Poulet, Bugis+ (former Iluma)

Went to Bugis for the first time since my recent return to Singapore and realized things have changed so much. Iluma is now replaced by Bugis+, and the whole street outside Peace Center leading to Citadines is full of pasar-malam-like stalls selling all sorts of clothes and accessories. 

Checked out Poulet, which had a 85% rating on HGW and thought that the food was overrated. I think the speciality of the house (the poulet/ chicken) was pretty tender and moist but portions were tiny and prices were relatively steep in my opinion. I think the better deal would be to get the Oxtail de Bourguignon although quite honestly, I wouldn't go back to Poulet with the variety of dining options available at Bugis.

[Clockwise L-R: 1. Chicken salad, which totally just looks & tastes like chicken with mayo without salad!; 2. Escargot de Bourgogne, which was very plain; 3. Poulet's specialty chicken! (not bad); 4. Restaurant front; 5. Oxtail de Bourguignon, which is probably the best dish]

Foodprinted on 9 Dec 2012, Sunday

Durians Galore!

I never really thought I'd miss Durians this much (since I've been overseas for the bulk of 2012). Until of course, we start digging in. :)

D24 & 猫山王！generously sponsored by 二舅舅 (my 2nd uncle) when we visited 婆婆 (popo/ grandma).

Foodprinted on 9 December 2012 (Sunday)

Then when I visited Itono and his mom, his mom specially ordered 猫山王 durians live from a durian planation in Malaysia and got it delivered right to their door step to give me a treat! ^_^ 

I learned something new: that this M'sian uncle actually drives into Singapore everyday to do door-do-door 猫山王 delivery + On-the-spot tasting for $7-$9/kg (no minimum purchase necessary!)!

I also tasted my life's first Almond Beancurd from Old Airport (this is from 51 豆花, right next to the insanely long-queued 老伴豆花) - and WOW, it was FANTASTIC! :) The syrup was a tad too sweet for my liking but the texture was so smooth, it's just incredible!! :) Gotta try it! 

Foodprinted on 10 December 2012 (Monday)

Hansel & Gretel

Since Boeing Boeing and Aladdin, I've always been a big fan of Wild Rice production. They consistently turn up great, witty productions that leave me roaring with tears. So I jumped at the opportunity to catch Hansel & Gretel - only to find a few things:

1) I've been away from Singapore for so long that I didn't catch 80% of the local satire played on the key events of 2012

2) I didn't really enjoy Hansel & Gretel too much, thought the situational comedy was too superficial/ lacked depth but the coded innuendo and veiled social commentary made up for it

3) I liked the surprises (foodies goodies!) thrown from the candylicious house for the audience to eat! (great audience interaction!)

and most of all...

4) OMG, I witnessed a marriage proposal from the keyboardist (who's an SMU alum) to his gf! The entire cast conspired with him to give out 2 xmas tickets for the next Wild Rice production, which was how they tricked the unsuspecting gf on stage. :) Aiyooooo, sooooooooo sweeeeeeeeeeeet!

Photos with the cast thereafter. :) 

Hansel & Gretel's star-studded cast includes Sebastian Tan (Broadway Beng), Dwayne Tan (Army Daze), Denise Tan (Gold 90FM), Siti Khalijah (Boeing Boeing), Dwayne Lau (Cinderel-Lah!) and Vernetta Lopez (CLASS 95FM). It will also feature 30 young talents from the age of 4-12 as part of W!LD RICE’s FIRST STAGE! programme.

Dwayne Tan as HanselDenise Tan as Gretel
Sebastian Tan as The Witch aka The Chef
Siti Khalijah Zainal as Nicki Minah (The Witch's Assistant)
Dwayne Lau as Steven (Hansel & Gretel's Father)
Vernetta Lopez as Cassandra (The Evil Stepmother)

Foodprinted on 7 Dec 2012 (Friday)

Adventure Cove, Resorts World Sentosa RWS

Sentosa is one of those special places for me since JC days. Without fail, that place instantly makes me feel relaxed and happy/ "on vacation mode" once I set foot there. Got 2 free tickets to Adventure Cove last Sunday (Tix price SGD$29 adult/ $20 students/above 60 yrs; Annual pass $88 but locker costs $10/$20) so needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity and what a great day it was!

Lol. The photo that's "so cute", the wall behind us cracked! ;)

The island has changed a lot since the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) integrated project took over. And Adventure Cove is the latest Water Theme Park that just opened officially a day before I visited. It's right next to the Maritime Experience and the newly opened World's Largest Aquarium. 

Anyway, before I venture off-course, the Adventure Cove water park was pretty small but compact and cool! There's relaxing river tubing with surprising sights like a tunnel with fishes around (like Underwater World) and another area where you can literally stop and admire the magical dance of loads of stingrays! This is soooooooooo much better than Wild Wild Wet! 

There's also a Rainbow Reef where you can snorkel with 20,000+ tropical fishes! The varieties are limited to 3 types of fishes (lol) so it isn't exactly very Rainbow-ish, but for folks who've not snorkelled or scuba-dived before, it's quite an experience!

There's also 6 water rides, of which the most acclaimed one is the Riptide Rocket (Rocket for short) a 450m rollercoaster ride powered by alternating magnets. It's S.E.Asia's first hydro-magnetic coaster that has a conveyor belt taking you to the top. 

It took us just about an hour or so to complete the bulk of the rides, so if you plan on visiting, ~4 hours would be enough. Better still, combine a visit to Adventure Cove with a visit to the SEA Aquarium and you'll get a 10% discount :) 

I actually liked the design of the park - there was something at every corner to keep one interested (and make for great photography opportunities!) Oh, btw there's LOTS of photographers dressed in blue who'll take your photo throughout the park. If you are going to do it, just take PLENTY of those photos because at the end of the day, you can buy ALL the photos on a CD + Leather bound photo book for just SGD$70. Photo book alone would already cost you $50 so might as well have unlimited photos right!!! ^_^ 

Susan and I had lots of fun checking out our photos and taking photos with cute stuffed toys before exiting the water park. :)

Xmas is here!!!
Everywhere I go (even in NTUC, Cold Storage etc.) I see Ghiradelli chocolates! Reminds me of my time in San Francisco/ the U.S.A. 

Photos outside Candylicious, Universal Studios Singapore

Grabbed dinner at VivoCity (we took the free Sentosa shuttle which is always a good alternative to the SUPER CROWDED Monorail!! tho you could end up getting stuck in a traffic jam on the Sentosa bridge -_-"') and absolutely loved the Sotong with Tom Yam Soup Thai set. :) I asked for no rice, and I got more sotongs (squid) - yay!!! Susan got the very homely Ramen noodles which was also very good. 

It was a great day out, and I look forward to more fun day outs like that! :)

Foodprinted on 8 Dec 2012, Saturday

Healthy Breakfast

All meals these days consist of this: (think of the circle as a plate divided into 4 sections)

It's really great! I have eliminated processed foods and refined sugar from my diet, and eating fresh, healthy colorful natural foods from God really makes one feel healthy and energetic. 

\

[L-R clockwise] Strawberries blended with skim milk and flaxseed; Natural greek yogurt with grapes; Honey cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers and hard boiled egg with garlic and toasted granulated onion

Foodprinted on 7 December 2012, Friday

Borough Market food adventure!

I love love LOVE food markets! 

And Borough Market, a wholesale & retail food market in Central London, UK is one of my favorite!!!

It's been open since 1851, and it's not hard to see the charm that has endured centuries. :) 

Make sure you visit this market if you're ever in London!!! :) [Open on Thurs, Fri & Sat]

Closest tube station = London Bridge station :)

First pit stop! - Toulouse sausage! :) We were totally drugged by the whiff of grilled meats in the air! :)

Loads of award-winning pies, snacks and goodies all around! :-)

 The block of cheese is HUGEEEEEEEEE!!!

Love the fresh fruits, vegetables and produce available at Borough market :-) And they aren't expensive too!

Every time I go to Borough, I discover something new - such as these pink mushrooms!! :)

 Loadsa pastries and cakes and heavenly (uhm...sinful!) delights!

Derek cousin and I went around the entire market looking for THE LEGENDARY BROWNIE that his mom had bought for me the last time when I was working and couldn't join them. (my relatives are da' best!!! they are super endearingly sweet ^_^)

And we think we found it!!! ^_^ (not an easy task because every corner lurks a brownie stall claiming to be THE BEST!) ;p

Loadsa cool salami including my favorite truffle speck! :-) Those really saw me through some tough days in the office.

And OMGGGGGG, cheeses, cheeses everywhere!!!! :) 

Yes, that round table right there...it's actually a block of CHEESE!!!! 

I also got a chance to top-up on my flaxseed (also called linseed) supply! They are the best things to go with smoothies and I have them everyday for breakfast. Didn't know that flaxseed came in bushels like the one I'm holding (above)! :)

There's also plenty of fruit jams, balsamic vinegar, olive oil etc. available for you to freely taste :) But my oh my, they changed the layout of the market and I was on an uphill task to find THE ULTRA LEGENDARY TRUFFLE OIL (no kidding!) that I loved!!!! 

You can also buy ready-to-eat olives and sauces (I especially love the pesto sauce!), and find a wide variety of beer! 

One word to describe Borough market = VARIETY And really cool ones at that. Where else can you find Wild Thyme honey, Caramelised Apple Cheesecake and Blackberry & Cinnamon Truffle but to name a few? :)

Oh, and did I mention cool varieties extend to meats too?!?! Here you'll get zebra, springbok, kangaroo, reindeer, ostrich meat but to name a few...!!!

Whooohooooo Halloween's coming!! Garlics and pumpkins anyone? :)

Mom & all my relatives love Borough market because it's Bread paradise!!! :p I don't like bread, probably from being stuffed with too much of that when I was in school. I love garlic naan though ;)

Derek cousin, being quite a foodie too, took the chance to try the Greedy Goat Ice Cream. And it was actually pretty good!! :) You could instantly tell that it was made from fresh goat milk, but the taste and smell wasn't as odorous as one would expect. :)

  *Wheeeeeeee!*!!* Finally found the THE ULTRA LEGENDARY WHITE TRUFFLE OIL !!! 

