Vanda Terrace

Our usual lunching venue after our gym sessions at Orchid Country Club. Mum's out-of-the-blue suggestion lead us to having dinner here once again- its been long since we last patronised. They have very much improvised on their outlook and menu, introducing various new local, western, cze char and even dimsum dishes.


1/2 Dozen Chicken Satay with Condiments ($4.50)

6 sticks of tender chicken meat with a good glazing marinade makes up my preferred appetiser here. The dish comes complete with a wonderful homemade peanut dip and cubes of cucumber, onions as well as ketupat rice.



Deep fried Beancurd with Satay Peanut Sauce ($4)

Daddy loves this. Well deep-fried beancurd with no trace of oozing oil, topped with some peanut gravy and entirely covered with crunchy beansprouts and cucumber shreds.



Bitter Gourd Hor Fun ($7)

Fried flat rice noodles with prawns, squid, fish slices and bitter gourd in black bean sauce. a popular dish! This chef-recommended signature dish have been in the menu since our very first visit, and it still remains as one of my favourite main. A large plate of horfun bathed in a savoury thick gravy then generously topped with 3 deshelled tiger prawns, tender squid, toman fish chunks, bittergourd and egg. My only grouse was the slightly clumpy horfun.



"Live" Toman Fish Bee Hoon Soup ($6.80)

Enjoy the wholesome goodness of sliced "live" toman fish with bee hoon and vegetables in chef's special broth. Mum's usual order of her healthier choice with a tasty soup.



Fried Kway Teow with Cockles ($7)

Fried kway teow and yellow noodles in sweet soya sauce with cockles, fishcakes, prawns, chives and egg for an unbeatable delight to your palate. They were sure good with words, but this ended up doubly disappointing with that description. It looks pretty inappetising with that awful tone of charred dark brown and the prawns were especially tiny. Dad commented that its over sweet and saltish, obviously not intending to finish it up.


The food here may be a tad more expensive than the hawker pricing but its worth the generous portions and fresh quality ingredients used. I'd call it high-class hawker fare. Moreover, you get very pleasant dining environment with a good view of the golfclub, televisions and even live singing.

Vanda Terrace
Orchid Country Club

Out of the Pan

Back for more crepes and waffles with my parents!



Pretty crowded during the weekends but its quite a nice environment to dine along the main fountain- except all that unnecessary attention. The place was quite cramped, with tables placed close to one another so its best to tone down while speaking.


Fish Masala ($15.20)

Braised garoupa fillet with garam masala spices. With the same choice of whole wheat crepe, this became an exact repeat order for dad. Huge chunks of fish given but i felt it was slightly drier than the previous time.



Thai Basil Prawn ($15.20)

Prawns marinated with fresh basil, onion and thai chill sauce. Once again, Mum and I shared a crepe and a waffle since we prefer a variety. Another seafood choice for us with whole wheat crepe as well. Quite a number of prawns given but it wasn't fantastic with weird-tasting sauce. The nice, evenly-thin and crispy crepes didn't disappoint.


After the crepe, our waffle took a really long 15 minutes to be served.


Asian Delight ($10.50)

Pandan waffles with lime scented jackfruit compote & yam icecream. Had the yam icecream substituted with vanilla since yam is not my thing.

The wait was well worth it; this is another stunner waffle dish.



Their waffles are baked long enough to give an extreme distinct outer crisp, with a dense inner. Although the colour was deep in green, not much pandan flavour was infused. Came with thick custard cream in between and chilled jackfruits for some extra taste but the highlight remained as the amazingly smooth icecream.

The most skilfull part had to be the balance of sweetness- not one aspect came oversweet. Everything was kept under control in terms of sugar and the whole dish gave pure moderate sweetness. Well done!


Very inconsistent waiters here, some were good while some gave pretty bad impressions. Putting aside the service, their must-try waffles had impressed me twice and i will definitely be back to try more! Good food is always a certain returning-factor for me.

Out of the Pan
Raffles City Basement

Krispy Kreme, Sydney

Another Krispy Kreme, this time from my cousin Ben who just came back from Sydney.


Box of 5

2 original glazed + 3 iced chocolate cream-filled. These are larger compared to the ones dad got from Japan; rougher in surface texture but insides still soft and sweet with the glazing. Microwave it for 8 seconds and the cream starts to melt. whoo~

Wondering why only 5? Because it was too tempting for him to resist, lol.

Fish & Co
seafood in a platter

Waited at the airport for dad's arrival before mum came to join us for dinner. We were in the midst of selecting a restaurant when dad happen to see some tantalising seafood platters being served here. Without much hesitation, this became our eating place for the night.

An empty area near the entrance was allocated for us to "park" our trolley before being brought to our table. A good service impression started off with a cheery waitress fluently introducing the menu and day's specials with much confidence.


Calamari ($8.90)

All time favorite! Juicy tender squid rings, grilled or fried to your preference! A good appetiser to head-start our meal! Grilling is a obvious choice for health reasons, since my dad is such a health freak. And i really must praise this! Huge fresh juicy squids well-grilled with charred surfaces yet retaining the natural succulence of the squids. Furthermore, its sauteed in a butter-based sauce for the extra flavour. Thumbs up!



Grilled Seasonal Fish with Sambal Sauce ($15.90)

Catch of the day, grilled & served with sambal sauce or Cajun style. The catch-of-the-day was the ordinary dory fillet, standardly-sized and covered with a generous blanket of sambal chilli. Thank goodness it wasn't anywhere close to the killer kind, being more sweet than spicy. Fish was a little fishy that even the sambal failed to hide it.

My choice of butter rice beared an indian touch to it. According to dad, basmati rice was used and it tasted pretty good with the raisins. Some sauteed carrots, turnips and mushrooms came by the side



Baked Salmon ($16.90)

Baked salmon with citrus herb crust served with creamy mushroom sauce. Visibly, this had to be dad's healtier choice. The waiter got our fries request mixed up with rice so they gave us a free pan of fries to make up for it- and this obviously wasn't good news for dad. (we got the fries packed up eventually)



Pan of Fries


The Best Fish & Chips in Town! ($13.90)

Fried, topped with lemon butter & served with chips. This huge battered fillet scored in both taste and looks; beautifully battered, thick and moist fish. It filled mum to the brim that she had to takeaway her fries.



Cream of Mushroom Soup ($3.90)

Feeling hungry at the start, dad decided to order this soup as a starter. However, bad time planning was evident and it only arrived after we were done with our main course. Both of them shared it and dad commented it was good. It looked quite cute in that small teacup actually.


Their pans were cool with engravings such as "i love fish & co" and "get hooked". Despite having slightly better service, i still feel that the food at Glasshouse was better. Oh, and we enjoyed a 10% off our bill due to an SIA promotion.

Endearmints came along with the bill, as usual (:

Fish & Co.
Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2
Level 3, Viewing Mall South #036-058
(Sun–Thur) 11.30am to 10.30pm
(Fri-Sat) 11.30am to 11.30pm
http://www.fish-co.com/main.htm

Waffle Caramel Chip Cheesecake



A substantial slice of Coffee Bean's new creation came at a price of $4.90. The innovative usuage of a waffle base was a novelty for me; it was soft and soaked to release moisture when bitten into. Quite complementary to their averagely rich cheese but the best had to be that rustic sweet touch of caramel.

This sure did gladden my sweet tooth!

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Toa Payoh HDB Hub

A mix of Yong Tau Foo


8 pieces with Been Hoon Soup ($3.50)

A bowl of assorted items for me to go with soft bee hoon while mum had some broad smooth kway teow. Nothing could go wrong as long as the soup is acceptablly tasty and ingredients are fresh. I particularly fancied their chewy mushroom and cuttlefish balls.

Yong Tau Foo Stall
Koufu Foodcourt
Toa Payoh HDB Hub

A Happy Meal Takeaway

Mcdonald's can be a pretty healthy choice for dinner afterall.



A Happy Meal of a Grilled Chicken Bun, Corn Cup and Fresh Milk only required $4.50 plus a 7 minute wait. And i even got a free toy car (:


Grilled Chicken Bun

One petite burger. Here's two flat soft buns, lightly burnt on the insides, sandwiching plenty of lettuce and a slice of tomato. Surprisingly tender patty was a tad over-fatty but juicier than i expected.


Get your happy meal at any Mcdonald's outlet today.

51 Ming Fa Wanton Egg Noodles
the heartlander's choice



See a long line of people and i know its for wanton noodles. Most kovan residents would be familiar with Ming Fa- an old name in business here for many years. The stall garners a constant queue of regular patrons daily, somtimes to the extent of stretching out of the hawker centre.

Business is especially thriving on weekends with the throngs of the breakfast and lunch crowds. So what sustains this popularity? Plates of comforting cantonese-style wanton noodles, which i enjoy. Despite the approximate wait of 20 minutes each time, i would never be turned off but instead practice my patience. A very organised family operation here; one takes orders, one cooks the noodles while the other adds the ingredients.

This time, my sis and i took turns to do the queueing.


Wanton Noodles ($2.50)

Finally, its time to reward ourselves. A noticeably different egg noodles is used here- more eggy, cooked well and then bathed in a well blended sauce. Three bite-sized wantons of strongly pepper-marinated meat comes in a bowl of tasty soup. Oh yes, their lips-numbing chilli here is a killer!


Want a hearty plate of egg noodles? Come early and set some time for waiting.

51 Ming Fa Wanton Egg Noodles
Blk 209 Hougang Street 21 #01-51
8am-3pm (closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays)

New York New York
unbeatable fabulous sandwiches



Brought my mum here for our Mother's Day dinner. We were shopping around the new AMK hub and i noticed a winding snake-long queue gathered at their entrance. Whoa, they were sure a huge draw with the heartlanders! Suddenly craving for their sandwiches, i courageously joined the end of the aproxiamate 30-people queue.

Progression was pretty slow since the space area wasn't visibly large. But as we waited, the waitress came down the line to distribute sticks of cotton candys. I happily took one of course, and i liked the nice green apple flavour thats surprisingly not so sweet!


Green Apple Cotton Candy

Close to an hour later, we finally managed to get seated- right in the deep end of the restaurant. Our orders were taken immediately (since they would have reckoned we read their menu while waiting) and the food was served about 15 minutes later.

Both of us ordered a sandwich each.


New Yorker ($7.90)

All hail the almighty New Yorker.
My ultimate favourite sandwich so far.


A perfect combination of baked ham, tomatoes, savoury sauteed onions and delectable honey mustard sauce went undoubtely well for me. But the highlight still remained as it always was- their amazing thick wholewheat bread, toaster-pressed to a crisp! Totally indulging..



Tuna Tomato Mayo ($6.90)


Mum went for a classic choice, generously filled with tuna mayo. She complained that it was unbearably salty so please, don't try this one.


It was a pity that mum's wrong choice led to a wrong impression of their sandwiches. Nevertheless, i have to say my craving was absolutely satistifed- the New Yorker is simply an amazing toasted concoction! (: (You may find me overrating it my judgment is based on personal preference)

New York New York
Ang Mo Kio Hub #B1-25/26
53 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3
(mon-fri) 11.30am-10.30pm
(sat-sun) 9.30am-10.30pm

Green on Earth Cafe
wholesome healthy food

I tagged along with mum to join my Grandma and aunts for their Mother's day lunch celebration. Aunt Gina suggested this place after reading a feature on Mind Your Body and booked a table for 10. To cater to Grandma and Aunt Angie, we had to forgo their commended modern western dishes and go for an Oriental Mother's Day 9-course Feast for $218 instead.

The nine dishes arrived not long after, since preparation was done beforehand. All of us had a bowl of their round fluffy brown rice each, cooked moist and sticky (akin to the japanese pearl rice). It was good!


Braised Abalone with Broccoli

Neatly layed mock abalone slices over a heap of assorted mushrooms sauteed in oyster sauce. Passably tasty but the broccolis at the side were a little hard.



Signature Thai Tofu Cake with Salad

An innovative dish of beancurd skin wrapped over tofu & vegetable mash- unique but not extraordinary.



Chilli Vegetarian Fish

Chilli gravy was not too overwhelming but the overcooked fish breaks apart when lifted.



Stir-fried Mixed Nuts and Veggie

Greasy stir-fry of carrots and mixed capsicums.



Shark's Fin Melon Soup

What a cheater dish; this bland soup contained a whole load of cabbage without any traces of the supposed shark's fin.



Sweet & Sour Vegetarian Ribs

Basic diced mock sausages in a thick and unbearably sweet gravy.



Stir Fried Jie Lan and Lily Bulb

Finally something to my liking, its a simple stirfry of kailan stems, carrots, lilybulb petals and black fungus. Non-oily and very light-tasting.



White Fungus with Gingko Nuts

It was weird to have dessert served before the main noodles. This one is rather pleasant, just middling i sweetness. Gingko nuts was replaced with wolfberries without any prior notice.



Fried Noodles in Hong Kong Style

The seriously huge portion shocked us- it came as a whole full tray! All being quite full from the rice already, we merely sampled a small plate each. Just some sticky and average noodles.


Service was quite good, especially from a particular waitress. But the jumbled sequence of dishes and badly planned timings were evidents of their atrocious time management. I also find the set too expensive overall, considering the average standard of dishes. oh, but i think i will return for their yummy-looking pastas, pizzas and cakes!

Green on earth cafe
144 Upper Bukit Timah Road #04-03
(mon-fri) 11am-9pm