Thursday, March 31, 2011

Something Funny

Been really busy at work these days... no time to upload my eating pics, and not much time to eat either.

anyway, here's something funny that i came across recently:

Famous Last Words


"What does this button do?"

"So, you're a cannibal."

"Nah, I don't think we need to go to the hospital."

"My brakes are fine."

"Don't touch the red button!"

"Nice doggy. "

"Noo these windows are ok to lean on"

"Did anyone check the oxygen tanks before we dived into the ocean?"
.
.
.
.
.
and my personal favourite.
.
.
.

"yeah, I guess you do look a little fat in that dress"

heheheh. I made some of the above up myself! *giggle*

add more to the list if you have any!

have a great week!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

J Pot Steamboat @ Vivocity

It was a rainy afternoon and I had been craving steamboat all week. YS kindly acceded to my request to come here for lunch even though she had already been here during the week.


The wide assortment of condiments that you get to pick from.



The seafood set for 2 was abundant, and wayy more food than we could finish.


The clams and prawns were very fresh! And not sandy!


I picked the tom yam soup base. It was great, exactly how I wanted it. YS had the imperial broth.


I am most pleased with my 2 unique concoctions. Everything tasted great with them. On the left: spring onion, chili padi, minced raw garlic in soya sauce and on the right: sacha sauce with fried garlic and chili oil.

thanks for lunch YS!

Chwee Kueh @ Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre

The one thing you just cannot get in Sydney is Chwee Kueh. No way. Dim Sum (they call it Yum Cha there) yes, Curry and Prata yes, even chicken rice and char kway teow yes. But not my all-time favourite breakfast food - chwee kueh.

So one rainy morning, I made my way to Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre for breakfast. Some say the best chwee kueh is at Tiong Bahru. Lies, I tell you. The best food is found right here in the East.

There are 2 stalls selling chwee kueh here. And in the interest of giving you my dear readers the latest scoop on the best chwee kueh in town, I tried both stalls. It's not because I am a glutton. Stop sniggering. I hear you still doing it, DS.



This is Bedok Chwee Kueh, it is the stall that faces the interchange.


The queue is significantly longer here, but it moves quickly.


This is a branch of the famous tiong bahru chwee kueh.


No queue, except that there was a lady in front of me.


And now we begin the taste test.



The chwee kueh from the bedok stall. The kueh was soft and wobbly and very good. The chai poh (preserved vegetable) on it was spread in the middle, but there was a good ratio of chai poh to chwee kueh. The chai poh here is clearly the star. It was fragrant, slightly oily, and mixed with white and black sesame seeds, which released a distinct nutty sweet and salty aroma. It was delicious.


The chwee kueh from Tiong Bahru. The kueh was comparable to the one above. The chai poh was meticulously portioned out on each kueh. The ratio was right. The chai poh, although very good, did not impress me. It just did not have the oomph and fragrance of the chwee keuh from bedok, and it also did not have that nutty bite. It was also slightly oily.


With a warm cup of soya bean milk... it was a comforting breakfast.


The thing about eating at hawker centres is that these old people will approach you to buy tissue paper? And while I hear a lot of criticism about funding this trend because they could be from syndicates and whatnot, i just find myself unable to refuse. It seems so callous, especially when the sellers are so old and they look like they should be staying at home. And I really find that I am very blessed in so many ways... so it's just one way for me to share my blessings.



But, sometimes, they spread the word and I get a few sellers all converging on me.

haha.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Pietra Santa @ Wessex Village

So we had a team dinner at this place

It looks much better now, sort of more cosy, and less flustered and haphazard. The last time I was here, they had just opened and they didnt seem able to cope with the flux of lunchtime visitors. The service was waay too slow, and PL and PC my lunch kakis were slightly miffed. Food was not bad though.

Now, things have improved tremendously, or it could be because I was there with a VIP. Mr SL appears to be a frequent customer judging from the enthusiasm with which he was greeted by the service staff.

We were served in their private dining room. And it was great because it was also a private kitchen.


So first we started out with Buffalo mozzarella with Italian tomato, 36 month aged Parma ham and basil sauce. This starter was excellent. Because I love fresh mozzarella. It's creamy with a thin chewy cheese skin, and the milk oozes out as you cut it. I recently had an even better buratta at a nice restaurant, and will save that for another gushing post.


This is Roasted capsicum rolled with Italian marinated cod fish mousse served with crostinos - tiny pieces of toast. interesting, but not too impressive.



Then we had Ravioli filled with lobster with fresh tomato and lemon zest. This ravioli was great, smooth, silky and tasty.


I chose a main of Roasted lamb rack with rosemary, bread crumbs and olives crust. It was a little overdone for my taste, but it was otherwise delicious. The other choices were Slow braised beef cheek with Brunello di Montalcino sauce and Baked Sole fish with white wine sauce, taggiasche olives and diced tomato. Which would you have picked?


For dessert we had Chocolate cake. It was rich and dense and I couldnt finish it. But I never had a very sweet tooth anyway. I think it suited the non-local palatte though, because everyone who was non-local finished the entire thing.


But you know, the funny thing about kids, is that they seem to like party food more than anything else. Look, Cutie and Sweetie wolfing down their lunch at a party at his school.



Cutie is growing up to be a smart, tech-savvy, loving boy.


Look, he looks especially handsome here, doesnt he?


Here's to scaling greater heights together with my boy.



Sweetie is aptly named. As she is the darling of anyone she meets.


she has her chili padi side too, however. Here she is not too pleased about taking her 29th photo in that cute little cheongsam.


But sometimes she does try to humour me...


And she sometimes does like the posing bit..


My 2 dearies, my pride and joy.

Hope you dont mind me gushing... about my raison d'etre.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Garuda Padang Indonesian Cuisine @ B2 Vivocity

Vivocity always has a wide range of interesting things to eat. Not many classy joints but mid-range, fairly priced and a wide assortment of different cuisines abound.

So we ended up at at Garuda Padang Indonesian Cuisine, #B2-28 at Vivocity. It is a halal restaurant and it caters to a wide range of palattes - spicy, non-spicy, vegetarian, meaty, seafood. Free flow of rice and lime juice for a fixed price.

We ordered a number of dishes to share.

Sambal sotong (Spicy Chili Squid). It was done just right, not to chewy, and quite tasty.


Kari Ayam (Curry Chicken). Not too spicy, but the gravy was delicious. I got a piece of breastmeat so it wasnt very tender.


Sambal Terong (Spicy Chili Brinjal). This was my favourite. I could have eaten it all. It was just delicious. The chili was perfect, the brinjal was tender and totally yums.


The most interesting dish of the day - Kari Nangka (Jackfruit Curry). I like jackfruit, its one of my favourite fruits, because it is so fragrant. In a curry however, they use the young green jackfruit, so it has a different texture. A little chewy, a little fibrous. But very interesting nonetheless.


A crowd favourite - Rendang Danging (Spiced Beef Stew). It's very fragrant and delicious and the meat, while tender still has a tasty bite.


And then to end off a delicious meal, chendol gula melaka (iced drink with jelly and red beans and brown sugar syrup)!

Honestly the meal was only so-so because i find the spices too tame and not rich enough. But the company was top notch!!