Review : Whampoa Mee Siam

They say that preggies crave for sourish stuff.  It helps in the queasiness.  When going through my "HUGE" database of food while thinking of what to eat to satisfy my insatiable hunger, sourish food does pop up sometimes but I didn't think it would help much. e.g., i did take the penang assam laksa last Saturday for lunch but the end result was nought.

I asked for mee siam the first time last Saturday before dinner (and vegetarian bee hoon).  That drew a super snide look from my hubby who said correctly, "Dinner time, where to go and find breakfast food????"

So i waited till today to have my craving satisfied.

Tuesday is my Whampoa market day which I would also take the Ban Mee.  I knew they had a mee siam specialty store there which I tried years ago but didn't think much of it.  I gave it another shot today.

I asked for extra lime and extra chill because I see how mild looking it was and I knew I was into "heavy taste" these days.

At first slurp, the thought that went through my mind was that it was a bit light as compared to most mee siams.  But upon a few more mouthfuls, I knew what was the winning formula and why this hawker wants to specialise in only mee siam (and even discontinued their longing).

- the soup temperature was perfect. well, that's provided you don't let it sit or tapow home (make sure you heat it up then)

- the amount of sourness and spicyness was just nice, without being overpowering. very balanced taste.

- it is not oily, therefore it doesnt make you feel jerlat after eating

- the portion was just perfect too.

I didn't believe it, that a simple plate of $2.20 mee siam could satisfy me to this end.  I ate it at 9am and even now at 11.30am, I was still satisfied and of course, still savouring the dish in my mind (therefore I had to start blogging again) and thinking about my next visit again.

But like with all things now, I better do it in moderation.  I find that my cravings don't tend to last more than 2 consumptions, sad right?

Review : Whampoa Chee Cheong Fun

To start off, I wanted some good o' chee cheong fun 2 weeks ago.  Not the Hong Kong freshly rolled and steamed type with soya sauce, but the regular hawker plain CCF with purple sweet sauce.  But i was picky still, i didn't think any old CCF at any old breakfast hawker stall would do.  I specifically knew I wanted the CCF at Whampoa market which had a translucent and thin texture, almost like rolled ipoh hor fun.  The purple sweet sauce was a good topping without being too overpowering.  I ate 1 pc at the market one week (with 4 chwee kuehs) and another week, tapow one packet home for lunch.

On hind sight, I should have skipped the chwee kuehs because they were nothing to shout about.  Nice but nothing great for my fussy tummy at that point.

Oh ya, beware of the chilli though.  They are spicy with real dried chilli bits.

P.S> On a regular basis, I do tapow the kosong ones for my girl's breakfast the next 2 days.  But i didn't really have the urge to eat them back then.

Foodie turns pukie

Hi, I am back from a long hiatus of more than 1 month.  You see, something extraordinary has happened to me since the last I blogged.  I am now not feeding myself but a little beanie too in my tummy!  

I am now at the end of my week 10.  I discovered it at week 6, and the first 2 weeks were rather smooth sailing, i reckon.  At the end of week 8 though, my dreadful morning sickness started.  It wasn't even just morning.  Throughout the day I would be having this hungry pukey queasy feeling that I need to fill up my tummy, YET do not know what to fill it up with, YET even after filling it up, nothing satisfies.... and the same feeling continues.  It is so frustrating... and such a chore to eat and think of what to eat!  Can you imagine that kind of life for a foodie like me?

My hub was still encouraging at first, throwing me suggestions.... but to which I mostly said NO.... after that he gave up.  You decide, he said.  You order, he said.  I wasn't too happy about that. :(

Sometimes I have odd cravings, and some food tend to satisfy momentarily at least.  This is probably the best I can do for my food blog at the moment - odd food cravings which I don't regularly eat.

Stay tuned....

Personal blender - My best investment in years

Ever since my favorite fruit and juice shop moved out of the Goldhill shop, I no longer have a regular juice supplier. Back in those days at my ex company, I drank at least one juice a day, sometimes 2!

When I came across a personal juicer called shake and take on qoo10, I was really tempted to buy it. Not sure what stopped me, fear of more gadgets? 

Until I came across a mistral naturai personal blender while shopping. I was contemplating whether it would become another white elephant, but decided to go for it as I think I am really lacking the juices I used to enjoy. Turned out the machine was on offer, $26 instead of $89! An absolute steal!

That night I wasted no time in shopping for fruits at the supermarket.  But I forgot something very crucial. That it is a blender not a juicer. So it basically can't handle any fibrous fruits and vegetables. I actually bought celery cucumber apple and starfruit! 

No choice, dad to the rescue. I borrowed a juicer from my dad, which is coincidentally the juicer I bought for him but he hasn't used.

And so began my blending / juicing journey. I am so glad that I would not waste those expensive peaches that didn't ripen properly (生番薯) and that I could make yummy strawberry and fruity blends for my daughter and husband in an instant. 

I even made frozen margarita!!!

Strawberry peach smoothie

Simple fast healthy recipe that will excite and involve your kids anytime! 

I had a peach that was 生番熟... Meaning couldn't ripen enough. Instead of throwing it away, i decided to use it to make a smoothie. Since my girl loves strawberry we added it to enhance the taste.

Ingredients :

About 5 strawberries

1 peach

Directions :

Cut into small pieces and place in blender. Blend till smooth. Add ice and serve!

Makes about 4 small treat cups for kids! :)

Review : Dulukala Peranakan

We were craving for Peranakan food but really didn't know where to go, short of heading to Joo Chiat's Kim Choo. Guan Ho Soon used to be our favorite but fell out of favor because their standard dropped drastically these 2 years. 

We came across Dulukala after googling for Peranakan which had very good ratings but hub was very hesitant about going to beauty world plaza. He had no choice but to concede when there were no better alternatives (Ivins at brinjai park had such bad reviews).

The small restaurant was located at 4th floor of beauty world plaza and it was already quite filled up by the time we reached at around 645pm. Luckily we could get a table because they somehow didn't get our reservation.

Looking at the menu, we knew that one of the attraction has got to be the relatively cheaper pricing. The dishes are mostly around the $10 range, some higher some lower. 

We ordered the fried fish with stuffed sambal which was my hub's fave type of fried fish. $9 for 2 meaty fishes, and tasted quite fresh and succulent. I was gobbling down my rice and the fish at the start because of a minor nausea which resulted from drinking the iced lemon tea on an empty stomach.

And oh ya, gobbling down the fried squid in own ink too. We thought cooking squid in its own ink was Spanish but this Peranakan does it REALLY well. The flavor was brought out by the addition of sweet onions. Sedap!

The otah came along with the first 2 dishes and had whole fish chunks in it, the kind we like. 

For veggie, we ordered the lady's finger fried with anchovies, simple yet flavorful. Hub told maid that she too can recreate this dish very easily. Well...

Finally the reason why I crave for Peranakan - ayam buah keluak! For the uninitiated, the buah keluak nut is actually poisonous but can be made edible by fermenting it for 40 days. Thereafter they still had to dig out the flesh, mix it with spices then stuff it back into the nut before cooking with the chicken. So much work goes into the dish and it shows. The taste is robust without being overpowering, and Dulukala does it well, just the way I like it. Some versions are way too watered down. I can finish one bowl of rice on this and it's gravy alone! 

We ended our meal by sharing a chendol which was rather mediocre and didn't have enough red beans. But after such a satisfying dinner, we couldn't complain. And without burning a hole too, 5 dishes 2 drinks and 1 dessert cost us about $56 only. I am thinking when I can go back again even as I'm writing this! 

Review : Masons

Friday dinner is always a big question mark to us. Traffic is soooo bad yet we really do want to go out for dinner. afterall, thank God it's Friday right? 

Hub suggested mason at Gillman barracks which serves European cuisine. I didn't have much of an opinion so went along with it. But I'm glad we chose it because traffic in that direction is rather smooth and we managed to get there in about 15 mins.

Babe was still asleep so we walked around the art galleries around the area. Hmmm too avent Garde for our liking. 

For starters, we had the lobster bisque and the lobster and prawn carpaccio. Lobster bisque was flavorful and robust, reminds me of the seafood bouillabaisse that my friend perfected. The lobster and prawn carpaccio was mediocre.

For mains we had the duck confit and the pan seared turbot. While both came along with risotto, the duck confit's butter risotto lacked the saltiness to bring out the flavor. Also the duck confit meat was so so dry. Turbot was ok but didn't wow.

We ordered sticky date pudding for dessert and were disappointed as well. The caramel sauce was a tad burnt and the centre of the pudding was dry.

Such a pity because I love the ambience and the proximity to home. We might not be back.

Honey glazed pork ribs

After a long hiatus in cooking and reviews, I'm back! I really haven't been cooking for a long time since the final phase of the renovation started in early July. Except when cooking for my girl when my helper was on home leave. So imagine, Reno and helper on home leave, how busy have I been! 

That didn't stop me from eating and reading up recipes though. That day I came across a honey pork ribs ribs recipe that I had to try. I finally did it today and I am very satisfied with the results. My husband loves BBQ pork ribs and he gave thumbs up for this, asking me to make for my girl's birthday lunch! 

Ingredients :

6 prime ribs (about 500gm)

Marinate 

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce 

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp apple vinegar / rice vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp black soya sauce

Dash of pepper

Directions: 

1. Boil ribs in boiling water for about 30mins till tender. Rinse and drain.

2. Mix all marinate ingredients and marinate the ribs covered for at least 2 hours in the fridge (I did it for only 1 hour so the marinate did not penetrate the inside meat as well).

3. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and put the ribs on the tray. Bask the ribs once with the remaining marinate.

4.  Bake in oven at 220 degree celsius for 10mins, basking about 4 times and turning over once. (10mins includes time taken to bask)

5. Increase the temp to 250 degrees Celsius and turn the oven setting to fan mode. Once you see the sauce bubbling and meat sizzling, your ribs are ready! 

6. Remove and sprinkle with white sesame.

Review: Antoinette at Palais Renaissance

We came to this outlet many months ago and had to wait almost an hour for seats, but I think the Antoinette fad has died down, and we are glad for that.

Came without reservations at 1145am and could get table, thankfully.  

And I am not sure if it was my mind playing tricks on me, but the food didnt taste as good as the first time I had it.  The wow factor was gone.

We ordered the same 2 items as the first visit - the Antoinette crab salad and the crepe.

And ordered a French onion soup this time.  We were a little disappointed with the French Onion soup actually.  The 2 pieces of baguette they put in the soup practically soaked up all the soup and left it like a caramelised onion pot.  Plus it was too salty.

On our way out, we saw a delivery man delivering boxes of frozen food to the kitchen.  Guess my hub is right, nowadays food chains seldom cook their food on the spot.  for efficiency and cost effectiveness, the central kitchen is deployed.  That's the business model and food items like beef bourgeon and french onion soup are most likely to fall pray to this business model.  Not that they taste less delicious, but it is just strange to be raving about refridgerated, reheated food, isnt it?  (P.s, not that previously it wasnt from a central kitchen).

Truffle Porcini Mushroom Risotto

It's been a while since I last cooked this.  And back then, it was with just normal portabello and shittake mushrooms.  I am using porcini mushrooms for the first time.  Turned out that the taste was indeed muskier.

Adapted from noobcook, my fave recipe site.

Ingredients
(Serves 6-9)

- 30g/1 oz  porcini, 10 shittake mushrooms, 1 box white jap mushrooms
- 2.5 litre mushroom stock (I used mushroom stock concentrate, about 12 tsp in 2.5 litre water)
- 3 cup (450g) unwashed risotto rice, such as arborio
- 45g + 90g butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp truffle oil
- 2 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 glass dry white wine
- 90g grated parmesan cheese
- a small bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (I used dried pasley)
- sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper

Directions
1. In a small bowl, add porcini mushrooms and just enough hot water (about 200ml) to cover them. Let it stand for about 15 minutes, until the mushrooms are reconstituted. Roughly chop mushrooms and strain soaking liquid through a fine sieve.
2. Combine the strained soaking liquid with the chicken/vegetable stock. Warm in a saucepan or microwave oven.
3. In a heated pan, add olive oil and 45g butter. Saute the onions on low heat until the onions are soft and translucent, about 6 – 8 minutes.
3. Turn up the heat and stir in the rice for a minute until nicely coated. Add white wine and wait a few seconds; you will smell the lovely aroma of the wine as it sizzles and evaporates.
4. Add the first ladle of hot stock and the chopped mushrooms. Stir continuously and simmer until the rice has absorbed most of the stock, then add the next ladle of stock. Continue doing so until the rice is cooked with a slight bite in the middle, about 20 minutes. If you ran out of stock, use hot water.
5. Remove the risotto from heat and stir in remaining butter (cubed) and parmesan cheese. Cover with lid and leave the risotto to relax for a few minutes.
6. Season with salt (if necessary) and black pepper. Dish risotto onto a serving plate and garnish with chopped parsley.

Nasi lemak - steamed rice

Experimented by my friend! Steamed is the way to go for the rice I heard! Inspired by our nasi lemak feast in KL recently!

Seafood Bouillabaise

Lovingly cooked by our dear family friend!  10/10 again!

Haze-stay-home-brekkie

The PSI index rose to a peak of 155 last night and we were cautious not to let our coughing girl get too exposed.  So breakfast was home cooked.  I braved the haze to cook at the wet kitchen outdoors ok? (hahaha wasnt that bad la)

Father's Day Lunch

Last weekend was Father's Day.  Instead of our usual dinner at a zichar or chinese restaurant, my brother was adventurous and suggested a cookout for our dad.  I of cos suggested western food, as almost every day is a chinese dish day.  My elder brother, younger brother and I each cooked a dish or two and the meal turned out so sumptuous!

The MENU :
1) Prawn with pumpkin and banana mash
- created by my brother, no recipe required!  he's got this Jamie Olivier thing in him, literally half naked chef as halfway through cooking he felt so hot that he stripped to his swim trunks and jumped into the pool (twice!)

2) potato salad

- a bit more usual fare but i love how my brother accidentally added too much vinegar and it became more citrusy!  Nice touch on the parsley too, looks good right?

3) Squid ink linguine in seafood

- my creation, recipe found here

- everyone slurped, slurped and slurped!

4) Honey glazed chicken chops

- never knew my elder brother could cook and this proves that our entire family can!

- he just marinated the chicken with regular pantry ingredients (ginger, lemon, soya sauce, oyster sauce, pepper) and then cooked them in happy call for about 7 mins each side, and returning them to the pan with a honey glazing.

- the result was yummy with my HB saying it's the best dish of the meal!  (my HB is the chicken man by the way)

5) Dessert : Molten Lava Chocolate Cake

- I haven't cooked this for more than 1 year, the first time being Valentine's Day in 2012, i think.

- so glad that it still turned out ok, meaning the recipe is super reliable!

I think we should do more cook outs as a family!

Squidink linguine with seafood

Not to be mistaken with linguine that are already made black with squidink uncooked, this is the one where the sauce contains squidink. This is the version we prefer and we first had it at pasta brava at Craig Road. IMO, they serve the best squidink spaghetti / risotto in town at midrange pricing. Of cos there's others but they are usually pricier.

I tried making squidink risotto before but I didn't put enough squidink so it turned out grey instead of black. Decided not to take my chances this time and bought extra packets of squid ink. ($1 per 4g pack is sold at Culina).

• SERVES: 6
• PREP: 15 mins
• COOK: 15 mins

Easy recipe for pasta (usually spaghetti or linguine) coated in a savoury squid ink sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 servings (about 360 grams) spaghetti or linguine
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 chilli padi (bird's eye chili) de-seeded and sliced thinly (optional) 
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 medium squid cleaned & sliced thinly
• 16 medium prawns, deshelled and shells kept aside
• 1 1/2 onion chopped finely
• 4 sachets (4 grams) squid ink (nero di seppia)
• prawn stock (cooked until prawns shells)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tbsp tomato pasta sauce
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning may substitute with fresh herbs e.g. rosemary and thyme, chopped finely
• 60 grams butter cubed
• salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook pasta in a pot of salted boiling water, until al dente. Drain pasta.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan, add chilli and garlic. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add squid and prawns, and stir-fry briefly until the squid and prawns are just cooked and turns opaque. Set aside. 
3. Add onions to the pan with the squid and prawns juices, fry on low heat for a few minutes until the onions are nicely sweated. Then add squid ink, Italian seasoning and prawn stock.
4. When the sauce bubbles, Stir in butter and wine and 1 spoon of saved pasta water. You may tweak the consistency of the sauce by adding more prawn stock. Season with salt (only if needed) and black pepper.
5. Coat cooked pasta and cooked squid and prawns in the squid ink sauce. Serve hot. Top with parsley garnishing.

prepare your tissues and napkins in advance!

Review: Da Luca Italian Restaurant

Oh, Goldhill Square.  Used to be a place I would have to walk past at least twice a day.  Such fond memories of the Novena enclave and its restaurants.

I remember we gave Da Luca a shot when it first opened in 2010.  There was probably only another table of customers.  And based on past experience, restaurants have not been able to survive long in that spot.  We liked what we ate, a simple crab meat pink sauce linguine and squid ink risotto and told ourselves we would be back.

And back we were!  Since it was so near to our old place, we would definitely eat it at least once a month or two, perhaps?

Since we moved, I had less chances of going back.  It would surely be one of my options whenever I craved for Italian food though.

On one of those Fridays, I craved for Italian and went there with our family friend.  For starters, we had the mussels in white wine sauce and the burrata with parma, rocket and balsamico.  For those who don't know what are burratas - they are like buffalo mozzarella but with a much softer, creamier centre.  The mussels were so so only, maybe not in season.

For mains, we shared the Florentina steak (i think 1.5kg bone in).  This was perfectly done and came with a separate plate of my favourite sides - grilled corn, asparagus, mushrooms and potatoes.  I can assuredly say that this place serves the best Florentina steak in town.

The dinner was especially enjoyable with the presence of 2 bottles of italian red too.  Coupled with the company of good friends and lack of kid, this was mini heaven to me.

Da Luca Italian Restaurant

1 Goldhill Plaza

#01-19/21 Goldhill Plaza

Tel: 62584846

Review: Lao Shan Kwey Chap

We are very selective about our kwey chaps.  Nothing mediocre will do.  The kway has to be smooth, the pork has to be tender, the lor has to be tasty, the ingredients cannot be porky, the chai buay must pass my test.

What's my test, you may wonder.  It is a sourish, soft but yet with a bite taste and nothing too oily please.  I have taken chai buay since I was 5 so I am very exacting in my requirements.

For a small unassuming little stall tucked in a kopitiam in Ang Mo Kio, Lao Shan meets all of our requirements.  The most rated item has to be the kway.  Which makes me wonder - don't all of them get kway from the same supplier?  But why are some better than the others?  And can such a small stall make its own kway?

The pork belly is ok, tender but not the best we have had.  But the kway really does make up for EVERYTHING.

We always go there in the mornings for breakfast after we drop off our girl, so there's no queue whatsoever.  I wonder if it is popular for lunch and dinner.  Looking at their opening hours, I really pity the old man.  I don't see any son or daughter helping out at the store, so this is really a gem to be treasured.  May not be around much much longer.


Lao San Kway Chap
Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3
6am to 12mn
Closed on Monday

Braised spare ribs and bitter gourd in tau cheo

I always wonder, how do working mums do it?  After work, can still manage to cook for the family?  This week,  my girl has classes till 6pm and by the time I am home, it is 630pm, just like a regular work day. And because my parents are also working the whole day at their house this period, I have kindly taken up the responsibility to be a filial girl and cook for the family.  Good girl right?

Ran out of ideas on what to cook today and saw bitter gourd in the fridge.  Wanted to cook noobcook's claypot chicken and bitter gourd but my dad said to use spare ribs instead.  He only said very briefly, braise the ribs with tau cheo.  Fullstop.  Luckily we live in the internet age....

So with noobcook's recipe as a base, I managed to recreate the dish my parents instructed me to cook!

Ingredients
(serves 4)

- 10 to 12 pcs of short spare ribs
- half a bitter gourd
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp tau cheo (soya bean paste)
- 1 tbsp black fermented beans (rinsed, patted dry and mashed slightly with a fork)
- 5 garlic cloves, minced (or about 1 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp Chinese wine (shao hsing / hua tiao)
- light soy sauce, to taste (optional)

Sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar

tata!  my not so good looking dish, but oh so yummy

complemented with a plate of greens - spinach with century eggs

Directions

1. Cut the bitter gourd in slices.  If you wish to remove the bitterness, you may rub some salt on the flesh portion and leave for a few minutes before rinsing the salt off.

2. Heat sesame oil in clay pot, stir garlic till brown, then fry tau cheo & fermented black beans until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Add spare ribs and bitter gourd. Stir fry until the chicken is no longer pink on the surface.

4. Add sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Cover pot with lid and simmer for about 15 minutes. (see note)

5. Season to taste with light soy sauce or salt, if needed. If you like, add a splash of Chinese wine to the cooked stew as a finishing touch, and off the flame when you smell the lovely aroma of the wine.

Note : if you are using normal wok, you may need to simmer longer for at least half hour before the ribs are tender.  However, with HCP, it should be faster.

Review: Food for thought

This isn't a full review of food for thought at botanical gardens. We come here sometimes for their breakfast and pancakes and playground. I'll perhaps cover that in another post if I've got time.

Today I dropped my maid off to the Philippines embassy for her passport. Looking at the size of the embassy building and the scarce crowd, I was optimistic that the process won't take too long. So I decided to take lunch while waiting. (Truth is : I knew i would not be able to resist the bak changs my parents brought if I Went home!)

Food for thought was the nearest choice. I ordered the oriental duck salad and a iced lime tea wine cooler.

The oriental duck salad was rather delicious and definitely healthy. Or so I think. Smoked duck breast, orange slices. Lychees, raspberry balsamic vinaigrette. I can definitely do this more cheaply. It cost me $13.

The iced lime tea wine cooler was an utter disappointment. I couldn't taste tea, lime, nor wine. At $8, I could have spent my money more wisely. 

Just after I ordered, my maid texted me and said her appointment starts at 3pm. And I dropped her at 145pm. I am so going home. 

Oh ya, this is a kid friendly place if it isn't raining. An outdoor mini play structure should keep the little one occupied. Affordable kids eat too.

Food For Thought (Botanic Gardens)

1 Cluny Road

#B1-00 Singapore Botanic Gardens, Tanglin Gate

Grilled peri peri chicken thigh

For Christmas, one of the items I asked for was nando's peri peri sauce as I like it as an easy marinate for grilled chicken. I ended up receiving 6 bottles of it, all different flavors, thanks to my over zealous friend.

I used it to oven grill some Chicken wings before but either the marination time wasn't sufficient or I couldn't bask the sauce over as often as I would have liked. So fail. 

This time, I tried using the scan pan grill pan. Total marination time was about 2.5 hours and cooking time was about 20mins in total. It turned out definitely juicier and more flavored as I was continuously basking it in marinate. However, I think next time 

1) no need to use the grill pan because the burnt residue accumulates under the grill lines and gets stuck onto the chicken. Anyway the grill lines aren't that visible. I'll try HCP next time.

2) I should buy boneless chicken thigh as cooking would be more even and faster. According to hub and parents. 

Now to source for more grilled chicken marinates! 

pardon the chow tar bit keke

Toasted cheese sandwich

I am a sucker for kitchen gadgets. I know I'm not the worst because i m too self aware to let it get out of hand. But occasionally when the price is right and the size is right (won't take up too much storage space) I'll jump into it. 

When I saw the sandwich toaster at mediya I knew I had to have it! I love my toasted sandwiches / paninis, even though this doesn't have the beautiful grill lines that I'll love. 

Strangely though I only managed to make it like 2 months after I bought it.  But boy, it was fast and yummy! I only needed to put it on the stove for about 2 mins max, and warm melty cheese sandwich is ready. In fact, any longer it would get burnt.

For this, I had ham, cheese, corn, mustard and tomatoes. Yummy! 

Review: Provence bakery at holland village

We are always at a loss of where to eat breakfast whenever I have facials in the morning at holland village. The hawker centre stalls don't entice me much and I don't feel like having crystal jade all the time.

Then I chanced upon Provence and realized that they have breakfast sets from 830am onwards! 

Freshly baked bread, ham and egg and tuna croissants / sandwiches, done jap style, who can resist?👍

There is a no frills cafe seating upstairs which serves sandwiches sets and coffee / tea. Coffee is nothing to shout about but drinkable. The breads are clearly the main draw. Never had I had mini croissants so crunchy and drizzled with a sweet honey / maple syrup glaze.

Quick and yummy breakfast! 

Review: Fat Cow

Every now and then, my hub would have a crazy suggestion for lunch. Although a SAHM, I'm pretty lazy to cook lunch as my maid cooks lunch for my girl, there would be always leftovers in the fridge for my maid and my brekkie is usually rather filling so I can survive till tea break. So when a suggestion for lunch comes along, I would initially be reluctant but would succumb.

Today's lunch is a restaurant specializing in all things beef called Fat Cow. Apparently they have the wagyu don that yoyogi does very well which is why my hub wanna go. We packed up our girl's lunch and went there with our helper. 

And we were not disappointed.

Set lunches are pricey with at least $30+ or $40+ for beef dishes. 

Hub was looking for more than just sets so ordered ala carte of a tai carpaccio with black truffle. That was really good as the truffle added depth to the light tai.

We ordered the fat cow donburi set ($38) and the fat foa gura don ($42) to share.

The fat cow donburi's wagyu is slightly seared and topped with an onsen egg. Generous in portion, this beats yoyogi's price point but my complain is that it lacked a little saltiness flavor. There should have been more sauce to cover the rice, and the sauce more salty. 

The fat foa gura don was the winner as the flavor of the don was enhanced by the sweet-salty-buttery taste of stir fried mushrooms. Not to mention that the chunks of foie gras were aplenty. Generous is an understatement. 

If you are looking to impress with a subtle yet classy business lunch, this place does it well. Just be prepared to pay for the quality.

Fat Cow

1 ORCHARD BLVD #01-01/02
CAMDEN MEDICAL CENTRE
SINGAPORE 248649

T. +65 6735 0308