Singapore Part 1

Where has all the time gone? I’m back for about a week and am freezing! Technically still on holidays at the moment but it certainly feels odd to be on the computer and not doing any thesis-related work.

AR brought me on a trip to Waroona a couple of days back and it was an enjoyable break. Photos later. =)

First up, a walk down the memory lane on my recent SG trip…

1) Crystal Jade La Mien Xiao Long Bao

Personally, I think this chain of restaurant is over rated. I found the skin of their xiao long bao tougher and thicker than the ones in Din Tang Fung and Lao Beijing. They weren’t generous with the filling as well. The Sour Spicy noodles was more salty than spicy. We shared a bowl and couldn’t finish it. I do like the texture of the noodles, it’s the broth that I hate! The mushroom pastry was ok but not fantastic.

Ngee Ann City
4th Level.

2) Flutes at the Fort Restaurant

We were invited to be part of Flutes at the Fort cocktail party and boy was I glad that we made it. That day coincided with our “parents meeting session” and to be really honest, I was glad to have the glass of champers after that meeting.

What can surpass freshly pan fried foe gras, roast meat, oysters, waygu beef and champers of Moet and Chandron? It was an experience for sure. My first time tasting foe gras and waygu beef and I can see what the fuss is about. Melt in your mouth foe gras and tender beef. Luxury to the max.

The service was excellent. Staff made sure that our glasses stayed full. There was a excited buzz around the place and we had the chef coming over to our table twice to say hi. Love the colonial style decor as well.

3) Equinox, Swisshotel, Raffles City

I had the pleasure and honor to meet up with Evan from Evan’s Kitchen Ramblings. We arranged for high tea at Equinox and boy did we feel like “Tai tais”. Amazing views on the 70th floor of the hotel!

A good range of food available but their selection was disappointing. International high tea with a focus on Asian food. While their sushi and salad items were terrific, I wouldn’t say the same for their vegetable curry, which tasted off. The waiter tried to explain to me that it was “Indian curry” and therefore it should taste slightly sour? Well, I think I can tell the difference between the sourness of tomatoes and sourness from spolit/off coconut milk/cream?

Besides, is it true that Indian curries are sour?

I was also disappointed by the pratas. They were the frozen sort. Hello, in sunny Singapore and they serve frozen pratas? I don’t mean to sound like a snob here but you don’t pay S$35 to have frozen pratas…

I’m a fan of their little dim sum pieces though. Lots of choices and quite tasty.

As for their desserts selection, the fondue was a pleasant surprise! They provided dark, milk and white chocolate which I thought was thoughtful. The chocolate was a little too watery for my liking but it is still chocolate fondue. Oreo in chocolate> Double sinfulness but worth a go. They had a great ice-cream topping selections as well. Dessert shooters were something that I have not tried before. The lychee/rose one was delicious.

I had lots of fun with Evan though. We went around taking photographs, chit chatting and just admiring the lovely Singapore view. A friend found and cherished.

Part 2 coming up very soon!

Summary Kl Trip May 2008

I’m so glad to be blogging again. My hands are itchy after a month of “suitcase blogging”. Instead of individual posts, I managed to consolidate the photos into mosaics and I’m really proud of myself! Considering that I can be a technology idiot, this is huge for me!

So I’m starting where I left off. THE KL trip. Besides eating and meeting up with Malaysian floggers, we did heaps of wedding stuff..and I’m proud to say our outfits have been settled. Nothing like the photos I have posted previously but it is a lace gown. Reception venue was inspected as well.

The amazing thing about KL is the variety of food there. The stomach flu episode left us weak with little to no appetite but we were determine to eat!

1) We stopped by at Du Viet for a late dinner.

Ah..a warm bowl of pho shared between the two of us calmed our tummies. I ordered a hot honey drink and AR took the soya bean drink. The soup was terrific. I was surprise to see the thick sauce that went with the paper rolls but we weren’t complaining. I was disappointed by the durian pancakes though as they tasted more whipped cream than durian!

Du Viet
Damasara Uptown
Petaling Jaya
Selangor

2) I have previously arranged a meeting with a girl from the bridal forum at Fong Lye, The Gardens. Unfortunately, for some reason, we missed each other despite being there at the appointed time. Well, I still enjoyed the food at Fong Lye though!

Seriously. We had the rice vermicelli beef noodles (see the soupy noodles trend here?), Taiwanese sausage on glutinous rice and this spicy flaky beef pastry item. What impresses me most was the accompaniments that went with the beef noodles. The marinated lotus root, fried dumpling and tofu were addictive. While the food was a tad too salty for our tastebuds, it was certainly delicious. One of our best finds in Malaysia so far.

Then we decided to go healthy.

3) Lei Cha (Thunder tea) to the best! From my aunt Irene recommendation, we traveled to Puchong just to taste this. The ingredients were pounded finely-hence the name Thunder. A green tea soup was provided and u can pour the soup over the rice. We had the brown rice Lei Cha.

One thing I like about Ho Boh was their 60s style decor. While their menu wasn’t extensive, the thunder tea rice served was filled to the brilled with ingrediants. The tea wasn’t too strong and was palatable (unlike others that I have tried). I had the sour plum drink which was refreshing for sunny Malaysia.

Restoran Ho Boh
21A, Jalan TK 1/11A,
Taman Kinrara Seksyen 1,
Jalan Puchong, Batu 7 1/2,
47100 Puchong,
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 012 2797312

See also
A Whiff of Lemongrass

So here we go! The Malaysian food done! We have the Singapore one next!

Airport Tears

The house is buzzing. The family gathered together. “Don’t forget this!”, my mother yelled. “Do you want to bring this pair of slippers?”, my grandmother said. “What’s the maximum baggage weight you can carry?”, my father asked.

Oh, the tough memories of leaving for Perth for the first time. Today marked my 10th trip to Perth over 8.5 years and whoever told you that it will get easier-well, that person is lying.

The tears might have stopped but the pain is still fresh. Leaving your favorite people and family behind to pursue a dream. How can that be easy?

Ever since I handed up that pile of papers, I have not stopped. Whether is it planning for the wedding, laughing with my friends, baking a birthday cake for princess Sophia, shopping alone, reading trashy romance novels, eating, talking to grandma and spending quality time with my mum or crying at a wake. Yes, I have been busy.

The love the my family and friends have shown is a blessing. A blessing that I thank everyday. There may be ups and downs, arguments and snappiness but the heart remains the same. It is what make us human. Oh yes, I’m talking about the foolish words and actions but the kind heart that I truly believe most people have.

What about love? Love is a funny thing. But love is what holds friends and family together. Faith is another abstract term but yet so important in relationships. Love and Faith-they go hand in hand together. Without one, friendships are broken and family ties lost.

So the ice-cream and coffee will continue next year. Till the next time we meet, the hugs we share, the tears we cry-

KL and Singapura: There will be no goodbyes.

*Muacks*

Floggers and Food!

A few more days and I will be back in Perth. Yikes, so many more posts to go. I think I might do a summary post instead of individual ones.

This one has to be backdated to a few weeks ago, where I met the Malaysian Floggers. How can I NOT meet them when I’m on their turf? We decided to meet at Pick N Brew at 1 Utama. Being a coffee lover, I wanted to try what Jackson has recommended.

Alas, Ar and I fell ill with stomach flu the day before we met. Still, we refused to cancel the meeting. Brave smiles and cramping tummies, we managed to last through the session and boy were we proud of ourselves. The welcoming smiles from the floggers and wonderful conversation helped as well.
My coffee- probably against doctor’s orders but how can I resist? Beautifully brewed and I simple love the little pot that keeps the coffee warm.
Ar’s main and Lianne’s– Please beg my pardon because I can no longer remember what we ordered (must be the mixture of sickness + nervousness!). I think this was seafood pasta? Look at the jumbo prawn! To be honest, I found this dish lacking in tomato flavour-perhaps, i was too pampered and always used fresh tomatoes in making a similar dish like this. AR said he felt quite thirsty after having this as well.
My order- oat crusted fish I believe. I love this. The spinach mixture underneath the fish was soo soo good….The fish was on the dry side but the spinach made up for it.

Teckiee’s order- How did it go Teckiee?

WMW’s n Ashley’s main. It certainly looks good!

What’s a gathering without alcohol? *wink*

And a lovely slice of cheesecake by LifeVsAnime.

Weren’t we pampered?

Pick n’ Brew
1 Utama

Fast forward 2 days later.. and we met up with MORE floggers!
This time round, we met at at a roadside stall..and ate this fabulous fried noodles. I have no idea where were we then though.. LOL.

