Yuanjiajie Scenic Area (袁家界景区) @Zhangjiajie (张家界), Hunan, China

My last post for a trip made last October!

In order to get to this highly elevated area, deemed to be the most beautiful in the whole Zhangjiajie region, there is this outdoor elevator (Bai Long Scenic Elevator) that will bring us 335 meters up.

The scenery was amazing, offering a bird's eyes view of the surroundings that inspired Avatar the movie.

It was probably at this time that i felt a pang of regret; of not buying a DSLR earlier!!

After walking for around one hour though, we get kind of jaded. It's roughly the same rocky formations again and again, with only slight variation to the height, width and/or gradient.

The troops of tourist invading the viewing platforms and jostling for much desired photographic spots were also getting to our nerves.

If people ever say Singaporeans are very kiasu (afraid to lose), i presume they have never been to China!

Despite the above factors, one spot worth noting was the magnificent natural bridge! Yes, you can confidently walk and cross over to the other karst pillar!

As with most overseas destinations, certain myths are fabricated to generate much interest and of course, additional tourist dollars.

One such myth is the heavenly lock!

This is so cheesy, like the Merlion we have in Singapore.

Well, at least the tourists are really passionate about it!!

F.I.S.H (by Fish & Co) @ 313 Somerset

Talking about F.I.S.H (which is brought to us by Fish and Co), my first visit was more than half a year ago at their Tampines One branch.

The Hae Bee Hiam Spaghetti (then) left a very deep impression and I was shocked that such an unlikely combination could be so delicious! 

Today i am back again, this time with my Mom.

The sister had lamented that i never ordered fish dishes when i went out with mom. Being the filial son i am, i had to do something!!!

Thus this visit! 

Shrimp & Egg on Toast with Rocket

Two sunny side up eggs with runny yolk (note: singular) on top of a slice of well toasted bread and sprinkled with tiny portions of baked potatoes, tomatoes and whole fresh prawns! 

Such a simple dish yet it generated a lot of praises from my mom and I!

It was almost perfect (one of the yolks was not runny) and there was a special taste (that left a burning sensation on our tongues) differentiating itself from the ordinary eggs and toast we usually have.

Char-Grilled Codfish Fillet w Lemon Pesto

Mom's favourite fish as codfish has high Omega-3 fatty acids, high protein, low fats and low calories.  

Being char-grilled, this codfish differs from the steamed version my mom prepared at home. 

The meat was drier and not as smooth (lack of oil). To the expert (mom), it was a healthier choice that was unfortunately almost tasteless.

The saving grace was the slice of lemon......... and chilli sauce.

Chicken Cacciatore

I was so pleased i ordered a chicken dish, disgracing the fishy name of this restaurant.

The meat was surprisingly succulent with a savouriness that was on equal par with the almost tasteless codfish in the opposite spectrum!

The keys were on the marination and dressing (cacciatore) that contained tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and other unknown ingredients.

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Location

#B3-37/38, 313@ Somerset

Price

Shrimp & Egg on Toast with Rocket - S$5.90

Char-Grilled Codfish Fillet with Lemon Pesto - S$15.90

Chicken Cacciatore - S$10.90

Subject to 10% Service Charge and 7% GST

Additional Information

The ambience for this branch in 313@Somerset is acceptable but if you prefer a more unique environment, try the branch in Tampines One! 

My mom LOVES fish; not so much of putting them in an aquarium for visual appeal and positive mental stimulus! She loves them for their health benefits after digestion. Haha!

Combat Durians (空军) along Balestier Road

Along the lengthy Balestier Road and next to the historical Da Bo Gong temple is a small durian stall that was heavily recommended by Ms Kat Ho over my preferred Sindy Durian. 

Despite my frequent visits of bringing my mom to the temple next door for her endless praying, it was always with disappointment since this Combat Durian does not normally operate on Sundays.

Until this fine day on 13 June 2010.

The species in question (between Ms Ho and I) is the ultra rich butter durian (aka Mao Shan Wang) and with that in mind, a 1.6 kilogram fruit was ordered for comparison!

Resembling my favourite Mao Shan Wang (aka Cat Mountain King) from Sindy Durian, the meat was creamy with an unmistakable integrated sweetness-bitterness taste. 

Characteristic of the butter species, it has a really Lilliputian seed! You can imagine how shiok it was when i dumped the yellow pulp into my mouth and all i felt was the flesh!

The above two paragraphs aside, this durian from Combat has its differences. The taste was pretty thin and lacked the richness i experienced in Sindy.

Furthermore, the price may be cheaper at only S$12 per kg but the 1.6 kg fruit had only 6 pathetic seeds. Compare that to the fruit i had in Sindy at a more expensive S$20 per kg, the 1.9kg fruit had 18 seeds!!!

Sindy Durian has a significantly better deal!

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Location

Opposite Hotel 81 Balestier and right beside a traditional temple stage!

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?