Ikea Restaurant @ Ikea Alexandra

One of the places that I love to have a meal is Ikea. It's always the same things so I have not been posting photos of it. I thought I saw something different, so here are some new photos for updates ;-)



The Swedish meatballs now have a small swedish flag!
It's because there's some Swedish Food promotion this month it seems.
The 15 pieces meatballs is on discount.



For buying meatballs, you get a piece of this cake that's covered with sweet sweet marzipan for free. It taste a bit too sweet for some on our table, but I think it's ok.




For those who don't like meatballs with potatoes, they have meatballs with pasta too.




The 'die die' must order for the ladies chicken wings.




I noticed they now serve Lingonberry drink from the dispenser now.
Yup, it's refillable and you can use your Ikea Friends coupon to exchange for the drinks.



Oh by the way, if you want to try Halal version of the meatballs, Ikea Tampines has them.
They have halal version of the meatballs, made from chicken and beef instead of pork and beef.

Ikea Restaurant
317 Alexandra Road,
Singapore 159965.

Alcove Asian Restaurant Bar @ NUS University Cultural Centre

Colleagues and I got curious recently and went 'all the way' to the NUS University Cultural Centre to have lunch! We heard there's a new 'zhi char' style food eating place in NUS.

It was a very hot and bright afternoon, it's no wonder no one sits at the outdoor seating area! The outdoor area is most probably for those who come for drinks at night. We don't know if anyone will go there except maybe during performance nights at the University Cultural Centre?




"Alcove. Asian Restaurant. Bar" has taken over from KR50. We notice something when we got there. It's another Pines Catering food outlet! The staff uniform has the Pines logo!

But we like the Filipino service staff here! They were so helpful and when we said we were cold (yes, the aircon was blowing so strong!) they offered us another table and came back to check if we were still cold 2 to 3 times after!




The place as you can see look quite modern. But looking at the menu, I was reminded of my student days in Melbourne! It's the kind of menu that has nice border, super simple with just the dishes and the price.

If you know what I mean, it's the kind of menu used in Malaysian / Vietnamese or Singapore restaurants in Melbourne that sells food to students!

This was the express lunch menu. ;-)




A colleague tried their congee and found it pretty decent. $5.50
It's a huge bowl and it was served very hot. Taste was OK and ingredients not too stingy too.




Another colleague had the beef stir fry with rice. $5.50
He's a big eater so he found it a bit too small the portion.




I also had the rice dishes from the menu. I picked Mongolian Pork Ribs and Rice. $5.50
I found the pork ribs rather tender and quite a few pieces too.

Portions are OK to last till 4 pm before you need to snack. ;-)




Another colleague had the Claypot Noodle $5.
We all think hers is the most 'worth' it. Portions are bigger than ours, she said it was delicious too, and the food stays hot because it's a claypot.


NUS Staff and Student producing identification gets discounts too. They serve plain water FOC too. So we thought it's a place we can come back. We want to try their a la carte dishes one of these days.


Alcove. Asian Restaurant. Bar.
University Cultural Centre, NUS.
50 Kent Ridge Crescent,
Singapore 119279.

Treats from Paris

Our cousin came back from her holiday in Europe and brought us a little treat which we had after dinner at our home tonight.



They liked us did not specifically walk into the shop it seems.
They saw a nice chocolate shop and walked in and like us found out later it's one of the best chocolate shops in Paris!



These little truffles were simply luxurious!

Sweet and yet bitter, it's so smooth and yet the chocolate dusting over it gives it some rough stickiness when it's in your mouth.

One chocolate truffle is never enough!




Our cousin was thinking of us when she was holidaying!
She also brought back a little box of macarons from Laduree!




She and her parents tasted so many kinds of macarons from so many shops. She did her research and went macaron hunting in Paris! We asked her which one she liked, she said Laduree is nicer than Pierre Herme. 

The above, the chocolate macarons from Laduree. Since there was so many of us at home, we took out a knife and cut it into small pieces, almost the size of mooncake tasting portions at Takashimaya. OK, that was exaggeration. We cut them into quarters.



Our cousin also said there's macarons sold in McDonald's in Paris as well! Yup, she tried them too! She had giant ones as well from cafe at the corner of her hotel along Champs Elysee, which she whatsapp me. I wondered how many macarons she had on her trip!

The bright yellow macarons is lemon flavoured.




The macarons were hand carried all the way from Paris to London via the Eurostar and then hand carried again from Heathrow to Changi. So the green, lime flavoured macaron got slightly 'kemek'!

The flavours were all very nice. You need to sample them really slowly. It's not only lime or lemon that you taste. You can taste other stuff they put in too! They were oh so good!


Thanks cousin for the sweet treats from Paris!

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant @ Plaza Singapura

[This was an invited tasting session courtesy of Nanxiang's PR folks - Food News]

How many have been to Shanghai and have gone to Nanxiang, one of the mandatory list of place to eat in Shanghai? I heard it's an institution that's over a century old and it's located at the old Chinese section of the city. Yup, even Anthony Bourdain was sipping the enormous big soup bun on one episode of his TV show.

If you have not been there, don't worry. Nanxiang has been in Singapore for some time, but half a year or so, they decided to expand by opening more outlets and also added new menu to satisfy the curious appetite of locals. Their Executive Chef, Chef Yee Cheong Wah though having 30 over years of experience in Chinese Cuisine, went to Nan Xiang in Shanghai China to understudy the master there, bringing back and expanding their menu here. The good news is that it's priced to be very reasonable too!



Their new flaship Plaza Singapura outlet is a 100-seater. So if you are in Orchard Road, you know where to grab some food after a busy day shopping!




Icy water cress honey $2.50

This drink was a winner. On hot sticky days, the icy drink cools you down instantly! With the warm weather these few days, you can easily gulp down 2 or 3 glasses of it!




You should order the Jelly Fish with Spicy Vinegar ($6.80) if you like Jelly Fish with a difference. It's extra crunchy! Why? It's because they use the head portion of the Jelly Fish which is the prized part of Jelly Fish.  The spicy vinegar concocted goes very well with it.




Guess what is that? It's Duck Tongue! If you are adventurous, try it! If you are like me, who love chicken feet, you would like this too!

I know many people will not touch it, but they are really quite delicious! Almost similar to crunchy version of chicken feet, only nicer!

The photo above and below is the "Yuan Yang" version of the Duck Tongue ($8).
That half was tongue marinated and cooked with Wine Sauce.
Momo preferred this version as it has the chinese wine taste.



I prefer the Braised Sauce half of the platter. I like most things braised and I think it is they did a terrific job based on what was served to us that night. It's wonderful and absolutely rare to have this in their menu.



"Hua Niang" Steamed Cod Fish  $13
When you order this, and when it's served, devour it immediately! Even if your dining partner don't snatch it from you, you got to eat it when it's hot to enjoy the soft, boneless slices of cod.




Stir Fried Green Bean Noodle with Crab Roe $12.80
I am not a fan of this, but Momo who is a fan of crab roe went into temporary insanity. The whole dish was so bright orange!

The green bean noodles (or what we usually call Tong Fen) is the fatter, thicker version. When you see other eat it like it's so nice, you are also tempted to try it. Not bad. It's quite slurpalicious! (ok, no such word, but it was slurpily nice!)




The Nanxiang icon! The King Sized Nanxiang Crab Roe Steamed Bun Soup $6.80
That's a mini steamer with one whole xiao long bao steamed in it.

Not wanting to make a full out of ourselves, we asked how are we to eat it. We were told, just drink the soup from the straw! It's hot so be really careful! You can omit eating the slightly thicker skin if you don't want to.

Out of curiosity, I ate some of the skin, and found it rather nice. There was bits of crab, crab roe etc inside the bun. I scrapped them out to eat after sucking the soup out of the straw.




Fresh Pork Filling Steamed Bun $6.00 for 6 pieces.

If you are a traditionist and think big ones are gimmicky, then order these smaller sized delicious morsels of delight. This was the fresh pork filling version. (They have many versions, I was told they have the most varieties of Xiao Long Baos in Singapore!)

Thin skinned, but thick enough so that when you grabbed it with your chopsticks, it does not break. The filling and soup was good too.


If you are a lone diner, I would suggest you order 1 steamer of this. A nice portion, 6 dumplings at only $1 each! Then order 1 appetizer if you are a small eater or a meat or fish if you want more protein.




Braised Pork Belly Ribs $12

Oooo.. Another 'bright' dish! This dish is yummy! Try and let your tongue guess the sauce! It's fruity and you and your dining companion(s) can keep guessing what fruits they have added in!

The tender, dissolve in your mouth meat goes very well with either fried or steamed mantous!



I like the steamed version, Momo the fried.




This was something really light and homey!



Steamed Egg with Clams $6

Smooth and soft. It's like how mummy will make it at home, that's if you have an excellent mum who can whip up dishes like this. If not, come down to Nanxiang and let the chefs do it for you.




Nanxiang Drunken Chicken $6.80

This whole plate went to Momo. She is more of the 'jiu kui', who loves things cooked with wine! I think there's too much wine in it, she disagreed with me and says it's just nice. She enjoyed the cold 'winey' chicken so much that HungryCow our host wanted to order a second portion for her!




Golden Pumpkin Cake $3.60 (for 2 pieces)

I think they look like dinosaur eggs, don't you think so? (imagine the jurassic park music in your head)



But when we broke it, hey, there's no bird inside, but a layer of cripsy dough to bite.
Roti tisu in a round form, but made from sweet pumpkin!




Yam Pastry with Sesame $5.20 (4 pieces)

For Yam lovers, this is your dish. I and yam are not the best of friends.
I had it because Sesame and I are good pals!

I like it that the desserts part comes in 2s or 4s, so that you can share it easily. ;-)
It's also one of the few restaurants that put their full menu online, and not only online, but with prices as well! Visit their website at: http://www.nanxiang.com.sg/

If you enjoy what you see us eat here, head down to the nearest Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant near you!

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant @ City Square Mall
180 Kitchener Road, #04-15/16, City Square Mall, Singapore 208539 Tel: 65 6509 9134

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant @ Bugis
200 Victoria Street, #02-53, Bugis Junction, Singapore 188021  Tel: 65 6835 7577

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant @ Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road, #02-01, Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839  Tel: 65 6337 7446

Nanxiang Express @ Nex Mall
23 Serangoon Central, #03-K17, Nex Mall, Singapore 556083.

Tom's Palette @ Shaw Leisure Gallery

This was ice cream that Momo and I had a few weeks ago, on a super hot and sunny afternoon.
We wanted something sweet, cold, creamy and perhaps refreshing.

We thought of ice cream, and the nearest ice cream place where we were was Tom's Palette.
It's another one of the many ice cream places in Singapore that makes ice cream from scratch. They also have ice cream making classes if you are interested.

Tom's Palette has quite unique flavours.

The flavours we had below was a combination of Granny's favourite, Chocolate Stout, something like Kokutu which is Japanese brown sugar and a flavour we forgot.




We had like 7 minutes of bliss.
Enjoying air bubbles that has been covered by the milk proteins and flavours.



When we are done, we left, so that some one waiting for the precious seats have a chance to savour the incredible ice cream here too.


Tom’s Palette
100 Beach Road
#01-25
Shaw Leisure Gallery (Shaw Towers)
Singapore 189702

Tel: +65 6296 5239 / 9070 7701

Swa Garden Restaurant @ Macpherson Road

One of our colleague's leaving and it's customary for us to send him off with a good meal. We came up with a list of places to feast, narrowed down to 2 or 3 and asked him to pick one. He said, how about, I  bring you all somewhere else instead?

