A Food Fulfiling Evening

Gosh, it has been so so long........ Last time not working too busy, now working also too busy to update this damn blog of mine. Well, will talk about work next time. Will love to concentrate on the badly neglected food section. Lol.

Anyway, today was a great achievement for me because i tried two different eateries!! One French, one Chinese with Van and Kon, the perpetually two food connoisseurs (one of whom is sill attempting to be) always food scouting with me. I think food is really our leisure. The amazing thing isthat beside for Kon, Van and I know perfectly nothing about the cooking part (van is good with instant noodles, im just hopeless with it, even fried eggs).

French Stall
(as the name obviously suggests, it serves French cuisine)

Used to have a few branches but it is down to the original flagship near Little India. I tried the food around 5 years ago and though general impression about the food then wasnot bad, quite unique, i din go back again. This time, we ordered a set (soup, main and dessert) and a starter. Yes, for the 3 of us!!! In any case, the soup was not worth mentioning because it tasted normal. Give me Jack's Place lobster soup anytime!!

1. Main Course (Pork Chop)

After trying the Buckaroo Pork Chop, i have persistently seeked tasty pork chops around Singapore, which to my disappointment, has not been much of a success. Likewise, the pork chop in French stall provided a normal taste, though it was remedied a bit by the sourish, orangy sauce that covered it. The big white thing being lied on was the potato which wasbeing presented like a pastry and astonishingly tasted wonderful, with chunks of potatos dropping out as you cut into the pastry.

Rating: 7/10

Extra credit Due to the Potato Pastry

2. Dessert (Chocolate Souffle)

This one i dun fancy though both Kon and Van love it!! I cannot understand why people love bitter chocolate! Chocolate must be SWEET, CREAMY AND THICK to be nice!! Although the initial soft, spongy head did increased my anticipation of a fabulously, great dessert, it was disappointingly tasteless for my standard. To give it a fairer judgment, the others like it! *shrugs*

Rating: 5/10

Sighz, i love sweet, creamy, thick chocolate!

3. Starter (Foie Gras)

Starter should be commented in front as the name vaguely suggests. I know but this was the best dish of the lot! I know most of you and us including, has or had not tasted this apparently weird, cruel delicacy that is applauded and similarly condemned by most. I never love liver (it has this sandy, yucky, bloody feeling and taste). BUT, the foie gras is different!!

Cooked with a slight crisp at the surface with black pepper and a sweet, sour sauce, it tasted just sensational! For all who tasted suckling pig, it was almost like that but more tender. However with the sauce, it provided a bombarding attack on your taste buds as you chewed, leaving a lingering mix of sweetness and vinegary after you swallowed it!

Rating : 10/10
Luckily it is called Foie Gras at the menu, not Goose Liver.

Westlake Restaurant
(It is Ironically Located nowhere near a Lake)

For those familiar with the name Westlake, it is the same one located in Chinatown and the one that is always at food fair, offering their ever famous Kong Ba Pau (literally Pork Meat Bun). I saw this restaurant (at farrer road) being recommended on Channel U and even though i was  full then, i cannot help watering at the dishes being introduced! I knew i must try it!!!

 

1. Kong Ba Pau

Wats the point of coming if we din try their signature dish! However people, pls pls pls! Come down and eat it!!! The feeling was different and the taste was better than what was already fabulous when u bought from the Westlake booths in food fairs! The reasons being that a minimum 5 buns must be purchased and they came separately (buns one side, sauce another)! And that means you have alot more thick, tasty black sauce to go with the tender 4 level (fat, meat, fat, meat) slice of meat!! You can also try without the bun! It tasted just offendingly marvellous!! Although it can be abit too Je-la after a while. Hahaha.

Rating: 10/10

My favourite. Nothing can beats it!

2. Xiaolongbao

The appearance looked a bit sad, patched, dried without a sense of "life" in it. Although the inside tastedbetter than what it looked (with vegetables added), it was only on par to the one i had at You Tiao King and not comparable to the all time favourite at Crystal Jade.

 

Rating: 6/10
Miss Crystal Jade!

3. Beancurd Combo

This dish was not easy to describe but i admitted that it was unique and really adhered to the multiple taste buds popping out of our muscular tongue. On one side was a big piece of fried beancurd coated with a spicy sauce that was laced with numerous crunchy stuff (i only know how to eat) and the other beancurd was cut into six pieces, each one fried to a deep crisp with sesame seeds and then covered with  sweet and sour sauce. Recommended to take it hot because it tasted really shiok!!!

Rating : 9/1o

I love both of the beancurds and it really brings an almost light tasted product into a another dimension!

Total Expenditure was around S$41 for French Stall and S$34 for Westlake.

Tofu from Another Dimension

Its been almost a month since my last update!! Im so freaking tired after starting work in a pet distributor company!! No need to ask me for discounts, not allowed. Lol.

Sighz....... But so freaking sianz..... Cannot play mahjong on weekdays, Mind's Cafe on weekdays, go blading on weekdays..... Sighz sighz sighz....... Luckily its something i enjoy~

Anyway, i have always wanted to blog this infamous food i always like!! I know its always food for me but hey, there are substantial reasons for my interests in them!

1. I live to eat!
2. Food is a universal subject that everyone and anyone needs!!
3. It involves most of your senses!!!
4. Singapore is a food paradise!!!!

For today, i shall recommend to some of you (guess you will know), the Smelly Fermented Tofu!!! To many, it has an acquired taste like durians. Till now, my mum and my sister practically hate it but my friends like Weeyuan, Kaijing and I love them!! Lol.

The Menu of Mini Star

Located at the end of the sleazy red light Geylang area, it used to be in Chinatown but was forced to move after many people, fellow stall owners included, complained. They actually have alot more items but i only tried a few!!

1. The Main Cast - Smelly Tofu

Cost S$2 a piece, it was better than the one i ever had at a street hawker in HongKong. Deep fried with a certain crispiness outside and the inside soft and tender, the smell is heavenly to me; just like durians but the burp that came with it is even worse than durian, smelly and obnoxious!! My family commented it smelt like the drain sewage but to me, it does not smelt tat bad. Coupled with a mixture of sweet and chilli sauce plus pickles, it brings out the absolute and complicated flavour of the tofu.

A word of advise, never packed it home in an aircon car!!!

It stinks the whole car!!!

2. Soft Shell Crab Bun

I first ate Soft Shell crab in Sakae Sushi. Though i dun detest it, i dun reli fancy it because it did not have much meat, only those crunchy legs, soft innards, sore throat inducing bite and taste. But this one here, was clapped in between a crispy bun that was loaded with sweet, sour mayonnaise. Though it still induces sore throat, the taste is just too good to ignore! Cost S$3.50 for two buns!!

Half of It has been Savoured by US!! Yumyum!!

Hard Rock Cafe

The first time i stepped into Hard Rock Cafe, it was in Hongkong. I was disappointed by the food, though happy with the "size" of it. For a young punk at 17 years old, on the verge of finishing my puberty, the size of the food was more important, never so much bout the taste! Haha.

The second time i ate at the cafe, this time in Singapore, i was happy wif the personal service, food and size. Apparently, i have grown up.

Today, i went again, on the pretext of my dear sister treating me for a meal, and im satisfied with the food, price but neutral with the service.

Maybe its because we stayed too long, we dun look rich, we dun seem to have an ang moh friend beside we two orang cheena, or maybe its just us!! Lol.

But to give a fair judgment, all the servers are fine, except for one skimpy dressed server with a skirt so short even Alex will spew nose blood. She liked to throw things around, spoke too fast and seemed a tad too impatient. Maybe efficiency was more important to her. Maybe she was down with the so common, common flu. I DUNNO!!

Anyone, here's the devoured items:

1. Iced Tea

I know what u people were thinking, normal wat.... Maybe Season brand again. But no! I love drinking iced tea and especially adore the variation from KFC, with its sweet and bitter taste. Many of my friends complained KFC's ice tea is really too sweet though. Haha. This one from Hard Rock will please most of em, because it tasted less sweet compared to KFC and was refreshing enuff. I got refill for it as a result!

Ratings : 10/10

2. Clam Chowder Soup

I liked this soup but i dun seem to discover any fat clams inside it. My sister commented it was dissolved together with the soup but i bet she was treating me like an idiot. Haha. This soup tastef thick, with the taste of the cream more than the seafood. Furthermore, it contained loads of potatoes (which i detest!)

Ratings : 8/10

Because of its abundance of potatoes, its lack of clams and its usage of small bowls

3. Pork Cutlet (Mine)

I regretted ordering it because it tasted NORMAL. Nothing great, though i loved the big chunk of ONE mushroom. I thought the pork cutlet in AMK S11 tasted much better and it came in bigger portion too. Besides the mushroom, the other big chunk of item was the whip potato (which i detests again).

Ratings : 6.5/10

Obvious reasons

4. Sirlon Steak (Joyce)

The menu name of this dish was a mouthful long sentence, something that was sure to escape my long mature brain. But i can still remember the taste. Light, slightly bloody, with a soft yet chewy bite. And its medium well done!! Shd had advised my sister to take the medium. I loved this dish, but it still came with the detestable whip potato with its every-single-time disgusting gravy (every whip potato gravy was disgusting to me).

Ratings : 9/10

The taste of the beef belittles every other flaws.

5. Butter Pudding

This dish surprised both of us! Im not very keen on butter (ever play a game where the forfeit is a spoonful of butter? i did), but it came with a curd like stuff topped with a piece of bread, crowned with whip cream plus HALF a cherry and littered with strings of honey. The main actor was the curd like stuff, which happened to taste not abit like butter, more than egg pudding!! Though i was  already abit full, i managed to finish it, with the bread. Haha

Ratings : 9/10

Its really worth it for the set lunch because it only cost S$12.50 nett!! No GST, no CESS, no Service charge!! Dun bother looking at its website as i dun think it was updated. Lol.

A Visit to an Abandoned, Virtually Unknown Mental Hospital

I have always been curious of the supernatural and the unexplained. And of coz, the ability of me to hear and see "them" at times do help to increase this curiousity. It dampened as i gotolder but i dunno why, the interest came back recently...

I heard about this place from a Singapore paranormal forum and decided to meet up wif 3 of my friends for a visit at night (i know its crazy).

Reaching around 10pm and seeing the road was barricaded, i parked the car infront of the barrier and proceeded on foot. We saw that two lamp posts were still shining bright and were somewhat assured it shd not be too horrifying inside.

However, the eerie sight that greeted us after the second lamp post was one of darkness, pitch black darkness. The buildings standing right behind the gate protrayed a scene of not just eerieness but also of horror. U can almost though you heard those mental patients hollering in the midst of this silent night.

We looked around for an entrance but the "mentioned" entry hole had already been patched and no way im going to climb over the gate (god knows how difficult it will be if u have to run out of the place). We loitered for a while and took a few pictures, but my camera was too "primitive" to take night pics. I can only manage the gate.

As we proceeded away from the gate, trotting towards the comfort of the many street lamps along the main road, my friend said he got poked on his back. And it was not just any normal poke, he felt quite pained and the funny part was, we were all walking side by side.

No matter what, i think im going back again but this time, it will be in the afternoon, where i can take more pics!!

Indonesian Food at its Best!

Memories brought me back to the time when i went for a dental mission trip to Bintan. I stayed there for 4 nights and every single night, i will be devouring a plate of Indo Mee Special and a glass of Avocado Juice.

This time in Batam, while loitering with Weeyuan at one of the malls in Batam (pity Vanessa, Lock and Alex who went for massaging), we chanced upon this open concept restaurant and decided to give it a try. Though i was disappointed not to find a Indo Mee in the menu, im somewhat pacified when i glanced upon the item "Avocado Juice"!

Mee Goreng

This dish looked suspiciously like Indo Mee, unlike the commonly Singaporean known Mee Goreng with its dark, red look. When i tasted it, i was astonished to realise it had the exact taste of the greatly missed Indo Mee!!

The balanced taste of sweetness, saltiness even made sleepy Weeyuan perked up! I slowly relished the dish, each bite having the memory of nostalgia. For those who dunno, IndoMee is not commonly eaten by the rich as it is considered a poor food.

Price: 10,000 Rupiah / Less than S$2

Rating : 10/10 obviously

Lenggang

Dun ask me the meaning of this name. It looked like an omelette and when i tasted it, it was an omlette!! Which was nothing special of course, though it had some pieces of fish-cake-like-dough tat tasted obviously disappointing.

However, the main actor was not the omelette but its sauce, which came in a vinegar bottle!! This sauce smelt like vinegar, looked like soy sauce but had an unexpected sweet and chill-hot sensation! With it, the flavour of the Omelette was grealtly enhanced!

Price : 11,000 Rupiah / Around S$2
Rating : 7/10, becoz of its fish cake like dough and some salty stuff in the middle.

Avocado Juice

I first tried this during my mission trip and when i came back to Singapore, i can never find one of the same taste and look! When i saw it this time, it had the same mixture of green and a brown syrup. But i was somewhat disappointed when i can still taste a slight dash of the raw Avocado but when i drunk further, the nostagia old taste of Bintan came back!

Price: 9,000 Rupiah
Rating : 8/10

Es Teler Juice

This looked weird but Weeyuan assured me its nice. It had the look of a bloody mary with loads of colorful rubbish underneath it. Lol. It tasted quite mixed, with bandung dominating the taste. I wun say i dislike it but i guess i prefer my Avocado! Hehe

Rating : 9,000 Rupiah

Rating: 7/10

I AM GOING BACK AGAIN!!

A Day Worth It.

Did quite a number of desperately to be done tasks today!!

I finally sent two resumes! Not worth mentioning though since i shd got my butt going a month ago. Haha. I also finally managed to buy a decent pair of shoes. Finally i paid  in full the Batam trip that my mum has been so keen of (i miss the kueh lapis there!!).

Most importantly, however, i finally ate at my favourite Mee Goreng of all times from the Seah Im Hawker Centre. For those who do not know, go find out where the shit it is. I knew this stall since 1997, and have loved it for its moist mee, together with minute bits of mutton that i have not seen in any Mee Goreng in Singapore. Though the uncle is a bit grouchy (i can count the number of smiles for these 9 years patronage) and the standard of the Mee Goreng varies like recent weather, i will still trek to the centre for a bite of the marvellous mee.

The Stall Signage Selling the Mee Goreng

The Real Stuff!

Uncomparable! By My Standard. And i heard im not a very Particular Eater. Lol

Another worth noting event was tat i performed another literacy accomplishment! No, I din write a book, i just completed reading one in one day!! Call me speed writer, call me details blotter, anything u wana. But i did enjoy the book, though i will forget the details tomorrow. Haha.

The book name is Ellie by Lesley Pearse. The name of the book took after the main character in the novel and i read a few others by the same author, Charity, Camellia, Charlie, Rosie etc.

The Book That I Devoured In One Mere Day!
Two more, Tara and Georgia to go!!

One thing for guys and lesbians, the girls featured on the cover pages of Lesley Pearse novels are really hot!! The story line was always around the second world war period till the 60s, with the setting in United Kingdom.

Pearse's novels alway kept me awake, notwithstanding the sexual content (sometimes), but also the strong willed characters carved out in times of extreme conditions that was potrayed so realistically that you wish you evolved into one of the characters! I obviously will recommend this author because i fell in love with the character every time i start on a new Lesley Pearse novel.

Mahjong Mahjong!

Today is the scheduled mahjong session with the starhubbers.

