One of my studio mates was relating his design to food during critique and the tutor retorted, "its so Singaporean!" in a demeaning tone. What's wrong with that?
This semester my studio have 3 foreign exchange students and I have brought to them to some of my favourite hawker centres : Maxwell Food Centre and Old Airport Road Food Centre.
At Maxwell Food Centre, we tried Guotie from Shanghai Special Tim Sum which was not bad. Crispy, fried dumplings with generous fillings. Then there was Marina South Delicious Food's Banana Char Kway Teow and Tian Tian Chicken Rice. I prefer their plain chicken rice more than the ones with skin (half chicken) which often turned out to be too fatty for my liking. The skinless chicken was tender, juicy and the rice was nicely cooked and good on its own. The only problem if you want to eat Tian Tian is the queue which has became longer now thanks to the Gordon Ramsay thing.
Next we went to Old Airport Road Food Centre after our interim critique. Pity Chuan Kee Satay was closed, so we went for Toa Payoh Satay instead. The satay was not bad, meats were nicely grilled and both the chicken and mutton satay were fine but the portions was miserable, some sticks only have 1/10 of the stick's length. At 50 cent per stick, that is a reap-off.
We also had Char Kway Teow from Lao Fu Zi which was good fried noodles with wok hei flavour, and seems like it has its own loyal following judging from the long queue.
The stars of the dinner are the Chilli Crab and Sambal Stingray from Mattar Road Seafood BBQ recommended by ieatishootipost. The seafood here is very fresh. The sambal for the Sambal Stingray was really tasty (and spicy).
The Chilli Crab gets spicier and spicier as you dig in, both foreign and local diners were seemingly defeated by the chilli crab towards the end. But, it was a good chilli crab (with a nutty flavour), it is best enjoyed with some Fried Mantous (6 for 3SGD). The crab meat itself was rather sweet too. We ordered a portion for 3, together with the mantous and sambal stingray, it cost us 76 SGD.
Maxwell Food Centre To get to Maxwell Food Centre, you can take an MRT to Chinatown MRT or Tanjong Pagar MRT and make your way there on foot. The food centre is located next to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and the URA City Gallery.
Old Airport Road Food Centre To get to Old Airport Food Centre, you can take an MRT to Dakota Station on the Circle Line and walk there. Alternatively if you don't mind walking further, it is also possible to walk from Aljunied Station on the East West Line.
it is the first friday of the month and that means it is time for my crush of the month giveaway! i have been so blessed by you and all my readers that it is time to give back! each month i giveaway one of my favorite things. today i am co-hosting with Chelsea of Lost in Travels to bring you two of my favorite Lindsay Letters prints - Whatever is Lovely and Be True(a $40 value!). i have been in love with Lindsay Letters ever since i first stumbled on her shop and have given many gifts from her shop (like this) as well as bought a couple gems for myself (like this & this). i want you to have the opportunity to find these pretties on your doorstep and be able to display them in your home!
YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
this giveaway is run via rafflecopter with plenty of chances to enter! after a week has passed, one winner will be selected at random and announced! all entries will be verified, so please play by the rules! this giveaway is sponsored by the following wonderful ladies: Jess of Jess Vartanian, Samara of The Secret Life of Samara, Elah Tree, Suzana of This Girl Loves, Leslie of A body that Won't Break, Ruth of Isn't that Sew, and Erin of Mr. & Mrs. Toews. if you would like to be one of the sponsors for the next CRUSH OF THE MONTH GIVEAWAY become a sponsor! you can find more information by clicking here and for 10% off advertisement options use code CRUSH at checkout! a Rafflecopter giveaway
My July escape to Australia may be a bit of a distant memory at the moment but I'm still sharing the experiences from that great trip wherever I can. Last week, the PacSafe blog posted my list of the Top 10 Things To Do In The Northern Territory which is my overview of the places and activities you absolutely can't miss while visiting that part of the country. The NT is the rough and tumble Outback for sure but it has some surprising options for travelers who like to escape into a beautiful, remote wilderness from time to time.
Some of the options that made my list include taking in an incredible sunset on the bay in Darwin, the Northern Territory's largest city. I had heard about the spectacular sunsets there long before I ever arrived, and they did not disappoint in the least. I also recommend spotting crocs on the Mary River, hiking the Larapinta Trail and visiting Kakadu National Park for both its cultural and natural wonders. My suggestions include options for both the very active and for those who would like to take things easy from time to time as well. The NT is a nice blend of laid back lifestyle and thrilling adventures, which when paired with the famous Aussie hospitality makes it a great destination for just about anyone.
I want to thank my friends over at PacSafe for allowing me to share more of my Outback adventures with readers. If you're not familiar with PacSafe they are a company that makes some excellent products designed to keep your valuables safe while traveling. They have everything from laptop bags to money belts and passport pouches, amongst a host of other gear that can come in handy when visiting places where thieves may be looking to separate you from you belongings. Most of their products have integrated some ingenious ideas that will be appreciated by travelers who want to avoid losing their most precious items while on the go.
Also, the PacSafe Blog, where my latest article was posted, offers up some fantastic stories, tips and suggestions for travelers of all types. If you love to travel it is a great addition to your Internet favorites and a site that you'll likely want to visit often.
24th August 2013. Take a stroll, take your time, surround yourself with greenery, and just take everything easy on a Saturday morning at the Botanical Gardens. What is there not to like?
Times like these are hard to come by. The fatigue from school and tropical heat fade away as one gets distracted by a joyful couple getting their wedding shots done with their friends by the lake and the sight of a families have a good time on the expansive lawn.
At the end of it, you can even reward yourself with a nice afternoon tea at Halia, located in the midst of the Ginger Gardens of the Botanical Gardens. Furthermore, the price tag pales in comparison to the staggering 42++ you get in one of those ritzy hotels downtown.
That’s what Halia at Botanical Gardens got to offer, a relaxing afternoon tea surrounded by lush greenery on the weekends without breaking the bank. Halia’sWeekend Afternoon Tea Set (28.00++ SGD), concocted by Executive Chef Peter Rollinson, an Australian chef who has once headed Flutes at the Fort, the Prime Society and the Sault Restaurant in Daylesford, Australia.
As part of the tea set, you get to enjoy either coffee with single refill or if you prefer something more exotic, the Halia Infusion, a ginger tea sweetened with honey is pretty good too especially when served chilled on a hot day.
Together with the tea, enjoy the petite savoury and sweet bites from the elegant two-tiered tea set. The Freshly Baked Scones was an excellent start, competently baked, these scones exudes a warm buttery fragrance. Savour it with the delicate Chantilly cream or the orange and ginger jam.
Chef Peter also took inspiration from local cuisine for the tea menu. Most apparent was the Wagyu Beef Rendang Samosa which was not bad but too oily. Besides local cuisine, the afternoon tea is also a way to sample some of the dishes Halia offers as main courses, a sneak peek of the main menu.
While I applaud the attempt to come out with interesting tea bites, some just don’t work such as the House-cured Salmon, Pickled Cucumber and Toasted Rye which was too raw and rough in taste. The Quince and Almond Cake with Crème Fraiche was just weird with the crème fraiche and the Coconut Panna Cotta, mango, passionfruit and lychee with toasted coconut was overwhelmed with the taste of coconut.
However, there are tea bites I enjoy too, such as the Smoked Trout Parfait with Cucumber, Apple and Lime which was a fascinating combination of the savoury and fruity flavours, the Poached Chicken & Smoked Paprika Finger Sandwich was pretty good too and so was the Ginger Flower Macaron which worked for me with its touch of spicy ginger.
