Epicurious

Dined at Eipicurious today. It's funny that for the many times I've been to Robertson Quay I've never really noticed the existence of this cosy little restaurant until now; but it's never too late. We chose alfresco dining overlooking the Singapore River, and since it's weekday night, there's hardly any crowd except for a few Japanese kids practising their skateboarding and a handful of joggers. Otherwise it's a nice place to spend the evening and end the day with a hearty meal, homecooked style. Comfortable and unpretentious is how I would describe them to be. One can drop in anytime - apparently reservation is not necessary - in their most causual outfit and never feel left out. Also, they pride themselves for using the freshest ingredients they can afford and all preparations are done from scratch - good to know. I also want to commend on the excellent service, Darren, who attended to us is one of the friendliest service staff I've come across. Just like the setting of the restaurant he is warm and unpretentious. Actually I thought he has slight resemblance to Jordan Chan aka 陈小春.

Their mushroom soup made of button and shitake mushrooms is a meal on its own, thick, creamy, yet smooth. And the slice of country loaf garlic bread toasted with cheese on the side (I'm guessing it's Cheddar)... had me yearning for second helping but was too shy to ask ; ) At $5 a bowl this is a steal.

Beef and Vegetable roll served on a bed of coleslaw and mashed potato with sesame on the side. The paper thin beef wrapped around the french beans would have tasted a bit bland but the tomato dressing was the saving grace. I hardly fancy coleslaw until I tried theirs. Finely shredded mixture of cabbage ad carrots with a light drizzle of mayonnaise did the trick. So instead of your usual mayo soaked salad this had a lot more crunch. Not forgetting the mashed potato, nicely done up with a hint of toasted sesame. The sesame was probably toasted and grinded before mixing it with the potatoes. Unique.

The lamb cutlet was acceptable for me as it's slightly gamey so it may not work for some. The mustard dressing on the side is a bit too salty which I can do without. This dish didn't excite me but it's edible.

Epicurious
60 Robertson Quay
#01-02, The Quayside
Tel: 6734 7720

Currently watching

爱他就要他幸福。。。 下一站幸福，你看了吗？

Pineapple Tarts

What is it I like most about CNY? Feast and Binge time! It has to be me eating lotsa pineapple tarts and love letters. These are my all-time favourites. Last year we bought a bottle of pineapple tarts from The Hiding Place and just when we're deciding which ones to sample this year my neighbour came a knocking and we got a bottle of enomous looking round shaped pineapple tarts. We were told these tarts are pretty popular and our dear neighbour, trying them for the first time, decided we may like them too and, yes, they were right indeed. The first thought that came to mind was, 'what a massive sized tart!" But boy, I grinned after the first bite... the pastry melts in your mouth but as it's made so thin you immediately come in contact with the overly generous serving of pineapple jam that has a good balance of sweetness and sourness to it so every chew just got better and better. And because it's the size of a tennis ball all you need is one helping to keep one satisfied. Rating: 4.5/5

Le Cafe Confectionary & Pastry

264 Middle Road

Tel: 6337 2417

Resort World Sentosa

Last weekend I had the pleasure of a sneak preview of one of the two of our nation's newest addition, RWS (Resort World Sentosa). Here we go...

Hard Rock Hotel

The hotel launched a soft opening last weekend; staff and guests were invited to stay over for at special rates in exchange for their feedback post stay. I wasn't keen as non of the hotel's facility was ready and of course it was a definite no-no for Hubby as he already has clocked enough visits (7 days a week to be exact) to qualify for sentosa residency if there's ever one.

Hotel Reception

Hotel Lobby. The seats are uber cool and comfortable too.

The bar counter is conveniently located in the centre of the lobby so no one can miss it. There'll always be waiting staff around to take orders and if they do spot you they'll come up to you without you gesturing to them. Tried their mojito and it was quite refreshing for a Saturday afternoon.

In case you can't see the it clearly, this is the Rock Shop

Need I introduce this place? Go there if you have money to roll and maybe you'll end up on the prestige list to quality for free room nights at the Crawford Hotel.

Entrance to the casino. Come to mama... put money, win money? Pray hard lady luck is with you.

See the gantries? Due to tight security I was not able to get in for a quick tour. But do I want to pay $100? Hmm... not sure but unlikely

If you have the money to roll but averse to risk then go to the Galleria for some retail therapy. There's Cartier, Bvlgari, Chopard, Bally, Shanghai Tang, Swavroski, you name it they should it.

Universal Studio

(Verdict: It's worth the $70 entrance fee)

The Revenge of The Mummy

One of my favourites - Far Far Away Land

Another angle of Far Far Away Land

Magadascar

Ah ha! This one I like. This roller coaster is going to make your world go round...

What Is Your Race?

Hi, I'm Chinese-Chinese, what's yours?

Yes, that is the question that people should ask when meeting someone for the first time rather than what is your name. When the government announced end 2009 that children of mixed parentage are allowed to pick their choice of dominant race between the two, I was a little surprised by the new Act. Shortly after came the inclusion of double-barrel race.... but is it really necessary and is it that important? Not that I cannot appreciate the implication (I try to) but why complicate matters when all these while Father's race has always been the dominant one and I don't think we have that many unhappy folks out there or am I missing something here?

I do not deny that Singapore despite being a multi-racial country, pledge ourselves as one united nation regardless of race, language or religion... sadly racism exists. I think the government's move is to try to eliminate that issue but I doubt it will help much, rather, it is underscoring the subject of concern. Must we really segregate ourselves by race and is that the only way to identify each other? IMO, we cannot afford to have race separating us. In fact because of race, we are divided somewhat. We should be proud of who we are and not what we are.

Soon guessing the race of someone of mixed parentage is akin to picking Toto or 4D numbers as there will be many permutations. Let me think..... Chinese-Indian; Malay-Indian; Chinese-Malay; Javanese-Chinese; Indian-Malay and the list goes on. Oh, I think the other issue raised is that Eurasians are currently classified under Others for their race but with this new policy the issue is somewhat not totally ironed out, because on application forms under Race, it shows Chinese, Malay, Indian, Others and with many - I assume - choosing to go with the double-barrel race will still have to tick that choice. So, are we changing for the better or worse? And with this we surely live up to being a MULTI-racial society.

Warung Sudi Mampir

Satays are reserved for dinner or supper but I made an exeption last Saturday. Not for any satays but those from one of the acclaimed satay legends of the Lion City, Warung Sudi Mampir, who has since relocated from Haig Road Food Centre to Malay Village during the upgrading works. My lucky star is kind to me I thought. On a regular day folks have to wait at least half an hour to enjoy their satays but mine was all done in 10 mins, however, my excitment was short-lived and soon turned to disappointment. The gentleman (not sure if he's the owner) is very friendly so that's a plus but when I took the first bite of the satay I was speechless.... to say that it's over-rated is not exaggerating. Unlike most Malay satays who uses minced meat theirs is akin to the Chinese style which uses sliced meat, which is fine but the meat was tough and burnt. Don't get me wrong. I like my satays flavourful and slightly burnt but this is literally burnt. Read from another food blog that they use chicken breast meat so maybe that explains why; not that the mutton was any better. The tripe was equally unimpressively dry.

Ask me anytime and I'll tell you I prefer Malay satays over Chinese ones as I like the spices they use to marinade the meat and, for truly good satays I can easily wipe it out sans gravy. Their meat just tasted sweet, sweet and sweet. The gravy was reasonable although I would have preferred a finer texture. Oh, and not forgetting the rock hard ketupat...

So, the die die must try review from Makansutra, I did, and I won't go back again unless convinced otherwise.

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Finally finished round one of Christmas shopping and gift wrapping. I've always enjoyed gift wrapping but not when you have more than 10 items staring at you. Next year, I will ask for pre-made wrappers.

Hacienda

Since my last trip to Melbourne I have been introduced and hooked on Eggs Benedict. I would describe it as Ya Kun's half boiled egg but with a firmer white.

Much have been read and after getting countless positive review of Hacienda's die die must try star item on its menu, I headed down to Dempsey and sure enough it was treated to a hearty brunch that I polished every bit of the yolk sparkly clean - like how my sista puts it, "the italians don't need dishwasher going by their (good) habit of wiping up every drop of gravy on the plate." This cholesterol loaded dish is enough to make my day. I've not had better ones since TCC @ Melbourne and this is by far the closest. I was at White Rabbit last month and ordered the same item but was kinda disappointed.

Soon I will be heading down to PS Cafe and Hatched to sample their version of Eggs Benedict and I hope to be surprised. With the right egg-titude thou will find the perfect place for my sinful treat. Stay tuned.

I was beaming (together with the bright yellow yolk) when this was served. Together with a generous serving of Argula salad the dish is perfect.... except if they had provided better cutleries for the muffins. Don't get me wrong, it was nicely toasted and goes well with the eggs except it was a little challenging trying to cut the muffin and so I had to undress the dish to get to the bottom of it which is kinda messy. Nevertheless it's treat for S$13.50!

Another item worth mentioning is the mushroom soup with truffle oil. It was blended just right and you could still enjoy some mushroom bits that gives the soup an extra crunch. And of course the truffle oil did what it had to do; it added an extra punch with its aromatic flavour. For S$8.50 this starter will raise some eyebrows, or at least mine.