koh nangkam pt I

Another family dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday. A day earlier, since it's my bro's off day and hubby's still on leave.

The initial idea was to have dinner at East Cost Food Centre, where we had a great lunch previously. Thing is, we were surprised to see the carpark almost empty despite it being really close to dinner time and there was a line of cars streaming out of there.

We feared the worst and true enough, the food centre was closed the day before and on that day itself for major cleaning up. Uwaaah! I was looking forward to their calamari!!

So we settled for our back-up plan (luckily there was). The Southern Thai restaurant at North Bridge Road. Oh, I found out that the wooden sign hung outside is really the restaurant name. So bimboitic of me, I know.

Koh Nangkam - Stopover Island

the menu (part)

warm lemongrass drink (for my parents)

Focus was off. Geez!

iced hibiscus/roselle drink (for me)

Better focusing now.

iced longan drink (for my bro & hubby)

This one comes in a rather gigantic glass (almost a foot tall!)

tom yam namprik

Bro thought that this version is the one that's a bit 'milky' (we had that in Bangkok). Turns out it's the red & spicy one.

The other is tom yam soup. Should be clear. Spicy or not, I'm not sure.

tom yam namprik (ingredients)

Pretty large tiger prawns, fish/chicken meat and squids.

There's wayyy too many photos. I think I'll put them up in another entry.

Meanwhile, this was how our table looked like in the end:

the aftermath

tenderbest

I don't know why I have this affinity for BBQ chicken wings. And mind you, I'm not talking about those self-cooked ones at chalet/bbq gatherings. I'm referring to those sold at food centres. I can't see halal chicken wings. I'll be out to try.

Maybe it stems from the fact that they are not THAT easily available. I know places like Tenderbest & Cavana branches, Lau Pa Sat and East Coast FC. By the way, the one at Lau Pa Sat was pretty bad. Eugh! The ones sold at East Coast FC seemed ok. However seeing the stall seems to sell only that, I have higher expectations since it's supposed to be their speciality.

bbq chicken wings

This one here is from Tenderbest @ Downtown East (inside foodcourt). Got a swimming date with my bro before that. Actually I was supposed to bring the baby but it rained that morning and I fear that the water will be too cold for him (the day warmed up considerably after that, pfft!).

Considering my bro used to work at D.E, that time was pretty nostalgic for him as he went around looking at his old workplace and meeting old friends. As we discussed what to have for lunch, he got excited when seeing his old friend manning this stall. Well his 'friend' is actually the stall-owner (good for us!).

Anyway this ended up being my bro's treat because I actually forgot my wallet. I just specify what I want and he made the order while having a friendly banter with the fella.

I asked for ONE bbq chicken wing, he bought TWO. "Because one is never enough," he said. He thinks I'm him, huh? And he knows that I'm also going to have my fish & chips!

my bro's plate of Fish & Chips

Both of us ended up ordering this just because the fish is the kind that's simply fried in batter, without breadcrumbs. We believe this is how real fish & chips are prepared (which is true, btw).

Notice that there were 2 and HALF pieces of fish here? The other extra half was on my plate. That's the plus point when the stall-owner is an acquaintance... heh!

MY plate of Fish & Chips

The sides are standard issue with local-style western food stalls. The baked beans, fried soft-bun and super-creamy coleslaw is a must. And this guy here was pretty generous with the tartar sauce, too.

The food's nothing to shout about. It's the company that mattered to me that day. Maybe I'm selfish but since the baby wasn't around, I actually had my bro all to myself and we got round with our usual banter, goofing around and gossips.

Like what my friend remarked, 'siblings quality time'.

the orange lantern..

...is now Halal-certified!

Ok, I guess some explanation is in order, here. The Orange Lantern is a restaurant serving authentic Vietnamese cuisine. I find this name familiar at first, before realising that I kept coming upon this restaurant at the 1st level of Harbourfront Centre whenever I'm headed for Batam.

I guess they noticed the high traffic of Malay-muslim visitors (even Indonesians) at that place and saw the potential of opening up to the halal market. They also have another branch at 73 Killiney Road.

Doesn't that make it the first Halal-certified Vietnamese eating establishment in Singapore? I do know of a stall selling Halal, simple Vietnamese fare at Jalan Masjid. And now there's a couple of restaurants as well! Wowee!

Bì Cuốn / Gỏi Cuốn - rice paper rolls w/ chicken (L) & prawns (R)

How I came to know about this was because they set up a stall at the Halal Food Fair held at Singapore Expo over the weekend and had their newly acquired Halal certificate displayed prominently.

I got all excited to see the Vietnamese rice paper rolls on display. This delicacy, it's pretty difficult to get the halal version anywhere. That time I went to the stall at Jalan Masjid, they sold out on it. The dry rice paper is soaked briefly in hot water and then fresh greens like the scallion, basil, coriander & mint leaves, salad green, vermicelli and the meat item like chicken or prawn; are rolled in.

The ones served here comes with 2 different types of dips. One is a sweet & sourish dip with thinly shredded carrots and a bit of chopped chili (L on the pic above) and another is this thick and dark-coloured sauce that's reminiscent of the one used for Yong Tau Foo; and it's topped with a bit of chopped peanuts.

Nem Cung Đình - Vietnamese Imperial Rolls

This is like the fried version of the above-mention rolls, save that the filling reminds me more like a typical Chinese spring roll.

The dip given is only the sweet & sourish one.
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I'm so keen to bring my family here for a meal. The only decent Phở Bò (the famous Vietnamese beef noodle soup) that I've tasted was the one served at Sedap Corner. Even though that one looks authentic enough, I guess it can't beat eating that at a Vietnamese restaurant, right?

However, I don't think it's THAT feasible to bring my family all the way here just to eat. Well, unless when we go to Batam. Then again, we always come here very early in the morning, when the shops are still closed or that by the time we come back, we will either be so full, dead tired or have too many luggage in our hands....

Sigh. We'll see...

mie goreng

On the day we were to check out of Bintan Lagoon Resort, all traces of decent foods were wiped out come breakfast time. And my bro-in-law asked for a late check-out since our ferry was scheduled at 1635hr.

Needless to say, when we left the villa at 1400hr, we were hungry.

At the main lobby, we were told to wait for the next available (1500hr) shuttle service to send us to the ferry terminal.

Thing is, all of us (esp. the kids) were ravenous by then. So what could we do?

1- Continue to wait at the lobby for the shuttle service, despite the hunger.
2- Look for a cafe (with expensive food offerings) within hotel grounds.
3- Rent 2 cars to send us to ferry terminal and look for (cheaper) food there.

Yes, we eventually settled for option 3. And the cool thing was that the staff at Bintan Lagoon Resort will still transport our luggage to the ferry terminal later on, despite us scooting off first.

At the ferry terminal, we discovered that the available eatery was this teeny-tiny cafe that was packed out with other holiday-makers (there's 13 of us) and the food don't look too promising. I was still outside, setting up the baby pram when the whole group came back out and told us to head for the nearby 'Factory Outlet'.

I was surprised that they still wanna check out the clothes sold there when they were actually very hungry... Turns out, they were told about an eatery located within the Factory Outlet building.

the canteen eatery

What they didn't know was that the eatery was almost 'hole-in-the-wall' kind, on the exterior and way out in the back; adjacent to the neighbouring ferry terminal's transit area. In fact, we have to walk past the area's public toilets to get there.

We later realised, when we saw some uniformed staff coming by here during their break; or after work that this was more or less their staff canteen. They must be wondering, why were these cheapskate Singaporeans eating here instead?

mie goreng

Anyway, the cook/owner/assistant was excited at seeing our big group approaching the eatery during the 'sleepy hour' (late afternoon, past lunchtime). She was rattling away the menu despite posters of whatever is available on the wall.

I saw: Mie Goreng, Mie Rebus, Nasi Goreng, Nasi Lemak, Soto, Nasi Campur.

I was surprised at seeing the 'Mie Rebus' for that was a Malay speciality and I didn't realise that the Indonesians know how to prepare that, too. Then I thought that since Bintan is within the Riau province, where the original Malays come from so I figured that's how they know of the ubiquitous 'Mi Rebus'.

Only then did my bro-in-law warned us that they meant the 'Mie Rebus' literally: Boiled Noodles a.k.a soupy instant noodles. INSTANT NOODLES, ok?? I don't know there are decent eateries that have instant noodles on the menu.

So I asked him, "What about the 'Mie Goreng' (Fried Noodles)?"

"Same -instant noodles, the dry one."

I asked about the Nasi lemak? Sold out. Soto? Sold out. Geez!

I heard the lady explaining that the 'Nasi Goreng' (fried rice) has sausages and eggs. I don't think I'm keen on that. Well, I don't mind the 'Mie Goreng', instant or not. I'm hoping they'll prepare it akin the the Indian mamak's version of 'Maggi Goreng'.

Thankfully, that's indeed the way it's done. They have the decency to REALLY fry the noodles with some vegetables (chopped 'Cai Xin'). And even topped with fried shallots and all.

We all know just how the portion for a packet of Indonesian instant noodles is like so I do admit that amount doesn't really satiate my hunger; especially when the MSG in the flavouring made it taste so nice and all...

Ahem...!

kelong dinner @ Bintan pt II

tom yam soup

We really should have known better than to order Tom Yam soup while in Indonesia, of all places.

While tom yams served in Singapore is decent, the one here is... bland.

baby kailan cooked with garlic

It's nice to have vegetables prepared simply so that they won't end up being over-cooked.

Another green vegetable dish that we ordered is the ubiquitous kangkong belacan which was pretty nice, too. Too bad I was too busy eating to snap a pic..

battered squids

I'm pretty disappointed with this dish. All the while I thought that these were fish fillet strips because I can't really taste the squid!

After I was told about it, I took another bite and realised that the squid was really thin, actually. Plus, there was more batter than there's squid meat. And the supposedly crispy exterior softened a little too soon.

hot plate tofu

I kinda enjoy this dish. They were generous with the eggs at the base, the tofu itself and you can see all those little chicken pieces all over the plate.

The problem with having a lot of those means there's little space left for the veggies (save for the strips of chili & scallions), which is pretty much non-existent here.

ayam goreng bawang

This is one unique dish. Seeing that he's ordered too many dishes already, my bro-in-law didn't order any chicken dish but he finally relented when one of the kids admitted that she's not fond of ANY seafood.

The server recommended this dish because the fried chicken is crispy and kids will like it.

True enough. These little chicken pieces were actually deep-fried with whole garlic, skin and all - till crispy. I can't help taking a bite on the crisp garlic skins. I really didn't know that chicken can go soo well with garlic. Nice!

deep-fried prawns

Please don't tell me that these are butter prawns or something cos' I don't think they taste more that just regular deep-fried prawns.

But these medium-sized prawns are nicely sweet and the meat - firm, given that they're freshly caught upon ordering.

black pepper crabs

It's the first time that I ate small-sized Sri Lankan crabs (from the holding area, I'm sure).

The black pepper flavour, though strong, doesn't possess much heat to set fire on our tastebuds so the kids kinda enjoy this.

Honestly speaking, given the size of the crabs and the amount of meat I got from those, I think I'm better off ordering the flower or blue crabs instead.

sweet & sour ikan kakap (grouper)

I'm really amused to see those peas scattered all over this dish.

While others were busy enjoying the other dishes, this dish arrived and was placed quite near me. So I took the chance to take for hubby and myself, the crispiest part of the fish, somewhere near the belly (to the bottom-left of the above pic).

I like the fact that the sauce is hardly starchy-gooey like what we're used to, here.
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Everything cost $200++ (yes, they accept SGD). Seeing that it's meant to feed 16 pax (6 of whom are kids, not counting in my baby).

It's not exactly my first meal on a kelong but this is definitely more authentic than the one at Senibong, JB. And we know that the seafoods is fresh and they only take them upon our ordering them (saw with my own eyes). I do enjoy this experience.

kelong dinner @ Bintan pt I

So my husband's family, we all went to Bintan (baby included) over the weekend, to reside in the company bungalow that my bro-in-law rented.

Ok, so the term 'bungalow' is too humble to describe the 5-bedroom, 2-storey Villa Angsoka at Bintan Lagoon Resort; that is semi-seaview and has its own swimming pool, bbq pit & buggy.

Anyway, we brought in a whole load of food to sustain us while we're there (enough to get us into serious trouble; should we be traveling Down Under). People in holiday mood = ravenous folks. Was it any surprise that the food eventually ran out by the 2nd day?

