My favourites in Singapore~

Time sure zoomed by.. before i realised it, i have to go.. and i realised this blog has been so under utilised and neglected.. no one reads it anymore! so i have decided to write one last entry for all the yummy stuff i really like to eat in Singapore..

Tori Q http://www.tori-q.com/index.html
These Yakitori has been haunting me for the past 2 nights.. take a look at the website and you'll know why.. the photos doesnt justify the taste, really.. Tori Q tastes much better than it looks on this site.. the Chicken is good.. but my favourite is the Chicken Balls!!! The Unagi is a little too salty for me.. has to go with the yummy Japanese rice.. and the Pork was a little tough the other day.. but pay attention to the sauce!~ *slurp*

Sushi Tei http://www.sushitei.com.sg
I have given up on Sakae Sushi after eating Sushi Tei.. and have never looked back since.. just a pity that i'm not staying near any of the outlets! The Rainbow Roll from their Winter promotion is a winner!!! It's from February to April, so for those who missed it, you'll have to wait for the next round! Their Salmon Salad is very refreshing! Another dish not to be missed is the Hanasaki Tempura, which is the Squid Tempura.. absolutely wonderful.. served with Japanese mayonnaise..

Hanasaki Tempura

Salmon Salad

Thai Express http://www.thaiexpress.com.sg/index.htm
Not to be missed:

Phat Thai Talay (The most famous of all Thai Fried Noodles with Seafood)

• Kway Teow Phad Gad Talay (Thai stir-fried ‘Chye-Poh” Seafood Kway Teow)
• Kaeng Khiew Wan Talay (Green Curry with Seafood)
• Man Cheam (Steamed Sweet Tapioca with Coconut Cream)

Most of their dishes are worth trying.. that's why i'm a member!!! wahaha..

Crystal Jade Kitchen http://www.crystaljade.com
Love them for their porridge, especially the Lean Meat with Century Egg Porridge..

Din Tai Fung http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/index.asp
They served very yummy dumplings.. not rice dumplings.. but little dumplings with soup on the inside.. the Steamed Pork Dumplings as well as the Steamed Crab Meat and Pork Dumplings are really delicious.. my second favourite there is their fried rice.. i normally go for their Fried Rice with Eggs or Fried Rice with Eggs and Shredded Pork.. their Pork Chop looks really good.. but hey, i'm a simple person looking for simple goodness~

New York New York http://www.newyorknewyork.com.sg
If anyone asks me where they can get good Carbonara, this is the place that i would definitely recommend! Their Tagliatelle Carbonara with Bacon and Mushrooms really never fails.. This is one dish i'll always order when i'm there! the BBQ Spare Ribs is good too.. and the Crunchy Mushrooms really live up to it's name, Crunchy! Interesting because it has 2 kinds of mushroom in it.. the Shitake Mushroom and Golden Needle Mushroom.. nice but a tad too oily for me.. i'm sure the rest of the dishes are worth trying..

Crunchy Mushrooms

Tagliatelle Carbonara with Bacon and Mushrooms

Mee Soto @ Bedok Interchange
Hidden in a corner in Bedok Interchange is a Malay stall that sells absolutely wonderful Mee Soto!!! I was never a soup person.. but this one got me hooked! and i dare say this is the only yummy dish i will miss sorely while away from Singapore.. i dont remember the name of the stall but you can see a queue waiting for it most of the time! it's only selling for S$1.50/bowl.. come on, you've got to try this!!! *slurp slurp*

Cottage Pies Cafe http://www.cottagepies.com/
Okie, so there is one other yum~ stuff i will miss sorely! It's the Chicken Pie from Cottage Pies Cafe!!! One is never enough! It is really heavenly~ The one and only outlet is in White Sands Shopping Centre.. they tried opening another outlet in Tampines Mall, just outside of NTUC but it didnt work out and they are back to one cafe.. their Chicken Pie is a must try, my second favourite is the Chicken Sausage Roll..

Alright, there you go.. these are the ones that i can remember from the top of my head.. meaning these are the really good ones.. hehez.. have fun trying!

The Japanese in me..

It's the third week of the new year.. and another 2 weeks to CNY! haha.. i must say, it's been 'so far, so good' in the new year.. i certainly hope it will continue for the whole year.. haha.. that said, i have been having some glorious food this week..

Monday - i went to Ramen Ten with Honey Senpai.. hmmm.. moderate food, needless to go back.

Thursday - went to Genki Sushi with Fish.. pretty good sushi..

Friday - Teriyaki Chicken bento set with colleagues at this unknown place along Cecil Street.. really yummy..

Saturday - was at Sushi Tei at Vivocity.. having high tea with Non-Vegetarian.. this is my favourite Japanese hunt in Singapore at the moment..

yummy Japanese week..

Outrageous Service!!!

Cafe Cartel at Raffles City Shopping Centre.

Was there on Friday, 4th of January 2008, slightly after 9pm.. went there after dinner..

1. the place looked like a total mess.. the table was not wiped after the last customer.. we had to get a waiter to clean it twice.. there was no order pad on the table, the two miserable pieces of paper left from the previous order pad had gravy on it! yucks! there were two pens on the table.. one was without ink! duh~ finally made our order and proceeded to get ice water.. but..

2. there were no glasses on the water and bread table.. we had to ask various waiters for glasses, but to no avail.. in the end, we had to get the manager on duty to get us glasses.. poor guy had to get us the coffee cups on the coffee machine in the end.. sadly, before we got our ice water.. my Ice Double Shake has arrived!!! Geez.. so much for the trouble.. after some wait, our food arrived.. but..

3. there were no cutlery.. we had to ask for cutlery everytime a dish arrived.. gosh~ the particular waiter who was serving us the waffle spilled the honey syrup down his front and cursed loudly.. he quickly dropped us the waffle and went to clean up his shirt.. well, what about the honey syrup? we are supposed to eat the waffle without it? and the rest of the waiters were 'helping' him clean up.. someone could have seen the greater picture and serve us the honey syrup instead? talk about bad service~

reading this entry, you would have thought that the place was busy like crazy? to be honest, that was not really the case.. there is something wrong with the system in that place.. i saw waiters serving food to the wrong tables.. ours was sent somewhere else and cakes from some other table was served to us.. it was only based on the customers' honesty that food and drinks were not given out for free~

my dear friend was really quite pissed.. and gave names to a few of the waiters.. NOTE here.. there were no waitresses on duty that night.. is that the reason why that place is a total chaos? okie, i shall not go into a debate on gender here..

1. Blind waiter - pretends not to see you when you raise your hand to get his attention..
2. Deaf waiter - pretends not to hear you when you call him..
3. 'Busy' waiter - pretends to be extremely busy, but all in slow motion..

at the end of the evening, the only person who was busy was the manager on duty.. honestly, that really makes me wonder what did he do to deserve all that.. geez.. open yours eyes when you hire employees, people..

Happy 2008!

Gosh! 2007 is gone! I'm honestly sorry for not updating this blog.. 2008 is already here, even though it certainly doesnt felt like it! To end 2007 on this blog, i do have some yummy stuff from yesterday evening.. hehez..

-Cha Soba Salad

i'm not too sure what the above dish is.. it's really yummy though..

-Tonkatsu Set

Ma Maison Restaurant
6 Eu Tong Sen Street @ CENTRAL
#03-096 Singapore 059817

Tel: 65-6327 8122
Website: www.ma-maison.co.jp

Dim Sum!

