[Media Invite] The Peranakan @ Claymore Connect

Have you tried The Peranakan Yee Sang Istimewa? Istimewa means special, so we asked Chef Raymond on how is the Yee Sang Istimewa differs from the usual. Found out that the secret is in the herbs.

Yee Sang Istimewa 娘惹捞起鱼生 @68 （for 8 pax)

Salmon toppings start from $38 while abalone starts from $88 onwards. Combo toppings are priced at $118 for medium plate.

closer view of the herbs

let the wealth starts pouring in~

huat ah!

As Chef Raymond explains it, the yee shang is still of a much familiar taste of sweet, tangy and appetising with a healthy dose of peranakan herbs. Likeable flavours! The large portion was good enough for 10 pax even!

yee sang istimewa

How about ushering the Year of the Rooster with a bottle of Aves Del Sur Reserva Merlot?

Aves del Sur Reserva Merlot Chile

There are many high tea options available in Singapore, but have you ever experienced a Peranakan High Tea? Best to allocate about 2 hours of leisurely chit-chat and makaning for this! About 12 dishes in total per pax that include both sweet and savoury items.

The Peranakan High Tea @$24/28 (weekday/weekend) per pax (min. 2 pax)

Loved the presentation. From the lace found on the serving tray to the tiffin carrier that housed our delicious mee siam, to the small containers with nanyang-styled motifs.

mee siam and red wine

The mee siam here has strong flavours that we loved. From the sambal that's so shioks, to the super tangy yet sweet sauce. Very appetising and yummy with the merlot.

satay babi pongteh bun

The other savouries that I liked was the satay babi pongteh bun ala kong bak bao. Fatty pork braised in sauce. Just that the bun had slightly hardened by the time we got to this dish.

ngoh hiong and hae bee hiam toast

"So much food!" That was the common exclamation that night.

pineapple tart sampling

loveletters, toast with durian puree

The high tea set comes with a pot of Malaccan coffee/tea. I'd recommend the tea to go along with the sweets like pulut inti kelapa/durian and the pandan chiffon cake.

The Peranakan also offers Lunar New Year cookies for sale (while stocks lasts!). My favourite was the kueh bangkit! CNY Cookies are priced from $18 to $28 per tin.

jemput makan

Many thanks to Chef Raymond Khoo and crew of The Peranakan for your hospitality and warm welcome. Thank you Hence for the invite and fellow foodies for the enjoyable company!

The Peranakan remains open throughout the Lunar New Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

The Peranakan

Address: 442 Orchard Road, Level 2 Claymore Connect, 238879
Website: http://www.theperanakan.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePeranakanSG/
Contact: 6262 4428

 

[Media Invite] New Menu @ Bōruto - A Modern Izakaya at 80 South Bridge Road

The atmosphere was boisterous and the place seemed to be popular with young adults. Perhaps, this has something to do with the Boruto's Head Chef Angus youthfulness? Walk-in and you'll be greeted by the open-kitchen. Upstairs, marvel at the vault where it keeps rows after rows of sake safe, till the next consumption.

Kani Croquttes @$12.80

The Kani Croquettes has blue swimmer crab meat in-and-out and interestingly, its inside has sauce that's akin to a bisque. A strong savoury flavour that pairs well with alcohol. Lovely start.

delightful morsel

Next up, another seafood dish and this time, we had seabream. Grilled seabream with red miso broth, shitake and minced pork. Was expecting a strong flavours in this dish since miso is used but it turned out rather mild. Subtle flavours and to be eaten with a small wooden spoon.

Madai a la Plancha @$15.80

We heard a commotion, and turned to have a look. A table was having Sake Chicken and it was certainly a look to behold. Instead of beer-can chicken, one gets sake-chicken at Boruto. This being a Japanese izakaya after all! Alas, the chicken had flew the coop as it wasn't part of our dinner.

Roasted Sake Chicken @$48.80

Beer at this place, was served in a steel mug. How cold, I mean cool. Hahaa! Think I'll try their sake the next time I'm there.

Asahi Super Dry and Asahi Black

The dishes here are interesting and somewhat unique. The flavours, some are quite daring and bold. How do you interpret that? It was either you like it or you don't. At least, that was the situation for me. Taste is subjective, after all.

Black Barley + Uni @$35.80

The Black Barley + Uni dish, looked promising. Beautifully presented, lots of aka uni and interesting black barley risotto with chopped squid and saffron and snowed with grated parmesan. The chopped squid gave it a very interesting texture alongside with the barley. However, I can only say am not a fan of this dish. Let me know your thoughts on this dish, if you've had it.

The next dish, was something that everyone in the group could agree on. The 1.6kg Zaragova Roasted Pork Shoulder. Best!

