Japan Rail Cafe Review

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It has been an exciting couple of months in Tanjong Pagar as new cafes and shops have been opening in the new Tanjong Pagar Centre near the MRT.

When we first saw Japan Rail, (located near the new lift and above the station, street level 1) we thought it was just a place to buy train tickets for Japan, which in itself seemed a bit weird for Singapore. After deeper investigation we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was also a Japanese cafe and retail outlet.

The menu, as you can see in the photos, is cleverly incorporated into a mini newspaper with interesting articles to read about Japan whilst your food is being prepared. There is an adequate amount of food to choose from the menu, although they have run out of a few ingredients on occasion which is hopefully just teething problems.

We’re a bit of a sucker for chicken karaage, so we went straight for the Watashino Curry Rice (red rice, rich mince curry sauce and side salad) with choice of 2 sides (crispy chicken and fried egg) and the Crisp Chicken Don (crispy chicken on a bed of red rice, two sauces and choice of soup), which were both delicious. We have been back since and unfortunately it seems other people are fans of chicken karaage too as they had run out, so the pork is another good options to choose with the curry rice.

It seems they are also known for their burgers, but we are yet to try them as we can’t get past their delicious chicken karaage and also don’t feel burgers are very Japanese, so it’s an odd choice to make.

Drinks wise they have a few interesting options to choose from including their healthy yogurt fruit drinks and iced tea (both of which change seasonally) and their drip coffee which are all good.

There’s quite a few tables available within a nice bright environment but I would recommend visiting on the weekend when it will surely be much quieter than during the week with the city crowd.

They also seem to have quite a good selection of Japanese beer so could be a good place to hang out for drinks after work too.

Japan Rail Cafe
Tanjong Pagar Centre, 5 Wallich Street, #01-20 Singapore 078883
http://www.japanrailcafe.com.sg

A Poke Theory Review

I started my new job this week and have been really excited about exploring all the new cafes and salad bars for lunch. Having been working in quite an industrial area previously, my only choices for lunch were in hawker centres, which can get quite boring and unhealthy after a while.

My new colleagues quickly introduced me to Poke bowls, one of the latest food trends popping up around Singapore recently. Apparently Poke – pronounced as “poh-kay”, is the Hawaiian verb for “section” or “to slice or cut”.

I have a weird obsession about eating food from bowls, so I was keen to try this new Japanese / Hawaiian twist on the traditional salad ‘pick and mix’ bowl. The main difference being their raw fish meat options and Japanese salad ingredients.

A Poke Theory is just across from my new office, so it was the best place to try a Poke bowl first. Basically you pick your favourites from the following selections:

Base (quinoa, sushi rice, red rice or lettuce leaves)
Meat (shoyu tuna, avocado miso salmon, spicy wasabi salmon, spicy garlic sesame tuna, avocado or wasabi ponzu)
5x Salads (cucumber, cherry tomato, carrot, pineapple, seaweed salad, avocado, Kimchi, mango or pomegranate)
Optional Extras (crunchy kale, teriyaki edamame beans, crispy salmon skin, spicy roasted cashew nuts, shredded pork or BBQ corn)
Top with nori and sesame seeds
Add extra sauce if you need
Mix and enjoy

As you can see it creates a beautifully colourful bowl of delicious and healthy salad for lunch.

They also have superfood smoothie bowls which look just as beautiful and delicious that I will be trying next time.

A Poke Theory

27 Boon Tat Street Singapore 069623

http://www.apoketheory.com/

Miso Salmon Noodles

Here’s a quick and healthy dinner idea, miso salmon noodles.

Simply cook the soba noodles according to the packet instructions in a pot of boiling water. Drain and add a few splashes of sesame oil to keep the noodles from sticking together. Lightly cook the cucumber, capsicum, celery and spring onion or keep raw if you prefer them crunchy. Toss together with the noodles and a few more splashes of sesame oil and soya sauce to taste.

Bring an inch or two of water (depending on salmon thickness) and a large tablespoon of miso paste to boil in a frying pan. Add your salmon fillets, skin side up to start and cook on a low-medium heat. After 5 minutes turn the salmon over to cook on the other side until cooked through.

To serve, place your noodle salad on a plate, add the salmon fillet on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds and takaokaya kizami nori for a flavoured decoration. Don’t waste that delicious salmon miso broth, just pour into a small bowl and enjoy!

