Top classic Singaporean desserts you should try

Desserts in Singapore are a melting pot of diverse influences. They come together in a colorful smorgasbord of food that is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. From icy cool dishes to jellies and cakes, here are the most popular delicious local desserts you’ve got to try when traveling to the sunny island.

Ice Kachang

This list would not be complete without what might be the mother of all Singapore desserts, Ice Kachang. There are red beans, jelly, chendol and attap chee (palm seed) hidden under a mountain of shaved ice, then soaked in the rainbow and doused with evaporated milk. A hit of Ice Kachang is sublime in the hot and humid weather. At many stalls, you can also add extra toppings like sweet corn, mango, durian or chopped peanuts.

Durian Pengat

The durian pengat is a stinky-fruit lover’s decadent delight, though non-durian lovers may also be converted if they only dare to give it a try. The dessert has its roots in Malay and Peranakan communities, where pengat refers to fruits or root vegetables cooked in a concoction of coconut milk and sugar. In the case of the durian pengat, the durian is cooked to a silky smooth mousse-like consistency, topped with extra durian for a double helping. Some innovative versions have it topped with butter croutons and dollops of palm sugar syrup, which only makes this well-loved dessert all the more flavourful.

Cheng Tng

Served hot or cold, this golden colored soup typically contains dried longans, white fungus, barley, gingko nuts and sweet syrup. Ingredients can vary. Some vendors may add other yummy additions like dried persimmon, sweet potato or lotus seeds. As a hot dessert, cheng tng is a warming and comforting treat – simply satisfying. If the weather is just too hot, have the dessert icy cold instead. So sweet and cooling.

Pulut Hitam

This dessert of Indonesian origin has all the typical Southeast Asian ingredients: coconut milk, pandan leaves and palm sugar. Black glutinous rice is painstakingly boiled until soft and creamy, then simmered with palm sugar and pandan leaves and served with swirls of coconut milk. Also a fixture of many dessert stalls in Singapore’s hawker centres, pulut hitam is both a filling snack and dessert of choice for many locals.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice cream carts can often be found in Singapore’s city centre, offering ice cream sandwiches instead of conventional cones or cups. These colourful carts are helmed by ice cream uncles or aunties (the endearing term Singaporeans give to these traditional vendors), delighting both kids and adults. They play a vital role in preserving an old-school Singaporean way of eating ice cream: sandwiched in fluffy pandan-flavoured bread, or crispy wafer slices. Flavours are typically chocolate, vanilla or strawberry, but if you are lucky, you can also find durian, sweetcorn or red bean varieties for a truly Singaporean take.

Read more: Taste the traditional sweets from Asia

Source Internet

The best Michelin-Starred Restaurants in Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo has held the world record for the most Michelin-starred restaurants within a city, beating even Paris. Here are seven favorite restaurants where you are sure to get a high-quality dining experience.

Ginza Kojyu

Ginza Kojyu is usually regarded as a good value for the price compared to similar restaurants. Choose from sushi, over 60 different wines, sake, seasonal offerings or go for its multi-course kaiseki menu in a Zen-like dining room. Chef Toru Okuda has other 2 restaurants in Tokyo, in case a reservation is not available during your stay in the city.

Sukiyabashi Jiro Roppongi

Sukiyabashi Jiro Roppongi is the Michelin 2-starred sushi restaurant which is run by Takashi Ono, the son of Jiro Ono. You can taste the best-quality sushi both for lunch with 15-piece course and dinner 20-piece course. If you cannot find the seats available at Sukiyabashi Jiro in Ginza, just check the availability of Sukiyabashi Jiro Roppongi!

Joël Robuchon Restaurant

World-famous chef Joël Robuchon places an emphasis on his absolute love for food, cooking and eating, an ethos evident in the dishes he creates. Meticulous about the finer details as well as the overall creative process, he succeeds in making every one of his international restaurants personal and individual, providing the customers with his dynamic take on French cuisine. Having been awarded three Michelin stars, it is an unmissable experience when visiting Tokyo.

Kanda

Kanda’s minimalist interior is the perfect setting to allow diners to focus on the quality and intensity of the many dishes placed before them. With a modern twist on Japanese cuisine, the restaurant is small and intimate, with customers often finding themselves chatting to the head chef. Care and attention is carried out in every element, characterized by the restaurant’s impeccable service. The anago sushi and the shark’s fin rice are not to be missed.

Tempura Kondo

Tempura Kondo, a top-rated Tempura restaurant located in Ginza, Tokyo, has got Michelin stars for over a decade. The chief chef Fumio Kondo has dedicated his life to make Tempura and spread the recognition of Tempura across the world since he was 18 years old. Tempura Kondo is the first luxury Tempura restaurant which offers vegetables as well as seafood. If you have to travel on a limited budget, you can experience the Kondo’s authentic Tempura dishes more affordably at lunch time.

Azabu Yukimura

This three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Azabu Yukimura blends traditional kaiseki with contemporary twists and ambitious presentation. Signature plates include mouthwatering combinations of lightly steamed sea urchin with lobster broth jelly and flying fish roe, all enjoyed within the minimalist interior of the restaurant.

Read more: Japan, the quintessence of cuisine in Asia

Quintessence

No two dining experiences at Quintessence are ever the same. Customers are given a contemporary French menu selected by the chef which changes daily according to the availability of ingredients at the local market. Quintessence prides itself on its “cuisson”, a unique process of “low-temperature long-time roasting” which releases the best extracts from the meat.

Source Internet

5 best drinks to try in Georgia

You might have heard about the staples of Georgian cuisine, but you might not know what drinks to try once you visit the country. Even though Georgian beverages are not as diverse as it’s cuisine, there are a couple of beverages unique to the state. So here’s a short list of the local drinks you shouldn’t miss when in Georgia.

Mineral Water

Georgia is home to many natural springs, from which several companies produce naturally carbonated mineral water. Each and every beverage is different from the other with taste and carbonation strength. The most famous of all is Borjomi both in Georgia and post-Soviet countries. This particular beverage is from Borjomi Gorge springs, located in the central part of the nation. If you wish to taste the natural spring, you can visit Borjomi and drink it before it is carbonated. Note that the natural spring has a strong sulfur taste before going through the purification process.

The Borjomi Springs were discovered in the 1820s by the Imperial Russian military. This lead to its vast popularity in Russia, both as the drink and tourist destination. The history of the brand Borjomi is closely related to the Romanov Dynasty and has been bottled in Russia’s Georgian estates. However, after the Soviet takeover, the enterprise was nationalized and the product was exported to Soviet countries.

Lemonade

Naturally, lemonades are produced all over the world, but tarragon flavored lemonade is unique to Georgia. It is another carbonated soft drink that Georgian’s love and was very popular during the Soviet era. It has a distinctive bright green color and a taste of the tarragon leaves.

The beverage was made by Mitrofane Lagidze, a Georgian pharmacist in the nineteenth century, by mixing carbonated water with the tarragon syrup. His invention quickly became popular and he opened a syrup factory with the trademark Lagidze Water, which still survives to the this day.

Today, many soft drink manufacturers produce typical lemonades with natural flavoring. The products can be bought at any local shop across the country. If it happens that tarragon is not your cup of soda, you can try other flavors, such as vanilla, lemon, pear, grape, and chocolate to name a few.

Lagidze Water

As mentioned above, Lagidze Water is created from soda and natural syrups. Traditionally it’s mixed in a glass from the soda fountain in front of you, making the whole experience unique and authentic.

In 1887 Lagidze experimented with the idea of using natural syrups instead of imported flavored essences to make lemonades. In 1900 he and his brothers began to blend unique proprietary flavors made from fruits and herbs. In 2014, this method of making lemonade was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List of Georgia.

Qvevri Wine

It’s a fact now that Georgia is one of the oldest wine making countries in the world, producing the alcoholic beverage for at least 8,000 years. What makes Georgian wine so special is the method it uses. Qvevri, a clay jar with a pointed end, is the primary vessel in traditional Georgian wine making. When grapes are crushed, the juice together with stems and skins are poured in qvevri for fermentation. The qvevri is buried underground, where a natural temperature of the soil does the “magic,” resulting in an amber-colored wine.

Chacha

This local pomace brandy is clear in color and very potent. The name of the drink comes from a Georgian word chacha for grape pomace (the solid remains of wine grapes after being pressed).

Traditionally it was a home-brewed drink of Georgians. Depending on the maker, the alcohol percentage can range between 40-65%. Today it’s commonly produced by many local distilleries and is sold in stores all over the country.

Apart from grape pomace, locals make chacha out of many other fruits, such as figs, pears, tangerines, peaches, and even honey.

See more: 5 unique souvenirs you can bring home from Georgia

Source: Internet