Halia at Botanic Gardens

Here are the highlights of a meal we had recently in Halia. The restaurant has been around since 2001, and have been a favourite for many. They recently had their premises renovated, and the new restaurant is as beautiful as the former. Now even more so with the garden inside feel. But how is the food?

We started with a fabulous lemongrass & ginger tiger prawn salad ($19++)

Fresh mango & tomato salsa, glass noodle & ginger flower dressing. The prawns were large, succulent and very tasty. The most intriguing about this this is the chef's salad dressing. Superb. Just the right balance of all the tastes. And the glass noodles went well with the dish by soaking up the dressing...Very nice.

The next appetizer was the Chilli crab dip ($15++) with crisp baguette

I found this dish brilliant. The chilli crab could have a little more spice kick, but overall it was excellent. Chunks of crab in a piquant sauce. On crisp baguette. Nice. Kin did not fully agree, feeling that the crab could be more substantial. But I was happy. For me, a nice dish.

The for me, the other appetizer, the lime & ginger yellowfin tuna kinilaw was less successful. Kinilaw is a Filipino dish. 

On to the mains...my favourite for the evening was the paperbag oven-baked halibut fillet ($40++)

The fresh halibut was baked in a paper bag with mirin sake, ginger broth. And served with sesame Japanese rice, wakame & truffle mayonnaise on the side. The fish was superb. Smooth, creamy, very fresh. Beautifully cooked. The sauce was also sublime. The brilliant mix of miron sake with the ginger broth was magnificent. Loved this dish. Goes well with the rice. 

The next main we had was the Wild Alaskan black cod (140gm. $56++)

With ginger flower sambal, Chinese long beans & pickled ginger jus. We found this dish to be b bit bland. The fish was cooked nicely enough...nice moist flesh, crisp skin. But the long beans were undercooked resulting in a greenish flavour. 

And the Spice Islands marinated lamb loin ($44++) was also a bit ordinary.

Perhaps ordinary is too harsh. The baby back ribs are excellent. The meat just fell off the bones at the prodding of a fork. Very tender. The meat was a tad too lean, lacking in the fats that usually make up flavour. And the seasoning a bit pedestrian...it is a nicely concocted barbeque sauce, but no wow factor. It was served with a curried wild rice, charred chilli, pickled ginger & coconut on the side. The rice was hard, but I liked the curry sauce. We note though that we thought this dish to be not extraordinary, the other tasting party thought it was her favourite for the evening. 

Then on to desserts. I only hilight two...first a very unusual ohr nee.

Doesn't look like one, nor actuallly taste like one either.  The "Orh Nee" ($12++) is made from frozen home-made yam parfait, pumpkin puree, candied gingko nuts & lotus seeds. I guess the traditional ohr nee is made by pulverizing yam and cooked over a slow heat with pork lard. This was frozen, a first assault of the unfamiliar. And then the pumpkin puree and candied nuts were untraditional. But it did taste very good. More like yam/tofu ice cream with dressings of pumpkin, ginko nuts and lotus seeds. I really liked it, despite, or because, it does not taste of the traditional hot ohr nee. Nice one chef!

And the Die Die Must Have Chocolate ($12++)

A must have for chocoholics. The chocolate raspberry gnache, cacao nibs tuile, chocolate go fabulously with the marshmallow, raspberry sorbet, raspberry sauce, crispy raspberry and chocolate. Nice sweet end. 

Overall the restaurant had a wonderful ambience. Service was excellent, wait staff being very knowledgable and easy to catch. Food is excellent, mostly. I really loved the king prawn salad, the chilli crab dip, and the halibut. But others present in the tasting loved the cod and the pork ribs. The desserts got all round approval. 

Halia Restaurant

1 Cluny Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore 259569

Access by taxi at Tyersall Avenue, near the Ginger Garden. URA Coupon parking on Tyersall Avenue. Free to park on the coach lots after 6 pm.

Happy Fish

Comfort food is on my mind, as I return from a week of feasting during dinners in Basel while attending BaselWorld 2014.

While the dinners at wonderful restaurants like Le Cheval Blanc at Trois Rois Hotel in Basel are very good, I long for comfort food. On landing, the first meal back home in Singapore I headed to one of my little secrets for comfort food, which I share with you now.

A little stall in a Food Court is often no indicator on how good the food is, and many...myself included, often overlook these stalls.

I just love the fried fish with curry noodles.

The fish is very fresh, nicely seasoned...lightly. And the batter nice and light, deep fried till very crisp. The curry was marvellous. Wonderful aroma, beautiful flavours, reminiscent of the Indian curries I used to eat as a child. The curry was not overly rich with coconut milk, in fact I guess there is probably none. Not overly spicy. Just nice.

Another of my favourites in the stall is their deep fried garoupa in a sweet sour sauce.

