Train2eat with Danny Chen

Xmas dinner in Seoul - what should we have? Korean food of course.  This trip besides myself, we had a guest from Brisbane, who has some minor dietary constraints. So, we went to a restaurant that offered a wider selection of greens and healthy fusion cooking style.  Haruso, is located next to the Coffee Bean at Jongno. It offers both traditional seating and table and chairs which was a big plus for me. Sitting cross-legged for extended dinners was a big challenge. This meal was quite unique for me. I felt like I am going through a different level of Korean culinary during this trip. In my previous trip in September, I had the typical Korean fare i.e. Korean bbq, cold buckwheat noodle, bibimbap etc. This time around, we had moved on to more advanced cooking. The starters were a selection of salads, daikon (radish) with tomato in a sesame soy dressing and lettuce with squid in thousand island dressing. We had the usual kimchi accompaniment, vinegared cucumber cold soup and a peculiar ta...

Nothing beats mum's cooking... simple, yet satisfying. Steam sea bass, boiled pork rib soup with "kot" (in cantonese: some kind of root used for soup), stir-fry asparagus with prawns and steamed wax chicken (huh? this last one was not a norm; Where did she get this from?)

I thought this was quite cute. Something like shabu shabu in a paper pot. The taste was so so... a bit too sweet for my liking but it was cute. Come to expect less from franchised japanese restaurants...

I have this crazy remedy for sore throat... if you have one, just go for some spicy food... "poison for poison"... ha ha I am not saying that it really works, but you can try it. Warong M Nasir is my go-to place for the best beef rendang in Singapore. They serve nasi padang from about 11am. My usual picks would be the beef rendang, sambal goreng (with tempe of course), telur goreng and if I have company, the gulai ayam and with the right company, the paru (lungs). So sinful... It can be a bit oily. So, it's fantastic to down it all with a piping hot glass of teh tarik. YATA!!! P.S. Still don't know if it is truly own by the musician/composer/singer M Nasir... Warong M Nasir 69 Killiney Road Tel: 67346228

I was staying at the Hyatt after moving out from my apartment. Not in a cheery mood. Feeling extremely sad having to move out of my apartment of 4-years. I am going to miss The Light.  So, I was in for a lonesome dinner. Saturday night, it would be difficult to get a seat at Nanbantei but I was lucky. The waitress gave me a counter seat right at the corner - fit for my depressing self.  Nanbantei is a japanese grill or yakitori restaurant but they also serve sushi, sashimi etc. Quite an extensive menu but the restaurant is quite small. Top floor on Far East Plaza. I ordered "set A" - a-12 stick yakitori meal... comes with rice, miso soup and vege sticks with miso dip and a potato salad as starter. Always fascinated with the salt throwing technique. The yakitori is cooked over an open charcoal fire grill and to season it, the yakitori experts throws salt onto the skewers from a distance... ha ha, if I am the chef, I will most certainly have the entire floor covered with salt b...

Kome is by far the best japanese restaurant I have been to in Singapore for this year. One of my dearest colleague recommended this place and brought me here for my farewell (yes, leaving Singapore and returning to Kuala Lumpur for good. Got transferred back. Ok enough about me already!). So, since I was a friend of this certain Mrs Lim, we got extra-VIP service. It was fantastic. We were there for lunch on a weekday. So, it was not particularly crowded but of course, Mrs Lim made the necessary arrangements to ensure that we get counter seats ; P Kome is situated in Keppel Club on Bukit Chermin Road (off  Telok Blangah Road). Kind of off the beaten track but no worries, in Singapore, if there are good restaurants it won't be hard to sniff them out. If you didn't know, Kome is somehow related to Tetsuya at Bideford Road. Kome is run by Lawrence Chia and his brother runs Tetsuya. I was sternly warned not to mention Tetsuya when I was there, not sure why. Actually, as I was writin...

Yum Cha is located right in the centre of the Singapore Chinatown. Look out for the teapot signboard or just ask around. Try to be there early i.e. around 11am or call up to reserve a table if you are going for brunch during the weekends. I normally, just turn up and the wait is around 10-15 mins max.  Good selection of dim sum. You get all the traditional dim sum offering plus new ones which the chef creates. Good quality - generous size and good ingredients. in other restaurants, sometimes you find that the dim sum are smaller. Reasonably priced. For 2 person, less than $50.  The other thing I really like about having dim sum in Yum Cha is the atmosphere. Not because its location in Chinatown but more so because of the restaurant ambience. The table setting, the push carts, etc. it is somehow less formal compared to a chinese restaurant in a hotel.

This is definitely one dining venue that I had wanted in my blog for awhile now. I have been here numerous times but those were my pre-blogging days. So, since my sisters were visiting and they wanted a seafood dinner where else could I bring them. : ) Melben, is definitely making money... On Fridays and weekend, it is so full that you have to queue. In the past, the use to provide chairs. Now, you just form a line. They had recently renovated. Must have negotiated out a few other tenants and had the whole space for themselves. Must say that it looks nicer now. Kitchen is enclosed and they now have a proper drinks section and cashiering area. The rojak and chicken wings shop is still there. Good idea, since you normally have to wait at least half an hour for your meal. I also like the way Melben manages customers expectations i.e. you will be given an indication of how long you have to wait to be served your meal when they take your order at the queue. Normally they will buffer the tim...

