31 August, 2006

Glimpse of a Tai Tai's Lifestyle 2

Click here for Part 1

From one place to another, the Tai Tai boss decided to host our VIP delegates in another country club by the name of Tanglin Club – and thus another chance to catch a glimpse of the Tai Tai lifestyle. Standing right outside the Churchill Room, one can immediately sense the difference with a caricature of Sir Winston Churchill staring right at you.

Stepped right pass the door and immediately the grandeur of the dinning area engulf you.

Although the buffet I had was nothing to boast about, the fact that my boss had the whole place booked for the VIPs just simply astound me.

However, as much as I begin to slowly understand her lifestyle, our work attitude is simply diverse and thus, this will probably be the last time I am able to catch a peek again. Farewell!

Rating

Food: 3/5
Service: 2.5/5
Ambience: 4.5/5
Price: 4.5/5 (Membership Price)
Total: 14.5/20
5 Stevens Road,
Singapore 257814



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30 August, 2006

Would You Mind Leaving Me Alone?

Some people may call it boring, but the fact is I love to go back to familiar place to eat familiar food which I personally think is delicious and worth the trouble. Just like how I have emphasised before that I frequent Crystal Jade Kitchen for their wanton noodle soup; I delight myself in going to NYDC or Coffee Club for a dessert after my meal whenever I am at Holland Village for – what else but their mudpies! To me, it’s a tough call as to which of the two is better – to each its own, like they always say. In terms of serving size alone, Coffee Club Muddy Mudpie is definitely value for money.

Also the mudpie is usually served with a generous portion of dark chocolate powder on top. However, in terms of overall taste, I felt that the small but delicious NYDC Cookie Monster Mudpie is easier to the jaws as it is softer and smoother in terms of the texture of the mudpie.

Besides, if you aren’t in for the mudpie, NYDC also has a larger range of food selection for the greedy mouths.

A nice recommendation is the Baked Potato Skin topped with the sinful Cream & Bacon Bits. Also a must for me is the Lemon Shiver drink that I always go along with my mudpie (which unfortunately is a nono for me now due to my throat condition).

Both joints usually comes with pretty good service except that, recently, I found Coffee Club’s staff a bit too friendly for my liking – I value Coffee Club’s quiet ambience such that I can spend quality time with my friends there – but the over-enthusiast staff kept peppered our conversation with “Would you like me to clear your plates, sir?” or “Excuse me, may I topped up your water for you,sir” till I wanted to tell them “Excuse me, would you mind leaving me alone please?”.


Rating

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Total: 13.5/20
Coffee Club
48A Lorong Mambong

Rating

Food: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5
Price: 3/5
Total: 13.5/20
NYDC
30 Lorong Mambong




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27 August, 2006

You Gain Some, You Lose Some

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Small Talk: I have been making use of the ADIDAS gym bag and my NIKE workout towel!!! Feels good to be exercising...hopefully i will lose weight soon... so that i can eat more...whahaha!!!
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In life you win some, you lose some. This year in particularly, I lose something really cherished to me, almost irreplaceable, but despite that, I gain in other ways. I found myself a job, I make a few good friends along the way, and I tried a great deal amount of food, which I never had the chance to sample before. For my birthday this year, I had the opportunity to sample two of such places which I had always wanted to visit. Tucked at the corner along Bukit Timah Road, before 6th Avenue, is Corduroy & Finch.

Although it’s chic décor and cosmopolitan furnish gave one the perfect ambience to dine in, I personally felt that the food we had that night didn’t quite live up to the reputation it has been generating.

The complimentary appetiser that were served was rather tasty but cold,

the mushroom linguine I had was delicious but too cheesy,

my friend’s serving of chicken breast sandwich was pretty modest, in terms of the serving in the meat, but the chicken breast for main that my other friend had was rather tender though I must say.

We topped off that night with my slice of birthday cake – a cheese cake from Marriot Hotel.

Rating
Food: 2.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Total: 13/20

779 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore
269758 [CLOSED]

The second place that I have been eyeing ever since I spotted it was another chic Japanese restaurant at Wheelock Place called Sun with Moon Dining & Café.

Since the friend I was with, used to work there as temp, I took the liberty to ask my friend to introduce some specialty dishes, and my friend sure didn’t disappoint me. First up was the Kani Tamago Toji, or Crab meat & Spinach, Egg Hot Plate.

I am a sucker for hot steaming dishes, and this dish was excellent not only in terms of taste, but also the strong flavour of the crab, which I suspect is the legs of the famous Hokkaido Crab. Next up is also another excellent dish of Salmon and Avocado Sushi, topped with Salmon Roe.

Salmon and Avocado is really a great combination and the Roe of the salmon give it a nice salty twist at the end. We have the Yakiniku Kamameshi next, or Fried Beef Slices with Raw Egg on rice. A dish that the place is famous for.

This dish is pretty intriguing as it is served with an hourglass to act as a timer for the seasoning to seep through the rice.

Maybe we left it too long, but the rice was too starchy for my liking, although the beef slices were a nice complement to the rice. The last main we had was the Tontoru Yaki, or the Grilled Pork Cheek Slices with Black Pepper.

Although one of the toughest portion of the pig, this meat dish served was not tough at all. With its meat grilled to perfection, squeezed some lemon, and you will have the same verdict as me on this dish – EXCELLENT!!! To round up the night, we had the tofu cheesecake, served in a mini birdcage with a folded bird that comes along with it.

The cake is smooth and not so sweet, just perfect for my liking, however I was told a cake in whole, to takeaway cost a cool 80 bucks.

Rating
Food: 4.5/5

Service: 4.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Total: 16/20
501 Orchard Road
#03-15 Wheelock Place




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24 August, 2006

Helplessness

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Small Talk: YEAH!! I've got a ADIDAS gym bag to go with my NIKE workout towel... this is SURELY a sign from God isn't it??
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Who knows the feeling of helplessness, raise up your hand? The feeling where you wish you could have done something about it to make the situation better but you never could, or the feeling where you wish you could be given a chance to redeem yourself but the second chance never came, or you wish you could eat a particular food but you could not because you have a bloody sore throat that never goes away.

The durian puff from Goodwood Park Hotel is one such irritating food that I am thinking about right now because is so incredibly delicious, with its thick, creamy durian paste and the nice fluffy puff to go with, it is definitely THE pastry everyone should get their hands on!!! And, this coming from me who ain't even a durian lover at all....

Oh, and by the way its 5.30am right now, and I can’t get to sleep. Talk about helplessness, I still have work tomorrow, or rather in 3 hours time.

Rating
Food: 5/5

Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Total: 16/20
22 Scotts Road,
Singapore 228221


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20 August, 2006

Have a Belly Birthday!

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Small Talk: YEAH!! I received 3 more birthday prezzie this week... a ROFF tie, a $200 RAOUL voucher and a NIKE workout towel...so happy!!!
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What’s a birthday celebration at home without the usual fare of sashimi as the starter? As my family and I indulged in the sashimi, I came to realise that amidst the 3 types of fishes, 2 of them are the belly portion of the fish – the Salmon Belly and the Tuna Belly. For sashimi lovers out there, they would know that in Japan, tuna are graded and priced according to fat content -- the fattiest part of the fish is the most prized -- and Otoro, cut from the tuna's belly, is usually the most expensive item on a sushi menu.

Hmm……just wondering how much does that belly of mine worth?


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17 August, 2006

Bangkok Day 4 - Last Day?

Click here for Day 1
Click here for Day 2
Click here for Day 3 Part 1
Click here for Day 3 Part 2

Another early site visit to a nearby hotel and a mad rush for some last minute shopping at MBK, Siam Discovery and Siam Paragon...

my colleague and I finally settled at a noodle house in MBK for our last meal in Bangkok.

With a modern and fresh look along with great furbishing,

customers are spolit for choice in this noodles house as it offers them tons of noodles types for their orders.

Of course, the longer I stayed, the more I fell in love with the Cha Yen.

Being the last meal in Bangkok, I was also exceedingly determined to finish with a BANG. I foremost ordered the beef balls in Thai sweet sauce, as well as what the menu termed it as the “Thai stick noodles soup”.

How I came about knowing this noodle was from my earlier experience at the noodles stall near Asia Hotel. This local noodle comes in sweet sauce-based soup (similar to those red-coloured sweet sauce found in local Yong Tau Foo stalls) with balls and fishcakes, and on top of that, they have my favourite cuttlefish and also the Bestest Of All – a cube of COAGULATED PIG BLOOD – Something you can never find in Singapore or even in JB anymore!!!

What a BLOODY SHIOK experience! And guess what? I am heading back to Bangkok again in another month’s time!!! Can’t wait for it to happen*sniggers*

Rating
Food: 3.5/5

Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Price: 3.5/5
Total: 14.5/20
(I am giving it a die die must try rating because of the pig blood)
229/1-2 Siam Square Soi 4,
Rama 1 Rd, Bangkok, Thailand [CLOSED]


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13 August, 2006

Bangkok Day 3 Part 2

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Small Talk: YEAH!! I received my 1st birthday present...!!!

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Click here for Day 1
Click here for Day 2
Click here for Day 3 Part 1

After another hectic day of meetings and hotel visits, another of our service partner was generous enough to buy us dinner once again. One uncomfortable fact about this trip is that most of our Thai service partners that we liaise with are MDs of their company. And it feels strange when you have a 40+, 50 year old man hosting a dinner for 4 young punks, and sucking up to them in hope that eventually they get more business. So on the last night in Bangkok, we were brought to the renowned SomBoon Seafood Restaurant.

Apparently this restaurant is so famous in Bangkok that even when we were walking along the road in the afternoon, the Tuk Tuk driver was shouting “SomBoon, SomBoon!” in hope that we will board it. Even Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro cannot resist it when he visited Bangkok.

If you happen to visit this restaurant, one dish you would not like to miss would be the curry crab. Cooked in thick Malay Lemak Style along with Thai herbs, the gravy is simply delicious! Another sure bet would be the claypot prawns cooked with vermicelli – Thai Style. The prawns they served are those fresh water prawns that come with small pincers, and they are simply HUGE!

It was a pity though that I do not have any photos to back up these dishes since the client was around. However, try searching SomBoom Seafood Restaurant in any internet search engine and you would discern that my claims aren’t baseless. After dinner, the service partner took us to Chinatown for dessert. While Bangkok’s Chinatown is known for their Shark’s Fin and Bird’s Nest, ironically, he brought us to this famous shop known for both...

and bought us Ginkgo Nuts instead. Talked about being big-hearted...


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09 August, 2006

Bangkok Day 3 Part 1

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Small Talk: Happy National Day Singapore!!!
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Click here for Day 1
Click here for Day 2

Following a long internal meeting among ourselves the night before, we woke up just in time for lunch, before our long series of meetings with our suppliers. We thus made our way to Siam House, next to the Asia Hotel on the recommendation of my Manager,

who insisted that they served nice Kang Kong over there.

A plus point for this place is that since the owner is a Thai Chinese, you can easily placed your order in Mandarin. However, although the food is generally tasty, I felt that the dishes were pretty catered for tourists’ taste. Take for example the Tom Yum Goong – it wasn’t that spicy at all for Thai standards - even though the chilli oil floating on top might make you thought otherwise.

But I have to commend that the Olive Rice was pretty exceptional. With its generous helping of mince meat fried with olives, along with groundnuts, each spoonful of olive rice is simply heavenly!

Another interesting dish was the deep fried fish we ordered. Thinking that it was the similar dish we ordered for the past 2 nights, it turned out the fish meat was deep fried till it became sort of like fish floss – and to think we initially thought that the golden-brown flakes were condiments for the fish!

And to wrap the lunch up, I made no mistake with their very own Cha Yen once again!

Not quite satisfied with the lunch, my Manager suggested that since there is a fishball noodle stall just around the corner, we should go sample it as she missed out on it on her last 2 visits. Therefore equipped with the usual grounded peanuts, chilli powder and sugar,

the 4 of us then proceed to savage the bowl of fishball noodle soup!

With the heavy lunch, it lasted us for the whole day throughout the meeting….to be continued...

Rating
Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 2.5/5
Price: 4/5
Total: 14.5/20
Near The Asia Hotel, Bangkok




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