It was only my second time to Mount Faber, so I was pretty happy when I know that we are going up to the Jewel Box for lunch. And I was impressed within five minutes after arriving, the toilets have this amazing view – it’s even better than the ones in 6 star hotels!
The beauty of the traditional soya smoked fish ($10) lies in the simplicity of it; the use of soya sauce to enhance the sweetness of the delicate fish.
First thoughts, wow, it’s my favorite sweet & sour pork! Until someone pointed out it was actually youtiao. The crispy dough stuffed with seafood mousse ($8), was drizzled with the appetizing sweet & sour sauce. Who will have thought that youtiao can taste so good!
From afar, I smelt blood. And suddenly I felt awaken deep inside. I want blood, give me the pig liver!
The Spinach and pork liver soup ($8 per portion) is one of the more delicious soup that I had in a while (other than my mom’s homecook soup). It’s definitely no easy task to prepare liver; if you under cook it, the surface will be too raw, while if you leave it for too long the whole thing will be hard and tasteless. The liver, I have to say, was lovely; it was done just right with a pinkish tinge in the middle.
You know every year during relatives gathering, I’m always known as the-boy-who-love-fish, so i was quite excited to see the steamed white pomfret ($48) on our table. A restaurant wouldn’t dare to serve steamed fish unless it’s very fresh, or do they? Unfortunately there will be no answer because we were doing the programme recording halfway when the fish arrived. And it was already cold when they distributed it into individual portions after we finished.
I like prawns. And I dislike prawns too. Well, I like to eat them but I’m a lazy person when it comes to shelling prawns. King Caramelized King Prawns Har Lok ($26 per portion 2 pcs)
If there’s one thing that I can eat everyday with white rice, it would definitely be the shrimp omelette. A fried egg on its own will never taste as nice as one that has shrimp. The Old fashioned Whampoo fried noodles ($20 per portion) were served with eggs and shrimp on top, while I enjoyed every bit of the egg, the crunchy shrimp came across as a tad too salty.
Empress Jade prides itself on serving heritage Chinese food – the taste of 1970s. I have to agree that the food evokes nostalgic memories of childhood but prices seem slightly steep when you are paying for home cook food. Still, It is a good place where you can impress your date and his/her family. Getting up to Mount Faber might be a hassle if you are not driving, fortunately there’s free shutter bus going up every 30 minutes from Harbourfront Tower 2. I will like to thank Jiafa & Peifen from YES 93.3, and Jewel Box for the invitation.
Finally made the journey west to Two Chefs Eating Place, after reading about it a couple of months back in the Straits Times. Housed in a small coffeeshop in a rather remote part of Commonwealth, the place is rather small and tables are limited. Apparently the crowd starts coming in at about 6pm so get there before 6 or be prepared to wait.
Radish Soup - We started off with the radish soup, which wasn't on the menu. Light and mildly sweet, noticeably from the use of monosodium glutamate (MSG). Nice but excessive drinking is certainly not encouraged.
Butter Ribs - The butter ribs were a misnomer really. Ribs should come with bones, shouldn't they? But I'm definitely not complaining. The meat was tender without being fibrous or soft. What was interesting was the fact that the meat was coated with a concoction of cheese flakes, a dash of sugar and a sprinkling of curry leaves - Nice and sweet with a mild hint of spiciness, belying a smooth cheesy sensation with that tinge of curry aftertaste.
Stir Fried Broccoli with Garlic - This was your regular stir fried broccoli fried with tons of chopped garlic. Decent but a wee bit too soft and overcooked for my liking.
Beancurd with Golden Mushroom - I didn't think too highly of this dish though the tofu was smooth but rather bland and lacked silkiness. The sauce had lots of golden mushroom and minced meat but was weirdly sweet instead of savoury.
Hor Fun - The lowlight (as opposed to highlight. Ha Ha Ha. Corny I know) of the entire meal, the hor fun appeared rather slip shod. They were all clumped together and lacked any discernible wok hei taste. The pork and shrimp didn't taste fresh either. On a healthier note, there were lots of vegetables though.
At 50 cents shy of $34 for 3 pax, I wouldn't say it was expensive. However, only the butter ribs were good while the other dishes hovered around the average mark or faded into obscurity. Throw in the queues and I doubt I'll return, especially since the place is halfway across the island for me. But if I do, it will only be for the butter ribs.
We tried out the new Pasta Perfetto at Bukit Timah branch Pizza Hut.
