Turkish... Sofra finally

Finally set food (oops...foot... Freudian slip of the tongue) in Sofra - the Turkish restaurant @ Shaw Towers opp Suntec. Finally because I'll look longingly at the long queues everytime I passed by...Luckily E and I were there to look at our would-be new toys for birdwatching - bino & fieldscope - otherwise, we would never be there on a weekday and be first in the Q to wait for the restaurant to open. Anticipation was certainly high since I've fallen in love with Turkish food since the intermittent visits to Cappadocia @ Rail Mall, which closed...the Robertson Quay branch too...sad... anyone knows if they are still in Singapore?

We shared a more-than-generous-portion-even-for-two-food-lovers of swish, donor (chicken) and eggplant kebabs. I have no complaints except the eggplants do not look too healthy nor appetizing with the burns (4th degree??) on their skins...

Otherwise, Sofra certainly lives up to all that hype that I created in my mind.. the decor is so soothing with a large waiting area adorned with candle lamps and romantic screens.... plus a 'dessert corner' with a cushy feel totally suitable for an afternoon laze with your favourite desserts. Though limited to only 6 varieties, I have no doubt about how titillating all of them will be after savouring the Bakavia and Turkish chocolate pudding. The Bakavia has an endearing look, like a cute-looking squarish offspring of our local favourite roti-prata. From the same flour family, maybe, but totally and sinfully soaked in syrup instead of oil and lightly embellished with pistachio on top for the de-rigueur decorative look most desserts have.

The chocolate pales in comparison to the Bakavia only because of the novelty factor, but held its own by providing its 'devourer' with a delight in penetrating its soft cover into an even softer sponges of chocolatey heaven mixed with pound-to-a-mesh marshmallows..... Hmmm.... wonder how the others, Turkish rice pudding, asure, stuffed fig, sweet pumpkin, taste like?

Go check it out ;)

Macau ....

Have been thinking of going to the 3 M's this year - not the Fortune 500 company but Madagascar, Myanmar and Macau. Unfortunately due to a lack of income from a hiatus and the fact that I'll soon be working (work is both a boon and a curse), I have not been able to realise the 3.


Well, maybe not... anything's possible in Singapore. That's why we were recently voted 1 of the top 20 most desirable places to live in :)


So of course there's no difficulty at all in finding the local delights of any country (or so I think, so far) and top of the to-get-my-hands-on list is the Macau Pork Chop Bun (zhu pa bao) which I saw in a Taiwanese food-travel show before...

What!? Another pork chop? Am I a pig-exterminator?

Well never thought I'll like the pigs so much, but I do seem to have an affinity with them, with 2 of the horoscope in my family. But there's something about the texture of the meat that once it's burnt, it lends itself pretty well to whatever the chef wants to marinate it in.... certainly a chef-friendly dish for its versatility.

I haven't eaten the real McCoys in Macau, but my appetite is certainly whetted by the one in Hong Kong KimGary Restuarant in Vivocity, one of the many ones which sprouted up in a mass infiltration into the local food scene. From its name, it should originate in HongKong but have more outlets in Malaysia. Anyway, it looks like an 'authentic' HongKong 'cha-can-tang' (cafe) which touts a posse of international cuisines from Japanese ramen to HK-invented-and-improvised Nissin noodles to Korea delights. Certainly reflective of a cosmopolitan society that welcomes its arms to expats.

Mum tried the beef ramen and seems positively delighted as my Mother's Day gift to her (+ sometimes else of course) butI think it is overrated. I must say, though, the thin 'meee-pok' -like strands of ramen are a delightful chewy bunch to munch on....

If we've eaten from a cafe in Macau or HK before, I'll love to hear your comments!

Meanwhile, one down, will be dreaming of food from the other 2 Ms...