superb value set dinner & nice views - Southern Court @ Granvia Hotel Kyoto

my wife and I had a great dinner at Southern Court recently (18.12.2008) during our stay there.
generally we avoid western and chinese food in Japan since wagyu and Japanese food are of great quality and value and there is no need to risk paying high price and getting mediocre non Japanese food (though we were presently surprised to have nice cheap comfort food italian/spanish pasta/paella at Pronto @ Kyoto station - that's another story)..
so the 4200Y (inclusive tax) almost fine food 4 course set dinner +coffee at Southern Court was a real treat.
there was the usual amuse bouche and bread (quite average). my wife then started with a raw tune salad and I had a "smoke" salmon. the smoke salmon was Japanese style and we realized that Japanese smoke salmon at international buffet breakfast (mostly bad) and ryokan (good) were the slightly dry, smoke variety..this is quite unlike the usual western smoke salmon or chef's own freshly cured salmon. As it turned out the smoke salmon was a braised salmon that was prior smoked and it was really good-very flavourful and not too salty, even better than the tuna salad which itself was tastier than most you get in Singapore.
this was followed by a pumpkin soup, quite ok decent quality I guess nothing fantastic.
next we both had sirloin rare for main course. this is no "black hair Japanese beef" of course but it was still a rather good steak and nicely done and flavourful.
this was finished off with dessert and coffee..both good...
service quality by the young waiting staff is above average and polite as in 99% of Japanese outlets.
for 4200Y tax inclusive this is really great value (even with the ridiculously high 100Y=S$1.70 forex rate).
go give yourselves a treat!

superb teppanyaki course dinner @ Osaka

my wife and I had an excellent teppanyaki set at Chibo Dotombori Osaka last evening before flying back to Singapore today.
we chanced on the restaurant Chibo while strolling along Dotombori and trying out the Okonomiyaki and level 1. realizing that there is a teppanyaki restaurant on level 5 we went back the next evening and really enjoyed a superb meal.
our set was 4980Y and we added 1000Y for Japanese beef ("black hair wagyu") so 5980Ypax.
the set started with a quite extraordinary amuse bouche (chef's compliment) of abalone in light vinegared sauce (about 4 thick slices, maybe it is just shellfish but it sure taste like awabi)...I think the Chinese style braised abalone with brown sauce is tastier and better textured but my wife is completely bowled over!
next came a tasty dish of tuna (diced cubes) mille feuille with 2 nice pieces of crab cakes, followed by scampi teppanyaki - just a small 1/2 scampi each..fresh, tasty, not fantastic but I guess part of a quite good course dinner...
this was followed by a teppanyaki seabream with crispy skin on top, very enjoyable indeed.
next came the highlight of the evening, the teppanyaki steak. each person only has 75g, but this is superb stuff - the meat is so marbled and flavourful and really unforgettable. the 2 sauces-vinegared with some radish and teppanyaki sauce with dash of mustard are good but just a touch of sea salt is really good enough to enjoy the full flavour of the wagyu! being greedy and really you can't get this quality of wagyu in Singapore and the price is much cheaper in Japan, we ordered another 100g wagyu to share for 3700Y.
the carbo dish was a choice of okonomiyaki and sobayabi with choice of toppings, so we picked 1 each - okonomiyaki with octopus and pork (nice but honestly the one at level 1 Chibo "bistro" is even better!) and yakisoba with bacon & scallop. dessert was a mango parfait nice but not spectacular.
the service is sterling and the chef was really artful and the dishes all appeared like french fine food, quite unlike in Singapore.
this is really one of the best value for money course dinner. the only that rival is the teppanyaki course lunch at Gosanbo at Hotel Granvia @Kyoto station, and kaiseki at some ryokans.

Suggestion to Obama Transition team

hi

not sure if it will work or how difficult it is to implement...
but if subprime is the original trigger (though it is really a manifestation of excesses, bubble, corruption & incompetence of the last 8 years) and subprime poisoned the CDO baskets which originally comprises supposedly healthy assets before the global financial meltdown and credit crunch, then is it possible to focus on auctioning off removing subrpime and toxic assets (NOT the entire bank loan portfolios with mostly "would-have-been" healthy loan assets..
instead of just pumping US$250b orUS$750b into Wall Street (and Main Street), can a government entity be set up to buy ONLY the subprime mortgages INSTEAD of the CDOs tainted with subprimes(and otherwise "would-have-been" healthy bank loans which overnight became non performing as a result). this will take away the multipier effect and maybe reduce by 10x or 20x the taxpayer's $ required for the buyout.

this is NOT a bail out at all but a commercial transaction as if banks were to sell "would-have-been" healthy loans and shares at bashed down prices, then they can sell subprimes at bashed down prices so $0 even so that confidence can return and "would-have-been" healthy loan portfolios will begin to recover to "would-have-been" fair price...
if subprime were bought out at $0 or 10% or even 30% of the price then most will NO LONGER be subprime as the borrowers would now be able to pay their mortgages and the housing price even at a high 30% are already higher than the current illiquid hosuing market...(whereas banks, savings & loans, freddie mac, fannie mae are going for $0 bankruptcy or 10% or their peak price)
this way-

1. subprime borrowers can to keep their home and continue to pay their mortgage with dignity and NOT force out of their homes, which is 1 of your main themes...
2. taxpayers may even make some $ from buying out subprime at based-down prices...which at 10% of 30% of original house price must be the bluest chip loan asset
3. Wall Street get a chance to recover and return value to its shareholders and bondholders with removal of subprime (which hopefully also remove toxic assets...this may not fully be as there are also "subprime" in credit card and other loans...then such individual subprime loans should be auctioned and NOT the baskets....basically any type subprime loans where borrowere default today but unlikley to default if priced at 10% or 30% should be bought out and remove and the remaining loans will hopefully be back to performing again w/o default...
4. Obama adminstration provide leadership and regulatory oversight but NOT bureaucracy being forced to manage commercial entities (likely inefficiently and stifle innovation and "change" despite being well-intentioned and not yet corrupt at the beginning...this risk is there...)..the adminstration can continue to provide leadership and regulatory oversight w/o being shareholder of Wall Street
   all the best...the world needs a strong healthy leader and innovative non corrupt america
   

brgds
Live Green

鲁菜 - provided by a friend, for easy reference

鲁菜
历史:鲁菜发端于春秋战国时的齐国和鲁国（今山东省），形成于秦汉。宋代后，鲁菜就成为"北食"的代表,是我国八大菜系之一。鲁菜是我国覆盖面最广的地方风味菜系，遍及京津塘及东北三省。 派别:沿海的胶东菜（以海鲜为主）和内陆的济南菜以及自成体系的孔府菜。 特色:鲁菜讲究调味纯正，口味偏于咸鲜，具有鲜、嫩、香、脆的特色。十分讲究清汤和奶汤的调制，清汤色清而鲜，奶汤色白而醇。 绝活:鲁菜常用的烹调技法有30种以上，尤以爆、扒技法独特而专长.爆法讲究急火快炒；扒技法为鲁菜独创，原料腌渍粘粉，油煎黄两面，慢火尽收汁；扒法成品整齐成型，味浓质烂，汁紧稠浓。 八大菜系之首当推鲁菜。鲁菜的形成和发展与由山东地区的文化历史、地理环境、经济条件和习俗尚好有关。山东是我国古文化发祥地之一。地处黄河下游，气候温和，胶东半岛突出于渤海和黄海之间。境内山川纵横，河湖交错，沃野千里，物产丰富，交通便利，文化发达。其粮食产量居全国第三位；蔬菜种类繁多，品质优良，是号称“世界三大菜园”之一。如胶州大白菜、章邱大葱、苍山大蒜、莱芜生姜都蜚声海内外。 水果产量居全国之首，仅苹果就占全国总产量40%以上。猪、羊、禽、蛋等产量也是极为可观。水产品产量也是全国第三，其中名贵海产品有鱼翅、海参、大对虾、加吉鱼、比目鱼、鲍鱼、天鹅蛋、西施舌、扇贝、红螺、紫菜等驰名中外。酿造业历史悠久，品种多，质量优，诸如洛口食醋、济南酱油、即墨老酒等，都是久负盛名的佳品。如此丰富的物产，为鲁菜系的发展提供了取之不尽，用之不竭的原料资源。 鲁菜历史极其久远。《尚书·禹贡》中载有“青州贡盐”，说明至少在夏代，山东已经用盐调味；远在周朝的《诗经》中已有食用黄河的鲂鱼和鲤鱼的记载，而今糖醋黄河鲤鱼仍然是鲁菜中的佼佼者，可见其渊远流长。鲁菜系的雏形可以追溯到春秋战国时期。齐鲁两国自然条件得天独厚，尤其傍山靠海的齐国，凭借鱼盐铁之利，使齐桓公首成霸业。 传说中将自己的儿子蒸熟了献给齐王吃的易牙，实际上是当时善于调味的烹饪大师。鲁菜中的清汤，色清而鲜，奶汤色白而醇，独具风味，可能是继承古代善于做羹的传统；而胶东菜以海鲜见长，则是承袭海滨先民食鱼的习俗。而“食不厌精，脍不厌细”的孔夫子，还有一系列“不食”的主张，如“鱼馁而肉败不食，色恶不食，臭恶不食，失馁不食，不时不食，割不正不食，不得其酱不食……”。说明当时的鲁菜已经相当讲究科学、注意卫生，还追求刀工和调料的艺术性，已到日臻精美的地步。 秦汉时期，山东的经济空前繁荣，地主、富豪出则车马交错，居则琼台楼阁，过着“钟鸣鼎食，征歌选舞”的奢糜生活。根据“诸城前凉台庖厨画像”，可以看到上面挂满猪头、猪腿、鸡、兔、鱼等各种畜类、禽类、野味，下面有汲水、烧灶、劈柴、宰羊、杀猪、杀鸡、屠狗、切鱼、切肉、洗涤、搅拌、烤饼、烤肉串等，各种忙碌烹调操作的人们。这幅画所描绘的场面之复杂，分工之精细，不啻烹饪操作的全过程，真可以和现代烹饪加工相媲美。北魏的《齐民要术》对黄河流域，主要是山东地区的烹调技术作了较为全面的总结。不但详细阐述了煎、烧、炒、煮、烤、蒸、腌、腊、炖、糟等烹调方法，还记载了“烤鸭”、“烤乳猪”等名菜的制作方法。此书对鲁菜系的形成、发展有深远的影响。历经隋、唐、宋、金各代的提高和锤炼，鲁菜逐渐成为北方菜的代表，以至宋代山东的“北食店”久兴不衰。 在这漫长的岁月中，吴苞、崔浩、段文昌、段成式、公都或等，都是著名的烹饪高手或美食家，他们对鲁菜的发展都作出了重要的贡献。到元、明、清时期，鲁菜又有了新的发展。此时鲁菜大量进入宫廷，成为御膳的珍品，并在北方各地广泛流传。清高宗弘历曾八次驾临孔府，并在1771年第五次驾临孔府时，将女儿下嫁给孔子第72代孙孔宪培，同时赏赐一套“满汉宴·银质点铜锡仿古象形水火餐具”给孔府。这更促使鲁菜系中的奇葩“孔府菜”向高、精、尖方向发展。 经过期的发展和演变，鲁菜系逐渐形成包括青岛在内，以福山帮为代表的胶东派，以及包括德州、泰安在内的济南派两个流派。并有堪称“阳春白雪”的典雅华贵的孔府菜，还有星罗棋布的各种地方菜和风味小吃。胶东菜擅长爆、炸、扒、熘、蒸；口味以鲜夺人，偏于清淡；选料则多为明虾、海螺、鲍鱼、蛎黄、海带等海鲜。其中名菜有“扒原壳鲍鱼”，主料为长山列岛海珍鲍鱼，以鲁菜传统技法烹调，鲜美滑嫩，催人食欲。其他名菜还有蟹黄鱼翅、芙蓉干贝、烧海参、烤大虾、炸蛎黄和清蒸加吉鱼等。 济南派则以汤著称，辅以爆、炒、烧、炸，菜肴以清、鲜、脆、嫩见长。其中名肴有清汤什锦、奶汤蒲菜，清鲜淡雅，别具一格。而里嫩外焦的糖醋黄河鲤鱼、脆嫩爽口的油爆双脆、素菜之珍的锅豆腐，则显示了济南派的火候功力。清代光绪年间，济南九华林酒

Braise at Sentosa

had to go sentosa to check in my little girl(14) for her birthday beach and pillow party with her school friends and so need to check on them again in the evening...looked up the degustation at il Lido and though the menu looks attractive on the website, a call quickly decided that it was not for us that evening as the ribeye was not on the menu that day...for a S$100+ degustation it always pay to call & ask the menu first... can't imagine paying top $ if we don't like the main course..

anyway we booked Braise and what a discovery...

took the $98 5-course degustation and the food is really great, true fine dining...

chef's compliment - not much a compliment this is not that good an item to start...
pressed foiu gras (terrine) - not comparable with pan seared foiu gras but still very nice with toasted bread & jelly
lobster bisque - very flavorful silky smooth like the lobster capuccino at Fifth Floor in San Francisco and among the best I tried...only complaint is this is really too small a portion more like 1/3 normal portion
seared scallop with angel hair - this pasta is really tasty but it seems to be not on the ala carte menu
roasted fillet of beef - best taken rare...tenderloin is usually lady's meat tender but tasteless but this one is flavorful...usally i don't take much of the meshed potatoes even if it very good but these ones come with sandwiched minced beef cheeks and i walloped the entire helping...
OR
roasted cod with an usually nice sauteed mushroom sauce - Lisa had that and it is really nice too don't mind having that the next time i want a healthier diet
apple crumble pie dessert - very unique pizza like almost like the chinese red bean pancake, good first time, not sure will like it again next time..

altogether a very satisfying meal for the price...we feel that there are many items which are special like the beef, cod, lobster bisque, angel hair we would try again and the pan seared foiu gras with langoustine (tiny lobster) which we will want to try next time...though Desmond Lim the chef was from Restaurant Ember and Sabestian Ng is certainly famous, we cannot really finger any particular food - appetizer, main course or dessert that we would specially want to go back to at Ember though we been there at least 3 times maybe..through the open kitchen concept we can see bespectacled Desmond busy supervising every concoction and tasting the food before they are served...good to have a young upcoming chef ever eager to please...

however though the $98 degustation is worth trying, we will probably go for ala carte next time...degustation portions are at best 1/2 portions and if we take the pan seared foiu gras ($32), lobster bisque ($28), cod ($38) we can enjoy full portion and it would just come up to $98 anyway (though with tenderloin will set us back $108) if we are not going for dessert...take your pick...

Fire & Water

fire

self destruct

pockets of short-lived brilliance ignite 10,000 years of torched history

mankind's fading footprint in the shifting sand of time,

or is every spark a moment in eternity?

water

indestructible permanence

an unstoppable force against which there is no immovable object

is forever a timeless omnipresence

or an exercise in futility?

class and mass marketing

so the marketing guru opined that Nadal will be no Andre Agassi..Nadal has class so give him points for that..but his english or lack of it and the reserve conservative image he projects doesn't keep the till ringing and bring in the big bucks?

seems that Federer has closer to US$20m career earnings and Nadal just topped US$5m, and he is not in the top 20 non-US sports earners...not a phenomenal like Agassi...

well maybe US$5m is enough or a few more US$5m over next few years is enough to keep a man happy...the amercian mass culture worship "attitude" maybe like McEnroe talent with attitude (meaning "spoilt brat").... so Nadal's marketing agent said they have been working on it 5 years and they believe it is best to communicate Nadal's down to earth, humble personality...

you know he flew to Munich after the Wimbledon weekend just to personally apologize to the Mercedes Cup (where he is ranked No 1 and the main attraction) organisers that he cannot play because he had a thigh problem and advised by his doctors to rest...the humility and consideration that come with true greatness...

maybe his marketing guys know a thing or 2...the modern mantra of marketing to please your customers and exceed their expectations seem to collide with this "attitude" thingy...but attitude is just a few seconds advertising video, can easily be "produced" by a good producer...

the underlying class and humility combined may actually endear Nadal to the masses of idol worshippers?

organs trading

Indonesian sulaiman got sentenced 2 weeks + S$1000 fine (or 1week jail) for failed attempt to sell his kidney to 55 yr old prominent listed company chairman, and Toni sentenced 14weeks +S$2000 fine (or 2 weeks jail) for being a runner having himself already sold his kidney to another rich Indonesian...sulaiman collected 186m rupiahs (like S$20k+) which is about 16 years working as a labourer, the job he lost 6 months ago...

guess S'pore court is quite measured in not taking away too much of Toni's "blood money (or kidney money)" but still having to send strong message that organs trading is "illegal" to deter runners & sellers...but what about the named middleman who actively sourced out both these punished sellers and coached them to fabricate the family tree and stories to get the Transplant Ethics Committee to approve...what about the rich buyer and "attempted" buyer...will the same law be seen to apply to them?

for the long lists of arguments against organs trading, some doctors & care-givers truly believe that it is greater wrong to see a human being dies when there is an organ available, and the seller (like Toni) can in fact have a chance for a better life for himself and his loved ones through the only means he will ever have. by the same argument that the poor should not be exploited, the poor should also not be assumed to be incapable of making the right decision for themselves when all the facts are presented to them instead of others making that decision for them...

the problem may be more a practical one...then we need to find a practial solution...say set up a charity trust where rich or filthy rich recepients will donate (NOT pay to buy) $x, and living donors (NOT sellers) will get extended periods of annual payments from the charity trust (instead of likes of Toni wittling away his 186m rupiahs though i guess we are still deciding for him here)...and poor recepients can still get donors..courtesy of extra donations from the rich ones...

this way (1)there is no trading (2)do away with middlemen-any trading will need middlemen to be efficient, but a charity trust can advertise publicly via Internet (3)poor recipients can get organs (4)better help the poor donors through a extended period of support...

Wimbledon 2008

Nadal is so good (as they reported-bludgeoned Andy Murray in 3 sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4)...well guess got to wait till he beats Federer in the finals...semi-finals shld be a coast thru for both...

Zheng Jie (fm Chengdu) is donating all S$500k (for getting into semi-finals) of her Wimbledon earnings (20% of her career earnings) to Sichuan quake victims (less the cut to China Tennis Association)...good gesture & earnest...though oddly it may be more practical and impactul to donate to CTA and get more Chinese players to succeed internationally and inspire a whole generation...

told by quake frontline reporters China don't really need quake donations, and have the equipment, manpower and resource (incl $) to help the victims but just accept aid to show transparency...

Wimbledon 2008

Zheng Jie (ranked 133) into Wimbledon semi-finals..defeating czech girl in 3 sets..don't think she can get past Serena Williams...but who knows...

anyway such a great achievement already...the whole China must be watching...imagine she got thru' 4 rounds + quarter-finals eliminating Anna Ivanovic (world no. 1) along the way

Family Lunch

had excellent lunch at Dozo as always. enjoy it everytime, with friends or family.

service is impeccable and Yen the owner & Chris are just superb hosts.

the appertiser trio seared scallop, foie gras (tiny piece) & smoked salmon are good always, and choice cream of wild mushroom with truffle (tiny piece) or seafood bisque never fail. choice of cheese gratin escargot or foie gras chawan mushi likewise, and of course thes best main course comes in the form of ishiyaki (japanese hot stone) tenderloin beef (there are 5 other maincourse to choose from...braised leg of lamb and cod great as well)...and dessert are superb (chocolate larva cake, new Japanese cheese cake to be launched and the deep fried yam preparation looking like a mexican sombreiro)...I think the new chocolate layered cake (not yet decided to launch) is great too and as good as the canele chocolate cake but maybe do better with a biscuit base...

we will be having many more dinners (S$58+++ 7 course) and lunches (S$38+++) there...

keep it up Yen!