Had been meaning to try out Teochew City for quite a while now so made it a point to head down one weekend evening for dinner. Owned and operated by the Prima group, which also owns the historic Prima Towering Revolving Restaurant, Teochew City is one of the pioneers of Teochew fine dining in Singapore and apparently serves quite good Teochew food, if the hearsays are to be trusted.
Located in a corner at the top floor of Centrepoint Shopping Centre, the restaurant cuts a lone figure amidst the retail shops in the mall. A huge signboard makes known the restaurant as soon as the escalator takes you up but human traffic on that level is probably too scarce to make much of a difference. The restaurant's interior is rather spacious and offers a view of live seafood swimming around in huge tanks by the side - very typical Chinese restaurant decor.
Crab Meat & Fish Maw Soup - The soup was tasty and not overly starchy with relatively generous amounts of crab meat and fish maw. However, drinking too much still can make you woozy. And $8 gets you a decent sized bowl.
Braised Goose - I doubt the ban on fresh goose meat has been lifted so this is probably frozen meat. Not that it mattered though, because it was handled quite well and the only slip was the mild dryness of the meat. Portions were also generous for a small serving.
Hong Kong Kailan with Mushrooms - The vegetables weren't overcooked while the sauce didn't come across as too starchy. Mushroom servings were generous and though not the most exciting vegetable dish I've had, no complains really.
Lobster and Prawn Balls - This dish featured prawn paste and fresh prawn molded into balls and deep fried till crisp. Nice but a tad too oily for my liking. The pièce de résistance however, was the egg white with lobster meat served alongside. Savoury without any hint of rawness and a nice smooth texture, complemented by the shreds of lobster meat within. Could have done with a pinch less salt though.
Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts and Pumpkin - The hallmark of Teochew desserts and its most famous one yet - the humble yet time consuming to produce yam paste. Fragrant with a spoonful of not too sweet syrup atop, the paste was smooth and thick. And I like my yam paste without coconut milk.
After a 10% discount, the 3 of us chalked up a bill of almost $125 ($138 without discount), which isn't exactly cheap but consider the quality of food and I reckon it's still reasonable. Service was good and the place provided a nice respite from the mad Orchard Road crowds on a weekend.
It seems to me that Orchard Central has quite a number of Japanese Restaurants, so much so that shoppers are totally spoilt for choice!
Anyhow, we decided on Tonkichi because firstly, it looked damn good. Secondly, there was a long queue, and thirdly, there were Japanese folks queuing to get a seat too. That's a definite indication that this place serves good Jap food, no?
They were famous for their Tonkatsu (fried pork fillet) so how could we pass that up?
Ok let's cut to the chase, here are the highlights of what we ordered:
Sashimi ($40 for 14 slices) Definitely not cheap, but pretty value for money? The slices were fresh, extremely thick and served cold. I'm a sucker for sashimi so this dish was gone in less than 5 minutes.
Oyster & Hire Katsu Set ($24) Served with rice, a mountain of shredded cabbage and miso soup was two big oysters and three slices of pork fillet, all fried to a crisp. Thankfully, it wasn't oily and the pork fillet was quite tender. Loved it!
Premium Rosu Katsu Set ($25) This is one big piece of pork loin pre-cut for your convenience, served with rice, shredded cabbage and miso soup. There really is a difference between the Premium range (these pigs were supposedly grain-fed and from Australia) and the Original Tonkatsu. The former is much, much more tender and juicy.
We also ordered some form of ramen though I can't remember what and didn't get to taste any so I can't quite comment. But they have a set meal with certain ramen so it's quite worth it, do check it out!
The service is pretty fast. To my surprise, a waitress came along and asked if we wanted a second helping of the shredded cabbage since it was free-flow. Free-flow cabbage, imagine that! That's a first for me. But I already had a mountain of it on my plate that I couldn't finish, so I politely declined.
I loved the Tonkatsu, will definitely go back again for more!
I’m pregnant. Or at least I think I should be. Otherwise how else do you explain the fact that I’m constantly craving for food? Of course guys don’t get pregnant, so there must be worms inside my stomach. Okay I shall stop here before the whole controversial topic gets out of hand.
Anyway, I’ve been craving for dim for some time now. Fine, I lie. I’m always craving for dim sum. For those of you who have read my blog long enough, you’ll know that char siew sou and egg tarts are among my favourite. But this time, I was actually pining for custard bun.
And that’s the only reason I come to Peach Garden!
I swear that they’ve the best Custard buns ($3.60 for 3) among the ones that I’ve tried so far. The molten lava custard flowed out when I poked a hole in the bun, with a hint of salted egg yoke, the yellow custards within the tiny, soft, pillowy buns were SO GOOD! We ordered two each, and still it wasn’t enough. I will come back to Peach Garden just to takeaway their custard buns.
We couldn’t resist not ordering the Peking duck, and the slight promotion at $48 instead of the usual $60 helped too. The crispy skin was thinly sliced and placed within the pancake; every piece was drenched with some sweet sauce, and served with spring onion. One piece each, definitely wasn’t enough.The second dish was done with the ee-fu noodle ($10), shreds of duck meat fried to greatly enhance the flavour of noodle, with the remaining of the duck in the form of two delicious drumsticks. Crisping on the surface with the legs and everything intact, coated golden reddish-brown. They look good. They smell good. I love duck drumsticks, they are so sinful, and good. I’ll take up the whole thing, gnaw it right to the bones and not waste every bit. Delicious.
