One of my favourite salad is the Horenso Salad at Gyu Kaku, raw spinach leaves with sesame dressing. Eager to make the dressing at home, we went online to search for the ingredients and found out its pretty simple to make!

It’s really trial and error to suit your taste and desired consistency. But it’s really made out of just 3 ingredients.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp Shoyu (soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp sugar, to suite your palate
• 1tbsp water, to suit your desired consistency

Optional

• 1 tbsp mirin (sweet sake)
• tsp mayonnaise

Preparation

1. If you bought raw sesame seeds, toast them on a skillet until brown and stir frequently so it won’t burn
2. Crush sesame seeds in a mortar, or just use a food processor.
3. Mix the shoyu, sugar and water with the ground sesame seeds to form the dressing for the salad.
4. Optional to add mirin or mayonnaise. The latter just gives a creamier texture.

Horenso Salad

Toss baby spinach and some sliced button mushrooms with the sesame dressing

Fry up small amount of bacon bits and thin garlic chips and sprinkle on top

Food Horenso Salad, Japanese, Sesame Dressing

Lookie what I found at  ParknShop at Wanchai Hong Kong awhile back, Mrs Mac’s Pies!! I’m sure they are available in Singapore as well, just haven’t seen them yet.

Mrs Mac’s is based in Perth and available at almost all gas stations and grocery stores. Brings back a lot of memories this one. My mum likes the famous beef pies and I used to buy back five to ten frozen pies home for her. Anyone in Singapore seen them at the frozen goods section?

Food Beef Pie, Food, Mrs Mac's

Good food with a good friend.

Great for dates, dinner with friends, lazy weekends, live music and sports tv.
< strong>My recommendations:

1. Black Cod ‘n’ Chips (Kronenbourg battered black cod, House chips & Mesclun Salad)
2. Wagyu Cube (pan-seared Wagyu beef, mushroom salsa & Japanese dressing)
3. Half/Half pizza (Spicy salami, 5 cheeses)

CMPB – Contemporary Melting-Pot & Bar
Block 7, Unit 01-05, DEMPSEY6ixAND7even, Dempsey Road, Singapore 249671
Tel: 6475 0105
Website: http://www.cm-pb.net/

Food

From source to plate.

First, we rampaged my mum’s fresh herbs in the back garden and pinched off some basil. Making sure I carefully pluck some prettier ones for plating.

Then we headed down to Sin Min to the Hai Bin Prawn farm to ‘hunt’ for food. We gave ourselves an hour to catch enough for dinner, unfortunately out unfruitful attempt left us with 2 prawns in the net.

Rates for Prawning

1 Hr $15

2 Hrs $25

3 Hrs $30

Equipment and baits are provided at no additional costs.

For bbq’ing your catches, charcoal, fire starters, satay sticks and salt are provided as well.

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Address
603 Sin Ming Avenue
Singapore 575735
Tel: 6554 1986

We ended asking the owner if we could buy some off him. He was so kind enough to give us 8 more for free.

Back in the kitchen, first job was to shell the prawns, here are the steps:

1. twist off head
2. peel off shell around the body
3. yank of tail, it should slide out fairly easily. Or just leave it on if you’re not bothered
4. use a knife and serate down the back of the prawn and remove the black line of gunk, also known as “de-veining”.
5. rinse with salt and water

Time to cook! To be honest, we weren’t following any recipe. We just cut up with garlic, chillies and basil and hoped for the best. Shaved some parmesan cheese on top and we were done!

Ta-da! Chilli Basil Prawn pasta.

Food

I keep calling it Ching Chong instead of Chong Qing! Only realised today the restaurant’s full name is “The Magic of Chongqing Hot Pot”. Don’t diss the name, the food is actually pretty good. Possibly the most well-known hot pot restaurant in Singapore.

The Magic of Chong Qing Hot Pot
Opening Hours:
Lunch : 12.00 – 3.00pm
Dinner : 6.00 – 11.00pm

*Last Orders an hour before closing
*Reservations recommended

Address: 19 Tanglin Road, #04-06 Tanglin Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6734 8135
Website: http://www.chinesefeasts.com.sg/

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Food Ching Chong Hot Pot, Chong Qing Hot Pot, Food, hot pot, Singapore, Steamboat, The Magic of Chong Qing Hot Pot

Best wedding of 2009 has to be the beautiful union of Brian Wey and Diana Lie. Throughout the wedding planning process, I would hear details from Dru. At times he took a more active role in the planning such as finding the right live band for the evening.

So when the day finally arrived, seeing the culmination of all those ideas is probably why wedding planners keep doing what they do. Seeing the success of a well-planned and well–executed wedding must be so gratifying.

When you first walk into the ballroom, the first thing that caught my attention was the floor to ceiling fabric that draped elegantly down the walls. This was by request of the family, and to be honest, probably the best decision they could have made. With the help of mood lighting, the room was transformed to an amazing dining hall which looked elegant and nothing like the usual drab hotel ballroom.

The flowers were amazing and I believe were from Boenga. Ballroom was not overly flowered, and was smartly placed. White table bouquets looked chic and were arrange high above eye level so your view wasn’t obstructed.

The night was just beautiful. Speeches were kept short and sweet, and the party went on late in the night. I have to say I was particularly proud of Dru’s speech, because he wasn’t too excited about delivering it. You should have more confidence in yourself, you did really well!

Food was great! But I already knew it would be if it passed through Dru’s taste test. My parents were also friends with the mother of the bride, so it was nice to have them there with me too. I got to slow dance with my dad, and I THINK, that’s the first time we’ve ever did that!

My beautiful deep blue silk Georgette asymmetrical drape gown was made by Eelyn from Yu. I loved how the fabric gathered Grecian-styled at the sides without making me look frumpy.

If you don’t want to look like the other donkeys in (god forbid) Daniel Yam dresses, and want something (YU)nique, you must look for her. She has a bespoke service for those who really want to go custom.

Fashion, Food, Friends & Family

I wrote this post last year, and was kept in drafts. Now that I’m clearing them… I can’t remember which restaurant had made such a bad impression on me. Can anyone help narrow it down?

OH SNAP! I remember now!

It was after the World Effie Festival, the ICON team were having dinner at Oosters at Suntec City. I’ve eaten at the Far East Square branch before and had no issues there. But at the Suntec branch on that particular night, all of us were absolutely fuming at the end of the night. We have never come across such atrocious service. Here was the list of unpleasantries.

1. Starters took 40mins to arrive
2. One starter didn’t turn up, deep friend Camembert
3. They later informed us they ran out of mussels, so some of our mains had to be changed to lamb
4. Our mains then took about 45mins
5. side plates not cleared when mains arrived
6. Some mains i.e. steak, we were given normal knife not steak knife
7. Some of our mains didn’t EVEN ARRIVE for another 45mins – pork knuckle & sausages
8. lamb mains didn’t turn up at all, later we were informed they ran out of lamb and forgot to inform us
9. cocktail apple Martini forgotten
10. asked for water, never came
11. attitude of waitresses were atrocious
12. didn’t clear plates
13. we had cake but they didn’t provide any small plates or cutlery
14. restaurant manager had no balls to speak to us instead delivered messages through his minion waiters to solve the problem
15. And I overheard 2 other table of diners left unhappy

That is quite a list of complaints!

I really hope for the sake of the restaurant, that those issues have been ironed out and that floor manager has moved on to another establishment. Because it would be such a shame to have them on my blacklist, there aren’t that many German restaurants around.

Food

When Rachel was back in Singapore, we had an impromptu cheese and wine night at the West Wing. Rach had brought back several amazing pairings of cheeses and dried fruit from Melbourne, and all I brought was some crummy cheese from the home fridge which really paled in comparison to the cheeses I brought from home in the fridge.

Evening was spent catching up over Martinis, wine and the good company of Rachel, Janice, Andrew and Gary. Will miss these nights when you guys finally move out! I say Raclette & Ravin Rabbids again before we say bye bye to the West Wing!

Food, Friends & Family

Thanks to Sunny we got to check out the opening of the Hershey’s Singapore outlet at Resorts World Sentosa. His family’s company has signed exclusively with Hershey’s for the expansion and franchise rights of Hershey’s Chocolate World in South East Asia and the Middle East. So lots more planned and rolling out soon.

Hershey’s Chocolate World Singapore is heaven for the sweet-toothed. We spent a lot of time wandering around the salivating at all the sweeties.

The store sells most of their sweets under their brand, from the Kisses to Reese. Inclusing Hershey merchandise like chocolate-scented candles, hot chocolate cups and soft plushies.

If size matters to you, they stock the World’s Largest Hershey Bar for S$60 weighting in at a whopping 2.26kg = 50 servings = 120,000 calories!! They also sell the World’s Largest Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and World’s largest KISS!

For $16 you can also create your own customised wrapper for the 8oz milk chocolate bar with the green screen wall at the corner of the store.

Hershey’s Chocolate World
Address: Resort World at Sentosa
26 Sentosa Gateway
#01-75/76/77
Singapore 098138

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Food Chocolate, Hershey's, Hershey's Singapore, Opening, Resorts World Singapore, Universal Studios Singapore

Ushering in the new year in style at Mezzanine Grand Hyatt Hotel Singapore. This is probably the 3rd time I’ve done the Hyatt countdown dinner/party and this year it was by far the worse selection of dessert! Me thinks the pastry chef is feeling a bit uninspired or perhaps it had been a bad year for him/her.

We had quite a huge group, so we managed to book out the whole table at the cellar of Mezzanine. Dressed in our best, we left our baggage from 2009 behind and rung in the new year with lots of love, friendship and laughter.

After the countdown, it was a bus ride to Sunny’s place at Sentosa Cove for Casino-themed after party and 5am breakfast by the pool! Happy New Year!

Entertainment, Food, Friends & Family NYE, NYE2009

What I loved about studying at an international school in Singapore was making friends with people from all over the world. Whether they were temporary or Singapore residents, our paths will keep on crossing at different times of our lives. Singapore just seems like one of the most transient cities in the world, perhaps second to Hong Kong and New York.

And because of that, there’s little separation anxiety or sadness when the time comes to say goodbye. People come and go, and you learn to accept that. But most importantly, you learn the importance of staying in touch.
With that, I also love the fact that our circle of friends keeps on expanding. When I mention I’m out with ‘the girls’, there is a core group of about 5 which then broadens to about 30!

(From left: Desray,Sarah, Marissa. Artika & Michelle Y.)

Christmas is usually the time when a lot of the girls are back in town to visit their families, and the best time to get together and catch up. Boxing day brunch was at Graze Rochester Park. Good food, great company. Just hope we don’t have to wait till Christmas to see everyone again. I leave you with some photos from that morning.

Prime rump hamburger (S$27), Eggs Benedict (S$17), Banana Pancakes ($13), avocado and tomato on toast ($15).

Nice photo!
(Top row: Camilla, Kathryn, Katiana, Kimberley, Natalie, Angela, Desray, Sarah)
(Bottom row: Bettina, Michelle, Anoushka, Artika, Michelle Y., Michelle M., Marissa)

Not so nice photo

Food, Friends & Family Brunch, Girlies, Rochester Park

Sometimes that’s all you need.

Food sandwich

There are a lot of mixed reviews on the internet but to me it is arguably one of the best burger joints in Hong Kong. Was first introduced to Shake ‘em Buns by Dru at the beginning of 2009. And the next 3 times I went back to Hong Kong, I was back there at least once. It almost became a pilgrimage.

Don’t expect McDonalds prices here, prepare to fork out around HK$60 for a burger and HK$12 for fries.

My favourite burger is the “South of The Border” which is a beef burger with Guacamole, Sour Cream and Salsa. What sold me was the guacamole…mMMmm i love guacamole.

Shake em Buns
Address: Shop No. 6, , Wan Chai (Entrance at Ship Street)
Tel: (851) 2866 2060
Opening Hours:
Website: http://www.shakembuns.com/

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Food, Travel Burger, Burgers, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Shake 'em Buns

It was our last few days in Hong Kong and one of the items to strike off the list was to have afternoon tea at The Pen.

The Peninsula (香港半島酒店) located at the junction of Nathan Road and Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui is also Hong Kong’s oldest surviving hotel.

Out of the 10 people I’ve asked, 7 said that The Peninsula has the best afternoon/high tea in country, so I guess The Pen it was. All 7 of them also mentioned that we should call to make a reservation a couple of days in advance, just so we wouldn’t have to wait in line for a table.

Afternoon tea was pleasant but slightly overrated. There were so many tables catering to demand, it felt over commercialized and almost canteen-like. But I guess everyone including us were there so we can claim we’ve had tea at The Pen.

Our tiered afternoon tea set comprised of snacks on silver platters accompanied with coffee or tea. For those of you who don’t know, top tier is usually scones, middle is the savoury and the last tier is the sweets. But nowadays no one really keeps to the tradition.

For ours, the bottom tier was raisin scones accompanied by whipped butter, fresh strawberry preserves and clotted cream. You must MUST have clotted cream, and none of that fake cream instant bottle crap. Second tier was finger sandwiches and assorted pastries, and the last tier the sweets: chocolate and cake.

To be honest, it was over-priced, but you pay for the colonial grandeur and ambience which is The Pen. There you are sitting beneath the arches of the lobby, listening to The Lobby String quartet, sipping tea like ladies of leisure. A tad bit chi-chi, and not exactly my cup of tea, so it won’t be a repeat visit. But at least I could tick it off the list.

The Peninsula
Address: Salisbury Road, Tsim Tsa Tsui, Hong Kong
Afternoon Tea is served daily from 2pm to 7pm
Dress code: Casual – smart casual

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Food, Travel Afternoon Tea, Hi-tea, High tea, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, The Peninsula

To each their own, but to me, Santouka Ramen hands down the best Ramen in Singapore.

Santouka Ramen is hidden away in a corner The Central near Clarke Quay, and not easy to find for first-timers. My advise is to look for billy bombers and walk around the corner to find this joint.

When you get there
If you’re there at lunch/dinner i.e. peak hours, expect to wait in line for at least 15mins till you get a seat. If you’re lucky, you’ll get the seat by the window, almost like riverfront dining. The next obstacle is understanding the menu. It’s a pretty ramen extensive menu, and can daunting at first.

But to be honest, this is all you need to know:

Ramen Stock
They serve 4 types of ramen stock here: Miso, Kara Miso, Shoyu (Soy Sauce) and Shio (Salt). Although Santouka is known for its Shio ramen which has been consistently ranked #1 by Japanese magazines, I personally prefer the Shoyu.

Pork
What I love about Santouka is the portion and size of pork slices given. Other ramen places I’ve been too are so stinge on the meat it just cheapens the whole experience.

When it comes to ordering the pork, definitely go all out and get the Tokusen Toroniku (Pork cheek), which by the way is only limited to about 60 servings a day. These slivers of heaven are tender, but could be a tad salty for those who are not sodium fiends like myself.

DEFINITELY order a Komi-Tamago (flavoured egg) to go with the Ramen – an extra $1. It has the consistency of a poached egg or a century egg, and brings he dish to a whole different level.

Sides
So if the giant bowl of ramen is still not enough, or you’re sharing a bowl with someone, you could order a plate of Gyoza and perhaps a Grilled Salmon & Salmon Roe rice bowl.

So in summary, let me make this easy for you. Just go in there and order this:
* Tokusen Toroniku (Pork cheek) Ramen in Shoyu + egg
* Grilled Salmon & Salmon Roe rice bowl
* Gyoza

Boom! Done. Hmm… my pictures are making me hungry now.

Santouka Ramen
Address: 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, #02-76 The Central
Opening hours: Daily 11.00am – 9.30pm
Tel: +65 6224 0668
Website: http://www.santouka.co.jp/

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Food Central, Santouka Ramen

Was waiting all day for Dru to be done with work, so I took the liberty to find a Mexican place for dinner. I scoured through the internet and found somewhere nearby at Soho, Central Hong Kong.

El Taco Loco is a small little Mexican place that sits on the corner and on a slope, right next to the Soho escalators. Because of its location and price, it gets a steady flow of customers.

They serve the usual burritos and tacos (duh!), but don’t expect it to be plated nicely. They come in tin foil bowls and plates, and plastic sauce dishes. But that’s what you’d expect for the price you pay!

Good place to satisfy the craving, but not really comfortable for long sit down dinners.

El Taco Loco
Address: G/F, SOHO, Central
Tel: +852 2522 1262
Opening hours: 12:00pm to 10:00pm. 7 days a week

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Food, Travel El Taco Loco, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries

Favourite meal of the day is Brunch and even better if its a place that serves All-Day breakfasts.

It was Mothers’ Day, and the Lies were looking for a place to take Auntie Mieke. Again, I did a little research to find a decent brunch place. Judging criteria: Do they have a website, ratings on review sites, interior shots of the restaurant, menu and price.

First of all, the website was well designed. Ratings were pretty good. Interior shots of the restaurant had a P.S. Cafe vibe (I like!). And the menu was huge! Not only was it huge, items like these won me over:
- Wild mushroom soup with truffle cream
- Lobster risotto
- Roquefort & Bacon burger
- Blueberry pancakes
- Eggs Royale with Smoke Salmon
- Freshly baked scones
- Macaroni Au Gratin

SOLD. I forwarded the site to Dru, next thing Boom! Booked for 6 on Mothers’ Day. Food was great, atmosphere was casual and lively, service good. Definitely a repeat location. I reckon its a great place for hangover brunches, and the owner probably thinks so too, offering “hangover cures” and “pick me up” drinks on the menu.

The Press Club
Address: 108 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan
Tel: +852 2525 3444
Website: http://www.thepressroom.com.hk/

Food, Travel Brunch, Food, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, The Press Room

Probably one of the best Kebab’s I’ve ever had, second to the Altos Kebab in Perth. But then again everything tastes freakin amazing after a night out on the crawl.

Ebeneezers are spread across the island with outlets in Wanchai, Central, discovery bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, and New Territories. The one I visited most was the Wanchai outlet on Lockhart Road.

I recommend ordering:
- Mix (Lamb and Chicken Kebab) HK$62
Roasted Chicken and Lamb, served in Lebanese Pita bread with salad and your choice of dressings
- Gyros (Chicken Kebab) HK$52
Roasted Chicken, served in Lebanese Pita bread with salad and your choice of dressings

Ebeneezers (Wan Chai)
G/F, 52 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2157 0009
Opening Hours: 10am – 6am (Sun-Thur), 10am – 7am (Fri-Sat)
Website: http://www.ebeneezers.com/

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Food, Travel Ebeneezers, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries, Kebabs

Just a bit of trek up the road from the Wai Kee Congee Shop is this pushcart coffee stall – Lan Fong Yuen.

It’s claim to fame is their pork chop bread (豬扒包) and milk tea. We were so stuffed from congee the thought of more food just made me ill. BUT, that didn’t stop us from having a cup of local coffee for a potent java hit.

Dru’s dad was the one who introduced us to this stall, and told us how we were suppose to be sitting on those stools.

Below is one of my favourite photos from that trip. There was a lot going on in that picture, and it captured the moment perfectly.

Lan Fong Yuen (蘭芳園 )
Address: 2 Gage Street, Central
中環結志街2號
Tel: +852 2544 3895 / 2854 0731

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Food, Travel Coffee, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diairies, Tea

With friends in Hong Kong over the weekend, I’m forced to reminisce the 4 trips I made to the island last year. It was 4 freakin amazing trips I must add.

What I love most about travelling is eating like the locals, or finding that hole-in-the-wall place which serves up authentic, tasty and affordable local cuisine. So one of such places I visit repeatedly in Hong Kong is this porridge/congee stall in Stanley Market.

It’s a bit hard to find, and will involve a bit of map skills to get you there. Best time to go is early in the morning before it gets too hot and crowded, but if you’re dying for a taste and you got out of bed late, it’s still open at lunch.

Wai Kee is most well-known for their Yiu Tiao 油條 which is also known as yiu cha kway or Fried dough fritters. Their yiu tiao are made on the spot and comes to your table hot and crispy on the outside, but the inside is as light and soft as a warm croissant.

Here’s what we had, and what I recommend you order:
- Lean pork with Century Egg porridge
- Yiu tiao (油條)
- 炸兩 which is basically Yiu tiao wrapped in Chee Cheong Fun

Note about ordering: Decide what you want before you order. And when you get hold of the lady boss, give your orders quick and loud. Because she has a habit of coming to your table, and while you begin with your orders, she will start walking off. It’s quite amusing, but don’t worry, she’s still listening.

Wai Kee Congee Shop (威记粥店)
Address: G/F, 82 Stanley St., Central
Tel:+852 2551 5564
Directions: Central MTR Station, Exit D1 & D2

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Food, Travel Food, HK, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries