Grow Your Own – Verbena

I am not much of a gardener. In fact I have never been successful at keeping anything alive for more than a year, except for those hearty house plants genetically engineered to take abuses such as long periods of draught when we travel and constant blast of cold air from the A/C vent. I do try to keep a little herb garden though because I use fresh herbs in my cooking so much. My little herb garden sits under the slit of window that opens in my kitchen and usually consists of rosemary, basil, mint, parsley and whatever else I could find at the nursery. None of them ever live very long so I am constantly replacing them, which is probably a good thing because the longer they live, the more sickly they look. So what am I doing here entering the “Grow Your Own” monthly event? Firstly, just because I am not good at growing things doesn’t mean I don’t want to be better. By entering this event I was hoping to get inspired by other people's green thumbs. Secondly, the wonderful rule of the GYO event actually says, “You can use something that was gifted to you, but the giver must have personally grown or raised the item.” And there lies my solution.

Recently a friend of mine dropped off a bag of freshly picked verbena that her friend grew in the garden. Verbena, of all things! I was beyond excited. Next to lavender, verbena might be my second favorite herb, and it’s not easy to come by in Singapore. In fact, I have never seen it sold anywhere, potted or cut.

My first encounter with verbena was through a wonderful shampoo that Loccitane used to make. It has a very fresh lemony scent and makes your scalp feel all tingly and fresh. I fell in love instantly. (I still haven’t forgiven them for changing the formulation to include lemon, resulting in a significant drop in the tingling sensation.) But the first time I had verbena in food was when we were in Provence last summer. They were in everything from salads to soups to desserts. The most memorable was a wonderful verbena ice cream we had at an Alain Ducasse restaurant/country inn called La Bastide des Moustiers, so it was this ice cream that I set out to recreate. I used a recipe that I found on Epicurious and largely followed it. The result was nice, but I found the verbena flavor to be mild. If I ever get my hands on some more verbena (my friend says she’s planning to get a sprig from her friend and plant it herself) I’ll double up on the amount of verbena and try again.

Here’s the unaltered recipe. Feel free to increase the verbena quantity.

1 cup packed fresh lemon verbena sprigs
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar

Bring verbena, milk, cream, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, then remove from heat and let steep, covered, 30 minutes.

Whisk together eggs and sugar until combined, then whisk in verbena mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard thickens slightly and registers 175°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil).

Immediately strain thourough a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Cool custard, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes, then chill, covered, until cold, at least 2 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, about 1 hour.

After making the ice cream, I still had a little bit of verbena left. So I used it in a soup, recipe also from Epicurious. This soup tasted similar to a fish soup that my Vietnamese friend used to make, but she puts tamarind in hers instead of the herb mix in this recipe. I have to admit the flavor of the verbena gets somewhat lost because of the chili and fish sauce, but the flavors do blend beautifully. The way to eat this soup, as my Vietnamese friend has shown me once, is to either pour soup and contents all onto a bowl of white rice, or to pick out the contents only, pile it on white rice and pour chili sauce over it. Try it both ways, and see which way you like better.

So if you happen to have a handful of verbena, not quite enough to make ice cream, then I suggest you give this a try. Or if you don’t have verbena, lemongrass can be used in its place.

1 pineapple (preferably labeled "extra sweet"; about 3 1/2 lb)
About 2 qt water
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (3/4 lb total)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 (1-inch) fresh red Thai chiles, minced, including seeds
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
1/2 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped (2 cups)
1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts (2 oz)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh lemon verbena
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cut peel from pineapple in a thin layer and discard, then trim outer layer of pineapple, cutting just deep enough to remove eyes but allowing pineapple to remain intact, and transfer trimmings to a blender. Quarter pineapple lengthwise and cut out core, then coarsely chop core and transfer to blender. Purée with 2 cups water until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a 2-quart glass measure, pressing hard on solids (discard solids), then add enough water to measure 8 cups pineapple broth.

