Nosh of the Day: Pearl Jambu

I'm trying to drop some kilos. Not because I am suddenly size L in Asia (UK 10) and classed as a giant heiffer. But because if I fight again, I don't want to be in this weight category (around 5kg over my usual and potentially resulting in taller, head-kicking opponents!)

SO I have been trying to eat fruit instead of donuts (some of you will find this deeply shocking). In the UK 'interesting' fruits cost a fortune, leaving one with the dull staples of apples, oranges, bananas. In Singapore, however, cheap local fruit is a whole new ball-game.

My favourite new-tries so far: Asian pears (crispy and sweet); Malaysian passion fruit - yum. Old staple goodies are rambutans and mangosteens.

Anyway, despite having spent quite some time in SE Asia (as a child, and visiting / working as an adult) today was my first try of Jambu (jum-boo) fruit. The verdict: rather like eating refreshing, juicy polystyrene. No real flavour. But inoffensive in general. Probably good if you're thirsty in the heat.

Jambu are part of the myrtle family, like guavas (though not the same fruit, despite some confusion!)

Design disasters

Apologies to all AGAIN, for not particularly nicely formatted blog posts. I simply can't get blogger to format! Or after hours of fiddling I finally make it look good, but it publishes something totally different. I like things to look nice, but sadly it's not always possible.

Clotted Cream

I've had a few queries about this from Asian food-fans. And since I grew up in Devon, UK, I'm going to try to describe it.

Clotted cream is the thickest of the varieties of cream you can buy. It is made in dairies by a method of heating cow's milk, allowing it to cool slowly and then scooping off the intense, creamy residue that forms on the surface. 

The texture of clotted cream is not liquid (like double or single creams) but solid, dense, very smooth and almost chewy. It is not really like butter (it's less oily and of course not at all salty). If anything, it might have more similarities to a very upmarket, dense and smooth ice-cream. There might be a yellowish 'crust' on the surface which can sometimes break up to put 'bits' in the texture.

In the UK, clotted cream is the key ingredient for a 'Cream Tea'*, but it's also the nicest option for strawberries and cream** and other desserts. The downsides: it's very rich and probably not calorie-free; it tends to be harder to find and more expensive than other kinds of cream. The fat content of clotted cream is a minimum of 55%.

Famous brands might well be from either Devon or Cornwall - these are neighbouring counties in South West England, a region famed for lush green grass, cows and dairy products!

NB: It is NOT whipped cream or squirty cream. Agreed, both these can be 'solid' - in fact whipped double cream serves well enough with scones or other desserts if you can't find clotted. But you won't find any snowy peaks or 'light fluffy air bubbles' in clotted cream. It's solid stuff, delicious, and to be eaten in moderation!

* A Cream Tea

Is a traditional set serving. It consists of: a pot of English tea; scones (a kind of sweetish bread roll - some contain sultanas, some don't); jam; and clotted cream. You cut the scone and spread it with the jam and cream.



Scones for a Cream Tea, Cornish style

In theory, a Devonshire Cream Tea spreads the cream on before the jam; while a Cornish Cream Tea puts the cream on afterwards. This makes no difference to flavour of course, but there is some friendly rivalry between counties surrounding it!  

** Stawberries and cream

Yes, the English staple served (though I have to say also 'overpriced'!) at Wimbledon and other summertime events. Maybe take your own instead! You can use any kind of cream on strawberries, but a dollop of clotted is the best.

TYPES OF CREAM

In the UK there are grades of cream classified by fat content, in the way you can get grades of milk. Needless to say the higher fat ones are in general more yum!

Single cream - min 18% fat, thin liquid cream, which can be poured onto puddings, it's hard to whip

Whipping cream - 35% fat, can be whipped but a lower fat option than double

Double cream - min 48% fat, slightly thicker liquid cream, good for whipping and desserts

Clotted cream - off da scale.

Squirty cream - who knows what's in this, but it might not be cream.

Photo credits: Europeancuisines.com, dawnvickers blog, Riverford Farm dairy

WOHA

Hmm.. WOHA is a Singaporean architectural practice, and turns out I'd already taken a few pics of their work without realising it. I like their designs. Two examples I have are SOTA (School of the Arts, see post Creating Creativity, 16 May) and the also very grand and spacious Bras Basah MRT station. Both have won awards. Other Singapore projects include Stadium MRT and various residential developments, apparently. I will look out for them!

SOTA...

 

Bras Basah MRT...
This underground station has a roof which functions as a 'minimalist pond' at street level. The original meaning for Beras Basah in Malay is 'wet harvested rice', so perhaps there is a deliberate watery link? The only problem with the feature: you think it's raining when you start to exit and reach for your umbrella! More pix to follow.

Watery roof / feature

Pic courtesy Singapore Architecture blogger

http://www.wohadesigns.com/

Peranakan at Kim Choo's Kitchen

I'm a bit of a fan of Peranakan food. (See post Old China Cafe, Kuala Lumpur, March 15.) This is the cuisine of the intermarried Straits-born Chinese and Malays - who developed  their own unique culture known as either Peranakan, or Baba/Nyonya. The food is less spicy than Malay but more fragrant than Chinese, with some yummy pork dishes added to the mix.

This week, a friend introduced me to the fabulous Kim Choo's Kitchen on East Coast Road, Singapore. Kim Choo, it turns out, has not only a kitchen, but (among other things!) a cake shop, a little museum, and a gift shop selling traditional ceramics, and embroidered items made on-site. The segments merge together - so you could be eating in part of the museum, or (as we did) next to an array of home-made snacks for sale!

Traditional snacks and biscuits for sale.

Old Nyonya images upstairs in the 'museum'

The meal was pretty good - you share several dishes, and eat with rice, as with many Asian cuisines. Oh, plus some Kueh Ambon* for dessert, which were so nice I bought a packet from the cake shop to take home for my flatmates :)



Embroidered slippers

Gift shop (+machinists on left)

*Kueh Ambon - apparently a sponge made from tapioca flour, egg and sugar (and yeast). The texture is extremely moist, and with an unsual 'crazy paving' style structure to the sponge!

Dinner in the museum (not ours though!)

Kim Choo's Kitchen, 111 East Coast Road, Singapore 428801

http://kimchoo.com/

100th post!! The Mameshiba Mystery

I stumbled across these the other night. Mameshiba (apparently 'little bean dogs' in Japanese) feature in an animated series of 'facts' - with a cute little character for each variety of bean/legume. It seems the animations were placed by an ad agency, to appear on Japanese television in ad slots. And they are quite entertaining.

But why? What are they advertising? Beans in general?? - government health campaign? Or was this simply a means of publicising the bean characters as cartoons / merchandise? If you know, please comment!

ps Weirdly, flamingos really do produce a kind of milk to feed young!

Nosh of the Day: Taiwanese Grass Jelly & the Rise of Michael Bublé Tea

You will find grass jelly (or cincau / 'chin chow' as it's sometimes called here) in foodstalls all over China / SE Asia. It is a black, slightly translucent jelly made from a plant of the mint family. It doesn't have much flavour (a little bitter, perhaps) but is quite refreshing and often added to drinks and desserts.

Aside: Michael Bublé Tea

For Westerners I think the concept of having drinks containing jellies, noodles etc is a bit strange. These drinks are very popular in Asia, though! One variety which is certainly gaining ground in London is 'Bubble Tea'. This can be tea, coffee, a variety of milkshakes or juices to which are added black chewy balls of tapioca known as 'pearls' or boba (a different ingredient from grass jelly). Bubble tea is in fact a recent Taiwanese invention, which has taken off across Asia and globally.

(I would recommend the milky drinks over the juices btw!)


Anyway, I was quite excited to be introduced to a new Taiwan-style fooderie in Clementi, Singapore called Blackball (黑丸嫩仙草) which offers teas and many varieties of Taiwanese desserts, including original grass jelly and pearls. We tried two basic tubs: grass jelly with sweet red bean paste; and grass jelly with pearls.

Before this, I had only seen cincau as 'noodles' or rubbery cubes added to drinks. Here it was a large 'blob', a bit like a blancmange! It was slightly fragrant, and much softer and smoother than the other varieties I've tried in Asia. Definitely refreshing. The sweet red bean was a good balance, actually.

With 'pearls'

I also tried the pearls, which were again much smoother and a little more (nutty?)  flavourful than the regular. The desserts came with cream to add, but I personally found it more refreshing without.

If you are in the Clementi MRT area, go in and give it a try!

Places:
Blackball, Level 1 (ground floor if you are British!) CityVibe Mall, Clementi, Singapore

My fave bubble tea places in London (both in Chinatown):
Boba Jam - 102 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 5EJ
Candy Cafe - 3 Macclesfield Street, W1D 6AU (up the back stairs!)

ps For some reason the phrase 'bubble tea' became converted to Michael Bublé tea by my London friends - I am not sure why! ^^

Bubble tea pic courtesy hungryinlondon.com

Creating creativity

Can it be done? Well, it seems the Singapore government thinks so. Apparently this country - which is booming successful in many ways (and within a very short lifespan to boot) - has realised it has a shortfall: a lack spontaneous creativity. So the government has been investing in a programme to achieve it.

I was discussing this with a US friend recently. From our perspective, 'manufacturing creativity' from the top down seemed totally bizarre. In the West most of the key creative breakthroughs (visual arts, dance, music etc) develop at street level, or with small groups of individuals - then work their way from the bottom up into the mainstream over time.

The crucial ingredients/catalysts for this are often things like:
a) Spontaneity
b) Organic growth
c) Lack of cash!
d) Lack of conformity
e) Rawness
f) Diversity (of race, class, gender.. etc)
g) Independence.

So the concept of being able to make all of these things 'appear' through a polished government investment programme seems topsy-turvy. The mere fact there are the words 'government' and 'investment programme' in there cancel out most of this list to start off with!

Also my observation of Singapore so far is that it has ethnic diversity (Asian races) but it's a new country and does not have that kind which I can only describe as 'edge' or 'street diversity'. This 'edge' thing is hard to define but you see it and feel it in London, Paris, New York, Tokyo. It might have something to do with rebellion, independence, character, sometimes poverty/conflict and perhaps a kind of enterprise. But it's definitely a mindset and it is not conventional or necessarily respectable*. It often leads the way in creative fields.

Therefore, if I have read it right (I might not have!) the government might be out not to simply 'capture the existing raw talent' but manufacture an entire mindset from scratch.

SO I was a bit sceptical when I entered SOTA the other day.

I had actually noticed this building - an unusual, and impressively massive one! - on my way to taekwondo, and assumed it was some government HQ or perhaps a municipal art gallery. It's not.

SOTA (School of the Arts) is a Singaporean artschool designed for 13-18 year olds. It was opened in 2008 on the edge of Orchard Road, and caters for visual and performing arts, with the aim of making a more creative Singapore. Well, I guess if you want to create a new mindset in some individuals, 13 is a good age to start! And when I went in to see what was going on, the art was not at all bad. Check it out below.



Anyway, I guess only time will tell how successful this 'creativity drive' proves to be. One thing seems probable though: if anyone can force something unlikely to happen, through strategic planning, and sheer hard work, it would probably be the Singapore government!

Footnotes:

*I spoke to a young Singaporean artist recently who seemed to think that 'edge' meant 'shocking people with something illegal, or to do with sex / nudity' etc. It is not the same thing. Edgy creativity does not need to shock but it has to be new and, original. (And having studied at art school I can state for definite that shocking with sex and nudity is not original!)

Having said all this, I am sure there will be a lot of Singaporeans relieved that the goverment is suddenly making arts a viable career route. I remember (though this was about 1 million years ago) being greeted with horror by E Asian relatives, when I said I had a top role at one of London's leading art galleries. The resounding, and concerned, return: "You are not a doctor? Or a lawyer??"

Nosh of the Day: delicious crunchy cockroach

OK this was a) Nosh of Yesterday and b) not actually eaten by me. But it is something else I encountered during my Cambodia trip. Crispy fried creatures are snacks in Cambodia (these were snapped in Battambang). In the way we might have potato crisps or peanuts with a beer in the evening, some Cambodians prefer a few fried beetles, small crunchy bats etc.

Some of my friends tried the grasshoppers on offer, and apparently they were quite nice - similar in flavour and texture to Japanese crackers.

I have some problems with the cockroaches though (they were BIG btw!) Grasshoppers, and country beetles live wholesome lives in fields and undergrowth.. but we all know where roaches like to hang out.. Perhaps there's a special 'rural breed' that is used for eating?

Yum! These are def an 'acquired taste'!

