine to our lovely instructor since, as a studio instructor, she wasn't allowed to join us in eating the leftovers:

Saturday 27 March 2010

Dimsum @ Hong Kong Tea House & Ice Cream (again) @ Cold Stone, Tokyo

It's been awhile since everyone last ate dimsum, and one of my friends from Perth, also living in Tokyo, expressed her dismay at not being able to find any good Chinese food in Tokyo. It's true - as I've said it before, and I've said it so many times already - there may be a lot of restaurants in Tokyo serving Chinese food, but it is a hit-and-miss game finding a good one. The last time we got together, C said she was craving dim sum, so we promised to bring her to Hong Kong Tea House, which we know serves decent dim sum.

We'd been there once before, almost two years ago, and while we enjoyed the all-you-can-eat made-to-order dimsum option, we'd barely made up for the cost of it. With Rob's current fitness goals, and C's small appetite, we knew that there was no way our group will be able to eat enough to make it worth the value, so we went for the a-la-carte option. We were a little surprised to find that the a-la-carte menu was more limited than the buffet menu, but I guess the restaurant is trying to make the buffet option more attractive because that's where the profit is. I wonder if the restaurant would honor a-la-carte requests from the buffet menu. We had to order double serves of each dish because each serve contains only two pieces, and each plate cost between 600yen to 1000yen per plate. Quality was generally good, with the only caveats being the small serving sizes and the accompanying steep price. I guess that's the price to pay to enjoy dim sum in Tokyo that doesn't disappoint.

Delicious Lo Bak Gou (fried daikon cake); and tasty fried Taro Dumpling with pork and shrimp:


The healthier ones - steamed Scallop Siu Mai; and Har Cheong (prawn rice wrapped in rice rolls):


Lor Mai Kai (steamed glutinous rice with chicken), one of my favourite dimsum dishes, but this one was only so-so; and teeny tiny Egg Tarts:


After lunch, we headed to Cold Stone Creamery for some sinfully decadent ice cream, which seems to have become an unhealthy tradition we indulge in whenever we're in the Hills. Photo courtesy of my sister Honey.

Clockwise from top: C's Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip; Rob's creation of dark choc ice cream, fudge and pecans (I forget what else); and Honey's Strawberry Blonde with strawberry-dipped waffle bowl:

Wednesday 24 March 2010

An afternoon at Shinjuku Gyoen Garden

Rob usually works on public holidays, but on Monday, a national holiday in Japan for the vernal (spring) equinox, he made the spontaneous decision to take the day off. It was a lovely spring day, and we headed out to Shinjuku Gyoen to enjoy the blue skies and calm weather. Honey took a couple of hours off work to join us since she hasn't been to this park before. We saw a couple of trees full of pink peach blossoms (or are they plum blossoms?), and needless to say, there were large crowds of people surrounding these trees taking photos. It's a sign that the highly-anticipated cherry blossoms will soon follow suit, and there were many sakura trees at this park with small flower buds that may bloom in a few weeks time.

Zak was a lot more apprehensive about flowers than last year:




We were running short on time, and since I'd been to this park before, I spent some time on the grass with Zak while Honey and Rob did a quick tour of half the grounds. During that half hour, Zak launched into a few series of fantastic (but incomprehensible) monologues, complete with animated expressions which were hilarious to watch. Kids are such a delight, aren't they?



This trip into Shinjuku reminded me why I really dislike navigating around the station, compounded further by how difficult it is to get around inside this maze of a station with a pram. In fact, I dislike the area so much that the last time I was in Shinjuku was almost two years ago, when Zak was still a little heartbeat in my belly. I will avoid this place if I can help it.

Sunday 21 March 2010

Singaporean @ Hainan Chifan, Tokyo

We were due for a whole-family lunch date last week, and we'd planned to enjoy some Okinawan food at a restaurant in Daimon. When that plan fell through (the restaurant had a notice on their door saying they were shut that day, or something like that, in Japanese), someone suggested walking to the nearby Shiodome, a walk that took about half an hour (that person who came up with that bright idea may have been me, actually). Half an hour is not that long a time, but it is when everyone is starving. In any case, it was good exercise that worked up an appetite for the good meal to follow, and it was a good family bonding time as we all had to talk to each other (mostly about whether to have Indian, Vietnamese or Singaporean at our destination). Apparently half an hour wasn't long enough to decide what was for lunch, because by the time we got to Shiodome City, we still hadn't decided, so we left it to my sister to decide since she hadn't been to any of them yet. Honey chose Singaporean, so it was off to Hainan Chifan. We have eaten at Hainan Chifan a few times before, so we knew which dishes would be good.

The restaurant has a "happy hour" deal which runs during the day time until just before dinner time, where all drinks (alcohol beverages included) are only 300yen each. Honey liked the sound of the Lychee and Grapefruit Cocktail so she ordered one, and Rob and I shared a Singapore Sling because I've never had it before. We shared a plate of Satay to start off the meal, and it includes both chicken and beef. Deliciously peanut-y.

That's Rob's hand sneaking in the bunny ears into the shot:


We got a half order of the restaurant's specialty, Hainanese Chicken, and the black Chai Tau Kueh (stir-fried daikon cake), and these were good as usual. That reminds me, we ought to make chai tau kueh at home again.



We also shared a plate of the Seafood Horfun (stir-fried rice noodles in egg sauce), which came with nice large slices of roast pork and generous servings of prawns. Seems like this dish is different everytime we order it, but they were always pretty good. It was also nice that fresh, not dried, noodles were used in this dish, which does make quite a difference.

Seafood horfun, as it was served, and stirred through:


We couldn't pass up on ordering some Durian Ice Cream and Bubur Pulut Hitam (black glutinous rice with coconut milk) for dessert. The ice cream had lovely chunks of durian pieces in it, and it reminded me that I had bought a log of dodol durian (also known as lempuk durian, made with 88% durian and sugar only!) during our trip to Malaysia in October, and it was still sitting in my pantry waiting to be eaten. The dodol was delicious, but back to the topic at hand - the ice cream was full of the durian flavour and appropriately creamy. The pulut hitam was also good, and its similarity to the Chinese red bean soup is uncanny in spite of the very different ingredients used (rice versus beans).



I wish that Malaysian/Singaporean food is not so expensive and more widely available in Tokyo, so that we can eat it as often as we would in Malaysia.

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Turkish @ Istanbul, Tokyo

Many foodies would agree that some of the best dining experiences in the world can be had in Japan, and this is quite true, but it is no secret that the international cuisines are somewhat limitedly available here. With the exception of French, Italian, Indian and Korean cuisines (or a hybrid Japanised version of them) which are quite excellently represented in Japan, it would be hard to find restaurants that specialise in authentically prepared dishes from, say, Greece, any South-East Asian countries and Russia, just to name a few. Even Chinese food - though there are many Chinese restaurants and eateries around, it is a bit of a hit-and-miss game (mostly miss) to find a good one, even in a big city like Tokyo. We've had plenty of dining experiences in almost four years in Japan, but we've yet to eat any Middle-Eastern food. One of my sister's colleagues from Turkey brought her work mates to a Turkish restaurant in Shinjuku, Istanbul, and Honey gave a good report about the food, with the only complaint being that it was pretty pricey (~4000yen per person). Rob and I were overdue for a date, so two Sundays ago, we went to the restaurant branch in Ginza for a Turkish meal.

The restaurant is run by a Turkish lady with young Turkish waiters, who spoke only Turkish and Japanese, and we took this as a good sign. It's quite a nice restaurant, with separate areas suitable for a noisy group or an intimate meal, as well as bar seats. We ordered some Apple Tea, which was very apple-y, and Turkish Coffee, which packed a pretty strong punch for such a tiny cup.



To start with, we got a Kucuk Meze (a mixed appetisers plate of four different dips), and enjoyed Ekmek (Turkish pita bread) with Cerkez Tavuk (chicken and walnut dip), Humus (chickpeas and tahini dip), Acul Ezeme (an Anatolian spicy and herby vegetable paste) and Patlcan Tarama (fried eggplant and yogurt dip). They were all pretty nice, but we both liked the flavoursome red acul ezeme paste best. We also ordered Midye Dolmasi (mussels stuffed with pilaf) which was delicious.



For our mains, Rob ordered Beyti Kebab (ground lamb and beef kebab wrapped in lavash bread) and I got the Iskender Kebab (doner kebab with tomato sauce and yogurt). Apparently Iskender Kebab is a popular Turkish dish, but I have never had it before, and Rob thought it was something I ought to try. Both dishes were full of flavour and tasty.



We had two desserts: Incir Dolma (baked dried figs stuffed with walnuts and Turkish ice cream) and Cezerye (a truffle-like dessert made of carrot, ginger, coconut and cinammon). Both desserts were really good and not too rich, which is a fine way to finish a big meal. I favoured the stuffed fig whereas Rob preferred the truffles.



