Awwwwfully Chocolate

On take, finished with the 4 lumps, crammed data entry and heck, headed to 328 Katong and ended up checking out the 3-in-1 concept, with the people watching as we had Kahlau Cold poached chocolate from Awfully Chocolate. Maybe JooJoo when I'm not too hungry!

Coffee Bean

Today was a crash course on shorts - cardio/respi/neuro/abdo and subsequently porridge lunch at kpt before short cases around all the different stations around nni/clinics - saw p neuro, optic atrophy (visual acuity+rapd!), spastic gait, pes cavus sec to polio, it was a really enlightening session, which I wished they had organised for us earlier.

Marc and I went to see more after that, but it was not high yield (esp after what we saw earlier!), and subsequently the SN told us about the incident and discouraged us from further seeing...

I was totally craving eggs so I went to Coffee Bean (Velocity) to get this smoked salmon scrambled eggs breakfast set (comes with an iced tea) . This is super yummz esp if you like your eggs creamy, and today there was lotsa smoked salmon chunks. Even the bread was toasty and warm, it was really delicious to eat with the laden mayonaise and cream seeping out from the scrambled eggs. Now I feel like eating this everyday (along with Macs' Eggs McMuffin). I totally love the idea of all day breakfasts at Coffee Bean.

I had to linger around here longer before picking mom and sis from ps...this is prob the most exposed Coffee Beans around I think.

What we eat when we're studying. Check out those DARK CHOCOLATE Kit Kat Bites and Maltesers!! Thal down.

Ice Monster, A-Roy Thai, Ah Chew Desserts

Kelly and I took the train to Dhoby Gaut MRT cos we were desperate to get out of TTSH and we were trapped in by the rain. And by the time we reached town to catch the 225pm show (Departures) at Plaza Singapura only front row seats were left - this was our second attempt in 2 weeks - so we ended up buying tickets for the 340pm show at Vivocity (where there is no students discount!)

Before setting off for Vivocity, we decided to go for desserts at Ice Monster (Basement 1, Plaza Singapura) - this is our third time here so we are really quite a fan of their icy desserts though we found something more interesting today.

Mixed Fruits

This was a really sweet treat - the fruits which are normally sour are especially sweet when soaked in their puree - there was mango, strawberries and kiwis, topped up with milk and a scoop of mango icecream, this is really refreshing especially for a fruits fan like Kelly =)

Yam and Red bean

This is a repeat try because I really like this dessert - the yam and red bean are thoroughly soaked in the sweet condensed milk and the yam is particularly creamy smooth.

Durian with Chicken Floss Egg Crepe $6.50

After seeing the adjacent table order the crepes, we got curious and consulted the menu. We realised that Ice Monster serves a whole variety of savoury food (like za jiang mian) and there are many permutations and combinations for the sets - for both savoury foods and desserts sets. For example, we should have ordered a crepes and mango ice set, which comes with a drink as well. But oh well, we wanted 2 icy desserts.

There are 3 crepes offerings here - the 2 dessert ones pair fruit (either mango or durian) with chicken floss - doesnt it scream strangeness??- and the third is a more normal sounding beef egg crepe. We ordered the first one- gasp - durian with chicken floss egg crepe.

Check it out. The durian paste (which we like when we tried the mango and durian shaved ice during our second time here) was like the sauce, the meat was the chicken floss, the perfunctory piece of lettuce, and the deep fried egg crepe - its like a version of Subway, Taiwanese style. The sweetness of the buttery durian paste, the salty and crunchy bits of chicken floss, the crunchy lettuce, and eventually the eggy oily thin piece of prata. It was really an interesting mix - gotta give the chef points for creativity! I actually quite liked the odd combination.

Kelly wants to try the mango version but....i think I'd pass..heh.

We walked by Candy Empire (Basement 1, Vivocity) and decided to get these snacks for the movie. I am a new fan of the Sweet Chilli & Lime Dip Stix - it is a longer and sturdier version of the Synders of Hanover Pretzel pieces. It has the texture of pretzel pieces and the intensity of nachos.

The Chilli Pretzels was also quite good- the spicness hits you after you eat your third mini pretzel.

We saw the popcorn popping away in the machine so we got so excited! We bought a large popcorn ($6) and it surprisingly it wasn't scorching (we thought the freshly coated sugary coating'd be way hot).

Departures is an excellent show. There are many elements to the show, death being the central theme - but the issues of passion (the main character's hobby and love for cello - the only connection with his father) versus practicality (how he moved to his hometown when his orchestra dissolved and he fell into the hilarious advertisement of landing the embalming job), and how deaths in different families touch him differently. His first few encounters with the dead made him very emotional and acutely aware of how much he needs to hold on to his loved ones (his wife) and embalming his father who abandoned his paternal duties brought him a step closer to forgiving and eventually accepting his father - the symbolism of the stone was powerful - it embodies the father-son relationship and his eventual duties as a to-be father.

The show highlights the importance of jobs shunned by society - are professional jobs the most respectable? Think about what society be without those people who hold occupations you'd never dream of doing. They guard your condos, keep your places clean, build those swanky shopping centres and IRs rain or shine, clean up bedpans. Did you say your thanks today? Have you ever wondered how there are some jobs you never knew existed? Who will chose and eventually do those jobs?

Death was dealt in a very respectful manner - not in-your face depressing, sombre and grave, but extremely thought provoking because it potrays the different ways of how different people and different families dealed with the deseased - young or old. Some families blame each other for indirectly causing a suicide, or how the course of the life of the deseased could have run differently possibly altering the outcome, others celebrate the love of an elder, and how she has touched the lives of people around her.

At your loved ones' deathbed - are you likely to say Thank you for the wonderful memories you have left behind? Or will you be seeking forgiveness, saying Sorry for taking you for granted, not having the chance to say a Good Goodbye? Do you spend enough time, make enough effort to reach out to your loved ones? Who matters in the end?

There was never a dull moment to the movie - with the opening sequence having bits of humour (he-she confusion, and the maggots were particularly memorable) especially with the boss and lady employee - I will never forget the fried chicken scene and the fish roe scene! Well, after anatomy class in year one, barbequed beef bakwa and jerky never looked the same..

Creme Brulee - Caramel, white chocolate, Cocoa Loco - Mocha

We were thirsty after all that popcorn so we went to Gloria Jeans (Level 1, Vivocity) for drinks. Their iced blended drinks are $3 for certain hours depending on the outlet - the hours vary from the Vivocity to the Cineleisure outlets.

Kelly's drink was nicely sweet but my iced mocha was way diluted so I went back to change the drink to the one below (they nicely obliged and eventually agreed it was diluted too)

Cookies and Cream

This was much better - sweeter and more creamy, with bits of cookies inside the drink. I guess the Gloria Jeans barista learnt her lesson and loaded up the sugar and toppings!

We met our CG for dinner before everyone flies off to their elective - at A-Roy Thai Restaurant(04-06, FUNAN the IT Mall). Michelle really likes this place so I must check it out!

Crackers $2

They served us two of this, and charged it to our bill. Everyone thought the dip was really potentily spicy.

Spicy and Sour salad with Lemongrass, Basil, Dried Shrimp, Cashew nuts - Small $12.90
This was our favourite dish of the night - usually I'd always order the mango or papaya salad - i almost wanted to order that but I'm glad we gave this a go - they fry the lemongrass very well, and the spices made it very interesting to it. I don't know what is the principle vegetable in the dish but it was meant to be eaten as a wrap we figure - wrapping up the salad mix with the lettuce leaf. It was highly recommended by the waiter and was one of the star dishes that garnered an award for the restaurant.

Pad Thai - Medium $12.90

I liked the pad thai here because the fish sauce it is fried in makes it very fragrant and wet, and alot of crunchy beansprouts. It is also very eggy which I like.

