Thai The Dine-In [Thai To Go Restaurant Outfit] @ Sembawang Cottage along Sembawang Road (Near Chong Pang)

I rarely dine at restaurants in Singapore that serve Thai cuisine after visiting Bangkok where authentic Thai food can be have had for less than S$2 a dish.

Thai [The Dine-In] is slightly different - it came recommended by a friend [Karen] who wrote an impressive blog entry on Thai To Go, the delivery branch of Thai The Dine-In.

Simple decor with splashes of cheerful colours to lighten up the stressed up souls in many of us, the newly-open restaurant seemed to attract more customers than its neighbours within Sembawang Cottage.

Such a turnout is always assuring for the irritating skepticism in me.

Lemon Grass Drink

As refreshing and as thirst quenching as most lemongrass drinks i had so far. I should seriously consider having a lemongrass plant in my house so that i can concoct my own drink anytime!

Sliced Fish [marinated with Special Thai Sauce and Herbs]

I found this to be really normal and my passive taste buds faced incredible hurdles in trying to understand what these special Thai sauce and herbs are.

My mom can whip up a similar dish with plain soy sauce and oyster sauce. As you can probably guess by now, my mom (a pretty fantastic cook herself) is a yardstick i frequently used to measure and compare outside food.

Saucy Braised Tofu [with Seafood]

Definitely a savoury dish you would enjoy with a bowl of plain white rice! And don't worry about the vegetables as they appeared green (instead of yellow in some restaurants) and had a nice crunch to them.

Crispy Chicken [in Tangy Lemon Sauce]

Crispy - check. Crunchy - check. Meaty - check. Lemony Sauce - Check. The aforementioned are my basic criteria in assessing this Thai dish. Problem is; the four criterions are not that hard to meet.

In order to stand out from its Thai cuisine competitors, there is a need to differentiate (boy, i still remember my marketing lessons in polytechnic) and the company can start by re-looking into recipe of the tangy lemon sauce.

Stir Fried Glass Noodles [with Seafood]

To start the ball rolling, let's touch on the pieces of squid. They were cooked to perfection and the texture was almost like fish-cake with a squiggly bounce to them.

With strong emphasis on garlic and peppercorns (likely include some special sauce as well), the heavily fried glass noodles were amazingly flavourful and i could not get enough of them!

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I am definitely anticipating my next visit - shall try out the Pad Thai then! Would it be as heavenly as the epic one i had in Krabi? Let's find out soon!

Location

369 Sembawang Road,

#01-05, Sembawang Cottage

Price

Lemon Grass Drink - S$2

Sliced Fish - S$9.50

Saucy Braised Tofu - S$6.50

Crispy Chicken - S$8.50

Stir Fried Glass Noodles S$6.50

[NO GST. NO Service Charge]

Additional Information

Free on weekdays afternoon? Choose from four different value sets at only S$8.90 each!

Prefer to order ala carte from the menu? Click the above picture for a better look!

For the catering branch of Thai The Dine-In, 

please visit www.thaitogo.com.sg.

Continuation of the Wounded Wrist - De Quervain's Tendinitis [Mother's Wrist, Gamer's Thumb)

The chronic pain on my problematic left wrist has finally been identified - De Quervain's Tendinitis.

Given that the medical name doesn't really ring a bell with layman like myself (except for maybe Tendinitis), i had to source out the web for a better explanation on its cause, effects and treatment!

According to Wikipedia, De Quervain's Tendinitis is simply the damaged surroundings of two tendons that control the thumb's movement and is also known as mother's wrist and gamer's thumb.

It didn't take long to put them together and attribute the causes to the prolonged use of iPhone for games like Angry Birds (original, seasons, rio and the recently launched space) and the almost permanent residence of my ten-month old bulldog cheeks niece in my house!

Although the redness has dispersed, i continue to feel pain at the wrist area and it has worsened considerably to affect the movement of my left thumb [look at the above picture - that's the best my thumb can bend).

My family doctor (Dr Chu from S W Medical Centre) strongly recommended i visit an orthopedic surgeon and also prescribed these anti-inflammatory pills known as Voren to reduce the effects (basically to arrest the pain) of De Quervain's Tendinitis.

The problem is; i am not too convinced that taking a drug with side effects like pain can help to relieve pain. So, if i analyse correctly, i could bloody well feel more terrible after taking them!

*p.s. i know the pain refers to stomach pain*

*p.s. i have been lao-sai-ing for the past few days*

Macadamia Nut Tart & Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream with Exotic Berries @ Drips Bakery Cafe [Near Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre]

I am back at Drips Bakery Cafe and this time, i brought along the bitch, the Great Kon and his beloved desserts monster; Vanessa!

Thanks to a heavy dinner, we made the rare decision to order just two desserts to indulge ourselves. Frankly, i am trying to cut down on my food intake at night but it is tooooo challenging.

This time round, the whole cafe was filled with customers who were out to have a good time with their family and friends. The atmosphere, though noisy, was also heartwarming as you can see the happy faces on each and every customer.

Anyway, here come our sweet indulgences.

Macadamia Nut Tart

I have been wanting to get my hands on this after seeing it the last time i was at Drips. The amount of nutritional nuts on the top caramelised layer were just too tempting!

HMmmmm.... it was nice (in fact, better than the others i tried the last time with exception of the special tart of the day). The pastry was thick but it was necessary to have that thickness in order to counter the diabetic-induced sweetness of the caramelised nuts.

Ice Cream with Exotic Berries

The Gang of Four loves having special items not on the menu. And since our stomachs were already on the verge of bursting, the beef stew pie was not an option. Plus, the thought of eating ice cream felt better.

Just the look alone (of this creamy vanilla ice cream with exotic berries) is a winner!

It gave me the blissful impression of Christmas, which is a long eight months away, with the ice cream and icing powder representing the snow and the raspberries symbolising the festive occasion.

And it actually tasted marvelicious! I am a sucker for vanilla ice cream and this home-made version had an addictive creaminess to it while emitting the hooking fragrance of vanilla essence!

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Location

82 Tiong Poh Road,

#01-05, Tiong Bahru Estate

Price

Macadamia Nut Tart - S$6.80

Ice Cream with Exotic Berries - S$6.80

[No GST and No Service Charge]

Additional Information

For my first post, map and opening hours of Drips Bakery Cafe, please visit

http://cavinteo.blogspot.com/2012/04/drips-bakery-cafe-tarts-for-desserts.html

Lory Loft @ Jurong Bird Park (裕廊飞禽公园), Singapore

For me, the Lory Loft is the most interesting and most interactive exhibit in Jurong Bird Park. In summary, this is the world's LARGEST lory aviary covering a big 32,000 square feet!

To prevent the 1,000 over Lories and Lorikeets from flying out of the aviary, these strings of beads are a necessary placement at the entrance.

Visually impaired persons would not feel left out here but do ask them to wash their hands after touching the Braille tablet - i bet you can see the two trails of fresh bird droppings.

You would see the chattering birds with vividly red, green, yellow feathers immediately upon entry. As their active level heavily depends on the weather, the time you choose to visit is of utmost importance. They are likely to hide when the temperature gets too high!

The first thing you should do - buy a cup of nectar mixture for only S$3! You would have no lack of birds flying towards you with the payment of this nominal fee.

Fear is thrown out of their minds once the free-flying lories realise you are holding the nectar mix!

Be careful - they do nibble. And as i understand from years of experience working in the pet industry, nibbling is often mistaken for biting. Therefore, if your threshold of pain is low, always handle the lories with caution. Parental guidance is required for families with young children.

One reason why i like this place so much is that the whole atmosphere feels very realistic; it is as if i am walking in the lories' real habitat with man-made structures constructed to enable us to have a closer look of these colourful birds.

An elevated platform of almost 9-storey high also adds to the realism by having a treetop view. At cooler times, you may even see them flying in groups of 20-30 around the aviary.

Well, the huge netting covering the entire aviary does reduce the imagination to a certain extent but overall, i thought it is still pretty awesome!

Another key attraction within the lory loft is this suspension bridge that can only accommodate a one-way human traffic.

Known ironically as the central feeding tower, it is the crucial pillar that physically upholds the aviary just like a circus tent. There is a slight problem - you don't see many lories when the temperature gets too warm. Walk down the stairs to shelter yourself from the hot sun!

Kon and I could not resist not shaking the bridge and we intentionally bounced like hyperactive children while walking across. Yes, these kind of cheap thrills excite us!

The feeding plastic containers holding the delicious nectar mix can be recycled so please place them at any one of the above once you are done.

Another view of the central feeding tower from the end of the suspension bridge. 

I should have brought along Alex's binoculars - many of them were hiding from the sun!

Random picture of a covered hut linking the trail. Maybe this is the right time for some basic information - lories are found in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and this aviary is based on a tropical environment in Northern Australia.

There is another suspension bridge; albeit a wooden and shorter one.

Taking pictures with animals and birds are commonly charged separately. In this lory loft, you can take as many pictures as you want using your own camera! A small risk exists - bird droppings.

It is very easy to entice them to come to you - besides the nectar mix, patience is a virtue and don't make any sudden movement. I am quite lucky; a lory boldly perched on my shoulder shortly after i entered the aviary even though i didn't have any nectar mix.

End of the trail. 

For those who hate to be in the sun, you can wait for your family and friends in this air-conditioned cafe. Enjoy their specialty; Dimbulah coffee which is made from native Australia coffee beans.

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Website 

http://www.birdpark.com.sg

Additional Information

For my post on Penguin Coast, please click

http://cavinteo.blogspot.com/2012/04/penguin-coast-jurong-bird-park.html