I had a good time, enjoying good Turkish food and lovely company with my wonderful hubby. We should really be going on dates more often while we still can.

Friday 12 March 2010

Tokyo Tower

We've been living in Japan for almost 4 years (in Tokyo for almost 3), yet we had never before been inside Tokyo Tower, one of the more well-known icons of Tokyo. I've been to a few towers around Japan, including the Umeda Sky Building during our first trip to Osaka, and the Landmark Tower in Yokohama, and while the structures themselves were impressive, I must admit that it's pretty hard to get excited about seeing a 360deg view of cityscape, especially if you have to live with it everyday. Hence my reluctance to shell out cash to go up yet another tower to see concrete jungle and high rises that stretch out as far as the eye can see in all directions. My friend Anne was visiting Tokyo, but other than shopping a lot in Ginza, she hadn't had much of a chance to do sightseeing. So after our lunch, we decided to head out with the rest of my family to Tokyo Tower because the weather had cleared up considerably well after a rainy morning. We went up only to the Main Observatory level at 150m, but for an additional 600yen, visitors can go up to the Special Observatory located at 250m elevation. The view was pretty much as I'd expected, but it was great spending time together as a family with a friend.

My sister Honey and my friend Anne, looking ever so fashionable; and the view of Tokyo Tower at its bottom:


Panorama out of one of the many windows on the Main Observatory level. I just realised this view looks out towards the direction of our home:


View through the 'look down window' (those boots are Anne's and mine). Zak loved the vertical view, going on all fours to crawl across the window - I was concerned about Zak obstructing other people's view, but instead they thought Zak was "sugoi" (means "cool", "great" etc):


The girls with the little man; and family shot with a mascot that Zak found quite amusing:

Wednesday 10 March 2010

3rd revisit: Korean @ Kanton, Tokyo Korea-town

This Korean restaurant needs no introduction on this blog, as I've written about it three times before. I am no authority on the Korean cuisine, but I do know what tastes good, and Kanton no Omoide in Tokyo's Korea-town serves up pretty good food. My friend Anne from Perth was visiting Tokyo, and having already taken her and her group to our favourite sushi restaurant in Tsukiji (didn't blog about it as I've done it so many times before), I suggested going to K-town for some authentic Korean eats on our second meet-up. At first Anne baulked at the idea of Korean because Korean food to Anne is the barbecue-style food, and she hates how her clothes carries the aroma of barbecued food afterwards, but she agreed to give it a try when I said that my favourite Korean dishes are non-barbecue ones.

As always, the banchan (complimentary side dishes) were placed on the table shortly after we sat down. Anne trusted me to choose the dishes, and it didn't take me long to decide what to order (this usually happens when you've been to a place many times before and know what is good from experience). I forgot how big the serving sizes are, and over-ordered for the two of us. The Chapchae (stir fried sweet potato noodles) was good as usual, and this was Anne's favourite dish of the meal.

The cold banchan included mushrooms, tofu, spicy daikon and beansprouts namul; and the tasty Chapchae:


The Kaki Chijimi (Oyster "Pancake") was delicious with large plump juicy oysters, but we needed more people at the table to share the portion as it got too rich by the third oyster. I also ordered Possam (steamed pork with leafy vegetables) which was also too much for the two of us and I had to ask to take leftovers home. Anne didn't appreciate the slightly sweet flavour in the spicy vegetable relish that came with the Possam, and I guess she is not a big fan of sweet flavours in non-dessert dishes, nor using her hands to eat! She said the dish was okay, but that she liked the other dishes better.

Huge plump Oyster Chijimi; and Possam:


We were absolutely stuffed when we left Kanton, but we did stop by the hoddeok vendor to get some Honey-flavoured Hoddeok to bring home for my sister (who was babysitting Zak) and my hubby (who had to work that Sunday morning).

The young vendor dude working his magic on these popular pancakes:

Monday 8 March 2010

Sweets @ Matsuzakaya, Ginza

These gorgeous little desserts were what we had on our last date more than a month ago (so much for my resolution to go on dates with my husband every 2 or 3 weeks!). We rode our bikes into the nearby shopping district Ginza with the intention to enjoy some chocolate-y dessert at Pierre Marcolini, but the long queue into the chocolate cafe section deterred us. Instead we headed to Matsuzakaya department store and browsed the basement food level. We are such food geeks because the food level of any Japanese department store is the only one we're interested in, because the array of food and dessert available is really quite amazing and a treat for the senses. We often head to the food level at the nearest department store after a meal to satisfy our sweet tooth if the dessert selection on the menu at the restaurant didn't appeal. On this occasion, we found a little cake store in Matsuzakaya called Gateaux Maison Chez Matsuo, and it had two seats at the counter should you wish to eat your purchase with coffee/tea and/or ice cream (rather than, say, giving it away as a gift).

