Ah the perennial go-to for lunch, for the working crowd in CBD. It serves up many hearty meals, from morning breakfasts to satisfying lunches, even managing a decent cuppa. After all that, it transforms into a cocktail bar come nighttime. Free the Robot manages a pleasant, cozy ambience should you arrive before the lunch hour rush.
Said decent cuppa.
Salmon bowl with onsen egg, avocado and acar, it is wholesome, healthy and filling. The salmon is smoked, so beware if you’re not a smoked salmon fan. Otherwise this is a perfectly acceptable, even delicious, lunchtime meal.
Chicken and avocado sandwich. Tender slices of chicken, sandwiched with cheese and creamy slabs of avocado and slathered with pesto sauce. Griddled to perfection. Great combination of flavours.
I regret not taking a proper photo of their burgers, but this might be the only way to showcase the juiciness of their patties. Very good execution, sufficient sauce and topped with a fried egg. It is difficult to find decent burgers in Singapore, and thankfully this ticks the right boxes.
My absolute favourite however, is the crab pasta. Generous chunks of crab cooked in a fragrant tomato base sauce, topped with pine nuts and chives. I could eat this every week (every day would be a stretch for anyone!). It is also a tad spicy, which ties all the flavours together in a neat little bow. Lovely.
This is comfort eating; foods that we are all familiar with, with a dash of inspiration. Affordable eats to soothe the stress of the work day.
Free the Robot
118 Telok Ayer Street Singapore 068587 (Telok Ayer MRT)
Opening Hours: 8.30am – 4.30pm (Tues-Sat, closed Mon and Sun)
After two long years my books are finally done and dusted. I’ve compiled two books, the first Myhumblefood book concentrates on Asian home cooking. The second book is a little more fun; along with some Western home cooking, I’ve also added a section on Food Art which is something I really enjoy. They’re both priced at RM 300 a set for people residing in Malaysia, or SGD 120 a set for those in Singapore.
Free delivery for those in Bangsar and Damansara Heights only.
Please PM me for details!
Special note: 50% of gross profit from the sale of the books will be donated to the National Kidney Foundation as well as the Great Heart Charity Foundation. Should you decide to also donate in addition to buying the book(s), 100% of your donation will go directly to these causes.
Thank you all very much for your love and support!
Recently I’ve been having this urge to cook lobster. Lobster… anything! I initially wanted to make a lobster roll, then I went to Signor Sassi in London and had a variety of lobster dishes. I eventually settled for making lobster spaghetti in tomato sauce and a lobster version of the Sang Har Tong Fun (big head prawn with glass noodles in wine soup). I’ve done a little research online on how to make this dish. A lot of chefs tend to boil the lobsters and then remove the meat to cook in the tomato sauce. The carcass of the lobster usually goes into a shellfish stock or a bisque later on. I do it a little differently, and I firmly believe that the lobster flavours are able to come out in all its glory this way. Obviously it would involve cooking the shell and head in the sauce ;D.Ingredients (for 2-3 pax)
Half a lobster (this is of a larger lobster)
10g salted butter
2-3 thin slices of ginger about an inch in diameter and about 2-3 mm in width
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped onion or shallots
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 cup chicken stock (best if you have shellfish stock but chicken is fine too)
1/2 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup diced tomatoes preferably with herbs and garlic in them
2-3 pinches of chilli flakes
1 tsp sugar and another 1tsp in case the pasta needs a little more sweetness
200g pasta (or around 1/3 of a 500g package of pasta) – spaghetti is slightly too thick so I used San Remo’s vermiccili pasta. Instant spaghetti by San Remo’s will do as well.
Dash of dried oregano
Salt, black pepper
Cooking Instructions
Prepare the lobster (prepare yourself I meant…. cutting that thing into half is no joke! It’s all spiny and painful! Coupled with a very tough shell, you may need a lot of strength to cut the head into two… or a very heavy object to help get that cleaver through). I suggest you use a towel to protect your hands from the lobster’s myriad spikes and a pair of strong kitchen scissors to cut through the tail end of the lobster.After a lot of effort… finally..See all that golden stuff?? That’s where the flavour’s at!Heat up some oil in the pan and fry the onions, ginger and garlic.
