Fruit Paradise, VivoCity

A friend told me about Fruit Paradise over at Raffles City a few months ago and waxed lyrical about how nice the tarts were. Then just a few weeks ago, another friend told me about Fruit Paradise at VivoCity and commented it was not too bad.

So when I was at VivoCity, I just had to try it for myself.

We decided to share the set (a small slice of tart and a pot of tea) and ordered an extra pot of tea since we wanted different tea.

We tried the banana chocolate tart which was made with chocolate mousse. The cream was firm and did not collapse after a period of time. The combination of banana and chocolate made the tart a bit on the heavy side. Somehow it felt a bit synthetic to me, I could not decide if I like it or not. It was not awful but maybe I still prefer tarts with light whipped cream. Or maybe I should have ordered something more fruity like strawberry or the berries range instead of banana.

The tea was good. I had the white tea which was light and went down easy on the palate.

Wendy's Fast Food Joint

The flu which is going around is so much harder to fight. Two weeks of being sick means I have been resting every weekend and sleeping early every night. Actually I have been keeping to "farmer" hours since I get so tired by 9+pm and then have to wake up at 6+am.

Anyway, I made it to Wendy's at Lau Pa Sat a few weeks ago for lunch. This was my 2nd time there and decided to just have a kids meal plus a baked potato. The regular burger is quite big and filling.

I had the cheeseburger kids meal which came with a decent size cheeseburger with fries and coke and a toy. Then the baked potato with cheese and broccoli.
This was heaven. Just like the way it was done in Canada. Gooey cheese generously ladled over the baked potato to smother it with real pieces of broccoli. So rich and sinful and yet so comforting. This was the type of baked potato I am used to, not the wannabe which was served at Tanglin Mall Boulangerie Cafe.

The fries were not that fantastic. Then again, Wendy's is not known for its fries. I always like Wendy's for its chicken caesar wrap (not available here) and baked potatoes. In fact, I hardly ordered the burgers at Wendy's when I was living in Canada.

Another place to try would be Nando's at Bugis Junction. Mmmm....yummy peri peri 1/4 chicken.

Beach Road Chili Mee

I absolutely love the Chili Mee (prawn noodles) at the Golden Mile Food Centre along Beach Road. I don't know what they put in their chili but it is just so good when mixed into the noodles. Besides the usual prawns and pork ribs, it also comes with sliced hard boiled egg and tau pok (dried bean curd). The soup is filled with prawn-y taste, making you want to down many bowls.

I don't remember the stall name but I think it is Stall 57 and there is a sign saying Chili Mee. It is one of my favorite places for prawn noodles.

Favorite Makeup Palette ~ Stila Pussycat Dolls

The Pussycat Dolls palette from Stila is still my "go-to" makeup when I am in a hurry or if I do not want to think about what to use. It is very slim so I could also carry it out for touch up or when I go on holidays. I love it so much that I started hunting down extra palettes so that I will still have it when I finished it. Limited Edition items are always a bane when you love the colors as they will not be around when you need to buy a replacement.

So after a few years, I finally break out my spare palette. It is time to retire the old one.

I actually hit pan for the blusher and 2 eyeshadows. Pretty amazing feat :p I am undecided if I should depot the black eyeshadow or just leave it as it is. For memory sake.

Sliced Fish and Prawn Soup

My helper is a gem. She decided I should have sliced fish and prawn soup to settle my stomach when she learnt that I threw up again. She said I should have it hot (and usually I dislike having steaming hot food) so that it would help.

I was surprised she took less than 15 minutes to prepare this. This was really tasty. The fresh fish slices and sweet prawns and fragrant veggies were very soothing on the tummy. I guessed the ginger slices also helped to rid the body of wind.

A simple meal for me.

Sick?

It is strange how I always fall sick when I start a new job. I first noticed this trend a couple of years ago. I was ill for 3 whole weeks after a bout of flu. That was the longest time I have ever been unwell.

Then it happened again last year when I was temping at a new place. It was not as bad since it took me about a week to recover. But this latest illness had to take the cake.

I fell ill just before starting a new job. How could it be?

Till now I am trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I was all well and dandy on Friday. But somewhere into my 2nd glass of mojito, I started to feel a bit queasy. No, I was not drunk or high at all. I do have a high tolerance for alcohol and 1.5 glasses of mojito is not enough to make me sick.

Maybe it was the greasy food that we ordered. Somehow we just shared all the appetizers instead of ordering mains and then sharing the appies. But I finally surrendered to the urge to puke. I felt slightly better but it was not enough, so I had to leave the girls first.

Then my stomach felt strange. Seemed like I had a stomachache too, on top of the queasiness. Yucks. With a lo-batt phone, it was through sheer hard prayer that I managed to call for a cab. As luck would have it, it was the old cab. Jerky driving and stinky smell. Not a good combination in my condition.

Again, thank God I was carrying my BV bag which had a plastic bag (I put it there in case of rainy weather :p). And it was the first time in my life that I actually threw up in the cab. Into the plastic bag, of course, not the car itself. I was not sure if the driver knew or could smell it, but he sure was driving very fast too.

Since I felt so bad about it, I just gave him more than the fare came to. I did not want to bother with change too as I just wanted to get home asap. Showered, got into bed and I was still not well. Searched through the medicine drawer and found pills for "vomit, giddiness and nausea", so I took that. Within 15 mins, I had to make friends with the porcelain again. This time, everything came right up, even food from more than 6 hours ago. Previously it was mostly water.

Then I felt the aches in the body, particularly in the lower body and legs. I was not sure if that was from the high heels or from the "fever". I did not feel like I was burning up though I did feel cold in my room. It was very rare to make me feel cold. After 2-3 hours of sleep, I finally gave up and took panadol to contain the ache. That helped.

The next day, I was better but still not at 100%. The ache was still there. I did not have much of an appetite but the queasiness was gone. So I was debating if I should go out. In the end I decided to just stay home in case I did have a fever or some bug.

More panadols followed and sleep came. And today it was headache. Awful migraine. Took Naramig. I was ravenous and had fried bee hoon. Bad mistake as the stomach was not into oily food. Threw up again after taking the "nausea" pill. I am beginning to think that pill induced puking. Slept more.

Now I am feeling much much better. But I better not chance it again and just have something liquid or light.

I seriously have no idea if I have a bug or not. Is it stomach flu? Or some illness caused by mosquitoes bites?

Kenko Foot Reflexology

I was in VivoCity a few days ago and had some time to kill before my dinner date, so I decided to pop into Kenko Reflexology & Spa. When there, I saw there was a Mother's Day promotion (till 9 May 2010) which looked pretty good.

Purchase a 60mins foot reflexology treatment and pay $1 for a 20mins shoulder massage. So $61 + GST for a 90mins treatment (includes 10 mins foot soak).

I always liked the outlet at VivoCity as the glass doors were quite heavy and worked well to block out the outside noise. Inside, it was dim with 2 rows of huge loungers. You could lean back and push down and lie comfortably stretched out (about 45 degree angle, not a flat out bed). A warm cup of tea was served and the therapist would cover you up with big heavy fluffy towels.

The walls were dark and painted with motifs of leaves and 3-D butterflies were pasted on them. Coupled with the soothing music, it was enough to make you want to doze off.

The foot bath was a first for me as I usually just had the 30 or 40 mins foot reflexology. The foot bath was actually underneath the stool. It was warm and bubbling and fitted with rollers. That was a nice touch to prepare the feet. However, I did wonder if they do change the water (I didn't pay attention during the preparation as I was not sure where it would take place when I was waiting) and if it was clean. But I consoled myself that the hot water would probably kill any lingering bacteria or viruses in there.

They do not use oil or lotion for the foot reflexology. Instead they use powder so that the feet would not be oily and slippery after the session.

Then it began. My 80mins of pain. I guessed it was a mis-match of expectation or my body was just too sensitive to the pressure points that day. It was "ouch" from the set go. The "uncle" knew I was in pain but he persisted as he felt my circulation was not very good and that was the reason my muscles were all tense and tight. So he was trying his best to "unblock" and improve the circulation.

Unfortunately that meant I had to squirm and squeak when he hit a particularly sensitive spot. As I had not been sleeping well lately (broken sleep during the night), I thought I would give it a try and let him do what he could to help me sleep better too. So I did not overly protest or stop him. I was impressed with his focus and quest in wanting to help me.

After the 60mins foot reflexology, I was led to the massage chair for the shoulder massage. Again it was pure torture as he was fixed on "unblocking" the points. He actually did a thorough massage on the entire upper body. From the nape to the lower back and down to the sides of the upper thighs and up again to the head and shoulders and then the arms and fingers and hands.

I guess for those who like hard massage or are seeking relief from very tense shoulders or body, this would be heaven. But since I was not even remotely in dire need of such remedial treatment, it was a pain I had to endure.

I actually just wanted a relaxing and soothing massage for both the feet and shoulders. Ever since my chiropractic treatments, I hardly ever need to have such hard massage. Like I said, a mis-match of expectations.

