A while back, Jon and I enjoyed our first Singaporean dining experience (at Shiok Kitchen). We didn't know much about the cuisine, but were happy with what we ordered. Afterwards, however, we decided to extend a dinner invitation to a Singaporean couple we met through Jon's grad program. Yes, they would be our culinary guides!
So on Friday night, the four of us went off to Spice Islands. Located in downtown Mountain View, it appears to be one of a zillion restaurant options in the area. Even with all of the parking lots they have there, it took us 15 minutes to get a space! And that was after some serious stalking!
But it was worth it. I wish I could tell you exactly what we ordered, but I'm not sure. Our friends consulted with us, but did the actually ordering for the table. For the appetizers, there was a spring roll type of thing and some sort of layered egg dish. Both good. The entrees included curry fish head, okra, short ribs, and noodles with seafood.
Although I liked the flavor of the curry for the fish head entree, I can't really recommend it. The fish part was such a pain to eat! Too many bones. And in the thick sauce, I couldn't make out what I was spooning out; more often than not, ended up with a chunk of bones. No fun. My favorite item was the okra, which I generally just love anyway. But the flavors were sensational here — spicy with a hint of shrimp paste. And our dinner companions explained to us that in Singapore, okra is called "ladyfingers." (Quite different from the spongey cakes that we refer to as ladyfingers.)
So I guess this is only a semi-useful summary of our Spice Island experience, since I can't properly tell you everything we ate. But if you're craving some Singaporean food, you'll have to trust me — and our friends — on this one and try the place for yourself. On a weekend evening, just give yourself plenty of time to find parking!
Spice Island
210 Hope Street
Mountain View, CA
(650) 961-0628
Showing posts with label singaporean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label singaporean. Show all posts
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Monday, December 04, 2006
Shiok, Menlo Park
I hadn't heard of this restaurant before Colin emailed to tell me about it. But once I took a look at the menu, I put it at the top of my list of places to try.
First of all, I have to say: Since we didn't have any prior experience with Singaporean food, we went into this rather blindly. We didn't know what the go-to Singaporean items were -- the Pad Thai or Shaking Beef of the cuisine, if you will. So we just picked what sounded good (from the lengthy menu) and crossed our fingers.
We chose well.
Since it was a chilly night, I quickly ordered myself a cup of the delicious, sweet honey-ginger tea. For our starters, Jon and I went with the Beef Samosa with Yogurt Mint Sauce and the Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce. The lightly breaded chicken was good (you definitely need to dip it into the sauce), but the samosas were outstanding. Inside the crispy pastry shell was a minced beef, onion and potato mix that was flavorful but not too spicy.
Noodles and rice -- comfort foods to me -- seemed like perfect entree selections for the evening. The Hor Fun is described as stir-fried broad rice noodles in rich egg gravy, with vegetables and your choice of seafood, beef or chicken. We opted for just the veggies. While we were expecting a heaping plate of noodles, what we got looked more like a stew. This is because that egg gravy is really thick. But there were definitely a lot of noodles in the bowl, and it was a satisfying dish.
Because I love Chinese sausage and claypot dishes, the next entree was a no-brainer for me: The Claypot Rice with marinated chicken, Chinese sausage, mushroom and bok choy. Simple and tasty. It reminded me a lot of a meal my mom used to make quite often when I was growing up.
Finally, we got to the dessert menu. In keeping with the theme of ordering food that's reminiscent of my mom's cooking, I ordered the Banana Roll (sans the ice cream -- it was just too cold!). Again, the beauty is in the simplicity: Just sliced bananas in a spring roll-wrapper that had been deep-fried. Awesome. Jon ordered the Fried Ice Cream, which was coconut ice cream with a layer of sponge cake around it, deep-fried and then drizzled with chocolate syrup. I didn't sample his, but since he ate it all, I can only assume it was good.
The decor here is attractive, but nothing fancy. I was a little thrown by the melamine cups, plates and spoons; it just seemed a tad too casual. When our bill arrived, we were surprised that our three-course meal was under $50. Maybe all of that plastic dishware (less breakage) helps them keep costs down?
Shiok Kitchen
1137 Chestnut Street
Menlo Park, CA
(650) 838-9448
First of all, I have to say: Since we didn't have any prior experience with Singaporean food, we went into this rather blindly. We didn't know what the go-to Singaporean items were -- the Pad Thai or Shaking Beef of the cuisine, if you will. So we just picked what sounded good (from the lengthy menu) and crossed our fingers.
We chose well.
Since it was a chilly night, I quickly ordered myself a cup of the delicious, sweet honey-ginger tea. For our starters, Jon and I went with the Beef Samosa with Yogurt Mint Sauce and the Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce. The lightly breaded chicken was good (you definitely need to dip it into the sauce), but the samosas were outstanding. Inside the crispy pastry shell was a minced beef, onion and potato mix that was flavorful but not too spicy.
Noodles and rice -- comfort foods to me -- seemed like perfect entree selections for the evening. The Hor Fun is described as stir-fried broad rice noodles in rich egg gravy, with vegetables and your choice of seafood, beef or chicken. We opted for just the veggies. While we were expecting a heaping plate of noodles, what we got looked more like a stew. This is because that egg gravy is really thick. But there were definitely a lot of noodles in the bowl, and it was a satisfying dish.
Because I love Chinese sausage and claypot dishes, the next entree was a no-brainer for me: The Claypot Rice with marinated chicken, Chinese sausage, mushroom and bok choy. Simple and tasty. It reminded me a lot of a meal my mom used to make quite often when I was growing up.
Finally, we got to the dessert menu. In keeping with the theme of ordering food that's reminiscent of my mom's cooking, I ordered the Banana Roll (sans the ice cream -- it was just too cold!). Again, the beauty is in the simplicity: Just sliced bananas in a spring roll-wrapper that had been deep-fried. Awesome. Jon ordered the Fried Ice Cream, which was coconut ice cream with a layer of sponge cake around it, deep-fried and then drizzled with chocolate syrup. I didn't sample his, but since he ate it all, I can only assume it was good.
The decor here is attractive, but nothing fancy. I was a little thrown by the melamine cups, plates and spoons; it just seemed a tad too casual. When our bill arrived, we were surprised that our three-course meal was under $50. Maybe all of that plastic dishware (less breakage) helps them keep costs down?
Shiok Kitchen
1137 Chestnut Street
Menlo Park, CA
(650) 838-9448
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