A Japanese Restaurant for… Desserts?

Kazu Sumi-Yaki is not my regular go-to place for my fix of Kushiyaki.  That honour is reserved for Nanbantei, which, over the years, has not been able to upkeep the high quality of their food.  In spite of that, we return to it, time and again, complaining each time about how the food prepared and presented to us are no longer like what they were a decade ago.  I guess we really thrive on familiarity.

And so, the topic of Kushiyaki came up during the last dinner gathering with the gals.  Someone in the group commented that she could not turn up for the dinner at Nanbantei eons ago, and she had heard only good things about the food.  She suggested going back to Nanbantei, but we thought we should just try another place that serves the same fare.  After some discussion on FB, we decided on Kazu.

It wasn’t a very pleasant experience trying to reach someone at the restaurant for a reservation.  I must have tried at least 5 times, all at different times of the day, weekdays and weekends before someone finally picked up my call.  We cannot walk in with a party of 7, that’s for sure.  I was so elated when I eventually got to talk with someone I was willing to forgive and forget.  Till the actual day…

Kazu Sumi-Yaki is clearly a restaurant that favours regulars they recognise.  I was largely ignored when I attempted to gain a staff’s attention at the door but they were happily admitting regulars who obviously did not make any reservations, giving me the ‘Wait’ sign with their hands.  Rude, by any standard, but once again I am willing to forgive and forget if they serve good food.  I am that food-driven.

We had to wait for almost 20 minutes past our reservation time slot before we were shown to our table.  And then it took more time to ask for their menus.  Chaotic, chaotic.  I get it that they are a small and establishment restaurant with a regular pool of patrons but shouldn’t you treat every patron that enters the door as a potential regular?

I did most of the ordering because I guess I’m most familiar with Kushiyaki.

{clockwise from top left: whelk, enoki maki, wagyu sticks, asparagus maki}

{clockwise from top left: tebasaki, corn, tomato maki, tsukune}

And order I did.  It wasn’t a difficult task because like I’ve mentioned, I thrive on familiarity – I just ordered what I would normally order at Nanbantei.  It was not intentional, but by ordering the same stuff, I could do a direct comparison of the food from these 2 restaurants.  Some hits and misses from Kazu Sumi-Yaki: most of the maki barely made it mostly because the chef was too ‘light’ with the salt it was barely discernible.  Wagyu sticks were very nice, but tebasaki too charred.  All in all, nothing mind-blowing, and totally forgettable.  The foie gras we had was delectable, but unfortunately I forgot to do a shot before I popped it into my mouth.

Now, the very expensive sweet potato was also very impressionable, in part for the very wrong reason that it costs S$22.  Each.  We decided on just ordering one, to be shared amongst the 6 of us who were present.  And we had to wait 20 minutes for it.  To be fair, the sweet potato was really worth waiting for.

{tiramisu, tempura awayuki, yaki crepe, yaki awayuki}

The saving grace for the day came unexpectedly in the form of desserts.  I told my dinner company that I remember the desserts being good.  And since we couldn’t decide, we ordered 4 of the 5 desserts on their menu to share.  I can only say that the desserts were mind-blowingly great!  And not too cloyingly sweet.  If there is any reason for me to return, it’s for the desserts.

I’m sorry Kazu Sumi-Yaki, but this is about the last time I will ever visit you.  And I’m putting this down on record in case I forget in the future.  Despite the great dessert, the food just doesn’t hold its own appeal.  Didn’t help that throughout the night, we struggled to gain the attention of the waitresses for the simplest of tasks – more green tea, the menu etc.  And then they became too enthusiastic when we were the last 3 tables left occupied late in the night, hovering in the background.  Yes, I’m still upset with them for clearing the bamboo container with all the sticks we discarded way too soon.  I wanted to take a picture of that!

Kazu Sumi-Yaki Restaurant
5 Koek Road
#04-05 Cuppage Plaza
Singapore 228796
Tel: +65-6734-2492
Opening Hours:
1800-2200hrs

112/250

영원하자

Made a quick trip to Seoul over the weekend and just returned yesterday afternoon.  In the last 5 days, we stayed at two accommodation of sorts – the first two nights at a guesthouse, and the next two at an apartment.  Couldn’t sleep well at the first because sleeping on the floor with a thin mattress and soft pillow = backache.  The second was worse – had air-conditioning that didn’t work and kept shutting itself down like there was some timer, and hot water that was non-existent after midnight.

I slept badly all 4 nights, so much so that I was sleeping away for most part of the return 6-hour flight that I didn’t even want to eat.  Now… eating is a big deal to me and I chose sleeping over it.  Tells you how fatigued I was.

Seoul, like Taipei, is no longer a city I travel to because I want to sightsee.  They have become by-the-way cities that I explore apart from attending concerts.  This trip is no exception, although I must say, I feel less at a loss because I now read their words!  I don’t always know what the words mean, but where it matters, I can read e.g. bus going in the direction of Incheon Airport or Gimpo Airport.  Now… that’s important.

As usual, the hubby complains about how my classes never seem to teach me enough.  I retorted that I know enough to say ‘신쳔역근처에’ and ‘올림픽공원역’.  Oh, and also ‘광화문앞에’.  Good enough to get me to all 3 locations with little problem.  Who said the classes aren’t teaching me anything?

111/250

Red Velvet

There was an incident that marred the memory of a great dinner get-together.  Shortly after we were seated, the patrons from another table asked for their birthday cake stored in the chiller.  There were 3 cakes in the chiller (yea, 3 birthday celebrations), including the small one I bought for E.  The staff was so confused she took the wrong cake (ours!) and walked right to the other table while all the time, I was trying to tell her that was our cake.  The lady who bought the cake realised the mistake, and walked to the chiller herself to pick up the cake.  As she walked past our table to her table, she declared very loudly to her friends that ‘My cake is from The Patissier’.

Woah… that stung.  Because obviously my cake box was small and the shop I bought from not as reputable as the big gun The Patissier in Singapore.  But that comment was… tasteless and uncalled for.  Well yes, The Patissier has some nice cakes, but they most certainly don’t sell Red Velvet cakes.  And I do know where to get the best Strawberry Shortcake, the best few Chocolate Cakes, the best Durian Cake etc. in Singapore.  Oh, as a baker myself, I do know my cakes… and that ignorant woman?  No.  She is just one of those fartsy pretentious office worker who mistakes brand name as an assurance of taste.

Yes.  I was very annoyed with her for insulting my choice of cake which by the way, happens to be really delectable.

The topic of Red Velvet Cakes came up during one of our previous dinner gatherings and apart from E and I, it seemed that the rest of them have not heard of it, much less taste it.  So I tasked myself to bring a Red Velvet Cake to the next gathering.  Although this old traditional cake is widely popular in the United States, the fever never really caught on in Singapore.  I researched a bit, and it seemed like only Room for Dessert sold Red Velvets.  Fortunately, I have heard only good things about this bakery.

I love Room for Dessert’s rendition of the Red Velvet Cake because the owner cum baker obviously used the most traditional way to get the red colour synonymous with the Red Velvet – beet root – instead of relying on red food colouring.  The result was a very dense but moist cake offering many layers of taste undertones.  Absolutely delicious.

Apparently Room for Dessert is famous for their Carrot Cake.  I have yet to try because honestly, I’m not a real fan of carrot cakes.  But judging by how good the Red Velvet Cake is, I might drop by one of these days and try the Carrot Cake.

108/250

The Rustic Life

Once in a while, we meet up with the parents for dinner over the weekend, with no prior planning.  We have a few default favourite eateries to return to, but that weekend we ran out of options.  Turned out my dad was in the mood to return to the rustic countryside lifestyle.  Kind of.  We headed over to Marina Country Club for dinner.

We had been there several times prior, having traditional chinese seafood cuisine, Singaporean-style.  And this one other time, I returned with the hubby to try out the barbeque buffet.  Let’s just say it wasn’t very memorable and we subsequently did not recommend that restaurant to our parents.

That night, we headed straight for the few restaurants by the dockside.  And settled for the first restaurant that we always walked by without taking a second look.  This restaurant called Channel Sam serves seafood, western style.  We didn’t find the menu very interesting, and therefore went straight to the counter and started pointing off the fresh seafood.  We figured it was a faster and more effective way to order.  Secretly I was disappointed because they didn’t have all the chinese-styled seafood dishes I was more used to.  I think my parents were disappointed too, but since we have already sat down at a table, we were too embarrassed to leave.

Granted, it was a nice place with a view.  We were also blessed with good weather and a balmy breeze.  Because we were there early, we didn’t have to wait very long for our food to arrive although I have to admit, I was expecting very much.

The food was basically nothing much to shout about, especially the presentation, but they didn’t taste too bad either.  It helped that the seafood was very fresh.  Alright, the food was quite good.  I was just… crabby because I didn’t get to eat my crabs, pun unintended.

We enjoyed ourselves that evening, especially my dad, who could leave the table several times to take a smoke.  I even wondered if he chose this place because of the open-air concept (meant that he could easily take a smoke nearby).  I chided him but he was clearly not afraid of me.  That night at home, I texted the little sis (who had something on and did not join us for dinner earlier) about how heavily he was smoking.  Figured she could do something about it since dad is apparently very afraid of her.  I didn’t hear from her after I texted her, and I forgot all about it.

Turns out she gave him hell that night for chain smoking.  I learnt about it from my mum a couple of weeks later.  Some of you might think that we are coming down too hard on an old man for his decades-long smoking habit, but you don’t know he had a health scare a couple of years back.  He was so shaken he promised us to quit smoking.  Never happened.  For a hypochondriac like he is, I don’t understand why he just won’t quit.  Especially when all of us around him show our displeasure so openly.

Much that I loved patronising the restaurants at Marina Country Club, I don’t think I will be returning with the parents any time soon.  While many parts of Singapore have clear demarcated areas where smoking is allowed or diallowed, they didn’t have such restrictions at the country club.  The last thing I want to do is to encourage dad to smoke.  So from now own, we shall only dine at eateries that do not allow smoking.  He smokes a lot lesser like that because it’s too troublesome to walk out of the building in the midst of a meal just to smoke.  That’s the least I could do to ensure that he lives longer.  I actually worry about who will rein him in; the little sis will be getting married next year, which means that no one at home can control him and his smoking habit.  I truly worry.

106/250

The Annual Date

I have a friend of almost 30 years that I have been seeing once a year, for the last few years.  This friend and I go way back when we were the top students in our primary school comprising mainly students from English-speaking families.  A small group of us stuck out like sore thumb because we were equally good in both English and our Mother Tongue Language (in this case, Mandarin Chinese).  The rest of them, back then, couldn’t speak a complete sentence in Mandarin even if their lives depended on it.  In fact, some of them almost never made it to the local universities because they could barely pass their Mother Tongue exams.  The last I checked, their linguistics skills in this area didn’t improve over the years.  Perhaps the level of proficiency might even have ‘deproved’ due to lack of use.

In the late 80s/early 90s, a certain unique genre of music called Xinyao (the extended form being ‘Singapore Songs’ in Chinese) was emerging in Singapore.  The movement began in the early 80s when some junior college students started forming small groups to compose and sing their own compositions, in Mandarin.  By and by, this genre of music grew popular (because the songs were usually about everyday lives of average Singaporean students) as the listeners could identify with the issues sung in the songs.  At the peak of the movement, YF and I caught the bug in spite of our tender age.  We attended one concert in the last year of our primary school, and another concert again in the first year of our secondary school.  The following couple of years Xinyao became more commercialised, resulting in the annual concerts cum award ceremonies being televised.  We stopped attending the concerts because the tickets were no longer available for sale.  Being in different top secondary schools (and were naturally bogged down by our studies), YF and I lost contact.

Somehow, we never really felt the need to contact each other again but I always hear of her from friends who attended the same junior college as her.  Truth is, the ‘elite circle’ those days was very small; you can always find someone who knows someone else in your life.  Then we both moved houses and lost contact once again (back then, emails were not prevalent, there were no cell phones and definitely Facebook has not been invented).  It was much harder to keep in contact, and we were just too busy with our own lives.

For the next few years while in university, I tried searching for her.  Everyone I knew from her junior college heard of her, but didn’t know how to contact her.  Somehow years passed by and once again, I got caught up with life’s little busy-ness.

Until one day shortly after I got married, I saw an article of her and her newly-wedded husband on a bridal magazine.  That was about the time when Friendster came into existence.  I searched for her name on Friendster and voila!  I found her, together with many other primary school friends I lost contact with.  We caught up on the lost years.  By then, the once dead Xinyao movement was also revived in the form of annual concerts.  We started attending the concerts together again.

Yesterday, we attended a concert celebrating 30 years of Xinyao.  And boy, did we feel young amongst the crowd.  Told mum and little sis I was attending the concert, and they immediately assumed that I would be going with YF.  It is that predictable.

Together with the other concert attendees, we had hell of a time during the 4-hour long (without intermission) concert.  I’m eternally grateful to have found a friend like YF who shares a common interest because honestly, I don’t think I can find a second person in my life who shares the same passion.  Well, perhaps the hubby… but he is not that into Xinyao.

It may seem strange that we meet up once a year, considering that we are now hooked up.  I guess the years apart somehow have an impact – we now move around in different circles and lead very different lives.  I’m contented to keep in touch with her via attending the annual concert and the occasional conversation on Facebook.  Same goes for her.

103/250

THE Korean Restaurant in Singapore

I have, on several occasions, lamented about the plight of Korean Cuisine lovers in Singapore – one just doesn’t seem to find decent Korean fare.  But fret not, fellow countrymen, for I think I have found the restaurant that I am willing to return to time after time.  And the restaurant that has won me over permanently?  Hyang-To-Gol Korean Restaurant located on the 2nd Level at Amara Hotel.

I cannot not talk about a bunch of folks I just got to know 3 months back when I talk about this restaurant, because they were the reason why I was even there in the first place.  The 4 other ladies and 1 gentleman I dined with that evening were the very same folks I sat with at the same table for 10 weeks during my Korean Language Class.  We made a pact to dine together during our semestral break of 2 weeks but couldn’t decide on the location (although we were set on Korean Cuisine).  Finally, N recommended Hyang-To-Gol in our WhatsApp conversation.  Since the restaurant allowed reservations (while the other restaurant the other classmates suggested do not), we concurred to give it a try.

You might be shocked at the plethora of dishes on our table if this is the first time you are exposed to Korean Cuisine.  It looks scary, but if you look closely, a lot of the dishes are what the Koreans call 반찬 (‘Banchan’), which are essentially small portions of side dishes.  And each of us had 3 dishes of sauces.  That resulted in the crazily filled table, so filled that the waitresses even had problems looking for space to lay down the dishes we ordered.  In spite of what you might believe, we didn’t order very much food.  In fact, the 5 ladies in the company finished up all the food because the only gentleman with us is currently suffering from an ailment that affects his appetite adversely.  Poor W, get well soon!

Clearly, the ladies eat like I do – little bits of everything.  I was happy to dine with them because if the hubby were dining with me, the table would be filled with meat dishes and ddukbokki (떡볶이), my favourite Korean snack food.  That crazy evening I got to eat some meat, seafood pancake (해물파전), Kimchi stew (김치찌개), mixed rice served in hot stone bowl (돌솥 비빔밥) and of course my ddukbokki (떡볶이).  The meats, in my opinion, were not very tasty but I’m not about to make a sweeping statement based solely on the 3 meat dishes we ordered.  I don’t usually deal with the ordering when with the hubby, so I will only make another conclusion about the meats after another visit with him.  But everything else tasted great, so tasty that they were comparable to what I have had in Korea itself.  Well I have eaten better-tasting ddukbokki and seafood pancake in Seoul, but the Kimchi stew and Bibimbap were really, really tasty.  You have to try these 2 dishes if you ever drop by, especially the Kimchi stew.

I always maintain that, to really learn if the restaurant is serving authentic cuisine, look around at the other patrons.  At Hyang-To-Gol, majority of the patrons are native Koreans.  Hey, if the native Koreans think that the restaurant serves up pretty good authentic Korean Cuisine, I am apt to believe them.

Although the 6 of us are rather close-knitted in class, we found out more about one another over dinner that evening.  It’s always easier to bond when a group has a common interest – in this case, our love for the Korean Language.  To be exact, we all love different aspects of the Korean culture – W, T and I are into K-Pop; W, T, M, N and I are into K-Dramas, and all of us are into Korean Cuisine!  With the exception of C, we are all picking up the language for self-interest.  C has business dealings with Koreans, so she’s strictly speaking picking up the language for work but we are trying to convert her.

This meal cost slightly over S$250.  Because W just took a biteful of the ddukbokki and half a spoonful of rice, we decided that it is not fair to make him pay.  Among the 5 of us, we split the bill.  You could definitely do the sums.  This restuarant is really reasonably priced.

Consuming too much barbecued food is purported to cause cancer so I do consume with this fact in mind.  The problem lies with the hubby and I being totally spoilt by the good food in Japan and Korea.  It’s very frustrating that we frequently cannot find food of the same quality in Singapore.  I cannot begin to even describe how elated I am to be headed for Seoul in 2 weeks’.

Did I mention I really love this bunch of new friends I made?  Hopefully we will all attain proficiency in the language together.  여러분,  열심히  공부세요!

Hyang-To-Gol Korean Restaurant
165 Tanjong Pagar Road
2F The Amara
Singapore 088539
Tel: +65-6220-7160
Opening Hours:
1130-1500hrs; 1800-2230hrs

99/250

Yan Ting, Revisited

Two weekends back, I revisited Yan Ting at St. Regis with a good friend, who was having their dim sum for the first time.  This is probably my 4th or 5th visit, but the very first time I took their Weekend Brunch Buffet.  It doesn’t come cheap, at S$98++ per pax, which is the reason why my family always opt to order from the ala carte menu whenever we visited.  But with The Astor Card, I had one complimentary brunch, and the other paying guest gets a reduction of 25% off the price.  Quite a steal, in my opinion.

It was the first time I was at Yan Ting during the first seating (at 11.30am), and I was surprised to find the restaurant rather empty, save for just a couple of occupied tables.  But we got one of the cozy tables for two by the side of the restaurant.  Loved the privacy of the table and the quiet ambience, but hated the fact that I forgot my camera.  Again.  So I have to rely on my iPhone’s camera.  My memory’s not as good as it used to be, that’s a reality I have to face up to.

I must have mentioned it before that Yan Ting’s collection of steamed Dim Sum items is not comprehensive, but sufficient to satisfy my appetite.  We ordered the usual fare that everyone must have at a Dim Sum restaurant, and some.  There were some hits and misses, but it was fun dining with E.  She introduced me to Liu Sha Bao, which is a bun filled with liquid salted egg yolk.  Lovely!  And for the first time, I didn’t over-order.  Realised that this is my family’s unique trait because my dad likes variety at his meals.

I had the most wonderful time chatting with E.  Found out a little bit more about Scandinavia from her since she visited Denmark once on a business trip (I have started my intial planning for our visit to Scandinavia in 2014 to see the Aurora Borealis), and realised that I really know very little about Northern Europe.  Even simple things like their staple diet, and how friendly they are towards tourists… I had to find out from scratch.  At least I found out that they really like fish and seafood.  In view of the hubby’s distaste for fish, I reckon we would have to bring our portable cooker and instant noodles for our trip.  More about my plans in a future post.

Today is the birthday of E.  Happy Birthday, E!  I hope all your dreams come true!

98/250

Addicted to All-Day Breakfast

After the last visit to Wild Honey, I returned, several days later, with another friend XX.  You might have guessed that moderation has never been my forte.

Similarly, the both of us ordered the English and European breakfasts.  Only that because we really actually couldn’t decide which we liked better, XX and I ended up exchanging items on our plates.  I don’t really fancy bacon or broad beans, so those went to XX.  She also took some of my potatoes and a slice of the brioche because honestly, the English breakfast is a very huge portion.

Because it was a weekday and the crowd mostly cleared out after lunch hour, the staff at the restaurant did not make us keep to the 90-minute table occupancy rule.  As it was a slow day with nothing to do, XX and I decided to indulge in desserts as well.  She ordered the lemon tart while I ordered the kugelhof.  Both quite delish, but be forewarned that the kugelhof is extremely dry – I downed quite a bit of iced water to quench the thirst.

I walked out a happy patron, once again.  In spite of that, guess I will not be visiting Wild Honey in the near future because after both visits, I suffered terrible bouts of tummy ache.  The first occasion was not too bad because I was already on my way home when I first felt the pains, but the second visit was bad because I spent quite some time in the shopping mall’s restroom.  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with Wild Honey’s food, because on both occasions nothing happened to my lunching partners.  More likely, something in the food doesn’t sit well with my system – I have an extremely sensitive digestive system.  Couple that with irritable bowels… I think you get the drift.  Could be eggs in general.  In any case, it’s bothering me enough to elicit a possible food allergy test soon.

92/250

My Insatiable Appetite for Brioche

Pronounced as ‘bree-oshe’, brioche is, according to Wikipedia… ‘a highly enriched French pastry whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb.  It is “light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs”.  It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust, frequently accentuated by an egg wash applied after proofing.’

I am in love with brioche.  Full stop.  I don’t know when this amorous disposition began, and I don’t even remember when was the first time I tasted brioche.  Truth be told, there are few things I love as passionately as brioche, except perhaps a good croissant.  Yea, I could never say no to either.

