Meatball battle!

I know I know...it's been a while but I'm not going to apologise. Most of the time I prefer to eat food rather than write about it. However you're fortunate that on this occasion I felt this particular event warranted a post.

This all came about when two girls had a very mature debate about which meatballs they preferred, Costco or Ikea. Now there's no better way to settle this than to prepare a taste test. There's no way the JFC would miss this, not even for a Felix Baumgartner skydive.

Venue decided, meatballs purchased, it was time to cook. The sauce and pasta selected for this test was largely irrelevant. Spaghetti is your obvious choice of pasta and despite my initial disappointment with an off the shelf pasta sauce, I was impressed with the selection.

Now on to the competitors! In the frozen corner we had Ikea's famous offering named Kottbullar that simply translates to Swedish meatballs.

In the chilled corner we have the Costco offering....quite simply put "Delicious hot or cold". Already a point to Costco on packaging and a dual temperature offering!

On to the most important aspect of the test, the taste. Initially we debated on whether there was a possibility both offerings originated from the same source but I was soon to find out this wasn't so. My generous chefs for the evening placed one of each meatball on my plate and based simply on appearance I couldn't tell them apart. To be frank though I don't think I gave myself enough time to admire them aesthetically before delving in.

The first meatball I bit into tasted very meaty and in some ways a little artificial. It reminded me a little of school dinners (which isn't always a bad thing). The second meatball was very similar in texture but with a more subtle and authentic taste about it. It was clear within one bite of each which one was my winner (I didn't eat them whole...honest!)

There were 4 of us voting and the overall result was....unanimous! Everyone preferred the Costco offering even the little petty one that originally sparked off the debate and favoured Ikea (and myself).

The JFC couldn't help but get his hands involved and also prepared some homemade alternatives that were pretty well received. If you're interested in the recipe then I'm happy to share that.

So the evening produced a unanimous victor in Costco. Do you have any suggestions to rival this wholesale meatball? I'd be more than happy to taste test them!

Reminiscing...

It is exactly a month to the day since I last posted on here, when I was still in the States. An epic journey driving across the country via Route 66 consisting of 2800 miles and 50 hours in the car. More importantly a lot of (junk) food was consumed in this period! I'm going focus things back on the East coast though for this post. The previous two posts have already detailed establishments that were visited on the East coast but I want to mention another, this time in New York.

On an early evening in NYC, having just made a trip to Staten Island we made the journey up to Chinatown.
Hungry and impatient, I made an executive decision not to wait 45 minutes for dim sum but instead to hail a cab to take us to New York's Lower East Side. What brought us there you might wonder? Well... a deli with over 100 years of history, Katz's Delicatessen.

Having featured on Man v Food, this alone was enough justification for making a stop, it would simply be rude not to right? Adam Richman came here and ordered a Reuben sandwich so you can figure out what I ordered from the menu. The Reuben sandwich consists of corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese and homemade Russian dressing in between untoasted rye bread. However, just to make things more interesting I added pastrami to mine and I must say it's the best pastrami I've ever tasted! It simply melts in your mouth like a good steak.

As you can see in the above photo, I foolishly ordered a side of coleslaw with mine. I managed to devour the sandwich without any problems but I'm ashamed to admit I left about half the coleslaw. Despite this I popped next door for two scoops of gelato at il laboratoria del gelato.

The ice cream parlour is built upon a open kitchen that they call "The Lab". Chefs and caterers are actually encouraged to work with them to develop new flavours. That's certainly given me some food for thought... no pun intended there...honest!

I opted for passion fruit sorbet and tarragon ice cream just to be different for a change. The texture was spot on with just the right amount of creaminess. The tarragon flavour was surprisingly tasty and not too overpowering, the perfect accompaniment to the passion fruit sorbet.

So there we go ladies and gents...that's enough reminiscing for one night, it's getting late and I'm getting hungry again! 

As Seen On TV

Howdy y'all! Don't worry I've not turned into a American, not yet anyway. Although the way I've been eating the past week I'll soon feel right at home over here. So you must be wondering where my travels have taken me to now right?

Well..... Washington is full of landmarks like Capitol Hill, The White House and the Lincoln Memorial but before exploring these sites I visited a hidden landmark. Unfortunately for me it didn't involve a mysterious adventure like something out of National Treasure. A short journey on the yellow line took us to The Original Ben's Chili Bowl as seen on Man v. Food.

As you can see from the image, it clearly states that it's a landmark and even the likes of President Obama have eaten there so it can't be bad! There's a wall of fame displaying photos of celebrities that have visited the joint, something I've noticed that is quite common over here in eateries.

I went for the Chili half smoke as it's Ben's signature dish. This consists of a half pork, half beef sausage on a hot dog bun topped with mustard, onions and their home made chili. Surprisingly the chili isn't very spicy but did taste divine, I could easily have eaten another one but the long queues deterred me from doing so.

I must add that, I've been in the States for over a week now and it's still one of the best things I've eaten so far, especially if you take value for money into account too. Forget the other landmarks, you need to start your tour of the city with a stop at Ben's Chili Bowl.

Pound For Pound

It's been a good few days now in the United States for the Junk Food Connoisseur and his friends. We've been eating things such as bagels, Papa John's pizza to the more luxurious item of oysters in Boston. It's been a pleasant stay in Boston, walking the Freedom Trail and completing the 294 steps up Bunker Hill (to help stir up an appetite).

Yesterday we ventured on to Washington DC, the next stop on our tour of America. Having been in the country a couple of days it was probably considered a crime that we still hadn't consumed a burger yet. Well....clearly this needed addressing! Prior to watching the NHL game between the Washington Capitals vs Florida Panthers we stumbled into Fuddruckers. It was more a case of indecisiveness and there were hungry mouths to feed.

The first thing that comes to mind when scanning the menu is that the smallest sized burger is a 1/3 pounder with the largest weighing in at an entire pound. Had any doubts I was in America beforehand? No questions now surely! I've opted to start slow and chose a 1/3 pound Inferno burger consisting of jalapenos, caramelised onions and Pepper Jack cheese. You're even asked how you want the burger cooked! 

There's quite a considerable wait because the burger is cooked the way you want it and this time is also proportional to the size of the burger. The estimated cooking time of a pound burger is 15 minutes meaning a hungry man has to be a very patient one too.

There is a salad and sauce section upon receiving your burger that is entirely self-serve. I love my burgers fully loaded and put on plenty of lettuce, tomatoes and onions....oh and yet more jalapenos too! I do wonder how I would have managed to fit a whole pounder in my mouth with the salad.

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My burger was consumed within minutes and my only regret now is not opting for a larger burger. Next time I'll know better but as any good fighter knows, you start at a weight you're comfortable in and work your way up to heavyweight champion of the world!

Stateside

For those that don't know, the Junk Food Connoisseur is going Stateside on a mini adventure for a few weeks. The home of hamburgers, hotdogs and everything extra large super sized.

In preparation for my visit I've been watching a lot of Man vs Food episodes and researching on the web. As cliché as it may sound, the below McDonalds in Chicago is a must visit and there's no other way to satisfy your hunger out there than with a Super Size meal!

Just a few of the other places on the list include Gino's pizzeria in Chicago, The Cheesecake factory, Bellagio buffet and the challenge I'm planning on attempting at Orochon Ramen in Los Angeles.


Stay tuned, I'll be trying to post updates during my travels when I'm not busy scoffing my face! 

Sumo Sunday

Fear not readers, despite the fact I've probably gained a few pounds recently I have not taken up a new sport in Sumo wrestling. In fact the Sumo Sunday refers to the sushi buffet available at Yo Sushi on Sunday's. This was first made available around September last year (only on Sunday) but it wasn't until last month that I made a visit (or two) to sample the buffet.

