Portuguese

These authentic Portuguese egg tarts appearing on my feed for the 264895th time because they deserve that many encores.

Cannot wait to get a freshly baked one into my belly again tonight!!!! 😋 I hope you peeps are as stoked as I am, @qiuuing @vivienneeluv @ironsage @makeyourcaloriescount!

Australian tenderloin grilled a juicy medium-rare and doused in a smooth, aromatic sauce of espresso, cognac and cream. A side of almond rice, redolent with butter and sliced almonds, accompanies the steak. My love for this dish grows more with every encounter.

So looking forward to dinner tomorrow because I know I'll get to sink my teeth into one of these bee-yoo-tee-fool eggy tarts at the end of the meal. Teehee.

But before that, a dozen things to complete. 加油, me!

Seems pricey at $4.50 a pop, but there are so many reasons why I'd gladly pay for this precious baby any time.

1. This is freshly made in-house entirely from scratch, including the crisp, flaky tart shell of puff pastry.

2. I doubt you can find another egg tart in Singapore that boasts a brûléed custard as perfectly textured as this. It's oozy, dense and creamy, all at the same time; just barely on the right side of being set, and that's the beauty of it.

3. It's a blessing to even be able to snag one, because only 20 of these are baked a day. The procedure is that tedious.

Whoever says this is "just so-so" needs a serious knock on the head.

Impromptu dinner date with @ccher and her lovely mommy, who refused to let me pay for my food.

It sounds terribly simple – three eggs stirred over the stove with bits of smoked sausage, but it's incredibly delicious. The fat from the sausage gives the mixture a dense, creamy, almost sticky texture that is uber comforting. I think I would be extremely happy to wake up to this any morning, especially since it's cooked by the very suave Chef Luca.

The sudden, erratic rainy weather is making me crave this homely Portuguese bread porridge.

Consisting of only homemade bread – no rice! – soaked in prawn head soup stock, this "porridge" with chopped prawns engulfs the tastebuds with a rich, umami flavour that is cleverly tempered with a generous handful of cilantro.

Every dish is a labour of love at @bocasingapore and these baked treats are no exception. Sugar and water are first simmered with warm milk, egg yolks and vanilla beans to get a thick custard, then poured into cups of homemade puff pastry and placed right under the broiler to get a burnished top and rich caramelised flavour. In Portugal, egg tarts are eaten with a liberal sprinkling of cinnamon and icing sugar, so that's exactly what you'll get here, too.
You'll also find these Portuguese egg tarts are quite unlike any other you've tasted – none of that Macau blasphemy! (I kid, they're delicious in their own way.) Boca's gems are much denser and creamier, with the light, crisp and flaky puff pastry shells providing a beautiful contrast in texture.

Only about 20 of these precious babies are made every weekday, and 40 to 50 each on Saturdays and Sundays, so you better hurry down quickly if you want to claim one for yourself! #bestfoodmemory2015

Similar to a risotto, this Portuguese dish has short-grain rice fried in olive oil to remove the glutens in it, then mixed with red wine and octopus broth, fresh tomatoes and homemade peri-peri sauce (made with jalapeños, chilli peppers, olive oil and garlic). Adorning the pool of al dente rice are chunks of tender boiled octopus and a small wad of cilantro leaves, this latter I find very useful in cutting through the rich flavour of the stock.

Fun fact: the black bird figurine on the wall behind is andorinha, a sculpture popularised in Portugal to commemorate the spirit of returning home. Andorinha are a species of swallow that migrate to Portugal every summer to set up their lifelong home with their partner.

Everything on the menu at Singapore's first Portuguese restaurant, @bocasingapore is authentic, right down to these fresh Portuguese breads lovingly hand-kneaded and baked daily in-house. You can expect three different varieties each day (depending on what Chef feels like making), served with a remarkably flavourful pressed olive oil.

Potatoes sliced ultra-finely with a mandolin to resemble hay, then confit and mixed with boiled bacalhau (Portuguese salt cod), caramelised onions, and egg.

Doesn't look the most tantalising here, but if you're a carb-lover like me, you will ADORE this. I had three portions and would have happily helped myself to more if the chef hadn't distracted me with other yummy dishes. Can't wait for media tastings to start!

On a rainy day like this, I wish I could tuck into a steamy pot of this comforting Portuguese "porridge". It looks like rice, but it's actually made of homemade BREAD.

The bread is kept for a day so it stiffens and won't disintegrate too much when cooked in fish stock – it breaks apart just enough to form a "congee". Providing loads of flavour and a firm, meaty bite are chunks of bacalhau (salt cod) scattered throughout, while a raw egg yolk mixed in thickens and binds the dish.

I am mad excited for this new restaurant to officially open – the first of its kind in Singapore, Boca serves authentic Portuguese cuisine that somehow manages to marry hearty, rustic flavours with refined presentation.

Pictured is the almond and egg pudding, freshly made every three days, served with a heady scoop of homemade Port ice cream.