Your Wol is a tiny korean restaurant next to United Square. It is a few shop lots away from Udders the ice cream parlour. This is an interesting meal to try. It is call "Pu de jegae"  or Army soup, literally translated. The history goes back to the Korean War, when people were scavenging through waste thrown out by the US army and found bits of meat patties and sausages which were used to make this soup. Some rice cakes, fish cakes, vegetable and kimchi is added. It is good by itself for dinner. You can add ramen or rice, if it is not enough.

A fellow foodie colleague of mine recommended this place when I mentioned porridge steamboat I had in KL. Porridge steamboat was one of those food fad that went away quickly. Apparently, quite a few restaurants popped up a few years ago offering porridge steamboat as their main menu but demand didn't quite sustain its existence. So slowly you find many switching back to the conventional steamboat, if they didn't end up closing. Anyway, so it was quite a surprise for the staff tending to us when we ordered the porridge steamboat. Jade Palace is your usual chinese restaurant whose menu has the usual a la carte chinese dishes. The steamboat was the "other" offer, maybe more popular during the weekends when people have more time and you have a few soup base stock that you can choose from. The steamboat porridge was not exactly on the menu but of course, if you ask they can make it available for you... but of course there is a price to pay... The steamboat menu is a la car...

This is probably the best Korean restaurant to go to, if you have some Korean guests to entertain and you want a reasonably priced Korean restaurant with good food and ambience. Remember Koreans would always appreciate a good korean meal anytime even though they are in a foreign country. So, you won't go wrong by bringing them to one when they visit Singapore. I have been here a couple of times and each time I had the pork belly bbq and a spicy soup. I would recommend for those who like fish innards to try the spicy fish soup instead. Fish innards here means stomach and roe. It is an acquired taste I suppose but let me assure you that I was not a big fan of fishy stuff at first but this soup converted me. The innard once cooked is tender but yet retains its taste. Don't worry if you end up cooking it for too long because the texture remains quite consistent. The longer you cook, the better the soup will taste.  The other point worth mentioning is that the service is good. Staff...

Ever since, Imperial Herbal Soup restaurant shifted to Vivocity from its previous location at the 3rd floor of the Metropole Hotel on Seah Street, my dining experience has been deteriorating. Maybe it is the larger restaurant. So, it feels more commercialized compared to the previous quaint little restaurant.  I think it still offers best herbal soup in town. I guess the menu has been evolving but the trademark dishes were maintained. Somehow, I feel something is missing but can't quite put a finger to it. Anyway, the egg white with conpoy is still good. I had the wild brazilian mushroom soup which was quite alright. It was a bit sweet because of the dried longan. The herbal chicken was great. It had generous stuffing of herbs. The chicken could be bigger because there wasn't really enough meat to go by. The herb infused gravy was great with rice.  What was a disappointing for me was the stir fry eel. I think the eel was stir fried separately and it was too dry. The "kow k...

One of my all time favorite place for lunch... traditional hainanese cooking at its best. Where else can you have your chicken rice and steamboat at the same time. Add on to your order the other delights like the pork chop, satay, prawn fritters and others. Thean Kee is located at the basement of the Golden Mile Tower. Normally I will park in Golden Mile Complex at the far end of the car park closest to Golden Mile Tower because both the buildings are connected. So, there is a shortcut from the car park to Thein Kee. What brings me back each time is not only the fragrant chicken rice with the perfect chilli sauce but the delight of having steamboat with it. Basic chicken broth with a modest selection of ingredient. If you have no dietary constraints, make sure you ask for the beef. The tender beef cooked in the steamboat is great with the chilli sauce. The other must try is the pork chop. Hainanese style of course, topped with tomato sauce with green beans and onion. I also like the pr...

I will write more when I have the time but for now, here are some food shots from the trip... Day 1 (19 Oct) Singapore to Tokyo - Japan Airlines breakfast... fruits, porridge, stew bamboo shoot, poached salmon...   Day 2 (20 Oct) Breakfast no. 2 at the Narita Airport Sakura lounge....     Ume (plum) seaweed rice, cappucino, sugar bun...     Day 2 - Lunch onboard Japan Airlines to Guam...             Day 3 (21 Oct) - Lunch at Ruby's Tuesday - Crab cakes, steak and cheeseburger...     Dinner at Roy's (Hilton Hotel - Caesar salad, grill butter fish, chocolate souffle...       Day 4 (23 oct 2008) - Lunch at Capriossa.... seafood pasta, penne, lasagna...     Dinner at President (Sheraton Hotel) - teppanyaki       Scallop, sween corn soup, boiled squash, wagyu beef and salad...