Apple Strudel from Modesto @ Vivocity

Following the main dish of pasta, I ordered an apple strudel as my dessert. Read the pasta review here.

Strudel Di Melee Con Gelato Alla Vaniglia ($13.00)
Home Made Apple Strudel, served warm and topped with Vanilla Ice-Cream

Presentation
This dessert comes with a scope of vanilla ice-cream on top of the golden brown baked apple strudel. Cocoa powder and icing sugar were sprinkled around the plate to give it a simple decoration.

Taste
I started eating from the crust of the strudel, but found that the crust is not crispy. It would be a lot better if the crust is crispy. Even though the crust is not cripsy, I can still find a fragrant butter taste used for making the crust and making the crust golden brown. It contains caramelised pine nuts, raisins, walnuts and a few slices of apple.
There is nothing special about the ice-cream which can be found almost anywhere. However having the hot studel and the cold ice-cream both in the mouth at the same time gives a very contradictory feeling, which some people may not like. I like this feeling, which feels like a tug of war happening on my tongue.

Ratings
Presentation: 3/5
Taste: 3.5/5
Value for money: 3/5

NOT RECOMMENDED

This is not a dessert that i will go back for, at least not at Modesto. I think there could be other places that do the strudel better than they do.

Pasta from Modesto's @ Vivocity

Modesto, a place that i had been to 3 times before with my love one but this time i went alone after my fashion shoot. Modesto in Italian means shy, modest and humble.

This branch has a rustic interior of old Italy and Tuscan brickwork. In the evening, the interior has a warm feeling and with the yellow lights, makes the place rather romantic. The tables are spaced quite far away which makes private talk ok.

It also an outdoor area that overlooks the bay and be able to see Sentosa and Resort World Singapore. Once the Resort World has fully completed the iconic Crane Dance and the Maritime Xperiential Museum, it would pack a view to behold, especially if there are fireworks. This view would be fantastic.

Modesto serves quite a number of Italian dishes. The menu items are all in Italian but the description of the dish is in English. This is to cater to the local crowd. Modesto specialises in their Pasta and also the traditional wood-fried pizza with thin, crisp crust. I had tried their pizza before and indeed they are quite good, but this time i tried their pasta instead.

Food

Tagliolini Aglio Olio Di Nocciola E Peperoncino Con Aragostine ($29.00)

Fresh home made pasta with baby lobster meat, slices of fresh chilli, garlic and hazelnut oil

Q & A With Andrew Scrivani (Round 2)

This is the following the article that i posted a few days back on.


If you missed the main article. Read it here.
Read the 1st part of the Q&A here



Q.

Any tips on shooting brown food? Like sauces, mashed potatoes with gravy, etc? They never come out right. Thanks.

A.

I am so glad you asked this question. Brown and dark green foods are by far the hardest to photograph. This is where all of your skill as a photographer and especially a lighter comes into play. When I shot the Nigella Lawson column for the Times several years ago, a large portion of her food was dark. Creating a shimmer on the food is essential to create depth. Side lighting the food was almost always the solution to get that shimmer. I have also taken to extreme macro shots (finding one specific highlight on the plate to focus on) or the action shot as was the case with her food: pouring, spooning, cutting, etc. Also, carefully selecting your props and colors really helps compliment the food.

Q & A With Andrew Scrivani (Round 1)

This is the following the article that i posted a few days back on. The last tip really is a helpful one. Check it out.


If you missed the previous article. Read it here.
For the 2nd part of the Q&A, read it here

Some Tips on How to Take Photos of Food

An article that i found in NYtimes on how to take good photos of food.  Read the full article below. 

A few of the tips i find are really useful. Pay attention to point 1 and 2. Those are the easiest to achieve in any typical restaurant setting. 

Point 4 seems a bit technical to non photo enthusiast. It is basically saying not to shine direct light onto the food. Best that the light source has a translucent white paper covering it.

For point 5, ask the waitress for the brightest table and seat that the restaurant has. This is a must. 

I will post more of Andrew's tips in the next few updates. Remember to come back if you want to improve your food photo taking skills. 

The 1st part of his Q&A can be found here.

Having Sleepless nights? It may be linked to what you ate in the day.

If you are having sleeping trouble, there are 5 foods that are advised not to be eaten before going to sleep.




Canned and smoked meats:

A favorite meal for many people, a sandwich of smoked meat, sausage, or sliced meat. Smoked meats have high levels of amino acid tyramine, which causes the brain to release norepinephrine, which alerts the brain and makes us to be vigilant and stir.

First Camera, Then Fork

This is an article that i found from New York Times regarding the current relationship of eating and photography. Nowadays with the affordability of the digital cameras, DSLR or not, everything and anything you eat can be photographed. Read on.......

Did I just get 'clubbed' at Coffee Club, Holland?

Coffee Club, a chain coffee cafe along with TCC and Starbucks, are all competing with each other in the small Singapore.

I happened to pop into the branch at Holland Village after my class at about 4.30pm. The whole cafe is almost empty at that time. The manager greeted me and lead me to a place at the 2nd storey. Wonderful view i must say, as the cafe is located at a corner of Holland V and i am seated at a table next to the glass panel where i can see the people that are walking outside.

Since i was the only few patrons in the cafe, ordering was easy and serving was quick. I had ordered a Choc Delice and a pot of Earl Grey.