Food Trail from Hillview to Coronation

Hello (:

We decided to spend this December holiday in Singapore because we wanted to explore our new neighbourhood a little as well as to figure out how best to do things at home so that we will be all set and ready for 2017 when it comes! (:

So apart from doing lots of cleaning and experimenting in the kitchen, we have also been visiting the nearby places for quick meals. One of the new places that we've been to is called Klang Bak Kut Teh and it serves the dry kind of bak kut teh (see top right of pic below). LC likes it and we introduced Klang to our friend and he liked it too so I am guessing it's not too bad a place to go to if you want to give the dry BKT a try (:

We are also fortunate enough to live not too far from Spruce, so we can always head there (on a non-rainy day) for some western/ brunchy grub (: I personally like it when it's less crowded cos it won't be too noisy, so early brunches on weekends or brunches on weekdays are preferred.

Once or twice a month, we have this insatiable craving for good indian food and we always head to Karu's at Sime Darby (next to KAP MRT station) to satisfy our need. Our family has been eating at Karu's for at least a decade and their food never disappoints. You really have to try it! (:

On not-so-good days, I always go to Atlas for my favourite pancakes! I know some/ most people find their signature pancakes a little too sweet but I absolutely LOVE it, especially on a bad day. It really is my antidote and it makes me feel a teensy bit better (: On other average days or on days when I don't mind overpaying for cafe food, I go to Atlas to try the other savoury items on their menu:

Oh and we recently made an unexpected discovery! Lana Cake Shop actually sells astoundingly good carrot cake! It can possibly rival Cedele's in my humble opinion. You should try it to judge for yourself (: 

Alright that's all for our food adventures thus far (: We'll continue to update this space when we are free but for now, we'll try to indulge in other activities (e.g. watching tv series and movies) that we do not have time for during school term. Have a good week ahead, everyone! (:

Casuarina Curry at 6th Avenue

Hello (:

Pardon the lack of updates recently! July's always a crazy month but this particular July was even busier cos we'd many activities such as my sister's wedding and a funfair in school! (:

During super busy times like these, I'm thankful that we've good and affordable food nearby so we can just pop by to grab a bite or dapao food home. This month alone, we've been to Casuarina thrice (!!) and we kinda like it (: I guess Indian food will always have a special place in our hearts cos when we were younger, my parents used to buy Karu's for us and we absolutely loved it!

We didn't take a photo of the briyani which we packed home on our second visit, so these two photos will have to do:

Have a good rest of the week! (:

Bar Bar Black Sheep and Haagen Dazs

We are trying our best to hide indoors right now but yesterday, we braved the haze and went out for dinner because we wanted to round of the bub's birthday celebrations together! (:

We went to Holland V for some very decent grub at Bar Bar Black Sheep and then for ice-cream at Haagen Dazs (: Photo quality isn't great cos of the lighting (and believe it or not - the haze) but these shall do.

Thankful for the one day break to rest indoors and just do things we like (:

Take care everyone! (: Stay well!

Tiffin Room

It's been a while since I went back to Tiffin Room for some good Indian food so last week, Matty and I decided to make a trip there since he has never been there before (:

It was a great day for some warm and spicy food because it was raining heavily so we couldn't be happier with our choice of lunch place.

The buffet lunch costs $60++/pax and it was generally on the pricey side, considering the range and quality of food. Nevertheless, I think we paid for ambience and for a quiet environment to chat and eat so it was alright (: Also, I have never really dared to try the many kinds of Indian desserts till last week! So it was quite exciting for me! I think the desserts are pretty interesting but they aren't something that I'll crave. Heh.

Here are some photos of the food we had:

Can't wait to have another great Sunday! (: Wheee

Indian Curry House

Having lived at my current home for more than a decade, one would think that I would have tried most if not all the different foods available in the area which I lived. That is obviously not true. I've always passed by the row of shops near 6th avenue facing the main street, looked at the various restaurants and cafes lined up there and told myself, repeatedly, that one day I'll visit one of these restaurants before they (touch wood) close down.

Apart from the few times that I visited The Tea Party cafe, I have never eaten at any other restaurant along that short stretch so when the opportunity arose last weekend, I decided to pop into one of the two Indian restaurants there.

Why I chose to have my meal at Indian Curry House instead of the other is a mystery to me. I guess we were still deciding whether to have Indian food for lunch while we were walking by the first restaurant so by the time we made up our minds, we were at the entrance of Indian Curry House so we decided to walk in.

