Fisherman's Village @ Pasir Ris Beach

Contrary to its name, it is not a village of fishermen. Rather, it is an open space of a row of restaurants and eating places right by the sea at Pasir Ris beach. The ambience is good, and it is highly recommended for those who enjoy the sea breeze and the white sand (not that white actually, our beaches here still cannot be compared to those overseas), and to wine and dine next to the water.

Food wise, there is a choice of sea food or side dishes. We had a table right by the sea (very lucky!), and ate cereal prawns, fried rice, red garoupa, sambal belachan kang kong (some sort of green vegetables cooked with chilli) and omelette with mushrooms. The food is good, not that fantastic, but not that bad. Anyway, I am not that choosy when it comes to food as long as it is something that can be eaten.

The service however, leaves much to be desired. The waitress was fast in taking our orders, but slow in serving the dishes. We waited for quite some time before the first dish came. And apparently, the waitress somehow forgot about the fried rice, as we had to holler about three times before the dish finally came.

Then when we called for the bill, it took such a long time to arrive, and when the bill finally came, it was the wrong one. After all, how could it be possible for us to be billed S$500 for just those few dishes?! It was not as if we ate abalone or shark's fin or anything expensive! We took a look and realised a few things on the bill which we did not order, namely crab and lobster.

So we pointed out the mistake and the waitress had to apologise and take away the wrong bill. Again, we waited quite a while before our bill (the right one this time) finally arrived. Still, despite these minor hiccups, it was an enjoyable meal, with nice food and even nicer ambience. Dining by the water is pleasurable indeed! Just a pity we got there too late, if it was earlier in the evening, it would be even better to see the sun setting into the water!

Food : 4 out of 5
Ambience : 4.5 out of 5
Service : 2 out of 5
Price : 3.5 out of 5

Threadfin Steak

In my younger years (from the time I was born until about the age of twenty-five), my family and my aunt's family would gather at my maternal grandmother's house every Saturday for a dinner-cum-reunion.

This was our routine almost every Saturday without fail (unless we had other things on like wedding dinners or we were overseas), until a few years back when my grandmother had a second heart bypass surgery coupled with rheumatism, so we decided not to go anymore so as to let her rest and not strain herself cooking for us.

I remember she would cook many dishes for us. During the week, she would scrimp and save and eat simple dishes, but come Saturday, she would cook about ten dishes. There would be tiger prawns, fish, chicken, mushrooms, vegetables, abalone and rice, with the occasional vermicelli which was a traditional dish for people of her dialect group. We were really spoilt.

I love partaking her dishes, as she is a wonderful cook. She is able to mix and bring out the flavour of the sauces of the food, making the food so aromatic and appetising. My youngest brother loves her prawns the most. Somehow, she is able to cook the prawns in such a way that the final dish comes out looking red and juicy.

Out of all the dishes, I love her threadfin steak the most. For such a simple dish, she is able to make it so aromatic and crispy, that each time she cooked the dish, I would attack the skin and the bone in the middle. The skin was so crispy that with each bite, I could feel the crunch. The bone was so juicy that I could just suck off the juice and sauce inside and crave for more.

I really miss the fish now that we no longer go to her place for dinner every weekend. My mum would buy the cod steak occasionally and instruct my maid to cook it the way my grandma used to cook, but somehow no one is able to bring out the flavour like how my grandma did.

So I did the unexpected. We were shopping for groceries yesterday morning in preparation for a barbecue tomorrow evening when I came across the cod fish steak. Immediately, I remember how I love this fish. Coincidentally, he said he like the fish too. Thus I offered to cook them and we bought the fish.

How did my grandmother used to prepare the fish? First, the fish is pan-fried with little oil, about a tablespoon. Once the bottom part is cooked (golden brown), turn the fish over and start cooking the other side. Once the fish is cooked, put it on a plate. Then, using the same oil, cook some garlic (chopped into fine pieces) until golden brown. Sprinkle the cooked garlic with the oil over the fish and start serving.

Simple, right? It may seem simple, but actually it is not that easy to cook it to perfection. The trick to the taste and flavour is in the garlic oil. If the fish is pan-fried to perfection and the right amount of garlic is used, the colour will be golden-brown, the bone will be juicy and the skin will be crispy. The flesh of the fish itself should be soft and easy to break using chopsticks.

Needless to say, I have not perfected the recipe. My cod steak turned out soft, but the skin was not crispy and the bone not juicy enough. Furthermore, there was no garlic, so I had to improvise by using chopped onions and ginger instead, so the taste was very different although the oil still brought out a bit of the flavour.

It was quite a good first attempt. When I told my mum, she exclaimed, "Are you sure you know how to cook that?!" Hmmmm.... At least the fish was eatable, and no one had any stomach upset (I hope!). But I still wish to be able to cook the fish to perfection, the way my grandmother did. Perhaps next time, with a bit more practice, I should be able to achieve it!