7ate9 @ Esplanade Mall #01-36

Finally, after several rounds of rescheduling, the girls managed to meet up for lunch! The last time we met was the French Kitchen lunch that PC hosted, which was in February!

I miss PC so very much, ever since she left for greener pastures, but I am happy that she is happy.

Anyway I am glad we 3 girls had lunch again together. PL had good news to share and I was so happy for her too. I hosted lunch this time and we went to 7ate9, where they are having a lunch unlimited promotion for SGD37++ (including free flow juices, soft drinks, coffee and tea). It was truly an enjoyable lunch, girl talk and great food.

The food is served tapas-style, and you can ask for repeats of anything that you particularly enjoyed.

I found the food light and nice, presentation was interesting and service was warm and polite. I had read some bad reviews online about the unaccommodating service, about taking photos etc. However, when I was there, I noticed the staff didn't prohibit photos, and they even helped to arrange the plates nicely if you want to take a photo.

Some of our favourites are below:



This was the first dish to arrive - tomato tart. It was served on a crisp parmesan cheese biscuit, held together by a white creamy cheese and topped with arugula leaves. Sinful, I bet, but utterly delicious. We asked for a repeat of this one!


This was a mousse of sorts, topped with caviar. Although it looked rich, it actually tasted quite light and healthy. Not bad but not superb.


This was tuna topped with sea urchin mousse (if I recall correctly). It was alright. I found the fish a little chewy, but it was nevertheless very fresh.


This was a visually stunning dish! We girls oohed and ahhed when it arrived. It was prawn and squid balls I think, served with a dip of wasabi mayo? It looked amazing, and tasted equally amazing. Can't go wrong with well-fried seafood balls, I imagine. These were light and crisp and fun to eat.


Beef on a hot stone. I think it was meant to be eaten slightly raw, because the stone wasn't really hot enough to cook the think slices of beef. It was an interesting concept though. We all enjoyed this.


This is more well cooked beef, served on a plate. It was a little chewy, but otherwise enjoyable. The tart and refreshing cooked apple on the side was fantastic though!


Ahh.. the well-reviewed risotto. I was told that the risotto here is quite a highlight. And it was good. This was the truffle risotto. Wow. It was really fantastically fragrant, with sliced truffle and mashed black truffle. We had a repeat order of this.


This was the an interesting satay skewer of macaron, raspberry jelly and cake. pretty good. I recall the jelly being surprisingly tart, in a good way.


The chocolate cake was well-received, which girl doesnt like chocolate?

We all agreed that this was the best dessert of all - banana mousse. Not too sweet, very fragrant and light and smooth.

Next one is on PL, she's going to take us to the White Rabbit!

McDonalds @ Kallang, Sakuraya @ South Bouna Vista Shopping Centre

Birthday Party for Lea at McD's
Lea is 6! She is our neighbour's youngest daughter, and she has 2 sisters, Lyn (aged 10) and Liz (aged 7). They are all lovely polite and well-mannered girls, who are kind and generous. I really adore them.

Lea is, I think, Cutie's first ever girlfriend. He likes her a lot and always enjoys going to her house. When he was younger, he would stand at the window and call out to her: "Lea, Lea, are you at home?"

They kindly invited Cutie to Lea's birthday Party at Kallang McDonalds! And of course Cutie had a great time.


Birthday cake was lovely. He sure enjoyed the cake, the food and the games.


He of course had to take a photo with his first girlfriend.


Yep, if Cutie were a little bit taller, they would have made a great couple! Haha.


Him and the other girls at the party.


Sakuraya Japanese Fish Market
I have never even heard of this place, but decided to check it out after a colleague mentioned that this was a pretty good place for cheap sashimi. Then I realised it sort of a well-kept secret, because this place filled up quite quickly on a weekday afternoon. This is a rather deserted location, near pasir panjang village (towards the haw par villa end).


Our selection of sashimi (which you choose from a counter and then they slice up and serve to you). Wow, I think we really ate a whole week's quota of sashimi. The nicest was the swordfish. It was firm and fresh. The salmon was also good, sweet, fresh and oily in a good way. The scallop was huge huh.. very fresh also.. it was sweet and yums.


We ordered uni sushi for $8 for 2. It would have cost easily $7 each at other places. The toro was $14 for 2, but we didn't go for that.


This grilled spicy salmon belly was SGD6. It was recommended dish on a website, but i found it a little dry.


We all ordered our own staple, and I had this. It was quite nice, but the rice was a little under-par. Not sweet, not sticky, not really a good accompaniment to the fresh salmon roe.

Verdict: come here for fresh and cheap sashimi, but that's about it.

Mothers Day Pressies
MOTHERS' DAY!! First time Cutie is really celebrating it with me. Usually Cutie's dad would buy a gift or plan something on behalf of Cutie. Cutie would be oblivious. Not this year though, because Cutie's dad is busy with something until the end of this month. And because, Cutie now 3 years old! He is very adept at art and craft and therefore has made the following pressies for me. I am thrilled to bits!



Bookmarks that he made for me at Por Por's house. One says "Mummy I love you" and the other says "Happy Mothers' Day!". It has stickers of a bus and a car and he says that he wants to buy them for me when he grows up.


These paper flowers in a yakult bottle, he made at school for me. Aren't they lovely? Beats any flower you get at the florist, any day. Exclusively hand-made by Cutie, and one of a kind.


On the left, bookmark with hearts made with Chinese teacher in school. On the right, a red styrofoam heart that Cutie made at Sunday school.


Cutie also made konnyaku jelly with mango and kiwi. Mine was a heart-shaped one. He proudly presents it to me on Friday. I praised him and told him to teach me how to make jelly next time... he says: "cannot, because must cut fruits with a knife, and I am afraid you will cut your hand. Only I can cut fruits with a knife because I am very careful."

One thing I am very grateful to Por Por is, she really is a hands-on grandma who allows Cutie to explore and try things under her careful supervision. She allows Cutie to explore, and do things like cut, and bake, but under her watchful eye so that he doesnt get hurt. Cutie actually enjoys the freedom, and he learns so well through this hands-on experience.


Doing a taste-test before giving it to me. -_-"


Present from sweet DS, a Mommies' Calendar with inspiring tales and verses to keep me grounded and grateful for life's blessings. Thanks DS!


So, to sum up, I really really love being a mom. Especially to these 2 darlings - Cutie and Sweetie.

:)

Hilarious

Someone sent me this.

WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CHECK YOUR CHILD'S HOMEWORK


===================


Here’s the note the teacher received the next day.

Dear Mrs. J,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.

I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit.

I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it.

Her picture doesn’t show me dancing around a pole.

It’s supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.

From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,
Mrs. S