SINFUL ESCAPADES

Back with Kenny Roger's

2006-03-08T03:51:00.000+08:00

hmm.. haven gotten round to trying out that recipe. gotta promise myself that i'll do that when i get back from hk. =D

it's been a long time since i put up a decent entry. let's talk about kenny rogers. but we'll have to do without pics for awhile. at least till i get back.

heard plenty of stuff about kenny rogers. but i've never been there. not till just last sunday. can you believe it? more than once my polymates like pang and angie have suggested dining there for my sake. but all of the times it was either there was a loooong queue at the suntec's outlet and/or it was on a friday. and it didn't make any sense to be dining there coz we wouldn't be able to enjoy the meat.

anyhows, finally dined there. at marina's outlet when we were deciding what to have for dinner all the way from downtown orchard to marina. there was the expected queue (i think i've already associated kenny rogers to long queues) but it wasn't long enough to deter us.

ain't that a nice way to light the table up. and they are real drinks. 0.O i was mighty surprised.

was intending to dine light so as to leave room for max brenner. this chocolate place at esplanade. another entry for another time.

so we settled on the james reuben. which was a full slab of ribs .13 bones in all i counted. not sure if a full slab means 13 parts. shrugs. half a dozen wings. corn muffins. and 3 side dishes. chose the mac and cheese. mashed potato. and baked rice.

ribs were great. comparable to cartel's but the sauce was a different. not that i'm complaining. wings was hmm... okay only. the corn muffins were great too. crispy on the outside. moist on the inner. not too much of a corny flavour that u'll get tired of it easily. =D

mac and cheese was not for the faint-hearted. it was extremely cheesy. me and alicia loved it immensely. but i think i topped it. kept dipping my fork in it for another mac and another mac and another mac. mash potato was not too bad. as all good mash potatoes will taste. i prefer popeyes tho'. probably coz it's more unique. baked rice wasn't anything worth mentioning.

note the before and after. *GRINS*

and that was all we had. four of us gurls. fed us full. didn't even had space for chocs after that. had to go shopping to get them digested.

heard that their chicken was more famed than the ribs. but i beg to differ. but then again, i'll have to try their roasted chicken to pass a judgement on that. i won't be surprised if i find myself in one of their outlets sometime soon =)

didn't manage to find any local links tho.. so i've only got this.

http://www.kennyrogers.cc/

gonna update with pics in about a week's time. cya =)

Of Cheese and Soup

2006-01-25T20:24:00.000+08:00

Cheddar Cheese Soup

5 slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (48 ounces) Chicken Broth
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
1 cup heavy cream
3 oz cream cheese
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In large saucepot, cook bacon until crisp; remove and set aside. Drain drippings.

In same saucepot, cook onion and garlic until tender. Add broth and carrots; cook 5 minutes. Add mustard and pepper, stirring to blend well.

Add cream, cream cheese, and Cheddar cheese. Heat, stirring, until cheeses are melted. Do not boil. Sprinkle each serving with reserved bacon.

Makes 6 servings (about 8 cups). 4.8 grams of carbohydrate per serving.

hiatus - avocados

2005-11-09T20:37:00.000+08:00

haven't been up to much blogging lately.

came across this website which i found to be rather interesting while searching for information on avocados.

MrBreafast

Hard Rock Cafe

2005-11-05T12:01:00.001+08:00

First things first, Hard Rock Cafe is still open in Singapore. No it's not closed -.- and it's just beside forum. or orchard parade hotel where there's modestos and black angus.

The 2nd trip to HRC wasn't as satisfying as the first. Had been there for liquan's and alicia's birthday dinner. This time round, dined with my JC buddies, Tailon and Jeremy. I think some people still have the misconception of Hard Rock Cafe to be some pubbing place. But it's actually quite a family-orientated diners. even on a weekend night.

