Yup.. This is a tiny store however it is one of the few stores that has the skinny pig for sale.. Though crazily over-priced, this skinny naked pig is super adorable. It makes me think that a rodent could really look like a piggy, perhaps thats why its called guinea pig. The service is not too bad and I could always find the things i want however just find them pricey still. I however like the free delivery service they offer when you hit something like S$50. It is a great service, as i need to hold on to a super heavy bag of 12KG cat's litter up my house.
You can find most brands of cat's, dog's, small animals like guinea pig, hamster's, rabbits and fish food here. The staff there are pretty knowledgeble, however you do not get to hold or touch the pets. I always feel i must have some what a rapport with my pet first before i buy them. If we don't enjoy each other's company, then i think its tough to get along. Therefore i think physical contact is important when you wanna buy a pet. As its definitely a long term commitment. For all the PETS LOVERS out there. Cheers for being a good mummy and daddy to you sayangs........
Singapore's hectic pace of life has led many in search of a respite in the few remaining green lungs of our concrete city state. And I was no exception, jumping at the opportunity to take refuge one weekend morning in the lush greenery surrounding Mimo (formerly known as Mimolette) just off Bukit Timah Saddle Club.
If it's your first time to Mimo, it can get a little tricky as Fairways Drive is a small slip road off Eng Neo Ave and to get to Mimo, you need to go through the saddle club so watch out for the horses! The interior and furnishing is reminiscent of a quirky black and white pop up book (where the pictures pop up when you flip the pages). Most interesting.
Poached Egg & Crispy Bacon Salad - Stiff bacon, fresh greens and an overly cooked poached egg - nothing impressive, coming across as average at best and something I could easily whip up at home myself.
Streaky Bacon - As with the bacon found in the salad, this was grilled to a stiff crisp. From the looks and taste of it, it probably came straight from a packet off the supermarket shelf.
Sauteed Mushrooms - Served up with onions, the mushrooms were tasty but overly oily. Kinda icky to be chowing down slicker than normal mushrooms honestly.
Croque Madame - Yet another lacklustre dish, the brioche wasn't flaky or buttery enough and the whole thing tasted like McDonald's egg Mcmuffin. Not that I dislike egg Mcmuffins or anything but 15 bucks is a little too much to pay for fast food wouldn't you think so?
Mimo Beef Burger - I had high hopes for the burger but as pretty as it looked, it failed to impress. Topped with sun dried tomatoes and a layer of parmesan crisp, that's where the compliments end. The patty seemed to be machine chopped from its texture and was a little dry and bland. The buns were run off the mill but I personally took to the side of sweet potato and purple potato chips, which were lightly seasoned with salt for an undeniable indulgence.
French Toasts - I secretly hoped that desserts would salvage the situation and they did, to a certain extent. The french toasts were rather spongy on the inside yet a little crisp along the edges with a hint of cinnamon. Add a dollop of butter and some honey and you are all set! Far from being the best I've had, but relatively a gem at Mimo.
Coconut Pancakes - The pancakes were nicely crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside with coconut shreds in attendance. The honey was decent but a little too watered down in my humble opinion.
The respite, albeit brief, was much appreciated. I can't say the same for the food and price though, having spent just over $160 for brunch for 3. Food in general was average at best but desserts performed a little better, weighing in at just slightly above average. Service was okay but a little clueless at times. With such a value proposition, I can hardly find any reason to return. Can you?
Yoz.... This place is my childhood night time hang-outs.... Its not crowded, as you see after so long, nobody reviews it, however the place is still there.
Its a pretty nice place, concrete floors and sheltered, so no worries if it rains. Mosquitos, a few, so do bring along your sprays. Its a pretty safe place to hang out until after mid night and there are some snacks you can buy to munch down. Everything is provided for there. You could rent a rod for an hour or two, some dead see hum (cockles) or fresh meat will be given to you as bait with a small knife and plate for you to arrange your baits. Choose a nice spot with a net hanging at the side, be sure to check that the net don't belong to someone and there you are, your very own space for the next few hours.
