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31 Jul 2013

Tonkutsu King Four Seasons - Artificial beauty blossoming


The moment I stepped into Tonkutsu King Four Seasons, I almost went OMG aloud. I was awed and
impressed with the effort involved to furnish the restaurant into so Japanese-like. Artificially beautiful
cherry blossom hanging along the walls, round lanterns, wall paintings as well as the open kitchen concept
made me felt like I was entering a ramen outlet in Japan.

An urge to risk, I ordered the Japanese green tea cola to try as it was a rare beverage
option in Singapore and it was my first time coming across one. Upon reading the label,
I realised that the brand was from Tonkutsu King itself. Fizzy and tasting like an
ordinary can of cola, except that the colour was more towards the darker tone of
olive green.

My friend's bowl of 'Autumn' arrived with colour so vibrant that it reminded me of the
season's departing leaves. The bright warning colour was a mix of spices and meat
cuddled into an orb, slowing diffusing its fieriness across the umami broth. A mouthful
of soup was already too much for me to handle and I was thankful that this bowl was
not my choice! Not to forget, there were free flow of hard boiled egg and marinated
beansprouts (just like Ramen Keisuke Tori King) to bring down the heat. 

My 'Summer' arrived shortly after my friend's 'Autumn' and the colour contrast
reassured me that I would not have to sweat over my meal. Unlike Autumn,
Summer's broth was intensified by a lovely load of mushroomy bits which
emitted an unforgettable earthly taste. I felt like I was eating a high class 'bak chor
mee' (minced meat noodles) with springy and relatively medium-hard noodles. As
for the char shu, it was towards the leaner side with minimal fats, posing a slight
challenge for a lazy person like me to chew. On the whole, I would definitely be
back to try out the other seasons! 

27 Jul 2013

My 1st Bread Showpiece 'Crash Site'


My very first bread showpiece I did in school 2 days ago! The decoration bread
dough, also known as dead dough is definitely not edible. I came out with this
concept of 'Crash Site' only on the spot without prior planning, and the crafting
space was about palm size.

I felt like I was back during my primary school days modelling clay into miniature figurines for art lessons. I
really enjoy art and sculpturing, making the best out of the 2 hours and less given time to complete my
masterpiece. Roof meshing, fallen pillar, collapsed brick wall, debris and a un-detonated missile (I know it
doesn't looked like one).   

Another view of the meshing! It was really tricky to do those netting design due to the crumbly bread
dough and interloping dough of about 4 mm in diameter. 

The recipe that I used:

Baking temperature about 170 degrees, Time about 1/2 hour.

400g Plain Flour
70g   Rye Flour
30g   Potato Starch
30g   Salt
100g Soften Butter

Sugar Syrup:

80g    Water
120g  Sugar

Steps:

1) Mix all the ingredients together
2) Add soften butter
3) Add sugar syrup (not too hot)
4) Mix to form a smooth, firm dough (add more syrup if needed)
5) Let dough rest overnight in chiller

The next day, add some sugar syrup to soften dough, blend well and enjoy making your bread showpiece!


25 Jul 2013

Antoinette Macarons - Round 2


After being quite impressed by the 2 macaron flavors I had tried the first time round, I made up my mind to
be back to try out 2 more of Antoinette's flavors. Personally, I am not really a huge fan of macarons as I
felt that they were getting common, overrated and expensive. Being a sucker for floral related desserts, my
first pick was Violette, which was tainted a pleasant purple! I definitely made a bad move as by the time
I got home, the buttercream was already smudging out like some busted toothpaste. I was quite
disappointed with that piece as both the shell and buttercream taste were so faint and close to flavourless.
The Grand Cru on the other hand was better with its nuttiness that swept through my unprepared palate (it
was supposed to be chocolate), while the dark chocolate ganache was rich, sinful and slightly bitter. I don't
think I could afford such indulgence that often and would not be back anything soon. 

19 Jul 2013

Domino's Pizza launches new menu!


It was my first time attending an OMY Blog Club Event and trying out Domino's pizzas!
I was never a fan of pizzas in the first place, but I decided to taste how good a pizza can
actually be.

I was really nervous at first, seeing all the new faces and not knowing what to expect
from such an event. I settled myself around the middle of the long table and within
minutes, I started chatting with my new friends about topics revolved around blogging.
I realized there were many food bloggers around, all so eager to try out the new
pizzas available at Domino's!

Recognized to be the world leader in pizza delivery (free delievery!), Domino's pizza is getting really
popular due to its extensive menu of 28 specialty pizzas and 6 types of unique sauces! I was going to
salivate any moment just by thinking about the load of new pizzas. Obviously eat hard meant work hard
too, that's why I am posting this detailed post of my experience! The first pizza I tried was the chilli beef! It
was delightful to see small pieces of ground beef scattered around, mildly spicy and shiok!

What attracted me to the Parmagiana Chicken pizza were those wrinkled skin cherry tomatoes that
appeared to look like tarnished rubies over a rocky landscape of olives and chicken. The juices bursting
out from these tomatoes countered the dryness of the cheesy pizza. 

I naturally love the earthy mushrooms which matched really well with those smoky pepperoni. The
landscape looked rather flat but actually the ingredients were well compact under the savory layer of cheese.

The Chickensaurus was quite overflowing with chunks of smoked chicken breast, chicken pepperoni as
well as mushrooms. It would be a rough one if you are not a meat lover as the meatiness sure was
overpowering!

The Smoky Meatilicious was yet another meat lovers ideal choice where ground beef and chicken sausage
laid before you. Minimal slices of greens would not stop you right? 

This was something I did not try as the Napolitana Chicken pizza was too generous with its black olives.
It would be a like it or hate it thing as olives were definitely not fans of bloggers that day. Sadly, this
was the only pizza that was left untouched, except for a slice that went into an unknown person's stomach!   

Last but not least, also a hot favorite among everyone was the the Alfredo Prawn pizza! Thin crust with a
layer of cheesy goodness, onions, red pepper, juicy pineapple and crunchy looking prawns! I took a slice
and left the prawn alone, wondering who would be the lucky one to have an extra prawn (I can't consume
due to shellfish allergy).

The chocolate lava cake which I did not try due to being afraid of acne outbreak. It was
really tempting to watch the other bloggers around me indulging in the gooey sinful
chocolate dessert!

Me enjoying my pizza slice!

Had snacks such as the garlic cheese onion rings, well seasoned roasted drumlets and
the tom yam chicken crunchies with spiciness too unbearable for me.

What bloggers usually do after eating? Camwhore! With gorgeous Janet from Omy,
who sacrificed her hair for a greater cause during the 'Hair for Hope event'. I was
wondering how she would look like with hair.  

Posing with a giant menu! They should actually implement menu of this size so
that the pictures are clearer and easier for many people to read at the same time!  

Me posing with one of the blogger! Hmm, what should we order?

Camwhoring with other pretty ladies...and do not underestimate them as they sure knew the meaning of 
indulgence! 

More shots with a going-to-ord-soon blogger!

Giant pizza anyone?

A shot with one of the pretty organizer of this event!

With another pretty lady whom I thought was a beauty blogger at first! Omg, I randomly took that cheese
dip to pose with. Awkward pose! 


I did not get a chance to know some of the other bloggers due to our seating. Maybe
in future events next time! 

Thank you Omy and Domino's Pizza for the invite!

8 Jul 2013

Marugoto Shokudou Ramen - A place so off the radar


Marugoto Shokudou is located at Ang Mo Kio Central, in an isolated building where
K-box is. Although that location was pretty off the radar for people who are not
frequent amk wanderers, it was surprisingly packed that night. After browsing the
menu for quite some time, my mum decided to try the Katsu Chicken Ramen. I
always start describing the ramen by its broth, and it sure was slightly thick (even
you could tell just by looking at the picture) and had the pleasing umami taste.
(I accepted the fact that it was natural to be slightly salty for ramen broth.) As for
the chunky katsu chicken, the crispiness was certainly there but due to the thickness
of the batter, it was being dragged down. My mum went to the extend of partially
removing some 'crisp' off those cutlets!

As for my Tokyo Shoyu Ramen, the broth definitely tasted the same as my mum's
ramen. I had cravings for fatty pork belly that day and my wish was granted. (I meant
over granted in a way.) I had 2 pieces of really thick and extremely fatty, slightly
chewy pork belly sinking halfway in my broth. The meat to fats proportion was
interestingly about 1 : 3 ! So not good for people on a low-fat diet. Despite being
on the pricey side, the overall bowl of ramen tasted unique on its own. However, I
would need to reconsider before coming back for my second round.