Cut remaining pineapple into 1/2-inch pieces and put in a bowl.
Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Gently pound chicken 1/4 inch thick with flat side of a meat pounder or with a rolling pin. Cut chicken across the grain into 1/4-inch-wide strips and transfer to a bowl, then chill, covered.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté chiles and 2 tablespoons garlic, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup fish sauce and boil until sauce is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. (Fish sauce will be extremely pungent when first added but will have a mild flavor in soup.) Add pineapple broth and bring to a boil. Stir in pineapple pieces, mushrooms, tomatoes, bean sprouts, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. While soup simmers, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté remaining tablespoon garlic, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add remaining 2 tablespoons fish sauce and simmer until sauce is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and add to garlic mixture, then sauté, stirring, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes.

Stir chicken into soup along with herbs and salt and simmer 1 minute.

Comfort Food - Butano Kakuni

Despite the hot weather (I think our brief “winter” is over now) I find myself suddenly craving for a Japanese dish called butano kakuni （豚の角煮). It’s basically a braised pork dish made with pork belly or any cut of pork with layers of fat and lean meat. It is not sophisticated food but it has to be done the right way with the right flavors in the broth. One of my favorite izakayas in Tokyo serves a very nice version covered in creamy mashed mountain potato. It has such a rich and complex flavor and the pork is so soft it literally melts in your mouth.

Lucky for me, I don’t have to go to my favorite Izakaya in Tokyo to eat this because while in Japan I started collecting recipes of my favorite Japanese food from magazines in preparation for the day that I would leave Japan. Butano kakuni being one of my favorites I have more than a few recipes on hand. After reading through all the recipes, I decided to combine a couple of them and make my own version with a few additions. First I added Japanese radish, or Daikon. When cooked with fish or meat for a long time it absorbs all the juices and flavors and becomes soft in texture. I often find myself eating more of the daikon than the meat itself. One other thing that goes really well with broiled meats is hard boiled eggs. It’s similar to daikon in its flavor absorbing properties and it bulks up the dish nicely.

This recipe takes a long time to make, but except for the initial step of browning the pork, most of it requires minimum supervision. You could get it started after lunch, and potter around the house taking care of other things while the pork stews away on the stove. The best thing is that it could be prepared ahead. In fact it tastes even better the next day or two days later. What’s more, you could chill the dish and skim off the fat the next day before reheating, making it healthier. Some people think that pork belly is too fatty, but surprisingly it is not greasy at all when done. As Jason always says, “The fat is all cooked away!”

Here’s the recipe and as simple food goes, it’s best eaten simply with a bowl of white rice and some steamed green vegetables. How’s that for comfort food that is healthy!

Japanese Braised Pork Belly/Butano Kakuni

2 x 400g pork belly strips
700g Japanese radish
radish leaves, if available
4 hard boiled eggs, with slits cut into them
6cm piece of ginger, sliced, with skin on
1 dried red chili
1 leek, green parts only, do not cut
100ml sake
2 tbsp sugar
100ml Japanese dark soy sauce

1. Peel radish and cut into 2cm thick half-moon shaped slices
2. Cut radish leaves into 4cm long and blanch in boiling water
3. Heat up Teflon coated frying pan over med heat. Place pork belly strips into pan and brown on all sides, wiping off oil with paper towel once in a while.
4. Place radish pieces into pan with pork and stir fry briefly so that radish is covered in oil. Remove radish and set aside.
5. Place pork, ginger, chili and green part of leek into a heavy pan. Add 600ml of water and heat over med-high heat. Once boiled skim off foam and cover with lid.
6. Let simmer for 1 hour, stop the fire and let sit with lid on for another hour
7. Remove pork and sieve stock into a clean bowl. Measure out 300ml and return to cleaned pot, along with sake and sugar.
8. Cut each belly strip into 4 pieces and place into pot.
9. Heat over med-high heat until boils. Then cover and simmer for 10 min
10. Add soy sauce, cover with parchment paper lid (otoshibuta) and then pot lid and simmer for another 50 min. Add radish and hard boiled egg to pot for the last 40 min.
11. Add radish leaves to pot and stir before serving.

