Tonight we dine in SINGAPORE!: November 2009

Friday, November 20, 2009

Yummy-licious!

The different types of paste. Almond, Sesame, Walnut. They have been recommended by local food critics.

The Menu.

Admit it. We all love sweet stuff. But don't you just get sick of eating the same old ice-creams and cakes all the time?

Not a problem. Come down to Singapore and indulge in some traditional Asian desserts!

Located at the New Bridge Road end of Temple street (Chinatown) sits a quaint little store called Mei Heong Yuen Desserts (味香园甜品), which serves many traditional chinese desserts full of local flavour.

(Mango Sago with Pomelo)

One of the must tries is Mango Sago with Pomelo (杨枝甘露). Fresh mango cubes in a thick, creamy mango puree, full of wonderful mango fragrance. Unlike other stalls that serve the dessert with very sweet mango puree, the stall owners make sure that the sweetness is just right. Of course, the dessert is only made complete when served with sago pearls and the mildly sour-bitter, very juicy flesh of the pomelo fruit, which serves as a balance to the mango's sweetness. Extremely refreshing, this dessert is served chilled, definitely a plus in Singapore, where the weather is just so damn hot!

(Yam Paste)

Yam paste (also known as orh-nee), a traditional sweet teochew dessert is also one of the most popular desserts here that the customers love. The paste is smooth and sticky without being too oily(oil is needed to keep the yam paste smooth). Topped with pumpkin cubes and ginko nuts, the combined flavour of the three lingers in your mouth! So sinfully sweet, it surely doesn’t lose out to those served in expensive teochew restaurants!

(Chocolate flavoured Snow Ice.)

(Mango Flavoured Snow Ice.)

The famous mango snow ice a hot favorite. This dessert is uniquely different from other local dessert stalls that use rough shaved ice (which results in an unpleasant chunkiness).The ice is finely shaved and extremely smooth, so good it melts in your mouth! Full of wonderful mango aroma, with hints of sourness for that extra kick. For those who get sick of ice cream, why not have a try of this? The taste of the snow ice is much smoother compared to ice cream, moreover, for those who dont like the taste of milk or lactose intolerant in ice cream, you will surely love this dessert!

(Almond Paste)

Next, indulge in a bowl of delicious almond paste, just another one of those sweet desserts the Chinese are so famous for. Rich, creamy and silky smooth, it will leave you wanting for more. This dish is served hot as it brings out the delicate scent of almond. Delicious will be the right word to describe this highly popular dessert.

(Ginkgo Barley)

The ginkgo barley they serve is superb as well! The lightness" and the mild sweetness will be the reasons that make the dish so popular. It can be served either hot or cold, both ways brings out a distinct taste of the combination of ginkgo nuts and barley.

All in all, this stall, located at 67 Temple Street will surely be one of the choices to go when you visit Singapore!

If you're looking for an experience full of local flavour and culture, visit Wei Heong Yuen Desserts at 67 Temple Street when you come to Singapore!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Hamburgers MANIA!

If you love hamburgers, you'll definitely love Relish.

In year 2007 December, Relish by Wild Rocket was opened. This marked the start of the first burger restaurant in Singapore to use good quality meat. The patties that they use are from the best part of the animal, such the chuck, shin, rib-eye. According to the restaurant, you won't get any "dodgy parts" in their beef patties! They have a very wide variety of burgers (a two thumbs up for all you non-beef eaters out there), and alternatives for those of you who aren't fan of burgers, such as pastas and salad. Ever since their opening they have received numerous media coverage, proof of the restaurant's worth.

Relish is located at level two of a row of beautifully restored shop-houses built along Bukit Timah Road in 1928 (named Cluny Court). Boasting high ceilings with large Peranakan styled windows letting lots of natural light in, the interior is both cheeky and modern. Minimalistic and simple, the ambiance is extremely comfortable.

A spin-off by Wild Rocket @ Mount Emily created by lawyer turned cook Willin Low (he doesn't cook at Relish but still helms Wild Rocket), what first got him noticed by foodies was his unique style of Western cooking with strong Asian accents. This is reflected in the menu at Relish as well. Both styles of cooking merge perfectly together without overpowering the features of either cuisine. An example would be Spicy Conpoy & Hae Bee (Fired dried shrimp chilli made famous by the Peranankans ) spaghetti with baby scallops.

The menu ranges from the "traditional" burger (think smoky bacon, melted emmental cheese, juicy beef patties) to more "fun" inventions (Blue Cheese Beef Burger with Rucola, Poached Pear & Walnut Butter, the paper-thin omelet-wrapped Ram-Lee Burger( a gourmet version of the original Ramly burgers from Malaysian roadside stalls), the Soft-Boned Char-Siew Pork Open Foccacia Burger & the Curry Chicken Burger). Whatever the case, these are definitely the best tasting burgers you can find for a price tag of below $20. Don't expect them to be very big, though!

We visited Relish on a lovely Sunday afternoon and had some of Chef Willin's creations.

1. Bacon & Cheese Beef Burger (S$19.00++)

Thick, juicy beef patty topped with melted emmental cheese and greasy bacon, with a little shredded lettuce for that extra crunch. Definitely a must try for fans of cheeseburgers.

2. Wild Rocket Beef Burger (S$17.00++)

First served up at the first Wild Rocket @ Mount Emily, the burger is superbly juicy and delicious. Served with Sarawak pepper cream sauce, sun-dried tomato relish (a perfect compliment to the beef) and fresh arugula leaves, as their signature burger is is THE must try burger if you visit.

3. Seafood Burger with lemon mayo (S$16.50++)

Chopped-up octopus, fish, shrimp and crabmeat, then deep-fried to perfection, flavoured with aromatic kaffir lime leaves, and topped generously with lemon mayonnaise, giving moisture and smoothness to the burger.

4. The Breakfast Burger (S$18.50++)

A delicious combination of homemade apple and pork sausage patty, topped with melting emmental cheese, sitting on layered omlette and fresh spinach leaves, held together by a muffin bun. Served with savoury sauteed mushrooms and baked beans.

5. Open Strip-loin Steak Sandwich (s$19.00++)

In open face sandwich topped with minute steak, caramlized onions and white truffle aioli, sitting on a bed of fresh spinach leaves. The onions were fantastic, but the beef was too tough and not juicy enough. Also, too much bread and too little meat. Would've been much better with more meat.

Burgers are served with thick cut fries.

* You can make requests on the degree of cooking for the beef patties. (E.g. Medium rare, medium, well done)

We spent around s$120++ for 5 people.

+ 10% service charge

+ 7% GST

All in all, a very good afternoon. Burgers you can really Relish.

They are located at:

#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)
501 Bukit Timah Road
Map of Location.
Singapore 259760

Tel: 6763 1547

Relish's Website

Opening Hours:

Mon – Fri 12.00pm – 3.00pm (lunch)
6.30pm – 11.00pm (dinner)

Sat – Sun 10.30am – 4.00pm (brunch)
4.00pm – 11.00pm (dinner)

References

Hai Seng Ah balling , Otah

One of the stalls located at Kovan Food Centre

What is BBQ without otah?

But where do you get good otah in Singapore?
Don’t fret!
All you have to do is continue reading to find out!

The highly renowned local foodstuff suppliers- Lee Wee & Brothers, has set up stalls all around Singapore!
Over the years, Lee Wee & Brothers has raised the benchmark for how otah is supposed to be.

With prices starting from as low as 50 cents, these delicious local treats are definitely value-for-money. These aren't the regular mackerel otahs you get from other local stalls. There are other extraordinary flavours such as crab and fish roe otah awaiting you!

Having achieved the Excellent Food Award 2005, Lee Wee & Brothers continue to tantalize with their menu of culinary delights & island-wide delivery services. There are also other BBQ food items available!

Click the following for an online order form: HERE

The otahs are wrapped in coconut leaves and banana leaves, and then flame grilled.. Unlike many otahs sold outside, the fish paste inside the leaf is not burnt but grilled to perfection!
Can’t take spicy food?
Don't worry. Lee Wee Brothers’ Otahs are not as spicy as the otahs you might have tasted from other local stalls.

This simple delicacy is extremely popular in Singapore, you simply must try it. The aftertaste of the otah will linger in your mouth, and I guarantee you will crave for more!

Hai Seng Ah Balling

Hai Seng Ah Balling is the last stall in Singapore selling handmade Teochew style rice balls. The Ah Balling is made on the spot upon order.

Sesame filling

$2.50

Teochew Ah Balling; tends to be blander, served in a simple sugar syrup flavoured with pandan leaves, unlike the Hokkien Version that serves the Ah Balling in a much sweeter peanut soup. Peanut soup is basically sugar syrup cooked with grated peanuts to bring out the fragrance of the nuts!

Peanut filling

Details of the operating hours and location!
Not sticky and doesn't stick to teeth!

Makansutra award

The freshness and taste of the Ah Balling definitely deserves the Makansutra award in 2009! Texture is chewy and smooth, with generous amounts of filling.

The video on how Ah Balling is make!

Well, we bet you have a better understand of what Ah balling is now!

It may resemble the dessert - Fen Yuan, in Taiwan.

However, fen yuan can be eaten chilled and they normally come in different colours and have no filling. The flour used could even be of different flavours such as sweet potato and yam.

Ah Balling is authentically made in Singapore, that's why it's unique!

An afternoon at Fort Canning Park

Living in an island city-state like Singapore can be pretty stressful. Where our children’s education is based on test after test after test. Where everywhere you look all you see are cars and concrete buildings. Sure, we have lots of greenery, but it's hard to get a real breath of fresh air in this city!

Need some fresh air? Somewhere you can really relax? I know just the place.

If you love nature and the wonders of the past, come down to Fort Canning Park! Located just a stone's throw away from Singapore's civic district, it is a wonderful(not counting the stairs!) retreat located on a small hill, full of greenery, shade, fresh air, and the mystical sweetness of the mysterious past.

Fort Canning Park offers various recreational and educational experiences. With its lush greenery and relics from the past, is a great place for all to relax, unwind and explore after a long day of hard work. Despite the park’s small size, there is just so much to do here, due to the park’s rich history.

Where once the first botanical garden in Singapore was now sits the Spice Garden. Containing over a hundred species of plants, it is a small replica of the once 19 hectare garden first established by Raffles himself as an experiment. Tours are conducted by at-Sunrice, the culinary academy located at Fort Canning Center.

A pair of impressive, grave gothic style gates leads the visitor into Fort Canning Green, where a Christian cemetery once stood. You can still see remnants of these gravestones embedded into the walls leading up the hill, offering visitors a brief view of what used to be. Many arts performances and festivals are held here in Fort Canning Green.

(The gothic gates, old Christian graves and Fort Canning Green. The three letters above gate, IHS, stand for Iota Heta Sigm, the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus.)

Overlooking Fort Canning Green is Fort Canning Center, a restored military barrack, now home to the Singapore Dance Theatre.

One area visitors simply must visit is The Battle Box. Located some 9 metres underground, it was used as an emergency, bomb-proof command center during The Battle of Singapore. It was where the British surrendered Singapore to Japanese forces, on the morning of 15th February, 1942. Guided tours are available for a price of $5 for children and $8 for adult. Through the use of specially crafted life size figurines and audio and visual effects, the tour takes visitors back to that fateful morning, where Singapore fell to the Japanese. For more information please visit: the Battle Box.

(Entrance of The Battle Box, and one of the specially crafted figurines.)

But there is more at Fort Canning than just historical relics.

Located at the Hill Street end of Fort Canning Park is yet another one of its treasures, Flutes at the Fort, a fine dining restaurant housed in a beautiful black and white bungalow which used to be home to Fire Chiefs. Capitalizing on the park’s abundant greenery, the bungalow radiates with warmth and quiet charm. But the place isn’t just beautiful; the food too is succulent and luxurious. A tad expensive, but definitely an excellent place to celebrate a special occasion, or spend a romantic evening with that special someone, away from all the noise and traffic and troubles of life. For more information, please visit the restaurant’s website.

There is just so much to do at Fort Canning Park, so many hidden jewels to find. So come down to Fort Canning Park today for a breath of fresh air, rich history and luxuriant greenery!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Esplanade - Theatres of the bay

The Esplanade is an attraction worth visiting when you're in Singapore.

The Esplanade was officially opened on the 12^th October 2002. It is one of the world’s busiest arts centres with many activities throughout the year. Over the years it has welcomed over millions of visitors and presented more than 1,800 performances. It aims to be a performing arts centre with programmes cater to diverse audiences.

The Esplanade's unique architectural consists of two distinctive glass shells cladded with aluminium sunshades, resulting in an appearance similar to that of a durian. Singaporeans casually refer to the the Esplanade as "The Durian" (if your cabbie doesn't know "The Esplanade", tell him "That Big Durian" and see if he does) It is located at Marina Bay, near the mouth of Singapore River.

The Esplanade is well equip with facilities and services. One fine example would be the Concert Hall with acoustics by the late Russell Johnson of ARTEC Consultants. There are only five other such halls in the world with such state-of-the-art acoustics. Able to comfortably seat 1,600 people, it is often used for orchestral and choral concerts, solo performances, corporate seminars, conferences, and award ceremonies.

Another example would be the Esplanade's 1942 seat Theatre, an adaptation of the traditional horseshoe shape found in European opera house. It is often used for dance and musical performances, operas and dramas.

The library@esplanade is Singapore first performing arts library which was officially opened on 12th September 2002. It contains information and services in the area of music, dance, theatre and film. It is located on the third level of the Esplanade.

Library opening hours:
Monday to Sunday: 11am -9pm
Closed at 5pm on eves of Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year
Closed on public holiday

Book drop hours: 7am-2am

Besides arts performances, the Esplanade Mall also offers various retail, lifestyle and entertainment outlets.

Esplanade Shop (#02-02) is the place where tourists can buy souvenirs after visiting Esplanade. Souvenirs include soft toys, post-cards, T-shirts, CDs many more. Take a part of the Esplanade home with you.

Esplanade shop opening hours:

Sunday to Thursday: 10am to 10pm
Friday to Saturday: 10am to10.30pm

The Esplanade Roof Terrace, an open air garden, offers an unobstructed view of Marina Bay.

The Esplanade at the rooftop view.

And this is our enthusiastic group!

Getting to the Esplanade

1) Bus
Bus number available are 36, 56, 70M, 97, 111, 133, 162M, 195, 502, 531, 1N, 2N, 3N, 4N, 5N, 6N, 75, 77, 106, 700A, 857, 960, 961, NR1, NR2, NR5, NR6, NR7, NR8
Nearest bus stop is located at Raffles Avenue, outside the Esplanade Mall entrance

2) Train (MRT)
A 10 minute walk by following the signboard from City Hall MRT station.
More details can be found at the official website.

Merlion Park

France has the Eiffel tower

America has the Statue of Liberty

What does SINGAPORE have?

WE HAVE OUR VERY OWN MERLION!

When people think of Singapore, they think of the magnificent merlion!
And we have quite a few statues of them. Two of them are at the merlion park and one at sentosa.

The Merlion Park is a popular tourist attraction in Singapore, attracting over one million visitors a year. The Merlion and its Cub can both be found here and is a landmark on Singapore. The installment ceremony took place on 15 September 1972, officiated by the then Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

The Merlion (head of a lion and body of a fish resting on a crest of waves) was first designed as an emblem for Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in 1964. It was designed by Mr. Fraser Brunner, a curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium. The Merlion statue measures 8.6metres high and weighs 70 tonnes. The smaller statue measures only 2 metres high and weighs just 3 tonnes.

Big Merlion at Merlion park

Merlion at Sentosa

The Merlion's head represents the lion spotted by Prince Sang Nila Utama when he re-discovered Singapura in 11 AD, as recorded in the "Malay Annals". The fish tail of the Merlion symbolizes the ancient city of Temasek (meaning “sea” in Javanese) by which Singapore was known before the Prince named it “Singapura” (meaning “lion” (singa) “city” (pura) in Sanskrit), and represents Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village.

The Merlion Park consists of a promontory with terraced seating, and a viewing deck that can hold up to 300 people. The viewing deck offers photographers an incomparable view of the Merlion against the city skyline and the scenic Marina Bay.

Getting to Merlion Park:

Walk along the riverfront from Raffles Place MRT Station

References

Monday, November 16, 2009

G-MAX The Ultimate Bungy! We Experienced It.

Are you an adventurous person?
Are you looking for excitement?
Are you ready to reach 60 metres in the air?
Are you ready to BUNGY?

YES, WE ARE. We experienced G-MAX The Ultimate Bungy at Clarke Quay alongside the Singapore River, next to the Coleman Bridge.

Nearest MRT Station: Clarke Quay MRT (exit the MRT by the Eu Tong Sen Street exit and turn left to cross the Coleman Bridge)

STOP~ DON'T get too excited!

Check out the restrictions:
- Children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
- Minimum rider age; 12 years.
- Minimum rider height; 1.2m tall.
- Intoxicated persons will not be permitted to ride.
G-MAX & GX5 Management reserves the right to refuse entry.

Operating Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 1pm until 1am
Friday: 1pm until 3am
Saturday: 12 noon until 3am
Sunday: 12 noon until 1am
Eve of Public holiday and Public holiday:Operation time will be extended to accomodate the crowd

Watch this video!! See how high you can reach!

Other than bungy, there is also another exciting ride, the GX-5 Xtreme Swing!

(Check out the official website introduction video at http://www.gmax.co.nz/!)

Admission: $40 per person and an additional $15 per DVD recording of ride (same location as bungy)

Pricing: (All prices are in SGD)

Jumps:
SINGLE RIDE $45.00 per person
Student Ride (Valid Student photo identification required) $30.00 per person

Momentos:
DVD VIDEO RECORDING OF YOUR RIDE $15.00
G-MAX BLACK POLO SHIRT $25.00
G-MAX T-SHIRT, (BLUE MENS/ BLACK LADIES MINI-T) $20.00
G-MAX BASEBALL CAP (2 STYLES) $20.00 each
NEW!! G-MAX ALUMINIUM WATER BOTTLES $15.00

The MAX-COMBO (Experience both rides!)
SGD$
Both GMAX and GX5 Extreme Swing
$60.00
Student MAX-Combo
$50.00Check out G-Max's website or contact them for information at 6338 1146.