Skyve Wine Bistro

Skyve, a bistro and wine bar in the former tuckshop of the former Monk's Hill School. Playing on the school theme, the menu is superbly creative, a good read, with lots of inferences to being a naughty kid in school.

The restaurant underwent a facelift, and now with a new chef, the menu is revised. The new chef has a preference for cooking sous vide style, so we can expect beautiful soft, tender, flavourful meals.

I was recently invited for a tasting there. Many thanks to Kelly at Food News for hosting.

We started with a trio of oysters...three different oysters, served in 3 different styles.

The oysters were Mentaiyaki oysters - with mentaiko, ebiko, lime juice and airoli; Chilian oysters - with serrano, lime juice, red wine vinegar and cilantro; and Kilpatrick oysters - with lardon of bacon, worchestershire and chive. I found the Kilpatrick most suited to my palate...rich, plump. Very satisfying.

A beef tartare was next

Truffle egg yolk, cooked sous vide, cilantro, flat bread, ancho chilli aioli and thyme sea salt accompanies the tartare. The steak itself is chopped beef, with spices. With the egg mixed in, it is rather rich tasting.

Seared petuna

Looking a bit like salmon, I understand the petuna fish to be an ocean trout...hence a kind of salmon. The pink meat is slightly flaky...cooked perfectly sous vide...so very tender, moist, full flavoured, and then crisped on a skillet to achieve a crisp crust. Served with ebiko, mango, chilli, sesame yuzu dressing, cold somen and mesclun.

We also had the Sous Vide Poulet

The chicken leg was extremely tender, moist meat. Very nice. And the skin very crisp. With the glazed apricot, baby vegetables, candied pecans and pommes puree, makes a nice main course.

Short ribs were next

Again the beef short ribs were cooked sous vide, then a spicy Kalbi glaze is applied, Served with sauteed brocollini and crispy rood vegetables. The beef was tender, very good beefy flavours. The glaze gave ample support by perking it up slightly with a spicy kick. Nice.

We also tried the polanta mushroom stack

The polanta cake is intended to be crispy, but I found the first disappointment for the evening as the polanta was a bit greasy, and soggy. Served with a mushroom fricasse, grilled portabello which was superb, and vegetables.

And desserts were served..

A deconstructed snicker bar...home made with salted caramel pudding, peanut butter, chocholate ganache, feuilletine, flambe bananas and vanilla gelato. I found the choc to be very rich, very satisfying.

And a second dessert...

A mango and cheese semifredo, fippled frozen mousse, frozen lime foam and sable cookies.

Overall, the restaurant is very beautiful, service was prompt and courteous. And I spied many a table out for a romantic evening. The food is good, but I did not find anything spectacular...so perhaps more fitting of a nice neighbourhood local restaurant than one for special occassions.

Thumbs up.

Skyve Wine Bistro
10 Winstedt Rd, Singapore 227977
6225 6690

Friends Favourites: Johor Bahru Eats Part 2

Part two of the walking tour of Johor Bahru conducted by bloggerTony Johor Kaki.

I started the walking tour with Tony, who is passonate about steet food in Johor...not only because there is plenty of excellent food to be eaten, but also so few are documented. He draws out the hawkers and writes their stories, as well as make recommendations on the food.

We continue today with the walk in old town Johor Bahru. Next is a heritage shop, selling bread and cakes.

Only two of these bakeries exist in JB. Equipped with a wood fired oven, similar to the pizza ovens. The baking is done in a stone oven, fired with wood. The products, fragrant...with stuffed breads, and what we went there for...Tony's favourite banana cake.

We started to queue for this amazing cake, and were third in the queue...amazingly, the cakes are baked two cakes a time. Hot out of the oven, cut and put into packages...by the time we bought our 3 packets, that round from the oven was finished. People in the queue behind had to wait for the next oven load.

The taste was sublime. A bit smoky, especially the nicely crisp top, but within, very moist, beautiful aroma. Very nice.

Next stop is the highlight of the day for me. Kway Teow Thng...

This is not your run of the mill variety Kway Teow Thng. This is one with the works. All for a princely sum of MYR16...about S$6.50.

Chock full of wonderfully fresh ingredients...beautiful, magnificent oysters, pig kidneys, fresh pork, pork liver.

