Art in Motion

Had the best teppanyaki meal at Shima, just watching the chef preparing the food in front of us was just poetry in motion. We had an assortment of food and sake, ranging from the dory, foie gras, 2 different cuts of beef, fried rice, prawns, scallops among others.

Stuffed but gorgeous, gorgeous dinner.


Shima Restaurant
22 Scotts Road
Level 1 Goodwood Park Hotel
Singapore 228221
p: 67346281

49th Day, and many other things

It has been a while since I last updated the blog. In between all this time, was the Mid Autumn festival,


family dinners, weddings, Grandma's 49th Day of prayers.

Honestly, though, I could do with a bit of fun right now in my life. No, make it a WHOLE LOT of fun ^^;;

For the time being, food and good company are still the two constants in my life. Celebrating R's birthday at il Lido, quaintly located at a corner of the Sentosa Golf Club. The exteriors of the restaurant is shaped like a sail, overlooking the South China sea and the Sentosa Golf course, making it a nice getaway from the buzz of the city. (If you don't believe me, just check out the amazing photos here)

For starters, we had some carpaccio, scallops and calamari.

They tasted great but nothing to shout about. Until, my mains came, my eyes widen in surprise and swore to go back again.

I had sea-urchin with spiced zucchini spaghetti.

Presentation was simple, when the dish first came, it looked like some soba noodles with a few strips of zucchini. It was so good, I scraped the sauce off my plate with the spoon when I finished. The pasta was cooked perfectly, the brown sauce that coated the noodles lightly was sea urchin blended with cream. With every bite, I could taste the beauty of the pasta and that sea-tasting aftertaste that one associates with sea urchin.


My friends had some seafood spaghetti, prawn ravioli, steak and seabass. I was so obsessed with mine, that I didn't stop to try anyone's dish. -l- Now, I know why people call this one of the best restaurants in Singapore.

We had tiramisu, creme brulee and lime yogurt in a berry soup for dessert. The creme brulee was extremely good with this limey aftertaste. But who cares about dessert? I want to go back there for pasta again!!


il Lido
Sentosa Golf Club,
27 Bukit Manis Road
Singapore 099892

Swinging on A Hammock, Sipping a Cold Red Bull, Watching the Cars Go By

With a slight tinge of regret, I had to pass on free F1 Grandstand tickets to watch Defending the Cavemen on Friday. A production which I could not even defend. It was mediocre, and tapped upon stereotypical behaviors which honestly failed in translation, be it the cultural context or simply that time has gone by too fast for this outdated script.

Thankfully, my friends with connections pulled through again and I scored some F1 tickets for Saturday. This time, I could not let the opportunity go by.


On a ferry ride from Clarke Quay, I found myself at the Singapore Flyer with a goodie bag. Swinging on a hammock, sipping the cold Red Bull that came with the goodie bag, watching the race cars go by. Life ... here's still loving new experiences ~




Spotted, the lonely weirdo Toyota fan. Check out his bermudas, it looks like he just got out of bed. Majorly eager for people to take snapshots of him like a cos-play event. - l -

The evening light was beautiful...

And our ticket came free with a ride on the Singapore Flyer, so we watched the entire circuit from above while the cars were doing their trial run


My first F1 experience... :)

Laksa Steamboat

Ever heard of a Laksa Steamboat? The first reaction among my friends was, "Thank god you're going on a Friday night, at least you can camp out in your house loo on Sat". The first impression among everyone was this hot, spicy, rich broth that would simply be lethal after the first few mouthfuls.

The laksa steamboat was definitely not as rich a broth as you expect, nor as spicy. Instead, it was just mellow and rich with coconut milk, yet not overwhelming. The cockles provided were big, plump, juicy and extremely satisfying.

A bowl of laksa leaves and chilli was provided for each customer to customize the level of spiciness that they desired. Food items were ala-carte and pretty expensive. (S$3 for a plate of 8 meatballs? ..Where did they fly the meatballs from? Taiwan?)


Worth a try at least. Headed for drinks at Prive afterwards, lovely night catching up with my old team. Now making plans to head to JB for seafood.

Laksa Steamboat Seafood Restaurant
404 Telok Blangah Road
Singapore 098840
Tel: 62757069

Nostalgia

Had another lazy Saturday checking out the Mint Museum of Toys and BayBeats 2009 at the Esplanade.

The Mint Museum of Toys is five levels of pure nostalgia of toys from long ago. As a child, I was mostly left on my own, so television played a big part in my development. In fact, it might be the sole reason why I can speak fluent English with a slang (totally unaware to myself) while my entire family is totally Mandarin-Cantonese speaking.


Loving the old tin toys, teddy bears and figurines...

But what was closer to my heart which kept me cooing on the spot with sheer delight was the range of Tin-Tin toys. I remembered having a conversation with one of my Korean classmates, disbelieving that anyone could have not heard of Tin-Tin. It always ended with.. "But it's TIN TIN !"


Popeye, and for you, my dearest uncle who will be clearing out his Gundam collection, I attach photos of robots for you. :)






Also, creepy toys like the old Mickey Mouse dolls... eeeeeeeeeeee

The Beatles

You tell me, Chucky???


Proceeded by a lovely dinner with my latest Jeffrey Archer novel at the Mint Museum cafe which serves a really good beer battered fish & chips, I proceeded to meet up with my friend for the BayBeats event at the Esplanade.

As a teenager, I was one of those that grew up angry and listening to rock / alternative music. I was never one of those going gaga over the cute boy bands, instead I was bemoaning why Kurt Cobain had to go. With BayBeats, I revisit that part of myself which I had abandoned eons ago.

Where were you hiding, you excellent Singapore band !!!


Former Lead Singer for Fountains of Wayne


At the outdoor, Powerhouse venue. W00tz!


Cool, cam-whoring, popsy Philippine band


And can I say, our Malaysian neighbors really know how to work the stage ! In my next trip to KL, I am so going to check out a livehouse. :)

BayBeats 2009 Singapore
http://www.baybeats.com.sg/2009/

Mint Museum of Toys
http://www.emint.com/
26 Seah St
(Just Opposite Raffles Hotel)

Project Proposal

In a hotel room somewhere in Singapore,

Laid a room with 938 roses.. to represent each day they met...


In the toilet where the room laid, laid 938 stalks which formerly held the roses.

In the room next door, laid a girl who was celebrating her birthday with her friends. :)

She said yes of course,


Here's wishing them happiness forever !

Journey to the East

To satisfy R's craving for some black pepper crabs, and 3 weeks in planning for this foodie trip, we embarked onto a rather worn out looking coffee shop near Still Road for what was rumored to be Singapore's best black pepper crab !



We arrived early at 6pm on Saturday to ensure that we will definitely get our black pepper crabs. Even though, we thought we were early. We were not EARLY enough for this popular joint, and had to wait for close to an hour for a table. By 730pm, the aquarium of crabs behind was close to depletion. Yes, they are indeed popular.




(It was either taking photos of the cat on the tree or staring hungrily at other people. You pick... )


Good things are normally worth the wait. Or the queue might be just a scam to keep you so hungry that whatever you eat will feel like it is the best thing on earth.

The black pepper was finely grinded and incorporated into the addictive sauce. It was sad that there was no bun / bread / anything starchy to soak up the black peppery goodness. My only gripe was that it wasn't spicy or flaming hot, the sauce was just so addictive that it kept me going for more. Till now, I cannot put a finger on why it just tasted so good. Do keep away from the other dishes on offer by the coffeeshop, the black pepper crab is king ! The rest are just appetizers.

Eng Seng Restaurant
247 Joo Chiat Place
(Jn Joo Chiat Place and Still Rd)
4.30pm to around 8pm

A Beautifully Kept Secret in Singapore

Private Kitchen from Forrest Leong, an esteemed chief and writer of her own right, also spouse to the famous head chief of Tung Lok kitchen, Sam Leong. Thanks to my good fortune and my cousin's great connections, our entire family had the opportunity to dine at her private residence for a few occasions.




The food was always Thai inspired, homely and delicious. The ambiance is comforting in their Lakeview penthouse apartment.

I hear now that she is so busy with bookings that it will take up to two months ahead. I wish that you too may you be blessed one day by a friend with connections to dine at her place. :)

For a touch of History & Culture ..

Headed down to the Peranakan Museum after work on Friday for a touch of history and to check out Baba Bling, a special exhibition showcasing peranakan jewelery. A charming little museum of only about three floors, but each exhibition was carefully displayed and explained with detail, making it a pleasure to go around examining the exhibitions.




Peranakan Museum
39 Armenian Street,
Singapore 179941
Monday: 1pm to 7pm
Tuesday to Sunday: 9.30am – 7pm
(to 9 pm on Fridays)

Then the gang headed to 3Monkeys for a night of culture ala Kumar style. Kumar is one of the bitchiest, cross dressing diva to ever hit Singapore. Be it politics, sex, race or current events, his no holds barred style is refreshing and his politically un-correctness appealing.

"Wonderbra? Wonder where the boobs went to after you take off the bra"
"A cross dressing terrorist? You expect me to sing and dance before blowing up the building?"

3 Monkeys Café (every Friday & Saturday, 11pm)
#01-20 Orchard Towers
400 Orchard Road
Telephone 6735 3707