Roasted Pork Shoulder @$88.80

chopped and ready to be devoured

The skin was thin and crackling, the meat moist and tender yet not too heavy with fats, mildly seasoned so that it can be enjoyed with the super tasty truffle green tomatoes chutney. Now, where can I dabao that sauce...

The pork shoulder can be shared by 2-3 pax as a main. Recommend to have it with at least 5 friends so that you can try the other stuff here. Plus sake.

oh, we've eaten this much?

so good that only bones, remained

Do pre-order a day earlier for the pork shoulder to avoid disappointment!

Next up, we had a carb dish. One of Boruto's signatures; Truffle Hiyashi Somen, served cold.

ready....

it's raining truffle flakes!

Thank you Chef Angus for the indugence. This man sure know how to please his diners.

Truffle Hiyashi Somen @$15.80

Mix the somen up good so that it catches all the goodness of the confit egg yolk, truffle and shio konbu. The other star of this dish, is the sakura ebi. Lovely crunchy bits and seafood umami'ness.

The Vault

Lastly, we sampled two desserts and by then, we were pretty stuffed. It's not often that I see warabi mochi on the menu but they have it here at Boruto. Made of bracken starch, and coated with kinako powder. It has a wobbly soft-jelly like texture and sweetness from the sauce. Almost like eating water.

Warabi Mochi @$6.80 Not

so soft

The other dessert was the truffle creme brulee. Truffle, what? Yes, but the flavour was actually like-able!

Truffle Creme Brulee @$8.80

can be less sweet but this was good

For appetiser, get the Kani Croquette. Highly recommends the Zaragova Pork Shoulder. For carbs, the Truffle Hiyashi Somen and lastly, the Truffle Creme Brulee. And sake, yes?

Thank you Chef Angus for your hospitality, and the staff of Boruto for your friendly service. Special thanks to Kris for the invitation.

The above are new dishes (except for the somen, desserts and sake chicken which are available now), shall be available from 23 Jan 2017 onwards.

For the coming festivity, YuSheng can be pre-ordered for 27 Jan 2017, and collection will be between 11am to 1pm at their sister outlet, Tamashii Robataya.

Please note that Boruto is taking a break from 27th Jan to 2ed Feb 2017.

Bōruto

Location: 80 South Bridge Road, #01-01, Singapore (058710)
Website: http://boruto.com.sg/
Contact: 6532 0418
Operating Hours:
Level 1: 6:00pm - 11:00pm (last order 1030pm)
Level 2: 4:30pm - 12:00mn(last order 1130pm)
Happy Hour: 430pm to 730pm
Closed on Sundays.

Kiyomizu-Dera Junsei Okabeya 清水順正おかべ家

Had a lovely visit to Kiyomizudera Temple but then it started to rain and thus, had to seek shelter. Coincidentally, it was lunch time so we decided to go somewhere to fill our stomach. Had earlier passed by this place which looked like it had a restaurant so went back to find my friend and suggested to dine at Junsei. When in Kyoto, eat tofu!

Kiyomizudera Temple

Didn't take the entrance of the restaurant as it was raining, but here's a photo of the shop at the front. Junse is just round the corner of this shop.

at the left of this shop, turn in

The shop is tourist friendly, but had to wait abit for the staff to usher us in.

warm tea

Friend had the Namafu-no-TempuraDengaku while I had the Oborodoufu-to-Obanzai. Both are priced at ¥1850. The menu states that Obanzai is a typical ordinary meal in Kyoto. Hehe.

おぼろ豆腐とおばんざい @¥1850

It has a lot of things actually. A flower-petal like dish with 7 small items (this is the obanzai), one big block of tofu (oboro doufu), a small dish of jyako sansho (small fish and pepper), vegetable tempura and clear soup.

so many things to eat

Loved the simplicity and the variety in this set. The rice tasted good with all the small side dishes. There are some meats actually in the 7 small side dishes. There's fish and pork. The pink coloured ball is actually fish-cake and some simmered vege. But the tastiest, was the jyako sansho. Savoury, salty and goes so well with the rice!

love these small fishies

This place seemed to be quite popular with tourists from Taiwan.

Kiyomizu-Dera Junsei Okabeya 清水順正おかべ家

Location: Japan, 〒605-0862 Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, 東山区清水２丁目２３９
Contact: +81 75-541-7111
Website:  http://www.to-fu.co.jp/en/
GuruNavi: https://gurunavi.com/en/k001901/rst/
Business Hours:
Monday - Sunday 10:30 - 17:00
 

Ramen Hiwamatanoburo ラー麺 陽はまた昇る @ Fushimi Inari Station Kyoto 京都 伏見稲荷

Had chosen to stay at Airbnb while in Kyoto as the price was more affordable in comparison with a hotel. Arrived around 430pm and explored our accommodation a bit before venturing out to find food. Luckily, I suggested to eat nearby and we walked up and down that area for a while before deciding on ramen.

shopfront

Slide open the door to reveal a small cosy ramen shop. Think the staff was a tad too busy to entertain us so we just figured out what we needed to do.

