Eating Out with Kids

Vegetarian Lunch in Po Lin Monastery

2010-05-10T16:00:00.005+08:00

1 May 2010. Day 3 in Hong Kong.

We decided to explore Lantau Island before going to the city proper. Thus the return ride on Ngong Ping 360, a 25min cable car ride up the hills to see the giantic Tian Tan Buddha.

We had thought the cable car would only open at 10am, and were we glad to have arrived there by that time. Cos the queue by the time we returned in the afternoon was VERY LONG.

I decided to forgo the >250 steps up to the base of the Buddha, so Sam & I had a biscuit & drinks break at the ice cream stall at the bottom of the steps.

After hubby came back from his climb, we went to visit the Po Lin Monastery, and after looking at the yummy vegetarian desserts displayed at one of the stalls there, decided to have our lunch at the monastery's restaurant.

The deluxe set costs HK$100 per person, and we must purchase the meal tickets before we enter the restaurant, which opened at 11:30am. Turns out the meal tickets also included free entry to the little museum halfway up the steps to the Buddha........if we had known, we would have visited the Buddha later after lunch.

Wasn't sure if the air-conditioned restaurant provided baby chairs..........I was too tired by then to check. Was simply happy Sam could fit on the adult chair & use the standard plastic bowl & plate & soup spoon.

The toilets weren't exactly clean though - hubby found out when Sam failed a last minute dash to the Gents, and I ended up having to change Sam's wet wet pants in the middle of the meal. ;P

Still, the 5 course meal was surprisingly good. The Mixed Mushroom soup was large enough to serve 4. Even Sam had no complaints, and that's from a little guy who refused to eat mushrooms.

The Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls went down well with the rice for Sam, so were the lily bulbs in the Stir-fry Mixed Vegetables. I tried my best to polish off this dish even after I was full, cos the vegetables (red & yellow peppers, asparagus, celery, peas etc) were simply too sweet & crunchy to waste.

Hubby loved the Mushrooms with Cabbage - the fresh mushrooms were meaty, though the cabbage leaves were not cut, making it rather difficult to handle. The Mock Lemon Chicken was surprisingly good. I've never actually enjoyed eating bean curd skin before, but the lemon sauce wasn't too sour, just tangy enough to make the dish enjoyable.

Service was fast. We were about the longest seating table there, thanks to slow-eating Sam. The portions for 2 are really enough for 3, we wasted so much food I feel rather guilty. I now know why a meal at the Monastery is always recommended on the HK travel itinearies, even if the prices aren't exactly cheap. But then, it wasn't expensive either. Definitely recommended.

Plane Dining - Cathay Pacific from Singapore to Hong Kong

2010-05-10T11:44:00.009+08:00

I have been VERY lax in my blogging lately. ;P

I guess with my work to occupy my 'spare' time, I'm getting lazy with typing. Still, I wanna share my holiday experiences with all the mummies out there, especially those who're taking your kid out on a plane for that long-awaited holiday. Maybe you can plan your trip better after hearing my experiences. ;)

This post is dedicated to the plane trips we took for our holiday to Hong Kong. We had taken a package with Cathay Pacific, so on 29th April 2010, we took the 0830hrs flight CX710 from Changi Airport. It's a non-stop flight to HK, about 3.5 hrs long. Hubby's idea has always been to minimise the travel time required, so as to minimise the period of suffering. ;)

Still, I wasn't so apprehensive this time, as we had booked for a kid's meal on board, and hubby had confirmed every seat would have its own mini tv screen with multiple channels of entertainment. So I only packed a minimum of toys & activities for Sam in case he got bored of watching tv.

I had prepared nimm2 sweets for Sam to suck on, in case his ears got blocked during takeoff & landing. The hard candy with juicy fruit centres make me feel slightly less guilty when giving him sweets, since it's supposed to contain Vit C and other kinds of minerals & vitamins. It certainly worked, as sucking on the candy prevented the pressure from building up in Sam's ears during the takeoff.

In-flight entertainment started soon after takeoff. The headset was way too big for Sam - it kept slipping off his head, and I had to replace it every 10min or so. The tv screen couldn't be tilted downwards, only upwards, so Sam watched tv the whole trip with head angled up. Not very good, I know, but then I don't have much of a choice. I was rather surprised the flight was considered long-haul........but then, since that provided Dumbo instead of Kim Possible, I'm not really complaining. ;)

As usual, the kid's meal was served 1st, before the adults'. Sam's breakfast was very similar to the adults': hashbrown, omelet, yogurt, fruits, bread, and the additional cereal bar. For drinks I got him apple juice. His meal was served on a placemat of ocean creatures, and the cutlery continued the theme - curly straw with fish, coloured plastic fork, spoon & knife with seashells on the handles.

Sam took a whole hour to finish the egg & hashbrown, so engrossed was he in watching Dumbo on the kids' channel. He refused most of the fruits, the yogurt & tomato, and I ended up finishing the bread since he didn't want that either. The cereal bar I packed for later consumption.

For some reason the 2nd cartoon didn't come on after the movie Dumbo finished, so when Sam got bored with the blank screen (the other programs weren't suitable for him), I tried to put him down for nap. We raised up the arm rest so that he could lie down horizontally - head on me & legs on daddy - but kept his seatbelt on. The in-flight blanket covered him up warmly, and the little pillow provided some kind of cushion between his head & my thigh. And surprisingly, Sam did fall asleep! He must have been tired out from waking up so early to catch the morning flight. Anyway, he only woke up after the plane had landed, so the flight wasn't too bad (for both him & me) after all.

The return flight on CX711 left HK at 1615hrs. Since it was 3 May, the entertainment channels had changed. Sam didn't enjoy the Sleeping Beauty offering, but the 2nd cartoon, The Fox and The Hound, was much more to his liking.

The lunch/dinner for this leg was served with the same ocean theme cutlery. Sam's kid's meal was so much richer than the adults' version we got slightly envious, actually. In addition to the main course of fish fingers & mashed potatoes with vegetables, there was macaroni salad, some kind of coconut chocolate cake pudding, the inevitable bread, apple juice and Tim Tam chocolate biscuits.

After Sam finished every mouthful of his fish & potatoes, I allowed him the chocolate biscuits, since hubby was already eating his. The apple juice I packed for later consumption, Sam was drinking plain water with his meal, and I polished off the delicious cake pudding & bread roll. The macaroni, unfortunately, had to be wasted.

All in all, eating in the air wasn't so bad after all, since Sam quite liked the in-flight meals. I had to do all the feeding, since he was engrossed with watching tv, but as Sam was still a trifle short for the shaky foldable table, I didn't mind doing so, rather than risk overturning the whole meal.

Oh, Cathay Pacific usually have very interesting kids' packs to keep the children occupied during the journey. I forgot to take a photo of Sam's: this time round the theme is Lilo & Stitch, with all the various colouring stuff, stickers & puzzles packed neatly into a woven sling bag. The activities are actually a bit too difficult for Sam (sudoku included!), especially since he doesn't even enjoy colouring, but I guess the older kids (7 yrs onwards) would love the set. I certainly saw several kids carrying the bag when we were walking around in Hong Kong city.

Think would try flying Cathay again for our next holiday, if the budget permits!

Taiwanese Fast Food in IMM

2010-04-20T12:44:00.002+08:00

We were surprised to find that hubby's fav chicken rice stall was replaced by a taiwanese food shop, but thought "no harm trying".

The place was quite empty when we went in at 12noon, and the waitress was very friendly, suggesting we take one of the tables with wooden benches. But since I've always found such tables to be too far for Sam to eat comfortably, I chose a 'normal' seated table instead.

We rejected the grey plastic baby chair since Sam seemed comfortable on the adult chair, then the waitress presented Sam with his plastic bowl & spoon while we were still pouring over the menu. I guess we were lucky: the service standard plunged by the time we finished our meal, with customers having to pick up their own cutlery from the counter when they failed to attract the attentions of the busy waitresses.

This restaurant does it semi-fast food style: the customers complete the order form with the numbers of the dishes in the menu, then go to the cashier to pay. The waitresses would serve it to the table later, thus saving us a 10% service charge.

Hubby selected a Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet Set Meal ($7.90), which came complete with appetisers & soup. He found the soup value for money, but the main course very average.

I ordered an Oyster & Large Intestine Mee Sua ($5.90) for Sam, figuring he would enjoy the soft noodles even if he doesn't eat the ingredients. He ended up finishing most of the large bowl with the peanut & ikan bilis appetiser from hubby's set. The mee sua here surprised me with its length - I had thought the Taiwanese version tends to have the noodles short, so that customers just have to use a soup spoon to eat the whole dish, but the version here has the typical Singaporean wanton-mee-length of mee sua, so I had to spend several minutes trying to cut the noodles short for Sam.

For myself, I got the Deep Fried Pork Chop with Red Wine Marinate ($6.90), to go with a bowl of Braised Pork Rice ($1.80). The pork chop was crispy but nothing special otherwise, while the fatty braised pork in the rice caused me to keep one eye closed, figuratively. It was otherwise not bad.

For drinks, hubby had a Mixed Fruit Tea ($2.80) which Sam loved so much he finished the drink before hubby could get in a last mouthful. So I was left to finish my own Sour Plum Jasmine Tea ($2.80), which was sealed up bubble-tea style.

Overall, not a bad place to lunch if one wants a quick Chinese meal. Just don't expect too much. ;P

Xian Ding Wei
IMM Building #01-47/8
Tel: 6897-2636

The Attraction of the Fish Tank

2010-03-21T16:24:00.006+08:00

Had not published this post for 1 whole month, for the embarrassing reason that most of the pictures I've taken in the restaurant were out of focus!!! I had seriously considered abandoning the post, but as hubby reminded me, it was the quietest Chinese restaurant we've ever dined in, definitely worth a recommendation to those who wants to enjoy typical Singaporean Chinese seafood cuisine in a peaceful setting. So do bear with the lousy photos!!!

We had ended up in Greenwood Ave as hubby got fed up trying to find the nearest carpark to the dining places in Turf City. I was heartily worried we would end up feeding Sam fish & chips again, as the good eating places I know of in Greenwood Ave are all Western restaurants. So we were surprised to find a 'new' (to us) Jap buffet restaurant & Chinese seafood restaurant there.

While we were pursuing the menus to decide which place to have dinner in, Sam made the decision for us by entering the Chinese restaurant to gush at the fish tank, which was right smack in the middle of the small restaurant, in full view of the main entrance.

Well, the fish tank certainly kept Sam entertained while we placed our orders & waited for the food to arrive. I had to remind the little guy frequently NOT to knock on the glass to attract the attention of the fish!

The deco of the Old Ponggol Choon Seng Seafood restaurant was obviously Chinese, but it appeared to be more like what a foreigner's idea of a Chinese-Asian setting. Everything was obviously Chinese - wooden furniture, bright tablecloths, Chinese cutlery - yet with a modern feel that you wouldn't find in a usual Chinese restaurant. I'm afraid I'm not very good at describing..........well, overall feeling is still quite pleasant, if you can deduce what I'm trying to say. They even have 2 tables along the corridor outside for alfresco dining, obviously to cater to the clientele of the area.

The most impressive thing about the restaurant was the service. The staff were friendly and speak Mandarin (not Cantonese as in most such eating places), and they went to great lengths to make Sam comfortable. While Sam was tall enough to sit on the adult wooden chairs and had no use of the baby chairs, and the restaurant's utensils were already white plastic affairs that I can safely let Sam handle by himself, the waitress went out of her way to prepare the drink for the little boy.

We had ordered hot Chrysanthemum Tea ($1.30) for all, and since Sam doesn't like his drink hot, I asked for some ice in his plastic transparent glass to cool down the drink. The waitress and I then spent the next 2 minutes determining the suitable amount of drink to be in the glass for Sam to handle easily, and the number of ice cubes to be added so that the drink wouldn't be too hot or cold. What a relief to be able to go down to such details as though I'm preparing the stuff at home!!

For the food, we ordered the chef's recommendations, as my usual practice when eating for the 1st time in a Chinese restaurant. After all, if you don't even like the restaurant's famous dishes, there's usually no point in trying the other stuff, right??

So we had the Mee Goreng ($10) and Crispy Baby Squid ($18), the Prawn Pancake ($18) and the Red Wine Pork ($18). The Prawn Pancake came first: it's basically deep fried prawn cake, done to a crisp, and was quite good, compared to the rather average ngoh hiang 五香 that was served on the same dish. Sam polished off half his bowl of rice with this!

I quite like the Mee Goreng, which hubby said was very typical Singaporean style, though he much prefer it cooked with chili. We had asked for the dish without chilli as both Sam and I don't take spicy food, so while the 2 of us enjoyed the slight ketchup taste of the noodles, hubby had to add sambal chili to his.

The Baby Squid and Red Wine Ribs would actually go much better with rice, than with the noodles. The Squid was quite crispy and sweet - Sam liked it though it was a bit too hard for him; the ribs, on the other hand, was way too sweet and had no taste of wine whatsoever. Don't understand how that came to be a recommended dish.

We had also ordered Fried Vegetables with Garlic, Nai Bai Cai 奶白菜 ($12), upon waitress's recommendation of the freshest available that day. The freshness of the vegetables was certainly evident, though the dish was a trifle too oily for my taste.

Thoughout the dinner, the restaurant was only half full. Other tables came and went, and we were conscious of being the noisiest table in the little place. How quietly the other diners ate! I had thought such silence only belonged to the more high-end French restaurants! Even the Crystal Jade Golden Palace wasn't so quiet on a weekday lunch!

As hubby commented, definitely a place to go if we wanted a quiet Chinese meal!

Old Ponggol Choon Seng Seafood Restaurant
14 Greenwood Ave, Hillcrest Park
Tel: 6465-4621

Another branch in Changi Chalets locality,
tel: 6546-5251

A Rather Chinese Asian Kitchen

2010-03-09T16:32:00.008+08:00

Decided to dine at Iluma after praying at the temple, so as to save time (since we had parked at Iluma). After making a tour of the many choices available on level 4, we thought of trying The Asian Kitchen, with its brightly coloured Chinese-styled furnishings.

The restaurant was far from crowded on a Sunday afternoon. The huge windows lit up our table nicely. Sam appeared to be able to reach the table seated on the adult cane chair, so we didn't bother with the baby chairs.

The waitress provided one of their white plastic bowls upon request, together with a small yellow plastic spoon, which I thought was way too small for Sam. Unfortunately, the plastic Chinese soup spoon was much too big for the little guy, as were the metallic fork & spoon, so halfway through the meal I had no choice but to spoonfeed Sam withe baby spoon.

We had chosen the restaurant partly of its attractive adverts of speciality roast chickens, so of course we ordered one of them: a TAK Sauce Roast Chicken ($9.70), which is 1/4 of a chicken. Frankly, though the chicken tasted good, we don't see what's so special about it.

Hubby got a Prawns Fried Rice ($7.90), which turned out to be quite a good fried rice with egg, but with only 4 prawns (peeled & pre-cooked) on top! We might as well had just ordered the plain Egg Fried Rice & save ourselves a couple of dollars!!

I had gotten myself a Vegetable Wanton Noodle Soup ($7.20), which was not bad at all. Certainly no complaints about the quality & quantity for the price & location. Sam willingly finished half a bowl of the noodles & 2 of the meaty wantons, then polished off nearly a whole bowl of his father's fried rice!

The cold Homemade Barley ($3) gave me a slight start, as I didn't expect it to be in a plastic cup sealed the way the Taiwanese bubble tea were done. I guess they must have prepared a whole batch way beforehand, cos the barley was icey cold when served. It was a tad too sweet for me, but both hubby & I loved its obvious homemade taste. So did Sam. :)

The chain offers a membership, which would dole out rebate dollars (details here). We weren't so impressed as to sign up for it though. Especially since I didn't register many 'Asian' dishes in the menu............most all look like typical dishes one would find in a HK tea cafe. I did notice that their signature dessert is 'qing teng' 清汤, very Singaporean, so I guess I won't mind eating there again.

The Asian Kitchen
Iluma #04-07
201 Victoria Street
Tel: 6884-5507

Jack's Place @ Safra Jurong

2010-02-21T21:20:00.005+08:00

Couldn't decide where to eat on a Saturday night, and we finally decided to try out the Jack's Place at Safra Jurong. Sam happily greeted the security guard on duty as we entered the club, and couldn't understand why none of his friends were having dinner at the same place!

As we had hoped, parking was aplenty & so were the seats, though there were 3 separate dinners going on in the Chinese restaurant on level 2! I guess it really makes sense NOT to eat Chinese during the Chinese New Year period! ;P

Sam didn't need to sit on the Ikea high chair available, and I was pleased to see the waiters serve the plastic kids' utensils & kid's menu immediately after we settle down. Had to ask another to remove the lighted candle on the table though.

Hubby settled on the Seafood Spaghetti ($12), which was to his satisfaction; I went loose and ordered the Striploin Steak ($28), adding $4.20 for the daily soup (mushroom yesterday), daily dessert (profiterole) & coffee/tea. Hubby also added a starter - Lobster Crab Mushroom ($7.60), which was juicy & cheesy and generally delicious, as long as you don't go hunting for the near-invisble slivers of lobster.

I love the tradition of a server coming up to the diner to add as much toppings - sour cream, bacon bits & chopped spring onions - as the diner wants to the baked potato. The vegetables were nicely cooked: still crunchy but not raw at all. My steak was a trifle too red for my taste.......I guess I should have stuck to well-done instead of going adventurous, and after finishing the meat I couldn't finish the potato as well.

I was keen to try out the kids' menu for Sam, but since he eats his spaghetti dry and had had chicken nuggets for lunch, I went for the simple Sausage & Egg set ($5.50), thinking of letting partake my baked potato. Turns out the set came with fries (wasn't described in the menu), so Sam happily devoured all, and also the scoop of ice-cream that accompanied with the set. Surprisingly he wasn't keen to try the cola that came with the set (it had said orange juice on the menu, and no one asked our preference for the drink), so hubby & I polished it off.

What surprised me was that after finishing his entire set meal, Sam was still hungry! Fortunately we had saved a slice of the free garlic bread that was served at the beginning of the dinner for him. ;P Sam polished off half the slice on the short walk to the carpark!! I guess he's becoming the sort of Chinese male who wouldn't be full without rice for dinner!

Jack's Place
Jurong Safra Country Club
333 Boon Lay Way
Tel: 6795-9226

Seasonal Menu @ Shimbashi Soba

2010-02-17T21:43:00.005+08:00

3rd of Chinese New Year. Hubby and I were full of sweets & sinful snacks after visiting our colleagues, so we decided to go for a light dinner.

There were still seats available at Paragon's Shimbashi Soba, and the waitress gave us a corner table with bench seats on one end after understanding we have a young child. It was another 5 min before Sam was willing to enter the restaurant though: he was finding it very interesting watching the mill grind the flour & the chef make the soba noodles by hand, "just like play-doh!"
Sam was now tall enough not to require the white Ikea baby chair, though I still asked for the plastic bowl & kid's cutlery for him. Remembering my past experiences, I didn't try for the kid's sized udon nor soba, and started seeking for something I could share with Sam instead.

So I was very glad to realise they've added a seasonal menu now. The current one for Feb/Mar has something that appealed to me immediately: the Hiyashi Jako Soba ($16.80), which is chilled soba with shredded eggs, baby sardines and mentaiko paste.

I was right! The cold soba was lovely after a hot day, and even hubby found the sour/salty sauce easy on his palette. Sam had no problem eating the crispy baby sardines with his fav eggs & seaweed, even loved the 2 slices of Jap fish cakes that I don't fancy. He easily finished up a whole bowl of the noodles by himself!

About the only problem was that the soba was too easily digested! By the time we reached home, Sam was hungry again!! I guess next time I should try for some cold udon for him!

Oh, do note that the seasonal menus for the Paragon and the Raffles City outlets are different!

Shimbashi Soba
290 Orchard Road
Paragon #B1-41
Tel: 67359882

Chinese New Year @ Xin Wang Taiwan Cafe

2010-02-16T10:28:00.009+08:00

Having eaten at Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe several times previously, I was kinda glad to have the chance to eat at the Taiwan version of the cafe yesterday, when we had to settle dinner outside with my sister & her daughter, Tiffany, before we go house-visiting.

I hadn't expected the outlet at Bukit Panjang Plaza to be open on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year. So might as well try something new for the new year, right? ;) The menu not as extensive as the Hong Kong cafes.......or rather, there's nearly as many snacks as main courses to choose from, which I guess is unavoidable since the Taiwanese street snacks are so popular.

We got a long table, which Sam & Tiffany could fit comfortably without resorting to the wooden baby chairs. My problem was trying to keep Sam on the bench, since he kept scrambling down under the table to retrieve his cars whenever they fall off the table.

Hubby ordered a Braised Minced Pork Rice 鲁肉饭 ($6.80), which he shared with Sam. The pork was actually not minced, but fatty meat sliced thinly. The Taiwanese style of braised meat tends to be sweet, instead of salty. I don't really mind it, but I've tasted better. Sam enjoyed everything though, including the braised egg that came with the dish.

My sis shared the Stir-fried Bee Hoon with Braised Meat 台式炒米粉 ($4; $3 without the meat) with Tiffany. The Taiwanese-styled bee hoon is different from our local version too - white & plain with no sauce nor bean sprouts. Tiffany managed the dish on her own on the small white plastic plate that's available at every table, as with the metal fork (and all the other cutlery). I fed Sam from a small white plastic bowl I requested from the waiter.

I myself had ordered the sinful Crispy Fermented Chicken Rice 南乳鸡排饭 ($7.80), which took the longest time to serve. The fermented chicken tasted quite good, though a tad similar to their Taiwanese Salted Chicken 盐酥鸡 ($4.80). Sam loved both versions.........I guess being crispy & juicy was more important.

The biggest surprise, for me, came in the way the drinks were served. I had not expected all the cold drinks we had ordered to be in bubble tea style: plastic cups sealed at the top, to be pierced with a fat straw. After all, we didn't expect any chewy pearls in my Ice Calamansi Tea ($2), the Ice Honey Lemon Tea ($2) nor the Homemade Barley ($1.50).

Sam didn't fancy the Barley I ordered for him (luckily I like its obvious homecooked richness, with plenty of barley in the cup), fighting instead for my Calamansi Tea, which was both sour & sweet, just the way we like it. The drinks took longer to prepare than the food apparently, being served after most of the dishes had appeared on the table. Perhaps none of the young staff on duty during the holidays were familiar with the sealing mechanism? ;P

All in all, we spent just under an hour inside the restaurant, thanks to its prompt service & serving of food. Just right for our purpose!

Xin Wang Taiwan Cafe
1 Jelebu Road
#02-27/32 Bukit Panjang Plaza
Tel: 6892-6953

My 1st Concrete Blogging Reward - Sakae Monthly Bloggers Affair!

2010-01-08T18:49:00.003+08:00

Well, this wasn't solid cash, but it's still something concrete (besides all the lovely comments I get) that actually resulted from my blogging: a S$20 voucher for Sakae Sushi!!!!!

I hadn't really expected to get anything, cos my post wasn't exactly singing praises of that particular trip. So winning the consolation prize in Dec 09 means either there weren't many entries ;P or that the company really appreciated honest feedback!!

Well, for those who's still lost at sea, Sakae Sushi is holding a Sakae Monthly Bloggers Affair, where there's a winner every month who'll receive a $50 voucher, and several consolation prizes of $20 vouchers. All you have to do is email your blog entry address & contact details to the company, details @ http://www.sakaesushi.com.sg.

Can't wait to use my voucher!!!! ;)

Bicycles & Bak Ku Teh in VivoCity

2009-12-27T12:19:00.007+08:00

Hubby craving for bak ku teh again, so we headed out to our new fav, Xin Chen Bak Ku Teh 星辰肉骨茶, inside the Food Republic at VivoCity.

One of the reasons why I like the place is its separate seating enclosure. The downside of this is that the whole family would have to eat from the same stall. The (major) upside, however, means we get to have a leisurely meal in a popular - ie. crowded - food court, paying food court prices but enjoying the attentive services of the waitresses.

There were several like-minded parents that day.......half the tables were occupied by families with young children, and I guess we were ALL grateful that we could choose our tables & take our time to seat the young ones without worrying about other diners rushing past us.

Sam still refused to sit near the artificial tree in the corner, but we got a table under a row of rainbow-coloured bicycles hung from the ceiling, which distracted Sam long enough for us to place our orders in peace!

I was quite surprised to see that Sam was now tall enough - just barely - to reach the table from the stool, so we didn't force him into the wooden high chair that he could still fit in comfortably. Of course, I regretted my decision 15 min into the lunch after Sam started getting off the stool on his own. ;P Especially since Sam didn't seem to fit snugly on the stool. Still, I guess I have to learn to respect this little show of independence. ;)

The waitress brought an empty plastic bowl along with our food, so we didn't have to request for anything else, the plastic Chinese soup spoons being placed in a holder on each table (as with the chopsticks). Her colleague didn't have the sense to place the hot dishes away from Sam, though.

The Bak Ku Teh (pork ribs soup) ($6) is hubby's fav. Not that there aren't better ones, but for the quality & price & relative comfort (ie. aircon with non-crowded conditions + service but no service charge) & proximity to our home, it's definitely on top of our list. The meat was tender enough for Sam and not too fatty for me and hubby had no problem separating the meat from the ribs. What more can we ask for???

I insisted on 2 servings of dough fritters 油条 ($1.20) as I find the soup less peppery when it's soaked up by the cripsy snack. Sam enjoyed it too, since if I soak his rice ($0.70) with the soup he finds it too peppery & ends up drowning the 'fire' with Yeo's Lemon Barley ($1.80). Hubby drank most of the soup though, so it was a good thing the waitresses make their rounds topping up the soup from a mini kettle.

We ordered the Liver & Kidney Soup ($6) again, which was value for money for such serving size & quality in a food court. Sam still didn't like the pork liver nor kidney though. This time we tried the Teochew Fish Cake ($2.50), freshly steamed and Sam's fav. So we didn't have to order the braised peanuts or egg.

Ended the meal with the Premium Chinese Tea ($5), which was strong enough to last throughout the meal. Sam was particularly curious when hubby prepared the tea, kung-fu-cha style (ie. steep tea in small teapot, pour into jug, then pour into the tiny cups for drinking).

All in all, a satisfying meal & relatively hassle-free lunch in a food court on a Saturday. What more can parents ask for??? ;)

Xin Chen Bak Ku Teh 星辰肉骨茶
Food Republic
#03-01 VivoCity

T3 - Xin Wang

2009-12-21T10:37:00.009+08:00

Brought Sam to Changi Airport last Friday, when his childcare centre was closed for preparation for the new school year. It was our 1st visit to Terminal 3, and Sam was excited during the train trip to the airport. Asked me at every train stop if it was our turn to get off the MRT!

We both enjoyed T3, which wasn't crowded, that being a blessing when the suburban malls were all jostling with crowds even on a weekday afternoon. For lunch I took the 1st restaurant I came across in the 3Top area, Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe (新旺香港茶餐厅), partly because I have the membership card and thus would be able to accumulate rebates to offset my next bill.

The waitresses were very friendly & prompt, maybe cos the outlet wasn't as busy as the ones in Anchorpoint & Northpoint, where it was sometimes impossible to attract the attention of the serving staff. The 2 of us were given a large 4-seater couch table, which I accepted since Sam was tall enough to eat on it, without using the plastic-and-metal foldable baby chair.

One convenience about this restaurant chain was the utensils are placed in a special holder on every table, which means I could choose the metal fork & spoon, or in this case, the chinese soup spoon, without the hassle of bothering the waitresses. Of course, it also means that on the smaller tables, I have to look out for Sam grabbing the utensils or knocking the whole contraption off the table.

Ordered the fried mee sua with luncheon meat & egg ($7.50) for Sam. Admittedly it wasn't a healthy choice. But then, the restaurant is about quick & affordable HK-styled cafe food, so it's a matter of choosing the lesser evil from the menu, the moment one decides to dine there. Moreover, my choice was based more on the likelihood of Sam liking the dish. ;P

Well, my son enjoyed the egg & luncheon meat, as I expected him to. The mee sua was soft & smooth from its bed of oily sauce and it was a new taste of noodles for Sam, but he took to it well, finishing half the portion. I had forgotten to toss the mee sua thoroughly before cutting it up in the small plastic bowl I had requested the waitress for, so the noodles turned out a trifle dry & sticky. The 2nd serving to Sam was better after I tossed the noodles.

The vegetables were a total turn off, though, looking yellowish & limp with a thick coat of congealing gravy when it was served. The kitchen staff was obviously not as good as the ones in Northpoint, where I've eaten a much better version of the exact same dish earlier this month.

For drinks I got Sam the hot barley ($2.50), which was homemade and a trifle sweet for my taste, but then Sam loved it, so what could I say? My shanghai-styled fried rice with pork chop ($8.50) turned out to be too salty for me, with all the preserved vegetables (梅菜) fried into the rice. So I had to order a 2nd drink, hot honey green tea ($2.70), to help me finish the meal. Sam loved the sweet drink, which had more honey than green tea. In fact, I could hardly tell that it was green tea!

The main advantage of dining on level 4 of the 3Top area was the view. I could see the planes landing & taking off from my seat, since the restaurant had no windows & was open to the Viewing Hall. Sam, being much shorter, could only see the planes only if he stands on the chair. And it was a good thing the toilets - with foldable diaper changing station - are just behind the restaurant too, when I had to change Sam's diaper immediately after the meal. Sam even tried to drink from the automatic water cooler outside the toilets, but I forbade him as he was still a trifle too short for the child's version & risked getting all his clothes wet.

All in all, T3 would have become a fav place to bring Sam, if not for the fact that it takes us one whole hour to travel there from the west!

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe 新旺香港茶餐厅
Changi Airport Terminal 3
#04-02 North Viewing Mall
Tel: 6241-5201

Mini Bus Bento of Sakae Sushi

2009-12-13T00:29:00.003+08:00

Surprisingly Sam still remembered eating sushi after the previous library trip, and insisted on going back to the same place again. So hubby & I had no choice but to got back to Sakae Sushi in the Frontier Community Club after leaving the library.

Again, Sam had to sit on a booster chair at the table next to the sushi belt. I get so worried whenever he has to sit like this, it seems possible he may topple over, cos though there was a seat belt securing Sam to the booster, there was nothing tying the booster to the bench! But Sam went through the meal unscathed - again - so perhaps it's Mummy's over-reaction. After all, I doubt the restaurant chain would use the booster if it's unsafe.

Service this time round wasn't as good as our visit a month ago. I wonder if it was because we're the 1st customer on the Sunday morning. The place certainly didn't fill up till we're almost done with our meal. There was only 1 waiter visible when we tried to order at 11:40am, and he was too engrossed with whatever he was doing at the cashier to see or hear us, so we decided to use the computerised system instead, which went pretty smoothly.

We had asked for a cup of warm water for Sam when we 1st ordered our hot green tea ($0.99). Had to ask for the kids' utensils again later, which was a matching set of white plastic bowl with Sakae's logo and a small metal fork & spoon. That was necessary for Sam to devour the large makis he selected off the sushi belt, while we waited the longest time for Sam's bento (Sam finished 2 makis, and we polished off 5 plates of sushi, before the bento came).

Finally managed to order a bento set from the kid's menu, something I've not managed to do for our past 2 visits. Succeeded by the quick act of shoving the menu under Sam's nose to get his attention before he started taking his pick from the sushi belt. So Sam spent several minutes trying to choose from the 6~7 children's bento sets available, more from the designs of the bento containers than for the food itself, I'm sure. In the end, I managed to convince him to take the mini bus bento ($7.99) instead of the fire engine/train/aeroplane sets. My choice, obviously, was based on the food selection. ;)

Sam was tremendously pleased at the Yakult that came with the bento set, and to my surprise didn't attack the fries immediately. Instead, he took a liking to eating the meat balls & crabstick off the toothpicks. I guess this refreshing method of self-feeding appealed to him then. I polished off the 2 fried chicken pieces in the bento myself, then spent the rest of the meal coaxing Sam to eat the rice in between his mouthfuls of meat balls. The remainders of the rice (with its decorations of sausage, egg & avocado) we had to 'tabao' home after the lunch, for Sam to finish after his afternoon nap.

The one-for-one red plate promotion had ended, so we only got 10% discount off the bill when paying with Citibank credit card. Should have eaten more often last month! ;P

P.S. For 1st time parents bringing your toddlers into Sakae Sushi, strongly suggest you place your child nearer the corridor, so as to be away from the sushi belt & hot water tap & computer mouse. I only dare put Sam next to the sushi belt after numerous visits to Jap restaurants, after I'm sure he's been well-trained enough NOT to grab the dishes off the belt nor to experiment with the hot water tap. Nowadays I try to keep him away from the corridor seats instead so that he's less likely to wander away from the table on his own. ;P

Sakae Sushi
The Frontier Community Club
60 Jurong West Central 3 #01-05
Tel: 6792-2806

A Deep-fried Peranakan Meal

2009-12-04T22:41:00.004+08:00

Just realised I haven't blogged about this yet and the next weekend is here already!

Last Saturday we went for dinner in Jurong Point, which was so crowded we couldn't get seats in our preferred restaurants at 6:30pm. So we decided to try this Peranakan restaurant, Red Lacquer, which we weren't really keen on since hubby's friend had said the Penang Fried Kway Teow there was nothing like the ones in Penang (the friend was from Penang).

The restaurant was only half-full when we arrived, so we managed to get a corner table, where Sam could scramble up & down the sofa bench. Though halfway through the meal I had regretted not restraining him in the baby chair! ;P

The waiter who took our orders was quite attentive, informing us the lack of plastic forks but readily supplied a suitable plastic bowl & spoon. He even asked if Sam needed warm plain water, even though we had ordered drinks. But unfortunately the promised H2O never materialised. We had to ask for it later, and also a straw.

Only after all the dishes arrived did I realised that everything I ordered was deep-fried. I guess I had unconsciously gotten all my favourites. ;P Still, I didn't have much choices since I don't eat spicy stuff, so what could I have ordered in a Penang Peranakan restaurant???

Well, we had Loh Bak ($7.90), Inche Kabin ($13.90) and hubby wanted Otak-Otak ($4.90). The otah was very, very good!! Basically it's what I would have expected from a Peranakan eating place. I had to swallow 2 mouthfuls of white rice ($1 a bowl) for every bite of the otah, but the burning sensation was worth enduring!

The Loh Bak tasted almost exactly like the ones we had during our holiday in Penang, with solid pieces of meat wrapped up like our 'ngoh hiong' (五香). I had the pieces cut back for Sam to eat with his rice, which he quite enjoyed, though he steadfastly refused the accompanying 'tau kwa' (豆干).

The Inche Kabin was basically deep-fried chicken, flavoured with spices. The meat was tender enough for Sam & not dry at all, the delicate spices making the dish more flavourful than the usual fried chicken dishes. I had ordered the hot Longan & Red Date tea ($3), which came in a pot (I had expected only a tall glass) and tasted not bad, though a trifle on the sweet side. Fortunately Sam didn't drop the ceramic cup when he sipped a whole cupful of the tea.

Hubby had the worst deal: the soup of his Penang Prawn Noodle ($6.90) wasn't strong at all, doesn't taste of prawns, despite the physical presence of the seafood. We concluded jokingly that the chef must have been from a 'zi cha tua' background instead of from Penang, that would explain why none of the famous Penang hawker dishes tasted genuine but the individual dishes were good. ;P

We had a good deal last weekend, as the promotion then was a 10% discount and no GST, so basically we saved on the usual 17% taxes (10% service charge + 7% GST). I understood from the waitress that in December there would be 10% discount for Shiok! card members, so I guess the restaurant changes its promotions every month.

Red Lacquer Penang Peranakan
#03-96/101 Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Tel: 6794-5427

Crabs, Crabs, Crabs!

2009-11-23T11:09:00.000+08:00

With the large crowd at Jurong Point on Saturday nights, we had to make do with the less popular eating places even at 6:30pm. Thus hubby finally got a chance to try the advertised Crab QQ Noodles in the Chinese restaurant at the basement of Jurong Point's new wing.

I myself wasn't quite sure of Pioneer Wharf. Though it's the chain's 3rd outlet, its less-than-full capacity on a weekend night didn't inspire much confidence.

Well, the 1st impression of the place was certainly good. The service staff were helpful. A high chair (those plastic foldable ones) was brought out the moment we requested for one, and when Sam refused to get in it, a waitress quickly stacked up 2 adult dining chairs so that Sam could reach the table.

The experienced staff constantly reminded the new (& obviously young) waiter to serve the dishes away from Sam. The plastic bowl, plate & small metallic fork & spoon were given without me having to request for any, though it was halfway through our meal before anyone thought of offering Sam a plastic cup of water. By that time Sam was already enjoying his warm homecooked barley ($3.50), which was pretty good.

Sam was in those moods where the plate of appetiser peanuts ($2 on the bill, so better reject if you don't want it) with a bowl of white rice ($1) would keep him satisfied while we ponder over the menu. We didn't order too much, in case the restaurant wasn't up to our standard, but fortunately the food turned out pretty good!

The HK Kai Lan with minced garlic ($12) was average, and so was the Chicken Soup ($8). But hubby was full of praise for the beancurd in the Claypot Beancurd ($12), which came with 3 large prawns and the gravy delicious with rice. The Crab with QQ Noodles took some time coming, but it was worth the wait.

Our crab (@ $3.30 per 100g) was fresh & very meaty, and the noodles were totally full of the essence of crab! Sam polished off his own bowl of noodles even though he refused any of the crab meat. Hubby found the noodles a trifle too plain, then discovered the XO sauce on the table ($2 on the bill) which transformed the noodles from good to great! The dish costs us $31.40 before discount ($5 for the noodles, $26.40 for the crab), and fortunately there was a wash basin the restaurant itself for us to wash up thoroughly after the very satisfying meaty crab.

I guess the next time we would try one of their many speciality dishes, which leans heavily on prawns, so most likely to taste good. Most likely we would end up eating crabs again though, quite a good deal after the 15% discount with DBS/POSB credit cards.

Pioneer Wharf
#B1-45/46 Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Tel: 6861-6833

Return to Seah Street Deli

2009-11-22T22:24:00.004+08:00

It had been years since I went to Seah Street Deli. I still remember my 1st visit there >10 years ago: I had ordered some kind of salad which included blue cheese, and because of the pungent cheese, I wasted the entire salad. *no kidding*

So, returning after so many years, I decided to order the NY Cobb Salad ($20.50) with its blue cheese again. And this time, I've already learnt to enjoy the pungent cheese, even if I had to drown the taste in lettuce. ;P

Still, it was nice to find the place basically unchanged, complete with the old jukebox & friendly service. And as hubby said, the clientele of the Deli had became parents by now, so I shouldn't have been surprised to find the fully adjustable Graco high chair we have at home in the restaurant. Or perhaps I simply hadn't noticed such items when I was a young single adult.

Sam didn't need the high chair though, he fitted just nicely on the wooden dining chair. The kids' menu was a white sheet for the children to colour in with crayons, but Sam got bored with the colouring before we even made our orders, so I had to whip out his fav cars. Again.

The waitress had thoughtfully given Sam his water in a plastic cup & straw, complete with cover to reduce chance of spilling. What confused me was that while the restaurant was so obviously child-friendly (from the menu to the chair to the service staff's attitude), they did not have plastic cutlery!!!!!!

So while they brought a separate small bowl & spoon for Sam to eat from, the bowl was ceramic (I don't mind the metal spoon). Fortunately Sam didn't topple anything during the meal to mar our pleasure.

I was very pleased to find the kids' menu included Macaroni & Cheese with Sausage ($8). At least it seems to be healthier than the usual chicken or fish nuggets with fries on the same menu. The Linguini with Ratatouille sauce & vegetables seemed interesting too, would try that on the next visit.

Anyway, turned out Sam loved the Macaroni, which wasn't too cheesy. He couldn't sit still enough to finish half the bowl, or perhaps he had filled up on the Mozzarella Cheese Sticks ($11.50 for 8pcs), which came with a very good salsa dip that Sam hasn't learnt to appreciate. I guess even if he ate only the ends of the Cheese Sticks - where there's more of the crispy breaded coating - he would also be full after polishing off the ends of 5 sticks.

Fortunately we remembered to take away the leftovers of the macaroni, cos Sam finished off everything after he got up from his afternoon nap. I'm so glad to find an alternative to french fries for him in an American restaurant!

Oh, 15% discount with Citibank credit cards, so the overall cost didn't turn out too bad after all.

Seah Street Deli
Raffles Hotel Singapore
1 Beach Road
Tel: 64121816

Singapore Kid's Dining Guide

2009-09-30T09:58:00.003+08:00

Earlier this month I had spent S$8 to buy the 1st issue of this new magazine, Singapore Kids' Dining Guide, simply because one of the articles interested me greatly: Best Family Restaurants. I was curious to know how many restaurants in the list I've visited, and if the reviews were really accurate.

Well, turns out I've brought Sam to almost half the eating places listed. Restaurants like Ikea, PastaMania, Swensen's and Go Go Bambini are definitely child-friendly, the reviews are short but true. 2 others, California Pizza Kitchen and Fish & Co., I enjoyed eating there, though have yet to try the kids' meals.

It was interesting to read about places such as The Tanglin Tree and Sol Playground Cafe. Neither hubby nor I knew about these restaurants, and we're now looking forward to try these gems when we have the chance. For this reason I would hang on to the magazine for the next few months.

Cos while I enjoyed reading the articles about Gourmet Food for Kids and Healthy Snacks, I didn't think it warrants the relatively high price of the magazine. Maybe I'm just being stingy. ;P

Still, there's a chance of redeeming back the cost of the magazine. Looking forward to using the discount coupons, which are valid till at least the end of this year. Restaurants like NYDC & PastaMania are definitely a must-return-to for a hassle-free meal with young children.

Lovely Jumbo Executive Lunch

2009-09-27T15:06:00.014+08:00

Got blogging here again, thanks to the great lunch we had just now at Jumbo Seafood @ Dempsey. We went to Dempsey Hill cos hubby wanted to eat at the Ben & Jerry's, but because Sam wanted noodles for lunch, we ended up at the 1st Chinese restaurant we saw.

Turns out to a great choice. The outlet there was renovated in a very 'fusion' style with corresponding utensils. Wouldn't have guessed the restaurant would be serving typical Chinese seafood restaurant fare. We were seated in a corner table facing a ceiling-high fish tank wall, which Sam consented to pose for with purposely-closed eyes.

We opted for the Executive Set Lunch B (Chilli Crab Celebration), at S$36++/pax (cost incl. tea& towel). The Appetizer Trio (Scallop in Yam Ring, Chilled Mango Duck, Seafood Bacon Roll with Mayo) was nothing special, but tasted good.

The best dishes that fully justified the cost of the set lunch were the Scallop Dumpling in Seafood Broth, and the De-Shelled Chilli Crab Claw with 'Man Tou'. Crab, prawn & dried scallop were wrapped in scallop, served in a thickened broth that's not too salty, good enough to clean off the whole bowl. I was so terribly reluctant to share the dish with Sam!!! Hubby loved it too, and specially - since this dish isn't on the regular menu - 'tabao' another 2 servings home (@S$12 each) for his parents to try!

The chilli crab was great! It's lovely to eat crab without having to remove the shells messily, and since I don't really enjoy eating spicy food, the small portion was ideal for me. I wished there was more buns to mop up the gravy, but hubby & I shared a bowl of rice to do justice to the lovely gravy.

The Jumbo Prawn Noodles was supposed to be cooked with XO sauce, but because of Sam, we requested for it to be cooked differently, so that it would be non-spicy. The result was nothing spectacular, but still delicious.

Sam loved eating it on his grey Rubbermaid high chair, though the plastic spoon provided is obviously getting a trifle too small for him. The restaurant had also provided a plastic cup for Sam to drink from, though we had to request for the cold water before they remembered to fill up the cup.

Dessert was supposed to be Dragon Fruit Champagne Jelly. Well, without the menu, we thought it was simply 'wen tou xue' and aloe vera cubes with strawberries & mango. Still, it was a cool way to end the meal, and Sam loved the lime-flavoured dessert so much he actually drank off the cup.

Service was good, especially since we started our meal at 11:30am, when the place was literally empty. Felt even better when informed that there's 10% discount when paying with Citibank credit card, so the meal was quite, quite worth it! ;)

http://www.jumboseafood.com.sg/
Blk 11 Dempsey Rd, #01-16
Tel: 64793435
Opening hours: Weekdays - 12pm~3pm, 6pm~12am.
Sat & Eve of P.H. - 12pm~12am
Sun & P.H. - 11:30am~11:30pm

Not Updating This For A While......

2009-06-09T17:27:00.003+08:00

Sorry have not been updating this blog.

Had been busy learning to cope with my new job. Also, Sam just started full day childcare last week. And we've spent half the time last month being sick with flu. In fact, Sam (and me & hubby) are down with flu again.

Anyway, Sam has now grown tall enough to reach most of the tables when sitting on adult chairs in the restaurants. So my enthusiasm on checking out baby chairs has dampen somewhat.

Thus, I'll not be blogging here for quite a long while. Those interested in me or my son's antics in general are welcome to my other blog, http://tanhui2.blogspot.com.

Wish all of you happy dining!

Luxurious Red Cushion for Big Sam

2009-05-03T21:48:00.003+08:00

Hubby wanted good food again, after all the leftover dinners he had to endure on the weekdays. So we just walked into Marriot Hotel's Wan Hao Restaurant based on hubby's mood.

Though the restaurant had baby chairs, the waitress assured us that Sam is now too big for theirs. She then produced a thick velvety red cushion, matching their high back dining chairs, to raise the seat for Sam. And indeed, Sam fitted the arrangement just nicely! It was also comforting to see the cushion fitted the chair very well, so Sam was no likely to fall off the chair, since there's no safety belt involved. Still, I told Sam solemnly to be seated properly on his 'adult' chair, no hanky-panky, least he fell off. Sam loved his new freedom in the 'big' chair, & behaved quite sensibly for most of the lunch.

Apparently the menu had been revised in May, and the executive set lunch now looks both wonderfully tempting, with a slightly lowered pricing that no longer causes the wallet to scream. So we ordered the S$68 pp set lunch for two.

Since the set lunch appeared to be the type that would end up with each person having just enough, with each course served one by one, we decided to order some dim sum for Sam. The chives dumpling ($4.40 for 2 pcs) were quite standard, I mashed them up & mixed with the white rice ($2 for a bowl) for Sam to eat.

We also ordered a 'radish roll' ($5 for 2 pcs). The prawns on them were so large they totally overshadowed the vegetables below. And irritatingly, Sam only wanted the prawns. So I had to eat the remaining pumpkin & carrots.

The pretty pink plastic plate provided by the restaurant was no good for messy Sam. So I actually risked using the white ceramic rice bowl. But anyway, I ended up spoon-feeding Sam the entire meal. The small metal fork & spoon were nice to use though, and the waitress had include a straw for Sam's glass of water too.

As to our own adults' lunch, well, I can only say it was great!!!!! Appetiser of sliced Peking duck with soft shell crab, followed by shark's fin soup, then a tender black pork steak stewed with mushrooms (nothing too salty, just nice, I thought) on top of spinach tofu. But the best was the lobster noodle.

The original menu actually calls for the noodle to be cooked with some spicy sauce, but because I was nursing a slight sore throat, we asked for the noodles to be cooked differently. Turns out the noodles resembled more of spaghetti, but it tasted great with the half lobster! Sam was very appreciative of the noodles too, ate quite a bit of his daddy's portion.

The set meal ended with mango pudding with black glutinous rice sauce. By then, Sam was down playing on the carpeted floor. My only consolation was he wasn't screaming or doing anything too noisy to ruin the relatively quiet atmosphere of the restaurant.

The waitresses were friendly, one of them even offered Sam a sweet before we left. I was pleased the food was served rather promptly, so although we ate course by course, we didn't have to waste time waiting. Definitely a fine place to go when hubby's in the spending mood & Sam is in a well-behaved mood. ;) In fact, now we're thinking of going back there for their $55++ dim sum buffet........but it'll be a few months before hubby is willing to spend so much again!

Wan Hao Restaurant
Singapore Marriot Hotel
320 Orchard Road
Tel: 6831-4615

How to Get my Free Cone

2009-04-18T23:09:00.002+08:00

Have been thinking since last week how to get to a Ben & Jerry's outlet on a weekday. On 21st April, ie. coming Tuesday, to be exact.

Why that particular day??? Cos it's Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day!!!!!!!

Apparently, on that wonderful day, Ben & Jerry will be giving out free ice cream cones to anyone & everyone!!!!

Unfortunately I would be working that day, so can't possibly bring Sam down to any of the outlets between the fateful hours of 12pm ~ 7pm. :(

Now me hoping very, very hard we can end the training early that day, then perhaps I'll have just enough time to nip over to the Raffles City outlet for the freebie! ;P

An Elaborate Kid's Meal

2009-04-02T18:35:00.004+08:00

Wasn't feeling very hungry for lunch, so decided to bring Sam to the Ichiban Sushi at Jurong Point to try their kids' meal. Ha seen their kids' menu prominantly displayed everytime we walked past, so today got a chance to try it out.

They have 4 sets available, 2 of which featured spaghetti and the other 2, udon. I got the Maki Set($8.90) for Sam, since he's an udon lover, and I thought he'll be able to eat the accompanying sushi, which contained cucumber, crabstick and egg, 2 pieces each.

The udon came in a plastic child's bowl, with small metallic fork & spoon. The other hot foods - 6 pcs of sushi, 2 fried gyoza, 1 fried chicken drumlet and 2 small cheese sausages - were served in an aeroplane-shaped plate.

Sam ended up eating only the udon. For once, he refused his usual favourite cheese sausage, possibly cos it's deep fried and the skin was too crispy for his taste. Surprisingly he enjoyed the Japanese fish cake that came in the udon soup (cos I dislike that).

So on top of the 2 plates of sushi I grabbed for myself from the conveyor belt, I ate all his fried food. Despite failure on previous attempts, I asked him to try the konnyaku jelly, and surprising me again, he not only tried willingly, he loved it and finished the whole cup! And of course his fav Yakult........

We finished our lunch in an hour, which was a relief to me, since the waitress had given us a four-seater by the sushi conveyor, and I was afraid we'll end up occupying the table way after the lunchtime queue established itself. Sam was seated in a brown & beige Rubbermaid baby chair at the end of the table, the corridor being wide enough to accomodate the chair AND have enough space left to walk through comfortably, a not-so-common sight in Singapore's Japanese restaurants.

I ended 'tabao'-ing home the crabstick & egg sushi, which Sam devoured after his nap. The Yan Yan snack is still in my larder. I'm not sure how much mess Sam would create with all the chocolate dipping, and anyway, well it's not exactly a sinful snack, it's not a totally healthy one either.

I dunno why Ichiban Sushi designed their kids' meals to be so Westernised.........I mean, with spaghetti and Fish & chips! And to have both konnyakku jelly AND Yan Yan Snack........I dunno, maybe me too set in my thinking of chawanmushi (steamed egg) for children. Still, the Maki Set is just right for me when Sam wanted udon and I do not, so I shall not complain too much. ;)

Ichiban Sushi
#B1-55, Jurong Point

Furikake Saves the Rice

2009-03-22T18:44:00.004+08:00

Although the mixed mince rice at MOF @ My Izakaya was totally disappointing & Sam didn't like it at all, I still 'tabao' some of the rice (already mixed up with the minced pork & beef) home in my trusty TumbleMates bowl. Wanted to try if the pungent taste of meat would be covered by furikake.

What is furikake (ふりかけ)? Wikipedia defined it as "any dry Japanese condiment meant to be sprinkled on top of rice. It typically consists of a mixture of dried and ground fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, salt, and MSG."

I learnt to eat it when I was staying in Japan, and my ex-Japanese colleagues stationed to work in Singapore & Batam always add a packet on their rice at every lunchtime. Nowadays, most supermarkets in Singapore would sell the condiment, usually sesame or salmon flavoured.

What I like to use for Sam though, is the kids' version. These are usually packaged in cartoon charactors - Hello Kitty, Doraemon, etc - and the serving size for each packet is smaller than the adult version. There would usually be 4~5 different flavours - such as salmon (sake), egg (tamago), vegetable (yasai) - in a single package, each flavours having 4~6 packets. The main difference for the kids' version is it usually has calcium added. So I feel as though Sam would be getting some form of nutrients despite the MSG.

Normally, I add only half a packet of furikake to one whole bowl of Sam's rice when he has a poor appetite. Since Sam likes to eat salty foods, this makes it a convenient condiment to use besides the usual Chinese pork floss.

Anyway, after reheating the mixed mince rice in the microwave, I sprinkled a packet of Tamago Furikake (and later a packet of Sake Furikake) on the rice, and Sam willingly finished the resulting dish. So I didn't waste the rice, and saved myself the process of preparing a meal for Sam. ;)

The Wonderful Line of Shangri-La!

2009-03-22T13:54:00.005+08:00

Warning: This will be a loooooong post with only one photo!

Only read about Shangri-La's "Flash Your Age" promotion in the Straits Times today. We didn't know about it when we made the reservation at The Line on Friday evening, and I was totally confused when the woman answering the call explained the limit's been reached & we won't be able to enjoy the promotion. But hubby wanted to eat BBQ seafood & MIL didn't, so the buffet was the best compromise to celebrate MIL's birthday yesterday night.

On hindsight, we would really have saved a lot off the bill had we been able to take up the promotion - imagine, 65% off the bill simply cos MIL was celebrating the 65th birthday then! But fortunately, got at least 15% discount via the UOB credit card. And got free parking cos we applied - on the spot - for the Singapore Shangri-La Food Circle card (free application, lifetime membership, earn points per $ spent for dining vouchers).

But I'm getting way ahead of my story, and starting to sound like I'm a waitress promoting the hotel. ;P But then, I really enjoyed the meal yesterday night, and even if there was no discount, I thought it was worth every single cent of the S$68++/pax (children half price, ages 6 & below free).

We got there a trifle later than the appointed time of 7pm, and managed to get parking at the basement 2 carpark. Which was lucky, cos hubby's sister's family was late and had to park all the way at the service apartment side at 8pm. Reason for the hordes of cars?? There were no less than 3 wedding dinners at the hotel on Saturday night!

But no worries, there were at least 3 usherers at the main lobby to guide the arriving guests. One of them very nicely led us all the way to the escalator leading down to The Line in the basement. That also happened to be the entrance to the poolside wedding reception of one of the wedding couples (the other 2 weddings held in the hotel's large & smaller ballrooms). A bit unfortunate for the couple, cos it had started to drizzle. But fortunately for us, the restaurant managed to secure an indoor seating. ;)

I always love a restaurant that prepared the baby chair in advance before we arrive at the table, especially when we've made the reservation earlier. So I was very pleased to see the grey Rubbermaid baby high chair at the large round table. Was even happier to see a cute set of plastic utensils waiting - fork, spoon, bowl, plate & cup.

Sam has recently demonstrated his new-found knowledge of asking the waitress for water at restaurants. Not that the poor waitresses usually understand what he meant, of course. But I reiterate Sam's meaning for water (warm, I added), and taught him to thank the serving waitress.

Meanwhile, hubby hurried back with some sushi to feed Sam. Then we can have some time to explore the wide selection of foods available.

And I really mean it when I typed "explore" & "wide". We've visited the place once many years ago before the refurbishment of the restaurant, and while now the place looked more 'hip', the foods were displayed all over the place in separate islands, making it a slight chore to view the entire selection.

And what a selection it was! There was a noodle bar (wanton mee, mee rebus, laksa, etc), an Indian selection (fresh naans with various curries, tikka grilling behind), a satay corner, a small salad bar & tapas corner, a Japanese selection (cha soba, selection of sushi & fresh sashimi - really fresh, they only slice the fish upon order), a crepe area, a fresh pasta corner, a steaming dim sum stove, a selection of Western & Chinese dishes, an ice-cream bar with plenty of toppings, and my favourite: the dessert & fruit bar with chocolate fondue!!! And every Singaporean's delight: the seafood counter with fresh oysters, prawns & crabs, eaten as displayed or can be BBQed upon request!

But the new layout meant some of the foods are actually not displayed prominantly on the serving plates. The glass walls of the various islands are really meant to display some of the food selections too. Hubby found the selection of cheeses at the tapas counter & we had some stinky zangy blue cheese. Sister-in-law found the roast chicken rice with char siew for my nephew. Hubby's sister went 3 rounds before she found the roast beef I recommended her.

Oh, the roast beef was the best I've ever eaten!!!!! This is the 1st time I've eaten medium-rare roast beef that sent me back for a 2nd serving! Even though the meat wasn't fully cooked it was still tender & flavourful. They must have used some of the best beef to make the dish. Only very good beef would taste good without cooking: the best beef I've eaten raw was used to make yuke, a kind of sliced raw beef salad with special sauce mixed with raw egg, when I was in Japan, and it was wonderfully tender! It's actually a Korean dish, I'm told, but it was heavenly with the Matsusaka beef!

Where was I? Oh yes, the roast beef in The Line. Hubby's sister didn't want to eat the beef thick & medium-rare like me (who just took whatever that was served), so she asked the serving chef to slice very thinly & cook the beef till it's nearly well-done. And it was still good!!!!

The other dishes that sent me back for seconds included chicken with exotic sauce and surprisingly, satay! I hadn't meant to eat a 'cheap' food at such a pricey buffet (typical Singaporean thinking, sorry!), but the lamb satay was just sitting there when I went past & everyone else was queuing for the chicken satay, so I just grabbed the 2 sticks back to try. Jackpot! The lamb was so tender & the flavouring so well-done (delicately & obviously satay but not overpowering the meat), I went back for the chicken & beef satay after trying the lamb version!

Unfortunately, I stuffed myself too full to eat much of my favourite desserts. :( And I was really stuffing myself when it came to dessert time! The chocolate mousse was good, not too sweet yet chocolatey bitter. The green tea strawberry cake was light, MIL even ate all the cream. The berry cheesecake was light too, not too creamy or cheesey. I didn't manage to get a slice of the durian cake, but on repeated visits managed to lay my hands on several macarons, which hubby found too sweet, but I loved, and surprisely, Sam loved it too! The petite pastry was just nice in his small hands, and he ate 2 of them easily.

It wasn't PERFECT, of course. I definitely didn't quite enjoy the lighting above our table: dim orange. Makes me feel as though I was eating in the dark. I appreciate mood lighting, but I do like to see what I'm eating. Sometimes I wonder if restaurants delibrately darken the lighting at tables so as to hide the non-freshness of the food served. ;P

But then, there was nothing to hide at The Line. The food was good. Very good!!! Though there were many local delights, the quality of food makes the high price of the buffet worth it. Oh, not ALL the dishes were perfect, of course. FIL said the laksa was too salty. The tom yam soup was too spicy. The cream of asparagus was nothing to rave about. But considering the spread, there were many, many, many more hits than misses.

Sam was quite well behaved yesterday. He loved the 2 different varieties of breadsticks from the small bread counter - ate 3 in total. The strawberry ice cream was a let down though, a trifle too strawberry sour for our tastes. Sam loved the wanton mee though. He's learning to eat noodles with his own fork, ate 1/3 bowl himself (we had to cut the noodles up slightly of course).

With the wonderful service & food, we ended the meal with a good strong cup of aromatic coffee (for hubby) & tea (for me), all the more lovely cos it was complimentary. ;)

The Line, Shangri-La hotel
22 Orange Grove Rd
Tel: 6213 4275
Dinner: 6.30pm - 10.30pm (weekends & holidays from 6pm)

Disappointing Rice Box in My Izakaya

2009-03-22T13:50:00.004+08:00

Haven't blogged here for a long time, partly cos hadn't been eating at any new interesting places, partly cos been eating in a rush & kept forgetting to take photos of the food, partly cos was plain lazy! ;P

But yesterday visited one of my fav Japanese restaurants, MOF @ My Izakaya. Previously, had only been to their Bugis Junction outlet, and I had been pleasantly surprised to find they've opened another at Suntec City's Fountain Terrance. We sat near the entrance, and Sam was entertained by the view of the giant 'waterfall' from his white Ikea high chair.

Sam had just eaten 1/4 of a donut (Apple Cinnamon from Donut Factory near Carrefour on level 1) half an hour earlier. So I didn't order his usual from the kid's menu (Beary Set A or B, served in a cute bear shaped bento box). Instead, I ordered a Mixed Mince Rice ($5.20) for him, thinking it would be easy to 'tabao' any remaining portions Sam couldn't finish for later in the afternoon.

Well, though my Ebi Tenzaru Soba set ($21.80 for cold soba, 5 tempura prawns, pickles, soup & coffee/tea) was the usual standard, I was highly disappointed with the mixed mince rice. Dunno if the strong pungent taste came from the minced pork or beef. Either way, the meat wasn't well flavoured enough to overcome the pungent meat, and Sam didn't eat of the rice from his plastic Ikea utensils (fork, bowl & spoon).

I ended up feeding him my zaru soba & tempura prawns. And to relieve the disappointment, ordered a dessert: Sesame Zenzai with almonds ($4.70), topping up $1 for kanten jelly, which Sam liked to eat.

Well, portion-wise, the zenzai didn't disappoint: it was huge, much larger than I expected! Taste-wise it was satisfying too. The Japanese red bean paste was sweet (too sweet for hubby, but right for me), and it went very well with the black sesame ice cream, which was very rich, like eating frozen sesame paste. The Japanese rice dumplings were chewy, and the almond flakes - served in a separate bowl - crunchy. I just wished I could finish the dish!!!

Remembered my MOF card, so could get the 15% discount. Think by now I've earned back the $10 application fee for the card.

Oh, by the way, MOF = Ministry of Food.

MOF @ My Izakaya, Suntec City branch
3 Temasek Boulevard #B1-40
Tel : 6338 5523

Balls Galore at Thai Express

2009-02-17T23:36:00.003+08:00

Haven't dined out alone with Sam for quite a while, not since he's started playgroup & I started my part-time job. So when I'm supposed to bring Sam to my mum's place for his overdued haircut after 'school', thought will be nice to eat at one of our new fav: Thai Express at the Jurong Point extension.

Sam quickly settled in his wooden low-back baby chair & clamoured for his toy cars. I made my usual order of chicken tang hoon ball soup ($6.90 for a bowl of 3 pcs) for Sam, who can usually finish at least 1 of the large meatballs mixed with vermicelli.

I like to order this dish for Sam, partly cos it's one of those foods Sam can easily feed himself with a fork, provided I cut up the meatball for him in advance of course. He can get both his proteins (chicken) and his carbohydrates (vermicelli) in a single bite! And it being a soupy dish, it's a much healthier alternative to other child-friendly foods, which are mostly deep fried.

But of course, being Sam, he refused to self-feed today. So I ended up having to feed him from his plastic rice bowl (standard Thai Express type) using the adult-sized fork. That's about the only un-child-friendly thing about this chain: they don't provide kid-size cutlery. Fortunately all their plates & bowls are plastic............

Decided to try a new dish today, instead of the usual prawn toast (minced prawns & chicken on bread, deep fried). The prawn balls ($6.90 for a plate of 5) were described on the menu as "crispy & chewy, kids love it!". Well, I loved it myself too, they were great with the accompanying sweet & sour chilli sauce.

Sam seemed to be doing fine with the chicken tang hoon balls, so I ate 4 of the prawn balls, leaving only 1 for him. And as usual, it would turn out Sam loved the prawn ball with the 1/3 piece of whole prawn inside, & clamoured for more. Had to pacify him with promises of future visits......

Also tried a new drink today, the Sour Plum drink ($5.50). Sam only managed 2 sips. Turns out the drink is slightly fizzy (that's fine by me), has small pieces of plum fruit in it (ok also), and has several calamasi seeds mixed in - not ok! Sam got a seed through the straw on his 2nd sip. Luckily for me (cos I passed it to him to drink before trying it myself) Sam didn't choke on the small seed & was old enough to spit it out. Definitely not a drink for young children!!!!

I ended up finishing the refreshing drink myself, uncovering more calamasi seeds in the process. Sam was, fortunately, contented with the free cold drinking water offered.

It's always nice to eat before the lunch crowd arrives, the service is so much better. The waiter & waitress today were very nice - picking up his toy cars when they crashed to the floor, offering a straw for his cold water, providing more serviettes without me asking. If only the bill would arrive more promptly...........the cashiers must be unused to customers signing up for Thai Express's own membership card, they took so long to process the previous customer's bill & application!!!!

Oh, DBS/POSB credit card holders get a 10% discount on bills exceeding $30. Well, me & Sam didn't eat that much today. ;)

Thai Express (Jurong Point)
#B1-65/66/67 Jurong Point
Tel: 68610167