Sunday, October 27, 2013

Monday Couple's unbelievable win - 20 Oct 2013

Last Sunday's episode of Running Man was quite interesting. Not because of its guests (IU and Park Myung Soo) but rather how the game wasn't simply won through strength, brute force nor athleticism. I like it when luck and strategising are key factors in determining whether someone wins so I think the wolf and sheep prediction game was good in the sense because it is controllable in the sense that if you win the mini-games, you get a chance to change the cards and know the ratio of wolf and sheep. It is also uncontrollable because you can't change your prediction at the beginning of the day after seeing how the games proceed. And this is why I think Gary and Jihyo guessing the correct ratio right from the start and managing to win it at the end of the day was simply amazing and truly unbelievable.

The Monday Couple seems to be getting closer these days and showing lots of chemistry on screen. It's good for fans of them because we know that in real life, it's not going to be a fairytale ending for them after all unless anything changes in the future. For now, let's enjoy it while we can. Like what we see in 1n2d, nobody stays around forever. Running Man has better luck in this sense since the only departures so far were Lizzy and Joongki. I hope things continue this way for as long as possible because the current cast has such great teamwork that I hate to see anyone coming in or leaving the show which could jeopardise the stability of the programme.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Review of Skinny Pizza (100AM)

 This was my first visit to Skinny Pizza although I've walked past its outlets here and at other places before but never got the urge to try this out. A colleague suggested heading here for lunch and so here I was making my maiden trip to this outlet. 100AM is pretty quiet outside of meal times but since we were there right during lunch time, there was lots of activity going around and the restaurant was about 80% to 90% full when we reached. We got our main dishes and ordered some pizzas to share and the staff was quite patient with us, suggesting what choices might be nice.

I started off with this sweet corn crab soup but it was rather disappointing. Not only did I not taste the seafood taste of the crab (there were only two pieces of crab meat which I identified), the texture of the soup was also rather uneven. I could taste the overwhelming sweetness of the corn in some mouthfuls while in others, I could taste the water and the corn as separate entities. Coupled with the bread that was a bit too soggy to be eaten with this soup (I would have wanted a slice of toasted french loaf with this), I have to say that this soup did not match up to my expectations.

Next up was the black pepper tiger prawn linguine. The pasta itself was great and was thoroughly covered with the black pepper sauce so each mouthful was full of the mildly-spicy flavour. The prawns were very disappointing though because the second piece didn't taste fresh and I had problems detaching the prawn flesh from the shell (they were stuck together). Perhaps if the prawns had been shelled and that they were coated with more of the black pepper sauce so that it absorbed the sauce a bit more, it would have made the dish a lot better. In this version, the prawn shells had the flavour but the prawns itself were bland, to say the least. I wouldn't go to the extent of striking this dish out completely since the linguine was really well-done. It could just be that I happened to get a plate with lacklustre prawns so who knows if I might get something better next time?

And now, here's the pizza lineup! Chicken satay is said to be a chef's recommendation and a popular choice so we decided to go with this.The skinny crust was packed a lot of crunchy goodness and I didn't really feel like I was eating a pizza. As for the ingredients, there were lots of vegetables along with the chicken satay. I like the chunky texture of the vegetables but the chicken satay was a bit lacking since it didn't actually blend well with the crust. It felt as if the crust and the topping were too different things. Perhaps like they had allowed the pizza crust to absorb more of the satay's flavour, it would have brought about a perfect union between the two. Personally, I found this still OK but my dining companions thought otherwise because they didn't like the fact that the chicken satay was too bland to their liking.

This has to got to be the highlight of our meal at Skinny Pizza because this Macadamia Roasted Pumpkin pizza was simply amazing. I would never have imagined putting these two ingredients together on a pizza but surprisingly, they turned out to be in tandem with each other. The sweetness of the pumpkin coupled with the crunchiness of the macadamia and the crispiness of the crust was really good and won the thumbs up of everyone. Pizzas tend to be on the cheesy or savoury side most of the time but this can certainly pass off as a dessert as well. Do give it a try if you can!

Generally, the food quality at Skinny Pizza is OK with some misses here and there. Service was a bit patchy probably due to the lunchtime crowd and the seats were so close to other tables that it can be rather uncomfortable. Prices will also tend to be on the high side especially for the mains but pizzas are generally OK if you are sharing across the table.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The lingering memories of Lee Seunggi's beer can chicken... Joo Won's impending departure from 1n2d

Happened to come across this picture of the "famous" beer can chicken which I had never heard of until Seunggi tried to replicate it on 1n2d. I've never tasted it before too. Can't believe that it's already been almost 4 years since that episode. Those were the good old days where I would laugh throughout the whole episode and my face muscles would literally feel sore at the end of each broadcast due to the excessive laughing. I'm not saying that the new episodes with the new cast are bad. It's just that there is a lack of consistency in the quality. Some episodes are more memorable than the rest, some are plain boring while I've actually resorted to fast-forwarding through some episodes so that I don't fall asleep in front of the TV. That's why it makes me nostalgic to see this picture. Even after so many years, the "horrors" of seeing Seunggi cook still remains in my mind. ^__^

Another change is going to take place for 1n2d because Joo Won's going to take part in his last filming this weekend. Just when 1n2d is finally getting back on its feet after the last round of PD and cast changes and the chemistry between the existing cast is getting better, this has come at a bad timing. Then again, for Joo Won's sake, I think he had no choice. While juggling the weekend shots for 1n2d, he had done at least three dramas during this period i.e. Gaksital, Level 7 Civil Servant and the ongoing Good Doctor. During those periods, he always seemed so tired and would drift off to deep sleep whenever they had a break in between the filming. If given a choice, Joo Won might not have wanted to quit. It was very evident that he enjoyed the time with his brothers and became the little brother everyone doted on. Initially, he usually stuck to Tae Woong because they worked together before and are from the same agency but has moved on to being close to everyone else. Given that he's a young and promising star, the weekend filming will no doubt restrict his ability to take on jobs that require him to go overseas for an extended period of time. I guess Joo Won's story is similar to Seunggi's in this sense. It's gonna be a teary farewell for our maknae this weekend...

Wait a minute, does this mean that Jongmin is going to be the new maknae since there won't be anyone new joining 1n2d???? I can't imagine him doing aegyo like Joo Won but I'm sure he's gonna get on the nerves of the other hyungs more so than ever if the emphasis is put on Jongmin's new status as maknae. :-p

And for old times' sake and in case you don't know what Seunggi did then, here's an edited video of his "heroic deed" then. All credits due to the TV station and the person who uploaded the video:


Saturday, October 5, 2013

Review of Shin-Sapporo Ramen (Century Square)

To be honest, I didn't have a very good experience with Shin-Sapporo Ramen when it first opened. It put me off so much that I swore not to step in there again. I think what happened then had a lot to do with teething problems which most new restaurants would encounter e.g. slow serving speeds, getting orders wrong or a less-than-efficient workflow but what I didn't like was the taste rather than these "non-food" issues. It had been more than a year since that fateful encounter and this second visit happened rather unexpectedly because I needed a very late lunch on a weekend afternoon and had to look for a place which wasn't crowded and was not on afternoon break at 4 plus in the afternoon. Coincidentally, I had a craving for ramen but couldn't think of any nice choices in Tampines so I decided to give this place a second chance.

Although the name of the shop says "Shin-Sapporo Ramen", there are different types of ramen from various locations in Japan on offer here. There's the Hokkaido style, the Tokyo-style, the Hakata (Fukuoka) style and Wakayama style (just to name a few) so if you are dining with a group which has different preferences, this place should have something for everyone. One unique point here is that they use different types of ramen noodles for each locality's version so it's not a one-size-fits-all style of ramen that you get here. Depending on the soup base, different types of noodles are used and the rationale for the choice is clearly explained on the menu.

Personally, I like the Hakata-style tonkotsu soup and the Hokkaido-style noodles but I don't think you can mix the two here so I decided on the tonkotsu ramen. In terms of the soup, it has a nice aroma which is not too overpowering and definitely not as rich as Keisuke's and Santouka's version. However, it doesn't mean that it's not tasty and should suit people who usually find tonkotsu soup a bit too meaty or salty and would prefer a lighter version. As for the noodles, it was OK save for the fact that the noodles got entangled halfway through the meal (which is the first time for me). I wonder if I stirred the noodles too much till they got entangled or the way they were placed into the bowl wasn't the usual style in most ramen joints. I found the noodles a bit too thin and couldn't taste the soup's flavour in them so a slightly thicker type of noodle would have been better. Surprisingly, Ikkousha's noodles were also thin but I thought their version was able to blend better with their tonkotsu soup. As for the char siew, it was a bit of the fatty side but taste-wise, I liked the fact that it was well-seasoned and the texture of the meat wasn't tough at all.

Next up was the kushiyaki. I had wanted to order other types of kushiyaki (chicken with leek and chicken balls) but many of the options were not available so I settled on the pork and chicken wing versions. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the Saturday lunch crowd had finished all the stock for the day? Anyway, there are quite a number of choices for kushiyaki on the menu so I suppose you should be able to find what you fancy. The pork kushiyaki was very well-seasoned and had a nice blend of meat with fats which didn't feel too oily or overpowering. It was well-grilled too so you don't get the feeling that one part is nicely done and another may be so dry that you can't taste anything. However, the chicken wing version was a bit disappointing, considering that you could taste the flavour from the skin but when you get to the meat, it was a tad dry and bland so I think more efforts need to be put in for this version. Maybe marinating the meat a little longer may help?

Last but not least, here's the gyoza which I would always try to order when I am having ramen.. The version here is not bad but I think the quality is fairly inconsistent even in the same place of just 5 pieces of gyoza. As you can see from the photo, the first one looked a bit burnt and that resulted in the meat filling becoming rather dry and tasteless. I gather it must have been due to the fact that the meat juices must have dried up during the cooking process. However, when I got to the third one onwards, it didn't taste as bad so my conclusion is that if the gyoza's skin wasn't burnt but rather lightly pan-fried to have a light golden brown on one side, your gyoza should turn out to be alright. There is also a shrimp version which I haven't tried so for people who don't like too much meat, that should be something you can try.

On the whole, I would say that this 2nd visit has successfully changed my opinion of  Shin-Sapporo Ramen to a certain extent but there are still some areas which it needs improving e.g. the kushiyaki and gyoza taking ages to be served even though I was the only customer at that time. Nonetheless, it has proved to be a pretty decent place for some ramen so I will know where to go the next time I'm craving for ramen but am too lazy to travel to town for my all-time favourites.