Au Chocolat

Hello! (: 

It's been terribly long since I last updated =( Life has taken over and I am finding it increasingly difficult to find time to update this space but I will do my best! (: 

I have been to Au Chocolate twice in the past month and frankly speaking, I'm glad that I decided to pop by this place because they serve fantastic food and drinks! (:

If you haven't already heard, Au Chocolat's Hot Fudge ($10) is THE best hot chocolate drink I've tasted in Singapore! (: It's creamy, thick and extremely heartwarming! You'll probably find this too gelat if you aren't a huge chocolate fan like me but I absolutely adore it! I ordered this drink both times I went there and it didn't disappoint! If there were another Au Chocolat outlet near my place, I'd definitely pop by more often!

Their mains are pretty decent too! We had the Au Chocolat Eggs Benedict ($18), which was just nice for someone with an average appetite. The chocolate sauce was interesting but nothing too queer for the tastebuds so this dish was actually quite alright (: 

This is how The Great Carnivore Breakfast Set ($20) looks like. You can have this if you feel like having a big omelette! I'm pretty sure it'll fill you up (:

I was totally unprepared for how sinful their French Toast ($18) was going to be! Personally I dislike whipped cream and I will try my best not to eat too much cream because it makes me feel pukish but I daringly ate ALL the whipped cream shown in this photo (and suffered for it later hurhur) because I was famished! =S In all honesty, I felt that this was a tad too decadent for my liking because not only was there copious amount of cream, the toast was also deep-fried so it felt like a mega artery-clogging dish. Haha Nevertheless, I managed to finish the entire set of French Toast but I would strongly encourage people to share this instead of trying to eat it on your own (unless you are very hungry of course).

To top it all off, we ordered truffle fries ($15), which came in a HUGE paper cone as pictured above. It definitely is sufficient for 3-5 people and if you like the smell of truffle, then this would definitely hit the spot for you! Try it! (:

My sister and I went back again during CNY period and we had the savoury and sweet crepe. I think the savoury crepes are very worth it because they are chokful of ingredients! (: The sweet crepe that I ordered was just average so I think I might need to order another kind of sweet crepe the next time I visit.

Yup that is all for now. Have a great week ahead! (:

Peach Garden

Hello! Happy Chinese New Year! (:

Like in previous years, my family went to Thomson Plaza again for lunch on the first day of the lunar new year this year because it is en route to my grandparents' place. We usually end up at Sushi Tei or Peach Garden for lunch and since Sushi Tei was closed today, we ended up at Peach Garden.

Surprisingly, we didn't have to wait long for a table, unlike in previous years. We also noticed that the restaurant was less packed than usual and my father attributed that to the relatively bad economy. Well we weren't complaining because my sisters were starving by the time we reached Peach Garden and fewer occupied tables means that we can possibly get our food more quickly! (:

I find it interesting that they served us four mandarin oranges, two on each plate. My sisters actually took the mandarin oranges home because they intend to use them for visiting tomorrow. What I did not expect was that the 2 plates of tidbits actually come at a price of $5/ plate! That is daylight robbery for such traditional sweet biscuits that we barely touched! =( I think one of my sisters just took ONE of the many pieces and they charged us $10 for two plates of virtually untouched tidbits. Pffft. I hope that they'll serve the usual peanuts or something in future so that I won't feel so indignant for paying for something that I don't like and won't eat.

Okay this is where the mayhem begins. There's this magic trolley with all the fried dimsums were placed in and we had quite a roll trying to get that particular dimsum lady to our table so that we could get food immediately! The job was given to one of my sisters who was seated nearest the lady with the fried dimsum trolley. So when the trolley came, they happily ordered three dishes unfortunately, I did not catch a single word of what the dimsum lady said and that means that I've no idea what they ordered! Erps. Well I consulted my sister who was part of the ordering duo and she said that all three fried dishes are prawn dishes, in varying forms so I am guessing this photo shows fried prawn balls ($4.80). As with all fried food, it is hard to go wrong and all three dishes were pretty alright (:

Fried Mango Prawns ($4.80). I actually quite like this dish and I remember us ordering this on previous visits as well.

My sister says that this is "some fried prawn roll with meat and seaweed" ($4.50). Haha! And her subsequent descriptions don't seem to help so I'm going to leave it at that!

Oh I managed to order my dimsum staple - salted yolk custard bun ($1.40 each). I think it is crucial to eat this bun when it's warm else it won't taste as good.

Xiao long baos ($1.50 each). These were so-so. We ordered six and my sisters had two each! (: 

Steamed prawn rice roll ($5.10 per plate of 3 rolls). I thought that the chee chong fun skin was a bit on the thick side but I still liked it nevertheless! (: I didn't know that each plate came with 3 rolls and accidentally ordered two plates =S I must remember to check in future.

My favourite vegetable dish: Broccoli and scallops ($57). I had no idea that this dish costs so much =( I had always known that it was expensive but $57 is a bit too much, no? I need to learn to cook this dish in future so that I can have it at home for less than $57! But we thoroughly enjoyed this dish so it was worth it!

Sweet & sour fish slices ($36). I loved how these thin slices of fish were so fresh and well-cooked! Definitely one of the better sweet & sour fish dishes I've had so far (: 

Homemade beancurd with crab sauce ($7/ piece). I love tofu and I usually order one tofu dish when we have Chinese food. I am glad we choose this tofu dish because it was something new. The crab sauce wasn't overpowering and it actually went quite well with the veggies! Definitely worth having again.

Seafood fried rice ($33). This dish will come a close second to the horrendously expensive tidbits in terms of satisfaction and quality. The fried rice was pretty bland and it didn't have any special flavour or kick. Oh well. At least we know not to order this in future!

All in all, it was a satisfying meal and I am glad that I finally got to eat one proper Chinese meal this lunar new year! (: I am looking forward to more yummy food in the next few days! (:

Alright that is all. Have a great week ahead and happy lunar new year once again! (:

Robert Timms

Hello everyone! (:

I just had breakfast at Macdonalds at King Albert Park for the first time in ages and I'm still pretty amazed at how Macdonalds always manage to taste so consistently good (: Yum.

Another alternative place that serves breakfast meals with consistently good quality is Robert Timms! (: I really like going to Robert Timms for their all-day breakfast sets because they never fail to pick me up!

We would usually order their cappuccino ($6.30) because that is our default coffee drink! This time we didn't request for the usual animal-stenciled-coffee art so we got this swirly thing that you see above. 

During my last visit, however, I spotted Chai Tea Latte ($5.80) on the menu and I couldn't resist ordering it! (: It was actually one of the sweetest chai tea latte that I've had and non-biting, so it didn't really hit the spot for me but it was still not bad! (: Would consider this my alternative drink whenever I visit Robert Timms.

As usual, I would always go for their French Toast with Fruits ($11.80) and it never fails to satisfy me (: I will attempt to make this one day!

Matty had the Breakfast Down Under ($15.50) that day and it was so-so. I guess it can be a tad more spectacular if the sausage had a more authentic feel to it but we aren't complaining cos it's more than decent for the price paid (:

I really like Robert Timms and it's fast becoming one of my default places to go when I want to have a simple, quick meal (: Not only are the serving sizes and prices reasonable, the standard of the food is generally average or above average and that's sufficient for a simple meal!

Have a great weekend and a fantastic time celebrating Lunar New Year! (:

Earle Swensen's

Hello! (:

If you realised, I've stopped buffet-hopping for a while now partly because I've sort of run out of buffets that I'm dying to try and also because we need to book way in advance for popular buffet places and I'm not sure if I can commit to the reservations that I will be making so I generally stay away from buffets for now.

However, we had to make an exception sometime last month because we were FAMISHED by lunch time and we desperately needed to be fed! I had wanted to lunch at Sizzler's (because they have an incredible salad bar in my opinion) but the branch at Suntec closed down and I was way too lazy to search for another Sizzler's outlet then so the next best lunch place popped into mind: Earle Swensen's! (:

It seemed like a perfect idea to visit Earle Swensen's then because it had a salad bar which means that we could start eating the moment we finished placing our orders! Oh my I do sound like a glutton now but trust me, we were REALLY hungry! haha

Thankfully, luck was on our side that day because the salad bar was stocked with yummy dishes! Unlike the predictable dishes at Sizzler's salad bar, Earle Swensen's changes by the day and sometimes if you are unlucky, you might visit Earle's on the day where the salad dishes aren't appealing to you at all. We helped ourselves to many plates of salad dishes but stopped taking photos after the first few plates because the items became repetitive.. so here are some of the items on offer that day:

For the uninitiated, you are entitled "free-flow salad bar" if you order one of their main dishes but you can also order "salad bar" ala carte if you are feeling just peckish and don't wish to have a main. However, as all pricing schemes go, the "set meal" aka mains + salad bar prices are always more enticing and more 'worth it' than the salad bar ala carte so you tend to go for the set meal.

That day, Matty chose to have the Fish & Chips ($18.90), which is never a wrong option at Earle Swensen's! I think it is one of the safest and most affordable dish one can have (: I adore the fries!

I chose to have the Cajun Salmon ($26.90), which for some strange reason seems to be my 'default' dish at this place because I almost always end up choosing this. Hmmm. Perhaps it's the combination of different textures on the plate that appeals to me or that it is, relatively speaking, more colourful than its fish&chips counterpart? Whatever the reason, I think this dish is great! I would recommend it if you like salmon (:

We must have had too many plates of salad because we were too stuffed for desserts and had to give that a miss! Oh welly. Perhaps next time! Alright that's all for now (: It's late and it's time for bed! Goodnight!

P.S. You can add me on instagram if you want to look at some photos taken using my hp! (: You can find me @janlimmy. Goodnight again! (:

My Little Spanish Place

Hello everyone!

It was scorching today and so to avoid the heat, I spent most of my afternoon indoors in bed, getting back my rest after a week of late days and now I'm feeling great! (:

Before I scoot off for dinner, I thought I'd do a quick post on My Little Spanish Place, which I'm thankful is still around today! (: I was afraid that it might close down because not many people frequent this lovely small restaurant but I guess my fears were unfounded.

Matty and I visited My Little Spanish Place just after Christmas, just before the start of 2013, and it was still beautifully decorated with Christmas lights (: The walls were coloured orange and I think that warm colour, along with the rest of the wooden furniture, helped to give the place a very cosy feel. 

Since we were at a Spanish place, we thought to try their White Wine Sangria ($12) and Red Wine Sangria ($12) [pardon the slight dip in volume for the red wine sangria - it came first and hence we tried it before this photo was taken!]. Both were refreshing and light and deceptively impotent because I broke out in rash after this =( I shall not attempt to fool my body in future because it reacts badly to alcohol =( But I think these two drinks were worth trying because they were sweet and did not contain strong alcoholic smell. 

We started off by having bread with spreads ($5). We chose to have garlic mayo and chopped olives and I think the chopped olives were slightly better tasting because I personally don't like mayo very much. The bread wasn't as warm as I thought it should be but the slices were chewy and gave a nice bite so I didn't mind a lot (:

 The tortilla de patata con alioli ($7) was one of my favourite dishes! I like how compacted the potatoes were and how there were little bits of vegetables included in the potato 'paste'. It was flavourful!

The other favourite dish would be the champinones al ajillo ($15), which are stacked grilled mushrooms with melted cheese on a small slice of bread and this was HEAVENLY! (: The mushrooms were succulent and juicy and there was just enough cheese to spread on all three mushrooms to give it added flavour. I loved this dish! Beware of the latent heat in the mushroom though! You might scald your tongue if you aren't careful.

