Food for Thought: Mama Thira

Of the many restaurants in Greece that we ate at, few can hold a candle to Mama Thira on the island of Santorini.  Housed in a typical fisherman's cottage on top of the cliff in Firostefani with views to the volcano and Caldera, this family run restaurant has mum helming the kitchen as chef.  The food whipped up by the chef is incomparable.

Our dinner consisted of an appetizer of tomato cutlets, Greek salad, dessert and coffee or tea. For the main course, we settled for the house specialty - catch of the day.

Not a lover of tomato, I often avoid any dish that has it as a main ingredient.  To my astonishment, I found Mama Thira's tomato cutlet to be really delicious.  Brought to our table freshly fried, the batter was  still crispy but the tomato on the inside remain juicy and retained much of its natural sweetness.

Tomato cutlet

The appetizer was served alongside fresh home-made bread and a large plate of traditional Greek salad.

Home-made bread

Greek Salad

The highlight of the meal was, of course, the catch of the day grilled over wood fire to charred perfection.  The meat on the inside, however, remained moist, tender and tantalisingly sweet.  The sea bream is a white fish commonly found in many different parts of Europe but no one can dispute that the Mediterranean gilt-head bream is the tastiest of all sea breams and most celebrated.  Its succulent and coarse flesh is ideal for grilling.  We had grilled fish at other restaurants throughout the trip but none could compare with Mama Thira's.

Charcoal grilled sea bream

After the main course, we were served a dessert of sweet cookies with coffee and tea.

Traditional Santorini sweet cookies

Mama Thira Restaurant

Clifftop, Firostefani

Santorini, Greece

Ambience: 7.5

Service: 8

Food: 9

Pricing: $$$$

Recommended dishes: Grilled catch of the day, tomato cutlets

Food for Thought: St Pierre

Dinner with wine pairing at St Pierre Restaurant was definitely the highlight of my dining experience this year. I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about Chef Emmanuel Stroobant and his food. Owner Chef Stroobant has worked very hard to put his restaurant on the map of culinary distinction. In fact, his restaurant is the only Singapore establishment to earn an admission to Relais & Chateaux – the definitive guide to the world’s finest hotels and restaurants.

Over the years, St Pierre has received numerous accolades.  Starting with Best New Restaurant Award for Excellence in 2002, it went on to receive many other awards including in 2007, the Restaurant of the Year Excellence Award by World Gourmet Summit. Chef Stroobant also received the Chef of the Year Award in 2002. In that same year, Wine and Dine magazine credited the restaurant with the Most Innovative Menu.

Like world-renown Chef Ferran Adria whom he greatly admires, Chef Stroobant started training, at a very young age, in the kitchens of Michelin star restaurants of Belgium where he was born. In 1987, he was named Best Apprentice Chef and at 23, he opened his own restaurant, Le Bal, in his home town, Liege.

Soon, the kitchens of the world beckoned him and he re-located to Australia before moving to Malaysia, and finally setting up home in Singapore. While working in Malaysia, he received the award for Best Expatriate Executive Chef by World Asia Media in 1999.

Posing with the Chef in Black

The evening’s degustation menu consisted of an amuse bouche ensemble of assorted nibbles; Millefeuille of Hokkaido Scallop; Slow poached Maine Lobster; Confit of wild salmon served with wild mushroom duxelle; Low temperature roasted lamb shoulder; Red wine glazed US Beef short rib; and Yuzu scented genoise with goma nougatine, mango sorbet and honey scented feuillantine.

Millefeuille of Hokkaido Scallop

The first appetizer, Millefeuille of Hokkaido Scallop, was good but lacked the wow factor. The pieces of scallop were scented with preserved black truffle, wild chives, ikura, citrus zest and crème fraiche. The crème fraiche, to me, was a tad too wet and milky when it should have been creamy with a velvety smoothness. What made the dish good was the freshness of the scallop which had the ‘melt in your mouth’ texture. This dish was paired with KJ Vintner Reserve Savignon Blanc 2008.

Slow poached Maine lobster

I was really impressed by the second appetizer – the slow poached Maine Lobster served on roasted hearts of Romaine. The garnishing on the plate included sweet garlic confit, parmesan croutons and bottarga emulsion. The lobster, although cooked (I would have preferred sashimi), remained tender and retained its natural sweetness. But what I really enjoyed most about this dish were the charred hearts of Romaine which had a robust woody flavour. It was paired very well with KJ Vintner Reserve Chardonnay 2008.

Chef Stroobant has his way of keeping the best for later. The dishes that arrived at our table ‘from this moment on’ were all of exceptionally high standard.

Confit of wild salmon

The confit of wild salmon served with wild mushroom duxelle was outstanding, to say the least. Wild salmon, unlike its cultivated relatives, tend to be more marbled, moist and rich in flavour, thus making it a popular choice with food gourmand. Chef Stroobant’s clever use of crispy smoked bacon and momotaro tomato infused choron sauce enhanced the natural taste of the wild salmon to even greater heights.

In traditional French cooking, duxelle – a reduction of chopped mushroom (sometimes mushroom stems) and herbs – is used as stuffing. Chef Stroobant used it as a base for the lamb. It was a totally new way of presentation yet it did not distract attention from nor ruin the taste of the dish.

The wild salmon was accompanied by KJ Vintner Reserve Merlot 2006.

Roasted lamb shoulder

Equally outstanding was the low temperature roasted lamb shoulder served with pan grille scented eggplant puree, lamb jus and ratatouille.  The adept Chef roasted the lamb to pure perfection. It is not often that I walk away from a restaurant, happy with how they had done my steak. At St Pierre, I have no complaints, only praises. The meat was very slightly burnt on the outside but delicately tender and succulent on the inside – just the way I like my meats prepared. KJ Grand Reserve Merlot 2006 and KJ Highland Estate Taylor Peak Merlot 2005 accompanied the dish most satisfactorily.

US beef short rib

The last of the main course, though simple in presentation, reigned supreme in its preparation. The red wine glazed US Beef short rib was superbly prepared and its taste quite exquisite. It was served with bone marrow, potato bouchon and organic baby vegetables and paired with KJ Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 and KJ Highland Estate Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2005.

Short ribs or Jacob’s Ladder (as the English call it), are a cut of beef perfect for long cooking as in pot au feu, a classic dish of French origin. Because short ribs tend to be tougher than other cuts, it can be challenging to prepare as a steak. But Chef Stroobant had it proven otherwise, much to my delight.  Just by this dish alone, he has won my admiration and respect.

Yuzu scented Genoise with Goma nougatine

For dessert, Chef Stroobant created Yuzu scented genoise with goma nougatine, mango sorbet and honey scented feuillantine. Everyone loved the dessert and my only complaint was not having enough of it. A very sweet dessert wine, KJ Late Harvest Chardonnay 2006, accompanied.

Chef Stroobant has taken me on a culinary trip that is so sublime that St Pierre, now tops my list of favourite Continental restaurants in Singapore.

St Pierre Restaurant

3 Magazine Road

#01-01 Central Mall

Ambiance – 6.5

Service – 8

Food – 9.5

Pricing - $$$$$

Recommended dishes – Chef Stroobant’s Degustation Menu of the Month

My Thoughts for the Day: Eulogy for Mom - Theresa Agnes Goh Ah Soy

Born 1919; Died 2010


To everyone of us, mom is the best.
In my case, mom is better than best; she is extraordinary.

Over the past few days, some of my childhood friends came to mom's wake. All of them remember my mom very fondly and had nothing but good things to say about her. I cannot but agree with them fully.

As the youngest in the family, I spent much time with my mom - going to the market, preparing the daily meals in the kitchen and talking. We talked about many things and shared many thoughts.  Mom was my best teacher.

She taught me to be a good son and a good brother. But she also taught me that to be a good son and brother was not enough. She constantly reminded me to strive to be a good person. Mom taught me well and I am what I am today because of her love and guidance.

Some of you may remember mom as a ravishing beauty. But more than just external beauty, mom possesses great inner beauty. Think of all the superlatives in the dictionary, put them together and you get the perfect description of mom. To me, mom is the embodiment of everything that is good and beautiful.

Most of you already know that I love my mom dearly.  The truth is, I adore her.

When I was ready for marriage, my idea of an ideal wife was someone who is like mom - someone who has all the qualities that mom possesses. And I am indeed thankful to God that He has blessed me so richly with a beautiful mother and an equally beautiful wife.

The 2 most beautiful women in my life - mom and wifey

People and Places: Innsbruck

If there is only one place in Innsbruck that I could spend a day again, where would it be?

