Monday, June 28, 2010

Reese's NutRageous Bar

If you love peanut butter, chances are you would adore Reese's peanut butter cup. I discovered a treasure trove of Reese's products at the Hershey's store over at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

It was absolutely wonderful to be in there. All kinds of Hershey's Bars, Kisses and Reese's. There are even peanut butter sauce or peanut butter chocolate sauce to pour over cakes or ice cream.

A friend bought me this ~ Reese's NutRageous. It is a bar of chocolate filled with creamy salty peanut butter and surrounded by nutty crunchy peanuts and held together with a thin layer of sticky caramel.

The taste reminded me of a Snickers bar except this is chockful of peanut butter. Heaven.

I would go back to RWS, just to shop at the Hershey's store.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Botan ~ Far East Square

The pictures posted by a friend had got me salivating over the food at Botan. So when I was in the vicinity, I just had to try it.

The lunch bentos were pretty affordable at around $16 to $25 or so. I chose the Saba bento. It came with a portion of the mackeral (saba), sashimi, miso soup, chawanmushi, some oden and special dish (tofu and meat which reminded me of ma po dou fu).

Maybe I should not have a high expectation as I felt a bit disappointed with the food. The quality was ok, maybe just slightly above average. But even the saba set from Sun with Moon was of a bigger portion and fresh. This seemed to be just heated up.

It was still much better than the usual Sushi Tei or Sakae Sushi.

Darn! I am too spoiled by Inagiku quality of Japanese food. Then again even Sun with Moon at Chijmes quality is equally good too.

New soft toy ~ adorable sheep

A colleague bought me this during her trip to New Zealand. Isn't that so sweet of her? The sheep is so cute too!

We started work at the same time (just last month) and I sure didn't expect anything at all. It was a very nice surprise to get this little gift from her.

It is really awesome when you have nice/good colleagues as it makes one look forward to going to work.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Nasi Goreng ~ Chatterbox, Meritus Mandarin


It is so hard to take an accurate picture of the nasi goreng at Chatterbox. It is somewhere between the 2 pictures (flash and without).

Besides the famous chicken rice, Chatterbox also serves some pretty decent local food. I like the beef hor fun which has generous serving of tender beef slices with the wok-hei flavored kway teow in a flavorful gooey sauce. The other dish which I like is the hokkien prawn mee which is also super yummy with the pork lard in it.

This time round, we decided to try the nasi goreng istimewa which was surprisingly pretty good. It really did not look that appetizing but the taste was nice. The satay was tender and easy to pull out from the stick. The prawns were fresh and sweet and crunchy. The fried rice was done nicely too.

But seriously the prices at Chatterbox are very high. Each dish is about $25. Even with the Eat@Meritius card, it is pricey for local food. So this is pretty much a once in a while dining for me when I crave for the food at Chatterbox.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Waraku Central

I ordered the spicy beef ramen over at Waraku inside Central as I was in the mood for ramen. It was surprisingly tasty. The broth was not overly spicy and the beef was tender. The egg could be better, like those served at Maratuma which is still my favorite place for the soft hard boiled egg.

The service was also good and the wait staff was attentive enough to come by to top up our tea or water. Kids were also taken care of as they gave my nephews some toys to entertain them while waiting for the food. That was a pleasant and welcome surprise.

Footwear for Work

It has become a challenge for me to find comfortable shoes for work as the office dress code is much more formal than my previous companies. Plus I find it stressful on the feet to be in heels the entire day even though I am basically desk-bound. So I much prefer to wear flats or low-heeled shoes. That means covered shoes, no more dressy sandals as those I have showed too much skin and I do not think they are that appropriate for work.

I am so thankful that I did purchase some flats over the last few years even though I hardly wear them as they are pretty much my staples for footwear now. Still, what I have is not enough and so I did buy another pair of shoes.
Ta-dah! My very first ballerina flats from Tod's. I have been wanting a pair of Ballerinas Dee from Tod's since 2009 but somehow never got around to buying them. Unfortunately what I wanted (Anthracite from last year collection) was no longer available and this was the next best thing. I do not know what is this color but it is kinda dark silvery lilac. This is such a hard color to remember that I am never able to visualize it in my mind.

While this is very comfortable, I found out it is not meant for walking for a long period of time as it is a bit too flat. Apparently we need a bit of heel for walking otherwise the pressure is on the feet. I must marvel at the construction of this pair of shoes.

The first time I wore them, my feet were a bit sore and raw at the front. They were red but I did not get any blisters at all. I wore them again a few weeks later and they were perfectly molded to my feet. They were still buttery soft and there was even some breathing space. This is a very good reason to splurge on quality shoes ~ blisters free.

Digging out my other proper shoes, I found this pair of Easy Spirit pumps which I bought in 2008. I properly only wore them a couple of times before they were relinquished to the cold storage. The grey-taupe pumps were pretty comfortable, unfortunately I developed blisters at the back of my feet after half a day of wearing them. I have not wore them again yet. I probably would need to since I don't have that many pairs of shoes to rotate around.

This was another pair of flats which surprised me. The red patent ballerina flats from Bellerinas (available at Tangs + Co) were actually comfortable when I wore them again. The main reason why I hardly wear covered shoes were because I tend to get blisters either on the front or the back of my feet. So I thought I would get the blisters again when I took them out.

Somehow they were ok on me and was actually quite comfortable (but not as comfy as Tod's). At least these looked smart and added a bit of color to my drab office wear (typical black and grey or white ~ I missed the days I could wear bright colors, maybe some day soon).



Another reason to love shoes from Bellerinas is that they made my wide feet look slim. The black pair is still a bit harder than the red patent, but hopefully it will soften over time. This also did not give me any blisters this time round.

Maybe the trick to not getting blisters is to leave them alone for a while?

I have another 3 pairs of covered shoes which I am currently using for work ~ 2" court shoes from Hush Puppies (gave me blisters though) and a black pair of ballerina flats from Aldo (also no more blisters this time) and a pair of silver ballerina flats from Hush Puppies which used to give me blisters but are ok now.

The back of my feet were so badly abused by the various covered shoes the last few weeks that they are almost permanently black from the scars. They are better now and hopefully the scars would lighten and disappear over time.

In the meantime, I am still on the hunt for comfortable sandals which are preferably backless and could be used for work. Then I can wear them when I get blisters again.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Saturday Lunch at Inagiku

This was the first time I went to Inagiku over at Fairmont for lunch on a Saturday. Usually it had been dinner or weekday lunch. I was pleasantly surprised to discover there were set lunches on Saturdays too.

Unfortunately the menu has changed. That is quite usual for Inagiku as it tends to introduce new menus to reflect the current seasonal offerings. But it meant that the chirashi lunch set was no longer available and I was looking forward to that. There was only one type of chirashi in the lunch menu under the ala carte section and it did not seem very appealing. So I decided to order the seafood teppanyaki set. After all, Inagiku is also pretty well known for its teppanyaki.

We started with a salad which was excellent. Fresh greens with the light citrusy dressing which teased the palate and primed it for the main course. The plain crispy bits added extra crunch and made a good foil to the zesty taste.

TT ordered the steak teppanyaki. The portion looked a bit sad, didn't it? Then again, it was lunch and there were miso soup and rice and veggies plus pickles too. I could not remember if there was also a chawanmushi.

In contrast, my order of seafood teppanyaki looked almost bountiful. Tender cod and sweet scallop which were grilled to perfection. The chawanmushi was smooth and just slid down the throat. What I really liked was the grilled prawns mentai topped with ebiko. The creamy sauce was just gorgeous with the sweet fresh prawns and popping ebiko. The miso soup was not overly salty or bland.

Dessert! Instead of the usual fruits, it was a scoop of ice cream. There were only 2 choices ~ green tea or black sesame. The ice cream was delicately infused with the aromatic taste of black sesame. The size was just right too, not too much to feel overly rich and just enough to take the edge off the need for something sweet to end the meal.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Checkers Brasserie, Hilton Singapore

I had lunch with my ex-colleagues and they chose the Checkers Brasserie over at Hilton Hotel. Somehow I had never dine at Hilton Hotel though I had the pretty well known cheesecake before. It was a lunch/high tea buffet which was from 12noon to 4pm. I must say this was the least crowded place I had ever been to for a buffet. It was probably only half full when I was there from 1230pm to 3pm.
We had a table by the window which was pretty nice with the sunlight streaming in and the greenery out there. I liked that we could have freshly squeezed juices. You just select the fruits/veggies and the staff would juice them. That was a nice touch. I had watermelon with celery and then honeydew with watermelon.

