www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

There are restaurants and there are restaurants. Then there are Japanese food and more Japanese food. In many restaurants, quite often they are literally telling you what to eat. Just look at the menu and you know what I mean. If they give you a choice, it is usually a very limited one. I used to patronise the one at "Shinsen @ The Sail, 4 Marina Boulevard #01-33 Marina Bay. We were early this time at their other new outlet "SHINSEN" 238 Thomson Road #01-62/62 Novena Square Velocity (next to the sports court outside). As you can see below we were early and hungry. Plenty of choices to make your day a happy one! Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMxkMy9JvXI , in fact many "Happy Days!" There's something wrong with the camera, Yim looks younger than me! Help! I need a new camera! Talk to him when you have a chance and like Clint Eastwood, he will make your day. I like all the presentation her...

I revisited Shin Minori this time with colleagues for a staff dinner. Some of them could not make it so we gathered around 18 of us and make our way there. The first thing to note is that when I mentioned UE Square which is where the restaurant is located, some folks may mistake it for United Square. So take good note of that before you get down and dirty. They say Singaporeans have only one past time and that is food. I can totally agree with that because more and more people are telling me to write more frequently about food especially the interesting and not so common type or places to find them. The truth is that most if not all people simply love to eat hence the maxim "Live To Eat" holds true regardless of race, language, religion or nationailty. Here you see us peeps waiting with abated breath for the food to be served. Well, here you can see for yourself some of the sumptious servings! The boss gave us complimentary gr...

I am not a fan of buffet and I am not talking about Warren. But I love Japanese cuisine and it is not easy to find good Japanese buffet. Last time Shima was probably the best in town. The problem with having a buffet means that after the meal you feel like a python that has just swallowed a goat. I have been doing Japanese food for more than 20 years and continues to be a fan. Some time ago, I shot this pix of both wasabi (horse radish) and green tea ice cream and try to play a trick. At a party recently, some one try to pull a fast one on me in the same way. You can't fool me because I can trade secrets for green tea ice-cream. I'm an exponent. Normally I would not go to a restaurant that just serves buffet but if it is a part of the set it may be better. I also like consistency because consistency spells out the difference between good and great. Where the FA Cup is a one off victory, to win the League you to go through the daily grind. There wa...

I s Singapore a Food Paradise? Yes and no. In terms of the widest variety, a resounding yes! In terms of the highest quality, partly yes and in some parts - no. While we do have some top restaurants and many other good ones, the street fare and hawker is a dying breed. Now you know why Professor Tommy Koh is concerned. These days, the food and ingredients are centrally and factory-sourced. To make more profit, they sting on ingredients or could it be due to higher rental fees? You can walk into any shops in Hong Kong for wan ton noodles or milk tea and you will still get tasty food with good quality because no Hong Kongers would want to patronise it if they ain't good. They say that Singapore is a food paradise. In the old days, only those who could do some good dishes well would parade their food as hawkers - be it mee rebus, laksa or prawn noodle. Our hawker fare with its rich heritage borne of need and culture is still there but the previous generation...