Borderless Butter - Yummy Butter Making Fun

Since I love to spread lots of butter over breads, croissants, pancakes and regularly use butter as dipping sauce, I can say I love butter. And I always buy any butter that I find interesting when shopping at gourmet stores and supermarkets. So when I find out about Butter Making at Borderless Butter, I straightaway click on the link and book a session without hesitation.

It proves to be a fruitful experience. It is fun to churn out the butter from scratch and feels incredibly gratifying to create something that I always enjoy eating. And also very rewarding when I fall in love with the taste of the butters that I have customised by adding a variety of ingredients.

The workshop, located in the quaint neighborhood of Joo Chiat, has that whimsical, artistic, idyllic vibe that makes the experience feel unique and relaxing.

My first butter creation is Ma Ma Mia! And like its namesake, this butter is supposed to taste bombastic. And it does, due to the pepper flakes I add, with a dash of salt. It tastes great. Though after I’m done with this butter, I’m thinking that maybe adding a drop of honey will deepen the complexity of the taste and bind together the savoury and spicy flavours.

Umami Cream tastes exactly as it is named. The main ingredient added is finely cubed Shitake mushrooms, whose earthy flavour is perked up by the intense briny sweetness of seaweed sauce. And the texture is rendered varied and exciting. A sprinkle of salt for extra savoury taste and a scattering of brown sugar for a touch of richness and caramel goodness. This tastes absolutely amazing. So good that I realise how much a bit of sweetness does to harmonise the flavours. Thus I want to add some to Ma Ma Mia!

Bottles for making of butter.

Pouring cultured cream into the shaker bottle (screw-on cap type). After closing the cap, I just keeping shaking while keeping an ear on the sounds the cream makes. At first, there is swishing sounds. Then the cream turns into whipped cream consistency, and there is no more sound. Keep going at it until the fats separate from the liquid to form butter. At this point, the swishing sounds can be heard again! Kind of amazing, if you ask me.

Butter after draining off the buttermilk, which actually tastes good too! Then it’s off to the ice bath to wash off any remaining liquid. Followed by squeezing the butter dry, which determines the shelf life of the butter.

Array of ingredients from salt, brown sugar, caramel, honey, mustard, soy sauce, pepper flakes, kimchi, seaweed to mushroom. The possibilities are endless.

Mixing in progress ...

Umami Cream - Mixed with Mushroom, Seaweed Sauce, Brown Sugar and a pinch of Salt

Ma Ma Mia! - Mixed with Pepper Flakes, a dash of Salt and a dot of Mustard

Thoughts: Awesome, Delicious and Fulfilling Experience

180B Joo Chiat Road Level 3

Fortuna - Hearty, Excellent Italian Classics with a Twist

I always know I will be back at Fortuna after two outings here because the pizzas here are the best and so unique in texture and taste. In addition, unique and delicious toppings are added that make the special trip here special. To seal the deal, Fortuna's specialty chilli oil. So here I am ready to enjoy a pizza influenced by our local delight: Chilli Crab!

Before I talk about the pizza, I got to first say that this trattoria is like hottest spot in town because the place is totally full before 6pm. When seated at the inner part of restaurant, with soft yellow lights and cosy interior, away from the view of the afternoon scenery outside, I feel like I’m spending an evening at the most popular hotspot in town, which is so cool.

And the service staff, especially Aminah, are friendly, helpful and full of smiles. Definitely my favourite place to go for pizzas.

Singapore Tribute is loaded with lots of goodies such as Chilli Crab Sauce, Flor di Latte (Mozzarella cheese actually), Parsley, Chilli, Lemon Zest, Basil and … yes, chucks of succulent crab meat. Amid the myriad of complex flavours, the mild briny sweetness of crab is light on the tongue yet distinctive. It’s not easy to make crab works on a pizza, but Fortuna did it! The pizza tastes even better when eaten with fluffy charred crust, which further balances the flavours and also adds the sweetness of wheat and char to the taste. This is Italian goodness infused with local familiarity, and it works. So satisfying and so awesome.

I easily finish this all by myself.