Prawn catching is exciting... you watch the float go down and feels the nibbling of the line and then with one strong tug backwards, be sure the hook gets caught in the prawn and slowly haul it back while fighting not to loosen the hook. Prawns are usually larger in the head for better catch, some of those can get so huge that they look like baby lobsters with 2 long princers. Remove the hook and place them in the net. There you go... your first prawn catch... When u catch enough of those prawns, you could startup the Barbeque and have them eaten fresh from the stove... Its really pretty exciting and entertaining. When you finish, you could bring back the prawns in a nice bag, the trophy of your expedition.
Grabbing a cab there and back is a must. Theres a bus that goes to jurong bird park, just opposite the place however when its late, do call for a cab... waiting by the road is far and not efficient. Call a cab and you could tell them jurong bird park, they are sure to come by. Its still better then telling them.. i'm at this some place in yishun, bare ground with no road signs or some buildings you could mention...... all in all, a great place to hang for something different as the usual movies and dinner dates.....
Fancy a long weekday lunch with abit of fun... This is the place to go. With lunch served at a good price and a huge drink to go along with it, you get to have an hour or two hours of boardgame fun.
They have all sorts of boardgames there, even those I couldn't buy from takashimaya, they have it. Its really great to have so many choices of games to choose from without having to own any of them. Boardgames are like antiques. You get to show them off, have some fun with them at rare occasions when some friends gathers however antiques have a resale price and board games just grow older, dusty and tattered and torn with usage.
Playing boardgames are fun, in a very different way as computer games or sports. You don't need gym clothes or special sport equipment, you don't get to blame on the slow internet connection speed or PC speed or even a miscommunication. Board games make you come together have some real fun with real people watching each others facial expressions and reactions with each move and smelling their sweat and anxieties.
Though food was just the standard kind; fish and chips, chicken cutlet, some local fare and finger food, yet thats not the main thing.... Its a place for friends and family members to gather around, have some human fun while munching on junk without lossing a tooth or breaking a leg.
Its the place for some real fun.... If you haven't tried it.. you must find some time for it. If you already been there, then you must go there again with your friends. No friends? ask me lor..... Real Fun for REAL PEOPLE....
It really is not a very big place... somewhat tucked in between the many other buildings. One might not even thought that a safra club sits in the vacinity until an foreigner friend asked "what is that?". With no facilities like swimming pool, KTV area, restaurants and other game rooms, no wonder its called a town club. Town club are suppose to offer town stuffs.... But being in town has its perks too.. You could hang there while waiting for your friends or just to rest your legs, do somethings that you fancy while your wife or girlfriends shop nearby.
So, me and a safra member friend went to the club... Its just a place for computer games, pool and billard. Not a bad place to hang and prices are subsidised for safra members. Though there are many pool and billard places around, but its pretty great to have one that you have membership with them. Being a friend of a life safra membership holder, it is my responsibility to help him make good use of the membership and its perks.... So check out if your friend holds a safra membership, most ns man are members.... (that means... you at least got a 50% chance to meet a member)
It used to the best hangout place until i spot some cheap skinny uncles trying to show off their skinny *pride and honor* in their itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow translucent swimming trunks; or whichever pale colours they choose. They would just hang by the main pool suntanning and watching the girls tanning and walking by them, in and out of the pool to wet themselves and swerve by them again :( oh goodness........
I've even seen one with a white swimming trunks with just a tiny patch of black in front... oh for goodness sakes, stop thinking that we women and the vain showy kind.... see... man also the same.... With all that just happening by the main pool, the other parts of the pool is great.
My favourite... the lazy river... one could just rent a inflatable ring to sit on all day while the river brings you through obstacles like rainy water, caves, waterfalls and etc. Except that sometimes the calmness might be disturbed by some crazy teens doing crazy stuffs.... but.... we've all been through that stage, i ought to learn to be more understanding and try not to let them disturb my peace and fun....
The wave pool is great too.... Fancy being swept around by pool water that don't taste too salty and no sea weeds entangling your feet. I love best being on my inflated tube swept away by the waves while feeling the icy cool rain falling on my back on a hot sunny afternoon... That is the most wonderous feeling one could have.
Though the place and the facilities are already a little run down, however the place is still pretty clean and acceptably functional. Most importantly it is affordable and has a KFC for my hunger pangs....
