Westgate, at last

One of the places in Singapore that I rarely touched is the west area.
From the area itself, it's the other side of Singapore that is very far from where I stay, and the thought of traveling there just puts me off already.
I mean, sitting through the mrt/bus is boredom and long enough, and to travel both ways, I give up.

So finally when I went to Jurong East after omg so many years, it definitely changed a lot.
And finally to say I have visited JEM and Westgate.
It was a convenience trip there since I ended school late that day, and bf's camp is nearby. Taking the chance that we are already in that area, might as well head there for dinner.

The car ride there was fun, fast & furious and enjoyable.
Maybe to be honest that I enjoyed getting driven around, and at a fast speed. Makes me wonder what kind of driver I would be when I passed my license. Lol.
Windows down, hood open, music blasting and engines roaring, that's the way to go.

Our dinner place was one suggested by my friend, called Osaka Ohsho.

Their dumplings or rather Gyoza is what draws the crowd to their restaurant. Juicy meat inside wrapped with dumplings skin, together with a bit of soy sauce.. Aww, the combination.
The terriyaki chicken set I ordered was definitely filling and I was bloated after the meal. To think 1/4 bowl of rice, chicken, Gyoza and tea was enough to fill my stomach.

Osaka Ohsho
Westgate #03-09
Daily 11:30 to 22:00

After dinner, it was an exploration of the mall, wandering around between the courtyard area and air-conditioned area. Learning that the mall is mainly a food place and with a surprising number of Japanese restaurants inside.

A mini distraction on our exploration for these mini cheesecake. Damn good, soft, and full of flavors. Definitely a must-buy if you're there or anywhere else that you see them.
Now is my challenge if I am able to bake such cheesecake.
But only if cream cheese is on offer. Hahah! A baker on budget, unfortunately.

This waffles place caught bf's eyes when we passed by it. Both savory and sweet waffles offered, mainly a waffles place that put all kinds of ingredients.
We decided to go for the strawberry cheesecake since it's on chef's recommendations and well, it's cheesecake.
It was served in a mini frying pan, definitely a creative way for decoration and pictures as well. Though we were both surprised by the taste, it contained durian mousse inside. Something out of the ordinary since the menu didn't say it would include, confused, we asked the waiter and to find out that the chef had exchanged the contain inside. Though we didn't know why, with a weird language barrier and they didn't understand or explain but asked if we would like a new one instead. *shrug* In the end, bf said it's alright for the flavor, just that it was left wondering why did they add something else for our waffles.
To be honest, it was a nice combination but for a price of $9.50 I don't think I like to return back again to try other flavors/waffles. For that price, I reckon I am able to find bigger and better waffles. Definitely the portion size wasn't worth the money,and it was even smaller than my hand. On the other hand, they were quite generous with the strawberries provided. Perhaps to make up for the price?

Griddy Waffles
Westgate #B2-K12

One thing I learned is one trip down is enough. The bus ride back home was just too long and on a Friday, eventually we got worn out and tired.

Turf City, Farmer's Market

I'm sure everyone would know about the Grandstand?
I spend much fond memories there in my secondary school days, taking the free shuttle bus from AMK to there for track training.
Then it was mainly grass, rocks and old racing tracks. Of course, the only thing we enjoyed was the big Giant supermarket for our supply of 100 plus.
That was years ago.
Today bumpy and kitty are on another adventure to Turf City!

This time, the free shuttle bus is from Toa Payoh bus stop!
Shuttle bus timing and other locations can be found here!
Our first time taking the bus and we were anxiously waiting, though the bus did come late and every private bus that came by, we were (or rather I was) damn excited. Hahah! Even met a couple at the bus stop who were waiting for the bus too.
Funny, but a private bus stopped there and I almost wanted to board it until I realized that it was a bus for senior citizens who are going to a baptist church...

The ride to Turf City is about 20 minutes (depending on road conditions). And they stopped right outside PasarBella Farmer's Market. The Grandstand is generally divided into north and south, so be sure to explore both sides!
We stared off at PasarBella and were amazed at the new improvements and the amount of stores inside the place. Best of all, it doesn't feel like you're in Singapore anymore, but in another country. The cosy feeling and the stores inside brings about a different feeling and definitely a place for good chill out and food.
The first part that greeted us is the seafood section. And omg, the oysters are HUGE. I was that close to purchasing 1/2 dozen to eat (either $8/piece or $21). Another time perhaps but boy I need oysters soon in my tummy.

