Ingredients (per the above recipe):

1. 1kg cream cheese
2. 200g whole eggs
3. 75g egg yolks
4. 19g corn starch
5. 355g sugar
6. 9.4g salt
7. 50g milk
8. 100g heavy cream
9. A dash of vanilla

To help me calculate the proper amounts based on the amount of cream cheese used, I created a google spreadsheet that I’ve shared here: Sous vide cheesecake calculator

I’ve also adjusted the recipe to make chocolate cheesecake by adding 250 g of melted chocolate to the mixture.  Though you may want to adjust the recipe by removing the milk and adding 5 g of additional corn starch to keep the mixture consistency.

You can follow the typical steps in mixing cheesecake.  I prefer to whip the eggs and sugar first and then fold in the softened cream cheese and the remaining ingredients.  When finished, throw it in a vacuum sealed bag and sous vide for 3 hours at 80° C.

Be sure to let the cheesecake mix cool a bit before piping into a mold.  This method of making cheesecake is great since you can hollow out the center and fill with whichever sauces or jams you’d like.

Freeze your cheesecake to cement their shape and then thaw in the fridge right before serving.  As evident with the big fish, the recipe is pretty sturdy and limited only by your imagination.   Enjoy!

Even in Singapore, it’s impossible to find any public areas that don’t seem to be blaring remake upon remix of the same 20 or holiday songs.  Not to be a Grinch about this, as I grew up cherishing and caroling all of these tunes, but the above XKCD chart really struck a chord (hehe) with me.  Three or so odd decades later, my holiday experiences are still about the same.  But that’s not such a bad thing really.  I grew up loving the holidays – with the gift giving, family time, and stories of the good that people can actually be capable of.  So if once a year we’re stuck in some Bill Murray-esque time loop, I say bring on the egg nog, the Peanuts Christmas Special, and Frosty the Snowman!  May baby C grow up with the same joy and wonderment that this time of the year has brought for me.  Happy Holidays!

“Green eggs and ham”

Grapefruit pate de fruit with lime and cointreau marshmallows and yuzu jelly shot

Sous vide turducken…

Chocolate and strawberry sous vide cheesecake sprinkled with crackers and popping sugar

Additional photos can found on A’s site.

———————————-

Thanksgiving 2011 Menu (w links to recipes)

• Green Eggs and Ham
• Guacamole and Salsa
• Duck Rillettes
• Creamed Corn (courtesy of M)
• Orange Glazed Carrots (courtesy of T & A)
• Cauliflower Gratin (courtesy of T & A)
• Mashed potatoes with homemade gravy
• Turducken and turkey breast, sous-vide
• Crispy Roast Pork Belly
• Tri-tip steak, sous-vide
• Yuzu jelly shots
• Cheesecake spheres with popping sugar
• Assorted desserts

For those unfamiliar with this chef, Jimmy Chok is considered one of Singapore’s first local celebrity chefs, who over the years has experienced the highs and lows as a restauranteur.  One thing that remains constant however is his passion for cooking and exploring unique fusion combinations, which has gained him quite the following.  So when he recently left Bistro Soori, many of his regulars enquired about when he’d be cooking again, thus prompting Chef Chok to put on his own version of an underground supper club.

The venue changes each month with invites broadcasted via sms.  Seating is limited to the available space on hand, so booking is always quickly snatched up.  Fortunately, G had an in last month so we both got to enjoy a special meal with free flow of champagne.  Overall the food was quite good for the price paid and considering that it was a one person show (Chef Chok does all of the cooking and plating).

Our meal started with an amuse bouche of toro tartare followed by our first course of handmade crab meat ravioli and a savory tart that I completely forgotten what was in it.  The only things I remembered were that they were all delicious.

This was followed by duck rilette covered in parma ham and a seafood stew that while a bit salty had a rich and not overly fishy flavor.  The highlight of the meal however was the braised wagyu cheek which was amazingly tender and made that much better with truffle shavings.

Lastly came dessert, which while enjoyable was our least favorite dish when compared to the well-composed courses beforehand.

While Singapore is hardly short on dining experiences, it is nice every once in a while to sit down with a table of strangers, put our faith in the chef and see where the evening goes.  6 courses, an amuse bouche, champagne galore, and some new friends – we’ll certainly be looking forward to that next sms from Jimmy.

