Cups N Canvas Cafe

This is the second time I am at Cups N Canvas and coincidentally the first time I was there was on 10 May 2013. Almost 2 years ago to the date! :) The decor remains the same, as well as its artistic ambience. :)

 

Iced Cucumber Mint Tea - refreshingly cool

The chicken cutlet is crispy but juicy and tender.

After a delicious lunch, I did some work - looking at teachers' interviews and trying to surface the themes. Who could resist a little incentive while doing mental work? Lol.

French Apple Cake with Iced Peach Lychee Tea

The apple cake is a delightful surprise - not too sweet, soft but with apple slices in it. Different from the usual apple pie. It is the perfect pre Mother's Day treat for myself. :)

The Chop House

Interesting name for a restaurant. It sounds like some b-grade horror movie. Lol. :P 
If you are hankering for meat, here is the place to come. :)

The 3 jars of condiments - onion jam, mustard, beetroot chutney for your meat dishes

Fish & Chips with mushy peas - reminds me of those in UK

Creamy spinach - delicious

The variety of dishes is pretty good, catering to most except for the vegetarians. Well, if it is The Chop House, you probably won't be coming here for your greens either. :P Plenty of proteins to choose from - beef, lamb, pork, chicken, seafood - either as starters, sandwiches, burgers, or mains. There's pasta too. The desserts looks good. Can't wait to try them next time. :)

Celebration of "Memories"

After work, I met up with a friend to celebrate my birthday in advance. :) Being nostalgic, I decided to go to a place which held some of my childhood memories, Shashlik Restaurant! A side-effect of growing older haha. :P
For a restaurant that has been around for over 40 years, I am surprised to see quite a number of youngsters at the restaurant lol. Thought only oldies like me would go to Shashlik. :P By 7:30pm, the whole restaurant was almost full. 
I loved the soft bun with lots of butter and with my Fresh Oyster soup ($7). :) If you are not a fan of oysters, I would suggest you try some other soup. Like my friend who tried the Borshch which she claimed was good. I didn't try because it was made from beef stock.

Borshch with sour cream and Fresh Oyster Soup

Being my birthday (or soon it will be lol), I went for the Lobster a la Russe ($45, grilled lobster with cheese) while my friend tried Steak a la Russe ($26). Although my lobster looked rather plain, it was tasty and the lobster was cooked just right. :)

The highlight of the dinner was the dessert, Baked Alaska. It was a special treat when I was a child. It still is a special treat when I am now an adult! I don't believe that I still get all excited seeing the blue flames when the waitress poured rum over the ice cream cake and lit it up lol. :P

Blue flames all over the Bake Alaska

The memorable evening passed really quickly - Talking about old days in a restaurant from another era and enjoying delicious comfort food and fabulous dessert. :)

Good Food@Symmetry

It has been a while since I last met up with my friend over a meal. We went to Symmetry for dinner. 
My first impression of the place is it's loud and noisy, and very dim. I thought it is probably more popular for its hip factor than its food. I was so wrong! Lol.
We ordered Pork Belly ($32) with mustard mashed, Chicken ($28) with asparagus and truffle mashed, and a Passionfruit Texture & Flavour ($16) - passionfruit ice cream, pearls, coulis, lemongrass jelly and sable breton. 

The Dinner Menu

Pork Belly with mustard mashed

Chicken with truffle mashed

Different textures of Passionfruit

Both our pork belly and chicken are tender and juicy. The crust of my friend's pork belly is crispy, and went well with the pork which literally melts in the mouth. :) I couldn't decide which mashed I like better, mustard or truffle. In the end, both mashed won. :) Although the dessert sounded simple, made only of a single flavour - passionfruit. It is definitely not a simple dish. There are many different textures - ice cream, jelly, butter cookie,.. It is a gem! 
I apologise to Symmetry for my initial impression. I now know that it is popular, not just for its hip factor, but for its food as well! I would love to come back to try out its other dishes and desserts! :)

Cups N Canvas Cafe Singapore

Now that the girls' exams are over, I can relax and meet up with friends for a meal in the evenings. We went to Cups N Canvas at Selegie Road, as suggested by my friend. Cups N Canvas is a cafe cum art studio. It is a charming place with its artistic as well as rustic vibes. :)

There is an All Day Special for Pasta today so for every pasta dish ordered, a drink comes free (excluding ice-blend and alcohol drinks). I ordered a Greeno Pesto (chicken, basil, parmesan, baby potato, linguine) and a Ice Cucumber Mint Tea (free). My friend ordered a Blanc Bacon (bacon, mushroom, fettuccine) and a Iced Peach Lychee Tea (free).

Iced Peach Lychee Tea and Iced Cucumber Mint Tea

I was wowed by my pasta. Although some will be put off by the basil in the dish, I loved it. I love the unique taste as well as the strong flavour of basil. :) I gobbled up my pasta in no time! I really love my iced cucumber mint tea too. It is very refreshing. :)

Greeno Pesto (chicken, basil, parmesan, baby potato, linguine)

Blanc Bacon (bacon, mushroom, fettuccine)

There isn't a large variety of dishes on the menu but they are mostly comfort food which we could always do with lol. :) Cups N Canvas is a cool place to hang out. Visit it if you are in the area.

Cali Cafe Singapore

Being on leave meant that I could also afford to have some time for myself. Since the girls would only arrive home at 1+ pm, I met an ex-colleague for lunch. We went to Cali Cafe which is located within Park Avenue Hotel & Suites, near MOE. My friend had the Pesto Chicken pasta and I tried the Pacific Crab Cakes ($15.50). I "stole" a spoon of pasta from my friend and the pesto sauce was really delicious. Maybe I will order that next time. :)

I love my crab cakes and the mint yoghurt dressing which enhanced the crab cakes. The warm spinach salad which came with the dish was fantastic too! :) The portions were generous and I had to pack home one crab cake as well as the salad. 

The food at Cali Cafe is really tasty and good. I am surprised that it is not packed. Maybe because people haven't really discover it yet (it being inside a fairly new hotel). Looking forward to my next meal at Cali Cafe. :)

Hearty Breakfast(s) II

Hearty breakfasts from around Singapore - delicious and satisfying for both the body and mind. :)

Big Boy Breakfast from Forty Hands, Tiong Bahru

Egg Cocotte from Forty Hands, Tiong Bahru

The Big Breakfast from Olio Dome, Dempsey Hill

Pockets Subs with pork from The Orange Thimble, Tiong Bahru

Pcokets Subs with kaya and butter from The Orange Thimble, Tiong Bahru

Most Viewed Blog Post

I discovered today that one of my blog posts has been viewed over 400 times! It is my post on 17 November 2012 about Seafood Dinner@Atlantic Mix Grill. I wonder what's going on. However, there are only two photos on that post. If people are really interested about Atlantic Mix Grill restaurant, they should look at my second blog post of the restaurant dated 13 January 2013 because I took more photos on that second visit. :)

Meal@Atlantic Mix Grill (again) :)

This is our second visit to Atlantic Mix Grill and with my parents in tow. :) The first visit was back in November 2012. 
Both Juliane and her grandfather had Fish & Chips ($11.80), Marieann had Pink Salmon Spaghetti, my mother tried the Grilled Salmon ($14.80), the girl's father tried the newly included menu item, Pork Ribs ($16.80) and we shared a large Mixed Pot of clams and mussels in Atlantic Seafood Broth ($17.80) and escargot. We each thought our dish was delicious and the portion was just right for an adult. Might be a bit too much for children as we had to pack Marieann's spaghetti home and Juliane's too if I had not helped her to finish her second piece of fish fillet. Maybe they can consider coming up with Kid's size for certain dishes.
The girls and I also ordered Hot Chocolate Molten Lava Cake with ice cream ($7.80) for dessert. 

The fish fillets were crispy but not oily. The side salad was a good inclusion.

The portions of salmon in the spaghetti were big and generous. The cream sauce was yummy.

The pork ribs were huge and really tasty. :) The mashed potato was creamy and delicious.

The Atlantic seafood broth was tasty.