Martial Art of the Month: Cambodia - Pradal Serey (Khmer Boxing)

Two years ago I joined a touristy-tour of Cambodia and tried to take a Khmer Boxing class in Phnom Penh. My (Western) tour guide knew very little about it, but hotel staff suggested I try the national sports stadium. The stadium was buzzing with locals playing football, badminton etc, and had a myriad of sports clubs dotted all over it. The problems: 1) Very large stadium 2) Neither me nor my friend spoke any Khmer. So began a hilarious two-hour search with me miming boxing moves to bemused locals. We were directed to Western-style boxing; and a fab-looking, half-built taekwondo HQ. But no Pradal Serey (back then I did not even know that this is the real name for the sport - that would have been rather helpful!) Anyway here's what I was missing out on:

The sport

Pradal Serey (sometimes written Bradal Serey) means lit 'free fighting'. It uses kicks and punches, as well as strikes (knees, elbows) and takedowns. From what I can see, it has many similarities with Muay Thai (which, historically, could figure) but with more emphasis on elbow strikes. In fact it seems Cambodians pride themselves on the fact that it IS the mother of Muay Thai. There is, however, some tension between the Thai and neighbouring martial arts bodies around this!



The history

Pradal Serey's early forms can be traced to the 9th century and the art was likely used by the fierce and successful Khmers* as they built their ancient empire. This stretched across modern Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, Northern Malaysia and Thailand (a strong argument for the influence on Muay Thai). The martial art is depicted on old Angkor temples such as Bayon.

It underwent various changes and restrictions during successive centuries, including 19th and early 20th century French colonials attempting to 'civilise' the martial art into a sport, adding a boxing ring etc. A complete ban occurred during the terrible Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s. In fact many boxers were executed during this time, along with other professionals.

Surprisingly after the Khmer Rouge were toppled, the sport has made a successful comeback, with several global governing hubs and huge popularity among locals and on television. It is now one of Cambodia's national sports.

As a performing sport, traditionally fighters were from poor families and were paid by the crowd (with food, gifts etc) for their popularity / entertainment value. Rope bound around hands was used instead of modern boxing gloves.

Khmer warfare depicted at Bayon

Modern practice
Fighters of Pradal Serey are called Neak Pradal. They are trained in a gym by a Pradal Serey Kru (guru/teacher) during their fight career - usually through ages around 15-25.

Today's fighters are paid by the fight - the income from which hugely varies depending on size of tournament, sponsors, the fighter's fame etc - but the crowd can still contribute to their favourite players in the traditional way.

Fights take place in a boxing-style ring, with players kitted in boxing gloves and nylon shorts (usually blue/red). But traditional music will play throughout - even in commercial, televised bouts. Local (and sometimes also international) players perform prayer rituals before the fight.

Neak Pradal training

Fight rules
- Kicks, punches, strikes and takedowns are all allowed
- No strikes to groin, back, or when opponent is on the ground (for example after a takedown)
- The winner is decided by judges on a points system (unless a knockout has occurred)

There is conflicting information regarding the length of bouts. But the general consensus is five, three-minute rounds.

Here is a match between a brave geezer from Manchester and the legendary Eh Phuthong! (Who now stars in movies :) )

*Khmers = the ancient warring people of what is now modern Cambodia. (Hence Khmer language etc) They had a huge SE Asian empire as stated, one of the famous capitals being Angkor (what we see at modern Siem Reap).

Picture credits thanks to: Paddy's Gym, Lacercle.

Creature of the Day: Uber Snail

Spotted at Clementi. And s/he moves at the speed of light! (OK about 3 metres in an hour - still not bad going for a snail though ^^.)

Weddings, Cheryl Cole and hair loss

As a female in the UK, I am bombarded every day with 'panic-marketing'. These are things that try to sell to me by making me feel inadequate and/or a failure in some way if I don't have or do them. It's not just straightforward ads, but messaging through magazine articles, TV programmes etc. It worked (inciting feelings of worry and inadequacy!) when I was a student. But now I am a cynical old hag (who coincidentally works in marketing) I just find it a rather invasive and repetitive snore! Topics for women generally include:

1. You need to lose weight - look how slim and lovely Cheryl Cole is!
2. Feeling unconfident? Plastic surgery is the answer!
3. Are you over 28 and STILL not engaged / married / expecting a baby??? EVERYBODY else is! Where have you gone wrong? (Perhaps you are overweight or have not had plastic surgery?)
4. No attractive female ever has cellulite.
5. Look how hairy you are. You'll never date any guy if you have those three hairs on your shins. (Look how hairless Cheryl Cole is!*)
6. You deserve this dream wedding (which is quite expensive) because looking pretty in front of a crowd will make you happy for the rest of your life. Like Kate Middleton.
7. Pasty white skin is really unattractive, you must buy fake tan to look like J-Lo.

I am sure there is a similar batch of delights aimed at men.

No surprises for guessing that the same kind of marketing exists here in Asia. But the 'issues' are somewhat different. And to me, this seems slightly hilarious and proof indeed that we are all being led a merry dance! Singapore's 'worries' for women appear to include:

1. Tanned skin is really unattractive, you must buy whitening treatments to look like this very beautiful, very white Asian actress.
2. You don't have any curves - nobody will love you! Look at these hot, airbrushed pictures of Australian models with curves!
3. There seems to be even more around weddings and nuclear families (government influence?)
4. You need to use this special shampoo every day, ladies, or you will go bald.

Point 4 is a totally new one on me. In the UK, only men get pushed the baldness thing. And when I started seeing these ads aimed at females I momentarily thought: "Holy cow, I could go bald??" Do Asian women actually suffer from baldness, and thus these products serve a useful purpose to thousands? ...Or have a tiny minority suffered from it but we're now all being told 'we could be next' so better rush to the pharmacist?

I personally suspect the latter! In honesty I think most UK women have perfectly good lives (*gasp!*) without plastic surgery, Kate Middleton's wedding or Cheryl Cole's body. But we're made to feel suddenly less satisfied with what we are/have through all of this guff. It is probably the same in Asia.


*Incidentally, Cheryl Cole was recently criticised for appearing in a L'Oreal shampoo ad wearing a lustrous bouffant of fake hair extensions. The ad was finally cleared as the words relating directly to 'lustrous', 'bouffant' (and presumably 'without hair extensions') were not used - but it did make me laugh! 
 
[PS I have nothing against our Cheryl personally!]

Nosh of the Day: ebi sakuratempura

It said on my receipt, though apparently 'sakura ebi' is more accurate. Tiny shrimp fried in a nest of 'frilly' tempura batter, served on rice with a light, sweet-ish dipping sauce. First time I've seen/eaten it; quite tasty.

Coffee update

Incidentally, whilst skipping through Takashimaya's food hall the other day, some friends and I actually found the concession selling Kopi Luwak (see 20 March entry, Civet Cat Coffee). And the ultra-costly packets are displayed alongside - yes! Real civet cat poops preserved in resin. (And thus faintly resembling peanut brittle.)

Why why why the poops?

Surely far too much information on an already eyebrow-raising delicacy?!

Anyway, that's my repressed, British viewpoint. My Indonesian friend seemed to think it was helpful proof of the stuff being genuine!

Civet cat. Pic courtesy Time.

Media observations

Two days ago on the MRT I spotted a front page headline on Singapore's leading tabloid 'Today', which read something like: Job Losses are Up, but it's OK, People Found Work Again Quickly.

This would have any visiting Brit tittering into their char siu pau*. Mainly because in the UK the spin on the same story would be:

Job Losses are Up, and We're All Doomed! DOOMED I tell you! Aargh!

And it might well be followed by:
p2: Grim forecasts and stats, and how it will take at least five years for even the country's top law graduate to scrape a role in Starbucks
p3: "Kate Middleton wears nice frock but it's from Argos, because we're all going to lose our jobs"
p4: The whole world is losing its job (with real life tales of woe) and it's not going to get any better.

You get the picture.

In fact when I listen to the radio here in Asia I can immediately tell which station is the BBC World Service - partly from the accents, but partly from the content of 'The Whole World is in Recession and Will Never Recover, We're All Doomed! Aargh!'

Incidentally, I enjoy the World Service, but what's with the British media's obsession with doom? Two or so years ago, when most of us in London were trundling along minding our own business, the 'Mega Ruin' headlines started appearing. After a few months of this, some of us started thinking: 'Hold on, maybe things really are going to get bad?' so we stopped spending; just in case. Retail spending is down.. uh oh. Then employers followed suit, and the normally rich source of work with SMEs dried up for many people. Now people really were losing jobs and going on benefits... employer purse-strings tighten further - We're All Doomed! Aargh!

(I make light of it here, but know many people who are genuinely suffering in the current - now depressingly full-blown - UK squeeze.)

Of course Singapore's media is controlled. Either directly, or indirectly through various government shareholdings. But I am beginning to think it might not be such a bad idea! Sometimes.

What would have happened, I wonder, if two years ago the British media had reported: "Oh Look, Small Hillock Coming Up: but it's only a blip!"?

There may be legalities about reporting certain economic trends in the UK. And of course the situation is far more complex, with banks and other geezers having crucial parts to play. But the shovelling of media gloom and panic can surely be tempered? It's just not helpful. And some ignorance is definitely bliss.

* FYI, you are not allowed to eat char siu pau (or any other food) on Singapore transport.^^