A Deluxe Lunch at Tatsuya, Goodwood Park Hotel, Singapore

Sushi lunch set, $90

I was having a casual lunch at Tatsuya by the sushi counter almost two years ago when I saw a lady stroll into the restaurant in a t-shirt and sweat shorts. Juxtaposed with the row of dolled up, glamorous women seated at the sushi counter, she looked completely out of place but appeared unfazed. Then she sat down beside me, full of dignity and grace, whispered her order to the staff, and proceeded to enjoy an omakase by herself. Sushi after premium sushi landed on her plate from the chef's hands, which she savoured in a sort of quiet joy, unperturbed and completely at peace. Just watching her (mostly from the corner of my eye), I have to say, she changed my life.

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Lunch @ Dinings, London - Remarkable Sushi

Dinings, London

Dinings, for a sashimi-phile like myself, is a god sent. There is an emphasis on quality ingredients and just the right mix of traditional and the more say, contemporary creations. It's a quaint, tiny set-up owned by ex-Nobu chef Tomonari Chiba, with a sushi counter on the ground level and a small, minimalist dining area in the basement. Since it was a breezy summer when I visited, dining at the sushi counter where we had a clear view of the chefs working their magic was a no-brainer. I didn't know then, but I was about to be blown away by some of the best sushi I've ever had.

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Lunch at Teppei/ Hana Hana, Singapore - It's the Bara Chirashi

Bara Chirashi, $17.60

It's the Bara Chirashi that keeps me coming. I've had the exact same thing five or six times, and I know I'm still going to come for more. Is it a perfect bowl of Chirashi? No. It's carelessly seasoned, too liberally so, every time. But still, the generous chunks of sashimi fish are sweet, fresh and no doubt the best I've been able to lay my hands on at this price point (sans the maguro... then again that's always tricky). Aoki's a fantastic place for chirashi and my favourite, but also twice the price.

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Fiorentina Extravaganza @ Oca Grassa, Singapore

Fiorentina

Hello, Bistecca alla Fiorentina (steak Florentine style). It's nice to finally meet you.

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[Tasting] Smiths, Singapore - Authentic British Fish and Chips!

Smiths Authentic British Fish and Chips

Last Thursday, I found out just how little I knew about fish and chips. Or rather, while it may seem pretty obvious that you can pretty much batter any kind of fish on earth, I had blithely assumed that humans stuck to two to three kinds. How wrong I was.

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Tanuki Raw - Best Happy Hour, Ever.

Happy hour oysters, $1 a pop

This is cheesy but I don't know what I'd do if happy hours didn't exist. Good thing for me, all of us, I mean, happy hours are one of those rare things in life that are never short in supply (and probably never will be). See, life doesn't always throw us lemons, sometimes life can be kind enough to throw us $1 oysters too! Along with a few wedges of lemon, usually, and some tabasco.

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Peach Garden at Novena Gardens, Singapore - Homely Cantonese Fare with Slight Modern Twists

Sliced Roasted Duck accompanied with Wasabi Prawn in Golden Cup

I love good chinese. Yes, I do. The opulent settings, classy china and multi-layered cuisine really strike a chord with me, not least because this is the primary cuisine I grew up with. When it's good, it is so darn satisfying, don't you think? For my mum's birthday this year, I was tasked with seeking out a chinese restaurant we've never tried before. There were so many, but we eventually decided on Peach Garden. At $48/pax for 6 courses, we really couldn't resist. The first course already won me over - excellent roast duck sporting both crispy skin and juicy meat, paired with a huge prawn lightly battered, deep-fried to a golden brown and smothered with wasabi mayo. I absolutely adore prawns prepared this way, with or without the wasabi mayo. The latter definitely gets a bit more tricky if you're looking for a crowd pleaser. My sister, for one, had no kind words for the wasabi mayo but I actually enjoyed the kick. It was pretty balanced and not at all overwhelming.

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Lee Do (Cold Crab) Restaurant, Ubi Avenue, Singapore

Cold Crab (Small), $34

Man, cold crabs really get me going. I don't know what it is about them - maybe the aromatic chinese seasoning, firm flesh, or incredibly umami roe. Maybe everything. But at $34 a pop for a cold crab so small it can lie in two parts on my palm, I probably won't be heading to Lee Do everyday. Instead, I've resolved to nail this in the kitchen. Tip: Scroll to the bottom here to learn how you can make it at home.

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Buffet Spread at The Line, Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore

Freshly Shucked Oysters

M brought me to The Line for my birthday dinner this year. I was all excited! Oysters and sashimi are my absolute favourite. In fact, I started my meal with 7 of these darlings, and had no less than a dozen throughout the night! M had none as usual, just looked on, completely bemused at my enjoyment. I'm still irrationally optimistic that he'll be a convert one day! If it can happen to my best friend, S, and so many other close friends of mine, it can happen to him! These were actually a little too salty for me. Oysters take on the flavour of the water they are harvested in so I guess it probably had something to do with that.

Sashimi and Sushi

The sashimi served at The Line was top notch. The Mekajiki (swordfish) sashimi was fabulous - sweet with a wonderful bite. I'd skip the octopus next time though (a little rubbery), alongside all the sushi - they were simply left there for too long. There was also a selection of appetizers including parma ham, which was great - thinly sliced and wrapped around sweet melons, but I missed taking a photo of it.

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Angus Steak House - Fabulous Set Dinners!

Angus Steak House

As a child, there were certain restaurants I dreamt about. Sometimes, I read about them, other times, I walked by and just couldn't seem to take my eyes off them. Angus Steak House is both. Almost everything I've read about it has been all roses and no thorns. And it's the sort of restaurant that looks so classy and pretty on the outside I can't help but dream about how perfect it must be to finally dine there - I loved that the walls of the restaurant were all washed in white, with colonial style windows that lent me a sneak peak into the "world" inside. But somehow, in the blur of growing up, this and other dream restaurants of my childhood retreated to the back of my mind - I was too busy worrying about a million other things. So many new restaurants sprang up, too. But when my parents asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday dinner two weeks ago, Angus Steak House suddenly came to mind. After renovating last year, apart from the ambience remaining perfect for dinner dates, the restaurant is now a lot more modern than what I remembered, complete with plush, cream-coloured chairs and elegant dark wood tables.

Hors d'oeuvre - Lightly Battered Prawns with Broccoli and Cracker in Seafood Sauce

The most amazing part about dining here is the choice of making any a la carte charcoal grilled mains a set by topping up $10, which would include in your meal a hors d'oeuvre, freshly baked bun, salad, soup and dessert. Completely irresistible. It used to be even more of a steal at $6 and included coffee or tea, but I guess I chanced upon the scene too late! The hors d'oeuvre of the day was a plate of two lightly battered prawns, thin cracker and a wonderful, orange-pink sauce full of crustacean notes. It was such a fantastic start. The prawns were excellent - crunchy, firm and absolutely delicious with the sauce. The cracker was not as crisp as it could have been but still perfect for mopping up more of that delectable sauce. The appetizers change every fortnight, which mixes things up quite a bit. Check out the past hors d'oeuvres here, they all look fabulous!

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Snapshot: $1 Oysters at Zen Café - Shindo Art, East Coast Park [closed]

1/2 a dozen of freshly shucked oysters, $1 each [shot with iphone]

oh guys, I know it's been a long time. My schedule is still insane but I'm feeling terrible for not updating for so long so here I am. How's the weather treating you, by the way? The rain has led me to mostly bundle up in a cosy sweater and dream of ramen. I actually had a pretty decent meal at Ramen Champion last week - I promise I'll post about it in the next week or so. But I digress. This snapshot is about $1 oysters at Zen Café - Shindo Art, East Coast Park.

It may seem counter-intuitive to head to the beach in the rain but I actually think it can be pretty romantic... And oysters just seem like the perfect recipe for romance.. no? There is something about the way an oyster glides along your tongue, bursting with the sublime, briny taste of the ocean. It was actually my first time at Zen Café - Shindo Art. M brought me there because I've been chanting "oysters, oysters" for the longest time. He doesn't even eat them so it's just me and the oysters but that's okay. Clearly, they aren't the biggest ones you'd ever see but for $1 each, that's okay too. I mean, if you're not thinking about having 20 or more oysters at a go, a buffet wouldn't make sense and Zen Café - Shindo Art would. But I must say, I'd like them better if they weren't served half-submerged in ice water since it diluted the flavour somewhat... Then again, I suppose all you have to do is politely request that the oysters are served on top of the ice and not below. Easy enough. Overall, it's a steal!

And the best part? Their oyster deal wasn't the only thing that stood out. The mango prawn roll appetizer was surprisingly delicious and the Tempura fish and chips was really decent for the price.

P.S. Have you been there? Let me know what you thought about the food!


Zen Café - Shindo Art
1000 East Coast Parkway,
Unit A-8 Marine Cove, Singapore
[behind Mcdonalds]
Tel: +65 6449 3221

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Snapshot: Lai Huat Sambal Belacan Fish

Lai Huat Sambal Belacan Pomfret, $25

Mmmm. There's no other pomfret like this - insanely deep fried and coated in a dry, fragrant paste of sambal belacan. I like to scoop up extra belacan to go with every bite of pomfret. Surprisingly, the snow-white flesh remains moist. I have to say, the wicked combination of the addictively crispy pomfret topped with heaps of sambal belacan gives me a kick every single time.


Lai Huat Sambal Belacan Fish
72 Horne Road, Singapore
Tel: +65 6299 3024

387 Guillemard Road, Singapore
Tel: +65 6741 7218

223 Rangoon Road, #01-01/02 Rangoon View, Singapore
Tel: +65 6292 7375

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Mellben Seafood, Ang Mo Kio, Singapore

Mellben's Crab Bee Hoon

Ask a Singaporean to name our national dish and chances are "crabs" are gonna pop up nine out of ten times. It's true. We love our crabs. Not everyone digs oysters or blood cockles, but throw them a crab and you know they'll polish their plates clean with gusto. Besides, what better crustacean to celebrate, with National Day in two days? Every Singaporean has their personal favourite style of crabs, even if Chilli Crab is the only one that has made it big beyond our shores. And yet, this most famous rendition of our favourite crustacean has hardly stolen my heart. I stand by my black pepper crabs. And then there's salted egg yolk crabs, butter crabs, and lo and behold, crab bee hoon. I know how ordinary crab bee hoon sounds, but take a sip of the milky soup oozing with crabby creaminess and you might find yourself vehemently disagreeing. Or at least politely.

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My Favourite Black Pepper Crab, Eng Seng Restaurant, Singapore

Sotong Youtiao (Chinese Cruller with Squid Stuffing)

After an almost month-long disappearing act, you may not believe me, but I miss blogging. I've been travelling, and travelling, and travelling. When I'm not travelling, I'm attending classes. And when I'm not attending classes, I'm catching up on sleep. Gee. Some highlights: a beautiful slice of Black Forest cake I had in the Black Forest, getting lost in the ever-picturesque Venice, strolling up and down cliffs amidst crashing waves in Cinque Terre, going up to the spectacular Jungfraujoch - the highest railway station in Europe, taking in the sights and sounds in Zurich - Switzerland's hippest city, checking out the latest street fashion in Milan, and a road trip down the Romantische Strasse in Bavaria, Germany. Before I start on all these though, here's my last Singapore post for the next few months. I had to have my last meal here right before flying off to Germany. Their Black Pepper crab is a stunner, but most of the other dishes they offer are very competently executed too. Their Sotong Youtiao is a hot favourite - wonderfully crisp and generously stuffed with Sotong filling, it's really hard not to like this one.

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Snapshot: Favourite Free Flow Oysters

Absolutely fantastic fresh oysters, free flow

I'm currently in Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, for a 6-month University Exchange, and so far everything I've seen looks like something straight out of a winter postcard. I'm really excited to share the photos I managed to take when I was brave enough to go bare on the hands (I just can't take photos with gloves!) but in the mean time, I still have 3 more Singapore posts to go, and this is one of them! I'm not exactly a fan of buffets because the quality always suffers unless you pay a premium, but I always go to Orchard Cafe in Orchard Hotel when I absolutely need free flow oysters. They have been fresh and delicious for as long as I can remember (they used to shuck it right in front of you), and you can have as many as you want along with other decent quality dishes (I love their herbal drunken prawns) for just about $56 per person. As many as you want! I thought I would be able to have 20 and not be satisfied, so I was rather disappointed when I reached diminishing returns after 10! Still, I was a very happy girl that night. What's the highest number of oysters you've ever had?

P.S. The only downside was that the oysters were replenished in intervals and they were always very quickly snapped up so the platter was empty most of the time. I don't remember this ever happening before though, so it might have been an isolated incident.

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Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant, Turf City, Singapore

Fresh Shucked Oyster

Is anyone here a fan of seafood? I am. My entire family loves seafood. So for my dad's birthday, we drove to Turf City, where you get to choose live seafood from over 60 tanks! I think my dad had a lot of fun picking out the live seafood for dinner. The fresh oysters were great (freshly shucked oysters are one of my favourite things in life) and I half-wished this was a seafood buffet so that these would have been free flow..

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Rainbow Seafood Restaurant, Lamma Island, Hong Kong

Lobster e-fu noodles with superior stock

M and I were wandering around in Lamma Island, some weeks back, because we'd heard that Lamma's a great place for seafood. It was a real fishing village. At least the side where we were in. It basically looked like this:

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Chuen Kee Seafood Restaurant, Sai Kung, Hong Kong

Sai Kung is beautiful. I went with my friends on a Saturday, and winded up waiting for a bus that were meant only for Sundays. Not surpisingly, we ran pretty late, and eventually took a cab to our trail's starting point. We were intending to find the Sheung Luk Stream, which were supposed to feature 8 falls, some of which you could jump into. I was truly looking forward to jumping into mini waterfalls. But we took a wrong turn, and by the time we realized we were heading in the opposite direction, it was nearly dusk. Still, the hike was an enjoyable experience.

First of all, the air in Sai Kung was unbelievably fresh. I felt my entire system cleansing just walking and breathing in the air. Living in Hong Kong Island means living with bad air. But except for the occasional dryness in your throat, it's difficult to realize how bad the air really is. That is, before I had my first whiff of the air in Sai Kung. It looks like everything in this world is truly relative. You won't know how good something is until you've experienced the bad.

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