So we're kinda 'forced' to go out for dinner. I suggested a Nasi Padang restaurant (where they'll put out a table-ful of dishes) and the old folks got excited cos' they recalled seeing one when trooping down to the little town the day before.

But when they arranged to have the 2 hired cars fetch us at 2000hrs Indo time (which is really 9pm SG time) we eventually realise the the food might just run out by then...

Enquired with the hire drivers and they were quick to 'suggest' a kelong (a form of offshore platform built predominantly with wood, to rear fish) restaurant for a seafood dinner. They remarked that the one at our hotel is very expensive and that one is much cheaper. Hmm... Earning some commission here?

It was a tedious 1/2hr drive out where we realised that the area where the resorts are located is called Lagoi and it's totally segregated from the residential area. We even have to pass through a sentry post when coming in and out of Lagoi. No wonder we can't find any housing when traveling from the ferry terminal to our resort!

And do you know that the land belonging to Bintan Lagoon resort is soo big that it's a 10min drive (in total darkness, at night) before reaching the entrance from the main complex itself??

Anyway, we noticed the sign for Bintan Sayang Resort at the entrance on this kelong restaurant so I assume this place to be a complex of its own.

The fare is seafood - the same type that we Singaporeans are used to. Such a disappointment, especially when I'm sooo looking forward to eating Nasi Padang - the real deal!

A tad too many pictures here so I'll just separate the entry into 2 different posts...

fish-rearing area

It's evident that they rear the fish here, thereby attesting their freshness as they're 'fished-out' from there upon our order.

my family in the distance

Taken from the other end. This kelong is pretty big, I tell you! The dining area can feed like over 200 pax. Thankfully we came when they're empty or we'll have to suffer from waiting!

holding area for the shellfish and crustaceans

In the foreground, the first compartment is the holding area for the cockles. Pretty big ones, I'd say.

Crabs

The same species of crabs were kept in 2 differents holding areas. Notice that fish head floating there. I guess the crabs feed on that.. They're carnivores, no?

Scallops with flower & blue crabs

If I'm the one making orders, I'll gladly include the scallops and see how they'll prepare it... Chinese style? Western style? Or Indo style?

And I rather have those ketam bunga (flower crabs) & ketam renjong (blue crabs) over the Sri Lankan crabs ANYTIME.

Sadly, that's not the case so I just anticipate the dishes ordered by the 'seniors' instead.

mussels and i-dunno-what-fish

Wonder how they'll prepare the mussels.. Soup just like the way my mum does it? Or stir-fried?

In the last compartment, I noticed some live crayfish which I also consider, the 'poor-man's lobster'. I wonder how they'll prepare that, too.

Fresh coconut juice

Half the table ordered this; seeing that it's a pretty warm night out. I was lucky to get a really young coconut where the flesh is the sweet, translucent type.

Jus Alpukat / Avocado juice

Readily available at any Indonesian eatery... Wasn't surprised when I found out that it's my mum-in-law who ordered this.

Fresh avocado blended and poured our ice and mixed with a bit of gula Aren (palm sugar).

boiled cockles

From the holding area above, I assume? This shellfish is larger that the one that we're used to back here in SG. And the surface is kinda hairy so it's pretty icky to the touch.

But the meat is plump, juicy and sweet. Attributed by their freshness, no doubt.

condiments - dips for cockles

I don't mind that chili sauce (spicy!) but that soy sauce is really, really salty. Guess I'm just too used to the sweet sauce that's usually served in Malaysia.
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More pics of other foods in the next post!

hei sushi

My sis-in-law (SIL) had been suggesting that both she and myself go and have a Japanese meal together sometime. That was waayyyy back late last year. This is a long overdue session, considering this restaurant is less than 10mins away from my home - on FOOT!

I thought that it could be done during my maternity leave last month. Well, until I got called back to work, that is. And now that I'm (finally) back on leave, she didn't hesitate to sound me out again.

We were like tai-tais, having lunch out on a weekday. The 90-min sushi buffet was on but we weren't interested. Goodness knows how long those things had been rotating around on the conveyor belt like that...

So we settled for the ala carte menu instead.

Hana Maki

Nopes, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, here. I was distracted by my baby (whom I brought along) when this arrived so in my haste to take the pic, I didn't even double check to see if it was in focus or not.

Didn't even help that the lighting was pretty dim in there.

A more decent shot of this here (but it's a takeaway, then).

It's just some thin salmon sashimi rolled around a lump of rice and covered with mayonnaise and some tobiko.

Teriyaki salmon & asparagus yakitori

My SIL, she's a big fan of salmon so she asked if I want to order a 'cooked' salmon dish too. Well, I'm game for anything.

Well, as soon as I saw the word 'teriyaki', I immediately got excited. I LOOOVE teriyaki. Beef, chicken, salmon... Anything teriyaki, I LIKE!

I guess this dish seemed like a halal substitute for the famous asparagus-bacon yakitori. One have to be careful though cos' cooked salmon tend to be flaky, what more when rolled.

Chawanmushi

Seems like I can't step into any Japanese restaurant w/o ordering this. You can say that I like to compare Chawanmushis from the various establishments.

Well, this one here is... pretty mediocre, lah. See those 2 things on the surface? Well, those are the only 2 things in there. Pathetic, you say? I agree.

To think that I was eager to let my SIL have her 1st taste of this. Wrong one to start with... Pfft!

Hiyashi chuka

My main course order. I was at a crossroad between having either this or the Chirashi Don (sahimi on rice). I love my sashimi but I was in no mood for rice. Besides, I think that I've been having a tad too many sashimis recently. Maybe next time...

Anyway, my curiousity about this Japanese cold noodle dish had been piqued by Keropokman's interest in this dish. And I sure am glad I ordered this. Something different at least. And cold noodles are best during the scorching hot weather that day.

Cold ramen noodles with: (clockwise from top) julienned cucumber, tomato, julienned sweet tofu skin, julienned omelette, crabmeat and julienned kamaboko. The cold soup/stock that's to be poured over tasted kinda sweetish with a hint of garlic and maybe ginger. I stirred in some wasabi for added zing.

SIL had the Teriyaki chicken udon. I'm never a big fan of udon. That fat noodles just seem to scream, "Carbs! Starch!" And the soup that it comes in is just... boring. Well, just the fat noodles, with some mushrooms and chicken fillet... And maybe some scallions.

Well, for someone like me who's all for variety... I guess that dish just don't suit my palate.
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I'm game to try more. I do admit that some of the 'red-plate' items going roung the conveyor belt does look tempting.

I wonder if they have the Hotate Mentoiyaki (scallops grilled with cheese on top). I wanna try their Tempura Moriawase and see what they have to offer. Oh, and my all time favourite, the Unagi. Oh and their Temaki (salmon skin!) and maybe their dragon roll.

Who wanna join me..?

Swensen's @ TM

I can't believe my cousin, Imah & I missed the 2-for-1 lunch promo by all of ONE minute (well, according to my watch, anyway)... You should see the smugness on the restaurant manager's face when she told us that, "The 2-for-1 promo is OVER." Eugh!

I remember when I stepped into this Swensen's branch, my eyes can't help but sweep across the restaurant before asking Imah, "What day is it today?"

"Err... weekday?"

"I know, but what day?"

"Wednesday." Geez, it's midweek and that place was reminiscent of a school canteen! The crowd, the noise! Must be due to the promo! *sour grapes talking here*

Well, we finally find time to dine here so I'm not going to skimp back on satisfying myself...

Rodeo wings - $8.50

Starters - Deep-fried chicken wings coated in bbq sauce and black pepper.

Call me silly but I've always wanted to try this out. I can't help it. I always end up ordering something else whenever I dine here (which isn't often, anyway).

Well, one can't go wrong when the batter is that crispy. The tangy sauce is quite alright. I wish that it's a lil' spicy though.... Like buffalo wings, you know?

Lime soda - $5.50

Imah's drink order. Well, it sure looks more like an early dessert order.

She had expected something like what one can expect from Italian sodas. Simply syrup with carbonated water. Who would have thought that it'll be this fancy-schmancy? Lime syrup, soda water, lime sherbet and topped with whipped cream plus cherry. A bit filling, don't you think? They didn't serve this with the long dessert-spoon, though... Need to request. Pfft!

And that shade of green is not due to me fiddling with the colours while editing... It's really THAT colour... Pretty disgusting, no? Looked so fake!

Crayfish Pasta - $16.20

The marinara-esque tomato base sauce is fairly decent, if not boring. I could do with a bit of spice in that. Should have gotten her to ask for some chili flakes.

Crayfish (also known as slipper lobster) is just soo overrated. The amount of meat one gets from that is comparable to a large tiger prawn. But it's nice to nibble on the batter that the crayfish is coated in.

And since this is my non-mushroom-eating cousin, I gleefully get to enjoy her bits of shitake..

Chili Crab Pasta - $16.20

Do you notice how the crayfish pasta seemed overly-garnished? Well, my chili crab pasta actually came with NO garnishing at all. I swiped a sprig of celery stalk from my cousin's dish just so my photo will look a lil' nicer.

I've been aiming to eat this since it first got introduced into the menu and only now do I get to have a taste.. Hmmph!

Deep fried soft-shell crab with... chili crab sauce (how predictable). Mildly spiced (not surprising). I wish the egg in the sauce comes in thicker strands (like the real chili crab sauce) instead of being stirred into the sauce like that. And they're pretty generous with the other bits in the dish like fried fish fillets, crabsticks, mushrooms and capsicums.

All in all it's good enough for me to clean the plate out but not really some thing that I'll order again... Maybe I should just stick to their western main courses instead. At least my curiousity is satiated!

Cookie Summit - $8.50

Imah's dessert order.

In the whole stretch of that tall glass, is just 1 flavour of ice-cream - namely, Cookies & Cream. Well, there are some chocolate-malt balls (a.k.a Maltesers), a lil' bit of choc. fudge and it's topped with whipped cream plus chocolate-coated cherry.

Frankly, this ain't something that I'll order, personally. I'm one who goes for variety so my personal preference would have been the Coit Tower, where there are at least 2 flavours of ice-cream and almonds (I love nuts!), fudge etc..

I don't mind the Sticky Chewy Chocolate, though.

Chocolate Cookies & Cream Mudpie - $8.90

My dessert order.

Honestly, I didn't expect it to turn out to be so big! That single layer is the thickness of a regular cake, ok?

The bottom layer is Sticky Chewy Chocolate ice-cream. On top is of course, Cookies & Cream with cookie base.

I sure don't regret this order.... In fact, I love it!
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I actually end up taking off my waist belt and let my dress come loose in all its bouffant glory. I don't care if people think I'm pregnant (again). At least I'm exultant and all contented!

And very, very full. *burp!*

Evertop chicken rice

More accurately, Evertop Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice.
Blk 354 Clementi Ave 2
#01-259

Half Roasted chicken? Or Roasted Half Chicken?

This type of boneless chicken (save for the wing-tip and maybe the drumstick?) is good for the lazy chicken eaters out there. Well, maybe you end up paying more for tat service but I think it's pretty worth it.

Since I'm buying take-away for 4 adults, I ask for half a chicken. Very generous portions, I like! The chicken is tender and the accompanying sauce it comes in is not the starchy kind. There's also some nyonya achar (cucumber & carrot pickles) on the side.

kailan in oyster sauce

Of course, a meal is never complete w/o veggies (remember that!). For a more balanced meal, I ordered the kailan cooked in oyster sauce (by default).

They used 'real' kailan here. By 'real' I mean the full-sized one, not what they call "baby" kailan. I prefer these because of the slight bitterness that comes with it. More robust veggie taste.

Thai-style chicken feet (boneless)

I no longer eat chicken feet (claws and all). I mean, I used to when I was a kid but somehow I lost interest and shun it altogether.

Somehow, I'm drawn to the chicken feet sold here because it's boneless. Maybe I'm lazy. Or maybe I'm just grossed out by those claws (honestly, I have no idea!). Or MAYBE, it's that 'Thai-style' sauce that it comes with.

The sweet, spicy and tangy sauce with the thin raw onion slices just had me hooked. Once I'm done with the meat/skin I just slurp the sauce down. Yumz!

Jellyfish.. erm.. salad??!

For my mum it's a new discovery. For me.. well I'm used to eating jellyfish.. But it's the sushi kind. So in a way, this is also quite a new discovery for me, too.

Jellyfish - Chinese-style.

The sauce taste almost like that of the chicken feet (sans raw onions) although it's less tangy. The chopped peanut gave it a whole new flavour altogether. Almost like the Chinese rojak.

