Hosted on the Patio @ Alexandra Road

It has to be one of the funniest farewell lunch ever for a colleague!

1. It was 4 weeks late.
2. We already had a farewell for him.
3. The 'treater' was too busy few weeks ago and was giving a belated treat but did not want to have a 2 person lunch with the 'treatee'. So the treater asked a few of us were asked to join in as well.
4. The day before, everything had been arranged and we were to meet the 'treatee' at the lunch venue.
5. We waited, text, called the ex-colleague mobile when he did not appear half an hour after the agreed time.
6. We decided to order anyway because we were too hungry!
7. When our food arrived, a phone call also arrived, our ex-colleague was sick and he just woke up!
8. So we had a farewell treat for this ex-colleague without him being present!


Anyway, the farewell lunch was at Hosted on the Patio.
A quiet place hidden amongst the business of Alexandra Road / Telok Belangah.



It's located at the former ITE just across the new and upcoming Alexandra Retail Centre / PSA Buildling.

They have great set lunches at around $20 plus, but most of us did not really want to have such a big meal. So only 1 person which also happened to be the 'treater' ordered the  meal and the rest of us had the a-la-carte items.





This was the smoked Salmon Salad that came with the set meal.
It's part of the set, so it's smaller, but  we shared it as well. It was a very light and fresh salad. Mango julienne with smoked salmon and rockets does taste quite good!





This was the Warm Mushroom Salad that we shared. We all loved this salad. Assorted mushrooms that has been stir fried with some cherry tomatoes and topped on fresh salad. Very appetizing. That little bits of crunch on top gave it a nice touch too!




One colleague had Teriyaki Chicken Burger.
It smelled very good.  Look at this rustic burger. A decent size piece of chicken, with a ring of pineapple too!




If you have read this blog long enough, you would know we have a colleague who likes tofu!
She saw this Tofu and Portobello sandwich and ordered it.




My colleague told me that the tofu has been mixed with spinach. The patty was fried so it's soft and get a little springy. She loved the portobello mushroom the best. She said it was so tasty. The mushroom has been so well prepared, when you bite it, it comes off easily and not tough. It was also full of flavor she said. Makes me want to try it too!



I am the 'ribs person', so I ordered the Honey Bourbon Ribs. OK, some of you might say it's because of the word bourbon that you ordered it ya? Partly true.

When it arrived, we all got a shock! It was one big rib!



I feel like Fred Flinstone! It's as if I am a carnivore! Eating meat like that!
Well, I like the marinade. The parts that had the marinade that has been thickened into some paste was lovely. (OK, you can say it's reduced bourbon essence? haha)



One part of it the other side was soft, but this side, you can see it's a bit dry though.
Or maybe it's the cow! Big cows that have big ribs have tougher meat?



Another colleague had the pork cutlet burger.
It was served in a baguette!





The "treater" had the set meal. She had the chicken option.
I think it's OK lah. :-)



Oh oh... The burgers and the rib all came with a basket of fries.

We all liked the fries! It's very addictive! No, I am not sure if it's double fried but we just could not stop eating though we were all full. We finished 3 and a half baskets of it!




The dessert that came with the set meal.
The 'treator' said when she came previously they had chocolate fondant. But the menu has changed so we did not get chocolate cake with molten chocolate flow out this time.

The profiteroles was ok. We were by now too full to enjoy desserts. So don't order too much when you are here!

It's so funny that we had a free treat from this 'Prof' and the farewell person was not there. We are still laughing over it! Oh, their website has the price of the food, if you are interested to know how much it costs.


Hosted on the Patio
991B Alexandra Road
#01-10,
Singapore 119970

Tel: 6276-7337
Website:  http://www.hosted.sg

Prive - Bakery Cafe @ Marina at Keppel Bay

Just look at these luxury yachts berthing at the marina. If you own a yacht, it'll be great to have breakfast on board the vessel.

But if you don't own a yacht, having a lazy weekend breakfast with a view of these luxury yacht would be equally relaxing.




Momo and I met up with our bridesmaid Dino few weeks ago to discuss 'matters'.
As usual, having any discussion over food always ends up with a good conclusion or plan.





Dino wanted something not so heavy, so she ordered the Grilled Cajun Chicken Wrap. $15
It comes served with salad that's decent, you know what I mean by decent by looking at the leaves served.



The grilled chicken was wrapped with grilled mango, romaine lettuce and aioli.
Quite a nice combination and tasty. If you are making wraps at home, try this combi.




Momo was into fried foods and she ordered the Fish and Chips. $19.
Decent two pieces of crispy battered fish and salads on the sides. Momo enjoyed it because of the crispy batter. Inside was firm, tender steaming hot fish.




When I see burgers in the menu, I always want to try it! I was tempted because it said wagyu patty in the menu. This was the N.Y. Burger at $26.

The description said: 200g of wagyu patty, melted English cheddar, one big crispy onion ring on it served with aioli. It's simple and yet good. "I like!"

The large chips on the side was nicely done. Crispy outside, light and fluffy inside.

But I am pretty sure they are not double or triple fried. I have this sudden crave to try out Heston Blumenthal triple fried chips!

I am in a fries/chips mood today! I was just discussing about ultrasonic fries this evening at a friend's place! Anyone tried it before or know anyone with the equipment to make it in Singapore?




We know the desserts here are good. That was the reason we did not order other sides to go with our mains. We were saving our stomach space for desserts.

We know and have read what's nice here, but as usual, we will just pretend not knowing anything and ask the service staff to recommend. Well well, he recommended what we were going to try!

Flourless Chocolate Cake. $13.
It was so rich and dense, and ice cream on the side. The ice cream was fig and honey ice cream. Nice!
Note: if you are not a fig fan, you probably won't like the taste or smell of figs.




Our other dessert, the Sticky Date Pudding. $10.

Oooo.. Sticky and served with butterscotch. The ladies were happy with this dessert.
I think anything served with good ice cream makes everyone happy!


The view was nice, it makes you feel as if you are holidaying outside Singapore. Except of course with the humidity and heat.

There is indoor air conditioned seating and also outdoor seating. As usual, you know who sits indoors and who sits outdoors. ;-)


Prive
2 Keppel Bay Vista
Marina at Keppel Bay
Singapore 098382

Tel: +65 6776 0777

Bistro One Zero Three @ 103 Pasir Panjang Road

Our family was window shopping, enjoying the sights and air conditioning of the VivoCity shopping mall last Sunday afternoon. When it was around dinner time, our cousin asked her mummy if we could all go to Peramakan. Permission granted and we drove there.

When we got there, they asked if we had any reservations. We said no. They said they were sorry. They were fully booked! Alamak! I suddenly thought of Bistro One Zero Three and suggested we go there instead. It's nearby. We came here before and thought they were good. We are back for a re-visit.

Italian Bruschetta

Sis remembered the Italian Bruschetta ($4.80) that we enjoyed the last time and we ordered one to share.  Very crunchy toasted bread with butter and garlic topped with very juicy savoury bruschetta topping. It was really mouth watering!

We challenged our cousin whose age should be learning how to 'cook', to make this for us in the coming weeks. 

Pan Fried Norwegian Salmon Steak

Uncle had the Pan-fried Norwegian Salmon Steak ($20.90) and he enjoyed it. Balsomic Cherry Tomatoes looks good doesn' it?

Oatmeal Dory Fillet

Our aunt almost always order the same thing when we visit a western food place. We already knew what she wanted and recommended her the 'fish and chips'. She always go for fish and chips!

The fish and chips here is called the Oatmeal Dory Fillet. ($17.90) A huge piece of dory fish padded with oatmeal and deep fried till its golden brown. Crispy and crunchy. Served with tartare sauce that had tomato chunks inside and their coleslaw that we like!

Salmon and Crab Pasta

Teenage girls like pasta! We noticed that our cousin after certain age seems to always order anything pasta. This was her Salmon and Crab Pasta ($16.90).