Teapot and i woke up and decided to go for breakfast before going to Harbour Town.. we finally decided on Joy Garden Seafood Restaurant.. we had a bad experience there the other time, due to bad service.. and havent been back ever since.. today we decided to give it another go.. when we reached, there was already a queue outside.. i went in to take a number for two.. and then we waited..

there was a family of 5 that grew impatient and irritated because of the wait.. and the man asked the lady at the counter to address the question that he had just asked her.. and we heard the lady explaining to him.. not that politely though, i must add.. and the man just nodded and said, "we'll take our business elsewhere than.." and they walked away.. the lady didnt bother apologising and went back to her work.. i guess all of us waiting outside the restaurant were a little bit shock at the the commotion.. but it past not long after..

the wait wasnt too long, actually.. because the restaurant was quite big.. the photo below only managed to capture the front of the restaurant.. there's more space on the inside..

the interior of Joy Garden Seafood Restaurant..

the only - Seaweed Roll left after Teapot and i took one each..

- Fried Dumplings with mayonnaise

- Chilli and Pepper Squid

- Prawn Dumplings (steamed)

- Xiu Mai~

- Char Siu Cheong Fun~

- Custard Bun

honestly, the Dim Sum here beat the ones at Luk Fuk, hands down! and Teapot says that it's the best that she has eaten in Perth.. well, that's self-explanatory, right? hence, no need for results.. haha.. and i apologise for the photos.. they are kind of dark.. we were seated on the inside and the lighting wasnt too good..

one thing that Joy Garden need to improve on is their Service attitude.. Ambiance is just like any other Dim Sim place.. Prices were normal.. and on the Overall, this is where you can get good Dim Sum.. but the service is sub-standard!

Joy Garden Seafood Restaurant
65 Francis Street
Northbridge

Kido's Japanese Cuisine

Shabu Shabu finally!!! this time round, Young Coconut and i were more careful.. we confirmed the time and date earlier on with Strawberry Shortcake to avoid anymore funny incidents! it took us some time to find the restaurant though.. since none of us have been there before.. it looked really small on the outside and we werent sure if that was the restaurant.. but the interior looked so different from the exterior! and it's a much bigger restaurant than Shige Sushi Bar..

i quite like these seats.. but we were not seated in them though..

we ordered quite a fair bit.. and it turned out that Young Coconut doesnt eat beef.. due to religious purposes.. same as Honey Senpai.. but he didnt say anything at all when we were ordering.. it was only after the Shabu Shabu arrived, when the vegetables are cooked and we have started putting the beef into the stock, when Strawberry Shortcake and i kept asking him to eat, that he finally told us he doesnt eat beef~ but we had other yum~ stuff for him..

- Sashimi Combination

i like it.. but i still prefer Shige-san's..

- Sushi Combination (13 pieces: Tuna, Octopus, Hamachi, Egg, Prawn, Tuna Roll)

it's not bad.. Strawberry Shortcake ate the Egg Sushi and it had too much wasabi in it!

- Tori Kara-age (crisp deep-fried chicken marinated in a special sauce)

this felt like normal fried chicken.. nice nevertheless.. BUT Shige-san's Torikara rules!!!

- Shabu Shabu (sliced beef boiled with vegetables, Japanese yam noodles and tofu, in a light beef stock served with seasoned dipping sauces)

this was obviously the highlight.. this is what we came for! Shabu Shabu! yup, it turned out that Young Coconut cant eat beef.. so we shoved him heaps of vegetables instead! we were provided with 2 sauces.. one was a sour tasting sauce, like vinegar.. the other one was kind of salty.. with a peanut base.. i've never tried Shabu Shabu my whole life.. so i have nothing to compare against.. it was not bad.. no complains.. just that i'm not a soup person.. hehez.. we also ordered 2 more dishes after we knew that Young Coconut cant eat beef.. so he can have more to eat..

this is what's left of our Shabu Shabu ingredients after the first round.. the waitress helped us put in the vegetables, etc.. and she asked us to dip the beef in after the stock has boiled.. we followed obediently.. hehez..

- Kushi Katsu (cubed pork and onion on bamboo skewers, bread crumbed and deep fried, served with dipping sauce)

- Avocado Suisho-age [KIDO's special] (fried avocado served in a light ginger-flavoured sauce)

this is like Agedashi tofu, except that the tofu's being replaced by avocado.. very unique.. but it would be too rich to finish the whole bowl alone.. just nice to share..

- Dorayaki (Doraemon's favourite!)

i took a piece and it smelled like fish! see, there were 4 pieces.. and mine's the only one that smelled like fish! arghh~! it tasted good, when i dont smell it! hehez..

- Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Beans (super yum~!)

this is really super super yummy!

- Plum Wine

we ordered 2 glasses of Plum Wine.. Young Coconut cant have any.. he's driving! i only took a couple of sips and gave it to Strawberry Shortcake.. it's good.. but i cant drink much.. she gladly took it.. hehez..

on the overall, we really enjoyed ourselves and the food! we finally had Shabu Shabu!

Results - Strawberry Shortcake
1. Sashimi Combination = 2/4 (50%)
2. Sushi Combination = 2.3/4 (57.5%)
3. Tori Kara-age = 3.6/5 (72%)
4. Shabu Shabu = 3.6/5 (72)
5. Avocado Suisho-age = 2.9/5 (58%)
6. Kushi Katsu = 3.6/5 (72%)
7. Dorayaki = 3/4 (75%)
8. Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Beans = 3.2/4 (80%)

Results - Young Coconut
1. Sashimi Combination = 2.25/4 (56.3%)
2. Sushi Combination = 1.9/4 (47.5%)
3. Tori Kara-age = 2.4/5 (48%)
4. Shabu Shabu = 2.4/5 (48%)
5. Avocado Suisho-age = 2.35/5 (47%)
6. Kushi Katsu = 2.4/5 (48%)
7. Dorayaki = 2.2/4 (55%)
8. Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Beans = 3.4/4 (85%)

Results - Coffee Queen
1. Sashimi Combination = 2.5/4 (62.5%)
2. Sushi Combination = 2.5/4 (62.5%)
3. Tori Kara-age = 3.1/5 (62%)
4. Shabu Shabu = 3.2/5 (64%)
5. Avocado Suisho-age = 3/5 (60%)
6. Kushi Katsu = 3.1/5 (62%)
7. Dorayaki = 2.3/4 (57.5%)
8. Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Beans = 3/4 (75%)

i must say that Young Coconut is indeed quite a critic when it comes to food.. all that red marks seemed a bit scary.. but i reckon it wasnt too bad.. and Strawberry Shortcake passed all the food too.. the Ambiance of the restaurant was.. Japanese? haha.. there are shelves with Japanese comics and magazines.. and they actually provide karaoke sessions for guests staying after 9.30pm.. provided that each guest spends a minimum of A$20.. haha..the Service was alright.. Prices were okie.. and on the Overall.. it's worth a try..

Kido's Japanese Cuisine
1/126 Broadway
Nedlands WA 6009
(near Corner of Princess Road)

Secret Garden Cafe..

Teapot and i woke up extremely late today.. wahaha.. the weather was really great for slacking at home! we are both sick of cooking or whipping up random recipes.. so we opted for The Secret Garden Cafe just on our street.. Teapot had their Big Breakfast and i had their Secret Garden Beef Burger.. sounds deja vu? haha.. their beef burger's much better than Globe's! i have a tendency to try the stuff named after the cafe/restaurant..

Teapot's Big Breakfast..

My Secret Garden Beef Burger (according to the menu, the beef patty is homemade..)

much better than Globe's~

Results - Teapot
Big Breakfast = 3.1/5 (62%)

Results - Coffee Queen
Secret Garden Beef Burger = 3.5/5 (70%)

Ambiance: the cafe may look small on the outside.. but once you enter, you'll know that it's a different world on the inside, at the back.. they have a big alfresco area.. though we cant really use it today.. it was all wet from the rain.. but we still sat at the back.. some parts are covered by the rooftop of the cafe..

Service: order-taking from the front counter, where there are 2 cash registers.. food was served pretty quickly.. and nicely..

Prices: normal prices for a cafe.. though a little more and steep will be a more appropriate description..

Overall: "the unique part was that there's really a secret garden at the back!" - Teapot

The Secret Garden Cafe
64 Angelo Street
South Perth 6151