Face Lift!

I know it's been eons since I started publishing some no non-sense stuff here in my food blog. It's just that I'm too busy (yeah right!) working and striving to keep my sanity going on (oh, this definitely has something to do with food!). But, I'm back to stir up your taste buds--this phrase is such a passe, or is it cliche?

With my sharp tongue and nosy nose, I hope to rev up my bloggy again to its shining glory (did it ever shine??). Oh come on, gimme a break, ya? :P

I'll be posting the foods I've tried lately. Just keep on checking my blog.

One day along Changi Road

Restoran Makanan Laut Chai Chee

My sister and I trudge along Changi road to find the Malay restaurant we reconned last time when we were aimlessly walking around Kembangan. I'm not in a mood to talk today, but I want to put up these pics because they're long overdue. Please bear with me if you don't find this post so entertaining....i'm just soooo tired, tired of thinking what my future will be, or whether i'm making the right decision over something .... but this ain't the place to prattle all my internal conflicts.

As usual, for every meal, there must be a vegetable set, meat, and RICE!!!! Here's what we ordered for our vege: Baby Kailang Seafood (I forgot how the Kaillang is spelled)

Taste: 3/5 I've tried alot of Kailan recipes since I started working here in Singapore and sad to say, the taste of this didn't register to my memory. It wasn't bad, but maybe it's more on the ordinary side.

Presentation: 4/5 I like the colours of the vegetables mixed on the plate.

Price: I lost the receipt! I can't even remember how much I spent for the whole dinner... oh but I do remember that the cereal prawn is like a whopping $25. Oh, right at this moment, I'm craving for that BIG burger I ate at Billy Bombers!

I didn't really intend to buy an ice lemon tea. Initially, I asked for plain water. But the water tasted so chlorinated so I opted to buy a separate drink. Good thing, a waiter was passing by during the time I was wondering for a drink to buy. I saw him holding this multi-layered drink. I was so fascinated as to how the orange colored liquid was layered on top of the transparent fluid, so I immediately asked the waiter to give me one.

Taste: 3/5 Nothing unusual. I still prefer the home-made ice lemon tea in Marsiling (S11 coffeshop near the traffic light).

Presentation: 5/5 This is why I was convinced to buy the drink.

Price: 4/5 Ok lah!

My sister took the Lychee. I think, she's starting to like the Lychee/longan juice here.

Taste: 2.5/5 I know the lychee was drained from the can, but I was expecting it not to taste like a tin can.. -_-"

Presentation: 3/5 Nothing unusual too.

Price: 4/5 The price is fair.

I am not really that mean. I mean, it just happened that the food I reviewed above aren't really that fantastic. I should say though that this Sotong Fritters and Oats is a kicker!

Taste: 4.5/5 I'm sure Fauziah is going to love this. It's spicy and even spicier if you take it home and re-fry it. The oats's sweetness is just nice and the fritters is really a plus on this.

Presentation: 4/5 I can't think of any other way to present this better.

Price: 4/5 Not as expensive as the prawn. :)

If you think the sotong fritters is spicy, lo and behold, this is even spicier!

Taste: 4/5 It's superb. It's sweet. It's crispy...and the sauce is thick--thick with spices! yummy. :)

Presentation: 3.5/5 I just feel that the food is too dark, maybe too much dark soy sauce?

Price: 4/5 The price is as good as the taste.

I wish I were in Shanghai to taste the real shanghainese style.

Oh btw, I heard that the Russian market is getting better. I hope I can visit Moscow sometime and be astounded by the Kremlin architectures. I wonder when will it be, for sure it's not now though, moscow is heading the list of most expensive cities around the worl you know!

Ok, I'm going to fix myself, my sister and I are heading to boat quay. She hasn't been there ever since she stepped on the soil of Singapore. Adieu!!

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.