Yo Sushi isn't new to me but I tend to only visit when there's an offer on. For someone that often eats plates into double digits this can become rather expensive! Oh how much more I must have cost my parents to raise compared to the average child?

The terms of the buffet state that it only includes plates on the belt. However, on my second visit I arrived with it approaching closing time. As a result of this I was able to order several items that I wasn't charged extra for so this is certainly worth bearing in mind.

Below are a few of my favourite items.

Gyozas

Chicken Katsu Curry

Beef Nigri

Let's be honest now, Yo Sushi isn't the most authentic Japanese restaurant around but I live in Manchester and there's a distinct lack of choice. At £18.50 for the buffet too, there are better options available if you're flexible with the type of food. Despite my harsh comments, I still made two visits last month!

The Cookie Monster

Today marks the 100 year anniversary of the Oreo cookie. It's still quite a popular cookie in this country but it doesn't seem to have the same popularity as it does back in America where it is the country's top selling cookie. The general consensus in this country is that they are over-rated despite their success. It seems that over the recent years, they've become more popular for their use in recipes such as milkshakes, cheesecakes and cupcakes rather than for the cookie itself.

You must all be wondering how I celebrated such a momentous day in history? Well, this afternoon whilst reading an article about the Oreo's legacy I came across several Oreo recipes. The one that caught my eye the most and appeared to be the simplest was one for Oreo truffles. For those interested, the recipe can be found here

As you can see, the presentation doesn't quite match that of the recipe. It's certainly tasty but they are probably too rich for most folk. I may attempt this recipe again but it depends how well received they are at work.

Meal Deal

There are occasions when timing is simply impeccable. Last night my cousin asked if I'd eaten dinner yet as she was offering to prepare a chicken sandwich for me. Fortunately for me I was only minutes for knocking something up myself.  Her meal may have only consisted of placing a few items in the oven but I'm still grateful for the offer. This also gave me a chance to review various new items in one go and besides, the Junk Food Connoisseur always has room for food.

Warburton's have yet another new product on the supermarket shelves. This time it's a bread based in white sliced sandwich thins. They look similar to a thinly sliced version of pitta bread.

Birds Eye Southern Fried Chicken can always be found in my freezer for unplanned chicken burger moments. They go well in a pitta, naan, panini or in this occasion sandwich thins. For those who like me who like a little spice in their life I would suggest the hot version.

The McCain Crispy French Fries are new to me, I'm not sure how long they've been around for but I've always favoured their Southern Fries or Curly Fries.

Yet another Birds Eye product, here we have a limited edition Crispy King Prawns Garlic & Herb flavour. I've never tried any of their King Prawn range so this was a first for me but a good choice for a side dish.

Here is the masterpiece in all it's glory. The southern fried chicken embedded within the sandwich thins was accompanied with a slice of melted cheddar cheese topped with mayonnaise and salad cream. The french fries were very crispy despite being oven cooked. I've tried a lot of the McCain range of frozen chips and this ranks up there as one of the best.

I usually make chicken burgers at home with panini bread but the new Warburton sandwich thins get the thumbs up from me and I'll be using these from now on. The fries are certainly worth having in your freezer but they could do with some light seasoning. It's important to space them out on the tray to ensure crispiness throughout. The crispy King Prawns were very strong in flavour but as you'd expect from frozen products, the quality of prawn will never quite match those of the fresh variety. However, they are a limited edition and based on the flavour they are a nice to have in your freezer.

There we have it, several new products at once that all get the thumbs up from me. 

Join the club

There's nothing more satisfying than picking yourself up a bargain. A visit to Marks & Spencer Simply Food last night had me scouring the aisles for items drastically reduced in price. The section I usually attack first is the sandwiches section. Even with closing time looming this section is often populated with reduced sandwiches. However, the fillings don't fair very well with a junk food connoisseur and usually consists of Egg and Cress or Egg Mayo. On this occasion the Club sandwich caught my eye and at a reduced price of £1.25 from £3.00 it was too good to turn down.