Most definitely the Altstadt or Old Town - the historic centre of the city.  You will never run out of things to see in the Old Town which is filled with narrow houses, beautifully painted facades, handsome doorways, oriel windows, and fine examples of old Tirolean architecture. In fact, you'll be hard pressed for time to 'stand and stare' at the sumptuous display of Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo buildings that reflect Innsbruck's past importance as a ducal residence.

The semi-circular quarter of the Old Town, enclosed by a ring of streets known as the Graben ("Moat") is now a pedestrian precinct making it easy for tourists to go on foot, explore and get lost.

The Goldenes Dachl or Golden Roof located at the t-junction of Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse and Maria-Theresein-Strasse is, indisputably, the most famous building in Innsbruck and the most photographed too.  It is the mecca of very visitor to the city.

This magnificent Late Gothic oriel window roofed with 2,657 gilded copper tiles was built in 1494 to commemorate the second marriage of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I to Bianca Maria Sforza of Milan.  Maximilian is known to expand his territory not through conquests but by marriages.   Not wishing to alienate the allies gained by his first marriage, to Maria of Burgundy, he had an image of himself between the two women painted on his balcony.   For many years, the balcony served as a royal box from which the court could sit in luxury and watched civic festivities in the square below.  Today the building houses a museum on the life of Maximilian.

The Golden Roof

Right across from the famous roof, painted in a pretty pink, is the Rococo Helblinghaus named after Sebastian Helbling who operated a small cafe there in 1833. The original Gothic townhouse was purchased by Johann Fischer in 1725 who had the façade decorated with late Baroque plasterwork and front oriels. The ornamental screen façade is highly embellished with sculpture and decorative elements such as lavish acanthus, busts, masks and shells. It is an outstanding example of bourgeois grandeur. 

Helblinghaus

The arcaded Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse is lined with handsome burghers' houses including the Goldener Adler Hotel, one of Europe's oldest and time-honoured inns established in the 14th century.  A marble panel at the hotel's entrance lists the many famous personalities that have stayed in the hotel in the past including Emperor Joseph II, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and many more.  It was from here that the Tirolean patriot, Andreas Hofer, addressed the people in 1809.

The legendary Goldener Adler Hotel

At one end of Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse stands its oldest preserved building, the Ottoburg, a Gothic residential tower built by the city wall in the 15th century.  Its gray facade is brightened up by red and white shutters. Although both the purpose and the owners of the building have changed frequently throughout the years, the Ottoburg has long housed an excellent restaurant, the historic Ottoburg which first opened its doors to customers in the year 1745. It serves traditional Tyrolean specialties.

The Ottoburg housing complex

All along Herzong-Friedrich-Strasse and the side streets that fan out from it, are interesting arcaded buildings.  The 16th century Trautsonhaus with its reliefs, bay-windows, painted facade and marble fountain is worth mention.

One of many fountains in Innsbruck's old town centre

So are all of these arcaded buildings which, today, house cafes & restaurants, boutiques and specialty shops, hotels & family-run inns.

Standing proud and high above all other buildings in the Aldstadt is the old Stadtturm.  Originally built in the 14th century, together with the adjoining Old Rathaus, it serves as a watchtower.  Today, many tourists walk up its tower for one of the most beautiful views of Innsbruck and its environs.

The Stadtturm towers over the Aldstadt

Food for Thought: The White Rabbit

The White Rabbit's website promises 'impeccable fine dining without the stuffiness'.  This very aptly describes our dining experience there some months ago during the Singapore Restaurant Week - that is the 'stuffiness' bit. 

The restaurant is a converted chapel located in the Dempsey Road shopping and dining enclave.  The owners have retained the original architecture (smart move) while fitting the cavernous space with generally clean-cut furniture with a splattering of antique pieces.  The colour scheme is kept almost monochromatic thus accentuating the beauty of the original stained glass. There is absolutely no clutter.

Similarly, the table setting and food presentation are stylishly modern and simple.

The 3-course set menu comprised a freshly shucked oyster served au naturale with pork sausage on the side for appetizer; Sole Meuniere for the main; and Chocolate Mousse with raspberry sauce for dessert.

The appetizer was really 2 dishes in one.  The freshly shucked oyster was served au naturale and because it was very fresh, all it needed was a dash of lemon juice.  Accompanying it was a lone sausage which looked rather uninspired and uninspiring.  I didn't particularly like the taste of it either as I found it a tad too salty.

