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Sport & Recreation
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1=SGD 0.0587
Had dinner at Da Paolo La Terrazza - one of 7 Italian restaurants/bars/gourmet shops that the Da Paolo group has opened up since their early days as Trattoria Da Paolo in Tanjong Pagar.
Located just a stone's throwaway from the ever crowded Holland Village in the quiet, tree lined stretch of Jalan Merah Sage, La Terrazza offers a respite from the hustle and bustle of life as the rat race takes a back seat in this charming little neighbourhood restaurant. The decor is simple yet comfortable, with its rattan chairs and a small alfresco dining area to cater to those who wish to enjoy the humidity of Singapore. Then again, there's only the air curtain to seperate the air conditioned area and the alfresco area so sitting inside doesn't guarantee a cool dinner, which was the case that very night I was there.
The complimentary bread was a good start to the meal. Fragrant, soft and moist on the inside yet crisp on the outside. It would have been better if served warm though.
La Terrazza's offering of the minestrone soup hit some rather flat notes to render it painfully average. I could have gotten the same standard of soup at most decent western restaurants for a lower price. Probably the only interesting thing was that the soup came with a slice of cheese in it, something I've not seen anywhere else. Not that it really made much of a difference to the taste of the soup though.
Cappesante Alle Erbe e Brandy - Sauteed Scallops with Brandy and Herbs - I like scallops hence I tend to have higher expectations of them. And these failed miserably. The scallops were bland and soft, not firm as I would have expected and there was no taste of brandy whatsoever. The only discernible taste came from the ground pepper scattered atop.
Tagliatelle Al Granchio - The Tagliatelle Al Granchio aka crab meat pasta provided a much needed boost to the disappointing dinner thus far. Al dente without being too heavy on the cream or taste. Nice and filling just the way I liked it. Could do with a little more crab meat though.
Crespelle Alla Crema - Caramelised Thin Pancakes with Vanilla Pastry Cream and Vanilla Ice Cream - This is probably one of the very very few times where I order pancakes for dessert. But I'm glad I did. The caramelised pancakes were rather interesting because as the name implies, the pancakes were coated with a hardened layer of caramel, making it sweet. Personally, I would have prefered chocolate cream instead of vanilla cream inside though.
Tiramisu - Undoubtedly the star of the evening, and one of the main reasons why I wanted to eat at La Terrazza - the tiramisu. The not overly wet sponge to mascarpone cheese ratio was quite even and overall the tiramisu came across as light and fluffy with a stronger than usual hint of alcohol. A slice costs $10 and if you want the entire cake, its $60.
$94 for a soup, an appetiser, a main and 2 desserts certainly isn't prohibitively expensive considering the relatively above average quality of food in general. But it isn't cheap either. On the flip side, service is good and efficient but rather mechanical, lacking the personal touch and warmth.
See all my pictures here.
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I bought my pinky camera here. I was quite happy with the service quality at this outlet. The person who served me took time to explain the difference between the 2 cameras I was wondering over.
Even though the time was closed to "close shop", the person did not hurry me to make a decision or to pay. He even asked me to look around the shop for any more things I would want to buy for discounts if I apply for the member card.
As I don't usually patron Challenger or even get expensive gadgets and etc, I didn't apply for the member card. The person who served me did not show any displeasure.
But the shop is usually filled with people and quite difficult to walk around. Its an advantage that they organized their stuffs well as its easy to find what you want. Having little deco and making the place brightly lit helps too.
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Found this online store specializing in wines via emall.sg I had to buy red wine for my wedding dinner as the number of tables did not qualify for free flow of alcohol.
Thewineroute is very well organized and allows viewers to view their selection via country of origin, budget, type of wine, ratings and winery. They also have a category of wedding selections.
Details of the taste and ingredients of the wine are included. As well as the type of caps the bottles have and any ratings of the wine and the type of wine (e.g rose, sparkling)
I bought a dozen bottles of Gato Negro Merlot 2006 for my wedding. 2 days before my wedding, the person called from thewineroute and asked whether they can substitute what I bought with another batch of wine of a different and better make. The batch just arrived and is $1 more costly than the ones I bought but they are willing to waive the extra cost. He explained to me that its because the exchange would help them save the transportation cost. I was happy with the honesty and that they bothered to ask for my permission so I agreed.
The verdicts from my guests were great. Some even asked me for the source I bought from.
I bought over the internet using Visa but thewineroute offers orders by fax or email in case people are not willing to buy over the internet.
On the hold, this shop is highly recommended. I had a smooth and happy transaction with them.
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I was excited when a friend asked me along to the new Persimmon opened by the same people from Epicurious. We had such a nice time at Epi that I was pretty sure that Persimmon would be good too! So despite my busy schedule I went down with my friend for the food-tasting session.
Armed with a street directory and a good navigator (moi) we managed to find the carpark behind the Link Hotel. By the way, I found Link Hotel quite interesting and am really thinking of giving it a try. But the parking was $4 per entry in an open air carpark which I found quite a rip-off. But this is the nearest carpark so there isn't much of a choice.
One wouldn't be able to miss Persimmon with its bright orange lights standing tall just outside of it.
After much discussion on how to take a good photo of the front of the restaurant, we finally stepped into the place, greeted by Helena, one of the owners. She introduced us to the rest of the crowd for the evening who were all very friendly people and got us some wine before seating us at this long table meant for large groups.
The black and white tiled flooring and the coffeeshop table and chairs gave it a local feel. But the modern white finishings of the counter and the sides complemented it nicely. I loved the antique-looking sofa sets and the live orchids which gave the place an artsy touch. Old Chinese tunes and jazz helped me relax here.
Food we had:
Mushroom and Sesame Shooter
First up was this warm soup in a little glass. I loved the taste and thickness of it. We were told that there was some alcohol in it... but honestly? I couldn't taste it and was happy with that.
Tunghoon Salad with Crabcake
This was served with scallop and the presentation was very nice. The Tunghoon had a sourish-spicy taste to it and I liked it very very much! I think it would be better with some cashew bits in it but then that would be very common in Thai salad dishes I guess. As for the crabcake, I would have liked it with more flavour as it was a little bland next to the salad.
Fried Kwayteow served with Wagyu Beef
I wanted to write Char Kuay Teow... but then, it wasn't quite that either. I generally try not to eat both CKT and Beef actually. But I did like this version of CKT. It was still oily nonetheless (what is CKT without oil?!) but it did seem healthier somewhat. The noodles were not flimsy and drenched in oil like the hawker centre types but they still have some bite in them. But it was a little too salty but not over the top. I did enjoy the beef though, despite trying to stay away from it. But it was really good, very flavourful and the beansprouts that came with it gave the dish some crunch.
Fisherman's Pie
This version had laksa swimming below the puff pastry. The puff pastry is nice but it would have been better with some butter as my friend suggested. I think it would have made it softer and more "fluffy". I wasn't really too concerned that it didn't puff up but I think some softness was missing. I liked the gravy mostly but not quite for drinking though. The ingredients were pretty much what you would expect and they tasted ok. But the potato had probably been floating inside for sometime and its texture was a little too soft.
Pineapple Tart
For the first time, I had a giant pineapple tart for dessert. The top has your usual pineapple ring which I wasn't a fan of as it was a little sourish and hard to chew. Beneath it was sweet caramelised pineapple which was very tasty, especially when eaten with the crust! I loved the crust and tried to finish everything but I couldn't as I was too full.
I can't give a pricing for the items I had as I was there for food-tasting. But I took a glance at the menu and the prices are more or less like those in a cafe with mains going in the $20 range.
Not to mention, we took a surprise visit into THE KITCHEN! Helena was so nice to bring us around and show us different sections of the place and we soon realised how much effort was put into planning and designing a place like this! She also showed us a speciall little room that can seat 8 people. It's very cosy and there isn't a minimum spending amount before you can use the room!
Definitely worth another visit!
For more pictures, go to my blog
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Caught a late night show at the new Cathay cineplex at Downtown East. Arriving at the cinema level, I knew it's not going to be as good as the original The Cathay at orchard. Obviously this is one of the smallest Cathay around their cineplexes.
The cinema I went to was no. 3. It was relatively small but leg room was sufficient but not as wide as those at GV vivo. I've to disagree with genesis with the seats. After 100 mins of watching the show, my partner and I both suffered from neck ache and strain. We were seated on Row E, which's still considered among the back rows. The seats were uncomfortable and we were blocked by the couples in front of us. (Not alot thou, but still we can see their heads popping above the seats.)
Unlike GV cinemas, cathay still only provides "couple seats" with reclining arm rest at the 2 back rows. So if you're looking at getting some cuddling, especially for horror shows with your girlfriends, you might want to book the tickets in advance.
Another inconvenient thing about this Cathay is the toilet. It's located outside of the cinema and boy it was wet and dirty! Although the place is still pretty new, but the toilets were badly maintained. Guess the crowd overpowered the frequency of toilet maintenances.
Although the place is not up to our standard as compared to other Cathay and GV cinemas, we'll probably still go back for movies at nights. Reasons? Well, it's nearby our homes and the open space public parking outside is free after 10pm!
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Unlike "feizhu", I went there the first time for a wedding dinner recently. As I went in I was like quite in awe of the place as the deco look so grand and definitely suitable for a chinese wedding dinner.
But as we sat down and had a good look, there were some points that are definitely a no-no for a wedding dinner.
Firstly, the TV (TV!!!) screen was damn small. Really really very small I think some sort like a 19 inch plasma TV although there were many screens there but what the toot can the guests see of the bridal photos or videos??? And the restaurant showed 9pm Channel 8 shows while the groom was still talking on stage!
2nd, there were 2 entrances and my husband and I went in by the back door. Well, who told them to hide the main entrance at the back of the car park???
3rd, the walk in for the couple was too short. The couple reached the stage and were immediately blocked by the pillar with its TV screen which was somewhere in front of the stage. (sweatz)
4th, there wasn't any dry ice or spot light for the couple's walk in. Half the guests didn't know where to look for the couple until the couple was half way through the walk. My table was near the walk in area other wise we won't know as well.
Ok, never mind, lets talk about the food. There's no dim sum at the dinner so I'm not sure how nice they are. But the dinner menu dishes were really not very nice. Cold plate came... well... cold and dry. Nothing really special though it does look nice. Other dishes like chicken which was dry, vegetables which was salty. Only the Oatmeal Prawns, Sharks fin soup and Steamed Fish tasted great and fresh. I guess should be so since the restaurant was displaying live fish there. In the end we did not finish the main dishes. Dessert was red bean which we felt was too thick.
Service was ok. Depends on your luck. We were served by 2 persons, one was friendly and fast. The other insisted we only take 2 cubes of ice for our drinks and the ice only came after 3 or 4 requests.
Definitely not recommended for a wedding dinner if you want your wedding to be enjoyed by your guests.
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First tried out Ms Clarity way back in 2005/2006 when it first opened and was relatively unknown back then. Used to have their chicken cordon bleu which is essentially chicken stuffed with cheese and ham. There was no crowd then and prices were kept before $10 for a main course. With the publicity generated over the years and the opening of 2 new branches, the standard of food has dipped, prices have increased and the queues are quite insane. Oh did I mention that service is slow as well?
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After a short wait, our dishes arrived and we tucked in. First impressions, the beef I had was very well done and the meat was tender and a little juicy. (I had ordered it medium well)The sides were nothing to shout about though. The hog tail fries tasted like the curly fries from MacDonalds and the salad looked like it could use some sprucing up. I managed to try some of my gf's chicken and it tasted kinda weird with peachy-mangoey sauce on top of the chicken. The sauce tasted like those you would find in puddings.
My take on this one? The beef is good, but only the beef. Didn't get to try the dessert as we had plans to head on to Haagan Dazs after that. The waitresses were friendly, but a little lacking in service. I ordered a refillable glass of Coke and I had to wait for quite some time to even see a waitress to get it filled up. Nice laid back atmostphere though.
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I used the senstive skin range of products for this brand and its the nightmare of my life.
The first day I used this product, my skin itch and small red rashes broke out. I thought nothing much of it as its usual that my sensitive skin will react to new products. So I continued the use for 2 weeks and my skin itch and rashed every single usage of the products. By and by it leads to me having super dry and sensitive skin. My skin starts to flake and scarring occurs.
So I stopped the usage and returned to using Dermalogical products and my skin goes back to normal although its already scarred and the sensitiveness increased.
Will not use this brand anymore.
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This outlet is the first time I've tried Batok Jones. Heard alot of good comments about it and maybe we got our expectations too high.
Set in a hawker centre, the environment is dirty and due to the crowd there, we sat near the dustbin which made it even worse. Menu looks too cluttered and we took some time to order our food. Customers for that outlet of Botak Jones seems to be few at that time of the day and that time is certainly not a good time for eating heavy western food in great or should I say humongous portion.
Not much of an impression of the food there though I should give credit as the Fish and Chips was nicely done. I found the sausage too salty though and nothing special except its size. Meat seems to be the better prepared type of food there.
Not too bad but nothing special too. Given my small appetite, I don't think that will be the place I will frequent as even though the price is value for the portion size, its still expensive if I cannot finish the food.
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