Here at Accidental Epicurean, we not only eat, we also cook. While I have an enormous collection of cookbooks, lately I find myself using my iPad to source new menu and recipe ideas. Plus, I find it super convenient to carry the iPad to the supermarket to shop – saves me the time of making a physical list with pen and paper. Plus there are lots of good tips in all these – not only about recipe ideas, but also about technique. I have learned a few good tips along the way. Today my iPad is as indispensible in the kitchen as my favourite sauce pan.

1) How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman
This hard copy book is a modern culinary bible – every possible preparation of every possible ingredient is covered, alongside detailed illustrations of techniques and processes. Now it is on the iPad. For $9.99 (must cheaper than the book actually). There are +1000 recipes on the app, so the content is still quite deep. This is my favourite go-to app – in fact, it alone is the most used app bar none on my iPad.

(photo courtesy of http://markbittman.com)

2) Gourmet Magazine for iPad
For those of you who were crestfallen, like me, when Gourmet magazine ceased publication, you will be delighted to know it has been resurrected for iPad. It comes in 5 languages for our international friends and the content is divided into sections like SuperFavorite, Pasta, Kemp’s Eco Friendly Kitchen, Coffee Craving for those who like to cook with espresso….and each section is $0.99 containing 7 recipes each.

(photos courtesy of http://apple.com )

3) Food Blogroll for iPad
This ingenious app aggregates the top 25 food blogs in one place for easy browsing. You can also add your favourites, like Accidental Epicurean This is a must have for any self respecting foodie. Plus you can share any articles you like via a direct link to twitter. And it’s only $0.99!

(photos courtesy of http://apple.com )

4)  Weber’s On the Grill for iPad
Now’s the time of the year where this app really makes sense. That is unless you live in the tropics year round in which case it will provide for year-round barbecuing fun. Not only are there 250 ingenious recipes as well as 40 recipes for marinades and rubs, but there are also lots of techniques that will take your grilling to the next level.No more dried out chicken or unevenly cooked burgers. Additional features allow you to tag recipes or even email to friends, for only $4.99.

(photos courtesy of http://apple.com )

5)  Epicurious for iPad
If you liked the iPhone app your will love the iPad app. You can search for recipes by ingredient, making the most of what’s in your fridge, or even by meal type, e.g. cocktails, weeknight dinners, etc. There’s also nutrition information, shopping lists and detailed instructions including photos which are extremely helpful for reference when you are in the kitchen. Save your favourites in the recipe box or share with direct links to facebook or twitter. What’s more, this app is FREE, yes FREE.

(photos courtesy of http://apple.com )

With the help of these apps you’ll be inspired to take your cooking to the next level. And it’s just so easy. You don’t carry your cookbooks to work, but you probably carry your iPad – so solve the “what’s for dinner” dilemma in a jiffy. Or be inspired by the experiences of food bloggers. Or confidently host a rocking barbecue. The tools are just a touch away.

Any favourite apps you want to share with us?

Cedele
I’ll start with the most surprising to me. Cedele. Sure it’s a city-wide chain and the focus is on healthy food, but they have a surprisingly good burger. In fact it’s easily in my top-5 for Singapore. It’s not your regular Singa burger… and maybe that’s why I like it so much. No fancy wagyu, no crazy toppings… heck they don’t even use a real burger bun! It’s a real, handmade patty that crumbles as you bite into it. The meat is succulent and juicy. They coat whatever daily, freshly made bread you choose to encase the patty in with a bit of tomato relish that jazzes up the burger just enough.

Cedele Burger on regular daily bread

I had my first Cedele burger when I was apartment hunting in Singapore. It was a long day spent checking out all the foreigner favorite housing complexes, all of which I hated. The only thing that still stands out to me about this day is that burger. I’ve come back time and time again and brought friends to see if it was a fluke, but it never is. The burger is always juicy and great. As a bonus it doesn’t come with fries, but with a side of lettuce…. so maybe not the most filling burger in town, but one that doesn’t leave me feeling as guilty Then again, since I’m not also indulging in a plate of fries, I let myself be talked into their equally awesome Sea Salt Cheesecake!

Cedele burger in a pumpkin bread bun!

Epicurious
I’ve loved their breakfast for a long time. Epicurious has become one of my go-to spots for a lazy weekend morning. Sadly it wasn’t until they hosted our first wine event that I began to think about it for post-breakfast eating as well. I saw they listed a burger and in the name of due-dilligence decided to give it a try

It’s good. It’s simple, unpretentious and damn tasty. It is what it is… there’s no options or crazy inventions. I think, not quite sure here, it’s cheaper as a lunch burger and up over 20+ for a dinner burger. To me it’s a perfect lunch burger and a great value for lunch…. in fact I wish it was offered for brunch as well (hint hint Helen if you read this). Like the Cedele burger, it’s not served with fries, but with chips… a bit of a shame because I love their roast potatoes during breakfast, so I know they could make some nice fries.

Brewerkz
Ok, this one might seem out of place on this list. Most people know Brewerkz and their burgers, and this list is supposed to be about some of my surprise burgers. To be perfectly frank, since it’s such a big place with a prominent Quay-side location…. I really didn’t have high hopes they’d deliver. In general I find that restaurants with “location” or other draws besides just the meal tend to lack a bit in the food department. The burgers here did surprise me though. Sure they aren’t going to win any awards as a blow-your-mind burger, but this place doesn’t need that kind of burger. The have two sizes, smaller for when you’re wanting light and large for a fuller meal. There’s a few different options… one with a pineapple (one of my favorite burger toppings), a blue cheese, sauteed mushroom, and onion burger, and many others. And the wagyu burger here is actually pretty nice. When I have friends come to town or am just looking for a spot to have some beers with friends and grab a quick bite, a burger and beer here fits the bill perfectly.

So there you have it. A few burgers that surprised me. A few that I regularly go back to because

they’re convenient for me (shouldn’t a burger be a convenient item) location wise

they’re great value for their price,

and they deliver in taste

Where are you favorite burgers Singapore? Weigh in now before the full write up hits so your favorites are represented

Paul

Our first event as “Accidental Epicurean Events” went off wonderfully last night. Another big thank you goes out to our event sponsors – Epicurious, Underground Wines, and Divine MedSpa. Helena from Epicurious, Sianne from UW, and Christine from Divine MedSpa were so relaxed, calm, and generally cool and that vibe came through to our guests making for a really great evening. (pictures of guests at bottom of post)

The wine tasting took place in the Epicurious garden down by the quay. The weather was wonderful last night and near perfect for an outdoor event (maybe 5 degrees less would have been great ). I’ve only been to Epicurious in the morning so it was nice to enjoy the peaceful setting of the restaurant in the evening as the sun was setting over the quay.

Guests sampled from a selection of 4 white and 4 red New Zealand Wines at the event.

Mt Rosa Riesling 2006, Central Otago, New Zealand

Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand

Whitehaven Pinot Gris 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand

Bushmere Estate Chardonnay 2006, Gisborne, New Zealand

Lime Rock Pinot Noir 2006, Marlborough, New Zealand

Mt Rosa Pinot Noir 2007,Central Otago, New Zealand

Unison Merlot/ Cab Sauv/ Shiraz Blend 2007, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Gladstone Rose 2008, Wairapara, New Zealand

The highlights, as often is the case in this heat with wines, were the whites. Specifically the Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Many guests told me that they normally are stronger fans of red wines, but the whites here turned their tastes… at least for the night. Standouts from the Reds included the Unison and Mt Rosa Pinot Noir. All the wines were good, but it was surprising how notable the whites were complimented by the very attractive prices Underground offered at the event. I’ve paid almost as much on a glass of wine at some restaurants in Singapore.

Epicurious paired foods with each of the wines. Foods included, the highlight of the night for most guests, Shredded chicken and cabbage salad with Asian herbs and lime vinaigrette & Epicurious Vietnamese bolognaise.

Delicious crabcakes with hot and sour dipping sauce & Epicurious cheese on toast.

Epicurious mini burger (I will be coming at lunchtime for a full size version of this burger soon!) & crispy chicken wings.

And lastly a 5-spice duck and hazelnut crostini & smoked salmon tartare (unfortunately my pictures of this dish didn’t come out).

They also provided light nibbles for in-between wines or to cleanse the palate. You must try the Tom Yam Pop Corn, it’s really remarkable and I’d love to see it served in a movie theater!

As a surprise to our guest, the folks from Divine Med provided not only a 400 SGD spa voucher for our lucky draw but also gave out chair massages to those in attendance to enjoy in between sips of wine. The addition of chair massages for the guests elevated the event from enjoyable to truly special and almost indulgent.

The winner of the lucky draw.

Thanks again to our sponsors and guests. We’re looking forward to making these events a monthly occurrence so if you missed this one stay tuned for our next event in Singapore.

Paul

Hey all,
In the few months we’ve been running Accidental Epicurean , we’ve taken the website from 1500 readers to over 13,800 last month! We’ve put up over 100 informative posts on food, wine, spas, hotels, and different Asian cities. Now it’s time for another new feature at Accidental Epicurean…the hosted event.

“Stumbling upon the good life” involves more than just reading about wines, foods, etc. You need to get out and try things for yourself, deciding what interests you. So we’ve teamed up with various venues and product providers around town in order to bring you some unique flavors and experiences you might not have discovered on your own. And we’re striving to give you these opportunities in a safe, unpretentious environment where it’s OK to not know all the right things to say or do.

Next week on the 12th of August we’ll be hosting our first event with the great folks of Epicurious and Underground Wines. Epicurious will provide light bites of Asian fusion to pair with the New Zealand wines provided by Underground Wines. Better still you get to sample 6 out of 8 wines… this way you’re not forced to take a predetermined 6 wines even if you don’t particularly like a grape or varietal. This way you can get what you want and even team up with a friend or guest to sample the other two

The wines being offered are:

• Mt Rosa Riesling 2006, Central Otago, New Zealand
• Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand
• Whitehaven Pinot Gris 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand
• Bushmere Estate Chardonnay 2006, Gisborne, New Zealand
• Sherwood Estate Pinot Noir 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand
• Mt Rosa Pinot Noir 2007,Central Otago, New Zealand
• Unison Merlot/ Cab Sauv/ Shiraz Blend 2007, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
• Gladstone Rose 2008, Wairapara, New Zealand

If you are a faithful Singapore reader or just in town on the 12th please make a point of RSVPing today. We’re keeping the event smaller at only 40 or so people and things are filling up quickly already. If you miss this event, look for more in the future and if you’re a venue or product provider interested in partnering with us in the future please drop us a line via the contact page.

Thanks,
Paul

Great free iPhone and iTouch application for foodies, chefs, or anyone who cooks. Epicurious has released an application that puts over 25,ooo applications wherever you and your phone are.

The application features recipes from Bon Appetit, the entire The Gourmet Cookbook, and  many others. This sounds like a great application when on the go…just pull up a recipe in the shopping market to get appropriate ingredients.

Best of all it’s a free download.

Epicurious for iPhone

Paul

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Not the cereal on-the-go breakfast, but the something eggy, something cheesy, maybe a pancake here or there and endless cups of coffee kind of breakfast. Breakfast for lunch is good. Breakfast for dinner is better. But a proper leisurely weekend breakfast is simply divine.

With my it-doesn’t-get-any-better-than-breakfast mindset it was natural that I had to check out what Time Out Singapore called “the best breakfast in Singapore.” And so it was that this Sunday we found ourselves strolling to Robertson Quay to Epicurious to see what all the fuss was about.

We sat outside, as everyone does, at one of the several hodge-podge, mismatching table sets. As one would expect at 11am on a Sunday the place is a bit overrun – the crowd being made up of couples, friends meeting up, families with kids, with some folks even bringing their dogs! As a result, it took a good long bit before we were able to capture the waiter’s attention to order.

I ordered the Full Monty aka Hobb’s Choice ($20SGD – pics up top) which is a full on English-style breakfast with three fried eggs, sausage, bacon, grilled tomato, grilled mushrooms, baked beans, buttered toast, orange juice and coffee. Paul decided on the Breakfast Burrito ($12SGD) including two scrambled eggs with chorizo, tomato, cheddar cheese and tomato chilli relish, wrapped in a flour tortilla with a side of salsa. Water was served in repurposed liquor bottles – which Paul found alarming at first after seeing a mom pour her child from a bottle of Absolute Mandarin…that is until he realized it was water.

It was a good thing they offered the Sunday paper, because service is to put it politely…quite leisurely. We actually asked for our own bottle of water but in the end it never arrived and for the remainder of the meal we served ourselves from the stand by the door.

When coffee arrived I was unexpectedly delighted by the homey coffee cups decorated with roosters and then ultimately quite pleased with the quality of the coffee – a nice rich brew signified by the crema on top. This perhaps was the highlight of the meal…

Paul found his burrito good, but a tad bland. And he was also disappointed by the chopped onions and tomatoes passing themselves off as salsa. Paul wished that the chorizo had been spicier and would have preferred it to be chopped rather than included as big chunks, giving the aromatic sausage an opportunity to permeate the burrito.

Unfortunately my eggs ordered well done, clarified in description by “please, no runny yolks,” stumped the chef. The first batch sent out was so overcooked that it was in fact burnt in appearance in and flavour. And then when I requested a re-do, the second batch was over-easy and therefore runny. I gave up and did not ask for yet another, but it seems the restaurant wanted to make sure we were pleased and tried yet a third time. The result was perfectly cooked eggs, but they arrived only after I had finished and was ready for the check. Not only was this disappointing, but also some other aspects of the meal were less than ideal – the bacon was undercooked and the orange juice a bit watery. The sausage and potatoes were rather average, but interestingly enough, the grilled tomato and mushrooms were excellent and became the unwitting stars of the show.

This one is too burnt...

This one is too runny....

This one is just right...

Lest I think that our experience was isolated, our neighbour ordered the baked eggs and upon lifting their blanket of cheese found them to be undercooked enough to also be sent back.

Top be fair, Epicurious did appease my sense of indignity by removing my dish from the bill without my even having to ask – which was a unexpected bit of service that made me feel better, knowing they acknowledged the severity of the [repeated] mistakes. I mean, fried eggs are about as easy as it gets in the kitchen.

So with all this said, can I recommend Epicurious ? Being a breakfast lover, I wanted to like Epicurious. In fact, I wanted to love it. I wanted to make it my regular weekend haunt – bringing friends, family, visitors.

In talking to the couple seated next to us who sent back the baked eggs, they reassured us that Epicurious has been around for years and that they had been regular patrons for quite some time. If not for the personal voucher from these friendly Australians I am honestly not sure I would have the patience to try again. But I still need a favourite breakfast haunt, so who knows…maybe I can find it in myself to give them another chance. I believe in second chances – especially when it comes to breakfast.

Morning Glory – Time Out Singapore on breakfast at Epicurious

All in Good Taste – Time Out Singapore’s round-up of top restaurants

Epicurious
#01-02 The Quayside
60 Robertson Quay
Singapore 238252
Telephone:  +65 6734 7720
www.epicurious.com.sg

Note: Breakfast starts at 9am Saturday and Sunday. No reservations for weekend breakfast.