Chiraishi Porn

I often order Chiraishi when I’m at a Japanese restaurant. To me, it’s the culmination of all sashimi goodness - thick slices of salmon belly, tuna, kanpachi, tai, hirame, cooked prawn, fishcake, tamagoyaki, tobiko…..you get the idea. My absolute favourite has to be the one from Matsuo, which also happens to be the best deal at $20 nett (lunch set on Mondays and Fridays). My gawd they are so generous! Look out for the precious slice of otoro encased in the bento treasure box. The big slice of bbq eel rocks too.

First runner-up is shared by Botan and Aoki. The $25++ chiraishi from Botan is topped with a dollop of sweet pink fish floss and OMG I love the medley of sweet from the pink fish floss, saltiness from the ebiko, seaweedy-ness from the shredded nori and fragrance from the sesame seeds scattered over the rice.

Aoki's $35++ maze chirashi is a bit more expensive but it's an upmarket place and the lunch set comes with a trio of desserts which makes it excellent value for money. So pretty! Generous portions of chopped up salmon, tuna, swordfish, mackeral etc. The highlight for me is the tamago castella scattered liberally on the rice - love the sweetish egg with sponge-cake texture.

Finally, a discussion of chiraishi would not be complete without the $25++ one from Chikuwa (ex-Wasabi Tei fame). Thickest slices of salmon/tuna/swordfish/scallop /uni/tamago I have seen. Very fresh and shiok but sadly, the rice is lacking - a bit loose, not sticky enough.

Level 33

There is only 1 lift to go up to the 33rd floor of the Marina Bay Financial Centre and a bit of a wait. But once up at the "world's highest urban craft-brewery", the view is awesome.

(pic from is-asia-city.com)

There's nothing quite as surreal as guzzling beer, looking out at a view like that and feeling the (oh man, what a) breeze in your hair. It really helped take the edge off my hard day at work. Clearly I'm not the only one who feels that way because the place was PACKED with thirsty office types.

Purists will like the signature brews on tap - choice of lager, ale and stout. Me, I ordered the House Porter, a mix of stout and ale. It was good, yummy velvety balance of dark beer with a 4.5% alkie buzz. ~$14 a pint during happy hours.

I was hungry and wasn't in the mood for pub grub so I ordered THIS for dinner. Ain't it a beauty? Jumbo prawns, soba in lobster bisque with mango salsa! Admittedly a bit pricey at $39 but oh so good...

I have a craving just thinking about it. Will return for a fix when I feel rich *rubs hands in delight*.

Fukuichi

I remember the first time Elaine brought me to Shinobu Dining at PSA Building for lunch and I was impressed with the great lunch bento sets. The following week I dragged K down for dinner and again, the food wow-ed us. Imagine how bummed I was, when the restaurant closed down last year and (sniff), I didn't even get to say goodbye!

By a stroke of luck I found out recently that the ex-Shinobu has moved to TripleOne Somerset. Since that precious bit of discovery, I have been back not once not twice but three times, in the past two months (which for me is saying a lot).

Their sashimi is freshly flown from Japanese and very good. But I usually just attack the cooked food - highlight being my kani tofu! Fresh crabstick encased in smooth tofu and smothered in creamy century egg sauce and topped off with more finely diced century egg. My kind of heaveeen..

Another must-try is the the mentaiko cod. Yums. I love everything with mentaiko so this dish is right up my alley. Great balance of salty creamy (oops the cholesterol) mentaiko with sweet oiliness (double oops) of codfish. Best for sharing with another person as it can get a bit jelat.

Then try the almond crusted ebi tempura. I've never seen it anywhere else and they really do it very well at Fukuichi. So generous with the almonds too. Lastly, if you are like me and need some carbo to complete a meal, order the aburi salmon maki. I don't have a pic here but it's good, trust me.

Nice New Sitcoms

I've been under porridge and house arrest the last few days. Plenty of time couch potato-ing and here's some new sitcoms I thought were worth checking out (hint: use this link)

1. Mad Love (3.75/5)

This is from CBS which also brought us the much-loved How I met your mother (HIMYM) and Two and a half men. Story is about Ben (think Ted Mosby-like) a lawyer and rare romantic who falls in love with Kate whom he thinks is the woman of his dreams. Yawn you may think, but add in Larry, Ben's coarse friend and Connie, Kate's roommate, and hey the show's hilarious. Rather reminds me of HIMYM, come to think of it.

