Myhumblefood is now on YouTube!

Well this has been a long time coming! We’re finally on YouTube! If you haven’t already, do check it out and subscribe for cooking tutorials. We will be covering some old favorites as well as some new dishes. Stay tuned!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGoQE481XVFle9xVL9J8viA

Watch this space, we will be updating and cleaning up the website for our old recipes and will be posting some new ones too!

Love,

Denise

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Kazu Sumiyaki (Cuppage plaza revisited)

 

It’s been a long time since I last visited this eatery and they’ve refurbished. Still in the same seedy Cuppage plaza though, where we sighted a suspiciously promiscuous woman hanging out the rails of a well placed flight of stairs, calling out to single men.

Charming.

I digress, back to the restaurant! While it did away with the elbow to elbow diner chumminess, the new decor feels rather cold where it was cosy in the past.

The cabbage dip is no longer free. Sacrilege! They charge SGD3 for it now, in smaller portions.

My favorite foie gras skewer arrived over cooked. Sad and rubbery with none of that oozing goodness that graced its former self. What a disappointment.

It seems like the mouth devoured before the camera had a chance. The lamb chop was nice and tender, needed a touch more seasoning but it wasn’t bad.

Sometimes I write blog posts to remind myself that some dishes should never ever be attempted again. This chicken skin skewer is prime target in this post. It was not crunchy, rather, it was chewy. I do not understand the thought process that went behind this dish. Bad.

Pork and apple skewers. I only ordered 3 before they ran out. This was decent, a classic combination of soft, sweet apple and savory pork. Lovely. My only gripe is that the pork could be a little more tender, but I’m happy even with this.

Tsukune (meatball) is usually dipped in egg yolk and eaten, in a glorious pairing of rich yolk and delightful dark sauce. Here, the yolk has been replaced with a dab of mayo, some spring onions and soy sauce. It works almost as well. The meat is cooked to perfection and tender to a fault. Just enough char on it to pique the interest. Very good.

Hotaru ika (firefly squid) is a seasonal delicacy that I love. Pop the entire morsel in your mouth and enjoy. The ones here are cooked well and tender, but tasted a little fishy. We’ve had fresher ones elsewhere.

If I had to pick one dish to come back for it would be this. The humble cheese sausage. Humble in origin it may be but cooked in this manner, with all its blistered skinned finery, it is a delight in the mouth. Juicy and mouthwatering, we could have just made the entire meal about sausages.

We might have ended up with a cheaper bill too! Everything else was more expensive. It was a hefty bill. I left with more disappointment than mixed feelings, from the hole in my pocket to the dishes that felt somewhat lesser than the ones in my memory.

3 out of 5

Fuego, Kuala Lumpur

Tags

bar, chicken, churros, diablo, guacamole, Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur restaurants, restaurant review, salted caramel, south american restaurant

Kuala Lumpur is in dire need of good restaurants. With the fantastic array of restaurants that grace the streets of our Asian neighbours in Singapore, Hong Kong and as far away as Japan, it is frustrating that there is much to be desired in terms of quality in our city. These days it is so difficult to find even moderate decent ones, most being sub par. That being said, Fuego has been and still is a favourite go-to as far as decent restaurants go in scarcity. A place with a view (or now, disappointingly, just half a view) of the twin towers and outdoors. Having gone multiple times since its opening several years ago, I can safely vouch for its consistency in good food (bar the one time they accidentally charred my churros).

The Fuego guacamole is a perfect tango of tangy, creamy and savoury, with a zing of freshness lent by a squeeze of lime and final smattering of coriander leaves. If only the portion were more generous! I love the assorted fried chips that are served alongside. Although some of the selections are a tad hard, the variety is pleasing. The dish could be improved by offering thinner, more crisp vegetable chips. The yam chip and lotus root chip are adequate while the plantain chips could do with a bit of work.

Soft shell crab served with a creamy avocado sauce. Another good dish, fried to a thinly crisp exterior and soft and moreish on the inside.

This Chermoula chicken is a stunner. Enough to feed 3-4 people, although we usually order it for 2. The chicken is brined for 24 hours, then marinated in a tantalising mixture of lime juice, paprika, cayenne pepper, coriander and olive oil for another 24 hours before taking a dip in a sous vide bath. Both the brining and the sous vide does wonders for the absolute succulence and juiciness of the final product. After which the chicken is butterflied, smothered in another layer of the chermoula spice marinade and then charred over a charcoal grill and finished in a salamander grill.

The result puts any and all other rotisserie chicken establishments in KL to shame. Served with their spicy diablo sauce, this moist chicken is all lusciousness and layered flavour, evident in every bite.

A dish that I’d order every single time.

Even after that mammoth of a bird, one should always order the churros, freshly fried and dusted with cinnamon and sugar, paired with salted caramel cream dispensed delightfully from an espuma over a dulcey cremeux. The churros are hot, crisp and lightly sweet, and, when dipped into the ethereal cream, just gorgeous beyond words.

Fuego also doubles up as a watering hole, if ever the need arises.

Fuego Restaurant & Bar

Troika Sky Dining, Level 23A, The Troika, Jalan Binjai, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2162-0886

 

Thanks to timeout.com for the description of the prep that goes on behind the chicken.

https://www.timeout.com/kuala-lumpur/restaurants/the-dish-chermoula-chicken

Kita no Ryoba, Sapporo, Hokkaido (Revisited)

Tags

abalone, awabi, crab, curb market, Hokkaido, japanese, kani, lunch, market, restaurant review, sapporo, tourism, travel, uni

Back here again at Kita no Ryoba (curb market, Sapporo). It’s become a common haunt now every time I’m in Sapporo. You can read my previous post about it here.

So, I decided to try a couple of new things on the menu.

Clearly this uni don is not one of them. Still a favorite, and still delicious. Probably not the top quality grade A uni (or at least not in my humble opinion), but nevertheless a very satisfactory bowl.

Thought this was interesting and gave it a go. Uni and abalone grilled with a big lump of butter. I still prefer my uni raw and creamy, is that not the whole point of it anyway? The texture of it? Cooking it seems like such a waste.

The abalone however, was decent. I would order it again.

I requested for lightly seared otoro and was pleasantly surprised to find it perfectly seared. I’d half expected it to be overcooked to canned tuna standards or not quite cooked enough. This saddled the fence just right.

Now this is what I’m talking about! A whole crab! I’ve never ordered crab as it is often difficult to eat (read: I’m just a lazy eater), but my sister had been looking forward to this, unbeknownst to me. So she ordered a whole crab and ate her way through most of it.

The Japanese way. They make it so convenient to eat, there is no excuse not to have it!

Part of my concern with all the fabulous looking cold pre-boiled crabs ostentatiously displayed in the market, and even in the New Chitose airport, is that all the natural sweetness has been voraciously boiled out of the crab, leaving behind stringy, tasteless and over cooked meat.

I was wrong. So very wrong. And the crab was tantalizingly plump, meaty and sweet, I very much regret bypassing this every trip I’ve been to Hokkaido. I’m sure not every crab is good but I couldn’t fault this one.

Zero alcohol beer that I order every time I’m in Hokkaido.

Til next time!

Kita no Ryoba (curb market)

ヤン衆料理 北の漁場

2F, Kita 11 Jōnishi, Chūō-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido

Coconut Club, Singapore

Tags

brunch, coconut club, dinner, lunch, nasi lemak, nostalgic, restaurant review, singapore, singapore restaurants

Hands down, the best nasi lemak in Singapore. It’s comparable if not better than the famed Village Park nasi lemak in KL, by virtue of its superior fried chicken and convenient location, nestled within Ann Siang hill. I would, however, give Village Park the edge for its sambal.

The coconut club adopts a no straw policy. A minor inconvenience that’s for sure but I believe it’s a good notion, whether or not they’re trying to skimp on the cost of plastic straws.

You’re given a basic nasi lemak option and the option of jazzing it up with additional items like more egg, extra chicken and the such. I can’t quite remember the drinks unfortunately, although I most likely went for the Milo. Nasi Lemak and Milo, what a winning combination!

I greedily opted for an extra fried egg and almost regretted it when the food arrived. Portions are generous when it comes to their exceptional nasi lemak, not that I’m complaining at all as I love my food.

The fried eggs are nicely browned just around the edges and yolks ooze a perfect molten gold. Fried chicken is seasoned well and manages to be a tantalizing crisp golden brown on the outside and all tender juiciness on the inside. Even the ikan bilis is crisp and crackling perfect, nudging away every memory of stale, chewy ikan bilis in lesser eateries. And what is nasi lemak without the full monty ? There’s a generous helping of peanuts and the usual side of cucumbers to help combat the spice of some very delightful sambal. It can get a tad spicy, so fair warning.

We ended the meal with a bowl of chendol each. The shaved ice is so fine it tastes like it belongs in the acclaimed powder snows of Niseko. However, I tend to mix my chendol up and stir it into a soup before I eat it, so the texture was unfortunately lost on me. I would have preferred more gula melaka and other toppings but this was a decent go.

One of my favourite haunts these days, should I decide to let loose and go on a binge!

4.5/5 for the nasi lemak!

Address: 6 Ann Siang Hill, Singapore 069787

Gorio, Tokyo

Bundled away into a small location beside a busy main road, this was not the most convenient restaurant to find. Especially in the pouring rain.

There are only a few tables in the restaurant, and an even smaller menu. Salad, beef and a couple of side items and that’s it. There’s also a decent wine menu. It is expensive, as most beef places in Tokyo can be and can run up to and above 30,000yen per person depending on how much you order. Thankfully they accept credit cards, which eases the payment process in a country that loves cash payments.

They only slaughter female cows for their tender meat, and we were duly shown the nose prints of the cow that we will be eating that night. I am not the most squeamish person, but I can admit to have felt a twinge of guilt when I saw the nose print, proudly displayed as proof of quality beef.

Nothing special about the salad, just some greens to lighten a heavy meal of red meat.

You’re asked how much meat, in grams, you’d like to have. Like any good beef restaurant worth its salt, you’re also shown the cut of meat before it is whisked off for cooking.

Good crust on the beef, pink and fatty in the middle, served very simply with a side of boiled/steamed vegetables and a baked jacket potato. If you’re looking for an innovative restaurant that whips up dishes with flair and pizzaz, this is probably not it. However, the meat is tasty and the dishes are executed with precision. I only wished they had other side dishes, though I understand they do not want to detract attention from the star.

https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13002356/

Address: 8-chome-18-3 Ginza Chuo City Tokyo-to 東京都 中央区 銀座 8-18-3 DJ銀座ビ1F

Tel: 03-3543-7214 (+81-3-3543-7214)

Opening hours:12:00～22:00(L.O)

Open on sundays

Sogong Jukjip, a porridge place in Seoul

Tags

korea, Korean, korean restaurants, porridge, sea urchin, sea urchin porridge, seoul, seoul restaurants, uni

This is a rather hole-in-the wall porridge place in Seoul. Nevertheless the food is soulful and good. The banchan is also simple, but they would be foods that you probably won’t be able to find in Malaysia. Even if you do it wouldn’t be this fresh.

We got our hotel concierge to help us make a reservation. The place isn’t very big and is like a family style restaurant. We walked to the restaurant to find the proprietor pacing up and down the road, looking out for us, which was very nice of him as we would have missed it otherwise, being unable to read Korean hangul. My Korean is limited to the common phrases bandied about in dramas. My interest in a drama peaks when someone starts eating onscreen. Delicious food they have in Korea, and Korean style porridge is satisfyingly savoury, unlike the bland Teochew style porridge that people seem to enjoy back in South East Asia.

The colourful storefront.

They’ve got a variety of porridges, ranging from vegetable to beef to abalone and even uni porridge. The sea urchin lover that I am immediately picked this out and I excitedly pointed to the photo in the menu (thank god for picture menus).

I was served a warm bowl of thick rice congee, with tongues of lightly cooked golden sea urchin peeping out like treasure. Seaweed is scattered over as garnish and a single egg yolk graces the very centre of the bowl.

As you can see, the banchan includes some spicy fermented squid, blanched vegetables, seaweed and fresh kimchi. There is nothing else to want for. The porridge manages to be tasty, yet gentle and subtle in layers of flavour that stand out the more you eat it. It isn’t cheap but I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and would definitely come back again.

Address: 86-1 Bukchang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-080, South Korea

Phone: +82 2-752-6400

Myhumblefood cookbooks are finally out!!!

Tags

myhumblefood; myhumblefoodcookbook

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!

 

RyuGin, Hong Kong (2 Michelin star, 2016)

Tags

Hong kong, hong kong restaurant review, japanese, japanese restaurant review, Michelin, Michelin star, restaurant review, ryugin, two michelin star

This was my surprise birthday dinner! Since I had completely ruled out Japanese restaurants while researching for restaurants to try in Hong Kong (good Japanese food does not come cheap in Hong Kong), I was completely unprepared but pleasantly surprised when I was shown in to this restaurant. Despite the glamour of its two Michelin star status, the setting was simple, save for a great view, it being situated 101 floors up. It claims to offer traditional but unique kaiseki cuisine. Unique it was indeed! And yet it retained all the clean, seasonal and delicate aspects of traditional kaiseki that the Japanese pull off so well.

This is the first overseas branch of the Tokyo restaurant, which boasts a full spectrum of Michelin stars.

http://www.ryugin.com.hk/about_e.php

We weren’t given a choice on the food. Everyone had the tasting menu.

The tasting menu consisted of 10 dishes, which change according to season:-

1. Cold noodles topped with white shrimp, caviar, abalone and abalone liver sauce
2. Foie Gras flavoured with porto and wasanbon sugar served with fresh figs and sesame cream sauce
3. Charcoal grilled Alfonsino with matsutake mushroom in ichibandashi soup
4. Assortment of sashimi
5. Charcoal grilled Amadai brushed with Miso-yuan sauce
6. Cold Kegani crab egg custard with grated fresh apple vinegar
7. Wagyu beef shabu shabu, lotus root cake and onion ponzu sauce
8. Steamed rice topped with Ikura salmon roe
9. RyuGin Specialty -196 °C pear candy and 99 °C pear jam
10. Chestnut ice cream with roasted chestnut biscuits

We chose to have sake to go with our dinner and they presented us with a choice of sake cups which I thought rather lovely. Weakness for tableware.

Chilled sake this time.

First course: Cold noodles topped with white shrimp, caviar, abalone and abalone liver sauce

This to me was the star of the night! I’m not usually a fan of cold noodles but this blew me away. Something about the delicious salt brine of the caviar mixed with the sweet creaminess of the shrimp and dashi scented savouriness of the liver sauce coating those perfect cold noodles. The herbs, which I’m guessing is mitsuba, adds a heightened flavour to the dish and the abalone is cooked to a tender perfection. Now that I’ve tasted it, I’m wondering if I’ll ever be able to satisfy my newfound craving for it 😦

Mmmmm….Second course: Foie Gras flavoured with porto and wasanbon sugar served with fresh figs and sesame cream sauce.

I loved this as well, but it could be because I’m partial to foie gras. Popped the entire thing in my mouth. It tasted like peanut butter. Delicious but the foie gras to fig ratio could be better. The fig came dangerously close to overpowering the foie gras. Overall a nice mouthful (or two, the second is not pictured here).

Third Course: Charcoal grilled Alfonsino with matsutake mushroom in ichibandashi soup

Now this is what I’d expect from a top notch kaiseki restaurant. This is quintessentially kaiseki to me. The soup is clear, clean and yet flavourful. Ichiban dashi just refers to the basic stock that is used in most Japanese cuisine, made from katsuobashi (dried bonito flakes) and kombu (kelp). I had to look up the Alfonsino’s more familiar Japanese name, Kinme. It’s a type of sea bream, thus its taste is of a white-fleshed fish with enough fat to keep it tender but not as fatty as the cod. Well balanced fish cooked just right with a lovely charcoal aroma from the very slightly charred skin.