There is a little 'play area' with simple toys like the ones above for toddlers who possibly would like to entertain themselves while waiting for the food or while eating.

Coned and cold papadam. Somehow this papadam was thicker than usual and while I found the presentation interesting, it didn't taste very different from the usual except that it might be slightly saltier.

Mint yoghurt and orange chutney sauce to go with the papadam and our food. I realised I love orange chutney! (:

Double or nothing - lime juice ($4/ glass). Not freshly squeezed and a bit too concentrated for my liking.

An aerial view of all the dishes that we ordered! From left in clockwise direction: Dal Makhani Khaas ($12.90), Palak Paneer (which is spinach paneer, $13.90), Garlic and Butter Naan ($3.50 for each type), Butter Chicken ($16.90). What I absolutely loved about our selection of dishes is that it consisted of varying types of sauces that we could dip our naan in! It was my first time trying spinach paneer and though it looks pretty intimidating, it actually tastes fine! The thing about Indian sauces is that they look very little but they are extremely filling! We left feeling bloated and full.

Frankly, I wouldn't say that this was the best Indian food that I've had but it's decent. Price-wise, it's not really worth it to have Indian food at Indian Curry House so perhaps you might want to consider somewhere else instead.

Alright that's all (: Have a good weekend everyone!

Muthu's Curry

Hello everyone!

The June holidays are here! (: I hope that all my kids and friends who are in the teaching line will take some time out to rest and recuperate for Sem 2 is going to go by much faster than Sem 1! I'll be off for a camp tomorrow till Friday night so I won't be updating this space much.. I will try to squeeze in one more post before I fly the following Tuesday!

 Anyhow, I am convinced that my streak of bad luck wrt choosing food places is NOT yet gone! =( I wanted to eat at Cafe Beviamo today but to my horror, I realised that it has been taken over by another cafe! Oh man. If this goes on, I'll soon run out of old haunts to go to! Thankfully, one of the few nice restaurants that I like at Suntec City is still standing!

The three of us went to Muthu's Curry not too long ago for lunch and I'm pleased that the standard is still there! My family went there a couple of years ago and we all liked the food, especially the curry and the nan, so we were glad that nothing much has changed wrt quality of food.

Their marketing tagline - Muthu's Curry: it's never enough!

We sat near the exhibition kitchen and we got to see the cook make nan, and skewered dishes like chicken tikka!

Papadam, which I think is something most people like.

Mango Lassi ($6) on the left and Lime Juice ($3.50) on the right. I felt a bit uncertain ordering the mango lassi because Matty said that he doesn't really like it due to past experience but I decided to go ahead anyway. Thankfully, the mango lassie turned out to be wonderfully sweet and smoothie-like, which suited my preference! (:

Because Jeffrey's a rice monster, we had to order a bowl of briyani rice to share! I think they count the briyani rice, side vegetables and papadam as one 'serving' and they charge $4/serving so we paid $12 in all for these three items.

The side vegetables which came together with the papadam and briyani rice.

Fish Sarson Tikka ($11). I've always liked Fish Tikka and the one served at Muthu's is flavourful and tender, not quite like the other ones that I usually have at buffets, which are somewhat slightly harder (perhaps due to being left on the display counter for a longer period of time?). I would definitely have this again next time.

Oh this was the dish I regretted ordering - Masala King Prawns. I should have known that they would not shell the prawns but alas, it was too late. The king prawns came at $7/ piece so we paid $21 for this dish because we ordered 3 king prawns! I don't particularly like king prawns when they're cooked this way so next time, I shall remember not to order this. Fortunately, the king prawns were fresh and tasted pretty succulent!

Cashew Chicken ($10), which the guys liked! The thick, buttery gravy was simply great for dipping our nan in!

Possibly my favourite dish that day: Aaloo Matter ($8), which is a concoction of peas and potatoes cooked in curry. Loved it! Great to go with nan too!

Vegetable cutlet ($5), this is basically potato cum veggie coated with bread crumbs and it tastes like potato croquette! Not bad for sharing but don't try to eat all on your own lest you get a sore throat!

Last but not least, the dish that I can't not order when I eat Indian food - nan! I'd a difficult time choosing which nan to order so that kind waiter recommended the assorted nan basket ($12), which had 3-4 different types of nan. What a delight! Unfortunately, we were way too stuffed to finish all the nan but we managed to try each flavour!