Freshly shucked oyster and Sausage

Sole Meunière is a classic French dish consisting of sole fish that has been dredged in flour then pan fried in butter and served with the brown butter reduction sauce and a dash of lemon.  In classic service, the whole sole is sauteed tableside and boned by the server.  However, at White Rabbit, the sole was cooked in the kitchen and served whole on the bone.  Perhaps, the fish used was too little to be filleted! 

Sole Meunniere

My first serving of the sole was rubbery and tough and I had it returned to the chef who promptly replaced it with no questions asked.  Points deducted for not ensuring the quality of the ingredients used even though the dish was, overall, quite tasty.  Otherwise, I don't have any other complaints as Sole Meuniere is really a straightforward dish to prepare and no self-respecting chef should make a blunder out of it.  By the way, the baby potatoes were delicious. And darling wife loves the fish - she didn't get the tough one!

Chocolate mousse

The dessert was good but it did not really excite me the way desserts normally do. I felt it was a very safe choice since one can never go wrong with Chocolate Mousse.  This being a Restaurant Week menu, I would have expected something more creative and daring.

Overall, an enjoyable dining experience mainly because we liked the surrounding and the service.  The waiting staff were careful not to be too intrusive when we were eating.  But once coffee and dessert were served, they made the effort to come around to exchange pleasantries with us and discuss the restaurant's concept, design and architecture, since they consciously took note that these were topics of interest to us.

The White Rabbit

39C Harding Road

Tanglin

Ambiance:  9.5

Service:  8.5

Pricing:  $$$

Food: 7.25

 

People and Places: Sitges

Located 35 km south of Barcelona, the beachfront town of Sitges is known for its carnival, sunny weather and, of course, its night life - especially its vibrant gay life.  It is, after all, the gay capital of Spain.  But there is much more to Sitges than just the gay scene.

Passeig de la Ribera by day

In the summer months the main beach, de la Ribera, will be crowded with swimmers, suntanners and boat paddlers.  Besides suntanning and swimming, it is also a popular spot for sand castle building. Fortunately, I was there in spring when the place was less crowded and much quieter.  On the beach, one man was busy building a sand figure all by himself.

The inverterate shopper will also find Sitges' many shopping lanes interesting to explore.  Narrow lanes fanning out from the beachfront, such as the Carrer de Pau Barrabel, are lined on both sides with shops selling the latest in European fashion.  I bought a lovely black lace blouse for darling wife from one of these boutiques.  For the younger set, there are shops that specialise in kitsch and novelties.

Carrer Parellades

For visitors in pursuit of cultural interests, Sitges will not disappoint either.  I enjoyed the Museo Cau Ferat which once was the residence of Santiago Russiñol, the painter who gave much of his life to the advancement of the Modernist movement in Catalan.  In its heydays, it was notorious for the many 'modern style' parties hosted by Russinol, which made Sitges famous among the artistic circle.

I was impressed with the paintings, sculptures, and personal belongings of the artist, displayed exactly as they were when he stayed there.  The museum, which houses a small Picasso, several el Grecos as well as other pieces by Catalan Modernists, has a very homey feel to it.  The name Cau Ferat  is derived from the many metal decorations found throughout the house.  Even its windows are dressed in wrought iron.

Steps away from Museu Cau Ferat is Maricel Palace, bought by millionaire Charles Deering in 1912 to house his vast personal collection of paintings.  One part of the building is the art museum while the other is being used as a civic center.

Not far from these 2 museums, on Placa de L'Adjutament, is the marketplace which is best visited in the morning.  Although not as large as many other town markets, it takes pride in its high quality salted Atlantic cods.

Bacalhau on sale at the marketplace

Whiles Sitges is good by day, it really comes alive when the sun sets.  This is when the whole population - locals and visitors - gravitate to the many narrow lanes that are lined with watering holes, restaurants and clubs.   Carrer del Pecat or Sin Street, is the place to be at.  Here, you will find Pacha, the famous disco chain with branches in Ibiza, Salou, Barcelona and many other major Spanish cities and towns.  While the clubs beckon most of Sitges visitors, it was the restaurants that caught my attention.

La Oca, a famous chicken rotisserie, serves one of the best spit-roasted chicken in town.  Needless to say, that was my choice for dinner.

Michael enjoying spit-roasted chicken at La Oca.

Getting There from Barcelona:
By Train - From Sants or Passeig de Gracia station, take the train that says VILANOVA G on the front.  Journey time is about 30 mins and the fare is 4.3Euro one-way.
By Bus - Take Bus Nº N30 from Ronda Universitat near Plaza Catalunya or from Gran Via next to Plaza España. The bus leaves on the hour every hour up to 4am.

Food for Thought: The Humble Yong Tau Foo

The humble yong tau fu is a popular Hakka dish.  There are many versions available such as the famous Ampang at Sembawang Road, the original Hakka at East Coast Road, the ikan bilis version at Chinatown and many many more.

But of all these, my personal favourite is still Lao Huang's at North Bridge Road Market.  There are the standard ingredients and a selection of deep-fried ngoh-hiang and bak yee as well as a small selection of stewed items like taupok and taukwa.

They make the extra effort to separate the deep-fried ingredients from the soup so that they do not become soggy and limp but will be piping hot and crispy when brought to your table.

You also have the choice of having it with soup or dry with noodles or rice.  The noodles are served with minced pork that have been simmered in a rich and very tasty gravy.

If you opt to have it with soup, you will not be disappointed either.  You will definitely enjoy the natural sweetness of the bean based soup.

This stall has received numerous awards including the Green Book Best Food Award for 2009/10 and the Best Hakka Niang Tou Fu by Yummy King.  But to eat at this well-known stall, get there before noon as they finish early.  The last time I got there by 12.30pm, almost everything was sold out.

Lao Huang Hakka Niang Tou Fu

861 North Bridge Road

#01-108 North Bridge Road Food Center

Ambiance: Hawker centre setting

Food: 8

Service: 7

Pricing: $

Food for Thought: db Bistro Moderne

During dinner with Laura Calder at the Fullerton Hotel, advertisements by Daniel Boulud were running continuously on 2 large screens.  That reminded me of our dining experience at Chef Boulud's db Bistro Moderne in New York City - a modern French-American bistro where Chef Boulud displays his contemporary interpretation of French classics.  The bistro is, incidentally, Zagat-listed.

On the menu is the original db burger priced at a cool US$32.  It is a sirloin burger filled with red wine braised short ribs and black truffle served on parmesan buns.  We didn't get to taste the famous burger.  Instead we ordered the 3-course restaurant-week meal.

Darling wife had tartare of tomatoes, grilled mahi-mahi and a tropical sorbet dessert.  I had the soup with black truffle oil, gnocchi with ragout of veal, and chocolate mousse.

Soup with black truffle oil

 

Tartare of tomatoes

There was nothing exceptional about my soup.  Darling wife's tartare of tomato, on the other hand, was creative and good to the taste. It consisted of layers of thickly sliced Brandywine and Dixie Golden Giant tomatoes, topped with green olives, jalapeno chili, feta cheese and an assortment of beans, seasoned with herbs and drenched in olive oil.  The combination of oil and herbs enhanced the fresh taste of the fruits and vegetables. 

Gnocchi with ragout of veal

Being the lover of pasta that I am, I couldn't really find any fault with the gnocchi which was, for a start, of the right texture.  Although the Italians normally would dress gnocchi with either tomato sauce, pesto or melted butter, Chef Boulud had chosen a gravy that was richly flavoured by both the stock of veal and oven-roasted summer vegetables.  It was so good, I slurped up every last drop of the gravy. 

Grilled mahi mahi

The sub-tropical mahi-mahi fish has large moist flakes and are perfect for grilling.  Unfortunately, it was a tad overcooked and tasted dry. Its presentation was also uninteresting.

Tropical sorbet

The desserts were excellent.  It was both well-presented and tasty and gratefully not to sugary sweet.  Needless to say, they received top marks from us.

Chocolate mousse

Although db Bistro Moderne claims not to be an haute cuisine restaurant, I must say that the food presentation and style of cooking are of definitely very high standards for a bistro.

Its decor is simple and modern.  We were seated in the more casual front section which features a stone-tiled floor and Wenge wood-panelled ceiling.  On one wall, hangs a series of floral photographs by Christopher Beane, who after being diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma in July of 2005, went on to produce a new book entitled 'Flower'.  The book was descibed as "a passionate celebration of both the beauty of the natural world and the indomitability of the human spirit".

   

DB Bistro Moderne

55 West 44th Street

Manhattan, NYC

Ambiance: 7

Food:  7

Service:  6.5

Pricing: $$$$

Recommended Dishes: The menu changes with the season so it is not possible to make any recommendations.