Valentine’s Day cooking workshop by Fish & Co.

So, Alvin emailed me the other day about this Valentine’s Day Cooking workshop hosted by Fish & Co. and urged me to join in as a chef.

Chef? Alright, you got me. I am nowhere near wearing the chef’s toque yet. In fact, the most elaborated meal I have prepared so far was instant noodles with Calmex abalone. I had my good days though. I tried my hands at cooking porridge (once or twice I think?) and perhaps some egg frying. But that’s about it. Now, before you (ladies) wag your fingers at me and start calling me all sorts of Alpha-male innuendos, let this be clear that I do clean up after my meal.

But that’s not the point. The point is, I was stoked to be invited over to Fish & Co. The Glass House last Saturday for a weekend cook-scapade!

And I had to bring her along – since it’s meant as a Valentine’s Day special, you know.

Let’s call her Pear.

That Saturday afternoon, the sun was a brilliant sky-high on the azure blue sky. Pear and I were driving to meet the good folks from The Good Folks PR agency. I had mixed feelings about this actually. I was envisioning all sorts of oil-splattering, face-twerking, and perhaps wok-fighting? But Daen and Melvin, as well as the managerial staff at Fish & Co. were amiable and warm. We were greeted with firstly, this:

I hate Q&A’s like such, honestly. But Pear seemed to like doing such quizzes. Hmm…

I heaved a sigh of relief when we finally got to meet the real chef of the day, Mr Calvin Tan. Basically, we were supposed to whip up 3 recipes: An appetizer (Garden Salad), a main course (Baked King Prawns with Ebiko Roe served with coleslaw and Paella Rice), and a beverage (Deep Love, it’s called. Ooh ahh).

In reality, Chef Tan was easy-going, and humorous to some level.

He started by teaching us how to prepare our very own bowl of Garden Salad. Oh, and I liked the way he chopped – the vegetables, of course. Really steady pom pi pi. I always think the first step to cooking is knowing how to chop with poise.

Pear mixing the lettuce with the Mesclun salad mix.

Fast forward to the end result…

Wipe that drool off your mouth first, would ya? We still have more to go.

Normally, I’m not a seafood lover. I tend to shun away from prawns and crabs, perhaps due to a childhood allergy I developed in the past. Although I have already grown out of that, I do not take a special liking towards ‘fishy’ food. Then again, I think there are always exceptions.

Exception one: Cereal prawns
Exception two: Lobsters with mayonnaise
Exception three: My beloved Pear’s creation, if she does prepare. Hiak hiak. :*)

I have always loved how Fish & Co. prepares their seafood. Especially the rice, which I now know is called Paella Rice, their signature rice dish. I simply adore the buttery taste!

Without revealing much, you actually need unsalted butter, raisins, and some original spice before you mix it up with an assortment of cooked seafood and peppers.

The coleslaw was surprisingly easy to prepare. Basically, it’s just slicing of white and red cabbages, peeling of carrots, and mixing them with coleslaw dressing.

Salivating yet? Our last recipe of the day was actually for the Deep Love beverage.

Here’s how to create some deep Deep Love.

1. Portion ¼ oz Grenadine Syrup into glass
2. Add ice to ½ glass level
3. Portion ½ oz Passion Fruit Cordial into glass
4. Portion 1 oz Pineapple Juice
5. Add Cherry into glass
6. Top with ice to ¾ glass level
7. Top with Sprite to brim
8. Serve immediately

The trick is to ensure the cherry stays “buried” under the ice while you are topping your glass with sprite.

How deep is your love?

Besides our own cooked food, we were also introduced to a special menu, which certainly caught my eye with its serving portion size!

This coming Valentine’s Day, Fish & Co is serving up a The Fish & Co. Love Bounty! It features perfectly grilled king prawns, a juicy medley of mussels, scallops, prawn fritters and grilled tender white fish, served on top of glorious Paella rice and fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes, along with two soups-of-the day and two soft drinks!

The Fish & Co. Love Bounty consists of a platter for two, two soups-of-the-day and two soft drinks. It retails at $59.95 and will be available from 9 – 15 February at all Fish & Co. restaurants in Singapore.

 
And before I end this post, I would like to thank The Good Folks PR and Fish & Co. for the awesome, hassle-free Valentine’s Day cooking workshop once again! I had initially thought I would walk away reeking of oil, but it turned out otherwise. It was an enjoyable workshop and there was no sweat involved! Perhaps, just perhaps, the workshop has kindled my deep-stirring passion as a potential chef. Well, you never know. =P

For more good food recommendations, please feel free to follow me via my photo adventures on instagram: @nightcharmer. Till next time, foodies! 🙂