Q culture & food

Yesterday was the sensational opening of H&M, where people queued overnight.

This weekend is another Comex IT Show, I did receive sms asking about when HP Touchpads will be selling at the price drop in sg.

Find this comment in yahoo quite amusing.
Spore loves to Q - this is our Q culture. We Q overnight for the birth of Apples's iPads, we also Q overnight for the death of HP's TouchPads, we Q at the Spore Expo at the burial of Borders (50% discounted books).

I don't like queueing, but sometimes I can't help to queue. But for food, yes, sometimes I'm guilty that the longer the queue, the more it makes me curious and the more I wanted to try a dish or resto out and see for myself. Whether it's good or bad, normally I wont come a second time (kakatamad mag-queue!) :)) If it's good, then i'll be happy and say 'Yes I conquer it'. If it's not, then nothing much to say because it will automatically be included in my 'forgettable' list.

I guess I'm bored. Or actually I'm never bored. Seems like I can always think of something new to do. Few friends have asked me why dont I just start a food blog with my fancy for food. Hmm I still dont have a dslr for food photography, which is a requirement for food blogging. I dont really wanna say 'uhmm I actually already have one since ages, just that I dont feel like revealing it to public, as this blog has become a scribble of most of my emotional outbursts and angsts, and I must say this is not very 'me', it's actually a 'negative' me which I dont like to be publicized :p. Anyway, I'll continue to blog about things that strike me, especially food.

One more thing. Usually I get attracted to food places where they have the most number of reviews online, (regardless good or bad). Reviews are subjective. Besides I believe that an object/subject worthy of review in itself already proves its value. Just like a celebrity, who would bother commenting on starlets and trying-hards? Another point is I dont know why people here put so much emphasis on service, like I rate this resto low bec my plates are not being cleared voluntarily eww, my empty glass is not filled automatically. Unless the service is really annoying, disrespectful, else, sorry I find it primadonna to just blabber about service quality. On another hand, yes service becomes important only if you are like paying 50sgd+ per head. Other than that, better shut up about these primadonna manners puhleez.

p.s. whether it's a blessing in disguise or not, I do have all the time in the world now. I have time to step back and smell the roses. Morever, I guess I have more time to blog.

Hidden Potential: Hunting Rare Finds

I find it ecstatic when people tell me something about me that I never even noticed.

In almost all of my Manila visits, I am always close to turning insane on how to stuff my pasalubong in a small 15kg limit of a budget airline haha. Obviously I would have some goodies for my family and my mom will also disperse a few to some of her close friends.

If time and budget permit, I usually have the habit to dig good finds in every place I go, these should be uncommon and are price-friendly and of good quality and should NOT be available in Manila. Perhaps it also suits the tastes of the old filchi aunties in Manila, that's why 'bumenta'. Some of the rare finds are:
Milk tea (not lipton but another brand)
Satay bbq in sealed microwaveable packs
Australian Herbs and Spices
Dried orange peels
Bottled fried shallots
..etc..

Anyway, it turned out the goodies reach my kumare’s mom as well. Her mom asked my kumare to buy the same things. She then has to ask me back where to get those as she cant seem to spot them, thus I accompanied her one time to buy. It happened several times, that she finally concluded, ‘Les, may talent ka, you have the potential’. She said I probably can try my luck in the distributor business. Woow winner, love her to bitz hihi :D

Check out my latest find from Vietnam. I brought a pack to share with my officemate. Upon first munch, they also said 'hey Leslie it's good, you should have gotten 10 packs for us'. Seriously, I never knew that is such thing as cappucino peanuts. I am not a die-hard fanatic of either, but it is good combination to coat nuts with coffee indeed.



I wanna be a shopper! :)

My Dream Resto

My first post for 2010. Been quite long since my last post. Started the year as usual in Manila, nothing much to share.. or should I say it's better to keep my blog for generic reviews...


One new discovery from my Manila trip is the new Chinese restaurant called Golden Bay. It's just a few minutes away from MOA. Initially I thought this was just one of those forgettable ones, I was mistaken. For me, it is the most 'posh' Chinese restaurant in Manila serving authentic Chinese food at reasonable price. Comparable to Century and Gloria Maris, the top 2 fave spots of Filchi for banquets, Golden Bay is a strong competitor I would say.


The figures - not so sure how accurate the hearsay is. Golden Bay seems to be owned by 10+ filchi businessmen, with a whopping 300M+ php investment. It's a 3-level resto, manned by 100+ crews.


My 2 cents:
1. Classy decors - from the chandeliers to the tall curtains, the long spiral staircase, the sofa, everything looks perfect and elegant. Simply put, everything is new and shiny, makes you feel you are inside a 5-star hotel. Probably it just opened that time, just that not sure whether they would be able to maintain it, as wear and tear comes into play in a few more years.


2. Biggest - when I was there, first level was having some organization committee party, 2nd level was a wedding, 3rd level had a lot of individual parties ala private function rooms. Each level can hold up to say 80-100+ pax i think. The only difficulty is that I feel the noise from different functions can be annoying for the guests. Like when I was in level 1, I can hear the noises pretty well from the level 2 party. (geesh, as if I am really a consultant :p)



3. Quality Food - we were actually invited by a rich neighbor, so there was no damage to our pockets :). We availed of the 12-seater 'complete' panto style lauriat. If my memory serves me right, the dishes were:
-cold cuts combination (soy chicken, asado, jellyfish, cold cuts, etc)
-shark's fin soup
-scallops
-steamed crabs
-steamed prawns
-steamed live lapu lapu
-roasted duck
-noodles
-desserts (gata and fried crispy puffs)
Servings were huge, seafood was fresh, food was tasty. The standard cost for this set menu per table is 11k php. (+12% tax, then -10%discount for suki/cash basis). Price is considered reasonble as per market standards. 11k div 12, means each person is less than 1k! Whew now I can set aside the cravings for buffet :). But it would be hard to find 11 willing lamon-level person to dine with me.


So far I like every dish. It's been a long long time since I had attended any pan-to. Nothing beats the natural tangy taste of fresh seafood that are cooked simply in steamed manner. *drools*


4. Extras - maybe what help enticed my taste buds is the fact that they were playing Jay Chou's songs when I went there. It's a BIG plus for me. :) Good taste for music as well, I'm impressed :)




















































If I were to tweak it a little more, I'll add one more level for fine dining:

-a good view with glass ceilings that allows direct access for star gazing. (of course it should have some switch that allows another wall to be pulled in). Not sure if u get what I mean, main thing is I want to see the sky when the weather is good, good as outdoor sans the polluted air of Manila . If it's raining hard with thunderstorms, it would be better to pull back another layer of wall to cover the ceiling.


-a few musical accompaniments belonging to the olden Chinese classical genre. With my odd fondness of guzheng, it tops the list :) Maybe hire some part-time students to play on nights with special occassion, and charge a higher fee for minimum consumption :D


-nothing much to say about food as they already have the finest. Maybe add more expensive stuff like buddha-jump-over-the-wall soup, low-grade bird's nest, etc. Anyway, this is just an add-on targetted on class A market, so I'm making a dream-what-you-want proposal. And I believe there is quite a number of willing-to-spend individuals in Phil. Just a side comment: funny thing is, looks like GI has become a substantial portion now of this class A. That time when I was there, the wedding banquet in level 2 is no other than GI community! Oops can't be too choosy with the cultural refinement of the crowd lol.


Overall experience is very delightful as it was more than what I expected.


***Author's note:
I felt strange that night staring at the resto. It looks close to what I picture, I have this strange familiarity and attachment lol. Sometimes it's not so bad to dream. Dreams keep us alive, and I had fun making one and dreaming about it. Though I know I never will be able to fulfill it, it's just one of those crazy dreams that I have. Like I wanna be a singer and perform in a crowd maybe? Like perhaps I wish to have a walk-in closet? It's just something close to my heart. At least I'm happy someone fulfilled it, even if it doesnt belong to me. It doesnt matter anymore. I'm happy that a fine idea once crossed my mind. I guess I should wake up and make another dream...

What's Cooking 09

Some serious decoration can help create appetite. Let's have some fancy names this time.

Grilled Chicken Marinated with Basil and Herbs

(finally trying to divert away from the usual Chinese cooking hehe)

Prawn and Squid Ball in Tomato Puree

(in layman terms, leftover from ref :p)

Deep Fried Lapu-lapu fillet

(the secret is simple, marinade)

My Two Way Chicken

Teriyaki Chicken - finally made one without using a ready-made sauce!

Oatmeal Fried Chicken

(theme is sesame seeds :p)

Chicken and Veggie Medley

take note of my flower carvings again

(special mention to this simple dish is that I cooked this last year at home during my vacation, my mom and sister liked it and asked for my recipe! yoohoo success)

P.S. Finally starting to expand my seasonings. The taste of the herb mixes is quite strange at times, even I didnt like it, too strong.

Best Kept Secrets: Food Reco

Yesterday was really an enjoyable day. KTV for 5 hours from new songs to classic 90's genre, followed by an unexpected sumptous meal over Uncle Leong's seafood of which is known for Crab Beehon. My initial reaction was like 'huh? crab sotanghon is ok but having a crab swimming in a bihon soup, that doesnt sound good?'. Yet it was one of the best tasting soup I ever had. To finish off the night, I finally watched G.I. Joe and I enjoyed it, I even think the plot is more interesting than Transformer 2. A much needed relaxing break.

So here goes my urge to share some of the restos that I recently tried and would recommend. The best ones are usually not located inside the malls, it's for you to uncover these best kept secrets. And another important thing, there is definitely a long queue! The longer the queue, the more it arouses my curiosity - anong meron? pila rin tayo. :D

Uncle Leong's
As mentioned, known for crab beehon, an alternative to the usual chilli crab and black pepper crab. If you are not a spice fanatic, this one's for you. The crab is big and the meat is firm. The soup is so tasty. This is just located in a hawker near AMK, not a fancy resto. The other dish is deep fried prawn in salted egg (but I personally still prefer cereal prawn over it).




Vines
I like the ambience of this resto, it's just so homey and it actually resembles some restos in Phil. Light is a little dim, music for chillax, ideal for dates actually and the most important thing is I like their famous BBQ Pork Ribs (which is ranked among top 100 dishes by some orgs) And it's quite cheap. I find the steaks better than Tony Romas and the price is just less than half. There are times when you just want to have a good meal with good company, and you wouldnt really feel like splurging all the way - so this is the best place to be.


Founder Bak Kut Teh
I'm not a huge fan of Bak Kuh Teh, I seldom order it. However so far this is one of the best tasting bak kut tehs that I've had.






Loy Kee
Actually I cant distinguish much what is a 'good' chicken rice :). I just know that this is one of the famous chicken rice restos in town, next to the famous Boon Tong Kee and Wee Nam Kee probably. The chicken is tender and juicy.




Those that didnt quite make it to my fave list:

Ajisen-Ramen
I dont know why there are so many branches of Ajisen-Rames all over Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, HK, China, Macau, etc. I actually didnt find anything outstanding (or probably I'm not ordering correctly?) I find the ramen soup too oily and salty.







Xin Wang Taiwan Cafe
One of the popular Taiwan street food is their breaded chicken chop. This one's really a huggge serving and I finished it. Pair it with milk tea with sago - Perfect







Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe
And the equiv for the staple food in HK is none other than HK baked rice or baked spaghetti. Quite ok, just that usually the cream tends to make the dish too 'nakakaumay'. Pair with nai-cha (milk tea) and it sure's gonna create some sensations in your mouth.





Soup Spoon
For me this is an ideal place to go when you have colds. When you are in your sneezing mode and you feel like drinking a hot healthy soup with veggies (like minestrome or chowder), this is the place to go. A typical order is a soup with a french bread, cost about 12sgd.

Zhou's Kitchen
I saw it in one of the reviews to be great, one of the famous Chinese dimsum in Novena. The best seller is some siomai soup. After tax, each small bowl costs more than 17sgd+. I didnt find it worth the raves.





Updated Aug 13:
Deli Moroccan
The best place for moroccan dishes, try their kebabs. A big serving costs only about 10sgd. You can also try the freshly brewed mint tea, which gives you a strong toothpaste aftertaste - unique. (though I dont feel like consuming it often)

Sandwiches and the Doves

Last Dec when I was assigned to the client side for the bank project, there's this nice view in Raffles facing the river. I thought of relaxing there for my lunches. I prepared sandwiches (piled as high as what you see in the picture), ate them and fed the doves with the leftovers. Flocked by the doves, again so Europe-ish.

How to prepare the sandwiches:

grilled meat, tomato, lettuce, cheese, egg, mayo

... and yet I was still not full, I cannot thrive on sandwiches alone :p

Macau Macau

Macau is one of my fave vacation spots so far, nice scenery, nice food.

Quite amazing how they manage to make it so Europe-ish. and my 2nd 'fake' gondola ride. One day I will be trying the real one!

Quite crazy to be trying new things.. boots! and some of the hair and neck burloloy stuff which I cant use in SG nor in Ph. My companion was even more prepared with her kikay get-up. One of my best travel buddies. Imagine few hours before the flight, we had early check-in of our baggage (with a minimal fee) just to go to a beach few kms away from the airport. And we survived by just commuting (bus). That's what I call 'madiskarte'!

Casino-hopping is one heck of an interest. Money can disappear in seconds. It's literally burning money. Despite recession, the casinos were full of people! I tried my luck, no good. :p

Some good food: suckling pig, porkchop bun (ju pa bao) and Portugese clam dish. Sangria wine is another must-try.

The hotel we stayed in is definitely a good choice in terms of proximity to tourist spots, it's in the middle of the city. We highly recommend it for travellers who prioritize convenience and value for money. However not for honeymooners, stone-like mattresses hehe.

I love the weather. It allows some vents for vanity :)

Lastly I again dont like the culture of the Chinese there, I am disappointed over those who take advantage of tourists. I cannot understand Cantonese but I can somehow guess a few phrases. I hate the typical situation where people hard-sell you into something and once offer is declined, they'll talk so rudely in a foreign language. Same goes in China or HK. Sad to admit, countries with the negative side of the ancient Chinese culture are really a turn-off. Good thing somehow SG people are a bit more refined (or at least they are ethical enough not to vent out loudly). I would have left earlier if this is the case. :p

Midnight Snack (the chinese style)

One of the simple meals yet gastronomically satisfying..

siomai +chix feet + carrot cake.. and of course my teh tarik (milk tea). gulp!

and who says good meal should always be fine dining?! definitely not.

more! come and join me.

CNY Perks

CNY (Chinese New Year) is the only 2-consecutive-days holiday in SG. Finally had a long weekend break to relax. I didnt join any out-of-town trips. Feels guilty to splurge in recession times. Anyhow, it has been a well-spent 4 long days. Several firsts.

Steamboat Mania

My steamboat fanatic friend invited me for a food trip. Good timing, steamboat (or hotpot) is actually a tradition here during CNY. I only got to appreciate steamboat recently, aside from my craving for food, it also somehow symbolizes the warmth of a family. Guess what, I was eyeing for this 2-in-1 electronic hotpot and teppanyaki cooker that started to flood the malls during CNY season. Nice, I wanna bring one home (if SM doesnt sell such). The reply that I got from my sister, 'you wont be able to 'timpla' it as good as outside, we only go for steamboat like twice or thrice a year, let's eat outside na lng, sayang sa space'. Boo and the excitement dies. I wanna have one, (well, actual using it is another issue hehe). Motherly instincts?! Nyak :p


New thing

I mentioned I wanna learn something new. I dragged my friend to teach me but still didnt learn quite well. If I learn, then I'll blog about it. If I don't, forget it. Aja aja fighting (borrowing from Fullhouse's). I need some pats on the back. Wish me luck, despite the pasa.

