Brotzeit, #01-?? Vivocity and Tung Lok Classics, Chinese Swimming Club at Amber Road

Went to Brotzeit for lunch today. It a German pub, run by Paulaner Brauhaus I believe. They do seem to have a wide array of drinks. Foodwise, it seemed pretty limited. There weren't many things that tempted me on the menu. Eventually we shared a sausage platter (SGD32) and ordered a potato salad (SGD5.80). He had a original lager (SGD10.90) and I had a Mango Wiessbier (a beer mixer of white beer and mango juice, SGD8.90). I enjoyed our lunch very much..


It was enjoyable conversation, with refreshing insights. He is very mature, very smart... yet also very nice and warm. He looks cool, but now I see that he actually has very grounded and traditional values. He was trying to convince me of the sanctity of marriage. He actually firmly believes in the doctrine of marriage... and the erosion of family values is a phenomenon that worries him. How quaint, and sweet.


Tung Lok Signatures



We went to Tung Lok Classics at Chinese Swimming Club for dinner over the weekend. The restaurant was well reviewed in the local papers in the past week, resulting obviously in a large crowd of people descending on the place. It wasn't equipped to take the crowd, and there was no sitting area for a comfortable wait.

To appease us, they sent a complimentary juice desssert, served in an extravagant display of shaved ice.


Cutie liked the juice, I think he had 2!

No matter. The kids had fun though.


Cutie and Daddy.


Me and Sweetie.


Cutie doing his own thing.


Sweetie doing her own thing.


Bought a new camera - a Canon Ixus. Love the functions, and the various cool and nifty things like automatic macros function, nice sleek design etc.


Took this photo in the car, and see how well it turned out!

Cutie

Generally, he has been a good boy, he is learning to accept criticism, and we are learning to do it in a more gentle manner. He can be quite embarrassed if we scold him in public or in front of others. If we are insensitive to his feelings, he will manifest his feelings of hurt pride and/or embarrassment by talking louder, in this pseudo macho bravado - "If Daddy scolds me again, I will cut him with the scissors! Lalala..." He says it loud enough for the people around to hear... I think it's so that he can manage his fragile male ego from being told off. Is this a guy thing?


Due to the extreme heat conditions here in Sunny Singapore, we have been eating ice cream a lot. Here he is, eating vanilla ice cream. His favourite flavours are green tea and vanilla.



Cutie also copes with the heat by taking frequent baths. He loves to have lots of bubbles in the tub, and if I take away the bathsoap, he will use shampoo, handsoap and anything else that is available. SIGH. How to scold him, when he is so delighted?

Sweetie

Our little princess. Wearing a tiara.


Sweetie is very good at posing for the camera... it's an instinctive girly thing maybe... she will turn to the camera and smile!

Sweetie is 10 months now. Very sweet and observant and friendly.

You know, I am very proud of my 2 little ones, they are growing rapidly! I find such joy in playing with them, reading to them, going for walks or just watching them.


I find that Cutie is a very good big brother, albeit a little rough from time to time... He takes time to play with Sweetie, does silly things to entertain her and make her laugh... Here is the video evidence of the above! I wasn't sure if my approach was right... you know, at first, when I decided to spend more time with Cutie after Sweetie arrived. Some experienced moms, and most books, suggested that it was important to spend more time with the elder sibling, because the elder sibling would be very aware of the new addition, and would be particularly sensitive to the intrusion and/or change. The baby would however be blissfully oblivious. So I adhered to this rule... resulting in me spending more time with Cutie than Sweetie.

The good thing of course, is that Cutie never felt threatened or abandoned. So he loves Sweetie and is always sharing things with her and playing with her. Nevertheless, I worried about this approach, I obssessed that Sweetie might not be close to me. The fears were of course unfounded. Sweetie still prefers me over any other caregiver. But now that she is older, she is more vocal in her demands for my attention as well. Fortunately, now that we are all pretty settled into the new family structure, the fact that I am now paying more attention to Sweetie does not change Cutie's attitude towards her. He is still the caring and loving big brother. I hope the way I dealt with this situation had helped, in a way. I think different kids respond differently so I dont know if my approach would be appropriate for everyone, but I think it did work well for me.

Werner's Oven @ Upper East Coast Road

Werner's Oven has been around for quite a while. It serves hearty German fare, in a little cosy setting, without any frills or stuffy waiters. Recently they refurbished the place, so it's more spacious and airy. They also have their own parking space in front of the eatery, so it's quite convenient.

This is the pan-fried camembert with cranberry sauce (SGD8) . Crispy crust of breadcrumbs and all melty on the inside, it was quite a delight to eat. The cranberry sauce was slightly tart, which provided a good accompaniment to the cheese.


DH's main of farmer sausage with saurkraut and potato salad (SGD18.50). I think it has lost a bit of its edge, sadly. The sausage was not as spicy or snappy as it used to be which probably means more filler ingredients like flour? The potato salad used to be better too, with hard boiled eggs, potato and green apple. They omitted the eggs here. Wonder why, eggs aren't expensive.

My main of pork knuckle with saurkraut and mashed potato (SGD19.50), however, was as good as ever. The large and meaty chunk of knuckle was crispy all over, not a bit too hard or too charred. PERFECT. There were lots of gelatinous bits between the skin and meat, providing me with lots of chewing pleasure (stop saying it's fat ok, it's cartilage!). The saurkraut was just right, although I found quite a lot of bacon bits in it, rendering it as unhealthy as my pork knuckle. The mashed potato was smooth and creamy, thereby evidencing the addition of a healthy amount of cream and butter.

NOT the healthiest of meals, I would admit.

Brotzeit German Brewery and Restaurant @ Vivocity

This place offers a number German beers and drinks like the apple juice with sparking water which I had, and a very wide selection of traditional German food.

This is their sausage platter, meant for 2 to share, but I think it wouldn't have been enough for even me alone. It was a nice selection of sausages, some were more meaty than others. Some were spicy and some were a bit soft. The smaller sausages were better, they had a spicier kick and taste and the casing had a more snappy bite.

This was a serving of the goose liver sausages, served with sour cream, dill and some berry compote. There were also potatoes and fried onions on top. It was not bad, I could taste the liver, but it was all mushed up and minced (as sausages are) so I don't think I like it that much. I like my foie gras as whole pieces, not pate-like.

Dessert of rum and raisin pancakes. they were very nice, not overly sweet, and it had a nice touch of creaminess to it. I would have liked a sprinkling of cinnamon to make it more fragrant though.

This is the bavarian chocolate creme with strawberries and fresh cream.

I'd say that the food here is very beautifully presented, which one wouldn't expect in a German bar. The quality of food is above average, as some of the sausages were not that great. However, I have not tried their other signature dishes like the pork knuckle (not on the menu but it is a special order item, and is always on their blackboard list of special items).