Stimulation for the sight - Hyper Japanesque

Although my main aim was to visit the Super Japan Matsuri, it turned out to be a huge disappointment due to the huge crowds and lack of organisation. Granted that it was the first time that this was held, I think the organisers probably underestimated the turnout thus leading to this situation. I couldn't even see the end of the queues for the food stalls and the counter to exchange tokens was also closed when I reached the venue. Flabbergasted at having wasted my time and effort in braving the weekend crowds to get to the Esplanade, I was about to leave and have dinner elsewhere when I came across a poster about this exhibition by Japanese artists taking place at Jendela Gallery on the second floor. As such, I decided to swing by for a visit and see if it offers anything special.

This was the first time I had visited Jendela thus I was a bit surprised to see it being smaller than I imagined. Or it could be that there were not that many exhibits so the space opened up for the exhibition was limited to a certain extent. I wouldn't say that I liked all the exhibits here but here are my favourites so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

If you are interested, take note that the exhibition is still ongoing until 3 July 2016.

Apparently, this is not just for show but does work like a telephone.

Where is Nomura Hideo?

In the mood for geso...for some reason

Indescribable yet fascinating

Butterflies are an intriguing thing to me. On one hand, they can be very pretty to look at but on the other hand, they seem to have this mysterious and somewhat sinister feel.

Looks like a heart and a tree combined

Looks similar to a bonsai

Something as simple and mundane as umbrellas can turn out to feel different depending on the arrangement.

Revisiting Okada Coffee and making new discoveries

Just realised that my first visit to Okada Coffee was back in 2013. Wow, that was almost three years ago!

With each visit to this place, there are two conflicting feelings I experience. On one hand, I'm glad that this place is not crowded so it has become my secret oasis for some peace and relaxation while getting my sweet fix. However, I also worry if this place is making enough money to keep going and I would really hate to see it go if it gets edged out by a bigger and more profitable business as what is seen at many other shopping malls across the island. I'm just simply thankful that this cafe is still here and seems to be going strong despite being very quiet on a Saturday evening. I noticed that there were quite a number of ladies who turned up on their own like me so I guess we all like this place for the quietness as compared to popular coffee chains which I can never get a seat at.

One thing I think would be good to attract walk-in customers would be to refresh the menu from time to time or have seasonal specials. To be honest, there are times when I want to try something different but find myself struggling to find something which I've not tasted yet. From what I observed, many people tend to come here for the desserts and drinks such as coffee. I think I've tasted most of the cakes and desserts here so it would be nice to have some new choices at times. Then again, if the cafe feels that they can do better by concentrating on a few items which they are strong in, I think that's fine too. Just that it would't hurt to have new surprises in the menu for a limited period if they want to test waters and don't want to commit long-term to a new item so quickly.

For the drink, I tried the matcha float which had a strong but not overpowering matcha fragrance and flavour. The taste was further accentuated by the ice cream which melted into the drink and provided a slightly sweet and creamy taste. It was a great thirst quencher considering how hot it was that evening. I love my matcha but it's not easy to get the balance between bitterness and sweetness correct in matcha-based desserts. If I drink this on its own without the ice-cream, I think it would have tasted good too.

As for the dessert, I got the chestnut parfait which surprised me in some ways. I did not expect to see so much chestnut paste on top with the glazed boiled chestnut pieces which looked so appealing. Beneath the chestnut paste were the cold cheesecake cubes and crunchy cornflakes which provided a variation in the texture. In terms of the taste, the first mouthful may seem quite sweet due to the chestnut paste but as you progress further, the taste becomes less overwhelming. The layering of different levels can be somewhat adjusted though because there was no chestnut paste in the middle of the glass. As such, it became a bit bland and dry to eat the cheesecake with the cornflakes towards the end. Other than that, I thought that this was a pretty good parfait on the whole. Oh, before I forgot, the butter cookies on top of the parfait were very aromatic and tasted good with the chestnut paste.

I wonder what I should order on my next visit?

Keong Saik Carnival - a case of mismatched expectations with reality?

I don't know if I read the promotional write-up wrongly or misinterpreted it but I was under the impression that the Keong Saik Carnival was a retro-style event. The promotional banner on the carnival's Facebook page seemed to suggest that there was a strong retro element with the use of old pictures. Then again, when I scrutinised the write-up again after the event, it didn't seem to be the case especially the part about letting the young and old come together to create memories on the old streets. I think I must read the description more carefully next time before going for any events especially I had the same disappointment with the Super Japan Matsuri last week.

Perhaps it was the hot weather and the cigarette smoke which got on my nerves. Maybe it was the lack of retro elements which made me feel disappointed since that was my primary aim of going for the carnival. Otherwise, I'm one who shuns crowds at open-air spaces. I think this event felt more like a street carnival in an old street but with pretty modern attractions that unfortunately did not interest me.

This is probably the most retro-style item I could see at the carnival i.e. this small and ancient-looking merry-go-round. Then again, this is for the kids so for the adults, we would just have to be content with snapping pictures of it. Given the limited space available for this carnival, it would be difficult to have many of such amusement facilities which are often rather big. Perhaps a stretch of a few traditional game stalls would be good to let adults and kids have some fun which should be less costly and easier to set up? I didn't stay long enough though to find out if you needed to pay before you could ride this.

There were actually some stalls which did offer small games as a side attraction e.g. the mini table-tennis table with huge bats and the ball-throwing game from Jameson Irish whiskey which offered prizes such as a shot of whiskey, a notebook and a glass or the spin-the-wheel game from Deliveroo or the fortune cookie game from Uber (which was already fully given out by the time I reached). Some required you to fill in at least an email address before you could play the game (which I suppose was to get your contact details for marketing purposes) while others did not have any pre-existing conditions.

One of the more interesting stalls I came across was the Hounds of the Baskervilles. I have no idea why the name was chosen for this tattooing and barber shop especially since it is the title of a Sherlock Holmes book. Having read this book so many times to date, I thought that it was quite intriguing to see this being used as a shop name even though I don't recall anything about barbers or tattoos from the story. Might have to revisit the novel again.

In any case, there was an old-style chair for the customer who could get a shave, haircut or tattoo on the spot. I happened to be there when there was a guy having his haircut which I suppose was why so many people were standing around to observe how it was being done. Behind the barber was a table containing various items used for the shaving and hair-cutting which had a pretty nostalgic feel. That white-and-blue tall can of talcum powder (forgot the brand) was what I saw when I was a kid so it was surprising to be able to still spot it now. That wooden table itself also looked like it had been used for ages and blended well with the surrounding old street shophouse atmosphere. Although I don't think there would be any likelihood of me visiting the Hounds of the Baskervilles, this might be something which the guys might like to check out for at least a shave or haircut in a old-school setting.

In terms of the F & B offerings, I thought that it would be more appealing for those who prefer alcoholic drinks e.g. beer as there were slightly limited choices on the non-alcoholic side of things. Along the streets where the carnival was taking place, there were quite a number of restaurants and pubs/bars so it was natural that people were also drinking there. Snacks-wise, there were burgers, corn in a cup and other small items. In that sense, it's probably not so family-friendly as the promotional materials described. Coupled with the fact that people were smoking all around, I didn't really feel comfortable eating and drinking in their midst. Maybe other people might not mind but it's just a personal preference on my part that I don't fancy breathing in secondhand smoke while enjoying a meal.

The only thing I bought was the ice pop from Potato Head Bar which was really disappointing. Initially, the staff did mention to me that the ice pop was not frozen enough but I assumed that it was just a bit soft. Imagine my surprise when it came in liquid form! It would have been better if the sour plum ice pop was indeed frozen because it was so difficult to drink the plum juice from the ice bag. And it certainly did not quench my thirst as I had expected.

To be fair to the organisers, this is the first time that they are doing this so there may be some hiccups or things that they did not realise or consider in the planning. Besides, some of the "not-so-enjoyable" things I listed above were pretty much due to my own preferences so other people might have a different take on this. Especially when I saw that quite a number of people were having fun drinking, mingling with friends and dancing to the live performances or music played by the DJs, I think there were indeed people who enjoyed the carnival more than I did.

Just as a suggestion if there are future editions of this carnival, I think there needs to be a clear description on what this event is supposed to be. Is it a retro-style carnival? Is it more like a street party? Is it more of a bazaar in a traditional setting with live music? If things were made clearer, I'm sure it would attract the "right" people who are interested in what's offered. That will also mean that people won't be disappointed to find that the carnival did not provide what they were seeking. Traffic control also needs to be relooked since the entry points to the carnival still had vehicle traffic and it was kind of dangerous to be walking alongside the cars. I bet it must be frustrating for the drivers to navigate past the human traffic creating bottlenecks on the narrow streets too.

Perhaps the biggest reward I obtained through the carnival was that I've finally found out where Potato Head Folk is. It was impossible to get in due to the huge crowds but it's probably time to plan a visit to here in the near future.

A respite from the busy city life - Tadd's @ Montigo Resorts Nongsa (Batam)

During the recent Lunar New Year holiday, I went on a short trip to Montigo Resorts Nongsa in Batam. The area is rather undeveloped or should I say, in the process of being developed so there are only a few resorts in this part of Batam. This is good in the sense that the environment is left as natural as it is but I guess in a few years' time, the landscape and view here could change drastically as more resorts open here and the area gets developed.

Due to the fact that the Montigo Resort is quite far from the city area, it became a natural choice to have our meals here during our stay. Tadd's is one of the two restaurants here so I will be reviewing this first.

As the colour theme of the resort is blue and white which brings to mind Santorini in Greece, the restaurant is also dressed in similar colours with its wooden furniture, blue chairs and white walls. With the huge fans on the ceiling and the sea breeze, the whole place gives off a relaxed vibe. In line with the Lunar New Year holiday then, there were dashes of red everywhere with decorations on the tables and ceilings in the form of red packets and lanterns etc.

Here were the dishes and drinks we had during lunch on the two days during our stay:

The white drink on the right was a mojito mocktail while the other was a lychee-based soda. The mocktail tasted relatively close to the real mojito without the distinct taste of alcohol that some people may find overwhelming and the good thing was that it wasn't overly sweet which provided some much-needed relief when the weather was a bit hot and stuffy after a short drizzle. The mint leaves were fresh and added a welcome refreshing taste to the drink. Perhaps it might have been better to go easy on the amount of ice because the amount of ice diluted the drink a bit too much towards the end. As for the soda, I felt that it was too sweet especially when the ice had yet to melt but it got more palatable towards the bottom of the glass.

Next up was was the sate campur i.e. assorted satay (9 sticks) with rice cakes, peanut sauce and crackers. The satay options here are beef, chicken and prawn but if there's anything which you don't eat, you can always ask the staff to change the combination. In our case, we asked for prawn and chicken only since we do not eat beef. Frankly speaking, I don't really like having chicken satay for the fact that it gets dry too easily due to the grilling unless the portion used contains a bit more fat or moisture like thigh meat. As such, I tend to prefer pork satay which is more "resistant" to the grilling process and doesn't lose its tenderness nor taste. However, being in Indonesia, the meat options would not have included pork but it wasn't that much of an issue after all since there was still chicken to choose. Thankfully, the chicken satay was not too dry and was marinated well. As for the prawn, it was of a decent size and was pretty fresh. What I liked more were the crackers and rice cakes while the peanut sauce could do with a boost in the fragrance department.

