Tuesday, May 08, 2007

A Disappointment Food Wise

I resisted the urge to plonk myself back at Marutama Ra-men and instead walked into Tomton at Central which specialises in Kurobuta (Black Pig).
Kurobuta is "kobe beef" of pork. The Black Pig is the Berkshire hog. Its origin dates back over 300 years when legend has it that the Berkshire hog was first discovered by Oliver Cromwell's army in winter quarters at Reading, the county seat of the Shire of Berks in England. The British refined the breed in the 1800's and later gifted the Berkshire hogs to the Japanese as a diplomatic gift. The breed has unique qualities of superior taste, texture and marbling that delivered a superior eating experience that is appreciated the world over.
However, my culinary experience at Tomton was anything but scrumptious. I order Black Pig Shabubu which was a special and "First in Singapore". The meal looked OK when it was brought to my table but it was a complete disappointment. The shabubu stock was literally water with two slices of garlic and a piece of kelp floating in it. The raw ingredients for the shabubu was 90% vege, 5% carb and 5% pork. What I could not comprehend was the additional bowl of miso soup that came with the set meal.
It had leeks floating in it and was overly salty versus the soup stock that was totally devoid of taste. I ended up dumping lots of soyu into the stock in the hope to get some flavor. As to the famed kurobuta, I did not think much of the meat at all. I totally regretted not going with my tried and tested and left feeling unsatisfied.

No comments: