Quintessentially Lisbon

Simultaneous consumption of beer and seafood, the essence of a ‘cervejaria’, is the quintessential Lisbon dining experience. Cervejaria Ramiro (http://www.cervejariaramiro.pt/?lang=en), with its laid back atmosphere, stunningly fresh seafood and equally refreshing arsenal of beers, makes for an excellent example of these eateries. Aside from beer, we demolished three dishes:

Firstly, a whole crab stuffed with a creamy sauce was right on the money; fresh, juicy crabmeat, creamy yet not overpowering sauce, the perfect partners for spreading on wholesome, crusty bread.

Second; clams sautéed in garlic and olive oil; another showcase of fresh seafood working its magic, with the sweetness of the clams married well with the earthy heat of the garlic.

Last, but by no means least, the grilled scarlett shrimp. Huge, red and pretty damn expensive shrimp (15 euro each!) simply grilled and served with a drizzle of lemon juice. For prawn lovers, this can’t be beat. Sweetness of the sea personified. And make sure you drink the head juice.

The Brilliant Mr Avillez

Jose Avillez, one of Portugal’s most promising young chefs, has created an affordable and unmissable dining experience at Cantinho do Avillez (http://cantinhodoavillez.pt/?lang=en). Casual, laid back atmosphere, creative twists on traditional Portuguese dishes, great young (green) wine; what’s not to like?

Two starters really stood out for me. Firstly, a ‘small partridge, bacon and chive pie’ displayed a perfect balance of lightly salty, gamey interior partnered perfectly with a light, crumbly exterior. ‘Bulhao pato’ shrimp (no photo unfortunately), simply cooked with garlic and olive oil were just divine – this was all about the freshness of the sea dwellers.

For mains, don’t miss the flaked cod with breadcrumbs, LT egg and exploding olives. Individually, the elements are delicious themselves. Soft, flaky cod – tasty by virtue of simplicity. The LT egg, an egg poached at low temperature, whose gooey yet somehow cooked interior is one of the tastiest eggs I’ve ever eaten. And the exploding olives; olives which ooze out olive puree when the exterior is penetrated, was rather magical. Eaten together, is a display of culinary wizardry.

Lastly, a dessert described by our waitress as the best dessert in the world. ‘Hazelnut³’ , three textures and three temperatures of hazelnut, topped off with a sprinkling of sea salt to accentuate the nuttiness. All I will say is this: “Thank you, Mr Avillez.”

Mozambican food + sunshine = good day

One of the best restaurants I have accidentally stumbled upon in recent times, Zambeze (http://www.zambezerestaurante.pt/Default.aspx), ideally situated near the ‘Castelo de Sao Jorge’, has a most enviable terrace wherein one can sit in the sun, eat Mozambican food and drink an afternoon away.

Ok, I haven’t eaten Mozambican food before and nor have I been to Mozambique. But the food was pretty tasty, especially when doused in a good dose of Iberian sunshine. 

For starters, a light, fresh octopus carpaccio was got the juices going. My only complaint here was that the octopus could’ve been more thinly sliced but other than that, a pretty good effort.

For mains, we shared two dishes; ‘laurentina wild prawns’ and a crab curry. The former was all about the sauce, whose freshness and richness (owing to the beer in which the prawns are cooked) helped the sweetness of the prawns stand out (though the prawns were a tad overcooked). 

The crab curry, well spiced and brimming with tonnes of shredded crabmeat, was also a perfect complement to the sunshine.

And the dessert buffet, for just 6 euro, was surprisingly brilliant. Going clockwise from the left in order of brilliance: orange cake, layer cake and mango cream cake. Not pictured; an uber rich, dark chocolate mousse. Not sure if there are better ways to spend 6 euros.

Long Beach: Chilli crab and geoduck

Chilli crab and black pepper crab are must do’s in Singapore. They’re like the pyramids in Egypt or Macchu Picchu in Peru. Only you can eat them. Long Beach (http://www.longbeachseafood.com.sg/outlets.php , it doesn’t really matter which outlet) does pretty good renditions of both of them, especially the curry crab. Just don an apron, and use your hands to get stuck in.

But don’t forget some of the less well-known options. Prawns stir fried with salted egg and curry leaves are rich and incredibly moreish. My favourite however, was geoduck, sashimi style. A bit pricey, but well worth it. So you might be asking, what actually is a geoduck? To put it simply, it’s like a giant white clam. It’s flesh, however, is smooth, silky and sublimely sweet, and when dipped in the peppery heat of wasabi-infused soy sauce, alas you have a formidable partnership.

Sambal Stingray and more...

East Coast Lagoon Food Village (1220 East Coast Parkway) is symbolises what is great about Singaporean Hawker dining: alfresco (by the beach), reasonably priced, full of seafood and most importantly, highly delicious.

It’s a shame that I can’t remember which stall I ate at, but it’s hard to go wrong with sambal stingray. Spicy, zingy sambal sauce; tender, almost creamy stingray wing; a winning combination in my eyes. Barbequed crayfish with garlic butter is another safe bet; the sweet flesh of the strange looking ocean dweller marries perfectly with the smokey, earthy garlic butter which I’d highly recommend you ask them to smother it with.

Izakaya Style

Pub food in Japan is at least a notch if not two notches above your average Western pub grub (except for gastropubs, but they don’t count as pubs in my eyes). Singapore, like Vancouver, is pretty big on Japanese food, hence the plethora of izakayas. One of my favourites is Shunjuu Izakaya (http://www.shunjuu.com ) in Robertson Quay.

It’s a combo that’s hard to beat: refreshing, crisp Japanese beers, alfresco dining and inventive skewers char-grilled to perfection. Highlights included melt in your mouth ox tongue, surprisingly flavoursome chicken with basil, tender iberico pork neck and wagyu beef steak. Vegetarians don’t despair; the veggie options were delicious too – particularly the stuffed mushrooms.

Japanese-Peruvian Sushi

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m not normally a ‘fusion’ man. But note the word normally. There are occasions when fusion food is incredible. And Japanese-Peruvian fusion is one of them.

Upon trying some of Edo Sushi Bar’s (http://www.edosushibar.com/, we went to the Miraflores branch, Berlin 601) creations, instead of analysing the food, the very first thing I thought was “damn, I’m gonna need to get this outside of Peru, somehow...”. After pondering that business venture the food thoughts kicked back in again.

My favourite was probably their Edo Maki, a prawn tempura maki roll topped with baby octopus sautéed in butter. Sushi doesn’t normally come with anything dairy related – but this Peruvian touch adds a rich element which, well, is best described as godly. The roll next to it, another winner, ‘Tartare Maki’, a panko-crusted prawn and avocado maki roll topped with a tuna and salmon tartar, laden with with eel and spicy sauces with crispy wonton strips to finish.

The maki roll with conchas (scallops) was also sublime...sweet, creamy, ridiculously fresh...

In the pic below, the roll at the top depicts their acevichado, an avocado and scallop maki, wrapped in tuna slices and topped with their classic ‘ceviche sauce’. Another example of Japanese-Peruvian fusion working its magic.

In short, another place you must eat at.