The Grumpy Chef will be ushering in the Dragon Year from 21st January 2012 to 26th January 2012. Feasting at the Grumpy Chef’s will resume on 27th January 2012. Many apologies for the inconvenience.
Here’s wishing everyone good health in the Dragon year and of course good appetites all year round.
Cheers & Gong Xi Fa Cai
At your next visit to Sentosa or next food adventure, I highly recommend Nogawa Restaurant in Sentosa Golf Club. There, you will find an array of delicious sea food ready for sashimi or sushi consumption. I recommend you sit by the bar counter and ask if the chef, Kondo-san, is available. He is the senior chef at Nogawa and usually is at the Sentosa outlet most days except tuesday and thursday. (Nogawa has a second outlet at Concorde Hotel, however, I do prefer the setting at Sentosa Golf Club)
At Nogawa, you may always opt for a set menu or leave the decision to the chef. Otherwise, you may try ordering the Hikari Mono, a pure selection of silver skin fish, etc, Tuna, Aji (Horse Mackerel), Saba (Mackerel), and others. What the grumpy chef recommends you try, Kohada (Gizzard Shard, don’t be put off by its name), Aji, Saba, Ottoro (Blue fin tuna belly), Sardine (not available all the time) and Kajiki (Sword fish). The two things the grumpy chef STRONGLY and i mean, really STRONGLY recommends you try is the Kyushu beef sushi (Kobe also available at times) and the Uni sushi. They are absolutely out of this world. And for the more adventurous, ask the chef for fish liver if available and give the flounder fin a try. It’s firm and crunchy and served sushi style with course salt. Of course, usual suspects like Salmon and Ebi are available. It is a regular sushi bar and restuarant with main courses available. However, if you are up for a treat at a nice quiet place and do not wish to over eat or are in the midst of a detox, I strongly recommend Nogawa. Get to know Kondo-san a little and he will be able to give you more recommendations.
Oh yes, and don’t forget to try Hirei Sake (Puffer fish fin fried and soaked in hot sake). Complete your meal with Ume Jelly and I’m certain, you will return again.
Price: about $100-$120 for 10 or more sushi including sake. Uni and the beef sushi are one of the most expensive sushi at $15 per piece.
Service: Pleasant and attentive
Nogawa, Sentosa Golf Club, 6373-7120
Ah, Hanoi. A part of a country that used to colonised by the French, now left with only but a speck here and there of French influence it seems. Except for a few buildings and french delis, there is really, nothing french left. Strangely, what seems to be the heavy influence, is Korean. Korean ginseng stores, Korean clothing stores and all. A place that I had expected to be swept away by its old world charm was nothing but a victim to tourism. Sad, I must say.
The people didn’t particularly seem friendly, except for a few stall holders that sold pho or porridge by the roadside in the morning and night. English is hardly understood in Hanoi, you’d need to have some knowledge of a few useful vietnamese words. Most stores accepted USD, but of course always, always tried to rip you off. So I’d recommended using the Dong instead and making it known, that you hardly have any USD on you.
On every corner, you’d possibly find someone selling pho, either in its thin string form or flat noodle form. Mostly served in a beef or chicken broth, topped with coriander and mint. Most food off the street cost only a couple dollars from $1 to $4(for the rip off stalls). The most prominent food on the street was strangely donuts and deep friend pastry balls stuffed with green bean/mung bean. We got fooled by a lady and bought 10 of the pastry balls at 50,000 dong (SGD $3.50 or so). The balls were oily and chewy. I wouldn’t recommend it. And you know, you’d think in Vietnam, everybody loved drinking coffee. But no, everyone was drinking tea. A tea they called Vietnamese Tea, which was a pale yellow hardly fragrant cup of tea. Even in the highly recommended (by our tour guide) coffee place, Trung Nguyen (also available at Liang Court Singapore), everybody was drinking tea. Strange! And yes, apparently Trung Nguyen is the best vietnamese coffee you can find! How disappointing is that. The coffee came up to only an inch of the cup, with half the inch being condensed milk. It was thick, sweet with a bitter finish. And so the search for good coffee continued. We did eventually find a shop with good coffee, just that, we still weren’t blown away. Long story short, don’t keep your hopes too high on finding damn good coffee in Hanoi.
And yes, we did attempt to impress ourselves by taking a trip to Halong Bay. It was a bearable 4 hours bus ride there and a gruelling 5 hours ride back and a mere 2.5hours there. We saw the rocks, met the fighting chickens, figured out the turtle island, climbed 70 steps or so, saw Romeo and Juliet in a cave, discovered a few man and woman special parts in the cave, stepped onto a floating island, met an adorable dog, saw many mantis prawns, spent 1 million dong on a weird sea creature and some prawns and skinny oysters. Sailed for a bit, took some photos and left wondering “hmm…okay…” But at least, I’ve been to Halong Bay. Once, that is.
Nevertheless, I did manage to buy some plates (apparently handmade in Vietnam), ceramic bowls, bell jars, a kilo of lotus tea leaves and a mountain of dried longan and dried lotus seeds.
That’s Hanoi for you.
The Grumpy Chef will be off to Hanoi on the 30th November 2011 to 7th December 2011. Business will resume promptly on the 8th December 2011. Meanwhile, do remember to eat well, drink well and be merry. We’ll see you in December with an all new Christmas dinner special. Be sure to keep in touch.
It was a rainy saturday afternoon last 12 Nov, 2011. I planned a special surprise wedding party for two of my close friends. The dining hall was decorated with simple christmas lights, gold ribbons and floral pieces hanging off the ceiling. The chairs were spruced with simple silver and white ribbon and small bouquets of “Sweet William” on each and everyone. The wedding cake was red velvet. My first hand at making a wedding cake with fondant. Not perfect, but I’ll get there. So, if you’re looking to throw a private party for yourself or for your friends, the Grumpy Chef has much to offer. We are able to offer decorations to suit the theme of your event and of course, food to complete the satisfying experience.
You’ve got mail!!! If you haven’t received the latest Grumpy Chef newsletter, it’s because you haven’t joint our mailing list! Simply leave a comment or drop an email or sms with your name and email address and we’ll keep you updated on all the latest happenings at the Grumpy Chef’s! Till then, eat well! Bon Appetit!
There’s now a new way to reach the Grumpy Chef. If leaving comments or emailing is not your thing, simply call or text the Grumpy Chef at 8104-8181.
The Grumpy Chef played host to a recent surprise birthday party at a request from a good friend. She had requested for a special brunch party to surprise a special someone on his birthday. On the menu we had thick slices of white toast with butter and homemade strawberry jam, tomato salad, fruit salad, sliced sausages with thyme, sauteed mushrooms, crispy bacon and scrambled eggs.
It was a sweet and happy event that morning. The birthday boy was of course, surprised and had a good afternoon having brunch and good laughs with his close friends. The party was a success.
So if you ever want to throw a special party or simply try something new, do drop your idea by the Grumpy Chef at grumpychef@rocketmail.com.
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