Brough mum to the now defunct Common Chefs Bistro at Jalan Legundi, Sembawang for an early dinner. Ordered myself the Duro Pork Chop (S$18+) with two juicy and succulent slices of bone-in pork chop drizzled with balsamic vinegar infused sauce and a sprinkling of thymes. Served with two sides of fries and a helping of mixed vegetables salad.
Got mum the spicy Arrabbiata Minced Beef & Mushroom Spaghetti (S$12+). The pasta looks good to me with the sprinkled grated cheese and herbs but mum don’t appreciate the spiciness of the chilli padi (bird's eye chilli).
To finish off the meal, a slice of local flavoured Ondeh Ondeh Cake (S$7.50+). Three slices of pandan flavoured sponge cake sandwiching two layers of desiccated coconut cooked with gula melaka (palm sugar) and more grated coconut sprinkled on top and around. Although a likeable dessert but I still missed the traditional ondeh ondeh snack.
As a Pokemon baker, I love adding my own nerdy twist to Jewish foods! ✡️ Latkes are fried potato pancakes we eat to commemorate the miracle of the oil in the story of Hanukah. These have got to be one of my favourite parts of the Festival of Lights 🤤
Galets are the most typical pasta from Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, together with fideus (short noodles).
Galets can be made in different sizes, from the size of a thumb nail to as big as an open mouth, but the bigger sizes are usually reserved for festivity meals like Christmas soup.
It's unknown when galets were created, but it's known that the profession of pasta maker or noodle maker (fideuer) is centuries-old in Catalonia. In Barcelona, the pasta/noodle makers grouped themselves in a guild in the year 1611.
Cook the noodles. Mix the condiments in a bowl. Drain the noodles. Stir through the sauce. Top generously with sliced spring onion and chopped coriander. Eat.
Would you like a piece of this sweet and caramelized Char Siu (叉烧) or the glossy and juicy Roasted Duck (烧鸭)? The barbecued pork with the charred edges and fatty bits is bursting with smoky sweet flavours while the still crispy skin of the duck is just begging you to sink in the teeth. Here I am enjoying them with savoury rice cooked in the fats of the duck/chicken.
I was taught how to make these by the talented John Leung using this recipe for char siu BBQ pork buns, and they are AMAZING. The plain ones have chocolate ganache filling - dinner and dessert!
We made these back in 2022, and I've been dreaming of them ever since, but it's a very involved process!
Botifarra (Catalan pork sausage) with white beans is one of the most iconic dishes of Catalan cuisine. It has historically been a simple dish, affordable by the lower classes and eaten both by farmers in the countryside and the working class in cities. For this reason, eating it was so widespread that, added to the fact that it's delicious, it has come to be considered Catalonia's national dish. It's usually eaten with allioli sauce (typical Catalan sauce made mainly of garlic and olive oil).
Nowadays, it’s still as beloved as always and often eaten in botifarrades (large meetings of people, often as part of a festivity, to cook and eat botifarres together).
Variations: instead of white beans, in autumn the botifarra can be served with the mushroom called bloody milk cap (rovelló in Catalan). Nowadays, many restaurants will also offer to change the beans for potato fries, especially for children.
Photo from Restaurant Can Valls (Sant Martí Sapresa).