It's the place he and his wife (and sometimes his whole 'clan') love to go. I think he probably has tried almost everything on the menu! He especially loves the cold crabs there and thinks the rest of us would definitely enjoy it too. He warned us, the place is no fancy place, it's probably stuck in time. It's as if time has stopped 30 years in the decor department. But... he said, but the food's good! Superb!




Looking at the photo above, it's not that ancient ya? From the outside, it still looked ok.
The inside, it's definitely not modern at all. Not the decor you expect from food magazines.  It's a little old school, yes, even 'equipped' with aircon that's struggling to keep everyone cool. Don't worry, they have some trusty standing fans.




Teochew Cold Crabs that had tempted us for a whole week! We have been told the whole week (by our colleague), how awesome, captivating, tempting they were.

"Just steamed crabs what, so special meh?", we teased our colleague. We knew it would be, but since he is leaving, we had to 'suan' him every opportunity we can.

Yes, in the expert hands of the chefs, it tasted really really good!




Crab meat. Slightly chilled. Semi-crack shells that only requires you to gently twist it and you get the luscious looking crab meat.  Admire it before popping it into your mouth. Crabs are what I call a 'busy over nothing' food. It's just a perfect food to waste time away and chit chat.

It was a working day, but since the boss was with us, we can safely have a super extended lunch hour.




Spicy Wok Fried Sweet Potato Leaves. They probably have a nice big wok in the kitchen to whip out this 'fan shu ye' with sambal. Spicy and yet so addictive. We like!




What is this? It's Teochew Braised Goose. You read it correctly, goose and not duck. It was so tender and doesn't have the ducky/gamey smell.

Pop it into your mouth and you can feel the tender meat kind of dissolve. OK I lied, it does not dissolve. You know what I mean. You don't need to use any strength to bite the meat, it's breaks up and you don't need to chew.




Some green fodder for us to have some fibre in our diet.
Plain fried and yet it disappears in a blink of the eye. There were 13 of us, all hungry fellas!




A plain looking dish with a fancy name - "four treasure beancurd".
But take a bite at the beancurd and you would like it. It's something really tasty. Since there was so many of us, we each had a nibble only.




"Kiam Chai Ark" - Duck and Salted Veg Soup.
This soup was so comforting. Though a tad too salty, but we all finished every drop of it!
(I think it was this soup that made us thirsty the whole afternoon later. LOL)




Our colleague said we should try this too. I forgot it was duck or goose web.
It's not the whole plate of it, there were tofu below it.



I know some of you don't eat this. But if you have followed my colleagues and my food adventure, we love chicken feet, so you can assume that we like other kinds of 'feet' too.  Almost boneless! It was a blessing in disguise that half the table don't eat this, the rest of us walloped it all!




Our colleague ordered most of the things in some Cantonese gibberish / secret codes.
But he spoke in Chinese when he ordered this. He called it the chicken that's usually served in "cold platter".  It's called Fried Spiced Chicken.

I think this is so so lah.



This was one of their signature dishes. Chai Poh Kway Teow.
Super wok hei kuey teow, was oily but quite unique.

I like chai por and CKT, so I absolutely adore this!




I think most of the colleagues like orh nee, but I am not a lover of yam.
Those who love orh nee thought it was rather good, but I ate it just to have a taste of it.
Our boss was raving about it.




Splitting the bill with so many of us is quite a good deal. A very satisfying meal indeed.
No service charge by the way! We noticed something, they looked ancient in their 'hardware', old furniture etc, but the software they use for their receipt's pretty modern!

Wishing our colleague, 'wire' all the best in his new workplace!


Swa Garden Restaurant
540 - 542 Macpherson Road
Singapore 268223

Tel: 6744 5009