The fish, was as usual superbly fresh. The batter again very light. The fish deep fried to perfection, crispy on the outside, and very nice and juicy, tender meat. The sauce was also superb...just the right amount of sweet and sour, and tinge of heat from the chilli. This stands almost equal to the specialist sweet sour fishes served by top restaurants. Very good indeed.

In fact, almost all the fish dishes and seafood dishes are excellent at this stall. The seafood ee foo mien in a claypot is also superb.

One of my favourites when it comes to comfort food. Very reasonable prices. Highly recommended.

Happy Fish Stall
Koufu, Basement 1, The Anchorage..

Lion D'or in Geneva

I have written about my experiences at the 1 Michelin starred Lion D'Or in Geneva once. Actually I eat there almost every year, and am constantly delighted with the quality of the cooking as well as the excellent service.

As it is SIHH season again, I had the opportunity to dine there again. I started with a lobster dish, Lobster “à la plancha”, medley of autumn vegetables artichoke fritters, roquette salsa

At first taste, I wanted to rise to my feet and applause the chef. The lobster was truly excellent. The flesh nice tender, but not so tender as it melts in your mouth. It has a nice, firm feel to the bite...I suppose al dente is the correct description. But yielding with pressure, and releasing a wonderful aroman and flavour. Very sweet meat. Magnificent. The vegetables served well as supporting cast, but the lobster was certainly the star.

My dining companion had the cannelloni with black truffles.

As the dish was presented to the table, I could already breath in the wonderful aroma of the fresh black truffles. Shaved in thick slices, and placed over the rolls of canneloni...the pasta, was of course cooked perfectly. And the simplicity of the dish made it all the more excellent. I tried one canneloni piece with a slice of truffle. Heavenly....unless you don't like truffles...but otherwise, highly recommended, despite the high price of CHF95+++ for the dish.

I had the whole sole from Brittany, sauteed in a butter mixed with meat sauce potato mousseline and wild mushroom enhanced with crispy sage petals

Also very good...though just short of the supreme excellence of the lobster and truffle pasta dishes. The sole fish was superbly fresh, and perfectly cooked, with the butter sauce permeating and embuing the meat with a wonderful mouthfeel and flavour.

For dessert, I had the souffle.

Ultra light, warm qunce souffle with a walnut biscuit and quince sherbert. Again quite excellent. The souffle was a bit smaller than I had expected, being used to the huge, airy soufles in Paris, but it was nonetheless very light, very tasty. The light quince flavour permeated nicely, and ably supported by the sherbert, which gave a more accute and sharp taste of the quince.

Overall, excellent plus plus restaurant and great cooking. A bit pricey as Michelin starred restaurants tend to be. Highly recommended if budget permits.

Lion D'or
chefs: Dupont & Byrne
Place P. Gautier 5
CH-1223 Cologny
+41 (0)22 736 44 32

Nasi Padang at Hajjah Maimunah

Hajjah Maimunah is one of the cornerstones of Nasi Padang in Singapore. I have featured Sabar Menanti as well as Rumah Minang...two of my favourites...today's post is on Hajjah Maimunah, just a stone's throw from Kandahar where the other two outlets are...in Lorong Pisang.

Five of us ate one lunch time...the restaurant, rather large with an upstairs and downstairs air conditioned seating area. We were lunching on our cycling trip, so we sat outside to watch over our bikes, parked along the shophouse across the road.

On to the food...first the beef rendang

The spices were rather nice...but I found the beef too tough.

Fish with kichap manis

The fish was ok...I found it to be a bit bland. The kichap manis was nice, but not enough to smother the fish...as this was a black prompfret (bawal hitam), the meat was a bit rough, and rather tasteless.

Pegedil

For me, this was the highlight of the meal. The cutlet was tasty, if a bit dry, but eaten with a generous helping of the curry, it was excellent. Great taste.

We had a helping of siput, a kind of sea snails...

Not my favourite either...very mild tasting...and um, so little meat. The lunch companion who requested we order this seemed to enjoy it very much, finishing almost the whole plate all by herself.

The vegetables were no better

The kangkong was a bit old...tending on being a bit tough...and being slightly undercooked did not help.

The ladies fingers were even more bland...

But it was a shame to serve peanuts which were a bit stale...no crunch, no crisp.

A famous nasi padang restaurant, but one which I did not find commensurate with its reputation.

Hajjah Maimunah Restaurant
11 & 15 Jalan Pisang
6294 8732
7am to 8pm

sQue: a place for beer and food?

I saw a review at one of the local TV programs talking about Emmanuel Strobant's latest venture...known as Sque...a place for beer and meat. Interesting methot.

So I dropped by one hot afternoon with a good friend to sample the delights on offer. There was a large outdoor dining area...as expected, the angmo expats were hanging out there. And within the two smaller air conditioned eating areas, hid many of us locals.

