Pasta de Waraku

Pasta de Waraku really serves out decent concoction of my favourite Pasta flavors; i was totally won over when i had their Carbonara then. The interesting looking "Black" Spaghetti i'm ordering today should be an easy feat for them.

Armed with its 50% promotion coupons we were here at Pasta de Waraku, the Heeren.

Japanese Style Minestone Soup ($8.80++)

Scorching hot Minestone Soup whets our appetites with its richly creamy textures of sweet-sour Tomatoes.

Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia ($16.80++)

The Star of our meal today does not disappoint.

Ink of the Squid adds both an aromatic sea tang and a deep black glow to this dish. The one here certainly beats my initial savor of it at Miss Clarity Cafe.

Spicy Cod Roe & Potato Pizza ($12.80++)

I don't normally take Cod Roe (for its overwhelming taste and a stomach upset incident) but the ones here that's slightly baked in spicy-sweet Mayonnaise sauce were acceptable.

Nothing spectacular; a simple light dish of super thin cracker-crust Pizza to have. But loving Carbo; the traditional Italian thick crust Pizza would do better for me :)

Red Cliff II - 赤壁之战 (2009)

A Special 8 mins trailer that well summaries Part I & II Battle of Red Cliff. 

Red Cliff 赤壁 - Part I 
第四十一回　　劉玄德攜民渡江　　　趙子龍單騎救主
第四十二回　　張翼德大鬧長□橋　　劉豫州敗走漢津口
第四十三回　　諸葛亮舌戰群儒　　　魯子敬力排眾議
第四十四回　　孔明用智激周瑜　　　孫權決計破曹操
第四十五回　　三江口曹操折兵　　　群英會蔣干中計

Red Cliff 决战天下 - Part II 
第四十六回　　用奇計孔明借箭　　　獻密計黃蓋受刑
第四十七回　　闞澤密獻詐降書　　　龐統巧授連環計
第四十八回　　宴長江曹操賦詩　　　鎖戰船北軍用武
第四十九回　　七星壇諸葛祭風　　　三江口周瑜縱火

We were at Balestier Shaw theatres with the many who were rushing to view this movie as it runs into its last days of screening in Singapore. My favourite character would be the calm and collected ZhouYu, courageous Princess Sun ShangXiang and the ever ingenious Zhuge Liang.

2hrs of heart-wrenching blood-shed war scenes of history tells us,"Wars should be avoided wherever possible, cos Nobody emerges as a Winner."

An enjoyable epic that left you thoughts to ponder upon...

Warang Aneka Rasa

Lontong and Mee Rebus ($2 each)

Was at Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre for a quick lunch before doing some shopping at Marina Square area. Most of the stalls were still closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, and so we were at the Muslim stall #01-23; our 1st time with them.

What they were serving here were surprising good with tasty gravy; Yes, one of the nicer one around i would say. Worthy for a repeat visit.

In my own context, they served better than the famed Selera Kita Mee Rebus at New Upper Changi :)

The Singapore Zoo

We had planned to visit the Singapore Zoo today with the admission tickets redeemed from Maybank Tr'eats Points redemption program.

Being just the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year, many people (like me) were still off work, had brought their families to the Zoo. Arriving here at 12pm, i queued at the Ticketing office with the many others.

"All Animals Big & Small, the Lord God made them All"

I was getting so close to this little fellow that Ric was cautiously murmuring, "Enough, enough... Don't you get carried away." Haha...

A meaningful message seen in one of the exhibit rooms... as the Singapore Zoo endeavor to educating the public and creating awareness for animal and environmental conservation.

We had an enjoyable time visiting all the animal exhibits and basking in the vast greenery of the Zoo.

The Animal Shows are something you definitely should not be missing here! As you gets to see these animals at their liveliest.

Retiring at 6pm, i was worn out with thoughts of returning to work tomorrow...

New Year's Thoughts

Thoughts for the New Year...

We had a simpler fare at Grandmom's place this year; age and weakness were really catching on my Grandparents as they finally agrees to buying more ready cooked food stuff.

I wish them the very best of health; and will always remembers Grandmom's good culinary skills of Hokkien dishes and her cooking in love for us all.

Am happy getting my 1st red packet from brother who had just gotten married last September.

Reading from Aunt's horoscope book tells a bad year for me; God be with me - it's time i tame that temper of mine and learned to deal with difficult situations in compose.

New Year's the time to meet up and see that everyone is well. Another year had passed; the day passes fast too...

Houngang Fishball Noodle in NTU

Finally, we are back to NTU for the famous Hougang Minced Meat cum Fishball noodles stall in Canteen A. My 1st and last visit was in July '08! A long time ago.

Fresh springy Fishball and Fish Cake was worthy of the short queue and economic price of $2 for a bowlful.
Tasty seasoning sauce for the noodles too; this was our simple dinner today :)

逛花市 - CNY Flower Mart

Finally made it to the Chinese New Year Flowers Market this year; been missing it for the past 2.

Just as we predicted, the Thomson stretch of nurseries were cram packed! Cars looking for parkings were basically immobilised along the constricted lanes.

Wishing us ALL a BRIGHT ROSY Year Ahead!!

HAPPY 牛 YEAR!!

Tang Dian Wang, 汤点王

汤点王 as its name implies, simply means you should order its specialties of Soup and Dim Sum.

It was a pleasant treat that Ric had planned as a surprise lunch for us in this Shanghai Restaurant at its Suntec City branch.

Signature Borsch Soup ($18++)

Exceptionally flavorable soup over its claypot cooking.

The ribs melt in our mouth; even its bones felt soft to the bite. The savory dip sauce adds an interesting tang to the otherwise plain tasting ribs that had lost its essence to the soup.

Mushroom with Cabbage Wrap ($8.80++)

This light, simple dish gave you that mouthful of assortment mushrooms. Nice try.

Pork Dumplings in Sichuan Chilli Oil ($4.50++)

Had always loved dumpling prepared as the spicy 红油抄手. The ones here certainly do not disappoint; it was filled with springy fresh Shrimps and sweet Carrot bits.

Stir-Fried Spicy Chicken ($9.80++)

This all too common Spicy Chicken was a mistake though; drawing a close resemblance to our local Sweet & Sour Pork but a saltier version as Bean Paste seems to be added also.

As a conclusion, with a novel menu and affordable pricing, we wish to try every dish! Be back to enjoy the class of fine dining service here.

忠于原味 - 云吞面

Was at Tiong Bahru Market for Lunch before Ric picks up his shoes from the Timberland.

And having the longest Lunch time queue at #02-30 prompted us to join in for its Wanton Noodles.

Wanton Noodles ($2.50)

Their exceptional lovely Char Siew was the highlight of their Malaysia-styled Wanton Noodles that was featured on the TV program "Where the Queue Starts".

Thick slices of fleshy meaty Char Siew is a big draw with many requesting for their premium grade "不见天“ meat, alas it was sold out early in the morning already.

Our serving of the 2nd grade Char Siew was nonetheless as satisfying.

House of Dumplings (VI)

I'm glad that we had a place like the House of Dumplings at Blk 28 Kelantan Lane to go to, whenever we craved for some decent Chinese Dumplings or Handmade Noodles.

Our dinner today, the Xiao Long Bao, 小笼包 ($3), Pan-fried Gyozas, 锅贴 ($5) and Handmade Noodles, 肉脞面 ($4).

For more details of their dishes they offered, read here, here and here :)

The lady Chef told us they will be resting for the Chinese New Year Holiday; better to call her at 9469-7774 before going down.

BBQ Crabs!!

As an annual affair, we were invited to our friend, the Kees family's Lunch BBQ party at their work place office.

A simple Lunch Buffet was catered along with an extensive menu of raw items for the 2 long Charcoal tables.

Chicken Wings, Satay, Otah, Hot Dogs, Crayfish, Prawns, Squids, Fishes, Sweet Corns, Tapiocas... But what were in my eyes, was all the Crabs!!

It's a shame to admit that this is my 1st taste of BBQ Crabs; had always avoided them because of the hassle of eating them.

But Ric had urged me to try, and i did.

Apart from the Crab's roe which i had yet learn to appreciate, i guess, for all my coming BBQ i would only be looking out for the Crabs. Barbecuing was probably the BEST way to savor Crabs!

Kway Chap @ Bukit Batok CC

Kway Chap or more commonly known here as 粿汁 is a Teochew dish of flat, broad Rice Sheets in a soup made with Dark Soy Sauce.

Served with our selection of Pig Offal, Braised Duck meat, various kinds of Beancurd, preserved Salted Vegetables, and Braised hard-boiled Eggs.

Plateful of our selection with 3 bowls of Kway ($6.50)

This stall was worth my special mention as it offers generous food portion at an economical pricing.

We had previously tried their Set for 2 @ $5.50 and were pleasantly surprised with the good quality and large serving of food.

Even the Kway was a full big bowlful compared with all others we usually had!

Most importantly, they don't pile up the dish with Cucumber slices just to create that "inflated" look.

The plateful you seen in the picture above were made up of all true ingredients :)

This honest stall certainly deserves our support.

LE Cafe - CNY Goodies

Since we knew LE Cafe & Confectionery for quality Chinese New Year Goodies, we never stop coming back to them each year.

Pricier than Bengawan Solo, but i do find them better.

Love their Vegetarian Almond Cookies, Pistachio Cookies, Sambal Prawn Roll and Kueh Bangkit!!

A bite into their Pineapple Tarts that Rics "smuggled" from home. It was thinly crusted with not so sweet Pineapple infill - super nice, i like it.

Next year, we shall place an advance order for their Golfball-sized Pineapple Tarts - 10 pcs for $9.80. It was fully booked by now, we were told to order 2 months in advance!

Lunch at Singapore Banking Hub

Today's a real eye opener for me! Strolling down the streets of Singapore's Banking & Finance Hub - the area outside Raffles MRT and along OUB Centre...

It's jam-packed with lunch-goers in their banking suits and gear...haha... all towards the Market Street Food Centre!! I'm the only 1 in casual Bermuda shorts :)

The 1 level food centre was crowded throughout the 2 hours lunch break!! We have a quick lunch of Fish Porridge at 瑞记.

Fish Porridge ($3)

Thick Fish slices swimming in delightful MSG-free clear soup flavored with shredded Dried Cuttlefish. Truly beneficial for my current battling with the Flu & Cough virus.

Would love to lunch here again; there's so many stalls with long queues that i would wish to explore...

It brings back much childhood memories to be here again; sweet memories of being here with Mum to the China Bank... and finding our way about...

作记 Duck Rice

'Tis a long busy work week of 2009; getting some serious work done and tying up some loose knots here and there could cost you a whole day's work.

Today we manage to catch some yachting competition of the Volvo Ocean Race off the coast of East Coast Park while lunching at the nearby Hawker Centre.

The ever popular Duck Rice stall was never lack of patrons.

Queuing as we did, for 30mins...

Plateful of Duck Meat, Pig's Ear, Braised Tapok, Egg and Rice ($15)

Never go wrong with this Duck Rice stall - they are one of the very BEST in Singapore!

A queue awaits you here ... always.

New Plant Activator & Pyroligneous Acid!

Having won my confidence on the Super Plant Activator Pack, Ric bought me these 2 new bottles from Daiso IMM outlets today :)

The spray bottle of 300ml Activator comes with a useful turning knob that is lockable.

The 250ml of 植物木酢液 (Wood vinegar), the Pyroligneous Acid was my 1st try, so i didn't know how it may turn out.

For use with dilution of 200-500 times of water, it promises to work as insects repellence, soil conditioning, odour suppression, promoting growth of good bacteria for the plants.

Pray it's as good as it promises ;)

As a guide in fertilizing plants, i believe doing things with moderation. Keeping in mind that too little and too much of something is always not healthy.

Cafe Cartel - New Menu for 2009!

The sweating afternoon heat drove us to lunch in the cool dining comfort of Cafe Cartel in IMM. It's been awhile since we last visited Cartel; they have a new Lunch menu for 2009!

As suggested by the waitress, we had a Set of A & B to share.

Set A - Jumbo Chicken Leg in Black Pepper Sauce ($9.50)

Chunky sized Chicken Leg with Vinegar Lettuce Salad and well textured Rice; no complains.

Set B - Grilled Fish Pasta in Cream Sauce ($9.50)

Ric prefer the Chix to the creamy Pasta but i'm just the opposite :)

The pasta had a really nice aromatic taste of Chinese "Ee-Fu 伊面" noodle. I couldn't figure out how they do it; Pasta dishes never seem to go wrong here at Cartel, each of their signatures Pasta comes in distinct different flavor.

I sponged dry the Cream Sauce with their home made bread... Smacking...