[Media Invite] Festive Feasting @ Amara Singapore

Come on down to Amara Singapore at Tanjong Pagar to enjoy the festive feasting during Christmas eve, Christmas day, New Year's eve and New Year's day. Here is a preview of some of the festive highlights from Element.

My usual choice of starter from the buffet would be the cold seafood selection, and mainly oysters. Hence, the 'meatless' carpaccio was rather refreshing. Tomato, watermelon, arrugula, balsamic and cheese make such tasty combo.

Tomato Watermelon Carpaccio

For something to warm the tummy, the Celeriac Veloute Truffle Oil was rather comforting. Yummy much. At the buffet, diners are welcome to add as much or as little truffle oil as one desires.

Celeriac Veloute Truffle Oil

With up to 7 live stations at Element for the festivities, I'd be queuing up for foie gras, prepared ala minute. Lovely, wobbly piece of creamy liver.

pan-seared foie gras with raspberry sauce

If you could take a bit of alcohol in food, don't miss out on the Baby Lobster Miso Yaki. This is one of those fusion dish that I actually liked. Chef added a dash of Chinese Rose Wine (玫瑰露) before the lobster is torched to release the fragrance of the wine. Lovely.

Baby Lobster Miso Yaki (赤かび味噌焼)

with a touch of ikura

いただきます

The slow-roast turkey with Sze Chuan spicy sauce was interesting. A touch of spice with a sharp edge yet it grows on you, the more we eat. Our dish was  beautifully plated by Chef Jason and it looked like a garden. Am not a fan of turkey meat, hence the sauce was handy to provide a tad of moisture to the otherwise, dryer meat.

Slow Roast Turkey in Spicy Sze Chuan sauce

For dessert, we had a taste of Japanese Cheese Log Cake. Soft and light, with a touch of matcha inside.

Japanese Cheese Log Cake

Thank you Lindy for the invite, Amara Singapore for hosting and special thanks to Chef Charles Goh and his team for sharing with us the highlights of the festive buffet and their culinary journey.

For reservations, please visit: https://singapore.amarahotels.com/tis-the-season-to-be-jolly.html

[Food Tasting] Fu Xiang Signatures 福翔特选@ Food Republic Vivocity

Fu Xiang Signatures is best known for its “Award Winning” Curry Chicken. Over at my part of the world, ie. Lot One Choa Chu Kang, there is a Fu Xiang Kitchen and yes, one could get a taste of curry chicken and emperor cream sauce chicken.

Fu Xiang Signatures is currently helmed by the second generation; Edwin and Edric, who strives to keep their parent's tradition alive.

store counter

Fu Xiang Signature Vivocity is located within Food Republic at Level 3, and has its own seating area. No need to jostle with the rest of the food court patrons.

Fu Xiang Signatures dining area

complimentary biscuits

merlion shaped biscuits

I'd go with Fu Xiang Signature's $7 Value Meal which comes with rice, omelette and stir fried cabbage. Loved the tasty stir fried cabbage with dried shrimps, and it was rather shiok to drench the white rice with copious amount of the deliciously thick and rich curry. There's a definite bite in the curry yet it was pleasant.

Curry Chicken Value Meal (新加坡咖喱超值餐) @ $7

rich, thick and comforting curry chicken

chunky chicken thigh, can you resist?

Have you tried the Emperor Cream Sauce Chicken? It is said that this dish is most likely to be confused with salted egg chicken. The sauce has butter and milk and a sprinkling of chili padi. A bit of tangy, a bit spicy and creamy buttery flavour. Eat it while it is hot.

Emperor Cream Sauce Chicken (奶皇鸡)

One of the crowd favourite seemed to be the Chicken Biscuit Curry Rice. Battered with biscuit crumbs and deep fried to a dark brown before being poured with curry.

Chicken Biscuit Curry Rice (饼干咖喱鸡扒饭)

If you are in a group, why not try the Assam Fish Head or the Assam Curry Seafood and a few side dishes. Communal dining taste best when eaten together with loved ones. The seafood curry has  crab, squid and prawns alongside with brinjals, ladies fingers and tomatoes. A few pieces of deep fried beancurd were also added in. The seafood curry can be eaten with fried mantou if you don't fancy rice.

Seafood Curry (good for 3 to 4 pax)

deep fried man tou

For lovers of hash brown, you could satiate your cravings here too. There's also fried baby potatoes if you are looking for a variation of carbs.

hashbrown

fried baby potato

Homemade drinks such as ice-lemon tea and calamansi are available to quench your thirst as well as to put out the fire from the spice (it was rather mild for me, but still could make some sweat).

Thank you Kris for the invite. Special thanks to Elfin and Fu Xiang Signatures for hosting.

Fu Xiang Signatures Vivocity

Address: 1 HarbourFront Walk | VivoCity #03-01| Singapore 098585
Website: https://fuxiangsignatures.com
Business Hours:
Daily: 10am to 10pm

[Media Invite] Winter Wonderland @ Grand Copthorne Waterfront

Be mesmerized by this year's Christmas decorations as Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel has specially flown in replica of famous trains in Switzerland like the Bernina Express and the Rhaetian Railway. A first in Singapore.

Walk into the lobby and one could view an elevated platform of snowy alps with railway tracks running through it, complete with gingerbread houses (non-edible!) and a Christmas tree perched atop the white mountain.

Winter Wonderland

gingerbread house

look, there's Santa!

all onboard~

It was pretty fun (possibly therapeutic) watching the train moving on its track before it disappears out of view and then back again. Love the tiny fir trees decorating the snowy mountain.

Food Capital - Dazzling Festive Buffet

Executive Chef, David Toh and his dedicated culinary team have prepared a dazzling array of festive delights to tantalize our taste buds.

Honey Baked Ham

Bone-in Gammon Ham

I love love the bone-in Gammon Ham. This is one of the item that I look forward to, during Christmas feasting. Succulent, moist and so yummy. Leftovers, makes a darn good sandwich.

Baked Australian Lamb Rack

My goodness, the baked Australian lamb rack was so delicious. Pinkish meat, baked to tender perfection, tasted of natural flavours and non gamey. Delightful chew. Paired well with delicious, juicy red wine.

Roast Beef Sirloin with Mixed Spices

Thick slab of medium cooked roast beef. Topped with red wine jus reduction. What a meaty galore! This would rank at the top 3 choices of meat from this festive buffet.

Traditional Marinated Whole Turkey

I tried the Baked Cordon Bleu Turkey which has portobello mushroom, turkey breast and wrapped in puff pastry. If I didn't look at the menu, one might not know that there's turkey meat in there.

And, it is an absolute must to try the dessert.

Panettone

Traditional Valrhona Alpaco 66& Chocolate Log Cake

I adore the Valrhona Chocolate Log Cake. The crunchy bits were so satisfying. The green tea pound cake makes a good pair with hot coffee. Rich and buttery.

Green Tea Pound Cake

Strawberry Mousse with Earl Grey Cremeux Log Cake

Rich Christmas Fruit Cake

For buffet price info, please refer to Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel website: http://www.celebrateatgcw.com/xmas2018


Thank you Gilbert for the invite and Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel for hosting.

Happenings Every 1st Saturday of the Month @ Live Like a Local with Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

If you are staying over at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel over the weekends and it happens to be the 1st Saturday of the month, then you are in for a treat. The hotel has specially curated activities in accordance of cultural festivities celebrated in Singapore, to allow a fresh, hands-on experience for their guests. One could take a look at the activity schedule here. All these are offered complimentary, hence do enquire from the concierge.

Let's have a glimpse of the activities!

How to Cook like a Master Chef –1 December 2018 (Christmas)

We tried our hands at panzerotti making under the watchful guidance from Chef Mirko Vinci, Head Chef of Grissini. Panzerotti originates from Central and South Italy, and is like a mini calzone.

making panzerotti with Chef Mirko @ Grissini

Was stoked to have our own apron and Chef's hat prepared for the session. This activity is also suitable for families with children. Chef demonstrated the process of making the dough from scratch as well as mixing of the ingredients.

Chef Mirko kneading the dough

churning out the pastry sheet

getting it ready for the participants to hands-on

It was like making prawn dumplings or curry puff. Get the pastry sheet, put in the fillings, spritz it with water and fold it, before deep frying.

ready for the fryer

panzerotti

enjoying the outcome

To be a Tai Chi Master– 5 January 2019 (New Year)

It was a rainy morning when we had the session with Master Leo. First, he'd explain the benefits of Tai Chi and after which, we proceeded to watch a demonstration before eventually trying out the basic moves with him.

Tai Chi Quan (太极拳) is a form of martial arts, often practiced for self-defense and health benefits. Modern styles of Tai Chi are differentiated into five schools; Chen, Yang, Hao, Wu and Sun. The one taught by Master Leo belongs to the Yang family style; 楊氏. If you are interested to know the stances for Yang-family Tai Chi, here is a link.

Master Leo, Tai Chi Master

advanced moves

Master Leo conducts the lesson in English and he has given English names to the stances. Expect to hear things like "Grasp the bird tail", "Stork spread wings" etc. We were introduced to the first 18 out of 104 stances. At least, now I know what to do when I hear"commencement of Tai Chi".

Merlion Chocolate Carving– 6 July 2019 (Racial Harmony Day)

Chocolate carving experience was fun, and if you need glasses, do bring them along otherwise, you'd be like me, having to squint through out the session. I am presbyopic. Ooh, do wear a light cardigan or a sweater as the room will be tuned to a lower temperature in order to preserve the condition of the chocolate block.

everything that we need

Artist Wee introducing the processes

Put on the glove and we are ready to start. Handling the tools reminded me of my Biology classes. Artist Wee was friendly and we could ask him any questions when we got stuck or made a mistake during the session.

let's the fun begin!

most often used tool

outlining

I carved a (choco) Merlion today

The merlion chocolate makes a good souvenir to bring home.

Shake a Cocktail– 6 April 2019 (Easter)

We headed down to Tempo for this session. In-house mixologist, Valentyn was on-hand to guide us through.

Shake a Cocktail

ingredients all lined up

We made Singapore Sling and Daiquiri. Singapore Sling is an iconic drink that is gin-based. There were 7 ingredients for Singapore Sling, and all these were to be poured into the shaker.

ready to be shaken

shake it, don't drop it

strain it 

topped it with soda water

Singapore Sling, Grand Copthorne Waterfront style

In comparison, Daiquiri's recipe was much easier. Only 3 ingredients. The only question that I had was why the shaker was not insulated? So cold and hard to shake for long. Kudos to the mixologist and bartenders for being able to withstand the cold.

pour it in

Daiquiri, shaken not stirred

Am guessing that this activity would be pretty popular amongst guests who loves their cocktail. Remember not to miss it!

For more information on the other activities happening on the 1st Saturday of the month, please visit the hotel link.

Thank you Gilbert and team Grand Copthorne Waterfront for the experience preview. It was fun!