2. Mike and Molly (3.5/5)

Also from CBS is another easy to watch comedy about Mike, a Chicago police officer and Molly, a 4th grade teacher who find love at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. Molly has a sex-bomb older sis who does makeup for dead people. Both her sis and mum have effortless killer figures. Quite amused by the plots they spin out of this and yes, I'd admit it, I enjoy the fat jokes!

3. Raising Hope (4.25/5)

This one from FOX's a bit warped but I love it. 23 year old Jimmy Chance has to raise his infant daughter with the help of his super-dysfunctional family after the baby's mother (they only had a one-night stand) is discovered to have murdered multiple ex-boyfriends and is given a death sentence. I know it doesn't sound like much but trust me, go watch the show. It's incredible, hilarious and oh-so-heartwarming at the same time.

4. Outsourced (4/5)

NBC brings us this slapstick comedy set in Mumbai where Todd Dempsey is expatriated to run the call center for an American novelties company. While poor Todd initially has a hard time trying to explain American pop culture to his employees and also understand Indian culture (e.g. head bobbing), he slowly starts to blend in. Some critics call this series racist but I think it's cute. Todd's cute too, haha.

Tummy Pains

I haven’t been blogging because I was hospitalized for a severe bout of gastritis (inflammation of the stomach) and needed a gastroscopy to ensure there were no stomach ulcers. Without going into medical 101s here let me just say that it was (and still is) a painful experience and there are some lessons to be learnt here.

1. NEVER underestimate the corrosiveness of painkillers. All I did was two 4-day dosages of painkillers for my sprained wrist and tada there goes my stomach lining L Stupid doctor didn't tell me to take them with antacids to reduce the acidity and impact on the gastric.

2. This next point is my bad – When taking painkillers, avoid taking tea and coffee. I was washing my painkillers down WITH my morning cup of coffee. Having my breakfast sandwich at the same time was probably the only saving grace from burning a hole in my stomach.

3. Make sure you are adequately covered by insurance. My A&E fees, the hospital stay (2-bedder, private hospital), stomach scope, sedation, and gastroenterologist fees came up to a bill of more than $3k! Medisave only allows claims up to a max of $800 a day. Luckily for me I recently just topped up my insurance coverage for emergencies like these so if nothing goes wrong the balance of the bill should be covered by insurance.

Doc says I have to watch my diet for the next two weeks, but I'll still post any good food deals I come across! Sigh I can only 望梅 止渴 for now.

Salad Days

After a weekend of feasting and boozing, all I want is a light meal to cleanse my battered system. Lucky for me, there're a few choices around my office.

1. Fresh+

39 Robinson Road

#01-01 Robinson Point

This is a deli which also sells sandwiches, soup and beverages. The highlight for me is the create-your-own salads at $9.50, you can choose 6 ingredients in your salad. Gourmet extras such as blue cheese, smoked salmon etc can be added at $2.50 each.

My Take: I love the great variety of ingredients, including alfafa sprouts, pumpkin and couscous. Tuna is also available, for people who want some "meat" in their salads. There's 5 dressings available, my favourites being the lemon and soya sauce and sauce au bleau (yum). Winning point here are that salads are hearty and fill you up. Oh, there's balsamic vinegar and olive oil by the side, so help yourself to those.

2. Munch

112 Robinson Road
#01-01 HB Robinson

They call themselves “saladsmiths” and they have about 60 choices of pre-mixed salads for you to choose from. A single serving of salad is $3.50 each and a pick-and-mix of three, four and five salads (+ 1 drink + 1 daily soup) comes out to $12, $15 and $17 respectively.

My Take: A mix of 3 salads is plenty but I got so excited (that’s what happens when a girl gets too many choices) that I went for a mix of four: Figs, Cress & Fennel, Pumpkin, Spinach & Feta, Soba Noodle Salad and Oriental Chicken. I’d have gone for the Salt Roast Steak & Potatoes too but my colleague was giving a funny look. I’ve heard that their Crayfish wrap ($8.80) is nice and fresh, am planning to try that my next trip to Munch.

3. Health Fuel Station
2 Marina Boulevard
#01-31A The Sail @ Marina Boulevard

A small salad is $8 and a large salad is $9.50. You get a basic bed of greens and then you choose 5 other ingredients (e.g. carrot, tomatoes, corn, boiled potatoes, hard boiled egg, carrots, capers, capsicum, onions, cucumbers etc) and then a choice of meat (bacon, grilled or smoked chicken, beef etc). Additional ingredients are 50cents each and additional meat $2. The choices of dressing are: caser, aioli, honey mustard, pesto, balsamic vinaigrette and chilli and lime.

My Take: I think the choice of dressing is limited but I like this place because the salad pieces are bite sized so it’s easier to eat in the office and my jaws don’t ache so much. The salad maker here is also better at gauging the right amount of dressing so you get the taste but do not drown your greens and defeat the point of eating a salad for lunch. I like meat in my salads so this is probably the cheapest choice.

4. Juiced Rawbars
9 Raffles Place
#B1-08 Republic Plaza

At Juiced, you can design your own salad with 6 ingredients on top of the Rawbar lettuce mix for $8.50. They have a pretty good selection of ingredients here on top of the usual, including couscous, soy bacon flakes, snow peas, pumpkin/sunflower seeds, brown rice and butter beans. There are more choices of dressings too, including honey & soy, thousand island, re wine vinegar, mint and yoghurt & pesto. Premium ingredients like cheddar/feta/parmesan cheese and salmon, tuna or chicken come at an additional cost. For $10.50, you can have a salad/soup, wrap/soup or salad/small juice combo.

My Take: I took some time deciding what to order (choices, choices). The salads fell short of my expectations though – the first time the salad maker drowned by greens and the second time when I asked for less dressing, my salad was pretty tasteless. They had better get it right the third time.

5. Grand Salads
3 Temasek Boulevard
Level B1, Tower 4, Suntec City Mall

My friends who work in the Suntec area rave about this place.

My Take: I’ve only had the chicken salad here once and it wasn’t too bad. The mix-and match option is S$8.50 excluding chicken / beef toppings. The selection of ingredients seems smaller but I do know the Caucasian guy ahead of me in the queue told me he buys salads from there every other night for dinner. Either it’s really that good or this is one health-conscious guy.

6. Reload
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-K12 Millenia Walk

This chain is from New Zealand I think. I’ve never actually been to this place but my sister has helped me buy takeaway before. She got me the pre-configured smoked chicken salad ($8.50) which was shoved into a cute Chinese takeout-like box (a bit hard to eat out of though).

My Take: The salad was well chopped up but the balsamic vinegar dressing didn’t really impress. If I’m in the area again I’ll give it another shot.

Wine Company @ Sentosa Boardwalk

It was one of the first places in Singapore to bring quality wines at affordable prices to consumers and I'm happy that Wine Company has done well for itself. Many a bottle and cheese platter I have lingered over in the good company of family and friends.

My usual hangout is at Dempsey or Woods, but when I heard that they opened a new outlet at Sentosa Boardwalk, I knew I had to go check it out.

Spot by the water, Mediterranean theme, this outlet definitely stands out from the rest. Luckily, the value-for-money concept still remains. We ordered a nice Fairview shiraz from South Africa (deep red, ripe plum aroma with pepper and some spice, good full finish) - $45, great price.

There's more on the menu in terms of food here. In addition to casual bites, they attempt more serious eats including coq au vin, lambshank and duck confit . We ordered the steamed mussels (just so-so), aglio olio (good - spicy and al dente), the cheese platter (can't go wrong) and tuna steak (favourite - nicely seared, semi-rare and juicy).

Tips

1. Make a reservation for either the indoor window seats or go alfresco if weather permits. You'll get a nice sunset view of the harbour. Also watch out for the buskers and stilt walkers.

2. Sign up for the your wine company card (ywcc). It's $21.40 for a year membership and it entitles you to 10% off all food and drinks, definitely worth the cost.

3. Park at Vivo City and walk to Sentosa Boardwalk. We didn't know and drove in to Sentosa before turning back out.

I hear there's another new outlet at Changi Village. Will be checking that out soon!

Qi Mantra

Massages are my guilty pleasure. After 3 years of weekly (sometimes twice) sessions back when I worked in Shanghai (oh so cheap..), trust me, I am quite the authority on what constitutes a good massage.

Qi Mantra rocks. I am sooo glad I found a good, reliable massage joint in Singapore. My old bones are thankful too.

They have several outlets across the island but I usually go to the one along Club Street, a stone's throw from my office. So nice to have an oasis in my backyard.I have my favourite therapist, but I have tried the others on her off-days and found them all very competent. Service is attentive and they maintain records of your problem areas. Go for the Star Blast (1 hour) or the Power Back (30 min) - shiok!

Cost-wise it's $78 for an hour massage but I signed up for the package and each session costs about $60. The other outlets are at Raffles City, Great World and Holland Village. Go on, make a reservation. Indulge in some touch therapy.

Shakespeare in the Park - Macbeth

Pack a nice picnic basket and make your way to Fort Canning Park this April/May for an evening under the stars and a touch of drama. Shakespeare in the Park returns this year with the story Macbeth. Yes, we are going!

Dates: 28 Apr to 22 May 2011 s
Time: Gates open at 6.30pm and show starts 7.30pm
Price: $38 for advance tickets (up to a day before), $48 for normal tickets.


Tips
1. Arrive early to "chope" a nice spot to lay your picnic mat. Aim for somewhere up the slope for better breeze and unobstructed views.

2. It gets dark by 7.30pm so start your picnic at 6.30pm. Get food that's easy to eat - sandwiches etc.

3. If you don't have time to pack a picnic basket, they sell some food and beverages there too. It'll be pricey though.

"Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble."


I had a blast last year's Much Ado about Nothing. I think Macbeth would be even better. See you there!

Wine Club

I want to start a wine club. Anyone keen?

This is how it will work:

1. Finding the right people – For a start, I plan to keep the group intimate. A group of 10 members will be ideal since the average bottle of wine pours that number of “tasting” servings. Given that I myself am a novice, I expect most of the members to share a similar level of wine know-how. Experts are welcome of course, but you must be prepared to be patient with us.

2. How a club meeting should work – We aim to meet once a month. Each of the members takes turns hosting the monthly meetings, planning the meal and choosing the wines, and then shares with the group information about the origins, food pairings, and flavors of the wine chosen for the month’s gathering. Tasting note sheets will be given out so that people stay focused. It can be difficult to remember what we drink after too many glasses. Meetings can be done either at someone’s house, or we can use the opportunity to check out new restaurants.

3. Costs – We won’t be targeting the Chateau Margauxs but we should explore beyond the supermarket brands. We aim to keep the per-bottle cost from $40 to $80 a bottle. The host will purchase the bottles first, then total costs will be split together with the cost of the food.

Please let me know if you are keen to join the wine club and learn more about wines. Some commitment is required, because members will need to research and plan for meetings. No sleeping members please. Suggestions on what to name the club?

On a separate basis I will also be organizing more casual wine dinners for people to BYOB and gather. Watch this space!

Fish Soup (Part I)

"Food is the most primitive form of comfort."

I heart Han Kee fish soup at Amoy Food Centre. The queue is long but do not be intimidated, it moves fairly quickly. Service is brisk and efficient. The auntry has an elephant memory and lighting fast mental math abilities. $5 (medium size) for generous thick slices of batang fish, best!

On a cool rainy day like today, it was absolute heaven slurping my piping hot fish soup.


Another option at the same food centre is Piao Ji Fish Soup. Queue is comparable to Han Kee but moves at half the speed so I've never had the patience to wait. I finally managed to try it one Saturday I was in the area.


I splurged and ordered the $10 bowl with pomfret and prawns. Yum, the sweet freshness of the seafood was amazing. Only complaint: MSG made me really thirsty afterwards.

Japan Disaster Please Donate

I have a dear girlfriend who, for her upcoming 30th birthday, has requested for her friends not to buy her gifts. She has requested that we donate to the Red Cross instead. I think it's a fantastic idea - Shan, kudos to you!

Singapore is very blessed indeed. Our high COE prices and epidemic of ERP gantries is nothing compared to the triple whammy Japan is facing now - earthquake + tsunami + nuclear threat.. BIG ouch.

If you would like to help, the Singapore Red Cross Society has begun accepting donations for the Japan disaster fund. Money will be collected until April 13th and monies will go towards the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts for survivors.

Those who wish to make a donation may do so via:

- Cash donations at the Singapore Red Cross at 15 Penang Lane from Mondays to Fridays from 9.30am to 9pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9.30am to 6pm.

- Cheque donations made payable to the 'Singapore Red Cross Society' and sent to the Singapore Red Cross at 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 238486. You should indicate at the back of the cheque the following: Japan Disaster 2011, the name of the donor, contact number and address.

- SMS donations by text messaging 75772. For every message, $50 will be donated to the fund. Each SMS carries a charge of 30 cents.

Customers of OCBC, DBS and United Overseas Bank can also make a donation via ATM, mobile and Internet banking. Donors can get more details by logging on to the banks' websites.

Affordable Morton's

Last June, I checked out Morton's Steak and Seafood Combo and walked away a very happy girl. Guess what... the offer is now back. Until March 31st so hurry!


Same deal: $95++ gets you the following:

First Course:Caesar Salad or Morton's Salad
Second Course:Single Cut Filet
Seafood side: (select one) Broiled Sea Scallops, Colossal Shrimp Alexander or Jumbo Lump Crab Cake
Vegetable side: (select one) Signature Potato or Fresh Vegetable

Tips
1. Go with a friend and upsize the steak to a double cut for $15 more. Share everything else.

2. Go easy on the onion loaf, I know it's hard to resist. Doggy back the remaining and toast it the next day with some garlic butter - heaven!

3. $60 corkage is a killer and wines by bottles are expensive. Order by the glass. $20++ per glass is still pricey but they are generous so yay.

4. Save some space and order a Chocolate Martini from the bar. Best dessert ever.

Essensuals at Bugis

It's time for a haircut but I'm a bit cash strapped after paying for my flat. What to do? Let my hair go untamed? Luckily for me, I found this precious little salon which offers great hairdressing services at amazingly affordable prices.

Essensuals is located at Bugis Village, directly above Burger King (enter from the staircase by the side). I liked the space the moment I walked into it - modern, clean with lots of natural lighting - always puts me in a relaxed mood.

Service was warm and welcoming. The stylist Gina patiently discussed the hair style I wanted with me after I announced I wanted the Haircut, Blowdry and Treatment option at $50 nett (!!!) option. Check out the other fab deals they offer.

First, the hair wash. I was impressed when the shampoo boy (sorry, for lack of a better term) asked if I preferred cold or warm water. It was an unhurried relaxing 10 minute wash at the sink. Next, they did the 20 minute hair treatment using this impressive looking steam/heating contraption. Finally, the haircut - to Gina's credit, she understood my anxiety at cutting bangs and suggested a "progressive approach". Oops, difficult customer I am. She just earned for herself a returning customer. At these prices, I am tempted to get some khaki highlights soon.

Au Petit Salut

There are many great value-for-money set lunches in town and I am on a mission to check out all of them. The problem is that I work in Shenton Way and the furthest I'd stretch lunchtime is two hours (boss, are you reading this?). Lunch beyond the radius of Tanjong Pagar/Raffles Place/ City Hall will be a tad rushed on weekdays.

Restaurants that offer their weekday lunch deals even on Saturdays are a godsend , and Au Petit Salut is a gem. The 3 course set lunch at $30++ is really a great deal. Comes with coffee or tea too.




My choices for the set was a salad as appetizer, braised beef cheeks as the main, and for dessert, the chocolate choux bun with vanilla ice cream. Well-researched choices, if I dare say so myself.



Good quality ingredients, delightful taste and generous servings. I liked the relaxed ambience of the restaurant. An ideal venue for a leisurely lunch on a Saturday afternoon.

About This Blog

The purpose of this blog is to share new findings in town (that's Singapore for now). Food I like. Wines I like. Deals which every "sandwich class" person should know about. Events/ happenings which you don't want to miss out on. Occasionally I might write about social issues and my opinions might not be worth very much but please bear with me.

I suppose the fundamental assumption here is that what I like, you might like too. This might not be the case, of course, so I urge you take my recommendations with a pinch of salt, then another, for good measure. I will try my best to keep the information on the blog as updated and accurate as I can.

To note, I DO NOT have expensive tastes - I like hawker food and nothing excites me more than a no-corkage restaurant policy. But I do occasional splurges too, so please indulge me. Lastly, I have a disgusting habit of wanting to max out my free time after work and on weekends, so certain frivolous activities to you might be exhilarating cheap thrills to me. Haha.

I hope you enjoy reading this, as much as I'm sure I will enjoy sharing my new adventures with you.