The cold appetizers (grilled zucchini, portobello mushroom, smoked salmon, pumpkin, mozzarella with tomato, mushroom, egg and sushi) which I didn't really like. The sushi was hard. Of what I tried, I only like the portobello mushroom which was woodsy smoky and juicy.

From the small dim sum/Chinese selection, I tried the mushroom rice roll, char siew bun and fried beehoon. The mushroom rice roll was surprisingly good. It was tender and soft. The beehoon was a tad too salty for my palate.

The char siew bun was not too bad. At least the bun was not dry and hard.

More items from the appetizer section. Seared tuna which was ok, portobello mushroom, kueh pie ti (I loved this. It was crispy crunchy and tasty), roast chicken which was pretty standard and roast beef. The roast beef was tender and not too chewy.

Finally the mains ~ pizza slices and potato skin which were hard. The crispy baby squids were very good. The pasta was so-so and the fish was average too. Again the kueh pie ti shone in this plate.

There was a noodle section where you select the type of noodles (kway teow, yellow noodle, tang hoon, bee hoon) and toppings plus the soup (laksa or prawn stock). I chose tang hoon with veggies, prawns, squid, fish and mushroom in prawn stock. The chef would cook the ingredients and then you just top up with the soup of your choice. I should have added more soup as the tang hoon just soaked up the liquid. This was nice as the seafood was fresh and sweet.


Dessert was pretty much hit and miss. I only liked the bread and butter pudding with vanilla sauce. The other nice item was the coffee square. The rest was not as great.

Again only the bread and butter pudding was nice. I totally forgot to try the marble cheesecake as I was not really a big fan of cheesecake. I should have since Checkers is known for its cheesecake.

The place was not big, yet I did not really try everything. I totally missed out on the fruits and chocolate fountain section, as well as the wide selection of cheese and crackers available and the other hot mains like tempura, some Indian food and more Chinese food. Another nice thing was the selection of tea available. You get to choose the type of tea and brew it in a pot.

I would not say Checkers Brasserie is fantastic but there are some dishes which are nice and others which are not really to my taste. It is always good to get out of my usual buffet places (yes, Greenhouse at Ritz Carlton or Rose Verandah at Shangri-La) and try other restaurants for a change.

Saturday, June 05, 2010

Afternoon Tea at TCC, Suntec City Mall

TCC over at Suntec City Mall offers a tea set special in the afternoon. It is pretty good as you get a pot of tea with scones, open faced sandwiches and fruit tarts.

Unfortunately I only like the open faced sandwiches. The other stuff didn't impress me much. Still, it is nice to sit down with a book and enjoy some tea and nibbles when you have an afternoon to while away.

A good way to spend a couple of hours. The outlet at Suntec City Mall is usually quiet as it is not very crowded on a weekday.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Dian Xiao Er, VivoCity

We went to Dian Xiao Er over at VivoCity last month as I was missing the duck. It is quite amazing that I will actually want to eat duck since I am never a duck meat lover. I much prefer chicken or white meat or fish. Somehow the duck over at Dian Xiao Er is very tender and the herbal gravy is just wonderful, especially when drenched over rice.


We decided to just order 2 dishes since there were only 2 of us and we were not starving. We tried the 3-egg spinach. It was very good. The spinach was fresh and crunchy and the eggs (century, salted and regular ~ I think it was 3 types) were fantastic.

Simple dinner which just hit the spot. It was always nice to be able to go somewhere where you know the food will be good, if not decent.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

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.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

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.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

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.

Sunday, May 09, 2010

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?

Friday, May 07, 2010

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.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

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.

Sunday, May 02, 2010

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.

Saturday, May 01, 2010

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.