I ordered a Fish in Tomato Cream Sauce (their signature Pasta Perfetto Specialty Pasta dish – $11.90). Pizza Hut describes this dish as “Crispy fried fish fillet on a bed of spaghetti gets a refreshing spin with a unique blend of tangy pomodoro and white cream sauces.“
We also ordered a Prawn Aglio Olio ($7.50) – This is the perfect choice if you love the mild spicy kick that comes with fresh prawns on spaghetti with olive oil, freshly crushed garlic and sliced chilli padi.
The Fish in Tomato Cream Sauce Pasta looks very appealing presentation-wise. Another plus is its strong cream sauce smell that makes you want to dive straight into it. Mix well and you are good to go for a yummy pasta meal.
The Aglio Olio was spicy and the prawn was very fresh – very appetising as well. For an additional $5, you can upgrade your meal to include a soft drink, 3 roasted chicken wings and the soup of the day.
Our total bill for 2 comes up to $19.90 for 2 pasta, 3 roasted chicken wings, 1 soft drink and soup of the day. Quite reasonable thanks to the HSBC 1-for-1 Pasta Perfetto Offer.
Service at Bukit Timah Branch Pizza Hut was so-so. I think they are short-handed thus service was rather slow coupled with the fact that there were a lot of customers then. Nonetheless the service staff were polite and understand the product and credit card promotions well.
One of the best places to savor Japanese food is Sakae Sushi. It serves fresh sushi and a wide variety of meals ranging from teppanyaki to even tempura ice-cream, all at very affordable prices. Another plus point is its many outlets located all around Singapore, especially the Woodlands branch which is just beside a MRT station.
I like the Woodlands branch the best, not just because of its proximity to my house, but also its excellent use of natural lighting to brighten up the place, unlike other restaurants which make use of strong and bright light-bulbs that only makes you sweat as you eat.
The Chicken Katsu Cheese Yaki should be ate with the mini-salad on the side for the optimum eating experience. Only $6.99 and very filling (perhaps due to the thick cheese)
The Tempura Ice-Cream is just unique – a bit like fried ice-cream but a healthier version (not too oily). The servings are surprisingly big and it cost just $3.99.
The staff were also friendly and efficient - our orders took less than 10 minutes to arrive, just nice as we were indulging in other sushi on the conveyer belt.
I visited the Night Safari during the 2009 Halloween Horror special. They had done a good job in keeping the Halloween atmosphere within the park by dressing up their staff in gruesome costumes and playing the role of various scary characters from bedtime stories gone wrong.
The Train of Horror tour covered the normal route (which you can see the nocturnal animals carrying out their daily activities) a special route (through the Gate of Neverland) where the staff dressed in scary costumes will scare you.
The tour was very well-done and the staff in-character. What might irked most people is the long queues (not Night Safari's fault that they are so popular). Proper crowd control is in place.
One other part of Night Safari is the Hourly Animal Performances. Very interesting and educational. However, be prepared for queues here too (come at least 20 minutes before the show).
More scary pictures and info here (**spoilers alert**): http://www.passportchop.com/asia/singapore/night-safari-halloween-horrors-tour-review/
It probably seems that I belong to the live-to-eat camp, everything I do revolve around food and that includes tweeting. And you probably envy me for the feasts and good food that I have all the time, right? Actually not quite. The truth is, there are many times where I get sick of everything.
Initially I thought it was because I had too much good food – that my taste buds were numbed so I didn’t even feel excited, not even when there’s so many delicacy in front of me, But really, it’s a lot more serious than that. My problem is nutella. I can give up everything when there’s chocolate hazelnut around, all I need is white bread, no I don’t even need bread – I eat nutella from the jar.
I will never forget that fateful day, flashed back many many years ago; I was young and inquisitive, which was not a good combination. I saw a jar with white lid on the table, it smelt good, and I wondered if it tasted as good. So out of curiosity, I turned the top and stuck my finger into the dreamily sexual-looking spread. My shoulders shuddered as I carefully placed my thumb that had the glossy, brown spread, into my mouth. It tasted like chocolate, and there’s something nutty about it. And I felt like I was in heaven, and you know what? I still feel the same way, every single time when I have it. Nutella is sex, no, nutella is even better than that.
It’s one of those defining moments in life where you know everything will never be the same again. I blame nutella for everything.