I couldn’t stomach (pun intented) anymore food. But couldn’t resist…

Apple Cheesecake from BigBoysOven

and the long awaited…

Macarons from them.

NOW, we were really pampered!

Just Heavenly

As the name implies, the desserts from Just heavenly were….. just heavenly. We made our way to the bansar branch of Just heavenly desserts and got lost mid way. Turns out that we printed the map to the residential branch of just heavenly desserts instead of the shop front! yikes! A quick phone call followed by some directions, we arrived.

Difficult decisions were made.
I decided to order 2 portions of the Chocolate Durian and Death by Chocolate. Seriously, who can resist that combination?
This was gobble down quickly by Ar’s mum, myself and AR. It was soo good and rich. SErIOUSLy GOOD! Generous chucks of durian flesh covered with proper dark chocolate. Not the FAKE milk chocolate that u get out there.
Death by Chocolate- We were more impressed with the Chocolate Durian than this one. If you are a chocolate lover, this will be one for u. Choc mousse encased in a shell of dark chocolate.
A chocolate éclair for AR and I.

Yum!

Allen and Nigel- nicely done!!

Just Heavenly Pleasures
G1.05 & G. 1.06, Epicure
Jalan Medan Setia 1
Bukit Damansara
Kuala Lumpur

Memories and tastebuds- Thosai

If you ask me what was my favourite meal during the recent trip to Malaysia, it would have to be Thosai.

Perhaps it was the fond memory of having breakfast with AR’s family the first time a few years ago; or perhaps it was just the lovely taste of savory thosai that enticed me. Either way, I enjoyed this breakfast heartedly.

They (Ar’s parents) laughed when they learned that I enjoyed thosai. They understood, however, that it was the simplicity of the meal and the welcoming gesture that I was silently after. Afterall, a breakfast with the family is just as important as the dinner.

Or maybe, they assumed that as a Singaporean girl, I would be expecting better dining options. Not at all.

How can I resist Thosai? The pancake with spicy condiments.

A warm cup of teh tarik to warm the tummy up. Ah, so much better than the AUS$3 cup that I paid in Australia (Malaysian readers will probably say I was cheated by the vendor).

Sinful crisp on the outside but soft on the inside- Vadai. Oh how I missed this.

Masala thosai- lovely curry potatoes encased in the thin pancake. Notice the sauces served. cooling yogurt/spiced mixture, dahl and curry sauce.

Rawa Thosai-the sinful one among all the thosai(s). The addition of vegetables did not make it healthier. Hot oil and ghee was poured on to the side of the thosai as it cooked. The crisp texture made the calories worthwhile.

Telur Bawang Thosai- how i miss this. Egg and onion thosai. The sweetness of the red onion went so well with the thin pancake.
Apum or hoppers were bowl shaped pancakes. The server generously placed a small bucket of coconut milk on the table as AR ladle scoops onto the apum. Creamy and tasty. It was not complete without the coconut.

An extremely satisfying meal. Any visitors to Malaysia must not miss this.

Sri Devi
SS15/4D
Subang Jaya
(near row of shops, along with Maybank)

Malaysia Trip- Restoran Teow Chew Meng

We arrived in Malaysia via Aeroline comfy coach. We alighted at Sunway Lagoon.

Conveniently right outside J.Co donuts!
Notice my haircut?

AR’s mum came to pick us up. She recommended Restoran Teow Chew Meng and we readily agreed.
According to AR’s mum, the sharkfin mee sua is their signature dish. We were disappointed when this arrived. It was very starchy. There were hardly any sharkfin in this bowl. (not surprisingly, since it was RM$10).

The seafood porridge faired better. It was tasty and filled with prawns and fishballs. A dash of pepper made this a comforting dish.
Out of the 3 dishes, the 3 taste oysters was my favorite. Sweet, sour and spicy. this was the first time I tasted oysters this way. It went very well with the seafood porridge. The oysters were plump-which was a bonus.

A reasonable priced lunch. The portions were generous and filled the 3 tummies up. I would go back there just to try their Kerabu Mango-which apparently they are famous for.

See
Masak Masak
You get what you give..

Restoran Teow Chew Meng
SS14
Subang Jaya
Malaysia