Lunch @ the Tanglin Club

I'm so lucky! PC decided to take us girls to lunch at her club today, the Tanglin Club. It's a very exclusive club and membership is non-transferrable!



This restaurant that PC brought us to, it's very proper and british. You can't use your handphones here, and there is a dress code (no slippers, shorts, sports attire, jeans) and children under 16 cannot enter.



This is a poor shot, but it was the star of our lunch. It was an excellent ceasar salad. Just the right amount of dressing, tasty and crispy.

We ordered 3 soups to share - mulligatawny, french onion and lentils. The muligatawny is, as I understand, an Anglo-Indian soup so it tastes quite asian, with some beans and some Indian spices. The lentils was ok, we thought it would be creamy but it was actually a clear soup.

My choice of French Onion was rich and beefy. The cheesy toast on top was lovely.

It was Signature laksa day (friday), and lots of patrons ordered it, so I went for it as well. It was a very large portion, and someone with a less healthy appetite would surely have surrendered before finishing the bowl. I like the quai;s' eggs in it. It was very lemak (rich with coconut milk), but didn't taste like the Katong laksa type. It tastes more... homemade?

PL's fried Hokkien mee, also touted as a hot favourite here. It was also a large portion and she couldn't finish it.

PC had a very very English meal of Calf's liver with bacon. the bacon was nice and crispy. The liver was red and a little too bloody for me, but for PC it was just right.



Thanks PC, I really enjoyed our girls' lunch!

Prive @ Keppel Bay Drive

DH was able to have brunch with me cos he was on leave... I was at work, but stepped out for an early lunch break...

Where should we go?

Vivocity is too boring... so I thought of Prive, that new restaurant on its own private island, near the Carribean. From my office, I can see it, and always wondered if it was nice. It was a lovely drive, down Keppel Bay Drive, which leads to the restaurant. There is Prive Bakery and and Cafe, Prive Restaurant and Prive Gastrobar (which serves drinks).

We went to the Bakery & Cafe, as the other 2 only opened after 12. They had cakes in the chiller (some very interesting ones, like Peanut Butter Brownie...), pastries, breads and muffins...

There were some salads, 2 soups, sandwiches and quiches.


DH ordered the smoked salmon and onion quiche (SGD12), above. The salad was dressed in balsamic vinegar and quite nice and refreshing. The quiche was toasty hot and fantastic. It was not too eggy and the crust was crisp and just nice (I dont like quiches to come in a thick hard crust!). The smoked salmon was not dry or salty and had a delicate bite. All in all, I really liked it.

Here is a close up of that delectable quiche.

A view of the harbour....

And the fountain in the driveway...

We'd like to come back for lunch (SGD32+++ for 2 courses, SGD38 for 3 courses, gourmet lunch at SGD65+++) sometime... it really looks quite nice.

:)

Lunch at Culina, Dempsy and Dinner at Home

This weekend, we went to Dempsey Hill for lunch because we promised Cutie that we'd bring him to play balls at Go Go Bambini's (SGD6, unlimited play for kids aged under 2, SGD16, 2 hours for kids aged over 2). He had been looking forward to it all week. We went there just as they were closing up last week, and his disappointment was palpable!

Lunch at Culina Dempsey Hill

So we settled Cutie in the ballpark / playground and ended up at Culina, Grocers and Cafe which was just next door. They sell all sorts of very high-end stuff, which one doesn't normally get at Cold Storage of Jason's.

DH and I shared the antipasto platter (SGD15).

From left: marinated olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted artichokes and tomatoes, smoked eel.

In order of preference, go from right to left. I liked the smoked eel best. It had a nice smokey flavour and was not too salty. Very nice. It also had an interesting chewy, yet slightly yielding texture. The other appetisers were fine but not that interesting. The sun-dried tomatoes were sweet, while I was expecting sour / tart. The roasted artichokes and tomatoes were a good balance of mildly sour and sweet. The marinated olives were way too salty. We ordered a basket of ciabatta cos the olives was too salty to eat on its own.

DH ordered the grilled venison (SGD3o), a daily special. The daily specials are written an a blackboard next to the bar. It was quite substantial, but the venison tasted distinctly sour. Was it cos of the marinade or was it bad? We couldn't be sure if meat actually turned sour when it went bad so we didnt send it back. Anyway, by the time I tasted it and pronounced it sour, DH had only 2 slices left on the plate.

I ordered the duck confit (SGD24), on the usual menu. It was also a substantial portion. The meat was a tad salty, and could have been a little more moist. But the skin was very nice and crispy.

We then ordered a brownie to share (SGD12). Originally I didnt intend to put up a photo of it cos it turned out all blurry. I don't know why some of my photos turn out like that these days, with a swirly imprint. But, here it is anyway. Maybe some of you can tell me why this photo turned out like this.

DH ordered a decaf cappucinno (SGD7) that came with a cute little heart.

We had to wait quite a bit for our food to arrive, from starters to bread to mains and the coffee arrived at least 15 min after our dessert arrived (which DH doesn't like cos he enjoys his dessert with his coffee).

The fastest thing to arrive at our table that day was the bill (SGD121) -_-".

Cutie monkeying around at the ball park / playground. He is getting too adorable.

We did some shopping at Culina, it really did have lots of interesting things like foie gras, and parma ham and kobe beef (not wagyu mind you, marbling grade 8). Since they were all favourites of DH, we got some to cook for dinner that night.

Above, is the kobe beef (shrinkwrapped in portions of between 200 g to 300 g), at a whopping SGD230 per kg.

Dinner at Home

This was our dinner menu:

1. cold starter - parma ham with musk melon and wild arugula (rocket leaves)

2. warm starter - seared foie gras with caramelised apple

3. main - kobe ribeye, roasted baby potatoes, mesclun salad

4. no space for dessert - literally.

Preparations for Dinner

Foie Gras

I had to put flour on the foie gras so that it would fry better, and not disintegrate upon contact with the pan.

Kobe beef

This was the first time I was handling something so expensive, I was really worried. On this plate is SGD113. I marinated the beef in a red wine and garlic marinade. On hindsight, I should used salt and pepper so that we could taste the beefy flavour? Ribeye has a ball of fat in the centre. Making this kobe ribeye a double whammy in terms of being a contributing factor to coronary disease.

I scrubbed and boiled the baby potatoes, then seasoned with salt and pepper and put them in the oven to roast.

I sliced 1 green apple very thinly and added sugar and cooked over slow heat. I should have sliced them less thinly so that there was some bite. It was a little mushy.

The foie gras really oozes a lot of oil... just look at this!



I cooked the foie gras just before serving, so, DH who had just gobbled up his parma ham starter, had time to take this pic.
DINNER!


Cold Starter: Parma ham with musk melon and wild aragula

Really easy to assemble. I put this in the fridge to chill before dinner was served. The parma ham, shaved thinly, went really well with the musk melon which was very sweet. I am glad I decided to go for the expensive musk melon instead of rock melon or honeydew. It was well worth it because the sweetness of the melon complemented the parma ham perfectly. I tossed the aragula leaves in balsamic vinaigrette. Nice.

Cost: SGD14.50 for 2: parma ham - SGD8.50 (100 g), musk melon - SGD5.95 (1 fruit), aragula and vinaigrette (negligible).

Warm Starter - Seared Foie Gras with Caramelised Apple

I felt that there was no point in cooking the foie gras early and leaving it to cool, especially since it cooked very quickly so I only seared these just before serving. I did it in 3 batches.

I am glad I put flour on the foie gras, it made the foie gras crispy on the outside and oozingly melt in the mouth on the inside.

First batch was good, but not salty cos i forgot to sprinkle salt.

2nd batch was great, but could be a tad saltier.

Third batch - above - was fantastic. Just the right amount of salt, a crispy crust and a tender melting interior. Paired with sweet caramelised apple, this was fantastic!

Cost: SGD40.60 for 2: Foie Gras - SGD40 (actually, half a frozen goose liver, good for 8 servings), Green Apple - 60 cents.

Main - Kobe Ribeye with Roasted Baby Potatoes and Mesclun Salad

This is DH's ribeye - 260 g.

This is mine - a more manageable 221 g.

They were fantastic. Tender, melt in the mouth. Simply divine. The potatoes were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, with just the right amount of salt and pepper.

Cost: SGD113 for 2 - Kobe Ribeye (SGD59 and SGD52), potatoes and mesclun negligible.

I am so proud of myself!

So there you are, above is the most expensive home-cooked meal I have ever had!

Prime Society @ Dempsey Road

DS and DBiL's Wedding

Cutie was a page boy for his Yee Yee's wedding.

He was tasked to carry the wedding bears up the aisle.

Doesn't he look handsome in his suit?

He did his job so well! He ran into the auditorium, fearless and brave... even though the church auditorium was filled to the brim with unfamiliar faces.

Then he strolled down the aisle with ease. Isn't he just the cutest?

Wedding Dinner

The place was beautifully decorated and the food was excellent. DS' and DBiL's thank you speech was prepared with much thought and effort, and was so touching that everyone at my table was a little teary.

Cutie had lots of fun that evening. He ran up and down the aisle, danced on the stage, and generally enjoyed himself a lot.

Prime Society @ Dempsey Road

DS and DBiL didn't just prepare a touching thank you speech. They prepared gifts for everyone in the family, including DH and I. One of the vouchers that they gave us was for Prime Society (10 Dempsey Road #01-20 Singapore 247700, tel 6474 7427), a place that specialises in meat.

They take their meat very seriously here. The cutlery was in an envelope called the "Inauguration Kit". The placemat featured a picture of a cow with all the edible parts labelled.

My steak sarnie (SGD20) from the brunch menu was excellent. The beef was tender and sliced nicely. (They did forget to put the camembert cheese, but all was forgiven when I asked and they brought the missing slices to my table). And the fries, the fries was magnifique! Crispy and hot and salted just right. They were perfect with tomato ketchup (although they also provided a lime mayo dip).


DH's ribeye (SGD34) was from the Christmas menu, and it was very substantial. The baby potatoes were just right, crispy skin, tender potato.

Close up of the hunk of meat. I think it is seared not grilled, which to me makes it a little oilier?

We also ordered a salt and pepper calamari starter (SGD16) with lime mayo. It was nice but a very small serving for that price.

Ben and Jerry's @ Dempsey Road

We then brought Cutie to Go Go Bambini's where he could play in this 3 storey play gym with a ball pit. He had lots of fun... We didn't stay long, just half an hour. He liked it so much he kept asking to go back.


We went next door to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream. DH and I shared a waffle with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and ice cream (SGD9.50).

Cutie was more interested in driving the Ben and Jerry's ice cream van outside.

See how pleased he looks!

XMAS DINNER AT TUNG LOK SEAFOOD GALLERY AT EAST COAST

We brought DH's mom to dinner at this restaurant. Lots of nice food. But no pics cos I was too busy trying to feed Cutie.

We later went downstairs to the kiddy rides where Cutie decided to drive a bus...

He was having so much fun, it was hard to get him to leave.

Here, he told us that we could leave first. Bye Bye.

Global Kitchen @ Pan Pacific Hotel

DH and I have the Pan Pacific dining privileges card, which is about to expire. So, we had to maximise our use of this card by coming to Pan Pacific to eat all weekend. Haha.







When we arrived at Global Kitchen (3rd Floor, Pan Pacific Hotel), we had exactly 40 dining dollars left on the card. Which means we have to eat exactly 80 dollars worth of food to maximise our discount. We could use the dining dollars to redeem up to 50% of our total bill you see.







Don't be misled by the name, this restaurant is not a little kitchen where food is cheap or plentiful. This is one of those very chi-chi, haute cuisine, fine-dining type of restaurant where everything is served on crisp linen, fine porcelain and by very well-dressed, eloquent waiters.











Lobster cappucino with blue spinner crab tortellini (SGD11.50) - This was a half portion. DH and I decided to share this soup starter because we weren't very hungry. We both had a huge buffet lunch earlier that day. The waitstaff thoughtfully separated the soup into 2 beautiful bowls, which was already a very substantive portion. The soup was very robust and flavourful. It had depth of flavour, such that with each mouthful I savoured, I found myself appreciating the soup more and more. The tortellini was smooth and filled to bursting with tender crab meat. They also added some pungent herb to the crabmeat (I think it was either coriander or parsley), which I didn't really enjoy but DH did. I must add, I just find the name a little pretentious though. Cappucino?!

My main of herb-crusted lamb cutlets with mashed potato and baby bok choy (SGD27.50) - I was actually tempted by something else on the menu, pan-seared scallops with truffle risotto which was a dish by a celebrity chef (as opposed to the local chef), but that cost SGD36, and I thought this was more value for money. It was a good choice. The lamb was tender and crusted with something crispy (like oats actually... you know, the oatmeal prawns we have in zi char restaurants?). The mash was flavourful. All in all, a good, solid meal.

DH's main of poached wagyu beef on a bed of azuki beans and some veg (SGD45) - now, this dish was presented by a celebrity chef, and as you can tell, the ingredients are more classy too. I was a bit skeptical - poached wagyu? This fatty beef should be seared or grilled to bring out the fattiness, add some smokiness. Well, it was very nice nevertheless. Very very tender of course, and flavourful. DH cut me a slice, and I gobbled it up in half a second.

Cutie said: Take Knife. Cut bread for Mommy. Mommy Eat?

Cutie joined us at the table, of course. He has been to more fine dining restaurants at the age of 22 months than his mother has been. The waitstaff kindly provided Cutie with his own set of cutlery, and a slice of homemade herb bread, which Cutie promptly dissected.

Cutie: Clap Clap. Daddy, clap! Clap for me! Well Done!

We always praise Cutie when he does something clever. I just believe in encouraging him, and using positive reinforcement to teach him. So, we said Cutie was clever when he managed to sit with us at the table, and when he successfully cut the bread himself. Cutie was so pleased, can you tell? Cutie genuinely responds better to praise. He will look around the table and call out to the person who is not clapping, and specifically tell that person to clap for him.

When we tallied the bill, I was pleasantly surprised to see that we managed to total up exactly SGD84, which was very close to our targetted amount. I expressed my delight to DH, who replied drily: "It would have been better if we ate 4 dollars less." -_-

Buffet @ Conrad International Hotel

I was invited to attend a high tea at Conrad Hotel.

It was really fun, with lots of beautiful ladies. I also won a free makeover session on that day, which accounts for my change of hairstyle, hair colour (copper!) and clothes. All free. So lucky!

A and A, both lovely ladies, did a great job hosting the event. They were so entertaining! Mrs K was such a good sport, she really smoked up the dance floor when she was invited up on stage to be serenaded. You go, girl!

There also was a pretty good buffet selection. The lovely part was that my table was served, instead of having to take our own food.

See how nicely everything is arranged! I liked the dry mee siam (extreme right) and the fried carrot cake (extreme left), but found them a little too salty for my tastes.

The dessert selection was extensive and delicious. My favourite was the refreshing aloe vera fruit jelly (in the shotglass).