Celebrity Cafe & Bakery - Plain Waffle with Ice Cream @ Universal Studios Singapore [USS]

The weather was hot, the legs were sore, the mind was sleepy, and the mouth was itchy. So would you like to guess what i did when this signage stopped me on my way out of Universal Studios Singapore?

No prize for the correct answer as it was common knowledge that i would step in for a better look! 

There were many pastries to choose from although i wonder what was its link to the 'celebrity' label. The only celebrities i can relate to were the cupcakes with the bright images of Sesame Street's characters.

Nevertheless, it was the plain waffle with ice cream that caught my attention! Oh, the combo came with a free cup of coffee / tea too! 

Imprinted with the faces of Cookie Monster and Elmo, the two pieces of waffles would definitely delight the fans of Sesame Street. Not i though since my parents are Mandarin-speaking and Chinese programmes were a perpetual mainstay at home.

When it comes to waffles, i am extremely particular with the syrup. It must be maple syrup and not honey, especially those that left a bad aftertaste. Which was sadly the case with this syrup from Celebrity Cafe. 

Waffles wise; i am afraid they were more pancakes rather than waffles, without the fluffiness that would have greatly improved the dish. Thank god for the store-made vanilla ice cream which helped tremendously in my objective to clean up the plate! Cannot waste money mah. 

=====

Would i be back? I would if i am tired from taking the rides in the theme park and would like to do some people-watching! 

Location

Within Hollywood zone

Price

S$7.80 nett as above.

Yap Kee Wanton Mee - The Absolutely Marvelous Egg Noodles (葉記全蛋雲吞面) @ BGain 442 Eating House [Opposite Clementi Central Hawker Centre]

You know that selfish feeling of wanting to keep a place secret so that not many people would be aware of its existence; thereby reducing the risk of having to queue for a frustratingly long period of time the next time you visit? 

I was stuck with that dilemma a week ago when i finally found the opportunity to try the wanton noodles in Clementi that colleagues have been gushing about every single time we touched on the topic of wanton mee! 

Before i moved on, do note that this is NOT the dark-style Boon Kee wanton noodles in Clementi Central hawker centre that i mentioned a few years ago. Yap Kee used to operate from the food centre in Holland Drive but was forced to move to this current location when the centre closed for a major renovation

Without further ado, let me present to you Yap Kee Wanton Noodles!

Okay, i can sense the questions running in that brain of yours: What's so amazing about this wanton mee? It looked pretty normal to me unlike the Red Ring you blogged before. Are you sure this is good? And etc etc etc. 

I agree! Appearance wise, it didn't look much and i can honestly tell you that the wantons (dumplings) were not exceptional and the soup was not robust enough. Other than the aforementioned, everything else was great! 

The pieces of char siew, though not as epic as the legendary Kay Lee, were still one of the better ones with sufficient flavour and a nice bite. The big surprise actually came from the thin strands of egg noodle! 

They were, to put it in very simple terms, perfectly cooked with the right level of springiness that would put many other noodle stalls to shame and tasted so distinctly delicious (the egg definitely played a part); i came back within a week and ordered the S$4 serving! 

Need i say more?

=====

Location

Block 442, Clementi Avenue 3

BGain Coffeeshop, #01-121

[Opposite Clementi Central Hawker Centre]

[Updated Address] Moved to Block 44, 
Holland Drive #02-04, Singapore 270044

Opening Hours

Monday to Friday (am) - 6.30am to 2pm

Monday to Friday (pm) - 5.30pm to 8.30pm

Saturday to Sunday - 6.30am to 3pm

Price

Minimum S$3 a bowl

The Lawn Grill & Salad Café @ Biopolis Way [Near Buona Vista MRT Station]

To cut the long story short, I was invited for a food tasting session at "The Lawn" a few months ago but the cafe was closed for stock taking even though i had already informed i would be available then. 

Granted i have to bear some responsibility as i neglected to seek a confirmation. However, this incident left a really very bad taste in my mouth. When i was invited once again to check out their new outlet, i declined even though i specifically mentioned about that incident.

No, there wasn't even a courtesy reply!

Nonetheless, this didn't stop me from visiting one wet afternoon for lunch, together with a few of my colleagues who were craving for salads! As many are aware, i am not a vegetable person and would therefore be subject to certain prejudice that might appear even more unfair to the cafe after my unhappy episode. 

Having these colleagues around would help to give a more balanced review. 

In addition to creating your own salad box topped with a wide variety of toppings (you choose five) and dressed in one of their eight home-made dressings, the key selling point was definitely the pairing of grilled items to savourise the healthy meal. 

For those who could not do without carbohydrates, there was an option to have a serving of olive rice together with a grilled item and side salad. One colleague coupled it with the asparagus and eggplant which were in fact quite good. I must also add that the ladies absolutely loved the olive rice! 

I am sticking to my salad box. 

At first glance, even i have to admit the server was too generous with my choice of maple grilled chicken breast; so much so that i could barely see the bed of crisp and fresh vegetables hidden right beneath it!

I could not remember what i selected for my five toppings although i vaguely recalled sunflower seeds, cucumber, raisins, boiled egg and maybe, grapes. For dressing, it was the sweet honeyball.

Frankly, it took me a while to clean up the bowl, which was huge! The three ladies, veterans of commercial salad bars, shared that it was absolutely well worth the money!

Since i have never patronised a salad bar before, my comments shall therefore be limited to the following; the greens were choked with freshness, the grilled chicken had a subtle maple taste that was not excessively flavoured and i was simply blown away by the great selection of toppings and unique dressings! 

