Bake.Nuts.
Ramen Santouka 山頭火らーめん
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There are two rather popular places for ramen in The Central, Clarke Quay. Marutama Ramen and Ramen Santouka. I tried the former almost 2 years ago when it first opened, this one, I only recently discovered. Ramen Santouka is hidden in a corner of The Central, it is necessary to rebuff the advances of the very-friendly waitstaff from the chinese restaurant you need to pass through in order to get to it. Or, you just really need to know where you’re going. I ordered the Toroniku ramen the first time and the char siew ramen the next. I will admit that I’m not particularly carnivorous. With that said, the toroniku (pork cheeks – at this point in time, an imaginative friend asked me if it was really the cheeks of the pig, or the butt cheeks) slices were delicate and tender. I haven’t tried the supposed meat that melts in your mouth, but this comes close, I think. They didn’t have much fat on them (which was a big plus for me) and even the ones that had fat weren’t overwhelmingly fatty. The miso soup base I chose was rich and tasty and the noodles were springy. 口感! Yum. It is a bit pricey for ramen though – the Toroniku came up to about $20. Then again, I suppose this is the kind of price you get around here. I’ve seen a couple of ramen places at Liang Court though and I think they might just be a bit cheaper for similar quality.
Toroniku
Toroniku Ramen
Ramen Santouka
http://www.santouka.co.jp/
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#02-76 The Central
Tel: 6224 0668
Fresh vegetables. Yum.
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I’m so very into fresh (raw) vegetables and organic food. They just taste better. I did not know that we had organic farms here. If only they weren’t so far away. Kranji from the far east. gosh. =(
The kuehs rocked socks. =D
Assorted kuehs
Bollywood veggies cafe
Bollywood veggies is a great place for the whole family; free-and-easy or go for a guided tour which includes a delicious lunch. There are vegetable plots to explore, a fish pond to fish in and you can buy fresh organically grown vegetables as well as potted herbs. There’s also a lovely bistro (cafe).
Location; 100 New Tiew Road
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 9am-6pm (farm and bistro) (including public holidays)
Charges: Free entry to the Bistro; $2/entry for the free-and-easy Farm Discovery On Your Own. Free entry for kids below 12 years and elderly above 60 years. For organised groups/bus tours, fee is payable by everyone.
(Note: I felt very cheated by their claims to sell fresh organically grown vegetables – they only had bananas and some random leaves. I had envisioned a farmer’s market stall of sorts. =( For that, Fireflies is a much better option. They had to drag me out from that place. =P)
25 Degrees celsius
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Infused tea
Flourless chocolate cake
A very long while ago, I trawled the net for interesting, funky cafes at which I could chill and people-watch for an afternoon. I chanced upon 25 degrees celsius. I was attracted by its concept – a cafe + cookbook shop. Coffee and food books. whee~
The interior design of the place was modern and slick. Being there on a weekday afternoon ensured that there weren’t very much other people save for a couple who looked like they were getting their wedding photos taken. (awesome idea, that) I do hope that they get more business on weekends though, otherwise I don’t see how they’d survive. The tea was decent, as was the cake. Though, it is one of the pricier cafes to chill at.
25 degrees celsius is hidden at a corner of Keong Saik Street off Chinatown.
25 Keong Saik Road
#01-01 Bukit Pasoh Extension
Operating Hours:
Mon-Thu: 11am – 10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am – 11pm
(Closed on Sundays)
Food ~ how I love thee
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Here’s a series of food related outings that I went on.
Breakfast in SF. French toasted croissants. I wasn’t too impressed but it seems that I got the wrong dish.
We waited 1 hour to get a seat.
Le Cheval – Vietnamese restaurant in Oakland. A farewell dinner for a friend who has since gone on a year long trip all over the place. First stop is Latin America, I think.
Calamari too. But, omg. These are so. good. I rather liked the fish too.
Finally, my favourite bakery in SF. Tartine.
Hello Morning Bun! How I do love thee~ =P
1007 Clay St
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 763-8957
Tasty Morsels #10 – Trattoria Corso
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Tasty Morsels – Summer edition.
