This week I switch things up with a new Foodie Friend and get schooled on Eurasian cuisine, another unique South-East Asian fusion of food and cultures. Along the way, I discover the story behind devil’s curry and taste something hitherto unknown at Quentin’s, where every dish tells a colourful story.
A familiar face from TV’s Kin & Sunny Side Up, actress Bridget Fernandez had graciously agreed to be my guide and we met up on Sentosa, where she introduced me to Chef Quentin Pereira. I hadn’t realised he had opened a second restaurant on the island.
Most will know of Quentin’s at the Eurasian Association, but Quentin’s Bar & Restaurant is a newer, swankier incarnation. Opened on Sentosa in 2019, the same well-loved Eurasian dishes are served there, albeit in a more opulent setting.
Continuing our series on heritage foods in Singapore, Chef Melvyn Lee and I tried traditional pastries and dessert soups from two local brands steeped in sugar, family and history. The thing is, I don’t have a sweet tooth, so my knowledge is somewhat limited when it comes to such delicacies.
Hello Makan Kakis! Eager to get to know our new foodie friend and freshly-crowned champion of MasterChef Singapore Season 4 Inderpal Singh, I invited him back for a fun chat and of course, got him talking about some of his hawker favourites. Inderpal is as comfortable whipping up stunning fine-dining creations as he is keeping things down-to-earth & local. The self-proclaimed “proud Northe-sider” takes us to his Yishun ‘hood with today’s dessert recommendation – traditional Melaka-style cendol!
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Inderpal jokes about how Yishun has a reputation for being the most dangerous place in Singapore though the only thing you would risk getting there is “delicious food because we’ve got so much of it”. Yishun Central 1 in particular is “the Holy Grail of Asian food”, with the famous 928 Laksa & Yishun 925 Chicken Rice bringing in the crowds. But there’s something else at Block 925 Inderpal thinks more people should know about – a stall at the halal Kedai Kopi foodcourt that serves outstanding cendol.
Chef Ming Tan is back for the second week running to share more from the series he’s currently hosting – On the Red Dot’s Food Fight, which takes a deep dive into the origins of well-loved dishes we share here in the South-East Asia region. Next on the Food Fight menu and nicely wrapping up the four-part series is CENDOL!
Where did the dish originate? Countries as far as Turkey, to India, Malaysia and even Singapore were investigated. And what kind of cendol variations do we see across the region? Chef Ming tells us a little more about his journey into the culinary heritage of the dish recommends several outstanding versions he discovered along the way.
Have a listen to the podcasts below and scroll down for Denise’s feature on one of the local recommendations!
After his travels to discover the origins of Cendol and tasting over 13 bowls in the course of filming the Food Fight series, Chef Ming recommends we head to Geylang Serai Food Centre for a very good example of Cendol in Singapore. All a good Cendol needs are 3 main ingredients (4 if you count ice!). You’ll notice Cendol Geylang Serai’s signage practically shouts NO RED BEANS. Purists! Chef Ming & I are approvingly, absolutely in agreement with this decree.
SEE: Fresh from her judging stint on Channel 8’s baking competition Creme de la Creme, our foodie friend, award-winning chocolate and dessert artist, Chef Janice Wong is back! This time, she recommends a visit a to gourmet Italian restaurant & bar at the far end of Robertson Quay. There at Publico Ristorante, you can find delicious cocktails, handmade pastas and pizzas, all with a contemporary touch.
Above is Chef Janice’s previous collaboration with Publico – her Ultimate Chocolate POP Pizza – a fun combination of chocolate and popping candy on Publico’s signature pizza base. What else would you expect from a dessert chef but a unique dessert pizza? While this creation was on the menu for a limited time only, there are so many more pizzas to explore and taste at Publico.
Hello Makan Kakis, this week we have a brand-new Foodie Friend! Please meet award-winning pastry chef Janice Wong, who’s as much an artist as a chef with her innovative, boundary-pushing creations and the founder of 2am: dessertbar, 2am: lab and Janice Wong Singapore.
Renowned for her gorgeous chocolates, she popped by the Gold 905 studio to chat about her latest Chinese New Year Collections, including her favourite Pork Floss & Bak Kwa Sesame cookies, hand-dipped chocolate-covered Pineapple Tarts and limited edition edible Piggy Banks with Gold Coins, all of which you can see here or purchase at her stores in Paragon & Raffles City
From Kaffir Lime to Laksa Leaves, her visits to Hawker Centres inspire many of the punchy flavours in her confections and Chef Janice is constantly challenging herself to find that sweet spot between innvoation and consistency. So have a listen to our on-air conversation and also find out where she likes to go for local flavour inspirations. You’ll want to scroll down especially if you love Curry Noodles!
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Click here to listen/ download podcast as Chef Janice talks about her stores, restaurants and her passion for all things chocolate.
Click here to listen/ download podcast as Chef Janice talks about her latest Chinese New Year Goodies.
Click here to listen/ download podcast as Chef Janice recommends where to go for her favourite Curry Chicken Noodles!
Chef Janice really loves a good bowl of Curry Noodles and having grown up in the Hong Lim area, her top choice can be found at the renowned food centre there. In her opinion, it all boils down to their super-special chilli, which is made in huge batches once every 4 days and has a secret ingredient that she suspects may be black bean. What you get is a really nice flavour that extends the length of taste for the chicken broth.
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Click here to catch up with KF Seetoh and what he’s been up too, including details on the latest on his ultimate food guide, Makansutra 2017 edition!
Click here to listen to this week’s mouth-watering makan recommendation, or simply read on…
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Our very first Makan Kaki, KF Seetoh is back! He’s got 5 copies of the latest edition of Makansutra for you to win and you can go straight to Gold 905’s FB page to enter our contest! For today, let’s talk Asian Heritage food that’s creative, beautifully presented and completely delicious! Seetoh loves meeting people who love and embrace their culinary heritage and move forward using that history to create amazing meals. Case in point, CreatureS, which serves up “comfort food with an Asian flair while staying true to the origins of the dish”. Check out some of Seetoh’s favourites from this little restaurant dishing out big flavours on colourful Desker Road in Little India:
Nasi Ulam balls with Miso Cod. Nasi Ulam, in particular, is such a labour of love, involving rice cooked in rich fish stock and perfumed with lots of finely chopped Asian herbs. CreatureS does theirs Japanese onigiri-style and they are WONDERFUL!
Lamb Shank Rendang. Spicy, rich and fall-apart-fork-tender, add a little lontong and you’re in meaty heaven!
CreatureS’ version of Balinese Babi Guling is another winner, as is their Nyonya-inspired Babi Pongtay, of which the pork belly is outstanding – a deep, burnished soy-brown, the babi is caramelised soft and is absolutely delicious.
Durian Lovers, you’re gonna combust when you check this dessert out…
CreatureS’ Durian Cake sounds very simple, but trust us, it is so layered in favour, you’ll want to eat the whole cake, not just a slice.
Can you imagine smooth Mao Shan Wang durian paste (pungent, unctuous durian meat mixed with cream) layered between soft pandan sponge cake and smothered in pandan-vanilla chantilly cream? They make it a mind-blowing reality at CreatureS and it is a definite must-try!
If it’s yummy, satisfying, Asian-inspired food that stays true to its heritage, this is the place to eat at. Bonus is, CreatureS have got what it takes in both the style and substance departments – skillfully-made, delicious food that still looks great, is beautifully presented and totally instagrammable!
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This week, we have a brand-new Makan Kaki joining our rolling panel of foodie friends! Lyn Lee is a former lawyer who decided to pursue her passion for creating the best chocolate cake she could and ended up starting what we now know as the wildly popular Awfully Chocolate! Scroll down to the bottom of this page for a peek at the specialties they’ve created just for Christmas.
Lyn’s sheer delight for food is catching and we can’t wait to introduce you to some of her favourite places to eat in Singapore over the coming weeks! Today though, Lyn wants to share with us a Cze Char gem she only recently discovered, but is so good that she has returned with friends and family at last 5 times since!
The very colourfully enticing Menu Board
As someone who has lived in the East for 12 years and is a regular at the popular Lagoon Food Centre, it was surprise to her that she had never ever noticed this particular Cze Char stall. Everyone knows the duck porridge, the wanton mee at Lagoon, but if you want fresh seafood and really reasonable prices, all cooked with maximum flavour and skill, then you’ve got to try Eastern Red Seafood.
Crab Beehoon!
Whilst there are many, many delicious dishes you could try (just look at that menu board above!), for Lyn and her family, there are 3 must-order staples when they eat there. First of all, try the Crab Beehoon. It’s served “dry” with a lovely gravy that’s so tasty, you’ll want to drink it! It’s beautifully presented with the whole crab perched atop the beehoon, full of perfectly balanced flavour and super-meaty crab.
Crab Beehoon in the foreground & children’s favourite Salted Egg Yolk Chicken in the background
Bamboo Clam Tang Hoon
Next, order the classic restaurant dish of Bamboo Clam Tang Hoon. The fresh clams are expertly cooked with a perfect texture – light and crunchy, but never rubbery. The noodles are bouncy and the garlic is fresh and flavourful.
Close-up on the perfectly cooked, never rubbery clams
Finally, anything with salted egg is a hit with Lyn’s family and the fresh Carnation Butter Prawns really stand out. But if you have kids with you, take Lyn’s word for it – her children absolutely adore the salted egg fried chicken. Delicious, crispy and tasty.
Why is the food so good here? Apart from the owner’s superior culinary skills, Lyn’s little chat with him revealed that that he has a partner who is in the wholesale seafood business, which means only the choicest, good stuff gets delivered to Eastern Red Seafood for cooking! What makes everything taste even better is knowing your meal isn’t going to burn a hole in your pocket. The food is really reasonably priced, compared to other massive seafood restaurants. Lyn has made it her personal mission to share her discovery of this gem of a Cze Char stall, not only because the food is fantastic, but also because she believes in this humble, down-to-earth owner’s small business and she hopes everyone gets to taste his food and helps him grow his enterprise. Go! Eat! Enjoy! And spread the word!
TASTE: EASTERN RED SEAFOOD
East Coast Lagoon Food Village
1220 East Coast Parkway
#01-37
S468960
Open daily for dinner, usually by 3pm.
Denise with Lyn Lee of Awfully Chocolate
The legendary Awfully Chocolate Christmas Hamper
A carefully curated selection of finely tailored delicacies which, thanks to intense research & development, need no refrigeration! You’ve got to taste the Dark Chocolate Biscuit, Salt & Sesame Biscuit, Praline Truffles, Truffle Cubes & Chocolate Velvet Cake! The bottle of Egot Merlot Sangiovese is optional, but a nice touch. Especially since dark chocolate + red wine = healthy heart!
Cookies & Chocolate Truffles Galore in Awfully Chocolate’s Christmas Hamper!
Fresh from her judging stint on Channel 8’s baking competition Creme de la Creme, our foodie friend, award-winning chocolate and dessert artist, 
Hello Makan Kakis, this week we have a brand-new Foodie Friend! Please meet award-winning pastry chef 
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Makan Kakis on Gold 905 