I would LOVE to go back to Muthu's Curry again in the near future! Hopefully we'll get more people along so that we can order a wider range of dishes!

Alright that's all for now. Have a great week ahead! (:

Phoenix Indian Restaurant

My family has always been fond of Indian food. I think our liking for Indian food increased when LPP and GT started to buy nasi briyani and its accompanying dishes back home from this relatively famous no-frills Indian Restaurant near Bukit Panjang called Karu's.

A couple of months ago, LPP found out from the people at Karu's that they have expanded and opened a new air-conditioned restaurant at Phoenix Park called Phoenix Indian Restaurant. Being supportive patrons, my parents decided to take us there to pay a visit to their new premise as well as to sample some good Indian food.

Phoenix Indian Restaurant is located at a corner of a row of shop houses in Phoenix Park, which is near Chua Chu Kang. If I'm not wrong, there is a LRT station near to this restaurant so people who don't drive can also make their way to this restaurant.

Apparently, the owners of Karu's and Phoenix Indian Restaurant are quite proud of the interior decoration at their new place. The walls of the Phoenix Indian Restaurant are white with a tinge of blue and there are Indian drawings/ sculptures plastered on the wall. On the whole, I think these interior decorations give the restaurant a more authentic feel and they gave us something to look at while waiting for our dishes to arrive.

Since I've a soft spot for nice table settings, I couldn't help but take a photo of their simple but pleasant looking cutlery set. I love the blue serviette! (:

We had three glasses of their famous lime juice ($2, on left), a glass of orange juice ($3, on right), a glass of mango juice ($2.50, not featured) and soft drinks. Their lime juice is thick and full of flavour. I highly recommend this if you want a change from the usual drinks.

While waiting, we were served complimentary crackers with green paste. The crackers are always a favourite amongst my family members because it is light, non-greasy, slightly salty and very addictive! You can dip your cracker into this green paste, which I think is made of some kind of vegetable/ spice, and you'll have yourself a lovely appetizer!

I can safely say that all the dishes ordered that day were hits and there really wasn't anything unsatisfactory about our entire meal. If you're clueless as to what to order at an Indian Restaurant, perhaps you would like to refer to the information below for some guidance.

Tandoori Chicken ($10). To my knowledge, most chicken lovers who do not take to spicy food like tandoor chicken! The chicken meat is soft and fragrant and it just makes you want to have more of it!

Fish Tikka ($10). This is probably the fish version of tandoori chicken. I really like fish tikka because I think the seasoning complements the tender fish meat very well. I like adding some of the green paste to my fish slices to give them an extra zing!

Garlic Naan ($2.50 per serving, there are two servings in this basket). This was absolutely delightful. So far, we've been to this restaurant a couple of times and this dish always gets annihilated very quickly! It's definitely a must-try!

Briyani rice ($2.50). I think it is necessary to have some rice to go with the rest of the dishes. Otherwise the flavours from the different dishes may prove to be a tad too overpowering.

Mixed vegetables kurma ($6.50). In this bowl lies chopped up long beans, peas, some cauliflower, bits of carrot and some other bits of vegetables swimming in curry broth. The curry isn't very spicy so it makes a good dip for garlic naan, especially for those who cannot take spicy food.

GT wanted to try something mushroomy so we ordered mushruoom mutter masa ($6), which is essentially sliced button mushroom in curry broth. This curry tastes different from the vegetable kurma but I can't exactly pinpoint the difference. I guess you just have to try it to know which you prefer!

This bowl of fish head curry ($22) contains possibly the yummiest dip for naan! The sour and spicy gravy will wake your tastebuds and give them a much desired curry bath. The fish meat is fresh and well-cooked. There's really nothing to dislike about this dish unless you detest fish and your tolerance for spicy stuff is very low. Since the portion is quite big (even though this is the smallest portion they serve), it is wise to order this only when you're in a group or when you are extremely ravenous.

Finally, a bananaboatbowl of mango kulfi ($6), which tasted like extremely rich mango icecream. The sweetness of this dish was a stark contrast to all the savoury and spicy food that came before it and was a great way to end the meal (:

I am pretty sure that my family will be back for more Indian food in the near future. LPP already said that we'll be there in two weeks time to celebrate Nette's homecoming! (: Do drop by Phoenix Indian Restaurant if you would like to have affordable Indian food at reasonable prices! (: