29 October, 2006

Taiwan is Sinful

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Small Talk: I did my 1st onsite event at Pulau Ubin for HSBC and NParks launch of the Volunteers' Hut! GOH was Grace Fu... Do informed me if you happen to read the articles on the papers!
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I am a Teochew, and I simply digged having porridge once in awhile. Just along the street of Cheong Chin Nam Road opposite beauty world, I happen to chance upon Prince Taiwanese Porridge. I have to say Taiwanese are a bunch of SINFUL people, but I simply love them. They actually served Marinated Raw Cockles to go with their porridge.

I am pretty sure all cockles lover will simply delight themselves in it as they are so sweet and juicy and it cost only $4!!!

Rating

Food: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5
Price: 2.5/5
Total: 12.5/20
9 Cheong Chin Nam,
(Off Upp Bt Timah Road)




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25 October, 2006

A Fishy Affair

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Small Talk: By the way, the photos were taken by my new Nokia N73, *grin*!
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A planned brunch on a lazy Tuesday morning at Holland Village was cancelled and a late lunch at Plaza Singapura with another friend was arranged last minute instead. Situated at the 6th floor in the shopping centre, you will find The Manhattan Fish Market,
a Franchise - American Style Seafood Restaurant, from the neighbours of the north.

The concept is similar to that of Fish & Co., which surprisingly, also opens their first outlet in Plaza Singapura. Both of us decided to top up an additional dollar on the set menu for the Seafood Chowder, as the soup of the day was Cream of Mushroom, which soup of the day isn’t mushroom nowadays anyway but was sorely disappointed by it.

The soup was blend and lacked punch, and the squid was pathetic in serving and tasted rubbery. Thankfully the bad start was redeemed by the starters that we shared – the Garlic Butter Mussels.

The poached mussels were juicy and the garlic butter sauce was simply delightful, especially when dipped with the slices of baguette that comes with this appetiser. Our main for the day was the Grilled Norwegian King Salmon Fillet with Garlic Butter Rice and once again, it did not disappoint us.

The fish was not too dry and it goes well with the rice. Also the salmon skin was grilled to crispy perfection, which I truly it. Overall, the garlic butter combination was the winner for the day and the total dent for the lunch was a cool 60 bucks for two.


Rating

Food: 3/5 (If not for the soup it would be a 4)
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Price: 3.5/5
Total: 13.5/20
68 Orchard Road,
Plaza Singapura,
#06-07



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21 October, 2006

The Sweetest Things in Life

"Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.”

Indeed, the sweetest song that we often hear from the radio are that of love songs – but often then not, these so called love songs tells stories of unrequited love and many sadden stories.

Thankfully, my affair with sweet stuffs often gives me more joy than misery. I have a sweet tooth and I often crave for dessert whenever I finish a meal.

After a cup of Hong Kong Milk Tea at Xin Wang Hong Kong Café at Cineleisure, I was craving for a dessert - and the most appealing dessert was the luscious Mango Pudding staring right back at me from the menu. When the order came, the appearance of the mango pudding was however a HUGE disappointment. Nowhere was it close to the dazzling orangey yummy-looking mango pudding portrayed in the menu.

The waitress explained that the dessert came served with milk, which explains why the dessert was whitish in colour.

The dessert was passable (it was a bit filling with the milk), but I felt that they could have better depict the picture in the menu.

Service was also rather bad, as we have to wait to have our orders taken - despite the numerous crews in the café - as they rather chit-chat away at the side of the café.

Rating

Food: 3/5
Service: 2/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Price: 2.5/5
Total: 11/20
8 Grange Road,
Cathay Cineplex Orchard,
#02-11


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Another recent sweet affair I had, was a trip to Serene Centre after a lazy picnic at the nearby Botanic Gardens.

Island Creamery is an ice cream parlour that offers unique local flavours for both young and old – think Teh Tarik and Tiger Beer sorbet and not your typical boring chocolate or vanilla flavours. I tried the Pulut Hitam and I have to say that it kinda reminded me of the days in NS, where it was one of the favourite desserts among the field ration.

