Paul Bakery, Takashimaya

This is a long overdue post. LOL.

My friend who had been to Europe was so excited to try out this French patisserie place at Ngee Ann City when she learnt about its opening a few months ago. (Note: my friend had really good dining experience at Paul Bakery during her holiday in Europe last year).

A bread-loving person I am was definitely more than willing to try out this place with her. And, we visited the place right after work the following day! We were really anticipated then, tsk tsk.

My friend had a Tartine Poulet Citron, which is an open sandwich with chicken marinated in lemon and tarragon, tomatoes and chives served warm with a seasonal side salad. My friend loves it, and she finished it in a few minutes. She is a fast eater anyway, lol.

I had a Croque Salmon Poireaux which brings together the roast salmon and leeks, served warm with a seasonal side salad. It was made to my liking; the bread was slightly toasted and soft in the inside with filling of my choice. Yummmm~

How could we not have dessert at a pastry shop? We ordered a set of dessert to share which came with 2 macaroons, a crème brulee, a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee/ tea. Well, it was nothing extraordinary, in my opinion.

I could not resist but to takeaway a slice of Millefeuille, a thin puff pastry with vanilla custard on my way out. It reminded me of the vanilla slice which I heart when I was studying in Melbourne. And it did not disappoint me! The vanilla custard was nice, not overly sweetened and the layers of thin puff pastry were crispy! <3

Honestly, I think the food was ok but the sandwiches were quite pricey. And, I personally feel the front liners need more training/ improvement in their customer service.

Yu Cuisine, Marina Bay Sands

Didn’t plan to visit this place initially. But the places that we wanted to try were fully booked/ packed on Friday night, so we settled for this Chinese restaurant which looked as good!

Little did I know it is run by the management of Bosses, which is a fairly decent Chinese restaurant at Vivocity, until I was presented with the menu. Knowing that, I was more confident with the food at Yu then as my dining experience at Bosses was superior! LOL.

Similar to Bosses, we were served with deep fried crispy fish skin once we were seated at Yu. I guess it’s a love-hate relationship when it comes to this appetizer. One of my friends loves the fish skin and said he could easily finish one whole big pack without knowing it but B didn’t like it at all when she got to try it at Bosses. So, what’s your say?

We pampered ourselves with loads of food this time; way too much for two! We ordered a BBQ combo; a combination of roast duck, BBQ pork (Char Siew) and crispy roast pork belly (Siew Yuk). All these were fairly decent prepared! Flavourful and crispy!! Nice~

We also ordered a soup; Sze Chuan soup with Grouper! The presentation was quite dull; not appealing. But the taste was similar to my mum’s home-cooked Sze Chuan soup! So, I like! Hehe.

Veggie is a must! It makes me feel healthier/ less guilty :P The “blanched” Kai Lan was surprisingly quite flavourful! I was totally fooled by its appearance when it was first served; thinking that it was just a simple blanched and perhaps tasteless kai lan that could be easily done at home/ on your own. But I knew I was absolutely wrong upon first bite! Thumbs up for this dish; blanched yet crunchy and flavourful kai lan matched with the wonderful crispy kai lan! *drools

For main, our last order would be another fingers-linking good dish; Steam rice with live prawns! The rice was really appetizing for someone who doesn’t like to eat plain rice like me! I think the rice was fried with salted egg yolk! And when it was steamed with prawns, all the juices and essences of the prawns were being absorbed by the rice! Thumbs and toes, all up for this dish!! Haha.

We were actually really really full after the main meals. But no meal is complete without some good desserts. And being indecisive; we ordered TWO to share!

We had my all-time-favourite Egg yolk and Custard Bun/ Liu Sar Pau. It was not bad, but not one of the best that I have ever tried before. I find the filling rather insufficient for me. Please give me more “liu sar” :P

We also had a Bird’s Nest in Fresh Coconut which was strongly recommended by the waitress. It was made to order, so we waited for a while.

The first mouthful was quite sweet. My friend said it was most likely the sweetness from the coconut juice itself. Anwyay, I got immune to the sweetness somehow and finish the whole bowl. Perhaps, it was not overly sweetened afterall, tsk tsk.

Ahhh, another over-feeding case!! LOL.

But its ok! New Year, new resolution – Dear God, if you can’t make me resist all the good foods and maintain my current body weight, PLEASE let all my friends experience weight gain with me! Thank you! Hahahaha. (Just kidding friends, please dont boycott me *ke lian look* :P)

Happy and better 2012 everyone! Cheers!!

Masak-masak

Sweet Corn and Carrot Soup

Have been cooking dinners more often than usual (ever since I started my working life in Singapore); I cooked dinner almost every day last week, after work and gym! *impressed

Stir-fry Assorted Mushrooms with Chicken

One of the most important factors that motivate me to cook is to have someone who appreciates; my housemate in this case scenario! LOL.

Baked Sambal Fish Fillet with loads of Lady Fingers

I feel as if I were back in Melbourne, where I used to cook dinners for my brother and housemate(s). Heart the life where we would cook for each other, taking into consideration what dishes / food one will or will not eat, for example.

Spicy Lotus Root with Snow Peas and Carrot

A great way to show your care and concern to someone, from my perspective.

Stir-fry Chye Sim

Appreciate those who had/ will actually put in effort to cook for me, no matter who you are. Especially those who wake up early in the morning to prepare heart-warming breakfast for me *so much loved. The attempt to make it happens weigh much more than the presentation and taste of the food. I would say my expectations to home-cooked food are quite different from what I would anticipate from a cafe/ restaurants.