This is an entry to the Monthly Mingle Comfort Food. Check out what other comfort food that people are cooking up =o)

Lynn's Cookie Factory

It all started one night when I was surfing the internet and discovered a website selling all kinds of cookie cutters. They were extremely reasonably priced, with most selling below $2. Now, if you ask me I’ll deny it but I think I might have a secret agenda to collect all the kitchen gadgets and pastry tools ever made, so finding this treasure trove really had me over the moons. An hour of blissful shopping later my wallet was $200 lighter. Who knew $1.99 could add up so fast?!

With the impending arrival of cookie cutters in more shapes than I know what to do with, I did some research on cookie decoration. To achieve the sophisticated look I want, there are basically two methods: flooding with royal icing, or covering with rolled fondant. I’m familiar with royal icing, having used it extensively to decorate gingerbread cookies, trees and houses, but I’ve never worked with fondant before. In my first semester at Le Cordon Bleu Tokyo, I managed to injure my wrist, so detailed royal icing work always results in achy joints that hurt for weeks afterwards. What’s more, it’s fun to try a new challenge, and that’s how I found myself doing more internet surfing on fondant tools. Another few hundred dollars later, I had placed an order on a great variety of fondant tools, most of which I’d never seen or heard of before.

By the time the two boxes finally arrived via Vpost USA a month later, I was in the midst of a year-end baking frenzy, which put a damper on my initial fascination over the whole idea of fondant-decorated cookies. I tried my best to organize the cookie cutters into themes but there were just so many of them that I finally gave up and chucked them all back into the original shipping carton that they came in. As for the fondant tools, I had no idea how to use them. I bought a bag of white fondant but let it sit in the drawer unopened, so I still didn’t know what fondant looked or felt like.

Then a friend of mine wanted something different this year for Chinese New Year. Here’s a little bit of background information: during Chinese New Year, people go around visiting friends and relatives and it is tradition (at least in Singapore) to bring the host two oranges. In return, the host gives the visitors two oranges to bring back. Somebody explained it to me once, and I can’t remember for sure, but I think it has something to do with the exchange of luck or prosperity, or both. Anyway, my friend thought that instead of giving out oranges, she could give out orange shaped cookies. She wanted me to think about what I could make, so I thought about it, hard. The challenge is that orange is a boring round shape, but not perfectly round, and I have no cookie cutter for it. Then there’s the problem of texture. Poured royal icing would yield a smooth surface, but for it to really look like an orange, it has to have those little dimples. I was stumped, until I thought of fondant. So this is what I did. I colored the fondant orange and cut them into shape, then I pricked them all over with a marzipan tool to give it texture. Voila!

It was my first time working with fondant, having shunned it in the past due to their less than desirable taste. But I have to admit, I had fun with these cookies. Have you ever played with clay when you were young? Then fondant is for you! It was like play clay, for adults. And being an adult, the result is much more eye-pleasing than the shapeless globs that used to come out from under my fingertips. And I’m happy to report that my friend is very pleased with the results too.

After the success with the orange cookies, I decided to break out the baby cookie cutter set that I ordered and make something really pretty for a friend who’s having a baby girl. I thought she could use them as gift tags as part of her baby’s one-month confection gifts. Aren’t they pretty?

I was even pleasantly surprised by the taste of the cookies. Because I used freshly grated lemon/orange zest, the cookies were fragrant and I rolled the fondant really thin so it was not overwhelmingly sweet. And above all, I had so much fun making these cookies I’m going to go through the cookie cutters and experiment with designs so I can add them to my Cookie Factory. Next up, wedding/engagement themed cookies.