However, the texture of the ice-cream is a bit rough as compared to the ice cream from Venezia, at Guthrie House, Sixth Avenue.

Despite that, it is still a chic place for teenagers to hang out with, and it even encourage people to take photos, print out, and leave their wonderful memories behind, pasted on the wall. So who says all sweet stuffs leave you with a bad aftertaste?



Rating
Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Total: 15/20
10 Jalan Serene,
Serene Centre, #01-05



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16 October, 2006

For the Privileged Only

I love to cook and only the privileged will get to eat them. So are you one of them?




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13 October, 2006

Time and Tide Waits for No Men

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Small Talk: Entries are labelled!!!
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Time and tide waits for no man
, so my parents and I decided to head down to Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre (Temporary) for a dinner one night. I took a quick walk around the food centre, and chanced upon a Minced Meat Noodle stall that used to be located at the market where I grew up, before it was demolished for re-development to make way for Merchant Court Hotel at Clark Quay. Being nostalgic, I ordered the $3 potion and I wasn’t disappointed – the ingredients were generous and it came with numerous pieces of crispy lard.

Mixed well with the black vinegar that is a MUST in all Teochew-styled noodles and sweet memories of my childhood came flashing back.

The queue itself is a testament to how tasty the noodles are, but a warning to all obsessive cleanliness individuals – the way he prepared the food is pretty unhygienic. More unhealthy fare came along the way and the next plate we sampled was the Char Kway Teow that used to be situated at another food centre, near my former residence, that was being ordered to be re-located.

It was another $3 portion that came with extra cockles, a shell-food that I simply find it irresistible – in fact I find all shell-food irresistible!!!

With generous portion of prawns and Chinese sausages, the Kway Teow was fried near perfect – neither too wet nor too dry, but a pity that the Wok Hei, or charred flavour was missing from this dish. However, the charred flavour definitely make it’s presence felt from the last dish we ordered - Claypot Rice.

The charred base of the rice along with the dark soy sauce, chicken and more Chinese sausages is simply enticing, if not for the sore throat that was bugging me then, I would have no problem finishing up the whole pot.

No wonder the stall was smart enough to serve boiled soup like Watercress and Old Cucumber soup.


Rating
Food: 4.5/5
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5
Price: 4.5/5
Total: 15/20
Outram Road,
Near Outram MRT


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10 October, 2006

Bangkok II Day Three (II)

Click here for Day One
Click here for Day Two
Click here for Day Two (II)
Click here for Day Two (III)
Click here for Day Three

After a long day walking around shopping centre and picking up cheap Adidas and Nike’s tee, we headed back to the hotel room, dropped our bits and pieces and headed straight for the skytrain once again. We alighted at the last stop of Hua Lamphong (Bangkok Railway Station) and decided to be adventurous and boarded the ubiquitous Tuk-Tuk to Yaowarat (Chinatown).

So named because of the sound of their engine, these are motorised rickshaws and are popular amongst tourists for their novelty value. Because of that reason, it’s essential to bargain the price with Tuk-Tuks before getting in or you would end up being ripped off. We headed for Nam Sing Restaurant straight away...

(YES!! It the place where I had my Gingko Nuts the 1st time round) with the intention to burn holes in our pockets and started off the night with their famous Braised Shark’s Fin soup.

The soup was rich and flavourful, and the fin was soft yet chewy. The next dish that followed was the Fried Oyster Egg.

Unlike the one we tried in Suan Lum Night Bazaar, this one was more similar to those found in Singapore. It came with the flour that gave it the sticky and chewy goo that my friend simply loved! Next up was the Steamed Scallops with Garlic & Glass Noodles.

The aroma of the steamed garlic plus the freshness of the huge scallops was simply the perfect combination. The art of eating this dish is simply to gulp down the whole scallop into the mouth. Subsequently, the Prawns with Glass Noodles in Claypot was up.

