Eurasian food at Quentin’s

Quentin’s serves up amazing Eurasian food.

Formerly at East Coast Road, it has moved to the Eurasian Community House at Ceylon Road. While the previous restaurant had a certain elegance (yah lah, I took photos of the place for my book - “Eat, Drink, Be Merry: Singapore” [shameless plug]), its new premise is more spacious and laidback. The best spots are on the balcony at night where you can see police convoys escort SR Nathan from home to work and back again.

Oh yes, the food.

Eurasian food isn’t common in Singapore (despite the number of notable Singaporean Eurasians). Like the Peranakans, Eurasians are the offsprings of two races. In this case, western colonists and locals (Wikipedia entry), in particular Indians.

This explains why there’s a large number of curries on the menu such as Vindaloo, Devil’s Curry and Babi Assam. And why the dishes are tempered with western cooking sensibilities – the meaty croquette and Smore are examples of western food adapted to Asian palates.

GET TO THE FOOD, ALREADY!!!

At Quentin’s, the food’s amazing (am I allowed to repeat myself?), you won’t go broke, and it’s much better than the Portuguese settlement at Malacca.

The Chicken Curry Devil ($14) was spicy with a pleasantly undefinable aftertaste. The chicken’s chewy but smooth. Oddly enough, there’s cabbage and some sausages floating in the red mix. This is a must-go-for when you’re at Quentin’s. They also have an Oxtail version (haven’t tried that one yet though).

My other favourite is the Patchri ($6) – fried eggplants with sweet and sour sauce. Black on the outside; soft and creamy on the inside. My only gripe: As it’s on the mild side, the Patchri can get lost in other stronger flavours on your plate.

Also go for the Prawn Bostador ($13). Juicy, fresh prawns smothered in a creamy, tumeric sauce with lots of green chillies. It tastes like a clam chowder and can get quite jelat after a few rounds. But until it does, it’s brilliant. Here’s a tip: ladle these curries onto a mound of white fluffy rice and mix them up ala Nasi Padang style.

Personally, I’d give the Meaty Croquette (two big fried balls by the way), Singgan Serani and Babi Assam a miss. They’re not as interesting as the other Eurasian dishes on the menu. If I’d go back again, I’d try the Smore, Sugee Cake, Curry Seku and Curry Permanta.

Three dishes (about $40 with rice) are enough to feed four hungry people. Also, they’ve got a Sunday Brunch ($16) where everything’s done up buffet style for big-eaters and late-risers.

Quentin’s (139 Ceylon Road, Eurasian Community House Singapore 429744; Tel: 6348-0327 / 6254-4556 / 9147-0146; http://www.quentins.com.sg)

Fourwallsofsound: Mixcloud’s top community member

Now this is almost fame for you.

My mate – fourwallsofsound – was interviewed by Mixcloud for their Best of 2009 series.

It’s the guy at the bottom right.

I’ve extracted a part of the interview where he describes himself as:

“Just a fella who grew up on music that I was exposed to in the 80s and heard it evolve through the 90s. The first time I heard the electronic sound at a club was at a John Kelley guest night at Zouk, Singapore circa 1996 and I was hooked. Many educational club nights later, I bought my Technics MK2s, a Pioneer DJM 500 (on hire purchase naturally), pulled out my dad’s knackered old Koss’ and figured out how to mix records in a way that would connect with a crowd in the same way that each track was connecting with me; along the way I’ve played some small gigs and parties as fourwallsofsound, but remain a bedroom DJ at heart.”

Head over to the full interview for more salacious details. And drop him a line on his profile.

30 Love .. Sometimes That's All You Got by Fourwallsofsound on Mixcloud

PS: Dude, I’m done my best to pimp you out… :D Keep the music flowing.

Claypot rice

I love Claypot rice.

Really, what’s there not to love about rice boiled with hacked–up pieces of preserved sausages and chicken over roaring (hopefully charcoal) fire? Oh and it comes with a dash of greens for colour.

Like the Hong Kong side of my parentage, I believe that the best ones are those where the fat and oil from the meats permeate deeply into the rice to fill each grain with bursting oily goodness. And you know you’ve got a winner, if it doesn’t feel like you’re swallowing, well…, oil after a while.

But the difference maker lies in the rice. Each grain must be chewy, sweet, and not too hard. And the saltiness from the preserved sausages should somehow coat the rice.

A no-brainer. After all, it is mostly rice.

But the best part is the burnt shell of rice at the bottom of the claypot. It’s charred, crunchy, crispy and perfect with the chicken pieces – if there any left by now. I’m guilty of scraping away at the bottom to get every rice flake. It’s worth the price of elbow grease and carcinogens.

What’s annoying is the waiting time. Each pot can take up to 15 minutes to get properly cooked – an eternity in hawker centres.

But it’s true that good things come to those who wait. Because if it takes less time, it wouldn’t be properly cooked or they’ve cut corners. I’ve seen cooks who used precooked rice and heated it together with bits of ingredients.

So kick back, down a few bottles Singha while the pots bubble and rattle above the fire, and wait for it to come with a little Zen appreciation.

You’ll thank the rice gods for it.

Claypot rice costs $5-$20. Side dishes include soups and vegetables.

Try them at most established hawker centres:

• Yuan Fa Wa Bao Fan (#02-222 Chinatown Food Centre, 335 Smith Street Singapore 050335)
• Yew Chuan Claypot Rice (#B1-56 Golden Mile Food Centre 505 Beach Road Singapore 199583)

Edwin Tam & his Portfolio

Hi there!

As you can tell from the title, this part of Wend Right is dedicated to me and my works. If you’re not interested in the About Me spiel, click on one of these links to jump straight to my work samples: Print | Online | Photos | Stuff that I’m proud of.

Still here?

Cool! It’s awesome having an audience!

About Me

Edwin Tam is a writer and a content producer. I’ve worked in print, websites, social media sites (e.g. Facebook) and I’m developing videos for online content. I’m enamoured with the web. It’s the perfect story-telling medium with words, pictures, videos, audio streams on the same page – all telling different facets of the same story. 

I can be contacted at skybe077@ymail.com. 

I’m working on:
Content editor for UCreateChange blog; writer for CNNGo.com (under Eddie Tee); develop & implement content and social media strategy for My Urban Journey (website | blog).

Things that I do:
Write stories and collaterals and ads, take photos, make videos, and spread the word out via social media. I provide editorial and content consultancy. See my work in: Print | Online | Photos

Things that I’ve done:
Wrote, edited and photograhed for a travel guidebook (Eat, Drink & Be Merry), edited travel stories and design books, written for design and lifestyle magazines and travel websites and technology websites. I was the online editor for Time Out Singapore. I’ve helped MAXA.sg revamp their website.

Print stuff

Publications: iSh; I-S; Moods; Home & Decor; Jobs Central; Eat, Drink & Be Merry (pub. by Page One); misc. advertorials

My print portfolio (on Scrib)

+ Add your documents to this collection

Other Scrib Collections

• Art & Design
• Food
• Travel
• Places to stay
• Interviews
• Lifestyle
• Reviews
• Press Releases

Need great copy for your print publication? Email me!

Photos

My stories always have photographs. I usually shoot them with my trusty Nikon Coolpix P6000. My photos go up on Imageshack; feel free to use them, but link back to this blog and credit me.

Travel

Food

 

Online stuff

I’m a regular contributor to CNNGo (writing as Eddie Tee) & UCreateChange blog. I used to be Time Out Singapore’s online editor where I oversaw the website’s revamp and repurposed print material for the website. Every now and then, I turn my interviews with people into videos and upload them onto my YouTube channel: Skybe077.

Need someone to create online content? Email me!

Skybe077 YouTube Channel

Stuff that I’m proud of

• 'Kick Ball', 'Do Army', 'Do Work': For Jacen Tan, life becomes art
  Check out the audio stream of the interview.
  
  “If Hollywood is about celluloid fantasies, then Hosaywood ("Ho Say" being a local slang exclamation for 'great!') is about the things that Singaporeans hold most dear, even if we don’t know it.” 
  
  
• Tan Pin Pin: Documenting the invisible Singapore
  This interview made it to the front page of CNN.com’s editions.
  
  “Listen carefully to one of the opening scenes from film director Tan Pin Pin's documentary film "Singapore GaGa" and you'll hear this jingle:
  Hello. One dollar.
  Uncle Auntie 小姐帮我买 tissue paper 好吗?
  One dollar one dollar.
  Hello. One dollar.
  小姐小妹 Auntie Uncle 帮我买 tissue paper 好吗?”
  -- excerpt from Mdm Liang’s 'One Dollar Tissue Paper' song”
  
  
• Kumar -- comedian, performer and Singapore's top drag queen
  Check out my video interview of him. Catch him at the 3 Monkeys on weekends. He’s worth the crush of bodies and expensive drinks!
  
  “The spotlights go on. Kumar appears. He sashays to the center in a swishy long dress that only Kate Moss-thin models can fit into. Then he speaks into the mike. I’m Kumar. I’m approved by the government. Why? Cause I’m Indian, and the president is also Indian…"
  
  
• A walking guide to Singapore's Little India
  Jotted down & pictured the walking tour on Google maps. Why aren’t there more people using it?
  
  ”From the ruddy-faced backpackers that stay at Dunlop Street for the homely atmosphere to the 24-hour Mustafa Centre that stocks everything that you’ll ever and never need, we've seen for ourselves how roti prata, Thosai, Dhal, and fishhead curry are on every corner within this little slice of transported India -- all 700 by 500 meters of it. “