May 5th Dinner at Greenhouse, Ritz Carlton

I think this was my last dinner buffet over at Greenhouse in Ritz Carlton. Mmmm....I just loved the fresh sashimi and appetizers. The sushi could be a bit of a "hit and miss" as sometimes they would be dry and hard. Maybe it depend on the timing?

This was the first time I ever ordered the ramen from the station. It was surprisingly pretty decent. The noodles were al dente and the broth was flavorful without being too overpowering. You could choose what seafood or meat as toppings. The egg could be better, then again I much preferred the semi-hardboiled egg from Marutama Ramen with its semi-solid wobbly egg yolk.

I guessed I kinda overdosed on too much food from previous dinners at Greenhouse, so I did not take the chili crabs during this meal. I had the beef bourguignon which was still very good with its tender meat and "marmite" (maybe it should be "bovril") tasting sauce. The cereal prawns were yummy but the risotto with truffle and cheese was not that fantastic.

The Indian food which I used to like was no longer as nice. It was pretty average now, with nothing that stood out.

Finally the desserts. I fell in love with rum and raisin ice cream after having it a few times at Greenhouse. My two favorite flavors ~ rum and raisin and chocolate. So nice to have them together. The chocolate truffle cake was another of my favorite way to end the meal.

Modesto's at VivoCity

After watching Letters to Juliet, we were tempted to find an Italian restaurant for fine, fresh dishes to indulge in. The first place which came into my mind is Modesto's. I was not sure if there were any other places serving Italian food over there.

Anyway, Modesto's at VivoCity is definitely not the place for fine, good Italian food. Somehow the quality of the food at that outlet always is not up to par.

The bruschetta which was grilled bread topped with chopped tomatoes, basil, oregano and garlic and olive oil. It was not too bad. I would like it better if the bread was more grilled/toasted and not too watery. Maybe that would be from the fresh juicy tomatoes.

JK ordered the Linguine Alla Modesto ~ linguine with prawns, crab, squid, olives, mussels, clams, capers, garlic, white wine and tomato sauce. This was the only item which was very good. It had a slight woodsy smoky taste which was gorgeous.

I ordered the mushroom ravioli with saffron walnut sauce. It was actually pretty nice if they made the ravioli properly. The pasta was too tough, especially at the edges. I thought it was not cooked long enough and sent it back. I was not sure what they did but when it was brought back to me, there was not much difference. And it was the exact same plate cos I had a half sliced ravioli and it came back with that intact. So maybe they popped it into the microwave? Then obviously it would not work.

In the end, I trimmed away the edges and just ate the mushrooms with the sauce.

We decided to sit outside and enjoy the night breeze and view of Resort World Sentosa. Our meal with a carafe of white wine.

I seriously think the Modesto's at Orchard Parade Hotel is still way better in food quality. Of course there is always Prego at Fairmont but it can get a bit tiring to always dine there. I should go back to Da Paolo and Pasta Brava and the other Italian places which are so not in town area :p

Awfully Chocolate Ice Cream ~ VivoCity

I was back at VivoCity and popped by Awfully Chocolate when Celest said she wanted ice cream. Unfortunately there was only one type of ice cream over at Awfully Chocolate ~ Hei (black) ice cream. So Celest did not order any but I decided to get a scoop just so I can say I have tried it.

I love the container it came in. The kitschy American-style Chinese take-out box (actually most places in North America use tin foil containers for Chinese take out now) with a little plastic handle. It was a very generous one scoop of ice cream. At $3.80 it was a very good deal.

Awfully Chocolate truly deserves its name to serve all things chocolaty. It is quite a heaven for chocoholics (read = dark chocolate lovers) as they do not stint on the quantity and quality of chocolate. I liken the ice cream to having cold chocolate. It was more chocolaty than creamy.

The plastic spoon was big and more than adequate for scooping out the ice cream. The only drawback was the sharpness of the spoon. The edge was a bit too fine and sharp.

The chocolate truffles were equally gorgeous. Sinfully rich with a hint of bitter aftertaste, it was just pure heaven on tongue. Now, I just need to try the cold-poached chocolate and other cakes and I would be very happy.

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It seemed that everyone is talking about Awfully Chocolate lately. After I tried the cupcake and then the ice cream, a colleague brought a chocolate cake from Awfully Chocolate to work. So I finally had a slice of the cake after so many years. It was a simple sponge cake with good chocolate that was not very sweet at all. Very nice!

Then I read about the owner of Awfully Chocolate in the local papers. So yes, the cosmic seemed to be shining upon on Awfully Chocolate at the moment :)

Mellben Seafood @ Ang Mo Kio

It was a crabby night. After a few weeks of planning and waiting, we finally made our way to Mellben Seafood over at Ang Mo Kio. I have heard so much about it since a few years ago but just never seemed to have the chance to dine there.

It was a long wait but we were prepared. We arrived at around 6pm and the line was already streaming out of the restaurant. The place has been upgraded and is no longer a stall in a coffee shop. It is its own restaurant (probably occupying a former coffee shop) in the neighborhood, with wooden accents and water features.

We were in line for about 30mins and the wait for the food was another hour. While waiting in the queue, the staff would take down the order. It was also recommended to order everything first as the wait for extra food would be another hour or more.

The signature butter cream crabs. We ordered two of that (female crabs for the roe ~ though the staff told us there was no guarantee there would be roe in them) and they came swimming in the viscous butter cream sauce.

The butter cream was so thick and creamy and sticky and sweet that it was a joy to soak up the crab meat in it. The laksa leaves added an oomph to the sauce. The sliced chilies did not make the crabs spicy at all. We also ordered fried mini mantous (buns) which were simply divine with the sauce.

We were lucky with the crabs as there were plenty of roe in the shell. This was my first time eating the crab roe that I was absolutely clueless about which part of the "meat" on the shell could be eaten.

The answer was everything! Somehow I had the impression that one was supposed to remove everything from the shell when cooking the crabs that I thought those were not meant to be eaten. Lots of roe for those who love it.

We also ordered the other signature dish ~ crab bee hoon soup. This was my second time having a crab bee hoon soup and this was terrific. The soup was slightly creamy with a strong crabby taste. The flesh of the crab was very sweet and tender. The crab was bigger in this dish as we ordered the medium size (feed 3-4 persons) but we discovered it was more than enough for 5 girls.

The staff liked to make you think it would not be enough food. Maybe they did not want patrons to wait the additional one hour if they decide to order more food halfway through their meals so that the turnover for the tables would be faster.

The remnant of our crabby meal. What we had:

2 x butter cream female crabs

1 x crab bee hoon soup (medium)

15 x mini mantous

3 x coconuts

1 x ginger tea

1 x tea

1 x mineral water

1 x water chestnut drink

2 x plates of peanuts (you need them while waiting for food)

Total bill: around $162.

No. of eaters: 5

Results: sublime ecstasy of foodie heaven

I think it is better to order what they are known for rather than other dishes. I have heard the chili crabs are not fantastic when compared to the other seafood restaurants. Other dishes we initially wanted to try were mongolian ribs and seaweed tofu. So glad we did not order those as we were absolutely stuffed with the crabs.

With the long wait, it would be good to go with people you like or could have a conversation with. Otherwise it could make for an terribly long meal :p

Location:

Mellben Seafood

Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 #01-1222

Hours: 4.30pm to 11.30pm

Tel 6285 6762

Awfully Chocolate Chocolate Cupcake ~ VivoCity

It has been years since I last had a cake from Awfully Chocolate. I remembered when it first opened at Breezeway Building along Joo Chiat back in the late 1990s (no longer there). It was the place we always bought our cakes from for the monthly birthday babies in Urban Alternatives (young adults group in my church). Then it was really a small shop selling only 2 types of cakes ~ chocolate or chocolate banana.

What we loved about the cake was that it was not overly sweet and the sponge was moist with a rich layer of dark chocolate.

Somehow over the years the memories of what it was stuck in my head and I never went back to buy the cakes again. Plus I still thought of it serving just those 2 types of cakes and even when I saw it at VivoCity, it never occurred to me to check it out until last weekend. There I saw it has expanded and has so many more items available ~ cupcakes, ice cream, handmade truffles and cakes.

I bought the chocolate cupcake and it was absolutely divine. The cupcake did not have to be refrigerated. I left it in my air-conditioned room overnight and the cupcake was still moist and soft. The cake was its signature sponge which was not overly sweet. It was topped with a generous layer of chocolate icing which was neither too creamy nor buttery. It was a smooth rich dark chocolate and it went very well with the moist cake. In the center, was a dollop of chocolate fudge. It was truly chocolate overload and a haven for chocoholics.

I would certainly go back to Awfully Chocolate again to try the other new cakes ~ chocolate rum and cherry, anyone?