Moosehead Kitchen Bar in Singapore, Telok Ayer

I like Moosehead Kitchen Bar, a lot. 

Moosehead just resonates with me in so many ways. The location, ambiance, people, food and vibes all hit the right notes for me. I actually didn't think I could find a place like this in the heart of Singapore's business district.

Moosehead is located right across the street from Telok Ayer MRT station. So it's super convenient for people who use BMW transport - I am a BMW person when in Singapore (bus, MRT, walk).



Inside Moosehead, the space is small but intimate and comfortable - the restaurant is inside a long and narrow pre-War shoplot, a stone's throw from Singapore's Chinatown. 



The furnishings were eclectic and Earth friendly like the food, and the personality of the youthful owners. It's stylish without being extravagant - you know.., the inside out type of stylish, not the put on kind.



Moosehead's owner Australian Daniel Ballis grew up travelling in Asia with his executive chef father, who now runs several restaurants in Moscow, Russia.

Daniel had managed restaurants in Four Seasons Hotels in Singapore and Sydney before striking out on his own with Moosehead.

Daniel still has the wanderlust, with a keen eye for food.



Daniel spent his early teens in Kuala Lumpur, and now in Singapore, so he is well exposed to the melting pot of flavours and aromas. 



Chef Manel from Barcelona, Spain was also well acquainted with Asian cuisine, having worked in Beijing and Singapore. Chef Manel's chief culinary influence were from his grandma and mom's homecooking.

Manel is also an artist by training, so he treats his food like art. Bringing familiar elements together in surprising, delightful ways. I can sense the Spanish and Mediterranean flair at the core of Manel's food, overlaid with tasteful touches of Asian twists.

Daniel and Manel experiment a lot, so not everything is for every palate. But hey, that's the way it is with innovation and creativity - there is always an element of risk in innovation - you can't please everyone all the time, but many are impressed (by your free and adventurous spirit).

For me, I like the way Moosehead's food are like bridges, instead of fences. There is a free spirited mix and match, yet respectful of the core of the respective cuisines.

Let me show you what I mean.



Crispy spiced ears, SGD16+.

Daniel started us off with this fried pig's ears. Chewy and crispy strips of pig's ears, flavoured with coriander, paprika, cumin and pepper.

It was a pleasant way to keep the jaws busy while engaged in other business.

I was munching on this the whole afternoon while photographing other food :P



Chargrilled asparagus, garlic miso, fried leeks, SGD14+.

Asparagus garnished with lightly fried leeks sat in a puddle of garlic miso sauce. Crunchy, with spots of char outside, the juicy asparagus spears worked well with the savoury sweet sauce.



Bacon-wrapped, chargrilled dates, roast garlic aioli (sauce), pine nuts, SGD8+.



A blend of savoury and sweet flavours (from the grilled dates), and a mash of tender and nutty crunchy textures. Likable but the dish was delivered a little too charred at the edges for my liking.




Grilled octopus, red peppers, lime, SGD35+.

Love this tender, meaty grilled octopus arm with red pepper and lime sauce. The arm cut into thick "coins" tasted and felted like dense, spongy tofu.

Love this. 



Bread, Balsamico, Olive Oil, SGD8+.



Burratina, basil oil, SGD21+.



Grilled vine tomatoes, bonito, balsamico, SGD18+.

The bread, cheese and tomatoes blended together beautifully. This is one of the most delicious ways of eating bread that I have tasted. It's a riot carnival of textures and flavours in the mouth.



Chicken Bulgogi, pickled shitake, horseradish, SGD18+.

Tender bite size chunks of well marinated chicken. A plain Jane in today's fancy dress party :P



Secreto Iberico, fresh tomato puree with wasabi, SGD28+.



Done medium rare, the Secreto Iberico was tender, creamy and slightly smoky. Delicious layers of savouriness and porcine sweetness.

The tomato and wasabi sauce was refreshing and had a subtle spicy bite. The tomato puree took most of the usual sting out of the wasabi, reducing it to a gentle tingle. Great sauce but I like to eat the Secreto Iberico neat to appreciate all it's subtle notes. 

Love this Secreto Iberico.



Beef onglet, teriyaki mushrooms, sweet potato, bonito, SGD34+.