She has been brought up well and always asked if we wanted to try her food? We disturbed her by all grabbing our forks and dive it into her pasta. Swirled the fork and took up a fork full. It was nice! Those who like tomato based pasta and those who like seafood with the slight crabby smell would love this. The portion today was quite big too!

Looking at the previous photo of this same pasta here, it seems to be bigger and nicer now! It's also more al dante now. ;-)

BBQ Baby Back Ribs

One of the reason I suggested this place was because I had cravings for BBQ Ribs! Sis and I had been nibbling the whole afternoon while at VivoCity earlier, so we decided to 'share our calories' for dinner. We had the ever so delicious BBQ Baby Back Ribs. ($26.90).

The ribs were tender, the sauce was addictive and really finger licking good! Even if you don't use your fingers, if you use your fork and knife, a slight nudge on the meat and it will fall off the bone. I like their coleslaw that goes with it too!

Brownie with Ice Cream

The home made brownie and ice cream! Warm brownie and ice cream. Ahh....

Sis asked if the ice cream was home made, the lady (we think is also the boss) who served us said yes! Sis added, er.. using a Cuisinart machine? The lady answered, yes! you use that too? We had a laugh. No, my machine is a partial automatic Kenwood and the freezer bowl is spoilt. Sis and Momo refuse to let me buy the Cuisinart Fully Automated machine I wanted!

Back to the ice cream, this lady makes good ice cream! Try it! It's a family business here and they serve great food and service is good too! Always glad to be back eating here.


(Now to get this teenage cousin of ours to make us the bruschetta. After the bruschetta, get her to make brownies. Another cousin has a great brownie recipe that is totally awesome. I need to convince the two ladies at home to let me get the Cuisinart ice cream maker. We can then have brownie and ice cream party! haha!)


Bistro One Zero Three
103 Pasir Panjang Road
Singapore 118531

Tel: 6476 6373

Honeymoon Dessert @ VivoCity

Two of our colleagues went over to Vivocity to shop during lunch time and came back with desserts for all of us!

They were so kind not to eat there, but buy them back so that we could have it as well!
Here are two takeaway containers of the dessert that my colleague and I who share an office had:

* Mango Pomelo and Sago Sweet Soup *

The pomelo was packed separately in a smaller container. The takeaway container was in a good portion size.




It was nice. The mango as you can see is a bit over ripe. (Is this the usual HK style to have it a bit ripe? I had something similar in HK a few months back and it's also over riped mangoes)

The texture is nice and smooth. It's rather creamy but with the sago, pomelo and mango chunk size, it was quite a delight to put in your mouth.

* I can't remember what this is called *

It's been some time and I forgot what this was called!



All I remembered that it was cold and nice bite with the little tadpoles in it.
I think the white pieces were tofu!



Honeymoon Dessert
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-93 VivoCity
Singapore 098585

Tel: 6376 8027

600 calories or less meal: Laksania Express @ Vivocity

This was an invited food tasting session courtesy of the Singapore Health Promotion Board. 

Here's Destination No. 2:
Laksania Express at VivoCity.

If you ask me have I heard of Laksania? I have not until this invited food tasting by HPB. The other 3 food bloggers who was with me, le keju, lembu lapar and 1/2 blog makan also thought they were quite good.



I just did an online search on Laksania and realise it's part of the Secret Recipe 'empire'.
I also read that they help people who are usually shun by most people an opportunity to work. They hire mentally ill from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) to work in their central kitchen.



So many kinds of laksa they have here. Did I just see Laksa Chicken Rice on the menu?
I wonder how the Myanmar Laksa taste too!




Anyway, those are not the lower calorie (less than 600 calories) meals that we were suppose to taste.
We were there to taste the Special Laksa ($4.20)

We were met by Ms Josephine Tan from Laksania. She's such a chirpy happy lady! We asked her how they did it? They did not skimp on the dried shrimps or other spices needed to prepare the gravy. They have been doing research and experimented with different kinds of coconut milk alternatives. Evaporated milk and other alternatives did not go well with many taste buds during taste tests. In the end they settled on UHT Milk. We did not ask how many percentage of fat content in the milk they used or brand. :-)

The noodles used were also different. The rice noodles had 10% of brown rice content. Healthier choice. 



