Ybeth's Food Journey

Chopsuey with Prawn

2009-10-25T20:25:00.001-07:00

You love vegetables? Then you are surely a chopsuey fanatic! A very flexible dish - it can be as extravagant with quail eggs and chicken liver on it, or it can be so simple with purely no-meat on it. I opted to cook it with prawn.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Cauliflower
Chukos (sayote)
Carrots
Cabbage
Prawn
Chicken broth
Soysauce

Procedure:
1. Stir-fry garlic and onions.
2. Add the cauliflower, chukos, carrots and prawns.
3. Pour the chicken broth and add soysauce and salt according to taste.
4. Add the cabbage and simmer for another 5 minutes.

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Gambas Aglio

2009-10-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

A very famous appetizer, Gambas Aglio can be a main dish/ viand also. Best served sizzling and spicy.

Ingredients:
Prawns
Garlic (lots of it!)
Ginger
Tomato sauce
Tabasco or chili power

Procedure:
1. Stir-fry minced garlic and ginger.
2. Once garlic and ginger turned brown, add the prawns and continue stirring.
3. Pour little amount of tomato sauce.
4. Add tabasco or chili power and salt according to taste.

Perfect with hot steaming rice and beer. =)

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Chicken Afritada

2009-10-25T20:12:00.001-07:00

Another all-time Filipino favorite. I decided to prepare this dish for my weekday office lunchbox.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Cubed potatoes
Cubed carrots
Chicken cutlets
Tomato sauce

Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and onions.
2. Add the chicken, put the carrots and potatoes once meat is tender.
3. Pour the tomato sauce and put it to boil.
4. Add little soysauce, pepper and salt according to taste.
5. Simmer for another 5 minutes before serving.

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Eggplant Omelette (Tortang Talong)

2009-10-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

With tomato or banana catsup dipping, eggplant omelette or tortang talong in tagalog is a nice budget-friendly viand good for either breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:
Medium-sized eggplants
Beaten eggs

Procedure:
1. Grill or boil the eggplants, remove the skin.
2. Soak the eggplants on beaten eggs (don't forget to put salt on the eggs)
3. Make sure the oil is very hot before frying the omelette.
4. Topped with tomato or banana catsup before serving

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Menudocillo

2009-10-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

While menudo is pork cooked in tomato sauce, menudocillo is minced pork cooked in tomato sauce. A classic filipino dish - you can find this dish being served on major festive celebration. Moreso, I bet that menudo/meducillo is present at any filipino family dining table at least once a week.

Ingredients:

Garlic

Onion

Diced carrots

Diced potatoes

Minced pork

Tomato Sauce

Sliced hotdogs (optional)

Salt and pepper

Procedure:

1. Saute garlic and onions.

2. Put minced pork and hotdog (optional), stir until tender.

3. Add diced carrots and diced potatoes.

4. Pour tomato sauce and put to boil.

5. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.

Chicken in Baked Beans

2009-10-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

This is one of my mom's very own original recipe. I remember her preparing this dish for us even our early schooling days. Would you believe that even my son love this meal also?

Ingredients:

Garlic

Onions

Baked beans

Chicken cutlets

Salt

Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and onions.

2. Put chicken and stir until tender.

3. Pour 1 can of baked beans and bring to boil.

4. Sprinkle with salt according to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Tilapia in Coconut Cream

2009-10-17T04:46:00.000-07:00

Not everyday you find black tiplaia in NTUC Fairprice (as red tilapia is more common here in Singapore). So i decided to buy one at 59cents per 100grams and call my mom.

Me: ma, what to do with black tilapia?
Mama: either ginataan or pesa.
Me: let me try ginataan. teach me how.

Ginataang tilapia is fish in cocount cream. In Philippines, we also use other fishes like "tulingan" and/or "tambakol". Perfect partner with rice and fish sauce.

Ingredients:
Onion
Ginger
Green Chili
Tilapia Fish
Coconut Cream
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Pour coconut cream, little amount of water, onions and ginger - let it boil.
2. Add the tilapia fish when boiling.
3. Put geen chili and salt to taste. Simmer until fish is cook.

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Breakfast for Dinner

2009-10-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

Last week, my Man requested something light for dinner - so light that he just want me to buy his favorite delifrance fuit tart. But I find it too easy to prepare so I disagree and told him - "just come home at 8:00pm Baby, will prepare your super light meal don't worry". Wink!

I prepared breakfast set consist of:
3 lightly toasted bread
egg-mayonaisse sandwich spread
steamed chicken sausage
mr. bean unsweetened cold soyamilk

Very simple and light... still i force my Man to finished everything, including the soyamilk. Hehe... He already told me what he wants on our next home dinner - prawn! So Baby, ready for cereal prawns? Haha! Just kidding, don't get scared. =)

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Mee Goreng

2009-10-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

I have extra carrots and cabbage as excess on my last creamy chicken macaroni soup ingredients so I decided to cook mee goreng.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Diced carrots
Beansprout
Shredded cabbage
Instant mee goreng (I used indomie brand)

Procedure:
1. Cook noodles as package instruction. Set aside.
2. Heat oil and saute garlic, onions, cabbage and carrots.
3. Add the pre-cooked noodels and the instant me goreng soysauce and seasoning.
4. Pour the beansprout and keep stirring until seasoning is evenly spread.
5. Serve with omellet and/or buttered toasted bread.

Ampalaya con Itlog (Bittergourd with Egg)

2009-10-11T04:19:00.000-07:00

I still have bittergourd left, excess on my yesterday sauted green mung beans ingredients. So I decided to cook ampalaya con itlog (or bittergourd with egg in english).

Ingredients:

Diced bittergourd

Beaten eggs

Salt

Prodecure:

1. Saute garlic, onions and bittergourd. Add beaten eggs and continue stirring until cooked. Add salt accorfing to taste.

Some put tomatoes on it and you can substitute pork with egg if you want. We Filipinos normally eat this with rice. Enjoy!

Sinigang na Baboy (Phil. Pork Tomyum)

2009-10-10T03:32:00.000-07:00

Like adobo, Sinigang can be considered as one of Filipino's all-time favorite viand. It is the Philippines counterpart for Thailand's famous tomyum. You can make sinigang out of pork, beef, shirmp or even chicken. It is basically meat in sour soup. Either you use tamarind, green lime, raw mangoes or guavas, it doesn't matter as long as the soup is sour. But as a beginner in the kitchen, instant powder mixes will always do the trick. =)

Ingredients:
Onion
Kangkong leaves
White raddish
Long beans
Pork cubes
Sinigang instant mix (i used ajinomoto brand)
Salt to taste

the sinigang instant mix i used

Procedure:
1. Boil 1liter water together with onions and pork cubes.
2. Once meat is tender, pour the sinigang instant mix and all the vegetables.
3. Add salt to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes before serving.

I'm happy with the result. My sinigang really taste sinigang. Haha! Only problem is I put alot of water (common error everytime I cook). So what ot do with the extra sour soup?

Sopas (Creamy Chicken Macaroni Soup)

2009-10-10T03:07:00.000-07:00

Conversation with my Mom awhile ago:
Me: ma, what to do with leftover penne & roasted chicken?
Mama: recycle it. make sopas.
Me: wow! nice idea. will do, but how? hehe...

Creamy Chicken Macaroni Soup or Sopas in tagalog is an anytime-anyday meal.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Elbow Macaroni (or any preffered noodle/pasta - i used penne)
Flaked roasted chicken meat
Chicken broth (or normal water will do)
Cubed carrots
Shredded cabagge
Evaporated milk
Salt/ pepper

Procedure:
1. Cook the elbow macaroni according to package instruction.
2. Saute garlic & onions then add flaked roasted chicken.
3. Put 1liter chicken broth (or normal water) and bring to boil.
4. Pour evaporated milk and the pre-cooked elbow macaroni.
5. Add the cubed carrots and shredded cabagge.
6. Put salt and pepper to taste.
7. Simmer for another 5minutes before serving.

