Cooking Across 4 Generations

Perched on the 57^th floor of Singapore’s shining temple of shopping, ION Orchard, sits Luke Mangan’s Salt Grill and Sky Bar.

Looking like a mini Crystal Palace, the restaurant provides 360 degree views of Singapore. They have even included telescopes up the ramp between the restaurant and bar to give you a close up view of the city. The glass roof gives the feeling of eating al fresco without the inconvenience of insects, seagulls, wind and annoying yobbos.

Decorated in neutrals of all hues, the interior is comforting and relaxed. The restrained and elegant decor does not fight with the stunning views of Singapore, or the marvelous play of light and clouds through the windows.

Being very familiar with Glass here in Sydney and having missed the chance to try the original Salt in Darlinghurst, we jumped at the chance to have lunch here when the opportunity arose ie we needed to refuel ourselves for more shopping.

To access the restaurant you need to go to the reception desk on level 4 of ION Orchard where they will take your booking and then show you the way to the restaurant. In the waiting area for the elevators, a video of the sky is playing giving a hint to what to expect when you arrive on the 57^th floor.

Once we were seated and had our menus the fun of choosing what to eat began. The easiest option is the 2 course Executive Lunch for SGD$40, which consists of four entree and four main choices. Sides are also listed and dessert can be added for an extra SGD$15.

Rene decided to go for the ‘Glass’ crab omelette, miso mustard broth followed by Barramundi fillet with Sydney spice, coconut and lime while I had Sashimi, ginger, eschallot and goats feta followed by slow cook free range pork belly, broth of smoked hock, white beans, oven dried tomato, chili and green olives.

We also decided to have dessert. I had Passionfruit cheesecake with banana and passionfruit sorbet while Rene had the Chef’s choice of soufflé, which on the day we went was a caramel soufflé.

In all it was a fabulous lunch and we would definitely head back for lunch next time we visit Singapore. Perhaps we might head in for a beverage to see Singapore lit up at night time too. We will also have to head to Salt next time we are in Tokyo.

A word of warning for the gentlemen: DON”T wear shorts. To get a table in the main area it is advisable to wear pants. This seems to be a common thing in Singapore restaurants. But we Aussie tourists are more accustomed to wanting to be relaxed on our holidays, so shorts are de rigeur, which meant we didn’t get a table on the main floor.

Thanks for dropping by!!

I figured it has been a while since actually posting a recipe here on my blog. I have decided to share one of our more popular desserts from work, that is easy and tasty, I mean who doesn’t love chocolate (or cream).

I make this chocolate mousse every week, usually in a quantity of 16 portions. Here I have given quantities for 4. At work we use Callebaut dark chocolate, I am itching to try this with the Lindt 70% dark chocolate, maybe for Easter.

Chocolate Mousse:

Dark chocolate 200g

Pouring cream 120g

Thickened cream 100g

Eggs 2 seperated

Caster sugar 45g

Method:

Prepare your glasses. I like to make sure the glasses are spotless with no marks on them, this means I need to polish them before I even start the mixing. As I use steam for polishing I set up the saucepan I will use to melt the chocolate with some water and once there is some steam coming off the water, I hold a glass over it to fog up and then I polish it with a clean, lint free cloth. Place on a tray

Wipe a mixing bowl to ensure it is absolutely dry and put the chopped chocolate in it and then place over a saucepan of simmering water. Chocolate really hates moisture, you may have noticed if you get some water in melted chocolate it goes lumpy. Not a good look for a chocolate mousse.

When ¾ melted, remove from heat and stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth.

Put the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk for approximately 7 minutes over the simmering water until it is thick. Stir in to the chocolate, along with 20g of the pouring cream. (This is a little trick I learnt to keep the mixture smooth).

Allow mixture to cool. While cooling whisk both the creams together to medium stiff peaks.

Fold the cream in to the chocolate and fold until combined.

Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites and then fold the remainder in.

Spoon or ladle in to the polished glasses cover loosely with cling film and then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with a dollop of whipped or THICK cream, some strawberries and a mint leaf.

You don’t have to use glasses to serve it in if you don’t want to. You could always just serve it in a big bowl and then decorate as you wish.

My only lament is that it tastes much better with a splash of Kahluah, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Baileys and this is just a plain chocolate mousse. Maybe on the next menu I will add a bit of alcohol in to the mix for a flavour change.

Hope you enjoy the mousse and don’t eat it all yourself!!

Happy eating!

Public holidays that fall on a weekend and then have an extra day on the Monday can sometimes be a blessing. New Years day Monday (as I will call it) found us heading in to the city to browse the shops for any bargains in the sales. After a few fruitless looks we decided we really needed to recharge the batteries and have something to eat. Surprisingly all the restaurants and the food court in Westfield Sydney (for the old timers – Centrepoint) were open. An unsuccessful attempt to go to Becasse found us heading to Simon Goh’s latest offering Chinta Ria-Mood For Love.

Chinta Ria Mood for Love has now been open for a couple of months and follows the opening of Simon’s other Westfield offering of Sassy’s Red (see earlier post) down on level 4. While Sassy’s red might be like your favourite aunt, Mood For Love is where she may have been taken by her current flame for a long, lingering lunch or dinner.

Chinta Ria Mood for Love is a hidden jewel in the massive Westfield complex. With a facade that is reminiscent of time worn buildings in a Malaysian kampong (village) and an exotic, sensual and seductive, yet comforting interior with lots of old world charm. Simon’s inspiration for Chinta Ria-Mood For Love is the Wong Kar Wai film, “In The Mood For Love” (2000), rated by Margaret Pomeranz as one of the top ten movies from the past 25 years.

Playing continuously on one wall is a short film commissioned by Simon to help young (or not so young) romantics get in the mood. Amongst the decadent decor are items from Simon’s own personal collection, such as the “Nipple”hung above the bar.

Apart from the main room, Simon has also included a private curtained area for small groups or for those couples after a little more privacy for their dining experience. Silken cushions line the banquettes, rich wooden tables dot the room and dim lighting accented with candles help to set the mood. Red and green candles are on each table, a sort of traffic light to indicate the level of intimacy required by the diners. Choosing red is the equivalent of ‘Do Not Disturb’ allowing for more discreet attention from the wait staff.

The menu is delightfully presented in a brown manila envelope and after taking it out it is in the form a film script. ‘Scenes’, represent each of the courses. There is cute whimsical turn with dishes being given names and characters. We decided to make it easier on ourselves (so much to choose from and not being too familiar with Malaysian food) and and opted for the set lunch menu with a bottle of Margan Semillon. Below is a copy of the tasting menu which we had.

We only managed to get a few shots of what we ate as it was so delicious we forgot to take photos.

The mains:

Dessert plate:

Simon has another hit on his hands with Chinta Ria – Mood For Love. Such a shame I will be working on Valentines Day as this would have been a great place to spend the evening with Rene.

Keep an eye out for live music nights as Simon is passionate about jazz and blues.

So, if you are feeling a bit peckish while shopping in Westfield Sydney, this is a great place to rest your shopping bags and enjoy a great meal, or take your special person for a romantic dinner and opt for the red candle.

Thanks for dropping by!!