My Summer Dinner Menu - Salt Baked Fish and Pumpkin Soup

Many people thought cooking the whole fish is a very Asian thing - one may immediately relate to the classic Cantonese dish of steamed garoupa with ginger and green onions, or those grilled fish with chili sauce wrapped in banana leaves commonly seen in Thai restaurants. Well, it's only partially true. While this is probably more common in this part of the world, numerous western dishes involved cooking fish in the whole - for example, barramundi or rainbow trout are 2 kinds of fish often cooked as the whole - with barbecue in open fire or baked in an oven the preferred way of cooking.

Having spent a good part of summer in inner part of China where seawater fish was not readily available, I have been craving for fish when I am finally home. So I decided to do a salt-baked fish on this hot and humid Sunday evening.

Not (just) about wine and dine: my evening with Krug

An American author once wrote in her book about cooking, that “one of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.” I was lucky to have exactly such an experience last week in an event by invitation with a group of food lunatics, courtesy of friends from WOM Guide.

I guess if there’s one invitation that I can never afford to turn down, that would be it – a Friday dinner at a Michelin 3-starred restaurant featuring wines from one of the most prestigious champagne houses in the entire world, especially the restaurant I am talking about here is my favorite 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, and the champagne house is none other than the glorious Maison Krug.

Dining in Singapore - Saveur

I walked by Purvis Street just behind the legendary Raffles Hotel a few times and every time I went, I saw a long line of people waiting outside a restaurant called Saveur. Turned out this is one of the newest restaurants on the block, the one that started off as a hawker stall and found its new home at the current location just a couple months ago. Naturally with its apparent popularity, I got curious and eager to try this one out, but I gave up a few times after seeing the lines that stretched all the way to 2 shops away. 

Dining in Singapore - The Delightful JAAN

I rarely ate at the same hotel that I was staying in, unless the meal came as part of the room package, but for this Saturday in Singapore I decided to try one of the restaurants under the same roof, some 40 levels up from my hotel room.

Dining in Singapore - Open Door Policy

I accidentally discovered this bistro when I went to check out 40 Hands, which was described by many as one of the best cafes in Singapore, after dinner at the Tiong Bahru neighborhood the other night. First time I walked by I was surprised to find out this lively restaurant literally in the middle of nowhere full of customers and I only learned later that this place - named "Open Door Policy" (or ODP in short) - is actually partly owned by the people behind 40 Hands.