Changing Appetite @ Marina Square

We didn't really plan to go to this place. We intended to walk around Suntec but all the routes were blocked. We do understand that the security has to be strict because the IMF delegates are taking a tour in the convention. Well, erm, a "tour" is an understatement!
After desperately wandering around the unsecured borders of suntec, we decided to just eat in Marina Square. We looked at the food directory and got interested in a japanese restaurant, but while we were on our way to the place, we passed by this Japanese-Western cook shack: Changing appetite. Of course, the first question we asked with the waiter was, "do you have rice meals?" In singapore slang, it could have been delivered as, "got rice or not?"



For our starter, we ordered a calamari samurai.

Taste: 3.5/5 The plate is alot better than the Cafe Cartel's, but the sauce isn't really that mouthwatering. I am not really sure if it's a tar-tar sauce or just plain mayonaise with vinegar. It has less oil, and it's coated with starch and some parsley leaves. True to its name, it's good as a starter meal.

Presentation: 4/5 Not so complex. It's simple. It's elegant. Yellow rings on a white plate. What more can I ask for?

Price: 4/5 For a whopping $7?? It's worth the price because the rings are really ringS--with a capital S.





Special Baby Back Ribs
Taste: 3/5 The sauce is better when mixed with potato wedges. It's sweet and not so chili. The meat is not as tender and as soft as the pork ribs in Cafe Cartel. I had a hard time finishing the plate--chewing and removing the meat stuck between my widely spaced teeth! Although the salad is better compared to the cafe cartel's. Why am I always comparing this with Cafe Cartel's? :D

Presentation: 4.5/5 Just look at the pictures. Do I need to say more?

Price: 4/5 A bit cheaper compared to Cafe Cartel's, but the size of the serving is slightly smaller. A plate will definitely fill your tummy. I wish I didn't order a separate bowl of rice. I was totally full after the whole meal!

Salmon Belly

Taste: 3.5/5 I'm not sure if the oil came from the fish itself or from the cooking oil used to fry it. According to An, the curry is nice, but not that superb. I didn't even dare take a spoonful of curry sauce! I never imagined that a salmon can be mixed with curry.
An finished the food earlier than me, so it means that the food is great...or he just eats faster. *Peace!

Presentation: 4/5 The curry sauce is poured on a "genie lamp" Isn't that cute?! It will give you that feeling of being in an Arab land with a Japanese chef! ;)

Price: 4/5 I know that Salmon is really expensive, so the price is fair.

I'd say that the food catered to our needs. I have one comment with the sofa chairs though. The back support is very very very far from the front, it's very very inconvenient to lay back. It's teaching you the proper way of slouching--huh, sounds ironic, since when did slouching become "proper"?

By the way, the service of the crews were really great. I am giving my two bows to them. When my glass of water is 3/4 full, they immediately refill it. The "welcomer" is also very accomodating and cheerful. Keep up the good work! :)

Pepper Lunch @ Taka

We were meant to go kayaking today, but the weather isn't so generous to give us clear sky during the day.

So after exercising our vocal chords in Rome's house, we decided to sprint our way to Takashimaya. It was past 6pm and everyone's very hungry but not angry. Regina and Rome had a first taste of the Japanese cafe and they made some good reviews about it, so the whole group went there to satisfy our taste buds and stomach walls.

The meal that I took is the cheapest--what else is new? Well, I mean, the cheapest shouldn't mean that it's the worst meal that they have, right? And besides, in my opinion, that's the best benchmark. The cheapest should be the best, so that people will be more convinced to buy the more expensive one.

Taste: Nil I was too excited, or just dumb-struck that I didn't taste the food first before mixing up all the spices and sauces on my plate. The kotokome rice is quite heavy on the tummy which makes it great because I should say that the serving is slightly on a snack-size for me. ;) Well, my body is allergic to fats so I have no qualms about eating alot.
The food is really hot being served. Unfortunately, I spilled like a can of garlic salty sauce on my plate so no matter how spoonful of honey brown sauce i put on the rice, the salt wallops in my taste buds!
The root beer is not so titillating as the Billy Bomber's though!

Presentation: 4/5 It was great. It was fun. The plate was 260-degree hot!

Price: 3/5 I told you I took the cheapest. I spent $8 for the whole meal, add the GST on it. I am not so happy about it. ;)

One of my colleague raised a very good question, what happens if it's night time? Will they rename the place as Pepper dinner? :P

Billy Bomber: 30th of June, a day before July...

I intended to wander around Haji lane in bugis to find the lost Arab food place where Saleha and Khalid brought me last time. I was craving for the international sausages I had a year ago.

But since the place seems so elusive to my "no-sense-of-direction" mind, I consulted Fauziah's expertise and asked for a nice place to eat--without batting an eyelash: BILLY BOMBER! She even sent me pictures of whoever-that-person-is eating a BIG burger. So, I went ahead the American way--the Billy Bomber style!

I was so excited to fancy myself eating in a new restaurant that I had this urge to buy all the "chef's recommendation" in the menu.
ROOT BEER FLOAT
As the menu says, "Our best seller! Find out why, order one today!", and so I did order one--luckily, they had a promo: buy one take one! Here's the real best seller, and I didn't only take one, but two slurps!

Taste: 4.5/5 Just look at the triple layers in the mug! The lower layer is the ice cream, the next layer is the root beer and the third layer is the foam. The ice cream ain't just one scoop mate! It's a third of the whole mug. The taste of the root beer is almost the same as the can-in-a-vend-o-machine but the proportion of the ice cream and the beer makes it a real winner.

Presentation: 4/5 If only they poured this in a fancy mug, I would have given this a perfect 5.

Price: 4/5 A mug is $5.95, eventhough I can buy a complete meal for that amount, it's labeled as a restaurant, so I can't complain about the price.






Taste: 3/5 It would have been better if I'm sharing the food with another person. Six wings of chicken, multiply it by 5, equals 60 times of tedious biting. I was totally embarassed while eating it using my bare hands, the left and the right, hold them up high so clean and bright, BUT this ain't gonna make your hands clean dawg! It's slippery, it's wet, and its red thick coating sticks to your finger when you hold it. The taste is three-drop more than what would have been better. But my suggestion is to eat it after you've packed it up, brought to your home and placed in the refrigerator overnight--it tastes alot better! I hope they serve some fresh carrot, cucumber, and celery sticks next time!

Presentation: 4/5 Oh they have wings, and they flock together. They are juxtaposed nicely beside each other and the colors of carrots, cucumber, cabbage, and chicken creates a wonderful mix.

Price: 3/5 $13 for six pieces of chichen WINGS? I can even buy a $5 whole fried chicken in Giant supermarket at Bedok. :p

I'm tired of typing...all I can say is...IT's BIG!!!!!
And what did they say in their menu? >>The hugest burger you'll ever see << I guess they're right, but my housemate said I should make sure first that this All Star Burger is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records before I agree to its claim. Mind you, with a $16.50 burger, I would have opted to go to Carl's Burger.

I don't want to remind myself how much I spent in this meal. I'll probably go for oriental cuisines next time.

Thai Express - Centerstage, Marina Square

It was a non-working Saturday, so I indulged myself with a timeless sleeep--that brought lethargy the moment I woke up. After watching half of the Samurai I (Musashi Miyamoto) movie...ooops, I forgot, this is a food blog and not my "daily life" pad.

Okey, I went to Marina Square (less people, less tourists, but more shopping stores) and stroll around, until I saw this banner "Thai Express at Centerstage". Well, I wanna be at the center stage as well--if only I don't have stage fright!


I went ahead to the Thai Express outlet and comfortably sat on a two-seater table. I looked at the menu and was dilly-dallying on what to choose. I tried the Phoo Phat Pung Kari because it has soft shell crab and it's a Thai-japanese specialty--as you can read from the photo I took. Just bear with the photos, I'm still starting on this career.

By the way, I'm not some connoisseur (did I get it right?) or some food aficionado. I'm just here to squirt out the words aroused by the oomph of the food that comes in. ;)


Taste: 3.5/5 - it's salty for my taste, although the leaves on top (is it parsley or lemon grass?) gives it a Thai taste. I don't know how to say if a crab shell tastes great and besides, the shell is flooded by thick sauce, so all I can say is that it's crispy!
If not for the excess salt, the sauce would come out terrific with a plain steamed rice.

Presentation: 4/5 - i have this fetish over cabbage leaves and the ziggy-zaggy cut of any fruits. For the cucumber and the cabbage leaves, I'll rate this 4. Though not as fancy as what you'd see in some expensive restaurants, the pale lavender onion cuts on top looks really cute over the brownish red sauce.

Price: -- - no comment on the price. I guess it's not as expensive as the restaurants i've been to (which aren't that many by the way).

Next is the Seafood Salad. I am tempted to give this a 1/5 rating because I was really struck by the unexpected hot and chili seeds on top! I almost ran to the toilet after eating this. :p

















Taste: 4/5 - if it weren't too spicy, i would have given this a 5. I know, I know, Thai foods are meant to be spicy, but they failed to write it on their menu that this food is fiery fierce. My mouth, my tongue was totally swelling and I couldn't stop myself from doing the "hsss..hhffff" sound. But, the taste of the glass noodles is unique. Spicy, sweet and the noodles are ... aldente! I like the intoxicating mixed taste of sweetness, saltiness, and sourness. The leaves taste and smell good too, although I am not sure what leaf it is--if only they wrote it in the menu.

Presentation: 2.5/5 - presentation is so so. whenever i look at it, it seems like the cook just dumped all the ingredients on top and let them position themselves on their own--as if they can move by themselves.

Price: 4/5 - With three shrimps and 2 squids, I think the price is justifiable. Seafood heree in Singapore isn't cheap, in their colloquial terms: WHERE GOT CHEAP? Besides, the taste isn't that awful. :P

I only took plain water. I don't want to spend that much on drinks, fruit juices are all the same and sodas will always taste the same whereever you may go--sounds like The Calling's song.



Oh, the other reason why I didn't order any drinks is because I have to consume my $10 voucher at Starbucks...courtesy of my auntie in the office. Thanks auntie! :) So I bought the Banana Frappuccino (?? i think i got it wrong, i'm not a starbucks drinker, unlike my boss. :P) with no coffee of course! haha! And matched it with their blueberrry mufffin.












After eating, I saw this cute body fitting Samuel & Kevin navy green shirt with a 40% discount. So I bought loh! hehe. $13.50.

Total expenses: 15.80 + 0.30 (muffin) = $16.10
$16.10 + $13.50 shirt = HAPPY DAY. :P

It all started with ...

It would be a waste if I kept on taking pictures of the food I eat in some cheap cook shacks--whether it be a fastfood, restaurant or just a hawker shop, if I don't share it with the people who has the same craving interest for alimento.