The branch at Novena does not have their full dim sum menu during weekdays, so in the end we only manage to try about 5 dim sum. It was maddening that’s all we got when I’m craving for the whole array of dim sum. The beancurd roll ($3.60 for 3) was like the typical ones, prawn fillings wrapped within beancurd skin and seaweed.
In dim sum context, I crown Siew Mai as the king, and Har Gau ($3.90 for 3) as the queen. But somehow I do not enjoy eating Har Gau anymore, well it’s just prawn wrapped inside skin isn’t it? I know how much effort the chefs put in to make each and every piece of har gau, but still, I couldn’t help feeling that way. Give me my char siew sou, give me my egg tarts.
Honey, they shrink the phoenix prawns!
I remember the prawns on top of the Siew Mai ($3.90 for 3) here used to be much bigger. Well even though the prawns were downsized, but the siew mai was still prawny with a crunchy bite.
A messy affair. Always the case when we have the deep-fried prawns wrapped in vermicelli ($2.40 for 3).
* * *
It has been a while since my last visit to Peach Garden, and honestly I only remember them for the XO carrot cake ($10), and their wonderful custard buns. We didn’t have the carrot cake this time round since I felt that while it’s good, but it definitely didn’t justify the hefty price tag. I will come here, just for their custard buns (Nai wang bao).
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Ah, who can resist an extremely good durian mooncake, especially since mid-autumn festival is right around the corner?
I came across this particular brand at the mid-autumn festival fair at Ngee Ann City. They boasted a mean D24 Pure Durian Mooncake, and so I succumbed. I'm a sucker for the strong tasting, mind-numbing, unabashedly delightful flavour of durian, and no durian lover can resist this.
Having tried the durian mooncake from both Goodwood Park and Home's Favourite, I've got to say they're pretty much on par. It's very dependent on individual taste. The latter is cheaper, though ;)
I bought a box of 4 for $41 (original price at $48, but they had a 10% promotion going on) and it all came individually packed in styrofoam boxes in little gold trays. It had to be kept frozen, so this is a huge plus point for packaging. The pretty floral white box with cream and pink ribbons as the handles make this durian mooncake an ideal gift for friends and family, or even as corporate gifts.
They have other flavours as well, like the Black Durian Mooncake and Golden Phoenix Durian Mooncake. I was quite tempted to try the Lycheetini Mooncake, but I was on a budget, so maybe I'd go back and indulge myself after payday... After all, mid-autumn festival only comes once a year, right?
No pictures because I was too eager to eat those yummy yummy mooncakes :P
I read with much interest the opening of yet another burger joint, this time by the owners of Island Creamery who decided that they wanted to do something else besides making ice cream. And with prices starting at about $5.70 for a beef burger, who could resist the lure to try it out?
Occupying the space that used to house Melvados at King's Arcade along Bukit Timah Road, Burger Shack boasts a white spartan cafe like interior with a couple of tables and chairs for dine in customers. How this place works is simple. You place your order at the counter, make payment and wait for your order number to be called out to collect your food.
Double Original Burger - Greedy me couldn't be satisfied with a single patty hence I opted for the double ($7.70) with an addition of sauteed mushrooms ($1.50) and bacon ($1.50). To be honest, it was smaller then what I had expected and the quality was downright disappointing. The beef patties didn't taste fresh and had quite a bit of fatty meat in it. On the upside, you could see it as the patty being hand chopped rather then machine processed. Apparently their buns are made from scratch, like Everything with Fries so comparisons might seem inevitable. Actually no comparisons are needed as Burger Shack's buns came across as dry and hard - worse then most buns I've had. I honestly can't bring myself to believe that the buns are made from scratch.
Grilled Chicken Burger - The grilled chicken burger was sandwiched between the hard and stale buns but at least the breast meat was relatively tender. It would have been better if the fatty skin had been removed and they had added some seasoning into the otherwise bland and flat piece of meat. The tomato puree atop didn't help matters much. Don't get me started with the shoestring fries, which were hard, dry and proved quite a chore to chomp through. But at least there was seasoning.
We paid about $22 for our dinner and walked out of the place smelling of food from head to toe. They really need to do something about the ventilation of the place. Food for thought - Success in one area of F&B doesn't guarantee success when diversifying into other branches of the everchanging culinary landscape. And that is something Island Creamery has to think about. Should it leverage on its core competency and continue to sell ice cream or should it move into offering burgers? If the latter, I suggest they relook into their burger recipes before Burger Shack dilutes the Island Creamery brand name.
I mean Singapore is such a tiny place.. and there's two IKEAs.. On top of that this one is much bigger then the other.. The Father of all DIY furnitures.. I should say what makes IKEA crowded all the time is not just the value for money furnitures.. but more of the Creative Ideas they Give you....
I mean its FUN to shop at Ikea.. First the parking is so considerate.. They actually have bigger parking space for families with children, prams and whatever Huge MPVs, SUVs, Monster Truck you have. Clean and huge toilets with children bowls for the small buttocks.. I mean its a pretty scary thing to fall into a Toilet bowl... I mean toilet bowl today are much bigger then before.. We have to accomodate the bigger personalities... Thanks to the fast food culture.....
The layout of the place are well thought off.. neat and not obstructive. Its easy to locate the big entrance/exit and wide areas for loading and unloading to prevent traffic obstruction.. To a female driver IKEA is such a SAINT.." WHY DO WE ALWAYS GET HORNED AT... AND STOP SHAKING YOUR HEAD AT ME, I'm only trying to PARK"
When you get there.. You can immediately Dump your kid at the enclosed playground for their leisure.. They have a great system to monitor your kids and HUGE number tags... Now you know who bullys who.... and you definitely won't lose your kid.. even if you want to.... Now you can start shopping in peace, without a constantly demanding little monster running around and banging into stuffs.
They have everything you need in a house, including that little candle stand or photo frame you frame your wonderful memories in. Items are packed logically with related things nearby. More then one area to find some handy items and creative slogans and ideas just simply pop about in your brain. Its fun and exciting to discover the many things you can put onto that one flimsy shelve and find fun from your mundane working weekday 9 to 5 life. If you happen to get lost in that big big space, you could always find a location map and before you know it, you're already on your way out.
Some of the items are really cheap and useful. Theres not restriction to the usage of any items.. only how you want to use them.... I love the lamps especially.. With many colours and wondeful shapes and sizes and most importantly, i find the lamps value for money. Though DIY is not my forte, they made it look so EASY... and I always renewed some DIY confidence when i shop at IKEA....
When you get hungry.. you could always stop by the cafe for some free flow coffee or yummy beef balls.. I mean so juicy yummy and a good portion for one... You will definitely have no left overs for this. If its too crowded then get downstairs for some HOTDOGs... they are cheap, tasty, quick and very fun to squeeze sauce on them. Its like trying to milk a cow.. try it and you will know...
I love to go to IKEA.... its all for the fun... and while having fun.. get some shopping done...
Leave the fixing to the men at home..... why bother.. buy first.......... then I also can shake my head at them....... *Fab!*
Before I start reviewing.. I would like to thank Essy and VO man for buying me dinner at this very classy chinese restaurant with such tasty and elegant looking food.........
Lets start with my favourite dishes...
1) Peking Duck
Its really half a duck... Skin so crispy and juicy... I mean who can resist peking duck... Wrap the crispy skin with fluffy thin skin, lace on some thick savoury sauce add on a fresh green onions stalks... You're ready to go....The first bite was all crunch and flavour from the Over Roasted Duck skin laced with herbs and spices... and then while u chew.. the fresh green onion flavoured with salty and sweet sauce emerges to tantalize your tongue and refreshes it.... Its simply perfect....................
Thats not all... the meat of the duck could be fried or served as it is.. you can choose fried with black pepper, ginger slices or in any way you like it to be.
We choose black pepper and it taste really great.. The duck flesh is usually pretty blend however fried it taste savoury and great with a good bowl of rice.
2) Triple Egg Spinich... Theres Salted Egg, Normal Egg and Pee Dan... "Black Black Egg"
This dish I am particular picky.. because first.. its alot of calories to bet on... and second, its a pretty wierd combination. If not properly done.. will really taste wierd.. however, Tung Lok did it Pretty Welll or i suppose more then well done.
Spinish itself is tasteless and the normal egg provides the smoothness in this dish. It is not fully cooked and made the accompanying sauce smooth and easy to eat. Salted egg is of the right combination and blended in correctly with the egg whites cut into tiny pieces as the whites are really salty and york in slightly bigger pieces so the dish is not too SANDY... The century egg PEEDAN.. is well inculcated to produce the Zest like a little surprise in this dish.. A wonderfully balanced dish.. I personally like the way they made this dish.
Without further boring everybody with details, i shall say... the PRAWN is Yummy, crispy and Savoury, I can't get enough of those! Crispy Pork Belly was CRISPY, Not too Fat and easy to eat!
Lets now go straight to the desserts....
They have a good range of traditionally brewed desserts which is both healthy and makes skin glow with great complextion, so they say... Items like white fungus with red dates, Shue Ge, etc are rather slimming and soothes one's throat Its great to finish your meal with something sweet so that IT WILL BE COMPLETE.
Now for the ambience.... For a chinese restaurant, I would say this place is more then chic... It has traditional elements however embedded into modern fixtures... I love the way they have a good balance of both and still be able to portray rich culture in their designs. The Service was great.... Waiters and Waitress many with great smiles and attention to all tables. Reasonable waiting time for dishes and refilling of tea pots efficient.
Besides the price, I would say this is a great place to dine in.. Its above average I must say but its so WORTH IT!!!! A must go for celebrations... I mean who needs a reason to celebrate? Celebrate everyday and Thank God You're Still ALIVE......
Essy.. If you see this please provide the pictures of the yummy food...
Old Girls???
Over Grown???
Odd Garments???
Ordinary Garments???
Old Gone?
Ohh!!! Girls!!!
Think about it.....
I thought about it for a long while when being thrown this question and after a long thought with all the idiotic funny answers I can think off... finally my not so dumb friend told me the answer....
Are you Ready???
OG.... actually stands.. for .....................
Oriental Garments.....
Now you know why you can really find alot of Cheee Naaa Cheee Naaa stuffs in OG.. Its suppose to be ORIENTAL...... Talk about the CNY traditional chinese Cheong Sam, they have it... the more trendy Cheee Naa.... Clothes they have it.....
Its a total middle aged woman's HEAVEN..... Talk about retro... and with the Nonya BABA wave..... You can find them all in OG.....
However, the OG at orchard point here have a good balance of traditional and trendy stuffs. I mean... just look at the interior design of the shop..... Large Clear Glass panals with a good array of modern popular perfume and skin care counters.... Expensive Bags from Popular Brands such as Bonia, Guess, Renoma, etc... as well as a good range of men's wear from Crocodile to Alligator to Levis.... Etc....
Here you can find almost everything even Japanese tit-bits and famous cartoon imprinted food stuffs.. Kids will love it here with the wide array of popular toys both for children, youths and even board games for adults.
You can join them as a member now for no membership fees with only a combined receipt of SGD75. You will not only get membership exclusive discounts, there are also freebies for redemption and special purchases just for members. On top of these, redeem points for special exchanges. Prices i should say is pretty average. Its not super low like some warehouses, however, the special discounted items, sales and certain items are really very value for money, or somewhat cheaper then what you can get outside.
Also check out good, traditional, reliable and reasonable pricing household and kitchen wares. My mum used to buy from OG as, some of them comes with warranty as well as good sales persons to explain to you how to use these wares and preserve them for extended life span..
Its a great place for the whole family and not usually crowded..
It's interesting how eateries are named nowadays. Some allude to hidden references while others, like Everything with Fries, tells you straight up what to expect from the restaurant. Indulge in my lameness for a bit as I can't help but think that this cafe's name is in response to the "Would you like fries with that?" question. HAHA.
The eatery's stark white facade cuts a contrasting impression amongst the faded walls of its neighbours along Joo Chiat Road. Wait staff in pink tops and white shorts add to the overall "uplifting" ambience of the place. There is the problem of cramp spaces though. We got a seat next to the walkway and every time someone walked past, they had to squeeze their way in. Imagine someone's butt scraping past your table when you are eating. Definitely not a pleasant prospect.
Egg Soup - Apparently a signature and the only soup available on the menu, the one egg soup was essentially chicken broth with a slightly creamy texture and a sourish hint. The accompanying portion of deep fried whisked egg tasted a little like french toast sans the bread. Rather appetising I must say, especially with the addition of ground pepper.
Grilled Pork Chop - The pork chop's seasoning was quite good but probably a wee bit too flavourful for my liking. Grilling imbued it with a nice smoky taste but unfortunately the meat came across as a little too dry. And as the name of the eatery suggests, it came with a choice from a selection of fries (original, curry, salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion, garlic and herbs) as well as a salad, to balance out all that unhealthy stuff. I'm not too sure the fries were that fantastic though, nothing like my favourite fries from New York Fries.
Cheeseburger - My initial reaction upon seeing the burger was one of mild shock. The beef patty was probably only the size of 1.5 Macdonald patties, which is really quite small. Size aside, the texture of the patty was rather uneven, which probably means that it hasn't been machine processed. But I would have liked it a little juicier. The bun is purportedly made from scratch and I must say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. Light without being too dense and mildly sweet with a coating of butter, pan fried till lightly charred on the surface - very good!
Pear Tart - The nutella tart was sold out so we had to settle for the pear tart with an additional scoop of ice cream ( $1.80), which tasted suspiciously like Wall's ice cream. This dessert was a poor attempt at a tart in my humble opinion. The crust was suppose to be flaky but turned out rather elastic. And its a little odd if pear slices don't taste like pear. Overall still edible but don't expect much.
Dessert and cramp spaces aside, I must say that the meal was quite enjoyable, especially with the relatively economical price tag and chirpy service. I would definitely make it a point to return, but in the meantime, they might want to take a look into their table arrangement.
For the first time in many years, I ventured into Far East Plaza, known for its very fashionable stores and their wares. I hardly shop there as the clothes are rarely my style and I'm the sort to look for clothing suitable for work.
I stumbled onto this tiny shop tucked away on the entrance level (3rd floor). Small as it was it had plenty hanging on its racks. I took up some of the dresses and was amazed at the quality of the material used. The seams are also well done and the lining for each dress was well sewn.
My excited friend and I spent 3 hours at this shop trying on about 30 pieces of clothing. The salesgirl never once showed a face and volunteered more pieces to try. She gave her honest opinion when some dresses didn't fit too well and tried her best to understand our style, thus not pushing every single piece of clothing to us.
When some of the pieces we liked had an odd button or feature we didn't quite like, she offered to have them removed or altered for free. Any alteration (even tightening of waist areas) was offered for free. If it only required a shortening, it could be done immediately even.
What I liked most was the good quality for a reasonable price. One dress cost about $79 and cost me less than $70 after discount. I washed the dress when I got home and it didn't even require any ironing. Just hang straight and drip dry.
Another top I got cost $34 initially. The salesgirl noticed that there were some makeup stains on the white collar and she took the initiative to look for a new piece even when I didn't notice the stain. Then as there weren't any more pieces, she brought me a black one and told me that I still wanted the white one she would send it to the laundry and have it cleaned for free. How's that for service? That's not all. I told her that I could not afford the time to come down again any time soon and asked for a discount so that I could bring it to the laundromat myself. They agreed and let me have the blouse for $26 with an $8 discount which can easily cover the costs of having it washed.
When we left, it was really late and most of the shops at FEP were closed but they were still all smiles and actually called us by name. It's no wonder I saw a number of Tai-tais buying a large number of clothing from them within the time I was there!