The big prawns were juicy and the roe from the prawn’s head was sinfully great, but the glass noodles were abit too much for the both of us though and we didn't finish it. After a chat over some tea, we decided to unleash ourselves for the last item of the night – Bird’s Nest!!!

We ordered the 2 different types that were available, the red and the white. The former claims to help smoothen the throat and cleanse the lungs while the latter mainly helps the ladies who wish to have soft & youthful looking skin. Total damage for the trip – 3kg worth of fats……

Rating
Food: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 3.5/5
Price: 4/5
Total: 16/20
39-47 Soi Texas,
Th Phadung Dao,
off Yaowarat Road,
Bangkok, Thailand



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06 October, 2006

I Had Mine...What About You?

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival Everyone!!! Still remember about the entry I wrote about mooncakes?

*Clasp my hands in glee* Over the weekend, I finally gotten my hands on the Hua Ting Green Tea snow-skin mini mooncake and had just finished the last piece of eight in the box.

The green-tea paste was flavoursome and not too sweet. Good combination of the crunchy melon seeds and salted egg yolk bring the mooncake to an astonishing achievement.

What about you? Where did your mooncake came from?


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04 October, 2006

Bangkok II Day Three

Click here for Day One
Click here for Day Two

Click here for Day Two (II)
Click here for Day Two (III)

After an eventful yesterday, we decided to head to the largest shopping mall in BangkokSiam Paragon – for lunch.

We headed straight for the basement and immediately came to realise how huge the shopping mall is. With tons of eatery, cafe and restaurants, it even features our very own Bread Talk.

However, as we have decided to splurge on our dinner that night, we decided to settle for something simple and headed for the Siam Paragon’s Food Hall instead.

The concept is basically a food court, but you would need to purchase a stored-value card (refundable on the day itself) for food. Since it was his 1st visit in Thailand, my friend decided to sample the Pad Thai, or Thai-styled Fried Noodles.

While being an egg-lover, I decided to sample the crispy egg with rice – quite a disappointment as the egg lacked taste and it felt like I was eating cotton candy.

Being unsatisfied with my lunch, I decided to go for another walk around the place and chanced upon the Thai Spicy Noodles.

What captivated me was none other than the half boiled egg found in the noodle, as it kind of reminded me of the EGG I had in my ramen when I was in Hokkaido, Japan. Just when you thought we were done with our lunch, my friend pointed out that their McDonalds’ menu differ from those found in Singapore as they serve – PORK BURGER!!!

Since it wasn’t a big serving, I ordered one. It wasn’t incredible but at least it was something that you could never experience in Singapore.

Amidst these eateries, you can also find a supermarket which goes by the name of Gourmet Market and is what must be the largest supermarket in Thailand. It is said to be the size of a standard soccer field.

To be continued...


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03 October, 2006

Bangkok II Day Two (III)

SPOILER: For the First Time, I have Decided to Blog Nothing on Food!

Click here for Day One

Click here for Day Two
Click here for Day Two (II)


After pampering ourselves with a luxurious dinner, we headed back to our hotel. Those who know Asia Hotel will know that besides having the famous Thai retail store at the lobby, NaRaYa, that sells bag, they also have something naughty in store at the basement of the hotel - Calypso Cabaret.

My travel agent manages to get us the front row for the show and my friend manage to get an experience of a lifetime, Ha-Ha!!! For those who are really ignorant, these cabarets feature what the Thais known as “lady-boys”, or men who go under the knife to become woman – and you will be amaze by how lady these man are, that could certainly put some woman into shame!!!


Opening Act
Wedding?!?!

Hawaiian Setting... look how slim 'she' is

From the photo, you will come to realise how close they are to me

This character was the one who sat on my friend's lap... Ha-Ha!

3 Marilyn Monroe...and their up-skirts... Hee-Hee


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