Add the lobster, brain side down, and let it fry for a minute (do not let the meat sear! It should be on medium fire), before adding the wine to the mix. I wanted to try to flambe the lobster, but the kitchen is so small and I was worried I might singe something so I just put the alcohol into the pan and let the alcohol cook off. This step is where you draw out the flavours in the lobster into the broth.
Add the stock. Cook the lobster for about a couple more minutes in the stock before removing from the mixture.
Add the diced tomato, tomato, chilli flakes, some salt, pepper and oregano to the lobster broth.
Remove the meat from the lobster shell. You can see that it isn’t cooked through and this is what we want as we will add the lobster meat back in to be cooked fully along with the pasta noodles. Otherwise we’ll have dry, overcooked chunks of lobster, which is a waste of such an expensive ingredient.
Place the lobster shell back into the tomato sauce mixture and simmer until the sauce is reduced and thickened like so. Then add the butter and mix in. I stuffed the sauce into the lobster shell to get the most of that lobster goodness!
At the same time, start cooking your pasta in boiling water with some salt. Cook it about 2 minutes less than the instructions stated in the packet because you’ll finish cooking the pasta in the sauce.
Get the chopped basil and parsley ready. Add the lobster chunks back into the tomato sauce probably a couple of minutes before adding the pasta so that it’s cooked just right by the end of the whole process.
Drain the pasta (but not too much as we need some of that pasta water… about 2-3 tbsps or so) and add it directly into the sauce. I forgot to mention, remove the lobster shell before you add the pasta in, otherwise it’s going to be a struggle to toss the pasta in the sauce. Place the shell in the serving dish, it will serve as an aesthetic component.
Toss the pasta over low-medium fire so that the sauce gets incorporated into the noodles. Add the basil and parsley and toss a little more. Check on the seasoning and add more salt/pepper/sugar as you wish.
Place the pasta on the serving dish, top off with the lobster chunks, more parsley and some cheese.
If you like your spaghetti with more sauce, just add more puree and white wine but make sure you season accordingly. You also don’t want the sauce to be too wet otherwise it won’t stick to the noodle very well.
Will most likely make it again as I have another lobster in the freezer! Happy to say my brother seemed to enjoy it. He ate three quarters of it by himself.
Here’s a video that I think quite closely reflects how I cooked it:
Yes, pasta again and this time, with mentaiko (marinated cod roe or pollock roe). By itself, the mentaiko is salty and sometimes spicy, which is why its normally eaten raw with rice (only if it’s sashimi quality) or used in cooking for flavor. It goes really well with fatty foods like cream and mayonnaise.
This dish is pretty simple and easy to prepare. Almost foolproof!
Ingredients (for 2 pax)
2 pieces of mentaiko (or 100gram mentaiko)
Pasta of your choice (I used angel hair/quick cook spaghetti)
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
8 cloves garlic, minced
Seaweed strips for topping
Ikura for garnishing (optional)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese for use in the sauce
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese for sprinkling over pasta
2 birds eye chilli/chilli padi, sliced
2 eggs
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
20g butter
Handful of chopped chives for garnishing (optional)
Sea urchin roe is one of my favourite sashimi! So rich and creamy and briny <3. I tried sea urchin pasta for the first time in Japan a few years back and it was amazing as well. And of course I had to try to make it myself, but I always feel heartsick at the thought of throwing all the expensive uni into pasta when I can just have it as sashimi and savour every single bit of it. That’s why on my first attempt at uni pasta, I just used a few bits (see the following 3 pictures).
I probably used a quarter of the package of uni. The box of uni in itself is already really small, so the uni flavour in the pasta wasn’t as prominent as I would have liked it. But the pictures were way better as I took them during the daytime, whereas my 2nd attempt photos were dependent on dim lighting =(.
Pleased to say that on the 2nd attempt, the pasta came out creamier and more luscious! I sacrificed the whole box this time… just for myself *guilt*. I also omitted the seaweed as it got in the way of the flavour of the pasta. It goes better with mentaiko pasta I think.
The recipe was adapted from http://www.eataduckimust.com/uni-pasta
Ingredients (For 1 greedy person)
1/2 cup thickened cream (the original recipe calls for 1 cup cream per person, you could just adjust accordingly. I’m just trying to make myself feel less guilty)
3 prawns shelled and deveined with tails on (Reserve the prawn shells and heads)
20g butter
1 package uni (sea urchin)
1 chilli padi, sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 egg yolk
chives for garnishing
handful of parmesan cheese
Angel hair/instant cook spaghetti or other pasta noodle of your choice
Ikura (as much as you like)
Melt the butter over low heat and add the prawn heads/shells in. Crush the prawn heads so that all the flavour comes out into the butter. Take the pan off the heat so that the butter doesn’t brown and continue crushing the shells.
Pour the butter and shells into a sieve and squeeze out all the juices/butter into another pan (you’ll use this pan to make the cream sauce)
Meanwhile, sear the prawns and set aside
Throw in the chilli padi and the minced garlic into the pan with the prawn head butter and fry until the garlic turns golden. If you like, you can also add a little more butter.
Add in the cream and bring to a simmer before switching it off. Don’t boil the cream.
When the cream has cooled a little, pour into a blender. Your cream shouldn’t be hot as this would cook the uni and scramble the egg later. The uni needs to be soft, raw and creamy while the egg yolk needs to be silky.
Save a few pieces of the uni for garnishing, and add the rest to the cream.
Blend the uni and cream (just need to give it a few pulses) and pour the mixture back into the pan.
Add the beaten egg yolk and stir it in.
Add a tablespoon or so of parmesan cheese into the cream and heat the mixture up again (I’m guestimating here, adapt to your own tastes ;p) . Taste it and season with some salt. (I didn’t put pepper as I thought it might overpower the uni)
Add in the freshly cooked pasta and mix it into the sauce. If you have strong wrists, toss the lot to combine.
Dish out the pasta onto a serving plate, top with the prawns, raw uni, some chives, a bit more cheese and as much ikura as you like~
So silky and creamy and decadent 😉
Now that I’ve seen the amount of sea urchin, prawn head brains and cream that went into the dish, my heart is starting to palpitate at the sheer amount of cholesterol that went into this meal ;(
Everyone loves pasta. There’s something comforting about all those carbs slippery in a creamy or a hearty red sauce. Another university favourite, where at the bare minimum we just cook the noodles and throw in ready to eat sauces. Ah the simple life.
I guess as we’ve grown up, our tastebuds will naturally progress so that we’d need something either more healthy/wholesome and more complex. (To be honest I’m still very happy with the noodles and sauce out of a can but that’s just me being lazy).
This is my version of bolognese, I’ve been using this recipe for many years but it could be better. This version is sourish and slightly spicy just because I like it that way! Will update as and when I try out new bolognese recipes 🙂
Ingredients (8 pax)
1kg minced meat (I use pork, but most people would use beef)
1 large green onion roughly chopped
1 can tomato puree (or 1 tube if you can’t find the canned version)
8 cloves of garlic or more if you like it garlicky, minced
1 bottle of dolmio red sauce (sometimes I use a can of tomato chunks instead)
1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsps dried oregano
50 gram salted butter
Salt and Pepper for seasoning
Optional: 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese and more for serving
Optional: 3 birds eye chillies, sliced
Optional: 1/2 cup dry Vermouth
Optional: 6-8 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
Optional: Pureed carrots or sugar to offset the sourness from the tomatoes
Instructions
1. Melt the butter in a large wok. Fry the onions first and just when it turns slightly translucent, throw in the minced garlic and fry until the garlic is golden in color. If you opt to use the pureed carrots, add it now and cook til soft.
2. Season the minced meat with salt and pepper beforehand. Add the mince into the wok, breaking the mince into small pieces as it browns.
3. When the meat is browned, pour in the dolmio sauce/canned tomatoes, the vermouth, sundried tomatoes, oregano and birds eye chillies. Stir to incorporate and let it simmer.
4. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir. Let the sauce simmer until the consistency is chunky and there’s no excess water. The sauce should be thick and chunky but not so dry such that it sticks to the wok.
5. Stir in the parmesan cheese and basil leaves.
I love to eat this with shell pasta. It holds the sauce so well!
Pasta is a pretty convenient food. A staple of many a student, you’ll find spaghetti packets in almost every student’s kitchen cabinet. Let’s just say I ate a ton of pasta when I was studying abroad in the UK. It was easy enough to make. At the bare minimum we would get instant Dolmio sauce, the type you can pour directly from the plastic container right onto some freshly cooked pasta. Survival skills at its best =)
And you can never get sick of it, there are so many ways to prepare pasta. A red sauce, cream sauce, pesto, aglio olio, salads and even strange bases you’d never have thought of such as tom yum pasta, which used to be one of my favorites.
I’ve included here one of the recipes that I make when I’m feeling slightly decadent and craving for the comfort of cream and carbs. The swiss mushrooms coupled with butter, cream, cheese and the earthiness of the English parsley just makes an incredibly heady combination in my mouth. There is a some heat coming from the chilli padi in the background to just cut through the richness (or jelakness as Malaysians call it) of the dish.
The ingredients for cream sauce, mushroom pasta: Linguine, Double or thickened cream, Mushrooms, Garlic, Butter, English Parsley, Black pepper and Salt
Ingredients (Serves 1 pax)
100g dried Linguine (adjust according to how hungry you are)
20g – 30g butter (if you’re using the smaller packs of butter for individuals, those are normally 10g each)
3 cloves garlic diced
5 swiss mushrooms sliced or white mushrooms if you can’t find the former.
1 chilli padi
1/2 cup of thickened cream or you can go by gut feel as to how much you need to properly coat the noodles
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese and more to top if you wish
1-2 tbsps of chopped English parsley
Black pepper
Cooking Instructions
Cook the dried linguine in salted water until your desired level of firmness. Some like it al dente, I prefer it a little more cooked than al dente. Drain and set aside.
Melt half of the butter in a sauce pan, add garlic and fry until golden but not brown. By this time the mixture should be fragrant.
Add mushrooms and continue frying. Add the rest of the butter and continue frying. The mushrooms may release some liquid, you should continue to fry it until the liquid has dissolved.
Add the cream and chilli padi to the pan and season with salt pepper. Add the parmesan cheese. As parmesan cheese is generally salty, check the sauce to ensure the salt level.
Add the drained pasta to the pan and toss for about a minute to incorporate the cream sauce and the pasta.
Transfer the pasta to a serving plate, scatter more cheese if you desire and the gorgeous parsley on top. Eat in front of the telly =D
This is not so much as a recipe, but just something I made the other day. Pesto pasta.
You could make your own pesto sauce, you just need to blend basil leaves, olive oil, parmesan cheese and pine nuts with some salt and pepper and you’ll have a delicious pesto sauce but I’m lazy, so I bought a jar of pesto. 🙂
Cooked the pasta until it is al dente and tossed it in the pesto sauce. In a separate pan I lightly toasted the pine nuts and set aside. Then I cleaned some prawns and made a slice down the “spine” to clean it and made another slice down the other side. With this, when the prawn cooks it will take the form of a “butterfly”.
Heat up some oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Dab off any excess moisture from the prawns before placing them into the frying pan, otherwise you’re going to get lots of violent oil splatters all over you. Cook for a minute on each side, more or less depending on the size of the prawn, then remove from the pan.
Sprinkle the pasta with lots of parmesan cheese and pesto, and top with the prawns.
Heat up some oil in the pan and fry the onions, ginger and garlic.
– Linguine in mushroom cream base topped with earthy parsley
myhumblefood 