Botanic Gardens and Earth Jar Treasure Herbal Soup, Sin Ming

Went along with my parents to visit the Botanic Gardens one Sunday afternoon. It was so relaxing to walk along winding paths which cut through lots of beautiful greenery, watch families laze on blankets set on the grass, kids kicking a ball around, and happy happy sounds in the large garden. It reminded me of Central Park, just much hotter and way more humid. Free entry into the National Orchid Garden where so many beautiful species of orchids were on display but it was so crowded in there! I prefer the luscious greenery in other parts of the Botanic Gardens instead. 

I don't remember hanging out with my family in Botanic Gardens when I was a kid. It was a lifestyle that we had neither the luxury nor the time to adopt. My growing years were dotted with memories of my dad working long hours to make ends meet and all of us struggling in one way or another. It is heartening that as my brother and I grew up, my parents could take time off to go to places they do not usually go (with me tagging along) and spend time together. 

It was almost dinnertime by the time we were done strolling through the park and my dad suggested heading to Sin Ming for herbal soup and zichar. The Earth Jar Treasure Herbal Soup is a small shop housed in a coffee shop on the ground floor of a long HDB block. They had a wide selection of herbal soup and some zi char dishes. We picked the lotus pork rib soup, stir-fried potato leaves, beansprouts and sambal sotong.

I am a huge fan of herbal soup and the one at Earth Jar was awesome! The ingredients were stuffed inside a porous bag so that they will not drift around in the soup. This solves the problem of having to sieve out the dregs of the soup. So thoughtful! The soup was thick and flavorful. 

The stir-fried dishes had good wok hei and I love their sambal!

Truth be told, the selection of stir-fried dishes was limited and there was not much to choose from. But the thick soup, hearty stir-fried dishes and homely taste more than made up for the lack of choice. After all, what is the use of variety if nothing hits the mark right?

We went over to Udders where I hopped off and bought some ice cream for my parents and myself! It was a good good Sunday :)

It was not easy to get here and I can foresee that I won't be back unless I get a car or someone offers to drive me. But if you stay in the area, do visit!

#01-244 77 Eating House
22 Sin Min Road
9383 1864

祸福相依

大学时曾听教授提到，老子说：“祸兮福之所倚，福兮祸之所伏”。二十来岁的我还年少无知，并不完全明白教授之意。五年后的我在这社会打转了一会儿，终于明白了。祸福相依啊。这是多么玄妙的道理。你看似跌到谷底，却原来谷底有黄金。你的努力被他人夺取，但其实那是个不定时的炸弹，恰好引爆时离你远远的。是人的聪慧，是命，还是轮回循环？可能这一辈子也不会有所答案。但我确实明白了，不到最后一步棋，谁也说不准。

Hoshino Coffee, Capitol Piazza

Capitol Piazza is the spanking new mall across the street from Raffles City Shopping Centre. It is a stone throw away from office and we head there whenever we feel like treating ourselves to something nice. The boutiques are generally upscale and not many people actually do their shopping there (or at least that is what I observe from the days and nights I walk through Capitol Piazza to get to and from office).One of the best kept secrets of Capitol Piazza, however, has to be a llao llao outlet without any queue! Omg yes, you read that right, no queue. I love it to bits. I walk over for my lunchtime froyo treat and get myself a petit llao whenever I feel like I need a froyo. There is also Kaiserhaus which serves delicious Austrian fare. 

There is also a Hoshino Coffee in Capitol Piazza and that was where we went for lunch one day for our girly chat session.

I had the Seafood Pasta which was really good! Portions were big and hearty, pasta was al dente, seafood was fresh and the thick tomato base was awesome. Pick this if you prefer strong tastes and something heavy on your palette.

The Hoshino Spaghetti ($14) comes with veggies, sausages, shimeiji, poached egg and al dente spaghetti tossed in a light sauce. I personally prefer the Seafood Pasta but you should definitely go for the Hoshino Spaghetti if you are fond of the Aglio Olio style pasta. 

Pancake Souffle with a side of soft serve. I really really like this! It was fluffy yet thick and went super well with honey and soft serve. 

The Matcha Souffle was much softer and kind of mushy on the inside. I prefer the Pancake Souffle for its chewy texture but I have a friend who is really in love with the soft mushy texture of the Matcha Souffle!

The Hoshino Blend coffee was one of the best black coffee I have ever tried. I am not usually fond of black coffee (I prefer my coffee with milk hence the usual flat whites) but was told that I should definitely try the coffee without milk first before adding some if I wish. I ended up finishing my cup without milk! It was fragrant yet subtly sweet at the same time. The coffee was rather acidic though which was not too good for my stomach.

I returned on other days with some old friends as well as my division and tried the Pancake Souffle with Chocolate Banana and Pancake Souffle with fruits. Both were very good! I have to say, though, that Hoshino's soft serve seems to be consistently in a half-melted state. Or maybe the Pancake Souffle was left sitting out in the open for a while before serving.

Hoshino is a good Japanese cafe with awesome pasta dishes, good coffee, and fantastic desserts. It is a place where you can visit for a full meal followed by desserts or just for desserts after a meal elsewhere. The service crew can be rather stubborn (refusing to provide chocolate sauce for our matcha souffle even if we were willing to pay for it), perhaps for the good of the food. Otherwise, service was decent. I have returned numerous times since the first time I tried Hoshino and I think I will continue to return!

#B2-55 Capitol Piazza (they have other outlets at Plaza Singapura and Suntec)

63845131

Bedrock Bar and Grill

Used the Entertainer App and brought the boyfriend to Bedrock Bar and Grill for a pre-birthday dinner! It was essentially just a reason for me to bring him to try something different and (hopefully) yummy. The low tables at the back of the restaurant were full so we were ushered to a high table in front of the bar.