We were surprised when we saw the laksa. It's quite a big bowl! The soup spoon's there for a purpose. ;-)

Can it really be only 600 calories? I asked the Health Promotion Board folks, how can I be sure it is 600 calories? They said, HPB collaborates with them and helps them count the calories.

Do you know a normal bowl of laksa this size usually has about 900 calories?
By shaving off 300 calories, it's like a 5 km run?



The above was the 'sampling size' bowl of laksa we had. HPB nutritionists' counting on the go! We were to take meals from 5 places. By giving smaller servings, we can keep to our 1800(F)/2200(M) calories requirements.

We were there for taste test, so we asked for the normal version of the same laksa. The original version with coconut milk was thicker and the laksa gravy was creamier. But comparing the two, the healthier alternative is quite promising.

I really liked the bowl of laksa. I rather eat this than other healthier alternatives. I get more satisfaction from these calories. Cockles lovers take note, this lower calorie version has no cockles ;-)


Laksania Express
VivoCity Basement 2 Kopitiam
1 Harbourfront Walk
#02-117
Singapore 098585


Note: The healthier version I was told is currently only available at the Vivocity branch.

600 calories or less meal: Swensen's

This was an invited food tasting session courtesy of the Singapore Health Promotion Board.


Has the Health Promotion Board folks been counting my calorie intake? They probably are. What makes me think so, you might be asking. Well.....

I got an email recently to join the Health Promotion Board Corporate Communication folks and 2 of their nutritionists for a food tour to 5 different eating places. They are on a mission to educate me, (and probably all you readers too) that lower calorie food can taste good too! I did a short post here few days ago.

Here's our quests for 600 or less calorie meals.

Here's Destination No. 1:

Earle Swensen's at VivoCity.



Swensen's has introduce this low calorie dish that is healthy and yet tasty.
This is their Grilled Cod Fish with Wild Rice set. ($25.90 with a choice of freshly brewed coffee or tea)

They had mixed the white rice with black glutinous rice (pulut hitam). (At home we mix white rice with brown rice, but I had never tried white rice with black glutinous rice before. This combination does taste good.)

The whole dish had a very clean clear look. It does look plain, but what they have done is to make the clear broth very tasty. So this dish tasted rather delicious.



The cod had been grilled so less oil was used. Cod's already an oily fish.
Can you believe the dish above together a cup of coffee or tea was about 600 calories only?

Most guys need about 2200 calories a day and ladies 1800 calories. So 600 is just about nice for 1 out of the 3 meals you eat a day. For the guys, if you divide 2200 by 3, you get 733. So that entitles you to try the following low calorie ice cream!



One scoop of ice cream is usually about 300 calories. Swensen's has come out with a slightly lower calorie ice cream that still tasted ok! The above are the 200 calories ice cream. I personally liked the chocolate better than the vanilla or strawberry. ;-)

The 200 calories a scoop ice cream only comes in 3 flavours, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.

*** Christmas Commercial Break ***

The Swensen's folks decided to let us try their Christmas Log cake.
The HPB nutritionists were around! Oh Oh.. How? Can we try it?



The HPB Corp Comm folks are the nicest folks around. They agreed but stressed that we must emphasize that this is not part of the low calorie diet. This is a special treat for Christmas ok?

The log cake is called the Chendol Jubilee.
Calories unknown, but price that I saw on the way out on the fridge counter was $52.45 with GST.



Frozen chendol and palm sugar. What an indulgence. It was good!

Since all of us was in the company of the HPB folks, we behaved and showed some restraint. Most of us did not touch the fresh cream layer that surrounded the cake. *laugh at us if you want*


The Grilled Cod Fish with Wild Rice is available for Dine In only at all Swensen's till 31 December 2010. This set does not includes the Buffet Salad Bar.


