Bosses Restaurant @ Vivocity

Met my family for lunch today. We don't get to meet for lunch often enough, so this was certainly a rare and very enjoyable occasion. Too bad DB had to rush off to meet someone else, but not before sampling most of the dishes anyway.

Decided to go to Bosses Restaurant (Vivocity, #02-156, Tel: 63769740). Its Chinese moniker - Hei Sheh Hui (Black Society or Triad) - is actually a witty pun, as the lush interior of the restaurant is opulently black-themed.

The food was modern Chinese, and in this regard, was more innovative and adventurous than most restaurant offerings.

The dimsum selection was varied and enticing. Common favourites such as siew mai and steamed rice rolls were available, but with an extraordinary twist.

The siew mai was made with truffles and scallop (SGD4.80), and was indeed very pleasing to the eye and palate.

The steamed rice rolls (SGD6.50), often stuffed with char siew or prawns in run-of-the-mill restaurants, was stuffed with dried scallop and shrimp here. The rice rolls were made with red rice, imparting an attractive pinkish hue to the rolls. The red rice, for some reason, also caused the rice sheets to be slightly more resilient to the bite, which I didn't mind, but which DS found a tad too chewy.

The xiao long bao (SGD6 for 6) was juicy and savoury, but not exceptional.








The prawn balls with foie gras (SGD6.50), was too salty for me, but I rather enjoyed the idea of placing a little nugget of foie gras into this. It would be nice if they reduced the sodium content.



The aptly named creamy and flowing custard bun (SGD4 for 3) was unique. The filling tasted of salted egg yolk, custard and coconut. There is a promotion right now, and each table was presented with one basket of 3 buns free. As that was clearly insufficient for our table of 5, we ordered another basket.


We also ordered some ala carte items.


The XO sauce seafood fried rice (SGD11) was tasty, and a little spicy. DM didn't expect the fried rice to taste spicy, and therefore didn't care for it.


The crispy codfish with basil leaves (SGD14) was a very good choice. It was light and flakey and very delicious.


The sze chuan sesame chicken (SGD8) was spicy and quite tender, even though they served us mostly breast meat.


The egg white with scallop and crab meat (SGD12) was very interesting as there was a raw egg yolk in it, which we had to quickly mix into the dish. A rather risky dish to eat though, with all that avian flu pandemic. They put imitation crab meat in it, and I didn't taste any scallop either, maybe this was quite a ripoff. There was a more expensive version with fish, for SGD22.


We also ordered seafood fried la mian (SGD9) and crispy cuttlefish (SGD8). The cuttlefish tasted like the cod we ordered. The seafood la mian was extraordinarily well-executed. The noodles had the right texture of being springy and bouncy and yet it absorbed all that tasty gravy. We gobbled that up fairly quickly.


All in all, it is a unique place with unique offerings. Worth a visit.

dinner @ home

I made zha jiang mian for DH and MIL. Improvised on a recipe that I took off the internet, by adding golden mushrooms and dried shitake mushrooms to minced chicken.

The sauce was just a tad too salty though. But, as DH says, not bad for a first attempt.

Shang Palace @ Shangri-La Hotel

Met some good friends for lunch at Shang Palace (Shangri-La Hotel, 22 Orange Grove Road, Tel: 6213 4473). Whilst one can always count on having good food at Shang Palace, one cannot say the same for the standard of service. Although the restaurant wasn't crowded, we were made to wait for our table. Not a word of apology from the hostess. Instead, we received curt instructions to sit at the side while waiting.

We ordered some interesting dimsum items.

Deepfried Lobster Meat with Crispy Noodle (SGD5 for 3 pieces). The crispy noodle layer encased chunks of lobster and diced apple. The lobster and apple bits were coated with a tangy mayonnaise dressing, which I didn't mind, but would have preferred the mayonnaise as a dip.

Our steamed items consisted of the ubiquitous shrimp dumpling (SGD4.80), stuffed beancurd skin roll (SGD4.50) and siew mai (SGD4.80). All were very well executed, we had no complaints.

We then ventured on to their extensive ala carte menu.