Pineapple rice - Medium $10.90

I didn't like the pineapple rice - not much wok hei and not many ingredients inside.

Tom Yum Seafood - $19.90 Medium

It is clear and really spicy. I thought the soup was good - intense and chokeful of fish and squid.

Green Curry $19.90 - Medium

A PUNY portion, though the green curry was good (although Kumaran and Weixin thinks its not truly potent). It is a really creamy version, with many pieces of smooth thigh meat and vegetables inside the curry.

The steamed seabass arrived naked...

Grilled Seabass with sweet and sour soup $30.90

....and was eventually dressed up in a lemon sauce...The fish was really fresh and there was alot of spices in the soup - without which it did taste like the Tom Yum soup (although the waiter kept insisting it was not, when I asked him when I was ordering).

Beef Kuay Teow $6.90

This was Maria's beef noodles I took some of the soup it is really very beefy!

Overall the quality of the Thai food was good but the portions are way way way way too small to justify the prices. Somehow after Bangkok, I won't wanna pay too much for authentic Thai food! I shall come here another day to try the mango and durian sticky rice. Sheryl went to buy her semi-pro camera so we accompanied her - and realised I am quite glad I didnt go IT show to get fleeced

After that everyone else left so Sheryl, Kelly and I made our way to Ah Chew Desserts (Liang Seah Street) for our usual Chinese dessert fix. This is one too many repeat visits!

Durian Mango Sago $4.80

This is one of their durian menu specials. We loved it! There was real durian meat inside, and the bittersweet pomelo sacs and sago really enhances the sweetness of the mango.

I was quite skeptical to try their durian desserts again after the disaster of durian with yam and sago with Nat and Xueling but I am quite glad I gave this a go (because we saw another table with the mango pomelo it looked damn good!). I shall try the unadulterated mango pomelo sago soon!

Sesame and Almond Paste, Large $2.50

The paste here is rather gooey instead of being grainy, according to my friends - but I still like the sesame paste here.

Steamed Milk Egg, $2.50

This is the first time I am having it hot and it turns out to be really eggy. I think the heat enhances the egg taste more.

Grass Jelly with Carnation Milk

It is chopped up into ice-kachang type cubes - not the wholesale chunk that Kelly prefers. If you order the plain grass jelly itself - you will get the whole slab of grass jelly uncut, judging from a table that I passed by. It was difficult judging the texture of the grass jelly when its sliced up into cubes, so this dessert wasn't particularly memorable.

Flying off for electives soon, many of our CG mates are already half the world away...cant wait!
Have you seen Kit Kat in a dark chocolate version before? Or in a family block version? Find yours at the nearest Candy Empire today! This was awesome.

Graze, Laurent Bernard Chocolateir, FREE Frolick!, Marina Barrage

A recent fetish for breakfast food brought me to Graze (4 Rochester Park Tel: 6775 9000 ) with the girls on a Sunday morning.. Yes I am an early bird now I've finally kicked the nasty nocturnal habit and it feels great to kick start a day with a mighty big breakfast especially with the fantastic company of my closest friends.

Graze offers brunch only on Sundays and they serve modern Australian food. Their popular barbeque menu is also available during lunch on Sundays - although I hardly saw anyone eating that - everyone was tucking into the yummy brunch food.
I booked an indoor seat but we realised its much nicer to dine al fresco..there are no mosquitoes and we actually sat under a tree (which has low lying leaves - and we are all very tall). We were very scared throughout the whole meal that the leaves and branches will fall all over the food but luckily it didnt.

The ambience here is great for a Sunday breakfast ! Very relaxing sitting in the rattan chairs in the courtyard amongst the plants and water features. I feel like I am having breakfast in someone's house...overseas! Yes, the huge influx of expats is inevitable..

We were served complimentary toast with marmalade and butter.. It was thick toast and there was some variety in the bread- white and multigrain (although it wasnt very nutty). The marmalade was very good though, a very slight lemony taste.

The cast iron pan $18

Bratwurst sausage, Smoked bacon, mushroom, tomato, baked beans, country potato, plum chilli salsa

I didn't eat the meats, but this breakfast fry up is not as massive as it sounds.. very protein loaded and quite an oily feast - I especially liked the mushrooms.

Cinnamon raisin french toast $13

drizzled with maple syrup

simon johnson double cream

This was FANTASTIC! It was Eliza's and my favourite dish ! The french toast was crisp and the cinnamon taste was really permeating through the bread - divine with the slightly sweet double cream and the bits of raisins. You don't even need to add much maple syrup. I would return for this.

Banana pancakes $13

smothered in grilled bananas, walnuts and redcurrant syrup

with icecream

I thought the pancakes were rather floury and they crumble quite easily.. They are cinammon flavoured I think - certainly not banana flavoured. All these adjectives in front of pancakes are SO misleading! Like I thought the Coconut pancakes at Jones meant the coconut permeated the pancakes but it seems like in both cases they were not what they seemed! And all of us thought the redcurrant syrup was butterscotch and Jasmine and I drowned our pancakes in the syrup because it tasted so good. I prefer the fluffier pancakes at Rider's Cafe though.

Simply eggs benedict $16

with smoked salmon and spinach

There is a classic version and I figure that must be the version with the ham since Eggs Benedict always come with ham. But here, there is the option of smoked salmon and spinach instead. I always look forward to poached eggs (cos I cant seem to get it right at home) and I simply cant resist this whenever I have breakfast outside! This is good, it is like a combination of what I had at Rider's Cafe (spinach) and Choupinette (smoked salmon). I cant find any fault in this - everything is perfectly done from the egg to the smoked salmon, muffin and the Hollandaise sauce, although I still prefer the Eggs Royal at Choupinette if given a choice.
Ooh awesome runny egg yolk.
All our yummy food! (too bad about the half eaten cast iron pan!)
The mystery of the sweet tinge of strawberry-lime in your iced water solved.

For those nocturnals who don't believe in waking up for breakfast (I am reformed but I might not stay so for long =P), the last order is at 2.30pm. Reservations are recommended esp for al fresco seating.

And of cos desserts are a must with the girls and we went to Laurent's Cafe & Chocolate Bar (5B Portsdown Road #01-02 Wessex Village Square)

We were able to spy in the kitchen (and take all the photographs we want) because we sat at the common courtyard (shared with Pietrasanta) right inside and again it was another al fresco affair...

But it was worth the sweltering effort cos it is so interesting watching the chef at work! Eventually Mr Bernard (no this photograph is not of him the photophobic creature, of cos - he is not balding - yet) did appear and oh my the stuff he made were really droolicoius..

Though it was sweltering hot (the area is not as nicely ventilated as Graze's) - the music was really good - it is like those from a gramophone and again chilling here feels like being in someone else's home away from home. And no, the cafe didnt play that old English music - there was art exhibition going on and that was where the music was coming from. Again it was another interesting sight watching the patrons waltz in and out and a very curious group of children seemingly having an art lesson in the midst of it all..

Although the oil from the canvas was quite smelly, we were so zen that we hardly noticed.

Pleasure $9.80

Of cos good desserts played a big part in the zen-ness I finally got to try the Pleasure cake and oh my, it was really good! Layers of milk chocolate with the crisp hazelnut layer - easily collapsible but heck, the mess is so delicious. The top layer was really quite soft though - goes to show how hot the weather was to melt the chocolate layer so quick .

Chocolate tart, $6.50

I blogged about this before and would gladly blog about it again because thin as it is, the tart is awesome nonetheless - layers of chocolate and hazelnut chocolate on a flaky base - I was careful not to let the raspberry sauce contaminate the cocoa goodness though..

Iced Chocolate

Yi Qian ordered this and I stole a sip - it was rather powdery though and it is really very rich.

Don't waste your money (and calories) on their fruit drinks or fruit teas. Taste very syrupy according to those who ordered.

Porstdown Road is part of the Wessex estate where there are many colonial bungalows and there are many art gallery and eateries. We spent the lazy afternoon just strolling around the rustic area, and chanced upon this patch..We loved the tire hanging from the tree... Yes of cos the thought of who looped the rope through the impossible tree branch did pop up...

Then we wondered into one of the bungalows because we were lured by the fantastic unplugged music..It is amazing how good she is considering she only picked up the guitar 4 months back and she only sings her own music!

We entered through the doors and surprised by the gorgeous black and white films

Every piece is stunning..

The lady who owns these says that black and white film photography lasts forever (not colour) and she develops all these in a dark house within the same bungalow..she has an open house as and when she wishes and at other times she photographs others..

This is my favourite photograph..I love this couple-ish photo of innocence...

Alright..we shall go back to civilisation..we were back to town to get to the Harvey Norman sale..

So we landed at Millenia walk and of cos after changing locations we needed a snack so we landed here at Frolick (level one, Millenia walk)

Peach Flavoured Yoghurt, FREE!

I blogged about it before, but with the Zouk card, it is FREE! Free stuff taste the best sometimes!

Then we wandered into Chocolate Research Facility (Level One, Millenia Walk).. and had more free stuff! We sampled the Peanut butter chocolate and chocolate crunch chocolate..then he dished out more mystery samples and we totally couldnt guess the Mango flavour.

The many many mind boogling flavours - I even saw black sesame and tea flavoured chocolates. Chocolates are between 8-12 bucks per small bar. I'd rather invest in Laurent's, actually.

Again there is another Zouk offer - with every 5 bars there is a discount.

There is a bar here where you can order the brownies or the drinks..

For me, the vibe of this place doesnt make me feel like wolfing down chocolate(unlike Laurents, I could live on the chocolate scent of his cafe). When chocolate becomes as scientific as this, it loses its traditional home made feel don't you think? You lose the sense of who makes your chocolate or what goes into the chocolate.. I guess the contrast is especially obvious since we went to Laurents today and spent most of our time spying through the glass doored kitchen, watching the chef delicately hand make those delicate chocolates.

Went to Candy Empire (Level one, Millenia Walk) for some sweets and this Wonka sweet promised some tingling fun but NO THERE WASNT ANY! Friggin cheated of my $2.50 when I could have gotten Prez sweets at 1 buck instead.

But the colours are so pyschedelic and happyfying and the fruity taste was equally tasty.

Yi Qian had a fried food craving so of cos Jas and I koped some of her fried chicken from Shihlin Taiwan Snacks (Suntec City).. but I was feeling so heaty I needed a soya milk to wash it all down..

Rose Macaron, $1

Then we were on our way back to the Suntec carpark when we passed by the Bakerzin (Suntec City) and I couldnt resist their 1 buck promotion for their macarons! Bought the rose and chocolate ones...

Chocolate Macaron $1

The centre was really dense and chewy but the exterior was not that crispy. I liked the chocolate one much more - the dark chocolate cream was really good! I think it was a rather chocolatey day.

We had enough of civilisation and decided we needed another road trip to nowhere so we tried to go to the Marina Barrage again (our first try was a fail) - this time round, we were luckier cos we spotted the blue signs that led us there - but it was a real merry go round.

The curvaceous walkway up..

It feels like a science centre of sorts esp the exhibits..

Heh Kelly this is the splish-splash pool that the lady was talking about..for your info =)

There are many piers around..

See what I mean by being Science-centre-ish, the curvaceous walkway leads to this field and there was a big Solar panel here..

If you look carefully both signs say keep off the grass but one says newly laid and the other still maturing...looked pretty much the same to us laymen (no pun intended)

Best to come in the evening, its wonderful watching the city lights come on and the transition to darkness.

Dark. And tired... it was fun getting lost with the right company (and a petrol-loaded car). Thanks mountains I never have enough of you all! =)