Cooked in a wonderfully flavourful broth made with huge pork bones slowly boiled over a charcoal fire. Magnificent.

Even the noodles are special..smooth, soft, luxurious. Magnificent. Must try. BTW, they have versions for as little as MYR5.

And to cool down, we dropped by a shop selling a brew not found in Singapore...toddy...a fermented brew from the nectar of the palm.

A bit sourish, served at room temperature. The brew was surprisingly cooling during the heat of the day. And very refreshing and thirst quenching.

I have tried fresh, chilled toddy in Penang once...it was an even more wonderful drink...served cold, it was like a cold beer on a hot day...lighter in flavour than the one I tried in JB.

Thus ended our first JB tour with Tony. Certainly not our last. There are so much to explore. And our only regret was we could only eat so much in a day...we will be back. Soon...I hope.

Hiap Joo Bakery and Biscuit Factory
13, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, 80000 Johor Bahru
Map: http://g.co/maps/nf7rs
GPS: 1.456931, 103.764222
Daily 8:00am to 6:00pm (Closed on Sunday)

Ah Hua 亚华 kway teow soup (Restoran Sekee 司機)
30, Jalan Segget, Johor Baru Town
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/jWIa
GPS: 1.458202,103.764383
Daily 7:30am to 2:30pm (closed on Saturdays)

Kedai Tuak Awam
Along Jalan Sulaiman, downtown Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/zYeC
GPS: 1.464262,103.761633
10:00am to 5:00pm

Gastronomy in Paris: Le Grande Cafe Capucines

Sometimes a favourite restaurant has nothing to do with the restaurant boasting of Gault Millau, or Michelin Star. Sometimes, it is just the right combination of service, ambience, and food which suits one's taste. The Grande Cafe Capucines is one such restaurant for me. Undecorated, but a firm favourite.

Right next to the Paris Opera, on Boulevard Capucines, is the Grande Cafe. I discovered this some 20 years ago, on a business trip...we were hungry, tired, and it was drizzling in Paris. My colleague and I saw this magnificent cafe, looking regal and like it stepped right out of the 1920s belle epoch. We immediately went in.

This is a typical art deco style Parisian restaurant. The tables are set very close to each other...it is impossible not to hear what the table beside is discussing...of course, if its French, their discussion remains private to us.

I love this restaurant. The service is always efficient, which is more than what can be said of many Parisian restaurants...though truth be told, they have improved over the years. These days, they attempt to speak English...and often quite good English when in the old days, even if the waiters do speak English, they pretend not to, and spoke only French. And more nowadays, they do not turn a nose if you just order carafe eau, instead of sparkling or still water.

And they were serving divine French oysters. One of the few in the 1se Arr which have a oyster booth outside the restaurant.

These were fine de Claire no 3 I think, or perhaps no 5. They were delicious. Succulent, fresh, smooth and rather fat. Wonderful with just a touch of lemon or a dash of tabasco. Marvellous.

For starters we also had some foie gras

I rather usually prefer pan fried foie gras, but they didn't have that. So we had the pate. This was a rather large serving. Quite nice foie gras...as usual, fat, satisfying...slight greasy, but immensely aromatic as only foie gras can be, and tasted very nice.

For our mains, Edward had the baby chicken in a pot

Nicely done. The chicken, though described as a baby chicken was rather large...perhaps the size of our regular kampung chicken. The meat was nicely done, very succulent, tasty. The skin is almost crisp, though not quite. A little braising liquid sat in the pot. Very tasty.

Kin had the veal chop

This was divine. Beautiful cut of veal. Nice, decent serving size. Perfectly grilled...slightly crisp on the outside with beautiful maillard. And very tender within. The accompanying jus was also savoury and very tasty, as were the morelle mushrooms. This was a winner dish. One to come back for more. Excellent.

I had the lamb shank

It was roasted perfectly. Very tender, very moist within. But the sauce, in my view was a tad too sweet...perhaps the reduction was allowed to caramalize a bit too much for my taste. The carrots and radish supporting the lamb was very nicely done. This is still a very good dish, but I did find the sauce a bit too sweet.