A New Beginning on Flickr

First of all, let me just say that one should never surf the internet while half asleep. Because when you’re almost falling asleep you tend to make decisions without using your brain, which is what happened to me around New Year’s. I was browsing through flickr as a means to put off going to bed, as I tend to do on so many late nights. As always, I checked comments that people left on my photos. At this time of the year there are a lot of Happy Holidays greetings and it’s always nice to get them, even from strangers who just happen to pass by. One message contained a link and when I clicked on it, it took me to another page that required re-entering my password. I thought it was odd that flickr would do that, but being half-asleep I was on autopilot and entered my password as asked. I was then taken to a page with a nice photo of a pretty girl and some flowers. I thought it was rather strange but didn’t think too much of and went to bed.

On Saturday I was still in bed when Jason yelled from the study that he couldn’t find my flickr account. Being half-asleep (I seem to be doing that a lot lately) I dismissed it as a glitch in the system. When I got up I had to take Libby to the vet and proceeded to spend half a day there. It was only after lunch when I tried to log in myself that I found out that my account was gone. Poof! My comments on other people’s photos, my faves, everything was gone. It was as if I never existed on flickr, except the groups that I created were still there, only that the admin is now a faceless icon instead of me. It was at that moment that I realized that I had been phished. I wrote to flickr help but it seems pretty clear that they cannot restore the thousands of photos and tens of thousands of comments that are linked with my account (those that I made on other people’s photos and those that other people made on mine).

On Sunday, I started to get emails asking me what happened to my account. Some are from friends and some are from people I didn’t know or remember. While it’s comforting to know that I am actually missed on flickr, it also made me realize that losing that account means losing touch with friends I’ve made on flickr.

I’ve been with flickr from almost the very beginning. When I first joined I had just started taking photos again after quitting my job, using a dinky little Sony T-1, yes, the first generation super-slim Sony mini cameras. I found inspirations on flickr everyday, and saw myself striving to do better. Gradually, I improved. Three years and three cameras later, my photos are regularly seen on Flickr Explore (the most interesting 500 photos selected everyday) and have even made it to the top ten on more than a few occasions. My photos were published in the Wall Street Journal thanks to flickr; I was commissioned to take photos for Le Gouter Bernadaud (a lot of photos on this website are taken by me) because of photos on my flickr site; and last year, I photographed a cookbook. I still find inspirations from people who I count as contacts: MatthewA, Imapix, speedM, bokchoyboy, La Tartine Gourmand, rosemary*, Ya Ya, Lulu & Phillipe, Tommy Oshima, pfong, just to name a few. I also value the comments and critique that people leave on my photos. To say that I feel that a little part of my life is gone when my flickr account was deleted is to put it mildly. The only saving grace is that I have double, triple backups of every file I’ve ever uploaded on flickr so the photos are not lost.

I don’t know whether I will or even want to attempt to rebuild my account because it was more than just a couple of photo sets, it documented part of my life for the past three years. I thought about not returning, but giving up on flickr also means giving up on all the wonderful people on flickr. Above all, the emails that people sent me saying they’ll miss my photos and a friend’s wise words made me decide to return:

“And remember, never get angry or else the person who did this will be even happier..never punish yourself with others mistakes..

At one point of time in life we have to go through such bad experience, stay cool and move on if nothing can be done..

Stay happy and bake some good cookies and a cuppa of great coffee on your weekend;O)”

So to the person who did this: deleting other peoples’ accounts doesn’t make you a hero or a smart guy. You will not get any satisfaction from me because I will come back and my photos will be even better.

And to the one who made the callous remark that I somehow deserved this: when I said have a nice life, I mean it. Stop stalking me!

Christmas is Here (almost)

Singapore is a great place to live: clean air, safe environment, convenient location for traveling in South East Asia and all the modern amenities you can think of. However, living in a tropical country where seasons blend into perpetual summer has its drawbacks. For one, you are always in shorts and T-shirts and the only way to wear your hair is up. The simple act of pulling on a pair of jeans turns into a major task of plotting out a route to ensure that you are never outside of air-conditioned buildings for more than 30 seconds at a time. Perhaps most disconcerting, however, is that you lose all sense of time. No more cherry blossoms in the spring, or changing foliages in the fall, and certainly no snow in the winter.

This past weekend, however, I stepped outside at 7am to let my dogs out and found myself home 15 minutes later without being covered in sweat. Later, when I walked them to the botanic garden I felt a definite chill when a gust of wind stirred up some fallen leaves on the ground. Could it BE? But yes! Winter is definitely upon us. This miniscule change in temperature somehow gets me in the mood for the holiday season like you wouldn’t believe. As if to help things along, everywhere I look there are huge snowflakes hanging off trees, Christmas lights strung across the streets, and 20-ft fake Christmas trees in every shopping center. Some department stores are even blasting Christmas carols! Yes, we are in the tropics, but damn it if we don’t try our best to make it feel like Christmas. And that is how I found myself making a 10” tall gingerbread Christmas tree a whole two months early.

The tedious part for this tree was cutting out the eleven snowflake shaped templates in decreasing sizes. The real challenge, however, was rolling out the dough, cutting the snowflakes with the help of the template, and transferring them to the baking sheet without distorting the shapes. All in all, there were 22 layers of snowflakes and I was cursing myself for embarking on such a stupid project right around layer ten. Once the cookies are baked though, the decorating part was easy, and a whole lot faster than a gingerbread house like this one. I think I just found the solution to an edible holiday centerpiece.

While I was on a roll, I decided to use the remaining dough to make gingerbread cookies and test some decorating ideas for the upcoming Christmas baking class at Palate Sensations on December 16th. Since it’s a hands-on class, I wanted to keep the decorations simple so that even people with minimal cookie decorating experience can go home with some beautiful cookies. At the same time they will learn useful tips and techniques so they can experiment and come up with more elaborate designs on their own. Without further ado, this is what I came up with, using white royal icing only, with the occasional help of a little sprinkles.













In the same class I will also be teaching miniature mince pies. Aren’t they just adorable? For class sign-ups, contact Palate Sensations.

The Best of Tokyo, According to Lynn

Having lived in Tokyo for almost six years, I get approached a lot by friends and cyber-acquaintances for recommendations on sights to see and places to eat when they visit Japan. While I am by no means an expert on either subject, I do have a list of favorites. After typing out more or less the same responses at least half a dozen times in the past year, I finally got smart and decided to write it down in my blog so that the next time I’m asked I could easily attach a link instead of digging up all the information from the depth of my drawer and computer files all over again. So here it goes, in no particular order and highly subjective:

Asakusa:
You will see kaminarimon when you get out of the Asakusa subway station. It is the gateway with the giant red lantern that’s on all the tourist information brochures and post cards. Walk through it to find yourself in a little covered street lined with souvenir stores selling everything from snacks to key chains to doggie outfits. Most of them are quite cheesy but there are a few gems tucked in between, such as the store selling antique hair ornaments and combs and a paper store with endless varieties of Japanese paper. At the end of this street, just before you reach the Kanon temple, you will probably see some people waiting in line on the right side of the street. This is a must-stop for me every time I go to Asakusa, a little store selling Age-manjus, which are little deep fried buns with different fillings. My favorites are sesame and pumpkins.

Take a stroll in the kanon temple after your snack of Age-manju. Work up an appetite by seeing how ravenous the pigeons are, and find your way back up the market street. On one of the side streets on your right is a famous tempura restaurant. I can’t remember which street it is, but a fail-proof way to find it is to take a short walk down any street and look for a line of people waiting outside. I’ve personally never tried it because I haven’t had much luck with that place, but if you must eat lunch in Asakusa I suggest you eat there. Otherwise you’re likely to end up in one of the many many tourist trap restaurants in the area and be hugely disappointed. After lunch you can walk across the red bridge and take a look at infamous “golden turd” perched on top of the Asahi building.

