Christmas Lunch at Andrew and Sharon's Place

On Christmas Day, I celebrated with my family, relatives and cousins at Andrew and Sharon's place. For the cousins, it was more of a reunion lunch for us as two of my cousins - Andrew and Xinyi, together with her husband - returned from Australia and American respectively for this holiday season. It was truly a season to be jolly!

Although my family doesn't celebrate Christmas, we still went over to their place to soak in the festive season. Andrew and Sharon's parents ordered Christmas buffet for everyone. However, due to my upcoming therapy, I wasn't allow to eat certain food which was a pity for me as I love food. Therefore, I can't evaluate certain food. :( Anyway, enjoy the food pictures!

Seafood Fried Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf

Fried Mee Siam

Scallop Mornay

Chicken Schnitzel

Tempura King Prawns with Chilli Sauce

Squid Stuffed with Meat

Stir-fry Mixed Vegetables

Chicken and Mutton Satay

Lontong, Onion and Cucumber for the Satay

Roast Turkey and Ham

Of all the dishes and from what I ate, I think Chicken Schnitzel was the best. It was crispy on the outside and moist in the inside. Yum! :) Sadly, the main highlight which was the Roast Turkey and ham fell flat.

As for the desserts, it was colourful and enchanting! My mother made some jellies specially just for that day. This is her one of her creations which I called it "Clowns in a mystical land'.

This creation proved that it needed alot of work in order to get this result. But my mother felt that there is some room for improvement in this creation.

Then she also made this striped jelly which consists of three colours - red, green and white. Coincidentally, it looks like an Italian national flag to me.

She also made this colourful Konnyaku fruit Jelly which everyone polished it off in a short period of time. Through all her ardous work for the past few days, she finally and managed to churn out all these three colourful jellies with of course, my help.

Then, there was this hot dessert called 'Bobo Chacha'. It is actually a flavourful coconut soup filled with yams, sweet potatoes and other stuff swimming inside the sweet soup. There is this debate among us arguing about what does bobo and chacha mean exactly.

Lastly, how can a Christmas lunch ended off without the famous Christmas log cake? These were a few slices of the chocolate log cake provided by the caterer and to me, it looked more like a swiss roll than a log cake to me.

Yet again, I have to say this year's Christmas was the best among the rest of the Christmas's I have ever celebrated.

Dao Siao Mian at Food Republic

21/12/08, Sunday - My church cell group and myself went to Food Republic@Wisma Astria for a late lunch as one of us, Vana had work that day and couldn't attend the service. Moreover, our beloved Cherie finally returned home from Australia for a break. Yay!

I went all over the food court to see if there is any stall that attracts me but I guess the only stall that attracted me was the Japanese Teppanyaki. Sadly none of us was interested in the Teppanyaki as the majority wanted to eat the famous Hokkien Mee.

Eventually I had this bowl of Chicken Dao Siao Mian (S$5.80) from this noodle stall.

Dao Siao Mian is actually a noodle speciality in China where the chef would slice the dough into strips of noodles with precision and then into the hot water. It's almost like Handmade Noodles except that the noodles didn't go through the machine roller. The chicken drumsticks were soft and tender. The noodles and the soup base were great as well. This bowl of noodles never failed to open up my appetite.

Saturday's McDonald's Breakfast and A Huge Tweety Bird

20/12/08, Saturday - My brother and I went to the heartlands - Ang Mo Kio's latest McDonald's outlet at the park - for their morning breakfast meals. The both of us woke up at 8.30am to have breakfast as their breakfast menu ends at 11am. Moreover, we wanted to avoid the morning crowd that is filled with families and children.

There was a McCafe inside of that McDonald's outlet and my brother had a hard time choosing which morning menu to have. In the end, he chose the McDonald's menu.

Due to my tiredness, I couldn't articulate my thoughts very well that morning and I guess I fumbled when I ordered my breakfast. Here was how the conversation went:

Me: (browsing through the menu on the board) Can I have one Hotdog with Sausage meal?

Staff: What?

Me: Can I have one Hotdog with Sausage meal?

Staff: (louder) What?

Me: (realising my mistake) Can I have one Hotcakes with Sausage Meal?

Well, I managed to cover up my mistakes by acting nonchalant. But I was embarrassed of course yet I tried my best to hide the embarrassment. Anyway, I finally had my Hotcakes with Sausage Meal (S$5.95).

It was really nice to eat McDonald's Breakfast once in a while especially when one can refill their coffee or tea endlessly. The both of us sat down at the alfresco area next to the park where we can see the trees and plants. Basically we tried to stay close to the nature.

After the breakfast, we hopped over to the AMK Hub for some groceries shopping. I got myself a beautiful planner at this shop called, Art Box. Lovely place. Then along the way, we saw a huge Tweety Bird on display and it was for this "Guess the weight of this Tweety Bird" contest. Out of amusement, I took this picture.

Soon after that, I left the place to meet Charlene at Holland Village and subsequently went shopping at Vivocity. Given that it was the weekend, the shopping mall was so crowded that Charlene and I sneaked out to the amphitheatre which is located at the top level. That was when I took this picture of a huge Christmas tree with diamond's ornaments.