Nice beefy flavours from the medium rare meat. Garlanded with colourful loads of crispy and spongy sides that go well with beer :D  Others may find the sweet potato crisps and teriyaki saoked mushrooms distracting.

For me, I savour the beef and enjoy munching the sides separately with beer :D

Perfect.



Chilli pineapple ice pop, gula melaka frozen foam, banana cream, chocolate, SGD14+.

Layers of sweetness balanced with slight tanginess. Soft sweet icy foam, hard sweetened ice juice punctuated with bits of bittersweet chocolate. 



Plum & mixed berries tart, vanilla creme fraiche, SGD14+ per serving slice.



Crumbly buttery crust filled with tangy plum slices and berries sweetened with foamy vanilla cream. Slightly too sour for my liking but this seems like a ladies' favourite,



Chargrilled avocado, ajoblaco, shaved frozen apple, ikura, puffed quinoa, SGD18+.

The fresh avocado skinned and pitted, was grilled then sat on a dish of ajo blanco sauce and topped with toasted quinoa grains, salmon roe and shaved frozen apple. The creamy dense avocado pulp was punctuated with crunchy, sweet quinoa and savoury salmon roe.



Overall, I enjoyed all the food presented by Daniel and Manel today. The menu is inclusive, open, globally inspired. Yet, it is respectful, sensitive and faithful to the soul and spirit of the origins.

It is a new kind of authenticity (some may think this is an oxymoron :P  ).

The menu at Moosehead changes often regularly. Hey, you don't expect creative people to stick to the same things, do you? :P

Moosehead is one of those places where I feel my words are inadequate and unable to fully express the feelings in my heart and on my taste buds. (Love you more than I can say? Good old Leo Sayer says it best :P  )

If you have an adventurous palate, you must come and see for yourself what I mean.

My thanks to Bing for the arrangements, and Daniel and Manel for the invite.



Restaurant name: Moosehead Kitchen
Address: 110 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/ugq24
GPS: 1.282160,103.848524
Hours: Mon - Fri: 12:00 pm to 2:30 pm, 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm Sat: 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm
Non Halal

Date visited: 29 Jul 2014

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Singapore Blog Awards 2014 Finalist

Please click on photo to vote Johor Kaki for Best Food Blog

When I retired 3 years ago, I asked myself - with little money, what can I do to bring the greatest good to the most number of people? I found it through Johor Kaki food blog.

Johor Kaki blog has been helping our hawkers with free social media marketing for nearly 3 years now.

Johor Kaki is viewed on Google over 154,020,442 times as at 30 July 2014. (Amazingly Actually, more than Lady Gaga on her official page at 149,489,215 views.)

Contests are very tiring and definitely not the reason why Johor Kaki blog was created. After very long thought, I accepted the challenge because if I opted out, I am denying the hawkers I write about a national level platform to reach more people.

That would be kiasu 怕输 and selfish.

So, I am in, and once in, I shall do my best.

Help Johor Kaki blog reach more people.

Please vote Johor Kaki for Best Food Blog - http://sgblogawards.omy.sg/2014/vote/lucky-voter-form.html

Legendary Hong Kong London Roast Duck and Meat in Jurong Point, Singapore 港饮港食

Three decades ago, on my maiden week long trip to London, my senior relatives would insist on going back to London's Chinatown for lunch just to eat the London roast duck 伦敦烤鸭. No matter which part of the big city we were at, we had to make our way through London traffic, all the way back to London Chinatown just for the roast duck. This got me really, really frustrated as I wanted to try other foods as well, like fish and chips and steaks :P

Nowadays, my tastes and palate have changed, and I will probably be guilty of the same irrational fetish behaviour, if I am in London again.

Today, I still have relatives who will always ta pau 打包 (take away) London roast ducks back to Singapore, whenever they stopped by London.



Fortunately now, we can all enjoy authentic London roast duck in the just opened Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食 cha chaan teng in Jurong Point, Singapore.



Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食 has under it's roof four HK signature foods namely, roast duck and meat, noodles and congee, dim sum, and tea and desserts.



