The second day back in Singapore after the travel madness in December and I would kill to eat local food.
Except that my girlfriend just had her China project nightmare and would die if she had to eat anymore Chinese food.
She wanted pizza.
And so here we are.
At Fern & Kiwi at The Cannery in Clarke Quay.
Besides subtly sounding like a swear word,
it was a cute idea.
Fern and Kiwi.
The two most representative items of New Zealand.
I knew about the latter but didn't have an inkling about the former.
In any case,
as long as they were actual food offerings on the table.
I was easy.

So what is New Zealand food?
You've watched all those cows grazing on limitless and luscious fields of green right?
That's basically it.
Quality food untainted by the advancements of agricultural steroids and toxins.
It isn't hard when they receive the best in rainfall, crystal clear waters and mineral rich volcanic soil.
Their physical proximity to Australia would explain for their apparently choice of food but they have a traditional tribal influence from the Maori ancestors inherent in their cooking style.

Simple and uncomplicated.
So let's have some of them ribs, shall we?
The Classic Pork Spare Ribs- A Lone Star Classic as a entree came with 4 counts of ribs.
My girlfriend had this on her previous visit and wasn't impressed.
Apparently, just four ribs could be stacked till they hit the top of the metal racks.
For what it lacked in quantity,
it made up in quality.
Coated with honey BBQ orange glaze,
the meat fell off the ribs in a thoroughly satisfying way.
The soft bones of collagen, the tender pork rind and juicy meat.
I love not having to fight with my food.

And on the waitstaff's recommendation,
we had the Aucklander with chicken meat as our pizza order.
More bread than sauce it's obvious from here.
The base was good but would've been better if it wasn't soaked through with the tomato base sauce.
It became so soggy that you couldn't possibly pick up a slice and murder it without looking like you actually committed a massacre with all that sauce dripping all over you.
All those flavours were rich and intense.
I love every fork of pizza that I had.

And they should be bringing you hot sauce and this uber cute sauce called Rocket Fuel or was it rocket sauce.
With raisins as a main ingredient, it was a thick sticky sweet sauce that was so addictive...
You really should ask them to take it away after a certain time.
And no, it shouldn't be taken away only after the meal.
*Looks disapprovingly at you.
I mixed both hot sauce and the rocket fuel together.
Hot and sweet.
Oh my yum!

And the service there was excellent.
Fun loving staff and we had a few rounds of checking in to see if we liked what we were having and topping up of water without being asked.
It might have been also that we were one of the two tables filled downstairs.
The dining/ bar area upstairs area wasn't yet open at 7pm it seems.

http://monstrousappetites.blogspot.sg/2013/01/fern-and-kiwi-cannery-five-dime-river.html

Train tracks! But there weren't any trains running.
It reminded me of the Macdonalds at the old King Albert Park.
There was an old world charm in the theme of their decorations.
With clocks that displayed different timings.
I didn't pay close attention.
Might've been local and one other time zone?
What should we have for dinner?
Signatures of course.

Duck confit with mash, carrots and poached pears with creamed spinach.
Deep fried instead of pan fried for a confit made it drier than it would've ideally been.
But fork tender and satisfyingly crisp on the outside.
My girlfriend was extremely pleased with the order.
It's the first time I've seen her wipe her plate clean!Calamari Rings with their special green sauce.
Just looks like tartar with chives perhaps? I actually made an order for a chicken mushroom crepe and side of truffle fries.
Till...
My google page decided to load itself.
And the reviews appeared in front of me.
From a few websites.
"Can you check on my order. I'd like to make a switch from crepe to burger, fries to calamari. Since I already have fries on the side."
"Sorry mam, it's already been cooked."
"Well. Would someone else possibly order what I just did?"
"Let me check again."
"Okay. I've voided it and put in your new order."
"Thank you. SO much." I enjoyed it.
We both did.
She could eat the bacon and portobello mushroom and fries even though she didn't take beef.
MMmmm. This is our bestseller for 2012.
The Praline.
It wasn't a top choice for me honestly.
I wanted a chocolate tart.
Or maybe an apple pie.
Hmm.

And just to balance out the sweetness.
We chose a tart White chocolate raspberry cheesecake.I could taste the white chocolate.
Which was a definite plus.
And the raspberry swirls were refreshingly tart.
But the base?
Soggy and insignificant.
Must've been kept for a bit.

Hunger. Thirst.A vintage artisan bakery shop.
That smells and feels just like home.
It had a feeling of pure goodness and honest treats. You pick two and I'll choose one.
He says to the horridly indecisive me.
This was simple though.
I didn't fancy citrus.
But of course I could be kicking myself for it right now.
Everyone raves about their lemon drizzle cakes and lemon tarts.
No love lost.
Just another return trip on the cards.

Latte.
With a heart that's meant to be broken.
A chocolate chip cookie that was crumbly with grit and tasting like Famous Amos.Where's your mocha art?
There!
A flower.
Tulip on abstract art? Raspberry topped berrylicious bunt cake.
Soft and delightfully spongy topped with tart berry perserves.
A tad too sweet for me though.Scones.
Everytime I see it,
I think of those rock buns I used to make at Home Economics classes.
But this buttery crumble speckled with raisins was yum!
Clotted cream and berry preserve.
Phoebe tells us that the preserves change depending what fruits are available.
Whatever the chef decides to churn out from the kitchen
And they also sell their preserves if you fall in love with them.
Just if.
That day they had orange marmalade, fig and pear, mango and passionfruit.
Oh all these flavours just sound amazing.Apple cobbler.Speckles of cinnamon.
Apple.
Crumbled.

You've got to give credit to a chef who has a stall sign of his own namesake.
Psychedelic lines inspired by the colored parallels from paul smith,
flanked by a logo of his own caricature.Wasabi prawns.
The sauce could be tweaked.
Taste of wasabi was not evident.
Perhaps wasabi powder/ paste instead of what's currently used?
And i even know what goes into the batter.
A tad salty but still a good choice while waiting for the mains to arrive. ;)Now this, was a culinary genius in fusion cuisine.
Prawn and lala vongole.
Who needs mussels.
Honestly.
These clams were small yet plentiful.
A couple of prawns.
But the best was yet to be.

-The broth-
It was simply lipsmackingly delicious.
Thick with clam juice.
The taste of the sea never was so satisfying.
Spiced with the addition of chilli flakes,
This was a dangerous appetite opener.
Tread with caution.

But heck,
It's a selfish dish.
Don't bother sharing.
Slurp it all up anyway.Beef and mushroom stroganoff with japanese rice.
The addition of white and black roasted sesame seeds was subtle yet spoke volumes of a fusion menu.
The sauce was a good balance of savoury thickened with cream.

Additions of capsicums and mixed mushrooms
countered the heaviness of red meat with cream.

Ample strips of striploin were used for this dish.
(pun totally intended )
And i could finish up the entire portion of rice.
Thanks or no thanks, really, to the sauce.

And just on a side note,
He had an experimental day of wagyu beef (marbling score of 4/5) with rice.
6 slabs of meat all sold out in a day.
That's an affirmative definitely to be tested on the repeat.
And I'm sure he'd oblige if you made an advanced request.

The steady stream of customers till closing was heartening.
And pretty impressive especially since there was a western stall just a couple of stores away.
Then again, if the food was good.
Competition is always welcome.
Don't mistake this for pride.
It's Confidence.

Tucked away in a coffeeshop on everton park.
Drop in on the boss.
He's quietly humble.
And loves his food.
If he says that the lala broth tastes like prawn soup, feel free to disagree.
Tell him it tastes like clam broth!
Or buy him prawn noodles.
I'm doing that next time round.
Try it for yourself.

Their premium sets here are all so mouthwateringly delicious.

it didn't take me long to decide on this set though.look at the colors!

the marinated seaweed and radish were a good start to the meal.

then those thick cuts of sashimi. the salmon was thick and succulent.

and of course, I left the rest to the last.

moving on to the baked cheese scallops, the cheese sauce was so good that I used the last of it to put onto my alaskan crab.

but then i decided that it tasted even better with the tempura sauce. YUM!

the meat although fried, was crispy on the outside and still tender and juicy within. of course, i loved that i didn't have to fight with tooth and nail to get to the meat. it was already thoughtfully peeled halfway. and the remaining part had a soft shell exterior that was easily cracked to reveal the meat within.

a very good dinner indeed.