Bakerzin @ Paragon, Singapore

From my memory, Bakerzin is very famous for their dessert offerings and Alex, in particular, loves the cakes!

Taking advantage of a 20% discount voucher, we (mum, elder sister and i) skipped desserts at Ootoya just to try the ones in Bakerzin.

Before we start the ball rolling, don't you just love this magazine style, pictorial menu?!

Dining at restaurants (especially tze char stalls) with no pictures on the menu is such a risky business! 

A dish with a bombastic sounding name (the goddess spread its gold etc) can turn out to be so ordinary (vegetables with eggs etc)!

FML!

Waffle with Ice Cream

The two thin slices of waffles were crispy but not piping hot.

I agree the recent weather in Singapore might be too warm but cold waffles leave a very bad aftertaste to an otherwise pretty good dessert.

Coupe Cheesecake

Frankly, i cannot taste any trace of cheesecake!

Appearance wise, it had very good visual appeal with more ingredients like raspberry! The cup biscuit was well liked by us and i personally liked the colorful strips for their twisties bite without the savouriness.

A mere S$1.60 more expensive than the waffles, i would prefer this anytime if given a choice!

 

Walnut Cheese

New recipe as proudly displayed at the cakes counter!

Loads of walnut bits with only a slight (shows pinkie finger) cheesy taste. As a slice of cake (cheesecake is placed in an exclusive category of its own), i thought this was delicious with the teeth biting on walnuts every single bite!

 The trouble was, the taste became a bit too earthy and overbearing after a while. My recommendation is to share it with a few people!

Ice Lychee Tea

This was shockingly good! The strong tea mixed with lychee made for a very refreshing drink! I must try making it myself in the future!!

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Price 

Waffles Ice Cream - S$8.20

Coupe Cheesecake - S$9.80

Walnut Cheese - S$6.50

Ice Lychee Tea - S$5.80

Before 20% discount. Subject to 10% Service Charge and 7% GST

Random

We all know how attached we are with our mobile phones; be it answering phone calls, replying sms, playing games, viewing emails and taking pictures.

But the conveniences of an almost-all-in-one device come with a price. 

The following few pictures were found in a lost phone and may be unsuitable for non-adults or extremely pious personnel. 

Nothing too outrageous about this picture.

Slightly more revealing.

Exciting, isn't it?

What the heck are you thinking?!?!

I am just blogging on some hilarious pictures! 

Question - What's hidden within the newspaper?

What's hidden within the newspaper wrappings??

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No lah!! I did not commit murder by chopping the head off a human (or non-human) and hanging "it" up!!

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Hint: It has something to do with a festival celebrated by the Chinese. Another indication is hidden within the pixelated picture above!

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Answer

Rice Dumplings

(aka Zong Zi)!!

When i was young, i loved to eat Zong Zi with ketchup.

Back then, it was exciting to unwrap each dumpling and see, with anticipation, what we can find within!

Would it have more meat? Or would it contain more chestnuts (my nemsis!)?

In the kampong, we only had the normal Zong Zi we termed as Rou Zong (meat rice dumplings).

The contemporary mixed world we live in nowadays changed a lot of things; we have so many varieties now!

My two favourites are the Nonya Zong and Jianshui Zong (shown above in their unwrapped forms).

Unlike the normal Rou Zong, the peranakan Nonya Zong has meat that tastes sweeter and instead of the conventional bamboo or reed leaves, pandan leaves are used as wrappers.

Jianshui Zong is more commonly known as Kee Ah Zang (Hokkien term) in Singapore.

The only zong zi classified as a dessert, the rice has a distinctive yellow colour and frequently contains no filling!

So how do we eat this small dumpling? Plain eating is so BORING right?

I like to dip mine in Kaya but other options include sugar, honey and even fruit jam!

Psssssttt

Don't ask me why my mom wrapped the hanging dumplings with newspapers!! She told me it was to prevent the wind, dust and dirt from getting to them.

Doesn't sound right to me!!

They were already wrapped right?

Ootoya (大戸屋) @ Orchard Central

This was my second visit to Ootoya and this time, with my beloved mother and "forever young" elder sister (ironically, the younger sister looks older)!

My first visit was memorable and i really enjoyed the food for its simplicity (even the menu was simple and to the point)!

No doubt, this restaurant is highly popular with natives (Japanese) and that's always an accurate gauge of its authenticity!

Before i start on what we had eaten, kindly keep in mind that most main dishes have an option for set meal that includes plain rice, miso soup and an appetiser.

Rice is refillable for free and various toppings are available on the rice for an additional cost!

Savoury, with more ingredients than the common miso soup.

Eh....... They should omit this item and give us something really appetising!

Charbroiled Alaskan Red Salmon

Usually, i would not order any fish dishes when i am dining out! The conviction would however be broken whenever the mother is out with us.

Reddish alright, the meat was too dry that screamed of overcooking by the kitchen. Nothing much i can comment since salmon has always tasted delicious when it's fresh and cook within an optimal duration.

Fried Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce

(Torikurozu )

Tasted suspiciously like the Chinese Gu Lu Rou (sweet and sour pork), the crispy exterior was a marvel to have while the fresh vegetables balanced an otherwise pretty unhealthy meal. 

Did i mention that the meat was so soft, so so tender and so so so fresh?!

Rice with Charcoal Grilled Chicken

(Sumitoridon)

Topped with green leafy vegetables, this was almost like the usual teriyaki chicken don but the taste was more than ordinary.

Most of the times, it's the teriyaki sauce that gives the flavour but in this case, the fresh chicken thigh meat played an equally important role. 

Ootoya is secretive on what sauce was used (termed nicely as special sauce) though.

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Location

181 Orchard Road #08-12

Orchard Central

Price

Sumitoridon - S$11.00

Salmon (Set) - S$17.00

Torikurozu (Set) - S$16.00

Subject to 10% Service Charge and 7% GST

Additional Information

Health conscious people will definitely enjoy reading the calories listed on the menu for each dish and make their choice wisely!

For me, life is short and we should enjoy the utmost in everything we do and eat.

Ah Hock Fried Oyster (阿福蠔煎后港) @ Whampoa Makan Place

Looking at the accolades plastered on the menu bar and its proud declaration of an origin since 1927, i knew it's a must to try the oyster omelette!  

We did not have to wait long and the plate placed on our table looked really delicious!

Contrary to Dr Tay's review here, i was not as convinced on its shiokness!

Although more eggs were used in the frying, the overall orh luak was too oily. The oyster flavour was also not obvious enough, downgrading this dish to a normal omelette standard.

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Price

S$5.00 for small

Location

#01-54, Whampoa Makan Place

My Time Schedule

The above picture correctly depicts my usual schedule at night.

Not exactly healthy (i do know that) but coupled with an increasing stressful workload in the daytime, i would have to work really hard to keep my mentality (cheerfulness inclusive) in place.

As i get older and older, dreams are nonetheless just dreams.

What's most important is surviving (and hopefully, enjoying) your life.

Mang Jia Jiao Satay (芒加腳沙爹) @ Whampoa Makan Place

I thought i read somewhere that there's a famous satay stall in Whampoa by the name of Mang something.

Imagine my excitement when i chanced upon this stall called Mang Jia Jiao Satay!

The lack of any notable mention by famous foodies (Green Book, ieatishootipost, makansutra) aside, i have to follow my heart on what i thought i read!

"Uncle, 10 sticks of pork, 10 sticks of chicken, no rice!"

Looking at the plate of meat sticks (satay), my mom commented that the satays were pretty "white". By "white", she meant the lack of burnt marks (chao ta) that are the standard for most famous satays.

A healthier version with lesser carbon content but the bane is getting a plate of satays that was deprived of the much loved smokiness directly connected with the chaota-ness!

Furthermore, the marination was not as sweet and to a sweet-tooth person, this was pratically a failed satay!

While we were trying to finish the satay (agonising no doubt), i noticed a pile of meat (above) on the table, where Alex was sitting.

That bloody bitch was tearing away the fatty parts and parts that were blackish. Kaoz!! The amount he plucked was tantamount to three sticks of satay!!!

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Location

#01-42, Whampo Makan Place

Price
S$0.40 per stick

Additional Information
Non-Halal