Earle Swensen's
VivoCity
1 Harbourfront Walk
#02-117
Singapore 098585

Tel: 6272 3306
Hours: 10.30 am to 10.30 pm

Crystal Jade Dining In @ VivoCity

It has been a long long time since we ate at CJ Dining In. Our aunt said we should revisit the place. She calls it the place that I treated her with double chopsticks. haha. But when we got there, we realised that they have done away with the double chopsticks.

There's always an excuse or occasion to eat in Singapore. Today's 'excuse' was a 'pre-birthday dinner' dinner. We were going to treat uncle to a birthday dinner the next day, but uncle and aunty said, they will treat us the day before first. Sounds complicated?

Anyway, there were 6 of us and we had the following dishes.

*** Crispy Roast Pork Belly ***

Babitarians (i.e. people who love pork) will love this. The cut of meat served was just nice that night! It's not too fatty, just fatty enough so it does not taste 'dry'. It's served with yellow mustard. The 'electric shock' that you get from the mustard makes it enjoyable. A piece of layered crispy pork that's lightly salted with mustard that sends a gentle shock through the nostrils was like a little pleasure. $9

*** Sauteed Beef with Mushrooms ***

The basket of sauteed beef and mushroom was quite nice too. The beef was tender but I love the mushrooms more. I am a mushroom person. The mushrooms have sucked up all the beef essence and seasoning, so it was nicer to eat the mushrooms?  $27

*** Bean Curd with assorted mushrooms and spinach ***

The service staff came to us halfway through our meal and said the portions of the home made toufu is running out. Aunt and the lady muttered something in Cantonese and "tada", this was what came out. All of us liked it. Their tofu was great and the spinach was the young spinach so it was really tender and tasted very nice. $18

*** Steamed Chicken ***

Somehow we all really liked this steamed chicken. The difference from the usual 'white chicken' is that this was served hot. It came out steaming hot. I can't really capture the steam, but it being hot was a nice change. We were told these are 'Gui Fei Ji'. Chicken with very little fat and firm meat. What is "Gui Fei Ji"?

I can't remember how it was ordered but on the receipt it says: S.Chkn/Mar.conpoy(H). How do you decipher that? $16

*** Seafood E-Fu noodles ***

The E-fu noodles that we used a 'shou mian' (birthday noodles). Lots of seafood on it. E-Fu noodles always taste good doesn't it? $19

*** Special Fried Rice with Conpoy Scallops ***

The fried rice was nice, but I personally preferred the 'noodle carbo' compared to the 'rice carbo'. We realised every thing was very scallopy! But the scallops always happen to end up in the same person's bowl, which is our cousins! $18

*** Green Wrasse 2 Way ***

This was an interesting dish. The fish - green wrasse was cooked in two ways.
Half the fish was stir fried with vegetables. It's taste good and really fragrant but it was a little too salty.



The other half was deep fried and this version is nicer! The fish was $50.

*** Red Bean Pudding ***

We were quite full with all the food, but we still ordered some dessert to share. The red bean pudding was ok lah. Not very spectacular. $3.60

*** Mango Cream with Sago and Pomelo ***

The mango cream was nicer than the red bean pudding. $9

*** Crispy Green Tea Glutinous Dumpling ***

I think this was the most interesting of the 3 desserts we shared. I thought it was just the same glutinous balls but when you took a bite, you realize it is green, then you realize the filling starts pouring out!

This dessert took a super long time to be served though. We nearly gave up waiting! $3.60



This place is quite popular so we got to wait a while before we got a place. We were quite fortunate to be seated on a table facing Sentosa Island, so the view was quite pleasant with all the bright lights from Resorts World. As it was a Friday night, we got to see the Universal Studios Fireworks too. The fireworks usually go off at 9.30pm. ;-)


Wishing our uncle a very very Blessed Birthday.


Crystal Jade Dining In
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-112 VivoCity
Singapore 098585

Tel: +65 6278 5626