Beautiful Sunset

I was at OBS last saturday for some company team bonding and I had a smashing time. But, I shall leave that for another post or not. I just wanted to share a few photos though, of the beautiful sunset when we were leaving Pulau Ubin. Just look at the colours! Such a magnificent piece of art. Enjoy!

Ma Maison

The last time I saw this restaurant was a few months back at Central. My friend and I were deciding between eating at Waraku and Ma Maison. In the end, we decided to go for Waraku and I made it a point to go back to Ma Maison one day. That thought totally slipped my mind until my friend suggested eating at some Japanese-Western place at Bugis. I didn't know Ma Maison had an outlet in Bugis, so I thought she was referring to a "Pasta de Waraku" copycat. (ps. I have to try Pasta de Waraku one day!). It wasn't until we walked to the little corner did I realize it was Ma Maison, the place that I said I'll try, but obviously that slipped my mind. Anyway, i was glad cos I had read about this place and how their brown sauce is simmered for 28 days! Can you beat that?!?!

Ok, to the ambience, the restaurant adopts the look of a traditional English cottage, complete with parquetry flooring, wooden tables and chairs. The pots and pans and typical english kitchen accessories together with the table cloth and curtains make the whole environment homely and you feel transported to a small little cottage in England. And, almost makes you feel like it's Christmas and the family is crowded around about to eat the meatloaf, turkey, ribs etc etc.

The western cuisines are carefully prepared with a touch of Japanese unique to the restaurant’s style. You get things like the marriage of a thick piece of pork cutlet (think: tonkatsu) together with the brown sauce. I wanted to order the original hamburger steak which is supposedly quite famouse, but I figured it'll be way too much for me to eat. So, I went for the beef stroganoff with buttered rice topped with an omelette. The stroganoff was good and would have been perfect with toasted bread. The brown sauce, while very flavourful and you could taste the essence of the beef in the sauce, was a bit too salty for my liking. The buttered rice wasn't tasty to eat on it's own, but that's probably because it's supposed to be eaten with the stew. But, I absolutely loved the omelette. It was the most perfect omelette I've ever eaten. Texture wise: wobbly, yet firm. Taste: Light and very well mixed, almost like a curd of jelly. Flavour: Just right, not too salty, yet you could taste the egg flavour. Absolutely yummilcious. Ooo... =) In fact, now I'm still thinking of it.

My main course cost about $17. Not too expensive and for the ambience (they play nice jazz at the back) I definitely would come back here with a bunch of good pals to just chill and relax over dinner. And the next time I'm back, I'll definitely try the Original Hamburger Steak and/or Beef Stew. Yum yum... And I heard the mash potato's good. *winks*

Ma Maison
200 Victoria St.
#02-51 Parco Bugis Junction
Singapore 188021
Tel: 63384819

6 Eu Tong Sen Street,
The Central @ Clarke Quay
Singapore 59817

Hours:
Mon - Fri: 11.30am to 2.30pm, 6pm - 10pm
Sat & Sun: 11.30am to 10pm

Eighteen Chefs

Found out about this new eatery from ieatishootipost's blog. And, it's one of those "For a good cause" projects cause this place supports the yellow ribbon project. This new eatery at Eastpoint Mall that takes a leaf from Brit celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Fifteen. The latter offers work to wayward teenagers, equipping them with culinary skills to help them reintegrate into society through gainful employment.

Eighteen Chefs owner and executive chef Benny Se Teo, who had himself served time, started a month-long internship at Fifteen after chatting with Liam Black on the restaurant’s online forum. It was there that Se Teo, a trained tze char chef, honed his skills in Western cuisine. On his return to Singapore, he set up Eighteen Chefs, modeling Fifteen in its mission to offer employment and a helping hand to juvenile delinquents. Eighteen Chefs also sports an eye-catching wall mural painted by ex-offenders. To read the full story, please refer to ieatishootipost's post.

Anyway, I ordered the Lobster Mornay pasta set which came with soup and ice cream as dessert, all these for $16.90 only. Very reasonable. However, I wasn't impressed with the Lobster Mornay I had. I would have preferred if the sauce was had more cheese. But, at $16.90 for lobster, I shouldn't put my expectations too high. I have yet to try the baked rice, though which is what they are famouse for. But, I definitely will make a trip back to try out the baked rice. Oh.. And the savoury nibbles they serve looked really good from the neighbouring table's order. Yum yum... And, they're really reasonably priced! Since it was also a birthday celebration for ESPN and Charlene, I got them a cake from Swiss Backerei. I have always wanted to buy their food items as I've heard lots of good stuff about it. However, I got there really late and they were officially closed. The lady was really sweet, she specially sold me the cake although they had packed everything in already. Anyway, back to the cake, it's some Royal Palaris or something like that - apparently their best seller. And, boy was it good, super rich, super chocolatey. My only complain is that it's a bit dry and maybe a bit too heavy. But, if you like that type of heavy chocolate stuff with crunch bits in it (yum yum!), you'll like this. Do let it thaw for a while to allow the chocolate fudge/mousse/wadeva it is melt a bit and that will wet the cake a little so that when you cut it, it doesn't start disintegrating.

Eighteen Chefs
3 Simei Street 6 #01-36 Eastpoint Mall
Open noon to 11pm daily
Tel: (65) 67821298

Swiss Backerei
97 Frankel Avenue
Open 7.30am to 7.30pm
Tel: (65) 64418766

Food for Thought

I read about this place from ieatishootipost's blog and decided to check it out for our inaugural Love Feast.

I had never been here and did not know what to expect. But, I loved the experience. It was a really comfy and nice environment, very Ikea styled wooden environment with simple food - Sandwiches, Soups, a couple of main course choices, salad and dessert. Simple but tasty food.


I ordered the combination platter for one which allowed me to choose 2 of the following: a full soup, half a salad, half a sandwich. I had orginally wanted to go for the soup and salad, but when I found out the half sandwich came with some greens, I decided to go for the sandwich and it was a good choice. The sandwich was yummy. And the mushroom soup was really full of mushroom. The food here is quite healthy, for instance, they don't put cream into their mushroom soup, so it was a little thin, but the abundance of mushrooms used more than made up for it. And desserts.. How could I ever not have them? Too bad they didn't have their red velvet cake (the guy told me that if I wanted a particular dessert, i should call to reserve that cake. And I was like "reserve 1 slice of cake?!?!". And he went "yes yes!! we have customers who call way in advance just to reserve a slice of cake". Ok, got the hint. Next time I go there, I'm going to call to reserve my cake first.) I ordered the nutella cupcake which wasn't fantastic. I like Marmalade Pantry's one better. And the apple crumble thingy. The apple crumble thingy was really good! I loved the crusted top. Sweet, buttery and rich. All the sinful stuff, but it tasted good and complemented the apple crumble well (since the crumble wasn't too sweet). Yummy yum yum. Now i'm still thinking about it!. I do like this place for it's ambience. Great for friends chilling out. And, I'll definitely be back to try the sandwich platter (you get to make your own sandwiches, and they'll provide you with the filling). Oh, and they make one of the meanest mash potato here. Real mash potato, not packet type. It's the best I've ever tasted, just like the way my mum makes it. Creamy, rich,just wet enough. As you savour each mouthful, you can taste the milk and cheese in the potato and there are little bits of potato hidden with the mash. Really good stuff!! =) I don't know if they do make it regularly (they should add this into their regular menu!), but it actually came with the main course they were serving for the day. So, I asked if I could buy the mash alone, which they (thankfully) allowed.

Oh, and another reason why I'll come back is because this place is a social enterprise and their profits do go to help the poor and needy. Simple but well done food, in the company of great friends and yet being able to help the poor, why not? Go check out their website for more details on their social enterprise and other community projects.

Food For Thought

420 North Bridge Road

North Bridge Centre

#01-06

Singapore 188727

Tel: (65) 6338 8724

The Prime Society

We went to Dempsey Hill for lunch the other day and visited The Prime Society. There have been some write-ups about this place, so it was timely that we went there to check it out. So, let me start with the concept of the eatery. "The Prime Society" sounds posh and very "atas", but we were pleasantly surprised that the restaurant had a more homely feel with lots of unpainted stone walls and wooden furniture, giving it a dress down, old world yet hip feel (aka not Morton's or Lawry's kind of setting). It was really a comfortable place great for a bunch of friends to catch lunch together.

So, when we sat at our tables, we were welcomed with the "Inauguration Kit" - Really just an envelop containing the cutlery which, I must say was very heavy. The menu was shaped like that of a royal decree together with the signature of the prime princess (check the inset) and the simulation of the red candle seal. Amusing.

We ordered a jug of Primed (past tense!) Iced Tea and it was refreshing. The goodness of the mixed fruits (oranges, lime, lemon, cherries) made great flavour for the tea which was subtle and fragrant. My colleague ordered the Tiger Beer ___ which she said was good. I'm not a fan of Tiger Beer, so i passed and didn't try that one. The Prime Society had these really cool coasters, pity that I only managed to get 3 in the whole collection. I think the whole collection probably consists of The Prime Society's "Districtus Commandments" (refer below). You should go check out their website for and read their book for more details.

Placemats - Our placements came in form of paper explaining the different cuts of the pork, fish and artichoke. I don't know if they have others in the series, but that kept us busy for a while as we were reading the different parts whilst waiting for our food to come.

(From left to right)
Ah... Now, to the food. We had a couple of salad starters - Chorizo Salad and Caesar Salad. Both were good and I like that both salad dressings were not overpowering (I don't understand why some places love to dose their salad in the dressing. I love salads light with minimal dressing - enough just to musk the tinge of bitterness of raw vegetables, cos only then can you taste the real sweetness and goodness of the fresh leaves. But that's just me. That's why a simple vinegrette or olive oil dressing will do it for me. In fact, if the vegetables are very fresh, I prefer it without the dressing. But, that's a story for another day.) They served their Caesar Salad with thinly sliced and well toasted baguette bread which is a change from the croutons that are normally sprinkled on.
We ordered a full rack of pork ribs to share. They were well grilled and steaming hot when we got them. The meat from the ribs were soft, but I felt lacked the flavour and I ended up having to pour some sauce on to the meat to add some flavour to it. But the fries and grilled vegetables that came with it were really yummy. Yes, the fries were really good, such that I kinda began to regret changing my fries to mash potato (although my mash potato hadn't come. Yes, I am a sucker for good mash potato).
While most of us order the steaks, 2 of my other colleagues ordered fish and the chicken, which, I guess were ok. They didn't say much about their dishes and neither did I try it, so I can't give a fair comment.
Mine was the 160gm Sirloin with blue cheese butter (ah yess... I prefer my steak with butter instead of sauces. I'll explain why another time, but the butter somehow enhances the flavour of the steak, while sauces just musk the flavour). As with all other food I'm served for the first time, i always make it a point not to add anything else before trying the food (exception for Shark's fin soup where pepper is a MUST). My logic? If you try it not in it's original state, how would you be able to taste the food and if added ingredients are needed, how would you know what needs to be added. And, I try to stick by eating food in it's original state so that you get to taste the flavours that the chef is trying to combine and the artwork of piecing each flavour together with the juices of the original meat/dish that make the medley of flavours a joy to eat. Sauces and condiments should only help to enhance the flavour and never overpower them. So, back to my piece of meat. My medium sirloin was just right and the juices of the meat were well retained in the steak. However, the meat was bland and the cut of the meat was a bit tough. I kinda regretted not choosing the sauces. Definitely nowhere near Morton's (gosh, that one just has the juices bursting in your mouth and the meat is so flavourful and tender,it almost melts with those few bites it lasts in your mouth!), but slightly better than Jack's Place type. But, definitely not a place I'll recommend to come for steaks, unless you're in the area and you really want steaks. But how often can you say you're in the area when the area is Dempsey Hill? The mash potato that came by the side wasn't fantastic either. It was a tad dry (thank goodness for the juices from the steak) not rich and creamy enough. But, for it being real mash potato (I dislike those instant ones from the packet!) it was OK. Maybe my standards are too high.

Anyway, my hilight for the whole meal was the Prime "Pina Colada". In their own words - "Spiced pineapple carpaccio, dark rum jelly, vanilla bean ice-cream and coconut foam". It was heavenly. I started tasting each level first before mixing everything up. And, each level tasted absolutely delicious! So, you can imagine how well they tasted when I mixed them all together. You get a mouthful of citrusy fruit, with chewy jelly, cold and creamy ice-cream and a light bubly foam. Ignoring the flavours from the equation, texture wise is already exciting enough. Now, add in the flavours, imagine the marriage of the textures and the flavours. Ah... What more can I say?

The Prime Society
Tanglin Village #01-20
10 Dempsey Road (S)247700
Lunch: 11.30am - 3pm
Dinner: 6pm - 12midnight
Tel: 64747427

Are you married?

I was at some company event and mixing around getting to know some of my colleagues from the rest of the other departments. So after chatting for a while one of my colleagues asked me "Are you married?" I was stunned for a while and I didn't know how to reply. In turn I asked her "Er... Do I look that old?" She laughed and said, "No, in fact you look very young. But, I thought that's a normal question to ask." I grinned and replied her, "I'm a fresh grad, young and single without any family commitments waiting to conquer the corporate world."

That little conversation amused me and I can't help but wonder, is the latest introduction phrase "Are you married?" I'm posting this up on facebook as my "questions". But, if you have an answer do tag it on my tagboard. =)

Charm Bibimbab & Gimbab

Ever since Steffi intro-ed me to Icon Village, I have been going there whenever I am
a) bored
b) in need of some interesting shopping
c) on lunch duty and need to tabao
d) need our Yami Yoghurt fix

In all seriousness, Icon Village is a really small place (only 1 level), but with the void of good shopping around the Tanjong Pagar area (we only have IP which is really nothing compared to Raffles Place), this place came as a good refresher and I can't get enough of it. Furthermore, some of the shops are ones I'm seeing for the first time (although they say they have a couple more branches around the island). But, it's good that these shops open here instead of bigwig store names which are sprouting out everywhere around the island that shopping at these stores becomes a bore now (read: G2000, GG5 etc etc.) One other thing I like about Icon Village is that it has a few takeout stores (as in catered to takeout, not eat in then tabao sort of stores). And, these takeout stores vary from Hotdog stand type to shepherd's pie stuff and the one that caught my eye was this one - Korean takeout. Anyway, I was on lunch duty last week, and so I decided to try this Korean takeout.


This place has a very small seating area, but they seem to cater more to a takeout crowd with their food served in disposable ware and they are well stocked with doggy bags for a quick and easy takeout. Their food selection was limited to 2 different kinds of food - Bibimbab and gimbab (as their name suggests). In fact, the menu below pretty much showcases what they sell. I ordered the Charm Gimbab which is a Korean pickled vegetable wrapped in sushi style. It wasn't too bad although I thought the rice could have been more flavourful and a little more moist. Maybe I am too used to the Japanese style of sushi. But, I did like the pickled vegetables used as the filling. And, it came with a bowl of soup which was a little bland, but, ok, I guess. Seriously, for cheap Korean takeout, I think this place is not too bad and you get quite a lot to fill you up. Where in the world can you get Korean food for S$4.80 and have it fill you up? Plus the service staff were really nice too and they're authentic Koreans. I'll go back to try the rest of the flavours and try out the bibimbab when I'm on lunch duty again, but that'll be in about 5 weeks time.

Charm Bibimbab & Gimbab
Icon Village
12 Gopeng Street
#01-26

Frontliner's Sports Day 2007