Anyway, enough about discounts, after all this isn't a money saving blog. Let's move on to more important matters such as what the Club sandwich contains. Each half contains 3 slices of toasted oatmeal bread filled with chicken, bacon, mature Cheddar, vine ripened tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and seasoned mayonnaise. There are a lot of ingredients but they all fuse together very well with the seasoned mayonnaise and Cheddar having a prominent flavour. The cucumber offers a nice crunch in between the 3 layers of bread. It's the toasted bread that I'm not overly a fan of but it wouldn't be a Club sandwich without this.

As you can see from the nutritional information, it's a sandwich any junk food connoisseur would be proud of. Weighing in at 575 calories per pack with 26.7g of fat. Throw in a packet of crisps and an orange juice and you're looking at a whooping 1000+ calories lunch. Despite it being a favourite of mine this heavyweight sandwich is not recommended for regular daily consumption.

For a sandwich that's purchased from a supermarket this certainly ranks up there as one of the best and at the price I paid, it tastes even better. A deep filled sandwich at discount price to keep my pockets deep filled. Do you agree with me or is there another supermarket sandwich that can rival this?

Do you feel like chicken tonight?

I came across a news article tonight about a girl who has eaten nothing but chicken nuggets since she was two. Despite reading this article on a UK based news website my initial thoughts were that she probably resides in the US not UK. I must admit I was also expecting the girl to be obese but was surprised to see that she "appears" to look healthy which goes to show that appearances are deceiving after all.

It's astonishing that it's taken her this long to concede that her chicken nugget only diet is having a negative effect on her health. There is a plus side to all this though, least she's a cheap date for her boyfriend.

For those that aren't aware, chicken nuggets are generally produced from bad chickens grounded to the bone and combined with preservatives. There are many videos on the web that illustrate this and one particular clip I'm a fan of is Jamie Oliver's, from his US school dinners series. Unfortunately in the US version he fails miserably to convince the school children that processed meat is bad.

Admittedly I do find chicken nuggets tasty but as with everything else in life, they should be consumed in moderation. Alternatively, you can try making them yourselves and then you're guaranteed they'll be free of preservatives.

This is just another reminder that despite the fact I promote junk food products, it's very important to have a varied and balanced diet coupled with regular bouts of exercise. Go on, treat yourself then!

Meals on wheels

Laziness is an obstacle in life that we must overcome on a regular basis. The ever growing popularity of the Internet has hindered rather than helped our idleness. Gifts, groceries and even takeaways can now be ordered online and delivered to your door step thus removing the need for the little effort it requires your legs to carry you through the aisles of your local supermarket.

At work this week a trolley service has been introduced by a firm named Superior Sandwiches. Quite simply put, it's a lady (maybe a cleaner) pushing a trolley full of refreshments for sale around the office floors during lunch hours.

There are a wide variety of items available from pork pies to custard tarts, soups to yoghurts and of course the usual suspects like wraps and sandwiches. The three tiered trolley has attracted a lot of attention but either the quality or pricing has deterred the majority.

As good as food delivered to your desk sounds, they are not encouraging signs when several employees who could benefit from the brisk walk to the local convenience store are seen purchasing multiple items. To make matters worse, I noticed the lady do the rounds on our floor not once, not twice but three times. She's clearly discovered a few weak souls on the floor that she can capitalise from and fair play to her. As much I'm criticising the service, it's a welcome addition and there are occasions when this will be beneficial. Besides, their offerings are a far better option than the sandwiches available in our vending machine. 

Working in an office and being sat staring at a computer for numerous hours a day makes it even more important to get some fresh air at lunchtime. Despite the fact that I'm preaching this, I am often guilty of walking no further than 20 yards to the canteen.

Unfortunately for you readers I haven't sampled anything from the trolley service. Sooner or later though the laziness will overpower me. I just need to make sure I don't go for seconds!

Luncheon Meat

It occurred to me the other night that I'd not blogged yet this year and I know my readers in Singapore will probably be quite concerned that I'm not eating this year. Fear not Singaporeans, I am not on a diet!

As it is January I've been making a conscious effort to bring my own lunch into work. On Monday I had prepared Fried Udon with Luncheon Meat otherwise known as Spam. This brings me on to the product of Luncheon Meat, something that you're certain to find in the cupboards of a Chinese household. However, as controversial as it may sound, us Orientals don't opt for the Western option. Instead, we purchase our own variation from the East, Ma Ling "Premium" Luncheon Meat.

OK, you got me there, as it says on the tin it's produced in Holland but the essence is that of the East. Personally, I have no preference as to which brand I purchase but I do find that Spam is slightly saltier than the Eastern alternatives. Either way, Luncheon Meat is a great accompaniment to noodles, fried rice or in my case sandwiches too cooked or uncooked. If you've never tried it, give it a go, it's the future! It's meat in a tin, forget Tuna that's far too healthy!

For those of you intrigued by the lunch I prepared on Monday, below is a photo. Pan fried with garlic, onions and soy sauce it only takes a few minutes to cook yet even less to devour!

Chocolate Jenga

The Christmas period hasn't quite ended yet and I'm still feasting away on a daily basis. On Tuesday, I was invited to a friend's house party and was welcomed by quite an impressive spread. Here is a list of some items that were on offer; cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, sandwiches, home made burgers, pizzas, chicken wings and home made potato wedges. For dessert there was a home made chocolate sponge cake too.

However, despite all that's been mentioned, the item that most caught my eye was the chocolate finger Jenga tower. Constructed from a combination of milk and white chocolate Cadbury's fingers, it was stacked at about 20 fingers high. It was certainly the party piece that caught the attention of all the guests that evening.

After much admiration though, it was time for the game of Jenga to begin. It was suggested that the culprit who removes the finger that causes the tower to tumble should consume the remaining fingers but that idea was quickly dismissed by the majority. It's certainly a challenge worth considering for future parties though. I'd like to add that rather than adding the finger removed from the tower to the top of the tower as you would do in a conventional game of Jenga, we simply ate the finger.

In case you're wondering, I removed my finger with consummate ease, opting for a white chocolate. Unfortunately the girl that whose turn was immediately after mine wasn't so skilled and the tower tumbled in what was only the 6th turn. Everyone then seemed to dive in like vultures and below is what remained. There was an attempt to construct a smaller tower from those remains but it wasn't worth the effort.

The tower was certainly a (brief) talking point of the night prior to it's demolition. I personally think it could actually be used as a ice breaker at a party. Maybe you'll consider creating a chocolate finger Jenga tower in your next party or a variation of it? Feel free to share any other food related party games or show pieces you've seen before.

What's on your chips?

Christmas is looming and for most people they've been winding down with everything done and dusted. Myself on the other hand has just returned from helping out at my parent's chippy for the Christmas Eve rush. You'd have thought that most people would be saving themselves for the big feast tomorrow but it appears as though they favour warming their stomachs alla Joey Tribbiani.

It became apparent to me tonight that despite the fact it's not on the menu salt and pepper chips is requested very often (and we happily oblige). What has become of people and where did this all begin? Is salt and vinegar simply not enough? There are also an array of sauces available; curry, gravy, sweet and sour and even tomato ketchup but yet folk like to be different and creative. Cheese is another popular addition to chips but more commonly served in kebab shops.

Historically, the two condiments of salt and pepper have been used in spare ribs or chicken wings and they are often very popular appetisers in Chinese takeaways and restaurants. I'll admit there is often slightly more to it than just salt and pepper, with the addition of diced chillis, onions and peppers. As you can see in the image above, this is also the case with salt and pepper chips.

In case you were wondering, I did end the night with a portion of salt and pepper chips to share with my brother. So tell me folks, what's on your chips?

Who ate all the pies?