Pre-Christmas Homecooked Dinner at My Place

Last night, I opened up my place for the 5ofus group - Gin, Ellie and Zoe came over for dinner. However, Cheryl couldn't make it as she was down with food poisoning. Hope she recovers soon though. :)

I spent two whole days cleaning my place for their arrival and also planning on the menu. But eventually, these were what I churned out last night:

Roasted Chicken. I marinated it with salt, pepper, basil leaves and garlic and kept it for two hours before I spent another one hour plus on roasting. I decided to chop up on the chicken into a few pieces rather than having to roast the entire chicken. I did so in order for the guests to eat with ease.

Roasted Potato and Carrots. I chopped up the Russets Potatoes and the baby carrots into different pieces and then boil it for about 10-20 minutes. After that, I placed them into the oven for extra crispness.

Linguine with Mushroom Sauce. I decided to substitute this with rice.

For desserts, my mum prepared these colourful Konnyaku Jelly on Monday - it's basically a Japanese brand of jelly - and my friends love it.

I also scooped some chocolate ice cream with slices of bananas on a bowl for them but I guess they were too full to have some ice-cream. Heh.

We spent the entire night catching up with one another and eating food. It is always nice to have friends around to celebrate this festive season before we usher into the new year.

Unpleasant dining experience at Pizza Hut

11/12/08, Thursday - I met up with my good friend, Wati for dinner at Pizza Hut@Marina Square. She decided to celebrate my birthday at Pizza Hut as she enjoys eating pizza and moreover, it's a Halal establishment. A few years back, she celebrated my birthday at Pizza Hut too but at different place.

By the time we stepped into the restaurant, we were so hungry. We discussed about what we want to order and so we decided to have our mains and a large Cheesy Lava 3 Stuffed Crust Pizza (S$24.50) to share as Ping and her boyfriend would be joining with us at the later part of the dinner.

I had Beef Lasagne (S$9.20) because I had not eaten lasagne before and I thought perhaps I should try eating one. But to my horror, when the lasagne arrived on the table, the portion was so small and I wondered, " this cost me, S$9.20?" I'm not trying to be cheapskate. I just want to make my money worth. Anyway, the lasagne wasn't really fanastic after all.

Wati had Sausage Mania Baked Pasta (S$9.80). I didn't really try this dish but looking at her eating happily, I presumed she enjoyed it.

Given the small food portion, I felt hungry again. I asked Wati if she wanted to have Garlic Bread (S$3.50) as I haven't had for a long time. She agreed.

Meanwhile, we informed the wait staff that they can get our pizza ready as Ping and her boyfriend were making their way to the restaurant. However, we also contemplating whether to have medium or large pizza as we had so much stuff yet we want to make sure that Ping and her boyfriend can have the pizzas well. Eventually we stuck to the medium-sized pizza. Halfway through our Garlic Bread, the restaurant manager came and asked us about our orders twice. She didn't really looked friendly. Well, it was true that we changed our orders a few times and it seemed like we were difficult people but then for service staff, they should have know that some people would change their orders once in a while. We also tried our best to be nice to her as well. Oh well.

Subsequently when we want to refill our drinks, the wait staff also took a long time to get back to us about the water. In the end, Wati and I weren't pleased about it.

Now, I will think twice about going back to the restaurant.

My Birthday

10/12/08, Wed - On my birthday, I headed down to Liang's Court to get my birthday cake. Despite the fact that I wasn't in the best of mood, I still insisted on going out to take a breather rather than cooping myself at home. There wasn't any crowd when I went to the shopping mall to shop for my birthday cake.

I wanted to get something nice and light for my parents especially my mother as she doesn't like sweet and rich stuff. Even though there were only two bakery shops, I bought a Mango Cheesecake (S$17.80) from a Japanese Cheesecake Shop (sorry, forgot to ask for the namecard!)

My mother tried and she agreed that the cake was light and wasn't too rich for her liking, compared to other cheesecakes.

My birthday was a pretty much hush and low-key affair as I felt that it is unnecessary to celebrate my birthday in a lavish way.

Andrew and Melissa's Wedding at Orchid Country Club

Over the weekend, my family and my cousins celebrated the holy matrimonial of our beloved cousin, Andrew and his newly-wed wife, Melissa at Orchid Country Club. Andrew, my cousin who now resides in Australia, married Melissa last year at Down Under and now, they are back for a Singapore's wedding. It is good to be reunited again as we hardly see other.

The wedding was held in a grand ballroom which was also called, "The Grand Ballroom" and it was no doubt 'the grand ballroom' because the ballroom itself is really grand and huge. When we arrived in the afternoon, there was a tea ceremony for the bride and groom and it basically involved the elders, not the younger generation.

As I was helping out in the reception, I wasn't able to capture pictures of the appetiser and the soup course. However, I managed to capture pictures of the food after the soup course. So here it goes:

Steamed Live Garoupa With Superior Soya Sauce. The texture of the flesh was soft and the fish appeared to be fresh. With the combination of the soya sauce, the taste was good. I had more than one serving.

Deep Fried Scallop with Mashed Yam. This was my favourite dish which has yams! As long as there is yam of any kind, that would be my favourite dish. Inside of the yam ball, there lies a small scallop. So it was a combination between sweet and salty.

Baked Prawns with Chicken Floss. Apologies for the badly-taken picture. As for this course, I actually enjoyed munching on the spicy chicken floss than the prawns.

Braised Chicken with Eight Treasure. This was my least favourite dish. There was some herbal ingredients being integrated into the dish which puts me off. But I did sample the dish in a small portion and it still didn't manage to change my perception on this dish.

Braised Spinach Topped with Bailing Mushroom & Beancurd Skin. This vegetable was one of the kind which I find it intriguing. It's true. There were three kinds of ingredients in the dish itself - mushrooms, vegetable and I am sure there were slices of abalone. Nonetheless, I enjoyed eating this dish.

Stewed Ee-Fu Noodle with Mushroom & Yellow Chives. This dish signified longevity for the couple. Sadly there wasn't enough mushroom and yellow chives for me to munch on.

Hot Red Bean Cream with Lily Bud and Lotus Seeds. This dessert was awesome. There was sweetness in every sip and there was enough lotus seeds. I have two servings for this course. Yum.

Despite all the raving of the food above, I didn't really have my fill, sadly. I guess I should have eaten to my fill. But it's alright. There is always a next time.

Pie Kia's Curry Chicken Pie

5/12/08, Friday - I went to Ang Mo Kio Hub to meet my friend's friend to discuss about his programme booklet for his debut theatre performance over the weekend. After the meeting, I headed to this new stall called, Pie Kia - a funny pun for 'gangster' in Hokkien dialect. There were a variety of big and small pies being sold in the stall, namely, mushroom chicken pie, lemon chicken pie and not forgetting, the all-time favourite, curry chicken pie.

I choose the large Curry Chicken Pie (S$1.50) and decided to eat it for my tea-time. The pie wasn't really huge like the ones in Australia but instead, it was more like a medium-sized pie. The texture of the pastry wasn't flaky but it was more likely a thick pastry.

The filling of the pie was spicy, fortunately and it wasn't too oily. So it's pretty good for people who don't really like oily fillings.

An Advance Birthday Treat at Fish and Co.

I am not kidding. I have not been to Fish and Co. - one of the hot favourites eateries with the yuppies and young people - until last Wednesday. You see, on Wednesday, Zoe and Ellie celebrated my birthday in advance at Fish and Co.@The Glass House as I have requested. Sadly, Gin and Cheryl wasn't around for the dinner if not, it would be so much fun! Thinking of that, I miss them!

Anyway, my other friends told me that the common food which people would ordered whenever they dined at Fish and Co. is Seafood Platter for Two (S$37.90). Nevertheless, I still studied the menu carefully before I start ordering the food. As Ellie and I were famished (we actually skipped our lunch just for this meal!), we almost wanted to eat everything that is on the menu. Hah!

Zoe told us that the Seafood Platter for Two can be shared among three people or more because the portion is really big. True enough, when the platter finally arrived, it was huge. But prior to that, I order Soup of the Day - Fish Chowder (S$3.90).

The Fish Chowder surprised me as there were chunks of dory fillets, carrots, onions and etc. in the creamy soup. Yummy!

The Seafood Platter for Two consists of an assortments of seafood, together with French Fries, sprinkled with Cajun Powder and Butter and Raisin Rice. They even drizzled a little of their signature sauce, Garlic Butter Cream Sauce.

I quite like the big chunky fries which has the Cajun Powder on it. The Pan-fried Fish Dory Fillet wasn't too bad; the texture of the meat was soft and tender. I didn't really like the Grilled Prawns as it wasn't really fantastic at all. But I like the way how the Squids (Sotong) were cooked. It was soft and it didn't take very long before the squid slid through my throat, unlike some places where the Squids are as hard as a stone. Ellie and I gave all the mussels to Zoe as the both of us don't take mussels at all.

The Pan-Fried Fish Dory Fillet

The Grilled Prawns

The Squids (Sotong)

The Mussels

Ellie was afraid that we didn't have enough to eat so she ordered New York Fish and Chips (S$15.90) for us to share.

The batter for Fish and Chips was pretty heavy; it was more salty than the usual fish and chips and moreover, the Lemon Butter Sauce which was on top of the fish made it even heavier and rich. But I must say that the fish was cooked it its perfection.

As for dessert, Zoe and Ellie made me choose a cake for which I chose Dulce De Leche Colossal - a cheesecake toppled with Caramel Sauce (S$6.95).

It was sweet of them to put a candle on top of the cake slice and sang a birthday song for me. Thanks gals! As a result of all the heavy and rich main course we had, we had a hard time finishing the cake. In fact, we took a long time to polish off the cake from the plate.

In order to ease our heavy stomach, we took a long walk along the streets of Orchard Road under the night breeze and colourful Christmas glittering lights.