Company lunch @ RSYC Singapore

Had a face stuffing company lunch today at the RSYC. We usually go for the fish head curry but decided to have something else today. Just some good old ala carte stuff like gado-gado and fish head noodles. Taste was alright, liked the gado-gado better. Peanut sauce was good and comparable to the one I had at Bintan. The ingredients were generous but I think I'll stick to our fish head curry the next time.

Healthy Snack - Red cabbage and plum chips

Was feeling really hungry one day and I needed a quick fix before dinner. I opened my fridge and saw an expiring head of red cabbage. Suddenly an epiphany struck me and I cut up the cabbage into potato chip sizes and sliced up some sweet plums. I then took the whole bowl and plonked myself in front of the TV. The snack was crispy, juicy and sweet. Wonderful guilt free way to enjoy a crunchy snack.

Blk 39 Teban Gardens Road Fish Bee Hoon (Hao Chu Seafood)

I am a big fan of fish noodles soup. One of my favourite fish noodles hails from an unassuming kopitiam zichar stall in Teban Gardens - Hao Chu. I discovered it out of accident a couple of years ago. We were driving around teban gardens to park our car when we drove past this zichar place and saw that that it was brimming with people despite the heavy rains. So us being the typical Singaporeans, we decided to check it out. We noticed people ordering almost the same thing that day - the white bowl of noodles with the milky broth. Ahh, fish soup it was. I decided to try it too and boy was I sold!

The broth was a wonderful mix of chinese herbs (including dang gui according to my mom) with a tinge of evaporated milk. S$4.50 gives you a bowl of noodles and 4 large pieces of fish. There's a side of cut chili that you should add into the noodles if you're a fan of spice. It adds that extra zing to the soup. My only gripe about this place is that the noodles aren't always consistent, sometimes they taste really good, sometimes it's just normal, thank goodness it's more good than normal. I'm not really complaining though, the times when the fish noodles taste out of this world, make up for the days when the cook ain't that happy. 

Nutella Tart @ Everything With Fries

Went to Everything With Fries @ Bugis Junction level 4 (old wing). I was looking at the dessert menu and saw the Nutella tart and thought it looked pretty interesting. I'm a big fan of Nutella by the way so we ordered it. 

The wait staff recommended us to get the icecream ($7.95 including icecream-$2) along with it and so I did. Loved the tart, I think the crust was made with oreo cookies while the "filling" was a chocolate nutella sauce mix. It was a tad sweet though but it tasted nice and satisfied my sweet tooth. I would recommend it to be shared with 3-4 people to divide up those calories :P 

XO fish noodles from Ming Kitchen Seafood Restaurant @ Holland Drive

Love my XO fish noodles and I would usually go to the Ming Kitchen along Holland Drive to get my fix.  They don't really have a website, the inSing link is the closest that I got. I love how the fish soup is fragrant and noodles are very "Q" (spongy). 2 other favourite dishes of mine from this place is their Har Cheong Gai (prawn paste chicken) and hei zho (shrimp rolls). 

All the dishes are probably calorie ridden with fats that's why they taste so great, but seriously, they taste good enough for me to want to put aside my diet just for that meal. ;)

Tandoori chicken platter from Ameen Makan House @ NUS

If you're a big fan of Tandoori chicken, I would recommend you to try out the tandoori platter from the Ameen Makan House near the junction of Clementi Road and Pasir Panjang Road. We ordered the small size @ $10 and just loved it. The dish comes along with a mint sauce and a side of julienned onions and carrots. Order it alongside with plain/garlic/onion naan and I assure that you'll be in food heaven. Haha, maybe I exaggerated but it is really good comfort indian food at healthy prices. Chicken wasn't too oily and the meats were tender and not too fatty.

My favourite chicken is the green coloured one. I'm not sure what's in it, maybe a mint based seasoning? My dinner date and I both enjoyed the meal very much and can't wait to go back to try the rest of the stuff.

Pan-seared Chicken Breast with Shogayaki Sauce @ TCC Millenia Walk

Oops, picture was a little blur. But I thought I wanted to have a quick mention about this dish at TCC. If you're on a low carb & low fat diet, you can order this dish from the TCC menu. I requested not to have any of the mash and changed it to the Broccolini stalks. Pretty hearty meal I must say. Chicken wasn't too tough, so I was pretty grateful for that. Sauce was sweet and savory, not sure how the cream tasted as I avoided it. Hah! Some of you must be rolling your eyes at me now. I had no choice though as that particular day, I was trying out a detox program that required me to be off all carbs for 2 days.

Anyway, the dish tasted good for a diet meal, so it will be an option at TCC if you're on a diet too ;)

Dark Devotion at TCC

Had a craving for some sweets after dinner and decide to drop by TCC @ Great World City to have some cake. We ordered the Dark Devotion (S$12 including tax) - chocolate lava cake that's supposed to ooze chocolate out from its core. Well, the chocolate did ooze out as promised, one of the better ones around but I still prefer the chocolate lava cake from Bakerzin and Morton's. Yes Morton's steakhouse. All in all, it's a comfort dessert for a friday night. 

Comfort food- Lemon Lime Chicken from Aston's Specialties

Went to Aston's Specialties @ Sixth Avenue for some comfort food. Wasn't up for starchy carbs like rice / noodles for dinner, so Aston's was great. I ordered the Lemon Lime chicken (S$6.50) as it kinda called out to me from the menu. Chicken was cooked well, not overdone and they even provided a little lemon slice for you to give that extra kick to the chicken chop. You can select from a range of cold and hot side dishes. I went for a house salad and a BBQ beans on the side. Am kinda inspired to make my own rosemary chicken chop... Wonder where that came from. Hmm. 

Anyway, will be back again! 

Pandan Chiffon Cake Mix from Prima

Was at NTUC today and I saw the Pandan Chiffon Cake Mix from Prima. It looked really good so I decided to try it out. I was kinda skeptical because the last blueberry cake mix from some random brand tasted pretty artificial and the last thing I wanted was a radioactive looking green cake out of my stove. But I decided to be adventurous and just went for it.

I followed the instructions to the tee, using my iPhone stopwatch to make sure I do not overbeat the mixture. The only thing that differed was that I didn't have a tube cake tin. I used a regular cake tin. Check out the colours in the picture. Really natural and not as radioactive looking as I expected.

All in all, the cake turned out really well, save for the slight collapse in the centre. But I suppose that can be rectified if I used a proper tube cake mould. Really lovely, cake mix wasn't too sweet and my dad actually helped himself to a slice after he tasted my test cake. He is a fussy eater who doesn't usually eat cakes, so that says quite a bit!

Go easy on the slices though, cakes always pack too much calories in too little volume ;)

Grandma's @ Paragon

Went to Grandma's Restaurant at Paragon for dinner. One of my girlfriend's of mine just came back from Melbourne and she had this humongous craving for Grandma's food. I suppose the name is picked in such a way that it really feels like you are going to your grandma's place to have dinner. 

"Where are you going for dinner today?"

"Oh, grandma's place."

"Which grandma of yours?"
"Not mine, but just grandma's place @ Paragon"

"Wow your grandma's so rich."
"No it's grandma's restaurant at Paragon"

"Whoa, your grandma runs a restaurant?"

Haha, sorry just had to put in a lame joke. Anyway, all in all it was good wholesome food that I believe my parents will love. We ordered the Assam fish head, salted egg yolk prawns, sweet potato leaves and kang kong. Set us back by about S$76 bucks for 4. I was pretty impressed that they used minimal MSG, I didn't feel like extremely thirsty or icky after the meal. So if you're craving for some homecooked tasty food, I think it is worth it to check out this place. 

Gado Gado @ Angsana Bintan's Lotus Cafe

Went on a whimsical trip to Angsana Bintan by myself to meditate. While I was there, I had this huge craving for gado-gado (an indonesian salad dish) and I decided to have it for lunch. I was too lazy to travel out of the resort so I decided to go to the Lotus Cafe and check out if they had that. Thank god they had that dish on the list and I promptly ordered it even though it was really expensive for gado-gado @ US$15. Yeah, we pay in US dollars there but I just wanted to indulge myself a little bit. 

Dish was immaculately assembled. Had a nice basket of keropok (I love these crackers) with sambal chili. They even grilled the prawns on lemongrass skewers and they have mastered the timing well such that the prawns were just cooked and succulent with lemongrass infused flavour. To top it off, I had a nice view of the sea and relaxing afternoon by myself. My only grouse was that the service staff kept exclaiming and asking why I was alone and that I should have come with someone when they found out that I was a lone ranger. Aye, can't I have some romantic time to myself? :/

Chocolate Scrabble

Brother received this chocolate scrabble set as a present and so we played it at one of our family gatherings. You have to try to form as many words as possible with the chocolate tiles and the winner will win the golden coin that's made of chocolate while the rest of the tiles will be distributed amongst the players. Chocolates didn't taste too bad. All in all, it's a pretty cute party favor.

Deep Fried Duck with Yam @ Putien

I am not a big fan of yam. Seriously, in fact I kinda hate it and will avoid it whenever possible. However this time round I was with a group of friends and they did the ordering and they told me that I absolutely had to try this Deep Fried Duck with Yam at Putien. Under much encouragement from my friends, I decided to pick it up and bite into it.

Boy was I surprised that they managed to remove the raw-sweet-rooty taste of the yam that I abhor and it was a brilliant combination of duck and well cooked coated yam paste. The yam kind of enhanced the fragrance of the duck. Combined with the crispy crust and savoury sauce, the marriage turned out really yummy.

If you're dropping by Putien, do try out this dish. Just in case if you're wondering, I still am not a big fan of yam. :P

Ippudo Ramen @ Mandarin Gallery

Went to try Ippudo Ramen @ Mandarin Gallery. Thank goodness I was a couple of minutes early and we didn't really have to queue. Just 5 minutes after we've settled in, a long queue that vaguely resembles a snake started to form up behind us. The only complain that I have is that the tables are really long and I was having difficulty conversing with my dinner date as we could hardly hear each other at the distance.

You could choose the ramen done-ness as you like. There's like hard, medium and soft to choose from. So based on my observation, it seems like if you're someone who slowly savors your bowl of noodles, it is better to choose hard, because eventually it will soften to a good texture. If you're someone who devours your food, best to go for soft. Medium is for the undecided :P

I went for the Akamaru Kasaneaji. (Approx S$21 incl taxes + charges) The broth is wonderful and you can really taste the goodness of all ingredients that went into making it. There was this special miso paste thing that you mix in. It was a tad salty but that's how the Japanese like their ramen. I don't often finish an entire bowl of noodles but I finished them this time round. Guilty as I might have felt, but I think it was well worth it.

Thien Kee Steamboat @ Golden Mile Complex

Grandfather was in Singapore so uncle decided to bring us all to Thien Kee Steamboat at Golden Mile Complex. They serve traditional Hainanese fare and when my dad and uncles were young, grandfather used to bring them here hence my uncle thought it was a good idea to bring grandpa back here. 

The chicken is a must try as the sauce is really yummy and chicken meat is succulent. Their chili sauce is special and you mix it in with the ginger sauce that they provide on the side. I think they used the broth from cooking the chicken so the steamboat was pretty wholesome. Just some good ol' comfort hainanese food for a sunday.

Steak from Angus Steak House

Japanese styled western restaurant which serves a pretty good plate of steak. My close friend brought me to Angus Steak House for my birthday treat and we ordered a lot of food. Saw the steak on the menu and thought that it would be blasphemy if we came to a steak house and not eat steak. And so we ordered this (was it ribeye?) steak medium rare.

Food came in a nice hot plate, sizzling and smelling very aromatic. There's this little butter thing that you can use rub the steak with to enhance the flavour. The steak felt Japanese, I wonder if it was the sauce, or the way they cooked it or just the presentation. Anyway, we just devoured the steak like nobody's business. Prices are pretty reasonable @ $33 for the Ribeye at a more upmarket place that isn't as pretentious. I'll definitely come back again the next time!

Yigloo @ Vivocity

This is one of my favourite frozen yogurt. Flavour is great, pricing is good ($5 for a medium size) and you get free toppings (1 serve). I usually go for their cookies and cream and a fruit based one. Their flavours change every week to tantalize our taste buds. Somehow they have made their yogurt to taste almost like icecream. Fat free way to enjoy your desserts. (Not so sure if it's low calorie tho since it's sweet :P)

edit: Seems like they have shifted out of vivocity. I last spotted them at the basement of plaza singapura, I'll need to verify.

Strictly Pancakes @ Prinsep Street

Had a huge craving for pancakes and decided to drop by this pancake themed place along Prinsep street called Strictly Pancakes. Everything here is pancake themed. The first time I went there, I tried this beef patty with pancake, very interesting.

Today I wanted brunch and ordered the all American pancake set. What was interesting is that they served a fried quail's egg instead of a normal chicken egg. It made me feel slightly less guilty indulging, lol.

Perfectly rounded fluffy pancakes with a choice of flavored butter. I took the garlic butter but there is also rum? Butter available. I think that was what I heard. All in all, a nice novel food place. Will be back again when I have another bout of craving for pancakes.

Korean BBQ at Ju Shin Jung

I love Korean BBQ and one of my favourite places to go for it is at Ju Shin Jung-YESS branch.

They usually have a lunch buffet but I went for the ala carte for lunch. You need at least 2 dish orders from the ala carte menu to have the BBQ. I love the free flow side dishes and the vegetable and chili wrap thing that they provide on the side. Meats are well marinated and you don't have to worry about cooking as the staff will assist you.

Will definitely be back again for my Korean comfort food.

Crayfish Pasta @ Sun Asian Bistro

Went to the Sun Asian Bistro at NUS staff club for lunch today. The crayfish pasta $16.80 caught our eyes and we decided to go for it. My lunch date and I liked it. Ingredients were fresh and yummy, tomato sauce worked well, pasta was cooked al dente. The meat of the crayfish easily slid off the shell while the other ingredients like the squid rings were cooked just right. Would I come back for it again? Definitely but only for this dish.

The mushroom soup and buffalo wings that we ordered are not worth any mention here so let's skip it.

Brunch @ Hatched

I've always loved eggs and breakfast so when I heard that there's an egg themed place that served all-day breakfast, I had to check Hatched out. We ordered the salmon royale and ceasar salad. I loved how they perfectly poached the eggs. I've had lousy poached eggs one too many times (think of overcooked yolks) that I have almost given up on ordering them. Lucky for me, hatched still did it pretty well. The moment you cut through the poached egg, the yolk oozes out like how a poached egg should be! Taste was pretty good and I'm sure to go back again to try the other stuff.

They do have other non-egg offerings like shepherd's pie if you don't feel like having eggs. 

Sous vide pork rack at Le Bistrot

This was the first time that I actually tried sous vide cooking and boy was I impressed. We ordered the pork rack at Le Bistrot that was cooked in sous vide style as it was on the specials menu. When it arrived I was kinda expecting a half tender half tough meat like some of the pork racks that I've tried before but nope, it turned out quite the opposite.

Meat was tender, juicy and cooked evenly from inside out. Most of me was fascinated. This was really the first time that I've eaten anything like this. I thought to myself that the chef must be really brilliant.

I went home after that and did a quick google on sous vide and realised that it is a technique of cooking where they cook the food in an accurately controlled temperature waterbath for a longer time. This controlled temperature is usually lower than the temperature needed to fully cook the food at a shorter time. No wonder there was no overcooking.

This culinary experience really sparked my interest in cooking via the sous vide technique. One of these days I'll definitely make a sous vide dish and post it on here.

PS: If you would like to read more about sous vide machines in your kitchen, do have a look at this article that I've written: The fascinating sous vide technique

Giant chocolate eclair @ PS cafe

Well well, when you go to PS cafe you have to try their desserts. One thing to note though, everything is king sized.

Check out my favourite dessert - the giant eclair. The pastry (do you call it pastry?) was perfect and chocolate wasn't too sweet. Paired with the white creamy filling was just a match made in heaven. Vanilla ice cream on the side to top it off. Will have it again, but only after I've saved up those calories!

Strawberries & cream from Big Red Strawberry Farm @ Cameron Highlands

Big red strawberry farm's strawberries and cream. Extremely fresh and sweet organic strawberries grown right at their farm in cameron highlands. Though it was a mountain of whipped cream but it balanced really well with the strawberries and syrup. Sinful
but worth it.

Cost: RM 7 I think

Tokyo Banana

If there is one Japanese sweet snack that you need to get from Japan, it has to be Tokyo Banana. Deliciously creamy and aromatic, the banana cake and cream filling literally melts in the mouth. It's my favourite snack that I'll never fail to bring home if I transit at Narita Airport. It's best eaten chilled. Do note that this snack has a pretty short shelf life, so finish it fast. They usually don't stay too long in my fridge anyway. ;)

Chopped salad with garlic avocado yogurt dressing

Made this today: Salad Recipe

Am a happy girl.

The English Breakfast Pizza from Skinny Pizza

Skinny pizza is well known for their extremely thin crust that cracks when you bite into them. Was having a craving for it and we happened to walk past the branch at Raffles City. We ordered The English Breakfast pizza where they had bacon and an egg in the middle.

It was oh so yummy as we broke the yolk and let it spread out to the pizza slices while we devoured the entire thing in no time. Nothing like good ol' breakfast and pizza. Mmm. Oh and their menu also includes stuff like sliders, pasta and truffle fries! I'll definitely be back again.

Cost: $22 for The English Breakfast

Samsui Chicken from Soup Restaurant

Everyone has been raving about the chicken from Soup Restaurant and I absolutely had to try it. In fact my BFF told me about it many years ago but I didn't get down to it till yesterday.

Well I must say that I wasn't disappointed! Chicken was juicy and succulent while the ginger sauce in the middle was perfect. They provided really fresh lettuce on the side to wrap the chicken and ginger mix. Crispy, juicy and fresh with a tangy bite. Will definitely go back again.

It is true that they don't use MSG as I didn't feel thirsty or icky after eating. Worth every calorie!

Cost: S$15.90++ for the small portion

High Tea @ Courtyard (Fullerton Hotel)

It has been said that every girl has 2 stomachs. One for food and the other for dessert. It is always interesting that we find ourselves growing a second stomach from nowhere when we meet our sweets.

Went for high tea at Fullerton Hotel. They serve TWG teas alongside with free flow of savory bites, scones and sweets. Bites are good for my standards but service wise was almost absent as we had to continuously wave and even stand up to get the attention of the wait staff.

I loved the cakes as well as this duck pate open face sandwich bite thing. Will I go back again? I'm not too sure but I didn't regret the calories that I consumed.

Cost: Approximately S$50 per person.