Beer was the order for the day...many varieties were on tap, and even more available as bottles...and as this was a Belgian influenced location, we had some beers. I opted for the very British Fullers, while my dining companion had a brew called Pure Blond...which we understood was Aussie.

Deep, almost amber, I have had the Fuller's brew at Public Houses in London, where the beer is served at room temperature...well English room temperature in an unheated cellar...typically about 23-25C. Cold to the skin, but not ice cold. Sque chose to serve this at almost ice cold temperature...for a more refreshing drink in our hot weather.

My friend chose the Pure Blond

Lighter in hue, golden. Lighter. Refreshing.

We shared a plate of deep fried calamari

Nice long strips, deep fried with some batter. The squid was tender. The batter was light, not overbearing, but was slightly greasy.

For mains, I had the beef ribs

Quite a substantial rib, I must say. Well marinated, with a coating of sauce. I found the meat to be a bit chewy, but full flavoured. Very hearty. Deep, deep beefiness. It came with a side of vegetables and mushrooms.

My friend had the sea bass

Nice piece of fish. Fresh, beautifully cooked. Crisp skin, on a bed of mashed potatoes. I tried a sample, nice fresh fish, the skin was a delight, crisp. Very nice.

We did not really have room for dessert...well actually, we did, but she wanted to go to another place across the river for some hot lava chocolate cake...but it was not to be...the place serving the cake was closed by the time we arrived, and would not open till 6pm. For the curious, of course, we had our desserts, but a rather more modest Brownie with ice cream at Book Cafe.

Overall, a delightful place for some nice beer in the afternoon, and good food. Recommended. The afternoon beer was on 1for1 Happy Hour offer, but the food was on the pricey side...read high end European styled restaurant...but not totally unjustified.

sQue Rotisserie & Alehouse
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#01-70 The Central
+65 6222 1887

Feasting in Switzerland: Le Poisson at Auvernier, near Neuchatel

Neuchatel. Lovely city. Pearched on the lake, it enjoys the mountains on one side, and the lake on the other. However, being a little lower in altitude, and by the lake, it does get quite a lot of fog.

Click here for a wide pano from the mountains looking over Lake Neuchatel. The Alps in the distance, and the fog over the city.

In the evenings, it is a bit more lively than most Swiss cities. But a short drive away, in the little village of Auvernier, lies this wonderful fish restaurant...its namesake in French Le Poisson (meaning fish).

We started with a glass of champagne and oysters. I cannot imagine a better combination for fresh oysters.



Fresh as it can be. Sweet, delicious. With a whiff of the fragrance of the distant sea.

And of course, I had fish...sole, pan fried with butter, and a serving of shoe string fries.



Needless to say, the sole was fresh. Firm flesh, white creamy. Pan fried to perfection...thin, slightly crisp on the outside. Smooth, rich, moist inside. Beautiful.



And the fries...superb. Crisp covering...and a creamy interior. I imagined the fries to be deep fried in tallow or a mix of tallow and butter to give it the rich, creamy mouthfeel. Sinful, but oh, so good.

For desserts, I had a small scoop of ice cream...pistachio



Home made. Delicious. And...



a triple decked decadence of pear and cream within crisp pastry. Heavenly.

Truly a magnificent place to dine in or near Neuchatel. We went to the restaurant on a Monday evening, and it was brimming...full. Merely 5 days later on Friday, we had a magnificently catered meal at a private residence attended by the chef of Poisson himself labouring in the kitchen.



He moves fast, this man.

Needless to say, it was a magnificent meal, featuring one of the best langoustines and veal dishes I have had in a long time.





The meat was superb. Sous vide, and expertly browned. Tender to melting. Smooth, creamy mouth feel. Superb.

Washed down with these magnificent wines.



I cannot begin to describe the Chateau Cheval Blanc. The first bottle (yes, we had 2 bottles) was superb...truly magnificent, in its prime. The second was still excellent, and had it not been the wonderful palate and nose of the first, we would have hailed it as a beautiful drink. But in comparison, it was perhaps a bit over in terms of aging. Perhaps a month earlier. But both bottles were superb. All its touted to be.

And for desserts, home made glazes...the marron was particularly wonderful.



Again fully confirms that this is one of the best restaurants in the land. Superb.


Restaurant Le Poisson
Rue des Epancheurs 1,
Auvernier 2012, Switzerland
032 / 731 62 31
www.lepoisson-auvernier.ch/

In flight food: on board SQ25 Frankfurt-Singapore

I have written about the special Book the cook which is available to First and Business Class passengers on selected flights on Singapore Airlines, and am very happy with the quality, taste and quantity of the food on board.

In this entry, I record the lunch on board a recent return trip from Frankfurt on board SQ25 - a 747, quite old tail, I think...the in-flight entertainment system still have the smaller LCD screens, though it worked fine. I did watch The Tourist on board.



Normally the return trip to Singapore will feature satay...I am not sure what is SQ's reason for only serving on the inbound leg, but never on outbound from Singapore, but the satay is certainly very good. Typical serving is one stick of mutton, and two chicken:



The mutton was a little tough...though I would expect it to be as it is mutton and not lamb. And the chicken very tender. The peanut sauce is delicious.

And for some reason, though the champagne listed on the menu was Bollinger, we were treated to Dom Perignon vintage 2002. Excellent vintage.



Starters was a salad of prawns with a vinaigrette sauce.



The prawns were rather large. Sometimes, even on board, I have been served absolutely scrumptious succulent, sweet prawns, but sometimes not so great. This was one of the not so great times. The prawns were a little dull tasting. The salad was ok, and the dressing was very nice.

And for my mains, I had the Thai Fish curry with rice:



I almost always elect the Asian dish, in particular the curries. This is because the curries are more robust in flavour and can stand freezing and reheating. And I am usually rewarded with a delicious meal. This meal was no different. The fish was quite exquisite...done perfectly...I am not sure how the crew managed this with the microwave on board, but it was perfectly done...just shy of medium rare...pink deep within. Succulent. Tasty. The curry was flavourful. And the stir fried vegetables that accopmpanied were excellent. Very good main course.

With this, I decided just to have a small bowl of ice cream and call it a night...you never really know what time of the day it is when flying...we took off about 1:30pm Frankfurt time, and by the time I finished the meal, it was probably 4pm in FRA, and 10pm in SIN...so I went to sleep.


On board Singapore Airlines SQ25
Boeing 747, Business Class

Eating fish in Dresden: Kastenmeirs

I am always impressed with fish in the city of Dresden...the source of fish is either the Elbe River, or to be transported from the harbour...the nearest probably Hamburg, some 500km away. But consistently, the passionate restauranters in the city impresses me with great fish. I have written about the Carousel Bistro at the Bulow Palais and I did return for a fish lunch again...and again Chef Dirk Schroer delighted me with some great fish:



But the topic of today's post is a very specialized fish restaurant in Dresden...the Kastenmeiers.

As one enters the restaurant, the pride of place is the kitchen, which is fully visible, and the aquarium on the counter above:



There is indoor sitting within the restaurant (of course! This is Saxony, where winter temperatures often dip to -10C and lots of snow), but we opted to sit outside because the weather was quite wonderful. 25C on a nice evening.



After a hard day at work reviewing the contents of my book: The Pour le Merite Collection by A. Lange & Sohne, it was time to have a nice glass of champagne before commencing dinner:



So we start with the amuse bouche:



Interesting concoction of a small river fish, I suspect smelt, battered, and deep fried. Quite nice I must say.

For the starters, I had the King Prawns in a salad:



Quite superb. The prawns, which I think were river prawns, were very large, succulent. And grilled to perfection. The salad which accompanied is also quite excellent...fresh.

We selected a local (to the region) white wine for our dinner. We seldom hear much talk about German wine other than the Reislings and Gewurtztraminer...mostly sweet German wine from the South. But in Saxony, they have been harbouring some pretty serious contenders to the Chablis and Sauvignon Blancs.



The hue of the wine is interesting...a pale shade of straw, with a blush of pink



Made from 100% Pinot Noir grape. The wine is refreshingly fruity. On the nose, an aroma of citrus, ripe apples and pears. On the palate, a bit dry, but excellent finish, and refinement. Even for a 2010 vintage, it showed great elegance, and goes very well with the prawn salad and the fish that was to come.

For the main course, I selected the Dorade...a sea bream from the Mediterranean Sea.

Roasted/grilled whole, the two fishes serves four:


photograph taken under red warming light in the kitchen

Served with a small cup of cream sauce, and a slice of lemon for acid:



For me, I prefer my fish slightly medium rare, with a slight pink at the bone, and lightly cooked so as not to destroy the delicate texture of fish meat...this dorade was delivered medium...cooked to the bone. A little too cooked for my tastes:



Notice the fish meat is already begining to flake, indicating that it is starting to break down. But that did not distract me from enjoying the fish, which was still rather excellent, in spite of that. Smooth, almost creamy texture.

We finished with some espresso and ice cream which I did not photograph.

A worthy restaurant, especially for the elegant interior and great service. For me the fish, which was their raison d'tre was ever so slightly overcooked. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this fish, but I prefer the gentle hand of Dirk Schroer, whose fish was perfectly cooked. This is perhaps a matter of taste, as my German hosts loved the dorade.



Kastenmeiers
Tzschirnerplatz 3-5
01067 Dresden
Telefon: +49 (0) 351/ 48 48 48 01
E-Mail: info@kastenmeiers.de
http://www.kastenmeiers.de/



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