There was a new Italian restaurant that I had read about on Shattuck. Apparently, it’s owned by the owner of the rather pricey and very tasty (so I heard) Rivioli on Solano with the top chef coming from another tasty restaurant on College (Oliveto, I think). And so.. Tasty Morsels!!
Calamari with fried onions and lemons. I had no idea fried lemons could taste so good.
The sausage and chilli pizza I had. It really is pretty spicy.
Pasta that zm had.
All in all, I thought it was a rather nice restaurant. Pretty decor, excellent service (though the food took a while to come), just a tad too pricey for the average poor student (i.e. me).
1786 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley
(510) 704-8003
Blue Bottle Coffee Cafe
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It was a foggy Thursday morning when we embarked on a trip to SF for coffee.
Mocha! – Smooth, creamy but just a tad to coca-y for me. Slightly bitterish.
It has some awesome reviews online though.
Breakfast! – Thick toast from Acme with mocha. Yum.
I find this endlessly fascinating. Drip coffee?
This is like soo cool! The water filters to the coffee through a little tube thingy (kinda like one of those titration thingys) and then filters back down when you take it off the heat. We spent the longest time debating on how the heat gets to the flask. Convection? Radiation?
*sigh*
Geeks, we are.
Blue Bottle Coffee Cafe
66 Mint Street, San Francisco
A series of (unofficial) tasty morsels
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Dinner at Angeline’s Lousiana Kitchen
It was featured on tv just a couple of weeks before we went so it was packed.
I had the Shrimp Po-boy. It’s good. =)
Crunchy, sweet shrimps sandwiched between fresh bread. Yum.
This was a longer while ago.
Bette’s Oceanview Diner – Brunch!
Milkshake. It seems kinda wrong to have it so early in the day.
4 orders of the daily pancake special – Cornmeal and currant pancakes.
I totally loooove their pancakes. They just melt in your mouth.
Rick and Ann’s
More brunch! Ah – the benefits of having a car, even for just a little while. =)
Yummilicious french toast. They had it infused with orange blossom water.
Subtle citrus-ness. And very fragrant.
My brunch kaki’s omelette. I really love their scone. It’s soft and fluffy.
Nothing like the terrible dry and heavy ones you get outside sometimes.
Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen
2261 Shattuck Ave
(between Bancroft & Kitteridge)
Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 548-6900
Rick and Ann’s
2922 Domingo Avenue
Berkeley, CA – 94705
Look at what my 宝贝 can do!
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And so it arrived..my new love
Isn’t it just gorgeous?? The one and only Kitchenaid. ^o^~
And so, I baked a most tasty Lemon Meringue pie. By request of ZQ.
I’m surprised at how well it turned out really. I never tried something like that.
May I add that when I whipped up a batch of stiff peaks from runny egg white, I felt a sudden burst of joy~
Here’s a slice.
And then I decided it would be great fun to bake cookies too!
Chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies. =)
Recipes courtesy of bakingbites and allrecipes.com
Giant Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together dry ingredients – flour, baking soda and salt – in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in chocolate chips.
Use a 1/4 cup scoop to shape large balls of dough and place on prepared baking sheets. Leave about 6-inches between each cookie to allow for spread.
Bake for 16-19 minutes, until cookies are golden around the edges. Allow to cool on baking sheets for at least 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Makes about 14 large cookies
Grandma’s Lemon Meringue Pie
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 lemons, juiced and zested
2 tablespoons butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
4 egg whites
6 tablespoons white sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.
Ajanta
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Indian food on Solano. I thought the basmati rice was surprisingly soft and fluffy. Having had my share of dry and hard basmati rice, it never quite occurred to me that it could taste so good. We shared Badal Jaam – Eggplant with tomato sauce which was pretty interesting. I thought the tangyness of tomato paste was quite refreshing. The chicken curry was just the right degree of spiciness and the chicken remarkably tender. I loved the garlic naan. Pretty good indian food if you ask me. It’s a bit upmarket for the average student though. It came up to $18 per person for the 3 of us. If I go on eating like this, I’m going to eat myself into debt. =(
AJANTA
1888 Solano Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94707
