Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Barracks Cafe (31st Dec 2008)

The menu - IMG_1506

Decided to venture into the ex army camp area for some food... I been looking thru their site for a while... and was quite impressed with their menu. When the menu came... it was like a newspaper ... I thought it was quite interesting.


The place... IMG_1515


I always like simple deco.... but with simple deco, I definitely need a corner seat. I do not like the sound effects of sitting in the middle of the hall with noise coming from all around me. So out came my ipod!! :)

Shaved pear salad
Shavings of fresh pear served with gogonzola cheese and walnuts
I was told it was just shavings of fresh pear :P and there is very little vegetables involved in this dish.... I end up having a dish with more vegetables than I would eat in a month!!! :P The Cheese was so little... and accompanied with as little amount of walnuts. I think more cheese would be GOOD!

Shaved pear salad - IMG_1517 copy



Spicy sweet potato mash
For a few weeks ago... I was very much into mashed potato... unfortunately... this wasn't as impressive as I thought it was. I hate the fact that I kept biting into pieces of the chilli or capsicum seeds. It's as much as having pepper in my food. Maybe they can use a sauce than mashing the "spicy" part.

Spicy sweet potato mash - IMG_1522 copy


Squid ink paella
(Seafood paella with clams, prawns, squid, black olives, semi dried tomatoes and sauteed capsicum. Comes out with a crusty top and a garnish of parmesan cheese and fresh coriander)
I like rice... and this came out quite well.... only if u like the rice that's has a slightly crusty stick to the ricepot side thingie... which I like.

Note to self : remember to check what's in the description of the dish... so i can eliminate the stuffs i do not like... :p

Squid ink paella - IMG_1527



Squid ink paella - IMG_1533

Check out the place mat!!!
If u think u can get by with 20 dollars decent meal.... forget it. I think it's a rather pricey place... they might have lower their prices... but as it's my frist time there... I didn't actually tot i got my money worth for that lunch.

Tsk tsk ... the food ain't that cheap... IMG_1507 copy

hehe I like their napkin... I am an rather old fashioned person who prefers older versions of things. :)
My favorite combo... checked with jeans :)
i always like this combination - IMG_1525 copy

I checked out the other table's orders... i think I would give it another chance.... is it to take photography (which I love) or is it to try the food there again (which is also possible....)?

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Bukang Tuna (28th Dec 2008)

This is one of my favorite korean food place.
Here are some of the food I was offered...

Pork porridge (돼지 죽 )


it's a small portion... I should had asked for more... surprisingly this was better than their bigger portion of abalone porridge.

Pork porridge (돼지 죽 ) - DSC_9983 copy


Broccoli with chilli sauce
I don't like this :p Actually I just don't like chilli sauce anymore. It's quite surprising... cause I am a Singaporean... and I grew up on Chilli sauce... :P


Broccoli with chilli sauce - DSC_9991 copy


Raw Octopus kimchi (해산물 김치)
wooooo this is one of my favorite!!! other than the raw crabs version... *yummy*


Raw Octopus kimchi (해산물 김치) - IMG_1459


Luncheon meat aka spam
no one can screw up spam... other than China...
gosh!!! they screwed up my favorite FAVORITE FAVORITE food...


Luncheon meat aka spam - DSC_0015


Kimchi (김치)
it's an okay version.


Kimchi (김치) - DSC_0013 copy


Spicy Cod Fish soup
I sooooooooooo like... but I prefer more soup with less stuffs in it... :p


Spicy Cod Fish soup - DSC_0024

Just a Bowl of rice...
PERFECT with the spicy cod fish soup!!!


Rice - DSC_0025 copy


Spicy Cod Fish soup


Spicy Cod Fish soup - DSC_0020 copy


Sujunggwa
A sweet ending to my perfect meal...


Sujunggwa  - DSC_0028



When one person is alone... I think we should eat a good and comforting meal.
And this is a nice place... but you will have to put up with the "chinese" service... :p

Casa Verde (28th Dec 2008)

Decided to meet up with some friends to do some shooting at the Botanic gardens...
of course, food had to be the final destination of this whole thing... if not part of it. So we slowly shoot and walked towards Casa Verde.

Sugar n my number - DSC_9914

I could not pronounce the set i actually ordered... and of course i didn't know that what I had ordered was an omelette. I totally blamed my stupid brains for not knowing the difference between a Frittata and a fajita (which is a mexican food meat served on flour or corn tortilla.) Okie.. i didn't know what i was thinking... :P maybe it's just too early in the morning... or i am just plain "gong" aka stupid.


Colazione Della Mamma - DSC_9927 copy

Anyway ... my Frittata came... gosh, if I had known that I am getting an italian omelette, i would had ordered something else!!!! I really wanted to have some hard chips/cracker at that moment.... :(

so back to the food... it was NOT nice! it was overcooked... and I did a search on Wikipedia... and there was no cheese in there!!!! I want cheese!! maybe it would made it slightly better. :(

Colazione Della Mamma - DSC_9925

Maybe i should come back later for lunch or dinner. I like the garden feel to this place... and though there were alot of people there, I felt rather comfy cause it was an open concept and of course, with the several dogs there... absolutely add to the charm of this place.

DSC_9943

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Mini Nepal @ Upper Dickson Road - (26th Dec 2008)

I was told that this place is very goood... not just it was featured in the newspaper, it was also mentioned by some of my frens who are into indian food... And felt it would be interesting for me. So... my dining partner and me were the only ones at the place...
so here goes it...


Papadum with mint dip

Papadum with mint dip - DSC_9808

Papadum

Papadum - DSC_9806

Mix Pakoda

this has a very strange taste to it... some indian spices... but as unique it might be... it's also a taste hard to accept, for me.

Mix Pakoda - DSC_9812 copy

Mix Pakoda - DSC_9824 copy

Veg Mo:Mo

okie... this is not my cup of momo :p


Veg Mo:Mo - DSC_9832 copy

Masala Kulchha Naan

*yummy* this was quite good... I like... it's better than the usual plain naan i had before.

Masala Kulchha Naan - DSC_9845 copy

Mutton Rogan Josh

I like this, cause they had used mutton pieces with a bit of tendons in them :)


Mutton Rogan Josh - DSC_9852

Butter Naan

Butter Naan - DSC_9853

Palak Panner
This is was goood... but then I prefer the version found elsewhere.

Palak Panner - DSC_9850 copy

Mouth freshner

Mouth freshner - DSC_9858 copy

Okie... this restaurant might be great for everyone else but me. Maybe it's a different for everyone... but i just don't like.

Han Kook Gwan @ Amara Food court (22nd Dec 2008)

This is one of the places I would go if I want some cheap Korean food.
I love it just because it's simple and unassuming. I think it's not easy to get good and reasonable well korean food in Singapore. I can go into a Korean restaurant and pay more than 20 dollars for something which I really want fast and most important of all ... SIMPLE!



They only offer 2 side dishes... one is beansprout and of course, the other one would be the traditional kimchi.


Sukju Namul Muchim 숙주나물

Sukju Namul Muchim 숙주나물- DSC_9505

Kimchi 김치

Kimchi 김치- DSC_9507

Bibimbap 비빔밥

After seeing a picture on my fren's flickr account, I finally got my hands on my frist bibimbap.... it was too much a disappointment. I don't like it. I don't like the fried egg when it's supposed to be raw... there are too much vegetables... yeah yeah i know there is supposed to be some form of vegetables in it... but I still prefer mine with less veggies... (as u would know... I am not much a veggie person)

Bibimbap 비빔밥 - DSC_9489


DSC_9497


Bibimbap 비빔밥 (after mixing)


Bibimbap 비빔밥 (after mixing) - DSC_9510

Okie... I had decided that, if I ever want something real Korean, I would go to the good places... and of course, but this would satisfy my basic craving. :p

Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant (19th Dec 2008)

A flickr fren from Chicago came back to Singapore.... yippeee more new frens to meet :)

so after going for a rather horrible buffet... we tot crabs would be next on the menu... so we went searching for crabs at YCK but was told they would only served at 5 pm....so we ended up having it at Ah yat instead.... :)

we started with some dim sum

Scallop with yam paste
the scallop bits were small to the extent I did not detect its existence... taste more like a meat fillings than anything.

