The breakfast club. Wild Honey.

There’s always a queue outside Wild Honey at Mandarin Gallery.

Seems people can’t get enough of all-day breakfast/brunch. And they’re prepared to wait at least 30 minutes or more for a seat, to get a choice of brunch plates from around the world.

Don’t expect to find anything particularly surprising on the menu – they’ve taken the usual pancakes, eggs, sausages, waffles, paired them up in different combinations and given them a belonging to a certain country.

The dish I enjoyed most at Wild Honey was actually not any of the breakfast plates but the Goat’s Cheese Salad.

Fresh salad leaves accompanied by beautiful deep-fried slabs of goat’s cheese. What’s not to like?? (Unfortunately I lapped up my salad before remembering to take a photo. Oops.)

I’m also a huge Eggs Benedict fan – which they call the European. Unfortunately my poached eggs came a little overdone, which kind of ruins the whole point about Eggs Benedict really. But the Hollandaise sauce was nicely done and the ham was a bit more like prosciutto than the usual sliced meats. 

The European - Eggs Benedict served on brioche

The Tunisian breakfast is supposed to be rather popular, but it turned out to be maggie-mee-seasoned tomato sauce in a pan with eggs. And some chilli. Not so great after all.

However, Wild Honey does a very soothing honey, vanilla, cinnamon drink, served warm, called Nature’s Remedy. It’s the perfect antidote to a long day, or a non-alcoholic nightcap to clear a stuffed nose or revel in warmth.

What irks me, though, is the semi-self-service format – they don’t take reservations so you have to wait to be seated. But then ordering is self-service at the counter, and you pay upon ordering where they charge you service charge although they haven’t done much “serving” up to that point! Subsequently, the food is served at your table but none of the wait staff are particularly warm and welcoming.

It’s a very strange not-here-not-there way to run a restaurant. I’m ok if it’s novel and it works. But I don’t think it actually adds value to anyone’s experience really.

Pity because the place is actually quite cozy with cool art-deco-type furnishings.  

All in all, I doubt I'd be back often, unless I'm craving a fancy-ish meal, mediocre service and prepared to wait for them.

Le gâteau d’amande Parisien

I adore macaroons.

Those French little crisp, round, slightly imperfect-looking almond sweets that melt in your mouth and come in every colour of the rainbow.

Good macaroons are pretty hard to come by.  Macaroons are really difficult to make well, because of the skill required to keep the almond pastry at a consistent temperature in order to achieve that light, fluffy, yet crisp texture.

My friend, KK, was passing through Paris en route to Singapore, so I requested for a box of those pretty little sweets from an established Parisian pâtissière - La Durée.

The macaroons came wrapped in an exquisite decorative pale green box, carefully encased in tracing paper.  KK said that La Durée even offered different coloured boxes for their customers to choose from – red, blue, green etc.

As I carefully unwrapped my prize, those colourful jewels stared enticingly at me from the box....they looked so pretty in their casing that I couldn’t bear to take them out to eat them!

But temptation gave in.

I picked up the signature caramel one and slowly bit into it.

Crisp exterior gave way to a soft, chewy texture just underneath, which quickly led to a smooth, creamy caramel centre.

The sensation was indescribably heavenly.

My dad happened to see me entranced in mid-macaroon-savouring-pleasure and promptly came lusting after my new sweets.  It took a lot of quick reflex and agile on-the-spot feet-swivelling and hand-swiping to push the box out of sight and convince him he must have been mistaken.

Later on that night, while my family was tucked away in their rooms, I deftly ran into the kitchen, dug out my La Durée box from its secret hiding place inside the fridge and picked out the pretty pink raspberry-flavoured one.

I must have looked crazed sitting in the corner of the kitchen, protecting my little box of macaroons with an oh-so-satisfied look of utter delight on my face.

I am NOT sharing these! J

Delhi must-dos. Part 2: Eat. A lot.

Unlike what most people warned me of before I embarked on my trip, I did not come down with Delhi Belly or anything near it.

In fact, I ate Indian food almost 3 meals a day for the entire week, and enjoyed the most sumptuous Indian food ever. Even the vegetarian options were so deliciously good that I did not come near missing meat despite consecutive meals of herbivorous behaviour in Kolkata.

In Delhi, here are some of the memorable places that I visited and enjoyed a good meal at. In all cases, be prepared for huge cholesterol and calorie intakes – at your own risk!

1. Haldiram’s

This is India’s vegetarian version of MacDonald’s.

India is famous for its chaat – street food – and Haldiram’s brings you plenty chaat varieties and other Indian dishes all over the counter.

My favourite chaat dish is the aloo tikki – a fried potato patty covered generously with curd, mint and a medley of chutneys.

Haldiram’s does a decent aloo tikki, although if you dare to venture out, I think the authentic street hawkers do a better version.

Haldiram’s also has a very delicious choley bhature – a brown, spicy chick pea stew of sorts served with fried puffy bread.

The best part? Haldiram’s menu is really affordable. Almost all dishes are in the 50-60 rupees range. In fact, we had 2 dishes and 2 drinks for just a little over a 100 rupees!

They’re also a leading manufacturer of Indian snacks and sweets that come ready-packed – perfect for last minute gifts to take home.

2. Swagarth’s

For fancier Indian cuisine, Nick took me to Swagarth's located at the Defence Colony Market (the neighbourhood where the embassies are located).

Must tries: Shahi Paneer – cashew nut base curry with homemade Indian cottage cheese. Pair it with their chappati – unlike Singapore’s chapatti which is more like a tortilla, the chappatis in India are baked in the tandoori oven and come out like a hybrid naan with a crispier oomph.

Fantastic.

3. Lodhi – The Garden Restaurant

Step into the Lodhi Gardens (Delhi’s botanical gardens) and it seems that you’ve stepped into another world.

Suddenly, the noise of Delhi’s traffic vanishes and instead, tomb ruins, green grass and families picnicking greet you.

The restaurant is set in a little enclave that strike up more similarities to London’s Hyde Park than being in dusty Delhi.

You’ll find yourself rubbing shoulders with Delhi’s well-heeled crowd and expatriates.

The restaurant serves mostly western food (ie pastas – noodles are handmade –  and grilled seafood/meats) but the appetiser selection has a good variety of asian and middle-eastern dips.

We tried the eggplant dip (something like babaganoush) that came with warm pita bread. Delicious. 

Grab a table at the outdoor patio on the second floor, order a homemade ice lemon tea, and be at one with yourself and the world...

4. United Coffee House

A stalwart on Connaught Place (the centre of gravity in this bustling city), United Coffee House has been around for ages, is named in almost every guidebook, and being able to have a meal there is every young local’s dream.

To be fair, meals can get quite pricey in there. Main courses start from around 400 rupees each, and a meal for one could easily rack up 1000 rupees with appetisers and drinks thrown in.

Don’t expect a fancy shopfront though – you could just as easily walk by the fairly nondescript exterior save for the impeccably-dressed Sikh maitre d’ out front.

United is pretty famous for their Tomato Fish (a Delhi colonial classic) – essentially pan fried fish fillets coated in a homemade tangy tomato sauce.

However, I much preferred the Bengali prawn curry that we ordered – rich and coconut-ty with big pieces of fresh prawns– together with some tandoori-baked chappati.

Hugely satisfying.

New York: Breakfast at Penelope's

Not Tiffany's, mind you.

At the corner of 30th and Lexington, step into Penelope and you're immediately transported into another world.

It looks almost like a picture out of Alice in Wonderland, with its wood-panelled floors, antique-ish wood and marble tables, colonial-style ceiling fans and pastel coloured walls. Not forgetting the row of pastries and cakes adorning the counter and welcoming your very entrance as you step into this cosy abode.

Magical. I couldn't think of a more enticing way to start a morning.

This is the second time I've been to Penelope for breakfast - the first time was last year when I paid homage to New York and camped 5 blocks away with a pal. It was my last meal in in the Apple before I headed up the bus for the 4-hour ride back to DC.

This time round, I crashed with the same friend, and again visited Penelope's just before getting onto the same bus bound for DC.

Penelope's breakfast menu is just that memorable that I returned a year on.

It's wholesome food, cooked with love, in a place small enough that you don't feel glossed over by over-harried waiters, yet spacious enough that you don't feel like the other tables around are eavesdropping on your conversation.

I've tried 2 of their egg sandwiches and they're both really yums, taking a twist on the usual tradition.

The Abuelo's Egg Sandwich (USD9) comes on somun bread (a lot like ciabatta), with eggs done over medium and topped with melted swiss cheese, grilled ham and a tangy balsamic mayo to balance the whole thing.

Abuelo's Egg Sandwich

The best part about the Abuelo's Egg Sandwich is that each half of the sandwich comes with a perfectly enclosed egg yolk, so that you don't have to worry about not having enough egg to go around your whole sandwich.
And you can be as messy as you want with the first half, and start all over again with the next half!

It's perfect :)

Abuelo means grandma in Spanish. And the sandwich does bring to mind going to grandma's and getting fed tons of fantastic homecooked food, making a mess, and have grandma just rub your head and pinch your nose.

The Penny Egg Sandwich (USD8) on the other hand, is a better idea if messy is not your thing when it comes to eggs.

Scrambled eggs, american cheese and a quarter-sized serving of pesto sauce on the side for dipping, on either a croissant of an english muffin.

This time, we ordered the croissant version.

Penny Egg Sandwich on a croissant

I personally prefer the english muffin version which I had the previous time I was at Penelope. But the sandwich was still as good as I remembered it to be, and the pesto sauce still as little as I recalled it to be.

My only gripe is that they aren't as generous with the pesto sauce as they are with the sandwich stuffings, and they'll charge an additional dollar or two (I forget) for more sauce on the side.

Plus, now that I've had the Abuelo's Egg Sandwich, I think that's my new favourite.

Throw in a cappuccino into the mix (I can see Kristian knitting his brows in disapproval here), and voila! A fantastic start to the day.

Penelope's is also a perfect place to just sit by the window and watch the world go by, catch up with a friend, read a book. Or just dream.

A cosy corner to watch cars zipping by,
people hurrying on sidewalks whilst nursing a coffee

I would have done all of that and more.

But I had a bus to catch.

Till next time again, Penelope.

New York: Fall in the City

People do lots of falling in the city.

Especially during fall.

I like to focus on the more romantic-aspects of falling - like the slow flutter of yellow and red leaves from a branch to the ground.

Or falling in love.

I certainly fell in love with New York all over again that day.

Despite having been to the city several times, I still had not gotten around to many of the touristy attractions.

I started the morning with a solitary hike across the Brooklyn Bridge.

There couldn't have been a more perfect day to be outdoors. Despite it being late October, the air was cool without being chilly, the sun a gorgeous partner to to the cloudy blue skies.

You could see across the Hudson River to Staten and Ellis Islands, and wave to Ms Liberty although her back faced you on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Standing right in the middle of the bridge, striding both Manhanttan on one side, Brooklyn on the other, and the Statue of Liberty in plain sight in front of me, a strange feeling of serenity overcame me.

Here I was, the skyline of the world's most sought-after city within reach (literally, if I did some creative photography), the symbolism of freedom and democracy right smack in front of me. Cars rushed endlessly beneath my feet, the famous yellow cabs zipping across boroughs, a sign of the life that never ceases in this city.

But I was on vacation, in a country I treat as my second home, and I was perfectly at ease.

No rush, no stress, just on holiday.

As it neared lunch-time, it was time to say goodbye to Brooklyn Bridge and head over to Union Station-NYU to meet up with some friends for food.

One of my girlfriends is up at NYU doing her grad studies, and she introduced me to this hole-in-the-wall (I'm not kidding) Cambodian sandwich shop that served up fantastic grub for cheap.

I mean, notwithstanding the fact that Cambodia isn't exactly famed for their sandwiches (in fact, they are more known for their hunger in all gravity), and that this supposedly Cambodian shop was staffed by Caucasians and Latinos. No Cambodians in sight. The only Asians were in the queue for food, including me and my half-Asian friends.

Then again, that's globalisation right at work for you. And where better else than in the heart of Manhanttan.

Num Pang is located at 21 East 12th Street, between 5th Ave and University Place. You could practically walk right by it without noticing, seeing that it's situated next to a parking garage entrance, except that the lines snaking outside the storefront would stop you in your tracks.

I had the signature Pulled Duroc Pork sandwich (USD7.50) with a homemade fresh blood orange lemonade. The grilled corn-on-the-cob (USD2.25) came highly recommended too, so I added that to my meal as well.

Wow.

That was one damn good sandwich.

Num Pang's Pulled Duroc Pork Sandwich

Toasted, warm bread, generously stuffed with honey-marinated pork, fresh cilantro and cucumber, pickled carrots and a delicious chilli mayo, this was one meaty punch to contend with.

There's so much going on in the sandwich all at once - the sweet and spicy kick of the chilli mayo, the aroma and meatiness of the pork, the sour tang of the pickled veges and the crisp yet soft texture of the bread.

It's magic. My tongue certainly wasn't confused; it was savouring every bite.

The corn-on-the-cob was another taste explosion and adventure on its own.

Who would have thought that good ol' bbq corn actually went well with chilli mayo, coconut flakes and chilli powder? I'm pretty sure there was some cinnamon in that mix too. It sounds all very strange, but I took a bite and it was like nothing I had ever tasted before.

Num Pang's Grilled Corn-on-the-Cob

It was both sweet and salty at the same time, with that perfect slightly-blackened taste and smell to create a sensory experience all at once.

Beautiful.

After a satisfying meal, it was time to walk it all off at Central Park.

If there's anywhere to capture how beautiful nature is during autumn, Central Park really is the place to be.

Awash in beautiful golden shades of yellow, red, brown and some greens still, the air was crisp and cool in the shelter of the foliage, and the trees engulfed one in a quiet peacefulness despite the busy buzz of the city just along the perimeter.

Fallen leaves were everywhere; couples in their wedding togs were posing for pictures, children were throwing up piles of leaves amidst playful giggles; Sex-in-the-city-type mums were sipping their Starbucks and pushing their baby prams.

Everyone was happy in their own world.

I could have sat there all day just daydreaming.

No wonder they call New York the concrete jungle where dreams are made of.

As late afternoon set in and the sun decided to slowly call it a day, it was time to hit up the last tourist attraction for the night.

The Observatory. At the Empire State Building.

The popularity of the attraction is evidenced by the rows and rows of cords put in place for crowd control at various points in your journey towards the ticket counter, then through several waiting areas before finally arriving at the elevators that would take you to the 86th floor (or 102nd floor if you wanted to pay more).

Thankfully (and quite fortunately, really) we didn't have to wait too long that night at 8.30pm.

We found ourselves at the top in about 30 minutes. And boy, was it an experience.

Not least because it was freezing frostbite-strong-winds-that-could-blow-your-camera-away at that altitude.

But as I sought warmth in the crowds that thronged the deck, the 360-degree view of the Big Apple simply just took my breath away.

No wonder Chuck Bass wanted to declare his love and rekindle the passion with Blair Waldorf up in the skies. (If you watch Gossip Girl, you'd know which episode I'm referring to!)

From every angle, the entire life of the city throbbed beneath me.

Rush-hour traffic looked like trails of red-hot lava flowing through the gridlines of the city; bright lights pulsed from every building and edifice, a sign of the city that never sleeps.

It's absolutely mesmerising. And you could get so caught up in the captivation of the moment, just taking in the heartbeat of the city, until the harsh cold wind bit at your fingers.

I stayed out on the deck for as long as my shivering body could withstand the cold, before battling a quick (though regretful) retreat into the semi-warmth of the indoor observatory.

New York gave me its best that day, and I was pretty sure that I fell asleep exhausted, but with a smile on my face.

Food for Thought

I love the name of this restaurant.

And particularly because of how poignant its name is, synonymous with the social causes that it supports through its business takings.

So as you tuck into good, hearty fare, is it not worth stopping to realise that we have so much more than many other underprivileged human beings who live way below the poverty line and do not have the access that we do, nor the knowledge perhaps to obtain such access, to basic amenities?

Food for thought indeed.

From the moment you seat yourself, your entire experience with Food for Thought and social entrepreneurship of this kind, begins.

First, the table placemats send such thought-provoking messages that you cannot but be intrigued.

Then when you flip open the menu to the page on beverages, the first item very simply tells you that a $2 donation for free-flow water will go towards blessing one African with the same privilege for one whole year.

It tugs right at your heartstrings.

Tucked into a snug little corner of Waterloo Street occupying the storefront of 8Q @ SAM, the second branch of Food for Thought boasts an interesting, yet cosy interior decor. 

Flower pots hang upside down from one-half of the ceiling; glass bottles hang from the other half, adding an arty-farty dimension to the place. It is, after all, sitting right in front of the Singapore Art Museum!

The founders of Food for Thought originally opened an educational centre called School for Thought, with an adjacent cafe for the parents to have a cuppa while waiting for their kids. Who would have thought that their cafe became so popular that they spun it off into a separate food business!

I was still having a basil pesto craving (read the earlier blog entries!) and decided to go for the Basil Almond Pesto Chicken Sandwich ($9) with grilled eggplant and roasted tomatoes on toasted foccacia bread.


Basil Almond Pesto Chicken Sandwich

The sandwich was delicious, the pairing with grilled eggplant a very novel and successful initiative. Although I would have personally preferred a stronger and nuttier pesto paste. But nonetheless, the sandwich was worth its weight.

We also ordered the Crispy Curry Chicken and Spicy Chilli Fries ($18) served with buttery corn salad and roasted tomatoes. C'mon....fried chicken and fries...who can resist???

Crispy Curry Chicken & Spicy Chilli Fries

YUM!!

The fried chicken was perfectly done: brown and crisp on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. And very tasty to boot!

A meal isn't a meal without dessert, to which we happily asked for the Butterscotch Apple and Mixed Berries Crumble ($10).



Butterscotch Apple & Mixed Berries Crumble

It was like a blast from the past. The generous scoop of ice cream reminded me of the old-school Wall's/Magnolia/King's  raspberry ripple ice cream that the old uncle used to sell outside our school gates.

Warm, buttery pastry together with a tart berry mix contrasted wonderfully with the sweet caramel-ly baked apples at the bottom of the dish. Mmmmm.....

The rest of the items on the menu sound really interesting and delicious too....I'm definitely coming back to try everything else!

Amidst the Lofty Heavens

The only centrally located restaurant that would take a reservation of 10 on a Friday night got our business by natural process of elimination.

We streamed into Heaven's Loft, located on the 8th floor of Orchard Central. I had pretty much resigned myself to expecting NYDC-standard food (ie bad diner food priced more than it should) but was pleasantly surprised at the variety and the quality that was served.

Funnily enough, the meal got better as we progressed through the different courses.

We started off with nachos and fries. Both were pretty decent, but nothing particular to shout out about.

Cheesy Nachos

I was getting hungry, and eagerly anticipated my main dish of the Basil Pesto Chicken Spaghetti ($19.90).

Oh, it was worth the wait. Seriously.

Basil Pesto Chicken Spaghetti



Served with sundried tomatoes (what's not to love about that??), sauteed chicken, basil pesto and topped with parmesan cheese, the dish exceeded all expectations. Each mouthful was a delightful intake -- perfectly al dente spaghetti, a beautifully moist pesto with enough olive oil that wasn't too overwhelming and succulent pieces of chicken.

I only wished there were more sundried tomatoes. Then again, that's because I could eat sundried tomatoes (and avocados) all day long.



We also got pizzas to share. Decided to go to 2 extremes and get an all-vegetarian one, and an all-carnivore one.

The Farmer's Market Pizza ($15.80) was all veges - zucchini, bell peppers, eggplant, onions, sundried tomatoes and loads of mozzarella cheese.  

Farmer's Market Pizza

The Meat Lovers Pizza ($19.80) had 3 types of meat - bacon, salami, bbq chicken - together with onions, mushrooms, and of course, loads of mozzarella cheese.



Meat Lovers Pizza

Both pizzas were really good!

The pizza base was nice and crisp, although it did start to get a little soggy in the centre due to the condensation from the heat of the pizza against the porcelain plate.

Nonetheless, Heaven's Loft was generous with the pizza toppings in both cases, and I didn't feel jelat (nauseous from rich food) after eating them. I did prefer the Farmer's Market one slightly more -- because it had sundried tomatoes! :)

Then the time for dessert came. There's always room for dessert!

Heaven's Loft has a pretty extensive dessert selection, helped no less by the Ben & Jerry's counter that shares the same premise. Almost all their dessert options are served with at least a scoop of B&J's.

We decided to try a sampler since it was our first time there -- The Loft's Experience ($20.90) -- surely that should summarise it all, right??

The Loft's Experience

The 8-item dessert sampler included pint-sized versions of apple crumble, raspberry tart, vanilla creme brulee, 3 types of cheesecake, chocolate mousse and a scoop of B&J strawberry ice cream.

Decadent :)

The apple crumble was the best of the lot. Warm with enough tartness and great crunch from the crumble. 

The cheesecakes were forgettable, though.

Decided to also try out the Pear Temptation ($13.90) based on its description:  pear and almond cream enclosed in a crispy puff pastry, served warm with B&J strawberry ice cream and home-made caramel.

How can one not order something that sounds like that??



Pear Temptation

Temptation lived up to its name.

Heaven't Loft clearly only baked it upon order - the pastry was warm, fluffy and crisp, and the pear filling oozed out from the sides. The caramel drizzle gave it the perfect ending note.

My advice is to go in a group and order several items to share - the servings are pretty decent and the desserts especially, are sized to share.

I'll be back!

Photos taken with Nikon D5000

Wendy's - the newest chick in town

Popped into Wendy's for a really quick lunch on the go at Liat Towers amid pouring rain.

Good thing Liat Towers wasn't flooded at the basement again!

Had the Ultimate Chicken Grill Combo set ($7.20). Was glad for an option for grilled chicken since Macs took off their grilled option a while back.

Ultimate Chicken Grill Combo



Sadly, for all the hype created with Wendy's in town, the burger wasn't much to die for.

Although the chicken breast fillet was pretty ample, the sandwich was too dry overall. A few miserable pieces of lettuce leaves and a dollop of their special sauce on crumbly bread.

But the fries were pretty good. Crisp on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. And thick enough to provide satisfaction with each bite.

Nonetheless, I think I'll return to Macs for my McSpicy burger instead. Especially with their lunch time value meals -- definitely worth it in every way.

How to drink your cuppa. And other Italian quirks.

As I happily ordered my usual cappuccino to go with my eggs benedict brunch, Kristian laughed at my Singaporean coffee-drinking habits. Italians would find it offensive, he joked.

My friend, Kristian, is Austrian by descent, but practically Italian by nature since he's spent the last decade or so living it up in Venice as an industrial designer. (He's supposedly pretty well-respected and regarded in his field, but despite his many attempts at explaining his work to me, I still don't quite get it!)

Anyway, Kristian educated me on the art of drinking coffee, Italian style.

Lesson number 1: Italians don't drink coffee with full meals, much less after them. Coffee is entitled to its own meal slot.

Lesson number 2: Italians only drink cappuccino in the morning. And at the most with a croissant or a brioche (both of which I smugly pointed out to him were French breads. The Italians should be having biscotti instead! He agreed. Ha.)

Lesson number 3: Italians don't have coffee past 1 or 2pm in the afternoon. A shot of espresso and that's it for the rest of the day.

Unlike us ill-breeds who have our kopi fix at every imaginable hour, paired with condensed milk or evaporated milk or lots of sugar. And taken with all sorts of local hawker food.

The Italians would find our bastardised coffee habits abhorrent :)

The other thing Kristian showed me was how to express satisfaction the Italian way.

Eccellente. (Pronounced eh-chay-lent-tay) With a flourish of the hand in a straight line from left to right, forefinger and thumb together facing you, the remaining 3 fingers in a vertical line up facing across, as if pulling a zip.

It's equivalent to our local expression shiok.

I added a little zest to my zip motion by ending with my fingers higher up, a bit like a 45-degree angle line.

No no, Kristian corrected me. It has to be a straight line, like zipping something across. He demonstrated again.

I zipped an imaginary line across from left to right and curved round my back as far as my arm could bend. I'm zipping up something! I quipped and grinned.

My Austrian-Italian teacher could only shake his head in amusement at me.

Maybe I will try it one day, when I'm sipping a cappuccino at 4pm at an al fresco cafe along one of Italy's renowned streets, and do a little zip motion all round back to see what kind of reaction I'll get. I'll probably get thrown out onto the pavement by the waiter :)

[Kristian just told me that al fresco in Italian just means "in fresh air" but not outdoor seating like we refer to it here in Singapore. Talk about lost in translation! The proper translation to refer to outdoor seating should be al aperto -- in the open.]

Random trivia: Illy, Italy's (arguably) best coffee brand, puts its coffee beans through a glass tube with light sensors on both ends to determine the quality of the bean. The glass tube then tilts either to the reject or accept pile depending on the test results. Wow!

Italian Nannies

Well that's what it sounds like and looks like to me.

Actually, the restaurant's proper name is Italiannies (see the resemblance to Italian Nannies??)

Located at 111 Somerset (the revamped Singapore Power building), the Italian restaurant self-proclaims authenticity with the mantra "We cook more than we eat".

Although, shouldn't a chef eat what he cooks to know whether it's any good?

Well, I love my Italian (country, food...and men!) and a sampling of Italiannies was certainly in order.

Ordered the Bruschettona for an appetiser. Italiannies' version was a more elaborate take on the humble bruschetta - toasted focaccia topped with tomatoes, capers, onions, arugula leaves and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Bruschettona

It looked really good. But unfortunately the taste test came up short.

The bread was too dry and hard.  Tomatoes were not sweet because they weren't ripe enough, and Italiannies' used the local tomatoes instead of the much sweeter (and more suitable) vine tomatoes or roma tomatoes. There was insufficient olive oil in the mix and just not enough punch of flavour.

Mediterranean food has so much natural goodness and flavour, the explosion of flavours in your mouth should be a natural occurrence. But this dish was just bland.

Clearly Italiannies' motto about cooking more than eating backfired on them in this case. They've been cooking too much to do a taste test.

Gave them a second chance with their Pesto and Prawns pasta dish. We asked for linguine noodles instead of the recommended fusili.

Pesto and Prawns with linguine

Thank goodness this dish saved them some.

Generous serving of prawns paired with a very moist and tasty pesto sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente with the right amount of chewiness. I have to say the flavours of this dish came together very very nicely.

A pity though, for a self-proclaimed authentic Italian restaurant, they don't make their own pasta noodles from scratch. 

Their fresh fruit shakes were not bad either, a welcome reprieve from a humid evening in Singapore. These are essentially fresh fruit juices blended with ice (not to be confused with their fruit coolers which are served with soda water).

Strawberry and mango fresh fruit shakes

We tried the mango and the strawberry fruit shakes. Both were very refreshing and thirst-quenching, although I personally preferred the mango one more for its stronger fruit oomph.

Overall, I wasn't particularly enthralled by the quality of my meal, and service was also mediocre. On several occasions I had to wave my hand frantically before a manager noticed me and sent a waiter/ess scurrying over.

Doubt I'd go back there again, until food standard improves....

Photos taken with Nikon D5000

California Dreamin'...

I've been walking past this not-so-well-known-as-its-neighbours cafe-ish place called CA California at Dempsey Hill several times now and have been yearning to give it a try. Especially since they have this huge-as-a-donkey banner swinging high above its entrance proclaiming to have the BDBH (Best Darn Breakfast on the Hill....or something like that).

Funnily enough, we ended up going there for dinner instead one night, when M and I were as usual undecided and un-agreed (I know it's not a word but it catches the meaning!) on where to go. And suddenly DING! I remembered that there was this new place that I had yet to set my paws on.

CA actually shares the same shop front as Ben & Jerry's, so don't be surprised to find yourself overwhelmed by rowdy families and over-hyper ADD kids when you enter on a weekend, mostly on the B&J side of the place (thankfully).

CA takes up maybe a third of the whole restaurant space, and has comfy high booth seats, a bit like old-school American diners but set with a country-side (read: wood instead of vinyl) touch. I like :)

Extensive menu on all things American (think sandwiches, burgers, pastas, pizzas), spoiled for choice.

We decided we needed some veges to detox and a fresh salad sounded like a good idea.

Ordered the California Harvest Salad ($11). Mesclun greens with tomatoes, avocado, peaches and dressed in orange vinaigrette, served with a slice of walnut toast topped with cream cheese. Sounds enticing right?? Exactly. It got me at the word "avocado".

Salad was excellent. Enough said.

M needed some meat and the menu had a special item of BBQ Baby Back Ribs ($26). Suited his fancy and the fries on the side suited mine just nicely too.

We were very pleasantly surprised at the full rack of ribs that was served, with a tangy marinade which was less sweet than, say, Tony Roma's. They even threw in a spoonful of spicy pineapple salsa on the side if you wanted more kick with your meat.

I think the critical test of any baby back ribs dish is whether the meat falls off the bone easily. CA's ribs passed the test with flying colours! The pork itself was succulent and tender and needless to say, M polished off the whole plate without much help.

I was so enthralled by the sandwich page of the menu and settled for one of their chef recommendations -- Smokin' Turkey and Mango ($12). Let me just say - the sandwich was HUGE.

Sliced turkey ham generously heaped onto a homemade tomato focaccia bun and partnered with fresh mango, rocket, tomatoes and honey mustard dressing. I think just looking at the sandwich when it arrived made me salivate....

The sandwich was good, but I thought that the honey mustard was a little too overwhelmingly tangy. Which is strange because I adore that yellow sauce and can eat it with anything usually.

CA also sells their homemade artisan breads for you to take home, which I think I will do the next time. That tomato foccacia bread in the turkey sandwich was yums....

Photos taken with Nikon D5000

Chapati, Chapati, Before It's Too Late

One of the best hidden gems of local cuisine is actually stowed all the way inside Malaysian territory in Singapore. Paradox? Not really.

Before the month of May this year, I suppose most Singaporeans (especially the younger generation) did not know much about the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, much less even noticed the colonial low-rise building situated along Keppel Road. I must admit I was one of those ignorant many, even less forgiveable since I work in close enough vicinity to the area.

A legacy from British colonial days. Inside the railway station.
The mural on the right wall reads FMSR - Federated Malay States Railways

Although sitting right smack in the middle of Singapore's prime business district, the land which the railway and the station sit on actually belongs to KTM - Malaysia's national rail company.  The historical events leading to this peculiar arrangement of land sovereignty between both countries hail back to the days of British colonial occupation, when Singapore was part of Malaya before gaining independence from the Federated States in 1965.

A much disputed political (and sovereign) issue between the neighbouring countries, the railway land matter finally came to a hilt earlier in May this year, when the respective Prime Ministers agreed to move the existing railway operations to Woodlands by 1 July 2011, leaving behind the current plot of land for Singapore's proprietary development.

Little known to most people, the station actually houses several Malay and Indian hawker stalls, ranging from prata to Ramly burger, Indian rojak and my favourite....chapati.

But with the impending re-development of the heritage station building, all these food stalls will have to pack up and leave. That means only one thing - eat chapati before it's too late! 



Not unlike the more commonly seen naan and roti prata, chapati is an unleavened flat bread originating from the Indian subcontinent. Chapatis are made from wheat flour, water and ghee (the word ghee is actually dervied from Sanskrit and refers to traditional Indian clarified butter -- it instantly ups the yum-factor on any South Asian dish but...also ups the fat content by far greater proportions as well!)

My favourite chapati stall is situated all the way inside, right next to the railway tracks. Relax - you don't need your passport to eat there even though you're technically in Malaysia!

The chapati is made fresh on the spot - if you're early enough before the lunch crowd streams in, you can see them rolling the dough and laying them to cook on the tava (flat skillet).

The chapatis are always served warm, and best eaten with a host of other dishes a la nasi padang or cai peng style. I totally dig the keema -- a minced lamb stew of sorts with potatos, peas and carrots, and a slight dash of spice for that perfect kick.

Keema (right front) goes best with fresh, warm chapatis

More traditional dishes like curry chicken, sambal sotong, beef rendang etc can be found here. Just point at your dishes, tell them how many people are sharing, and they'll know how much to serve up.

Pair your meal with one of the best teh halia (milk ginger tea) around town. I like mine with ice - takes the heat off the weather and the spice in the food :)

Be warned -- although the food doesn't look like much, many small dishes make a large and plentiful meal. And don't forget, the chapatis will expand in your stomach. I'd say 2 chapatis is usually sufficient to keep you sated for a while.

Heaped mound of freshly fried "vegetable bombs"

And if you're still feeling the munchies after your chapati meal, pick up some "banana bombs" or "vegetable bombs" (as I endearingly call them) from the stall next door. These are typically fried dough balls, rolled in with either bananas or julienned vegetables. There're also curry puffs, kueh kuehs and goreng pisangs to suit your fancy. You definitely won't miss the array of fried snacks on display for your picking!

The part that really makes the meal "whole" though, is the ambience. Sitting right next to the railway tracks along the platform, at old stone and brick tables and plastic fold-outs, you'd feel like you stepped into a time machine and headed back to the 1980s (not least because the station needs a long overdue makeover).

But it adds to the old-school charm, and given that the rest of Singapore around this Malaysian enclave is growing at a speed no one can compare to, it's nice to come to a place that time seems to have forgotten...for now.