In A Claypot

I accompanied my mom for her medical review yesterday and we decided to do dinner at a local food centre near the hospital, Chinatown Complex Food Centre. There is a particular claypot rice stall that Lin and I like. :)

Here it is. Lian He Ben Ji Claypot. We try to be there before 6.30pm to avoid the dinner crowd. ;)

Isn't this convenient? Everything's in a pot. ;) There's chicken, Chinese sausages, salted fish and greens in it, More importantly, it's tasty! 

The stall sells a variety of soups as well. :) We always go for the melon ones. :)

The place is often packed, so please be prepared to wait 30-45 mins for your food to be served. :)

Details are as follow:

Chinatown Complex Food Centre

Lian He Ben Ji Claypot

11 New Bridge Road

#02-198-199

Goodbye Business Suits & Killer Heels

Finally took the BIG leap forward. Relieved, excited, apprehensive. That kind of sum up my feelings at the moment, having chose to leave a cushy work environment, not knowing what's going to happen next. However there is one thing that I'm certain, i.e God is in full control. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future - Jeremiah 29:11. :)

I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout of colleagues who attended a last minute farewell drink session organized by my immediate head (he was away). Thank you all who attended. And so the first round of farewell party....

Drinks at Post Bar, at the Fullerton Hotel. :) It has been such a long while since I went there.

Details of Post Bar:
The Fullerton Hotel
1 Fullerton Square
Tel: +65 6877 8135

The second round was with colleagues who have been with me all the way from the beginning. The people who made me love going to work everyday! :)

Victoria suggested dinner at Watami@Central :) Thumbs up for the recommendation! ;)

The restaurant overlooks the Singapore River. It has three private rooms. However they were all booked. I was very happy with the table we were allocated. See the pic above. :) It was tucked in a cosy corner. :)

I give an extra star for this personalized welcome message from the restaurant staff. :)

Such grand menu! : O

We left the ordering to Vic & Al :)

These Hotate Butter Yaki (buttered scallops) are soooo yummy! :D

Kushi Moriawase (assorted skewers platter)

Sashimi Deluxe for Vic, Al, Simon & Sam ;)

 

Great tasting Kaisen Cream Pizza!!! :D

Wafu Pizza :)

Troops of sushi marching in! :D

Irodori Sushi Splendour

Irodori Sushi Grandeur :)

Chicken sushi :)

Hiroshimafu Okonomiyaki :) This is a hiroshima styled pancake with sliced pork and noodles. It is topped with okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise.

Teppan Bou Gyoza (hotplate pork dumplings)

Charsiew ramen for Donovan only ;)

Tori Karagae with Negi Pirikara (spicy) sauce :)

Kani and Hotate Cream Croquette :) These need to be shared...a little heavy...

Wafu Hitokushi Steak - I love these tender beef cubes :D

Any room left for dessert? Of course! ;)

Kurogoma Ice  (black sesame ice cream) - wow :O

Choco Ice, sweet :)













Mango and Khigo Daifuki (mango and strawberry rice cake)

Choco Banana Pudding :)

A pressie for me from Donovan. :) Thank yoouuuuu!!!

Watami is an excellent place for gatherings! Do give it a try! :) I'm looking forward to my next round of farewell dinner next week....it's gonna be at my fav restaurant.... :)

Details of Watami@Central:
6 Eu Tong Sen Street, The Central
#03-82/83/85/102/108/109
Tel: +65 6323 3378

Yong Kang Beef Noodles

Lin and I had Taiwanese beef noodles at a Circular Road eatery last week. Boy, were we disappointed... : / It's hard to find a place in Singapore that sells tasty Taiwanese beef noodles. My ex-colleague, Allina's mom makes really good beef noodles that you'll ask for another helping. Unfortunately, she's not staying here, and that means we can't have it as and when we like....and surely, we can't self-invite can we? Lol :)))

Another Taiwanese colleague, Elaine, gave me the recipe to this mean dish. I must say it's too complex for an amateur chef like myself. : O

When we visited her in Taipei, I told her I would like to have Taiwanese beef noodles for lunch. She brought us to Yong Kang Beef Noodles shop. This shop has been around since 1963. It was a superb recommendation for someone who had craved for decent beef noodles for quite some time. :) I will definitely go again when I visit Taipei.

Here are the photos. :) Please do not drool in front of your PC screen! ;)

The beef broth is thick, the beef slices are tender and the noodles are Q :)))) Happy happy happy...

I give my thumbs up for these 紅油炒手(dumplings)! :D

Do try out their delicious side dishes such as 粉蒸排骨 (pork rib rice) and tofu too! :)

Details of Yong Kang Beef Noodle:
No. 17, Lane 31, Jinshan S. Rd., Sec.2
(02) 2351 1051

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! :)

Pretty Blooms

Blooms, gorgeous blooms. :) We love visiting flower markets, and the Hongqiao Flower is one that we always visit when we are in Shanghai. Not only do you get the freshest blooms, you are spoilt for a huge variety of lifestyle products at attractive prices.

Full blooms in gorgeous hues! :D

Let me introduce to you our fav lifestyle shop, Z-Bo Deco at Hongqiao Flower Market :)



















This shop offers fanciful pieces for your cosy home that don't hurt your wallet! :))) How great is that? Lol! :D

Z-Bo changes its products every season. :) If we're working in Shanghai, Lin and I will have a fabulous time decorating our home to suit every occassion. It's our "must go" shop! :D

Details of Hongqiao Flower Market:
718 Hongjing Lu, Xuhui near Hongsong Lu

Z-Bo Deco:
Hongqiao Flower Market No.88
上海市虹井路718号虹桥花市88号
Tel: 021 5117 3860/ 6405 6746

Lin and I checked out the Columbia Road Flower Market in London last November. :) We were a little disappointed as it wasn't as big as claimed to be. : / Nonetheless, there were still some stuff that caught our attention. :) 

Such as these colourful shophouses... :)

...this quaint blue door with a foxy fixture... ;)




























and .... "woof woof! Don't touch my cuppa!"...We spotted this cute little dog, waiting outside a mom-and pop store while his master shopped. :) This furry one is a coffee addict through and through! ;) - see the cup?

Columbia Road Flower Market offers lots of cutesy stuff but they are kind of pricey. We had to practice self-control....no dirty eyes...no, no...:))) Lin and I were satisfied with just window shopping & photo taking! ;)

For more information on Columbia Road Flower Market, do visit http://columbiaroad.info/

A Great Way to Fly

No matter where we go, Lin and I always travel on Singapore Airlines. Somehow we feel safer on our national carrier. :) After weeks away from Singapore, the greetings of the crew 'Hi Miss Goh' and some Singlish makes me feel 'I'm home'. :)))

I was fortunate to be able to try out the new A380 business class a couple of times to London and back. I was hesitant to take any photos initially. However I spotted a passenger doing it, and so I whipped out my camera and started clicking away too. ;) The addition of A380 to SQ's existing fleet definitely makes traveling long haul a much more pleasant one. :)

The configuration on A380 business class' seats is 1-2-1 as compared to the usual 2-2-2. Hence the seats are much more roomy. :) It's advisable to take the window seat as you not only get storage in the overhead compartment, you have extra storage at the side of your seat too!

I like the control panel and handset. :)

Inflight entertainment brought to a greater height with larger screens! Yeah! :D

The bed that is completely flat, ensuring passengers like myself a good night sleep... :)

Before you know, we're home :)

For reservation, just visit http://www.singaporeair.com/.

Bon voyage!