Scallop with yam paste - DSC_9291



Har Gow (Steamed prawn dumpling)


Har Gow (Steamed prawn dumpling) - DSC_9309



Cereal Prawns
This was slightly salty. Maybe less salt would make this dish perfect, cause the prawns were quite fresh.

Cereal Prawns - DSC_9311



Matrimony Vine with Assorted Egg
one of my favorite vegetable dish... along with some good stock... and several types of eggs *yummy*

Matrimony Vine with Assorted Egg - DSC_9301




Stir-Fried crabs with salted egg yolk
I definitely like this alot :) pity we don't have some buns to wipe the plate clean :D

Stir-Fried crabs with salted egg yolk - DSC_9320



This is definitely a good place to come for fresh seafood. But fresh seafood, without good cooking skills can be a quite a difficult choice to make. That's one reason why this is only the backup when i do want to have seafoood.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Dinner @ Tanglin Halt (11th Dec 2008)

In a little corner of a food centre somewhere in Singapore..... There is a stall that sells rather good fried hokkien noodles and Fried Kway Teow. I was informed that this place will be closed for renovation soon... Gosh!! another place losing something precious... which words cannot be used to describe.




The Stall - DSC_8737





I just need to get my fix of them frist...




DSC_8750





Fried Kway Teow :) this was yummy when it's hot... :D




Fried Kway Teow - DSC_8775





And of course, I must get Fried Prawn mee aka Hokkien mee as well. :D This went very well with the chilli I was given.




Fried Prawn Mee  - DSC_8764





Fried Prawn Mee  - DSC_8769





And followed by a nice cold Bo Bo Cha Cha from a neighbouring stall *bliss*




Bo Bo Cha Cha - DSC_8790





And this stall is doing it's part in support of the yellow ribbon program :)





in support of yellow ribbon program - DSC_8754





I am a greedy glutton who loves to have good food. Sometimes food don't have to be on wonderful china... or even a few tens of dollars... a meal that can bring along the happy memories of the past, along with passable skills, would make a simple hot meal a feast fit for this greedy glutton.

Fish Mart SAKURAYA (15th Dec 2008)

Crab flavoured Croquette

I had the Kani Creamy Croquette, which was still hot, despite travelling longer distance than usual. I enjoyed it. :)

Kani Creamy Croquette - DSC_9121







Kani Creamy Croquette - DSC_9127



Uni Handroll

The Uni was pathetically little. I should have just get sashimi uni, instead of the uni handroll. The Uni is fresh, though I wish they had put a bit more into it.

Uni Handroll - DSC_9114







Uni Handroll - DSC_9119


I had an extremely horrible experience with the service here. The service staff kept bring my order to the table besides me.Hey I am not stupid okay! I saw the dish moving from his table to the waiter station before coming to my table.

As for the grill saba... they had served it to the table besides me. And when i asked them if they ready to serve it yet. When they went err ahh, I know immediately the fish I was eye'ing at the other table WAS MINE! I told the person I would like to cancel it in english but softly, cause I didn't want the person to feel bad about eating MY order. Off she went... then I got another female service staff telling them that I would like to cancel my grilled saba. Thinking that I will be getting my bill soon... and seeing the person finishing my fish... did put my blood to boil! 10 mins later... another female service staff came with an order of grilled saba... by then I was already angry, I looked at her and spoke sharply in Chinese about how i know my fish was served to the person besides me and that I had cancelled the order. I told her, even if she put the fish down, I will not pay for it. Annoying!!

The food ain't that bad... but can be better. I don't think I will not come here that often... esp if this is the type of service I would get. No matter how fresh they are.... the service is still important.