Brotzeit

Hello!

We finally had one alfresco dining experience together! I'm not too keen to dine outdoors in Sg because I always feel that it's uncomfortable, especially for people who perspire very easily. Though I don't perspire easily, I feel uncomfortable seeing that they're so warm! =S Although my friends tell me that they're fine with perspiring and what not, I just cannot help but feel very uncomfortable when I see them perspire so for that reason, I seldom dine outdoors.

I guess that's why our trip to Brotzeit on a Saturday night was quite a new experience for me because I think it's one of the rare times I got to eat outdoors. We got ourselves a table outside of Brotzeit and though it was absolutely packed, it wasn't warm or stuffy at all! Maybe it's because we were sitting nearer the entrance/ pavement where there's more ventillation but whatever it is, I was very happy with our table! (:

One thing that I've learnt about Brotzeit from my few trips there is that their servings tend to be generous! Not Chili's generous but generous enough! This tall and big glass of iced cappuccino ($6.50) was easily enough for both of us! Thankfully they provided sugar syrup so we could make our drink slightly sweeter if we wanted to.

We started with a bowl of Onion Soup ($9.50), which was one of the best onion soups that I've drunk! I rarely drink onion soup because my impression of it isn't too good but this was pretty perfect(: The dry rye bread complemented this perfectly too.

Our shared mains because we weren't too hungry that night - Nurnberger ($17.50). I like that they allowed us to choose our own sidedishes! Their mashed potato is fabulous! You should order it if you're a mashed potato fan! We chose their 'pasta-like' side for our other side dish and I liked it quite a bit though it was pretty tasteless! haha I guess I really am a carbo-laoder!

Part of the reason why we didn't want to get another main was because we wanted to save our tummy for this ultra filling dessert - shredded fluffy raisin pancakes with rum and raisin sauce ($12.50)! (: Honestly this could have been better served warm but the pancakes were just SO fluffy! haha It wasn't the soft kind of fluffy but I liked it! We managed to finish all of it and were stuffed to the brim after that!


I truly enjoyed the entire outdoor dining experience (: With great food and great company, what more can one ask for! Life always seems better when there's good food (:

Have a blast this weekend!

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck

Hello!

We went to Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck to have their highly recommended Soup Rice with Crabmeat, which I had with my best friend during the Sept hols, and it didn't disappoint! I think this dish is definitely a fine alternative to Crystal Jade's porrdige if you want something very comforting, especially when you are ill or when the weather's cold.

We made a reservation just an hour before lunch time on a Sunday and thankfully, they'd 2 seats at the bar left for us so we gladly agreed to take them! We were served caramelised cashew nuts ($3) while waiting for our food.

I had forgotten that they serve dimsum during lunch and since our sole purpose of going to this restaurant was to have the soup rice with crab meat, we didn't want to ruin our appetite by ordering dimsum. However, we made an exception for har gao aka prawn dumplings ($5) because we both love it! The har gaos were only so-so.

Somehow, we decided to try the double-boiled egg custard and red bean dessert ($4), which turned out to be quite a surprise because we had never eaten red bean paste with custard! It was actually pretty nice so we were glad we gave it a shot despite not knowing what it was! We'll try other desserts in future should we go back!

Their yummy soup rice with crabmeat ($48) - this was supposed to serve FOUR but since we were having it as a main course, we decided that this would be more than sufficient to feed both of us and we were right! We love the light warm broth and slight crabby fragrance. The rice krispies crackled the moment they hit the soup and it kind of added to the overall sensory experience!

In all, we enjoyed the dishes that we ordered, especially the soup rice with crabmeat, and we will go back for more of such hearty dishes!

Plain Vanilla

We celebrated some friends' birthday today at work with these yummies from Plain Vanilla:

Highly recommended to those who love cupcakes! (: (: (:

Real Food

Hello!

In a bid to keep awake after my post-lunch sleepiness set in, I shall blog about Real Food!

It is possibly my best friend's favourite cafe because she never fails to sound excited about it when she goes there for her meals and her mood always perks up after eating there!

If you're somewhat health consicous or love organic food, Real Food is THE place for you! I've only been there once at the recommendation of my best friend and I must say that their food really tastes much healthier than the other regular fare you get outside!

The outlet at Killiney road is big and spacious - which is perfect for people like me who feel easily claustrophobic. There're books and magazines for browsing and there even is a wing at the corner dedicated to selling organic food products! (: We snapped this photo because we both love the versatile elephant stool/ table!

Okay this is here I must confess that we threw away the receipt so we have no idea how much these cost but nevertheless they serve as good memory pieces hence this entry!

Possibly the healthiest pot of floral tea that we both tried! The tiny tea cup (not reflected in this close-up shot) reminded me of traditional tea drinking culture! The tea has a really raw and unpolished taste, it almost tasted like we were drinking grass water! haha but it's terrifically healthy and those who like this taste should try it!

Because I was fighting my long bout of illness then, I had the carrot and orange juice which tasted pretty normal.

The famous pesto pasta that my best friend raves about! It really is quite good - not too salty, not too oily yet retaining quite a strong pesto flavour! (: Thumbs up for this!

The healthiest breakfast set we've had too! Apparently the rest of the items tasted pretty normal but the egg was exceptionally fresh!

Real Food doesn't serve desserts, which is a waste because we were both craving desserts! We did, however, get a avocado and coconut smoothie (which tasted like ice-blended chendol) to go so I guess that made up for it.

I would suggest ordering 3 mains or 2 mains and some sides to share as the portions are not entirely filling, especially not if you have a big appetite or are as famished as we were.

Alright that's all for now! Am sufficiently perked up so will go back to doing my work (: Have a great week ahead!

Relish

Hello!

I'm thankful that it's finally Friday though this week wasn't terribly hectic but nevertheless, to have some time to oneself over the weekend is a treat that I will not take for granted!

Last weekend, we took the chance to revisit Relish, which is one of the restaurants that serves consistently good food so it's always safe to dine there.

We managed to get a table at the corner, which is perfect because we could have some privacy and it wasn't too noisy nor too cold! We really like the tall ceilings and the natural brightness of the place in the day.

This cutlery holder has been there since my first visit to Relish a long time ago and I'm glad that they still are using it. Always had the impression that wood products will not last long but I might be wrong. I think the clean lines and the simple overall look and homely feel of the place really works for me.

It was the first weekend that I had fully stopped coughing (woot!) so I gave myself a treat - madarin soda ($4.80), which was lovely as it wasn't too sweet.

Matty ordered a macchiato ($4), which came in a tiny cup! I think I can finish that cup of coffee in two gulps. Guess it's a good drink for those who don't really like milk in their coffee.

We started off with one of the most fragrant servings of mushroom soup ($9.80) that we've had! We especially liked the little dribble of truffle oil which made the soup so intoxicatingly nice-smelling! The truffle oil adds a hint of flavour to the soup as well without completely destroying it.

We then shared the Caesar Salad ($10.80), which was pretty average and the

their famous char siew pork burger ($19.90)! I ate most of the fries on this plate partly because I was being greedy and partly also because I had not eaten fries for more than two weeks due to being ill! =( It was a satisfying treat! =P

Then came the other famous dish: the deconstructed strawberry cheesecake ($9.80)! I can't help but feel compelled to order this every time I visit Relish because I am easily swayed by 'signature dishes' or 'recommended dishes'!

Knowing that the strawberry cheesecake would be slightly small to share, we chose to order the molten chocolate cake with vanilla icecream and bananas ($13.50). It was truly delectable though I felt that the vanilla icecream could be much tastier if it had more body.

We left feeling extremely full and satisfied! There's no doubt that we'll be back again in the near future! Have a great weekend! (:

Little Diner

Hello!

The first day back at school is always, as a friend puts it, a rude shock to the system but thankfully the laughter and cooperation from all made the day go by pretty smoothly (:

This new cafe sprung up not too long ago and I think it's gaining a bit of popularity because of its strategic location as well as its simple yet eyecatching restaurant front.

The grey on the outside of the restaurant definitely is an appetizer for what's to come on the inside - more greyness! The walls are furnished with rough, fan-like cement strokes and the ground is left untiled so you're literally surrounded by greyness (didn't check the ceiling that day!). The tables and chairs are pretty well-spaced apart so it isn't too cramped.

As always, simple table decorations make the entire setting seems more welcoming. I especially like the white flowers against the dark wooden table (:

Interesting glasses of tap water! We were expecting the normal looking glasses but were pleasantly surprised to see these honey-jar-lookalikes for glasses! Hope that this means that they're actually items that have been reused?

I was still having a cough (but I am 100% okay now! woot!) when I visited Little Diner so I ordered a warm drink for myself. This cup of Chai Latte ($5.60) made my day! I think it's possibly one of the best chai latte we can get around in this area! The next time I order this though, I'd request for the Chai Latte to be slightly warmer because this cooled down to room temperature rather quickly.

Their weekday lunch menu is pretty limited in my opinion and I chose to have the fish & chips($18.50), which was a hit and miss at the same time. The fish was pretty tasty - the fish meat was tender and the deep fried batter gave it some texture and contrast but the fries were soft, almost soggy and cold =( I was not pleased with them! Hopefully they'll do something to their fries in the near future or I'll never want to eat them again.

My lunch companion ordered the mac & cheese ($14) which turned out to be one of the cheesiest dishes we both have had in a long while! I highly doubt anyone can finish this on his/ her own unless you're an ultimate cheese fan so I'd recommend that two people share this as a side/ main dish. We actually traded our dishes halfway through the meal so that we won't get too sick of our food.

I'd like to go back during the weekend to try their weekend brunch dishes and I am hoping that the brunch dishes would score better than their weekday lunch food!

Alright that's all for now.. it's time for bed! Goodnight! (:

Jiang Nan Chun

Hello!

Jo and I went to Jiang Nan Chun over the weekend for some yummy dimsum! (: We reserved a table for 2 for the 1.30pm seating and we arrived early (at around 1.10pm) so I was pretty worried that we'd to wait for 20mins for our table but thankfully, the people at Jiang Nan Chun were very accommodating and they tried to set our table up as quickly as possible so we only had to wait for about 5mins or so! (:

The restaurant is not particularly big and it dose have a cosy feel to it. What I like was that the tables were not particularly close to each other so we could have our own privacy when talking to each other.

Since their ala carte dim sum menu's the same as their weekend buffet brunch menu, we decided to go for their Oriental Weekend Brunch, which came up to about $69 per pax after service charge and GST. This is my second time having an ala carte style dimsum buffet and I think it's quite a good change from the usual western/ international buffets.

Frankly, I would have preferred having a bigger table because we had to eat quite quickly at the start so that we could make space for new dishes that were coming onto our table! But after the first wave of dimsum, we managed the rest of the dishes quite well with the spacing out of our additional orders.

Okay here are the photos of some of the dishes that we had that day (we got a tad too lazy towards the end of our meal). Pardon me if I can't remember what some of the dishes are or if I mis-name the dishes:

One of three recommended soups: fish maw soup. It was warm and comforting, not too sticky and not too generous with the maw either. Jo later ordered another bowl of black chicken soup which we didn't photograph.

Some spicy meaty dimsum which Jo said was good!

 

As you can see, the dimsum dishes came fast and furious onto our tables so we didn't have time to take individual shots; an aerial shot would do. From top left to right (in clockwise direction): prawn & vegetable dumplings, scallop and prawn dumpings, fried mango prawn fritters, har gao (steamed prawn). They were all very good but the fried mango prawn fritters were a notch above the rest.

Fried peking duck skin wraped with thin crepe. I absolutely love this (even though I remove the best part of the dish - the peking duck skin - before eating the rest! haha

Cubes of roasted pork.

The next 3 dishes are my absolute favourite because they were so decadently juicy - the three fish dishes that were recommended by the waitress who served us! Sorry I forgot the names but you can ask the waitresses/ waiters for their recommendation and they're likely to ask you to order these 3 fish dishes:

 

A lonely siew mai for Jo which she said was okay. Oh at Jiang Nan Chun, you can tell them specifically how many pieces of a particular dish you would like and they'll serve it right up! This prevents food wastage and you can also satisfy your immense craving for a particular dish if you like/ want!

Dried scallops porridge which was yum! I still prefer Crystal Jade's porridge but this was good too!

Another of their famous dishes - wasabi prawns! Definitely ranked up there with the fried mango fritters so you should order this if you were to go to Jiang Nan Chun one day.

One of our 'staple' dishes when we go out together: asparagus with scallops. We love this dish!

And because I'm a tofu fan, I'd to get this spinach mushroom tofu dish which tasted like something I had at Man Fu Yuan at Intercontinental Hotel. Yummy (:

Perhaps the most disappointing part of their menu is that they don't serve (salted egg) custard buns! =( It's one of the most iconic dim sum dishes! Ah well. Jo had to settle for their char siew bun which was not too bad (:

The dessert menu's pretty extensive and we were happy to share:

 egg tarts - they were average,

jelly with aloe vera cubes - I liked it more than Jo because I finished my bowl whereas hers was half-full before we left

a sinfully good avocado dessert (which tasted like avocado milk shake) and mango pudding (one of the better ones that both of us have tasted thus far).

Needless to say, we were stuffed to the brim and had to take a 1h walk about town to digest our food thereafter. Nevertheless, it was a pleasurable experience and I am thankful that I'd her to kick start my Sept hols with! (:

Alright that's all for now (: Happy Thursday!