DH ordered this delectable item, Four Treasure Bowl (SGD38). The 4 treasures were, in no particular order, sea cucumber, fish maw, abalone and shark cartilage soup. DH thinks that the 4th treasure was the stalk of vegetable (BTW, DH now stands for Dim Hubby). It was a veritable bowl of treasure, as the sea cucumber, fish maw and abalone were thick and juicy. The piece de resistance was the cartilage soup, which was lip-smackingly delicious. It wasn't starchy, but rather gummy, which could only have come from boiling it for hours with the cartilage. A cynic at our table suggested pigskin, which I doubt.

This jasmine tea-smoked chicken (SGD24 for half a bird), was fragrant, juicy and tender. I liked this dish a lot when we came here the last time. I think that was why DH ordered it.

We also had ee fu noodles with conpoy (dried scallop) (SGD20), which was excellent. The wok hei was unmistakable, which was a testament to the chef's skills. The noodles were springy and tasty.




We ended our meal with some more dim sum items, baked mini custard puffs (SGD4.50) and beancurd skin roll (again! SGD4.50). The custard puffs were not our original choice. Unfortunately, the baked mini egg tarts were not available. I didn't like the custard filling, which was dry and cakey, rather than smooth. The beancurd skin roll was crispy, but unimaginative, with the same fish filling as the steamed version.

All in all, a nice meal. Now, if only they would improve their service.

Dinner @ Home

I made dinner for DH and I. This meal was inspired by a tex-mex lunch we had sometime back. Marinated stirfried (should I have grilled it?) NZ Striploin, eaten with tortillas, some salsa and guacamole.
I didn't think it would be too healthy if we didn't have some veg too, so I improvised and added button mushrooms stirfried with onions and a few leftover sticks of asparagus (which were deemed too old for Baby to eat, but hey, good enough for DH and I).

Breakfast @ Home

Today, I made breakfast!

Well, not really made, more like assembled. But I did it myself!

Cinnamon raisin bagel, with light cream cheese and chives and smoked salmon. Well, I gobbled up my masterpiece before I remembered to take a photo for posterity. DH therefore kindly restrained himself from finishing up his breakfast, and allowed me to take a photo of his half-eaten bagel.

See the egg on the top corner of the photo? That is also part of my breakfast.

dinner @ Mom's

Seafood noodle soup, lovingly home-cooked by Dear Momsie (DM). DM was recovering from flu, but she still managed to whip up a fantastic tasty meal, with chunks of threadfin (same type of fish that DM puts into Baby's porridge), squid (I love squid! DM knows that too, cos I think my bowl had more squid than the others! haha), prawns and veg.

The soup was rich, as it was filled with fresh ingredients and made from a tasty stock of chicken and ikan bilis.

This meal warmed my belly and my heart.

HK Kim Gary Cafe @ Vivocity

With so many Hong Kong Tea Cafes proliferating in the past few months, I was naturally very curious to see what HK Kim Gary Cafe (Vivocity, #02-128) had to offer.

Oddly, they did not offer anything that I would associate with Hong Kong food - no wanton noodles, no dumplings, no dim sum.

Instead, it seemed to be, at best, a Hong Kong rendition of western style cuisine - like baked rice, spaghetti, pork chops.

They recommended the baked rice as a specialty of the Cafe. So we all ordered the steak baked rice set (SGD9.90) - which came with a choice of soup (cream or borsch) and drink (tea, coffee, almond tea etc. Other drinks came at a surcharge).

The borsch soup, was nothing like Russian borsch soup which contains beef, vegetables, and derives its reddish hue primarily from beetroot. No beetroot in sight here. It was more a tomato vegetable soup, with a sweet tangy taste. Not bad, but not borsch.

The steak baked rice consisted of 2 pieces of well done meat, tomato flavoured rice, all slathered with a creamy cheese. Not sure if it was really baked, since it came in a little wooden steamer which surely would have been more appropriate for steaming rather than baking.

Finally, dessert. Toast with peanut butter and condensed milk (SGD1.80). Another specialty, so I was told. I liked it, it was crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It satisfied my sweet tooth.

harry's @ boat quay

Met a bunch of old friends for Xmas drinks. It was great being able to catch up and reminisce about old times.

I had a refreshing cider, which I am pretty sure was from tap.

And we shared a Jumbo Platter (SGD35) with hot wings, crumbed fish, calamari, samosas spring rolls and wedges. Not too bad.

Xmas Buffet Lunch @ Raffles Bar & Billiard Room

Xmas is just round the corner, and it's the perfect time to indulge.

