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Aspirant
This is Aspirant living in Hougang/Kovan. I am a Marketing Manager, work in Thomson. I like to hang out in Orchard, Thomson, Novena. Japanese, Korean, Peranakan / Nonya, Chinese, Indian & Burmese are my favorite cuisines. I also love Restaurant, Café and Desserts and Cakes, Everything actually!.
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Categories : Café | Burgers and Sandwiches

Visiting Necessary Provisions was not part of our agenda on the Sunday morning. We have wanted to check out the breakfast scene at Carpenter & Cook but unfortunately the cafe was undergoing renovations. Apologetically, the kind lady at the cafe pointed to another cafe that was just 5 - 10 minutes' drive away at Eng Kong Terrace, Bukit Timah.

Thankfully with the GPS, we managed to work our way around the neighbourhood.

Finding the entrance to the cafe wasn't easy; we would have missed it if not for the kids and the vintage toy car.

It was hard to hide the disappointment from our faces when we saw the menu. This cafe is essentially a coffee joint, their breakfast choices were pathetic. There was only panini, toast and sandwiches, you can forget about egg benedict, egg florentine, pancakes and bacons etc. Surprisingly, they attracted quite a decent expatriate crowd. We reasoned that the coffee must be pretty good.

Despite having a number of service staffs around, we were expected to make our orders at the counter. The cashier lady shared with us that the cafe is currently two months old and they serve a kick ass cold latte.

There were also muffins, cakes, breads and other munchies up for grabs.

Here's the Cold Latte ($6.50) that I was talking about. It was served in the form of frozen coffee cubes with cold milk on the side. Simply pour the milk over and you have your latte. We figured that to optimise the flavour of the latte, you only pour the milk when you want a sip. I agree that the latte was outstanding.

The Warm Latte ($6.50) was equally good but not as fun.

They are serious about their beans, a small space was dedicated to house and showcase their coffee equipment.

Our first breakfast entrée Rosemary Chicken with Watercress and Parmigiano ($9.00) failed to impress in terms of presentation and tasted really ordinary.

My Banana Nutella Panini ($5) cannot be served plainer. Even MacDonald's Sausage McMuffin looks more enticing.

It's just nutella and bananas. I can seriously make this myself.

That's Toast with Cashew Butter and Jams ($4) for you.

Well, there was a Savoury Pancake ($6) that was not included in the menu. The main ingredients are dry shrimps, prawns and long bean. My Korean friend chuckled that the appearance resembles that of a typical Korean fried pancakes.

Coffee is an essential component of a cafe but I am not sure if it is enough to keep it afloat. Singaporeans I know loves late weekend brunch with popular breakfast items such as American Bacon & Sausage Breakfast Set, Egg Benedict etc. They are unlikely to patronize a cafe just because they serve awesome coffee.
Interesting latte concept

Interesting latte concept

 


To read full write up with photos, please visit my blog via http://www.aspirantsg.com/necessary-provisions-is-too-basic-for-brunch-eng-kong-terrace/
 
Recommended Dish(es):  Cold Latte
 
Date of Visit: Jun 27, 2013 

Spending per head: Approximately $20(Breakfast)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 2  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 2  |  
Clean
 3  |  
Price
 2

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Categories : American | Seafood

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/battling-dungeness-crabs-with-hammers-at-the-cajun-kings/singapore

When we accepted the birthday dinner invitation for a close friend, we had absolutely no idea what we were in for. The facts only hit us when we were deliberating over the menu. Choices for mains were amazingly limited and we eventually have to settle for Dungeness Crabs as our staple!

Shortly after our orders were taken, small 'pill' containers with salt & pepper mixture and freshly cut green lime were served. Note that this will come in real handy later as a dip for our rather bland crab meat.

There is no escaping from getting into a mess with full hands-on action on the seafood later so we were all provided plastic aprons to protect ourselves from accidental spurts! That's our birthday boy posing for the camera!

We entertained ourselves with finger food (which was pretty yummy) for a good 20 minutes before our crabs got delivered in huge plastic bags! This restaurant is definitely not going to win any environment friendly award in Singapore. The hot escaping steam makes it really tough to capture a good shot. And it proved to be even harder to remove the large scorching Dungeness crabs with its legs getting tangled all over within the bag.