The nonga nasi goreng contained a grilled prawn, a fried chicken wing, two sticks of chicken satay (supposed to be beef but we asked for a change), a fried egg, vegetables, fried rice and a cracker. It was a decent portion good enough for two people to share especially if you aren't too hungry or have a small appetite. As per the same with the satay set, you can ask for some customisation to the preset items if need be so please check with the staff on the available portions. At the price of IDR 125,000 (about SGD 13), the amount of items and the quality of food are quite worth the deal. Perhaps the only drawback was that the amount of vegetables seemed a bit too little when compared to the other items in this set.

The montigo ayam panggang berempah contains half of an oven-roasted spring chicken, sautéed
long beans, prawn crackers, steamed
jasmine rice and sambal. The rice was lacking in fragrance and was a bit too soft to my liking. As for the chicken, I liked the flavour but the texture was a bit dry. Somehow, I find that spring chicken tends to be dry like breast meat regardless of the cooking method, be it deep fried or grilled so I suppose that it's very difficult to retain the moisture and texture. The sambal went well with the rice and chicken. One thing worth noting was the prawn crackers used in each of the dishes were really good and I really enjoyed seeing them in almost every dish I had during my stay at the resort.

The dessert tray comprised of green tea tiramisu, triple chocolate truffle,blueberry cheese cake, ginger crème brulée, strawberry pannacotta and chocolate crémeux. Frankly speaking, we ordered this because we were not sure what we wanted to order as there were multiple items which we were interested in. Presentation-wise, this looked pretty good with its variety of colours. Overall, I felt that the quality of the items in this set were a bit lacking despite the price being even higher than a main dish. Nonetheless, the cheese cake, chocolate truffle and crème brulée were the better ones in this selection while the others were rather weak in the taste department. Quantity-wise, this is more of a tasting menu so the size of the items tend to be small. Even so, it may be a bit too much for one person if you are a small eater so it's good for sharing within a group especially if you want to try various items at one go.

Here was the young coconut juice which surprised us due to its sheer size. Coincidentally, soon after we ordered one of this, the other tables also started ordering the same thing. Seems like it's the herd syndrome at play here because if we find something that appears appealing from the other tables, chances are we will be tempted to order the same thing. The challenge in ordering something like this is how to scrape the coconut flesh from the inside of the fruit without making a mess. I must say, it was rather tough to do so because the flesh was quite thin and firmly attached to the interior wall of the fruit but if you finish drinking the juice before you start scraping the coconut flesh, it will be easier without the juice splashing all around. I learnt this the hard way when I almost spilled a good amount of the juice. As this was a young coconut, the taste of the coconut juice was not that sweet and had a tinge of sourness. I thought it went well with the strong-flavoured food and took away a bit of the greasy aftertaste.

The duck ragout fettucine is actually listed in the dinner menu but was available for ordering during lunchtime which I suppose should be due to the festive season. I tend to prefer pasta which are on the thin side such as linguine and capellini or macaroni or penne so fettucine usually gives me the impression of being rather thick and difficult to eat. In addition, due to the large surface area of the pasta, it tends to get soggy too quickly as it absorbs the pasta sauce very readily. Luckily, this version did not have a lot of sauce thus there was no problem of the fettucine being too soggy towards the end of the meal as the sauce was pretty concentrated. When eaten together with the smoked duck slices, shredded duck meat and garlic bread, the tastes of these items complement one another pretty well. Due to the substantial portion size, the after-meal feeling might be a bit heavy so this might be good for sharing within a group.

After the lacklustre experience with the dessert tray on the first day, we decided to order the desserts we were originally interested in. First up was the sago malacca which consisted of the palm sugar, crème anglaise and vanilla ice cream. The red sago layer when eaten with the cold ice cream and accompanying sauce brought about an interesting combination of tastes and textures. Visually, I thought it might be better to have more colours in this dish to accentuate the aesthetic factor although I thought that the bright red sago layer was nice to look at. However, the portion was a bit small despite the big serving dish so it should be fine for one person to finish this alone. After having this, I suddenly have this urge to try making something similar with modifications to the components.

Last but not least, here's the warm apple tart which was made from granny smith apples, rum raisin ice cream, vanilla sauce, cinnamon. I was actually a bit disappointed with the portion size of this dessert and that the apple tart here is the "deconstructed" type, Personally, I felt that the tart crust was a bit thick and tough so it might be good to improve on this area in order to make this dessert better.

On the whole, the food at Tadd's was pretty decent and had healthy portion sizes. The variety on the menu was also quite extensive so even if you stay at the resort for a few days, there should still be room for you to choose a different dish each time. However, in the dessert department, there were some flaws here and there and the portion size was a tad small when the prices were taken into consideration. Hopefully, there will be more improvements made to the menu's offerings by the time I revisit this resort.

Savour Niigata ramen from Sanpoutei @ Shaw House

Ramen lovers like me are in for a treat with more and more ramen brands coming to Singapore, each offering their unique concoctions. One biggest grouse I have though is that the ramen places that I like don't have a branch in my neighbourhood so I always have to travel to town just to get my ramen fix. Of course, there are some ramen brands which have made inroads into the housing estates but most tend to limit their expansions to various spots within the city area.