And so, I was in one of my moods craving for brioche last Friday night and I tweeted about visiting Wild Honey by the weekend for my fix of good ol’ brioche.  I woke up on the Saturday morning, totally bewildered when the hubby told me to get someone else to go to Wild Honey with me.  Mornings… not a good time to catch me.  I did eventually recall my craving for brioche.  And I could totally understand why the hubby was not interested.  Did I ever mention that he does not take eggs of any kind, in any form?

Fortunately for me, I have foodie friends.  A quick text to a good friend resulted in a confirmed bruch date to Wild Honey the following morning.  Woohoo!

Although Wild Honey first landed on the friendly shores of Singapore a couple of years back, I never tried it.  I don’t like queuing to enter a restaurant, and back then when they only had one outlet at Mandarin Gallery, they didn’t take reservations.  Only walk-in entertained.  And honestly, the queue was no joke.

Now, this new outlet at Scotts Square is different!  It’s a lot more spacious and takes reservations!  I could see myself visiting many, more times.

I couldn’t decide between the English and European breakfast, but decided to order the European when E decided on the English.  On top of that, I ordered some sausage on the side.  Finally, 3 months after eating sausages almost every single day while touring Germany, I am ready to face sausages squarely again.  European is actually Wild Honey’s version of Eggs Benedict, and I have to say that their version is really dope!  I totally fell in love with brioche all over again after my first bite.  And the experience just got better with every mouthful.  Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe my breakfast last Sunday morning.

I want to visit again.  Really soon!  But I can’t decide what I should take the next time… European again, or English?  Or one of those with waffles or pancakes?  Arghh… I need to return soon!

Wild Honey @ Scotts Square
6 Scotts Square
#03-01
Singapore 228209
Tel: +65-6636-1816
Opening Hours:
0900-2200hrs (Mon-Sun)

82/250

The Preferred Soya Beancurd

The verdict is out: Both the hubby and I prefer the soya beancurd from 51 Soya Beancurd.

If you do not hail from this part of the world, you might not be aware that a certain ‘version’ of soya beancurd has taken over Singapore by storm.  This new version, unlike the traditional version I am used to, is a lot softer and silkier to taste.  And there are two main players selling this version of soya beancurd.

One afternoon, the hubby decided to drop by Old Airport Road to buy some soya beancurd.  How we eventually ended up with  5 bowls of each version in my refrigerator is anyone’s guess.  But yea… we could make a direct comparison in this way.  After allowing the soya beancurd to sit and chill in the refrigerator for a while, I took 2 bowls out and tasted them.

Despite consuming the LAO BAN Soya Beancurd first (based on the assumption that food is less tasty when one is less hungry), I found 51 Soya Beancurd’s version more pleasing to my palate.  The difference is rather slight, to be honest, but the winning edge 51 Soya Beancurd has over LAO BAN Soya Beancurd lies in the softer texture.  Which is queer, because when I googled, most people preferred LAO BAN Soya Beancurd because they found it more flavourful and soft.

I can’t explain why this is so, except that everyone has different taste.  Perhaps letting the soya beancurds sit in the refrigerator for a bit affected the texture.  Who knows.

So, during dinner last Sunday, we were telling the parents about this test that we did and our preferred version.  To this, the mum said we should not consume too much because it makes our ‘legs go soft’.  Quite literally, apparently, but I know it sounds weird – might make more sense if you translate it into Chinese.  I was puzzled why she would say such things, and wanted to ascertain if it was just urban legend because I really love my soy products.  Dad nodded in agreement and asked us if we knew how soya milk coagulate to give us soya beancurd.  The hubby and I obviously didn’t know a thing.

The daddy revealed something alarming – that they used 石膏 as a coagulant.  OK you can’t blame me for being alarmed, because as far as my Chinese goes, 石膏 is wall plaster and I cannot imagine consuming that.  So I googled for more information on the spot, and learnt that the english name is gypsum powder, which is essentially calcium sulphate.  Not poisonous, does not make your legs go soft, and you need to consume a rather large amount to be concerned about consuming it.  Take a look at what Dr Leslie Tay wrote on his blog, it’s quite informative.

In summary, I don’t mind either version of soya beancurd but since the hubby says 51 Soya Beancurd hardly has a queue, I’m all for consuming their version from now on.

81/250