Completion of The Taste Quest

It has been a few months since I embarked on my taste quest to find the perfect cup of coffee. At least a taste that I think is perfect. With the cafe culture growing in Singapore, it is perhaps only right to see more artisan and small roasters popping up here and there across the island.

I have been a somewhat loyal supporter of 40 Hands cafe at Yong Siak Street in Tiong Bahru. It is a cafe that is tucked away in a corner of the quaint yet hipster-filled Tiong Bahru estate. The coffee at 40 Hands is sourced from 5 Senses in Australia. Lately, they have been up to a partnership of some sort with Common Man in Singapore. I prefer coffee that tastes more fruity (think berries) and a slight hint of floral notes. Cocoa and caramel flavours are optional. With that in mind, 40 Hands has satisfied my taste palette pretty well. Acidic and complex coffee that is delectable and lip-smacking good. However, it is on the pricier side of things. Considering Starbucks as a benchmark for price, it's expensive. Frequenting 40 Hands means less allowance for other things. I have found my perfect cup with a good price recently.

Nylon Coffee Roasters is the answer. It was my first time there a couple of days ago. I can say that I'm in love with the coffee they serve and the service they provide. Nylon Coffee Roasters, as the name suggests, isn't a cafe per se. They roast coffee and they sell roasted coffee, evident in the massive PROBAT bean roaster when you enter the shop. Selling the caffeinated beverage isn't their main business and you will not find any cakes or pastries at the cafe. Their coffee menu is simple too. You have a choice of Black, White, or Iced. The coffee they serve leans more towards the acidic side and has a rather rounded finish. It has sweet overtones that leaves you asking for more! Price-wise, it's a fair bit cheaper than 40 Hands, somewhere around $2 more affordable. Same for the beans, they are fresh and more affordable too! 

I think my taste quest is more or less considered complete for now as I have found my perfect cup. Either way, 40 Hands and Nylon are both good coffee places to head to for an afternoon beverage. Or if you're like me, head there after church service on a Sunday afternoon to let your mind drift into some coffee goodness before prepping for the week to come. 

Ditch It–my take on store bought pasta sauce

I started out cooking pasta the typical Singaporean way–buy some spaghetti and a bottle of tomato or cream based pasta sauce and put them together. It is a quick and fuss-free way to get your lunch or dinner settled, in a 'home-cooked' way. Well, it's not wrong to do so. But there's so much more to good pasta sauce that those bottled stuff can't give. I have since stopped using those bottled stuff and have created plenty of flavours that go well with pasta. Let me give you a few reasons to ditch them.

1. You have no control over the quality and taste of store-bought sauces.
2. You take out the fun of preparing a good pasta dish!
3. Home-made sauces taste much better and do not take long to prepare
4. You can have so much more variety with home-made sauces

It's pointless to say how good home-made stuff is if I don't provide a simple recipe to follow.

Spaghetti tossed in a slightly spicy tomato and vodka sauce, served with pan seared chicken breast.

Spaghetti with simple tomato vodka sauce.

Ingredients
1. 2 fresh tomatoes, quartered
2. A shot glass of vodka
3. 1 handful bunch of spaghetti. I only use Barilla, for the quality
4. Chicken breast
5. Salt and pepper
6. Olive oil
7. Crushed dried chilli

Steps
1. Bring some salted water to a rolling boil and add the spaghetti to it. Keep the heat high and let it boil. This will allow the pasta to not clump and stick together as you cook it. Keep time.
2. Heat up a pan and add some olive oil to it. Place the quartered tomatoes in the pan, and allow them to sear. Add a dash of salt and pepper to season.
3. In the same pan, lay the chicken breast skin side down and let it sear. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over the meat side as it cooks. Leave it to cook for about 4 minutes, depending on the thickness and size.
4. Sear the other side of the tomatoes. Turn the chicken breast over and cook for another 3 minutes.
5. Remove the chicken breast and let it rest on a plate. Do not slice it yet.
6. To the tomatoes in the pan, add the vodka. Tilt the pan to one side such that the alcohol catches fire. This burns off the alcohol in the vodka and chars the tomatoes a little. Add some crushed dried chilli to give some kick to the sauce, and a dash of the starchy pasta water.
7. Drain the spaghetti after about 8 minutes of cooking, or till al dente. Add the spaghetti to the vodka-tomato mixture. Give it a good toss and a dash of pepper.
8. Serve up the spaghetti. Slice the chicken breast and arrange it atop the pasta.
9. Drizzle some olive oil to finish it off. Serve and enjoy.

There you go! More sauce recipes and ideas to come, and stop buying those bottled pasta sauces!