200 Artworks 25 Years - Parkett Exhibition

If you are in town, or have some time to kill. There is a good exhibition in town currently in at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute, titled 200 Artworks 25 Years Artists Editions for Parkett.

Took a few photos of some works .. like the wind-vane for its whimsical details ..






Anish Kapoor .. and trying to convey intense emotion through his piece..


Jeff Koons .. and his inflatable balloons

There were also many others showcasing the key influential modern art artists of this generation, such as Damien Hirst's What Goes Up What Come Down. It was a small exhibition, but a good start for the arts movement on our tiny island. Go if you have the time ~

200 Artworks 25 Years Artists Editions for Parkett
22 May - 17 July 2010
Singapore Tyler Print Institute

Otto For Lunch

I have an expensive exam tomorrow, yet the only thing that i could think about was Otto and its cheap lunch set - l - Considering the entire lunch set was going for 35 dollars while a single dish on its ala carte menu was the same price, I will say, 'Good Deal !'.

So off I went, half day off from work with my study texts to Otto for a quickie lunch.


Meal started off with a califlower amuse bouche .. and some cold raisin and onion bread (...yucks)

Celery Soup .. (Lots of cream and butter, blend it, it WILL taste good)

Kurobuta Pork scaloppini with marsala wine sauce on a bed of mashed potatoes

Bergamot Parfait with strawberry sauce and almond Fregala

Ended off with a cup of coffee. Service was attentive and swift for the lunch crowd. I wouldn't mind dropping by for a meal again (this time for dinner). But I wouldn't say that it was the best lunch ever. Given the prices, it was good value for money at a fine restaurant.



Just a building down the street, I found this cute, little funky cafe with attitude called Once Upon A Milk Shake ~ Okay, I confess, I read it off another blog, saw good reviews and was surprised to chance upon it.

And then ended with a satisfactory mini peanut butter milkshake. Now that was something else, I wouldn't mind trying the mocha (chocolate with coffee beans) or raisin (rum and raisin..not available today..sigh).

Otto
Red Dot Museum
28 Maxwell Road #01-02

Once Upon a Milk Shake
Maxwell Chambers,
32 Maxwell Road #01-08
Mon - Sun - 11am - 11pm

One of the Best Kept Secrets ...

Morton's Bar at Mandarin Oriental.

Fantastic martinis at halved prices during Happy Hour from 5pm - 7pm, Monday - Friday. For me, they whipped up one of the best lychee martinis in town. I had lychee, chocolate and apple martinis, followed by a free flow of steak sandwiches equipped by the legendary Morton's kitchen.

The mild drunken buzz together with the fantastic meaty taste of the steaks, ahh... it was a good moment to enjoy before work starting again.

Morton's Atrium Bar
The Oriental Hotel, Level 4
5 Raffles Avenue
Telephone 6338 0066

Lunch @ FiftyThree

After a week of intensive studying at home for my PMP exam, I just simply could not do it anymore. Taking a much deserved breather, I took off for lunch at Fifty Three, a restaurant that had been coming up in ChowHound and a few other websites. Read about the interview here and about the restaurant here

Impeccable service and a small comfy setting. The lunch tasting set for Spring was presented to me .. My photos didn't do the dishes much justice. But I loved how every dish looked like a Japanese Garden to me

Tapioca chips

Potato and Yogurt bread in a warmed sack with hot stones below .. Danish butter with nuts ..

Japanese Tomatoes, Horseradish cream (this was my fav out of the whole lot. Light, refreshing, took my breath away with the simplicity and the taste)

Chicken Oysters and Hokkaido Scallop

Fish with Yogurt and Hazelnut Sauce

Wagyu Beef Cheek in an Onion consomme (I loved how the beef looked like boulders in a beautiful pool and the charming little edible flowers which took the cake for me)

Japanese Strawberries on a bed of coffee bits, Pistachio Cream with olives, Vanilla Ice cream on coffee bits (dessert was good.. especially the pistachio cream with the olives.. it was surprisingly good)

But that wasn't the only place that I visited that day. With my notes, I headed down to Portsdown Road, Wessex Village for ...nothing but chocolate.


Lazy afternoon with workers napping at the back ...

An afternoon with Laurent Bernand, Chocolatier,

A pot of ginger tea, a slice of chocolate truffle cake


FiftyThree
53 Armenian Street, Singapore
+65 6334 5535
Lunch: Tuesday-Saturday, 12-2pm
Dinner: Monday-Saturday, 7-9:30pm
www.fiftythree.com.sg

Laurent Bernand, Chocolatier
5B Portsdown Road #01-02
Singapore 139311
Telephone: +65 6475 4182
Fax: +65 6300 0691
Monday 12pm-6pm
Tuesday to Thursday 9.30am-8pm
Friday to Saturday 9am-12 midnight
Sunday 9am-8pm

Singapore Botanical Gardens - Andrea Bocelli

Andrea Bocelli at the Singapore Botanical Gardens yesterday. The YTL Concert of Celebration 2010 to be precise, with special guests, Delta Goodrem from Australia, Slovenian soprano Sabina Cvilak and flutist Andrea Griminelli.

But to be precise, on the big-ass screen at the Palm Valley venue, telecast live from another venue within Botanical Gardens. :) Hey, at least we breathed the same air, and we saw some of the stunning fireworks at the end of the show.


Goodie Bags were given ..

Together with KFC meal boxes ...

And our own rabbit-food picnic spread. ..

Mobs of people arriving early for a seat..

Concert was fantastic to put it literally. It was a good experience, having a picnic at the park. Watching the concert. Listening to the Singapore Philharmonic Orchestra backing up the heavenly vocals of Bocelli, Goodrem and Cvilak. In the cool summer night, where just a few hours prior to the concert was pouring cats and dogs. :)

The Misadventures of Marina Sands

In the world's 2nd most expensive construction site cum casino, we decided to go explore the newly opened Marina Sands. Walking across the Helix Bridge from the Singapore Flyer, we found ourselves walking through construction site after construction site.

Thanks to our luck .. or not so good luck in exploring the Marina Sands, we somehow found ourselves being led within the casino by the casino staff. Then faced, hell of a time, trying to get out of the casino, without paying the $100 levy. All in all, an interesting experience. Not being much of a gambler, the casino felt the same like everywhere else like Crown or the ones in Macau. The only surprising portion was the huge amounts of jackpot machines that just wasn't functioning yet.



Us - trying to take a photo on the roof..



The Marina Sands - Hotel Portion

Helix Bridge

In a Corner of Tiong Bahru ...

It was one of those occasions where there was flowers... then a cool trip down to a corner in Tiong Bahru where a modern and unique looking boutique hotel called Wangz Hotel was located.

Newly decorated, with a nice not-trying too hard kind of chic. On top of the hotel, lies Halo, the hotel bar with an amazing view of the Singapore skyline.



A small cozy bar, limited tables, amazing views. Do Dress casually, have a martini and chill the night away.

Wangz Hotel
231 Outram Road
Singapore 169040
Tel: (65) 6595 1388
Fax: (65) 6595 1399