http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081201/od_nm/us_singapore_kangaroo;_ylt=ApvlWXDT7roPVDp8PVJC9ZXtiBIF
Singaporeans JAILED for wearing kangaroo shirts? Man, the Singapore government is definitely not carving out a good name for itself. They might as well demolish that pathetic public speaking corner, and make it into something more constructive, like a food court, or multi-storey parking complex. -__-
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Foodsssssssss
These days, I've drifted into one of those moods that I don't really want to talk about how I'm feeling, or anything personal in my life. Hence, I have decided to strictly stick to more....food blogs! Until my mood gets better. Heh. Went to a few really good restaurants, seems like it's a surefire way to perk my spirits up, so here goes!
1) Solare at Point Loma
The sister restaurant of Cafe Bella Italia, this is a way upscale counterpart of the other restaurant. Decorated lushly in warm amber teak, and glass wine vaults, the place is a delight to dine in.
Even the napkin holder was pretty.
The mixed mushroom soup with croutons was light, and delightful, but somehow lacking in taste. The texture of the chunky mushroom bits was very satisfying though.
The butternut squash soup with smoked pancetta was soooooo good. It was mixed with potato puree, hence eliminating the "gluey" texture that's almost always present in squash or pumpkin soup. It was sweet, and the smoked pancetta added a very smoky flavor to it. Tres good.
I had the beef tenderloin in a black truffle and coffee sauce, topped with pan-seared foie gras. The foie gras was overcooked, but the beef was cooked just right. The sauce was interesting, but I'd prefer it to be a tad sweeter than bitter. In all, a fair dish.
I had the hazelnut mousse layered with creme brulee and raspberry sauce. It was light, not overly sweet, but not memorable though.
2) Kensington Grill
This is the second time I've been to this place, and I cannot stop raving about their bruschetta board.
They have a mixture of combination spreads for the bruschetta, and you can pick 3 to form a board. After trying some of them, my ultimate fav is the homemade tomato jam, with baba ganoush and basil pesto. They're layered on top of each other on crispy toasted bread, and the combi of these flavors just blend together in such a perfect harmony. I had 11 slices out of the 15 last time I ordered this.
Had the champagne cocktail with strawberry essence and fresh mint leaves. It was like a mojito, but much lighter, and refreshing.
I had the seared maple duck breast with duck confit in a balsamic raspberry sauce. It was awesome. The duck was tender, juicy and not overcooked at all.
3) Bertrand at Mister A's
I had a sudden craving for foie gras the other day, and decided to go to the place with supposedly the best foie gras in town. It's 12 storeys up, with an excellent view and a strict dress code.
The view.
The menu.
The hudson valley foie gras duo came with a house made terrine with fig compote, and sauteed with gingerbread crust. Absolutely divine. The foie gras melted in my mouth, and I had to fight the urge to gobble it up in one mouthful. Soooo good, too bad it's 27 bucks a pop.
Had the lobster strudel which came with maine lobster and assorted mushrooms in filo dough, in a cognac lobster sauce. It was sooooo good. The pastry was chock full of tender meaty sweet lobster meat that was surprisingly not overcooked in the slightest. Very good flavor.
The duo of pan seared swordfish and scallops with black angel hair pasta came in a saffron sauce and braised fennel. Very disappointing. The scallops were tender, but lacking in flavor other than being salty. The swordfish was overcooked. The angel hair pasta was pretty meh too.
4) The Aubrey Rose at La Mesa
This is a hi-tea place that Jason has been raving about, so Jenn and I went with him to taste for the first time.
The decor of this place is unbelievable. Very quaint, and decked with high ornate hats and boas and xmas trees, with loads of victorian tea sets and christmas decorations. Very very cosy.
The hats that are available for you to wear while having the high tea. Some ladies were wearing it...
They even printed a welcome card for our table.
Teapot napkin holders. Cute. And they even have beaded cloths for the cups of chilled rose water so as to prevent dust from getting into the cup. So quaint.
We had the five course meal which was 30 bucks per pax. Came with a starter of carrot ginger soup with a baguette of chicken salad, aioli and alfalfa sprouts.
The tower of savory pastries and sweets
I forgot to take the pumpkin scone at the end... ha.
In all, it was more of an experience thing, than the taste thingie...
The tea is home made, and we got the aubrey rose tea, which had mango, guava, and rose essence in it. Very nice. And I like the heater for the teapot, very classy. :)
Alright, that concludes my post. I'm grateful that I have so many friends who are willing to go try these places with me... :)
1) Solare at Point Loma
The sister restaurant of Cafe Bella Italia, this is a way upscale counterpart of the other restaurant. Decorated lushly in warm amber teak, and glass wine vaults, the place is a delight to dine in.
