Rachel Xie

way to start the day

2011-08-27T16:31:00.000+08:00

I love brunches! To me, brunch is synonymous with eggs, and there's little I like better than well-done eggs, whether they're poached, scrambled or fried into a omelette. And I think I might have found one of the best eggs Benedict in Prive Bakery Cafe!

But first, the Big Omelette is a sizeable option, with your choice of two fillings (cheddar cheese, honey baked ham, button mushrooms, onions or tomatoes). Jing Xiu went for the cheese and mushrooms, if I don't remember wrongly.

Big Omelette ($15)

Michelle's a huge fan of pancakes, so she ordered the Fluffy Pancakes. I think these were average, with miserly toppings of sliced bananas, strawberries and pecans (I only spot two). If you want really good pancakes, check out Riders Cafe instead.

Fluffy Pancakes ($13)

For something closer to home, order the Half-Boiled Eggs, which includes toast and bacon. Definitely pricey, since you can have eggs and toast at an old-school coffee joint like Toast Box or Ya Kun at less than half the price. But I love the look of egg cups..so cute!

Half-Boiled Eggs ($14)

The best item on their breakfast menu is probably the Eggs Royale (the Eggs Benedict uses honey baked ham in place of smoked salmon, and comes with bacon) - two perfectly poached eggs sitting on smoked salmon and English muffins. The thick hollandaise sauce was scrumptious, with just the right amount of piquance without being tongue-curling.

Eggs Royale ($16)

Mmmmm....

Prive Bakery Cafe

No.2 Keppel Bay Vista, Marina at Keppel Bay

6776-0777

pretty little things

2011-08-10T22:31:00.001+08:00

Finally getting to try these much-raved about cupcakes!

Heard so many superb reviews of Twelve Cupcakes, the newish cupcake store opened by celeb couple Daniel Ong and Jaime Teo, that I couldn't resist heading down to grab some for myself on Monday. Super eager beaver!

They welcome business starting at 11am everyday, and I suggest you visit before noon if you want to be able to choose from the entire of range of flavours available. As their name suggests, they offer 12 flavours on the menu, of which 11 are daily fixtures and the last being a special that changes everyday.

I reached the store at about 3.20pm and was utterly disappointed to see that they were only left with three flavours. Had to hang around for 40 minutes while they churned out fresh batches, and even after waiting, they'd only added three more flavours. Nevertheless, I snagged two of each flavour to make up a box of twelve!

Left from top to bottom: Chocolate Chocolate, Red Velvet, Rainbow Vanilla
Right from top to bottom: Strawberry Vanilla, Chocolate Vanilla, PB Chocolate

The cupcakes are actually quite small, but the frosting on each is generous. Before I comment on each flavour that I tried, let me just say that the cakes are all incredibly moist and airy. They're so gorgeously light and fluffy that you could scoff down one in six bites and clamour for more.

My stomach practically growled just as I uploaded this photo!

With the Rainbow Vanilla, a pretty dollop of vanilla cream cheese sits atop a vanilla cake, sprinkled with candy-coloured sugar balls. I like how the sprinkles add a teeny bit of crunch to the moussy frosting and crumbly cake. Don't be deceived by its seemingly boring facade - the cream cheese and vanilla cake make a flavourful combination that falls just short of cloyingly sweet. Perfect for those who like a light dessert.

Rainbow Vanilla

Chocolate fans should definitely go for the Chocolate Chocolate, a fudgey chocolate cake topped with fat squiggles of creamy chocolate (their website states chocolate cream cheese, but it tasted more like a ganache to me). The little coco pops dotting the top give some nice, crunchy balance to the rich texture of the cake.

Chocolate Chocolate

If you know me well, you would be able to predict that one of my top favourites is the PB Chocolate! Blanketing a luscious chocolate cake is a thick layer of peanut butter and a lattice of chocolate sauce. This is so #$*%-ing awesome, I wish I could sink my teeth into this sinful little mound right naooooo!

PB Chocolate

If Rainbow Vanilla and Chocolate Chocolate got married, the Chocolate Vanilla would be their offspring. It's a pleasant compromise if you want the bittersweet taste of chocolate, but would rather skip something that's too heavy.

Chocolate Vanilla

The Strawberry Vanilla is an absolute sweetheart, with a twirl of pink buttercream infused with slightly tangy strawberry puree. I love that they added white chocolate shavings because it lends a touch more sweetness, and the way it melts on the tongue just builds up the sensorial experience of eating this cupcake. Great harmony of flavours.

Strawberry Vanilla

This was actually the first cupcake that I pounced on upon opening the box, and boy, am I such a huge fan of this Red Velvet! Tinged a luxe burgundy, this cocoa-ish cake was ultimate perfection - moist and fluffy with a crown of smooth, whipped cream cheese. You'll know what "bliss" means when you bite into this heavenly creation. Polished this off in a mere minute.

Red Velvet

In a nutshell, Twelve Cupcakes is freaking awesome. They're not cheap at $3 a pop ($17 for six, $33 for a dozen), but they're so darn worth it.
The Red Velvet and PB Chocolate are right at the top of my list, but otherwise I feel more partial towards the lighter, less dense vanilla-based cupcakes.

Twelve Cupcakes

B1-60 United Square

6256-8130

happy in hong kong (Part IV)

2011-07-23T14:31:00.002+08:00

Yay! Finally reaching the end of my food adventures in Hong Kong!

We thought of looking for a cha chan teng so we could have po lo bao for breakfast, but so we walked all over Jordan looking for one. Surprisingly, there are super few cha chan teng in the Nathan Road area!

Chanced upon a stall selling street snacks and grabbed one of these super cute egg waffles. These pouffy things are fluffy, chewy and will put you in an immensely good mood. :)

And of course, how could I resist getting more of my favourite curry-soaked spheres? :D

In fact, I thought the curry fishballs here are even better than those that I had in Mongkok! This curry gravy packed more spice and punch while the fishballs were a tad crunchier. I don't have the specific directions, sadly, but you can walk around Jordan and search for it as there aren't many street food stalls there.

Instead of popping into a cha chan teng, we decided to look for Australia Dairy Co., this famous cafe that specialises in milk pudding!

Australia Dairy Co.

Check out the queue that extended past three shopfronts!

So we snagged our seats and proceeded to order a ton of dishes! Teehee, greedy Singaporeans we are.

I get such a kick when I see a table laden with food!

This is the signature egg white and milk pudding, which is uber rich and thick. It's really delicious and doesn't get overly cloying.

My mum wanted the egg white and milk pudding with almond juice, a slightly less creamy, but just as eggy custard laced with almond essence. I imagine that this is extremely good for the skin! This is really good and I liked it better than the original.

Egg white and milk pudding with almond juice

This seemed to be quite popular among the locals - macaroni soup with ham. It came in a pool of slightly cheesy flavoured broth and tasted awesome, especially in the cold, air-conditioned cafe.

We also ordered two types of toast to share. The condensed milk toast was perfectly toasted to a light crispiness on the outside, while the inside remained airy and fluffy. And they were generous with the drippy, sweetened milk. Bliss!

Condensed milk toast

The peanut butter toast was yummy too, though I preferred the condensed milk one. I'm salivating as I recall how awesome the bread was!

Peanut butter toast

You should definitely order their egg set, in which you can choose to have your eggs scrambled or done sunny-side-up. Two triangles of buttered toast sit on the side, and I recommend sprinkling some white sugar over those - it tastes so good!

Now, important directions for you to jot down if you want to visit the Australia Dairy Co. as well!

Take exit A at Jordan station, turn right and walk straight until you see a McDonald's. Turn left to the 7-11 on Parkes Street across the road and walk in the direction of 62-2!

And look what I got! A Mulberry Taylor!!!! It's S$400 cheaper in Hong Kong than in Singapore...steal!!!!

Obviously this is the Mulberry paper bag, not the Taylor.

And here's final parting shot I took in the cab on the way to the airport. Farewell, Hong Kong, until we meet again!

happy in hong kong (Part III)

2011-07-18T22:00:00.003+08:00

Managed to wake up bright and early enough on Day 3 to make it down in good time for the hotel breakfast!
I noticed many girls in Hong Kong wearing tops with shoulder cut-outs, like the one I'm wearing here.

The breakfast buffet was extremely blah and totally not worth coming back for again. Wouldn't have chosen to eat here if it hadn't been complimentary. But at least there was an eggs station!

Scrambled eggs for me, please!

So we had a light breakfast, kinda like a starter, since we wanted to look for this particular traditional Hong Kong dim sum restaurant we always visit when we're here. I've got all the directions you need!

The shop is actually located in Central, but the nearest MTR station is Sheung Wan, which is at the end of the dark blue line.

Alight at Sheung Wan and take Exit A2.

Upon exiting the station, you'll see this signpost right outside. Turn left in the direction of Man Wa Lane (Chop Street), go straight until you see a water fountain across the road on your right, and walk up the flights of stairs there.

At the top of the stairs, you'll see this signpost. Turn right in the direction of 183-189 and cross the road at the junction just a few steps away.

Turn left onto the first lane behind the main road and walk up until you see this green sign. That's Lin Heung, the old school Hong Kong dim sum shop!

Don't expect to have a table to your own party - in Hong Kong, it's common for strangers to share tables. It's interesting to observe how the locals there are all "trained" to eat with their elbows tucked closely to their bodies in order to take up less space.

Look out for the waitresses with their pushcarts. They usually load their trolleys with fresh dim sum in the kitchen, then wheel them out to the centre of the restaurant where customers will then rush to throng around and pick out their dishes. The waitresses will continue making their rounds around the restaurant once the crowd disperses, but you may not be able to get what you want by the time they get to your table. Moral of the story? RUN FOR THE PUSHCART!

Was looking out for liu sha bao, which I mistakenly thought I'd had the last time I was here. For the record, Lin Heung only serves these ordinary custard buns.

I like the glutinous rice here! Very sticky and a little chewy with a bed of chicken meat tucked beneath.

Oh yes, please don't drink the first round of tea they serve in the teacup. You're meant to use it to wash your teacup, chopsticks and spoon in the pot. Observe how the locals do it and follow! If you need a refill, leave the lid open and the waiter will add hot water for you.

