Sunday, May 19, 2013
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Mother's day is usually a special day every year for us. Before I was tutoring , I'd used to make my mum a full breakfast. Being Asian she hated stuff I made like bruschetta and eggs benedict and pancakes and souffles but I didn't know how to make Chinese food and I guess it's the thought that counts. Cute guy yeah yeah yeah I know. These days, why not let someone else do the cooking for you? After watching chef Alex Lee's Singapore chilli crab segment on food safari and coming back from Singapore, I knew a trip to his restaurant down Neutral Bay was in order.
Singaporean food is a mish mash of many others, predominantly Indian and Chinese cuisine although you'll find many other influences in the cooking. Ginger and Spice is a restaurant that offers Singaporean hawker delights with the promise of authenticity and with an attractive menu, it certainly is believable.
There's not much to look at while in the restaurant but there's a clear view into the kitchen through the window where you can see all the action happening. Of note is the pictures at the front including Tetsuya's visit as well as a commemoration of Alex Lee's segment on food Safari with Maeve.
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| Singapore Chilli Prawns 23.80 |
We start off with their tender prawns in Singapore chilli sauce. I am definitely not forking out 130 dollars (which is how much Ginger and Spice were offering it for) for a kilo of crab when you can get a decently sized one at the local fish mongers for a good 20 dollars. However, a worth substitute are these; the shelled prawns are slathered in their generous pile of eggy, sweet and chilli sauce and it's absolutely fantastic with some rice.
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| Singapore Noodle 18.80 |
The Singaporean noodles come with a good licking of the wok but in retrospect I should have probably gotten the Singaporean hokkien mee as these ones were a little dry. There's loads of flavour going on, however, with cuts of fatty lap cheong, fried shallots, 2 prawns and of course curry powder.
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| Chicken Rice 4 per person |
The chicken rice didn't have a very pronounced flavour. It wasn't particularly gingery or... chickeny for that matter but they did cook it well with clearly separated grains.
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| Half Chicken 21.80 |
With that rice we get, of course, the famed chicken. Honestly, it needs a lot of help from the ginger, dark soy and chilli accompaniments because flavour-wise, the chicken really doesn't have a lot going for it but boy the texture really is something else. I happily declared it the best texture chicken I've ever had and I still stand by it. The wonderfully moist chicken comes deboned and with it's silky gelatinous skin forming nice coating, it's just incredibly good. All diets go out the window with this one.
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| Squid Kecap Manis 22.80 |
A lot of people don't like this because it's sweet but I find it hard not to like it. I can imagine this on the hot Singaporean streets with a plate of this and a tiger beer just happily munching away. They're sweet, sour, saucy and sticky (boy 4 Ss, not intentional at all) and they've got a good crunch going on from being deep friend and it's just delightful.
I like Ginger & Spice. I really do. It's a shame it's so far away and I really even those living closer to it. Prices are a little more premium (particularly premium for the crab) because of the area but the good food certainly justifies a visit if you're nearby.
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4 comments:
Crab sure is expensive when ordering out!
The chicken has a gorgeous texture. I don't find chicken in chicken rice that strongly flavoured until you add the shallot and ginger sauce.
Sigapore noodles look good
What's not to love about kecap manis! And that's a good trick re: the Singapore chilli prawns!
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