Lunch @ Sushi Yoshida

Lunch with Junie & Chris. This secluded sanctuary (reservations required) looked like one of those shrines of Japanese food where people with discerning palates should make their pilgrimage to at least once for the experience. Incidentally, Sushi Yoshida was one of those that actually did not disappoint after being washed thoroughly by the eddies of hype though multitudes of reviews, professional and private. Deep inside, I had quietly suspected that it was probably as good as people said it was. Or close to the praises it has received. I've been planning to visit (10 Devonshire Road) for quite a while, but never quite found the time and company until today. I mentioned that it was secluded and that only applies to those coming for the first time without specific instructions to the actual location. After the first enlightenment, you'll know where to look out for the small sign atop large potted plants that front the inconspicuous entrance of the restaurant.


The interior is wallpapered in a dull wasabi green and clad in dark wooden furnishing creating a stark and darker, but much appreciated reprieve from the blazing afternoon sun that filtered in from various tinted windows. Counter seats are limited to 10 with approximately 20-25 table seats and and a private dining room. The highlight of lunch came from their chiraishizushi (sashimi on rice box) at $38. Speaking of which, prices have been upped from the previously much more economical $28. Prices listed are on nett basis so one expect to pay just exactly as the menu states.


Their onsen tamago was the starter. Served chilled and bathed in light soya sauce that was flavoured with yuzu. On the top, a sprinkle of seaweed and a dollop of grated wasabi. The wasabi which awoke the taste buds. I had thought that I'd be getting a runny yoke but apparently it was poached enough to be in solid state, albeit very soft. I thought this is pretty damn good.


I think what I got was hokkagai, unagi, hirame, chutoro, ikura, shitake mushroom and crab sticks (??!!). Maybe hamachi as well but I'm not too sure if it was. This chirashi box was pretty looking. There were a few gripes. I thought that a couple of more pieces of sashimi would have been great so that it wouldn't just be only the ikura and the sakura denbu at the end. I would have been happier without pickled ginger as well. The rice was incongruous mix of sour from the vinegar, the seeping pickled ginger, daikon and more purple pickles at the bottom. It was hence much more infused with flavour than I expected. As my lunch mate aptly put across, crab sticks perverses the Japanese of this lunch. 


This was indeed otoro sushi ($17 a piece, so go easy). While many claim to attain some sort of epicurean nirvana while having this, it was ultimately just a tasty and oily piece of tuna belly. It will not give you an orgasm. Sorry to burst your bubble if you had one but the truth is not always as pretty as fat marbling.


The asari butter itame piqued my interest because of the word 'butter'. This dish is essentially round necked clams stir fried in a butter sauce. It was both salty and tasty. The sauce almost overwhelmed the natural flavours of the clam though. I thought it would have made great beer food.


Lunch also came a soup of choice between clear and miso. I like miso. It had some pieces of salmon. This one is really sweet in a good way. So good that I was tempted to mention a particularly dreaded three letter abbreviation that begins with M, followed by S and ends with a G. But I won't.

I managed to sample a spoonful (uni-ful as well) of their kaisenmushi (chawanmushi with ikura and uni). I'm surprised that this dish came into existence as I personally thought very little of it. I maintain that uni should be served fresh and un-tempered by heat. Interesting as it may have appeared, I didn't think it deserved the $30 price tag that was attached to it.

I can see myself coming back. The place can get a little noisy from the chatter of the crowd but it was paired with very attentive service (albeit mechanical). While they're not Aoki, they're also not as expensive.

Aston's prime ribeye extra cut

Having tried the grade 5/6 wagyu at Aston previously, I thought it would be interesting to check out their regular steak. I've never actually had anything else before and the word was that steaks at Aston's is pretty decent at affordable prices. The extra cut ribeye is a larger cut of their regular ribeye weighing 300g. A decent weight for a steak. I would think that anything smaller is a little tiny. For $15.90, I'll have to agree that it is probably the cheapest around. That being said, I found it quite unsatisfying. There were no complains about how the meat was done. Anyplace that manages successful medium rare steaks properly takes their cooking serious enough. The taste of the beef was just too flat. Which reminded me of the ieat burger with its tasteless dry patty.

Small Potatoes Make The Steak Look Bigger : Year One

Glancing back in retrospect at the past 365 days, it looks a-pretty-mazing how much I have eaten and how fast time has quietly slipped by beneath my attention most of the time. This blog began with honestly, very humble and personal intentions to serve as a personal food diary and place of perspectives. That meant that apart from the literal meanings of the name of this site, it is also a metaphorical expression for perspective. Bet most of you never knew that. You might have noted that it's grown to much more than that. Change after all is the only never changing constant. Cannot really say what's more to come except that this blog will thrive on as far as I can help it. It's always more exciting to trudge into the unknown sometimes. Stay tuned as always.

My four cheese ravioli (home made lazy edition)

I work late sometimes and eat only when I'm back home. So occasionally, I stock the larder with things that I can whip up in short order for dinner. Usually it will be just pasta because they're easily available and probably next most convenient to instant noodles to prepare. I prefer the soft pasta in vacuum packs because they cook faster than the common dried ones. Also they're probably the next best to the freshly made ones. This will of course limit what you can buy or where you can buy them. Buitoni which I'm using can be found in Marketplace or selected Cold Storage supermarkets. As the title of this post suggests, it has four cheese stuffings.


The sauce that I use is the tomato and mascarpone which I discovered at Marks & Spencers. The tomato flavour in this sauce is more subdued than the standard jarred variety because of the mascarpone. Which fine by me since I'm usually not big on tomato base sauces. Unless they're fresh and well made. Most of the time they aren't great. That's my reason for avoiding them. I don't dislike tomatoes. Although the label on the bottle says that it's perfect for creamy pasta, the sauce is really not that creamy. Appearances can be deceiving.


The first step would of course to bring a pot of water with a bit of salt and oil to boil. When the water starts boiling, you can add in the pasta. These raviolis are recommended by the instructions to be cooked for about 6 minutes or so but I did them in a bit lesser time. I don't like them too soft and soggy.

bubble bubble toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble

The raviolis will expand a bit as they soak in the boiling water.


The next step is optional but I like them firm so the raviolis take a bath in a bowl of ice water. Having done this, the sauce that is to be used should be heated. Since the pasta is no longer hot, it is important for the sauce to be so unless you like everything cold. What I do is to just heat a portion which is about 2/3 of the jar in the microwave for about 2 minutes for about 2/3 of the pack of raviolis.


Add any garnishing that you fancy and there goes a pasta dinner that can be done in about 20 minutes with minimal cooking skills involved. You probably would have to estimate the cooking time for the pasta if you're picky about the consistency like I am. It should be easy after a couple of tries.

Lazy Garage Sunday

Sunday brunches tend to be an uncommon for me. Usually tired out. Sometimes fatigued and dehydrated from the night before from late night and too many drinks. A day without work is the only time I get to forgo the regimental reminder of my alarm clock. I would usually prefer to lounge the morning off in bed or just at home. I'm just back from a mind numbing obligatory cruise, courtesy of work so the early check out hours meant that I'm wide awake on my normally lazy Sunday morning. And since I'm up, there's no reason not to make the best out of it. Yep, it's a brunch, not a jog or a walk in the park.

Wine Garage (30 Merchant Road, Riverside Point, #01-07), a, upmarket restaurant opened by the group managing Brewerkz just next door makes tasty brunch. Service at the restaurant was great.

Wine Garage cheese slate

Their cheese platter was literally served on a wooden slate. The options for the cheese are in one ($7), three ($18) or five ($28) different cheeses. We got the the Montgomery Cheddar, Grana Padano and Stilton Blue (left to right) with accompanying buttered toasts, sliced green apple, white honey and fig jam. The cheddar was rich and of full bodied flavour, Grana Padano fruity and the blue was pungent the way I like it. 

Pumpkin hotcakes with mascapone and maple syrup ($18)

These hotcakes were a reminder of the delicious banana pancakes which I've had from Graze. Comfort food best eaten hot.

Zucchini fritters with smoked salmon, feta and mint ($19)

Didn't really know what to expect out of zucchini fritters before this arrived and I had imagined that they might be battered and fried whole zucchinis. Much like goreng pisang. Lol. The actual fritters looked like patties. Similar to tapioca cakes but made with mashed zucchini. Turned out pretty damn good. The medium done smoked salmon bits with crumbled feta cheese paired well on the zucchini fritters with their tangy, smoky zest.

the "Garage" burger

This burger was awesome. A awesome. I mean, it's going to be on the tops in this blog. Here's a little description I shall plagiarise from the forums of Makansutra by a poster who claims to have received it from Wine Garage's chef Travis Masiero

"160 gr. freshly hand ground chuck (pre-salted the night before), homemade sesame bun, aged Irish cheddar, homemade zucchini pickles, French's mustard, Best mayo, dill pickle relish, shredded cos lettuce, and diced red onion.
They griddle the burgers in American diner fashion to "crust" the outside, lightly toast the bun, and use only whole chuck they grind themselves (never frozen).
That's the standard burger and it costs S$21 and come with a side order of hand cut fries which have been double fried with sage leaves and sea salt.
For $4 extra you can add homemade bacon, which is homecured Kurobuta (Black Pig) Pork that has been cured for seven days and then smoked over hickory chips."

The description alone I found so tempting so I had to try it myself. The waiter had made mention of a slow cook process for the patty to preserve the juice in the meat which was also very tender. This is a world apart from the poor, bland and /or crumbly attempts like my home made ones. Came also with enough of a bite to satiate beef-lust. I went without the Kurobuta pork bacon option since I'm not so sure that baconized Kurobuta was how it was intended to be eaten. And I like my burgers beefy. This was truly a good one. And likely one of the best.

The crazy fried chicken burger from Changing Appetites

No, the name of this is not crazy fried chicken burger. But the size of the meat in the bread iw pretty crazy. Changing Appetites at Marina Square has a small selection of huge double burgers. This one is the fried chicken option which comes with 2 large pieces of battered and fried chicken that even old man Sanders doesn't have. The chicken is encased in a semi-spicy batter and fried so this comes quite like the spicy crispy option at KFC. I didn't actually order this as a burger since I couldn't eat it like one, but I felt like having fried chicken and this actually doubled up well with generous drips of Tabasco sauce.