1=SGD 0.0587
Had been meaning to try out Teochew City for quite a while now so made it a point to head down one weekend evening for dinner. Owned and operated by the Prima group, which also owns the historic Prima Towering Revolving Restaurant, Teochew City is one of the pioneers of Teochew fine dining in Singapore and apparently serves quite good Teochew food, if the hearsays are to be trusted.
Located in a corner at the top floor of Centrepoint Shopping Centre, the restaurant cuts a lone figure amidst the retail shops in the mall. A huge signboard makes known the restaurant as soon as the escalator takes you up but human traffic on that level is probably too scarce to make much of a difference. The restaurant's interior is rather spacious and offers a view of live seafood swimming around in huge tanks by the side - very typical Chinese restaurant decor.
Crab Meat & Fish Maw Soup - The soup was tasty and not overly starchy with relatively generous amounts of crab meat and fish maw. However, drinking too much still can make you woozy. And $8 gets you a decent sized bowl.
Braised Goose - I doubt the ban on fresh goose meat has been lifted so this is probably frozen meat. Not that it mattered though, because it was handled quite well and the only slip was the mild dryness of the meat. Portions were also generous for a small serving.
Hong Kong Kailan with Mushrooms - The vegetables weren't overcooked while the sauce didn't come across as too starchy. Mushroom servings were generous and though not the most exciting vegetable dish I've had, no complains really.
Lobster and Prawn Balls - This dish featured prawn paste and fresh prawn molded into balls and deep fried till crisp. Nice but a tad too oily for my liking. The pièce de résistance however, was the egg white with lobster meat served alongside. Savoury without any hint of rawness and a nice smooth texture, complemented by the shreds of lobster meat within. Could have done with a pinch less salt though.
Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts and Pumpkin - The hallmark of Teochew desserts and its most famous one yet - the humble yet time consuming to produce yam paste. Fragrant with a spoonful of not too sweet syrup atop, the paste was smooth and thick. And I like my yam paste without coconut milk.
After a 10% discount, the 3 of us chalked up a bill of almost $125 ($138 without discount), which isn't exactly cheap but consider the quality of food and I reckon it's still reasonable. Service was good and the place provided a nice respite from the mad Orchard Road crowds on a weekend.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
It seems to me that Orchard Central has quite a number of Japanese Restaurants, so much so that shoppers are totally spoilt for choice!
Anyhow, we decided on Tonkichi because firstly, it looked damn good. Secondly, there was a long queue, and thirdly, there were Japanese folks queuing to get a seat too. That's a definite indication that this place serves good Jap food, no?
They were famous for their Tonkatsu (fried pork fillet) so how could we pass that up?
Ok let's cut to the chase, here are the highlights of what we ordered:
Sashimi ($40 for 14 slices)
Definitely not cheap, but pretty value for money? The slices were fresh, extremely thick and served cold. I'm a sucker for sashimi so this dish was gone in less than 5 minutes.
Oyster & Hire Katsu Set ($24)
Served with rice, a mountain of shredded cabbage and miso soup was two big oysters and three slices of pork fillet, all fried to a crisp. Thankfully, it wasn't oily and the pork fillet was quite tender. Loved it!
Premium Rosu Katsu Set ($25)
This is one big piece of pork loin pre-cut for your convenience, served with rice, shredded cabbage and miso soup. There really is a difference between the Premium range (these pigs were supposedly grain-fed and from Australia) and the Original Tonkatsu. The former is much, much more tender and juicy.
We also ordered some form of ramen though I can't remember what and didn't get to taste any so I can't quite comment. But they have a set meal with certain ramen so it's quite worth it, do check it out!
The service is pretty fast. To my surprise, a waitress came along and asked if we wanted a second helping of the shredded cabbage since it was free-flow. Free-flow cabbage, imagine that! That's a first for me. But I already had a mountain of it on my plate that I couldn't finish, so I politely declined.
I loved the Tonkatsu, will definitely go back again for more!
Rating given:
I’m pregnant. Or at least I think I should be. Otherwise how else do you explain the fact that I’m constantly craving for food? Of course guys don’t get pregnant, so there must be worms inside my stomach. Okay I shall stop here before the whole controversial topic gets out of hand.
Anyway, I’ve been craving for dim for some time now. Fine, I lie. I’m always craving for dim sum. For those of you who have read my blog long enough, you’ll know that char siew sou and egg tarts are among my favourite. But this time, I was actually pining for custard bun.
And that’s the only reason I come to Peach Garden!
I swear that they’ve the best Custard buns ($3.60 for 3) among the ones that I’ve tried so far. The molten lava custard flowed out when I poked a hole in the bun, with a hint of salted egg yoke, the yellow custards within the tiny, soft, pillowy buns were SO GOOD! We ordered two each, and still it wasn’t enough. I will come back to Peach Garden just to takeaway their custard buns.
We couldn’t resist not ordering the Peking duck, and the slight promotion at $48 instead of the usual $60 helped too. The crispy skin was thinly sliced and placed within the pancake; every piece was drenched with some sweet sauce, and served with spring onion. One piece each, definitely wasn’t enough.The second dish was done with the ee-fu noodle ($10), shreds of duck meat fried to greatly enhance the flavour of noodle, with the remaining of the duck in the form of two delicious drumsticks. Crisping on the surface with the legs and everything intact, coated golden reddish-brown. They look good. They smell good. I love duck drumsticks, they are so sinful, and good. I’ll take up the whole thing, gnaw it right to the bones and not waste every bit. Delicious.
