Western Style Wedding Lunch in Botanico at The Garage [within Singapore Botanic Gardens]

At my age, I have attended quite a number of Chinese weddings which typically feature round tables that can sit ten persons at a hotel ballroom / restaurant and a spread of about eight / ten dishes that have auspicious significance. 

However, it's COVID-19 times and things have changed given the need for stringent safe management to curb the pandemic. A friend's wedding was recently held at  Botanico, a restaurant housed in a heritage house at Botanic Gardens and I wondered how things have changed.

Problem; it didn't seem like there's a wedding and the only eatery that caught my attention was Bee's Knees. With so many dogs seated with their owners who didn't appear to be dressed for a wedding, I had to ask for directions from the service staff. 

Turned out we had to take the unsheltered staircase to level two; thankfully, weather was pretty good and there's none of the heavy rain we encountered last week! 

Comprising of both indoors and outdoors, I must say I was impressed with the ambience and atmosphere at Botanico; it felt relaxing and it did help that the so-called outdoors were sheltered with air coolers to make us comfortable. 

My assigned table with my name indicating where I should see; safe distancing measures in place with only four to five chairs! And as you can see, it's literal fine dining layout, in the Western style. 

I can only thank my goldfish memory for remembering which cutleries to use first; start from outside! And I didn't even attend any etiquette class; read it from a book in fact.

So rude right?!?! Why a pig on my placard!? Turned out it was related to the main I would be having that day; the friend had checked with me about two weeks ago and the selection for main was either fish, pork or vegetarian. 

Not fake flowers okay.

Souvenirs for the guests; this kind of mementos for guests came about maybe around 20 years ago and I am always curious as to what I would receive; in the past, I had collected vodka cups, piggy bank, wine opener, rock candies, keychains etc. 

Aside from the mini-pail with a bag of mints (i think), the other (paper pox) consisted of two packs of tea; rose and lavender! It's always hard to determine whether one has uses for the souvenirs or not but I, for one, definitely would make good use for them! 

The table next door that was more than one-meter away; there were five chairs and I thought it was quite cramped! Anyway, people were late, as always for Chinese weddings, but unfortunately for them, the lunch started pretty much on time; i.e. 12.05pm.

Our menu for the day! Contrary to typical Chinese weddings, this had only 4-course; appetizer, soup, main and dessert. I was thinking I would likely have extra space for something else after this lunch but I was literally stuffed two hours later! 

By the way, we got free flow drinks and it's not your typical coke, sprite etc. The selection included lime juice, orange juice, coffee and tea! You can also go for coke, red wine, white wine etc. 

Warm bread with butter shall line our stomach before we went all in for the full meal. I usually like my bread with a crispy crust but this won me over with its soft, fluffy insides. Okay, I do admit I was famished! 

Smoked chicken, romaine, mandarin orange, walnuts, avocado and herb vinaigrette; well, it looked like a salad to me. No complaint but I thought the smoked chicken was turkey as texture wasn't as tender.

Wild mushroom soup with gruyere cheese toast; this is a classic example of how mushroom soup should be! Just the right balance of flavour with bites of mushroom in every spoonful and I absolutely loved the toast; it was almost as hard as a biscuit but goes so well with the soup.

My main; pork belly, cannellini beans, squid, chorizo (sausage) and petit pois (means very small green peas). Frankly, the portion was a bit small for me.... I was expecting maybe a full-sized chorizo.... 

See, the pork belly was even smaller than my knuckle! 

Turned out I worried too much; There were so much fats within the pork belly; I actually got quite sick halfway through but forced myself to eat it as it would be such a waste! Taste was okay although I think roast pork from a reputable roast delight stall would amaze me more.   

Pan-seared seabass, rissoni and grilled artichoke; I stole a few bites from Alex who opted for fish. The rissoni was interesting as it tasted somewhat like risottos but a drier version. Fish was alright and the key 'highlight' was the grilled artichoke; it's my first time having it and I confirm I do detest it! Is the sour taste a norm?! 

Vanilla pannacotta tart, strawberry compote. Served chill, this was the perfect conclusion to the meal. Tart was crunchy and fragrant, the vanilla pannacotta wasn't overly sweet on its own but the sourish compote had a miraculous effect in amplifying the sweetness! 

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Address

50 Cluny Park Rd, Level 2,

Singapore Botanic Gardens, 

Singapore 257488

Map

As above.

Website

http://www.thegarage.sg/botanico/ 

RunNUS 2020 - Unravelling the Goodie Race Bag #runnus2020

For an avid jogger, I am totally uninterested in signing up for marathons as I didn't want to spend money when it's free to run around my estate! Furthermore, I associate marathons with long distance running which aren't my cup of tea.

However, I did register for RunNUS as I could comfortably clock in the distance over a period of around a month, given the safe management measures (due to the pandemic) that disallow massive congregation of crowds. And just two days ago, I finally received the race pack! 

Frankly, it's quite a big pack!

I actually heard from friends about it but nothing beats having the pack right in front of you as you turn the contents inside out! Unlike some goodie bags with mostly useless stuff, I can confidently say that I would have some kind of use for the things given for RunNUS race pack.

My first medal for a race! I had the intention to go with the SPH Run or something too as it also allowed the accumulation of distance over a month's period but sadly, I missed the deadline to register. Oh well, the pandemic is going to stay for a while and I guess more runs would take place under the same concept. 

The thing I was looking forward to receiving was the race's tee-shirt although I took the opportunity to additionally purchase two more sleeveless tees! 

Fit just nicely! 

Oh, there's indeed one thing that I have no use for. Sanitary pad and I thought that I did indicate "male" under sex when I registered for the run back in July or something. Whatever the case, it would be of some use after I pass it to my siblings.

Little Caesars Pizza - Darn Worth It for Their Large Pepperoni Pizza @ Yishun's Junction Nine [Singapore] #littlecaesarspizzasg

Jogging is an almost daily activity and since I don't have a gym membership, I took to running along the road pavement. It was enjoyable as it's not as boring as having a static view in front of you (like on a treadmill) and I could keep myself updated on any "new" things mushrooming in our notorious town. 

One of the "new" stuffs would be this bright orange theme eatery located at Junction Nine! Coincidentally, I got to know Little Caesars Pizza very recently and its key selling point is that their large Pepperoni Pizza only cost S$7.99! 

Together with two of my oldest friends, whom I have known for more than 20 years, we finally agreed to a date and time to to check out the newly opened eatery! 

Nothing too fanciful about the interior design; literally splashed in its signature orange shade, I am not surprised that people might remember the color more than the name of the shop. Another iconic feature for Little Caesars Pizza would be its mascot; the roman guy who wore "a distinctive garment of ancient Rome".

Ordering is the fast food restaurant way even though the current mode is really more on self service. Right here, it's still the conventional way whereby you order from the counter at the Hot-N-Ready Zone; you see right, there's indeed only one counter.

Mascot on orange box; the brand impression is obsessively strong! A little background about Little Caesars Pizza; it's the third largest pizza chain in the United States of America and was founded in 1959. The first store in Singapore opened in 2018 even though I only got to know about it a month or two back.

Caesar Wings - actually not just wings as you get a few drumettes too! You can choose to have them flavoured in BBQ, Spicy BBQ, Buffalo or Original. BBQ was our choice and it was quite a nice flavour and complemented by the tenderness of the meat. 

Cinnamon Bites - are you like me whereby once you see bread / pastry with cinnamon, you would tend to fight the temptation to order just to try. I can only blame the eatery, Saint Cinnamon, which bears the responsibility for making me fall in love with the spice.

To be frank, they were alright; while there's a hint of cinnamon, it's not as distinct and I was hoping that the dip would hype up the taste a bite. Pity, it was just normal chocolate sauce; caramel would have performed much better. 

Pizzas - with three of us, we figured one 12-inch pizza might be insufficient; hence, why not their signature pepperoni pizza and another ultimate supreme? Other options include cheese, BBQ chicken, veggie, 3-meat treat and Singaporeans' favourite Hula Hawaiian.

Trying to emulate the melty, cheesy look; failed miserable as their other ingredients started dropping too! We guess it had to do with the excessive use of the tomato sauce, which had also resulted in the pizzas having a more intense tomato taste that I didn't quite enjoy.

With the dough made in house daily, I love how fluffy and airy it was! Comparing between both pepperoni pizza and ultimate supreme, the former would win hands-down for its downright, almost impossible pricing that would help fill up a hungry teenager! The ultimate supreme had a strange, mala, aftertaste. 

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It's like the best value for money pizzas that I ever had although I am still not too convinced about the taste thus far. Maybe I should bring Jovyn and Jerald along the next time and try their Hula Hawaiian next time.