As it was a sunday night, it was naturally packed. so we had to wait at the bar quite a bit for seats.

was reluctant to order drinks at first coz of the last time i felt a little light headed after a bottle of heineken at sentosa and jeremy was treating. so not very nice to overspend right? but tailon ordered a jimcola, jim bean and cola, while me and jem was happily munching away on popcorn, deciding on our dinner and chatting away, waiting. was telling them about the sentosa incident. then they suddenly got it in their head to sabotage me. And so, jem got himself an appletini and they ordered a heineken for me.. i can't believe i have this kinds of friends can?

honey bourbon hickory smoked pork chop

bruce's famous bbq ribs

herb grilled marinated chicken breast

wasn't too satisfied with our choices.. and i think the ribs at cafe cartel was nicer.. it kinda falles off the bone *shrugs*.. i guess it depends on what type u like. for hrc's ribs, i had to get down to using my hands? i'll bet tony roma's are better too.. but at twice/thrice the price i guess.. which reminds me, i haven't been to tony roma's in a long long time.. and alicia said that their standard isn't that great anymore? =/ i grew up dining at tony roma's once in a while when we were young -.- i still remember me and my sister having the kids meal. =D

actually was abit seh-ish after drinking. before the food came. i guess it was because i drank on an empty stomach. as was that time at sentosa. but the guys didn't know coz i didn't let on. hah. =P

if we had gone with another person of two, their starters, the jumbo combo, would have been great. i think it would be much safer to stick to their pork/lamb shank. can't remember what was it i had. and ribs. gonna try out their burgers too. didn't have the famous HRC's brownie with ice cream. but i'm gonna have them the next time i'm there.

used my uob card so we got a 15percent off.. and i realised that hrc has loadsa joint promos with cards. aniwaes, told mom i'd be home by 9 but dinner ended only around 8.30. walked jem to cine coz he was meeting his friends there then cabbed back to my place with tailon. he stays rather near me =) and taxis are irritating la.. when u don't need one, u see plenty of it. and when u really wanna get a cab, it's so hard to get. almost had to book one.. irritating.

Hard Rock Cafe
#02-01 / # 03-01 HPL House
50 Cuscaden Road
Singapore 249724
Tel: (65) 6235 5232

Cedele

2005-11-03T02:46:00.000+08:00

on the second day of the changi youth ambassador (cya) orientation, me, angie, pang and chai decided to have our lunch at cedele while the rest like shawn, sam, wes, yangying and some others moved on to chen fu ji. chai says that their fried rice is good.. gotta try them someday.

turns out that angie's ex-boss/colleague is working at this cedele now. it being a friday, settled for their curried pumpkin. it came with a free flow of bread and they had quite a few types to choose from. although it wasn't exactly easy on the pockets but it was afterall a very healthy meal i must say.

if i didn't remember wrongly, i believe my godma also recommended me cedele after lunch at nydc one day during lunch break. previously when i was working at millenia tower's citibank, lunched over at the cedele at suntec with 3 other colleagues. i think we had the curried pumpkin and another soup of the day too. vivianne ordered another sandwich to share too.

so is it curry or is it pumpkin?

pang ordered this blueberry almond crumble which was also very nice. angie got a treat even after much declining. she had a smoked salmon sandwich and their best-seller, carrot walnut cake.

absolutely scrumptious aint it? and the carrot was almost inexistant. don't know if that's good or bad but it was definitely the former for me. lest it reminds you of eating organic food. eeew.

shared our food around coz we wanted to sample more u see =D

chai wasn't feeling too hungry -as always- i swear she has a small tummy =P so she just helped herself to my free flow of bread. as angie has worked at cedele before, she began to tell us all about the different types of bread and all. all freshly made, not frozen etc etc. we would have tried their bestselling rosemary chicken instead were it not for friday. and i've heard recommendations for their devil's chocolate very fudge cake. sounds oh-so sinful doesn't it? i guess it won't be the last of cedele for me.

Cedele by bakery Depot
Changi Airport T2
Suntec City

AMC

2005-11-01T03:03:00.000+08:00

now, before you think of that series of pots that were supposedly revolutionary like 10 years ago, AMC here stands for Andes Mint Chocolates.

this was a childhood fave of mine

now, before you think of that series of pots that were supposedly revolutionary like 10 years ago, AMC here stands for Andes Mint Chocolates.

back then when i was a kid, andes used to be a super luxury item. 3 dollars plus was no joke when your pocket money then was a mere dollar? or even lesser.

eons ago, i used to share them with my sis so that we could split the cost up. =)

so now, it's an ok-priced chocolate with so many other chocolates on the market. for yummy yet inexpensive treat or once in a while indulgence, i turn to andes =D

i used to love the mint-choc-mint (lighter green packing) but somehow i prefer the other one now. the choc-mint-choc one. never quite like the orange one tho' but i hardly see it in the market now.. hmmm. and you can't eat them immediately out of the refridgerator. coz it'd be tasteless. for me, a mere 30-5o seconds on my notebook battery transformer sufficiently warms up the chocolate to a melt in your mouth temperature.

the other chocolate which i'd have to satisfy my usual chocolate cravings would be cadbury timeout. i simply love the truffle-like layers of chocolate within the wafers. the candy empire over at millenia walk sells the truffle-like layers of chocolate a stick by itself. however i only tried them once. gotta go back there to check them out.

i think it's this..

however i'm not too sure.. got them off this site

till then, a visit to millenia's candy empire is on the waiting list. i think i'd better make a trip down before school starts or something.

Strawberry Cheesecakes

2005-10-23T21:58:00.000+08:00

juliette bought some really nice cheesecake... tastes like the ones mom makes but my mom's are just plain while the one juliette got looked like something for v'dae =D

absolutely scrumptious ain't it.. but my hp's cam dusen really do it justice.. no wonder i'll put on weight working at gws.. the last time round, juliette bought some walnut cake which was quite good too (even tho' i don't usually take nuts) that shows how good it was.. oh wells.. =)

oh wells, i'm so gonna order some someday.

heavenly.

Jellyheart
Irene
94597711

Of Wild Hibiscus Gourmet Ice Cream

2005-10-23T20:48:00.000+08:00

for a change from the usual ice-cream palour offerings, try the elderflowers from wild hibiscus at citylink mall near the exit to suntec. however i recently spotted one at raffles exchange near the polar cakes area after work one day.

though i still love venezia's lemon sorbet.

subtle taste of elderflower introduced to me by fiona. which i then passed on to angie and liyan. don't know if they liked it.

had it one friday after work when i met up with liyan, angeline and yangying. had our dinner at the foodcourt at the basement after some shopping with yangying. then went around looking for nice cold ice cream to satisfy liyan's cravings.

so we headed to olio bites but wasn't satisfied with their samplers. went up to andersons.. which we didn't find it to be any better than olio. so dissapointed that the ice cream places weren't nice.. or not up to my standard at least =/

so went down to wild hibiscus at my suggestion and settled for that.. hah.. =D after much consideration, i settled for elderflower sorbet and chocolate.. double scoop.. so much for watching my diet.. -.- angie and liyan settled for cinnamon and mango.. totally wrong combination.. but separately, it was quite alright.. =) and we were all quite satisfied with it after our long hunt.. and the serving was quite generous too.. maybe coz it was late already?? the last time i had it with fiona, it wasn't so much..

found some articles online which i found quite interesting.
ice cream fad in singapore.
ice cream palors in singapore.

2nd ASS Sentosa Outing

2005-10-23T20:47:00.000+08:00

the best way to cool off on a hot and sweltering day under the sun

had italian pizza.. some seafood thingy which tasted a little sea-saltish.. but still quite alright. liked the crust. thin and crispy.

and after a meal, the next best way of cooling down.. can't remember which brand of ice cream this is.. gelare i should think..

lemon sorbet.. the ultimate refreshing option and one which i base my ice cream judging criteria on. quite unfair aye?.. if the lemon sorbet's not good.. i wouldn't bother trying the others.. unless they don't have it.

rum and raisin's not too bad too.. the taste of bailey's was quite prominent yet not overpowering.. contradictory huh.. =P

can't remember if it was over-priced (as most stuff at sentosa is) though coz shawn paid for them -grins-

