Saturday, December 31, 2005

Seasons Greetings!



Cute postcard huh?! :) I found this and two others (click on Flickr photo badge) during my last vacation in Finland. The words in Finnish mean "Have a flower-ish day!"

And I sure hope that this greeting will find you and your loved ones well in the new year!

stormiii at 10:02 pm

0cups of tea

Friday, December 30, 2005

La grande dame...


Part 2 of my birthday treats :) Dang, I have to wait one whole year!

Once again, Mom whipped out one of her countless restaurant vouchers and this time it was for the Bar & Billiard Room at Raffles Hotel. Christmas had arrived at the grande dame of Singapore and the cavernous dining room was decked out in lovely reds and golds with a live band playing my favourite bossa nova tunes...

At $70+++, the Christmas dinner was a tad pricey and the buffet spread more of quality over quantity. The unique presentation of the dishes around the bar (straight out of a pub type) was a novelty for me and they had lots of yummy stuff in little glassbowls for the starters and really good chocolate desserts not found elsewhere. Which provided the fodder for our family's foodie discussion:

Sister, gesturing sarcastically at my dessert laden plate: "Aren't you supposed to be watching yourself? And what's in that chocolate cake?"

Me, in 7th heaven: "Try it, its banana."

Sister, mouth full: "Oh. WOW... Let's get somemore."

Fruit cocktails - Pear, Cranberry, Mango

stormiii at 2:32 am

0cups of tea

Monday, December 19, 2005

Of xiao long baos and Jane Austen



Checked out Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant (Parco Bugis, Level 2). We were drawn in by the gigantic sized bao poster (this Shanghainese dish contained a tasty soup filled with crab meat). Unfortunately, the bao's skin wasn't smooth and thin enough (Ding Tai Fung still wins hands down) but the other dish we ordered (Shrimp & Crabmeat Balls) was pretty good.


Watched the latest Pride & Prejudice film (starring Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen) not once but twice...and I totally LOVE it :) Although not a 100% accurate interpretation of the Jane Austen book, the witty dialogue, gorgeous cinematography and magnificent English estates shine forth. Macfadyen is most delicious as the latest Mr Darcy and there's also an Orlando Bloom lookalike (Rupert Friend). Anyone looking for a girls' night out movie should not pass this over!

stormiii at 2:11 pm

2cups of tea

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Turning 25...


Amazing how fast the years fly by - and trust me, I do have a very good reason to reiterate this cliche ;)

For my birthday this year, I invited a bevy of gorgeous girls for a Girls' Night Out at Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie (11 Unity Street, Robertson Walk, #01-09). The cosy bakery/cafe belongs to the Les Amis group of restaurants and is headed by a young, talented Singaporean chef. I've heard lots about their range of goodies - from luscious macarons to delightfully melt-in-your-mouth cakes such as their Gateau Chocolat (see below) and funky ice cream menu.

Round 1: Cakes

[Front to Back] Green Tea Cheesecake, Macha (My favourite! Green tea mascarpone mousse, combined with chestnut cream and green tea sponge cake, atop a square of almond crumble), Blueberry crumble.

[F to B] Chocolat Classique (Another winner! Baked to perfection, rich in velvety chocolate texture, lush and moist), Oreo Cheesecake, Tiramisu.

Gateau Chocolat (Dark chocolate cream, flourless chocolate sponge decorated with triple chocolate shards) was voted one of the top 10 chocolate desserts in Singapore. I found it a little too rich for my liking and would have casted my vote for the Chocolat Classique instead.

Round 2: Ice creams


Their ice cream/sorbet menu is only served from Thursdays to Saturdays. After a lengthy "discussion", we decided upon the "Framboisier" (a refreshing sorbet made from tangy raspberry sorbet and coulis, fresh raspberries and a raspberry biscuit), "66%" (66% dark chocolate ice-cream served with warm liquid ganache, an almond cocoa bean tuile and chunks of cooked chocolate mousse) and "L' amour" (rose petal ice-cream with pieces of lychee, tangy fresh raspberries, rose macaron and rose meringue).


After which, we adjourned to the Crazy Horse Paris at Clarke Quay for a large dose of female empowerment...not ;)

Lip smacking good!

stormiii at 10:55 pm

2cups of tea

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Lunch at "The Canteen"



Lunch today at *The Canteen* (Shaw Centre, #02-10, entrance by side road beside Pacific Plaza), one of the more economical Les Amis restaurants...


Having read Anthony Capella's scrumptious novel "The Food of Love" and drooling over the Italian dishes mentioned, I was only too glad to order the Saltimbocca :) A Roman dish, it can be described as pork chop topped with ham with a handful of sage leaves in between. The aroma from the sage leaves really perked up the dish, which was nicely accompanied by grilled vegetables and sauce.


After the chilled lime souffle incident, I sorely needed another reason to convince myself of the joys of a good souffle. The warm souffle was drenched with Grand Marnier and had a scoop of vanilla ice cream hidden in the centre (which proceeded to melt and disappear invitingly into the folds of the souffle!). The top had a perfectly baked crust and was made even yummier by the sprinkling of brown sugar before baking.

There's also a Les Amis deli (The Lazy Deli) right next door serving light meals, cakes/pastries. Definitely a nice place to chill out when you're ready to drop from all that shopping :)

stormiii at 2:14 am

1cups of tea

Thursday, December 01, 2005

An ode to Ramly


This burger is synonymous with the pasar malams or night markets (in Malay) here. Once banned in Singapore, its illegal status and ultra-yumminess gave it a certain cult-classic following ;) Don & Drew (local radio show) even did a rap on it! So instead of advertising its actual name, creative stallholders christened it "Rasher" / "Ramlee" or some other name beginning with an "R". Now, everything's done in the open and the burger comes in the original "Ramly" wrapper. Your choice of beef, chicken or fish patty is encased in a delightfully light egg omelette, slice of melted cheese, BBQ and mayo and sweet chilli sauce. Then sandwiched in between two lightly toasted halves of burger bun. The burger is cooked before you on a hot plate and "Planta" brand margarine is used...evoking pleasant childhood memories of Planta on steamed corn... :)

Night markets here have had to evolve with the changing appetites of the heartlanders (a term for surburban folks coined by our ex-PM). There's the snake oil / medicine man who now sports a Jean Yip makeover and gives a noteworthy performance involving lots of rap and karaoke in Mandarin and various Chinese dialects. Collectible stickers, bags, Hello Kitty items, jigsaw puzzles, fake-branded clothes and a myriad of household items that you'd snap up without blinking. But I always marvel at the people selling bed mattresses, bolsters and pillows and wonder how they managed to survive!

All too soon, these night markets come to an end and the entire contraption of white and red tents move to yet another neighbourhood. As for me, I'll await the next arrival of my Ramly burger with eager anticipation :)

stormiii at 11:21 pm

0cups of tea