Even the napkin holder was pretty.
The mixed mushroom soup with croutons was light, and delightful, but somehow lacking in taste. The texture of the chunky mushroom bits was very satisfying though.
The butternut squash soup with smoked pancetta was soooooo good. It was mixed with potato puree, hence eliminating the "gluey" texture that's almost always present in squash or pumpkin soup. It was sweet, and the smoked pancetta added a very smoky flavor to it. Tres good.
I had the beef tenderloin in a black truffle and coffee sauce, topped with pan-seared foie gras. The foie gras was overcooked, but the beef was cooked just right. The sauce was interesting, but I'd prefer it to be a tad sweeter than bitter. In all, a fair dish.
I had the hazelnut mousse layered with creme brulee and raspberry sauce. It was light, not overly sweet, but not memorable though.
2) Kensington Grill
This is the second time I've been to this place, and I cannot stop raving about their bruschetta board.
They have a mixture of combination spreads for the bruschetta, and you can pick 3 to form a board. After trying some of them, my ultimate fav is the homemade tomato jam, with baba ganoush and basil pesto. They're layered on top of each other on crispy toasted bread, and the combi of these flavors just blend together in such a perfect harmony. I had 11 slices out of the 15 last time I ordered this.
Had the champagne cocktail with strawberry essence and fresh mint leaves. It was like a mojito, but much lighter, and refreshing.
I had the seared maple duck breast with duck confit in a balsamic raspberry sauce. It was awesome. The duck was tender, juicy and not overcooked at all.
3) Bertrand at Mister A's
I had a sudden craving for foie gras the other day, and decided to go to the place with supposedly the best foie gras in town. It's 12 storeys up, with an excellent view and a strict dress code.
The view.
The menu.
The hudson valley foie gras duo came with a house made terrine with fig compote, and sauteed with gingerbread crust. Absolutely divine. The foie gras melted in my mouth, and I had to fight the urge to gobble it up in one mouthful. Soooo good, too bad it's 27 bucks a pop.
Had the lobster strudel which came with maine lobster and assorted mushrooms in filo dough, in a cognac lobster sauce. It was sooooo good. The pastry was chock full of tender meaty sweet lobster meat that was surprisingly not overcooked in the slightest. Very good flavor.
The duo of pan seared swordfish and scallops with black angel hair pasta came in a saffron sauce and braised fennel. Very disappointing. The scallops were tender, but lacking in flavor other than being salty. The swordfish was overcooked. The angel hair pasta was pretty meh too.
4) The Aubrey Rose at La Mesa
This is a hi-tea place that Jason has been raving about, so Jenn and I went with him to taste for the first time.
The decor of this place is unbelievable. Very quaint, and decked with high ornate hats and boas and xmas trees, with loads of victorian tea sets and christmas decorations. Very very cosy.
The hats that are available for you to wear while having the high tea. Some ladies were wearing it...
They even printed a welcome card for our table.
Teapot napkin holders. Cute. And they even have beaded cloths for the cups of chilled rose water so as to prevent dust from getting into the cup. So quaint.
We had the five course meal which was 30 bucks per pax. Came with a starter of carrot ginger soup with a baguette of chicken salad, aioli and alfalfa sprouts.
The tower of savory pastries and sweets
I forgot to take the pumpkin scone at the end... ha.
In all, it was more of an experience thing, than the taste thingie...
The tea is home made, and we got the aubrey rose tea, which had mango, guava, and rose essence in it. Very nice. And I like the heater for the teapot, very classy. :)
Alright, that concludes my post. I'm grateful that I have so many friends who are willing to go try these places with me... :)
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Halloween!
I'm too tired to write about Halloween. Suffice it to say, four events to go to over the weekend and I am weak and partied out. Going to let the pictures do the talking.
My sailoorrr costume! :D
Me and my wifey!
Renee doing what she does best: cleaning me up. Haw haw.
The girlies!
Deron looking very convincing as the joker.
Jenn the sheriff.
Suzanne the hobo! :D
And her fiance Odie as the male hobo. :)
Diane as the clapping monkey with home-made cymbals!
Someone used my cam to take this picture of my fishnet stockings.
Theresa as a...pleasant girl?
Renee's boy Dane as a French mime to match her French maid costume.
For some reason, this picture refuses to rotate, so here you go. John as a po-po, Vanessa as a body part mechanic.
Our trusted bartender at PBBG, Mike!
My sailoorrr costume! :D
Me and my wifey!
Renee doing what she does best: cleaning me up. Haw haw.
The girlies!
Deron looking very convincing as the joker.
Jenn the sheriff.
Suzanne the hobo! :D
And her fiance Odie as the male hobo. :)
Diane as the clapping monkey with home-made cymbals!
Someone used my cam to take this picture of my fishnet stockings.
Theresa as a...pleasant girl?
Renee's boy Dane as a French mime to match her French maid costume.
For some reason, this picture refuses to rotate, so here you go. John as a po-po, Vanessa as a body part mechanic.
Our trusted bartender at PBBG, Mike!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I love you guys
Dear friends, and strangers who are reading this,
I know I've been horribly lazy and awfully slow in blogging these days... these weeks has been nothing but a constant frenzy of activity, and whoever is reading this right now, thanks for being concerned enough to check back! :D And all you fabulous peeps who complimented me on my blog, like the lovely Olivia and Kevin, thanks! :)
So I have all these pictures from restaurants I've visited, but I'm too lazy to blog about all of them, so imma just blog about the ones that are slightly more interesting.
Went to this French restaurant called Thee Bungalow with a group of my friends like three weekends ago. It's a nice quaint place with very traditional French fare. Definitely not the best French food I've had, but it's decent and 'reasonably priced'. I put that in quotation marks because it's reasonably priced according to typical French food, which is always about twice or thrice more costly than other cuisines. Blah.
Anyways I ordered my staple courses I always try to order at any French restaurant...
The complimentary appetizer was this sorta jello with crabmeat and spring onions I think. They gave a much more glamorous name than that, but that's essentially what it was. Good flavor, very clean taste, and smooth.
I was so excited about the foie gras, which came in a raspberry vinaigrette sauce, that I totally forgot to take a pic of it before I gobbled it up. Hence, only a pic with the remnants of the toast which was served with it. It was a very generous size, but was too cooked, so it wasn't as melt-in-your-mouth and smooth as I've expected. But still, for the price of 13 bucks, it's a steal for foie gras lovers who just want to satiate their cravings for it.
Had the lobster bisque. It was pretty good. A tad too creamy for me, but good flavor, and it had chunks of very tender lobster meat in it, which is a plus for me.
I had the seared duck breast, and it is pretty good. Very moist, very tender, and not too overpowering. It came with sauteed cabbage in a sweet tangy sauce, which leaves a very clean taste.
The Grand Marnier souffle was awesome. The GM taste wasn't overpowering, and the souffle just melts in your mouth. Souffles are one of my fav desserts, since they're pretty much just fluffed up egg whites and hence lower in cal compared to many other desserts. Hehe.
Anyways, I had my housewarming party a couple of weekends ago, and it was heaps of fun. I took individual pictures of every person who took the Miracle fruit, hence it's impossible to put all the pictures in here, but it was good fun. :)
The condo clubhouse, where I set up my party at. Thank God it's like pretty much 10 steps from my place.
Me posing with the foods for the Miracle Fruit tasting. Heh.
Jenn and I.
We ended the day by sitting in a big circle around the jacuzzi, soaking our feet and loading up on mimosas and beer. Good times. :)
Went to this italian restaurant called Barola near my place, and it was pretty good!
Had the green and white homemade pasta with crab meat in a pink sauce. It was pretty awesome. The cream sauce was very light, but not too light. Very good flavor, and the pasta was cooked al dente. Yum!
They had lavender flavored creme brulee, and it was sooooo yummy. The lavender complimented the cream, and it wasn't too overpowering.
Went to the Weezer concert at the Cox Arena with a couple of my friends. It was awweeeesome. :D
The concert.
Me and Kelly posing for a pic. She was all crazy. When the concert started, she pretty much jumped up from her seat and ran up 5 rows ahead to dance. Awesomeness. :)
Went for Sunday brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado last weekend. It's supposed to be the best Sunday brunch in San Diego, and for a whooping 73 bucks without tax, I had high expectations of it.
They had oysters and crab legs and shrimps and stuff, but I still think the Shangri-la buffet back in Singapore is way better.
The dessert counter was disappointing. Yuck.
These are my fav items out of everything. The sliced prime ribs with the black truffle au just sauce, the truffle pot pie, and the spiced butternut squash soup (their lobster bisque was way too creamy).
Also, went to this italian restaurant in downtown La Jolla, called Viggilucci's or something.
The seared scallops were a-okay. They were tender enough, but not very well-flavored. The spinach salad at the bottom was really good though. They were soft, warmed and well-flavored with balsamic vinegar. Yum! And the tomato slices and grapes were an interesting combi. The sweetness of the grape just complimented the tomato. Very interesting.
The Maine lobster pasta was okay at best. The lobster meat was slightly undercooked, and the pasta was pretty blah.
Yay, done! It's Halloween next weekend. Can't wait, gonna be a sailor. :) Pictures soon! :)
I know I've been horribly lazy and awfully slow in blogging these days... these weeks has been nothing but a constant frenzy of activity, and whoever is reading this right now, thanks for being concerned enough to check back! :D And all you fabulous peeps who complimented me on my blog, like the lovely Olivia and Kevin, thanks! :)
So I have all these pictures from restaurants I've visited, but I'm too lazy to blog about all of them, so imma just blog about the ones that are slightly more interesting.
Went to this French restaurant called Thee Bungalow with a group of my friends like three weekends ago. It's a nice quaint place with very traditional French fare. Definitely not the best French food I've had, but it's decent and 'reasonably priced'. I put that in quotation marks because it's reasonably priced according to typical French food, which is always about twice or thrice more costly than other cuisines. Blah.
Anyways I ordered my staple courses I always try to order at any French restaurant...
The complimentary appetizer was this sorta jello with crabmeat and spring onions I think. They gave a much more glamorous name than that, but that's essentially what it was. Good flavor, very clean taste, and smooth.
I was so excited about the foie gras, which came in a raspberry vinaigrette sauce, that I totally forgot to take a pic of it before I gobbled it up. Hence, only a pic with the remnants of the toast which was served with it. It was a very generous size, but was too cooked, so it wasn't as melt-in-your-mouth and smooth as I've expected. But still, for the price of 13 bucks, it's a steal for foie gras lovers who just want to satiate their cravings for it.
Had the lobster bisque. It was pretty good. A tad too creamy for me, but good flavor, and it had chunks of very tender lobster meat in it, which is a plus for me.
I had the seared duck breast, and it is pretty good. Very moist, very tender, and not too overpowering. It came with sauteed cabbage in a sweet tangy sauce, which leaves a very clean taste.
The Grand Marnier souffle was awesome. The GM taste wasn't overpowering, and the souffle just melts in your mouth. Souffles are one of my fav desserts, since they're pretty much just fluffed up egg whites and hence lower in cal compared to many other desserts. Hehe.
Anyways, I had my housewarming party a couple of weekends ago, and it was heaps of fun. I took individual pictures of every person who took the Miracle fruit, hence it's impossible to put all the pictures in here, but it was good fun. :)
The condo clubhouse, where I set up my party at. Thank God it's like pretty much 10 steps from my place.
Me posing with the foods for the Miracle Fruit tasting. Heh.
Jenn and I.
We ended the day by sitting in a big circle around the jacuzzi, soaking our feet and loading up on mimosas and beer. Good times. :)
Went to this italian restaurant called Barola near my place, and it was pretty good!
Had the green and white homemade pasta with crab meat in a pink sauce. It was pretty awesome. The cream sauce was very light, but not too light. Very good flavor, and the pasta was cooked al dente. Yum!
They had lavender flavored creme brulee, and it was sooooo yummy. The lavender complimented the cream, and it wasn't too overpowering.
Went to the Weezer concert at the Cox Arena with a couple of my friends. It was awweeeesome. :D
The concert.
Me and Kelly posing for a pic. She was all crazy. When the concert started, she pretty much jumped up from her seat and ran up 5 rows ahead to dance. Awesomeness. :)
Went for Sunday brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado last weekend. It's supposed to be the best Sunday brunch in San Diego, and for a whooping 73 bucks without tax, I had high expectations of it.
They had oysters and crab legs and shrimps and stuff, but I still think the Shangri-la buffet back in Singapore is way better.
The dessert counter was disappointing. Yuck.
These are my fav items out of everything. The sliced prime ribs with the black truffle au just sauce, the truffle pot pie, and the spiced butternut squash soup (their lobster bisque was way too creamy).
Also, went to this italian restaurant in downtown La Jolla, called Viggilucci's or something.
The seared scallops were a-okay. They were tender enough, but not very well-flavored. The spinach salad at the bottom was really good though. They were soft, warmed and well-flavored with balsamic vinegar. Yum! And the tomato slices and grapes were an interesting combi. The sweetness of the grape just complimented the tomato. Very interesting.
The Maine lobster pasta was okay at best. The lobster meat was slightly undercooked, and the pasta was pretty blah.
Yay, done! It's Halloween next weekend. Can't wait, gonna be a sailor. :) Pictures soon! :)
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