Salmon Fried Steak @ Chili's

Before I went "pesce", we had discovered Chili's Chicken Fried Steak on our second visit and on the third visit, I had already been pescetarian for a couple of months. So, no more chicken for me. Thankfully, they had a seafood version with salmon as the main dish and as good as the chicken version.

The salmon was cooked and spiced perfectly. It wasn't dry and the spices on top of the salmon was very tasty. However, what I enjoyed most about this dish were the sides: mashed potato with some sort of creamy gravy sauce (don't know what kind of meat drippings they made this out of though so it may not be good for pescetarians... though I didn't think of it at that time. Noob mistake!), steamed broccoli and sweet corn on the cob. The corn was so good! It was juicy and sweet and all around yummy.

Okay, this review makes me wanna go back and just order the corn. :-9

Chili's
#02-23 Tanglin Mall
163 Tanglin Road
Singapore 247933
T: +65 6733-3317


Operating hours :
Mon - Thurs : 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Fri - Sat : 11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Sun : 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
www.chilis.sg

Poached Salmon with Mushroom Alfredo Fusilli - Home Cooked

Something home cooked this time. Poached is probably one of the healthier of cooking something because there's no oil or grease used. You basically cook it in its own steam. I had picked up a different kind of fish earlier to poach but decided against it in the last minute since I wasn't sure if all kinds of fish would poach well.
I usually cook poached salmon with a tomato base but decided to try my luck on something creamy. I chose alfredo sauce. It's really simple to do, what you'll need:

• Salmon with skin on
• Fusilli pasta
• Bertolli Mushroom Alfredo Sauce
• Salt and pepper

For the salmon, rub salt on the fish. You can rub black pepper as well if you want a bit of spiciness to the fish. For the pasta, boil as much water needed to cook your pasta as per instructions on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, pour the Alfredo sauce in the saucepan and place the salmon skin side down at the center. Cover the pan. Let it cook for about 8-10 minutes or until salmon is thoroughly cooked to your preference. Try to check on it and stir the sauce occasionally to make sure the sauce doesn't stick to the pan. 

Once cooked, remove the salmon and place it on the dish. Stir the Alfredo sauce and fold the fusilli pasta until coated. Remove and place along salmon on plate. And that's it! Simple and quick to prepare.

Note: Forgive me for the poor plating, I was hungry.

Miso Salmon @ The Cheesecake Factory

Found this photo on my phone so I thought I'd do a review. This was taken a couple months ago at the Omaha branch of Cheesecake Factory. This was my first visit to this restaurant and my best friend recommended I try it as it was also one of her favorite dishes.

Although I love Japanese food, I've never taken to their miso soup. I once described it to my dad as dirty dishwash water (sorry miso lovers!). So the fact that this dish had the name "miso" in it made me apprehensive, thinking I wouldn't like it.

Well, I didn't hate it but I didn't love, LOVE it either. A bit too sweet for my taste. There was also a hint of terriyaki flavor in the dish but the salmon was cooked perfectly served on top of a cup of steamed rice and garnished with green peas. If it weren't that sweet I would've definitely finished this meal. I didn't.

But, a slice of their Red Velvet Cheesecake sure made up for it.

The Cheesecake Factory
10120 California Street
Omaha, NE 68114-2321 
T: (402) 393-1166
Open Fri-Sat 11am-12am
www.thecheesecakefactory.com

Vegetable Pesto Cream @ Fou De Fafa

Fou de Fafa is a cute little cafe near the bus stop where I work. It offers a wide selection of sandwiches, pastas and pizzas with gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian options. I usually order their emmental cheese with avocado sandwich (can also be ordered as a wrap) or their vegetarian pizza.

This time I ordered their vegetable pesto cream pasta. They used penne pasta with several different kinds of vegetables, pine nuts and greens. When I ordered this, I had it for take-out (or take-away) and while it was still delicious by the time I arrived home and set it up, it's best to eat while hot.

Note to self: get correct ingredients next time I get this.

Fou de Fafa

#01-05 Capital Tower

168 Robinson Road

T: 6327‑9418

Mon-Fri, 8:00am-10:00pm

www.foudefafa.com

Risotto Gamberi @ Acqua, Shangri-la Mactan

Last weekend, I flew back to Cebu, Philippines for a quick weekend holiday with the family. It was my first time back in the Philippines since I turned into a "pesce". And believe me when I say it was d*mn hard to resist Cebu's world-famous lechon, Cafe Laguna's crispy pata, Harbour City's pork steamed rice and Jun-Jun & Malou's barbecued chicken. But I survived! After all, Cebu also had the best seafood in the country.

Over the weekend, we stayed at Shangri-la Mactan and one night we had dinner at their Italian restaurant called Acqua (yes, with the "c"). I had the Risotto Gamberi with Asparagus Cream Sauce.

The risotto was a bit undercooked. It felt more like I was eating rice smothered in cream sauce rather than getting the creaminess of risotto. However, the serving had a lot of prawn bits mixed into it and that made up for the undercooked risotto. I am usually not a fan of asparagus but in this dish, it was a perfect complement to the cream and prawns.

If I do go back to this restaurant, I may order this dish again or maybe one of the other risottos. If I remember correctly, they had one with truffles. And I'm a sucker for good risotto.

Oh! And I almost forgot, they also had a great vegetarian section on their menu with some sounding very appetizing.




Acqua Italian Restaurant
Poolside Ocean Wing
Shangri-la Mactan Resort & Spa
Punta Engano Road, Lapu-lapu
Cebu 6015, Philippines
T: (63 32) 231 0288
www.shangri-la.com

Garlic Seafood Rice @ Aglio Olio

Aglio Olio markets itself as "Singapore's version of pasta". While their pasta is not bad, I go to this restaurant for their Garlic Seafood Fried Rice (pictured above). I happened to order this on my second visit where I really didn't feel like eating pasta and was not tempted by their other non-pasta dishes. They have a good selection of dishes. You can visit their website for view their menu. It comes in a respectable serving size and full of seafood: a mussel (yes, just one but not a scrawny one so it's not bad), prawns, squid, fish and crabstick. When you order, you are asked for your preference of spiciness from mild to extra spicy. I find their normal level spicy enough. Now take note, I love spicy food so my "normal" may be too spicy for some. I recommend you go with mild at your first visit.

After my lunch, I head off to Red Mango a few doors down for a strawberry frozen yogurt with mango topping. Great to remove the spicy aftertaste in your mouth. 

Aglio Olio

8 Shenton Way, #B1-14

Singapore 068811

Tel: 6226 1622

www.aglioolio.com.sg

Red Mango
8 Shenton Way, #B1-06
Singapore 068811
Tel: 6893 1680 (main office)
www.redmangosg.com