Quite clearly... it's me that's eaten all the pies! Today my dinner consisted of a Pieminister Moo Pie that is basically a steak and ale pie. I first came across the Pieminister brand at a friend's house and at the time they were only available from Ocado. However, recently I've started to notice them showing up in my local Tesco and the Junk Food Connoisseur just couldn't resist.

The Pieminister range is certainly in the Premier League of pies where as Holland's I'm afraid to say would be lucky to get into the Championship. At £2.99 each they aren't exactly cheap and is certainly something you should only be treating yourself to occasionally (read on for more reasons).

The filling within the pie is very generous, the steak very tender and sauce was exceptionally tasty. I generally prefer my pies to be slightly moist but the filling is more than sufficient and additional gravy wasn't required. At 643 calories, the Moo pie is rather epic and with some additional trimmings it can easily top the 1000 calories mark for a single meal.

As mentioned above, the Pieminister range is available from Ocado/Waitrose and most recently Tesco. Their website states that the pies are also available in pubs and restaurants.  They have a large range of different fillings and also produce sausage rolls and sweet pies. I'm having a difficult time deciding which filling to try next, suggestions welcome!

Lady of Leisure

Today was day four of being a lady gentleman of leisure and I'm thoroughly enjoying the time off work. The day began with a brisk run to work up an appetite (as if I need to, who am I kidding?) before heading out for dim sum with my grandparents, uncle and aunt. Remember kids, I may ramble on about unhealthy food and snacks but I want to promote regular exercise in your life you couch potatoes.

My family are regulars at Tai Wu on a Wednesday so it was nice to finally be able to join them for their last visit there this year. Besides, it's been a while since I've been for dim sum and with the knowledge that this day was dawning the cravings had developed.

For those that don't know, dim sum is essentially like tapas where food is served in small plates with multiples of each item. The idea is to go in a party so that you can order numerous different dishes and sample many if not all of them as each item is generally bite-size.

I'd say that a majority of the dishes are steam-cooked or deep fried. The most common items are probably the steamed dumplings, steamed buns and steamed rice noodle rolls. The dishes popular with Chinese people are chicken feet and beef tripe. It is also quite common to order a main dish of rice or noodles to accompany the smaller dishes and again this shared between you and your party.

Unfortunately I have no photos to show you as I was far too hungry to remember to take them. Terrible aren't I? Looks like you'll just have to drag yourselves down to Chinatown one lunchtime and visit the various establishments that serve dim sum. The most popular places are Tai Wu, Tai Pan, Glamorous and Pacific with some of them providing a trolley service during certain days of the week so that you see before you pick. Happy feasting but remember to exercise regularly!

An unlikely candidate

It's not often that a new snack hits the market and makes such an impression on me. Especially when it's a snack produced by a company that's renown for making bread. It's my Uncle I have to thank for introducing me to Warburton's New Baked Pitta Chips. Some would say I'm a marketer's dream when it comes to food in particular snacks.

Warburton's claim that they contain a third less fat than regular chips which is a bonus for the waistline especially in the lead up to Christmas. However, fat content has never been a attribute to judge a snack on. As a side note, they are offering two bags for £2 at Ocado so grab them quick. Who says I don't offer money saving tips as well?

I've tried both the Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper and Sour Cream & Chive and must say the latter tastes far superior. The flavour is very intense and from that first bite you find yourself wanting more.

Having done some research, the baked pitta chips are available in the following flavours:

• Sea Salt & Malt Vinegar
• Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper
• Sour Cream & Chive
• Oriental BBQ

Overall verdict, tasty and very moreish. Don't say I didn't warn you but you'll find yourself fighting with your friends over the last chip!

Just another munching Monday

Today was the beginning of my last week in Singapore. I've thoroughly enjoyed my time here so far and the people in the office have been very accommodating.

For lunch today we visited a clay pot rice restaurant. It was a relief to find we were dining in a air conditioned establishment. I've never had to sweat so hard for my meals before.

