Category Archives: Travel

Chabuton Ramen – Bangkok, Thailand

06 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by in Gastronomy, Oversea Restaurants, Thailand, Travel

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The poster claims that the owner / chef Yasuji Morizumi-san of this ramen-chain being a “King of Ramen” caught my eye while I was strolling in Central shopping centre (The newest addition of big malls in Bangkok). On top of that, he is also the owner of the world’s first ramen shop to appear in the Michelin Guide.

Interesting… How can I know try, right? Ramen Menu

I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen and my colleague had the Shio Tonkotsu Ramen. As we were keen to try other side dishes, we ordered the small bowl version at 130 thai-bath (RM13++).

My version is slightly creamier version of the Shio version. Personally, I kind of prefer the Shio version more (it’s a classic case of the other side is always greener… hohoho), but, the original is actually quite good. I like that the noodle texture is really nice and bouncy. The tonkotsu (pork bone) soup is not too salty (unlike some Ramen place I’ve been too). I actually love the pork slices even tough it’s quite fat. The good thing about it is that it was cooked really well that the fat melts right away when inside your mouth. Tonkatsu Ramen

As for the side, we ordered the chicken karaage (friend chicken) and also the Negi (spring onion). The chicken was ok – Nothing fantastic. I love taking my ramen with heaps of Negi. Yum yum…So, I was very happy they offer the availability to order one whole side of it.

Chicken Karaage

Negi

Do I love it? I guess. It definitely has one of the better soups I had tried so far. I drained the whole bowl of soup. Hehehe…

Does it live up to its King of Ramen title? I don’t know. I not yet tried ALL the Ramen in this world to justify that.  ;p

Les Charlottes en Ville – Lille, France

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in France, Gastronomy, Oversea Restaurants, Travel

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While strolling around the quaint town of Lille, hub and I stumble upon this little café / restaurant. It’s a bar / restaurant specialises in potato! Interesting.

I’m not a big fan of potato myself. To me, potato has always been like a supporting actor in a plate. Most of the time, I’ll leave them untouched (and hubby will finish it). Since it was close to lunch time, we decided to hop in and give this a try.

The waitress was a really sweet girl and she helped translate the menu for us.

As I was not very hungry, I went with the Entrecôte grillé, sauce poivre (pepper), crème ciboulette (abit like sour cream but, it’s made with Crème Fraiche drizzled with chives). As you can see, the portion of potato is more than the meat itself.

The steak was done to my liking (Medium Rare) but it was nothing spectacular. As for the star of the plate – the potato, it was sublime indeed. The potato is baked so well that each bite melts in my mouth. It’s almost like eating mash. The taste was so good even without the crème ciboulette. Yumz. This time, I finished up my potato…but, i was kind enough to share some with hub. hehehe…

Hubby had the Salade de Chevre (Goat’s Cheese Salad). The Goat’s Cheese was surprising light, and the citrus sauce went really well together. Aside from the slightly burned toast on the side, it is quite delicious.

For main, hub had the La Montagnarde which was basically, mountain ham with baked potato oozing with melted cheese (similar to raclette). Not a fan of the ham but again the potato was done really well… yum yum.

If you are a potato fan, give this little restaurant a try. It seriously open up my eyes about making potato the main star on the plate.

No Signboard – Esplanade, Singapore

08 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in Gastronomy, Oversea Restaurants, Singapore, Travel

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I had the craziest craving recently. (Hub thinks I have cravings almost every other day. So, he reckons I shouldn’t call it cravings but just greedy. Hahaha…) Anyway, I was really hankering for Chili Crab from Singapore!

After hearing about my cravings, Hub’s friend (Ed) invited and treated us to a crab feast. Yay, Thank you so much Ed!!!

He made reservation with the No Signboard Restaurant in Esplanade. This restaurant started off as a small hawker place with no name. Today, the restaurant has several branches and they are known as No SignBoard Restaurant… (You can read more about their history from their website). Luckily Ed made reservation for the 3 of us. The place was packed like mad. The manager had to keep turning guest away. But then again, it was Friday night and the view at Esplanade is amazing.

We were told that their signature crab dish is actually the white pepper crab. Oh no…decision decisions… I really want the Chili crab too. The waiter kindly told me that I can order ONE crab for each dish. CooL! I know most restaurants need you to order at least 2-3 crabs per dish. So, we ended up with both.

We had the fresh oyster, which was HUGE. It’s almost the size of my palm. The texture is very firm (reminds me of pacific oyster I had when in Tasmania, Australia). The different was this has less briny taste. I think I still prefer the ones I had in Tasmania. But, this comes really close. The white pepper crab is lovely. I love the ‘kick’ from the pepper combine with the sweetness of the crab. Their crabs are really fresh too. Yummz…

The Chili crab is slightly different from the ones I had previously. This was slightly less sweet and has a bit more curry powder taste. It’s quite a nice balance as the sauce is not too over powering that it hides the crab’s freshness. It is so good with the fried mantao (Chinese bread).

We also ordered the deep fried butter prawn. The prawn felt a little overcooked to me. But, the deep fried butter taste was really good. In fact, I got abit addicted to the bits of crispy fried batter more than the prawn. ;p

It was a great night feasting on those yummy crabs and catching up with Ed. Hub and I had a great time. Thanks again Ed. J