TCC @ The Pier, Robertson Quay

Located at 80 Mohamed Sultan Road, this place is not hard to find...once I get my bearings right. Direction is never my forte. Seems like its menu has been revamped, so it looked different and there are a couple of new items in it. Sat at the alfresco area and its chair was damp from the rain earlier. Indoor seats looked nice and there are some wicker egg hanging chairs too. How cool is that!

coaster

Tried the Toffee Choc Espresso and it came looking quite petite, served in espresso cup. Small sips of it was actually quite yummy. Sweet from toffee and bitter from the sprinkled choco powder. Nice and serving size just right. If its volume was any larger, then the sweetness would've been too cloying to handle.

toffee choc espresso

For food, tried the Prawn Cheese-a-toast. Smallish two-bite appetisers that was plated quite prettily. The prawn paste flavour was quite mild and has a bouncy texture. The mayo sauce lent an extra savoury depth to the dish while the egg roes undertook a more decorative purpose.

prawn cheese-a-toast @$10.50++

caviar on toast

pretty looking morsel

My friend had the Melon & Mangosteen tea. Sounds exotic, yes? Has a very nice strong sweet fruity fragrance but taste wise, it was rather flat.

melon & mangosteen tea @$9++

Feeling somewhat peckish, we ordered a Deluxe Snack Platter that consist of all things fried. Not a very health conscious choice too. And come to think of it, all our food that night was fried! Argh, hahaha!

deluxe snack platter (onion rings, squid rings, mozarella sticks and some rocket leaves)

The sauce that accompanied the platter was interesting. Tasted like plum. Goes well with most of the stuffs except squid rings.

This place serves iced-water upon request and our request to top up the hot water for the tea was acceeded with a smile. No issue here.

There was a 15% discount for payment via Citibank or DBS/POSB credit cards. This meal costs about $49 (after discount).

Sun Moulin @ Isetan Scotts (Shaw House)

Was nearby at Isetan supermarket, so decided to head over to this bakery to grab some carbs home.

(from right, counter clockwise) cheddar scone, cheese bread and okinawan cake

okinawan cake @$2.80

This brown coloured okinawan cake reminds me of the local Malay cake (马来糕 or malai gao). It was rather huge and tasted like 发糕 (fatt gao or steamed rice cake). Best eaten with a cup of coffee, otherwise a tad too dry (and a bit too much) to finish on its own.

has a cake plus kueh texture

The cheddar scone may look smallish but it is adequate as a simple breakfast. Its texture is actually a cross between scone and cheese bread. The cheese is not as pronounced as anticipated. Toasting it brings out the cheese smell.

cheddar scone @$1.40

with cheesey bits layered in

The 'cheese bread' (actually I had forgotten what's the actual name for this, so let's just call this cheese bread) was bought on a whim. Was probably thinking of having it with soup or something.

cheese bread @$2.20

ooh, didn't know it has a cheese cube in it~

Decided to margerine up the bread, and toast it with ham ends and cherry tomatoes. The bread was nicely soaky and has a slight chewy texture. Should do well in mopping up sauce or soups.

bread for lunch

slightly chewy bread

PappaMia @ River Valley Road (Part II)

Second visit and tried the Ipoh Kwoay Teow Soup with Steamed Chicken ($7.90++).

Ipoh Kwoay Teow Soup

fine kwoay teow

The soup was nice but the kwoay teow was a little too soft. The steamed chicken looked pretty good and bathed nicely in sauce. The meat was nicely tender and smooth but unfortunately some pieces were rather bland. It was as though the meaty taste was somewhat lost.

steamed chicken

dark meat

Had some alcohols as well, but didn't like the Daiquiri ($9++). It tasted too strongly of lime and very sour.

Here's the link to first visit.

DONQ @ Takashimaya

Located at B2 of Takashimaya, this bakery is nestled deeper inside the food hall. Its latest offering, Mini One, is located nearer to the entrance/exit.

Went there at about noon time on a weekend and there wasn't a queue. Bought home a Tart Bresson Fruit and a Colonnade (Choco).

nice plastic bag

Tart Bresson Fruit @$2.80

Colonnade (Choco) @$2

Liked the Tart Bresson. It's sweet and tangy.

topped with sweet cherries, raspberries, cheese and sprinkling of sugar dust

slighly chewy pancake-like airy crust

The Colonnade Choco was nicely filled with ample chocolate cream that's not too sweet. Would've better if the bread texture is slightly more airy and fluffy.

I forgot that at most Japanese establishment, the cash for payment should be placed onto the tray at the cashier. Hee. The girl at the cashier placed the $10 that I gave her onto the tray, but she handed the return back to me as per norm. Hahaa, is this what we called meet halfway?

Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Novena Ville

Novena Ville, yup, this is the place that was sold en bloc mid this year. Not sure what are its redevelopment plans so my friend suggested that we should go and eat at this chicken rice place while it's still there. Hmm.. but Wee Nam Kee is everywhere... Anyhow, this shop is usually crowded but recently the crowds seemed to favour Ssikkek Korean Grill BBQ more.

shop front

menu

condiments

chargeable wet towels

The waitress will come by to take the orders. Our group of 5 pax ordered half-half roast chicken and steamed chicken, a small plate of mixed internal organs, small sambal kangkong and a tofu hotplate to share.

barley cold

Service was pretty fast. The soup and drinks came first, then the rest of the stuffs followed.

default soup for chicken rice

tasted like corn and chicken bones soup

kangkong, tofu hotplate and chicken

The guy in our group, liked the kangkong alot. It was less spicy than anticipated, actually.

kangkong (small)

yummy chicken

Liked the roasted chicken more than the steamed version. The breast meat for the steamed chicken would be nice if it was a little bit more tender and smooth. Beware of the skins though, it was quite salty!

How about the rice? Hmm, noted that the colour of the chicken rice here looked somewhat different here as compared to other chicken rice shops. Taste wise, it was alright and not too oily.

rice

roasted chicken

ginger for steamed chicken

steamed chicken breast

We didn't get the mixed part, so got the cashier to take it out of the bill. Total bill came up to $49+.

BLooiE's Roadhouse @ The Rail Mall, Upper Bukit Timah Road

Somehow, always doesn't seem to be able to make it here for Happy Hour (till 8pm). Usually we'd get a jug of Stella but was told that they no longer serve Stella in jug, so got ourselves a pint of Erdinger.

a pint of Erdinger @$15++ (non-Happy hour price)

Watched with fascination as the bubbles kept moving upwards in the glass...

oh oh...

Then, it started to foam over...

maybe this glass could be an example of how not to pull your beer?

Ok, so much for the bubble show. Ordered a plate of jumbo sausages and deep fried calamari's to fill up the tummies.

deep fried calamari @$12.80++

with mayo

The squid rings were limp at best and not that fresh, and the menu said it's coated with house 'secret' coating. Well, the coating did nothing to enhance the taste unfortunately. Having tried their chicken wings on separate occassions, I'd say that would be a safer choice.

For the jumbo sausages, it looked better than the dissappointing calamaris. The fries were just alright, not in particularly tasty. Required chili sauce for taste enhancement.

jumbo sausages (beef, pork and chicken cheese) @$18.80++

chicken cheese (best tasting and texture)

probably pork

likely beef

Liked the chicken cheese sausage best for texture and taste. Bouncy. The beef sausage tasted as though as it was boiled for too long. The pork sausage was quite hard to bite. Tough one. Liked the side serving of the vinegared onion shreds. Think it had a mix of mango shreds in it. Tangy.

vinegared onions

Sashimi House SAKURAYA @ Anchorpoint (Part III)

This is one place that my colleague and I would always visit during weekday lunch when we want to eat good value bara chirashi.

As usual, the appetiser and green tea were served right after the orders were taken. The green tea and appetiser are non-chargeable (無料).

cold appetiser

carrot, seaweed, egg shreds and glass noodles in vinegar mix

green tea

Placed an extra side order for hamachi sashimi. Service was good and though we were seated at a remote area, the service staff do come by every so often to refill our tea.

hamachi sashimi (ala-carte)

beautiful

fresh yellowtail slices

small saucer for sashimi dipping

They were running busy that day, so the main dish only came after a 20 minutes wait, but it's well worthed it. Colourful cubes of tamago, maguro, sake, hamachi, crabstick and bits of cooked ebi on a bed of lightly vinegared rice.

bara chirashi served with miso soup, pickles and watermelon slices

yummy, colourful cubes

can't wait, いただきます!

Each mouthful was a joy. If only the bara chirashi includes some ikura (fish roe) then this would be a dream to savour. Sometimes when I got too generous with the wasabi, the warm miso would be a good reprieve.

miso soup

tofu and seaweed

If the rice seemed never-ending at times, a bite or two of the pickled radish would be able to reset the taste buds for the next round.

yummy pickles

that's a bit of nori peeking out

It was a really satisfying meal. Who needs dinner when one had lunch like this?

There was this piece of shiso (perilla) leaf from the sashimi plate. So made my own chirashi shiso wrap and it tasted good. Heehee!

pretty, yes?

The meal costs about $53 and good for two pax. There's also a 'point' card that one can accumulate points.

dine and accumulate chops

25 stamps is no mean feat!