The portions were rather large, so for dessert, we only ordered one...a combination of sorbet and ice cream

The pear and lemon sorbet was right up my alley. The ice crystals were very small, almost undetectable...well, actually not detectable on the palate, and the fruit confit used to make the ice sorbet superb. Powerful flavours of pear and lemon. The sole scoop of chocolate ice cream was good too, but de rigeur. The scoops were mixed with very rich full cream and drops of French pastry which tasted very good...super sweet to be sure, but had a hard texture, which gave way to a slightly sticky and overpowering sweet melange. Nice.

I almost always eat at this restaurant everytime I am in Paris. We loved the package so much, we ate there twice on this 7 day trip. So for me, my conclusion is absolutely recommended.

Le Grand Cafe Capucines
4 Boulevard des Capucines
75009 Paris, France
+33 1 43 12 19 00
http://www.legrandcafe.com/

Cooking School: Cookyn at GardenHub

Cooking classes and demonstrations have recently caught on in Singapore...big time! A decade ago, this was the strict territory of ah sohs and aunties in Community Centers. But in the last 3 years, perhaps, they have sprouted everywhere. Shopping centers teaching kids how to bake, cook....mostly for fun, but also to put in a sense of responsibility and appreciation to the art of cooking. And even more recently, Sam Leong and his wife started a school, many home cooks started their own school. One such school used to operate from a residential flat, and went by the name of Cooking by Mervyn...but recently they decided to go big...and took up a nice, secluded block in Margaret Drive. The place has large grounds, and used to house a spa, a small cafe and a gold driving range. I think the driving range is still there, but the spa and cafe is now Cookyn Inc and another tenant. Right next to the Queenstown Remand Prison...which is also no more.

I met up with the chef in attendance, Mervyn himself, and Amanda who handles the business arrangements



We were doing the Connoisseur Akademie for A. Lange & Sohne No 2 at Cookyn (that's why Mervyn is spotted wearing the ALS corporate apron), and we were there to taste the food and inspect the premises...Nice dining area with the instructional kitchen:



Typically not run as a restaurant, Cookyn guests normally have to prepare the food they will eventually eat. For those of us who are horrendous cooks, and will spoil dinner...the chefs there will salvage the day....

And every good meal starts with fresh ingredients:



Raw scallops...later to be grilled with a bit of butter and a squeeze of lime. The scallop was obviously very fresh. And done in the grill with equaly fresh prawns...make a great starter:



Amazing dish this one...very nice indeed. But just before this grilled dish, we had some succulent, fat, Canadian oysters:



Also superb...would be fantastic with a nice glass of champagne...say a Bollinger or a Krug.

A third starter of salmon was served...grilled to perfection...note the grill marks on the bacon wrap around the fish:



Here, Mervyn demonstrated his superior skill on the grill. Superb does not begin to describe this salmon. Nicely done and slightly charred with grill marks on the outside, the inside remains superbly moist and tender. Almost like it was cooked sous vide, and seared just moments before serving. But Mervyn confirmed all cooking was done on his Porsche Design grill.

To cleanse the palate before the main course...home made sorbet...made by vigrously stirring fruit juice in a bown with dry ice. As the dry ice sublimates, the cooling freezes the juice...and with judicious stirring makes a sorbet.



We had pork as a main course...this was a slow roasted pork, with a puree of mashed potato:



Wonderfully cooked...tender...cut with fork tender...but still with flavours of the pork. Nice.

Getting your hands dirty and trying to cook the meal for yourself is commendable...and can be a fun activity...good for corporate team building. But this evening we just feasted. And the food was divine.


Cookyn Inc
Block O, Gardenhub
60 Jalan Penjara (via Margaret Drive)

Fried Hokkien Mee: Kim's Seafood, Singapore

with family



Noodles. It drives people crazy. Originating in China, it has been adopted as the food of comfort and sustainance for many cultures. Be it Ramen in Japan, where the quest for a bowl of steaming hot ramen can be one's life quest. The word ramen itself is a transliteration of the chinese "la mien" or pulled noodles (as opposed to other Chinese noodles which does not require pulling in its manufacture...like kway teow. The Japanese have made it their own, with innovations and tastes which only Japan can offer.

Or in Italy and the Little Italys across the large cities in the US, especially NYC and Chicago, where the mafia guard their pasta recipes even more jealously than their drug or prostitution turf. The Italians had learnt the art of making noodles from the Chinese with just flour and water, and have made their own noodles unique; and can call this as their own cuisine.

But the subject of today's blog is Chinese noodles. You can have it any style you like, boiled, braised, in soup, fried with gravy, fried dry. But the supreme form which captivates the Fried Hokkien Mee fanatics in my office, uses yellow flour noodles mixed with plain rice noodles. The double fried noodles, oozes in a gorgeous slimy gravy, and brings a taste of heaven to one's palate.

We had gone almost all the way across the island from the office to Joo Chiat, and sampled the highest form of the art of Fried Hokkien Mee. The stall was famous because the owner, Ah Kim made his name with the 1970s as a towkay hawker...dressed always in a long sleeved shirt, and sporting a solid gold Rolex, he unleashed his own genius into the dish, and created oyster and abalone fried hokkien mee.

And today, I returned with my family, armed with my camera, to savour and relive the experience.

We started with a plate of Kankong Belachan. This is a standard in a cze-char shop in Singapore.



The dish was a little on the salt side, but this provided good flavour. My usual peeve with sambal kankong that the vegetable used is often too old, is pleasantly not the case here. Young, succulent water convolvulus, is quickly stir fried in a mix of belacan, chilli and oil. An extremely strong, powerful fire is essential to impart the wok hei - the fragrance of the wok, into the dish.

The Ha Cheong Kai (prawn paste chicken) is also very special.



Comprising only of the two joints of a chicken wing, this was generously coated in the prawn paste, and deep fried. The salty, crunchy crust was a delight to bite into. Each bite revealed a juicy chicken wing. The chicken must have been quite large, as the wing was a generous size. I still preferred the Ha Cheong Kai at Loy Sum Juan, but this one packs a great punch, and makes a worthy adversary.

Finally the piece de resistance. XO Fried Hokkien Mee...this was not one laced with brandy, but with extra oysters. And extra oysters indeed. Huge, fat, succulent, and many in numbers (forget to count)...these reminded me of the fresh French oysters available in many Parisian restaurants from early afternoon during the winter months.



Note crispy bits of crunchy deep fried lard bits at the side...a must for great hokkien mee...provides a great crispy counter flavour and added bite. The chilli is served on the side, so as much or as little may be added as desired. This is a dangerous dish...full of cholesterol...fortified with liberal use of lard, pork bits, oysters, eggs...and all else that promises to block your heart. Excercise moderation, and exercise exercise after a plate of this.



The plate was gorgeous. The huge, fat succulent oysters,generously sprinkled over the noodles, provided the richness and melt in your mouth feel. Certainly great mouth feel. The gravy glistened and beckons. The large prawns and sliced squid provide crunchy accompaniment to the rich, soft oysters. The noodles were also perfectly fried...in fact the process involved double frying of the noodles...the first pass to prepare and season the noodles with a superior stock,and remove the kee. And when the order is place, each plate is individually fried, more specially prepared stock is added and allowed to absorb into each strand of noodle. The super-power fire provided the encouragement for the ingredients to blend and bond. Corn starch is then used to thicken the mixture, together with eggs, and other ingredients. The resulting concoction is worthy of the journey. (hmm...in Michelin parlance, this would make it 3 star eh?)

This is the most satisfying Hokkien Mee I have tasted. I know there are many more to taste...but for the time being, this was the king to beat.

As we left, I spied the huge Sri Lankan crabs at one corner of the restaurant...someday, I will return to eat these creatures...they looked like they would make a fantastic meal.



I leave you with a huge picture...to savour the Fried Hokkien Mee...click on the following link will open up another window, use the zoom features to explore the plate of noodles.

Click me


Kim's Place Seafood Restaurant Pte Ltd
37 Joo Chiat Place
(Junction of Tembeling Road)
Singapore 427761

Photo note: As can be seen in the picture of the shop, an bright orange awning provides the shop with shade from the fierce sun. But this imparts an orangy hue over the pictures. White balance was a challenge, I finally decided on auto white balance in the Adobe Camera Raw. The final pictures still have a orangish hue, but I decided to leave that, as this more or less accurately reflects the ambient. I also tried the mid-range sample dropper on the plate, but the resultant pictures had a green cast - a case of over-correction.