We had char siew chee cheong fun this time. Smoky-perfumed pieces of roast pork snuggle between layers of chewy, rather lumpy rice sheets. Tasty, but I still prefer our smoother versions in Singapore.

You'll love the siew mai - hefty chunks of juicy minced pork and shrimp wrapped tightly in their iconic yellow skins.

I didn't try these ribs, but my parents liked it.

This is some kind of fishball dumpling. I know it looks sorta grotesque, but it's really quite tasty! Just beware of tiny bones.

One thing to be noted about Lin Heung is that while their delicacies aren't quite top-scorers in the looks department, the taste is fabulous. Case in point: these pork wanton.

Looks crude but tastes damn good.

One dish that you absolutely must get your paws on is their signature lian yong bao (lotus paste buns). Each dense, palm-sized (subjective depending on the actual size of your palm) bun is packed with super thick, heavy lotus paste. Munch further and there you'll find nestling in the heart, a whole salted egg yolk. Like a mooncake in bao form, this is pretty damn good.

And with that, we left to explore the shops in Central.

Later that evening found us cosily tucked in a booth in a cha chan teng near Nathan Hotel, where I had my usual - what else? - instant noodles. :D

My dad says he looks silly here. Teehee.

In Cantonese, instant noodles are referred to as "gong zai meen", which translates to "doll noodles" in English. So if you see "doll noodles" on the menu, you'll know what they mean. :)

My parents ordered this dish of eggplant and shredded pork in a spicy, salted fish sauce. It's freaking good when paired with fluffy rice!

If you're looking for good lao po bing ("wife biscuits"), I recommend this brand Hang Heung (恒香). The ultra light and flaky pastry turns into a pleasant mush in the mouth as you chew, while the winter melon paste filling is just sweet enough without being cloying. You can find Hang Heung at the food basement of Sogo Department Store in Times Square.

Having purchased the pastries for friends and family, we strolled on to Lane Crawford for more shopping. The sales in Hong Kong are mad awesome, especially since the Sing dollar is exceptionally strong right now.

Harry Potter fever at Lane Crawford!

More food, glorious food coming up in Part IV!!!

happy in hong kong (Part II)

2011-07-17T21:20:00.000+08:00

Moving on to Day 2 in Hong Kong, my mum and I wanted to wake up early for the hotel breakfast. But girls being girls, we ended up leaving the room at 10.15am, only 15 minutes before the breakfast buffet ended. So we decided to venture out and look for dim sum instead!

Headed to this restaurant across the road from our hotel, the Federal Palace!

It was quite funny, because in Hong Kong, the locals tend to order just one or two dishes for breakfast. But being the greedy Singaporeans we are, we ordered six!

We grabbed a basket of these pretty yam buns, which were highly recommended by the waitress.

Don't these remind you of the Milk Pan at Provence? :)

A bite into the chewy bread revealed a filling of thick yam paste - orh nee in a bun!

It's quite sad that liu sha bao doesn't seem to be a big thing in Hong Kong. The only custard buns that I could find were the type with "solid" filling, like these.

Don't know why my pinky is sticking out like a eunuch's. -_-"

Another dish that I find way better in Singapore is the chee cheong fun. Here in Hong Kong, they seem to like it thick and chewy, rather than the silky, slippery rice rolls we cherish back home.

A perennial favourite of mine is the egg tart! This was one of the best dishes we savoured at Federal Palace - the pastry was thin and flaky, the egg custard soft and sweet.

The har gow didn't disappoint either. There were like three succulent shrimps wrapped in each parcel of sticky, translucent skin. Very yummy!! :)

Carrot cake was unfortunately a bit of a downer. It came towards the end of our meal, so we were pretty full by then and only managed to chow down one and half pieces. I think the surfaces could have been fried to a crispier texture too.

Random, but ever since I started lining my lower lashline (as well as the upper), I haven't been to stop. I think it makes my eyes look bigger and brighter! But the smudging under the eyes is quite a pain, I must admit.

With our stomachs satiated, we were all energised with shopping engines revved up! :D

One thing I like about Hong Kong is that it's quite easy to navigate. Their MTR network is huge, with like six or seven different lines. Oh, and one glaring similarity that I noted between Hong Kongers and Singaporeans, is their kiasu-ism when boarding the train. Don't be alarmed if you get pushed, shoved and jostled.

#1 shopping destination on my list is Langham Place, which houses a H&M! Nearest station is Mongkok, where exit C3 takes you right to the basement of the shopping centre.

Lots of summer brights and prints! :)

We spent a good three hours in H&M, thanks to the crazy queues for the fitting room and cashier. Not to mention, the store there is sprawlingly huge! It's not the biggest, though. I came across a two-storey one in Central, which has an astounding selection, even for men.

Spotted Nars as well, so I went down to check it out. Got my first Nars blush! :D And no, it's not the Orgasm...I went with Deep Throat instead, which is a really natural rosey flush on the skin.

Blush in Deep Throat, lipstick pencil in Sex Machine, lipgloss in Deep Throat

Anyway, we shopped at Langham Place until we got hungry at about 4pm, then wandered out to the streets to look for a cha chan teng (teahouse).

Instant noodles with fried egg and iced milk tea

Love instant noodles! A holiday in Hong Kong is not complete without a bowl of it. The ambience of the cha chan teng makes it different from an ordinary one cooked in your own home.

Attempt to include menu on the wall in my photo - FAIL.

Yang Chow fried rice

Headed back to Langham Place to resume our shopping spree and I must show you a photo I took in one of the fitting rooms. I love the effect of the starry lights multiplied in the mirrors!

And guess who came down later in the evening to surprise us!

Yes, my dad. LOL.
We were at Mongkok station when he ambushed us hahaha.

A street food that you must try in Hong Kong is the curry fishballs! Fell in love with them when I first visited Hong Kong many, many years back. In fact, on my second last trip, I overdosed on them until I got a terrible sore throat.

This is the stall I always patronise! To get here, take exit D3 at Mongkok station, walk straight until you see Bee Cheng Hiang on your left. It's two shops down from there.

CURRY FISHBALLLLLLLSSSSSSS!!!! <3

Lots of street snacks to salivate over!

Think I walloped about 10 of these babies!

Daddy loves them too!

And there's a Share Tea right next door so we bought bubble tea to accompany our fishballs!

Milk tea with pudding for me!

Saw this really hot busker performing breakdance! He had a huuuuuuuuuge crowd gathered round to ogle at him.

Couldn't resist approaching him for a snapshot after his performance. Lots of other girls also asked him for one. He even gave me his namecard and asked me to add him on Facebook (which I did, but he hasn't accepted my request -_-").

Ice cream van! Lots of these in Hong Kong.

So we continued strolling around Mongkok and spotted this lady with two adorable toy poodles! The remarkable thing was, the pooches just ran around her ankles wherever she walked WITHOUT BEING ON A LEASH!

AWWWW. My mum said the dogs represent my brothers in this "family" portrait. HAHAHAHA!

Anyway, that's all for Day 2. More coming up in Part III! :)

happy in hong kong (Part I)

2011-07-16T14:48:00.002+08:00

I'm baaaaaaaackkkkk!!!
Decided not to be lazy, so here's a post on the trip I made to Hong Kong a couple weeks back with my mum! I've got a couple of great eats to recommend, so stay tuned for this series!

On the bridge to Kowloon. Love the colour of the sky!

So our cab pulled up at Nathan Hotel, which is situated at one end of Nathan Road, about a 5-10 minutes walk away from Jordan Station. It's recently renovated so the place is really clean and comfy.

Home for three nights!

The corridors aren't super luxe, but they're cosy enough.

If you've been to Hong Kong before, you'll know that their hotel rooms are usually pretty much the size of a closet. I was particularly amazed at the sheer size of our room at Nathan Hotel, which was the cheapest available - just a twin room for two.

Taken from the entry way

Large lounging area. Great for families with small children!

The bathroom was decidedly basic, but well-stocked with towels, shower gel, vanity packs and all.

I hate bathtubs cos they remind me of horror scenes. =/

So after my mum and I were done exploring the room and freshening up, it was time to head out in search for dinner!

Full-length mirror on the panelled wardrobe door.

We crossed the road from our hotel and proceeded to walk in the back lanes where there were tons of eateries. Practically every street was lined with diners and restaurants. We settled on this noodle shop that we chanced upon. It's located at Nanking Road!

Mummy!

We each got a bowl of wanton noodles soup. Very cheap at only S$3, including a can of Coke!

My mum and I were simply taken with the quality of the noodles. They were simply awesome, even more so because we were ravenous after our flight.

The noodles were cooked perfectly, each curly strand al dente and super QQ!

And the dumplings were just gorgeous. Each silk-skinned beauty was stuffed full with crunchy shrimp and pork - so tasty that my mum and I ordered another bowl of five to share!

After gobbling down our extremely satisfying wanton noodles, we headed just across the street for some old school desserts!

My mum settled for her favourite inky black sesame paste, which she claimed was excellent.

I went for the tang yuan instead. I was delighted at their texture - each orb was smooth and chewy-skinned, and broke to reveal a mini reservoir of molten black sesame filling. Loved the ginger soup they came in as well, which was light and palette-cleansing.

With our tummies full, we walked back to the hotel room to settle in for the night. Hotel pillows are love!

I promise I'll be back soon for the next installment of this Hong Kong series!

devastated

2011-06-01T11:42:00.000+08:00

I got to work earlier this morning and was informed of some tragic news.
Hua Ting Restaurant has apparently taken liu sha bao aka salted egg custard buns off their menu.

I is very sad. :(

But no fear! I've heard of another place that supposedly serves very good liu sha bao as well and I'm planning to head there for lunch next week.
Updates afterward!!

EPIC PIC

2011-05-23T11:12:00.000+08:00

LOL just wanted to share an extremely hilarious picture taken on the Battlestar Galactica at Universal Studios Singapore. Just check out our epic expressions!!!

I know, this is terribly unglam and I hope my colleagues will forgive me if they ever see this, but I just have to put this up!