The thin jellyfish pieces were so crunchy to the bite that one can easily mistake it for some raw veggie (eg. cabbage). That's what my dad could have thought anyway. He's never one to try out exotic foods so my mum discreetly feed him (straight to the mouth) this on purpose (dad's too distracted by his grandson to notice).

When he started eating, he had to juggle his grandson on the other hand so I scooped all the side dishes onto his plate, including the jellyfish. Only when he finished his meal, did he ask, "What's THAT?"

My mum replied, "Oh, that one..? It's.. SALAD." Without looking at him of course. Only when he's away did the both of us start snickering away. Haha.
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Only when we finish our meal did we realise that I forgot to ask for the soup. Not that we miss it, since the side dishes were pretty 'wet' anyway.

I remember telling my mum, "Good. I don't miss the MSG anyway." It's a pretty-known secret that chicken rice shops put flavour-enhancers in their bland soups...

return of the salt caramel roll

the box that it comes in

I'm totally digging the fancy, colorful graphics!

salt caramel roll

A glazed cake never look (and taste sooo good..!). I've described before, how it taste like. However, the one yesterday had a much stronger flavour, in terms of both bitterness and saltiness.

Inconsistency..? Hmmm... But I tell you, after popping it into the freezer for a while, that slice was really heavenly, inconsistent or not. Fuh!

of bridges & desserts

Robertson Bridge - taken with Hipstamatic application

Ended up somewhere at Riverview-Roberson Walk vicinity after a company dinner one night.

We (2 female colleagues & myself) rejected offers by the boss to hitch a ride to somewhere convenient to get back and chose instead to walk along the river, to Clarke Quay.

It was a nice walk. Where the 3 of us behaved like little girls, enjoying the view, gossiping, giggling and gushing about the gorgeous, classy glassy apartments located along the river. Just too bad it's a weeknight.

Alkaff a.k.a Art Bridge - taken with Hipstamatic application

We could have reached Clarke Quay earlier, had we not stopped often, desperately trying to get a decent shot while camwhoring at night with our camera phones (mine, no flash - gone case).

Sigh, if only I brought my camera along... I can't believe my camera was absent in the first place!
Anyway, our walk to Clarke Quay was like a dessert trail of sorts...

Because this was what we've been aiming for:

dessert spread @ Nectarie

Just too bad we were still full from our dinner, despite all that walking.

The Chicago Cheesy, Double Chocolate Mud Cake, Chocolate Raspberry Tranche and the Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse were all calling out to me!

My bro was due to fetch us and seeing that it will take sometime before his arrival, I quickly placed an order for the slice of Choc. Hazelnut Mousse (can't resist!).

Yes, 3 of us shared it. The mousse layer on top was heavenly and I totally appreciate the thicker-than-usual crunchy praline base... Mmmmmm....!

Gosh, I'm SO going back there (again)... Kai, are you reading this??!

kuih jambang/kueh pie tee

Kueh Pie Tee - $3

Just yesterday morning, my gramma-in-law was talking about Kuih Jambang (I hope I got the spelling right, here). I was curious about it so I asked her to describe to me, how it looks like.

She was going on and on about 'crispy cups' filled with shredded/minced meat and topped with chili sauce and coriander leaf. I was thinking that the description seemed familiar.

First thing that came to mind was Kueh Pie Tee, the popular Nyonya delicacy.

When I told her about it, she just laughed it off; saying, "Pai ti means crazy". I don't know how right that is.

But she acknowledged that they are one and the same, just that Kuih Jambang is the Malay name for it and they prefer stuffing it with meat while the Nyonya used veggie fillings similar to the popiah (although some do top it with minced pork).

The picture above was the typical Kueh Pie Tee one finds at regular food stalls, although this one here lacks the one thing that gives its 'oomph' - the boiled prawns on top.

The stall assistant here, though was really generous with the fillings (seeing that the boss isn't around). I especially enjoy the crispy flour bits which he put a WHOLE teaspoonful of, inside there.

Chee Cheong Fun - $1.50

Popular breakfast offering amongst the Chinese community. I like the regular version that similar to one one pictured above.

I remember last time in Geylang Serai market, there's this Malay stallholder that sold the 'Malay-version' of this. The rice roll, with its chilli sauce but there's also a curried mince-meat sauce to top it all off. Very funny concoction.

It was a favourite of mine, back then. Until I discovered this much simpler version, that is.