Address

18 Yishun Ave 9,

#01-37, Junction Nine,

Singapore 768897

Map

As above,

Website

https://sg.littlecaesars.com/en-sg/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Caesar Wings Combo - S$15.00

Cinnamon Bites - S$4.99

Ultimate Supreme Pizza - S$13.49 

(Nett)

Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre [Singapore] #yishunparkhawkercentre

Just the other day, I was watching a video of a stand-up comedy by a Malaysian and she brought up that the nasi lemak we have in Singapore is nothing compared to Malaysia as we add strange, unacceptable ingredients like hotdogs. There's indeed some element of truth in what she said although there are differences between Chinese and Malay-style nasi lemak.

At Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang, it's the Malay style that the comedian was comfortable with but my reason for trying wasn't because of her. The Great Kon dropped by the notorious Yishun town a month or two back and commented favorably about the nasi lemak at Yishun Park Hawker Centre. 

I believe you can pick and choose the ingredients. For me, the various available sets would help to make a faster decision and it's Set K, the namesake for the stall, for lunch. 

Looking quite similar to the picture on the menu, I did notice something missing now that I took a closer look. How come there's no deep fried tempeh!? Anyway, I can do without it as the important things when it comes to nasi lemak is the rice, the chilli and the chicken. 

Chilli wise, Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang took the interesting step of providing two types; one on the side that's likely for the rice and another kind poured onto the chicken, like a gravy. Former is, as expected, the sambal kind whereas the latter was spicier even though it goes better with the grilled chicken.

Unlike our usual deep fried chicken wing, this was the thigh portion (in my humble opinion, the best part of a chicken) and it's grilled; to the extent I thought it's more Indonesian panggan, without the sweet sauce. It tasted smoky with a lightly charred flavour and the meat was darn juicy! 

There's only one thing that can be improved; the rice and it's all because of their clumpy texture. Fluffy rice deeply infused with coconut milk is just too hard to resist and in this case, I actually left half the rice, untouched. 

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Address

51 Yishun Avenue 11, 

Yishun Park Hawker Centre,

 #01-33, Singapore 768867

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Set K (Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang) - S$5.90

(10% discount if you pay via the Tuck Shop app)

Hong Chong Wanton Mee (鴻昌雲吞麺) - Old School Wanton Noodle @ 724 AMK Central Food Centre [Singapore] #amkcenrtalhawkercentre

Which stall has the longest queue at 724 AMK Central Food Centre? I can guarantee you that it's Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo but what if I don't feel very yong tau foo that day? 

Well, there are plenty of other food stalls within the hawker centre and the one I decided to try that particular day was Hong Chong Wanton Mee (鴻昌雲吞麺). To be frank, I have never heard about it but it did have a queue and mee kia (noodle) sounded fabulous on a Saturday morning! 

Granted I wasn't too keen with the strings of lean looking, char siew with not much charred bits hung up at the stall, the line of people waiting to order always gave me some hope.

Eyeing the bowl of crispy pork lard and as expected; I helped myself with a heaped spoonful! I requested for ketchup instead of chilli and it was just separately squeezed out from a bottle onto the side of the cooked noodle; quite strange as normally, the operator would put the ketchup first, pour over the noodles and then mix for me! 

My simple order - wanton noodle (mee kia) with a top of S$1.00 for two dumplings. I always find it hard to explain to non-Chinese friends the difference between wanton and dumplings since in English, a wanton is sorta like a dumpling but it's much, much smaller with a different taste.

First on the dumpling (the large one); not as big as some from other wanton noodle stalls and taste didn't impress me enough for me to feel that it's worth a second order in the future. 

Thoroughly mixed up my noodle with the ketchup and took a bite; the noodle was pretty dry but it's shiok to slurp them in one big clump! Actually quite nice and it reminded me of the old school kind wanton mee I used to have when I was a little kid. It's strange human behavior that while the food we had might not be the best tasting around; it somehow still managed to evoke nice, heart-warming memories from the past. 

The slices of char siew was, as expected, not the fatty, slightly chao-ta (burnt) kind I enjoyed even though they were still flavourful enough for me to clean them up from the plate. It's a different story for the pork lard; they tasted off and shall not have the privilege of residing in my stomach! 

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Address

Block 724, Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, 

724 AMK Food Centre,#01-21, 

Singapore 560724

Map

As above.

Price

Wanton Mee  - S$3.00

Top Up Dumplings - S$1.00 for two