The pistachio mousse in dessert, Coppa Al Pistacchio, adds an earthy depth to the light vanilla gelato, yielding this rich, heavy intense taste. The Amarena Cherry is the magic here. Its tangy juices cuts through the richness to inject a burst of excitement to the dense richness and ties everything together. It elevates the dessert from nice to fantastic. I actually hope there is more of the cherries.

Thoughts: Fantastico cibo italiano!

7 Craig Road

Beautiful Gift from a Handsome Chef

I totally love this gift set, a trio of sake packaged in Aladdin Bottles, from a very handsome chef 💖

Unique Nigori Sake, which is cloudy form.

Yuzu Sake is like that tangy alcoholic drink, whic is so exciting in taste.

Clear sake that is clean in taste with bitter notes.

Ikkoten Omakase - Unique, Varied, Awesome Surprises

I'm always excited to visit Ikkoten and so here I am again! This restaurant is one of my favourites among favourites for the reason that Chef Brandon will ensure every visit is full of awesome surprises. He has like a treasure trove of rare Japanese cooking techniques that he will use to prepare the dishes to cater to my preference for unique, one-of-a-kind experiences. The perks of being a regular here 😊

This time, every dish is a "Wow" and the highlights of the dinner are never-tried-before Tofu Sauce, Smoked Sashimi and Special Hotpot with Wagyu. Who could have thought that Tofu Sauce and Smoked Sashimi actually exist and taste so awesome?

A meal here definitely turns my day from a good one to a fantastic one. This restaurant is one of those where the awesome experience gets even better with each repeated visit.

Japanese Persimmon, drizzled with tofu sauce and sprinkled with pine nuts, makes my eyes widen in pleasant surprise because it doesn’t feel like fruit. It is more like a savoury snack packed with floral sweetness of fruits. Amazing that the earthy savoury tofu sauce and nutty goodness of pine nuts can totally transform this fruit. And the persimmon is of perfect texture: slightly firm and absolutely juicy.

By the way, I scoop up every bit of the tofu sauce since it is so good.

Silky smooth Cold Chawamushi with Edamame Puree surprises me with the unexpected light touch of that lovely umami tempered with a hint of vegetal freshness. Now then I know edamame and egg custard is a match made in heaven.

Smoked Shima Aji tastes so magical, so complex and so briny sweet! The first bite is unbelievably amazing because it’s like nothing I had tasted before. The smoked hay aroma, fruity, earthy sweetness of carrot sauce and the pungency of ginger flower do their magic to transform the Shima Aji to the best Shima Aji I ever have.

Clean taste of flounder sashimi is accentuated by the vegetal pungency of shiso oil and the beautiful purple shiso foam made from flowers. When paired with spongy Japanese Yam Stem, the sweetness of flounder accentuated by the unique refreshing pungency of the stem. And it’s getting best of both worlds when savoured with both shiso foam and Japanese Yam stem.

Tempura Amadai is definitely another highlight of the night. Its meat is so creamy and its deep fried skin with scales is so crispy. The smoothness and umami of nori butter adds a splash of intensity to the taste of the fish. And the strands of Iapanese seaweed are crunchy and refreshing, thus refreshing the palates between bites of the briny sweet fish.

Spinach Ohitashi is such welcomed dish that comes after the rich Amadai dish because it is refreshing, tempered with doses of briny sweetness. The sweet crab meat goes perfectly with the gelatinous tangy yuzu jelly. I love this too.

Since I want to try Wagyu in a different style, Chef Brandon prepared something special for me: Wagyu Hotpot! The A5 Wagyu, dipped in umami-rich broth served boiling hot in claypot, tastes so meaty and incredibly sweet. It’s so different from other Japanese hotpot due to all the goodies added to the broth, making the meat tastes even sweeter, and the slightly thicker cut of meat, yielding a lovely creamy good bite in the texture. Such warm, comforting and luxurious dish.

The Handroll is meaty and delicious.

The Hotate is plump and sweet.

The squid has a good smooth, crunchy core and milky briny sweetness.

Chutoro is so buttery good. It’s melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Smoked Hamachi is intense and unique in taste. A must-try here.

Yuzu miso to refresh the palates.

