Doong Ji

Until recently my impression of Korean consisted mainly of kimchi and barbeque meat. Never a fan of overly spicy or medicinal food (ginseng chicken anyone?), it has never quite appeal to my appetite. The generic names of the dishes in their menu do not help either. Stir fried beef, spicy seafood soup and spicy pork stew sound as Chinese as they do Korean. But my encounter with Korean fair at this small Korean restaurant was pleasantly enjoyable.

One Google search will tell you that there is no lack of Korean eateries in Singapore. As I live in the east I feel obliged to try the restaurants in this part of the city. Located along East Coast Road, Doong Ji is easily accessible by bus. The shop front could probably cater for no more than 50 patrons and all the walls were decorated with puzzles, small paintings and wall arts like this one.

After orders are taken we were served six different side dishes. The kimchi was disapointingly bland and soggy. The mash potato was creamy and slightly sweet, with a few peas and chopped carrots inside. The jelly with the spicy paste was nice too, although I had no idea what it was made of. Refill was available upon request.

This is the non-spicy glass noodles with beefs. The noodles, made of sweet potato starch, became translucent and springy after cooking and mopped up all the juices and goodness released from the other ingredients. They were stir-fried with beef, fried mushrooms, finely sliced carrots, slice onions and mung bean sprouts, with spring onions and sesame sprinkled on the top. The beef was juicy and tender and the beans sprouts stood out with its crunchiness and its unique flavour.

The seafood pancake came with a salty and sour dipping sauce. While the sauce was not to my liking, I found the pancake tasty enough on its own. It was bouncy and stretchy and pan-fried to give a slightly crispy edge. Topped with prawns, squid, and spring onion it was a delicious appetiser.  

The beef soup was another non-spicy dish, not to be fooled by the two slivers of chillie for garnishing. It was a stew of beef slices, onions, mushrooms, garlic and glass noodles. The meat and the onion have released all its sweetness in the soup and the glass noodles remained springy and al dente, despite being soaked in the soup (am I allowed to use that description in non-Italian cuisine?). While a bit too sweet and salty on its own, this dish could only truly be appreciated with white rice. The rich flavours of the soup were absorbed by the plain rice and the grains of rice also added to the texture of the stew. 

While I cannot comment on the authenticity of the food, both the flavours and the servings of the dishes at Doong Ji were well above average. The waiting staff also provided good customer service. This is somewhere I would recommend for casual and affordable Korean dining. 

Doong Ji

222 East Coast Road

Paul

Since the opening of Paul's Singaporean outlet at Takashimaya, the only item I have tried from them was take-away croissant, which was not nearly enough to satisfy my craving for decent French pastry. 

I wanted to treat myself to a nice breakfast and it was a no-brainer-decision to go to Paul. They have closed off the main dining area so I got a table by the inside the mall. Otherwise it would have been nice to sit by the window with a view of Orchard Road. 

Several breakfast sets were available on the menu, most consisting of French bread or a croissant and a hot drink of your choice, with an option of an additional juice. (And I have to say that having both a cold and a hot drink in the same morning meal is a very French thing.) Waffles, pancakes and full breakfast sets with eggs were also on the menu. Not wishing for anything too heavy, I ordered a Petit Déjeuner Parisien.

My café au lait was smooth and milky. The mellow coffee is nice when you do not feel like something too strong for breakfast. 

Included in the breakfast set was half a loaf of flûte. Although it did not look much to start with, it was actually quite filling! The freshly toasted bread had a golden brown thin crust and a soft and fluffy interior. Topped with the creamy butter and apricot jam, it made a delicious breakfast.

I also brought home a loaf of pain complet. The wholemeal, sourdough bread was aromatic, dense and flavourful. Air bubbles randomly scattered throughout the loaf, giving it a spongy and coarse texture. I made sandwiches with it for lunch and it had kept well for the next few days.

After enjoying the delicious bread from Paul, it will be impossible to go back to having supermarket bread!

PAUL
#03-16/17, Takashimaya Shopping Centre
391 Orchard Road

Tamoya

Tamoya at Liang Court is a Japanese eatery specialising in udon. Their menu is as simple as their design of the restaurant. Orders from customers are taken at the counter, just like a fast food outlet. The udon is available in 5-6 hot or cold varieties and comes with option toppings of beef, pork or curry chicken. The noodles are prepared on the other side of the counter and passed to you when they are ready. A variety of tampura can be added to the tray as you move along the bench. Payment is then made at the cashier according to your selection of side dishes and noodle. Customers can help themselves with the sauce and condiments such as ginger and seaweed from a station at the centre of the shop. 