If you haven't spotted me, I'm in the red tee. Contrast my gleeful expression with that of Vanessa's, who is in white two seats away from me.

ROFL!!!!

excursion!

2011-05-16T00:04:00.002+08:00

Paid a virgin visit to the Night Safari back in January! Was so excited cos I'd never been there before in all my 22 years of living in Singapore.

Wore a panda tee to match the animal theme of the night!

But dinner first! We convened at Joe's Kitchen, a humble, family-run Thai eatery in Alexandra. I shall give my conclusion first: Ah Loy is still #1 for affordable, delicious Thai grub in Singapore. I'd recommend Joe's only if you're in the area cos I don't think it's worth making a trip down otherwise.

But anyway, we ordered a number of dishes to share, the first being this Vermicelli Seafood Salad, a medley of crunchy tung hoon, prawns, chopped nuts, and a lot of other things...haha. Light, tangy and a little spicy, this makes a great appetiser for sharing, though I personally would have liked more glass noodles (because I love it!).

Vermicelli Seafood Salad ($8)

Up next were the Stuffed Chicken Wings, chunks of meat which I honestly have no real impression of besides the fact that they were crispy-skinned. Pretty unmemorable.

Stuffed Chicken Wings ($2.50 each)

These are the Prawn Cakes, breaded fishcake-like cutlets, but made with prawns. Again, very unremarkable.

Thai Prawn Cake ($2.30 per piece)

I am beginning to realise what a useless review this is because I have very vague recollections of all the food here i.e. nothing is worth coming back for seconds for. If it was good, I would definitely have remembered it, but no, even the classic Thai Tom Yum Soup was forgettable.

Prawn Tom Yum Soup ($8.90 for a medium-sized portion)

Ah, finally! Here's something I remember! Sorry to say, I only remember this Phad Thai clearly because it sucked. The noodles were clumpy and unevenly marinated, with no tantalising wok hei. Avoid this at all costs.

Phad Thai ($8.90 for a medium-sized portion)

Thai Fish Cake! What can I say? It's spicy fish cake lor...nothing to rave or boo about.

Thai Fish Cake ($2.30 per piece)

And here we are at the last dish - thankfully, because I'm quite tired of blogging about sad food. Again, I recall zilch about this dish. Think it doesn't look too bad here, but order at your own risk lah. Or play it safe and go get your Thai food fix at Ah Loy.

Beef with Ginger and Spring Onions on Hotplate ($10 for small-sized portion)

Ok, I'll just end off with a few pics from the Night Safari. I wouldn't go again cos it's so dark and you can't really see very much. Some of the animals merely look like shadowy lumps (e.g. the half-submerged hippos wallowing in their pools) and no flash photography allowed so it's impossible to capture decent shots of anything.

So yeah, you're stuck looking at our faces.

Hahahahaha we look so chaotah here!

Joe's Kitchen

Blk 125 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-182

(opposite Alexandra Hospital)

6270-8484

uh...happy belated new year?

2011-05-02T22:34:00.000+08:00

Terribly backdated post, but I still want to put up some yummy pictures from Seb's birthday celebration last year.

His birthday falls on New Year's Eve, and since he's a huge fan of steak, I decided to give him a treat at Angus Steak House! They had a special 5-course set dinner menu for NYE, with your choice of main (prices started from about $70).

First up was the appetiser - slabs of foie gras and chicken stacked atop mashed potato and a piece of apple. I'm not a big fan of foie gras, but I must say this was excellently done, with a crisp exterior and soft, mushy insides. Great combination of sweet apple with the juicy fried chicken.

Appetiser

Second course was the soup - a creamy blend of crabmeat and mushroom. This was a tad disappointing, because there was hardly a hint of crabmeat. Rather unremarkable, in all.

Warm, creamy soup that tasted not unlike an ordinary cream of mushroom.

This was followed by an equally unremarkable tuna and asparagus salad with mozzarella cheese. Meh.

Then it was on to the mains! At medium-rare doneness, Seb's tenderloin steak was gorgeously tender and succulent with a light smokiness. Not hard to see why Angus STEAK HOUSE is so named.

Steakkkkk

I went for the grilled seafood platter, which included a hulk of salmon, two king prawns and a trio of scallops. While the salmon was a wee bit too dry, I absolutely loved the fresh, bouncy scallops. Mmm...

Grilled seafood

Ended the meal on a sweet note - ice cream sitting in a crunchy chocolate tart sitting in mango sauce with a n assortment of fruit. Yum!

Finally, dessert. Happy New Year!

I'd urge you to try Angus Steak House if you're a steak lover! I think the prices are really reasonable for a top-notch, quality piece of steak.

Angus Steak House

#04-21 Ngee Ann City

6735-6015

introducing...the BEST liu sha bao in Singapore!

2011-04-25T21:18:00.001+08:00

I kid you not when I say "THE BEST". Seriously, I doubt you can get better steamed custard buns in Singapore than the ones I am about to show you! They are that awesome. (But if you have, please share!)

So anyway, where can these gems of liu sha bao be found? None other than Hua Ting Restaurant! Located at Orchard Hotel, it's definitely swankier than the less fussy Swee Choon or 126 Dim Sum, but with higher price tags to go along. That said, the extra dollars are definitely worth it, especially for the heavenly liu sha bao!

Again, I didn't jot down prices (sorry!), but you can trust me when I say the food at Hua Ting is worth every cent you fork out.

The meal kicked off with a dish of roast meats - crispy skinned duck and siew yok. I didn't take the pork, but I did have a slice of the tender duck. Love the skin! I don't like eating chicken/duck skin unless it's deep-fried or roasted to a crackly crisp. This was perfect. :)

Roast meats

These little baked mango and chicken pies were finger lickin' good! Within each crumbly, flaky cup of pastry sat sweet cubes of diced mango and chicken. Scrumptious!

Pies!!

And we didn't have to wait long for the most anticipated dish - the liu sha bao!

"Flowing sand buns"

Now, liu sha bao literally translates into "flowing sand bun", as a metaphor to the molten custard within each bun. THIS, is as close to "flowing" as you can get, for from within each fluffy exterior of bread oozes the smoothest, most fluid blend of salted egg and custard.

Molten, golden goodness...

You have to be extremely careful when eating this because the filling threatens to drip out of its bread carrier with every nibble. In fact, some did drip onto my fingers, which I licked clean, refusing to waste a single drop.

During my last family trip to Hong Kong, we had the most lovely pork dumplings topped with quail eggs, so we were really pleased to see this similar item on the menu at Hua Ting. Swathed in slippery, pale yellow skins, each orb of minced pork was accompanied by a plump quail egg. Very satisfying!

Pork and quail egg dumplings

Each siew mai came adorned with a crown of crunchy shrimp roe.

Siew mai topped with shrimp roe

Another worthy fave was this dish - succulent prawns with refreshingly juicy slices of mango encased in golden-brown batter.

Prawn and mango rolls

Drenched in a viscous, soothing gravy and generously littered with fish slices, prawns and scallops, the seafood noodles are great for sharing too. The noodles were springy and the seafood, fresh without a fault.

Seafood noodles

My dad is already planning to bring my grandparents back to celebrate Mother's Day. Can't wait!!!

Hua Ting Restaurant

Orchard Hotel, 442 Orchard Road

6739-6666

mouth exercise

2011-04-22T22:28:00.000+08:00

I'm back for another long overdue post! Way back in December, I had a Girls' Day Out with Celly, Joyce and Vic for dim sum at Mouth Restaurant, followed by shopping at City Plaza (yay to cheap deals!). I am terribly sorry, I didn't take down the prices of the food, but I think we spent only about $16 per person or so.

Baked custard bun (liu sha bao)

If you've seen my post on Mouth@Work, these baked babies are the the same as those I blogged about there because Mouth@Work is obviously a subsidiary of Mouth Restaurant. I remember the ones at Mouth@Work being overly dry, albeit tasty, but the ones here at Mouth Restaurant are a bit better with slightly more fluid custard filling.

Yummy filling of sweet custard infused with grainy salted egg.

The har gow were not bad, with thin, sticky skin wrapped around crunchy shrimps.

Har gow

Can't really remember what this tasted like, but I think it looks damn good! Deep-fried, golden-brown parcels of shrimp and dunno-what-veg in crackly beancurd skin. Mmm...

Shrimp in deep-fried beancurd skin

Siew mai, a perennial favourite among dim sum lovers. Except me, cos I don't like mushrooms. Why they have to put mushrooms on these sunshine-y looking dumplings, I don't know. =/

Siew mai

Can't remember what these mini egg tarts tasted like either, but I think they were probably just passable since they didn't leave much of an impact on my memory.

Egg tarts

Was looking forward to the char siew sou, but was kinda disappointed that the filling was too sweet and lacked the smoky perfume that a good BBQ pork pastry has. And the pastry itself wasn't fluffy and flaky enough for my liking.

Char siew sou

Yummy chee cheong fun! We ordered the one with char siew cos Joyce is allergic to prawns. The rice rolls were a bit too thick, but I like how chewy they were.

Char siew chee cheong fun

I quite liked the moreish glutinous rice, which concealed a bed of egg and chicken meat. Not good to eat too much of this, though...I heard glutinous rice is hard to digest.

Glutinous rice

The highlight of the meal was definitely the steamed custard buns!

Steamed custard buns

Definitely more moist than their baked counterparts, the steamed buns were undisputedly fluffy and toothsome. The sweet-salty filling was thick and a little chunky, and we relished every bit of it. (Stay tuned for my review on the BEST liu sha bao in Singapore!)

Can't remember very much about these xiao long bao either. The ones at Swee Choon are still my favourite - uber big and tasty!

Xiao long bao

Like the char siew sou, these steamed buns were stuffed with the same, too-sweet BBQ pork bits.

Char siew bao

Carrot cake! These reminded me of the ones at 126 Dim Sum, piping hot rectangular blocks of deep-fried carrot cake. Delicious! (Sorry the pic looks overexposed. Lazy to edit!)

Carrot cake

Last but not least, we had the prawn and banana rolls, which were like deep-fried popiah skin studded with sesame seeds and stuffed with sweet banana and succulent shrimp. Awesome!

