Eats all F.A.T.E.

Xin Wang HK Cafe

2010-03-23T05:03:00.001+08:00

simple fare done well is always something that fits my palate well.At Xin Wang, they serve the usual overpriced "cha chan ting" food, but the plus point here is that the food is done well. Even though there's the occasional microwaved stuff like the "bo luo bao", there's a lot of good stuff here. For the past year or so i've been going to this cafe quite often and yesterday I found a gem on the menu!! Yes, a gem.

Special Pork Rib Beehoon, it's basically the taste of the canned pork ribs infused into beehoon. When done well, it can be the most appetising beehoon you have ever eaten. The version I had yesterday was really well done, every strand of beehoon was filled with the fragrant & fatty taste of canned pork ribs. Sinful, I know. Yummy, you will know after first taste.

Singapore Sashimi Hunt

2010-01-07T05:20:00.002+08:00

Ok this blog is really getting neglected. So it's time for me to have a long post once again. In the second half of 2009. Yanli and I were on a search for good sashimi and japanese ala carte buffets. We have tasted, evaluated and re-evaluated the entries of this list of Japanese eateries. So enjoy the information. :)

Akira Japanese Restaurant
- Link Hotel (Tiong Bahru Rd)
We had ala carte lunch buffet at this one. This was the first location of our sashimi search. The ala carte items were quite nice, even though they came in tiny, miniscule portions. Sashimi was good the first round, but when we ask for seconds they gave us tuna that had turned bad. That was a HUGE booboo.. so we never went back again.

Irodori Japanese Restaurant
- Riverview Hotel
We visited this place for lunch buffet as well. The portions were slightly bigger than those at Akira, but the selection here is really quite limited. Sashimi here were not exciting, considering the hype it got from hungrygowhere.com, it's rather disappointing. Oh the price here is not attractive either.

Minori
- Tanjong Katong Rd
We found this place at katong area after ice-cream one day and decided to try it's ala carte buffet. The cooked items were quite tasty and the service was actually pretty good considering they looked overwhelmed at times. That's something I don't really understand, cos they are seriously over staffed with waiters and waitresses, but only have 1 sushi chef working. WEIRD! Sashimi here, offered more than just usual salmon, tuna and yellowtail, it also offers another fish which I TOTALLY can't remember the name. Probably cos it was not fantastic, i'll just stick with salmon. Oh they too made a big booboo, the sashimi was frozen, there was still ice when I ate them. BAD BAD BAD...

Sakae Sushi
- Marina Sq
Ala carte but no buffet, just had a sudden urge to get some sushi and sashimi down our guts and there we were. everyone already knows how the sushi at sakae tastes like, NOT FASTASTIC. The salmon sashimi, well let's just say it looks wilted. Been out in the open too long.

Fish Mart Sakuraya
- Village Centre (South Buona Vista)
Ala carte orders here, but you get to choose the fish that you want, freshness is ensured. Value for price is also evident. Appetizers are quite affordable. So if you are looking for nice sashimi and dun wanna stuff yourself with a buffet, here's the place to visit.

Senki Japanese Restaurant
- Killiney Rd
I have to admit, I was sceptical abt this place at first. I've been hearing abt this place on 88.3fm very often, and what kinds of good place needs this much of advertisement? So I had to try it out. It turned out to be a nice experience, the sashimi was fresh and the service was good. Best of all, it serves swordfish, nice juicy ones. So when it comes to ala carte buffet, this is the place to come. I've been here twice and both times I had my fill and satisfaction.

Shima Japanese Restaurant
- Goodwood Park Hotel
Ok final location, I was here for Teppanyaki buffet so it might seem slight off course, but it serves unlimited salmon sashimi as appetizers. The salmon was GOOD! I'll be back again to try it's sashimi bar. On a sid e note, the Teppanyaki was pretty good too. Price wise... Goodwood Park, go figure.

Alexander Village Food Centre

2009-04-10T04:03:00.002+08:00

finally visited this place, we were looking for a place to have a not so expensive dinner. so here we are.. Just a plain old food centre.

Advocado is a very popular drink here. I LOVE IT!! Please buy from the stall that says "Mr Advocado". It's more authentic, he uses gula melaka instead of choc sauce like some other stalls. I think gula melaka just tastes so much better.

The other stall I tried today was "Rong Guang BBQ seafood". i was kindda attracted to it cos of all it's channel U posters. But it turned out the posters werent lying. I ordered simple stuff, mee goreng, kang kong & stingray.

the mee goreng was flaourful, best i've had in ages. there's prawns and clams in it. NICE.

Kang Kong turns out outstanding as well. Not oily at all, no overwhelming sambal, just heaps of "hei bi". Smells great, tastes even better.

Stingray, this is their "hot seller" for a reason. it's done to perfection, the meat is not overcooked, sambal does not overwhelm the natural taste of the fish. and the cinchalok simply SHIOK!!

this place is definitely somewhere i'll visit again. And bring more people to it too.. Oh did I mention the dinner was only $20.. :)

2008-05-13T22:47:00.002+08:00

been heading here for quite some time already, decided to intro the SIM gang to this gem of a place since i was doing honey deliveries =0p

temptations. whet your appetite with potato salad.

gratification. chunky slices of fish fresh like no other.

bliss in the form of handmade gyoza. juicy pockets of meat tenderly wrapped in handrolled skin

heaven. enough said.

satisfaction.

Where: Cuppage plaza 2nd floor

2008-01-08T14:46:00.000+08:00

got kinda irritated with the skin not loading properly when i use firefox, so decided to change! but now no more tag board.. and still not quite nice enuff.. default skin ma.. haha =0p

Riders Cafe

2008-01-07T11:40:00.000+08:00

one of the laziest, best ways to spend the weekend, with good food, my FAGs for good company and a totally out of the city feel.