Birthday party, the Indian way at Riverwalk Tandoori

My Indian ofcmate invited me for her daughter's birthday party, a buffet dinner in an Indian resto called Riverwalk Tandoori. Apparently, I was the 'odd man out' in the crowd, the
only non-Indian guest, needless to say the only one not wearing an Indian traditional costume. I enjoyed the food: tandoori chicken, the yoghurty tofu steak, and naan topped my favorites that night. It's fun experiencing a total different culture.

CNY Movie

Usually there will be chinese comedy movies specially featured during CNY season. Last year I was wanting so much to watch one (so desperate because it stars Jay Chou :p). I wanted to watch that exact first showing night. It's actually not easy to drag people to watch such movies. I invited someone and it turned out she wanted to watch it 2 days after and invited some more friends. I cant wait, and I also dont want to sound rude and kj. There are these very RARE circumstances that I dont want to compromise. I watched by myself that night, then watched it again for a 2nd time with others. Waste of time, money and effort. Since then I realized if I REALLY want to do something, I'll do it now (if not now, then when?!) It doesnt KILL.

So this year I chose to watch 'Wedding Game', a locally shot movie by the most famous loveteam, real-life soon-to-be-wed artista couple in SG. Fun, light movie. The theme song is heart-warming, I am having severe LSS of that song till now, nice lyrics. Watch this video to have a feel of it, funny proposal, oops dont expect famous, good-looking singers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiFiBZ4J5XU

Segue: I was watching a last full show on CNY, alone, and I chose a romantic theme. People in the queue were either lovers or family. I dont think any normal unattached lady would be doing so, this is a killer :p. Anyway, while waiting for it to start, this somehow caught my attention. I was just drawn to the charms. Oh well, perks of having a mall/moviehouse near your house, like a 15min walking distance, humming this LSS song all the way, yeah I miss Manila.




CNY Steak Dinner at Vines

It's Ghost town here btw, most of the shops were closed. I had a memorable dinner at Vines with some friends. It was my first time to this resto. Homey ambience, and delicious food - yummy ribs, steak & gelato. The catch, it's very affordable! Probably the best place for tasty ribs. A must-try.





Yusheng

Finally my first time to participate in Yusheng, the most popular CNY tradition. Fun!

From wiki:

Today, this dish is served as an appetizer to raise 'good luck' for the new year and is usually eaten on Renri, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year. In a celebration known as "lo hei", families and friends gather around the table and, on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying Jíxiáng Huà, (auspicious wishes) out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year and it's customary that the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes! Typical ingredients include: fresh salmon, white radish, carrot, red pepper, ginger, lime tree leaves, Chinese parsley, chopped peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, Chinese shrimp crackers (or fried dried shrimp), five spice powder. The dressing is made primarily from plum sauce

Fullhouse Marathon

Fullhouse is one of the few Korean series megahit that I failed to watch. Now I know why was there a Rain mania, he's not handsome but I would consider cute. Songhyegyo is still as pretty as an angel, my previous idol. Good chemistry. The bear song is hilarious. Funny that YJ always force her to cook and clean the house all the time that he can get a chance. I think I wouldnt mind being a 'rice cooker' if it's living with YJ under the same roof. :p

My Fortune Cookie

Your smile brings fortune to people who see it. Keep smiling. - I got this message in my fortune cookie. It doesnt tell anything about my fortune :p. Okay I'd smile if it brings fortune to you, it's also a compliment for me. :)

Simple Joys

Chicken Joy + Spaghetti = Simple Joys :p

I'm hungry.

No Signboard

Here are the signature dishes of No Signboard in Vivo City offered in set menu last Christmas. This is one of my best food photography collections so far. :)


Mixed Platter



Shark's Fin Soup



Cereal Prawn



Chilli Crab



E-Fu Noodles



Almond Jelly


The food is superb! But the price is really too high. The shark's fin soup itself costs 28sgd for each individual small bowl! Warm water is not free and is charged at 1.5sgd per glass. Appetizers (nuts), towels all are charged. A bunch of small things just adds up significantly. The crabs and the prawns I think are also more expensive than the Geylang branch. If you are not particular with ambience, Geylang branch offers the same food at a slightly lower price.