Giving Away : A Heffer Pitcher

(source : http://www.stuffiluff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/milkheffer.jpg)

Missy is giving away Heffer Pitcher by Chiasso, in celebration of Children's Day!!

Give the posting a like (on facebook) and gain a chance to get this free and direct to your door step :)

Please do this before Oct 1st, 2012 (the draw date)



The pitcher features an interior glass segment in the shape of cow’s udders.

Please check her fan page for more information :)

MissyGlutton's Fan Page

Il laboratorio del gelato (NYC)

When Miss U and Missy went on this NY trip, they are supposed to be on a diet.  Diet or not, there is still a need to eat, but with restrictions.  There was supposed to be list of gelato shops Missy was hoping to hit, but gave that up. 

It was with great pleasure (mostly on Missy’s part) to discover this gelato shop, right across Katz’s deli.  At the frist look, it definitely don't look much like any gelato shop.  But Missy is usually not good at much, except with names associated to food or ice cream and in this case gelato.   Being the Queen of gluttony, she immediately recognized "gelato" as food!!!!  She will definitely convinced Miss U to go and take a look at it, no matter what.

Stepping into Il laboratorio del gelato was like stepping into a laboratory, everything was so sterile and clean…. Slightly scary, was expecting someone coming out in their laboratory uniform to chase them out.    Instead there was a rather hassled person trying to put out all the flavors, he was trying to serve at the same time.  There was so many flavors to choose from, from oriental to the more classical flavors.  Missy took quite a while to decide, and Mr Hassled Person wasn't impressed at her indecisiveness.  As there was only two chances at tasting, Missy just go for the ones she had never tried before.  Honey Lavender and toasted white sesame.   Honey lavender was with a very slight lavender and honey taste which just kiss and good bye so fast, leaving wonderful pictures of standing in a field of lavenders with distance sounds of busy bees.  Definitely heavy taste of the toasting along with cream, giving the toasted white sesame a heavier taste than regular black sesame (found in Singapore).  Both flavors were winners. 

Although Singapore does have their own artisan ice cream parlors, Missy thinks they are still a long way to go when compared to il laboratorio del gelato.   Not saying that Singapore ice cream parlors are not good, Missy just find that most of them would concentrate on local flavors.  Beyond Singapore, such flavors might just be once a blue moon treat, and not a good excuse to hit gym daily.  It would be nice if the hassled person aka Jon Snyder aka the boss would consider having a Singapore branch. 

Katz's Delicatessen

Ox tongue (Katz’s tongue) sandwich had been on her mind, ever since Missy saw it on some food network show… Can’t remember if it was “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” or was it “No Reservations by Anthony Bourdain”.   It is with great pleasure * burps * that she said it is no longer on her list.

During her visit to NYC, Missy made a purposeful trip to Katz's Delicatessen.  It was a long and rather difficult journey, dragging a non-foodie who doesn’t understand the urge thru a rather complex (to Missy) train system.  Missy is definitely not a good person to bring on travels, as she tends to leave her brains back in Singapore.

The whole thing was rather surreal to Missy.  She was handled a ticket, which reminded her of the old bus stub of Singapore.  Of course, she was told not to lose it, and being the bimbo she was, she kept asking the two nice and patient security enforcers why.  Very nice and retro place, it looked just like a typical US bistro?  Don’t think much had changed since they moved into this location in 90’s.  

Ox tongue (Katz’s tongue) sandwich is what Missy wanted, and a nice bowl of chicken noodles soup.  Although chicken noodle soup can be bought in Singapore, it could never remove the wonderful memories of Missy’s idea of only having the best chicken noodles soup in NYC.

You can order it as a whole or half a sandwich.  Missy thought she could just order half and a bowl of soup, so she might have room for maybe a pastrami or even a salami sandwich.  Unfortunately the sandwich came in a rather big sized, it was a full slice of bread with a stack of ox tongue slices and with some mustard.  * YUMMy *  The chicken noodles soup was excellent, just like those of her memories.

After (and BEFORE) food, there was plenty of running around to take as much shots of the place as possible.  The servers must be used to the tourists, cause they did not even blink an eye, as Missy went around snapping photos.  As for the non-Foodie person (aka Miss U), she enjoyed the first of the many bagels in our NYC trip.

Although it did not make an impact there and then, the memories of the sandwich lingered.  More than 2 weeks had passed, Missy is missing Katz’s delicatessen and plotting how to smuggle  import some of delicious ox tongue over.  Sometimes it is the simple food that we will miss most.

Click for more pictures... 

The #CookForFamily Initiative

Being a person who loves to eat and comment on others's cooking, Missy find it rather stressful to cook for others.  Missy was approached to participate in the cook for family initiative by Daniel.  Cook  and take pictures would not be that difficult after all, it is just family.  

