Jemput-jemput Pisang

My parents never came to visit me whilst I was studying in Perth. When mom and grandma finally did come over, it was during convocation week. I guess all the times my mates family came over and spent time with them, I was a tad envious and wished my family was there too.

Anyways when mom and grandma came, they started cooking on the get go. I was a senior resident advisor in Trinity a residential college in Perth, I had the choice of spacious rooms, but I chose to remain to my good old Hull Wing where a beautiful old oven and stoves resided. I had two rooms, a tiny room and another room filled with all sorts of spices and herbs and belacan which i used as a lounge.

Mom and grandma cooked up a storm that week in Perth. Cooking Asian home style favorites like Assam Pedas Ikan, Singgang Serani, Sambal Tumis, Fried Vermicelli and the most memorable of all the jemput-jemput udang(prawn fritters), that week my mates were always in my lounge room eating. We’d all pile up on the mattresses on the floor and watch bollywood movies on my Compaq Laptop. Memorable times! Home cooked food in a long while soothes homesickness. One of my kids Raj, still can’t forget mom’s jemput-jemput udang and when he finally came down to Singapore, he was hugging and gushing to my mom how he missed those jemput-jemput.

Mom made jemput-jemput pisang (banana fritters) today, and it made me remember all these memories and how much I missed my friends.

Kerupuk Kulit And Satay Padang

Crispy cubes of deep fried cow/ox skin and sticks of beef and beef tongue skewered on a stick, that’s what the title of the blog is talking about today. Kerupuk kulit is like the epitome of my childhood, I think that’s probably one of the few snacks that I actually enjoyed as a kid whilst back in my grandma’s village in Sipirok, Sumatra. Apparently all I wanted to eat was french fries and not brown rice. But kerupuk kulit, gosh I could just munch on those and be happy. Mom adds these crispy fried squares into her fermented black bean beef stew, or taucheo daging. And those crispy cubes become gelatinous chewy awesomeness. Uugh I want some now.

Another delicious dish from my childhood is Satay Padang, whenever we would drive up from Jakarta to Bandung or vice versa we would stop along the way and have this delicious skewered meat that has a thick spicy yellow meaty sauce. The ones that I find in Singapore is just made from slices of beef. I miss the ones from Kuala Lumpur near Kampong Bahru that has cubes of beef and beef tongue. And the sauce was just perfect, the meat tender and simply delicious. I wish I was back in KL!

Meatworks

I was once a vegetarian, but with restaurants like Meatworks no one would want to be one. I realize that I’ll always be a carnivore. I love my meats so much so that practically almost every establishment that served steaks in Singapore, I have tried.

Meatworks is an establishment that serves the best cuts of meat that you’d want. Located in the heart of the bustling shopping district of Orchard Road at Ion, it’s easily accessible by train, bus or cab (there’s even a valet service).

I’ve tried their Wagyu Sirloin and Wagyu D Rump, but what I can wax lyrical about is their Angus Tenderloin. I love my meat pink, so I always order them medium. Every slice just melts in your mouth.

You are spoiled with a wide choice of cuts of meat, just wished that they had filet mignon though, had the best mignon at Open Sesame Long Beach. Anyways back to Meatworks, your steaks are accompanied by choices of sides like vegetables, fries or Yukon mash. Their Yukon mash is my side of choice, is so creamy & delish. A variety of sauces are available to accompany you meats, there’s chimichurri, Herbed butter, black pepper etc. Oh and on the menu there’s the Brontosaurus steak, a 1.5kg steak that takes an hour to prepare. I’m still looking for takers to finish one with me.

Another item in the menu that I must order is the Foie Gras with longan. The fattiness of the foie is cut by the freshness of the longans and the lightly dressed greens. We tried another starter last night, Oven Baked Asparagus with béarnaise sauce and mushrooms. Yum!

Their drinks menu is impressive. There are italian sodas with flavours like blood orange, all sorts of mocktails and smoothies and teas. No meal is complete without desserts, I recommend their Affogato, Tiramisu, Panna Cota and Creme Brûlée simply DIVINE!

Definitely a must go restaurant if you adore meat!

Meatworks is located at:

2 Orchard Turn, #04-12 ION Orchard, Singapore.