The hot chocolate molten lava cake was heaven (and not too sweet) and paired well with ice cream. :)

The dishes we tried were delicious and the prices remains reasonable which is good. :) Maybe next visit, we may see more new dishes and Kid's size dishes. :)

"Medieval" Food Experience

I have always been intrigued by the lone red knight that is stationed on the first floor of Vivocity. Finally, I have a chance to find out more about it - by having dinner at The King Louis Grill and Bar. :) 
The King Louis Grill and Bar is Singapore's one and only castle themed restaurant serving medieval cuisine with man-sized armoured knights placed around the restaurant.
The girls ordered from the Kids' Meal: Marieann and her Princess Grace Tomato Spaghetti ($10.50) and Juliane and her Castle Omelette ($9.50). We also ordered The Knight Lancelot (meat & seafood) ($79.90): marinated boneless chicken leg with onion sauce, grilled porkloin with mushroom sauce , oven baked king prawns with cheese, fish fillet in garlic cream sauce and sauteed green mussels with tomato sauce and came with vegetables and salad. I liked the chicken which is tender and juicy as well as the prawns and the fish fillet. The porkloin, however, was quite tough which was a pity.

Castle Omelette from Kid's Meal

The Knight Lancelot (meat & seafood)

One of the several armoured knights around the restaurant

Other than its unusual theme, The King Louis has also been voted by parents for the past two years as one of the best family restaurants. :) Families with children, please feel free to visit this restaurant. 

Christmas Day Staycation

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012! :)
My girls and I went for our Christmas Day staycation at Swissotel The Stamford. We arrived just after 12pm and were promptly checked-in and given our Grand Room on the 52nd floor! :)
The girls were really excited to be so high up from the ground. Actually, Juliane was more like freaking out because of the height and kept asking me to change to a room on a lower floor haha. The Grand Room (50m2) was nice and spacious for the three of us. The views from our room were spectacular (there were two balconies). 

From the door, looking into the hallway (bathroom and closet)

Study table and the first balcony (view of Marina Bay)

From study corner, view of living area and king size bed

Living area, bed and second balcony (view of city)

View of living area from the bed

From left to right: Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade

Civilian War Memorial (and Park)

Looking down from the second balcony: swimming pools and tennis courts

Lots of flats

The green patch is Fort Canning Hill (and Park)

After having explored our room and done taking all the photos, we left for lunch at 1pm. We were spoilt for choice as Raffles City is the attached shopping mall with lots of eateries. We went to Xi Men Ding (Taiwanese cuisine) as the girls couldn't decide what to eat.

Taiwanese-style "Bai-ye" Tofu ($13.90), Taiwanese-style double-boiled soup ($18.80) and Salted Veg with Tripe Soup ($6.90)

Pork Ribs in Plum Sauce ($16.90) - Delicious!

Sweet Glazed Duck ($15.90) - Tasty!

Fried Noodle with Shrimps ($11)

Stir-fried Pig's Intestines with Ginger and Pineapple ($13.90) - I like it lol

Taiwanese-style Noodle Soup ($4.90)

After lunch at 2.30pm, we walked around Raffles City and spent most of our time in Paper Market, NBC bookshop, Precious Thots, and Marks and Spencer. We returned to our room at 4.30pm. 
As the sky looked cloudy and cool earlier in the day, I told them they couldn't swim. But the girls were lucky. The sun came out in the late afternoon and I brought them down to the swimming pool on the 8th floor. They swam for close to an hour before we went back to our room at 6pm.

Marieann looking pensive

Juliane looking cheeky

After we watched our Korean drama, Ice Adonis (7-8pm, yes we are Korean drama addicts lol), we went for dinner at Out of the Pan, Raffles City. We shared a Grilled Honey Soy Chicken crepe ($15.50), Traditional Roasted Turkey Breast crepe ($19++), Fresh Berries Waffles with custard cream, berries and vanilla ice cream ($14), and Old Style Rum and Raisin sweet crepe with caramelised apples and rum & raisin ice cream ($14).

Views at dusk

At 52nd level lift lobby waiting for the lift

Fresh Berries Waffles - Sweet!

Old style Rum and Raisin Crepe - Yummy! (the girls didnt like it because of the rum lol)

After dinner, we went back to NBC bookshop. The girls just love the shop. We returned to our spacious and cosy room close to 9.30pm. We watched Discovery channel for the rest of the night! Lol. The girls couldn't sleep. They were like "Princess and the Pea"!  They complained that the bed was so different. They turned and tossed in bed, kept going to the bathroom and even tried to sleep on the couch! Finally, they knocked out just after 12 midnight. :)

The goodies that the girls bought

Amazing night view of the Marina Bay area from the 52nd floor