I'm taking another decadent pause to pay homage to my absolute favourite pastry chef again.
Disappointed again, my favourite work of art wasn't available when we popped in.
So instead, we tried these...
A natural selection for me considering my ever strong love affair with all fruits of the forest. I think I like all red and pink foods. Hmmm. Anyway...
G chose this Macha tea cake despite the face I made. I'm not a fan of green tea desserts of any kinds, of any variation. Green tea is what it should be, a hot/cold beverage. But it turned out to be fairly palatable.
Wonder what lies in store for our next visit....

Yanqing's Shanghai Kitchen

My pictures have been piling up in my repository and it seems I am unable to think and wax lyrical as fast as I can eat and shoot. My mouth surely runs ahead of my mind... in more ways than one then, so it seems.

We paid a visit to YanQing's during one of our slow week night dinners.
G was certainly reminiscing of the time we were in Shanghai and he visited one of the truly authentic Shanghainese restaurants that served cold drunken chicken and their signature braised pork belly. Though on the pricey side, these items can be found in the menu alongside several other interesting dishes. We also ordered a few other signature recommendations like the crab meat beancurd, and cod fish in with crab roe.


I must say I wasn't terribly impressed by the dishes, some of them are an acquired taste I guess. The fish and crab meat beancurd is very good though. The richness of the crab roe and the freshness of the juicy crab meat adds such a flavour to both the soft beancurd and the light and springy fish. The total of four slices of pork belly served, were very generously laced with fats, so that scared to me death. But it's worth trying, pairing it together with the shell-shaped steam-buns.



Though we ordered quite a few items, they were all rather small in portions and was hence just enough for the two of us in quantity and satisfactory in variety. Be warned though, one really has to pay for authenticity and probably come in smaller groups so that you don't have to fight for portions and not faint too hard when it's time to get the bill.

Yanqing's Shanghai Kitchen
791 Bukit Timah Road (S) 269764, #01-01
Tel: 6463-2989 Opens: 11am to 2.30pm, 6 to 10.30pm, closed on Monday lunch










Confessions of a Bridesmaid #4 - Accessories!

Was shopping over the weekend and I just couldn't resist this lovely, oh-so-sweet accessory.
So apt for a wedding! The only thing is the chain is gold so don't exactly match our silver theme =p Never mind, I am sure Q and I can find some other use for them.

The Ostentatious Heartland Crab

This weekend has got to be the freest G and I have ever been since the longest ever. We were appointment free and able to chill the whole afternoon with no firm plans to dance regimentally around. While making non-committal and fleeting suggestions for dinner, I made a call to Melben Seafood on a way out whim and a fancy - and I got through!!

So on the spot, crabs for dinner - it shall be.




Quite obvious from the crabs chosen who ordered what - G wanted their signature chili crabs and I wanted something that at least remotely felt like the creamy butter crabs from seafood paradise. To add some variety we also ordered their lotus leave pork ribs, another recommended signature.

The food was not too bad, but honestly, not worth the hype and long queues. We were suppose to collect our order at 6pm but when we got there at 6:10, the lady in charge of the take-out queue asked if they had given me a call to ask me to come. "You wait until we call you then you come ah" came my dismissive shoo-away. After taking like another 30 mins or so to get and pay for my order, I already had more then enough time to admire the steel determination of the people in the queue and to contently stand next-in line in the take-away queue.





Probably the only highlights would be their chili crab. It helps to have a cool dining companion who will lovingly peel off the entire pincer, fat and juicy ready for my kill. Like I said before, my hubby is the best! =0)

When I Google

When a friend told me she googled me and found a link to her private world included as well...
It got me thinking, what it would be like to google myself!

Armed with preparation for any de-constructive criticism or bad reviews, I googled myself on both websites within Singapore and without. The Singapore search returned fruitless.
But for the search on the Internet, within 5 listings I found something interesting!

I am in the BlogFlux Dining Directory!!
Check it out!!!! Ha ha, my sweet and faithful readers, please go and give me a blog rating!!

Dining Blogs

Victorian Tea and Cakes

Tea and tea cakes have some extinguish and pompous fluff about it, something extremely pretentious and pinkie finger curling over the teacup handle that makes it fun to enjoy once in one's lifetime. I had my immersion over the weekend.

The V Tea Room opened at the Esplanade mall over two years ago and has always remained an ideal cosy but opulent nook reserved in my little pink diary for tea and lounging with the girlfriends. It boasts an elegant Victorian theme decor with masquerade masks and golden framed paintings, exquisite tea china and exotic artifacts and collections.

Barely containing my excitement, I skipped straight to the tea cakes on display to examine the variety and range of rich and decadent sounding cakes. Everything just looked so exquisite and unique sending a tinkling buzz to my brain to awaken the sleepy cake giant suppressed.



Considering we came from a heavy dinner, G and I made a choice from their signature array of specially concocted teas. I went for my usual favourite - Moroccan mint and G went for a Masala Chai. Both arrived in small teapots enough for about three servings. The mint was strongly scented but not overpowering, just what I needed to aid the digestion required to come.
We ordered the recommended Bailey's Irish cream liqueur teacake with Gula Melaka ice cream on the side and the tempting Blueberry Premium Cake Melt.




The moment our sweets were served, we panicked. As much as they looked divine and impressive, they also looked extremely rich and heavy. The melt cake was something really interesting. The cake came already half melted and the buttery richness from the cheese and blueberries was enough to set me on a new kind of sugar high. The hazelnuts and strawberries added a nice crunch and flavour. The Bailey's teacake was a pampering treat. eluding a picture and delivery of luxurious pleasure. My only complaint was the Gula Melaka ice cream. Probably our own fault for expecting such an European tea-room, oozing with its Victorian charm to also excel in oriental Asian delights.

As much as I loved the enchanting fairy tale alter reality it creates, the 20 minute experience was certainly not worth a bill totaling over $80. Kind of a harsh jolt back to practical reality after the sugar high and delectable fancies.

V Tea Room
Esplanade Mall
8 Raffles Avenue #01-02/04
Singapore 039802
(65) 6333 1965

All Things Authentic, Finessed and Mashinun!

G is always lamenting about the lack of authentic Korean fare with the full Kimchi works in Singapore. So when Jang Shou hit the Asiaone food reviews, and the known food blogger, ieatishootipost gave his thumbs up review, that automatically became G's next food target.

I was always under the impression that Korean dining was quite similar to its close Japanese cousin- reputed for finesse and attention to every detail - from food to interior, to service and bill size. turns out, I was quite right. The place was spick and span, spacious and furnished with booths and tables neatly fashioned to give each dinner party privacy yet open enough to get the attention of the staff, although that wasn't really necessary because they were attentive the entire night.

Our meal started out with a buffet of Kimchi. From basics like pickled vegetables, to sweet peanuts and onions, there were interesting picks like pasta and grilled meats. I was a be skeptical as to authenticity, afterall, Pasta comes from Italy, not Korea doesn't it?! But G insists they serve similar fare. The wait staff also affirms so. Apparently their boss is the head of some Korean Association and hence with convenient connections, its easy to have the essential ingredients and foods imported and its not wonder the restaurant is mostly patroned by Korean families (probably the best validation that a place serves authentic Korean).


We ordered two of the recommended specials - the beef ribs (Suwon NeoBiani) and the olive pork ribs with honey (Galbi). I look at the generous marbling, and you can tell its the good real stuff. The sizzling of the grill was soon complimented with the delicious smell of the fat frying and the beef cooking. The wait staff patiently waits for the meat to cook while placing the all of three accompanying mushrooms and bulb of onion in to fry aside. The meat is then cut judiciously into small bite size pieces - G later tells/demonstrates to me that in Korean, you wrap each piece in a lettuce slice and everything much be taken in no more then 1 mouthful.

Presentation apparently is key from the detailed cooking efforts taken by the staff. They change the serving grill twice during the cooking process when it is evidently charred from the frying all so that the meats look pretty and presentable in the grill. The end result - very delicious and well marinated juicy and soft pieces of meat melting in our mouths. I tried to save some pieces of the meats to take with my Bi Bim Bab but I was never good with patience and most of my meats were in my tummy before our main carbs arrived.



G ordered his authentic cold noodles (Chik Naengmyun) and I ordered the safe Bi Bim Bab. The rice was a little too wet and hence was not too enjoyable. The cold noodles were a little too 'interesting' for me. Its sweet and cold and has peanuts in it, so it didn't exactly go down well with me although G said it was authentic enough to remind him of the ones he had in Korean.




All in all it was quite an experience and honestly, for the quality and the service and the ambiance, the prices were fairly reasonable. G is glad to have found a place to lean on if his authentic Korean cuisine craving kicks in. I just like the grilled meats and will probably just stick to that if we come back. We would definitely want to try the 3 layer pork the next time too.

Jang Shou Korean BBQ

#01-13A/B Esplanade Mall

(Colours by the Bay)

Tel: 6337 8880



Oyster Nights

We were meeting with the sister and B for dinner before she flies off to Myanmar to be the ever dedicated slave to the media. Although I wasn't feeling too hot for the Fish Market offerings, we went hoping maybe there were other dishes that might snag our attention.

My sister has this crazy sensation for Fish Market and even more so for Fresh Oysters, especially when they are going at $1 each on Oyster Nights.
We ordered 2 dozen oysters to share. Considering I don't have a thing for oysters - the cold and raw sliminess scares me - that was like 8 per person! *barff*

We also ordered the green lipped mussels in white-wine sauce since it's been awhile, together with a black cod and crab cakes. My dear sister, true to her conventional gluttony specific to the Fish Market Menu, felt nothing after the 8 oysters and went on to order the chilli crab pasta and house fish and chips.



I didn't find anything on the menu appetizing but I did remember the last time we came for lunch they didn't have bread crumbs to offer the crab cakes. So I went for it this time. The crab cake (note the singularity) was a medium size round ball of crab and miscellaneous vegetables and herbs. The crumbs gave it a nice crispy coating which gave way under the knife to soft juicy seafood. I would have rather preferred it came in smaller patties honestly...But the peanut sauce added a unique oriental taste over the usual mayo or sweet chili sauce dippings most restaurants serve.

We don't usually entertain the thoughts for dessert there and it was no exception that night. We thought to explore the rest of Greenwood offerings to see if there was another place we could make room for dessert. In the end, B and L came over with little Simba for some good old school Walls artic roll ice cream desserts to end of the evening instead.

Run Forest! Run!


Hubby G's latest investment

On to fervent pound busting and bucket-sweating!

Sunday Lazy Nasi Padang

My nice hubby patiently arranged all the dishes neatly for me to take my necessary photo. In the end, I decided to post the photo he took instead. =)

My penchant for lazy Sunday nights-in usually kick into over-drive after lunch and even more so if the Friday and Saturday before had been packed with either errands or activities.

It's a pathetic defensive mechanism premised on my usual irrational thought process that gets me through life's occasional tediousness:

If we stay at home on Sundays, then hours appear longer.

If the hours appear longer, then the weekend becomes longer

If the weekend appears longer, Monday is not round the corner...

But I digress. I was craving rice and G was craving curry. So true to our indecisive tendencies - after an afternoon of back and forth - we finally decided to head down to Zion Road to packet G's old favourite Nasi Padang. I left most of the ordering to him because - shock, shock, horror, horror to him - I had never eaten there before. The only thing I wanted, was the Korma chicken and bergedil. G chose some curry vegetable, and his favourite squid and egg.

The chicken curry was fragrant with a strong coconut flavour and the drumstick was really soft. I realised this was the exact same curry mom used to bring home to add to our dinner. It strikes a prominent memory because it was the first time as a child I had heard of curry that was not spicy. My skepticism dissolved into epiphany that would remain etched in my recollections, finally unlocked 10 over years later.

The rest of the dishes the bergedil and curry vegetables the bergedil and curry vegetables was pretty normal. The egg, was quite good, true to G's recommendation, not as oily as the variations you get at most rice stalls. It tasted and resembled somewhat like tauhu telok - without the peanuts and the sauce and the accompany vegetables.

All in all, a good hearty meal. A tad expensive though. Our order came up to $40 for two persons! Albeit we bought 3 extra drumsticks and bergedil for B and L but I suppose there is always a premium to pay for published famous old-time food stalls.

Nasi Padang River Valley
54 Zion Road
Opening hours : 9am - 9pm
Closed on Public Holidays

How Nice Sometimes to be a Dog

Dogs "think" in their own way—in sensory images involving their finely honed instincts.
They're not capable of deviousness or spite.
They love routine:
Nothing seems to make them more comfortable than doing the same thing at the same time in the familiar way, day after day.
We snack here, we poop there, we play over here.
I am astonished at how little it takes to please them, how simple their lives can be if we don't complicate them.
adapted from Jon Katz's "Katz on Dogs"

The Turquoise Room

Our initial plans to have a lackadaisical quiet evening at home were inadvertently shelved when the sister tempted us to dine out with J, herself and B. After blasting like over twenty smses back and forth, we finally agreed on a dining venue - Satsuma. But two SMSes later, L threw a spanner in the works and suggested Turquoise Room. It sounded like a good suggestion since G and I had never been there and since she had many times suggested but never got her choice, we decided to skip Satsuma this round and reserved the Turquoise Room.

The place is located within the serene Gillman Village, a stone throw away from Little Bali and the first thought I had as I walked into the spartan patio-furnished restaurant was... 'Rustic. Hmmm, charming'. Perhaps the only betrayal to its modern existence would be the floor to ceiling glass wine cellar which boasts a wine selection wider then the food choices available within the menu.



We brought our own bottle, which alcoholics will be pleased to know that corkage is a mere $10 if your dinner bill comes up to $80 - Q.E.D.
The sister lunged straight into the appetiser section to claim our starters for the evening - the bread platter, calamari and beef carpaccio.

Though the wait for our food wasn't long, I would have to say I was truly disappointed at the quality of the food that night. I don't claim to be a Connoisseur of food of any cuisine, and when I crave for Italian, any ol' bread and pasta fare typically suffices. So when I comment as fairly as possibly about a place's servings being below par, you can more or less assume the worse.

From our choice of appetisers, I liked the bread platter the best. But, considering most average and upper class restaurants serve bread complimentary and with more standard then this, I won't classify this a compliment to the chef.

Among the five of us, we share three different types of pastas - crabmeat linguini, white wine lobster linguini and seafood penni and a beef tenderloin and grilled lamb cutlets.

After the appetisers, we were already not expecting much. Its a good thing we lowered our expectations, that way the disappointment we experienced was already buffered a great deal. The crabmeat and seafood pastas were only mediocre. The lobster linguini was inexplicably tasteless and just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, we popped the total of three morsels of lobsters and discovered a new level of 'rubbery -overcooked'.


Our wine and best starters of the night


B and his Moby Dick t-shirt and our crab-meat linguini


Needless to say, we declined desserts. The sister kept apologizing profusely for the poor recommendation, although disclaiming that she had earlier in the car ride over warned us not to expect too much. Next time I'll have to set a clause that she makes all qualifying statements and comments before any reservations are made. =0p

Turquoise Room
Gillman Village
7 Lock Road, 108935
Tel: 64733655

Confessions of a Bridesmaid #3 - Invitation Cards

On Saturday afternoon, Q and I trooped down with Ling to meet her wedding card providers over at Palasis Renaissance. It served its purpose to remind us that the exciting day was drawing nearer and several minute and specific details have to be finalized and confirmed.

Ling had already settled on the card design she wanted-



In the lovely bride's own words:

"The pink card is the dinner card provided by Ritz-Carlton's vendor and according to the vendor, this is a new design. I've not confirmed the design yet, but will do so in a couple more hours time! The 2 white cards are the church invitation[square] and bulletin. I designed the cards to match our wedding colour scheme, ie. Purple, Ivory and Silver. Heh. don't ask me for any significance of those purple falling leaves tho... Haha... I've even went ahead to create slides with the same theme! I wonder if I'm overkilling things!

http://vicandling.multiply.com/journal

Sabai - Authentic Thai Cuisine

I certainly don't profess to be an exciting individual. I'm not ashamed to admit I treasure my nights at home where we packet or cook simply from where ever or whatever is convenient. I appreciate the comforts and familiarity of our own home where I can eat in front of my TV or computer watching DVDs, in my pajamas, in my lazy element.

But there is also something about pre-weekend nights and the crave to have a relaxing night out, with the Hubs, and his and my favourite hobbies - eating and shopping! Enjoying free parking at Takashimaya was just the spectacular icing on the cake.

Sabai is located directly opposite Coca Steamboat. Despite the fact that both are compatriots (Coca originated from Thailand and apparently the buffet there is so much cheaper), they could not be more different. Coca, is perpetually fully booked and bustling, fed by tray loads of no-frills raw food at almost every table and hires Chinese nationals as wait staff where you can train for biceps trying to flag down any attention. Sabai on the other hand, is 'neatly' tucked in its corner beside the lift. Though furnished with striking red walls and interesting artifacts and paintings, the atmosphere seems contrite and slightly pretentious. But once seated, service is excellent, where the captains are friendly and wait staff brisk to your table with just a brief eye-contact. My water was consistently refilled at every interval required, no hand-gesturing needed.

Touted one of Singapore's most up-market Thai restaurants, the food, needless to say, was truly fine. We ordered one of my favourite Thai appetisers growing-up - rice cakes with creamy mincemeat and prawn sauce. There was a momentary lapse into nostalgia as I bit into my rice cake with the creamy coconut sauce. The flavours were so intense and fresh, I almost felt like ordering another one.


Our Appetizers: Crispy Rice cakes with Creamy Mince Meat Sauce and G's usual order of Tom Yam Gung to fire up the taste buds and the appetite.

Our first dish was the Thai Green Curry Chicken which came with a complimentary dish of salted fish. The curry was thick, fragrant and abundant with vegetables and chicken. It wasn't spicy as promised by our wait staff, but it was definitely very tasty with a mix of Asian spices and flavour. The next dish was less impressive. The minute the fish arrived, the two of us just knew we should have ordered our fish as a whole rather then in slices. Though the portion did not justify its price, the fish was nevertheless fresh and the spicy sweet sauce was quite good. I couldn't handle too much of it though.

The grilled honey pork ribs was the star of the night. When the waiter served the dish, I thought we made another wrong choice because the ribs looked a little plain and tough. But as I poked a rib with my fork, it literally seared through the meat, effortlessly tearing the meat cleanly off the bone! The ribs were so unbelievably tasty - smoky and sweet and soft. Toss in some sweet sauce and garlic chili, the ribs were really addictive. G tasked me to finish the rice cakes and the ribs, which I would have done without much persuasion. The food was definitely in another league from the likes of Thai Express or Siam Kitchen but I still haven't decided if it was worth it.

Thai Green Curry with plenty of water!!

Fried slices of Garoupa with special spicy sauce


The super soft Honey grilled Ribs

We both had absolutely no room left for dessert. But the dessert buffet table was hard to say no to. For $7.50 you can have ample helpings of fruit, kuehs and authentic Thai desserts in all types of cute and small shapes from the array of shiny silver platters at the buffet counter.

I must say, Sabai really takes pride in serving fine Thai dishes. The water chestnut dessert that G had was really creamy and the freshness of the coconut could be tasted with each spoonful. But what truly qualifies them as exquisite, is the immense effort and extend they go to to make a simple dish such a pleasure and tease to the eyes and other four senses.

I really enjoyed my Thai immersion, even if it was for a short hour and half. - Now, on to burn it away with some shopping!

Sabai -Authentic Fine Thai Cuisine

391B Orchard Road,

Takashimaya Shopping Centre,

Ngee Ann City, #04-23,

Singapore 238872

Tel: 6333-8491

Pontini

We went to Pontini - for an Italian change - this week for Family dinner. I was quite excited because I had heard much about chef Michele Pavanello, two pretty glowing reviews from reputable sources about Pontini when he was the chef there. Now I was keen to see how he was back to claim his kitchen again after his au contraire 'not-so-raved' about stint at Il Lido.

The menu prepared for the World Gourmet Summit was available but we didn't find anything appealing so we stuck to the Ala-carte menu and some of the main-stay recommendations we read up on before coming.

Mom chose the anti-pasti platter from the buffet selection - parma ham, smoked salmon, duck and garnishing lettuce veggie. While dad, G and I chose a beef carpaccio with a generous serving of cheese and arugula, or rucola, salad. The cold cuts were fresh and quite flavoursome. But I found the carpaccio too salty, and myself wasting away plenty of San Pellegrino. I would later come to realize that that was actually really good standard carpaccio considering what I was able to have over the weekend at The Turquoise Room


For our main course, the men safely chose a popular signature - the homemade squid ink tagliolini with crab meat. Grandma had a pork tenderloin ordered for her, mom, the braised veal cheek and me, being the most greedy, ordered the entree-portioned home-made veal ravioli served with truffle emulsion and the grilled lamb rack with sauteed honey mushrooms. The consistent theme revolving around Chef Pavanello's food was - simple and au naturel. The ingredients were simple, but only the premium and freshest cuts would do. The plate-ing and garnishing were unpretentious, but served the purpose to emphasize the main flavours executed to perfection.

The pork tenderloin - good, soft and juicy. The braised veal cheek - oh, one of the best braised veal cheeks I have ever tasted - the flavours so subtle and satisfying. The ravioli was rich, creamy and chockfull of meaty goodness. The grilled lamb - up to expectation with the boring companions of mash potatoes and mushroom, which tasted pretty standard and remained, as I suppose, an appropriate accompaniment befitting to the Chef's theme.

My only nemesis was the squid ink pasta. All the purported notion of wholesome goodness in "home-made" could not overcome the incurable paranoia of eating black-coloured food, I was rather apprehensive about trying the radio-active looking squid-ink pasta. G and Dad claimed it was good but sure enough, it tasted absolutely artificial and plastic to me. I'll stick to good old flour and eggs anyday!


The dessert took rather long to arrive, but fanciful creations are always worth the wait. The traditional tiramisu was served as expected in a cup and had a heart-stopping serving of cocoa, cheese and coffee. My hazelnut creme brulee with raspberry sorbet was light and a pleasant nutty sweet ending to my meal. Dad and mum shared the nougat parfait in warm bitter chocolate soup. It sounds terribly sinful, but surprisingly, the parfait was light and fluffy and the chocolate soup looked more like an foamy broth. It all went down well leaving us with a rather novel twist of an ending to what I would probably classify as an authentic but still rings through as more of a traditional Italian meal.

Pontini

Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

392 Havelock Road Tel: 6233-1133

The Comforts of Home-Cooked Food



During the week, Godpa and Godma so kindly invited Hubs and I over for an oh-so comforting home-cooked meal. The dishes were simple, but they clearly required painstaking effort only loving hearts could churn and we loved every morse, sauce and slice of it.
It has been a terribly long time since we both had hearty comforting home-cooked food. So much so that we tucked in before I took any photos! I did manage to get a shot of the dessert Godma prepared though.
She reinvented a dessert she and Godpa tried in Hong Kong - soft glutinous rice rolled with coconut. She added her own spin to the rice rolls by putting fresh mango slices within.
The freshly grated coconut with gula melaka straight from Malacca added a fragrant and sweet goodness to the tangy mango and soft glutinous rice rolls.
A warm feeling tugged at my heart-strings because it jolted an emotional memory of a similar dessert my grandfather made once for us. It was so familiar, so heart-warming and sooo good!
I now have a constant craving Godma.... =)