Mild Spices At Artichoke

From left: mushrooms, baba ghanoush, and hummus msabbaha

It's been a long time since we went for a meal at Artichoke. This isn't a restaurant for everyone, since the owner-chef's identity is completely tied up with it. If the owner's guts and opinions don't sit well with you, then this isn't a restaurant you'll want to support. We have no problems with him or his brand of food. Artichoke's food is extremely agreeable with my stomach.

Ordered a trio of dips to go with bread. Mushrooms with Iraqi spices, fried egg puree and parmesan, baba ghanoush with pomegranate teriyaki and sesame, and hummus msabbaha with tahini, miso and golden raisins. Happy to have these easy dips done well at Artichoke.

We shared mains of crispy veal ribs with padron peppers and zhoug and hot skillet prawns with green harissa, split cream and charred onions. I didn't need more carbs since there was bread. But there were more carbs in the form of couscous. Since I don't care much for couscous, I took only a mouth of the delicious squid ink couscous that came with clams and cuttlefish.

There was an easy bottle of wine at dinner, but we could have a wee bit more alcohol. Hahaha. Dessert came in the form of more carbs- beer. Took a stroll to American Taproom nearby for a pint. Loads of choices on tap, of course. Anderson Valley's black rice dark ale was surprisingly refreshing!

With Love From Tokyo

Made a lunch date with J, and we decided to stay in. I had no issues with cooking since it was a good way to wish her a smooth start to a brand new career. Her new job starts soon and we wouldn't have the luxury of meeting for such long lunches for a bit.

J loves murgh makhani (butter chicken) so much till I've never really cooked anything else for her! LOL I didn't bother to go the whole hog with dhal and biryani since it would be way too heavy for lunch. Settled the meal with flavored basmati rice (cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves and such), eggs and stir-fried greens. A meal that's really quite easy to do, especially since the butter-tomato gravy had been made and frozen earlier. Hurhurhur. #ImpieCooks2019

J literally rolled out of bed into a cab, and sunk straight into my armchair. HAHAHAH. She trundled over with a ton of presents from Tokyo, including a shimekazari (for 2019) that wasn't even crushed in her suitcase. Her packing skills are good. Hahah. Well, I did ask for chopsticks rests from tiny shops in Tokyo. I knew she'd be able to pick out the beautiful ones at the correct prices, and not at S$20 per piece. But the woman hadn't told me how much I owe her!! She ignored me. Whhuuut. It would have to be repaid in the form of future meals.

Among the gorgeous gifts was one precious pack of coffee beans roasted by Onibus Coffee. YAYYY. What a lovely surprise. I was totally not expecting that! I've missed Onibus Coffee's flavors and I haven't found it in any cafe in Singapore. That is pack of my favorite Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. It's a fully washed varietal, and this one is wonderful too. Elegant and carries a punch.

A pity we can't buy too many packs of coffee beans because they simply wouldn't keep fresh. Most days, I need a speedy cup of coffee, and Nespresso capsules do the job. I've been fairly judicious in the buying of coffee beans. I usually just have a pack at any one time, alternating between a lighter Yirgacheffe and full-bodied Indonesian beans. Even having two packs (one sealed and one opened) can be too much. Never waste good coffee.

Didn't want to hoard the beans only to have them go stale. Opened up the pack as soon as I could to taste the best of what the beans have to offer. It's always a pleasure to grind beans. Ahhh...that delightful aroma of grounded beans. Just a wee bit sufficient for two brews, and sealed the rest. I could always grind them again later. Brewed the first batch for a breezy sunny morning when I had the luxury of time to clear lengthy emails over two glorious cups of coffee.

Uni and Loads of Garlic

It was the man's turn in the kitchen, and he cooked a decadent meal!!! I had requested for seafood and vegetables. He had the afternoon off, merrily went to the supermarket and came back with a gorgeous box of uni and giant Hokkaido scallops!

On the menu were a main and two sides- uni pasta with ikura, wok-fried zucchini and chillies, and seared scallops and garlic. Mmmmmm. This was a perfect dinner! It was light, yet super rich. Fried with very little oil, the zucchini and chillies provided the crunch and spice to the meal. I asked for lots and lots of garlic. Hurhurhur.

I didn't quite need the scallops, but I suppose they would fill up the man's bigger stomach. Heh. Rolled my eyes at the scallops when they arrived on the dining table. They were quickly seared and lifted out of the pan. The man put little bacon bits on top. Aiyoh. Fine, the bacon lent good flavors to the seafood, but I wasn't going to eat the it. Hahaha. The garlic was wonderful enough.

He blended up a mix of uni butter miso paste for the pasta. That formed the sauce to toss the spaghetti in. The final result was ridiculously rich and tasty. I do love the man's iteration of uni pasta. It doesn't swim in cream, and the white miso is always a lovely touch because it simply adds much umami to the whole dish. Of course it doesn't win Otto's in that way, but for this home version, it's fabulous. I love pasta, and will always enjoy a good one. But often, the man cooks such a decent version that I'm not very adventurous when I order pasta dishes at restaurants. They'd have to be something that the home kitchen can't replicate. Hahahah.