Dessert at Ministry of Food

In Singapore, a friend of mine invited me to experience a Japanese dessert at the Ministry of Food (Marina Square branch). At the restaurant, We were greeted by a wide array of choices on their menu but not much on the dessert section...

So, I forced myself to order something visually stimulating...and I ended up on this soft served green tea ice cream with kanten jelly, fruits, Japanese dumplings and Hokkaido red bean paste; topped with macha sauce. Hence the name Macha dessert. The presentation was so fancy but the green tea?... it's devilishly healthy!...

While my friend had on this glazed sweet soft served - ice cream with mango slices....on a bed of shaved ice drizzled with thick mango puree. This concoction is just fabulous but it could have been better if they ordered mangoes from the
Philippines... which is of the best quality in the world!...

The ambiance reminds me those of Akira Kurusawa film settings that could really set your mood of a Zen like feeling upon dining...the only not a pleasant part there was its too crowded.. overcrowded!...(it could also be a good sign that a restaurant is well known).. but its not a good place for those who want to dine in style.. truly its not romantic!...

However, the staff were well trained and they're always on the go to serve you!...

We definitely enjoyed what we ordered and good thing was that the desserts were not so sweet and its reasonably priced.... perfect for our "make ends meet budget"..... Lol!

It was my first time to try a Japanese dessert and the experience was halfway close to - AWESOME!.....

Photos Courtesy of Klein Delos Santos

Mj's Chili King Crab - Recipe

My cousin overseas emailed me a recipe that I have been longing to try... It's Singapore's famous Chili King Crab!..... a very well known dish all over the Lion City's landscape.... and an all time favorite among locals and foreigners alike, bringing an extra flavor to the sights and sounds of this densely populated Island nation!...

This is her modified version of the recipe, putting some extra twist and making it grand to suit the very discriminating Filipino flavor!.... I'm going to call this, Mj's Chili King Crab, named after her cutey and ubiquitous daughter Mj.

Mj's Chili King Crab

Ingredients:

2-3 medium - large mud crabs
1/4 half a cup of chopped Garlic
1/4 half a cup of chopped Onion
Chopped Green and Red Bell peppers of Jalapeño
Chopped or sliced Chili pepper
1/4 or 1/2 cup of coconut juice
1/4 of 1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of evaporated Milk
Oil
salt and pepper to taste

How to prepare:

Put oil in the pan then saute garlic, onion, sweet pepper, Chili pepper.

Add the mud crabs then wait until it turns red.

Add Coconut milk then after add water in small amounts.

Season with salt and pepper. Simmer in low heat and bring it to a boil til the crab is cooked...

Add in tomato sauce and evaporated milk...

Simmer in low heat and bring it to a boil until the sauce thickens.

You may reduce the sauce by turning the flame to high.

Served hot

This is best paired with white wine (Pinot Grigio?...Maybe) to blend in all the extra flavors of the crab.

In Singapore you can find the best Chili King Crabs on the very long restaurant strip along Boat Quay....this area is truly a food haven, and it is the place where you can hear or attempt to try the unique "Singlish" accent and expression.... like "Eat lah?, can?..caaaan?!"........just simply answer "yes lah!"..

(Photo and Recipe courtesy of Erby Jane Guerrero - Pinili, an advocate of Filipino Cuisine )