For those who dunno mahjong or just dunno how to play it, please try!! Its amazing!! I think its the greatest game in the world that requires not only wit, brains but also on luck! And apparently it helps to deter Alzheimer's Disease. Tats why i keep persuading my mum to join my kaki sessions. Lol.

Up till now, i have lost 9 bucks! And im still jobless! Sighz..

Look at Lock's Tiles (the one facing us), nice nice.

He Won for this Particular Round

I woke up early in the morning to prepare breakfast for the mahjong kakis!! My so called first attempt!! Had eggs, toast, sausages, luncheon meat, cucumber salad etc etc! I tasted it, i liked it!!

But apparently, the eventual reviews were not so good!! So sad... Next time, forget bout me cooking! I should save my time and go downstairs buy the fabulously, delicious nasi lemak or roti prata. Hehe.

The American Breakfast That i PAINSTAKINGLY prepared.

A Close Up.
I love it though

Ring Part Two

During the rainy day of 060606 in Jurong Bird Park, my compatriots must had been still energetic and alert enough to come up with the following pictures in the park...

Out of a well.. A wishing well in Jurong Bird Park to be exact.

Pushing herself Upright, Sadako advanced

A lame Boy was Talking on the Phone, Eyes Ahead!
Must ban Handphones while Walking!!

The stupid lame Boy finally Realised

Sadako Got Him!

Our Hero to the Rescue, using Mystifying Light Waves!
Sadako was Driven Off!!!

Now all of you know wat kinda friends i have..

But i enjoy and appreciate their companion, their creativity and of course, their jokes!!

Jurong Bird Park

A name that brought back many young memories; when we were still in primary or secondary school.. But seriously, most of you should go back and revisit those memories.

It changed a bit (same bird shows) but at least its an educational and fulfiling trip! Provided u are not extremely terrified of birds and your main purpose is to "know" those featheries, not just "see" them.

Five of us (Weeyuan, Vanessa, Lock, Alex and I of course) woke up early in the morning and we enjoyed ourselves immersely, despite the stormy, thundery weather!

Snow Owl..

Its really cute. Its not Only Majestic, but Dignified and Most of all, Cuddly! lol

God Knows What These Two Were Doing...

 Our Favourite Attraction in the Park, The Lory Loft. Strongly Recommended! But please bring an umbrella!

 Our Lockie Boy with his arms, hands, fingers full of Lories.
They are Beautiful. They Bite Hard too!
To Protect Lockie from being Recognised, His face was Mosaiced and Double Blocked Out.

Alex Drinking From the Man made Waterfall. 

Made a Very OBVIOUS statementStaged by Weeyuan

Its been a trip well spent. And my knowledge on nature had deepened (on birds obviously)!! Biggest, Fastest, Heaviest bird is Ostrich! Puffin Classis Emblem is a real bird!! Etc Etc.

Next trip will be the zoo i guess. Lol.

Lets hope i can get the free entry pass again!!

Handle Bar

Not sure if any of you has heard of this bar that's situated near  the former Saint Andrews Junior College? I always passed by that area but had never ventured into it. So imagine my enthusiam when my friend suggested that area when we were scouting our way around Singapore for a place to chill out! Haha.

The Dark, Errie, Steep Staircase Leading to Handle Bar

Handle Bar is a meeting place for Harley Davidsons fans and riders alike! We reached ard 12 midnight (i think) and even though the bar was reserved for a private function, we were welcome to enter.

Once inside u can see that the ambience, decor were very unique. It was not so "showy showy" and was quite run down. However, any grouches were gone when u saw the deep, inset culture of the Harley spirt. Dunno how to describe it wif u people but u can see for urself at the photos below! Or please visit it at your earliest convenience!

The Pictures that Served as Wallpaper in The Male Toilet!

The Sink Area. Note all the Side Mirrors!

A bit Dark. We Found This Dinosaur somewhere around Handle Bar and our Dear Weeyuan was Fighting Bravely!!

Vanessa Cleaning the Asshole of the Dinosaur. Lol