Tsui Wah in Singapore!

Hong Kong popular Cha Chan Teng (茶餐厅), Tsui Wah (翠華)

 opens in Singapore!

There were quite a few must try food but I only managed to try a few since I was quite full then.

The first branch in Singapore at Clarke Quay is about 10 minutes walk from Clarke Quay NEL station. It was around 7+pm when I arrived and there was a long queue but not as long as what I expected since it was dinner peak hour. There were indoor and outdoor dining area. I opt for indoor since it was really humid and I was not very hungry. The aircon indoor was really strong. So strong that my food turned cold by the time I finished taking picture of the food 😂

Tsui Wah Milk Tea ($3.50). The milk tea came without sugar added so I added 1 packet of white sugar which is just nice for me. The milk tea is smooth and does not leave a dry/bitter aftertaste. I would prefer to have a more fragrant tea scent though. But definitely, the best milk tea I had.

  

Borscht soup with thick toast ($5.50). Since it was quite cold in the restaurant, I requested to add on this dish after the first order. It was also because other tables ordered this which looks delicious 😝

There is alot of ingredients in the soup. The soup is not as sourish as other borscht soup I tried so far. In fact, there was a hint of sweetness in it and it feels like they really had stewed this with the ingredients given in it. There were small bits of beef in the soup, so for those who do not take beef, it might be difficult to pick them out. The toast was quite dry but it helps when dipped into the soup.

Crispy bun with condensed milk ($4). This reminds me of the retro way of eating toast. The bun itself is fluffy. After toasting, it becomes very crispy but not dry. The generous layer of butter and condensed milk spread and melted on the bun sip into every 'hole' at the top layer of the bun, making every mouthful so wonderfully delicious 😋. (I am craving for this when writing this 😂)

Tsui Wah Signature Pork Chop Bun ($7.50). I was dying to try this but was a bit disappointed with it after trying. When the dish was served, the pork chop was curled which makes it impossible to eat it like a burger so I had to eat every layer by itself. I would say the thing I like most for this is the bun. It is similar to the crispy bun above but without condensed milk. The sauce use is good too and the freshness of the vegetables used. Pork chop was too hard for me and it taste normal.

Given a chance I would want to visit Tsui Wah again. Wanted to try the King Prawns in XO sauce noodle, Lamb Chop and Mixian dishes. 😊

Afternoon tea @ Pollen

Had a relaxing afternoon tea session with girl friend at Pollen. Had always wanted to visit but it does not seems to appeal to many whom I know 😕. Probably it gave the impression that dining here is very expensive which indeed is but I personally felt it is still affordable for afternoon tea. The price ($38++/pax) we paid includes complementary access to the flower dome. For afternoon tea, guests are sitted at the Pollen Terrace where you can view the main attraction of the Flower dome from.

These are some options for the tea set

With coffee/ tea - $38++

Free-flow coffee/tea - +$5

With glass of white peach Bellini - $50

With free-flow Prosecco (two hours) - $78

We opt for the free-flow coffee/tea. There are only 5 organic tea to select from (Earl grey, English breakfast, Chamomile, Sweet ginger, Red berries). For coffee, there are 7 (Espresso, Macchiato, Long black, Flat white, Cappuccino, Latte, Caramel latte)

These are the savouries served: (Clockwise) Chicken and mushroom tart, Egg and watercress sandwich, Squid ink crackers, Multigrain with smoked salmon and avocado, Beef caramelised onion and cumin croquettes and Beetroot hummus with feta and sesame

All are nice and different from what we usually had for high tea. Nothing to complain 😋

This beetroot hummus with feta and sesame is surprisingly good. Feels healthy eating it 😄

Almond and grape gazpacho is part of the savouries. It is a cold soup. Never thought of such combination and it taste really good. 

Sweets served: Clotted cream, Fruity jam, Chocolate marshmallow tart, Coffee macaron, Mandarin choux, Peanut and currant financier, Earl grey lemon cake

 Orange and white chocolate scones

The sweets are not as good as the savouries or rather, there was not much surprise as it is just normal sweets served during high tea.

Overall, I will visit again but not near future and if there is a change in menu. Love the ambiance here, very good for couples, girls date and when the weather is hot 😄

So we walk around flower dome after the tea. Isn't it relaxing? 😃

Lunch @ Alexandra Village Food Centre

Recently have been addicted to food at Alexandra Village Food Centre. 😁

For two consecutives days, I had these 小笼包 and 红油抄手 from stall #01-56 (上海拉面小笼包). The 小笼包 taste is sweeter than the usual ones we ate at Crystal Jade and Ding Tai Fung but still good. For 红油抄手, I can never forget the silky smooth dumpling skin. It is so silky that you can swallow it without chewing if not careful. The sauce is not as spicy but still a good combination although I prefer it to be more spicy. But definitely, I will return for more 😋 Oh! And it is very affordable, at $4.50 each.

This is another stall that I love 😍. Seafood soup from 炎记海鲜汤. It is along the same side as the claypot laksa. They have three kinds of soup - Seafood ($6/$8/$10), Crayfish seafood ($10/$12/$14), Red grouper seafood ($12/$14). I had tried seafood and red grouper. Would prefer the red grouper compared to dory fish used in normal seafood soup. There are different pricing for additional ingredients (La La - $2, Fish maw - $2), so you can add what you like. Soup is very tasty which I like but for some may feel it is too salty after finishing.

8-course Omakase @ Cast Iron

Saw from Facebook on the promotion for the 8-course Omakase at Cast Iron. Usual price is $128++ but paid only $68++ for the promotion when I make reservation through HungryGoWhere.

As I did not have the chance to try omakase during my japan trip in May because it is always fully booked, I was really excited when I saw this promotion 😏 Omakase is generally quite expensive as it depend a lot on chef's skills and creativity in preparing the dishes based on the ingredients that they have or the freshest ingredient they have at that time.

I was the first customer when I reached the restaurant. The nearest MRT will be Bugis station. It is located at the beehive-looking building. The restaurant looks really atas (means high end) and when I looked through the normal menu, the price is also atas 😂

So they start off with serving hot tea and followed by first dish. Each dish was served only after I am done with the current one. The turnaround time for each dish to be served is not consistent. I saw that some customers were served faster and slower.

There was no specific name to each dish but it was mentioned that the 8-course consists of appetizer, sashimi, deep fried item, seafood, grilled item, sushi, soup and dessert.

Appetizer: Contain scallop, fish roe, seaweed. Sauce is just nice with some hint of wasabi.

Sashimi: Can't really name the fishes but there was tuna and scallop. All are fresh 👍

Deep fried item: This dish took the longest to be served but the result was unexpected. Not sure is it because I am hungry but this dish really surprised me and I really like it but one serving is enough as it is quite filling. It consist of mashed potato with crispy crust around it and the seasoning is tasty and just right. So simple but yet tasty. In fact, most dishes are done just nice in all aspect.

Seafood: Consist of cod fish and fried kale. While kale is fried, it is not too oily and it feels like dried seaweed snack. But since cod fish already taste buttery, I would prefer the kale to be done differently to make it more balance.

Grilled item: Grilled quail is served. As this is quail, there was not much meat and the sauce is abit too bitter for me. The doneness of the quail is just nice and juicy.

Sushi: What can I say?? As good as what I had in japan 👍 😋

Just that I was puzzled why the honey cake was served together.

Soup: This seems like a sour plum soup. I would say this was the dish that I least enjoyed as it is too sour for my liking. It feels like a sour water than a soup to me. There was just one taste which is sour.

Dessert: Never expect fresh grapes will be served for dessert. I would think this is the japanese grapes that usually sold at Japanese supermart. It was so juicy and the sweetness is grapy (like the Hi-chew grape candy). Appreciated that they peeled off the skin as it may affect the taste of the grapes. 👍

Will I visit again? The dishes are of high quality, so do expect to pay more. But with promotion like this, I would definitely visit again as the experience of having omakase is different.

Dinner at Niku Kappo (by Watami)

Was at Ion and craving for beef badly but do not want to spend too much. So ended up at Niku Kappo. Had always wanted to try the food here as the slabs of beef at the front of the restaurant gaves me the impression that they specialised in making beef dishes.

It was very difficult for me to choose as everything looks delicious in the menu. Wanted to try their Mt. Fuji nabe but my friend is not interested 😒 So, I ordered something else.

This is a complimentary drink. Looks instagrammable. Taste like sprite.

Mentaiko Maki Omelette ($8.90). Traditional Japanese style roll omelette using dashi stock and cod roe. 2 of my favourite food - egg and mentaiko! Great combination and taste good too. Will definitely order again.

Waygu Nikomi don. Wagyu is soft and almost melt in the mouth. This is a special menu so could not find the price in their online menu.

Tokusen Niku Sushi Mori ($38.90). Special assorted meat sushi - rump, toro, tataki, rossini, grilled miso wagyu, wagyu uni, uni gunkan, chicken breast and teriyaki chicken. Very nicely done and so instagrammable 😁

Close up of the beef. The beef are mostly raw, so not suitable for those who cannot take raw food.

Will I come again? Yes, to try other food 😋

Dinner @ Paddy Hills

This is the second time I visit Paddy Hills. Love the food here and the ambiance but not very accessible by public transport.

Pork Cassoulet ($24). Smoked ham hock, bacon crumbs, bratwurst, sunny side up, toast

Mami Rice ($25). Squid ink rice, flap meat (150g), umami-ness, kewpie, onsen egg

Golden Folded Eggs ($18). Tomato salsa, guacamole, mozzarella pearls, pickled shimeiji, ciabatta

Berry Muffcake ($23). Berries, compote, yogurt balls, vanilla ice cream, cacao crumbs

Will I visit again? Yes! Love the mami rice but accessibility is a hindrance.

Day trip to JB

Had a day trip to JB for some makan session 😋

Started the day at 9am. The queue at Woodlands custom was still bearable.

Headed to 鸭王 (Restoran Ya Wang) for brunch. It was about 10 minutes walk from JB sentral.

Herbal roast duck

Roast pork and char siew

Nai Bai (奶白菜)

Claypot tofu with seafood

Was quite full after the brunch so we decide to head to Hiap Joo Bakery before going for coffee. It was about 5 minutes walk from Restoran Ya Wang.

 There was a long queue when we arrived. Queued for at least 30 minutes and only managed to buy a small pack of banana cake and some bread. Hiap Joo is famous for their traditional way of making banana cake and bread. The banana cake is what people usually queued for. So many times, the queue is due to waiting time for the new batch of cake to be baked. I find the cake so-so. Will not queue for it.

Then, we walked over to Bev C to cool down.

This is how it looks like on 2nd floor where the cafe is.

Looking down to 1st floor where the apparel/accessories shop is.

 Can't remember what is this but it should be strawberry smoothie.

Espresso ice cube drink with milk

Espresso ice cube with matcha milk and granola

Lychee soda. Love how they make the simple drink looks instagrammable.

 Earl Grey Dark Chocolate cake. It was good that this cake was shared as it will be too jelak if eaten alone.

Was so full after Bev C. So, head to KSL City for some shopping and movie.

Just before dinner time, head to Danga Bay for some seafood dinner.

Forgot the name of this vegetable but it is nice. 😋 

Roast chicken (half). Juicy!

Prawn in herbal soup

Steamed fish

It was really very worth eating at JB as the exchange rate really make spending so affordable. No wonder so many Singaporean love to go JB.

Nespresso haul (Apr 2017)

Stocking up on my Nespresso capsules 😁

Kazaar, Arpeggio and Dharkan are my all time favourites. Both Kazaar and Dharkan are very strong and not too acidic. Arpeggio is easy to drink. Personally, I like traditional kopi-o so Kazaar and Dharkan will suit me more among all flavours.

Limited edition for this season. Nice packaging! 😆 (I have a soft spot for nice packaging)

The soup spoon union / Joe & Dough

Had late breakfast today, so end up having early dinner. Wanted to have beef steak at Waterway point social square but their beef is out of stock today!!! I was very surprised to hear that as the menu did not indicate that the ribeye is not available so I left for another place for steak. So, I quickly head to the soup spoon union as I know have steak. I was told by the staff that they ran out of ribeye but the staff ask if I want sirloin steak instead. I agreed instantly as I am craving for beef steak badly. Hahaha...

Ordered the combo set which includes sirloin steak, chunky fries (1 side from the menu) and mushroom soup ( 1 soup from the menu). The beef is nicely done and is according to the doneness I want. Their chunky fries are crispy and fresh. I like the mushroom soup too as there are huge chunks of mushrooms. I guess the mushroom sauce they put on the beef is the same as the soup that I had which I regretted for not choosing another sauce so I can have more variety. The set comes with a drink but since coffee is not in the list, I chose bottled plain water.

Since the set does not comes with coffee, I ordered Dr. Joe coffee from Joe & Dough. I ordered the promotional set that comes with a small slice of sea salt caramel cake. I always like coffee from J&D so no complain about that. As for the cake, it is too sweet for m liking. Good that it comes in a small slice.

Total bill for both orders is less than $30. There is a 20% discount for J&D order since I ordered food from the soup spoon union.

Châteraisé Patisserie - Strawberry shortcake & Macaroons

Bought the strawberry shortcake n macaroons from Châteraisé Patisserie at Isetan, Westgate. There is always a long queue at the counter but there was not last Friday. Probably because it's near the end of operation hour? Isetan supermarket staff started to cover the fridge at around 9.30pm. Anyway, out of curiosity and the urge for sweet stuff plus there's no queue, I bought the cake and macaroons on impulse :D

Strawberry shortcake (S$4.70)

Verdict: Cake is soft, moisture level and sweetness is just nice. Cream is light but abit too sweet. The fruits on top is fresh and not too sour. Châteraisé staff said I could keep the cake in the fridge for 2 days but I wanted to have it as fresh as possible so I had it the next late afternoon.

Macaroons (From top clockwise) - Raspberry, matcha and caramel (S$2.50 each)

Verdict: All are too sweet for my liking. The sweetest will be caramel, followed by matcha and raspberry. For matcha, can't really taste the matcha flavour, was rather disappointed. As for the raspberry, the sourness helps to tone down the sweetness abit. But overall, they are too sweet for me. Still prefer laduree which is less sweet.

Set up the table for afternoon tea :D