Prego Dinner *White Pizza*

So we were at Prego for dinner and it was the fastest dinner ever! Lol. Well, fastest with the girls. Usually we would linger over desserts or coffee but somehow that night, it was a "chop-chop" affair. The service was good and the staff were friendly.

Using the FAR card meant we had to order at least 4 mains since there were 4 of us. I was so not very hungry so I shared a pasta and pizza with the others.

My half portion of the spicy short tubed pasta with ham in spicy tomato based sauce (I forgot the actual name). The kitchen served it in 2 plates so we did not have to do the sharing ourselves. This was pretty good.

The veal risotto was heavenly. The meat was very tender and was easy to just pick off the bone. The rice was not overly mushy and was infused with the intense mushroom (?) flavor.

Squid ink pasta with seafood in tomato based sauce. Maybe I was used to the version at Modestos but this took some getting use to. The tangy tomato based sauce. Modestos' version was drenched with a prawn/lobster bisque based sauce making it more seafood-y.

My order - white pizza with mushrooms and ham. This was heavenly. I finally found a white pizza in Singapore which was really good.

The thin crust was brushed with olive oil and herbs and topped with the ham and mushrooms and cheese. Simple but satisfying. We could not finish this and I had the last 2 slices to go. I had that cold the next day and it was still good. Like eating biscuits with savory toppings :)

I have found something else besides the chocolate birthday cake which I like at Prego. The white pizza would be reason enough for me to go back to dine.

Fairmont Signature Room

I was pleasantly surprised when I was upgraded from the Fairmont Room to the Signature Room when I was staying over at Fairmont Singapore last weekend. It was over at the North Tower at the section when it links to the South Tower so it was all good.

The Signature Room is bigger at 44sqm and kinda being at a corner, it has an extended sitting area which is perfect for a girls chillout gossip session :p

Some friends came over and we just hung out in the room, playing games, reading magazines, watching telly or surfing the internet. Plus some booze, of course.

The king-size bed with huge long pillows. Each pillow is about 1.5x the regular size. I much prefer the high bed over at Conrad or Ritz-Carlton, but this is good enough too. Still comfortable.

The big bathroom which I requested. Very spacious indeed.

The shower area which is not that fantastic. I am spoiled by the rainshower over at the South Tower (even the Willow Stream Spa uses rainshower :p). The bathrobes hanging behind the door.

The vanity area with the sink. The room is still old since the building is old too.

The Miller Harris toiletries provided. While I do like the citron scent, I somehow still miss the Aveda range which was provided several years ago when it was under Raffles the Plaza though they changed to Amrita Spa range subsequently.

The decadent big bathtub with its almost circular oval shape. Nice to soak in. All that is missing is the view and the glass of wine or champagne :p

The short hallway with my dear lilac cabin suitcase.

The closet with the safe, iron and slippers and shoe shine stuff.

The bar area with the fridge, tea/coffee making facilities. In the evening, housekeeping came over to fill the icebox which is complimentary and to check if we require anything else (unlike over Conrad which said ice is chargeable when we requested for it though it didn't show up in my final bill).

The magazines provided which I didn't get to read at all as I brought 5 other magazines to read.

The dressing table next to the bed. I have started to make myself at "home", with my things lying around all over the place.

The view from one of the two balconies in the room. I can see my office building!

Another view from the room. I did not get the pool/tennis courts view nor the padang view.

Looking down at Raffles Hotel. It is pretty big too. I guess I usually just walk past the shopping arcade area when going to Raffles City from work.

It was a good stay, especially since my air conditioner happened to be spoiled so I got to escape the heat for a weekend. I basically holed up in the hotel room and just chilled. Going to the pool in the late afternoon and then in the early morning. To the spa to use the jacuzzi. Down to the basement to buy food - the fried beehoon from one of the small outlet selling buns and fried dim sum was so yummy. It has very good iced coffee too. Plus the chirashi from Jasons Supermarket. And dinner at Prego with friends.

I love going to the stores in the late morning before the crowd descends into the mall. It is just so nice. Maybe next time I can get a room for the full weekend - 3 Days/2 Nights - for a real staycation.

Cycle & Carriage

It has been almost 10 years since the last time I went to Cycle & Carriage and it has changed when I went there a few days ago to service the family car.

From what I remembered previously, it was quite a typical place with no bells and whistles or fanfare. It was pretty no frills. That was when I needed to fix the window and side mirror.

Now, the entire experience has changed. I have read about it in the papers, how some car distributors or service centres have upped the ante by providing a little bit of comfort to the customers.

Before Cycle & Carriage, it was at BMW car centre that I saw there was a decent tiny cafe providing food and wireless internet service to the customers. Then I did not think much about it since I hardly go to such places.

So over at Cycle & Carriage at Ubi branch, when I took the car for servicing, it was politeness all the way. Seriously, it is so hard to receive basic good customer service that when a place practices that, it gets all the accolades :p

At the service centre, a staff asked me what beverage I would like while waiting. There was a machine dispensing milo, coffee, tea, water, etc. Plus pastries and pies from Delifrance. These were served to me on a proper plate. Then I spied 2 computers, probably offering customers the option of checking their emails or surfing the internet. A massage chair. Rack full of the latest magazines and daily newspapers.

They also provided a free shuttle to Eunos MRT. Pretty thoughtful and decent service. Then again, one may argue that it is only normal for them to do that since the customers are already paying a premium for the car servicing fees :p

In any case, it was quite a pleasant experience. At least I was not bored when I was there while waiting for my ride.

Sun with Moon at Central Anniversary Promotion

This was my 3rd time at the Sun with Moon outlet over at Central and it was full house. We had to sit outdoors and it was not too bad. At least we got to enjoy the view of the Singapore River. Celebrating its anniversary, everything was at 30% off (except drinks). The burdock chips which were crispy but a tad too salty and oily. We didn't finish it.

The sinful foie gras appetizer. I simply loved this guilty pleasure. The delectable soft goose liver which just melt in your mouth. I usually disliked liver but this was different. Not powdery at all and the sweet glaze masked any bitterness and the toasted bread and lettuce made a perfect foil against the foie gras.

The Sun Salad which I liked. It was quite cool the way they serve it. The greens were put inside a long canister and shook by the server before pouring out into the bowl.

2 orders of salmon sashimi and 1 order of yellowtail sashimi. I think I still prefer just salmon sashimi.

Fried salmon which was surprisingly good. The dip was tangy and went very well with the salmon which was not overcooked.

Our carbs for the night - Rainbow Roll. It was great as usual. Mango and avocado were just delicious.

Besides the 30% off the food bill, you would also be given a 10% rebate in the form of vouchers. The vouchers could only be used after the promotion end. I believe the promotion will end on 4 June.

Kate Spade Wallet

My first win on ebay!!! So after my first experience with bidding on ebay, I finally learnt my lesson and only bid on this item at the last minute. But to do that, I hardly sleep as the closing time was at 340am or so. I bid on it around 320am at the starting price (US$99 or so) and won it!

Quite a good deal since it would cost so much more in Singapore (wallets are usually in the high $300 or more) and it was always out of stock in Singapore.
I didn't mind that this wallet was from the previous (or more) season as I just wanted a functional wallet which could contain my stuff. I chose red for good luck though black was supposed to be my color. We shall see how it goes.

The interior with the red polka dots. Made of boarskin, it is super supple and soft. I like it! Red with gold zipper - the traditional 2 colors for luck. 12 card slots - perfect for my use.

Zhou's Kitchen @ Square 2

I have heard and read about Zhou's Kitchen (under Tung Lok Group) and the high-tea dim sum buffet. So we went there last weekend for a mother's day celebration. I prefer to celebrate not on the actual day as usually it is packed with people.

The menu selection is pretty wide with some regular dishes, dim sum, carbs (rice, noodles) and desserts to choose from. It is a-la-carte style so you check off what you want and they will bring it to you.
Jellyfish and pork. Jellyfish was not too bad. I didn't take the pork.

Our dishes which came at the same time - glutinuous rice wrapped in leaves which was really good - soft tender rice and meat packed with flavors; custard buns, char siew buns, siew mai, prawn dumplings, prawn paste chicken, pork spare ribs, chicken feet.

We also ordered fried fish skin (so crispy and tasty), mee goreng (surprisingly good), fried rice with salted fish and chicken (a bit tasteless), asparagus with prawns (a bit spicy).

Century egg with pork congee. We shared this huge bowl. I loved that the congee was the traditional Hong Kong style which was gooey and was almost like gruel.

My plate of dim sum - char siew bun (soft and filled with sweet bbq meat), prawn paste chicken (it was all cut up and not too bad), prawn dumpling (a bit dry so it was not that fantastic) and chives dumpling (I liked this, the chives were not overpowering).

2nd plate - char siew siu (I liked this, flaky crust with sweet bbq meat inside), siew mai (full of meat and prawns so it was good), carrot cake (crispy at the edges and soft inside, I liked), you tiao with mayonnaise (pretty standard, not bad)

As there were 6 adults dining, we were given a complimentary crab glutinuous rice.

Plate 3 - the crab was very sweet and fresh and the rice was good too. Custard bun which was so-so and the egg tart which was decent.

Drunken chicken which didn't look very drunken to me. Lol. There were more slices but we took some before the picture was taken. Soft quivering cold meat with a hint of alcohol.

Mango cream with sago - refreshingly cool.

Sesame filled dumplings coated with crushed peanuts. Yummy. We were supposed to get 12, but somehow they only gave us 9 pieces.

One thing we learnt when ordering was that they did not give 2 steamers of dim sum of the same item so you would really have to indicate how many steamers you required when ordering.

The food was average, not something which would wow you. Some were good and some were not. Service was a bit slow, could be due to the full house, but the staff were polite. Definitely not the place for long chit-chat, more of a regular noisy meal affair.

Girls Night Out at Marmalade Pantry

Marmalade Pantry has a "Girls Night Out" promotion where ladies get to dine at 20% off the food bill and drinks (champagne cocktails and housepours) are at $6, and champagne bottle at $59. It is valid from 6pm till late from Monday to Saturday. Not sure when the promotion will end but it is such a good deal.
My bellini - champagne with lychee - so yummilicious! Bubbly, sweet and fruity. I love lychees!

It was an early dinner before the event over at DFS so a salad it was. Cobb Salad. Marmalade Pantry's rendition of the Cobb Salad was different from Hard Rock Cafe which was my favorite version, but this was not too bad either.

It came with blue cheese, so it was good for those who appreciate it. I realized there was no dressing but I didn't miss it at all. It was good enough to eat everything on its own.

Old Town White Coffee @ East Coast

So we decided to be healthy and went to East Coast Park a couple of weeks ago to cycle. As usual, East Coast Park was packed with people in the late afternoon. Children were zooming around on their bikes and blades, having a blast. Serious bladers were gliding effortlessly, avoiding the crowd and dogs were being walked, plus others just enjoying the breeze and scenery.

The National Park people has been changing the landscape of the park slowly but there are so many new things now. Anyway, after an hour of cycling, we went to Old Town White Coffee for an early dinner. Good thing we were there early as people started to be stream in after 6pm.

I ordered the assam laksa and the coffee as I wanted something sour. The laksa was good, tangy but not overpowering so. The "prawn sauce" was served on the side so you could add however much you wanted to the laksa. I just dabbed a bit or two as I found it good enough without it.

Sheryn had the rendang chicken which was really good too. Especially the rice which was actually lemak rice (coconut rice like nasi lemak). The chicken was fairly tender and the rendang sauce was divine. Lovely dish.

Bread of Life Bakery - Soy Bread

I was over at Suntec City last week and chanced upon this kiosk selling all kinds of bread. What intrigued me was the soy bread. It was nice, similar to a cake, with chiffon cake texture. Soft and fluffy. It is very localized and reminded me of the traditional cakes/breads we used to get from the small bakery in the neighbourhood.

Their signature bread seemed to be the pillow bread which looked big and soft. They also sell cookies and the usual butter cakes - marble, walnut, banana etc.

It is worth checking out if you are in the area. It is located at the basement between Tower 1 and Tower 2, where Yami Yogurt is.

Jaggi's

It has been a few years since I went to Jaggi's along Race Course Road and the food was still good. It was a week of Indian food since I was at Zaika's just barely 1 week ago. So as we walked past Zaika's, the staff there recognized me and asked if we were going to have lunch there.

I don't mind Zaika's as the food was good too, but since cousin preferred Jaggi's where he always has Indian food there for years, it was Jaggi's for us.
Pureed spinach with cheese was so so good when scooped up with a piece of naan.

The tandoori meat - 4 different types. I only tried the most orange looking one and it was very moist and tender with just a slight hint of tangy-ness.

Fish curry which was very good. The gravy was excellent and fish was fresh. Funny thing was that most of us thought it was chicken. Hahahaha.

The cauliflowers with green beans. I am usually not a fan of cauliflowers but somehow this was done very nicely. Crunchy and flavorful.

The butter chicken which looked nondescript but was actually creamy and yummy. Hahaha. I am bias. I just love butter chicken and one can hardly go wrong with it.

My butter naan. Actually I can't really taste the buttery aftertaste for this. Lol. Maybe I should have opted for the cheese naan. Live dangerously.

The dal (lentils) which went marvelously with the naan. I didn't try it with the briyani rice which we ordered a plate to share.

Baked capsicum stuffed with mashed potatoes and some spices which was surprisingly pretty nice. I quite like this.

I finished off with mango lassi while the others had lime juice.

All these for about $65, and it fed 5 of us very well. Not too bad for a good and filling meal.