California Fitness is somewhat an interesting place for those who love fitness as well as need a place to hang out now and then. For a good price (as compared to the other mega gyms around), cali (california in short), you get to go for various fitness classes, speed down the hill on a bike with hot music and an instructor pumping down your ears with encouragements that guarantees you walking like ducks later...
Cali do have a good range of gym equipment and the bugis outlet i pretty like it as they do have a boxing ring area for those who like to down the bags once in a while. Cardio area is downstairs and upstairs you get to pump up those muscles and have a great view of muscle marys and skinny joes... If you feel bored, this is a great place to hang out. You really get to see some regular people acting differently as you normally would see. Cranging sounds of weights banging against each other, hmphing sound of raising loads and shouts of victory as well as encouraging comments such as " touch your muscle.. Is it so hard....."
This is indeed a great place to hang out... not only to spend sometime with the body you battle with everyday, i think it somewhat is therapeutic to be invisible for a while, minding your own business and doing some workout soaking in an environment of positivity towards life.
All in all, cali is a wonderful place to hang out though the personal trainers and recruiters can be irritating when they hustle you and the steel stairway up to level 2 can be a pain in the @$$. Otherwise, all is pretty nice there...
Arranged to meet up with a friend over dinner at Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine (or ITFCC for short), purportedly the crème de la crème of the Imperial Treasure group of restaurants, which of course explains the choice of location - Marina Bay Sands.
Situated alongside the celebrity restaurants on the second floor of the Marina Bay Sands shopping arcade, ITFCC's decor is reminiscent of its sister restaurant, Imperial Treasure Cantonese - modern classical with lots of glass and sombre colours.
Roasted Pork - We started off with a well known dish from the Imperial Treasure group - roasted pork, which had a good fat to meat ratio with a crisp top. Unfortunately, it wasn't served warm and that marred the experience quite a bit.
Roasted Duck - Roast goose wasn't in the menu so we had to make do with duck instead. Lean crisp skin coupled with succulent and not too gamy flesh made for a good eat. I still prefer goose though.
Sauteed Prawns with Italian White Truffle Oil - My usual order of scallops was out so the wait staff recommended substituting with prawn balls, which on paper, sounded equally enticing. But in reality, the truffle oil just didn't gel that well with the prawns however huge and crunchy they were.
Four Types of Vegetables with Oyster Sauce - Basically the kitchen chooses what four varieties of vegetables you will be getting based on what's available on that particular day. Served up with slightly starchy oyster sauce. Decent.
Yong Chow Fried Rice - Apart from the plentiful prawns and char siew (BBQ pork), I couldn't find any other reasons to like this dish. Lacking in wok hei and tasting flat throughout, the fried rice looked the part but failed to deliver.
Durian Pudding - A sweet and smooth ending to the meal and probably the highlight of the dinner. At least the quality was consistent with what I had at Imperial Treasure Cantonese.
We could barely walk after the meal. Heck, we could barely even finish the meal, all at a cost of about $130 for 2. Going by what we ordered, that's not exactly cheap and I certainly wouldn't consider it value for money for the quality of food. Don't get me wrong, the meal wasn't bad. In fact it was above average but personally I just felt it didn't warrant such a price tag. Especially since Imperial Treasure Cantonese @ Crowne Plaza can produce better food at that price point.
Michelin starred Daniel Boulud recently opened a branch of his award winning DB Bistro Moderne (originally from New York), at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore. This top rated French- American bistro, in the words of Daniel Boulud, aims to provide Singaporeans with a "convivial, delicious and affordable" experience.
The place is reminiscent of a typical Parisian bistro with its "sidewalk" seating and striking red booth seats at the corner. Coupled with dark tones and cream backed chairs, the whole setting presented itself as soothing with a tinge of formalness. And tables are spaced far apart enough to ensure privacy during conversation, but get the booth seats if you can or the "sidewalk" seats if you are somewhat of a voyeur or enjoy being gawked at.
The Original DB Burger - Is it just me or is the size of the patty a little on the large side? Alright, large is a ridiculous understatement. The entire burger looked absolutely lopsided in favour of the beef (no complaints though!) and the buns, nothing more than puny pieces of window dressing. I asked for my patty to be done medium and it honestly looked rare but I attribute that to the sirloin short ribs being braised in red wine. Taste wise, the patty had the makings of a good burger - inherent beefy taste, juicy with bits of fat and a nice mildly uneven texture. It's only pitfall(s)? The absence of any foie gras taste (I see it, but I don't taste it) and the copious amount of salt that went into it. I like salt but trust me, this was salty. Not salty enough to keep me and my continuously refilled glass of iced water from polishing up every last morsel of it though. Ironically, the fries could have done with some salt but I guess the serving of mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup sufficed.
Profiteroles au Cafe - I am quite a fan of this classic French dessert and when I learnt that it was going to be drenched in chocolate syrup, I was sold instantly! And boy oh boy, was it drenched in chocolate. The profiteroles were stuffed with coffee rocky road ice cream, marshmallows, nuts and covered with a thin layer of chocolate. Hot chocolate sauce was then poured slowly over to melt the chocolate and coat the profiteroles were a thick layer of decadent, happiness inducing chocolate syrup. The richness of chocolate coupled with a smooth strong coffee taste - very good. Just don't consume too much as it might prove overwhelming hence the magic number of 3 per serving (I ate 4 and it really got to me).
On my part, I paid about $62 for a belly bursting brunch in a nice environment, great company and great service. My burger was decent, just too salty but the profiteroles were sinfully good. I'm not sure the burger warrants the hefty price tag of $38 though, seeing that I can probably get similar quality at Mortons and Spruce at a lower price or a significantly higher value ratio at Smokinn Frogz. However, if you are of the opinion that $38 is small change, you are more than welcome to indulge in it and for something more luxurious, there is the black truffle variant, which costs a cool $88 and is available only during dinner.
Amici, which means friends in Italian, has been around for quite a while but we've never really gotten down to trying it even though there have been quite a number of favourable reviews circulating around on the internet. That changed when we popped by the Holland Village area to buy some baking supplies and decided to give Amici a shot.
Finding the place takes some navigation skills as the place around it seems to be under construction which makes it hard to see the place until you actually walk near it. There is a small al fresco area but I wouldn't recommend that especially if you go in the afternoon and with all the construction going on. The seemingly narrow air conditioned interior lets loose a cosy vibe but watch out for the too close for comfort table spacing and the unforgiving air circulation system which will have you smelling of food within minutes.
Complimentary Bread - We got off to a nice start with the warm and crusty complimentary bread that had pockets of what seemed like cranberries. Mildly sweet and comforting.
Carbonara - The carbonara wasn't al dente but on the upside, it didn't come across as too rich which toned down the nausea inducing factor. The plentiful bacon pieces were a plus as well.
Squid Ink Pasta - Apparently a specialty at Amici, the squid ink pasta was the drenched in squid ink variant, not the made from squid ink kind, of which the latter I personally prefer. I could make out a noticeable tartness in the pasta ( I assume they probably tossed the pasta in tomato sauce first before dunking it in squid ink) which did make it more appetising. What caught my attention was the delectable pieces of cod fish that were crisp on the outside and exuded a natural sweetness from within. There was also a generous serving of squid rings which served to up the chewy factor.
Tiramisu - The desserts were certainly the stars of the evening and it started with tiramisu, which had a great sponge to mascarpone ratio. The sponge wasn't overly soaked in coffee but where's the alcohol?! Still very good though and if there's any reason I'll return to Amici, this would be it!
Cappuccino Cake - I'm no big fan of coffee but this dessert surprised me. 5 layers of sponge compacted with a thin layer of wafer in between - firm in texture with a sweet hint of coffee. The ice cream that came alongside didn't gel with me though, seeing that it was literally milk solidified and came across as overpowering.
Through the use of a voucher, we had the cheaper main course free, which brought our bill to a more manageable $56 for a 2 pax lunch. Reasonable I may say, but I'll probably only be back for the desserts. Service was decent but then again, the place wasn't packed so it's probably not a good gauge.
1=SGD 0.0587
Yup.. This is a tiny store however it is one of the few stores that has the skinny pig for sale.. Though crazily over-priced, this skinny naked pig is super adorable. It makes me think that a rodent could really look like a piggy, perhaps thats why its called guinea pig. The service is not too bad and I could always find the things i want however just find them pricey still. I however like the free delivery service they offer when you hit something like S$50. It is a great service, as i need to hold on to a super heavy bag of 12KG cat's litter up my house.
You can find most brands of cat's, dog's, small animals like guinea pig, hamster's, rabbits and fish food here. The staff there are pretty knowledgeble, however you do not get to hold or touch the pets. I always feel i must have some what a rapport with my pet first before i buy them. If we don't enjoy each other's company, then i think its tough to get along. Therefore i think physical contact is important when you wanna buy a pet. As its definitely a long term commitment. For all the PETS LOVERS out there. Cheers for being a good mummy and daddy to you sayangs........
Rating given:
Singapore's hectic pace of life has led many in search of a respite in the few remaining green lungs of our concrete city state. And I was no exception, jumping at the opportunity to take refuge one weekend morning in the lush greenery surrounding Mimo (formerly known as Mimolette) just off Bukit Timah Saddle Club.
If it's your first time to Mimo, it can get a little tricky as Fairways Drive is a small slip road off Eng Neo Ave and to get to Mimo, you need to go through the saddle club so watch out for the horses! The interior and furnishing is reminiscent of a quirky black and white pop up book (where the pictures pop up when you flip the pages). Most interesting.
Poached Egg & Crispy Bacon Salad - Stiff bacon, fresh greens and an overly cooked poached egg - nothing impressive, coming across as average at best and something I could easily whip up at home myself.
Streaky Bacon - As with the bacon found in the salad, this was grilled to a stiff crisp. From the looks and taste of it, it probably came straight from a packet off the supermarket shelf.
Sauteed Mushrooms - Served up with onions, the mushrooms were tasty but overly oily. Kinda icky to be chowing down slicker than normal mushrooms honestly.
Croque Madame - Yet another lacklustre dish, the brioche wasn't flaky or buttery enough and the whole thing tasted like McDonald's egg Mcmuffin. Not that I dislike egg Mcmuffins or anything but 15 bucks is a little too much to pay for fast food wouldn't you think so?
Mimo Beef Burger - I had high hopes for the burger but as pretty as it looked, it failed to impress. Topped with sun dried tomatoes and a layer of parmesan crisp, that's where the compliments end. The patty seemed to be machine chopped from its texture and was a little dry and bland. The buns were run off the mill but I personally took to the side of sweet potato and purple potato chips, which were lightly seasoned with salt for an undeniable indulgence.
French Toasts - I secretly hoped that desserts would salvage the situation and they did, to a certain extent. The french toasts were rather spongy on the inside yet a little crisp along the edges with a hint of cinnamon. Add a dollop of butter and some honey and you are all set! Far from being the best I've had, but relatively a gem at Mimo.
Coconut Pancakes - The pancakes were nicely crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside with coconut shreds in attendance. The honey was decent but a little too watered down in my humble opinion.
The respite, albeit brief, was much appreciated. I can't say the same for the food and price though, having spent just over $160 for brunch for 3. Food in general was average at best but desserts performed a little better, weighing in at just slightly above average. Service was okay but a little clueless at times. With such a value proposition, I can hardly find any reason to return. Can you?
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Yoz.... This place is my childhood night time hang-outs.... Its not crowded, as you see after so long, nobody reviews it, however the place is still there.
Its a pretty nice place, concrete floors and sheltered, so no worries if it rains. Mosquitos, a few, so do bring along your sprays. Its a pretty safe place to hang out until after mid night and there are some snacks you can buy to munch down. Everything is provided for there. You could rent a rod for an hour or two, some dead see hum (cockles) or fresh meat will be given to you as bait with a small knife and plate for you to arrange your baits. Choose a nice spot with a net hanging at the side, be sure to check that the net don't belong to someone and there you are, your very own space for the next few hours.
Prawn catching is exciting... you watch the float go down and feels the nibbling of the line and then with one strong tug backwards, be sure the hook gets caught in the prawn and slowly haul it back while fighting not to loosen the hook. Prawns are usually larger in the head for better catch, some of those can get so huge that they look like baby lobsters with 2 long princers. Remove the hook and place them in the net. There you go... your first prawn catch... When u catch enough of those prawns, you could startup the Barbeque and have them eaten fresh from the stove... Its really pretty exciting and entertaining. When you finish, you could bring back the prawns in a nice bag, the trophy of your expedition.
Grabbing a cab there and back is a must. Theres a bus that goes to jurong bird park, just opposite the place however when its late, do call for a cab... waiting by the road is far and not efficient. Call a cab and you could tell them jurong bird park, they are sure to come by. Its still better then telling them.. i'm at this some place in yishun, bare ground with no road signs or some buildings you could mention...... all in all, a great place to hang for something different as the usual movies and dinner dates.....
Rating given:
Fancy a long weekday lunch with abit of fun... This is the place to go. With lunch served at a good price and a huge drink to go along with it, you get to have an hour or two hours of boardgame fun.
They have all sorts of boardgames there, even those I couldn't buy from takashimaya, they have it. Its really great to have so many choices of games to choose from without having to own any of them. Boardgames are like antiques. You get to show them off, have some fun with them at rare occasions when some friends gathers however antiques have a resale price and board games just grow older, dusty and tattered and torn with usage.
Playing boardgames are fun, in a very different way as computer games or sports. You don't need gym clothes or special sport equipment, you don't get to blame on the slow internet connection speed or PC speed or even a miscommunication. Board games make you come together have some real fun with real people watching each others facial expressions and reactions with each move and smelling their sweat and anxieties.
Though food was just the standard kind; fish and chips, chicken cutlet, some local fare and finger food, yet thats not the main thing.... Its a place for friends and family members to gather around, have some human fun while munching on junk without lossing a tooth or breaking a leg.
Its the place for some real fun.... If you haven't tried it.. you must find some time for it. If you already been there, then you must go there again with your friends. No friends? ask me lor..... Real Fun for REAL PEOPLE....
Rating given:
It really is not a very big place... somewhat tucked in between the many other buildings. One might not even thought that a safra club sits in the vacinity until an foreigner friend asked "what is that?". With no facilities like swimming pool, KTV area, restaurants and other game rooms, no wonder its called a town club. Town club are suppose to offer town stuffs.... But being in town has its perks too.. You could hang there while waiting for your friends or just to rest your legs, do somethings that you fancy while your wife or girlfriends shop nearby.
So, me and a safra member friend went to the club... Its just a place for computer games, pool and billard. Not a bad place to hang and prices are subsidised for safra members. Though there are many pool and billard places around, but its pretty great to have one that you have membership with them. Being a friend of a life safra membership holder, it is my responsibility to help him make good use of the membership and its perks.... So check out if your friend holds a safra membership, most ns man are members.... (that means... you at least got a 50% chance to meet a member)
Rating given:
It used to the best hangout place until i spot some cheap skinny uncles trying to show off their skinny *pride and honor* in their itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow translucent swimming trunks; or whichever pale colours they choose. They would just hang by the main pool suntanning and watching the girls tanning and walking by them, in and out of the pool to wet themselves and swerve by them again :( oh goodness........
I've even seen one with a white swimming trunks with just a tiny patch of black in front... oh for goodness sakes, stop thinking that we women and the vain showy kind.... see... man also the same.... With all that just happening by the main pool, the other parts of the pool is great.
My favourite... the lazy river... one could just rent a inflatable ring to sit on all day while the river brings you through obstacles like rainy water, caves, waterfalls and etc. Except that sometimes the calmness might be disturbed by some crazy teens doing crazy stuffs.... but.... we've all been through that stage, i ought to learn to be more understanding and try not to let them disturb my peace and fun....
The wave pool is great too.... Fancy being swept around by pool water that don't taste too salty and no sea weeds entangling your feet. I love best being on my inflated tube swept away by the waves while feeling the icy cool rain falling on my back on a hot sunny afternoon... That is the most wonderous feeling one could have.
