J Pot Steamboat @ Vivocity

It was a rainy afternoon and I had been craving steamboat all week. YS kindly acceded to my request to come here for lunch even though she had already been here during the week.


The wide assortment of condiments that you get to pick from.



The seafood set for 2 was abundant, and wayy more food than we could finish.


The clams and prawns were very fresh! And not sandy!


I picked the tom yam soup base. It was great, exactly how I wanted it. YS had the imperial broth.


I am most pleased with my 2 unique concoctions. Everything tasted great with them. On the left: spring onion, chili padi, minced raw garlic in soya sauce and on the right: sacha sauce with fried garlic and chili oil.

thanks for lunch YS!

One on the Bund @ Fullerton Bay Hotel

We decided to try somewhere new for CNY. And headed to One on the Bund.

Wow this place has really changed from a dingy seedy harbour where people boarded dingy seedy cruise ships to a spanking shiny hotel.

The restaurant was right in the middle of the lobby, where the mama teh tarik shops used to be.

We ordered some dimsum and their signature grilled lamb.


It was crispy, and light, abit like the mock duck made of beancurd skin. But, it still smelled very strongly of lamb, and it didnt really appeal to me.


Scallop dumplings, were not bad.


The chicken feet were also not bad.


The prawn dumplings were juicy and tasty.


The killer was this plate of spring onion noodles with nothing else except 3 stalks of spring onion. Guess how much this cost? $25. Was it because of the presentation? or was there some abalone essence that dressed the noodles?

Overpriced. Very overpriced. Quality of food was average.

Happy Lunar New Year of the Metal Rabbit!!!

So the kids take photos with Rabbits, for the year of the Rabbit, geddit?


Sweetie with a Rabbit again.

Cutie with a Rabbit again.

I think they both enjoyed CNY!

Recent Eats

El Cerdo, 43 Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL




DH and I went to KL for a day trip to run some errands... and we had lunch at El Cerdo, recommended by my good friends (thanks YS and Ben!).

It is a spanish restaurant specialising in iberico jamon (ham of spanish black pig which is fed only acorns). So we went the whole hog, and had jamon, black pork ribs and black pork belly! DH is especially tickled that we went to a Muslim country and had a porky lunch.



Our delicious starter of iberico jamon and serrano jamon (black pig and white pig respectively). Both had a very chewy texture, quite salty but definitely tasty. It was a burst of flavour with every bite.


They recommended the black pork belly. It was of course delicious, but you know what, I liked the slices of chorizo sausages that it was served with even more!


The best ever pork ribs. They were meaty and tasty and tender.



We also had a glass of sangria each. Whee. It was very festive and fruity.

Dinner at Home

Por Por steamed some crabs for dinner that day, and they were delicious. Cutie had a fun time playing with the live crabs in the kitchen. He was quite sorry that we ate them.


Simply steamed, and eaten with a dip of vinegar and sliced ginger, these were amazing. They were meaty and full of orangey roe.


Beef stew. It was flavourful and fragrant.

Empress Jade, Jewel Box, Mount Faber

Farewell dinner for someone in the office. This was an excellent choice for lunch, and quite interesting since we took the cable car over.


starter of prawn cocktail. Interestingly paired with a sliced grape. Sweet and savoury.


Pork liver and egg white soup. Funny choice, since offal would not be something that many people would easily take. Quite a Chinese thing, maybe, as it is meant to be nourishing. I thought it smelt a little strong, since I dont often take pork nowadays. Still it was well done, since the liver was tender, and not overcooked, something which is easy to do for pork liver.


steamed whole pomfret, delicious and yummy. A crowd favourite.



Crispy duck. I think this was a nice dish, and not too common. The skin was crispy and light, and not oily.

There was a noodle dish that I forgot to take a photo of.


My almond cream desssert. I love almond cream, I think its nice and not too sweet and I also hear its good for the complexion. It's an acquired taste though, because i know it can smell unbearably like mothballs for some. I wonder how i learnt to take it, since my family doesnt really take it.

Dian Xiao Er @ Vivocity

Went for lunch with DB at Vivocity.

I like lunching with him... he is fun to talk to.. And he isnt so self absorbed like other youngsters who only talk about themselves or their own angsty issues... He can discuss current affairs, he has intelligent views, and he is concerned enough to ask about me and the kids.

We went ala carte... and chose our faves.


The fried rice (SGD9) here is good. Each grain of rice is tasty and redolent with the fragrance of wok hei. I also like their fried vermicelli.. also has the same wok hei which comes from an experienced hand.




The crocodile soup with almonds (SGD6) used to be more expensive, now all the soups are 6. This was tasty and nice. DM says its too heaty though, should have avoided in these recent times of extreme hot weather.


A close up of the soup. We discovered this wormy things... and were told that these were cordyceps! Sure or not? I know that cordyceps are super expensive! They were crunchy but tasteless. Certainly no herbal taste. The meat tasted alright, not too tough, but certainly not tender either. DB says it tastes like pork.



The signature herbal roast duck - everyone loves it. It is fragrant and tender and delicious.


I can pick up peanuts with my chopsticks! IeatIshootIpost was recently blogging about the right way to hold chopsticks... how do I fare eh?


And, the main reason why I come here. The power chili sauce. Goes well with everything and really has the spicy kick.


Drinks from Queen and Mangosteen. Refreshing. I really needed a break, it has been a crazy week.


Best chocolate ice cream, cutest spoon and takeaway box.


Retail therapy - as I said, it was a crazy week. So, bought clothes for cutie from Club Marc - they are really expensive in the States (just try buying online!) but in its vivo outlet, it seems that they are having perpetual closing down sales.


Bought myself a pretty watch too.

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.