After a few minutes of struggling, we finally got Mr Crabby nicely seated on a wooden board. The crab's rich red tone makes it extremely inviting. In case you have yet to realise, the Dungeness Crab is not Asian. It is a species of crab that inhabits the eelgrass beds and water bottoms on the west coast of North America.

I decided to do the opening act of pulling off the top shell. The crab butter or commonly known as the roe wasn't what we expected. They were runny and tasted rather fishy... not exactly a delicacy. However, a big plus point was that it has a lot of meat compared to its Asian cousins.

To prevent excessive squirting, the trick was to hammer out those juicy morsels while keeping the crab in the plastic bags. Dungeness crab flesh has a faint sweet taste and that's about it. This Ang Mo style of crab cooking has utterly failed to absorb in much of the delectable gravy that it was steamed in. Other than crab, prawns were ordered as well.

The aftermath of Mr Crabby's brutal murder was rather unsightly and the culprits has no intention of hiding the murderous tool.

A quick visit to the wash basin will relief you of the post meal awkward stickiness.

This will probably be the first and last time that I will patronise the restaurant. Not to get me wrong, the service staffs were wonderful and everyone had fun with the hammers and eating crabs out of plastic bags. Compared to asian crabs, dungeness crabs are definitely more value for money. But I am not a fan of the style of cooking, I very much preferred my black pepper, egg yolk and chilli crab anytime. But if you have yet to experience dungeness crabs, I will encourage you to give it a try.

You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here

 

 
 
Recommended Dish(es):  Dungeness Crab
 
Date of Visit: Apr 06, 2013 

Celebration:  生日 

Spending per head: Approximately $40(Dinner)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 2  |  
Environment
 2  |  
Service
 3  |  
Clean
 2  |  
Price
 2

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Categories : Cantonese/Hong Kong | Chinese | Coffeeshop | Rice | Kids-Friendly

When my colleagues suggested heading over to a Duck Rice Place along South Buona Vista Road, I was still oblivious to the fact that we were patronising the famous Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Eating House! It made history by being one of the first in Singapore to serve boneless duck in 1968 and is particularly well-known for its Teochew-style Braised Duck.
Yummy!

Yummy!

 
This is a popular lunch joint for the working crowd in the western region of Singapore. And is even more so now after the recent media hype of it closing down for good after 20th June 2013! If you are driving over, alight your passengers first to get a table while you try to get your vehicle parked. Be prepared to wait for around 10 - 15 minutes just to get a table.

We ordered half a duck portion ($20) for 4 of us. The legendary boneless braised duck was served minutes later coated with a layer of soy sauce based gravy flavoured with cinnamon and other herbs and spices. The thinly sliced duck meat was amazingly tender and goes really well with the accompanying sweet vinegar chilli. Convenience and ease of accessing the duck meat was also a major plus point.

We also ordered braised eggs on the side. They were a little too dry and hard for my liking.

I am not exactly sure if this was Sambal Kang Kong ($6) or just Kang Kong. I could hardly taste any sambal in them. You can definitely give this a miss.

I never understand how Tofu ($6) go hand in hand with braised duck. The tofu looked and tasted bland. Please save the $6 for a nice dessert after the meal.

It is sad to know that Founder Lim Ah Too, 67, and his wife will be ceasing their operations due to poor health and their children are not willing to take over the business. While the side dishes are not amazing, I still recommend readers to pop by before 20th June 2013 for their boneless Teochew-style Braised Duck before it fades into history. chopstick chopstick

To read full write up with photos, please visit my blog via http://www.aspirantsg.com/farewell-to-lim-seng-lee-boneless-braised-duck-rice/
 
Recommended Dish(es):  Teochew-style Braised Duck
 
Date of Visit: Jun 01, 2013 

Spending per head: Approximately $9(Lunch)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 4  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 3  |  
Clean
 3  |  
Price
 3

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Categories : Multi-Cuisine | Café | Pasta | Steaks and Grills | Pets Friendly

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/sun-ray-cafe-a-ray-of-happiness-for-singapore-pet-lovers/singapore

Pet lovers all around Singapore can now rejoice with yet another premium cafe to spend quality time with their beloved animals and fellow pet lovers over casual meals and coffee. Located at 79 Brighton Crescents Serangoon Gardens, the café is wonderful hideaway from city clattery, overcrowded spaces and hurried pace of life.