When I went there on a weekday afternoon, there were not a lot side dishes available. I picked the basic Kake udon and a few vegetable tampura. Although seemingly a simple dish, the broth was delicious without being too salty. The udon noodles were thick and smooth with a lot of bite.

The tampura was all quite cold, after being left on the counter for some time. The batter was no longer crispy but they were still quite flavourful. I preferred the shitake mushrooms and the pumpkin. 

Tamoya is worth the visit if you are craving some good udon or you just want a light and fuss free meal. The portion of the udon was a bit small so a larger size is available. Perhaps the timing of my visit was unfortunate but I would like to see a wider selection of side dishes.

Tamoya

#01-32, 177 River Valley Road, Liang Court

Jamie's Italian in Singapore & The Addams Family Musical

Having lunch at Jamie's Italian at Covent Garden was one of the highlights of my trip to London. After years of watching his cooking shows and repeated attempts of replicating his recipes, going to one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants was a dream come true. That meal was such a wonderful experience so I was thrilled to know that he decided to open his first outlet in Asia in a country I'm living in!

After watching the musical, the four of us headed to Vivo City for an Italian treat at the newly opened Jamie's Italian.
The interior and the vibe of the restaurant is consistent with other branches. Wooden sturdy tables, metal outdoorsy chair, lots of natural lighting during the day and candles for the night and cans and cookbooks stacked up to the ceiling created a casual and comfortable dining environment. 

It would be wrong not to start the meal with the Italian bread selection. Warm crusty bread with fragrant extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Enough said. 

Jamie's walnut salad was a crunchy combination of salad greens, baby beets and chopped walnuts. The bitterness from the leaves was well balanced by the sweet balsamic dressing.

Honeycomb cannelloni three-ways was filled with aubergine and sun-dried tomato, pumpkin and spinach and ricotta cheese and baked in a tomato-based sauce. The cannelloni was creamy and delicious. Pumpkin was my favourite!

Prawn linguine was my favourite pasta dish of tonight. The prawns were juicy and the thin pasta, cooked to al dente, was perfect for the delicate sauce of tomato, fennel and chilli. 

This was the tagliatelle bolognese. The flat pasta had a slightly rough texture and had absorbed the intense sweetness from the mince and aromatic tomato sauce. The generous serving of Parmesan cheese gave the sauce extra richness. 

Vongole tagliolini was slightly bland when compared to other pasta. The clams were a bit small and dry and the sauce was a bit spicy. 

The smooth and creamy tiramisu was an unbeatable dessert. The orange flavour lightened the heaviness of the mascarpone cheese and the bitter espresso. I enjoyed every bite of this. 

Brioche con gelato, quitely literally, consisted of lemon and strawberry ice-creams sandwiched between two brioche buns. Despite the lovable presentation, this was just an average dessert. The ice-creams were melting quite quickly and the brioche became soggy after absorbing the melted ice-cream. The best part of the dish was the lemon ice-cream, which was refreshingly sour and icy.

Although the menu was not as extensive, the standard of the food here at the Singaporean branch was comparable to the one I tried in London. Their pasta, made freshly on site, is definitely something I would come back for. I had expected better customer service after reading several reviews complimenting their waiting staff. The server for our table was absent for most of the night and we had trouble locating a waiter for ordering and the bill. I look forward to my next meal here (which I am sure won't be long), hopefully with more variety on the menu.

Jamie's Italian
1 Harbour Front Walk, Vivo City
#01-165-167

The Addams Family Musical from Broadway was on tour and we bought tickets to watch it on their last day in Singapore. Without much expectations, it turned out to be one of the most entertaining stage performance I have seen.
The songs were catchy and energetic and filled with comical lyrics. There were a lot of dance routines and all the choreography was amazing. Jennifer Fogarty who played Wednesday had an incredibly powerful voice and the sweetest face. Keleen Snowgren and Jesse Sharp shared great dynamics as Morticia and Gomez. Jeremy Todd Shinder who played Pugsley probably had the weakest voice among the cast and struggled with some high notes. 
In this production Wednesday introduced to the Addams her "normal" boyfriend and his parents, who came to visit the family from Ohio. It is definitely an experience that most of us can relate to and the father-and-daughter scene had even made me shed a few tears. 
From the cast to the costume I have thoroughly enjoyed this musical. I have yet been able to stop playing the soundtrack on my phone.