Dining at Grand Park Orchard: Open House Restaurant and Bar Canary

Posted on December 14, 2012 by missuschewy

–Media Invite–

Happy Friday, chewy chewy folks! As mentioned in my Grand Park Orchard staycation post, I am gonna tell you more about the buffet dinner that misterchewy and I had at Open House Restaurant on the day that we checked into the hotel.

Located in the heart of Orchard Road, Open House Restaurant focuses on dishing out numerous local culinary delights as well as serving a la minute signature dishes such as pizzas and dim sum.

The Cold Buffet Selection consists of sushi, salads and other cold cuts.

We kicked off our dinner with some Japanese Sushi! Of course, we had to resist carrying the entire tray back to our table. It was a pity that they don’t serve sashimi.

There are four ‘live’ cooking stations at Open House Restaurant. Starting with the Roast Meats with Noodles or Rice station, we have Chef Jacky Chua expertly chopping up a roasted duck for us.

We don’t have an enormous appetite so we decided to only try two of the roast meats. We were very satisfied with the Roast Duck as it was tender and had a very nice, deep flavor. The sauce was so good on its own that we didn’t even bother with the chili. Not forgetting the crisp and crackling skin!

I have to say that the Roast Pork Belly was equally good too and it went really well with mustard. Very tempted to order another serving.

Actually, I would see the Noodles station as separate from the roast meats station because they have laksa etc and you don’t really need to order say a plate of chicken before you can enjoy your laksa.

Again, we only had two types of noodles. The Laksa was pretty decent and I guess the spiciness would work well for the average Singaporean and probably suitable for most tourists who are keen on trying our local food.

We were recommended to try the Szechuan Noodles but I felt that it wasn’t sour and spicy enough like how the typical Szechuan noodles should taste like. In fact, it was neither here nor there.

Both of us were excited upon knowing that there is a Dim Sum station!

Heh heh.. Dim sum gone in a flash! Can tell that it’s very popular with the rest of the diners too right?

Both the Har Gau and Siew Mai did not disappoint and I kinda regret that we did not eat the glutinous rice, radish cake and BBQ pork bun!

We were pleasantly surprised that there is a Claypot station too!

I wish I could put in some good words for the Waxed Meat & Chinese Sausage Claypot Rice but it could have tasted better with more salted fish (if there were any at all, I can’t remember). Also, the claypot rice wasn’t cooked long enough for the fragrance to come through. And also, more sauce please!

We went for our usual choice of pizza which is the Frutti Di Mare. Pizza dough was thick and chewy enough for our liking. Crust was also quite moist.

Festive All-You-Can-Eat (till 23 Dec)
Lunch: S$42++ per person
Dinner: S$58++ per person

All-You-Can-Eat (26 – 30 Dec)
Lunch: S$25++ per person
Dinner: S$33++ per person

Here’s something for you guys! Quote “missuschewy” during reservations via phone (6603 8855) or email (fnb.gpor@parkhotelgroup.com) and 1 gets to dine free with every three paying guests at Open House for All-you-can-eat lunch or dinner! Please note that this offer is valid till 30 December (not applicable on 24 & 25 December).

Christmas Eve All-You-Can-Eat (24 Dec)
Lunch: S$42++ per person
Dinner: S$98++ per person
(Includes free flow of wines, chilled juices & soft drinks)

Christmas Day All-You-Can-Eat (25 Dec)
Lunch / Dinner: S$68++ per person
(Add S$50++ per person to enjoy free flow of Champagne, wines & soft drinks)

New Year’s Eve All-You-Can-Eat (31 Dec)
Lunch: S$33++ per person
Dinner: S$148++ per person
(Includes free flow of Champagne, wines, beers, House Pour spirits & soft drinks till 12.30am)

After a bit of strolling around after dinner, we headed to Bar Canary for drinks. It was fantastic chilling out under the stars!

On ladies night (Wednesday), there is a 50% discount on champagnes, wines and standard housepours.

Bar Canary’s talented bartender, Ryan, has come up with some Christmas specials that will put a smile on everyone’s faces! Misterchewy and I really enjoyed the drinks!

Peanut Butter Martini ($18++)

Santanilla ($18++)

Thank you Park Hotel Group for the invitation.

Grand Park Orchard
270 Orchard Road
Singapore 238857
Tel: 6603 8888
Email: info.gpor@parkhotelgroup.com

The Chewys’ Genting Adrenaline Junkie Challenge 2012 (Part Two)

Posted on December 7, 2012 by missuschewy

–Sponsored Trip–

Yippee! It’s Friday, chewy chewy peeps! As promised in my previous post, I will be sharing our Genting Adrenaline Junkie Challenge experience in greater detail with all of you! I had also mentioned that I was actually quite nervous about having to go through all the thrill rides, especially when we also had to perform additional tasks while at it! Oh wells, a challenge has to be challenging. A few days before the trip, curiosity got the better of me and I started googling ‘genting adrenaline junkie challenge’ to see if I could get any info from the web. And I did! One of the more informative blog posts was written by Malaysian blogger and celebrunner, Runwitme and reading her story certainly got me even more excited, and yes, more nervous as well! Imagine having to blow a balloon while you are on the rollercoaster?!

The husband looked a little perturbed. LOL. I don’t know why. Probably as afraid as me?

Btw, this is the view from our room. Took a couple of shots before we went down for breakfast 🙂

Breakfast buffet was at First World Cafe.

The buffet line was quite miserable but we weren’t complaining because it’s not like we wanted to stuff ourselves with food before going on all the thrill rides!

After a quick breakfast, we adjourned to the Genting International Convention Centre (GICC) for our briefing which started at around 9.30am.

There were 19 pairs of participants and each pair formed a team. The hubs and I belonged to Team 18! And we had to paint our faces omg! I was like, “Don’t draw so big ok!”

All of us had to step forward to ‘claim’ our map. Basically, it was kinda like Amazing Race. All 19 teams had to complete the nine stations/rides located in the indoor and outdoor theme parks. No skipping of stations was allowed; we had to get on the ride, complete the task, get the station marshal to sign on the map and collect a piece of the jigsaw puzzle before moving on to the next stop. All our routes were different so we didn’t have everybody rushing to the same place at the same time.

All hell broke loose the moment it was announced that the challenge had officially started! LOL! We were given two hours to complete all rides and return to the GICC.

Whoohoo! The Chewys are just about to unleash the adrenaline junkies in them! Hahaha. Some of the photos in this post were taken with my Sony compact camera, while the rest were taken by some of the RWG people. 😉

Our first station was the Spinner! We were lucky because it’s situated just in front of the entrance of the outdoor theme park. Only one of us had to sit on the Spinner. Both misterchewy and I were given a card each and we had to count the number of stars! It sounds easy but it’s not! Didn’t take photo of the card but it was madness! I think I counted until I saw stars!

Spot the yawning dude!

We had to total up our number of stars and shout out the answer but our answer was wrong. Hahaha! And we were made to sing twinkle twinkle little star at the top of our lungs as a forfeit!

Our second station as drawn on the map given to us was the Corkscrew. This was one of my most dreaded thrill rides. My legs turned into jelly and I think my face turned pale as we approached the ride.

Each time I sat on a roller coaster, this is my most hated part.

And this too! Lol. Ok la not that I always go for such thrill rides anyway.

Guess what?! Only one from each team had to go up on the ride while the other was tasked to drink 100Plus from a milk bottle. LOL! The hubs displayed his heroic side when the marshal asked, “Who’s going to sit?” and he shouted “ME!” without any hesitation 😀

If I had to come up with a caption, it would be “sucking while corkscrewing”. Lol! Was that what the organizers had in mind when they paired this task with this ride?! Anyway, all of us had to finish the bottle of 100Plus before the ride ended. So just imagine all the girls sucking really furiously. Omg tough job.

Oh yay! I was the first to finish the entire bottle! The marshal was really strict. We weren’t allowed to leave even a single drop. Hoho. The hubs did great too! He looked really refreshed after the ride, don’t you agree? Hahaha 😛

Our third station was the Flying Coaster. I can’t remember if I had tried this ride before but it did seem a little less scary than the Corkscrew.

We were given two tasks to do before we could go up on the ride. First, we had to find 10 ‘flying’ words in the puzzle given to us. We only managed to find 6 until the marshal told us the words could be broken up too, and then we found the remaining 4 very quickly. -_-

For our second task, one of us had to memorize a tongue twister in 20 seconds. There were a few tongue twisters printed on cards and were laid face down for us to choose. After memorizing for 20 seconds, we had to pass it to our partner, take the Flying Coaster together, and repeat the tongue twister to the marshal.

However, the ride had to be closed for 20 minutes for maintenance check so we were all made to hula hoop for at least 10 seconds. As you can see, misterchewy is a better hula hooper than me. LOLOLOL. I was the one who memorized the tongue twister and it went, “I saw a saw that could out saw any other saw I ever saw.” I had to memorize under pretty stressful conditions ok!

Next up, we headed to Snow World at the indoor theme park! I think during the 2010 challenge, the participants had to finish a cold drink and ice cream at Snow World. I also said that I would rather do this 100 times than having to go through the thrill rides. Read on to find out what happened..

We were supposed to carry a tube up and slide down. When we reached the bottom, we had to pick an ice cream flavor as shown in the above photo. If you and your partner picks the same flavor, one would have to go up, slide down and draw again, until you get a different flavor.

The first time, misterchewy and I got chocolate. So he offered to carry the tube up and slide down again. Draws chocolate. Up and down. Chocolate again omg. And then finally vanilla. ARGH.

Our next task was to finish the 5 (4 chocolate and 1 vanilla) cups of ice cream in 45 seconds! IMPOSSIBRU.

We were made to finish all the ice cream before we could proceed to the next station. Boohoohoo! I had a love-hate relationship with ice cream that day.

The Flying Dragon is also located at the indoor theme park. The indoor rides are very mild and suitable for kids.

Guess what. We had to solve Sudoku and everyone took really long to solve it! Also had to solve two mathematical questions each before the Flying Dragon ride and tell the marshal our answers when we got down.

Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Space Shot! I tried this before at Ocean Park in Hong Kong and Movie World in Gold Coast so I have somewhat more experience than misterchewy. Haha! But I was still having cold feet before the ride D:

The station marshal flashed us some names which belonged to the Genting mascots and we had to memorize them before the Space Shot ride. I was quite confident that I could remember “Tabby, Allie, Bennie, Geno, Joe” but the moment I sat down and started to tremble, I forgot everything. “Geno.. Beno..” Wrong already la.

Almost wanted to cry when we were slowly taking off!

Forcing a weak smile but I was like NO I wanna get down now!

Ok the ride was really quite scary and we agreed that the second drop was scarier than the first. We made it anyway! 😀 We had a time penalty of 40 seconds I think because we couldn’t remember the mascots’ names. Lol.

Our task for the Pirate Ship station was quite a funny one. Within each team, we had to decide who would be sitting on the fourth or last row. The one on the fourth row would be blindfolded and had to help his/her partner draw his/her lips with a lipstick!

Not very obvious on misterchewy because we chose an orange lipstick. But it did give him a sexier look. LOL!

Oh yeah~ Oh yeah~ Our 9th and final stop was the Sungei Rejang Flume Ride! Both of us had a piece of napkin pegged to the collars of our shirts. Our task was to keep the napkins dry! Very easy because we could just zip our jackets. 😉

We rushed back to the finishing point which was the GICC Hall.

Our map and completed jigsaw puzzle! Yay! 😀

With our fellow Singaporeans!

We were treated to a buffet lunch before the prize giving ceremony.

The most happening team!

Best Singapore team!

Best Malaysian team!

Champion team!

With two of Genting’s mascots! Ummm.. Can’t remember their names! 😛

Ending off this post with a group shot. Hope you guys enjoyed reading about our Genting Adrenaline Junkie Challenge experience! 🙂

Once again, a very big thank you to Resorts World Genting for the kind invitation!

The Chewys’ Genting Adrenaline Junkie Challenge 2012 (Part One)

Posted on December 5, 2012 by missuschewy

–Sponsored Trip–

Wassup chewy chewy friends? A few weeks ago, I received an invitation from Resorts World Genting to participate in the Adrenline Junkie Challenge 2012. Resorts World Genting is located in Malaysia. We stay in the hotel near Kuala Lumpur. We search Expedia for great hotel deals. Oh boy, I was really thrilled because I could bring a partner along! Also, our transportation, accommodation and meals will be fully taken care of! In my mind, I was thinking, “OMG! I have always wanted to go to Genting with misterchewy!” Now that the opportunity has been presented to me, how could I pass it up? 😛 BUT, there was a slight catch. This part of the email was enough to make my heart thump really quickly. “You will need to go through the exciting thrill rides at the theme park plus additional tasks while at it. Kindly note that, you partner must take part in the challenge.” *GULP* We are not exactly adrenline junkies or daredevils! Anyway, all photos were taken using my old Sony compact camera because I didn’t think it would be a wise idea to lug my DSLR around at the theme park.

We were told to board the coach at Singapore Press Holdings (Toa Payoh) at 12pm. Guess what? There were only 8 of us! 3 bloggers and their partners, plus two Lian He Wan Bao readers.

Genting appeals to me as one of the couple getaway destinations because it is not too far from Singapore (about 7 hours coach journey. Lol), a one or two night stay should be sufficient, love the cool weather, and there are indoor and outdoor theme parks! 😀 We were really excited the minute we got on the coach but I also started to worry about the challenge because we had to go up on all the thrill rides in order to complete it 🙁 Oh wells, let’s not worry too much for now! 🙂

Passports chopped! Wheeeee~!

Stopover for lunch! We already had ours with the in-laws before they sent us to SPH, so we sat somewhere and filled up our indemnity forms.

After what seemed like eternity.. We finally reached GENTING HIGHLANDS! 😀 😀 😀 It was around 7pm and we got there and I was freezing because I wore shorts. More comfortable to wear shorts on the bus mah. Hehe.

The PR folks from RWG, Oprah and JQ handed us our room card keys and Genting t-shirts that we had to wear the next day!

Walking to First World Hotel. My last time to Genting was many years ago but I could still vividly remember certain things.

We were told to deposit our bags into our rooms and gather at the lobby so that JQ and Oprah could take us to our dinner venue. This time, I made sure I changed into a pair of jeans! 😛

Dinner was at Coffee Terrace. We had to walk a little bit to get there but at least it was way better than the First World Cafe. There is an ice cream promotion for the month of December, which explains the cute ice cream balloons hanging from the ceiling. Haha 😛

We were pleasantly surprised when we stepped into the restaurant. Coffee Terrace seemed like quite a nice buffet place!

I think all of us Singapore bloggers went to whack the Japanese section first. Sashimi and sushi galore! 😀

After a very satisfying dinner, Oprah and JQ very kindly showed us around the Visitor’s Galleria just next to Coffee Terrace.

With fellow blogger Cindy Kho (extreme right) and her friend, Charlie!

After that, it was pretty much free and easy for everyone. Since we had to endure a 7-hour journey here, we couldn’t just head back to our hotel so early right?! The husband and I decided to walk around and check out the indoor theme park 😀

I jokingly said that we should go on one of the rides as a form of warming up exercise in preparation of the next day’s challenge!

Us in the front carriage of Euro Xpress! Of course not scary one la. But we pretended to be really scared and screamed all the way. LOL!

Checked out the casino next. Was quite surprised that nobody stopped me from taking photos. I’m assuming it’s ok?

It was just look look see see, we didn’t gamble. Anyway there were quite a number of smokers there so we left after a while.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! 😉

Our room was located at First World Hotel’s Tower 2, on the 25th floor. When we were at the lobby, I asked misterchewy, “Our room is at which Tower ah? Tower 3 is it?” He replied, “Tower 3? You build yourself ah?” WIN. Bully me 🙁

When misterchewy learned that we would be putting up at First World Hotel, he kept telling me about how small and cramped the rooms were and that there wasn’t sufficient space in the toilet for people to move around comfortably. However, he was quite impressed because the room was spacious with a couch beside the TV, and a bath tub in the toilet. Turns out that we were given the Superior Deluxe room 😀

Stay tuned everybardy! We will cover Genting Adrenaline Junkie Challenge 2012 Part 2 in our next blog post! 😀

Thank you Resorts World Genting for the invitation!

Fern & Kiwi: A Taste of New Zealand Cuisine in Singapore

Posted on November 8, 2012 by missuschewy

Named after two of New Zealand’s greatest icons, Fern & Kiwi Bar and Eatery is Clarke Quay’s newest addition to the F&B scene that promises the best New Zealand has to offer. Expect only the freshest produce, excellent beer, famous wines, smooth coffee, friendly service and awesome live entertainment from Fern & Kiwi.

The husband and I were invited to try their food and we decided to pop in on a Sunday afternoon 🙂

Fern & Kiwi is the international branch of successful New Zealand restaurant chain, Lone Star, famous for providing quality food in quantity. This Singapore venture is the company’s first step to sharing the best of New Zealand food, beverage and service with Asia, and the world.

Fern & Kiwi is split into two levels, with the first level featuring the bar area, while the restaurant is on the second level. More photos of the restaurant can be seen towards the end of this post.

We were seated on the first floor, at the bar area because it was lunch time. Seats were pretty comfy and we liked the laidback atmosphere.

I wasn’t able to find this on the menu but their New Zealand Ozone Coffee Roasters is highly recommended.

A bottle of Steinlager Pure (NZ) 330ml ($11) for the hubs.

I went for the Steinlager Super Cold 414ml ($12) which was an absolute godsend in that hot sticky weather.

Excited to sample their menu!

The Pizza Flatbread ($15) with caramelized onions, gruyere cheese and rock salt was a great appetizer for sharing. The caramelized onions had a nice, deep and sweet flavor. I thought it was very doughy and filled us up so quickly that we decided not to polish off the last two slices.

If you like healthy and great tasting salads, the Manuka Smoked Snapper Salad ($18.50) would probably work well for you. Nothing can go wrong with fresh flaked snapper pieces tossed through spinach, rocket and cos lettuce, avocado, julienned tomatoes and a light lemony vinaigrette.

While the snapper salad was too safe for us, the Slow Poached Bartlett Pear ($15) was really something different with roasted walnuts and Puhoi blue cheese tossed through rocket and finished with a lemon and balsamic vinaigrette. The blue cheese obviously stole the limelight, being very creamy and rich.

The ‘Lady Claire’ Potato Fries ($9) was a very interesting side dish because the fries were mildly salty, sweet and spicy, all at the same time. The taste of potato was also notably stronger than the typical fries.

We heard that the Sea Salt and Pepper Squid ($16.50) is a must-try dish. It felt as though I was eating fried calamari in rojak sauce. There was lemon, sweet soy, coriandor and chilli in the dressing that came with the lightly battered squid. And yes, it’s a must-try!

I don’t know about you but I call these mini burgers. They are so tiny that I can finish one off in 3 bites. Because we don’t eat beef, we only tried the Cajun Kingfish Sliders ($17.50) which were served in toasted garlic petite brioche buns with a homemade tartare sauce. It was perfect and I had never felt so happy eating a mini burger like this.

The Classic Pork Spare Ribs ($18.50) were pretty good and they were fall off the bone tender. The ribs come in 4, 8 and 12 if I didn’t remember wrongly.

It was quite a feat having to finish these on top of the pizza and salads!

Couldn’t have been happier to see these good ol’ ice cream cones! Fern & Kiwi’s Trio of Mini Ice Cream Cones ($14) were filled with classic ice cream flavours, such as chocolate mint, vanilla and pineapple! Loved the pineapple one best. It was oh-so-refreshing!

A quick search on the web reveals that the pavlova is a popular dessert and an important part of New Zealand’s cuisine. These Miniature Pavlovas ($12) were each filled with diced kiwifruit and passion fruit with chantilly and were very very sweet. They had a crisp and crusty exterior but were slightly soft and very chewy inside. I’m sure all kids will love this!

We took a little tour around the restaurant after lunch. You can kinda check out the kitchen on the second floor. Cool stuff!

Don’t forget to swing by Fern & Kiwi for a taste of New Zealand cuisine in Singapore! 😉
Thank you Fern & Kiwi and Mutant Communications for the invitation.

Fern & Kiwi
The Cannery, Clarke Quay
3C River Valley Road
#01-02/03
S179024
Tel: 6336 2271

Opening Hours:
Mon to Thu
4pm – 2am
Fri
4pm – 4am
Sat & Sun
12pm – 4am

Kyushu Gourmet Experience @ Japanese Dining SUN from 16 Nov

Posted on October 29, 2012 by missuschewy

I’m sure many of you would have heard of Japanese Dining SUN, since it has been around for more than 7 years! In partnership with the Fukuoka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), the SUN group will be launching the Kyushu Gourmet Experience from 16 November 2012 to 8 January 2013 to introduce the main ingredients from regions in and around Kyushu.

We were invited to sample the Kyushu Experience menu at Japanese Dining SUN, located on the second floor of Chijmes. From what I observed, Chijmes is still a pretty happening place even after all these years. SUN with Moon at Wheelock Place also comes under the SUN group if you don’t already know.

Suntory! No prizes for guessing 😛

We were promptly shown to a table and Roy gave us an introduction of the 10-course meal that we would be having.

Ask misterchewy and I whether we like sashimi and the answer is gonna be a resounding ‘YES’. No Japanese meal ever feels complete without sashimi. Featuring the freshest selection of raw fish flown in from Japan, the Kyushu Sashimi Mori 7 Kind ($88.80) boasts thick and succulent slices of fatty tuna, yellow seabream, horse mackerel, golden-eye snapper, striped jack, yellowtail and Japanese seabream. Our dinner definitely took off on a very pleasant note!

Japanese sushi is generally wrapped in seaweed so it was interesting that the Mentai Salmon Takana Roll ($18.80) came wrapped with salmon, followed by a layer of Japanese preserved mustard leaf which provided a very nice crunchy texture. The spicy seasoned cod roe wasn’t really spicy but we loved the multitude of flavors and textures in each bite.

The Mentai Cheese Chigiri Age ($9.80) failed to leave much of an impression because very little cheese had been added.

The Kyushu Gourmet Experience menu also showcases Japanese Grade A3 Miyazaki Wagyu beef but we had it replaced with the Sun Goma ($15.80) due to dietary restrictions. As you can see, it has an interesting presentation with the slices of salmon fanning out like the sun, with a bright orange yolk in the middle.

‘Goma’ is the Japanese term for sesame and it is one of my favorite ingredients used for salad dressings.

The best way to eat this is to first beat the yolk and stir it in the sauce which is the chef’s brilliant creation and is made in house.

You can then choose to dip a slice of salmon in the sauce like how you would for shabu shaubu but we later found that a better way of eating this is to eat the salmon together with a spoonful of the homemade sauce. It tasted a little like light soya sauce, except that it was more sweet than savory. The sesame seeds added another dimension to this dish.

Unlike any other gyoza that we have tried, the Kurobuta Gyoza ($9.80) was much smaller in size, wrapped in dough that was not too thick and was very lightly pan-fried. The yorkshire kurobuta was hand ground and had a very tender texture. Japanese Dining Sun should totally come up with a Kurobuta Gyoza buffet or something!

If you like grills, you will be impressed with the Shiokoji Moriawase ($15.80) which is essentially a platter of white asparagus, Berkshire pork, chicken thigh and salmon.

All the above mentioned were marinated in shiokoji. It is an old Japanese seasoning made from rice malt, salt and water which are mixed, fermented and matured.

White asparagus is slightly milder in taste and more tender than green asparagus. It went really well with the mayonnaise.

The Berkshire pork had been nicely grilled; its tenderness was just right and had strips of fat in the middle.

I felt that the salmon was a teeny weeny bit over grilled though.

Just when we thought that the pork was pretty good, the chicken thigh turned out to be remarkable. It was the most tender and flavorful grilled chicken that I have ever eaten.

When the Nori Udon was placed before us, it did look deceivingly like soba complete with dipping sauce and condiments served separately.

While udon is typically made using wheat, this was made with seaweed. It had an extra chewy bite and reminded me of Naengmyeon (Korean cold noodles) which I absolutely adore.

Again, the Japanese preserved mustard leaf made its appearance, this time in the Tonkotsu Takana Ramen ($11.80). It was quite a good idea to have slices of ginger in it, similar to that of certain fish soups, because the broth tasted quite refreshing!

Chazuke is like the Japanese version of thunder tea rice and it is not only tasty but healthy. Green tea, dashi or hot water is poured over cooked rice, usually with savory toppings.

Our Kinmedai & Mentai Chazuke ($15.80) came with lightly grilled golden-eye snapper fillet slices and spicy seasoned cod roe served on top of cooked rice.

Pouring in the green tea bonito soup.

We gave it a good stir before tucking in. The golden-eye snapper fillet slices were notably firm and the green tea bonito soup was deliciously bittersweet and smokey on top of being savory. I suggest that you should have this all to yourself.

Finally moving on to desserts, we had the classic Yamecha Roll Cake ($5.80) which was made using premium Fukuoka green. I quite liked the green tea roll on its own but you can eat it together with the red bean paste for a sweeter pairing.

I’m a fan of chiffon cakes and it was my first time trying a peach flavor infused one. The Momo Jam Chiffon Cake ($6.50) was spongy, airy and very fragrant. For something sweeter, spread some homemade vanilla cream over the cake.

Wonderfully scented, the Yame Tea with Goma Cookie ($5) was the perfect ending to our Kyushu Gourmet Experience at Japanese Dining SUN.

Both misterchewy and I felt that most, if not all, of the dishes featured in the Kyushu Gourmet Experience were splendid. Be sure to mark your calenders and make a trip down to Japanese Dining SUN as the Kyushu menu will only be available from 16 November 2012 to 8 January 2013.

Ending off the post with my outfit of the day (OOTD)! Peter Pan collar dress with floral prints. I love the colors! 😀

And here’s misterchewy’s OOTD! I realized this Moustache design seems to be quite popular recently. Have been seeing it everywhere I go. Not sure if there’s a name behind it. The t-shirt does look cute right! 😛

Lastly, The Chewys would like to thank Japanese Dining SUN, Fukuoka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and 360 Publications for the invitation. Wishing everyone a good week ahead! 🙂

Red Bull Stratos – Our Skydiving Experience at iFly Singapore!

Posted on October 8, 2012 by missuschewy

Hello and happy Monday, chewy chewy friends! I was invited to attend an event Red Bull Stratos – Mission to the Edge of Space at iFly Singapore on Saturday afternoon and what can I say? Indoor skydiving was such an exhilarating experience for me! 😀

I totally jumped for joy when I received the invitation because it was not long ago when I mentioned in one of my blog posts that I would totally love to try skydiving at iFly Singapore. Didn’t expect my wish to come true so soon! Yay! 😛

We saw a group of four male skydivers in the wind tunnel. I’m guessing that they were training for some kinda competition. They looked really cool doing all those stunts!

All bloggers had to register for the media event at the Skyloft rooftop bar and restaurant on level 5 and sit through a presentation thereafter.

Part of the view from Skyloft. Too bad I don’t own any wide angle lens 😛

To cut the long story short, Red Bull helps athletes realize their dreams and potential. This mission called Red Bull Stratos will take renowned athlete Felix Baumgartner to at least 120,000 feet above the earth, to the very edge of Space.

Photo credit: Red Bull Stratos Facebook Page

Felix will attempt a stratospheric free fall jump – the longest in the history of man – and hopefully will become the first human to break the speed of sound with his own body. Red Bull Stratos will attempt to make history and deliver valuable learnings for medical and scientific advancement that will aid the exploration of space in future years. Upon hearing about this awesome and magnificent Red Bull Stratos mission, I have got full respect and admiration for Felix Baumgartner and of course, Red Bull.

Photo credit: Red Bull Stratos Facebook Page

Everyone can watch the mission live when it happens! The target date is 9th October, Tuesday at around 8pm. However, the final day selected for a launch attempt will be determined by perfect weather conditions. The live mission HD broadcast stream will last between 3 to 4.5 hours, depending on weather conditions during balloon ascent and include an English language narrator. Find out more at the end of this post! 🙂

Here’s a little teaser!

Haven’t you heard that Red Bull gives you wings? Yeeeeehah! 😛

After the interesting and engaging presentation given by Cheryl, Red Bull’s Communications Manager, we were all raring to fly! Before we proceeded to the training room, we were made to watch a short clip at the waiting area which kinda reminded me of Cartoon Network. LOL.

Our instructor was Danny and he taught us some essential hand signals that we needed to be able to recognize while in the Flight Chamber. I thought of scuba diving instantly, simply because we can’t talk while in the water and in this case, we wouldn’t be able to hear each other with all that noise going on in the Flight Chamber! I miss scuba diving!

Good thing I had fellow blogger, Charleen from www.gninethree.com to accompany me! I didn’t know anyone there.. #foreveralone 🙁

All of us had the chance to go through all hand signals prior the actual skydive.

A shot with Charleen before we suited up! 😀

Whoohoo! My heart was thumping with excitement at the thought of being able to skydive in the wind tunnel within the next few minutes!

Everyone had to put on goggles, ear plugs and helmet because the noise in the wind tunnel would be kinda deafening. We couldn’t really hear each other talking after we had our helmets on and had to raise our voices. LOL.

No no no.. This hand sign isn’t ‘Call Me’. It’s ‘Relax’!

We weren’t allowed to bring in our phones and cameras so some of the photos below were taken from the photo-viewing screens after our skydive. Not supposed to take photos of our photos but… shhhh 😛

Ok now this and the remaining flying shots were taken by the event photographer 😀

All bloggers were entitled to 2 skydives under the supervision and guidance of Danny. Very shiok!

In case you are wondering, 2 skydives are priced at a range from $69 to $89 for adults, depending on super off-peak, off-peak and normal periods.

A big thank you to Red Bull and SPRG for the invitation!

The countdown begins! Please come back to watch how Felix Baumgartner make incredible history!

Official Red Bull Stratos Mission Website
www.redbullstratos.com

Official Red Bull Stratos Blog
www.redbullstratos.com/blog

Facebook
www.facebook.com/redbullstratos
www.facebook.com/felixbaumgartner

Twitter
@RedBullStratos

A Candylicious Day at Resorts World Sentosa for The Chewys!

Posted on September 25, 2012 by missuschewy

Yoohoo! Tuesday is Chewsday! Hahaha 😛 Just wanna share what misterchewy and I did over the weekend! We spent Saturday night visiting The Star Vista and had a nice dinner at Brotzeit before going home. Everywhere was jam-packed with people forming queues outside every single restaurant and eatery! On Sunday, we made it a point to wake up early so that we could make a fruitful trip to Resorts World Sentosa and to check out Candylicious Day! 😀 Nope, we didn’t go to USS although we had been there sometime around this time of the year, two years ago. Can’t remember when was the last time we went to Sentosa! I was kinda appalled when we stood in front of the ticketing machine, only to find out that the admission fee now costs $3.50 instead of $3. Is this 50cents increase justifable in the first place? Oh shucks now I sound like an auntie :S Hahaha I’m just kidding okay 😛

Candylicious, USS, Garett Popcorn, etc are all located at Waterfront Station, which is just one stop away from VivoCity.

CANDYLICIOUS! *screams* Seeing all these cute, colorful and cheery decorations is enough to brighten up my mood by tenfolds immediately! Anyway, this is the very FIRST Candylicious Day in Singapore! This is in celebration of Candylicious’ 1 year in Malaysia, 2 years in Singapore and 3 years in Dubai. 😀

Here’s misterchewy taking a bite of the gigantic Candylicious chocolate bar!

My brother and I used to sing to the M&M’s commercial on TV, “M&M’s chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand”. One of my all-time favorite chocolates, especially those with peanuts in them!

The husband loveeeeeees Reese’s milk chocolate peanut butter cups!

Another side of misterchewy that you don’t get to see very often.. LOL!

Spot the Candylicious mascots! They went round distributing chocolates and candies, much to the delight of kids and adults alike.

You know ah.. Some people really cannot understand simple English or read instructions one la dey~ There was a sign which read, “Please take ONE only” and there was this uncle who grabbed a handful of Hersey’s.. >_<

There was a 21% discount when tattoos were presented to the Candylicious staff upon purchase! How sweeeeet is that?

YO! Look what I found! M&M’s female tennis player! 😀

Okay this reads “Hug Me For Candy”. 🙂

Any magnet collectors? I’m one! 😀

Bibs for your babies? 😛

Even though we heard that the Malaysian Food Street at RWS is overrated, we headed there for lunch nevertheless! Must show some support mah 😛

We love the interior of the Malaysian Food Street! It felt as though we were transported to the old town of Malaysia in an instant.

The queues looked fairly manageable. I think the hype had more or less died down so I didn’t have to feel guilty about sending misterchewy to queue for our food 😛

We shared Char Kway Teow ($5) and Chicken Rice Balls ($4.50). Food was average but the prices were pretty ok. I had expected around $7 to $10 by RWS standards.

We left RWS shortly after lunch and to further utilize our admission ticket, we hopped on the monorail and entertained ourselves by watching ‘flyer’s have a go at iFly Singapore. Looks really fun! Might consider coming back to try this out, together with the Segway and Skyline Luge 😀

Oh yes, we also received our Candylicious Blogger’s Goodie Bag! 😀

Here’s taking a look at our stash of candies, chocolates and other Candylicious memorabilia!

Hope you guys enjoyed our Candylicious post today! A piece of sweet news to wrap things up: We will be picking 5 readers to dine for FREE at Oktober Munich Restaurant and Bar, located at Demspey Road. Each winner can bring one friend or partner along, and enjoy 1 brunch item and 1 coffee/tea/juice! *Like* us at www.facebook.com/missuschewy to find out more! 😉

Oktoberfest @ Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport’s Bar ’75!

Posted on September 21, 2012 by missuschewy

Happy friday to all! 🙂 Sorry for the slow updates! Been busy, very very busy! We might have been gently rejecting some invites recently but when I scanned through the email which I received from Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport and saw the following – “Oktoberfest dinner party“, “booze“, “German inspired grub“, and a chance to “Win a 2D1N Weekend Staycation“, I knew I had to grab my beer tah-ing partner, aka misterchewy along! We were encouraged to turn up in Bavarian flag colors (sky blue and white), which totally upped the fun quotient of this dinner party! Just the weekend before, we went around searching for a nice shirt for misterchewy so that he could fit into the theme! 😀 We ended up clashing in polka dots and stripes. Lol.

This Oktoberfest, from 22 September to 7 October, dig into hearty Bavarian food at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport’s bar ’75, along with free flow beer ($25++) from 10pm – 12am! The special Oktoberfest menu will feature traditional German cuisine deconstructed and put together with a hint of contemporary flair which promises to tease and excite the taste buds.

Located on the second floor of the hotel, bar ’75 is inspired by the glamour of the l970s and invokes nostalgia with a touch of style from the present. Its unpretentious setting is perfect for those who seek refuge to unwind after a hard day’s work, with an entertainment zone equipped with a pool table and an area for sports enthusiasts to watch sports events live on the big screen. Here on a date? Plonk yourselves on one of the cozy booths in vibrant colorful fabrics. Look around and you will find that the ‘fluro art’ inspired by Andy Warhol’s famous series of paintings from the era makes a great conversation starter.

And now, it’s time for us to check out the special Oktoberfest menu! 😀

Fellow blogger Lobster was present too!

Look at these irresistibly cuteeeee Wagyu Beef Burgers ($28.00++)! I bet it is a good idea to have them served in bite sizes. Pity we don’t take beef. I would really love to sink my teeth into one of these.

Skipped the Bacon and Beef Roulade ($24++) as well. Anyway, for those who are wondering, this dish is essentially “citrus” Sauerkrauts wrapped with beautifully browned pork bacon and thin beef slices.

Oh yes! Finally, a dish that doesn’t contain beef. The mashed potatoes were rich and creamy, which easily made the Bangers and Mash ($22.00++) a crowd pleaser.

Good things come in threes, so don’t miss out on the Trilogy of “Wurst” Platter ($28++)! Out of the three types of German sausages – Spicy, Smoked and Herbs, I think the spicy ones worked best for me.

I have an immeasurable weakness for all things pork and if I could, I would gladly have the Crispy Pork Knuckle with Sauerkrauts ($26++) all to myself. Clearly a must have at every Oktoberfest, this is the kinda bar grub that will keep everyone happy. Just imagine chowing down on that crispy and ever so tender pork knuckle, while washing down all that Bavarian goodness with free flow Tiger beer!

We certainly don’t mean this when we mention free flow beer.. *facepalm* These were just some of the props for the instant prints that night! 😛

I’m glad that misterchewy enjoyed himself as much as I did at the Oktoberfest dinner party! Seems like he got hooked on to Sambuca shots after the ladyboss at Backyard@Dempsey introduced it to him. LOL.

Since the night was still young, we went ahead with a Comspomolitan for me and a Baileys for him 😛

We also had fun with a round of Beer Pong! 😀 😀 😀 Sorry no pics because we were busy playing! 😛 Oh yes, a lucky draw was also conducted but too bad we didnt win the 2D1 night weekend staycation. *sob sob* 🙁

It was a splendid Saturday night spent with great food and drinks. We are soooo looking forward to Oktoberfest already! 😛 Thanks to Carrie from Crowne Plaza Changi Airport for the invitation and wonderful hospitality! 🙂

Bar ’75
75 Airport Boulevard
2nd Floor
Crowne Plaza Hotel (Next to Changi Airport T3)
Singapore
Tel: 6823 5355

Operating Hours:
Sun, Tue to Thu
5pm – 12.30am
Fri, Sat & eve of PH
5pm – 1.30am
(Closed on Mon)

Singapore Mid Autumn Festival 2012 Mooncakes + GIVEAWAY!

Posted on September 17, 2012 by missuschewy

Hello my Chewy friends! Mid Autumn Festival is just two weeks away! Have you started placing your orders for mooncakes? There are so many mooncakes being paraded out there in the market already! What influences your buying decision? I’m sure the price, flavor, brand and packaging are just some of the many important factors right? Anyway, I know that the ‘mooncake eating season’ is not officially here yet, but I have had the wonderful opportunity of sampling some over the past few weeks! 😀

We all know what Swensen’s is famous for. People of all ages will love their ever popular ice cream mooncakes. This year, these icy treats come in 6 flavours: Strawberry Fields Forever, Durian Royale, Yummy Yam, Sticky Chewy Chocolate, Cookies ‘n’ Cream Dreams and Mocha Almond Delight. Gotta love the lovely keepsake box featuring the unique Swensen’s Tiffany lamp designs too! Retails at $29.80 for a box of 4 or at $8.60 a piece. Available at all Swensen’s and Earle Swensen’s outlets till 30 September 2012.

Do you look forward to trying really unique snowskin mooncake flavors that are not readily available elsewhere? Then head to Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant at Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium!

Snowskin mooncakes are priced at $48 for a box of 6. Tantalize the taste buds with exciting and inventive mooncake flavors like Rum & Raisin Chocolate and Chinese dates paste, Soursop & Chocolate Crunch, Champagne Chocolate & Pandan Lotus Paste, Lavender Chocolate and Chempedak Lotus Paste, Peranakan mooncake with Durian Paste, and Black Truffle Walnut and White Lotus Seed Paste. I loved all flavors and if I really had to pick one that I really really really enjoyed, it would be the Soursop & Chocolate Crunch 🙂

Do you know that it is very popular to give and receive pineapple cakes during Mid Autumn Festival in Taiwan? I have always associated pineapple tarts with Chinese New Year but thanks to Sunnyhills, I can totally see myself eating pineapple cakes during Mid Autumn Festival in the future years to come!

Sunnyhills’ Mid-Autumn tote bag and gift box features the iconic Jade Rabbit (which kinda reminds me of Miffy) and are available in boxes of 10 pieces ($25), 15 pieces ($37.50) and 20 pieces ($50).

To ensure optimum freshness, each piece of Sunnyhills pineapple cake is individually packaged with a desiccant.

Its Singapore branch is located at Raffles Hotel while the Taiwan-based SunnyHills is a specialty bakery offering authentic pineapple cakes that are traditionally sourced, made, and baked in Taiwan. Having tasted the pineapple cakes, I have to say that the crust is moist, crumbly with a slight chewy bite and the fibrous pineapple filling is sweet and tangy, which makes this a very delightful snack!

Mention Emicakes and I’m sure everyone will agree that its Singapore’s Number 1 Durian Cake Maker. Fancy some D24 or Mao Shan Wang ice cream mooncakes? They come in small and large sizes as well as a mixed size combo.

I was given the Golden 4 Mao Shan Wang ($73.80) to sample. Remember to thaw it for a while after taking the mooncakes out from the freezer if not you’re gonna just have to risk breaking a tooth 😛

Seriously, all hardcore durian fanatics will definitely love this creamy, rich and luxurious Mao Shan Wang ice cream mooncakes! Catching a whiff of this wonderful durian fragrance is guaranteed to make any durian lover go floating on cloud nine.

Singapore’s first bakery franchise, Prima Deli, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and what better way to mark this mid-autumn than to introduce family favourite mooncakes! Toffee Cappuccino, Chocolate Hazelnut and Raspberry Truffle snowskin mooncakes are three new additions to PrimaDéli’s current selection of more than twelve tantalizing flavours of traditionally baked and snowskin mooncakes.

The Royal Gift Set ($38.80) features an alluring selection of nine mini snowskin mooncakes in a classy gold box and makes a generous gift for friends and relatives. These family friendly flavors are perfect for indulging together with people of all ages – Oreo Chocolate, Cranberry Cheese, Toffee Cappuccino Pandan Lotus with Half Yolk, Strawberry Chocolate, Chocolate Hazelnut, Raspberry Truffle, Black Sesame with Mochi and D24 Durian.

In addition to the mini snowskin mooncakes, PrimaDeli also offers their traditional regular-sized Baked Mooncakes ($38.80 for a box of four).

My family and I sat down and shared all four mooncake flavors – Pure Lotus with Single Yolk, White Lotus, White Lotus with Single Yolk and Golden Jade with Single Yolk. Of all three types of lotus paste, I personally felt that pandan and green bean paste in the Golden Jade with Single Yolk was the most fragrant and refreshing flavor.

This Mid Autumn Festival sees Purple Sage introducing their mooncakes for the very first time! As the saying goes, all food.. umm I mean, all good things come in threes. Purple Sage’s mooncakes come in a classic box of Lotus Paste with Double Yolk and Melon Seeds, Jade Custard and Low Sugar Black Sesame White Lotus with Single Yolk ($38+). Of all the three flavors, I liked the Low Sugar Black Sesame White Lotus with Single Yolk best. Pairing it with a pot of Chinese tea makes eating these traditional mooncakes a very lovely experience.

Thanks to Purple Sage, one lucky reader will get to try a box of traditional mooncakes! If you are keen on joining this giveaway contest, click here for more info!

A big thank you to Swensen’s, Xin Cuisine, Sunnyhills, Emicakes, PrimaDeli and Purple Sage for the mooncakes and here’s wishing all our lovely readers Happy Mid Autumn Festival! 🙂

Ice Edge Cafe II: Gelato Desserts Taste Like Heaven!

Posted on August 17, 2012 by missuschewy

Isn’t it a pity when you want to order desserts to end off a nice dinner, only to be told that there is nothing but chocolate or vanilla ice cream available? How does waffles with gelato sound? If you are in the central region of Singapore, more specifically around Thomson area, you really have to check out Ice Edge Cafe II for some gelato desserts that taste like heaven! 😀

After more than two years of success at its maiden outlet, Ice Edge Cafe, which is located at Kovan, Chef and owner Damien Low has perfected his culinary and gelato making skills, thus ready for expansion to bring great food and heavenly gelato to more customers. This second outlet boasts a larger seating capacity, alfresco dining and new fusion dishes. Special mention goes to their unique gelato flavors such as bak kwa, dark chocolate lavender, lychee martini and lemongrass! 🙂

The husband picked me up from work and we were early for the tasting so we took a couple of shots outside. This is a test shot but I like! 😛

Homely and casual dining concept.

There happened to be a filming that was taking place when we were there.

We settled down quickly and ordered something to drink. If you don’t mind having something sweet before dinner, both the Lychee Martini Float ($9.80) and Baileys Milk Float are great choices. I would personally recommend the latter which has espresso it in, as even for a non-coffee drinker, misterchewy enjoyed it so much that he had two glasses!

The Crab Bisque ($7.80) was thick and creamy but had this ‘artificial’ taste which I couldn’t quite figure out. It came with homemade garlic bread which was crisp to the bite.

I preferred the Mushroom Soup ($5.80) to the Crab Bisque. It was rich and flavorful, however a tad salty. This came with garlic bread as well.

The Calamari Fritti ($11.80) was quite average and lacked oomph. The mayo dip that came along with it did make up for it.

I have to say that the Buffalo Wings ($9.80) were pretty well done. The meat was tender, the spiciness was just right, and not forgetting the tinge of sweetness, which made this very addictive!

Touted as one of the popular dishes, the Rosemary Chicken ($16.80) fell short of our expectations as the boneless chicken thigh served with red wine rosemary sauce came a little charred on the surface, which tasted quite bitter. Apart from this, the chicken was actually quite juicy.

If you are dining with a group of friends, you might want to consider sharing the Japanese Romana Pizza ($15.80). Although it wasn’t an authentic Italian wood fired pizza, there was something about the pizza that drew me to it. Perhaps it was the ‘dancing’ bonito flakes that captivated me, or the delicious tonkatsu sauce with mozzarella cheese.

A dish like the Seafood Aglio Olio Spaghetti ($15.80) might look simple but I believe it’s actually fairly difficult to perfect. Loved how flavorful and fresh-tasting this dish was!

If there’s one thing on the menu which I wouldn’t mind ordering every single time I paid Ice Edge II a visit, it would be the Laksa Risotto with Homemade Sausage ($18.80). I love risotto and laksa and it’s quite a joy to see two of my favorites coming together! It tasted superb and the homemade sausage reminded me of McD’s sausage. Really splendid!

What’s even better than a chocolate lava cake? Mao Shan Wang lava cake! It is the sweetest dream come true with the King of Kings Combo ($13.80). Loved the soft, fluffy and delicate texture of the cake and the mao shan wang gelato was absolutely creamy smooth.

I think that the idea of a Gelato Toast ($10.80) is really refreshing! The pairing of Ferrero Rocher gelato with the crusty toast was indeed a match made in heaven. If only I could have this for breakfast!

Ice Edge Cafe serves one of the best freshly made waffles in Singapore. The Waffle with Gelato ($17 with three scoops) that we had was crisp on the outside and had a nice fluffy texture when bitten into. We tried the dark chocolate, lemongrass and passionfruit gelato flavors. Passionfruit was really good but I felt that the lemongrass could be more refreshing.

While there were some hits and misses for Ice Edge II’s mains, their desserts fared pretty well. We will definitely pop by for more of their gelato if we happen to have dinner around the area next time!

Thank you AT Marketing Consultancy and Ice Edge Cafe for the invitation.

Ice Edge Cafe II
Venue: 203 Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574344
Tel: 6255 4655

Opening Hours:
Daily
12pm – 12 midnight

missuschewy

Singapore Lifestyle and Travel Blog

Category Archives: #Media Invite

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The Chewys’ Genting Adrenaline Junkie Challenge 2012 (Part Two)

The Chewys’ Genting Adrenaline Junkie Challenge 2012 (Part One)

Fern & Kiwi: A Taste of New Zealand Cuisine in Singapore

Kyushu Gourmet Experience @ Japanese Dining SUN from 16 Nov

Red Bull Stratos – Our Skydiving Experience at iFly Singapore!

A Candylicious Day at Resorts World Sentosa for The Chewys!

Oktoberfest @ Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport’s Bar ’75!

Singapore Mid Autumn Festival 2012 Mooncakes + GIVEAWAY!

Ice Edge Cafe II: Gelato Desserts Taste Like Heaven!

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