Prawn and banana fritters

Mouth Restaurant

#02-01 Chinatown Point

6534-4233

after party

2011-04-09T13:40:00.000+08:00

Very mini post today!

Seb threw me the most awesome surprise birthday party last December, and it was an utter success!
I thought we were heading to Bugis for a steamboat dinner with the JC gang, but he turned into the Queenstown Macs instead. I was like, eh...what are we doing here??? LOL.

Went up and was super duper stunned to see my favourite friends from church, JC and NUS all gathered there in ambush, along with my family and Seb's parents! Sorry, I don't have piccas cos they're with Tim (my eldest bro). Will update again when I finally get them.

After the party, a bunch of us headed to Sentosa for our own mini after-party. Haha not uploading all the pictures here cos some are, well, private. LOL =X
But in short, here's a representation of how much fun we had that night. :)

foodnotes

2011-04-05T22:41:00.000+08:00

I'm jealous that the relatively new Bedok Point within walking distance of Seb's place has eateries like Sushi Tei and Popeye's (by far my favourite fried chicken place). We went to check the little shopping mall out not long after it opened last December, and found ourselves patiently waiting in line for a table at Bishamon.

Ew...bad, bad, BAD hair!

A daughter chain of the more well-known Tampopo, Bishamon serves up ramen, specifically Sapporo ramen - the thick, chewy, curly type that I adore. Forgot to take note of the prices, but if I don't recall wrongly, the ramen dishes are priced at an average of $14 or so.

Seb ordered the Original Miso Ramen (pictured above and below), which came topped with corn, a thick slice of cha shu and a wobbly soft-boiled egg.

Original Miso Ramen

I opted for the saltier Tonkotsu Shio Ramen (salt-based pork bone soup), and added an egg to it. Can't get enough of the oozy Japanese-style eggs!

Tonkotsu Shio Ramen

Check out the liquid-y egg yolk!

Was pleasantly surprised that the soups here were much better than those at Tampopo. And the springy noodles didn't disappoint either - they were perfectly bouncy with just the right amount of bite. Seb said he preferred his aromatic miso soup, but I still favoured the smooth, savoury pork bone broth I had ordered.

At my insistence, we also got a side of gyoza. I'm a sucker for these pan-fried "pot stickers"!

Om nom nom...gyozaaaaaaaa

As an opening promotion, we each got a side of rather sad-looking salmon sashimi too. Seemed like it'd been sitting out a little too long, though.

Ok, to end off abruptly, go give Bishamon a try if you like ramen. It's not Santouka (still my all-time fave), but it's decent enough!

Bishamon
#02-32/34 Bedok Point

6445-3392

ONE THOUSAND!

2011-03-21T14:20:00.001+08:00

Wheeeeeeee!! This marks 1000 posts on this blog! :D

Anyway, just dropping by for a teeny update on my crowning glory!
I've been wanting to get a haircut for the longest time ever because as you can see from my previous posts, my hair tends to get terribly frizzy and poofy especially at the ends. And my fringe always curls out like an ugly horn when it gets too long. Ick.

Didn't help that a couple haircuts ago, the hairdresser thinned my tresses too much (resulting in frizzier, poofier hair) and subsequent hairdressers couldn't fix it.

Anyway, I was casually strolling around Tampines 1 on Saturday and thought I might as well get a haircut at Twister (by Monsoon) since I had the time. I'm not fussy about hairdressers cos before this, I hadn't found one worthy of a return visit. But here, I did insist on getting the salon director to do my locks because it was only a few bucks more than getting the creative director or senior stylist instead.

So I found myself sitting in front of a floor-length mirror with Kason, the salon director recommending me to get a softening treatment done on my curls. The effect he promised? A softer (duh), straighter, more manageable mane with less frizz. (Sounds like a shampoo, hor?)

Literally steaming my head! My face is damn chubby, FML.

Only peeve is that Kason bluffed me about the treatment time. He said it'd take 20 minutes. I ended up spending THREE hours at the salon. Imagine: rinse, slather on treatment product, rinse, slather, rinse, steam, rinse, cut, blow, trim.

But hey, look at the (near) end result! Lustrous, healthier looking hair that frames my face better, and makes my mien look younger and slimmer too.

Of course, I can't get it to look as silky smooth and straight as immediately after the treatment, but I'm immensely pleased at how much healthier and manageable my hair seems now.

Yah, I better love it since I spent $160 (softening treatment) + $35.90 (haircut by salon director) = $195.90 on this! LOL.

But seriously, I think Kason's great and seeing how he understands my difficult hair, I'm definitely returning to him for future hair treatments!

mood for food

2011-03-20T11:49:00.000+08:00

Ok, very brief post on the international buffet lunch I had a few months back at La Terrasse at Orchard Hotel! Ate for free cos my mum is a holder of the Ala Carte membership card, which entitles her to a whole bunch of dining vouchers at the various M Group hotels.

Was quite impressed at the spread available at the buffet - fresh seafood, salads, local dishes, Japanese munchies, finger food, pasta and a good selection of sweets.

I really liked the prawn noodles soup, which was ultra tasty and reeking of sweet, prawn stock. Couldn't resist downing spoonful after spoonful of the lovely broth!

Prawn noodles

This was my first plate of food...didn't wanna fill myself up too quickly so I took just one prawn (super fresh and crunchy), a bit of salmon sashimi, tuna salad, potato salad and pasta salad. I must admit that Seb and I went back for several "seconds" of sashimi throughout our meal.

First round!

Loaded my plate with a whole lot of small bites next.

The lasagna (bottom left corner) was awesome!

There were these little pie crust cups that were meant to be filled with creamy mushrooms, but since I abhor shrooms, I filled mine with lasagna! Mmmm...yummy!!

Shared a bowl of laksa with Seb. Wasn't fantastic cos it was kinda diluted. Poop.

Desserts! See that creamy dollop in front? That's durian puree! It's served at all the buffets offered in M Group hotels, if I'm not wrong. Super delicious and a must-have if you're a fan of the pungent fruit!

La Terrasse

Orchard Hotel, 442 Orchard Road

6739-6554

visiting the neighbours (i.e. malaysia)

2011-03-17T22:42:00.000+08:00

Can you buh-leeve that I haven't updated for over a month?! OMG wow! I spend a large amount of time at work writing (cos it's my job, duh) so that once I knock off, I'm more inclined to do other things that I enjoy - playing mahjong and watching brainless dramas in particular.

Huge "sorry" to those who have still been popping by regularly in hopes of seeing a new post. It's been a long time coming, but here it is!

Back in December, I took a road trip up north to Malacca, Malaysia with Seb and our friends for a one-night stay. Was really awesome, just eating and eating and enjoying each others' company!
I don't know how, but we reached Malacca in little more than two hours at a speed of 130km/h (not that fast by Malaysian standards). Headed straight for Holiday Inn where we had booked our rooms.

Pretty view outside our window!

Showered and rested for awhile before we headed out for an early dinner. This was probably the highlight of the entire trip - McQuek Satay Steamboat!!!

If you have never tried this before, please do! It is absolutely worth the 2-3 hours drive up! I'm so sorry I don't have exact directions, but I think you can find it if you just Google the restaurant name. I promise I'll take down and provide directions the next time I go!

Ooooohhhhh......huge pot of satay gravy to cook our ingredients in!

Piling food on my tray; lots of meats and fishcakes to choose from!

Hehe Emma is too cute!

First round for me and Seb!

Gosh, this looks soooooo good! My mouth is literally watering right now as I'm typing this.

The pre-fried youtiao is the best cos it really soaks up the gravy.

When we'd finally eaten our fill, the staff came to count the number of sticks we had and it came up to more than a hundred, if I don't recall wrongly! That's more than 25 sticks per person! LOL! And assuming we had 25 sticks each, that's only RM15 = SGD7!!!!! Like woooots!!!

Ok, moving on to Day 2...

We headed out for breakfast at this famous wanton mee shop that Seb and Ivan love. If you know where the Famosa chicken rice restaurant is, you can find this noodle shop easily cos it's in the same stretch of road.


The older and dingier the shop, the better the food (most likely).

Seb posing as he waits for our orders to be prepared.

Um, this is embarrassing but I don't have pictures of the noodles. I think I deleted it cos the shot turned out ugly. =/

Heh, moving on once again...we went in search of Peranakan food later in the evening, but the good restaurants that Seb and Ivan (who are both Peranakan) frequent were closed. So we had to settle for the only one that was open.

Ivan and Emma, who are both relatively camera-shy.

Seb and Rach, who are both relatively shameless camwhores.

Omelette, which unfortunately turned out to be the only yummy thing. :(

Sambal kangkong

Don't know what this is called, but it has that black nut thing that Peranakans love.

Some underwhelming soup.

Ok, abrupt end of post.
Moral of the story: GO EAT AT MCQUEK!!!!!!!

Taylor Swift Speak Now Tour 2011 - Live in Singapore

2011-02-10T17:54:00.001+08:00

Will blog more on this later, but for now, enjoy some videos that I took at the concert! I'm sorry you can't see her face in them, but I was sitting too far back and the lights were too strong for my iPhone.

Happy Rabbit Year!

2011-02-06T11:54:00.001+08:00

Been a real long time since I popped by this space cos I've been so busy with work! Now that it's Chinese New Year and I have a breather, I'm back for a tiny update. :)

Was really sad that I got whammied with fever, flu and a sore throat right on the day of CNY eve, so I was down and out of all the partying during my family reunion dinner and visiting on the chu yi. I've still got a terrible blocked nose and phlegmy cough, but I'm getting better quickly, thank God.

Anyway, just wanted to share some pics that have been stewing in my computer for a long time. These are from my cousin's wedding last December. Eons ago, I know!
His solemnisation and dinner were held at Capella, super posh place!

Gorgeous view of the sea beyond the window of the solemnisation room!

With the brother and mum

Mum and I before the ceremony began

Didn't manage to catch the bride and groom making their entrance, so just a few shots from their signing the papers etc. I mentioned "his" earlier on, so you can pretty much guess my cousin is the groom.

I should have taken better pictures of the bride's dresses throughout the night. She designed each of the four dresses she wore herself, and they were all really pretty!

After the solemnisation, we all moved out to have cocktails and canapes while waiting for the actual dinner to begin.

My little nephew Nathaniel! So cute!!

Table setting...love that we were all served individual portions so no need to grab for food!

Wedding favours - cookies in the form of a tux and wedding gown!

One of my cousins brought along a bag of Garett Popcorn, which has since become my ultimate fave popcorn.

Mottled orbs of caramel coated popcorn...crisp, snappy exterior with a soft centre. Perfection!

Starter of suckling pig, jellyfish, spiced beef, roasted duck, roasted pork, and marinated pork shank.

Double boiled shark's fin soup - my favourite dish of the night! So generous with the ingredients.

Cereal prawn, another favourite of mine! Had two of these large crustaceans!

Winter melon stuffed with conpoy.

Steamed Soon Hock fish...very fresh!

Roasted chicken with crispy garlic. Love how the garlic crumbs imparted a lovely fragrance to the white meat.

Fried rice with XO sauce.

Chilled mango sago with pomelo bits. Ick, this was very bad!

And well, just some shots of myself.

childhood food

2011-01-16T01:59:00.002+08:00

I've always had fond memories of the cheese omelette at Han's. My mum used to tabao it for my lunch back when I was having ballet lessons and I'd eat in the car on my way to church after class.

Cheese is one of the foods that I think tastes awesome with almost everything. Did you know that cheese has moisturizing properties? I recently got Seb to buy me the Creamy Cheese Mask from Skinfood when he was in Korea. Haven't tried it yet, but I hope it works!

Anyway, back to the omelette. I like my omelette wet and soft inside (sounds totally wrong!), with tons of oozy melted cheese, and ham if it's available - makes an awesome breakfast with fried potatoes on the side!

So yellow...

Looks like there's something stuck between my teeth, but there isn't...it's a gap. -_-"

Seb's bacon and eggs with toast. Liquid egg yolks are love!!!

Feeling extremely tired and sleepy, so I'm gonna end abruptly with three *cough* lovely *cough* pictures of myself. :)

tea party!

2011-01-09T02:58:00.003+08:00

My posts are so backdated I'm embarrassed, but I still want to document this trip to Barracks for their high tea buffet!

When I went last month, they said this buffet would only be offered until the end of 2010, but I don't know if they've decided to continue serving it in 2011. Anyway, it's $25 per person and the high tea buffet spread includes finger sandwiches, little cakes and cookies - great if you've got a sweet tooth!

Wore my abstract print romper cos I thought it was apt for a whimsical high tea!

We reached Barracks at House and lost no time in plying our plates with treats from the buffet table!

Love the 'Alice in Wonderland' sort of decor!

Assorted sweet treats!

So there we were, looking very pleased with our first round of food. Probably was a mistake for each of us to get the same things right at the start because every little cupcake/cookie really added up, making us feel jerlat too quickly.

I think this was the Pineapple Tart. Getting old so I can't remember the exact names of these things that I ate a month ago! The pastry was topped with meringue so sweet that it really was just a mush of sugary sweetness in my mouth. =/

Pineapple Tart

Think this was called the Chocolate Pecan, and it was awesome! Beneath its luscious, chocolately veneer was a crumbly cookie base. Really liked this one.

Chocolate Pecan

I'm a huge fan of crunchy biscotti, especially when its generously studded with nuts and dried fruit like this one. So addictive! The cookie was good too, though it was so huge I couldn't finish it on my own. Too much sugar at once!

Biscotti and Chocolate Chip Cookie

Okay, I cannot for the life of me remember what flavour these cupcakes were, but I think the one in the foreground was topped with lemon-tinged cream cheese. The one in the background was walnut...or something. Neither must have been very memorable since I've forgotten what they even are!

Cupcakes!

Seb trooped out for a second round when he spotted the waiters replenishing the food trays. More savouries this time!

Round 2!

The savouries were better than the sweets to me, especially the tuna one, which I took to immensely. Seb preferred the chicken one, though.

Open-face sandwiches

The waffle was rather light and fluffy, not bad at all. The cold ice cream was quite refreshing on the palette too after all the cloying sweetness of the cakes.

Waffle with ice cream

Was looking forward to the cheesecakes cos they looked so pretty in the paper wrapping, but they were extremely disappointing. Stodgy and terribly cloying in the throat. Couldn't even force myself to finish the entire square.

Mini cheesecakes

The surprising favourite for me were the tiny grilled cheese sandwiches. So delightfully tasty that I sent Seb out to get more for me!

Grilled cheese sandwiches

I'm glad I got to try this high tea buffet though I probably wouldn't go again if they offered it again. Don't think it's worth paying over $20 for such a limited variety of sweets that got me feeling a bit sick afterward!

Barracks Cafe

8D Dempsey Road

6475-7787

work in progress

2011-01-05T00:06:00.000+08:00

Just embarked on the next phase of life - working life - today. Was good to see familiar faces, though some will be leaving in a short while. Anyway, it was tough being plunged into work almost right from the get-go, but I guess I just need to adjust into the grind of things there as quickly as I can.

Been playing quite a bit of mahjong lately, and I must admit it's addictive though I always seem to lose. Gonna dig some time out soon to blog about the promising high tea at Barracks I had ages ago!

2011

2011-01-01T05:59:00.000+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Been so busy with parties for my birthday, Christmas, Seb's birthday and ushering in the new year, that I haven't had the time to sit and sift through my pictures for blogging!

Anyway, before 2010 slips away throughout the world, I just want to express how thankful I am for God's blessings.

He gave me an incredibly amazing other half, whom I would not be able to do without now or ever;
He gave me a wonderful internship which has recently secured me a full-time job without me even having to look for it;
He renewed me and touched my heart, letting me know how real He is.

He is my Father and I ~~may~~ am not always the best child I can be, but the Lord never fails and He has shown me time and time again how gracious and loving He is.
God provides, as sure as He lives. And I know I can trust Him to take care of my future and the years to come, let alone 2011.

studying no more! (Part II)

2010-12-27T14:13:00.002+08:00

Carrying on where I left off the last time, Seb and I wanted to drop by Killiney for our favourite durian chee cheong fun. But to our dismay, the place has closed down! I doubt they've closed for good, but I don't know where they've moved to. =(

With durian chee cheong fun no longer an option, I decided we should go for "atas" dessert at nearby Orchard Central.

So, there we were comfortably settled in low, cushioned swivel chairs at Jewels Artisan Chocolate, sipping passionfruit tea and waiting for our sweets to be served!

Passionfruit Gourmet Tea

The pot of Gourmet Tea (ala carte price of $6.80) came as part of a High Tea Sampler ($14.80), which also includes any one praline/truffle, any one macaron, one slice of 85% Dark Chocolate Gateau, and one scoop of any ice cream/sorbet. You can top up $0.50 to $2 for funkier chocolate creations, all concocted and crafted by award-winning chocolatier Then Chui Foong.

Really worth it, if you ask me! I've been wanting to bring Seb here for the gorgeous macarons ever since I attended a tasting here months ago, and I finally did!

This is the sampler platter we got! We decided to share just one set because we wanted just a little taste of everything.

We selected the Topaz, the same piece of chocolate that blew me away on my first visit. Encased in a milk chocolate shell is luscious dark chocolate infused with a heady dose of macallan whisky. If you're fond of alcoholic chocs, you'll definitely love this. Oh, and I love that Patissiere Then's chocolates are not cloying! This one just melted beautifully on the tongue, filling my mouth with a lingering taste of bittersweet chocolate and whisky.

Topaz (ala carte price is $3.50, I think)

Next up was the 85% Dark Chocolate Gateau, a slice of silky sponge cake layered with gooey, luscious chocolate and adorned with milk chocolate shards. Yummy, but a little cloying.

85% Dark Chocolate Gateau

Our selected sorbet was the Blood Orange Sorbet, an icy treat that tingled on our tongues. The delicous tang of the sorbet cut through the sweetness of the chocolate items, which we appreciated.

Blood Orange Sorbet (ala carte price of $3.80)

Undoubtedly the highlight for me was the macaron - we picked my favourite Black Palm Island Salt, a truly unique creation. Sandwiched between the cream coloured shells was a filling of almond cream and salted egg, while the upper shell was studded with grains of black palm island salt. Sounds like a wacky combination, but it's scrumptious, trust me!

Black Palm Island Salt Macaron (ala carte price of $2 - very cheap!)

The sweet, piquant taste of almond cream paired wonderfully with the salted egg, while the texture of the pastry was just perfect. The shells were light and crisp, the insides soft and slightly chewy. One of the best macarons I've ever had!

If you're dying for some yummy desserts, check this place out! :)

Jewels Artisan Chocolate

#02-31/32 Orchard Central

6509-8998

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-25T02:58:00.000+08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

HAVE A BLESSED YEAR AHEAD!!!

studying no more! (Part I)

2010-12-23T02:15:00.001+08:00

Have kinda lost the momentum of blogging though I do have some posts lined up dating back to the end of exams. To those who still visit my blog regularly, thanks for reading! I'm hoping to get back into the swing of blogging simply because I like to write. And good eats ought to be shared, no? =D

Anyway, after our final exam, Seb and I headed to town for some grub and shopping!

Kinda late, but... EXAMS ARE OVERRRRR!!!! =D

Decided to have a late lunch at Cedele since we hadn't been there in a long while, and the food there is pretty decent!

Unfortunately, our smiles were soon wiped off, no thanks to a technical glitch in their ordering system and a way overly salty plate of steak n' pasta.

Looked and smelled great, but one bite sent us gasping for water.

Seb's beef steak pasta was amazingly salty and we didn't realise until Seb had neatly sliced his steak into bite-sized pieces for easy eating. Felt a little bad about sending the food back to the kitchen after that, but no way were we letting a kidney failure-inducing meal mar our first day of freedom!

To be fair, the texture of the pasta was really good - al dente with just the right amount of bite.

