Japanese Dining Sun, Chijmes, Singapore

sashimi moriBoss Man Malaysia (Boss Man MY), Superbikers SG President (SSP) and I were having drinks at an Italian restaurant at Chijmes when Boss Man Singapore (Boss Man SG) decided to drop by.

SSP had to leave shortly after that and Boss Man MY stepped away to say his goodbyes.

Meanwhile, Boss Man SG looked at me.

“How do you feel about Japanese?”, Boss Man SG asked.

“Like I died and went to heaven”, I replied.

“Okay. You’ll love Sun”, he pointed to the restaurant next door. “Does Boss Man MY like Japanese food?”

“He loves it.” I had just told a lie. I was desperate for Japanese.

Boss Man MY appeared, and Boss Man SG repeated his question to get some assurance.

“My stomach’s a little queasy. Can we try something safer?”, Boss Man MY asked, a pained expression on his face. He was obviously looking for a way to get out of a Japanese dinner.

Boss Man SG didn’t get the hint. “It’s okay. We’ll get you a hearty soup and some warm Sake to make you feel better!”

I could have kissed Boss Man SG’s feet at that point.

cupI was greeted by rows of bottles (mostly Sake) and sake cups, prettily arranged in baskets as I entered Sun. The decor is contemporary, and the structure of the original convent school is maintained thus retaining its high ceilings which makes the place look large. We were directed to a table next to a column covered with a gauze like material which created an illusion of textures as I touched the material.

sakura masu 2 sakura masu

A specialty at this restaurant is the Kamameshi, which is a rice casserole cooked in a stainless steel pot embedded in a wooden frame. The dish is served with the lid on and an hourglass timer placed on top of the pot. The diner is expected to wait until the sand goes down (approximately a minute) before he proceeds to mix the ingredients up (somewhat like a claypot rice meal) and dish it out into the accompanying bowl. Boss Man SG and I both ordered the kamameshi. I had the japanese trout with japanese pepper leaf – Sakura Masu (S$38) (top right) from the seasonal kamameshi menu, while Boss Man SG had the unagi kamameshi (bottom left). The rice, despite being cooked at high heat in the pot, did not stick to the sides. The ingredients and the sauces had also had sufficient time to seep into the rice, thus creating a lovely aroma and flavour to the rice.

unagi kamameshi teriyaki chicken

Boss Man MY, as i had mentioned earlier, was ill, and thus played safe with his order of teriyaki chicken with rice (top right).

When the food came, I looked at him. “May I photograph your food?”

“Certainly. It’s for your blog, isn’t it?”, Boss Man MY guessed correctly, then turned to Boss Man SG. “She has a food blog, you know.”

“Please don’t publicise my blog to all the bosses!”, I exclaimed.

Boss Man MY looked at me, “Well, if the bosses don’t read it, then who does?”

Hmmmphhh.

Subsequently, they indulged me and my photography as I shot at various angles and caused the food to get cold while they talked shop.sushi mori

We shared a platter of sushi mori consisting of a delightful selection of sushi….

sashimi mori 2

…and a bowl of sashimi mori served on a bed of crushed ice. I expected nothing less than the freshest sashimi, and I was not disappointed. The sashimi slices were cut thickly, and I was able to savour each bite in my mouth without feeling like it was all being gulped down too fast.desserts2 mochi

By this time, our stomachs were screaming for us to stop eating. Nevertheless, we couldn’t refrain from ordering the mochi from the desserts menu. The mochi was nice and chewy, although I found the savoury sauce accompanying the dish to be an acquired taste (meaning, I don’t like the sauce!). I ended up eating the remaining pieces of mochi without the sauce or the red bean paste that was placed on the side.

dessert

Japanese Dining Sun

30, Victoria Street

#02-01 Chijmes Singapore 187996

Tel: 6336 3166

The Simple Life in Singapore

chilli
Have you ever experienced a moment where all the factors come together to make your dining experience special?It’s not just the food that has to be good. Although that helps. Sometimes, it’s the balmy weather. And on other times, it can be the incomparable company.

For me, it was a combination of attentive service (with a smile, if I may add) on a lazy Saturday afternoon away from the hustle and bustle of busy Singapore’s Orchard Road. I had a table by the huge glass window overlooking the world going by and only my company to enjoy. In a setting like this, food is only ancillary.

menu

I had picked the quietest restaurant in Wheelock Place. With a name like The Simple Life (think Paris and Nicole), an unlikely tagline “Authentic Asian Cuisine”, and a set menu priced at S$14.90 for a starter, main course and dessert/drink, I was immediately attracted. I normally don’t visit half empty restaurants, but I wasn’t in the mood to hear loud chatter from neighbouring tables. So the stage was set.

rojak

My starter was a fruit rojak. Cubed fruits like pineapples, jicama, cucumbers and mangoes were tossed with bean sprouts, fried firm beancurd and sliced yau char kuay in a sauce made of thick prawn paste. What made the dish exceptional was the generous topping of coarsely ground peanuts. The sauce, because it was quite undiluted, was on the salty side, but I forgave them because it is rare that one can taste the prawn paste so distinctively.

prawn noodles

My prawn mee was a sight to behold. Huge prawns presented seductively on a bed of noodles with succulent pieces of sliced pork…very tender, I might add…in a rather clear broth boiled with prawn heads, prawn shells and pork bones. Slices of fish cake completed the picture. I approached it with hesitance. Partly because the broth was too clear and quite unlike what I am familiar with, which is usually a murkier soup. I’m not quite sure if I like the soup though because the flavour was rather faint. But the prawns were fresh and delicious as were the huge pieces of pork.

Instead of a dessert, I chose a refreshing calamansi drink. I needed it after all that walking during the Great Singapore Sale. I’ve never seen people queuing up to enter an LV shop before. 🙂

Also check out Chubby Hubby.

The Simple Life

Wheelock Place #02-18

Singapore.

Tel: 6738 3212

Disneyland, California

I’m back in Malaysia, but an unknown stomach illness has caused turmoil in my life and prevented me from eating all the lovely nasi lemak, char koay teow and thosai that has been beckoning…calling my name….Lemongrasssssss…..Alas! Until I recover, bear with me as I entertain you with tales of my vacation in the US.

On 1/1/07, we went to Disneyland. I’ve been to Disneyland before, but the child in me gets the thrills and the shivers, just thinking of meeting Snow White in Fantasyland. I attribute this excitement to The Mickey Mouse Show which I used to watch as a kid (which kinda gives you an idea about which generation I belong to!).

To those who are planning on visiting Disneyland in California, I recommend the 1st of January as it is less crowded due to the large number of people choosing to visit the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena and an equally large number of people choosing to stay at home to watch the Rose Bowl game.

I have a VERY strong aversion to rollercoasters, the level of which gets increasingly higher as I grow older. My first taste of rollercoasters was in 1997 in the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Canada. The mall houses the world’s largest indoor triple loop rollercoaster. Having never experienced a rollercoaster before, and seeing the excitement in so many other faces, I decided to go on that ride, alone, in a moment of insanity. After that ride, I swore off rollercoasters.

On my first trip to Disneyland, I must have suffered memory loss, and I accompanied Tim on the Space Mountain ride, a high energy twist and turn ride in blackness and neon coloured surroundings.

The same memory loss affected me again on this trip. When I saw the unbelievably short queue at the Matterhorn, I did the macho thing again and went on that ride. It was fast, but having experienced the triple loop before, I merely closed my eyes and screamed all the way until the ride ended and I walked off on legs of jelly.

The Indiana Jones Adventure ride was as promised; I was thrown around like a raggedy doll on a bumpy jeep. It reminded me of Tim’s driving.

Surprisingly, I was beginning to enjoy these thrills.

But when I saw Splash Mountain, I knew it had to end. I wasn’t ready for a 52-foot, 45-degree, 40-mile-per-hour plunge. I abandoned Tim.

Not everything was fast-paced. In typical Disney style, a lot of the attractions were cute and creative as displayed by the following photos.

Also, when in Disneyland, don’t forget to try the funnel cake.

In the diffused light of twilight, as the sun set, Disneyland turned into a fairyland…

We ended our day in Disneyland by watching the Christmas Parade. We had front-row seats…on the pavement! Only in Disneyland.