PastaMania introduces limited edition fusion menu for SG50

Mum’s Salted Egg Soft-Shell Crab at
12 o'clock, Prawn Sambal-Pura at 2
o'clock, Shiok & Spicy Chilli Crab at 7
o'clock and Hei Bi Hiam Barramundi at
10 o'clock.

PastaMania fans in Singapore can now enjoy their fusion pasta from now till August. The SG50 Menu consists of pasta with a local touch, featuring the winners of the annual internal Chef Mania competition in celebration of Singapore's 50th anniversary.

Hana Lee, Director of Domestic Retail Business, PastaMania said, "PastaMania has always prided itself on providing the whole experience of wholesomeness, range of dishes, ingredients used and in-store ambience and we wanted to combine this with the unique celebration of the nation’s birthday. It’s our very own ‘Truly Singapore’ concept.”

There are four ‘Singapore meets Italy’ fusion pastas, three appetisers, two desserts and three infused drinks to try. The mains are all seafood based:

Shiok & Spicy Chilli Crab
Chilli crab is a 'must try' for tourists to Singapore. Chilli crab sauce flavours this al dente pasta dish, which is topped off with breaded crab claws. The dish is the brainchild of Chan Kar Jung, Outlet Chef. Chan has been with PastaMania for eight years. It is his first time creating a winning dish at Chef Mania.

Mum’s Salted Egg Soft-Shell Crab 
Salted egg sauce has always gone well with soft-shell crab. A zi-char (Editor's note: local stir-fry) favourite, expect thick, fragrant salted egg sauce tossed with spaghetti and fried soft-shell crab. Wong Seng Kit, Assistant Outlet Chef, has been with PastaMania since 2011. It is also his first time creating a winning dish.

Hei Bi Hiam Barramundi. The raw hei bi hiam are at the bottom right.

Hei Bi Hiam Barramundi
This textured fish dish stars Barramundi from PastaMania's own fish farm for absolute freshness, paired with fried spicy dried shrimp. The tiny shrimp are called 'hei bi hiam' (虾米) in Chinese. Lim Yong Siong Calvin, Outlet Chef, has been working at PastaMania for eight years. While he has prior F&B experience, this is his first Italian restaurant.

Prawn Sambal-Pura
This dish is all about crunchy deep fried silver fish, also known as ikan bilis, large prawns and a sambal sauce that packs a punch. Ng Sook Enn (Ann), Senior Cook, has been with PastaMania for four years. This is her first time participating in Chef Mania.

Chop Chop Chicken Salad.

Appetisers include Prawn Salad Stuffed Tau Pok, which are deep-fried chewy tofu pockets, Chop Chop Chicken Salad which includes pineapple rojak, a local salad, as well as Nenek’s Secret Rojak - a mouthwatering mix of rojak and vegetable pickles called achar.

Sago Manis Gelato.

To round off the meal, sample two gelato concoctions: Goreng Pisang Gelato, inspired by the local deep fried battered bananas. or Sago Manis Gelato, a spin on a soupy coconut milk dessert with sago pearls. PastaMania offers a refreshing combination of sago, brown sugar syrup and gelato for Sago Manis Gelato, while Goreng Pisang Gelato features crunchy banana cornflake balls oozing chocolate topped off with gelato.

To drink, there are three Freezers: Apple Lychee, Milo Dinosaur, a twist on a local chocolate-flavoured powdered beverage with more powder sprinkled on top, and Limau (lime) Mint, a mocktail take on a Mojito, with basil and mint.

Apple Lychee Freezer.

Prices start from S$6.50 for appetisers, desserts or drinks, go up to S$16.90 (ala carte) for each pasta, and while a four-course meal will cost S$29.90.

Established in 1998, PastaMania is a 54-unit halal-certified chain of corporate and franchisee-owned restaurants; based in Singapore with presence in Malaysia, China, Brunei, Kuwait, UAE and Egypt. The brand seeks to bring great tasting Italian cuisine to the world at everyday prices.

Committed to offering high-quality dishes, only the “in-house PastaMania” brand of whole-peeled Roma tomatoes from Italy are used, and all pastas and pizzas are made from scratch at each outlet. The chain also provides delivery and catering services.

Interested?

Look for your nearest PastaMania outlet
Check out the local food terms at this Singlish Dictionary

*All pictures from PastaMania.

Eat with Love by Samira el Khafir features Lebanese-inspired recipes, with a twist

Melbourne-based Samira el Khafir and her seven siblings were never allowed into their mother's kitchen when they were growing up. As the youngest, she managed to break this rule when she was in her teens, falling in love with cooking as a result. 

"My mother was unwell and needed help in the kitchen and that’s where my passion for food began," said the mother of two, who has worked as a hair stylist and beauty therapist.

"Cooking has been a passion from when I was in my teens. It wasn’t until I suffered with post-natal depression that I realised life is just simply too short to put my dreams on hold, so I entered Masterchef 2013 season 5, became a finalist and finished on top three. I never thought I would make it so far into the show but I did it."

When planning the book, Samira el Khafir
said she hoped the book would give
readers an insight to how she
found the love for food and how
her food has changed since being
on Masterchef.

Besides being in the Masterchef top three, el Khafir has gone on to share her love for cooking. She has published a book, Eat with Love, which includes recipes for most of the winning dishes she cooked at the Masterchef competition. 

In the introduction of the book el Khafir says that she hopes to spread her love of Middle Eastern food to the world of food lovers. "In this cookbook I have shared some traditional dishes and also have many of my MasterChef creations that I really hope you all enjoy. Remember, cook with love, so you can eat with love," she says.

El Khafir explains that MasterChef, season 5 was an eye opener for her. "It opened my eyes to culinary techniques and an understanding as to why I cook the way I do. I took the risk and ventured out and have produced my very own modern Middle Eastern cuisine. I have infused different flavours and techniques to what I would usually cook and turned my dishes into MasterChef quality dishes," she said.

While cooks can try out the MasterChef-influenced recipes in Eat with Love, el Khafir's food can also be tasted at her own cafe. Since Masterchef she has opened the Modern Middle Eastern Cafe at the Islamic Museum of Australia, which she runs personally. 

While el Khafir's food is clearly influenced by Lebanese cuisine which she learned from her mother, she later explored African flavours after she married an Egyptian, and then branched out further. "My family has grown to be very multicultural with family from Europe, Africa, Australia and the Middle East and I am so pleased to be a part of the mixed range of nationalities in my family because it has introduced me to all different types of cuisines," she said.

"My dream is to open kitchen workshops for disadvantaged children in Australia where they can come and cook, have a good time and go home with the meals they’ve prepared." 

Some recipes from el Khafir can be viewed here, including her first 'dish of the day' at Masterchef, fatet jaj. 

The recipe for modern baklava is found
in Samira el Khafir's book.

"Traditionally this dish is layered bread, then chicken, then yogurt, then nuts, but I turned it into a modernised version on Masterchef and it got me 'dish of the day'! A lot of Lebanese people make this dish; mine is a little different, I like to play around with my recipe so I hope you all like it," she said.

Eat with Love has 140 pages, and features about 80 recipes, for entrees, mains, desserts, spices and dips. The book is available on Amazon, where the hardcover edition costs US$17.99**, but also available at all major bookstores and online. It is also sold at the Islamic Museum of Australia.

*Images from Samira el Khafir.

**Pricing may vary depending on the retail outlet.

Halal French fusion food on Sentosa in Singapore at the Ivy

The Ivy restaurant on Sentosa in Singapore offers something a little different for celebrations, corporate lunches and dinners. 

The pictures are mouthwatering. The menu descriptions read like poetry. "Cod fish with shaved oven baked fennel, caramelised peach and sun-dried tomato puree. Crab salad with caramalised leeks, truffle honey, fig chutney, and a hint of avocado puree. Pan fried King Scallops with parsnip puree and herbs.."

But fusion food is common enough in Singapore; what's unique about Ivy is that this restaurant serves halal French fusion food with a beach view. 'Halal' and 'French cuisine' are not seen often in the same sentence given the widespread use of alcohol in French cuisine, but Ivy has managed it.

Head Chef Emran has found non-alcoholic substitutes that provide a similar aftertaste, he says. The restaurant philosophy is about keeping customers satisfied. Very satisfied. "I don't want my customers to go hungry," Emran says, and balances the best quality ingredients with optimal portions to put smiles on diners' faces. The beef is dry-aged for 150 days, for example, while each portion of jus de veau is made from scratch, taking two days to complete.

"Most of the restaurant space is outdoors but sheltered. Peacocks and squirrels walk in and out of the place freely-nature and animal lovers, as well as kids would like that," said Khamil Hyder, co-owner, Ivy.
To visit Ivy, get to the Beach Station on Sentosa and then hop onto a beach tram (these are free), alighting at the Siloso Beach Resort. Ivy is opposite the Wavehouse. The restaurant is also accessible by car or taxi. 

Call +65 6271 7008 for enquiries. 

*All photos provided by Ivy.