Sanpoutei Ramen has been around since 1967 and comes from Niigata, Japan which is usually more well-known for its Koshihikari rice and sake. As such, I was curious how the ramen from Niigata would taste like and decided to give this a try.

Upon entering the restaurant, there are two types of seats i.e. the table seats and those at a long rectangular table at the centre of the restaurant. In the middle lies a charcoal fireplace which is of course meant for ornamental purposes and a wooden screen which has a warm feel (perhaps because Niigata is well-known for it being a region with heavy snowfall) and offers some privacy from fellow customers which are seated across you at the same table. For people who dine alone, you don't have to feel self-conscious compared to when you occupy a table seat. Besides, it is easy to observe from these seats how the staff prepare the ramen since you can see the noodles preparation room and kitchen clearly which offers some "entertainment" while you wait for the ramen to be served.

There are four main types of ramen offered here i.e. the Niigata shoyu ramen (soy sauce base), rich tori x miso ramen, rich tori x spicy-miso ramen and W soup tonkotsu ramen (pork bone base). W soup actually means double soup and refers to the fact that there are two types of soup being blended together to form the broth in this ramen. As the name suggests, there is tonkotsu soup made from simmering tonkotsu for 12 hours plus rich tori soup (made from chicken) to form the thick broth as seen from the photo. Honestly speaking, I was a bit taken aback when I saw the soup and wondered if it was going to be too thick and salty for me.

I ordered the W soup tonkotsu ramen with extra aburi chashu (5 pieces) which comes with everything as per the full set except for the egg. As I mentioned above, I had misgivings about the soup initially but to my surprise, it was not as salty as I thought and the rich-bodied soup was so flavourful and had a nice aroma. Considering that both the tonkotsu and the rich tori soup should be quite concentrated, I was amazed by how light it was on my palate. However, for people who prefer lighter soups such as shoyu, you might not be used to seeing your soup being this thick and slightly gooey as you get to the bottom of the bowl.

As for the noodles, the type used at Sanpoutei is a bit different from the usual thin vs. thick noodles or round vs. flat noodles. It's actually flat noodles being slightly thicker than mee pok but not as broad in terms of width. I tend to prefer the thick curly noodles used in Hokkaido-style ramen rather than the thin straight noodles in Kyushu-style ramen but there are times where I would wish for the best of both worlds i.e. curly noodles which can absorb the soup well but not too thick. Surprisingly, Sanpoutei has a nice hybrid which I like where the noodles absorbs the thick broth well and yet is not too lumpy. It's great to finally find something which suits my preferences.

As for the aburi chashu, I was a bit concerned that it might be a bit too dry due to the grilling. However, the chashu had a fine balance of meat and fat which probably helped in it retaining a certain degree of moisture thus preventing the chashu from being too tough. I also liked the fact that the chashu was tender enough to be easily split into smaller pieces with just the chopsticks and seasoned in such a way that it went well with the soup.

It's a bit of a disappointment that there was no gyoza to order here but there are various small bites like mini-don, salad, rice rolls and fried chicken offered. I chose the Sanpoutei deep fried spring chicken with oroshi yuzu ponzu sauce. With regard to the karaage, I thought it was a bit tough because breast meat seemed to be used in this dish which doesn't turn out very well when deep fried since there isn't a lot of fat in this part of the chicken. The thigh portion turns out better when used in a dish like this but unfortunately, not every place uses this. Luckily, the oroshi with yuzu ponzu sauce and the vegetables helped in accentuating the taste of the fried chicken and made it a bit more moist and savoury than if it was just plain karaage being served.

On the whole, I like the ramen served here at Sanpoutei although I felt that the small bites selection is not as appealing to me. I think I'll be back for another visit pretty soon to try out the other types of soup bases.

Happy New Year! Welcome 2016!

As the new year beckons, it's time for fresh resolutions on a new slate.

2015 has been a mixed bag of good and bad things for me. Nonetheless, there were still many memorable events and performances which I attended, new places I visited and delicious food tasted so to sum things up, the year hasn't been that bad after all. In the new year, with renewed hope and enthusiasm, I wish for better things to come in various aspects.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog and may you have a blessed and happy new year ahead!

Somewhat like Japan yet not quite like it - The Sushi Bar (Ngee Ann City)

I was craving for something Japanese during lunch one day so headed to The Sushi Bar at Ngee Ann City to give it a try. Although the online reviews were generally quite favourable, I think it was a mix of hits and misses for me so it will take a few more visits to find out which items are the ones to choose and avoid.

First was the chicken katsu rice which came with some coleslaw and cucumber slices. The fried batter was OK but the chicken meat within was too thin so it felt more like I was eating the skin and batter rather than the chicken. In addition, the rice was rather lumpy and sticky which seemed to suggest that there was either too much water or it was way overcooked. Despite the presence of a sweet sauce to be eaten with the dish, the addition of mayonnaise to the sauce altered the taste and there was too little of the sauce thus making the dish taste rather dry on the whole. It might have better if there was more sauce or the meat was thicker and juicier.

Next was the teba gyoza which means chicken wing gyoza. On first sight, this resembled the stuffed chicken wings commonly seen in Thai restaurants served with sweet chili sauce. The version here was made to be like gyoza where instead of the gyoza skin, the chicken wing which had the bones in the mid section removed was stuffed with meat filling. The accompanying sauce was replaced by mayonnaise. Overall, I thought that the taste of this teba gyoza was not much different from its Thai counterpart and the sauce didn't really do much to accentuate the taste of the dish. Although I thought that it was a pretty gimmicky idea to position this dish as a gyoza-lookalike, the dish probably needs a major change to make an impact on the customer's palate. Perhaps something like a wasabi-based mayonnaise might help in making this dish more interesting.

