Cheesecake Factory revisited

Superb dinner, followed by their special cheese cake!

Botak Jones - Part 1

While I tried to tell myself that I should mind my health more, I couldn't help but jump to the opportunity to try Botak Jones at Bedok.

But because of my cough, I opted for fish and chips, which wasn't exactly their specialty.

Nevermind, I can come again next time to try their burger and sausages... :p

Dinner@Canadian Pizza Kitchen

Another late post on a gathering cum dinner that took place last Thursday.

Met up with Dave, Chun Meng and Keng Wee for dinner at Forum's Canadian Pizza Kitchen. Teck Han was having RT and couldn't join us. KC also didn't turn up due to other commitment. It's quite tough to get everyone together as everyone has their own life and program nowadays.

We had the famous Peking Duck Pizza, another pizza plus pasta for the main course. Then we had 4 different desserts to share. I immediately fall in love with their chocolate souffle!

The famous Peking Duck Pizza

Chocolate Souffle (very good!)

Brownies

Besides the delicious food, it was also good to catch up on old times. Hopefully the next meet-up everyone can make it...

Hua You Yuan (华友园)

Have been quite busy lately so didn't have much time to blog about the birthday dinner celebration last Monday. It wasn't just for me, but for Irean and Kevral as well, cos our birthday was just a few days apart.

We went to this place call 华友园 along Upper East Coast Road. This was my second time here. Three years ago I was here with Ah Lian, Ah Lai, Audrey and Irean, for the exact same reason. Fast forward to today, Ah Lian is in US expecting her first child. How things have changed since...

Like before, the dishes ordered were just the 'appetizer'. The main focus point is still the chilli crab and black pepper crab. They were finger licking good.

Chilli crab

Black pepper crab (with Audrey's V-sign)

Gals delicately attending to their crab

Ah lai, Aud and Irean

Would I come back again for the food? The answer is probably yes. Hopefully it wouldn't be another 3 years....

3 thumbs up for Greenwood, oops for Oosh

Got a birthday treat from Dave at Greenwood. Amazingly, this is the third time I patronized this place within a span of 6 months!

I recommended the oyster, which he ordered and enjoyed thoroughly. I had my fish grilled while he had the pan-sheared Hapuku. Both were quite well done without compromising on the natural fish taste.

But the best has got to be the dessert.

Actually, it was the creme brulee that Dave had that I preferred but I didn't took any pic of it.

Overall, definitely a place that's still worth coming back again.

Dinner was at Oosh at Dempsey Road. Food was alright but the service was what makes a bad first impression on me.

Was there around 7 and as it was still drizzling they had to abandon their alfresco settings for the night. So we were told to wait at the bar while they set up for dinner. Had a beer and waited for 20 minutes and saw some dinner patrons already in their dinning area, but we were not informed about the status of our seating arrangement.

Nevermind, I asked the waiter, who then scrambled to ask his manager. He returned to ask us that there is no seats available and if we would not mind having dinner at the bar. Mood - abit pissed.

I rejected his suggestions, he went back to the manager, who then came over to try his luck. He suggested convert a low coffee table as our dinning table. I swear my face was black but he probably didn't really noticed under the low-light condition.

I pointed out to him that there are a couple of 4-seater square tables which I spotted as empty from where I was sitting and asked why I could not take any of those. He finally relented and we got the outermost table situated just at the entrance of the dinning area.

While trying to recover from the unpleasant experience, one of their staff toppled their table lamp on their tiny serving tables next to us. Glasses splashed over the floor. No apologies, though the incident happen just 1.5 meters away from my table.

Food was alright, ambience was not too bad. But service could have really been better....

Lerk Thai

I think I ate too much for the past one week...today had thai food@Marina Square.

Sourish Tom Yum Soup

The boneless chicken drumstick (far corner)
was one of the better choice of the night.

Cold rice

Green curry

Thai Popiah

Nice-looking Otah. Thats all it is.

Best food of the night - Dessert @ Anderson Ice Cream.
(Happie Brownie with Rum and Raisins + Macademia nuts)

9/11

A few of us treated the birthday gal (Chun Ling) to chinese food @Royal China. The Peking Duck was very nice. I could not remember when was the last time I had such nice 片皮鸭.

Peking Duck

咕咾肉 (Sweet & Sour Pork)

The sweet and sour pork looks simple but yet the meat texture was just nice, not too tough. The steam fish (红斑) was nice too. If I don't remember wrongly, there wasn't anything left on the plate, including the head and tail!

Definitely worth going back to try out their other dishes.

Greenwood revisited

Delicious food, nice companion, lovely evening.

Service wasn't as good as first time but the food more than make up the difference.

Won't be surprise if I come back again...

Greenwood

Met up with a friend for dinner at this place call Greenwood Fish Market and Bistro. Food was fantastic and service was good. Tried the cooked oyster but still couldn't get use to the taste. Highly recommended is the mouth watering appetizer.

Mouth watering appetizer
- (scallop &) salmon belly that melts in your mouth.

My friend had the pan-seared king salmon which I tried a bit - very fresh. I had a deep sea fish for my fish and chip, wasn't too bad either.

Good ambience. Though not very convenient as its located at Greenwood Avenue (behind National Junior College). A bit pricey for the cost-conscious.

Definitely worth a second visit.

Food, glorious food...

I think I ate too much lately...else how to explain why my body mass is hanging around the mid-sixties...

But what to do...when you eat dinner at eight plus at night...or indulged in too much local food...

Just one of those days when my mom feel like cooking...

Just one of those occasional gastronomic dinner
with visiting colleagues from US.

One of my favorite local food - Bugis Bak Kut Teh....

Paper wrap chicken...
(now selling at $3.70 at Chai Chee, due to GST, increase in rental, supply cost etc. etc..)Nonya Curry Chicken
(Now selling at $3.80...due to increase in rental...yadah yadah yadah...)

How to loose weight like that?? :-P

Night out at Timbre

What was supposed to be a simple and small dinner affair turned out to be a slightly bigger gathering at Timbre. As Pronob was in town and wanted to meet up with our ex-colleague Victor, sk (for the ten thousandth times) suggested dinner at Timbre. Choon (also from Mountain View) and Andy were the unexpected guests of the night. So together with aud, kev and bernard, we squeezed around two small tables enjoying our 1-for-1 beer and food...

My minestrone soup....

Very nice Lamb Rack...The band Timmy....

Timmy was superb. I must say the lead looks cute too. Totally enjoyed their 3 gigs which lasted till 1.45 am. Definitely a place to go back again.

My Secret Garden@Sculpture Square

I was invited to attend an ex-colleague's wedding dinner reception that was held at a small establishment located in Sculpture Square. I was not unfamiliar with the location, this being my second visit, the first experience was a wedding lunch reception of a colleague. It was a casual but nonetheless significant event for the bridegroom (and his bride of cos) who went around entertaining his 70 odd guests. Unlikely the recent wedding dinner I attended in May, where everyone at the banquet table were all total strangers, I was glad to be in the company of a few ex-colleagues, whom some I had not met for quite a while.
We chatted, had beer and watched the slides that was put up, while anxiously waited for the food. The beer they served had a nice fragrance to it.

The lobster bisque was served around 9 followed by the the Caesar salad with salmon sashimi, some half hour after I consumed the soup.

As usual, the MCee tried to have a little fun with the newly wed....The long awaited main course (crayfish spaghetti ) was served at 10. It went down well into my stomach, considered that I was pretty hungry.
I didn't get to taste the dessert though, as I had to rush back to pick up my little one. Guess I would have to find out from my ex-colleagues, one of whom had the honour of an extra serving of the brownies that I ordered.

A meat-ningful day

Had my favorite Zhu Jiao (Braised pork leg) for lunch, thanks to my colleague who wanted to bring a US colleague to try the Bak Ku Teh at ECP hawker center. Haven't had it for awhile, still taste as good as I last remembered. Yummy!

In the evening I went with tumblingbear for another food indulgence - Zhu Za Tang (without intestine, with extra meat balls :p) @Lavendar . Its another dish on my all time favorite food list. I got a less salty version than what she got so it was really a pleasure sipping the soup until the bowl is left with the Yan Suey (That green leafy thingy with a pungent smell).

After that, I went to see my buddy again at Alvernia. Managed to find out more information on the net about Meningitis and that the chinese medical term for his illness is 脑膜炎(Nao Mo Yan). He looks much better today compared to the past 3 days. But unfortunately his medical report won't be out so soon as it is done at the government hospital lab which gives priority to their patients there. So he may have to be discharged first by this weekend. If the report turns out positive, he would have to be re-admitted for further treatment. Damn. Cross fingers and hope for -ve results.

Happy food

Found a list of 'happy' food which contains omega 3 fats, folic acid, B12 and Vitamin D that are nutrients that researcher found to be mood lifting.

Anyway, here's the list.

1. Wild salmon (rich in omega 3 fats and vitamin D)

2. Spinach - (rich in folic acid and soluble fiber)

3. Skim milk - (rich in Vitamin D and B12)

4. Ground flaxseeds (rich soluble fiber, omega 3 fats and folic acid)

5. Blackberries (rich in soluble fiber and folic acid)

6. Omega 3 fortified eggs - (rich in omega 3 fats, Vitamin D and B12)

7. Sardines ( rich in omega 3 fats and Vitamin D)

8. Soybeans - (rich in soluble fiber, folic acid and omega 3 fats)

9. Beans (rich in soluble fiber and folic acid)

10. Brussels sprouts (soluble fiber and folic acid)

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/joybauernutrition/11481/top-ten-happy-foods

Most of them aren't exactly my favorite food, so here's my own Top 10 food (in no order of preference) that makes my day happy/give me shiok feeling:

1. Rochor Tau Huay (Beancurd or 豆花 in sg chinese)

2. Hill Street Char Kuey Tiao

3. East Coast Satay Bee Hoon

4. Maxwell Ondeh Ondeh

5. Salmon Sashimi

6. Macdonald French Fries

7. My mom's braised duck. (yummy yummy!)

8. Sushi

9. Roti Prata

10. Ice cold 100 plus (only after my run)