Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Dining with a twist...

Thought I'll highlight these two eating places that go beyond the usual dine-pay-leave experience in Singapore :) For those of you who have heard of these restaurants, bear with me!

1. Annalakshmi: 5 Coleman St, #02-10, Excelsior Hotel & Shopping Centre

As the statement reads "...where vegetarian dining is a cultural experience", I didn't believe my ears when Sandra (who introduced me to this place) said that there are no fixed prices attached to the menu; you simply fork out whatever amount you think is appropriate! All the food is prepared and served by volunteers and the *earnings* or donations rather, go towards charity. Even the paintings and art pieces found within the restaurant is for sale! Although when you think about it, one would tend to give more in this case ;)

I enjoyed the variety of North and South Indian cuisine and the two gentlemen whom we sat next to commented that the delicious food also had a homey taste to it...lovingly cooked by grandmothers and mothers, I suppose.

2. Goshen:
No.1 Lorong 23 Geylang (inside Highpoint Halfway House; free parking!)

Would you frequent a place filled with tattoo-ed men and served by a Samo Hung sized chef who with his botak pate looks like an extra from a Shaolin monk movie? Fear not, for this is just the setting of a new restaurant run by ex-offenders armed with choppers...and their new-found culinary skills ;)

A refurbished school compound right smack in the red-light district, Highpoint Halfway House helps these men to carve a niche by using their carpentry, car maintenance, etc. skills. With the ongoing Yellow Ribbon campaign, Goshen has been receiving good publicity for their Hainanese, Teochew and Cantonese dishes.
My family ordered the Hainanese steamboat set for 3, *ngor hiang* (super sized meat rolls) and stir fried chinese lettuce. While debating whether to order the chilli crab, Benny (the above-mentioned head chef in shaolin-like overalls) came over to welcome us and promised to serve up a super sized sri lankan crab for the dish. I would rate the food as 4/5.

stormiii at 1:16 am

0cups of tea

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Happy Singapore Day!

Nothing beats the shiok combination of sleeping in, free Japanese radio via the net and having tantalising food blogs to drool over. A slacker's dream for sure! Recently, I've become addicted to page after page of delicious pictures and recipes. The dedication and passionate pursuit of culinary perfection is sooo intoxicating....I'm truly lost.

I suppose I'm challenged to be similarly passionate about something...anything?! in my life. Short of being a foodie, of course. I've since signed up for Basic Photography and Belly Dancing lessons...*hehe* Below are two of my favourite black & whites taken so far at Raffles Place on a quiet Saturday morning.


As for the belly dancing at the nearby CC, I was not surprised to discover myself the youngest participant ;) Belly-s of all shapes and sizes but we were taught to *be proud of our own body*, shimmy and shake to the exotic beats of middle eastern music...lalala...

"Happy Singapore Day!" as dear Pats wished me :) They had some kind of observance ceremony at 8.30am near the MRT this morning. Who in their right mind would wake up so early?? Reminds me of all those years when I sang "Majulah! Singapura" in my school uniform. Well Dad reported that the ah-sohs and ah-mahs were the ones who attended, all clad in red coloured "I love Singapore" T-shirts. Thereafter, they proceeded to NTUC for their daily vegetable and fruit poking session and got into cat-fights with old men who jumped queue...some things just never change.

stormiii at 1:04 am

0cups of tea