June 12, 2015

Guest User

Food Feature

Chopsuey Cafe: Dim Sum Guide

June 12, 2015

Guest User

Food Feature

Heartfelt Morsels
Dim sum, (simplified Chinese: 点心) which literally means “to touch the heart” is a Cantonese cuisine where the dish is prepared in small bite-sized, individual portion and traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates.

History
Dim sum is closely associated with an even older tradition of yum cha: 饮茶 (tea drinking), which has its roots in resting stops for travelers along the ancient Silk Road. Teahouses sprung up to accommodate weary travelers as it was believed that tea helps restore energy. Small snacks were also served to help recharge the travelers for their journey ahead.

Over the centuries, yum cha has transformed from a relaxing respite to a loud and happy dining experience. In present day, dim sum is constantly evolving in tandem with the creativity of the chef. It is estimated over 2,000 dim sum dishes have been created since the 10th century. What was once meant to be a quick snack to fill the stomach of travelers, has now become an intricate art that would take decades to master.

Popular Dim Sum Dishes
Being the first Anglo-Chinese restaurant in Singapore, many guests wonder what signature dim sum they should absolutely try, so here are four of our most popular ones.

White Skin Siew Mai
Most of us know the traditional Siew Mai is a pork and prawn steamed dumpling, tightly encased in a yellow thin wheat wrapper. At Chopsuey Cafe, the White Skin Siew Mai takes on a different appearance.

The natural flour-white skin of the Siew Mai was made without any artificial colouring or Kansui (lye water). Fillings are mixed with sliced lean pork collar meat and chunky shrimps for a healthier indulgence. Lastly, there is a subtle twist of a sweet wine-soaked raisin. Expect to savour beautiful layering of flavours from the first bite.

Pumpkin & Cod Dumplings
This carefully carved pumpkin-shaped dumpling is filled with black pepper marinated cod fish. The soft mustard coloured skin is made from a combination of pumpkin and flour. Visually appetizing, delicately tasteful with just the right amount of kick, makes this dim sum a crowd pleaser.

Flakey Char Siew Puff
The flaky pastry combined with the succulent Char Siew (marinated barbeque pork) filling makes the Char Siew Puff pastry one of the most sought after dishes during yum cha.

The pink hue from our Flakey Char Siew Puff gets its natural colour from fresh beetroot extracts, which is infused into the dough. The smoky flavour of the Char Siew filling is further enhanced with spices like star anise and cinnamon.

Chicken Rice Balls
Chicken Rice is quintessentially Singaporean. This delectable chicken dish is normally served with fragrant rice, chilli sauce and ginger paste.

Without losing its original flavour profile, Chopsuey Cafe after much research and attempts, has created a truly unique dim sum, the Chicken Rice Ball. The right temperature and amount of rice is crucial to firmly embrace the filling of this morsel. Deep in the center of the Chicken Rice Ball, is the mixture of lemon grass, ginger and garlic, which is then covered with finely minced chicken and wrapped with steamed fragrant rice, garnished with a dot of ‘chicken rice chilli sauce’.

Chopsuey Cafe Chilli Sauces
We have three homemade dipping sauces to accompany our dim sum selections, each with their own twists.

Dim Sum Chilli
Bean paste, chilli and tomato sauce

Sesame Chilli
Sesame, coriander, garlic and chilli

Lime Chilli
Red and green chilies blended with calamansi

For reservations or more information, visit us at Chopsuey Cafe at Dempsey Hill, Singapore 247700 or call (+65) 9224 6611.
*only available for brunch and lunch.

April 3, 2015

Guest User

Food Feature

Pizzas: Love Fades, Pizza is Forever

April 3, 2015

Guest User

Food Feature

In PS.Cafe Petit at Tiong Bahru and Martin 38, gourmet pizza is one of the specialties proudly served. These lovingly hand-crafted pizzas have an imaginative array of 11 gourmet toppings with perfectly blistered crusts. Let’s unearth their secrets with Chris Phillips, F&B Director of PS.Gourmet.

The history of pizza
It is widely accepted that it has its roots in flavoured flatbread in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. Although there are many opinions to its actual sources, one of it was that the Greeks hit on the idea of baking flatbread with various toppings and brought this idea with them as they colonized parts of Southern Italy. The modern pizza, Neapolitan pizza (pizza of Naples) is widely considered as the archetypal pizza. Thanks to the migration of Italians to different parts of the world, pizzas gained worldwide popularity around the late 19th century.

How do you define a well prepared delicious pizza?
The crust. The idea was to have a light texture and not a heavy, bready and doughy crust. Not an overwhelming quantity of toppings but good quality. Less is best.

What it takes to be a perfect pizza is when you can taste the crust, taste the tomato sauce, taste the salami and still taste the individual cheeses like smoked cheddar. A pizza is meant to be simple, but we think too much sometimes and keep on adding, which results in overloading.

When doing pizza research and tasting, what was the first main focus?
The main focus initially was the base crust of the pizza. So for the first 3 months of constant pizzas tasting, we never even got to try any other flavours except for the Margherita.

Which is the most challenging part of the pizza to ‘get right’?
I would say to get a perfect handmade fresh dough is the biggest challenge. You’re dealing with live cultures so maintaining consistency is not easy. Some chefs may have secret ingredients like sugar or honey but for us, it is the consistency of the base dough that matters most.

You have to get the perfect ratio of sugar, yeast and salt every time. As sugar reacts with the yeast and salt, it retards the yeast. Also technique wise, when rolling the dough, you mustn’t touch the edges as all the air pockets have to be contained in order to have a thin layer of crispness to the crust.

Besides the dough, what are the other factors contributing to a good pizza?
Temperature, it has a huge effect on the pizza crust. As it is tailored dough, we needed a suitable temperature to have the crisp crust.

Also, quantity and quality of the toppings will definitely affect the taste and texture of the pizza. In addition, wet ingredients also affect the characteristics of the dough. The dough may not rise or the base may be wet.

Overall, everything you add to the pizza will change the overall outcome. That is why we took a very long time to create our first pizza.

Around how many pizzas have you tasted?
Within seven months of R&D, three to four tasting sessions each week with around three to five pizzas per session. You can try calculate that amount of pizza tasted and tested. (laughed)

As there are many flavours of pizza around the world, where do PS.Cafe Petit get its inspirations?
We are always inspired by items that are popular in our restaurants. As pizza is the perennial comfort food, the ideas behind the toppings should be of the same elk. For example, the PS.Bolognese pizza and Carbonara pizza have flavours that are familiar and easy for people to understand and appreciate.

What are some of the differences PS.Cafe Petit pizzas have over others?
As an artisanal and traditional handmade pizza, we make everything from scratch. Starting with the dough, we only start rolling it when orders come in as there is a fine line between the dough being over or under proofed. Our doughs are made constantly throughout the day to ensure freshness.

We also prepare tomato sauce from scratch, as it cannot be too wet or too dry. Our toppings are also freshly prepared in-house and we do not use the typical ingredients you can get off the supermarket shelves.

All pizzas at PS.Cafe Petit come with the now famous chili sauce, how did this come about?
It was a good mistake made on the day when we invited guests (friends and neighbours) to a pizza tasting at PS.Cafe Petit at Tiong Bahru. Initially, the service crew informed me to order the cheese powder and chili flakes condiments for the tasting event as people love them on the pizzas. However, after going through all this hard work, I just felt that the pre-made condiments didn’t go well with the artisanal pizzas. It just seemed wrong.

After the preparations of the pizzas in the afternoon, a staff came back with packs of Chwee Kuehs (steamed rice cake topped with fried preserved turnip) for everyone’s lunch. At the moment when I started eating the Chwee Kuehs, the fried preserved turnip just inspired me. It made me feel that the fried preserved turnip would go well with the pizzas.

Within moments, I was stir-frying in a wok. Unfortunately I thought I had burnt the chili sauce when I added lemon juice. Reluctantly, I placed the burnt chili sauce aside. Fortuitously, one of the directors came in at that point to check if everything was ready and noticed the pot of chili sauce. Without hesitation, he tasted the chili sauce and praised it. We ended up serving it to the customers that night.

Thereafter, I continued to improve on the chili sauce.

What is your most adventurous pizza creation you ever made?
It would be the dessert pizzas. I have experimented some sweet creations with our team of chefs during our R&D sessions. For example, an apple pecan with butterscotch pizza and a lemon & ginger cheesecake pizza.

Will there be any new pizzas coming soon or even a dessert pizza?
Maybe a dessert pizza as PS.Cafe comes from a strong dessert background. Moving forward, there will definitely be new flavours.

Where is your favourite restaurant / pizzeria before PS.Cafe Petit?
Blue Water Pizza in Australia as it is where I have my first taste of wood-fired pizza when I was a child. I won’t say it is my favourite pizza but it is a memorable experience for tasting a wood-fired pizza

Which is your personal favorite PS.Cafe Petit pizza?
Bianca Fungi because I love the variety of mushrooms topped with truffle oil and sage. Also the Green Goddess pizza is in my favorite list! The pizza has a healthy kick with smokey pesto sauce, lots of finely-cut vegetables and topped with chèvre (goat cheese).

Can you share some insider pizza-making tips to our readers?
Try to use a pizza stone suitable for the home oven. The stone will help maintain the high temperature when you open the door of your oven. The key point is that the hotter the oven, the better the pizza as the 1½ to 2 minute is crucial for the yeast to proof and for a crisp crust.

For reservations or more information, visit us at No.38 Martin Road, Singapore 239072 or call (+65) 8188 6191.
View our menu here.

March 3, 2015

Guest User

Staff Feature

The Man Behind the Food of Chopsuey Cafe

March 3, 2015

Guest User

Staff Feature

The Man Behind the Food of Chopsuey Cafe

PS.Cafe launched their first Anglo-Chinese restaurant with a unique taste of Asian flavours in January 2013. In 2014, Chopsuey Cafe’s popularity saw a second destination created in the heart of Robertson Quay at 38 Martin Road.

We will have a chat with the man behind Chopsuey’s gastronomic feasts, Chef Wai as he provides an insight into his food inspirations and his life story.

How did you first step into the culinary industry?

In my life, I have never thought of being a cook or chef. It happened in 1992, while I was waiting for my GCE O Level result, one of my schoolmates introduced a part-time job to me as a cook. Without much consideration, I just promised him since I was free.

When the results were released, although acceptable, my interest was no longer in academic studies. So I just carried on with my part time job as a cook until I went to NS (National Service).

Believe it or not, it was during the Operationally Ready Date for NS that my chef from my previous workplace called and requested for my return. Coming back as a cook in a Chinese cuisine restaurant, I was exposed to 5 years of Chinese cuisine before moving to another place.

Tell us more about your culinary journey…

From 1997, I got the chance to experience different cuisines while working at various places like Tower Club Singapore and The American Club Singapore. It was at The American Club Singapore, where I first worked on an Eastern-Western fusion fine-dining menu. It gave me the chance to experiment on a variety of ingredients. After that, I worked at an Eastern-Western fusion restaurant in Shanghai before returning to Singapore.

We have heard that you have a small stall of your own before you joined Chopsuey Cafe.

Yes, it just happened that one of my good friends was interested in collaborating with me to open a Zhi Char (煮炒)(Chinese home-style dishes cooked to order) stall. The business was even featured on a local television program ‘Sizzling Woks’ (煮炒来咯).

Why did you decide to cease operations when your stall was doing so well?

Greater success comes with a greater price; factors like rental increases, lack of manpower, long hours (including sourcing fresh ingredients at the market early in the morning), etc… made me and my wife think of the sustainability of it all. However, the main decision was made when an opportunity presented itself for me to join the Chopsuey Cafe team.

Being one of the first Anglo-Chinese restaurants in Singapore, how do you manage the taste buds between locals and foreigners?

Chopsuey Cafe dishes will be better suited towards the taste buds of someone who misses Chinese cuisine that are typically found abroad in the western countries. We travelled to Australia and sampled some of the Anglo-Chinese dishes to get inspiration and to understand the context of the cuisine. We added both local and western elements and ingredients to really transform it into our very own take on these Anglo-Chinese dishes.

What do you think when people compare Chopsuey Cafe with other Chinese cuisine or Zhi Char restaurants?

From the start, Chopsuey Cafe’s concept is a unique concept in Singapore. There are some similarities with traditional Chinese cuisine but as a whole, it is quite different.

For example, for our dim sum creation, the White Skin Siew Mai, we have added rum soaked raisins to bring a different take on this traditional dim sum.

Another example would be our Tingling Chilli Jam Prawns, which was inspired from the traditional “Bi Feng Tang” prawns from Hong Kong. We modified the dish by deshelling prawns and tossing it in our special homemade chili jam and topping it with crispy shallots.

What are the must-try dishes for the first-timers to Chopsuey Cafe?

Starters: San Choy Pau and Crispy Duck Pow! Pockets.

Mains: Crispy Orange Beef (a.k.a Rusty Nails) and Szechuan Pepper Chilli Chicken

Rice: Jade Rice and Mud Crab Fried Rice

Noodles: Long Life Vegetarian Noodle

Dim sum: White Skin Siew Mai and Flakey Char Siew Puff

Which menu item took the most time to develop?

The Crispy Duck Pow! Pockets. Our initial inspiration was from Peking Duck, using crepe to wrap carefully sliced duck meat, which was slowly transformed to using soft white buns filled with a shredded crispy duck confit.

What would be your pointer on being a good chef?

Embrace local produce and celebrate the gamut of experiences and influences of the whole food industry.

Who has the greatest influence on your career?

It would have to be a Hong Kong chef from a restaurant which I previously worked at. He said that one should not be complacent and must be willing to endure hardships in order to grow to be a better and stronger chef.

What can we look forward in 2015 for Chopsuey Cafe’s food?

Chopsuey Cafe will have more special creations emerging so do check out the special dishes as they are only in for a limited period. In addition, there may be weekend dim sum specials coming up for dim sum lovers.

What would be your most memorable moment in life so far?

There were these days when my family and I would go on last minute road trips to Malaysia. We went ahead without any plans made or hotel rooms booked and just travelled to different parts of Malaysia (Penang, Cameron Highland, Genting Highland and Kuala Lumpur). The trips were always an adventure and a surprise with a discovery around each corner; from beautiful sceneries to amazing waterfalls. We parked on cliffs and slept in our vehicles… allowing us to admire the plethora of stars at night the brilliant sunrises in the morning. Truly memorable.

The Man Behind the Food of Chopsuey Cafe

INSTAGRAM : @PSCAFE