Friday, March 30, 2012

Moving Masterpiece Based on Qing Ming Shang He Tu

In case all you think what we're only doing in Singapore is just eating, well you're probably right.  We did try to take in some culture by going to the Moving Masterpiece exhibition - The Song Dynasty as Living Art.  This exhibition is based on a painting called "Qing Ming Shang He Tu" which was drawn in the Song Dynasty by Zhang Ze Duan, a imperial court artist in the 12th century.  The original painting measures 5.28m long while the exhibition featured a 128m by 6.5m animated scroll.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Villa Zolitude Food - Phuket Part 2

Sampling of the food at the hotel since it was quite a drive out to restaurants so we ate at the hotel most nights.  Thanks goodness the Thai food was decent!
Villa Zolitude Waffles
Waffles at the breakfast buffet.  Mango - models own.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Villa Zolitude - Phuket Part 1

A week of bliss in Phuket - everyone asked - what are you going to do in Phuket for a week?  Eat and relax?  We were just going to wing it and decide when we got there.  I love Thai food and it seems pretty difficult to get authentic Thai food in Vancouver.  


We stayed at Villa Zolitude in one of their grand pool villas on the top level.   I love the layout of the 2-storey villa, bedroom upstaris as you enter and the pool, deck, outdoor shower and TV room downstairs.  Everything was pretty well thought out.  However, this property isn't brand new and you know how everything in the tropics just wears down faster.  We also had a resident "chichak" or local lizard sharing our room.


Though the resort was pretty far from everything, service was very personal and the dining room served pretty decent Thai food - good enough for me :)  Check out the next post for food photos.

Public beach - 25min drive away



Friday, March 23, 2012

Sea Canoe Adventures - John Gray's Phuket

During our stay in Singapore, we took off for a week to Phuket which is about a 2 hour flight from Singapore.  It's one of my favourite islands to visit - plenty of resorts to choose from, decent infrastructure, lots of activities and of course plenty of beaches.  

Warning - tons of photos in this post as I had such a great time.  This was a sea canoe trip starting at mid day till evening called Hong by Starlight    I'll let the photos speak for themselves.  It really made my trip to Phuket memorable besides spending time with D of course :)  Anyone has other activities to recommend in Phuket?
John Gray's Sea Canoe Brownie in Cave


Phuket Lagoon

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese - II - Singapore

Chinese New Year was just round the corner and every Chinese restaurant in Singapore will serve up a variation of what we call "lou hei","yushang" or prosperity toss.  There is usually radish, carrots, pickles, sesame seeds, lime, cinnamon, pepper and plum sauce just to name a few.  Each ingredient has a special meaning bringing luck and good fortune...but that explanation requires a dedicated post someday as there are so many ingredients.   The "lou hei" at Imperial Treasures was pretty tasty.  I always enjoy this treat during the new year.
Imperial Treasure Lou Hei
Lou Hei

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Macaron Day

How did you spend Macaron Day?  I hope you had some macarons.  Since it is Spring Break in Vancouver, I spent the day with my 3 nieces baking macarons.   We did maple buttercream, vanilla buttercream and chocolate mint - nothing fancy like Pierre Herme flavours.  12 trays of macaron shells and 6 boxes of macarons - now that is macaron heaven.  We had a good time.  I get to have fun with them, then send them home on a sugar high.  :)  My nieces tried this recipe for the first time and look how it turned out.

Piped macaron shells

Macaron

Want to try your hand at it too?


Friday, March 16, 2012

De'Beer Seafood Restaurant at D'Kranji Farm Resort

My sweet family arranged this meal before D and I left Singapore.  Driving to D'Kranji feels like a blast from the past - you'll pass by veggie farms, fish farms, goat farms etc and not much else.   It is at one end of Singapore and at one point, you could probably swim over to Malaysia.


 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Cotton Bleu - Singapore

Cotton Bleu is a very cosy, casual, family run restaurant tucked away in Upper Thompson Road.  It is along the row of shophouses just before you hit Thompson Plaza -  I've driven past tons of times but always miss it.   
Bruschetta with prosciutto 

Monday, March 12, 2012

Resorts World - Malaysian Food Street

It was just after Chinese New Year on a weekday that we decided to head to the newly opened Malaysian Food Street.  Resorts World Singapore went on a hunt and gathered the best of the best of Malaysian street food.  I was super excited.  I should have taken it as a sign when we couldn't find parking after going round and round to forget it and just leave. When we finally found a lot and headed up, we saw a queue to get into the Malaysian Food Street.  They have crowd control so that it doesn't get too crowded inside this 500 seater place apparently.  Wow. Ok the queue was moving but the security guy said 30-45min.  Since we were here, we decided to wait.  Brownie got to do the touristy thing and take his photo while waiting in the queue.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Dim Sum

imperial treasure steamed egg with crab roe
Steamed Egg with Crab Meat and Roe
The dim sum was all very good and I enjoyed it very much but the steamed egg with crab meat and roe was outstanding...

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Xiao La Jiao - Singapore

I was really looking forward to being back in Singapore this time round because:
  1. I got to see family and friends
  2. D was coming back with me and spend Chinese New Year in Singapore
  3. my good friend from Auckland was coming back too
  4. 2 friends from Christchurch and KL dropped by Singapore as well - bonus!!
It was a huge reunion of sorts for all of us - who knew when all of us would be in the same country at the same time for a long time to come?  

We decided to try out one of the new eateries at the newly opened 112 Katong as most of us lived in the East.   

As the name suggests, Xiao La Jiao which means little chilli, had super spicy Sze Chuan food.  There are few SzeChuan restaurants in Singapore  so I was interested in trying out this place.  

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Outram Park Bak Kut Teh - Singapore

I don't normally crave for bak kut teh (pork rib soup) when I'm not in Singapore but my brother said this one is sooo good you have to try it.   This is the peppery type not the herbal one.  We decided to go all out and ordered a couple of dishes.  The bak kut teh of course, pig stomach soup, kidney and liver soup, and side dishes of peanut and beancurd and a fish soup.  Dunk the you tiao into the ba kut teh - yummy.  I liked everything but the fish soup, it wasn't bad but the rest of the dishes were so much better.  You can top up the soup in the bak kut teh as many times as you like, it's really the best soup, the pepper just warms you up which is probably not a good thing in hot and sunny Singapore but if you're in cold, wintery Vancouver, a bowl of this bak ku teh will take the winter chills away. 

Luckily bak kut teh spices are easily available pre packed, though not as good, my friend serves this up to her kids off the ski hill instead of hot chocolate.  It really is the best thing to warm you up on a cold cold day.  

Outram Park Ya Hua  Rou Gu Char Pork Rib Soup
Pork Rib Soup ( Bak Kut Teh)
You Tiao
You Tiao
Pig Stomach Soup Outram Park Ya Hua  Rou Gu Char
Pig Stomach
Peanuts
Peanuts
Braised Beancurd
Beancurd
Fish slice soup
Fish Slices
Kidney and Liver Soup
Kidney and Liver
This place is packed for lunch so go early to get a seat.  

Outram Park Ya Hua Rou Gu Char
7 Keppel Road
#01-05/07
Tanjong Pagar Complex

Monday, March 5, 2012

The Moluccas Room - Singapore

Moluccas RoomMoluccas Room Menu

Moluccas Room Spices
Fine dining Indonesian?  What would that be like?  I'm more used to the Indonesian food served up at Cumi Bali - hearty and more home cooked style food.   I was curious so we decided to try The Moluccus Room at Marina Bay Sands.  The Moluccus Room has a great view which overlooks the Singapore River and the downtown financial district of Singapore.  We came for lunch but I'll bet the view is even more fantastic at night.

For a start, we had a slightly spicy lemongrass amuse bouche soup that really whets your appetite and leave you wanting more. 
Amuse Bouche
Followed by our starters of beef salad and pomelo salad with prawn.  Both were very good though I though that the pomelo salad was a tad too spicy.
Mlouccas Room salad medium rare
Salad of Medium Rare Beef
Moluccas Room pomelo prawn salad
Pomelo Salad with Spicy Grilled Prawn
For the mains we tried the chicken confit curry and the jimbaran fish.  I knew my dad liked curry so I gave him a taste - just a teensy taste as it was too good to share.  I rarely seek out curry but this was soo good, I finished every little drop of it with the crispy chicken skin and chicken.   As for the jimbaran fish, it was cooked to perfection, it had a crispy skin and melt in your mouth tender flesh.  The flavour was excellent too.  
Moluccas Room chickn confit curry
Confit Chicken Curry
Moluccas Room jimbaran fish
Jimbaran Fish
After the appetisers and the mains which were top notch, we were really looking forward to the dessert.    We certainly weren't disappointed.  Coconut ice cream and black rice pudding,  good flavours and surprisingly light.  
coconut ice cream, black rice pudding, fresh fruit
Coconut Ice Cream, Black Rice Pudding and Fresh Fruit
It was an enjoyable lunch and a nice ambience.  For ladies, they even have a hook to hang your bags which is so thoughtful.  They also serve a high tea and a weekend brunch which I wanted to try.  Too bad I didn't have enough time - perhaps when I'm next back in Singapore.  For those people who want a quick dinner pre theater, The Moluccus Room is a good option too. 

The chef behind the delicious and well executed food is Alicia Tivey.  I hear she's trained with Tetsuya previously.  


The Moluccus Room
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
2 Bayfront Ave
L01-81
Tel: +65 6688 7367
http://www.themoluccasroom.com/

Friday, March 2, 2012

Southern Ridges & Some Good Local Food - Singapore

During the first few days of our trip back to Singapore, we decided that we should mix up some healthy activities ( ie not eating) so we decided to tackle the 9km southern ridges walk which links 4 parks.   Along the way, there is much flora and fauna as well as a good view of the city.  I think we were rather ambitious as we had come from cold and wintery Vancouver to sunny and super humid Singapore and we both weren't totally adjusted to the humidity yet.  Nevertheless we did walk to see the Henderson Waves and then drove to Hort Park.  I know we were supposed to walk but what can we do if the path was shut for maintenance? (thank goodness!!)
Henderson Wave 






Hort Park, Brownie feeding the fish
Brownie and Singa the Courtesy Lion


After all that walking, we worked up a healthy appetite and started to think of places to eat and finally decided on some spicy local food at Parkway Parade basement food court.  It's my go to place for Mee Siam.  It's cooked chinese style with vermiceilli, beanspouts, chives and a sweet, sour and spicy gravy.  Yums.  The other dishes such as the mee rubus, laksa and chicken curry are all pretty good too.  Wash that all down with some cold grass jelly. It's a quick and satisfying meal.
Mee Siam
Mee Rubus

Laksa
Grass Jelly

80 Marine Parade Road
#B1-113 Parkway Parade

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