Experiencing Bali Through My Stomach

Last week, I packed my bags and spent a few days eating at numerous restaurants in Bali for a work assignment that required eating (I agreed to the minute they asked). I’ve always ate more than I ought on trips, but this was one gargantuan eating trip. One sure sign that you are a foodie: if you went to Bali and spent more time in restaurants than the beach, your total time spent on the beach is less than an hour, and came back without a tan.

After my usual yoghurt breakfast, I took off for the airport for my early morning flight to Bali. I barely touched my plane food and chatted a little with the lovely Dutch couple that was next to me, and as soon as my plane landed, I knew what I had to do – eat. My gracious Indonesian host waited anxiously for half an hour before I appear from customs. The unfortunate delay was due to two bouts of 15 second blackouts, which in turn delayed the luggage belt. Relieved to finally exit the airport, my host asked, “Are you hungry?” I nodded, and she replied, “Ok, let’s go out for lunch then.” When she was in Singapore, we took her out for some crabs and so she wanted me to try to Indonesian variant. Laid before us was a feast – fresh drunken prawns, stir-fried kangkong, long beans, fried rice, and the roe laced crab. The entire crab head shell head covered with crab roe that is coated with a thin crispy layer of buttery rich batter! The prawns were fresh and served with a small bowl of aromatic broth that it produced when cooked, and the kangkong was crunchier than the ones we get here, it was fantastic! It was a feast and only the tip of the iceberg of their warm and generous hospitality.

Eating at restaurants was the single agenda on my schedule, and with seven restaurants on my list and 3 ½ more days on this beautiful island, I had a lot to cover. I pulled out all the details of the restaurants from my bag and started dialing all their numbers and made reservations. My schedule was set–3 ½ days, 7 restaurants, 3 lunches + 4 dinners. Here are the formal details of my eating itinerary:

Day ½, Dinner
Faces
The Balé
Jln Raya Nusa Dua Selatan
Tel: (62) 361-973111



Within this small luxurious hotel that aims to provide a holistic experience, this restaurant serves contemporary European food with a Mediterranean touch. Chef André serves up a range of raw, smoked, pureed, seared, roasted and glazed dishes that are both spicy and light. Be it cumin spiced Atlantic scallops on yoghurt-potato mash and spicy harrisa, parrot fish fillet in a port wine-orange glaze on spinach risotto and chorizo sausage or the pomegranate glazed duck breast and foie gras with Moroccan couscous, it will your palate satisfied. The pool-side dining and open kitchen makes dining here a casual and intimate affair.

Day 1, Lunch
Di Mare
Jl. Fourseasons,
Jimbaran, Bali
Tel: (62) 361-708848



The poolside location of the restaurant and the “Warhol-Buddha” inspired wallpaper gives the place an unpretentious but chic vibe that reverberates through the dishes. “Di Mare” means of the sea in Italian, but the menu is exclusively focused on seafood. The food here is both simple and elegant. Think foie gras with French green lentils and a sauce from roasted garlic and oloroso vinegar, the seven herb salad with a gorgonzola soufflé, pears and walnuts or a spicy and alluring grilled merguez with couscous served with cumin-mint yoghurt. The desserts such as warm valhorna chocolate “soufflé” served with candied macadamia ice cream and armagnac-poached prunes, or the Tarragon panna cotta served on a citrus cookie with orange confit and a passion fruit sauce also cleverly combine flavours together, bringing together, something specials on the plate.

Day 1, Dinner
KO Restaurant
InterContinental Resort Bali,
Jalan Uluwatu 45,
Jimbaran, Bali Tel: (62) 361- 70 1888
Only Open for Dinner



Although a little pricey, KO Restaurant is a wonderful place for Japanese fine dining. Soak in the peace that exudes from the zen rock garden as you are escorted to the dining area of your choice. Beautiful tatami private dining areas are available to for a delectable formal dinner of a Ko Omakase set -- 7 delectable courses, which includes a serving of the indulgent and expensive toro sashimi, uni chawamushi and Ko omakage (the chef’s selection of seafood), or you can choose to dine in the teppanyaki room, or at the sushi bar.

Day 2, Lunch
Prana Restaurant
Jalan Kunti 118X, Seminyak Bali
(The Villas Bali Hotel & Spa)
Tel: (62) 361-730840



Fresh juice concoctions and life giving dishes using only organic vegetables is the main draw here. Prana meaning life force in Sanskrit is the guiding philosophy of menu the restaurant - organic Ayurveda such as the organic vegetable curry served with rice and the Indian options such as chollay (chickpea curry) and Indian Palak Panner (Indian Spinach with melted cheese), which can be enjoyed with the juice concoctions such as de-tox deluxe composed from carrot, beetroot, parsley, kale, spinach, ginger and tumeric, and pineapple ginger juice, which will aid digestion. Dining in the courtyard is one option, but if you prefer to be in the shade, you can dine indoors in plush cushioned sitting area that will make you feel like a maharajah.

Day 2, Dinner
Kaizan
Jl Laksamana (oberoi) #33,
Seminyak, Bali
Tel: 361-7472324
Only Open for Dinner



Whet your appetite on the appetizers such as the lobster salad, baked scallops in spicy cream sauce or a fresh sashimi platter. Following, order platters of yakitori, or sample the Korean-Japanese shabu-shabu on offer. The shabu-shabu beef or pork platters serves wonderfully sweet meat that is flavoured with small layers of fat, or have the Japanese delicacy – kue nabe set – where a whole garoupa is used for shabu-shabu, creating a sweet flavourful broth. Six different varieties of aromatic broth are available – tasty chicken, medicinal herbal, spicy Korean, Thai tom yum, savory sukiyaki and simple shabu shabu, allowing you to be transported to the destination of your choice -- Korea, Thailand or Japan.

Day 3, Lunch
Waroeng Tugu
Tugu Hotel, Bali
Jl. Pantai Batu Bolong
Bali
Tel: (62) 361-731701



Travel back in time and eat a piece of history as you experience dining in hut that mirrors the Majapahit era-Waroeng Djawa kitchen. The menu presents a feast of the day to day cuisine of the Javanese. Iboe Soelastri provides the direction in the kitchen – using only the original recipes that have been passed down through the generations – making this a dining experience truly authentic. Feast with your hands and be transported back in time; a dining experience that will be etched in your memory.

Day 3, Dinner
Mozaic
Jl. Raya Sanggingan,
Ubud 80571
Bali
Tel: (62) 362-975768



As the first in South-East Asia to be recognized as a member of “Les Grandes Table du Mode”, this place is a culinary gem. This restaurant has many magical things to experience – dining under the stars in the romantic garden, culinary genius of Chef Chris Salans and Pastry Chef Francois, and the charming and attentive service staff – making it a seamless performance from start to finish.

After 3 ½ days, I planned my cabbage soup cum de-tox diet on the plane back to Singapore. More juicy tasting details about Mozaic later …

Angus Steak House

#04-25, Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Ngee Ann City
391 Orchard Road
Singapore 238872
Tel: 67356015



Marking its tenth year in Singapore, this restaurant long been overlooked by many. Located on the 4th floor, a table by the window offers a wonderful dining experience with a view. This place offers a retreat where you can watch the hassle and bustle of orchard road from a distance in a wonderful air-conditioned room. The white walls can seem rather imposing, but there is nothing hoity-toity about the place. On the contrary, it is more of a family restaurant that was packed with Japanese families on the weekends, bringing a cozy breeze to the room.

Headed by Masahiro Nakabayashi, it is no surprise that the menu has taken on a Japanese accent and the cliental is predominately Japanese. Culturally rooted, Naka-san as he is more affectionately called, is reserved without and airs -- waits on the tables and will be ready to explain the menu to the Japanese clients. The small Japanese touches makes differentiates this steak house from the others. The charcoal grilled wagyu steak with their signature sauce is piece of meat heaven on a plate – velvety, rich, smooth, and a gentle perfume that will linger on. The meat on its own is fantastic, but with a splash of the tangy and salty sauce, it allows the meat to dance on your tongue and then melt away.

Besides serving the house specialty of charcoal grilled steaks, there is an impressive list of Spaghetti á la Angus House. The long list spots unique the “Japanese adaptations” such as spaghetti with Pollack roe and mushroom, pickled plum with beefsteak plant, cuttlefish and sea urchin, salmon roe and crabmeat, and if you like sea treasures the spaghetti with abalone and sea-urchin might just be your thing.

The dinners are good value for money, pasta dinners are priced at S$28 +++ and steak or seafood dinners start from S$35 +++ onwards, depending on the cut and type of beef or seafood. One can have a grilled lobster, mixed grilled seafood, various cuts of meat, or if your wallet permits, the melt in your mouth wagyu beef. My dinner started with a warm crusty bread roll with butter followed by the hors d’oeurve of the day -- cod fish with a red pepper sauce served on a potato nest, and the soup of the day. I do highly recommend the consommé – clear and earthy broth that spot a shaving of black truffles. Perfectly clear, the earthy taste of the consommé was clean and crisp, with depth and was elegantly complimented and heightened by the truffle. The salad is then served as palate cleanser before the main course of pasta or your steak. Already feeling full from the first few courses, we are served a dessert plate of tiramisu and walnut cheesecake. Both the cakes are wonderfully light, the cheesecake is the Japanese type cheesecake which is lighter than the American-styled cheese cake. I was pleasantly surprised when the fork entered my mouth – a cold, creamy and airy sensation, the tiramisu was cloudlike, making it easier on my already rather full stomach because I kept repeatedly whispered to myself, “just one last bite of the this gorgeous tiramisu, one last bite”, but I finished it.

I can’t believe I walked pass this place for 10 years without even glancing at the menu. I’m going back for the uni pasta, which I anticipate, will not disappoint.

A Roast Chicken

Chicken is an everyman’s meat. As a matter of taste, chicken seems to be a neutral but tasty piece of meat that most people would eat. I recall a phone conversation with a friend who called to tell me about the new love in her life -- who is a vegetarian; despite being really delighted for her, I chimed that there was a high probability that I would never date a vegetarian since I simply love my food too much and I could not imagine not sharing a meal that never involved a dead carcass. The voice on the other side of the line echoed back, “Yes, to a certain extent I understand, I love chicken. I really do love my chicken. It might make my taste buds sound like those of a peasant, but I really love my chicken. I really do.” Bless that silly friend of mine, chicken is a wonderful bird that almost everyone enjoys, it does not make any of us better or worse than others.



Ingredients:
¼ cup sugar
½ cup plus 1 tsp salt
1 whole chicken
juice of 2-3 limes
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 large clove, minced
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
½ cup canola oil

Directions:

(Start the day before)
Fill a large pot with 4 liters of water, ¼ cup of sugar and ½ cup of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Let it cool completely.

Add the chicken to brine, cover, and refrigerate for 6 hours.

Heat oven to 250 degree Celsius

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry, roast for 45minutes or until the skin is crisp.

While roasting chicken prepare the vinaigrette for the chicken –

Whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, red pepper flakes, cilantro and salt. Then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined.

Pour the vinaigrette over the chicken and serve. (It might be a better idea to serve the sauce on the side)

* Slightly Adapted from, Ruth Reichl (ed), “Foolproof Grilled Chicken”, in The Gourmet Cookbook: More than 1000 recipes, (New York: Condé Nast Publications, 2004), 363-364

It's a Steamy Affair in this Basement

Chien Kee Steamboat
6001 Beach Road
Golden Mile Tower, #B1-20
Opening Hours: 11.30am - 10pm
(Everyday except Chinese Festive Seasons)

The old building didn’t seem to have much life as we entered it, but down in the basement, there is certainly a sign of life there. When I stepped out of the lift, all I could see were tables and more tables covered with raw food, satay, chicken and the hot steamboat. We walked around to try to find an empty table and the front desk so we could either register our name with the wait list or at least to get them to find us a table, but we tried to look for either a table or a person to help us, we uncovered that the restaurant is sprawled across the whole of the first basement: tables were lined up outside closed shops, tables were in vacant shops, and everywhere you looked there were tables, and more tables. There isn’t much of a system except those of nature: survival of the fittest. You have to be sharp and perceptive to place yourself in a strategic position to wait for a table that is about to finish, and make sure you mark out your territory, such that when others pass by, they know you are waiting and won’t prey on your table as well. Once you get your table, sit and wait patiently: there is some sort of system, once someone spots that you have got a table, they will come over, clear it, and take your orders.



Nosh: Raw food for steamboat is ordered in terms of fixed priced plates, all you determine is if you would want a seafood mix, or additional beef. In addition to the raw food that is served on really retro aluminum plates, you can order their Hainanese chicken rice and some satay to go along with your steamboat meal.

The steamboat food is fresh, but the range is limited, and so for a person like me who likes variety, it was too simplistic. However, the chicken rice, satay and the chili condiment was pretty fantastic. The rice is fragrant and is a wonderful base for the blander boiled foods that you cook in the steamboat, and so eaten together, it is a pretty well orchestrated symphony.