Smoked Duck

2005-10-23T20:21:00.000+08:00

was craving for smoked duck throughout the week.. so mom got one from cold storage. i have yet to come across elsewhere which sells them though.

succulent smoked duck paired it with eggs, tomato and potatoes. and voila.. a dinner which i wouldn't mind having each weekend.. =D

was suppose to have the potato with the conventional brown sauce but mom couldn't find the recipe.. so found a herb recipe which called for vegetable stock, some herbs etc.. boiled the potato together with it and found that it was tasty enough after that even without the gravy..

gotta have it again soon and we should really go get nicer plates, or nice plain ones at least.. -.-

Fish and Co

2005-10-23T18:51:00.000+08:00

been to fish and co quite a couple of times. it seems that it's the place where you can't go wrong for a hearty, non meat meal. not to mention quite a good place for get-togethers and group dinners.

been to the one at glasshouse a couple of times, and i found that to be the best. mostly for birthday occasions. decor and ambience was great.

the one at wheelock however was lacking on the signature fish and co feel. went there for wenxian's birthday this year.

this time round, tried the fish and co at suntec. was starving after the 2nd TG fieldtrip and couldn't really settle on a place. quite a couple of my group and classmates were fish and co' virgins so me and drey recommended some main dishes.

signature dish of fish and co' .. FISH AND CHIPS. tho' i've tried quite number of their dishes, this proves to be the most satisfying one... especially when it's piping hot.. with a serving big enough to fill a hungry stomach no less =D it's little wonder why i keep ordering this..

seafood platter for two seems to be audrey's favourite and i can understand why. can i add that their calamari's really good? =D supposedly feeds two but easily fills 3 people. girls that is. throw in a side dish or just drinks if you're not hungry.

oh, i love their freezes there? enough for 3 or 4 too.

swordfish collar was not bad too. however i felt that their sauce was even better than the fish?

absolutely no desserts were necessary cause i think u won't have any space in your stomach for them. -winks-

Fish n Co
Glass House
9 Penang Road #01-24
Park Mall Singapore 238459
Telephone: 6334 1858

Suntec City Mall
3 Temasek Boulevard #B1-048/049
Suntec City Mall Singapore 038983
Telephone: 6835 0180

Billy Bomber's

2005-10-23T17:41:00.000+08:00

all in all, dined at billy bombers a total of 3 times.. only? once after sentosa-ing with my ny gurlfrens, we went to parco bugis junction's billy bombers. rather quiet with quite little patrons. not a bad spot for get togethers. the other two times were in celebration of my 19th birthday and amanda's 19th birthday. enjoyed the food and servings very much. let the pictures do the talking shall we?

totally addicted to the cookies and cream frozen milkshake thing they had. can't really remember the exact name tho' but it's simply heavenly. perfect for starters while chatting away and waiting for the food to arrive. they do tend to take quite long though. and we love them straight from the metal tin cup.

billy bomber's signature burger.. it's so humongous that u'll have to eat them seperately.. and i must add that the standard of the fillings were not compromised despite it being just a burger.. and look at the TWO eggs. juicy cuts of chicken used ensured that. i've yet to try carl's jr tho' ..

leftover chips and salad... chunky fries unlike those limp scrawny ones.. top it off with load of cheese dip.. perfect-o *smacks lips*

crayfish pasta of some sort. haven't tasted the one at swensons which some people claimed to be very good too, so i can't compare them yet.

the birthday girls -smiles-

totally satiated. totally bloated.

Billy Bomber's

The Heeren
Parco Bugis Junction

Chinese New Year

2005-10-22T20:08:00.000+08:00

couldn't decide which picture looked better so here's two for view. did this one afternoon during the period of chinese new year together with mom and fiona.

the bottom was just some simple pastry dough, rolled over and cut out with a cookie cutter. painted with egg yolk and bake in the oven for that tawny golden sheen. i can't remember what we added in the pastry but it sure tasted great. to top it off, cold ready made tuna paste from tin cans were dolloped onto them.

japanese chilli flakes were sprinkled over for just a tinge of spice. localness.

nicely arranged and it's ready to be eaten

made some dumpling soup too, homemade no less. from the skin to the fillings. didn't help much with this as it was my maid's specialty, so we left it all to her. and with homemade dumplings, they are of coz packed with thick pastes and thin skins. but our maid has left, and we didn't get to learn the recipe from her =/

Cookies

2005-10-22T14:48:00.000+08:00

Of Cookies, Cookies and Sarah's Cookies

Very much the one and only thing i know how to bake though

first started off with instant cookie mixes i got from cold storage. betty crocker brand i should think. the chunky chocolate types which i made as per instructions were perpetually soft.

i used to think it was because they WERE MEANT TO BE SOFT. much to my chagrin, i later found out (very much much later) that it was due to the container, which i thought was supposed to be air-tight. wasn't.

ok, and so i was making soft cookies for quite a while. from my nanyang days till just before junior college.

tried out the recipe behind the packs of hershey's chocolate chips, which i swear by for absolutely delicious melt-in-your-mouth baked chocolate goodies. got hooked on to them mainly because it tasted rather good. tho' the results abeilt factory manufactured looking due to the three of four chips which i place dutifully on each small ball of dough.

and so started off baking for biquan who was depressed due to her and nick. then it grew to baking for the class. in jc that is. but there's really no secret to them.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
416g of flour
250g butter
400g sugar
2 small eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
vanilla essence

1. melt the butter and add in the sugar. mix well.
2. sieve in the flour and add it to the butter sugar mixture bit by bit.
3. beat the eggs and stir them in.
4. add the salt, vanilla essence and baking soda.
5. pre-heat the oven to 160-180 degrees celcius.
6. butter/oil the aluminium foils slightly and scoop out 1/2-1 tsp sizes of dough.
7. arrange the chocolate chips and bake when the oven is ready.

- i usually use self-raising flour and sieve it even more. it makes a difference to me
- please also note that the dough does tend to expand quite a bit.
- the quantity usually makes alot. about twice of the the amount as shown in the box of cookies below.

there are many other versions to chocolate cookies. there's the chunky chocolates. soft and chewy centred. maybe i'll try them some day and post them up. till then. enjoy =)

Christmas Eve Dinner

2005-10-22T13:05:00.000+08:00

need i say more.. the less than sumptuous spread before a lavishly prepared christmas dinner.

doing it the singaporean way, people usually (for quite a number of people i know at least) eat lesser or skip totally before going for a buffet. our christmas eve dinner wasn't so far off from that.

simply four dishes put together for a family of 7 and our maid. although simple, it was not lacking in tastes. they were simply delicious.

seafood platter
(soupy gravy style)

prawns in peaches
with whipped cream

every child's delight
fried dough fritters with fish paste

of chickens mushrooms
and capsicums

Cafe Galillee

2005-10-22T12:30:00.000+08:00

the small and non-descript cafe tucked away at a corner of some of the large libraries we have. where library-goers usually pop by to have some food while they're there or simply borrow the available seats there which are so scarce in the rest of the library. well, if course they'll usually have to order a drink or snack to be allowed a seat there.

but hey, what's a drink if u can get a comfortable spot to study or just read?

and so during my jc days, the jurong regional library was the spot i frequent if i got back from school early enough. when i'm not staying back in school. usually with a cup of ice-blend or soda to accompany me with my thick stacks of notes.

never underestimate the wonders of this cafe. can't say much for the rest but the one at jurong's really not bad.

for a fraction of the price the teriyaki chicken's really not bad albeit the lack of presentation. but for that price, it's quite acceptable. paired together with fries only tho'

gotta go back and have them again someday.

Cafe Galilee
Jurong Regional Library
major libraries

FOR STARTERS

2005-10-22T01:56:00.000+08:00

DELICIOUS FOOD IS THE ONLY REASON WHY I CANNOT BE A VEGETARIAN much less watch what i eat.

finally settling on a preset template instead of those found at blogskin because fiona claims that all of them are NOT NICE or NOT SUITABLE. so ya

most of these pics are already quite quite quite old -read: very- due to my incessant procrastination.

so here goes..