—————————

Jimmy Chok’s Underground Dinner

Location ??

If you visit Singapore and don’t end up having crabs, you are missing out on an integral part of the food experience here.  Ask the locals, and chances are they’ll rattle off a half-dozen or more ways to enjoy this tasty crustacean.  But around this time each year, one crab in particular whips the island (and much of Chinese Asia) into a frenzy best described as hairy crab fever.  For G and family, it’s an annual itch that can only be satisfied with repeat visits to Capital Restaurant.  While every other chinese restaurant will have their own variation of crab and preparation, we’ve been loyal patrons for years there because of the consistency, value for money and a certain vinegar/ginger sauce.

The mitten crab, aka hairy crab, is a seasonal delicacy that is best enjoyed between September and November when the crabs are at their most fertile and literally oozing reproductive juices.  Small in stature, the these crabs pack a umami-laden blast of goodness in their incredibly sweet roe.  The meat is also quite sweet, though a pain in the ass to get at.  While these crabs are found around the world, the most renown hail from the Jiangsu province and can command prices of upwards of hundreds of dollars each.   Hairy crabs from the Yangcheng and Tai lakes are the most popular, with Yangcheng crabs in such demand that there is an entire cottage industry of counterfeit crabs.

Capital Restaurant has been around for 30 over years and was one of the earlier restaurants to import this delicacy.  As a result, it is still able to bring in cases of hairy crabs from Tai lake (each crab comes with their own tag and serial #) and serve them up at reasonable prices.  Since you pay a premium for these crabs, I still prefer them plainly steamed to fully enjoy the sweetness of the meat and roe.  The in-laws prefer dousing the crab in the house vinegar sauce – a mystery concoction of vinegar, ginger, and possibly sugar that doesn’t seem to have an equal elsewhere.  The mild sweetness of the vinegar really compliments the natural flavor of the crabs.

Aside from hairy crabs, I also have to give a shout out to my favorite fried rice on the island.  The chef at Capital manages to fry the rice at just a high enough heat to slightly burn the grains imparting a distinctive but mild blackened taste to an already well-fried rice.

While the hairy crab season ends in October, most places will serve up this delicacy through November.  For crab lovers – they are a must try, and for the best bang for your buck – try them out at Capital.

For more info about these crabs and history, check out this post.

——————————–

Capital Restaurant
323 New Bridge Rd
+65 6222 3938

Or is it?

As far as mid-range dining goes – B @ Rochester is competent though uninspired.  I’m still unsure what exactly “Modern Japanese” means here other than a carte blanche for the restaurant to toss western and Japanese-ish dishes together and call it a menu.  The upside of this approach is one could enjoy sashimi and pair it with one of the tastiest plates of french-inspired mussels G and I have tried in a long time.  While the food is reasonable for the price, other than said mussels, there really isn’t much else that’s compelling enough to make this place a must-try.

Our visit to B happened during Restaurant Week, where for $35++, it was worth it to try somewhere new.   We started with a spicy salmon sashimi salad that was in addition to our 3-course meal, always a great way to start.  We also ordered a plate of steamed blue-lipped mussels that was easily the star of the evening.  The mussels were incredibly fresh, cooked just right and smothered in a savory umami-packed white wine sauce.

The rest of the dishes while well-cooked were not nearly as memorable.  Our appetizer trio featured duck breast, prawn, and a diver scallop.  All three were cooked almost perfect, yet each suffered setbacks- especially the scallop which was bland and tasteless.  The signature grass-fed lamb was quite good, though the pairing with teriyaki chicken felt tacked on and oddly cliche.

As a western/slightly asian restaurant, B @ Rochester isn’t so bad, though it suffers from a lack of direction in the menu and concept.   Other than the baked scallop and teriyaki chicken – I’m not sure what else was exactly “Japanese” about our meal.  Perhaps the owners of B might benefit from a quick meal at Dozo where they do Japanese fusion well and at a similar price point.

———————————-

B @ Rochester

8 Rochester Park

+65 6778 1788

Our sleepysaurus had also recently just “hatched” when we visited this cafe, an ode to all things eggy.  Hatched is a great destination for kids and adults alike and boasts a surprisingly varied menu despite the chef/owner’s singular focus on one particular ingredient.  The food here is generally good value for money and more importantly very baby and kid friendly.  