Munggo Guisado (Sauted Green Mung Beans)

2009-10-10T02:52:00.000-07:00

This dish is one of my mom's specialty. Green Mung Beans paired with cruncy deep fried fish - perfect! Miss my mother's home-cooked food so I tried to prepare one myself.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Ginger
Green mung beans
Bittergourd
Pork strips

Procedure:
1. Saute garlic, onions and ginger.
2. Add pork strips.
3. Put 1liter water when meat is already tender.
4. Let it boil then put the green mung beans.
5. Once beans are cook, add bittergourd.
6. Put salt according to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Green Mussel Soup

2009-10-10T02:36:00.000-07:00

Green mussel or tahong in tagalong is one of my all-time favorite seafood. It's been a long time since I last ate this. So I decided to prepare a hassle-free Green Mussel Soup (so famous easy dish that even kids can cook it).

Ingredients:
Fresh green mussel
Ginger

Procedure:
1. Heat 1liter water with crushed ginger. Put green mussel once ginger broth is boiling. Sprinkle with salt according to taste. Remove from heat once mussel shell opens

Spicy Mushroom Pasta w/ Dry Red Wine

2009-10-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

My man loves pasta and I'm trying my very best to please him by cooking. I already cooked penne marinara and carbonara for him long time back. Just the other day, he requested for another pasta dish for our home dinner. So after so much browsing on some food websites, I decided to prepare Spicy Mushroom Pasta with Dry Red Wine.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Minced button Mushroom
Assorted cheeses ( i used parmasan and cheddar)
Penne pasta
Puree tomatoes
Dry red wine
Chili powder

Procedure:
1. Boil and cooked penne pasta as package instruction. Set aside.
2. In a pan, heat oil. Saute garlic, onions and minced button mushroom.
3. Put 1 cup of dry red wine, boil until well absorbed by onions and mushroom.
4. Add the puree tomatoes, put the cheese and add little water.
5. Sprinkle with chili power according to taste.
6. Simmer for another 3 minutes and pour over cooked penne pasta.

My man loved what I prepared and finished one single-plate serving of it. Hehe... Luckly I cooked 500 grams pasta, I had enough leftover to bring for office tomorrow. =)

Mushroom Bhurji

2009-10-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

Bhurji is a famous egg dish from india. Tried to customize it a little as I have extra button mushroom (excess from the recent pasta I cooked.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onions
Minced button mushroom
Beaten eggs
Chili powder
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Heat oil. Saute garlic and onions until brown. Put minced button mushroom and add the beated egg. Sprinkle with chili powder and salt. Stir continously until cooked.

Budget-friendly and easy-to-prepare dish perfect for rice or bread. Enjoy!

Bali Thai - Tampines Mall

2009-05-01T22:53:00.001-07:00

If you are craving for some mix of indonesian and thai cruisine, I highly recommend this place. Ambiance is ok and not so crowded even if it's peak hours. They have alot of menu selections including vegetarian dishes. As of the moment they have promotional complete all-day set for as low as S$13++ (soup, appetizer, main course, side dish and complimentary drink) and S$15++ (main course, side dish, dessert and comploimentary drink)

me enjoying my meal

chicken ball soup

vegetarian fried rice

chicken in basil leaves

spaghetti with chicken chop

mango salad

variety of desserts

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)

Food - 3.5

Service - 4

Price: Expensive

Will visit the place again? YES

New Bombay Restaurant - Glorietta Philippines

2009-04-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

I was in the Philippines last April 8-13. I really included on my itinerary to have one lunch at this place. Been hearing alot of fuzz about this newly opened restaurant in Glorietta Mall. Also, mama is craving for some indian cuisine so I let my whole family and 2 other cousins enjoy the experience (though I order a separate food for my son at Jollibee Fastfood).

impressive wall painting decor and elegant dining table

my family (with 2 other cousins) enjoying an indian meal

mouthwatering chicken tandoori

aloo gobi, fish masala and buttered chicken

buttered naan (seems not so toasted though nut quite ok)

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)
Food - 3.5
Service - 4
Price: Affordable (value for money)
Will visit the place again? YES

Breakfast at Great Eastern Hotel - Aberdeen Court

2009-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

We stayed at Greart Eastern Hotel for 3days/2nights last April 10-12. My son's pre-school graduation party was held there too but i will post a separate article for that. This one concentrated on breakfast alone. I was really suprise that the hotel offers relatively cheap menus. Taste is average but not a bad as what some online review claims. Average taste but clean and freshly made I think, not to mention waiters were friendly and efficient.

picture taking after the waiter took our food order

clubhouse sandwich - i highly recommend this one...

tapsilog (famous filipino breakfast consist of cured salted beef, egg and garlic rice)

dimsum breakfast - seafood congee, jumbo siopao and beef dumpling

country-style waffle (taste quite ok but presentation is pathetic)

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)

Food - 3.5

Service - 4

Price: Affordable (value for money)

ExpensiveWill visit the place again? YES

Seafood Lunch - Good Friday 2009

2009-04-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

In our family (at least on my mother's whole clan), it had always been a practice to have a get-together sort of a family reunion during lent season - good friday. Menus are always seafoods and veggies - at least for one day, we try our very best not to eat red meat.

tiger prawn in oyster sauce

fresh oyster in vinegar and onions

sauteed green mung beans

simmered green mussels on ginger

Fishing Village - Island Cove, Philippines

2009-04-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Relaxing ambiance over great food - that's how I can describe my experience dining at Fishing Village inside Island Cove Resort. Wide variation of filipino specialty dishes from different parts of the country (some menu you won't be familiar so better to ask the waiter first before you order). Depends how big your group is, you will be given a cabana where you can just enjoy te view, go fishing or just simply order your food/s right away.

walk around and choose your dining cabanas

nice to do photo-shoot along the wooden aisle too

filipino dishes - sisig and fresh talaba

more filipino dishes - igado, sinigang na bangus and pinakbet sa munggo

filipino desserts - halohalo and buko with ice cream

more filipino desserts - leche flan and buko pandan

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)

Food - 4

Service - 4

Price: Reasonably priced

Will visit the place again? YES

Ivory Kitchen - Clark Quay

2009-04-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

S$15 nett for a fine-dining weekday buget lunch? For real? Hehe... Yes, this classy indian restaurant serves buffet lunch from monday to friday at a very cheap price of S$15. Amazing right?

ivory kitchen weekday lunch buffet table

Appetizers and varied naans are being served at the table. While wide selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals are at the buffet table. Though they change menus on a regular basis, my all-time favorites are thier chicken tandoori or tikka, fish fillet in in some indian spices/ sauce and lamb curry. However, they only serve white rice and vegetarian pulao, no other briyani selections. They have salads, fruits and dessert to complete your lunch. :)

from left to right: jo, leya and me - picture taking first before eating. hehe...

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)

Food - 4

Service - 3

Price: Expensive if ala carte/ cheap if you avail the S$15 weekday bugget lunch promo

Will visit the place again? YES

Cooking for 2 - No Meat Dishes

2009-03-01T01:42:00.000-08:00

Ash Wednesday came, being a catholic and for the spirit of lent season - I committed myself not to eat any meat and be vegetarian from February 25 till April 12. So with this, Mr. A and I shared vegetable dishes earlier.

assorted vegetables in shrimp paste (pinakbet in tagalog)

Chopped garlic and onions

Squash cut into squares

Long greenbeans cut into 1inch long

Eggplant cut into circles

Bittergroud cut diagonally

Salted Shrimp paste (bagoong in tagalog)

Saute garlic and onions then put all the vegetables. Simmer for 3 minutes before adding the salted shrimp paste.

vegetable omelette

chopped garlic and onions

carrots cut into cubes

minced cabbage

beaten eggs

salt to taste

Saute garlic and onions followed by cabbage and carrots. Once the vegetable's change color, add the beaten egg ( you can choose to make it whole or stir it like what I did). Put salt as desired.

Go India Restaurant - Vivo City

2009-03-01T01:19:00.000-08:00

Go India Restaurant at Vivo City is I believe the only first-class indian dining in the whole vicinity. Mr. A and I went here once for an early dinner. I simply love the place! Ambiance is very classy, service is fast and food is too good.

We started with roasted papad serve with two different dip. After 30 minutes, our main dishes arrived. Tasting the food, I concluded that the meal was worth the wait.

Saffron Rice - aroma is very inviting, finely cooked

Garlic Butter Naan - tasty, perfectly done and not so oily

Fish Kebab - so flavorful, very tender and fresh

Buttered Chicken - big serving, meat is soft, so thick-gravy, bot spicy at all

They also have a wide selection of alcoholic and nno-alcoholic coctails to choose from. Not to mention that they also serve buffet during lunch time at S$25++ (not bad right? saw the buffet table is very long... hehe...)

our non-alcoholic drinks - pink bird for me, green slime for Mr. A

So either you want to have a heartly indian meal or you just simply want to relax and unwind over some cool drinks, you can never go wrong with Go India Restaurant.

