Spicy Grilled Fish (By G)

After 7 weeks of travelling I was really looking forward to cooking for myself (and Biggs) again.  I got a little cookbook in Cambodia and, after intense scrutiny over a long period of time, settled on barbecued fish.

The recipe called for whole Mackerel but they didn't have any at the fish shop - they guy said Taylor is running at the moment (which I took to be a good thing) so I got that instead.

I marinated the fish in a lemongrass, chilli, ginger, shallot, lime and coconut blend then chucked them on the barbecue.  To make sure the fish was cooked all the way through I chucked them in the oven for a while.

For sides I attempted a Burmese tomato salad - tomatoes, red onion, coriander, fish sauce, vinegar, lemongrass (actually the recipe called for lemongrass vinegar but we appear to be fresh out), fried garlic, fried shallot and crushed peanuts. Also, I blanched some beans, added red onion, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, tamarind paste, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, sesame oil and fried garlic.

To my surprise the fish was moist and perfectly cooked. I think it could have done with some more of the marinade. The tomato salad was a long way off the mark and the beans were a bit over blanched - otherwise it was a pretty good effort. Somehow I've lost the ability to multitask so there was a lot of dashing back and forward as I remembered urgent things that needed to be done shortly after they needed to be done.

Changi Airport Dinner (by G)

My last night in Singapore - dinner at the airport. Singapore airport is massive with many excellent dining options... sadly I have a tradition of eating at a certain noble burger chain whenever I fly out of Changi A/P.

I can't remember exactly what burger I ordered - all I know is that it looked nothing like the one in the picture.  It reminded me of the Whammy Burger scene in Falling Down - 'Look at this sorry, miserable, squashed thing'.  Customs had already confiscated my knife, baseball bat and firearms so I had little option other than to eat it.

Also shown are 9 chicken tenders - to me they appear to be nuggets... I guess it's a cultural thing.  They were pretty much as expected - cold, with an unusual squashed chicken texture.

Pasta with Caper Butter Sauce (by Biggs)

Sigh! I was hoping G would be home by now. I was really looking forward to a home cooked meal. Alas, he's still in Singapore being threatened with deportation back to Malaysia so I figured I should fend for myself tonight.

I didn't have a plan, any groceries or much motivation so made dinner with the three things I did have - pasta, capers and butter. Pasta with Caper Butter Sauce, it's a real thing....look it up.

It was really tasty but you can't eat much before your greased-up innards threaten to leak out of your anus.

Hmmm....too far? Fear not, G will take the dinner reins tomorrow.....pending deportation.

Duck Rice (by G)

After the excesses of the night before I decided tonight I should get something a bit more modestly priced for dinner so I went to a nearby hawker centre.

I had decided on roast pork rice from one hawker but he was out of pork so I ended up with duck.  It's not the best duck I've ever had, the meat was a bit grey, but you can't deny the value for money - about $3.50.

Another positive is that it conforms to my personal plating philosophy - 'dump the tastiest shit you can make on a plate and to hell with aesthetics'.

Pork, Peas, Potato.....and Bacon (by Biggs)

I'm desperately hoping tonight is the last night I have to cook for myself for a while so I thought I should enjoy it with some of my favourite things....pork, peas, potato and bacon.

The potatoes were oven-baked then fried up with bacon, peas were mixed through and served with a pan-fried pork chop. I can feel my arteries clogging as I type.

And, yes....this does mean I'm having crackling for dessert.

Braised Abalone in Superior Sauce (by G)

When I checked in at the airport in Ipoh (Malaysia) to fly to Singapore the Immigration guy noticed I had less than 6 months left on my passport (5 months and 22 days to be exact). 'You'll be deported from Singapore,' he said. 'It's not worth even taking the flight'.  I was adamant that I would take the flight and sort it out at the other end so they had me sign a waiver absolving them of any responsibility or financial burden if I got deported back to Malaysia.

Initially I was a bit worried but put it out of my mind as a later problem. When I got to Singapore they either didn't notice (or didn't care) about the expiry and let me straight in no questions asked.

I had worked out that being deported would be an expensive exercise for me - a flight back to Malaysia, changing or re-booking my flight back to Australia... when it didn't happen I figured I had a bunch of hypothetical extra money and decided to blow some of it on dinner.

I found a seafood restaurant that looked okay (though totally deserted of customers) and ordered the 'Braised Abalone in Superior Sauce'. I've never had abalone before and the rumours are true... it's fucking expensive. As you can see below, the plate consisted of a mushroom, a small whole abalone and three pieces of broccoli for the reasonable price of 38 Singapore dollars.

The flavour and texture of the abalone was not that dissimilar to the mushroom. I've heard abalone can be chewy if cooked incorrectly so I guess they did a good job of the braising. I don't know what goes into superior sauce but it turned out to be a glossy, mild, savoury sauce that complimented the abalone.

Not shown is a large plate of excellent seafood fried rice - essential for filling the vast recesses of my stomach not filled by the small abalone.

Wine (by Biggs)

Fortunately, since the blog began, I've been photographing most of my meals just in case I fall asleep early one night and lunch becomes dinner. That happened today.

Embarrassingly, lunch was wine. If only I'd photographed breakfast today as well.

I drank wine in the afternoon and fell asleep. Now it's late and I can't be arsed making dinner.

Tomorrow is a new day.