Not another big menu - Eating my way (cheaply) around London and more

Todai International Buffet, Marina Bay Sands Shoppes, Singapore

2011-12-28T17:46:00.002+08:00

Perhaps the most pictures in one post ... ever.

View from Marina Bay Sands Shoppes overlooking the CBD

So the other day, when I was sitting around trying to come up with a Good Food Itinerary, I trawled the web for a good place to eat at on Christmas Day. The criteria wasn't that difficult - as long as it served turkey, had a good atmosphere, and could provide us with the Very Full feeling commonly associated with this time of the year, that would be sufficient.

Marina Bay Sands Shoppes - coming down escalator

There are SO many food blogs in Singapore, it's unreal.

Oh well - here's another one to add to the pile then.

Anyway, a quick search on the food blogs revealed that the Todai Buffet was quite seafood-oriented and as the pictures alone made me kinda hungry, I decided that we were going to have Christmas Dinner there.

Just in case you wanted to know when you're at the restaurant

Still kinda unsure how this is pronounced.

In the festive mood

I started sending links and pictures from other blogs to hubsy, getting him prepared for the feast that awaited. We almost trained for it like a professional athlete would - no effort was spared.

The placemat which is also helpfully a map of the restaurant

When Christmas Day came, and when all the festivities had been enjoyed, we ate a small lunch at a nearby food court (Kopitiam just for own reference) and made our way to the mall nice and early (around 45 minutes early).

As the place was still closed (4.15pm not usually being a popular time for dinner), we had a stroll around the mall and went back to the restaurant at around 4.45pm only to find this ...

Everyone is hungry

Yes, for those of you who are considering going to this place, they operate a registration process (even when you've booked) where by the lady at the counter gives you this handwritten piece of paper with your name and reservation time on it. With the table number also included on the piece of paper, that is your ticket to ...

Ready, steady, go

I whizzed past the entrance and other hungry diners (hubsy included) and below was what I saw on my way to the food counter (so I could be the first one to photograph the food, you understand).

Food!

(Maybe) Korean stars on the wall of fame

From the ocean

See food

As with all professional buffet wrestlers, I usually zone straight in on the seafood section. I'm sure everyone does that too ... come on, admit it.

Not zoning in on seafood specifically, but zoning in on what you think is the best value for money.

Twenty of these in my tummy

The prawns were fresh and enormous. What more is there to say? Each prawn took 2 bites to demolish, and every single one of them was crunchy, juicy, and very fresh. I had about twenty and could've easily have had more but self-control set in after a while.

Alaskan Crab Legs

These were so fresh. Todai provides pairs of scissors with which to eat the crabs and you could literally pull out the entire piece of crab meat from the shell if cut correctly.

Nice to meat you

Definitely 'happy day' with this amount of beef

Have a nice day (before)

Had a nice day (after)

Brazilian Churrasco section

We mostly spent our time here. All the meat you could want in one sitting.

Mushrooms, pineapples, sausages, chicken wings and beef

Pork belly before being cooked

Beefy goodness

Really liked these mushrooms - couldn't quite get the name but they were fabulous

The sushi and sashimi section

My favourite - squid sushi - so fresh and chewy

Sweet octopus

Boiled prawn with crabstick salad - really liked this

Each thickly sliced piece was just what amazing sashimi should be

The cooked food section

Korean beef bulgogi

Duck and peach which was so tender - who knew peaches went so well with duck

Grilled Japanese fish on sticks

Korean kimchi section

Grilled gyoza

Not sure what this was but took a picture so I posted this anyway

Christmas Day Specials

Roasted suckling pig

Because we were dining there on Christmas Day, there were several special items on offer for the occasion. First up was the suckling pig which was gone in mere minutes. Everytime they took out a pig, there was a queue and within minutes it was pretty much gone again.

We had a few pieces and the conclusion was that the skin was very chewy while there wasn't anything overwhelming about the meat itself.

Lobster in the gobster

The other special of the day was the lobster. Served directly to the table, we really enjoyed these little critters.

Down in one

The meat detached itself neatly in one swift forkful, and even when eaten cold, the lobster was very juicy, delightfully crunchy and fresh. The garlic herbed butter went brilliantly with the lobster, as it usually does.

A plateful of smiles

I could get used to eating like this everyday

And something for afters

Strawberry mousse

Todai seem to promote their Korean strawberries quite a bit. A lot of the dishes (even savoury ones) were cooked with some strawberry in them. Guess I never knew Korean strawberries were famous but they sure were sweet.

More?

Possibly the best waffles in a buffet. Ever.

When we took some waffles and drizzled them with maple syrup and some vanilla ice-cream, we didn't think that it'd be any good. We just wanted to give it a try since I like waffles anyway. So we were nicely surprised when each mouthful of waffles was so airy, light, yet lovely and buttery - going so well with the maple syrup.

Surfing?

The above-mentioned Korean strawberries

And when all has been eaten and done ...

Waitress refilling the buffet for the next session at 8pm

Ho ho ... wait a sec while I adjust my beard

This Santa was hilarious. He went round each table just kinda saying hi to everyone, but by the time he got to our table, his hat was falling off and so was his beard and hair. Pretty much the complete ensemble was falling off bit by bit, so the other pictures we took of him were just hair and a red outfit.

View of Marina Bay Sands hotel

I took about 380 photos during that dinner, and obviously couldn't post them ALL up here (couldn't say I didn't try though) so for those of you who really, really like looking at pictures of food, here's a link to the full Flickr set (click here).

We all enjoyed our Christmas dinner here, and if you like your seafood and meat (plus all the other items on offer), you'll probably like Todai buffet. The stuff served up were fresh, things were replenished quite frequently, and the selection of drinks (cold and hot, but all non-alcoholic) was above average. Quality AND quantity.

Useful information: Everything you need to know on their website.

But just for you ...

Location: #b2-01 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 2 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018972

Pricing:

LUNCH

Monday toFriday

Adult: $42++Child (below 1m 30cm): $22++

Sat., Sun. and Holiday, Holiday Eve

Adult: $58++Child (below 1m 30cm): $26++

DINNER

Monday to Thursday

Adult: $54++Child (below 1m 30cm): $26++

Fri., Sat.,Sun. and Holiday, Holiday Eve

*HolidayPrice

Adult: $70++Child (Below 1m30cm height): $32++

AppliedDate: 24,25,31st December 2011 and 1st January 2012

Opening hours:

Monday toFriday

Lunch: 11:30to 15:00 / Dinner: 17:30 to 22:00

Saturday toSunday

All DayDining: 11:30 to 23:00

BreadTalk Steamed Cake

2011-12-27T10:00:00.000+08:00

We were in BreadTalk (Plaza Singapura), and after I'd gotten my tray full of cheesy ham buns and such, I made my way to the counter to pay for the stuff (least favourite bit about the buying process, but has to be done).

By the counter, sat these cute little things in green, orange and pink - all wrapped up in shiny plastic.

The steamed cake from Bread Talk is apparently quite famous, from what I can tell from Google anyway. Some sites have said that it contains 200 calories with no fat, but then again, I doubt these sites a little as they also say that the cake contains nothing else aside from 200 calories ...

Anyway, the reason I eat it is not because it has 200 calories, but because it's soooooo soft.

Fluffy like marshmallows, not too sweet, and somehow moist despite having sat in the fridge for about 5 days. Loving this cake.

And finally, a picture of the snack I had a few days ago. Chicken wing, sotong ball and codfish tofu cake.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas 2011 to everyone!

May you have lots and lots of this ...

And if I don't post anything between now and New Year ...

Happy New Year too!

May all your dreams and hopes (food-related or otherwise) come true and may you all have a warm, love-filled festive season ahead!

*Time to start training that belly for the chocolates that are to be nommed.*

Hard Rock Cafe, Sentosa Island, Singapore

2011-12-23T10:00:00.000+08:00

Sunshine! Good weather!

BUT, unlike in the UK where sunshine equals topless men with one-packs flexing their beer drinking skills, over here, sunshine is pretty much available all the time. Except at night, of course.

Sunshine is even available when it's raining! And it's been raining quite a bit the last few days. On Sunday it pretty much was raining from the moment we were up till evening time.

Thing is, Hubs was most insistent on getting to a beach. Any beach. He wasn't fussed. Though, beaches are kinda few and far between in Singapore, so we made our way to Sentosa Island.

Wikipedia facts below:

- The word 'sentosa' means 'peace and tranquility' in Malay
- There is a 2km long sheltered beach on the island (Where is it??? We couldn't find it. Nowhere on the map did it say Beach at any point ...)
- You can get to Sentosa Island from Singapore mainland through a variety of methods (discussed below the next picture).

The walkalator to the island (from VivoCty mall)

Depending on how deep your pockets are, you could:

- Take a monorail to the island (Sentosa Express) S$3
- Take a cable car S$24 one-way
- Walk S$1

Waterfall just by the end of the Boardwalk

We chose to walk, not just because we're miserly but because:

- It was a warm day
- There are actually walkalators along the way
- We've been eating too much

There is a blog which tells you what you can do at Sentosa for free.

For example, once you get to the island, past the Visitors' Centre, keep going and you'll come to this.

Came all the way around the globe (ha ha) to come to Universal Studio in Singapore.

But being cheapskates, we didn't pay to go in and all. Just pretended that we'd been here having taken pictures of the outside.

Come on - we've all done that ...

It was raining pretty much all day that day, but it didn't really stop us from getting around the island as there are shelters and covered walkways pretty much everywhere. It's like one huge mall / theme park, and this wasn't even the bit where you had to pay to get in to.

As usual, with every place we go to, we checked out their Hard Rock Cafe.

- New York
- Penang
- Vegas
- Bali
- London
- Edinburgh
- And now, Singapore

The restaurant is located next to the hotel. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Bali and really enjoyed the themed rooms, amazing buffet brekkie and also relaxed atmosphere at the hotel, so I'm guessing if standards are maintained, that it's pretty OK here at the Singapore one too.

Sorry, what's this place called again?

Lights on ceiling as soon as you enter the restaurant

The interior is consistent with all the other HRC we've been to. Waiters/waitresses are kinda 'wacky' (I think that's the image they're trying to portray anyway, otherwise it needs working on) and definitely friendly.

We were there around 4pm (we seem to be eating at this time more and more) so it was quite empty, meaning the waiting staff to diner ratio was around 2:1.

The HRC shop located by the entrance

Somehow, I managed to resist buying something from here. I've been collecting t-shirts from the various HRC we've been to - not that I'm one of those people who do that (or I never used to, anyway) but ever since realising that we do actually go to HRCs in most cities, I decided to buy something from each one to remind me that I've been there before.

The next three pictures I took because it amused me to see how HRC was trying to 'localise' itself. I don't recall noticing this at the Malaysian one or even at the Bali one before, but that could be because I had some free time here so was taking a little more interest in the place.

Heinz meanz ... chilli sauce

Nice touch though, commendable for trying to blend in with local tastes.

Wok and (spring) roll! Nasi goreng and Char Kway Teow

Possibly the most indulgent burger menu around

For drinks, I had the Cecil Iced Tea which tasted a lot like a Long Island Iced Tea without the alcohol. Maybe it was meant to be a mocktail?

Chilli crab dip S$15

It's Singapore chilli crab blended into a dip, and served with Chinese buns. You gotta give it to the chef - he's tried to put as much local flavours into the menu as possible and this one works a treat, too.

Taste-wise, almost exactly like how you'd imagine spicy chilli crab to be like if it were blended into a paste-like consistency. The buns were slightly crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside. Should've asked for tortilla chips instead as this was kinda heavy as a starter (shared) so we took most of it back as a takeaway.

Cobb salad S$22

Really like the HRC version of the Cobb salad. I've had this at almost all their restaurants and they've been consistently good. And huge in portion.

The salad weighed more than what I'd like to imagine and had loads of lettuce, bacon bits, hard boiled egg, avocado, onions, grilled chicken, tomatoes, cheese and was served with 2 dressings on the side.

Not sure how I did it, but I finished it (well, with a little help from the Hubs - just a little).

Hickory-smoked BBQ trio combo S$35

The trio consisted of BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken and pulled pork. The pulled pork was really tender but the star of the meal was the ribs. Flavours were intense, and texture was excellent. With the perfect balance of meat to fat, the Hubs (who usually doesn't like eating ribs) finished the entire rack without so much as an offer of a nibble to me.

The chicken kinda let the show down - dry and chewy. Maybe they should've served just the darker meat bit of the chicken which would have remained a little bit more tender than what was served.

The chips were fab - they were seasoned with the lovely Cajun (?) sweet and salty seasoning I so love on my fries. Coleslaw was OK - it had some raisins in it but could've been a little tangier. BBQ beans were good, kinda like most other BBQ beans I've had but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Things like BBQ beans shouldn't be surprising in any way, in my opinion. As long as they taste like BBQ beans, it has exceeded expectations.

When the waiter had set all the plates out on the table, he looked at us and said 'Good luck'.

We showed him

Don't mess with us (or our plates).

Overall, one of the more expensive meals we've had so far. But definitely very enjoyable, and worth a visit if you're wanting big portions and lip-smacking noms.

Bali Honeymoon 2011 (The Elysian and Kuta Beach)

2011-12-21T14:51:00.002+08:00

We went on our honeymoon in June 2011, and because I sometimes just like looking at photos, I'm not gonna say too much in this post.

Just lots and lots of photos.

The hotel: The Elysian, Kuta Beach, Bali

(Honeymoon package inclusive of some meals - link here)
(NOT sponsored, by the way - just liked it a lot so am recommending)

Entrance to the resort

The honeymoon package included a single-room suite with pool

The Food:

Breakfast delivered to the villa daily - choices abundant from a menu. Ventured out occasionally to the poolside-restaurant for meals, and daily afternoon tea by the pool was included in the package too.

The poolside restaurant - Afternoon tea and meals are served here also

The pool - In the day and in the evening

Ku De Ta:

I'd read a lot about it and also wondered what it was like, so for the benefit of those of you who're also wondering what it's like, here it is.

Kuta Beach:

We had a great holiday here, and if it weren't just that slightly expensive (actually, a lot expensive), we'd definitely like to go back again. If you're interested in trying it out, make sure you come prepared with a good book and some DVDs as once you're in the resort and in your villa, it's very hard trying to persuade yourself to go out!

Chatime, Orchard Road

2011-12-21T10:00:00.000+08:00

When I was in the UK, I'd read longingly as bloggers such as Su from Delectable wrote about what they had from Chatime, while I drank my filtered Brita water pretending it was bubble tea.

But now, I can have Chatime for real!

No more pretend bubbles! No more pretend tea!

The Chatime I visited was in the basement of a mall somewhere along Orchard Road. If you'd read the Din Tai Fung post, you'll probably know that I still have not managed to find my way around Orchard Road yet (and doubt I ever will).

Every mall is connected to another mall which in turn is connected to the same MRT station.

Boggling.

I think I need some time to ponder this menu

With a selection bigger than most restaurant menus, it takes time trying to figure out what to order here. Plus, some of the things need a little translation of their own. For example:

QQ Milk Tea which would be ...?

Anyhow, I finally decided on the Matcha Tea Latte which turned out a little milkier than how I like it (I'll know for next time anyhow).

Pretty, isn't it?

When stirred, the green and white layers (green tea and milk) get mixed together and the resulting taste is very similar to that of green tea (because it is green tea). Slightly salty (just very slightly), and with a slight bitter green tea taste to it, I found it to be quite nice. Would probably try something a little lighter next time.

Din Tai Fung, 290 Orchard Road, #B1-03 The Paragon, Singapore

2011-12-19T16:01:00.000+08:00

You've got the mojo and you know it.

This is our latest Favourite Dining Place In Singapore.

To be fair, we've only been in Singapore about two weeks, and between conquering my fear of directions and Hubs being at work, we've been doing pretty well (I'd like to think) as far as food is concerned.Having had dinner almost every day at Plaza Singapura, we decided to try something new on Orchard Road at the weekend.

When we were in Singapore a few years ago, our friends and us stopped by at Din Tai Fung and had one dumpling each. Yes, the 8 of us went into the restaurant (it wasn't peak time otherwise I doubt we would've been too successful) and ordered ONE portion of 'Siew Long Bao' to be shared.

Roughly around $$1.25 each, and 1.25 dumplings per person.

We also decided that it was going to be Christmas Shopping Saturday, so, fueled with the anticipation of finding all sorts of interesting and joy-giving presents, we made our way towards the myriad of shops along Orchard Road.

3 exhausting hours later, we were still lost in the labyrinth that is the Singapore Underground MRT - Shopping Complex Maze.

Designed to confuse tourists and make us think that the outside world does not exist, it was impossible trying to find our way out of the place. Everytime we came up an escalator, we were in another mall.

HOW DO WE GET OUT OF THE STATION?!?

When we finally found some (day)light at the end of the (escalator) tunnel, I was grumpy, tired, without presents, and very hungry. It was around 4pm - perfect time to have an early dinner / late lunch and to avoid the hungry crowds, we thought to ourselves - smiling at how brilliant we were.

Turns out, Singapore is full of brilliant, hungry diners who all thought at 4pm was the perfect dining time.

When we were fighting our way through the crowd, it didn't even occur to me that this could have possibly been the waiting queue. I thought that this was the meeting point or that people just liked waiting around there for their friends.

Nope.

Wanna know how popular this place is? There is a dedicated counter at the front of the restaurant which just hands out numbers to waiting diners.

Efficiency at its best.

We walked up to the counter, were told that it was going to be around 20 minutes for a table, were given a piece of paper with a number on it, and then handed a clipboard with which we were to place our food order.

These kinda things bring out the slightly unreasonable in me. Why can't I tick every box?

After a bit of give-and-take negotiations, we finally decided on our order, and proceeded to wait for number 229 to be called out. Around 20 minutes after we were given our number, the signboard flashed.

229 = It's Our Turn!!!

I know I'm jumping to the end here but I really, really, REALLY like this place. Something about the whole experience (even the waiting bit) made me feel excited and yet comforted at the same time.

The setting of the tables, the lighting, the food, the service - everything came together really well, and I felt like I could've sat there all day.

I guess other people flock to this place because of how fresh everything is. All the dumplings are made by hand, on site, by the trained chefs in the kitchen.

I stood there watching them for a bit, and came away amazed at the efficiency of their production-line methods.

One guy portions out the bits of dough required for the dumplings, and actually weighs them to make sure each piece of consistent with the others. Then, the little round dough balls are given to the guy behind him to be rolled out into flat circles.

Those are then given to another guy who fills them up with a variety of fillings, and the dumplings are then sealed with precision. I read somewhere that it's really important how many folds there are in a dumpling - didn't wait to count any of them though while I was munching.

OK, you know how the bill usually comes at the end of a meal?

Not here. Here, the bill is placed at your table pretty much the moment you sit down at it. It's quite unusual but also good in a way because it means you know upfront how much you've (mistakenly) ordered, and if you don't decide to add anything else to your order, you can just get up after the meal, head towards the counter and leave.

I quite liked that about this place. Again - efficiency at work.

My favourite bit about a meal is usually the condiments. I know, chefs are waiting to throw me out, right?

Bla bla bla.

Give me a bottle of ketchup and I'll probably have finished it by the end of a meal.

Loving the black vinegar here. If you've never had Chinese black vinegar, it's kinda like malt vinegar but with a more intense, slightly sweet and yet more sour taste. I much prefer this version of vinegar to the malt version, but that's because I like my tastes intense.

Not being an expert in any way, so don't take my word for it - but I've always eaten dumplings / siew long bao this way. Shredded ginger and vinegar in a small plate - and the dumplings are dunked generously in this mixture. Sometimes I even drink a small spoonful of vinegar after I'd chewed on a dumpling.

Issues? Maybe.

Hot and sour soup (small) S$6.80

Described as 'small' on the menu, this was big enough to feed the both of us and with third helpings too. It wasn't hot (as in spicy) to me, and neither was it sour enough for me, but a little addition of the vinegar solved that quickly enough. I loved the soup. Full of crunchy vegetables, soft silky tofu, and plenty of taste, I almost finished the entire soup myself.

Picked cucumber in vinegar (around S$2.50)

Mmm mm mmm my favourite type of dish. Served cold, each baton of crunchy cucumber was lovely accompanied by the slight heat from the chilli oil, and tang from the black vinegar.

Pickled mustard with shredded meat S$2.50

And another one of my favourites. I'm tellin' ya, I like this place a lot.

The mustard leaves must have been rinsed slightly of their pickling juice as it wasn't anywhere near as salty as I'd expected it to be. Crunchy and tender, the leaves surrounded a small surprise of delicate shredded pork which lent a nice contrast to the textures.

Stir-fried Hong Kong kailan with special sauce S$10.00

Hubs ordered this for me as he knows how much I like kailan. When we were in London, we'd get our kailan from either Gold Mine or Peninsula, and since arriving in Singapore, we'd not had much vegetables in our meals.

This was done very nicely with the kailan maintaining the green, tender texture without being overcooked.

Veg pork wantan tossed with well-seasoned chicken broth S$6.50

This dish is what I describe as an 'extra'.

You know what I mean - the kind of dishes you order when you're very hungry, and when everything on the menu looks good. So you go ahead and order it, thinking surely I'll be able to finish it all. No problemo.

Then, the dish arrives and while it's not a let down, it just doesn't compare to the rest of the dishes on the table.

While it would have been perfectly top class in any other restaurant, and while it tasted fresh, juicy and all that, the flavouring of it wasn't as good as the other dishes we had on offer. I suppose it's meant to be slightly more bland (not being cooked in anything other than chicken broth) but I much preferred the stronger-flavoured dishes we had that day.

Oriental wantan with black vinegar and chilli oil (around S$8.00)

Oh yup uh huh gimme more.

The juicy little parcels of meat were floating in the chilli oil and vinegar mixture in the bowl, just waiting to be munched on. Each bite produced a burst (literally) of meat, meaty juice, chilli heat and saliva-inducing tang from the vinegar.

Like a perfectly co-ordinated X Factor song.

Only it's much, much better than the X Factor.

And it doesn't make me wanna punch the television.

Steamed crabmeat and pork dumpling - 10 pieces for S$13.80

"Those people outside are queuing up to see you, Mr. Bao."

"Oh really? OK, tell 'em they can come kiss my hand. But only for a minute or two."

And kiss their hands we did. One gulp at a time.

First, take one beautiful, elegant, gorgeous mouthful of a Siew Long Bao and place it delicately in a spoon.

Then, bite of a TINY piece of the dumpling from the top, allowing the steam to escape.

Drink a little bit of the juice to allow space for the vinegar to be added in.

Be very liberal with the vinegar.

Open your mouth.

NOM.

Steamed pork dumpling (siew long bao) - 10 pieces for S$9.00

As we were here mainly for the Siew Long Bao's, we ordered 2 different versions of the dumplings. Much preferred the second version which is actually the original version consisting of mainly just pork.

I liked this better as it was more meaty and also had a better texture to it compared to the crabmeat one which was kinda mushy because of the crab.

Hubs had ...

THIRTY FIVE dumplings in total, including the ones in chilli oil.

Steamed Chinese layer cake (around S$6 if I'm not mistaken)

Hmm well, we took this back as a takeaway. Partly as I didn't like the taste of it much, and also partly because we were stuffed.

Victory is ours.

And although it would've done us good to have walked back from where we were, we didn't take that option. Instead, we walked around Orchard Road for a bit - Christmas lights are up!

We missed the switching on of the lights on Oxford St this year (not that we were there at the other years' but just saying) so it was nice to savour the lights here. Almost the same designs and colour - wonder if they bought it from the same people?

ToriQ Yakitori Sticks

2011-12-19T14:10:00.001+08:00

I'm really liking Singapore food courts - found in every mall, which in turn, is found at almost every MRT station. This latest fav is the ToriQ Yakitori Bacon and Asparagus stick.

Yum yum on a stick for about $2.

Manna Story (Korean), 68 Orchard Road, #B2-22 Plaza Singapura

2011-12-16T11:16:00.005+08:00

I am now possibly an expert on all things Plaza Singapura. If I was into one of those 'check-in' things which awarded you stars or diamonds or something when you checked into a place and then opened up some door or something when you've been there enough times, I would've perhaps by now, owned the mall.

So it should be no surprise to you that I've perused every single menu there is on offer here, and with a lot of effort, have zoned in on which ones I like the look of.

We'd eaten here once before - sometime last week - and really enjoyed it, so after a whole afternoon of more Korean drama with my aunt (both of us sat on the couch, gripped to the storyline which we didn't quite understand but which fascinated us anyhow) I was in the mood for some Korean chow-down.

Most restaurants here have menus outside (just like in the UK) for customers to check out the stuff on offer (and most importantly, the price range) before deciding to go in or not.

This one goes one step further with neon signs.

The menu here is definitely not another big menu. Consisting mainly of pictures, and cute little drawings representing which animal you wanna chew on, this menu couldn't have been any more simple than it is.

So, with such an easy-to-use menu, featuring pictures of what you would be served, you would've thought that the diners wouldn't find it too difficult to order what they wanted to eat, right?

Not.

I have a story here which is probably not worth telling, but it irked me so much that all throughout the meal I was just twitching my fingers, wanting to tell someone off, but resisted. So I'll tell it here.

Anyway, so, a little background. As you can probably tell from the first picture above, space in this restaurant is tight. If you're dining with one other person, chances are you'll get seated in a single table located directly next to another single table (with so little room that you'd have to move the other table to get into your seat). Anyhow, I am completely fine with that concept - after all, you try to get as many customers in as you can, so no problems there.

However, this does mean that you're now privy to the entire conversation of your dining neighbours. Again, not much of a problem especially if the conversation is an interesting one.

Not so much.

Back to the story. So sitting next to us (on both sides) were 2 girls at each of the tables. The pair to my right got there after we'd ordered, and made an order of their own quite quickly. Then, our massive pot of a meal arrived (pictures below) followed by their meals.

Lady 1 - tucking into her noodles: "Eh? Why is this noodle cold? It's disgusting, why do they serve cold noodles?" --- Small point to note here, for you readers. She'd ordered the 'Cold Buckwheat Noodles'.

Her dining companion who probably knows how to read a little better said "Oh I've had this before, and yes they usually serve it cold."

Lady 1 again - possibly slightly embarrassed by her lack of ability to read - then asks the waiter to come over and ACTUALLY says "Hey, why didn't you tell me that this noodle would be served cold when I was ordering it? I don't like it, I don't like cold noodles. You should've said something when I was ordering it."

Baffling how sometimes the customer thinks they're always right. Even when they're so wrong. Even when the menu says 'Cold Buckwheat Noodles' and the picture shows no steam, and nothing to indicate that the word 'cold' was put there merely as a joke.

Not content with just blaming the waiter for not telling her that she might not like the food she decided to order, she then ordered some other noodle and proceeded to spend the entire meal doing a running commentary on ours.

Gems spouted included "Oh we should've ordered theirs" while peering across the table into ours.

"The waiter should've told us about the promotion (ours)" (re: neon sign by the entrance).

"Next time we're here, we're definitely ordering theirs. Wonder which one it is." Proceeds to open up the menu, turn around in her seat, and actually compare each picture on the menu to what we had on our table.

All this taking place about 10 inches from our seats.

Remember the other girls sitting to our left? Repeat scene above without the whole cold noodle bit.

Fun times.

Quick drink? Cute little cans at 120 calories a can. Pear-flavoured pop, it was.

This was a side dish from the back section of the menu which I decided to order but I don't reckon I'll be ordering this again. Too little dressing, and a little too much raw carrots for my liking.

But you don't see me asking the waiter why this salad is all veg, do you?

Because that would've been a stupid thing to do, that's why.

Banchan (side dishes)

Oh how I love free banchan!

Clockwise, from top-left: Beansprouts, crunchy sweet anchovies, kimchi (Korean fermented cabbage) and stewed sweet potatoes

This is the first place where I've tried the stewed sweet potatoes (which I assumed were picked radish aka Chinese-style). The sweet anchovies were also similar to what we usually have our Chinese rice-porridge with. Beansprouts were nice, but could've been better if they'd used the big-headed beansprouts instead but that might be a cost or supply issue thing.

Spicy chicken in hotpot (Tak toritang?) Around S$14.80 per person

The promotion meant we could order 3 additional toppings instead of the original 2. Any other addition on top of that is charged at S$2 per topping. We chose glass noodles, rice cakes and squid.

Look at that food mountain that arrived at the table. No wonder the other diners decided to watch us while they were eating.

Taste -wise, it was very good. Very well-flavoured and definitely no where as spicy as it might look. The chicken remained very tender, and the vegetables surprisingly crunchy even as it was bubbling away in the pot. Overall, I enjoyed this very much.

These pictures were taken at half-hour intervals, and as you can see, we didn't do that well in finishing the dish. It seemed like a never-ending pot - we picked and picked and picked at it, but it was still there. Deciding to maybe take on the chicken first, we continued on paving our way through the pot but it was still there. We then moved on to the vegetables, by then feeling quite full - but the mountain remained. I don't know how this is a portion for 2.

So, if you're around Plaza Singapura, are feeling hungry and up for a challenge, perhaps you'd like to sit next to those 2 tables and explain to them how a menu works.

Dreams of curry rice - Al-Jilani Restaurant, 127 Bencoolen Street, Singapore

2011-12-15T09:40:00.002+08:00

Long before we moved to Asia, my husband had already begun imagining how nice it would be if we could have curry rice sitting by a roadside in the warm weather on an (almost) daily basis.

That, to him, was the epitome of Asian living, and, I'm convinced, the reason he wants to come to Asia. Anyhow, since we'd been dining in the mall for the last week or so, having pretty much the same Japanese and Korean food all the time, we decided it was time to have some of the stuff he likes so much.

On the way from our hotel apartment to Bugis (amazing shopping where everything is $10), there is this Indian restaurant which we've been going by quite frequently. Everytime we're there, the place has been quite busy, and the food eaten by the diners there looked quite good too.

I wasn't sure if the waiters here spoke English or Malay as over in Malaysia, you're pretty much OK speaking Malay to just about anyone. Gingerly, I tried a little English and when that succeeded, I got a little braver.

This restaurant has a little rice/dishes counter where I guess you're meant to choose your dishes from. Thing is, all the time we were there, I didn't see anyone standing at the counter choosing anything. Plates of rice with dishes on them just kept getting brought out to the table by the waiters - but anyway, doing things the Malaysian way, we stood at the counter and picked out what we wanted to have.

Plus, that way, you can kinda ask for more.

Roti telur (eggy bread)

We ordered this mainly to compare this place to the ones we're familiar with (Kanna Curry House) and found it to be a little tough in comparison. Maybe it had been made earlier on and been sitting there for a bit, but taste-wise it was nice. Curry sauce was tasty, can't say too much else about this/

Briyani rice with curry chicken

Surprisingly flavourful. I say surprisingly because having tasted the roti telur above, I wasn't that confident about how the rice would be. Served lukewarm (party my fault since I spent about 5 minutes taking pictures), the rice was perfectly seasoned. The curry sauce was delicate and just about right in the spicy department, while the chicken remained very tender and fell apart at a mere push with the fork.

The whole meal including a S$2 packet of takeaway vegetables came up to S$12.40. Is that cheap? Is that expensive? Not a clue. Enjoyable, though, and we continued our evening having a stroll around the neighbourhood.

First Week In Singapore

2011-12-12T09:52:00.003+08:00

I've been watching lots and lots of Korean soaps. The telly here shows them pretty much consecutively one episode after the other, and although it took me a while to figure out that they WERE indeed Korean soaps (mouths weren't moving in sync with sounds, plus, everything is dubbed in Mandarin, with English subtitles - so they could've been soaps of any origin), I've now begun to get into the storyline and am actually enjoying the gripping plots.

The housekeeper who comes by daily must wonder why I just sit staring at the computer screen while occasionally staring at the telly - or maybe this is what she gets in every apartment when the husbands go to work. A little background - I am sitting here in our serviced apartment for a month while the husband is at work. We've found a place of our own (albeit to rent) so after this month, I should be staring at the computer and telly from another location.

Yes, I should of course be trying to get some form of income to support all this eating but that is another story altogether.

Anyhow, here are some photos I've put together. As mentioned in the previous post, these are collages because the picture quality is so poor that I couldn't bring myself to post them up as they were. Lots and lots of editing, and some squashing together, here I bring you - Our First Week In Singapore.

Plaza Singapura - Ichiban Sushi

The serviced apartments we're staying in for the month is located near an MRT (tube) stop called Dhoby Ghaut. That is (I'm led to believe) around 20 minutes walk from Orchard Road - the main shopping street in Singapore. Whenever I mention I might walk to Orchard Road, I'm met with stares of disbelief, so much so that I am now very much doubting that this is indeed, if at all, a possible feat. So, I've been pretty much going about a 500m radius from the apartment to Plaza Singapura and back, and then, from the apartment to Bugis and back. Last weekend, we actually ventured all the way from Bugis to Plaza Singapura. I know.

For the geographically-weak (like me) and for my future reference:

Bugis - Apartment - Dhoby Ghaut - Plaza Singapura - Orchard Road

Anyway, Plaza Singapura is one of those malls with anything and everything. I've been up and down this mall so many times this week I reckon I could do quite well in the Information Counter. I've tried almost everything in the food court, and together, the husband and I have perused the menus of almost all the food outlets in the mall.

We ate at Ichiban Sushi twice, Sakae Teppanyaki once, this Korean place once (ordered WAY too much food), and sampled street food in the Basement once. The picture above shows the stuff we ate at Ichiban Sushi - nothing much to explain here.

Sim Lim Food Court

On the way to Bugis from the apartment is this multi-storey mall consisting entirely of computer and mobile phone shops called Sim Lim Mall. It's a techy geek's dream come true which is why we spent our second evening there. Prices aren't that cheap if you know what you're intending to pay - but there is a very interesting food court beneath the mall. I have a source which tells me the 'Mee Pok' there is very good indeed though I have yet to try it out.

While we were there, we took the lazy route and just had Thai food as shown above. It was alright - spicy, tangy, very Thai, and kinda cheap. $11 for the two of us.

Stellar @ 1-Altitude (62nd Floor) (Raffles Place)

Last night (Sunday), we decided to splash out on a treat seeing as we'd been eating at food courts pretty much all week. Don't even talk about Saturday evening, as we met up with a friend, went to Zouk, and then to Home Bar (excellent indie music, with lots of English people there, felt almost like London) and about who knows how many hours later, we pretty much slept all of Saturday away. Interrupted only by a quick trip to De Laundrette in Burlington Square ($10/kg for wash and fold), Burger King (2 double Swiss Mushroom Burger Meals) and in the evening, a quick dinner at the 24-hour food court across the road.

Anyway, back to Sunday. We went furniture shopping at Furniture Mall along Beach Road, had some nibbles at Plaza Singapura (where else) and then after an ironing session (whoever invented the ironing board obviously didn't have to iron men's shirts), decided to have a nice dinner at the posh place shown above.

Located 62 floors above ground, we didn't have a view as we were seated away from the (reflective) windows. #epicfail

Food was good, service was mixed. One of the waiters brought me a shawl when he heard me say that it was really cold in there. The other waitresses didn't know that we'd ordered the set menu ($55++ pp) and also didn't understand the meaning of service with a smile but hey, I wasn't eating the service so who cares.

The 3-course set menu came with some stuff you could pay extra for ie the sushi starter (additional $5) and the beef main (additional $10). I took the seafood starter while the husband took the sushi, and for mains, I had the seabass while the husband had the beef. He incurred a total of $15 additional on the set menu. Just saying.

Dessert was some sharing thing consisting of sticky toffee pudding (?), a fruit flan (?) and a passionfruit panna cotta (?). Just guessing. Menu didn't say.

1-Altitude Bar (63rd Floor) (Raffles Place)

Then, we headed one floor up to an equally grumpy receptionist / front of lift whom we paid $18 pp for entrance to the bar with one complimentary drink (Hoegaarden for him, ginger beer for me). View was spectacular, jazzy music not so great, while the waiting staff went around with walkie-talkies telling each other who didn't have a drink. Seriously. The table next to us had to convince the waiter that their friend was really really at the bar getting a drink for them, after which the waiter leant across the barrier to check at the bar that the friend was really getting a drink.

Anyhow, that aside, the view itself was worth the $18 pp so if you're around there, worth making a little stop here.

Phew It's Hot Here!

2011-12-12T08:58:00.004+08:00

So anyway, it's been roughly a month since I last posted anything on this blog. In between dusting off the ... dust, and mopping up the sweat off my brows, I've also been travelling from the West to the East, packing, unpacking, packing, unpacking, eating, settling in, trying to get accommodation, furniture, food, and also something to pay for all of the above.

Needless to say, it's been warm. Like 29 degrees Celcius warm. Every day.

I would do one of those *warm happy jump* expressions so favoured on texts and blogs to show cute emotions, but as I lack any of that sorta cuteness, I'll just probably say it out the way I would.

Warm happy jump.

But I've been eating, too. Not while jumping, of course, as that frequently results in appendicitis or something similar. I've been eating mainly in food courts, and in fact, been eating in the same mall for about five days straight.

Nothing too unusual, I suppose, for those who know me ... re: Itsu.

I'll trump this untrumpable post with something a little more pictorial in a bit - as soon as I get round to downloading the pics of the dSLR. The places we've been dining at have not been too inspiring so far, so it's gonna have to be small, montaged photos for now. Plus, the one place I wanted to show off about was the one we ate at last night, but these posh places really should spend more on decent lighting, as all my pics came out somewhat meh.

Or maybe I should learn to use my camera better.

But anyhow, coming right up in a bit as soon as I finish procrastinating.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

2011-11-12T07:59:00.008+08:00

Website here. Nearest tube station: Knightsbridge. Full set of Flickr photos: Here

OK - first things first. The real reason we actually found the courage to book a table here was because of the Set Lunch Menu available only on weekdays from 12-2pm. The most important feature of this Set Menu was the Set Price of £28 for 3 courses. As I didn't fancy taking out a short-term loan from Wonga for the purpose of this lunch, this was pretty much the closest we'd ever get to eating anything that comes out from a Heston Blumenthal kitchen.

Of all the things we could've done with our free, unemployed daytime, we chose to do this. Yes, it has been my dream for many years to be able to take advantage of all these mouth-watering, money-saving lunch deals that seem to taunt most decent, wage-earning people stuck in an office from 9am to 5pm. Deals which do not exist when these hard-working people leave the office, and deals which never are valid at weekends. (Yes, I also understand why this is so, but never you mind.)

So, in our first week of free-time-dom, we put on our finest finery and got ourselves on the Tube towards Knightsbridge. I'd never been into the Mandarin Oriental before, so those really grand doors were really quite imposing and a little intimidating.

Thing is, though, everyone at that hotel is just so friendly. From the doorman to the lady at Dinner's reception counter thing, to every single one of the waiting staff who served us during lunch. All so very friendly, very welcoming, and always ready with a pleasant little chat whenever they came to our table. Rarely had I ever encountered such genuinely pleasant and warm waiting staff from 'posh' restaurants like this one.

This possibly contributed towards the first time I'd ever felt like wanting to actually pay the 10% discretionary service charge added on to the bill. Heck, why not even 12.5%.

Plus, they have jelly mould lights.

There wasn't much point in debating what to order because there was only 2 items to choose from per course, and since we were going to try every one, we just kinda said to the waitress "One of every item, please". And, because we'd seen it on telly many times before, we decided to order the Meat Fruit too (more on this later). With nothing much else to do in between ordering and waiting for the food to arrive, I looked wistfully out the window at the orange autumn leaves scattered all over Hyde Park.

They really should do more sweeping.

As with all good restaurants, complimentary posh bread.

Or as I call it, "A Minute On The Lips, And Somehow Things Don't Fit."

Now before you think I'm being all mathematical with my circa this and that, the numbers after each dish represent the year in which the recipe or dish was first discovered. Or so I'm told.

Lemon salad (c.1730) Goat's curd, Buckler Sorrel & Raisins

OK this was not a good start to the meal, but luckily this was not representative of the items yet to be tasted. Blame my unsophisticated tastebuds, but to me, this tasted like some goats cheese had been whacked on a plate, drizzled with some lemony tangy drizzle and made a little more interesting with some plump, juicy raisins. Finished it all anyhow. Like I was gonna leave any of it unfinished - come on ... it would have cost easily £15 or so if it wasn't on the set menu so I was gonna inhale every bit of it even it it did taste like goats cheese on a plate. Which it was.

Ragoo of Pigs Ears (c.1750) Anchovy, Onions and Parsley

Now I really liked this. Earthy, very full-flavoured, and interestingly crunchy yet soft - this tasted like something very familiar. I've had pigs ears before but never like this. The Chinese method of serving pigs ears is usually either the cold, stewed version of it sliced finely, or in some sort of (disgusting) jellied terrine. This version was surprising and introduced a very refreshing spin on a part of the pig so commonly overlooked. It went ridiculously well with the thick, absorbent and chewy slice of bread sat comfortably underneath the saucy mountain of ear slices.

OK OK - now comes the exciting bit. I mean, come on, this IS Heston Blumenthal's restaurant. And come on, I HAD to try it. So, don't get too excited (I know I did), but here it is.

The MEAT FRUIT.

Meat Fruit (c.1500) Mandarin, Chicken Liver Parfait and Grilled Bread £14.50

Possible like every other person before me (and after), I'd ordered this simply because I'd seen it on Heston's Feasts programme and it looked so darned good. The chicken liver parfait ball is dipped in a jelly infused with mandarin puree (recipe here) before it's left to set and cool.

Had to give it a squeeze. Come on - you would've done the same. It just looked so ... squeezable. You'd be pleased to know that it did not maintain the original shape after being squeezed, and sat there forlornly looking quite squashed so we quickly ate it.

Because as some people always like to say (and I am NOT one of them) - you eat with your eyes first or something along those lines - I had expected the parfait to taste of something orange. Or at least a hint of orange. But nope. I know the recipe said mandarin puree, and it's been written on other places about this being a mandarin chicken liver parfait but I didn't manage to taste any citrus in it. Not a criticism because who am I to criticise this genius of a chef who can pummel me with his Michelin star, but just sayin'.

Aside from that, it sure tasted good. In fact, MORE than good. Good-er?

It tasted like a hundred chickens had been put into this dish. It was meaty, it was intensely smooth, it was so many things. And it was the best chicken liver parfait I'd ever had.

Smothered on to the delicious piece of toast, this was not only a fabulous specimen of a starter, but, dare I say it - it was almost worth the £14.50 we paid for it. Portion-wise, nothing to complain about. Taste-wise, definitely nothing to complain about. Price-wise ... hey, I'll always complain about the price so let's be realistic and leave it at that.

Sure is a popular dish.

Cured Salmon (c.1670) Beetroot, Sea Aster and Olive Oil

Part-way through chewing on this, the husband and I consulted one another on what we thought of the dish. It's tough trying to look like you're thinking, while munching, so with quite an amusing-yet-thoughtful look on his face, he said something along the lines of "Mmm. Mmm mm ... mmmmm?"

Where as I went, "I think it's good, but I prefer the texture of the one we had at Casa Mia" (bearing in mind that it's a completely different dish, made by completely different chefs, and so cannot possibly be compared but hey).

This salmon was lovely and fresh, with natural sweetness and a lovely flaky texture to it, with the texture slowly changing towards the middle of the piece of fish. Thing is, unlike the poached version we had at Casa Mia, where I really liked the spongy, resistant texture of the fish, I couldn't really tell the difference in texture in the different bits of this fish.

Even though I could tell by looking at it that the textures were meant to be different, I just couldn't distinguish the difference when chewing on it. So, while it tasted nice and all, perhaps it didn't quite achieve what it set out to achieve? Or maybe I'm just being over-analytical on a piece of fish. Such pretentious behaviour really has no place on this blog. I shall shut up on the topic of fish.

Bath Chaps (c.1860) Savoy Cabbage, Lardo, Ham hock and Robert broth

Lardo and Robert Broth sound like quite fun guys, don't they.

This dish was easily my favourite of all the items we had. It was simple to eat, and it had all my favourite things in it.

Meat - yup. Cabbage - yes please. Delicious gravy which tasted like it contained all the best intense meaty juices of the last century condensed into one tablespoon of gravy goodness - uh huh. And as an added bonus, the texture of the meat was tender and yet chewy.

Prune & Tamarind Tart (c.1720)

You know how if you've been presented with loads and loads of amazing, tap-dancing gold fish, and suddenly a 'common' goldfish is just not so impressive anymore? Yes, that is indeed described commonly as 'being spoiled'.

Which is exactly how I felt when this was brought out. I don't know what I was expecting but it sure wasn't a slice of what looked like creme brulee in triangular form. But this is being rather harsh on a dish so lovingly created by the chefs working hard behind the glass-covered kitchen so just disregard all that I've said in the paragraph above.

The sugar-crust thing did crack when tapped on like a creme brulee, and the consistency of the tart filling was creamy and thick like in a creme brulee. And while the taste of it was also slightly creamy with a hint of rich egg like a creme brulee - this tart had a base to it which no creme brulee has ever had.

We finished it, we enjoyed it, and it was not creme brulee.

Orange Buttered Load (c.1630) Mandarin & thyme sorbet

Also described as 'Husband's Favourite Dessert Of All Time Except For His Mam's Apple Crumble Which Cannot Ever Be Relegated'.

Mmm warm and squishy and all things comforting - this was deliciousness in a loaf. Bready and soaked through and through with all things citrusy, every spoonful yielded the most tantalising, tangy mouthful of doughy goodness imaginable. And then, like a little burst of sunshine, the sorbet with its curiously-sweet-yet-slightly-indescribable-but-wonderful taste cleansed the palate to ready it for the comforting orange buttered loaf again.

Maybe it was because we looked like we weren't full enough (if the belly-rub isn't a universal sign of being full, I don't know what is), or maybe we were just nice to the waitress that day, they brought over this little cup of chocolate mousse infused with Earl Grey Tea.

Which I couldn't say no to. So here we go again.

It was amazing. It was like molten chocolate which somehow someone had managed to blend in with some Earl Grey Tea. I finished it. Very full. Can't type.

Brick Lane Beigel Bake, 159 Brick Lane, London E1 6SB

2011-11-10T09:32:00.003+08:00

Brick Lane, huh? The stuff of novels, mediocre curries, and 24-hour bagels. You heard right - 24 hours, 7 days a week, bagels on tap.

Where do I get this tap, you ask. Why at the Brick Lane Beigel Bake, of course. Don't you use Google?

Famed for being one of those places in London loved both by the locals and also tourists who come from afar just to say they've been to this legendary bagel-producing takeaway, it remains to this day, one of the places we'd never quite made our way to.

Until now, that is. Veni vidi vici.

It also seems to be one of those places untouched by the Disgusting Claws of Inflation. These prices look acceptable in the eighties. How much for a piece of cheesecake?!? I almost was afraid to ask if the prices were actually valid - fearing my complete lack of self control but even after I'd ordered about half the board, it only came out to about £8 so I can safely say that yes, those prices are in fact, real and valid.

By the way, for those of you reading this who're not British, and not too familiar with the way things are priced here, the numbers on the board represent the amount of pennies you'd have to shell out for the item. For example, to avoid any doubt, 70 means 70p, or £0.70.

That amount buys you about half a piece of toast in a normal establishment. Here, it gets you a slice of cheesecake, or chocolate fudge, or even a carrot cake.

It's not just the prices that're stuck in the decades gone by - the interior is, too. Not necessarily a bad thing though as it does create a nice, comforting sense of nostalgia as you walk into the shop from the (sometimes) bleak Brick Lane vibe outside.

By the window is a huge slab of hot salt beef - just tantalising those tastebuds and anyone who walks by (scroll to last picture below for a quick smile). Guarding these meaty treasures are 2 As-East-End-As-You'll-Get ladies who exude the personalities of dinner ladies with attitude. Brisk, brief and bustling - they ask for your order, hand it to you, and off you go. None of that pansy "How're you today, love" nonsense.

For £3.50, you get this doorstop of a beefy, boffy bagel. What I liked about it was the fact that these bagels were oh so darn chewy! Chewy chewy chewy. Each chewy bite was such a pleasure to bite into - cheeeeeeewy. Then, as I sank my teeth further into the meaty treasure, I bit into MORE chewy - in the form of the hot salt beef. Chewy in a good way though. It was moist, it was meaty, it was flavourful, and it was oh so chewmazing.

A little zingy zing from the English mustard so generously slathered on and we were set to want more.

And because this chicken bagel cost £1.50, I couldn't resist. While the chicken was literally just that - chicken - it was kinda enjoyable in its own way, too. The taste was clean, uninterrupted, and if you like chicken, you're in for a good bagel.

This was the pastry (1 of 2) that I somehow managed to order in the time between deciding which bagel to have, and actually saying those words out loud. Nothing amazing, but for that price (under £1), what more could you ask for.

How could you walk by and not bagel?

This lil guy looked hungry outside the shop.

Full Stop Bar, 202 Brick Lane, E1 6SA London

2011-11-10T09:03:00.003+08:00

Twitter @fullstopbar if you're that way inclined.

So while the husband and I are exploring the lifestyle of the unemployed - waking at noon, breakfast at lunch, and going out at rush hour (6pm), having lunch at dinner, you know the drill - we've also been diligently trying to get through our London List. This is the list of things we should have done perhaps four years ago when we first moved to London, but because of the lack of time, energy and commitment, somehow they've just gone off the radar.

Not anymore, though. The list is now back in action and we're working our way through it.

After forcing ourselves out of the flat around 1pm, we decided to make our way towards Brick Lane.

A bit of background here, if you may. My husband used to go to Pete's cafe everyday while it was located at Church Street Market near Marylebone (when it was called Indie Coffee). This is the same husband who, until about 5 months ago, hated coffee like I hate commuter crowds. He didn't like the smell of the beans, the taste of the liquid, and pretty much hated anything to do with coffee. Then, succumbing perhaps to some peer pressure (busy people having busy coffee), he decided to try a bit of the wonderful stuff. It wasn't love at first gulp, and after a few persistent months of Flat Whites, he got hooked.

He began to like coffee, and most of all, grew to enjoy the little chats he had with the guy who ran the stall. So, it was without question that when this guy then opened up his new coffee shop in Brick Lane, that we'd go check it out before we left London.

Full Stop Bar is the shop in question - located on Brick Lane, handily opposite the road from the famous Brick Lane Beigel Bake (a place which would've made me very fat had I worked / lived / commuted past it on a daily basis).

The outside of the shop still says Antiques on the board, so you could easily walk past it thinking the chairs and tables by the window were for sale. They're probably not. What they were, though, however, were very comfy places for us to perch our bums on while we had our excellent coffee and more than excellent brownie (more on that later).

I ordered a White Americano as I just couldn't justify having that much milk so early on in the day (my daily Starbucks Soy Latte was calling for me). While it was smooth and definitely one of the best Americanos I've had, it was no match for the ...

... Flat White.

This is by far one of the nicest Flat Whites in London. We've been to quite a few coffee places in London, but this stands out from the rest. Guess it helps that we like the guy who makes it, too, but that aside, Full Stop Bar actually has comfy chairs for us to sit in. The other places we've been to in London have usually been the type of crowded, small and cramped places where you'd have to scoot by in a certain sideway fashion to get to your seat, while then balancing your cuppa on the WiFi-enabled laptop that came as an accessory.

Helps too that their brownies are softchewilicious. Crumbawumba. Chockawocka. Get your hands off it.

NABM update - From Manchester to London to ...

2011-11-04T18:00:00.001+08:00

Singapore and hopefully more of Asia!!!

The 10 of you who read this blog more than once a month would (maybe, perhaps, hopefully) know that the blog started originally in London, and sometimes feature food from Manchester (where we lived for 2 years). While I've not been to as many places as I'd hoped to in London, I guess we still managed to cover off quite a few places, maybe more so than if I didn't have this blog to push me forward.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my time in London, and the food's been great too. Of course, I could've done without the 'Tube angst', and 'Oxford St Scrum', but those aside, we've explored many places, eaten many things and met many new friends whom we'll hopefully keep in touch with in the future.

Our adventures will soon be taking us to Singapore (fingers crossed), and from there, perhaps all around Asia. As someone from Asia, I've not actually been to that many places in the region, but since discovering the exciting and colourful cuisine of Vietnam and Korea (from London), I would definitely like to try the cuisine for real.

If there are any of you reading from Asia, do drop me a line and maybe recommend me some of your favourite places so that I can move out of my food rut and try some new stuff!

Why Singapore?

1. Better weather

OK so maybe the picture above doesn't best represent it, but at least it's warm.

2. (Hopefully) better food Although that remains to be seen - I shall keep you updated.

3. Easier navigation of transport systems (left is Singapore, right is London)

Over the next few weeks, I won't be posting as much as before (not too difficult to achieve) because we're going to be travelling around Europe for a bit, before leaving the UK. As it takes roughly about 3 months for any internet connection to be set up wherever you are, I should hopefully have quite a lot of new material to blog about so hope you don't mind the temporary slowdown of posts!

Before we leave, special mention goes to the serving staff at Itsu (More London branch), who, despite my having been there on an (almost) daily basis since April, still don't try to second guess my lunch order, and always make me feel like I could surprise them with a different order (who are we kidding). Vegetable detox, please.

Over and out (for the time being).

London In A Few Weeks - Food Diary Part 1

2011-11-03T18:07:00.003+08:00

So as we don't have much longer in London, we've begun an All-You-Can-Eat lasting a few weeks, where we revisit all our favourite places in London, while trying out some new places which we reckon we can't find abroad. To help me keep track of where we've been, this is a listing of where we've been to.

Sunday 30th October:

Came back from Wiltshire and by the time we battled traffic and that, it was nearly 2pm by the time we got back to London. As were were going to have dim sum anyway, headed off to Yi-Ban and arrived there about 2.15pm. Queue was ever present and just as long - shock. Anyway, found the nice lady who hands out the seat numbers, and she mentioned something about how they were rushing to set up tables for a wedding to be held later in the day, so if we could finish our meal within an hour, then we had a table immediately. I said, if she was going to give us a table immediately, we'd finish the meal in half an hour so it was a Table Success. Ordered the usual, packed some away, and was finished by about 3pm (slightly over half an hour). On the way out, I casually asked the waiter if the wedding dinner was due to start at around 7-ish that evening, and if that was why they were rushing around. He said, no, it was due to start around 4pm.

Monday 31st October:

Friend's b'day so we had dinner at Vivat Bacchus by London Bridge. When TC and I walked in, we saw a table which looked like it had been set up for about 15 people (which happened to be the number of people in our group) so I casually asked, "Oh, it looks like that might be our table, we're here for so-and-so and are booked for 7.30pm."

The maitre d' or whatever his role was looked back at me in what I could only describe as a cool, not-bothered look, and said 'No.'

So I said the name again, and the time again, and he said 'No.' Then proceeded almost a guessing game of where we were to be seated, at which point I kinda lost it a little and just said, "We'll come back when everyone is here." I was gonna spend some dosh there and have some drinks before dinner, but thanks to the 20-questions man, we didn't do that.

Said man was then in charge of waiting on our table for the entire night. We were put downstairs, and aside from another table of 2 women, were the only people put in the basement level. Fair enough - large group, so why not. Thing is, there was only one guy (THAT guy) serving us all night - both drinks, food, everything. So, things took their time, a lot of time, and by the time we were done with the just-average food and below-average service, I'd pretty much concluded that I was never going back to this place again.

Tuesday 1st November:

Felt a little ill from the change in weather, so aside from the usual pre-requisite Itsu lunch, we had a takeaway from Peninsula Chinese Restaurant. Ordered the usual, tried and tested favourites of Beef with English Broccoli (that is the name on the menu, but it's much nicer than that), and the Stir-fried Cuttlefish with XO sauce. Side order of a portion of Egg Fried Rice. Fab meal, saved on the tea felt very full after that.

Wednesday 2nd November:

Searched around during the day for some GBK vouchers and found a few (40% and 2-burgers-for-£12). Had the usual Itsu Vegetable Detox Potsu for lunch and some nice bread thing from Spianata. Was hungry again around 4pm so bought another Itsu on the way back, and then snacked on some Jack Links Beef Jerky and green pandan mochi. Was hungry again by 6pm (what is wrong with me) so when we went for dinner at GBK, I ordered the Bacon and Avocado Burger (no bun) while the husband ordered a Wellington Burger - shared a portion of fries. Nice dinner in a place which is quite consistent - all in all, pleasing.

Thursday 3rd November:

Husband's leaving do for his workmates, and I've been told that the place only serves pizzas and as I don't fancy wasting precious calorie space with pizza, I might have some more Itsu before heading out.

TBC ...

Not Another Big Photo

2011-10-26T22:49:00.003+08:00

I know some people (ie me) just like to look at pictures of food, and sometimes not read the text. So, for those of you who're like me, I've created a photo blog which features some of my favourite (and better) photos.

You can get to it through the 'Gallery' link by the header, or through the 'Other Blogs I Like' side bar.

Or here. If you're really lazy.

Note: This is in Dynamic view so if you don't have a 'modern' browser, it might not display.

To warmer weather

2011-10-26T17:00:00.000+08:00

The winter chill is in the air again. I know this because I can't stand at the bus stop for more than a minute before wishing I was back indoors. In the summer, that used to span at least ten minutes so I know that the sunny sunshiny summer days are possibly a thing of the past (or until next year, at least).

As all good Garganey ducks do, we shall be migrating to warmer weather soon to escape the chill. I'd like to go the whole hog and have a 'V' formation with the troops but alas, 2 people do not form a 'V', whichever way you look at it, so it shall have to be a horizontal 'I', at the best of times.

The eating continues, though, as any migrating bird with half a feather can tell you, and sometimes the consumption habits are ramped up to account for the extra energy used.

As such, I shall hopefully be posting more about places in London as we frantically eat our way around town before we leave.

Flat White, 17 Berwick St, Soho, London W1F 0PT

2011-10-24T17:00:00.002+08:00

Despite having more hours' sleep than usual, and having quite a relaxed night watching American dramas the night before, the husband and I both had a bit of a headache the following day. Puzzled, we guzzled some water but when that didn't make it better, the only conclusion was this:

"We are coffee addicts"

Now that's not really surprising for me as I've been having coffee on a daily basis for the last 6 or 7 years. I am usually OK on weekends without it. However, the husband did not have coffee for 28 years, as he hated the taste of instant coffee and it never occurred to him that good coffee can actually be, well, quite good.

However, peer pressure at the office finally brought him to a small, independent coffee stall near Marylebone where he tried a flat white, and has been speaking lovingly of the coffee man and beans ever since.

To get rid of the headache, we decided to get some mean beans from Flat White on Berwick Street in Soho. The husband had heard rave reviews of the place from a few friends, and having previously been there once for a quick takeaway cuppa, we decided to try it out again.

The interior of the cafe is befitting of the trendy Soho area at which it is located. Although rather dim inside (a pet peeve of mine due to my rubbish photography skills), the decor is chic and quirky (I am assuming this is what the owners wanted to achieve - otherwise I apologise for using these stereotypical words for describing your cafe).

The walls are decorated with photos of cameras from all decades (and are for sale too), while the seats are comfortable and cosy, even if they are situated quite close to one another. It is quite a small cafe though, so that's understandable.

They do serve food, but we've never tried the food here since we only ever get here around 4pm, but I've seen people eating and the stuff looks good. There's something about staring unashamedly in a hungry sort of way at someone who's eating that makes them eat that little bit quicker.

The waiting staff are always very, very happy so if you need proof that coffee makes a person happy, just spend some time here. They chat, they laugh, they make coffee. What more do you want?

We were there around 4pm (again) and the place was nearly full of very chic-looking people drinking their coffee in a very cool, relaxed way. Sticking out like a cocoa bean among coffee beans, we proceeded to find a comfy booth to park our bums.

The husband brought back a lovely little flat white, complete with milky swirly decoration, much to my delight. Bubble tea was pushed aside (well, it was finished anyway) and we both ooh-ed and aah-ed at it for a bit. It was lovely. Very smooth, velvety and we finished it all too quickly.

So we ordered another coffee, preferring to have something cold instead. The iced coffee was nice, and just as smooth as the Flat White, but with less milk. Overall, I prefer the Flat White as it just felt ... fuller.

We like this place very much, and it's definitely one of those places we'd go out of our way for to get to. Compared to other cafes, this one serves superior coffee, with great service, and comfy seats, right in the middle of Soho so it definitely gets our vote.

Phone number: 020 7734 0370
Website: www.flatwhite.com

P/S: Would like to wish a very Happy B'day to Chocky Wocky (@speroine) - may good food always come your way!

NABM reads: Jon Richardson's 'It's Not Me, It's You: Impossible Perfectionist Seeks Very Very Very Tidy Woman'

2011-10-20T17:52:00.000+08:00

Need a tea break after typing (or copying and pasting) that title in.

Anyhow, when I'm not stuffing my face stupid with all manners of bread, meat, seafood, everything (I don't discriminate), and when I'm not busy breaking the codes of this blog so lovingly fixed by the husband, or when I'm not spending more than I earn on things I don't need - I read.

Considering the other things I do in my free time, this works out at being the cheapest time-consuming activity I enjoy.

The most recent read - discovered through my following Jon Richardson (@ronjichardson) on Twitter, is the book whose title is listed in full glory in the post title above (no, I am NOT pasting it again here but you can get it on Amazon). (Picture shown here courtesy of Amazon.co.uk)

So far, I'm around 21% through the book (my Kindle measures these things - it has a complex).

Reading it has been almost like reading the book I wanted to write; only now I guess I won't have to write it anymore. Or get claim to the royalties.

Without giving the plot away (difficult seeing as I haven't completed the book), it's not an autobiography; rather, it's a current account of why and how Jon has been single for the last too-many-years and (I'm guessing) how he intends to change that status.

His writing style is honest beyond belief. I don't know how he manages to remain un-self-conscious in front of his '8 out of 10 cats' co-hosts (or whatever programme he's on) because surely that's like laid out all your deepest, darkest (perhaps slightly yellowish, even) secrets for all to see. If it's another honest book he wants to write, I'm not too sure where he can go from here. Surely there isn't a squeeze of honesty left to bare?

To give credit where credit is due - and it is very much due here - I respect him for allowing us to delve into his mindset for a mere £8.99 (Kindle edition - costs more, I don't know why). Although, it could be said that this is what authors do - they share their thoughts with you, in return for some moolah. Said thoughts could be fiction, mystery, contemporary romance, whatever - but share and share alike they do. And I guess this is what Jon is doing, although with possibly a lot more honesty than I've ever read in a book before.

You know how fun it is to sometimes, people-watch? I really enjoy those rare times when I get to sit in a cafe in Soho (it HAS to be in Soho), with a nice cuppa, just watching the people go by. And in Soho, they are usually colourful and very interesting. Reading this book was like people-watching, but taken to another level.

Guess you can tell I am liking the book so far. Once I'm done with the remaining 79%, I'll do an update. Maybe I might have gone off it half way through, but I very much doubt it.

UPDATE: I've finished the book - so I managed to get through the book within a day (it's not very thick). Just from that alone, you can tell I was quite gripped by it, and stayed up till way past midnight (on a weekday, check me out) to complete it. Conclusion?

Well, I'm the kind of person who likes Hollywood films simply because most of them have a happy ending. I also read all forms of rubbish chick-lits - all with happy endings. So if I were to read a book which was going to leave me going 'Er, and? Where's the happy ending?', I need some sort of prep first. Because I'd gone straight into this book from a chick-lit, I was still on the Hollywood route, so I was a little disappointed when I got to the end of the book, wondering where the happy ending was. But that is my stupidity and nothing to do with the book.

Jon maintains his writing style throughout the book and his honesty does not diminish for one page. By the end of the book, I felt as though I got to know him a little better. At the start, I felt as though he was just exaggerating (come on, how difficult can he be, he's a funny person!), but by the end of the book, I was beginning to empathise with just what he was trying to get us to understand in the first place. It's hard for me to explain anymore without giving anything away, so if you like this kinda stuff, go check it out.

Now to round it off with a stand-up session with the guy himself.

McDonald's 1955 Burger - Peninsular Park Road, Charlton, London SE7 7TZ

2011-10-19T17:05:00.001+08:00

I am a sucker for adverts and weirdly enough, with McDonald's, there doesn't usually even need to be adverts for me to want to have it. I could be on a bus and see an empty cup by the road, and that would be enough to make me want some chips from Maccy D's. Sometimes, I don't even require the empty cup, as images of Big Macs and McChickens float by voluntarily across the Slideshow that is my Imagination.

So you can imagine the amazingly successful effect a PAID advert by them would have on me. For a few weeks now, there has been a kinda catchy advert by them on telly, featuring Ray Bans and a 1955 burger. It starts off with a couple coming out of a suburban driveway in modern-ish clothing, and through their journey to the food haven that is Maccy D's, a transformation from Modern Day Joe to Greased Back Hair Henry (complete with sunnies because the weather has ultimately also gone through a change, who would've imagined) is going on. By the end of the advert, they're almost rocking the image of Sandy and Danny dancing and singing around a Double Cheeseburger.

How could I resist?

Having heard some OK reviews from a friend, we decided to try it out last week - on a sunny day, which always makes burgers taste better.

Having gone to our usual drive-through (which isn't the best one - consistency seems to be an issue here), we bought the 1955 Burger Meal to share. Pulled up at the nearest empty bay, and proceeded to take lots of pictures of chips - trying not to be worried by the stares from the other cars. I'm convinced they were worried - surely it doesn't take THAT long for both cars to finish their Value Meal.

How was the burger? As I probably shouldn't offend any other establishment by comparing a Maccy D burger to theirs, I shall use other Maccy D burgers as a benchmark. We'll call it the McMark.

(Note: I don't anything against Maccy D's as such, as I actually rather like them, but I know some people who really dislike them, so I'm assuming I musn't use them as a comparison against other burgers ...)

Comparing this to our favourite burger here, which is the cheeseburger (soft squishy bun, tangy pickle, plastic cheese and dry meat patty - love it), this 1955 burger just didn't impress. Yes, if I am impressed by the cheeseburger, you get the idea of how easily impressed I am.

I didn't like the amount of onions in this burger. Similar to what you get on hot dogs, there was just too much of the translucent slices in there to ignore. Usually I don't mind a bit of onions in burgers (like what you get in the Big Mac, which is a small portion of diced onions, covered in ketchup which makes everything taste alright), but almost every mouthful of this 1955 burger had onion in it.

The other thing which was annoying was the lack of any sort of sauce to help with the dryness of the meat. There was some sort of orange-coloured sauce by one side of the burger, so either the positioning of the sauce wasn't all that great, or they should up the amount of sauce they put in there.

Anyhow, for about a fiver, it fed us well, but I won't be buying this burger again anytime soon. Bring on the cheeseburgers.

The Athenaeum (Toptable deal), 116 Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 7BJ

2011-10-17T17:00:00.000+08:00

If you'd read the previous post, you might recall that we tried to sort out a whole civilised tea / theatre day out but because the theatre bit couldn't be booked, we had to settle for tea and then dinner instead. And since we were going to get all dressed up for the theatre, surely we had to get all dressed up for this replacement dinner too. And if we were going to dress up for dinner, we had to go somewhere nice.

However, somewhere nice doesn't always equate to 'blow the budget' so we decided, like a lot of Londoners do, to go for a Toptable deal at a posh nosh restaurant instead. As we'd previously dined at The Athenaeum restaurant before (and loved it), we decided to go there again.

Toptable offer: Love Food Give Food - 3 courses and a glass of champagne £29.50 from a set menu

This hotel is located a little off the beaten path. That isn't to say it's not right smack in the middle of town, because it is. It's just that it's a little off the touristy path, although, ironically, it's also quite close to Hard Rock Cafe by Green Park station / Hyde Park Corner station. With most posh hotels (this one is 5 stars), there is usually a sense of 'Oh dear, I hope I don't drink the handwash water' faux pas extravaganza worry, but with the lovely waiting staff at this hotel, they sure know how to put their diners at ease. I felt immediately comfortable when sat down at the table, although I'm sure the cosy surroundings and plush seats helped too.

It wasn't just with us either, because although we did come in at a time when there weren't any other diners and so, could make as much noise as we wanted before we settled down, the waiting staff were just as friendly, in a kind way, to all the other diners who came in after us. Pleasant, with just enough chat so as to put us at ease, and always at hand to fill up our glasses with tap water (I know! They serve tap water, the darlings.)

The restaurant interior feels very comfortable, with just the right amount of posh to keep us feeling quite special for the evening. Couples get allocated to the private booths while bigger groups get the comfortable side tables. From the moment we sat down to when we left, we had about 2 waiting staff constantly at hand, making us feel looked after.

Oh yes, and did I mention they have a very wide, and very good, selection of whiskies? Husband was very pleased.

The first thing that was brought to the table, even before the menu, was this bread bag. The cherry seeds at the bottom of the sack which were quite warm kept the bread rolls nice and warm for quite a while, and the butter and sea salt was the perfect accompaniment to the soft and fluffy bread. My personal favourite was the olive bread.

The menu for the Toptable offer. Since we'd taken up the 3 courses and a glass of champagne for £29.50 deal, we went all out with the starter, main course and of course, the pud too.

Starter 1: Cream of broccoli and stilton soup

Portion size was perhaps enough to feed one person as a main. Not that we were complaining, but if you were the kind of person who couldn't left your food unfinished, then you might be a tad full at the end of this meal. J who had it said it was very nice indeed. In fact, she'd had it before and ordered it again because she liked it so much.

Starter 2: Ham hock, kohlrabi, chervil and orange salad

Husband ordered this just because it had meat and he likes ham (we had ham hock at our wedding dinner though it didn't look like this version). He seemed quite disappointed with the shredded ham as I think he was looking forward to a chunky piece of meat to bite into, and so, sat there with a bit of a sulk - nibbling the julienned vegetables and ham, muttering to himself.

I, on the other hand, took a mouthful to try, and can say most objectively that it was quite pleasant, actually. The salty ham contrasted very well with the slight tang from the orange salad, and I quite liked the fact that it had been sliced fine rather than served in a chunk. That'll teach him not to order anything which says 'salad' in the description.

Starter 3: Home-cured spiced salmon, Asian salad and soy dressing

This was my starter and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It could've done with a bit less oil though, as it didn't seem to add any flavour to the dish, and left a rather unpleasant oily feel around my mouth. The fish was sliced quite thick which, to me, is always important with cured / smoked fish because if it's too thin, it's simply impossible to get the full benefit of the chewy smoked texture. It tasted somewhere in between smoked salmon and raw salmon; while the vegetable (a bit of mango in there) provided a good contrast to the chewiness. It was just the right amount too, as if there had been any more, it would've been a little overwhelming.

Complimentary amuse-bouche - Parsnip crisp and truffle mousse

Free stuff!!! Always like some free stuff. This wasn't any ol' free stuff. It was AMAZING free stuff. When the waiter put it down, he mentioned 'truffle' and when I said 'truffle what?' (trying to figure out what the white mousse-thing was), he said 'truffle' again, so either I didn't hear what he was saying, or he missed out a word in the description? I could taste earthy mushroom in the mousse-thing, so am guessing it's a mousse made with truffle. Parsnip crisp was perfectly crispy - fine line between crisp and just burnt. This was on the right side of the divide. The mousse was so unbelievable airy; it was like a floaty cloud of truffly goodness.

Main course 1: Seared English beef rump with green beans, herbed creamed potato and mustard jus

3 out of the 4 of us had this - must have been all the cake we had earlier which made us crave a bit of meat. I had mine rare, and they must have mixed the orders up as my dining companion's piece of steak looked a lot rarer than mine. But anyhow, it was cooked really well and for a rump cut, definitely tender and easy to eat. The mash was out of this world. Soft and creamy, with a hint of cream -I scoffed the lot. And as a final compliment to the chef (for this course), how did you make those green beans taste so good? Not only were they crunchy, yet soft (bewildering) but they managed to retain flavour! You are indeed a cooking genius.

Main course 2: Braised leg of rabbit, pearl barley and glazed carrots with a rabbit sauce

This was what J (the little rebel diner) had. We all had beef, she had rabbit. Now I've not had wabbit before, so she generously offered me a nibble. I said what no one should say of wabbit, and that was 'It tastes like chicken.'

Pudding 1: Lemon curd tart with chantilly cream and fresh berries

And since we'd already stretched our bellies quite a bit that day, we thought, why not have more pudding. Also, it came with the promotion set, so we'd be incredibly generous (and logical) to have said no to it.

Lemon curd was a very good way to slice through the grease from the earlier bits of the meal. With just the right amount of tang and zest to bring out the drool from the back of the mouth (you know what I mean), it was also creamy at the same time. The strawberries were amazingly sweet for this time of the year.

Pudding 2: Vanilla crème brûlée

My pud. Usually I try and pick the least indulgent dessert on offer, because I know my own lack of self-control when it comes to not finishing the whole thing. This time, however, I decided to go with the crème brûlée, which most possibly comprised my calorie intake for the month. It was worth it, though. Each mouthful was cloyingly creamy, with beautiful flecks of vanilla emersed throughout the dish. I just had to finish the whole thing, sugar crust by sugar crust. And when I was done, I nearly finished J's portion but I just about held myself back. Well done, me.

So, overall, a most enjoyable dining experience had here with some of the most pleasant waiting staff in the whole of London. Would recommend again and again.

Nearest tube: Green Park / Hyde Park Corner (hotel link)
Telephone number: 020 7499 3464

Brekkie by the husband

2011-10-16T23:11:00.004+08:00

Husband made me brekkie in bed on Saturday, so I woke up (around noon ... lazy, I know) to 2 lovely poached eggs served on top of some tiger bread, and ketchup.

He sure knows my taste!

NABM travels to: Folkestone, Kent

2011-10-12T23:30:00.000+08:00

If you consider a one hour drive travelling, that is. While trying to figure out which district Folkestone was in, I Wiki-ed it and found these interesting facts.

1. Currently Folkestone has the only sandy beach and coastal park within an hour of north London.
2. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port.

And as a bonus; personal observations:

1. They sure do good prawns.
2. Seagulls don't care about your hair, and they are playground bullies intent on dive-bombing you. If you are brave enough, you could stand up to them, but that could also result in your having seagull in hair.

Setting the scene - it was about 2 months ago, and the day was bright and almost warm. We HAD to make use of the good weather so decided to make a day trip to our favourite place by the coast that is Folkestone. It's roughly around an hour's drive from where we are, and on a warm day like that one, what could be better than having a relaxing drive with the wind in my hair, sunnies up and face sticking slightly out the window?

I sometimes find it hard to believe that Folkestone is in England. On a sunny day, the photos make it look like somewhere in the middle of sunny Italy.

Seems warm, doesn't it? Don't be fooled, it wasn't. But it looked warm, and that's all that matters on this blog.

If I had to find one reason to come to Folkestone, this is it. Chummy's fish stand which is located right by the entrance to the pier, and surrounded by queues of hungry people all the times we've been there.

For £3, you get the smaller round containers shown above, and if you wanna roughly double it (in terms of quantity), you pay £6 for a rectangular takeaway box. We bought both versions that day, and concluded that you do get a little more than double with the £6 portion (and that is more prawns than anyone can have in one sitting. Really.)

Shown above are: Mixed seafood, king prawns and scampi tails.

My personal favourite is the king prawn, and that was what we bought more of after.

I'm guessing it's gonna be fresh fish? I know, I know. Some people will argue that the fish you buy in the UK has probably been caught somewhere in the Atlantic or wherever, and then frozen, and shipped to the UK so it's never really that fresh but come on, it tastes fresh so that's all that matters.

We walked around the high street for a bit, and considering it was quite a sunny day out, the high street was very empty. Maybe I've just gotten used to how busy it always is in London, regardless the day or the weather.

Despite having scoffed down a good few bowls of seafood earlier on, we stopped at this cafe for some lunch.

It was one of the nicer looking cafes along the little alley leading to the high street.

Because I have so much coffee daily during the week, I try not to have too much of it during the weekends. Theoretically speaking, I don't really need caffeine when I should be relaxed and just wandering around in Folkestone, but by the time it was noon and by the time I'd had my fair share of the seaside breeze, I felt myself getting warmer and warmer to the idea of a nice, smooth latte.

Not my lunch - this was a Ploughman's platter.

Fresh, full of different sorts of nibbles and perfect for a warm day out.

I had this instead, which was what I bought earlier when we first arrived, and nibbled straight away so wasn't too hungry for any sandwiches.

The husband had a ham and cheese sandwich. Just couldn't resist.

The mixed seafood was pleasant, but nothing special - tasted similar to the stuff you get from the fish aisle at your supermarket. Scampi tails were fresh and sea-salty. Usually I have my scampi deep fried and served with chips, but this version was good too.

The prawns were so very crunchy, slightly salty, and when dipped in the tangy Marie Rose sauce, oh my it was like a prawn cocktail gone very right.

Messing around

2011-10-11T19:10:00.003+08:00

I'm just messing around with the layout, widgets, etc. and invariably some of the borders and fonts might look weird for a bit (or go missing completely). Please check back later when the husband's sorted it out, but for now, hope you don't mind the mess too much!

Tweeeeeeeet?

2011-10-11T06:48:00.002+08:00

OK I am on Twitter!

If you have nothing better to do, and would like to have real time updates when I eat, you can find me at Twitter; username: notanotherbmenu

I am aware of the missing letters 'i' and 'g' in the name, but I couldn't fit the whole name in, and had to remove 2 letters, so the only ones I could remove, without actually making the name illegible, was 'i' and 'g'.

And now, I shall go find a widget that allows me to link my updates to the blog. The only one at the moment on Blogspot seems to be one with a bird featured on it.

Bea's of Bloomsbury, 44 Theobald's Road, WC1X 8NW

2011-10-10T17:15:00.024+08:00

Our good friends J&C have been, for a while, hankering after a good ol' afternoon tea. While we've previously been to Browns, and also had tea from various other establishments, I'd also been wanting to try it out at Bea's after hearing lots about it from D&A.

It all began in earnest. We wanted to have a civilised afternoon of tea and scones, followed by an evening of theatre (Wicked) at Apollo Victoria. Thing is, these plays get booked out months in advance, so by the time I'd finally persuaded myself that it was worth £60 watching some people sing in costumes (yes, I know it is more complexed than that, but it's a lot of money) the tickets had all but sold out. Well, the good ones which weren't behind a pillar anyway.

So, what next was best? Might as well go for more food hey (more on that in the next post). But first things first. We have tea to talk about.

(If you're the kind of person who likes to, say, actually experience the afternoon tea for yourself, you might want to stop reading because there won't be much left in terms of surprises once you're done here. Lots of details ahead.)

The cafe isn't huge, so it's best to book your place before getting there. We did our booking about a month in advance, but that was because we were trying to sort out the theatre thing at the same time, so I reckon a week's notice is probably OK. Anyhow, when you make the booking, you should mention what you're going for, ie the Full Afternoon Tea, because they have to set the table up and everything.

While waiting for our friends to arrive (we'd arrive about half an hour early - talk about being keen hey), the husband decided to order some coffee (more on that below).

First things first. The teas.

They do all sorts of tea - Assam Breakfast, Earl Grey Supreme, Darjeeling, Lapsang, Gunpowder Supreme Green Tea, Dragonwell Green Tea, Jasmine Silver Needle White Tea, Rooibos, Lemon Verbena, Peppermint Leaf, Blackcurrant and Hibiscus and Vanilla Black.

But if you don't like tea (you rebel), then you'd be pleased to know that they do coffee, too. Good coffee, in fact. From Square Mile. The husband is absolutely in love with Square Mile coffee. Five months ago, he didn't even drink coffee. Now look what it's come to.

We ordered the Macchiato (pic above) which was strong and very smooth. The Flat White was pretty fab too.

There weren't too many people in the cafe when we arrived around 1.30pm. One table was just finishing their tea, and a few other tables were having some scones, so I took the opportunity to have a wander round and take some pictures.

When our friends arrived, the waitress took our order and then returned a while later with 3 fully-stacked tiers of lovely stuff. Let's eat it one at a time, shall we?

The First One - Cupcakes, mini meringues, scones and macarons

My excitement level was so high, I almost wanted to stop taking photos and dive straight in.
I say 'almost', because I managed to control my greedy little fat fingers, so you, my little blog, gets to savour the pictures, if not the food.

This was another version on display by the counter (just for comparison).

Now, when faced with so many cakes and so little time, where does one begin? Let's start with the cupcakes, why not.

(Another note: The waitress did try to explain what was what when she brought the stuff over, but in my hunger-induced hysteria and excitement at seeing these beauties, I didn't hear anything she said so most of the stuff named below is as a result of guesswork and logic.)

Guesswork: Berry cupcake

This was one of the ones which wasn't eaten there and then (I know), so our friends took it home with them. I'm guessing it's a chocolate cake with berry icing, but I could very well be wrong.

Guess: Chocolate cupcake with peanut-butter icing

OK this one is an informed guess. We took it home with us and had it the next day. For a cake which had been left overnight in my kitchen, it tasted extremely good, and even managed to stay moist and chewy. The chocolate was rich and full of flavour, and the icing had such a delicate, subtle taste of peanut that even the peanut-hating husband scoffed it down without much complain.

Guess: Carrot cupcake with mascarpone icing

Oh my favourite cake of the day. I absolutely love carrot cake, and I loved this version. The cake was very moist and delightfully chewy - partly due to the cake having just the right amount of carrot in it, as well as the sprinkling of nuts which gave it a good bite. The icing was in fact ... the icing on the cake. Ha ha. The mascarpone wasn't too strong, and didn't overpower the delicate taste of the cake, but in fact, enhanced the flavour altogether.

Mini meringues

These little morsels were absolute delights. I'd previously bought the giant meringues from here, but found them to be quite a disappointment because they just crumbled when bit into. So, without much expectactations, I put my fork into one (trying to half it to be shared) but they were so sticky and chewy that my fork kinda remained stuck to it.

The meringues were slightly tangy (with the flavouring on top of them) and so wonderfully light, chewy and sticky.

I might as well say it here. 'I don't like macarons.'

You what?!?

In addition to not liking bacon (which, to someone living in the UK is almost like not liking football or tea), I simply don't understand the fascination with these overpriced, airy, colourful little things. Some people have said that it's probably because I've not had good versions of the stuff, but I think I have tried a good few varieties, and can safely say that nope, I still don't like them.

What don't I like about them? Well, for one, it looks so pretty and when they're laid out in a row, just looks good enough to eat. Thing is, when you do eat them, it just kinda crumbles away at first bite into nothingness. The middle is pretty much all air, and crumbly air at that. There isn't much else to eat after that. Plus, most of the ones I've tried have in some form or way tasted of coconut. I don't particularly like coconut.

So, I can't objectively tell you if this was good or bad. Try it out for yourself.

Mmmmm I liked these scones (s-cones, s-kohns, whatever). My friends said it was a little on the dry side, but I quite liked it like that. The taste was full-on butter, and when generously slathered with clotted cream and strawberry jam, each mouthful was just more-ish. Portion was huge, too, if that helps.

The Second One - Mini Valrhona brownie, Belgian blondie, peanut butter cookie and marshmallow

This tier had been relegated to the sidelines while I was busy photographing the more picturesque tier above. When I then realised it was sitting quietly at the side, waiting to be eaten, we immediately put it back in the spotlight and gave it the attention it deserved.

The marshmallow cake wobbled precariously on the plate as it was put down on the table. I couldn't resist a little squish. How it bounced back with each squish - quivering slightly as it sat there on the plate.

I love chewy things. Yes, during my school years, that love of chewy things extended to my biting my erasers on a daily basis. Usually I bit the ones which were multi-coloured and which looked like cake. I don't just bite any ol' eraser, no, I go for the ones which look good enough to be eaten (alas, they were not edible) but anyhow, these days I stick to edible objects.

The marshmallows provided just the right amount of resistance when bit into, giving way to a softer chew after that. Taste-wise, remarkably similar to that of a marshmallow.

The Valrhona brownies and Belgian blondies

Sounds like the name of a band, doesn't it?

These geometrically-pleasing little bite-sized cubes of cakes were absolutely wonderful. There's something irresistable about geometrically-correct food. You might think I'm a weirdo, but then how would you explain why the Japanese package their food items in such cute, geometrically-correct ways? Each piece of rectangular sushi is wrapped round by a shiny piece of plastic. Selecting the sushi for lunch is almost like being at the jewellers (but a lot less expensive).

The brown ones are the Valrhona brownies. Lots of chocolate compacted into one small bite. Pleasing.

The white cubes are the Belgian blondies. I'd only just been introduced to the term 'blondie' sometime last year. Prior to that, 'blondie' either meant Debbie Harry's band, or a blonde person. Now I know better. Now I know that a blondie is a geometrically-pleasing cube of flour, baking soda, white chocolate, sugar, butter and brown sugar.

If you've not had this before, it is - compact, chewy, moist, and tastes similar to white chocolate

Almond cookie

I quite enjoyed these little pieces of cookies. My friends didn't like it as much, but that just meant I had more to eat so no complains there. The reason they didn't like it was kinda the same reason why I liked it. Let me describe what I mean.

When I first tried to pick one up, it kinda crumbled a little on the plate so I only managed to pick up bits of a cookie. When I then put it into my mouth, it crumbled like delicate sugary sand, taking all the moisture from my mouth with it, and then dissolved into a smooth, almondy paste.

While I found it quite interesting, the others found it to be kinda dry.

The Third One - Mini savoury baguettes

As usual with the husband, he was the first one to tuck into the sandwiches, and pretty much continued with it until he was too full to have any cakes. Not sure what exactly compelled him to eat all the sandwiches, but he did the same when we were at Brown's resulting in him having eaten about 20 cucumber and salmon sandwiches (all the cakes and scones = mine).

Not much to say about the baguettes, but if you've never had one before, then maybe you should go to a sandwich bar and get one.

I spied some sundried tomato and cheese, Italian cured meats and also had a pesto and brie one which was a surprisingly good combination for sandwich filling.

The other stuff on display by the counter.

All I'm saying is, if you're the kinda person who has problems saying 'No' to cakes, then you're gonna have real problems here. Best to come on a full stomach, or maybe just peer from outside where you're safely shielded from temptation by a glass window.

Nearest tube: Holborn / Chancery Lane
Phone number: 020 7242 8330
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 8:00am-7:00pm; Sat 12:00-7:00pm; Sun 12:00am-7:00pm

Egg Cake or Eggette, Chinatown, London

2011-09-27T17:00:00.000+08:00

Bet you didn't know that, huh?

All along, my friends and I have been calling this an Egg Cake, because the little ball-things look like small eggs. Then, I tried Googling it to find out what it's called, and whaddya know, it actually has a name!

From Wikipedia:

An eggette is a kind of spherical pancake or ball waffle popular in the Cantonese-speaking regions of China, including Hong Kong and Macau. The food item is also referred to as an egg puff, bubble waffle or by its Cantonese name, gai daan jai and is made from egg, sugar, flour, and light evaporated milk. They are best served hot, and often eaten plain. They can also be served with fruit and flavors such as strawberry, coconut or chocolate. They are sometimes referred to as "Hong Kong cakes" in Chinatowns across America, especially in New York.

Wowzers.

Anyhow, when the husband and I first moved to London from Manchester, we came by the Egg Cake Man in front of the Golden Gate Cake Shop in Chinatown. We bought one, enjoyed it very much, and then kinda never happened to find the Egg Cake Man again.

Then, sometime a few weeks ago, we happened to go by the more secluded bit of Chinatown by the NCP (kinda where Jen Cafe is), and you can imagine my excitement when I whiffed a whiff of the familiar pancake / waffle smell going by my nostrils.

This man was standing there, making Egg Cake for a small child who looked a little more excited than me.

He was really friendly, and for once, I wasn't yelled at while taking a photo, and neither did I have to use the 'divert and snap' method of taking photos for this blog. We started a conversation about where I'm from, and how his friend used to have kaya for brekkie, and so he started using them in the egg cakes too. Then, more and more customers started requesting for the kaya version and also asking him where he bought the kaya from.

I stood there watching him as he poured the egg mixture batter onto the lower part of the machine, and then with a swift turn of the handle, the other side of the machine was coated with the same batter that would have swirled around, creating a bubble cake.

I was wondering how he'd put the kaya into the eggy bubbles, and he himself must have pondered that quite a few times, because instead of somehow filling the space with kaya, he just slathered it on to the pancake when it was done.

See the kaya sitting lusciously on top? Mmmm it was good. Like, sweet and warm, yet slightly crunchy when first bitten into, and then soft and chewy. Oh yummy.

And, since people have been asking the guy where he gets his kaya from, I didn't wanna lose out, so I asked him it, and here is it.

This doesn't actually say where it is, but it's from one of the grocery shops on the same row as Four Seasons in Chinatown, on the main row, and it's something like New Loon Moon. The kaya itself is slightly too yellow compared to what I'm used to, but it tastes alright.

NABM cooks - Zucchini Slice (courtesy of Tanya's Aunt)

2011-09-20T17:00:00.006+08:00

In the previous post, I mentioned that I'd met a new friend. This new friend, aside from being my food-chat buddy, also gave me a recipe from her Aunt in Australia which she'd tried and tested, and felt it good enough to recommend to me.

You say zucchini - I say courgette. Whatever. The outcome's the same.

Below is a picture of the recipe - in all its original glory. I have been nice and typed up another version for you below, but that's just because it's you.

Zucchini Slice From Down Under (with my modifications in brackets)

Makes about 1 small lasagne tray
375g grated (julienned) zucchini / courgette (I used about 3 zucchinis and it turned out OK)
1 large onion (Mine was diced)
3 rashers bacon (I fried mine up first before slicing it)
1 cup grated cheese (I used extra strong cheddar for maximum taste)
1 cup self-raising flour (Tanya said to add a teaspoon of baking powder if you want it to rise more)
1/2 cup oil (I used plain sunflower oil)
5 eggs (I used 6)
Salt and pepper

You can probably tell from the above that I don't follow recipes too well, but for your own sake, please try to follow the photographed recipe.) What the recipe says to do:

1. Grate zucchini
2. Chop onion and bacon
3. Combine all together
4. Lastly add eggs
5. Mix thoroughly
6. Bake 30 - 40 mins at 170 degrees Celcius

I did almost the same as per the recipe, with the difference being I cooked the bacon first to get it all crispy, and also softened the zucchini in the bacon grease to maximise flavour before mixing it all in a bowl.

Using a lasagne dish, I lined it with foil (no washing up!) before pouring the mixture into the tray, and then baked for the recommended time. To test if the mixture is cooked thoroughly, you could try poking it with a chopstick, and if the chopstick comes out clean (ie no sticky mixture on it), it's most probably cooked.

I ate some of it there and then, and cut the rest up into 3 x 2 inch slices to be kept in the fridge. Over the next few days, we had the slices (warmed up in the microwave) with a tomato and chicken stew. With enough gravy, this was almost similar to dumplings, or a savoury muffin. Gonna try making it again soon for a friend's BBQ, so we'll see how that goes.

Itsu (nearest Tube Oxford St), 313 Regent Street, London W1B 2HP

2011-09-12T17:00:00.002+08:00

I met a new friend recently (with new friends come new food), and we got to talking about what we have for lunch, dinner, etc. You know, fun stuff like that. I seem to talk (to myself) alot about food, so it's no wonder that I talk to my friends about it too.

The Oxford St. / Regent St. outlet (not my usual)

It might be worth noting at this point that I have been having the same thing for lunch for the last 3 months.

Monday: Itsu Detox 7 Vegetables Noodle Potsu
Tuesday: Itsu Detox 7 Vegetables Noodle Potsu
Wednesday: Itsu Detox 7 Vegetables Noodle Potsu
Thursday: Itsu Detox 7 Vegetables Noodle Potsu
Friday: Itsu Detox 7 Vegetables Noodle Potsu

And surprise, surprise. On Saturday, I took the husband to Itsu by Oxford St. to have ... Itsu Detox 7 Vegetables Noodle Potsu. He was allowed to go off the beaten path to have the Itsu Grilled Chicken Udon Potsu instead, just because he's allowed variety.

The Grilled Chicken Udon Potsu

If you want the menu to find out what else they have to offer (weirdo), here it is (click here).

Some people have asked me why I have the same thing everyday. Don't I get bored? Is there something wrong with me? While I answer 'no' to the first question, and then 'I don't know' to the second, I just find it immensely comforting to be able to have the same thing everyday. It's kinda like having to wear a uniform on a daily basis.

Doesn't require much creativity, or even contemplation. Sure I enjoy the privileges of dressing up and that, but sometimes, usually when it's cold or when I'm really tired, I'll throw on the first thing I find. It's almost like lunch - where I'll just eat the easiest thing I can find.

Where I work, there's not a whole lot for me to be creative with. There's the usual Pret A Manger, M&S, Pod, Strada, and Gaucho (you gotta be kidding me if I'm gonna spend £35 on a piece of steak for lunch).

Why not try something else from Itsu, you might say. Why should I, I might say. Because I like the soup, I like the veg, and I like the glass noodles. Only 180 calories, too. And at £3.29, it's cheap enough to be eaten on a daily basis.

Those adventurous ones amongst you might be excited to know that they also do a very nice version of the frozen yoghurt (between £2-£4 depending on what toppings you ask for).

This one here is the frozen yoghurt with mixed fruit topping, and hot caramel sauce instead of pomegranate (because that had gone off).

Bubbleology, 49 Rupert St, Soho, London, W1D 7PF

2011-09-07T17:00:00.001+08:00

Website here.

"Bubble bubble, toil and trouble" is apparently an oft misquoted line from Macbeth (Shakespeare).

The correct line should be "Double double, toil and trouble" but oh well.

Anyhow, with bubbles come tea. With tea come bubbles. And with that, comes Bubbleology - the latest colourful addition to an already very colourful SoHo (from many points of view).

When it first opened, we peered in curiously, wondering what this scientific looking shop was about. The name should've given it away, but I guess with SoHo, it's always best to be sure. Having determined that it was indeed bubble tea, we decided to try it out the next time we were in between meals.

That next time turned out to be when the husband and I were strolling around town after having had Itsu for lunch, and were still waiting for dinner to come by (because that's what we spend Saturdays doing ... going from one meal to the other).

Having been here a few times now, I suggest the best time to go would be right when the shop opens, or just before it closes. Any other time, it's packed. Like, there are groups of trendy girls (mostly dressed in the latest Asian fashion, unlike myself - dressed in no fashion) queueing up outside the shop, each one busy with their smartphones, with cute stuff hanging off the phones, all waiting for bubble tea. If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself.

The shop itself is quite small. There seems to be a back area which is blocked off by a door saying something like 'No lab coat, no entry' but I managed to get a glimpse as to what goes on behind when someone walked through the door. Didn't look like much was going on back there; must be where they keep the bubbles all trained for the next cup.

As I am a Bubbleonnoisseur (as in I have had A LOT of bubble tea), it took all of 2 seconds to zone in on what I wanted to order. As opposed to the 5 minutes it took the people in front of me to establish what was what, what size was small, what was large, what a bubble is, what the difference between a milk and non-milk drink is, and what flavour they wanted.

Like seriously, let me order first.

"Regular passionfruit with bubbles, please". That came to £3.35 which is reasonable for London standards (other Chinatown places charge roughly the same for just the usual Assam flavour), but exorbitant if you compare it with other places around the world (£0.50 in Malaysia).

Anyhow, when in SoHo, you pay SoHo prices.

The other flavour we tried was the Ginger non-milk version - I kinda liked this one better as it wasn't as sweet, and it had a very subtle taste of ginger to it.

The other stuff you could do with your cuppa:

Add bubble / grass jelly / lemon jelly / popping bobba £0.50
Make it a large £0.50
Have a tea and Taiwanese toast combo - the set is around £5-ish and the fillings are Nutella, garlic butter (?), and also peanut butter and banana, if I'm not mistaken from what I saw on the countertop menu

Some (made up, I reckon) facts from the bubble tea cup. Don't take my word for it, though. It could be completely true, although I might trust Wikipedia a little more than I trust a Bubble Tea Cup.

I want this lab coat.

New York Eats – Cafe Metro

2011-09-05T17:00:00.001+08:00

OK – so there are many locations for this cafe, and I, being the bright spark that I am, didn’t take note of which one we went to, so here’s the website and you can maybe try to figure out which one it was …

Nothing like a picture of a happy guy waving behind a food counter.

So anyhow, we stopped by this cafe for a quick brunch before shopping. Not that we could do much shopping anyway as the GBP was kinda trailing behind the USD in all sort of disappointing ways at the time (and still seems to be). Since we couldn't afford shopping for clothes, we could at least try to shop for food.

I mean, you have to do what you have to do for the economy.

Helpfully enough, these 2 bleary-eyed jet-lagged tourists had not just picture menus, but ACTUAL food items on display to assist with the ever arduous task of food ordering.

(Lighting kinda sucks because this was at the counter where there wasn't much natural light, but fear not, sunshine on food is on its way.)

So, as they say, start as you mean to go on, and since we meant to go on as eggs and bacon with a generous drizzle (downpour) of maple/pancake syrup, that was what we ordered.

Because you can never get enough of a good bacon and egg picture, here it is again.

When it drizzles (syrup), it pours (lots of syrup). Keep 'em coming. No, it's not completely empty in the carton yet ... go on, come on, quickly now.

And this is what 1,500 calories looks like (plus minus a few hundred calories). No joke. I may not know the exact amount of calories on this thing, but it was roughly around that mark because they mentioned it on the menu and I went Moly Macaroni, how much?!?!

Thing is, if you order this you shouldn't really be talking calories malories, so let's not. Besides, we're on holiday, and calories don't count, or even exist, on holiday.

Each piece of French toast was fluffy like cotton candy upon clouds, and when bit into, squelched out a lovely sweet little burst of syrup. What's not to like?

Bacon? Check - yummerz
Egg? Check - always a favourite no matter how it's cooked

Resistance is futile. One bite of this amazing syrup-fluff is enough to make you want more.

Cheesecake - when you haven't had enough for brunch

So, when in New York, how could we not try the New York Cheesecake. I don't know enough about this variety of cake to know if this is the real thing or not, but it sure tasted good.

Like, if you're really full, and can't eat anymore, but yet make the effort to have some cheesecake, and it still tastes good, you know it's a good piece of cake.

So, even though I am not sure which Cafe Metro we went to, or in fact, where it was in New York, the food we had at this one satisfied all our brunch cravings that day. The food was good, the place was comfy, and most importantly, they had a window with good lighting so I could take as many pics as I wanted.

New York Eats - Gray's Papaya (Hot Dogs), West Village, 402 Sixth Ave. at 8th St., 212-260-3532

2011-09-01T17:00:00.000+08:00

Prior to my uncle taking us to Gray's Papaya, I had no idea it existed at all. This, despite the place appearing in countless films and being famous in New York for its papaya juice (hence the name) and hot dogs.

From Wikipedia:

- Fools Rush In (1997)
- You've Got Mail (1998)
- Down To Earth (2001)
- Sex and the City (2002, Episode "Plus One Is The Loneliest Number")
- How I Met Your Mother (Episode "The Limo")
- Anthony Bourdain ("No Reservations", Season 3, Episode 9)

And that's not even the complete list.

But enough name-dropping and fact-quoting. How about what we were doing before we went to Gray's Papaya?

1. First thing we did on The Food Tour of NY Day was to eat fish and bagels at Sable's - full and happy

2. Then, we decided to stop off at Lady M Cake Boutique for some Mille Crepe - full, slightly worried about how full we were getting, but still happy

3. After which, we stopped off at Gray's Papaya for a 'snack' of a few hot dogs each and some papaya juice - very full, very happy, slightly fatter than when we woke up that morning

We got the Recession Special which was something like US$4.50 for 2 hot dogs and a papaya juice (or any juice of choice). Now this is not the largest hot dog we've had by far (Manchester German Bratwurst are twice the size of this, but that's a completely different ballgame altogether).

However, for the price, this was definitely a crowd-pleaser, albeit a very full and somewhat reluctant but yet persistant crowd. The buns were toasted, the sauerkraut was just the right balance of sour and crunchy, and the yellow mustard topped off a perfectly pleasing little snack to round off our NY Food Tour.

Viva Las Vegas! Part 4 - Route 66 pictures

2011-08-26T17:00:00.000+08:00

Not being quite sure what Route 66 was famous for prior to an informative lesson by the tour guide, Alex and the husband, I was fascinated by the colours and vintage signs dotted along the road, specifically where we stopped for a rest.

There's a whole lot of history about the place. To summarise it very, very briefly, this was once a famous road stretching 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. It was one of the original highways in the US of A, and pretty much everyone and anyone knew about and used at least one stretch of the road at one point or another.

On 27th June, 1985, authorities decided that the route was no longer relevant, and replaced it with the Interstate Highway System. It was decommissioned, ie taken of the maps, so suddenly, people were going 'Hey where's the road gone?'

If you wanna read up on this, check out the links below:

Yahoo Answers
Wikipedia

P/S: Metro Diner was one of the places where Elvis ate, it seems.

Anyway, to prevent myself from just copying and pasting stuff, I'm just going to show you pictures I took while I was there. Not much explanations, just pictures.

This says it all.

Viva Las Vegas! Part 3 - How Grand Is That Canyon?

2011-08-19T17:00:00.000+08:00

Before we left London for Vegas (don't get to say that a lot, so I'll say it a lot here), we did our research as to what the top attractions were around the place. The little crater in the ground called The Grand Canyon was one of them, so the next logical modern step was to find out which tour group to go with.

There are quite a few to choose from, but as we use TripAdvisor quite a lot, and trust it too, we decided to go with Grand Adventures and booked the Walking Tour (US$150pp). One of the influencing factors was this ...

Unlimited McD's breakfast. How can anyone ever say no to that?

But, a quick summary of how it started off, as I feel Grand Adventures are good enough to deserve that. We were picked up at 6.15am outside our hotel, as stated in the booking conditions. Prompt, efficient, that was our tour guide Alex. He then took us to the other hotel to pick up the other members of the tour, which, to our delight, turned out to be just another 4 people so the 6 of us shared the 10 seater van comfortably.

On the way to McD's, I asked Alex the question I'd been wanting to ask an American for a long time.

'What are biscuits and gravy?'

Turns out, it's not what English people think it is. Nope. Not your usual rich tea biscuit with some ahhh Bisto.

It's actually what we think (in England) as scones with ... wait for it ... drippings of cooked pork sausage. Yum. But wait, there's more. Add to that dripping some white flour, milk, and maybe pepper, and it now resembles what I know as 'white sauce'. But with attitude.

Anyhow, Alex suggested we try it out at McD's. Now, we've come all this way to the US, and I've been pondering this biscooit and gravy question for so long so how could I not?

Alas, McD's do not serve biscuit and gravy, I repeat, do NOT serve biscuit and gravy.

Never one to run out of options at McD's, I quickly decided on the Sausage, Egg and Cheese McGriddle meal, and the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit meal. If only we had this in England!

How could we not have thought of this amazing combination? Pancakes with sausages? Check. Cheese also? Check. Throw in some eggs. Check. Fab fab fab (and also maybe fat, but never mind).

Picture on the right is the famed biscuit - kinda like eating scone with your bacon. Innovative and slightly out there. Throw in some cheese and you've got All Out Wild Eating.

Picture in the middle depicts what you get when you run out of ketchup, can't be bothered going 2 steps to the ketchup counter, and so settle for dipping your hash brown in some strawberry jam that came along with the meal.

Some gut-rubbing 20 minutes later, we trooped back to the van, and it sank 2 inches closer to the ground with all that satisfying calorie-laden weight. As the (now) tired out tour group napped soundly (20 minutes into the tour), Alex trooped on, and continued making his and our way towards The Grand Canyon.

We were told on the brochure that the scenery wouldn't change too much along the way, so we'd better bring a book or something to amuse ourselves with along the way. They didn't mention how amusing a McD's breakfast was, and by the time we slapped ourselves awake from slumber, we were already at the Hoover Dam.

See how dry and rocky that looks? Welcome to the desert. My contact lenses were shrivelling up with each windy blow and I'm sure, somewhere along all that stretch of sand, was quite a few bits of my flaky skin flying with the wind.

Just in case you thought desert and bridge were places of fun and frisk.

The Hoover Dam from atop a bridge that goes along it. And just in case the picture doesn't quite get across how very high it is (like each inch was like a mile long or something) ...

It's really quite high. Alex mentioned lots of interesting facts about the Dam, something to do with cement, construction of the dam, etc. but I was really just trying to stay hydrated and keep my contact lenses firmly in place, so please Wikipedia it or something if you're interested.

Link here.

We then continued our way - journey time elapsed: 1 hour or so. Journey time to go: 3.5 hours or so.

Having watched lots and lots of American TV programmes, there is some fascination I hold with gas stations (petrol stations), and even being there for a refuel made me feel like I was in a film set. Easily amused.

Guess petrol stations look the same everywhere, huh?

This one sold lots of stuff you wouldn't find in the UK petrol stations, though. Leather jackets and furry hats, for example.

Our nibbles from the gas station

I bought the 2 cans of tea because the colours were nice. The chocolates were purchased for comparison to the Mars bar version in the UK (conclusion: they are probably one and the same bars), and the Orbit chewing gum was bought because I needed to chew on something.

Route 66 was part of the tour but because there are SO many pictures of stuff there, I'm going to save that for another post.

The changing scenery on the way to the Grand Canyon. We were told that the landscape represented what the Grand Canyon was years and years ago.

One of the stops on the way of the hike trail

Alex, and a yucca plant

Our tour guide, Alex was a trooper of the friendliest sort. I don't mean he was in the army or anything, I don't really know him that well. What I meant was that for someone who's only done this for a month, he was probably one of the most professional tour guides we've had.
Before we left the van and started the hike, he said, quite wisely, as the dark rain clouds loomed above, 'Hey guys, maybe you should take these waterproofs with you. Just a suggestion.'

Of course, being the brave, experienced hotel-dwellers that we were, we looked at him as though he suggested we split the atom for a laugh, and said 'Don't be silly, it won't rain.'

Minutes later, with the sound of thunder in the background, and mood lightning above, we sat miserably under the tree (smart, huh), slowly chomping on our sandwiches which were getting wetter and wetter by the minute.

Alex, being the nice guy that he is, didn't say 'I told you so' (I would've), but instead, went all the way back to the carpark, and brought us back some waterproofs. Tip to selves: Do not doubt your tour guide. Do not try to be big, or clever.

Along the hike, there were lots of these little markers - almost one for every step. Alex explained that these were to represent one million years, for each little circle. So, if you completed the whole trail (which we didn't, because I think we only did part of it), you would've effectively walked about 4,000 million years or something like that, in the 45 minutes it took you to complete it.

Oh deer.

What a view. When I first walked out of the Gift Shop (yes, one of those everywhere, even at Grand Canyons), the first thing I saw was a large area of cemented ground, with people sitting by the ledge, having their ice-creams and sandwiches. Didn't look like much, but when I walked closer to the ledge where everyone was, I gave a gasp when I saw the full 180 degree panoramic view of the canyon. It really is huge, it is very clever, and it definitely beats any view I've been told was 'scenic' before.

Like this.

Smaller pics so I don't bore you with too many pictures, but if you're interested in the full Vegas pictorial experience, check out my Vegas Flickr photoset here.

It's a stunning view, no matter how many times you see it.

Sandwich with a view,
Crackers, grapes and cheese too

Lunch was provided by Grand Adventures as part of the package. BTW, might I mention they don't have any hidden charges either. Just something that occured to me as I was typing this, because we'd read from TripAdvisor that many other tour companies sprung surprise costs on the customers, but we didn't have any other costs aside from the ones we paid upfront with these guys. (Obviously, I don't mean the tip is included because it's not.)

The sandwiches were advertised on the brochure as being home-made, and substantial in terms of portion size. I must say I agree with that. We had 2 sandwiches, and we chose one beef, and one ham option. As I'd kinda huffed my way to the lunch point, I wasn't in the mood for adding more weight to the hike, so decided to keep one of the sandwiches for the journey back. The one sandwich we shared between the 2 of us was more than enough to keep us full for the 45 mins trek (including sit down time), and those delicious crackers, cheese and grapes made for a satisfying end to the meal with a view.

After we'd made our way to the Southern Rim point where we took lots and lots of pics, we waited for the free bus that took us to the carpark. All tired out and feeling as fresh as you could feel in a desert, we sat down thankfully in the van, and continued our pre-lunch snooze while Alex took us all back to our hotels.

I've already written to the company telling them what a fab time we had and how professional Alex was, and I've said it here again, so if anyone is considering a Grand Canyon tour, do consider these guys! (I am not on commission, but if you feel like this review has helped you, please send me your leftover sandwiches.)

Back to the Bellagio.

Viva Las Vegas! Part 2 - Bellagio buffet, brow-furrying cabs and a whole lotta slushies

2011-08-11T17:00:00.000+08:00

These 'hot babes' trucks are everywhere.

Anyway, continuing from the previous post where we'd left off - dehydrated, very tired, and also kinda dusty from all that desert wind. We got up around 9am which was really quite good considering the 8 hour time difference (meaning we got up like 5pm UK time - sloths), and by the time I'd covered myself in moisturiser, sunblock and make-up, I felt ready for another nap. Husband didn't allow this, and so I dragged my reluctant (gladiator-clad) feet out of the comfort of the Bellagio (whoop) and towards the 40 degree heat.

Bellagio by day

Bellagio by night

The famous fountains which came on every 10 minutes

Around the fountains were these speakers blaring out a mixture of classical music and Rat Pack combination which made for very relaxing strolls. The first picture on the left is actually the Louis Vuitton shop - these shops were everywhere.

Kinda confusing if you somehow were a little tipsy, thought you were in Vegas, and somehow see the Eiffel Tower in front of you.

With the Statue of Liberty somewhere towards the right.

While walking down the Strip, it was almost easy to be blasé about how OTT and extravagant everything was. Like, another giant statue made completely of gold? Pffft seen that just a few metres before.

What? A giant bowl made completely of silver, filled with white chocolate covered goldfish, and with hoola-hooping cats jumping across the bowl? Tsk, not another one.

Nothing is cheap here. No, not even the buffets. Not to me, anyway. Before I arrived here, I thought that casinos were meant to ply you with cheap food, free drinks and pretty much anything you wanted, just so you could remain gambling there. Little did I know that that was still the case for high rollers (re: not me) but for the other peasants like us, it was pretty much pay-your-own-way at the buffet, and Drinks If You Stay Long Enough.

What is Drinks If You Stay Long Enough?

Well, let's put it this way. You and the waitress play this waiting game.

First, you find a machine, the cheapest one you can find on the casino floor (1 cent is about as cheap as you can go). Then, you get yourself some dollars and put the first one into the machine. On the lowest number of lines (ie 1) and the cheapest bet you can go (ie 1 cent), this equates to 100 pushes of the Spin/Bet button.

On average, this gives you a good 3-5 minutes of the machine, if you play it cool. When you're just about to go to 0 cents, the machine usually throws in 20 cents or so for good measure just to hook you back into the game.

Anyway, about US$2 later, a waitress will somehow appear and ask if you want some drinks (they come by and go by VERY swiftly so make sure you get your order across).

Then, just to ensure you spend a few more dollars on the machine, the waitress will take what seems like forever (even though it's only about half an hour or so) to get back with your free drink, upon which you have to tip her a dollar or two.

Not the easiest way to get a free drink, but certainly one of the most fun.

MGM Grand trivia facts (from Wikipedia) - because I am running out of stuff to write about:

- The MGM Grand is the second largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian
(clarification: I don't know if they mean the hotel is actually situated in front of The Venetian, or if The Venetian holds third place and MGM Grand holds second place, or the other way around. Anyone?)

- The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in 1993

- The MGM Grand was one of the casinos featured in the 2001 film Ocean's Eleven

- There is a glass-sided lion habitat in the casino area, and up to six shows are shown everyday (lions don't live there, they live at their trainer's ranch outside Vegas)

Because nothing is cheap in Vegas (and certainly nothing is free in Vegas except for the smiles and hot hot heat), we had to venture out of the Bellagio and forage for food elsewhere - which usually happened to be within the malls. There were 2 malls which we visited quite a lot:

- The Fashion Show Mall (kinda down the other end of the Strip from where we were but they had quite a few good shops in there)
- Miracle Mile located within Planet Hollywood resort (across the road from where we were so we went there quite a lot)

Within the Fashion Show Mall was this huge food court (pic above). My husband has this fascination with Sbarro, as we only find it in some airports in the UK, and he ate it quite often when we were in NY. It's kinda like comfort food, fast-food style, and Italian. Irresistable combination.

Despite only having had breakfast at McD's half an hour prior to this, we had to get the pizza and stromboli for takeaway. It looked delicious, and I'm pleased to say that despite only eating it about 8 hours later in the hotel room, it still tasted fab. In fact, we continued eating some the next day and it tasted OK.

When we finally decided that we were hungry enough to tackle the Bellagio Buffet (one of the main things to do during our trip), we joined the hungry crowd queuing up for some unlimited food intake action at around 4pm. That's quite an OK time to go for a buffet as you get to miss the lunch crowd, and also get to be there before the dinner crowd. The dinner service generally starts at about 4pm, so it's not that ludicrous having dinner at that time. Not in Vegas anyway.

The queue after we'd finished our turn in there - it stretched for about 100 metres, no kidding, maybe even more. Like this is part 2 of the queue, the first part was within the restaurant area going all the way around until there was no space left so these guys are waiting outside.

Despite the number of people waiting outside, it was surprisingly not too crowded in the restaurant. There wasn't any queue getting to the food, waiting staff were always on hand with drink orders, and it seemed nice and calm.

That is, until you saw the Prawn Mountain. All logic and polite behaviour out the window - gimme some prawns. Gimme all the prawns. All prawns mine!

With the most ridiculous amount of prawns ever seen on one plate, I gingerly made my way back towards the table - a delicate balancing act of seafood vs human.

There was more battle to be raged. The king crab legs lay waiting to join their prawn friends at the table. I didn't disappoint and they didn't, either. Each crab claw had an enourmous chunk of juicy, crunchy crab meat in them; sweet and fresh to the bite.

The meat selection was just OK, compared to the other buffets I've been to before, though, admittedly, those buffets were in Asia where I guess they have to be a little more competitive than a buffet in Vegas, where queues go out the door and more. What you see in the picture above is of sausages and onions. Sausages were kinda hard, but they'd probably been left there some time grilling on the plate. OK for a bit of nibbling.

The tuna tartare which was marinated in an 'Asian' marinade, from what I could tell. I don't know why they chose to mask the taste of the fresh tuna with the strong taste of sesame oil, chilli oil, spring onion - all the stuff you do a stir fry with, certainly not marinate fresh tuna with.

Anyhow, I ate it for the texture since there was nothing much that the taste did for me, and it did satisfy the fish craving a little.

Desserts were pretty much the main feature of the buffet selection. With mini portions of a wide variety of little goodies, that part of the meal was the most fun. Our favourite was the slightly out-there combination of bread & butter pudding with some caramelised banana syrup below it.

Proud to say that despite having half the ocean's prawns supply, and eating my way through more desserts than I should have, I didn't actually feel too full. Self-control in full force.

We've heard that the Bellagio Buffet is one of the better ones in Vegas, and while it's best value in town at US$25pp, I can't say it's THE best buffet I've been to. It's certainly good in terms of seafood, beef and desserts so if you like all that, maybe you should try this out - fresh food, lots and lots of it, though you might have to stand in queue for a bit before getting to the prize.

Viva Las Vegas! Part 1 - Getting to the heat and dazzle

2011-08-08T18:25:00.012+08:00

(Lots of pictures, maybe even more words)

As part of our Tour The World In Three Weddings schedule, the husband and I went to Vegas. It might be worth recapping at this point, where the other places were that we went to, just in case you stumbled upon this blog and thought it was a wedding tour blog or something like that.

1. Wedding 1 - Bath, UK (not much touring involved since we'd been to Bath quite a few times, but anyway, that covered Europe, or a part of it anyway)
2. Wedding 2 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (we went to Bali for the honeymoon, so I guess that covered 2 countries in South East Asia)
3. Wedding 3 - Las Vegas, USA (since I'd only been to New York prior to this, my second trip to the US of A covered Vegas and the route to the Grand Canyon)

We didn't eat very much while we were here. Or at least, not to our usual standards of much anyway. What with the 8 hour time difference (behind the UK, so we were pretty much knackered and walking in our sleep by about 8pm Vegas time) and the intense 40 degrees (Celcius, BTW) heat, it was kinda like a grape drying out in the sun, on its way to becoming a Sunmaid Californian raisin.

If grapes could feel tired, that was.

With my factor 50 suncream all packed and ready to go, we waited at London Gatwick airport in anticipation (and part-tiredness, having not slept much the night before, and having woken at 6.15am to get to the airport on time). We'd flown Virgin Atlantic once before to NY, and found it to be so-so. The journey to NY was good, and they served us Gu brownies which always makes it better. Journey back was kinda bleh.

I'm not convinced about the service from these Virgin Atlantic stewards/ess because some of them are really friendly, but then again, some of them are pretty rude, bordering not bothered at all.

Like, on the way to Vegas, the lady assigned to us seemed so reluctant to be there, that, at one point, when she was pushing a trolley past the aisle and a lady asked very politely if the stewardess could help her take her bag out from the overhead compartment, the stewardess actually said something like 'It's only by the edge of the door' meaning, 'Hey, why don't you get it yourself.'

Huh? Surely that's part and parcel of the job you do, hey? I know she was pushing her trolley and everything, but there are many other ways to tell someone you'd get back to them after you were done doing whatever you needed to do, rather than, hey, it's only there, you get it yourself.

The customer stood her ground (albeit looking rather sheepish about it) and the stewardess then came back and helped her take the bag out. Wasn't looking best pleased but I guess a smile wasn't going to be forthcoming after all that hoopla, was it now.

Hopefully she was one of the exceptions, because on the way back, all the stewards and stewardesses were nothing but nice, very polite, and almost believably warm and caring.

One other thing since I'm whining about VA: I am not sure how VA won those awards for Best Entertainment or something like that because it's the worst of the airlines we've flown with anyhow (i.e. you can't press play on a movie when you wanna watch it, you have to kinda have to watch it as it's being shown on loop. Flashback to 1970)

Griping over. Now, we're at the airport.

Not exactly what you'd wanna see first thing coming out of the airport. I'm told it's one of the top attractions in Vegas. I'd much prefer the buffet, but each to their own.

We were picked up by our airport transfer service, and taken to our hotel, via a few other stops along the way.

No, not the silver limo. The one behind it.

Tip of the day. If you're in Vegas, you should probably get one of these pre-paid transfer services. Cabs cost quite a bit over there, and the cabbies are, at best, worrying. We sat in one where the cab driver was effing and swearing, presumably because he thought we were going to the airport (ie big bucks) but then when we said we were headed down The Strip (still a few fair dollars), he kinda lost the plot a little.

Checked into The Bellagio (I still smile a little smile whenever I say that, it feels grand, and I'll probably not stay in a hotel of that league ever again, so humour me whenever I drop that name here and there.)

Check-in was interesting. We saw a couple all dressed up in wedding gear (like white gown, white suit for the guy, the works) signing in, as if that happened everyday. No one batted an eyelash.

This hotel is huge. Like all the other huge hotels in Vegas. It had something like 3 buildings making up the whole hotel, and a ridiculous number of restaurants in that one hotel alone. We stayed in room 23084.

Our view from the room - of the 5 pools below. FIVE pools, I'll say that again. Not that we went to any of them, but we kept saying that we would given how hot it was.

By the time we'd freshened up (somewhat), it was evening time and the sun had gone in a little, so we decided to go for a walk. Nothing better (and more free) than a stroll around the Vegas strip on a Wednesday evening.

We saw lots and lots of people, no surprise. Colours and bright neon signs abound in Vegas, and food options aplenty. We initially thought we'd have some Mexican food here, seeing as Vegas is pretty close to Mexico and all, but couldn't find any authentic looking type place for it.

When we spoke to our Canyon guide a few days into the trip, he mentioned that there were, in fact, plenty of Mexican places around, just not anywhere near The Strip.

Only in Vegas

There are 2 (maybe more?) cities within a hotel type places in Vegas. One of them is the New York New York, where there is ...

The Brooklyn (Mini) Bridge

The Statue of Liberty herself (If you stood at a correct angle, Lady Liberty could be standing next to The Eiffel Tower)

An Irish pub

You know you're in The Big Apple when there is an Irish pub because in Ireland, they're just ... pubs.

Not quite sure what the significant of Pepsi-Cola is to NYC, because the drink was introduced for the very first time in North Carolina, but who am I to argue with a beautiful signboard. 3D, to boot.

In the NYNY casino/mall (because the hotels have malls, restaurants and anything you want in them), we found a little sweet shop selling American sweets. Now, usually I get very excited when I find a shop in London selling American sweets. I'm not sure why anyone would get excited finding a shop in America selling American sweets, but here goes my logic for you. But ...

Whoooa how's that for some excitement. Made completely of jelly beans, this is one beautiful lady.

'Does my (jelly) belly look big in this?'

Ha ha I crack myself up.

Toffee apples - never had one, didn't try it here either. Just too much to get through, in my opinion, humble or otherwise.

After a 32 oz slushy or two (strawberry masks the taste of alcohol very well) (also, no pics as I was very busy rehydrating myself by then) we decided to make our way back to the hotel.

What a comforting letter of the alphabet.

More to come in the next post.

New York Eats – Sable’s, 1489 Second Ave. (77th & 78th Sts.) New York, NY 10075

2011-07-25T17:00:00.000+08:00

When we were in New York sometime May last year (nothing like a bit of efficient blogging, I know), my uncle took on the role of being Unofficial NY Tour Guide, specialising mainly in food, and did a good job too.

The first stop on the tour was Sable’s, which holds the reputation for being one of the best places for smoked fish and caviar in New York.

Walking in the narrow shop, the first thing you notice is the counter crammed full of fish - salmon, lobster, smoked fish of all sorts, shellfish, pretty much any fish you can imagine. Now, the important thing to remember here is to Focus, Focus, Focus. Know what you want, and don't stray off the ordering track.

"I'll have some of everything, please."

And if you're not convinced just how famous they are, and need some persuasion, check out the wall. Polaroids of their famous diners adorn the (once) bare wall.

You can buy their famous smoked salmon and lobster salad (mmmmm) by weight, but because my uncle is sorta familiar with them, and because he paid (most important point), we don't really know how much the stuff we ate cost.

Anyhow, not important. What's important is that oh boy oh boy did we enjoy ourselves here.

They have an online ordering system, so I did a quick check of their menu and came up with some prices just so you get a general idea of the place.

Appetisers:
Smoked Scottish Salmon US$36.00 (it didn't mention the weight so I guess it's for a portion)
Herring Fillet (Each) US$5.99

Soups:
Quart of Sable`s Chicken Soup US$6.99
Pint of Lobster Seafood Cream Chowder US$6.99

Smoked combos:
Sturgeon w. Russian Caviar Sandwich Combo US$39.99
Sables w. Baked Salmon Salad Sandwich Combo US$11.99

Salads:
1/2 Pound of Lobster Salad US$17.00 (you HAVE to try this)
1/2 Pound of Whitefish Salad US$11.00

Quick detour - they have 2 shops in one, and this is the other side of it where you can pick up more food, some drinks, and dine-in.

Where we sat, being hungry.

THE LOBSTER SALAD

It's so good, it's written in caps. Imagine if you may, THE most succulent lobster you've ever had. Each piece was crunchy and bursting with fresh, lobstery goodness. One bite of it and I was in the middle of the ocean, floating on an inflatable raft, lying in the sun, grinning stupidly with a mouthful of lobster salad.

Then, if that wasn't enough, add some mayo/white sauce of some sort.

That always makes a meal better.

King Crab Meat Salad

And while I'm still on that inflatable raft, I took another bite of this King Crab Meat Salad, and whaddya know - the grin got wider. Try as I might, I can't explain to you how much I like salad sauce / mayo / similar sauces to that, with my seafood. I know some of you are saying, hey, if the seafood's fresh, it should be eaten on its own, but buddy, this is a different kinda dish altogether.

It's taken as fact that the seafood here is fresh, but because the salads are meant to be eaten with bagels or in a sandwich of some sort, I guess it requires a sauce, and this is the sauce. Whatever the reason, I can't find a better combination than what they have here, and every mouthful was a delight.

We also got a plate of Smoked Salmon and Lake Sturgeon - both of which were gorgeously fresh. As I ate my way through all the fish, I just couldn't believe how creamy and luxuriously smooth each piece was. Never having had Lake Sturgeon before, this was surprisingly clean-tasting; kinda like eating white fish with a mild taste of seawater.

If you can't decide what to have on your bagel, have everything.

Definitely worth the visit here if you like your fish. They know their stuff, and they do it well.

New York Eats – Lady M Cake Boutique, 41 East 78th Street New York, NY 10021

2011-07-15T17:00:00.000+08:00

My uncle, the NY Tour Guide (unofficial) had taken us to eat Sable’s bagels as the first (bottomless) pit stop. Stomachs sufficiently stretched, and mouths tired from chewing, he decided that we just had to stop for a dessert break at Lady M.

Not knowing what this place was or what it is famous for, I went into the shop with him. Lady M looks nothing like any other cake shop I’d been to before. In fact, it looks nicer than most shops I’ve been to; food or non-food.

The walls were white with not much else in the shop aside from one glass display table containing the most wonderful, beautiful, delicate cakes.

It was almost like going to a make-up counter and wanting to eat all the make-up on display because they look so tasty. Haven’t you ever felt that before? I get that quite alot, this whole wanting to eat my make-up thing. Especially when I’m in one of those Lush shops where the soaps look better than my dinners.

The only difference here is that you can actually eat the stuff on display.

The ever famous Mille Crepe

My uncle bought us 2 slices, and we waited with anticipation as we took the mouth-watering journey from Lady M to the car.

They put more effort into packaging the crepe than I do when going out to dinner.

Now we just have to take off the sticker and crepes shall be ours.

From Lady M’s site: No less than 20 paper thin, hand-made crêpes layered with ethereally light and creamy custard.

I agree!!! It was like eating the most amazing crème brûlée but 20 times over, and each bite just as delightfully crunchy, sweet and bursting with flavour as the next.

It was like, and I’ll try my most pathetic best at describing this:

Crunchy and sweet at first bite
Creamy and slightly cinnamon-y when you get past the first layer
Crunchy again at the next layer
Repeat 19 times

Absolutely fab, and so far, I’ve not found another crepe which comes anywhere close to this one.

New York Eats – Hard Rock Cafe NY, 1501 Broadway New York, NY 10036

2011-07-12T17:00:00.000+08:00

Just like you can’t not visit the popcorn counter when at the cinema, we couldn’t not go to Hard Rock Cafe when in New York. Not that it started there or anything (because it started in London), but something about HRC is just that bit NYC.

And horses standing by the pavement. Smiling at the cameras.

And as we were right smack in the middle of dinner time rush hour, we were prepared for a bit of a wait.

And wait we did. See that ‘Current Line Up’ board above?

Well, we weren’t on there for the first half hour or so. And when we did get on, it was an agonising, hungrying, wait to get up the leader board. Jessica B, Dasya and Louis kept taunting us as their names moved upward and onward, leaving us trailing behind their (smokey-barbecued-flavoured) tails.

We could’ve had some drinks at the bar to while away the time, but because we’re tight tourists, we decided to just sit on the carpeted floor sulking.

In total, we waited something like 1 hour and 40 minutes. Not that I was counting or anything.

When our names were called, boy oh boy did I sprint my way towards the elusive thing called The Free Table. With menu in hand, and appetites uncontrollable, it was henceforth decided that we’d jump straight to the main meal and not bother with silly things like starters and such.

Hard Rock Cafe menu

These days, everything has calories – even menus. Slightly annoying if you’re out for a grand celebratory meal trying to ignore those calories, only to be reminded of those calories everywhere and anywhere with food. Why? Why must you tell me that my Classic Patty Melt has 1,792 calories?!?! Can’t I just have one day’s worth of calories on my plate if I want to?

After we’d placed our orders, I sat there contemplating how many calories I’d just ordered.

Nothing like a bit of Heinz to help wash down those calories.

1,792 calories – Classic Patty Melt (US$15)

You can probably guess that this burger was pretty good considering the stuff it was made out of, and you’d be right. The meat was chunky, juicy, succulent and very meaty (sorry for stating the obvious but we’ve had burgers which just weren’t meaty enough). Nothing like a bit of processed cheese to finish off a lovely American burger.

1,798 calories – Hickory-smoked Bar-B-Que ribs (not sure how much as I didn’t take a pic of the menu and the website’s menu only has calories on it)

Because I’d just started to get used to the ginormous portions served up almost everywhere in New York, this dish was almost a disappointment when served.

What? It’s only just slightly bigger than the plate? Just not good enough.

Despite that, the flavour and texture didn’t disappoint. The barbequed aroma was full and flavoursome, and the meat with just enough bite and chew to it.

Just like yellow taxis and bright lights. I miss it already (we visited in May 2010), New York New York!

New York Eats – Katz’s Deli, 205 East Houston Street (corner of Ludlow St) New York City, 10002

2011-07-12T02:14:00.003+08:00

If you’ve ever watched When Harry Met Sally, you’ll remember the scene where she gets a little too excited in a deli. Uh huh, this is THE deli.

In fact, here’s where she sat.

Guess they don’t have connection with any other store.

When we walked in, after a brisk warm walk with our friend Joyce and her lovely little baby girl, the deli was near empty. Surprisingly empty for a famous place, I thought. Business must be slow.

(When we first walked in – before lunch time)

(As we were leaving – during lunch time)

Didn’t take long for it to fill up. We were there for about an hour, and in that time, I’m not sure where the people came from, but they sure filled up the place quickly enough. Huge place that it is, it didn’t feel crowded and neither did we feel rushed to get out of there.

As we stood there by the counter, I felt like I was in as American a place as I could have ever been. Brown, wooden-style counters (very high) (or maybe I am just short) with busy staff behind them waiting to take your order. I looked down the long counter, worryingly lost for words as I tried to order something, anything but WHAT TO ORDER?!?!

Friend came to the rescue. Pastrami on rye (I was told they’re famous for their pastrami on rye).

Phew.

Paid, was given a ticket, and found a table near the back of the restaurant. Perfect for people watching, and since I was afraid of going back to the counter (I don’t know what to order, alright?) I sat down and waited for the nosh to be brought to me.

Wowserz, how huge is this sandwich? Pretty huge, is the answer. LIke, if you tried to eat it the usual way, ie the-take-a-bite-of-this way, you’d find yourself failing in your quest.

It required some form of disassembling and then re-assembling in your mouth, that’s how huge it was. In fact, the 3 of us kinda picked our way through the sandwich; one pastrami piece at a time.

The pastrami was lovely and salty – with each bite being delightfully chewy. Got some annoying strands stuck in my teeth, but that was about the only downside to the sandwich. There was pretty much no way we could have finished the sandwich by ourselves, so what did we do?

We ordered more food.

French toast with maple syrup and beef sausages

Oh man you’ve not tasted sticky and gooey and lovely until you’ve tasted this. We were in Noooo Yawk … land of calories-on-display-board (annoying) and yellow taxis. We were on holiday!

Calories don’t count.

The sausages were more like the German variety (or what is sold to me as German sausages in the local supermarket in London, anyway) and not so much the English variety of sausages that we’re used to (ie Cumberland, apple and pork, etc.)

Which is good, because I actually prefer this chewy version which to me, has more of a bite than the English version.

Weirdly enough, quite a few people I’ve spoken to have wrinkled their noses in disgust when I said something stupid like ‘I like maple syrup pancakes with sausages / bacon / some other variety of meat.’

Huh??? How can you NOT like sweet pancakes with salty meat? You don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve tried this combination out.

Fluffy bites of pancake smooshed in mouth with chewy, salty bites of bacon/sausage is like the yummiest combination of American food possible. OK slight exaggeration but it’s good.

(nice owner guy talking to the customers)

We had a great afternoon at Katz’s; partly because of the food, and partly because of the great people-watching we had here. Friendly owner-guy (or at least that’s what he seemed to be) went round saying hi to all the customers; rounding off a good experience at Katz’s.

Urbs and Spices

2011-07-08T16:57:00.003+08:00

Recently discovered Urbanspoon London while I was searching for ways to increase my blopularity (blog popularity). First, I found a whole list of London blogs which I'd never known existed (these have now been added to the side bar), and then I discovered that these blogs were listed on Urbanspoon.

As quick as a steak in a frying pan, I put some of mine on there in a (slightly) desperate bid to be in with the cool crowd. However, they've only approved 2 so far (and I put on about 26), so we'll wait and see if I get accepted, or if I get boo-ed out of the kitchen.