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)
Food - 4
Service - 4
Price: Expensive
Will visit the place again? YES

Cooking for 2 - Chicken Kare-Kare

2009-03-01T00:52:00.000-08:00

Kare-Kare is a traditional filipino dish compose of beef and assorted vegetables sauted in thick peanut sauce. The process of preparing this meal is so tedious that it is just serve during big gatherings and special occasions. However, with the help of an instant peanut sauce mix, I took the challenge of cooking this last Sunday. Since Mr. A don't eat beef, I customize my menu a little and use chicken meat.

chopped garlic and onions
Egglant cut in circles
Long greenbean cut 1 inch long
chicken cut into serving size
knorr kare-kare instant sauce mix
salted shirmp paste (bagong in tagalog)

Obeying the instant mix instruction, I first boil the vegetables and set it aside. Then put ovile oil on the heated pan, sauted garlic and onion followed by the chicken meat. Add little water after a 5 minuted then completely dissolve the powdered peanut sauce while strring it continously. Add all the vegetables and simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove to pan, serve with salted shrimp past (bagooong).

The end result tasted not so bad but I know I could have made it better. I admit that there are some lapses on my part - I put more water than instructed making the sauce not so thick and I overboil the vegetables making it soggy/ waterly.

Still, I'm happy with the output. Thanks Mr. A for having the courage to eat it with me. Hehe... :P

NewYork NewYork Restaurant - CityLink Mall

2009-02-28T23:45:00.000-08:00

If you are to surf the internet about Newyork Newyork's ratings and reviews, you will see that alot of customers complain about the quality of their food and service. But not me... I had been to this place for about 3 times already and I'm always satisfied. In fact I find this restaurant to be one of the few good hang-out place to chill-out with friends.

Long que to be seated is always expected. Price range is relatively similar with Swensen and Cafe Cartel. However, I find the way they promote and advertise thier menu more applealing. Ambiance is casual and cool. Don't forget to try thier self-service free-flowing candy floss (it's always apple flavor everytime I visit)

Must-try:

1. Giant Burger (literally bigger than life!)
2. BBQ Pork Ribs (though not as big compared to Cafe Cartel)
3. Roasted Spring Chicken (tender, moist and well-marinated)
4. Garden Salad (my mom's favorite! ask for more dressing)

both bbq pork ribs and roasted chicken comes with potato wedges

giant beef burger comes with extra large serving of french fries

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)

Food - 4

Service - 4

Price: Expensive

Will visit the place again? YES

Makan Mumbai

2009-02-28T23:24:00.000-08:00

Just a little two-blocks walk at the back of our office, Makan Mumbai is an accessible place for who wants to pleasure themselves for a combination of vegetarian and non-vegetarian indian food in a buffet set-up. Though they also have ala-carte meals to choos from, I always opt to avail th S$10 eat-all-you-can selection.

The buffet table is merely compose of steamed rice, plain naan, 3-4 varieties of vegetable dishes/ curry, 1-2 meat staples, papad, dessert and juice.

I only try the longbean and potato dish and suprisingly, I actually like it. The chicken tikka is not-so-spicy and tender (I had 2 servings of it). I'm happy with the unlimited serving of papad. The dessert is too sweet for me and the juice they provide is not even cold.

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)
Food - 3.5
Service - 3.5
Price: Affortable
Will visit the place again? MAYBE

Cooking for 2 - Adobo and Afritada

2009-02-15T03:21:00.000-08:00

Upon receiving Mr. A's unexpected valentine gift (see the gift at http://mommy-ybeth.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-unexpected-valentine-gift.html ), I told him that after we attend the church mass - Sunday lunch will be my treat. I was suprise when he said that he will only say yes to my invitation if I will cook instead. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Mr. A: you always say recession times right? cook so cheaper
Me: you know no visitor allowed on my flat. where to serve the food?
Mr. A: your hbd playround has nice covered picnic tables. hehe.
Me: haha! are you serious? what to cook? pasta ?
Mr. A: no, chicken dish. maybe like what rica did last bbq party.
Me: that's adobo and afritada. ok, I'll try. but we will eat very late.
Mr. A: ok! deal!

So after the church mass, Mr. A went straight to his home while I proceed to fairprice tampines mall to buy all the ingridients I need. I was awake until 1am last night browsing the internet looking for the easiest way to cook these traditional filipino viands - Chicken Adobo and Chicken Afritada.

finished cooking Chicken Adobo at 11:30am

thigh and leg chicken parts
lots of chopped garlic
olive oil or vegetable oil
ground black pepper
dried bay leaves (I didn't put this - can't see at fairprice)
soy sauce
vinegar
7up or sprite (optional)

Heat oil, add the chopped garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add chicken and saute until the meat is beginning to tenderize. Add ground black pepper, soy sauce and vinegar. Let it simmer for 25-35 mins or until chicken is done. Make sure to add more vinegar or soy sauce until it suits your taste (should be a bit tangy). When chicken is tender, you may want add some 7 up or sprite for a aweeter taste then let simmer for another 5 minutes.

finished cooking Chicken Afritada at 1:00pm

winglet chicken parts
cubed potatoes
diced red onion
minced garlic
sliced green bell pepper (I didn't put this, can't see at fairprice)
chicken stock (broth)
tomato sauce
olive oil

Hear oil, sauté garlic and onions. Add chicken and cook until slightly brown. Pour the tomato sauce and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until the meat is almost tender. Add potatoes, green bell peppers (if you have) and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper if desired.

food all-packed, just waiting for rice

While waiting for the rice to cook, I took bath again as I smell like hell (combination of onion, garlic, vinegar, sweat, etc). Sms Mr. A while drying my hair saying that lunch will be serve at 2:30pm, hbd playground picnic table.

He arrived 10 minutes late but I didn't get angry upon knowing that the plastic bag he carries contain a bottled of cold coke and frozen haagen-dazs chocolate ice cream. Hehe...

Bragging aside, I know I did well as the dishes I served taste almost the same as what Rica prepared on her last sponsored bbq party. And although Mr. A commented that I cooked the food a little salty, I noticed he ate well and had 2 servings of rice. :)

Long John Silver - Singapore

2009-02-15T03:12:00.000-08:00

After long hours of window-shopping and looking for nice bargain at Eastpoint Mall Simei, I decided to have a late lunch at Long John Silver. Compared to other fastfoods like KFC and Mcdonalds, they market thier fish products more. Not to mention the they also have the most variety of side dishes to choose from (like corncob, potato chips, garden salad, rice with black pepper sauce, etc.)

I ordered thier new S$3.95 combo - consist of 1 fish fillet, 1 chicken fillet, french fries and a choice of either pepsi or sprite. I add-on a colelaw for another S$1.50 and I have my heavy meal in a snap.

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)
Food - 3.5
Service - 3.5
Price: Affortable
Will visit the place again? YES

Asian Kitchen - Singapore

2009-02-15T02:50:00.000-08:00

You won't go wrong with this restaurant if you are craving for a nice quick quality average asian gourmet. They have a wide variety to offer - from noodles and rice, to dumplings and dimsum. Me and my two closest office friends usual go here if we want a more relax friday lunch-out. The service is impressive from the welcoming of customer to the fast serving of food (I'm talkng about both thier branch at raffles and cityhall respectively). Though I sometimes find it too oily, it's still a value for money considering the big serving portion they give.

My all-time favorites here are: luncheonmeat friedrice, beef friedrice, pork dumpling and hongkong-style fried noodles.

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)
Food - 3.5
Service - 4
Price: Affordable
Will visit the place again? YES

My Home-made Carbonara

2009-02-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

Though I love to eat, cooking was never my cup of tea. During my early twenties, I tried preparing basic meals and even did baking - but all were failure. No matter how I obey the cookbook instruction point by point, still no luck. I gave up and convinced my self that this certain skills requires some innate gift from God. Hehe...

My friends knows how much I love pasta dishes - from my mom's sweet-stlye kiddie spaghetti to the major philippine fastfood pasta version up to the authentic italian beef bolognese and seafood alfredo. Yummy!