Though the place and the facilities are already a little run down, however the place is still pretty clean and acceptably functional. Most importantly it is affordable and has a KFC for my hunger pangs....
Rating given:
California Fitness is somewhat an interesting place for those who love fitness as well as need a place to hang out now and then. For a good price (as compared to the other mega gyms around), cali (california in short), you get to go for various fitness classes, speed down the hill on a bike with hot music and an instructor pumping down your ears with encouragements that guarantees you walking like ducks later...
Cali do have a good range of gym equipment and the bugis outlet i pretty like it as they do have a boxing ring area for those who like to down the bags once in a while. Cardio area is downstairs and upstairs you get to pump up those muscles and have a great view of muscle marys and skinny joes... If you feel bored, this is a great place to hang out. You really get to see some regular people acting differently as you normally would see. Cranging sounds of weights banging against each other, hmphing sound of raising loads and shouts of victory as well as encouraging comments such as " touch your muscle.. Is it so hard....."
This is indeed a great place to hang out... not only to spend sometime with the body you battle with everyday, i think it somewhat is therapeutic to be invisible for a while, minding your own business and doing some workout soaking in an environment of positivity towards life.
All in all, cali is a wonderful place to hang out though the personal trainers and recruiters can be irritating when they hustle you and the steel stairway up to level 2 can be a pain in the @$$. Otherwise, all is pretty nice there...
Rating given:
Arranged to meet up with a friend over dinner at Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine (or ITFCC for short), purportedly the crème de la crème of the Imperial Treasure group of restaurants, which of course explains the choice of location - Marina Bay Sands.
Situated alongside the celebrity restaurants on the second floor of the Marina Bay Sands shopping arcade, ITFCC's decor is reminiscent of its sister restaurant, Imperial Treasure Cantonese - modern classical with lots of glass and sombre colours.
Roasted Pork - We started off with a well known dish from the Imperial Treasure group - roasted pork, which had a good fat to meat ratio with a crisp top. Unfortunately, it wasn't served warm and that marred the experience quite a bit.
Roasted Duck - Roast goose wasn't in the menu so we had to make do with duck instead. Lean crisp skin coupled with succulent and not too gamy flesh made for a good eat. I still prefer goose though.
Sauteed Prawns with Italian White Truffle Oil - My usual order of scallops was out so the wait staff recommended substituting with prawn balls, which on paper, sounded equally enticing. But in reality, the truffle oil just didn't gel that well with the prawns however huge and crunchy they were.
Four Types of Vegetables with Oyster Sauce - Basically the kitchen chooses what four varieties of vegetables you will be getting based on what's available on that particular day. Served up with slightly starchy oyster sauce. Decent.
Yong Chow Fried Rice - Apart from the plentiful prawns and char siew (BBQ pork), I couldn't find any other reasons to like this dish. Lacking in wok hei and tasting flat throughout, the fried rice looked the part but failed to deliver.
Durian Pudding - A sweet and smooth ending to the meal and probably the highlight of the dinner. At least the quality was consistent with what I had at Imperial Treasure Cantonese.
We could barely walk after the meal. Heck, we could barely even finish the meal, all at a cost of about $130 for 2. Going by what we ordered, that's not exactly cheap and I certainly wouldn't consider it value for money for the quality of food. Don't get me wrong, the meal wasn't bad. In fact it was above average but personally I just felt it didn't warrant such a price tag. Especially since Imperial Treasure Cantonese @ Crowne Plaza can produce better food at that price point.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Michelin starred Daniel Boulud recently opened a branch of his award winning DB Bistro Moderne (originally from New York), at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore. This top rated French- American bistro, in the words of Daniel Boulud, aims to provide Singaporeans with a "convivial, delicious and affordable" experience.
The place is reminiscent of a typical Parisian bistro with its "sidewalk" seating and striking red booth seats at the corner. Coupled with dark tones and cream backed chairs, the whole setting presented itself as soothing with a tinge of formalness. And tables are spaced far apart enough to ensure privacy during conversation, but get the booth seats if you can or the "sidewalk" seats if you are somewhat of a voyeur or enjoy being gawked at.
The Original DB Burger -
Is it just me or is the size of the patty a little on the large side? Alright, large is a ridiculous understatement. The entire burger looked absolutely lopsided in favour of the beef (no complaints though!) and the buns, nothing more than puny pieces of window dressing. I asked for my patty to be done medium and it honestly looked rare but I attribute that to the sirloin short ribs being braised in red wine. Taste wise, the patty had the makings of a good burger - inherent beefy taste, juicy with bits of fat and a nice mildly uneven texture. It's only pitfall(s)? The absence of any foie gras taste (I see it, but I don't taste it) and the copious amount of salt that went into it. I like salt but trust me, this was salty. Not salty enough to keep me and my continuously refilled glass of iced water from polishing up every last morsel of it though. Ironically, the fries could have done with some salt but I guess the serving of mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup sufficed.
Profiteroles au Cafe - I am quite a fan of this classic French dessert and when I learnt that it was going to be drenched in chocolate syrup, I was sold instantly! And boy oh boy, was it drenched in chocolate. The profiteroles were stuffed with coffee rocky road ice cream, marshmallows, nuts and covered with a thin layer of chocolate. Hot chocolate sauce was then poured slowly over to melt the chocolate and coat the profiteroles were a thick layer of decadent, happiness inducing chocolate syrup. The richness of chocolate coupled with a smooth strong coffee taste - very good. Just don't consume too much as it might prove overwhelming hence the magic number of 3 per serving (I ate 4 and it really got to me).
On my part, I paid about $62 for a belly bursting brunch in a nice environment, great company and great service. My burger was decent, just too salty but the profiteroles were sinfully good. I'm not sure the burger warrants the hefty price tag of $38 though, seeing that I can probably get similar quality at Mortons and Spruce at a lower price or a significantly higher value ratio at Smokinn Frogz. However, if you are of the opinion that $38 is small change, you are more than welcome to indulge in it and for something more luxurious, there is the black truffle variant, which costs a cool $88 and is available only during dinner.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Amici, which means friends in Italian, has been around for quite a while but we've never really gotten down to trying it even though there have been quite a number of favourable reviews circulating around on the internet. That changed when we popped by the Holland Village area to buy some baking supplies and decided to give Amici a shot.
Finding the place takes some navigation skills as the place around it seems to be under construction which makes it hard to see the place until you actually walk near it. There is a small al fresco area but I wouldn't recommend that especially if you go in the afternoon and with all the construction going on. The seemingly narrow air conditioned interior lets loose a cosy vibe but watch out for the too close for comfort table spacing and the unforgiving air circulation system which will have you smelling of food within minutes.
Complimentary Bread - We got off to a nice start with the warm and crusty complimentary bread that had pockets of what seemed like cranberries. Mildly sweet and comforting.
Carbonara - The carbonara wasn't al dente but on the upside, it didn't come across as too rich which toned down the nausea inducing factor. The plentiful bacon pieces were a plus as well.
Squid Ink Pasta - Apparently a specialty at Amici, the squid ink pasta was the drenched in squid ink variant, not the made from squid ink kind, of which the latter I personally prefer. I could make out a noticeable tartness in the pasta ( I assume they probably tossed the pasta in tomato sauce first before dunking it in squid ink) which did make it more appetising. What caught my attention was the delectable pieces of cod fish that were crisp on the outside and exuded a natural sweetness from within. There was also a generous serving of squid rings which served to up the chewy factor.
Tiramisu - The desserts were certainly the stars of the evening and it started with tiramisu, which had a great sponge to mascarpone ratio. The sponge wasn't overly soaked in coffee but where's the alcohol?! Still very good though and if there's any reason I'll return to Amici, this would be it!
Cappuccino Cake - I'm no big fan of coffee but this dessert surprised me. 5 layers of sponge compacted with a thin layer of wafer in between - firm in texture with a sweet hint of coffee. The ice cream that came alongside didn't gel with me though, seeing that it was literally milk solidified and came across as overpowering.
Through the use of a voucher, we had the cheaper main course free, which brought our bill to a more manageable $56 for a 2 pax lunch. Reasonable I may say, but I'll probably only be back for the desserts. Service was decent but then again, the place wasn't packed so it's probably not a good gauge.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given: