Monday, November 30, 2009

I missed my weekly Tuesday post.. and it seems my sister noticed, so ok! A blog entry just for her~ This will be Day 8 (even though it's been like, what, 2 months?? since we came back from Singapore and she's going to come over soon herself....) For some reason, Day 8 has really really few photos... I don't know why, so maybe Day 9 too~

Woke up late again that day and skipped another round of breakfast. If you'd imagine 7 previous days of eating, it's really no surprise that we started skipping meals by Day 8 ^^'' So lunch was...

From Singapore
Bakkuteh!! It's this Chinese herbal soup simmered with bones.. there are so many ingredients and herbs that go into this soup, I don't even really know what's inside, but the spicy taste and smell of this soup is absolutely great.

From Singapore
Liver!

I don't recall what we actually did this day.. I remember we saw this really big fountain outside a shopping centre, and then playing in the arcade, where I tried to play the parapara machine... oh my gosh, talk about embarrassing =_= ANYWAY, since this is a half day, we didn't really take many photos, and it was straight on to dinner!

From Singapore
We went to this restaurant near East Coast Park, behind Jumbo- a restaurant well known for its chilli crab, but M recommended this other one behind it because he said it's actually better~

From Singapore
Drunken prawns. I absolutely loved this dish!! 1) Prawns are pretty similar to lobster, so it's one of my favourite seafood... along with lobsters and crabs and... *names half the entire seafood population* 2) The broth was really really nice. It had the alcoholic tinge to it, but even after drinking a whole bowl of it, I wasn't flushed, which probably means all the alcohol content evaporated while cooking, but the taste retained in the broth and prawns... I wonder if anywhere in Sydney has this dish.

From Singapore
Bamboo shell fish? I have no idea what they are really ^^

From Singapore
And here comes the main dish- the chilli butter crab! Especially liked the deep fried curry leaves, which melted in the mouth because it's so crisp~

From Singapore
Not just ONE crab, but TWO! We were warned when eating this that the shell will be extremely slippery, so if we didn't want any crabs flying around, we should be careful =) Doesn't it look like some alien sea creature that will eat you if you don't eat it first?~ Rawrrr

From Singapore
Huge contrast to the flaming red chilli crab- white mantou (um... bread rolls- asian style) to mop up the sauce of the chilli crab~

After a very satisfying dinner, we headed over to the Singapore Flyer- a big ferris wheel that rotates slowly... I think it takes about half an hour for each rotation.

From Singapore

From Singapore
Must say- it's not as nicely lit up as Tokyo or other parts of Japan, but way better than what Sydney could do~ unfortunately, we didn't get the whole cabin to ourselves. It was a pretty huge cabin, so my sis, M, tt and I shared it with a whole bunch of other tourists, which made it not as fun and definitely not as peaceful (tourists= lots of photos being snapped, flashes going off, excited whispers and/or raised voices) but it was quite a nice experience seeing Singapore from high up at night~

And that concludes Day 8. Quick huh? =D

Day 9 was a full day~ but not that many photos either.
From Singapore
We've been eyeing this long an cake for a long long time, ever since we saw it at a shopping centre's bakery quite early on in the trip. We finally got it! =D As this is already Day 9, we had to rush to get everything we wanted as souvenirs/ presents for families and friends etc. This was in the same place as some chocolates we wanted to bring back for my parents, so we got this cake along the way! =D Had it in M's car~ really nice!

From Singapore
Brunch was at a hawker centre. It had been my selfish wish to have chicken rice wrapped in brown paper at least once while we're in Singapore, so they brought us to a hawker centre and bought it for me especially =D Thank you!! Was actually famished when we got this, so it disappeared pretty quickly and tasted specially delicious~

From Singapore
Unwrapped! Can never go wrong with chicken rice when it's been wrapped in brown paper =D

From Singapore
This was in Singapore, the land of hot and humid weather 365 days per annum, so we had shaved ice to cool down. This was my sister's long an plus grass jelly.

From Singapore
M got shaved ice+ mixed fruits and sour sop! It looked pretty similar to custard apples, but it's different. I don't remember ever trying it, so we copied and got the same thing =D It was really nice actually, like a bigger and meatier version of custard apples.

After that, we went to the Esplande (the big durian looking thing... Singapore version of Opera House) to have tea at their cookie museum.

From Singapore
Their tray of sugar, plates, cups and teaspoons

From Singapore
Notice how there are two different types of teacups? One is all pink and girly-looking~ for the ladies, and the other plain, tall cup for the gentlemen.

From Singapore
Their different types of cookies... and believe me when I tell you they have hundreds of flavors, and some even get extinct (stop producing) while others get created in their stead. If I remember correctly, there are seasons for cookies too, where some are only available for certain times...

From Singapore
Have to say, it was a wonderful experience. Sampled many different flavors of cookies, from savory to sweet. Tried a spicy Japanese-inspired one with wasabi and peppers, rose with red wine, chicken rice, ikan billis, and I brought home a nasi lemak one for my mum. It's really amazing how they made it, because one could taste the layers- first the coconut rice flavor, and then the chilli sauce, then the peanuts and ikan billis on top of it all- condensed into one cookie. Must have been hard to make... so it's no surprise that one tin of cookies cost around $40SG.

From Singapore
Their interior is nicely decorated too, very Victorian style. Imagine having high tea there...

From Singapore

From Singapore
Menu was nicely printed with "paintings"

From Singapore
The esplanade close-up~

From Singapore
My sister brought a rose and red wine tin of cookies. Needless to say, it was very nice too, though I found the nasi lemak one to be more special as a cookie.

From Singapore
Tea~ Lots of tea!!

From Singapore
That night, we went to the only 6 stars hotel in Singapore... none other than Fullerton!

From Singapore

From Singapore
Chefs... for what?

From Singapore
Tada! This was our dinner! A chocolate buffet at Fullerton Hotel~

From Singapore
A teacup of hot chocolate, freshly made. There was a table with about 10 different choices of chocolate, from lightest to darkest (which was about 80% cocoa I think), some with flavors like orange, some just plain. There's a girl with a saucepan, who will whisk up some milk and chocolate, turn the heat on a stove and make you a cupful of delectable hot chocolate right on the spot while you look on~

From Singapore
Their chocolate mousse looks innocent- but don't be fooled. Within that mousse holds about 7 whole cherries that have been soaked in liquor. The lychee white chocolate mousse was most memorable to me because it was soooo great- with pieces of lychee inside and soft white chocolate mousse that goes perfectly with it...

From Singapore
I am ready to go back there right now.

From Singapore
Table full of desserts... self serve!

From Singapore
._. I haven't had dinner yet... this is the worst thing for me to see at the moment.. until I get some food.

From Singapore

From Singapore
I shall shut up and just put photos up.

There was an incident that night where I left the camera, along with my memory card from the beginning of the trip till then, in the bathroom and forgot to take it. When I remembered and went back for it, no surprise, it was gone. Went around panicking and asking the service desk and the cleaner if they've seen it and came back with negative answers... feared I might have ruined the night, but it was found in the end ; ; Jie, M, tt!! I'm so sorry for causing you guys trouble on a night that would have been so enjoyable!!! =(

But that concludes day 9. We only had half a day left... which will be in the next entry- Day 10.... home time~

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Been a week since I updated... fell sick right after the audition, but today I'm actually feeling OK, so I shall continue with Day 7.. which was a big day, that's why I've been putting it off ^^ it was a really enjoyable day though =) One of the best out of the 10!

From Singapore
Maybe it was because we managed to sleep in today, skip out on breakfast and went straight for lunch... the extra sleep plus extra time to digest food (we really really needed that actually), that the day started off really well~

From Singapore
At Waraku, where we had pasta~!

From Singapore
This was their soup... which I forgot by now what it was... leek? Chicken? Corn?

From Singapore
Carbonara~ think it was pretty good, though I didn't try much~ was too happy eating my own =D

From Singapore
My crab and salmon pasta in broth~ I was in a seafood-mood while in Singapore, so we had plenty of crabs =D

From Singapore
This is the display window for Curry King. We didn't actually go in, but it had such a cute window!

From Singapore
Next pit stop for food...

From Singapore
is Japanese dessert at Azabu Sabo!

From Singapore

From Singapore

From Singapore

From Singapore
Do you see the afro?

From Singapore
Yea, I know, what an ugly face. I wish I could have done better, but then it was melting, and it was one of those times when you try to hastily take photos so you can start eating as soon as possible...

From Singapore
Green tea syrup on shaved ice, soft serve ice cream with red bean~ yumm =P

It's kinda true that we don't have these kind of typical Japanese desserts in Sydney, or we do, but it's in Japanese restaurants where you have to order mains before desserts. There are quite a few Japanese dessert places in Singapore... maybe Sydney should open one.

Digressing from the main topic, I told tt if I don't get into Master, I'll open a Mos burger shop right in the middle of city. I think it's about time Mos burger came to Sydney... and I know quite a lot of people crave Mos Burger after coming back from a trip to Japan or Singapore... but too bad, no Mos Burger for Sydneysiders, because I got into Master =D Let's just wait... since we have a Yoshinoya and a Pepper Lunch already, it's only a matter of time before we get a Mos Burger chain going too~

We did something rather touristy next- and took a boat (ferry) across the river for some sight seeing~
From Singapore

From Singapore
Interesting sign on the boat..

From Singapore
This... is the Fullerton Hotel. The most high-class, 6-star hotel, which we visited for a meal on Day 9. More on that later~

From Singapore
Just look at those pillars! XD It's even nicer at night when it gets lit up.

From Singapore
The actual merlion which spews water~

From Singapore
Esplanade- Singapore's equivalent to Sydney's Opera House. Often compared with a Fly's Eye, or Durian. Have to say though, it doesn't look all that great from the outside, but the interior is wayyyy nicer than the opera house. It even has a library inside!

From Singapore
Then we saw this Extreme Swing mechanism nearby. It's a reverse bungee, where you get sprung up and bounced around, or the other one is like a pirate's ship, where you get swung from an extreme height down... looks fun doesn't it =D

After the boat ride, we visited a shopping centre, where we saw some cosplaying shops, and there was also a doll's display/shop.
From Singapore

From Singapore

From Singapore
They weren't exactly Volks dolls, and they're not from Japan, but apparently the quality is better than the ones in Japan, are more affordable and... just look at them, they are so pretty! We didn't buy a doll, but we did buy a dress and boots, because my brother already has a Volks doll (a Dollfie Saber one). Don't ask how much his doll costs, she probably costs more than your average girlfriend's yearly cost. Maybe not. Maybe half year's maintenance. =P

From Singapore
Then it was more food! Another box of mooncake from Stamford Hotel, this time, it's the green snowskin with the white chocolate truffle "yolk". We sat inside M's car eating it =D

From Singapore
Dinner time!! This has to be one of the best dinners ever, except for when we had crabs, but it's hard to compare... We didn't have it here of course, street food > food court!

From Singapore
Nearly there... it's just across the street...

From Singapore
Blurry picture, but you can see the guy turning... satay!

From Singapore
And the food arrives! =D I've never had these before, but they're so nice! There's this hard claw that sticks out and you're meant to use those toothpicks to pull the meat out.

From Singapore

The whole thing just springs out and you eat it, minus the hard claw bit.

From Singapore
Satay sticks galore!! Even though it's been so many days since I came back from Singapore, just looking at this makes me want to go back there and have another 20 sticks or so. It came with some rice in the form of a cake, some cucumbers, and because it's so heaty, we got Jia Jia herbal tea to go with it. Funny, I don't have any photos of the rice cakes...

From Singapore
We got stingray as well~ kinda weird, first time I ate one of these... quite boney actually.

Gosh, where's my photo of the rojak?! We had rojak too, which is a dish of diced up fruits, you tiao and cucumber with a black sauce made of shrimp paste and tamarind paste... it was so nice. We tried to find the exact kind in Sydney... failed badly =( No photo, sorry... must have been too happy eating...

From Singapore
We headed over to Chjimes next, this church building that has been transformed into... well, a restaurant/club.

From Singapore
Spiral staircase!

From Singapore
It was really nicely decorated inside, the courtyard had trees and flowers everywhere...

From Singapore
fountains...

I think we didn't do much here, stoned, relaxed, sat for a while soaking in the ambience and resting sore feet ^^'' It was only later that I realised there's a maid cafe in Chjimes, so we didn't visit it. We did try to visit one... but that's story for another day.