Overall, some worked and some didn’t and the afternoon tea menu changes once in a while so don’t be surprised to find something different for your next visit! As for service, I think it needs some polishing up, when I arrived, one of the servers attends to the Caucasians first instead of the Korean family and I, but other staff were friendly and courteous, hopefully it is an isolated case. Overall, the ambience was great and price is quite reasonable for an afternoon tea here.
Halia Tea Service Available Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm (last seating) 28++ SGD per person.
Thank You Cyndiana and Ivy from Food News for the invite.
One of the most nerve wracking parts of traveling for me is finding a hotel. I have a friend who has a similar hate and faces buyers remorse every time she books. It's hard not to when there's literally hundreds of choices in each area. So my solution? Let my husband do the dirty work. Thank goodness he's happy and willing to take it off my hands for me. And this time he was able to find the Villa Langka hotel in Phnom Penh, a gem among the hundreds of choices in the city.
When we travel we always look for the same things in our hotels. And thankfully Villa Langka filled all of these requirements. 1. Locally owned and operated aka no chains (only one location in the heart of Phnom Penh) 2. Small in size (48 rooms in total in two different buildings) 3. Budget friendly ($55 a night with an included buffet breakfast. A deal breaker when we look for hotels) 4. Location location location (just a short walk away from tons of bars, restaurants, and shops)
Thankfully in Phnom Pehn we lucked out once again. This hotel went straight to the top five places we have ever stayed. And with an added bonus of hotel security outside to watch over our bike. A must if you're renting in Cambodia.
My favorite part by far was the pool area. Since we weren't by the ocean during this trip, this was the perfect oasis in the middle of the city to cool off in the mid day heat. Many times we would site see in the morning, hang out by the pool and go back out once it had cooled off again. The overgrown trees and serene atmosphere throughout the property made you feel like you were miles from the city when in reality, you were just steps to popular restaurant and shopping areas.
There are two buildings of rooms. The first one is the original building with traditional style rooms. We stayed in the new building which were filled with about 30 simple, modern rooms which were perfect. It even had touches of bamboo and Cambodian silks throughout the room.
Online gear retailer The Clymb is giving away a trip for four, including airfare, to Nepal to trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp. The contest can be accessed from The Clymb's Facebook page and all you have to do to enter is click on the "Everest is Waiting" image and fill out the form. If you win, you'll face the unenviable task of trying to pick the three people that you will take with you on this great adventure.
To celebrate this amazing travel contest, the editorial team at The Clymb asked me to contribute a piece on Everest to post to their blog. The story I wrote is entitled "10 Things You Should Know About Mt. Everest" which you can read by clicking here. This was an article that I had a lot of fun writing as I had the opportunity to get a little creative and write about some of the more amazing aspects of the world's tallest peak that many readers may not be aware of.
I have to thank my friends over at The Clymb for making my story look so great. I simply turned in the text but they matched the words with some fantastic images and formatted everything incredibly well. I want to also thank them for allowing me to be a part of the "Everest is Waiting" promotion in some small way. I think it is an incredible contest and I'm happy to share the opportunity to visit Everest here as I know many of my readers would love to make that trek for themselves. Bring a few friends along for the journey is just icing on the cake.
So, if you're interested in winning the contest, be sure to head over to The Clymb Facebook page and get entered. If you'd like to possibly learn a thing or two about Everest, be sure to checkout my article while you're at it.
30th August 2013. Penang food seems to be everywhere now in Singapore. You have seen10 at Claymore,Upper Boon Keng Road and Spice Brasserie…from the high-end to the hawker centre, Penang cuisine is readily available (for a premium of course when compared to 4 RM in Penang).
After reading about George of Georgetown on Ho Chiak, I am delighted to know that there is one such eatery just next to my school at West Coast Plaza and one Friday, my mum and aunts decided to drop by for dinner. The sight of empty tables worried us but the food spoke for itself.
