Mangoes galore

Went to Mustafa's 2 nights ago. Had seen mangoes appearing in the supermakets and thought this would be the time to get boxes at wholesale prices.
Wah! Little India was really bustling. Had dinner at the Anandha Bhavan outlet just opposite M's. It too was busy, busy. I asked myself - is there a festival coming up? Or was it the norm? Whatever. Had a very delicious, spicy Rava Mysore Masala Thosai. (inspired after watching Vir Sanghvi on A Matter of Taste - Discovery Travel & Living). It is a class above the regular Thosai. Was so taken by it that I forgot to take photos. Will have to return for another bite and blog! Anyway - aim of braving the crowds was to buy mangoes.

Known as the King of Fruit in India (cf Durian in SE Asia), it is well into the season now. If you want good tasty eating mangoes, get them now.
There were 4 Indian varieties, but sadly not the Alphonso, which is considered the best in the world. The next best which was Banganappalli (from Hyderabad), was available, loose as well as in boxes. They were huge, each one weighing in at 400g. These were sweet, had minimal fiber and moderately fragrant. I bought 4 of these and one other intending to compare and contrast.











Also present was Sweet Kesar, also known as the Queen of Mangoes, coming from Gujerat. Since I didnt buy these (had not done my homework, so was not sure if they were fibrous etc), I can only share a description from a Mango farm site which describes them as having a unique sweet taste, golden colour with green overtones.











The other variety which I did buy, which in my opinion is better than the Banganappalli was the Indian Chendoora. It was a smaller mango, about half the size of the former, skin having a reddish hue and had a "metallic" hint to the frangrance. The flesh was deep orange, very sweet and had a more complex taste than Banganappalli. I could imagine a slight coconutty taste, almost like gula melaka or chendol combination.










The last one was Indian Totapuri - reported as the most widely traded Mango of the world. Also called the mango of the common man. Cheap (not here in Singapore) and widely sold in all parts of India. Has a unique shape, very thick skin and good shelf life. Used extensively to make pulp and other processed items as it does not have a very distinct flavour.

Dinner at Tian Jin Hai

Yesterday's dinner was at Tian Jin Hai. For those who watched Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations filmed in Singapore, it is the stall where he ate steamed shark's head & chilli crab with K.F. Seetoh. It was located in Jackson Centre Kopitiam along Macpherson Road but that building has been demolished. The restaurant's new location is in Marina Country Club.

Google Earth showed us nicely where this might be. Drove down SLE, TPE and down Punggol Road. It looked quite far away. Hope food worth petrol with pump prices the way they are. "Just drive till you fall into the sea" my navigator and co-foodee said. "Don't worry, there isnt any other building at the end of this road."
Parked outside Marina CC (free) and marvelled at a pair of fishermen struggling to carry a HUGE stingray to their car. (it must have been 3ft wide and had a 6ft long tail). "we just came back from fishing" one of them said. Well, they couldn't have taken it from the restaurant right?
Anyway, back to the quest for gooey cartilage. Walking into a rather 70s era styled seaside chinese restaurant, we were met by very attentive staff (10/10!) and shown to a "outside" table, with views of the marina (and shipyards in the distance). Made me feel like I was on holiday, all this sea breeze, the prospect of good seafood, sandals on my feet, slightly hot and sweaty...

The food lived up to its reputation. Shark's head was delicious - steamed to gooey tenderness, it slipped down the throat easily. Bland in itself, it was a perfect foil for the very Cantonese ginger-garlic soy sauce. We scrapped every last bit off the bone (cartilage to be precise). No eye-balls to fight over tho. Fingers sticky, we tackled the perfect steamed crab. I don't care what people say about chilli crab, crab beehoon - the best way to savour the sweet and delicate flavour of fresh crab is to have it steamed. Plain. Unadulterated. It didn't die in vain. Wah! The claws were the largest I have eaten in a long time. Every bit of meat came out easily, beautifully . Last of all the salt and pepper squid. A bit disappointing. Came covered with a batter, when we expected dry fried and dusted with white pepper and salt. Anyway. It made great beer food. (I tell you where we had the best salt pepper squid recently - New Ubin Seafood in Sin Ming Industrial Estate, next to car workshops).

Tummies full, we paid, thanked them and wandered a bit around the place while food digested. 3 stories of covered dry dock for pleasure boats - that was a new thing for me. Also a few wake-boarding establishments, steamboat/satay stalls.

I think I shall come back here again. Not for sea sports but for more seafood.

Oh BTW Punggol Seafood is also in the same building.