The Black Box Challenge – Christmas Special

On Episode Five of JuicyNDelicious TV we spice things up a little with *drumroll* a Black Box Challenge!

We’ve brought two of our chicest Tummyrubs, Ms Glitzy and Mr Jet Aw together to see who can make the best use of mystery items for the perfect Christmas table setting!

To spice things up a lil’, we’d love for you to vote for the winner of the Black Box Challenge. Which do you love?

- juicy

recovering from the weekend… BURP

If you’ve been following our tweets and our updates on our Facebook page, you’ll know that juicy, mike and I were up North last weekend, sniffing out the best foodie treats… including Klang Bak Kut Teh!

Watch this space… for hidden gems, great treats in unexpected spaces and more laughs!

- delicious

best of both worlds

have u ever wondered what ur favourite junk foods would taste like… together?

we test this very theory with two of our personal faves – tom yam pot noodles and peanut butter.

are you grossed out yet?

find out how it turns out and if anyone gets hurt, in this week’s episode of juicyndelicious TV.

- juicy

baby, it’s cold outside…

So let’s have a nice warm bowl of noodles for lunch!

That’s clearly what the EdelTummyrubs – KK, Keith and Becks had in mind when we headed to the Orchard Cineleisure foodcourt for lunch a couple of weeks ago.

Being my unadventurous self I sought solace in a bowl of double boiled watercress soup with red dates while my more adventurous colleagues decided to give a new stall a go.

The stall serves up very authentic Northern Chinese noodles dishes according to Keith, who tucked into a steaming bowl of handmade noodles (which looked and tasted like the child of mee hoon kueh and kway teow, nice QQ consistency) in a clear broth with tomatoes and egg! I found the combination a little strange but Keith insists that it’s heartwarming…

Becks had a combination that I found easier to stomach – cubed pork and veggies, very tasty. The only thing a little strange was that it’s served with a room temperature soup that is most aptly described as “ribena-ey herbal tea” very interesting indeed, but certainly not my thing!

Last but not least, our sinophile KK, attempted a bowl of seemingly regular Ma La noodles but alas! He was overcome by the spicyness and wasn’t able to finish even half the bowl of noodles. A first for him. I had a taste of the gravy and my tongue was tingling for hours! okay, maybe 10 minutes…

That said, it’s always a pleasure to discover little lunchtime delights in our part of town, can’t wait for applebees to open at our office building! Yes, I am trashy that way!

What tasty, filling delights do you have for lunch?

- delicious

feelin’ december-ish

i was goin to write separate posts on the exciting new start-ups of two friends. n then when i sat down to get cracking, i realised that the two new entities actually rhyme – KRISH the restaurant and WISHonline.com.sg! (yes it is somewhat early on a saturday morning n i haven’t had my coffee yet).

so i decided to capture both in this entry. n it’s really timely for december if you’re looking for a new christmas dinner venue option, or if you’re searching for that perfect party dress to ring in the new year.

KRISH

let’s start with food. last weekend the family checked out hot new restaurant KRISH, located at a beautiful two-storey colonial house at rochester park with a huge outdoor al fresco area. the recently opened restaurant is co-founded by nikhil n tika, two ex schoolmates who decided to take an entrepreneurial step in the direction of their love for food and art.

krish at 9 rochester park

n truly, everything about KRISH is a work of art. i hear it was designed by one of the guys who were involved in the new majestic project. n much like having a favourite room in a house, it is hard not to find a spot you can call your favourite at KRISH.

the main dining hall on the first floor has a very sensual, boudoir-like feel with warm lighting, mirrors n dark wood. look out for the very unique chandeliers hanging above you – they’re made out of glass bottles!

main dining hall, level 1

go up the red velvet carpet-lined stairs to the second floor and u’ll enter a very julia child inspired dining room. a much brighter color scheme with white windows, tables n walls is accentuated by lots of earthy props in the room including hanging plants, gardening tools lined along the walls, as well as a wall installation of kitchen crockery.

dining area on level 2

my personal favourite is the al fresco area. it’s a really luxurious space outside the house with a separate bar area, n a private tent area with loungey daybeds n cushions. the best part for boys? the tent features a few lcd tvs which were screening soccer when i was there on sunday nite.

al fresco area

food-wise, KRISH is A for Amazing in my books. i was a bit skeptical when i first heard about the concept, as i usually am about fusion food in general. but this was outstanding. i learned that chef matthew baker is what u’d call a meat expert, n this actually is pretty new ground for him – blending south asian spices with european techniques.

for starters, i had the pork belly tikka with tamarind, chilli rings and shaved red onion. the juiciness of the pork belly slices n the burst of flavour from the tamarind n chilli really made every mouthful an absolute delight. the sister really liked her spiced carrot ravioli, a very unique take on ravioli infused with a ginger emulsion. this is supposedly a crowd favourite. another noteworthy mention was mom’s smoked tomato and lentil soup, best enjoyed with some garlic bread on the side. n how could i forget the complimentary chapatis deep-fried with truffle oil? i couldn’t stop!

(L-R) pork belly tikka, smoked tomanto n lentil soup

the mains were just as interesting. my favourite of the night was the sister’s seared sea bass with couscous, chutney n beurre-blanc (come to think of it, the sister always picks the best dishes). the fish was fresh n the skin was crispy the way i like it, n the couscous was not what i expected. the grains were a lot broader n texturised, in fact it was more like risotto.

i quite enjoyed my tandoori chicken n my mother’s seared duck breast with tamarind, altho i thought the poultry was a little on the dry side. dad’s braised lamb shank was also fantastic, with a bit of a twist brought about by rogan josh spices. for all the lazy diners out there you’d be happy to know the lamb shank comes de-boned. it comes with a chickpea mash but u can also request for potato if u’re a potato-head like me.

(L-R)sea bass with couscous, seared duck breast

finally, dessert. as expected we were all stuffed but i knew i had to try something. tika recommended the sticky date pudding. awesome recommendation – it was a beautiful slice of heaven, not too crumbly but just enough to melt in your mouth, drizzled with an interesting gula melaka coffee sauce n a rather surprising scoop of darjeeling ice cream.

the rest of the family shared a few scoops of more interesting sorbets n ice cream – apple pie ice cream, lychee sorbet, mango curry sorbet n spiced red wine sorbet.  i’d skip the apple pie ice cream n spiced red wine, n go straight for the lychee n mango curry. i know it sounds weird, but it actually tasted really good n the aftertaste had bite, in a good way.

sticky date pudding

so yes, i say KRISH is A for Amazing n i can’t wait to see how they evolve the menu. i know i’ll be back!

you can view all pictures here.

WISHONLINE

speaking of sweet notes, last nite i attended the launch of wishonline, a new online shopping site for women’s wear, with focus on cocktail dresses. 

the brain child of angelina leong who designed all items on the catalogue, the shop kicks off with the theme ’sweet notes of december’.

check it out if u’re looking for great party dresses. i’ve already added two items to my wish list, including this cute jacket.

sleek jacket

 happy december everyone!

- juicy

Soul Food

When you’ve had a really rough day and nothing seems to be going your way, there’s nothing like a HUGE slice of chocolate fudge cake to make everything right again!

That said, you also wanna make sure that that slice of cake is worth the calories – there’s nothing more disappointing than a biting into a sliver of what appears to be a mouthwatering delight to find that it’s dry, crumbly and worst of all, plasticky.

So, on this week’s episode of JuicyNDelicious TV, we’ve put two well-loved favourites to the test: The old skool, homestyle Lana Chocolate Fudge Cake made by Mrs Violet Kwan and an Awfully Chocolate Fudge Cake – arguably the best chocolate cakes in Singapore.

We would also like to introduce you to our newest Tummyrubs, Liru and Charlotte who will be making their debut on juicyndelicious tv. Even though Charlotte is new to Singapore, we figured that since she’s from the land down under, she’d know her chocolate cake! In the same way, Liru’s been raised on a birthday cake diet of Chocolate Fudge Cake so we reckon she’d be a good judge as well.

So which chocolate cake reigned supreme? Watch our latest episode to find out!

- delicious

all you need is…

…love, food and time.

apparently these are the top three words that i have tweeted in the past month, according to my tweet cloud.

funny how words like ‘breakfast’ and ‘noodles’ seem to pop out too!

my tweetcloud

how apt isn’t it? someone said that if you combine my three words into one sentence it goes ‘juicy loves eating food all the time’. true that!

what are your top three tweeted words?

- juicy

I feel like chicken tonight!

We’ve teased you and shared our topline thoughts on 4Fingers Bonchon Crispy Chicken… and here’s the full experience!

The chicken’s tasty and it’s located in a great part of town so I’m sure that Juicy and I will be back…
-delicious

here we go…

Today marks a key milestone in the development of juicyndelicious the blog – the debut of juicyndelicious tv’s first official episode. We’ve been talking about it for some time now, teasing you with some of the footage and the trailers and finally – here it is!

In episode one, with the guidance of Tampines native, The Big Biscuit, we partake some of the tastiest and most well-loved treats at the Tampines St 11 Round Market and Food Centre.

Recently voted Singapore’s favourite food centre for the second year running, we had a really good time hanging in the ‘hood and feasting on all the early morning goodness!

We hope you enjoy the Ep, a lot of love went into the production and making of the series and we would like to give a big virtual hug to:
- Michael Foong, the man with the plan. Our slave driver of a producer who makes all the magic happen
- Rai of Jack&Rai for the groovy jingle
- Edmund Seet from the Bureau for the Advancement of Lifestyle, Longevity and Success for our logo and identity
- All our tummyrubs!
- Ben Israel, without whom none of this would have happened! (long story, through Ben, we met John and then of course, we met Mike!)

And of course, thank you all for your love and support – keep watching! Ps. If you’ve got something tasty to share, we want to hear from you!

- Delicious

Happy Birthday Timbre

Besides my lovely mother, local live music venue Timbre also celebrated its 4th birthday this weekend – at the Substation on Friday and Timbre Mobile (aka T4) on Saturday. The success of the Timbre chain of venues has been pretty resounding in the local music scene and it has become somewhat of a de facto location for live music if u’re looking for somewhere to chill out, have a coupla drinks or dinner.

Most recently, everyone has been buzzing about its cool new outdoor venue, Timbre Mobile at the East Coast Park; and I finally got to check it out this weekend. I have to say, I love it. Same concept, same great bar food, but located on a nice, vast piece of land away from the city. The concept is pretty interesting – apparently this has been constructed as a mobile facility which will serve as a roving venue, which explains the container-like structures and wood plank flooring. Can’t wait to find out where it’ll be heading next.

Timbre Mobile Next to East Coast Park Carpark C1

Amidst the weekend celebrations, we caught up with Timbre’s Chief Creative Director and Co-Founder Danny Loong on his thoughts on reaching this 4-year milestone.

1) It’s been 4 years. Did timbre turn out the way you expected it to? Or has it evolved into something quite different?

Yes, it has. With respect to the music scene, we have Singapore bands playing nightly and we see them developing as artists and musicians with an increasing database of fans. Singapore bands are now mentioned more in the media, becoming radio hosts, and playing music is now a cool career. So, on a holistic level, Timbre has helped, to an extent, change the look and feel of the music scene and inspire music appreciation amongst Singaporeans. One of our main objectives was also to present performances which are non-mainstream, such as blues, jazz and folk, so that Timbre audiences could enjoy and be introduced to other forms of music, thus expanding their own musical horizons.

In this regard, Timbre’s concept has not changed. However, we are continually introducing new ideas and initiatives to progress this process, since the formation of Timbre Music Academy and Timbre Music, our events and marketing subsidiary.

(L-R) Athif, Goodfellas; Brian, West Grand Boulevard

2) In the 4 years of timbre, what have been the three biggest highlights for you?

i) That we still have Timbre @ The Substation! Well, the first venue always reminds me on my roots and to maintain the timbre concept no matter what happens. Sometimes we ought to go back to the beginning of the journey to gather our thoughts for the future.

ii) Playing with Ublues at the East Coast Blues and Roots festival at Byron Bay, Australia in 2004 and 2009. This festival was awarded internationally as one of the world’s best festival and Ublues represented Singapore and is still the only Asian act ever to perform at the festival, and we performed alongside musicians like James Brown, Jason Miraz and many other. I hope to see more Singapore bands representing at such festivals; that will help the further development of Singapore music.

iii) The success of Beerfest Asia 2009 was pivotal for us in expanding into other business segments such as lifestyle events and technology start-ups.

3) If you could change one thing about timbre what would it be?

I can’t actually think of anything. I’m pretty satisfied. Perhaps if there was one minor thing, it would be that we present more indie and original artists.

4) What are your thoughts on the local live music scene today vs 4 years ago?

I was a full time musician for 8 years from 2000 and the live music scene has improved drastically compared to then. There are more bars to perform at, bands/musicians are more pro-active about self-marketing and management, there are more original releases and many of them have found effective related jobs such as radio hosting and production. There are also more bands involved in advertising campaigns and that is corporate recognition of a more positive perception of local musicians – that more people do take notice when they see their face associated with a brand.

5) What’s your favourite item on the timbre food menu and why?

Cod Papilotte, which is seasoned cod fish fish fillet marinated in fish broth, white wine and herbs, wrapped in foil and oven baked, and is available at Timbre Mobile at East Coast Park. I love the taste and how the wine and herbs work so well to bring out its fresh flavours.

Note from Juicy: If you love Timbre’s pizza, you can also now order home delivery by calling  63522622.

Love is 1/2 roast duck n 1/2 beef n onions

6) What’s next for timbre?

Well, we are launching Timbre Music Academy – Inspiring the “Live” in Music. This is our first step into Music Education. The main objective is to teach and encourage our students to think and perform like Live Musicians, and all our instructors are experienced musicians with extensive live music experience. The students will be trained towards performing on a timbre stage at any of the 4 outlets at some stage and that’s our unique selling point – a school with 4 possible live music venues.

Danny (left) with his crew at T4

So everyone’s probably been to Timbre at some point, and it also probably triggers certain memories. For me, the most memorable Timbre night was at the Substation last Christmas – it was Goodfellas rocking it out on stage, n for some reason all my loved ones were there – the sister, the boyfriend, the girly gang, the travelling buddies… it was one of the best Christmas celebrations I’ve had.

What’s your best Timbre memory?

- juicy