The menu here really does offer a wide range of egg-heavy dishes from eggs benedict to a frankenstein concoction of oozy baked eggs filled with cheesy goodness.  Some dishes were a bit of a miss such as the foie gras and eggs, but generally for the price the food was pretty decent.

Location is perfect for a relaxing weekend brunch.  Hatched is tucked away in comfy Evans Lodge near the Botanical Gardens, where you can take the kids afterwards.  So far, of all the “baby friendly” places we’ve tried, this has been the best compromise of quality, price, and comfort.

——————————-

Hatched
26 Evans Road, #01-06
Singapore
+65 6735 0012

In Singapore, doctors are not supposed to distribute formula milk (FM) samples for newborns and there are many support groups for breastfeeding. As a result, the nurses would usually rather hold off feeding a newborn any formula unless medically required. In my case, Cayden needed to be fed FM because of my gestational diabetes condition. I must say that it helped give me some peace of mind when I couldn’t get my milk production up to speed because I knew he was getting his nutrients elsewhere. The nurses were very encouraging of breastfeeding and there was always a lactation consultant nearby if I needed help. But it got a little extreme when on the last day of hospitalization, I asked the nurse for a few FM samples so that my baby could try different formulas (they say baby reacts differently to different formulas) and the nurse gave it to me grudgingly while saying these FM are better fed to dogs. I kid you not.

WHO recommends that breast milk be fed exclusively to newborns up to 6 months. Realistically speaking, exclusive breastfeeding is often only a dream. Many factors come into play such as production capacity, health of baby, health of mother, nipple shape/size, etcetera. During the first few days after delivery, many mommies find it hard to ramp up production. If this is compounded by health factors, whether that of the mommy or the child, then milk production is likely to be low.

One of the best support I got during this time was the Mommy group I joined on Facebook. We met on MummySG and started our own FB group because it was just much more user-friendly. We used this group to compare notes and share grievances. For example, we found it helpful to share the feed schedule/amount as we would often find that our baby’s feeding is not so different from another baby.

For future reference with Cayden’s yet-to-be-conceived sibling, here’s a time line of his feed schedule…

Week 1-2: Latched mostly in the first 2 weeks with 1-2 60ml of FM feed per day.

Week 3: Gave up on latching to pump instead. Waking up to latch every 2 hours was driving me crazy. Plus I didn’t know how much Cayden was drinking so I’d feel guilty that my production capacity was possibly not sufficient. Pumped exclusively at this point as I also had a nipple infection. About 7 feeds of 80-100ml each time

Week 4: About 7 to 8 feeds of 100-110ml each time

Week 5-7: About 5-7 feeds of 120-150ml each time

Week 8-NOW: About 5-6 feeds of 130ml each time. Pediatrician said that Cayden has reflux so we should feed him less but more often if necessary.

This post is getting a little long so I think I’ll save my tips on how to increase/maintain breast milk for my next post.

One of my largest challenge has been planning my work schedule around pumping sessions. Back when I pumped every 3-4 hrs, it often seemed like it was barely an hour ago when I was pumping before I am getting ready to pump again. Each pump session takes nearly an hour from the time I start to massage the breasts with a warm towel to the time where I place the storage bag of milk in the fridge. So each day I was spending at least 4-5 hours on pumping. That’s 4-5 hours of less time with Cayden and for sleeping.

Fortunately I have now moved to a 3-pump schedule so that I pump approximately once every 6-8 hours. That means I only lose 3 hours a day to pumping. Ironically, I’ve also been trying to nurse/latch more often than before. I think it’s because nursing is my special time with Cayden that no one else can replace. Not even the helper who spends so much time with him that his eyes follow her whenever she’s around.

I guess the best way to describe my frustration at not seeing my baby everyday is that my only way of knowing what his poo looks like is by relying on the description expressed in broken English by our Indonesian helper. When we see the pediatrician, I have to grill the helper before the visit so I can answer questions about whether he is feeding or pooing regularly or not. And of course it doesn’t help that Cayden seems to have formed quite an attachment to the helper.

However when all is said and done, the additional income is certainly needed. After all according to some study, raising a kid in Singapore costs anywhere upwards of $500,000.