What to cook? When to cook? To satisfy a group of super duper fussy eaters... French, italian or just a pork roast that will definitely be welcomed?  After a few weeks of thinking, the best dish to cook is Missy's family version of the Hokkien Popiah.   This recipe is from Missy's mother's mother in law aka Missy's granny.   Missy's mother is not the greatest cook in the world, but she can certainly cook some dishes.  Remembering this recipe but not exactly mastering, was a series of trial and error for Missy and Mighty mouse (Missy's sister).

Just prep'ing the vegetables will usually take about 2 to 3 hours with about 4 pairs of hands, and the cooking will take about the same amount of time.  Missy's granny used to do it all by herself.  Sisters and Missy came out with an idea to entertain their friends.  Telling how granny only pass one part of the recipe to one grand kid and this dish can only be made if everyone is present.  A few friends actually thought it was truth, as the family only invite friends for this wonderful dish on rare occasion.

Cooking for family is indeed a joy, a pain and and accomplishment.  To have family settle back with satisfied smiles is the best reward for the hard work.  

Rakuichi Japanese Restaurant (Dempsey)

Red Waterbottle always tell Missy that she should always start a letter or anything with positive news.  Nay, Missy rarely follow rules nor listen to good advice.  If now is not the time to make mistakes, when will be the right time to do so?  Recently Missy went for a general blood check up, just to make sure she will be alive long enough to  go for her favorite chef’s visit to Singapore.  Bad news… Because of the results, Missy is on a LOW everything diet.  No carbo, No red meats, no Wagyu beef, no nothing.  If it is possible, Missy think Dr Tan will put her on a vegetarian diet.  Missy is feeling pretty down lately about it.  The good new is she is just going to stick to it for a month, so she can have a better result in Aug 2012.  After that, it will be back to some of everything diet!! :D

Anyway, due to the fact that Missy is not able to take much variety of food, her craving list just grew.  Seriously, it has a life of its own.  Missy was tricked to go to a Japanese chain restaurant.  Japanese food is healthy!! 

Missy understand that the food served might not be what the photo of the menu is.  To have another neighbor diner who is having another set with similar description of the sashimi having another better and different amount of food is unacceptable.   

As Missy is on a no red meat diet, she actually request not to have pork.  Although the service staff confirmed that Missy is able to have chicken and fish, pork was still served and destined for Mister Rubbishbin.   

The semi grilled sushi wasn’t that great.  The taste was fusion Japanese food style, and was quite different in a bad way.  Singapore restaurants need to understand that serving food, which the customer doesn’t wish to have, would result in wastage!!!  Missy told the service staffs if it is possible not to have rice, just serve the fish on it.  Oh no, it cannot be done.  Why?  Because it will be more troublesome.  How exactly would it be more troublesome?  The sushi chef don’t have to shape the rice…. Just place the fish on the plate, and that would be it.  After pondering for a while, Missy think the sushi items are pre made…. And served when the customers order.  Very conveyer belt style.   

As Missy has a big appetite, she decided to order a grilled fish to fill the gap.  She was told it was grilled with salt.  The fish was dry and not salty.   The operation (code name : Soya drowning) of trying to make the fish taste better worked.  Maybe that was the intention of the chef, to drown the fish in soya.

On the whole, Missy is not very impressed with this place.  She is disappointed with that particular blogger who had almost described Rakuichi Japanese Restaurant chain as “天上有，地上无”  aka “Heaven has,  Earth does not have”.  Missy felt much happier eating at Sushi Tei.

Enso Kitchen 圓相廚

Chef Danny, do you know you have a stalker?  Missy had stalking the Enso Kitchen fan page, just so she would know when she will be able to get the best mochi in town (just because Missy had not been to Japan yet, so she can’t compared those found there).  Every time, he returns to Singapore, there will only be 2 weekends of lunches and dinners. 

Shojin Ryori (aka Japanese temple vegetarian cusine) was Danny’s way to preparing his food.  When Chef Danny was based in Singapore, he had weekly hosting of his offers.   After several rounds of trying Chef Danny’s food, Missy was bored.  

Maybe it is because Singapore is boring, boring because there is no change in seasons, and boring because there is no seasonal fruits or vegetables.  So when Chef Danny packed his bags and left for Taiwan, Missy wasn’t all that sad.   

Not much time passed, Chef Danny decided to come back for a visit and do some meal hosting for his fans.  Of course, Missy is keen to find out what Danny had learnt during his Taiwan stay.   

Of courses, there will be dishes Missy would like or not like.  However, Missy thinks one should try out Chef Danny’s offerings to make up their own mind.  His offerings are definitely in a league of their own.  

It had been three different rounds of enjoy food that were similar, yet different.  Chef Danny had made subtle changes to his ways of cooking.  It was done with either with some ingredients he got from Taiwan, or change to his preparations.

Canary (Missy's nickname for a person) asked if it was a good or bad change, Missy thought it was neither.  It is very interesting to see and taste what had changed in the short time Danny was away.

Looking forward to the next offering.   Autumn is Missy’s favorite season!! :D

More pictures from the lunch :D 

Brasserie Wolf

It is white asparagus season!! Missy likes white asparagus and had got some to try cooking them (thought it might be cheaper and more for her).  Bella gave some tips on how to blanch the asparagus and it was done perfectly, with a bite.    

Brasserie Wolf was offering a white asparagus menu and their executive chef was talking about it on his fan page.  Missy felt she should give the restaurant another try, just for her love for the white asparagus.  Poached white asparagus, poached egg and hollandaise sauce was the dish chose out of several that were offered.    Missy wished she could love the dish, but nay.  The egg was okay; the hollandaise sauce was perfect and the white asparagus SUCK big time!   Missy’s attempts to slice them broke them into strands.    It was difficult to chew or cut the asparagus into bite able sizes.  Rather disappointed that one of her favorite ingredients was done so badly.

Traditional French onion soup with Gruyere cheese & toast was done well.  The soup was flavorful with loads of onions.  The plentiful Gruyere cheese with the toast gave the soup a great touch of heartiness.  It’s hot, it’s flavorful and it’s cheesy!!! Missy loves.    Brasserie wolf’s version could easily be one of Missy’s favorite French onion soups in Singapore.

Missy read somewhere that Brasserie Wolf has this new grill, supposed to be a big hoo haa that produces excellent food.  When the menu mention Josper grilled foie gras with griottine cherry sauce, she has to try it out.  When the foie gras came, Missy felt they had served a whole liver of a young duckling.  It was such a generous portion.  Missy loves foie gras; unfortunately this really turns her off.  The foie gras piece was like a lump of gooey fat.  The outside was soft; the inside was gooey, Missy felt disgusted by it.  The taste wasn’t impressive as well.    Due to these various reasons, she chose not to finish the dish.   This was another waste of her favorite ingredients.  * Big sigh + a roll of eyeballs *

USDA Choice, Rib eye 220gm with bone marrow, bordelaise sauce and mash potato was asked to serve raw.   Missy likes her steak raw these days.  Mash potato was okay, bone marrow was fine, bordelaise sauce was so so and the steak was tasty.   She felt the steak could had seared better, it just lack so much in coloring.  If look is everything, it will be a F.

Missy was asked to leave her contact behind, as she had feedback she did not enjoy the asparagus.  For that effort from the lady manager, it was worth mentioning.  What is also worth mentioning is the executive chef wasn’t in the kitchen preparing or even supervising the dishes that were served.  He was out busy doing some off site catering.  To this, Missy wonders if she had been short changed by the restaurant, as she had actually went to try the skills of chef Claudio Sandri.

For some of the extra photos : MissyGlutton's fan page

Nogawa Japanese Restaurant (Concorde Hotel)

How many chances should someone or a place get?  For Missy, usually none.   For Nogawa Japanese restaurant, Missy had been most patient and too forgiving in her usual standards. 

Chef’s choice is usually the way Missy would choose to order in a Japanese restaurant.  The dishes served during Nogawa’s omakase are downright embarrassing and insulting to Missy. 

Raw fish (sashimi) came with barely any “exotic” choices… half a scallop?  Please, don’t insult one’s intelligence.  Even with such lousy sashimi choices, it is hardly comparable to Missy’s favorite sushi chain!   

Grilled dish?  A lousy piece of salmon with some onions?  Miss U (who can barely boil an egg) can cook better than that!!  

 The highlight of the meal should be deep fried dish.  Missy doesn’t understand how it would turn out so bad.  The fish tasted like it was deep-fried in oil, which ALL his relatives from the ocean had been in.  The horrible used oil taste actually turned Missy’s tummy so bad, she could barely eat for the rest of the day. 

Another thing that puzzle Missy greatly was they actually had technicians coming to fix their light bulbs during lunch hours.  One of them actually set their ladder in front of Missy’s table and started changing the light bulb.  Is this how they would usually treat customers? 

Inequality of treatments from the sushi chefs is one of the most prominent problems with Nogawa.  Missy had seen how big a difference different people are treated there.  Compared to some others who had been there and paid less, Missy ate worse.

Missy rarely shares the picture of the recipe, as she never thinks cost should be a reason a person enjoys of the food she or he eats.  To pay for dishes that are so horrible “sushi deli” style is such a foolish choice.   Nogawa had not changed, even after a few years.  To Missy, it is okay, because she is going to take her money and spend it somewhere else better.  For those who had great food from Nogawa, do look at the food that was served and remembered what was served to you at what cost.   

For more photos of the meal, please go to Missy's fan page

Balzac Brasserie (Rendezvous Gallery)

Missy had been really busy with foodstuffs lately.  Going to classes to learn how to cook and getting together with like-minded friends to cook a feast.   She is still determined to write at least a posting a month.  Today is the last day of April, the last chance to write her one thousand and one post.  May is supposed to be the month of celebrations.  Why?  Because May always just bring a picture of a group of people in rainbow colored clothes, holding onto colorful ribbons and dancing around a tall wooden pole.  Unfortunately for Missy, it had became a month of mourning.  After Missy's loss of her princess JRT, the month of May had been a period of darkness.   Wishing lots of love to her princess and have a happy life over the rainbow in doggy heaven.

So back to the usual program: Food.  Recently Missy went to a few newly open restaurants and one of them happened to be Balzac Brasserie at Rendezvous Gallery.   This place was on the radar and vague plans were made to visit it one day.  The visit was hurried by a chef's Fan page, somewhat promoting this place.  As it came highly recommended, Missy went to try out this French brasserie armed with high expectations.  Disappointment came fast, the main for the set lunch "Pan seared Wagyu beef steak" was not available and changed to some stew.  Missy had wanted a steak and not a stew, as she was also interested in trying the french onion soup in the a la carte menu.  

Disappointed, Missy decided to organize her meals from the selections in the a la carte menu.  Missy decided to have the chef special " foie gras", the french onion soup, gnocchi and rice pudding.  Missy had liked the flavors of most dishes she tried that day.   

Pan-fried foie gras with caramelized apple and duck jus was the chef special on the board.  Missy loves a good piece of goose/duck liver.   At the price Balzac was asking, Missy was hoping to get twice the size of what was served.  Missy was told once, food served in fine dining restaurants usually are smaller in portions…  The foie gras was definitely pan fried and not seared.  The whole piece was cooked.  This is one of the harder foie gras she ever had, kind of reminded her of those liver slices served in pig organ soups.  Even with the sweet caramelized apple slices, the whole dish came across as rather bitter.  

The Oignon de cevennes (Traditional french onion soup with gratinated gruyere cheese) was flavored but not hearty.  There was something lacking, and it doesn't have the heartiness a good bowl of french onion soup would give.  Missy is wondering if the stock had caramelized onion slices were just thrown in before serving.  Using the bread slices with oats or wheat on the crust was not exactly inspiring.  Those oats or wheat gave the soup a different texture aka difficult to chew and add a different (not a good one) taste.  Stingy with cheese is another characteristic of this soup.  All Missy wants from a french onion soup is a full bodied soup cooked with lots of caramelized onions, a slice or maybe two nice baguette slices and lots of melted cheese.  Good french onion soup is surprisingly hard to get in Singapore.

Artisanal tarragon gnocchi, tomato confit and butternut squash emulsion was the main.  Yes, Missy ordered an Italian dish in a french place.  Can Missy just blame the lack of inspirations that were in the menu? Or at least blame the missing Wagyu steak from the set lunch?  But, Nay.  Gnocchi is one Missy's most most most favorite pasta dish.  The gnocchi was deliciously cooked and extremely good! Other than that, Missy thinks the whole dish was…. a disaster.  The tomato confit could have been a runaway from the hot oven.  The skin was so intact and the fruit tasted so raw, it definitely escapes from a salad bowl.  The deep dish of butternut squash emulsion could have been the swimming (inspired from Bella's comment)… alright, Missy is exaggerating…. but it could have been a tiny kid pool for the gnocchi and the single tomato…  Missy would really prefer sauce emulsion for this dish.  Giving the benefit of the doubt (even after discussions with friends who cook professionally and as hobbies), the chef might wanted it to be a stew.  Gnocchi stew?  Could be the first and last time for Missy.

Riz au lait (Mamie Dubois' traditional rice pudding served with caramel sauce and toasted pistachios) came warm.  Surprisingly Missy thought this was the best dish she was served in Balzac.  Spoonful of warm rice pudding mixed with super duper sweet caramel followed by the crunchy pistachios bites was almost good enough to forget everything else that is lacking in previous dishes.

Like what Missy told Mr. D.B, this place is not bad, but not completed.   Food presented and served were halfhearted attempts at even trying to please.   It seemed the people behind these food doesn't have the heart to complete the dishes and left Missy rather disappointed at the end of the day.

Some of the pictures from the meal @ Balzac Brasserie.

BTW, Missy is still eating daily and posting photos on the facebook fan page