We had an Xmas buffet lunch at the Raffles Bar and Billiard Room @ Raffles Hotel. It was a dazzling spread of sumptious traditional Xmas delicacies.

The appetiser selection was interesting and varied, but I honed in on the chilled seafood - mussels, prawns, crab claws, alaskan crab legs, prawns, oysters, even lobsters.


Look at my laden plate! I ignored the sashimi platter totally, and had 2 helpings of lobster and crab.


I also enjoyed the foie gras pate on a pistachio biscotti with cranberry jelly. Very Christmassy. But a little to sweet with the jelly. I requested the chef to make me one without the jelly, which he cheerfully did and delivered to my table.


I then had a pea soup, which wasn't fantastic, but I undestand that pea soup should be drunk chilled, to really allow the flavour to permeate the palate.


The pasta with mushroom cream sauce was lovely too.


I then tried more Christmassy fare, like the honey baked ham and the turkey. The little bit of brown meat in the centre of the plate? That is braised rabbit. I thought I would try it. Hey, I've tried all sorts of food, from sea urchin to pufferfish sperm... I'd try everything once! But, rabbit? Would I? In the end, I couldn't bring myself to eat it. DH would be appalled if I had tried it, since he loves rabbit. The fluffy sort. To play with, not to eat. But I was curious! Especially after reading such an illuminating post by the gastronomically adventurous Colin. Nevertheless, today was not a day for conquering uncharted territories. Particularly since I distinctly recall suppressing a strong urge to throw up after reading Colin's post (nothing to do with Colin or his cooking of course!). My friends tell me it tasted like chicken.

Then dessert was a chocolate mousse with raspberries, and crepes with a scoop of gingerbread ice cream.

I rounded off my meal with a selection of excellent cheese, with my favourite being this strong blue cheese. I love the taste of blue cheese, especially when I get the blue veined bits, the taste and aroma just lingers on the palate... and the fingers. Even now.

Fried Seafood Udon @ Restaurant 88

Had to grab a quick lunch at 230 pm after a very long overseas telephone call. This seafood udon (SGD12.70) from Restaurant 88 (HarbourFront Tower 2 Tel 62711233) was pretty decent. The noodles had prawns, scallops, fish and squid with lots of beansprouts and capsicum for a crunchy bite.

This looks like the mee goreng I had last night, but this was better because of all the yummy ingredients in it. Needless to say, it was also much more expensive.

Lee Kwang Kee Seafood @ 413 River Valley Road

Hopped over for a late dinner with friends last night (Lee Kwang Kee Seafood Restaurant @ 413 River Valley Road, Tel: 67380020). This stretch of eateries appears to be pretty popular, judging by the crowd at this late hour.

The mee goreng (SGD5) was quite generous, with lots of squid and prawns. A tad too wet for my liking though, and not really spicy enough.

The fish soup (SGD4) was a popular choice among the diners here. Again, very generous portion of fish and sliced bittergourd and beancurd skin.

They seem to offer lots of seafood dishes, like sambal stingray, squid, and all kinds of shellfish like cockles, mussels and more exotic things like gong gong (conical shellfish) and lala (large flat mussel variety).

Pretty convenient location, and reasonable prices (4 of us had food and drinks for SGD33).

Imperial Herbal & Sinchi TCafe @ Vivocity #03-08

Met a lovely friend for lunch today. Which made lunch especially enjoyable.

The decor of this place (Imperial Herbal & Sinchi TCafe, Vivocity #03-08, tel: 6337 0491) was a bit kitschy, with heavy chairs shaped like hands or balls (footballs and basketballs!). I much preferred the muted and classy decor of the previous place at Metropole Hotel.

Non-complimentary starter of fried beancurd with string beans and hae bee hiam (chili with dried shrimps). It was pretty tasty, but I preferred the honey-coated walnuts they used to serve. Oh, the thing about Chinese restaurants is that they typically serve a starter at the table (be it peanuts, or pickles). One might assume that it is complimentary but it usually isn't. This one cost SGD3.

First dish of sauteed egg white wth shredded dried scallop in a noodle basket. One of their signature dishes, I love it. My family always orders it when we eat here. Egg white has to be cooked just right, otherwise it gets stringy and dry. This was delicious, soft and savoury, with the noodle bit providing a crunchy bite. SGD4 each.