Brasserie Les Saveurs, St Regis Singapore

This is another overdue post. The company had the annual Christmas dinner over at the Brasserie Les Saveurs in St. Regis Hotel last year.

It was a lovely place at night with dim lighting from the chandeliers and a wall of huge floor to ceiling windows letting in the last visage of the evening sun. The furnishings is stately and has an old world charm and elegance of centuries ago.

Dinner was a semi buffet as we got to choose a main course, with the appetizers and desserts from the buffet table. Sometimes it was good to just have an excellent main and some extras instead of being stuffed to the gills trying to sample everything.

I started with the sashimi and raw oysters which were very fresh and sweet. The only thing to mar the experience was the buffet was not really ready even by 7.15pm or so. The servers were only removing the cling wrap from the platters and I had to chase down someone to request for the soy sauce.

As expected, the selection was not as wide as some other places but I felt it was just nice. It was sufficient and there was fresh ham (not sure if it was parma) where you could just slice off the amount you desired. I was contented with my caesar salad, shrimp, potato salad, smoked salmon and cherries.

The main I chose ~ braised wagyu beef cheeks with white truffle mashed potatoes. The lighting was really not very good for taking pictures with my "point and shoot" camera. It was so hard to get a truly good shot to represent the reality.

Mine was a bit on the too done side. Good thing it was wagyu so it was still tender and melted a little in the mouth. I wondered if they were waited for all our dishes to be ready before bringing them out at the same time. Most of us ordered the beef and one ordered the risotto which looked equally appetizing.
Dessert time. I selected all the chocolate stuff as it was always the safest choice for me. They were good though I had no idea what I had by now.

I did not have room for the cheese platter (quite a good selection of cheese and fruits) and soup.

I would love to go back to Brasserie Les Saveurs again. I like the quiet and elegant ambience which was very soothing and relaxing. Then again, it was not overly crowded when we were there on a weeknight.

Coffee Club Breakfast, Wheelock Place

When the Coffee Club outside Wheelock Place started advertising their breakfast fare offering late 2009, it was like a beacon to me. I guessed the pictures worked as I sure was tempted to wake up early just so I could have breakfast there before heading into the office.

I finally had the opportunity to do that when I did wake up early to go see the GP (she is based in town area) before work. The menu offered choices such as pancakes, waffles, American breakfast, muffin, sandwiches, etc.

I decided on the pancake stack with wild blueberry compote. Alas, the promotional picture looked so much better than what was served. The pancake stack looked sad and compressed, not huge and fluffy. The blueberry compote looked like red bean paste (but it did taste like blueberry). The saving grace was probably the syrup. I had to request for butter to go with the pancakes.

The breakfast came with complimentary coffee or tea. Good thing the coffee was palatable, otherwise I would have regretted getting up early to try its breakfast items.

Curry Crab?

Most people have heard of chili crab and black pepper crab, but curry crab? It is not so well known as its sisters. We had curry crab which was served at Seafood International (at Big Splash in East Coast) during one of the CNY dinners. I first viewed it curiously and then with trepidation as it was so unlike the usual way of cooking crabs.

Seafood International always offers different types of cooking style as I remembered another CNY dinner where the crab was cooked tom yam paste. I did not try it then. But this curry version, it was surprisingly very good. If you love curry, you will probably like this. The gravy was not overly spicy and has the right amount of spices to make it tasty.

It was served with toasted slices of french loaves. The crispy chewy garlic bread drenched with the curry gravy was sublime. Add the tender flesh of the crab and you could just be happy polishing off the entire dish and have nothing else.

You could do an open faced sandwich too. Spread the curry over the bread and add the crabmeat over and sprinkle with the cilantro. Nice!

It was a 7 or 9 course dinner and I forgot about photo taking after snapping a few shots of the dishes. The food and company were just too good. Lol. I think this was shark fin and chicken meat soup but I am not too certain now.

A claypot filled with abalone, veggies, dried mussel/oyster, fa cai (dried moss) and meat. I liked it all except for the dried mussel/oyster. Somehow I never like the taste of that chewy dried shell meat.

The ubiquitous yu sheng topped with raw salmon. Sometimes I think yu sheng can be quite fattening with the bowls of oil and honey being poured into the dish.

I have never been to Seafood International outside of these CNY dinners, so I am not sure about the usual ala carte dishes. It does look interesting and it may be nice to just go there someday for a regular meal.

Kids may like it for the wide array of fishes and other sea creatures swimming in the tanks. There is valet parking too so you don't have to worry about finding a lot. What I do like is the private rooms which could net you a view of the beach and sea. Lovely.