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

Overseas Restaurant Singapore (海外天大饭店) - Famous for Char Siew (叉燒) @ Shaw Towers (Beach Road)

Before i took my first bite of the sinfully fatty yet deliciously charred char siew from Kay Lee, i am of the absolute belief that the ones sold in Restoran Overseas in Kuala Lumpur were the best!

Put it this way, their char siew were so high in demand; you often have to pre-order! And many Singaporeans frequently detour to KL just to have a bite of their signature caramelised char siew.

With the opening of a branch right here in the heart of Singapore, it's now much easier and definitely much faster for anyone to satisfy their craving of the famous char siew that hailed from Malaysia.

The Gang of Four was at this branch for a simple reason - celebrating the little boy's birthday and also to ensure we get our money worth after he insisted on getting his way for everything due to his protected status as the birthday boy.

Anyway, here's our order. I personally feel we should have ordered more; much more.

Old Fire Soup

老火汤

This was not on the menu and came as a recommendation by the restaurant's staff.

On one hand, i agreed the clear soup was richly infused with the ingredients at the bottom of the clay pot but on the other hand, it tasted a bit like TCM medication. The type with herbs that coincidentally has to be brewed over a torturing period of time using charcoal and claypot.

Weirdly, the ingredients including mushrooms and chicken meat still retain their tender texture and palatable flavour.

Braised Beancurd with Petola

菜香自制豆腐

What's petola? It is something that looks and tastes like bittergourd although their respective genus is different - petola is Luffa while bittergourd is Momordica.

This is a classic, traditional case where the homemade beancurd with its silky interior texture was the main star while the bland sauce and soft petola served as merely supporting flavour / colour enhancers.

Tiger Prawns with Oats

麦香草虾

Way too salty minus any buttery sweet sensation! This is undeniably the worst deep fried oats prawns i ever have and it's god damn hard to find one that gets the unanimous "thumbs down" vote from the Gang of Four.

Stir Fried Fish Maw with Egg and Fish Paste

桂花滑鱼筒

When the first scoopful went into my mouth, i could not help comparing it to a delectable hot plate of fried rice; albeit with a noodles texture. It was surprisingly good without any hint of fish maw.

The key question is; should i then order a plate of fried rice which would likely be cheaper than fish maw? Good question raised by either Van or Kon!

Char Siew

古法炭烧叉烧

In terms of outlook, i agreed that Overseas Restaurant's char siew had the majestic look that confidently said :" eat me and you would not regret it".

Drenched in a thick coat of savoury sweet sauce, the memorable charred exterior was still a bit hard to chew although the highly anticipated "smokiness" did manage to permeate the insides.

The verdict is obvious - Kay Lee still wins.

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Location

100 Beach Road, #01-27 to 37,

Shaw Leisure Gallery, Shaw Towers

Reservation

6294-2638

Website

http://www.oversea.com.my/sg_res.asp

Price

Old Fire Soup - S$20

Braised Beancurd with Petola - S$12

Tiger Prawns with Oats - S$23.40

Fish Maw with Egg and Fish Paste - S$20

Char Siew - S$30

Plain Rice - S$2 a bowl!

[Subject to GST. No Service Charge]

Additional Information

For my post on its KL Branch, please click HERE

For my post on Kay Lee, please click HERE

Train Breakdown along Circle Line - My Personal Ordeal

Like many Singaporeans, i am frustrated with the constant train breakdowns in Singapore although as of two days ago, my work journeys have been relatively unaffected since i started taking the newest Circle Line last October.

It's just a matter of time; as some wise men warned before.

That auspicious time came yesterday; when i was super desperate to start work at around eight-ish to complete some budget variation analysis! As usual, i was busy playing angry birds and was entirely absorbed in a hard-to-get-three-star level in the "season" episode.

Something was amiss - the train didn't seem to be moving, the carriage was getting stuffy and the commuters were getting restless. This stalemate situation lasted for around 15-20 minutes before the train inched forward for a few seconds and braked abruptly .

I can definitely hear people falling in the next few carriages (god bless the elderly and the preggies). From then on, the train was travelling at such a slow speed to Caldecott station; my late grandfather could easily outwalk it!

Best of all, it was announced via a deadpan official voice that the train shall terminate its service at Caldecott station. No explanation was ever given despite the painful lesson SMRT (the train operator) learnt last year (which eventually resulted in a court inquiry that is ironically scheduled this week)!

SMRT has insisted that announcements were broadcasted. BULLSHIT!! 

We didn't hear a single shit in the stationary train that was stuck between Marymount and Caldecott. At the station, the announcement was so soft; they might as well bloody save the electricity and switch it off! 

That's just the tip of the iceberg - if i may clarify. 

Upon reaching Caldecott station, passengers were left wondering if they should wait for another train. Two SMRT staff were around but not to provide any sort of helpful assistance except to tell us "we don't know what happen. Our engineers are looking into it", "the wait for the next train might be 20 minutes" and "we have no idea". 

I could not afford to wait and as we know by now, the train route from Bishan to One-North was in fact down for 150 minutes (seven times their estimate)! Anyway, I impatiently proceeded to one of the exits, expecting free shuttles as i read in the newspapers. 

What free shuttles?! 

There's not even a train staff outside the station except for co-passengers who were trying to flag down cabs or walking to one of the nearby bus stops. I am not so fortunate; i have to walk 700 meters to the bus stop near Macritchie reservoir. 

After taking a bus to upper Bukit Timah road and making another bus transfer to Kent Ridge bus terminal, i tiredly, albeit triumphantly, stepped into the office at 9.30am.

An enlightening trip, no doubt. 

And SMRT, i am f*beep*cking watching you.