As we entered the place, my eyes scanned through the menu and I knew immediately what to order – nutella tart. The thing about it was, you can never go wrong with nutella, unless, you put too little of it. And here, they manage to grasp this simple, yet profound logic. They drizzled tons and tons of nutella with the tart; the half-melted chocolate hazelnut on top of a oreo-based tart, perfect! I enjoyed every bite of it, and it tasted even better when you shared it. We also had the vanilla eclair, while it was pretty good, but it pales in comparison beside the nutella tart.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
The plan was simple. We would go to Ah Yat Tian Xia at Orchard Central on its opening weekend to take advantage of its seemingly value for money premium sets (abalone and the likes). Alas, it was not meant to be as the place was fully booked. Not wanting to abandon our abalone plans, we settled for Rama Thai instead, which was also offering premium items at a discount.
The restaurant is located amongst a row of shophouses along the winding Tanjong Pagar Road. Decor is simple and reminds me more of a pub then a restaurant, but that may be due to the fact that there was a sizeable bar counter at the side. Capacity peaks at about 50 pax or so.
Australia Whole Abalone - The abalone was probably 8 head and quite well prepared if I may say. There wasn't the noticable raw taste that I personally dislike and carried lots of bite without coming across as too chewy or hard. The gravy didn't threaten to overwhelm either by being overly starchy.
Sharks Fin with Crabmeat - Apparently a signature of the restaurant (it's in the name), the soup was light without being too laden on the starch but could have done with a pinch less salt. The fins were decent size pieces (probably not dorsal fins) that came across as a wee bit too soft for my liking. The upside to it was the very generous portion size and the amount of crab meat that went into the soup. Decently nice and filling.
Asparagus with Prawns - The asparagus were of the larger variant, retaining its crunchiness by virtue of not being overcooked. Coupled with big, crunchy prawns and succulent mushrooms, I don't see anything to dislike about this dish.
Pork with Gingko Nuts - I liked this dish quite a fair bit. Simple yet tasty. The pork came in rather large slices and carried a mild chewy texture, dipped in light saltiness. The gingko nuts gave it a healthier connotation, not that they tasted bad or anything. Just a small lesser known fact that I thought I would share. Pork is actually white meat, not red meat as most people would think.
Rama Thai Fried Rice - A little too oily and bland was the first thought that came to mind after I popped a spoonful of rice into my mouth. However, credit has to be given for the mild wok hei (could have done with more though) that the rice emanated as well as the ingredients that went into the dish - cashew nuts, prawns and crab meat.
Birds Nest - There was a 1 for 1 promotion on the birds nest and we couldn't resist the temptation to treat ourselves with this sweet Chinese delicacy. Honestly, at $30/bowl ($15 after 1 for 1), I hardly think it was worth it. It was quite a small bowl and the nest came in bits and pieces, unlike the good quality ones which come in one huge piece. But as the old Chinese adage goes, 一汾钱一汾货, so no grouses.
It has been a long time since I last step foot here, my family used to refer Holiday Inn Atrium as “the black glass hotel”.
The air was sucked out of the room when the salad lobster ($9 per 100g) appeared; her sheer beauty took our breathe away, and for the next few second, we were wondering what to do, then one of us took a pair of chopstick and took a bite. And then the whole lobster was gone in a flash.
When in a Chinese restaurant, roasted pork is always a good indicator of the standard of the food. Unfortunately it was sold out when we went for dinner that night, but luckily we still had the suckling pig ($80 for half). Beneath the crispy skin, was the most delicious roasted pig ever, but it was the layer of fats in between that’s so sinful, but good!
I finally found a sweet & sour pork ($16) that’s good enough. I’ve been looking for one to satisfy the sweet-sour-pork-fan-in-me, and I must say Xin Cuisine’s rendition was done nicely; the crunchy pork was coated in the glossy sweet & sour sauce. The sweetness was further enhanced with the addition of lychee and apple instead of just the typical pineapple and cucumber.
And when we thought the salad lobster was good, the baked lobster with foie gras was even better. Thick, creamy mayonnaise sauce with generous chunks of foie gras, baked with the fresh, juicy crustacean. Just the thought of foie gras, and lobster, swoon! You get the idea.
Using the same sauce as the baked lobster with foie gras; the cod fish (not on the usual menu) was nicely seared on the outside and you could taste the freshness inside. We eyed it for a while and then we dug in. Removing the ginger garnish, I shoveled a corner of the fish into my mouth in one bite. The cod was perfect; it tasted good on its own, but it’s even better when we had it together with the sauce.
The Salted crusted baked Kampung chicken ($48 for whole chicken) was specially prepared in advance, and from what I understand, the difference between the normal bred chicken and kampung chicken was that while the former was caged up feeding on grains everyday, the latter gets to “run about” and exercise, which made the meat more tender and tasty.
And the main draw of the kampung chicken here was the infusion of the salted crusted into the chicken, and although it’s meant to be done this way, but we felt that it was slightly too salty for our liking.
First thoughts, the Braised 5-head abalone ($36) looks amazing. Drizzled with superior oyster sauce, there’s a reason why abalone is one of the top delicacy in Chinese cuisine. The abalone was braised until it was so soft, yet retaining a chewiness texture. It was good!
Since I had deep-fried ice cream before, I wasn’t so fascinated this time round. But still we couldn’t help not ordering it as it’s on the menu anyway. A split second into the pot of oil, was all it need for this beauty. Any longer and it would be ruin.
And since it’s the Mid-Autumn festival, we had some mooncakes too!
You like chocolate? You like mooncakes too? So how about some Mini snowskin mooncake with Champagne chocolate and pandan ($40 for 6 mini pcs)? Champagne chocolate centre with a pandan flavoured lotus paste – it’s one of those things that you either love it, or hate it.
On first look, I thought that this was the traditional mooncake with lotus paste, but it was not. Creamy moist custard filling is wrapped around a salted egg yolk and yum – I like custard! A sprinkle of edible gold flakes makes it irresistible, it’s a sin to eat something so pretty. Xin’s Mini special egg custard mooncake with egg yolk ($42 for 6 mini pcs)
The vibrant purplish blue snowskin made it very outstanding, and no, it’s not coloured flavourings. The blue pea flower was used to naturally infused and produce the beautiful colour. My family absolutely adored the Mini snowskin Peranakan mooncake with durian ($42 for 6 mini pcs); two mini mooncakes are definitely not enough for durian lovers.
My folks enjoyed the dinner of course; lobster with foie gras, suckling pig, abalone, I’m hungry now just by looking at the photos. I will probably go back to Xin Cuisine again, to try out their dim sum (it wasn’t available during dinner time).
My appreciation to Lynda from DBS, Cherylene & Seema from Eurorscg, and the Ivy & her staff from Xin Cuisine for the food tasting session.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Steamboat is usually an annual affair for me during the Chinese new year; it always reminded me of the reunion of family and friends.
There’s different packages for steamboat, but all of them are not exactly cheap, a family of four will probably need to spend 100 upwards for dinner, and besides steamboat, there’s also ala carte menu to order from. There’s the usual vegetables, prawns, crabs, and seafood ingredients, and we had chicken stock as our soup base. And we had the steamboat with chicken rice instead of just normal white rice
And there’s of course Hainanese chicken to go along; smooth tender meat with the fragrant chicken rice, this was the reason why we didn’t have much room left for the steamboat ingredients later.
And there’s of course Hainanese chicken to go along; smooth tender meat with the fragrant chicken rice, this was the reason why we didn’t have much room left for the steamboat ingredients later.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Yo Kanye, I’m really happy for you, and I’m gonna let you finish, but Udders has one of the best waffles of all times…
At least for now, until I find a better one.
Until now, I have always been a big fan of haato’s waffles, but now that I’ve discover about Udders, I’m not so sure anymore. I remember my first visit to haato a year ago; it was one of the moments which changed my humble opinion of waffles, and ever since then I never look back. I had others, which were overly priced and not fantastic. So I kept going back to the secret hideout at Ridgewood for a few more time and I never shared the place with you for fear that it might get over-crowded until recently.
Well, to put it this way, Haato’s waffles are still above the rest, but the problem is Udders is even better, and cheaper at $2.50 compared to $4. My grumble is their waffles are too thick nowadays, if my memory didn’t failed me, it used to be thinner and crispier back in the good O’ days.
Waffles make me happy. I’m difficult to please. Whatever.
If specks of vanilla beans doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what else will. Like one of those things which you will never be able to explain – I’m damn excited each and every time I see the tiny specks of vanilla seeds. There’s this natural vanilla flavour which beats the articifical vanilla essence hands down. I love it!
Memories are the best thing about life, be it sad or happy, they will always be there, although some seem to fade away slowly. Well I had fond memories of the Pure Pistachio, so we resisted ordering hazelnut flavour, which would be overbearing with vanilla beans. You could feel the bits of grounded nuts within the robust pistachio ice cream!
Wow! I can’t believe the waffle is so good. This is awesome. Resist from ordering another one, I’m going to tell everybody about it. Oh, how about haato? And then ouch, my beautiful memory is fading away.
Desserts make me happy, at least temporary, until the magic worn off, and then it’s time to eat it again. They are your best friends, and will always be there for you.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
It was only my second time to Mount Faber, so I was pretty happy when I know that we are going up to the Jewel Box for lunch. And I was impressed within five minutes after arriving, the toilets have this amazing view – it’s even better than the ones in 6 star hotels!
The beauty of the traditional soya smoked fish ($10) lies in the simplicity of it; the use of soya sauce to enhance the sweetness of the delicate fish.
First thoughts, wow, it’s my favorite sweet & sour pork! Until someone pointed out it was actually youtiao. The crispy dough stuffed with seafood mousse ($8), was drizzled with the appetizing sweet & sour sauce. Who will have thought that youtiao can taste so good!
From afar, I smelt blood. And suddenly I felt awaken deep inside. I want blood, give me the pig liver!
The Spinach and pork liver soup ($8 per portion) is one of the more delicious soup that I had in a while (other than my mom’s homecook soup). It’s definitely no easy task to prepare liver; if you under cook it, the surface will be too raw, while if you leave it for too long the whole thing will be hard and tasteless. The liver, I have to say, was lovely; it was done just right with a pinkish tinge in the middle.
You know every year during relatives gathering, I’m always known as the-boy-who-love-fish, so i was quite excited to see the steamed white pomfret ($48) on our table. A restaurant wouldn’t dare to serve steamed fish unless it’s very fresh, or do they? Unfortunately there will be no answer because we were doing the programme recording halfway when the fish arrived. And it was already cold when they distributed it into individual portions after we finished.
I like prawns. And I dislike prawns too. Well, I like to eat them but I’m a lazy person when it comes to shelling prawns. King Caramelized King Prawns Har Lok ($26 per portion 2 pcs)
If there’s one thing that I can eat everyday with white rice, it would definitely be the shrimp omelette. A fried egg on its own will never taste as nice as one that has shrimp. The Old fashioned Whampoo fried noodles ($20 per portion) were served with eggs and shrimp on top, while I enjoyed every bit of the egg, the crunchy shrimp came across as a tad too salty.
Empress Jade prides itself on serving heritage Chinese food – the taste of 1970s. I have to agree that the food evokes nostalgic memories of childhood but prices seem slightly steep when you are paying for home cook food. Still, It is a good place where you can impress your date and his/her family. Getting up to Mount Faber might be a hassle if you are not driving, fortunately there’s free shutter bus going up every 30 minutes from Harbourfront Tower 2. I will like to thank Jiafa & Peifen from YES 93.3, and Jewel Box for the invitation.
Rating given:
Finally made the journey west to Two Chefs Eating Place, after reading about it a couple of months back in the Straits Times. Housed in a small coffeeshop in a rather remote part of Commonwealth, the place is rather small and tables are limited. Apparently the crowd starts coming in at about 6pm so get there before 6 or be prepared to wait.
Radish Soup - We started off with the radish soup, which wasn't on the menu. Light and mildly sweet, noticeably from the use of monosodium glutamate (MSG). Nice but excessive drinking is certainly not encouraged.
Butter Ribs - The butter ribs were a misnomer really. Ribs should come with bones, shouldn't they? But I'm definitely not complaining. The meat was tender without being fibrous or soft. What was interesting was the fact that the meat was coated with a concoction of cheese flakes, a dash of sugar and a sprinkling of curry leaves - Nice and sweet with a mild hint of spiciness, belying a smooth cheesy sensation with that tinge of curry aftertaste.
Stir Fried Broccoli with Garlic - This was your regular stir fried broccoli fried with tons of chopped garlic. Decent but a wee bit too soft and overcooked for my liking.
Beancurd with Golden Mushroom - I didn't think too highly of this dish though the tofu was smooth but rather bland and lacked silkiness. The sauce had lots of golden mushroom and minced meat but was weirdly sweet instead of savoury.
Hor Fun - The lowlight (as opposed to highlight. Ha Ha Ha. Corny I know) of the entire meal, the hor fun appeared rather slip shod. They were all clumped together and lacked any discernible wok hei taste. The pork and shrimp didn't taste fresh either. On a healthier note, there were lots of vegetables though.
At 50 cents shy of $34 for 3 pax, I wouldn't say it was expensive. However, only the butter ribs were good while the other dishes hovered around the average mark or faded into obscurity. Throw in the queues and I doubt I'll return, especially since the place is halfway across the island for me. But if I do, it will only be for the butter ribs.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
We tried out the new Pasta Perfetto at Bukit Timah branch Pizza Hut.
I ordered a Fish in Tomato Cream Sauce (their signature Pasta Perfetto Specialty Pasta dish – $11.90). Pizza Hut describes this dish as “Crispy fried fish fillet on a bed of spaghetti gets a refreshing spin with a unique blend of tangy pomodoro and white cream sauces.“
We also ordered a Prawn Aglio Olio ($7.50) – This is the perfect choice if you love the mild spicy kick that comes with fresh prawns on spaghetti with olive oil, freshly crushed garlic and sliced chilli padi.
The Fish in Tomato Cream Sauce Pasta looks very appealing presentation-wise. Another plus is its strong cream sauce smell that makes you want to dive straight into it. Mix well and you are good to go for a yummy pasta meal.
The Aglio Olio was spicy and the prawn was very fresh – very appetising as well. For an additional $5, you can upgrade your meal to include a soft drink, 3 roasted chicken wings and the soup of the day.
Our total bill for 2 comes up to $19.90 for 2 pasta, 3 roasted chicken wings, 1 soft drink and soup of the day. Quite reasonable thanks to the HSBC 1-for-1 Pasta Perfetto Offer.
Service at Bukit Timah Branch Pizza Hut was so-so. I think they are short-handed thus service was rather slow coupled with the fact that there were a lot of customers then. Nonetheless the service staff were polite and understand the product and credit card promotions well.
Rating given:
One of the best places to savor Japanese food is Sakae Sushi. It serves fresh sushi and a wide variety of meals ranging from teppanyaki to even tempura ice-cream, all at very affordable prices. Another plus point is its many outlets located all around Singapore, especially the Woodlands branch which is just beside a MRT station.
I like the Woodlands branch the best, not just because of its proximity to my house, but also its excellent use of natural lighting to brighten up the place, unlike other restaurants which make use of strong and bright light-bulbs that only makes you sweat as you eat.
The Chicken Katsu Cheese Yaki should be ate with the mini-salad on the side for the optimum eating experience. Only $6.99 and very filling (perhaps due to the thick cheese)
The Tempura Ice-Cream is just unique – a bit like fried ice-cream but a healthier version (not too oily). The servings are surprisingly big and it cost just $3.99.
The staff were also friendly and efficient - our orders took less than 10 minutes to arrive, just nice as we were indulging in other sushi on the conveyer belt.
Rating given:
I visited the Night Safari during the 2009 Halloween Horror special. They had done a good job in keeping the Halloween atmosphere within the park by dressing up their staff in gruesome costumes and playing the role of various scary characters from bedtime stories gone wrong.
The Train of Horror tour covered the normal route (which you can see the nocturnal animals carrying out their daily activities) a special route (through the Gate of Neverland) where the staff dressed in scary costumes will scare you.
The tour was very well-done and the staff in-character. What might irked most people is the long queues (not Night Safari's fault that they are so popular). Proper crowd control is in place.
One other part of Night Safari is the Hourly Animal Performances. Very interesting and educational. However, be prepared for queues here too (come at least 20 minutes before the show).
More scary pictures and info here (**spoilers alert**): http://www.passportchop.com/asia/singapore/night-safari-halloween-horrors-tour-review/
Rating given:
It probably seems that I belong to the live-to-eat camp, everything I do revolve around food and that includes tweeting. And you probably envy me for the feasts and good food that I have all the time, right? Actually not quite. The truth is, there are many times where I get sick of everything.
Initially I thought it was because I had too much good food – that my taste buds were numbed so I didn’t even feel excited, not even when there’s so many delicacy in front of me, But really, it’s a lot more serious than that. My problem is nutella. I can give up everything when there’s chocolate hazelnut around, all I need is white bread, no I don’t even need bread – I eat nutella from the jar.
I will never forget that fateful day, flashed back many many years ago; I was young and inquisitive, which was not a good combination. I saw a jar with white lid on the table, it smelt good, and I wondered if it tasted as good. So out of curiosity, I turned the top and stuck my finger into the dreamily sexual-looking spread. My shoulders shuddered as I carefully placed my thumb that had the glossy, brown spread, into my mouth. It tasted like chocolate, and there’s something nutty about it. And I felt like I was in heaven, and you know what? I still feel the same way, every single time when I have it. Nutella is sex, no, nutella is even better than that.
It’s one of those defining moments in life where you know everything will never be the same again. I blame nutella for everything.
As we entered the place, my eyes scanned through the menu and I knew immediately what to order – nutella tart. The thing about it was, you can never go wrong with nutella, unless, you put too little of it. And here, they manage to grasp this simple, yet profound logic. They drizzled tons and tons of nutella with the tart; the half-melted chocolate hazelnut on top of a oreo-based tart, perfect! I enjoyed every bite of it, and it tasted even better when you shared it. We also had the vanilla eclair, while it was pretty good, but it pales in comparison beside the nutella tart.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
The plan was simple. We would go to Ah Yat Tian Xia at Orchard Central on its opening weekend to take advantage of its seemingly value for money premium sets (abalone and the likes). Alas, it was not meant to be as the place was fully booked. Not wanting to abandon our abalone plans, we settled for Rama Thai instead, which was also offering premium items at a discount.
The restaurant is located amongst a row of shophouses along the winding Tanjong Pagar Road. Decor is simple and reminds me more of a pub then a restaurant, but that may be due to the fact that there was a sizeable bar counter at the side. Capacity peaks at about 50 pax or so.
Australia Whole Abalone - The abalone was probably 8 head and quite well prepared if I may say. There wasn't the noticable raw taste that I personally dislike and carried lots of bite without coming across as too chewy or hard. The gravy didn't threaten to overwhelm either by being overly starchy.
Sharks Fin with Crabmeat - Apparently a signature of the restaurant (it's in the name), the soup was light without being too laden on the starch but could have done with a pinch less salt. The fins were decent size pieces (probably not dorsal fins) that came across as a wee bit too soft for my liking. The upside to it was the very generous portion size and the amount of crab meat that went into the soup. Decently nice and filling.
Asparagus with Prawns - The asparagus were of the larger variant, retaining its crunchiness by virtue of not being overcooked. Coupled with big, crunchy prawns and succulent mushrooms, I don't see anything to dislike about this dish.
Pork with Gingko Nuts - I liked this dish quite a fair bit. Simple yet tasty. The pork came in rather large slices and carried a mild chewy texture, dipped in light saltiness. The gingko nuts gave it a healthier connotation, not that they tasted bad or anything. Just a small lesser known fact that I thought I would share. Pork is actually white meat, not red meat as most people would think.
Rama Thai Fried Rice - A little too oily and bland was the first thought that came to mind after I popped a spoonful of rice into my mouth. However, credit has to be given for the mild wok hei (could have done with more though) that the rice emanated as well as the ingredients that went into the dish - cashew nuts, prawns and crab meat.
Birds Nest - There was a 1 for 1 promotion on the birds nest and we couldn't resist the temptation to treat ourselves with this sweet Chinese delicacy. Honestly, at $30/bowl ($15 after 1 for 1), I hardly think it was worth it. It was quite a small bowl and the nest came in bits and pieces, unlike the good quality ones which come in one huge piece. But as the old Chinese adage goes, 一汾钱一汾货, so no grouses.
See all my pictures here.
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It has been a long time since I last step foot here, my family used to refer Holiday Inn Atrium as “the black glass hotel”.
The air was sucked out of the room when the salad lobster ($9 per 100g) appeared; her sheer beauty took our breathe away, and for the next few second, we were wondering what to do, then one of us took a pair of chopstick and took a bite. And then the whole lobster was gone in a flash.
When in a Chinese restaurant, roasted pork is always a good indicator of the standard of the food. Unfortunately it was sold out when we went for dinner that night, but luckily we still had the suckling pig ($80 for half). Beneath the crispy skin, was the most delicious roasted pig ever, but it was the layer of fats in between that’s so sinful, but good!
I finally found a sweet & sour pork ($16) that’s good enough. I’ve been looking for one to satisfy the sweet-sour-pork-fan-in-me, and I must say Xin Cuisine’s rendition was done nicely; the crunchy pork was coated in the glossy sweet & sour sauce. The sweetness was further enhanced with the addition of lychee and apple instead of just the typical pineapple and cucumber.
And when we thought the salad lobster was good, the baked lobster with foie gras was even better. Thick, creamy mayonnaise sauce with generous chunks of foie gras, baked with the fresh, juicy crustacean. Just the thought of foie gras, and lobster, swoon! You get the idea.
Using the same sauce as the baked lobster with foie gras; the cod fish (not on the usual menu) was nicely seared on the outside and you could taste the freshness inside. We eyed it for a while and then we dug in. Removing the ginger garnish, I shoveled a corner of the fish into my mouth in one bite. The cod was perfect; it tasted good on its own, but it’s even better when we had it together with the sauce.
The Salted crusted baked Kampung chicken ($48 for whole chicken) was specially prepared in advance, and from what I understand, the difference between the normal bred chicken and kampung chicken was that while the former was caged up feeding on grains everyday, the latter gets to “run about” and exercise, which made the meat more tender and tasty.
And the main draw of the kampung chicken here was the infusion of the salted crusted into the chicken, and although it’s meant to be done this way, but we felt that it was slightly too salty for our liking.
First thoughts, the Braised 5-head abalone ($36) looks amazing. Drizzled with superior oyster sauce, there’s a reason why abalone is one of the top delicacy in Chinese cuisine. The abalone was braised until it was so soft, yet retaining a chewiness texture. It was good!
Since I had deep-fried ice cream before, I wasn’t so fascinated this time round. But still we couldn’t help not ordering it as it’s on the menu anyway. A split second into the pot of oil, was all it need for this beauty. Any longer and it would be ruin.
And since it’s the Mid-Autumn festival, we had some mooncakes too!
You like chocolate? You like mooncakes too? So how about some Mini snowskin mooncake with Champagne chocolate and pandan ($40 for 6 mini pcs)? Champagne chocolate centre with a pandan flavoured lotus paste – it’s one of those things that you either love it, or hate it.
On first look, I thought that this was the traditional mooncake with lotus paste, but it was not. Creamy moist custard filling is wrapped around a salted egg yolk and yum – I like custard! A sprinkle of edible gold flakes makes it irresistible, it’s a sin to eat something so pretty. Xin’s Mini special egg custard mooncake with egg yolk ($42 for 6 mini pcs)
The vibrant purplish blue snowskin made it very outstanding, and no, it’s not coloured flavourings. The blue pea flower was used to naturally infused and produce the beautiful colour. My family absolutely adored the Mini snowskin Peranakan mooncake with durian ($42 for 6 mini pcs); two mini mooncakes are definitely not enough for durian lovers.
My folks enjoyed the dinner of course; lobster with foie gras, suckling pig, abalone, I’m hungry now just by looking at the photos. I will probably go back to Xin Cuisine again, to try out their dim sum (it wasn’t available during dinner time).
My appreciation to Lynda from DBS, Cherylene & Seema from Eurorscg, and the Ivy & her staff from Xin Cuisine for the food tasting session.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
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Steamboat is usually an annual affair for me during the Chinese new year; it always reminded me of the reunion of family and friends.
There’s different packages for steamboat, but all of them are not exactly cheap, a family of four will probably need to spend 100 upwards for dinner, and besides steamboat, there’s also ala carte menu to order from. There’s the usual vegetables, prawns, crabs, and seafood ingredients, and we had chicken stock as our soup base. And we had the steamboat with chicken rice instead of just normal white rice
And there’s of course Hainanese chicken to go along; smooth tender meat with the fragrant chicken rice, this was the reason why we didn’t have much room left for the steamboat ingredients later.
And there’s of course Hainanese chicken to go along; smooth tender meat with the fragrant chicken rice, this was the reason why we didn’t have much room left for the steamboat ingredients later.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Yo Kanye, I’m really happy for you, and I’m gonna let you finish, but Udders has one of the best waffles of all times…
At least for now, until I find a better one.
Until now, I have always been a big fan of haato’s waffles, but now that I’ve discover about Udders, I’m not so sure anymore. I remember my first visit to haato a year ago; it was one of the moments which changed my humble opinion of waffles, and ever since then I never look back. I had others, which were overly priced and not fantastic. So I kept going back to the secret hideout at Ridgewood for a few more time and I never shared the place with you for fear that it might get over-crowded until recently.
Well, to put it this way, Haato’s waffles are still above the rest, but the problem is Udders is even better, and cheaper at $2.50 compared to $4. My grumble is their waffles are too thick nowadays, if my memory didn’t failed me, it used to be thinner and crispier back in the good O’ days.
Waffles make me happy. I’m difficult to please. Whatever.
If specks of vanilla beans doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what else will. Like one of those things which you will never be able to explain – I’m damn excited each and every time I see the tiny specks of vanilla seeds. There’s this natural vanilla flavour which beats the articifical vanilla essence hands down. I love it!
Memories are the best thing about life, be it sad or happy, they will always be there, although some seem to fade away slowly. Well I had fond memories of the Pure Pistachio, so we resisted ordering hazelnut flavour, which would be overbearing with vanilla beans. You could feel the bits of grounded nuts within the robust pistachio ice cream!
Wow! I can’t believe the waffle is so good. This is awesome. Resist from ordering another one, I’m going to tell everybody about it. Oh, how about haato? And then ouch, my beautiful memory is fading away.
Desserts make me happy, at least temporary, until the magic worn off, and then it’s time to eat it again. They are your best friends, and will always be there for you.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
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