Fourth Course: Sashimi, standard offerings of hirame (I’m guessing here), akagai, hotate, ebi and saba sushi.

They’re all good and fresh, although special mention has to be made for the akagai and the saba sushi. I’ve not had the akagai cooked lightly like this before and I think it vastly improves its flavour and texture, making it easier to eat. The saba sushi is also done well, meticulously balancing the vinegar seasoning with the usually strong tasting fish. Absolutely nothing fishy about it, perfectly fatty and good use of seasoning.

Fifth Course: Charcoal grilled Amadai brushed with Miso-yuan sauce

All I can say is that the chef knows how to cook his fish well. Juicy and thinly glazed, it has none of the cloyingly sweet miso glaze I was dreading when I first saw the menu. I also liked that crisp that came along with it, it’s like a healthy ikan bilis cracker.

Sixth Course: Cold Kegani crab egg custard with grated fresh apple vinegar

This dish is your usual chawanmushi, except that its cold. The crab meat didn’t do much for me, and the orange stuff on top of the egg custard could be smoother. However I did like how it tasted of kaffir lime zest and juice, although it could have just been from the grated fresh apple vinegar. Interesting combination.

Seventh Course: Wagyu beef shabu shabu, lotus root cake and onion ponzu sauce.

I thought this was good! My dining partner said it could be more tender. If it were done yakiniku style, with the same sauce and garnish, I think it would be perfect. Needed a little boost to further melt the fat, but delicious otherwise. By this time I was too full to do justice to the lotus root cake, but I didn’t really fancy it much anyway after taking a small taste of it.

Eighth Course: Steamed rice topped with Ikura salmon roe

This is standard fare in kaiseki. The rice course comes out right at the end before dessert. While I’m not wowed by this course, I do love my ikura on warm fluffy rice rather than on cold, vinegared rice. Very satisfying and comforting along with the most delicious soup! The depth of flavour in this unassuming soup is unrivalled so far!

Ninth Course: the RyuGin Specialty -196 °C pear candy and 99 °C pear jam

It comes shaped as a beautiful, frozen pear which you tap and break into the insides before the waitress ladles the warm pear jam (which is more like poached pears) on top.

I love pear and I loved how the differing temperatures of the two components came together in a pleasing mixture to show off the pear ingredient. Very clever. My dining partner is harder to please though.

Tenth Course: Chestnut ice cream with roasted chestnut biscuits.

This tasted like chestnut ice cream, with chestnut shavings and roasted chestnuts cooked in some kind of alcohol. I loved this and would have finished the lot had I not been bursting at the seams. Dining partner didn’t seem to like it however. Not a fan of chestnut it seems (or the bill, since I didn’t pay for dinner hahahaha!!)

Conclusion, I really liked it! Fresh ingredients cooked well and on the mark, sometimes with a twist. The chef skirted with his cooking techniques, pushed boundaries and yet managed to execute the dishes with such finesse. The sake helped it all to come together I must say. And there’s nothing like an authentic Japanese meal to end a wonderful day.

I can’t speak for the value for money aspect of the dinner as I still do not know how much it cost. Ignorance is bliss.

Opening Hours / 12nn-3pm (Private Lunch Only) 6pm-9:30pm (Dinner Last Order)
Address / 101/F, ICC, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon
Reservation Telephone no. / 2302 0222
Number of seats / 48 ( including 2 private rooms, 1 for 4 guests and 1 for 12 guests)
Parking / 4 hours Free Parking

Quick post: Roasted chicken thighs!

Tags

butter, carrots, cast iron pan, chicken gravy, compound butter, cream, gravy, gravy from scratch, mased potatoes, mash, pomme puree, potato rinser, roast, roast chicken, sieve, thyme, young carrots

Been a while since my last post! Coming up: myhumblefood recipes for pomme purée (basically an incredibly light and creamy French version of mashed potatoes), chicken gravy from scratch and the roast chicken.