The Penang Char Kway Teow (7.90 SGD) was decent, quite close to the actual thing in Penang. However, my aunt felt that it lacked the wok hei flavour and a quite oily which I agree. Nonetheless, it was still an enjoyable plate of char kway teow.
I also tried the Assam Laksa (7.90 SGD) after falling in love with it at Spice Brasserie. The Assam Laksa here is not as sweet but very fragrant. My normally picky aunt enjoyed the flavourful, sour and spicy broth which was made with mackerel. The laksa came topped with torch ginger flower, prawn paste, julienned cucumber, mint leaves, onions and pineapples. Not bad at all!
Out of curiosity, I also ordered the Cai Boey, a spicy vegetable stew with pork.
Their desserts are worth trying as well. The Penang Ice Kachang is pretty much like the actual thing we had in Penang, but still not my cup of tea.
My favourite dessert however would be their Chendol which was one of the best I had thus far with the right ratio of gula melaka and coconut milk. Their green jelly noodles was different, not the firm, rubbery ones I had and their red beans (in both desserts) was big and sweet.
While George at Georgetown might not be the cheapest place to enjoy Penang Char Kway Teow (partly because it is located in a mall), the food here is honestly not bad. If West Coast Plaza is too far, they do delivery too.
“All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” – Samuel Johnson
Xin Li, and myself attended the event. So dashing, in his Wong Kar Wai moment.
Greeted with the vibrant orange interior and numerous pictures of Thai street scenes, this place exuded a homely vibe. It was a vibe that was further extended by our warm host, Kenny, and his young team of chefs, headed by Joel.
Nam Tak Krai Kab Bai Toey - Pandanus Lemongrass Welcome Drink
This was a refreshingly sweet and cool drink, with the intensely aromatic and sweet flavour of pandan accompanying the refreshing citrus flavour of the lemongrass. A great drink, probably a hit with the kids with it's bright green colour as well.
Cha Yen - Thai Iced Tea
Using good tea is a key to making thai iced tea. The smoky taste of tea filtered through the richly bodied milky tea, and it wasn't too sweet or heavy. Pretty good.
Kanom Jeen Sao Nam - J's Cold Sald of Kanom Jeen Noodles
While this amuse bouche tasted pretty good, I was expecting a sharper, perhaps more uplifting start to a meal. The noodles had been sprinkled with grated coconut and dried shrimp, resulting in a interesting medley of savoury sweetness. You can imagine the slight "hay bee hiam" taste (acquired taste, this one, I like it though) being quite well-balanced with the full-bodied, slightly salty creaminess of the grated coconut, all gone along with the refreshing vermicelli. Not too bad.
Som Tum - Green Papaya Salad Central Thailand Style
I have to be honest and admit that this wasn't anywhere near the best of papaya salads I've had. It tasted overtly wet and soggy, over-marinated in something that tasted too heavily of vinegar. The carrots tasted slightly raw and it didn't go very well with the long beans at all. Although the accompanying nuts was a good effort, it fell quite short as the characteristically associated flavours of sweet, sharp, spiciness of a thai salad didn't come through.
Tom Yum Talay - Hot and Spicy Seafood Soup with Thai Herbs
First, the good stuff: It wasn't as oily as I expected, and it was quite spicy enough to give me a good kick, like a good tom yum soup should. However, the prawns weren't too fresh, and the offerings inside didn't play the part of revealing the fresh seafood flavours that were masked under very heavy spices in this tom yum soup. Additionally, the overwhelming saltiness (presumably an overdose of fish sauce) made this a very confusing mix of flavours — it sort of kicked away the spiciness of the tom yum, but it also masked the seafood that wasn't very fresh.
Po Taek - Clear Spicy Sour Soup with Holy Basil and Kaffir Lime Leaves
This was a deadly spicy soup, so I was wow. The lime and citrus flavours that presumably came with this was sadly masked by the very heavy overdose of fish sauce. Not good at all.
Pla Nin Pao - Salt Baked Whole Tilapia served with Spicy Coriander Sauce
I am actually not a very big fan of fish even though I eat it quite regularly (happens when your family is Teochew). Tilapia is one of those freshwater fishes that can taste very muddy and fishy (utterly nasty) if not chosen properly — after all, it is a bottom feeder fish, residing at the bottom of the riverbeds feeding on plants and algae. However, I was very pleased to say that this was an excellent tilapia — so good, you could actually eat it on its own. The salt-baked crust ensured that the moisture was packed in, avoiding those situations where you had an awfully dried fish I've had at some tze char restaurants. It had a nice light saltiness to it, presumably because of the crust, and tasted wonderfully fresh, even evoking the taste of the water that it was in. I was okay with the spicy coriander sauce, which was not very spicy despite its namesake. The tilapia was so good in fact that I just ate it on its own, which is something I don't usually do with freshwater fish.
Kor Moo Yang - Seared Pork Collar served with Aromatic Dried Chilli Sauce
This was quite salty, especially for some of my dinner companions on the table. While the pork collar was fairly tender and well-layered with fat (not too much, thankfully), it went well with the dried chilli sauce in my opinion. If I could suggest any improvements to this, I would suggest that the sauce be made sweeter to balance out the salty nature of the pork.
Gaeng Kaew Wan Gai - Chef's Special Green Curry with Chicken Thigh and Thai Eggplant (right)
This did taste surprisingly sweet for a green curry — not that I minded, though. The chicken was not dry (always a good thing) and the eggplant was not too disgustingly mashed and overcooked. Above average, but nothing to write home about other than it being exceedingly thick and creamy, which gets a bit gelak after a while.
Gaeng Phet Pla Krapong Daeng - Dry Red Curry with Red Snapper Fillets
I think this was personally one of my favourite dishes of the night. The slight sweetness accompanied the sharp saltiness of the red snapper well, in a robust medley of textures assaulting my mouth. There was a wonderful smokiness to this dish that added an extra dimension to the interplay of sweet/savoury, and the snapper was sufficiently moist to say the least. This was quite well done, and I would recommend this highly.
Goong Pad Nam Prik Pao Kab Horapa — Stir Fried Prawns with Thai Chilli Jam and Sweet Basil
Didn't remember much about this dish other than the slightly sweetness of the thai chilli jam kicking in with the robust flavours of the sauce, which was very heavily wok hei-ed.
Hoay Lai Pad Prik Pao - Clams Flambe in Chilli Jam and Chef's Stock
The clams weren't too bad — fresh, and went well with the robust, wok hei flavours of the stock.
Khao Niew Ma Muang - Mango Sticky Rice
With the coconut milk sauce copiously absent, it was replaced with toasted sesame seeds instead. I did miss the full-bodied creaminess this sweet dessert is known for, but I also did appreciate the very soft and mushy texture of the rice going well with the mango that wasn't too sweet. It was an interesting take on the traditional dessert, perhaps from reminiscient of the variant made in Thailand.
Tab Tim Grob - Thai Red Ruby
Tasting just like strawberry milk and red beetroot, there were complaints on the table that the chestnuts weren't big enough. That aside, there was a creamy, fragrant sweetness overwhelming your tongue, and definitely a dessert that the kids would love to go into a sugar high for.
While certainly not the best Thai restaurant I've tasted, I am tempted to give it a chance on the virtue of it being 2.5 weeks old (at time of tasting). It does show a very raw potential, and the passion for such a young team of restauranteurs trying to strike it out in an intensely competitive culinary landscape is quite commendable.
The food, with some misses, was largely above average and the commitment to not using MSG and things like no service charge and GST make the deal a tad bit sweeter here. An honest restaurant wanting to strike it out, I am tempted to give it a chance.
As with most Thai food, actually.
Our deepest thanks to Joel & Kenny for the invite for this tasting and for hosting us.