Bedrock Smoked Tomato Soup ($16). Delicious tomato soup with a distinctive smokey flavour. The server was so kind to arrange for the soup to be separated when he heard that we were sharing.

Chopped Steak Burger ($38). Prime beef, bacon, fried egg, mustard barbecue sauce, oak-smoked aged cheddar and fries. The boyfriend thought the beef burger was good but not as good as those he tried in New York. But I guess it is tough to beat the beef in US!

Applewood Grilled Chicken ($38). Boneless baby chicken, roasted celeriac, and white truffle butter. The white truffle butter (that slab you see sitting on the chicken) was very interesting and fragrant. However, the chicken was a little dry at some parts. It is incredibly tough to find good tender grilled chicken!

The service at Bedrock Bar and Grill was attentive and prompt. I have nothing but praise for the crew at Bedrock. Food-wise, there were hits and misses but really nothing much to scream about. I will come back using the Entertainer App but it is unlikely that I will make an effort to return to Bedrock Bar and Grill just for the food. I feel almost bad for saying this but ah, wonderful service sadly does not make up for mediocre food.

#01-05 Pan Pacific Service Suites (beside Somerset 313, exit through the door next to Marche)
62380054
12:00 to 3:00 pm, 6:30 pm to 12 am

Creamier, Toa Payoh

Super yummy and fluffy waffles, good ice cream (I had the pistachio which was so fragrant!) and great company! The ice-cream parlour was a little small and crowded, there were limited tables and seats and it felt like everyone was smashed together in that enclosed area. BUT. The fantastic waffles and good ice cream definitely made up for it. I will be back!

128 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh

USA (New York City) Itinerary - Day 1: Grand Central Terminal, St Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller and the Print Restaurant

I made a trip to USA with Zg, Stef and King in April this year. We spent a couple of days in New York, flew to Orlando for our amazing adventure in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios and Disney's Magic Kingdom, sailed to Bahamas on a Royal Caribbean Cruise before ending our trip in exciting New York City. 

It was very much an adventure; one of the longest trips I had taken so far with some of the best travelling buddies ever. Stef and King did much of the planning while Zg and I tagged along happily. I have to say I have the lowest utility out of the four since I can neither drive (I have a licence but it is seriously just a card) nor navigate. My biggest achievement was possibly instagramming the most during the trip which is... not the most useful skill. So, thank you for being patient, kind, adventurous, and so much fun to be around for 2 weeks despite the cold, the rain and the lack of sleep.

So here we go with Day 1!

We walked from our apartment at Kips Bay to mid town.

Chipotle for lunch. Burritos!

Grand Central Terminal. I love the architecture in this place. Intricate carvings, high ceiling, cavernous corridors, antiquated ticketing counters, chandeliers. The terminal basks in a warm orange glow with a sprawling Apple shop overlooking the hustle and bustle in the central atrium. Everybody is on the move here, striding purposefully in all directions, which makes one feel almost guilty to stop.

Rockefeller. Flags from all countries unfurled and fluttering in the wind. The weather was generally gloomy and foggy when we were in New York with only one day of bright sunny weather. We tried to get tickets to Top of the Rock on that day but the queue was frighteningly long! Lesson learnt. Despite all that was said online about it being unnecessary to book tickets to the Rock in advance, please do. 

St Patrick's Cathedral along Fifth Avenue. Despite the large number of tourists inside the cathedral, it was remarkably quiet and the tourists generally do not enter the pews. 

Dinner at Print Restaurant in the Ink48 Hotel in Hell's Kitchen. Lovely neighborhood which is close to all the crazy action in the city, but quiet enough for you to think. Stef made a reservation online and we were ushered to our table quickly. I ordered the Grilled Black Sea Bass which came with leeks, potatoes, shrimp, manila clams, roasted tomatoes, chorizo, saffron broth and cilantro. The grilled black sea bass was very fresh and well-grilled and I love the succulent and juicy prawns and clams. The broth was yummy too. That said, the food was not mind-blowing. Print Restaurant came highly recommended online with several websites claiming that it was one of the best restaurants in New York City. Perhaps because we were starting to feel the exhaustion from our 24 hour flight and all that walking around mid-town in the day, the food, whilst good, did not live up to the hype. 

We had drinks at The Press Lounge (rooftop bar at Ink 48 Hotel) which I would not recommend.

Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15 are up!

Commune Cafe and Bistro No 50, Millenia Walk

At Commune Cafe and Bistro with the boyfriend for a cup of latte and a warm fluffy waffle with vanilla ice cream. It was quiet, peaceful, not crowded at all despite being right smack in the city. People were speaking softly, laughing, having a good Saturday. Fragrant smell of coffee drifted along the corridor. We spoke about our week, about random nuggets of information, about how good it would be if we could get the flat. Shared about The Projector because I found a pamphlet on the counter and looked through the movies to be screened in July. I remembered I was wearing my new tee that I bought from Abercrombie and Fitch when we were in New York with my pair of trusty jean shorts. I told him the outfit made me feel young with my aviator shades. We took the train that day because he was not driving and I realised it had been a while since we last took the train on a Saturday for our dates. How different life is without the convenience of going anywhere you want to go, as quickly as you want to go. But we still had a laugh despite the crowded train and the long walk everywhere.

(And I just realised that this draft was done in July and it is already September. I have an immense backlog of drafts to post and I am not getting around to posting them. At all. Ugh.)

Millenia Walk #02-50

63371038