Pay: S$10-S$15 a person.

Service: Slow and generally not too friendly since they have about a hundred tables to deal with and so they are pretty glad to just do the job and turn the table around.

Side note: An interesting basement eating experience, but not to be repeated in the near future.

Murphy’s Law: Layer after Layer.

Our far from perfect Mille Feuille

After reading Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate book, I wanted to go out and buy a kilo of chocolate to make something from the book, but fear of failure stopped me from doing so. (It was way past midnight and no one would have sold me chocolate anyway). My next battle plan was to recruit someone to bake with me, that way, I would have someone to chit chat with in the kitchen and I would have more courage to try something since there would be strength in numbers. And so there were two. N and I set out to make something from the Chocolate book, our selected project was: The Mille Feuille.

Layer 1: We made a shopping list but failed to co-ordinate between us, and so when we met at the supermarket, we realized that N had half the ingredients at her home, but no oven and I had vice versa, and so, it was senseless purchasing everything again. Attempt one, failed.

Layer 2: On our second scheduleded attempt time, we were slightly more organized with the ingredients, we were ready to take this project on. However, for some obscure reason, when N woke up, there wasn't any running water in the house, and so she was delayed indefinitely till the Public Utilities Board people came back to fix what they fiddled with.

Layer 3: Attempting to make the inside-out puff pastry instead of simply buying store bought pastry was a nightmare. It was at this point that I realized I am who I am, and I am not the Picasso of Pastry Mr. Pierre Hermé. Hence after investing nearly 5 hours, realizing we had about another 4 or 5 to go and only about 5 hours to midnight, we decided to abandon ship, and use store bough puff pastry.

Layer 4: Once we had our puff pastry nicely rolled out, bits of it got burnt while baking.

Layer 5: Now that it is midnight and we had finally assembled the Mille Feuille, it is time to eat. (Yay!) After two bites, it was too rich for me to eat anymore of it and I was starting to feel a little ill from the rich cream.

Ok. I admit defeat, but at least I didn’t go down without a fight. Future dates with Pierre Hermé are still pending till I have fully recovered from the puff pastry trauma.

Miss Clarity Café

Miss Clarity Cafe
5 Purvis Street
Tel: 6339-4803
Open 7am to 11pm
Closed on Sundays



After the Cheryl (the baker who bakes and cooks) has been repeatedly, and I mean, REPEATEDLY blogging about eating at Miss Clarity Café, I thought I should go down to see what she was raving and buzzing about. Word must be getting around since when I got there they were nearly full: they were holding multiple tables for their dinner reservations and so they set up a make shift dinner table to accommodate my dining companion and me.

The first think that strikes me about this place is the bright colours. If you are here to sulk and to wallow, the colours make it almost impossible for you to do so. The splashes of yellow, green and pink keep the place looking lively, sprinkled with the young wait staff they have, it oozes happiness and youthful energy.

Nosh: The menu consist of what we Singaporeans tend to commonly call “Western Food” – Sirloin steak, oxtail stew, chicken gordon [sic] bleu, pastas, soups and salads. Although the very friendly waiter recommended the chicken ballotine, we ordered the pork piacatta and the breaded dory. My pork piacatta was far from spectacular, and the breaded dory was fully cooked: the mid section was uncooked and since they were looking really harassed and we were hardly impressed, we decided to just eat around the raw section of the dory.

To be fair, it is probably one of the cheapest places in Singapore to get a sirloin steak. The food is inexpensive and lovingly presented, so for that price I would not complain. In fact, the price is very right for a cheery place to sit, decent food and wonderfully cheerful service. However, my visit was a disappointment. Miss Clarity presents itself as a truly value for money diner so maybe I’ll return if I’m around the area to have this chicken ballotine that Cheryl recommends (repeatedly !), but I don’t think I’ll be fighting peak hour traffic for a dinner table here.

Pay: No more than S$10 for a main course. It is fantastic value for money.

Service: Very friendly.

E-Sarn

E-Sarn
20 Sixth Ave
Tel: 6462-5608

We have the expensive slightly expensive Thai restaurants such as Patara and Sup-sip, and we have the food court type which is a little of a hassle: having to jostle for a table and lining up with the tray whilst trying to stay out of the general crowds’ way. Then we had Thai-Express which tried to fill up the space in between with their one dish-individualist concept of Asian fast food. I liked Thai Express at their first outlet; but things have changed since they have expanded, and so I haven’t gone back for a while. I have found an answer to this Thai food dilemma – good food with good prices.

Chiang Mai Noodles

Nosh: Popular Thai dishes where you can order, have your fill, and leave without feeling broke. We started with a mango salad, which was made to order and refreshing. As soon as your order goes through, you can see and hear the man behind the counter pounding away on his pestle and mortar, making your salad a la minute. Following our salad, we had an order of spring rolls, which were fried golden and crispy and served with the sweet, spice and sour sauce. We then had our rice with stir-fried sambal kang kong and an order of grilled pork. The grilled pork was succulent with a layer of fat that was both soft and sweet after being grilled. To finish off, we shared a bowl of chiang mai noodles, the gravy was neither too spicy nor too thick which made it wonderful to slurp; topped off with the crispy egg noodles that was a good textural contrast.

Pay: About S$10 a person

Service: “Thai-ish” – friendly and warm.

Easy-Peasy Banana Tart

This is probably one of the easiest and fastest desserts I have made. My original plan was to make an apple tart, but I had bunch of bananas lying around that were threatening to rot and be wasted and so I decided to try a little tropical banana tart instead. It turned out wonderful and with the little amount of sugar added in the dessert, it doesn’t seem too guilty. I sliced mine up like a pizza and so it was like having sweet pizza. Swwweeeet.

Easy-Peasy Banana Tart
Serves 4-6



Ingredients:

Store bought 375g puff pastry
4-5 bananas
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of melted butter
Cinnamon powder for dusting

Directions:

Roll out the puff pastry as thin as possible.

Cut a 9-10inch size circle using a dinner plate or smaller circles for individual portions. (I simply used my tart tin and used it as my dough cutter.)

Slice bananas into ½ cm thick slices. Lay out the banana slices on the puff pastry, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 230 degree Celsius for 10-15 minutes.

Dust with cinnamon powder and serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Fad Foods: Pepper Lunch

Pepper Lunch

Takashimaya S.C
Ngee Ann City B2-33

Isetan Scotts B1

B: Want to join us for dinner?
K: Where?
B: That new place at the basement of taka.
K: Oh! Pepperlunch, I’ve been there!
B: No, we are going to pepper for dinner.
K: No, it is pepperlunch, pepperlunch is the name of the place.

To avoid further confusion, I propose that it should be called pepperplace.

Since the opening of Pepperlunch, we’ve heard endless people talk about it and so being the kaypoh-greedy people we are, we decided that it was something we had to checkout. Sadly, our outing to Pepperlunch was disappointing, we tried half the menu and nothing inspired us to schedule our next visit.

My pepperlunch experience:


From Top Left to Right: "Tokusen" Ribeye Steak, "Shimofuri" Pepper Steak, Combo Hamburger and Chicken, Combo Cut Steak and Hamburger, Beef Pepper Rice and "Yawaraka" Loin Steak

While waiting for my friends to arrive, I stood outside the restaurant watching the info-video about how to cook and to enjoy your pepperlunch meal. Watching the visuals of the red juicy pieces of beef being seared on the hot plate on the screen while hearing the faint sounds of the sizzle and the smelling the familiar smell of a teppanyaki restaurant really began to whet my appetite, wishing my friends would arrive soon. I then began to study the menu and to decide what I was going to have. After watching that mouth-watering info-video demonstration on how to fry the shimofuri pepper steak which was a steak with marbled fat, I decided that that would be my meat of choice.

Thankfully my friends arrived shortly and quickly ordered at the counter because my rumbling tummy couldn’t take the anticipation and the hunger torture anymore. After a chaotic few minutes at the counter where we tried to get one another to order different things so that we could try more things and deciding if you wanted a soup or a drink and if so, what drink or soup, we finally managed to get our orders in and this is what we sampled from the 12 item menu:

1. Beef Pepper Rice
2. “Shimofuri” Pepper Steak
3. Combo Hamburger and Chicken
4. “Yawaraka” Loin Steak
5. Combo Cut Steak and Hamburger
6. “Tokusen” Ribeye Steak

The food comes pretty quickly and you have to either be experienced or have really fast reflexes. With the beef pepper rice, you are required to “Mix! Mix! Mix!” and with the other steaks, you are required to spread the butter on the meat, flip it and cook it for about a minute and then flip it to cook the other side and then mix with the vegetables and sauce. Personally, it is a little too much action for me.

Off all the steak cuts, the Shimofuri and the Tokusen were the best. I would stay away from the chicken cuts because with the hot plate idea, the chicken tends to get overcooked and it would be dry and you would have no one to blame but yourself. On the other hand, with the steaks, there is more leeway for a rare to well done spectrum. The sauces that are available for you to enjoy your steaks with are honey brown sauce and garlic soy, the fore being sweeter and the latter being the salty one. I used the garlic soy, but I didn’t quite get the garlicky taste and if you are too liberal with the sauce, you’ll end up with a really salty piece of meat. What’s the solution? I guess you have to keep tasting as you cook.

My conclusion, the hot plate is a good and interesting idea and the paper ring that surrounds it with the printed instructions is a very important protective piece that helps to contain the oil spatter and for the inattentive from burning themselves. However, food-wise, if I am really seeking a piece of steak, pepperlunch isn’t my choice, plus I don’t really like smelling like teppanyaki after a meal. We spent S$90 for dinner for 6 of us, so it wasn't exactly cheap fast food either.

My First Krispy Kreme!

It was air flown and hand carried in from down under and I was given one from the box of ten with clear instructions, "You have to try this. Microwave it for 10 sec and eat immediately." Wow! I know I’m a little behind everyone with this Krispy Kreme rave since it was in fashion way before I had my first one. Better late than never! This isn’t a just doughnut, it is Krispy Kreme. It’s so soft! It’s sweet! It looks like a perfect circle! I want mine hot off a line! Mine was microwaved :( .

"Instant" Comfort Food

After a while, we stopped looking for excuses for dinner get togethers. No need for anyone’s birthday to be around the corner or for us to celebrate an event. No more pretending. The simple reason for us to have a dinner get together is usually a combination these two reasons, we would like to eat and someone would like to cook. So after consecutive weeks of convening at my cousin’s house for dinner, I decided it was time I put on my apron and cook up a little storm in the kitchen.

To feed my party of ten, I looked through the various cookbooks that were available to me and New Chinese Cuisine by the Tung Lok Group seemed to be calling my name. The book is a great coffee table book and for cooks of all kinds to flip to get inspiration. Of the many recipes that are in the book, I selected two for my dinner party and three others from the other books and food magazines that I possess. This was how my little dinner menu turned out:

Poached Prawns with Avocado Salsa
Chrysanthemum-styled Fish with fruit salsa
Lamb Shank with Garlic Cream Sauce
Comfort Maggie with Luncheon Meat Chips and an oozy soft boiled egg
Green Tea Ice Cream Pie

In a tongue-in-cheek manner, I decided to serve something really simple and rather kitsch in contrast to the semi-haute cuisine that I plated up for the first three courses. Serving instant noodles with some good old fried-to-a-crisp Shanghai Maling Luncheon Meat is certainly not one of the classiest things to serve at a posh dinner, but it can stir some comfort emotions. The luncheon meat is a funny thing, it is terrible food in terms of health, but it taste so good that you have to allow yourself the occasional indulgence. My friend N cooked this for me while we were experimenting in the kitchen one afternoon and I was so blown away but the simplicity and clever play of between the ketchup manis, salty meat and oozy egg yolk and I wanted to make it for everyone. This is cooking at its simplest, not much fuss and you can do it under 10 minutes.

N’s After-A-Night-Out Nosh
(Comfort Maggie with Luncheon Meat Chips and an oozy soft boiled egg)
Serves 1



Ingredients:

1 packet of instant noodles
1 ½ tbsp ketchup manis
1 egg
4 slices luncheon meat
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Garnish: Chopped red chilies

Directions:

Heat oil, when hot fry luncheon meat till they are golden brown on both sides. When that is done, fry a sunny-side up, making sure that the yolk remains runny.

Meanwhile, boil a pot of water, and when it comes to a boil, dunk instant noodles in and cook for 3 minutes and strain. Mix thoroughly with ketchup manis.

Plate up the noodles with the luncheon meat and egg, garnish with red chilies and eat.

*Alternatively: you can use soft boiled eggs like I did. To make soft boiled eggs, bring water to a boil, gently lower you eggs, cook for 4 minutes and then run it under cold water.