Arteastiq

My first full post-exam day! FINALLY (though I think I really bungled my sh*tty p**ds shorts urgh!). I am happily under-utilizing my little brain after stressing it for so many months, and squeezing it until it protests in the last 3 weeks.So, being the old and tired person I am, I suggested to go for a relaxing tea at Arteastiq, which I have been wanting to go for about 3 weeks, after reading various reviews on it. It's located in a super-ex furniture stall Marxx (sp?) in Mandarin Gallery.They have very interesting tea flavours, including cucumber, pear, pomelo, ginger spice etc. They were having an afternoon promotion where their English teas cost $6.90++ instead of the usual $11. The teas are only brewed when you order, so it takes a bit of time before you're served the tea.
From the English tea section, there's a selection of four different teas: Earl Grey with Lavander, French Rose, Hawaii Hibiscus, and Jasmine. It's served with biscuits. (They didn't have any scones when I went, and had no apple or orange cake either... probably had a mad crowded weekend?)French Rose Tea
All their teas are prettily presented on wooden trays, and served unsweetened so you adjust the sweetness to exactly how you like it. The rose was very fragrant, but yours truly wanted to try lychee...
The biscuits were pretty good - wafer thin buttery with slivers of almonds. My only gripe was that it's so few of them - I would have easily polished them off in a single munch. Hawaii Hibiscus - served with a wedge of lemonThe Fruit Teas are served with dried cranberries. I much preferred the biscuits.
My lychee tea ($11++) came with 3 pieces of plump, muddled lychees. This reminds me of one of my favourite lychee packet drink (which I don't drink anymore cos I think it's too unhealthily sweet) minus the sugar.

The Four Beauteas ($16something++) has 4 of their more interesting ice cream flavours. There was ginger and spice, pear tea, lychee tea and mint lemongrass. The ginger and spice was the strongest tasting ice cream, and had a milky base. I quite liked the refreshing taste of the mint lemongrass, which combines 2 of my more favourite tea flavours. Lychee tea tasted more like lychee gelato minus the tea. Pear tea had a funny aftertaste which I didn't quite like, but no one else had an issue about the taste.

They were out of vanilla champagne ice cream the day I went :(

Their cheerful, colourful chairs - their colours remind me of candies. I must say that after the afternoon of chilling out and relaxing (with the storm raging outside) on their huge chairs, I feel much happier and refreshed. Their giraffe print sofas are much more comfy than the chairs though.

The furniture shop side.I'm already head over heels loving this place after my relaxing afternoon tea here. If only I can spend the rest of my life having tea at least 1x/week :P Heard it's quite crowded during the weekends, so avoid this unless queueing is your hobby... I'm definitely coming back to try their cakes (green tea choc lava cake sounds so enticing!) as well as their light bites.

Arteastiq

333A Orchard Road

#04-14/15 Mandarin Gallery
Tel: +65 6235 8705

Nagae - Lunch

Nagae is a Japanese restaurant located at Waterfront plaza. It serves affordable set lunches (though I think dinner can be quite expensive). It's exactly like some of the smaller, more traditional Japanese restaurants with a woody interior, and the servers/waitresses even wear kimonos.

I got myself a Yakisakana Teishoku with Mackerel ($18++)

It's priced differently, depending on the kind of fish you order - Salmon ($18++), and Cod ($27++). I really like grilled mackerel and it's my default choice when ordering grilled fish at any Japanese/Korean restaurant.

The mackerel here was perfectly grilled, without any burnt parts, but yet the skin was crispy and brittle. The flesh was firm and it wasn't dry. The mackerel is completely de-boned, so no need to worry about picking through the fish and removing the bones. I particularly enjoyed the fatty belly part (which is usually very tedious to eat because of the many bones), and it tastes better when smeared with the grated radish as the bland, watery radish reduces the oily taste.

(And if you're wondering - no, I don't squeeze the lemon over my fish).

Two thick pieces of fatty salmon sashimi. Glides down the throat... ahhhhh! (Sounds familiar Annalisa? :P)Chawanmushi - with mushrooms and a slice of fish cake.
The full set (missing the chawanmushi). Not bad for $18++.

The miso soup has lots of ladies finger slices, and it was pretty weird because it made the soup quite slimy (I drank it up anyway). It's not very salty, and there were some cubes of tofu in it. I quite liked the long beans marinated in miso sauce, but the brown appetiser (between the sashimi and the rock melon) was quite unidentifiable and forgettable. The rice is the pearly looking, glossy rice, which is my favourite kind of rice. The rock melon was intensely sweet, and it was a satisfying way to end the scrumptious meal.The Nagae Natto Teishoku ($23++) which comes with the same sides as my mackerel set. When we ordered this, the server asked if we had tried natto before, since it's an acquired taste. Great especially for people who haven't tried it before, since an unsuspecting diner might have a horrid lunch experience eating the gooey, coffee smelling musucy mess that natto becomes after stirring.

There's strips of raw tuna, raw squid, ladies fingers, wild Japanese yam, prettily arranged over a heap of natto with a raw quail's egg in the middle. Since the last three ingredients are naturally gooey (or mucusy, whichever way you prefer to think), lots of slime is produced whilst mixing the ingredients together. It's a healthy (no oil at all!), nutritious meal when topped over steaming Japanese rice.

Overall, the dining experience was very pleasant, with green tea and iced water being topped up regularly. It's also not very crowded, so it's a nice place to relax, especially since there's such a nice view of the river. The restaurant has a few al fresco tables overlooking the river for people who appreciate outdoor dining.

Part of their menu - I think their cheapest set is the Oyako don for $12++. They also serve noodles (udon and soba).

Nagae
392 Havelock Road

#01-02 Waterfront Plaza
Tel: +65 6737 1708

3 Inch Sin

Such an appropriate quote, especially since it serves such decadant desserts. 3 inch sin is a 4 week old dessert cafe specialising in Molten Chocolate cakes. The bubbly chef/owner trained in Le Cordon Blu (guess which country? you'll have to ask her!). They serve chocolate cakes in 2 sizes, normal size ($5) and mini ($5 for 3).The molten chocolate cake comes in eight different flavours. If you're a big fan of the molten part of the cake, be sure to order original (in the 3 inch 'full size') because that's the one with the most molten chocolate. Though the chocolate is not super runny, the cake still has adequate crispiness right on the outside, chocolatey cakey middle, and the molten chocolate core.
For people like me who like novelty, mini 1 inch cakes are the way to go since their core has different fillings (but no molten chocolate core). Which kinda defeats the purpose of eating a molten chocolate cake I suppose? But I really like the raspberry one (down to the little bits of raspberry which get stuck in my teeth), since it's tartness complements the rich chocolate well.
I tried Hazelnut and Peanutbutter as well. Hazelnut was ok, was expecting it to be more nutella like but I think the chocolate taste kinda overwhelmed it, and I found the Peanut Butter (yes I am really not a 'true' fan of peanut butter cos I like having it in miniscule portions only) too cloying. But Peanut Butter fans should rejoyce since Peanut Butter + warm Chocolate Cake is always a wicked combination.

Their unique and pretty menu - flavours are mint, bitter orange, white chocolate, coffee, peanut butter, raspberry and hazelnut. I think if I go back, I'll stick to the lighter flavours (since I think I'm growing old and have a much lower dessert threshold than I used to have) like raspberry and mint.

It's a pity that Cluny Court has so little human traffic, and most of the stalls are hidden from view (think Relish, Taste Matters). Which is such a pity since Island Creamery is doing such a roaring trade just 2 buildings away.

3 Inch Sin

501 Bukit Timah Road

#02-27 Cluny Court
Tel: +65 6314 1217

4 more days of exam left!! Then I can plan for more gastronomic adventures in peace...

Peach Garden Novena

I get palpitations and a sense of impending doom reading certain accounts on gmail! :( Destressing a while before I go and sleep...

I don't really like going to Chinese restaurants (cos I really like Japanese/Italian food so much more) but Peach Garden has to be one of my favourite Chinese restaurants. Crispy Silver Bait ($8++)
Deep fried silver bait dressed in a sweetish sourish plum sauce, on top of pickled shallots. The crispy silver bait gave a satisfying crunch in every bite. It didn't have the oily after taste, and went really well with the plum sauce.

Deep Fried Fresh Mushroom ($8++)
The mushroom had the texture of oyster, and even looked like oysters. The batter (I think it's beer?) was light and fluffy. Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup ($6.80++ for one portion)
Not my favourite type of soup...

Their Venison Stir Fried in some sauce (can't remember the name) served with leafy green vegetables ($26++) was succulent and tender. At first glance, I thought that the sauce would be too heavy tasting, but it was not. There was a nice wok hei taste, and the whole dish was done really well. Even the vegetables were presented in a neat bundle, and were cooked just right (not undercooked nor overcoked and soggy). I actually liked it so much and missed the dish one day later, I went to Forture to get myself a box of venison rice, but it wasn't even half as nice as this (of course, Peach Garden's is much more expensive).

Baby Lobster with mee sua and steamed egg white ($22++ each plate)

The lobster was very fresh, and the light gravy didn't overwhelm its subtle sweetness. I'm not particularly crazy over lobster, unless it's in delicious pink sauce and pasta. Lobster and pink sauce and pasta is something that I definitely can't resist!

Glutinous Rice with Ice Cream in Young Coconut ($6.80++)
One of Peach Garden's more popular dessert - it's chilled pulut hitam (black glutinous rice) cooked with young coconut water and served inside the young coconut, with a scoop of coconut ice cream.

Almond Cream with Home made Beancurd ($4++)
The Beancurd was nice, smooth and had a intense bean-y taste. I think I will be very sad if I get gout next time cos then I won't be able to eat bean curd!

Custard Bun with Salted Egg Yolk ($3.60++ for 3 pieces)

I really like 'flowing custard' buns, especially those with a bit of salted egg yolk which gives that little shock of saltiness to counter the sweetness of the custard.

Flowing custard! Not the best I've tasted, but not bad either.

There was a 15% discount with OCBC platinum and Standard Charted (not sure when this promo is ending, but they really have quite alot of credit card promos).

Peach Garden (Novena)
273 Thomson Road

#01-06 Novena Garden
Tel: +65 6254 3383

Kuriya Lunch at Great World City

Somewhere in March (or was it end Feb? Exams are playing tricks on my sense of time!), before my exams started, I headed out for a omega-3 packed lunch to boost my brain space (yeah right!). Though I can't say it did much brain boosting (that I very badly needed), it did make me much happier. Instead of chirashi on the normal red and black bento box/bowl, Kuriya's chirashi lunch set comes splayed out in its full glory on a dish. The riot of colours are so pretty, and it's hard to decided where to start from.
The deep fried prawn heads were simply gorgeous, and were easily crushed into shards of crispiness when chewed. Though I couldn't bring myself to eat the black beady eyeballs (picked them out and threw them aside).
I also liked the anago (salt water eel) which has a more delicate, cleaner and lighter taste than the usual unagi (fresh water eel).
And of course, my favourite item was the light, creamy pink minced negitoro (middle grade tuna belly) topped with finely sliced spring onion.
I don't know why they had to stuff a slice of lemon into two halves of my fresh scallop, but I threw that out too. The scallop was moderately fresh, not the freshest I have tasted, but I really dislike lemon in my sashimi (cos I have a preconceived notion that they only add lemon to fish when it's not fresh to disguise the fishy smell of un-fresh fish).
There were some bones in my white fish sashimi (I think it's snapper) so I threw that away too. The full lunch set, including the dessert ($42++):
Comes with snow crab chawanmushi - I didn't like the goopy, corn-starchy gravy on top (that's where the crab meat was) but I liked how there lots of ingredients hidden inside the steamed egg.
The crisp salad was lightly dressed in a tangy miso based dressing.
Miso soup with mushrooms
Otoshi (starter) of spinach and bonito flakes in dashi stock.
There was quite a lot of rice hidden under all that ingredients, I was quite full after the meal. But then there's always dessert:)
Dessert - A trio of fruits, brown sugar pudding and vanilla ice cream. The brown sugar pudding was my favourite - it's texture was exactly like a smooth, wobbly panna cotta. The ice cream came on top of a slice of orange (yucks, orange is my least favourite food ever!) so I had to whisk the ice cream off quickly before any more of the orange flavour stuck to it.

Other than my one bony piece of sashimi, the whole lunch was very yummy.
I highly recommend that you make a booking cos it was booked full on a weekday lunch! So we (being the last minute spontaneous people that we were) ended up sitting at the sushi counter, staring at their horrible artistic backdrop of what was supposed to look like grains of rice but reminded me more of a carpet of insects/mites/lice.

That's all for my amazing pre-exam lunch! Half way through! 11 more days - I'm counting down (and much happier now than before the count down to the start of exams!)

Kuriya
Great World City
Drats, I can't find the telephone number on hungrygowhere! :( I think cos it just shifted to a new site on the office tower in Great World?

11 More Days!

Horrifying MEQs. Especially after clickity click and discovering that I put in the wrong answers x manymany times!:O
This was my best lunch the week before exams started! Dying for another one soon...
It's from Kuriya - post will be up soon...

Wild Honey

I have a little breather in between my papers (sigh 3 hr long tikam paper again tmr siiiiiiigh! After being slaughtered during Saturday's paper too!) so here's my Wild Honey post which has been on hold for so long while I procrastinate before doing work again...I'm so glad that all these breakfast places are sprouting out everywhere. Wild Honey is an all day (and evening) breakfast cafe/restaurant, which serves a whole range of breakfast dishes ranging from Mexican, Japanese, Tunisian, Swiss and English etc.

The English Breakfast ($22++)
The most expensive one of the lot - which comes with creamy scrambled eggs (not as creamy, a bit too set), roasted tomato (red, sweet and juicy), sauteed bacon, mushrooms, pork sausage (unhealthily fatty but delicious), fried potatoes (which has the texture of deep fried lard cos it's so crispy), and their speical baked beans (huge, firm beans, not soggy, in a light tomato sauce - unlike the soggy over salted ones from the can).

My most favourite item was undoubtly the brioche bread. Two thick white fluffy slices, lightly grilled and rich tasting. It's not like those light little breads you get usually which depresses under the slightest pressure, but a nice, chewy, firm and crispy. If I go back, I'll definitely order something with their brioche cos it's so delicious.The Tunesian (around $20++?)
This one smelt the best, and had the most impressive presentation. 2 half-cooked egg with tomato salsa and chorizo sausage (contains beef and pork).
Eggs Benedict ($18++)
2 poached eggs (golden yellow and runny yolks) on top of their delicious brioche bread, drizzled with hollandaise sauce, served with parma ham.

Belgium Waffles ($18++)

If you like your sweets, then attempt these waffles for a sugar rush. 4 rectangles of waffles 'glued' together with custard, served with fruit and toasted almond slivers. And a little jug of maple syrup.

Banoffee Souffle ($9++)
This is a really interesting drink/dessert. The top is a layer of fluffy (a bit wet) souffle, nicely burnt, and below that is a banana milkshake with honey.
Too bad banana isn't really my favourite fruit (unless it's goreng pisang). The drink is more icy than creamy, and it's really quite sweet. I didn't quite like the souffle portion because under the layer of toasted skin, it was all soggy and wasn't really like a souffle at all.

Hehe I can't remember what this drink is anymore. But it's the one with chocolate, coffee and honey... Though it's really not that spectacular cos it's too sweet.

I was rather amazed to find that my friends managed to secure a table for 6 here, after 6pm on a week end. Perhaps the feeding frenzy has died down because I'm so slow? We had initially wanted to try Applebees, but it wasn't open for business yet. Just as well cos I've read some not so perfect rewiews on it (waiting for more people to try before I scurry down).

They have a digital menu in their ipod touch, but personally, I don't think it'll work well when there's a queue (no wonder why all those people complained to the straits times!). Ordering can be a bit confusing especially if there's a large group infront blocking your way (and view of their two ipod touches).

Another thing is that their seating area is rather limited (bordering on cramped, and crowded), and we could see a waiter and some customers (who came later at around 730) giving us the evil eye cos there weren't any seats left and we had just finished our meal.

Though I can't say their breakfast is better than some others (Spruce is still my fave haunt), it's all day (and night!) so if you're hankering for scrambled eggs and the like, during un-breakfast hours (9am to 10pm to be exact), Wild Honey's definitely the place for you. Though it sure cost a bit more than I am willing to pay...

Wild Honey

333A Orchard Road

#03-02 Mandarin Gallery
Tel: +65 6235 3900