Merry Luncheon at Zafferano :)

BOTM annual Christmas luncheon is one event I look forward to every year. :) This year's luncheon is at Zafferano, a contemporary Italian restaurant. They put us in a wine room, which is very fitting for this group of loud traders & bankers. Because it's a luncheon, we were disciplined in our wine intake! (wink wink) :)

 

I'm not a bready person but these breads were just too good...I cleared half a tray on my own???

 

Antipasti from the Buffet

 

Lin & I shared Homemade Tagliatelle Bolognese with Beef Ragu and Parmesan Shaving

 

and Risotto with Seafood & Vegetables

 

Lemon Tart outshines everything on the dessert plates!!! :D

 

It started to pour towards the end of our lunch. While the rest return to their Bloombergs, Ann, Lin & I stayed back a little to chill. It has been a hectic week for us... :) Bliss...It's beginning to feel like Christmas...:)

 

Details of Zafferano:

L43 Ocean Financial Centre

10 Collyer Quay

Singapore 049315

T: +65 6509 1488

E: http://zafferano.sg/

Afternoon Tea at Paris Baguette With Miss Pauline

Wanted to catch a movie with Pauline, but nothing interest us on the list. So we did afternoon tea at Paris Baguette instead:)

 

Here's what we had:

 

Club sandwich (yummily messy)

 

Mont Blanc and Strawberry Fell In Love

 

Fruits Snow Flakes

 

And ice lemonade

 

Details of Paris Baguette:

435 Orchard Road

#02-48/53 Wisma Atria

T: +65 6836 2010

Nostalgic Char Chan Tengs & Dai Pai Dongs

Wendy finally boarded the Star Ferry despite her umpteen times in HK. :))) It was her maiden ride and we were on our way to brekkie. :)

I love all the nostalgic char chan tengs & dai pai dongs we went to for breakfast this week. :)

Australian Dairy Company:

G/F, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan
佐敦白加士街47-49號地下

T: +852 2730 1356

Oooolala...the queue was looooooong...but it moved pretty quickly. :)

I heard so much about their scramble eggs and I just gotta try it! :D

The scramble eggs was moist and tasty. It goes so well with the toasted bread; soft and crispy at the same time. :)

The scramble eggs on toast overshadowed my all time fav...ham & macroni soup. :)))

In such scorching weather, hot milk tea is out for me. The ice lemon tea was a saver... *.*

Satisfying breakfast!

Lan Fong Yuen:

2 Gage Street, Central

中環結志街2號

T: +852 2544 3895 / 2854 0731

Xueyi brought us to one of her fav char chan tings, Lan Fong Yuen. :) Behind the little stall is a hidden gem. ;) Lan Fong Yuen is famous for their "stocking" tea. :))) According to Xueyi, every char chan ting mixes their own tea leaves to obtain their own signature teas. And only really experienced shifu is able to do it.

Lin & Beanie had the famous milk tea, Wendy & I had ice lemon tea and Xueyi had yuang yang.

I need to mention about the food here too. We love all of them. They were SUPER DUPER! :D

Succulent pork cutlet bun and ham & egg with ultra soft sandwich. Need us say more? :)

Forget about dieting! This French toast is too gooooooood to give it a miss! There's kaya spread in them.

The tomato soup noodle with pork cutlet & sunny side-up was fab too! :D Slurrrrrrrrrrrp...

Another awesome breakfast! :D

Sing Heung Yuen:

2 Mei Lun Street, Central
中環美輪街2號排檔

T: +852 2544 8368

Sing Heung Yuen is Central's favorite dai pai dong and is known for their tomato soup base noodles. :)

We tried Xueyi's usual of tomato soup rice vermicilli with sunny side-up and beef slices while Beanie had tomato soup rice vermicilli with pork cutlet. The soup is richer than the one at Lan Fong Yuen.

On a side note, this dai pai dong has plenty of chipped bowls & plates. But I'm not complaining cos it just gives the place a whole lot more character. Don't you agree? :)

Their condensed milk bun and lemon honey bun were gorgeous too. Heart them... :)

Part of the reason I'm having insomia the whole week was due to tea overdose. *.* We had teas for breakfast, lunch & afternoon teas....

Snapshot of us at Sing Heung Yuen. :) Xueyi did the ordering of food and we just savoured its goodness. :)))

Two Reasons for Going to Kwai Chung Plaza at Kwai Fong

There are two compelling reasons for us to head to Kwai Chung Plaza at Kwai Fong.
1 - Cheap thrill shopping
2 - Food

We heart the claypot noodle (小鍋米線) and marinated chicken wings at 小雨天 (Xiao Yu Tian). :)

This stall has possibly the cheapest ice lemon tea we had so far. :)

We like snacking at 輕鬆一下 (Relax Restaurant) too. Once you start munching on the deep fried fish skin, you can't stop. Oh and the lovely cheong fun with three different sauces: peanut butter, sweet sauce and soy sauce.

Details of 小雨天 (Xiao Yu Tian):

Shop C33A-C37

2/F Kwai Chung Plaza

7 Kwai Foo Rd

Kwai Chung

Hong Kong

Details of 輕鬆一下 (Relax Restaurant):

Shop A16 

G/F Kwai Chung Plaza

7 Kwai Foo Road

Kwai Chung

Hong Kong

Lemon Butter Prawns & Instant Noodles

Lin bought too many lemons for me over the weekend...so I gotta think of ways to utilize them. I wanted something that is quick & fuss free for lunch. So tada....my very own version of lemon butter prawns & instant noodles. :)

Ingredient (Serves 1):

3 prawns
A clove of garlic chopped for the prawns
Butter for the prawns (if you want them richer & more flavourful, by all means add more)
Freshly grounded black pepper
A slice of lemon for the prawns

Instant noodle (any brand of your choice)
A spoon of olive oil
A clove of garlic sliced for the noodles
1 tablespoon of chicken stock - optional
Half a lemon for the noodle(lesser if you prefer) 
Dash of grounded black pepper
Parsley

Method
I dislike cleaning greasy kitchen and keep frying to the minimum. I cooked the prawns in a toaster intead. ^.*

Prawns

• Place the prawns, chopped garlic, butter & grounded black pepper on a piece of aluminium foil.
• Squeeze a slice of lemon over them, wrap them up and throw the yummy package into the toaster for 8-10 mins.

Instant noodles

• Cook the instant noodle like you normally would, drain them, run them through cold water and keep them aside
• Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the sliced garlic and fry a little, add chicken stock and noodles and squeeze lemon over them. You could replace olive oil with butter, but I wanted something light for lunch today. Pour the juice from the toasted prawns over the noodles. Add in the parsley. Mix well. Serve them with the toasted lemon butter prawns.

Enjoy! :)

Ultra Soft Bunnies

Who can resist these ultra soft buns from Bunnies? Even though we had a full lunch today, Lin and I just gotta lay our hands on these pop-into-your-mouth mini buns. :)))

We love Bunnies' menu. ;) So cheery!

These buns should be eaten when they are fresh from the ovens!

Our fav: Creamy Cheese (it's no doubt creamy, it's also refreshing & lemony), Sweet Potato & Egg Mayo.

I would usually eat the buns on the spot. But for picture sake, I took the buns home, made them pose a little and here's their portrait. ;) Not bad eh?

Details of Bunnies:
People's Park Complex
Level 1, two shops away from Bossini

Lunch at Toast Box (土司公坊)? Why Not...

We used to lunch with Sheau Wen at Toast Box, Plaza Singapura when she was working around that area. But not anymore. It's been quite a while since our last visit. Lin and I decided to do lunch there today as we had an errand to run. :)

It's not too bad a place. We like the nostalgic coffeeshop theme and their thick peanut butter toast. :)

We just realized today that Toast Box serves Thick Milo Toast too! Just the name alone gives us sore throat. Lol :)))) We're quite tempted to try for our next visit.

We shared a packet of nasi lemak,

a bowl of laksa,

and a thick peanut butter toast. :)
So much for trying to lose weight???

The only item that seemed a little healthier was the ice lemon tea? :) It was perfect for a hot noon! :)

Details of Toast Box:
Website: http://www.breadtalk.com/toastbox

The Handburger...Yum...

Friday is indeed brilliant! :) We had a hearty lunch with our gf, Gwendel at The Handburger. :) It was the first visit for Lin and I. We were delighted.

The Handburger serves gourmet burgers at economical prices. :) They take pride in using the freshest and finest ingredients such as sirloin patties, duck confit and oven baked portbello with a range of handmade sauces.

The restaurant adopts a light woody, natural theme and has a communal eating layout; it kind of reminded us of a school canteen, but a more upmarket one that is. :) 

We like the clipped board menu. :) It's back to basic in a nice way.

Lin and I shared an Asparagus and Orange soup while waiting for Gwendel. It's creamy with an orange after taste (fit the name to a T). I would say it's an interesting tasting soup. :) Gwendel ordered a pumkin soup with curry flavour. It was according to her a little too creamy. Soups aside, the chicken strips she ordered hit the right notes! ;) Crispy & succulent.

Now to the main. Lin and I shared a Work Burger. The burger was wholesomely yummmmmm...It consisted of a sirloin patty, bacon strips, sweet onion jam, an egg and fresh lettuce. I'm still licking my lips. ;) For the side, you have an option between a stuffed tomato or fries. We opted for the fries which we felt they need to improve on...

The Handburger's speciality drink, Lychee Mint Crush was delightful! :) We could still bite the lychee bits. ;)

The servings at The Handburger are pretty huge. We were pretty stuffed by the time we finished the burger. : O However, there's always room for dessert. ;) Lin chose a Lemon Pot to share. :) I cringed on the first nibble. : O It was sour...But subsequent mouths were so refreshing. The vanilla soft serve ice cream complemented it very well. It didn't take us long to clean up the ramkin. Lol :)))

For our next visit, I would like to try the Duck Confit or Portobello Burgers. ;)

Details of The Handburger:
Raffles City
#B1-77/78
Tel: +65 6334 4577

313@Somerset
#B2-17/18/19

It's Kwai Fong, not Lan Kwai Fong ;)

Our cousin, Veron brought me to Kwai Chung Plaza at Kwai Fong some years ago and I've been going back there every time I visit Hong Kong. :) So what's the draw? It's far away from the usual swanky shopping belt such as Causeway Bay or Pacific Place...oh well, great food and cheap shopping should be compelling enough reasons. ;)

Here's an insight into our Kwai Chung Plaza's eating and shopping schedule:

Firstly, brunch at 小雨天 on level 2. :)

Lin and I like their speciality Yunnan noodle 雲南小鍋米線 very much. Basically, it's a claypot of rice noodles with preserved veg in spicy broth. You can request for it to be less spicy though. :) 小雨天 offers a variety of toppings such as wontons, fishballs, meatballs etc to complement your noodles . We always opt for their tasty mid wings. Yum-o-yum.... :) To put out the fire, just order a glass of ice lemon tea. :) If I remember correctly, a glass of ice lemon tea costs only HKD5. ;)

Shopping comes next.....shoes, dresses and bags are much cheaper than those in Island Beverly at Causeway Bay. You will also be able to find shops selling pretty accessories, pets' products, electronics and even baking essentials. :)

 

Our feets will be tired by then. Hence we'll head down to 歇一下 on level 1 for afternoon tea. :)

炸鱼皮 (deep fried fish skins) makes such fabulous snack. We like dipping it into hot soup! :)

Cheung Fun with peanut butter and sweet sauce is brilliant too!

For those who are looking for traditional snacks such as 白糖糕 (white sugar cake) or 红豆糕/砵仔糕 (red bean cake), Kwai Chung Plaza is the place to go. :) We are able to get traditional Teochew snacks such as peanut or sesame bars here too!

Here's how to get to Kwai Chung Plaza:

• Take the Tseun Wan Line MTR to Lai King
• Alight and transfer to Kwai Fong (it's only one stop away from Lai King) 

Bon Apetit and Happy Shopping! :)