Moving on inside, they have mini shops selling different kinds of food, ranging from snacks, coffee, beer, wine, meat, cold cut, cheese, desserts.
You can order from the stores, and find a table to enjoy them.

A random store that was selling roasted pork and we were so tempted or rather we gave in to the sight of delicious roasted pork and bought them to try.
A little late and the honey roasted got sold out, else you could buy a combo for $13.
Our regular one cost $8 and you have a choice of sauces (apple sauce or mustard or chili) to add on.
Definitely one of the crispest roastetd pork I have eaten, but there wasn't much strong flavor inside that makes bumpy go aww..
So it comes down that the chinatown store was better and worth for money as well.
One thing to bear in mind, some or most items at PasarBella are a little overpriced.

They even have a dessert store beside that sells a slice of cake for $10. As much as it's expensive, the slice is huge as well, so they do make up for the price.
But even as a dessert lover, too much can also be bad. It would be better for sharing with a group than struggling to finish it and feel bloated after that.

Here we are, late lunch/early dinner but the main purpose of coming to Turf City is to try Singapore best burger in Singapore. I read reviews about it but it took me long enough to finally take a trip down.
And even bumpy agreed that it's better than fatboys!
To compare in terms of flavors, omakase burgers win hand-down. The patty was so juicy and rich in flavor, together with their special sauce, it hit the right taste buds. And the melted cheese and slight crispy bun, it brings together an awesome combination. Just one flaw is the size. It's not a big burger so for a price of $14.90 for an omakase burger and $18.50 for an ultimate cheeseburger, you do question if it's worth the size. The cheese fries (R $6.30) was addictive with a generous amount of melted cheese on top, it was a good end to our fatdie burger.
To think we enjoyed each other burger instead of the ones we ordered. Hahah!

Omakase Burger
Turf City #01-05
Mon - Thur 11:30 to 15:30 & 17:00 to 21:30
Fri - Sun 11:00 to 22:00

That pretty much round up our adventure at Turf City and finding a place out of Singapre in Singapore. Recommended for chill out, dates and family outings. I wish it was nearer that I can eat at the burger place more often.

Canopy Garden Dining & Bar

The first weekend of the year and I spend it well with my love.
A good Friday night watching finishing Smurf and starting on the Hobbit.
The bf who answered all my questions about the movie 'cause I didn't pay attention (oops!)
Saturday out with our first musical, The Light Seeker.
Though to admit, we were both awestruck by a particular performer's well-defined abs.
Here to starting our new year resolution....soon

Yet on Sunday was happiness spending the morning in bed finishing the Hobbit.
Spoiler but it ends at the epic moment.
Lazy brunch at Bishan park, a new cafe that I saw on a link and one that friend recommended.
It's a dog friendly cafe that gives both indoor and outdoor experience.

We ordered pineapple juice. Mainly 'cause we thought we had to pay $5 for the plain water, which in the end turns out to be free.
Double oops.
Ordered the grilled breakfast ($18) and tried their waffles with chicken & mushrooms ($13).

While I was busy taking picture for instagram, asked bf to help me take pictures of the food with my camera.
End result is one picture.
Reason is that one picture is enough.
NO! Not enough for me. Hahah.

The waffles was something different from the others that we ate before.
Chicken and mushrooms were actually cold, and with the waffles being at room temperature, it was a weird-different combination of taste.
I expected it to be a savory dish but it greatly surprised me.
Won't really say I like or dislike the dish but not one that I might like to order again in near future.

After the two dishes, we decided to go for a third, pancakes with maple syrup ($6).
After all, the main purpose of coming here is to satisfy bf's craving for pancakes.
By far the biggest pancake I have ever seen, but no picture of it. Bf says pancake is pancake, still must take picture of it meh? Fineee.

Canopy Garden Dining & Bar
1382 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1
(Inside Bishan Park)
Mon - Fri 12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 10.30pm
Sat, Sun, PH 12pm to 10.30pm

Beef?

Continuing with later part of Friday.
Headed back to my now second home (or rather that's how I'm gotta nickname it now) to shower and play minion rush!
Hahah. Nice to have a second home now in Singapore. After the past three years of changing two homes, and now I got a second home with a cosy bed for me to nap in every Sunday (so far).
A little errand to run with Bumpy's mom to Popular and Kitty kind of got stuck at the ice cream stick art. Lol. Now I'm just tempted to get a pack of coloured ice cream stick and make some kind of container with it or something.
After that it's a trip down to Bugis! A much needed trip there in a sense 'cause I needed to get my nail polish bottles and a watch. Maybe some accessories.
And we tried this store near Haji Lane which seemed to receive many positive feedback about their red wine chicken noodles. Feeling curious, we brought Bumpy's mom there for lunch as well.

On a Friday late afternoon, the shop was quite empty with only two tables occupied. And we ordered two bowls of the noodles together with a bowl of their home made fishballs to share. The foochow balls were nice, just that it didn't had enough filling, but still to know it was homemade was good enough. Especially nowadays all we get is factory-made fishballs. For the red wine chicken noodles, the soup base was good and with the mee sua noodles, it was a good combination. However, I wasn't exactly happy with the chicken. Not quite a fan of boiled chicken, 'cause the meat gets dried up and without much taste to it and with the huge chunks of chicken meat, the more I felt that the meat was too dry for my liking.
Overall, I might come back to eat if I'm just around the corner. I just might.

Seow Choon Hua Restaurant
33 Sultan Gate
Daily: 10:00 to 22:00

Fast forward a lot of hours. We had our couple romantic dinner together!
Our first earned candle light dinner in a nice cosy restaurant. Kind of like our monthsary dinner celebration. Last weekend we had lunch celebration, this week we do with a dinner celebration. Hahah! Either way, we're on foodie-diet.
A nice restaurant and we were seated in a cosy corner facing the window. The restaurant is famous for their beef and hence we're there to give it a little try. After all, I haven't been a good beef eater lately. A little strange for me to be eating beef in a cosy restaurant without wine, but hey there's always a first for everything. Was explaining to Bumpy how red wine is usually for red meat, and white wine is taken with seafood. And for me, dessert wine is with ice cream!
Super happy that Bumpy likes my favourite dessert wine; Brown brothers moscato. Just that for that price in S'pore, it's not worth getting a bottle. Super feel like flying to Australia just to buy my bottle of moscato, midori, doritos, tim tam, red rocks chips, honey melon and HUNGRY JACKS.

The freaking rib eye is huge! The size of my hand maybe. And with a bed of fries, yeaps I'm never losing weight.
P.s. the menu even convince me that the fries are free flow. Not that anyone would be insane enough to finish the fries and still ask for more.
But one thing I love is the lamb. FREAKING NICE.
So fine, maybe they are famous for their beef and lamb. Either way, I'm not coming back here again till I'm a working adult.

One thing for sure, it's the company that counts over the food.

Shiok Maki

On Saturday I had one of the most enjoyable lunch with Bumpy.
One of the places that has been on my foodie list for a while, and we just haven't been there. The thought of the queue turn us off, and we weren't sure how long we would queue, especially on a weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, it was a bargain.
We were to meet there at noon, and it's for our monthsary lunch!
The awesome place to celebrate our monthsary together. And the night before we were up till super late (or early in the morning). Waking up about 9am the next day wasn't easy and initially we were meeting at 11am but it got pushed to noon instead.
A super good time I reached there at 11.45am and I even got a window seat! Hahah. Now I can spy on people while I have my lunch. Yes little minions walk past me and not know that there's someone upstair spying on your every move.
Half hour after I arrived, the crowd started kicking in and before I know it, the restaurant is packed. Even when we ordered then, we were told that we had to wait about half hour for our both maki to be ready.

Meanwhile, for the first dish, we had the grilled unagi ($15).
Super a big fan of grilled eel ever since I started eating it years ago, and it's always the sauce that makes the difference to whether it's good or just alright.
This dish won us over, the sauce was just awesome and together with the tender meat, I'm in love.
Hahah! Even the lettuce salad that came with the dish had a simple feel to it with the light sauce on it. Definitely glad we ordered it.

Our shiok maki gen 1 ($16.80) and salmon ($8) arrived next.
Just the perfect timing when we had finished the unagi. Now that's when we finally tried the dish that everyone has been talking about.
The first bite, or rather the first piece (freaking huge piece!) was mouth-watering. But I struggled a lot at the first bite. The thought of being greedy and wanting to stuff the whole piece inside my tiny mouth, but it failed in the end and I passed Bumpy the piece instead and took a smaller one.
Bloody hell, he opened his mouth and the piece went in easily.
Fine, I got a small mouth. Deal with it.
The sauce on top of the sushi was the one that made the difference, and how it makes the sushi better than the rest. As well as the grilled salmon at the top, it's a combination of shiok-ness alright. Somehow the sauce seemed to be a mixture of Japanese mayo and something else. Just can't figure out what.
But it's my favourite (okay second favourite after unagi).

The second shiok maki second gen arrived. Even with the half hour wait, I reckon it's alright since we needed time to consume each dish and we get to finish one dish before 'attacking' the second dish. For this dish, it's with grilled salmon at the top as well, with the awesome sauce but inside it's filled with grilled prawn instead. The first gen is with unagi, maybe also that's why I enjoyed it so much. For this, I didn't quite like the combination of prawn and salmon.
Conversely, it's Bumpy's favourite dish instead.
Either way, it's a must order dishes when you're at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar.

For the four dishes that we ordered, surprisingly it was just nice for two to share. Sufficient for lunch and quite filling as well. But one thing for sure, I'm definitely returning back here again maybe end of the year for another round of maki & unagi & salmon. Repeat the same four orders as today. Heheh!

Koh Grilled & Sushi Bar
Wisma Atria Shopping Centre #04-21
Daily: 11:30 - 22:30

After lunch we headed off wandering around Orchard. And Bumpy suddenly had the thought of getting macaroons. That's when it all begins...
I mentioned to him about the cheap macaroons that I found at the top floor of Ion which was selling for only $1.50. I mean I don't see macaroons selling that cheap before, even the minimum amount I thought would be $2. But $1.50 is a good steal. Let's just hope the cost and the taste is reasonable as well.

We tried two types of chocolate macaroons, just the lighter one include coffee. The darker one is with marshmallow filling. And that is better than the second one, softer and more chewy. The lighter one is nice as well, just that it wasn't that soft, feel like it has been in the fridge longer.

The second store we tried was from TWG. The macaroons selling at TWG are $2 per piece. A little more pricey but with more flavours available (but with weird names).
We tried three this time; a rose flavoured, a mint tea flavoured and one with kaya inside.
Personally, I felt that it was a major disappointment. The white and blue one taste more of kaya, mainly because of the kaya filling. And for macaroons I found it interestingly weird to have kaya filling.
And the rose flavoured, unfortunately, taste like bandung. Super funny. Bumpy had the first bite and told me of the taste, and when I had mine, after I realized what he mean, I started laughing.
Definitely not purchasing any more macaroons from TWG.

The last store to try was obviously from Laduree. And it is the most expensive one as well, we paid $3.80 each! I can get two pieces of macaroons at the first store for that price. This time we tried salted caramel and chocolate (yes again). The salted caramel was interesting, when you first bite it, you taste the sweet caramel, but eventually at the last taste, somehow you end up with a little bitter taste. Is it normal for all salted caramel macaroons? Even today when I told Carolin about it, she had the same experience with salted caramel (and we bought from different stores!). Perhaps it's just that way.
The chocolate piece is the best macaroons eaten! It just so chocolatey and awww, it does not feel like you're eating a macaroon but like a rich chocolate brownie. Hahah.
Appreciate Bumpy for being my hand model throughout the three store, holding his hands still for me to arrange the macaroons for pictures taking and holding out for three pictures each time.

And yay, I introduce Bumpy to my favourite Boost drink; King William Chocolate milkshake. A Boost drink that I always order when I'm in Australia and most people that I introduced to enjoy the taste of chocolate and bananas in the cup. It's in the indulgence section that is said to be 98% fat free (but is it?).

Off for birthday shopping after that before we headed down to Pasir Ris for another 21st birthday celebration. Almost died of exhaustion this weekend from staying out till 3am in the morning and waking up at about 9am the following day. And I almost fell asleep at the party as well. On the other side, it's also nice how Bumpy brings me along to his events and get me associated with his friends, as well as giving me some night life into my boring life.
Here to an awesome weekend and us crashing in bed on Sunday afternoon, two hours of napping and his mother's awesome dinner to end the day. Hahah. See it's almost as though I'm living with him already. Every Sunday afternoon is spend at his home, napping from our busy weekend before a family meal together. Soon it will be Bumpy turn to be doing that at my home, perhaps during his POP week. Make him come my place so much till his turn to feel as though he is living at my home. xD

Till another blog post, probably about more food again. 

Top of the 57th floor

The weekend has been crazy, that's the best summary I will give.
From Friday that I picked my Bumpy up from Pasir Ris till now, I think I have been having too much fun and a little too little sleep. Hahah.
We started with family dinner on Friday night with his family, simple yong tau fu and yes I am exploring more areas of Toa Payoh. Kind of an achievement for me since I barely touched much of Toa Payoh and it's always fun to explore the hawker food around Singapore.
Soon, Bumpy and I shall venture out towards hawker food (when our wallet is broke).

At night we had a birthday celebration to attend, so we headed down to MBS. Whoohoo. Honestly, I never been inside MBS rooms before, so it's kinda exciting to see how the view like (most importantly) and also how the room likes. And just maybe a year down in future or more, maybe book a room to stay there overnight and swim in the infinity pool.
Till then, I have my mind set on Studio M first.

No pictures of the birthday celebration though. Wasn't that close to the birthday boy and I'm there as my Bumpy's girlfriend. Though we had fun playing SMELLY WOMBAT. Hahah. And it's just funny how I stare too intensely at the cards. Guess I can't do any poker face or anything, or focus on two things at once.
How to play smelly wombat?
There has to be even number of players in the game and each player will have their partner sitting opposite them. Each player will be given 4 cards and the aim is to get 4 of the same number to win. Once everyone have their cards, the dealer deal out another 4 cards to place in the middle and that's when the madness begins.
Everyone would grab the cards that they want, in exchange of the cards that they don't want. And this goes on until someone have their winning cards. Now here the fun part. You can't let anyone know that you have the winning cards. Only your partner have to know through a special signal that you have between you two, and once your partner shout WOMBAT, you both win! But if you do the special signal and your partner didn't notice the signal but someone else does, they will shout SMELLY WOMBAT and you both lost.
Sound fun?

And I realize that outings with Bumpy never result me in over drinking or even me getting overly tipsy. Which is a super good thing 'cause he is helping me drink on my behalf. Although that mean drinking double but it also mean I get home in a good state of mind and not reek of alcohol.
And best of all, I don't get a bad hangover the next day.
Sensible drinking.

Instead, we headed up to the observation desk of MBS for the perfect night view of Singapore.

And well, we can't only take pictures of the scenery alone. There has to be people in the picture too right?

One thing you really detest about taking night pictures is the horrible lightning. It's either too dark or too bright. So hard to get the right brightness out without the use of flash.
So we kind of spend an hour upstairs with pictures taking, trying to get the right setting, the right exposure, and well, eventually no flash was used, and we used iphone torch light instead to get the brightness out, and also to set the iso a little.
Well, another reason to say I need to use my camera more. And not just leave it at home half of the time but actually learn how to take nice pictures with it.

But well, we celebrated the start of our third monthsary with a beautiful night view, and pictures taking.
A moment I don't want to forget.

Eventually after the party ended, and friends went different ways. Some wanted to drink, some wanted to head home, and some wanted to head to Pasir Ris for the next birthday celebration the next day.
For both of us, we wanted to eat!
And finally, like finally, Bumpy is bringing me to Swee Choon, after the countless times of me asking him to go with me. Super happy when he finally agreed!

We ordered about less than 10 dishes, mainly 'cause we weren't that hungry but still wanted something to eat. Some of the items that we ordered include: Char siew bao, Siew mai, Salted egg custard buns, Red bean pancake and carrot cake!
To finally try Swee Choon, I wasn't sure to be disappointed or like hmmm!
For one, I didn't enjoy the char siew bao at all. And for me, it's a super big deal 'cause I'm a big fan of char siew bao. So that's strike one down.
But to mke up for it, the custard bun was  not too bad, good flowing salted egg custard inside and it's good.
The carrot cake is awesome as well, crispy on the outside and nice chewy on the inside.
The siew mai also is not bad, though it was weird that it was served on metal plate instead of the usual. Though it's still not bad, but the presentation of the dishes wasn't that nice.
Overall, I might return back here again if I'm in the area but maybe not specifically.
Next place to try; 126!

Awesome fun yet tiring night. And I reckon during the supper/early breakfast eating time, we were both super tired and can almost doze off while eating. Hahah!
Every weekend my Bumpy is still guilty of sending me home late. Hahha. K.O. the moment I hit the bed. Too exhausted and needed strength for the next day.

Too much eating and travelling in a day. And it's a good thing it's only the weekend that I'm up that late so I have the weekday to regenerate my strength.