Challenge Pull Out - Sep/Oct 2013

! g d n i o t o F Hun

LET’S GO

LAKSA

SEP/OCT 2013

the challenge pullout The Foodie Issue

COFFEE

20 KNOW YOUR CUPPA Never fret over how to order your cuppa again. foodie

22 IT’S IN THE MICHELIN STARS Get the low-down on the Michelin Guide.

24 WHAT GOES INTO YOUR CHICKEN RICE

SUSHI

Find out what makes this famous dish so delectable.

26 FAMOUS FOODIES World leaders and their favourite dishes.

Research & writing by Dai J. Y. Edited by Bridgette See Design & Illustration by Ryan Ong

8 pages to help you

Mbe a makan guru!

Is Singapore in the throes of a culinary renaissance? Our little red dot is humming with new eateries, simmering with new cuisines (from Peruvian to Russian) and sweetened by the rise of promising chefs and restaurateurs. Our hawker heroes even beat renowned chef Gordon Ramsay 2-1 in a cook-off.

Uni grads setting up a patisserie or coffee house? Just as cool these days as becoming a hot-shot banker. We’ve put together a guide to help you navigate this brave new food landscape. Time to transform into a makan guru!

KNOW YOUR CUPPA From coffee to kopi, you will never fret over how to order again!

COFFEE

KOPI sugar sugar

water

coffee

coffee

KOPI-O KOSONG

KOPI-O

KOPI-O GAU

sugar sugar

sugar sugar

sugar

condensed milk

condensed milk

water

water

coffee

coffee

KOPI

KOPI SIEW DAI

foamed milk espresso

espresso

ESPRESSO

AMERICANO

MACCHIATO

foamed milk

foamed milk steamed milk espresso

CAPPUCCINO

water

water

hot water espresso

sugar sugar

steamed milk

steamed milk

water

espresso

espresso

coffee

FLAT WHITE

CAFE LATTE

KOPI-O PO

coffee

sugar sugar vanilla ice cream

evaporated milk

evaporated milk

water

water

espresso

espresso

coffee

coffee

MOCHA

AFFOGATO AL CAFFE

KOPI-C

KOPI-C KOSONG

chocolate steamed milk

MOST BUTCHERED FOOD WORDS

FOIL, FIE, FWAH, WHAT?

Start off by saying it right or risk losing your foodie cred.

FOOD ON THE GO

Espresso

Pho

Paella

Foie Gras

Ragout

“ESPRESSOH”

“FUH”

“PIEEHYAH”

“FWAH GRAH”

“RAHGOO”

Not EX-presso.

These Vietnamese rice noodles are not your “foe”.

In Spanish, the double letter is pronounced as “yah” and not “la”.

Raise your hands if you’ve been saying “foil grass” all this while.

No, it’s not made of rags; it’s a wellseasoned stew of meat, vegetables or fish.

Remember those food trucks that used to sell sandwiches, curry puffs or nasi lemak? There’s now a new generation of mobile kitchens popping up in Singapore, but they serve dishes that you might expect to find in a bistro or restaurant. The Travelling C.O.W. cooks up mini crab cakes with wasabi mayo and beef bourguignon, while Kerbside Gourmet champions healthy dishes that use local produce, such as sous vide duck breast and cold Japanese pasta with mentaiko. We’re likely to see more of these trucks: it was reported this year that the NEA will call for a tender for mobile food operators at various parks. Follow these food trucks on their Facebook pages.

Kerbside Gourmet: www.facebook.com/kerbsidegourmet The Travellling Cow: www.facebook.com/thetravellingcow

Kerbside Gourmet Sous vide: a French technique of cooking vacuum-sealed food immersed in a water bath, at very precise temperatures.

re To uri sm Bo ard of the Sin ga po Ph oto cou rte sy

WHAT WAS THE FIRST...

Food market?

The former Telok Ayer Market, now known as Lau Pa Sat (old market). Its cast iron frame was built in the 1880s, but even before that, the site was home to a humble timber and attap fish market that dated back to the 1820s.

Hawker centre?

Yung Sheng Food Centre, which was built in 1971 to rehouse street food vendors. It was later merged with two other centres to become Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre.

Privately run hawker centre?

Kampung@Simpang Bedok which opened this February. It aims to recreate the “kampong spirit” of neighbourliness – hawker-tenants reportedly look out for each other by taking turns to babysit each others’ kids, taking orders and clearing dishes.

RECOMMENDED Breakfast Kick-off Good Morning Nanyang Cafe (20 Upper Pickering Street) for its modern spin on kaya toast. Instead of white bread, they use toasted orange ciabatta for a refreshing citrus twist. The cafe was even featured in TIME magazine this March.

COME MAKAN SOME STREET FOOD WITH US This year, Makansutra founder K. F. Seetoh launched the world’s first street food festival in Singapore that gathered 37 street food vendors from 10 countries. While the festival drew 80,000 people – just half the organiser’s target – and suffered losses, hawkers benefitted from the exposure and some even received business propositions. Mr Seetoh himself was approached by government bodies hoping to work together to promote street food. Here’s hoping the festival gains more traction next year!

COCK AND BULL STORIES? Decide for yourself! The fascinating back stories of famous cocktails.

– SCREWDRIVER –

– BELLINI –

– MAI TAI –

The Screwdriver is believed to have got its name from the time when American petroleum engineers in Saudi Arabia secretly added vodka to their canned orange juice and stirred the mixture with screwdrivers.

Bellinis were christened after the drink’s peach hue reminded its inventor of the colour of a toga he’d seen in an artwork by Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini.

Word has it that San Francisco restaurateur Victor J. Bergeron invented the drink for some Tahitian friends, one of whom exclaimed “Maita’i roa ae!” which means “Very good!” in Tahitian.

IT’S IN THE MICHELIN STARS...

If you’re the sort who plans holidays around cuisine, pen these gourmet cities into your little black book – they’ve earned the gold standard of having the most Michelin-starred restaurants.

HONG KONG

LONDON

PARIS

KYOTO

TOKYO

STAR TALLY

STAR TALLY

STAR TALLY

STAR TALLY

STAR TALLY

4 13 44

2 7 46

10 17 50

5 24 72

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT Lung King Heen. The dim sum restaurant in Four Seasons Hotel was the first Chinese restaurant in the world to earn three Michelin stars in 2008.

Currently, it’s still the only three-star Chinese establishment in Hong Kong.

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT Pollen Street Social. A young upstart in London’s food scene, it earned its first Michelin star just six months after opening and was named Best New UK Restaurant by the Good Food Guide 2012.

Its founding chef, Jason Atherton, also opened a Singapore restaurant, Pollen, at Gardens by the Bay last year.

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT Ze Kitchen Galerie. This one-star restaurant has been serving up FrenchAsian fusion cuisine for 10 years now. It is easily one of the most affordable Michelin-starred restaurants with its lunch menu, inclusive of drinks, priced at €27 (S$45).

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT Three-starred kaiseki restaurant Kikunoi Honten ups the ante when it comes to service. Diners are greeted by kimonoclad staff and ushered into private tatami dining rooms where you won’t be disturbed by other patrons for the whole night.

16 52 179 RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT Sushi Saito. You wouldn’t guess that this humble sushi bar has three Michelin stars – it’s a small seven-seater located within a car park and the atmosphere is warm and homely.

HOW THE MICHELIN GUIDE WAS BORN

SHOULD SINGAPORE GET ITS OWN MICHELIN GUIDE?

The Michelin Guide was first published in 1900 in France by the Michelin brothers who made tyres and other car products. They wanted a listing of petrol stations, mechanics and hotels that would encourage motorists to tour the country more extensively – and in the process, boost demand for Michelin products. In 1926, the first stars were awarded to restaurants and by 1931, a system of awarding one, two or three stars was developed and continues to be used today. The Guide is available in 14 editions, covering 23 countries and sold in 90 countries. Japan became the first Asian country to get a Guide in 2007.

YES The local culinary scene is booming; there’s talent, both homegrown and imported. Mr Jean Luc Naret, director of the guide book, has even commended Singapore for being “an interesting gastronomic destination in Asia".

MAYBE NOT

Restaurants that get Michelin stars are under pressure to maintain their stars, battle overexposure and must manage higher, sometimes unreasonable, expectations.

Celebrity chef Skye Gyngell closed her London restaurant in 2012, saying its Michelin star was a “curse”. “Since we got the star we’ve been crammed every single day... and we’ve had lots more complaints.” Customers came expecting fine dining service which was at odds with her garden cafe’s informal vibe.

MUST-KNOW LOCAL CHEFS These Singaporean chef-entrepreneurs struck gold with their F&B ventures and are putting homegrown food on the world map.

HOW TO GET A MICHELIN STAR First, you have to be located in a city or country that has its own Michelin Guide. Full-time food inspectors are drawn from the catering business and may have been former chefs. They visit restaurants anonymously and the number of visits a year depends on how highly ranked a candidate is.

Star candidates get at least four visits and two-star restaurants receive 10 visits before they are bumped up to a three-star rank. In an average year, an inspector clocks 28,968 km and eats at 240 restaurants.

MALCOLM LEE

JUSTIN QUEK

Specialty: Peranakan cuisine Founded: Candlenut Kitchen Claim to fame: After graduating top of his cohort at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, this young chef (he’s only 28) turned down dozens of job offers and took the brave leap of setting up his own Peranakan restaurant.

Specialty: French cuisine Founded: Sky on 57 Claim to fame: He’s known as Singapore’s “prodigal chef” for his nomadic tendencies: a former seaman, he spent $40,000 to hone his cooking skills in France; he co-founded Les Amis, before leaving Singapore again to open a string of restaurants around Asia.

JANICE WONG

PANG KOK KEONG

Specialty: Desserts Founded: 2am:dessertbar Claim to fame: One of the few high-profile female chefs in Singapore, she up-ended the dining scene with her avant-garde “deconstructed” desserts and popularised the concept of wine-dessert pairings.

Specialty: Pastry Founded: Antoinette Claim to fame: He lays claim to Canele, the homegrown brand he conceptualised back when he was the executive pastry chef at the Les Amis group between 2004 and 2010.

RECOMMENDED

HOW TO PRAISE WINE LIKE A PRO Just use these three words.

Lunch Spot Besides its tasty Indian vegetarian buffet, non-profit eatery Annalakshmi (104 Amoy Street) is known for its “pay-what-youwant” concept. You pay what you think is reasonable. The place is staffed by volunteers and their proceeds go toward charity.

“Full-bodied” Refers to robust red wines that seem to coat your mouth and feel dense and “heavy”.

Hint: they’ll usually be darker in colour and have a higher alcohol content. In contrast, light-bodied wines will feel thinner and taste “watery.”

“Round” To compliment wines that have a smooth, mellow flavour – usually mature wines or young wines that have low acidity and soft tannins. It’s the opposite of “sharp” or “angular” wines which are high in acidity, making them taste tart and sour – undesirable traits.

“Long finish” A good wine should leave a lingering aftertaste in your mouth. A great wine will have a finish that lasts 30 seconds to several minutes.

WHAT GOES INTO YOUR CHICKEN RICE It’s simple but don’t think there are short cuts.

This hawker centre staple is a labour of love.

1 THE CHICKEN The whole chicken is boiled with spring onions and ginger, before being quickly soaked in cold water to stop the cooking process and to leave the meat tender.

2

– TIPS FROM –

THE RICE To get it moist and flavourful, the rice is fried with chicken fat, garlic and ginger, with a splash of chicken broth.

CHEF WILLIN Psst! The restaurateur-chef of Wild Rocket tells us that he gets the best produce from Tekka Centre in Little India.

For meats “Go to Joe’s Butchery at Tekka wet market (#01-11). The owner, David Johari, is a certified butcher and used to… [work at] Cold Storage. His meats are from Australia and New Zealand and he even makes his own sausages.”

For vegetables and herbs “Head over to Chia's Vegetable Supplies, also at Tekka wet market (#01-129). The owner Victor Chia sells everything from Australian wild rocket to Malaysian kaffir lime leaves, Middle Eastern figs and Thai lemongrass.”

ABOUT CHEF WILLIN LOW Specialty: “Mod Sin” cuisine; Singaporean food with a contemporary twist.

Founded: Wild Rocket and Relish

3 THE CHILLI SAUCE A blend of red chilli, garlic and ginger, getting these ingredients in the right proportion can make or break the dish. Best results come if you grind the ingredients using mortar and pestle.

COMMUNAL #01-01, 12 North Canal Road

HOW TO GET HAUTE EATS FOR LESS IN SINGAPORE Look for former chefs who have set up their own eateries – same skills, friendlier price tags.

Ryan Jette, who used to be executive sous chef at The Sentosa Resort and Spa, left to start modern American diner Communal early this year. It serves Southern-style comfort food. Try the Lobster Mac & Cheese and the Southern Fried Chicken.

DRIPS BAKERY CAFÉ #01-05, 82 Tiong Poh Rd

Former Shangri-La pastry chef Alfred Chan is now wooing tart lovers with his mouth-watering pastries at Drips Bakery Café.

RECOMMENDED Dinner Spot Shanghai Ren Jia (#01-3046, 151 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5), a down-to-earth Shanghainese restaurant which serves no-frills food – but man, it’s good. The xiao long baos are the star, filled with a rich, flavourful soup, and the chef will insist you eat them “pure”, without vinegar or other condiments.

FOO HOUSE 6 Jalan Pari Burong

Robert Foo, the former executive sous chef at Grand Hyatt Hotel Singapore, now helms Foo House, a Western-Hainanese gastropub that serves up affordable eats like Hainanese pork chop and salmon steak.

1

KNOW YOUR RAMEN

4. 博多ラーメン

How is it possible that this simple noodle soup dish comes in so many variations? We walk you through the most common ramen types by region.

HAKATA RAMEN

2

The broth A rich tonkatsu (pork bone) soup.

The noodles Thin, straight and white

1. 札幌ラーメン

2. 函館ラーメン

3. 東京ラーメン

SAPPORO RAMEN

HAKODATE RAMEN

TOKYO RAMEN

The broth A rich miso soup topped with sweet corn and a slab of butter. May include seafood like scallops and squid.

The broth Clear shio (salt-based) soup, made from chicken, pork bone, vegetables and seaweed.

The broth A shoyu (soy sauce) flavoured soup with dashi (a savoury Japanese stock).

The noodles Wide and curly

The noodles Medium thin, straight noodles

Try it Sapporo Ramen Miharu, The Gallery Hotel

Try it Tampopo, #01-23/24, Liang Court Shopping Centre

Try it Ippudo, #04-02/03/04 Mandarin Gallery

5. 熊本ラーメン

The noodles Curly egg noodles

KUMAMOTO RAMEN

Try it Daikokuya, #B1-47, Paragon Shopping Centre

The broth A light chicken-flavoured stock. Cooked garlic features heavily in the form of either garlic chips or garlic oil.

The noodles Straight noodles with spaghetti-like thickness Try it Nantsuttei, #03-02, PARCO Marina Bay, Millenia Walk

3

6. 鹿児島ラーメン

KAGOSHIMA RAMEN The broth A tonkatsu soup, which may be made of Kagoshima kurobuta (black pork). It also contains chicken broth and vegetables making it less oily than the Hakata style.

4

5

The noodles Of medium thickness

6

Try it Menya Sanji, #01-14 Orchid Hotel

Source: www.rameniac.com

Good!

CROWD CRITICS

These food forums let fellow gourmands post reviews. We give the low-down on which is best.

Yelp.com.sg

Hungrygowhere.com

Find.burpple.com

TIPS

This listings and review site targets well-educated yuppies. Do note it tends to be popular among foreign reviewers so “touristy” eating places (think Maxwell Food Centre) are prominent.

Lets you filter out places by neighbourhood, cuisine and restaurant type. You can even make online reservations for selected listings.

Burpple Find has the cleanest interface.The homepage has a simple search box where you key in terms like “cafe in Tiong Bahru.” Downside: sometimes it brings up results that aren’t related to your search.

For professional reviews, check out...

THE MIELE GUIDE An annual guide featuring the top 20 restaurants in Asia, along with the five best-ranked establishments in individual countries.

THE MAKANSUTRA SINGAPORE GUIDE This guide focuses on street food. There are also editions for Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Beijing, among others.

Bad!

FAMOUS FOODIES

Match these world leaders to some of their favourite dishes.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

MARGARET THATCHER

BILL CLINTON

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

MAO ZEDONG

UNUSUAL DESSERTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD – SALTY LIQUORICE – Also known as salmiakki, it’s found across Finland and is an acquired taste of salt, black liquorice and ammonia.

– SALSAGHETI – These watermelon-flavoured candy straws from Mexico come with a tamarind salsa sauce – a bizarre sweet and spicy combination.

1

Hong Shao Rou: “red braised pork” is a classic pork dish from China.

2

Chicken Marengo: a chicken dish with garlic, tomatoes, eggs and crayfish.

3

Jam sandwiches and Special K cornflakes

4

Grilled Dover sole: Sole fish typically cooked with butter, lemon and parsley.

5

Chicken Enchiladas: tortillas stuffed with chicken and served with Mexican chili sauce.

– SALZBURGER NOCKERL – The most unusual souffle we’ve seen; this Austrian dessert resembles a row of tiny hills. It’s believed to have been inspired by the country’s undulating landscape.

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte - 2 • Margaret Thatcher - 4 • Bill Clinton - 5 • Queen Elizabeth II - 3

$3.80

WHY MACARONS ARE WORTH IT

Yes, some can cost nearly $4 each but before you cry daylight robbery and think about making your own, consider these factors first.

RECOMMENDED Sweet Snacks Rich & Good Cake Shop (24 Kandahar Street) is one of the Kampong Glam area’s best kept secrets. This old-school local bakery comes in a quaint shophouse setting and specialises in Swiss rolls. They come in many flavours including kaya, strawberry and coffee, but our pick goes to the creamy durianflavoured ones.

Macarons are hard to make Especially the shells. The ratio of ingredients (sugar, egg whites, almond flour) has to be precise to the gram and folded just right – if the batter’s too thin, your shells will spread out and look flat; too stiff, and the shells won’t be smooth.

It’s a waiting game It can take three hours to make a batch of just 50 macarons. After piping, chefs have to let their shells rest for 15 to 30 minutes so they can form “feet”, the ruffled ridge that is one of the hallmarks of an excellent macaron.

They need a steady hand To get a pretty macaron, you have to pipe out the mixture evenly so your shells will be of equal sizes – even just slanting your pastry bag slightly will give you mismatched halves.

The cost of ingredients If you want your macarons to taste (and look) great, you have to invest in quality ingredients like good vanilla, pistachios and cocoa.

In short: An expensive, labour-intensive process. You’ll actually save time and money queuing up for some rather than attempting to make your own.

DECADENT DESSERT ALERT! Eat like a king with the US$1,000 Sultan cake at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski hotel in Istanbul. Dubbed one of the world’s most expensive desserts, this fruit cake features figs, apricots and pears that have been marinated in rum for at least two years. It is covered in 24-karat gold flakes, topped with caramelised black truffles and infused with rare French Polynesian vanilla. Call 72 hours in advance to order.