Ingredients (2 people):

Soba noodles
2x Salmon fillets
1x tbsp Miso paste
Water
1x Cucumber
4x Celery sticks
1x Capsicum
4x Spring Onion sticks
Sesame Oil
Soya Sauce
Sesame Seeds
Takaokaya Kizami Nori (Dried Shredded Seaweed)

Stuffed Sweet Potato

stuffedkumera

When I was younger I never liked bland food like potatoes, eggs or pumpkin. Strange really, as it’s usually the opposite for children. As I have grown older and my passion for cooking has developed, so has my appreciation of these ‘bland’ foods as the perfect base for more interesting food combinations and flavours.

Here is a quick recipe I knocked together one night for dinner as a twist on the classic stuffed baked potato. For a healthier option I have used orange sweet potatoes and substituted half the mince with lentils.

Ingredients (2 people):

2x large sweet potato
150g beef mince
1x tin of brown lentils
4x tbsp sundried tomato paste or passata
Handful of cherry tomatoes
4x spring onions
Chives
Grated cheddar cheese
2x handfuls of rocket leaves

Scrub the sweet potatoes with skins on under cold running water to remove any excess dirt, pat dry, prick each with a fork, place on a lightly oiled baking tray and place in the oven for approximately 45mins on 180 degrees celsius.

Whilst the sweet potatoes are cooking, cook the mince in a fry pan over a high heat. Once browned, add the lentils, tomato paste, tomatoes and spring onions, season with salt and pepper, then cook through.

Once the potatoes are cooked, assemble your plate with the rocket leaves underneath the potato. Cut the potato in half lengthways and place the mince mixture with cheese and chives sprinkled on top for added flavour.

As always feel free to swap any of the ingredients to suit your preferences and availability to purchase. For example you could swap the rocket for baby spinach, chives for any herb of your choice and use any type of cheese you prefer.

You could also add some plain yogurt if you want as a creamy topping which is healthier than the classic use of sour cream.

Enjoy!

Falafel and Tabouli Salad

I was very excited to discover a new falafel mix from Redmart, the online grocery service I started using recently in an attempt to make my life a little easier with a newborn. I had only seen these back home in Australia and New Zealand, so I have made several failed attempts at creating these from scratch. The mix obviously saves heaps of time as they’re ready in minutes and perfect for those with limited time to prepare a delicious and nutritious vegetarian meal.

falafeltabouli

Ingredients:

Falafel Mix
Spinach
Cous Cous
Tomato
Coriander
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Prepare the falafel mixture according to the packet instructions. Using wet hands, roll a spoonful into a flat disk shape and then place in a fry pan with a splash of olive oil to lightly fry on each side for a few minutes until golden brown. I have tried cooking these in the oven to make them healthier but they turn out quite dry that way, so I find it’s best to fry them for the right flavour and consistency (just ignore the extra calories).

To create the tabouli prepare 1/4 cup of dry cous cous per person in a dish with a large surface area and a lid. Add the same quantity of boiling water, swirl to coat cous cous and then quickly place the lid on top. After 5-10 minutes of steaming you can fluff the cous cous with a fork. This is the best way I have found to create the perfect cous cous rather than following the packet instructions. Whilst the cous cous is steaming you can chop up the tomatoes and coriander (or parsley for traditional tabouli) in a mixing bowl, add some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, then combine with the cous cous.

Present all ingredients on a plate and enjoy!

If you have an leftovers you can use them to create delicious wraps for lunch the next day. I’d recommend adding some hummus, avocado and cheese if you can squeeze that all in!

Quick Steak and Italian Salad

Here’s a super quick and nutritions meal packed with protein and flavour.

steaksalad

Ingredients:

Rib eye steak
Mixed salad leaves
Avocado
Cherry tomatoes
Buffalo mozzarella
Walnuts
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Lemon juice
Seeded mustard
Honey

Simply heat oil in pan and cook the seasoned steak for a minute or so each side to your liking, then put aside to rest.

Prepare each plate with the salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, avocado, mozzarella and walnuts.

Combine the dressing ingredients of olive oil, lemon juice, seeded mustard, honey, salt and pepper and pour over the salad.

Enjoy!

Remember if you don’t have a particular ingredient you can always swap with something else similar to create your own variation e.g.

Steak – chicken, lamb, fish, etc

Mozzarella – feta, cheddar, ricotta, etc

Latteria Mozzarella Bar at Duxton Hill

I was first brought to Latteria’s Mozzarella Bar at Duxton Hill a few years ago when I was being interviewed for a new Marketing Manager role. I remember thinking wow, a whole menu of mozzarella and within walking distance to the office, where do I sign?

Yeah so maybe this place had a little to do with me accepting but I dare you to go there and not be mesmerised by the beautiful alfresco dining amongst the garden, overlooking the city skyline and being served delicious Italian food.

The Latteria Mozzarella Bar, as you might have guessed, has a whole menu of mozzarella in all shapes and sizes, prepared with different flavour combinations. The hardest part if choosing which one to have as there’s about 12 options but thankfully there are translations explaining the variances.

If I was forced to decide what my absolute favourite dish was, I’d have to say a mozzarella, tomato, basil and prosciutto salad with a balsamic reduction. I mean seriously what could be a better combination of fresh, simple ingredients? So naturally I chose the classic Buffalo mozzarella with cherry tomatoes and basil.

…plus a plate of proscuitto on the side.

Latteria also has other antipasto, pasta and grilled dishes on offer. Above is the mixed seafood spaghetti and below is the Baked Penne al Telefono (In traditional Italian cooking, any dish made with mozzarella cheese carries the name “al telefono,” a playful reference to the way the melted cheese strings out and curls like a telephone cord). Both quite delicious but not quite on par with the mozzarella options unfortunately.

LATTERIA MOZZARELLA BAR
40 Duxton Hill, Singapore 089618
6866.1988
http://www.latteriamb.com
info@latteriamb.com

Lunch: Sundays to Fridays, 12 noon to 2:30pm
Dinner: Mondays to Sundays, 6:30pm to 10:30pm

Broccoli Bacon Salad

I’ve been feeling a little sluggish recently so I thought I’d prepare a healthy dinner tonight to put things back into balance. I had a broccoli floret and a few other ingredients leftover in the fridge so decided to make my interpretation of a broccoli salad I once tried at a friends BBQ. Ok so I added a bit of bacon but no one’s perfect.

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

Broccoli Floret
Celery
Spring Onion
Tin Corn
Bacon
Almonds
Dill
Pumpkin Seeds

DRESSING:

Olive Oil
Dijon Mustard
Tarragon Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Italian Salad

After working all day I just want to enjoy a delicious and healthy home cooked meal but the last thing I want to do is spend hours in the kitchen. Tonight is a classic example of a dinner which is super quick and easy to make but is also really delicious and makes you feel good as it looks a little fancy for a week night.

All I did was slice a chicken breast in half and place a sundried tomato or two inside, wrap it loosely with some slices of bacon, drizzle with oil and pop in the oven on 160-180 degrees until golden. While that’s cooking I placed some baby spinach and basil leaves on a plate with cherry tomatoes and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Then I sliced a buffalo mozzarella, topped with some pesto that my lovely friend Pia gave me the other night, placed the chicken next to it and finished with a shake of salt and pepper.

There’s really no excuse for a boring mid-week dinner when this bacon wrapped chicken Italian salad is so quick, easy, delicious and pretty to make.

New Bakar Restaurant by BIG Group Opened

Last night we checked out the newly opened Bakar Restaurant by the BIG Group in Bangsar. Despite arriving very late in the evening they welcomed us and allowed us to place a quick last order for dinner.

The review we read about Bakar lead us to believe this was an Australian BBQ style place but I would not describe it that way. The menu, though limited, is a modern cuisine with mixed influences across Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, America and Spain.

The food was beautifully plated and there were some good flavours too, just like you’d expect being situated next to their sister restaurant Hit&Mrs. We choose the classic poached egg caesar salad, grilled watermelon and strawberry salad, BBQ squid, baby zucchini and rib eye steak to share.

This was followed by a selection of desserts including grilled pineapple with mint and ice cream, smores (American classic), cookie cooked in a pan (chocolate brownie), and fruit granita.

The interior of the restaurant was quite different to what we expected. Bright and fairly casual with a mix of seating options from around the kitchen counter to high benches. It felt more like an American diner which was quite relaxed.