The kani maki turned out pretty ordinary in terms of taste which can be considered a good and bad thing. The good thing is, it doesn't taste awful but on the other hand, it fails to leave an impression on me. Appearance-wish, I thought that it could have looked slightly better. Given that the name of this place is called "The Sushi Bar", I was expecting something better even for a simple offering like this. It's the simple things which need more skills so in this sense, I thought that it should have fared better. The only thing I liked was probably the wasabi which tasted fresh. Just be careful not to take too much of it at one go or you might find yourself coughing when you choke on the sudden rush of the wasabi's spicy flavour.

The hotate miso yaki was one of the two dishes I liked during my visit. Despite miso having a pretty strong taste and potentially covering up the fresh seafood flavour if it turned out to be too overpowering, the good thing was that I could still taste the hotate's flavour and liked the texture i.e. still crunchy and not overcooked. When eaten with the spring onions, it added a welcome layer of texture to the dish. I didn't try eating with the salmon roe though. However, in order to do justice to the fresh seafood, it might be good to have another option where the hotate is grilled on its own thus allowing its natural flavour to be infused into the hotate due to the heat or adding soy sauce or some other lighter seasoning when grilling. I've tried eaten grilled seafood in this manner while in Japan and really liked the natural seafood goodness which was not overwhelmed by strong-tasting condiments.

I've been craving to have some yakitori, not the sauce version but the salt version. Ever since I tasted the latter from a convenience store in Japan, I've grown to like the salt version a lot. However, a lot of Japanese restaurants tend to have the sauce version only so I was quite happy to find the salt version offered here. The disappointing thing was that, the meat was not grilled yet and lost its meat juices so the resulting product was tough and dry despite the use of the thigh portion (momo) which should have been juicier and more tender than breast meat. The salt flavour was also hardly detectable. Perhaps the sauce version will taste better so I'll probably give that a try next time. As for this version, I think I'll go back to Family Mart to relieve my craving instead.

Last but not least, the tontoro yaki was one of my top 2 dishes that day. I don't know if this was done by the same person who did the momo yakitori but this version tasted much better. Not only was it juicy, the fats on the tontoro added some much-needed texture to the meat thus making it crunchy and nice to chew. The flavour was just right too. I think I might order this again during my next visit.

On the whole, I thought my visit to this place was not that bad because service was prompt and the restaurant was pretty spacious. However, the food turned out to be slightly disappointing. It could also have been that they specialise more in sushi than the other dishes but even so, the quality shouldn't be too far from one another. I would probably go back a second time to try a few more dishes but there's got to be more "hook dishes" to pull me back for the third visit onwards.

Are you sure you want to be a manager?

Came across this article from Harvard Business Review with the above title and I quote the following passage which struck a chord with me:

The world is no longer as simple as your opinion — it’s now about our.  You will encounter a new set of tradeoffs. You don’t get to sit in the cheap seats and blame “management” anymore — because you are now management. You can’t take simple positions like “the customer comes first” because you have to balance cost, quality, schedule, and other factors. When you take the job you leave a world of value simplicity and enter one of value complexity. You will have to advocate positions that you may not totally agree with because you are now a part of a management team. Are you ready for that?

In a nutshell, the article attempts to explain that becoming a manager may be different from your initial expectations and there are certain opportunity costs to take into consideration when taking up the post. It was the above part about losing simplicity especially the statement in bold which hit home.

There is this Chinese saying that says 人在江湖，身不由己 which essentially means that you are unable to make your own decisions or do whatever you like if you are in a particular circle. Even if something is right, you are told to do otherwise in order to protect specific interests or to choose a lesser evil so as to minimise the undesirable effect. Often, it results in frustration because there seems to be no room to explore a better option. There is no such thing as win-win and often, not enough time for you to think thoroughly to dissect the issue.

I think this is the part which frustrates me the most about being a manager other than the people management issues. I don't consider myself to be a perfectionist but it makes me really upset whenever I have to accept something as the easy way out without even trying to resolve the problem. However, it is often futile to resist the tide because other people just don't want to make things difficult for themselves. Or rather, they don't care if it affects other people adversely as long as it doesn't hurt them.

Much as I don't really regret taking the post because I did learn new skills and experience various things along the way, I find myself thinking about the "what if I didn't agree to taking up the post then?" each time something like this happens. And the frequency of this is getting higher as time goes by. Deep down, I may be doubting my decision more so than I think.

Perhaps, this should be the song to remind myself not to be too hung up over these issues and make my life a little easier. ^__^

A place for comforting Korean stews - Masizzim (313@Somerset)

I've always been keen to try Korean stews locally but there were two major obstacles preventing me from doing so. First of all, many places I've been to so far tend to have such stews in sharing sizes which effectively meant that for someone like me who eats out often on my own, there was no way I could have finished the food singlehandedly. Even if I could, some restaurants had the rule that there must be at least two persons present before certain dishes can be ordered (yes, I'm referring to a particular bijin nabe which I've yet to try because of this rule). Secondly, a lot of the stews tend to use beef which I can't eat for religious reasons. It was really difficult to find a place which offers stews using anything other than beef and in a size friendly to singles.

Imagine my excitement when I heard about Masizzim at B3 of 313@Somerset. Not only do they offer the pork ribs stew, they even have it in single and double portions! Given that they emphasized the word "jjim" which means stews in Korean and claimed that their stews are delicious i.e. "masi" is short form for delicious in their name, there must be something about their stews worth boasting about. As such, there was no way I could have let this slip off my radar and thus decided to try if it was good as it was said to be.

The atmosphere of the restaurant can be considered as simple and no frills. From the outside, the restaurant looked a bit dark due to its extensive use of black and brown colours. It was pretty down-to-earth and not the flashy type of upscale eatery which you might have second thoughts entering if you are either dressed really casually or eating alone. Considering how I dress really simply due to sheer laziness and the hot weather, a place which allows me to be myself rather than worry about how people would look at me when I'm eating alone will end up in my favourites list. In this sense, Maizzim is a place which I would have no qualms coming back to. As seen in many Korean restaurants, K-pop music was blaring from the sound system which I have no problems with. If you are in a group though, it may be difficult to hear one another speak due to the music. One peculiar thing I noticed though was, I kept hearing 2NE1 songs while I was having my meal but saw Big Bang's music videos on the TV screen. Perhaps the owner has a particular preference for YG artistes? ^__^

First up would definitely be the pork ribs stew. There are three types of meat stews to choose from i.e. pork, beef and chicken. Note that for the chicken stew, the default option is spicy so for those who can't really take spicy food, you might want to keep this in mind. Personally, I'm not too good with spicy stuff too but I would probably come back another day just to try the chicken stew.

I really liked the pork ribs which were well-marinated and absorbed the flavours of the slightly spicy soup which goes well with the multi-grain rice served together. Although I ordered the single portion, there were more than 5 pieces of the pork ribs and they were mostly soft ribs which meant that there was more meat than the typical spare ribs used in bak kut teh. The meat texture in turn was soft and you could detach the meat from the bones very easily.

After choosing your meat, you can then select the spiciness level. For a "beginner" like me, I chose Level 1 which was slightly spicy in my opinion. For those who are OK with spicy stuff, you might find this not challenging at all so by all means challenge yourself with a Level 4.

Next, you get to choose between Korean udon and glass noodles. I'm not sure what Korean udon is and how it differs from its Japanese counterpart since I ordered the latter. However, I was rather disappointed to see the flat and thick version rather than the thinner one in my stew because it tends not to absorb the gravy/soup/sauce as well as the latter. True enough, I didn't like how the glass noodles tasted. As the thick glass noodles was rather stretchy and difficult to lift from the pot, I was conscious of the fact that whenever the glass noodles snapped backwards into the pot, the gravy seemed to spurt outwards to my neighbours and myself. Might be worth considering that if you want to avoid this messy situation.

If you find that your stew is not filling enough, you can add other things like Korean rice cakes as a top-up. I didn't add any this time since I wasn't sure of the portion size. I guess if I am just ordering the stew without other dishes next time, I might want to try adding the rice cakes.

The squid and leek pancake was a hit with me too. I really dislike versions of this with lumpy spring onion or leek strips (too dense or moist so it loses its crunchiness and flavour), negligible amounts of seafood bits, seafood cut into such small bits that you can hardly taste anything or too much egg in the pancake mix thus causing it to be dense and sink rather than be crispy and light. Fortunately, the version here has very generous amounts of leek and squid in long strips. Coupled with a crispy edge and the pancake not being too thick and dense in the middle, this has got to be one of the better versions I've tasted so far locally. The only drawback was that the sauce seemed to be a bit heavy on the vinegar so the sourish taste overpowered the savoury soy sauce's flavour. Nonetheless, on the whole, it was still good enough to be eaten with the pancake.

Last but not least, to round up the meal, I ordered the peach tea in a bid to remove the spiciness left behind by the stew. Strangely enough, I didn't taste much of the tea flavour but rather this felt more like peach soda to me. It still served its purpose of relieving my palate of the stinging sensation from the stew but I don't think I'll be trying this again. I was more keen on trying their sikhye but it only comes in a 600ml size which again is not a single-friendly item so I can't order that unless I'm in a group or would like to take away the remainder if they allow me to do so. I haven't asked the staff about whether this is OK though.

On the whole, I think the experience at Masizzim turned out quite well and I was quite satisfied with the quality of the food. I wouldn't say that it has a very extensive menu but I have no issues with this lack of variety and would prefer them to focus on their specialties rather than be a Jack of all trades. Now that I've finally found a place where I can get pork rib stew in a single portion, I think I may go back to Masizzim again very soon whenever I have the craving. Next time, it might be good to have the spicy chicken stew with the potato pancake. I just hope that the spicy chicken stew doesn't use breast meat which gets really tough if you cook it for a long time.

A sanctuary away from the frenziness - Hashida Garo はし田画廊

In Orchard Road where there is so much human and vehicle traffic, it is often difficult to find a place which allows me to feel relaxed and get some decent tea time treats at affordable prices. There are indeed many famous and good cafes and restaurants along this busy shopping belt but they may be crowded or cramped due to small shop spaces brought about by the high rents. In addition, customers who are on their own like myself tend to be assigned seats either near the entrance or at some far flung corner where it's hard to get the attention of the staff so it does mar the dining experience to a certain extent. As such, having come across Hashida Garo was somewhat like a wish come true for me especially when I suffer periodic "withdrawal symptoms" from missing Japan.

Hashida Garo which is the second restaurant opened by Japanese chef Hashida "Hatch" Kenjiro, is located on the 4th floor of Mandarin Gallery. His first restaurant Hashida Sushi is on the second floor of the same building. According to the staff, there is a waiting list of at least a couple of months so you would need to make a reservation well in advance if you want to go there. On the other hand, Hashida Garo has a very Zen-like simple feel with its pastel colours and relatively simple decor. The best thing is, you should be able to walk-in and not have to make a reservation. Of course, during the weekend, it might be a totally different situation but since my visits so far were on weekday afternoons, I can't say for sure how crowded it might be.

In case you are wondering, the word "Garo" in the name means art gallery so art is integrated into the concept of this place with paintings hung on the white walls. I don't know if there is any specific theme behind these paintings other than the fact that they are supposedly the works of Chef Hashida himself especially since I am not an art connoisseur but the vibrant colours on the otherwise plain walls help in accentuating the fashionable vibe of this place. As to whether these paintings are changed periodically, I have no idea too since I've only frequented this place twice so far and my visits were just a week apart.

The decor is relatively simple with a U-shaped table where customers sit at while the platform where the tea ceremony is performed is set right in the middle. As such, no matter where you sit, you will be able to get a good view of the entire dining area. There is a wooden counter opposite the dining area where you can see the staff preparing your tea and making arrangements to serve your wagashi. You can't really see the exact actions though since the front of the wooden counter prevents this. Somehow, seeing the steam from the boiling water rise above this counter is therapeutic when combined with hearing the soft music in the background. Maybe it's just me but I think it took my mind temporarily off the things which bothered me and made me settle down physically and psychologically to a certain extent. Of course, I stress again that you might not feel the same way if your visit is on a weekend when it should be more crowded and has a higher noise level.

Based on the photo I took of the tea ceremony tatami platform as shown here, it looks as if not all of the equipment to be used are placed in open view. I suppose this means that the other items will only be brought out when the tea ceremony is to be performed. I heard that you can pay $30 to have a tea master perform the tea ceremony in front of you but I have yet to confirm that with the staff or if that's something which can only be done during specific timeslots or on the weekend. Maybe I should ask them that when I go there next time.

Even when there is no action happening on the tatami platform, just looking at the few items placed there reminds me of the time when I saw the tea ceremony performed before me for the first time at Sankeien at Yokohama. It felt especially special since there wasn't anyone besides me at the time of my visit so the lady who was there was actually preparing the tea for me exclusively. That was such an eye-opening and of course tasty experience because the tea came with some really nice-looking and delicious wagashi. Of course, the price for that kind of luxury is much cheaper in Japan than here where tea ceremonies performed in restaurants are relatively rare. It might be worth trying this for once just to see what the fine art of sado is all about and appreciate the charm and beauty behind this.

At first glance, the lighting in the restaurant seems really ordinary but on closer look, you can see the Wa-inspired patterns on each of these lights which either have black and/or red lines or pictures. Each of these lights don't have the same pattern (there may be repeats which I may have failed to notice) so it's a good way to integrate art and design into the lights which many places do not really put a lot of effort into since the primary purpose of the lights is to provide illumination after all. On the other hand, the understated charm of this is that you won't notice this feature unless you've paid some attention to the lights so in a way, this becomes a hidden treasure for customers to discover for themselves.

Before the meal begins, you will be handed the oshibori in a dainty-looking glass bowl which looks very pretty. The Japanese restaurants in Singapore (especially those major chains) tend to put the oshibori in sealed plastic wrappers which I can perfectly understand since they have a lot more customers and it's probably more cost-effective and hygienic to do so. Then when you come across restaurants like Hashida Garo who hands this rolled hand towel to you in a glass bowl with patterns, it makes the experience feel different after all. It's a nice-to-have although not compulsory feature but it sure feels good to start the dining experience with a small treat for my eyes. And a good thing about the oshibori, it does not have a strong artificial fragrance so I'm thankful for the fact that it doesn't irritate my nose.

Note that the items featured from this point onwards were consumed on two separate occasions with the second visit being one I did with my friend so we could order more items than when I was alone. As I was there during the quieter weekday afternoons, there were no meals served other than the beverages and wagashi. Thus, there will be nothing about their lunch and dinner items in this review.

First up was the yuzu macaron. I must admit that I am no fan of macarons. The first macaron I had was fairly recently at Salt Tapas & Bar where I tried the Japanese purple sweet potato macaron. I guess that somehow set the standard for me so I was looking forward to something like that i.e. light and not overly sweet. However, I found the version here not to my liking. In particular, I thought that the cookies were too dense, moist and a bit chewy that they felt as if they were somewhat sticky. As for the filling, although there was the slight aroma of yuzu which was identifiable, the cream was a bit too sweet for me. Much as there are other flavours which are offered here, I guess I won't be trying any of them soon. Guess it's just my taste buds not being too appreciative of macarons and failing to understand why they are popular. ^__^

The mizu manju is such a beauty that I couldn't help but take many pictures of it before eating them. The outer skin is made of translucent kanten jelly and wraps the white bean paste and seasonal fruit within. The light blue syrup is made of mint and slightly chilled before the entire dish is served. On hot days, this will be a truly refreshing treat. Visually, it should also evoke squeals of excitement from the customers. Besides its very appealing appearance, I think that the charm of this wagashi is that it combines several different textures together with the jelly being slightly chewy, the soft white bean paste and the comparatively harder fruit cube and yet maintains the uniqueness of each item while allowing their individual flavours to come together in a coordinated manner. This is a definite must-try item if you are here.

The maccha financier was served in a very special way where the metal plate, sheet or foil (not sure how to term it) was slightly bent at one of the edges. As the financiers are made on the spot, they take at least a 15-minute wait so the staff would actually ask you if you are OK with it before they proceed with the order. The dish is served slightly warm with the 5 financiers nicely arranged and you can see some white powdery-like substance sprinkled on them. I didn't actually ask the staff about this but from the scent and taste, I felt that they were coconut shreds. If you happen to know what exactly the white substance is, please share the information with me. In any case, eating the financiers on their own is perfectly fine but do remember to take it with some of the red bean paste which I think was cooked in some sugar syrup. As such, the red bean paste was slightly moist so it was easier to eat it with the financier which had a nice maccha aroma but wasn't that sweet on its own. Usually, the financier I see tend to be long and rectangular so these little round balls here have won me over in terms of its novelty and unique flavour. Never knew that a French dessert like financier could go so well with the very-Japanese red bean paste.

Next up is also another highly-recommended wagashi called yubeshi. The ingredients are somewhat similarly to the mizu manju but this is more citrusy, there is no fruit with the white bean paste and the jelly is more transparent. I was really bowled over by how good this tasted and too bad, there were only three pieces in each serving. Compared to the mizu manju, the texture is a bit on the slippery or slimy side as in the yubeshi slides smoothly in your mouth and down your throat. On the other hand, the mizu manju needed a bit of chewing so texture-wise, these two items are pretty different. Even without an accompanying sauce or syrup, the yubeshi is very moist and the tiny bits of yuzu in the jelly accentuate the taste by reducing the sweetness contributed by the white bean paste. This has got to be one of the best wagashi I've tasted by far.

The fu manju is actually a mochi wrapped up in a leaf. On the surface, it can be difficult to imagine what's within but once the leaf is removed, the mochi with its translucent white skin is revealed. The filling is white bean paste. Personally, I felt that the mochi skin was rather chewy, not too thick and soft so in that sense, I liked this wagashi. However, the white bean paste when paired with this mochi seemed a bit ordinary for some reason. That doesn't mean that it was not tasty but somehow, there is a lack of a wow factor to impress me. I would say that this mochi is above average as compared to most of the offerings we can find locally but there needs to be something more unique to this dish. Not sure what kind of leaf was used as the wrapping but if the purpose of the leaf was not merely for aesthetic reasons and there was an intention to let the scent of the leaf permeate the mochi skin, I wasn't able to detect that so that was a pity.

This is the mochi here which combines contrasting flavours of sweet and sour i.e. sweet chocolate vs. sour raspberries. To date, I have never eaten any mochi which has a mixed filling like this so I was very intrigued by the possible synergy brought about by this special filling. However, the raspberry proved to be too sour to my liking and overpowered the chocolate to a large extent. I am also guessing that the chocolate probably also had its sweetness toned down. Perhaps if the raspberry was not as sour or the chocolate was sweeter, I might have enjoyed the balancing of these extremely different flavours in this mochi. As for the mochi skin, I thought that this was slightly more chewy that the version in the fu manju but in terms of thickness and taste, there was nothing I had issues with.

Yokan is generally hard but there is another softer version called the mizuyokan which has water added to make it softer and resembling a firmer version of the usual jelly. The chocolate yokan here resembles that of mizuyokan rather than yokan because it is rather soft with a similar texture-like pudding. There is a white substance sprinkled on the yokan which I am guessing should be salt. Upon tasting the yokan, the sweetness from the chocolate and the saltiness are surprisingly matching even though the saltiness came as a surprise to me initially since I wasn't expecting it. I am guessing that the salt was added to accentuate the flavour of the chocolate. In terms of presentation, this is rather no-frills but the black dish does help in making the yokan look rather elegant while the salt crystals look a bit like snow flakes falling in the dark night.

I'm not exactly sure what drinks will be served in the chawan but based on what I've ordered so far, the maccha and sencha are the teas which will be served in this manner. This is the sencha that is said to be handpicked by Chef Hashida himself which has a light green colour and is relatively clear since you can see the bottom of the chawan. When paired with the wagashi, it clears the palate of the sweet aftertaste left behind by the wagashi and leaves a nice aroma in the mouth. I have tasted sencha before which causes the mouth and throat to be rather dry after drinking but this is very smooth on the throat and doesn't leave behind any dryness or bitterness. I'll probably check if their retail store just beside the restaurant sells this in the form of tea bags or powder or leaves.

As for the maccha, I chose the iced version. Compared to sencha, maccha is cloudier and has a much darker green colour. In terms of taste, I thought that the maccha was deeper and lingered longer in the mouth compared to the sencha. Both types of tea have its strengths so it's not a matter of which is better than which. On a hot day when you are looking for something more refreshing, the lighter sencha might suit you better. Otherwise, if you are looking for a richer flavour, maccha might be good for you. It sure feels a bit odd to have ice swirling around in a chawan but in terms of taste, I didn't think that the melting ice affected the maccha adversely. Conversely, it might suit people who may find maccha a bit too concentrated and overpowering so the ice could potentially make the taste of the tea more palatable to them.

Last but not least, I just couldn't resist buying a box of the 6-piece mochi which looked so pretty with its translucent and snowy white skin. It was no doubt pretty pricey at $24 per box ($4 per piece) but given the quality and the appearance, I could understand the rationale behind the pricing. The filling is different from the eat-in version where there's supposed to be chocolate and red bean filling within. Due to the fact that there are no preservatives, the mochi has to be consumed within 2 days. Frankly speaking, I preferred the skin which was chewy and soft but not so much for the filling. I couldn't really taste the red bean and thought that the chocolate was a tad too sweet. Likewise about the mochi mentioned above, I don't have any major complaints about the quality of this item but I need a stronger pull factor to make me a fan of this mochi. For people who prefer sweet mochi like this, you might want to give this a try.