Friends@Jelita

Last Sunday evening, Jo suggested that we try this new outlet at Jelita called "Friends."
On getting dressed I usually ask her what kind of an outlet is it - casual / formal etc etc. She knows I'm a really laidback dresser loving to hang out in my berms and flip flops... and so she said it was a casual dining place... and lo and behold I reached out for my fav berms and fav Arsenal T-Shirt!

On arriving, it was a different story as you see above. I was quite surprised to see a really nice set up with plush dining tables, wine glasses, napkins and rather nicely dressed customers. Even then we were greeted nicely by the waiter while we were flipping through the menu placed outside the restaurant.

What We Ate
So, to cut the story short this is what we both had:
Jo - Roasted rock garoupa on warm nicoise salad with garlica anchovy butter sauce
Me - Set menu - Friends salad, ukranian borsch soup, roasted beef tenderloin, onion marmalade, pistachio potato puree and beef glazed. Dessert was baked fuji apple topped with vanilla ice cream.

The beef was really good and I'm glad I had it cooked medium. Onion was really unique and tasted great too. A first for me. The garoupa was prepared really well. Overall a very good dining experience. We were the only ones left in the restaurant when we finished and had a short chat with the waiter. The original outlet is located at Serangoon Gardens near the Chomp Chomp hawker centre.

Of Bloodtaking, Steak and Pumpkin Soup...

1. Top left pix - the wonderful and very professional "blood takers" - Su Lin and Yati of NCC level 2. (Look at the wonderful smiles all around. Will YOU put on a smile too? Wherever you may be and no matter how you may feel :)

2. Jo had request for steak, and so her long suffering friend Kim popped by to dish up a quick and delicious medium-well done sirloin steak along with her famous slurrpin' pumpkin soup.

3. Yep, we burnt the top of the walnut bread (from Cedele) and set off a mini fire in the toaster .... hahaha and in the process our smoke detector too.

Jo @ Wild Rocket Again

Jo is truly Blessed by a bunch of friends from all over and I thank God for having brought them to her at the most opportune time. Apart from praying for her, they have cooked for her, brought flowers and most often - asked her out for lunch (when she's felt ok)

Just yesterday she was invited to lunch by L (who first introduced Wild Rocket to her!!) to Wild Rocket once again... Jo managed to eat a little more today. She SMSed me and say she ate 2/3rds of the rack of lamb.

The fever's come back to every 6 hour interval now that she's stopped taking Arcoxia (pain killer & muscle relaxant).

She had cravings for White pepper crab a moment ago, however its been changed to Teochew Porridge along Havelock Road... we're off now.

We serve a Lord that is faithful and true.

Dinner @ Singapore Cricket Club

Ok ok, yet again another wonderful makan session with wonderful friends...and really it's the company that matters most!

Thanks to SC & DD's invite to SCC, we had the most awesome time here last night. We met @ 6pm for drinks and the weather reminded me so much of my Hawaii / Waikiki days... with the tradewinds blowing daily between 20-30kmh. The sight from the rooftop of the club was priceless - with City Hall behind us, Swissotel, the Esplanade and the CBD surrounding us.

So what did we eat?
Well we shared the following: Lamb Shank Korma with rice, Muligatawny Soup, Curry Chicken with Rice, Pizza and Fried Beef Kway Teow. Off course DD sucked on the lamb shank reminiscing of eating tulang at Adam Road hawker centre.

Food really value for money, but of course you need a member to sign you in.

More Foody Updates

Marina South Pier (MSP) www.can.com.sg/neocan/en/streetwise/unwind/piering_at_marina.html

This is a shot from the Marina South Pier roof top. Jo had suggested to check out the Pier 11 restaurant which is located on the 2nd level of this building. Beautiful view from here as you can see. Extremely windy! How do you get here? Get along the ECP and turn off into Marina South. Follow the road signs all the way to the end of the road... and wala!



Birthday Cake!
Today's kids get to have all the fun! Look at this amazing birthday cake designed like a forest with "flowing" river and animals! Our friend's kid daughter celebrated her 10th birthday last Sunday.


Hog's Breath Cafe (Holland Village outlet) http://www.hogsbreath.com.sg/
Had a wonderful lunch at this quiet outlet yesterday. We had drove to Ghim Moh initially to check out Blue Spoon, unfortunately it was closed so we decided to head on down here. The set lunch is great value for money... I had my Fish & Chips (Beer battered fish served with Hog Tail Fries, side salad and sauce) served with fabulous home made beef soup along with a soft drink at a mere $14.00! Besides, the portions were simply Aussie huge!

Jo had the Hog's Breath Prime Rib (200 grams) @ $19.50 - Best served medium rare to ensure a moist and tender steak. Served with baked potato, classic mashed potato or Hog Tail Fries. Your choice of salad or vegetable. The Prime Rib was really succulent and very tender...certainly one of the better steak outlets around. You don't have to pay $$$$ for a Lawry's or Morton's, just get on down here or to their Chijmes outlet.

According to the staff and the website, they slow cook their Prime Rib for up to 18 hours, then finish with high temperature searing on the char grill to seal in the flavour.




Wild Rocket (Upper Wilkie Road)

Had to venture to Jo's fav restaurant once again. Haven't been here since 2-3 months back.

We both had the set and as usual was beautiful and meticulously prepared. Our only peeve was that the waiting time seemed much longer at approximately 35-45 mins. Food quality remained uncompromisingly superb, which is really important as Jo exclaimed. Jo had the rack of lamb while I had the beef burger. The set came with deep fried cod cakes which was nicely done. In all of it's dishes, Wild Rocket sets itself apart by it's very Asian infused fusion menu. Never heavy, just right. Pictured above is my half eaten burger :) and the Pandan Panacotta dessert. Ahh somehow forgot to snap Jo's rack of lamb....shucks.

Jo's Food Updates

Here are the long missed updates on Jo's food escapades over the last few weeks...

1. Meidi-Ya Japanese Supermarket (Basement of Liang Court)
Apart from selling all things Japanese, Meidi-ya regularly arranges for special food fairs whereby chefs from all over Japan would be present to show off their culinary skills and foodstuffs. This time round, it was the Hokkaido fair and we joined the queue (and it was long!) to sample traditional Red Bean & Custard Cream "fish" pancakes. It was beyond words and simply heavenly! Take a look at the many photos taken. Sorry you can't get them now, they were here for only a weekend in late December 2006.

2. Corduroy Cafe @ Vivo City (1st Level)
Jo had the caesar salad and shaved chicken with caramel latte. She later shared the cinnamon apple crepe with her friend. The butter cream cake pictured above is very deliciously patterned and obviously rich in butter. 5 stars for the butter cream cake. Selected cakes at 50% off daily after 9pm. Go get it!

3. Yan Palace Restaurant www.yanpalace.com.sg

Perhaps one of the best dim-sum places in town, next to the infamous Red Star (Chin Swee Road). Here the dim sum dishes are all served fresh and piping hot in a modern setting. And like most other cantonese restaurants serving dim sum, you won't find the roving trolleys here either. Jo came here to especially try their signature dim sum dish - paper wrapped chicken also known as "ji bao gai" in cantonese. It was so tender and succulent...fantastic!

4. Cafe de Amigo (Funan Centre 2nd Level)

This restaurant has been around for the longest time. Originally located at the Specialist Centre @ Somerset Road. Jo had escargots with herb & garlic butter. I had chicken chop with black pepper sauce. Simply excellent! They have a large wine cellar here too.

5. Vinco the Doughnut Parlour @ Vivo City (2nd Level)

The Donuts craze has arrived in Singapore! Here, donuts are freshly made on the spot. $1.20 per piece. 18 different varieties. Reheatable. Check out www.vinco.com.sg

6. Coffee Bean's Buster's Weekly Cheesecake

What more can I say? A fabulous strawberry topped cheesecake.

Cupcakes!

Jo got this box of 4 wonderful cupcakes from one of her friends last week.

Japanese Cuisine ...

Jo's not been out of the house since 2 and a half weeks ago...but she still gets to try the food that she likes, as long as the restaurant / outlet allows for take outs, we'll order it!

Today she was delivered again from Meidi-ya Supermart (B1 of Liang Court) and from Tampopo Japanese restaurant the following (pics following):


1. Katsu Curry Set

2. Japanese Cheese Cake

Chefs Preparing the Sushi and Bento Sets


3. King Crab Sushi from Hokkaido

Makan by the river...

Being a holiday today (Hari Raya Puasa), we took the opportunity to check out another new food joint with our good pals - Sam & Serene, and their adorable and super-energetic 3-year-old son Matthew.

Name: rivercafé www.rivercafe.com.sg
Location: 41 Robertson Quay, Singapore Tyler Print Institute Building

Thumbs-up for the ambience and decor. Very mod-Oz casual bistro look, with al-fresco seating facing our now-relatively-clean Singapore river, and the interior featuring a whole floor-to-ceiling shelving holdings bottles of wine and books, mostly related to food and drinks.

The menu was rather limited though, or rather, didn't contain items that really shout out to us. Middle eastern spatchcock, anybody? Serene ordered a seafood pasta, Sam had a soup and the pan fried escolar (fish) fillet with maple soy glaze, Alex decided on the tenderloin with carbernet glaze, and we all shared some bread and an entrée of garlic butter squid rings.

I'd always wanted to try ricotta hotcakes with bananas and honeycomb butter since reading about this recipe by renowned chef Bill Granger in a food magazine, and was quite excited to see this item in the brunch menu. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it at all. The dish was served cold and it was just plain boring. Looks like I may have to schedule a trip to Bill's restaurant in Sydney to check out the real thing!

(Incidentally, I was surfing Bill's website and found that rivercafé's brunch menu was the exact copy of Bill's sample breakfast menu. Wonder if they have any official tie-ups...)

Little Matthew was kept entertained throughout by his Uncle Alex. According to his parents, this kid lives on sunshine, air and water. But somehow, he started eating bits of stuff from Alex's plate! Even mommy Serene commented, "Seems like everything from Uncle Alex tastes good." Although he did spit out the veg after chewing a bit...

After lunch, we had a nice leisurely stroll around the quayside area. Sam and Serene also checked out the showflats of 2 condos in the area. Absurdly expensive for such tiny little places. My kitchen alone is the size of this condo's living/dining area, just imagine!

Upper East Coast Road

Well, Jo's feeling better from the Saturday ordeal although still far from being 100% well. The pain is still at her liver area and she needs to walk slowly and not make any sudden moves. The pain killers been helping and we pray she'll gradually wean off it in the next few days.

I've had to effectively cancel my activities since Saturday morning till today and perhaps beyond... Really no issue with me, been there done that. Anything that concerns Jo, I'll drop and ensure that she's attended to before anything else.

This afternoon, she felt better enough to leave the house in search of a new joint called Zuko! www.zuko.com.sg Don't ask me where she gets these cravings or ideas from, all I know is that when she says "I want to try out this new place..." I just get READY! So armed with her foodie guide books (IS Food Guide 2006 and one other I can't recall or find it now) we set off for 17 Upper East Coast Road.

In all honesty Jo should be writing this section, as I don't do justice as an online food / restaurant critique...but she's asleep. Oh well, I promise to do my best. Anyway, if you don't like my write up, check out the one by STOMP http://www.stomp.com.sg/stfoodiesclub/diningout/18/index.htm

Zuko is situated along Upper East Coast road. If you know where Siglap Shopping Centre is -you're doing fine. Along that road, you'll drive by a whole bunch of eateries. They're located just beside a little road named Jalan Tua Kong and directly opposite the public car park.

So it was 1:35pm when we stepped in. All quiet except for us. Greeted by the waiter and presumed restaurant owner? (Jo said so...) We took sometime to decide our menu and so it went like this:
1. Bruschetta
2. Zuko! Pork Ribs
3. Crabmeat Linguine with White Wine sauce (pictured above)

The Bruschetta was pretty good with finely chopped tomatoes on a crispy yet soft bread (yeah, I don't even know the name of the bread...what a great food critique) layered with olive oil. The Pork Ribs were ok. Jo felt that the texture was somewhat tough and initial serving of sauce was insufficient. But the staff were very obliging and brought more for us.

Now my fav! The Crabmeat Linguine (your choice of pasta, but Linguine does it best for seafood, trust me) was beyond words man. I was initially apprehensive of the white wine as base for sauce, but man was I wrong. It had such an aroma and gave it that zest. The linguine was done excellently, just the right texture - bouncy yet not tough. Crabmeat was abundant and nicely integrated with the dish with lotsa tomatoes...ahhh mama mia!

Ok enough I'm salivating. 2 thumbs up!

Foodie or piggy??

Having a bit of sore throat and cough. Gonna blame it on the haze cos it's definitely not the chilli crab, fried chicken wings and orange juice I had the other day.



Went to check out VivoCity with hubby yesterday nite. Boom town charlie, man! It's a weekday nite and yet there were tons of people in the spanking new mall. The place is really huge and quite a lot of shops are already opened, including the highly-anticipated GAP boutique. Not quite sure what to make of the fashion nowadays though, the designs somehow don't seem very wearable. Or maybe it's just me falling behind the times...





Decided to dine at Food Republic, the retro-themed food court. Cool deco, complete with dark wooden tables/chairs, uneven stone flooring and piped-in 60s/70s Chinese songs. Food and drinks are priced a bit higher (fishball noodles for $4.50 and watermelon juice without ice for $2.70), but the place was packed! Took us a while to find an empty table and some more time to queue and get the food which was quite good actually. So will probably brave the crowd and go back another time to try the other stalls. That's the Singapore spirit, right? : )

Most of my frens will know that I'm a die-hard foodie. If you give me $500, I'll choose to blow it all on a really good meal instead of buying a branded bag or pair of shoes. Naturally, one of my worst nightmares is that, if the cancer spreads to my mouth or throat, then I won't be able to eat all my favourite food! So I'm always on the look-out for eating places with good reviews, either through TV programmes, newspapers/magazines or frens. Then depending on my craving for the day, I'll bully my hubby and make him bring me there or ta-bao.

My current fav restaurant is Wild Rocket @ Mt Emily A cosy little place with fantastic food and friendly staff. So far, have tried their crabmeat linguini with pink cream sauce, roasted Chilean seabass with sweet chilli marmalade, lamb rack marinaded with garam masala, rib-eye steak burger, pandan panna cotta and the fabulous strawberry cheesecake served in a martini glass. It's one of those rare places where you feel like going back everyday until you've tried everything on the menu, and then you continue going back again and again.

Hmmm, must start planning for my next climb up Mt Emily soon...