Sunday 30 October 2011

Love No Limits - The Fusion Food

Actually, I spotted The Fusion Food on the day I visited Hokkien Vegetarian. Since it was a newly opened joint, I thought it would be a great addition to my blog. Unfortunately the owner and his staffs were too busy preparing food for a large delivery order, hence they had no time for me.



A week later, I returned with the restaurant in normal operation. Apart from being new, what enticed me to return was the international cuisine menu. Diversity is what I hope to achieve for this blog, hence restaurants like The Fusion Food gets me excited. Vegans might want to take note that dairy used in some of their food.

The Food

England Wild Mushroom Baked Rice, S$ 10.00

Baked rice is a dish I tend to associate with Italian cuisine due to the similarity it shares with pizza and lasagne which spot melted cheese on a starchy staple. Being served in an elliptical plate reminded me of the French gratin. Adding to the confusion is its partial match to the description of casserole and Italian timballo. That is why I have difficulties pinpointing its origin. Now what does the English have to do with it? My only means of finding out was to tuck in to the England Wild Mushroom Baked Rice at Fusion Food.

Contrary to what the name suggested, the wild mushrooms were not baked together with the rice. Instead they were saute with ginger as a separate side dish. Despite their shimmering appearance, the mushrooms were not very oily. The flavor of these succulent mushrooms was just right without being over-seasoned. What took the place of these wild mushrooms to join the rice in the oven were chunks of mock meats. Thanks to them, the rice was infused with their savory sweetness, which was further accentuated by the bits raisins and diced pineapples. Together with the top layer of resolidified melted cheese, they made a decent combination. As someone who was not big on most dairy products, I was glad that the cheese was mild tasting.

Frankly speaking, I had trouble figuring out why the dish was considered English, because the general flavor bent towards Chinese cooking, especially the mushrooms. It might have something to do with the use of cheddar cheese, that is if I was even right in identifying the variety used in the baked rice. Nevertheless, I enjoyed England Wild Mushroom Baked Rice on the whole, except for the greasy aftertaste. At a price of S$10.00, the set includes salad and cooked cabbages. On that day, it was featured on the special menu, hence I paid only S$5.50.

Taiwan Cedar Shoot Noodle, S$ 6.00

Chinese Cedar, more commonly known as Xiang Chun, is a perennial hardwood native to many parts of Asia, particularly mainland China and Taiwan. Due to its onion like flavor, the young leaves of Xiang Chun find many culinary uses. As an added bonus, Xiang Chun leaves contained high amounts of vitamins and antioxidants.

In Singapore, Xiang Chun based sauces are usually used in stir frys. Hence I was surprised when the waitress told me that Taiwan Cedar Shoots Noodles was a soup dish. Its onion flavor was a little undermined by that of mushrooms in this brothy soup thickened by minced mock beef. Though lacking in any outstanding factors, the soup was still considered pleasant. In my opinion, using spaghetti as the choice of noodles was a mistake as it did not absorb the soup very well, rendering it a bland discrete entity. Neither did I appreciate the “oil slick” on the soup.

Even at a discounted price of S$ 3.00, the small portion size felt unjustifiable. If it remains this way after the promotion is over, then it is a serious ripped off.

Conclusion

To be honest, the dishes featured in this post were not my top choices. On both occasions of my visits, The Fusion Food was plagued with the problem of under-staffing, hence many dishes on their menu were unavailable. Otherwise, I would rather picked the relatively more exotic dishes that represented countries like Mexico, France and Vietnam. I am keen to return to The Fusion Food to try out what I had missed. On the other hand, I did not want my trip specially down to Bugis to end up a wild goose chase.

Anyway if you intend to eat at The Fusion Food, do try their American Spahagetti (S$8.00 or S$10.00). One of the customers who ordered this dish as a takeaway returned for more because he and his colleagues found it delicious.

Address:190 Middle Road Fortune Center #01-06 S(419720)
Opening Hours:Mon - Sun
Bus Service:-
MRT Station:Bugis
Website:-

Monday 24 October 2011

Hokkien Vegetarian

Writing this blog gives me the opportunity to pay extra attention to the details about the food I eat, hence improving the quality of my meal experience. Rushing work related deadlines, though necessary, does deprive me of this luxury. For the past few weeks, my lunch and dinner were forgettable fares in forgettable places, since filling up the stomach and getting back to work was my priority.



During the weekend,  I managed to squeeze out some time from my busy schedule, only to be met with crowds at Bugis. Wandering to and fro in that area finally landed me in the basement of Fu Lu Shou Complex, where Hokkien Vegetarian stall was found. Like any vegetarian stalls in the coffee shops of Singapore, Hokkien Vegetarian sells economic rice and largely Chinese one-dish meals. As a result, Tom Yam Bee Hoon stands out among the generic local dishes.

The Food


Tom yam is a clear soup with hot and sour flavor. Although most foreigns associate tom yam with Thailand, it is also a part of Laotian cuisine. What distinguishes tom yam from the hot and sour soup of other cultures is its aromatic citrusy flavor achieved through the use of ingredients, such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice and galangal.

Popular food like tom yam are destined to be commercialized into jars of instant condiment. At least this was what I believed was used in cooking tom yam bee hoon at Hokkien Vegetarian, as opposed to making the paste from fresh ingredients. Although the soup was still considered hot for me, I could feel that the spiciness had been toned down. This dish might not sit well with the veges hater, but the high greens (Especially the cabbages) to mock meats ratio sure scored points with me. I wished there were more tomatoes though, which in my opinion, went very well with the tangy soup when well-cooked.

While authenticity was compromised somewhat, the overall taste was decent by my standard. Afterall, it was unfair to expect the vendor to make the tom yam paste from scratch when I was only paying S$3.00 for a bowl of bee hoon.

Conclusion

In terms of quality, the food at Hokkien Vegetarian was quite all right if one was not picky. What won me over was the portion size. After all these years, I have come to associate vegetarian stalls found in coffee shop and hawker centres with dishes that is packed with processed mock meats, that I make it a point to request for more veges. This time round, I forgot. Nevertheless, the cook at Hokkien Vegetarian did it the way I had wanted. Like I mention earlier, veges haters, shun this stall.

Address:149 Rochor Road Fu Lu Shou Complex
Opening Hours:-
Bus Service:-
MRT Station:Bugis
Website:-