Inside Legendary Hong Kong, it has the feel, looks and sounds of a typical HK cha chaan teng 茶餐廳. The fluorescent lit dining hall is too bright, people sit rubbing shoulders, back to back and have to speak above the drone of the other customers. Singaporeans won't be uncomfortable as this is not much different from local food courts or hawker centres.



I will be checking out each of the dishes in Legendary Hong Kong, one by one. This post is about the Hong Kong roast duck and meat.



Legendary Hong Kong's roast Chef Siu has 23 years of experience in his trade. A roast meat specialist, Hong Konger Siu has worked in the restaurants of HK and Thailand.



The roast belly pork hanging in the window.



The poached chicken. I haven't tried this yet. Must come back for it.



Legendary Hong Kong's signature London roast duck 伦敦烤鸭 is sold at SGD58 (whole), SGD30 (half) and SGD14.80 (per serving portion).



Chef Siu shared that Legendary Hong Kong uses only ducks imported from Ireland - the same fat ducks used in Chinese restaurants in Europe and London.

Ducks from Ireland (and similar colder climes) differ from ducks from tropical Malaysia as they have a thicker layer of fat and more tender, finer meat. The feathers are also hand plucked, so the skin and meat are not bruised unlike ducks mechanically de-feathered by rough tossing in a machine.

We tried Legendary Hong Kong's char siew and London roast duck 伦敦烤鸭.



The char siew was golden brown outside with charred edges.



The slices were cut thick and chunky. The meat was more tender than what is normally found in Singapore or Malaysia, with texture approaching that of braised meat.

The juicy meat was savoury with spices deeply infused in the fibers. The savouriness was balanced with sweetness from sauces on the caramelised surface.

Though different from Singapore or Malaysia char siew, I liked Legendary Hong Kong's flavoursome BBQ pork, a lot.



The signature London roast duck was golden brown outside.



Like the char siew, beneath the crispy skin, the savoury marinate with subtle herbal notes deeply infused the tender and juicy duck meat.

The crispy skin too had a robust savoury and smoky flavour.

The roast duck had a lightly herbal aroma like a very subtle seductive incense.

Fat was not excessive as much of it was melted away during the roasting process. Actually, I gladly ate the fat too as it was rich, deeply and robustly flavoured :P  To me, chewing a mouthful of skin, fat and meat together is the best way to enjoy roast duck :D

Now, I fully understand what was in my senior relatives' minds when we fought our way through London traffic every lunch time, three decades ago.

Legendary Hong Kong's London roast duck and char siew are outstanding.

My thanks to Marie of Icon Group for the invite.



Restaurant name: Legendary Hong Kong 港饮港食 (roast duck and meat section)
Address: Jurong Point II, Level 3 (at Boon Lay MRT Station), Singapore 
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/ZmFG2 
GPS: 1.340615,103.706312 
Hours: 08:00am to 11:00pm (closed 2:00pm to 5:30pm)
Non Halal

Dates visited: 27 Jul 2014, 6 Aug 2014

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Coffee Nowhere in Johor Bahru, Taman Gaya

Corrine and I paid a morning visit to Coffee Nowhere Cafe in Taman Gaya.

Inside Coffee Nowhere, the decor is simple and the layout straightforward. But, it was comfortable with plenty of private spaces and cushioned seats for chilling out with friends.

The decor consisted mainly of wooden boards and planks as it was inspired by the humble stable in the story of Nativity. 



The open concept bar lets us see the baristas in action.

We had the opportunity to chat with Welson, CEO of Coffee Nowhere.



This branch in Taman Gaya is Coffee Nowhere's birthplace and flagship. Coffee Nowhere now has another branch in Austin Perdana, in Yong Peng, and overseas in Singapore, Batam (Indonesia) and Vietnam. More Coffee Nowhere branches are expected in Malaysia and further afield like in China.

From our brief interaction, I sensed that Welson is one of those rare breed of ideas man and action oriented entrepreneur wrapped into one. He is energetic, observant, has a knack for spotting opportunities and acts fast and creatively to turn them into profitable enterprises.



The sound of a churning rotating drum and the seductive aroma of coffee interrupted our conversation. Chief Barista Trevor was roasting a fresh batch of coffee beans at Coffee Nowhere.



Trevor made Corinne a hand poured Ethiopian which tasted of citrusy red cherry with nuttiness, slight bitterness and caramel sweetness. 

She liked it.



Trevor made a cappuccino for me. I am still a novice in coffee appreciation.



Coffee Nowhere's blend is a trio of beans from Brazil (Bourbon), Ethiopia (Yirgacheffe) and Papua New Guinea. The medium bodied coffee has nutty and caramel flavours which is widely appealing.



This pizza was a surprise delight.

On the crispy crust laid a carpet of melted cheddar and mozzarella cheese blend, topped with slices of smoked duck and pieces of lychee. Yes, lychee! The pizza was then drizzled with a house blended sauce.

The mix of crispy crust, soft chewy cheese and tender duck was balanced with juicy fleshy lychee. The layers of savouriness from the blended cheese, fat and skin on smoked duck and sauce were balanced with refreshing sweet fruitiness from the lychee.

The combination of layered and contrasting textures and flavours worked delightfully well for us.

Coffee Nowhere's popular signature pizza is a Must Try.

Coffee Nowhere is a likable cafe and it's coffee appeals to a wide cross section, from coffee novices to enthusiasts.



Restaurant name: Coffee Nowhere 
Address: No. 30 Jalan Gaya 1, Taman Gaya, Ulu Tiram, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/9lZlS
GPS: 1.564338,103.801649
Hours: Mon - Sun: 11:00 am to 12:00 midnight

No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Date visited: 17 Jul 2014

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Two Wings at Bukit Merah, Salute Kopitiam in Singapore

The Two Wings salute.

Golden hued chicken wings strutting their stuff at Two Wings stall in Salute kopitiam.



Recently, the crispy hot wings from Two Wings stall in Salute kopitiam was the rage in the Singapore food scene.



Jeremy the owner, fine tuned and updated his family's recipe to create one of the best fried chicken wings that I've had anywhere (not just Singapore). 

Jeremy learnt the recipe from his granduncle who ran the popular chicken wings stall in Toa Payoh, Lorong 5 where I lived till my late teens. 1960/70s Lorong 5 was famous for it's delicious food stalls and notorious for it's violent gangs.

I am blessed that I was influenced by the food but not the gangs :P



Samantha, Jeremy's partner, on the way to a table of friends who ordered 12 x 2 wings.



Two Wings' chicken wings, imported from the USA and Brazil, are larger and meatier than those imported from Malaysia and other countries. 

There was hardly any grease at all on the skin or crust, or on the wooden serving board.



The chicken skin and thin crust were so crispy, they just popped off in one flaky crunchy flap from the hot tender juicy meat below.

The seasoning and marinate were light handed, so they only brought out the natural flavours of the chicken without overpowering it.

I like.

Jeremy uses the same deep frying technique to cook a few other popular dishes.



The crispy fried half spring chicken.



The chicken breast from the mixed chicken parts platter which included thighs.



The chicken nuggets from the finger food platter which also contains fried onion rings, spring rolls and French fries.



The big slab of chicken cutlet.



The crust was crispy and the inside was actually even more moist than the chicken wings.

Actually, I am more a chicken thigh than wing person as I found thighs meatier and juicier. But, it is harder to achieve crispiness with chicken thighs.

Kudos to Two Wings.

Here at Two Wings, we can get the best of both crispiness and juiciness.




French fries drizzled with mayonnaise and cheesy sauce.



The ketchup and chili sauce station. The freshly homemade garlicky chili sauce, especially, was superb like those from good chicken rice stalls. Even then, the fried chicken was so good, I prefer to eat it neat, without any sauce. 

Two Wings - One just isn't enough.

Jeremy is really too modest - if you are a fried food foodie, I bet you won't can't stop at two.

My appreciation to Uncle Smart for another excellent good food tip off. My thanks to Jeremy and Samantha for the invite.

Note: In my opinion, the drinks stalls here overprice their drinks.



Restaurant name: Two Wings
Address: 119, Bukit Merah Lane 1, Singapore
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/qh5xT
GPS: 1.286134,103.804766
Hours: Tue - Sun: 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm (Closed on Monday)
Tel: +65 96670368
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Dates visited: 14 Jun 2014, 25 Jul 2014

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