Sunday, August 31, 2008

Durians Feast - 727 Cakerie

This year I ate so much durians, more so than in other years I think. So I was driving home, when I decided to detour to Yio Chu Kang Road to buy some durian kuehs from 727 Cakerie. Mooncakes were in, so I bought a box. It was quite wasted cos we didn't store in the freezer section and after a few days, they turned sour :( Boo hoo. Lucky I manage to eat 2 before they went bad. There were about 3-4 left when they went bad.

I like this - durian coil. Durian pulp inside with the sponge cake and then another layer of durian over. Double durian power. Nice.
I like the durian puffs too. I bought 2 boxes as I thought 1 box was not enough for the family. Again, some puffs were bad after a few days so they were thrown away. Lesson learnt: do not keep durian for long, even if stored in fridge.
Mango cheesecake. I actually wanted to buy mango puffs, but somehow the store person thought I wanted this and I was also quite blurred. I didn't realize this was in the bag when I made the payment. I just wondered why my bill was so high :p I didn't get to eat this but they seemed to like it. It was all gone.
My durian loot. No more durian till next year.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Au Petit Salut - Ladies Who Lunch

It was a lovely lazy afternoon and I absolutely loved it! My new favorite restaurant for a slow leisurely lunch. Excellent food, nice ambience and good service. The sound of water trickling down the rocky slope created a soothing relaxing mood and the al fresco dining just brought to mind being on vacation. The indoor dining section was already full when I called to make reservations 2 days in advance. I guess I would need to make reservations 1 week before the scheduled date to get the indoor area. Personally I quite like the outdoor area too as it was much more casual and relaxed.
Just being there made me less stressed and I thoroughly liked it. We stayed there for a solid 2 hours. T said the lady behind me at the next table looked effortlessly put together - elegant and gorgeous and I do agree with her.

The other side had more plants. I am not sure which side I would prefer. Plants and greenery or water? One subtle way the restaurant did to inform diners of the last order was to turn off the water. That was the trick we typically used when we want to end any event - turn on the lights (not that it worked all the time since there would always be guests who were obtuse :p).
The complimentary bread and butter. The weather was so warm (though it was not as bad as in Thailand where I would perspire non stop) that the butter melted after 20mins or so. The bread was crusty and warm, typical of French bread. I still prefer Aria Bistro's bread though.


The service was really good. I was prepared for average service as I read some reviews that it was not great at all, plus they were rankled by the fact that strollers were not allowed indoors. I could understand that as the indoor area was really tiny and screaming babies indoors? Not a good mix at all. Be thankful they don't ban babies at all ;p It is the kind of place where you want to be away from noises and just enjoy your meal with nature, good conversations and friends.
I was asked if I wanted a drink (juice or anything) while waiting for my friend to arrive since I was early. Then the waiter asked if I would like to reserve the oysters (not in the menu at all) first as there were limited platters and the oysters were just in at 1145am or so. The oysters were really fresh and good. I liked the chopped onions with vinagrette that went very well with the oysters. We loved it so much we ordered another platter (there was one available).
T ordered the escagots - Baked Burgundy snails with tomato and garlic butter.
I tried one of them. It was nice. Not too rubbery like those I tried in Canada.
I topped up my set menu with the change to the lobster bisque served with lobster ravioli and terragon.
This was not too bad, with a pretty strong lobster flavor and it was not too rich and creamy that you would feel a bit sick afterwards.
Both of us had the red wine braised beef cheeks which came with mushrooms, carrots and potators. The beef was just so tender that you could cut through it with a fork. The carrot was soft and infused with wine. Totally yummy!
We shared desserts - Passionfruit souffle. Airy light soft mixed foiled with the tangy passionfruit. Nice. Not too sweet at all.
This was the highlight for both of us - a moment of silence once we had our first mouthful. Savoring the lightness and slight bittersweet of the chocolate. This was the "petit pot" dark chocolate ganache 70% with whipped cream and chocolate balls and crushed pistachio. This was heaven on tongue. Absolutely amazing.
Our happy expressions with the desserts :) I had coffee while T had tea. The coffee was equally good and strong. Didn't take pic of that. See our bags? I had requested for an extra chair to put my bag and the waiter initially said they do not have extra chairs. He said to sling it on the back of the chair. I just went but it's leather and left it at that. Usually I am not so fussy but wicker chairs with leather just do not mix. You might snag it on a stray fibre or something. Even Au Jardin would provide a bag chair for its guests, so you would expect it from Au Petit Salut.


But later, he just put the chair there. We had a bit of laugh earlier when he said this was where men would never understand women and their bags :p I was pleasantly surprised by his (and his colleagues) service and initiatives. They did top up the water glass frequently without us asking though T had to ask for ice as it was such a warm day. They would ask you if you prefer still or sparkling water but they do serve tap if you request for it.


I wish I could go there every week for lunch or something. It was just so fantastic. I prefer Au Petit Salut when compared to Au Jardin and I usually am not big on French food at all.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Scarecrow @ Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

I was at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf when I saw a scarecrow. It was a fake crow which was hung from the ceiling outside. I took a double take. Then I saw there were a few scarecrows hanging around the al fresco area. But look at the real birds flying in to peck at the food. I guess the birds were too smart to be scared off by the fake birds.
Close up of the scarecrow. It certainly looked scary with its beady fake eye. I guess Singapore AVA will need to do something to control the birds population again.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tanglin Club - Thai Fried Rice with Chicken

Much as I dislike Tanglin Club (long old story), I must admit this dish was really good. It was recommended by the Maitre D (I think) at the Tavern near the swimming pool area. The Thai fried rice was fragrant with each grains infused with the lemongrass flavor. The chicken was crispy and juicy tender and the laksa leaves gave that oomp factor too. It was spicy enough that I did not have to add any chili flakes or cut chilis to it. I loved it!

The other dishes also recommended were the Beef fried kway teow and the butter chicken with rice or naan.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

ICA - Passport Renewal

I accidentally submitted my application to renew my passport online a couple of weeks back. I was just testing the picture to see if it fit in the online box when somehow a click went straight into submission.

It was pretty fast though so I was impressed by that. I could collect my passport within the week. I didn't get see the notification till much later, like the night before the collection date/time. So either my parents had opened the letter and didn't pass it to me earlier or the letter really came late.

I didn't know ICA had started specifying the time/date of collection and that if you could not make it then, you would need to call to re-schedule. Wow! I went to ICA and after scanning the notification card, I realized there were 91 people ahead of me in the collection queue. *Faint*

I didn't bring a book so I just listened to my mini ipod and watched ChannelNewsAsia on mute. Then I noticed I could actually sms to find out how long the wait would be. It replied it would be between 30mins to an hour. How reassuring. In the end, it took about 40mins before my number was flashed on the board and another 10 minutes to get my thumbs scanned and passport signed.

It was not too bad. 50mins spent at ICA with 91 people ahead of me to collect their passports. That was pretty efficient. I could name some banks or other places where you could wait for more than an hour and there were less than 25 people ahead of you in the line.

Yay! I could travel again :) Only hassle is that I have to remember my new passport number now. And the passport is only valid for 5 years instead of the 10 years given previously.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Chiang Mai Airport

Good bye Chiang Mai. The smallish airport with nothing much inside. Reminded me of Singapore Budget Terminal though Singapore BT is probably much better with slightly more things.
I was quite surprised to see the old planes in the hangar.
Are they war planes or just old planes? I am certainly not an expert in that.

Up in the air and looking down at Chiang Mai
The roads and houses and buildings which made Chiang Mai
Padi fields fight for attention
And away we went. Goodbye Chiang Mai. I don't think I would be back there in the very near future. It was nice, but nothing to really draw me back again.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Chiang Mai Night Bazaar

We went out to the Night Bazaar which was fortunately just right outside the hotel. So we didn't have to walk too far at all. There were two bazaars in the area.
The Chiang Mai Night Bazaar which was filled with makeshift stalls lining the street as well as shops inside the buildings. They do sell the same things though - accessories, fake stuff, sarongs, dvds, cds, and whatever not.
The Kalare Night Bazaar where there was a free cultural performance every night and an outdoor food court plus the numerous shops selling the same things too.
The cultural dance performance. I left V to do her shopping. If I am considered a shopaholic, you have not met V. She shopped even more than I do and it was the first time I realized that about her. And we have traveled together in Canada/USA/KL before and she never really shopped then.
I was feeling peckish and thirsty, so I decided to try the oyster omelette.
See how the chef cooked the omelette. Very quick hand movements.
Close up of the oyster omelette. Not too bad but not as good as in Bangkok. I am starting to think that for good Thai food, one must go to Bangkok.
I love the coconut drink. I had so many coconut drinks when in Chiang Mai :) Coconut and the Thai iced milk tea or coffee. Yummy.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Chiang Mai - Airport Plaza Mall Food Court

We finally had a day to ourselves and where did we go? To the Airport Plaza Mall where everything is familiar. I guess once a city girl, always a city girl. No matter where we go, we will always zoom in on "civilization" - the shops! Lol. I quite liked the food court in the basement as it was different from the usual. It actually sold authentic Thai food which Thais would buy and consume. Even the menus on majority of the food stalls were in Thai. Pictures to help any tourists but not much English at all, unlike in Phuket or even Bangkok. Thai snacks and desserts. So colorful and pretty. I didn't get to try many things at all.
Fried insects, anyone? I was quite surprised to see these being sold. I have never seen fried insects so close before.
A close up of the fried insects. I didn't ask what they were but they looked gross :p
I was intrigued by this technology. It pounded the food (whatever it was) automatically. Quite cool.
Quail eggs or some other eggs. I hope they were not the eggs where half formed chicks were in there. Looked too small?
Regular food. After walking a few rounds of trying to find beef noodles soup and failing since the dishes were all in Thai, I decided to go for the safe basil chicken on rice. It was not too bad. Nothing still beat the one I had in Bangkok.
The tom yum soup was excellent. We were supposed to share but by the time I bought my food, V had finished almost half of it. So I told her I would get another bowl for myself :p Unfortunately I didn't finish that as I was too full.
V had the seafood fried rice which looked much more appetizing than my chicken basil rice.
The only stall with English words - Pad Thai - I ordered that to share with V. Yes, we were feeling greedy.
Pad Thai - it looked way better than the pic. I followed another customer's way of adding the condiments. I never knew Thais ate Pad Thai with chili flakes, sugar, lime, bean sprouts and some sticks of spring onions or something and they mixed them up. I am still not used to adding sugar to my food unless they are supposed to be desserts. We didn't finish this at all. Too full by then, after all the waiting in line for food.
Some colorful glutinous rice desserts I think. I didn't try that.
I could not resist and ordered the mango with rice dessert. Thais also eat durians with rice which I thought would definitely be an acquired taste. I was too full to eat that so I had the mango (no rice) the next morning for breakfast. The mango was so sweet and yummy. I love the fruits in Thailand.
We took the green shuttle bus from the hotel to the mall.
This was a pretty good service to provide. Free shuttle to the mall. There were red buses which you could also flag to get around for 20THB. We didn't get to try that at all. The buses were seen as much safer than tuk tuks as tuk tuk drivers had the reputation of taking tourists to some places other than their orginal destinations.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Chiang Mai Tour Dinner

After a bum-numbing 3hours plus drive, we were so glad to get out of the minivan for dinner. This was the only highlight or time we actually bought some goodies - the pork floss egg rolls :p
Steamed chicken. Not exactly chicken rice chicken standard but passable.
Steamed fish. I actually liked this. It was fresh and the chili made it even better.
Herbal chicken soup. A tad oily but not too bad.
Stir fried veggies. Not my favorite either. An average dinner.