The branch at Novena does not have their full dim sum menu during weekdays, so in the end we only manage to try about 5 dim sum. It was maddening that’s all we got when I’m craving for the whole array of dim sum. The beancurd roll ($3.60 for 3) was like the typical ones, prawn fillings wrapped within beancurd skin and seaweed.
In dim sum context, I crown Siew Mai as the king, and Har Gau ($3.90 for 3) as the queen. But somehow I do not enjoy eating Har Gau anymore, well it’s just prawn wrapped inside skin isn’t it? I know how much effort the chefs put in to make each and every piece of har gau, but still, I couldn’t help feeling that way. Give me my char siew sou, give me my egg tarts.
Honey, they shrink the phoenix prawns!
I remember the prawns on top of the Siew Mai ($3.90 for 3) here used to be much bigger. Well even though the prawns were downsized, but the siew mai was still prawny with a crunchy bite.
A messy affair. Always the case when we have the deep-fried prawns wrapped in vermicelli ($2.40 for 3).
* * *
It has been a while since my last visit to Peach Garden, and honestly I only remember them for the XO carrot cake ($10), and their wonderful custard buns. We didn’t have the carrot cake this time round since I felt that while it’s good, but it definitely didn’t justify the hefty price tag. I will come here, just for their custard buns (Nai wang bao).
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Ah, who can resist an extremely good durian mooncake, especially since mid-autumn festival is right around the corner?
I came across this particular brand at the mid-autumn festival fair at Ngee Ann City. They boasted a mean D24 Pure Durian Mooncake, and so I succumbed. I'm a sucker for the strong tasting, mind-numbing, unabashedly delightful flavour of durian, and no durian lover can resist this.
Having tried the durian mooncake from both Goodwood Park and Home's Favourite, I've got to say they're pretty much on par. It's very dependent on individual taste. The latter is cheaper, though ;)
I bought a box of 4 for $41 (original price at $48, but they had a 10% promotion going on) and it all came individually packed in styrofoam boxes in little gold trays. It had to be kept frozen, so this is a huge plus point for packaging. The pretty floral white box with cream and pink ribbons as the handles make this durian mooncake an ideal gift for friends and family, or even as corporate gifts.
They have other flavours as well, like the Black Durian Mooncake and Golden Phoenix Durian Mooncake. I was quite tempted to try the Lycheetini Mooncake, but I was on a budget, so maybe I'd go back and indulge myself after payday... After all, mid-autumn festival only comes once a year, right?
No pictures because I was too eager to eat those yummy yummy mooncakes :P
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I read with much interest the opening of yet another burger joint, this time by the owners of Island Creamery who decided that they wanted to do something else besides making ice cream. And with prices starting at about $5.70 for a beef burger, who could resist the lure to try it out?
Occupying the space that used to house Melvados at King's Arcade along Bukit Timah Road, Burger Shack boasts a white spartan cafe like interior with a couple of tables and chairs for dine in customers. How this place works is simple. You place your order at the counter, make payment and wait for your order number to be called out to collect your food.
Double Original Burger - Greedy me couldn't be satisfied with a single patty hence I opted for the double ($7.70) with an addition of sauteed mushrooms ($1.50) and bacon ($1.50). To be honest, it was smaller then what I had expected and the quality was downright disappointing. The beef patties didn't taste fresh and had quite a bit of fatty meat in it. On the upside, you could see it as the patty being hand chopped rather then machine processed. Apparently their buns are made from scratch, like Everything with Fries so comparisons might seem inevitable. Actually no comparisons are needed as Burger Shack's buns came across as dry and hard - worse then most buns I've had. I honestly can't bring myself to believe that the buns are made from scratch.
Grilled Chicken Burger - The grilled chicken burger was sandwiched between the hard and stale buns but at least the breast meat was relatively tender. It would have been better if the fatty skin had been removed and they had added some seasoning into the otherwise bland and flat piece of meat. The tomato puree atop didn't help matters much. Don't get me started with the shoestring fries, which were hard, dry and proved quite a chore to chomp through. But at least there was seasoning.
We paid about $22 for our dinner and walked out of the place smelling of food from head to toe. They really need to do something about the ventilation of the place. Food for thought - Success in one area of F&B doesn't guarantee success when diversifying into other branches of the everchanging culinary landscape. And that is something Island Creamery has to think about. Should it leverage on its core competency and continue to sell ice cream or should it move into offering burgers? If the latter, I suggest they relook into their burger recipes before Burger Shack dilutes the Island Creamery brand name.
See all my pictures here.
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Can it GET Bigger???
I mean Singapore is such a tiny place.. and there's two IKEAs.. On top of that this one is much bigger then the other.. The Father of all DIY furnitures.. I should say what makes IKEA crowded all the time is not just the value for money furnitures.. but more of the Creative Ideas they Give you....
I mean its FUN to shop at Ikea.. First the parking is so considerate.. They actually have bigger parking space for families with children, prams and whatever Huge MPVs, SUVs, Monster Truck you have. Clean and huge toilets with children bowls for the small buttocks.. I mean its a pretty scary thing to fall into a Toilet bowl... I mean toilet bowl today are much bigger then before.. We have to accomodate the bigger personalities... Thanks to the fast food culture.....
The layout of the place are well thought off.. neat and not obstructive. Its easy to locate the big entrance/exit and wide areas for loading and unloading to prevent traffic obstruction.. To a female driver IKEA is such a SAINT.." WHY DO WE ALWAYS GET HORNED AT... AND STOP SHAKING YOUR HEAD AT ME, I'm only trying to PARK"
When you get there.. You can immediately Dump your kid at the enclosed playground for their leisure.. They have a great system to monitor your kids and HUGE number tags... Now you know who bullys who.... and you definitely won't lose your kid.. even if you want to.... Now you can start shopping in peace, without a constantly demanding little monster running around and banging into stuffs.
They have everything you need in a house, including that little candle stand or photo frame you frame your wonderful memories in. Items are packed logically with related things nearby. More then one area to find some handy items and creative slogans and ideas just simply pop about in your brain. Its fun and exciting to discover the many things you can put onto that one flimsy shelve and find fun from your mundane working weekday 9 to 5 life. If you happen to get lost in that big big space, you could always find a location map and before you know it, you're already on your way out.
Some of the items are really cheap and useful. Theres not restriction to the usage of any items.. only how you want to use them.... I love the lamps especially.. With many colours and wondeful shapes and sizes and most importantly, i find the lamps value for money. Though DIY is not my forte, they made it look so EASY... and I always renewed some DIY confidence when i shop at IKEA....
When you get hungry.. you could always stop by the cafe for some free flow coffee or yummy beef balls.. I mean so juicy yummy and a good portion for one... You will definitely have no left overs for this. If its too crowded then get downstairs for some HOTDOGs... they are cheap, tasty, quick and very fun to squeeze sauce on them. Its like trying to milk a cow.. try it and you will know...
I love to go to IKEA.... its all for the fun... and while having fun.. get some shopping done...
Leave the fixing to the men at home..... why bother.. buy first.......... then I also can shake my head at them....... *Fab!*
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Before I start reviewing.. I would like to thank Essy and VO man for buying me dinner at this very classy chinese restaurant with such tasty and elegant looking food.........
Lets start with my favourite dishes...
1) Peking Duck
Its really half a duck... Skin so crispy and juicy... I mean who can resist peking duck... Wrap the crispy skin with fluffy thin skin, lace on some thick savoury sauce add on a fresh green onions stalks... You're ready to go....The first bite was all crunch and flavour from the Over Roasted Duck skin laced with herbs and spices... and then while u chew.. the fresh green onion flavoured with salty and sweet sauce emerges to tantalize your tongue and refreshes it.... Its simply perfect....................
Thats not all... the meat of the duck could be fried or served as it is.. you can choose fried with black pepper, ginger slices or in any way you like it to be.
We choose black pepper and it taste really great.. The duck flesh is usually pretty blend however fried it taste savoury and great with a good bowl of rice.
2) Triple Egg Spinich... Theres Salted Egg, Normal Egg and Pee Dan... "Black Black Egg"
This dish I am particular picky.. because first.. its alot of calories to bet on... and second, its a pretty wierd combination. If not properly done.. will really taste wierd.. however, Tung Lok did it Pretty Welll or i suppose more then well done.
Spinish itself is tasteless and the normal egg provides the smoothness in this dish. It is not fully cooked and made the accompanying sauce smooth and easy to eat. Salted egg is of the right combination and blended in correctly with the egg whites cut into tiny pieces as the whites are really salty and york in slightly bigger pieces so the dish is not too SANDY... The century egg PEEDAN.. is well inculcated to produce the Zest like a little surprise in this dish.. A wonderfully balanced dish.. I personally like the way they made this dish.
Without further boring everybody with details, i shall say... the PRAWN is Yummy, crispy and Savoury, I can't get enough of those! Crispy Pork Belly was CRISPY, Not too Fat and easy to eat!
Lets now go straight to the desserts....
They have a good range of traditionally brewed desserts which is both healthy and makes skin glow with great complextion, so they say... Items like white fungus with red dates, Shue Ge, etc are rather slimming and soothes one's throat Its great to finish your meal with something sweet so that IT WILL BE COMPLETE.
Now for the ambience.... For a chinese restaurant, I would say this place is more then chic... It has traditional elements however embedded into modern fixtures... I love the way they have a good balance of both and still be able to portray rich culture in their designs. The Service was great.... Waiters and Waitress many with great smiles and attention to all tables. Reasonable waiting time for dishes and refilling of tea pots efficient.
Besides the price, I would say this is a great place to dine in.. Its above average I must say but its so WORTH IT!!!! A must go for celebrations... I mean who needs a reason to celebrate? Celebrate everyday and Thank God You're Still ALIVE......
Essy.. If you see this please provide the pictures of the yummy food...
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Have you ever wondered WHAT DOES OG Stands For???
Come on.... Make a Guess!!!!
Old Girls???
Over Grown???
Odd Garments???
Ordinary Garments???
Old Gone?
Ohh!!! Girls!!!
Think about it.....
I thought about it for a long while when being thrown this question and after a long thought with all the idiotic funny answers I can think off... finally my not so dumb friend told me the answer....
Are you Ready???
OG.... actually stands.. for .....................
Oriental Garments.....
Now you know why you can really find alot of Cheee Naaa Cheee Naaa stuffs in OG.. Its suppose to be ORIENTAL...... Talk about the CNY traditional chinese Cheong Sam, they have it... the more trendy Cheee Naa.... Clothes they have it.....
Its a total middle aged woman's HEAVEN..... Talk about retro... and with the Nonya BABA wave..... You can find them all in OG.....
However, the OG at orchard point here have a good balance of traditional and trendy stuffs. I mean... just look at the interior design of the shop..... Large Clear Glass panals with a good array of modern popular perfume and skin care counters.... Expensive Bags from Popular Brands such as Bonia, Guess, Renoma, etc... as well as a good range of men's wear from Crocodile to Alligator to Levis.... Etc....
Here you can find almost everything even Japanese tit-bits and famous cartoon imprinted food stuffs.. Kids will love it here with the wide array of popular toys both for children, youths and even board games for adults.
You can join them as a member now for no membership fees with only a combined receipt of SGD75. You will not only get membership exclusive discounts, there are also freebies for redemption and special purchases just for members. On top of these, redeem points for special exchanges. Prices i should say is pretty average. Its not super low like some warehouses, however, the special discounted items, sales and certain items are really very value for money, or somewhat cheaper then what you can get outside.
Also check out good, traditional, reliable and reasonable pricing household and kitchen wares. My mum used to buy from OG as, some of them comes with warranty as well as good sales persons to explain to you how to use these wares and preserve them for extended life span..
Its a great place for the whole family and not usually crowded..
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It's interesting how eateries are named nowadays. Some allude to hidden references while others, like Everything with Fries, tells you straight up what to expect from the restaurant. Indulge in my lameness for a bit as I can't help but think that this cafe's name is in response to the "Would you like fries with that?" question. HAHA.
The eatery's stark white facade cuts a contrasting impression amongst the faded walls of its neighbours along Joo Chiat Road. Wait staff in pink tops and white shorts add to the overall "uplifting" ambience of the place. There is the problem of cramp spaces though. We got a seat next to the walkway and every time someone walked past, they had to squeeze their way in. Imagine someone's butt scraping past your table when you are eating. Definitely not a pleasant prospect.
Egg Soup - Apparently a signature and the only soup available on the menu, the one egg soup was essentially chicken broth with a slightly creamy texture and a sourish hint. The accompanying portion of deep fried whisked egg tasted a little like french toast sans the bread. Rather appetising I must say, especially with the addition of ground pepper.
Grilled Pork Chop - The pork chop's seasoning was quite good but probably a wee bit too flavourful for my liking. Grilling imbued it with a nice smoky taste but unfortunately the meat came across as a little too dry. And as the name of the eatery suggests, it came with a choice from a selection of fries (original, curry, salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion, garlic and herbs) as well as a salad, to balance out all that unhealthy stuff. I'm not too sure the fries were that fantastic though, nothing like my favourite fries from New York Fries.
Cheeseburger - My initial reaction upon seeing the burger was one of mild shock. The beef patty was probably only the size of 1.5 Macdonald patties, which is really quite small. Size aside, the texture of the patty was rather uneven, which probably means that it hasn't been machine processed. But I would have liked it a little juicier. The bun is purportedly made from scratch and I must say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. Light without being too dense and mildly sweet with a coating of butter, pan fried till lightly charred on the surface - very good!
Pear Tart - The nutella tart was sold out so we had to settle for the pear tart with an additional scoop of ice cream ( $1.80), which tasted suspiciously like Wall's ice cream. This dessert was a poor attempt at a tart in my humble opinion. The crust was suppose to be flaky but turned out rather elastic. And its a little odd if pear slices don't taste like pear. Overall still edible but don't expect much.
Dessert and cramp spaces aside, I must say that the meal was quite enjoyable, especially with the relatively economical price tag and chirpy service. I would definitely make it a point to return, but in the meantime, they might want to take a look into their table arrangement.
See all my pictures here.
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For the first time in many years, I ventured into Far East Plaza, known for its very fashionable stores and their wares. I hardly shop there as the clothes are rarely my style and I'm the sort to look for clothing suitable for work.
I stumbled onto this tiny shop tucked away on the entrance level (3rd floor). Small as it was it had plenty hanging on its racks. I took up some of the dresses and was amazed at the quality of the material used. The seams are also well done and the lining for each dress was well sewn.
My excited friend and I spent 3 hours at this shop trying on about 30 pieces of clothing. The salesgirl never once showed a face and volunteered more pieces to try. She gave her honest opinion when some dresses didn't fit too well and tried her best to understand our style, thus not pushing every single piece of clothing to us.
When some of the pieces we liked had an odd button or feature we didn't quite like, she offered to have them removed or altered for free. Any alteration (even tightening of waist areas) was offered for free. If it only required a shortening, it could be done immediately even.
What I liked most was the good quality for a reasonable price. One dress cost about $79 and cost me less than $70 after discount. I washed the dress when I got home and it didn't even require any ironing. Just hang straight and drip dry.
Another top I got cost $34 initially. The salesgirl noticed that there were some makeup stains on the white collar and she took the initiative to look for a new piece even when I didn't notice the stain. Then as there weren't any more pieces, she brought me a black one and told me that I still wanted the white one she would send it to the laundry and have it cleaned for free. How's that for service? That's not all. I told her that I could not afford the time to come down again any time soon and asked for a discount so that I could bring it to the laundromat myself. They agreed and let me have the blouse for $26 with an $8 discount which can easily cover the costs of having it washed.
When we left, it was really late and most of the shops at FEP were closed but they were still all smiles and actually called us by name. It's no wonder I saw a number of Tai-tais buying a large number of clothing from them within the time I was there!
I'm planning to go again!
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