Takumi Tokyo: Romantic First Year Wedding Anniversary Dinner

Posted on September 12, 2012 by misterchewy

Photo credit: Jenny Sun Photography
(Words by misterchewy, photos by missuschewy)

Hello all! This is misterchewy blogging about his birthday and first year wedding anniversary celebration with missuschewy on 9th September. The above was shot on an iPhone by Jenny Sun, the same photographer who took engagement and wedding shots for Jayesslee’s Sonia and her husband Andy. It’s such a coincidence the Jayesslee twins and I were born on 9 September, in the same year! 0909 is a nice date because it means 长长久久 which is why we tied the knot on my birthday last year 🙂

Rewind a few weeks earlier, we met up with the other foodies and caught Jiro Dreams of Sushi at VivoCity. The fantastic cinematograph totally whetted my appetite for some sushi and sashimi! Had been searching high and low for quality Japanese food for weeks. As a surprise, the wifey promptly made reservations at Takumi Tokyo Restaurant, located at the laid-back Keppel Bay. Come to think of it, she brought me here for an advanced mini birthday celebration at Prive two years ago!

Walking is our favorite mode of transportation when missuschewy isn’t wearing heels 😛 We were around town area and chose to take a leisurely stroll in after alighting at Harbourfront MRT Station. A stroll soon turned into brisk walking as we were famished!

I might not express it but I was excited and looking forward to the dinner. My wife certainly knows how to make me happy and excited. -gasps- Stop letting your mind wonder. A woman who knows the way to her man’s stomach will tie him down automatically. HAHA.

I think it was missuschewy’s first time wearing such a long dress to go paktor with me. So pretty lor 😛

Our stomachs could not take it anymore and we finally continued making our way to the restaurant which is located on level 2. Turn left upon exiting the lift and you will find Takumi Tokyo after passing by TCC.

Takumi Restaurant is said to be a fine-dining restaurant with interiors that create an ambience that complements the food and service for an authentic and unpretentious Japanese dining experience. It has a number of awards under its belt, such as Best Restaurant 2010, Singapore Tatler and Top 3 Japanese Restaurants, Singapore Press Holdings.

Gosh! We were so hungry when we reached the restaurant. Didn’t know whether to go for the set menu or select ala carte dishes. In the end, we decided to go for a bit of everything from the ala carte menu. Apparently, Takumi Tokyo specializes in robatayaki and teppanyaki.

Shortly after placing our order, We were served Otoshi ($6), which we mistook as a complimentary appetizer.

We were pleasantly surprised when we ate the Pan Seared Foie Gras with Plum Wine Jelly ($35). The radish was sweet while the foie gras was nicely crisp on the outside and melt-in-the-mouth.

Like what missuschewy said on Instagram when she posted the picture: “Foie Gras so good I could have died and gone to heaven”. Yeah it was THAT good.

The Australian Kurobuta Pork Yuzu Pepper Sauce 120g ($30) came thinly sliced and was quite flavorful but we would prefer it to be more tender.

We wanted to order sashimi and Chirashi Sushi $38 but the restaurant manager advised us to go for either since both are highly similar, except that the latter comes with rice. There was quite a variety of raw fish and everything came in two slices, except for the prawn. Very value-for-money!

We love sea urchin but the Hokkaido Scallops topped with Sea Urchin, Paprika Sauce ($28) didn’t wow us. The slightly sourish taste did not seem to fit in this dish.

Although the Grilled Lamb Rack Marinated with Apple Miso Sauce $25 was a bit salty, it was very tasty and was more tender than the Australian kurobuta pork.

We felt so shiok from eating the chirashi sushi that we decided to order the Assorted Sushi ($35) halfway through eating! The menu states that this features 7 pieces and 1 roll but it seems like we got an extra piece. Shiok! 😀

The chef deep-fried the prawn head from our chirashi sushi for us. Very crispy!

To my dear wife, thanks for putting in lots of effort to plan for my birthday and our anniversary. Can’t wait for part two updates! 😛 I really love the watch that you shipped over for me as birthday present and I will treasure it for a long long time. 🙂 在爱的幸福国度，你就是我唯一。我唯一爱的就是你。

Takumi Tokyo Restaurant
2 Keppel Bay Vista,
#02-01
Marina at Keppel Bay
Singapore 098382
Tel: 6271 7414

Opening Hours:
Daily
12pm – 2.30pm (Lunch)
6pm – 10.30pm (Dinner)

Gu Ma Jia (姑妈家): A Taste of Heartwarming Homecooked Food

Posted on July 12, 2012 by misterchewy

(Photos by missuschewy, words by misterchewy)

For the benefit of all readers, the direct translation for Gu Ma Jia (姑妈家) is “aunt’s place”. In this context, it should be “First aunt’s place” because Gu Ma, the owner of the restaurant, is the eldest among six siblings and has numerous nephews and nieces calling her “Gu Ma”. Gu Ma likes to cook, and on a regular basis, she would invite her siblings, nieces and nephews over for her homecooked meals. Prior to setting up this casual restaurant, Gu Ma has over ten years of experience in selling chicken rice and wanton noodles!

Gu Ma is a very jovial and hospitable woman who sat down and chatted with us while we were eating. I believe everybody would be curious as to why she came up with the name “Gu Ma Jia”. Initially, Gu Ma wanted to call her restaurant “我家” (My Place). However, it was not available for registration. Since her nieces and nephews called her Gu Ma, she decided to go ahead with Gu Ma Jia in the end.

Gu Ma told us that she selects her ingredients and seafood from the wet market daily to ensure that she picks only the best. Dedication, passion and her ability to whip up yummy dishes won her an award at the Singapore Food Festival 2010.

Figuring that we wouldn’t be able to finish so much food on our own, missuschewy got her bff to join us and also give some comments about the food at the same time 🙂

There are a number of drinks available but I would strongly recommend the Ice Jelly with Lime.

The drink was cool, refreshing and sweet with a tinge of sourness. You have to order this if you intend to try the Assam Fish Head, which you really have to order as well. The tadpole-like agar agar gives you something to chew.

When the first dish was served, we were a little surprised that the aluminium foil came enveloped in flames. No, not to worry! This is actually a highlight of the dish 🙂

At Gu Ma Jia, the Kyoto Pork Ribs ($20) are wrapped in aluminium foil and sprayed with a good amount of rose wine before being lit. The strong sweet aroma is then emitted as a result of the chemical reaction. That made us salivate and dug into it straight. It was actually my first time eating such tender soft and juicy pork ribs! A word of advice is to have it while it is will hot as it will stick to the aluminium foil after it is left to cool. We revisted Gu Ma Jia just last week with my family and we ordered this again.

Crispy Bean-jal ($12) is a unique dish in my opinion. The brinjals were thinly sliced and deep fried to crisp before coating with a layer of sweet sauce. It tasted so good that I couldn’t believe I was having brinjals. Similarly, please consume the fried brinjals while it is hot else it will lose its crispness.

Special Made Tofu with Lingzhi Mushroom ($12) is one of my favourite dish over at Gu Ma Jia. The homemade tofu had a crispy skin and silky texture. There were hints of egg in the tofu that enhanced its taste. We also ordered this during our revisit.

If you ask me what’s the signature dish of Gu Ma Jia, it is definitely the Assam Fish Head ($25, half head). The first thing that hit us was the fragrant smell of the Assam gravy. It is Gu Ma’s special recipe and consists of 13 different spices. The assam fish head is really spicy and slightly sour. This is where the ice jelly drink comes in. A must order at Gu Ma Jia.

Gu Ma’s daughter, Gwen, recommended the Cereal Sotong with Curry Flavour ($20). Since young, I have always loved the smell and taste of fried cereals. This time round, this dish did not let me down. The sotong was slightly battered such that I could taste the tenderness, and the curry flavour lingered on the tip of my tongue.

Eat this with Gu Ma’s special belachan which really stank in a good way. Would order this again and again.

Prior our revist with my family, my MIL headed to Gu Ma Jia with her mother and sisters for lunch and they like the food too! Best of all, there’s no service charge and GST. Also, if you check-in to Gu Ma Jia on Facebook on weekdays, you can get $20 off your total bill with a minimum spending of $100. Do check with the waitresses upon placing your order.

Thanks Gu Ma and Gwen for playing wonderful hosts to us.

Gu Ma Jia Food Pot (姑妈家)
45 Tai Thong Crescent
Sennett Estate
Singapore 347866
Tel: 6285 2023

Opening Hours
Daily
11am – 10pm (Closed 3.30pm – 5.00pm)

Outback Steakhouse: From A Non-Beef Eater’s Perspective

Posted on July 10, 2012 by misterchewy

OpenRice organized a makan session for the foodies at Outback Steakhouse. Celes extended the invitation to us but I attended this event without my partner because she had to stay at home due to an eye infection. People with similar interests hit off very easily, as it was the case with Cheryl and Alexis. We had a round of ice breaking game to know the names of the attendees. Celes was so enthusiastic throughout the game and she helped everyone to solve the puzzle that was given to us.

Photo Credit: Celes

A group shot before we started the dinner proper. All of us were looking forward to the 4-course meal which we would be having.

Happy people and the dinner spread 🙂

We were treated to Cherry Lime-ade before the feasting started. It was essentially fresh cherry syrup mixed with lime and Sprite. A refreshing beverage which dispels all forms of fatigue upon consumption which sounds pretty much like a HP potion.

Freshly baked honey wholemeal Boston bread was served to us along with home made whipped butter that was made in house. The warmness of the bread coupled with the cooling butter was a perfect match and I liked it.

Ahi Tuna Chopped Salad was a combination of fresh iceberg lettuce mixed with cucumbers, tossed with wasabi vinaigrette and topped with sashimi-style, pan-seared tuna. The tuna was fresh and the pepper crust enhanced its taste. Very good starter to warm up the taste buds.

When the Combination Platter was brought forth to us, I was very excited as those were comfort food to me. I mean who does not like crispy fried mushrooms, Kookaburra Wings and Cheese fries? If only we could have some beer! Personally, I liked the fries most.

Another closer shot of the fried mushrooms.

Typhoon Bloom is a nice name but unfortunately, it did not blow us off our feet. I felt that the Cheese fries served earlier was better. If you are looking for bar bites, I would recommend the Combination Platter instead of the Typhoon Bloom.

Alice Springs Chicken Quesadilla was a hit in my opinion. The grilled flour tortilla was crispy while the taste of the grilled chicken breast, sauteed mushroom and melted cheese complemented each other. It was so good that you do not need the honey mustard sauce to enhance its taste.

If you are a non-beef eater like me, you can consider ordering the Seafood Pasta. It contains shrimp, calamari and fish fillet with fettuccine tossed in homemade marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese. It was decent and provided an alternative for non-beef eaters.

Another dish that impressed me was the Ribs and Alice Springs Chicken. As for the 1/2 rack of ribs, the meat was tender and fell off the bone easily without much effort to cut up the meat. The barbecue sauce went well with the ribs. I felt the chicken was rather tough and too salty. I preferred the ribs to the chicken.

Please refer to the ladies’ reviews on the beef dishes. I was busy eating the ribs and fries while they are savoring the steaks.

Outback Steakhouse rolled out their Desserts Sample Trio for us towards the end of the dinner. Amongst the three, I thought that the Chocolate Thunder from Down Under was the best. It was a very sinful dessert with lots of whipped cream. The warm and moist brownie, together with ice-cream, is a combination that can never go wrong. If you are one who needs something sweet to end your meal, you can consider ordering it.

Thank you Celes for extending the invitation and OpenRice for hosting us.

Outback Steakhouse
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-99
Millenia Walk
Singapore 039596
Tel : +65 6837 3242

Opening Hours:
Daily
11.30am – 10.30pm

Swensen’s Rolls Out New ‘Pirate’s Adventure Kid’s Meal’!

Posted on July 2, 2012 by misterchewy

A big hello from misterchewy to all readers out there! Last week, I checked out Swensen’s new menu on behalf of missuschewy and I must say that Swensen’s sure had one good intention to make the children’s school holidays an extra special one when they launched the all new and exciting Pirate’s Adventure Kid’s Meal early this June! It comes with an entree, healthy side snack and a fruit juice for only $8.90.

There are seven main courses to choose from and each comes with a nutritious corn-in-cup plated up in an exclusive Pirate Ship. Yes you heard it right – a Pirate Ship souvenir! The kids will be so thrilled! I must say that Swensen’s have got it right by coming up with this Happy-meal styled promotion that will certainly appeal to many children.

Not just that, the Swensen’s team has also specially designed an activity sheet to keep the children entertained and occupied with solving the various puzzles while the parents enjoy a rare moment eating their meal in peace.

Presenting to you: Swensen’s very own Pirate Ship, helmed by Captain Snowie (answer to one of the puzzles) & friends!

We were given the opportunity to sample two of the mains from the Pirate’s Adventure Kids Meal. Chicken with Homemade BBQ Sauce is clearly the healthiest of all the choices. The chicken breast is steamed and then drizzled with Swensen’s home-made BBQ sauce. Served with mashed potato and a healthy portion of corn-in-cup, this will keep the kids satiated and contented.

Chick ‘N’ Chips comprises of crispy breaded chicken strips, mashed potato and a corn-in-cup. It tasted decent like how all fried food should. However, I felt that the mashed potato (same as the previous) would taste better if more sauce came with it.

On the same season, Swensen’s revamped their menu to include new delectable treats which are perfect for family dinners and gatherings with friends. The Tuna Ciabatta ($12.20) provided a refreshing bite with its tuna mayo and greens sandwiched between the soft crusty bread. The fries that accompanied the sandwich made me a happy boy as I’m a big fan of them.

The Swensen’s 88 Chicken Sandwich ($12.80) was rather ordinary to me. I felt that the chicken was not well-marinated enough.

The Spiced King Prawns & Chips ($16.50) is a must try for crustacean lovers. The prawns were big, fresh and not forgetting firm. The crispy batter was a result of Swensen’s very own spice recipe which did not disappoint. I would have enjoyed it more if they had Wasabi mayo to go along with it. Just a personal preference!

All the other mains were good but the Crabmeat Fried Rice ($13.90) stole the spotlight. Seldom do you associate local classics with Swensen’s, but the fried rice that Swensen’s served was fragrant and so homely such that it reminded me of the fried rice that my mum used to cook for me when I was young. Sumptuous ingredients include crabmeat, soft shell crab and shiitake mushroom which give an additional exciting bite to the fried rice. Definitely recommended by misterchewy.

Laksa Aglio Olio with King Prawns ($14.90) is a dish that impressed me with its name but not its taste. The only good thing I love about it is the fresh prawns that come with the pasta. Sadly, I was not able to taste the laksa-flavored pesto as the spiciness from the chilli padi could have overwhelmed it.

Finally, we are on to the desserts after all those hearty mains. The Rock ($8.20) reminded me of the legendary WWE wrestling star rather than an ice-cream. Like its name-sake, it made a flashy appearance before us with the sublimation of dry ice that was served with it. 3 ice -cream flavours namely Hazelnut, Cookies ‘N’ Cream and Rocky Road were garnished with marshmallow sauce, hot caramel and wafers from Italy.

I thought that the Ice Cream Sandwich OS of Swensen’s ($7.90) is cute because of the cookie robot. The Swensen’s personnel shared with us this dish was inspired by the Ice Cream Sandwich phone, running on the Android OS (Where is my iPhone 5 ice cream?!). I thought they were creative with having this on their dessert menu. For an awesome heavenly treat, it is strongly recommended that the vanilla ice cream sandwiched between handmade chocolate cookies are first dipped into the warm chocolate sauce before eating!

At the Swensen’s outlet in Ion, patrons will be able to indulge in a full day Ice Cream Buffet where there are over 50 ice cream flavours to choose from. Guaranteed to make you feel spoilt for choices. The buffet is priced at $18.90 per adult and $13.90 for kids aged 12 and below. With any of the mains ordered, the buffet will be at $12.90 instead. Try the Durian Gelato and be surprised! 🙂

There are over 40 toppings to choose from to go with the ice-cream. Maltesers, Rocky road, Kit Kat etc are some of which you can select.

There is even a Chop Chop station for you to mix and match the flavours and toppings that you prefer.

You can also have waffles to go with your ice-cream!

With two chocolate fondue fountains at Swensen’s, it’s going to be difficult for kids and chocolate loving adults to contain their excitement.

An assortment of cakes are also included in the ice-cream buffet. There are so many items available and it is really value for money.

I feel that Swensen’s have put in a lot of effort to revamp and introduce new elements into their menu to constantly surprise their customers. In my opinion, it was a pleasant experience for me and I am more than happy to share this with everyone.

Thank you Touch Communications and Swensen’s for the wonderful invite and for hosting us throughout the session.

Swensen’s Singapore
ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn #B1-31
Tel: 6884 5967

Opening Hours
Mon to Fri
10.30am – 10.30pm
Sat, Sun & PH
8am – 10.30pm

Creation Cafe & Tom’s Palette: Laksa Pasta & Salted Egg Yolk Ice Cream!

Posted on June 20, 2012 by misterchewy

Most people suffer from Monday blues, but not for me! I woke up one Monday morning and was quite surprised to see a little note placed top of my iPhone. It was a simple note which made me feel loved and I appreciated the wife’s gesture before she left for work to make my day despite her (possibly) suffering from Monday blues.

That day, we arranged to go for a Magnificent Monday date night and to be spontaneous about it. It was interesting because we decided on the ice-cream place before searching for a dinner place nearby. The wife was excited about the salted egg yolk ice cream that Tom’s Palette offered and I was equally eager to try it! Hence we decided on Tom’s Palette and Creation Cafe which was located within Shaw Leisure Gallery at Bugis. All photos were taken with my Canon IXUS.

I first came across Creation Cafe a few years ago when my uni mate introduced this place to us. The food served was relatively ok and most importantly, it was very affordable with no service charge and GST. It is useful to know that payment can only be made by cash. Do not fret if you don’t have sufficient cash with you, as there is an ATM machine at the entrance of Shaw Leisure Gallery 🙂

With our stomachs growling, we hastily placed our orders before taking photos.

Both of us went for the set meal which comes with soup of the day and a drink to go with the mains that we ordered. Missuschewy was feeling adventurous as usual and went for the Seafood Linguine in Laksa Cream Sauce while I opted for the Linguine with Italian sausages in Tomato Herb Sauce.

Soup of the day was Cream of Broccoli which we felt was rather watered down.

The tomato herb sauce which I had was normal and the sausages were not crunchy. I felt some gel-like substance halfway and I had difficulty trying to finish it.

The laksa cream sauce on other hand was creamy and flavorful. The taste of the seafood was thick and the portion of seafood was generous, considering the price. Of course, please do not expect Katong Laksa kind of gravy. Bascially, it is a cream based sauce for the pasta. 🙂

After dinner, we went to Tom’s Palette for desserts. It was pretty packed for a Monday night. I guess everyone loves desserts after a hearty dinner.

The choice of ice cream flavors was easy. The wifey told me that i MUST at least sample the Salted Egg Yolk ice cream which i really liked. So, We went for the milk ice cream to balance out the taste of the salted egg ice cream.

It tastes exactly like a salted egg yoke and we loved it. I have a thing for savoury ice cream flavors like peanut butter, salted caramel, sea salt etc etc. I feel that it provides a different kind of zing and complements with to their sweet counterparts. There were chocolate chunks in the milk ice cream and it provides additional bites.

“I wished for nothing beyond her smile, and to walk with her thus, hand in hand, along a sun-warmed flower-bordered path” Andre Gide. Overall, the date was made special not because of the food, but because of you.

Creation Cafe
100 Beach Road
#01-43
Shaw Leisure Gallery
Singapore 189702
Tel: 6391 8017

Opening Hours:
Mon to Sat (Closed on Sun)
12pm – 9pm

Tom’s Palette Ice Cream
100 Beach Road
#01-25
Shaw Leisure Gallery
Singapore 189702
Tel: 6296 5239 or 9070 7701

Opening Hours:
Mon to Thur
12pm – 9.30pm
Fri and Sat
12pm – 10pm
Sun
1pm -7pm (Closed on last Sunday of the month)

Cook Your Very Own Curry La Mian with Prima Taste!

Posted on May 31, 2012 by misterchewy

One lazy Sunday afternoon, the Chewys decided to stay at home and whip up a simple meal in the kitchen. Usually we would choose to eat out because the thought of having to cook and then wash up afterwards is quite scary. We were given the opportunity to sample Prima Taste’s Curry La Mian quite some time back but we never got round to doing it. To be honest, I will never forget the tasty Laksa noodles that we had at Prima Taste Kitchen last year. The noodles were premium steam dried and are not those deep fried noodles that u can get in your typical pack of instant noodles.

Before I embarked on my mission, the missus proclaimed that she wanted to have a hard boiled egg to go along with her noodles so here’s one for each of us.

I followed the instructions stated on the pack closely! Rule of thumb: Do not add too much water if not the curry will end up too watery.

Pour in the Curry Paste first.

Followed by the Curry Premix.

At this point, it smelled heavenly already!

Depends on personal preference. I tend to peel the hard boiled eggs while waiting for the noodles to be cooked.

The missus and I decided to add crabmeat sticks and chicken meatballs too.

And here is The Chewys’ very own Prima Taste Curry La Mian! Does it look appetising? The curry gravy was intense with flavors and very lemak too! Of course, the missus kept silent throughout as she tucked in hungrily into her bowl of noodles and this served as a form of reaffirmation that Prima Taste’s Curry La Mian is something that everyone can easily cook in the comfort of their own kitchens!

Thank you Prima Taste and Ruby from Foreword Communications for the Curry La Mian.

Carousel @ Royal Plaza on Scotts: Birthday Treat Pictorial

Posted on May 3, 2012 by misterchewy

Hello all! This is misterchewy doing some simple updates for a long overdue pictorial post on behalf of the missus. On a Saturday evening in March, we had a family gathering with the wifey’s family, before BIL’s NS overseas training and also to celebrate the MIL’s birthday. Thanks to them, I finally had the chance to try out Carousel, award-winning buffet restaurant at Royal Plaza on Scotts!

We took some photos outside the restaurant. Got the grand staircase feel from Titanic. Haha.

The seafood station featured Atlantic Salmon, Alaska King Crab (weekends only), fresh oysters, mussels, boiled tiger prawns (weekends only), Pacific lobsters etc.

An international buffet is not complete without the Sashimi and Sushi station. Ingredients were fresh and we could not stop going back for more servings. There was also a live station for Somen cold noodles to cater to people who enjoy the Japanese style cooked noodles.

Moving on to the main courses.

The Carousel has a reasonable selection of desserts for diners to indulge in after a hearty meal. From local hot desserts to western pastries to chocolate fondue, there’s something for everyone.

Here’s Bertrand who is already back from his month-long overseas training. Haha.

The missus and I sprang a surprise for the mom-in-law by requesting the Carousel to prepare a small cupcake for the her. The staff were all very willing and they even sang a birthday song.

The total bill came up to about $400. Thank you Daddy for the awesome treat at Carousel!

Carousel
Royal Plaza on Scotts
25 Scotts Road, Singapore 228220
Tel: (65) 6737 7966

Opening Hours:
Daily
Breakfast: 6.30am – 10am
Lunch: 12pm – 2pm
High Tea: 3.30pm – 5.30pm
Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm

Weekdays
Meal
Breakfast S$33.00++ (Adult) S$20.00++ (Child)
Lunch S$46.00++ (Adult) S$28.00++ (Child)
High Tea S$33.00++ (Adult) S$20.00++ (Child)
Dinner S$62.00++ (Adult) S$37.00++ (Child)

Weekends
Meal
Breakfast S$33.00++ (Adult) S$20.00++ (Child)
Lunch S$50.00++ (Adult) S$32.00++ (Child)
High Tea S$38.00++ (Adult) S$24.00++ (Child)
Dinner S$75.00++ (Adult) S$42.00++ (Child)

Our 20th Monthsary at Smok’inn Frogz Kitchen

Posted on March 27, 2012 by misterchewy

“It feels so great to have you in my life. Looking forward to spending our lives together, forever! <3”

Hello! It’s been a long time since I have written a post on missuschewy.com. Today, on our 20th monthsary, I have decided to hit the keyboard again for this very special day of the month. Since 26th July 2010, 26 has been a number that is close to my heart and it will always be.

As usual, I went to pick up the missus from work and dinner was amongst our plans. The golden question was unanimously: “where?” I was feeling adventurous and suggested to go to 6th Avenue without even checking what food was available there. Thankfully, HGW is a reliable food-searching network which we could leverage on to find our dinner place. Eventually we settled on Smok’inn Frogz Kitchen.

Initially, we could not find the place until we realised that it is sharing the same address as Bar Bar Black Sheep. There were lots of reviews online, raving about its beef burgers and beer-battered fish and chips. We both knew that we could not leave the place without trying the latter.

Love is self-sacrificing. Because of my religion practice, the wifey was “forced” to give up eating beef and I am really thankful to her. <3

Always the beautiful goddess of my heart! :3

Actually the wifey ordered Root Beer ($2) because she saw the table next to us drinking it. Haha!

And so, our routine ritual before the meal starts before we tuck in: to take photos of our food. We both had the fish and chips as the menu was rather limited after filtering the beef dishes. Btw, all photos in this post were taken using my Canon Digital IXUS.

The Beer Battered Fish N Chips ($13) was served pipping hot with a crispy flour batter. There was no hint of beer taste but it was fragrant and the fish was melt-in-your-mouth. We did not have any complaints with the dish.

The Choco Lava Cake looks very tempting on the menu but our stomach is not big enough to accommodate it so we had to give the dessert a miss.

This is one of our spontaneous dinner dates and I must say we both enjoyed it. Looking forward to more Monthsaries and spending more time lovin you! Happy 20th Monthsary again my dear, and I will always love you and you and youuuuu! <3

Smok’inn Frogz Kitchen
879 Cherry Avenue (off Bukit Timah Road)
Opening Hours
Mon to Fri
4pm – 11pm
Sat
1pm – 11pm
Sun
9am – 11pm

Wild Honey: Let’s get wild, honey!

Posted on January 25, 2011 by misterchewy

During my school holidays, I arranged to meet up with my secondary school buddies for a gathering (read: eating session). “Great minds think alike, while fools seldom differ”. When I was thinking on the possible venue to meet up, our friend TT suggested Wild Honey. It was a place that I wanted to go to after the Cafe Hacienda visit. Hence, we went to Wild Honey and experienced a few of its diverse variety of breakfast sets.

Tunisian Breakfast ($18) was one dish that really caught my attention as I was browsing through the menu on the iPad that was placed at the counter. The tomato concise was sour accompanied with a zing of spiciness. Something I would like to highlight is that the egg yolks were so watery that they almost created a mess when I bit into them. The sliced sausages however tasted like the Chinese waxed sausages “lup cheong”. Try this if you want something different from your usual English style breakfast.

If you insist on having eggs, sausage and bacon, there is always the English Breakfast ($22). I personally felt that the bacon was a little overcooked and salty. The sausage was firm and juicy. Personally, I prefer the Ultimate Breakfast from Cafe Hacienda.

I tried a small portion of salmon from the Scandinavian Breakfast ($24) which tasted remarkably fresh and complemented well with the hollandaise sauce. One is guaranteed to feel satiated as there are also asparagus and rosti in this breakfast set.

Appearance wise, Mediterranean Sandwich ($12) looked plain and normal but I liked its cheesy taste and crispy toasted ciabatta.

All in all, I am satisfied with the food over at Wild Honey although its price may be a little steep as compared to other restaurants with the similar ‘All Day Breakfast’ concept. Given an opportunity, I would like to come back and try the other breakfast sets with Charlene. 😀

Wild Honey
Mandarin Gallery
#03-02
Orchard Road
Tel: 6235 3900

Opening Hours:
Mon to Fri
9am – 10.30pm
Sat and Sun
8am – 10.30pm

Vienna International Seafood & Teppanyaki Buffet Restaurant: The after-exams indulgence

Posted on December 29, 2010 by misterchewy

22nd December 2010 was a special day for me and my fellow mates from NTU – the first day of our liberation from examinations. During the long and torturous period, my friends, KY and M, planned an outing to allow the rest of us to look forward to the end of exams. Thankfully that day arrived and we survived the onslaughts of the exams.

The place that we went to was Vienna International Seafood and Teppanyaki Buffet Restaurant. Located at B1 of United Square, it has a seating capacity of 210 with the majority of the seats indoors. This is the first time I do up a food review from scratch which does not only include writing the review, but also taking all the photos. If my photos are not up to standard, I promise I will work harder in this area. 😀

I should say that Vienna offers a wide diversity of food items ranging from Japanese raw sashimi to Crabmeat Vermicelli and to cakes and pastries. However, due to my limited stomach capacity, I was not able to taste every item that was on offer so what I got here was what I ate.

For every customer who patronizes Vienna, a complimentary serving of Buddha-Jump-Over-The-Wall will be served. For a buffet standard, i thought that the soup was not too bad. It contained shiitake mushroom, pacific clam, chicken, cordyceps and red dates. The herbal taste was distinct but yet not too overpowering. the only thing that I do not like about it is that the soup is too salty. (does this remind you of a mastercard advert?)

After a serving of piping hot Buddha-Jump-Over-The-Wall, I went straight for the cold dishes as appetizers. Soba with Prawn was served in a small bowl with sweet soba sauce. It was definitely a refreshing and sweet start to my virgin Vienna experience.

I cannot resist the temptations of Sashimi. During the summer break this year, I had the opportunity to go to Tokyo for an internship for 10 weeks. In that short span of time, I fell more in love with Japanese cuisine especially sashimi. Sad to say, the standard of the sashimi from Vienna was nowhere near in comparison to those that are sold at the famous Tsukiji Fish market. Nevertheless, they are still fresh. Something to take note for sashimi lovers, the chefs at Vienna are generous and they cut reasonably thick portions.

Who doesn’t like to eat Tofu? Haha 吃豆腐. Being bite sized, it is especially ‘friendly’ to the buffet-goers. It does not take up too much space in your stomach and gives you the fulfillment of eating it. The tofu sauce was sweet and the century egg added a twist to its taste.

This was my first experience with Mussel with Sweet & Sour Sauce. It was a good move to use the sweet and sour sauce as it could mask and complement the ‘ocean’ taste of the mussel. Nice. The only downside was that it was not as fresh as what I expected.

After having all the cold dishes for appetizers, it is time for the main dishes. This Soup Bowl with Bread reminds me of what I have had before at The Soup Spoon. The puffy bread was so crispy that when I used my spoon to tear it open, everything started to disintegrate into flakes. I liked the cream of corn soup for its sweet taste and creamy texture.

I thought the Crab with Vermicelli tasted like those that are served in seafood restaurants. Generally, the vermicelli had a crab and peppery taste. It was firm and i liked it a lot.

Eating this Fish with Orange Sauce was like eating an orange sweet with a piece of fish. No kidding. It tasted a little weird as I felt that the sauce do not go well with the fish.

Bamboo Rice was not really fantastic. It consists of peanuts, chicken and dried prawn. It tasted more of like glutinous rice and did not have fragrance of bamboo.

I was beaming with excitement and anticipation when i collected the Abalone Fried Rice from the tray. However, i was a little disappointed to find out that it tasted just like the bamboo rice. Also, the abalone that was present was so small and insignificant.

After some misses, the Cereal Prawns proved to be a hit. The cereal was crispy and sweet. The taste of the cereal was infused into the prawn and enhanced its taste. Yummy! 😀

The food at Vienna is constantly replenished and maintained warm. The Cheese-baked Scallop was so hot that I scalded my tongue a little -.- The scallop tasted cheesy and soft.

Ever since Charlene and I went to the Hilltop Restaurant at Jurong Hill, I fell in love with Teppanyaki so I was very looking forward to Vienna’s very own Teppanyaki buffet. They served shishamo, lamb chops, chicken and beef fillets, salmon and greens like beansprouts. The Shishamo was not overcooked and it tasted fine.

The Lamb Chops contained more portions of fats as compared to meat.

The Salmon was fresh and i loved its crispiness.

I love the saying, “Everyone has one more stomach for desserts”. I truly believe in it and usually have room for desserts. At Vienna, there were pastries, cakes, jellies and cookies. Generally all these desserts tasted refreshing and provided a good ending to our heavy meal.

One dessert that particularly stood out was the Fried Durian Puff. It was crispy and soft on the outside while the paste inside was thick and sweet. And when we sank our teeth into it, we felt as though we were in heaven. Ok that’s a bit exaggerating. With the exception of J who does not like durian, we all enjoyed it.

The other dessert that left an impression on me was the Bird’s Nest Egg Tart. I guess typical Singaporeans would normally associate bird’s nest with ‘atas’ and we were quite excited 😛 However, there was barely any in the tart. I liked the flaky crust though.

That’s all for now. Happy new year in advance! 🙂

Vienna International Seafood & Teppanyaki Buffet Restaurant
101 Thomson Road
United Square
#B1-01
Singapore 307591
Tel: 6254 6686 / 6253 1696

Opening Hours:
11.30am – 3pm (Lunch)

Mon to Fri
S$30.80++ (Adult)
S$18.80++ (Child)
Sat, Sun & Public Holidays
S$32.80++ (Adult)
S$19.80++ (Child)

5.30pm – 10pm (Dinner)

Mon to Thu
S$37.80++ (Adult)
S$20.80++ (Child)
Fri, Sat, Sun & Public Holidays
S$39.80++ (Adult)
S$21.80++ (Child)

missuschewy

Singapore Lifestyle and Travel Blog

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