Saw a small vending machine, so instinctively that'll be where we purchase our meal ticket. Ok, was feeling adventurous so had chosen one that had no picture. Item number two on the first row.

choose your dish

Just sit where you like and wait for your ramen to be served.

Chef at work

table seat

Niboshi Tori Tonkotsu Ramen ¥780

handmade noodles

thin, tender chashiu

Loved the ramen there. The soup was strongly flavoured and thick but yet slurpilicious. Friend thought it was a tad too salty but I thought it was just fine. The chashiu was of the thin, almost ham-like and so tender. Lava egg cannot be faulted. Delicious!

If you're ever there, don't forget to order the tori karaage. It looked so good!

Ramen Hiwamatanoburo

Location: 38-15, Fukakusa Ichinotsubocho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, 612-0012
Contact: +81 75-642-5705
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hinobo915
Business Hours:
11:00～22:00
Closed on Thursdays and the second Wednesday of each month
 

Yakiniku Toraji 焼肉トラジ 名古屋セントラルタワーズ店 JR Central Towers Nagoya

It was a quick lunch before heading to Kyoto. In the morning we were exploring Inuyama and returned to Nagoya for lunch and to get our luggage bags before continuing to Kyoto. As usual, we went to find food at JR Central Towers at Nagoya Station. All looked pretty enticing but we were in the mood for some meat. Hard to choose between steakhouse and this BBQ place. In the end, decided to just try Toraji.

We were given window seats but it was so hot, haha! Heat from the grill and heat from the window. Double grilled! The view was overlooking the tracks of the train station. Quite cool.

window seat

Ordered a yakiniku lunch set (S) for ¥1700. It has two prawns and some pieces of beef. For that price, there wasn't any Japanese beef included though. My friend had the Toraji lunch set at ¥2500 and that has Japanese beef.

charcoal grill, yay!

Yakiniku Lunch Set (S)

Was pretty happy with my set. Loved the seaweed soup, the small side salad and the kimchi. So yums. The meat was tasty, well marinated and tender. Lovely and value for money. It doesn't matter if it was not Japanese beef. Still loved it!

close up of the meat

let's get cooking

The meat only needed that quick sear and it was good to eat.

yummy in my tummy

Was surprised that there was dessert included in the meal. All diners got a complimentary ice-cream (like our ice-cream potong) of milk flavour.

ice-cream to end the meal

The service staff was friendly and helpful. The food was good and prices reasonable. Would love to return one day.

Yakiniku Toraji 焼肉トラジ 名古屋セントラルタワーズ店

Location: 〒450-6012　12F JR Central Building, 1-1-4 Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi

Contact: +81 52-589-8989

Reservation: opentable.jp

Business Hours: 

Lunch: 11:00 to 15:00

Dinner: 15:00 to 23:00 (Last order 22:00)

Tetsuemon てつえもん JR Nagoya Station

Funny how I had compiled a list of restaurants with food to eat before the trip and once there, it was all discarded. Yup, decided to be lazy and just eat around the hotel area or the station area.

But I had a clear idea of what to eat. For Nagoya, that would be hitsumabushi, oyakodon and tebasaki. So we did the grilled eel earlier that day, hence for dinner, we went to the basement food street and found a shop that has oyakodon and tebasaki (and drinks..but that's irrelevant).

menu

I wasn't feeling very hungry so shared the chicken wings with friend who was having the set with oyakodon. Imagine my disbelief when he said he hasn't tried any oyakodon before. I mean, how was that even possible!? Hmm, but I guess it is somewhat possible even in food haven like Singapore.

oyakodon

tebasaki

The chicken wings were nice but they were just fried wings. Think we got the wrong Nagoya wings. Hmm.

But anyways, I ordered a Chita highball. Feeling thirsty after visiting Nagoya Castle earlier that day.

Chita Highball with yuzu @ ¥510

And ordered some yakitori to go along with the drinks. Unfortunately, they ran out of hearts. Never mind, liver will do as well.

pork belly skewer

momo and reba

Tetsuemon てつえもん

Location: JR Nagoya Station Nagoya umaimon street, 1-1-4, Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi, 450-0002
Contact: 052-589-1255 (+81-52-589-1255) 
Website: https://tabelog.com/en/aichi/A2301/A230101/23058354/ 
Business Hours: 

11:00～23:00(L.O.22:00)

Lunch, Open on Sundays