This was perhaps the most disappointing and most not-worth-it dish of the day: Pimentos ($7), which are grilled cherry pepper slices on bread. The cherry peper slices were soft and cold and the bread was equally cold =( I felt disappointed because I was looking forward to warm toasts with nicely grilled veggies! I guess now I know better and I shall not order this dish again in future.

The calamares caramelised onions ($19), was splendid! (: It was cooked to perfection because every slice was nicely cooked and they weren't rubbery or hard. I think the marinate was the thing that gave it the 'kick'. Yummy!

We couldn't resist ordering one dessert to share though we were already quite stuffed from having the spread above so we had the crema catalana ($7), which tasted a bit like creme brulee with a tad more custard. It was an unexpectedly nice touch to end the meal and I totally recommend having this even though I'm not a big creme brulee fan (: You won't regret it!

Alright that's all for now (: Hope to update again soon! (: Have a good weekend! (: Bye bye!

Aqua Marine

Hello (:

As I prep for the week ahead, I can't help but think back on the first nice weekly meal I had this year. It was a treat from Matty (thank you!) and the meal indeed gave us much strength and energy to last the first hectic week of school! On the whole, the selection was pretty Asian and the food was quite good though I would think that if you want to have a wider spread of Asian food, you should go to Carousel instead. Nevertheless, the ambience at Aqua Marine is not too bad since it is less crowded and hence less noisy. Their staff are also very friendly and attentive so that's definitely a plus :) We won't be frequent visitors of this restaurant because we aren't big fans of Asian buffets and it is located at the tail-end of town but it was alright :) I shall spam photos and not leave captions since I am quite tired right now!

If I had to nominate a 'best dish', it would have to be the durian pengat (featured in the last photo)! It is thick, creamy, sweet and sinful and it is ravishingly good! I took a small sample to try then decided to get a HUGE serving! :) Felt so full and happy after that! Don't miss that if you head to Aqua Marine!

Alright that's all :) Back to the last bit of work so that I can call it a night! Have a great week ahead! (:

Michelangelo's

Good morning! (:

It's a cool and wet morning, great for staying indoors! (: I realised I need to find a way to blog twice a week like before because I've been terribly ill-disciplined of late. Lack of time is a valid reason of course but I guess I'll have to find a way around it so that I can keep this food journal alive (:

We went to Michelangelo's a while ago for lunch and was pleasantly surprised to see that they offer pretty affordable set lunches! (: We opted for 2 $35 set lunches and we shared most of what we ordered that day, which I am starting to realise is a good idea because we get some variety.

While waiting for food, we drank my favourite non-flavoured fizzy drink - S. Pellegrino ($12/ bottle)! (: It is definitely a good replacement for sprite which sometimes come at shocking prices.

What I was most amused by the SINGLE slice of bread the waiter served as pre-lunch starters! I had thought they would give a basket of bread like what most other restaurants do but I wasn't too bothered since we ordered starters anyway.

Our first starter - the Caprese, which was generally alright. I don't particularly fancy this dish because somehow, in my mind, it is too cheesy but I forget that its texture is like harden tofu and it didn't smell too bad. 

I opted for the soup of the day which was pea soup if I'm not wrong and it tasted quite nice (: I guess I like thick, warm soups for starters!

We decided to get 2 pasta/ spaghetti dishes for our mains because we were in a pasta/ spaghetti mood! The first was Carbonara Spaghetti, which was rich and creamy! The bacon smell was somehow quite strong but on the whole it was a filling dish.

The other was the frutti di mare penne pasta, which tasted distinctly different from the carbonara though they were both cream-based. The seafood was fresh and the dish was pretty well put-together. It was a good choice! (:
 

For dessert, we chose to have the tiramisu, which was so-so and
 

a slice of cheesecake, which turned out to be nicer than it looked because it wasn't too soft nor too sweet.

It was great visiting Michelangelo's again after a long hiatus. We will be back again in the future (: Happy weekend! (: