Weekend Brunch at Azur, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport
Award-winning Azur at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport has recently launched its brand new weekend brunch menu which features an extensive list of delectable local dishes as well as international fare. Misterchewy and I were there to check out the buffet line and boy, were we impressed! ;)
Overseeing all culinary operations and menus for Azur, the hotel’s all-day dining and international buffet restaurant, Bar 75, the Lobby Lounge and the banqueting department, Alvin Leong is the Executive Sous-chef at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport since 2011. He brings with him over 12 years of experience in various culinary institutions and was Sous Chef at M Hotel.
In the revamped brunch menu, Chef Alvin’s passion in cooking is clearly demonstrated in his relentless efforts to experiment with different cuisines, interpreting and presenting traditional dishes in a new light.
Being a seafood lover myself, I headed straight for the Gallery of Crustaceans on Ice that features Freshly Shucked “Live” Oysters, humongous Boston Lobster Claw and succulent New Zealand Coastal Mussels.
The Foie Gras Mousse with Fruit Compote from the Exquisite Chilled Gallery certainly caught my attention as it is a very interesting idea to pair foie gras mousse with fruits!
Meat Loaf with “Ribena” Berries Sauce
Oh, and how could anyone miss out on having Hong Kong Dim Sum? Go ahead and satisfy your dim sum craving by having the Prawn & Mushroom Shao Mai and Crystal Shrimp & Chives Dumplings!
I was fascinated when i saw the chefs preparing Popiah with Turnip Filling at the buffet counter. I loved the crunchy filling wrapped in thin popiah skin!
Both misterchewy and myself are Teochew and we definitely had to try the Deep Fried Hokkien Ngoh Hiang. It tasted great especially when drizzled with dark sweet sauce but I personally feel that it would be even better if there could be a live cooking station for this as well so that the ngoh hiang can be eaten piping hot.
A point to note is that Azur has quite a significant number of live cooking stations and it allows a great amount of interaction between the chefs and diners.
Available at the live station is the Savoury Cheese Crepe with “Peking Duck”, which is one of Azur’s East meets West dishes. Instead of eating it the traditional way with sweet dark sauce, the roasted ducked is filled with cream cheese, chives and cucumber wrapped in crepe and grilled to perfection. Simply exquisite!
Here’s misterchewy ordering a bowl of laksa at the live cooking station! If you are like misterchewy who doesn’t like beansprouts, remember to inform the chef!
The Singaporean Laksa was undoubtedly our favorite! It had the full works – prawns, eggs, taopok, fish cakes and cockles! The spicy broth was very rich tasting and many of us had at least two to three helpings.
I absolutely loveeeee Hainanese Chicken Rice and I just can’t decide if I prefer white or roasted chicken! There’s also roasted pork and char siew to go along with your plate of fragrant chicken rice.
Top off the epicurean experience with the dazzling selection of sweet treats at the dessert counter!
Diners can dig into a luxuriously smooth Durian Mousse, or sit back and enjoy the succulent lychees in the Lychee Mirror cake.
Hehehe I went straight for the ice maker to D-I-Y my own lemongrass jelly!
It’s really simple and you get to customize your own dessert by choosing your favorite toppings!
And of course once you are done with enjoying your D-I-Y lemongrass jelly, a smorgasbord of intricate desserts await you!
We helped ourselves to some Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream as well! My favorite toppings were the green, pink and brown mini macaron shells :D
The Changi Weekend Brunch is available every Saturday and Sunday, from 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm at $45++ per Adult and $22.50 per child.
To all missuschewy’s readers, here’s a chance for you to enjoy the Changi Brunch “Brunch Off” Promotion where you will be entitled to 15% off the total bill plus enjoy one round of soft drinks. Readers must quote the “MISSUSCHEWY” either during reservation OR at the counter upon walk-in. Reservation is encouraged. The promotion is not valid with other (credit card) discounts or promotions. Valid from 3 March – 25 March 2012.
Thank you Crown Plaza Changi Airport and McGagh Communications for the invitation.
Azur
Crown Plaza Changi Airport (Terminal 3)
75 Airport Boulevard
Singapore 819664
Tel: 6823 5354
$50 worth of dining vouchers to giveaway!
It’s giveaway time, thanks to PFS Pte Ltd of Prima Group! We have $50 worth of dining vouchers for our lucky winners! Click here to join now! It’s very simple, all you have to do is to tell us your favorite Singaporean dish :D Good luck! Contest ends on 29th February 6pm.
Buttercake n Cream: Love in the Desserts!
Once upon a time, misterchewy and I drove to Sunset Way for dinner after work. I had been to Buttercake n Cream in 2010, and fell in love with the really nice sundae that I had! Anyway, I finished writing this post more than a month ago but realized that I forgot to publish it! :P
We wanted something to share and we chose Sauteed Mushrooms ($9.90) over the mushroom soup because this dish sounded more promising and it was indeed better than expected. The button mushrooms which were seasoned then sauteed in white wine, herbs and butter onions were bursting with flavor. Even though this wasn’t mushroom soup per se, the broth was very rich and flavorsome.
Hubby Chewy had the Seafood Aglio Olio ($13.90) which he claimed to be very gratifying. Besides the usual prawns and clams, there were also fat and juicy scallops. These fresh seafood ingredients, together with shiitake mushrooms and red chilli have been sauteed with spaghetti in olive oil.
I prefer my pasta with some sauce on it, usually cream but I decided on having the Spicy Bacon Arrabiata ($12.90) that evening. It did not look like much but was surprisingly tasty. Smoked bacon tossed with shiitake mushrooms and red chilli in marinara sauce spells YUM.
If we had to use only one word to describe Buttercake’s Tiramisu ($5.50), it would definitely be ‘heavenly’. The best that I have had so far! Yes I have heard that Da Paolo’s tiramisu is unrivaled so it looks like I really have to try it for myself. The strawberry tiramisu which we had on Valentine’s Day was marvelous so I’m having high expectations! We also had the Warm Chocolate Pudding ($11) which made misterchewy weak in the knees.
We will be back! :D
Buttercake N Cream
106 Clementi Street 12
#01-52 (Sunset Way)
Singapore 120106
Tel: 6777 3477
Opening Hours
Daily
12pm – 11pm
Spending Our First Valentine’s Day as Mr & Mrs Chew!
And so, the sweet boy and I spent our second Valentine’s Day together. Last year as boyfriend and girlfriend, and this is our first year spending Valentine’s Day together as hubby and wifey. He gave me a nice surprise on the day before Valentine’s Day too! Don’t we girls love surprises, especially during special occasions like this! :D Hubby Chewy picked me up from work and I made use of the opportunity to get him carry home the remaining two bottles of wine (I lugged one back last week) from the hamper prize that I won. He pointed at my heels, “Do you wanna go home first to change into something more comfortable then we head out for dinner?” I was like, “Ok! These things are too heavy anyway.” When we got out of the lift, I made a casual remark that I wanna wash my feet before we head out. Ok this might sound pointless to some but it’s a habit of mine that I have to wash my feet when I return home. Hubby said, “Ok then I wait for you outside.” I proceeded to unlock the door and that was when I saw the bouquet of bears, card and chocolates on the table. At first, I thought my dad wanted to play the old romantic and surprise my mum. My second thought was that my mum wanted to play a prank on me! I inched forward and squinted at the card.