Established in December 2010 singlehandedly by Dave Lim, this cozy pet friendly café has consistently enjoyed write ups and mentions from Straits Times, 联合早报 (Lian He Zao Bao), 8-Days, i-Weekly, CHIC magazines and 9tro magazines. If you drive, you are likely to have also heard praises of their cuisines on popular radio stations such as 938 Live, Symphony 924 and Love 972 FM.

The award of ‘Best Loved Prawn Pasta’ by CozyCot - online magazine offering articles about beauty, fashion and woman lifestyle was a further testimony of the café dedication to great taste and value for its customers. North-easterners and pet owners from all over Singapore adore Sun Ray Café all day breakfast especially during the lazy weekends.

But if you woke late (like the few of us), you can opt for brunch instead. We started our meal with 4 exotic beers. Can you believe we actually started sampling 4 exotic beers on an empty stomach. Tsk tsk. Here's a quick introduction to the drinks:

Taiwan Lychee Beer ($11) offers a sweet lychee taste, with a good overall mouth feel and a clean after taste. Sun Ray Café also offers Taiwan Honeydew-Melon Beer which is a sweet honeydew melon flavoured beer with hints of cane sugar and flowers.

Fruli Strawberry Beer ($11) is a unique blend of white beer and strawberry juice. The strong zest of the beer was well balanced by the sweet and refreshing taste of strawberry

Swedish Rekordelig Cider ($12) is an ever popular cider made from Swedish spring water by a family-owned brewery. Available in 2 lovely flavours Pear as well as Strawberry and Lime.

Japanese Craft Beer Hitachino Nest White Ale ($12) also known as Japanese "Owl" Beer is a multi-award winning beer with hint of coriander, nutmeg and orange peel.

For starters, we had the popular Sun Salad ($8) which consist of Baby romain lettuce, tossed with caesar dressing (mayonnaise, anchovy, garlic, lemon juice) and tomato XL, crispy bacon (pork) served with soft boiled egg crusted with cornflakes. The presentation was deliberately to reflect that of a rising sun over the horizon. Crisp lettuce together with its refreshing dressing made this an excellence appetizer. What impressed me most was that the soft boiled egg within the deep fried cornflake crust still contained a runny egg yolk - not an easy feat to master.

Asparagus & Bacon ($11) was up next. These U.S. asparagus were poached in salted water before being wrapped in pork bacon to be served with poached eggs and orange hollandaise sauce (clarified butter with egg yolk, orange zest & orange juice). The pork bacon was a sinful delicacy. It went perfect with the runny eggs and orange hollandaise sauce.

True to its name, Minute Steak & Eggs ($18) tender beef loin was only grilled for a minute before it was served with crashed baby potato, baked cherry tomato, rosemary herb, garlic and olive oil.

Poached Salmon Fillet ($22) consist of a thick & succulent salmon fillet with its skin off. Poached for 4 minutes in soya milk, it was served with U.S. Asparagus, with lemon juice, butter and cream.

Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack ($26) was crusted with dijon mustard and cumin baked for 15 minutes to achieve medium rare texture. Served with Ratatouille created out from courgette, red, yellow, green capsicum, garlic, onion, bay leaves, tomato paste, tomato whole, red wine, rosemary and lamb juice. This is a must order for lamb lovers.

Our final main was Yorkshire Pork Racks ($22). The pork rack was grilled for 10 minutes, finished in oven for 4-5 minutes before its served with sweet potato, mushroom and apple cider sauce. Yorkshire Pork is a famous breed of white swine that boost of just the right amount of lean meat & fats for an unforgettable bite.

We ended off the meal with delicious Double Chocolate and Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream. We strongly recommend the Matcha Green Tea flavour. It commands a strong taste of Premium Japanese Green Tea which is quite difficult to find even at well known Japanese restaurants.

Jessie's darling dog did not go hungry while we were sampling the chef's cuisine. We ordered a portion of Lamb Meat Ball ($6) for her.

While we were sipping our post meal coffee, Chef Derrar Hassane (Head Chef at Sun Ray Cafe) came in to check on his guest. Besides sharing with us the preparation work behind the entrées, the bubbly chef also share with us his adventurous past of perfecting his European style culinary skills at different countries. Notably, and as recent as 5 years ago, he has served as the Head Chef for 10 Downing Street (UK ‘Istana’). Leading a team of 8 chefs, he prepared dishes for the UK Cabinet as well as for state banquets up to 800 covers. That’s indeed food fit for kings and queens! Two years ago, he served as the Executive Chef in L’Opera in Piccolo Hotel at Bukit Bintang, KL Malaysia where he led a kitchen brigade of 27 chefs, with up to 800 daily covers.

Patrons were thrilled with coffee on the house a week before we came. It was a special treat for all to celebrate the completion of Specialty Coffee Association of Europe* (SCAE) Barista Course by 4 of Sun Ray Café staffs.

You should come visit Sun Ray Café from now till 31 December 2012 and enjoy 10% discount by simply being their Facebook Fan. Do remember to check out their Fan Page time to time to get updates on their latest offerings and promotions!
Sun Salad ($8)

Sun Salad ($8)

 
Asparagus & Bacon ($11)

Asparagus & Bacon ($11)

 
Minute Steak & Eggs  ($18)

Minute Steak & Eggs ($18)

 
Poached Salmon Fillet  ($22)

Poached Salmon Fillet ($22)

 
Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack  ($26)

Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack ($26)

 
Yorkshire Pork Racks  ($22)

Yorkshire Pork Racks ($22)

 
 
Recommended Dish(es):  Sun Salad,Asparagus & Bacon,Minute Steak & Eggs,Poached Salmon Fillet,Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack,Yorkshire Pork Racks
 
Date of Visit: Nov 24, 2012 

Spending per head: Approximately $30(Lunch)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 4  |  
Environment
 4  |  
Service
 3  |  
Clean
 3  |  
Price
 4

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Categories : Café | Desserts and Cakes | Pasta | Burgers and Sandwiches | Kids-Friendly

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/all-day-breakfast-now-thats-food-for-thought/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG

My friends and I decided to start our Sunday with brunch at Food For Thought before heading out for a relaxing afternoon stroll at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. Sounds like a really idyllic plan if the weather works out.

To manage everyone's expectations, we were all duly notified by our 'organiser' that the place looked more like a canteen than a cafe.

It took us a while to get seats in the air-conditioned interior and to be honest, it was not the most conducive environment for conversations.

If only parents can keep their kids entertained throughout their stay at the playground. Not the place to be for breakfast if you cannot tolerate kids running about and making a din.

But one major plus point is that they are one of those rare places in Singapore that serves All Day Breakfast (8am - 5pm). Plus early raisers (8am to 10am) get to enjoy a cup of hot local black coffee or tea at $1 with any of their Local Breakfast!

Do not expect to be serviced at your table.

You have to order your food, pay directly at the counter and wait patiently for it to be served. Good news is the menu prices at Singapore Botanical Gardens are slightly cheaper as compared to their other outlet at Queen Street and in addition to that, there was no service charge.

Food assembling of our orders were really systematic.

That's my Brunch Set ($8) with choice of 3 sides - Garlic Mushrooms, Pomme Noisette (Hash Brown) and Scrambled Eggs With Cream! Presentation can't get any simpler.

Nothing amazing about the scrambled eggs and hash browns but the mushrooms saved the day!

Slightly healthier version of Brunch Set with Roasted Tomato Salad, 2 Eggs Sunny Side Up and Chunky Chicken Sausage.

If brunch set was not enough to fill you up completely, you can consider ordering their nicely browned thick Toast ($3) served with the following choice of spreads: Butter / Dragon Fruit Jam / Marmalade / Kaya / Peanut Butter.

Duo of Pancakes ($12) accompanied by fresh cream, gula melaka syrup and served with additional toppings of dark chocolate and raspberry tasted so much better than MacDonald's hotcakes. But you got to be prepared to wait around 10 to 15 minutes for them.

If you are not that into breakfast, you can opt for their Grilled Burgers ($8 - $12). Accompanying fries & drinks are served with a minimal additional charge of $4. Or their numerous pasta options.

Happy faces before we head out to walk our guilt away.

The scenery at Botanical Garden was gorgeous but the stroll did not prove to be such a great idea. The hot afternoon sun in Singapore can really drive one bonkers.

You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here: http://www.aspirantsg.com/restaurants-cafe-eateries-food-list-singapore
Brunch Set ($8) with choice of 3 sides

Brunch Set ($8) with choice of 3 sides

 
 
Recommended Dish(es):  Duo of Pancakes,Garlic Mushrooms
 
Date of Visit: Jul 29, 2012 

Spending per head: Approximately $12(Breakfast)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 4  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 3  |  
Clean
 4  |  
Price
 3

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