Fish Fillet with Black Pepper Sauce

Of all the dishes that I prepared last week, I guess the Stir-fry fish fillet with black pepper was my housemate top choice! She likes black pepper really much! Although I am not a big fan of black pepper, I am glad she likes it. And, perhaps her all-time-favourite chicken wings as well. :P

Cola Chicken Wings

Thank you everyone who has showered me with love with their home-cooked food. You all are greatly appreciated! And, of coz, that includes my mum who has been cooking for me for the past 20 odd years. Love you, mum! xoxo

Hanabi Japanese Restaurant, Odeon Towers

I love buffet! For its varieties!!!

Family and friends have always commented that it’s a waste of money for me to go for buffet! But little do they know, they are absolutely wrong when it comes to Japanese buffet. LOL

When I visited Hanabi with another 2 girl friends recently, we whacked at least 3-4 plates of sashimi as the sashimi here was really fresh and irresistible! *drools~

We love omega-3 for sure; it is good for our hearts! So, ask for more!! LOL

Besides the over-dosage of omega-3, we have other (not-so healthy) fatty acids from other food items too!

Including our all-time-favourite pumpkin croquette…

Prawn and veggies tempura and…

Agedashi tofu!

And, how could we give edamame which possess a high nutritional value a missed?

We were not craving for teppanyaki/ grilled items then so didnt order much besides the squid, which was average.

To ensure we meet our nutritional needs, we ordered a soba (i.e. carbohydrate) to share! *What a great excuse to over-eat, haha...

Another satisfied ala carte Japanese buffet. Yummylicious~

I will definitely go back for more omega-3. *slurps

Winter Solstice 2011 - Happy Tang Yuan Day~

Winter solstice came early! We made tang yuan on Sunday and that was 4 days earlier! But who cares? Too tired to do it after work on its actual day, on a weekday! :P

Besides the peanut & black sesame glutinous rice ball in ginger soup, I cooked dinner for my “family” in Singapore too!

We had more soup! Savoury one for dinner; pork rib lotus root with peanut! One of my favourite soups! <3

For protein, we had Kung Po Chicken as requested by my dear housemate. I find home-cooked ones lacking of the “wok hei”. But the chicken was really soft and tender! Credits go to Uncle who helped me to buy the fresh and good chicken! LOL

And, how could we leave out the green? Stir fry kai lan with salted fish we had!

Thank you for allowing me to be part of the “family”; staying under one roof together and always looking after me. I am counting my blessings! Thank you xoxo

Hokaido Sushi Restaurant, Anson Road

B bought a deal online and gave me a treat to this place which was voted as the 'Best Japanese Restaurant' when they were barely opened for six months back in 2009! Thank you *hugs*

So, what’s so special about this Japanese Restaurant at the M Hotel? They claim to serve fresh items directly air flown from Sapporo, Hokkaido!!! Sounds impressive, doesn’t it?

With the deal B bought, we had a set meal each which consists of…

Sashimi, which were really fresh!!! Preferred to have a bigger serving of sashimi, please? LOL.

Chawanmushi, one of those atas ones, coz it was served with shark fins!! The steamed egg was smooth and silky the way I like it! Yumm~

Teppan Salmon, which was juicy and tender! I prefer to have fresh or smoked salmon most of the time coz I don’t fancy over-cooked salmon that’s dry! But this was perfect!

Teriyaki Chicken Don, which was average.

Cold Tofu that has a special topping. I guessed it contained century egg! But combination of it was good and refreshing. I liked.

Besides the standard Miso Soup, Pickles and Fruits that would usually be served along with a set meal.

I think the set meal was a bit pricey at its original price. Heard from B it cost about SGD100 at its original price *jaw dropping*. But it’s absolutely worthwhile on its discounted price (SGD 30+)! Should have bought a few more!! That was definitely a great and valuable deal!!!

Went home with a satisfied stomach and wallet at the end of the day! LOL

Chalk Restaurant, Mt Sophia

Chalk, a casual bistro within Old School, Mt Sophia that serves hearty French and Italian fare, with a bit of an Aussie twist.

Initially, we planned to visit this place mainly for their desserts and for their free flow olive breads which was strongly recommended by my friend. We were indecisive of where to chill out after we had our dinner till we talked about this place. My friends were really into this place and they looked really in love with the bread when they were talking about it.

After hearing the rave about it, I’ve finally got to try it! Within that night! Haha. It was really quite nice! No, I am not bias though I am a bread-lover, yummm~

Although we went there mainly to chill out and some after meal desserts, my makan kaki could not resist themselves from ordering the artichoke soup …

And the ox tongue! Haha. Once again, I saw the craze in one of my friends when he saw ox tongue in the menu! He could not wait to order it, and insisted everyone to share with him. Verdict? Not bad. Preferred the ox tongue served in Korean BBQ though :P

FINALLY, it’s time for desserts!! And time for me to get excited when the Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Ice-cream and Sesame Snap was served!!!

Look at the melted chocolate!! Ohhh…. My favourite!!! And no, I am not a chocoholic, but chocolate fondant is so irresistible!! And the chocolate fondant here is one of the best I have tried, yummylicious~

We also ordered a Passion Fruit Souffle, which was made to order. So, we waited approximately 20mins for it.

It was nice! But I still love my chocolate fondant more than the soufflé. Haha.

I love its location and the ambience of this place.

And also how the waiter/ waitress will literally bring the daily specials to you and explain/ describe each dish on the board to you. Customer service is really important when you are doing front line, isn’t it? :)