El Patio @ Holland Village

Had cravings for Mexican food again and decided to go to El Patio at Holland Village to eat them Mexican. Ordered the caesar salad, fried Jalapenos and El Patio Special Fajitas. I think they smeared some kind of anchovy sauce on top of the croutons(?) for the caesar salad. It was so super salty and I think it would be better if we mixed them into salad. 

Fried Jalapenos was good and the guac on the side made a nice complement to the dish. I know, it's so super fat but at least the mozzerella inside the Jalapenos wasn't overwhelming so we could still finish everything on the plate. The Fajitas was nice, and we polished everything off though we left 1 of the fajita wraps untouched trying to go low(er) carbs. 

All in all, a good meal and we will be back again :)

Mad Jacks at Simpang Bedok

Decided to check out Mad Jacks finally after procrastinating for so long. We visited the branch at Simpang Bedok. Was kinda surprised that it wasn't too crowded, probably because the prices aren't exactly very very cheap compared to the other food around. We ordered the broccoli salad above, a ribeye and grilled chicken + 2 drinks. The bill came up to S$40+.

One thing to note when going to Mad Jacks - they don't have service staff, so you basically fill up a form that you can get from the table and note the table number. Then you go order over the counter and pay up first. They will then send the food over. 

I felt like a noob when I tried getting the attention of the servers until eventually they explained that I had to go to the counter to order. I'm like perfectly fine with it, but it will be cool if they had bigger signs explaining the process and not make me feel stupid. 

Food wise, pretty good quality. Although I thought the broccoli salad had way too much yoghurt in it and smelled a bit funny. But I'm not picky. We were very full after the meal. The rib-eye was kinda medium rare bordering on medium but still passable. It's the kind where you know it is in between. Not rare enough to be there and not cooked enough to be medium lol. 

I'm not too sure if I'll be back though but my tummy was satisfied at least :)

Brotzeit Sausage Platter @ Vivocity

Loving Brotzeit. We walked past the Vivocity's branch and decided to have tea there as they were having some sort of Oktoberfest celebrations. Ordered the sausage platter. Pretty yummy as there was a generous serving of sauerkraut and 5 types of sausages if I wasn't wrong. I have absolutely no idea what were in the sausages but my tea date and I concluded that we both loved the white coloured sausage. Am so going to order it the next time round. 

Didn't feel as greased out after having the platter. Will definitely be back. 

(And btw, we weren't too impressed with the german pretzel, so it wasn't pictured here.) 

Freshness Burger @ Central

Decided to check out freshness burger at Central Clarke Quay. Asked for additional vegetables in the freshness burger set and they were very generous in giving me 2 more slices of tomatoes which made the entire burger stand up sky high. 

Flavor was great and you had this arsenal of sauces that you can pick from at the sauce bar. We spent about $14 for 2 burgers, one of which we made it into a meal and changed the fries to avocado salad and drink to Yuzu tea. Ingredients were very fresh and I loved the tomatoes. 

Definitely will be back!

Jones the Grocer

Went to Jones the Grocer at Mandarin Gallery for lunch. Ordered a side walnut salad, one of their artisan breads - a brioche(? can't remember which one) and their sandwich. Lovely flavour. The bread that I got was very light and not too sweet. It was bursting with flavour and the texture was just right. The sandwich was great too, with generous fillings. The bill came up to $40 including a coffee. Not too bad for some gourmet-ish food I guess. 

Will be back again :)

Brotzeit @ Vivocity

Went to Brotzeit@Vivocity to celebrate the boyfriend's birthday. We wanted a light dinner as it was already 11pm and so we ordered just a mozzarella salad and smoked pork sausages. We had this beer with cola (can't remember the name) and it was very delicious. This meal was enough to fill both of us up as the salad was massive. All in all the bill total came up to only $50 and it was pretty alright, considering we were at a semi-classy place.

We chose this place initially cause I wanted somewhere that was a sit-down restaurant and they still served food until 12 midnight as we had a movie at 12. Brotzeit came to mind and it was conveniently located at Vivocity where we can catch our movie.

Very pleased with the food, will definitely be back!

Crepe at Out of Pan

Went to try out the crepe at Out of Pan @ Raffles city the other day. It costs an average of $15 for one. I've always been wanting to try them out but never had the chance to. Until that day it happened to be the great singapore sale and there was a one for one. Crepe was good, nicely cooked and generous fillings. We wiped them all out. However, I am not too sure about $15 price for one, cause it still looks like a pancake with filling inside. I don't know. Good experience nonetheless.

Mount Faber Jewel Box

Went to Mount Faber's Jewel Box for a walk and a lunch. Went to the Sapphire level and ordered a salad and dessert. The fruit salad was alright, but the apple crumble dessert was an absolute delight. Warm, baked crumble, topped with a vanilla icecream. Ohh, heavenly goodness. When you dig into the crumble, you can see baked berries. Too good. Will definitely be back!

(And wow, the iPhone takes fantastic food pictures!)

Caesar Salad @ PS Cafe - Harding Road Branch

Just love PS Cafe. Went there with my BFFs and had a Caesar salad alongside with other things. Just love their salads. Past few times, the poached egg was a fail but today they made it perfectly. Only comment was that their salad size seemed to have downsized quite a bit. Bad economy? 

The cafe was still exploding with people at 9.30pm though. 

A special mention goes out to their marshmallow brownie. Decadently yummy and has the ability to cheer anyone up on the spot.

Pasta Mania @ West Coast Plaza

Had craving for some comfort italian food and decided to go to Pasta Mania @ West Coast Plaza. Ordered a marinara and baked rice. Baked rice was up to expectations but marinara was a #fail. Yes the spagetti was al dente but there was something about the sauce. The tomato sauce didn't taste like tomato and the ingredients were semi tasteless. Was kinda disappointed. Not sure if it was because that my expectations were too high or something. Oh well. Guess it will be for some time before I go back again. 

Shepard's Pie Delivery

Went for a party and the host ordered in Shepard's Pie! I always loved this dish even though I know how fattily sinful it can be. The amount of cream, cheese and potatoes to make it taste this good. Well, I had 2 servings because the pie was just so good. So if you want to order in some Shepard's pie, why not try this company: http://www.theshepherdspie.com/

Food for Thought @ 8 Queen Street

Went to Food For Thought @ 8 Queen Street. I've always wanted to try it out but never had the opportunity to do so till now. We arrived at around noon on a saturday morning and it was already pretty filled up by then. Luckily there was still a table available and we were seated after 5 minute wait. The picture above was the table "placemat" (is that the right term to use?)

For 2 people, we ordered a salad, a pasta, a side and a dessert to share. This is one of the techniques that I use so that we can enjoy our food and desserts while ensuring that we do not overeat the calories. 

We ordered the Slow Cooked Broccoli with crispy tofu salad ($9) ...

Followed by the Chunky Sausage and Tomato Linguine ($14)

A mushrooms with bacon and onions side ($4)

And a red velvet cake ($10)

Food was lovely and absolutely delectable on the palate. The mushrooms with bacon was awfully good, a wonderful mix of bacon fat and onions. Yes I did feel a tad guilty eating it but I did try to remove the visible bits of fat to make myself feel better haha. The pasta was good, al dente and the sauce was not overwhelming. The real highlight is the red velvet cake. 

It was a marriage between layers of cream and cake. The proportions were done just right - good amount of cream and cake. Guilty pleasure. We would have loved to finish the entire thing but we felt very guilty doing so, and left 1/3 of the cake on the plate. Haha. 

We spent about $40 for 2 people. It was very nice and I will be back the next time to try out their breakfast/brunch menu. Yum yum!

Carl's Junior @ Vivocity

Low Carb and Double Special for me

No carbs, no sauce. 

Went to Carl's Junior at Vivocity. Whenever I'm feeling fat, I would order the low carb burger. Today, I decided to up the ante and go without sauce. It was a low carb and low fat special. It doesn't taste as plain as it looks because the meat patty itself already has flavour in it. The lettuce were very fresh, crispy and juicy. Burger was really huge and I couldn't finish it, had to give half of it to my dinner date. He was a very happy boy today. 

Guilt free comfort food. 

PS: On non fat days, I go for the fatty guacamole burger. I'm a sucker for avocado :P

California Pizza Kitchen

Thin Crust Pesto Chicken Pizza

Chinese Chicken Salad

Hummus

Swung by California Pizza Kitchen at Forum for some good ol' American fare. Had my first taste of CPK in Philadelphia years ago. Fell in love with it. Maybe because I grew up eating asian food so pizza, american, anything angmoh type food is kinda like a treat to me. In any case, CPK was the first time I really tried a pizza that is not the standard Pizza Hut kinds that I grew up eating. I was blown away that pizza can actually taste good. :P

Hence when I came back to Singapore, I was really craving CPK and to my surprise they actually have a branch in Singapore! It has been my favorite go to place when I have those insatiable cravings for pizza and salads. 

Today we ordered hummus, chinese chicken salad and thin crust pesto chicken pizza. I am a big fan of thin crust pizzas, hence the fascination with Skinny Pizza where they have by far the thinnest crust ever. Love it whenever I hear the crunch of the crust and tasting savoury toppings at the same time. I think what I love about CPK is that every bite is full of flavor and the toppings aren't overly cheesy where you get sick after a certain point. Definitely will be back again. :)

211 Cafe @ Holland Village - Seafood Kebabs

Went to the 211 Rooftop Cafe @ Holland Village for dinner. We ordered seafood kebabs. It was the best thing that happened to me that night. Seafood was so wonderfully fresh, cooked just nice and served on top a plate of pasta in lobster bisque. This dish was so good that the taste lingered in my mind even after we have left the place. Yum yum yum, I will definitely go back to have this dish again!

Wholemeal wraps from Gardenia

Saw this at cold storage - Wholemeal wraps from Gardenia that you can actually use as a wrap, serve with dips and become a pizza crust. I was so fascinated by it. I've been thinking long and hard about pizza crusts. I love pizza but I need to find a way to create a low fat, low calorie yet healthy version. I could probably make a pizza with very thin crust but it is going to be a lot of work and I might not be able to find the time to do so. This wholemeal wrap is definitely going to come into handy!

Can't wait :)

Afternoon tea @ Foster's

Was craving for some english afternoon tea and I decided to drop by Foster's Cafe at Holland village. They have this Devonshire cream tea set ($11++) that comes with sweets, scones, sandwiches and tea. I love the quaintness of the cafe. Almost makes you feel like you're transported to a real european cafe.

Taste is alright, I'm not very picky, given that the tea set is really value for money and I get to chill out at a really nice place. Loved the scones although they were slightly dry. I didn't finish everything because there were just too much carbs in them but I'll definitely come back here again.

Pastry cases!

Went to a friend's place and he made this wonderful curry chicken, ricotta cheese filled pastry for us. I really loved the pastry case and asked him where he got it from. Pastry case was delightfully crisp and flavorful.  It was actually just some frozen unfilled pastry cases that you can bake at your own convenience. The brand is Jus-rol Vol-Au-Vent and they can be bought from Cold Storage Singapore. This definitely opens up a lot of possibilities for my recipe experiments. 

Brunch @ Epicurious

I love brunches, they are a good way to drag me out of bed on Sunday mornings. I went to Epicurious for a lazy sunday brunch. It is recommended to reach slightly before 11am or the place will fill up really fast after that. I ordered the full monty set and it was really filling. Thank god I shared it with a friend (alongside with a side of pancakes - my other favourite). The full monty doesn't come with Spinach, you gotta add it on. I love my greens, don't you think the green spinach made the dish more colourful and appetizing? :P

Brunch was nice and hearty. I really liked how they used those traditional chinese cockerel plates to present the food. Nothing too fancy about the brunch, but it was nice chilling by the Singapore river and tucking into comfort food. I've checked out their lunch and dinner menus while I was there, look really interesting though, must find an opportunity to try them out next time.

Milo Cereal

I have a new craze that I recently discovered - Milo Cereal. I have never really eaten it until yesterday and the first bite made me fall in love. Yes that's a kitchen weighing scale in the background because I am currently on a strict diet and want to make sure that I don't overeat my allowed portions. My weightloss trick is really to control portion sizes and eat more frequently throughout the day. Eat everything, but in moderation. 

So back to why I love this Milo Cereal - tastes just like milo and the best part of it all, the milk starts to taste like ice cold milo after soaking the cereal in it. It's like I can get the best of both worlds, the milo crunch and the milo drink together. Absolutely heavenly. 

Calories aren't too bad either - 30g (1 portion of cereal) + 125ml of skim milk is only 160 calories in total. Great for breakfast and low calorie mid day snacks.

One pack that has about 6 portions goes for only $3.50 tops. ;) 

Yes, this is my latest craze.