I went for the chicken clay pot as did most of our group. It's not too dissimilar to a bibimbap except the contents is cooked as the pot is heated. As well as chicken (least that's what they told us it was) it contained Chinese sausage, salty fish, green veg and Chinese mushroom. It's a good mix and the sauce it's cooked in is very tasty. However, a bibimbap would still get the nod over it for me because of the hot sauce, tastier meat and the egg on top to garnish.




Accompanied with this was a plate of Thai style bean curd. Im not a big fan of bean curd unless it's cooked in a sauce so didn't particularly enjoy it. This was simply a plate of plain bean curd garnishes with some nuts, lettuce and sweet chilli sauce. A rather lame effort in my opinion.




After work we made the short stroll over to Chinatown. A few side dishes were ordered that are certainly worth a mention.

First up is carrot cake that doesn't contain carrot and is made from flour. Very tasty and quite "Cheung fun" like.




Secondly we have Rotak which is a local dish that basically contains a lot of random crap in a sauce topped with nuts. This includes cucumber, pineapple, water chestnuts and many others.




I wasn't so keen on this one as I'm not particularly convinced the mixture works very well. Am I being too harsh? After all it's not exactly an episode of MasterChef.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Outram Rd,,Singapore

International delights

It's now been 4 full days in Singapore and although I've not posted until now it doesn't mean I've not been out and about sampling the various delights.

Today's lunch was a bit of a surprise, I left it to the capable hands of one of my colleagues here. We ventured out to the nearby hawker market again where there are 80 different stalls. The sauna like conditions in this semi open food court aren't the best way to spend lunch but the value and choice available certainly makes this worthwhile. There are numerous oscillating fans located around the market but this simply isn't sufficient to prevent you from perspiring (nor any amount of Lynx deodorant).

I'd already been informed it would be Ayam Penyet (Indonesian smashed fried chicken) but had no idea what to expect.







As you can see above it's basically a piece of fried chicken leg accompanied with rice, slice of omelette, vegetables and extremely spicy chilli sauce. If you examine carefully, plastic cutlery (fork and spoon!) was provided. To my surprise I was able to gentally scrap off small pieces of chicken with a flimsy plastic fork. The chicken is well flavoured and coated in a thin but tasty batter. It was also seasoned with what appeared to be breadcrumbs but I'm still unable to determine exactly what this was. This is a very nice alternative to something like KFC and possibly healthier.

Having sweated from a combination of the hot surroundings and spicy sauce I felt the need to cool myself down before the short walk back to the office in the midday sun. What better way to do this than to opt for a dessert containing ice. I've had variations of the strawberry sago in other locations throughout Asia and unfortunately this didn't quite meet those standards. Still, it was refreshing and just what you need in the humidity.

Stay tuned for more regular updates. With less than a week left here I've still plenty on my list to sample.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Moh Guan Terrace,Singapore,Singapore

Mamma Mia

Pizza has become the nation's favourite party food with Domino's with consistently seeing increase in profits. It has to be agreed that it is the ideal food to share with friends or in my case to consume all by myself.

This week my colleague described this new frozen pizza he had tried as "fit" but then he does have a way with words. I've often found that we both have similar taste in food (and women). He was the one that introduced me to the Dr Oetker Ristorante thin based pizza range and when he informed me of a new range I just had to try it for myself. It'd be rude to not to when it's been described as "fit". Their website describes it as "The Ultimate Homemade Pizza Taste".

With the above in mind, I popped down to my supermarket and picked up two frozen Casi Di Mama Daviola pizzas as they were on offer. There's always the likelihood when purchasing two that I might not like it but then there isn't much to dislike with a pepperoni pizza. As with most pizzas it takes around 15 minutes in the oven but where it differs is there is a baking sheet attached to the base.

The crust had risen during the baking giving it quite a authentic fresh look to it. This certainly gave it a restaurant style feel to the crust and was considerably soft like fresh bread. There's a nice kick to the pizza thanks to a few chillies.

Overall I'd give this a 9/10, a stuffed crust would probably make it a mind blowing perfect ten. I'm in Singapore now for the next 10 days so hopefully there will be a few updates.