=====

Location

31 Biopolis Way, 

Nanos #01-07

[Near Buona Vista MRT Station]

Map

As above

Website

http://www.thelawn.com.sg 

Price

Basic Salad Box - S$9.90

Basic Olive Rice - S$9.90

[Nett but premium options and additional servings would incur extra charges]

Additional Information

You can top up your salad at S$2.90 for a can drink, soup and bun or S$3.90 for a regular coffee, soup and swiss roll! Thinking vegetables would not satisfy my tummy, i paid for the former. 

Despite its 'chunky' feel, the cream of mushroom tasted way too thin. Saving grace was the appetising bun which came soft and warm; a great companion to the soup on a rainy day! 

My Two Days One Night Escapade to Malacca!

Being trigger-happy has its disadvantage.

There is the tendency to take far too many pictures; often to the extent that i have trouble organising them for a singular post in this blog! The good news is that i can be much more detailed!

So here goes a somewhat summary of my 2D1N visit to Malacca, with options to click for more information! 

I shall start from the very humble beginning - Golden Mile Complex where, as many of you are aware, is the place to go for coaches to Malaysia and even up to Hatyai (Thailand).

Taking the coach from Five Stars Tour! For a person who enjoys free movies on long distance coach journey, you should see the disappointment on my face when i couldn't find any! :(

And you know what's worse?! There was a sign on the bus for commuters to be silent! Me being quiet?!?! Not when i have no movie to rely on for the next few hours! So, chatter we did for almost four hours.  

Checked into the Mahkota Hotel's 2-bedroom apartment! Click here for more info. 

Went for the half day cultural tour arranged by my friend of over ten years! Check out the details here. Frankly, i would prefer to spend the time traversing the century-old streets of Malacca!

Went back to the hotel to dump our goodies. Took a piss in the hotel lobby's toilet and my eyes glanced up to the above artwork. Not sure about you but there was just an uncanny feeling about it.

No way am i going to leave out Jonker Street on weekend nights when its unmatched vibrancy really comes alive. Note, the crowd would be extremely bad on Saturdays. 

 

I posted a long entry on the pasar malam along Jonker Street around three months ago. There were not many differences so you can still rely on the information here. 

Not much doesn't mean don't have. This time round, the craze was on the uber adorable minions from the movie Despicable Me 2.

Posted this purely because i like the myriad of soft colours.

Create natural double eyelids in five minutes with no surgery and no medication!? Woah.... i should get it although on second thought, the lady manning the stall didn't appear to have double-eyelids... 

The stage was utilised this time for karaoke sessions! Love the hokkien songs so much that i almost wanted to scramble up on stage to belt out classics like "ai pia jia eh yia"!

Things were not cheap and as my sister would say; you might get a way better deal via online portals like Taobao.com. Well, i am an old school shopper and love to touch and feel the products i buy.

Breakfast the next day and this picture was taken without my knowledge! Damn, i can see a strand of grey hair! 

Crossing over the highway to the Mahkota Parade shopping centre! There was no traffic light, no pedestrian crossing and no bridge right across unless you are willing to walk around 300-500 meters from the hotel's entrance.

There are now quite a few shopping malls in Malacca in close proximity to Mahkota Parade. Do check out the newer ones like Dataran Pahlawan and Hatten Square, if you have time. 

As the rest focused on shopping in air-conditioned malls, my friend and i took to Jonker Street again! I wanted to eat Cendol whereas my friend wanted to buy some coffee from Calanthe Art Cafe.

My preference of coffee would be from this Sin Sing Coffee along Jonker Street, near to the performance stage. Note, i have always liked the buttery Southeast Asian coffee over the acidic Western coffee.

A group picture before we checked out! In case i have yet to share, my friend organised a trip for his staff and both Alex and I were invited along for it! *blessed*

It was a direct coach that sent us back to Singapore and took only three hours! By the way, anyone knows how i could visit these kelongs?

Reached Singapore using Second Link! 

*a big thank you to Dr Oh for the trip*! 

An Ideal Purchase for My Ass - The Wellness Bidet

Today, i am going to touch on a very sensitive spot for most, if not all people; the asshole. You read right; it's basically and literally the little hole in between your butt cheeks!

Without getting too gross, i am going to get to the point and announce to the whole world that i finally got a bidet for the toilet bowl in my house! 

What exactly is a bidet, some might ask?

To put it in very simple terms, the bidet is a device that would help wash your asshole (after your big business) with water, which is gentler and cleans better as compared to toilet paper. There are other benefits i would love to gush (pun unintended) in this blog but i think you would benefit better by just clicking here.

So, my order from Qoo10 (formerly known as Gmarket) came within three days in a plain little looking white box. For those who are interested, i paid S$84, inclusive of the S$5 delivery charge. 

The website is http://list.qoo10.sg/item/HIT-ITEM-IN-KOREA-WELLNESS-BIDET/407504542 although you can also purchase directly from the distributor via their website here. Do note that the price was higher than Qoo10 when i last checked. 

Expensive models with functions to warm seat and blow dry your asshole etc were available yet knowing my limited financial means, i would have to make do with the cheaper yet no doubt just as effective one; the non-electronic version. 

Installation was a breeze! 

The instruction leaflet was given for a reason; treat it as a valuable guide and follow every step carefully. Disregard it and you would likely get urine and shit water on your body! You could of course pay a nominal sum of money for a professional (honestly, you might as well just pay me) to install the bidet for you. 

Frankly, shitting has never felt so blissful in my house.

p.s. i know i have an ugly toilet bowl.