Pasta de Waraku

The Central at Clarke Quay has become a rather convenient place for my friends and I to meet up, given that the Northeast line stops right there and all of us don't have the luxury of having a car to drive around. There are also many restaurants in that mall, most of them Japanese-themed. Despite the many different retaurants, I seem to find myself most frequently at Waraku. Waraku and I, we go back a long time but that's another post altogether. Anyway, I noted a loooong time ago that Waraku has a new sister restaurant that focuses on Japanese-Italian pastas and pizzas, simply called Pasta de Waraku and there is an outlet at The Central as well. The concept & menu sounds and looks rather interesting, and as with Waraku, I love the plastic food display as it never fails to amuse me.

One Friday evening, with our stressful week finally behind us, Nibbles & Scribbles and I went to Pasta de Waraku for the first time, after deciding on Italian noodles as the nosh of choice.

I had the scallop and asparagus fettucine in a wafu sauce and opted for the addition of garlic (yes, that was an option). It was surprisingly good! I half-expected the scallops to be meagre and tough but the quantity was generous as the scallops were juicy and plump. The fettucine was borderline overcooked but not just yet and tossed with the wafu sauce, the pasta dish was just so moreish. I would recommend adding garlic because they lended a punch that was quite addictive. I loved the addition of nori strips on the top because it added a bit of crunch and flavour that combined well with the pasta. If I had anything to complain, the dish was a wee bit oily.


Originally set for the basic carbonara, the friend changed her mind as soon as she saw the curry katsu pasta on the seasonal menu. We were again pleasantly surprised by the addition of minced meat in the curry sauce and felt it was another generous touch.

[A sidenote: I think the message on her tee-shirt was very appropriate for that moment!]

The service was very raw as the staff was mainly young students but I give them points for being earnest and attentive. If I don't mind the long wait, I will not hesitate to come back. I heard the pizza's pretty good too.

Pasta de Waraku

(outlets at Velocity, Marina Square and The Central)

Mondo Mio

It was coincidental that I had lunch at this Italian restaurant this weekend but I needed to pass some time and the $12 nett set lunch sounded too good of a deal to pass on so I stepped in. The Italian restaurant manager seated me quickly in a cosy corner where I could pretend to look important and browse my magazine.

I found out later that Mondo Mio meant "My World" and this restaurant originated from Japan. That explains why there is some Japanese interpretations on the menu, like "mentaiko pasta". The focus was on South Italian cuisine, using only olive oil and not butter as the cooking fat of choice. That also explained why the olive oil served with the bread was pretty good and tasted fresh and rather fruity.

First course was a bowl of tomato cream soup that unfortunately tasted nothing of the fruit but a saltish and watered down cream. I had a few spoonfuls and then gave up. My main course was slightly better. I ordered the mushroom pizza over 2 other pastas. I would have thought the serving could perhaps be smaller, given it was part of a set lunch but it was as per a la carte, about 12". It was topped generously with a lot of mozzarella cheese, so much so I had the highly desirable stringy effect. But the sliced mushrooms used were oddly shiitake, and not the brown or button variety. It was not bad, but tasted strange on first taste before I just got used to it.

Dessert was a lonely scoop of gelato. I don't even know what flavour it was but it was green, and did not taste minty. If I had to venture a guess, it would be pistachio? In any case, it was decent and creamy, definitely appreciated on that sunny day. The lunch ended nicely with a strong cup of fresh brew, served alongside with a tiny pitcher of steamed milk. Oh well, it was not the best Italian meal I've had, but for that price and the really attentive service, I really cannot complain.

Mondo Mio
30 Robertson Quay #01-02A
Riverside View
Tel: (65) 6736-2503

Inagiku

Inagiku - Jo Chirashi, originally uploaded by Skinny Epicurean.

This chirashi came highly recommended by Wey-lin and truely the foodie friend, she made sure I could try it for myself by setting up a dinner date. It turned out to be a really delicious midweek respite!

The "jo chirashi" ($60) was presented beautifully, in a large black bowl with a slanted rim. What you cannot see forming the foundation of this rice bowl was good quality sushi rice, topped off with a scattering of pinkish minced gari (pickled ginger), nori and sesame seeds. The raw seafood resting on top the rice was plenty. Since every single one was rather fresh, plump and sweet, it would be difficult to pin down a favourite. But the more memorable ones were the aburi hirame (flounder fin), kanpachi (yellowfin belly) and salmon belly. Inagiku's version of tamago did not have that cottony type of texture that I find disgusting, but it tasted just the way I like it - slightly sweet with a hint of savoury.

Sitting by the counter meant that we could possibly have the special fish soup instead of the standard miso soup. It was made with chunks of various fish and was naturally sweet. That rounded up our dinner and made 2 very full and satisfied foodies.

Thanks Wey-lin, for your wonderful company!

Honey Walnut Bread

It's true. All it took was that box of instant dry yeast that suddenly appeared on the counter to prompt me to bake bread. The erratic weather that see-saw'd between a clear sky and a pouring rain was keeping me indoors anyway and I had time to kill.

I decided on a walnut bread recipe taken from King Arthur Flour's website. I learnt about this established flour company when I was studying in the US. The ingredients were minimal and I love the sound of walnuts and honey!

As I was taking the steps through, I was telling myself not to have high expectations of the end result. It is not that I have no confidence in the recipe (otherwise I wouldn't have used it in the first place) but rather, my experiences with bread have always taken a "hit-and-miss" route.

But my confidence did pick up a little when the first round of proofing took only about an hour before the dough doubled in size. I punched it down with great excitement and kneaded in the nut mixture. Because I am such a 'nutty' person, I used all the different nuts I had in the house (instead of just walnuts) and got 4 varieties - walnut, almond, pine and hazelnut.

After the second rise that took about 35 minutes, I slashed the tops and sprinkled flour and then sesame seeds. As the bread was baking, the anticipation for great results built up together with the intensity of the smell. Finally, when the bread was done and cooled down enough, I cut it up and was really pleased! It was a good bread all around. Starting with the texture - crust was not overly thick and hard, the innard crumbs were small, uniformly airy and soft. The explosion of scents that fought to overwhelm one another but finally achieved an equilibrium - the olive oil, the yeast. The taste was a slight sweetness from the honey, and the soft fluffy innards cushioned the rich, buttery taste of nuts. I loved it! This is definitely my best bread in a looong while and I did a little jiggly dance around the kitchen.

Honey Walnut Bread

(makes 2 small loaves)

3 cups (375g) of bread flour

1/2 packet of instant dry yeast (11g/pack)
3/4 cup warm water

2 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

4 oz walnuts, chopped coarsely and pre-toasted

Method

Mix the yeast with flour, then add water.

Stir water into the flour to incorporate.

Then add olive oil, honey and salt.

Continue to stir the mixture until the loose flour are gone.

Dump the dough bits onto a floured working surface.

Knead with all your might until a smooth, satin looking ball of dough appears.

(I took about 15 minutes to achieve by hand)

In a large bowl, add in 1 tbsp of oil.

Place the dough into the bowl and turn it all around to coat it with oil to prevent sticking.

Cover the bowl with a plastic cling wrap. Leave it to rise in a warm place until double in size.

(mine took about 1 hour)

Punch down and on your floured working surface, knead in the walnuts.

Then you could either divide it into 2 (for 4x8 loaves), or into 12 (bread rolls).

Scatter cornmeal onto your baking sheet (I used greased parchment paper) before placing the formed bread rolls/loaves.

Cover with a damp tea towel for 2nd rise.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 170C.

When bread has risen a 2nd time (mine took 35 mins), slash the top of the bread with a serrated knife, about 1" deep.

Sprinkle flour on the top and then bake for about 35 - 45 minutes.

Bread is done when they look brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when you tap it.

Pagi Sore Indonesian

I would never have set foot into Pagi Sore if not for Umami's craving for Indonesian food when she was back from Paris. So thanks to her request, I rounded up a few foodies for lunch and finally ate at one of the most well-known Indonesian restaurants in Singapore. The place was packed with a line waiting to get in. Reservations are definitely a must and I was glad I got special advanced warning.


The experts / regulars of Pagi Sore took charge and ordered multiple orders of their specials. From top to bottom, left to right, the group of us ate: ayam bali (marinated grilled chicken), omelette, sambal kangkong, udang pedas (sambal prawns with petai), ikan otah kukus (steamed fish with otah seasoning), cumi bali (grilled squid with sweet sauce) and tauhu telor (fried tofu with egg). The few who had to satisfy a sweet tooth ordered the ice chendol.


My favourite dish was the sambal kangkong. I loved that the greens were very fresh and remained slightly crunchy at the stems, and the sambal was oh-so-addictive, being spicy but not overly chili-hot, full of minced "hae-bee" that lended a strong flavour but yet not dominating the overall flavour. This dish certainly could surprise you with the amount of rice you could eat. Yes, it was that addictive. To tempt you further, there is unlimited serving of steamed rice ($1.50 per person), that comes neatly in a steamed banana leaf package, which lended an additional fragrance.



My least favourite was the prawns and petai beans. It was exhorbitantly expensive ($21.50) for that small platter that did not leave much of an impression. All I remembered was that the sambal sauce was strangely sweetish and I did not bother with the unshelled prawns.



Otherwise, I was pleased that the gathering went well - the food was overall good and the company made up for any other flaws. I hope Umami was happy with one of her last lunches in Singapore before she has to return to France.



I think we were both pleasantly surprised with Weylin's early xmas gift. Not only did the pretty and detailed packaging..........
.............melt my heart, the cookies were also prettily iced and delicious! Thanks babe!


Pagi Sore
No. 88 Telok Ayer Street
Tel: 6225-6002