A rich moist Chocolate dessert with a chocolate macaron, and a delicious Fruit Tart:

Friday 5 March 2010

Revisit: French @ L'Atelier, Tokyo

It's not very often I get to say I've visited the same Michelin-2-starred restaurant twice. And I certainly didn't think I'd even be allowed to step into a restaurant like this with a 17-month-old toddler in tow. Yet here we were, at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, enjoying not only exquisitely prepared food, but wonderful hospitality by the staff who really looked after our little boy. To his credit, the boy was very well-behaved all throughout our lunch, which helped add to the pleasantness of the experience. We were here on this occasion to meet up with one of hubby's aunt who was in Tokyo for her annual work on a forum. She always brought us to lovely restaurants whenever we visited her in Hong Kong or Perth, so we always try to do the same when she visits us in Japan.

Happy boy on Daddy's shoulder at the end of the meal - he was well-behaved during the 2.5 hours at the restaurant, despite the fact that his morning nap had to be cut short to make it for lunch:

It has been more than two years since our last visit to L'Atelier, and I'm happy to report that everything was as excellent as I remembered it to be, from the perfect service right down to the gorgeous presentation of the food. It was also as popular as it always has been, and reservations are recommended especially on the weekend. There were more menu options for lunch time than there were on our last visit, giving more flexibility to suit the diners' wishes. Hubby and his aunt ordered the 4-course Menu de Jour (menu of the day) where all the courses except the main course were fixed. I went for the 3-course option where I could choose all courses from a limited selection of dishes. Unlike last time, I don't have a copy of the menu for my reference, so the following are based on my memory.

Amuse bouche of pork on toasted baguette - the toddler loved this! And the basket of fresh bread - so good but so carby!

The appetiser on the Menu de Jour was Salmon Tartare with Saffron Toast, and this was artfully presented in a glass bowl with the vapour of dry ice swirling around the pieces of fresh salmon and the salty crunchy spheres of ikura (salmon roe).


The soup course on the menu of the day was warm Chestnut Soup with Foie Gras, which was deliciously creamy and contained chunks of chestnuts and fatty foie gras. The soup also had the slightly peppery taste of endives. I chose the Cauliflower Soup with Jamon Iberico, and the salty jamon slices added a flavourful dimension to the cauliflower soup base. The jamon slices were no doubt the star ingredient of the soup.

The soups - chestnut with foie gras and cauliflower with jamon iberico:

For their main course, hubby and his aunt chose the same dish: Confit of Pork Cheeks. The cheeks were lovely and tender, and the broth was rich in porcine flavour. I got the L'Ainame with Aubergine, which is a type of white-fleshed fish that had been perfectly cooked with crispy skin, served on top of grilled aubergine (aka eggplant) and garnished with peppery arugula leaves. Simply delicious.

Pork cheeks; and ainame:

The dessert on the Menu de Jour was L'Arabica, coffee mouse with chocolate biscuit and garnished with flecks of gold leaf. It was very nice, but the Le Tendence Chocolat was even better! Underneath a thin disc of gold-flecked chocolate sat a ball of oreo-covered chocolate sorbet in a bed of rich chocolate ganache interspersed with crispy chocolate biscuit-like spheres. It was a taste sensation as well as a textural delight for the tongue. Both desserts were beautifully presented, as you can see below.

The coffee and chocolate dessert:

Our lovely hostess asked if our boy would like a vanilla ice cream. Now, I don't usually give him treats, but I didn't think it was fair that we should enjoy all these exquisite food yet he should miss out, especially since he was such an angel during our meal. He was served lovely creamy ice cream with black flecks of vanilla seeds dispersed throughout, complete with a sugar leaf. Unfortunately the boy did not like the fact that the ice cream was icy cold, but that was okay because it meant that I could have it instead!

Vanilla ice cream:

Good tea and coffee are served here too, and I think that L'Atelier would be a good spot to come just for dessert and coffee. This was yet another great dining experience at L'Atelier, and it gets even more brownie points for being so accommodating to children (not that they need more accolades to add to Robuchon's already long list of awards!). Hubby's aunt promised to bring us to the L'Atelier in Hong Kong, and I'm looking forward to it!