Riders Cafe
51 Fairways Drive

Ajitei

2007-11-04T04:35:00.001+08:00

this is a subidiary of Ajisen, which i guess most of us know by now... Ajisen had it's first outlet in singapore at Bugis Junction.. and now.. it's new concept store.. Ajitei sets up shop there as well... but ramen is not the star of the shop this time.. it's the rest of japanese food.. and especially the desserts...

but a pity i have yet to try the desserts.. cos i had to much to eat in the main course and other side dishes... so be mindful.. keep some space for desserts when you visit there... check out the website below...

http://www.ajisen.com.sg/ajitei.htm

HOG's BREATH

2007-11-04T04:29:00.000+08:00

This place is a great place for nice juicy steak... Large generous portions. Savoury curly fries, which looks like hog's tails... mashed potato tastes great too... prices are not too cheap... 30++ for main courses but it's worth the money.. go there while you are feeling rich... or with a lady on tuesdays.. cos it's ladies night.. and ladies get 50% of the main courses... which is really cool...

outlets are at holland V, Chijmes & Vivocity...

check out the website....

www.hogsbreath.com.sg

2007-05-19T23:53:00.000+08:00

felt bit bad for neglecting this site.. so here's some pics to compensate.. heheh

still one of my all time faves: the brownie fr intercontinental.

aahhh i noe. show u all food pics fr my 3 wks in manila!

one of my best meals there.

hallo there halo halo!

the brinjal was really good. the shop was called 'Somethin' Piggy Sometimes Fishy'

bubblegum and yam soymilk. my bubblegum one was nicer!! i got good taste!!

4 cheese pizza & nachos salad from our company's restaurant.
all because i said i never been there before. hehe

macarons of all flavours and colours!

Cashew Dome cake. This is actually: Amaretto cream, chopped chocolate and cashew nuts enclosed in a tender nut cake lavished with a white chocolate ganache. wat the heck is a tender nut cake i have no idea. but wah it was damn good.

banoffee pie. one of the many good desserts i'll remember.

souffle which turned out to be more of a warm choc cake.

the funny face made by brad's drink.

this was a really funny meal i had.
the food was really good too - beef caldereta (is tat how u spell it?), the squid thingy, everything!

BakerZin

2007-05-17T00:50:00.001+08:00

Yesterday we went to have a very very tasty dinner which cos pretty tasty too. I'll let the picture of the gorgeous food i had speak for themselves..

potato salad
S$ 8.80

braised veal cheek
S$ 20.80

linguini with bratwurst balsamico (spicy)
S$ 14.80 *I added mushrooms so it's more Ex again...

Interesting Flavoured Sodas

A sliced of this..

A smaller version of this...

TOTAL BILL's quite a bomb, but quite worth the quality. Service and quite surroundings at the Millenia Walk outlet really made the experience pretty good. Oh we saw William Su Yong Kang there too.. hahaa.. That's out of point but ya.. it's a nice experience.

Check out the website for other details...http://www.bakerzin.com/

Donut Factory

2007-02-07T05:52:00.000+08:00

It seems like there hasnt been much news here for a while, so i'm trying to add my few cents worth of GLUTTONY.

I wonder if you people know about this place that sells donuts, DONUT FACTORY in CITY HALL Basement. My sis bought a dozen from there yesterday. They taste pretty good, lots of variety in their flavors, inner fillings of flowing chocolate or peanut butter. even wasabi & cheese. well you have to try it for yourself.

But i have to warn you first of the horrendous queues. You cant miss it when u are there. My sis took 2.5hrs to get that dozen of donuts and we finished most of it in 20mins. so if you are going there to queue for it, my advice is : BUY MORE.

oh yah, one very IMPT point, it only costs $11 for a dozen of tasty, not so oily, yummy donut.

here some links on some reports about it.
http://www.stomp.com.sg/stfoodiesclub/poshnosh/98/donut.html
http://wineanddine.asiaone.com.sg/features/topics/20070121_002.html

cut the crab

2006-12-26T00:31:00.000+08:00

i know i'm supposed to eat less, diet more, exercise more blah blah blah but i really really loved the food here.

really. i really did. despite the parking ticket which i shld pay up soon. =_='

this yummilicious pot of magic comes with oooo-so-yummy soup with oooo-so-fresh-and-juicy crab. its in the soup i swear! u can also learn alot just by watching the different ways ppl eat crabs. its an art.

dumplings. loved these since i started eating them years back. still good, but i still like the neil rd ones haha.

its actually tofu smothered in egg white sauce, topped with some mince meat and salted egg yolk. very nice. and oh so healthy!

total bill came up to 50 plus, sufficient to feed 3 of us. if i'm not wrong, the crab was 28bucks, and would have been perfect with a bottle of white wine. alas, we arent tat professional foodies!

and, if u wanna go makan here, call me. i'll direct you provided i get to go along too. *grin*

The (Shanghainese) Godfather

2006-12-16T20:12:00.000+08:00

vivo was crowded as usual. so went to try a new restaurant.

Hei She Hui (Bosses), near sushi tei.

okok pics first, explanation later on.

from the black exterior, the place looked kinda intimidating but quite cool. BUT once u step right inside, then its almost like any other restaurant. interestingly, their menus are chained to the tables. hmmm.

food wise, its similar to crystal jade but slightly pricier. we liked the custard buns with the salted egg filling. very nice! plus we managed to get it free? or at a dollar? cant rem.

much of the food (like the lionhead and soup) was quite salty, so u probably have to buy water from them. if u're feeling adventurous, try the drink (think its called hei she hui No. 1), a concoction of soda & vinegar. HENG i wasnt the guinea pig. i'm definitely sticking to water whahaha. its one of those drinks u serve to the groom at the wedding dinner to sabo him. maybe can worm a bigger ang pow out of him as well. =0D

anyways the xiao long pao things were ok. tried the lobster one and the mushroom one. both not very warm, rather disappointing. think shall stick to my neil road one

*dreams of steaming hot xiao long pao with lotsa delicious soup inside*

But we got one bowl free cos the (not very experienced) staff thot we were complaining abt it and didnt noe wat we were complaining abt (seriously we didnt complain) so the manager came and gave us complimentary from the kitchen. not quite piping hot, but free ma! haha

the beans were a different matter. nice! shld try it. healthier (and less cholesterol) than the version with cuttlefish definitely. would have gone well with beer or something!

all in, it cost abt 70plus? try looking for the manager, susan, she might be able to give u better food recommendations!

Pizza Da Donato

2006-12-10T21:49:00.000+08:00

At a side street off Sixth Avenue, delicious and cheap pizzas can be found in this quaint and charming literal Hole-In-The-Wall kind of joint. The pizzas here are authentic, by virtue of this place being helmed by a friendly Italian. At $6 for a large rectangular serving, u feel like eating all the many kind of pizzas this joint offerss. The Sausages and Wedges combo, also $6, is not that spectacular, so use this $6 to get another slice instead, unless u reaaaalllly need to eat sausages.Or wedges. One other plus point, Hoegaarden goes for $7 a bottle. What more can u want? -del [my virgin post here....Almost wanted to just write "Its gd.And cheap.Go try.Pizza Da Donato, at 6th Ave." heh ;) ]

e.BlackBoard

2006-11-22T21:03:00.000+08:00

with the recent craze over botak jones, it seems like cheap and good western food served in a kopitiam is all the rage. went over to the amk botak jones one nite w my family, the food there was cheap, not exactly as good as i imagined, but for tt price i shan't complain. but u really shd check this out:

are you crazy or wat burger (~$13) . triple patty topped w one slice of cheese... the patty was damn thick, i shared this w my sis, it really was quite crazy, but i found the beef too dry, so was wolfing it down by coating it with lotsa mustard.

but yes, b4 i digress, this post is abt e.BlackBoard. Saw a review of this place on weekend today so decided to check it out since it's so near tj's place.

both of us ordered exactly wat was featured on the papers:

waldorf salad (~$4). nicely chilled, it comes with celery, green and yellow bell peppers, olives, green and red apples, w some walnuts. it tasted very fresh and yummy.

grilled ribeye steak (250g) served with tuscan fries and coleslaw ($12.90). nice and juicy unlike other kopitiam western food, it has the slight hint of "caoda" tt tells u tt it's been on a nice grill, e.BlackBoard prides itself on only serving fresh beef (as opposed to frozen beef), and yah the meat was tender and nice, abit too rare for my liking and we ordered medium, it's more like medium rare. the fries were nice, crispy and i like the red pepper spice they sprinkled over it. coleslaw not too bad too.

cajun chicken ($5.50), i changed the fries to mashed potatoes cos my throat wasn't tt good, but it was nothing to cry abt, stick to the fries. i love the chicken, seasoning was v nice, the meat (prob the chicken fillet) was v tender and juicy. i prefer their version over botak jones' (too dry)

so yes, please go check this place out, it's at 18 bedok south road KK makan place, opposite TJC.

find it if u can

2006-11-04T01:04:00.000+08:00

found this nice place to hang out with yapyap. both decided its our kind of place. plus they serve great dessert. kinda didnt really wanna blog abt it cos we value its crowd (lack of really), so i shall try to mystify this place and let u deduce where this really is. =0p *hint* its in vivo.

anyways..

panna cotta with wild berry compote.
absolutely adorable carrot cupcake. haf a softspot for cupcakes. this comes topped with an icing tat looks deceptively hard.
apple & rhubarb crumble with vanilla custard. yummy! plus it was sold out by the time we left the place.
still lots more to try, gonna attempt to try it all!

wild rocket @ mount emily

2006-11-03T01:53:00.000+08:00

wanted to go Jaan at equinox to try their set lunch, but couldn't cos the place was booked for a private function. booked a place at ember but decided it was pretty out of the way, we finally settled for wild rocket at mount emily.

it's a bitch to get there by public transport, we walked for a good 20 min from plaza sing, climbed up the hill to reach hangout@mount emily, the backpacker's hostel in which wild rocket was situated. but yeah, it was a cosy place, almost packed w the lunchtime crowd. we both got the 3-course set meal ($26+++)

appetisers:

bread with olive oil. technically free, served warm, the bread was tasty and abit cake-like in texture.

baby spinach salad with asian dressing. v fresh and good.

soft shell crab w thai chili sauce dressing. fresh crab, delicious tangy sauce

main course:

burger with sun-dried tomato relish. loved the thick and juicy beef patty. absolute yum!

pan-fried catfish. there's this crust made of miso and i dunno what, v fresh and tasty fish, juicy too! the salad of panfried caixin matched the fish perfectly.

desserts:

coconut ice-cream w gula melaka. i love this one. creamy but not cloying, a refreshing end to the meal.

strawberry cheesecake. served deconstructed in a martini glass, this comes highly recommended by yun. it isn't part of the set menu, but we paid $5 to upgrade our dessert to this. the cheese portion is super rich and creamy, the crust and strawberries are good, and it comes w a small bit of maple syrup ice cream. heaven!

love this place, good quality, uncomplicated fusion food. the friendly chef even came out to chat w us. the set lunch is value for money, but even ala carte items aren't tt ex (less than 20 bucks) so yes, guys, this is a good place to impress girls. hehe. if this place wasn't tt ulu, i'll visit this place alot more often. read chubbyhubby's review here

Sin Ming Prata

2006-10-15T20:28:00.000+08:00

my mum wanted to go sin ming to check out her van in the garage, and we were deciding where to go for lunch. my aunt suggested this prata place in sin ming. so we went. it's at sin ming drive, a very nondescript coffeeshop. to be honest, it looked so old and dirty tt i half wanted to suggest going somewhere else to eat. but we perservered.

the 4 of us ordered 2 plains, 2 paper prata, 1 cheese and 1 egg prata, plus 1 side order of fried chicken and 1 marsala chicken. all for only 13.50!
look at all the food we ordered! the marsala chicken (in the foreground) was very good.

my all-time fave: tissue/paper prata!

ok i love tissue prata, when done right, it's thin, crispy, and coated with a thin layer of sugar. a pity lots of places don't do it right, i even had one version where the whole prata tasted like it was deep fried in oil! yucks. i rate prata stalls by their tissue prata. cos it takes alot of skill to make it right. you must make the dough super thin, fry it on the skillet, pour sugar, then make it into the cone shape in super quick time.

i used to think tt the best tissue prata in s'pore was in simpang bedok. it's good, but the standards vary sometimes. so well. when i tasted sin ming's tissue prata... i was in heaven. it really was paper thin, super crispy, coated with the right amount of sugar, and totally didn't taste oily. my mum, aunt and sis loved it too! and i hereby declare the best tissue prata (tt i've tasted) to be sin ming's version. yumyum!

the rest of their prata are good too. the plain is nice and crispy, the cheese has just the right amount of cheese and dough and the egg is nice and chewy. best of all, all their prata doesn't taste like they're doused with oil. love love love the prata here! pity it closes at 8pm most nites, so i can't have it as midnite snack. darn. prata tastes damn good at nite.

HK feasting Part 1

2006-10-13T00:21:00.000+08:00

it seems like such a waste not to introduce these wonderful culinary works of art here.

so right from the heart of hk, may i present you with the following...

Yung Kee Restaurant (Central, in front of Lam Kwai Fong)

Get Your Own! View Slideshow

yung kee is famous for its roast goose, and yes it was really good. it came with small beans at the bottom, braised in a sweet sauce. but i thot the skin wasn't as crispy as the one at imperial treasure in taka.but still, the meat was pretty tender and juicy. for the more adventurous, the pi dan is so good! the outside is sweet, the yolk is still slightly runny, which makes it creamy and oh so good! calamari is also popular in hk, as a snack, this one was really nice cos it was simply fried and coated with salt and pepper. not too tough, not too sinful (not tat i wanna believe anyway). i guess the look of satisfaction says muchmuch more than the words i type.

Macau Cafe

Get Your Own! View Slideshow

ok, hk is pretty near macau, so there are tons of such restaurants ard. this one is in causeway bay. pretty packed place, with diff set meals for diff no of ppl. we have the 2 person set, which came with a drink, a main (we had the pork neck) and another side (chose roasted pigeon). these were pretty standard fare, but so yummy! pigeon was crispy, even tho it didnt have meat, watever bit was really tender. i abslutely loved the pork neck, i swear its the best cut of pork! oh there was also fried rice. amazing thing abt the fried rice here is that every grain of rice is nicely cooked and still in one piece. plus it came with char siew, veg n slics of pork belly. beats any fried rice in singapore i've had! for the price we paid, this was easily the best meal ever in hk. *misses hk food already*

Fin Seafood Cafe @ Marina Square

2006-10-08T23:13:00.000+08:00

Hi everybody! This is my first ever blog entry!! A food recommendation nonetheless. Was guiding my sis through the blog and she was awed at the number of places we've been to. Yes, we diligently go places in all parts and corners of Singapore, attempting to savour much, if not all, of the good food around.

About 3 weeks ago, Shuyun & I visited the Fin Seafood Cafe located at 02-226A/B of Marina Square. It was a weekday at 9+pm and the cafe was still relatively crowded. Both of us made a quick choice of their S$12.90 set dinners plus a side order of calamari rings. The set dinners are real value for money deals. Set includes a seafood chowder soup, a main course and a drink of choice. I had a grilled salmon while Shuyun had a less-common whitefish. Ops! Ican't remember what it's called! (Please refer to accompanying pictures.)

The seafood chowder is good, though it could do with just a little less salt. The mains were pleasant tasting and its serving size should be sufficient for most average eaters. The presentation: appetizing. The calamari rings are definitely not to be missed. At $5.90, they are a steal! Served crispy hot, the generous serving of the succulent squids dipped into a good tartar sauce, are enough to satisfy your calamari cravings. Like what you see? Go try it!

Wiener Kaffeehaus

2006-10-08T22:23:00.000+08:00

as part of the FEG (Friday Evening Gang) tradition, we went out searching for good food again! thanks to del, who always comes up with these off-the-beaten-track food places... wiener kaffeehaus is situated at 148 Neil Road, near cantonment park. when you enter the place, you smell this delicious coffee smell, no surprise, after it calls itself a viennese coffeehouse. love the decor, and the little area where there's huge bags of coffeebeans and a coffee roasting place. i mean i don't drink coffee, but these look way too cool.

so yes, we begin to order.
Coffee. I didn't drink this, so can't tell you how it went.

Viennese Salad, which basically is a mix of a few different types of traditional salad, there's the boiled potato, nicely seasoned and soft, some sliced cucumber with dressing, and the rest were green veggies. we didn't really like tt the cucumber tasted a tad bitter, but yah, it was just abt the only green veggies we got tt nite

Meatloaf sandwich $7.50. This is good! Delicious bread, the hard kinds tt germans love, and in it is meatloaf, which is like a thick slice of ham, topped with german mustard, and green veggies.

Camembert Fritters $6.50?. Camembert cheese is a french cheese i think, with a distinct flavour, i think it's made of goat's milk or something. servced on a bed of salad, and great tartar sauce. so yes, they deep-fried the cheese, and the combination of crispy skin, melted cheese, tartar sauce and salad... yumyum...

presenting the Oktoberfest platter! $33.50, supposed to serve 2 ppl, but we were shocked when we saw it. lots of sausage, one roast pork knuckle, some roast pork meat, one bread and potato dumpling each, some of the boiled potato salad, and sauerkraut! this is definitely for you if you're a meat lover. and it probably feeds 2 meat-loving germans, meaning tt it can be shared btwn 4 ladies. this is just great! and yah, it's an oktoberfest promo, so you better head down fast to try this platter!

Sachertorte. ($4+ per slice) when we read the website this sounded heavenly. i mean it's the best known viennese gateaux. but when it came, it seemed abit too dry for our liking. we prefer our chocolate cake to be moist, etc. but yeah this wasn't too bad, but will prob not order it again.

Viennese Apple Strudel $3.90. Slightly different from the strudels tt we're used to, this comes simply wrapped in some thin pastry. the highlight is the fresh apple slices, it's not syrupy, overly sweetened, or overly-dosed with cinnamon. the freshness of the tart apple slices shine through. yum!

This is a soft drink, Almdudler $3.50 per can. It's supposed to be lemonade, but you can't really taste the lemon, it looks like zapple, tastes of a few different fruits, pretty refreshing, like a non-cloying version of zapple... but $3.50 is abit ex for can drink, so if anyone can tell me if they sell this in any supermarkets in s'pore, i'll be grateful. goes well mixed with beer too!

love this place, they serve pretty good viennese cuisine, which is very similar to german food but with slight modifications. hearty, meaty and yummy. menu prices are like $15 for a main course. try the platter if you're there in october, very worth it. best of all, there's no service charge or GST or cess! and we saw a couple of germans there, which mean the food must be authentic. go try!

Fisherman's Wharf

2006-09-16T01:27:00.000+08:00

sure, fish and chips can be found everywhere. i mean, how hard can it be to deep fry fish? my fave neighbourhood food centre, S11 at Ang Mo Kio Central (next to Jubilee cinema) sells a decent version, their fish is coated with breadcrumbs then deep fried to golden brown. it costs $4.50 i think. which is decent i guess...

so fish can be dipped into (as far as i know) breadcrumbs or batter. some versions use a beer batter which i feel is tastier and lighter. cue Fisherman's Wharf, an unassuming eatery located near Clarke Quay MRT.

went there on two separate occasions and loved the fish and chips there. basically like any self respecting F&C stall, they serve a variety of fish. i was told by my friend who studied in UK tt F&C there consists of several types of fish: cod, halibut, haddock, rock (i think IF i rem correctly). tried F&C cod and halibut b4 at this stall in siglap which was pretty authentic (according to friend-who-studied-in-UK), but it has since closed down... anywayz, FW serves different types of fish too, but the cheapest is the pacific dory, which is a very popular fish in s'pore, it doesn't have a very particular fishy taste which suits our taste buds just fine. according to yun, who tried another variety of fish, the pacific dory tastes best, and at only $6.50, it's only 2 bucks more ex than neighbourhood stalls! and as you can see from the next pic, the portions are quite big, very worth it.

their chips come in two versions too, fries and chips, which look pretty much the same. but if you like ur potatoes crispy, get fries. if u like them slightly soggy, go for the chips! i personally prefer soggy ones, so i love the chips.

thing i love abt this place, is the condiments. if you haven't tried vinegar with chips, you're missing out ALOT. FW provides english malt vinegar which goes perfectly well with the chips... a slight sour tinge to cut the oiliness. but don' be like me and be over-enthusiastic and pour too much... and they provide a choice of sauces too! honey mustard, curry mayo, the classic tartar. all are pretty good. of course chilli sauce and ketchup too!

somehow the fish looks pale in this shot. must be the flash! hehe. okok. love the food, good food for good price, the rustic wooden tables and benches are kinda cool, only thing is tt the place is non-airconditioned, which makes dining there on a hot afternoon kinda uncomfortable. and remember, go easy on the vinegar!

dessert, not desert

2006-09-16T01:15:00.000+08:00

i'm soooo upset. bakerzin no longer sells the strawberry coupe cheesecake!! *ARGH* wat the hell.. tats like one of my fave desserts! =0(

*sigh*

well anyway, tried these other desserts..

bailey's souffle. the choc one is already nice, but this turned out to be not bad. the coffee at the side is kinda bitter, but when u pour it and eat it with the souffle, it becomes a heavenly, soft, fluffy delicious mix of coffee and liqueur which just melts in your mouth. it was also taken at such close proximity in a desperate attempt to conceal the corner demolished by me before i was reminded of my duty to photograph and blog abt it.

cheesecake. not too bad, creamy and smooth like how cheesecakes are supposed to be. thankfully the strawberry was not as sour as expected.

not too bad, but sadly, they dont make up for my coupe cheesecake...

tea cosy

2006-09-13T22:28:00.000+08:00

there's this place at ps i always wanted to try. u've probably gone past it, maybe u've noticed it, maybe not. it used to be at where the new og was, cept tat now they've incorporated a nice tea place there. photos aren't allowed in here, so these were taken at my own risk!

i really like the chair.. its so interesting!

steak with tons of salad and a surprise side dish. turned out to be smoked oyster mayo topped with roe. very very yummy. the steak itself is quite nice, salad was dressed in a sourish thai-vietnamese sauce. also came with grilled potato slices.

this is called 'a fish dish' (16?). hahah basically just fishy with coleslaw and i cant rem wat else actually. this wasn't my dish anyway hahah!

i love their desserts! this is the ice cream platter (10), basically ice cream scooped into choc cups which the guy told us were edible. haha. great for the indecisive (ala watashi wa). in order of favourites: Mango, vanilla, raspberry, hazelnut.

yet another great dessert for the greedy and indecisive within all of us. ok fine so maybe just me. 5 small cakes, carrot, choc walnut, raspberry, peach cheesecake and tiramisu($10). frankly, i preferred the ice cream, but not too bad also la. plus u dont feel so fat and guilty too hehe.

definitely wanna go back there again, cos the place is nice and cosy (of course it is, cos its tucked away at a corner, plus the seats are hidden amongst vintage furniture). tho the food takes a little longer than usual, the portions are sizeable, and surprisingly tasty hahah. at least i dont have to keep going to project shop cafe so often!!

High Tea @ Marriott Hotel

2006-09-09T13:01:00.000+08:00

half day leave on wednesday, but too bad too little time to do anything else, so what else is there to do but find a yummy high tea buffet?

was searching for places with high tea buffets online, realised tt not many places have it on weekday afternoons in Orchard area, only the Marriott, Goodwood Park, Royal Plaza @ Scotts (tt one really really sucks i tell you) so decided to just go the first one.

once i got there, i was happy... love the spread of food, it's international buffet. with both asian food like laksa, dim sum, chicken rice (tt one is yummy), bak kut teh, fish congee (tt's quite nice too), a sushi selection, smoked salmon too! there's a decent salad bar, sandwiches, pizza and of course, my favourite section... the desserts!!!!

the desserts are pretty darn good! not tt we tried alot of them, cos was a tad too full. but yes, i love scones so check this out:

the best way to eat scones is to slice it in half, spread it with whipped cream, vanilla sauce (yummy! you can still see the vanilla pod in it) and some blackberry preserves. like this!

it's nice, eggy and soft, not like some places where it's hard...

realise tt i dun have good plating skills, so the food tt i take from the buffet table doesn't look good, so won't bother posting them here. just go and check this place out if you're in town on a lazy weekday afternoon, you'll feel like a lady of leisure (aka taitai)

price-wise it's $30+++ per person, but if you use UOB credit card you get 20% off, so it works up to less than 30 bucks per person, which is a pretty good deal considering the quality of the food. some places have really cheap buffets, but the food quality sucks so much i rather go hawker centre and eat... so go check it out! droolz...

confessions of an original sinner

2006-09-04T23:56:00.000+08:00

in lieu of our promise to have eat like a bird days, plonked ourselves in the midst of chip bee gardens, and had our first ever vegetarian meal together.

we had bruschetta which was quite yummy (eggplant and rocket leaves, drizzled with some vinegar/molasses sauce), magic mushroom (mmm topped with cheese and grilled i think. quite interesting), and some vodka penne. hahha i cant rem cos i had it quite some time back.

anyways, i also cant rem how much it costs, but considering i'm majorly carnivorous, its not too bad a start if u ever wanna embark on a vegan diet. bear in mind, the bill came up to abt 60 bucks, but not too bad la, tho i'd have preferred if i had some meat. hehe.

place? orginal sin, at chip bee gardens. please, if u wanna sit outside, make sure u slap on some insect repellent first.

the day of orange coloured food

2006-09-04T14:06:00.000+08:00

haven't stopped eating since i touched down, and since i had such a huge bout of green coloured food yest, it seems only apt to complement it with orange coloured food today.

Nasi briyani: its amazing how a simple meal of 3 bucks can make me so happy and satisfied time after time. =0)

this one is near my office, bukit merah area (the old hdb place). its near where watsons is and for once, i tried the curry chicken version. i usually have the fried chicken version but since manila, i've been craving for spicy chilli sort of food.

and it comes with my fave pappadam!! anyway IMHO, this is how pappadam should be eaten.

Step 1: take it out of the bag

Step 2: drench it in curry

Step 3: eat it hurriedly before the pappadam loses its crispness

step 4: eat another one

sometimes i wonder if i were meant to be an indian. all (ok most) indian food is good.. vadai, thosai, prata, etc etc. cept for the desserts. they're kinda overly sweet hahah. but i'd have my briyani anyday. =0)

Tong Shui Cafe II

2006-08-27T15:14:00.000+08:00

Yesterday night i went to TSC again. This time i introduce my secondary school classmates to the place, and they got very much into the thick toasts. Hahaa. The peanut butter one was a hit as usual, but last night i tried something even more fulfilling, it's D24 durian paste. Just imagine a very thick layer of D24 puree on a 2" thick toast, creamy on the top, crispy on the sides, soft white bread in the middle and not to forget the slightly salty butter just under the puree. A heavenly combination, especially for durian lovers. One not to be missed.
Besides that we also tried a coconut floss one, which also has a very rich taste, but i'm not particularly a fan of coconut floss, so yah. you could try it our urself.. haha.. We also ordered this yuan yang paste, it's almond plaste and black sesame paste.. something not many ppl will imagine putting together.. but i tell u tastes pretty good.. and the key thing is they made the paste more dilute here.. the original/tradition method may be to make them super thick.. but that's too filling.. here they made it just rite for dessert... try it..
here my fren looks sceptic at 1st.. after the 1st taste.. he just went on and on.. hahaa..

Yummy Food Fiesta

2006-08-23T23:41:00.000+08:00

My 1st contribution to F.A.T.E. and it seems to start off with Korean again.. Well.. it's a start...

Had dinner with yanli at the foodcourt @ Millenia Walk.. There's this korean stall which i had mention before, quite some time back i think.. It sells pretty tasty Korean fare, although the dishes look pretty much similar to other Korean stalls in other foodcourts, but it's not... It tastes much much better, and the reason behind it? that's b'cos it's a branch of a very very nice and a little expensive Korean restaurant called MANNA.. no, it's not country Manna, totally nothing to do with it.. anyway, the restaurant is @ Telok Ayer St.. the food is nice.. but not cheap. the place gives u a feeling of modern korea, and there are always korean speaking ppl there..

ok ok.. back to the foodcourt stall.. this stall is my fav place for cheap and tasty bulgogi, saba, kimchi soup & bibimbaps.. there's also cold noodles, which i have yet to try.. maybe next time.. just take a look at the mouth watering food..

aftermath..

Supper was at Tong Shui, or TSC which means tong shui cafe.. haha.. i had my 1st try in this shop at the shop opp great world city.. this place is famous for it's Super Thick Toasts and desserts.. but many ppl order a maggi-lookalike-tastealike ramen.. haha.. anyway.. it's a good place for supper.. it opens from 12pm till 6am.. there's scv too.. haha.. we visited the new opened branch at liang seah st.. somehow the business here looks poor.. perhaps it's still un-noticed..

the decor is pretty nostalgic.. and the staff's uniform, traditional too.. haha.. but the main attraction is still the food.. not exactly coffee shop price.. more like a chinese style starbucks.. but the food is GOOD.. just look at the dripping peanut butter...

just click the photos for more..

Part II of the Korean chicken saga

2006-08-21T21:46:00.000+08:00

A continuation... yi couldn't help it after reading car's yummy post.

eheheh. amazing how much 2 girls can demolish. tho i've been here many times before, this was the first time trying the rice with beef. didnt't think it was as tasty as pork. but the pancake was yummy (15bucks) tho i wished it had abit more seafood in it. but it has to be eaten hot. then again all their food has to be eaten hot, cept tat the rice and soup is still nicely kept warm in their stone pots. go on, u know u jus want to try it too!

Crystal Jade Ginseng Chicken BBQ

2006-08-14T00:36:00.000+08:00

With all the Korean fever nowadays, it's weird tt I haven't gone into a real Korean restaurant to savour all the yummies. My Korean food intake has largely been limited to food court Bibimbaps (mixed rice in stone pot) and a really delicious meal in Vancouver BC (Canada) in an authentic Korean restaurant. I still dream of the yummilicious Korean seafood steamboat complete with the most gigantic crab I’ve ever eaten.

Look at all the fresh seafood! And yah, we were super hungry and tired so were just waiting for the food to be cooked before we could tuck in.

Back to the main topic. Decided to go try this restaurant since I am a big fan of soups and have always wanted to try Korean Ginseng Chicken soup. It’s in Takashimaya level 4, near the arts supply store, in the location of the previous CJ la mian xiao long bao. When we were there 2 separate ppl were asking where the xiao long bao shop is.

We decided to get the Set B for 2 ppl, $59.90++. It consists of 6 side dishes ($8), seasonal sautéed vegetables ($12), Korean Ginseng Chicken soup ($25), Beef Bibimbap ($16), Grilled Mackerel Fish ($16) plus complimentary fruits. Quite good value we thought, but it was way too much food. Will let the photos tell you why.

The side dishes were not too bad, from left to right: caixin, soya bean sprouts, French beans, ikan bilis, kimchi and potato salad. All of them were served cold. Of these I liked the ikan bilis, soya bean sprouts and kimchi. I just love kimchi cos its both spicy, sour and kick starts your appetite. The rest were ok, but not exceedingly value for money ($1.50 per dish if you order it ala carte).

The vegetables were well executed, simply fried with some oil and garlic, it tasted nice, fresh and uncomplicated (no thick oyster sauce to smother away the veggie taste).

Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup. My fave of the lot, well flavoured, but not greasy, you can also taste the faint hint of ginseng, not too much tt it overwhelms you and puts you off. There was a whole chicken in the soup! It was super tender. And it was stuffed with glutinous rice, chestnuts, red dates and lotus seed, which absorbed all the flavours of the soup. Even though I was stuffed, I kept going at the glutinous rice. Yummy!

Beef Bibimbap. Nicely done and executed. It’s served with lots of veggies, beef, one raw egg yolk in a stone bowl (which has been heated on a stove). You mix everything together with Korean soya bean paste, and the heat from the stone bowl keeps everything nice and warm plus makes some of the rice crispy. TJ loves bibimbap, he ate this super authentic one in Canada and he tells me tt this is comparable. Go try!

Grilled Mackerel Fish. I love nicely grilled fish, and this is one of those. Drizzle abit of lemon juice on it and it becomes heaven. Mackerel is an oily fish which makes it suitable for grilling. The flesh is nice and juicy. But be careful cos it has lots of tiny bones.

The price was a tad steep, but in my opinion it’s well-justified. Korean food is full of veggies so it’s nice and healthy, soya bean is supposed to be good for you, and the chicken soup wasn’t oily (which I absolutely love). One thing I didn’t like was how the food came all at one shot, which overwhelmed the both of us and food tends to go cold. And it was way too much food for two ppl, we were majorly stuffed and even had to take away half a chicken and one grilled fish. So if you go there and order this set, make sure u have at least 3 ppl with you.

All in all, a satisfying meal. I haven’t eaten enough Korean food to comment on its authenticity, but it’s delicious and I’m not complaining.

-----------------------------------------

Hey so qiao i also went to korean bbq on sat.. but apart fr the rice and the soup (which i wholeheartedly agree is damn good), i also had the bbq pork neck. super juicy, yummy esp when its hot off the grill, it kinda melts in ur mouth even tho its abit chewy.. *drool* try it! its quite fun to bbq, but if u're lazy like me, jus ask them to bbq for u. somehow the portions are bigger when they bbq for u also. dunno why.. and try the prawn in egg batter also not too bad. anyway, if u wanna order extra soup (jus soup) also can, but gotta top up 8 bucks. but worth it la i love the soup! next time we all go la, then can order more! heheh

=0)

Indian buffet

2006-08-09T00:18:00.000+08:00

in line with my fate with hei tao hua, it was inevitable i eat at indian restaurants.

this one was surprisingly cheap considering it was a buffet and tat it was in clarke quay. think its called riverside something someting fine indian cuisine. its opposite clarke quay mrt, think near where jumbo is?

anyway it had quite a good buffet spread, cheap considering it was only 15 plus per person? there's also a free basket of garlic naan, which goes great with the butter chicken sauce mixed with some fish curry. heheh sounds gross i noe but its really quite yummy! then there's like really great tandoori chicken, cos its so tender, lamb, etc. skip the soup tho..i can make better soup with campbells.

there was also dessert, the super sweet milk balls, fruit custard, but didnt really had the space to enjoy it cos it was filled with all the curries and meats. also ordered the cheese naan which was really quite yummy too!

Indulgz

2006-08-06T23:22:00.000+08:00

a new place by a friend's friend (technically my friend). situated at tan quee lan street, entrance opposite the balloon place. nice place really, love the ambience and the music is pretty good. have visited it twice w/i the last 2 weeks and found the food to be good and reasonably priced.

the entrance to the place

nice decor

over the past few occassions, have tried a couple of the dishes as follows:

side dishes:
potato salad

main courses:
stuffed portobello mushroom, butterfish steak burger, rib-eye steak with red wine jus, cheese fondue.

desserts:
chocolate fondue, white chocolate cheese cake, waffles w ice cream, lemon souffle.

too many food pictures. all the food was yummy, ingredients were fresh and good quality, presentation was excellent. of these, my faves were: potato salad, rib-eye steak, white chocolate cake and lemon souffle.

potato salad was made with new potatoes, slightly crunchy, the mayo dressing was good, topped with crispy bacon bits and spring onions. yum!

rib-eye steak *drool*. perfectly marinated slice of meat, tender and juicy and not ruined by all the sauces (e.g. brown sauce or black pepper)which tends to drown out the natural taste of a good cut of meat. the mashed potatoes were nice and fluffy, not drowned out by too much butter (comes on it's own too), and the side salad tt comes with it was fresh and the slightly sweet dressing complements it wonderfully.

white chocolate cake was moist, chocolate rich with a nice touch of white chocolate.

lemon souffle. i've never had souffle b4 (suaku) but this doesn't really fit my image of a souffle, and my friend concurred. served in a sleak margarita glass, it comes topped with homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries. it's nice, not overtly sweet, and the tangy lemon flavour shines thru but doesn't put u off by being too sour. so i dun care if it's a souffle, it's good stuff.

a nice cosy place with friendly staff though the waitress can't pronounce basil properly. all in all a good place for a quiet night out with good, unpretentious food. the most expensive item on the menu (the rib-eye steak) is only $22+++ so it won't hurt ur pockets tt much too! go visit if u're free.

comfort food

2006-08-04T09:08:00.000+08:00

was eating at the hawker centre last nite in an attempt to save money, too much posh food tends to burn a hole in ur pocket... had yummy hokkien mee, hong kong style beef porridge, curry mixed veggie, sugar cane juice and tabao glutinous rice balls (ah boh ling) for dessert. total damage: $12 for 2 people. which is fantastic. hehe. loved the whole atmosphere of the place, ah peks drinking beer, young execs, small families, young couples etc sharing a good satisfying (and affordable) dinner... with all the different food courts spouting out these days, churning out the same (clinical) kind of food, in sanitary and comfortable (aircon) env, at prices at least 50% more than hawker centres... food courts just lack a little something, the cats going arnd rubbing ur feet and looking hopefully at you to get a tasty morsel, the grime in the air. somehow tt just makes food in hawker centres taste better. to me at least.

saw one of my fave stalls of all time, Qiu Lian Ban Mian. didn't eat there, but i'll surely be back. Ban Mian (homemade noodles for the uninitiated) is my idea of the perfect comfort food. chewy noodles served in a thick broth, with lots of green veggies, minced pork and an egg thrown in. added to tt are crispy ikan bilis and fried shallots as garnish... served with spicy and tangy chilli sauce (which you pour into the soup, i do so quite generously). YUM! describing it just makes me feel v hungry. and the damage? just $2.50!!! fantastic i tell you. friends have commented how come i always eat ban mian... oh well. i like mah... and i ALWAYS finish up the last drop of soup, and can't finish the noodles since there's always too much.

homemade noodles comes in a few different varieties: mee hoon kuay (depicted above) which is like pasta sheets cut into squares (abt 3 cm length) chewy and thick, i don't really like it cos it gets too chewy and starchy for me. ban mian, like fettucine, just abt the right thickness and texture, my current fave. you mian, thickness like spaghetti, too thin for my liking, and since it has larger surface area, it tends to absorb alot of the yummilicious soup.

when i was younger (prob abt 10 years back) there was a Ban Mian craze, Qiu Lian stalls started sprouting up all over the place, and of course following tt were the scores of copycats, and just like the famous bubble tea, portugese egg tarts and roti boys, the craze died down, Qiu Lian stalls closed down... now there are very few of them left. there's one in bedok market (near the interchange) one in amk (next to jubilee cinema) but i dunno where else have liao. some copycats have endured, and added new ingredients like beef slices, dumplings, tom yum flavour etc. but their soup lacks the oomph (and oiliness) and the chilli just sucks. Qiu Lian wins hands down because of the soup and chilli... i just love chilli lah.

so for the ultimate comfort food, go find Ban Mian, or better still, Qiu Lian. makes you feel warm on a cool rainy day, and never fails to cheer my spirits up. i am such a heartlander...

Crisply perfect @ Tonkichi

2006-08-02T13:53:00.000+08:00

nearly forgot all abt tonkichi.. lazy to photoshop too.. heheh

went for frens bdae there so shared the platter for 3. BUT cos i went with 2 guys, tat is just not enuff, so we had another side. and pork belly! fat fat fat pork belly tat melts melts melts. its nt here cos i finished it already =0p

had appetiser before it, was really quite appetising la cos bit sour and cold. then platter for 3 had the usual fillet, loin, ebi, oysters. all perfectly crispy, oysters were HUGE and damn juicy la! loin was tender, VERY yummy too.. *droool* all came with heaps and heaps of cabbage which i eat with some tomato oil, ooooo oh so yummy. ebi was huge. u noe how sakae and all tat serve huge tempuras but 90% of the bulk is composed of flour and egg batter? well this one is abt 70% prawn! heheh and to think i dun even really eat prawns.

well to top it all off, they serve this v nice coffee pudding. bottom is the actual pudding, topped with cream. u HAVE TO MIX THEM TOGETHER. cos the pudding is bitter, as bitter as coffee gets. but when u mix it up like tao huay, its really quite yummy! oiishi! total damage? abt 80? but we were super full after tat.

there's tonkichi at shaw lido, taka and suntec. i like the shaw one cos it overlooks town, taka one cos it can be quite cosy, and suntec one i dun really go to. u can also try their salad, i like it cos its salad la! healthy ma but has the pork loin so i dun feel unnecessarily starved and dissatisfied hehehe.

=0)

Desserts @ Blood Bro Cafe

2006-08-02T13:13:00.000+08:00

Self explanatory title..

went to paragon cos heard the mango crumble was good. so fren ordered it while i had the jaffa pudding. i discover i really like orange and choc together.

mango crumble is actually the Banana and mango crumble, and it takes them 15mins or so to prepare it. but it comes REALLY piping hot and served with vanilla icecream. super yummy, chunks of mango and banana under the crust.

my pudding was huge. it was literally swimming in a puddle of hershey's choc syrup, and also came with icecream. quite yummy, kinda melts in the mouth, esp if u eat with the syrup and icecream. heheh luckily fren didnt like icecream so i had 2 scoops!! in the end, we both jus had dessert cos it was soo filling.

price wise, each was abt 10.9. but nice place to sit, i prefer the inside to outside cos its more cozy. last time i had some salad, ok la, not too bad, but think the desserts are the saving grace. try the rest and let me noe how it is!

sorry abt the half eaten pudding..heheh couldn't wait..heng i rem to take photo before finishing man!

=0)

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Update!

went back the other day, and tried the seafood salad sandwich. wah its such a huge portion it was quite scary! but very pretty, nicely arranged, and very yummy too. didn't have my cam then, next time i will! anyway, since its called seafood salad sandwich, it came with tons of veggie. quite yummy, lightly dressed with sesame, a mix of carrot shreds, baby peas, the standard salad leaves, and was accompanied by the seafood mix (tt had baby scallops, shrimp and crabmeat). all this was sandwiched btwn lightly toasted baguette, super super yummy to eat it with both salad and seafood mix. its 21 bucks, but really quite filling cos there's tons of veggie, but not tat filling such tat u wanna puke. table next to us ordered the turkey cranberry sandwich, portions look huge as well and jus as yummy! think i'll be going back soon to check the rest of the stuff out hahah!

Testing

2006-08-01T21:40:00.000+08:00

Just to test out the scripts and wat not.

We'll sort out a few erm technical issues..and hopefully get it up and running. hehehehhe

but its august! a new month! a fresh new start for everything hopefully! here's to al the food in the world! *droool*