Category Archives: Friendship Stop (password)
Protected: RI G20 14pax Monthly Dinner @ Spices Cafe on 31Oct2014
Protected: RI G20 12pax Suckling Pig Dinner @ Summer Garden SAFRA Mt Faber on 24Sep2014
Protected: RI G20 Dinner organised by Kim Kong @ Hung Kang on 18Aug2014
Cycling at Punggol PCN & Makan Break on 2Aug2014
bakchormee @ Blk 401 hougang Av 10
7 of us decided to go cycling along punggol park connector (PCN).
we gathered at sengkang swimming complex & took the PCN along sungei punggol past marina country club to punggol point & past coney island (or serangoon island). 🙂 we could see across the johore straits to pasir gudang with rows of kangaroo port container cranes.
we had a mix of bikes, from the top draw brompton to montague, giant, trek & my own dahon. there’s a cycling enthusiast among us travelled to new zealand to join cycling tours. he cycled all the way from alexandra to sengkang to join us for the PCN ride & carried on for a dragon boat rowing afterwards. rest of us mostly did very little cycling. for me it’s like the 5th time i cycled this year. i guess that’s not too bad actually! haha! 🙂
bakchormee @ Blk 401 hougang Av 10
bakchormee @ Blk 401 hougang Av 10
we stopped at a coffeeshop at Blk 401 hougang Av 10, which was actually facing hougang Av 8 & punggol park. the bakchormee looked good so a friend & i tried. unfortunately it was very average, the friend thought it was below par, somehow didn’t have the kick! the ingredients were quite plentiful, including lots of minced pork which i liked. the meatballs were soft & i didn’t quite like the taste. my friend though thought it was good. i thought the vinegar was not enough & somehow the taste was not quite there. we shared a black fried carrot cake. it was also average, not crispy, tasty enough. and a bit sweet. the wanton noodles also looked good but we didn’t try.
1 of us was talking about life after re & taking drawing lessons & learning about negative spaces, and showing us how his “self portrait” looked like at the start & end of the first lesson. 🙂
after makan we cycled along the pavement & returned to sengkang swimming complex quite quickly. the park connector route was about 14km & the return route was abut 5km.
it was a good fun start to our cycling activity. 1 of us who looked very stylo said it’s the non-cyclist that dressed like cyclist…lol. 🙂 anyway it interested us enough to plan for do it again at east coast lagoon the next round. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Protected: RI G20 15pax Dinner by Peng Ann @ Singapore Polytechnic Food Haven on 22Jul2014
Protected: Tiang Chye’s Early Birthday Dinner @ Ah Yat Abalone Forum on 16Jul2014
Protected: RI G20 13pax Dinner @ Peach Garden Miramar on 30Jun2014
Protected: 27pax RI Buddies Homecooked 13-course Buffet Dinner on 28May2014
Protected: RI G20 23pax Dinner @ Ban Heng Orchard Central on 25Apr2014
Protected: RI G20 23pax Dinner Get-Together @ Ah Orh on 20Feb2014
Protected: RI G20 20pax Dinner @ Shin Yeh on 22Jan2014
Protected: Satisfying G10 Dinner @ Beng Thin Hoon Kee on 23Dec2013
Protected: G10 Teochew Dinner @ Swa Garden on 28Nov2013
Protected: G10 “Healthy?” Dinner @ Satay by the Bay on 23Sep2013
Protected: RI G17 Aug2013 Dinner @ Peach Garden Novena on 20Aug2013
Patara Update (using Creative Eateries 50% Vouchers for 6pax Dinner) on 29Jul2013
tom yam talay (seafood)
a short update since my last Patara post!
Creative Eateries group of restaurants (Patara, Tajiyama, Shabuya etc) left amex palate earlier but had taken the opportunity of GSS (Great Singapore Sales) to sell 50% dining vouchers. Patara Fine Thai Cuisine is 1 of my favourite restaurants (when the price is right! haha) so i bought some more vouchers (S$300 worth for S$150 price) when i last dined there. 🙂
for our monthly (almost) G8 dinners, we have tried several italian, spanish, indian, french restaurants, so this time the guys took my recommendations to try out Patara on 29.7.2013. 🙂
mixed appetizers (S$20)
we had a mixed appetizer – 2 prawns fritters, 2 spring rolls & 2 pouch dumplings – quite good.
second appetizer was a seafood salad. this was really good – very generous helping of sweet plump scallops, grilled prawns & 2 salmon fillet, & very nice thai salad. must order! 🙂
deep-fried whole garoupa with 3-flavoured sauce (S$39)
the deep-fried whole garoupa with 3-flavoured sauce was excellent as always – crispy & fresh! 🙂
the tom yam talay was ‘lagi’ best here – full of scallop, prawns & sotong (squid) & suitably sour (see top photo & above left)
roast duck curry
the roast duck curry was very lemak (lots of coconut milk) & tasty. the thick duck slices were nice but i would have preferred the ones with roasted skins – alas they don’t do it here these days.
aussie beef steak panang curry
the NZ beef steak panang curry was another great dish! forgot to ask for gravy to be provided separately but anyway gravy was very nice too, though maybe in smaller dips. 🙂
olive rice
as always olive rice was here was 1 of the best! 🙂 forgot to take photo of the mango sticky rice dessert!
total dinner bill for 6pax 7 dishes+1 dessert+ S$78 white wine+1 iced tea was S$349=S$199 with Creative Eateries GSS (Great Singapore Sales) 50% vouchers. 🙂 super deal right?
c.h.e.f andy
Zaobao Maybank Chinese Classics Series Lunch @ Mandarin Grand Ballroom on 27Jul2013
steamed Canadian seaperch
a group of my friends had been going for the Zaobao Maybank chinese classics series lunch. the series combine Singaporean’s favourite activity (eating!) with games & quizzes to raise profile, interest & understanding of chinese culture. 🙂 the current series is based on the 4 chinese classics 红楼梦，三国演义，水浒传 & 西游记 (dreams of the red chamber, romance of the 3 kingdoms, water margin & journey to the west).
for this Zaobao lunch on 27.7.2013, the theme was romance of the 3 kingdoms (魏- 曹操、蜀 – 刘备、东吴- 孙权). 🙂
this the first time i was joining the lunch series. the 6-course lunch (i understand that previously there were even more courses) was priced at S$96nett (S$48nett for Maybank cardholders). 🙂
we had 2 tables of 8pax, and very nicely 2 of our friends brought their 86 & 87 years old moms to savour the lunch & outing, & they had been doing this everytime….toast to my wonderful friends! 🙂
Zaobao Maybank Chinese classics series lunch Menu
each item of the menu was named after some major events (stories) from the 3 kingdoms. 🙂
we had a trio of appetizers – crabmeat salad with what felt like goma (sesame) sauce, a crispy prawn fritters with thousand island dressing & a jellyfish with thai sweet & sour sauce. 🙂
i must say the food was really quite outstanding & much better than expected for this kind of large group lunches (which sometimes could be quite bad even when prepared by famous kitchens) so all credit goes to Mandarin Court (previously Pine Court) and executive chef Sunny Kong. 🙂
minced chicken balls in chinese yellow wine soup
next was a minced chicken ball with 黄酒chinese yellow wine soup – & a very tasty one-excellent soup! & here the story was 曹操煮酒英雄. 🙂 soup was followed with steamed Canadian sea perch (top photo), similar in taste & texture as Chilean seabass – both my absolute favourite. another superb dish! 🙂
valiant attempt at 草船借箭
in between the various quizzes, games & prizes, our 2 tables participated in a art & craft game. above was 1 of the 2 better valiant attempts at retelling the story of 孔明’s 草船借箭! haha. 🙂
baked pork ribs
next item was a baked pork rib. this was very good as well. 🙂
fried brown rice with chinese sausage
& we had a lovely wok-fried brown rice with chinese sausage – very fragrant, tasty dish. 🙂
aloe vera with jasmine tea
the last, a dessert item, was very good as well. nice refreshing aloe vera in fruit cocktail & jasmine tea. 🙂
i enjoyed this lunch very much, of course the great company of friends especially. 🙂 i generally do not go out of my way to have quizzes & games distracting me from the food & conversation, but i didn’t mind it really. i knew some of the stories of 3 kingdoms (from watching TV serials) & though several friends commented the loudspeaker was too loud, i was overall quite ok with the way the lunch was managed by the organisers. 🙂
will be looking forward to more zaobao lunches. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Pork Shabu Shabu Dinner at Azmaya & Coffee Chocolates at Laurent on 18Jun2013
had a wonderful evening out with a few great friends. 🙂
we were going to do Indian but the restaurant we decided to try, Balle Balle Cafe, was closed on Tuesday! (odd!), so we picked Azmaya. It was a great choice!
I had the A5 Japanese wagyu shabu shabu at Azmaya previously so I did not take photos this time. 🙂 we took the pork shabu shabu 2hrs 放题 (all you can eat) which was S$12pax after 50% discount (promotion extended till end Jun2013). the same for A5 Japanese wagyu + pork which was S$45pax after 50%, till end Jun2013. 🙂 there is 1 catch – you have to order 1 drink, which starts at $5. that was fine really, our dinner came to $173nett for 7pax inclusive of 9 drinks (2 beers, 1 red wine + 6 non alcoholic drinks), and ice water was free. 🙂
the pork came in 2 very thin machine cuts (we could see the machine slicing away on the countertop near the kitchen) – a belly cut & a (I am guessing) collar cut. they were very good really. we had 2 refills of meat as well as vegetable basket which included leek, golden mushrooms, Jap glass noodles, chinese cabbage, bean sprouts etc. there was no room left for udon which was also included but we did not order. 🙂
after dinner, one of us introduce the group to Laurent (pronounced lor-hon) Cafe & Chocolate Bar. they had a tiny aircon area that just about squeezed in 4 small tables, 3 of which were occupied; but there was a persistent one amongst us & we managed to pounce on it the moment a second table was vacated & put the tables together to sit the 7 of us. 🙂 we didn’t want to breathe the 108PSI air at the alfresco area. 🙂
we ordered the favourites – a pure chocolate which was “heavenly sinful”, a chocolate tart which had an excellent texture combination, & 2 others. they went very well with coffee though some of us had hot chocolate & ice creams etc. the bill came to S$90nett for 7pax.
& we had wonderful conversation hahaha.. 🙂 from Loire Valley misty chateaus to Cinque Terre to San Sabastian to Amalfi Coast (the last a friend’s very selective 3 bucket list items-all completed), capital & inheritance tax considerations when buying foreign properties & living in Kowloon or Discovery Bay, walking the trail from Wan Chai to mid-levels, dental surgeon (NOT one of us) & probiotics, being educated by our all-round sportsman on the difference between complete & finish (not to be repeated!). all in all, an evening to remember & savour. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
c.h.e.f 