But anyway, we sent it back at risk of having our remaining dishes being spat in. =/
Moments later, the waitress brought a new plate out. This one was certainly cooked by a different chef!

Not only was the presentation different; it tasted really different too! This second version though certainly less salty, was rather watery and soggy (which sucks). The steak was still as good - tender and pink inside without tasting too beefy.

A glitch in the order system caused my food to be delayed until Seb was almost done with his. Pfft. Thankfully my pasta was absolutely scrumptious or I would have been in a positively foul mood.

I had linguine with soft shell crab, all dressed in black pepper. I was pleasantly surprised to see clumps of wispy crab meat tossed in together with my pasta. Every single mouthful was a beautiful blend of flavours - sweet crab meat, spicy black pepper, and wok hei from the flames. Definitely going back for more!

Black Pepper Crab Pasta ($16.90)

Sadly, our "starter" of potato wedges, which arrived after my main, was a total dud. Not only were they unspectacular, the portion was terribly stingy too. Certainly not worth the price!

Potato wedges ($7.90)

After the altogether unsatisfactory meal at Cedele, we weren't gonna stick around for any dessert, so we left for greener pastures. And boy, dessert was awesome!! Next post on that!

Cedele

#03-14 Wheelock Place

6732-8520

loneliness is looking for a friend

2010-12-17T00:02:00.001+08:00

It's been awhile since the last time I popped into this space. Was away for church camp last weekend and haven't really been in the mood to blog. But Seb is away on vacation till next Wednesday and I'm terribly bored and lonely without him, so I need something to kill time!

Pretty backdated, but this was a trip that we made to Jones the Grocer at Dempsey two weeks ago after our second last exam paper! (Feels like eons ago already!)

We each decided to go for the Eggs on Toast, which is a dish as literally named as any could get. You basically get two eggs (done poached, scrambled or fried) and two slices of toast. I paid more for the little cup that held about four strips of smoked salmon.

Eggs on Toast ($9.50) with additional smoked salmon (+$4)

My eggs were scrambled, of course, and were quite good. I liked the slightly runny, creamy texture, though they tasted rather bland. Had to go heavy on the salt and pepper. The toast, however, was extremely hard. It was so unfortunately thick and hard that the crust cut into my upper mouth palette each time I took a bite of it. Ouch.

Seb chose to have his eggs poached, much to my delight. I love poached eggs! They looked exceptionally tiny, though. He also added on a sausage, which was firm and tasty, albeit a tad overdone.

Eggs on Toast with additional sausage (+$2 or $2.50, I can't remember)

The poached eggs were a bit of a disappointment to me. Although each burst into a puddle of oozy golden yolk, the whites were terribly rubbery. And I guess they're prepared way in advance of ordering, cos they were cold as if they'd been left out for hours and hours.

Hahaha the crust was so hard that ol' man Seb couldn't force himself to bite through them.

I miss him :(

Jones the Grocer

9 Dempsey Road

6476-1512

quaint originality

2010-12-08T13:06:00.000+08:00

First visited Bar Bar Black Sheep a couple of years ago and was quite taken with the place. Hidden behind shrubbery along Bukit Timah Road, it's basically an angmoh coffee shop with three food stalls (Indian, Thai and Western) and a bar. Even the al fresco seating consists of rustic wooden tables and benches.

Majority of the crowd there are Western expats and families, so it's no surprise that the food and drinks come with relatively hefty price tags. A Coke Light costs $2 here!

Anyway, Seb started with the seafood tom yam soup from the Thai stall. It came in a sizeable bowl crammed full with the usual assorted seafood like shrimp, fish slices and squid. The soup, as you can see, is the reddish kind. Tinged with coconut milk, the sour-spicy concoction had a full-bodied taste contributed by the seafood essence it carried.

Seafood tom yum soup with rice ($10)

As for me, I went for the Tiger Prawn Aglio Olio from the Western stall. I love how big the portion is, with the linguine all perfectly al dente and accompanied by five large, crunchy prawns. Slicked with olive oil and garlic, the slightly spicy pasta was immensely tasty!

Tiger Prawn Aglio Olio ($14)

Craving for fries, I got my fix with a basket of them. Definitely overpriced at $6, but at least they were done well - crispy on the outside and soft on the inside!

I wanted to have the naan and tandoori chicken from the Indian stall, but it was closed that day we went (Sunday is its off day). It's been ages since I had it, but I remembered the food there being amazingly good!

Bar Bar Black Sheep

879 Cherry Avenue (off Bukit Timah Road, in the direction of King Albert Park Macs)

6468-9382

knuckle up

2010-12-05T22:31:00.001+08:00

I'm heading in to Malacca for a one night trip, but before I go, here's a short entry on yummy pork knuckles! =D

Ooh la la......

Looks good? ;)

So it was a rare Saturday when I was feeling rich. I told Seb to pick a place to have dinner and the meal would be on my tab. He's never had had pork knuckles before, so the word "Brotzeit" fell from his lips almost immediately.

Well, pork knuckle it was!

Just check out this hulk of meat! It ain't exactly sexy, but that golden-brown tan sure is tantalizing! Beneath all that crispy skin was a layer of meltingly soft fat, and succulent flesh so tender it surprised me. It boasted a subtly smokey flavour that wasn't too porky and jerlat. And the whole thing is so huge it's definitely substantial enough for two people, maybe even three.

Pork knuckle for two ($32)

I'm not fond of sauerkraut, but I liked the sour German potato salad served on the same platter. The piquant taste offered some nice respite from the inevitable meatiness of the pork knuckle.

And of course, we couldn't do without a beer to wash down the oily meat!

Brotzeit

#01-149/151 VivoCity

6272-8815

korean first

2010-12-03T04:58:00.001+08:00

Have been watching a few Korean dramas lately, which inspired me to look for good Korean food. Believe it or not, I've never eaten Korean food (instant ramyun is not counted!) prior to this, so I was quite excited to visit Joo Mak!

Slipped into a comfy slouchy top in anticipation of the feast to come!

Joo Mak's menu mostly comprises of homey Korean food priced mostly in the mid 10s. Prepared by native Koreans, you can be sure that the food at this restaurant is authentic!

Pretty hand-painted wall!

I love the spread of complimentary side dishes! My favourites are the egg salad (bottom row, extreme left), the sausages in sweet n' sour sauce (top row, third from left), homemade kimchi (top row, extreme right), and the ikan bilis (bottom row, third from left). Super yummy!!!

Array of complimentary side dishes (can be replenished upon request!)

Seb actually went to queue early in the morning to get his iPhone 4. Haha look how happy he is!

Crap, my face is getting particularly fat thanks to all the good food I eat. Aiya, but if I don't try all this yummy stuff then I won't have anything to blog about! Nevermind, eat first and worry later!

We ordered a spicy pork soup, which wasn't bad aside from the fact that we fished out no more than two slices of pork. Tastes similar to the spicy kimchi soup base of Korean instant noodles, but this certainly is thicker and contains more depth, maybe because they boil it with pork. Very addictive!

Spicy Pork Soup ($12.90, served with rice)

I had the classic bibimbap which I'd seen actors scoff down in numerous different dramas. Never expected to like this because it always just looked like rice tossed with leftover ingredients to me, but this proper encounter with bibimbap actually left me craving for more!

Bibimbap ($12.90) with chicken (+$2)

Buried under handfuls of chicken strips, seaweed, mushrooms, carrot slivers, cucumber and beansprouts was a mountain of fluffy rice sizzling in a hot stone bowl. Everything tasted so healthy, but was far from bland, especially after I added in copious amounts of sweet sauce. Damn, I feel like eating this now!

We also ordered a side of spicy rice cakes, which I understand is a popular street snack in Korea. I love, love, love these chewy things smothered in sweet and spicy sauce! The serving sizes at Joo Mak are pretty generous overall, and this was no exception.

Spicy rice cakes ($10)

Very satisfied with our meal! I'll definitely be back to try more dishes when I'm in the mood for Korean again!

And even more fabulous was returning home to find my ASOS accessories had arrived!

Two sets of rings and two sets of bangles!

Hope, Dream and Love. I'm a sucker for rings that have engraved or cut-out words/patterns!

Animal print fabric bangles! Are these supposed to be cheetah??? (I sound so brainless -_-")

Charm bangles with a tribal flava!

Joo Mak Korean Restaurant

#04-01 Beauty World (Upper Bukit Timah Road)

6466-7871

hit and miss

2010-12-02T04:21:00.000+08:00

So my exams have officially ended, but my last paper was so terribly difficult I'm honestly expecting to fail. =(

Anyway, I wanted to have pasta last week but decided we should try someplace other than Creation, so we headed to Around De World at Liang Seah instead! This relatively new cafe serves fusion pastas!

I insisted on ordering the Cheesy Bolognaise Fries, a pile of golden-brown fries liberally drizzled with nacho cheese and a dollop of tangy bolognaise sauce. Not bad, though the taste of the tomato-based sauce was a tad overwhelming.

Cheesy Bolognaise Fries ($3.90)

Heh...sneaking in a photo of us here.

I went for the White Wine Prawn, which sounded like an angmoh version of drunken prawns. The dish came in a soupy gravy with seven large prawns lining the top of the spaghetti. It didn't look bad, but unfortunately the gravy was rather lacklustre while the spaghetti, though not soggy, didn't offer good bite. I don't know where the "White Wine" in the dish's name comes from because I couldn't find any hint of it in here.

White Wine Prawn ($13.90)

Thankfully Seb's Aglio Olio fared better. Laden with pepper to give it a spicy kick, this was quite tasty and pretty well done. Extra points for the value-for-money add-ons; it costs only $1 more for additional prawns/chicken/veg - in this case, we asked for prawns and got four big, crunchy ones.

Aglio Olio ($7.90) with Prawns (+$1)

Dessert for us was the Banana Bar, a brick of alternating layers of banana and meltingly soft, fluffy sponge cake. I liked the hint of custard mixed in with the banana, and the top layer of chocolate was rich and luscious. Absolutely scrumptious, this was definitely the highlight of our meal!

Banana Bar ($5.90)

In other news, I've moved on to Clarins for my skincare and foundation needs. For the past week I've been trying some samples (love how generous the counter staff are!) and they seem to be working pretty well, except that I'm starting to get a few tiny red bumps with white heads on my nose, cheeks and chin.

I'll be bummed if it doesn't turn out to be just a "purging" reaction because I thought my super sensitive skin was taking to the products alright. And not to mention that I've already spent $143 on full size foundation and moisturizer. Might do reviews on the products I've tried soon!

And I've never really been into bohemian-ish dressing cos I think it can look really dowdy on some people, but I really like this bell-sleeved blouse from Love, Bonito! Was actually trying to capture my complexion with the new Clarins foundation that I was sampling at the time, but the lighting in my bathroom cast shadows on my face.

Ogayy, I think that's enough narcissistic shots for now. :)

Around De World

12 Liang Seah Street

6336-5519

freedom...i can SMELL IT!!!

2010-11-30T20:44:00.001+08:00

Last exam for possibly the rest of my life tomorrow!!!! Hee hee...

Anyway, went back to my favourite yakitori restaurant, Nanbantei to celebrate Seb's mum's birthday!

The food there is still awesome as ever, you've got to try it if you haven't!!!

We ordered some skewers that I already tried on my previous visit, so you can check out my other post on Nanbantei from the label cloud in the sidebar too. Anyway, the asparagus in bacon remains one of my favourite on the menu - the savoury chewiness of the bacon plays up delightfully well to the mildly sweet crunchiness of the asparagus!

L-R: Lady fingers in bacon, Asparagus in bacon, Chicken with leek

Asparagus in bacon ('asparagus maki' on the menu)

Happy faces all round!

New skewer I tried was the potatoes wrapped in bacon! (We concluded that bacon is a must for future home-prepared BBQs - just wind slices of it round everything to make them tastier!) This was super yummy, the potato wedges being perfectly soft and enhanced with butter.

Potatoes in bacon

Another one I liked was the tomatoes in bacon with cheese. Zesty tomato juice spurts into the mouth with each bite, while the sticky layer of cheese on top was an added bonus!

Tomatoes in bacon with cheese

Jimmy and Serene commented that the garlic rice here isn't that fantastic, but Seb and I loved it all the same! Perfumed with fragrant garlic, the rice wasn't clumpy and practically every grain was firm and flavourful. The crispy garlic chips were delicious too, though you should eat only if you're willing to risk stinky breath!

Garlic rice

I highly recommend the ebi, a large, single prawn speared on a stick and seasoned with a ton of salt. Even through the saltiness, the natural sweetness of the springy seafood cut through.

The grilled pork, though tasty and juicy, wasn't particularly outstanding. It's more...ordinary?

Pork

A unaminous favourite at our table was the gingko nuts, little yellow oblong things strewn along satay sticks. May seem strange, but they taste simply gorgeous.

Gingko nuts

You must try the salmon with bacon too, moist slabs of pink fish served with bacon coiled round them. Love how the juices were sealed in the meat so it tasted heavenly, especially to a salmon lover like myself.

Salmon in bacon

Assorted skewers

I love the chicken meatballs here. Bouncy and ultimately tasty!

Smooth quail eggs drenched in a sweet-and-salty sauce (I don't know what it is) - yummy!

Quail eggs

The cherry tomatoes snuggled in bacon are another favourite of mine. I just love how juicy those orbs are!

Cherry tomatoes in bacon

If you're willing to pay, I urge you to order the amberjack, a beautifully grilled hulk of fish. It's amazingly moist and absolutely delicious. We wiped the bones clean!

Amberjack ($40)

Pregnant fish anyone? Sounds cruel, but I like to feel the roe in the midsection crunching between my teeth.

Shishamo

I know I'm highly recommending lots of dishes, but it would be criminal not to order the scallops. These big chunks were so fresh and succulent I was left longing for more!

Scallops

Teehee..can you guess what these are? They're chicken bums!

Chicken backside!

Though charred in some spots, the corn kernels remained sweet and juicy for the most part. Not a fan of corn in general, though.

Corn

Final dish of squid was one I didn't partake of. The others positively relished it though!

Grilled squid

Nanbantei

#05-132 Far East Plaza

6733-5666

almost homecooked

2010-11-28T12:00:00.093+08:00

Was treated to a really awesome dinner at Cantonese restaurant Jia Wei last week! When I eat out, I seldom choose to have Chinese food (dim sum and la mian are not counted!), i.e. zi char, cos it's something that my mum can whip up at home too.

But anyway, it was my maiden experience dining at Jia Wei, so I was pretty stoked at the prospect of a "first time"!

Two remarks: 1) My new slingbag from Ascentee is mega love; 2) I hate how broad my shoulders are.

Pictures were taken while waiting for Seb's family to meet up with us. There they are! Random, but Jimmy is so freakin' tall!

Anyway, the food here is really heavenly! The roast chicken boasted tender meat capped with crackly skin; the prawns and scallops in a seafood hotpot thingy were huge, fresh and crunchy. And that orange object in the right corner of my plate? That's one helluva tasty salted egg-battered scallop!

Such a poor photo, I know - it doesn't do the food justice! But oh my goodness, I couldn't get enough of the sweet scallop wrapped in grainy, salted egg batter! Gorgeous blend of flavours!!!

Another yummy dish was the egg beancurd bathed in eggy sauce. Served piping hot, it tasted comforting and familiar, just like homecooked food!

Didn't try this, but what a mountain of pork ribs!

Didn't manage to take photos of other dishes, but I swear, Jia Wei is ridiculously good! I'm gonna ask my parents to bring my grandparents here next time. My grandma is extremely particular about food and I'm positively certain that she'd approve of this place!

Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant

Level 2, Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel / Roxy Square (opposite Parkway Parade)

6340-5678

some of the best food ever!!!

2010-11-26T02:26:00.002+08:00

My friend was tweeting about the wonderful Red Velvet cake she'd had at a particular cafe, and so intrigued was I, that I coaxed Seb into bringing me there during the recent mid-week public holiday.

I really like this silky tank top from Her Velvet Vase, though the material and seams feel very flimsy. But I'm in love with the romantic print!

Anyway, our lunch destination was Food For Thought, a cosy, modern place that gave off a very Everything With Fries vibe. I like the paper placemats that they use!

I also like the Bible verse splashed on the wall behind the counter, as well as the ceiling of glass jars!

If you visit Food For Thought's website, you'll notice that each of their two outlets offers a different menu. I chose to come to their Queen Street one cos it had Peanut Butter and Jelly Pudding! But there, I'm getting ahead of myself. Will come to that soon!

So anyway, Seb went for one of the breakfast items (served from 9am-5.30pm). It's mad huge with scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, chicken sausage, hashbrowns, brioche toast and salad!

Full Works ($18)

This is sooooooo yummy, I swear it's waaaayyyyy better than the equivalent sets at Wild Honey or Riders Cafe!

Everything about this was PERFECT - the eggs boasted a moist, fluffy texture; the chicken sausage chunks were simply tasty; the hashbrowns (the orange balls) were lightly herbed mashed potato encased in crispy shells; the bacon was neither too tough nor soggy; and the brioche was "marinated" in what tasted like maple syrup.

I decided to have a pasta cos pastas are my favourite type of food!

Garlic Prawns with Coriander Linguine ($16)

This aglio oglio came infused with fragrant coriander and six or seven crunchy prawns. The bite of the linguine was fine, though I would have preferred it to be a tad more al dente, and in a bigger portion. Overall an average dish at best.

Oh, and we also ordered a side of potato gratin! Concealed beneath the thick blanket of gooey cheese were discs of soft, baked potato in a creamy sauce. Super yummy! And it's a large serving so if you order the one with mushrooms or broccoli ($6), it could be a meal on its own!

Potato Gratin with Garlic Thyme ($5)

With our mains over and done with, we paused for a bit before proceeding to order dessert!

First up was the Red Velvet cake, a crimson hued wedge striped with cream cheese. If you've not tried Red Velvet cake before, it tastes like a cross between vanilla and chocolate. This particular version tastes a little more fruity, maybe because of the type of food colouring they use? Anyway, I love the denseness of the cake complemented by the luscious cream cheese and tart strawberry sauce.

Red Velvet ($6)

Though we ordered the Peanut Butter & Jelly Pudding at the same time as we did the Red Velvet, our pudding didn't arrive until we were almost done working our way through the gigantic slice of cake. I was already stuffed, but still harboured high hopes for the pudding!

So the dessert arrived and the sight of it made our jaws drop. It was humongous! The pudding itself was sitting in a moat of chilled vanilla sauce (kinda like melted ice cream), and glazed over with a cloak of strawberry jelly-jam. It's so sinful, but it's worth every calorie!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Pudding ($10)

Biting into the pudding itself revealed a moist interior studded with nuts and laced with peanut butter. You can't see the peanut butter itself, but the taste is unmistakable. Adding the vanilla was smart because it provided a clean foil against the cloying sweetness of the strawberry jelly.

My verdict on Food For Thought?

Two thumbs up!

So impressed by this place that I'll definitely be back again and again and again!
And again!

Food For Thought

8 Queen Street (near Singapore Art Museum)

6338-9887

lunch getaway

2010-11-24T18:28:00.000+08:00

Recently got some Bakerzin coupons when I bought 8Days two weeks ago, so Seb and I decided to lunch there after running some errands.

I love that they offer complimentary bread on free-flow! Warm, crusty bread dipped in olive oil and vinegar totally whets the appetite.

Decided to use the 1-for-1 pasta coupon, so we each ordered one!

Carbonara and Aglio Olio

Seb likes his pasta aglio olio style, so he often goes for the olive oil-slicked dish. Upon taking just one bite each, we both declared this the best aglio olio we've ever tasted. Each al dente strand of spaghetti carried the flavour of the olive oil and chili so every bite was evenly tasty. The generous shavings of cheese, slices of ham and bacon (extra points for using lean back bacon) tossed in helped too. Do be warned that this yummy dish is rather spicy!

Aglio Olio ($7.90) with Ham & Bacon (+$4)

As for me, I love the heartiness of cream-based pastas, so the Carbonara was my pick. While the sauce maintained a perfectly thick consistency, I found it a tad flat as it lacked the eggy flavour of a good carbonara. That said, I still enjoyed this overall, with savoury strips of ham and bacon in every mouthful.

Carbonara ($12.90)

Tiny, pleasant surprise for us when we got the bill, because instead of charging us for the more expensive Carbonara, we were billed for the Aglio Olio. Total expenditure came up to less than $14, which was extremely cheap for such a satisfactory lunch! =D

Bakerzin

#03-58/59 Jurong Point (in the new wing)

6791-2155

her real birthday

2010-11-23T11:21:00.000+08:00

Slightly more than a week ago, we celebrated Megan's REAL birthday. The little rascal turns four!

Giant balloon!

So the princess was generally on her best behaviour that day, until it was time to cut the cake. She adores sweets and wouldn't keep her itchy fingers off the cake, LOL!

Let's play Spot the Difference, ok? Pay close attention to the cake in the following pictures and see if you can notice its increasing bareness!

Singing the birthday song for Seb's mommy cos it was her birthday in two days! And notice any diff in the cake?

Naughty imp swooping down on the cake again!

Opening presents! Seb and I bought the two pink beauty sets for her!

Pleased as punch!

Teaching her how to apply lip gloss..hahahaha!

ROFL..we decked her out in everything she could wear from the kits!

Megan's turn to play makeup artist

Hur hur...mainly pictorial update for today. Have a paper in about four and half hours and I'm starting to get a little panicky! Pray for me! :)

good pasta pizza

2010-11-21T14:18:00.000+08:00

Seb is such a non-fan of Pastamania, but I managed to convince him to visit last week so we could indulge in my favourite dessert pizza.

Hehe.. '11' is "our number"!

Anyway, if you have not tried it before, let me introduce you to Pastamania's Banana Dessert Pizza!

Banana Dessert Pizza ($3.90)

For only $3.90, you get a floury, thin-crust pizza topped with sweet banana slices and loads of chocolate shavings. The size is just perfect for a post-lunch/dinner treat for two.

Hee hee..shall leave you with a gross picture!

LOL terribly unglam!

spanish date night

2010-11-19T22:54:00.177+08:00

My first exam of the year is on the coming Tuesday and I am thoroughly unprepared to say the least.
I don't know why but I have close to zero motivation to study, hence I am here blogging about how Seb and I celebrated 14 months of being together with - what else? - good food!

I went for a facial at Leonard Drake in the afternoon without having lunch. Ended up dreaming of sashimi the throughout the entire appointment, so when it ended at about 4pm, I met Seb and we skipped down to Cold Storage's sushi bar. The sashimi was so awesome!

Sashimi (salmon and salmon belly) and assorted sushi!

Anyway, we headed back to my place after our quick bite cos it was still too early for our dinner reservation and I wanted to freshen up. Facial smoothened my skin so my makeup glided on exceptionally well!

Some photos before we headed out!

Ever since I had the tasting session at My Little Spanish Place months ago, which you can intelligently guess serves authentic Spanish food, I'd been wanting to bring Seb here for the awesome tapas. And this was the perfect occasion to do so!

Textured orange walls, cushioned seats and dim lighting create a cosy ambience!

We spent quite a while poring over the menu, trying to decide if we wanted to have paella (traditional Spanish rice dish) and tapas, or just tapas alone. The paella (say: pa-yay-yah) is pretty pricy, the smallest serving starting from $36 for two pax.
Eventually decided to go with tapas (ranging from $3-14.90) because I hadn't been that impressed by the paella at the tasting session the last time.

So we placed our order and whiled the waiting time away by taking photos!

Okay, and now I'm finally moving on the main attraction - the food!

First up was a serving of warm bread. They offer a selection of four dips, from which you can pick two. We went with the mojo rojo (say: moho roho), a spicy sauce, and the mojo verde (say: moho vur-day), a pesto dip. I must say the pesto sauce was a better complement to the crusty bread! While the bread isn't spectacular, it's a nice start to the meal.

Serving of Warm Bread, $5 (or $3 without dips)

Yummy pesto sauce, with garlic chilli-lookalike sauce in the background!

Our next dish is one that I highly recommend, especially if you love eggs and potatoes like me. This potato omelette was a great marriage of the two! Like thick slices of cake, this came in wedges of soft but firm omelette stuffed with mushy potato. Superb with the homemade alioli (a mayonnaise-like dip), which they're very generous with!

Tortilla de Patata con Alioli ($6 for 2 pieces)

According to the chef, this is typically served cold (think omelette left out for two hours), but if you'd like it otherwise (like all Asians, probably), you can request for it to be served warm like we did.

Hot on the omelette's heels were these grilled prawns, six succulent curls marinated in a slightly spicy sauce. While these were pretty small, there was no faulting the freshness of these striped crustaceans. The sauce is really tasty, so make sure you mop it up with the prawns!

Gambas a la Plancha al Pil-Pil ($12.90)

The mini beefburger patties were unanimously one of our favourite tapas. Each thick, juicy cushion of minced beef was blanketed with melted cheese and bell peppers. It's a recipe passed down from the Spanish chef's own grandmother, which explains its homely, yet immensely appetising appeal. These are so delicious I swear you will scoff them down and wish you had more!

Filetes Russos con Pimiento y Mahon ($9.50 for 3 pieces)

Another favourite between us was the dish of simple, yet addictive fried potato chunks. Each cube was perfectly done so the surfaces were light and crisp while leaving the insides soft and moist. I loved the subtle texture and taste of the visible salt granules sprinkled all over. And the huge, accompanying dollop of sauce was kick-ass - it tasted like spicy mayonnaise with a hint of nacho cheese. If I could, I would buy jars of the stuff home to dip tortilla chips in!

Patatas Bravas ($5.50)

Our least favourite was this jamon broth with fideos. Jamon (say: ha-mon) is a type of ham, while fideos (say: fee-day-oh) are short noodles, sorta like chopped angelhair pasta or vermicelli. This tasted like a cross between borsch soup and minestrone, but with a funkier taste that I honestly do not know how to describe.

Caldo Castellano con Fideos ($8.50)

The tapas may not seem like a lot, but a bite here and there sure adds up! We just had to take a breather before moving on to dessert (read: more camwhoring).

Seb ordered a sangria cos he was curious after seeing two ladies at the next table downing some. It's quite potent with a heady dose of alcohol!

Red Wine Sangria ($10.90)

I like the deep berry colour!

Dessert for us was fried milk, three tofu-like blocks of milk pudding clad in crisp, wrinkly skins and topped with raisins. In the centre of the plate was what seemed like half a can of whipped cream - it's homemade and seems lighter, sweeter and a wee bit more milky tasting than the store-bought kind.

Leche Frita ($8)

P.S. - If you're game for something unique (albeit more expensive), try the fideua (I think it's pronounced as fee-du-ah), which is a short noodle version of paella.

P.P.S. - We didn't try the churros this visit, but I must warn you that unless they recently changed their recipe, the churros here (handmade by the chef) are not the chewy sort; they're crunchy, almost tough.

My Little Spanish Place

619 Bukit Timah Road (among the shophouses next to Coronation Plaza)

6463-2810

rollerball

2010-11-18T13:38:00.001+08:00

Recently placed an order from Everyday Minerals for a new brush and foundation, and decided to get a Multi-tasking Concealer in the travel sized rollerball applicator to see how well it works.

Multi-tasking concealer, travel-size (US$4.50)

Read on for my mini review!
Size: Everyday Minerals used to have sample sized jars priced at US$2.50 each, but these new travel sized applicators have replaced them. There is probably more product in the travel size, which I think should be expected since it's pricier, but not very much more than in the sample. The applicator though, is slim and cute, perfect for slipping into your purse.

Practicality: I bought this mainly to conceal dark circles, so I tested it on my undereye area first. The concealer applied rather streakily, so I had to keep rolling over the area to blend it out. But the more I blended, the more cakey and chalky it looked, especially in the undereye area where I have fine lines (cue sad face).
I then tried it out on blemishes, but it turned out as powdery spots instead of concealing the marks smoothly.

My recommended method of use: Just shake the applicator a little to get a bit of product on the rollerball and glide over targeted skin. Then instead of using the rollerball, use a concealer brush to blend the concealer out.

Verdict: Doesn't work as well as a traditional jar and brush combi, but there's certainly less mess and it's much more convenient for bringing about on the go since you don't have to worry about powder spills. Buy just one in your favourite concealer shade for travelling purposes and refill it from a big jar when it runs out.

fishy fishy

2010-11-17T02:43:00.000+08:00

Had sudden cravings for fish and chips from Paddy's at Tanglin Mall's food court, so Seb and I went down to satisfy them last week. Been a super long time since I had it!

Placed our orders and proceeded to camwhore while we waited for the staff to prepare our food!

Photos, photos, photos while we wait!

Hahaha in the centre photo, I was shooting the waitress the evil eye because she was standing there watching us camwhore. How rude!

Anyway, was pretty upset that they've done away with their value-for-money sets which included a soup/salad (very big portions), main and drink for about $10+. Even worse, the portion of their fish and chips seems smaller while its price has gone up by about a dollar. =(

Fish and chips ($7.90)

But price hike aside, it's the taste that really matters right? So even if the price has gone up, all's good if the food is still awesome.

We ordered our fish and chips battered, which I personally prefer to the other option that is breaded. Love the fresh, white flesh snuggled in crispy golden-brown batter. Delicious with their tartar sauce!

But the star at Paddy's is their hand-cut potato wedges - crisp-skinned taters sprinkled with an appetite-whetting seasoning of salt and pepper. The sight of these just makes me drool!

We also tried the white bait, a plate of stick-thin fish fried in the same batter and accompanied with more potato wedges and a tidy heap of shredded lettuce. While I didn't love the white bait (can hardly taste anything other than the batter), I must admit they make an addictively crunchy snack. I recommend pairing this with wasabi sauce!

White bait ($7.90)

Finally, I highly recommend Paddy's lemonade soda, a refeshingly zesty drink that's perfect for washing down oily fish and chips!

Paddy's

Tanglin Mall B1 food court