Kappabashi:
If you have even the slightest interest in cooking or kitchen appliances, you must not skip this stop. It is on the Tawaramachi stop on Ginza line, within walking distance to Asakusa. Most shops are closed on Sundays and Public holidays and are crowded on Saturdays so the best time to go is on a weekday, during the day. I can go on and on about the things you will find on this street, but suffice to say, if it has anything to do with food, you’ll find it here. For dessert enthusiasts who don’t have a lot of time to check out all the stores, go straight to Okashinomori (it’s on the second floor with a small street entrance). You’ll find most of everything here, although prices tend to be slightly higher.

Meiji Jingu aka Meiji Shrine
Subway station Jingumae on Chiyoda subway line or Harajuku on the JR Yamanote line.
Right smack in the middle of lively Harajuku, yet as soon as you step through the first gigantic torii only tranquility and utter peacefulness awaits you.

Place a 100yen coin in a slot and shake out a stick from a metal can. Find the drawer with the corresponding number on the stick and get your fortune (it’s in English too). If it’s good fortune, keep it with you so it can come true. If you don’t like it, tie it on a tree branch so it can be taken away with the wind. Or purchase a wooden plaque and write your wish on it, then tie it to the designated racks where thousands of others have done the same.

If you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of the Crown Prince or the Prime Minister at the shrine or a wedding procession all decked out in traditional kimonos, led by a priest under a big red umbrella.

Wear appropriate shoes because you’ll be walking on tiny pebbles the entire way in, no short cuts.

Harajuku – Omotesando
After visiting the shrine, take a left and walk towards Harajuku station. Walk past the first station entrance and at the next, smaller entrance cross the street at the traffic light. You are now at the entrance of Takeshita-dori, home to the mega 100yen shop and cos-play costume stores. Walk down this street and you’ll come out on Meiji-dori. Take a right and walk to the intersection marked by La Foret on your right and Gap on your left. Here you can eigher continue on Meiji-dori to go to Shibuya, or take a left and walk down Omotesando-dori, dubbed the Champs-Élysées of Tokyo, it is home to luxury brand boutiques and the super chic Omotesando Hills. You'll also love the unique architecture of some of the flagship stores. My favorite is the bubble-like Prada store on the other side of Aoyama-dori, the Japan Nurses Association HQ, which houses Burberry, and Dior, whose silvery curtain can change color.

If you get hungry while on Omotesando, there are a few places to grab a quick bite:
Jangara Ramen, 1-13-21 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
Get the “all-in” (zenbu iri) or, if you don’t like mentaiko, ask for mentaiko-nuki. The ramen is Kyushu styled, with a very rich broth. Best to avoid in summer.

Harajuku Gyoza, Jingumae 6-2-4, Shibuya-ku, behind Kiddie Land toy store
They have four types of dumplings: boiled with chive, boiled without chive, fried with chive, fried without chive. Get one of each, it’s very cheap. The chili dipping oil in jars placed on the table is not to be missed. I also like to order their cucumber salad with a very nice peanut dressing.

Azabu Juban – Roppongi Hills
Take exit 5a (Shin-Ichinobashi intersection) of Azabujuban station on the Oedo line, turn left and walk towards Roppongi Hills, turn left again at Jomo gas station. On the left side of the street is a little store called Naniwaya selling nothing but taiyaki. Unlike other taiyaki’s spongy shell, theirs is crispy and thin. They only have one type of filling too: red bean paste. On most days you’ll have to wait for at least 20 minutes but if you are lucky and go on a rainy day you may not have to wait. It’s best to eat it right there on the stop when the skin is still crunchy and the filling piping hot.

Continue walking down the street and you will hit Azabu Juban’s main street. Turn right and shortly afterwards you’ll see a store on a street corner selling mostly snacks made of peanuts. The store is called Mamegen. My favorites are the umeshiso and green tea covered peanuts.

Follow the main street to the end to find yourself at TV Asahi’s new modern headquarter. Check out the Mori garden and explore Roppongi Hills. Don’t miss the spider sculpture and the observation deck in Mori Tower.

Restaurants:
The restaurant that we visited the most was probably Teyandei, our neighborhood Izakaya. We’d show up on a Sunday night with no reservation and it would be ok. Weekdays are little more tricky so it’s best to call ahead. Our favorite dishes there are chirimen cabbage salad with jakko (ask the manager to make it for you if it’s not on the menu); unagi tamago atsuyaki; deep fried yamaimo (mountain yam); gomadofu (sesame tofu); buta-no-kakuni (braised pork); and ochatsuke (rice with dashi poured on top).

One word of warning, the restaurant’s entrance is not very conspicuous. From the outside it looks like someone’s house and the sign is a wooden board no bigger than a name card nailed to the wall. Walk upstairs, however, you’ll see an unmarked wooden door. This is the entrance to Teyandei.

While in Roppongi Hills area, there are two nice restaurants in the neighborhood:
L’Atelier de Joel Robouchon (5772-7500) and Aburiya Fudo Azabu-Juban 1-8-6 (3568-6224). It goes without saying that Robouchon needs no further intro, and the food is excellent. However, they only take reservation for the 6:30pm seating and the place only has counter seats. Aburiya Fudo is an Izakaya type of restaurant specializing in slow grilled food. From the freshest of mountain vegetables to the fattiest cut of meat, they do everything perfectly.

Daiwa Sushi in Tsukiji fish market is worth a visit if you don’t mind waiting. (there is ALWAYS a line) You can get up early, catch the tuna auction and head over to Daiwa before 6:30am or some sushi breakfast. The Omakase set contains the freshest catch and varies from day to day. We always order that plus a few pieces of uni and ootoro to finish. Hurry up and go before the entire Tsukiji market is torn down and moved to its new locations.
Tsukiji Market Central Building 65-2-1

If you are in the mood for some fine dining while in Tokyo, Sens & Seveurs atop the Marunochi Building will never disappoint. The food is always fantastic, the staff always attentive and the view is amazing too.

Patisseries
My favorite subject. First, let me just say that if you go to the basement of Mitsukoshi or Isetan or any major department store you will be spoiled for choices and most of them are really good. But if that’s not enough to satisfy your very discerning taste buds, I have the following recommendations. They are, in my opinion, crème de lacrème. I hope you enjoy them too.

Idemi
3-6-17 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku 3538-6780
Get there early (before 9:30am) to avoid disappointment, as most items will be sold out by lunch hour. Many cakes cannot be taken out of the shop so be prepared to eat everything there.

Patisserie Paris S’eveille
2-14-5 Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 5731- 3230

Sadaharu Aoki
3-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Shin-Kokusai Bldg 1F 5293-2800

La Maison du Chocolat, next door to Sadaharu Aoki, so you might as well. Their chocolate tart is very good.

Patissier Chocolatier Frederic Scailteur
1-11-10 Azabudai, Minato-Ku

Pierre Hermé
La Porte Aoyama (5-51-3 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku) next to the UN building.

My “To-Visit” list:
Mont St. Clair
2-22-4 Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo

Toshi Yoroizuka
Midtown, Tokyo

Halloween Bakes

Without a question, my favorite holiday is Christmas. Even though it’s becoming more and more over-commercialized, I still enjoy seeing all the Christmas decorations and hearing the carols, not to mention the sweet aroma of gingerbread cookies baking in the oven.

My second favorite holiday, also without a question, is Halloween. It is probably not a coincidence that it happens in the peak of autumn when all the leaves are the deepest shade of gold and the air is crisp with just the hint of the approaching winter. The fact that autumn is the season of harvest with no shortage of ciders, caramel apples, chestnuts and pumpkins among other yummy things, also does not hurt. The most fun part of Halloween, of course, is trick or treat. You never really outgrow it. Mind you, I’m not saying I want to dress up in silly costumes and go knocking on doors for candy, but buying candies and waiting anxiously by the door to see what/who turns up shouting “Trick or Treat” is something I never get tired of. Outside of the US, trick or treat is rare. While we were in Tokyo, the Americans in our neighborhood organized trick or treat for kids. Knowing exactly whose kids will turn up at your doorstep takes a little bit of fun out of it, but I still looked forward to seeing the kids in cute costumes. And if you know me, you’d know I must really love Halloween to want to see kids at my door!

This year, I decided to celebrate and introduce Halloween to Singaporeans by holding a Halloween baking class on Oct 14th from 11am to 2pm at Palate Sensations. We’ll be making chocolate spider web cupcakes and witch’s broomstick cookies. The cupcakes are soft and fluffy, topped with a chocolate sauce. It is NOT overly sweet but full of chocolate flavors. Although Jason teased me that the cookies don’t really look like broomsticks, I think they’re cute. They also taste great too, not to mention tons of fun to make. It was nice to let the kid inside me out to create something less perfect and more fun, instead of my usual elaborate cakes.

Long overdue

Yes, I know it’s been a VERY LONG time since my last post. Long story short, the minute I came back to Singapore from Provence I was swamped with work, both pastry and a big photo assignment, leaving me with little time to sleep, let alone blogging. I did manage to sift through the thousands of photos I took in Provence and sent them off to friends and family, but even that took almost a month to do, which misled some people into thinking that I was in Provence for a month! Ha! Don’t I wish.

Anyway, what brought me out of blogging hibernation is the strong desire to share with everyone the single most awe-inspiring experience out of my entire Provence trip. That one thing that inspired me. Ladies and gentlemen. (drum rolls) Is. Lavender.

Granted, I’ve always been a huge fan of lavenders. My body lotion and handwash are both lavender scented. I have sachets of lavender in my sock drawers. I have bought up just about every lavender product that Loccitane carries, including a linen water that I never use. To sum it up, as long as it’s lavender and purple, I want it. However, self-proclaimed lavender fan that I was, I was not prepared for the lavenders that I would encounter in Provence. Everywhere you turn, there are giant fuzzy purple balls greeting you. A single lavender stalk is pretty enough to look at but an entire field of rows upon rows of purple poof balls were simply mesmerizing. Not to mention they smelled heavenly too. I was falling in love with lavender all over again. I simply had to take a photo of every lavender field we encountered and went to villages for the sole reason of lavender viewing. No matter how many times I saw the same farm-house-in-the-middle-of-lavender-field view, I just would not get tired of it.

During our two-week stay in Provence we cooked more than half of the food that we ate. Our friends were in charge of food, since they are French and know more about French food, and I was in charge of desserts. Given the constraints of equipment in the kitchen, I mostly made tarts: strawberry, apple, apricot, cheese, cherry, etc. One night though, I made lavender ice cream, without an ice cream machine. Out of all the desserts I made in the little house in Murs, that ice cream was, in my mind, the one thing that summed up the essence of Provencal life the best. Granted, I used local fruits for all the tarts but I went into the garden and picked out the plumpest lavender blossom for the ice cream myself. Somehow that act of touching the blossoms and inhaling the fragrance amongst the bees busy collecting nectar made me feel like somewhat like a provencal farmer. Then there’s the hand churning of ice cream, which is the ultimate testament of my infatuation with lavender. I stayed up until midnight taking the custard out of the freezer every 15 minutes or so to give it a stir, at first with a wooden spoon and later on with a hand-held blender on low speed. We didn’t get to eat the ice cream until the next day but it was worth the wait. The freshly harvested flowers gave the ice cream a strong but not overwhelming lavender flavor that was so refreshing and intoxicating at the same time. All that churning made an old wrist injury flare up but there was no doubt in my mind that it was absolutely a necessary sacrifice.

Without further delay, here’s the recipe for the ice cream:


250ml milk
250ml cream
generous handful of lavender flower, plus extra for sprinkling
6 egg yolks
90g caster sugar