The card was addressed to me and signed off by Hubby Chewy. Yours truly screamed, “OH MY GAWD!” upon realizing that the boy was sneaky enough to plan and execute this surprise while I was at work. Hurhur. I bet Hubby Chewy was grinning and thinking, “Gotcha!” Anyway I think my response was really epic. What kinda response was that?! >_<
I think the chocolates impressed me the most! I mean if it was just the bouquet and the card, it would have looked less remarkable. Seriously! :P
Wanted to display this (read: NOT show off) in office but it’s really too huge and will probably take up an entire shelf space! D:
I’m very touched by Hubby Chewy’s effort. Chanel 2.55 next year okay, hubby? :D
Call me kiasu but I was the one who made reservations at Da Paolo Ristorane about a month ago. I decided to be initiative about it since misterchewy has been pretty bogged down by work. And I really didn’t want to put things till the very last minute. All the Da Paolo restaurants offer different set menus and we decided to go ahead with the one at Chip Bee Gardens. Checked with misterchewy and he was alright with settling for Da Paolo’s Valentine’s Day Set Menu at $128 per person, which includes a glass of Prosecco.
Yours truly went the extra mile by applying red hot lipstick and wearing falsies just for the special date. Hehe! :P
Our starter of Atlantic Scallops, Carrot and Tangerine Sauce, Passion Fruit, Celery turned out to be a true delight. The thick, creamy sauce was really brilliant!
We had a middle course of Spinach Carnaroli Risotto with King Prawns in Brandy Sauce. I loveeeee risotto and it had been ages since I last ate it. Hubby Chewy and I both agreed that the risotto was firm to the bite but the creaminess was kind of overwhelming towards the end.
I chose the Grouper Fillet with Asparagus & Herbed Potatoes in Hollandaise sauce as my main course. Felt that the fish was a tad dry.
The husband was quite satisfied with his Braised Lamb Shoulder, which he marvelled to be very tender.
Strawberry Tiramisu with White Chocolate! This was the best out of all the courses, no kidding! :P Light, creamy, luscious and heavenly.
“What?! You want me to finish this piece of strawberry?!”
“I don’t like strawberry.. Can I not eat it pleeeeease?”
“Boohoohoo.. I really don’t wanna eat it.. I don’t like..”
Ok I forced misterchewy to finish up the strawberry that was lying on his plate! *evil laughter*
Thank you for the nice dinner treat, Hubby Chewy! :D If you ask me, I think it’s ok to be a little more extravagant on special occasions. Yes I agree that Valentine’s Day is very commercialized but I’m not bothered by this fact :P
The boy left a message on my Facebook wall:
“In your eyes, I found love. On your lips, I found warmth. In your hug, I found comfort. There is no way I can ever live without you. I love you and happy Valentines day to you everyday! ♥ “
Romance Your Valentine at KU DÉ TA
Want to impress that special date on Valentine’s Day? Make the lady feel on top of the world by taking her 57 storeys high up Marina Bay Sands. Dining in KU DÉ TA Restaurant is an upbeat affair where the view, food, wine and music are best enjoyed with good company. There is nothing more romantic than dining under the stars as you clink your wine glasses and whisper sweet nothings into each other’s ears while enjoying the panoramic view of the city’s skyline..
Hubby Chewy and I had the honour of sampling KU DÉ TA’s Valentine’s Set Menu ($148++ per person, minimum 2 to dine). This menu is available from 10 – 19 February 2012 during lunch and dinner and during dinner time on 14th February, all ladies will receive a stalk of rose. We were seated at the alfresco dining area, which was regrettably cold but the wait staff promptly offered me a black shawl to wrap myself with. The shawl is now sitting in my office :)
Our dinner started off with a soup and this is by no means an ordinary hot soup. The Momotaro & Shinremei Gazpacho was served cold, in a shot glass, which I mistook for a sweet drink. Give it a good stir, and you will agree that this tomato-based soup with avocado and rice vinegar is actually quite rejuvenating!
Without a doubt, the Mizuna & Kurobuta Pork Warm Salad is our favorite starter. We were impressed by how the kurobuta pork was so perfectly done! Tender and juicy on the inside, crusty on the outside.
You need not be worried about being put off by the raw taste of oysters as the Tempura Style Sydney Rock Oysters have been lightly battered and goes well with the wasabi aioli, which thankfully was not very potent.
Next came the Langoustine & Jackfruit Tartar with Marinated Ikura & Curried Bread which I must say, was quite unusual in terms of its presentation . In terms of taste, it’s like lobster or prawn with mango salad with a twist. I enjoyed every bit of this dish.
I believe that the Amberjack Ceviche had been marinated in lemon or lime before being topped with roasted garlic, capsicum and red onion. I liked the citrusy marination and firm texture of the fish.
The Grilled Asparagus Spears probably looks ordinary but with the egg yolk, cured salmon, limon cress this dish was savoury and creamy, which was absolutely heavenly!
Although the Seared Hokkaido Scallops were drizzled in chorizo oil and mint, it tasted pretty unexceptional. At least the scallops were firm and succulent.
Hubby Chewy and I relished every bite of the Roast Black Cod Loin which had been marinated with thai basil, lemongrass and turmeric. Something light, yet substantial.
I’m quite sure that the Slow Cooked Duck Leg is misterchewy’s favorite for the night. Prior to our visit, the chef had received feedback about the duck being dry and tough. All I can say is that the duck was flavorful and fork tender. Don’t forget to pair it with a glass of red wine!
It is a pity that the Braised Puy Lentils is our least favorite dish. Not sure if it’s an acquired taste but we liked neither the taste nor the texture of this one.
As usual, I’m always looking forward to desserts and was thrilled to see this plate of Sesame and Basil Benova with Sub Zero Raspberry & Sauvignon Jello, but I can’t say the same for misterchewy as he doesn’t like raspberries. I urged him to give it a try and he gamely finished everything. There is a good mix of tart, sweet and savoury in this exquisite dessert and my favorite was the sauvignon jello!
The man behind the desserts is KU DÉ TA’s pastry chef, Jerry Bastien Charles, who has worked in several esteemed establishments all over the world. Bastien chose to become a pastry chef because he feels that, “Women prefer men who smell of sugar than men who smell of fish.” I cannot agree more!
I honestly feel that KU DÉ TA is offering an extremely good deal here after having compared the Valentine’s Day set menu prices of various restaurants. The perfect scenery of the city at night is definitely another plus factor which will wow your date and you can always proceed to the bar for a couple of drinks after dinner! :)
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! :D
The Chewys would like to thank Pei Rong and KU DÉ TA for the invitation.
KU DÉ TA
1 Bayfront Avenue Sands
SkyPark Tower 3
Marina Bay Sands Hotel Singapore
Tel: +65 6688 7688
Opening Hours:
Mon to Fri
12pm – 3pm (Lunch)
6pm – 11pm (Dinner)
Sat and Sun
10am – 3pm (Brunch)
6pm – 11pm (Dinner)
Steamboat & Lo Hei with Bloggers & Twitter Friends! :D
It’s amazing how time flies! Today is the 15th and also the last day of CNY. I lost count of the number of times that I lo-ed yusheng and the number of angbaos I collected! Hahaha. Anyway, I’m glad that I managed to meet up with our closely knit group of blogger and twitter friends on Saturday for steamboat and yusheng! :D
Our host for the gathering was Meng Ching! Thank you for inviting us over to your place! :)
I met up with Angela and Hong Wei a couple of hours earlier to buy food at NTUC. It was supposed to be a slightly bigger group of 6 to 7 people? Hahaha don’t ask me what happened! Angela is a pro at choosing the squid and prawns! Good thing we had her :)
Maureen was supposed to be part of the shopping team but she arrived late! *cough cough* How can?! Haha ok at least she did a great job slicing the fish for us! :P
We agreed to meet at 6.30pm but this was the total strength at that time! Waited until neck long long..
Hubby Chewy rushed down after work! So happy to see him! Hahaha :P
Aiyo this Yancai kor kor very bad. Photobomb us when misterchewy and I were trying to take a self-shot! :O
Yancai kor kor and Hongwei kor kor. Both single and available. And gentlemanly! :PPP
Angela and Meng Ching are cousins and they share a very strong bond! Like sisters I would say :)
It has been about 5 months since I last saw Joyce, Ellena and little Rey! Haha Rey is never seen without his angry bird toy :P
Us with Maureen and Kai :)
Derrick and Lobster said that they would be late and to start without them. All of us were famished anyway! We had the usual suspects – enoki mushroom, crabmeat sticks, sotong balls, fishballs, prawns, squid, pork belly and pork collar slices, shitake mushroom, cheese tofu, sausages, etc! Whoohoo! :D
I think both misterchewy and I ate quite a bit that evening! We even had two cans of Tiger beer each. Oops! :P
<3<3<3
Didn’t manage to take a photo with Derrick and Lobster because they arrived slightly later. But no worries, I didn’t forget about them lor! :D
Oh yay! Lo yusheng time! Maureen was the pro at work while all of us looked on!
Everyone smiled for the camera and shouted, “HUAT AH!” :D May we all continue to prosper for the rest of the year!
And today, I really huat big time! Well, I consider myself to be quite lucky because there were about 600 other colleagues who turned up for my company’s CNY lunch cum lucky draw and I won the first prize! This new place has been treating me well so far! Great working environment and awesome colleagues! Cheers! :D
Missuschewy is Featured on Taste E-Magazine! Plus Giveaway!
Yoohoo everyone! I’m really thrilled that the February issue of Taste, Purple Sage’s E-magazine, is out on the world wide web! :D Firstly, allow me to do a very brief intro: Purple Sage concentrates on delivering up-market creative catering to their customers and it has proven success since its inception into Singapore nine years ago. They have recently launched their E-magazine on their website and this month’s theme revolves around Romance! I was, and am still deeply humbled when I was asked if I could do an interview feature with Taste. This is my first time being featured on an online publication. Well, in fact, any publication. :P
Purple Sage specializes in weddings and has a full range of creative setup such as fresh flower decorations, sit-down table presentation, right down to the fine nitty gritty details.
Click here to read the entire E-magazine!
Giveaway time! Please read the interview Q&A in order to get the correct answer. Click photo to enlarge.
Exclusive to fans of missuschewy (Click ‘Like‘ at www.facebook.com/missuschewy)
Step 1) Email marketing@purplesage.com.sg and missuschewy@gmail.com by 09 February 2012, 5pm to
-Subscribe to Taste E-Magazine
-Answer this simple question: Name one dish that missuschewy finds heavenly.
Step 2) Leave a comment of some sort here so that we can verify if we have received your email. This step is optional but highly recommended.
Three lucky readers will stand a chance to win a bottle of Moscato D’Asti + a 10% off Purple Sage Catering Voucher!The bottle of wine will be a perfect prize to share with their partner on Valentine’s Day ;) The winners will be chosen and announced on 10 Feb, and they will be subsequently notified on when to collect their prizes at our office.
Thank you Jiamin for the wonderful opportunity!
Lo Hei, Bang! & Monopoly Deal with the Barang Barang Gang!
Heyhey everybardy! As promised, here’s the post on meeting up with the Barang Barang Gang (my secondary school friends) during CNY. As we were unable to come to a conclusion on dinner plans, all of us decided to settle dinner on our own before reaching SS’ house at around 7.30pm. I wasn’t feeling very hungry so I picked a bit from misterchewy’s economical beehoon :P Haha I’m only making him skinnier right?!
SS stays just across the street! The closer you stay, the later you end up at the doorstep. Happens all the time yo! We reached 30 minutes late :P But we weren’t too bad. Jeffrey stays opposite my block but both he and Karen arrived much later. Shame shame. LOL! The latest was Bee because she went home for dinner after her church service ended in the evening but at least she had a valid reason!
MJ was the one who introduced this Bang! card game to us previously during our group chalet stay and naturally, he was the one who taught us how to play the game. Now, he’s teaching misterchewy!
We played one round of Bang! while waiting for the rest to arrive. I was the Sheriff! :D
JH and SS trying to guess who’s the baddie in this game.
Everybody soon arrived and Chee helped to add the remaining ingredients for the yusheng!
The original Barang Barang Gang of 8 members plus our ‘new’ members misterchewy and Karen! :)
Haha I think this group of friends is the most ‘hiong’ when it comes to lo hei! SS was worried that the yusheng would hit the ceiling. LOL!
Everyone wants a piece of gold! :D
Snacked on some kueh lapis and chips while deciding what games to play next.
Hahaha everyone looked very solemn here! Why so serious?!
As each game has a certain maximum number of players, we had to split up. I chose Monopoly Deal!
The guys are laughing about something! Guess what’s up their sleeves?
Hahaha ok that’s all folks! Our CNY celebration doesn’t stop here! There will be one more post coming up next week. Huat ah! In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled if you wanna win yourself a bottle of wine and some catering vouchers. Ciao! :)
PS.Cafe at Ann Siang Hill Park & The Pigeonhole at Duxton Hill
Whoohoo! 15 days of CNY ftw! :P Hahaha misterchewy and I met up with two groups of friends last week. Hubby Chewy’s secondary school friends jio-ed us to have dinner together on Thursday, which also happened to be our 18th monthsary. But we were cool! :) Anyway, I have met them (except Qi Hui) before and the last we saw one another was at our ROM party last September.
We went to PS.Cafe. First time for misterchewy. PS.Cafe at Ann Siang Hill Park, first time for me! Cheers! :D
Cheng Xiang and Qi Hui got together during their JC days and have been together for about 8 years and counting! :)
Ivan, Cheng Xiang and Qi Hui. So happy ah? :P
Teng Teng and myself :)
Qi Hui had the Rustic Beef Cheek Stew.
Trying out the PS. shoestring fries from Cheng Xiang’s Chargrilled Cheese Burger.
Ivan had a glass of Pinot Noir to go with his Signature Steak Sandwich.
A glass of Shiraz and Crab Tart for yours truly :) Quite impressive!
Haha misterchewy always sticks to the safest items! PS. Fish & Chips and Hoegaarden for him.
Can’t remember what Teng Teng ordered for her mains. I like the tea cup and saucer though! :)
It was great chatting with them over dinner and drinks. We left PS.Cafe at around 8.30pm and decided to head to Duxton Hill, which is just a 10-minute walk, for some coffee.
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PS.Cafe at A.S.H Park
45 Ann Siang Road
#02-02
Singapore 069719
Tel: 9797 0648
Guess where? The Pigeonhole! This book cafe is set up by two young Singaporean love birds. Hubby Chewy and I had heard so much about this place from our Twitter friends (no they are not birds or pigeons) and we are finally here! :) Nice place to chill out!
You can find different types of tables and chairs there. The red bench that Teng Teng is sitting on reminds me of some old school void deck bench or park bench :P
Hehehe I’m a sucker for comfy sofa seats because I’m a couch potato! :D Actually we moved to another area even before the seats were hot because the table was quite small.
I think Ivan and Teng Teng had some Apple Cider drinks.
Iced Latte for Cheng Xiang and Flat White for Qi Hui.
Isn’t my Flat Brown cuteeee?! Pigeon coffee art! Lucky me! :)
Haha misterchewy chose a Chocolate Babycino because he doesn’t like coffee. Maybe I should call him Babycino too! :P
Kenny joined us after he was done with his family dinner around the area!
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The Pigeonhole
52/53 Duxton Road
Tel: 6226 2880
Friends for more than 10 years! Even though I wasn’t in the same secondary school as misterchewy and his friends, it was nevertheless interesting to listen to them reminisce about their school days. In the meantime, stay tuned to my upcoming blog post on meeting up with MY secondary school friends! ;)






















































































































































































