Five and dime

Post 1pm sat round with practicals like ia and chest tube ! And chilling at the island, found five and dime with the secret backyard parking and incredible window seats, enjoyed the lobster Mac and cheese ( suspect its prob the same mentaiko sauce!), flamed salmon wrapped in arugula leaves, and sharks fish and chips. They coated the fries with the same yummy crisp batter and the tartare was x 3 cos we loved how it tasted like an egg mayo salad...

And we were yet again just on time for skyfall on I max.. Super centralized.. Super immersive go pro experience.. Beautiful cinematography and a flashback on a masterpiece of a painting.. Love the subtlety of the soundtrack

And thanks for the collage ;)

Smith's Fish and Chips

It was 4 lap choles and a hernia (which I did) and 2 scopes of which one was for a hiatal planned for feeding so it was really interesting to watch if the scope would transilluminate (it didnt). The last with mr C while J exited with ching so after that popped by the lap converted open AR when mr F was using the circ stapler.. headed towards East coast road and eventually landed up at Smith's Fish and Chips (Tanjong Katong Road). His was Haddock and mine was cod but he ended up liking his favourite instead. Haha. I specifically specified I wanted the fish not oily - it was not, but damn, the fries were! Haha. And we rented infinite justice (he had a stack of 4 cds on the mid east) when we realised that it was not playable on the lap top - we didnt figure out the region. (region2). I guessed it was United Kingdom. Plus it an overnight. Plus I convinced him not to take the package. haha. But it turned out cm that I was right cos it worked on UK.

Freemantle Seafood Market

Seafood Minestrome soup
Roasted Barramundi with pumpkin risotto

Fish and Chips
Panna Cotta

Gotta love all their retro posters

It was the first day of Chong's posting and with no pt and no rd she was going around being santa - we managed to go out for lunch (but not before a desat happened!) and cabbed out to Freemantle Seafood Market (Clarke Quay) for their set lunch. Actually was supposed to go st to Liang Court to try their beef ramen, but passing Central -we wanted to go shop but the taxi refused to stop for us cos it was way past the drop off point ald so we ended up in Clarke Quay. Feels strange to see it in the day - Zirca, people hanging out in the bars watching repeat soccer matches. But nonetheless it did feel a little unreal being around in Clarke Quay on a working day.

The set menu sounds damn good and we decided the instant we sat down. Loved the posters hanging around the restaurant - so retro and so hilarious. Chongs was describing all the Zouk flyers in the room - what a great idea but mummy would so flip lol. Always asking me to throw out those flyers.

The Seafood minestrome soup came first - most significantly a whole mussel in the soup. Loved the chunks of vegetables in the herby soup. I don't fancy tomato based stuff all that much (unless its my fries dipping into it) but oh after this lovely soup and another previous pasta at District 10 I think I'm changing my mind.

I had the Roasted Barramundi with Pumpkin Risotto (cos this option really jumped up on me when i saw the word risotto). Gosh this is a really really really tiny portion - but everything was really really really tasty esp the risotto. The fish was tender but didnt taste of much. The risotto was soaked in pumpkin puree and was really yumms.

Chongs had the Fish and Chips - boring but good stuff. Ate up much of her fries (my portion was just mighty tiny).

Ended off with Panna Cotta - another tiny portion in a tiny cup and taste very much like cheese cake with berry toppings. Its yummy too.

We had a hard time getting a cab to go back so we decided we'll be conquering all of Clarke Quay's lunch deals - but with the car in the future! (free parking 12-3pm). Chongs was actually more anxious in getting back than I did so after loitering to get a cab (fail) we tried to call one (fail, dunno location) and evenutally dragged our lazy selfs to the taxi stand to get one.

Once upon a milkshake (*scape), Fish and Co (Ion Orchard)

Maple Syrup, Rum and Raisin, Chocolate Truffle (clockwise from top) - Once Upon a Milkshake

Fish and Chips - Fish and CoSilver Cod In Miso Sauce - Fish and Co

Love black diamonte watches so so much and adding more to my collection

Actually planned on an outing to one of the Japanese cake places oft been mentioned, but cos car was due for a change in ramp at 2 pm - so car-less means duxton/annsiang was outta reach and so mummy and i headed to town getting a lift from the serviceman using our car =P

We got off at Orchard Central and eventually drifted to 313;popped by oriole but decided not for coffee;cakes at de ste looked too small;so we ended up having milkshakes and icecream at Once Upon a Milkshake where we spotted shan and rozz waiting outside. I was gonna gulp those milkshakes and go out to get a pic with them but they left earlier than we could finish. We were just wondering what they were doing hanging out at the porch but that was answered when their friend came to pick them up!

Once upon a milkshake (Level 1, *scape) is having a promotion of 3 scoops of ice cream for $5.50 incredibly cheap for yummily smoothy milky icecream. (think its till the end of Sept so hury!its their opening special.) The trio of flavours we chose were chocolate truffle, rum and raisin, and maple syrup. We loved how alcoholic the rum was.

We also ordered an Agent Strawberry and it was sourish to say the least - this milkshake is definitely more towards the yoghurty side (ie not my type!!)

We then moved towards Mandarin Gallery where I got a new watch courtesy of Mommy and the nice salesgirl who gave us the OCBC discount =) black watches with diamond studs are just so my thing.

We browsed more at Taka/Wisma to pick up my new skirt and I happily bought my first copy of the Oishinbo series - i bought the Joy of Rice - its a series of Japanese food culture and history and it is so interesting and lighthearted its def the best reading material to start with after the exam hull. Happiness=)

and Fish and co (ion orchard) has gotta buck up! mommy's fish and chips did not hold up - the batter and fish crumbled way too easily while my silver cod in miso sauce was not as fresh as i hoped to be..maybe have eaten way too many great cods around. But still a fan of the paella rice that fish and co serves. daddos picked us up at borders but not before we discovered the wrapping for our Marks and Spencers All round chocolate biscuits have changed so we went on a merrygoround hunt for it!

Fish and Co

With the rain at sgh and the need to go pick mom up and catch up on our shopping saved us from the massive bukit timah floods. We went shopping in Wisma/Ion and got absorbed in Bebe and (cheap!) silver shoe madness. Had to drag ourselves home soonafter cos next day was an early day!!

Mom felt like fish and chips so we ended up in Fish and Co (Ion Orchard, B3). For the month of November there were $ 9 deals of which we had 2 of those. Fish and chips with cheese - a tad salty from the runny and not so viscous cheese.

Thai fish with rice - the sauce tasted really asian, and was slightly spicy. Have always been a fan of their fried rice (although it is supposed to be paella) - its not oily and is fragrant, and perfect with the sauce.

They're running some deals to promote their desserts as well - 50% off on certain new cakes like their key lime pie. tried their pecan pie before (which i guess I'll blog about next) and it was surprisingly good...

Molly Malone's Irish Pub, Ji De Chi, Tong Shui Cafe

B and I wanted to try many places at Circular Road and we ended up at this irish pub called Molly Malone's (56 Circular Road) most famous for their beer battered fish and chips. It attracts a mixture of expats and locals and at that time we went the happy hour was still on going and the pub was packed.

Molly Malone's has two levels - the second floor was packed and really quite noisy. The first floor has many sections - we sat in this room and it was much quieter. There is another area with the bar and a smoking section further in, segregated by closed doors. The crowd also spills over to the tables outside, most of them expats armed with a mug of beer.

B had a mug of beer (I cant remember the exact breed) and it was quite good =)

Beer battered fish and chips, $17

I think the portion justifies the price - you get five palm sized fish and plenty of thick cut fries. The fish is really very tender and freshly fried! Pity though it doesn't come wrapped in newspapers, British style. We don't see any vinegar too but I suppose you can always request. But we thought everything here was really good, and not too oily as well.

Funny thing is, the extra tartare sauce we requested looked very different from the tartare sauce here- in terms of texture and colour...strange indeed. It tasted more like mayo...hmmmm..

Calgary Stampede Burger $16

Oh this burger was really quite good. The patty was one of the beefiest I've tasted - we asked for medium well. The cheese though, seems more to be lathered on the top (yummy,toasted, sesame coated) bread and not on the meat itself, and that top bread (which we ate separately) tasted like very good cheese toast! I really like this burger!

Note that last order for food is 1030pm, and there is no service charge here, tips are to the patron's discretion.

After that B and I took a long long stroll down to Liang Seah Street for desserts (actually we wanted to go Tom's Palette but it was closed by the time we rolled there). I've tried Ah Chew's numerous times so we decided to go to Ji De Chi (Liang Seah Street).

Ji De Chi has a really huge menu and has many many types of Durian dessert whereas Ah Chew doesn't have durian in their desserts. In Ji De Chi, there is durian rice rolls, durian baked rolls, durian puree in their steamed milk, on its own....even the shop itself has a durian fragrance (or pungence, whichever side of the field you are on).

Steamed milk Egg white

I wanted to try the JiDeChi's version of this dessert and I felt the texture was rougher than Ah Chew's steamed milk with egg. The milk taste is also rather strong here.. I prefer the smoother Ah Chew's one.

Durian Puree with sago $6

We were debating between this durian puree or the steamed milk egg white with the addition of the durian puree (actually we wanted both). But luckily we ordered the steamed milk egg white on its own because this particular durian puree tasted funny and we sent it back. There was too much of foul stuff to stomach so there was no way we could eat it.

Sweet Heart

So we wanted to replace the durian dessert with a mango dessert and we were persuaded by the waitress to try this instead of the usual mango pomelo sago (which comes with a scoop of icecream). What is different is that this dessert has milk in it and is quite sweet. There is mango puree and real mango pieces and plenty of sago and pomelo sacs - it feels like a mango milkshake with plenty of extra ingredients. I don't like sour mangoes so I thought this dessert was quite nice.

Sesame paste and walnut paste

The walnut paste is very very good! I prefer the sesame paste at Ah Chew's though I think it is more fragrant. The pastes here are very smooth.

Baked Durian Puff $8.50

This took 20 minutes to bake and after that nasty Durian Puree we wanted to cancel our order but we didn't (cos I thought baked durian shouldnt taste that bad). I think this particular batch of durian paste isn't too fresh.. but this puff is rather interesting it feels like a dessert sushi roll..check out whats inside...

The durian paste was not that sweet or fresh but still edible - from left to right, there is actually a crumbly butter cake, sesame seeds, then the durian paste! all wrapped up with an extremely fluffy pastry roll. We had fun dissecting the innards... and it was quite tasty if only the durian paste was fresher.

Then we trotted to the nearby Tong Shui Cafe (Liang Seah Street) cos I was craving for the Thick Durian Toast that Chong and I had a few nights back for supper.

Thick Durian Toast

I pointed to the exact same picture as I did with Chong on the bestseller menu but I realise what Chong and I had a few nights ago was the Durian French Toast (which is in their regular menu)- No wonder the bread then was slightly salty and crispy. If you just order the thick durian toast (like this particular one) the bread is just.....well.....alot of white plain fluffy bread. You must go for the FRENCH TOAST! (It's about one buck more)- That is really very very good.

B says the durian tastes like a durian-kaya concoction while Chong says that its like a caramel - kaya concoction. It is really quite sweet and runny and oh so very yummy for a supper.

Remember, its the Thick Durian French Toast!