Cold cellophane noodles tossed with shredded chicken, julienned cucumber and sesame sauce. I love cold noodles right now. Zaru soba, Hiyashi ramen... bring it on! This one was tasty. They offered black vinegar with it, which added an interesting dimension to this dish. Cellophane noodles are like kway teow, but translucent and with a springy bite. SGD16 per serving.

Cod with lily bulb and black fungus next. Nothing extraordinary. A little sweetish tinge to the fish, which I don't quite like. SGD13 for this.

Lady's tonic soup (SGD8 per bowl). My lovely friend and I shared this one. It had black chicken (wing, I am not fond of wings in soups. Wings should be barbequed!), dried longans and some Chinese herb which I recognise, but can't name. It looks like a root and is good for women. This was quite nice, but I don't like the fact that the bowl was only 3 quarters full (what, did someone take a sip while bringing it to us from the kitchen?).

Generally, I think the standard of food isn't as great as before, but the service was certainly exceptional. When my lovely friend picked up the teapot to refill our cups, one waitress literally ran over from across the restaurant to offer to do it.

Chat Masala @ 158 Upper East Coast Road

This place, Chat Masala, is pretty well-regarded in the dining scene and is regularly featured in magazines like Wine and Dine. DH and I only recently discovered this place though, and are relative novices to Indian cuisine.


We ordered 3 naans to share: cheese (SGD3.20), garlic (SGD2.50) and fruit&nuts also known as kashmiri naan (SGD2.80). They were all fluffy and tasty enough, although a bit heavy on the butter. I think the garlic naan went best with the dishes. The cheese naan was tasty by itself, but is a tad too heavy when eaten together with the dishes. The kashmiri naan, studded with dried fruit (like what I usually eat for breakfast) was a friend's recommendation, but I find pairing sweet bread with savoury dishes a little odd.


We also ordered the reshmi kebab (SGD14.80), the mushroom methi (SGD13.80) and the palak paneer (SGD11.80).

The reshmi kebab is made of chicken pieces marinated with spices, then coated with cheese and grilled. The result was flavourful, and tender. I liked this best of the 3 dishes, and I think DH did too, as it disappeared the fastest.

The mushroom methi is sauteed fresh button mushrooms with fenugreek leaves. It tasted rather unique. Actually fenugreek is a kind of herb, and its seeds are commonly consumed by nursing mothers to boost milk supply. DH kept making jokes about it ("Eh dear, I think I am going to start lactating tonight..").

The palak paneer is cottage cheese cooked in pureed spices and spinach, it's the green-coloured dish on top. It sounds rather strange but it's actually very tasty. DH walks by and mentions that this was his favourite dish tonight. Stamp of approval from the carnivorous caveman himself.

Our only gripe is that the portions are small, and the meal was expensive. It was filling though, and we didn't have room for dessert.

Fried Mars Bar @ Chippy's, Raffles City Shopping Centre, B1

fried mars bar with vanilla ice cream

Ugly things, but pretty delectable. DH and I stumbled upon this little gem, and decided on a whim to try it (4 pieces, with your choice of chocolate or vanilla ice cream for SGD2.95).

The inside was gooey with melted chocolate and caramel, the outside was a crispy oily shell. Hot and freshly fried, it tasted good with the ice cream.

The place (Chippy's, I think it's called) also sold battered fish and chips, and cheesy chicken and onion rings. No, I don't think they had anything that wasn't deep fried.

Inagiku @ Raffles City Shopping Centre

DH and I love love love Japanese food. Since our trip to Tokyo and Hokkaido last year, where we indulged in the freshest produce and seafood, we have been hunting for good Japanese restaurants in Singapore. We have our list of dependable favourites (which I shall blog on when the opportunities present themselves).

Our current favourite is Inagiku, conveniently located at Raffles City Shopping Centre, level 3.

DH and I shared a Hana set (SGD165) which comprised 5 types of sashimi (toro, scallop, salmon, swordfish and crab), 7 types of sushi (uni, ikura, toro, tai, amaebi, crab, flounder), a starter and a dessert. We also ordered a few other delectable seasonal delights to give our tastebuds a treat.


We wanted to order shirako ponzu (which is whale milt, also known as sperm sacs, in savoury sauce, a Hokkaido delicacy only available during these winter months). It was unfortunately unavailable, and our kind chef offered us this delightful substitute, pufferfish milt in ponzu. First time that DH and I are trying this. It was a very interesting sensation on the palate, rich in taste and soft and curdy in texture.


Our chef then introduced us to simmered braised tai (red snapper) cheek. It was flavoursome, and full of gelatinous bits which had absorbed all that rich stock that it was simmered in. DH and I usually eat our fish cheek grilled, so this was also new to us. Very yummy.


We ended our meal with a miso soup, chockful with all types of fish and other ingredients. Although DH and I both agree that this soup is probably made up of last shipment's unsold sashimi, it was nevertheless a tasty treat.

Breakfast @ Home

This is what I usually have for breakfast on weekends. A bowl of oats with nuts and dried fruit, and a hard boiled egg sans yolk. Baby eats an egg yolk every morning with his organic rice cereal, and I eat his leftovers.

Kazu Sumiyaki @ Cuppage Plaza

It was a yummy dinner we had tonight, at one of our long-time favourites, Kazu Sumiyaki (Cuppage Plaza, #04-05).

Grilled skewers of delightful goodness.

We had skewers of foie gras (SGD5.50 per stick), gyu tan or beef tongue, wagyu flank and sirloin (the sirloin cost SGD11 per stick), bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms, chicken hearts, chicken skin, rolled pork with shiso leaf, bacon-wrapped lady's fingers, lamb cutlets and a grilled fish cheek (they ran out of hamachi, and offered us something else, which was just as good).

Very meaty, very smoky. It was a true neanderthal carnivorous feast.

We rounded off the meal with a typical dessert of green tea ice cream with mochi (rice balls) and red bean.

I would have taken pictures, I really wanted to. But as we were dining with another couple tonight, I felt that it would have been a bit odd to do that. That said, I don't think they would have minded. They were such a nice lovely couple, with the same foodie inclinations as DH and I.

Hakka Yong Tau Foo and Tau Kwa Pau @ East Coast Road

Yayy! Now that my mobile phone is functioning again, I can resume regaling everyone with my epicurean explorations.

Today, DH brought lunch home from one of our favourite coffeeshop haunts along East Coast Road. I was home with Baby, naturally.


Our appetiser course was tau kwa pau (4 pieces for SGD4) from Mary's Corner at Orange Katong Coffeeshop 125 East Coast Rd. For the uninitiated, this refers to deep fried pieces of tofu stuffed with diced savoury bits of egg, fish cake, crushed peanuts, cucumber and crispy yam bits. It's dipped in gravy (optional) and a tangy spicy chili (mandatory!). I like the culinary juxtaposition between the soft yielding texture of the tau kwa and the crispy, chewy bits of filling.

As I understand it, the original tau kwa pau person has moved to the coffeeshop opposite, and the lady who used to be his assistant took over this stall. Having tried both, I personally prefer this stall's version because it is more generous with the filling.


Then we had our main course of Hakka Yong Tau Foo (SGD5.50 per set), also from East Coast Road, but a few stalls down. I think it is called Traditional Hakka Yong Tau Foo. Each set comes with your choice of dry or soup noodles and about 6 pieces of stuffed yong tau foo: 2 pieces of silken tofu, 2 pieces of beancurd skin, 2 pieces of tau pok (fried beancurd puffs) all stuffed with Hakka meat filling. Hakka Yong Tau Foo is different from the other more common type of yong tau foo in that it uses minced pork instead of minced fish for the filling. It is usually cooked in a gravy, rather than boiled in a soup or drenched in sweet red sauce like the common yong tau foo.

The portions were a bit small. And the filling lacked the meaty bite that I appreciate in good Hakka yong tau foo. All in all, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't mindblowing either. I prefer my mom's version!

Club Med Ria, Bintan

Club Med Ria, Bintan


I haven't been able to blog because my new cameraphone has decided to go on strike. And it's no fun blogging without nice accompanying photos.

Nevertheless, I have had quite a few fun eating escapades, which I will blog about soon.

I have also retreated to Bintan, Club Med, for a quick getaway. It was a lovely time, with lovely people. I missed Baby though. Baby and DH couldn't come. Oh, and I missed DH too, of course. No, that wasn't an afterthought!



See how lovely it was!

This is the view from the balcony of my spacious suite.

We did fun stuff too, in addition to the usual meetings and eatings.

Like go-karting!

and archery!