Fika @ Millenia Walk

Still at the week where my bosses were away on holiday. Us colleagues, we're forever on the hunt for nice places to dine at, for lunch. What more when we're still feeling the holiday buzz after the super-long CNY weekend.

On that day itself, we finally decide on Fika ~ the halal Swedish bistro, since we've heard so much about this place and it came highly recommended. We were also surprised to know that they had a new branch opened at Millenia Walk. Got us even excited. The initial branch located at Arab Street has the cosy feel about it but it seemed a tad cramped. So we're eager to check this new one out.

Made reservation online through ReserveIt.sg

When we arrived, we were welcomed in warmly and were told that they've chosen us a nice little corner. How sweet!

Cosy corner

Nope, we didn't sit at THAT corner. But we were right before it so it was a pleasant sight, indeed.

It'll be nice to sit here and chat with gal friends over some desserts (their cakes display is pretty impressive!) and tea/coffee.

Other side

They used my favourite Charles Eames style DSW dining chairs here. Love, love them!

Love the subtle colours with the mainly white background, framed pastel coloured graphics… What I have in mind for my new abode, actually.

Valentine's day special

Seems like such a steal, eh?

Menu - Food 1

Menu - Food 2

Menu - Desserts & Beverages

Menu - Beverages & Kids set

Kalle Sprätt

Comes with the Valentine's Day meal. The options for soft drink was either the typical Coke/Sprite or this. Of course, our curiosity was begging to be satiated when we heard a weird name being mentioned (I had the server repeat the name twice).

Apparently, this is supposedly one of the more popular Swedish soft drink (carbonated). It's kiwi-flavoured and isn't too sweet (unlike those American ones) or gassy. A bit like Italian soda.

In case you're wondering… Nope, that glass is the brand for a popular non-alcoholic Pear Cider drink.

Imported Premium Cocoa - Iced

My colleague, Roza's order. Pretty mild taste, actually. But it sure is good to have on a hot day.

Soup of the Day

We enquired about the soup available for that day, prior to making our order. Was told that it's 'Potato Soup'. Sounds… interesting. I'm not really fond of potato but I'm just glad that this isn't the sort that comes out of the can, if you get what I mean.

Obviously this is made from scratch.

A light-tasting soup. Reminds me a lot like cauliflower soup, too. However, the portion is a tad big so we can easily get filled up before we even got to the mains.

Swedish Pasta Bake

Roza's order. Fusili pasta with tomato, minced beef, cream sauce and topped with cheddar cheese.

Grilled Rosemary Salmon

Sri chose to have the Valentine's day set, with the salmon as her main dish. We were blown away by the presentation when it first arrived.

As extracted from the menu:
"…served with crispy skin and almonds on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes, with sauteed wild mushrooms accompanied by homemade lemon butter sauce…"

It really looked as it was described. Plus, the clump of alfalfa sprout and dill was a pretty nice touch. The server, upon seeing that we might be sharing, offered side plates and an extra portion of the lemon butter sauce. Nice!

And I gotta say that the food taste as good as it looked. The salmon taste fresh and the portion sure is big! That really crispy salmon skin… sigh.

Delicious BBQ Rack of Lamb

I also chose the Valentine's day set, with the lamb as my main dish. I've been on the hunt for places that serve really good lamb and I gotta say that Fika takes the cake.

The lamb racks weren't dry, nicely marinated and most importantly, they weren't gamey. A big plus. I sure can't get enough of that homemade BBQ sauce. And those cucumber strips were such a great accompaniment for the lamb. Love it!

I have to admit that if this restaurant hadn't been so chic, I would have picked those lamb racks with my hands and nibble the meat off those bones! Especially those from the nitty-gritty corners. But too bad…

In case you're curious, some of the better rack of lamb can be found in those restaurant serving middle eastern food. Especially those Moroccan ones.

Red Velvet Deluxe

This, well I would recommend that they use a smaller plate for this. The large, round plate totally overwhelm the cute little cake, making it look even smaller than it already was.

"…served with cream cheese, drizzled with sweet chocolate sauce and topped with a blushing fresh strawberry…"

Now, now… where's that sweet chocolate sauce, again? We didn't want to kick a fuss and just finished this up. We were definitely full and need to rush back to the office.

Thankfully, the cake itself wasn't too sweet and it's moist, albeit a tad dense. The icing was a tad sweet but the tangy strawberry helped to cut through that.

Our meal that day came to $131.25 (inc. of 7% GST & service charge).

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All in all, we were pretty impressed with the whole experience. The restaurant's interior and setting was spacious & simple; with nice and quirky Nordic charms (I want that for my new abode!). The service was attentive without being obtrusive. Food's definitely good.

The only issue is the pricing as it's a bit on the steep side. Given the location, maybe it's meant to attract the business crowd and those well-heeled folks. But I guess family crowd can always consider coming here for that special occasion.

Fika Swedish Cafe and Bistro
9 Raffles Boulevard,
#01-20 Millenia Walk
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257 Beach Road

Abalone Salad

Our company must have gotten on the good side of some clients, somehow. During the days leading to Lunar New Year, we got a total of 3 different hampers. In the big one filled with goodies, there's a can of abalone. Another hamper came in the form of a box and inside it were THREE cans of abalones!

As everyone knows, this canned seafood is really not cheap. One can easily costs $30 at least, so it was a big deal to us. Not to my boss though. Her dad has a business dealing with grocery suppliers and these cans of abalones are just too common in her household. So she gave us a can each.

A can of abalone - New Moon

As we know, this abalone is SOOO not the norm in a Malay kitchen. The 1st time I ate abalone was because we accidentally bought it when we thought we've chosen a can of oyster mushrooms. My dad and bro refused to come near it so my mum and I wondered what to do with it (we paid $33 for that!).

We eventually sliced it thinly and put it in… instant noodles. -____-

A can of abalone - Skylight

I didn't even bring my can home. My in-law's household is very much the traditional Malay type and they're not so into Chinese foodstuff. So everyday, I'll stare at the can on my work desk and wonder what to do with it.

On one sleepy afternoon, I somehow had a 'lightbulb' moment.

Since my bosses will be away during the Lunar New Year week, we can cook-up a storm in the office or something! We can make something out of that abalone. And the best thing that came to mind was, SALAD. Easy, fuss-free and should be delicious!

I started googling for recipes for abalone salad and decide that we'll use some Asian-style dressing, which I believe, would complement the abalone meat nicely.

After our decadent cupcakes breakfast, we head down to Cold Storage at the nearby Parkway Parade to buy stuff for our 'grand plan'.

THE Abalone

There one and only abalone in the can. Yes, for that price, this piece is truly expensive.

This abalone was swimming in some sort of seasoned 'water' which we stupidly poured down the sink because we thought that we won't have any use for it… BIG MISTAKE!

Our boss chided us and told us that the stock is actually VERY precious. They use it to cook various things because it is VERY delicious… Oops…!

We sliced the abalone meat thinly, cross-wise- just like how you slice meat. The trimmings felt a bit gelatinous (quite gross, actually) so we discard some parts of that, too. :P

Stir fried mushrooms & bell pepper

One of my colleagues, Roza was the sort who got up early (unlike us 2, the tired mommies), so we asked her for the favour to stir-fry the fresh button mushrooms and yellow bell-pepper with garlic and butter; before heading to work.

3-berries mix

This pack has just the right amount of dried fruits mix for the portion we're preparing.

Salad dressing

And this small sachet of to-go dressing is just the right amount, too. So glad we found this Japanese-style vinaigrette that is just very apt for what I had in mind.

Mesclun salad & baby roma tomatoes

We chose the mesclun salad, which has a good mix of our favourite greens: Wild rocket, red oak lettuce, endive & chard. And these luscious and juicy baby Roma tomatoes which are just da bomb! Tomatoes are just never the same after you've had these sweet things, seriously!

Salad bowl

After we've dumped everything in. Add a dash or two of black pepper and dried herbs mix and we're done!

Bread

Thinking that the salad on its own won't suffice for lunch, we sweep up this loaf of bread from Swissbake. We gotta' admit that those wholegrain bits studding the surface of the bread were out calling to us.

Cheese cocktail

Dug out this cheese cocktail (mini sausages) from the freezer. Bought it months back yet can't find the right time to have it (supposed to fill us up when we do OT, but we're always too busy) so we might as well cook it then.

My plate

After everything is ready, we scooped a bit of everything into our plate. Yeah, I'm the sort who enjoy eating the top and bottom part of the bread (where the 'skin' is). More so with those wholegrain bits.

The abalone slices were just heavenly. Those who have yet to have abalone, its taste and texture is something like chicken-flavoured mushroom with a briny seafood after taste. I hope that makes sense. The nutty taste from the wild rocket complement that nicely.

Sandwich

Got some cheese slices from the office fridge and I stuffed a bit of everything into the toasted bread, fold it over and take a bite…

That. was. awesome (and wholesome too)!

A very satisfying lunch indeed. Glad to finally make good use of that precious abalone. My colleague eventually went on to prepare something similar for her family, at home.

Penny University ~ The day we had cupcakes for breakfast

Our bosses went away to New Zealand for the long weekend for the long Lunar New Year Weekend. Before they went off, they told us that we're to come back right after the long weekend itself but we're to 'start' operations only from 11am.

They're the sort who believe in 'Fengshui' and having their own business makes them even more superstitious. Before every Lunar New Year, they will consult a Fengshui master on what date should they re-open after the new year. Even down to the time. We are not allowed to switch on anything (aka start work) before the stipulated time.

Oh, do you know that even our seating arrangements in the office are determined by 'Fengshui'?

ANYWAY… my colleagues and I, we planned to head somewhere for breakfast before we clock in at 11am that day. And the only thing that comes to mind was Penny University. Because we had enough of drooling at the pictures of cupcakes on Fluff Bakery's Instagram feed, that's why.

Before departing for the long weekend, us ladies made a point to remind ourselves again, about our grand idea (just in case we forgot all about it during that hectic weekend). Tuesday evening, I saw Fluffbakery's update on Instagram; about the various flavours available the next day. I excitedly tagged my colleagues and then had an early night.

Woke up the next morning to see my colleagues frantically contacting me to push our appointment date earlier. Turns out, Fluffbakery had warned us that the cupcakes may be sold out if we arrived late. So that morning, we all rushed down (take cabs, of course) to Penny University at 402 East Coast Road.

Imagine my relief when I stepped in and saw these… Phew!

Cupcakes on display

Does that make you salivate, much?

Our breakfast

I came to the booth seat that my colleague Roza had chosen and was greeted with this sight. She was the first to arrive and she made a point to order the cakes first, just in case they sell out.

Apparently, the previous Sunday, she arrived there at 8am to buy the cupcakes and she was the first in a looong line of people who came early for the same purpose (they open at 830am). Thankfully, each person is limited to purchase only 6pcs of cupcakes.

Even then, another friend of mine wailed to me that the cupcakes had all sold out by the time she arrived at 10am. Ooops…!

Salted Caramel (back), Pear & Almond (front) cupcakes

Apple Pie cupcakes

Nutella Red Velvet cupcakes

Cupcakes dissected part 01

The salted caramel (left) has a blob of salted caramel sauce in the centre and more drizzles of that on top. Easily my favourite of the lot. I'm biased like that.

Behind it, that cupcake had chunks of softened, slightly sweet pear in the centre, topped with mascarpone cheese and almond flakes. The whole ensemble tasted so light and yet, satisfying. Makes a good accompaniment for tea time snacks. Pair that with a hot cup of Earl Grey Tea… Whoa!

Cupcakes dissected part 02

Aside from it being a lil' too sweet for me, this was still enjoyable. Who would have thought of making a cupcake version of apple pie, eh?

The stewed apple chunks in the centre was pretty flavourful. And seem to pair well with what looked like cream cheese frosting on top? And that generous sprinkle of cinnamon powder all over. Worth licking your fingers for.

Cupcakes dissected part 03

Ahh… And the ever popular Nutella RVC. I've blogged about this previously and I've gotta' admit that I still have issues with that cream cheese frosting which comes off as too sweet for my liking. And that blob of Nutella centre is already sweet, on its own.

Maybe that's why the apple pie came off as a tad sweet too?

Muddy espresso with cold milk

My colleague, Sri's order. She was enticed by another customer's cuppa and wondered what that was. I pointed out this funny-sounding name on the menu board.

It tasted really good, frankly. Actually, in simpler words, this is simply 'cold latte'. But a very nice one, at that!

Espresso with milk - 7oz

I can't resist my morning cuppa and got myself a hot latte, large size please.

As you can see, the drinks arrived when we're halfway through with our cupcakes. I could see that these cuppas are made with so much passion that it takes time. I guess there'll come a day where they can get this done with similar passion and some speed as well, like in Chye Seng Huat Hardware.

I wonder how they cope on the busy weekends…

Honey infused greek yoghurt with granola and fruits

My colleague Roza's order. Actually she had wanted to get the French Toast. So did my other colleague, Sri.

As we're queueing at the counter, our eyes were glued to the menu board, getting our hopes high at the thought of savouring their breakfast (finally!).

Well, what do you know…? The owner, who was manning the cashier, regretfully told us that since it was directly after the Lunar New Year holidays, their bread supplies did not come in for that day. Hence breakfast items with breads wouldn't be served that day.

That will mean almost all savoury food items on the menu can't be served, save for the one in that picture above.

There goes my chance of sampling their 'Turkish Eggs'- 2 poached eggs with whipped yoghurt hot chili butter
served with sourdough bread. Sounds good, doesn't it…?

I don't know when I'll ever get to come down here again. Hopefully one morning. Hopefully…

Mon An Halal Vietnamese at Eunos

Finally got down to having lunch at our favourite Vietnamese stall.

Eversince their announcent on their FB - of their new location at Blk 7 Eunos Crescent, at An Nur Makan Place, my colleagues and I very much anticipate our next visit there. After all, it's now much more conveniently located (right behind a bus stop and 5mins walk from Eunos MRT).

When we reached there however, it seemed a little too quiet. Quite a contrast to the scene with bustling customers congregating around her stall in the tight space of the coffeeshop at Kembangan. Maybe the office crowd from that area is sorely missed.

Here's a quick update on the foods we had since they're different from what we've had previously.

New location, inside An-Nur eating place

Fried fish Horfun

My 2 colleagues were eager to get here because they saw a status update with a picture of this and they've been thinking about it ever since. They were quick to place an order for that when we arrive.

However after the first taste, they find the sauce to be a lil' salty and has this permeating 'briny' scent. I had a taste and figured out that the 'nước mắm' (Vietnamese fish sauce) might be a tad excessive.

The proprietress was generous with the fried fish slices. I like that they were not mixed into the gravy and despite having soaked some of it, the batter still remain crispy.

Dry Beef Bee Hoon

This dish falls under the category, 'Salad Base' in their menu. And aptly so.

Another dish in the category is the prawn version of this. And that one appears to be like a 'deconstruction' of the popular 'Goi Cuon', that refreshing 'summer roll'. This plate that I order is the beef version.

I was delighted at the generous amount of marinated beef slices that appear to be pan-grilled (??). The meat comes off as tender, juicy and almost smoky. Reminds me of 'satay' somehow. And taste really good when paired with the slightly sweet, tangy yet savoury sauce. Not to mention all that julienned veggies plus leafy basil and mint…

Awesome healthy stuff, I'd say!

Goi Cuon

Ok, so this is something we've had many times before but I just can't resist posting yet another picture of this wholesome snack.

Summer roll… fresh spring roll. Whatever you'll call it. It's just awesome.

Really can't wait to get back here and maybe try out old favourite. Or take more risks with others? I'm still curious about that Tumeric Squid. Hmm…

Fisher's Tavern Restaurant

NOTE: They are no longer at the Pasir Ris Town Park fishing pond. 

They have moved to:
11 Yishun Industrial Street 1, #01-120,
North Spring Bizhub Canteen 2
S(768089)
Tel: 6710 7387

Currently there's another halal-certified seafood stall operating in that area. It's called Warong Kim's Seafood

That rainy Sunday afternoon, my family and I can't decide where to have our weekly Sunday dinner. Since we're gonna fetch my hubby from home anyway, so we decide somewhere in that area.
My bro reminded me of the Honey Chicken dish from the Thai food stall at Asli Village foodcourt in Downtown East; that I kept raving about.

Somehow, I suddenly remembered Fisher's Tavern seafood restaurant located at Pasir Ris town park, where the fish ponds are. I recall the dish that had many giving the thumbs up. I looked at my dad and said the magic words: "Salted Egg Yolk Crab".

His eyes lit up. I knew right then that we've confirmed the location for dinner, that evening. :)

Nut Crab Cracker

Nothing like a piece of heavy-duty cracker to get you anticipating the crab dish…

Beef horfun

My hubby decide to have this instead of rice with various dishes, like the rest of us. Makes me kinda peeved that we'll have one person less; to help us finish the food, though.

My kiddo must have been really hungry or that he's enticed by this dish that was the first to arrive at the table. He eventually shared this with his dad.

Kailan in oyster sauce

Obligatory veggie dish. Kinda' tired of the same ol' Kangkong Belachan so this is another favourite option. Choose to have the beef version since we didn't order any red meat.

Onion omelette

Unlike the previous time when I had ordered this for my kiddo, this time it's my bro who requested for this.
My kiddo didn't even touch it after he's had a fair share of his daddy's 'horfun'.

Honey chicken

Since my brother's initial intention was to have the Honey Chicken from the Thai food stall at Asli Village, we settled for a similar dish here.

Turns out this Chinese 'zhi char' version was really delish! I can't stop raving about how good this was. I think I can just come back here just to have this.

The large pieces of boneless chicken meat was crispy outside and the juicy inside. And the sauce.... sweet, yet savoury. I really love it!

Fried baby squid

Got this because it's my hubby's favourite. But he was kind of full after his 'horfun' so my bro and I took it upon ourselves to finish this.

The squid wasn't exactly very crispy as the meat was a bit chewy at parts. But the sauce was good.
This could have gone into our 'maybe-we-shouldn't-have-ordered-this' list.

Sweet & sour seabass

As I've said previously, this is a favourite with my family.

The fish was fresh and fried well but the sauce came off as too watery. I felt like I've had better.

Salted egg yolk crab

I saw this being served to the other tables. Seems like a very popular dish amongst the other customers. And when this was finally served to our table, everyone went wide-eyed with amazement. This could have been the first time that we have a crab dish presented nicely to us.

The pretty sizable crab was cut into four. My parents was worried that there wasn't enough to go around the 5 of us. But I knew better, didn't I? My hubby, he don't eat crabs. Blamed it on allergy. My parents were aghast that I still ordered crab despite knowing that. Frankly, they're uneasy about it but I dug in nonchalantly.

Pretty soon, they forgot that part about my hubby and started licking the sauce off their fingers… LOL.

My dad was the first to notice and tell my mum that the sauce tasted very much like the one she had made for us, previously. Save that she had used flower crabs instead. My bro and I was in unison about that.
We've always wondered how a proper salted egg yolk sauce taste like. The one served here is a hot favourite with many so it's a good version to help us set the bar (as a guide). After that dinner, all eventually conclude that next time, we'll just get my mum to cook this for us. :P

Fried 'mantou' buns

Oughta' kick myself for not ordering this from the start. My bro enquired about this only when the crab arrived at our table. The crowd kinda' picked up by then and I groaned at the thought of waiting long for this.
That salted-egg yolk sauce was calling out to me and there seriously is nothing more delightful that to mop that sauce up with these buns, with chunks of crab meat in between…

A bit of warning though.The 'mantou' bun served here are smaller than the norm.

Unlike the 'over-ordering' brouhaha from our Teh Tarik Changi dinner, this time I've learnt my lesson. Aside from the Fried Baby Squid, the other dishes would have sufficed nicely. Okay…actually, I ALMOST made the same mistake but luck was on our side somehow and the proprietress actually didn't hear my order and it was left out.

I had initially asked for them to pack it, before it actually arrive. Most of the dishes were out by then and I was freaking out about having more to eat. The server came back to tell me that it wasn't even in our order list. I heaved an obvious sigh of relief.

And no, I already can't recall what the order really was.

All in all, I really love it here. Being in a park, the greenery is really pleasing. Lots of open space for kids (just stay away from the pond) and the ponds are water features, aren't they? Water feature just have a calming effect on people, no matter what they're used as.

And the food it is commendable (depending on what you order).