Negitoro, with truffle and a layer of lux from the gold dust sprinkled, is so sinfully good! Lots of creamy briny sweetness, made complex by the intense earthy aroma of truffle, does wonders for the palates.

Sweet Kyoho Grape sorbet tgat interestingly tastes like Hichew Candy.

Goma Mochi has the prefect texture with slight chewiness and pillowy soft feel.

Thoughts: One of the Best and Most Special Meals!

86 Telok Ayer Street

Kimura-san’s Farm Miracle Sweet Peach

This is the sweetest peach I have ever tastes! It’s out-of-this-world good! So good that I go back to buy a second pack after 3 days despite the high price tag. And the previously full shelf left only three packs of these peaches. A testimony on how good these taste.

Country of origin: Japan

Where to get: Don Don Donki

Schreiben ist meine Leidenschaft

Eine ganze Weile lang ich habe mehr Videos geschaut und Reddit-Geschichten gelesen als mich aufs Schreiben konzentriert. Als ich über meine kulinarischen Abenteuer schrieb, dokumentierte ich die Ereignisse aus Pflichtgefühl und nicht aus Leidenschaft. Ich fühlte mich zwar friedlich und glücklich, ber auch unerfüllt. Nach einem fantastischen Essen, das ein attraktiver Koch zubereitet hatte, beschloss ich, mich auf das Schreiben über dieses Erlebnis zu konzentrieren, anstatt mir noch ein Video anzuschauen. Es gibt mir so viel Energie, wenn ich über dieses Erlebnis schreibe. Schreiben ist wirklich meine Leidenschaft.

Pulsii French Bistro - Hearty Flavourful Surprises

Actually I do not know what to expect when stepping into Pulsii French Bistro. I just got interested in this place because the chef is a Japanese specialising in French cuisine (and this sounds promising due to my good prior experiences) and the menu looks exciting, featuring a variety of woodfire dishes and casual French classics with a twist.

Guess what, I’m totally wowed over by the hearty yet complex, robust yet balanced flavours here. Each dish here is packed with lots of goodies that please and surprise the palates. The dishes here features the vibrancy and complexity of French cuisine, tempered with the intricacy of Japanese sensibility.

The whole place feels like a modern, stylish casual underground tavern, where the dining area and bar counter, bathed in soft yellow light, looks like a cosy, chic tunnel. And it leads up to the bright open kitchen at the end of the tunnel.

The service here is fantastic, especially the bartender, who multitasks between taking, serving orders and creating classic cocktails with lovely twists. The vibe at this restaurant feels so right. And with the awesome food and drink choices, the experience here is worth a visit at least once.

Woodfire Hokkaido Scallop surprises me by how warm and meaty sweet the scallop is. The light char, the umami of the bisque and toasted ham, the sweet tomato, the tangy olive, the slightly spicy pepper creates such vibrancy in the taste. This is one scallop with the most bling in the taste, in an excellent way.

Grilled Tiger Prawns taste so rich, intense and sweet. And the thin layer of char does so much to accentuate the sweetness of the juicy meaty prawn And a hint of tangy flavour makes it even better. I’m so tempted to order another plate 😆 

Magret Duck Breast is so meaty and juicy. The Moulard Duck is perfectly cooked to medium rare to feature a slightly crispy top and a meaty succulent firm texture with a touch of tenderness. And the variety of accompanying grilled vegetables introduces a nice vegetal bitterness from the Maitake Mushroom, crunchy texture ffrom the Lotus Root, earthy aroma from the Burdock Root and an iota of zest from the miso balsamic sauce. So this dish is bursting with a myriad of flavours that work so well with each other. Best enjoyed when hot or warm.

Matcha Montblanc features a nice earthy clear taste of matcha that goes so well with the creaminess of whipped cream. The crunchy sugared nuts make the texture more exciting.

Nice fruity refreshing cocktail with layers of flavours

This is a must order here. The egg white foam at the top adds so much to the feel of sipping this drink.

Another drink with foamy top 🎉 This is like Singapore Special, with pandan and coconut. Another must-try.

Nice tangy cocktail specially concocted to balance the sweetness of the dessert.

Thoughts: Flavourful Complex Surprises

55 Tras Street