Dim Sum Buffet at Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant

Visited on Deepavali Eve which is also on a weekday and making reservation is easier. Some snapshots of what bf and I had at Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant (Hotel Grand Pacific)  for Dim Sum Buffet. We were on Groupon at $49.90 for 2 pax, original price at about $70+.

Very worth it especially when he was super hungry. Ordered and ate like a king, haha..Enjoyed myself very much too, busy snapping food and gorging them down! =)

On a whole, food is acceptable and one thing I like most is that there is shark fin, my fave!

Do give it a try if you come across this deal on Groupon! If not, they do not have promotions too which you can check out here, http://ahyatrestaurant.com.sg/cheap-seafood-restaurant/! Reservations can be made via online, http://ahyatrestaurant.com.sg/reservations/.

Address: 101 Victoria Street, #01-06 Hotel Grand Pacific S(188018)
Tel: 6332 2288 Fax: 6336 0207
Operating Hours (Everyday)
11.15am - 2.30pm (Lunch)
5.45pm - 10.30pm (Dinner)

Lavaedge Restaurant & Bar at MacRitchie Reservoir

Fresh air, lovely scenery and yummy apple crumple with coffee - this is how Kevin and I spent our Sunday at Lavaedge, MacRitchie Reservoir and with such a good weather (not too hot & quite cooling), why not? Relax at somewhere peaceful is what we need after a long working week.

First scenery upon arrival - the water, trees and sky make the place feel so peaceful.

One of many photos whereby he pose, pose, pose and I snap, snap, snap. Hahaha.

Stretch of benches which can be a form of art too!

Another scenery - love the reflection of the trees on the water ...somehow there are no boundaries between them... :)

And...there it is the yummy apple crumble and nice presentation too, from Lavaedge! Personally, I think it is the crumbs that make it so good. It is so appetizing that you won't mind to have more.

Goes well with coffee... :) check out the sugar stick which I don't think it's sweet enough for my coffee. Ignore me, cuz I take a HELLLLL lot of sugar! Haha...

Something I won't recommend: their edgy bite, seafood platter which cost $16.90.  Every fried calamari, fish fillet and prawn look huge due to the flour used to fry. It's the flour that deduct the score of this bite, oily and too much to taste.

Not forgetting the sky above us while enjoying the food and ambience of Lavaedge.

And also the surrounding of the outdoor of Lavaedge.

Relaxing me...meowwwww...LOL

More about Lavaedge...
check out http://www.facebook.com/LavaedgeMacRitchie
Address: 181 Lornie Road
               Hilltop
               Macritchie Reservoir Park
               Singapore 297732
Contact: 9298 2301
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri, 5pm-12midnight
                           Sat- Sun, 11am-4pm, 5pm-12midnight

Terrarium Making Workshop

Ta-dah! our results of Terrarium Making Workshop!

Got to know the workshop from a secondary school friend, Xiusi via Instagram. Haas, the power of social media yea! It's a short and sweet workshop which only takes slightly more than an hour.

The people behind the works of the above - Me & Rashidah, my ex colleague & kaki for museum visits, baking classes and many more activities coming up!

Wanna take a break from your busy life and at the same time, getting closer to nature?

Visit below for more information regarding the workshop and how to register! fee for this workshop is at $24.

Blog: http://littlegreenpot.blogspot.sg/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Green-Pot/117041638314806

Macaron Baking

My first baking class experience together with Rashidah @ Bonheur Patisserie, Duxton Road.
They have classes almost every sat from 1pm-4pm. Fee per person $80 and NUS Students/Alumni for $72.

You will realised $2.50 for a macaron in Singapore is reasonable after going for the class. =)

Malacca (17-19 Dec 2011) - Day 1

Been wanting to go Malacca long time back. The mixture of heritage, shopping and food fascinated me to go there. So I was there over the weekend with my family, inclusive of my aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a big group, a total of 12. Wasn't easy to organise and I truly understand how hard it was for my small aunt to organise for 30+ of our full strength family members to Desaru. That was like 14 years back and we, cousins were so young then!

Anyway, we engaged Five Stars Tours and took up a free and easy 3D2N package but with a two and a half hour heritage tour on Day 2.

4th aunt and uncle sitting comfy-ly, playing games on iPhone while waiting for coach to set off :)

Stopping point at Yong Peng which reminds me of  Michelle Chong in 'Already Famous', haha.. 

First time I saw purple color keropok. Keropok there is so good that mum bought more when we get to stop over there again before heading back to Singapore on our last day. 

Love Japanese wasabi? This is the best ever wasabi snack  k! YamaDa's wasabi peas! By the way, it should be spelled as 'da' not 'ta'. Trust me. Haha..The feel of the rush of 'smoke' coming out from your nostril is so dam shiok.  

Traffic light in Malacca.

Counting down by seconds, even for green light. Dam long... 

Had lunch at Wong Kok, Dataran Pahlawan Megamall which is opened by Guo Jinan. Lunch here was bad due to their service. Waited very long for their food while some has finished.

Kiwi drink. Just a tinge of sourness.

Dad's Wu Xiang Fried Rice.

Fried Seafood Pasta in tomato sauce. Simple yet savory. Fried pasta just taste better. Try frying macaroni too!

We checked in to Hotel Equatorial. Pleased that it looks very much like as what is shown on their website.

Left view from balcony.

Centre view

Right view

Pose pose with the view as background,

pose pose on bed...

and mirror reflection

The new hotel, Casa Del Rio. Check out the website! seems quite worthwhile to give it a try. If you don't mind the smell of the Melaka River. Lol.

Took the trishaw ride from Melaka River back to Hotel Equatorial for 20RM. My first time and I love it! We got to listen to 70s songs while riding. So funky. Haha..

Hello Aunt! :)

Our free set of Nyonya dinner at Seri Nyonya  Peranakan Restaurant , located in the hotel.

Black, white and red gua zi  served while waiting. Something  different...

Sop Itik Tim. Simply love Peranakan's kinda Itek Tim.  To some, it can be extremely salty that they just can't finish it.

Ikan Goreng Chilli Gram - Deep Fried Fillet Seabass with Spicy Chilli Paste. It's the chilli paste that is good and brings out the dish. Not very spicy and with a sweet taste.

Ayam Pongteh.  Like the paste of Ayam Buluak, its sweet bean paste  goes so well with rice which makes me wanna scoop more. The best paste from this dish I ever tasted so far!

Nyonya Chendol. Malacca's has its own taste! But I still prefer Singapore's, especially the one with durian paste! 

Mum, Dad, Gladys' dad and mum.

Jonathan's aunt, Charmaine, his mum and  him, himself.

Jerlynn and mum

Lastly, group photo!

Wong Kok Char Chan Teng

Address: Jalan Merdeka 75000 Bandar Hilir BD-081,082,087&088, Melaka, Malaysia 

Seri Nyonya Peranakan Restaurant

Address: Bandar Hilir, 75000 ( Located on Level 3), Melaka Malaysia 

Daily: Lunch 12.00 pm - 2.30 pm & Dinner 6.30 pm - 10.30 pm

Menu: http://www.equatorial.com/live/mel/pdf/2008_hem_seri_nyonya_menu.pdf

Balestier Bak Kut Teh at Ion Orchard

I agree I'm a Bak Kut Teh freak for a recent period of time. Oh..and not to forget, a Beer Market freak too almost everytime after having Bak Kut Teh, I would be trying out beers that I have yet tried. The number of check-ins on fb are the prove! I'm hooked on the Bak Kut Teh at Song Fa's and that's when I keep having it.

Finally I'm kinda sian with Song Fa and I tried out Balestier Bak Kut Teh at Ion Orchard with bf, Kevin.

The main. Unlike Song Fa's, it has a peppery soup base. Free flow of soup avaliable. Meat texture, not the toughest I have tasted so far.  Overall is just acceptable.

Salted vegetable. Neither too salty nor too bland. 

Braised peanuts. Always go well with teochew porridge, isn't it? Anyway, recently, I patronised a restaurant and they served this too but they don't call it peanuts.  Don't remember what is it called. I only remember mum and the Chinese International waiter were bickering about it. Haha..

Comes in a set with all of the above and a drink for $10++.

After patronising, till now, I still wonder if it is authentic i.e. Is it the same as the Bak Kut Teh at Balestier Road? So, anyone know?

Lastly, I vowed myself not to touch Bak Kut Teh for the time being!


Address: 
Basement Level 2 (located inside the Foodcourt)
ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn Singapore 238801

Simply Peranakan at Esplanade

Peranakan cuisine is one of my top favorite cuisines. The detailed preparation, strong flavoring and more than just food - the culture, attract me. Anyway, Mum, Sis and me went to try Simply Peranakan for dinner last Saturday.

We ordered Twin Pax Set Meal though there are three of us. 二人世界 sounds pretty romantic eh! haha...

Achar - common food served in a Peranakan restaurant while waiting for order. The sweetest one I ever tasted so far.

Ayam Buah Keluak - combining chicken pieces with nuts from the Pangium edule or kepayang tree to produce a rich sauce. It's a distinctive and MUST try dish in Peranakan cuisine! As I know, the preparation process is very tedious. Nuts have to be soaked in water and boiled for several times in order to get rid of the poison in them. You can simply taste the goodness of the sauce by just eating it with a bowl of rice! 

Nyonya Chap Chye which consists of cabbage, black fungus, sliced button mushrooms etc.

The soup, Bakwang Kepiting Soup that we thought they would serve in a big bowl. 
As it's a set for two, we had two small bowl with one meatball in each. Quite surprised, haas.

Labelled as a must try in this restaurant, the otak-otak. Indeed it is. It has a firmer texture as compared to the otaks that we usually eat. Think of the texture of a fish cake without the q-ness.

Last but not least..Dessert of the day - Pulot Hitam, also known as Black Glutinous Rice. 

Alright! photos of mum, sis and me. Oh well, my sis looks different now. Haha...

The cosy and warm feel with the combination of heritage concept and festive decoration. Like!

Address:

Esplanade

8 Raffles Avenue 

#02-12 Esplanade Mall

Tel: 6333 9382

Daily: 11:30am - 10:00pm