Krispy Kremes

In London, a normal plain glazed doughnut is 99p.
In Manila, a box of 12 assorted/filled doughunuts is S$10.

Anyway, I have no idea why S'poreans are so crazy over doughnuts - and will que for 1+ hr just to get a box. Imagine what will happen if krispy kreme ever opens here. It'll be just like NDP last time, when people had to que overnight for tickets.
The doughnuts are super popular - and super oily. It's just rolling around in oil. And it's very very very sweet.Hmm we actually have a problem of unloading our doughnuts >.<>

Garibaldi

Went to Garibaldi for lunch on Sat - the lunch sets here are nicer than Au petit salut, but it's really hard to find parking and parking is super ex. Anyway, Garibaldi is Italian, Aupetit salut is French so it isn't a gd comparison...The starter I tried was Gorgonzola Cheese Cheese with Hazelnuts and salad. Its pretty interesting cos I've never eaten a dish like that - and the cheese was nice and warm.
The cheese is a type of Blue Cheese (but I wouldnt know since I don't think I have eaten blue cheese) which is baked and is runny in the center, and comes in this egg-like thing. This was the shrimp salad with citrus dressing (which I didn't try).The Pumpkin and crab meat soup - tastes normal. I think my cheese was the best tasting most unique starter.This is my lamb shank with mashed pumpkin - I like pumpkin in any way and I think it's a nice alternative to the usual mashed potato. The lamb was soft flaky and tender. Mushroom and Chicken pasta - the pasta was very fresh.
The best looking dish was the salmon cos of the impressive presentation. But I didn't try it.

Dessert of the day - Vanilla and Dark Chocolate ice cream - the dark chocolate ice cream is super delicious and chocolatey.

Argh I just realised I forgot to take a picture of the delicious bread (which they served so many helpings to hungry us). It's freshly baked foccacia with sundried tomatoes and you can really taste the tomatoes. And they served it throughout our meal so we kept eating the bread.

The set lunch costs about $32+++ and the dinners are really super expensive (but delicious) so don't go there till you have a special occasion (or lots and lots of $$) :S

36 Purvis Street
01-02
Singapore 188613
Tel: (65) 6837 1468

Teochew Porridge

Hmm blogger is being irritating and refusing to let me upload my photos for the past few days :(

This post is on porridge. Actually, alot of people don't eat porridge on normal days cos they associate it with being sick (dunno why when sick must eat such disgusting bland food - sure loose appetite one - I'm sure there are other easy-to-disgest food that isn't bland and yucky).
Anyway, that's beside the point - Crystal jade has really good porridge but that's Cantonese. This one is Teochew, and it isn't bland.

There's lots of dishes to add to the porridge (or rice if you please) such as fish, sotong, meats etc and lots of vegetables. It's pretty hard to describe but I would think of it as economical rice but then it's porridge instead. This is the que at the store that I like to go to. It's 10+pm on Wednesday night and yet there are so many people in front of me. And it's not that they're slow and ploddy about the serving - they're very efficient and organized - just that it's very popular, especially amongst the cab drivers cos the food is cheap and tasty.Here's what we ordered. Lots of dishes and porridge (it's the kind that you can still see the rice grains, unlike the Cantonese one where all the rice is boiled till it's gooey).
This is the view from outside - it's located along Henderson road and you can see it from the main road.

Block 116 Bukit Merah View

(Along Henderson Road)

Closed on Tuesdays

Japanese Grapes

When Qoo (the one-eared cat drink) was first available in Singapore, we used to wonder how 'white grape', which was the first flavour launched, could taste like that - syrupy sweet. But wonder no more - when I first ate Japanese Grapes, I instantly thought of Qoo (even though these are red/black grapes and not white grapes...)The grapes are normal sized (not like those USA giant variety) and have black thick skins. But don't worry about the skins - you're not supposed to eat them - and you don't even have to tediously peel them - cos these are slip-skin grapes.

Just bite the top of the grape off, and there'll be one or two seeds inside (for the bigger grapes, there may be three, but never more) and then use your teeth to take them out.
After that, put it in your mouth and squeeze it against the roof of your tongue and all the nice syrupy sweet pulp will explode out, leaving the thick skin (like how spiders suck the juices out of their prey and leave the skins behind)These grapes are on offer now - they're pretty ex and are $9.90 a box. Usually, it's $16.90. I get mine from Cold Storage, but I suppose that all the big supermarkets would have these. Japanese grape season does not last long so hurry hurry hurry! (There are japanese grapes grown in Taiwan, and Korean grapes. The latter is quite nice too, but the Taiwan one is, just like imitation Japanese grapes...)

Au Petit Salut Bristro

Went to Au Petit Salut to try the new cheaper bristro style dining. It's pretty much the same as before, just that there isn't tablecloths and the waiters and waitresses wear polo tees. And the tables don't have one million things that you won't use ie wine glasses etc etc etc

the menu is quite similar - with the set lunch ($22++, slightly less than $26 with taxes) comprising of an entree, main and dessert. The variety wasn't compromised either, just that the mains were of cheaper cuts of meats (ie no more beef cheek).
The bread was really good - and they were very quick to ask if we wanted more bread.
The escargots were brilliant, as before, and the garlic sauce is lovely with the fresh bread (tt's why we asked for more bread).
I tried this new appetiser on the menu, which is beetroot salad with goats cheese and garlic croutons. I quite like beetroot and goats cheese.
This is the salmon with garlic mashed potatoes. The salmon is cooked to your liking (just like steak), with the option of rare, medium or well done. I suppose it's good since I like my salmon a bit raw-ish in the middle.
My all time favourite dish, lamb with some creamy thing I can't remember what it's called - but it's nice and starts with a P (i think)
The creme brulee was slightly different from what I remembered it to be, not as good, but I have no idea why. I suppose maybe I thought it was really fantastic last time, but it isn't now? Or maybe last time it was 'creme brulee infused with vanilla beans' and now it's just plain creme brulee...


BISTRO PETIT SALUT
Blk 44 Jalan Merah Saga,
#01-54.
Tel: 6474-9788.
Closed on Sundays

PLUCK - Kaya Sundae

I saw a post on huilin's blog so since I wanted to try the Moroccan place which was in the same area, I couldn't resist trying the ice cream too! (The shops is indeed quite hard to find...)Super cool Kaya Sundae - Lots of gooey kaya with coconut ice cream and crumbled biscuits. $6.I wonder why no one has thought of such a brilliant idea - coconut ice cream and kaya (which is coconut jam). Of course, being cheapskate me, my 1st thought after eating the ice cream was to go and buy a tub of coconut ice cream and a nice bottle of home made kaya to make it myself at the fraction of the cost...
I'm actually thinking that for people who like kaya toast, it'll be brilliant to have the crispy super thin and brittle kaya toast with a scoop of coconut ice cream on top (like the Pulut hitam with a scoop of coconut ice cream...)
Or maybe even coconut ice cream with kaya swirls - haha it should be Singapore's export - like vanilla ice cream with raspberry swirls (Raspberry Ripple - haven't eaten that for so super long! used to be my fave ice cream last time - eat with the thin wafer)

The shop has alot of other unique flavours, but I was feeling too sugared to try anymore :( there was avocado gula malaka (which is the next flavour that i'll be coming back to try after end of posting test >.<) and lychee martini (which will be the 2nd scoop that I will try on the next time i come back)
Other flavours include Blueberry cheese cake, bitter chocolate, chocolate marshmellow, chocolate mint, peach bum, chendol, baileys irish cream, and red bean gula melaka.
I think they're part of Ice cremery or something cos the ice cream cartons have the ice creamery sticker??

Anyway, Pluck is hard to find cos it's actually half a shop - the other half sells those nice to look at very ex things - looks super nice right? Plucked is actually very small - only got space for 3 tables...

Pluck

31 Haji Lane

Tel 63964048

Deli Moroccan

One of the best value for money places - and with delicious food too. It's an alfresco cafe which serves good moroccan food (it's quite crowded for such a small place) - but don't go there if you're rushing - the service is snailey. Probably cos they're understaffed and not local, so the food takes really long to come out.

*Edit* Forgot to mention earlier - there's plus points for them serving water.

Moroccan Tea ($2.50) - Mint tea, with lots of fresh mint
Hommus Salad ($2.50) - Tomato, Onions and Chick peas in a creamy dressingChicken Tagin ($6.50) This dish is comes with a cone shaped lid (but I didn't get a picture of it). The chicken is tender, the sauce delicious but not salty, and the potatoes soft but not soggy.
Pita Bread ($1 each)Chicken Kebab ($4) - this is the price of chicken chop at food courts! The chicken has a very nice marinade, and is tender and juicy - with a side of tomato and onion salad.
Deli Moroccan
31 Bussorah Street (Nearset MRT is Bugis - this is at the Kampong Glam area)
It's one shop away from teh 7-11 on Bussorah street -the parking's terrible - but it's free on sundays and public holidays and after 5pm on weekdays.

Ichigo - Yakitori

I've been to the eaterys along River Valley Road (near to Zion Road Hawker Center) so many times, but I never noticed this little Japanese restaurant, maybe cos the doors are made of wood and there isn't really any windows, so I've been walking past it without knowing it existed all the time.
Anyway, I only noticed it today cos it was their 1st Annivesary and they had bouquets of flowers outside. It's actually a yakitori place (all the grilled stuff on sticks) and they specialise in chicken.
The menu is a bit confusing at first, but the waitresses are patient and will take the time to recommend you their specialities. And they were good recommendations too.

We had a selection of various dishes, including appetisers, salads, yakitori (of course) and rice dishes. For some of the grilled dishes, there was a minimum order of 2 sticks.

Yakitori:

Yakitori Negimaki - Leek rolled with chicken fillet ($3 each) The chicken was tender, and the leeks crunchy. We specifically told them to use less salt (since all the other yakitori places we went to had such salty food) and the food was flavourful and of course, not too salty.
Next up, we tried 2 types of chicken from the Tsukune (Chargrilled chicken ball) section. The base for the chicken was the same, but just that the toppings were different.

Avocado and mayo and okonomiyaki - Okonomiyaki sauce with mayo and bonito flakes
For appetiser, we had Saba aburi - Lightly grilled raw vinegared makerel ($12)
The makerel was one our favourite dishes - it was lightly grilled, but with a subtle hint of rawness, and the vinegar wasn't too overpowering. The fish was soft and tender, and not overcooked.
Salad - Banbanji Harumaki - Fresh spring roll with chicken fillet and cucumber and tomato, served with spicy sesame sauce ($12)The sauce was very unique - not spicy at all, and with the taste of seasame. I thought that this was pretty pricy at first, but on closer inspection, I realised that the tomatoes were nice juicy and red and without seeds at all, and that the chicken was packed full. The rice paper wrapper reminded me of the vietnamese spring rolls.
Rice dishes:
Keihan - rice in chicken stock ($12)
This reminded me of the teochew porridge, but more tasty - theres lots of Japanese pickles and mushrooms, as well as a generous serving of shredded egg and chicken.
Ishiyaki soboro don - braised minced chicken rice served in hot stone ($15)
This was one of my fav dishes from the dinner - it's marinated minced chicken with rice and lots and lots of egg. and in a hot pot so you'll have to stir and stir and stir it (think claypot) or it'll leave a crust at the bottom.
Green tea is served in a teapot (but I'm not sure if it's complimentary - i didn't foot the bill)

We were given a complimentary chicken soup - it came in a small tea cup and there was a ginger-y smell but then it didn't taste of ginger (??)
Desserts:

We tried the custard pudding, pumpkin pudding and brown sugar pudding (all are cold). ($6 each)

I liked the pumpkin pudding cos it had a firmer texture - and there was brown sugar baked into it. The pumpkin taste is really strong and yummy (only if you like pumpkin)

The custard was like normal egg milk custard, just that there was also brown sugar baked into it.

The brown sugar pudding was the softest one, and I didn't quite like it cos it tasted like mousse. Nevertheless, it was quite different from the usual dessert and worth a try if you have a sweet tooth. While we were there, the only other patrons were Japanese - no locals other than us so I guess that the food is quite authentic?

Ichigo

399 River Valley Road Singapore 248295

Tel 67361340

(The same row as 7-11 and Boon Tong Kee, just beside Liquid Kitchen)
It's a bit ex to eat on your own - so bring your parents with you! :P