Newton Roast - Crispy Pork Belly and Pork Knuckle Roasted on Demand!

UPDATE 7 Aug 2014: Newton Roast has moved out of Newton Circus and is looking for new premises. It should be back in two months time. 




Oh roast pork...what odes we sing to you. Is there a better way to enjoy the pig than with insane crackling and juicy tender meat within? Well-marinated, savoury meeeeeat. This is the KO German Knuckle (S$39.90) from Newton Roast at #01-51 Newton Food Centre. It promises to floor your palate. Oh, your own knuckles will buckle. Just surrender, there is no point resisting.





Its Asian cousin, the Six-Pack Belly (S$33.90, about 500g) is no less formidable. These have been given a thorough rub with a proprietary blend of herbs and seasoning before being roasted to crispy perfection. They cheekily call it a deep-tissue massage before a hot workout.





These are not your run-of-the-mill measly cold pieces of roast pork that go with rice. These freshly roasted mega chunks are designed to go with ice cold beer. Best beer snack ever!

In fact, one of Newton Roast's selling point is you can order your roast pork online and they will roast it just in time for you to pick up. Select a pick up time available from the website (make sure you give them two hours notice) and you'll get instant SMS confirmations.

So whether you enjoy them at the hawker centre or at home, it's crispy and juicy to the bite.

With the World Cup coming soon, these would make an amazing party treat!





The Loose Ones - roast pork belly (large plate, S$15). Most of us found this really easy to eat, with its smaller bite-size chunks. The meat is still very moist and yields easily, while the crispy crackling is just something you can't get enough of.





The Half Pork Knuckle (S$23.90) provides more meat-chomping satisfaction. Larger pieces and some bone to gnaw on. The meats are served with sauerkraut, mustard, brown sauce, and most ingeniously...a kickass sambal belachan! Wow, I have never tried roast pork with sambal belachan before, but I have to say the heavens opened up and granted an epiphany. It's LOVE!





They have got another roast pork product coming up! This gigantic slab is the same pork belly as in the Six-Pack, but they used a different method of scoring and seasoning. I can't wait to see what this will be like! Gosh, I could never get this kind of super-popped crackling at home - probably because I'm too lazy with scoring the skin adequately - but it is still fun roasting pork as experiments.





I had a quick chat with owner Casey Ong on what it takes to get such good results consistently. Besides quality pork from a trusted supplier, they use state-of-the-art Rational combi ovens from Germany widely reputed to be the top rotisserie oven in the world. Talk about industrial strength! It can churn out a lot of roast pork slabs at a time too. All the roasting is done onsite, and they have chefs with 15 years culinary experience who designed the proprietary marinade.





What I like about this stall is - they focus on doing one thing only, and one thing well. That's what too many other food businesses fail to do - they spread themselves too thin and don't really have a stellar selling product.

One final look at the roast pork belly...oooh.





I like the playful way they sell themselves too. But all that is pointless unless their roast pork is good. And fortunately, it is seriously good.

NEWTON ROAST
Newton Roast #01-51,
Newton Circus Food Centre,
500 Clemenceau Avenue,
Singapore 229495
Open daily
Mon-Sat 2pm to 11:30pm
Sun 2pm to 9.30pm

E.Pellicci Cafe - Best Breakfast with Old School Charm in East London

Ooh my story on E.Pellicci is out on Yahoo! This is our best breakfast yet in London, and we almost missed it, had we not resolved to hike it there the day after the Chowzter Awards. We were quite the international posse - Anton Diaz from Manila, Joe DiStefano from New York, Stanislaus Hans Subianto from Jakarta, and I from Singapore - descending upon this cramped little cafe in sleepy Bethnal Green.

Full story here!
https://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/news/oldest-heritage-caf%C3%A9-in-east-london-070745691.html

I wrote this while still majorly jet lagged. Yes, I am back 10 days from my superlong trip, but my system stubbornly refuses to re-adapt to time zones (maybe it's old age). But how I am swaddled with fond memories - from scouring London with newly found foodie friends from Chowzter, to hunting down the best Po'Boys in New Orleans. Will blog notable eats and sights in time to come.

But meanwhile, this is the starter to whet your appetites! E.Pellicci is one of the oldest, most down-to-earth and unpretentious cafes in London. Local constables have their coffee here. Celebrities have been lured by its charm. The Pelliccis have run it for three generations, offering hearty English classics and Italian favourites. The fry-up breakfast we had? Surprisingly didn't feel that greasy! Felt just right.

See more in the story:
https://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/news/oldest-heritage-caf%C3%A9-in-east-london-070745691.html

Colin Farrell was here!!!

Zalora Turns Two!

Online shopping haven Zalora has just turned two! That's a pretty long time in Internet dog years. Here's a peek at the team bringing us the delectable fashion brands and 24/7 online shopping convenience. A lot of effort and passion goes behind all this, and they must be very proud indeed to be one of Asia's leading fashion e-commerce platforms. Keep an eye out for their online sales!

Camemberu Hits 7th Anniversary in the USA

Guess where I am? I'm in the City of my zodiac animal, the Bull! Yes, Bull City Durham, North Carolina. 

Whuuut?? 

I know. I get a lot of puzzled looks when I tell people I am coming here. Not your average tourist destination. But I wanted to go somewhere different for my blog anniversary (May 1) this year. 

Last year it was Kagoshima, but I think I have overdone Japan with 10 trips there. So I am eating my way South to New Orleans! Mmmh, soul food, bar-b-cue, Southern hospitality and maybe even some authentic Mexican. 

I am still traveling, so it's a bit hard to blog (the iPhone/iPad apps are so fiddly!). But I have some great finds (food and hotel) from London, and a few from Durham, as some of you will have seen from my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds. Follow me there for real time foodie discoveries. 

Fabulous Food Finds Showcased at Inaugural #ChowzterAwards 2014 inLondon

The inaugural Chowzter Awards held at L'Anima in London saw almost 50 food writers/bloggers converging from around the world. Each one is a Chief Chowzter representing their own city - Chowzter.com now has more than 90 of these recommending the best places to eat locally - and the awards highlight the best picks of the year. 

I love this picture by Sydney blogger Simon Leong (@simonleong).

Here are Anton Diaz (@antondiaz) for Manila, Mijune Pak (@followmefoodie) for Vancouver, myself for Singapore, Juliana Loh (@bilbaobab) for Hong Kong, and Mark Wiens (@migrationology) for Bangkok. Bangkok was also voted Foodiest City in the World 2014 (Singapore was one of the five nominees).

The 60 nominations for the awards were all mouth-watering choices. Asian food actually swept quite a few of the trophies, at least five out of the 16. 

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice win Best Rice Dish. I was quite surprised!

We also had Alaskan King Crab Five Ways at Dynasty Restaurant in Vancouver for Best Seafood. Pad Thai Thip Samai in Bangkok won Best Noodles 2014. The Roast Goose at Yat Lok in Hong Kong was Best Bird. Asia's Tastiest Item was the stuffed lechon from Pepita's Kitchen in Manila. 

And Tastiest dish on earth for 2014 was Javier Wong's ceviche in Lima, Peru. This old grandmaster of ceviche at Chez Wong reminds me of Jiro, the way he works artfully with simple ingredients to produce something so delicious. 

Welll, Chowzter.com is still very new - it's only one year old - but things are looking great with the synergy from the smart and lively folks all united in our one passion for food. I can't wait to see how the site will grow and what happens next year.