Maybe because of boredom and the fact that I was just at home, last saturday I decided to explore the kitchen and cook creamy carbonara. Reseach an easy-to-prepare recipe over the net, bought all ingredients after office and then I was set to go. Whew!

creamy white sauce made of butter, nestle cream milk, evaporated milk, cream of mushroom, parmesan cheese and parsley

boiling the san remo spaghetti until aldente

started sauteing the garlic and white onions with olive oil

pour the cooked pasta after

next is putting the cooked turkey ham

little by little put the white sauce and stir continuosly

topped with more parmesan cheese and parsley

I started cooking at 7pm and after 2 hours, I had my 10-minute home-made dinner at 9pm. Suprisingly it tasted good. Total cost for all-of-a-sudden kitchen exploration is S$15. It's been 3 days already and there is still alot of carbonara stock on the fridge. Wanna taste some?

Shahi Maharani (Raffles City)

2009-02-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'm one of the very few filipinos that really appreciate and like indian food. Maybe my work environment and circle of friends made a great influence for me to enjoy the strong flavor and spicy taste of it. For all of you who want to try authentic north indian dishes, I highly recomend Shahi Maharani at Raffles City. The offer buffet lunch and dinner at some days but mostly they serve ala carte meals. The restaurant interior is very classy and elegantly done. They also have a traditional musicial show performance every night time, not to mention the high-class service of well-uniformed servers.

my baby zyrus near the started "papad"

I've been at this place thrice already. First time was with my office colleagues, then with my family and just recently with MY B. I highly recommend that you order the following:

Mutton Briyani - rice is so soft and moist, generous serving of big chunk tender meat

Butter Naan - the aroma of it will make you crave for more, the bread is just perfectly done - not too toast and very tasty

Buttered Chicken - so thick and full of flavor gravy, perfect for naan dipping

Chicken Tandoori - my all-time favorites. for me, it's an indian version of a chicken bbq, just marinated with more spices and chili

mom and brother enjoying the food

both eating using their hand

Rating 1-5 (5 being the highest)

Food - 4

Service - 4

Price: Expensive

Will visit the place again? YES

The Village Chef at Changi Village

2009-02-02T02:59:00.000-08:00

One ordinary Sunday afternoon, Mr. A and I decided to make a far drive and head towards Changi Village to eat some freshly cook steamed garoupa fish. We arrived at 8pm but the main hawker where we normally use to order is so jammed packed that we decided to choose the outside area where people eating are lesser. The server at "the village chef" were smiling wide when we approach their place, can't say no when they tried to invite us to sit and eat. Well, our food arrived and too late for us to know that we made the wrong decision of having our meal there.

Seafood Fried Rice - thier version of it is combination of oily rice, variety of mix veggies and little slices of imitation crabstick (no sopped squid, no whole prawn, no slice fish)

Prawn Omellete - again, too oily and better to call it shimp omellete because the so-called few prawns they use is too tiny.

Steamed Garoupa Fish - clap, clap! this is the only food we ordered seems to satisfy us. fish is indeed fresh and not overly cooked. the broth is tasty and not salty.

Rating from 1-5 (5 being the highest)

Food - 2.5

Service - 3

Price: Affortable

Will visit the place again? Maybe not.

Marche Restaurant - Vivocity Singapore

2009-02-02T01:53:00.000-08:00

Marche Restaurant at VivoCity offers a wide array of asian, swiss, continental and western food. You can't go wrong as it caters to different cravings of thier customers. Service is excelent and the place itself is cozy and artistic - love the cowboy theme and the wooden homey set-up.

Every customer will be given a "guest card" upon entry. You need to present this to the counter every time you make an order. A special card wil be given to kids as they have a separate set meal for them. You need to surrender the card upon exit for payment.

so tender roastmary chicken - gravy is too rich and tasty

thick and well-done steak, mashed potato is soft and creamy

crispy garden salad in thousand island dressing with chicken strip & bacon bits - too good!

marche version of prawn tempura (btw, they uses black king prawn)

bite-sized calamari

mama and brother before eating

my son playing with marche's free balloon give-away

Rating from 1-5 (5 being the highest):

Food - 4

Service - 4

Price: Expensive

Will visit the place again? YES