This is seriously good stuff, cannot bluff!!!, must take photo to commemorate! ;p Actually it's more for Derek cousin & all you readers to know which one it is. It comes without label and is THE best truffle oil I've had in my ENTIRE life. (I'm quite a foodie yes? Seriously, this is better than any of the truffle oils in the rest of Borough market, and even the food markets I've been to in Italy!) 

Grabbed the *AMAZING* Acai Sublime smoothie before leaving and it's a well-spent Saturday morning! :) 

Foodprinted on 20 October 2012, Saturday

Soup Restaurant (II)

I've briefly mentioned Soup Restaurant in my last post, so here's a more in-depth post with pictures to do the restaurant justice when I had dinner there with my family yesterday. :)

TOP ORDER: SAMSUI GINGER CHICKEN!!!

Normally we would order 2 servings of the Samsui ginger chicken ($15.90 / $29.90) but I decided to switch the menu up a little tonight by ordering other dishes :)

Also ordered their very delicious Hometown Fried Fish Belly with Chilli ($12.90) and outlet specialty, Claypot Salted Fish with Sliced Pork ($8.80)

Then I caught sight of the 8 Treasure Vegetable Wrap ($12.90). Limited to 10 servings a day, this is an individually crafted delight of vegetables medley (with mushrooms, tau kee etc.) drizzled with a really flavorful stock of chicken and pork. Yummmmm! :)

 The Penang Fried Mee Suah ($13.90 for medium size that easily feeds 6 people) sounded interesting so we ordered that too, and IT WAS FANTASTIC!!! I think it beats their famous Ah Gong/ Ah Po Ginger Fried Rice hands down! :)

Also ordered the famous Steamed Hand-chopped Minced Pork with Salted Fish ($8.90), limited to 30 orders a day and the Spicy Bak Chor Chay Po Tofu ($8.90) which was really divine. I say it from the viewpoint of someone who would normally not eat Tofu ;)

Pretty amazing meal huh! :) Can't go wrong with Soup Kitchen! Total damage: $100.95

Foodprinted on 6 December 2012, Thursday

Soup Restaurant (I)

Love, love, LOVE the Samsui Ginger Chicken at Soup Restaurant! 

I don't think I could ever get tired of it. Trust me, it's even better with family & friends. :)

Foodprinted on 23 Nov 2012, Friday

Prata Wala Tissue Prata

Satiated Neuy's prata craving at Prata Wala, Tampines Mall. Had my life's first Tissue/ Paper Prata, so named because it is a super thin, almost paper-like crispy prata drizzled with your choice of Chocolate, Honey or Strawberry sauce (SGD 2.80/ USD 2.30) Not a bad afternoon treat at all! :)

Foodprinted on 23 Nov 2012, Friday

Toastbox Breakfast

Thai friend, Neuy visited for a couple of days. So I took her to a local traditional breakfast only to find that Toastbox just opened an outlet in Bangkok too!

Top L: Butter toast with pork floss; Bottom R: famous soft-boiled eggs to be eaten with dark soya sauce and pepper

Foodprinted on 22 Nov 2012, Thursday

MBS Marina Bay Sands Staycation

Have you heard of Staycations? I didn't till last year when I learned that my cousin took one every month. Turns out that it's a local vacation by staying in a hotel, enjoying the experience of being a tourist in one's own country.

I jumped at the opportunity to do one a couple of days ago given that Rotem, my Israeli friend was leaving Singapore.

Room with a gorgeous view and the famous MBS laser show (10mins) that plays every night at 8pm, 930pm (and 11pm on weekends).

We checked out the infinity pool at night. :) It was so gorgeous!

And Gerard & Rotem challenged me to open my eyes under water without goggles FOR THE FIRST TIME! I did it! lol. 

Took Rotem to the MBS food court thereafter for her last Singaporean dinner, at least for a little while. I'm generally not impressed with the quality of the food there + prices are 2x what you would get elsewhere. But I highly, highly recommend the beef soup! :) 

 [From L-R clockwise]: 1. Beef soup with meat, tendon and meatballs; 2. Char Kuay Teow; 3. Hokkien Prawn mee (apparently one of the top 4 stalls in Sg!); 4. Oyster Omelette (oysters were very fresh)

Went for a workout in the Banyan Tree Fitness Club in the morning overlooking my former work haunt, then took another dip in the infinity pool! :)

Also took a quick soak in the super hot, bubbling jacuzzi overlooking the Gardens by the Bay. Ahhhhh, that's another place I need to go check out for some Zingapore inspiration.

Lunch was at Bay Sushi at MBS. I had the zero carbs sushi and found it okayyyyy. I think food presentation here is lovely, but you're paying more for the ambience/ location rather than the taste. 

Looking forward to the next staycation! :) It's a pretty neat idea!

Foodprinted on 26-27 Nov 2012